How Music Affects Concentration and Work Efficiency Essay

Research on the brain has been immense. The scientific study of the brain has become an essential endeavor in understanding human life. Music has been found to have profound effect on the brain. Psychologists and scientists have been looking at the link between music, with mood, work efficiency and concentration for years. In our experiment, we hope to find a correlation between a specific genre of music and greater work efficiency and concentration. We plan to give Miami University students a brief reading comprehension test while listening to a certain genre of music (rock, rap, classical, instrumental, techno, and no music).  After testing 90 students, we hope to reach a conclusion about what music helps concentration and work efficiency. If we are able to come to a conclusion, we will have a study skill that will help college students perform better on tests and with homework. Introduction: In this study we seek to examine the correlations between music and the mind. We hope to uncover the profound impact that various genres of music can have on concentration and comprehension. We hypothesize, that classical music, along with soothing and instrumental music will benefit concentration greater than rock and roll music or pieces featuring fast and wild rhythms. Our research question for this project is what specific music will benefit concentration and comprehension greatestNif at all. After researching other studies that have done on the link between music and concentration, we predict that listening to different types of music while answering questions will indeed affect the subjectOs concentration and work efficiency. In specific, we predict that classical music will help our brain with concentration tasks. From our various studies and tests we hope to discover this helpful link between music’s affect on the mind and use the results to enact better habits in our own lives. Our group wanted to perform an experiment that has validity to a personOs everyday life. Because all of our group members are in college and feel the pressure and stress to accumulate good grades, we thought it would be a great idea to help ease the anxiety by finding a method to help with our studying. If our hypothesis turns out conclusive, it will be beneficial for people to listen to classical music while studying. We have hopes that we will find a genre of music that helps the mind concentrate more efficiently. If we can accomplish our goal by coming to a definite answer to our question our experiment will be successful. We believe that this study is interesting because the vast majority of college students, ourselves included, enjoy music and seek ways to incorporate our music in studying. As college students, we also want to find ways to improve our grades and success at taking tests. If we can find a way in which music benefits studying and comprehension, we can involve music in our studies thus enhancing the enjoyment of time studying as well as enhancing our learning abilities. Music is powerful. It has the potential to evoke emotions and personality. Because of the profound effects music has on the human race, it has been a common link between cultures around the world for centuries. Not only does music provide entertainment and beautiful sounds, but it has an amazing effect on memory and learning. It has been found that people who study music have better GPAs and are higher achievers than those who aren’t involved in music. It is also true that Hungary, Japan and the Netherlands are the top three academic countries in the world and they all place a great emphasis on music education and participation in music. With that fact, the United States should promote music education in all students and stress the importance of music from an early age when children are curious and adventurous. Through recent scientific studies there has been a much greater understanding on music and itOs psychological effects. There have been countless studies performed to understand the complex correlation of the complicated brain and music. For example, in a study performed by Mark Tarrant, David Hargreaves, and Adrian North, the men sought to examine the manipulation of the mind based on music. In the study, they played music in a gym and examined the moods through testing their subjects immediately following their workout. They offered the participants the ability to help out a charity, thus examining the affect that the music had on them. They measured two different groups, those who listened to annoying music and those who listened to uplifting music. The results revealed that the uplifting music did in fact manipulate the mind by causing the subjects to be more supportive, while the people who listened to the annoying music were short-tempered and unhelpful. Another famous study has dealt with how MozartOs masterpieces help concentration and memorization when studying for academics. It has been found in many different studies that because of the mathematical rhythms in MozartOs musical pieces, mental clarity is enhanced, therefore improving study skills. After researching this study, our group was able to construct our own hypothesis. The study also made us more hopeful that our hypothesis would turn our conclusive. An experiment performed by Teresa Lesiuk dealt with the effect of listening to music on work performance. She concluded that quality of work and time-on-task work was least efficient with no music. Her experiment showed that people produce more quality work while listening to music and they finish their work faster when listening to music. It also stated that work environments with music help employee moods. This study helps our experiment, but lacks the difference in music genres on work efficiency. With our experiment, we will be able to take this specific study even further by finding out what specific genre of music helps work efficiency and mood. Exploring multiple sources and studies performed by other scientists has only helped strengthen our own experiment and shed light onto different facets of our study. With the help of outside information, we hope to provide a well constructed experiment with reliable results. From our research, we have built a vast base of knowledge on not only music’s effects on the mind, but mood, tension, and other factors which could possibly hinder our experiment. The knowledge we have gained on the diverse human responses to various genres of music have helped support our belief that music can in fact have both beneficial and harmful consequences. Our study seeks to examine not only our narrowly defined question, but several broader inquiries. Walking into King Library, there are a vast number of students hard at work while tuned into their iPods. In our study, we seek to examine what genre of music will be most beneficial. On a larger scale however, our study examines several broader topics and has many far reaching effects on student’s lives. The study will work to reach conclusions on how students can improve academic performance as well as comprehension and mental efficiency. In researching this topic, we have come across many studies that also explore the link between music and the mind. Hargreaves, David, Mark Tarrant, and Adrian North. â€Å"The Effects of Music on Helping Behavior. † Environment and Behavior 36 (2004). 10 Sep 2005 . This was an extremely beneficial study was performed on this topic by Mark Tarrant, David Hargreaves, and Adrian North. These men sought to examine the manipulation of the mind based on music. They played music in a gym and examined the moods through testing their subjects immediately following their workout. They offered the participants the ability to help out a charity, thus examining the affect that the music had on them. They had two different groups which they measured those who listened to annoying music and those who listened were exposed to uplifting music. The results revealed that the uplifting music did in fact manipulate the mind by causing the subjects to be more supportive. Weinberger, Norman . The Mozart Effect: A Small Part of the Big Picture. 7 ed. Sacramento: Regents of the University of California, 2000. One particular article we came across examined the effect of classical music’s mathematical rhythms. According to their studies, the format of the mathematical rhythms in Mozart’s pieces contain various factors which enhance mental clarity. Lesiuk, Teresa. â€Å"The Effect of music listening on work performance. † Psychology of Music. Vol. 33, No. 2, 173-191 (2005). . This journal article found results that indicate that in a work environment, quality of work is lowest with no music and time-on-task was longest with no music as well. It also states the environments with music help mood and increase quality of work when music is present. We hope that our experiment shows these results as well. Platel, H. The Structural Components of Music Perception. A Functional Anatomical Study. † Brain. Vol 120, Issue 2: 229-243. Oxford University Press 1997. This journal article relates to our experiment in a more medical standpoint. Their experiment explores the relationship between the cerebral structures and music appreciation. It is essential that we look at medical journal articles so we understand the medical basis to our experiment. Our mind is complex and extraordinary and music plays a profound affect on our brain and the way it works. McCraty, R. â€Å"The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity. Pub Med. 1998 Jan; 4 (1): 75-84. 7 Sep 2005. . This journal article touched on not only music and its effect on work efficiency, but also music’s effect on tension, mood and mental clarity. Because it includes more than just mental clarity, it gives us more information and research to work with. The study found that designer music (music made to have a specific effect on the listener) increased positive feelings and concentration levels. This journal article has many similarities to our experiment and coincides with our hypothesis. Florentine, Mary. â€Å"On the Behavioral Characteristics of Loud-Music Listening. Ear and Hearing: The Official Journal of the American Auditory Society. 19(6):420-428, 1998 Dec. This journal discusses behavior and its link to listening excessively to loud music. They created a survey and test 90 subjects. Eight of the surveyors showed behaviors that are present in substance abusers. This is relevant to our experiment because we will be using rock and other types of loud music to measure concentration„this journal taps into the musical category. Sweeney, J. C. â€Å"The Role of Cognitions and Emotions in the Music-approach-avoidance Behavior Relationhip. Journal of Services Marketing. Vol 16, 1: 51-69. March 2002. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. This study dealt with an experiment in a women’s fashion store. This journal differed from the other’s we researched, however it touched on a different aspect of our experiment. The journal states that music affects customer’s perceptions of service quality as well as feelings of arousals in terms of a women’s fashion store. After reading different journals like this one, it is obvious that music affects all aspects of life, not just mood and concentration. McCraty, Rollin. The Effects of Different Types of Music on Mood, Tension, and Mental Clarity. † HeartMath 76 (2002). 17 Sep 2005 . A third study we found, looked into the connections between music, mood, and mental clarity. They sought to test the different effects that diverse genres of music had on subjects through psychological questioning and profiling. They tested four genres of music from various corners of the music world; Grunge Rock, New Age, Classical, and Designer. The results were conclusive in revealing that grunge rock evoked hostility and greatly reduced mental clarity and motivation. We found this particularly important to our studies as we also plan to test primarily college students who commonly listen to grunge music. Carroll, Robert Todd. â€Å"Mozart Effect. † The Skeptic’s Dictionary 2005. . This article explores the effect that Mozart music has on the mind. It gives the history of the scientist who examined this issue. They included statistics to prove their case the students do better when they are exposed to Mozart and classical music. This article correlates to our hypothesis that classical music will improve concentration.

