PDA Simulation Decision Essay Example for Free

PDA Simulation Decision Essay The score obtained for this test was 1,223,926,982.   The result was relatively encouraging given the fact that it was higher than the previous score.   There is an admission, however, that there is still room for improvement. Substantially the same strategies were used for this test.   These strategies are: 1) for handheld X5 the strategy used was to lower its price in order to attract more buyers and to maximize short-term profit in view of the fact that the market is mature and the product has been in market for three (3) years (Scott Allen, 2002); b) for Handheld X6 the strategy used was to allocate substantial amount for Research and Development accompanied by an increase in its price in view of the fact that this product is being purchased for its excellent performance, high quality, and attractive appearance (Ivana Taylor, 2008); c) for Handheld X7 the strategy used was to lower the price of the product in view of the fact that it is a new product which has been out only for 1 year and a significant portion of its market is still untapped but at the same time there should be an improved allocation in its Research and Development; and d) products which have fully saturated their market should be di scontinued. The change in strategy for this test is that changes were likewise made in the Research Development allocation.   This is due to the fact that the consumers for particular product such as for X6 and X7 were looking for quality and performance in the said items.   For this reason, it would be necessary in order to meet their expectations to improve product quality and performance by allocating substantial amount for Research Development.   It must however be stressed that the increase or decrease in Research and Development must be accompanied by change in price. The result was quite pleasing as the initial goals were achieved in terms of market saturation and improved sales.   At the start of the simulation the goal of the company was to be able to attract as many new customers as possible.   Following the principle of Law of Demand, the products which are being sold to low-end customers are sold at lower prices so as to improve demand for the product. The company was willing to spend as much for the Research and Development with a view that the amount expended for the development of X6 and X7 products will redound to more customers and more sales.   This was achieved for this test as the market for X5 was completely saturated.   This means that X5 was sold to all potential customers.   While the market was not completely saturated for X6 and X7 products, there are indications that there was substantial increase in the number of customers.   For instance, for X6 products market saturation improved from 74% to 90% while for X7 products market saturation improved from 10% to 15%.   This is shown in figure 1 below.

Economic Factors Affecting UK Non League Football Clubs

Economic Factors Affecting UK Non League Football Clubs An investigation of the economic factors affecting the commercial success and sustainability of UK non league football clubs Introduction Football clubs are traditionally not the strongest or most profitable businesses. This is supported by Deloitte’s (2007) annual report into the state of football finance, which stated that, outside of the Premier League, UK football as an industry recorded a net operating loss. Even in the Premier League, where clubs benefit from higher levels of sponsorship, media exposure and TV revenues, four clubs posted an operating loss in the 2005 / 2006 season. This implies that, the lower the division a club is in, the harder it is for them to survive and become commercially sustainable, let alone successful. Indeed, there is an argument that many football clubs will not survive without some form of outside financial support, such as a rich benefactor or owner. However, with increasing pressure from fans to spend money on securing the best players and challenging for success, whilst not increasing ticket prices to cover any additional expenditure, many wealthy businessmen, and even mu lti millionaires, are finding that bankrolling a football club is beyond their means. This is reflected in the view of Henk Potts, a strategist at Barclays who claims that â€Å"Any business model that revolves around 11 overpaid players kicking a piece of dead cow around on a wet November evening is no place to put your money† (Tomlinson, 2004). Issues such as these are exacerbated at the non league level. Not only must non league clubs put up with similar demands for success, but they often find themselves within the catchment area of a league, or even Premier League, club. In addition, with the rise of cable and satellite television, many people who would have previously watched their local non league teams on a regular basis can now choose to watch a variety of league matches from the comfort of their own home. This has put downward pressure on attendances for a number of non league clubs, making it even harder for them to survive and succeed. Ashford Town is a prime example of such a struggling club. As can be seen from the six years of accounts in the appendix, Ashford Town’s level of debt has increased from less than  £40,000 at the end of 2002 to more than  £90,000 at the end of 2007. In the same period, the club’s losses, and hence net worth, has fallen to - £70,000, with the club posting a net lo ss in every single one of the last six years. Attempting to address issues such as these is something which has been the subject of significant amounts of research and discussion over the past few decades. As such, this dissertation will not attempt to reach a solution to all of the numerous issues affecting the modern UK football industry. Instead, it will attempt to determine the extent to which contemporary management theories and techniques can be used by non league football clubs aiming to improve their sustainability. This aspect has been chosen because, in spite of the significant amount of research carried out into the sustainability of football as a business model, there has been little attention paid to smaller non league clubs. As such, the initial investigation will entail a detailed and structured review of the existing literature, around how the commercialisation of football has developed and what useful lessons this can provide. This will be followed up by a questionnaire survey of ten non league football clubs, i ncluding Ashford Town, to determine the extent to which they have followed contemporary business practices, and the extent to which said practices have aided their commercial sustainability. Finally, the results of these investigations will be used to attempt to put together a business plan for Ashford Town, in an attempt to demonstrate how the club may be able to turn its current, loss making, performance around. Aim and objectives As discussed above, the main aim of this dissertation will be to carry out an investigation of the economic factors which impact on the commercial success and sustainability of non league football clubs in the UK, and how contemporary management theories may be able to assist in boosting said success. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to examine how football has developed as a commercial enterprise, and how this has impacted on the divisions of revenue and profits within the industry. As part of this, it would be useful to analyse the main revenue streams of football clubs, as well as the main parts of their cost base, and how these can best be managed. One of the main sources of revenue for most clubs will likely be gate receipts, however many clubs will likely make a significant amount of revenue from marketing, commercial activities, and sponsorship, particularly in the upper leagues where commercial opportunities are likely to be larger. However, it is expected that commercial and marketing opportunities will also exist in the lower leagues, and even for non league sides. As such, this piece will also investigate the extent to which non league teams take advantage of these opportunities, as well as the need to control for factors such as on pitch performance and success, with the associated potential prize money and increased takings. The following objectives will be addressed as part of this study: To assess the factors which underlie the commercial success of football clubs, and hence also the factors which could lead to clubs going into administration, and potentially ceasing to exist. To examine some of the most successful football clubs and football business practices in the UK, and identify how these clubs and practices can contribute to maintaining commercial sustainability. To examine the extent to which contemporary models of business organisation and competitive strategy are relevant to football clubs. To identify and analyse the role broader business opportunities can play in increasing the stability of football clubs. To identify areas of financial savings and cost efficiency which can be used by football clubs without adversely affecting their on pitch performance. It is expected that, in answering these objectives through the literature and primary research, sufficient insight will be obtained to allow the formulation of conclusions and recommendations for non league football clubs wishing to boost their income, or control their costs. These conclusions and recommendations will be used to analyse the commercial business potential of Ashford Town, as a key example of a struggling non league football club. As such, part of the final report will include recommendations for inclusion into sustainable business plans detailing how the club can learn from other clubs, and economic and management theories, to ensure future economic stability. Ideally, in addressing the various objectives above, and looking at the ongoing performance of Ashford Town, it should be possible to gain an understanding of the critical factors which can affect the commercial sustainability of the football club. As such, the findings can then be applied to Ashford Town, helpin g to contribute to the recommendations around the formation of a sustainable business plan. Methodology Research is defined as the collection of data in order to answer research questions or address research objectives. As this obviously presents a significant range of potential data to collect, and numerous ways to collect it, there are various defined theoretical approaches, the most important of which will be assessed in this section. These are: action research, surveys, case studies, experimentation, grounded theory and ethnography (Saunders et al, 2007). The first of these, action research, involves researchers actively collaborating and working with practitioners in their chosen field in order to investigate a well defined issue or problem, with the aim of finding practical solutions to said issue. As such, action research is a highly involved research methodology, which enables researchers to examine an issue in significant depth, investigating the root causes and creating detailed cause and effect chains. However, it can cause the researcher to have too narrow a focus when exam ining the problem, leading them to ignore contributing factors from outside their field of study. Indeed, in a study such as this one, where the aim is to determine what the factors affecting football club commercial success are, action research is likely to be unsuitable. Surveys, on the other hand, are more often used for descriptive and exploratory research, as they enable the researcher to cover a wide scope and thus make recommendations for future research and study. In addition, surveys allow researchers to collect significant amounts of both qualitative and quantitative data, thus supporting a broad range of qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques. This is because surveys can include questionnaires and various types of interviews. Of course, the counter to this is that the broad reach of surveys makes it hard for researchers to gain much depth to their research, and surveys are unlikely to reveal the root causes of the phenomena they observe. Case studies represent something of a middle ground, combining the best aspects of action research and surveys, and thus allowing for both depth and breadth to be obtained. This is because they carry out research at a distance from an organisation, thus avoiding the researcher becoming too involved with the organisation, and developing a narrow view. However, the attempt to achieve both depth and breadth means that the research will not actually achieve full depth or full breadth, rather it will fall somewhere in between (Saunders et al, 2007). The other three approaches, experimentation, grounded theory and ethnography, do not actually refer to the collection of data, but to the methods used to observe and categorise said data. Of these, experimentation is based on setting up specific scenarios, in order to determine how said scenarios occur, and then compare the results to theoretical predictions. As part of this, certain external factors can be controlled, whilst