Racism: a Raisin in the Sun and Family

Man Walter Lee Is a desperate man, shackled by poverty and prejudice, and obsessed with a business Idea that he thinks will solve all of his economic and social problems. He thought the novel Is looking for ways to carry his family on and give them every material thing they want. He Is desperate because he sees the other people with economic resources while his family is struggling to move on.He is the perfect example of the mid twentieth-century men who believe they are the ones who have o carry their families with the economic resources and struggle to achieve it, that's why he gets desperate because although he tries he seems he is not getting it. Sometime these men get blind and don't realized what really they are doing because the will to help their family is too big. Throughout the novel Walter looks for ways to give the family what they want.He works on liquor store and he thinks that will provide him the financial security needed to boost them out of poverty, but sometimes he gets desperate and thinks none of this will help him. â€Å"Sometimes It's eke I can see the future stretched out In front of me – Just plain as day. The future, Mama. Hanging over there at the edge of my days. Just waling for me – a big, looming blank space – full of 522). One can clearly see how Walter fears that his life will always be a life of nothing. He is overwhelmed by a sense of dread and fears that his suffering will continue on and on forever.Walter was so desperate he often fights and argues with Ruth, Mama, and Beneath. Also a thing that makes him like that is the racism at that time he often see who the White people from high social status had everything they want, kids attended different schools, neighborhoods were separate from the other, that also made him be like that. He was so desperate he inks to a new low and calls Mr.. Lender back, saying that he'll accept the Money, a think his family was not agree with. This is really Walter's lowest point In the whole play. He's prepared to totally shame himself for the money.In the end, though, Walter Is redeemed when he eventually refuses to take the money from Mr.. Lender. Once he begins to listen to Mama and Ruth express their dreams of owning a house, he realizes that buying the house is more important for the family's welfare than getting rich quickly. Walter finally becomes a man when he stands up to Mr.. Lender and refuses the money that Mr.. Lender offers the family not to move in to its dream house in a white neighborhood. â€Å"Talking 'bout life, Mama†¦. Mama, you know it's all divided up. Life is. Sure enough. Between the takers and the â€Å"token. † I've figured it out finally. Yeah.Some of us always getting â€Å"token. â€Å"(Handlebars 570). What Walter did here was correct because he was making horrible mistakes for him and his family instead of helping them; he was making the wrong thing. He looked to much the other things and envy what the wh ite people had; made him almost took the wrong decision, but because he listen Mama and Ruth he realized that accomplishing a family dream will fulfill them more the Glenn them material things. Having a house was always Mama's dream. Although undergoes the greatest transformation. His Journey takes him from total Jerk, obsessed with get-rich-quick schemes, to a man worthy of respect.In Walter Younger, Lorraine Handlebars shows how poverty and racism can twist and depress people, turning them against those that they most love. Of course throughout Walter, Handlebars shows us how these social barriers can be overcome through personal determination and staying true to one's own beliefs. Sometimes one care too much about the things other people had and the willing of getting them make you think in wrong way, and instead of helping the ones you one to help you end making and error for yourself and the people you wanted to help.

One Acre Fund

ONE ACRE FUND: CASE STUDY The scene is Bungoma, Kenya; Moises Postigo is a buyer interested in purchasing fertilizer on a large scale for his not-for-profit organization the One Acre Fund (OAF). OAF’s mission is to provide fertilizer to farmers â€Å"who have nothing† on a credit like system and when the farmers produce their crops a percentage of their supplus would be returned to OAF. Eventually the farmers would no longer need a â€Å"free hand out† and will be able to support themselves and their families without putting further strain on the government and the economy.When first looking at Kenya, Postigo had five different suppliers that all met certain criteria he had for doing business. He narrowed down the suppliers by contacting them and asking them for a RFQ. He then, with his knowledge of the market and his product as well as coming to the table prepared, negotiated the fertilizer to an acceptable price that could be offered to farmers enrolled in the OAF program. 1. Fertilizer is a commodity – why did Postigo spend so much time developing a relationship? Shouldn’t he have just set up an auction?Postigo did his homework and understood that developing and building relationships is a very important dimension in the Kenyan culture. â€Å"Kenyan culture’s emphasis on relationships and hierarchy stems from the importance of family. Kenya is a place where you need to get to know people†¦in a room with twenty-five people, you need to shake everyone’s hand† (Negotiating, pg 3). Postigo realized that most of his potential suppliers we located in Kenya. He also knew that if he could make a deal with a vendor in Kenya then the transportation costs would be much lower, thus creating a little more wiggle room for his BATNA.Postigo grasped the importance of building relationships from a different, more strategic purpose. OAF’s short-term plan incorporated rapid growth with regards to the small fam ily farms, which required rapid growth in their requested quantity of DAP. Postigo recognized that in building a relationship he was really opening up their opportunities for the future. If he could guarantee larger batch orders in the future, then he might be able to use that leverage to talk the supplier into lowering the current price.Postigo knew that establishing his desire for a strong relationship would pay off in multiple ways, both satisfying the cultural status quo while also putting a strategic plan into place to realize cost savings in the future. 2. What was Postigo’s BATNA to reaching a negotiated agreement with Dehvi Medji and Sons? During the negotiations for fertilizer, Postigo was concerned with three major issues: delivery date, price, and the ability for growth into the future. Keeping these things in mind, it seems that the best alternative to a negotiated agreement would have come from the current market prices of fertilizer in the area.If he was not abl e to come to an agreement with any of the suppliers and negotiate a better contract for OAF, then Postigo would simply buy the fertilizer at regular market prices. According to the research, in Nakuru, where both the cost of fertilizer and the cost of transportation were taken into consideration, a 50kg bag could be purchased for 4,000 Ksh (Negotiating, pg 6). This cost of 4,000 Ksh would have been the BATNA for Postigo’s negotiations; However, the BATNA could also have been found in one of the other vendors that were being looked into.If these other vendors had offered him a reliable price then that value could have been seen as Postigo’s BATNA. 3. Should Postigo have spent the time and money to meet face-to-face with all five potential vendors for the purpose of telling them about One Acre Fund, rather than sending them an e-mail? Working for a not-for-profit organization, Postigo understood that he needed to save money wherever possible. Meeting with the vendors in person might have had a larger effect on empathy throughout the negotiation. He might have been able use that to his advantage, but in the end, the benefit would not have outweighed the cost.Postigo contacted five vendors, four of which came back with bids. The first scenario where the cost outweighed the benefit: had he traveled to the fifth vendor, it would have been a complete waste of time and money. Secondly, as soon as Postigo informed the potential vendors of their expected delivery date, a second vendor dropped out of the running, stating that they would not be able to make the delivery date. By sacrificing the face-to-face meetings, Postigo saved a large amount of time and money while still attracting 3 potential vendors; eventually leading to a deal that, from his standpoint, was very successful. . Followup question: Did Postigo pay particular attention to the other party’s needs in the phone calls with Dehiv Medji? Postigo did a very good job of paying attention to Dehiv Medji’s needs throughout the negotiations. They spoke about the affect the Kenyan government might have on both parties, understanding the government subsidies could cripple both parties. He brought up Medji’s opportunity to grow and wanted to be involved in their growth, â€Å"he asked about growth prospects†¦indicated that the two organizations might grow together† (Negotiating, pg 7).Postigo negotiated in a fair and cooperative manner, providing flexibility on delivery dates and transportation costs. â€Å"One of the biggest appeals of Dehvi Medji to OAF was its willingness to fix a price in November for a January delivery† (Negotiating, pg 7). Postigo was very aware of the other party’s needs and acted accordingly. He felt obliged to make the negotiation a win-win scenario and when all was said and done, he did just that. 4. What do you think about Pastigo’s sharing information with Dehvi Medji about OAF’s strategy for the future?Was this a good thing to do? Is this a good way to develop a relationship? In the situation that Pastigo was in an open discussion about the long term goals of the not for profit OAF was a valid opening strategy. It gives Pastigo a fair amount of leverage epically since OAF is planning to have a large amount of growth in the near future, that information alone allows Pastigo to negotiate much harder for present prices with the perceived promise of future growth. It is also a valid and simple way for Pastigo to begin building a relationship with the supplier.By opening with a good amount of information, especially with a local supplier, OAF as an organization can leverage the fact that they are trying to grow the amount of fertilizer used by a large amount of farmers which is good for the fertilizer suppliers. This was also an efficient means to build the relationship the OAF was hoping to have with their future supplier, by showing that they were open and upfront with bo th the plans and goals of OAF any possible relationship would from more easily. All in all by being open from the beginning Pastigo put himself in a good position to conduct the negotiations. . If Dehvi Medji’s price had been good but not the best, would you still have recommended that Postigo try to negotiate with Dehvi Medji? As we have mentioned before, Postigo was concerned with three major issues: delivery date, price, and the ability for growth into the future. Taking into consideration all of these issues, it could be seen that Dehvi Medji met the other qualifications for a good supplier in that they could meet the proper delivery schedule in January and they were a small company that had the ability to grow alongside OAF going into the future.Price was only one of the concerns that Postigo was looking at. The case study goes on to state that â€Å"in previous fertilizer negotiations between OAF and Dehvi Medji, the company had settled for 10 percent off its initial o ffer† (negotiating, pg 7). This indicates that although the initial bid that Dehvi Medji produced might have not been the best, their company was proven to have wiggle room during the negotiations process and could possibly still be convinced to lower their price to become the best price.Although Dehvi Medji might not have had the best initial price coming out of the initial requests for proposals (RFPs), their initial price could be negotiated and they met the other requirements, delivery schedule and ability for growth in the future, that OAF was looking at. Our recommendation to Postigo would be to still enter the negotiation phase with Dehvi Medji, regardless of the initial price bid, in order to further scope out the qualifications of the supplier and possibly discover all of the benefits that they have to offer. . OAF’s founder, Andrew Youn, is a MBA. Given the importance of low-priced, good-quality fertilizer to his company’s ability to achieve its goals, should Youn be considering alternatives to buying from a handful of Kenyan wholesale suppliers? What might those alternatives be? The importance of low-priced, good-quality fertilizer was a major component to the success of the companies but it is doubtful that it was the only goal of the not for profit.The goal of the OAF is to help the local small plot farmers become more self-sufficient and by choosing local wholesalers over a foreign supplier can build the fertilizer industry in Kenya allowing local farmers to have better access even if the OAF was to leave the country. It is quite likely that Mr. Youn did consider other options during the start-up process but in the end decided local suppliers would be a better option. An option that they may considered would be using a foreign wholesaler and bulk ship the fertilizer to Kenya and then ship it to the warehouses to break down and disperse to the participating farmers.This option may have saved them enough money on the base produc t to offset the increase in shipping and handling cost to get the fertilizer into Kenya. This may not have been a viable option in this opening round of negotiation due to the limited amount of fertilizer the OAF was purchasing at the time. 7. Postigo informed the case writers that the Kenyan government did implement its program of buying fertilizer in bulk to distribute at reduced prices to farmers, but that this program did not really affect OAF farmers because they could not afford to travel to government depots and did not have the cash to buy or transport the fertilizer.However, this action by the Kenyan government might have secondary effects for OAF’s negotiations with fertilizer suppliers in the future. What do you think those secondary effects might be? There are a variety of secondary ramifications for the OAF when negotiating future fertilizer purchase form local suppliers due to the government subsidized supply. One obvious problem in the risk that the a current o r future supplier may not be able to stay competitive in the fertilizer market in Kenya and will go out of business, forcing the OAF to search elsewhere for their supply of fertilizer.Another less gloomy prospect is with the government subsidizing fertilizer in Kenya the OAF may have a better bargaining position with the local wholesalers, allowing the OAF to purchase more fertilizer with the same investment helping the program to expand faster. This choice by the Kenyan government may also allow the OAF to negotiate with the government to receive the discounted price and focus instead on the transport of the fertilizer from the government depots to the farmers who need it most. 8. In what way did Postigo use his awareness of hierarchy in Kenyan culture during his negotiations with Dehvi Medji?During the second round of negotiations which were exclusively with the Dehvi Medji firm the awareness of the hieratical culture of Kenya was used to help set a price from which Postigo could begin the round of negotiations. This was seen in the sentence on page seven of the case study where Pestigo from looking previous negotiations knew that Dehvi Medji sold for roughly ten percent less than their opening offer. This was an assumption made due to the fact that Postigo was working with decedent of the former managers who made this 10 present discount a way of business.There is also the fact the before the negotiators began discussing price Pestigo first discussed the increase in the price of fertilizer and the effects it was having of the OAF, the likely hood of government intervention, and finally the growth prospects of both the OAF and Dehvi Medji. Only after all of this opening information was shared were the negotiations for price and transportation brought into the negotiation. Both of these considerations made by Pestigo showed he was prepared to enter negotiations with Jiten Patel and allowed them both to come to an agreeable solution. 9.What do you see as the s trengths and weaknesses of Postigo’s negotiating strategy for fertilizer in 2007? Postigo had many strengths and weaknesses in his attempt of his first large acquisition of fertilizer for the OAF. His main strengths were the facts that he was knowledgeable about his product and the suppliers he was dealing with as well as the fact he was prepared going into the negotiation process. His main weakness included the fact that he had not built a relationship with his Kenyan suppliers knowing far in advance that that is an essential procedure in Kenyan business culture.He also failed to have realistic expectations when asking a smaller company like Delvi Medji and Sons to potentially supply such a large customer base. The fact that Postigo did not build a relationship could have resulted in Dehvi Medji and Sons’ Jiten patel(the supplier) agreeing with Postigo only to avoid confrontation knowing far in advance they would not be able to meet his needs. Postigo’s knowled ge of the wholesale prices as well as his market and expected forecast did allow him however, to accurately predict OAF’s growth and was contributed heavily to his success of getting the fertilizer under the market price of 3,263 Ksh/50kg bag.He was able to work the suppliers down through both price competition but more importantly by providing a â€Å"win-win† situation for both him and the supplier. His main incentive was by doing business with OAF the supplier would grow with the OAF as it expanded its market to 30,000 farmers. He in return expected a supplier to reduce their costs helping the OAF. Even though Postigo had some weaknesses in his overall negotiation strategy by not meeting face-to-face,In the end, Postigo successfully worked to an agreeable solution where both parties benefited in 2007.

