Living Home vs Living Away Home

Have you ever think on living away home? Or you prefer to live at home with your family? A lot of people, mainly students, have this question in mind. But to answer it is better to made a balance between what you will find living away and what you have living at home; but it is a difficult task because you will find a lot of differences and similarities in both situations. One obvious difference is food. Food is a minimal basis to have into consideration in our life.At home, well, you will probably were with your parent's so they know where they can buy the cheaper and better food; whereas, if you live on your own away from home, you don ‘t anyone who could go to buy food at the right place or even, to advise you where to go to buy. In home you can also have your parent's who cook instead of you and they also are the ones paying the food; on the contrary, living away meaner to learn how to cook and to pay your groceries. Other areas of difference between live at home and living away home involves money and rent.When you are at your parent's' house don t have to centered in saving big sums of money because the only things in what you are going to spend your money on is in your yens because you don ‘t have to pay any rent or any kind of expenses: you don ‘t have to pay community expenses, trash service, health insurance†¦ Because these expenses are in charge of your parent's; in comparison, living away on your own you have to pay a rent and all kind of living expenses such as community charges, health insurance, social security expenses, and all of this sort of expenses for which you must to save a big sum of money to pay them.Another important difference is the state of freedom. At home you are always bound to the rules that your parent's established and they, most of the time, are going to pay attention to you trying to know what you are doing, telling you how things must be doing under their rules because you are under the same roof as t hem; therefore, living away from home you can established your own rules and can do mostly anything you want to do.In spite of these differences, these two apparently opposite situations share several important experiences. Living at home and living away from home are alike in their comparability when you arrive after a day working or even studying and need a nap or even to relax yourself seeing the TV, reading, listening to music, gaming†¦ People and meet with your friends to go to the cinema or going shopping. Also, you will have shops around your home that let you buy things you need.Living at home can be compared to living away from home in the possibility of paving a room of your own where you can relax, study or stay with your friends seeing films, playing some game or chatting. There is not such a huge rift between living at home and living away from home, both situations has its good things and its bad things. Probably people think that it is more secured living at home because it is a place that they know and don ‘t want to risk themselves going to a place that can be good or bad for them. But there is no much difference between the two situations.

Business †Accounting Essay

In the file ACC 561 Week 3 Discussion Question 1 you will find right answers on the following task: â€Å"Select a costing method: process, job, or activity based. Describe the nature of your chosen method. What types of organizations should choose that method? How is this method different from the costing methods you did not choose? Use your selected costing method to create a real-life business management scenario that includes realistic numbers. What management decisions may one make based on your scenario?† Business – Accounting Alternative Costing Methods The text presents job and processing costing systems as virtual â€Å"polar extremes,† there are many situations where it may be best for a company to use a hybrid system that combines attributes of both systems. Describe such a situation and discuss how the hybrid system may be better than either pure job or pure process systems. Think Twice Assume you own a business that makes two complementary products for which you allocated manufacturing overhead proportionally. A competitor is trying to undercut your price for one of the products. How might ABC costing help you better compete with this pending threat? Activity Base Costing- How do managers cost products or services using ABC systems? When should managers consider using an ABC costing system? How should they decide to adopt this method? Alternative Costing Methods I would like you all to select a costing method: process, job, or activity  based. Describe the nature of your chosen method. What types of organizations should choose that method? How is this method different from the costing methods you did not choose? I have implemented a job costing system in my company. If you were my corporate controller, how would you implement a job-costing system? Why is process costing a better costing method for cert†¦ Follow the link to get tutorial – https://bitly.com/12BiSuQ College is a great time for young people to find themselves and to really find out what they are made of. However, there is a lot to learn. Some students only really become comfortable at college when it’s about time to leave! Don’t let that be you. Here are some great college tips. Business – Accounting Alternative Costing Methods The text presents job and processing costing systems as virtual â€Å"polar extremes,† there are many situations where it may be best for a company to use a hybrid system that combines attributes of both systems. Describe such a situation and discuss how the hybrid system may be better than either pure job or pure process systems. Think Twice Assume you own a business that makes two complementary products for which you allocated manufacturing overhead proportionally. A competitor is trying to undercut your price for one of the products. How might ABC costing help you better compete with this pending threat? Activity Base Costing- How do managers cost products or services using ABC systems? When should managers consider using an ABC costing system? How should they decide to adopt this method? Alternative Costing Methods I would like you all to select a costing method: process, job, or activity based. Describe the nature of your chosen method. What types of organizations should choose that method? How is this method different from the costing methods you did not choose? I have implemented a job costing system in my company. If you were my corporate controller, how would you implement a job-costing system? Why is process costing a better costing method for certain industries? What would happen if they used a job costing system? Can we explain three major source documents and how they are used in job costing systems? Why are these source documents needed?

Steve Jobs Informative

Outline for Informative Speech Topic: Steve JobsGeneral Purpose: To Inform SpecificPurpose: To inform my audience about the life of Steve Jobs Thesis: Technology would never be the same ever since the arrival of the great Steve Jobs. * Introduction Attention Getter: In 1984 the first cd play or â€Å"Walk-man† was released. The first laptop came out in 1982 and cost a mere $8,150 which comes out to $19,630 today. In 2001 the first smartphone was released. All of these devices since have been outdated and updated. And the company that runs them all is Apple Co.And Apple would not be where it is if not for the mastermind behind it all, Steve Jobs Significance: Almost everyone, everywhere either own or have owned an IPod, IPhone, or Macbook.Credibility: According to CNN. net â€Å"Apple IPhone controls half of the web traffic produced by all smartphones. † And according to Amazon. com 4/10 laptops sold are Macbooks. Thesis: Steve Jobs has changed the technology world and t he way that the world uses technology. Preview: Specifically I will talk about Jobs upbringing, how apple got started, and what they did to become a powerhouse in technology. Transition: The reason Steve Jobs named it apple was because he used to work for Atari and Apple got in the phone book before it.BodyTo first understand the genius that is Steve Jobs we have to look at his upbringing and his past. According to biography. com Steve Jobs was born Steve Paul in San Francisco, California on February 24th, 1955 Steve Jobs was adopted almost right after birth by Clara and Paul Jobs. While at a young age Jobs showed an interest in technology mainly because his family moved to Los Altos, California.And in Los Altos was Hewitt-Packard one of the biggest technology companies of the time. While young Steve and Paul would work on electronics in the garage. Paul taught Steve how to take apart and reconstruct them, a hobby that would inspire jobs to his dream. While Jobs was always a thinker , he had a difficult time in school. His Fourth grade teacher even had to bribe him to focus However he tested so well the school board wanted to bump him to high school but his parents declined * Transition: Jobs didn’t start his own company alone nor was it a success right away.Body 2In 1971 Jobs enrolled at Homestead High School Not long after that did he was introduced to his future partner in business Steve Wozniak through a friend. Wozniak was attending University of Michigan when they met. Wozniak once said in an interview with ABC News â€Å"We both loved electronics and the way we used to hook up digital chips,† Wozniak said. â€Å"Very few people, especially back then had any idea what chips were, how they worked and what they could do. I had designed many computers so I was way ahead of him in electronics and computer design, but we still had common interests.We both had pretty much sort of an independent attitude about things in the world. † After Hi gh School Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Oregon Lacking focus and direction Jobs dropped out after only 6 months but still continued to go to some Art classes Jobs then took a game testing job for Atari in 1974 He left after 7 months to go to India to find spiritual enlightenment in India While he did this he experimented with psychogenic drugs and traveled the world. In 1976, when Jobs was just 21 he and Wozniak started Apple Computers They started the company out of Jobs parents garageThey funded Apple by Jobs selling his car and Wozniak selling his scientific calculator * Transition: From this point Apple would excel and grow in fameBody 3Jobs and Wozniak were credited with revolutionizing the computer industry They did this by making the computer smaller, cheaper, and available to an everyday consumer. They first came out with the Apple I The computer first listed at $700. 00 a piece It made the company $774,000 3 years after the release of Apple II their sales increase 700% T his made Apple worth $139 million. In 1980, Apple became a publically traded company with a value of $1. billion on the first day of trade. After this, Apple would come out with a couple of failures and lose popularity to IBM CO. The Apple board began to think Jobs was hurting apple and phased him out * Transition: Jobs was not always an Apple man, but opened multiple Big named companies we all know about.Body 4In 1985, Jobs stepped down as Apple’s CEO to begin a new hardware and software company called NeXT Inc. The next following years NeXT grew and Jobs bought out an animation studio called Pixar. Jobs had high faith in Pixar so he invested $50 million of his own money in it.Pixar released very popular movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles Pixar’s films netted $4 billion In 2006 the studio merged with Walt Disney, making Steve Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder. Apple then bought out NeXT in 1997 for $429 million That same year Jobs retur ned to his post as Apple’s CEO Jobs then put apple back on top With a new management team and altered stock options and only taking an annual salary of $1 Also coming out with new devices, marketing techniques, and cool looking designs he recaptured the world’s attention.Conclusion After all this commotion, going from top, to bottom, back on top Steve Jobs has marked his name in history for many companies and big time in the technology industry. Sadly on October 5, 2011 Apple Inc. announced that co-founder Steve Jobs had died at the age of 56 of pancreatic cancer. Even though Jobs is gone his legacy will live on. I have now attempted to tell you on who Steve Jobs was growing up, on how Apple was created, how it became successful, and how Steve Jobs was the mastermind behind it all.

