Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and To Kill a...

The two novels â€Å"Great Expectations† and â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† relate us about discrimination during two different periods in history, even though their characters have similar characteristics. The society represented in these books is unequal, because powerful people tended to be more dominant over the poor ones. Certainly, it reflects the disadvantages of not having an education, and remarks that without it, people have no principles. Of course, these characters seek success like Pip, who was always persistent and fought to reach his goals. â€Å"Yet, having already made his fortune in his own mind, he was so unassuming with it that I felt quite graceful to him for not being puffed up.† (Dickens 185). Pip went through many harsh moments to reach his goals, because he wasn ´t used to that environment. This environment of envy and a society in which being rich was more important than the values in life and humility. In â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbirdâ⠂¬  and â€Å"Great Expectations†, the social inequality is represented through children in different status ´s development that visualize the injustice among the hierarchy. Social inequality is present in the interaction among characters of distinct social classes. Miss Havisham from â€Å"Great Expectations† was an example of the previous case, because she was rich and saw Pip as if he was of a lower degree than her. In the other novel, Tom Robinson was the opposite of Miss Havisham, because he was mistreated by not respecting his rights. He wasn ´tShow MoreRelatedPip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations and Jem and Scout in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird1381 Words   |  6 PagesBoth Pip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations and Jem and Scout in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird have deep fears in early childhood. How do the authors create these fears and vulnerabilities? Charles Dickens Great Expectations and Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird are two very different books. Great Expectations tells the story of a young boy growing up in Kent at the beginning of the 19th century, and To Kill a Mocking Bird centres around two children growing up in AmericaRead MoreStories2682 Words   |  11 PagesSTORIES OF OURSELVES: THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS ANTHOLOGY OF SHORT STORIES IN ENGLISH FOR EXAMINATION IN JUNE AND NOVEMBER 2010, 2011 AND 2012 CONTENTS Introduction: How to use these notes 1. The Signalman Charles Dickens 2. The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman 3. How It Happened Arthur Conan Doyle 4. There Will Come Soft Rains Ray Bradbury 5. Meteor John Wyndham 6. The Lemon Orchard Alex la Guma 7. Secrets Bernard MacLaverty 8. The TasteRead MoreLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 Pages The genre translates fairly directly into cinematic form, the coming-of-age film. Plot outline[edit] A Bildungsroman relates the growing up or coming of age of a sensitive person who goes in search of answers to life s questions with the expectation that these will result from gaining experience of the world. The genre evolved from folklore tales of a dunce or youngest son going out in the world to seek his fortune. Usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makesRead MoreBelonging Essay4112 Words   |  17 Pageschoose from this area. These are the prescribed texts for Belonging. It has been strongly suggested that when you are choosing a related text do not choose from the below list. Tan, Amy, The Joy Luck Club Lahiri, Jhumpa, The Namesake Dickens, Charles, Great Expectations Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer, Heat and Dust Winch, Tara June, Swallow the Air Gaita, Raimond, Romulus, My Father Miller, Arthur, The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts Harrison, Jane, Rainbow’s End Luhrmann, Baz, Strictly Ballroom - film De Heer

Monday, December 16, 2019

Machiavelli in Relation to Macbeth Free Essays

Throughout history many have oversimplified and extorted Machiavellian idea s about power and adhering in an attempt to create empires and rule almost always at the expo ensue of the people they rule. Throughout the play Macbeth exhibits the ambition of a Machiavellian chart term, but often lacks the the form or any kind of rigidity that would land him firmly ammo nag Machiavellian clear cut classifications for power figures. Still it is clear based on the plot and details of Macbeth that Shakespeare was influenced by Machiavelli in writing his famous s â€Å"Scottish play†. We will write a custom essay sample on Machiavelli in Relation to Macbeth or any similar topic only for you Order Now As we read Macbeth we see the story of a man, Macbeth, filled with ambition who even begins the story in a mindset similar to that of a Machiavellian prince. In his most famous work Machiavelli cites a man named Stagecoaches â€Å"Stagecoaches, the Sicilian, became King of Syracuse, not only from a private position but from a low and abject one. This man, the son of a potter, through all the changes in his fortunes, always led an infamous life, nevertheless, he accompany ended his Wassermann 2 infamies with such great ability of mind and body, that, having devoting whims elf to the military profession, he rose through its ranks to be Praetor of Syracuse. (Mac heavily 4950) Macbeth is a ruler of what Machiavelli would have called a principality obtained through wickedness† (Machiavelli 49) Machiavelli belie Veda that â€Å"All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been an d are either republics or principalities. Principalities are either hereditary, i n which the family has been long establish deed; or they are new. The new are either entirely new, as was Milan to Francesco Sports, or they are it were, members annexed to the hereditary state of the prince who has acacia red them, as was the kingdom of Naples to that of the King of Spain. Such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince, o to live in freedom; and are acquired either by the arms Of the prince himself, or of others, or else by fortune or by ability. † (Machiavelli 1) Under Machiavellian classifications, Macbeth is a grey area. His principality coo old potentially be considered hereditary because, although he had to murder Du NCAA he did technically inherit the throne, although, Macbeth is not a relative of Duncan s o the principality could be considered new. In her Tyranny in Shakespeare, Mary Ann McGill w rites that â€Å"[Macbeth] asks what is a tyrant? Or, what does a tyrant do that sets him apart from others Of great political ambition? † (McGill 21) Wassermann 3 When Machiavelli discusses â€Å"principalities obtained by arms† (Machiavelli 30) he states that â€Å"states which rise rapidly, like all other things that arise and grow rapidly in an true, cannot leave† This would lead one to believe that Macbeth is not Machiavellian in nature. Pee reaps not overall, yet Machete’s reign of Scotland does still exhibit Machiavellian properties. For example where Machiavelli says: â€Å"Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be fear d than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is t o be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer y their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you. How to cite Machiavelli in Relation to Macbeth, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Lumbertos Bakery Essay Example For Students

Lumbertos Bakery Essay It is at least 5 years later and I can still remember my first visit to Lumbertos Bakery. Stopping in to see if anyone could redirect or help us relocate the turn we had currently missed, my friend Allef and I received a large dose of culture shock. It seemed as if we had opened a door to generations past; a place where people came and left but time didn’t. In this particular place, it seemed that time stood still. My friend’s mom, Ms Decker, actually owns and manages that restaurant in the middle of the town of boson. Ms Decker has stayed in business at that location since 1989. The place came off as well taken care of. It is not for the lack of care: in fact Ms Decker had pride in the fact that she kept her restaurant that way. She has often been heard to say, with the strongest boston accent Ive ever heard,† It doesn’t matter how messy sometimes gets it can always be fixed with a good wash. She is very proud to say her restaurant received 5 stars out of 5. Its not the most glamorous place. The handful of buzzed loners, engineers, and stockbrokers who have really beat the hard ware in. Chunks are missing from the carpet at the favorite table of workers. The paint on the walls has cracks and the only good smell in that place is the smell from the chocolate chip cookies. The regular customer would be forgiven if he mistook the fact that the place was financially in trouble. Instead, what we discovered that night was a big pot of social encounters with the best information available. When going into the door at Lumbertos, two things are immediately noticeable: the place is rarely empty and seems to consist of a jungle of rooms. The second room, though the first door is the main door at the restaurant. There is another, also rarely used, the side room for pastries. It was added during the 90s when there was an economic boom or something. Through the side room there is yet another room; it blocks the door leading to the kitchen. This room contains the most prized possession in the place. The famous table where only family bestowed there bums to. It was the family table; it was primarily reserved for Deckers. All of the activity at Ms deckers is conduced in the ora at Lumbertos, likely to make your mouth start to watering. The smell is never the same; it depends entirely on what is baking at that exact moment . Whether it be the vanilla almond cookies, a cake someone asked Mr decker to hand make, the texture on the apple pie, or the ever present odor of the fudge brownies, it is a well documented fact; it is one amazing aroma. The best thing about being involved with Lumbertos is not there baked goods, however; it is the felling of being apart of an extended family, being a part of something meaningful, when that is hard to come by.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Michelangelo Essays (1626 words) - Sistine Chapel, Painted Ceilings