Competencies Job Analysis

Background to the study Organizations continuously change their processes and structures due to the dynamic forces In the environment (Beer, 1980). Such forces Include; divestiture, changes in technology, working practices, employment legislation, and culture (Appear & Gondola, 1998). This transition often means change in employees' roles and relationships thus the need for systematic Job analysis procedures such as competence analysis to remove ambiguity and Improve role clarity In order to ensure consistency with the new environment.Competence analysis is that part of job analysis that is concerned with functional and behavioral analysis to determine work-based competencies and establish behavioral dimensions that affect Job performance (Armstrong and Baron, 1995). It Is a human resource tool that generates competence profiles that provide human resource baseline data which is utilized to design human resource instruments such as competence based Job descriptions that enhance role clarity in organizations.The success of competence analysis depends on the role incumbents' capacity to uncover acid knowledge and role complexities and the analyst's experience to gulled role incumbents in the process. This removes ambiguity, improves role clarity and enhances reflective learning leading to improved individual and organizational performance (Immune, boss & Buoy, 2003). Many organizations in Uganda and most Sub-Sahara Africa lack this vital human resource tool to produce generic role definitions.This has resulted Into role ambiguity consequently leading took related stress, Job dissatisfaction that reduces organizational commitment and productivity abstinently undermining the overall individual and organizational performance (Immune et a/. , 2003). 1 The importance of Involving role Incumbents In profiling competencies was neglected In the Job analysis exercise carried out In 2003 by Uganda Telecoms Limited (TTL), this culminated into role ambiguity that has persist ed to date.

Methods In Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Methods In Archaeology - Essay Example By reading the way he presents his work, one can easily connect the various stages and even come up with the relationship between various these varied steps. The archeologist and the geologists use both absolute and the relative dating methods for them to determine the ages of various historical artifacts. However, both the absolute and the relative dating methods have their negative strengths and weaknesses. Limitations of absolute dating methodsOne of the materials used in the absolute dating method are Carbon. When carbon is used, there are various shortcomings that are associated with it. For instance, the half of carbon -14 used is roughly 5730 years. The half-life of this carbon makes it only effective to measure or rather date historical events of up to about only 75000 years. As per this technique, it is very important to note that dating events that occurred past these years are very difficult. Therefore, a person is just limited to investigate events that occurred within th is time frame. This is very unfair since it will not give the best chronology of events in life. It becomes very difficult to give a clear chronology of events that occurred a long time ago that the carbon-14 cannot date. It is also very difficult to date wood using this method since most woods is always burnt and may be found in the form of ash. Therefore, it is very difficult to differentiate when the wood burned and the date of the wood. Thermoluminescence is another form of dating used under the same method that also has its own problems.

Sociology And Social Worlds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Sociology And Social Worlds - Essay Example 7 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Critically discuss the key concepts in Conduct that explain our agency in social worlds and the influences upon it. In doing so, draw upon three sources of material – from academic texts or ‘real life’ situations – external to the course texts. Ideology of a term: CONDUCT Conduct is a word which gives us a simple idea about a human behavior in different aspects of life but when considering under the study of sociology ,it tells us that how deep rooted this issue is. It not only builds a personality of an individual but highly contributes in developing a society. According to the theories of different sociologists, Conduct is something which gives us an argument about gestures, manners, norms, attributes and techniques of a human being according to which one leads his/her life individually or in a community. It not only refers to a manner in which people leads their life but also how ones behavior varies in a particular situations, circumstances, or occasions. For example conduct changes of an agency under extreme influences either happy or sad it depends on the extremity of a situation. Parallel issue of an agency In relevance to the topic of Conduct, there is an issue taken parallel is known as an Agency which is defined as a capacity or capability of an individual according to his/her free will. There are two major strategies of sociology to deal with this issue: Structural Sociology and Action-oriented Sociology. Structural sociology over inner princip le Structural Sociological studies approaches with theories of action and agency nonetheless reproduce the idea of an individual and society as two different separate entities by proposing that social order and human conduct are the product of the interaction of fundamentally free human being without any external constraint or pressure. Here inner principle comes in consideration that how it operates an agency .Inner principle gives a major contribution of one’s conduct which is either polished by religious preaching or personality grooming through different institutions. The basic feature of the inner principle is self directed individual agent and is undoubtedly a real capacity but it is not the foundation of these abilities and it does not provide an explanation for the development of a social network. An example which can help us understand the term an agent influencing a conduct of a person is when a child delivers a message to a parent that your friend is there on the p hone so the parent if unwilling to attend the call instruct a child to go and give an untrue reason, this is from where a parent acting as an agent starts spoiling an innocent mind. Relation between Structure and an Agency Furthermore, Structure and agency inter relates in a manner that when we analyze the teacher occupation to show how the agent influences the structure in society , the structure is both an outcome of agent action and shape agency action , in this case we show how the agent shapes the structure in the society with reference to the teacher role in the society .The agent and the structure :The teacher can be viewed as an agent of change , his role is to

HIV Infected Mothers Having Babies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HIV Infected Mothers Having Babies - Essay Example Because more women are infected with HIV, there is dilemma for public servants in helping HIV positive mothers have babies. Some believe HIV positive women should not have babies at all. Others would rather not see babies Born to HIV mothers become infected, but realize that as human beings those women wish to have normal family lives as others do. For some women, the idea of having a baby with a positive HIV status is unthinkable. They would not want to take the risk of transmitting the virus to the baby. They also may fear that spouses or other family members would not want to care for an HIV positive baby after the mother’s death. Other women believe having a baby where there is a high risk of birth defects is ok, but not having a baby that might get the HIV virus. Personal views stem from socially acceptable norms that accept babies with birth defects more than those with HIV. Other women believe that regardless of the risks, they have a right to bear children and have a f amily just as much as the next woman. Women in the United States are not prohibited from having babies when they are HIV positive. Interestingly, in Botswana some officials discourage women with HIV from having babies â€Å"claiming that they are not fit to take care of a child or that they will automatically transmit the virus to the infant† (Doyle). Women are often shunned by locals who know they have the virus, when they decide to have children. This is surprising as infants are more likely to die in their first year of life due to unsanitary water and poor nutrition.

