Study Guide Mis 691 Chapter 2

Study Guide MIS 691 Midterm Chapter 2 2. 2 Entity: One theme or topic; something of importance to a user that needs to be represented in a database. In the entity-relationship model, entities are restricted to things that can be represented by a single table. An example of this is in the EMPLOYEE table; data about the entity (the employee) is in the table rows and data about the entity’s attributes are in the rows. 2. List the characteristics a table must have to be a relation: * Each row of the table holds data that pertain to some entity or a portion of some entity * Each column contains data of the attributes of the entity * The cells must hold a single value; no repeating elements * All of the entries in any column must be the same kind * Each column must have a unique name and the column order is unimportant * The order of the rows in unimportant * No two rows in the table may hold identical data values 2. 0 Define the term unique key and give an example: A key that defin es a unique row. An example of a unique key in the EMPLOYEE table is EmployeeNumber; the query of any EmployeeNumber (223 for example) will only produce a single row and data for one employee. 2. 11 Non-unique key: A key that potentially identifies more than one row. In the EMPLOYEE table from our book, Department is a non-unique key because it identifies several rows. 2. 12 Give an example of a relation with a unique composite key: A composite key contains two or more attributes.An example of a unique composite key in the EMPLOYEE table is if we combined LastName, FirstName, and Department as a key; these three attributes combined would insure that we would identify only one row. 2. 13 Explain the difference between a primary key and a candidate key: Candidate keys are keys that uniquely identify each row in a relation. They can be single or composite. The primary key is the candidate key that is chosen as the key that the DBMS will use to uniquely identify each row. 2. 5 What is a surrogate key and under what circumstances would you use one? A surrogate key is a column with a unique, DBMS-assigned identifier that has been added to a table to be the primary key. You would use a surrogate key when the primary key in the table is not ideal. You add a surrogate because it is short, numeric, and will never change – it is an ideal primary key. 2. 20 Define the term referential integrity restraint and give an example: A relationship constraint on foreign key values.A referential integrity constraint specifies that the values of a foreign key must be a proper subset of the values of the primary key to which it refers. In the EMPLOYEE table: the value of Department should match a value of DepartmentName in the DEPARTMENT table. 2. 21 Explain the three possible interpretations of a null value: 1. It could mean that no value is appropriate 2. It might mean that the value is known to be blank (intentionally left blank) 3. It may mean that the value is unknown 2. 4 Name the functional dependency and identify the determinants of: Area = Length x Width Area is functionally dependent upon Length and Width or that the composite of Length and Width are determinants of Area 2. 31 Describe the nature and purpose of the normalization process: Normalization is breaking up tables with more than one theme into sets of tables that have one theme each. You have to do this so that there isn’t repeat information in a table and so there are no modification or deletion issues.Normalization: Normalization is the process of breaking a table with one or more theme into a set of tables such that each only has one theme. You need to create a well-formed relation: 1. Every determinant must be a candidate key 2. Any relation that is not well-formed should be broken into two or more relations that are well-formed The Normalization Process: 1. Indentify all of the candidate keys 2. Indentify all of the functional dependencies 3. Examine the dereminants of the functional dependencies.If any determinant is not a candidate key, the relation is not well-formed. In this case: a. Place the columns of the functional dependency in a new relation of their own b. Make the determinant of the functional dependacy the primary key of the new relation c. Leave a copy of the determinat as a foreign key in the original relation d. Create a referential integrity constraint between the orginal and the new relation. 4. Repeat step 3 until every key is a candidate key

Organisational Behaviour What Is Organisational Behaviour?

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR What is organisational behaviour? The study of human behaviour, attitudes and performance within an organisational setting; drawing on theory, methods and principles from such disciplines as psychology, sociology and cultural anthropology to learn about individual, groups and processes. Three different OB perspectives Macro-perspective; the big picture Micro-perspective; the smaller units Meso-perspective; integration and movement between macro and micros Three levels of OB Individuals > groups > organisationsOB as a science Scientific discipline Theories and methods can be developed to better understand and explain behaviour Concerned with predictions and explanations Fredrick Windsor taylor – four principles of scientific management 1. Using scientific analysis, managers precisely specify every element of an employee’s work which replaces old rule-of-thumb methods (Job Design) 2. Managers select and then train, teach and develop employees, unl ike in the past when employees chose their own work and trained themselves (human Resource Management) 3.Managers are responsible for ensuring that all work is done according to their specification (Performance, Monitoring and rewards) 4. There is a division of labour based on expertise; managers manage because of their superior knowledge while employees do what they are best at (the development of management profession) Human relations school Elton mayo Believed that the â€Å"work problem† (dissent, disobedience, industrial unrest) was a result of psychological disturbances brought about by the alienating nature of work. Mayo thought that we can improve employee happiness bby making work more involving and by recognising its social nature.The hawthorn study Originally looked at the impact of working environment on productivity e. g. amount of light workers were exposed to during work By spending so much time around the workers, researchers began to notice a number of import ant social factors that had an impact on productivity Despite the isolating effects of standardisation and increasing technical division of labour, work remains a group activity. As a result of their need for recognition, security and sense of belonging, workers will gravitate towards informal groups whether formal work organisation reflects this or not.Informal group exercises a strong form of social control over the work habit and attitude of its members. Managers should recognise the impact of these informal groups in exerting an influence on productivity. Organisations should seek to ensure a good fit between formal and informal groups. Weber’s formal bureaucracy is characterised by: Specialised individual positions Formal hierarchy Rules and standard operating procedures Set boundaries for each dept Standardised training and career paths Changes from traditional to modern Intensifying competition meant that companies needed to become: More innovative in terms of customer serviceImplement continuous improvement in manufacturing More diverse in terms of products and services they offer New organisation model Networked; emphasis on teams, systems for sharing information, cross functional involvements Flat; reducing layers and empowering more employees Flexible; intensified completion, accounting for life cycles, unpredictability of external environment Divers; career trajectories, core and peripheral workforces Global; interactions across boarders Employment relationship Employment relationship is the set of arrangements and work practices that describe and govern the relationships between employees and employers.The relationship consists of economic, social and psychological contracts. The psychological contract refers to a shared cultural understanding of what is right, good and fair about the ongoing exchange. Key employment relationship changes Short term job security; life time employment to life time employability and being able to move from int ernal labour markets Advancement; changing notions of advancement Job titles; changing and multi-dimensional Compensation; pay for knowledge or skills, team-based pay Flexibility; telecommunicating work hours, contract and new forms of bargaining Chapter summary 1Define organisational behaviour and organisations, and discuss the importance of this field of inquiry Organisational behaviour is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organisations. Organisations are groups of people who work interdependently towards some purpose. OB theories help people to: 1. Make sense of the workplace 2. Question and rebuild personal mental models 3. Get things done In organisations Compare and contrast the four perspectives of organisational effectiveness The open systems perspective views organisations as complex organisms that ‘live’ within an external environment.They depend on the external environment for resources then use organisational subsystems to transform t hose resources into outputs that are returned to the environment. Organisations receive feedback from external environment to maintain a good ‘fit’ with that environment. Fit occurs by adapting to the environment, managing the environment or moving to another environment. According to the organisational learning perspective, organisational effectiveness depends on the organisations capacity to acquire, share, use and store valuable knowledge. The ability to acquire and use knowledge depends on the firm’s absorptive capacity.Intellectual capacity consists of human capital, structural capital and relationship capital. Knowledge is retained in the organisational memory; companies also selectively unlearn. The high performance work practices (HPWP) perspective identifies a bundle of systems and structures to leverage workforce potential. The most widely identified HPWPs are employee involvement, job autonomy, developing employee competencies and performance/skill-bas ed rewards. HPWPs improve organisational effectiveness by building human capital, increasing adaptability and strengthen employee motivation and attitudes.The stakeholder perspectives state that leaders manage the interest of diverse stakeholders by replying on their personal and organisational values for guidance. Ethics and corporate responsibility are natural variations of values-based organisation because they rely on values to guide the most appropriate decisions involving stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility consists of organisational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond the company’s immediate financial interest or legal obligation.Debate the organisation opportunities and challenges of globalisation, workforce diversity and emerging employment relationships Globalisation, which refers to various forms of connectivity with people in other parts of the world has several economic and social benefits but it may also be responsible for work intensification, as well as reduced job security and work – life balance. Workforce diversity is apparent at both the surface level and deep level; there is some evidence of deep level diversity across generational cohorts. Diversity may give a competitive advantage by improving decision making and team performance on conflict.One emerging employment relationship trend is the call for more work-life balance. Another employment trend is virtual work, particular working from home. Working from home potentially increases employee productivity and reduces employee stress, but it may also lead to social isolation, reduced promotion opportunities and increased tension in family relations. Discuss the anchors on which organisational behaviour knowledge is based The systematic research anchor states that OB knowledge should be based on systematic research, which is consistent with evidence-based management.The multidisciplinary anchor states that the field should develop from k nowledge in other disciplines (psychology sociology, economics) not just from its own isolated research base. The contingency anchor states that OB theories generally need to consider that there will be different consequences in different situations. The multiple levels of analysis anchor states that OB topics may be viewed from the individual, team and organisations levels of analysis.

