Which Has Posed the Greatest Problem for Singaporean in Ensuring Social Harmony †Racial Differences, Religious Differences or the Threat of Transnational Terrorism? Explain You Answer.

In a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Singapore, there is a need to manage the racial and religious sensitivities and promote tolerance and harmony. In addition, there is also the need to build national identity by instilling a sense of belonging. Therefore, there is a need to identify the most important problem out of the three and then solve it. The first problem is managing the perceptions of different racial groups. There is a need to manage this problem as preconceived notions of biased treatment by the government against any racial group could lead to the outbreak of violence among the different communities.For example, in 1964, Singapore experienced race riots which resulted in 36 dead and 590 injured. Singapore was in Malaysia then, and the UMNO felt threatened when the PAP participated in the 1964 Federal elections. The UMNO then led an anti-PAP campaign in the medium using the Utusan Melayu, claiming that PAP’s rule disadvantaged the Malays and that Mala y Singaporeans remained poor under PAP’s rule. They also claimed that PAP was uprooting Malay families in resettlement projects. Some UMNO extremists even came to Singapore and made fiery speeches that angered many Singaporean Malays.In July 1964, during the celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, a clash between a Chinese policeman and a group of Malay participants turned into a full-blown race riot over the next few days. This shows how the perceptions of unequal treatment towards the different races can cause suspicions, distrust and even hostility among Singaporeans, even if these perceptions are not based on facts. Therefore, this problem must be managed to prevent any outbreak of violence among citizens. The second problem is managing the perceptions of different religious groups.There is a need to do this as differences in religious beliefs and practices are issues that can create tension among people in Singapore, especially if it has been perceived that th e concerns of a certain religious community have not been considered. This is shown in the Maria Hertogh riot during 1950. Maria Hertogh, born to Dutch-Eurasian parents was adopted during the war by an Indonesian Muslim woman, Aminah, as her parents were interned by the Japanese. After the war, the Hertoghs launched a legal battle for the custody of their daughter. The custody battle attracted intense media attention worldwide.The judge ordered that Maria be placed temporarily in a Catholic convent while the trail was taking place. Photographs in newspaper of Maria, who was raised a Muslim, in a Catholic convent before a statue of Virgin Mary affected religious sensitivities and angered the Muslim Community as they felt that their religion was not respected at all. The British courts gave custody of Maria to her biological mother. Upon hearing the judgement, huge crowds outside the court rioted, convinced that the colonial laws, the courts and the legal system was prejudiced against the Muslims.The riots showed that if issues with religious implications are not handled in a sensitive manner, hostility and distrust could occur among people. The last problem is managing the threats from external forces. This also needs to be managed because transnational terrorist groups tend to exploit religious or race issues in order to achieve their political aims, suspicion and tension may arise among people in multi-ethnic societies like Singapore. For an example, the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is a militant group which has been active in the Southeast Asia. Its aim is to set up an Islamic state in Asia.Some of its activities include fund-raising and purchasing materials for making bombs. From 2001-2002, 34 JI members were arrested under the Internal Security Act for their involvement in terrorist-related activities. Targets in Singapore included the US embassy and some government buildings. Following the arrests, there was some mixed reactions from Singaporeans who were prepar ed to do harm in the various ethnic communities. Shocked that there were Singaporeans who were prepared to do harm to innocent civilians, some members of the public expressed distrust towards members of certain communities.This shows that managing external threats poses a significant challenge, as it has potential to divide people along racial and religious lines. All in all, I feel that the problem that has posed the greatest threat for Singapore in ensuring social harmony is the threat of transnational terrorism. As it can cause distrust between both religions and races while the other two can only either cause distrust among religions or races. In addition, if they manage to overcome the threat from external forces, citizens will be able to trust each other and violence and distrust will not breakout.

Benefits and Effectiveness of Accounting Essay

The research was based on two variables these are computerized accounting systems which comprise of definitions, components of computerized accounting software and benefits and limitation of computerized system and financial reporting which also comprises of definitions of financial reports, benefits and effectiveness of accounting system used at National Water and Sewerage Corporation. The study will enable management to understand the significance of preparing quality and reliable financial reports. The study will point out weakness in the accounting system which management needs to address. The Government of Malaysia through the Department of Accountant General (MDAG) has instructed MARA to implement the Standard Accounting System for Government Agencies (SAGA). This is a total Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System, developed based on web-based application and is using an accrual basis of accounting. The SAGA financial system enables its users, particularly the government agencies to close their accounts on a daily basis, monitor their daily financial activities as well as produce standardized financial reports to the stakeholders at any place and any time. However, upon completion of the SAGA financial system analysis, MARA identifies that the system could not cater all MARA business activities. Processes such as disbursement of scholarship and loans to students and entrepreneurs are not covered by the system. As such, MARA still has to maintain its existing databases and therefore made special request to the MDAG to exclude the implementation of SAGA while awaiting MARA ICT consultant’s recommendations on the development of a new MARA Total Information and Financial System. As a conclusion, the SAGA financial systems could not be used by MARA on its own. The end-users in MARA need to operate both, SAGA and its own systems at the same time. This situation could lead to users’ confusion if they are to use different type of system when updating certain type of financial transaction. This is because the end-user of MARA Computerized Accounting System could only utilized the SAGA Financial System just for ordinary operating expenditures whilst any disbursement of expenditure pertaining to subsidiary system, they still need to use the existing MARA Financial Systems. Consequently, internal controls and security functions may not be easily built in the systems. Concurrent use of both systems may affect job satisfaction and performance of the end-users. Introducing Computerized Accounting Information Systems in a Developing Nation: Egyptian International Motors This study aims to assess the implementation of accounting information system on a company in a developing nation. To answer this question this manuscript attempts to do the following: (1) identify the reasons for the shift to an automated system and the main goals that the company aim to achieve form this shift, (2) determine the company’s strategic decisions like choices between outsourcing versus in-house development, and ready made packages versus tailor made software, (3) describe the steps of implementation, (4) understand the reaction of the employees to the new automated system, (5) study the required changes on the organizational chart and human resources qualifications that are required, (6) recognize the problems that the company met during the process, (6) point the advantages of the shift to the automated system. A computerized accounting System provides many advantages over manual systems, for example entries do not have to be recorded in multiple ledgers so as to fulfill the cardinal rules of financial reporting.A single entry is made and the system will populate all the appropriate corresponding accounts automatically. Computerized accounting also makes it possible for people in other departments,not just accounting to enter data.It does not require avast amount of accounting knowledge for a payroll clerk to enter wages details into the accounts,a basic understanding of how to use the system is sufficient The study intends to find out the effect of a computerized accounting system on the quality of financial reports generated by an organization. To examine the effect of computerize accounting systems quality financial reporting. To determine the challenges encountere by organizations before and after implementing a computerized accounting system. To identify strategies/measures of ensuring quality financial reporting. An accounting system is part of the organisation’s management information system therefore a good or decent accounting system must be able to produce reports like trial balance, aged debtors and aged creditors. Accounting systems must provide data that should enable the production of management accounts, statutory accounts and must also assist the managers and accountants in discharging their stewardship roles. Production Of Accounts A good system should enable the firm to produce its management reports and management accounts at short notice. This will enable the organisation to monitor performance, to take decisions quickly and to make decision based on objective and verifiable information. Audit Trail Audit trail is very important as it will enable auditors and senior managers to monitor transactions entered in the accounting system and this will ensure that there is information integrity. A good system should document the changes that have been made in the system, who made the changes and it should also be able to track what was changed. Compatibility With Other Programmes A strong characteristic of a good accounting system is that it must be compatible with other systems. For example, it should easily be configurable so that it can communicate with other programmes like Excel or Crystal. An accounting system should be able to export transactions and reports into Excel and it should allow data and transactions to be imported from an external source. This will lead to time savings as there will be no need to duplicate a role or process. Error Detection If an accounting system does not dictate errors then it is not a good accounting package as it is failing to perform a basic functionality. An accounting package should decline to post transactions that do not balance for example the total debits should equal the total credits and if this is not the case, then the accounting system should automatically flag this error. Internal Controls Internal controls are the eyes and ears of the organisation and a good accounting system should embed these internal controls into the system. Internal controls enable prevention and detection of fraud and error. An accounting system should enable internal control tools like segregation of duties, reconciliations and account allocations. A good accounting system should not allow users to delete data that has been posted into the system. Manual Vs Computerized Accounting Computerized accounting systems provide more benefits than manual ones, allowing for more accurate calculations, in less time. Compared to manual accounting, with a computerized system errors are far less common, eliminating human error. And with accounting programs that are industry-specific, you can benefit from various preset templates for your general ledger, saving more time. You can store virtually endless information, without any trouble at all. And if you later want to review financial information from several years ago, with a computerized accounting system you can do it easily, while with a manual one you would have to sort through stacks of paper ledgers. Bottom line, both systems may be useful to some extent. But for more accurate bookkeeping and increased efficiency, a computerized accounting system seems to have more advantages. You can find several free versions online, as well as more proficient accounting software available for purchase. Search online for such accounting systems, read about their features and decide which one would be better for your particular business needs. Although they will not allow you to physically handle the ledgers, it will provide a better accounting solution. The advantages of Computerized Accounting seem to be unknown by business owners and individuals who are in doubt of purchasing Accounting Software. Accounting Software has been a trend nowadays. With the vast Computerized System Providers and wide range of versions to choose from, Accounting System has evolved to be one of the trends in information technology. Computerized Systems are designed to create more value in Financial Accounting. Value can be relayed in terms of speed, accuracy and reliability of accounting data. With Computerized System, invoices can be transmitted in an instant through email; inventories are appropriately monitored; and disbursements are tracked for payments to be done before due dates. It helps Bookkeepers to reduce manual activities. When transactions are entered in the Accounting System, automatic entries are posted to generate data needed for financial reporting. Accounting Software enables Bookkeepers and Accountants to adjust necessary accounts to reflect the correct amount of each Account. Computerized Accounting allows Accountants to trace erroneous data and entry in a creative and organized manner through the help of summaries, list of accounts and original entries. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Tsang Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7017983 Computers are extensively used in accounting and there are multitude of computer software for Accounting, MIS, CRM. HiTech Financial Accounting is one such software which has been customized for users in many segments in business and services. Payroll accounting was the first commercial area to become widely computerized. The calculation of wages or salaries involves a number of variables which relate to the personal details of each employee, such as gross pay or rate for the job, individual deductions, tax liabilities of the employees and so on. These facts can be retained in the computers and processed every month of produce pay slips for the employees. The computer helps to exercise the type of stock control needed by the organization. It up to dates the sales and purchases records, determines optimum re-order levels for different items and prints out the stock lists when desired. The system can be so designed that it triggers orders when stock level reaches order point for variou s material items; tests those item which are slow moving or gives list for over stock items. Programming can be done for any sales accounting system. The computer will pin point defaulting debtors, determine the right limit for credit for each debtor and maintain stores ledger. Costing and budgetary control can be affected through the computer, the computer will point out the variations from the planned performance.The computer also helps greatly in production planning and control. It is possible that scheduling of the work may become necessary due to break downs etc. A new critical path may have to be worked out. A critical path is the shortest path to be followed in production to achieve production objectives. The computer helps the management lay down this new critical path. The increasing competition and the highly demands of globalization, Malaysia government attempt for Small Medium Enterprise, SME for the development of innovative, competitive with high technology. Computerized accounting system (CAS) adoption may be decisive factor for an organization to be success and also to survive. This research project which aimed to investigate SME practice of CAS and to identify the factor affecting the adoption among SMEs in Melaka. A survey was carried out through a set of questionnaires to examine the CEO Innovativeness Factors Scale, Perceive Usefulness Factors Scale, Perceive Ease of Use Factors Scale and Business Competitiveness. The sample selected comprised of CEOs of SMEs in three districts in Melaka, namely Melaka Tengah, Alor Gajah and Jasin. The data gathered were coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics, linear regression analysis, Pearson Correlation analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).This study reveals that CAS adoption rate in SMEs in Melaka is high. Results from the analysis also shown the significant of independent variables and proved the relationships have been substantiated to the dependent variable which contribute to the usage of CAS adoption between SMEs in Melaka. The findings indicate that CEO innovativeness; perceive ease of use and business competitiveness negatively correlated to the adoption of CAS. Results reveals that only perceive usefulness are significantly positive correlated to CAS adoption. Therefore it can be deduced that adoption of CAS among SMEs in Melaka is caused by its usefulness. The findings reveal that types of business and business location influence the adoption of CAS. However, size (paid up capital, sales turnover and number of employee) do not influence the adopter. Results also indicate that CEO literacy on ICT, accounting and CAS has influence the responded CEO to adopt CAS in their business. However, the advantages by using the accounting systems software were not fully utilized by CAS adopters. http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/view/18273