SWOT Analysis of Tesco in UK

Tesco’s reputation for low cost products, can gain fair-trade cotton clothing substantial market share in the UK. Tesco’s growth in the insurance sector provides financial strength to Tesco in UK. Another important factor is the increasing growth of online sales and fair-trade cotton clothing could be included in these sales. The Brand recognition of Tesco in UK is an important strength and will help fair-trade cotton clothing. Weaknesses: The weaknesses of Tesco are that it is still largely dependent on UK for its sales. it is doubtful if it will support fair-trade cotton clothing objectives. The business model that Tesco is using is suitable for UK and not for the rest of the world. Even though Tesco sales are growing from low priced items there is fall in sale of non-essential and high priced products. If fair-trade cotton clothing are perceived as non-essential, its sales objectives will not be achieved. Tesco has suffered from bad debt, credit card arrears and household insurance claims. This is financially debilitating. Opportunities: Tesco can exercise a high degree of buying power to ensure that it has economies of scale in its fair-trade cotton clothing line. The growth opportunities n Europe and Asia provides excellent opportunities for growth. Most importantly, the growth of online sales shows excellent opportunity for increasing the sales of Tesco. Threats: Increasing fair-trade cotton clothing prices can lead to lower sales and lower profits for Tesco. Change in consumer buying patterns n the UK because of change in technology can lead to loss of customers in UK. SWOT Analysis of Tesco in Germany: Strengths; The Tesco brand recognition gives it a good start for fair-trade cotton clothing in Germany. The Germans are known to avoid uncertainness, ambiguity and unquantifiable risk. In case of Tesco they are buying from a well recognized brand. The brand value of Tesco will work very well in Germany. Further, the global market place recognition of â€Å"Retailer of the Year 2008† provides substantiation to the German customer about fair-trade cotton clothing. Weaknesses: German financial industry is very circumspect and will consider the debt of Tesco in the UK before it gives finance for store expansion for fair-trade cotton clothing in Germany. The reputation of Tesco for acquiring competing store chains may also be held against the company in Germany. Acquisition is a risky move, and Germans are averse to risk. Opportunities: Fair-trade cotton clothing in Germany has good opportunity because it has the endorsement of Tesco brand; it has the marketing channels of Tesco, and the backing of an excellent product mix. If fair-trade cotton clothing offers a good product for money it will get a good reception in Germany. Threats: The low priced fair-trade cotton clothing could lead to price wars. In addition, there can be low profitability because of competitive moves for Tesco. Finally, international competitors like Wal-Mart could add a cotton line in Germany to compete with Tesco.