How should future generations contend with the French-English divide? Has this divide changed over the past 20 years, if yes how so? Essay

As a part of Quebec’s youth and up and coming younger generation I have witnessed the conflicts between the French- English divide since I could remember and it is important that the needs of both sides are full filled or at least compensated for, future generations need to focus on other issues and need to resolve the French-English divide in a fashionable matter so that both sides can work together and benefit from each other such as the increase of speaking French in schools and businesses. Cleavages are defined as â€Å"a politically significant distinction among identifiable groups in a given population† (L7, S5). Language is an important cleavage in Canadian society (L7, S6), Canada is known to being a diverse country the population consists of many different types of people, cultural backgrounds and value systems each of which should be respected and tolerated by every citizen of this country. The English-French divide has persisted over time as a result of events and decisions by governing bodies that have continued to fuel the divide (L7, S7). There are different solutions to the language issue among French and English speakers but it takes time and although the divide has changed a lot, the past 20 years we aren’t where we want to be just yet and it is up to future generations to solve this problem. Further issues such as the compact vs contract theory will be discussed and also in recent news the dispute over the Charter of values the Pauline Marois government seek to put in effect that has sprung up a dispute other issues that will be discussed are Bill 101 and the disputes over the equalization of payments that has become a major topic for discussion and a large part of the French-English division if future generations were to resolve these topics they would be one step closer to a neutral decision. The language divide has played a key part in intergovernmental policies  between the federal government and the provinces and is therefore an important part to understand. We’ve learnt throughout history that the English have often attempted to assimilate the French (L7, S8) you don’t often see the English trying to preserve the French language and this resulted in a heated battle among English and French especially in the late 1800’s and late 1900’s where the divide had intensified and almost seemed imminent. In a video demonstrated in the lecture slides (L7, S8) former premier of Quebec (2001-2003) Bernard Landry and former leader of the Parti Quà ©bà ©coise points out that 75% of Anglos in Quebec speak both French and English and almost all the younger generations speak both language and admits this is a great improvement. Part of Quebec’s problem is that you can become a citizen by speaking English or French this is a problem for the Quebecoise because people are coming from different countries with just an English background, if there was a divide they would make it so that if you were to become a Quebec resident speaking French would be mandatory. Preserving the French language has been a top priority for Quebec. The French lived in constant fear of losing their language (L7, S8) so in order to preserve the French language and culture the appropriate decision the Parti Quebecoise have decided to do is to promote separatism. There was talk of the separation of Quebec from Canada being more of a sovereignty-association, Quebec would separate but would retain a political and economic association with Canada. They would share the same currency and have some joint governments to oversee their relations. Quebec would not really be independent it would actually rely heavily on both Canada and the United States for trade. Quebec would then be able to change the language laws so that French would be the first language. This could be a good decision but there’s a large amount of English speaking Quebec citizens who disapprove. Bernard Landry points out that Quebec has improved over the years and that he has seen a lot more Anglo’s speaking French as well but he points out that it is a different issue in different provinces. Being an English speaker myself it is very encouraging and helpful that I am perfectly bilingual, being bilingual has helped me in the work force, in my studies and in my social life. These are some factors that have English speaking Quebecers  speak more French and really made an impact among English and French speakers of Quebec. In Bernard Landry’s video he talks about speaking to his cousins that live in British Columbia and displays how they have lost their French Background it is in the Parti Quebecoise best interest to prevent this from happening. As we have seen, la survivance was the notion that fuelled traditional Quebec nationalism. The Quiet Revolution gave rise to a new type of nationalism in Quebec which had a different vision of the state and its ability, through its institutions, to help the French survive (L7, S49). The French-English divide was further aggravated when the Quebec government decided to use its institutions to implement legislation to ensure the survival of the French language in Quebec. This caused a great deal of controversy in English .In an attempt to counter such nationalist language tactics and appease the French, the federal government also used its institutions to enact legislation related to language. There is no doubt that the French-English divide has been fuelled by these issues (L7, S58). After all these events had taken place the French took action into preserving the French language and culture and to implement it on all of Quebec. The Quebec Board of the French Language (OQLF) more popularly known as the ‘language police’ by the English media are probably the most feared people to business owners. In Quebec, Bill 101 implements that all visible form of writing must be in French, there are strict laws that indicate that the French words have to be visually larger than any other language as well as businesses more than 50 employees were going to have to adjust and use French as their language of business (L7, S59). Maintaining the two official languages is not cheap. Even Canada’s current Prime Minister Stephen Harper commented on the cost of bilingualism even before he was elected as the prime minister. These factors have played a major role in the changes Quebec has had over the years and I have noticed it myself. The divide has changed a lot of the years and with Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecoise who knows what will happen next. The French and English divide is becoming less and less of a problem in Quebec although tensions have been rising lately with the PQ it is in their interest to keep the French population in Quebec happy and to keep pushing new legislations to enforce the speaking of the  French language. Although it is a great approach to preserve the language you could say that the language police have taken it a step too far at some points with disputes and attempted ban of these words in restaurants such as â€Å"pasta† and â€Å"fish n chips†. The Anglo’s have a hard time dealing with disputes such as these knowing our tax dollars are being spent on non-sense such as the banning of those words. In all I think it is important to implement that business owners change their signs and put in place a French first basis and plays a big factor in today’s language battle and it is a large reason why a lot of Quebecers are speaking French first. I myself walk in a place of business and speak French first to the clerk, when I am working myself I introduce myself in French first and I adapt to whomever I am talking too whether or not they are French or English it is important to respect the language of other people. In recent news a large dispute has sprung up with the â€Å"Charter or Values† Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecois brought up the idea of banning religious symbols and dress codes when at work. This includes the Christian cross, Jewish and Muslim headwear, hijabs, turbans, etc. As the government expected, the plan to introduce the Chater of Value’s created street protests. Situations like these aren’t helping the French and English division it has strung up protests and aggravates the English speakers these aren’t ways to increase French speaking and culture in Quebec it had fuelled the fire in a way and bring us a step back from where we would like to be in the English – French division. The linguistic battle among French- English has improved in Quebec over the past 20 years with French being highly implemented in schools and businesses but I couldn’t say that for the rest of the provinces. These are ways to further increase the population of French speaking Canadians, future generations should focus on increasing French in schools and businesses rather than try to force the language on people with new legislations and fines. We have seen improvements over the past 20 years and that should continue if other provinces were to adapt more the French language in their place of business and in schools you would see a large increase in the population of Canada that speak French rather than just Quebec. Bibliography Bernard Landry, former Premier of Quebec (2001 – 2003) and leader of the Parti Quà ©bà ©cois (2001 – 2005 Brooks, Stephen (2004) â€Å"Canadian Democracy – An Introduction 6th edition† Oxford University Press: Toronto. PP.187-189 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/is-pasta-french-enough-for-quebec-1.1301918

Differentiated Instruction Teaching Learners with Varying Abilities Research Paper

Differentiated Instruction Teaching Learners with Varying Abilities - Research Paper Example Teachers who adopt differentiated instruction often give children choices. They are flexible in the way they deliver content and exhibit creativity within the classroom. Availability of choice is only possible through an understanding of the knowledge that is needed to complete tasks. The educator must combine this knowledge with the children’s ability to develop and process skills and concepts. Catering to the needs of students with divergent abilities is at the heart of this teaching strategy. Historical summary of literature Differentiated instruction is nothing new in teaching circles. It has been in practice from as far back as the 1970s. However, at the time, educators that implemented the model had not identified a universal name for it. They were simply catering to the needs of their students. Therefore, the literature on the subject during this decade mostly focuses on the learning theories that support differentiated instruction. Some educational theorists wrote a lo t about the need for differentiated instruction. One such individual was Lev Vygotsky, who established the zone of proximal development theory (Logan, 2012). It was his work that formed some of the theoretical foundations of this teaching practice today. Vygotsky, in 1978, states that every learner has a zone of proximal development. At this level, the child will experience learning in a manner that is challenging but not too difficult for the child. An educator who meets the child at their zone of proximal development will promote teaching in the most effective way. They will provide instruction in a context that matches the readiness level of the child. Writers in the subsequent decade also examined the plausibility of differentiated instruction. Some looked at its effects while others counterbalanced this with a number of arguments. In 1987, Slavin highlighted the dangers of grouping students according to their ability. He studied analyses done in various schools and found that r egrouping of math students led to poorer achievement in schools that maintained the practice. The debate over differentiated teaching was just picking up momentum in the 1980s. During the 1990s, most literature on the subject revolved around proving that differentiated instruction can work. Sternberg and Grigorenko carried out a study to assess the impact of differentiated instruction in 1999. The investigators used students’ grade performance to determine whether this teaching model was effective. In order to sufficiently assess whether differentiated instruction had taken place, they looked at whether teachers attempted to match thinking styles with content. The two authors explained that a student could belong to one of three thinking styles. They could be practical thinkers who thrive in active-forms of delivery. Alternatively, creative thinkers require a different approach because they tend to look for hidden meanings. Thirdly, a student could be an analytical thinker wh o can find solutions in a seemingly complex set of variables. Matching instruction to these individuals’ thinking styles is what made the difference in their learning outcomes (Watts-Taffe et. a.l., 2012). One of the most influential theorists in this field is Carol Tomlinson. Differentiated instructions were spreading throughout various schools in the 90s.  It was necessary to look at the obstacles to implementation, which this writer studied intensely.     Ã‚  

