Saturday, December 28, 2019

Journal on Financial Ratio Analysis - 1157 Words

Session 15: Limitation of Ratio Analysis Learning Objective Explain to the participants on the limitation of ratio analysis. Important Termss Creative accounting. Accounting Policies. Limitations of Ratios Accounting Information Different Accounting Policies The choices of accounting policies may distort inter company comparisons. Example IAS 16 allows valuation of assets to be based on either revalued amount or at depreciated historical cost. The business may opt not to revalue its asset because by doing so the depreciation charge is going to be high and will result in lower profit. Creative accounting The businesses apply creative accounting in trying to show the better financial performance or position which can†¦show more content†¦It is likely to be done in a sensitive period, perhaps when the business s profits are low. Changes in Accounting standard Accounting standards offers standard ways of recognising, measuring and presenting financial transactions. Any change in standards will affect the reporting of an enterprise and its comparison of results over a number of years. Impact of seasons on trading As stated above, the financial statements are based on year end results which may not be true reflection of results year round. Businesses which are affected by seasons can choose the best time to produce financial statements so as to show better results. For example, a tobacco growing company will be able to show good results if accounts are produced in the selling season. This time the business will have good inventory levels, receivables and bank balances will be at its highest. While as in planting seasons the company will have a lot of liabilities through the purchase of farm inputs, low cash balances and even nil receivables. Inter-firm comparison Different financial and business risk profile No two companies are the same, even when they are competitors in the same industry or market. Using ratios to compare one company with another could provide misleading information. Businesses may be within the same industry but having different financial and business risk. One company may be able to obtain bank loans at reduced rates and may show high gearingShow MoreRelatedAccounting Information and Predicting Financial Performance1049 Words   |  5 PagesAccounting Information and Predicting Financial Performance: Accounting information can be useful in order to help predict future performance in the short and long term. It is important to note however that accounting information including accounting ratios show a company’s performance at a period in time. It is historical data. Trends can be identified by comparing data in sequential periods and future forecasts can be determined using historical data. There is no evidence or proof however, thatRead MoreFinancial Ratios Analysis and Comparison Paper1478 Words   |  6 PagesFinancial Ratios Analysis and Comparison Paper Dianne Davis MHA 612 Professor Johnson June 7, 2014 Abstract It is important for healthcare organizations to understand their present performance and weak areas in order to generate more effective operational strategies. Financial ratio analysis is an effective tool to determine hospital’s performance on several indicators such as ability to pay debt, capability to generate revenue, and sales performance etc. The objectiveRead MoreBasel III1155 Words   |  5 Pageswill receive a Case Note on which to base their case analysis in response to the questions below. You will find it useful, if you do not have exposure to the case method, to review â€Å"How to Write a Case-Based Essay† [by William Ellet - provided]. Assignment questions 1. Discuss the relationship between the capital base of banks and the 2007-2010 global financial crisis. Using your own research, cite at least two examples of real world financial institutions. 2. Why is there a perceived need of counter-cyclicalRead MoreComparative Analysis and Ratio Analysis of Financial Statements627 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Comparative and Ratio Analysis Introduction At the end of the financial or business year of all companies, the company management prepares and publishes their financial statements and makes them available for their shareholders and other stakeholders. This is done so that the shareholders and all other stakeholders are aware of the financial condition of the company and how it is operating in terms of financial and operational success. All these people require being aware of all this informationRead MoreRatio Analysis Evaluating Past Performances and Predicting Future1498 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"In spite of its limitations ratio analysis is widely used as a means of evaluating the past performance and predicting the future successes or failures of business organisations.† Ratio analysis isn t just picking different numbers from the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement and comparing them. Ratios compare facts against previous years, the industry, other companies, or even the economy in general. Ratios look at the relationships between values and relate them to findRead MoreRatio and Financial Ratio Analyisis1712 Words   |  7 PagesRatio and Financial Statements Analysis Kimberly Y. Gruber University of Maryland University College Dr. Sunando Sengupta 07/25/2013 Turnitin Score: 23% Executive Summary The purpose of this paper is to examine ratio and financial statement analysis. Such analysis is a useful tool for managers and stakeholders to evaluate a company’s financial health in order to identify opportunities for growth and areas of weakness so as to institute corrective measures.   Financial statements are usedRead MoreOverview of Financial Management1586 Words   |  6 Pagesshares. Financial Ratio Analysis and DuPont Identity: Financial ratio analysis is one of the most famous techniques for conducting financial analysis for companies, especially small firms (Peavler, n.d.). The significance of this technique is attributed to its provision of information regarding the company and industry to business owners. However, unless the financial ratio analysis is carried out with comparisons, its useless. One of the major goals of using financial ratio analysis is to determineRead MoreStrategic Management Tools1707 Words   |  7 Pagesconsideration of five strategic management process tools: SWOT Analysis, Financial Ratio Analysis, Benchmarking, Core Competencies and Value Chain Analysis; and how these contribute to strategic management and strategic thinking in an organisation. A SWOT analysis is generally used in decisions about the direction a company is taking. It is a tool also used regularly to develop a strategic plan for an organisation. The major focus of SWOT analysis is to ‘recognise opportunities and avoid threats, whileRead MoreKey Factors That Promote M A In Health Care Service.1285 Words   |  6 Pagesand maintain long term viability in the bevy of hospital chains, they are forced to merge. Moreover, these small health enterprises are acquired in order to improve operational efficiency,lower cost and improve patient care. According to American Journal of Health Economics the â€Å"the impact of the Affordable Care Act pharmaceutical regulation and much more’’ contribute to mergers. Besides, the Affordable Care Act mandated collaboration since the weaker firms cannot meet the quality health care standardRead MoreAcct 1501 Pratice Exam Questions1392 Words   |  6 PagesMarks) Financial Reporting Principles, Accounting S tandards and Auditing, Sustainability Reporting Provide short answers to the following: 1. What are generally accepted accounting principles? (2 Marks) 2. If you have a good idea and expect to make a lot of money from the idea is that a sufficient reason to recognise an asset? Explain why or why not. (2 Marks) 1 ACCT1501 Practice Exam Questions 2014S1 3. How can financial information be relevant to the users of financial reports

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Internet Addiction And The Internet - 1409 Words

Nowadays, the Internet has become a necessity in human life, and has become a sophisticated tool for job, social, and political success. Bill Gates says, â€Å"The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.† People from different generations use the Internet easily wherever they go, and whenever they want. People use the Internet for many purposes such as checking emails, doing their jobs, or getting help for school-homework. Also, they use it for many kinds of entertainment such as listening to music, playing online games, chatting with others, and using social networking. Because the Internet has become so important, people spend hours using it, and some may get addicted to it as that might lead them to a phenomenon called â€Å"Internet addiction.† David Brain (2005) in his article â€Å"Addiction to The Internet and Online Gaming† defines Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is the overuse of the Internet or excessive Internet use. The problem of Internet addiction is gradually increasing in American society, especially for teens aged 12 to 17. Troubled teenagers aged 12 to 17 are more vulnerable to addiction than other generations. Teens get attracted to technology because of online games, the ability to find acceptance in social websites, unlimited access to the most kind of entertainment, and the ability to own technology as it is not expensive. Kimberly Young (1999) in the article â€Å"Internet addiction: symptoms, evaluation, and treatments,† says that aShow MoreRelatedInternet Addiction And The Internet924 Words   |  4 Pagesor two, Internet is a channel that promotes an access to information and communication. It is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world today. Now-a-days, an access to the internet has become easier than ever, whether we are using a computer, phone or tablets. There is no doubt that people are spending more and more time online. Because many people use the internet for their career and education, it is hard to differentiate between the normal usage and excessive usage of inter net. We allRead MoreInternet Addiction And The Internet1797 Words   |  8 PagesAddiction to the internet has become a more serious issue in recent years.The worldwide web is substantially more available to individuals now than it was in previous years. The web gives individuals amusement, a vast amount of data, and an escape from ordinary life. However, despite the fact that there are many advantages to the internet, it clearly has its disadvantages.This essay will argue that the internet might cause an addiction. The Internet is a socially uniting gadget that additionallyRead MoreInternet Addiction1666 Words   |  7 PagesInternet Addiction is a problem more common in society as Internet usage is increasing. The prevalence of Internet use worldwide is increasing. Along with the benefits the Internet brings, problems of excessive Internet use is becoming apparent. As a result, along with drug and alcoholic addictions nowadays, there is one more – Internet addiction, last but not least. The opinions on the methods for the solution vary, because the problem was not studied enough. One of the solutions is to attend supportRead MoreInternet Addiction1662 Words   |  7 PagesInternet Addiction Introduction While some media news and reports seem to be truthful in their effort to inform and educate the public regarding internet addiction, it is not surprising to see bad science and misinterpretation presented in others on the same issue. The media coverage of internet addiction is damaging and blowing the issue out of context. The widespread internet concern is reinforced and underpinned by media reporting about internet addiction and young people, characteristicallyRead MoreInternet Addiction3219 Words   |  13 PagesTable Of Contents * The Introduction * WHAT IS INTERNET ADDICTION? * WHY DO PEOPLE ADDICT TO THE INTERNET? * WHO CAN BECOME ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET? * VIOLENCE IN ONLINE GAME * WHAT ARE INTERNET ADDICTION WARNING SIGNS? * THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH INTERNET ADDICTION * WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS? * TIPS FOR PARENTS AND CARERS * Conclusion * References The Introduction The Internet is the largest source of information in the world today. WithRead MoreInternet Addiction3226 Words   |  13 PagesTable Of Contents * The Introduction * WHAT IS INTERNET ADDICTION? * WHY DO PEOPLE ADDICT TO THE INTERNET? * WHO CAN BECOME ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET? * VIOLENCE IN ONLINE GAME * WHAT ARE INTERNET ADDICTION WARNING SIGNS? * THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH INTERNET ADDICTION * WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS? * TIPS FOR PARENTS AND CARERS * Conclusion * References The Introduction The Internet is the largest source of information in the world today. With its web sites, chatRead MoreInternet Addiction And Its Effects On The Internet970 Words   |  4 PagesInternet addiction can have numerous factors. It can be awarding and the same time harmful. We live in a world that we can gain access to countless terabytes of information right at our fingertips. Many of the popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit contribute to the whole internet addiction. Should the innovators of these platforms are who to blame for the ever growing addiction to the internet? Let’s look at this with the social media perspective using Kantianism and ActRead MoreAddiction and Addictions Internet Addictions1321 Words   |  6 Pagesdamaging today s society. Addictions are a fast growing concern, it has branched off and caused many problems whether it be related to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, Internet, or eating. Addictions are something society faces eve ryday. Although there are many reasons behind why addiction are growing, and where they stemmed from, today s society has focused primarily on how someone with an addictions problem can seek help. Also the many Gaps and Barriers around addictions are enabling people who wishRead MoreIs Internet Addiction Disorder? Essay1483 Words   |  6 Pages Internet addiction disorder, more commonly called problematic Internet use, refers to excessive computer use which interferes with daily life. Internet overuse, problematic computer use, or pathological computer use, problematic Internet use, or Internet addiction disorder. In the most recent version of the DSM-5, Internet Gaming Disorder is the latest term to describe this problem. History IAD was originally proposed as a disorder in a satirical hoax by Ivan Goldberg, M.D., in 1995, althoughRead MoreWhat is Internet Addiction?1202 Words   |  5 Pagesimportant products of technology is the internet. The World Wide Web (www) is part of almost everyone’s everyday life. In addition to the uses of computers, we can use our hand held devices to access the internet as well. The ability to have unlimited access to the internet from anywhere at any time has become the cause of a serious addiction that affects about one in every eight Americans; this addiction is referred to as Internet Addiction. Internet addiction is a compulsive behavioral disorder which