History of pencil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History of pencil - Essay Example The pencil did not appear until the Middle Ages, before that the majority of writing that was done was chiseled or etched into stone and later the Egyptians and Romans would introduce the stylus. The stylus was a thinned piece of lead that would leave light, but readable, marks on papyrus, an early precursor to paper (Pencil History, 2014).However, the fact, is that the grounds for the modern pencil was actually discovered by accident. As stated previously lead stylus were used to write, but in 1564 that would change. A new material, thought to be lead, which would be name graphite, was discovered in Borrowdale, England. Immediately it was noticed that it left dark black marks on the land. Many experts feel that this may have been discovered earlier by the Aztecs, as well. This black lead is, in fact, graphite, which is not a form of lead at all (Pencil History, 2014).The first graphite pencils were simply shards of graphite that were wrapped in cloth or string; ideally to keep the hands clean. The development of pencils began in Europe, particularly in Germany, which was the location of the first massed produced pencil industry in 1662 (Pencil History, 2014).Of course, these pencils did not look quite like the pencils of today. In fact these earliest pencils were not painted at all. However, it was a man named Nicholas-Jacques Conte, scientist in Napoleon’s forces, in 1795, who is credited with the inventi ng of the modern pencil (Popova). It was the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century that spawned the first pencil product war. Different manufacturers were determined to highlight their products from those of others. This is when colors were added to identify different pencils from different companies. In the United States at this time is when erasers were conveniently added to one end of the pencil. However, to this day the majority of pencils sold in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe do not have and never have had

Youth Violence Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Youth Violence - Dissertation Example Recent arrest data show that 2.14 million juveniles were arrested by law enforcement agencies in 2005 (Carr, 2008). These arrests covered the full range of crimes including, homicides, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Furthermore, youth accounted for one in every six arrests for all violent crimes in the United States (Snyder, 2000). Background Prior research suggests that an association between race and violent offending exists with racial minorities offending at a disproportional rate compared to Whites (Thornberry et al., 1998). Plausibly, this relation exists because racial minority peer groups mediate the race-violence relationship. Alternatively, because racial minorities tend to be among the population that is most impoverished, minorities may be more likely to be antagonistic due to their aversive social and economic conditions (Bernard, 1990). Ultimately, the influence of peer association and socioeconomic status could have a greater influence on Blacks than no n-Blacks. Literature Review Relationship between Race and Violent Crime in Youths Several longitudinal delinquency studies examine the causes and correlates of youth delinquency. The Denver Youth Study used a sample of 1,527 boys and girls from high risk neighborhoods in Denver. These 1,527 boys and girls were a sample of 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 year olds in 1987 (Huizinga, et al., 1998). The Denver Youth Study found that over a 5 year period (1987-91) most of the Black youths in the sample were in fact both victims and perpetrators of violent crime (Huizinga, et al., 1998). Loeber, et al. (1998) conducted research on 1,517 inner city boys from Pittsburgh in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. The sample consisted of first, fourth, and seventh graders from inner city Pittsburgh where 30 percent of sample were pre-screened students who exhibited especially disruptive behavior. The remaining 70 percent were a random sample selection of the remaining population. The Pittsburgh Youth Study found h igh levels of involvement in serious delinquency among its sample. No differences between Black and White boys were found at age 6, but differences gradually developed with prevalence of serious delinquency at age 16 reaching 27 percent for Blacks and 19 percent for Whites (Loeber, et al., 1998). Criminal violence is an enduring issue in urban America and this concern may not be equally serious for all communities. One of the more overt differences is between the violence levels of Blacks and Whites (Krivo & Peterson, 2000). Black violent offending has ranged from 6.2 to 9.5 times that of Whites over the past twenty years. Krivo and Peterson (2000) argued that one possibility for the racially differing rates of offending occurring is because the crime-generating processes are conditioned by the social situations of Blacks and Whites. Possible Mediators of the Race-Violence Relationship Socioeconomic Status Elliott (1994) with results from the longitudinal National Youth Survey posit ed that racial differences in violence varied across socioeconomic status, where employed Blacks and Whites had similar, continuous violent behavior in contrast to unemployed Blacks who were significantly more likely to behave more violently than unemployed Whites. It is certainly plausible that the nature of socioeconomic status has great influence on the violent behavior of people. Paschall, et al. (1998) found that impacts of socioeconomic disadvantage on violent behavior were clearly more profound for Black young adults than White young adults. Socioeconomic status could perhaps provide another explanation for differences in exposure to both violence and violent peers. Racial differences in violence may be a result of the lower socioeconomic sta

Exemplification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exemplification - Essay Example My employer was exceptionally helpful in providing the conducive working environment; reasonable targets, deadlines and achievable goals. For instance, I was provided with the resources and given the chance to get on the job training. In my first day of employment, during the company meeting I was introduced as the new IT department rookie’. In my second week, I had just delivered the weekly System Maintenance report to the Managing Director when he requested me to see him. I worried about my performance and thought I was going to be fired. What followed left me dumbstruck. The manager told me that my potential could not be fully utilized within his firm. He shared with me the idea of building an independent venture. Listening to his advice, given that he could have retained me as an employee for as long as he wished was unbelievable. He stated his intention to work with me for a maximum of one year, during which I would learn the ropes and be business oriented. Well, in my own capacity I felt comfortable in having a job that is secure and was not willing to venture into business. Deep down I knew that I had the potential, though I was not willing to bring it out. In the months that followed, I reported directly to the manager who engaged me in all forms of learning. One of my colleagues called it ‘street learning’. I climbed the ranks through hard work, dedication and expert advice from the manager. After 1 year, my contract ended. The time to start my business had come. In my experience, I had identified several avenues to pursue. However, I had no idea which was best. I approached my employer with my options, looking for help on how to arrive at a decision. I received expert advice on starting a business venture and the preparations required. In my preparation, my mentor created the working environment and guided me on business development. In the startup, the idea I adapted was to open a high street store

Mergers and Acquisitions and Market Share Essay Example for Free

Mergers and Acquisitions and Market Share Essay Mergers and Acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another business entity. A merger is a combination of two companies to form a new company, while an acquisition is the purchase of one company by another in which no new company is formed. Definition The main idea: â€Å"One plus one makes three†. The equation is specially based on Merger or Acquisition. The key principle behind buying a company is to create share holder value over and above that of the sum of the two companies. Two companies together are more valuable than two separate companies together. 1. Acquisition: An acquisition is the purchase of one company by another company. Acquisitions are actions through which companies seek economies of scale, efficiencies and enhanced market visibility. All acquisitions involve one firm purchasing another there is no exchange of stock or consolidation as a new company. Acquisitions are often congenial, and all parties feel satisfied with the deal. Acquisition has become one of the most popular ways since 1990. Companies choose to grow by acquiring others to increase market share, to gain access to promising new technologies, to achieve synergies in their operations, to tap well-developed distribution channels, to obtain control of undervalued assets, and a myriad of other reasons. So, because of the appeal of instant growth, acquisition is an increasingly common way to expand. 2. Mergers: The combining of two or more entities into one is called merger. Therefore, a merger happens when two firms agree to go forward as a single new company rather than remain separately owned and operated. What makes Mergers and Acquisitions? These motives are considered for making of mergers and acquisitions: 1. Economy of scale: This refers to the fact that the combined company can often reduce its fixed costs by removing duplicate departments or operations, lowering the costs of the company relative to the same revenue stream, thus increasing profit margins. 2. Economy of scope: This refers to the efficiencies primarily associated with demand-side changes, such as increasing 3. Synergy: Better use of complementary resources. 4. Taxes: A profitable company can buy a loss maker to use the targets loss as their advantage by reducing their tax liability. 5. Geographical Diversification: This is designed to smooth the earnings results of a company, which over the long term smoothen the stock price of a company, giving conservative investors more confidence in investing in the company. 6. Empire building: Managers have larger companies to manage and hence more power. 7. Increased revenue or market share: This assumes that the buyer will be absorbing a major competitor and thus increase its market power (by capturing increased market share) to set prices. 8. Cross-selling: For example, a bank buying a stock broker could then sell its banking products to the stock brokers customers, while the broker can sign up the banks customers for brokerage accounts. Or, a manufacturer can acquire and sell complementary products. 9. Resource Transfer: Resources are unevenly distributed across firms and the interaction of target and acquiring firm resources can create value through either overcoming information asymmetry or by combining scarce resources.

