Data Protection Essay

Introduction In this report I am going to explain data protection, talk about the data protection acts, rights and principles. I’m going to talk about a data controller and a data processor and what their responsibilities are. What personal and sensitive data are. What a data receiver is and what his rights are, what is involved in direct marketing and I will mention an example of abuse or corruption that occurred in Ireland. Data protection acts Data protection is legal control over and access to use of data stored in computers. The office of the data protection commissioner is responsible for upholding the privacy rights of individuals in relation to the processing of their personal data. The acts state the information must be accurate, only those who should have access to it do and it is only to be used for specified purposes. You have the right to access your own information and correct wrong data or even erase it. Moran (2014) states that â€Å"you can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data†. Rights and principles There are 8 principles of data protection 1. It must be collected and fairly used 2. It must only be held and used for the reasons given to the information commissioner 3. It can only be used for registered purposes and showed to those mentioned in the register entry 4. You must only have the details you need for the job you are doing 5. It must be accurate and kept up to date 6. Cannot be kept longer than necessary for the registered purpose 7. Information must be kept safe and secure, must be backed up and kept away from unauthorised access 8. Files must not be transferred outside of the EU. Unless the country it is being sent to has a suitable data protection law. Data controller Data controller is a person who controls the contents and use of personal data. â€Å"Those who, either alone or with others control the contents and use of personal data. Data controllers can be either legal entities such as  companies, Government departments or voluntary organisations, or they can be individuals such as G.P’s, pharmacists or sole traders† (the office of the data protection commissioner (2014). The responsibilities of a data controller 1. Obtain and process the information fairly 2. Keep it only for one or more specified and lawful purposes 3. Process it only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given to you initially 4. Keep it safe and secure 5 .Keep it accurate and up-to-date 6. Ensure that it is adequate, relevant and not excessive 7. Retain it no longer than is necessary for the specified purpose or purposes 8. Give a copy of his/her personal data to any individual, on request Data processor Data processor is a person who processes personal data on behalf of a data controller but does not include an employee of a data controller who processes such data in the course of his employment. The office of the data protection commissioner (2014) states that â€Å" the data processor is distinct from the data controller for whom they are processing the personal data†¦someone who is contracted to provide a particular data processing service (e.g. a tax advisor) would be a data processor†. Personal data The office of the data protection commissioner (2014) states that â€Å"†personal data† means data relating to a living individual who is or can be identified either from the data or from the data in conjunction with other information that is in, or is likely to come into, the possession of the data controller†. Sensitive data Sensitive data is someone private information which may be related to their gender, age, race, marital status or sexual preference etc. The office of the data protection commissioner states that â€Å"relates to specific categories of data which are defined as data relating to a person’s racial origin; political opinions or religious or other beliefs; physical or mental health; sexual life; criminal convictions or the alleged commission of an offence; trade union membership. You have additional rights in relation to the  processing of any such data†. Data receiver (controller) The data receiver is the data controller he/she is the person who receives the data Direct Marketing Direct marketing is giving individuals information about products and services, is it completely legal providing it respects the individual’s right to privacy. The office of the data protection commissioner states that â€Å"The basic rule that applies to direct marketing is that you need the consent of the individual to use their personal data for direct marketing purposes. As a minimum, an individual must be given a right to refuse such use of their personal data both at the time the data is collected (an â€Å"opt-out†) and, in the case of direct marketing by electronic means, on every subsequent marketing message. The â€Å"opt-out† right must be free of charge†. Abuse and Corruption in Ireland May 2010: Captain Evan Cullen versus Michael O’Leary: Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary apologised for wrongly describing a trade union official as a â€Å"failed Aer Lingus pilot† during RTE’s Prime Time in September 2006. The apology formed part of a settlement of a High Court action against him by Irish Air Line Pilots Association (IALPA) president, Captain Evan Cullen. Mr O’Leary also agreed to make a contribution to two charities by Mr Cullen as part of the settlement. In taking his defamation case Mr Cullen claimed the â€Å"failed pilot† had caused damage to his reputation both in his community and among his work colleagues. Mr Cullen said the remarks had caused â€Å"considerable upset to both himself and his family†, but that he was pleased his â€Å"good name and reputation as a pilot† has been fully vindicated. Conclusion In this report I have explained data protection, talked about the data protection acts, rights and principles. I’ve talked about a data controller and a data processor and what their responsibilities are, What personal and sensitive data are. What a data receiver is and what his rights are, what is involved in direct marketing and I have mentioned an example of abuse or corruption that occurred in Ireland. Reference list Kosta, E. (2013) Consent in European Data Law, Leiden: Nijhoff. Moran, D. (2014) â€Å"Brainy Quotes† [Online], available: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/data.html [accessed 28th November 2014] Office of the data protection commissioner (2014) â€Å"A guide for data Controllers† [Online], available: http://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/A-Guide-for-Data-Contollers/696.htm [accessed 28th November 2014] Defamation Ireland (2014) â€Å"Defamation cases in Ireland† [Online], available:http://www.defamationireland.com/defamation-cases-in-ireland/ [accessed 28th November 2014]

