Friday, November 8, 2019

Goggle Eyes by Anne Fine essays

Goggle Eyes by Anne Fine essays Anne Fine uses a number of literary features in her novel Goggle-Eyes to influence the ways the reader responds. These literary elements include: point of view, theme, style, plot, mood/tone, setting and characters. Point of view establishes how the reader sees the story. Lukens (2003, p 168) describes this type of story-telling as one where the reader is able to live, act, feel and think the conflict as the protagonist experiences it and tells it. Fine uses first-person point of view effectively throughout the novel as the reader shares the opinions and feelings of the narrator, Kitty Killin, one of the main characters. Although scarcely more than a child, Kitty appears to be a trustworthy and likeable narrator as she is intelligent, articulate and perceptive. She often appears wiser and more insightful than the adults in the novel. As a result of this we find ourselves sharing her views. Even though Kitty is quite harsh towards Gerald, we agree with her assessment of Gerald as a political Neanderthal (Fine, 1989, p 28) and understand why she states that, After that horrible, horrible row with Mum I absolutely hated him. (Fine, 1989, p 35) Later in the novel when Kittys feelings towards Gerald change, as she wonders if she hadnt been a bit unfair to poor old Gerald Faulkner, deciding so early on that he was the worst thing to have happened to our household since Dad packed his boxes and went off to Berwick upon Tweed....(Fine 1989, p 128) we also modify our views. The personal, chatty style of the novels first person narration, accompanied by simple sentence structure also influence the way we respond. Kittys informal conversational style draws us into her world. We feel as though we are the good friend she is confiding in when she reveals her innermost feelings, for example, when she tells us It suddenly occurred to me that part of the reason I couldnt s...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