others are allowed to vary, hence making it easier to observe and categorise certain factors as either causative or non causative, and also to rank the impact of each factor. Unfortunately, such experiments are often difficult to set up, particularly when attempting to observe large and complicated phenomena. In addition, there is an argument that the level of control implied in experimentation creates unrealistic environments, within which individuals do not behave as they do when not being observed or where nothing is controlled (Saunders et al, 2007). In cont rast, grounded theory focuses on observing scenarios naturally, observing what the factors are affecting said scenario, and attempting to use theoretical perspectives to explain what occurs. These theoretical perspectives are then tested against other scenarios, and refined until they describe the behaviour of the phenomenon as well as possible. Finally, ethnography is more inductive, and involves simply observed the phenomenon, looking at the factors which have combined to cause it, and attempting to decide which key factors and behaviours have caused the phenomenon to behave as it did. In contrast to grounded theory, ethnography does not attempt to objectively define the various factors and theoretical models affecting an observed phenomenon. Instead, ethnography focused on the qualitative effects which both the factors and the individuals concerned have on a phenomenon, and also looks at the perceptions the actors have of the key causal factors (Saunders et al, 2007). In this case, because this dissertation is attempting to analyse a more general phenomenon,: the factors affecting the commercial success of football clubs, a broad research perspective should be taken. As such, this piece will use a survey, to help frame and investigate said factors, as well as using a limited case study of Ashford Town, to examine the fact ors which specifically impact on this club. Ethnography will be used as a guiding principle when analysing the results and attempting to determine which factors are most important to non league football clubs. This is because football clubs are not renowned for their use of specific management theory and techniques, and hence any attempt to directly fit their behaviour to the theory would likely harm the relevance of the results to other clubs looking to make use of them. In addition, the nature of football, where success is defined by on pitch results rather than profitability, means that existing theory is unlikely to be an exact fit to the football context. As such, ethnography will be used to help explain the techniques used, and how these could fit to management theory and observations. The surveys themselves will include both a questionnaire and an interview with the club officials, either the club Secretary or Chairman, regarding the commercial realities confronting the club, as well as the existing financial situation including any handouts from wealthy club benefactors, loans, grants, and sponsorship. Unfortunately, details of the income and revenue streams are not available, and thus it is impossible to complete a full and detailed analysis of income streams and expenditure analysis, with the exception of those of Ashford Town. As such, the findings will be used to analyse the revenue and costs of Ashford Town, with the aim being to assist in assessing the clubs overall position; and whether it is under performing, or whether a business and financial saturation point has been reached. Given that only the financial accounts, and not the management accounts, of Ashford Town are available, detailed analysis of the revenue streams and costs will not be possible. As such, and as discussed above, the quality and depth of data is likely to limit the extent to which specific recommendations can be made. In addition, this dissertation will attempt to make use of both qualitative and quantitative data, as both of these types of data can make positive contributions to a study. Qualitative data methods aim to gather data which is difficult to represent in a numerical form. As such, qualitative data gathering tends to focus more on asking people their opinion around certain topics, as well as their perceptions of various factors. As such, qualitative data tends to be richer than its quantitative equivalent, although it is usually not as easy to analyse and represent it in graphical forms or through statistical analysis techniques. This is because qualitative data can help to explain why relationships occur between data, as well as helping to explain relationships that are not as unclear when examined from a quantitative point of view. In contrast, quantitative data collection methods tend to based on simply gathering and analysing quantitative observations and data, or data which can be represented in a numerical form. This is usually achieved through actually observing quantifiable phenomena, such as the profits made by football clubs or the number of clubs going into administration. However, it can also be gathered by asking individuals to assess qualitative factors from a quantitative point of view, such as by asking them to rank factors on a Likert scale, like the importance of their sources of income (Saunders et al, 2007). As a result, whilst this piece will look to use some quantitative data, the primary research and data analysis will be performed via qualitative data, analysis, and interpretation. As a consequence of the above discussion, this dissertation will use one main method of primary data collection, and one secondary method, to address the research questions. This will thus help increase the value of the dissertation, by providing more depth and insight to the analysis, as well as allowing triangulation with the results from the literature review, which will increase the validity of any conclusions and recommendations (Saunders et al, 2007). The main method of primary data collection will be the questionnaire survey of ten non league football clubs. This data will be used to assess the various factors impacting on these clubs, and their relative importance, as well as looking at the key income streams and costs incurred by the various clubs. As such, this data will be both qualitative and quantitative, and will act as the survey part of the methodology. The secondary set of primary data will be obtained from the financial accounts of Ashford Town, which will be provid ed. Whilst these accounts are not likely to be very detailed, they will help add depth to the study, and will demonstrate the actual financial situation the club is in