The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance write a a comparison of two Research Paper

The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance write a a comparison of two characters in the play - Research Paper Example Merrick wanted to be normal as well. However, Merrick learns that modern medicine could not help Merrick. Thus on his return to London, Merrick is put into a hospital. By not curing Merrick, Dr. Treves realizes that perfection might not be what he had previously defined. Merrick wants to be normal, since he is considered a freak by the world. After finding out that he was not ever going to be normal, Merrick takes solace in the church and female friends. Although he wants a mistress, even his female friend must refuse. His disappointments in life are always challenged with graceful wit. As a result, Merrick finds that he has every normal human emotion available. Dr. Treves and Joseph Merrick do not reach their goals, but learn to live with the life given them. Merrick figures this out sooner than Dr. Treves. The doctor does not realize how much he is like Merrick until Merrick’s death. While Merrick had hours and hours to meditate on his life, Dr. Treves did not start thinking about his life until Merrick dies. Only then does Dr. Treves realize that he was just as crippled as Merrick. The only difference was Merrick had a physical deformity, whereas Dr. Treves had a mental deformity. Dr. Treves leaves the play with a better understanding of life through

Ethical Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical Sustainability - Essay Example Applied ethics attempts to analyze and recommend morally correct strategies for addressing issues in a practical manner. Environmental ethics is a branch of applied ethics which is mostly concerned about the entire ecosystem and the relationship between humans and the natural environment. The concept gained traction in the west by works of Henry David Thoreau and John Muir, who raised concerns about the value of non human nature. However, Aldo Leopold’s essay The Land Ethic published in 1949 is generally considered as the key turning point in the field of environmental ethics. As an academic discipline, environmental ethics surfaced only after the early 1970s when the effects of industrial revolution on the natural environment were widely witnessed by ecological researchers. Environmental ethics includes anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric (bio-centric or eco-centric) schools of thought. The former is human-centered, considering only human species as of primary concern, wh ereas the later focuses on other aspects and components of nature as well (Kibert et al., 2012). The contemporary industrial consumer societies hold planetary worldview (anthropocentric) which asserts that as humans are the keystone species, they have the right to exploit natural resources to maximize their own benefit. Other species and natural components are valuable according to their usefulness to us. This world view is quite widely accepted due to the advancement in the human living standards after rapid industrial development since 1970s. The eco-centric worldview focuses on conservation of natural resources and ecosystems so that they are sustainable for humans as well as all forms of life. Major global challenges related to the environmental degradation such as biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems, natural resource depletion due to population growth, pollution and global warming due to climate change are all considered essentially ethical problems under this w orldview. Eco-centric approaches emphasize that human race as a keystone species have ethical and moral obligations and responsibilities towards protecting the environment. This paper attempts to identify and examine an environmental ethical challenge such as global warming due to climate change and explore its consequences in the light of eco-centric school of thought. The paper will also suggest various strategies for resolving the issue. The Issue One of the most important global challenge posing threats to human race in the 21st century is global warming. Anthropogenic activities such as rapid deforestation, uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels and emissions from vehicles have led to a substantial increase in pre-existing levels of green house gases, particularly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. These gases are responsible for entrapment of solar radiation of specific wavelength to keep the earth warm, a phenomenon called green house effect. The tem perature can decline to as low as -18 Celsius in absence of these gases making the environmental conditions unfavorable for all life forms to even exist. However, the huge anthropogenic inputs in these gases since the industrial revolution have escalated green house effect causing rapid warming of the earth. Scientist have predicted that rise in temperatures overtime could result in rise of sea level reducing land cover, and trigger extreme climatic events such as floods, storms and droughts. In addition, a number of species are at the risk of extinction due to intolerable temperature extremes. Researchers studying past climates have revealed that humans have raised such levels of pollution in a single century, which are comparable to natural

Assessing Brilliance in Innovation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Assessing Brilliance in Innovation - Case Study Example It would be within the next year that Enron would begin to go through some major financial difficulties. It will be argued here that the basic tenets of a successful company require three key aspects: profit; sustainability of innovation; and good leadership. First, one should begin with a short history of Enron. In the case of the Houston-based Enron Corporation, a multi-billion dollar institution encountered a crisis situation. The denial of top corporate executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling led to Enron making excuses such as blaming Arthur Andersen, its accounting firm, for its failure. An integral part of understanding Enron's demise comes from learning a little bit about the company and how it grew over the years to its existing status. Houston Natural Gas merged with InterNorth, in July 1985, to form the Enron Corporation. Over the next fifteen years, Enron expanded rapidly, establishing many new businesses worldwide. The first sign of an innovative corporation is that it shows a profit. In about fifteen years, Enron grew from nothing to being America's seventh largest company. Enron employed over 21,000 individuals in more than forty countries. Enron's executives transformed this company, without actually building a company that made significant business profits. By doing this, Enron executives could exaggerate the company's cash flow. To create these profits, Enron's executives also used many accounting procedures that seemed to confuse watchdogs-and, to make themselves look better, they blindsided everyone who thought that Enron was on top of the world, by creating hundreds of fake companies. To prevent anyone from seeing any loss from Enron, they would transfer their debt to the fake companies. By doing this, Enron's debt would seem a lot smaller than they actually were. Like many large companies, Enron had its good and its bad side. In 2002 Enron's bad side was exposed to the nation. So the question is raised, what did Enron make' Enron didn't really make anything. Enron acted as the "middleman" in large natural gas and electricity deals. Enron always admitted it was hard to define their "business" in one sentence, but they finally came up with an explanation that they make commodity markets so that they could deliver physical commodities to their customers at a predictable price. Enron seemed to have trapped employees that worked with the company. The employees were forced to put their pension money into the Enron stock, which was overvalued. The employees at Enron were just doing their jobs, and in fact should not be held to blame. "Such high turnover [at the top of corporations such as Enron] suggests that the real problem isn't a lack of innovation-it's sustained innovation."1 Although many of the future business people attend curriculums that require business law classes, the Enron scandal has proven that corporate corruption is alive and well. Also, the company proved that it could not sustain its innovation over time, because its biggest innovation, mark-to-marketing accounting, was a fraudulent innovation. It was brilliant, in the sense that profits could be estimated and then banked upon, but it was also an illegal practice to put profits on the books that were not truly there. In addition, Enron

Symposium and Phaedo determine why Socrates is spared the tragic fate Essay

Symposium and Phaedo determine why Socrates is spared the tragic fate of many old Greek heroes - Essay Example In his analysis, Socrates seeks the interpretation of love from Diotima, a priest of Zeus. Socrates gives the genesis of love, which emanates from Resource and Poverty. To him, Resource is the father of Love and Poverty is the mother of Love. Socrates further argues that Love has many dimensions, it can be patient, harsh, beggarly or deceptive and, therefore, it balances itself into these virtues depending on the situation at hand (Conford, 56). Socrates further argues that people have the desire to procreate, physically and mentally, and for them to bring forth children of high intellect; they have to become philosophers as this will ensure the immortality of their children. This analysis of Socrates in the Symposium makes him a Great Greek hero. Phaedo depicts the death of Socrates; just as Symposium, it is a work by Plato. It analyzes the beliefs of Socrates just before being executed by the Athenian courts for not believing in the Athenian gods (Conford, 32). This analysis by Plato emanates from Phaedo, a student of Socrates. The analysis of Phaedo represents Socrates as a great Greek hero because of his philosophical views of death. Socrates introduces the Greeks into the notion of life after death, arguing of the immortality of the soul. He gives four reasons as such: The third argument is on the fact that visible, mortal and real thins are not the same as invisible, immortal and unreal. The Soul is invisible, therefore, cannot pass the same process as the body which is physical. In conclusion, Socrates compared to Achilles, is greater. Achilles was a warrior but did not embrace wisdom and knowledge whereas Jason is depicted as loving power. Jason and Achilles were warriors who pursued their goals through violent means while Socrates pursed solutions to his problems by searching on wisdom. To Greeks, knowledge is more beneficial that courage or even power, because

The hazards of taking children out to eat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The hazards of taking children out to eat - Essay Example i. The attendant brought a bowl of cold water for Nathan to dip his hands. B. My eleven months old daughter Tracy accidently put her hand dipped in a traditional Indian concoction made of green chilies and mint leaves into her mouth. i. The attendant stood by as I washed Tracy’s mouth and gave her a spoon of sugar to help her settle down. III. This experience has taught me to be on guard and careful when going out with children especially toddlers. I also learnt to plan ahead and book seats and high chair for babies before hand. Eating out with children can be a challenging experience. As a parent I have always found it difficult to balance the demands at work and that of the family. I had just finished a major project at work that took a considerable amount of time and energy; so I thought of taking my children out for dinner during the weekend. I thought that this would be a wonderful time to relax and unwind and also spend some quality time with my children. What I didnâ₠¬â„¢t realize was that this experience would make me more aware and alert of the various hazards that one can experience while taking their children out to eat. New situations always make me a bit nervous, and this trip to the newly opened Indian restaurant was no exception.

Fundamental Duties of Nurses Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fundamental Duties of Nurses - Assignment Example Nurses are charged with the duty of assisting the physician to ensure that the welfare of all patients are well taken care of and maintained in the right manner. They bear the responsibility for ensuring that proper care is provided to the patients without any prejudice or any iota of influence that may lead to the jeopardy of the lies of the patience. Life of a person is of great importance and is protected by the constitution. As such, nurses are required to uphold and take good care of the lives of all patients under their care without any fear or favor. To be able to execute their duties as expected, nurses are required to swear a Hippocratic Oath; the Florence Nightingale Pledge (American Nurses Association, 2015). At least with this first swearing to God, it is expected that nurses will always remember whenever they are about to commit any mischievous act that they need to respect and uphold the covenant they made with God. During the taking of this oath, nurses promise faithfulness in their profession and promise to keep their lives pure from all the bad deals or activities that could act against promoting healthy living of the patients. This oath ensures that a nurse reflects on such words and refrain from acting contrary to the expected as they perform their duties (Lyons, 2013). As such, it influences the decision making of the nurses positively and keep them on the right course whenever they are faced with tempting moments to act unethically.