Bcg Matrixs Problems and Its Reconstruction

It illustrated two main problems (interpretation and logistical problem), which related to understanding the role of MAS in strategic sensemaking. The interpretation perspective defined strategic sensemaking as a learning process, and interactive use of MAS have positive influences. However, interactive perspective neglects the relationship between MAS use and MAS dimension. The logistical perspective just said MAS dimensions is important in this information processing, but not explain how MAS dimensions contribute to strategic sensemaking. Both information processing did not deal with these problems. Theoretical framework In the literature view authors defined strategic sensemaking as the individual process of observing, interpreting, and communicating strategic issues. Through these three successive processes to understand how managers use the management accounting system and how MAS dimensions contribute to this use. Management accounting system in the observation phase, there are two characteristic modes of observation – scanning and focused search. Scanning behaviour can provide managers with different perspectives on strategic issues and it is more likely to accommodate new information. However, managers are more likely to use MAS for focused search, which can faster identificated the problems in areas covered by the system. It is required by executives because the limited attention capacity to achieve targets. We must concerned that the statistical analysis and data mining technique can reveal the weak value information from the various kinds of data which people usually cannot find out directly. High level of formalization as the character of MAS that focus attention on selected areas, whereas potential loss at other important areas and cause constrain the information. Authors said consistent data will reduce scanning behaviour and may decrease the possibility that strategic issues are identified. We thought these situations will occur, but managers use the MAS for focused search is inevitable. How to use their MAS for scanning and focused search together and have the greatest efficiency is worth considering. In the interpretation phase, authors thought manager’s awareness is a key factor to interpret strategic issues accurately. Reliable information related to controliability perceptions and external information can reduce bias, errors and potential to increase confidence in judgement by consistent information. Therefore, MAS also can increase awareness during issue interpretation. Manager’s awareness and more extra information were useful, but managers use MAS determine strategic issues is important as well. Another point about MAS in form of short-termism have side-effects and harmful to the interpretation of strategic can balance the effect of short-term performance. Correct form and flexible MAS information style are other factors effect strategic issues. However, we felt that this point may not key point in this phase. Authors stated find more extra information with a great degree of manager’s awareness to interpretation strategic issues. In the final phase – communication phase, authors introduce a new definition about media richness, which separated by three levels. High media richness of MAS should have a positive effect on sensemaking, but did not have enough evidence to prove there have positive influences. On the other hand, managers use interactive MAS has positive impact on communication which reduced equivocality of strategic issues. The interactive use of MAS contributes to strategic sensemaking by providing directions and facilitating interactive that help to resolve equivocality of strategic issues is the biggest positive effect in communication phase. Authors further described the quality dimension of MAS, and proposed that when evaluating the MAS’s effectiveness, not only the information characteristics, but the system quality dimensions (integration, flexibility, accessibility, formalisation and media richness) should be considerate. Of course, the integration analysis of information quality dimensions and system quality dimensions will give the comprehensive assessment of MAS’s role in stagey sensemaking. Authors have given the overall research framework. Information and system quality dimensions, both impact the three phases, which in turn impacts the effectiveness of MAS for strategic sensemanking. However, in our view, the research framework is too coarse. Is there interaction between the information quality and system quality? If exist, how is its impact on the MAS effectiveness, Are there any counteraction from MAS use to information quality and system quality? All these question are not involved. Impact of MAS on Processes in Strategic Sensemaking Authors of the article use some statistics to explain how MAS influence processes in strategic sensemaking. We think they have interpreted what MAS can bring to companies. On observation, from doing some research and statistics analyzing, they get a high association between interactive use and focused search supports the notion that managers use MAS to look for specific information that is useful to discuss strategic issues. It is useful for us to understand the influence of MAS. On interpretation, they say some people suggest that the processes to prepare MAS information can also increase awareness. It is a positive impact. They also doubt whether a high level of MAS formalization negatively impacts in strategic sensemaking. But they do not say how to solve this problem. If a high level of MAS formalization has been used in companies, how to avoid changes and risks? On communication, they analyze particularly what positive impact MAS can bring in strategic sensemaking, such as on communication. In strategic sensemaking it is important that information concerning strategic issues is communicated to managers who have complementary information or are able to take action. † We all agree this point of view. Authors also tell us that there are two kinds of interaction when asked about the role of MAS information. It can help us understand what MAS information can help to companies. However, it does not say how the system can function effectively between mana gers and staff. For example, how to forecast negative problems occur in the future? How to make this system flexibility in order to be suitable for more and more companies? We think there are still more important views do not be mentioned in this article. Although they use some cases to show some positive impact, it does not mean that systems are perfect. And the article does not tell us how to avoid any other questions such as how to avoid some risks when MAS be used. We agree that there must have some unstable elementary. We find another article talks about the effectiveness of management accounting systems. It also does not mention how managers can use it effectively. Because there may have some negatively impacts if every manager use a high level of MAS formalization. From these two articles we can find that it is essential to solve this problem. We think there must have some risks if the level of management accounting system becomes too high. Although it has many positive impacts, it still cannot forecast risks in the future. Many managers try to deal with this problem through tools, but this is not sustainable. A good management accounting system should be a long-term management system not just a high level system. It should consider risks and changes for companies in the future. We suggest that do more research for this system. Asking more managers for this system is essential, in order to find some negative impacts and solve them. Research Methodology Authors focus on measurement instruments of observation communication, and effectiveness of management accounting system in strategic sensemaking to make this research. Because the limited empirical evidence, complex and broad phenomenon, the most of relationships suggested are only tentative. Therefore, the authors of the article state that: we chose an exploratory multiple-case design with 30 top and middle managers of 7 large companies in Germany. In the aspect of select sample, the authors introduce too detailed of the sample, and the range of the sample just limited in the companies of Germany. No explanation for the professional term such as replication logic. The highlight of this article is that authors collect data through semi-structured interview and a questionnaire. The diversified methods of data collection can obtain different result to be analyzed. Although the author has taken some steps to reduce hindsight bias and allow the identification of unconscious effects of MAS in strategic sensemaking, the authors do not explain why the data have to be avoiding these situations and how these data affect the result in the part of semi-structured interviews. In the aspect of questionnaire, the authors quote a large number of words to introduce and explain which methods and aspects they used for data collection and analyze of the questionnaire. However, authors do not explain the absent questionnaire whether it is influence the survey or not. Furthermore, the incomplete questionnaire might affect the accuracy of the result possibly. For analysis result, authors should explain more particularly and do not just use two number of percentages to illustrate. This paper needs some specific data to support the summary in the research. We suggest that authors can add more explanations for the professional term and reduce some unnecessary introduction such as for sample or give more detailed data in the appendix. Comparison to another article We compared this article with another similar one. The title of the comparison article is â€Å"The effectiveness of management accounting systems† by Teerooven Soobaroyen and Bhagtaraj Poorundersing. In Teerooven’s paper, Regarding that there is little consideration of other more mainstream contextual factors such as uncertainty and decentralization(DEC) applied on research of the effectiveness of MAS, in addition to the information quality dimensions, in assessment of effectiveness of MAS, they focused on the effect of two contextual variables, namely task uncertainty (TU) and DEC. They thought the absence of evidence on its actual timeliness, aggregation and integration may limit the benefits of knowing how far broad scope information has had am impact in the first place. Moreover, traditional methods usually are carried under some hypothetical conditions which often opposed to actual conditions, and this could undermine the practicality or validity of the results. Considering the impact of situational variables on the state of available MAS will be more near the practical situation. That the evidence on the influence of contingent variables in the relationship between MAS and managerial performance remains incomplete and of limited usefulness also make it reasonable. However, unlike Teerooven’s paper, the author of this paper take consideration of system quality dimensions in addition to information quality dimensions, they recognised that not only the information quality itself but also the system performance on processing information can have impact on the analysis of MAS’s role. In these two articles, both of them have their own emphasis, however, if combing their thoughts, more comprehensive, more extract evaluation of MAS would be acquired. The same aspects in select sample, there are more researchers and set out the requirements of sample selection in the comparison article. The author comments that â€Å"in this respect, the following lists and databases were used to triangulate and identify a reasonably full and reliable list of manufacturing companies†¦.. † In the aspect of research method, the choose of this article are compared as deeper discussion of this research. Teerooven comment that: MAS play a significant intervening role between task uncertainty (TU) and decentralization (DEC)†. We feel that it is relevant to make valid comparison. The author chose to conduct their research using a questionnaire survey. Although we believe that the interview of semi-structured and questionnaire are superior to just sending out questionnaires, the comparison article may produce more accurate result due to using a large amount of research objects and screening by Teerooven and Bhagtaraj. For the aspect of design questionnaire, the highlight of the comparison article is that there are total 41 questions which are divided into five parts about MAS. According to the different management structure of the companies, the authors of the comparison article design two different questionnaires which are â€Å"Sale/marketing manager† and â€Å"Production/operations manager† and give full of time to respond within three weeks. The design of questionnaire has played an important role for the research result. In the aspect of research result, authors also have clearly classified above all aspect. There are not present in the article and we feel that this is a major weakness of the article by Marcus, Utz and Susanne. On the other hand, the comparison article have put into data result and the questionnaire template in the appendix. We feel that authors can expand the range of sample selection or add another research method to analyze. Conclusion According to the knowledge what we learn and some relevant knowledge what we not familiar with, we are not sure that we propose some questions and doubt is reasonable. But we feel that the article have some questions like that the research framework is unsophisticated, there is not correlative between information quality and system quality and the problem is when the company has use the high level MAS formalized, which methods are used to improve and reduce the risk. For details of the problems, the author can deal with a more particularly and improve some shortcomings, to make the article more fluently, such as no explanation for the professional term. Bibliography Poorundersing. B and Soobaroyen,T (2008) The effectiveness of management accounting systems, published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Available at: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. libaccess. hud. ac. uk/journals. htm? issn=0268-6902volume=23issue=2articleid=1641976show=pdfPHPSESSID=lcnec7hn2ja606agg4g49si4u5 [accessed at 20 March 2012 ] Bcg Matrixs Problems and Its Reconstruction It illustrated two main problems (interpretation and logistical problem), which related to understanding the role of MAS in strategic sensemaking. The interpretation perspective defined strategic sensemaking as a learning process, and interactive use of MAS have positive influences. However, interactive perspective neglects the relationship between MAS use and MAS dimension. The logistical perspective just said MAS dimensions is important in this information processing, but not explain how MAS dimensions contribute to strategic sensemaking. Both information processing did not deal with these problems. Theoretical framework In the literature view authors defined strategic sensemaking as the individual process of observing, interpreting, and communicating strategic issues. Through these three successive processes to understand how managers use the management accounting system and how MAS dimensions contribute to this use. Management accounting system in the observation phase, there are two characteristic modes of observation – scanning and focused search. Scanning behaviour can provide managers with different perspectives on strategic issues and it is more likely to accommodate new information. However, managers are more likely to use MAS for focused search, which can faster identificated the problems in areas covered by the system. It is required by executives because the limited attention capacity to achieve targets. We must concerned that the statistical analysis and data mining technique can reveal the weak value information from the various kinds of data which people usually cannot find out directly. High level of formalization as the character of MAS that focus attention on selected areas, whereas potential loss at other important areas and cause constrain the information. Authors said consistent data will reduce scanning behaviour and may decrease the possibility that strategic issues are identified. We thought these situations will occur, but managers use the MAS for focused search is inevitable. How to use their MAS for scanning and focused search together and have the greatest efficiency is worth considering. In the interpretation phase, authors thought manager’s awareness is a key factor to interpret strategic issues accurately. Reliable information related to controliability perceptions and external information can reduce bias, errors and potential to increase confidence in judgement by consistent information. Therefore, MAS also can increase awareness during issue interpretation. Manager’s awareness and more extra information were useful, but managers use MAS determine strategic issues is important as well. Another point about MAS in form of short-termism have side-effects and harmful to the interpretation of strategic can balance the effect of short-term performance. Correct form and flexible MAS information style are other factors effect strategic issues. However, we felt that this point may not key point in this phase. Authors stated find more extra information with a great degree of manager’s awareness to interpretation strategic issues. In the final phase – communication phase, authors introduce a new definition about media richness, which separated by three levels. High media richness of MAS should have a positive effect on sensemaking, but did not have enough evidence to prove there have positive influences. On the other hand, managers use interactive MAS has positive impact on communication which reduced equivocality of strategic issues. The interactive use of MAS contributes to strategic sensemaking by providing directions and facilitating interactive that help to resolve equivocality of strategic issues is the biggest positive effect in communication phase. Authors further described the quality dimension of MAS, and proposed that when evaluating the MAS’s effectiveness, not only the information characteristics, but the system quality dimensions (integration, flexibility, accessibility, formalisation and media richness) should be considerate. Of course, the integration analysis of information quality dimensions and system quality dimensions will give the comprehensive assessment of MAS’s role in stagey sensemaking. Authors have given the overall research framework. Information and system quality dimensions, both impact the three phases, which in turn impacts the effectiveness of MAS for strategic sensemanking. However, in our view, the research framework is too coarse. Is there interaction between the information quality and system quality? If exist, how is its impact on the MAS effectiveness, Are there any counteraction from MAS use to information quality and system quality? All these question are not involved. Impact of MAS on Processes in Strategic Sensemaking Authors of the article use some statistics to explain how MAS influence processes in strategic sensemaking. We think they have interpreted what MAS can bring to companies. On observation, from doing some research and statistics analyzing, they get a high association between interactive use and focused search supports the notion that managers use MAS to look for specific information that is useful to discuss strategic issues. It is useful for us to understand the influence of MAS. On interpretation, they say some people suggest that the processes to prepare MAS information can also increase awareness. It is a positive impact. They also doubt whether a high level of MAS formalization negatively impacts in strategic sensemaking. But they do not say how to solve this problem. If a high level of MAS formalization has been used in companies, how to avoid changes and risks? On communication, they analyze particularly what positive impact MAS can bring in strategic sensemaking, such as on communication. In strategic sensemaking it is important that information concerning strategic issues is communicated to managers who have complementary information or are able to take action. † We all agree this point of view. Authors also tell us that there are two kinds of interaction when asked about the role of MAS information. It can help us understand what MAS information can help to companies. However, it does not say how the system can function effectively between mana gers and staff. For example, how to forecast negative problems occur in the future? How to make this system flexibility in order to be suitable for more and more companies? We think there are still more important views do not be mentioned in this article. Although they use some cases to show some positive impact, it does not mean that systems are perfect. And the article does not tell us how to avoid any other questions such as how to avoid some risks when MAS be used. We agree that there must have some unstable elementary. We find another article talks about the effectiveness of management accounting systems. It also does not mention how managers can use it effectively. Because there may have some negatively impacts if every manager use a high level of MAS formalization. From these two articles we can find that it is essential to solve this problem. We think there must have some risks if the level of management accounting system becomes too high. Although it has many positive impacts, it still cannot forecast risks in the future. Many managers try to deal with this problem through tools, but this is not sustainable. A good management accounting system should be a long-term management system not just a high level system. It should consider risks and changes for companies in the future. We suggest that do more research for this system. Asking more managers for this system is essential, in order to find some negative impacts and solve them. Research Methodology Authors focus on measurement instruments of observation communication, and effectiveness of management accounting system in strategic sensemaking to make this research. Because the limited empirical evidence, complex and broad phenomenon, the most of relationships suggested are only tentative. Therefore, the authors of the article state that: we chose an exploratory multiple-case design with 30 top and middle managers of 7 large companies in Germany. In the aspect of select sample, the authors introduce too detailed of the sample, and the range of the sample just limited in the companies of Germany. No explanation for the professional term such as replication logic. The highlight of this article is that authors collect data through semi-structured interview and a questionnaire. The diversified methods of data collection can obtain different result to be analyzed. Although the author has taken some steps to reduce hindsight bias and allow the identification of unconscious effects of MAS in strategic sensemaking, the authors do not explain why the data have to be avoiding these situations and how these data affect the result in the part of semi-structured interviews. In the aspect of questionnaire, the authors quote a large number of words to introduce and explain which methods and aspects they used for data collection and analyze of the questionnaire. However, authors do not explain the absent questionnaire whether it is influence the survey or not. Furthermore, the incomplete questionnaire might affect the accuracy of the result possibly. For analysis result, authors should explain more particularly and do not just use two number of percentages to illustrate. This paper needs some specific data to support the summary in the research. We suggest that authors can add more explanations for the professional term and reduce some unnecessary introduction such as for sample or give more detailed data in the appendix. Comparison to another article We compared this article with another similar one. The title of the comparison article is â€Å"The effectiveness of management accounting systems† by Teerooven Soobaroyen and Bhagtaraj Poorundersing. In Teerooven’s paper, Regarding that there is little consideration of other more mainstream contextual factors such as uncertainty and decentralization(DEC) applied on research of the effectiveness of MAS, in addition to the information quality dimensions, in assessment of effectiveness of MAS, they focused on the effect of two contextual variables, namely task uncertainty (TU) and DEC. They thought the absence of evidence on its actual timeliness, aggregation and integration may limit the benefits of knowing how far broad scope information has had am impact in the first place. Moreover, traditional methods usually are carried under some hypothetical conditions which often opposed to actual conditions, and this could undermine the practicality or validity of the results. Considering the impact of situational variables on the state of available MAS will be more near the practical situation. That the evidence on the influence of contingent variables in the relationship between MAS and managerial performance remains incomplete and of limited usefulness also make it reasonable. However, unlike Teerooven’s paper, the author of this paper take consideration of system quality dimensions in addition to information quality dimensions, they recognised that not only the information quality itself but also the system performance on processing information can have impact on the analysis of MAS’s role. In these two articles, both of them have their own emphasis, however, if combing their thoughts, more comprehensive, more extract evaluation of MAS would be acquired. The same aspects in select sample, there are more researchers and set out the requirements of sample selection in the comparison article. The author comments that â€Å"in this respect, the following lists and databases were used to triangulate and identify a reasonably full and reliable list of manufacturing companies†¦.. † In the aspect of research method, the choose of this article are compared as deeper discussion of this research. Teerooven comment that: MAS play a significant intervening role between task uncertainty (TU) and decentralization (DEC)†. We feel that it is relevant to make valid comparison. The author chose to conduct their research using a questionnaire survey. Although we believe that the interview of semi-structured and questionnaire are superior to just sending out questionnaires, the comparison article may produce more accurate result due to using a large amount of research objects and screening by Teerooven and Bhagtaraj. For the aspect of design questionnaire, the highlight of the comparison article is that there are total 41 questions which are divided into five parts about MAS. According to the different management structure of the companies, the authors of the comparison article design two different questionnaires which are â€Å"Sale/marketing manager† and â€Å"Production/operations manager† and give full of time to respond within three weeks. The design of questionnaire has played an important role for the research result. In the aspect of research result, authors also have clearly classified above all aspect. There are not present in the article and we feel that this is a major weakness of the article by Marcus, Utz and Susanne. On the other hand, the comparison article have put into data result and the questionnaire template in the appendix. We feel that authors can expand the range of sample selection or add another research method to analyze. Conclusion According to the knowledge what we learn and some relevant knowledge what we not familiar with, we are not sure that we propose some questions and doubt is reasonable. But we feel that the article have some questions like that the research framework is unsophisticated, there is not correlative between information quality and system quality and the problem is when the company has use the high level MAS formalized, which methods are used to improve and reduce the risk. For details of the problems, the author can deal with a more particularly and improve some shortcomings, to make the article more fluently, such as no explanation for the professional term. Bibliography Poorundersing. B and Soobaroyen,T (2008) The effectiveness of management accounting systems, published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Available at: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. libaccess. hud. ac. uk/journals. htm? issn=0268-6902volume=23issue=2articleid=1641976show=pdfPHPSESSID=lcnec7hn2ja606agg4g49si4u5 [accessed at 20 March 2012 ]