Michelangelo Michelangelo was pessimistic in his poetry and an optimist in his artwork. Michelangelo's artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in it's natural state. Michelangelo's poetry was pessimistic in his response to Strazzi even though he was complementing him. Michelangelo's sculpture brought out his optimism. Michelangelo was optimistic in completing The Tomb of Pope Julius II and persevered through it's many revisions trying to complete his vision. Sculpture was Michelangelo's main goal and the love of his life. Since his art portrayed both optimism and pessimism, Michelangelo was in touch with his positive and negative sides, showing that he had a great and stable personality. Michelangelo's artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in it's natural state. Michelangelo Buonarroti was called to Rome in 1505 by Pope Julius II to create for him a monumental tomb. We have no clear sense of what the tomb was to look like, since over the years it went through at least five conceptual revisions. The tomb was to have three levels; the bottom level was to have sculpted figures representing Victory and bond slaves. The second level was to have statues of Moses and Saint Paul as well as symbolic figures of the active and contemplative life-representative of the human striving for, and reception of, knowledge. The third level, it is assumed, was to have an effigy of the deceased pope. The tomb of Pope Julius II was never finished. What was finished of the tomb represents a twenty-year span of frustrating delays and revised schemes. Michelangelo had hardly begun work on the pope's tomb when Julius commanded him to fresco the ceiling of the Sisti ne Chapel to complete the work done in the previous century under Sixtus IV. The overall organization consists of four large triangles at the corner; a series of eight triangular spaces on the outer border; an intermediate series of figures; and nine central panels, all bound together with architectural motifs and nude male figures. The corner triangles depict heroic action in the Old Testament, while the other eight triangles depict the biblical ancestors of Jesus Christ. Michelangelo conceived and executed this huge work as a single unit. It's overall meaning is a problem. The issue has engaged historians of art for generations without satisfactory resolution. The paintings that were done by Michelangelo had been painted with the brightest colors that just bloomed the whole ceiling as one entered to look. The ceiling had been completed just a little after the Pope had died. The Sistine Chapel is the best fresco ever done. Michelangelo embodied many characteristic qualities of the Renaissance. An individualistic, highly competitive genius (sometimes to the point of eccentricity). Michelangelo was not afraid to show humanity in it's natural state - nakedness; even in front of the Pope and the other religious leaders. Michelangelo portrayed life as it is, even with it's troubles. Michelangelo wanted to express his own artistic ideas. The most puzzling thing about Michelangelo's ceiling design is the great number of seemingly irrelevant nude figures that he included in his gigantic fresco. Four youths frame most of the Genesis scenes. We know from historical records that various church officials objected to the many nudes, but Pope Julius gave Michelangelo artistic freedom, and eventually ruled the chapel off limits to anyone save himself, until the painting was completed. The many nude figures are referred to as Ignudi. They are naked humans, perhaps representing the naked truth. More likely, I think the y represent Michelangelo's concept of the human potential for perfection. Michelangelo himself said, "Whoever strives for perfection is striving for something divine." In painting nude humans, he is suggesting the unfinished human; each of us is born nude with a mind and a body, in Neoplatonic thought, with the power to be our own shapers. Michelangelo has a very great personality for his time. In Rome, in 1536, Michelangelo was at work on the Last Judgment for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, which he finished in 1541. The largest fresco of the Renaissance, it depicts Judgment Day. Christ, with a clap of thunder, puts into motion the inevitable separation, with the saved ascending on the left side of the painting and

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on Art History

There were many difficulties and challenges dealt with in the seventeenth century, some which have many similarities to difficulties and challenges in today’s society. During the 17th Century; also known as the Baroque Period, many investigations and discoveries formed and changed the way society viewed the world. For example 2 philosophers of this time, and Rene Descartes’ established a â€Å"new scientific method of studying the world by insisting on scrupulous objectivity and logical reasoning.† Many scientists of the same time period agreed with their discoveries claiming that these philosophers â€Å"simply amplified human understanding of creation.† Although some viewed this as a glorious discovery there were also difficulties and challenges to still be faced. Many people of this time had trouble accepting new ideas and discoveries especially those who were highly religious. The church and many church authorities were not accepting of this disc overy and strongly disagree with these findings. In today’s society many discoveries and ideas are presented and rejected due to the churches rigid beliefs and beliefs of nonconformist. Abortion and abstinence is still a controversial topic today and not thoroughly accepted. Galileo an astronomer, mathematical and physicist discovered the telescope, which lead to the confirmation of the Copernican theory. This theory was previously banned by the church from being taught which Galileo was put under house arrest for and soon after sentenced to death by the church. Although people may believe that being sentenced to death by the church does not occur these days, recently in Africa a woman was sentenced to death for adultery because it is illegal by Muslim society still faces the same challenges and difficulties because people cannot accept new ideas and beliefs. The Role of Art in Contemporary Society has taken on a historical meaning. When people these days visit a well... Free Essays on Art History Free Essays on Art History There were many difficulties and challenges dealt with in the seventeenth century, some which have many similarities to difficulties and challenges in today’s society. During the 17th Century; also known as the Baroque Period, many investigations and discoveries formed and changed the way society viewed the world. For example 2 philosophers of this time, and Rene Descartes’ established a â€Å"new scientific method of studying the world by insisting on scrupulous objectivity and logical reasoning.† Many scientists of the same time period agreed with their discoveries claiming that these philosophers â€Å"simply amplified human understanding of creation.† Although some viewed this as a glorious discovery there were also difficulties and challenges to still be faced. Many people of this time had trouble accepting new ideas and discoveries especially those who were highly religious. The church and many church authorities were not accepting of this disc overy and strongly disagree with these findings. In today’s society many discoveries and ideas are presented and rejected due to the churches rigid beliefs and beliefs of nonconformist. Abortion and abstinence is still a controversial topic today and not thoroughly accepted. Galileo an astronomer, mathematical and physicist discovered the telescope, which lead to the confirmation of the Copernican theory. This theory was previously banned by the church from being taught which Galileo was put under house arrest for and soon after sentenced to death by the church. Although people may believe that being sentenced to death by the church does not occur these days, recently in Africa a woman was sentenced to death for adultery because it is illegal by Muslim society still faces the same challenges and difficulties because people cannot accept new ideas and beliefs. The Role of Art in Contemporary Society has taken on a historical meaning. When people these days visit a well... Free Essays on Art History 1. Define the thematic and stylistic principles of Neoclassicism. How did Enlightenment thinking affect these principles? Cite specific examples by discussing the works of at least three Neoclassical painters, and one Neoclassical architect. Neoclassicism was born into the Age of Reason, where rationality and virtue were venerated over emotion and tradition. This style of art meant a return to the ancients, â€Å"a revival of classical antiquity† (p. 412). Because of this reasoning behind the art of this time, Enlightenment thinking understandably relates to Neoclassicism. Many of the philosophers during this time, including Voltaire and Hume, believed that authority ought not have any part in the ruling of human affairs. These contemporary thinkers considered reason and the common good as what should rule, and opposed what was then the established Rococo. A masterpiece of virtue could be seen in Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s painting The Village Bride. This painting, in what appears to be a genre scene, perpetuates the high caliber and honesty the Enlightenment thinkers valued. But what separates this painting from earlier genre scenes is its dramatic intention. This painting depicts lower-class family life as honorable, significant, and is ultimately more appreciated than is the frivolous pleasures supplied by the Rococo (p. 414). Another very powerful artist of Neoclassicism was Jacques-Louis David. In his beautiful painting The Death of Socrates, he invites the viewers into a lost utopia of ancient philosophers and stoic mentalities. This piece obviously parallels the death of the philosopher Socrates with the death of Jesus. It shows Socrates about to drink his poison, but instead of being frightened, he is shown as composed and as a symbol of righteousness. The figures are severe and statuesque, reflecting rationality and patriotism. This painting provides onlookers with the Enlightenment values and attitudes. The D...

Friday, November 22, 2019

A Guide to Ghost Month in China

A Guide to Ghost Month in China The 7th lunar month in the traditional Chinese calendar is called Ghost Month. It is said that on the first day of the month, the Gates of Hell are sprung open to allow ghosts and spirits access to the world of the living. The spirits spend the month visiting their families, feasting, and looking for victims.  There are three important days during Ghost Month, which this article will delve into. Honoring the Dead On the first day of the month, ancestors are honored with offerings of food, incense, and ghost money- paper money which is burned so the spirits can use it. These offerings are done at makeshift altars set up on sidewalks outside the house. Almost as important as honoring your ancestors, offerings to ghosts without families must be made so that they will not cause you any harm. Ghost month is the most dangerous time of the year, and malevolent spirits are on the lookout to capture souls. This makes ghost month a bad time to do activities such as evening strolls, traveling, moving house, or starting a new business. Many people avoid swimming during ghost month since there are many spirits in the water which can try to drown you. Ghost Festival The 15th day of the month is Ghost Festival, sometimes called Hungry Ghost Festival. The Mandarin Chinese name of this festival is ä ¸ ­Ã¥â€¦Æ'ç ¯â‚¬ (traditional form), or ä ¸ ­Ã¥â€¦Æ'节 (simplified form), which is pronounced zhÃ… ng yun jià ©. This is the day when the spirits are in high gear. It’s important to give them a sumptuous feast, to please them and to bring luck to the family. Taoists and Buddhists perform ceremonies on this day to ease the sufferings of the deceased. Closing Gates The last day of the month is when the Gates of Hell close  up again. The chants of Taoist priests inform the spirits that it’s time to return, and as they are confined once again to the underworld, they let out an unearthly wail of lament. Vocabulary for Ghost Month If you happen to be in China during Ghost Month, it could be fun to learn these vocabulary words! While terms like ghost money or ghost month are only applicable to Ghost Month, other words like feast or offerings can be used in casual conversation. English Pinyin Traditional Characters Simplified Characters altar shn tn ghost gu vampire jing sh ghost money zh qin incense xing ghost month gu yu feast gng pn offerings j bi

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

Case Study - Essay Example 3. Testing for carrier or affected individuals with Tay-Sachs disease; blood screening for hexosaminidase-A (Hex-A) mutation in suspected individual that either have family history or are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent is used to identify carriers. Blood test is performed antenatal using chronic villus sampling and amniocentesis or after birth. 5. Function of lysosomes; they produce enzyme Hexosaminidase-A (Hex-A) that prevents buildup of fatty materials called GM2 ganglioside in the cells brain and nerves. This further averts malfunctioning of nerves and brain cells (Americo, Filho, & Shapiro, 2010). 6. Role of Hexosaminidase-A enzyme; this enzyme is responsible for abasement of GM2 ganglioside and many other biological molecules that have terminal N-acetyl hexosamins in both the brain cells and nervous cells. Deficiency of enzyme hexosaminidase A causes Tay-Sachs disease due to increased buildup of toxic GM2 ganglioside a fatty substance that destroys brain cells and nerves. This results in motor difficulties and other signs and symptoms. 7. Diagnosis of Tay-Sachs disease; blood test is analyzed for enzyme assay or biochemical examination that reveals the levels of hexosaminidase- A in an individual. Affected individuals have less -hexosaminidase A blood and other cells than non-carriers. 8. Management; Tay-Sachs disease has no cure; only management is to relieve symptoms. Prevent airway and lung problems; relieve dysphagia and medication for fits, muscle stiffness and eye problems (Chamoles, Blanco, Gaggioli, & Casentini, 2002). Chamoles, N. A., Blanco, M., Gaggioli, D., & Casentini, C. (2002). Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases: Enzymatic diagnosis in dried blood spots on filter paper: Retrospective diagnoses in newborn-screening cards. Clinica Chimica Acta, 318(1-2), 133–137. doi:10.1016/S0009-8981(02)00002-5 Ohno, K., Saito, S., Sugawara, K., & Sakuraba, H. (2008). Structural