“This Can Never Happen Again”- and Again, and Again- Professor Ramos Blog

â€Å"This Can Never Happen Again†- and Again, and Again- Within twenty-four hours there have been two major mass shootings; one in Dayton, Ohio and the other in El Paso, Texas. â€Å"In this country, we have a gun violence epidemic, but we also have a hate epidemic,† said by Texas Representative Veronica Escobar in response to these incidents (Robinson). In some regards she is correct- the problem doesn’t solely lie with mental health, but also access. This is only many in the two-hundred, and fifty-one mass shootings since the 2019 year has started, and two-thousand, one-hundred, and sixty-two since Sandy Hook according to Vox (Lopez). With a lot of controversy, the United States Constitutions’ second Amendment has been a topic of heated discussions. Some believe putting limits on such ‘Freedoms’ will take a fundamental value from the American spirit. But, when does this ‘American value’ take from the safety of the masses? Shouldn’t a change to gun policies and regulations limit access to minors and mentally ill, to reduce these massacres and gun violence. One of the many arguments against gun control, are the proposed age regulations to the age of twenty-one, yet second Amendment activists, like the Federalist, claim, â€Å"if an eighteen year old is not responsible enough to purchase guns, than they’re not responsible enough to vote, join the military, or drive a car† (Cleckner). To say the least, this article has little credible evidence to support those claims, but in addition this line of thinking if applied to alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana- any age regulation would cease to make logical sense. The fact remains, access creates abundance, including access to guns. Aside from this, another claim Cleckner, the Federalist, make is that criminals don’t abide by laws, and although this may be true, it is not the point. Criminals are not the cause of mass shootings. Taking into consideration that there is â€Å"no official standard for the casualty threshold that distinguishes a mass shooting from other violent crimes involving a firearm,† regardless most studies show that gun ownership increases firearm related death and suicide rates (Smart). On the Mother Jones database, a stricter database, estimated out of their one-hundred, and fifteen reported mass shootings seventy-two percent of the guns used, were obtained legally. This directly contradicts the claim that ‘gun laws won’t stop’ mass shootings (Aronsen, Pan, and Follman). Another study involving cross sectional time series concluded that â€Å"a ten unit increase in state gun law permissiveness was associated with[a] higher rate of mass shootings† (Br anas). Simply put, states with lax gun laws and higher ownership have more gun violence and mass shootings. Journalist Joel Mathis believes â€Å"the second Amendment of the US Constitution is a failure because the right to bear arms†¦ is supposed to protect Americans†¦ [but] instead it endangers them.† What’s even more, is that the US has less than five percent of the world’s population, yet it also has â€Å"forty-six percent of the worlds civil-owned guns† (Masters). With this over population in gun ownership is it any wonder that the United States firearm death rate is ten times higher than that of other high-income countries (Hemenway and Grinshteyn). In addition, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health released evidence emphasizes that â€Å"states without strict firearm laws have higher firearm related injuries, mortality rates,† and suicides (Faisal et al.). Ironically, Mathis also states that gun owners are â€Å"more likely to kill themselves†¦ [than] kill an intruder,† and that pro-gun activists fight for a â€Å"murky pre-constitutional right to self-defense†. Given this evidence, the question on what regulations can construct an impact on this epidemic with gun violence and mass shootings. One of President Trumps response to this, â€Å"in the old days we had mental institutions†¦ you could nab somebody like this,† referencing the deinstitutionalization of America (Perera Sisti). To some extent, this is true as the American Journal of Public Health states â€Å"nations with fewer psychiatric beds per person tended also to have fewer mass shootings.† The mental health in the United States is lacking, but the solution does not rest solely on psychiatric institutions but also relies on providing tools to integrate healthy social networks Shoving the mentally ill into a corner and closing the door isn’t going to solve this complicated issue. RAND Health Quarterly has moderate evidence that â€Å"prohibiting purchase or possession forms of mental illness reduce violent crime† (Morrall). Yet, â€Å"only a frac tion [of the states] require a permit, license, or registration for the purchase of firearms,† which creates access for these mass shooters, and violent crimes (Perera Sisti). For instance, the Gun Control Act â€Å"did not actually require federally licensed firearm dealers to do much to determine the purchaser’s eligibility,† in contrast, there should be an implemented system of background, mental and drug tests before purchase (Ludwig). In the article, â€Å"Reducing Gun Violence in America† published by the National Academy of Science of the United States concludes that implementing waiting periods for this process â€Å"reduces gun homicide by about seventeen percent† (Ludwig). While this will reduce gun related deaths, the greater issue lies in the increased use of assault weapons in mass shootings- which increases the number of injuries and fatalities. Semi-automatic assault weapons are a class of firearms designed for war, they â€Å"are specifically designed to kill humans quickly and efficiently† (Giffords). Common sense begs the question why it is still legal in most states for civilian owned semi-automatic assault weapons, when they, by definition, are classified as military firearms. Japan has the least gun homicide rate in the world, but also have the strictest gun laws. In Japan, â€Å"the only guns permitted are shotguns, air guns, guns with specific research or industrial purposes, or those used for competitions† (Masters). But not only are there limitations on types of firearms but they also â€Å"must obtain formal instruction and pass a battery of written, mental, and drug tests and a rigorous background check† while providing details on storage and use (Masters). To simplify, there is a problem in America that needs to be fixed and ignoring the issue will not solve it. With so many studies concluding the same answer, now it will only take our elected senators and representatives to come us with clear concise regulations to limit gun violence and mass shootings. Without sacrificing our second Amendment, we can impose safer laws while enjoying our American values. Abdalla, Zayed. â€Å"List of Mass Shootings Since Columbine Massacre.† The Villanovan. Abdalla, Zayd 20 Feb. 2019, villanovan.com/opinion/list-of-mass-shootings-since-columbine-massacre/article_be837bb6-16ae-11e8-b9dc-bfbfd95854b5.html, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Aronsen, Gavin, Follman, Mark and Pan, Deanna. â€Å"US Mass Shootings, 1982-2019: Data From Mother Jones’ Investigation.† Mother Jones. Aronsen, Gavin et al. 4 Aug. 2019, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data/, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Branas, Charles, et al. â€Å"State Gun Laws, Gun Ownership, and Mass Shootings in the US: Cross Sectional Time Series.† BMJ. Reeping, Paul et al. 6 Mar. 2019, https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l542 , Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Cleckner, Ryan. â€Å"10 Common Arguments for Gun Control, Debunked.† The Federalist. 21 Mar. 2018, https://thefederalist.com/2018/03/21/10-common-arguments-gun-control-debunked/, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Faisal, Jehan et al. â€Å"The Burden of Firearm Violence in the United States: Stricter Laws Result in Safer States.† US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health 10 Jan. 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5801608/, Accessed 4 Aug. 2019. Hemenway, David and Grinshteyn, Erin. â€Å"Violent Death Rates in the US Compared to Those of the Other High-income Countries, 2015.† Elsevier Inc. 25 Feb. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26551975/, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Lopez, German and Sukumar, Kavya. â€Å"Mass Shootings Sandy Hook.† Vox. Ventura, Elbert 5 Aug. 2019, https://www.vox.com/a/mass-shootings-america-sandy-hook-gun-violence, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Ludwig, Jens. â€Å"Reducing Gun Violence in America.† PNAS. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 14 Nov. 2017, 114 (46) 12097 12099, https://www.pnas.org/content/114/46/12097, Accessed 6 Aug. 2019. Masters, Jonathan. â€Å"US Gun Policy: Global Comparisons.† Council on Foreign Relations 14 Nov. 2017, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Mathis, Joel. â€Å"The Second Amendment Has Failed America.† The Week. The Week Publications Inc. 4 Aug. 2019, https://theweek.com/articles/856890/second-amendment-failed-america Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Morrall, Andrew. â€Å"The Science of Gun Policy: A Critical Synthesis of Research Evidence on the Effects of Gun Policies in the United States.† US National Library of Medicine National Institutes. RAND Health Quarterly 2 Aug. 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6075800/, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019. Perera, Isabel PhD and Sisti, Dominic PhD. â€Å"Mass Shootings and Psychiatric Deinstitutionalization, Here and Abroad.† US National Library of Medicine National Institutes. American Journal of Public Health June 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6595510/, Accessed 5 Aug 2019. Robinson, Adia. â€Å"2-month-old Survived El Paso Shooting After Mom Used Body as Shield, Texas Rep. Says.† ABC News 4 Aug. 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gun-violence-epidemic-hate-epidemic-country-rep-veronica/story?id=64744297, Accessed 4 Aug. 2019. Smart, Rosanna. â€Å"Mass Shootings: Definitions and Trends.† RAND Corporation 2 Mar. 2019, https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/essays/mass-shootings.html, Accessed 5 Aug. 2019.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Altius VA Ltd assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Altius VA Ltd - Assignment Example These tasks should be delegated to well-trained people who are fully aware of the long and short term objectives of the company. Training staff as well as delegating marketing duties in tandem with the laid down strategies enables working towards achieving them. Therefore, a marketing strategy is aimed at ensuring that a company is able to concentrate its resources towards the very important aspects of its core functioning; thus, minimizing wastage (Blythe 2006). Resources are always scarce; hence the need utilize them in a manner that ensures they are preserved for future use. A company must also ensure that the cost of production is kept at a minimum; while at the same time ensuring that it is making profits. Therefore, this paper will look at the marketing strategies that Altius VA Ltd need to better their business. Discussion The Altius Brand Strategic Analysis and Vision for the Compliance Software Altius VA Ltd is a vendor assessment company that keeps tabs of products from the said vendors and ensures that they meet the required standards as dictated by the different clients. This is attributed to the fact that it is always imperative for anything sold in the market to consumers to meet the laid down regulations and standards. As they have clearly stated in their website, â€Å"they believe that both clients and vendors have the right to expect a robust, fair and consistent assessment service, backed up by great customer support† (Altius 2013). They have taken the responsibility of ensuring that both the stakeholders get fair treatment as well as what they deserve out of any transaction or undertaking within the market setting. Without a brand name, Altius VA Ltd has made great strides in ensuring that their compliance software referred to as Supplier Assessment and Management System (SAMS) by their customers is well marketed in their website From their websites, they have shown and advertised to the vendors why they should be part of the Altius V A Ltd family. The benefits listed include: saving time and resources such as money, reducing duplication, aiming higher, among others (Altius 2013). These are straight to the point objectives that Altius endeavours to provide to their member vendors at all times and cost. The advantage of these to the vendors is that it helps in reducing the cost they would have incurred in performing the stated functions for themselves. By evaluating and analyzing the above advertisements on the Altius VA Ltd website, they have gone a long way in ensuring that the targeted stakeholders join them when fully aware of what they are, or could be drawing themselves into (Kelley & Jugenheimer 2009). Therefore, the vendors have an opportunity to make a decision for themselves to either be part of Altius VA Ltd or not. Altius VA Ltd services Altius VA Ltd has provided in their website what they do and how they are capable of helping both the vendors and clients. The vendors are assessed while the clients g et consultation services. This is a well-developed plan that attracts stakeholders as it indicates the need to join, and the efficiency that comes with receiving the services of Altius VA Ltd. SWOT analysis, for example, brings out how an organization can get to use the analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Friday, November 1, 2019