Balanced Scorecard and Its Application to Not-For-Profit Organisations Essay

Balanced Scorecard and Its Application to Not-For-Profit Organisations - Essay Example These measures form the framework for the implementation of the strategy. BSC obtained its name from the attempt to balance both financial and nonfinancial performance measures. While traditional approaches to strategy focused on the financial aspect of the business the balanced scorecard looks at both the financial and non-financial aspects of the organisation. Finkler (2010, p. 299) indicates that the balance scorecard approach monitors how well the organisation is achieving its goals based on four critical perspectives: financial perspective; customer perspective; internal business perspective; and learning and growth perspective. Olve and Sjostrand (2006, p. 1) indicates that a good scorecard documents a strategic logic which represents a cause and effect relationship between current activities and long-term performance. Critical Evaluation of the Balanced Scorecard and its Development The concept of a balanced scorecard can be traced to various sources including Peter Druckerâ⠂¬â„¢s â€Å"management by objectives† (Balanced Scorecard Review n.db). It has evolved from being a performance management tool in 1992 to being a strategic performance management system in 1996 (Balanced Scorecard Review n.da). ... In 2010 it developed a new emphasis in order to facilitate closer integration with organisational systems and capabilities such as Enterprise Risk Management. This development has indeed resulted in an increase in its scope to make it more applicable to all organisations including not-for-profit organisations. However, it has been criticised for not having a perspective relating to the environment/impact on the society (Drury 2009). With the impact of climate change, customers are increasingly becoming environmentally aware. Additionally, environmental groups have sought to discourage support of companies that operate in flagrant disregard to the environment. This can lead to a reduction in revenues which organisations seek to protect. Companies that Have Implemented the Balanced Scorecard Model BSC is applicable to all types of organisations. It has been applied successfully to both not-for-profit and profit organisations. Horngren et al (2011) uses a cause-and-effect relationship t o illustrate how Chipset Inc used BSC approach to grow its customer base and its revenues. The company achieved its goals by focusing on key objectives in each of the four dimensions of its scorecard. In the financial perspective Chipset increased income and shareholder value by managing cost and unused capacity; and building strong customer relationships. From the customer perspective Chipset’s increased market share and customer satisfaction was obtained by identifying customers’ future needs and identifying new target-customer segments. In terms of Chipset’s internal business process perspective they improved service response time; manufacturing productivity and quality; reduced delivery time, improved processes and improved manufacturing capability. This was done

Impact of Minimum Wage on Unemployement Essay Example for Free

Impact of Minimum Wage on Unemployement Essay â€Å"We cannot unambiguously conclude that a minimum wage increase will increase unemployment levels†. Discuss. The essay is outline as follows. Firstly, I would define some of the key terms. Secondly, I would outline the reasons for the statement. Lastly, I would provide the concluding remarks. Unemployment is when those members of the labour force who are willing and able to work cannot find a job. Minimum Wage In a perfectly competitive labour market, the equilibrium wage should be W1, where labour supply = labour demand. Wages are artificially altered when the price floor is imposed. An increase in the wage rate encourages the economically inactive to enter the labour market, causing an expansion in the supply of labour. The minimum wage raises the marginal cost of employing workers, thereby causing a contraction of labour demand. From an excess supply of labour, only the workers who are skilled will be employed. The least skilled, thus least productive will be priced out of the market leaving them involuntarily unemployed. The change in employment levels is the product of the elasticity of labour demand multiplied by the proportional rise in the wage. Any increase in the minimum wage will be passed on to consumer prices. If demand for the product is inelastic, the increased price will not effect consumption of the good to a great extent. So employment rates would remain relatively the same. The opposite effect would happen for elastic good. If labour costs make up a small proportion of total costs, then any increases in the wage rate would have little effect on employment, as total costs would have only increased by a small amount. Where labour and supply are both inelastic, employment costs are minimised. If they are both elastic, more jobs are lost. Although according to classical theories, the reason that minimum wage increase will increase unemployment levels is because minimum wage would increase the cost of labour, which lead to an increase in the cost of  production of the firm. Firms would have cut human resources (labour) in order for the firms to control their cost of production. As a result it would leads to a increase in unemployment rate. But in reality, it work differently. In fact the experience of the UK is that a 67% increase in the National Minimum Wages has reduced unemployment and increased employment. It would have lead to a strong Economic Growth. In period of economic growth, firms employ more workers as there is more demand to produce goods. Economic growth in the UK has averaged 2.5% since 1999 In addition, the power of Monoposony should not be ignore. Classical theory assumes that the labour markets are competitive, but in practice workers often face employers with buying power. This means firms are able to pay workers less than the market wage. Therefore, when a government artificially raises wages, firms can actually afford to pay them. It is argued minimum wage legislation is similar to anti trust regulation. Thus, it would lead to an increased productivity. A study by David Metcalf found that firms responded to increased wages by increasing the productivity of workers, especially in the service sector. This is important because it suggests that higher wages can actually help increase productivity in the economy. Firms would lower working hours in respond to the increase in the minimum wage. Rather than make workers redundant, firms have reduced the average hours worked. This is related to part 3, firms try to get higher productivity in a shorter time, so they can afford the minimum wage. Pass on Cost increases. Because the minimum wage affects all firms, it is easier for the cost increases to be passed onto consumers. e.g. because all cleaning firms have higher wage costs, they can all increase their prices. If the wage increase just affected one firm, they would become uncompetitive. Firms would also think of different problems to avoided of Minimum Wage. It  is uncertain to ascertain the extent of this problem, but some firms have circumvented the minimum wage legislation by employing immigrant labour and paying them lower wages. It also makes it more attractive to employ young workers. To conclude, although an increase in minimum wage in theory would lead to an increase in unemployment, but in practical, it would not much negative impact on the employment rate. Therefore, we cannot unambiguously conclude that a minimum wage increase will increase unemployment levels.

Interpersonal Essay Example for Free

Interpersonal Essay In this new school year, I come to the HKBU College of international education for studying. I find my first new friend in here, a girl who called Evelyn. And my topic of this reflective paper is about the relationship between my new friend Evelyn and me. I met Evelyn on 17th September, my first school day in CIE. I remembered that was Evelyn says hi to me first and she sit next to me. This situation really applies the self-fulfilling prophecy I learnt in my IPC lesson. It is because I have asked Evelyn that why she would chose to say hi to me but not the others. She answers that it is because she predicts me is friendly at first. Then she acted as if I was a friendly person. As she acts toward me, I become comfortable and friendly. At the end, she observes my friendliness, and this reinforces her belief that I am in fact friendly. In the result, we really become friend. Also, I think our relationship is dyadic consciousness. It means that we are two persons think of ourselves as pair. Our relationship becomes more involved, individuals sacrifice our own desires for the well-being of the relationship. For example, Evelyn can give up her time to help me do the photocopy and she is willing to share her notes with me. Our relationship really not developed on the benefit or goal. This new relationship between Evelyn and me can also apply the Johari Window Model. In these past few months, I found that my open self which is known to Evelyn become larger and larger. At the very beginning, she only knows what my name is and where I live, or how many family members I have. And now, Evelyn already knows that which my favourite music group is. Also know that I hate chocolate but love mango. Moreover, she knows that I am good at Chinese Dance and I am a rowing club member. Evelyn can also find the blind self of me. It is I am really good at giving comfort to my friends and I will tell many principle of life to friends. Besides of the above, Evelyn and I have really different personalities. She always tell me that my acting really like a mother or elder sister. It is because I will help her solve the problems, remind her which things she need to do. Therefore, I think it can apply the parent self on me and apply the child self on Evelyn. I always give the direct responses to Evelyn and sometimes I will be critical. However, we can have a complementary transaction through our communication. Evelyn will seek help from me, and then I will help her solve it or give some suggestions. Both of us are satisfied. In our every conversation, the nonverbal communication is always applied on it. We will use the emblems such as the sign. And the S-O-F-T-E-N formula is always applied in our communication too. I will come to school with Evelyn every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We set the meeting place at Tai Wai Station. Every time when Evelyn saw me, she gave me a big smile first. Then I will see her run to me from far away. When we start our topic, Evelyn always show her interest to listen and she always look at my eyes. And sometimes she will nod her head. It really makes me feel that she is listening to me and it will not make her feel bored. To me, Evelyn is a really good listener. All the thing she will do is listening but not hearing. We will use the Whatspp or phone call to communicate when we are not staying together. If she has something want to tell me, she will give me a feedforward message first. Most of the time she will send a message to me like â€Å"Kata, I have some interesting thing want to tell you. I will tell you on the train at tomorrow.† Actually the things she wants to tell me are not really important or serious. Maybe she will just tell me that she saw a handsome guy on the street yesterday, she always love to give a feedforward message to me first. During the communication, we can both get the feedback from the others and we will share our opinions. However, the interpersonal communication concept I can mostly applied in our communication is the Gender Communication. It is because our range of talking topic is really large. I remembered that there is a day I go shopping with Evelyn and a friend who is a boy. The topics we talked are jumping and jumping. We discuss at the clothes first, and then when I saw the yogurt, we change the topic to food suddenly. If I have a phone call, I still can listen to Evelyn then catch up the conversation after I finished the call. It really shows that women are multitrack, we can talk about several subjects at the same time. But our boy friend becomes confused from our conversation. Therefore, he will let us keep our talking continue. If he has any question from our conversation, he will ask us. Up to now, I think the relationship between Evelyn and me is developed quite well. Everything is good, at least we still not yet have conflict. And I will find some method to prevent the conflict happen in the future. I will have both empathic, objective and active listening from every conversation with Evelyn. Keep using the S-O-F-T-E-N formula with my friend every day. Also, I will try my best to apply more Adult self but not the Parent self. I will keep my Parent and Child under control. It is because we are symmetrical relationship. I wish we can be more factual, gather information, analytical and reasoning, objective and look for practical solutions. We should have more thinking and behave calm. Therefore, our relationship can be better and keep longer.