Security for Credit Card Fraud in E-commerce Essay

Security for Credit Card Fraud in E-commerce - Essay Example It has provided the world with innovative modes of communication from one end of the globe to the other [7]. Another area which has witnessed ground-breaking revolution is the conception of e-commerce; an idea which would have seemed unattainable for a man in the past. E-commerce encapsulates the concept of buying and selling products online, which involves money transactions from around the world. Since these transactions are usually done through credit cards, therefore this raises a need to authenticate and verify the customers who are involved in purchasing goods online. Their location, personal information, and account information need to be verified so that the chances of fraud can be minimized [2]. There are over 1.2 billion internet users all over the world [14]; Cheskin Research & Studio Archetype/Sapient concludes some internet users pose threats and some pose opportunities [3]. One of the major threats prevailing in the modern age is the validity of the transactions that take place online [16]. This mistrust in business owners is the product of the thousands of fraud cases witnessed in the past and this has led the companies to deploy extreme security measures to tackle this threat [4]. The goal of e-commerce sites is as follows; one is to reduce the degree of fraudulent activities, try to lower the number of rejections for legitimate orders as much as possible and minimize the number of manual reviews of transactions which prove to be costly for the company [5]. From these three objectives, it can be seen that fraud is their topmost concern and due to this they spend a large part of their resources in overcoming this challenge. The mode of payment in e-commerce transactions is through ‘credit cards’; which have established more opportunities for businessmen but at the same time introduced new problems in the whole process of selling goods [10].  

Acquisition or Merger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Acquisition or Merger - Essay Example Sony and Sony Ericsson entered into a merger where Sony acquired stake of the Ericsson. The merger would see the two companies combine forces in technology in order to be competitive in the telecommunication sector (Schemerhorn 218). The Sony revolution began in 1946 after the establishment of the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation in Nihonbashi in Tokyo. To embark on research and invention of telecommunication devices, 190,000 yen was set aside as the starting capital. It was during this period that two devices were invented, Magnetic tape and first tape recorder. This showed a new beginning for the company, and it was after that it was branded the name Sony Corporation. After this advancement, the company afterwards invented the first portable television which led to the establishment of Sony Corporation of America in the United States (Schemerhorn 18).   A great improvement occurred for Sony over the decades, and numerous inventions were made among them being the invention of the Triton color television system which saw it get the initial Emmy award. In attendance, invention of the world’s original compact disc player as well as the Columbia pictures entertainment which was then renamed as Sony Pictures Entertainment in the year 1991. The company remained strong and prosperous following the wise strategies of management that was utilized. Sony worked together with Google to achieve its business goals in the sale of the cellular phone which saw Sony achieve affluent merchandising. Moreover, Sony was able to expand its area of connectivity. Both companies were to benefit from the partnership. Many would have thought that maybe the company was getting weak, but the Chairman of the company argued that the partnership was to help Sony achieve its market objectives. From then henceforth, Sony realized great market from all over the globe making it a strong independent company before merging with Sony Ericsson

Creating A Safe Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Creating A Safe Environment - Assignment Example In addition, game is a kind of peculiar way of the social experience assimilation. Game forms and develops all aspects of the childs personality, preparing child’s psyche to the transition to a new, higher stage of development. Plot-role-playing games, or in other words, games that are created by the children themselves, take a special place in the activities of preschool children. During such games children reproduce in the roles all the things that they see around them in the life of adults. In the game the child begins to feel like a member of the team, it can fairly evaluate the actions and deeds of his comrades and his own (Strauman†Raymond, Lie, and Kempf†Berkseth 257). 1. The main content of the game is the actions with objects. They are carried out in sequence, but this sequence is often violated. The chain of actions is the plot itself. Children like to play with adults, while independent game is short. Typically, the stimulus is an occurrence of the game or toy item that was previously used in other game. 2. The main content of the game - is the subject of the actions. These actions are deployed more fully and consistently in accordance with the role, which is already indicated by the word. Procedure becomes the rule. The same game can be repeated many times. Toys are not pre-selected, but the children often use the same - favorite toys. Into the game can already be involved 2-3 children. 3. The main content of the game - is the action with objects. However, they are complemented by actions aimed at establishing a variety of contacts with partners in the game. Roles are clearly defined and distributed before the game. Toys and objects are selected (usually during the game), in accordance with the role. The logic, the nature of actions and their direction is determined by the role. It has become the main rule. 4. The main content of the game - a reflection of adult relationships and interactions with each other. Subjects

Business strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Business strategy - Essay Example The concerned company believes that its leading market position and increasing scale will provide significant opportunities for enhancing its profitability. The mission of the concerned company is creating a difference in the lives of the people through excellent patient care services. The organization abides by the ethics and codes of conduct in offering adequate service to its customers. It plays an important and vital role in ensuring wellness of its patients. It is considered as the second largest health care service provider in terms of its market capitalization. It operates in various Asian countries which include India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Republic of China and turkey. It also extended its services in UAE, Vietnam and Iraq.IHH focuses on quality, revenue and cost synergies in order to generate profitability from its operations. The concerned organization will be able to generate adequate revenue from its business in the future. It mainly aims in expanding and strengthening its business operation in the home and international market. The income statement of the company reveals that the total revenue generated by the co mpany increased in the recent years as compared to the previous years (IHH healthcare Berhad, 2012). The concerned company has the ability to generate an increase in its income level at a constant rate and it is likely to experience high growth rate and profitability in the future, it can gain competitive advantage over its competitors. IHH is a leading health care provider which has its operations primarily in the CEEMENA region. The group operates and maintains different brands of healthcare facilities which have a name for themselves. As a listed health care operator, the group is the 2nd largest in the world in terms of market capitalization. Each brand in which the company has invested is recognized as a premium one that operates in the home market in which it is established.

Chemical Companies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chemical Companies - Research Paper Example Expenditure in research and development by firms globally summed up to 344bn pounds among the countries with heavy investments in this sector such as Japan, Us, Germany, France Switzerland and the UK. These countries through the respective corporations contribute to a tune of over 82% of the spending in R & D. among the largest sectors with huge spending in R & D globally are the pharmaceuticals company, electric and electrical equipment as well as chemical companies as indicated by a registered growth in their spending on the same. (Shield, Beth, and Miriam pg. 45). On the other hand capital expenditure by firms has never seemed so controversial nor important. Together with R & D, capital spending is the long-term lifeblood of many corporations as it determines the ability of most corporations to generate cash flows enough to service their debts. It is quite hard to determine the capital expenditure of most companies if not all as this is the aspect that results into a variety of ri sks in the business in form of cash flows, competitive position, as well as the ability to price. According from evidence shown by statistics, the top capital spenders also come from the chemical and energy industry and they include corporations from china, south America like Brazil and a great deal of corporations from Europe (Frith pg. 144-8). In Europe the chemicals, plastic and rubber sectors forms a bigger part of the industrial sector generating over 3.2million employment opportunities yearly. It is in record that since the year 2000, the chemical sector in Europe has dominated the manufacturing sector by over 2/3. Among the top 50 ranked corporations is the German giant chemical producer BASF with a sale of $79.8 million, which is even an improvement from the previous period’s sales. The company through its management continues to even have more prospects of growth through increased production despite the looming economic tenacity (Festel pg. 88). A combination of the sales figures for the 50 surveyed firms shows a total of $961.8 billion. This figure indicates how much the chemical industry controls the transactions that take place worldwide. The domination of firms in the chemical industry is the same in the developed countries as it is in the developing countries. Chinese giant Sinopec recorded revenue of $56.4 billion and is ranked at number three worldwide and came closer to even being the number two chemical producer in the whole world (Kain pg. 167-9). Among the top three in terms of capital expenditure as well as research and development is the Dow Chemical at position two in the whole world. Sabic also follows in the list in that order with revenue of $42.2 billion and takes position 5 among the chemical producers. It is worth recording that these firms have shown tremendous progress through dynamic performance in their previous past operations. They have come a long way in which SABIC was all the way number 13 in the whole world to beco me number five. At the same time, SINOPEC was all the way number 14 and look at its ranking today (Shield, Beth and Miriam pg. 92-4). As compared to the year before,

