Strategic finance issues

This analysis will financially compare Santos Limiter's financial performance for the year ending 31st December 2013 with the previous year's results, by way of ratio analysis. It will also benchmark the latest result with that of Woodside Petroleum for the same period using the same ratio analysis of the 2013 financial statements of each company.A copy of these ratio analysis are attached to this report as appendix 1, which contains a through time comparison for the last two years for Santos Limited ND the across time comparison with Woodside Petroleum for the most recent year. As Basely and Hancock (2013 p. 358) depict there are certain factors relevant to selecting an appropriate benchmark.Woodside Petroleum has been selected as the benchmarking company as Woodside also operates in oil and gas production, focusing operations within the Australian area. While Woodside operations are larger than that of Santos, the relative size of these companies is comparable and both follow the a ccounting policies required by the Corporations Act 2001 , Australian Accounting Standards and other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian Accounting standards board.Both companies are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASS) which provides comparative data for the ratios analyzed and presented in Appendix 1 with the following tables; Table 1 – Profitability ratios Table 2 – Efficiency ratios Table 3 – Short-term solvency ratios Table 4 – Long-term solvency ratios and Table 5 – Market-based ratios A copy of Santos Limiter's 2013, 2012 and Woodside petroleum ‘s 2013 Annual reports are attached to this report as Appendix 2, Appendix 3 and Appendix 4 especially, for reference to the findings and suggestions outlined in this review.One limitation of the comparison is that Santos Limited reports their financial data in Australian (ALL'S) dollars, while Woodside Petroleum report their financial data in American (US) dollars. This is o vercome by using ratios for a majority of comparisons and converting the US dollar amounts into ASS dollars when required. 2. 0 Ratio Analysis To look at the relationship between figures presented in the financial statements, this report uses a ratio analysis technique. To fully understand the ratios developed e will look at them in context of other information provided in various reports and the overall goals of the company.From these ratios the report will then compare these against the benchmark and ultimately identify areas for improvement and, if necessary, change. 2. 1 Profitability. As we can see from Table 1 – Profitability ratios, the net profit margin and the gross profit margin fell 1 . 74% and 4. 26% respectively in 2013. While sales increased 1 1 . 76% for the year, the gross profit margin decreased as previously stated which, was the main driver for the decrease in net profit margin for the year as the interest expense o sales remained consistent.There was a sli ght drop in return on assets, however asset turnover remained fairly constant, highlighting that the drop in net profit margin is due to the drop in gross profit margin and not a lower turnover of assets. The reduction in gross profit margin is due to the increase in financing costs like depreciation and depletion (up 1. 5% of sales for 2013) and third party product purchases (up 5. 6% of sales). The reduction in financing income also played a major part in pushing down profits. In comparison Woodside has a higher return on assets Han Santos due to the 16. 8% higher profit margin and they turnover assets more efficiently. Also, Santos' continuing capital growth strategies in projects such as the Papua New Guiana Liquefied Natural Gas (PING LONG) and the Gladstone Liquid Natural Gas (GLEN) transformational projects which are outlined in the 2013 Annual report, are still in the developing phase, therefore not producing to generate sales until the following years. Woodside had a low co mmitment to capital expenditure for the same financial year and after selling off major capital in 2012 their use of debt as far less (shown as the leverage ratio in Table 4).The return on ordinary shareholder's equity (ROE) ratio shows the return for the shareholders who supply equity to the business. The ROE is higher for Woodside due to their higher profit margins however, the higher financial leverage ratio in Table 4 will benefit Santos' shareholders when the return on assets increases compared to the financing costs. This will happen when the above mentioned projects begin production. This is congruent with the statement in a press release by Managing Director (M. D) and Chief Executive Officer (C.E. O) Mr. David Knox on 21st of February 2014. â€Å"In particular, our natural gas reserve and resource base in eastern Australia, combined with our leading infrastructure position, leaves Santos strategically well placed to meet growing market demand,†. 2. 2 Efficiency ratio s For the 2013 fiscal year the sales and also the number of debtors increased. The use of efficiency ratios helps determine whether the increase in debtors is due to the increase in sales alone or that it is caused by the debtors taking longer to pay.These ratios show this by providing statistical relations on how effectively Santos Limited is electing its outstanding owing money and converting the inventory into sales. From Table 2 we see that comparing the last two fiscal years for Santos Limited has made improvements in their debt collection practices. The number of days taken to collect debtors accounts has reduce from 78. 71 to 65. 53 days but is still outside Santos Limiter's standard 30 days for settlement of accounts. The closing balance is showing more debtors accounts being past the 65. 3 day average for 2013 fiscal year. Comparing these figures to Santos' competitor Woodside, whose debtor recovery is loser to the standard 30 days terms at 31. 63 days. An article in the Sy dney Morning Herald depicts that the question has been asked whether there is a gas reservation policy by shareholders, of which Santos Chairman Mr. Board denies. The ratio analysis of days taken to turn inventory into sales shows a possible reason for this question arising as the number of days taken to convert inventory into sales has risen in 2013 from 52. 19 to 53. 62 days.This is only a slight increase and with an expected increase in demand, this slight rise in inventory would be expected to cover n increase in demand. However, when comparing this level to the benchmark, Woodside inventory turnover is far less at 30. 46 days for a higher sales volume. 2. 3 Short-term solvency ratios While the previous ratios focus on performance of the company solvency ratios focus on assisting the company with decisions, short term and long term. Table 3 shows the short-term solvency ratios which assist in the short term decision making.The current ratio is the most basic test as to how liqui d a company is. It expresses a company's ability to meet its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. A current ratio greater than or equal to one indicates that current assets should be able to satisfy short-term obligations. A ratio less than one indicated an inability to meet short term requirements. The quick ratio calculated for 2013 compared to 2012 shows the company's ability to pay is has reduced to below the 1:1 ratio, expressing that should the company be required to pay all current debts immediately, they could not do so.Due in part to the reduction in cash levels reducing the current assets from 34. 6% to 20. 3% of net assets. Also increases in the amount of short term interest bearing borrowings increases the current liabilities from 13. 6% of net assets to 16. 9%. With the less cover to pay the increase in short-term liabilities, there is a higher financial risk. When comparing these ratios to that of Woodside, Canton's short term debt paying ability is carry ing greater risks, but comparable with this benchmark. While the quick ratio decline to . 3:1 is cause for concern, the Cash flow from operations to current liabilities ratio shows that 94% of current liabilities can be covered with operational cash flow. Compare this to Woodside, which can easily cover rent liabilities with 141% of its current liabilities covered with operational cash flow. 2. 4 Long-term solvency ratios As the short-term financial risk has previously been expressed, the long term decisions can be assisted by the long-term solvency ratios expressed in Table 4. The debt to equity ratio compares the total liabilities of Santos Limited and compares it to the each dollar of shareholder's equity.During 2013 Santos' reliance has risen due to the increased borrowings and interest bearing loans, so for every $1 of shareholder's equity there is $1. 02 worth of debt obligations. This level of debt is double than that of our benchmark, Woodside Petroleum however, the debt to total asset ratio suggests there is enough assets to cover the debt long term. This might put the company under financial risk and indicate high use of debt compared to shareholder's equity and a greater financial risk long term. This increases the cost of interest in operation, effecting negatively on profitability.The interest coverage while currently is below the industry benchmark, there is sufficient coverage to ensure interest payment obligations will be met. The amount contributed to the long term room each $1 of operating cash flow has also been significantly reduced, moving further away from the benchmark company. This will increase interest costs long term however, also effecting profit margins. 2. 5 Market-based ratios The price per earnings ratio shown in Table 5 show how much the market would pay for shares of stock of the company per dollar of reported profit.About. Coma's business finance reporter Rosemary Palaver suggests that the average price to earnings ratio is a round 19 with Santos' ratio higher at 27. 68 and the benchmark, Woodside, ratio marginally lower at 17. 49. Reasons for Santos' higher than average price per earnings ratio would be due to the potential for Santos increase earnings per share in the foreseeable future and investors are trading accordingly. Other reasons for a high ratio are when companies are in a growth phase, which Santos' financial statements suggest it currently is not.A high ratio also suggests that the company has financial risk which was expressed in the short-term and long-term solvency ratios. While the market is willing to pay a higher price for investment in shares per dollar Santos reports as profit, the earnings yield assists in evaluating whether returns on investment compensates the risk adequately. The yield of 3. 61% for 2013 is down on sass's 4. 53% and short of Woodside 5. 72%, which is at a lower risk. Thus, Santos' shares did not perform to the industry benchmark and shareholders are not getting the yield expected for their investments.Dividends are also low, reflecting the company's growth positioning for the coming few years. 3. 0 Recommendations The increase in growing demand as expected by Mr. David Knox in a release and the move into production phase of the PING project will generate extra operating ash, primarily with already obtained assets. Therefore the focus moving forward should be reducing the financing costs involved in the cost of goods sold. This will in turn increase profit margins, giving a greater return on assets due to lower interest costs, moving margins closer to that of the benchmark Woodside Petroleum.The rate at which inventory is used to generate sales should be reviewed as it is slightly behind the benchmark. One suggestion to come from these ratio findings is that debtor control needs to be tightened which in turn will improve operations cash flow. Steps have been taken during the last fiscal year to reduce the number of days to collect outstandi ng debtor accounts, further improvement will also increase operating cash flow which will reduce the financial risk of the company to pay its current liabilities.The inventory level should be reduced to be more comparable to Woodside and increasing the quick assets level used to repay current liabilities. Further to assist in reducing the risk associated with the company's short-term solvency would be a focus on reducing the current interest-bearing loans and borrowings. 4. Conclusion. Through the usage of ratio analysis this report has analyses Santos Limiter's financial performance over the last two years and benchmark it against Australia's largest oil and natural gas producer.There are several other factors influencing position and performance like international economies, competition and major long term growth projects etc. These play a decisive role in the changes in profits, earnings yield and dividend yield. The last two years have seen Santos' profits and stock performances below industry averages but this is large in part to the investment in growth opportunities, which will begin production in the near future. Some findings and recommendations have been made to improve the financial position of the company so the entity and the shareholders that have invested in it can prosper.Although the companies are in the same field, factors like subsidiary companies or having some different end product can create problem in comparing the companies. The economic condition in the different region and the accounting techniques adopted by these companies while computing ratios and financial tenement also decreases the credibility of the calculation (Charles and Patricia, 1983) 5. 0 References Charles H. Gibson & Patricia A. Brush-off. 1983. Z ND Edition. Kent Publishing Company.