as well as help contextualise the possible additional revenue streams the club is able to generate. As such, this section will represent the case study part of the study, whilst being driven and directed by the results of the survey discussed above. This will enable the provision of additional depth, through an in depth look at the actual accounts of a non league football club. This will help provide the ideal balance of breadth and depth. In addition, the collection of data from two distinct sources, the internal survey of staff and the financial results intended for external use, will help create a more accurate and independent triangulation between the various results, as well as a better analysis of the factors underlying them. This cross sectional data collection and analysis is critical in facilitating the use of both quantitative and qualitative analysis, as discussed above, and will help to further increase the value and the academic impact of this dissertation. However, given that commercial sustainability is not a concept which can be easily described through simple quantitative data, the qualitative part of the report is likely to be more important when attempting to determine the factors which underlie the commercial success and sustainability of non league football clubs. Regarding the sample size, it was necessary to find a balance between the need to have a large sample size, and the need to maintain a manageable quantity of data, as well as to fit all of the data collection and analysis in what is a very short period of time. As such, it was decided to collect data from just ten selected non league football clubs. These clubs are Ashford Town FC, Bromley FC, Burscough FC, Chatham Town FC, Corinthians FC, Croydon Athletic FC, Dartford FC, Ebbsfleet United FC, Whitstable FC and AFC Wim. These clubs have been selected as they were most responsive to initial attempts to contact them, and are also within reasonably close geographic proximity thus making the collection of data somewhat simpler. As such, they also represent teams from a fairly close geographic area, and thus should be affected by similar factors and economic effects. When carrying out questionnaires with the clubs, no club requested complete anonymity, and indeed all expresses an interest in seeing the final results of the study to see if it would be of use to them in determining how to best improve their business performance and sustainability. As each questionnaire is relatively straightforward, it was decided to only use one questionnaire for each club, to keep the data set simple and consistent. In order to analyse the qualitative data which is produced from the surveys, it will be necessary to use a research strategy to interpret and validate the data. Positivism has been selected as the research strategy for this piece because, of the four main research philosophies, or paradigms, which can be used to guide and interpret qualitative research, positivism is the one which is most concerned with the facts, rather than the impressions arising from the research (Saunders et al, 2007). This makes positivism ideal for analysing the subject of health and safety in the oil industry, as this can be an emotive and important issue for many workers in the oil industry, as has been shown in the literature review. As such, it will be necessary to avoid forming impressions when carrying out the research, and particularly when analysing the results of the questionnaires. Positivism can help avoid such subjectivity by ensuring that the researcher takes a scientific approach to the research, and minimises the impact of impressions and judgements. Indeed, positivism is based in the original work of Comte, who argued that knowledge can only even be relative, and hence will always be affected by the method used to gather it (Sellars, 1939). This implies that any attempt to interpret the motivations of a respondent in a research project will be affected by the method of data collection, and thus will be blurred. As such, the researcher should concentrate solely on the observed facts, rather than attempting to contextualise or rationalise their observations. However, the main disadvantage of positivism is that, simply be observing or recording an event, such as someone’s views on health and safety, can tend to influence the motivations of the subject, and hence their responses. As a researcher using a positivist paradigm cannot speculate on any potential changes in motivation, this may mean that the actions observed will not be wholly consistent with the actual behaviour in the absence of observation. For example, if a senior manager at an oil company were asked their opinion about health and safety legislation, they may give a different answer to their true opinion of the subject, as they may feel that their public persona needs to be displayed in a certain way. This can hopefully be avoided, to a certain degree, in the questionnaires by not revealing the overall purpose of the survey; assuring the respondent of neutrality; and ensuring that the questionnaire is as neutral as possible. This is based on the argument that if the su bject is unaware of what their responses will be used for, they will be less likely to change their behaviour accordingly. Caldwell (1980) also argues that the face that positivism is based on observations, and not on the fundamental motivations behind said observations, means that it is incompatible with financial and economic viewpoints. This is because economics is based on the study of people’s motivations and decisions in situations where everyone is seen as either a buyer or supplier, and hence everyone acts according to a motivation. For example, when asked if they would prefer additional health and safety legislation, oil executives would naturally answer no, as the cost of compliance would decrease their profits. This occurs because the oil executive’s salary depends on their financial performance, hence they are motivated to avoid anything which may have a negative effect on said performance. Whilst this incompatibility and bias has not been empirically proven; Caldwell (1980, p. 53) argues that it has â€Å"been sufficiently robust to cause many contemporary analysts to turn to alternative approaches†. This implies that such factors need to be addressed when constructing the questionnaires, and that questions which will have an innate connection to, or dependence or, economic and financial factors should be avoided. This implies that, as discussed above, the financial impacts of the health and safety legislation will need to be studied