Schooling as Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Schooling as Growth - Essay Example But the present trend seems to be upbeat on everything else except in the field of education. Education today is based and defined more in terms of stringent testing and examinations and a person is valued according to the number of qualifications he/she has. Airing his views Anron Falbel stated that, â€Å"Today our social environment is thoroughly polluted by education – a designed process in which one group of people (educators, social engineers, people shapers) try to make another group (those who are to be â€Å"educated†) learn something usually without their consent, because they (the educators) think it will be good for them.† (Anron Falbel) Most of the schools fall within these parameters and there seems to be no release from its destructive grip. Educationists and parents are beginning to realize that this is not what they want for their children. The answer to their prayer comes in the form of democratic schools. There are many such schools across the globe in places like Japan, Israel, Thailand and New Zealand. One such ancient and very popular school is â€Å"Summerhill† which comes in like a breath of fresh air to fill that vacant void. This school which is one of the most famous schools in the world was founded in 1921 and is situated on the East coast of England. Summerhill School’s democratic approach that is based on the Philosophy of A.S. Neill has influenced scores of educational institutions around the world. Education at Summerhill is community based with most of the children coming from diverse backgrounds and boarding in the school premises. There is no strict syllabus drawn up and children are never pushed or compelled to study. They are free to choose what they want to study and when they want to study. According to a professor at Summerhill, lessons are not mandatory but it is more about inculcating the right values in the

Management and financial accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management and financial accounting - Essay Example The real estate business has experienced a sharp down trend in the recent times. As such, people are on the job of improving their own homes rather than buying or selling of houses. Lofty Heights which is a firm into improving of homes, as such, is expanding vastly taking the advantage of this downturn. Its headquarters are in South Wales but, it is growing nationally with Jeff (owner) as the sales and marketing personnel and Evans (employee) as the financial manager. The company is expanding further to form newer departments in the organizational structure like HR, Customer Service etc. It follows absorption costing for ascertaining its unit costs and is a sole proprietorship business entity as on date. Task – F2 – Management Accounting: Solution – a: Amount of profit budgeted to be made for each of the loft conversions: Particulars 23 31 36 Sales 28,500 39,500 55,500 Less: Direct Costs 7,800 14,500 18,500 Gross Profit 20,700 25,000 37,000 Less: Allocated Fixed O/h's 12,000 12,000 12,000 Net Profit budgeted 8,700 13,000 25,000 Solution – b: Allocated fixed o/h's HR Finance CS Building Planning 2,000 3,000 3,000 20,000 8,000 The fixed overheads are being allocated to the three loft conversion units according to their labor hour utility. But, this type of costing is more suitable only when:†¢There is only one conversion†¢Production is calculated on the basis of normal capacity and †¢There is no inventory.

Good vacations Essay Example for Free

Good vacations Essay Each year, thousands of people throughout the United States choose to spend their vacations camping in the great outdoors. Depending on an individuals sense of adventure, there are various types of camping to choose from, including log cabin camping, recreational vehicle camping, and tent camping. Of these, tent camping involves roughing it the most, and with proper planning the experience can be gratifying. Even with the best planning, however, tent camping can be an extremely frustrating experience due to uncontrolled factors such as bad weather, wildlife encounters, and equipment failures. Nothing can dampen the excited anticipation of camping more than a dark, rainy day. Even the most adventurous campers can lose some of their enthusiasm on the drive to the campsite if the skies are dreary and damp. After reaching their destination, campers must then set up camp in the downpour. This includes keeping the inside of the tent dry and free from mud, getting the sleeping bags situated dryly, and protecting food from the downpour. If the sleeping bags happen to get wet, the cold also becomes a major factor. A sleeping bag usually provides warmth on a camping trip; a wet sleeping bag provides none. Combining wind with rain can cause frigid temperatures, causing any outside activities to be delayed. Even inside the tent problems may arise due to heavy winds. More than a few campers have had their tents blown down because of the wind, which once again begins the frustrating task of setting up camp in the downpour. It is wise to check the weather forecast before embarking on camping trips; however, mother nature is often unpredictable and there is no guarantee bad weather will be eluded. Another problem likely to be faced during a camping trip is run-ins with wildlife, which can range from mildly annoying to dangerous. Minor inconveniences include mosquitos and ants. The swarming of mosquitos can literally drive annoyed campers indoors. If an effective repellant is not used, the camper can spend an interminable night scratching, which will only worsen the itch. Ants do not usually attack campers, but keeping them out of the food can be quite an inconvenience. Extreme care must be taken not to leave food out before or after meals. If food is stored inside the tent, the tent must never be left open. In addition to swarming the food, ants inside a tent can crawl into sleeping bags and clothing. Although these insects cause minor discomfort, some wildlife encounters are potentially dangerous. There are many poisonous snakes in the United States, such as the water moccasin and the diamond-back rattlesnake. When hiking in the woods, the camper must be careful where he steps. Also, the tent must never be left open. Snakes, searching for either shade from the sun or shelter from the rain, can enter a tent. An encounter between an unwary camper and a surprised snake can prove to be fatal. Run-ins can range from unpleasant to dangerous, but the camper must realize that they are sometimes inevitable. Perhaps the least serious camping troubles are equipment failures; these troubles often plague families camping for the first time. They arrive at the campsite at night and haphazardly set up their nine-person tent. They then settle down for a peaceful nights rest. Sometime during the night the family is awakened by a huge crash. The tent has fallen down. Sleepily, they awake and proceed to set up the tent in the rain. In the morning, everyone emerges from the tent, except for two. Their sleeping bag zippers have gotten caught. Finally, after fifteen minutes of struggling, they free themselves, only to realize another problem. Each family members sleeping bag has been touching the sides of the tent. A tent is only waterproof if the sides are not touched. The sleeping bags and clothing are all drenched. Totally disillusioned with the vacation, the frustrated family packs up immediately and drives home. Equipment failures may not seem very serious, but after campers encounter bad weath er and annoying pests or wild animals, these failures can end any remaining hope for a peaceful vacation. These three types of camping troubles can strike campers almost anywhere. Until some brilliant scientist invents a weather machine to control bad weather or a kind of wildlife repellant, unlucky campers will continue to shake their fists in frustration. More than likely, equipment will continue to malfunction. Even so, camping continues to be a favorite pastime of people all across the United States. If you want camping to be a happy experience for you, learn to laugh at leaky tents, bad weather, and bugs, or you will find yourself frustrated and unhappy. You can also write an essay like this one that maintains a clear sense of purpose and clear explanation from beginning to end. You will have to practice to develop this skill, but you can write effectively if you remember to state a main idea, support it with relevant reasons and examples, and emphasize your main point in your conclusion. You will also need to understand that almost no one can write an essay without several drafts or revisions. The reason is that a person cannot always think of what to say and how to say it at the same time. Revision is necessary to make sure that paragraphs provide enough explanation and that they are arranged in a logical order.

