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The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 993 Words

Jay Gatsby’s character in The Great Gatsby is a mystery. His true intentions for his parties and lavish lifestyle are subtly revealed, leaving his character open to the reader’s interpretation. He invites party guests to his house, most of whom he does not know, to get drunk and have a good time. Most strangely of all is Gatsby’s befriending of Nick, a man of little social status who lives next door. Gatsby’s true intentions are recognized by very few. While most of his party guests are blind to his insincerity, the owl-eyed man reveals this aspect of him, allowing Gatsby’s material faà §ade to be better understood by the reader. During his parties, the guests are generally unfamiliar with Gatsby and believe him to be a man of mystery. Rumors frequent the parties regarding his background, like when one of the girls in yellow told Nick that â€Å"Somebody told me they thought he killed a man† (Fitzgerald 44). Likewise, when Nick and Jordan discussed Gatsby, Jordan says â€Å"he told me once he was an Oxford man,† before continuing on to say she did not believe it (49). Despite these suspicions, most of the guests are too drunk to care what Gatsby’s background includes or, in the case of Oxford, excludes. Just after raising suspicions about Gatsby’s Oxford education, Jordan immediately plays down the concern by telling Nick she enjoys the large parties Gatsby throws (49). Jordan, however, is not the only guest who is caught by Gatsby’s mysteriousness only to be distracted by some otherShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. Beneath the gilded faà §ade, however, was an author who struggled with domestic and physical difficulties that plagued his personal life and career throughout its short span. This author helped to launch the theme that is so prevalent in his work; the human instinct to yearn for more, into the forefront of American literature, where itRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1155 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. It started with the beginning of a new age with America coming out of World War I as the most powerful nation in the world (Novel reflections on, 2007). As a result, the nation soon faced a culture-shock of material prosperity during the 1920’s. Also known as the â€Å"roaring twenties†, it was a time where life consisted of prodigality and extravagant parties. Writing based on his personal experiences, author F. ScottRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1166 Words   |  5 Pagesin the Haze F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in a time that was characterized by an unbelievable lack of substance. After the tragedy and horrors of WWI, people were focused on anything that they could that would distract from the emptiness that had swallowed them. Tangible greed tied with extreme materialism left many, by the end of this time period, disenchanted. The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. 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Scott Fitzgerald1607 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the themes of the book is the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea in which Americans believe through hard work they can achieve success and prosperity in the free world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream leads to popularity, extreme jealousy and false happiness. Jay Gatsby’s recent fortune and wealthiness helped him earn a high social position and become one of the mostRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1592 Words   |  7 PagesMcGowan English 11A, Period 4 9 January 2014 The Great Gatsby Individuals who approach life with an optimistic mindset generally have their goals established as their main priority. Driven by ambition, they are determined to fulfill their desires; without reluctance. These strong-minded individuals refuse to be influenced by negative reinforcements, and rely on hope in order to achieve their dreams. As a man of persistence, the wealthy Jay Gatsby continuously strives to reclaim the love of hisRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1646 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920s witnessed the death of the American Dream, a message immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Initially, the American Dream represented the outcome of American ideals, that everyone has the freedom and opportunity to achieve their dreams provided they perform honest hard work. During the 1920s, the United States experienced massive economic prosperity making the American Dream seem alive and strong. However, in Fitzgerald’s eyes, the new Am erican culture build around that