as a secondary priority. Literature Review The history of professional football and commercialism Wray (1982) argues that the late nineteenth century, when significant riches were brought into the UK by the Industrial Revolution and during the Victorian era, was the start of true commercialisation of sport in the UK. This assessment is based on a study of the economics of the gate receipts taken by the football industry in Scotland between 1890 and 1914. This analysis showed that, not only were some entrepreneurs looking to profit from football by commercialising its, but others were looking to do so with the aim of winning more matches, tournaments and hence glory and status. Indeed, whilst the majority of the companies involving themselves in sports such as cycling and horse racing were simply looking to use the sport to create wealth for themselves and their shareholders, the majority of football clubs in Scotland were converted to business principles purely to enhance sporting success. As such, conventional profit and shareholder utility maximisation goals arguably applied mu ch more to other sports than to football, where supporter utility maximisation took precedence. However, Wray (1982) also claims that there was a significant focus on supporter and team utility in other team sports such as cricket, and this was again due to the motives behind the owners, directors and shareholders in many cricket teams. It appears that the British affinity with sports such as football and cricket meant that they developed with the aim of satisfying the fans, whilst the other sports, with less of a spectator following, developed more with the aim of providing financial returns. In addition, the drive towards commercialisation, and in an attempt to assure competitive success, Wilders (1976) reported that, in 1976, all the 92 clubs in the English League, except for Nottingham Forest, had become limited liability companies. This allowed the owners to spend large amounts of money; with no fear of debtors looking to their personal funds should the club fail to break even. In addition, of those companies, more than half the boards of directors held enough shares to make it virtually impossible for the other shareholders to outvote them on any matter. In particular, in 1967, Wilders (1976) reported that there were 22 clubs where the chairman and board of directors owned more than half of the shares; and a further 55 where the board of directors owned over 25 per cent of the shares. In addition to this, in more than a third of said clubs approval was required by the board of directors if anyone wished to sell their shares. As such, the distribution of shares change d very little as the game commercialised, and the clubs continued to be run for the benefit of the directors and chairman, with ordinary shareholders having very little say in the running of the clubs or the returns they earned on their investment. Sloan (1969) also argues that football’s commercial development was driven largely by the significant non financial advantages and disadvantages of being employed as a professional footballer. The main argument appears to be that playing football is a source of great enjoyment for a significant number of people, as witnessed by the thousands of amateur and non league sides which pay without any financial reward. As such, football tends to give players a degree of satisfaction which few other jobs provide, as well as potentially allowing the best players to become national celebrities, with associated additional income and exposure from activities such as writing books; commenting on other footballers performances; and advertising various products and services. In addition, during the initial development of the sport, clubs tended to provide players with houses let at below market rents, as well as giving them significant freedom outside of training and match days. In addition, the fact that the season only covers around nine months of the year, excluding internationals, means that players tend to have significant amounts of free time during the summer break, and even when training they often have several hours free each day. This is countered by the fact that players require a high degree of fitness, and will often need to be away from home for several nights if their schedule demands it. However, Sloan (1969) concludes that football seems to confer more advantages to players than disadvantages, which has helped to raise the profile of professional and semi professional football, and thus contribute to the number of players, and hence number of clubs, in the modern game (Sloan, 1969). This obviously places pressure on the market, with it being difficult and expensive for supporters to follow more than one club, hence making it difficult for smaller clubs to attract supporters. However, countering this is the fact that, since early on in the evolution of the English Football League, the transfer system acted to restrict the movement of labour, to an extent that is rarely seen in other industries. The rules of the transfer system state that any player who wishes to appear for a league club must be employed by that club, in the case of professional players, and must be registered with the Football League, as well as the English Football Association. As such, the only way a player may move between clubs is if both clubs and both ruling bodies approve the transfer. As such, this procedure requires both clubs, the player, the Football League and the FA to consent, effectively giving clubs monopolies over the services of their players for the duration of their fixed length contracts. This is a situation which would not be accepted in other industries, and has regularly been compared with trading slaves, with players often having very little say in where their clu b makes them move (BBC, 2008). Indeed, the fact that transfers almost always involve the payment of a fee by the club who the player is joining further enhances the slave trade connotations. As such, whereas most businesses would attempt to attract new employees by offering higher wages or better working conditions, football clubs are forced to offer high wages, better working conditions, and pay a large fee to the club from which they source the new player. Given that the fees have risen from  £1,000 in 1905,  £10,000 in 1928,  £100,000 in 1961, and into the tens of millions by the present day, it is clear that the increased demand for the best players is forcing clubs to devote ever more funds to transfer fees and wages, particularly when bidding against other clubs to secure the best