Company Contract: Constitutions and Director Role

Company Contract: Constitutions and Director Role Question 1. Is the contract enforceable against Beanstalk Ltd owing to the fact that Jack did not have the capacity to enter into that kind of contract? Employees of a company have a clear mandate on their powers and this are usually spelt out in the in the articles and memorandum of association of a given company. The corporation act has come in handy to address this scenario. Section 124 dwells on the powers of the company and its legal status. Sec 124 (2) provides that a company legal capacity to do a particular thing is not affected by the fact that the company interests are not served by doing it. Section 125 of the CA is to the effect that a company constitution may have an express restriction on the way a company may exercise its powers. Suffice to note that the exercise of a power by the company is not invalid merely because it is contrary to an express restriction or prohibition in the company’s constitution. Subsection 2 is to the effect that an act done by the company is not invalid merely because it is contrary to or beyond any objects in the company’s constitution. Sec 126 is to the effect that an agent appointed by the company and he has the power to make, vary, ratify or discharge a contract. The person may be exercising express or implied authority and on behalf of the company. The power may be exercised without using a common seal. The court always takes the view that the duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company means that the directors must act in the interests of the shareholders as a collective group as illustrated in the Greenhalgh v Arderne Cinemas Ltd[1]. In addition to the above sections, section 128 entitles one to make assumptions in section129 in relation to dealings with a company. The company is not entitled to assert in proceedings in relation to the dealings that any of the assumptions are incorrect. Section 130 on the other hand is to the effect that a person is not taken to have information about a company merely because the information is available to the public from ASIC. Section 128(4) is to the effect that a person is not entitled to make an assumption in section129 if at the time of the dealings they knew or suspected that the assumption was incorrect. Section 129(b) details the presumption in section 128. Section 129(2)(b) is to the effect that one may assume that a director has authority to exercise the powers and perform the duties customarily exercised or performed by a director or company secretary of a similar company. In our case scenario Beanstalk is obligated to pay even if Jack surpassed his powers unless they can prove that Giant ltd were aware of the limitations imposed on jack and they disregarded them. The Beanstalk constitution was available in the public record and Giant ltd had an obligation of knowing and complying with the con tents Section 130 of the CA serves to address the issue of notice on the limitations imposed on the directors or agents of the company. It provides that the company cannot escape liability on the premise that the person dealing with the company should have been aware of the limitations. The two Sections just before section 130 are of the following effect: Section 128(4) is to the effect that a person is not entitled to make an assumption in section129 if at the time of the dealings they knew or suspected that the assumption was incorrect. Section 129(b) details the presumption in section 128. Section 129(2)(b) is to the effect that one may assume that a director has authority to exercise the powers and perform the duties customarily exercised or performed by a director or company secretary of a similar company. One also need to look at the organic theory which states that where the agents of the company acts within the boundary of powers conferred to them by the company constitution or replaceable rules, then they are deemed as being the company itself as was illustrated in Northside Developments Pty Ltd v Registrar-General[2]. But this may always turn out not to be true as was espoused in the case of Smorgon v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd[3], where it was observed that such an act requires the attribution of mental states to corporations Company’s legal capacity At common law the company could only enter into legal obligations only if its’ constitution so authorizes. Any part to the contract was deemed to be aware of any restrictions contained in the constitution of the company. Capacity is catered for under Corporations Act 2001. Section 124 accords the company the same legal capacity as an individual and this encompasses power to make an agreement. S 125is to the effect that performance of an act including entry into an agreement by the company will not be invalidated merely on the premise that its beyond the power of the company’s constitution. Thus Giant limited will not be stopped from staking it claims of payments merely because Beanstalk limited had made it constitution public as provided for under s125. Section 128 and 129 are to the effect that where one enters into any dealing with the company on the belief that he is dealing with the right person, then the company will have to honor its obligations. Thus despite the constitution being made public, section 129 and 130 states that the company is still bound by the acts of it officers who are duly appointed to carry out such a task. Thus beanstalk will have to prove that despite Giant ltd being aware of the limitations, they violated what was in the public domain. Question Two Pan Ltd is a company without a constitution. At a members meeting five items of business were passed as special resolutions and placed in a new constitution of the company. These were: that dividends can only be paid if they have been recommended by the directors and declared by the members; Dividends Dividends are the payments made out to shareholders when the company is a going concern and if the directors have approved such payments. They can only be paid if the company assets are sufficiently in excess of its liabilities immediately the dividend is declared and if the dividend is fair and reasonable to the company shareholders as a whole and this does not prejudice the company ability to pay its creditors. This is governed by sections 254T and 254U. (b) That the transfer of shares in the company requires the approval of the directors; Transfer of shares A shareholder in a company who wants to terminate his relationship with the company may decide to offload his shares by way of sale. The shareholder may encounter some difficulties if he wants to sell the shares to an outsider of the company. Some of the difficulties which may arise under the replaceable rules are: The directors have the discretion to refuse to transfer the shares and There might a restriction in the company constitution (if any) on shares transfers. Sections 707. Section 140(2) stipulates that a member may refuse to be bound by modifications after becoming a member if such a modification imposes or increases restrictions on the right to transfer the shares already held by the member, unless the modification is made: or (i) in connection with the company’s change from a public company to a proprietary company under Part2B.7; or (ii) to insert proportional takeover approval provisions into the company’s constitution. Thus the discretion of shares transfer lies with the directors unless a contrary intention as envisaged in section 140 (2) is adduced. that Wendy Weird be a director of the company for life; The CA doesn’t set the specific time for retirement of directors. One can only fail to serve as a director under the circumstances contemplated in Part 2D 3 of the CA. this can be removed by members through the annual general meeting, through resignation or incapacity. To this end one can be a director for life. Those directors of the company are to be appointed by Wendy Weird; A director may appoint another director under section 201 H (replaceable rule—see section135). A person can be appointed as a director with a view of the company establishing the requisite quorum for a directors meeting. Section 201J provides that the directors of a company may appoint 1 or more of themselves to the office of managing director of the company for the period, and on the terms (including as to remuneration), as the directors see fit. To this end Wendy can be appointed under the conditions envisaged in the above sections. That the directors may issue the company’s shares only with the approval of the members. Directors have the powers to issue new shares as provided for under section 254D. Before issuance of new shares of a given class, the directors of a proprietary company must offer them to the existing shareholders of that class. The directors must give the shareholders a statement setting out the terms of the offer. Question Three In order to obtain the funds necessary to expand its business Growth Ltd is to make a $M20 share issue. Advise the directors of Growth Ltd over the following matters. REQUIRED: Can the funds be raised from existing members or anyone else without a prospectus? (2 marks) There are several ways of raising funds by companies in Australia. Public companies (i.e. those with more than 50 non-employee shareholders) can raise funds from the general public by issuing securities. Private companies (ie proprietary limited companies that have no more than 50 non-employee shareholders) on the other hand can raise funds: From existing shareholders and employees of the company or a subsidiary company, and from the general public if the fundraising does not require a disclosure document. Section 708 is to the effect that any personal offers of a body of securities do not require disclosure to the investors. But this doesn’t apply to offers which might amount to indirect issue. Vital documents one is supposed to give potential investors when raising funds? As a general rule of procedure, if a public company is desirous of raising capital or offering securities for sale (for example shares or debentures) a disclosure document must be availed to the potential investors. This is document whose main purpose is to describe all regulated fundraising documents for the issue of securities (for example shares or debentures). All companies which are allowed to raise funds can use a prospectus. A company also relies on an offer information statement or a profile statement and this is informed by the type of fundraising one intends to carry out and whether the restrictions imposed by virtue of using these documents are satisfied. Offer information statements An offer information statement (OIS) has in it a lower threshold for disclosure but can only be used for fundraising up to $10 million. If the company intends to use an OIS then it is required to include a copy of an audited financial report with a balance date within the last six months. Profile statements This is a document which sets out limited key information in relation to the company and the offer. This kind of statements can only be relied upon if ASIC has approved their use. To this end a company can raise funds from without reliance on the prospectus. In summary, a disclosure document is not required when: an offer is a personal offer, and if: offers or invitations have been made to fewer than 20 persons in the previous 12 months, and the new offer will not result in more than $2 million being raised in that 12 months; Note: you must not advertise the offer when you rely on this exemption the offers are made to specified people who are presumed not to need disclosure because of their financial capacity, experience, or wholesale status; the offers are made to current holders of the securities; no money or other form of payment is payable for the securities; other disclosure regimes under the Corporations Act apply (i.e. takeovers, schemes of arrangement); The offer is made by certain types of financial institutions. Will the directors be safe from prosecution if they provide to investors in a prospectus everything they know that is relevant about the investment? (2 marks) The Corporations Act does not detail out everything that ought to be included in the prospectus. But section 710 is to the effect that a prospectus must contain all information that the investors (and their professional advisers) would reasonably require, and reasonably expect to find in the prospectus. This information should be availed so that the investors can make an informed assessment of material matters relating to the company and these do include: †¢ The assets and liabilities, financial position, profits and losses and prospects of the company. †¢ The rights attaching to the securities being offered. Some other information such as terms and conditions of the offer, disclosure of certain payments made to the directors and advisers in connection with the IPO and the expiry date of the prospectus must be