Project 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Project 2 - Essay Example The third one is the project schedule that provides the stakeholders with the tasks to be completed together with the required time frame required to complete those tasks. The third one is the requirement review where an approval is achieved from the business to exercise the proposed requirements of the project. The last one is the deployment plan that shows and identifies the necessary tasks required to move application of the project proposal to come up with the required end product. When the project is completed, the new Inn constructed should be able to provide high quality products and services to the consumers at affordable prices. Even though the organization is determined to make profits, they should not do so their priority should be guided towards the satisfaction of their customers. All the facilities in the new inn should be checked to certify their standard before customers start using them to enhance the safety of the customers. The project should also be delivered according to the time and budget agreed upon. The project should have various computer systems to store information on the project. The channels of communication should be well developed to ensure that the project manager communicates with all designated stakeholders easily and effectively. That is why there should be various channels of communications including phones for the involved stakeholders to have an easy access to them. Moreover, cash registers should be available to document the cost incurred for the day to prevent arising of problems when accounting for the cost incurred in the

Beckett's prose Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Beckett's prose - Term Paper Example Considering the times, it makes sense that much of Samuel Beckett’s works—his plays, poetry, and novels—focus on the theme of madness. This reaches back very early in Beckett’s career, even in his first novel, Murphy, published in 1938. It explains why many consider Beckett an existentialist, although as Ackerley and Gontarski state, Beckett’s views are far removed from Sartre’s existentialism (501). Much of Beckett’s works, especially his plays written after the war, have existential themes, although it is incorrect to pigeonhole him as an existentialist. It seems that as Beckett progressed in his career, he became both more existential and minimalist. Beckett is often mislabeled as an existentialist because of his connection with Theatre of the Absurd as described by Martin Esslin (n.p.), who coined the phrase and used Beckett and Waiting for Godot as his main examples. Plays in the Theatre of the Absurd genre have been strongly influenced by existentialism. Esslin saw them as the fulfillment of the existential thinker Albert Camus’ concept of â€Å"the absurd.† By placing Beckett’s plays within the genre and connecting them with Camus, Beckett was subsequently wrongly closely associated with the existentialists. It cannot be denied, however, that Beckett’s works, even his earlier ones like Murphy, have existential themes. Esslin describes these themes as â€Å"the sense of metaphysical anguish at the absurdity of the human condition† and the â€Å"sense of the senselessness of life, of the inevitable devaluation of ideals, purity, and purpose† (n.p.). Beckett’s works, including Murphy, can be placed squarely within this tradition of writing. Murphy is Beckett’s second work of prose, and his first novel. Unlike most of his works, which were composed in French, it was written in his

Failing Schools and Students in the US Research Paper

Failing Schools and Students in the US - Research Paper Example No Accountability of Individual Schools 3. Lack of Qualified Staff in Schools C. Is the Argument out of the School’s Hands? 1. Effects of the No Child Left Behind Act Conclusion Work Cited Introduction Today it is of crucial importance that education should be given utmost attention, as it is considered a guaranteed insurance into ones future. However, it is usual that children are failing consistently in many parts of the world especially USA. A student who is disinterested in the education will generally miss college lectures and would perform extremely poor in assessments tests. In worst cases, students would stop attending their schools or colleges and would thereby sit at home without concern for their education, career and life. It is important that causes of inability to perform well at school should be figured out before they can be pin down to improve performances in general and long term successes in whole. Does the issue lie with the students and/or the parents? Lac k of Parenting Today many of the children fail because of lack of parenting guidance or parents lacking such skills. Children today need their parent's guidance so they could help them make positive options instead of just trying to control them or choose for them what they are not interested in. If parents act as children’s guide they are letting them not rely on their inner guidance. If parents guide their children through the process of decision making they are letting them look in to the situations from all of its sides. This even helps them build a sort of self esteem that is they would start trusting them and believing in ability to make good choices. According to Mr. PubMed, the usual cause of lack of parenting skills is their low socio-economic status. Parents which are living below poverty lines have no such access to parenting skills. Teen parents simply have a hard time forming such parenting skills. In middle families this is mainly due to lack of emotional and fi nancial support and lack of awareness. In richer families this is mainly because parents simply lack time. Moreover, the younger parents were the ones who were more immature and less capable of giving the sacrifices sometimes that are required of parents. Furthermore, the parents that have abuse are more likely to make bad parenting choices. Students Hungry or Lack of Sleep August 2007 – One of the study by James F. Pagel who was the MD of University of Colorado school of Medicine has given reports that students could have insufficient sleep that could thereby have adverse effects next day not on adults performance but also on students performance. Hunger and sleep are two of the vital needs of a healthy society. Adolescents who have experience sleep disturbances are the ones more likely to receive bad grades. Based on a 238 questionnaires that were completed by the middle or high school students, the survey proved that those who have gained lower GPA were the ones who had mo st sleepless nights and such issues that include restless, a hard time waking up in the morning, when trying to fall asleep, difficulty concentrating during the day, snoring every night, aching legs, and falling asleep in class. James Pagel had said: Some of the previously conducted studies had proved that students who had irregular sleep patterns, inadequate sleep or otherwise poor sleep quality didn’t perform well in school in comparison to students who