players (Sloane, 1969). However, in spite of the multi million pound deals which they have been charged with sourcing and carrying out, Wilders (1976) reported that the majority of managers still tended not to have any form of formal training. Indeed, in Wilders’ (1976) survey of 28 English League managers, 16 managers claimed that they would have benefitted from some sort of business and financial course when carrying out their duties and developing their careers. Wilders (1976) claims that this is not the most surprising aspect, the most surprising aspect is that twelve of the managers surveyed believed that they did not need any formal training, and that their experience as a player would be sufficient to help them discharge their managerial responsibilities. However, this belief that playing experience alone provides sufficient training and skills for the demands of football management is arguably one of the reasons why so many clubs have failed to develop as businesses: the skills of professiona l footballers do not tend to include financial and business dealings, or the need to balance budgets. Indeed, the results of the survey indicated a general belief that the majority of football managers knew about the footballing side of their job, but generally knew very little about the need to manage the financial side of the business. As such, the general belief that the best footballers tend to make the best managers has not necessarily been borne out, with many of the best managers having been mediocre footballers at best. In fact, Wilder (1976) claims that the technical gifts needed to make a footballer can often hinder the effective management of clubs. The rise of commercialisation Whilst commercialisation has been a significant trend in the football industry in the UK for the past few years, its only since the 1980s that football in the UK, and the whole of Europe, has truly developed as a major commercial industry. This is evidenced by the fact that, in 1986 the 22 First Division clubs in England had a combined annual tur

The Use of Heritage in Everyday Use and A Pair of Tickets :: Alice Walker Amy Tan Papers

The Use of Heritage in Everyday Use and A Pair of Tickets A key factor in Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use,† and Amy Tan’s â€Å"A Pair of Tickets,† is heritage. Throughout both stories the use of heritage can be seen easily. Walker’s avoidance of heritage in her writings and Tan’s understanding of heritage in her writing. Through this readers can see the true meaning of heritage. Understanding both sides of these two stories gives readers a chance to explore their own heritage and reflect on how they accept their past. By contrasting the family characters in â€Å"Everyday Use,† Walker illustrates lost heritage by placing the significance of heritage solely on material objects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an example that heritage in both knowledge and form passing from one generation to another through a learning experience connection. However, by a broken connection, Dee the older daughter, represents a misconception of heritage as material. Dee, the â€Å"heritage queen† portrays a rags to riches daughter who does not understand what heritage is all about. Her definition of heritage hangs on a wall to show off, not to be used. Dee’s avoidance of heritage becomes clear when she is talking to Mama about changing her name, she says, â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me† (Walker 75). Thus resembling that Dee just takes another name without even understanding what her original name means. She tr ies to explain to Mama that her name now has meaning, quality, and heritage; never realizing that the new name means nothing. Changing her name bothers Mama and Maggie because Dee’s name is a fourth generation name, truly giving it heritage. Dee likes to gloat to her friends about how she was raised, so she tries to show off by decorating her house with useful items from her past. Her argument with Mama about taking quilts that were hand stitched as opposed to sewn by machine gives readers a chance to see Dee’s outlook of heritage is short lived. Dee says to Mama, â€Å"But they’re priceless. . . Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!† (Walker 77). Mama will not allow her daughter to take the quilts because she has been saving them for Dee’s sister, Maggie, and she wants the quilts to be put into everyday use. By helping

Compare two Robert Browning poems - The Laboratory and My last Duchess. :: English Literature

Compare two Robert Browning poems - The Laboratory and My last Duchess. The two Robert Browning poems I have chosen are 'The Laboratory' and 'My last Duchess'. My initial reaction on reading The laboratory was one of horror and fascination as it tells a tale of a woman scorned. I found it horrifying that a human being could plan in such a cold and calculating way, but I also found this fascinating. 'Not that I bid you spare her the pain; Let death be felt and the proof remain:' My feelings on reading My Last Duchess was pity for the Duke who was narrating the poem as it was clear that his jealousy and insecurity had ruined their relationship.` 'she smiled, no doubt, Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile?' Both poems have contemporary relevance, as people today are still intrigued by murder, mystery and tales of unrequited love. It is very obvious that the poems were wrote in the 19th century though, as some of the language is no longer in use in today's society eg durst/dared and forsooth/indeed. There are other indications that the poetry was written in the 19th century by the references made to the use of a fan and also the way the poison was prepared using pestle and mortar. 'Grind away moisten and mash up thy paste, Pound at thy powder-I am not in haste.' The topic of the poem in My Last Duchess is infact a painting, had it been written in the 21st century it would have been far more likely to have been a photograph. The theme of The Laboratory is one of the eternal love triangle. Whereas the theme in my last duchess would seem to be about an obsessive yet insecure lover. The similarity would be the extreme jealousy that is displayed by both narratives. The difference is that the narrator in My Last Duchess is so jealous and insecure that he 'gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.' implying that he sent away or disposed of his loved one in some way. In The Laboratory, the focus of jealousy is directed at the other woman. 'He is with her, and they know that I know' The character of the narrator in The Laboratory displays an intensity of emotion through her obvious jealousy of the other woman, this intensity of jealousy could only be achieved if she also had experienced the same level of love. Similarly, the character of the narrator in My Last Duchess also displays obvious jealousy although it is without such an intensity of emotion. It is my opinion that the