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

UN Peacekeeping and Peace Mission

Questions: 1. Regional Organisation NATO. 2. Second Generation to Third Generation Mission? Answers: Introduction Peacekeeping is a progressive work, it is an adaptive and modernize process. It is a continuous process and changes are being made at the time of crisis as per the requirement of the situation. Peace agreements provide security. The parties involve agree on the agreements. But there are Spoilers of the peace to break the conditions of security, by the means of violence (Diehl, 2013). 1. Regional Organisation NATO The framework of NATO is based on regional security and peace. The focus is to understand that how various organizations such as NATO implement the provision of chapter VIII of UN Charter. The emergence of NATO increases the hope of peace and security. It highlights the relationship between regional organizations with the UN Security Council. It also deals with issues in regards to relationship between peace and justice. NATO is not a regional organization in the language of UN Charter of chapter VIII. This is very clear by its treaty. But it behaves as regional organization. NATOs new strategy was supportive to the organization. It was functioning beyond its traditional confines. According to UN charter, SC is the only authority that is able to use the force legally in international relations. It did not affect the rights of self-defense. It was not affected even if some armed attack takes place. SC takes measures to maintain peace. As the result NATO was created. Its purpose was defensive. NATO was transmitted as a global security agency with its reach and influence worldwide (Swain, Amer and OÃÅ'ˆjendal, 2008). 2. Second Generation to Third Generation Mission Peace operation is a progressive activity. It is traced through five generation. The factors that lead to change in generation are the change in mission, requirement of military force, the UN attitude towards conflict and the conflict resolution format. The three main reasons dividing the generation are the force used in the operation, the connection of civilians and the failure of pervious security programs. The second generation was developed to achieve many social and political objectives. In this generation peace seekers were civilian experts and peace specialists. Here soldiers were given authority to employ force rather than self-defense (Berdal, 2009). The UN general assembly and SC were dead locked, after that they found some loops holes in the practice of second generation. For the first time international community took the responsibility of the functioning of the internal political structure. This led to the emergence of third generation. The main objective of third generation was human security, human rights, to protect basic human needs, economic equality and political participation. It also tried to find out the main causes of conflicts. It focused on peace building activities (Thorne, 2013). Conclusion The peacekeepers should focus on improving nations peace operations. The suggestion is to recognize their present state. Peace operation that is not able to fulfill the security vacuums present in many peace keeping environments should be changed. A better peace building activity is required for the provision of security that focus on establishing the necessary bedrock upon which post-conflict states can be rebuilt (UNOSOM, 1995) References Berdal, M. (2009).Building peace after war. Abingdon [England]: Routledge. Diehl, P. (2013).Peace Operations. Hoboken: Wiley. Swain, A., Amer, R. and OÃÅ'ˆjendal, J. (2008).Globalization and challenges to building peace. London: Anthem Press. Thorne, A. (2013).Keeping the peace. [S.l.]: Crimson Romance. UNOSOM, (1995).The Comprehensive Report on Lessons Learned from United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: https://www.peacekeepingbestpractices.unlb.org/PBPS/Library/UNOSOM.pdf [Accessed 9 Apr. 2015].

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Clays Quilt free essay sample

Brett Johnson Clay’s Quilt Chapter 23-25 Summary Analysis Chapter 23: Summary: The start of chapter 23 began with Alma talking to her sister, Evangeline, about how Clay has been acting since he shot and murdered Denzel. Alma describes Clay’s personality being completely dull ever since the incident, â€Å"all he does is come straight home from work and sits down in that chair and stays there the rest of the evening. † p. 253. Evangeline tries convincing Alma to talk Clay into leaving the area for a while to get Clay’s mind off the subject of Denzel’s death. Evangeline expresses that â€Å"time and distance is the only thing that can heal a wound. † P. 253. Finally Alma strikes up enough confidence to approach Clay and talk to him about leaving the area for a while just to clear his conscious. After Alma talks to Clay, he finally realizes that leaving the town for a couple days would be a good decision and agrees to leave with Alma. We will write a custom essay sample on Clays Quilt or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Analysis: I think that this chapter plays a significant role in the book even though it is one of the shortest of the chapters. Throughout the chapter it is shown how much of an impact that the burden of Denzel’s murder plays on Clay. Alma, the person that Clay loves and cares for the most cannot even put a smile on Clay’s face with anything that she tries to do. Even Easter could not liven up Clay at all. Leaving Free Creek was a great idea that Evangeline gave to Alma, them leaving would hopefully get Clay’s mind off the subject of the murder and hopefully bring some life back into his personality. Even though Clay get extremely home sick when away from Free Creek for a little, Alma knows that this would be the best for both of them to leave and not worry about anything for a couple days. Chapter 24: Summary: This chapter opens up with Alma riding with Clay to the beach for a little break away from Free Creek like Alma suggested they do. Alma sees three crosses, one solid white and two others yellow, planted into a hillside of a mountain that grabbed her attention. These crosses served as a landmark of leaving Free Creek. In the second half of this chapter Clay is reminiscing about the memories he pieced together of his mothers murder. â€Å"Little flashes came to his eyes: the car fishtailing over icy roads, his mother’s gloved hands folded over his, the woman’s face turning into that of an old woman, sparks flying out of the end of a pistol, blood on the snow† p. 260 expresses the flashbacks he is having about his mothers murder when he was 4 years old. Analysis: This was also an important chapter in this novel. This chapter shows how Clay is still feeling about murdering Denzel. He is driving to the beach to escape from Free Creek, and to also escape the anxiety coming from the murder, but all along the way to the beach Clay seems to be completely blinded by everything along the ride, still haunted by the fact that he killed a man. The sentence â€Å"All that he could think about was the movie that played out in his mind the day he shot Denzel† p. 259 expresses that nothing could grab his attention, not even Alma, on the long ride to the beach. Anything he passed, anything Alma had said to him just did not trigger in his brain. The second half of the chapter brings back his memories of the day his mother was murdered and this is putting a bigger stress on himself because he feels he has done just as wrong Glenn did. He simply cannot forgive himself for the sin that he had done. Clay says on p. 255 â€Å" That’s the one thing I never wanted to do, kill somebody. The one thing I though I’d never have to do. † This let’s me to believe that he is in utter shock that he actually took somebodies life away just as his mothers was taken. If his mother was not killed by murder I don’t believe that him killing Denzel would have taken such a beating on him as it is doing now. Chapter 25: Summary: This chapter starts off with Clay and Alma arriving at the beach late at night. They both stood on the beach gazing out and admiring its true beauty. Neither of them had ever seen a beach in real life before so they were both amazed beyond belief. They noticed the differences between Free Creek and the beach that they were standing on, the way the water was moving, and the way the wind came about them.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

buy custom Role of Allusion essay

buy custom Role of Allusion essay Essentially, Allusion is a reference within a particular literary work, to another film, work of fiction, real event or even a piece of art. An allusion serves as a subtle or succinct way of drawing on an outside work to provide a greater meaning and context. Furthermore, allusion serves to add resonance to the works of various artists. T.S. Eliots poem The Wasteland relies heavily on allusions to pass its massage. Additionally the use of allusion is also witnessed in Fritz Lang's film Metropolis. The primary aim of this research paper is to explore the role of allusion in Fritz Lang's film Metropolis and T.S. Eliots poem The Wasteland. In Langs film, makes use of allusion in various scenes. The illustration of oppressed and demoralized workers in the underground stream plants is a very vivid example of the use of illustration in this film. As the workers start embarking on the slavery of their jobs, the film outlines a vivid depiction of an Egyptian pyramid, with slaves being forced and whipped to work. The role of this allusion is to depict the fact that the workers in metropolis are working and experiencing the same desolate, depressing and hopeless situations similar to the slaves in Egypt. On the other hand, allusion has been used greatly in T.S. Eliots poem The Wasteland to underline and depict a strong aspect of religion, that is, the allusion is used to underline the theme of religion. Religion is widely used in the What the Thunder Said, which is the last section of the poem. In the poem religion is taken from different areas Hinduism, Christianity and some aspects of fertility can also be seen interlaced within the poem. Buy custom Role of Allusion essay