The Choice in Consumerism to the Choice in Technological Aspects Research Paper

The Choice in Consumerism to the Choice in Technological Aspects - Research Paper Example In regards to the consumer’s choice, there is a lot of opinions that can be said. It is true that the life of a consumer is usually encompassed with choices, which have no boundaries and as such, in the long run, the state becomes a life full of hyper calculations, which are intended to pursue a state of perfection and as such, this perfection can be said to be always unreachable (Glasser 2009). For instance, when a person needs to buy a space consuming item, he or she will be upbeat not to make the wrong choice (Roberts 2002). As a result, that person will end up bearing down and at the end becomes engaged in conducting research, which is comparative in nature. It is only when consumers do the right choice that the fantasy takes not only the right direction but also assumes the right shape. As such, it follows that there will be a prevalence of a global beatitude (Roberts 2002). In contemporary times, the citizens of the U.S spend more time while doing shopping more than othe r people in other countries in the world. According to the recent researches, it has been found that people in America go to do shopping at least once a week and this exceeds the number of times that the hoses of worship are visited (Elizabeth 128). When these shoppers are requested to do a ranking in regard to what they achieve from being involved in various activities, it is amazing that shopping is usually ranked among the last activities (Kanazawa 2004). This is supposed to mean that, people tend to shop more but what they get from that in terms of enjoyment is usually less.

The economics of ocean resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The economics of ocean resources - Essay Example In summary, Hardin’s article addresses the exploitation of common resources due to individuals self utility maximisation goals. Naturally resources are limited while human wants are not only unlimited but also recur. Rationally, individuals strive to maximally benefit from the available resources, which translate to exploitation of the resources. Hardin notes that, the benefits accruing from the use of these resources accrues to a particular individual while the economic loss associated is shared by the community. The rise in population worsens the impact. Therefore, to a single individual, over- use of the resource is beneficial despite harming the community and hence making greed rational. According to Hardin (1968), freedom to access resources enhances the tragedy. For that reason, Hardin advocates for increased government involvement in utilization of public resources and supports his arguments with failure of the’ invisible hand’ to generate a socially optim al solution in several aspects. Economic theory suggests that increased consumption boosts productivity and increases social welfare. The contradictory result that exists in consumption of common resources, especially the exhaustible ones, is what Hardin referred to as the tragedy, and expounded the definition of tragedy to cover both unhappiness and remorseful actions in life. According to Hardin, and many other scholars, the solution to the commons problem must involve an external controller. Government involvement and privatisation have been marked as the most effective solutions. However, given that the problem is caused by individual’s greed and affects the same individuals, collective action can be termed as not only effective but also a cheaper mode of reducing the tragedy. According to wade, collective action refers to the harmonization of actions by a group to achieve a common interest. As noted earlier, individuals are

Impact Of Issuing Debt On Shareholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Impact Of Issuing Debt On Shareholders - Essay Example The internal rate of return of the expansion project is expected to far outperform the company’s hurdle rate. The acquisition of Productos Reunidos is also a positive net present value project. However, empirical evidence suggests that market value of the acquiring firm experiences little if any gain after acquisition, and in some cases even losses. Also, the reasons cited by the management and the merger and acquisition committee for acquisition, namely, diversification and PE magic, are wrong. Hence, I recommend Tyneside Electronics to grow internally by investing in the expansion project. Moreover, there are gains from financing the expansion project by leverage, even in the worst case scenario of 10% increase in revenue, as illustrated in section A and B. Also, if the expected return on shares stays constant, I recommend the firm to adopt a D/E ratio of 1, the optimum capital structure.

Fast Talking Dame Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fast Talking Dame - Movie Review Example At present, the theory of Fast Talking Dames has been restricted to some of TV shows only, in which women use verbal means of communication more than action scenes. Now a days the role of women in films is on the concept that she can do anything that a man can do. As in Salt, Angellina Jolie performed as leading character of the movie, which went after a traitor who charged her of working as a Russian spy. Similarly, in Colambiana, Zoe Saldana, who after watching the assassination of her parents, grew up as cold assassin. In both of the movies quoted as example, the role played by female actresses is more masculine in nature. The concept of Fast Talking Dames has almost diminished in today’s cinema. It can only be seen in some of the TV shows or in the movies of 1930s, 40s era. Moreover, the audience too, like to see the female actresses in action scenes rather than spending time in dialogues and lighter comic

Cultural Competency Assessment Paper Essay Example for Free

Cultural Competency Assessment Paper Essay Culture is a very difficult term to define. However, certain people have gone on and defined culture well by saying that it is a ‘set of shared values, opinions and practices of a community or group of people. ’ (Definition of Culture) The importance of the understanding of a socio-cultural environment of any country is imperative to attaining business advantage and eventually translatable success. This understanding of socio-cultural environment is then translated effectively into business practices so that they appeal to the local crowd and create a positive image of the firm in their minds. (Cultural Barriers) More and more organisations today face a dynamic and changing environment. This, in turn, requires these organisations to adapt. Hence, it is important to consider the changing nature of the workforce. Most organisations, today, have to adjust to cope up with a multi-cultural environment. Human resource policies and practices have to change in order to attract and keep this more diverse workforce motivated and willing to work. And many organisations have to spend large amounts of money on training to upgrade various skills of the employees. There is a definite downside to the resistance to change and that is hindrance to the process of adaptation and progress. It doesn’t necessarily surface in a standardized manner. Resistance can be overt, implicit, immediate, or deferred (Robbins, 2004). It is easiest foe the management to deal with resistance when it is overt and immediate. For instance, a change is proposed and employees quickly respond by voicing complaints, engaging in a work slowdown, threatening to go on a strike, etc. The greater challenge is managing change when it is implicit or deferred. Implicit resistance efforts are more subtle, like, loss of loyalty to the organisation, loss of motivation to work, increased errors or mistakes, increased absenteeism, etc (Robbins, 2004). Similarly, deferred actions cloud the link between the source of the resistance and the reaction to it. Empathy is the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people. Empathy is the trait that enables a leader to be an expert in building and maintaining talent. It enables him to treat people according to their emotional reactions. This is why he can be successful in getting the most out of the talented people that work under him; it thus makes him a better man manager. He is able to manage and lead people from various different backgrounds and cultures, belonging to various social and economic classes, i. e. it increases the cross-cultural sensitivity of the leader himself. With the businesses and economies globalising, leaders have to lead and manage people belonging to different cultures which is the major reason why change management in such a scenario is very difficult, however, if only a leader can empathize with his followers, it makes the job half as difficult as before. The Cultural Competency Assessment Responses portrays a wonderful picture of the cultural competency assessment test; the responses were positive and the personal taking the test were satisfied with this tool, Cultural Competency Assessment as exhibited in their responses was informational, people started thinking in a different direction, and enhanced learning amongst different culture, it is essential when we are dealing with human lives in terms of health, healing wellness. Cross -cultural communication utilizes language and culture to shape human behaviour and facilitating them. In fact the two also influence each other. Cultural impacts on human behaviour are widespread and influence important aspects of human behaviour. In comparison, influence of language on human behaviour is subtle but still significant. Further Cultural Competency Assessment includes life cycle events add value to the program by helping people of different culture comprehend the cultural diversity of adolescents or the elderly, which prepare individual to interact with people of diverse culture for the betterment of their career in medicine. Gathering good history of the patients is significant for finding and giving the right treatment, using deductive reasoning to arrive to a diagnosis. So life cycle events enhances the health care delivery process for its betterment. Cultural competence is the capability to interact efficiently among individuals of diverse cultures. It encompasses four components attentiveness of ones own cultural worldview, approach towards cultural differences, Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and cross-cultural Skills. Building cultural competence results in an capability to comprehend, communicate with, and efficiently interact with people across cultures. These components if implemented properly are very effective in Building cross cultural communication competence. Further, when an organization focuses on developing such competences in their employees, the benefits are more then the cost incurred as high-impact managerial teaching builds personal effectiveness amongst worker, Improve communication, efficiency, and productivity for persons, teams, and the whole of the organizations. Further better understanding of the needs of people from different cultural backgrounds will help employees to work as a team more effectively. To comprehend the Cultural competence, Diversity training should be given to the employees for Building cross cultural communication effectiveness, Cultural competence have become essential at present era when our organization are full of people of different culture which has led most management to cater diversity management of the organization by taking such measure for the betterment of the organization. The recommendations I would like to state for the facilitation of the organization is Cultural competence Diversity training which will facilitate in designing strategies, action plans, development, and training matched to people’s current state of affairs. Further to develop the ability to correspond with other people of different culture which will help in building team effectiveness, team building by implementing tailored strategies to cater each diverse teams needs. I would like to conclude by adding that Cultural competence will add value to the organization operation and will lead to the betterment of the organization. References 1. Robbins, Stephen P (2004). Organizational Behavior. Prentice Hall. 2. Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication. (n. d. ). Retrieved from www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/9461923