Homelessness Act 2002 Analysis

Homelessness Act 2002 Analysis Assessing the new homelessness strategies introduced by the Homelessness Act 2002: are the housing needs of the young homeless in the UK closer to being adequately addressed? Chapters Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Page 3 Homelessness Act 2002 Young People†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 5 Distinctive Qualities of ‘Youth Homelessness’†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 10 Local Authorities and Discretion Post-2002:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 12 Lack of Monitoring Procedures / Inadequacy of Performance Indicators†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Page 12 Diversity or Chaos under the Homelessness Act 2002†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Page 15 Priority Need†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 18 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Page 20 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 21 ‘We have weapons of mass destruction we have to address here at home. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction.’ Dennis Kucinich[1] Introduction Property, as a jurisprudential concept, holds a lot of sway in liberal philosophical thought. We see property as a central theme for such institutional writers as Locke, Hegel, Kant and Nozick who see Property Rights as going to the centre of ‘sanctioned behavioural relations among men’[2]. Thus in a purely philosophical manner the Homeless are truly disenfranchised from the underlying rationale of law. This pervasive attitude also leads to a disenfranchisement across a number of important social spheres such as voting, raising money and unemployment benefit However, we recognise limits on all property rights in order to help disadvantaged, for example the Family Law Act 1996 recognises rights for a spouse who suffers domestic abuse[3]. This work is concerned to look at the quantitative and qualitative outcomes for young[4] homeless people achieved by the statutory framework, how does this demographic fare given their no-property status? The importance of this review cannot be underestimated. In the U.K. it is a general problem which ‘despite economic prosperity, a private housing market boom, and a raft of legislation and homelessness initiatives, recorded levels of homelessness in the U.K. remain stubbornly high’[5] and in recent years the problem was more prosaically described as ‘taking us back towards the deep social divisions of Victorian society a moment in history than no one wants to see repeated’[6] However, despite it’s persistent nature and damaging social effects there is a dearth of real academic research on the topic as a whole. This work hopes to contribute to an area which desperately needs quality academic attention. Secondly, this review is prompted by similar government observations that suggest a review of the legislative apparatus is timely: ‘It is our view that there should not be homeless people in the UK in 2004. A home is a fundamental right which should not be denied to anyone living in as affluent and ambitious a society as our own.’[7] The Select Committee then goes onto argue that ‘a review of the workings of the 2002 Act would identify the weak spots for the government’[8]. This work will carry out such a review. However, given the limitation of space it focuses on the young homeless. In recent years this demographic has been receiving more academic and media attention than others simply because of the prevalence of youth homelessness within England – in 2004 it was estimated that up to 52,000 young people between the ages of 16-25 were homeless and at any rate that this demographic accounts for a quarter of all the homeless throughout the U.K.[9]. However, whilst there may be a reasonable degree of peripheral awareness of this subject as a social problem which has particular risks and difficulties associated with it there has been no current published research on the effectiveness of the homeless strategies, implemented under the Homelessness Act 2002, as it applies to this demographic. This work will attempt to fill this void and give some guidance on the direction of any review or reform of the legislative apparatus. Homelessness Act 2002 Young People The Homelessness Act 2002 was the culmination of a significant policy from New Labour which, obviously, therefore provides the underlying rationale of the statute. If we are to understand what reforms to the content or rationale are required from our qualitative and quantitative analyses of the operation of the statute we need to first understand what the existing structure represents. Whilst it is fair to say that ‘the UK has a lengthy history of voluntary and statutory provision for homeless people’[10] statutory intervention on a large scale was not comprehensively implemented until the introduction of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977. However, for many commentators this legislation was seen as ‘an ineffective and inadequate means of resolving the problems of many homeless persons’[11]. There were numerous problems with the legislation which we will briefly prà ©cis so as to provide a comparator to the 2002 Act. A large degree of discretionary decision-making was left in the hands of local housing authorities[12] which meant that groups of homeless people who didn’t satisfy the ‘priority need’ criteria or other statutory requirements for other groups of homeless people had virtually no protection[13]. The 1977 Act setup a two-tiered approach which imposed different duties on the local authority at each level. Its initial duties operated when an individual made an application to the local housing authority which indicated a possibility that the person may either be homeless or threatened with homelessness[14]. Accommodation would then only be provided if the local authority had done an investigation and had reasonable grounds for believing the facts of the application and the person fell into a category of ‘priority need’. Otherwise the duty was one of advice and appropriate assistance[15]. Furthermore, the extent of the duty to provide accommodation only covered a ‘period of time reasonable to enable the applicant to secure housing on his own’[16]. The system setup had a narrowing effect in that there were large groups of people, typically non-parent single individuals[17], who had to rely on charity or voluntary services to provide any kind of accommodation. This system was argued to have lead to ‘an unprecedented increase in street homelessness in the U .K.’[18]. The period between the 1980’s and 1997 was mirrored by an exponential growth in NGO agencies providing support to the homeless in stark contrast to the complete lack of statutory change, although consolidation did occur in the Housing Act 1996. There were Government sponsored programmes such as the ‘Rough Sleepers Initiative’ and ‘Supporting People’ which transcended many professions such as housing, health, social work, education and employment. These multi-agency initiatives have been seen as vital to the ending of homelessness however there was always a fear over the disjointed and inefficient nature of these many statutory and voluntary agencies as well as confusion to the individual faced with homelessness[19]. As of 5th May 2006 there is a new UK government department for Communities and Local Government, taking over from the Homelessness Directorate within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is now in charge of overseeing the current framework. The Labour Government came to power in 1997 on the back of a manifesto pledge that they would ‘impose a new duty on local authorities to protect those who are homeless through no fault of their own and are in priority need’[20]. The DETR[21] published the Housing Green Paper in April 2000 which outlined the intention of the government this was then introduced in the form of the Homes Bill which fell because of the proroguement of parliament for the general election. However, this was quickly followed by another bill that in time became the Homelessness Act 2002 that received Royal Assent on 26th February 2002 The 2002 Act made some very significant changes to the pre-existent statutory framework detailed above[22]. The central provision was a requirement placed upon local authorities to carry out a review of homelessness in their area and publish strategies to overcome this within 12 months of the passing of the Act and to be renewed every five years[23]. These included audits of current levels of homelessness, programs for combating, preventing or alleviating homelessness. The information gathered under the review was then to be scrutinised and the strategy would build upon any strengths and remedy weaknesses[24]. This was part of a clearer focus on devolving responsibility for tackling homelessness at a local level however the Act did also modify the pre-existent law by amending the Housing Act 1996. Whilst not implementing a duty it did give local housing authorities the discretionary power to give unintentionally homeless applicants not in priority need accommodation whereas the duty before was advice and assistance. The latter duty still exists but is more clearly defined and requires an investigation into the individual’s circumstances and needs. The hope of the government was that these ‘two provisions combined†¦can be used by applicants to argue that local authorities should consider referrals of applicants not in priority need to registered social landlords’[25]. There was formerly a two year time limit on the duty to provide housing but the Act now requires more than simply time lapsing including refusal of unsuitable accommodation, intentional homelessness or a change in circumstances[26]. This provision will introduce a lot more equity into the law and its arbitrary time limits. The largest change to the law was undoubtedly wrought through ss.13 – 16 which completely change the rules on allocation of a property in particular the power of the local authorities to power to exclude specific groups from priority need and reduce other priority[27]. Exclusion is permitted to individuals subject to immigration control or those deemed unsuitable by reason of their ‘unacceptable behaviour’[28]. Behaviour in general is also permitted as a reason for reducing the priority of an individual[29]. Local Authorities are still provided with discretion to create an allocation scheme but in determining preferences to be given in that scheme the definition of homelessness was widened to include all homeless, even those who are intentionally so or are not in priority need. The idea here is that in allocating available housing to all homeless people, rather than those that the local authority has a pre-existent duty to provide accommodation to, will clearly be more equitable[30]. For the sake of brevity the other main changes are bullet-pointed: Local authorities are able to offer assured tenancies and assured short-hold tenancies provided by private landlords in order to meet their duty to provide accommodation. However, refusal of such an offer doesn’t discharge the duty of the local authority as it normally would. The protections surrounding domestic violence are extended to those not only actually suffering but also those threatened with violence. A requirement that social security services’ cooperate with housing authorities this is to combat those families that are intentionally homeless with children. In summary the 2002 Act placed a much higher emphasis on the responsibility of local authorities through the review and strategy requirements whilst also making relatively minor amendments to the pre-existent structure which were principally designed to extend local authorities duties and powers regarding the homeless. A large part of this work will concentrate on the discretion of local authorities as detailed above in particular looking at whether the Act had created disparity between local authorities and a lack of meaningful monitoring of the operation of discretion or whether the approach by local authorities has lead to more flexibility and choice for individuals. This will be a qualitative assessment of the impact of the Act however we will also have regard to substantive aspects and ask whether the definitions of ‘priority need’ and ‘homelessness’[31] adequately cater for the urgent need of young, 16-25 year old, persons. It is worth just noting at t his point that the Act and the surrounding government publications do not mention youth homelessness as a target but homelessness in general. It is therefore accepted that we may be critiquing the Act for things outside its original remit however given the importance of this demographic any failing will be considered a large one. Distinctive Qualities of ‘Youth Homelessness’ The fundamental question for this work is to assess whether or not the Homelessness Act 2002 has to any degree moved the U.K. closer to addressing the needs of young homeless persons. However, in doing this what we have to be aware of is that ‘homeless people are a heterogeneous group with diverse social, economic and health needs’[32]. The exposition of these particularistic needs has not always been made explicit but to some degree it needs to be done so for this work to be of any importance. In other words, what are the specific needs of the youth homeless demographic? This is a difficult question and in itself could form the basis of a much larger work however it is possible to glean from some sources that there are a few predominant needs of the youth demographic which we can use to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures under the 2002 Act. One clear need is that of information, whilst always important the issue is more acute in youth homelessness given their relative inexperience and lack of social awareness[33]. As a logical corollary to this it would include training staff and volunteers on how to relate such information to children[34]. In general this is necessary because unlike other