Horses: Poetry and Edwin Muir Essay

It is said that one should forget the past and live in the present. However, Edwin Muir’s ‘Horses’ is a poem of past memories only. The interesting part is that it deals with many conflicts and issues which are prevalent even today. It is thus a bridge between the past and present and is expressed in the form of a piece of literature. Muir himself said that in writing about horses in this poem, he was reflecting his childhood view of his father’s plough horses, which must have seemed huge, powerful and mysterious to a boy of four or five. Some of his poems, including ‘Horses’, have a close equivalent in passages from his autobiography, suggesting that seeing these horses reminded him of certain events. The poem begins with the poet transcending reality and reminiscing of one of his childhood memories. In this case it is one of when he as a child, watched a team of horses ploughing the stubble back into the field, during a rainy day which got progressively stormier. In the first two verses, the poet gives the reader a meaningful hint into what the circumstances of his times were. This was most probably, the hardships of a period of war. The few references Muir makes to an army such as in cases where the horses â€Å"marched† and the word â€Å"conquering† further strengthen this issue of war. â€Å"Their hooves like pistons in an ancient mill† This line brings up another issue which is plaguing the third world as we know it. In the same verse he refers to a â€Å"childish hour† in which he also compares the horses’ hooves to pistons in an ancient mill. This refers to how child labour in factories was existent even then and how these dark memories were etched in his mind. We can suggest these memories to be dark not only by his imagination but by the â€Å"fearful† way he sees these images of the past. Under the â€Å"great hulks† of these creatures he sees is however another truth. The way these symbols of â€Å"power† trod, allows the reader to infer another thought.

Far from the Madding Crowd Essay

For example, when asked if he knew who the woman he was talking to had been (Liddy), he replied to Bathsheba â€Å"I know her by sight†. This was also said as a way of protection. He also once lied to Bathsheba when showing her his sword fighting. He tells her that the sword is not very sharp until the end of the exercise, when he tells her the truth, † this sword will shave like a razor†. It is from about this time that Bathsheba begins to realise that she is deeply in love with Troy, and has now forgotten about Mr. Boldwood. Bathsheba is attracted to a superficial man, however, only the reader can realise this. There is an example of dramatic irony between these two characters when Troy has many faults such as gambling, womanising and the inability to settle and commit himself, not only are these faults but strong obsessions as well. These facts are all well known to the reader and the community in the story, but Bathsheba is oblivious to the fact. When infatuated and blinded from these facts, there can be tragic consequences. When Bathsheba realises for herself, that she loves sergeant Troy, Gabriel Oak reminds her of Boldwood’s prior claims. He also criticises troy, provoking Bathsheba to defend Troy. The author of this book, Thomas Hardy, presents the infatuated Bathsheba as nai ve and blind. He directly contrasts Troy and Gabriel, where Gabriel acts as Bathsheba’s conscience, reminding her of Boldwood’s claims. Gabriel attempts of warning Bathsheba to resist Troy â€Å"before it is too late† is prophetic. When Boldwood finally realises that he has been rejected, he tries bribing Troy, so that he would be interested in marrying Fanny. However, it is too late, Troy and Bathsheba were already married. This just shows how obsessed with Bathsheba really is. Troy doesn’t seem to notice or appreciate the love and infatuation shown by Bathsheba. This is shown on their wedding day, during the party, as he didn’t spend any time with her; instead, he got drunk and fell asleep in the barn with his friends. The storm that broke out could have torn everything down and broken the wicks, but Gabriel, being the only observant one there realised and saved everything before it was too late. Gabriel Oak dominates the beginning of the story and is described as a â€Å"young man of sound judgement † and â€Å"general good character†. He is a hard workingman, and has done so during the whole of his life to become the independent farmer that he was. Although he is attracted to Bathsheba, he notices that she is very vain. He is very honest, practical, trust-worthy and faithful. He is also strong as his name suggests. Gabriel is always in control of himself. He accepts the fact the Bathsheba does not love him so unlike Boldwood, leaves her alone. He also keeps to his word, for example, when he told her that he would no longer talk to her, he didn’t. Oak however, is a very trustworthy and loyal man. Whenever Bathsheba was in a crisis, she always asked for Oak. An example of this is when her sheep had eaten some clover and fell ill. She relied on Oak to come and save them. When her farm went on fire, Oak was the mysterious man who helped and at her wedding, when there was a storm, Oak strengthened the wicks. In a crisis he acts calmly and bravely saving Bathsheba’s crops in the fire and storm. He honestly condemns Bathsheba’s conduct to Boldwood on a number of occasions, twice facing dismissal. He is dismayed by Bathsheba’s â€Å"infatuation† with Troy, attempting to warn her against trusting him. When hiding his feelings he says â€Å"he adored Bathsheba†. Hardy points out the contrasts between homely Oak† and the attractive Troy whose â€Å"deformities lay deep down from a woman’s vision†. There is a big contrast between Oak and Troy. Another difference between these characters is that Troy gambles and Gabriel â€Å"reckons up the exact financial value† of each risk threatened by the storm. At the end of the story it turns for the better for Oak. He gets promoted from being the shepherd to the bailiff, his industry is awarded and he is offered a hare of the profits to manage Boldwood’s farm after his imprisonment. Bathsheba realises at the end after Troy’s death, that she becomes weak and depressed and increasingly dependant on Gabriel. This helps her notice that she loves him and finally agrees to marry him. This shows that more or less the whole novel is about obsession between each of the characters. It also has a lot of romance in it with hard realism running through it. Additionally, it shows that not only is it the world that loses control in natural disasters but also people lose control in emotional disasters.

Challenges facing managers today Research Paper

Challenges facing managers today - Research Paper Example And within this transformation in environment, managers have to change to become a change mentor, an employee advocate or sponsor, and a strategic partner within their organizations. In order to be successful, management is required to be a business driven activity with a comprehensive understanding of the big picture of the organization and have the capacity to affect significant policies and decisions. Generally, the focus of today’s manager should be on strategic technological planning, talents development, and personnel retention. Managers should also be succession planners, coaches, mentors, and counselors to help motivate workers and their loyalty (Daniel & Radenbaugh, 2001). This paper will look at the challenges facing managers today. The paper will take a position and support it using information from relevant research. It is evident that today’s managers are faced with a number of challenges. The following include some of the most apparent challenges. A lack o f resources in an organization can cause grave predicaments for a manager. A lack of resources may make the organization face cutbacks on significant things. This requires the manager to be economically minded and creative when this type of circumstance occurs. It is essential that a manager learns to make the most of what is available and check accessible resources to ensure they are not misused. Managers should also device ways of lessening costs on things which are of nominal significance so that there will be resources for necessary materials. Lack of resources may also have a negative impact on the training of employees (Brickley, Smith, Zimmerman & Willett, 2000). During training, organizations should have budgeted finances for travelling, accommodation, among other needs. If the managers cannot raise the finances to facilitate this, the workers will not have the means of gaining competitive skills, negatively affecting the performance of the organization. Another challenge fa cing the managers of today is their recognition towards input to business access and realization of the objectives of the organization. Some organizations do not see the significance of appointing managers when they have heads of different departments. Technological advancement is another challenge that managers have to deal with. Today, technological advancements are on the rise more than in the early period. Modern technology has to be utilized if an organization wants to provide goods and services which are cost effective, relevant, and congruent with the needs of the society. Therefore, managers face the significant challenge of raising the initial cost of acquiring, running, and maintaining modern technology. This is also made worse by the brief existence of a large number of technological inventions which imply that managers have to reinvest in contemporary technology often in order to protract their relevance (Hollen, Van, Frans & Volberda, 2013). This graph illustrates the i dea that technological progress is both a continuous opportunity and a continuous danger to the organization. Trade unions are another challenge facing the managers. Trade unions can be extremely cruel when it comes to negotiation and they may urge the workers to engage in striking activities. This has a negative impact

Reflection Paper ( Business Ethics for Leaders ) Case Study

Reflection Paper ( Business Ethics for Leaders ) - Case Study Example In the given case of Pinto Fires, the questions have been answered in a broader context. There are possibilities that some of the steps of decision making process may not be incorporated directly, but it will be ensured that their core essence remains implicit while reaching at the conclusion. In my personal opinion, the philosophical approach adopted by recall coordinator in his recommendation to continue with the production of the Pinto is Relativism. According to this ethical theory, it is not necessary that moral values of one person must coincide with the moral values of the other person. A particular instance may be ethically valued to a particular person but it does not mean that the other person should agree with that decision. In this particular case of Pinto Fires, what recall coordinator and Ford company thought was totally related to their own interest. As part of the company policy, Ford needed to launch such a model in automobile industry which could perform better than competitor’s models in terms of market share, competition and profitability. The element which was not a concerning issue to Ford, was the safety measures for its users. Having car accidents in the country is not something for which the company can be accused liable; neither it’s a worrisome issue for automobile companies. Normally drivers of cars are found guilty of negligence while driving car in a reckless manner. Since it is a normal practice for an automobile company to launch a model which is free of any fault, but that was not the case with Ford’s newly launched model, Pinto. At the time of crash testing eight out of eleven units of the Pinto went through deadly destructions. Despite of being aware of this shocking fault in the fuel tank of Pinto, yet the company decided to commence its commercial production. Since safety was not the top most priority of the company, it resulted in heavy destructions of the cars, increment in number of accidents, and above all the

Moral Use of Force Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Moral Use of Force - Essay Example The authors, Brunstetter and Braun, in this article make the recount of the position that war is vast and as such, Walzer did distinguish the aspect that the recent war approaches, entailing unjust war where use of drones and spying aspects of practice, are not as predictable in outcome as the full-scale attack which entails use of force. However, the course of discussion in the text is the issue that irrespective of the rising models of war not having predictable catastrophic consequences, the fact remains they are unjust and such are morally illegal, despite the state's men using these arguments of their safety to justify and endorse them accordingly. The course as advanced in Jus ad Vim the issue of just use of force is notably a course of ethical framework to govern the state-sponsored use of force against other states or non-state actors within and outside the territory of the nation, which is contrary to the traditionally defined confines of war (Brunstetter & Braun, 2013). The political approach of the argument with respect to the understanding of this issue, as the authors of this article outline, it is a justifiable course. This is considering the implications it has on part of the government and the troops involved in the war. Notably, this political factor entails that the use of Jus ad Vim unlike the conventional war, brings the troops diminished risks especially from suffering attack that could prove destructive. Further, the aspect of advancing this war is less predictable.