Thursday, November 21, 2019

UK Food Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

UK Food Industry - Essay Example Obesity can be fuelled by excessive consumption of high-fat food, genetic predisposition, and lack of physical exercise. However, several parties play a role in causing obesity in a certain population. For instance, both the government and business firms determine what type of food the population eats, any unhealthy food with high fat and sugar content will definitely cause obesity (Parkin & Boyd, 2011). This paper seeks to expound on the childhood obesity in the United Kingdom, with a close analysis on the food industry’s corporate social responsibility, focusing on MacDonald restaurants and the role they have played in combating childhood obesity. In the UK, obesity has been declared a crisis since its population is gradually turning obese. For example, a research conducted in 2007 revealed that nearly 25% of all adults were obese. The figure steadily increased in 2012 with 37% of all adults in the UK being obese. This trend seems to escalate so quickly that it is estimated that by 2025 nearly 40% of Britons will be obese with the Body Mass Index greater than 30kg/M ². The figure is even reaching Biblical proportions by 2050 with the speculations of obesity affecting 60% of adult men and 50% of adult females (ParliÅ„ska, A, & Rembielak, 2014). The Foresight Report of 2007 exposed causes of obesity among the UK’s population. These causes were broadly categorized into four groups, the social influences that entail individual habits and psychology, the activity environment focusing of individual’s physical activity practices, biology which basically means the genetic predisposition to obesity and food environment that sums up all types of food consumed as well as their caloric and fat content. Each of these factors plays a role in causing obesity in the UK but the most adamant one is the food environment. Obesity easily becomes a crisis because it is associated with other medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis etc.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Who would you talk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Who would you talk - Essay Example Donald believes that success is always dependent on your personal qualities like having fair dealing, healthy relationships with associated people either customers, employees or competing businessmen and trustworthiness. I have learned a lesson from his principles that one must be passionate to do a certain job regardless of the mishap and troubles in the way to success. Business carries troubles and downfalls along with victory and fame. Only intellect, hard work, careful analysis of present business position and evaluation with planning of possible risks is important to sustain the current pace of business growth. I would love to interact with a person like Donald Trump as he believes that a person can come over all the difficulties in his way to success. His perceptions inspire me as they suggest a person to step forward and not to mourn, even over the most devastating loss. His life illustrates a number of incidents where he faced crisis but did not lose the hope to achieve his g oal. Hence it can be said that willpower plays a vital role in becoming a successful businessman.My personal opinion is that a person can change his views after having conversation with a successful, confident and independent person. For instance, if a person loses his confidence and his hopes he cannot do anything unless or until he sets a new aim and starts his struggle to achieve it. Hence, a successful person may grow the feelings of courage, hope, passion, confidence and competition in others. People may take his personality.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Hotel Chocolat's Strategic Choices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Hotel Chocolat's Strategic Choices - Essay Example The company started as Choc Express and in 2003 rebramded to be the known Hotel Chocolat Company. The firm’s founders have the required knowledge and skills to run the business. For instance, Angus went through the Business Growth and Development course at Cranfield School of Management. Amazingly, today Hotel Chocolat Company operates in more than 33 locations in England with 70% of the customers trading from the firm’s website (Barrow & Molian, 2005). The following is a report on the major strategic options facing Hotel Chocolat Company as well as the potential future strategic position of the firm. The report also provides specific recommendations in respect to the Hotel Chocolat Company. The report achieves these objectives through three main parts; A, B, and C. Part A The major strategic options facing Hotel Chocolat As a company's business, Hotel Chocolat is faced with many options that can steer up expansion of the company and that of the market sales (Gelderman & Weele, 2002). I will discuss these options one after the other and give an explanation of the same on how they work, when should they be implemented. The result of this is that it is going to propel the company to a potential future strategic position. ... ducts in a unique way than their competitors and providing their customers with their need, wants and desire more effective than others (Bertoldi, Giachino & Marenco, 2012). This model works with the assumption that a customer accepts any product offered based on the apparent value for money. The model is based on the a number of perception of the product and service offered against a price tag such that the same product or service can offer different price depending how it is perceived by the customers. I recommend the strategic clock model because it combines a low price, low perceived benefit with focus given to a price sensitive market segment. However, there may be price sensitive customers with low purchasing power and who cannot afford to buy better quality products but most customers do not differentiate or value the difference in the goods offered. Also to build on the customer loyalty, the executive group of the Hotel Chocolat Company can introduce loyalty cards which will contain customers with the products of the Hotel Chocolat’s company only (LeBoeuf et al, 2011). This is achieved by offering frequent customers with loyalty cards and proving them with incentives and discounts when purchasing at any of the stores, outlets and supermarkets particularly selling products of the Hotel Chocolat’s company. Another option that the Hotel Chocolat Company can implement is production differentiation (Gelderman & Weele, 2002). This aims at offering benefits that is completely different from those of the competitors. Of course the Hotel Chocolat Company also faces competitions from other beverage companies which either acts as substitutes or complements to their products such as tea among others. Therefore, to achieve a competitive advantage than other companies,

Friday, November 15, 2019

Controversial Issues In The Industry Fashion Essay

Controversial Issues In The Industry Fashion Essay Fashion industry is always the topic that draws attention of every people of us at anywhere and anytime. Everyone becomes so familiar with fashion that he or she thinks that fashion is just simply a fashionable and sophisticated style. However, life in a modern community is far more controlled by fashion industry than many people realize; it affects not only clothing, but almost every aspects of our daily life. When many people think of the fashion industry, they often think of the association of four main areas such as: retail, manufacture, design and advertising. They are the four areas that cause not a little damage on our society and environment. Personally, I used to have a very simple and common conception about fashion industry that is merely clothing sales. However, after reading the newspapers and investigating thoroughly about the fashion industry, I was completely taken aback by the opposite sides of it in Australia and other countries. As a result, I came to focus on the effects of fashion industry on society and our environment. I determined my three objectives: How does fashion industry influence on teenagers body image? What are the facts about sweatshops behind the leading designer labels and are sweatshops exploiting or helping outworkers? Is the trend of the fur fashion industry in Australia and other countries ethical or not? (226 words) Section B: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS I. Objective 1: To find out how fashion industry influences young women body image In fact, fashion industry is such a negative exertion on teenagers standard of beauty that it is now becoming an unsolved dilemma for our society. Sarah Murdoch, the representative of Bonds underwear, is of the opinion that fashion industry encourages unhealthy body images (Dunkerley, 2008) that is thought to be impractical and unhealthy for most women and girls. The fact that most designers prefer to choose thin models than big size ones (Bolger, 2007) shows us an astonishing phenomena that there are a lot of clothes from size 0 to size 4 displayed not only in the fashion shows but also on the sale markets because they think that there will be stigma attached when doing something for plus-size people (Stevens, 2010). Naomi Crafti representing for Eating Disorder Victoria thinks that teenagers are becoming obsessed with the very skinny models on the catwalk in the fashion shows (Stevens, 2010) which gradually leads to the issues relating to eating disorders, mental health and the impact of negative body image on young people (Stevens, 2010). Moreover, the figures of the News Editor show us a startling 75000 cases of 15-35 year-old British women suffering from eating disorder due to being sick of looking like cat models (Cooke 2000, pp 3). It is the evidence that append the controversy over the use of extremely thin models in fashion industry because it reduces the self-esteem of those who do not have ideal bodies and makes them besotted to strive to look exactly like catwalk models. The only way for them to do that is becoming anorexia that will certainly cause suffer drastic weight loss and premature ageing (Cooke 2000, pp. 3). As a result, The Federal Government has supported for the voluntary development of new code of body image from the fashion industry to curtail the situations of teenagers suffering from body image pressures immediately (Kennedy, 2010). Otherwise, there will be widespread unhealthy body images of teens with jutting bones and no breasts of hips in order to fit in dolls clothes in our society seriously (The Sunday Telegraph, 2009). Clearly, the growing obsession with being thin like catwalk is highlighting the risk of young women health and the rise in serious eating disorders. (370 words) II. Objective 2: To discover the facts about sweatshops behind the designer labels and whether they are exploiting workers or not. Fashion industry is thought to abuse workers. Workers in sweatshops have to work frantically in unacceptable working conditions, poor salaries and inhumane treatment. In Australia and other countries, it is reported that the use of outworkers by fashion industry in order to get more profit from cheap labours has been increasing significantly (Sheppard, pp. 20). Through the investigation of the Sunday Telegraph into Sydneys Sweatshop (The Sunday Telegraph, 2009), many uncomfortable facts are clearly discovered that behind some leading designer labels are the sweat and blood of poor workers. Nicola Finetti, Natashan Gan and Ginger Smart are the labels containing 30% Chinese and 70% Vietnamese outworkers who are usually paid between $10 and $35 when completing an article of clothing which will later sold in stores for at least 10 times the price (The Sunday Telegraph, 2009). Yet, workers interviewed for researches indicated that conditions had worsened worse in the past few years. A shortage of work all over the world has left them to have no other choices but to continue the job with poor conditions. One group working in the finishing department of Venus Knitwear in the research of Working Women organisation said they had to work long hours from 7 am until 11 pm (Oxfam 2003) and were even also threatened to be sacked if they refused to do overtime. In addition, many workers have to suffer health issues and may be dismissed for taking time off to see doctors or to recover from sickness. An interviewed worker was said to be deducted two days pay because of being absent one day to go to the doctor (Oxfam 2003). Some also reveals that they had to work in dim light and in condition with no proper ventilation system which had caused headaches, eyes, asthma and respiratory problems (Oxfam 2003). Finally, it is an urgent need that sweat-free labels must be highly appreciated by the manufacturers and consumers in order to create a fair work fair pay environment and to stop exploiting workers rather than practicing fashion industry motto: Winning Profits, Losing Rights (Oxfam 2004, pp. 28). (349 words) III. Objective 3: To consider the trend of the fur fashion industry in Australia and other countries and to see whether it is ethical or not. Fashion industry with talented designers has provided sale markets and consumers with a diversity of fashionable styles to meet the high requirements of our modern life. Furry fashion is now one of the styles coming back with more appealing appearance because of the popular use of real fur (Pepper 2010). Basically, the fur fashion trend was emerged at the Millenniums catwalk showed in Paris with the muttering that fur was definitely back in designers repertories (Cooke 2000, pp.13). Developments in fake fur technology (Cooke 2000, pp. 13) are thought to be partly a possible reason for the return of real fur. Perth label Harmony Lawson which produces garments made only of real fur said that her collections with rabbit and racoon fur have been proved to catch on most women and men and made the markets to desire it crazily (Pepper 2010). In the French designers fall 2008 collection, the models were all covered with wild furs which is embedded with tails, ears, noses and even teeth (ABC, 2008). Also, the fact that racoon, rabbit and fox fur were found in the winter collections of 4 Australian designers last year adds to the controversy about the increasing use of fur in fashion (CCF, 2010). However, a lot of people think that fur fashion trend stinks. It is no longer tolerable when designers have turned back in using real fur for their collections. ADI Chief Executive Creamer said that fashion industry has determined to close their eyes and hearts to the truth about fur production (CCF, 2010). The facts about ripped skin from rabbits bodies and fur taken off from possum, fox, mink, karakul (CCF, 2010) are believed to be inhumane and make those who support for choose cruelty free feel disgusted. Therefore, a lot of campaigns have shown their strong objection to fur fashion industry. Typical example is the top models got naked to encourage the anti-fur campaigns in fashion industry because the unnecessary killing those beautiful animals for coats are cruel and terrible (Cooke 2000, pp. 13). Giving publicity to outrageous collections will make them more successful but fashion industry is hoped to stop all the suffering of millions of animals as soon as possible (Cooke 2000, pp. 13). (371 words)