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The understanding of language learning Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The understanding of language learning - Article Example The view of learning as changing participation is radically different from theories of second language (L2) acquisition that frame language learning as a cognitive process residing in the mind-brain of an individual learner. Many scholars in the cognitive tradition have accepted a view of language as a set of clearly delineated and internally coherent structures that are best understood as a self-contained system. The methodology followed here is that of participatory research and the main limitation of the same is the possibility of bias of the researcher owing to his or her involvement. Not enough is said about the unbiased nature of the method though we find that the researcher learns in the process. Moreover, a cross-sectional analysis would have led to a more justifiable and generalized set of results. The method followed here is a specific case though structured longitudinally. Also, the main limitation of the study is the inability to capture the ethnic or racial differences r eflected in the discursive practice because the study is based on a Vietnamese learner. The representations of the findings and the final analysis or conclusion of the researchers are presented in a complex manner and at times the observations are repetitive in nature. Even considering all limitations, the purpose and findings of the study are interesting and revealing in the area of discursive practice and the interactional process of research. ... The methodology followed here is that of participatory research and the main limitation of the same is the possibility of bias of the researcher owing to his or her involvement. Not enough is said about the unbiased nature of the method though we find that the researcher learns in the process. Moreover a cross sectional analysis would have led to a more justifiable and generalized set of results. The method followed here is a specific case though structured longitudinally. Also the main limitation of the study is the inability to capture the ethnic or racial differences reflected in the discursive practice because the study is based on a Vietnamese learner. The representations of the findings and the final analysis or conclusion of the researchers are presented in a complex manner and at times the observations are repetitive in nature. Even considering all limitations, the purpose and findings of the study are interesting and revealing in the area of discursive practice and interacti onal process of research. Capturing the over time changes in communication is the most significant part of the research. Again study explores both verbal and non verbal methods of communication which makes it more complete though not very inclusive in terms of sample choice. Excerpts i. Just before the opening of revision talk in the first conference, in Excerpt 1 â€Å"the instructor and student discuss a tragic event in the student’s life that he had written about in his paper. Years before, he had stepped on a land mine in his native country of Vietnam and, as a result, lost part of a leg. Although the event was mentioned in the student’s paper and, thus, we could say the topic of their interaction emerged from the text, their conversation focuses on topics not mentioned

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Nursing management Essay Example for Free

Nursing management Essay Introduction To lead effectively, you have to strike the difficult balance between communication and accountability. Different situations call for different leadership approaches, depending on corporate needs, objectives and available resources. Ultimately the goal of any leader is to get results. Here’s a list of the various common leadership types. Types of Leadership The Autocrat The autocratic dictator is the one of the most common types of leaders. The autocrat’s approach is to make unilateral decisions without asking for suggestions from other members of the group. Such totalitarian leaders have the advantage of saving time and receiving little oppositions as they seek solutions. The classic example of autocratic leadership is seen in the governments of countries like North Korea, which control their citizens through force and fear. Used positively, this type of approach is helpful to tighten up companies that are suffering from inefficiency or a lack of discipline. The Laissez-Faire Leader This type of leader is the opposite of the autocrat: employees are given a lot of freedom and eeway to work as they see fit. The laissez-faire leader rarely monitors employees and does not get feedback or updates on a regular basis. The style can be advantageous for companies that aim to harness individual leadership skills and encourage initiative among employees. The laissez-faire approach can result in time savings and better intra-office relationships, but only in companies with efficient, honest workers that require little supervision. Over time, leaders still need to follow up on the employees or they may sacrifice efficiency, productivity and affordability. The Motivational Leader A motivational leader helps to bring out the best in everyone. By taking the time to get to know each member of the organization, this type of leader gets to study employee’s strengths and weakness and develop strategies for taking advantage of them. This approach leads to good communication throughout the different levels of an organization. Employees get to share their feelings, thoughts and ideas, and so feel empowered and satisfied. AÂ  motivational leader is perfect in sales organizations or companies that are in need of a creative spark—or a jolt of enthusiasm. The Democrat The democratic leader values every member of the organization and seeks to make each group member feel content and useful. A democrat participates in tasks while respecting and acknowledging the suggestions and contributions of other workers. This approach generally leads to team efficiency and happy employees. Note that while members of the group participate in the planning and decision-making process, the leader makes the final decision based on all available information. The Gratifier The gratifier follows the old carrot-and-stick approach. Such a leader sets goals and then offers relative rewards depending on the contribution and achievements of members. If an employee or department performs poorly, there may be punishments or penalties. One benefit of this traditional management strategy is that it’s possible to initiate competitions within the workplace that often lead to improved—even transcendent—performance. The Innovator An innovator is creative and dynamic, adapting quickly to change and spearheading explosive growth. An innovative leader is aware of new developments in the marketplace and is always listening to other team members, on the lookout for fresh ideas and solutions. The best thing about the innovator’s approach is that the lead-by-example creativity inspires other employees to explore, expand and come up with new concepts of their own. This type of management strategy is particularly effective for tech, media and other idea-driven businesses. Your company’s current needs and goals may dictate the most effective management approach. Be flexible, and respond to changing circumstances or personnel by varying that approach as needed. It’s also wise to tailor your style of management to the capabilities and personalities of your company leaders.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Restaurant Review Essay -- essays research papers

Restaurant Review   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was rainy, crowded and loud at the entrance, the smell of cigarette and rum filled the air of the lobby area. It was Saturday night at the T.G.I.F in San Francisco, the Giant’s were playing so the place was packed and fans were being loud. The restaurant is located on a corner nearby Pier 39 and it almost has an Aspen look to it. The building itself is made of bricks with big colorful windows and huge cherry finished wooden doors with brass handles. Inside, the walls are cherry wood and covered with big mirrors and stuffed dear heads. The tables and chairs are all dark wood with a very rich red color. The atmosphere inside almost had an Irish pub feel to it, people were very happy and socializing loud, laughter filled the air. Men argued about whose team was better, young people laughing at jokes and friends, there were televisions tuned to sports.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The staff there were all clean cut and very down to earth but yet nice and helpful. Although we were a party of 15 and the place was packed, the wait was only 15 minutes. They sat us down and we had a waitress with us promptly to take our drink order. There cuisine is more along the line of good old fashioned Americana food. Fried foods, ribs, barbeque and burgers. They have a small variety of salads and soups but it had something for everyone, whether in a diet or not. There prices are reasonable for the amount and quality ...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Structures of Legal Restraint, Oh Police Powers in India