Reader response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reader response - Essay Example For someone like me, who has worked for hours to narrow down on objective and summary statements, it is disappointing to know that my hard work can go unnoticed! Contrary to Rands screening technique, Mulligan in his article mentions that some hiring managers look at the education of the candidate first focusing on their degree, major, graduation date and GPA. Now this, I am willing to live with! One thing that I found very useful in these readings is the information that a resume should be simple and should provide a glimpse into the most recent years of professional career focusing on the key accomplishments and skills. It should also have a hook – which would leave hiring managers with a question to know more about the candidate. After reading the different perspectives of hiring managers, I feel encouraged because I now know how to write my resume - focusing more on the professional experience, skills and extracurricular activities and less on objective and summary statement – since some managers find it

Export Strategy for an Organisation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Export Strategy for an Organisation - Coursework Example Certain recommendations have been provided to AEC so that it can export avocados in the business markets of Netherlands successfully. Moreover, certain challenges have also been depicted that the company might face while exporting the fruit especially in the Dutch business market. It can be affirmed that the proper execution of the stated recommendations would eventually aid AEC in exporting avocados in the business markets of Netherlands with utmost profitability and productivity. Recommendations After having a potential and a broad capture of Middle and South-East Asia business market, AEC can desire to expand its operations in other regions of the world. In this similar concern, an export strategy would be developed for the company for its intention towards exporting avocado in a particular European nation i.e. Netherlands. Netherlands is often viewed to be one of the richest nations in the world and possesses greater per capita income. These facets eventually make Netherlands to be an idle place as export destination, especially in relation to the case of health benefit products like avocado. Avocado is duly considered as one of the nutritious fruits as compared to others. Considering from a general standpoint, most of the countries often seek for obtaining nutritious food products and thus, Netherlands can be the suitable place for the export of the fresh avocados. Also the people of Netherlands are recognised to be quite health conscious, resulting in supporting AEC towa rds exporting this product in the targeted European nation of Netherlands. It can be apparently observed both the nations possess better international trade relation, which would eventually aid in exporting the product to the targeted nation (CBI Market Information Database, n.d.). Background Auspak Avocados, established in the year 2009 is regarded as an Australian based company holding the mission of becoming a foremost leader especially in exporting fresh avocados from Australia. The company is trading as Avocados Export Company (AEC), situated in Brisbane, Queensland and is owned by a group belonging to the growers, packers along with the marketers of avocado across Australia. The company has been viewed to employ technology driven producers and utilise modern packaging facilities in order to ensure better customer satisfaction. The company tends to build as well as develop effective business affiliation based upon the aspects of mutual trust and respect. The company accounts ne arly about 60 % of the production of Australian avocado with emphasising exporting fresh avocados to the international business markets. AEC has become a key player in both South and Middle-East regions of Asia. Moreover, the company has positioned itself as a global leader in the export industry in terms of volume, quality and supply of avocados to the international consumers. The excellent quality of Australian avocados signifies huge demand of this particular fruit in all regions of the globe. With all credentials, AEC is already exporting Avocados in Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia and Hong Kong. The logistics system of the company has supported it to become a reliable source of year round supply of high quality avocados. The company follows effective strategies in order to en

Amish in practical life Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Amish in practical life - Article Example Learning about their verbal and non-verbal communications was also interesting, the way a female dresses in that culture sends an automatic message to what kind of treatment she should expect. But unlike other communities where only the females are required to observe preservations about clothing etc. the Amish have defined guidelines for the men too. The married men can be clearly distinguished from those who are not by their appearances. The lifestyle of Amish people is quite impressive, and unbelievably simple. Their beliefs about the influences of technology and minimal use of it are unimaginable to people like us who are self-accepted slaves to technology. One view would say, that the Amish are backward, non-developing, non-evolving, and narrow-minded. The so many restrictions in their life regarding everything, from the way they dress to the way they live, celebrate and carry out day to day activities may led one to believe that these people are living a bounded life with no rights of their own. They cannot chose their way of living as everything is pre-planned for them. The men would work in fields and work for the family’s income, the women will be responsible for the operations of the household. The funeral in Amish culture is also carried out very simply, â€Å" graves are hand dug. The funeral service is simple, with no eulogy or flowers. Grave stones are simple, following the Amish belief that no individual is better than the other† (Powell 2010). This belief of their communicates a simple truth of life that whatever a person achieved in life.

Purchasing and Resource Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Purchasing and Resource Management - Case Study Example Spiller of having followed normal purchasing procedures, selecting the appropriate supplier and even in approving the price for this high -intensity x-ray processor. There is no way that Dr. Spiller would have followed the right purchasing procedures without involving Rose Silver who is the manager in -charge of purchasing and from whom the final decisions regarding hospital purchases are expected to come from. Rose is a professional purchaser who ought to be consulted on matters related to purchasing in the whole business organisation. Failure to consult her might lead to a professional blunder and unnecessary misunderstanding amongst the management staff in the organisation a thing that would slow down productivity and overall development of a firm. The exercise of selecting suppliers is a long on and it involves calling for interested suppliers to apply for tenders with the management. It is from these applicants that the most competitive and appropriate supplier is found. The head of radiology department made his purchases decisions in such a hurry that there was no time to compare and choose from a number of suppliers. He seems to have settled on only single supplier who is New Age Radiology Inc. a move that can even compromise with the quality of the equipment supplied. In using method of selecting the right supplier Dr Spiller was supposed to involve the purchasing manager who would have made major contribution in the selection of the most suitable supplier.1As a trained marketing manager Rose has all the knowledge in selecting a better supplier from a given group of applicants. Through contacting a number of suppliers the purchasing manager will be able to come up with the best price for the good quality equipments. Most likely she would not go for the cheapest because the more cheap the equipment is the higher the chances of it being of a poor quality. Again he cannot go for the extremely expensive one so as not to strain the hospitals budget although this does not imply that she will ignore the aspect of quality. There is no justification that Dr. Spiller went through the above process in selecting New Age Radiology as the hospitals major supplies. His, appears to be haste decisions made by someone who was not interested to gather the views of the most appropriate person in the field of purchasing. He went ahead and told Rose that everything was in order and the machine was sold in the prices but he could not explain how this was arrived at. Question Two Dr. Spiller's approach can culminate into immeasurable risk and associated ethical problems. Failing to select a supplier from a wide base of applicants will lead to the sole supplier taking an advantage of monopoly which will end up in poor quality supply of equipment. The supplier may end up supplying a faulty X-ray processor that will not give the required services to the hospital. This will mean extra expenses in the repair of the faulty equipments or purchasing a new one to replace the faulty one if it is beyond repair. A thing that will add up to increased expenditure for the hospital thereby forcing the hospital to realize low profits or even loses. Another risk is on the price which he approved without contacting Rose who was the right person in recommending the best price to pay for the purchased machine. Following the fact that Dr. Spiller is not a specialist in the purchasing field chances are high that might have approved and already overcharged

Interview report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Interview report - Essay Example The interview was carried out in his small office, and the subject was asked ten questions to which he responded comprehensively. Interview responses The subject expressed his passion for teaching language especially to ESL students because as he put it, â€Å"teaching someone a new language is as good as creating a new life. â€Å"You see them change over time and you can’t help but be delighted†. When asked whether he uses computer software to teach English, his response was affirmative and he said that computer software makes a good part of his teaching. This was followed by a follow-up question. Have you always used computer software in the language vocabulary acquisition for ESL students? His response was: when I began teaching English to ESL students, there was no computer software to offer second language acquisition and teaching was mainly done using one to one communication with the students and also by the use of books. However, as computers became more popul ar, the use of computers to teach language became very popular too, and there have been numerous computer nuggets that were designed to help ESL students to learn English vocabulary very efficiently. This software can be classified into two classes, those designed to be used by ESL students who are learning on their own; and those designed to be used in conjunction with the teacher. This software started becoming available and popular in early 2000s and was not popular in the 90s (Peterson, 2009). I only started to use it later after I had been teaching English for a number of years to ESL students. Follow up question: do you see any positive difference between now that you are using the software and when you were not using software to teach ESL students? He responded to this follow up question by saying that there were positive and negative consequences of using computer application for language vocabulary acquisition. The use of computer applications by students and especially ESL students to learn new vocabulary is helpful because the computer applications that the students use make it easy for the students to access information in a more convenient way. However, this will depend on whether the student is conversant in the use of computer in general. If the student is not very savvy with regard to the use of computers, using these applications will not help very much in making the student learn vocabulary, but will only make it harder. The subject was indicating that computer packages can be used to increase the efficiency by the students to learn new vocabulary, but this can only happen if the students are computer savvy. He added that in most cases, ESL students are also not computer literate, and this causes a big challenge in getting them to use the computer application to learn new vocabulary. The next question was: why would computer software be useful in helping the students be able to acquire language acquisition? This question was asked in order fo r the subject to demonstrate why he thinks that the use of software can be useful in some cases to help the ESL students to learn new language vocabulary. His response was: â€Å"With the use of computers, it is much easier to browse through the information because computers work very fast. When a student is using a computer application to learn the meaning of a new word, he is able to browse the database and get a number of important aspects of a new