System Azure Healthcare Limited Is Analysed-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The System Azure Healthcare Limited Is Analysed? Answer: Introduction Accounting policies are rules, principles, and procedures which are selected and followed by management of a company while preparing and presenting financial statements. It deals with depreciation methods, inventory pricing, and goodwill, consolidation of accounts, research and development costs. Azure healthcare limited is a global clinical management and healthcare communication solution providers. They are clinical management solution providers. The financial report and accounting system of Azure healthcare limited is analysed. According to Australian Accounting standard management it is important to necessary to make judgements and assumptions about assets and liabilities that are based on historical evidence. For a company it is important to determine estimation of lives of intangible assets. The company has reported principles of consolidation in their finance report. Business combination results in occurs when the company gains control over two or more businesses. This results in merging of assets and liabilities. Other key policies such as income tax, financial assets and liabilities, employee benefits have been discussed. Accounting flexibility can be understood as ability of the accounting system to adapt to changes in the company according to its needs, management and operations. For a company it is important to have an accounting strategy. Disclosure can be understood as releasing all information that is relevant and pertaining to company which has influence on decision of investors. For a company to be Australian Security Exchange (ASX) listed, it needs to follow certain rules with respect to disclosure. Red flag indicates that there is a potential problem with financial statement. Red flag is a subjective concept. Techniques to identify red flags are discussed. Financial reports of Azure healthcare limited comply with ASX standards. Azure health care limited: evaluation of accounting policies Azure healthcare limited is a global clinical management and healthcare communication solution providers. They are clinical management solution providers (Azure Healthcare Limited, 2017). They use reliable software solutions which meet the global standards. The company has a main subsidiary Austco Communication Systems Pty Ltd. It manufactures clinical workflow solutions for hospitals and nurse call system. Tacera is an internet based system for nurse call solution for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. CellGuard is another product for custodial market. It provides audio communication system which is inclusive of officer duress, discrete monitoring, background music distribution, cell intercom and public address announcements. MediCom is product for aged population. It enables nurses to promptly respond to call of the patient all the time (Reuters, 2017). Azure healthcare limited has invested substantially in research and development. They have realised the importance of rese arch and development in order to provide best service to clients (Sultan, 2014). The financial statement of Azura healthcare limited includes economic entities as well as controlled entities. Different components of the financial reports are highlighted below. Identify Key Accounting Policies Critical accounting judgements: according to Australian Accounting standard management it is important to necessary to make judgements and assumptions about assets and liabilities that are based on historical evidence. Other factors that influence these assumptions are taken into account. Actual results may vary from these assumptions and judgements. Judgements made in accordance with Australian Accounting standard significantly influence financial statement. The company tested the investment in subsidiaries as well as intangible assets. It was found that there was no impairment in goodwill, intangible assets and investment in subsidiaries (australia.gov.au, 2017). The allowance of doubtful debts implies the estimation of economic entity by management. At 30 June 2016, it was $195,000. The company pays income tax as per the rules and regulation to the jurisdiction in which it operates. For provision of impairment, it is important to assess degree of estimation and judgements. This is assessed by considering ageing of inventories, previous sales experience and factors that influence inventory obsolescence. For a company it is important to determine estimation of lives of intangible assets. To determine this estimation, the company takes into account historical experience with the asset, engineering estimates, statistical methods, judgemental estimates (Fazal, 2012).The depreciation charge will increase in situation where useful lives are less than the estimate or are sold and discarded. Principles of consolidation: there are four principles of consolidation like First, elimination of investment account, Second, capital reserve and goodwill of control, Third, minority interest, and Fourth, pre-acquisition and post-acquisition profit. In controlled entity of Azure Healthcare Limited, the company has power to make decisions related to operating and conomics policies of the entity (Kumar, 2016).This helps Azure Healthcare limited achieve its goals. Their financial statement contains the list of controlled entities. The transactions and inter-company balances between entities have been eliminated on consolidation. This included unrealised gains and losses. Accounting policies of subsidiaries have undergone change in order to ensure consistency. Using the acquisition method of accounting, subsidiaries which are acquired by the company are accounted. The change in ownership is accounted as equity transaction. When the company loses ownership of the subsidiary, it derecognises the entity (Hoyle, 2015). Business combinations: it occurs when the company gains control over two or more businesses. This results in merging of assets and liabilities. Businesses combinations are accounted by acquisition accounting method (Accounting tools, 2016). GAAP principles are followed in case of business combinations. It is accounted from the date the parent entity acquired control over business (acquisition date). Business combination and acquisition may lead to goodwill from bargain purchase. The technique used for measuring goodwill will impact on measurement of non-controlling interest which has to be recognised by the company. Cost of the investment in financial statements will include acquisition date fair value of the consideration of transferred business. Consideration will include liabilities incurred by the acquirer to the former owners of the business, sum of the assets transferred by the acquirer, and the equity interests issued by the acquirer. The measurement of consideration transferred includes all liabilities and assets which result from contingent consideration. any transaction which results from contingent consideration is categorised as equity instrument or financial liability. Income tax: income tax is the tax calculated on the income of company which is paid to the jurisdiction. Income tax is calculated on the basis of income tax rate of that jurisdiction. Current tax is calculated on the basis of amount of tax payable by the company in accordance with taxable loss or profit for that year. To calculate current tax, tax laws and tax rate are required. Current tax is considered as a liability to an extent where it is unpaid (Accounting Explained, 2013). If the amount reported on income tax return for a particular year is different from the year that entry appeared on financial statement, then it results in deferred income tax. It is accounted using balance sheet liability method. It is applicable in all assets and liabilities where their taxable differences (temporary). This tax liability is applicable on investments in subsidiaries where there is temporary difference. Current tax and deferred tax are identified as income or expense in income statement (Tearney, 2015). Azure healthcare limited and its subsidiaries have an income tax consolidated group. Each subsidiary has its own current and deferred tax liability. The current tax is assumed by the parent company. In the tax consolidated group, each subsidiary contributes to income tax in proportion to their contribution to the overall profit. Financial assets and liabilities: investments of the company are recognised and derecognised on the date where sale or purchase of an item is contracted. Terms of the contract requires delivery within given time frame established on the basis of market under consideration. Apart from initial recognition, subsidiary investments are evaluated as cost in financial statement. Financial assets are categorised as financial assets held-to-maturity investments, at fair value through loss or profit, loans etc. the nature and objective of the financial assets is important for determining the categories. Similarly, financial liabilities can be classified as at fair value through profit or loss, borrowing, etc. Effective interest rate method is used to calculate amortised cost of financial liability and asset. This rate is the rate of discounted future cash payments or receipts. The basis for financial income on effective interest rate is income. Other assets of the company are evaluated for impairment periodically and recorded in the balance sheet. The criteria for considering a financial asset as impaired is that objective evidence has occurred more than once after initial recognition (Nickolas, 2015). A company or an economic entity derecognises a financial asset when the cash flow expires or there is a transfer of financial asset. This is also applicable in case of financial liability. Property, plant and equipment: all the property, equipment and plants are depreciated. The fixed assets are depreciated on diminishing value or straight line basis over their useful lives to the company. Depreciation starts from the time the asset is acquired. Leasehold Improvements are depreciated either over unexpired period or estimated useful lives of improvements. At each balance date, the residual value and useful lives of the assets are evaluated and adjusted. In the current year, there is no change in material. In case of an asset, if the carrying amount is greater than recoverable amount then it is written immediately to its recoverable amount. Profit and loss are evaluated by comparing proceeds and the carrying amount. The profit and loss are recorded in income statement. Leases: financed leases can be understood as leases of fixed assets that are transferred to the company. Except legal ownership, all benefits and risks associated with the fixed assets are transferred to the company. To depreciate leased assets, straight line or diminishing value over estimated useful lives is employed. Leased payments are divided between lease interest expense and reduced lease liability. Lease payments are charged as expenses in the lease period (the benefits and risks remain with the lesser) (Azure Healthcare, 2017). Intangibles: goodwill on consolidation as well as goodwill is recorded as the amount by which purchasing price for business exceeds the fair value attached to overall assets at acquisition date. Goodwill as well as the goodwill on consolidation that are purchased are evaluated annually for impairment. Evaluation may occur more frequently if required or if there is an indication of impairment (AASB 136 Impairment of Assets) (Azure Healthcare, 2017). Research and development costs are considered as expenditure in the period of occurrence. Development expenses are considered as expenditure when there are no internally produced intangible assets. There are certain criteria for identifying intangible arising from development expenses. They are: Technical feasibility of intangible asset Intention for completing intangible asset Use or sell intangible asset. Assessing future benefits of intangible assets. availability of adequate financial, technical, and other resources to complete the development Reliable method of measuring expenditure associated with intangible asset during development. Employee benefits: in the balance sheet, provision is made for companys liability for benefits of employees. Employee benefits arise from the services of employees. The employee benefits are settled in one years period. Benefits include salaries and wages, sick leaves, paid leaves, annual leaves. They have to be settled within one year. Other benefits which are can be paid later than one year are evaluated on the basis of future cash outflow. Contribution of the employee are made by the company to well defined superannuation funds. They are considered as expenditure when incurred (Azure Healthcare, 2017). Earnings per share: they are of two types: basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share. Basic earnings per share is estimated by dividing profit attributable to all the shareholders of Azure Healthcare Limited by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the financial year. It is exclusive of costs of servicing equity. Diluted earnings per share modify the numbers used in determining the basic earnings per share. It takes into consideration the effect of income tax and other financial costs linked with dilutive potential ordinary shares (Azure Healthcare, 2017). Assess Accounting Flexibility Accounting flexibility can be understood as ability of the accounting system to adapt to changes in the company according to its needs, management and operations. It also implies that information system employed by a company should have capacity to grow and change along with the company. Change in the accounting system is important because companies undergo change periodically (Olad, Z. S. and Amiri, 2016).Accounting system should be flexible enough to adapt to the change. Accounting system should grow and expand in order to keep records and track financial growth of company accurately. It is also referred to as financial flexibility. it is determined by companys capability to deal with unexpected expenditure and investments. It is assessed by examining how well company uses leverage and cash holdings (Denis and McKeon, 2016). Companies which are highly flexible in financial terms or are superior financially are able to deal with economic situations such as recession. They are also able to take advantage of investments which are