contained in the prospectus. To this end the directors will be immune from prosecution as they will not have breached any requirement bestowed on them. If the company issues a prospectus and the directors then become aware that there is a false and misleading statement in it, what alternatives are available to them under the CA? (3 marks) Where a company directors have become aware of a false or misleading statement in the prospectus which has already been issued to the public, the can petition the ASIC to issue Stop Orders. Though these are the preserve of the ASIC to issue this can be sought so that the issues can be rectified on time. Stop orders: what they are and when we will issue one section 719 A stop order is an administrative mechanism that allows ASIC to prevent offers being made under a disclosure document where we believe it contains: a misleading or deceptive statement an omission of information required to be provided under the legislation, or a new circumstance has arisen since the disclosure document was lodged. Where a stop order is issued on a disclosure document, then the company is not allowed to offer, issue, sell or transfer its shares while that order is in force. An interim stop order may be sought for up to 21 days during which time the company will be accorded a hearing to put across its views to an independent delegate. It’s after the hearing that the interim stop order may be lifted or a final stop order on the disclosure document may issue. . Does the CA provide any protection for directors where funds are raised under a prospectus that contains a misleading statement? (3 marks) The liability for directors under corporation falls under section 1308, which provides inter alia that misleading misstatements amounts to a crime and such an offence, is one of strict liability. The CA offers protection to directors by availing the following defences. There are a range of defences available to potential civil and criminal liability, some of which include: †¢ The ‘due diligence defence’, that is, that the person has made all enquiries which were reasonable in the circumstances and having made these enquiries, they believed on reasonable grounds that a statement was not misleading or deceptive or that there was not a material omission from the prospectus. †¢ Where a new circumstance has arisen and it can be established that the person was not aware of the new matter. †¢ Establishing that the person reasonably relied on information provided by someone outside the company, such as a professional adviser, for statements contained in the prospectus But the director should not conceal such information when it comes to his attention. [1] [1946] 1 All ER 512 (CA) [2] (1990) 170 CLR 146 [3] [1976] HCA 53 Is Globalisation A Threat Or An Opportunity? Is Globalisation A Threat Or An Opportunity? Is globalisation a threat or an opportunity for business? The key objective for any business organisation is to maximise profit, if a manufacturing or service industry in any country is progressive in their field of practice, there maybe a need for them to invest or open other subsidiary operation in other country where there is a rising demand for their goods or services Sloma (2004). Furthermore, (Post et al, 1999:146) states that globalisation consist of assembling goods from components produced in several nations, buying of raw materials from overseas suppliers or selling finished goods or services to customers in other countries, also (BBC, 2011) defines globalisation as the involvement of the world becoming highly interconnected as a result of increased cultural and trade exchange. Therefore this essay would explain the cause/effect, opportunities and threat of globalisation on businesses. The main causes of globalization may; trade liberalisation, transportation, and communication (Bhagwati et al, 1983). In trade liberalisation, legislation reducing trade and foreign direct investment have been relaxed. Some governments offer tax incentives to persuade overseas companies to invest in their country, this maybe linked to what is known as free trade (BBC, 2011). Transportation is relatively becoming cheaper, fast and easy to access. People travel for holiday, business, migrate and emigrate from one country to another. Businesses organisations can ship goods and raw materials between countries more easily making goods and services from all over the world available to consumers. While communication, the internet, telephony and the television have paved way for free flow of information and ideas. Outsourcing is a example these, thus a businesses organisation in a country can have a call centre in another country answering calls from customers of the main country. One of the main effect of globalization is inequality, this refers to the income disparity that exist between countries across the world. It maybe argued that globalisation contributes in creating more wealth in developed countries, thus it does not help to close the gap between the worlds richest nations and the worlds poorest King King (2005:199). The internet can be viewed as an opportunity of globalization for businesses. The internet can also be seen as a gateway to participate in the game of globalization (BBC, 2010). Through the Internet, business organisations have been able to go beyond borders, to reach their end customers with their goods or services, thus this could be referred to e-commerce. Communications can be made quickly and easily to any anywhere in the world, but at the same time businesses are exposed to big competition, Holton (1998). There are millions of websites on the Internet, despite the seemingly easy participation, the reality of the Internet can be seen as oligopoly, Sloman (2004). Furthermore, with the internet playing a roll in globalization. It may be good for a business organisation to have access to anyone anywhere in the world, but it also exposes the business to competition. In the internet competition, winners are very few, which creates a big gap between the large and small business. Howev er, there are still opportunities for small business in the world of globalization. This could be; the variety of cultures, languages, social systems and customs, etc. Take the differences of language for illustrative example. Your website may not be seen by customers if it is only in English. Actually, many web pages in the Internet are written in English. However, the business should know there are many languages in the world. If a business website has a page in a different languages, their competitors may be reduced. Another key opportunity for business, is the transfer of technological advancement and knowledge in globalisation. Corsi (2000) points out that this has led to growth in innovation and better techniques of production to business. The main result of this is the growing income and appreciation of the companys economic achievement. Foreign migrants coming to work in multinational companies contribute to the knowledge of developing businesses thus which makes the business more efficient. Economic policies, management techniques and Increased knowledge about production methods present invaluable inputs in small businesses (SME) King King (2005). In globalization there are opportunities of cheap labour for business organisations, thus Jennifer (2005) argues that developing nations are encouraged to open their economies to international trade, with the aim that free trade would bring development and prosperity. Opening its economy to international trade does not translate to economic development and instant prosperity for developing countries, but rather it signifies the exposure of the developing economy to multi-national corporations and foreign direct investors, many of which seek to expand their operations in developing economies because of the cheap labour available in these economies. Growing portions of these cheap labour sources consist of women and MNCs have been accused of intentionally hiring economically and poor educated deprived women to reduce labour costs. With cheap labour a clothing company in the UK can sell a shirt for  £60 that cost less than 10 pence in labour to produce. While globalisation may be seen as an opportunity for big businesses, it can also be argued to be a threat to big and small businesses (SME). Carper (2010) argues that energy and transportation costs increases when jobs are outsourced, as big businesses revise their business strategy and produce goods overseas. Customer service often decreases as companies pay for their goods to be transported from a foreign warehouse to their before being dispatched to the customer. Call centers, are also affected by globalization, as its being flooded with clerks who do not speak fluent English. As energy use increases, domestic supply costs increase as more businesses compete for natural resources. Intergovernmental relations between two countries can have an influence on multinational corporations. For example, If two countries are are war, there will be no trade between them. Furthermore, business operations may be influenced by the political ties of host and home country governments even when there is no war. The United States and Japan have had an important, but difficult, relationship since the end of World War 2. The United States helped rebuild Japans steel, auto industries and shipbuilding , and by the 1970s Japans productivity had increased massively. It used its efficiencies to export steel, automobiles, and semi-conducts to the big U.S. Market. The United States has shifting political relations with Great Britain, China, Russia and Brazil, and many other nations. Economic relations are affected, for better or worse, by political change, and national political priorities shape business relations. The United States, for example, banned U.S. Manufacturing industries fro m selling military products to countries that government agencies believe may be a threat U.S. Security; it restricts high technology exports; and it has banned U.S. Companies from doing business dealings in Cuba (Post et al, 1999:159). Increased Competition is another main concern, as it is threat to domestic businesses. Government of developing countries are faced with this problem as they look to export more and import less to increase the countrys GDP. Globalisation threaten domestic companies as domestic businesses have to compete with foreign business organisation, they are forced to raise their customer satisfaction levels and standards in order to survive in the market. In addition, In developing countries, this is disturbing for domestic companies as they are unable to contend with foreign companies as they are too dependent on the government for funds and therefore lack competitive edge. And also, this is were the government moves in to protect small companies by creating trade barriers and imposing tariffs on imported products. Protectionism does not apply to only developing countries but also developed countries also have the highest trading restrains, Borkakoti (1998). In conclusion, it appears to the author, based on what this essay talks about to point out that globalisation can be an opportunity also a threat to large and small business. Furthermore, globalization has played a big role in the movement of goods and service, making resources available to consumer, it may be argued that globalisation has created global expansion for big business as it has paved the way for small domestic businesses to export their goods or service. However globalization has its disadvantages as well, because of its vulnerability to intergovernmental relations (in the case of war) and its opens domestic businesses to foreign competition. REFERENCES Anup, G (1997) E-commerce security : weak links, best defenses. Oxford: Wiley. BBC (2010) Globalization. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/industry/globalisation_rev1.shtml [Accessed: 14th March, 2011] Bhagwati, J. N, Panagariya, A., Srinivasan, T. N. (1983) International Trade. 2nd edn. Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Borkakoti, J (1998) International Trade. London: Macmillan Press Ltd Carper, T (2010) The Threat of Globalization. [Online] Available at: http://www.thaynecarper.com/globalization/ [Accessed: 20th March, 2011] Corsi, C (2000) Innovation and market globalization. Amsterdam: IOS Press. pp9 Holton, R. J. (1998) Globalization and the nation-state. London : Macmillan Press. Jennifer, M. (2005) The Double Edge of Globalization. Available at: http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/7/0/6/8/pages70681/p70681-1.php [Accessed: 14th March. 2011] King, P King, S (2005) International Economics and International Economic Policy. 4th edn. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill Post, J., Lawrence, A., Weber, J. (1999) Business and Society. 9th edn. Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Sloman, J. (2004) Essentials of Economics. 3rd edn. Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall

Portfolios To Assess Professional Competence And Development Nursing Essay

Portfolios To Assess Professional Competence And Development Nursing Essay Portfolios have been recommended for the assessment of professional development. To stimulate engagement and assess professional development during laboratory training, portfolio assessment was proposed for the final year BMLS and DMLT programmes in Kampala International University. Work Done The students undergoing clinical laboratory training in teaching hospitals, and engaged in routine laboratory services under supervision of qualified Medical Laboratory Scientists, composed a portfolio detailing their daily experiences, work done, and lessons learned. Their supervisors and facilitators provided daily feedback and endorsed their entries. The portfolios were examined at the end of training by faculty staff and external examiner through oral presentation and interviews. Rating rubric considered quality of presentation, portfolio content, demonstration of progressive development, and ability to make professional judgment. Students and assessors acceptance of this instrument was determined with questionnaire. Results 72 % of the students and assessors accepted the method. Many students reported that it improved commitment to training, encouraged reflection, and allowed for frequent feedback. Many believed that it was a rational assessment, but it was time consuming. 88 % of the participants would welcome it as a supplement to the standard tests. Conclusions The portfolio assessment was well accepted, rational, and provided a valid assessment of student engagement and progression during professional training. Take Home Message The inclusion of portfolio assessment in Medical Laboratory Sciences Education provided valid assessment of students engagement in training and professional development over time. Introduction The use of portfolios in health professions education has increased dramatically over the years. The enthusiastic acceptance of this principle is in part born out of the ever growing interest in outcomes based education in all divisions of health science.1 The curricula of most health sciences schools now emphasize authentic experiences, promote self direction and reflection in learning, and outcomes based assessment. Portfolios not only stimulate professional development and reflective learning, they also provide opportunity for self direction, and avenues for feedback from faculty.2, 3 Portfolios have been recommended for the assessment of professional development in medical education,4 and several reports document their successful use in assessment of competence at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.5,6 To stimulate engagement and to assess professional development during clinical laboratory training, portfolio development and assessment was proposed for the final year Bac helor of Medical Laboratory Sciences and the Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology students of the Kampala International University, Uganda in 2008. This article reports the experience of the use of portfolios to assess professional development in these programmes. Methods Institutional approval for the study was obtained from the IREC. Eighteen final year students who were undergoing clinical laboratory training in the teaching hospitals at the Kampala International University Teaching Hospital Ishaka and the Mulago Hospital in Kampala and participating in routine daily laboratory work were requested to compose and maintain a portfolio comprising details of their daily experiences, work done and lessons learnt during their training. Their supervisors and programme facilitators provided daily feedback on their work and endorsed all entries. At the end of their clinical laboratory training, the portfolios were examined by the four faculty staff and an external examiner. The students were also required to make a 15 minutes presentation based on the portfolio content, and take interview on lessons learned and overall impact of the training on their development. A rating rubric used for the assessment considered the quality of students presentation, portfo lio content, demonstration of students progressive development over time, and their ability to make professional judgment. Questionnaires were used to determine the students and raters views on the acceptability, convenience, and usefulness of this method of assessment. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Table 1: Rubric for the assessment of the students portfolios Standard met Standard not met 1 Presentation was complete in 15 minutes 2 Quality of presentation 3 Student showed progressive development over time 4 Student reflected on experiences and could make good professional judgment 5 Portfolio content was adequate 6 Overall assessment Pass Fail General comments: Results The result showed that seventy two per cent (72 %) of the students and assessors accepted the method as a valid and effective means of assessing professional competence. Many students (15 of the 18) reported that it improved their commitment to the laboratory training, and encouraged them to reflect on their daily experiences. Both faculty and students reported that it allowed for frequent feedback and more engagement in the programme. Many believed that it was a rational assessment as it captured development over time, but it was time consuming and quite tasking on both students and staff. Eighty eight per cent (88 %) were of the view that it should be a supplement and not a substitute for the standard written and practical tests. Discussion The evolution of portfolio as a tool for the assessment of professional competence and development offers several advantages over the traditional standard tests which to a large extent are reductionist and do not capture progression over time. Application of portfolio assessment in Medical Laboratory Sciences education is not widespread and only few reports are available in literature.7 This study demonstrated that portfolio development and assessment is well accepted by both staff and students in the medical laboratory sciences programme of the Kampala International University. An important aspect of medical education is the matching of assessment methods with learning mode, as assessment drives learning. Portfolio assessment aligns well with competency based education whose tenets include learner centeredness, formative feedback, developmental process, reflection, and multiple types and sources of assessment.3 This study demonstrated this clearly as it promoted student /staff engag ement in the clinical laboratory training programme, students ownership of their training, and reflective learning which are some of the advantages highlighted by similar previous reports of the use of portfolio in other programmes.8, 9 The study also showed that many of the study participants would not welcome this form of assessment as the only mode of student assessment. Rather it would be a valuable addition to the traditional methods of assessment of competence. The limitations of this study include the small sample size used for the study. It is recommended that a larger sample of students be included in a more elaborate study possibly over a longer study period. To ease the burden of assessment, using structured interview to assess the portfolio as recommended by Burch and Seggie 10 could be helpful. Conclusion: The use of portfolios to assess students progress and professional competence in Medical Laboratory Sciences is a welcome proposition. It should be used to supplement the standard written and practical tests. Its advantages include stimulation of student engagement, self direction, reflective learning, and monitoring of progress over time. It is however seen to be time consuming for the students. Its introduction extends the methods of assessment in Medical Laboratory Sciences.

Defining Good Advice :: Definition Essays

Defining Good Advice Many times, good advice will happen if a person has gone astray, then, suggestions would be made to the lost and he could either take it or leave it. Also, as Doug mentioned in discussion, is that "it may be impossible to deny information given to you." So, in this case, the advisee knows what has been said to them, and "he may not take the advice at the time", but store it for later.(Nate Hall), and because of this, good, or bad advice, in my opinion, is also in the eye of the beholder. Advice may only be used if it hasn't been heard before. For example, if someone is doing something wrong, and someone keeps telling them over and over, it may just go in one ear and out the other. This is why the advisor must find a way to leave the suggestions up the person weather they want to use it or not and they have to be ready for the information given to them.(Mike) Being the advisor takes a lot of patience and confidence. You must be able to tell truthfully to someone, something that they may not want to hear. When my friend came to me asking why her boyfriend wasn't acting the same towards her, I had to be honest and sincere to tell her the bad news. Tone of voice may also play a role in this factor. If someone says something to me in a rude tone or like I am in 5th grade, I may not take them seriously, or may even get mad. In basketball, someone might catch me doing something wrong and would like to point it out to me. If they yell at me I get frustrated and on the other hand, if they talk down on me, that makes me furious. Advice works best when the advisor should puts themselves in the other person's shoes. Sincerity is a must to make a good connection. Advice can be spoken, written, or portrayed by body language. Putting your finger up to your lips may make someone quiet for awhile, but saying, "Shut up." Would make more of an effect on them. As far as good advice in writing, I believe that many people are capable of saying many things while writing, but not always is the right idea portrayed. Sharing advice in notes, or e-mails, isn't the same as hearing it person.

Jack Welch and the GE Way Essay -- Managing Case study business Essays

Jack Welch and the GE Way   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Jack Welch was named CEO of General Electric, Welch saw a company in trouble even though the business world saw GE as an intrinsically healthy corporation, secure in its position as a world industrial leader. Welch knew that the company was too large to fail yet GE was too unwieldy to adapt for further growth. The changes he instituted restructured and revolutionized GE and made Welch the most respected CEO in business today. After reading the book there were three parts that really stood out for me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chapter 3: Cultivate managers who share your vision was the most important chapter to me. It talks about putting the right managers in the right positions. Welch says, â€Å"What we are looking for†¦are leaders†¦ who can energize, excite, and control rather than enervate, depress, and control† (p. 35). Managers in a company should bursting with energy and are able to develop and implement a vision and not just talk about those visions. They must also know how to spread enthusiasm throughout the entire company. One of the keys to being a great business leader is getting employees excited about their work. One of the ways to get employees excited about their work is to allow employees more freedom and responsibility then they have now. In order to make this happen, middle managers have to be team members and coaches. They need to facilitate more than control. Managers should be energizers and not enervators. Welch suggests that the only way to last at GE is to get on board, to become a team player, and to adapt oneself to the company’s values and culture when describing the different types of managers that will or will not succeed. The first type of manager delivers on commitments and shares the company’s values. The second type does not meet commitments and does not share the company’s values. The third type misses commitments but does share the company’s values. Welch himself cares more that a manager sticks to the company’s values than meets the numbers. The fourth type delivers on the commitments but does not subscribe to the company’s values. Welch broke these managers into three categories, type A, type B, and type C managers. Type A managers were defined as team players that subscribe to the company’s values. People trust them; they make impacts on decisions, and are leaders who seek to develop high value in other... ...h targets† (p. 170). Welch emphasizes that one should not settle for second best when you are able to achieve more. When you reach for the stars, you may fail but stretching yourself and stretching your business you are going to bring better performance results to your business. He also says to be creative, more imaginative, and more thoughtful about your business. The more you think about how to get more out of your business, the higher your stretch targets and the better off your are going to be. I think that all employers and manager should encourage their employees to reach for the stars. This will help employees realize what they are capable of doing. Managers need to help employees realize and make goals along with making sure that they meet their goals. I believe that Jack Welch and the GE Way is a great tool for any manager. He Welch helped turn a great company into an even greater company. Many of his ideas can be used in the workplace and in everyday life. His ideas are not complex or complicated to understand. It will just take time to incorporate them into your life or business. When you do, you will realize that even you life or business can be better.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