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Human Nature As Competitive :: essays research papers

Thomas Hobbes believes that humans are born equal. He means the bodies and minds of newborn people are of equal ability. One person sometimes becomes stronger in body or quicker in mind than another. When one becomes stronger in body, the person can claim he is better than another is. This causes other people around him to become threatened and jealous by the stronger person. People are more equal when it come to wisdom of the mind, because almost all people think they have more wisdom than the common people do. â€Å"They will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves (201).† Because people basically have equality of ability, they all have hope of attaining what they want and dream of. The conflict comes when two men want the same thing, which they both cannot have. They become enemies and they seek to destroy or subdue the other. Some examples of this are two families that want to purchase the same house. They try to subdue each other by raising the amount they are willing to pay for the house, even if it is more than they were planning on spending. Every person thinks their companion should value them and when the person undervalues them, they will do whatever it takes to be as valued as they would like to be. There are three principle causes of quarrel in the nature of man. They are competition, diffidence (or distrust), and glory. In human nature, competition is for gain, diffidence is for safety, and glory is for reputation. It is the competitive human nature that renders people apt to invade and destroy one another. The reading gives and example of a man who arms himself when taking a journey, locks his doors when he goes to sleep, and locks his chest even when he’s home. He is trying to protect himself from others competing against him for what he has. The reading give another example of how governments and leaders have their weapons pointed at the enemy at all times and how leaders continually spy on their neighbors. This is true because for years the US and Russia have had weapons pointed at each other and the U.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

National honor society Essay

Being a member of National Honor Society is a highly prestigious honor and made me standout from my fellow peers. My hard work throughout my three years of high school pays off when I was inducted to NHS. National Honor Society recognized all the hard work you did but not only academics but also helped me in areas such as scholarship, leadership, service and character. To be selected and be a part of national honor society is not an honor but a privilege. Scholarship in high school for colleges is something as student is very difficult to achieve especially when you are competing with millions of people, it sometimes very hard or close to impossible to receive. National Honor Society helps us become closer to that and maintaining an 85 or higher grade point average help many students to get close to the standard of scholarship. Above that scholarship also help students like me, who can really can’t afford that much money to pay for college but want to go college. It gives us an opportunity to get a little help because of our grade. Leadership is a big matter of my life, being in the leadership class I know leader does not mean to take control or boss other people around. Being a leader meaning listening to other voice, having faith in people and other members having trust on me. I showed my leadership at prom fashion show last year, I helped out with the tickets and the snacks. To me leadership in national honor society doesn’t really have to be about become an officer but basically listening to other and working as a team to make this year the one. Service is an important part of National Honor Society , in order to be induct in national honor society you have to do x amount of service hours. This basically help us became well rounded and give us a chance to give back to the society. I remember last year I volunteer at Boy and girls clubs, can food drive, help with fashion show and in addition I did service for Mr. Barnett. I also did service out of school like baby sat my friend disable sister, and helped my brother with homework. It made me realize helping and caring for other is a big part of one’s life in order to succeed and reach goals. When volunteering to help one in need, it helps me to get in  touch with my inner self. Lastly but not least is character, mostly of my peer members in national honor society I see every day, and I work hard towards getting along with everyone I meet without coming off to strong. Being in NHS I have experienced and inspired as a waitress, caring, and being considerate. If I were to explain my character I believe it would be endeavor my ways to becoming a better human being. Being a student with 92 GPA, I have to say my character build up every day because I learn something new on a daily basis. NHS helps me to build or improve my character because the members are so different and extremely pleasant. To wrap it up, I strive on overcoming all problems that I will later face in life and set my aim to leading, helping others, and making right decision builds upon my character. NHS is a way for me to start achieves goals. Throughout my years as a john Adams High School student, I believe that I have demonstrated all of these attributes.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Price Elasticity of Supply

Price Elasticity of Supply This is the third article in this series on the economic concept of elasticity. The first explains the basic concept of elasticity and illustrates it using price elasticity of demand as an example. The second article in the series considers Income Elasticity of Demand.  Ã‚   A brief review  of the concept of elasticity and of price elasticity of demand appears in the section immediately following. In the section following that income elasticity of demand is also reviewed.  In the final section, price elasticity of supply is explained and its formula given in the context of the discussion and reviews in the previous sections. A Brief Review of Elasticity in Economics Consider the demand for a certain good- aspirin, for example. What happens to the demand for one manufacturers aspirin product when that manufacturer- which well call manufacturer X- raises the price? Keeping that question in mind, consider a different situation: the demand for the worlds most expensive new automobile, the  Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita. Its reported retail price is $4.8 million. What do you think might happen if the manufacturer raised the price to $5.2M or lowered it to $4.4M?   Now, return to the question of the demand for manufacturer Xs aspirin product following an increase in the retail price. If you guessed that the demand for Xs aspirin  might decline substantially, youd be right. It makes sense, because, first, every manufacturers aspirin product is essentially the same as anothers- theres no health advantage whatsoever in selecting one manufacturers product over another. Second, the product is widely available from a number of other manufacturers- the consumer always has a number available choices. So, when a consumer selects an aspirin product, one of the few things that distinguish manufacturer Xs product from others is that it costs a little more. So why would the consumer choose X? Well, some might continue to buy aspirin X out of habit or brand loyalty, but many very probably would not. Now, lets return to the Koenigsegg CCXR, which currently costs $4.8M, and think about what might happen if the price went up or down a few hundred thousand. If you thought it might not change the demand for the car by that much, youre right again. Why? Well, first of all, anyone in the market for a multi-million dollar automobile is not a frugal shopper. Someone who has money enough to consider the purchase is unlikely to be concerned about price. Theyre concerned primarily about the car, which is unique. So the second reason why the demand might not change much with price is that, really, if you want that particular driving experience, theres no alternative. How would you state these two situations in more formal economic terms? Aspirin has a high price elasticity of demand, meaning that small changes in price have greater demand consequences. The Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita has a low elasticity of demand, meaning that changing the price doesnt greatly change buyer demand.  Another way of stating the same thing a little more generally is that when the demand for the product has a percentage change thats less than the percentage change in the products price, the demand is said to be inelastic. When the percentage increase or decrease in demand is greater than the percentage increase in price, the demand  is said to be elastic.   The formula for price elasticity of demand, which is explained in a little more detail in the first article in this series, is: Price Elasticity of Demand (PEoD) (% Change in Quantity Demanded/ (% Change in Price) A Review of Income Elasticity of Demand The second article in this series, Income Elasticity of Demand, considers the effect on demand of a different variable, this time consumer income. What happens to consumer demand when consumer income drops? The article explains that what happens to consumer demand for a product when consumer income drops depends upon the product. If the product is a necessity- water, for instance- when consumer income drops they will continue to use water- perhaps a little more carefully- but theyll probably cut back on other purchases. To generalize this idea slightly, consumer demand for essential products will be relatively inelastic  with respect to changes in consumer income, but elastic  for products that are not essential. The formula for this is: Income Elasticity of Demand (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Income) Price Elasticity of Supply The price elasticity of supply (PEoS) is used to see how sensitive the supply of a good is to a price change. The higher the price elasticity, the more sensitive producers and sellers are to price changes. A very high price elasticity suggests that when the price of a good goes up, sellers will supply a great deal less of the good and when the price of that good goes down, sellers will supply a great deal more. A very low price elasticity implies just the opposite, that changes in price have little influence on supply. The formula for price elasticity of supply is: PEoS (% Change in Quantity Supplied)/(% Change in Price) As with the elasticity of other variables If PEoS 1 then Supply is Price Elastic (Supply is sensitive to price changes)If PEoS 1 then Supply is Unit ElasticIf PEoS 1 then Supply is Price Inelastic (Supply is not sensitive to price changes) Incidentally, we always ignore the negative sign when analyzing  price  elasticity, so PEoS is always positive.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Textile Machines essays