unexpected or unplanned. On the other hand, companies with very stringent accounting and financial policies are unable to respond properly to unexpected situations. Such companies are not able to survive in economic downturns. Their rigid policies lead to their downfall (Koch et al, 2012) There are several universally accepted components of financial flexibility (they may vary according to different analysts and investors). Leverage: it is defined as use of debt in order to increase total profit which is returned to companys shareholders. In other words, leverage can be understood as using borrowed money to increase companys profit. This is the money which is used to finance assets. Cash Holdings: cash holding imply coins, check, paper money, money in bank, money orders etc. Debt ratio, that is, ratio of total liabilities of the company to total assets and debt to equity, that is ratio of total liabilities to owners equity are most common methods to measure leverage. The value of these ratios determines the risks associated with financial hardship. High ratios lower financial flexibility, hence, lowering companys ability to borrow. Financial or accounting flexibility is important for company. Flexible budget is important for analysing deviation between actual and expected output. It helps to compare actual costs with budgeted costs at actual volume. It helps in comparison between actual cost and expected cost for business activity. Flexible budget is important to fulfil the goals of cost control. It determines the points where actual performance deviated from planned performance. Azure healthcare limited has flexible accounting policies. The accounting policies will help the company strive difficult financial situations. The company can also take advantage of investments. It can also take over other businesses and form mergers. The flexibility of the accounting system has helped Azure healthcare limited to grow and strive. Evaluate Accounting Strategy For all companies, accounting is a crucial business function. It involves collecting, recording and analysing financial information. This information plays an important role in decision making. Financial information is a great source for detailed information regarding business and its operation. Companies use historical and past financial data for planning new strategies. It helps in growth of business. accounting growth strategies include accelerating income, expanding through profits, building strategic business relationships, streamlining current production operations and diversifying business operations (Bonin, 2013). The decisions made on the basis of previous historical information helps in prediction of success of future business venture. This information can be used to improve certain functions of the company. Azure healthcare limited makes critical accounting judgements and assumptions on the basis of historical information. Their allowance of doubtful debts was $111,000 on 30 June 2012. It increased to $195,000 in 2016 (Azure Healthcare, 2017). A large number of companies and business depend on banks and investors for financing. These loans lead to negative cash flow (the cash moves out of the business, resulting in losses). Business owners should review financial accounting data periodically and develop strategies which ensure profit and growth of business. Azure healthcare limited is dependent on intangible assets and business combinations for financing. The business leaders take responsibility for profit and loss incurred by the company during operations. They require information regarding financial performance for further decisions. This information helps them to re-evaluate and re-organise their decisions. Azure healthcare limited has invested in mergers (business combinations). They use their financial information and data when taking decisions regarding mergers or acquiring subsidiaries. They also take into account the companys objectives and goals while taking such decisions. Azure healthcare limited have a well-established risk management system and control mechanism. They implement decisions systematically and implement board approved budget and plan. The companys board ensure effective risk management (Azure Healthcare, 2017). Evaluate the Quality of Disclosure Disclosure can be understood as releasing all information that is relevant and pertaining to company which has influence on decision of investors. For a company to be Australian Security Exchange (ASX) listed, it needs to follow certain rules with respect to disclosure. Australian Security Exchange expects companies to have periodic as well as continuous disclosure. Disclosure is considered important for integrity of market. It is important for two ASX priorities: efficient and fair market and informed and confident investors (Basu and Forbes, 2014). Azure healthcare limited has complied with Australian Security Exchange (ASX) in preparing continuous and periodic financial reports. This company prepares financial reports annually. The financial reports are available on their website and can be accessed by anyone. They are readily available for both investors and general public. The disclosure of company seems adequate. Their financial reports consist of information about director, role of management, board members, board formal induction program, role of company secretary, risk management, remuneration policy, diversity policy etc. their financial report discusses different aspects of financial policies. The report lacks footnotes. Footnotes are important for explaining certain points to the investors. The financial report has clearly stated the objectives of the company, its relation with shareholders and market. The company follows continuous disclosure policy which is crucial for commitment with shareholders. Their financial r eport also consists of ethics and code of conduct followed by employees. Companys officers and employees are bound by securities trading contract (Azure Healthcare, 2017). Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) has laid out set of accounting procedures, principles and standards which should be followed by a company while preparing financial report. It is combination of universally accepted methods of reporting accounting and financial data and authoritative standards set by board members. It is important for improving quality of information provided by company (Shroff, 2017). Identify Potential Red Flags Red flag indicates that there is a potential problem with financial statement. Red flag is a subjective concept. Red flag for one investor may be desirable for another. Red flags help in identifying problems. They should be carefully picked up by the investor. Companies should also identify red flags and rectify problems. There are several ways to identify red flags in financial reports. Heightened inventory is an indicator of red flag. If inventory is shows profit, but there is no change within the company, then it indicates that there is a problem. This problem can be identified by carefully examining the balance sheet. Large number of account receivables is good indicators of growth (Heshin-Bekenstein, M. and Hashkes, 2015). It is profitable only when the amount is actually collected. When receivables increase, it is important to adjust collection process accordingly. Company should also become stricter with credit policy. Another important red flag is selling of unused or underutilised assets to pay debts or for short term finances. This is a problem situation for company. To ensure accuracy of losses, disposals, inventory should be carefully examined. Poor cash flow pattern is also a red flag. When cash flows out of business, investors begin to worry and may choose to withdraw. Another red flag is non-operating income. Income statement of the company should be c onsistent. Compliant with the Conceptual Framework In Australia, a business or a company can choose either of the two basic frameworks required to prepare financial reports. There is an accounting framework and a legal framework. For big businesses, there are greater complying issues. ASX-listed companies prepare annual financial reports which can be audited easily and are available for everyone. Companies listed in Australian Security Exchange are required to report continuous and periodic financial reports. Azure healthcare limited has a continuous disclosure policy which is available on request. ASX has laid down set of guidelines which are to be strictly followed by companies. they have set of principles of listing rules and applications of listing rules. There are specific guidelines for continuous disclosure and periodic disclosure (Exchange, 2014). Conclusion Azure healthcare limited is a global clinical management and healthcare communication solution providers. The financial statement of Azura healthcare limited includes economic entities as well as controlled entities. Some of the key accounting policies are discussed. Frists, Critical Judgements made in accordance with Australian Accounting standard significantly influence financial statement. In controlled entity of Azure Healthcare Limited, the company has power to make decisions related to operating and financial policies of the entity. This helps Azure Healthcare limited achieve its goals. Business combination and acquisition may lead to goodwill from bargain purchase. The technique used for measuring goodwill will impact on measurement of non-controlling interest which has to be recognised by the company. Income tax is the tax calculated on the income of company which is paid to the jurisdiction. Income tax is calculated on the basis of income tax rate of that jurisdiction. Finan cial assets are categorised as financial assets held-to-maturity investments, at fair value through loss or profit, loans etc. the nature and objective of the financial assets is important for determining the categories. Similarly, financial liabilities can be classified as at fair value through profit or loss, borrowing, etc. other key accounting policies are highlighted. Azure healthcare limited is financially flexible. Accounting flexibility is important for a company to deal with adverse economic conditions. Azure healthcare limited has complied with Australian Security Exchange (ASX) in preparing continuous and periodic financial reports. Red flags help in identifying problems. They should be carefully picked up by the investor. Azure healthcare limited has complied with ASX standards of reporting. Reference Accounting Explained (2013) Income Tax: Current Vs. Deferred. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://accountingexplained.com/financial/taxes/income-tax (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Accounting tools (2016) Business combination. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/10/business-combination (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Australia.gov.au (2017) Australian Accounting Standards Board. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.australia.gov.au/directories/australia/aasb (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Azure Healthcare (2017) Annual Report FY2016. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://azurehealthcare.com.au/annual-report-fy2012-html-version/ (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Azure Healthcare (2017)Annual Report FY2012. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://azurehealthcare.com.au/annual-report-fy2012-html-version/(Accessed: 14 September 2017). Azure Healthcare Limited (2017) Azure A history of innovation. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://azurehealthcare.com.au/sample-page-2/about-us/ (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Basu, A.K. and Forbes, B. (2014) Does fundamental indexation lead to better risk?adjusted returns? New evidence from Australian Securities Exchange, Accounting Finance, 54(3), pp.699-728. Bonin, H. (2013) Generational accounting: theory and application. Germany: Springer Science Business Media. Deegan, C. (2013) Financial accounting theory. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. Denis, D.J. and McKeon, S.B. (2016) Proactive Leverage Increases and The Value of Financial Flexibility, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 28(4), pp.17-28. Exchange, A.S. (2014) Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. Sydney: ASX Corporate Governance Council, 27 March. Fazal, H. (2012) What factors are considered in determining useful life of intangible asset?. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://pakaccountants.com/factors-to-consider-determining-useful-life-intangible-asset/ (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Hassan, N.S. (2014) Investigating the Impact of Firm characteristics on the Risk Disclosure Quality, International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(11). Heshin-Bekenstein, M. and Hashkes, P. J. (2015) Intestinal malrotation as a misdiagnosis of pediatric colchicine resistant familial Mediterranean fever, Pediatric Rheumatology, 13(1), pp.45. Hoyle, J.B., Schaefer, T. and Doupnik, T. (2015) Advanced accounting. USA: McGraw Hill. Koch, A.S., Lefanowicz, C.E. and Shane, P.B. (2012) Earnings Guidance and Earnings Management Constraints. Kumar, s. (2016) Principles of Consolidation: 4 Principles | Company Accounts. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/accounting/holding-company/principles-of-consolidation/principles-of-consolidation-4-principles-company-accounts/68380/ (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Nickolas, S. (2015)What is the effective interest method of amortization?. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/063015/what-effective-interest-method-amortization.asp (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Olad, Z. S. and Amiri, H. (2016) The effect of cost Accounting change on the performance of Manufacturing Companies in Khuzestan, Bull. Env. Pharmacol. Life Sci. (1) pp. 78-91. Reuters (2017)Azure Healthcare Ltd (AZV.AX). [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/AZV.AX (Accessed: 14 September 2017). Shroff, N. (2017) Corporate investment and changes in GAAP, Review of Accounting Studies, 22(1), pp.1-63. Sultan, N. (2014) Making use of cloud computing for healthcare provision: Opportunities and challenges, International Journal of Information Management, 34(2), pp.177-184. Tearney, M.G. (2015) Discounting deferred tax liabilitiesreview and analysis, Journal of business, finance and accounting.