demographics there is a lack of self-sufficiency or financial resources[35], extremely high emotional and financial exploitability leading to higher risk of mental illness or disease of some form[36]. The problems with self-sufficiency and financial resources are explained because a youth group will tend to have little education, qualifications or job exper ience. This is coupled with the fact that they will have little or no experience of independent living which prevents them from doing even the most basic of things[37]. This has been recognised by a number of commentators who argue that ‘the problems of long term homelessness are to an extent due to lack of skills, knowledge and social development’[38]. Finally, another prominent need for the youth homelessness is not just the provision of accommodation but is the need for further support after the allocation of accommodation, of any kind. It has been argued that this is a particular need of youth homeless and that provision of such support must be ‘flexible, appropriate and geared to need’[39]. The foregoing is not meant to be an authoritative statement but a guide to what we will be analysing in the rest of this work. In order to assess the Homelessness Act 2002 we will be looking at how local authorities and the statute are capable of meeting some of these needs that we have outlined above. Local Authorities and Discretion Post-2002 As we saw, above, the local authorities have a great deal of control and discretion in publishing a strategy and creating there own allocation criteria. The importance of this is that the young homeless tend not to fall into an explicit category of those in ‘priority need’, as we shall see, and therefore the operation of local authorities under the Act become of the utmost importance to assessing the effectiveness of the legislative structure. In determining this we are looking at three separate but inter-related areas that might impact on the effectiveness of providing a coherent approach to youth homelessness. Thus if we look at needs such as information provided to the young – there is a clear danger that if there is a disjointed approach across local authorities then the quality of life enjoyed by those young people who fall into homelessness will become a post-code lottery. Lack of Monitoring Procedures / Inadequacy of Performance Indicators The first specific area that this research wants to uncover is whether or not the lack of monitoring provisions leads to an inconsistent application which consequently fails young homeless people. Furthermore, are the indicators used by government to monitor local authority initiatives helpful? The joining up of local authorities under the 2002 Act was a specific aim and the government stated ‘While the Government will join-up policy at the national level, local authorities will need to do so locally’[40]. This was supposed to be achieved by an alliance between supra-local bodies such as the Housing Corporation, Local Government Association and National Housing Federation[41]. They all recommended the adoption of a partnership between housing associations and local authorities to help implement the strategies required under the 2002 Act. However, with this many bodies involved it is hard to monitor the success of the Act especially as the local authorities are under no d uty to monitor the success. However, in an indirect way a lack of monitoring will cause severe difficulty for the Local Authority in reviewing current and future levels of homelessness in accordance with their strategy. This is because the raw information will not be in an accessible form, it will be spread across many different agencies or it may not be gathered at all[42] Shelter has campaigned for the wider introduction of ‘multi-agency monitoring’[43] which derives from governments ‘Homelessness Strategies: A Good Practice handbook’[44]. The idea of a MAM is that a lead agency, usually a local authority, will take charge of running the scheme and have a department dedicated to the maintenance of it. The scheme operates as follows: ‘All agencies use common forms to collect information, asking the same questions, and using the same data entry codes. A MAM scheme uses a unique identifier for each individual when recording the information onto a central database’[45]. The advantages of this are the ability to identify demographics and look at how policy and initiatives impacts on them. In that way the local authority can look at numerous independent variables such as person of first contact, place of first contact, popularity of various services and many other incredibly important pieces of information. However, th e handbook is a recommendation and is not mandatory by any means and it is therefore unsurprising that the Housing Quality Network Services (HQNS) recommended in 2004 that more guidance on the ‘minimum requirement for monitoring to ensure best practice’[46] be introduced by the government. The HQNS service highlighted that producing an action plan including plans for monitoring and having performance indicators was ‘a weak point in many strategies’[47] who failed to set out in any substantive detail how they were going to go about monitoring homelessness. However, in fairness there are other councils who have mentioned MAM’s[48] in their strategies but even there these are prospective and thin on detail[49]. The difficulty for this work is in assessing the effectiveness and the dedication to these limited stated aims without direct access to primary resources. Thus this work must defer to the conclusions of the quantitative research done by the HQNS that makes explicit that whilst many strategies mention monitoring few have much detail or concrete plans for how a MAM would be set-up The picture that arises, therefore, is that the lack of mandatory minimum monitoring requirement’s is not being counteracted by pro-active councils around the country therefore in that way it fails to achieve the goals of having effective reviews and strategies. As the Bath North East Somerset strategy stated ‘A strategy is only as good as the information that supports it’[50]. The fact that a government produced report which generally heralded the whole process of producing a review and strategy as a success mentioned data collection and monitoring as a problem on several occasions highlights that this could be a significant problem in targeting the strategies in any meaningful sense at youth homelessness. This has a knock-on effect on performance indicators. The government had encouraged local authorities to introduce performance indicators[51] and in 2005 they introduced The Local Government (Best Value) Performance Indicators and Performance Standards (England) Order 2005[52]. This followed a wide consultation on the issue. It applied this to all local authorities and measures performance by reference to five criteria: Average length of stay in bed and breakfast or hostel accommodation by households including dependent children or pregnant women. Number of rough sleepers on a single night within authority’s area. Percentage increase / decrease from year to year of statistic 1. Number of families for which housing advice casework intervention resolved their homeless situation; and Proportion of repeat homeless people.[53] Quite apart from the fact that, on a formal level, none of these mention youth homelessness but at another level the performance indicators will be useless if the monitoring procedures are as inadequate as the HQNS review suggests. Whilst it is impossible to be specific about the impact in quantitative terms we can discuss the issue in qualitative terms. We can see that there is an almost blind-spot by the government of youth homelessness in relation to monitoring information and how that translates into performance indicators. Diversity or Chaos under the Homelessness Act 2002 As we saw in our description of the Act the basic framework set-out is that ‘strategy is led from central government departments†¦but local housing authorities are key to planning and service delivery, irrespective of their political complexion’[54]. The reason for this was made clear in the government green paper which eventually lead to the 2002 Act: ‘Central Government can set the framework for housing policies. But the delivery of those policies must be tailored to a variety of local circumstances.’[55] This devolving of responsibility for implementation of strategy to local authorities is clearly designed to avoid a top-down homogenous approach to community-sensitive issues such as homelessness however the question for this work is how this has worked in relation to young people. It is integral to see whether this devolution has lead to innovative solutions which fit the needs of young people and also to see whether this leads to a post-code lotter y because of regional discrepancies. Primarily, we can draw comparative conclusions from a very useful survey of Scottish Local Authorities carried out in 2004 which looked at which authorities were addressing youth homelessness specifically as a problem[56]. The study was carried out only one year after The Homelessness, etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 and thus many strategies were in draft format and some weren’t available at all but the conclusions are stark. As far as having clear aims and objectives in relation to young people the survey only found one strategy that had these specifically stated. There was a much larger emphasis on prevention rather than aiding those already homeless thus twenty-seven strategies dealt with provision of information on services for homelessness in schools. Worryingly there were no strategies that assessed the general availability of affordable housing for young people but as we mentioned one of the major needs of young homeless people was provision of ongoing support and this was ide ntified as an objective in the strategies of twenty-six of the local authorities however only six took this any further and proposed aid in relation to education, training or employment. We will recall that lack of those skills is seen as endemic to youth homelessness and it seemed it was poorly addressed. The conclusions of the SCSH as a whole were that ‘†¦youth issues are generally not well addressed in the homelessness strategies, aside from one or two exceptions’[57] and worryingly one of the least well addressed issues was having a specific youth homelessness policy within the general homelessness policy. It is hard to make direct generalisations to England with regard to this study but it is suggestive that youth-specific issues are not as high in the list of priorities of many local authorities as perhaps other demographics such as those suffering domestic abuse or pregnant woman. In a similar study, which had a much wider remit, the ODPM had argued that in English Homelessness Strategies ‘†¦Young people, either single or in families, are a key priority in most parts of the country.’[58] However it noticed a disparity in other demographics such as single people and gypsies / travellers. However, what is worrying about this can be highlighted in a study of the strategies of Bromley and Lewisham Councils. In Bromley it is true to say that ‘Vulnerable Young People’ is one of the specific client groups that were included in their strategy and included plans for the development of specific support services[59]. Thus it created a new team within the council to specifically deal with young people and their needs as well as arranging funding for new supported accommodation facilities as a form of initial accommodation for young people[60]. However, the problem is that such services are de-limited and targeted solely at 16 and 17 year old s. However, our review of young people’s needs indicated that 16 – 25 years olds all felt similar disadvantages. This was also the case in Lewisham Council[61] who talk about vulnerable young people as a group including those leaving care and 16 / 17 year olds. This, as we shall discuss below, is largely in response to the government’s widening of ‘priority need’ in the Homelessness Act 2002 to cover 16 and 17 year olds. This is undoubtedly a step-forward but the approach is undermined because it skews focus onto these two age groups. The other thing that is striking about both of these strategies is the lack of plans specifically to provide information to young people[62], statistics about youth homelessness and nothing about education, training or employment opportunities or schemes for young people. Having looked at these two large councils, Scotland and the overall review carried out by the ODPM there are a number of conclusions that we can make. Firstly, disparity between the councils doesn’t seem to be a large problem as far as young people are concerned. However, the approach does seem homogenous and inadequate to cater to the wider 16 – 25 demographic all of whom experience similar needs[63] as well as making up 25% of all homeless rough sleepers in the U.K.[64]. There seems little of this sensitivity to local issues and the government’s focus on 16 and 17 year olds has skewed the debate to a degree and in fact lead to poorer recognition of the needs of 16 – 25 year old homeless people. The major problem with this is that following the abolition of housing lists and the qualifying / non-qualifying groups division that existed pre-2002, above, local authorities have discretion to target groups. Those groups seem unlikely to be a holistic treatment of 16 – 25 year olds. Priority Need The importance of being categorised as homeless and in priority need is extremely high. It is the difference between having the possibility of interim accommodation offered and the council having a duty to provide long-term accommodation, as we saw in the second section. Thus for all demographics qualification into these categories will be keenly contested and we must see to what degree young people are catered for. We don’t have the space to carry out a thorough review of both subjects however a brief prà ©cis will again highlight the impact