Why become a vegan Essay Example for Free

Why become a vegan Essay Introduction                      Eating is an essential duty human beings embark on to subsist and thrive on a daily basis. Food has turned out to be a colossal part of the social order culture and an indispensable aspect in our economy. As hominids, we can choose the types of food we ingest into our bodies and these choosing delineate in part our appearance and what we represent. Individuals choose whether they would like to be meat-eaters, lacto-vegetarians, vegans or an amalgamation. At the existing time in the United States, the apprehension for the health and wellbeing of animals is considerably cumulative. And one of the most extensive clues of this is the growing number of vegans. Currently, there are over half a million vegans in the United States only. Even with all the phenomenal uses present for animals that are dead, modern nutrition and science have prepared so many new encroachments in research that it has become wholly pointless to exterminate any animal for any motive. Hominids can survive exclusively on vegetation and supplementation. I propose that we, as humans, should not eat meat or any animal products. If we were all vegans, other food issues would be solved. Eating meat is detrimental to our health and our planet. The factorization of farms, the abuse of farm animals, the starvation of poverty stricken people, and the obesity of people including children may no longer be an issue if we as a human race were to eat what we were meant to eat. Writing this paper, I will discuss topics such as; why humans were meant to be vegans, how a vegan lifestyle can greatly benefit one’s health, and the earth to the lies and corruption of the FDA and the USDA considering people may refer to these administrations when opposing my views. The vegan lifestyle is healthier than the mediocre way of living. Many celebrities advocate for a vegan diet, many also doing commercials for PETA. Even Bill Clinton, after having multiple bypass surgery, has turned to a vegan diet to change his health and life (Haupt, Angela n.d.). The average way of life comprises of the four major food sets: dairy, meat, fruits/vegetables, and grains. In a vegan lifestyle, dairy and meat foods are not part of the diet. Veganism is, in fact, much healthier than ingesting dairy and meat products. Most individuals who become vegans use unseemly supplementation and at the end of the day they become ill. It does not deny the body meat that vegans have difficulties with, but alternatively a deficiency of calories. Angela discusses of several studies of the human body necessitates a convinced balance of vitamins and minerals to tolerate appropriate health. Customarily, when an individual adopts to become a vegan, they make the transferral automatically. The transfer to veganism must be done unhurriedly and in chunks. It is known that provided a person upholds their vitamin intake, they will preserve good health. Nonetheless, even shorn of observing vitamins and minerals, a being who leads a vegan regime will still be healthier and restored than a person who munches meat (Haupt, Angela n.d.). When Craig is regularly asked what he thinks of eradicating red meat and substituting fish and chicken, what comes into mind is extracting off the poultry skin and cooking it in oil without fat, eating predominantly low- or non-fate dairy products, and restricting of to 2 or 3 per week of egg-yolk consumption. The data leads me into a conclusion that such an approach is the correspondent of cutting smoking down to one pack of cigarette a day. When a person makes an adjustment to the vegan lifestyle then must comprehend that: it is crucial to eat not only wide variety of green and yellow fruits and vegetables, but also different types of grains. If he or she does that in addition to making sure that they have an adequate source of vitamin B12 and D, which is from exhilarated soy beverages, cereals, and nutritional yeast, or from a multi-vitamin and mineral supplements, you will be attending all your nutritional requirements. It is never a challenge (Craig, Winston J.). From a dietary perspective, animal food does have its disadvantages. Animal meat yields are extremely fatty foods that are high in calories, cholesterol, and saturated fat. When you exclude these foods from your plate, your meal time will indeed be lower in fats and calories. High sodden fat and cholesterol level result to clogged arteries and heart disease. Consuming meat in high quantity can cause diseases. For instance, Forks over Knives documentary follows mainly two doctors who both grew up on a farm and changed their traditional family views. After they both, separately, came up with the idea that a plant based diet may prevent and even reverse diseases, they now teach their patients to be vegans. The documentary follows several patients who have a variety of diseases including type 2 diabetes and breast cancer, and when they switch to be vegans they show tremendous positive health progress (Forks over Knives). Anyone who says, â€Å"Animals were placed on this world for us to eat,† can be regarded as a complete moron. Human beings are also not preordained to digest meat proteins. The moment the food go into the mouth, it begins the digestion process. Conversely, our saliva, which is alkaline, is never acidic enough to digest animal proteins. Our intestines are also extremely long; therefore, the unrefined meat is left to settle in our intestines to decay and convert into obese (Klaper, Michael). It is so nauseating to think that the cheeseburger you ate days ago is still residing in your intestines. Green veggies are great sources of iron and calcium. Even though meat and milk may have more calcium and iron within them, the body essentially incorporates more of the vitamin from the vegetables. They also diminish the amount of iron and calcium that is lost. Calcium is a significant cog to stout bones, and iron is a haulier of oxygen in red blood cells in the body. Zinc is the doctor of your body; as it combats off illness and restores wounds. Whole grains and nuts source your body with healthy echelons of zinc (Craig, Winston J.). Vexed that vegans do not get adequate protein? That is not a concern. There are many alternatives to animal proteins such as beans, tofu, nuts, lentils, and legumes; all of which are much healthier for you. The dental formula that humans have is more of herbivore than carnivore type. And more, we do not want as much protein as we meditate we do. It is projected that we only need between 20 and 60 grams of protein daily. (Klaper, Michael)Vegans still get extra of the amount of protein they need on a daily basis. I admit protein is good for our bodies. However, we do not need it in extreme amounts. Lastly, if we truly want to lessen the human impact on the environment, the meekest and cheapest thing everyone become a vegan and eat no meat. Behind schedule most of the joints of chicken or beef on our plates is a remarkably wasteful, land- and energy-hungry system of agriculture that pollutes oceans, devastates forests, rivers, airs and seas, depends on coal and oil, and is ominously accountable for climate change. Climatic change affects the health of humans to a certain degree (Smil, Vaclav). Health is crucial in every way, therefore, Americans as part of the social order should be vegans. References Klaper, Michael, Dr. Foods That Kill. 1993. Lecture. Forks over Knives. Dir. Lee Fulkerson. Perf. Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell B. Essylstyn. 2011. Documentary. Haupt, Angela. Me, Give Up Meat? Vegan Diets Surging in Popularity. Editorial. US News. U.S.News World Report, 24 July 2012. Web.Craig, Winston J. Health Effects of Vegan Diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009). 11 Mar. 2009. Web.Smil, Vaclav. Should We Eat Meat?: Evolution and Consequences of Modern Carnivory. Wiley-Blackwell. Print. 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Globalization Corporations Development

Globalization Corporations Development Globalization Ã'â€"s Ð ° process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations. It is Ð ° process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the on culture, on political systems, on economic development environment and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world. Globalization Ã'â€"s not new, though. For thousands of years, people—and, later, corporations—have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. Similarly, for centuries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. (Dunning, 1999, p.518) But policy and technological developments of the past few decades have spurred increases in cross-border trade, investment, and migration so large that many observers believe the world has entered Ð ° qualitatively new phase in its economic development. For example, since 1950, for example, the volume of world trade has increased by 20 times, and from just 1997 to 1999 flows of foreign investment nearly doubled, from $468 billion to $827 billion. Distinguishing this current wave of globalization from earlier ones, author Thomas Friedman has said that today globalization Ã'â€"s farther, faster, cheaper, and deeper. (Dunning, 1999, p.518) This current wave of globalization has been driven by policies that have opened economies domestically and internationally. In the years since the Second World War, and especially during the past two decades, many governments have adopt free-market economic systems, vastly increasing their own productive potential and creating myriad new opportunities for international trade and investment. Governments  also have negotiated vivid reductions in barriers to commerce and have established international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investment. Taking advantage of new opportunities in foreign markets, companies have built foreign factories and established production and marketing planning with foreign partners. Ð  defining features of globalization, therefore, Ã'â€"s an international industrial and financial business structure. (Hufbauer; Grieco, 2005, P.p. 21-32) Technology has been the other principal driver of globalization. Advances in information technology, in particular, have dramatically malformed economic life. Information technologies have given all sorts of individual economic actors—consumers, investors, businesses—valuable new tools for identifying and pursuing economic opportunities, including quicker and more informed analyses of economic trends around the world, easy transfers of assets, and collaboration with far-flung partners. (Hufbauer; Grieco, 2005, P.p. 21-32) Globalization Ã'â€"s deeply controversial, however Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living, while opponents of globalization claim that the creation of a free international free market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people. Resistance to globalization has therefore taken shape both at Ð ° popular and at Ð ° governmental level as people and governments try to manage the flow of capital, labor, goods, and ideas that constitute the current wave of globalization. (Nirachos, 2008, p. 10-12) To find the right balance between benefits and costs associated with globalization, citizens of all nations need to understand how globalization works and the policy selection facing them and their societies. Globalization101.org tries to provide an accurate analysis of the issues and controversies regarding globalization, especially to high-school and college students, without the slogan or ideological biases generally found in discussions of the topics. (Nirachos, 2008, p. 10-12) Contentions of globalization The great challenge facing political leaders today is to persuade the public that continuing to liberalize trade will bring more benefits than costs. Distrust of globalization has probably never been higher in the past 60 years; China and India are among the reasons. There is widespread fear that globalization means job losses and lower wages as the export power of these huge nations grows.   So countries are becoming more protectionists, more unwilling to deal with change and make adjustments. The debate over the positive and negative effects of globalization is Ð ° hot topic for many individuals, agencies, organizations and government departments who find themselves in Ð ° position to defend or attack the current globalization trends. We can have an interesting debate in class about the merits of globalization but in the end whether we like it or not, it is Ð ° situation within which we, as international business people, have to deal with successfully. (Nirachos, 2008, p. 10-12) References Dunning, H. 1999. Governments, Globalization and International Business. Oxford University Press. p.518 Hufbauer, G. Grieco, E. 2005. The Payoff from Globalization. Op-ed. (29 Jan, 2008). http://www.iie.com/publications/. P.p. 21-32 Nirachos, S. 2008. What Is Globalization?. Globalization 101. (29 Jan, 2008). http://www.globalization101.org/. p. 10-12 Bibliography 2004. Chronicles of Higher Education. Vol. 50. p. 45 Bernake, B. 2006. Global Economic Integration: Whats new and Whats Not. speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City 30th annual Economic Symposium. Jelinek. M, 2004. Book Review Essay: Industrial Invention, Electronic Competition A Review of Three Books on Global Strategic Competion. Essay: New Perspectives on Global Industrial Dynamics. Academy of Management Review. Vol. 29. p.3 Bernstein. 2004. Shaking Up Trade Theory. Business Week Henwood, D. 2003. Beyond Globophobia. The Nation. Napier, N. A Geometric World. Academy of Management Perspectives. Vol. 20. p. 2