Why Should We Use Solar Power Environmental Sciences Essay

There are assorted beginnings of energy. We use heat energy obtained by the firing fuels like wood, coal, kerosine or cookery gas for cooking our nutrient.The energy fuels like gasoline and Diesel is used to run auto, coachs, trucks and train. Diesel is besides used to supply energy to run the pump for irrigation in agribusiness. Electrical energy is used for illuming the bulbs, tubings and to run wireless, telecasting, family contraptions, electric trains etc. Solar energy is besides used for cooking the nutrient, illuming the bulbs etc. In fact all over activities use energy in one signifier or the other. Energy is indispensable for our endurance in this universe The energy obtained from the Sun is known as solar energy. Sun is the beginning of energy. The Sun radiate more energy in one second than the people have used the since the beginning of the life. the energy radiated by the Sun comers from the Sun. the H atom in Sun ; s nucleus combine to organize one He atom. but the mass of He atom is less the four H atoms. It means mass has lost during the atomic merger.This lost mass is emitted as beaming energy. The solar energy takes merely 8 proceedingss to go the 93 million stat mis to the Earth. Solar energy travels with the velocity of visible radiation. This heat and light energy is radiated by Sun in all waies in the signifier of energy. The Sun has been radiating an tremendous sum of energy at the present rate for about 5 billion Old ages and will go on radiating energy at that rate for about five billion old ages more. Since Sun is really far from the Earth merely little fractions of energy radiated by the Sun reaches the outer bed of Earth ‘s ambiance. A little less than half of solar energy which falls on the fringe of the ambiance really reaches the surface of Earth. The solar energy which reaches the Earth is absorbed by land, H2O organic structures and workss. The solar energy trapped by the land and H2O organic structures causes many phenomena in nature like air currents, storms, rain, snowfall and sea moving ridges etc. Plants utilize the solar energy to fix the nutrient by the procedure of photosynthesis. History OF SOLAR ENERGY: As early in the seventh century B.C, people use amplifying glass to concentrate the visible radiation of Sun into beams so they would do wood to catch fire. Many of hundred old ages ago a scientist used heat from a solar aggregator to do a watercourse to drive watercourse engine. Solar boilers are invented by Charles Greely Abbott an American astrophysicist, in 1936. The solar H2O warmer gained popularity at the same clip in Florida, California and Southwest. Today people use heat energy to heat edifices and H2O to bring forth electricity. [ 3 ] SOLAR CONSTANT: The sum of energy received per second by one square metre country near the Earth infinite at an mean distance between the Sun and Earth is called solar constant.The energy near the Earth recieves from the Sun is about 1.4 kilojoules persecond persquare metre and this measure is known as solar constant.The mean distance between the Sun and Earth is astronomical unit ( 1.495*1011m ) . The solar invariable is represented as Ion. [ 4 ] SOLAR COLLECTERS: Capturing the solar energy and putiing in usage a hard work, because Sun does non direct a big sum of energy at one topographic point. The energy emitted by Sun at one topographic point depends upon certain conditions like the clip of the twenty-four hours, season, latitude of country and the clarity or cloudness of the sky.A solar aggregator is the manner roll uping the heat from the Sun. Devicess for capturing the Sun ‘s energy over a big country and concentrating it on a little country, thereby concentrating it. In this manner it can be made to supply highly high temperatures, used to bring forth steam that will used to transport out a chemical reaction to bring forth a portable fuel such as H. Solar aggregators may be curved dishes. Solar aggregator allows the sunshine in through the glass or plastic and the Sun visible radiation is changed into the heat energy. A really good illustration of solar aggregator is a auto standing in sunshine. On cheery twenty-four hours, a closed auto becomes a solar aggregator. Light energy base on ballss through the window glass and absorbed by the auto ‘s inside and converted into the heat energy. The auto ‘s spectacless do non let the light come out. That ‘s why green house stay warm around a twelvemonth. [ 5 ] [ 5 ] PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL ( SOLAR CELL ) : A photovoltaic cell is a device which converts the sunlight energy ( solar energy ) into electrical energy.these are besides known as solar cell or PV. The photovoltaic word has come from exposure agencies light and galvanic means a measurment of electricity. A individual solar cell can bring forth merely a little sum of electricity. To acquire a more electrical power a group of many cells joined together. The group of solar cell is known as solar panel or solar cell panel. Photovoltaic ‘s have long had many applications, such as PV-powered orbiters, tickers, and reckoners. The launch of Vanguard 1 in 1958, PV engineering is the energy beginning of pick for such extraterrestrial applications, orbiters and infinite investigations. [ 1 ] SOLAR Cookers: The solar cooker is the device is used to cook the nutrient by using the heat energy radiant by the Sun. It uses sunlight as beginning of energy. A box type solar cooker can be used to cook merely those nutrient stuffs which require slow warming. It can non be used for those stuffs which require high warming. For illustration it can non be used for baking and frying. It is used to cook the nutrient stuffs like rice, pulsations and veggies. The high temperature can be produced with the aid of concave mirror reflector. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] SOLAR SPACE Heating: It means heating the infinite inside a edifice. Today many places use solar energy for infinite warming. There are two general types of solar infinite heating systems: Passive Solar Heating Active Solar Heating Passive Solar Heating: In inactive solar warming, the edifice itself serves as a aggregator of solar thermic energy. Greenhouses made of glass or other crystalline stuffs are possibly the most good know application of inactive solar. A inactive solar house does non utilize any particular mechanical equipment to reassign the heat that the house collects on cheery yearss. A inactive solar place Acts of the Apostless as closed auto does. Sunlight passes through a place ‘s Windowss and is absorbed in the walls and floors of the houses. Active solar Heating: When solar energy is non plenty an active solar place uses mechanical equipment, such as pumps and an outside beginning of energy to assist heat the house Active systems use particular solar aggregators that look like boxes covered with glass. Dark-colored metal home bases inside the boxes absorb the sunshine and alteration it into heat. Solar concentrating mirror dishes CHALLENGES AND ECONOMICS: A A A The chief challenge confronting solar energy is that the Sun shines merely during the twenty-four hours or we can utilize solar energy merely in the presence of Sun. Summer is the clip of least energy demand for Alaskans, although this is besides the clip of twelvemonth with daytime. On norm, the sunniest parts of Alaska receive less than half of the sum of the entire solar energy throughout the twelvemonth. It is really less as compared the sunniest topographic points in the southwesterly US. Besides, large-scale storage methods for solar energy are non available today. Electric storage batteries are able to hive away merely little sums of electricity.A PV faculties typically produce the most power during the portion of twenty-four hours with the highest electricity demand, and PV-produced electricity remains really expensive compared to other beginnings of electricity. For most place applications, PV systems besides require expensive battery and AC inverters. A A A Solar thermal energy could be cost effectual for peculiarly in passive-solar designed places. For place installings, there are a limited sum of qualified commercial installers of solar energy equipment. A The on the job life-time of a PV faculty is around 40 old ages, the energy payback clip of such a faculty is anyplace from 1 to 30 old ages, and normally under five, depending on the type and the sum of Sun where it is used. This means that PV panels can be net energy manufacturers, and can â€Å" reproduce † themselves up to more than 30 times over their life-time. [ 8 ] ADVANTAGE OF SOLAR ENERGY: 1. Renewable Beginning of Energy: Solar energy is a renewable resource of energy. It can non be utilized at dark or on nebulose yearss, its handiness may be by and large relied upon twenty-four hours after twenty-four hours. The solar energy supply will last every bit long as the Sun. 2.Non Polluting Soruce Solar energy is non-polluting beginning of energy. It does non foul our air by let go ofing C dioxide, N oxide, sulfur dioxide into the ambiance like many traditional signifiers of electrical coevalss does. 3.Saves Money: The energy from the Sun is free. Solar energy does non necessitate any fuel. It reduces the electricity measure. The usage of solar energy indirectly reduces wellness costs. The supply of solar energy is non affected by demand of fuel. It is the inexpensive beginning of energy. The nest eggs are immediate and for many old ages to come. 4. Environmentally Friendly: Solar Energy is clean, renewable and sustainable, assisting to protect our environment. It does non foul our air by let go ofing C dioxide, N oxide, sulfur dioxide or quicksilver into the ambiance like many traditional signifiers of electrical coevalss does. It is non responsible for planetary heating, acerb rain or smog. It contributes to the lessening of harmful green house gas emanations. 5. The Need of No or Low Care: Solar Energy systems are maintenance free and will last for decennaries. Solar energy systems operate mutely, have no moving parts, do non let go of violative odors and do non necessitate you to add any fuel. We can acquire easy more solar panels in the hereafter. 6. Solar cells have a long life period. 7. It is used for cooking the nutrient saves cherished fuels like coal, kerosine and LPG. When nutrient is cooked in cooker in the presence of sunshine its foods do non acquire destroyed. Disadvantage OF SOLAR ENERGY: Besides such of import advantages, there are a few drawbacks of solar energy every bit good. The chief disadvantage is the cost of put ining a solar energy system, mostly because of the high cost of the semi-conducting stuffs used in constructing one. The most obvious one is that solar power can non be created at dark due to the absence of Sun. The engineering progresses bing system could dawdle behind and there is demand to recycle the PV. The installing of solar power equipments such as cells/panels is really expensive. It is a weak energy beginning as compared to fossil fuels. REFRENCES: [ 1 ] Pyhsics by Lakhmir Singh, Manjit Kaur [ 2 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter15.html [ 3 ] SOLAR ENERGY by HP GARG [ 4 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.science.org.au/nova/005/005glo.htm [ 5 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/SecInfo/SolarS.pdf [ 6 ] ecell.k12.hi.us/ †¦ /solar_cookers.htm [ 7 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //lsa.colorado.edu/summarystreet/texts/solar.html [ 8 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //ecofuture.net/solarpanels/2009/08/17/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-power-for-home.html hypertext transfer protocol: //www.solarhome.org/infoadvantagesofsolarenergy.html

Risk Management and Investment Coursework Portfolio Essay

Risk Management and Investment Coursework Portfolio - Essay Example I changed the portfolio by taking the additional step to modify the number of shares and adding funds to the I already hold in the portfolio. There were few reasons to make the alterations in my portfolio starting with returns and performance of the individual stocks. The objective of the investment is to maximize the return and is found in UK. The fund comprises of the following; Barclays PLC, BG Group plc., Glencoe Xstrata PLC, Royal Dutch Shell Plc., Invensys PLC, Experian PLC, BHP Billiton PLC, Standard Chartered PLC, Old Mutual PLC, and ITV PLC. Additionally, there is 500,000 pounds in cash that need to be deposited, that earn 1 per cent annually since the inception date. Investments trust whose main goal is to generate income, faces the problem of managing all host of investments which have to be materialized using a lot of resources. There are two sets of study that alleviates the problem. First is the rules and mechanism that are defined for the needed tasks of schedule development and control schedule and its resource management. Additionally, the investment portfolios are described to allow maximization of portfolio, portfolio balancing, strategy alignment, and choosing the correct number of stocks. There is however a problem of managem ent that I faced. This is attributed to the fact that formal an investment portfolio management method was used to carry out the investment. This problem is specifically called the push problem. Additionally, the release problem where the objective of portfolio is to deliver the investments that raises the value of investments. The objective can therefore be achieved by recommending a condition that has to be followed (Prime 2007). The main objective of the investment fund is to maximize on the returns with low risk. Therefore, the investment needs to be focused on incomes that are

Egypt and Sumer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Egypt and Sumer - Essay Example The reference to Re (the sun, also spelled Ra) indicates a primitive understanding that both flooding and sun are necessary factors for crop growth and life, which may be why Hymn to Ra proved equally important. Hymn to Ra emphasizes the polytheistic nature of Egyptian society and provides an early account of the origins of humankind, wisdom, and love – attributing them all to Ra, the sun. Overall, both works suggest that early Egyptians were fairly united in their beliefs, collectivistic, had little understanding of natural causes (flooding), anthromorphized important natural phenomena (the sun, the river Nile), were a patriarchal society (important Gods are construed as male), were present-oriented in their desires (food, water, shelter), believed that human action could in some way shape natural events (sacrifices could prevent floods), and on some level, saw or believed in actual interaction between physical and spiritual phenomena (the offering of sacrifices (physical) to the Nile as a God (spiritual)). Hymn to Ra in particular, emphasizes the impermanent nature of death and a mind-body dichotomy –the spirit (but not the body) could return after death, morality/conscience/wisdom were controlled and instilled from outside, and behavior, as opposed to intent and preceding thought was important. In contrast to the Egyptian sources, the Epic of Gilgamesh in particular appears to place greater emphasis on desires of the spirit, nourishment of the soul, morality, and conscience as opposed to the meeting of physical needs. In this way, it is less primitive than the Egyptian sources and considers more of the higher-level complexities of â€Å"humanness† than either of the Egyptian sources (sex, friendship, betrayal). Rather than praying to avoid death, as the Egyptians do in Ode to the Nile and Hymn to Ra, the Epic of Gilgamesh implies that life is defined and made meaningful by the deadline