Problem In the Field Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Problem In the Field - Essay Example According to Riley (2012)1, the main purpose of accounting is to report on entities’ financial position and to show the financial performance of an entity over a particular period. Accounting information has a wide scope of users. These users consist of shareholders, government, creditors, suppliers, customers, public, employers, competitors, investors and managers of a business or an organization. Due to its wide scope of users, accounting information plays an important role in influencing various business decisions made in industries, companies, government offices and business entities. Accounting process follows numbers of values that enable accounting information to be reliable and useful to users. The essential ethics in accounting include honesty and integrity, faithfulness and trustworthiness, dependability and reliance and ability to care for others (Connell, 2002). 2 Accounting provides many benefits to users in different areas of the economy in Today’s World. First, accounting information and knowledge is widely used in all job specialties. Auditors apply accounting techniques in studying financial statements in the process of evaluating integrity and accuracy of enterprises. Secretaries use accounting information in carrying out different tasks in their organizations. For example, secretaries manage check books and order statements in different companies using accounting knowledge. Executives also use accounting information in financial statements in judging performance and success of companies and organizations. Executives use accounting information in determining growth rates of their companies and the profit margin obtained. Accounting information and techniques are important for individual and personal benefits. Use of accounting information enables individuals to assess, manage and control personal finances adequately. In addition, individuals may apply accounting techniques and