Brainstem Injuries and the Neuropsychologist Essay -- Neuropsychology

Brainstem Injuries and the Neuropsychologist The Neuropsychologist plays an essential function in assessment and rehabilitation after an injury to the head. Neuropsychologists essentially bear responsibility for testing and tracking the patients thinking ability. Below are key functions provided by clinical neuropsychologists: - Carrying out detailed assessments of cognition, emotion, behavior, and social competence; - Devising and implementing training programs; - Liaising with educational agencies/ employers to advise on the resumption of educational/ vocational life; - Advising on the management cognitive deficits/ disabilities; - Advising and providing long term care; - Providing psychotherapeutic input to address the emotional impact of injury and disabilities; - Facilitating personal, family, and social adjustment (Halligan 2003). A screening for a neuropsychological evaluation should be done as soon as possible after an injury to the brain or in this case, brainstem. A comprehensive evaluation is necessary if complaints and or problems persist. In most cases, an evaluation is performed biannually for the first two years, and as necessary, depending on the subjectivity of the patients status. An exam by the neuropsychologist typically involves a wide variety of tasks, most of which are done sitting at a table or at bedside in a hospital (www.neuropsychologycentral.com, 2002). The examination is non-invasive, and usually is not painful. The evaluation often takes 6 to 8 hours of face-to-face contact, but can vary widely depending on what information is being sought (www.neuropsychologycentral.com, 2002). Test results are used, depending o... ...y 1, 2005 from http//www.neuropsychologycentral.com/interface/content/resources /resources_interface_frameset.html. University of Florida (2005). Medical Informatics: Introduction to Clinical Neurology. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://medinfo.ufl.edu/year2/neuro/review/bsc.html. Joseph Landolfi (2005). Brainstem Gliomas. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://www.emedicine.com/NEURO/topic40.htm. Spencer, Rick (2005). Brain Injury 101. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://www.rickspencer.com/Headinjurylaw/brain101.htm. Theodosopoulos, Philip; Burton, Lisa; Wagner, Becky; Splitt, Nancee (2005). Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-BrainTumor.htm. Reiter, Jamie (2003). Journey Toward Recovery: A Brain Injury Guide For Families. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://www.sdbif.org/Guide/SDBIF_Guide_Eng.pdf.

Should Developing Countries Concentrate on Improving?

Should developing countries concentrate on improving industrial skills or should they promote education first? As everyone knows that a government represents the people to operate the whole nation and to structure a well-organized system for development, on the other hand, a powerful nation needs a strong administrative government which could constitute beneficial policies for the people, because government is closely connected with people, and its relationship is unbreakable. So, any policies government made are important directly influencing people’s life.Useful policies provide a nation right direction to help its development in any fields such as economy, education, industry and military; in contrast, bad ones pull the whole nation down. Simply it can be said, constitution of policies makes the decision of national development, and especially it’s much more important in developing countries than advanced countries. Then, in developing procedure which one should be d eveloped first, improving industrial skills or promoting education? In my opinion, promoting education is basically more important than industrial skills improvement.One of reasons is it can not be doubted that industrial development or improvement is based on technology development which requires specialists, especially advanced technologies, which developing countries could not independently develop, need to be imported though high-educated people, therefore, even if a nation has abundant mines or materials, without well-structured and widespread education development, the resources surely can not be well used to develop technologies. And, oppositely, low-educated people slow down development.Another reason is well-structured education system means frequencies of transmission and communication of diversified and different information. It not only helps education to be popularized, but also enhances the possibility of acquirement from advanced countries. Moreover, a nation has a we ll-developed financial system must be set up by education. When people are learned from knowledge, then they know how to trade with others, or countries, in many ways. Hence, education pushes exchange of trade and also strengthens the entity of nation. An example can be supportive for my view.In the past more than 50 years, two political systems, democracy and communism, were developed and makes two most powerful and superior countries, America and Old Russia. It is known that Old Russia was an industrial country, and the isolation made it develop its own technologies. For maintaining advantageous position which in competition with America, it continually kept developing, but why Old Russia collapsed in a flash but Communist China did not? The opening of it economic market to international may be the answer, but another important policy was also valued by Chinese government is the enhancement of literacy rate increasing.Chinese government knew the technology development or technolog y import both require education, for this reason the nationwide popularization of education was strongly pushed to educate and train up people to help both restructuring and development in every field. To sum up, I believe the establishment of education is much more important than technology development or improvement. Even though a nation can develop its technologies first, without the reinforcement of education its development of every field, will be soon stopped or slowed down by its low-educated system.

Oil Boom in Nigeria: What are the Socio-Economic Implications for Society from 1999-2014?