Technology and Social Issues in Africa

Technology and Social Issues in Africa Nigel McKelvey   For many in the western world, the perception of Africa is one of starving children and war torn countries. But 21st century Africa is a continent that is attempting to dispel the old imagery and is ready to compete with the rest of the world when it comes to embracing technology. The major success of the mobile phone industry has revolutionised how the people of Africa live, work, learn and communicate. Technology has changed industry in Africa, while natural resources are still being mined by international companies with no benefit to its people, there is now an opportunity for individuals to reap the rewards of this new revolution as the skills are accessible and have allowed many individuals to empower themselves and realise their potential. A technical hub in Nairobi, Kenya is a huge success storey that can be replicated anywhere throughout Africa; because it is the people that are the greatest resource and not the blood diamonds or crude oil that others have been exploiting for decades. The hub has become so successful it has been dubbed Silicon Savanah. There are currently developing a 5000-acre site to develop the Konzo Techno City, the first of its kind in Africa. It is attracting major global companies such as Samsung, Blackberry and Huawei and when completed in 2025 will have 200,000 people working and living there. This is working proof that the African people given the same opportunities as the western world can serve as major competitors in the global market. Africa, colonisation, poverty, mobile phones, child labour, cocoa farming, Silicon Savanah. The media have been consistently severe in their portrayal of the African continent throughout the years. The Africa that the west perceive is one that Chavis,(1998) suggests as being as dark as the pervasive fear conjured up in the their minds. With constant images of famine and skeletal children viewed on television screens by millions throughout the decades, it is difficult to invoke a reimaging of the country as the problem still exists to a lesser extent. Many African countries are still suffering and reports that another major famine is imminent, which could affect forty-nine million people across southern Africa (Robb, 2016). In the last six years, there have been more wars in Africa than anywhere else on the planet (Arieff, 2016). The wars are ongoing and it is a struggle to establish economic and social growth in countries that are at war and those surrounding them. In Northern Africa, there are nine countries at war or have internal unrest, in central Africa there are three, in the east there are four while South Africa is also looking at unrest as support for the ANC is declining due to accusations of corruption (Timeslive, 2016). It is one of the major problems that affects the progression of a vast continent, each country has such varied and unique characteristics to offer the world, yet hindered by government corruption, conflict and poverty. In addition to this Birrell (2012) suggests there is a disconnect between what the western perception of Africa is and its fast-changing reality causing a lack of financial investment. Although these issues currently impede the economic growth of Africa and the social welfare of its citizens that live in the 54 countries that make up the continent, there is a change taking place where the digital age is being embraced and in doing so a new Africa is evolving. With a country that has only 40% reliable energy supply and 20% having access to the Internet, there is a new wave of optimism coming from an impending digital and cultural revolution (Kanza, 2016). This paper will look at how the social issues have improved with the introduction of new technologies especially the success of the mobile phone; it is a technology that has united the continent. Subscriptions for mobile phones have now surpassed half a billion and it is expected that 54% of the continent will be connected by 2020 (GSMA, 2016). The largest market for mobile phones are Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, with countries such as Kenya, who have a population of 45 million having subscriptions of 38 million (Mutiga, A., Flood, Z.,2016), which is more than 84% of the people in the country. The lack of infrastructure with unreliable and scarce fixed line telephone has contributed to the success of these devices and has given countries throughout the continent a freedom and new opportunities unheard of before. The effect of colonisation in Africa since the 1870s by European countries has played a major part on how the continent is perceived today. Before the European Renaissance, Africans were building cities earlier than the Greeks or Romans and had developed writing skills in the form of scripts such as Demotic and Hieratic (Pheko, 2012). It was a continent that was always rich in resources such as oil, coal and diamonds, but few countries within the continent rarely profit from them only other countries and multinationals (BBC News, 2012). Since the end of colonisation, little has changed in the way the many African countries have suffered, especially at the hands of their own governments who made deals with the devil. Multinational companies and foreign countries are still instrumental in the unethical exchange of billions of dollars to leaders and warlords to extract rich resources that they will greatly profit from while they allow the countries people to starve and be murdered. Any profits that are generated are never invested back into the country or its people (Pear, 2014). A continent that was historically ahead of its time had become a mere shadow of its former self. When the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a trip to Gambia in 1943, he was shocked at the conditions its people were living in and was quoted saying Its the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life. The natives are five thousand years back of us. The British have been there for two hundred years for every dollar that the British have put into Gambia, they have taken out ten. Its just plain exploitation of those people. 74 years later countries are still being pilfered and little has changed in the way of financial investment in many countries that could greatly benefit from a fraction of the profits made by foreign countries or global corporations. With Africa having one of the youngest populations in the world, and an average age of 19.5 years (Worldometers, 2017), with 60% under 35 years old (Some, 2014); it is not surprising that it is a continent embracing the technical revolution. With new technology, brings an innovative era for millions regarding information relating to social aspects such as health, farming, business and education issues. The mobile phone market has grown so much in Africa, that it will generate one tenth of the GNP by 2020. Mutiga, and Flood (2016) suggest that by the end of the decade there will be 657 million mobile broadband connections, contributing $300 billion to sub-Saharan Africas economy. It is ironic that the success of this new technology has created a child labour market in its own continent. The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces half the worlds supply of Cobalt; a metal that can retain it magneticity at high temperatures, which is used in the manufacture of mobile phones, car batteries and computers (Bell, 2016). The 16 multinational brands that use this metal, including Apple, Microsoft and Sony; are aware that the mines that they are purchasing from use children as 7 years old, getting paid $1 a day for working in life threating conditions companies (Kelly, 2016). Amnesty International have been investigating the practice and have traced the supply chain of the mined metal to companies such as Volkswagen, Daimler and Samsung. Having received the list of companies that were recorded as customers of the battery manufacturer that uses the metal, only one admitted that they were aware of the connection of the cobalt mines and the batteries. None of the companies could provide any details to verify where they were sourcing their battery products (Amnesty International, 2016). The car companies involved use the metal as a key component in the lithium-ion batteries, while the marketing focus is encouraging the potential buyer to consider purchasing their product because it is environmentally responsible thing to do. The demand for electric cars is expected to reach 17 million by 2030 which will invariably increase the demand for cobalt and the expectation is already pushing up the price of the metal (Desai, 2016). While the process of extracting coba lt has now become mainstream knowledge, it has not hindered the sales of smartphones or electric cars nor will it as the public want to enjoy the benefits of having these goods without wanting to know what was involved in its production. Child labour does not only extend to the mining industry; the farming community also exploit children for labour and involved in the slave industry. Cocoa farming in countries like Ghana and the Ivory Coast contribute to a large part of its exports with over 60% of revenue generated alone from cocoa. Large international companies such as Hersheys, Mars and Nestlà © use the farms to supply the demand for their chocolate bars. The farms are generating so much money for the countries, that their governments are turning a blind eye to the amount of child slavery and kidnapping that is prevalent in these countries to keep up with demand and keep prices low for the large global customers. There are now estimated to be 1.8 million children working in dire conditions, where they are barely fed and working with dangerous pesticides and tools. In Ghana, 73.6% of rural children work in these types of farms with children as young as five have been reported to be working, with little chance of g etting a decent education; they may spend the rest of their lives been exploited by these farmers (Mull and Kirhorn, 2005). With the chocolate industry, worth $100 billion (OKeefe, 2016), the demand for young workers will not stop. This can only be stopped through government intervention and the chocolate manufacturers paying a reasonable price for the cocoa they procure for a minimal cost at the expense of the countrys children. The governments behaviour in the past, only further damages the chance of fair working practices and pay. Three journalists who reported the findings of a government probe into the corruption in the cocoa export trade, were detained until they disclosed the source of the findings, whilst another journalist went missing in 2004 when investigating the practices of the Ivory Coast Government and the cocoa industry (Crawford, 2005). The cocoa farmer is at the mercy of the suppliers, who along with the corrupt governments dictate the price they receive for their crops, ensuring the farmer and the workers stay in uneducated and poor because it suits their needs. The responsibility of the multinationals and the consumers of chocolate must decide where their conscience lie. The more consumers demand that the cocoa that produces the chocolate they so readily enjoy; comes from ethically sourced farms, only then can there be some movement in how the farmer can relieve young workers from their farms. By using mobile technology as an information tool cocoa farmers can use mobile devices to gain essential market knowledge relating to crop and animal prices. They also can sign up to information centres where they can educate themselves about best practice and the introduction of new techniques in different areas of farming that can help with increasing productivity and profits, whilst informing about proper pest control and correct disease management of their animals. In Senegal, a company called Mlouma offer farmers a service where they are informed on a timely basis of the best prices for selling and buying agricultural products (Omondi, 2014). This gives the farmers a market knowledge they never had before and enables them to get the best price for the product they work so hard to produce. A similar premise called Esoko began in Uganda and is now also successful in Tanzania and Kenya. It offers a central virtual market place, where the farmer is informed of market prices by SMS and part of their services includes a call centre where illiterate farmers can have access to the same information while also allowing farmers to put money aside or borrow money to buy necessary farming equipment (esoko, 2017). The cocoa industry may be corrupt, but by the farmers becoming more knowledgeable about the prices that are available, there may come a time where they get to demand a fair price for their goods based on what the information acquired through the established network creating using this technology. There are similar services throughout Africa that exist to empower individuals throughout the many areas of the production within the continent. Fishermen, fish processors and traders can avail of the service called EFMIS-ke. It is an electronic fish market information system that was launched in Kenya to combat the waste of post-harvest fish which was costing over 450,000 Euros annually. Data from fish landing sites and markets are continually uploaded onto a central database to be processed, which in turn is shared with users who can make informed decisions on where to sell or buy the fish depending on the going price (Nyabundi, 2017). While technology has allowed farmers and fishermen to gain a new perspective on how get the most from their product, there are still many social issues that blight the way. Strass, (2016) suggests that Africa must overcome 6 major challenges to make way for a better future. Low Economic growth rate. This is due to the oil prices and exports falling and the richer economies suffering from the after-effects of the Arab spring Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. This is all about to change according to Barton (2016), who believes technology is one of the 3 trends that will ensure an economic and social change for Africa in the future. The first, by having the largest working population in the world by 2034. The second where the cities are becoming ever larger and becoming more productive and the third where technology will help bypass the infrastructure issues that are so prevalent within the continent. Lack of Industrial Development. Industrial development in Africa has not grown since the 1970s. Page (2014) believes it is a combination of bad luck and government policy that has left the continent 40 years behind the rest of the world. Bad luck, in terms of the economic crisis that occurred globally in the 1970s and 1980s, which brought about a macroeconomic strategy where governments and banks made policies to keep inflation to a minimum. When Africa came out of its economic recession, the rest of the worlds economy had grown with inflation and Africa could no longer compete. Bad policies were put in place to reduce imports and attempt to increase exports, but little understanding of the global market place meant they were doomed to fail. Poverty, hunger, poor education, ill health and violence. Although the situation is slowly improving, the living standard in comparison to the rest of the world seems bleak. The Democratic Republic of Congo; Africas second largest country, is the poorest country in the world. Out of 20 of the countries in the world with the worst food and nutrition provisions, 19 of those are in Africa (Barton, 2016). Only through education and intervention from governments can there be any kind of social escalation in these countries. Urban slums. 