Examing the Picture Book The Gruffalo

Examing the Picture Book The Gruffalo I chose this text because I enjoyed reading it and believe children will like it as it contains many opportunities for participation due to the repetition. It has a great use of language and incredible illustrations. It will also help them use their imagination. This humorous, rhyming picture book is a narrative text written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The mouse goes for a stroll in a dark, treacherous forest and smartly creates tales of an unbelievable creature called a gruffalo to frighten off other creatures who want to eat him; however to his amazement he then meets a real gruffalo! The Gruffalo is as a picture book designed to be read out loud to children of three upwards, but it can additionally be appropriate for young readers to read this independently. The vocabulary is diverse but not too difficult, and the repetitive sayings will aid those who still require confidence. The language cleverly flows, the pictures are in depth and pleasing to look at, and most significantly, it is a book that young children can really feel occupied and engaged with. Structure and content This is a chronological text, which narrates a series of events as they happen. It follows the most common structure of an opening that establishes setting and introduces characters, leading to a complication and resulting events, before the resolution/ending. The setting is immediately conveyed through the written text on the first line: A mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood, which is reinforced through the images and colours used. The main character is also introduced, which is important to enable the reader to understand the story and shows the story will be adhering to the common and successful structure of a great deal of small-childrens fiction, where by the protagonist(s) encounter a series of events of usually an identical nature. This is narrated in the third person, so it provides an unbiased viewpoint, allowing the children to become immersed within the world of the story and it also means none of the characters can know what Mouse is really thinking. The reader/ listener is in a better position than the predatory characters in the story as they know more about the way the mouse is thinking than them, which is dramatic irony. The use of dialogue, repetition and rhythm suggests that the text is written to be read aloud with children and the use of anthropomorphism is used with the protagonist, perhaps to enable the children to relate to the experience and feelings of the character. In this book the text is placed to the left on all pages. This encourages you to read the text and then explore what is happening through the pictures; however there are a few exceptions. For example we see a series of small pictures showing the parts of the Gruffalos body being described by the mouse- there is a picture of tusks, with the narration: He has terrible tusks written underneath, which enhances the childrens thoughts of what this creature may look like and enables them to picture the Gruffalo in their minds before they read about it. Grammatical choices It is written in the present tense, which adds to childrens involvement of the story because they are going on the journey with the mouse. This is further enhanced by the use of active voice because the focus is on the action of the mouse, which draws the reader in. Simple sentences are also used to gain the readers attention, help the children develop their reading skills and understand the story. However it does contain compound sentences: But who is this creature with terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws? He has knobbly knees and turned-out toes and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose. Using a compound sentence to describe the Gruffalo is a significant part of the story, as the mouse discovers his imaginary character was real. Therefore this description heightens the feeling of adventure by increasing the readers awareness. The connective and seems to reinforce the oral tone of the narrative, but connectives are widely used throughout the book to make the narrative flow and to affect the reader/listener. There are many uses of questions and exclamations in this book. For example every time the mouse meets a new character they always ask: A gruffalo? Whats a gruffalo? to which he replies: A gruffalo! Why, didnt you know? This shows the animals curiosity and makes them look and feel inferior for not knowing the answer, by the way the mouse replies. The story is written in rhyming couplets and the pattern tends to be repeated numerous times throughout the story with one or two words changing every time. The entire text is straightforward and naturally flows, which allows the reader to sustain the rhythm. For example: Its terribly kind of you, Fox, but no- Im going to have lunch with a gruffalo.  Furthermore Donaldson utilizes the rhyming to build up to the climax in the middle of the story. The mouse encounters the fox, the  owl and the snake and tells them exactly the same story- he cannot  go with them because he is off to meet the imaginary and fictional gruffalo, who every time he describes in more vivid detail.  They quickly escape in fear, and every time he laughs theres no such thing as a gruffalo until the third occasion,  brings him face to face with this creature, and gruffalo becomes gruffal-Oh. This tension is assisted by the way you have to turn the page to get to the Oh! Word choice Few adjectives are used in this text, probably to encourage the reader to use the illustrations to add meaning. Similarly, adverbs are not used, perhaps because verbs used are often specific and therefore do not need description (for example slid, flew, sped etc). Alliteration is present throughout the book: terrible teeth, knobbly knees, turned out toes, which provides emphasis and allows the description to stick in the childrens minds. In addition to alliteration, there is an abundance of repetition of phrases used every time mouse comes across another animal.  Young children  will feel able to participate in these instances as they often hear the same lines repeated. Presentation Images are linked with the written text by the common background and natural colour used throughout the text and style of the font. All the way through the book the illustrations are an essential ingredient of the story as with no pictures the listener/reader would not be able to fully grasp their opinions of the characters and would not see the feelings of terror and worry on the faces of the predators and the gruffalo.  Many double page illustrations in which mouse frightens off his three predators- the fox, the snake and the owl contain four small illustrations and one larger one, as if only particular features of the gruffalo are known at certain intervals. Additionally the narrative text is dotted  over the two pages in sections, which gives the impression that there is similarity  between the verbal text and the visual text. The font is very clear and is all black; although there is some use of italics for all characters speech besides the mouse, but this aids the reader when reading aloud, as they will know when they need to change their voices. The majority of the time, the text is printed on a white background which enables easy reading. There are, however, several pages where the text is on a yellow-orange background but this is still easily readable due to the colour of the font. What challenges might children face in reading this text? A rare feature in this childrens book is a dual twist as books aimed at young children generally do not contain a twist, so they may struggle with the concept of the gruffalo being afraid of the mouse. The character of the gruffalo may also scare some children. Use of your text in the classroom Mouse uses alliteration when speaking to the other animals to explain about the gruffalo: terrible teeth, purple prickles, knobbly knees. Ask students to discuss or write down other words, beginning with the same letter, to describe these body parts. Then they could try using alliteration to describe other parts of the gruffalos body such as his head, eyes, ears, legs etc. Children draw or make their own idea of a gruffalo and describing it like the mouse does. Drama- acting out the story. Map making of the wood. Freeze framing to find out characters thoughts and feelings or writing diary entries for different characters. Hot seating of the mouse and the gruffalo. Use the same story pattern of The Gruffalo to write another story.

Hector Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique Essay -- Composer Music Berlioz

Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique Hector Berlioz wrote the Symphonie fantastique at the age of 27. He based the program on his own impassioned life and transferred his memoirs into his best- known program symphony. The story is about a love sick, depressed young artist, while in his despair poisons himself with opium. His beloved is represented throughout the symphony by the symbolic idee fixe. There are five movements throughout symphony. The program begins with the 1st movement: Reveries, Passions symbolizing the artist's life prior to meeting his beloved. This is represented as a mundaness and indefinable searching or yearning, until suddenly, he meets her and his longing abruptly ceases and is replaced by volcanic love. The soaring melody becomes the Idee fixe and is introduced in this section. The 2nd movement: A Ball. This movement is representative of the gala ball where he once again sees his beloved. This section is a dance movement in three-part form. The Idee fixe reappears in waltz time. The 3rd movement: Scene in the Fields. This section represents a tranquil interval. It is a summer evening in the country and he hears two shepherds piping. The tranquil moment of the quiet summer evening alone with the pastoral duet fills his heart with an unfamiliar calm. Suddenly she appears and her appearance causes an emotional response of sorrowful loneliness. The 4th movement: March To the Scaffold. He dreams that he has killed his beloved, he is condemned to die and is being lead to the scaffold. At the end of this movement the Idee fixe reappears for a short instance and the reappearance becomes symbolic of the last thought of love that is interrupted by the axe. The 5th movement: Dream of a Witch?s Sab... ...ty has arisen and then suddenly, all is quiet and the Idee fixe, the sweet melody of the clarinet is heard . Without warning the axe has fallen, the sweet clarinet melody is cut off by the crash of a symbol and then the coda. My Impression Harriet Smithson should be proud to have this symphonie written about her. The symphonie fantastique fourth movement relates a quality of energy that is consistant with inapropriate mood changes that can sometimes be captured when in a dream-like state. The march to the scafold begins to become disoriented when rather then a death march, it starts to develop a pompous overtone, and become more or a grand prominade, but this is part of the composer?s genous. He composed the music to what would be the disjunct qualities of a dream-like state. This music relates an abstractness that is symbolic of the mind in a semi- conscious state.