Transformational Leadership Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Transformational Leadership - Movie Review Example Some of these leaders and their leadership styles have proved effective in attaining the various group or family objectives while others have failed to yield any positive result. Event organizers and musicians Woodstock begins with the music festival organizing team preparing the stage and venue of the festival. Under good leadership, the team seems to be enjoying carrying out their assigned duties for the benefit of the whole group. The union of the team is remarkable, perhaps a portrayal of the good transformational leadership traits displayed by the leader. Furthermore, good leadership among the event organizers is also evident when they remain with the organizers as it begins to rain. This is a critical element especially, when the main intention of the festival was to entertain. The move by the organizers and performers to remain behind with the revelers as it began to rain, could be deemed as a positive step that significantly reduced sudden commotions that could possible cause a stampede leading to death or injuries of those in attendance. They courageously and calmly steer the crowd away from acts that could cause accidents such as leaning on the towers and the stage. Subsequently, the event manager provides idealized influence on the crowd by assuring everyone to remain calm amid the confusion as a result of the sudden storm. Similarly, he calmly leads the stewards in covering the equipment and disconnecting electrical equipment. The event organizer also demonstrates a considerable degree of intellectual simulation, an important aspect of transformational leadership (Lang, 2011). He quickly initiates a means of helping the crowd to persevere the heavy rains by initiating a random song. The musicians and music bands also form another important group that displays transformational leadership styles and abilities. Cohesion is critical for a music band performance particularly in the quest to reach out to the huge crowd that had gathered at the festival. I n most of the music groups that participated, there seemed to be a group leader that organized the group into the respective instrument players in creating harmony and entertaining. Without transformational leadership, it would seem rather difficult to organize each of the participants in the groups. This type of transformational leadership is deemed as overt owing to the fact that each member of the music groups has almost equal roles to play. As transformational leaders, the musician and the event organizers remain as a unit of genuine followers and do not in any way use exploitative or manipulative behavior to get what they believe they deserve. At the same, they also display some emotional connection with their followers, which is created through respect for individual desires of their followers. The musicians, who are transformational leaders, further enhance the emotional connection with their followers by encouraging them to experience their own worth by singing along. In an organization point of view, this can be regarded as a way of encouraging followers to utilize their own skills and deploy their cognitive abilities to transform themselves and an organization (Lang, 2011). The connection between the musicians and their followers, just like the connection between a transformational leader and his followers in an organization, is evident in the manner in which the followers admire ad identify with them and want to imitate them. Irrespective of the deviant

Transformational Leadership and Public Service Motivation Essay

Transformational Leadership and Public Service Motivation - Essay Example The desire to maximize on self-interest provides aspiring leaders the unique chances to assume leadership roles by simultaneously meeting the demands of the subjects and those of the organization.   For Gordon, in his pursuit of exceptional leadership attributes, among the things he ought to understand is that his interaction with his subordinates should permit the building of an explicitly motivational work environment. Doing so implies that the individual acquires the means of transcending their typical roles as followers or leaders. Google’s organizational culture presents the best example of how leaders relate to their supporters. In their culture, the making of company decisions is a role of company employees, irrespective of rank. Any organization needs a workforce made up of leaders and subordinates (Barbuto, 2010, p. 30). The expectancy theory described above relies upon the extrinsic motivators in the description of behaviors demonstrated in the working environment (Barbuto, 2010, p. 28). For instance, external rewards have been known to have inducing effects of fueling practices relative to nitrite motivators (Hitt, Porter & Black, 2011, p. 87). The intrinsi c theory argues that traits are a consequence of internal forces in the form of job satisfaction. Scholarships claim that motivational thoughts hedged on the concept of motivation are of the assumption that subordinates make conscious choices as a way of maximizing self-interests (Paarlberg, & Lavigna, 2010, p. 710).   The above-argued concept makes this paper suggest that the expectancy school of thought provides a vehicle for Gordon to realize his leadership ambitions. The paper argues so because the likelihood model tends to equip leaders with the necessary tools to affect the psychological processes within their followers (Humphreys, & Einstein, 2014, p. 60).  

Engineering and Construction Issues that Surrounded the Three Gorges Essay

Engineering and Construction Issues that Surrounded the Three Gorges Project - Essay Example Riddled with massive corruption that even worsened the environmental hazards tied to the project, the Three Gorges projects holds the world record for the number of people displaced (Shu, 2012 pg. 14). The most damning yet unthinkable reality is the number of people displaced during the construction of the Dam. From the onset, the dam was intended to be a massive project, little was it known that the effects will be enormous as well. According to available statistics, close to 1.2 million people were ejected out of their dwellings to give room for the project. As if not enough, several cities, towns and villages were flooded. As such, the project led to unimaginable levels of human rights violations. Moreover, the environmental impacts of this initially heroic undertaking are incredible. To make the situation even worse, the environmental effects of this project may continue into the unforeseen future if measures are not taken to mitigate them. As the dam transforms the landscape of the area, so are the weather pattern and ultimately, the climatic conditions. Precisely, while the erosion is likely to cause landslides, the weight of water in the reservoir is likely to cause reservoir-induced seismicity. Also, the model of this dam is likely to develop complications in future, which may in turn add more trouble to the existing string of trouble for the locals. As much as the effects may be blamed on corruption and the engineers, it is also certain that the size of this project may have significantly contributed to the current predicaments facing the dam. Up until now, more and more controversies spring up from engineers concerning the model of the Three Gorges Dam, which, unfortunately, is already being replicated by the Chinese engineers world-over.  

Fianancial reporting and analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fianancial reporting and analysis - Essay Example In 2011, the international accounting standard board revised the existing financial standards, and issued a new set of standard for purposes of reflecting the changes in global business practices, economies of the world, and markets. The new rules are, consolidated financial statement (IFRS 10), joint arrangements (IFRS 11), disclosure of interests other entities (IFRS 12), separate financial statements (IAS 27), and revised associates and joint ventures (IAS 28). The consolidated financial statement (IFRS 10) was created for purposes of outlining the presentations of a consolidated financial statement. This rule requires business organizations to consolidate the entities that are under their control, and this includes giving them the rights of variable returns, and the capability of affecting the returns acquired over an investee (ACCA, 2012). On this basis therefore, the rule was created to institute the values that will guide the preparation of consolidated financial statements wh en one business organization controls one or more business organizations (ACCA study text, 2011). This rule was created for purposes of defining the concept of control of a business entity, and as a basis of consolidation. It establishes the principles of identifying whether an investor has some level of control over an investee, and therefore consolidating the investee (ACCA, 2012). This standard has the following key requirements; 1. It requires business organizations that have an interest in other business organizations to conduct an assessment in order to determine whether control exists or not. 2. In order for a business organization to control another business organization, the following characteristics must be present, rights to the benefits of variable returns because of the involvement of the business entity with the investee, authority over the investee, the ability to influence the investee for purposes of benefiting the investor. 3. An investor must have substantive righ ts for purposes of giving him control of an investee and legitimacy to control some affairs of the organization. Joint arrangements on the other hand outline the accounting procedures that business organization that jointly control an entity ought to follow. There must be a contractual agreement that denotes the control of an entity by the business organizations in question. Media (2011) denotes that joint arrangements are of two types, namely joint operations, and ventures. In a joint venture, net assets and equity are accounted for, while in a joint operation, accountant’s factor in the obligation of liability, and right to access the assets by the business organization under collaboration (ACCA study text, 2011). On this basis therefore, the International Accounting Board established this standards for purposes of determining the nature of a joint arrangement business organizations engage in. This is to enable stakeholders gain the capability of analyzing the rights and ob ligations of these business entities under the joint arrangement. For a joint arrangement to exist, the following are the main requirements (Gray and Manson, 2012); 1. There must be prove of control of the organization by the business entity involved. 2. The concept of unanimous consent must be present, and this

Assignment 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Assignment 4 - Essay Example Organisms can also trigger mutation in their DNA. The process occurs naturally after the genes have stopped functioning normally. Mutations can be helpful and harmful depending on how organisms are affected. For instance, it can be harmful if it leads to faulty protein sequence. This is because it causes some proteins to stop functioning or function poorly. Very few types of mutations are beneficial to organisms. Mutation is also helpful because it make it possible for some species to adapt to their environments. It can lead to irreversible loss of goods characteristics in some species. One of the common medical conditions associated with mutations in humans is the sickle cell anemia which occurs due to mutation of chromosome 11 (Adams, 2009). Another related issue is sexual reproduction that occurs when different organisms within the same species join their gametes. It leads to higher genetic variation compared to asexual production. This is because in sexual reproduction organisms receive more chromosomes from its parents. Organisms that produce sexually have unique characteristics compared to those produced asexually. They are usually not identical to their parents like those produced asexually. The unique characteristics enable the offspring to prosper in their environments. Sexual reproduction has resulted to the occurrence of many breeds of organisms today. Migration also affects genetics in various ways. It increases the chances of different organisms within the same species to mate. Organisms in different regions might have different characteristics. Mating enables the organisms to produce offspring with the parent’s characteristics. Migration can cause subtraction or addition of alleles in a population. For example, if organisms with good genetic characteristics move to another area it causes alleles subtraction in that area. Areas that receive the organisms with good genetic characteristics experience a gain of

How sexist, racist, and homophobic language creates a barrier to Essay

How sexist, racist, and homophobic language creates a barrier to communication - Essay Example In most instances, this form of discrimination targets the women. However, the main culprits are the male chauvinists. In some circumstances, men have refused to listen to what women have to say or when they listen; their minds are already registered that they would not act on it. Therefore, either the person can be absent minded or can listen but immediately forget about what transpired. Communication can also be hampered by the realization that the listener is not keen. Based on sexism, some men develop an attitude towards not only towards the message being delivered but also to the person delivering the message. On the other hand, stereotyping based on gender can make an individual develop communication biasness towards the other gender. For example, a woman who has labelled all men as cheaters will not be convinced to any man claiming that they have never cheated. Racism can also be a communication barrier. The perception that a particular race is knowledgeable that another will make a person disregard information from another person of a race that they demonstrate prejudice against. The attitude formed is that the communicator is unable to deliver any important information. It is also possible that a racist will focus on the language use and fail to get the message. Racial disparities emanates from differential origins, therefore, the assents are different. Instead of listening to the person speak, a racially biased person will listen to the language use of the communicator. In addition, a person from a race labelled â€Å"inferior† may fail to capture what the other person is saying, they agree on anything that is said courtesy of inferiority complex. For example, a local inhabitant of the Congo forest who knows some French will perceive that whatever the white man is saying is true hence failing to capture the message as it was deli vered. Communication breakdown can also be contributed by the use of homophobic language. Homosexuals have attempted to air

The war on drugs and the United States criminal justice system Essay Example for Free