Scenario Of Smoking And Cigarettes Health And Social Care Essay

Scenario Of Smoking And Cigarettes Health And Social Care Essay According to Mackay and Eriksen (2002), since early 20th century, when cigarette was first manufactured, there has been a steady increase in the number of cigarette consumers throughout the whole world. Although there are ups and downs in the graph of cigarette consumption level in certain countries, the number of people who smoke around the world continues to rise and more cigarettes are being consumed every day. As the human race populations keep on expanding and become larger, so will the number of smokers in the world. It is expected that at least 2 billion people will live in this planet smoking cigarette by year 2030. The number of people who smokes will continue to increase, even as the prevalence rates drop. Female smokers are growing in numbers, particularly in developing countries, which will fill the gap of decrease in the prevalence rates among male smokers Goddard (2008), in another study found out that from 1974 until 1982, the popularity of smoking in Great Britain had fallen significantly, from 45% to 35%. This decrease however, began to slow down, where for every two years only approximately one percentage of the rate fell down until 1994 to 27%. The general decrease in smoking popularity mentioned above was caused by decline of both light smokers and heavy smokers. Here, light smokers are identified as people who smoke less than 20 cigarettes per day whereas heavy smokers are people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day. There has been a decrease on the number of adult smokers who consume average 20 or more cigarettes per day from 1974 to 2006 with the percentage of 26% and 8% respectively. Over the same period, the female smokers also showed a decline in number from 13% to 5%. Meanwhile, in Mexico, a decrease in smoking trends occurred at the offset of 20th century especially on exposure of smoking, daily smoking consumption as well as smoking frequency among the society, especially among men. In addition, smoking popularity and smoking frequency has shown a significant decline particularly among adult smokers in both genders compared to the younger smokers. Nonetheless, men are facing a worse smoking situation compared to women in both mentioned areas. However, during year 2002, it was found out that daily female smokers smoked more cigarettes than men (Franco-Marina, 2007). Surprisingly, in worldwide, nearly one billion men, consists about 35% in developed countries and another 50% in developing countries, are smokers. The rate of male smoking across the world had reached its peak but is slowly declining. Nevertheless, there declining rate is very slow compared to the current effects it has on human. Although more and more researches had been conducted to reveal the negative impacts of smoking, currently the decrease has been slow. In overall, the ones who give up the smoking habit come from those who are educated and so smoking becomes more popular among poorer and less educated man. (Mackay and Eriksen, 2002). Concern over health issues related to tobacco usage is not a new issue. According to Shafey (2003), not only that health concern is increasing, presently the dominance of smoking also began shifting to low-income and middle-income countries especially in many Asian countries (as cited in Parkinson et al., 2009). This is true especially when tobacco usage among human has become a global outbreak. Cigarettes are manufactured with the amount of five and a half trillion for every one year. This is enough to feed everyone on earth about approximately 1,000 cigarettes for each one of them. The largest tobacco consumers identified are Asia, Australia and the Far East with consumption of 2,715 billion cigarettes, before the Americas with 745 billion cigarettes, Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Economies with 631 billion cigarretes and Western Europe with 606 billion cigarettes (Mackay and Eriksen, 2002). Situation in Malaysia however, is slightly different. According to National Health Morbidity Survey (1986 and 1996), the prevalence of smoking among Malaysian adults has increased from 39% to 49% (as cited in Shahidan et al., 2002). National Health and Morbidity Survey (1996) also states the occurrence of tobacco consumption is roughly 24.8% and among all men, 49.2% of them are smokers, whereas for women only 3.5% of them are smoke (as cited in Parkinson et al., 2009). Meanwhile according to statistic in PROSTAR (2007), in 2000 there are 3.6 million smokers in Malaysia and by 2025, it is speculated that the total will increase to 4.6 million (as cited in Kim et al., 2009). Even though currently no clear evidence exists, some survey had identified that smoking among teenagers is increasing nowadays. (Parkinson et al., 2009). However, according to Thambypillai (1985); Shamsuddin Haris (2000); Naing et al. (2004) and Ahmad et al. (1997), there are no significant changes of trends for t eenage smoking. Several surveys done in different regions found out that smoking habit among male teenagers was between 17% to 36% meanwhile for female it was between 1% to 5% (as cited in Lim et al., 2006). 2.1 Reasons for Smoking According to Baker et al. (2002), smokers give almost the same justifications or rationales for smoking. Apparently, majority of them regard smoking activity as a form of relaxation and a way to cope with stress. It is also an addictive habit which presents smokers with good feelings and lessens the bad feelings through the effects of nicotine. In a way smokers consider cigarette as a helpful tool to them although they are aware of its negative effects. This is consistent with the research done by KaÃ…Å ¸ikà §i et al. (2008) in which they stated that smoking is one way for smokers to have pleasure while at the same time relaxing themselves or easing their stress. Moreover, British American Tobacco Malaysia (2010) reported that an important aspect experienced by smokers comes from the pharmacological effect of nicotine a mild stimulant effect not unlike that of caffeine, and a mild relaxing effect. Baker et al. (2002) also stated that serious cigarette smokers are addicted to to bacco, which lead them to smoke heavily whereas light smokers smoke more for social purpose. On the other hand, according to Jarvis (2004), during early adolescent is a period where people like to experiment with smoking due to psychosocial reason. For people who just started smoking, a cigarette is a symbolic way of saying that they are no longer their mothers child and a way of showing that they are mature. Children who have tendency to smoke usually come from environment that promotes smoking culture. Such environment includes situation where family members and peers are smokers or where smoking is considered common in school and in society. They also have tendency to smoke due to their own internal or external conditions such having low self esteem, overweight, psychologically impaired, or having poor achievement at school. Moreover, it is believed that there is a distinguishable pattern among smokers from different gender group. Parkinson et al. (2009), conform to this idea in which the findings of his study revealed that males tend to believe that smoking makes people look more attractive compared to women and see smoking as a mark of being modern. Furthermore, both genders also similarly tend to believe that by smoking they can control their body weight. This finding however contradicts with Western studies by Cavallo (2006), where the data showed that male teenagers do not worry about their weight as much as female teenagers and so are less likely smoke in order to control weight than females (as cited in Parkinson et al., 2009). 2.2 Review of Related Studies The smoking rate for university students is rising gradually in Turkey as well as the world (KaÃ…Å ¸ikà §i et al., 2008). A research by Cooper et al. (2004) said that there is an increase for the rate of smoking in Turkey in which 64% of the increase is among the men and 23% of it is women. Abolfutuoh et al. (1998) states 40% of the students in Education Council are heavy smokers and only 23% of the Medicine Council students smoke. Meanwhile, Kader and Alsadi (2008) found that most of the students are light smokers (50.6%). They also said that students in the medical school tend to smoke less than their friends in other faculties. Surprisingly, a study by Kypri and Baxter (2004) said that the smoking pattern is higher among Maori women than men, in which the women tend to smoke daily. Sharker (2005) in his study about knowledge, attitude and practice on smoking among students and staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia states that 13.7% from respondents who smoke comes from students while 9.9% was comes from the staff. He also found that Indians and Malays were among the highest percentage due to ethnic groups which comprises of 12.7% and 11.6% respectively; meanwhile Hindus and Muslim were among the highest percentage due to religious group which equal to 13% and 11.9% respectively. According to Azlan (2006) in his study on smoking among secondary school students in Kuantan, the smoking percentage was 43%; with 63.5% comes from males and 17.5% comes female. This study is quite similar to the study done by Rapeah et al. (2008) whereby almost half of the respondents in her study on factors influencing smoking behaviours among male adolescents in Kuantan were smokers (45.8%) and Malays were contribute up to 53.1%. A cross-sectional study of 16-year old secondary school students in Kota Tinggi district reported that 29.7% from the respondents were found to be smoking and the highest percentage of male smokers comes from FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority) areas which comprises of more than 50% (Lim et al., 2006). Meanwhile, the study done by Shahidan et al. (2002) on smoking habits among secondary school students in Kedah reported that the average age for smoking and non-smoking groups were 16 years old the research has reveal that the age of onset smoking among respondents began as early as 13 years old. According to KaÃ…Å ¸ikà §i et al. (2008), 40.2% of the final grade students at the AtatÃ…Â ©rk University smoked. 56.5% from that said that they smoke to release tense while 24.6% smoke for pleasure. Abolfutuoh et al. (1998) states that curiosity was the main reason for initiation of smoking among students in medical students at the University College of Medicine and students of the College of Education. There are findings found in a research by Kader and Alsadi (2008) that say the students smoke because it helps them to concentrate as well as calm them down. They also said that students smoke because they also want to cope with stress and social anxieties. Kypri and Baxter (2004) also stated that students smoke because it helps them to relax. According to Shahidan et al. (2002), matured, attractive and classy are among the reasons students start smoking with percentage of 70.0%, 62.2% and 54.0% respectively. Meanwhile, Sharker (2005) found that the main reason for the onset of smoking among students and staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia was just for fun and it was comprises of 54.2%. In addition, Azlan (2006) revealed that the main reason for students to smoke is because of the influences of friends. Rapeah et al. (2008) states that wanted to try received the highest frequency among reasons for smoking with percentage of 68.9% and peer influence follows behind with percentage of 56.1%. Nonetheless, nearly 70% of the respondents disagrees that trendy is the reason for initiating smoking. There are also findings found in a research by Khairani et al. (2007) that say curiosity and peer pressure are the most common reasons for starting smoking with percentage of 69.3% and 51% respectively. On the other hand, the most frequent reason for continuing smoking reported was stress with percentage of 70% followed by addiction with percentage of 49%. KaÃ…Å ¸ikà §i et al. (2008) stated that one of the factors that encourage the students to smoke is the parents of the students. Most of the students who smoke have fathers and brothers who smoke as well. Friends are also one of the factors that lead to smoking habit among the students. These findings are quite similar with the study by Shahidan et al. (2002) which conducted in Kedah. Their research stated that family members and peers who smoke have great influence to students to start smoking. There is twice higher risk for students who come from smoking family to smoke than those who are not. In addition, there are nearly six times higher risks of smoking for student who have peers who are smokers than those who do not have peers who smoke. Same goes to the study by Khairani et al. (2007), which found out significant connection between smoking among family members and teenager smoking. Sharker (2005) reported that the popularity of smoking was linked with race, family, age, religious, economic status as well as peers smoking habits. These findings are consistent with the study done by Azlan (2006) on the prevalence of smoking among secondary school students and its associated factors in the district of Kuantan. Meanwhile, according to Lim et al. (2006), smoking is associated with factors such as having low academic achievement as well as having a lot of close friends and siblings who smoke. Another finding also discovers that respondents who smoke are linked with factors which are attitude towards smoking, type of class stream and having smoking friends (Rapeah et al., 2008). In addition, among the main factors for students to start smoking are showing off, curiosity and pressure from peers (Abolfutuoh et al., 1998).