Textile Machines essays MAQUINAS TEXTILES EQUIPOS AUXILIARES COSTOS DE CONSTRUCCION COSTOS DE MOBILIARIOS Y EQUIPOS DE OFICINA COSTOS MISCELNEOS Total maquinas y equipos 2960000 $ Equipos auxiliares 1400000 $ Edificio 2500000 $ Mobiliario y equipos de oficina 50000 $ Gastos iniciales 750000 $ Gastos de flete y seguro (7% FOB) 207200 $ Gastos de flete y seguro (7% FOB) 98000 $ Vialidad interna, pared perimetral, accesos 140000 $ Entrenamiento del personal 699600 $ Transito, transporte interior y gastos de almacenamiento (2% FOB) 59200 $ Transito, transporte interior y gastos de almacenamiento (2% FOB) 28000 $ Pozo profundo, torre de agua, drenajes 112000 $ Asistencia tcnica de la compa Gastos de instalacin de maquinaria 221704 $ Gastos de instalacin de equipos auxiliares 104860 $ Apartaderos ferroviarios 150000 $ Intereses del capital 323000 $ Gastos de aduanas (1,65% CIF) 52258.8 $ Gastos de aduana (1,65% CIF) 24717 $ Planos y dise Total maquinarias 3500362.8 $ Total equipos auxiliares 1655577 $ Total costos de construccin 3152000 $ Total gastos de mobiliario y oficina 50000 $ Total costos miscelaneos 1972600 $ Precio FOB 2960000 $ Precio FOB 1400000 $ Precio CIF 3167200 $ Precio CIF 1498000 $ Total pagado en moneda local 155799 $ Total pagado en moneda local 1975000 $ Total pagado en Moneda local 40000 $ Total pagado en Moneda local 1108680 $ Total pagado en moneda extranjera 3344563 $ Total pagado en moneda extranjera 1177000 $ Total pagado en moneda extranjera 10000 $ Total pagado en moneda extranjera 863920 $ Total moneda extranjera = 7.051.060 $ Materia prima Sueldos y salarios Contingencia (textiles)1400 ton de lana sin procesar (locales)(730 $ por ton) 1022000 $ 268 operarios masculinos 150000 $ 10 % del costo total de maquinarias y equipos y del costo de mobiliario y equipos de ofici ...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Operating management 222 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operating management 222 - Assignment Example This is the reason behind the need for a new floor design by the Hubcafe. Introduction This is a critical analysis of requisite operation management aspects that will improve the quality of services, efficiency and overall sales volume of the Hub cafe. It is important to note that operation management is a cardinal tool for overseeing various activities and making informed decisions concerning resources allocation based on priority with the aim of maximizing efficiency and minimizing cost. In this case, the management needs to put several factors into consideration when drawing the best plan that would see the cafe improve its efficiency and meet the high demand of customers (Raturi & Evans,2005). This would include the concept of queuing which significantly affects the rate of service delivery to the customers and overall performance of the staff (Meachem, 2005). It is important to make a good floor plan that would increase the space of service and cut o the cost of maintenance and this explains the need for an efficiency based structural design of the interior part of the Hub cafe (Moe, 2010). Being an eating point, the number of clients arriving will significantly depend on the time of the day such that peak and off-peak will definitely apply. The floor plans are two for kitchen and the shop with an aim of regulating the smooth flow of service delivery, easy accommodation at peak period, efficient management of queues and general visual impression of the interior design of the cafe. Aim of the project The increasing pressure from customer demands and threat of competition from other business operators compels the management to undertake reforms and improve several aspects of the cafe‘s performance. This project is therefore focused on effecting structural changes in terms of interior design of the kitchen and shop so that movement of staff, clients and peak factors are taken into consideration (Baraban & Durocher, 2010). This would work towards attaini ng customer satisfaction and improved quality of the Hubcafe services delivery. This plan will equally set precedence for future changes within the organizational culture of best quality services with highest efficiency by the Hubcafe. Present operations The Hub cafe is a eating point where several foods and snacks are served for 12hours. It offers both take-away products and has a space to accommodate customers who wish to take their meals within. The mode of service is self-service and this means there is queuing and several staff is assigned different counters from cash payment point to actual product delivery counters. There is another group of the kitchen department who has the defining responsibility of ensuring constant production and supply of the various foodstuffs. Another group of staff are on the lookout and stands by to attend the customers in the event of any urgent need or additional purchase. The reception point is located at the entrance for minor enquiries pertaini ng to variety of services and products on offer to reduce the time cost of information search within the cafe. Depending on the time of the day, the number of staff on various service counters is altered to ensure efficiency and cost effectiveness. Challenges The current interior design is in line with a floor plan which is relatively strained to accommodate the larger customer number at the peak hours. This

Friday, November 1, 2019

Significance of Forensic Evidence Research Paper

Significance of Forensic Evidence - Research Paper Example Forensic evidence usually involves factors like modern computer, DNA fingerprints, forensic anthropology, toxicology, autopsy techniques and much more. Forensic evidence, therefore, has some significance to criminal justice and has some impacts on law. However, forensic evidence raises questions as to whether there are enough constitutional safeguards to help in maintaining the privacy of people. Moreover, forensic evidence has some great assets and liabilities. Forensic evidence has appreciable significance to criminal justice. For instance, forensic evidence has assisted in the arrest of people who commit rape crimes. In the past, when someone was raped, it was not simple to establish who did the rape. This was because the technological level was not so advanced. With forensic science, test can be carried out on a victim of rape to determine the person who did the rape. This technology simply collects some fluids from the rape victims for example semen and then it is taken for the DNA test. The results from such tests are in most cases accurate. This has therefore, been of positive significance to criminal justice. Another significance of forensic evidence to the criminal justice is in the accounting sector. Since the sector of accounts majorly deals with finances, it is prone to criminal activities. The sector of accounts has in the past lost many finances because of fraud cases by those in management, especially the accountants. Presently, forensic technology is also used in the financial sector to detect fraud cases. Financial sectors are, therefore, employing forensic accountants who assist in the detection of fraud. This has helped the courts in judging the cases that involve mismanagement of funds because before, such judgments were not easy to make. The judgments were not easy to make because in most situations there was no clear evidence. Forensic accounting has, therefore, contributed significantly to criminal justice. In crime scenes, the police inv estigators or rather the technicians of crime scenes usually examine all available evidence carefully and dust the scenes of crime purposely to retrieve some fingerprints in case of existence. These fingerprints are usually used to detect the individuals who were present at the time the crime occurred. These individuals can, therefore, help in the investigation process or if they are the criminals then the law acts on them. The detection of the characters with the same fingerprints like the ones collected the scene of crime is usually done with the assistance of forensic science. The evidence from this method is in most cases accurate hence the law courts find it easy to sentence such criminals. This forensic method, therefore, has helped in criminal justice significantly. Forensic evidence is also significant to the criminal justice because it gives the law courts clear evidence on the murder cases. Forensic science can be used in testing the bloodstains at a crime scene. Bloodstai ns and spatter analysis engages the examination of a crime scene, extension and trajectory of the blood in the crime scene (Kiely, 2001). It can, therefore, be used to determine a death cause, a victim’s location and the weapon used or the perpetrator. These collections are then taken to the forensic laboratory for analysis and finding of the results. It is the result from

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Human Cloning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Cloning - Essay Example 7). Human cloning is a controversial that elicits diverse reactions from all quarters and almost every member of the human race. The issue of cloning has caused much debate since the firs cloning of a live sheep in Scotland in 1997m due to ethics and authority to participate in the events leading to the creation of a new human being from the originally born one. This topic is crucial to the existence of human beings as it may be used to either improve their lives or degrade them. Personal Opinion In my opinion, human cloning is a gift that should be embraced by all of humanity because it has multiple benefits if made use of in appropriate ways. Cloning should be allowed among humans because it can be used to cure or improve certain conditions such as infertility. In reference to this, infertile couples can have children of their own. In addition, cloning, if allowed can be used to repair damaged tissues and organs in the human body. This is through growing new organs, which is called therapeutic cloning; that can then be used for the maintenance of the human body. This is especially so for conditions that requires transplants such as leukemia, liver and kidney failures (Human Genome Project Information, 2009, Para. 15). Cloning can be used to generate new bone marrow that can then be transplanted into the patient and, therefore, healing them of their condition. In addition, it lessens the risk and burden that loved ones have to bear in order to save their lives. This is in the form of surgery that they have to go trough so as to donate their organs for use by others. Not only can human cloning be used in the above named processes, but also in plastic and reconstructive surgeries. Cloning allows for production of body tissues that are compatible with the host, which in turn lessens the risk of tissue rejection (Advancing Science, Serving Society, 2007, Para. 5). For this reason, cloning can be used to treat conditions such as amputated limbs as they may easily b e regenerated. The additional conditions that can benefit from human cloning include defective genes and genetic diseases. This would be beneficial, especially to parents that have genetic disorders. For parents considering conception, they may see a specialist to have the genes eradicated and thus ensure that they do not pass the problems on to their offspring. People Opinions The majority of those who think that human cloning should be allowed share common belief with me that it can be used for the good of human kind, and especially so in regard to health. One opinion that is outstanding is that, due to the preservation of health and even extension of life, scientists could continue to live. As a result, the world would benefit from their great discoveries and inventions. All this would be the result of recreating their minds in a different time and body. For example, if this were to happen to the Wright brothers, they would help greatly in developing space exploration and the avi ation industry at large. Furthermore, others claim that for the purpose of reproducing offspring in cases of couples who cannot conceive, cloning should be legal, but only if the child will not be subjected to tests for his or her entire life. Therefore, it should be perfected before it is used for such events. In spite of all their well-argued reasons for supporting human cloning, some reasons for their support were utterly misconceived and based on fallacies of over imagination. One such thought was that cloning should be allowed in order to counter population problems. The basis of this argument was that; height and weight be regulated in order to fit people into certain special buildings. This beat the entire purpose of cloning as only clones were to be fitted into these â€Å"