The war on drugs and the United States criminal justice system Essay Compiled by Drug Policy Alliance. August, 2001. Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a mans appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded. Abraham Lincoln The link between racial discrimination and the war on drugs exists not only in the United States but also throughout much of the world. In one country after another racial and ethnic minorities are targeted and persecuted in the name of the war on drugs. Criminal laws often focus on psychoactive drugs used by minority populations, while other more commonly used drugs are legal, and their abuse properly treated as problems for health care providers, not criminal justice systems. In most countries, racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately targeted, arrested, prosecuted and punished for drug offenses. The reliance on incarceration as the principal means of punishment in the United States has escalated to the point that there are now more than 2 million Americans in the countrys state and federal prisons. The United States imprisons more of its citizens than any other nation in the world. Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans are over-represented throughout the U. S. prison system. However, nowhere in the criminal justice system is the disparity between the arrest, detention, conviction and sentencing of people of color and Whites more brutally obvious than in the case of the war on drugs. Racism Permeates Drug Law Enforcement. Unequal treatment of minority group members pervades every stage of the criminal justice system. Racial profiling, street sweeps, buy and bust operations and other police activities have targeted people in street level retail drug transactions in low-income communities of color. Blacks and Latinos are victimized by unfair treatment by police; by racially skewed charging and plea bargaining decisions by prosecutors; by discriminatory sentencing practices and by the failure of judges, elected officials and other criminal justice policy makers to redress the inequities that have come to permeate the system. The rate of drug admissions to state prison for black men are thirteen times greater than the rate for white men. A recent report by Human Rights Watch found that while drug use is consistent across all racial groups, Blacks and Latinos are far more likely to be arrested and prosecuted and given long sentences for drug offenses. Blacks constitute 13 percent of all drug users, but 35 percent of those arrested for drug possession, 55 percent of persons convicted, and 74 percent of people sent to prison. (1) Nationally, Latinos comprise almost half of those arrested for marijuana offenses(2) and Native Americans comprise almost 2/3 of those prosecuted for criminal offenses in federal courts. (3) The racial bias of the drug war is exemplified by the 100 to 1 disparity in prison sentences for crack versus powder cocaine. As scientists and courts alike have declared, there is no rational basis for distinguishing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Nonetheless, in 1994, 90 percent of persons convicted of federal crack cocaine offenses were Black, six percent Latino, and less than four percent White. Federal powder cocaine offenders were 30 percent Black, 43 percent Latino, and 26 percent White. (4) Domestically, U. S. drug policy is fueled by historical bias against racial minorities used to justify their disproportionate presence in the penal system. The impact these policies have had on social structures and political power in Black and Latino communities has been devastating. As a result of the war on drugs poor communities of color have been politically weakened by laws that disenfranchise voters for felony convictions and provide economic incentives for rural communities to embrace prisons as a form of economic development. The prevailing theory about prisons in many locales is If we build them, they will come. There is a self-perpetuating, cyclical quality to the treatment of Blacks and Latinos in the U. S. criminal justice system. Much of the discrimination visited upon these groups stems from the perceptions of criminal justice decision-makers that (1) most crimes are committed by minorities, and (2) most minorities commit crimes. Although empirically false, these perceptions cause a disproportionate share of law enforcement attention to be directed at minorities, which in turn leads to more arrests of Blacks and Latinos. Disproportionate arrests fuel prosecutorial and judicial decisions that disproportionately affect minorities and result in racial disparities in incarceration. The accumulated effect is to create a prison population in which Blacks and Latinos increasingly predominated, which in turn reinforces the misperceptions that justify racial profiling and punitive drug policies. Recommendations Affluent predominantly white suburban communities have long recognized that the drug war need not be fought only on the incarceration front. Alternatives such as drug treatment and education are mainstays of white, middle-class efforts to reduce drug abuse in their neighborhoods. A strategy centered on such demand reduction efforts makes sense: The Rand Corporation has estimated that investing an additional $1 million in drug treatment programs would reduce by fifteen times more serious crime than enacting more mandatory sentences for drug offenders. (5) But when it comes to the presence of drugs in poor communities of color, the response of policymakers is to build prisons rather than treatment facilities. If the government of the United States is truly committed to eliminating racial discrimination in the criminal justice system and fulfilling its responsibility as a party to CERD, there must be an end to racial profiling, mandatory minimum drug sentences, and civil disabilities for felony convictions. Police, prosecutors and other criminal justice decision-makers must be held accountable for their discretionary decisions. Moreover, there must be clear acknowledgement on the part of the U. S. government that the war on drugs is a failed policy that is doing more harm than good, particularly to people of color. Notes: 1. Human Rights Watch Report: Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System, May 2000 Vol. 12, No. 2 (G). 2. John D. Couriel, Keep It Real: Recasting the drug debate in terms of accountability and opportunity.3. U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians are Violent Crime Victims at Double the Rate of the General Population, news release, Feb. 14, 1999 4. 1. 4 million black men or 13% of the black male adult population are disenfranchised, reflecting a rate of disenfranchisement that is seven times the national average. 5. Jonathan P. Caulkins, et al. , Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Throwing Away the Key or the Taxpayers Money, Rand, Santa Monica, 1997, p. xxiv.