Parenting Managing and Controlling Behavior of a Child

Parenting is an activity that involves various aspects. One of the issues in parenting is managing child behavior. This paper analyzes what a parent should do to guarantee proper growth of a child.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Parenting: Managing and Controlling Behavior of a Child specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction Managing or controlling behavior of a child is one big problem that parents face. Human behavior is not predictable neither is it cured. When children grow, their behaviors change as they continue interacting with the world. This implies that human personality is not static but dynamic. In most cases, children who seem to be quiet at ages 3 to 6 turn out to be disruptive when they get to age 10 and above. Parents therefore have a responsibility of determining the kind of behavior to accept and encourage their children to ape (Novak, Pelaez, 2002). This varies with age because behaviors tolerated at infancy may perhaps be discouraged at adolescence stage. This paper will analyze behavior change in children as a parenting issue. Website 1: Behavior Issues with Children The site was found through keying in some parental issues related to child behavior. The researcher keyed in the phrase â€Å"parental issues†. The search engine utilized was Google, which is easy to use and gives a variety of options for the researcher to choose. The address for the site is https://www.sutterhealth.org/pamf/health/childrens-health. Palo Alto Medical Foundation created the site in 2011. Pablo Alto Medical Foundation authored the data implying that none of the information can be reproduced without permission. The organization is a registered medical institution that provides information to the public as regards to child health issues. The main objective of the author is to inform the public about the parenting needs and challenges faced by parents in bringing up children (PAMF, 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The site explains some of the most important things that parents must know in case they are to bring up their children well. For instance, the author notes that it is imperative for parents to understand the behavior of children because it facilitates proper action. Again, the author suggests that parents should set guidelines for children, which allows them to internalize what is required of them. The site is therefore resourceful and parents are encouraged to go through it. In the modern society, parents should take control of their children’s life by instilling positive attitude in them. This will manifest in adulthood, which further determines the success of an individual. The site has one weaknesses that is, its inability to address behavioral problems in detail. The article is too brief making it difficult to equip the reader with n ecessary information. Website 2: Behavior Problems in Children Information about behavior problems in children was obtained from the website through Google searching. The researcher typed in the phrase ‘parenting issues’ to obtain the data. The address of the site is https://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/behavior-problems-in-children.html. The site was created in 2011. Spock, who is a child psychologist and child psychiatrist, posted the information in the site. The author has a good foundation in dealing with children related issues particularly behavior disorders. A child psychologist is trained in handling all forms of disorders in children (Spock, 2011). Spock might therefore advice parents on what to do because he bases his conclusions on confirmed psychological research. Spock’s aim is to market his profession and writings on child behavior. The author is more concerned about treating patients or giving advice to the affected in society. A fee is char ged for every service meaning that the author uses the internet to woe customers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Parenting: Managing and Controlling Behavior of a Child specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The site is resourceful and recommended to parents because it highlights some of the behavioral disorders in children and goes ahead to offer background information as well as suggesting solutions. The article deals with the cause and effect, which is beneficial to parents seeking to equip themselves with parenting skills. Just like site one, information in this page is limited. It cannot satisfy the reader seeking to know much about parenting. Any piece of information is recommended to parents wishing to attain parental knowledge hence this site is of help too. Comparison of the two Sites There are some slight variations concerning the two sites. The first site is too brief, its author is a medical doctor and th e major aim is to educate the public. A psychologist edited the second site implying that it is more insightful. However, the second site is money oriented that is, parents acquire information at a pay. In terms of content, the two sites are similar. The authors aim at presenting basic principles for addressing behavioral change in children. The second author goes a notch higher to explain effects of behavioral change in children. Spock observes that neglecting the needs of children not only spoil them but also causes poor performance in school. The two sites differ in the way they present ideas. The first site uses a medical perspective, which is scientific while the second perspective utilizes social concepts that allow more understanding. After analyzing the two sites, it is concluded that parents have a role to play in molding the behavior of a child. Furthermore, child behavior is one of the complex issues facing parents all over the world (Savelsbergh, 2005). Find two scholarl y journal articles (via Psycho-Info or Google Scholar) that address the topic you have chosen Article 1 The researcher asked participants whether violent video games affected children’s behavior. Adolescents were asked whether they play violent games. The researcher wanted to know how many games a child played or the amount of time spent in playing games.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The study population involved both parents and adolescents. Six hundred and seven grade eight and one hundred and eleven grade nine students took part in the study (Gentile, Lynch, 2004). The respondents were drawn from four Midwestern schools. Sixty-one pupils were from private institutions while 350 were from public schools. A rural public school was also included in the study with a study population of 196 students. In terms of percentage, 52% were male. For parents, letters were sent to them via email. Parents were requested to respond to questions posed to them in the questionnaire. The study found out that exposure to violent video games is directly linked to hostile behavior. The research went ahead to confirm hypothesis as regards to this statement. An adolescent was affected more when he/she increases the number of video games watched per day. It was also established that adolescents became more violent the moment they developed interest in watching or playing violent game s. Furthermore, adolescents regularly engaging teachers in quarrels were addicts of violent video games. Such children could easily fight others. Nonetheless, it was confirmed that adolescents who liked fighting and quarreling with teachers were less argumentative meaning that they acted easily. The study shows further that parents have a role to play in shaping a child’s behavior. The research suggests that parents should always check what their children do at free time and try to show them what is suitable. Electronic media such as the television worsens the attitude of the already aggressive adolescent. It is advisable that parents and other stakeholders approach the influence of media on child behavior cautiously (Golden, 2007). Article 2 The researcher wanted to establish a link between homosexuality and child behavior. He therefore posed some questions to respondents to take their views as regards to child nurturing in a homosexual family (Rekers, 2004). The researcher asked children how they felt knowing that their parents were homosexuals. The researcher has a strong argument based on evidence. Children are affected by the behaviors of parents implying that parents should adjust their actions first if their children are to be responsible members of society. Participants were requested to respond to specific questions designed by the researcher. The researcher wanted to know whether homosexuals had relationships with foreigners. The researcher organized for an interview and asked each participant to give views. The researcher critically analyzed the views of each individual to arrive at conclusions pertaining to child behavior. The researcher noticed that adoption and foster care is not to be exercised by homosexual individuals. Such relations are usually problematic and short-lived. Children do not enjoy the basic love from either the mother or father. Most homosexuals were found to be alcoholic or abusers of drugs. In this case, children underg o psychological traumas, which affect them later on in life. Children may become intolerant to other people’s views because of poor parenting. Comparison and Contrast Both articles present some of the most important tenets of parenthood. A responsible parent will always want to know what the child does after school. The first article support parental monitoring while the second gives some of the things that parents should not do in order to ensure normalcy in the family. The two articles challenge parents to be more vigilant and come up with other leisure activities for children. The media has enormously contributed to juvenile delinquency although parents are reluctant to reduce its influence. The only weakness of the first article is that it does not give solutions to the problem. It only highlights various problems brought about by violent video games. Again, the sample used is too small for generalization. The sample is biased because other stakeholders such as school adm inistrators were not involved in the study. The second article is strong because of its scope. The sample used in the study is representative and less biased. The only weakness is that it bases its arguments on pure science. It does not take into consideration the changing nature of society (Cautilli, Dziewolska, 2006). The two articles would be recommended to parents because they both bring out the major issues in parenting. The family is supposed to be a primary unit of life charged with the responsibility of socialization. This role is being lost to the media at a faster rate, which renders parents irrelevant in a child’s learning process. Homosexuality is not only the cause of delinquency but also depression in children. Therefore, the two articles are important in equipping parents with child rearing dexterities. The findings do not conflict in any way but augment each other in offering important information to parents. Finally, answer the following questions in approxi mately 2.5 pages Modern or contemporary parenting needs are more challenging and demanding as opposed to how it used to be some years back. Increasing technology have introduced new issues that parents need to take care of. The family no longer plays its key role of educating a child but in its place, the school, media, polity and society has taken over. Production and consumption of goods and services in the post-modern society are undertaken concurrently. This means that information reaches to the child before a parent is aware of its content. Parents are encouraged to establish strong links with their children in case they are to succeed in controlling them. Techniques applied by our ancestors in upbringing of children cannot flourish in the post-industrial society. Parents must seek advice from experts on how to live with their children. Human behavior is dynamic implying that it changes with time. It is advisable for a parent to stay with his/her children in order to master the patterns of behavior (Commons, Miller, 2007). The most important thing in solving a child’s problem is to understand the nature of the problem. Problems are not the same meaning that different solutions exist. Parental issues are purely social hence contacting a child psychologist or any other qualified psychologist would be recommended. Moreover, a parent can talk to other parents preferably the more experienced ones. Some problems calls for doctor’s attention hence it is upon parents to categorize problems with the help of psychologists. Religious leaders can also contribute to positive behavior change in children especially the adolescents (Achenbach, Rescorla, 2001) Apart from books, journal articles are the best to use in conducting any study. They offer accurate data that facilitates referencing. Authors of journal articles are usually experts in various fields who possess sufficient knowledge as regards to a topic. The findings are concluded after thorough re search and approved by relevant bodies. Any scholar found contravening the laid down regulations is normally barred from practicing the skill. Information found in the websites such as Wikipedia is usually anecdotal and not supported by any writing. A writer gives his/her opinion, which varies from person to person. Journal articles are more reliable because the research findings can be replicated. This means that another research can conduct the same study using the same tools and arrive at the same conclusions. Information posted in the website is general while journal articles give specific and detailed information. Of the four resources explored in this paper, it is advisable that an individual goes for the last two that is, the journal articles. Facts are clearly arranged in a journal article, which facilitates understanding and easy conceptualization of ideas. Abstracts of Articles 1. Gentile, D., Lynch, P. (2004). Effects of Violent game habits on adolescent hostility, aggre ssive behaviors, and school performance Video games are some of the liked activities by children in the world. Scholars in the contemporary society associate violent video games with behaviors such hostile cognitions, bad attitudes and misdemeanors. The article talks about the games liked by children (adolescents) and how they are influenced in terms of performance in school and general behavior. The article seeks to know the role of parents as regards to monitoring of their children. The article establishes the link between video content and a child’s behavior such as hostility to teachers and physical fights. Through analysis, the researcher found out that adolescents who expose themselves to violent video games are probably more hostile and perform dismally in class. The article concludes its findings by advising parents to be more vigilant. 2. Rekers, G. (2004). Review of Research on Homosexual Parenting, Adoption and Foster Parenting The researcher in this article examin es how homosexuality affects growth and development of a child in a family. The research seeks to unravel the kind of behaviors exhibited by children from homosexual families. Through evaluation, Rekers posits that the level of stress is much higher in children from homosexual families than heterosexual ones. Foster care brings about psychological disorders to children, which ends up harming them in mature commitments. The researcher seeks to know why children under foster care are susceptible to behavior disorder, suicide attempt and desperate ideation. The researcher postulates that homosexuality is highly disapproved by the majority in society, which complicates the lives of the school-going children. They feel shame, discomfiture and fear of denunciation, disturbed in friendships and risk banishment. It is advisable for parents to adopt heterosexual relationships in order to keep adopted or real children safe. The researcher is also worried about homosexual relationships because they prove to be temporary. This would leave children parentless in case the partners break. Children lack either the father or mother figure in the family, which denies them needed love. In a family setting, each partner has a role to play in upbringing children. Male-female marriage is the only form that guarantees constancy. References Achenbach, T.M., Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA School-Age Forms and Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families. Cautilli, J.D., Dziewolska, H. (2006). Brief Report: The Use of Opportunity to Respond and Practice to increase efficiency of the stepping reflex in a five-month-old infant. Behavior Analyst Today, 7(4), 538–547. Commons, M.L., Miller, P.M. (2007). How Early Negative Care giving Experiences Relate to Stage of Attachment. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 13, 14–17. Gentile, D., Lynch, P. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent ho stility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27(1), 5–22. Golden, J. (2007). Editorial – Introduction – Children with behavioral and emotional problems: Is their behavior explained only by complex learning, or do internal motives have a role? International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy 3 (4), 449–476. Novak, G., Pelaez, M. (2002). A behavior-analytic developmental model is better. Behavior and Brain Sciences, 25, 466–468. PAMF, (2011). Behavior Issues with Children. Web. Rekers, G. (2004). Review of Research on Homosexual Parenting, Adoption, and Foster parenting. University of South Carolina School of medicine: South Carolina, Columbia. Savelsbergh, G.J.P. (2005). Discovery of Motor Development: A Tribute to Esther Thelen. The Behavior Analyst Today, 6(4): 243–249. Spock, P. (2011). Behavior Problems in children: Finally a fresh new perspective on causes and treatment. Web. This essay on Parenting: Managing and Controlling Behavior of a Child was written and submitted by user Nakia to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Nicaragua and Terrorism essays