Experiences of African Americans During the Civil War Period Essay Example for Free

Experiences of African Americans During the Civil War Period Essay The 1860s and 1870s were particularly trying times for African Americans. The Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865 saw America undergo social and political change as Americans struggled to redefine their idea of race and face the question of slavery. More importantly still were the experiences of blacks during and after the war as they fought to be accorded the same rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In the early days of the war, the issue of slavery was avoided vehemently by Lincoln and Davis (Norton et al. 2008) despite it being an essential issue in the war between the North and South. In fact, freeing the slaves was never an agenda of the North. The North was against slavery because they perceived the South, who was pro slavery, as a threat to the North’s social and political order (Norton et al. , 2008). Consequently, being against slavery did not necessarily mean Northerners were not racist. In fact, many still saw themselves as racially superior to the blacks. Despite the apparent racial prejudice, blacks in the South still saw in the Union army their route to freedom. After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation allowing blacks to serve in the Union cause, thousands of slaves, amongst them, one John Boston (Linden Pressly, n. d), fled their masters and joined the Union army in their fight against the South. Many blacks sought to assert their manhood despite discrimination in the army through the display of bravery and valor. Still more died, like the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment, in their fight for equality. Therefore, although Lincoln had given them a motive to reak free, it was the blacks’ own courage to fight for their own freedom which ultimately led to their emancipation. The North’s victory over the South in 1865 meant that the slaves were finally free. As freedpeople, one of their foremost desires was to own land as land meant subsistence and sufficiency (Norton et al, 2008). Also, because it was all they had known to do, many fell back on plantation agriculture as their livelihood. Some, like Josua Culverson and Major X Whiteing, applied for leases through the U. S. Com of Plantations (Linden Pressly, n. ). Because most freedpeople had no money to purchase land, they could only lend it on credit. However, because of preexisting prejudices, freedpeople found even that to be a task. Consequently, they returned to their old farms where they had worked as slaves. However, unlike previously, these freedpeople sought to better their situation by reaching an agreement with the owner through a system known as sharecropping. Often, such an agreement would entail the provision of food and seeds in exchange for a portion of the crop earnings (Norton et al. 2008). Such is the case between William R. Steen, a white citizen, and Caroline, a colored woman; along with 7 other Arkansas freedpeople whom by contract, had to give one third part of the crop raised upon the farm by their labor to the owner of the farm (Linden Pressly, n. d). The years 1865 to 1877 saw efforts in reconstructing the war-torn South. A huge hurdle existed then to reconcile the freed blacks with southern whites, who were so used to operating in a slave society that their prejudices could not be eradicated so easily. Furthermore, they were threatened by the rise of black status and into the ranks of political power so much so that a group of whites came together and formed the first Ku Klux Klan; a society which sought to maintain white supremacy through intimidation, violence and terrorism (Norton et al. , 2008). Klansmen committed murder, arson, and rape whilst asserting their notion of white supremacy. As a result, despite having been emancipated, the freed blacks still suffered considerable pain and fear under the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Amongst the most targeted were blacks who had rose to political power. Ann J. Edwards, the daughter of a black Congressman recounted that â€Å"We, his family, lived in constant fear A day or two before election a mob gathered†¦in front of the house, and we thought the end had come. † (Sterling, n. d). More gruesome was the story of Joe Johnson who was elected into the Republican office. He was burnt nearly to death, and shot because of his refusal to resign from office (Sterling, n. ). His execution was witnessed by his wife who could do nothing against the oppressive terror and violence of the Ku Klux Klan. Blacks were not the only victims of the Ku Klux Klan regime. Whites who openly supported blacks saw their lives being threatened as well. Hannah Flournoy, a black woman, gave account of an execution involving a white Georgian who had supported the black cause. â€Å"[Men] bolted right in and commenced shooting†¦They were disguised but I knew a great many of them. Hannah â€Å"thought it right to take [Ashburn] in† and was â€Å"willing to die for him† simply on the basis of him being a Republican (Sterling, n. d). The incident reflected the loyalty of many blacks to stand beside those, white or otherwise, who sought to uphold their natural rights. Teachers were another group being targeted. Colored schools came under the attack of the Klan and were burnt to the ground (Norton et al, 2008). Many blacks endured the hardship of abuse and violence despite its injustice and unlawfulness. Recounted Harriet Hernandez, â€Å"He struck me on the forehead with a pistol†¦kicked me over [the fence]†¦dragged and beat [me and my daughter] along. † Despite the blacks being freed in the South, the activities of the Ku Klux Klan ensured that blacks would not enjoy the same rights as whites. â€Å"[Colored people] have no satisfaction to live like humans†¦all summer I have been working and it is impossible for me to enjoy it†, said Harriet (Sterling, n. d). Despite all the violence inflicted on them, blacks exhibited extraordinary courage in the face of threats by Klansmen. Emeline Bremfield whose husband was a target of the Klan, stood unwavering in the face of death, as the Klan confronted her of her husband’s whereabouts (Sterling, n. d). Blacks even went out of their way to fit into a black aggrieved society. Many like, Caroline Smith and Lucy McMillan, dressed down in order not to stand out for fear of being whipped (Sterling, n. d). Although the Ku Klux Klan‘s primary motive was the assertion of white political power, Klansmen took every opportunity they got to assert white supremacy mindsets. McMillan’s house was burned simply because she had mentioned she wanted to own land. Smith was whipped only to remind her not to â€Å"sass any white ladies† (Sterling, n. d). Aside from the destruction of property and life, black women suffered in yet another form – sexual assault. Klansmen sought to assert their superiority over black women by sexually harassing them. Some black women were even mutilated, like Frances Gilmore who was â€Å"cut with a knife†, or gang raped (Sterling, n. d). Racial hostility and terror ultimately brought down the Republican regime in the South. Efforts by the Ku Klux Klan prevented strong presence of the Republican coalition in the South and a restoration of the Democratic majority. The Klan continued to terrorize black people and ran amok until the Enforcement Acts and subsequent persecutions brought an end to the first Klan. Overall, the blacks suffered greatly during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Despite having obtained emancipation, prejudices continued to affect their lives. Although we now know that it did not succeed in driving them out of the country, blacks today continue to face the same prejudices.