The Ibakkar – Natarajan Commission Part one of the Nanawti Commission report, probing into the Godhara incident in Gujarat, released last month has once again opened the Pandora's Box over logic of setting up Inquiry Commissions in the country. The report while giving clean chit to the Narendra Modi Government has supported the theory of conspiracy, leading to a widespread criticism across the country. Many call it ‘eye wash' and other call it ‘sponsored report'. Communists have termed it a ‘piecemeal' and fabricated report, whereas; National Democratic Alliance (NDA) calls it ‘triumph of truth'.Justice Nanawati report in fact contradicts the UC Banerjee report which also probed the Godhara incident. How a single incident draws two extreme conclusions? The two reports have raised a very debatable issue. What do judicial commissions, appointed by the various governments to examine issues ranging from riots, scandals and assassinations to inter-state disp utes actually achieve? Critics of commissions say that their recent history has been extremely spotty. Apart from taking inordinately long to deliver reports, they seldom achieve anything.Keeping apart from such allegations and counter allegations, the issue that has again come to fore is whether an inquiry commission can substitute criminal prosecution? Do these Commissions serve any purpose? Is it not an eye wash? Are these Commissions able to bring culprits to book? Are not Commissions of inquiry a waste of time and money? To understand the entire issue, one has to discuss the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 itself. Before this Act came into being, the governments used to order an inquiry by executive notifications under Public Service Inquiry Act, 1850.Sometimes, they used to enact adhoc and temporary legislations too. To meet the public demand for impartial and judicial inquiries, the Government of India came out with a comprehensive legislation, which resulted into passage of this Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. Since its enactment, the constitution of Inquiry Commissions has become a tool for the various governments to subside the public anger. Since Independence, more than a hundred Inquiry Commissions have been set up, but a very few have served the purpose. And the reasons are obvious.First, the provisions enshrined in this Act are not of deterrent in nature and secondly, most of the time the Commissions are set up under retired Judges for obvious reasons. Section 4 the Act provides for powers and it is clear that the Commission has no power to compel a person to adduce before it and give evidence. It cannot pass verdicts or judgments which could be enforceable. The helplessness is such that even if an offence has been committed in view of or in presence of Commission, the Commission needs to forward the case to the Magistrate for trial as provided in Criminal Procedure code.The appointment of retired Judges, as head of the Commission is very much s uitable for the government. It is not merely a chance that one Judge has headed more than one Commission. The public perception is such that these Inquiry Commissions are becoming post retirement placement schemes for the favourite retired Judges. We have a long list of such Commissions, which have made inordinate delay in submitting their reports. Many of them have taken decades in so called â€Å"conducting inquiries† and even then the report which was submitted were so voluminous that we required another committee to find out ays to implement the recommendations. For example, as many as ten Commissions or committees have so far been set up with regard to the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. First of all it was the Marvah Commission headed by Additional Commissioner of Police Ved Marvah, that was set up in November, 1984. The Commission was about to finish the assigned task when it was abruptly wounded up in May 1985 a nd a new Commission headed by Justice Rangnath Misra was constituted. The new Commission was asked to carry out further inquiry hitherto done by the Marvah Commission.The Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission which was appointed under Section 3 of The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, was asked to inquire into â€Å"allegations† of violence and not to inquire into the â€Å"nature† of violence, a departure from the terms of reference of over a dozen other commissions on communal disturbances since Independence. It is needless to mention that what has happened to reports and how much amount have been spent on these exercises. Has any prominent leader been punished so far? Many persons, against whom leveled charges were being inquired into, have died.Such are the frustrating results of these Commissions and Committees. As far as time and money aspect of these Commissions are concerned, its enough to look into the expenses of just couple of Commissions to understand the qua ntum of impact—both in terms of the amount and time spent. The one that tops the chart is the Liberhan Commission. Set up under retired Justice M S Liberhan on 16 December, 1992 to probe into Babri mosque demolition, the Commission has so far been given more than 41 extensions. Overall the government has already spent Rs 90 million on this single man inquiry Commission, which is yet to come out with its report.Similarly, Justice B N Kripal Commission of inquiry was set up on 13 July, 1985 to probe into the bombing of the Air India Flight 182 on 23 June, 1985 which led to the crash of this plane into the Atlantic Ocean leaving 329 passengers including crew dead. The Commission submitted its report after extensive tours of countries like Canada and USA but when the prosecution began, nothing could be proved and none could be punished. The entire ‘investigation and inquiry' went in vain. It is needless again, to calculate the amount which was spent on such inquiries.Phukan Commission was set up to probe the Tehelka expose into fictitious defence deals. Everyone saw the tape on television and the then Government just to avoid immediate legal course, set up this Commission. In May 2005 the Newsweek reported that Justice Phukan along with his wife and eight officials used IAF plane and went to Pune, Mumbai and Shirdi. The Ministry later said that the Judge was not entitled to use the military plane and it was made available to him by the then government in order to influence the Judge. Such allegations and incidents definitely erode public faith in such Commissions.The situation is such that every Government in power uses this provision to oblige the retired judges. In Bihar for example, Justice Amir Das Commission was set up to probe into the alleged connections of political leaders with a banned outfit called Ranveer Sena in 1997. The Commission was finally wounded up in 2006 as it could hardly do anything except for some tours and recording the state ments some leaders in over eight years of its existence. Similar is the case of Justice Ali Ahmed Commission that was set up to look into excess withdrawal in 1996.In fact, very little is known about the outcome of the Commission, including the recommendations that it submited or the actions taken by it. Commission under Justice R C P Sinha and Justice Samsul was set up on Bhagalpur communal riot in 1989. Reports were submitted in 1995. But when the new government came to power it set up N N Singh (retired Justice) Commission to investigate the matter again. In 2008 a Commission under retired judge Sadanand Mukherjee was set up to probe into the Kahalgaon police firing. This commission is still a non starter vis-a-vis investigation of the incidence.Not to miss the fact that when the recent breach in Kosi embankment that caused a major flood in Bihar led to lot of allegations and counter allegations, the state government was quick to constitute a Commission under Rajesh Walia, again a retired Judge to probe into it. And while there is no bias against the judiciary or the retired judges, who are a national repository of knowledge as far as judicial matters are concerned, the question needs to be examined is whether a Commission can substitute the country’s criminal investigation system.How can a Judge be better equipped to do forensic test, do scientific investigations than a professionally trained police officer? Has the Commission power to make arrests to the persons likely to tamper evidences? The answer to these and many such questions has been provided by a two Judge commission itself. Set up by in 1987 to investigate the Fairfax Deal, the Justice Thakkar and Natarajan Commission in its report have said that the Commission of Inquiry Act was â€Å"ineffective and toothless†. They two, in fact, devoted one full chapter on the inadequacies of this Act.It is important to note that India has a criminal justice system, which is based on the twin pi llars of investigation and dispensation of justice. How can the Judiciary be asked to do the work of investigation, which is the work of the State as enshrined the law of the land? The Criminal Procedure Code and for that matter entire Criminal Justice System is erected on this principle (Article 50 of Chapter IV on Directive Principles of State Policy) and perhaps it is due to this principle, that the judiciary and executive have been completely separated in 1973, when the Code of Criminal Procedure was amended.Besides, most of these Commissions, after years of its investigation, usually submit reports that are so voluminous that it again requires some committees to suggest measures to implements the recommendations. Not to talk about the fact that such reports are not obligatory and mandatory for the government to implement. It is also worthwhile to mention here that the Judiciary in India is an independent system and that is precisely the reason why Article 220 restricts practise by retired Judges. The idea is that there should not be any scope, whatsoever, of favour or disfavour by the serving Judges.By appointing the retired Judges in these Commissions or for that matter in any other body tends to clearly violate the spirit of the Constitution itself. What is more shocking is that instead of modernising and equipping the investigating agencies to probe into such serious issues of national shame, the country has been a mere spectator to the cosmetic make ups. In India, every one knows about the ‘normal' pace of the court proceedings, and so all these commissions, needless to say have virtually become black holes.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Managerial Accounting In Business Essay