Writting paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Writting paper - Essay Example It is in this regard that this essay aims to present what the concept of culture is. Further, this paper would delve into the influence of this concept to perceptions of health and illness in the health care profession. Finally, a determination of the importance of understanding culture when planning health care would also be identified. Delaune and Ladner (388) in their book on Fundamentals of Nursing defined culture as â€Å"knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, habits, customs, languages, symbols, rituals, ceremonies, and practices that are unique to a particular group of people†. Simple folks ordinarily know culture as a way of life. the roles and responsibilities of nursing evolving continuously, a conceptual framework to better understand the effects of cultures on health care was developed by Dr. Madeleine Leininger in her transcultural nursing theory. Dr. Leininger stated Culturally competent care can only occur when culture care values are known and serve as the foundation for meaningful care.† The assumptions incorporated in this theory are: (1) every culture has some kind of system for health care that is based on values and behavior of people; and (2) cultures have certain methods for providing health care often unknown to nurses from other cultures. (Delaune and Ladner 403) The relevance of understanding the concept of diversity in culture is of utmost importance to the nursing profession due to the different profiles of patients they administer health care to. Profiles of patients are incorporated in the culture of their specific countries. Their expectations to the delivery of patient care also depend on the orientations they are accustomed to in their respective countries. Delaune and Ladner (389) presented distinct characteristics of culture which exist among cultural groups and among individuals within a single culture, to wit: (1) culture is learned and taught; (2) culture is

Symbolic Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Symbolic Terrorism - Research Paper Example Destabilizing a situation in the world and causing considerable political, economic and moral consequences, modern terrorism turned into a global problem. The resolution of this issue will predetermine the future of mankind, because recently created uncontrollable types of weapon threaten the existence of a civilization. Terrorism is a serious problem of the modern world, however, there are many historical facts, which prove that it is not a new phenomenon. Now scientists started considering conflict and terrorism separately, notwithstanding that they have many common features. The distinction between these two phenomena was made because of the â€Å"new terrorism† which appeared in 1990s. Now more attention is paid to ideological or symbolic aspect of terrorism. The given work will investigate terrorism in the context of symbolic struggle. Symbolic component of terrorist activity is determined by symbolic nature of social systems. A symbolic aspect as a political measurement of the purposes represents one of the basic elements of the definition of terrorism. This aspect makes terrorist act differ from a usual crime (Strachan, 2011). When a terrorist wants to kill a soldier, especially when he protects a military memorial, and his real purpose is the parliament, it is already political. Richmond states that: â€Å"as the divisions between war, peace, conflict and terrorism, between friend and enemy, soldier, criminal, and civilian break down, there is now potential for a critical reading of the insights this presents.

Matt Holmes & Cool Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Matt Holmes & Cool Company - Case Study Example Assets would be written down if the company continues to use those assets. Lack of recoverability of the net carrying amount must be recognized as asset impairment and it occurs under certain circumstances such as changes in regulation and business climate, technology changes, usage rate decline, and forecasts of a notable decline it the asset’s long term profitability. It appears that the Cool Company must perform an impairment test as the firm experiences changes in business climate. However, it must be noted that every change in business climate would not indicate asset impairment. ‘A quoted market price in an active market’ would be the best evidence of fair value and it must be applied as the basis for measurement (â€Å"Goodwill and other..†). Market inputs such as credit data and yield curve are some of the alternative methods of estimating fair value. From an asset impairment analysis, the Cool’s department manager would get valuable informat ion that would assist him to determine whether or not those suspected assets should be written down. 2. King Company Good will is an account that can be seen in the asset side of the balance sheet. Often, good will arises as a result of acquisition of a company by another company. The amount paid for the acquired company over book value generally reflects the value of that firm’s intangible assets. Since the good will is not a physical asset as land and buildings, it is recorded as an intangible asset on the balance sheet. Intangible assets include good will, corporate intellectual property, and brand recognition. Typically, good will indicates the value of intangible assets such as patents, strong brand name, better employee relations, and better customer relations. US GAAP defines good will as the â€Å"excess of the cost of an acquisition price over the fair value of acquired net assets†; similarly, goodwill and some other intangible assets will no longer be subject ed to amortization (â€Å"Stock dividend). Therefore, the reported amounts of goodwill would not decrease and moreover, goodwill recorded on the acquisition will not result in a ‘drag’ on future earnings for goodwill amortization. According to Graham, when goodwill is recognized by a subsidiary, it should be tested for impairment at the subsidiary level using the subsidiary’s reporting units; and if goodwill at the consolidated level is impaired, it would be recognized at the consolidated level (116). In total, the King Company would not face issues that were pointed out by senior accounting staff because the goodwill accounting has changed. Ethics case 1 Marco Chemical Corp The government and public are the stakeholders involved in the situation specified in the Macro Chemical case. The director of the Marco’s R&D division would not be ethically liable even if the chemical caused any disaster because he had strongly recommended the chemical’s furt her testing for side effects. On the other hand, the Marco’s president has worked against his professional ethics. The president had been advised by the R&D’s director regarding the chemical’s further testing in the laboratory for its side effects on other insects, birds, animals, plants, and even humans. However, the president did not consider such warnings as he focused only on the improvement of company’s sales and profits. In other words, he did not take human values or

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Research Paper Example Individual beliefs and perceptions have a significant influence on their health. Research studies and works in this direction have proved that these beliefs affect individual behaviour in terms of their eating habits, medication routine or following their doctors’ instructions. Such behavioural aspects also have a strong impact on the individual’s physiological system and its effects on the immune system or cardiovascular systems. Research evidence has also supported the belief that the patient’s health conditions are also influenced by the beliefs and perceptions of the health professionals. The health professionals’ belief impacts the nature of treatment adopted and the way it impacts the patient’s own perception on his health condition and subsequent health behaviour (Broome and Llewelyn, 1995). The theoretical approaches and research findings over the decades have sought to explain the impact of such variables on individual health behaviour and the extent to which it predicts health outcomes. Different models have sought to explain health related behaviours and among these models the locus of control has been the focus of much research. The locus of control refers to â€Å"the degree to which individuals perceive events in their lives as being a consequence of their own actions, and thereby controllable (internal control), or as being unrelated to their own behaviour, and therefore beyond personal control (external control)† (Bahar, 1988, p45). The work on health locus of control (HLOC) has been inspired by Rotter who conceptualized the measurement scale to evaluate individual behaviour or expectancy in different dimensions. These dimensions include internality, powerful others and chance (Broome and Llewelyn, 1995). The internal HLOC relates to the individual belief that their health outcomes is attached to their health behaviour and hence it can be controlled, powerful others HLOC indicates that individual health is dependent on the behaviour of

Addiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Addiction - Essay Example Addiction is as a result of many addictive things in the life of a person. For instance, peer pressure is a major contributor to dependency. An individual can abuse a drug or alcohol because one is forced to do so by the group of friends. There are different forms of addiction, and each of addiction poses its series of risks. While alcohol and drug use often begin as voluntary behaviors, addiction prompts chemical alterations in the brain of an individual. It affects memory, behavior, as well as perception of pleasure and pain (Hollander, 2012). If not controlled in time, addiction can have a lot of adverse impacts on the life of an individual. It is, for this reason, individual’s responsibility as well as of the government to control addiction at all cost. It is, for this reason, individual’s responsibility to ensure that one avoids peer influence at whatever cost. Technology is also another factor that can contribute to addiction, and can also be another form of dependency. Once an individual keeps on looking the deeds of other people in other countries will in one way or another distort the mind of a person. Being on the internet every time is also another addiction. However, once a person is affecte d, there will be greater consequences that will significantly affect once lifestyle. Combination of compulsive cravings with prolonged substance abuse can prompt physical consequences in the entire body of an individual (Haugen & Musser, 2013). In addition, the effects of drug addiction can include stress on the organs, respiratory system and venous that can cause a series of physical health issues. Furthermore, medical concerns like depression and anxiety can severely interrupt social and professional life, contributing to mood swings, chronic fatigue and low interest in previous hobbies and significant life events. Apart from the above medical concerns, chronic use of certain substances can result in long-term neurological

Whistle-Blowing. Interest in Public Administration, Policy and Ethical Essay

Whistle-Blowing. Interest in Public Administration, Policy and Ethical Analysis - Essay Example Politicians must, as a result, maintain equilibrium between information exposure and the preservation of the incentives of the bureaucrats in order to exert efforts. The tradeoffs can easily be explored with the help of a model of agency decision-making under partial information. It involves an employee's effort which determines a project's type, and a manager which opts whether to approve the project and regulate the employee. With the help of whistle-blowing, an employee unleashes the type to a politician, who may supersede the manager's decision. While whistle-blowing always increments the transmission of information, its influences on employee effort are dependent on the managerial preferences. A key finding states that stronger whistleblower securities reduce effort when the manager is aggressive and may commit more Type I faults than the politician would, however, would increase efforts otherwise. Whistleblower protections, therefore, definitely benefit the politicians if an ag ency is oriented to make Type II errors (Ting, 2006:2). Whistleblowers have chronologically played influential roles in passing critical information from lower gradations of the organizations to higher grade officials. An informal survey of American organizations in recent years delineates that this trend has not subsided. In the year 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation staff attorney Coleen Rowley went communal over the bureau's investigation of the suspected 9/11 accomplice Zacarias Moussaoui (Ting, 2006:2). Her account of the way FBI headquarters stifled attempts to examine his activities build assistance for the reorganization of its anti-terrorism attempts. Further, in the year 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researcher David Graham gave evidence before a Senate committee that the agency had paid no attention to the warnings about the heart disease menaces posed by Vioxx prior to its endorsement (Ting, 2006:2). Such exposures caused crucial destruction to the credibility of the FDA, thereby, generating the demand f or both the stricter drug approval processes and improvised the post-approval monitoring. Such incidents have not been confined to the public sector. In the year 2002, Sherron Watkins of Enron and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom gained acknowledgement for their roles in unleashing the managerial irregularities in their respective corporations (Ting, 2006:2). Instantaneous with its practice, whistle blowing has enjoyed both the political as well as legal protection. In the United States, the rudimentary securities were first enacted by the Continental Congress, and a centralized entity of the contemporary legal framework dates to 1863, when Congress passed the False Claims Act so as to combat the Civil War profiteers (Ting, 2006:2). The law enabled the citizenry to bring about a suit against an alleged offender on behalf of the government, thereby, sharing in a percentage of the damages awarded. In 1978, the Civil Service Reform Act criminalized the vengeance against the whistle blowers b y creating procedures for altering the terminations of their employment. The Whistle blower Protection Act or WPA of 1989 ensured confidentiality of the whistleblower

Bill of Rights Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bill of Rights - Coursework Example There is also the danger that individual rights of speech and assembly and redressal of grievances can be used by canny citizens to trouble others, for example, the encouragement of an intrusive media, and unnecessary litigation in courts of law. While such a clause may have been necessary for the security of the individual in pioneering days (this is also debatable, as these arms were often trained on the original inhabitants-the Red Indians-who have today been unjustly herded into settlements, in their own land) now, it has led to lawlessness: shooting sprees in malls and schools, for instance. Fourth: This amendment was enacted to ensure privacy as well as protection against unlawful or malicious action against citizens by the agents of the state, which may also be seen as the benefit accruing to a citizen from it. There are circumstances when exceptions to the amendment become justified for the sake of the security of the state and citizenry. These exceptions are, for example, detainment and search of a person who behaves in a suspicious manner, or searching of persons in sensitive areas like airports/ border areas. As a matter of fact, the 9/11 incident possibly happened because of adhering strictly to the spirit of this amendment, whereby travellers at airports were not checked thoroughly. The advantage to the citizen was that it was fair to him. ... Fifth: This amendment was enacted to ensure fair treatment of the individual who is charged with a crime. The advantage to the citizen was that it was fair to him. Even a citizen charged for a crime has a right to be fairly treated, especially in the event that he is wrongly charged. The disadvantage is that a canny lawyer could use the amendment to subvert the justice system. Eg, in the OJ Simpson case, the criminal case against Simpson absolved him of the murder of his wife, Nicole, while civil proceedings held him culpable! Sixth: The amendment like the fifth was enacted to prevent arbitrary treatment of an accused, and to ensure justice for all. This is an excellent provision governing the justice system, to safeguard a citizen's rights, and to ensure speedy disposal of cases. Any negative feature of this could come about not because of the amendment per se, but because of the way the system could be perverted by those seeking to take advantage of it. (eg perverting the law by canny lawyers to adhere to the letter of it minus the spirit.) Seventh: England had courts of common law, which gave legal (monetary) relief, and courts for equity which decided non-monetarily (an injunction, for instance) This amendment sought to combine both the jurisdictions. The advantage or disadvantage of the amendment depends totally on the complications involved in a case-especially where both equity and common law elements are involved. Complexity in the actual application of the amendment is inevitable, not because of anything contained within it, but because judicial disaputes are essentially complicated. Eighth: This amendment was enacted to ensure humane treatment of a crimininal, and herein lay its strong point. But a habitual

University and Sharpie Essay Example for Free

University and Sharpie Essay Sharpie, the company that produces a line of high quality markers that comes in a wide variety of colors. College or university students use them because of their bright and vibrant colors. To further spread the word out for their amazing product, a campaign is devised. Thus, we came out with â€Å"Let the colors speak†. This campaign focuses on the variety of colors they provide, and how important it is without them. It is collaboration between†¦ This campaign will first begin promoting via social media, where most of Sharpie’s main target audience spends time on. Here they†¦ Objective: To help Sharpie increase its brand awareness, further improve its product engagement leading to an increase in sales. Solution: To show how limited one could express with the absence of color. We express them in contrast to the extreme: A blindfolded person with Sharpie colored markers will draw a monster that they think, is able to escape the box. Thus, we present to you, Let Your Imaginations Run Wild. Colleges and universities will be contacted to host the major event. They will compete against each other via social media, and the winner will have the drawn monster sculpted into form as a prize for the college. The shortlisted individuals will also receive a trophy of their own monster. Expected Results: An expected increased traffic to Sharpie’s Facebook page for the first few launching hours. College students will be notified and a spread of voice is expected to happen in the next few days. A healthy competition in the name of imagination is expected to occur among different colleges. Ultimately, we expect to meet the objectives: increased brand awareness among target audience, product engagement is done during the interactions and also an increase in sales.