Time is a major theme in Ian McEwans The Child In Time. Essay

Time is a major theme in Ian McEwan's The Child In Time. "Time is always susceptible to human interpretation. And though time is partly a human fabrication, it is also that from which no parent or child is immune." Time is a major theme in Ian McEwan's 'The Child In Time'. He treats the subject irreverently, 'debunking chronology by the nonlinearity of his narrative.' - Michael Byrne. McEwan uses the setting of Stephen's dull committee as the backdrop for his daydreaming. Even Stephen's thoughts are not choronological, and his daydreams constantly flit between different times, although this could be to emphasise the overall flexibility of time. At first sight, it seems that the loss of Kate will be the central event, but McEwan strays through a wide spectrum of events, including the central one, Stephen's encounter at 'The Bell', to try and explain his feelings. The scene at The Bell also refers to a vivid dream McEwan had, where he walked towards a pub knowing he would find the meaning of his life, knowing he would be terrified, but also needing to go on. This is the most important event in the book, and the most difficult to interpret in terms of the behaviour of time. The book does not even begin with the loss of Kate, as you would expect, but Stephen on a normal morning. He relates everything he sees to time, the passing of which is even more important to him than anything else. After all, 'the heartless accumulation of days, after the loss of Kate, has driven Stephen to deep depression, and endless thought. In his depression, he lives for Kate, the only purpose of his existence. This is how he knows he is alive, how he counts the days. 'Kate's growing up had become the essence of time itsel... ... views on time and he contrasts them to show how differently each character interprets that time. It holds utmost control, even though it is not independent. Nobody can ever escape it. Stephen, Julie and Kate couldn't escape time, and Stephen 'was to make efforts to re - enter this moment, to burrow his way back through the folds between events, crawl beneath the covers, and reverse his decision' but, as Thelma said, 'Time - not necessarily as it is, for who knows that, but as thought has constituted it - monomaniacally forbids second chances.' Acknowledgements Time and the Child - Michael Byrne - The Antigonish Review www.antigonishreview.com/bi-123/123-mbyrne.html He Turned Around and She Was Gone - Rebecca Goldstein - The New York Times Back to the Future - Author Unavailable - Publisher Unavailable Emma Warburton - The Guardian newspaper

Religious Hypocrisy in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

   Huckleberry Finn – Religious Hypocrisy       Every so often a piece of literature is written that can question the beliefs of millions of people with what they hold to be true. Nothing is held to be truer than the feeling of righteousness, being faithful, morally pure, and the idea of an exalted higher purpose- religion. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn questions this truth. Indirectly, Mark Twain argues and criticizes the great deal of religious hypocrisy the American culture faces. Through the masterful use of satire and anecdote, the author conveys his repulsion to the dishonest church goers and religious practices, often cloaked behind a veil of humor. Mark Twain uses mountains of satirical imagery to help carry his theme. I took up, and held it in my hand. I was trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. As a runaway boy, Huck Finn has the painstaking choice of doing the right thing to write a letter to the owner of a runaway slave and tell where the slave was, or go to hell if he helps the slave Jim, his friend. Morally, Huck is taught to give Jim in, but he sacrifices himself to take up wickedness again and steal Jim out of slavery. Defying his religious teachings, ironically, Huck does the most Christ like thing.    Mark Twain creatively puts in incidents that the reader can infer to represent religion and the church followers who refuse to learn the teachings. Another time, when Huck talks to a skiff with two men in it with guns looking for runaway slaves, he lies to stop them from searching his raft and finding Jim. He tells them that his pap got smallpox, and he needed their help to move the raft. The guys who were so concerned to rave through the raft are making excuses not to. Now we're trying to do you a kindness; so you just put twenty miles between us. The men don't want the smallpox so they feel sorry for Huck and they give him a twenty-dollar gold piece each. The men symbolize the church followers who solve any problem they have by giving money to the church and believing that they solved the problem but in reality only ran away from it. Religious Hypocrisy in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays    Huckleberry Finn – Religious Hypocrisy       Every so often a piece of literature is written that can question the beliefs of millions of people with what they hold to be true. Nothing is held to be truer than the feeling of righteousness, being faithful, morally pure, and the idea of an exalted higher purpose- religion. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn questions this truth. Indirectly, Mark Twain argues and criticizes the great deal of religious hypocrisy the American culture faces. Through the masterful use of satire and anecdote, the author conveys his repulsion to the dishonest church goers and religious practices, often cloaked behind a veil of humor. Mark Twain uses mountains of satirical imagery to help carry his theme. I took up, and held it in my hand. I was trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. As a runaway boy, Huck Finn has the painstaking choice of doing the right thing to write a letter to the owner of a runaway slave and tell where the slave was, or go to hell if he helps the slave Jim, his friend. Morally, Huck is taught to give Jim in, but he sacrifices himself to take up wickedness again and steal Jim out of slavery. Defying his religious teachings, ironically, Huck does the most Christ like thing.    Mark Twain creatively puts in incidents that the reader can infer to represent religion and the church followers who refuse to learn the teachings. Another time, when Huck talks to a skiff with two men in it with guns looking for runaway slaves, he lies to stop them from searching his raft and finding Jim. He tells them that his pap got smallpox, and he needed their help to move the raft. The guys who were so concerned to rave through the raft are making excuses not to. Now we're trying to do you a kindness; so you just put twenty miles between us. The men don't want the smallpox so they feel sorry for Huck and they give him a twenty-dollar gold piece each. The men symbolize the church followers who solve any problem they have by giving money to the church and believing that they solved the problem but in reality only ran away from it.

Famous Creative Thinkers in the World Essay

It is said that there is greatness in everybody, and it only requires the right place and time to burst out and bless the world. This planet has been blessed to have amazing people walk among us, and they have revolutionized the way people perceived certain ideologies. Jesus Christ, Leonardo Da Vinci, Martin Luther King, Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire, just to mention a few are accredited to have left a mark in this world. With none claiming to be any special than any other man, they stood out to make this world a more comfortable place to live in during their time. Quentin Tarantino, a film director, actor, producer and screenwriter is one of the great men that the 21st century has been blessed to have. With a creative, innovative and ever awe-inspiring works, Quentin has become a figure in society that many people can look up to. His films are usually characterized by non-linear storylines, a glorification of violence and a satirical subject matter that in most times results in an exhibition of neo-noir characteristics. His creative genius by the use of mix and match genre as well as an infusion of music and the morphing of old works and making them new and better are his main characteristics that define him. Quentin’s works have always had a cut above the rest because they seek to contribute largely to the society in general. Whether in educating, reminding or entertaining the society, Quentin has had movie lovers at the edge of their seats and in turn, he has received awards for the same. Quentin has entertaining movies like Pulp Fict ion (1994) that is considered one of the greatest if not the greatest movie produced of all time and Django Unchained that seeks to tell the story of slavery. Movies with stories that remind human beings of their past, or those that make them forget about the daily hassles of life have garnered him success as well as health, although without their share of problems. For example, making of a slavery movie was initially not favored by potential audiences, and it received severe criticism although it resulted to his highest grossing movie of all time. On the other hand, other movies are criticized as having too much violence which is mostly in his line of creativity. The solutions to these problems were primarily making movies that are entertaining and educative, that leave out the brutality of the times that the movies are based on. The second is that the action movies he directs or produces are made for the enjoyment of the entire family, without vulgar language and sometimes incredible humor. For a creative thinker, obstacles are a daily routine since thinking outside the proverbial box is commonplace. For Quentin, research is the initial step towards a resolute creative thinking process. This means a lot of reading and comparisons of different scripts and different possibilities. Tarantino’s creative thinking process revolves around all matters that seem reasonable and worth investing in, promoting ideologies and uplifting talented scriptwriters. Although he is attributed to having anger issues, his movies cannot be remade any better without denying the audience their intended purpose. For example, Django Unchained was meant to educate and remind the American of the past that they are too ashamed of to remember. His works fit perfectly in the 21st century movie making field where creativity and the ‘anything goes’ attitude is prime. Having been an avid movie fan, a trained actor, movie critique and an investor, Tarantino has continued to expand both h is knowledge and skill in the movie world. The age of computing has revolutionized the 21st century and the world has become a better place with computers. The age of computers, as this century is commonly referred to have experienced profound effect in all industries that have chosen to adopt the technology. Grace Murray Hopper (nicknamed ‘amazing Grace’), an American computer scientist as well as the United States navy rear admiral had notable contributions to the world of technology and modern warfare. She is among the pioneer programmers of Harvard Mark one computer, and she developed the first compiler for a computer programming language. This was her first most significant contribution to society. She is also renowned for popularizing the term ‘debugging’ as a term for fixing computer glitches. It is probably because of her sense of patriotism that she volunteered to join World War II, and she was sworn into the Navy reserve where she gained an exemption to enlist because she was underweight. This was among the first hurdles in her career, but what she did not have in physical attributes; she more than made up for them in brains. Throughout her career in both industry and academia, Hopper was a consultant for the United States Naval Reserve as well as a lecturer there. She held several posts in leadership through her career both outside the Navy and also within the Navy. Her technical and marketing skills proved to be of great use to her as she also demonstrated superb political and general business acumen. The major hurdles that she had to overcome were the computer bugs that she was working on while in Harvard. However, working alongside brilliant minds, she co-authored several papers on computers. By the virtue of patience and perseverance, Hopper was able to tackle many of the problems she faced by herself, but in some, she got the assistance of fellow brilliants. She is said to have never turned down a good idea from anyone regardless of their rank in the military of in the lab. By being involved in the successful programming of Mark I through III computers, she was awarded the Naval Ordnance Development Award. Nothing could have been done any different at the time, and up until now, the Mark computers are still formidable in the market. With the age of computing, Hopper’s works fitted perfectly with her time, and her innovations remain a valuable contribution to human beings. By being involved in the university’s academic program, Hopper was able to learn and continue to excel in her field of study and expertise. Up until her retirement, she was a lecturer and an academician whose contributions were noted and highly regarded. Until her death in 1992, Hopper remained an invaluable asset for the United States Navy, Harvard and the World at large. For that, the USS Hopper (DDG-70) Navy Destroyer and the Cray XE6 â€Å"Hopper† supercomputer were named after her in the United States Navy and NERSC respectively. References Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, USN. (2012, March 4). Biography – Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, USN. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm Everything Tarantino. (2014, May 27). Everything Tarantino. Retrieved May 31, 2014, from http://www.everythingtarantino.com/ Grace Hopper Biography. (2010, May 12). Bio.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/grace-hopper-21406809#awesm=~oFPA4E99lVVRqY Quentin Tarantino Biography. (2013, September 27). Bio.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/quentin-tarantino-9502086#awesm=~oFPAGvRhIMAhpw Source document