Managerial Accounting is known as the tongue of business. Formalization of data and numbers in such a manner so as to help to arrive at decision making and financial planning is the main object of accounting process. While book keeping is mainly concerned with organizing and keeping records, i.e. books of accounts but managerial accounting are employed to examine the data of information for taking major business decisions. Managerial reports are prepared from Managerial accounting statements. Managerial accounting assists managers to plan and manage an organization’s operations. Budgets are prepared to convey management’s goals in financial terms by measuring, identifying, analyzing, accumulating, communicating and interpreting accounting and financial information. Over a period, performance reports are prepared to evaluate the actual results with that of budgeted one. With the help of cost accountants, the management keeps watch of how much it costs a company to manufacture a product or to provide the service. (Horngreen, Stratton & Sundem, p.5) Managerial accounting does not require complying with rules and procedures of the GAPP. An organisation can develop its own internal accounting system that will suit most to the needs of the company. Managerial report is a devise for using a financial metric (dollars) as a normalizing mechanism for taking decision about different choices and alternatives. For instance, a managerial report helps you to come to a conclusion whether it is better to add 1000 customer account advocates in a call centre in UK, against staffing a user experience and technical writing department in California and investing in billions in intuitive products, Managerial reporting helps to take decisions and to do right thing. The practice of financial analysis   germinate from the budgeting and accounting reports of an organisation and thus directs to generation of managerial reports that explain into the firm’s overall strategic decision making process. Hence the quality of the report at all level is more significant. The financial statement should reflect the true fiscal position of the organisation and it should not be an obscure. Financial and managerial reports should disclose a factual picture of the organization’s performance, making it to the outsiders and financial analyst to interpret financial results on their own. MAKING MANAGEMENT DECISIONS THROUGH APPLICATION OF FINANCIAL DECISIONS: In this chapter, let us view how financial analysis and reporting are processed and is being used as efficient financial tools. For all decisions made in an organisation must be based on prudent financial information and careful analysis. Can we open a new branch? How many hours per week can we afford to operate our factory? How productive is our employees? How much money is being lost on workers idle time? How cost effective was the training intercession? Can we prolong our services at current costs?   To answer to all the above questions, a manager needs financial and managerial input mainly accounting data’s. (Wertheim Paul, 1993) A prudent financial analysis may help to diagnose the deficiencies in other management areas like project or program management, human resource management, the availability and use of technology or the organization’s leadership. As a curative measure, a manager may have to review his organization’s management strategies, resources, structures, internal and external information needs and capabilities. This broad view may help to enlighten manager’s perspective on how financial management contributes to one’s organisation. Thus this will induce the manager to suitably design or change the chart of accounts, reports, improve financial reforms and databases and train staff to efficiently employ financial information on continuous basis. 2.1. Deciding on Labour and Staffing patterns: Employee cost will disclose the hours worked, cost of staff time and this will help the manager to analyse the labor, compensation issues and staffing matters. One can evaluate from good financial data to study how overtime pay and leave pay accrual are influencing labor costs or employee cost of the organisation. This financial analysis can reveal which actions are most labour oriented which may guide you to restructure management processes and control the level of effort of employees of an organisation. (Hake, E. R., 2005). 2.2 Fixing fees for services and other fees: Cost to provide a particular service can be derived from financial data’s of an organisation as this will help the management to take critical decisions like estimating prices for any products or services , developing budgets , bidding for new projects or business or planning in reduction of costs. If the cost per service of an organisation is arrived at, then it will be easy to take into other factors such so as to come to a decision how to offset these costs. 2.3 Determing the combination of services: Cost per unit of production, cost per unit sold of different services and their cost effectiveness can be derived from financial data of an organisation and this can be utilized to decide to which services to provide, emphasize, promote or subdize. Further information’s like clientele, catchments’ population, service utilization and service volume are also needed for this purpose. By monitoring the services which are rarely used or often lose money, a manager can conclude how best to apply appropriate changes. 2.4 Estimating future supply costs and inventory: From the financial data of an organisation we can infer the price fluctuations, consumption patterns, the costs of keeping supplies in stock which includes transportation, logistics, personnel and facilities management. A manager can use this information for taking decisions such as which supplier to select, which supplier has to be renegotiated, to purchase inventory on a seasonal basis so as to reap the benefit of price advantage through out the year. A manager has also to decide whether the costs of spoiled and expired stock need to be controlled or contained. 2.5 Analysis of Variance: A variance analysis is an exhaustive assessment of disparity between actual and planned results. The main three part of variance analysis are assessment of the actual cost with that of budgeted cost (expenses), assessment of the intended quantity of an activity or procurement with the actual quantity and valuation of the actual output with the planned output. (Kohl beck, M., 2005). 2.6 Budget: It can be explained as a detailed financial plan revealing expected future income and expenses. As an effective controlling tool, it helps to scrutinize current operating environments of an organisation. Immediate corrective action can be resorted by analyzing  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and on reviewing and reacting variances between expected and actual expenses once variance is reported. 2.7 CASH FLOW STATEMENT: It signifies how cash was engendered and how it was used up for the business purpose. It discloses the incoming   and outgoing of cash in an organisation and it reports various types like cash flow from financial activities, cash flow from operating activities and cash flow from investing activities. It is being deployed by financial managers to assess whether there will be sufficient cash on hand to meet expenditure requirements. RISK MANAGEMENT: A prudent manager can manage the risky conditions by constant examining of financial status of his organisation. Certain happenings may bring potential impairment to the organisation. For instance, a sudden increase in repair costs and sharp decline in sales revenue may leave the organisation without enough funds to provide services and fulfill objectives. A manager must review likely risk and to shun or control perilous situations like failure to meet quality, performance, budget objectives. Financial data’s are the immense source in risk management process which will help to quantify the risks by resources type like inventory, employees, cash, facility or receivables. Finance managers normally apply two techniques for handling risk mitigation and contingency planning. Risk alleviation guarantee strategies and procedures to control, prevent, or reduction of impact of the risk event if it transpires. For instance, if there is risk of fall in sales revenues, a mitigation technique would be to add more products or diversification of business so that the decline in sales of a particular product may not be detrimental. Like wise, a contingency plan would be to add up a reserve fund that could be used to supplement the fall in sales revenue due to competitors strategy or depression. (Kristy James E., 1994) PRUDENT MANAGEMENT DECISIONS FROM FINANCIAL DATAS: One of the critical financial management aspects is to build good financial decisions. Since financial management influences all parts of management, it is better to recognize and realize the sound financial management and discover how to use sound financial information. One of the best ways to compare the financial performance is to look into the competitor’s performance. For instance, a hospital may look into the hospital wide financial reporting which helps to understand how they have performed and to analyse the reasons for poor performance if any. Comparing the gross and net margin with the other hospitals will help to fix the loophole. Further comparison of actual with that of budgets will also assist to know whether revenue and expenses are with in the budgeted range and if there is a variance, the reasons for the same. A hospital may keep a strict eye on its margins and various means to measure the level of profitability by having close watch on emergency department visits, inpatients admissions, surgeries, revenues from scan and x-rays and blood testing etc. This information will help a hospital to manage its cost either on monthly or periodical basis. Admission rates, costs and gross revenues may act as best performance indicators. For example, if the number of outpatient department visits at a particular facility is trailing back, then CEO will talk to physician to know the reasons. Thus managerial report helps to take a decision for the discontinuance of a poorly performing product line.[1] CASH FLOW RATIOS CAN BE EMPLOYED TO FIND REASONS FOR BUSINESS FAILURES: Cash flow information can be utilized to find out the success or failure of the business in advance as it has been evident from the previous empirical studies like Gentry, 1984, Bernard and Stober, 1989, Carslaw and Mills ,1991 , BarNiv 1990. Most of these studies have found that the level of cash inflows and outflows from various activities are highly interconnected and a failure of any part of the system to function may jeopardize or cause the entire firm to fail. (Glover, J. C., 2005) The key ratios are [2] Current ratio:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 to 1, Quick ratio  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1 to 1 Liquidity ratio  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0.40 to 1 Equity / debt ratio  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     1.65 to 1 Return on Equity  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   14% If you apply the above ratio and can find out the 80% of the financial health of any company. For instance, if unusual increase in accounts receivable may lead to conclusion that accounts receivable are being managed very badly and may result in high bad debts. But if you have at closer look, you may find out that the company may have introduced a new product or a new market where such receivables are considered to be rational and the new product may elevate the company to soaring heights later or vice-versa. Financial Ratio’s can foretell warning signs: Companies in distress offer difficult analytical problems for analyst. Financial problems like problem in meeting obligations like equity deficiencies, liquidity problems, funds shortage and debt default. Operation problems may result in prospective revenues may be doubtful, ability to operate in danger, consistent failure in operational success, inefficient management, poor control over business operations. Special indicators like incurring operating losses , initiation of liquidity process , a waning allocation of product market , delaying payments to short term creditors , skipping of dividends , bond default and rating changes , bank account excessively overdrawn , insufficiency of cash flows . (Barker, R., 2004). The major disadvantages of the financial ratios include the timeliness of the financial statements, location within the trade cycle, the lack of consideration of the business sector and the overlook of accounting policies. The financial ratios are the best indicators for further examination and not to be construed as a means themselves. CONCLUSION: Thus, management reports are very key elements of the business world. Most of the companies have some form of each type of accounting knitted into their business operations. By adopting appropriate standards for each, the company will be able to successfully keep track of their financial standing for internal as well as external objectives. Banks and financial institutions which have vested interest in borrowing firms should ascertain that the borrowers have to adopt policies regarding requiring customer to prepare the financial reports as per the guidance of Generally accepted accounting principles ,auditor rotation , necessary information on off balance sheet items . Financial analyst should view corporate financial statements and pay special attention to accountant’s opinion letter, management discussion, and the notes to the statements and analysis on public companies and also consider the implications of management’s decisions relative to accounting policies. A financial analyst should also review the company’s latest form 8-k, which is filed with SEC which records the occurrence of any material events or corporate changes of importance to investors or lenders like any disagreement the firm has had with the auditors, any of late changes in the constituent of audit firm.( Saatci, E,2004) By diligent financial analysis, one can identify the accounting irregularities from the financial and managerial reports of an organisation and thus avoid doing business with the management of questionable integrity. Likewise, benchmarking surveys and best practices reviews are beneficial tools for detection of problems, finding out ways to improve and signaling positive changes. Though benchmarking and best practices are modern tools for business improvement but they will not cure everything that is ailing a company. Benchmarking and best practices initiatives are most triumphant when they are advanced with an open mind and the belief that they symbolize an education process. Cash flow information can be utilized to find out the success or failure of the business in advance as it has been evident from the previous empirical studies like Gentry, 1984, Bernard and Stober, 1989, Carslaw and Mills ,1991 , BarNiv 1990 Operation problems may result in prospective revenues may be doubtful, ability to operate in danger, consistent failure in operational success, inefficient management, poor control over business operations. Special indicators like incurring operating losses , initiation of liquidity process , a waning allocation of product market , delaying payments to short term creditors , skipping of dividends , bond default and rating changes , Bank account excessively overdrawn , insufficiency of cash flows . Thus this study proves that the company’s managerial report and internal report are excellent tools for the measurement of efficacy and financial achievement and also a diagnostic tool to detect the perils in advance to undertake correctional measures. A company may overcome its negative factors by undertaking timely correctional methods through its managerial and financial ratios or else it has to remain as an old dog which never learns new tricks.       BIBILIOGRAPHY:    Horngreen C.T, Straton, W.O & Sundem, G.L, Introduction to Management accounting (12th ed,), Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Montgomery, H., Lipshitz, R., & Brehmer, B. (Eds.). (2005). How Professionals Make Decisions. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Cocheo, S. (2005). The Efficiency Ratio: How Good a Tool? ABA Banking Journal, 97(6), 10+.          [1] ‘Are you keeping an eye on your organization’s financial pulse? Healthcare financial Management, Dec 2005. [2] Kristy James E., ‘Conquering financial ratios: the good, the bad and the who cares? –Business Credit, Feb, 1994.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