Referential Cohesion In The Construction Of Magazines English Language Essay

Referential Cohesion In The Construction Of Magazines English Language Essay Texts are categorized according to different genres, which are placed within a context. For example, articles in magazines are arranged in a way of coherence so that readers are able to interpret from what is being read. Yet, there are argument in terms of the word text and discourse. Like cohesion and coherence which needed to be distinguished, the inconsistencies of both terms have brought upon much confusion in studies done. Some researchers claimed to be doing text analysis but instead, have provided a study on discourse analysis albeit the basis of distinction of text and discourse as defined by Widdowson (1973; extracted from Widdowson, 2002); are the structure of sentences and usage of such sentences, respectively. But Widdowson (1978; Ibid.) himself did not maintain his definition and claimed later on, that discourse consists of sentences with properties such as cohesion and coherence. Much confusion led to many researchers to conclude that text is only used to refer to physi cal arrangement of linguistic signals on paper (Tadros, 1981), whereas discourse is used to refer to every investigation on the structure (supra-sentential) of any range of spoken or written language. Otherwise, this distinction is deemed unnecessary. Cohesion and coherence are analyzed based on individual texts and ergo, need to be distinguished. Cohesion correlates with the overt semantic relations whereas coherence deals with the relationship aspects of semantics, as well as pragmatics, within the text which are interpretable against the readers prior world knowledge (de Beaugrande Dressier 1981). In other words, cohesion deals with the surface level of text, whilst coherence serves as the underlying phenomenon in the text. Coherence is otherwise known as texture, features the combination of semantic configurations which is made up of register and cohesion. Cohesion, being the main focus of Halliday and Hasans work, is said to be a display of existing ties, between a presupposed item and a presupposing item that occurred in the text; thus making the text cohere. That said, Cohesion does not concern what a text means; it concerns how the text is constructed as a semantic edifice.(1976:26). Cohesion, thus contributes to the conn ectedness of the surface elements in the text (Berzlanovich, 2008), and builds the structure of the text in form of coherent sentences; which in the case of this paper, cohesion will be analyzed in the context of a local fashion magazines article. The way cohesion revolves around the text also depends on the varieties of discourse. Discourse here refers to verbal communication in its situational and social context (Ibid.). Since the roles of both cohesion and coherence occur interdependently with the type of genre, in some articles like academic discourse; it is found that conjunction is favored more as a cohesive link between sentences. Also, register-specific vocabulary in the text seems to be denoting as a primary factor for stronger cohesive effect, rather than general vocabulary (Teich Fankhauser, 2005). As for narrative structured articles like those from the fashion magazines, previous studies have found that the dominant characteristic typically found in narrative texts is referential cohesion especially when participant chains, anaphoric links, temporal and spatial progression are being investigated (Fox 1987, Berzlanovich, 2008). Lexical items are necessary in the organization of a discourse in order to consider its meanings semantically and whether those sentences are in association with the intended meanings in the text. Thus, lexical items are categorized into two groups: grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion (Table 1, Appendix 1). Grammatical cohesion encompasses reference, substitution, ellipsis and conjunctions, whilst lexical cohesion is classified into two types which are reiteration and collocation (Halliday Hasan, 1976). Previous studies have been published in abundance regarding textual cohesion and its devices. Nevertheless, so far to my knowledge, none of them has considered fashion magazine articles as a genre for analysis in the corpus of linguistic research, albeit many studies had been done in the area of language and gender but not from the linguistics aspect. Hence, an article from a local fashion magazine (Cleo) will be analyzed in relation to grammatical cohesion on one of its components- reference, which will be detected via the three dimensions as aforementioned: personal pronouns (determinative, possessive), demonstratives and comparatives (Appendix 2). Other dimensions of grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion will be considered for future works, whilst in this paper referential cohesion is chosen to observe the linkage between sentences within the text, with the context in existence. The significance of this paper underpins the twofold objectives. Firstly, it is hoped that this stu dy will be able to provide better understanding regarding the use of referential links in the way a cohesive text is constructed on the surface level of sentences. Secondly, the frequent use of cohesive links with functions and purposes, within sentences will help us gain insights in the aid of the readers interpretation of the text based on the type of genre examined (magazine article). As a result, the study on cohesion will help to put up with effective reading and writing altogether with word choices and paragraphing in texts and discourses. Finally, the present study provides a surface-leveled analysis of grammatical referential device; employed in the usage of English in this informal context. Literature Review Halliday and Hasan (1976) have provided the fundamental framework in the functional grammar studies; a lot especially on the studies of cohesion in many research conducted in this field. Although, other researchers like Werlich (1983) and Brinker (2005) have also made contributions in this field of study. Yet, none has offered detailed and distinguished differentiation in terms of cohesion and coherence. Halliday Hasan (1976) only uses cohesion whereas Werlich (1983) emphasizes in coherence whereas Brinker (2005) points out that the distinction between cohesion and coherence is not necessary. On the other hand, researchers like de Beaugrande Dressier (1981) offers explanation on the surface for both terms, and others followed suit. Most of their classification of cohesive devises branches out, primarily, into grammatical and lexical cohesion; in which the former will be the subject of concentration in this present study, primarily on reference. Apart from that, Halliday also claims from the view of a functionalist in grammar; that language structure is explained by derivation from function and that he and Hasan has established a diversified functional/ text unity, mostly on structural elements like lexical repetition, lexical inclusion and many others which have contributed to the studies of cohesion. According to Halliday and Hasan (1976), grammatical cohesion is divided into four different devices as follows (Querol 2004, Mohamed-Sayidina, 2010): Reference: one element of the text is related to another one as aforementioned for its interpretation, with the use of pronouns (personal, comparative and demonstrative) Semantic relation is required in this mechanism. It in the subsequent sentence refers to being normal. E.g.: Look at what being normal involves in this culture. A lot of it is what the rest of the world aspires to- à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Substitution: the replacement of an item with another word to substitute a word or sentence. Others here is used to substitute some areas from being repeated. E.g.: Also, we have our own set of abilities and talents; in some areas, well be above average, while in othersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ellipsis: the head noun, main verb, or even the whole clause is subsequently omitted in the following sentence. Consider this statement, whereby the making of sacrifices is omitted from the line that continues. Supposedly; People who have extraordinary lives often have to make sacrifices that many of us wouldnt consider worthwhile (of making the sacrifices). E.g.: People who have extraordinary lives often have to make sacrifices that many of us wouldnt consider worthwhile. Conjunction: an invariable  grammatical particle to connect two words, sentences, phrases and clauses to create discursive connections. There are several types of conjunctions namely coordinating, correlative and subordinating conjunctions. E.g.: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦But when most of us wake up, life is much more prosaic, so we wonder what were doing wrong. Specifically, reference as defined by Halliday, is a participant or circumstantial element which is being introduced within the text at one point; either as a reference point preceded for the following phenomenon, or functions as a basis for comparison. Referential cohesion can be realized in three ways: personal pronouns (determinative, possessive), demonstratives and comparatives (Appendix 2). But in the in-depth analysis of referential cohesion, it does not only matter that these items exist in the text. It also matters if they (personal pronoun,  demonstrative  or  comparative) refer forward (anaphora) or backward (cataphora) to items  within  the text (endophora) or  outside  the text (exophora). Then again, readers might encounter some problems in relation to vague reference item, which neither refers to earlier  or  later  items  within  the text nor to entities  outside  the text, even if confined within the context. Thus, self-referential occurs w hen readers interpret the text based on their cultural or world knowledge. This situation is also known as homophora. All these may function as clue items to provide more information to words and phrases (Muto, n.d.). But in the case of this paper, the main concern of the study is solely to detect the frequent use of referential cohesive links in order for the text to flow from one interpretation to the next; personal pronouns (determinative, possessive), demonstratives and comparatives are the focus analysis. Hence, the present study does not include in-depth analysis on cohesion elements like anaphora, cataphora, endophora and exophora, or even other elements like ellipsis, substitution and conjunction are omitted, because this current study deals solely on the surface level of referential cohesive links (reference) although it is suggested that future studies should looked into those aspects aforementioned. For future studies, M.A.K Hallidays scope on references encompasses a wid e range of aspects to be looked into especially in the field of systemic functional grammar where more elaborated, technical works of grammar classification could be done in relevance to this current study. From lexical cohesion to grammatical cohesion, there are many research conducted in the field of cohesion and coherence, linguistically (Oliveria et.al, Klebanov Shamir 2006) or pragmatically (Kruijff-Korbayova Wolska 2008, Taboada 2004); yet, studies in this area are sensitive towards types of discourse, genre and text organizations (Berzlanovich, 2008). The study of this topic provides many helpful references and even contribute to the educational field (Muto, n.d., Mohamed-Sayidina, 2010), whereby analysis on lexical cohesion has been done on numerous students works. Also, the study on cohesion has led a group of researchers formulating a software called WordNet, to detect synsets (set of synonyms). As a result, more quantitative studies are conducted in the area of linguistics with the use of WordNet (Teich Fankhauser 2004, 2005). Consequently encouraging mixed method amongst the research done in analysis or application of the device. In the analysis of cohesion, the study is presented either in systemic inventory of cohesion or instances of cohesion in texts (Kunz 2008). Then, variations also play a part in the determination of the purpose of study. There are four types of variation which are variation over time, across registers, across languages, and across originals and translations. All the analysis can be done via theoretical and example-based analysis, in-depth text analysis or empirical analysis. In the present study, the instances of cohesion are analyzed from the text in a particular variation of a register (fashion magazine); in regards to how often the distribution of referential cohesions occur, via the method of surfaced text analysis per se. Methodology Data Collection An article was extracted from the local fashion magazine, namely Cleo. One article was adopted because it was due to pure intentions to merely detect the frequency of referential cohesive links throughout the text. In addition, these links are observed in terms of its occurrence in text apart from its connectivity within sentences. Fashion magazine was chosen because not many research have been done in this area of informal discourse, particularly in the feature of referential cohesion; most of the studies reflect on the academic (Mohamed-Sayidine 2010, Muto, n.d.), news (Oliveria et. al., n.d.), and formally written articles in magazines. No comparisons amongst genres were intended in this research; hence explains the reason for one article. Albeit comparisons amongst frequency of cohesive links used in various genres could lead to more future studies to be done. The researcher analyzed the article to detect types of referential cohesion based on an adaptation of methodology from Querol (2004) and its frequency of occurrence for each of the component- personal pronouns (determinative, possessive), demonstratives and comparatives, in order to observe the patterns of sentence construction with these cohesive elements. Firstly, personal pronouns will be observed from the determinative and possessive forms respectively. Then, demonstratives will be divided into specific demonstrative and non-specific demonstrative. Lastly, comparatives will be in terms of general and particular comparatives. The results are listed in Table 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Results Data Analysis Table 2 presents the total of occurrences of 74 for personal pronouns which include determinatives and possessives; as well as 50 and 10 for demonstratives and comparatives, respectively. Referential cohesion Total occurrences (Percentages) Personal Pronouns (determinative and possessive) 74 (55%) Demonstratives 50 (37%) Comparatives 10 (8%) Table 2: Total of occurrences according to types of reference. Then, in second place with total of 22 occurrences is calculated for determinative you/ yourself, preceded with determinative we /us, scoring the highest with a total of 24 occurrences. Determinatives such as they / them and it scored reasonably lower than the others with 9 and 10 occurrences respectively, whereas possessives pronouns like their/ theirs (3 occurrences) and its / our/ ours (6 occurrences) hardly occur throughout the text. Personal Pronouns Determinatives (No. of occurrences) Possessives (No. of occurrences) You/ yourself 22 She/ Her He/ Him They/ them 9 It 10 We /us 24 His Her/hers Their/ Theirs 3 Its / our/ ours 6 Table 3: Total of occurrences for Personal Pronouns (Determinative, Possessive). As for Table 4, specific demonstratives such as this, these, here, those, that are found quite common (27 occurrences) within the text if compared to non-specific demonstratives like it and the (23 occurrences). Otherwise, the