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Muslim World Essay Example for Free

The Muslim World Essay World is divided into different divisions depending upon the economic conditions, race, culture and most importantly religion. The division of world is more evident after the September 11 attacks into Muslim world and anti-Muslim world. The political ideology and attitudes were now deeply rooted among the individuals also. â€Å"The anti-Muslim attitudes of West united the Muslim world â€Å"is a blanket statement and have strong relevance to the present day. Western attitude: The conflict between in not a new one, it is continuing from 14 centuries some of the conflicts of the history are Ottoman Turkish empire expansion, quasi-colonial regimes by Britain and France, Britain occupation of Iran etc. The first and most important issue is the stand of United States in the ‘Israeli-Palestinian’ Conflict. The need to explain the policies of it on the issue were undermined and unheard. The role of the Western media which is publishing derogatory statements is also a cause of concern. US media used the terms such as Muslim fundamentalist, Shia extremist, Wahhabi zealots, Islamic Jihad, Islamic suicide bomber, Arab killer etc (Ali Khalid, 2008). The Muslim world is victimized more than the situation. Many allegations made by the West on different Muslim countries without any proofs. West failed in providing the evidence of the allegations after the war against the Iraq and its shift in the reasons for war, Muslim prisoners were tortured even after the wars, prolonged occupation etc are also serving as anti-American resentment (Duiker Spielvogel, 2009). Strong factors that united Muslim World: The anti-Muslim attitude united the Muslim world and started to have a common perception as a whole on West. The main reasons for this is unfavorable images where the Muslims are unfairly portrayed in media, Western Military presence in middle east making them U. S long term military base brining insecurity in the region, The containment policy toward Iraq with economic and military sanctions on it, the strong U. S policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict, Support of the West to unpopular regimes etc. All these factors are allowing the Muslim world to rethink on their status ( Prados, 2001). From the Western perspective the main reasons for the anti-American resentment in the Muslim world is due to education, media and Anti-Americanism (Gentzkow, Shapiro, 2004). West counters: Even West is taking some of the measures to overcome this anti-American negative approach such as implementing the trade and aid programs to decrease economic inequalities, to change the unfavorable image, seeking support on U. S policy on Iraq, planning to developing new strategy on Arab-Israeli peace negotiations, influence positive open political systems etc. Conclusion: U. S is successful in brining gap between the Muslim world to an extent where it divided it into US allies, US enemies and Neutral countries basing on its relations. As a whole West is using all its strategies to change its image and forcing the Muslim world to react to against terrorism, the Muslim world persecution is different. But carefully watching Muslim world is aware of the West motives and started to have a common agenda and this will be fruitful in coming days. The statement â€Å"The anti-Muslim attitudes of West united the Muslim world† is justified by looking at the anti-Muslim factors causing the unification of Muslim world. Even though the West and U. S in particular are taking the measure to have a better image in the Muslim World, the Muslim community is expecting more and concrete steps at ground level rather than confining to the media statements. Annotated Bibliography: Ali, S Khalid (2008). Mass Media and Muslim World: Portrayal of Muslim by â€Å"News Week† and â€Å"Time† (1991-2001). European Journal of Scientific Research, 21, 554-580. This is a research article which examines the representation and coverage of 12 Muslim countries. This investigation was done by the Time Magazine and the New Week during 1991-2001. This article has presented content analysis of 218 articles which belongs to 12 Muslim countries. Duiker, W. J Spielvogel, J. J. (2009). World History, Volume 2. 6th ed. MA: Cengage Learning. This book provides an overview of world history which discovers experiences and challenges to recognize global patterns. This book covers each and every aspect like political, economical, religious, social, cultural, intellectual and military history. It takes a global approach by comparing cultures throughout world history. This book helped to know the Muslim World perception on the U. S and also how U. S intervened in the internal aspects of Middle East. Prados, A. B. (2001). Middle East: Attitudes toward the United States. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from: http://fpc. state. gov/documents/organization/7858. pdf This report discusses the attitude of Muslims and Arabs of Middle East against United Nations. It explained the factors which have created hatred towards the United States and the methods to deal with this position. Gentzkow, M. A. Shapiro, J. M. (2004). Media, Education and Anti-Americanism In the Muslim World. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18, 117–133. This paper is based on the media, education and anti-Americanism in the Muslim world by taking a survey of 10,000 people from nine Muslim countries. It examines how media use and education relate to the positivity towards United States and their belief.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Nature vs Nurture in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Essay -- Mary Shelley

Philosophers and scientists alike have debated for centuries whether a person’s character is the result of nature or nurture. In the writings of Thomas Hobbes, it is expressed that humans are endowed with character from birth, and that they are innately evil in nature. John Locke’s response to this theory is that everyone is born with a tabula rasa, or blank slate, and then develops character after a series of formative experiences. The idea that true character is the result of experiences and societal interaction is a theme deeply explored throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Through different interactions with the monster, Shelley attempts to express that it is because of Victor’s failings as a parent and creator, because of the monster’s isolation, and because of society’s reaction to the monster that the monster has become evil. The monster’s character is a direct result of how he was nurtured, based on his experiences and circ umstances, rather than his being innately evil from â€Å"birth.† One of the most influential contributions in the formation of the monster’s character is Victor’s failure as a creator and a father. As a creator, Victor has the responsibility of providing for his creation, just as God provided for Adam and Eve. At the same time, Victor also falls under the role of a father, and should therefore seek to strengthen the familial bond between the two of them. However, Victor fails in both of these endeavors, because he cannot accept the monster in his deformity. â€Å"Frankenstein’s sole regret†¦ is that he did not create an aesthetically pleasing being† (Bond). Victor, due to his skewed vision of humanity, believes outer beauty to be a reflection of inner character, and that because of the monster’s hideous appe... ...tation.† The English Review Sept. 2009: 18+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Jan. 2015. Lehman, Steven. â€Å"The Motherless Child in Science Fiction: Frankenstein and Moreau.† Science Fiction Studies 19:1 (Mar. 1992): 49-57. Rpt. In Children’s’ Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 133. Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Jan. 2015. Marcus, Steven. "Frankenstein: myths of scientific and medical knowledge and stories of human relations." The Southern Review 38.1 (2002): 188+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Jan. 2015. Seabury, Marcia Bundy. "The Monsters We Create: Woman on the Edge of Time and Frankenstein." Critique 42.2 (Winter 2001): 131-143. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 133. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Jan. 2015. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2003. Print.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Affect of Women in Advertisement Essay