What Exactly Is 10X Email With Garrett Moon - CoSchedule Blog

What Exactly Is 10X Email With Garrett Moon Blog How is your social media engagement? Are you getting enough shares, traffic, and leads to justify your social promotion strategy? Or, are you scratching your head, wondering how you’re going to win the uphill battle that is social media reach today? According to a recent study by BuzzSumo, Facebook reach alone has fallen 20% for brands in 2017. Note also, that this is even before Facebook’s recent News Feed overhaul. To me, rather than panicking about abysmal organic (and sometimes paid) social media performance, it’s time to invest even more in email. It’s time for 10x Email.    Im reading What Exactly Is 10X Email? by @garrett_moon via @Why Invest In Email Marketing? Have you heard the stats surrounding email ROI? Email is 40x more effective than social media  for customer acquisition. Email averages a 3800% return on investment. Email inboxes are home to 13 hours of employee’s  time per week. For , our email marketing program has been the biggest driver of marketing success, at an average 300% return. Our experience mirrors the numbers experienced by other companies. And if good data is truth, then it’s time every marketer embraces it as a mainstay of their efforts. So, how can you get the most from email marketing? How To 10x Your Email Marketing Results Email marketing is such an integral part of ’s marketing I devoted an entire chapter to doing it right in my book, 10x Marketing Formula. If you get a chance to pick up the book, awesome. But have no fear, I’ll give you an insider’s look at 10x Email Promotion by sharing an excerpt: To monetize an email list requires that you reverse engineer from paying customer to email subscriber. At , the leading indicator, and most important metric for our marketing team to track for success, is trial signups. We know our trial signups will convert to paid customers at a certain rate. We also know that the more email subscribers we get, the more trial signups we get. And because we meticulously measure all conversions  back to their source, we know exactly how many trial signups every email we send should generate. This is important because it’s debunked a marketing myth. Too many marketers are scared of their email lists. They don’t want to send too many emails for fear their audience will unsubscribe. They believe that audiences are fickle and get scared off easily. However, our experience shows that your audience will tolerate daily emails from you if they’re the right fit. And because you’re a 10x marketer creating competition-free content smack dab in the center of your content core, sending fewer emails is simply poor advice. Here’s how we’ve come to see it. To keep the math simple, let’s say we’ve discovered each email will generate ten trial signups so long as we don’t send more than one email per day. Because we’ve measured extensively, we also know that there’s no major uptick in per-email trial signups by sending fewer emails than one per day. So, for us to send any fewer emails would be a huge waste of this major asset. Now, the reason so many marketers are scared of sending too many emails is because they worry about their unsubscribe rates. But here’s a newsflash: unsubscribe rates don’t matter; revenue matters! Also, our data showed that the increase in unsubscribes due to a greater frequency of daily emails was virtually non-existent. Your email sending frequency should be directly linked to what generates the most revenue. So, when it comes to our email list, we’ve learned to value new subscribers above all else. The more new subscribers we have, the more new customers we have. We believe you’ll find this holds true for you, as well. The real trick is how to build an email list filled with the right audience. And that’s exactly what this stage in the 10x Marketing Formula  is all about. From 0 to 250,000 Subscribers In the past four years, we’ve worked hard to figure out what works and what doesn’t in email list building. Through copious testing, plenty of failure, and eventual hockey-stick growth, we’ve learned exactly what’s worked for us. The following strategies have helped us go from zero subscribers to more than 250,000 since our first blog post in March of 2013. Today, we routinely grow by 4,000-plus subscribers each week. We’ve generated these results because, one, every email is extremely relevant to the problems our audience is trying to solve. And two, each email is directly connected to the value itself provides. This means we can quickly grow a list filled with exactly the right people. It grows fast because the content is so damn good- and it’s monetizable because they’re content consumers who will actually turn into customers. It’s worked for the two reasons prior. And we’ve also found a few tactics that consistently amplify our results to the 10x level: Content upgrades  for every blog post Free tools to help solve major marketing problems that intersect with our product Competition-free content  people are desperate not to miss Now, let’s dig into how we use each tactic, what makes them work, and how you can use them in your marketing context. Content Upgrades A content upgrade is a companion resource to content like blog posts. Often, they are things like templates, calculators, worksheets, or any other document that helps your audience put what you’re teaching them into practice. To use them to build an email list, we gate them behind an email opt-in form. So, they get the resource by paying with an email address. This has become pretty standard practice in content marketing. However, at , we routinely craft such comprehensive content upgrades that we believe people would be willing to pay for them. For example, here’s an example of an eight-piece content upgrade bundle for a single blog post. It’s filled with PDFs, spreadsheet templates, and editable worksheets: [PDF] Email list building tips template to help beginners get started [PDF] Email list building guide to help you implement every tactic you learn throughout this blog post. [Worksheet] Email subject line guide to help you increase your open rates [PDF] 500 words to use in your blog titles (and therefore, your email subject lines) [Spreadsheet] Email subject line A/B test spreadsheet template to help you continually improve your subject lines [PDF] Best time to send email guide to help you reach most of your subscribers according to best practices [PDF] Best day to send email Google Analytics custom report to help you use your own data to know the days of the week when your audience opens your email [Custom Report] Best time to send email Google Analytics custom report to help you send emails at the absolute best times when your audience clicks through to read your content These included guides, spreadsheets, templates, and custom Google Analytics reports are dedicated to helping our readers do absolutely everything we’re about to teach them. A Content Upgrade Bundle As of writing this, we have more than 220 content upgrades available in our blog posts and our Marketing Resource Library. Our content upgrades are a core component of meeting our standard of performance of actionability. They’re always custom designed to contour the content we’re creating. And in total, our content upgrades are responsible for well over one hundred thousand email subscribers. The best part about killer content upgrades is that as long as you’re actually showing people how to solve real problems, the upgrades practically write themselves. All you need to do is format your how-to solutions in a spreadsheet, editable document, or even a printable PDF. If you’re providing actionable value, a content upgrade is a natural result. I know what youre thinking: â€Å"I barely have time to write a blog post, much less create a content upgrade.† But what if you just created one fewer post per week and used that time to create a content upgrade? That trade would be worth it, because your list will grow faster even though you’re publishing one less piece per week. That’s a pretty great deal. You could even follow Pat Flynn’s lead  and create one content upgrade per month that’s incorporated into every post. This is super efficient, super smart, and undeniably effective. The bottom line here is you should weigh content upgrades as heavily important in your content mix. They allow your value to travel farther, make your content more actionable, and help grow email lists. They’re well worth the investment, and too important to skip. Content upgrades are well worth the investment, and too important to skip. #10xEmailTools After content upgrades, our most effective list-building drivers have been free tools. Our top three tools for list building have been Headline Analyzer, Click-To-Tweet  WordPress Plugin, And the Social Message Optimizer. Here are the email subscribers each tool has produced. Headline Analyzer In just twenty-four months, the Headline Analyzer tool has contributed about 20 percent of our total list growth. Subscribers Generated:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  55,040 Timeframe:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  24 months WordPress Plugin In 2013, we built a social sharing plugin called â€Å"† for WordPress. It’s a smart little tool that allows anyone with a WordPress blog to craft readymade tweets for their readers to share with just a click or tap. We gave it away for free, and today, it’s used on over ten thousand websites. This has also helped build our email list, because when you give away stuff that’s this good, people want to know what else you have to offer. Subscribers Generated:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7,407 Timeframe:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4 months Social Message Optimizer Our Social Message Optimizer is a free tool that helps marketers write better messages that boost engagement, build trust, drive traffic, and spark conversions. It allows users to type in their message, select which social network it’s written for, and then let our sophisticated algorithm score it. It helps them capture more eyeballs with their messages, getting even more likes, comments, shares, and clicks. It does all this by optimizing according to proven best practices and real data from 6.9 million social media messages analyzed by our team. Subscribers Generated:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,806 Timeframe:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8 months Bonus: Email Subject Line Tester As a bonus, our free Email Subject Line Tester  recently launched! Just like our Headline Analyzer, the Email Subject Line Tester is rocket-fueled by real-world data to analyze, score, and suggest optimization for your email subject lines. This means you can write click-worthy subject lines every single time - for free! With this free tool, you can: Drive  more  opens Get more  clicks Enjoy more  conversions Supercharge your subject lines today with this amazing tool.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Analysing The Queens Received Pronunciation English Language Essay

Analysing The Queens Received Pronunciation English Language Essay The purpose of this project is to identify if the Queen speaks with the same polished Received Pronunciation (RP) accent today as she did 50 years ago and whether there have been any generational variations to the RP spoken within the Royal Family. Firstly this project will introduce the subject of sociolinguistics with a focus on the differences between accents and dialects and the history and rules pertaining to RP. Secondly, current opinions and attitudes will be discussed along with recent research that has been carried out examining the decline of RP. Lastly it will analyse findings from my own comparisons of three Royal Family dialogues. Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society, and how society influences or affects the way in which language is used by individuals or groups (Crystal, 2008). When a person talks it is easy to recognise regional differences in their speech as everyone has an accent or dialect and this can often lead to assump tions about their background, education and even their place in society. It is important to understand the difference between an accent and a dialect as they are two very different aspects of speech. An accent refers to the differences in pronunciation only (Crystal, 2008), for example, a speaker with a southern accent would pronounce /a/ using long vowel /a:/ whereas a speaker with a northern accent would pronounce /a/ with a short vowel /à ¦/: Long vowel, Southern Short vowel, Northern Bath /bÉ‘:ÃŽÂ ¸/ /bà ¦ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¸/ Grass /gra:s/ /grà ¦s/ Demand /di:ma:nd/ /di:mà ¦nd/ A dialect however refers to the features of pronunciation along with grammar and vocabulary such as sentence structure and use of verbs. For example: Standard English Regional Dialect She is a good girl She’s a canny lass (Geordie/Newcastle) How are you? Ow bist old butt? (Forest of Dean) He is frightened He’s feeling frit (Lincolnshire) I’ll visit in the Autumn I’ll visi t in the fall (American English) An accent and a dialect can both give an indication as to the speaker’s geographical origin (Crystal, 2008). Due the growing variety of accents and dialects in the UK, a ‘Standard English’ (SE) has emerged that is taught in schools and used in print and broadcasting. It is also the standard taught to speakers of foreign languages. The phrase Received Pronunciation was initially coined in 1869 by the linguist A J Ellis but the phonetician, Daniel Jones, was the first person to adopt it to describe the accent of the social elite (British Library). Received Pronunciation (RP) is an accent that is associated with being typically British and is also known as ‘The Queens English’ or ‘BBC English’ as it is seen as a prestige accent (Graddol, Leith & Swann, 1996). No specific authority gave the accent its special status but as RP is spoken mainly in the south east it is generally associated with that area but it is found all over the country. It is a non specific accent as it gives no indication of a speaker’s geographical origin however it does reveal information about their social and educational background.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

The political and economical role of Qatar in the Middle East and the Essay

The political and economical role of Qatar in the Middle East and the Arab world - Essay Example Revamping of the region into a number one country in terms of Gross Domestic product has been ascribed to the oil revenue. Researchers have faced controversies on how they can typify such a small region based on international relations literature and traditional comparative politics. Similarly, Qatar has been identified as a region that is stable due to absence of immediate threats to its political stability and security. Nonetheless, stability is hardly perfect in Qatar. This is exemplified by competition over political powers and internal conflicts in the Al-Thani, the royal family. Forced abdication within the governing families has been identified as the cause of Qatar past leadership transitions of 1949, 1960, and 1995. However, this ruling family has upheld social peace in Qatar for many decades. Several studiers have identified that Qatar has a baffling political stability. Qatar’s branded image has been generated by its diplomatic successes. These include its notable role in hosting major internal events and involvement into peacekeeping programs. As a result, the country has experienced impressive achievements in the economic sector. Economic achievements in this Persian Gulf small peninsula have been contributed by a breathtaking modernization rate of the economic sector. In regards to a survey of the 2008 Qatar per capita income, the annual per capita income was estimated at $ 95, 000 at the current prices. This is ascribed to the abundance of gas and oil in the region. On the other hand, an outdated political system has been another contributing factor. The autocratic state of Qatar has been contributed by consolidation of Shiekh Hamad position within Qatar and the royal family. Silencing of political liberation talks exemplifies this assertion. Comprehension of Qatar’s political dynamics is centered on the religious and tribal structures. This is based on the strong and weak dilemma