Nicaragua and Terrorism essays Nicaragua The following is the definition of terrorism as defined by the FBI: "the unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or social objectives" (FBI, 2003). It is the aim of this essay to determine whether the actions of the United States in Nicaragua in the early 1980s fit this American definition of terrorism, and to compare those actions with the actions of regimes that the United States government has been critical of in recent months to establish if such criticism may be seen to be hypocritical. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, along with the rest of Central America. It was a part of Mexico for a brief time, then part of the then Central American Federation. Nicaragua finally achieved complete independence in 1838. Soon after, Britain and the USA both became extremely interested in Nicaragua and the strategically important RÃÆ'Â ­o San Juan navigable passage from Lago de Nicaragua to the Caribbean. In 1848, the British seized the port at the mouth of the RÃÆ'Â ­o San Juan on the Caribbean coast and renamed it Greytown. This became a major transit point for hordes of hopefuls looking for the quickest route to Californian gold. In 1855, the liberals from the city of Leon invited William Walker, an American intent on taking over Latin American territory, to help seize power from the conservatives based in Granada. Aided by a band of mercenaries, Walker and his fellows took Granada easily and he proclaimed himself president, one of his first moves being to institutionalize slavery. He was soon ejected from power and the country, but showed almost absurd tenacity as he repeatedly tried to invade the country. This was the first American intervention in the affairs of Nicaragua, and in many ways set the preced...

How to Style Legislative Terms

How to Style Legislative Terms How to Style Legislative Terms How to Style Legislative Terms By Mark Nichol Capitalization style for words and phrases related to legislation and international agreements is fairly straightforward, but here are some notes about treatment: Constitutions The phrase â€Å"US Constitution† (or â€Å"United States Constitution,† though the form with initials alone is sufficient) should be capitalized as such, as should names of state constitutions (â€Å"the California Constitution,† for example), but the word on its own is lowercased even as a subsequent reference to a specific document. The same is true of a word for components of a constitution, such as article. Names of specific amendments to the US Constitution are capitalized, but whether words or numerals are used to indicate them is contingent on which authority is used: The Chicago Manual of Style, the style manual of record for book publishers, calls for generally spelling out numbers up to one hundred, but the Associated Press Stylebook, which prescribes style for newspapers (some magazines and many Web sites adhere to it as well), uses numerals for 10 and up. So, write â€Å"Thirteenth Amendment† or â€Å"13th Amendment† according to the style your self-selected or externally appointed style guide recommends. Proposed amendments to the Constitution are often identified by their chief proponent (for example, â€Å"the Bricker Amendment†) or their aims (â€Å"the Equal Rights Amendment,† though some people argue that because there is no such amendment, only a movement to pass one, it should not be validated with capitalization). Bills and Acts A proposal for a new law enacted by the US Congress is offered as a bill. A bill proposed in the House of Representatives is given the body’s initials and a number (HR 99), followed by the name of the bill; a Senate is identified similarly (S 13). (As with US and other abbreviations, the initials are often followed by periods, but this style is unnecessary.) This style isn’t exactly mirrored in state and local legislation; for example, in the California Assembly, the local equivalent of the House of Representatives, a bill is abbreviated AB (for â€Å"Assembly Bill.†) If passed, the bill becomes an act, such as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. (Note that the year of enactment is often but not always part of the official name of the act.) In generic usage, even to a specific act, the word act is lowercased, though many legislative bodies and associated publications capitalize it when it refers to a specific act, as in â€Å"The Act would reverse a long-standing military policy that discriminates against gay service personnel.† Many other names for legislation exist, including code, ordinance, and statute. These words are capitalized as part of the name of a body of laws, such as â€Å"Civil Code† or â€Å"Municipal Code,† but are otherwise lowercased. Treaties and Such Nomenclature for treaties includes formal and informal styles. For example, one notable example’s formal name is the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, but the treaty associated with the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks is informally called the SALT treaty (with treaty lowercased because that is not the official name). A similar international understanding is referred to as an agreement, as in â€Å"the Sykes-Picot Agreement.† Then there is an armistice, which is merely a cessation of hostilities that may or may not be followed by a peace treaty. Many notable armistices have occurred, requiring specific nomenclature such as â€Å"the Korean War Armistice Agreement,† but the default event, that formalizing the end of World War I, is referred to simply as â€Å"the Armistice.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SWhat is the Difference Between Metaphor and Simile?

Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan - Term Paper Example This paper deals with the marketing plan of Minnesota Fast Food Restaurant which is a small fast food outlet at Minnesota and has been in operations for last five years. The unit is intending to transform itself into a proper fast food restaurant by means of innovative and resourceful strategies. This marketing plan is based on both the qualitative and quantitative approaches to the collection of data. The qualitative approach will include the use of observations and focus on statistics regarding fast food industry. The quantitative approach will involve the use journals, magazines, and online stuff from different websites. Presently the point is offering few local fast food items to the general public of Cottage Grove. This business plan has been made after making a comprehensive research and evaluating a variety of issues concerning fast food restaurant industry in Minnesota in the city of Cottage Grove. The main purpose and scope of this plan is to provide particular information a bout the industry and to highlight the critical areas for successful launching of a new fast food restaurant in Minnesota. The data discussed in this business plan is based on some certain facts and has been collected through number of sources. A careful attempt has been made to present real time data, however, this information may change at any time due to occurrence of any changes in the target market, and thus the actual outcomes may differ from the projected results. 2. OBJECTIVES Major objectives of Minnesota Fast Food Restaurant with respect to financial, marketing, and societal perspectives are: To increase the recognition of brand image of Minnesota Fast Food Restaurant To increase the market share of Minnesota Fast Food Restaurant To make the target market aware of the new brands and make sure to convince them to come and enjoy these brands time and again Objectives Market share (in Cottage Grave) 2013 to 2014 05-07% By the end of 2015 07-10% 3. MISSION STATEMENTS Generatio n of revenue and profit is the main purpose of any organization and same will be for Minnesota Fast Food Restaurant. Since it’s a service provider unit, therefore, customer service is the base of its existence. Our aim is to become the first choice of the customers and make them staying with us time and again. We believe in PEARL strategy as our core value i.e. Passion for excellence in doing everything Execute with positive energy and urgency Accountable for growth in customer satisfaction and profitability Recognize the achievement of others and have fun doing it Listen and more importantly respond to the voice of customer 4. KEY TO SUCCESS The key points for successful launching of our products and services are: Developing of a corporate strategy regarding the management of fast food and meeting the changing tastes of consumer behaviour Unique and innovative menu that may give us a competitive edge on

Well logging Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Well logging - Assignment Example ards the transverse plane present, which is achieved by applying an external magnetic field that is in resonance with the precessing protons, which are polarized. The protons will then continue in their precession process, after rotation, but in a plane that is perpendicular to the aligned protons, which creates a changeable and detectable magnetic field. Dephrasing of the protons may result due to interferences resulting from the polarized magnetic field at the proton’s location. The dephrasing factors can then be quantified, and used to prevent further dephrasing by another time constant (T2). Focused electrons moving horizontally through the formation: Laterlogs are utilized in low-resistive muds. A focused current is made to flow horizontally by placing two guard electrodes that are located above and below the electrode’s current. The central generating electrode and the guard electrodes are balanced and a sheet of current then penetrates the formation. High frequency alternating current: these logs are used in oil-based or fresh-water muds. A high frequency current flows through the transmitter when a receiver coil and transmitter coil are placed at the ends of sonde. This creates a magnetic field, which, in turn, generates an alternating current. The generated current alternates depending on formation resistivity and the quantifiable parameters are recorded in the receiver coil. Rt: is obtained by using Dual Laterlog Borehole correction (both deep and shallow laterlogs). In order to achieve this, Rs, Rm, RLLD, RLLS, Rw, and RSFL should be known. The obtained data must be calculated to substitute the following formulas: Rw: SP log is used to identify the clan sand lines and shale baseline on the SP log. Temperature is then determined to convert (Rm)Tm to (Rmf)Tf. SSP is then calculated by using the invaded resistivity Rf, and the bed thickness, h. the formula for this conversion is converting Rmf@Tf to Rmfe @ Tf, then Calculate Rwe: Rwe=