The Real Tragedy of Oedipus the King Is That of All Humanity

the real tragedy of oedipus is that of all humanity: we cannot escape our destiny. The greatest tragedy of Oedipus is that as human we cannot escape our destiny. This is shown in the play, ‘Oedipus the king’ by Sophocles. The main character, Oedipus is caught in the problem of fate and destiny. Oedipus, as the king is in a position of power. In this position he becomes quite superior and proud of himself, this becomes a tragic flaw. Ironically, many years before the play is set, Oedipus tries to escape his fate.It is ironic because in doing this he ends up running straight towards it. The play is made to make us understand that as humans we are powerless against death, and it is true that we are born to die. Firstly, in the play it is ironic that Oedipus tries to run away from his destiny but ends up running straight towards it. When he is younger he hears from a oracle that he is doomed to ‘kill is father and marry his mother’. Thinking that the oracle is r eferring to Polybus and Merope he flees towards Thebes to try to escape his ‘destiny’.It is ironic that while fleeing what he believes is his fate, he runs straight toward it. On page 205 Oedipus quotes the oracle saying, ‘you are fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see- you will kill your father, the one who gave you life! ’ Oedipus then says, ‘I heard all that and ran. I abandoned Corinth, from that day I gauged its landfall only by the stars, running, always running toward some place where I would never see the shame of all those oracle come true. This quote perfectly captures the idea of Oedipus not running away from his fate but straight towards it. The audience experiences dramatic irony in this scene as they know something that the characters do not. In the play, this is a point of mimesis for the characters, but also the audience, when they realise that Oedipus made a great fau lt, in running from Corinth. The repetitive idea of Oedipus ‘running’ from where he believes is a cursed place for him, to the place where the tragedy will unravel with paucity, is evocative and makes our pathos toward Oedipus greater.The ironic idea of Oedipus running ‘towards’ his fate rather than away, proves the point that as humans our greatest tragedy is the fact that we cannot escape our destiny. Secondly, as humans we are very proud and do not like to be taken down from the pedestal we put ourselves on. This is true also for Oedipus, where his hubris or his pride, forbids him from believing that he is the one responsible for the plague. In this way his hubris becomes his hamartia and he cannot believe it is his fault until the moment of cognizance a couple of pages later.An example of Oedipus showing his hubris is when Tiresias reveals that he is the murder and Oedipus replies with a threat, ‘that obscenity, twice, by god, you’ll payâ⠂¬â„¢. Oedipus’ pride gets in the way of him acknowledging that he is not only the protagonist but also the antagonist. He is unable to recognize the truth in Tiresias’ words. This is once again dramatic irony to the audience in which they are aware of Oedipus’ guiltiness, but he is not. Another example of his pride getting in the way, is when instead of accepting the blame he decides that Creon has planned his downfall, in a way to throw him off his throne.Oedipus says, ‘Creon! Is this his conspiracy or yours? ’, to which Tiresias replies, ‘Creon is not your downfall, no, you are your own. ’ Even after both of these occurrences, Oedipus’ hubris stops him from realising the facts. This is another reason for the fact that as humans we are unable to escape our destiny, because of the pride and superiority that we hold for ourselves In conclusion, it is true that as humans we are unable to escape our destiny.This is shown in Sophocl es famous play, ‘Oedipus the King’. First of all because even though Oedipus tries to outrun his fate, he ends up running straight towards it. This is shown from the way he flees Corinth from his supposed ‘parents’ to Thebes where his biological parents are. It is also shown in humans pride and arrogance that we hold ourselves to. This is shown in Oedipus through his ignorance to the facts. From this we are able to see that we cannot escape destiny as humans.

Argumentative Essay Essay

For many years, the importance of English has increased because it has became a very common language all over the world. Owing to this situation, there are lots of argumentative topics which are about the power of English. One of them is about the medium of instruction at Turkish universities whether it should be English or not. First of all, the definition of the English as a medium of instruction can be made. Haagen – Schà ¼tzenhà ¶fer & Mathelitsch (n.d.) explain that, â€Å"English as a Medium of Instruction is a †¦ bilingual teaching – method. The main idea of EMI is to combine the conventional instruction of content – area subjects with †¦ a foreign language is used as a ‘tool’ for communication in different subjects† (p.1). In addition to this explanation, this type of education at Turkish universities can be very beneficial for students. Therefore, the medium of instruction should be English at universities in Turkey. Opponents of this argument claim that the English as a medium of education is not beneficial for students in some cases. They argue that this type of education causes two main problems which are misunderstanding problems and economical problems. Firstly, in Turkey, there is a common belief that if the educational language is English at universities, it can lead to not understanding of the courses very well due to the departmental technical jargons. For example, in engineering department, because of the English educational language, student may have some difficulties in their technical courses. However, this view is highly debatable. In the beginning of the university education, there is an English proficiency exam which tests the students’ level of English for being appropriate to the departmental technical courses. After this exam, for students who fail this exam, there is a preparatory year and the aim of this year is to prepare students their courses and to increase their level of English. Secondly, the opponents claim that, in English medium of universities, the fee of instruction can be a problem for poor students because it is higher than the other universities’. However this idea is open to debate. For poor students, there are lots of scholarship opportunities. Governments, universities and some big companies are ready to give some scholarship to poor students for rescuing them from their economical problems. Therefore, the high fee of  instruction is not a problem for poor students. English medium universities provide some advantages to students in some areas. Firstly, they are very useful for students in the most important field which is education. When the medium of education is English at universities, students have an ability to search in foreign sources. Therefore, their search area will expand and they can use the foreign sources in their researches. According to Economy Department of Istanbul University (n.d.), the English medium of instruction has lots of benefits for students. For example, in the English medium of instruction students get the chance to access and use the worldwide resources. Furthermore, this educational style makes it possible to enhance reading and comprehension skills and writing in English (p.1). Moreover, this educational style gives to students a chance to be educated in other countries. For example, many universities have Erasmus program which is the student exchange program between different countries’ universities. To ap ply this program the most important thing is knowing English. Due to the English medium universities, students already know English. Hence they have an opportunity to apply this program and to be educated in different countries. Secondly, English medium of instruction also provides some economical advantages to students. Thanks to the English medium of education, students do not have to spend any money to learn English. For instance, according to TOMER (n.d.) which is a famous and qualified foreign language course, the cost of the specific purpose foreign language courses is 576.00 TL. In addition to this, in this language course, there are speaking classes and their cost is also 350.00 TL (p.1). If the medium of instruction is English, students do not have to pay these high costs for learning English. Therefore, it gives an economical advantage to them. Furthermore, this educational style is useful for students when they find and apply a job. In Turkey, knowing English is very important quality for applying any job. Most companies want from their applicants to know English very well. If the medium of education is English, this increases the chance of finding a good job. Not only in educational and economical field, but also in social and business life, the English medium of education at universities is useful for  students. Firstly, in social life, it gives to students some advantages. For instance, students may gain a chance to live abroad because when they graduate from English medium of universities, their level of English will become high. Therefore, they will not any language problems when they live abroad. Furthermore, it is also beneficial in social relationships. If students know English, they have an opportunity to communicate and have friendship relation with foreign people or students. Hence, their social environment can expand. For example, at METU there are many foreign students and Turkish METU students have a chance to have foreign friends and communicate with foreign people. Secondly, this educational style has some advantages in business life. For instance, to work for international companies, English is very important because it is the common language in the world. If the graduates know their subjects in English very well, they automatically have a chance to work in these companies. Therefore, being a graduate from English medium of universities is a very significant advantage for students. Moreover, it gives to students an opportunity to have business life in foreign countries. For instance, lots of METU graduates maintain their business life in foreign countries. Being a graduate from METU whose educational language is English gives them to this chance. All in all, in Turkey, if the educational language is English at universities, students gain lots of benefits from it. These are about their education, economy, social, and business life. When these benefits are thought and examined carefully, the importance of English for students can be obviously seen. Because English is the today’s global language and it gives lots of advantages to students, the medium of instruction should be English at universities. REFERENCES Bà ¶là ¼mler: Ä °ngilizce Ä °ktisat: TanÄ ±tÄ ±m. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/iktisat/bolumler.php Course fees. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tomer.ankara.edu.tr/english/index.html# Haagen-Schà ¼tzenhà ¶fer, C. & Mathelitsch, L. (n.d.). English as a medium of instruction in science-teaching. Retrieved from http://www.fisica.uniud.it/girepseminar2001/CS06/HAAGEN_03_FINAL.pdf