Psychology of Aesthetics: Overview of Theories

Psychology of Aesthetics: Overview of Theories How is aesthetic experience linked to familiarity and information? Critically discuss at least two theoretical perspectives and provide evidence based on the literature. The phenomenon of aesthetic experience refers to a preference judgement to sensory experience. This hedonic response has its roots from the philosopher Baumgarten 1750 (as cited in Reber et al, 2004) who likened the concept of sensation and perception pertaining to beauty, appreciation and art. The philosophical approaches influenced the endeavor to discover contributors to aesthetic experience. Conversely, Fechner adopted an empirical approach rather than the complex philosophical approaches to understanding aesthetic experiences. For instance, experimentation on stimulus properties and preference responses provided a more organized bottom – up approach. (Shimura and Palmer, 2014) Gestalt psychologists took on a holistic approach to the principles of perceptual organization. For instance, the principle of familiarity suggests that objects appear to be grouped if the groups are assured to be familiar or meaningful. (Goldstein, 2002) Another principle proposed is that stimulus patterns are pictured in a style that is the most simplistic. For example the Olympic symbol is not usually perceived as nine shapes within five circles but simply as five circles. Thus, Gesalt account does provide a reason into the perception of stimulus. However, Gesalt principles do not explain the role of familiarity and simplicity of information in aesthetic experience. (Goldstein, 2002) One explanation introduced by the processing fluency is the ease of processing information which consists of perceptual fluency and conceptual fluency. (Reber et al. 2004) Perceptual fluency refers to the ease of processing the perceptual features of a stimulus (Jacoby and Kelley,1987). Whilst, Conceptual fluency is the ease of processing the meaning of a stimulus, or the fluency of conceptually driven processing (Whittlesea, 1993). Prior exposure to stimuli can increase processing fleuncy this is the mere exposure effect report by Zajonc (1968) He theorized the more often an individual is exposed to an object the more likely they are to develop a preference for stimulus that is familiar than unfamiliar. He demonstrated the causal relation between mere exposure and attitude enhancement. Through a series of experiments nonsense words, Chinese ideographs and photographs of faces were presented in counter balanced order to participants and rated on a scale of how good or bad stimulus words meant and how favorable photographs were. Liking for a stimulus was found to be positively related to the amount of stimulus exposure. The proximity of experienced fluency and preference judgment can lead participants to misinterpret fluency as their preference reaction to the stimulus. Hence, repeated exposure of a stimulus increases perceptual fluency, which in turn increases the likelihood of misattribution to preference for stimulus. (Bornstein and D’Agostino, 1994).The mere exposure effect can provide an account for, different cultural preferences seen in society. For instance, Hannon et al. (2012) used simple rhythms common in American and Turkish music, complex rhythms common in Turkish music and highly complex rhythms not found in Turkish and American music. Turkish participants performed accurately in simple and complex conditions. However, they performed less accurately in highly complex condition. Conversely, Americans performed accurately when detecting disruptions to the simple rhythm. However, they performed less accurately on the complex and highly complex conditions. Nonetheless , the robustness of the mere exposure effect is controversial. Kali (1974) exposed children aged seven, nine and eleven years old to Chinese characters. Children then ranked the stimuli according to liking. The seven and nine year olds preferred the familiar characters and the eleven year olds preferred the novel stimuli. Another set of ranks taken three weeks after indicated that eleven year olds preferred the more familiar characters. It was proposed boredom effects intervened on preference ratings. Indeed, Borstein et al. (1990) suggests That, simple stimuli become boring in comparison to complex stimuli. Berlyne 1960,1974 (as cited in Messinger,1998) proposed that intermediate levels of information produce the highest ratings.Thus, Uncertainty of information is related to aesthetic preference in the inverted U shape function rather than the linear function proposed by the mere – exposure effect. Whilst, preference was based on stimulus related arousal, preference increases to maximal liking, as arousal potential reaches the optimal level. Furthermore, arousal leads to a decrease in liking thus displeasure increases. ( Martindale et al. 1990) This idea of information on preference derived from information theory which is based on mathematical principles. (Berlyne,1957) utilizing a logarithmic equation to measure information yielded by all possible combinations of a given number of stimuli. When there are equally likely possibilities in a stimulus set, the higher the figure the more informational stimulus tends to be, since more combinations are involved. Martindale et al. (1990) tested Berlyne’s predictions. In the first experiment they asked participants to rate their liking for a series of random polygons varying in size and number of turns. A rating scale has the advantage that it provides a degree of opinion rather than a binary response. Results indicated that polygons with ten turns were preferred and that size had no effect on preference. However, when the same experiment was repeated with a larger range of size and complexity levels. Preference was linearly related to complexity. This questioned the ecological validity and generalizability of Berlyne’s model. Martindale et al. (1990) This contradiction challenges the processing fluency account as a simple stimulus should be preferred as there is less information compared to complex stimulus. Perhaps the mediation of other factors plays an important role, such as expertise and expectation. Reber et al (2004) when expectections of complex stimuli are violated by e asy processing then this creates pleasure. Reber et al. (2004) Asethetic pleasure has been found to vary among experts and novices. People who are novices tend to prefer simple, protypical stimuli such as symmetry whereas experts prefer complex, asymmetrical stimuli. (McWhinnie, 1968) Preference for symmetrical sequences in body movement was investigated by Orgs et al. (2013). Participants were exposed to either symmetrical or asymmetrical sequences. Both groups, then rated the sequences. Results indicated that both groups rated symmetrical sequences higher. Participants in the asymmetrical group displayed an increase preference for asymmetrical sequences. This can be explained by the mere exposure effect. The influence of aesthetic preference on compositional structure and postural information may differ among novice and experts. Moreover, other behaviours such as the ability to identify the structure in aesthetic experience and if participants are asked to perform actions instead of using rating scales is to be explored. Jacobsen and Hoefel (2003) showed symmetrical and non symmetrical patterns and recorded whether participants judged them as beautiful or not beautiful. They correlated this to Event related potentials. The results indicated that symmetrical patterns were positively correlated to beautiful judgements. Aesthetic judgements related to anterior frontomedian and right hemisphere activation. This does provide an account of processing aesthetic appreciation occurring in specialized brain areas. Nevertheless, this correlation does not mean that specialized brain activation causes aesthetic preference for symmetrical patterns. Event related potentials (ERP) are difficult to detect in the electroencephalograms (EEGS) the ERP is combined with other electrical signals. However the procedure offers a non-invasive technique compared to other procedures which expose participants to radiation or injection. (Kolb and Wishaw, 2009) In addition, the variety of aesthetic preferences are not captured by the forced choice methods. Preference for symmetrical patterns may be due to fluent processing as there is less information to process. (Reber et al. 2004) The preference towards a given feature over another is not well explained. Bar and Neta (2006) Adopted an evolutionary perspective, they proposed sharp objects signal danger and curved objects signal safety. They found a preference for curved objects. Furthermore, there was no difference in reaction time, which challenges the perceptual fluency account. Findings support the mere exposure effect as real objects was preferred over novel patterns. Evolutionary perspective poses issues of falsification however, Carbon (2010) used realistic images of cars from 1950 to 1999 and found a preference for curved models, although fashion trends can also have an impact. The stimuli used is more realistic than rating polygons. In addition, this illustrates aesthetic experiences can change over time. The majority of the studies discussed explore aesthetic liking, however, many dimensions of aesthetic experiences exist. Such as, the pleasure of negative emotions is not captured well. In overview, the studies discussed suggest that the familiarity, novelty, complexity, simplicity of information plays an important role in aesthetic experiences. ( Zajonc,1968; Messinger ,1998) That is, preference for something is in between familiarity and novelty. As boredom intervenes with preference and familiarity. (Borstein et al.1990)Novelty can violate expectations and signal danger. (Reber et al.2004;Bar and Neta, 2006) This is similar for complex and simple information. Preference for something is between easy and challenging stimulus. ((McWhinnie,1968) Preference for things that is known can explain cultural differences in aesthetic experiences. (Hannon et al, 2012) Through neuroaesthetic approaches, specialized brain areas can be linked to aesthetic experience. (Jacobsen and Hoefel, 2003) Despite, different tastes neuroaesthetics can offer a way of investigating the underlying mechanisms involved in the aesthetic experience to generate a set of principles that influence aesthetic experiences. In a nutshell, the theoretical perspectives indicates detecting regularities and understanding information is something humans find aesthetically pleasing. References Bar.M,Neta.M (2006) Humans prefer curved visual objects. Psychological science,17,645-648. Berlyne.D.E. (1957) Uncertainity and conflict: A point of contact between information-theory and behaviour – theory concepts. The psychological review. 64,6. 329-339. Borstein.E.R,Kale.R.A,Cornell.R.K. (1990) Boredom as a Limiting Condition on the Mere Exposure Effect.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.58, 5, 791-800 Borstein.R.F, D’Agostino.P.R. (1992) Stimulus recognition and the mere exposure effect. Journal of personality and social psychology, 63, 545-552. Carbon.C.C. (2010) The cycle of preference: long –term dynamics of aesthetic appreciation. Acta psychologica, 134, 233-244. Goldstein.B.E (2002) Sensation and perception (6th edn) USA: Wadsworth. Hannon, E. E., Soley, G., Ullal, S. (2012, February 20). Familiarity Overrides Complexity in Rhythm Perception: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of American and Turkish Listeners. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. Jacobsen.T, Hoefel.L. (2003) Descriptive and evaluative judgement processes: Behavioural and electrophysical indices of processing symmetry and aesthetics. Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience.4, 289- 299. Jacoby, Larry L. and Colleen M. Kelley (1987),Unconscious Influences of Memory for a Prior Event, Personality Social Psychology Bulletin, 13 (March), 314-336. Kali.V.R (1974) Familarity and attraction to stimuli: Developmental change or methological artifact ? Journal of experimental child psychology. 18, 504 – 511. Kolb.B,Whishaw.Q.I (2009) Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. (6th edn) New York: Worth publishers. McWhinnie.J.H. (1968) A review of research on aesthetic measure. Acta psychologica. 28, 363-375. Martindale.C,Moore.K,Borkum.J. (1990) Aesthetic preference: Anomalous findings for berlyne’s psychobiological theory. The American journal of psychology. 103,1, 53-80. Messinger.M.S (1998) pleasure and complexity: Berlyne revisted. The journal of psychology. 132, 5, 558-560. Orgs.G,Hagura.N,Haggard.p (2013) learning to like it: Aesthetic perception of bodies, movements and choreographic structure. Consciousness and cogition. 22, 603-612. Reber.R,Schwarz.N,Winkielman.P. (2004) processing fleuncy and aesthetic pleasure: is beauty in the perceiver’s processing experience ? Personality and social psychology review, vol: 8, 4, 364-382. Shimaura. P.A,Palmer. E.S.(2014) Aesthetic science connecting Minds, Brains and Experience. New York: Oxford university press. Whittlesea. A.W.B (1993) Illusions of familiarity. Journal of experimental psychology: Learning, memory and cognition. 19,6,1235-1253. Zajonc. R.B (1968) Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of personality and social psychology. 9, 1- 27.