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Hookah Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hookah - Assignment Example Thus, it has developed a positive perception on people. The spread of hookah smoking is because of the perception of the society. Most people forget that it has a relation with cigarettes. The society chose to associate it with being greatness. the youths find it fun smoking the drug. However, because of ignorance, the society has accepted it. Other drugs have a negative perception because the side effects are eminent. there is a raised awareness on the effects of being under the influence of cigarettes. In addition, the difference in methods of consuming hookah and cigarettes, makes it difficult for one to establish a direct relationship (Nauert). The structure of consuming hookah tends to make the user think that it is purified. This positive perception contributes to spread of diseases in the society. It will create a health hazard . It will be only after people start suffering severely that the perception on hookah smoking would change. The youth perception is to blame for the increasing use of

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Business Ethics vs. Success in Modern Business Research Paper

Business Ethics vs. Success in Modern Business - Research Paper Example en corruption and success in business in this research was retrieved from the university faculty, contemporary firms and graduate students of business. The fundamental concept on which the term â€Å"business ethics† is based is that individuals should be held accountable for their practices in business. â€Å"Businesses are at the strategic center of a civil society, and they have a stake in their communities† (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2004). In conventional terms, business ethics are thought of as drivers for successful business. In the modern age, companies and business entrepreneurs evaluate the effect of ethics on their individualistic and collective performances. A lot of studies have shown that unethical practices and corruption have been incurring the companies a cost worth billions of dollars every year. Such studies have portrayed a negative image of corruption and have emphasized upon the potential ways in which the unethical business practices affect the brand image, value of shares and the overall profitability of the business (Maheshwary & Ganesh, 2006). Following the principles of ethics is very imp ortant for a company’s success (Turner, 2006). â€Å"I have always recognized that the object of business is to make money in an honorable manner† (Cooper cited in Rajeev, 2011). Unethical business practices have traditionally caused a lot of damage to the business. However, not many business entrepreneurs are aware of the toxicity of such practices because the costs are often not obvious and come as overheads. Most of the costs of the unethical business practices are hidden. Since the business entrepreneurs can not see these hidden costs, they can only see the convenience that the unethical practices bring them. Thus, many of them are reluctant to abandon such practices. However, the harm caused by such practices is inevitable and is often borne by the society as a whole. For example, when an oil company discharges oil into the sea, it is the marine

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Social Work Reflective Essay