60% of people living in African cities are living in slum areas. As more of the surrounding land becomes urbanised, the larger the slums are growing. Programs are in place such as the UNHabitat who are working with governments to acquire lands, but the slums are growing faster, with expectations that by 2050 1.26 billion people will be living in cities; only further exasperating the issue. Corruption The chair of the Transparency International Josà © Ugaz said Corruption creates and increases poverty and exclusion. While corrupt individuals with political power enjoy a lavish life, millions of Africans are deprived of their basic needs like food, health, education, housing, access to clean water and sanitation, (Veselinovic ,2016). Needs such as attending a doctor do not come easily for some citizens in many African countries. In Liberia, 7 out of 10 people claim to have paid bribes to access services such as healthcare or education. In Zimbabwe, a man who raped a 9-year-old year which resulted in her being infected with HIV; was released in secret because he paid a bribe. It is estimated that nearly 75 million people in Sub Saharan Africa have paid a bribe to officials to stay away from court and for basic services that they badly need (Transparency.org, 2015). Global Trade Partnerships. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a trade agreement established by President George Bush in 2000, with an aim to develop market access to the United States for countries with Sub-Saharan African countries who adhere to certain human rights conditions and labour laws. This has afforded countries such as Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia to export $1billion in clothes to the United States with no tariffs (Schneidman, 2016). The worry for African countries with amendments to the Trans-Pacific Partnership was that other countries were attempting to get tariffs reduced and increase their exports to the United States. Since President Trump has withdrawn from the negotiations on the 23rd of January, the TTP may be dead in the water. What the growing concern now for the United States is that the Chinese are trading with them through the back door as they own many of the clothing factories that are exporting to them (Thomas, 2017). In a continent where hardship and starvation is commonplace, it is difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel from an outsiders perspective. Africa had never experienced any of the fortunes that North Europe gained from the industrial revolution (Armstrong, 2013), but it seems they do not want to bypass the digital revolution that is currently exploding throughout the continent, which to many may seem surprising that a continent so full of old traditions; such as men kidnapping a bride in Sudan (Hearfield, 2014) or negotiating a price for a bride in Southern Africa (Ziddina, 2009). They are a highly superstitious group of countries where the existence of witches is still believed to be true (Radford, 2010); all of which is deemed archaic by the western world, have surprisingly embraced technology with great ease. This may be because the technology that exists today and is being made available to them suits their needs. Technology is defined as the branch of knowledge that deal s with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment. Technology has created so many opportunities in Africa and has allowed it to leap into the 21st century with the same enthusiasm the rest of the world has. TU Delft are a group of Global Initiative Scientists who are using high tech science to find solutions for problems people are facing in developing countries (TUDelft, 2017). They have just been given the green light to start on 7 new projects in Africa; they include: Affordable housing Using technology to develop new design methods for low-cost housing in Addis Ababa where 75% of its people live in slums. Building Adaptive Cities Working with local authorities and it citizens during the stages of urban development to look at solutions on how the city and its people serve each other in the future. Water Balance in the Zambezi River Basin. The Zambezi river basin is shared by 8 countries and is home to 2 of the worlds largest reservoirs. The construction of the 2 dams had a massive impact on the basin and the studies will be carried out to predict floods and water levels which have affected its natural habitat and its people. Diagnosis of Tuberculosis and Detection of Malaria New technology in mobile phones is being proposed in the detection of Tuberculosis which kills millions of people each year, while an optical device is being developed to identify the presence of malaria. Biogas Fuel Cell System in Rural Areas Biogas Fuel Cell System is where a fuel such as gas is converted into electricity, a technology that IKEA is known for using in the United States (Bioenergy, 2017). TU is hoping to use this technology in remote areas (Holland, 2016). These new technologies can only be good for a continent that has suffered hardship throughout the last 400 years; from the colonisers to the corrupt governments and leaders who live lavish lifestyles while they let their people suffer. The technologies are a plaster on a large wound that requires proper attention. The mobile phone and tablet technology however is an accessible one that everyone can benefit from and requires little or no technical ability to use. It is why it has been so successful in areas such as banking where in Kenya, Sudan and Gabon have 50% of adults using online banking. This is also true of online education tools that are so popular that the market is set to be worth $530million this year. These types of online tools are helping young people get an education they may otherwise not afford to or have access to without this technology. Health education is also another use of the mobile technology where information is disseminated to the masses at the click of a b utton, which was unthinkable in the 1980s (Ogunlesi, 2012). It is now an opportunity for Africa to shine as it once was and to lose its unfounded title that once was the dark continent. References Chavis, R. (1998). Africa in the Western Media. Available: http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Workshop/chavis98.html. Last accessed 22nd February2017. Robb, S. (2016). Worst famine in 25 years on the way in Africa UN warns Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/22/worst-famine-in-25-years-on-the-way-in-africa-un-warns-5897847/#ixzz4YHhheJf5. Available: http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/22/worst-famine-in-25-years-on-the-way-in-africa-un-warns-5897847/. Last accessed 10th February 2017. Arieff, I. (2016). Africas War Problem. Available: http://www.passblue.com/2016/07/12/africas-war-problem/. Last accessed 10th February 2017. Civil unrest and crime warning for South Africa. (2016). Available: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2016/06/08/Civil-unrest-and-crime-warning-for-South-Africa1. Last accessed 10th February 2017. Birrell, I. (2012). Our image of Africa is hopelessly obsolete. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/26/ian-birrell-emergence-new-africa. Last accessed 10th February 2017. Kanza, E. S. (2016). Africas digital revolution: a look at the technologies, trends and people driving it. Available: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/africa-s-digital-revolution-a-look-at-the-technologies-trends-and-people-driving-it. Last accessed 10th February 2017. GSMA (2016). NUMBER OF UNIQUE MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS IN AFRICA SURPASSES HALF A BILLION, FINDS NEW GSMA STUDY. Available: http://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/number-of-unique-mobile-subscribers-in-africa-surpasses-half-a-billion-finds-new-gsma-study/. Last accessed 17th February 2017. Pheko,M. (2012). Effects of colonialism on Africas past and present. Available: https://www.pambazuka.org/global-south/effects-colonialism-africas-past-and-present. Last accessed 22nd February2017. BBC News (2012). Africa Debate: Will Africa ever benefit from its natural resources?. Available: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-19926886. Last accessed 22nd February2017. Pear D.W. (2014). Africa: Incredible Wealth, Exploitation, Corruption and Poverty for its People. Available: http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/170-more-blog-posts-from-david-william-pear/1944-africa-incredible-wealth-exploitation-corruption-and-poverty-for-its-people-. Last accessed 25th February 2017. Adusei, A. (2009). Multinational corporations: The new colonisers in Africa. Available: https://www.pambazuka.org/governance/multinational-corporations-new-colonisers-africa. Last accessed 25th February 2017. Mutiga,A., Flood, Z. (2016). Africa calling: mobile phone revolution to transform democracies. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/08/africa-calling-mobile-phone-broadband-revolution-transform-democracies. Last accessed 11th February 2017. Bell,T. (2016). Cobalt Metal | Properties, Production, and Applications. Available: https://www.thebalance.com/metal-profile-cobalt-2340131. Last accessed 25th February 2017. Kelly, A. (2016). Children as young as seven mining cobalt used in smartphones, says Amnesty. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jan/19/children-as-young-as-seven-mining-cobalt-for-use-in-smartphones-says-amnesty. Last accessed 25th February 2017. Amnesty International. (2016). Exposed: Child labour behind smart phone and electric car batteries. Available: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/. Last accessed 25th February 2017. Desai, P. (2016). Electric vehicles to power cobalt revival. Available: http://www.reuters.com/article/metals-cobalt-demand-idUSL8N1902I9. Last accessed 25th February 2017. Mull D L and S R Kirhorn. (2005). Child Labor in Ghana Cocoa Production: Focus upon Agricultural Tasks, Ergonomic Exposures, and Associated Injuries and Illnesses. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497785/. Last accessed 10th March 2017. OKeefe, B. (2016). Bitter Sweets. Available: http://fortune.com/big-chocolate-child-labor/. Last accessed 10th March 2017. Crawford, J. (2005). Disappeared: Guy-Andrà © Kieffer missing in Ivory Coast. Available: https://cpj.org/reports/2005/05/kieffer-disappeared-journalist.php. Last accessed 10th March 2017. Worldometers (2017). Africa Population (LIVE). Available: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/. Last accessed 10th February 2017. Some, D. (2014). Connecting Africa: The best investments in the next generation. Available: http://www.africaprogresspanel.org/connecting-africa-the-best-investments-in-the-next-generation/?gclid=CJb5trzEiNICFYEV0wodYaEItw. Last accessed 11th February 2017. Omondi, F. (2014). Mlouma.com Improving Market Knowledge in Senegal Agriculture Industry. Available: http://innov8tiv.com/mlouma-com-improving-market-knowledge-senegalese-agricultural-industry/. Last accessed 11th February 2017. Esoko (2017). CONNECTING YOU TO RURAL MARKETS. Available: https://www.esoko.com/. Last accessed 11th February 2017. Nyabundi, D. (2017). Fish traders land bigger returns with market tracking system. Available: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Fish-traders-land-bigger-returns-with-market-tracking-system/-/1248928/2131390/-/agyo6i/-/index.html. Last accessed 12th February 2017. Strauss, G. (2016). Six Challenges Facing Africa in 2016. Available: https://providencemag.com/2016/01/six-challenges-facing-africa-2016/. Last accessed 10th March 2017. Barton, D. (2016). 3 reasons things are looking up for African economies. Available: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/what-s-the-future-of-economic-growth-in-africa/. Last accessed 16th February 201