Critical analysis on Philip Larkin

Critical analysis on Philip Larkin The poem The Trees by Philip Larkin deals with the reflective descriptions of the speakers observation of trees. Despite its misleading superficial simplicity, the poem bears a deeper meaning underneath: the trees that are reborn every year symbolize renewal and hope in the face of the humans who have to face death eventually. Yet, throughout the poem, Larkin ambivalently ponders about this symbolism, as he delightedly views the picture of the growing trees but denies the immortality of their youth as a superficial veneer marked by the inward aging and an eventual death. The poem is in a strictly regular metrical and rhyming structure, arranged into 3 different stanzas, each one four lines long. Such regularity of structure is reflective of the natures cycling of birth, growth and renewal. The Trees demonstrates the transience of youth as a result of the destructive passage of time, one of the recurring themes of Larkins works. In the introductory stanza, through the portrayal of the burgeoning trees as both cheerful and melancholy, Larkin purposefully reveals the meaninglessness of life. Larkin illustrates the trees as coming into leaf. The speaker deploys the diction leaf as a symbol of life and conveys a positive, hopeful connotation. Through this physical depiction, Larkin establishes an image of fresh, growing trees, and sets a mood of liveliness in the scene. Larkin further strengthens this lively mood as he describes the comforting view of recent buds [that] relax and spread. The poet cleverly deploys sibilance to effectively evoke the sound of rustling tree leaves, signifying life and youth. Hence, Larkin further emphasizes the vivacious image of the bustling trees, and enhances the encouraging, hopeful atmosphere. Through the deliberate choice of verbs relax and spread, Larkin personifies the leaves and uses trees as a metaphor for humans, comparing their stage of youth to a humans entering of a ne w stage in life. Such comparison between the trees and humans implies that Larkin is contemplative about the cheerful, comforting message of hope that trees give to humans. The speakers use of trees as a consolation to humans can also be found in his other poem Forget What Did where the natural and celestial recurrences appear as consolation in the face of individual sufferings. However, immediately after such use of metaphor, Larkin repudiates that their greenness is a kind of grief. Larkin deploys the alliteration greenness and grief to highlight that such beauty of life is a grief because it is merely ephemeral. The negative connotation conveyed by the diction grief suggests Larkins abrupt shift of tone from optimism to pessimism. Furthermore, Larkin deliberately deploys the noun grief to create a rhyming couplet of leaf in the first line and grief in the last line of stanza. This rhyming couplet effectively contrasts the two distinct connotations of positivity and pessimism, fur ther highlighting the speakers ambivalence. Additionally, as the speaker compares the growth of trees to something almost being said, the repeated use of ambiguous diction such as something and almost signifies the speakers state of two different minds. Through the predominant tone of ambivalence, Larkin underscores such greenness of nature that seems so cheerful is no less transitory than human life and effectively conveys that all life has an end. In the second stanza, Larkin underscores that trees that outwardly seem perpetually young, in fact, age and eventually have to die, demonstrating the theme of inevitability of death. Larkin questions the immortality of trees in comparison to the transitory lives of humans, as he asks is it that they are born again// and we grow old?. Through the deployment of the diction born again signifying fresh renewal, and of diction grow old signifying death, Larkin reveals the theme of contrast between youth and age. The speaker deliberately utilizes the punctuation of question mark to reveal his pensive tone that effectively causes the reader to ponder about what life really means to the reader and even to look back at all the time this reader had robotically spent in his life. Immediately following the question however, Larkin denies, No, [trees] die too, commenting that the lives of trees are no less transient than those of humans. Larkin utilizes caesura to effectively highlight that his t hought about trees endless youth is immediately defeated by his realization that trees do eventually die as well as humans. This caesura underscores his abrupt wavering of tone from speculative to pessimistic, and further emphasizes the ambiguous mood of the poem. It is through this predominant ambiguity of the poem that Larkin reflects the opaque meaning of life in his perspective. Additionally, Larkin compares the trees renewed youth every summer to a yearly trick of looking new. The speakers deployment of diction trick connotes that all the hope and consolation one may get from viewing the trees vivacious coming into leaf are a superficial veneer. This diction further suggests a negative connotation in the speakers voice, and builds his pessimistic tone that shows his desultory, hopeless attitude towards revitalizing into having a more meaningful life. Through the word choice rings of grain, Larkin implies that despite the fresh outer appearances, the trees are growing old inside , as they leave traces in the trunk, underscoring the theme of contrast between youth and age. The reader can also interpret this expression of the poet in a different way: the speaker is using the trees as a metaphor for humans. As trees outwardly seem lively but inwardly grow old and die in the end, the speaker is mockingly comparing this to the humans efforts to renew their lives by using various ornate luxuries or by going to prestigious colleges or workplaces, even though eventually the only thing that remains after time passes is their death. Through such pessimistic tone, Larkin hints that death is inevitable and therefore underlines his melancholy attitude towards life that is seemingly full of opportunities but is fundamentally ephemeral and meaningless. This theme of inevitability of death also plays a significant role in the poem Dockery and Son. In Dockery and Son, Larkin conveys that no matter what Dockery does in his life, whether getting married or having a son, and n o matter what Larkin himself does in his life, whether eating an awful pie or sleeping, life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes. This poem The Trees reflects Larkins similar idea that life eventually has an end and thus is pointless. In the final stanza, Larkin expresses his admiration for the trees that indefatigably strive for a renewal in contrast to his own resignation to reach for a revival in life. Marked by the use of the transition word yet still, implying a change of tone from pessimism to a more positive one, Larkin compares the trees with unresting castles. The speaker uses this metaphor to create an image of masculine, firm trees, like castle turrets. This image of adamant trees is further developed by the speakers deployment of diction full-grown thickness. Larkin creates this image to suggest his new tone of distant admiration towards the trees that tenaciously repeat the cycle of birth, aging and renewal every year. Yet, his constant wavering of tone between pessimism and hopefulness greatly contrasts the image of adamant, unwavering trees. Moreover, Larkin depicts the trees as alive with speech, as they seem to say to him about something. Larkin personifies the trees through the diction say and fu rther emphasizes this personification through the deployment of sibilance. The personification of the trees serves to create the effect of aliveness and joviality of the trees. Additionally, Larkins repetition of the onomatopoeia afresh further enhances the sound of tree leaves bustling and rustling by the wind, thereby signifying life. Through this onomatopoeia, Larkin evokes images of nature and hope. This imagery is symbolic of the trees continuous, unwavering life and renewal. This last line of the poem is a message that Larkin gets from trees to leave the past behind and begin a new life with hope. And yet, the reader can infer from the dominant tone of ambivalence that the speaker is hesitant to act upon this message from nature. Larkin cleverly uses no enjambments at the end of each stanza but instead ends each with a period. The speakers use of this punctuation effectively reflects the predominant message of the poem that even though nature repeats in cycle, there is an end eventually, underscoring the theme of inevitability of death. In conclusion, Larkin purposefully expresses his reluctance towards life, which is meaningless to him. He ambiguously conveys that trees that appear to be young, hopeful and consoling to human eyes, are in fact just as equally mortal as humans. From his ambivalence, Larkin conveys that death after life is inevitable, showing his negligence of the trees cheerful message to begin his life afresh. As an analyzer of this poem, the reader feels differently from the way Larkin feels from viewing the trees: the reader feels from it joy and affirmation, and even motivation to try harder in all he does, as nature and its serene views are what he tends to turn to rely on when faced with dilemma. Yet, the reader feels melancholy when faced with the fact that such feelings are vain after death; indeed, as Alun R. Jones states in his critical notes on Larkins works, the effect [of Larkins writing] is akin to that achieved at times by Mozart and Schubert at their most tender and poignant.

Designing an Automatic Card Shuffler :: Robotics

Background Most automatic card shufflers on the market today have a card output slot, a card input slot, a card separation area, and an arm between the card input slot and the separation area. The card input slot is where used cards are put to be shuffled. The arm makes sure that not too many cards enter the separation area at a time. The separation area is where the actual shuffling occurs. The most common method of separation uses a system of rotating belts to pull cards out of the main pile and put them back at random (Card Shuffler). Another method uses a series of elevators. The elevators move up and down, while cards are inserted randomly into each one. Then, the piles in the elevators are shuffled together (Uncomfortable Shoe). This design adds another level of randomness to the shuffling. The last essential part of the shuffler is the card output slot, which is simply where the shuffled cards come out of the machine. Our robot will be different. It has a card input and output slot, but the rest of the machine is different. It shuffles by randomly choosing from several trays full of cards. This method is faster and is more flexible regarding the number of cards being shuffled than other shufflers. Also, this machine will deal a number of different card games automatically. Casinos will want this robot because it is a faster way to shuffle more cards. It makes it so that players can not "count" cards to gain an advantage over the casinos, and with its automatic dealing capabilities, it will increase their efficiency, allowing them to earn more money. Preliminary Design Our product will do more than current automatic card shufflers. In addition to just shuffling the cards, it will also deal them out. The final product will have many shuffling trays, to increase the capacity and effectiveness of the shuffler. It will have an LCD display with inputs that allow card players to select a game on the screen, and the robot will shuffle and deal the cards according to the rules of the game. The final product will be mostly enclosed in a plastic case, to make it look streamlined and prevent tampering or damage to the parts inside. The internals, however, will not be plastic. The gears will be welloiled metal, and the gates will also be smooth plastic to allow the cards to exit them rapidly. To allow the 2 robot to be low-cost, the metal parts would have to be aluminum. There would be little to no specialized

DaVinci code Essay -- essays research papers

The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my book report I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code has one main character and many supporting characters. The main character is Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist and professor. He is a tall American with coarse black hair and blue eyes. He is very intellectual and very modest. He is a quick thinker under pressure and doesn?t give up easily. He is careful with his words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most important supporting character is Sophie Neveu. She is a cryptologist the and granddaughter of Jacques Sauniere, the murder victim. She has blond hair and green eyes and is French. She is very independent and commanding. She is also very intellectual, fluent in two languages, and good at breaking codes. She is a very determined person and does not give up with out a fight. She is also very quick witted. She is a very good liar, very convincing. She likes to take matters into her own hands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second most important supporting character is Leigh Teabing. Sir Leigh Teabing is a avid researcher of the Holy Grail. He has bushy red hair and hazel eyes. Both his legs are in metal braces. Leigh is a sly Englishman, who is obsessed with discovering the hiding place of the Grail. He is a very good actor and loves to exaggerate. He is never at a loss for words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another main supporting charater is Bezu Fanche. He is the officer who is leading the search for the murderer and suspectcs that it is Langdon. Fanche is a large cold man who is desperrate to find this culprit. He grealt needs this case to be solved because his reputation is on the line here. He made a few too many mistakes and needs to restore his reputataion or he risk losing his job.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I also believe that another imortant supporting character is Jaucques Sauniere. He is murdered in the first chapter, however throughout the book Jaucques Sauniere affects the story line dramatically. Jaucques Sauniere is man who really believes that you need to work for what you get and nothing should come easily to you. He is an amazing code specialist and when he hides something it will stay hidden unless he wants you to find it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Da Vinci Code is about the journey Robert and Sophie take to find the Holy Grail. It begins in the Louvre Museum of Art where Jaucques Sauniere who was a curator in the Louvre. He was also the master of a secret organiza... ... to smash the box because inside lies a small glass vile containing vinegar which will dissolve the parchment on which the message is written. Once Langdon, Shopie, and Teabing open the first cryptex another lies inside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He also never lets the story slow down or stop moving. There is always an unexpected twist which will astound you yet make perfect sense. Such as Teabing betrayal. It was totally unexpected yet it fit Teabings personality perfectly. He always wishes to have the upper hand. Another unexpected twist was that the Grail really wasn?t hidden in Great Britain in the Rosslyn which all the clues seemed to lead. Another unexpected twist was that both Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion both wished to keep the contents of the Grail hidden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dan brown is also good at gathering real information and joining it together to make a story that seems possible. His story is based on facts which he has distorted to make fit to what he wishes to achieve. You can never tell what is coming next or what the outcome of an action will. He constantly keeps you guessing and I enjoy that. I give this book two thumbs up. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, DoubleDay publishing 2003.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   DaVinci code Essay -- essays research papers The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my book report I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code has one main character and many supporting characters. The main character is Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist and professor. He is a tall American with coarse black hair and blue eyes. He is very intellectual and very modest. He is a quick thinker under pressure and doesn?t give up easily. He is careful with his words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most important supporting character is Sophie Neveu. She is a cryptologist the and granddaughter of Jacques Sauniere, the murder victim. She has blond hair and green eyes and is French. She is very independent and commanding. She is also very intellectual, fluent in two languages, and good at breaking codes. She is a very determined person and does not give up with out a fight. She is also very quick witted. She is a very good liar, very convincing. She likes to take matters into her own hands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second most important supporting character is Leigh Teabing. Sir Leigh Teabing is a avid researcher of the Holy Grail. He has bushy red hair and hazel eyes. Both his legs are in metal braces. Leigh is a sly Englishman, who is obsessed with discovering the hiding place of the Grail. He is a very good actor and loves to exaggerate. He is never at a loss for words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another main supporting charater is Bezu Fanche. He is the officer who is leading the search for the murderer and suspectcs that it is Langdon. Fanche is a large cold man who is desperrate to find this culprit. He grealt needs this case to be solved because his reputation is on the line here. He made a few too many mistakes and needs to restore his reputataion or he risk losing his job.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I also believe that another imortant supporting character is Jaucques Sauniere. He is murdered in the first chapter, however throughout the book Jaucques Sauniere affects the story line dramatically. Jaucques Sauniere is man who really believes that you need to work for what you get and nothing should come easily to you. He is an amazing code specialist and when he hides something it will stay hidden unless he wants you to find it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Da Vinci Code is about the journey Robert and Sophie take to find the Holy Grail. It begins in the Louvre Museum of Art where Jaucques Sauniere who was a curator in the Louvre. He was also the master of a secret organiza... ... to smash the box because inside lies a small glass vile containing vinegar which will dissolve the parchment on which the message is written. Once Langdon, Shopie, and Teabing open the first cryptex another lies inside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He also never lets the story slow down or stop moving. There is always an unexpected twist which will astound you yet make perfect sense. Such as Teabing betrayal. It was totally unexpected yet it fit Teabings personality perfectly. He always wishes to have the upper hand. Another unexpected twist was that the Grail really wasn?t hidden in Great Britain in the Rosslyn which all the clues seemed to lead. Another unexpected twist was that both Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion both wished to keep the contents of the Grail hidden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dan brown is also good at gathering real information and joining it together to make a story that seems possible. His story is based on facts which he has distorted to make fit to what he wishes to achieve. You can never tell what is coming next or what the outcome of an action will. He constantly keeps you guessing and I enjoy that. I give this book two thumbs up. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, DoubleDay publishing 2003.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Essay --