Explaining the theories of play

Explaining the theories of play This paper explores how play helps in the mental, social, emotional and cognitive development in children. By explaining the theories of play, it also explores how play has changed over the years due to technological changes and the cognitive, mental, social emotional and social changes which take place when children play. Other aspects of play which are explored includes its contribution as an outlet for children to deal with experiences in the environment. Play is so important to a childs development that it is promoted by the United Nations 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31.1, which recognizes the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts (WHO, 1989). Recognizing that children need time to engage in self-driven play is of essence among parents, caregivers and educators. Play promotes the cognitive, social, emotional and physical development of the child hence it should not be underestimated. Children also develop and strengthen skills such as language development, problem solving, negotiating, and sequencing skills which will be used in further learning (Singer et al., 2006). The role of play in children development has been illustrated in various models and theories. For instance, Jean Piagets models of child development and learning are based on the perception that when a child grows, it develops cognition structures and mental images (schemes) or linked concepts to understand and respond to physical conditions in the environment. This are necessitated through play activities thus according to Piaget, a childs structure in cognition develops from innate reflexes to complex mental activities (Singer et al., 2006). According to Almon J. (2004) Piaget identifies four developmental stages which include Sensory motor where the child at birth to two years builds concepts about how reality works with the surrounding environment. At this stage, a child doesnt have object permanence (knowledge that physical objects exist when not sighted). In the pre-occupational stage, the child doesnt conceptualize abstractly and needs physical circumstances which are concrete (age of seven to 11 years). At two to seven years, the child is in the concrete operational stage where he begins to conceptualize and explain physical experiences by logical structures and can also engage in abstract problem solving. In the formal operations stage, cognition structures are adult like and encompass conceptual reasoning. On the basis of the above stages therefore, Piaget develops the cognitive theory of play which outlines the cognitive principles of how cognition can be built in children (smith D., 1995). According to this theory, Repetition of experiences through play necessitates assimilation in the childs structures of cognition thus the child sustains a mental equilibrium. New or different experiences cause loss of equilibrium and change the childs cognitive structure to accommodate new conditions hence more and more structures of cognition are erected. Formalized learning as well as language development is enhanced in playing children. Coolhan K. et al. (2000) suggests that opportunities for learning oral communication is presented to the child and this early development of language will later be useful in reading and writing. In addition, children develop problem-solving skills as they play. Some of the playing activities they engage in require critical thinking skills like building with block s, playing with water and sand, doing puzzles, or constructing and designing their imaginative play area (Huertwitz S., 2002). Free child driven play will make a child curious about his or her world and this facilitates further learning. Therefore according to Ginsburg K. (2001), when allowed to pursue areas of their own interest, children are likely to develop a positive attitude towards learning. According to Jean Piaget, Play creates an atmosphere which is relaxed where learning can take place easily. In addition, Piaget suggests that play is not similar to learning and for development in cognition to occur, there has to be assimilation and adaptation. He further refers to play as assimilation in the absence of accommodation. Jean Piaget outlines four types of play namely physical or sensory motor play where a child engages in repetition of physical activity such as swinging of the feet or back throwing of the head for sheer enjoyment of doing so. In symbolic play, the child has a mental representation of non present realities. In this type of play Piaget suggests that It is primarily affective conflicts that appear in symbolic play.   If there is a scene at lunch, for example, one can be sure that an hour or two afterward it will be recreated with dolls and will be brought to a happier solution.   If the child has been frightened by a dog, in a symbolic game things will be arranged so that dogs will no longer be mean or children will become brave ( Piaget, 1912). Examples of types of play which encompass Piagets types include;   Ã‚   Games of pivots (Construction) which   Ã‚   Involve learning accidentally from symbolic play. On this type of play, Piaget suggested that they are initially imbued with play symbolism but tend later to constitute genuine adaptations or solutions to problems and intelligent creations Piaget, 1962.  Ã‚   Other games include Games having arbitrary rules, games involving two or more players, board games with rules, sports and card games (almond J., 2004) Hurtwitz S. (2002) suggests that creative play forms part of creative activity in children which enables them to express themselves openly and without judgment and its shown when familiar materials are used in an unusual way especially when children engage in imaginative play and role-playing. Creativity nurtures a childs emotional health and the experiences underwent during their first years of life can significantly develop their creativity. It fosters mental development by providing opportunities for trying out new ideas, ways of problem-solving and thinking (Singer et al., 1996). Children need to be provided with creative materials and experiences like drawing/painting, photography, music, field trips, working with wire, clay, paper, wood, water or shadows. Time is needed to explore these materials on their own in order to purse their ideas. This involves time to think about how to plan, design, construct, experiment and revise project ideas. Varieties experiences like field trip s, celebrating holidays and activities with other ethnic groups and encouraging children to bring visitors to school leads to creativity. Children should have more personal experiences with people and situations outside of their own environment, in order to incorporate them in their play (Smith D., 1995). According to Piaget, play in children enhances cognitive development which is achieved when there is a continued equilibrium between assimilation (imposing a schema which exists on the world) and accommodation (where the schemas are modified to fit the world).For example through pretence play, a child imposes mental schema on the world thus assimilation and they also observe or imitate past events or activity thus accommodation; play also facilitates creation of tension between accommodation and assimilation which contributes to development in the child (Coolhan K. et al., 2000). Piaget additionally suggests that when children play with objects (pivots) they develop symbolic abstract thoughts and they construct their knowledge through social group interaction which is internalized into thought. Fantasy play or solitary play in infancy become cooperative and negotiated thus contributing to the social, cognitive and emotional status (personality) of the child (Singer et. Al., 2006). Play develops social skills in children especially when playing house and taking up the roles of different family members. Vygotsky cites a situation of two sisters playing at being sisters. They acquire good behaviours and relations between them that are never noticed in daily life situations. Therefore play allows interaction between children as they communicate with each other, socialize in play and listen to ideas of others (Vygotsky, 1978). Cooperation is also enhanced in these children as they discover the importance of working together and sharing the play tools available. Incase of conflicts, they are able to negotiate for better continued playing. Moreover, a socially healthy child adjusts well in school are more likely to perform well academically (Smith D., 1995). Motor skill development is enhanced by active play activities in children. They gravitate to physical activity when left on their own. In play, they perform many activities like running and jumping which leads to physical fitness. Children who dont play are more prone to obesity and many other complications. Apart from large muscle skills, active play also enhances the development of small motor skills when children build, paint or play with clay. Acquisition and refinement of skills necessary for successful learning in school is via active play (Ginshburg K., 2001). Freud developed the psychoanalytic theory and related it to play in children. According to him, play gives children a good platform to speak out unfulfilled wishes and helps in revealing hidden, unconscious wishes and conflicts. Through play, children resolve tensions and build their cognitive, emotional and moral aspects of life thus contributing to their personality. Children initiate play activities and through this, they are able to communicate symbolically through verbal and non verbal means, e.g. through such play activities like narration and story telling or those which involve assigning roles (Singer et al., 2006) According Freud, Play in children helps to relieve various forms of anxiety which include objective anxiety, the fear of the external world; instinctual anxiety; the fear of ones own instincts and the anxiety of conscience (super ego). Freud further suggests that children during infancy cannot oppose actively and defend themselves from the outside world either physically or by modification according to their will. Their ego thus in all kinds of ways endeavors to defend itself against it by means of physical force or to modify it in accordance to their own will (Freud, 1936) The ego in children according to Freud thus defends itself by denial of reality by fantasy, transformation of reality to suit own purpose and fulfill own wishes and it is at this point that the child accepts reality. He suggests that children express denial in form of play using word or art. He suggested that; A small handbag or tiny umbrella is intended to help a little girl to pretend to be a grown-up lady.   Toy weapons of various sorts enable a little boy to ape manhood.   Even dolls create the fiction of motherhood, while trains, cars, or blocks produce in the minds of children the agreeable fantasy that they can control the world.   (Freud, 1936) Erik Erikson derived the theory of child development in which he suggested that development and socialization processes occur in specific predetermined stages and he focused on the social aspect of development. He divided life in eight stages each with a unique time frame and characteristics. According to Erickson, each stage of development has a negative outcome and he termed this as an identity crisis. In Ericksons stages therefore, I will focus on the first four stages which are crucial to play and the childs social development (singer et. al., 2006) According to Erikson, satisfactory learning and resolution of each crisis is necessary if the child is to manage the next and subsequent ones satisfactorily, just as the foundation of a house is essential to the first floor, which in turn must be structurally sound to support the second storey (singer et al., 2006). Erickson also suggests that learning Trust Versus Mistrust occurs in the first one or two years and at this stage he asserts that if the child is given well nurturing and love, play is facilitated hence trust and security is developed. On the other hand, if handled badly, insecurity and mistrust is inculcated in the child and this limits play activity which will later manifest in the child as treatment of others with suspicion and mistrust (Smith D., 2000). The second stage, Autonomy versus Shame, according to Erickson takes place in early childhood, between 18 months to four years. The child if well parented comes out this stage sure about himself, has elation with his control and is proud and not ashamed. If poor parenting is given, play activity is curbed and thus a psychosocial crisis which encompasses a stormy child with tantrums negativism and stubbornness ensues (Hurtwitz s., 2002). This crisis is negative to play activity in the child affecting the social development of the child. According to Erickson, The third stage, Initiative versus Guilt, results in occurrence of crisis during the play age in later preschool years. At this stage, the healthy developing child learns to imagine play activity and to broaden skills via active play of various kinds which may include fantasy. The child also learns to cooperate with others and to lead as well as to follow. However if guilt is inculcated in the child, he becomes fearful, does not participate in play, depends unnecessarily on adults and play skills are restricted in development and imagination (singer et al., 2006). The fourth stage as per Erickson is Industry versus Inferiority which occurs between school age and junior high school and at this stage, the child masters skills of life with regard to relating with other peers in accordance with rules, continuing from free play to play which may be structured by rules and participates in formal teamwork e.g. baseball while engaging in social studies and arithmetic (Alman J., 2004). Homework is necessary and self-discipline increases yearly. Therefore a child who has passed the previous stages successfully through play activity and good nurturing will be industrious. Basing on the above stages, Erikson perceived the world of play as important to early stages of development of a child as it offers a safe place for the child to work through his conflicts for example children can be seen pushing dolls in preschool in the same way that they were pushed. They also engage in role playing family members or other people and this often common. According to Erickson, play creates a safe world in which consequences are neither strong nor the limits rigid. For example, some of the favorite things children in preschool do include role playing, parents, teachers, monsters and wild animals (Smith D., 1995). According to Erickson therefore, play gives the child an opportunity to organize ideas, fantasies and feelings in a plan of play. Therefore play facilitates emotional development and allows exploration of ideas and relationships with less doubt, guilt and sham. Classical Theories of Play According to the Surplus Energy Theory, a child is motivated to play if he or she has a need to release surplus energy and play occurs due to surplus energy which exists when children are set free from their parents self preservation activities.   Through the aimless numerous play activities, surplus energy is released. However this theory does not explain why people and children with little energy engage in play activities (Ginsburg K., 2001). The relaxation theory was devised by Lazarus in 1883  and Patrick in 1916 and it plays a role in children and is a mode of releasing inhibitions which have accumulated from fatigue as a result of relatively new tasks to children. Therefore in children,    Play replenishes used energy as a result of unfamiliar activities of cognition that child engages in. According to the relaxation theory, children and other people play because they need to relax and be away from normal lifes stresses (Singer et al., 2006). The preparation Theory (Instinct/Practice) on the other hand suggests that play prepares children for adult life through teaching: e.g. through such activities as team work and role playing activities (James et al). The recapitulation theory perceives hat activities which re-enact events from history are intrinsically rewarding e.g. hunting, throwing games, hide and seek and chasing. However, many of these activities do not reflect history (Hurtzwitz, S., 2002). According to the Cathartic Theory, children play because of the need of expression of disorganized and painful emotions in a manner which is harmless. For example, children may re-enact their punishments e.g. by scolding a doll. Children can release and complete previously restrained feelings by playing e.g., bursting balloons, pounding clay, or punching an inflated bunching bag) (Schaefer, 1999). This kind of emotional release is important in psychotherapy (Ginsberg, 1993). The Compensation Theory perceives play in children occurs to satisfy the psychic needs through their work e.g. boring and repetitive activity. However, this theory does not fully account for the motivation to play. Children who may want to hit their friends because of anger can redirect this action into play using war-like board games (chess, checkers), card games (war), or competitive sports activities (Almon J., 2004). Some of the modern and post modern theories of play which have been formulated include: Competence/Effectance Theory which perceives Humans as being out to seek and optimize their arousal levels. This is due to the need to generate interactions with the environment i.e. from child to adult. According to this theory, arousal optimization and need for interaction with the environment leads to an effect which gives children a feeling of competence and is rewarding to them. Though this theory accounts for general motivation, it cannot separate play from work (Smith D., 1995).   Ã‚   According to the Pre-Exercise Theory developed by Groos (1898), play in children is a necessary practice for essential behavior in later survival. Thus the playful tactics for example fighting animal games or the rough play of children are the portrayal of skills which will assist in their survival and coping later in life (singer et al., 2006). Other theories include the recapitulation theory by G Stanley Hall (1906) and Wundt (1913) which perceives play not as an activity which necessitates future instinctual skills but serve to relieve children of unnecessary hereditary instinctual skills carried.  According to this theory, Each child passes through a series of play stages corresponding to and recapitulating the cultural stages in the development of the race.     Appleton in 1919 devised the growth theory which define play as a response to generalized growth drive in children and facilitate the mastery of skills which aid them in adult function.   On the other hand, the Ego Expanding theories were developed by Lange in 1902 and Claparde in 1911 and they perceived play as the way of nature to complete the ego and thereby forming the personality of the individual in terms of cognition, social and other skills ( Ginsberg K., 2001).   According to infantile dynamics by Lewin, play takes place as a result of the childs cognitive life space which is unstructured thereby causing failure to differentiate real and unreal.   Therefore, in Lewins theory, the child changes into a behavior of playful unreality in which things can be changed and are arbitrary (singer et al., 2006).    Buytendijk devised another current theory of play in which he suggested that the child plays because he is a child and because his cognitive dynamics do not allow for any other way of behaving (Smith D, 1995) therefore it expresses uncoordinated approach to the environment that the child develops.   The Cathartic Theory (Freud 1908), perceives play as representing an attempt to partly satisfy drives or solve conflicts where the means for doing so lacks in the child thus a child has temporarily worked through a drive through play hence temporary resolution to the drive. Among the modern and post modern theories is also the Psychoanalytic Theory by Buhler (1930) and Anna Freud (1937). They suggested that play in children does not only represent wish-fulfilling attempts but also attempts to cope with anxiety provoking situations which may overwhelm the child thus according to Freud and Buhler, play in children is both defensive and adaptive to deal with anxiety (Singer et al., 2006). Other current theories are Piagets cognitive theory which has been explained in the earlier stages of this paper. Play does not only promote normal child development, but also helps them deal with experiences existing in the environment. Children who lack verbal self expression are able to articulate their feeling and issues through play (Haworth, 1964). Play acts as a means of helping children deal with emotional and behavioral issues. In therapy for example, toys and play materials are provided to inform the child that that space and time is different from all others and that the child should feel free to be fully themselves (James et al)). The child then plays out concerns and issues, which may be too horrific or anxiety producing to directly confront them in the presence of anybody who can help them to feel heard and understood. Symbolic representations through play activities with dolls and puppets give children emotional distance from emotionally attached experiences, thoughts and feelings (Coolhan K. et al., 2000). Play is also used to conquer fear in children and thus playfulness in children dispels depression and stress (Coolhan K. et al., 2000). Therefore allowing a child to play hide-and-seek in a darkened room can help in conquering fear of the dark. Moreover, dramatic play with hospital-related toys can help to significantly reduce hospital-specific fears. At the same time, Fantasy play helps a child to move from a passive to an active role for example when a child engages in role-playing giving an injection to a doll patient. Fantasy play in children also fosters the expression of several defense mechanisms like projection, displacement, repetition, and identification (James et al). In as much as Play contributes to the cognitive, social, emotional and mental well-being of children, free time for children to engage in playing has been greatly reduced by technological development which has brought factors such as hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment (Hurtwitz S., 2002). Children who are under forced labour and exploitation are not able to get time and freedom to play. In the current world, there are issues like war and neighborhood violence in which case children are not able to play due insecurity. Children from poverty stricken homes have no resources that facilitate safe playing. However, even those children from well off families with adequate resources may not be benefiting from play due to an increasingly hurried and pressured lifestyle that prevent them from protected self-driven play (Almon et al., 2004). Many children due to technology are currently getting less time for free exploratory play because they are hurried to adapt into adult roles and their future roles at young tender ages (James et al). Parents are misled with carefully marketed messages that model parents expose their children to every opportunity available to advance hence they go on buying many enrichment tools to ensure their children take part in many activities instead of free exploratory play. Some children may be given specialized books and toys meant to stimulate them to develop adequately while others are provided with gyms and enrichment programs after school (Ginsberg K., 2007). Many of these tools and programs are available and highly advertised to parents who believed they are necessary for good development of their children. Therefore in many occasions, much of the time is spent organizing for special events or taking children to those events which also deplete the familys financial resources. Free self-d riven play which is important to children is replaced by highly packed adult-supervised or adult-driven activities, and this limits creativity in children (singer et al., 2006). In addition, this hurried lifestyle brings stress and anxiety related disorders like depression for some children. Increased pressure to perform well in academics possibly manifests in school avoidance and somatic symptoms. The reduction in play may also be due to passive entertainment via television or computer/video games. In contrast to the health benefits of active, creative play and the known developmental benefits organized activities, there is ample evidence that this passive entertainment is not healthy and has harmful effects (Smith D., 1995). In other cases, children who are exposed to videos and computer programs at an early age get addicted to TVs, Computers (laptops) where they engage in computer games or chatting via internet and other staffs most of the time, and for such children, their creativity and motor skills is usually low (Coolhan K. et al, 2000). It has been established that increased attention on academics and other enrichment activities by children plus the family due to the effects of technology and modernism has replaced childrens play. After school children rarely get time to play. Instead they are forced to sit at the table and complete their homework given in school. At the same time, their parents put on them pressure to study extensively forgetting to spare any little time for play (Ginsberg K., 2001). In addition, schoolchildren are allocated less free time and fewer physical outlets at school; for example in the U.S.A, many school districts respond to the No Child Left Behind Act of 200137 by reducing time committed to recess, the creative arts, and even physical education in an effort to focus on reading and mathematics. Due to technology, the art of building also does not favor play in children and this trend affects the social and emotional development of children. Moreover, many after-school child care programs prefer an extension of academics and homework completion over organized and free playas well as physical activity. In conclusion, play generally affects the ability to store new information in children since their cognitive capacity is developed by a significant change in activity. A change in activity does not mean in academic instruction, class topic or formal structured physical education class but strictly free-play recess (Coolhan K.et al., 2000). Less time for play in schools may be contributing to discordant academic abilities between boys and girls. This is because schools with sedentary learning styles have become a difficult place for boys to survive successfully (Almon J., 2004).