results for total occurrences of demonstratives are quite consistent throughout the text unlike personal pronouns. Demonstratives Specific (No. of occurrences) Non-specific (No. of occurrences) This, these, here, those, that, there 27 It, the 23 Table 4: Total of occurrences for Demonstratives (Specific, Non-specific). The same scenario with almost equal consistency of results is also applicable to comparatives; with 4 occurrences for general comparatives (otherwise, apart from, instead of, also) whilst particular comparatives scored slightly higher with a total of 6 occurrences for words like much more, as many of, better than, pretty great / good and its better to. Thus, from the findings it is prominent that the highest form of occurrences falls on the personal pronoun category with almost half of the text (55%) construction is conformed to this particular referential link. Comparatives General (No. of occurrences) Particular (No. of occurrences) Otherwise Apart from Instead of Also 4 Much more As many of Better than pretty great / good Its better to 6 Table 5: Total of occurrences for Comparatives (General, Particular). Summary of Findings Different types of references will yield various results depending on the purpose of construction within the sentences. Discussion in this section of paper will be based on analysis of the highest occurrences per se from findings of each table (Table 2, 3, 4, and 5). As can be seen in Table 2, the highest total of occurrences is scored by personal pronouns (determinative and possessive) (55%), followed by demonstratives (37%) and lastly, comparatives (8%). Personal pronouns are defined as the pro-form which are  used to substitute the nouns. These pronouns are divided into determinatives (also determiner as the word modifier that determines the type of reference a noun/noun group has) and possessive (showing possession), albeit personal pronouns could sometimes function as a determinative but not in all cases. In the case of this study, the determinatives for personal pronouns are you/ yourself, she/her, he/him, they/them/ it, we/us. There has been much confusion which lies in diff erences of pronouns and determinative to the extent that some linguists viewed both of it to be closely related and that pronouns are in fact determiners without a noun / noun phrase. Nonetheless, a clear distinction between pronouns and determiners can be made with three main features that set the determiner apart from pronoun. A pronoun may be a determiner but a determiner cannot be a pronoun in the case of tagged questions. Examples (extracted from the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language) This is delicious, isnt  this? Also, pronouns cannot appear anywhere else except in between the verb and particle for phrasal verbs whereas determiners could be placed after a particle (example A). In addition, pronouns are said to be in the form of distinct genitive but determiners are not (example B). Example A: pick  it  up (correct) pick up  it (wrong) pick this up OR pick up this Example B: This is mine/yours/theirs. *This is alls. Personal pronouns reached the highest number of occurrences (74) as compared to demonstratives (50) and comparatives (10). The breakdown of the table into respective types of cohesion shows a higher reading generally in determinative (especially for we/us: 24 occurrences), instead of possessive. Such results are probably due to the type of genre and target audience which the text is focused upon. Hence the stylistic writing could be the choice of words used to manipulate readers mind. It shows solidarity and common grounds in terms of word use of we/us; which connotes the idea that readers and writers understand the situation and have common background knowledge for the context (de Beaugrande Dressier 1981). Sometimes, the we pronouns could be inclusive or exclusive if the writer wishes to include or exclude the audience from the text. Extract #1: The pressure to be anything but normal starts out young when were told how important it is to get good grades, and by the time were in our twenties, were suddenly feeling that we should be better paid, better looking and better travelled than our peers-in fact, better equals best. Extract #2: A lot of our fear of normality comes from a misplaced notion that we should be excelling in all areas of our life, otherwise were failing. One issue is that often what we think are our goals arent actually our own dreams-theyre what we believe society wants us to achieveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Hymes (1967) once created the Model of interaction of language and social setting and categorizes speech situation into eight components: namely setting, participants, form and content of text, intent and effect of ends, key, genre, medium, and interactional norms, which it is also stated that the text is formed also as a part of speech situation. Later on, researchers (Halliday, McIntosh and Strevens) offered another explanation for derivation of features from a situation in a text. Three main headings are proposed: Field, Mode and Tenor which describes how a context is able in its function to determine the intended meanings from the text conveyed. The Field is the overall event which includes subject-matter as part of the element in order to function as a text in whole altogether with the purposive activity of the audience. The Mode is the function of the text in the event, that means of its genre and types of discourse to be taken into consideration. Then, the Tenor is the type of role interaction in which the participants are involved in with the text whether its relevant or not. These features could help explain the situation in which the reader experiences with the text. Halliday (1976) also noted that the association of linguistic features with configuration of situational features as mentioned above (field, mode and te nor) forms a register in the text. Since the concept of cohesion as defined by Halliday (1976) is supported with register, the both can be effectively combined to constitute a text. Therefore, when the writer tries to form a purposive interaction with the reader based on the subject-matter of the text (Field) with relevance to its function and appropriateness (Mode), he or she tries to connect and convey the message to the public (Tenor) via the text read. As for demonstratives in the present study of text analysis, they are employed into sentences when the meaning of the context is dependent on other things rather than the relative physical location of the readers at the instance. This is also known as the discourse deixis and in other terms verbal pointing. This, these, here, those, that are specific demonstratives whereas it and the are non-specific demonstratives. Demonstratives, in table 4, have shown an almost equal reading of frequency (27 for specific; 23 for non-specific). Although, it seems that specific demonstratives is used more often throughout the text if compared to its counterpart. Words like this, these, here, those, that are apparent throughout the text compared to it and the. Yet, there has been much confusion in terms of the usage it. Here, it could be perceived as either a demonstrative or pronoun, depending on the semantic purpose of text. If it is a pronoun, it refers to the object of unknown gender or neuter. B ut if it functions as a demonstrative, the meaning of the word needs to fall back on the logic behind the text. For example, But, somehow, its become a byword for mundane and pedestrian. Of course, It in this sentence does not refer to a human being but the situation mentioned in the preceding sentence. The reader cannot simply comply with the meaning of word without referring to the context. The it substitutes a noun and this replaced noun is also known as the pronouns antecedent. In cases of anaphora, it becomes indecipherable without its context and thus the process of determining the intended meaning of antecedent. In addition, it might also be dummy pronouns, which mean that none of the semantic relations are needed in relation to the context. For instance, Its an understandable pressure to feel underà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Extract #3: Its the bright, shiny moments that we feel like broadcasting, so its easy to get the impression that someones life is fabulously fast-paced and exciting, but thats because it is only interesting to document that thrilling fraction. The interpretation of the text relies on the reference items within sentences, which can be interpreted in two ways; either the item is identified with referent in question or it is being implicitly compared to a referent. When identification is involved with the interpretation of the text, the reference item must always be specific and deitic (Halliday Hasan, 1976) because the identifying function for cohesive purposes must also be specific. Hence, this, these, here, those, that are more commonly used throughout the text. These demonstratives could function as modifier and head of the sentence. Based on Extract #4, there in the sentence, Theres some kind of Hollywood ideal out thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ functions as the Head of the former word, whereas the latter there works as a modifier for out. Apart from that, these words could apply anaphorically to mean the previous things which have been said or mentioned before between the interactions of the speaker/ writer and interlocutor/read er (Extract #5). Extract #4: Dr. Chris Day, psychologist and author of 52 Secrets of Psychology (Dennis Jones Associates), says that many young women feel that a normal existence isnt good enough. The pressure to be living this fun ideal life, knowing amazing people, doing amazing things. Theres some kind of Hollywood ideal out there that women aspire to. But when most of us wake up, life is much more prosaic, so we wonder what were doing wrong. Extract #5: Look at what being normal involves in this culture. A lot of it is what the rest of the world aspires to-sun, lifestyle, healthy food, friends, lots of public holidays, travel. Normal here is pretty good. Finally, comparative comes in the form of adjective or adverb, mostly to denote the property and degree of quality in which it is either greater or less in comparison of both entities. It is used in the context of subordinating conjunction (e.g. than, as..etc). Also, in comparatives, particular comparative occurred more often (6) compared to general ones (4). Particular comparatives refer to comparison in respect to quantity or quality. It is also expressed with aids from adjectives or adverbs. Examples of particular comparatives throughout the text are much more, as many of, better than, pretty great / good and its better to. General comparatives include both similarity and differences in comparatives, in terms of likeness and unlikeness whereby comparison of such is irrespective of any particular property. Such general comparatives take forms in phrases like otherwise, apart from, instead of and also. Since comparatives are used to make comparison of the degree in both entities, it is quite common in narrative and expository writings. Regarding the text chosen for this study, albeit its structure seems more alike an expository; but there is a party (psychologist Dr Chris Day) whom narrates and advises on the pertinent matter. Thus the text is written in a narrative style. Using more comparatives to make differentiation of pros and cons, phrases like apart from, instead of, much more, etc is apparent throughout the text. Limitations Much research can be done on the analysis of variations across languages, registers and even original articles and translation ones. In this current study, only general text analysis is conducted whereby the author decides to omit the theoretical and empirical analysis due to time constraints and lacked of sufficient resources. The author is also restricted in terms of systemic functional grammar knowledge; thus planned to look at a more generalized grammatical cohesion as her basis for the study. For suggestions, a more elaborated and in-depth text analysis on systemic functional grammar perspectives could be conducted in another study for reference in the future. Also, the analysis would not be precise because only the author herself is analyzing the text. Probably, another person could help in second analysis of the same text to make comparisons between both findings (number of occurrences). Also, no software is used to detect the readings; neither SPSS nor WordNet is applicable t o this study due to the nature of this study, partly due to the major time constraints that the author decides on a simpler form of method for analysis. Apart from that, more articles are needed for a substantial analysis to justify the substantive issues on grammatical cohesion. Perhaps, more than one genre (magazines, newspapers, etc) and different aspects of cohesion could be looked into; including the elements of anaphora, endophora, exophora and others to name a few. Not only that, such article from an informal context of pure reading pleasure could result in a more informal stylistic writing. Moreover, the quality control of the article also depends on the publishing company; which is vital in this case of the study. An error has been detected during analysis- note that in paragraph 10 of the text- the sentence should read as happier than those jetsettingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ instead of happier that those jetsetting. This could affect the reading of frequency if error not detected, reflecting the unreliability of the text. Conclusion Whilst the present study is focused merely on the grammatical aspect of referential cohesion, other dimensions of this study could be considered in terms of variations, analysis and types of discourse. In addition, the focus on reference in this study could also be expanded for future studies since the scope is widely ranged in this topic of linguistics. Methods could also be diversified with the help of software such as WordNet and even SPSS for quantitative approach. Textual patterns, linkage, ties and chains could be observed from various perspectives either from a formal or informal context. Fashion magazine was chosen because not many research have been done in an informal context of reading pleasure; most of the studies reflect on academic, news, report and formally written articles. Apart from cohesion, coherence could also be distinguished from the former with more studies done in various discourses, not to mention on the aspect of lexical cohesion as well since both cohesion and coherence are important characteristics in prominent texts (Celce-Marcia Olshtain 2000). Such study on the way cohesion links from one sentence to the next might provide suggestions in the comprehension of effective reading and writing, apart from word choices at semantic level in stylistic writing. Nevertheless, results found in the tables as aforementioned have shown reasonable occurrences across the genre to better understand the cohesiveness of text with help from referential links, whilst the frequency of these links occurred within the text indicates that this particular type of genre -narratives-involves particularly a significant use of pronouns in the making of the article. Ultimately, the understanding of cohesion provides a more comprehensive approach towards discourse analysis and text reading. Appendix 1 Grammatical Cohesion Reference Implies that the information is to be retrieved through the reference item is the referential meaning (pronouns and determiners personal, demonstrative and demonstrative)