White Resistance to the Civil Rights Movement Essay Example for Free

White Resistance to the Civil Rights Movement Essay Throughout Reconstruction, southern whites felt constantly threatened by legislation providing rights for former slaves. The Civil Rights Bill of 1875 was the last rights bill passed by congress during reconstruction. It protected all Americans’ (including blacks) access to public accommodations such as trains. With the threat of complete equality constantly looming, violence toward former slaves gradually increased in the years following the Civil War. Beatings and murders were committed by organized groups like the Ku Klux Klan, out-of-control mobs, and individual white southern men. During Reconstruction, white southerners had limited governmental power, so they resorted to violence in order to control African-Americans. Although it is true that some whites embraced the prospect of a new interracial landscape for America, many more reacted with hostility. They feared social and political change, and were very uncomfortable with the fact that their old way of life seemed gone for good. Although there were many forms of massive resistance to the Civil Rights Movement and what it stood for, the impact of white resistance, both violent and nonviolent, on this period in America’s history is truly immeasurable. There are two scholarly works that not only trace the white resistance movement with historical accuracy, but also stress the plight that African Americans felt at this tumultuous time in history. The books that I am referring to are â€Å"Massive Resistance: The White Response to the Civil Rights Movement† by George Lewis, and â€Å"Rabble Rousers: The American Far Right in the Civil Rights Era† By Clive Webb. Although these works are both written about the same period in history, they depict much different points of view concerning white resistance and what brought it on. The â€Å"southern way of life† encompassed very distinct mixtures of economic, cultural, and social practices. Because of this, integration of African Americans into everyday life did not come without resistance. In this paper I intend to interpret and compare these two scholarly books, while explaining the role of the states and the federal government as well as individual groups in the progression and eventual fragmentation of these white resistance movements. The first thing that can be observed upon glancing at George Lewiss book â€Å"Massive resistance† is its cover image. It is a photograph of elementary school children and women protesting against desegregation in New Orleans in 1960. The main focus of the picture depicts two women yelling loudly along a sidewalk. At their side, a young schoolboy holds a poster that reads: All I want for Christmas is a clean white school. Other women and children stand in the background. One person is holding a poster that refers to states rights, as others gaze toward the street. Two women are attending the event wearing handkerchiefs and curlers, indicating that they possibly had rushed out of their homes to partake in the mornings activities. Above the scene is the books title, Massive Resistance. To a reader who might be unfamiliar with the general topic of this book, the cover’s text and image might illustrate somewhat of a contradiction. What people fail to consider is that massive resistance did not solely amount to what is visible in the photograph on the books cover. This does not depict all that stood in the way of African-Americans struggling to gain their civil rights. Women and children yelling from sidewalks with posters was one of many responses used by American Southerners in opposition to desegregation. In his book, George Lewis reveals the many ways in which southerners went about these acts of massive resistance. Throughout the book, Lewis traces the historical evolution of the term ‘massive resistance’ and explores the variety of contexts in which it was carried out. In discussing the role of Senator Harry Flood of Virginia, as well as elements of the mass media, Lewis reveals the many causes and actors in the acts of massive resistance. At first, massive resistance was the response of different elements of white society in the South, in opposition to the federal governments plans to desegregate southern society. Lewis discharges many historical explanations that viewed massive resistance as simply being carried out by southern political elites. He also dismisses the idea that the resistance only occurred at the well-known sites of segregationist protests such as Little Rock, Ole Miss and Birmingham. The author also discusses activities occurring at the grassroots level, which reveals that the movement of southern white resistance was very diverse. In regards to the beginning of the movement, Lewis rejects the idea that the Supreme Courts Brown decision was the only event that started massive resistance. He states that citing Brown as the single catalyst shows that many scholars have misread the movement. He believes that the movement was more complex than that. As an amorphous beast, massive resistance must be viewed as a phenomenon that was too sprawling, and simply not sufficiently obedient, to have been ushered into existence by a single landmark event (24). Lewis divides the movement into three historical periods of resistance activity, and then examines different ways in which it was displayed. He explores each phase chapter by chapter. By doing this, he covers many aspects such as the tactics used in various states, the role of the Souths political elite and Citizens Councils, the actions of state legislatures, the role of the mass media, and white justifications for their discriminatory policies (they call it a product of long-standing southern culture and tradition). The first period of focus covers the immediate years following the Brown decision of 1954 up until the signing of the Southern Manifesto, which signaled the start of the second period of resistance. Finally, the third period included the first half of the sixties, which is when the movement gradually lost its strength at the political and social levels. Webb’s documentation of this historic period of time provides a stark contrast to Lewis. In â€Å"Rabble Rousers: The American Far Right in the Civil Rights Era,† Clive Webb describes the stories of five white extremists who conducted war against integration with intense hate. The purpose of Webb’s work is to assess the causes, characteristics, and consequences of far-right activism in the South from the 1950s to the 1960s (p. 2). Webb argues that these men were not extreme abnormalities, but that they represented something deeply rooted in the American political culture, which is something seen in todays resurgent far right (p. 214). Out of the five men Webb profiles, two focused their energies on fighting school desegregation and entered their target communities as outsiders (Bryant Bowles and John Kasper), two of them were former military men who attempted many unsuccessful campaigns for political office and encouraged violence as a necessary means to defend their homeland (John Crommelin and Edwin A.Walker), and one was the most violently fanatical racist spawned by massive resistance who served as legal defense for offenders of anti-civil-rights violence, was suspected in bombings and murders, and also laid the foundation for contemporary white hate organizations (p. 153). To fuel violence, these self-proclaimed saviors of the white race also made whites fear black men preying on white women. Finally, although the men showed a lot of variation in their stories, they were similar in that they all developed anti-black stances, even though they had little knowledge of or interaction with blacks. In this work, Webb shows how local political contexts shaped these men’s successes and failures. He also shows how these five men and the organizations that they were affiliated with affected the overall course of massive resistance. He gives evidence of the ways in which support of free speech created an unexpected connection between the far right and far left. He calls the men and the organizations and actions they were affiliated terrorist, creating a more contemporary view of the situation. These five men were ostracized and repeatedly arrested during the civil rights era, but at the same time they were enabled by the support of white elites. While massive resisters continued to pursue their agenda throughout this broad period of time, forces that were involved in the struggle for civil rights and desegregation challenged the institutionalized system of racism that had forever been the norm in the South. Their efforts along with the commitment of the federal government led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As a result, segregation and political disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the South were illegal. The two works by Lewis and Webb give completely different depictions of massive resistance by southern whites during this era, while still conveying similar messages. After researching these two books, I have come away with a clearer understanding of the forces and dynamics that comprised the massive resistance movement. Sources: Lewis, G. (2006). Massive resistance: The white response to the civil rights movement. London, England: Bloomsbury, USA. Webb, C. (2010). Rabble rousers: The American far right in the civil rights era. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

Women in the Workforce Essay -- Economic Globalization Careers Essays

Women in the Workforce The integration of the world economy, or economic globalization, has been an operating force for centuries. However, in recent times the effects of this phenomenon have become a major cause for debate. Economic globalization is characterized and supported by free trade, the transcending of ideas and business infrastructures across national boundaries, increased capital flows, advanced communication systems, and an increased interdependence of national economies. It is a result of increased access to information, technology, knowledge and opportunities. The debate surrounding globalization however centers on how this increased access manifests itself in different countries, particularly underdeveloped and developing nations. Proponents of globalization argue that it creates expanded channels for employment, promotes broader and more substantial economic growth, allows for higher incomes, and improves quality of life. Critics say, among other things, that while this may be true for som e people, globalization is also functioning to marginalize underdeveloped countries and minority groups around the world. In the context of these two perspectives, I will examine a very important minority group who have, particularly over the past twenty years, become an increasingly important part of the labor force, women. In order to do this, I will first present some statistical data regarding women’s participation in the labor force. This data will show that women indeed have been affected significantly by globalization. In addition I will present a more qualitative look at how globalization has affected the lives of women by concentrating on several specific examples of women’s experiences in different countries. This is a statistical overview of women in the workforce. Female participation in the workforce ranges widely from 60% in some industrialized countries to about 10% in North Africa and Western Asia, averaging at about 43% as of 2000. This means that an average of 43% of women in the world work. This level of female participation is significantly higher than it was 20 years ago (Table 1), and is expected to reach an average of 48% by the year 2010. Table 1. Percentage of women that work Year Percent of women who work 1980 34 1985 36.5 1990 37.2 1995 39.5 2000 43.2 In the overall workforce, made up of approximate... ...tes and Projections of the Economically Active Population, 1950-2010. 5. Horton, Susan. Marginalization Revisited: Women’s Market Work and Pay, and Economic Development. 1999. 27 World Development: p571. Also see, Mehra, Rekha and Sarah Gammage. Trends, Countertrends, and Gaps in Women’s Employment Trends, Countertrends, and Gaps in Women’s Employment. 1999. World Development, 27: p533. 6. Aman, Alfred C. Introduction: Feminism and Globalization: The Impact of the Global Economy on Women and Feminist Theory, 1999. 4 Ind. J. Global Legal Stud. 1, 4. 7. Martha Chen et al. Counting the Invisible Workforce: The Case of Homebased Workers. 1999.World Development, 27: p603. 8. The World Bank Group. Data and Statistics – World Development Indicators. 2002. (See http://devdata.worldbank.org - Women in Development – About the Data). 9. Ministry of Labor. Data available at MOL's Website (See: http://www.mol.go.jp). 10. Rape for Profit: Trafficking of Nepali Girls and Women to India's Brothels. Human Rights Watch. October 2000, Vol. 12, No. 5 (A). 11. Over 60 million women fallen victim to sex discrimination. Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay, Ltd.) July 24, 1997.