Abstract Due to advertisement clutter in the 21st century customers are exposed to a variety of advertising appeals that aims to influence their attitudes towards a wide range of products and services. Many companies worldwide are using women as an object to attract and influence consumers’ attitudes towa rds the products they sell. Women appear in huge number of advertisement as a sexual object or as attractive decorative model standing nearby a product, even when the sexual image has little relevance to the advertised product. This article looks at Jordan ian male consumers’ attitude towards using women in advertisement. Results reveals four factors tend to influence consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement. Culture, control, and emotion were found to have a significant influence on consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement, while there was no significant influence for women appearance on consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement. In general Jordanian male consumers’ were opposed to exposing, exploiting and objectifying the woman and her body in advertisement. Introduction Research on advertisement featuring sex role focused on how content and imagery affect cognitive responses and attitude toward the advertisement, which in turn affect attitude toward the brand and purchase intention (Jaffe, 1994; Leigh and Whitney, 1987). Attitude toward advertising can be defined in general as learned tendencies to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to advertising in general (Lutz, 1985; Mackenzie and Lutz, 1989). The link between attitudes, intentions and behavior has been explained primarily by Ajzen (1985, 1988), Ajzen and Fishbein (1980). This theory is based on the assumption that human beings usually behave in a sensible manners where they will take into account information available to them and consider the consequences of their actions. Thus people are expected to act in accordance with their intentions. The personal factor is the attitude toward the behavior, which is the individual‟s positive or negat ive evaluation of performing the behavior of interest. Whereas the social determinant of intention is the person‟s perception of social pressure to perform the behavior under consideration. People generally intend to perform a behavior when they evaluate it positively and belief that important others think they should perform it. Advertisements perceived as contentious will not be effective in capturing the attention of people or changing their attitudes towards the advertised products (Michell and Al-Mossawi, 1995). Based on that, it‟s very essential to choose the appropriate advertisement strategies employed in advertising which range from informational to emotional. Among those designed to stir emotions or rouse particular feelings, we can find fear, humor, warmth, novelty, contrast, animation, music, and sexual arousal. According to Reichert et. al. (2001) sex appeal advertising invokes any message, which, whether as brand information in advertising contexts or as persuasive appeals in marketing contexts, is associated with sexual information. It has long been an accepted belief that this form of advertising is very effective at attention-grabbing, considered by some commentators as a powerful step in reaching one‟s target market, especially in the current clutter of 21st century marketing and communications (Reichert & Lambiase, 2003). Sexual economics theory (SET) is a stimulating theory about sexuality that combines the idea of gender differences in sexual attitudes with social exchange theory, which S precher, (1989) conceptualize as two or more parties that each give up something with the aim of getting back something of greater value. Much research suggests that sex as an end in itself is less valued by women than men (Baummeister et al., 2001). Ther efore, sexual economics theory posits that women possess substantially greater negotiating power than do men in the context of a sexual exchange. Based on this theory, the current study will focus on men and the way women are used to persuade them in adver tisement to influence their attitudes. Using women in advertisement as a sexual appeal has transferred women to a marketing instrument by many firms. Women are used as a material mostly in advertisements (Bayraktar, 2011). In many advertisements, the ideal woman is an object that exists to satisfy men‟s sexual desires. Many researchers have shown that women in advertisements are portrayed as sex objects (Baker, 2005). Advertisers feature provocative images of sexually attractive women in ads (Reichert, 2 002). Sexual appeals in advertisements consist of a variety of elements models. Courtney and Whipple (1983) describes sexuality in advertisements as sexuality in the form of nudity, sexual imagery, innuendo, and double entendre used as an ad object for dif ferent kinds of products. Reichert (2002) reveals that common forms of sexuality in ads includes nudity (dress), physical attractiveness, seductive behavior and interaction, innuendo, and other factors such as setting, context and camera effects. While Lambiase and Reichert (2003) propose that there are five types of sexual content in ads: Nudity, sexual behavior, physical attractiveness, sexual referents, and sexual embeds. Ramirez and Reichert (2000) propose that viewers consider physical characteristics the most sexual in ads and the sub-categories of these characteristics are clothing, attractiveness and body. Table 1 shows the categories of women appearance in advertisements and their meanings in USA. It‟s noteworthy to say that women misrepresentation in advertisement is a world wide phenomenon. In India, for example, Bag and Roy (2010) bring up various reasons behind unaccept ed representation of women in advertisement, such as poverty where still a number of women, particularly young girls with intolerable economic misery compelled to represent themselves in different forms of uncultured version for survival. To the contrary some rich women’s do it as a hobby, just to get mental or psychological satisfaction through modeling, front page sensational attraction in different popular magazines. Globalization is another factor responsible for misrepresentation of women in advertisement. Being attracted to western culture, teenager girls have been adopting western style in their garments and manners and hence, they have been losing their own culture and tradition, social values and moral character. Consumerism, which tries hard to inc rease the consumption of people, is another cause of such unaccepted representation. Much consumption means much economic profit which a group of people highly want. Profit maximization has escalated the introduction of women in a number of advertisements of different companies in television, magazine, T.V., Cinema, Newspaper, Cartoons, painting and even in the Internet to attract customers from different age groups. The different types of women representation in advertisement are presented below. Representation through Television- There is a lot of representation of women in advertisement through T.V. which affect common people and children adversely. It is obvious that visual indecent representation of them has been perverting psychologically all youth. Representation through Newspaper- Newspaper is another source of representation in indecent manner. Readers from almost all age group are intensely influenced while observing and reading those undesirable advertisements. Representation through Magazine- Similar examples will be cited in several advertisements in several reputed magazines where the honor of women have not only been despoiled simultaneously people are being psychologically endangered. But interestingly, by virtue of human instinct, neither presenter nor consumer is realizing its adverse impact. Other forms of Representation- There are other forms of uncultured representation which we can find rarely but have both internal and external effects on common people. Despite fewer in number, such representations are noticed in different sorts of paintings, hoarding hanging or fixed in cities and towns, and even displayed in Internet. Painting of undesirable quality is often displayed in cinema hall for greater publicity. Similarly, a lot of painters draw naked or half naked figures, which may have inner good meaning, but it is a matter of question how many people are finding that inner good meaning and how many are taking those adversely. Research Problem and Significance Very few studies tries to explain the influence of using women in advertisement based on cultural factors. Researchers have either concentrated on or compared dissimilar cultures, such as the U.S and Japan or they have focused on similarities or differences on similar cultur es, such as Great Britain and Australia (Al-Olayan and Karande, 2000). Many researches explain ads by using Hofstede‟s cultural dimensions or Hall‟s high and low typology and other country specific variables. Culture dominates communications, such as langu age, traditions, beliefs and music (Al-Olayan, & Karande, 2000). Therefore, the main motivation behind this article is to identify the influence of using women in advertisement on male consumers‟ attitude in Jordan. This study is conducted in a Muslim country where Shariah (Islamic Law) prohibit the use of sexual appearance or body in a way to attract or convince consumers with company products, brands or services. This study is significant for the reason that there is no any study has been done in this field regarding this issue. Another reason for doing this study is to increase our understanding of the Arab societies, and in this case Jordan. Research Objectives The objectives of this research are: 1) To identify the factors that may affect male Jordanian consumers‟ attitude towards using women in advertisement 2) To examine consumers overall attitude towards using sexy women in advertisement Theoretical Background Culture and Advertisement Marketers need to observe the cultural traits, environments, norms, beliefs, and values of a particular country or region to obtain an understanding of whether their future behaviors will be perceived as ethical (Haque et al., 2010). For example, companies advertising their products or services in different countries should be aware of a country‟s existing norms concerning role portrayals and the way these organizations affect these norms (Gilly, 1988). Clow and Baack (2009) maintained that culture, religion and value system determine the levels of nudity, sexual references, and gender specific issues that are permitted in a country. Several differences have also been recognized across countries for men and women appear in different settings and for different products. Women are more likely to be portrayed in domestic environment as sex objects, while men are more likely to be portrayed being occupied. In Sweden, for example advertisers show men and women in greater variety of nonworking roles than in the U.S.A and Germany and women in Asian countries are less likely to be shown as sex objects (Das, 2000). Since in many Middle Eastern countries, sex and gender issues are taboo subjects, sexual appeals are not used in advertising and even sexually related products are difficult to advertise (Bryant, 1998). Muslim nations tend to reject any kind of nudity and any reference to sexuality and other gender -related issues. Any hint of sexuality or display of the female body is strictly forbidden. In Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, women must be shown in family settings. They cannot be depicted as being carefree or desirable to the opposite sex. Marlin (2008) conduct a study on how culture affects advertisement, he used an advertisement showing a sexy picture for Paris Hilton, the famous model wearing a bikini and asked respondents to writ e their reactions. About 27% had positive reactions, 45% had negative reactions and 28% were indifferent. For this advertisement some respondents were confused whether it is an advertisement for a burger or for a car. The results show that different cultures imply different reactions, some of the comments the respondents wrote were: †¢ Unrealistic, bizarre (German respondent) †¢ It is not about the product, they are selling a lifestyle (Iranian respondent) †¢ Nice, interesting (French respondent) †¢ Too much naked skin (1 Ethiopian and 1 Swedish respondent) †¢ I am discussed, angry and feel fat (Swedish respondent) †¢ Too naked, too unrealistic (Moroccan respondent) †¢ Sexistic (Swedish respondent) †¢ Inappropriate, bad taste (French respondent) †¢ It is totally unnecessary for the object of advertising (Swedish respondent) Muslim countries are not the only ones with restrictive advertising for sex appeals. Many Christian countries such as Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Mexico and the Philippines have similar standards. 184 While in Canada, France, and Sweden, sexism should be avoided in any advertising directed toward children (Boddewyn, 1991). Based on that, understanding how religious beliefs influence the attitude towards the advertising is of great importance to international advertisers and advertising agency managers in their efforts to improve advertising effectiveness without offending or alienating their target audience. It‟s important to comprehend that Islamic social philosophy is based on the belief that all spheres of life: spiritual, social, political, and economic form an indivisible unity that must be thoroughly imbued with Islamic values. Advertisement and Women in the Muslim world The aim of this section is to give an in-depth understanding on the nature and position of women and advertisement in the Muslim world to help and benefit marketers and the advertising producers in the Muslim world to gain a profound understanding of Muslim values. As a starting point, it‟s important to note that the Holy Quran does not prohibit advertising (Al-Makaty et al., 1996). Some advertisements use religious terminology to reassure consumers of the Islamic integrity of products and services. For example, in a television advertisement, a Saudi Investment ba nk in Egypt had used religious terms to show that it had no unlawful transactions and that all of its financial products Shariah compliant. The use of selected Quranic injunctions and words can enhance the mood of the advertising communication to make it more appealing to Muslim consumers. Luqmani et al. (1989) provide an example of a manufactured water pump that uses a verse from the Quran in advertising. Although it is obviously welcome to keep in mind that the Islamic regulations related to business and marketing, appropriate implementation of precise Islamic terms is crucial. Contrary to this, a business may face unexpected troubles in gaining markets in Muslim populous areas if some how its advertisements create feelings that are inconsistent with religious sensitivities. In such a context, the most potential and contemporary issues in Islamic markets should be carefully introduced, developed, and offered through appropriate advertising and communication messages which meet the commitment of ethics as gu ided in the Islamic Shariah. For example, the Islamic system encourages moderation in living, while prodigality and waste are denounced. Costly promotional efforts and massive commercial advertisements by businesses are considered unnecessary. Producers of advertisements must make sure that their advertising campaign does not overstep any social or legal norms. Little attention has been paid on the exposure of advertisement in the Arab societies. Except from investigations in Saudi Arabian ads, there is only one study that has examined the cross-cultural differences in advertising content in other countries in the Middle East and only one study of the portrayal of Egyptian women in television commercials. Luqmani et al., (1987) study focused only on the influence of Islam on advertising content and regulation in Saudi Arabia while Michell and Al-Mossawi, (1999) study focused on message contentiousness among Gulf Co-operative Council countries, and showed that religious Muslims scored lower in terms of recall and were unfavorable towards contentious advertisements relative to lenient Muslims. The findings suggest that there is a difference in perceived controversial elements in advertisements between a devout and a lenient Muslim. These findings also highlight the importance of matching creative execution and message content to a society‟s socio-cultural environment. Michell and Al-Mossawi claim an offensive advertisement will not be effective in capturing an audience‟s attention or changing his/her attitudes. Both of these studies revealed the importance of understanding the Islamic religion in relation to effective advertising. In particular, Luqmani et al., assert that unconventional advertisements must obtain prior approval from religious authorities. While in Malaysia, Unilever‟s used an ad for Pond‟s skin lightening moisturizer showing a Malay college student using the product for a fairer complexion to attract a boy‟s attention. The ad is deemed offensive to the Muslim ethnic culture (Haque et al., 2010). In addition to the above mentioned facts, the women‟s status is debated among traditional Islamists, reformist Islamists and feminists, secular or Islamic. The traditional Islamists are clear about the male-female differences and insist on the distinct sex roles. They view women as emotional, sentimental and weak humans whose duty is in the household. The traditional Islamists take every verse in the Qur‟an as a source of protection of women and see women as minors that need to be protected by superior men. In return the woman will nurture the family and try to please her father, brother or son, or whoever may be the head of the household. The woman has a responsibility to maintain the honor, reputation and status of the family. Traditionally, a man‟s hon or depends on the extent on the virginity of his sisters, wife and daughters, and widows divorcees‟ sexual continent. 185 The Islamic reformists believe that the inferiority is only in relation to the woman‟s physical strength and weaker autonomy, thus she is capable of participating in all spheres or public and social life. Modern and liberal reformists are trying to accommodate the Islamic rules with the realities of modern times. The feminist view is a secular movement whose aim is to achieve equality for women. The roots of this movement consider the woman as totally subordinated to the man and that the veil is a symbol of this. Advertising in Jordan Jordan‟s media sector has seen significant privatization and liberalization efforts in recent years. Based on official rack rates, research firm Ipsos estimated that the advertisement sector spent some $303m towards publicity in Jordan‟s media, 80% of which was spent on newspapers, followed by TV, radio and magazines. In recent years, Jordan has also seen a spectacular rise in the number of blogs, websites and news portals as sources of news information. The increasing diversification of Jordan‟s media boosted advertising revenues and private initiatives. Recording growth of 30%, 2007 turned out to be yet another outstanding year for Jordan‟s advertising industry. Following nearly a decade of double-digit growth, the Jordanian advertising had some catching up to do with the rest of the region in terms of average expenditure per capita. Since 2000 total ad spend increased from $77m to $303m in 2008, an increase of 260%. The Jordanian telecoms sector was the biggest ad spender in 2008, accounting for around 20% of the market, followed by banking and finance sector (12%), services industry (11%), real estate (8%) and the automotive sector (5%). Research Design In order to measure Jordanian male consumers‟ attitude towards using women in advertisement , male respondents between 18-55 years were selected. The survey instrument included a list of 22 statements from which respondents were asked to indicate their level of personal acceptance on a five-point scale, where 1 means â€Å"Strongly Disagree† and 5 means â€Å"Strongly Agree†. Statements from 1 -17 was designed to measure factors affecting consumers attitude towards using women in advertisement. Most of the statements were adapted from earlier studies, for example (Al Makaty et al. 1996; Nordà ©n 2006; and Baker, C.N. 2005). While statement 18-22 were designed to measure consumers overall attitude towards advertisements. The statements were adapted from earlier studies as well such as (Usman, 2010; and Ashill, 2005). Respondents belonging to different demographic groups in terms of education level, marital status and profession were considered in the study. The sampling frame for the study was male consumers living in west of Amman. For respondents‟ selection, simple random sampling procedure was adopted. Questionnaires were filled by the respondents. The total number of respondents was 450. The responses received were 353 (80.5 per cent). Cronbach alpha reliability analysis was conducted for the items included in the study. The internal consistency – Cronbach alpha value for reliability of the questionnaire was found to be 0.74. All items were well above the 0.70, which was the commonly accepted threshold (Nunnally 1978). Respondent Profile Respondents from different parts of west Amman were asked to fill in the questionnaire. Table 2 depicts a summation of the study‟s respondents‟ demographic information. As per research objectives all the respondents are male consumers. Of the 353 respondents, 79.0 per cent were less than 25 years of age. A larger number of respondents were unmarried (74.4 per cent) the maximum respondents fell into this age group, since youth is the target market and they are the ones who pay maximum attention to the advertisements. Out of the remaining sample, only 2.3 per cent were above 55 years of age. The remaining 29.5 per cent belonged to the age group of 26–55 years of age. The larger number of r espondents was unmarried (74.4 per cent), and this could be attributed to the young age of the respondent. In addition most of them 78.5 percent were with undergraduate education. The maximum respondents in the category „profession‟ belonged to the student group with a major share of 68.2 per cent and the remaining 31.8 per cent included businessmen, executives and others. The overall composition of respondents included in the study was young, unmarried and students.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Personal Response on Sexual Identity