How to Write an Essay :: essays research papers fc

1. What is an essay? An organised collection of YOUR IDEAS about literary texts nicely written and professionally presented . In other words, the essay must be well structured (ie organised) and presented in a way that the reader finds easy to follow and clear: it must look tidy and not present any obstacles to the reader. It must have a clear readable interesting style. But, above all, it must consist of your ideas about literary texts. This is the centre of it: this, and this only, gets the marks. Not quotes from critics, not generalisations at second hand about literary history, not filling and padding; your thoughts, that you have had while in the act of reading specific bits of literary texts, which can be adduced in the form of quotations to back up your arguments. 2. Why write in this way? 2.1 Learning how to write professionally In the English Department you learn how to respond to literary texts. This is an interesting and worthwhile thing to do, but unless you become a teacher of English remarkably few people in later life will be interested in your thoughts about Jane Austen. What they will be interested in (I'm talking about potential employers now, but not only them) is your ability to talk, to think, and to write. This part of the course is where you learn to write: professionally. The guidelines that follow tell you how to do it, or rather how to learn to do it. They set a higher standard than is usually asked of a first year undergraduate essay in this Department. This is for the following reasons. (1) I think it's my job to offer you the best advice I can, not to tell you how to get by. (2) If you learn what these guidelines teach, you will get better marks in all the essays you do from now on until finals. You will surprise the markers with the quality of your presentations, by producing a better quality than they expect. (3) You will learn a skill, a not-very-hard-to-learn skill, that will last you for the rest of your life. 3. Collecting the material The first task is to get the material together. The material comes in two kinds: primary and secondary sources. Primary sources in this case are literary texts: the actual material that you work on. Secondary sources are works of criticism. Here is your Second Important Message:

Catalytic Converters :: essays research papers fc

Introduction Catalytic converters are an integral part of converting much of the pollution that comes out of a car’s exhaust. Almost every car since the year 1970 has come with a catalytic converter in order to reduce harmful emissions. I chose to explain the function and chemistry behind the catalytic converter because I have an interest in cars and I wanted to know more about them. Background In order to understand how catalytic converters work, one must understand that air and fuel burn in a car’s engine best at a specific ratio. The ratio for gasoline burning vehicles is approximately 14.7 pounds of air to one pound of gasoline. When there is more than 14.7 pounds of air for each pound of gas, the mixture is running lean. When the opposite occurs, meaning less that 14.7 pounds of air for each pound of gas, the mixture is rich. The exhaust from the combustion in a cars engine is comprised of six main ingredients. Nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, and water vapor are three of the main emissions. These gases do not cause damage to the atmosphere like the other gases do. Carbon Monoxide, other hydrocarbons, and Nitrogen Oxides result in a majority of the pollution caused by cars. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas that can kill you if too much is inhaled. Hydrocarbons come out of an engine’s exhaust from unburned fuel. These hydrocarbons can be broken down by the sun, creating ground level ozone, also known as smog. Nitrogen oxides can cause acid rain. Catalytic converters are designed to reduce these last three emissions. How it Works Most new cars are equipped with what is called a three-way catalytic converter. They are called this because they try to cut down on the Carbon Monoxide, hydrocarbons, and Nitrogen Oxides. There are two main parts to the catalytic converter. They both function in the same way but remove different pollutants. The structure inside the catalytic converter is a honeycomb to allow for a maximum surface area for the reactions to occur while requiring minimal amounts of the catalysts required for the reactions to take place because these catalysts are expensive. Reduction Catalyst The reduction catalyst is the first step that the exhaust goes through in the catalytic converter. The catalysts used in this part are platinum and rhodium to break now NO and NO2 molecules in to N2 and O2 gases which are non-polluting.

Diana in the Docks

Diana In the Dock : does privacy matter? ‘Diana' as used in the title is referring to the Former Princess of Wales ‘Princess Diana'. In November 1993 The mirror newspaper published photos of ‘princess Diana' while she was working out at a gym. These photo's were taken out of consent by Diana by the Gym owner Bryce Taylor who was paid over 100,000 pounds for the photos . Thus Princess Did had his assets frozen and sued him.Due to the fact Bryce Taylor was broke he seeded legal aid where he was provided with Geoffrey Robertson o defend him. Robertson describes this case through the use of a paradox in the opening paragraph â€Å"Diana had been the victim of a dirty trick which provided windfall profits to undeserving people† these undeserving people being ‘Bryce Taylor' and the mirror magazine. Donna's perspective is that her privacy was breached for common greed of monetary benefits by that of Bryce Taylor.However, Ironically for Bryce Taylor benefit his legal aid, lawyer Geoffrey Robertson â€Å"was the tutor of a textbook that analyses and deplored that absence of any privacy law In Britain† which represents to the reader Robertson's extents knowledge within the topic of privacy, Wealth Robertson's defense of Bryce Taylor he states when Diana places her self in the gym â€Å"It was like working out in a shop window† representing that her privacy was automatically violated and she's â€Å"nonetheless been inviting It to happen†.Thus puts us in a position to view Diana as someone who manipulates the Edie in order to suit her own ends. Robertson also states her relationship with the media as ‘a Faustian bargain' which refers to the story of Faust who sells his soul to the devil in order to gain greater power. This again supports Robertson's use of the disjunction of ‘bur In â€Å"but Diana wanted privacy only when It suited her†. Nonetheless as Robertson describes Donna's relationship with the media as ‘ a Faustian bargain' It shows that Diana had to sell her soul to the media in order to main good publicity and power.This is significantly supported by Robertson use of the metaphor In the concluding paragraph † In 1997 Diana was killed fleeing the flashbulbs† which has Robertson positions us to see Diana as someone who seeded the attention of the media and as this back fired she tried to ‘flee' where the consequence became death. Just like that of Faust who sold his soul to the devil , regretted it and was sent to hell. Therefore Robertson believes It's her own fault for her lack of privacy.

Cash Flow Statement vs. Fund Flow Statement Essay

There are some basic differences between the two statements as mentioned below: Meaning: Cash flow statement is a statement which reflects sources and uses of cash whereas fund flow statement is a statement that reflects changes in the working capital or fund. Scope: The scope of cash flow is limited and it is based on the narrow concept of fund. i.e. cash alone whereas funds flow statement is a broader term and it is a wider concept of fund. Component: Under cash flow statement, cash is an important factor and it is the part of working capital whereas funds flow statement is the working capital which includes cash, stock, debtors, bills and receivables, temporary investments etc. Object: Cash flow statement is prepared to disclose only changes in cash position whereas funds flow statement is prepared to depict the changes in working capital between two balance sheet dates. Conversion or adjustments of data: Adjustments for prepaid and outstanding expenses and incomes are made in preparation of cash flow statement in order to convert the data from accrual basis to cash basis whereas while preparing funds flow statement, there is no need for such conversion as this statement gives recognition to the accrual basis. Number of statements: Under cash flow statement, only one statement is prepared whereas in the case of funds flow statement, two statements are prepared and they are: 1) schedule of working capital changes and 2) statement of sources and uses of fund. Opening and closing balance of cash: In the case of cash flow statement, the opening cash balance and closing cash balance are shown whereas in the case of funds flow statement, there is no place for showing the opening and closing balance of cash and funds flow statement. Uses: The use of cash flow statement is in financial analysis and cash planning whereas in mid-term and long-term planning, funds flow statement is useful. Cash flow statement may be worked as an indicator of improved working capital whereas in the case of funds flow statement it is not necessary that an improved funds position will be an indicator for sound cash position. Impact of changes on cash; Increase in current liability or decrease in current assets brings increase in cash and vice versa whereas in the cash of funds flow statement, working capital increase in current liabilities or decrease in current assets brings decrease in working capital and vice versa. References: http://classof1.com/homework-help/accounting-homework-help/