With the evolution of man has come the inevitable evolution of the arts

With the evolution of man has come the inevitable evolution of the arts. Whether decorative, visual, or musical, the arts have seen several distinct periods of development through the course of history and as one of the definitive artistic media, music is no exception. During the 17th through middle 18th centuries, music progressed through a period that historians labeled â€Å"Baroque. † New musical forms and a style of music that was unheard of at the end of the renaissance characterized this period. These new styles and forms saw the emergence of several composers who, rather than break new ground in the musical world, took the existing forms and developed them into robust, mature works that fully exhibited their virtuosic command of the â€Å"rules† of composition. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) were two composers that historians and musicians alike use to describe the essence of the baroque period. Neither composer generated groundbreaking reforms in the core of the music they composed, but rather they took that which was defined and increased the breadth, scope, and complexity of existing genres to suit their purposes as working musicians and/or composers. During the Baroque period, a popular musical form was the Prelude and Fugue (also called Toccata and Fugue or Fantasia and Fugue). Such a form was nothing new during the Baroque period, as examples of similar forms date back to renaissance and even pre-renaissance musical examples. The practice of freely improvising a few notes of the coming contrapuntal passage was common in those periods prior to Baroque. When composers such as Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) and Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707) codified the Prelude and Fugue into its then-modern form, the way was paved for Bach's Praeludium et Fuga in A Minor, BWV 543 (~1708-1717). The prelude section consisted of contrasting irregular rhythms coupled with sets of asymmetric runs of driving sixteenth notes (Palisca 346). Such irregular compositions were used to emulate the improvisational nature of the prelude of days past. While the form was codified by the likes of Buxtehude and Frescobaldi, there are some fundamental differences between their works and those of J. S. Bach. Bach's Praeludium et Fuga in A Minor consists of separate sections for the prelude and fugue. A staple of Frescobaldi's work, Tocatta No. 3 (1615 revised 1637) gives us the relentless movement associated with a prelude form, although its extensive use of cadence evasion is a contrast to Bach's mostly uniform movement from tonic to dominant and vice versa. The less-defined fugal section in Frescobaldi's work also serves as a contrast to Bach's later work, however, the roots of the template for his toccata are nonetheless prevalent in this example. Buxtehude's Praeludium in E Major, BuxWV 141, followed a progression of several â€Å"free† segments with fugal segments intertwined within the whole of the piece. While the prelude and the fugue sections may not be as clearly defined as Bach's piece, they nonetheless serve as the template from which they will be written. Parallels can also be drawn to Arcangelo Corelli's (1653-1713) Trio Sonata, Op. 3 No. because the second movement, Allegro, makes use of fugal sections in the melodic structure. The voices of the fugue are spread out among the voices of the instruments involved. The evolution an artistic medium such as Prelude and Fugue to its mature form spanned the better part of the 17th century, and then took its place among the many popular forms of the Baroque Era. The chorale prelude in the Baroque era is â€Å"a short piece in which the entire melody is presented just once in readily recognizable form† (Palisca 350). Both Bach and Buxtehude wrote chorale preludes and each had an interesting take on how to arrange the chorale. In Bach's Durch Adams Falls BWV 637 (~1717), Bach places the original melody in the topmost voice and makes extensive use of the lower voices and pedal to participate in large amounts of text painting. The passages marked with any kind of text related to a â€Å"fall† have intervallic drops that were considered dissonant at the time. The intervallic dissonances coupled with the easily recognizable melody in the topmost voice made for an effective setting of Lazarus Spengler's text. Danket dem Herrn, BuxWV 181, by Buxtehude, provides a contrast to Bach's style of text setting for a chorale prelude. Buxtehude sets the text for â€Å"Thank the Lord, for He is very kind† by taking the original melody and dividing it among the various voices and making the melodic phrase the subject of a short fugue. Each of the three verses would see an individualized segment of imitation followed by a run of freely composed counterpoint (Palisca 429). The two seem to share characteristics of the chorale prelude in name only, however, there is a connection between the two, for without Buxtehude's setting of his text, Bach could have never developed upon the idea of making the text more effective even though there would be no actual text in the organ chorale. The idea of making the meaning of the text more effective was characteristic of Bach's chorale prelude. Such a development from the counterpoint-centered chorale prelude of Buxtehude to the message-conveying text painted medium of Bach shows just how much variation there can be within a certain medium. As one of the more massive works in J. S. Bach's repertoire, the cantata is a massive musical setting of a religious text delivered in multiple movements. Although not a dramatic medium, the cantata was organized religion's answer to the use of aria and recitative. Cantata in the Baroque era made use of alternating aria and recitative sections to set a religious text to a specific story. J. S. Bach's Wachet Auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, sets the story of Philip Nicolai's telling of angels come down from heaven to wake the virgins in anticipation of the bridegroom's arrival. The entire cantata makes distinctive use of ritornello reminiscent of Antonio Vivaldi's (1678-1741) Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 3, No. 2, RV 578. The ritornello is divided into four-bar phrases that are based on several distinct melodic motives (Palisca 547). Bach also makes extensive use of text painting and subtle musical paintings that are clearly throwbacks to composers such as Josquin Des Prez (~1450-1521) and Carlo Gesualdo (~1561-1613) that wrote in the â€Å"musica reservata† style in the renaissance and ars nova periods. J. S. Bach lived and worked in Germany all of his life. His work was, almost exclusively, with the Lutheran church, which is not surprising since it is known that Bach was a devout Lutheran. Such information may seem peripheral to his works as a musician but it becomes integral when trying to take a historical analysis of J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 (~1749). It is somewhat of a historical idiosyncrasy that Bach, a self-professed devout Lutheran, to write a Catholic mass, but historians have inferred that the mass was probably written as a gift for the King of Poland. The historical oddity aside, Bach's Mass in B Minor, is one of the most well-known and oft-performed examples of his work. His setting of the credo includes a single tenor being accompanied by a small chamber group of instrumentalists. Such an instrumentation differs with Credo's of the past, especially that of Giovanni Da Palestrina (1525/6-1594). Palestrina's Pope Marcellus Mass (1567) sets the credo, in a style typical of the period, for unaccompanied voices set in contrapuntal melodies. Such a fundamental difference in the setting of a mass would indicate the differences in philosophies regarding the setting of text between the two periods. Bach's post-reformation world held a belief that, with matters regarding religion, the meaning of the text should come first and thus should not take second place to musicianship or rules of counterpoint. For those who wrote â€Å"traditional† catholic masses, such as Palestrina and Josquin Dez Prez the meaning of the text took a backseat to the melodic structures of the pieces at hand. Although Josquin's Missa Pange lingua (~1510) presents a homo-rhythmic setting of the credo, the rest of the mass is a contrapuntal mess of voices taking complex imitative passages of each other. Bach's setting of â€Å"Et expecto resurrectionem† is a reflection of a Baroque trend of large-scale instrumental accompaniment to a choral text setting. Here, a full orchestra accompanies five voices. The text is displayed in blocks alternating to and from a ritornello from the orchestral accompaniment. While Bach's works throughout the Baroque era are vital to the understanding of music during that period, where it came from and where it was headed, Bach's work contributed no less to the development of music than G. F. Handel. Bach is probably best known for his work as a German in Germany, Handel, however, is perhaps best known for his work as a German in England. During a brief period in the early 18th century, Handel was patron to the elector of Hanover, and although this appointment would not last, it would prove to be a defining point in Handel's career. In 1712, he was granted permission to take a trip to London, and what started out as a short leave of absence turned into a 2-year stay in England's capitol. Ironically, George I, Handel's master in Hanover, ascended the British thrown shortly thereafter, becoming King George I of England. This two year period in London would only be the tip of the ice burg of what would be considered a long and prosperous career for Handel. If Bach were to be defined by his eclectic collection of religious works, then the defining works of Handel would be his adherence to the operatic tradition. Handel wrote many operas like Giolio Cesare (1724) that emphasized the dramatic tradition of the opera. Giolio Cesare is the story of Julius Caesar and subsequent trip to Egypt and all the drama that occurs therein. Handel skillfully uses the orchestra as an accompanying force during the recitative and aria, but also knew how to take advantage of a full orchestra by writing passages in which there were powerful unison passages and utter silence when appropriate. Like Alessandro Scarlatti's (1660-1725) opera La Griselda, Handel uses a repeat to return to the phrases at the beginning at the end of use, thus making effective use of â€Å"Da Capo† or â€Å"Dal Segno† form. The setting of the text is done effectively to create both musical and dramatic beauty by using well-placed sets of delays and avoided cadences. Fierce competition with a rival operatic company coupled with the tightening of the moral collar by the church forced Handel to adopt an alternative to opera as his main artistic medium. The church ruled that during solemn periods in the liturgical year the theatres in England would be closed, and as such, no operas, or any other dramatic works for that matter, could be performed. As such, Handel took a foray into the form of the Oratorio, an adaptation of the operatic tradition for the purpose of telling religious stories. His Oratorio, Saul (1739), was, for all intents and purposes, an opera set to the story of Saul's conversion into Christianity. Although Oratorios make extended use of accepted operatic forms, aria, recitative, etc. no physical drama takes place in the setting of the stories. Handel makes use of contrapuntal passages and fugue, typical baroque compositional elements, to tell his story of Saul, while Heinrich Schitz (1585-1672) used more of a concerto grosso form to tell of Saul's revelation. Schitz set the story of Saul for six voices and orchestra and made extended use of harmonic dissonance rather than play with rhythms or melodic structures to tell the story. The relatively thick-textured nature of Schitz's setting makes for a dramatic interpretation of Christ's words to Saul. Handel, however, takes his experience with recitative and aria to paint a no-less striking story of Saul. The â€Å"masters† of any historically defined era or period are usually those that came into the scene â€Å"en medias rex† (in the middle of things). We see that both J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel took the existing artistic forms and artistic media available to them codified at the beginning of their period and expanded them into what would become the defining elements of music of the Baroque period. Like Josquin Des Prez during the height of the Ars Nova and Adrian Willaert during the peak of the madrigalists, composers at the middle of their respective periods were responsible for creating the defining characteristics and notable references to that period before the inevitable move towards evolution and change take hold and move the music or art away from its previous center. The process of musical evolution is, perhaps, not as notable as some of the social or political watermarks, but provides much needed insight into the minds and hearts of those who lived during such fascinating times.