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Understanding the relationship between The banking sector and money Research Paper

Understanding the relationship between The banking sector and money laundering - Research Paper Example The annotated bibliography will enable me establish validity of the research, consider multiple perspectives and viewpoints of numerous authors and gain more background information on the topic of study. The annotated bibliography will also follow the appropriate citation style (Oliver, 2010). My research strategy for locating resources for my portfolio project while entail using information technology resources in the library such as computers to search for research databases on numerous authors who have studied the topic in order to get more background information (Oliver, 2010). I will be able to compare various sources in order to establish the relevancy and validity of their findings in my portfolio project. I will scholarly sources such as published books and peer reviewed journals that offer credible background information on various subjects of study (Oliver, 2010). The determining factors that will influence my decision include the relevancy of the source, the validity of the content and consistency of the information contained in the source (Oliver, 2010). I will also look at the credibility of the authors, the publishers and objectivity of facts presented by the author. I will also ensure the source ideas and findings are collaborated by other authors and ideas are logical according to the background information of my annotated bibliography (Oliver, 2010). My strategy has not changed since I will prepare an annotated bibliography that will guide me while writing the portfolio project. I will summarize the main sources, assess their relevancy to my topic, and reflect on their importance to my portfolio project (Oliver, 2010). I will seek help from the college writing center and my lecturers on how to arrange my ideas in a logical manner and different aspects that should be incorporated in the portfolio project. I will consult my lecturer on the difficult aspects of the project such