Exploring Gender Conventions in Film Essay

The American melodrama film, Mildred Pierce, directed by Todd Haynes, was based on the 1941 novel, written by James Cain. Mildred Pierce explores the roles of gender and class during the economic hardships of the stock market crash and the depression. This novel is a very effective representation of the 1930’s and 1940’s turmoil. An interview with Todd Haynes titled, â€Å"Something That is Dangerous and Arousing and Transgressive,† was done by Julia Leyda; and in that interview, Todd Haynes explains that women, â€Å"struggle with their embodiment, their identity, their social positions† (Leyda). James Cain created Mildred to be a woman who expressed many different attributes that women would not normally have during this time period and with the happening of the Great Depression. In his novel, Mildred represents a lower-middle-class woman who went through a divorce. Although she is a single parent in the beginning of the book, or as her friend Lucy calls it, a â€Å"grass widow,† she has the ambition to work and help Bert provide for their family. This book touches on a different aspect of gender expectations because during this time period many of the men did not have jobs and the women were the one’s working and earning money. This is evident through her ex-husband Bert, and her new husband (later in the film), Monty. Neither of them had jobs, she refers to them as loafs, and she does all that she can to provide for them. Mildred is embarrassed by some of the job offerings she got and does not want to disappoint her self-aggrandizing daughter. As mentioned in chapter five, it is obvious that Mildred fears Veda. The novel reads: She was afraid of Veda, of her snobbery, her contempt, her unbreakable spirit. And she was afraid of something that seemed always lurking under Veda’s bland, phony toniness: a cold, cruel, coarse desire to torture her mother, to humiliate her, above everything else, to hurt her. Mildred apparently yearned for warm affection from this child[†¦ ] but all she ever got was a stagy, affected counterfeit. (Cain 86) Mildred was constantly trying to impress Veda and her dreams of becoming rich, whereas in this family’s present state, it was almost impossible. Mildred even had to break down and beat Veda because she had been so vicious toward her when all Mildred ever did was bust her ass to earn enough money for her children. And for a while, Mildred even kept work a secret so that her own children would not have to worry about their family falling apart and finding out that they were lower middle class. One really important part of this book was when Mildred stood up to Veda and said, â€Å"You may not realize it, but everything you have costs money, from the maid that you ordered to go traipsing with you to the pool, to your food, and everything else that you have† (Cain 85). Mildred has a strong will to keep her family strong, but at the same time she faces two weaknesses: sleeping with men, and having a strong devotion to please her daughter Veda, who lives in a fantasy wishing she were upper-class. It is odd because she resorts to sex when she encounters stress and her sexual life is her sense of freedom; but when it comes to her work life, she is constantly on the edge and she does not indulge in it. Work is often what causes the stress in her life. In addition, Monty has the same fantasy as Veda and in the end of the film we see Mildred being pushed away from both of them, and eventually they end up together. Throughout the whole novel, Veda and Monty represent the upper-class and Mildred admires Veda so much because she is a reminder that there is hope to get to a better state during the depression. At one point in the novel Mildred even tells Veda that everything good happens on account of her. Haynes focuses on gender and class as huge themes in this film and he states that: what’s so fascinating about Mildred as a character is the way she has all of this potential for incredible productive and sexual success: a willfulness and a sense that she deserves it. Of course, there are all kinds of things she has to overcome initially, the sense of pride, before she can go out and get a job and work her way up the ladder and discover her innate talents[†¦ ] while at the same time being so thoroughly harnessed to a whole other set of terms that have everything to do with feminine identification and subjectivity, and mothering, and class. (Leyda) After Mildred accepts the fact that she must inherit a job, she becomes very good at what she does and she takes all of her domestic attributes and converts them into the work-field through taking up a job at a restaurant. Compared to the other women and families during the time of depression, many of them lost jobs, large amounts of money, homes, family, and many other things. With these important aspects on the line, Mildred remains strong and uses her willpower to overcome the obstacles thrown her way. This touches on class a lot and Mildred does a phenomenal job at keeping her family secure through this very tough time. As a lower middle class woman stuck in the depression, Mildred was very resilient and hard working toward recovering from the stock market crash and the depression which left her and her family with almost nothing. Another film that deals a lot with gender is the 2009 spine-chilling horror film Splice, directed by Vincenzo Natali. This film features two young genetic engineering scientists, Elsa and Clive, who are trying to discover a new protein for pharmaceutical purposes. The blog post on shaviro. com about this movie reads, â€Å"Splice never departs from being a genre film; but the way it twists genre conventions is powerful and original† (Shaviro). This movie reworks some of the themes and motifs that appeared in Frankenstein and Eraserhead. Throughout the entire film, Elsa seems to be the better educated of the two, but together they create a blob-like figure in each gender, and as they are developing they will soon be presented to their team to show them reproducing. While all of this was happening, Elsa and Clive decide that since they were successful with the first part of their experiment, they would like to make it more challenging and add human DNA to the specimen (although they were told not to because of the dangers) and see what the end result is. Once again, they are successful and they have now created a new creature with human DNA in it. Clive wants to kill it – which shows his aggressive and protective side, two qualities often found in males – but Elsa becomes very attached to it and obtains motherly qualities toward it – which is evidently linked to women gender expectations. Mentioned in the blog post, â€Å"Most of the movie is taken up with Elsa’s â€Å"mothering† of Dren, with Clive as the somewhat distant father figure. And this is where any prejudice that â€Å"mothering† might be â€Å"natural,† or inherently â€Å"feminine,† or inherently hardwired in Elsa’s, or any woman’s, genes, definitively breaks down† (Shaviro). Elsa convinces Clive to keep it alive so that they can â€Å"study it closely,† when all she really wants is to protect it like her own child – it does contain her own DNA after all. She has a horrific style of parenting in that she treats Dren with respect at one moment, and then flips the complete opposite the next. From the interview, the author says that, â€Å"There is clearly something narcissistic and self-obsessed here; all the more so when we learn that Clive wants to have a child, but Elsa is reluctant† (Shaviro). Elsa decides to play it safe and instead of bearing her own child, which would take her away from her work and give her less control, she genetically creates Dren a hybrid of animal DNA as well as her own. As it grows up, they must keep it a secret because they were never authorized to do so by their company. Clive grows very attached and attracted to Dren, but later finds out that Elsa put her own DNA into the creature and he is furious with her and realizes that this is why she had become so obsessive and protective over Dren. She even gets angry with Clive when he refers to Dren as a specimen and not a â€Å"she. † As Elsa and Clive are absentmindedly worrying about their own problems as a couple, the two creatures they created in the beginning, Fred and Ginger, undergo a weird switch. Ginger switches from a male to female while they are presenting their new specimen to their research team. In this part of the film Ginger and Fred (both males at this point) brutally murder each other instead of reproducing like intended, leaving the audience in shock with blood and guts flying freely. Because Elsa and Clive were so involved in Dren and had been neglecting their real experiment, everything went wrong. This goes to show just how restricted the gender expectations are among humans. It labels males as violent and aggressive, especially toward each other, which touches on the way society sees gay men and how unacceptable it appears to be. Another few actions that represent the expectations of gender are when Elsa treats Dren like her own child and forces a motherly figure, and when Clive has sex with Dren. This scene is really disturbing because one, the creature isn’t human, and two, Dren has some of his girlfriend’s DNA in her. Toward the end of the film things get even worse. Dren also switches from female to male and attacks a few people and then kills Clive with the retractable stinger in his tail, then he rapes Elsa and Elsa gets away and kills him before he does anymore destruction. This points out that men are very inclined to sex and are almost seen as uncontrollable. It also makes women seem more vulnerable, especially with Elsa being raped by Dren later in the film. In the very last scene of the film, Elsa is pregnant with Dren’s baby and is going to have the baby and give it to the company for more experimentation and does not seem to care, even though it is very crude. The interview reads, â€Å"Splice‘s focus upon a woman instead of a man as the â€Å"mad scientist† figure whose creations ultimately lead to catastrophe has been quite a point of contention† (Shaviro) and this is a different aspect to the movie Frankenstein, which was basically the same plot with a ale scientist and no technology. In conclusion the interview claimed, â€Å"Gender roles are oddly reinforced[†¦ ] The film entirely scrambles our sense of what is natural and what is artificial† (Shaviro). Splice is very twisted and touches on a lot of weird expectations that society has made out for men and women. It paints men to be very controlling, defiant, and drawn toward sex, and it paints women to be very motherly, protective of their c hildren, and caring toward others.

Classroom Community Investigative Paper Essay

Feeling a sense of community is important for almost anyone. Even now, in college, the students in the Elementary Education Program at Utah Valley University are in cohorts. Why? To help us find others who we have common interests with, and who can help us learn and grow into great teachers. Because being in an environment where we feel safe as well as feeling a sense of belonging is important. Developing a classroom community for elementary students is imperative. A student who feels comfortable in the classroom will be able to learn and grow because they will not be afraid to make mistakes in front of others, and they will learn to appreciate the opinions of others. The sooner a child learns to work with and value others, the better. This not only benefits a person during their school years, but is an important part of success later in life. One tool we have learned about this semester to improve classroom community is morning meetings. Though I have not personally seen an elementary classroom morning meeting in action, the evidence of its success that I have seen and heard from our guest speaker, Sylvia Allan, as well as what I have read in our text books and researched online, has convinced me to try morning meetings in my own classroom. Our morning meeting packet states that morning meetings build a classroom community, which may improve student test scores. That is great reason to try them. Earlier in the semester when we were introduced to morning meetings, I was so excited. My goal as a teacher has always been to value every student. I was thrilled to have been given a tool that would do just that. My focus for morning meetings will be to help each child in my classroom realize how important and irreplaceable they are. Morning meetings will help to create an atmosphere of trust, which is essential for optimal student learning. The responsive classroom. org states that morning meetings â€Å"Build community, increase student investment, and improve academic and social skills. † That is exactly what I hope to do with them. Using the morning meeting tool in our own college classroom has been an effective tool for me as a student. Because I transferred from another cohort this semester, I did not know anyone else in our cohort. Participating in morning meeting has given me the opportunity to learn more about the other people in our class. Learning about the similarities I share with these people has allowed me to make connections with some of the students in my class, and has made me feel more comfortable and more willing to participate. I plan to use the morning meeting format as it is presented in the morning meeting packet with a few modifications. The greeting, sharing, group activity, and news and announcements portions are all important for the children to get to know one another and feel comfortable in the classroom. However, I will probably just write the news and announcements on the board and briefly go over it with the class because I plan to be teaching older grades. I would also like to add memorization of a poem each day, as well as a fun saying a la Silvia Allan. I like these ideas because it gives me the opportunity to prove to my principal that morning meetings are not only effective in building a classroom community, they are academic as well. I plan to initiate full morning meetings into my classroom on the first day of school. Because I have not actually used them in an elementary classroom setting yet, I am not sure if I will do every component every day. For example, the greeting may have to be on Mondays only due to time constraints. I also may not do a group activity every day. I may use this time as an opportunity to work on a concept I noticed the entire class had a hard time with. For example, if most of the class had a difficult time learning a math concept the day before, I would have a student with a good understanding of the concept explain it to the class while we are in morning meeting while the positive classroom community juice is flowing. Hopefully, the students who are having a difficult time with the concept will feel less threatened because we are working on the concept during morning meeting time, not math time. So how does a classroom community lead to differentiation in the classroom? Having a classroom where students feel accepted and accepting allows the teacher to be able to make accommodations for students who need it because the rest of the class understands why they need it. One of my favorite â€Å"Hallmarks of a Differentiated Classroom† that describes this in detail is â€Å"shared responsibility for the classroom between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone†. When students feel comfortable in the classroom and care about their fellow classmates, students are willing to share their strengths with the rest of the class for the betterment of others. They also realize their limits and are willing to strengthen them by learning from other students. A classroom community is a very important part of a successful classroom. It gives students a place where they feel comfortable and are not afraid to make mistakes. Students who feel comfortable in the classroom are more willing to make mistakes and learn from them, thus giving them a better opportunity to achieve their full potential. I am excited to use morning meetings in my classroom to build a successful classroom community.