Destructive Nature of Typhoon Quinta Essay

Geological Factors that contributed to the destructive nature of Typhhon Quinta that hit Iloilo and Capiz last month and measure to address these problems: A Reaction Paper With 52,172 families (251,152 persons) affected, many Filipinos celebrated their recent holiday vacations with grief as Typhoon Quinta hit the Phlippines destroying millions of properties and owing 15 people their lives. Millions of pesos worth of agricultural crops and infrastructures were also damaged in 544 barangays of the 40 municipalities and four component cities of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan. Typhoon Quinta brought more devastation to many towns in Iloilo and Capiz compared to Typhoon Frank as far as flood water is concerned. Waters from Suague River which originates from the mountains of Janiuay and Jalaur River in Calinog engulfed towns along its way towards the sea especially after combining as one river in the Municipality of Mina even though Tigum and Aganan Rivers did not overflow it s banks. Towns of Pototan, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueà ±as, Dumangas, and Zarraga located downstream were devastated as the waters of the combined rivers made flood water levels relatively higher than that of Typhoon Frank’s. The natural recipe for flooding is that a day before a heavy downpour is hours of light rain as a forward effect of an incoming typhoon which will saturate the upper ground portion. When the typhoon comes in bringing with it heavy rains at 20 mm/hr., the ground cannot accept anymore the additional heavy downpour. So instead of a 9 percent penetration with 91 percent run off of overload flow, it will now be 1 percent penetration with 99 percent of the heavy rain as storm water runs off, hence a heavy surge of water across the land which we experience as flood. Now what hit most towns north of Pavia appears to be heavy rains of about 15 to 20 mm/hour. Trees play a very vital role together with watersheds in relation to flooding. The leaves of trees act as cushion to rain so that it will fall slowly and that by falling slowly, rain will gently reach the ground surface preventing compaction and therefore allowing more time to infiltrate the ground to be part of the underground regime. A study conducted for the Aganan and Tigum watersheds made by a hydro-geology consulting firm, Sweco, hired by MWID in 1997 showed that a hundred years ago, rain infiltration was 15 percent but at the time of study, it declined to only 9 percent. This was mainly because of the reduced forest cover and the increase of impermeable surfaces such as roads, basketball courts,  houses, and other structures which prevent the effective infiltration of rain into the ground. In addition, a watershed is a land area where rain falls and is drained by a river system, hence the Suague watershed is that mountain portion in Janiuay where rainfall is drained by the S uague River which passes the town proper before merging with Jalaur River which also drains a separate mountainous area. The best watershed in the country would be the rainforests found only in remote mountains in Mindanao, however, such are already fast vanishing. These are virgin forests with trees of hundreds or thousands of years old with thick undergrowth of vines and shrubs. The top soil is composed of thick decayed vegetation that if one jumps on it, the entire top soil up to 20 meters away vibrates and behave like a sponge and therefore a very good absorbent of rainfall. For us to restore our watersheds to rainforest condition there should be a strict implementation of the rule of absence of human activities because the mere planting of trees already seemed to be not enough. Raising cows and carabaos in the Tigum watershed must be prohibited so that the ground will not be compacted and people will not frequent the mountains. The rise of flood waters in Typhoon Quinta was so fast that in just a matter of minutes, it reached 5 to 8 feet high. This is basically because our rainforests are in a bad condition. The condition of our watersheds in the mountain determines the timing of the release of storm water towards the plain of lowland where population centers are located. If our mountains are fully-covered with trees and there is undergrowth of vines and shrubs plus an increase in rain penetration, then the flow of water towards the rivers will be gradual instead of a surge thus preventing a destructive flood. With increased globalization and modernization, our economy cannot afford to be left out by the rest of the world. Of course, we must also keep up with technological innovations. However, we must not forget our responsibilities in protecting our environment. We must not put into risk the future of the next generations that would inhabit the world but instead, we must take into consideration the concept of sustainable development. Our government should pass and strictly enforce laws that maintain hydro-geological conditions of our rainforests before and after any developments in infrastructures. Also, we citizens must be cooperative in these efforts of the government and must follow these rules. Typhoon Quinta highlighted the importance of disaster  preparedness. We must always keep in mind what National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Administrator Usec. Benito Ramos said: â€Å"the typhoon should teach us to be always prepared and it is a lesson for all of us that whenever there is a weather disturbance anywhere in the Philippines, there is no place that will not be affected.† The bottomline is, what we need is discipline and a sense of responsibility. Whatever happens in this world, we, its inhabitants, always have something to do with it. If only we’ll be disciplined enough to impose and follow rules, and be responsible to take care of this only place where we can live, then we won’t be facing such disasters and surely, we’ll live in this world safe and sound. References: http://www.thedailyguardian.net/index.php/iloilo-opinion/22314-why-the-unusual-flood-from-quinta http://www.ugnayan.com/ph/gov/PIA/article/2SXZ