Social Work Reflective Essay Introduction Reflection forms a central part of social work practice and education, and it is particularly important for social workers in placement settings or newly qualified social workers (Dcruz et al, 2007; Parker, 2010). In its simplest terms, reflection provides us with an opportunity to review our decisions and decision-making processes however, in practice, reflection is a far more complex concept (Trevethick, 2005: 251). It is essential that social workers have the confidence to question their own practice, the organisation that they work in, and dominant power structures in society at large (Fook, 1999). Reflection, and in particular critical reflective practice, forms a key part of this, as social workers are called on to reconsider and reconstruct the dominant social discourse. In this essay I will explore my experience of reflection during my practice placement, and in particular in relation to a specific case study. I will start by outlining my practice setting, and the details of the particular case study. I will then explore my experience of reflection, and how reflective practice supported me to apply theory to practice. Finally take a critical look at my practice, and suggest things that I could have done differently. Although I engage with and explored multiple models of reflection during my placement, the model of reflection that I found most useful was Schons theory of reflection (Schon, 1983; 2002). Schon advocated 2 types of reflective practice. Firstly, reflection-on-action, which involves reflecting on an experience that you have already had, or an action that you have already taken, and considering what could have been done differently, as well as looking at the positives from that interaction. The other type of reflection Schon notes is reflection-in-action, or reflecting on your actions as you are doing them, and considering issues like best practice throughout the process. Due to the limits of the current medium, I will be focusing mostly on reflection-on-action. However, appropriate use of this type of reflection should inform future practice, and encourage appropriate reflection-in-action when presented with a similar situation again. Practice Setting My placement was based at a not for profit mental health agency, where we provided psycho-social support for people who have experienced mental health difficulties. Many of the people that we worked with had been subject to section 2 or 3 orders under the Mental Health Act 1983/2007, and were now experiencing aftercare under section 117. Referrals to the agency could come from social services, GP surgeries, and other not-for-profit organisations. The people with whom we worked usually had a multitude of presenting issues and concerns, and I was aware from the onset that complex settings like this require social workers to be reflective in their practice in order to be able to deal with a variety of situations (Fook and Gardner, 2007). However, it soon became clear to me that the fast-paced working environment, where at times paperwork was promoted over practice, meant that reflection could potentially be ignored in favour of bureaucracy and targets (DCruz et al, 2007). This type of difficulty and uncertainty around reflection is common in placement settings and when starting a new role (Knott and Spafford, 2010). Reflection was particularly important when making the transition from university learning to the learning experienced in a placement setting. Social workers are provided with some guidance in practice to support this process. The Practice Competency Framework (PCF) domains provide some direction about what areas social workers are expected to emphasise in practice, and what needs to be evidenced in order to successfully complete a placement. Values and ethics are central to this framework, and comprise domain 2. Critical reflection is also part of this framework, making up the entirety of domain 6. However, it is essential that social workers do not become complacent in their personal reflection, and they cannot fall back on these types of guidance and procedures as a shield against engaging in reflection on complex ethical subjects (Banks, 2006). Case Study Many of the service users that we worked with had a dual diagnosis (problems with mental health and addiction). These service users particularly challenged me, as I found their intersecting issues usually stretch well beyond their dual diagnosis, to other areas like housing or physical health. I have, therefore, chosen to discuss one such case, where I engaged in substantial reflection. The background to this case study, and my involvement with him, will now be discussed. JK is a man in his 50s who was born in Nigeria but moved to the UK at a young age. When I worked with him, he lived in a housing project that was specifically meant to house ex-offenders. Although JK had a lead key-worker at my agency who was a permanent member of staff, I was responsible for the majority of the key working sessions with JK during my time on this placement. JK had a long history of substance misuse and mental health problems. He was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and dealt with significant anxiety and depression. He received depot injections monthly for his mental health difficulties, and he found these instances particularly distressing. JK also had a substantial history of criminal activity, which he said became necessary in order to maintain his addiction to certain illicit drugs. I would meet JK in a location of his choosing. Although usually this would mean either in our office or in his room, sometimes we went for a walk and I accompanied him to appointments at times also. This more informal working setting was where he felt he could speak most openly to me. Although I will discuss my involvement with JK more broadly,I will focus on one particular key working session that we had, where JK was most descriptive about all his concerns and the issues that were effecting him (session A). This is significant because reflection is particularly important when a critical incident like this has been experienced, and a less reflective approach could lead to a less holistic or even inadvertently oppressive account of what had transpired (Ruch, 2002). Reflective Practice Different models of reflection supported me throughout the reflective process. Gibbs Model of Reflection (1988) and Atkin and Murphys Model of Reflection (1994) both promote a cyclical approach to reflection, whereby reflection is ongoing and not a linear process. I found this to be the case, as I did not move through stages of refection one after the other, but moved between them, often returning to my conceptual starting point multiple times before settling on a holistic understanding of an event or situation that incorporates all systems influencing that scenario. Keeping a reflective diary of critical issues and my own thought process encouraged me to construct my understanding of the work I was doing, and justify what actions I had taken (White, 2001). Support from colleagues and supervisors was also invaluable in this process (Ruch, 2002). Yip (2006) aptly notes that models like those described above are most useful when starting out the reflective process, and I quickly adapted and developed a model of reflection that was most appropriate for me. Social work has traditionally been constructed as the professional knowing best, and continues to be practised in a way where the practitioner holds most of the power (Holmes and Saleeby, 1993). The power dynamics are slightly different in a non-statutory setting like I was working in. However, these power dynamics cannot be ignored, and underline all social work practice.I acknowledged the inherent power dynamics from the inception of my interactions with JK. I recognised that where unequal power dynamics exist in a relationship, it is usually the partner with the most power that benefits most from the interaction (Milner and OByrne, 2002). This is why it is important for social workers to listen to the perspectives of the people with whom they work, and be willing to accept different paradigms than their own or the dominant paradigm (Milner and OByrne, 2002). When working with JK, I was made aware of his engagement with mental health services, usually provided through the medical professions. He had an allocated community psychiatric nurse (CPN) who would visit occasionally, and at times he also met with a psychiatrist. Throughout my social work education, the difference between the medical model and the social model of experiencing mental illness has been stressed to me, and I clearly saw this when working with JK. The historically oppressive nature of mental health services is widely recognised in literature (Szasz, 1961; Foucault, 1967), and JK expressed to me at times that he felt that he was not listened to by medical professionals, and just moved from service to service having things done to him, rather than with him. Tew (2005) noted that the in the social model of mental distress, core values required include looking at the person and their situation holistically, removing the us and them thinking that tends to dominate mental health services, listening to what people really have to say, and being committed to anti-oppressive practice. I found these to be very helpful in working with JK. During Session A, the fact that I chose to explore JKs mental distress alongside the other issues that were going on in his life allowed me to identify that his physical health, including intense back pain that he has been experiencing, was having a substantial effect on his mental health, and I encouraged him to seek help and support with this. JK clearly appreciated my anti-oppressive approach, where I tried to work with him in partnership, and he was always keen to know when we would meet next. There is a stigma attached to having a mental illness, and even when contact with services has ceased, that stigma usually persists (Miles, 2005). JK had clearly been the subject of this stigma throughout his life. Tew (2005) believes if mental health services were more receptive to the social model of looking at mental distress, then significant amounts of this stigma and the resultant oppression would be removed. Applying Theory to Practice An important part of reflection in social work is the application and consideration of theories in practice (Trevethick, 2012). The theory base of social work is essential to all the work that we do in practice (Teater, 2010). Social workers need to be prepared to critically reflect on the theory that they are bringing to practice. It has been noted that the theory base of social work is dominated by euro-centric discourse, meaning that certain paradigms or perspectives may be excluded unintentionally (Trevethick, 2012). Being from Nigeria originally, and coming from a different cultural background than myself, meant that I had to be particularly careful in applying theory to the work that I did with JK.However, it is also clear that practice cannot just be based on routine or habit, with no basis in evidence (Thompson, 2009). The increasing influence of post-modern theory, which does not promote one paradigm over another, but focuses on the subjective nature of truth, has helped to alleviate these issues in social work to some extent (Fook, 2012). Our agency worked with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable members of society, and engaging in uninformed work with these types of service users is a dangerous undertaking (Collingwood et al, 2008). Through active engagement with reflection, I was able to work with JK using an eclectic theory and knowledge base, but was also careful to note if JK was not comfortable with some aspects of my approach, and adjusted the approach accordingly. Working closely with JK over a period of several months supported me to be able to identify any issues quickly, and by the time I we were engaged in Session A, we had a good working relationship. Of particular importance when working with service users who have a dual diagnosis was systems theory, and I found this theory to be particularly important when reflecting on Session A. Healy (2005) has recognised that systems theory have been highly influential on the knowledge base of social work. As noted above, people experiencing problems with addiction tend to have other issues in other areas of their lives (Tober and Raistrick, 2004).I was able incorporate specific applications of systems theory for the service user group I was working throughout my placement, and in particular with JK. The Six Cornered Addictions Rescue System (SCARS) was useful in that it took into account a person who was dealing with an addictions situation holistically, rather than just focusing on the addiction in isolation (McCarthy and Galvani, 2004). In Session A this allowed me to see how JKs addiction and mental health problems were also linked to issues with accommodation, physical health, relationships and employment. What could have been done differently? I have discussed my work with JK, and reflected on specific incidents and issues with him. However, returning to Schon (1983), he notes that reflection takes place within our own understanding and the meaning that we attribute to an event, rather than within the event itself. Therefore, social workers need to look at their own underlying assumptions, as well as dominant social narratives, in order to shape their holistic understanding and experience of a given incident. Dewey (1993) recognised the importance of discovering new information in reflection. This can come from both internal sources (personal reconsideration) and external sources (professional support or research), and this new information can completely re-construct the way that an incident or event is considered, and change the narrative that we are engaged in. This is helpful in reconsidering an event, and determining whether something could have been done differently or better. In relation to Session A, one area that I reflected on was that I may have focused too much on theory when working with JK. It has been recognised in literature around theory in practice that overly focusing on theory when working with service users can actually hinder the work being done, as the service user can feel depersonalised (Parker, 2010). As noted above, this was particularly important in the case of JK, who was from a different culture than me. More time could have been spent on listening to JK and his perspective, rather than trying to fit him into a theory or model for the sake of evidencing my own case notes or reflective journals. I worked with JK very much in isolation. Although I met his CPN and his drug worker, at no stage was a multi-agency meeting held that I was invited to. To some extent, this was the fault of the other professionals, who did not consult me on the work they were doing with JK, and literature has noted that collaboration is particularly difficult when working with dual diagnosis service users, as mental health and addiction services can disagree over the correct course, or who should take the lead (Clement et al, 1993; Champney-Smith, 2004). However, I could have made more of an effort to engage with them, or at least discuss with JK how much consultation he would like me to have with those other workers. Suter et al (2009) have found that a willingness to communicate is a key characteristic needed for effective collaboration, and after the other professionals were not active in engaging with me, I lost this willingness, potentially to the detriment of my work with JK. It has to be noted that reflection is not always recognised as a self-evidently positive mechanism. There are critics of the way reflection is promoted in current practice environments, with some bemoaning the cult following that has developed around reflection in the social work sphere (Ixer, 1999: 513). Boud and Knight (1996) equally describe how reflection has come to be seen as self-evidently worthwhile without significant critique (p.32). Ixer (1999) recognises that focusing too much on assessing reflection can lead to a prescriptive approach to reflection that is uncompromising. I found this to be the case at times, when I was expected to write my reflections at a certain time, and have reflective supervision in a certain way. As well as this, having someone essentially assessing my reflection made this even more difficult, as I was not able to reflect in a way that was personal for me. Parker (2010) has noted that reflection is not something that can be assessed based on traditional reductionist techniques. Therefore, I found it important to not just reflect on my work and the working environment, but also the process of reflection itself. Conclusion The issues that social workers are engaged with, and that I have discussed here, do not only reflect the concerns of the service user, but are a reflection of the issues that are inherent in wider society (Davis, 2007). Unequal power dynamics, concerns around oppression and issues with stigma are all societal problems that social workers need to engage with not just on a micro-level, but also a macro-level. To some extent this is an area that I found reflection lacking in. I was able to look at my own practice, and my own assumptions and narratives; however, I was unable to determine how best to address wider inequality and societal oppression of people like JK. In this reflective essay, I have explored my practice setting in relation to a particular case study. I introduced the placement setting and the case study, and then looked at my experience of reflection within this setting. I discussed how I engaged with different models of reflection, experienced power dynamics, and explored different interpretations of mental distress. I then moved on to look at how reflection promoted me to engage with theory in practice, in particular in relation to systems theory. Finally, I used this reflection to look at things that I could have done differently, including a decreased focus on theory and engaging more with other services. This type of critical reflection should be ongoing for social workers in practice, and to some extent it would be difficult to work in a complex setting like I was without being reflective. Although I noted some areas I could have improved on in my interactions with JK, what was most apparent in my work with him was that my willingness to explore his paradigm and perspectives opened him up to engaging with me on a range of issues, that otherwise may have remained hidden. References Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) Reflective Practice, Nursing Standard8(39) 49-56. Banks, S. (2006) Ethics and Values in Social Work, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Cameron, A., Lart, R., Bostock, L. and Coomber, C. (2012) Factors that promote and hinder joint and integrated working between health and social care services, London: SCIE. Champney-Smith, J. (2004) Dual Diagnosis in T. Peterson and A. McBride (Eds.) Working with Substance Misusers: A Guide to Theory and Practice, London: Routledge. Clement, J., Williams, E. and Waters, C. (1993) The client with substance abuse/mental illness: Mandate for Collaboration Achieves of Psychiatric Nursing, 7(4), 189-196. Collingwood, P., Emond, R. and Woodward, R. (2008) The theory circle: A tool for learning and for practice Social Work Education, 27(1), 70-83. Davis, A, (2007) Structural Approaches to Social Work in J. Lisham (Ed.) Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory, London: JK. Dewey, J. (1993) How we Think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the education process, Boston: Health Publishing. DCruz, H., Gillingham, P. and Melendez, S. (2007) Reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social work: A critical review of the literature British Journal of Social Work, 37, 73-90. Fook, J. (1999) Critical reflectivity in education and practice in B. Pears and J. Fook (eds) Transforming Social Work Practice: Postmodern Critical Perspectives, St Leonards: Allen and Unwin, 195-208. Fook, J. (2012) Social Work: A Critical Approach to Practice, London: Sage. Fook J. and Gardner F. (2007) Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Foucault M. (1967) Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, London: Tavistock. Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Healy, K. (2005) Social Work Theories in Context: Creating Frameworks for Practice, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Holmes, G. and Saleeby, D. (1993) Empowerment, the Medical Model and the Politics of Clienthood, Journal of Progressive Human Services, 4(1), 61-78. Ixer, G. (1999) Theres no such thing as reflection British Journal of Social Work,29, 513-527. Knott, C. and Spafford, J. (2010) Getting Started in C. Knott and T. Scragg (eds.) Reflective Practice in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. McCarthy, T. and Galvani, S. (2004) SCARS: A new model for social work with substance misuse  Practice, 16(2), 85-97. Milner, J. and OByrne P. (2002) Assessment in Social Work Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Parker, J. (2010) Effective Practice in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. Miles, A. (1987) The Mentally Ill in Contemporary Society, Oxford: Blackwell. Parker, J. (2010) Effective Practice Learning in Social Work, Exeter: Learning Matters. Ruch, G. (2002) From triangle to spiral: reflective practice in social work education, practice and research, Social Work Education, 21(2), 199-216. Schn, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner, New York: Basic Books. Schon, D. (2002) From technical rationality to reflection-in-action in R. Harrison, F. Reeve, A. Hanson and J. Clarke (eds) Supporting Lifelong Learning: Perspectives on Learning, London: Routledge. Szasz, T. (1961) The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, London: Harper and Row. Teater, B. (2010) An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Tew, J. (2005) Social Perspectives in Mental Health London: Kingsley. Thompson, N. (2009) Practicing Social Work: Meeting the Professional Challenge, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Tober, G. and Raistrick, D. (2004) Organisation of Services Putting it all Together in T. Peterson and A. McBride (Eds.) Working with Substance Misusers: A Guide to Theory and Practice, London: Routledge. Trevithick, P. (2012) Social Work Skills: A Practice Handbook, Maidenhead: Open University Press. White, S. (2001) Auto-ethnography as reflexive enquiry: The research act as self-surveillance, in I. Shaw and N. Gould (eds), Qualitative Research in Social Work, London: Sage. Yip, K. (2006)Self-reflection in reflective practice: A note of caution British Journal of Social Work, 36(5), 777-788.