â€Å"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.† 1 Corinthians 10:13 Rob & Burgandie Onekea with their two sons Derion (16) and Brandon (13) Rob & Burgandie Onekea with their two sons Derion (16) and Brandon (13) Online purity is a daily battle for many brothers and sisters in Christ. Taking control of your purity is something that is crucial to your spiritual walk with God; indeed, if you are continually losing this struggle, your salvation is at stake. For the Scriptures are forthright, â€Å"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people†¦ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.† (Ephesians 5:3-5) Ricardo is moved by his baptism! Ricardo is moved by his baptism! How many of us have been doing great spiritually, when suddenly you receive an email with an inappropriate image inside? Do we easily hit the delete button or are we ensnared the minute that we see the link? David fought a losing battle for purity, as he stood on the rooftop of the palace gazing into the area where Bathsheba was bathing. (2 Samuel 11) David could have chosen to look away, but his sinful desire compelled him to summon her to commit adultery. Sadly, after this affair, Bathsheba told David, â€Å"I am pregnant.† The consequences of David’s sin were many: the death of Uriah the Hittite (Bathsheba’s husband and one of David’s mighty men), the embittering of Ahithophel (Bathsh... ... Net Nanny. Adult websites have a wealth of resources at their disposal, which make it difficult to protect your home from pornography. Therefore, it is key to take things a step further and implement changes on your home computer. We easily spend $60 on the latest version of Halo or taking a family of four to see The Dark Knight, why then the lack of investment for our online purity? Most companies offer trial versions to download for 30 days to see if it works for you. As a brother who is now experiencing the victorious life, I would strongly recommend installing one of these programs. To download a trial version, click here. As our war for online purity continues, let us take up God’s spiritual weapons as well as our modern tools, and fight with everything we have for our salvation, for the salvation of our families and for the salvation of this very lost world.