An Analysis of Fashion

Despise fashion as unwise, as too zealous follow it. † La Buyer. Fashion Art, Clothing and Fashion; when talking about fashion it is hard not to discuss clothing; and when speaking about clothing, it is hard to omit the influence of art. Thus, these three words go hand in hand to give meaning to each other. Art, clothing and fashion influence each other and provide basis for us to understand each one. Anyone who was ever visited an art show or art museum cane easily see that art comes in various forms.Art ranged from an oil painting handing on the wall to a statue made out of diamonds. In the same way, fashion may be presented through different clothing each falling categories like; evening, gala, night, beach wear etc. Fashion is a creative process that results in a fashion garment. Fashion has always borrowed from other art forms whether they are textile patterns of ancient cultures or sport. Taking these insights, designers recreate a new language of art in the form of an it em of clothing. They are artists working within the medium of cloth.Throughout history art's role has been to reflect the society in which it was created. Likewise, fashion is indicative of the era in which it exists. Images from historical art utilized clothing to assist in the narrative, conveying a message to the viewer. I can't imagine Van Decks ornate portraits without those epic, layered fabrics and costumes indicating social position; or the Angelic Musicians in his Ghent Altarpiece wear robes that could easily have been worn on last season's Italian style Gucci models. His was a study in fashion as much as pose and painterly techniques.Fashion was essential within his artists' narrative. Indeed, for some people fashion – this hobby, for others – a necessity, for the third – Job, but someone to do it no matter. So, try to understand what kind of an interesting phenomenon. To get started please refer to the dictionary. Collegiate Dictionary Deal gives the following definition of the term â€Å"fashion†. This â€Å"walking habit of a temporary, changeable whim in everyday life, in society, in the cut of clothes and outfits. Ð’Â » How do you see in the very definition of the word incorporated the natural variability of fashion.Contemporary sources say that fashion – is a form of cultural expression, a reflection of reality, which manifests itself in the manner of human behavior and his clothing. In other words, fashion gives us some rules. It turns out, if you follow them, you look fashionable, but if you ignore them – that, accordingly, not fashionable. Stop! There should be someone who sets these rules, determines what is now fashionable, and that – no. After all, any rules of someone else created. Who dictates fashion? Admit it, Dahl very accurately observed that fashion – â€Å"changeable whim. So it turns out.This is really a kind of whim of individuals. Here they wanted to see the new seas on in pink – so be it. But who are these people and what they have the right to specify what you wear? It turns out that they have, Just so we trust them. Fashion dictates fashion designers. They are professionals. Before the new season, these people create fashion trends, conduct demonstrations. After that, the media make certain findings and tell us that this season will be fashionable: what colors, styles, fabrics, etc. That's about as well as this process occurs. So we dictate the fashion of its legislators.And obey them or not – it is a private matter for each person. However, if you're determined to follow fashion, remember that the main thing in this case – do not overdo it. Undoubtedly, a fashion trend has not been cancelled, and keeps track f them, probably worth it. However, all must comply with the measure. Simply put, when it comes to fashion, do not go to extremes. After follow fashion trends and strive for fashion – two very different things . For example, if the main color of the new season – red, you should not change clothes and clothe themselves in bright red clothes. Enough to get a couple of new things.And it may be not only a clothing or footwear. Do not forget about accessories. Thus, one can, for example, to buy gloves and handbag fashion for the new season of color, and otherwise – to show the creative imagination and wear what do you go. In addition, you must understand that if everyone followed the fashion, then we would look exactly the same. But the girl is known to be salt. So if you want to pay attention to you, do not be like everything. On the contrary, seek to identify something from the rest. Main – individuality Of course, you can not quite listen to the fashion and clothing, in that horrible.Because then you risk to stand out, shall we say, not for the better. However, never forget your own individuality. Your image – is, first of all, you yourself. Your clothes should m atch your inner world, your feelings, your character. Unfortunately, in pursuit of fashion, many girls forget about it, and so often seem banal and vulgar. The reason is that they blindly accept everything that dictates fashion. But to dress in good taste – is an art. Sense of taste is not given by nature, it should be a raise. Pick up clothes so that you feel confident in it and you comfortable.If you wearing the most expensive and fashionable rags – that does not mean that you look good. Need to know how to combine things. Following fashion trends choose something that suits you. Do not worry if some sort of trendy thing you absolutely do not go well. It is better to choose something a little less relevant, but is really capable of allowing you to decorate and emphasize your individuality. Do not forget that fashion is only given a specific direction, giving you the right choice. Following fashion trends always stay yourself. Only in this case you will be really beau tiful, feminine and unique.Most books on the history of costume, begins by describing the clothes of ancient Egypt. From scientific papers we can learn how primitive people of the Stone Age used to wear, or modern aboriginal tribes of Africa, and Australia. With the development of unman society, the formation of states, the change of historical formations suit is more complicated. But from age to age in clothes with the utmost clarity reflected, the social position of people of different incomes, different classes. Suit at all times remained a social sign, evidence of social status, an indicator of a person of rank.In Europe and in times of barbarism, and in the Middle Ages, when the folded state, and the Renaissance, when capitalism sprang, and in an age of absolutism, when brewing the bourgeois revolution, there were unwritten custom and special orders in aspect of the suit. Feudal lords, for example, did not dare to dress rich then king, and wealthy citizens, merchants and crafts men – to compete with the feudal lords. Thus, in the XV century fad of fashion were shoes with long noses. Moreover, the peasants were allowed to have shoes with toes no longer than 6 inches, 12 inches of the townspeople, nobles 24 inches (2. CM in an inch – that's Estimate, how long were shoes for dandies! ). In the XVIII century, the degree of nobility is determined by the color of the ladies dresses, long tails. In the XIX century, the bourgeoisie, becoming the master of lifeÐ’Â » not only financially but also politically in most countries in Europe, America, society dictates its own principles, tastes and fashions. Formed universal types of clothing, it would seem the same for everyone – it's coat or frock coat with long trousers, and later a Jacket, waistcoat and trousers, almost unchanged for a hundred-odd years.In our time, the process of demystification suit continues. So popular among young people form the bulk of clothing and footwear, if you look, have their prototypes in traditional dress of the peasant population in Europe. Such s coat, tuxedo Jacket are derived from the outer clothing of British farmers. It is not that offer leading artists – fashion and costume development on the whole subject is not someone's wishes and tastes, and their domestic laws. In the â€Å"golden fundÐ’Â » of classical forms of clothing gets that meets the requirements of comfort, versatility, is the most functional, that is fit for purpose.You can â€Å"recognizeÐ’Â » or â€Å"not accept† fashion, admire or resent it, be it the creator or a slave, but cannot be out of fashion. Therefore, fashion is a social phenomenon, part of public life. We have Just traced, albeit anecdotal, that fashion, the suit has always been inseparable from certain segments of society, social classes – hence, the fashion – a phenomenon of class. Clothing – a necessity, its production involved various industries, and sales à ¢â‚¬â€œ a huge network of stores. Thus fashion – the phenomenon of economic.Fashion as art of the costume, along with other art forms, of course, there is an aesthetic phenomenon, part of the artistic culture of a country, era, humanity as a whole. Everyone sees fashion in its own way, it depends on his age, education, beliefs, culture and nature – in short, of personality. Fashion for any of us is part of the inner world, the phenomenon of psychological, and relationship to her choice – a moral phenomenon. Fashion history is rich with events. Everything in it is: a serious and novel, and the bloody drama, and comic farce. Not surprisingly, many philosophers tried to explain how to understand this phenomenon.We present here some of their estimates, the reader can see myself how they are contradictory. Thus, the English philosopher, the late XVII-early XVIII century, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord Spreadsheet, in his famous essay Ð’Â «Senses Communism, or Experi ence the Freedom of sharp mind and an independent frame of mind, writes:† Over time, people began to consider decent for themselves alter their appearance, and your mental addition lead to uniformity. Thus, the authorities became tailors, and when they transferred their powers to new tailor, in turn, dressed as they deserved in the eyes of others.However, although such an extraordinary set of circumstances all agreed that there is only one definite and true form of dress, the one and only way, to which necessarily must accommodate all the people, the misfortune was that neither the authorities nor the costume could not decide which of the multiple modes was truly faithful people from all parties were persecuted for their appearance and characteristics, they should fit in their mines to their shirts in accordance with the correct fashion, in circulation were thousands of samples and models of clothes, and they changed again and again, at every opportunity, in accordance with th e habits and spirit of the times. Judge for yourself, do human persons could not become cramped and constrained, and the natural appearance of people – it's hard recognizable, messy, distorted cramps! Philosopher drew attention to the despotic power, which takes over the fashion people, the way it sometimes distorts the true human nature, the natural look of the people.Yet Spreadsheet acknowledges and beneficial fashion, calling the fashionable gentlemen of those â€Å"who are good natural genius or power of good parenting have given the feeling that gracefully and decently by their very nature. Ð’Â » Fashion was not indifferent to beauty, though understanding the beautiful at different times and varied. Writes about it and XVIII century English philosopher Thomas Reid in his Lectures on Fine Arts: â€Å"†¦ For example, the dress of the reign of Queen Elizabeth is now seemingly far from perfect, but a man dressed in a dress that would be considered a heavily ridicu lous. Perhaps it arises from the following: It seems that a man dressed in the fashion, belongs to the nobility and rotates in a good society. As you can see, it draws attention to the fact that fashion creates the illusion of the significance of a person if he follows its recommendations. Curious thoughts about fashion, we find the German philosopher Emmanuel Kant in his essay â€Å"On the palate, which corresponds to the fashion. Ð’Â » He gives one of the first functions of fashion: â€Å"The law of imitation (aspiration) seem no less significant than others, and it is in fact, not taken into consideration any benefit, called a fashion†. No use – Just an imitation – emphasizes this feature of fashion. Maybe she likes us that it's apparent uselessness? It has no internal purposes, as Kant thought, attributing her â€Å"to the category of vanity.  » It would be unfair – in relation to the philosopher – to dwell on this part of its definitio n, because the further he writes that in the same degree of fashion â€Å"refers to the category stupidity, because this is a forced-flow in horal exclusively by example, which give us a society, many And concludes: â€Å"Every mode has its very concept is an unstable lifestyle. Ð’Â » Kant had not seen in the fashion of any merits and positive qualities. But Hedge's Philosophy of Spirit â€Å"noted that the fashion good effect on morals, and definitely took it under protection. He wrote: â€Å"It has long been reproached the French frivolity and vanity and the desire to please. But precisely because of this desire to please, they reached the highest subtlety secular manners and thus with much success have risen above the gross selfishness f primitive man.For this treatment is precisely that for their own interests not to forget the other person. † Later – and abroad, and Russia – were special studies on the mode, where it has been considered from differen t perspectives. So, the book NV Reinhardt â€Å"Social and economic importance of Fashion, â€Å"published in Russia in 1889, was devoted to the study of fashion is not an aesthetic, but with the economic and social point of view. The author believes that fashion is born under the influence of two factors: the spirit of innovation (the desire to upgrade) and the tendency to imitate what he was saying was right, though now we might add his observations. And W.Dahl in his famous dictionary, for example, defined the style as â€Å"a walking habit of a temporary, fickle whimsy in everyday life, in society, in the cut of clothes and outfits. † But even with this definition we can agree only partly. Studied fashion and continue to study by sociologists and economists, psychologists and art critics, historians and artists – good material for these studies, she gives plenty. Fashion has become a natural part of art costume. The artists themselves, designers treat it very rig orously. The famous French couturier Pierre Cardiac gave the following definition: â€Å"Fashion – is a way of expression. In other words, fashion – a reflection of the individual qualities of the individual in the social and moral aspect. † Fashion considers harmless game of fantasy and whim of people.Note that only through fashion can be hard to avoid the tyranny of custom, hidebound traditions, which in fashion is reflected age-old human search. Mode allows the individual to express themselves, to protect their identities. While at the same time fashion, providing a pacific person, adopted by most standards, certainly makes a person the issue of choice. Fashion, bringing under their â€Å"banner† thousands of people, creates a certain illusion of unity. And this fact is very beneficial in the spirit of our time. But at the same time, fashion offers a variety of social symbols, which to some extent are the hallmarks of social attitudes in social strata. And may thus play a completely opposite role, that once again convinces how ambiguous and complicated phenomenon. Fashion democratic and elitist at the same time! Fashion is considered in relation to art, Joining with him, or, conversely, opposing him. The famous Italian writer Alberta Moravia, who, by his own admission, mode of interest from the standpoint of aesthetics, defines it as: â€Å"Fashion – a story, the story itself, about which you can not debate, argue, cannot be denied. And indeed, the people who have no history dispense with clothing. † In light of this understanding, it seems now outdated definition of fashion, which was given by V. Dahl; – it is not Just a walking habit, â€Å"she did not† fancy. In an age of science, technology, and now – and the technological evolution has arisen this powerful â€Å"fashion industry†. It uses advances in science and technology to create new, previously unknown material, allows making fash ionable clothes, shoes, etc. In any desired quantity. Invented by chemists, artificial and synthetic materials – nylon, nylon, polyester, and others, gaining popularity very quickly became fashionable. Fashion – and in the sense that the enthusiasm was only temporary. Still, when cooled down passion aroused by the novelties, we returned to the tested, proven over centuries of fabrics and materials, which so well and feels natural and man in the heat, and cold.Chemists â€Å"rescued† an open rejection of a dangerous fashion, combining natural and synthetic fibbers so that they have a dignity and of those, and others – are pleasant to wear, hygienic, does not crease, easy to wash, durable. How can you call such a development mode changing whims? No, it's hard logic, in a society rapidly changing moods and tastes, hobbies, etc. Writes, for example, Doctor of Philosophy BAA Parrying in the book† Social Psychology as a science. Ð’Â «But this is †“ at first glance comprehensive – definition, apparently, does not reflect the essence of fashion. Because there are examples here the fashion of the West created a well-tested process as creating â€Å"stars† and â€Å"beauty queens† are increasingly used at the same time some economic controls to be placed on manual mode a lot of money.And fashion is not always there â€Å"under the influence of the dominant society† tastes and moods – often fashion serves as a kind of protest is the natural dynamics of science and industry. New draws attention, experience life and time, and adjusted accordingly. So the fashion of our time goes hand in hand with scientific and technical progress and to some extent contributes to it. But even this provision for, and against the objections can be found, since there are cases when fashion went in the direction of all progress, having tempted suddenly forms and colors of bygone decades. Disputes about fashion, begu n immediately after her birth, continued.Remains on the pages of newspapers and magazines ask the question: what is fashion? People are looking for an answer, crave precision and certainty. And it was no and no. Too complicated this ambiguous phenomenon. It originally – and each time a new way – reflects our life: spiritual and material. Mankind has, of course, does not live fashion – he has other, more serious encores and problems. He is much more important, for example, to avoid the â€Å"star† and other wars, keep the land in its purity and charm. The man went into space and flew to the knowledge of the unknown. It would seem that the fashion to these global problems? But no – it does not remain indifferent to them.The first flights into space inspired by Pierre Cardiac to create his â€Å"space† collection, and now the second decade, we see the development of this theme: here went overalls and helmets, silver and gold shiny fabric, of wh ich sew everything – from Jackets and raincoats to exquisite evening toilets. Changing the type of beauty – fashion changes the makeup, hair, shape the very face of a man who is considered beautiful. Then this teenager as Twiggy, proclaiming mini skirts and dresses, it is a natural cosmetic and short-haired athlete. Or a man keeps good shape, smart. All this is a consequence of mass interest in sports, the desire to live a healthy lifestyle.The new image – new types of clothing, a silhouette, fabric and other materials. Media, international contacts, tourism – all this makes the information widely available about fashion, and fashion itself becomes an international character. Tradition of folk costumes, national costumes have an impact on fashion, which was with her usual omnivorous draws ideas from all available sources. Fashion – is a specific and highly dynamic form of standardized mass behavior that arises spontaneously, mainly influenced by th e dominant against the tastes of the dominant society. In particular, this was the fashion of hippies and punks who were wearing shocking, causing clothes. We all somehow become involved in this process.Now many are interested in fashion, waiting forecasts, find out what is fashionable today that sew, what to buy, how to dress, to keep pace with time. And when a man wearing fashionable trousers – bananas, pulls on his shirt in a fashionable style â€Å"safari†, throws on the shoulders of the nylon, as if inflated with air, a Jacket – one that he often feels like walking in step with the times Many temptations fraught with fashion, but it is cruel and pitiless. Entering into any relationship with fashion, we find ourselves faced with a choice, and it must do consciously. We do not currently outfit to choose; we are saying about their passions, their aesthetic ideals So – to start – try to understand the laws, which call for a new life style and that she complies.