Case Study on D.I.a Baggage Handling System Essay

According to the initial plan, the project was to span from 1989 to 1993 and cost $1.7 billion. The opening of the airport was delayed four times due to problems with the baggage handling system. Overall 16 long months and a final cost of $4.5 billion. Several factors contributed to this fiasco, ranging from deficient scheduling, simple and untested technology, complexity of the systems and requirements that changed throughout the project itself. Let us take a look back at why Denver International Airport would take on such a project. The vision was to implement the largest automated baggage handling system the world had seen and allows Denver International Airport to be hailed as the air transportation hub, the largest in the United States with a capacity to handle more than 50 million passengers annually. The airport was to replace the Stapleton International Airport, a facility that had experienced serious congestion issues. Of course in order to handle that kind of capacity part of this plan involved implementing an automated baggage handling system, this was the critical piece of the plan. This report discusses the difficulties encountered as a direct result of a poor project plan, communication and implementation. Analyses have been done by many groups regarding this debacle and the failures itself are examples that are used to show the improper project management that was used. First, let us briefly discuss what tried to be accomplished. The Denver International Airport wanted to introduce a baggage system that when operational would rely on a network of computers (approx. 300) to route the bags and then approximately 4000 auto-cars to drive the luggage on a 21-mile track, completely autonomous. There were to be laser scanners used to read bar codes on luggage with tags and that would route them to the correct terminal or location. Sounds simple enough however BAE was the company that would try to bring this all to reality and would be one of the largest airports built in the United States since 1974. United Airlines was one of the main drivers and reasons for the push for a high-speed automated baggage system (http://www5.in.tum.de/~huckle/schloh_DIA.pdf). This was all requested and scoped early in the planning phase. Now prior to deciding how to proceed the officials had thought each airline would develop its own systems, but this failed to occur so the Airport looked into purchasing a system to handle all terminals baggage. The scope of such a project would not find traditional methods as those were too investigated. A man named Frank Kwapniewski, would be the site project manager â€Å"lucky† enough to call this project his â€Å"baby†. BAE had more than twenty some programmers working undistracted for two years to write software to handle all the automated needs of luggage, the engineers, which took just as long in their initial efforts of development. The initial design’s failures were inconsistency, so BAE sought to reduce such confusion and mishap, and wanted to understand the complex nature, however even a more scrutinous view would have foreshadowed the mishap of making such a large system functionally. Richard de Neufville stated in an excerpt from his book that the theoretical studies, models and reports regarding the automated baggage system at Denver were avoidable and should never be repeated (Neufville). BAE’s design flaws of complexity and the effects thereafter were a result of improper project planning and scope. The complexity of what it would take to operate and control automated machinery was never addressed or fully tested prior to implementation. Even after work ended when it was turned on and expected to work as intended, Denver officials were surprised at how poor it performed even enough to turn off the system. Let us take a moment to look at how complex this system truly was and how BAE design and planning failed to gain a glimpse of what it would take to operate such a daunting task. An empty cart is called and needs to go from one track to another, albeit simple sounding, this type of activity would have had to take place over a thousand times a minute under normal operating conditions. Since there were differences or variances in demand for empty carts throughout the airport, empty ones must continually switch direction, change tracks or completely change to another loop in the circuit. This is a logistics nightmare as one can imagine on such scale, so many variables to account for and they must do it error free. This was not using modern technology but even still it would have had to been almost instant decision making on again an error free basis. Typical systems with around 10k function points are cancelled approximately 65 percent of the time (capers Jones). In Denver, though the system’s workload hindered the network terribly to around 4000 tele-cars or auto-cars. These 1994 computers were tracking so many cars that several times a minute they mis-t racked just simply due to timing limitations. The planning of such a system was again originally contracted by United in 1991 to build, however after several years into it, BAE was concerned that the city of Denver still had not contracted for a baggage system. Sadly, the baggage system was nothing more than an afterthought of the design of the airport, AFTER construction began, let me make sure you understand that AFTER construction had begun and only then did the details surrounding the baggage handling system start to begin. This of course caused major problems due to limitations of resources that were not allocated properly which would contain the baggage system’s tracks and other components. The system then was made to fit in the underground tunnels and space available, not designed. These auto-carts had sharp turns now to make which again was not part of any plan. The schedule that BAE or timetable rather that they had set for the grand opening was not remotely realistic and as all good projects should do, have taken into consideration any potential issues along the way. BAE officials were even quoted as stating â€Å"We knew that was not long enough and we said so. It is a job that ought to take twice as long† (Why Technology Projects Fail). They knew but accepted the timetable of 4 years when they knew it should take 7 to 8 years for such a task. Denver Aviation Director James C DeLong even stated they just misjudged the timeline completely. The project as most will when unrealistic deadlines are given will continue to fall behind more and more, which then calls for more rapid work, longer hours which can lead, as the case here, to human error since the training and testing period were almost non-existent to meet the make-believe deadline. One of the other common misnomers in this project was the frequency and number of changes to its requirements, not a refining of them, but completely adding new functionality along the way. When the company BAE, took on the task, unrealistic as this sounds they took it on with anticipating no changes at all. As soon as work began though, Denver officials began changing plans and timetables without consulting either the airlines or BAE. Sadly, when changes were made to one piece of the system, the ramifications they made to other pieces was not clearly understood or the system as a whole. Again to reduce costs and save time, it was decided to remove an entire loop of track, from one of the concourses, this saved them 20 million, keep that figure in mind as later the system as a whole would cost them much more in the months after being deployed. Other such changes were made to save money, such as relocation of stations and addition of middle sub floor for baggage platforms that they referred to as the mezzanine baggage platform. Another airline also demanded the request for large baggage link. As the project matured, prior to implementation its scope size and complexity, along with design changed which increased the systems difficulties on a technical level that would continually deter progress. BAE then later chooses to decentralize all of the tracking and sorting computers, all these changes to scope should have led to review of alternate or contingency planning or delayed launch dates. However due to the shortened development and testing timetable, on the fly changes which should have required major pushback from core team members were â€Å"duct-taped† as I like to refer to it. One of the directors of engineering for the DIA, stated that BAE should have paid more attention to the programming issues early enough in the design phase. Lack of system testing, what I have I continuously stated all semester long about system testing and end-user testing, as a project manager most would agree, more than 75% of all IS projects are hampered by quality issue and 1 percent which are completed on time. I see reasons behind such statistics is not enough testing. I would advise any IT PMP to read ePMbook which is an online e-book regarding scope and project control, as was the case here a project that started out to be huge, got even bigger and eventually spiraled out of control. The ePM Book will has an excellent section that the BAE, airline and Denver City officials should have read prior to beginning step 2 of the project. They should have implemented any change coming through a request known now as a Change Request form. These forms are used to control the project’s scope and allow for the Project Lead, along with the core team, which requests can and will be made part of the original project and which can be sla ted as next phase or next step after implementation. It almost sounds as if this project never had a Change Control Process (CCP) whatsoever, if it did whoever was in charge of such did a horrible job, this CCP should exist throughout a project. It allows for requests to acknowledged in a timely fashion within a phase, and most important to determine impact in the planning for the next phase. This as stated on the site can be easier than de-railing the entire project due to shortening length of next step phases in the project path due to scope creep. Airlines kept changing the requirements, which resulted in numerous issues. One of the major reasons the whole thing went awry stems from BAE, the company that designed the system had previously implemented a similar system in Germany. The IT infrastructure was inadequate and design was not meant for such a large scale as that at the DIA. Well sadly it was not just a lesson for the DIA, BAE and Denver, but the taxpayers also ended up with a $1 million PER DAY cost, totaling $500 million by the end of the whole ordeal. Remember that 22 million they saved, good thing huh. Now let us think about how more time spent in analysis and design phase, let alone a Change control process, saved Colorado taxpayers millions of dollars. Since every project has a set of deliverables, assigned budget and expected closure time, there are agreed upon requirements and tasks to complete prior to the closure of a project. These constitute a project’s scope. The PMBoK clearly speaks to creeping scope and defines it adding features and functionality without addressing the effects on TIME, COST, and RESOURCES or without customer approval (PMBOK Version 4). References A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK ® Guide) (4th ed.).(2008). Newtown Square, Pa.: Project Management Institute. Brooks, F.P. (1995). The mythical man month: Essays on software engineering. (Anniversary Ed.). Boston: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. JOHNSON, K. (2005, August 27). Denver Airport Saw the Future. It Didn’t Work. – New York Times. The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. From http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/27/national/27denver.html?pagewanted=al lchloh_DIA.pdf Neufville, R., & Odoni, A. R. (2003). Airport systems: planning design, and management. New York: McGraw-Hill. New Denver Airport: Impact of the Delayed Baggage System — GAO/RCED-95-35BR. (n.d.). RITA | National Transportation Library. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/rc9535br.html Scope & Change Control. (n.d.). Project Management and Program Management – The FREE ePMbook by Simon Wallace. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from http://www.epmbook.com/scope.htm Wiegers, K. (2003). Software Requirements (Second ed.). Redmond: Microsoft Press. Why Technology Projects Fail. (n.d.). Calleam Consulting – LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://www5.in.tum.de/~huckle/DIABaggage.pdf