Mary Schapiro and Leadership Essay

In her role at the SEC, Mary Schapiro was known as one of the world’s most powerful female regulators. She was named chair in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. As chairman, she helped strengthen and revitalize the agency by overseeing a more rigorous enforcement program and shaping new rules for Wall Street. During her tenure, the agency’s work force brought about a record number of enforcement actions and achieved significant regulatory reform to protect investors. Schapiro leaves behind an agency that has regained its footing, stature, and morale following desultory leadership under its previous two chairmen and its embarrassing lack of action preceding the financial crisis. Under Schapiro, the SEC, which is usually thought to be the most prominent and important financial regulatory body in the country, brought a huge number of enforcement actions against financial institutions. Her job was to assess what went wrong and to ensure it d idn’t happen again. During four years as SEC chairman, Schapiro presided over one of the busiest rule-making agendas in the SEC’s history, during which the agency also brought a record number of enforcement actions, and executed a comprehensive restructuring program to improve protections for investors. Upon her departure, President Obama praised her leadership, saying the SEC became stronger and the financial system â€Å"safer and better able to serve the American people-thanks in large part to Schapiro’s hard work.† Change Management Change management is designed to ensure the effective transition of an organisation and its people from the current to future states, and in so doing support the realisation of business benefits. In the context of strategy, it is the realisation of the strategic plan. Change management is about effectively leading and managing individuals, teams, and the organisation to successfully adopt the changes needed to achieve required or desired business results. Success in Organisational Change Follows Recognisable Patterns – Kotter’s 8 Steps Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter is well known for identifying a pattern for leading successful organizational change. Yet, we cannot be sure that the President, members of Congress, and key Federal Reserve, Department  of the Treasury, and SEC personnel (including Chairman Schapiro) are familiar with this work and with other similar guidance from change leadership literature. And even if some or all of the change agents impacting a restructuring of the SEC are familiar with this work, it is unclear whether any of those change agents are consciously using this learning and incorporating useful elements from Kotter’s books into the SEC reorganization process. Studies of organizational change have shed significant light on the elements of a successful reform effort. Leaders effectuating reform at the SEC do not have to â€Å"reinvent the wheel† as they initiate, manage, and institutionalize organizational change. Kotter’s model is organized into eigh t stages designed to address eight observed mistakes made in efforts for organizational change: â€Å"establishing a sense of urgency†; â€Å"creating the guiding coalition†; â€Å"developing a vision and strategy†; â€Å"communicating the change vision†; â€Å"empowering broad-based action†; generating short-term wins†; â€Å"consolidating gains and producing more change†; and â€Å"anchoring new approaches in the culture.† Each stage has identifiable characteristics. 1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency â€Å"Visible crises can be enormously helpful in catching people’s attention and pushing up urgency levels.† To be sure, the SEC has experienced visible crises over the past few years. Admissions of significant failures at the SEC extend back over more than two years’ time and cover multiple areas of SEC operations. â€Å"The natural superiority of the U.S. model for securities regulation is no longer an article of faith, and the credibility of the SEC as a financial regulator has never been lower.† although the SEC has long been â€Å"the crown jewel of the financial regulatory infrastructure,† recent developments have called that characterization into question. The SEC has been the target of relentless criticism ranging from claims that it mishandled derivatives regulation, oversight of securities firms, and market risk, to assertions of delays and blunders and possible industry capture at the Division of Enforcement. These criticisms followed th e Treasury Department’s Blueprint of Financial Regulation-released in March 2008-that criticized the SEC’s approach to regulation as obsolete and proposed a plan of regulatory consolidation that would effectively lead to the agency’s demise. Most recently, the revelation that the SEC failed to discover a $50 billion Ponzi scheme at Madoff Investment Securities, despite having received allegations of wrongdoing for over a decade, suggests fundamental weaknesses in its core enforcement operations. To be successful at organizational change, however, a change leader must use the crisis to shake up the organization. This requires that the change leader â€Å"remove sources of complacency or minimize their impact† and take actions that are â€Å"bold or even risky.† Kotter uses the concept of fire in a building as a proxy for crisis in an organization, writing that â€Å"conducting business as usual is very difficult if the building seems to be on fire.†Interestingly, Chairman Schapiro invoked fire imagery in comments to reporters as she made changes to SEC operations shortly after taking office. Moreover, in a recent speech, Chairman Schapiro noted the rapid pace of change at the SEC over the preceding year: I know that change is hard because within our agency we have been engaged in some of the most significant change in decades. When I arrived at the agency last January, we began a process of assessing our operations and determined we could do better. We de termined that we needed to change. And that is the path we have chosen. The personnel changes instituted at the SEC may be seen as examples of sweeping change. The discomfort and discontent of the SEC staff in response to the personnel changes may be evidence of the brash nature of these personnel changes. Kotter’s work predicts this kind of reaction. He notes that â€Å"bold moves that reduce complacency tend to increase conflict and to create anxiety, at least at first.† 2. Creating the Guiding Coalition Leading change is not a solitary task. Because major change is so difficult to accomplish, a powerful force is required to sustain the process. No one individual, not even a monarch-like CEO, is ever able to develop the right vision, communicate it to large numbers of people, eliminate all the key obstacles, generate short-term wins, lead and manage dozens of change projects, and anchor new approaches deep in the organization’s culture. Instead, what is required is a strong leadership team-a team â€Å"with the right composition and sufficient trust among members.† In terms of composition,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"four key characteristics† are important: â€Å"position power†- the entire group who will be charged with making progress in areas of needed change, â€Å"expertise,† â€Å"credibility,† and â€Å"leadership.† Trust is borne of activities that â€Å"create . . . mutual understanding, respect, and caring.† Trust is important because it can lead to the effective creation of a â€Å"common goal† or â€Å"shared objective.† Chairman Schapiro has changed the leadership team at the SEC. We must question, however, whether the team has the right characteristics and the requisite trust. Certainly, the credentials of the SEC Commissioners are quite impressive in terms of expertise, credibility, and leadership skills. Chairman Schapiro has put a premium on attracting to the SEC people with an expansive set of experiences and skills. Moreover, the published remarks of new leaders in the Division of Enforcement-people with position power-are impressive in their indication of a collective change momentum. New leaders continue to emerge, making the membership of the guiding coalition unsettled and unclear. The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it. In general, public information sources are not detailed enough to enable a comprehensive assessment of the suitability of the composition of Chairman Schapiro’s guiding coalition. For example, according to Kotter, â€Å"you need both management and leadership skills on the guiding coalition, and they must work in tandem, teamwork style.†He offers matrices that illustrate optimal compositions. Publicly available information does not enable us to determine whether or not the SEC guiding coalition has the optimal balance of management and leadership skills. Only as the exact identity of the leadership te am emerges and the team takes concerted and coordinated action will we be able to evaluate its composition. As difficult as it is for us to appraise the team’s composition, it is more difficult for us to assess whether the guiding coalition has the required trust. Although I have not found evidence that ostensible members of the SEC guiding coalition have engaged in team-building exercises or attended a retreat at which intra-group trust may have been engendered, the SEC’s recent self-assessment’ may be a sign that mutual trust is being promoted throughout the agency. As new people are identified for inclusion on the change leadership team, they will need to be effectively brought into the â€Å"circle of trust.† 3. Developing a Vision and Strategy To achieve successful organizational change, a leader needs to have both vision and a strategy to implement that vision. â€Å"Vision refers to a picture of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future.† Vision serves to channel change in a particular direction and incentivizes and coordinates change in that direction. Chairman Schapiro seems to understand this aspect of change leadership, and she also seems to be incorporating it into the SEC’s operations. Her vision for a reformed SEC refocuses the SEC’s activities on one of the key policy underpinnings of the federal securities laws: investor protection Another lesson I have learned is to have a vision about where you want to take your organization and stick to your principles in getting there. Principles are not ideologies. They are different. Maybe it’s a question of degree. Maybe to some it’s semantics. But as I see it, unlike ideologie s, principles don’t seem to demand a particular answer to every problem that emerges. We’ve seen how strict adherence to ideology played out over the last decade in the financial arena. â€Å"Free market ideology† together with rapidly changing technology, globalization and many other accidental causes led too many of us to forget hard-learned lessons from past crises and abandon basic common sense. Principles, on the other hand, help frame a question, an issue or a problem. Having a principle might highlight tensions and trade-offs of particular choices, but rarely do they force you to choose between a good solution and a worldview. For me at the SEC, my main principle is putting investors first. And, I try to stay focused on that every day. And the goal is to build an SEC that is deeply expert, nimble, and aggressive-that gives investors confidence. In fact, as Bob Glauber can attest, I have a sign posted on my door that says â€Å"How does it help investors?† It’s a simple question, but it guides all that I do at the SEC. And, all those who enter my office understand that is the prism through which we will consider all issues. It doesn’t necessarily dictate the outcome of every issue that lands  on my desk-because there are many solutions to any problem that could aid investors. But, the principle helps to shape our thinking and steers us in the right path. Vision is implemented through strategy. â€Å"Without vision, strategy making can be a much more contentious activity†¦. Even more so, without good vision, a clever strategy or a logical plan can rarely inspire the kind of action needed to produce major change.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Chairman Schapiro’s vision has guided structural and operational change at the SEC as well as substantive rulemaking. Some credit her clearly conceived vision and the related rapidly employed strategy for saving the SEC from more significant structural or operational change. 4. Communicating the Change Vision According to Kotter, the larger the audience for the change vision, the more powerful it may be. A great vision can serve a useful purpose even if it is understood by just a few key people. But the real power of a vision is unleashed only when most of those involved in an enterprise or activity have a common understanding of its goals and direction. That shared sense of a desirable future can help motivate and coordinate the kinds of actions that create transformations.’ A leader must be careful to communicate the change vision broadly, frequently (repeatedly), and consistently. The message conveying the vision must be direct, clear, simple, and geared to its targeted audiences. Metaphors, analogies, examples, and florid prose may be helpful in this regard. The means of conveying the message should be varied: oral and written, large forum and small group, and through words and actions. Finally, to ensure understanding, the communication of the vision should be a two-way street , involving both give and take as well as conveying and listening.† Chairman Schapiro has engaged in significant public speaking in which she has regularly and repeatedly informed and reminded the SEC staff and various elements of the public about the SEC’s recommitment to investor protection and the linkage of that vision to structural and operational changes at the SEC. Chairman Schapiro regularly appeared before congressional committees and subcommittees, and she has communicated her vision in these arenas as well. She used memorable analogies, examples, and words to convey the SEC’s organizational change message.’ Evidencing an appreciation for two-way communication, soon after  her appointment, Chairman Schapiro took action in response to staff suggestions that enforcement efforts against corporate violators of the securities laws were too difficult. Moreover, the self-assessment process and related ongoing staff communications are evidence of two-w ay communication about the structural and operational changes that have been taking place at the SEC. And Chairman Schapiro has continued to express belief in capturing a variety of viewpoints in decision-making. 5. Empowering Employees for Broad-Based Action To implement the leader’s vision, employees need to be able to take action. This may mean clearing away structural barriers, skill deficiencies, systemic obstacles, and supervisory impediments that may forestall effective employee participation in change efforts. Many of the structural and operational reforms implemented by Chairman Schapiro appear to be designed to empower SEC staff members for action that carries forward the change vision of the SEC. The efforts of Chairman Schapiro to listen and respond to staff concerns about unnecessary enforcement hurdles are examples of initiatives to streamline structure. In addition, the restructuring of the Division of Enforcement is geared to clear structural barricades to effective enforcement efforts.’ The decision to retain staff with â€Å"non-traditional skills† and the implementation of new staff training are examples of efforts to remedy skill deficits. Human resources and information systems have been or are be ing improved in response to deficiencies identified in the SEC’s self-assessment and the OIG’s investigation, report, and recommendations. In the Division of Enforcement, supervisory positions are being eliminated, supervisory personnel are being replaced, supervisory responsibilities are being realigned, and supervisory attitudes that may have impeded investigations are being corrected.’ 6. Generating Short-Term Wins Because the organizational change process is slow and constituents can be impatient, it is important for a change leader to accomplish certain limited objectives in the short term. Major change takes time, sometimes lots of time. Zealous believers will often stay the course no matter what happens. Most of the rest of us expect to see convincing evidence that all the effort  is paying off. Nonbelievers have even higher standards of proof. They want to see clear data indicating that the changes are working and that the change process isn’t absorbing so many resources in the short term as to endanger the organization. To be effective in sustaining organizational change efforts, short-term wins must be â€Å"both visible and unambiguous.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ They also must be â€Å"clearly related to the change effort.† And in an effective change effort, they are planned, not accidental.’ SEC Chairman Schapiro accomplished some highly publicized early wins after her appo intment was confirmed. In particular, she swiftly moved to remove perceived barriers to enforcement of the securities laws against public companies. She publicly promoted these changes, and they were picked up by the news media.’ These efforts generated support in and outside the SEC. The achievement of these short-term wins on a staggered but consistent basis has kept the SEC’s structural and operational reforms in front of the SEC’s staff and the public, building consensus around and momentum for the SEC’s self-initiated reform efforts and distracting attention from more substantial externally generated suggestions for change. 7. Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change The long-term time horizon for organizational change not only makes short-term wins advisable, but also may make early declarations of victory problematic. It is important that the sense of urgency created by the change leaders is sustained for the long haul. Short-term wins are essential to keep momentum going, but the celebration of the wins can be lethal if urgency is lost. With complacency up, the forces of tradition can sweep back in with remarkable force and speed. Although a rapid, consistent pace of change at the SEC was sustained over the first fifteen months of reform, Chairman Schapiro as well as other SEC change leaders, needed to maintain the change momentum by continuing to introduce reforms on a regular basis. Having gone so far, the SEC could have lost all of the gains it had made in organizational change merely by relaxing into complacency. â€Å"Until changed practices attain a new equilibrium and have been driven into the culture, they can be very fragile.†Ã ¢â‚¬Ëœ To reach that equilibrium, in addition to engaging in more and continuous change, the SEC should bring in additional change agents, continue to foster leadership from its senior managers, recruit and nurture project management and leadership from lower ranks in the hierarchy, and identify and decrease or eliminate unnecessary internal structural and operational interconnections that often make change efforts more complex.’ These types of efforts in change management are difficult and pervasive. 8. Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture Finally, to prevent regression, change leaders must address and resolve any incompatibilities between the changes that have been made and the organization’s culture-friction in the group’s system of behavioural norms and shared values. This is not as easy as it may sound. These norms and values may apply to the organization as a whole or only to certain parts of the organization, and it is important to achieve compatibility on both levels. Moreover, culture is change-resistant and nearly invisible. Yet, the failure to address inconsistencies between a change effort and the prevailing culture can undo years of reform.’ Accordingly, it was important that Chairman Schapiro understood the applicable behavioural norms and shared values of the SEC and the Enforcement Division and their respective relevant cultural sub-groups as they continue to reform the SEC and the Enforcement Division. Because the core vision of investor protection should not be entirely inconsisten t with the SEC’s culture (in whole or in pertinent part), these and other change leaders at the SEC should be able to â€Å"graft the new practices onto the old roots while killing off the inconsistent pieces.† The important thing will be for the SEC’s change leaders to continue to remember the organization’s heritage and link it to the organization’s new and ongoing operations and objectives.