I am guided by the pursuit of pleasure because I prefer to do what feels right rather than what is best. I answer to my gut feeling or listen to my heart if you will. Was raised to do what Is best for me and not for anyone else, and have also taught myself never regret anything that I do but learn and grow from my mistakes. I also relate to the value rationalism, which may seem like I contradict myself but sometimes I do stop and think about the consequences before I act instead of living in the moment. In my past, I have made some terrible mistakes and has made me want to be more cautious about certain situations I come across.I believe that I will always relate to these values. Critical Thinking and Sexual Decision Making People may not know that they use critical thinking every time they make a sexual decision, but I know how Important It Is to think a sexual decision through before making a decision. I would consider myself a skeptic even after this class. Being a skeptic means t hat I have to question anything related to sexual activities. I find it important to think about the consequences before making a decision because I can avoid making mistakes.A time that I had to use critical thinking was when I was deciding whether to lose my virginity or not. That decision was not something that I could choose right away but would take me a while to think about the consequences. It was my decision ultimately to make, and no one could help me decide. Critical thinking is a must anytime you are about to make a life-altering decision. Gender Identity Gender identity is the belief in which you truly are. Before we are born we are given a sex assignment, based on the internal and external organs we have in the womb.As e grow up, we learn whom we are and determine which gender we agree with. Most of the time we identify with the gender we were assigned with when In the womb or after birth. There are times that Individuals choose the opposite gender than the one they wer e assigned. Factors that help determine gender identity is genetic factors, social factors and environmental factors. Between man and woman, 23 chromosomes are combined to make up the genetic code. The egg carriers the X sex chromosome and the sperm can carry either the X or Y sex chromosome. This is the sex assignment and usually the gender most people identify as.Social factors help they raised you as a boy, you would most likely identify yourself as a boy. Also, your peers can have an effect on how you determine your gender identity. If one wants to fit in, he or she may try to identify as the gender that their peers are. Environmental factors can help determine your gender identity by naturally shaping you into whom you believe you are. People go through many situations that can have an effect on your gender identify. The factors that have affected my gender identity are genetic factors, environmental factors and social factors.At birth, it was determined that I m a girl because of my internal and external organs I have. Social and environmental factors determined my gender identity because my parents raised me based on my sex assignment. My parents and our society taught me that there was only one way. Which technically meant that I had no say in my gender identity since I was born as a girl I was to remain a girl. The factor that most helps me to determine my gender identity was the social factor of my parents raising me as I was meant to be. Masculinity and Femininity On the continuum of masculinity-femininity, I fall close to the middle but closer to Minnie.I like to get dressed up and be â€Å"girl' with makeup and purses, but I also like to hang with the guys and watch football and drink a beer. I would not say I am masculine in any way, but I do have masculine tendencies because I'm not afraid to get dirty. I grew up with both parents so I would say they balanced my feminine and masculine qualities. They taught me the important parts of being femin ine and masculinity. My mother taught me to act like a lady, and my father taught me how to change a tire. Attraction There are three components of attractiveness; they are attitude, physical attraction ND reciprocity.The first thing someone notices about another person is his or her physical appearance. What makes a person want to further the relationship is his or her attitude. If they find the attitude to be attractive, chances are they will try to further the relationship. Reciprocity is when both parties want the same thing and will work together to make their relationship a lasting one. The factor that is most important to me would be an attitude because while physical attraction is the first thing I notice, attitude is the component that makes me want to act on my feelings.If someone does not have a good attitude or a similar attitude as mine, I will not find him or her attractive. Styles of Love The styles of love that are constant in my life right now are romantic love, pos sessive excited love and friendship. Romantic love has always been a constant in my life because I am a lover. When I fall in love, I fall hard. Romantic love is probably the truest love today. Possessive excited love is a style of love that I find in my life today. Although my boyfriend and I are not possessive, we have a lot of excitement in our relationship.The excitement to see each other after a long day of work or the excitement to have a date night keeps our relationship strong. Before my boyfriend and I decided to be in a relationship, we were really great friends. We bonded instantly and got along very well. When I started to feel like being friends was not enough for me, I had to let him know. Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Homosexuality Homosexuality is when an individual is attracted sexually or romantically to people of in our society we have people who protest against gays having equal rights such as arraign.Of course, our society has come a long way with he terosexuals fighting along side the homosexuals for the their rights. Historical and scientific perspectives have shaped the way I perceive my sexual orientation and myself. Historically, homosexual practices were either done in secret or known about but shunned. Homosexuals were looked down on and seen as abominations. In the past individuals who were accused of homosexuality were convicted by the â€Å"Office of the Night†, which was a group of Christians who felt negatively on homosexuals.In today's society, homosexuals do not have to hide that they are gay because they can not be convicted for whom they are. Unfortunately, there are still individuals out there that do not agree with homosexuality. There is still the potential of gay individuals being harassed by those individuals. Hate crimes are still common in our society. I am not gay, but I do have gay friends and family, and I do not look at them any differently; instead I stand beside them and protect them from any hate that comes their way. History has only taught me that we need to fight for the rights and that I need to be true to myself.Scientific perspectives have researched the possibility of genetics and mental health being the cause of homosexuality. They have studied family trees to determine if homosexuality can be passed down through generations. They only found that the X chromosome could influence sexual orientation. The researchers have also studied the brain and the possibility that homosexuality can be caused by a mental illness of some sort. Scientific perspectives have not reflected on my sexual orientation. I am straight because I choose to be.I believe that anyone should be able to love whoever they want without being Judged for it. Abortion When I was younger I always thought abortion was wrong because it was taking a life of a baby. As I grew up and learned more, I realized I was making my decision on abortion based off of others ideas of abortion. I became aware of abort ion when a friend of mine in high school had an abortion after having sex once. I understood why she would want an abortion because of being in high school and she had her whole life ahead of her. Her family was very strict, and she was worried about her parents disowning her.