Characterization of Rachel Through the Use of Literary Techniques in Ci

Characterization of Rachel Through the Use of Literary Techniques in Cisneros’ Eleven Sandra Cisneros writes a memoir through the eyes of an eleven year old. Turning eleven happens to be a tragic day for the main character, Rachel. Through various literary techniques such as hyperbole, simile, and syntax, Rachel is characterized. Rachel is a fresh turning eleven year old who finds herself in an awful situation on her birthday. Forced to wear a raggedy old sweater that doesn’t belong to her, she makes it defiantly clear her feelings towards the clothing item, and we see this through use of hyperboles. Rachel describes the sweater as ugly and too â€Å"stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope.† This extreme exaggeration demonstrates the fire within Rachel. She is a defiant and pouty little girl who out of stubbornness has to defy the sweater in her mind. â€Å"It’s maybe a thousand years old†, she says to herself in act to degrade the filthy red sweater even more. The sweater to Rachel has become an eternal battle of ages. She is t orn on whether or not to stand up and act bigger th...

Butler, Tennessee :: Observation Essays, Descriptive Essays

The town of Butler is not a very well known place, but I would not trade anything in the world for it. In this quaint little town one will find a wide variety of year round activities and traditional festivals. I have traveled to many places in our nation and to other nations, but I have yet to find a place that is as dear to me as my hometown. Most of the inhabitants of Butler will tell you the same thing, whether they have traveled or not. Butler has such a picturesque landscape that it is often the subject of many photographers. The history of this town is also one of the qualities that make it such a wonderful and unique place. The friendly people, various activities, such as water sports hiking, and the wonderful landscape in the town of Butler, TN, make it one of the premier vacation spots and home sites in the nation. Butler is located on the very northeastern tip of Tennessee. Approximately 40 miles from the ETSU campus on Highway 67, one will first cross the Butler Bridge overlooking Watauga Lake. Then about a mile later the road begins to descend into the little town of Butler. Most of my family has lived in Butler all of their lives, so they know first hand the history of Butler. This town’s history is very unususal; Watauga Lake now covers the previous location of Butler. The TVA project moved this town from what used to be a flood-prone area to a higher elevation. Butler has its own museum devoted to this move. It contains old artifacts, pictures old Butler before and after the lake was drained, and many handmade quilts dating back to the 19th Century. The Butler Museum is located at Babe Curtis Park at the end of McQueen Street in Butler. Entire books have been written on the subject of old Butler such as Lost Heritage by Russ Calhoun Sr. Beautiful mountains with small creeks, a pristine lake, and rolling grassy valleys make the landscape of this beautiful place. Regardless of the time of year one will always find breathtaking landscape in the town of Butler, except for the mid winter when all of the leaves are off the trees and they look like skeletons, which can be very depressing. The natives of Butler are people who love their land and tend to stick with traditions.

Long Term Effects of Colonization :: essays research papers

Even in today’s complex society, the effects of past colonization can still be felt. The most obvious of these effects on society is a change in the culture of any colonized area or group of people. This is a direct result from the forceful tactics used during historical colonization. Colonization has occurred throughout history. In Europe, three of the most influential colonizers were the Spanish, the French, and the British. These three countries were driven by three very basic motives: a desire for material gain, a desire to spread religion, and a desire to expand territory. Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886). Burma wasn’t administered as a province of India until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. This is the arrangement of details surrounding George Orwell’s story of â€Å"Shooting An Elephant†. The reader finds oneself in the midst of a colonization struggle between the British and the Burmese. On one hand there is a â€Å"Burmese† elephant that needs to be contained, while on the other hand there is a growing number of people joining a crowd that seems to be an obstacle for an imperialist guard’s ability to take control of the situation. The very tension of the crowd following the imperialist guard is the â€Å"colonization effect† is felt. This crowd of Burmese civilians expect the guard to shoot and kill this elephant, hence the reason they followed him. The guard finds himself being pressured by the crowd to take care of shooting the elephant. It is this pres sure that almost forces the guard to make a hasty, not necessarily the right decision about handling these circumstances. If the guard were to make an error in judgment in direct result from this pressure from the crowd, he would find himself caught in a very bad position. A guard, who is part of a coalition colonizing an area, in the middle (literally) of an angry mob of local civilians unwilling to accept the colonization brought on by this guard’s imperialistic philosophies. The effects of eighteenth and nineteenth century colonization can still be felt today. When Britain colonized Burma, the English language quickly spread, and the indigenous languages of the natives began to be wiped out.

Bureaucratic Organization And The Learning Process

This paper talks about a bureaucratic organization in detail. It focuses however on the learning aspect in an organization that means how conducive the entire working environment is there. This promotion of a learning environment is essential in effective growth of a company or whichever organization that undertakes the learning process as part of their work. The argument that surrounds this entire paper is essentially that how well a bureaucratic organization deals with this aspect of efficiency by inculcating within it the process of subliminal learning.The argument arises when it is said that there is not much learning undertaken in a typical bureaucratic organization. Introduction At the onset of the industrial revolution, at the end of the eighteenth century, many small shops around villages etc. were transformed into big factories by centralizing their power. There are two main practices that are talked about when the term â€Å"bureaucratic organization† is mentioned. T hese two main theories are: †¢ Weber’s ideal bureaucracy †¢ Taylor’s scientific management Both these concepts talk about compartmentalization and labor resource.These two factors according the theories are very important in determining what exactly is meant by efficiency in work at the workplace. Taylor’s scientific management Taylor talked about analysis undertaken at the workplace with respect to working behavior. His study which was very detailed and conclusive, analyzed labor work at a factory where there were machines involved also. His aim was to improve efficiency while also making sure that per unit costs decrease of the output or the product/s that are being produced.The role of the research was to make sure that the human labor involved were basically machines that could be replaced or exchanged with each other when there is a lack in one’s performance for instance. (Kimble, n. d. ) His idea originated from that one time when he condu cted observational studies on workers who were doing repetitive jobs. He called these repetitive jobs and the employees/ lower level factory workers tasks as â€Å"soldiering†. He claimed that an efficient way or the best method of doing each job should be determined and then taught to all the workers.This, according to him would make sure that the worker’s productivity goes up and the workers would also feel like they are indulging into quality work for the organization; thereby also leading motivating them. He said that there are many forces at work that contribute towards the actual production of output. These factors involved are the internal human characteristics, the physical environment, social atmosphere, the task itself. The task itself would involve things like the kind of work involved (manual or automated), speed with which it can be done etc.For this purpose he designed time motion studies to measure how workers contribute to the output. (Kimble, n. d. ) T aylor found out that as the products involved more and more complex, and then the workers’ productivity increased thereby too. And eventually the entire middle management of the factor itself emerged as a new layer therein. Departmentalization took place resulting into more efficient allocation of resources. (Kimble, n. d. ) The Ideal Bureaucracy – Max Weber (1864 – 1920) Max Weber was the actual proponent of bureaucracy.He talked about having a form of organization that incorporates into itself use of written and formal documents. Moreover, most people take the term â€Å"bureaucracy† as something that has monarchy or an authoritarian style of leadership or management. This is the view that Weber promoted. At the time when capitalism was very much in an influential state, concept of this type of management was introduced. It had/ has the interplay of maximization of the production or the output, while also making sure that input prices and costs are mini mized.Hence, this is the point where Taylor also agrees when the latter talks about efficiency in allocation and management of resources while doing work. (Kimble, n. d. ) Weber categorized many concepts that he thought are related to this type of administration and management. These he called as the core factors or rudiments that are there in such an organization. These are: †¢ Efficiency first of all †¢ Impersonality †¢ Logical sequence of activities and events Weber further illustrated and clarified the role of bureaucracy by saying how the structure of such a firm is controlled from above.Hence, there is centralization of power only at the top and most of time no one else has any authority in making or trying to undertake any decisions involving the organization’s functions and activities. (Kimble, n. d. ) Weber said that such an organization hence has more chances of succeeding in its lifecycle development since there is no meddling of affairs in the hands of those who are not directly involved in the organization. He gave the example of the army or the forces, by saying that they have success in the performance of their goals since they have centralized authority and power at the top.This results in giving of and hence following of the direct orders of the entire team in the army. (Kimble, n. d. ) Weber proclaimed that along with the power at the top, there is also power and authority at the managing level or the â€Å"head† of each level in the hierarchy. He said such organizations are more effective and stable. (Kimble, n. d. ) Learning Process in Organizations There are many companies today that indulge in many different activities involving various perspectives. This means that they have the kind of perspectives that they think are effective to do the work that are involved in.now, putting these vague concepts together it can be said that a learning organization indulges into subliminal knowledge sharing that promotes the presence and activation of a conducive environment. Facilitation of learning on each employee’s part in an organization along with changes, results in a learning process. (Smith, 2001) There is widespread opening up of people’s capacities which mean that each individual has a fair chance of learning in the process of working for this organization.There can be an amalgamation of many employee’s ideas and thoughts that could result into changes in the organization in future which would contribute towards its development. There is inspiration, aspirations, hopes and dreams, aiming to achieve success and more and more developments in a positive way. This can be made possible when there is an adequate amount of openness that promotes giving value through each employee or the member of an organization. (Farago & Skyrme, 1995) Learning levels or types:It is not just training and teaching that is part of a learning organization, rather it is also about how the developm ent of each member’s capacities is enhanced, thereby providing benefits to the entire organization on the whole (Smith, 2001). There are different types of learning, these are: Level 1: facts, processes, procedures in learning Level 2: job skills development Level 3: adaptability to a changing environment (for the better good of the organization) Level 4: innovating and fostering people’s creativity.Characteristics of a learning organization: These are pointed out below as discussed by Smith (2001): †¢ Culture that promotes learning †¢ Processes involved that promote interaction and development of human potential by discovery †¢ Group and individual learning e. g. problem solving techniques †¢ Acquiring of skills and thereby attaining motivation So, is Bureaucracy Not Consistent with Learning? It is general notion and a common belief that a bureaucratic organization is not very welcoming of a learning environment.This is because when there is contro l directed at everyone from the top then there is not much learning that takes place. This is certain of the fact that usually in a bureaucratic organization the focus is on efficient control and advancement with promotion of power that the lower level workers (for each head respectively that is) are subjected to. (Smith, 2001) In most extreme cases, it is even said that these two types of organizations, learning organization and a bureaucratic organization, are two extremes of a pole.And there is often impossibility of having learning in a bureaucratic organization. In contemporary times, many companies have also focused on changing from a bureaucratic organization to a learning organization as being part of one of their main strategic aims. Many theorists have said that the commercial importance of a learning organization is also increasing with the passage of time. This also handles competition well and makes sure that efficiency is kept in line with that of the worker’s i nvolved. (Smith, 2001)How can an Organization be made a Learning Organization? A lot has been said about organizations that run on bureaucracy, and have no or minimal aspects of learning involved. The very important question here is hence that how can organizations be made to function in a way that promotion of a learning culture is done. This could be a step by step procedure that could involve learning as part of its components while also catering bureaucracy as the main type of its management (Kline, 1997; Senge 2006). Techniques:An environment could be created that promotes such type of learning and thereby help in advancement of the organization in the most effective manner. Many things could happen including: †¢ Having an environment of inquiry and that of allowing free flow of information †¢ Creativity and allowing for innovative ideas †¢ Efficient organization and coordination of information †¢ Making quick decisions and allowing for flexibility in decisi on making in general †¢ Conducting observation studies to document and verify this later†¢ Making sure that new learned information and knowledge is amalgamated into the new procedures and policies to incorporate changes thereby Henceforth, it is clear that to have a bureaucratic organization changed into a learning organization if not wholly then at least partially, it is highly essential that there is a collective or a team effort to start off with. Also, there should be many teams and groups there which have easy interaction so that there is an ease in information flow. Nothing should stay hidden which can help in imparting knowledge even if it’s implicit knowledge (which is usually the case).(Farago & Skyrme, 1995) Skills involved: †¢ Communication †¢ Observation and a listening atmosphere †¢ Strengthening of colleague to colleague and boss to colleague relationships †¢ Sustainment of each other at the workplace †¢ Having a holistic appr oach towards everything †¢ Accepting confrontations and challenges positively †¢ Accepting change †¢ Being flexible and open to new trends/ ideas †¢ Fostering one's own development of capacities by also helping others to do so with their own Taking out elements that make an organization not a â€Å"learning† organization:This section deals with how an organization can help itself by taking out all these factors that do not extend towards the organization being able to benefit from learning and knowledge sharing. There are hence many obstacles or hindrances that can render a bureaucratic organization not take advantage of learning. The following pointers could be related to a supervisor at a bureaucratic organization. These are: †¢ Being traditional and seeing everything from the â€Å"I-own† perspective rather than from the â€Å"I-share† perspective†¢ Being too focused on systems and procedures themselves rather than being apprecia tive of sharing information overall †¢ Being overly rejective of change †¢ Having hidden feelings †¢ Having hidden personal goals and ideas and not sharing them †¢ Not having empowerment done †¢ Having materialistic view of everything around them Success factors in changing: There are many factors hence that can be solved when taking these into account. Some of the success factors are: †¢ Start at the top †¢ Prioritize things †¢ Be active rather than passive †¢ Do correct diagnose of acute issues †¢ Link things together†¢ Allow for mutual feedback (top to bottom, and also bottom to top) †¢ Allow for new ideas and product development †¢ Think out of the box †¢ Role-playing; this can be particularly helpful to these people who think that power is everything and now its effective usage †¢ Energizing, specializing behavior (Farago & Skyrme, 1995; Kalling & Styhre; 2006) Works Cited Farago J and Skyrme D. (1995) T he learning organization. Retrieved November 3, 2008, from http://www. skyrme. com/insights/3lrnorg. htm Smith, M. K. (2001) The learning organization, the encyclopedia of informal education, Retrieved November 3, 2008, from http://www.infed. org/biblio/learning-organization. htm. Kimble, C. (n. d. ). Bureaucratic organizations. Retrieved November 3, 2008, from http://www. chris-kimble. com/Courses/mis/Bureaucratic_Organisations. html Huysman, M. H. and de Wit, D. H. (2002) Knowledge Sharing in Practice. Springer Kalling, T. and Styhre, A. (2003). Knowledge Sharing in Organizations Kline, P. (1997) Ten Steps to a learning organization. Great River Books Senge, P. (2006) The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. Double Day Business