America a Country Made by Africans :: essays papers

America a Country Made by Africans The development of Colonial America was based on the fundamental of slavery. Without the labor power of the first African/ Americans the existence of America would be incomprehensible. Countryman's statement, " Their story is "no exception" to what was otherwise a tale of success- it is absolutely fundamental to the history of colonial America." Countryman's statement is in fact correct. This country is was found upon the backbone of African Americans it is evident in the three essays of Countryman's book " How Did American Slavery Begin?" The three essays, which support Countryman's bold statement, are "Ancestry of Inferiority" by A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. "Gullah Roots" by Margaret Washington "Slavery and Freedom" by Edmund Morgan These essays specifically explain how the African Americans helped our founding fathers build this country physically economically and politically When the first African American set foot on this land he was here for one purpose and that was to serve someone, but that was also the same with a Caucasian American. Even though both black and white were treated the same it was obvious that being black was a disadvantage, 'sin'. Englishmen at that time believed that the color black was considered as "the handmaid of and symbol of baseness and evil†¦" (pg.88). Each servant when coming to America was to serve a master for a certain amount of years. The white servants served the masters for seven years because it was written in their contract which was made in England, but since the blacks came from Africa and had no sort of contract they were kept longer as servants (pg.88). This I believe is the bases for slavery, the more labors they had the more work could be done on plantation making more money. This is the physical part of the, which was built by Africans. The absolute economic success of this country was built on the back of an African American. Blacks were the actually labors and engineers who matched the amount of the world's demand on goods produced in America such as rice, indigo, tobacco, and cotton (pg.75). Certain blacks on the coasts of Guinea were adopted due to the fact they knew how to already ingeniously harvest rice and indigo (pg.73). This Coast became know as 'The Gold Coast'. This though was not the main reason for African Americans to be a major portion of the American labor system.