Monday, October 28, 2019

TV and Film Violence Essay Example for Free

TV and Film Violence Essay Does the violence in films and on TV contribute to violence in society? This question has been debated for decades. During that time some 2,500 books and articles have been written on the effects of TV and film violence on human behavior. In this article were going to summarize some the latest thinking on this subject. The results of one of the most extensive studies ever done on the subject of violence and TV were released in 2003. Researchers followed 329 subjects over 15 years. They found that those who as children were exposed to violent TV shows were much more likely to later be convicted of crime. Researchers said that, Media violence can affect any child from any family, regardless of social class or parenting. Girls who watched more than an average amount of violence tended to throw things at their husbands. Boys who grew up watching violent TV shows were more likely to be violent with their wives. Researchers concluded in Developmental Psychology that, Every violent TV show increases a little-bit the likelihood of a child growing up to behave more aggressively. Well look at more of the research in a moment. Canada was one of the first countries to extensively research this issue. The results of their studies prompted some of their engineers to devise the V-Chip. As you may know, the V-Chip allows parents to lock out TV programming they consider objectionable to their children. Although the concern in Canada was primarily violence (hence the V-chip), in the United States there is also great concern about sexual content probably more than in most other industrialized societies. Hence, the V-chip can be programmed to screen out both violence and sex. Cause-Effect Proof A clear cause-effect relationship between media violence and violence in society is complicated by the fact that children are typically exposed to many stimuli as they grow up, many of which could play a role in later behavior. For example, during a childs life we cant discount the role of such things as violent video games, the social values of parents and peers, or general living conditions. If you eat something that you have not tried before and immediately get sick, you will probably assume theres a direct relationship between the two. And if at some later date you forget about your first experience and eat the same thing again, and immediately get sick again, you can be fairly sure that whatever you ate makes you sick. No rocket science here, just clear cause and effect. Unfortunately, when it comes to violence in the media, the cause and effect is not as readily apparent. A few decades ago you would see doctors in TV commercials endorsing a particular brand of cigarettes. Many medical doctors smoked. Not today. Today the evidence is clear: smoking is the number one cause of preventable heath problems and premature death in the United States. Although for years the cigarette manufacturers suppressed evidence that linked smoking to health problems, eventually the cause-effect relationship became obvious to anyone who wanted investigate the facts. Unlike the cause and effect in the example of your eating something and immediately getting sick, the effects of cigarette smoking arent immediately apparent. Its only years later that many smokers develop lung cancer, heart problems, emphysema, sexual problems, etc. In the same way-after looking at years of accumulated data-were now recognizing a relationship between violence in the media and social problems. The results of a study released in March, 2002 that tracked 700 male and female youths over a seventeen-year period showed a definite relationship between TV viewing habits and acts of aggression and crime in the later life. All other possible contributing environmental elements, such as poverty, living in a violent neighborhood, and neglect, were factored out of this study. According to one of the authors of the study, the findings help cement the link between TV and violence. The study is detailed in Science. | Violence and TV Ratings Its well known that TV violence holds an attraction for most viewers and this attraction translates into ratings and profits. Because of this, most media executives have been reluctant to admit that media violence is in any way responsible for violence in our society. If it werent for the ratings and profits involved, producers would undoubtedly be much more willing to acknowledge the harm in TV and film violence and do something about it. After many high school students died in a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in April, 1999, many people were quick to blame the media. Violent video games and a well-known film were seen as contributing factors. Even so, a clear cause and effect is hard to establish. For example, millions of young people were exposed to both of these influences throughout their lives without going on a murderous rampage. But when you add extreme anger, easy access to guns, and an indifferent and amoral attitude toward the lives of others, the results can be very different. In 1992, TV Guide commissioned a study of a typical 18-hour TV broadcast day to determine levels of violence. The networks and the more popular cable channels were monitored for purposeful, overt, deliberate behavior involving physical force or weapons against other individuals. There were 1,846 acts of violence that broke down this way.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

El Cid Essay -- essays research papers

An Overview of the Life of a Spanish National Hero   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known best as El Cid, is revered as a great national hero of Spain. The name El Cid comes from the Arabic ‘El Seid’ meaning the Lord. Known to his admiring countrymen as ‘campeador’, or champion, he was a Spanish warrior whom later legend made into a hero and the symbol of chivalry and virtue. El Cid was born in Vivar near Burgos in 1043. His father, Diego Lainez, was a member of the minor nobility, called the ‘infanzones’ of Castile. El Cid was also directly connected on his mother’s side to royalty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History paints two pictures of Rodrigo Diaz. He was an unprincipled adventurer, who battled against both Christians and Moors. And on the other hand, he was also a symbol of romance, legend, and ballad. He is shown as the tender, loving husband and father, the loyal, courageous soldier, and an ever-present inspiration to Spanish patriotism. He stands out as the central figure of the long struggle of Christian Spain against the Muslim threats.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fernando I, known as Fernando The Great, died in 1065, and at his death Fernando divided his lands among his three sons: Sancho, Alfonso, and Garcia, and his two daughters: Elvira and Urraca. He also asked them to promise him they would respect his wishes and abide by the divisions. But Sancho, who received the Kingdom of Castile, being the eldest, thought he should have inh...