More Government Assistance for College

The importance of college education is undeniably evident in today’s economy and society.   What makes college education a very important factor is because it provides greater opportunity, to an individual, especially when it comes to making career and financial-related decisions. As opposed to generations of the past, high school graduates today are unable to obtain the number of high-paying jobs that were once available. The world is continuously being been transformed from a manufacturing-based economy to an economy based on knowledge. In fact, experts predict that in the near future, around 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs and careers would require college education. Moreover, it is also evident that in the present society, the major benefit of having college education is that college graduates receive salaries that are twice as much as those of undergraduates, aside from this, college graduates are also twice as much likely to be accepted in a job application, as compared to an undergraduate. With the continuously increasing importance of a post secondary education, the cost of it also continuously escalates. At present, the cost of college, in most countries, has been so expensive, that many would wonder whether, the high cost of tuition fees and school fees, the years to be spent in college instead of choosing to be in full-time employment, and the anxieties of keeping up with college life and financial constraints for a couple of years, in the long run, would still be worth the investment. The risk is especially large for those that belong to low-income families that already have difficulties in making ends meet, as tuition fees would definitely be an additional financial burden. Due to these constraints and various others, countries from all over the world are in grave danger of facing a societal phenomenon known as brain drain. Brain drain will arise when majority of the citizens of the society will lack education. This will happen then people, would focus on only obtaining secondary education and basic skills. The best form of remedy for this type of situation is for the government to provide greater support for College education especially in financial terms. The aim of this project is to be able to request the government to provide more assistance for college education. If the government makes a financial investment in College education, for sure that in the long run, the country’s citizens will feel be the ones to feel the benefit that will impact in the near future. Good education is beneficial in many view points. Increased government support in college education will result to a country with a higher number of educated and globally competitive professionals. This would automatically correspond to an increase in the economic status of the country. Also, it can be expected that the overall crime rate, in the country would decrease correspondingly. Background Information According to a recent study made in the U.S., about 76 percent of students that finish education would pursue a college degree, of the remaining 24 percent, 75 percent would not pursue college due to financial constraints. The goal should not be to determine whether college education is worth the investment or not, for there should be no question to this, college education is definitely of great value. The goal should be to answer on how to make college education more affordable. Post secondary education will provide students and individuals with the great opportunity to read books and listen to the lectures of top experts in their field of study, and from this they can pick-up vital ideas in choosing their careers. This form of stimulation would encourage students to think, ask questions, try out and explore new ideas, which consequently provides additional growth and development in their well-being as a person, and provides the college graduates with an edge in the job market over those who were not fortunate enough to have experienced a college education. The importance of a college education is also emphasized because of the opportunity to gain valuable resources during your tenure. During college life, students will be able to make relevant connections and affiliations with people and organizations that will later help them in the career which they would pursue. The more connections which are collected during your college years, the more options you will have when you begin your job search. Once the job search has ended, and a good and steady career has been obtained, however, the importance and benefits of a college education has not yet been exhausted. Having a college degree often provides for greater and faster opportunity for promotions. A good education is beneficial from many different viewpoints, and while the importance of a college education is quite evident for many high school students, what is often not as clear is how they will pay for that education. Although most of the colleges and universities at present would carry a very heavy price tag, it is of great importance not to let that discourage prospective college students from obtaining a college education. While the cost of tuition continues to rise, so should government support and financial aid continue to rise along with it. From local and federal options, to categorical and corporate options, college-bound students have variety opportunities worth exploring when attempting to obtain financial aid. A common misrepresentation of financial aid packages (e.g. scholarships, grants, loans, work study programs) is that they would be sufficient enough to provide funding for an entire college education. The reality is that most of these packages are smaller and it may take several of them to add up. If you are still asking yourself why you should go to college, it is important to remember the significant amount of opportunity available for college graduates compared to the minimal opportunity available for college undergraduates. The global economy is becoming increasingly more competitive, and in order to give yourself the best chance for a well-paying job, you must first understand the importance of college education. Attending college provides students with the knowledge and experience they are unable to receive from a secondary education, and finding a way to fund a higher education now can pay off in a huge way in the years to come. During their high school career, students may begin to question the importance of a college education. They might find themselves asking, â€Å"Why is it important to go to college?† The answer is that, more than ever, attending college provides opportunities for graduates which are not as widespread to those who have not received a higher education. For many students that attended high school, being able to immediately generate an income after graduation is an appealing thought, that most often, the importance of obtaining a college degree may be disregarded. Most often, they may also be repelled by the rising cost of tuition fees. This is exactly what the country should try to avoid. While it is true that a higher education may be one of the largest expenses, the importance of a college education has become quite evident in terms of earning potential and financial independence, within today's economy. Research and Methods As a starting point, it will be relevant to review the statistics of the trend in the number of college enrollees at about ten years ago and up to the present. This will provide relevant data on whether college enrollment has increase or decrease within the past decade. Taking into consideration the obtained information, solutions would be drawn on as to how to increase or further increase college enrollments. Interviews on college students should also be conducted, from this, data as to what constraints are being most common to college students can be achieved. From this gathered data, solutions on how to minimize the constraints being faced by college students should be drawn. Questionnaires should also be prepared and distributed to Colleges and Universities; this will serve as a wide-scale data gathering procedure. Data should also be gathered from secondary students. Likewise, questionnaires should also be distributed and interviews should also be conducted. The goal would be to gather data and draw a conclusion as to determine the major factor on why most secondary school students would choose to immediately enter corporate life or employment, rather than pursue a college degree. In gathering data it is important to handle, personal information from responders especially from interviews, with at most care and confidentiality. Based on the data and information which will be gathered, solutions should be formulated. Formulated solutions should be formally presented to the government. Data and results should have high credibility and integrity for it will the major basis for the support, projects, and resolutions, which will be provided by the government. A formal proposal would be presented to the government, indicating the nature and relevance of the project, the present problem, a detailed and well-presented data analysis and results, Cited possible solutions and a feasibility study on how likely the proposed solutions to the problem would be effective. For this study, a budget of about $250.00 would be sufficient enough as for the data gathering materials, travel expenses, research expenses, printing, and other miscellaneous expenses. It is expected that the success of this study would lead to a significantly higher number of people that would be taking college education; and likewise there would be an increase in the number of college students that would finish their college degree. In the long run, it is expected that these results would correspond to an increase in the economical, social, ethical, moral, and cultural growth of the country, and its citizens as a whole. References Boesel, D., ; Fredland, E. (1999). College for all? Is there too much emphasis on getting a 4-year college degree? Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Library of Education. Cohn, E., ; Geske, T.G. (1992). Private Nonmonetary Returns to Investment in Higher Education. In Becker, W. ; Lewis, D. The Economics of American Higher Education. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Day, J.C., ; Newburger, E.C. (2002). The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings. (Current Population Reports, Special Studies, P23-210). Washington, DC: Commerce Dept., Economics and Statistics Administration, Census Bureau. [On-Line]. Available: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf Institute for Higher Education Policy (1998). Reaping the Benefits: Defining the Public and Private Value of Going to College. The New Millennium Project on Higher Education Costs, Pricing, and Productivity. Washington, DC: Author. U.S. Department of Education (2001). Digest of Education Statistics 2001. [On-Line]. U.S. Department of Education (2000). Think College Early: Average College Costs.