Computing and Ieee-754 Floating-point

1. Name the three ways in which signed integers can be represented in digital computers  and explain the differences. 2. Which one of the three integer representations is used most often by digital computer  systems? 3. How are complement systems like the odometer on a bicycle? 4. Do you think that double-dabble is an easier method than the other binary-to-decimal  conversion methods explained in this chapter? Why? 5. With reference to the previous question, what are the drawbacks of the other two  conversion methods? . What is overflow and how can it be detected? How does overflow in unsigned numbers  differ from overflow in signed numbers? 7. If a computer is capable only of manipulating and storing integers, what difficulties  present themselves? How are these difficulties overcome? 8. What are the three component parts of a floating-point number? 9. What is a biased exponent, and what efficiencies can it provide? 10. What is normalization and why is it necessary? 11.W hy is there always some degree of error in floating-point arithmetic when performed  by a binary digital computer? 12. How many bits long is a double-precision number under the IEEE-754 floating-point  standard? 13. What is EBCDIC, and how is it related to BCD? 14. What is ASCII and how did it originate? 15. How many bits does a Unicode character require? 16. Why was Unicode created? 17. Why is non-return-to-zero coding avoided as a method for writing data to a magnetic  disk? 18.Why is Manchester coding not a good choice for writing data to a magnetic disk? 19. Explain how run-length-limited encoding works. 20. How do cyclic redundancy checks work? 21. What is systematic error detection? 22. What is a Hamming code? 23. What is meant by Hamming distance and why is it important? What is meant by minimum  Hamming distance? 24. How is the number of redundant bits necessary for code related to the number of data  bits? 25. What is a burst error? 26. Name an error detection met hod that can compensate for burst errors.

16 Creative Writing Exercises Guaranteed to Jumpstart Inspiration

16 Creative Writing Exercises Guaranteed to Jumpstart Inspiration The Muse, inspiration, creative energy- its called several things but rarely is it called easy, and any writer who has chased it without success knows exactly what I mean.When the dreaded writers block happens, writing exercises are a great way to induce creativity and can provide the jumpstart needed to chase the Muse down at will. Here are a few creative writing exercises for you to try that will hopefully do just that. Happy writing!Developing your descriptive writing skills is necessary for writing in almost every genre, and a good way to do it is to imagine scenes from different perspectives. For example, a bank robbery is taking place and you are on the floor. Describe what you see from that vantage point. Then go back and describe that exact same scene from the robbers point of view.Much of creative energy is about willing an idea into being, whether its an idea for a story or turning a music hook into a song. Think of a creative goal you want to achieve- be it a book, a poem, a collection of photographs or a song- and give it a name. Now write a press release about it. Be sure to include details in your press release about your creative process and how long it took you to finish the project. And for those of you who havent written press releases, CoSchedule blog has a great page with writing tips and example templates to use.The word count of a project changes how you write it and the writing techniques you use. Its good to practice writing at different word count requirements so you can begin to see which words you use that are extraneous, and how certain words stand out as encapsulating the project as a whole. Heres a great way to practice it: Describe a vivid memory from your childhood using 150 words. Then rewrite the same memory with 20 words. Now rewrite it again with three words and finally, one.A lot of the challenge to writing is just getting started, which is why using writing prompts and sentence starters is a great way to get past that hurdl e. This post has 301 writing prompts and story ideas that are guaranteed to kick your writing into high gear.Seeing things from alternate points of view is something we all have difficulty with- its human nature to be focused in on your own experience rather than anothers. To practice imagining a scene from alternate points of view, pick a setting and three characters who will be in that setting. Determine their names, their occupations, their appearance and what motivates them most. Now describe the setting from each characters perspective. When you read back through your drafts, be sure to note the subtle and not-so-subtle ways you shifted perspectives in the process. Which do you think were more convincing?Pacing and suspense are two facets of writing that can make or break a story. The authors who get these right end up on New York Times bestseller lists because readers love a book that they cant put down. To practice your own skills at pacing and suspense, write a scene from fi rst-person point of view where you wake up in a room you dont recognize and try to find a way out. In the meantime, you pass by a mirror and something catches you by surprise; what is it? Now end the story there.The power of observation can turn a mediocre writer into a great one. To practice your own observation skills, study a stranger for several minutes and then write their biography. Be sure to include key details that happened from birth to the present moment.Sensory details create depth to any story or character and should be used often in good writing. To practice exploring sensory details, determine five separate locations that you know well. If you can actually be in these five locations while doing this creative writing exercise, thats even better. For each location, write out the five senses and then lists underneath each one that describe the setting. For example, a bar might have the following:see (glasses, door, flashing sign)hear (laughter, glasses hitting against ea ch other, Chris Stapleton singing)taste (cold beer, salty peanuts, greasy fries)touch (crowd pressed together, the feel of glass against my lips)smell (smoke from the kitchen, spilled alcohol, old beer)Stream of consciousness writing can be a powerful way to find the right words when the right ones are elusive. Along with that, its an effective way to tap into the subconscious and explore words or phrasing that might be hidden there and just needing a nudge to the surface. One way to practice this type of writing is to write an abstract poem without punctuation or capitalization. Dont worry about rhyme or reason or anything that restricts the flow of thoughts as you write whatever comes to mind on the page. The important thing to keep in mind when completing a creative exercise like this is to not judge yourself harshly or think of it as anything anyone other than you will read. This kind of judgment-free zone in writing tends to make great words happen.Metaphors are one of the most powerful literary devices, especially in genres like poetry. Write a list of 15 normal events in your day (grocery shopping, dog walking, taking a shower) then create a metaphor for each that is as melodramatic or outlandish as possible. For example, Walking the dog was like a drag race between a go-cart and a Lamborghini.Building convincing characters often involves taking a look at the whole person- their physical description, psychological outlook, motivation and even their addictions. This is especially difficult when it is a character very much unlike you. Complete a character sketch for yourself, including your physical description along with a description of your education level, socioeconomic status, addictions, motivations, hopes, fears and personality type. Now do the same thing for a character that would be the exact opposite of you in a story. Be sure to check out our post on creating character sketches for a free template.Heres another exercise to practice building bel ievable characters: Write down five important life questions that are meaningful to you. For example, you might write, Is there a God? or What is our purpose in life? Now answer those questions to the best of your ability, including the reason you believe what you believe. Finally, choose your favorite character from literature (it can be a good guy or bad guy or somewhere in between) and answer those same questions again from the point of view of that character.Write a paragraph that describes three of your favorite colors as if you were describing them to someone who has been colorblind their entire life. Then, below that, write a paragraph describing your favorite song to someone who is deaf by using sensory details that do not involve hearing.Write a conversation between two strangers conducting simple business that takes far longer than it should take. For example, it could be a bill collector and a debtor, or a bus driver and a passenger. Try to stretch the conversation out as far as you can without venturing into the surreal.Go to a location where you hear a lot of conversations happening around you at once. Listen carefully and pick out pieces of dialogue from three or four conversations and write those down. Finally, combine all the dialogue together in one conversation between two people in a way that makes logical sense.Find a short story that you have never read before and read the first half of it. Then, write the second half as you see it happening before finally reading the end of the original story to see how your re-write differed.