Coal :: Research Essays

Coal As the granddaughter of an Irish immigrant coal miner, I thought I knew everything there was to know about coal. I was wrong. After learning about coal rank, and the different types of coal mines, I gained a much deeper appreciation for the work of my grandfather. Being from Tamaqua, I knew what anthracite coal was as soon as I could understand my Pappy’s ramblings. Among the Top 20 Signs You’re from the Coal Region, included â€Å"You think only God has the proper resume to take over after Joe Paterno leaves Penn State† (Top Ten). Another was â€Å"You’ve eaten coal candy† (who hasn’t?) (Top Ten). However, I know now that there are different types of coal mining techniques, such as underground mining, longwall mining and shaft mining. I also learned about the different types of underground mines, like shaft mines, slope mines, and drift mines. Shaft mines are usually the deepest type of coal mine. They use elevators to vertically transport workers and equipment to the level of the coal seam. Slope mines incline from the surface to a coal seam. Drift mines have entrances to coal seams from the hillside horizontally (UMWA). My Pappy, however, was a shaft miner. I can now more easily identify with my Pappy’s old coal mining stories since he worked in a shaft mine, and I know now the general set-up of that type of mine. For instance, there are two shafts, the man shaft, and the air-shaft. Also, I learned about the different layers underground, like sandstone, shale, and limestone, before the coal seam appears. Decisions about what type of mine to construct depend on surrounding terrain and the depth of the coal (UMWA). In recent years, however, coal production has decreased in the Appalachian Region, causing plenty of Gaelic tantrums during the holidays. In 2003, Coal production in the Appalachian region declined, due to lawsuits, underground mine fires, geological problems, and depleted reserves (Annual†¦). With my newfound knowledge of coal, coal mines, and coal production, I intend to have many more intelligent conversations with my Grandfather in the years to come. Coal :: Research Essays Coal As the granddaughter of an Irish immigrant coal miner, I thought I knew everything there was to know about coal. I was wrong. After learning about coal rank, and the different types of coal mines, I gained a much deeper appreciation for the work of my grandfather. Being from Tamaqua, I knew what anthracite coal was as soon as I could understand my Pappy’s ramblings. Among the Top 20 Signs You’re from the Coal Region, included â€Å"You think only God has the proper resume to take over after Joe Paterno leaves Penn State† (Top Ten). Another was â€Å"You’ve eaten coal candy† (who hasn’t?) (Top Ten). However, I know now that there are different types of coal mining techniques, such as underground mining, longwall mining and shaft mining. I also learned about the different types of underground mines, like shaft mines, slope mines, and drift mines. Shaft mines are usually the deepest type of coal mine. They use elevators to vertically transport workers and equipment to the level of the coal seam. Slope mines incline from the surface to a coal seam. Drift mines have entrances to coal seams from the hillside horizontally (UMWA). My Pappy, however, was a shaft miner. I can now more easily identify with my Pappy’s old coal mining stories since he worked in a shaft mine, and I know now the general set-up of that type of mine. For instance, there are two shafts, the man shaft, and the air-shaft. Also, I learned about the different layers underground, like sandstone, shale, and limestone, before the coal seam appears. Decisions about what type of mine to construct depend on surrounding terrain and the depth of the coal (UMWA). In recent years, however, coal production has decreased in the Appalachian Region, causing plenty of Gaelic tantrums during the holidays. In 2003, Coal production in the Appalachian region declined, due to lawsuits, underground mine fires, geological problems, and depleted reserves (Annual†¦). With my newfound knowledge of coal, coal mines, and coal production, I intend to have many more intelligent conversations with my Grandfather in the years to come.

Assess the main achievements of Détente Essay

Dà ©tente can be defined as a period of lessening or relaxation of tension between the two superpowers. It came about in 1963, with the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and its main achievements had a noteworthy impact on international relations during this period. One achievement of dà ©tente, SALT (or the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty), signed in 1972, had the purpose of reducing the number of nuclear weapons of both sides. Its significance lies mainly with the Basic Principles Agreement, were both superpowers vowed to â€Å"do their utmost to avoid military confrontations†. This brought about improvements economically since trade was encouraged – and indeed, international trade increased significantly. However, this trade was in practice limited to grain supplies from the US. In addition, Nixon’s visitation to China in 1972 put the USSR on guard, as it was witnessing possible cooperation between its two adversaries – tension between the USSR and China was at a high. However, despite SALT’s limitations and an actual increase in tension between the USSR and China, it was a significant achievement for dà ©tente as the two superpowers were willing to cooperate regarding the arms race matter. Another major achievement was the Helsinki Agreement of 1975, a turnabout from the tense situation that existed between East and West when Stalin was in power. With this agreement, the US recognized the USSR’s territorial control of Eastern Europe, and the USSR agreed to respect human rights, such as the freedoms democracy advocated. It was a huge improvement considering the circumstances of the 1940-50s, where both sides attacked and retaliated through speeches, the formation of organizations (such as NATO and Cominform), and economic measures such as the Marshall Plan and Comecon. Thus the Helsinki Agreement was a high point in international relations. Mutual cooperation in many areas also resulted in easing of tensions. The two countries worked together with the research of heart disease and cancer, and the Soyuz and Apollo ships docked together in space missions. Again, it was a major improvement from the hostile situation of earlier years – both sides were willing to work together for a common cause, and was a significant achievement of dà ©tente. Although dà ©tente was a period of relaxing in tensions and increase stability between the two superpowers, many of the agreements established were very limited and not strictly adhered to. In addition, tension was high between the USSR and China. Further events would lead to the breakdown of dà ©tente, but its accomplishments were significant improvements from previous years and thus decidedly noteworthy.

Chameleon Essay

â€Å"Love has no culture, boundaries, race and religion. It is pure and beautiful like early morning sunrise falling in lake.† is a quote by Santosh Kalwar, who writes books about truth, love and relationships. What he expresses is that it doesn’t matter what skin color you have, as long it is real love. In the novel â€Å"Chameleon† by Ranbir Sahota we hear about a girl named Rita. Rita has problems balancing between who she wants to be, and who she is expected to be because of her race. She is desperately trying hard to be fully integrated but is finding it difficult because her family is so old fashioned. When it comes to love she doesn’t know if she should make her parents happy or follow her own heart. A first person narrator named Rita, where we have access to only her thoughts, tells the short story. Rita is the main protagonist in the novel and a daughter of an Indian Sikh. Opposite to her family, being integrated means a lot to her, and in her everyday life in England, she is trying to fit in. Her father only moved to England because some of his friends did. Therefore they don’t want to integrate simply because they don’t have the love and passion for the country. She on the other hand has graduated from Sheffield University and went to teach English in Germany. Eating white food, listing to white music and bleaching her own skin is just part of her daily life for trying to be part of the English society. The title is â€Å"Chameleon† and describes Rita and how she can blend in, even though she is dark. According to her, the Indian culture doesn’t allow women to have a voice. Her mother and father has set up an arranged marriage for her, where the men can have expectations for her, but she cant expect anything from them. Rita doesn’t have an interest towards Indian men because she sees them as brothers and boring. Therefore she is dating a white man named Mark behind her parent’s back. Even though it is against the Indian culture values and rules. Marks mom says that she doesn’t want to speak to Mark, if he is dating a girl, who isn’t Catholic. But Rita knows that his mother has a problem with her skin color: â€Å" I was fine as the token dark  friend but it was a different matter when it came to marriage† (page 99, lines 3-4). For Marks mother their relationship is fine on a friendly base but not as a love interest. His mother doesn ’t want to be seen as a racists so she is covering up her real problem by saying it is because she isn’t Catholic. In that way Marks mother is actually just like a chameleon as well as Rita. Because of their families the main problem for the couple becomes the diverse between culture and religion. They can’t be together because their cultural backgrounds’ doesn’t allow them to. Mark and Rita then rents a little house together to get some private space. To them it is their escape from the judging and controlling world into a wonderful world where all people are the same. At some point Rita is meeting with Sunjay, who is set to be her future husband according to her mom. They are laughing together and are having a good chemistry. They are talking together like equals, which you wouldn’t expect because of Rita’s description about the Indian culture where women doesn’t have a voice. They also have the same positive attitude when it comes to love between different races. Sunday’s mother and father think that he has too many white friends. Both Rita and Sunjay have integrated themselves very well and are struggling with their families putting pressure on them. Although she doesn’t wants to let her parents down she does small things to annoy them. She swears a lot and is provocative towards them in her comments some times, which is not ladylike in the Indian culture. Also on page 106 lines 7-14 where we are in her thoughts and she is imagining what would happen if she told her parents about Mark and her. She says that it is comical and it would turn into a bloodbath, which is an absurd thought to have about such an important and serious theme. Over the last six weeks Rita had seen three other men but none of them where like Mark. She then spent the night with Mark at their house. Her mother and father show up unexpectedly and she starts to panic and puts Mark in the closet. â€Å"I surprised myself – I didn’t care too much about his pain. I just heard the knocking getting louder and more urgent† (page 104, line 30-31). What worries Rita the most is upsetting her parents and she knows that they doesn’t like for her to be white. Therefor she quickly hides Mark because it  is her â€Å"white side† and she doesn’t wants to be a disappointment to her parents. She lets them in and they start to tell her about Mrs. Methi’s daughter, who has run away with a white man. But in reality they are using that story instead of telling her directly that they know about her and Mark. At one point her father goes into the kitchen to talk to her because he has always been the one to get the truth out of her. One thing he is telling her is: â€Å"Girls like that are left with fatherless children without an identity† (page 108, lines 7-8). He says this to scare her and tries indirectly to affect her not to stay with Mark. Rita doesn’t get these hints until they leave and says that she would like to introduce them to Mark. The story ends with a cliffhanger but you are still let with a feeling of what is going to happen. She will tell her parents that she is with Mark and that they have to respect that. By the look of what they have been telling Rita in the house they are not going to be taken it lightly. Because they are so traditional she is now a shame to the family. But you can tell that Rita is a strong woman, so she is going to go against her parent’s judgment and stay with Mark.