BBC †Time Essay

Time is important. Whether I like to say or not, people don’t treat time important, many people wasting their time unconsciously. They spend time on facebook, online games, watching tv. But they never know there are some more important things are waiting for them Everyone has to live for a purpose. Once you set a goal, your life will be a lot more appreciate. Understand yourself about what do you want and how do you want to live, you will cherish a lot around you including people and spending time with them. Time is important. Whether I like to say or not, people don’t treat time important, many people wasting their time unconsciously. They spend time on facebook, online games, watching tv. But they never know there are some more important things are waiting for them Everyone has to live for a purpose. Once you set a goal, your life will be a lot more appreciate. Understand yourself about what do you want and how do you want to live, you will cherish a lot around you including people and spending time with them. Time is important. Whether I like to say or not, people don’t treat time important, many people wasting their time unconsciously. They spend time on facebook, online games, watching tv. But they never know there are some more important things are waiting for them Everyone has to live for a purpose. Once you set a goal, your life will be a lot more appreciate. Understand yourself about what do you want and how do you want to live, you will cherish a lot around you including people and spending time with them.

Life in the Iron Mills

. Life is Not Merely a Coincidence â€Å"Theatre of the Absurd† is designated for plays of absurdist fiction and refers to the avant-garde theatre of a loosely associated group of dramatists such as, Beckett, Ionesco, Pinter, and Albee who first emerged during and after World War 11. The plays express the belief that â€Å"in a godless universe human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down† (Britannica Online Encyclopedia). Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion which is silence. Absurdist theatre is often called a reaction to realism, as instead of conforming to the concept of real life, absurdist sought to provide an unmistakably unreal experience. The absurd dramatist relates to existentialism and the philosophical approach in understanding human existence and experiences. Existentialism is based on the assumption that individuals are free and responsible for their own choices and actions. Hence, people are not victims of circumstances as there is the freedom of choice. In an absurdist play, time and settings are generally ambiguous, if they are even defined at all. The characters are not meant to mimic real people, but instead are often â€Å"metaphorical or archetypal† (Britannica Online Encyclopedia). Absurdism is a form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of human existence by employing disjointed, repetitious, and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development. The guiding principle of absurdism is to look at the world without any assumption of purpose and its usefulness is it exists without prejudices or specificity. As it is equally alien to everyone, Absurdism is meant to be accessible to everyone. One of the common misconceptions of theatre of the absurd plays is that nothing makes sense. On the contrary, the characters in absurdism tend to behave in a serious way, reacting realistically to the bizarre occurrences of their environment. The protagonists of Endgame by Samuel Beckett, The Zoo Story by Edward Albee, and Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco are all overwhelmed by the irrational nature of their respective environments and the general effect they share is a nightmare and dreamlike atmosphere that is their existence involving the forces of hope, truth, identity, reality, alienation, meaning, and human existence; all of which are forces they are struggling against. The idea of the Endgame is taken from the game of chess where the concept designates the last, and entirely predictable, stage of a game, the end. The play portrays a universe which is nearing its end. Hamm and Clov both are the protagonists in Beckett’s one-act play, Endgame. Hamm is the chess King, paralyzed and wheelchair bound, who moves only when he makes demand for Clov to service him â€Å"get me ready, I am going to bed† (391) or â€Å"I feel a little too far to the left / Now I feel a little too far to the right† (399). Clov is his submissive Knight who staggers around erratically submitting to Hamm’s every whim. Hamm controls everything and everyone while having absolutely no control over himself or his environment. Frustration and anger dictates his existence as he sees the end all humanity seem to be moving towards is both uncertain and elusive, and he is terrified. Hamm channels his anger at God by shouting â€Å"The bastard! He doesn’t exist! † (Levy 410). The forces of a meaningless existence, reality, and Armageddon are the forces Hamm and Clov struggles against. Both are starving for identity and a healthy relationship with others but it is an impossible feat. They want to preserve their own unique identity, but it is necessary for both to relate to the outside world and nature to develop a true identity. Hamm and Clov are confined in a depressing, stagnant, bare, and dismal vacuum of their environment located partially underground, and their relationship with nature is nonexistent as Beckett reveals â€Å"nature has forgotten us / There’s no more nature† Levy 393). Since both fail to develop an identity the result is a failure to establish a healthy mature relationship with each other. Outside all seems dead, barren, and nothing occurs as Hamm states â€Å"outside of here it’s death† (393). Inside, Hamm and Clov, his caretaker is passing the time mortifying each other and toying with fears and illusions of a possible change that will never occur. Clov indicates â€Å"I can’t be punished anymore† (390) when he reflects on his life with Hamm. In return Hamm declares that he is miserable, â€Å"can there be misery—loftier than mine? † (391). Hamm is attracted to whatever light there is in the gray world and constantly asks Clov to push him under the window so he can feel the light on his face. Light is used as a symbol of hope and life which expresses many of the nuances of Hamm’s personality. Hamm is cursed with darkness and he wants Clov to share the same miserable fate so he continuously antagonizes him. The antagonist is at times Hamm as well as the environment and death. The antagonist death will ultimately prevail and win the chess game. Clov and Hamm are in the â€Å"endgame† of their life and death lurks around the corner. Endgame is the term used to describe an ending in chess where the outcome is already known. The chess endgame parallels the final stages of life. Hamm and Clov will succumb to death regardless of how the game is played. They are stuck in a perpetual loop that never allows final closure. Hamm claims he wants to be â€Å"finished† (410), but admits that he hesitates to do so. He has no answers to the basic existential questions of why he is alive, why he has to die, and why is injustice in his miserable, suffering, and empty existence. Just as death cannot arrive to seal off life, neither can Hamm or Clove escape to close the book of one existence and open another. The Zoo Story by Edward Albee is more anchored in reality than most typical works in the genre of Theatre of the Absurd. The drama is a confrontation between middle-class America and the outcasts of society, Peter and Jerry. Albee presents the setting in a simple structure in New York’s Central Park consisting of two park benches. The play never changes, and the action unfolds in a linear manner, from beginning to end. There are three overriding themes in the short one-act play. They are absurdity versus reality, alienation and loneliness, and wealth and poverty. The protagonist is Peter, a complacent publishing executive of middle age and upper-middle income. He is a conventional family man with morals, mainstream social values, and financial stability. Peter is contending with forces of loneliness, hope, identity, and meaning in his life. Marriage, his cage, and life in general has not played out the way Peter anticipates as his household is female-dominated and he is forced to comply with the desires of his wife. He desires to be freed from the cage and the zoo of his life as Albee shows Who better than a nice married man with two daughters and†¦a dog? [Peter shakes his head] No? Two dogs. [Peter shakes his head again] Hm. No dogs? [Peter shakes his head sadly] Oh, that’s a shame. But you look like an animal man. CATS? [Peter nods his head, ruefully] Cats! But, that can’t be your idea. No, sir. Your wife and daughters? [Peter nods his head] Is there anything else I should know? (549) Jerry, the antagonist is an aggressive, dysfunctional, lonely, disheveled thirty something man in search of human interaction who also yearns to be released from his cage. Jerry is in a personal conflict with his sexuality and Peter is dealing with his emasculation. The distinctions being, Jerry is a social outcast who is free spirited and morally obligated. He is a free man in respect to Peter restrained life. Jerry is in a search of meaning and his struggle is to find his purpose in life. Without the purpose he seeks his life is meaningless and he chooses death to end it all. Peter is a template of American societal male and is a caged animal. Through the serious failed conversation and misrepresentation of the act of love, Jerry begins his life experiment to see if the middle class are animals after all. The lives of both Peter and Jerry is forever altered when they encounter each other on that faithful day and The Zoo Story highlights what happens when one character enters the life of another and rapidly changes it forever. Neither character prevailed in the drama with the violent conclusion of the psychological attack by retreat by Jerry when he tries to teach Peter the nature of human existence and relationships. Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco explores issues of chaos while arriving at a clear message about the chaos. Despite the wild themes and constant activity in the play, a structure and a plot does move forward. Ionesco challenges the point of life and rational nature of humans and forces humanity to challenge to understand ourselves and our actions. The protagonist is Berenger, an everyman who has strong moral character and individuality. The force he has to contend with is the decision to be an individualistic or conform because the masses have succumbed. He is not so different from everyone else in many respects, however, his strength of self and individualism is highlighted when he resists the call to conformity when he says â€Å"But they won’t get me / You won’t get me! † (Levy 469). Berenger chooses to be alone and to give rationality another try. The question becomes is he being true to himself or not? Is human condition one more of rationality or irrationality? To what degree should one resist the pull to conformity, and to what degree should one capitulate to the ways of the world? The antagonist is the ruling government and Nazism and the protagonist Tom prevailed by standing for what he believes even though at times he doubts his decision. Life is full of challenges faced on a daily basis. The many circumstances of life test the human existence, identity, hope, truth, and alienation among many other. Existentialism is based on the assumption that individuals are free and responsible for their own actions and choices. Humans are not victims of circumstances as the freedom of choice is a reality. One gets to make conscious choices when faced with challenges in life. The primary difference between the Theatre of the Absurd and existentialism is that while existentialism recommends a certain type of response to the apparent failure of the human condition, the works of Beckett, Ionesco, Pinter, and Albee makes points without providing any integrated human solution. If the nature of man is partly or mostly irrational, the Theatre of the Absurd expresses the absurdity of human life in a relatable fashion. Works Cited â€Å"Electronic Encyclopedia. † Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. , 2011 Web. 11 Nov. 2011 . Levy, Walter. Modern Drama: Selected Plays from 1879 to the Present. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.