Best Buy

1. The key factors that lead to Best Buy's success include: Growth in the consumer electronics retail sector and the internet boom: Constant growth in the demand for consumer electronics has grown over the previous decades which has supported Best Buy's successful turnout into the top consumer electronics store. The internet also played a significant role in increasing the sales of Best Buy as it had already ramped up its computer product offerings prior to 1995.The internet boom positively affected the consumer electronics industry in general. Knowledgeable sales staff: Best Buy's salespeople did not work on commission which helped creating a low pressure shopping experience for the customers and built a consumer friendly environment. This also lead Best Buy to attract a well read sales force which would guide the customers to make the choices more customized to themselves and helped the buyers in decision making.Also merchandise was arranged by brand name instead of by price range. Both of these were unusual practices in the superstore industry but worked well for Best Buy. Focus on customer service (Geek Squad): Best Buy's belief in offering outstanding customer service through product warranties, personal services and at-home delivery helped Best Buy to differentiate itself from other competitors in the space. This also helped Best Buy in gaining trust and building a strong customer base.Acquisition of the Geek Squad to service computers 24Ãâ€"7 differentiated Best Buy as an excellent product and service provider. Customer-Centricity: Target market segmentation by Best Buy's Customer-Centric approach and extensive research and analysis of its customer base helps Best Buy in configuring its stores and training its work force to cater to the individual needs of its market segments which encourages customers to revisit for multiple purchases.Also the approach to customize the store at times in terms of some local requirements helps Best Buy in increasing its sales significantly. Risks going forward include increased competition from other retailers and wholesalers like Wal-Mart , Costco, Target etc who also have a very strong distribution network and customer base. Best Buy has to decide whether to spend money on its sales force and customization strategies or to compete in terms of price with these other retailers especially in this low margin growing industry.Best Buy also has to decide to enhance its online sales and product offerings in order to compete with the like of Amazon and Ebay in the online electronic sales market which is growing rapidly. Stores like Wal-Mart are growing tremendously fast in the retail segment and Best Buy has to compete with them in terms of opening new retail outlets as well. Another important risk Best Buy faces is investing in the international markets looking at the current economic scenario or to maintain strong hold in the local US market. . Looking forward Best Buy can compete against Wal-Mart and online companies in the following ways: Continuing to differentiate itself as an excellent customer oriented business Best Buy offers the latest technologies at its stores and to attract and hold customers who are technology savvy it is essential for Best Buy to dwell on its approach of customer service because in the space of advanced technology, nothing can replace the in store experience of actually interacting with knowledgeable salespersons.Developing the online product offerings: Best Buy must also focus a little more on its online business in order to avoid being overtaken by Amazon and Ebay which are growing their business extensively. In order to keep up to its customer oriented approach, Best Buy must offer more detailed view of its product offerings than any other online competitor. It must increase its online product offering to a wider range and variety of products to grow in the online segment. Increase international presence:At the moment, Best Buy is majorly dependen t on the local US market. The international markets are growing fast and competitors like Wal-Mart are growing their business wide, therefore Best Buy must increase its international presence quickly to avoid losing out to its competitors in the international markets and also in order to hedge the risk of being completely dependent on the US market. Also labor expenses being less in a number of international markets, Best Buy can afford to maintain its excellent customer service and enhance its brand value.SWOT Analysis for reference: Internal| Strengths| Weaknesses| 1. Strong market presence 2. Knowledgeable workforce 3. High quality technical support service 4. Strong financial performance 5. Financial resources to spend money on advertising ; promotion, introducing new products. 6. Increased market share and strong brand presence. | 1. Low margins 2. High dependence on local (U. S) market. 3. High costs of maintaining stores and employees. | External| Opportunities| Threats| . Gr owing global computer and electronics retail sector 2. Customer centric operating model 3. Expansion in the international consumer electronics retail market. 4. Strong private brand potential. 5. Failure of competitors like Circuit City ; CompUSA has opened gates to improve market share. 6. Online sales| 1. Rising competition from lower price outlets like Wal-Mart and Costco. 2. Online competitors like Amazon, Ebay. 3. Economic slowdown 4. Rising labor wages|

An Enigma; the Sleeper; a Raven: Edgar “Allan” Poe

Dark, depressing, morbid, or simply unusual†¦ a single name can bind all these words together. That name belongs to Edgar Allan Poe. For English students, scholars around the world, and the common dark, poetic romanticist, that name means a lot more. â€Å"Poe† is an icon, a person that the aforementioned people aspire to, or just a mysterious person whom will never be understood past his death. The name â€Å"Poe† to these people refers to a disturbing poet, a previously run-down short story writer, a hated critic, and an unappreciated author of several volumes of novels.If someone mentions â€Å"Poe†, they would immediately think of Edgar Allan Poe. As mentioned before, Poe was a very mysterious person whom many researchers still try to figure out to this day. The reason to his eerie works is thought to be due to the numerous failures and losses he’s faced in his lifetime. Whether it was because of innumerable losses, inopportune death, or if he was just simply ill in the head, Edgar Allan Poe did a great deal for scholars around the world, and English literature today. On January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins gave birth to a healthy boy; his father, David Poe Jr. ave him his name Edgar Poe after himself. However, the young Edgar was only together with his biological parents for a short time, as they broke up in 1810 due to David Poe leaving the family (Edgar Allan Poe Biography). A year after, his mother died from pulmonary tuberculosis, a bacterial infection within the lungs. A few days after his mother’s death, Edgar was informed of his father’s sudden death from an unknown cause. After going through these inopportune deaths, toddler Edgar was adopted unofficially by Frances and John Allan, a couple of wealthy merchants in Richmond, Virginia.In 1815, the awkward family moved to England, and Edgar was schooled at Chelsea (Edgar Allan Poe Biography). There in England, Edgar was first introduced to gothic fiction. At the time, gothic fiction was slowly declining in popularity as a favorable literature genre, being replaced throughout the years by historical romance with works from authors such as, Sir Walter Scott. However, the casual reader and many literature critics now think that they had severely overlooked many should-be famous works and that gothic fiction had just begun to mature into its most creative period (Gothic fiction).From 1816 to 1820, Poe often moved between schools across England and lived with his adoptive family, even shortly after his registration documents have been collected. In 1826, Poe was given a sizeable sum of money from his foster father and was schooled at the University of Virginia. Though he was academically superior, Poe was removed of his registration after merely three semesters due to unpaid debts from his drinking binges and gambling (Polito). In 1827, Poe enlisted in the U. S. Army under the name â€Å"Edgar A. Perry† and published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, from the pay he received there.However, it received little attention and received no critiques (Quinn 129). While serving in the military, Poe’s foster mother, Frances Allan, died. After only serving two years in his enlisted five in the U. S. Army, Poe was discharged after serving only two of five of his enlisted years and visited Richmond the day after her burial. Soon after, he moved to his aunt’s home in Baltimore and stayed there with her children (Polito). In December 1829, Poe wrote yet another book, Al Araaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems. This book was also unrecognized (Quinn 165).Poe enlisted into West Point Academy in March 1830, but stood for merely half a year. He dismissed himself through an intentional court martial in February 1831, but released a third collection of poems, simply titled Poems. The volume was dedicated as thank you to many cadets at West Point for helping fund 75 cents e ach for the publication of his book (Quinn 174-176). Soon after leaving the military, Poe started in his publishing career. In 1835, he became an editor and critic for the Richmond newspaper, Southern Literary Messenger.He brought 12-year old cousin Virginia Clemm, whom he married in 1836, and his aunt along with him (Edgar Allan Poe). His popularity as a writer began to grow over the ten years spent as an assistant editor for the Messenger. Poe is known for editing literary journals such as Philadelphia-based Gentleman’s Magazine, Graham’s Magazine, and New York-based Broadway Journal (Polito). Though receiving a tremendous work load, Poe was financially unstable, yet he was able to continue writing and his works garnered praise and built his reputation even further (Edgar Allan Poe).During this time, Poe had published some of his most well-known works such as â€Å"The Raven†, â€Å"The Tale Tell Heart†, and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† (Polito). In 1842, Poe’s wife, Virginia Clemm showed symptoms of tuberculosis. Under stress from his wife’s ailment, Poe was induced with heavy drinking and extreme depression. When Broadway Journal disbanded in 1846, Poe and his wife relocated to The Bronx, New York, where Virginia soon died on January 30, 1847 (Edgar Allan Poe Biography). Poe’s demise is still mysterious and under conjecture even to this day.The only thing known about his death is that he was found on the streets of Baltimore in early October of 1949, delirious, and in a drunken rage. He received treatment at Washington College Hospital on the third, but died merely four days later. Edgar’s last words were, â€Å"God help my poor soul! † (Quinn 639-640) Edgar Allan Poe’s literary prowess and works left a memorable impact on English literature, specifically in the detective fiction and horror genres (Polito). Poe is credited for â€Å"crafting† the modern short story . Art for art’s sake† came from the editor Poe, stemming from his vigilance in critiquing the style and structure of literary works placed in front of him (Polito). His works were recognized internationally, where even Charles Baudclaire had begun to translate Poe’s works into French, which is why the French culture holds a place for Edgar Allan Poe. He was certainly one of the first American authors to have become more honored and known in Europe, than in the United States where he settled (Edgar Allan Poe Biography). The beloved book character, C.Auguste Dupin from Poe’s early detective fiction works such as â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue† became the character model of future fictitious detectives. As quoted by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, â€Å"Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed†¦ Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it? † (Long) To this day, Poeà ¢â‚¬â„¢s works are still introduced in modern classrooms. Not because his writing is famous, but because his writing points something new out to every reader. Though famous for writing foreboding, depressing, or lain confusing, he’s always published numerous works depicting hope, passion, and happiness (Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore) Edgar Allan Poe’s mastery of technique and poetic diction appeals to every one of his readers. Every time someone reads Poe’s works, the reader is able to immerse themselves in his stories, and they leave, learning something new about them, something they had never known before. Works Cited Long, Karen R. â€Å"On Eve of 200th Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe Still Chills Leaders. † The Plain Dealer. 18 Jan. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. ;http://www. leveland. com/books/index. ssf/2009/01/on_eve_of_200th_birthday_edgar. html; â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore – General Topics – Edgar Allan Poe’s Endu ring Fame. † Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore – The Life and Writings of Edgar Allan Poe. N. p. , n. d. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. ;http://www. eapoe. org/geninfo/poesfame. htm; â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe Biography. † Encyclop? dia Britannica, Inc. Bio. com. A;E Networks Television. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. ;http://www. biography. com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160; â€Å"Gothic fiction. † New World Encyclopedia, . 9 Aug. 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. ;http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/p/index. php? title=Gothic_fiction;oldid=794623; â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe. † Mystery Net. com: Online mysteries, mystery games, mystery books. N. p. , n. d. Web. 21 Feb. 2012 ;http://www. mysterynet. com/edgar-allan-poe/; Polito, Robert. â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe- Poets. org – Poetry, Poems, Bios ; More. † Poets. org – Poetry, Poems, Bios ; More. N. p. , n. d. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe, a critical biography, . New York: D. Appleton-Century Co. , 1941. Print