Chapter 1: Introduction Nigeria is one of the leading oil producing countries in the world. Nigeria’s economy was largely characterised by agricultural production alongside other consumer goods up to the 1980’s, when oil wealth took over the majority of the country’s economy. For more than three decades, Nigeria has exploited her oil resources for export. The emergence of oil as Nigeria’s main source of revenue has generated a number of questions regarding the significance of the oil wealth to the socio-economic development of Nigeria society. It has been commonly assumed that Nigeria’s large oil deposits would spur socio-economic growth and put the country among the world’s elite nations in terms of economic growth and social prosperity (Ian and Terry, 2003). Since independence from Great Britain in 1960, Nigerians have experienced a number of problems ranging from ethno-religious and sectarian conflicts to corruption. According to Gboyega (1996) the post-independe nt Nigeria is one that has bore the brunt of leadership-induced poverty instigated by corruption scandals, religious charlatanism, war, restiveness, political instability, series of dictatorial regimes, and failure to build basic amenities among other issues. Ironically, these challenges have intensified during the period when Nigeria experienced what is commonly referred to as the ‘oil boom’ (Gboyega, 1996, p.39). Julius-Adeoye (2010) believes that Nigeria’s severe socio-economic crisis started immediately after independence, when the country’s leaders plundered the nation’s resources with massive corruption allegations at the expense of citizens’ wellbeing; excuses that military generals used to mount coups from the civilian rulers. Whilst it was expected that the beginning of Nigeria’s democratically elected government in 1999 under the leadership of President Olesegun Obasanjo would see sudden change of fortunes for Nigerians, the country has not realised much progress in terms of social progress despite the much hyped economic growth (Salawu, 2010). Data indicate that Nigeria’s oil revenue hit US$ 300 billion in the last two decades alone (Balouga, 2009). But it is the rise in revenue (over USD$112 billion between 2004 and 2007 alone) during Obasanjo’s reign that has raised questions about the country’s priorities and socio-economic development plans. One question one would ask is; where did Nigeria got it wrong in terms of socio-economic developmentTo answer this question, there is need to understand how defining regimes of General Ibrahim Babangida and later Olesegun Obasanjo have contributed to the socio-economic slump of the resource-rich Nigeria. 1.1 Aim and Objectives This study aims to establish the implication of two leaders of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Babangida (1985-1993) and President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) on Nigeria’s oil and gas resource management and the socio-economic impact with General Babangida setting the pace in the years of misrule and mismanagement of national resources, he set a precedent that would later haunt the economic and social fabric of Nigeria and its people for later years. Sadly, the trend of inequality did not seem to end with military rule but extended with the civilian rule of the democratically elected government (Odebode, 2004).Research objectivesTo establish the role of General Babangida’s regime on the oil resource management and socio-economic development of Nigeria To identify the implication of President Obasanjo’s reign as a democratically elected leader on the oil resource management and socio-economic development of Nigeria To identify ways in which leadership can be used to ba lance Nigeria’s socio-economic development and improve oil resource management 1.2 Research Questions What is the significance of Babangida and Obasanjo’s regimes in the socio-economic development of Nigeria? What is the significance of oil wealth to the socio-economic development of Nigeria’s socio-economic development? What implications do the oil resources have on the local communities’ social integration and economic wellbeing? To what extent has the reigns of these leaders captured in the literature about Nigeria’s developmental agenda? Chapter 2: Literature Review There is a significant body of literature on Nigeria’s development framework. It has been described as having components of corruption, consumerism, failed socio-economic and political policies, and many other issues (Balouga, 2009; Odebode, 2004; Ian and Terry, 2003).Odebode (2004) observes that Nigeria’s socio-economic climate in the past four decades has neither promoted any kind of social and economic welfare that can insulate families from harsh market realities nor help them â€Å"benefit from market developments† (Odebode, 2004, p.12). This is despite massive revenue from oil production. Corruption has been at the core of Nigeria’s political and social developments independence, saddling between military and civilian regimes, which have regrettably institutionalised corruption in almost all government agencies. When General Ibrahim Babangida toppled General Muhammadu Buhari’s regime of less than two years in a bloodless in-house coup on 27th August 1985, the country saw thirteen years of corruption in Nigeria. It is generally agreed that during General Babangida’sregime corruption not only reached alarming high level rate but also became instutionalised. For instance, leaders who were found guilty by tribunals in the previous regimes of Murtala Mohammed and Mohammadu Buharu would later find their way back into the public life; recovering their seized properties allegedly acquired through corrupt means. Maduagwu (cited i n Gboyega, 1996, p.5) observes that that not only did Babangida regime entrench corruption when he pardoned corrupt government officials convicted in the previous regimes and allowed them to reclaim their seized properties, but also â€Å"officially sanctioned corruption in the country, making it difficult to apply the only potent measures, long prison terms and seizure of illegally acquired wealth† for fighting corruption in Nigeria in the future. The successive regimes after Babangida did little to stop corruption (Balouga, 2009). General Sani Abacha in just less than 4 months had ousted the interim government furthering the corruption menace and stagnating the socio-economic growth. The Abacha regime saw corruption reached its peak with plunder of national resources. The International Centre for Asset Recovery (2009) estimated that the Abacha family alone took up to US$ 4 billion from the public coffers. Salawu (2010) observes that the country’s populace is still ma rred with abject poverty, to the extent that it is not only being categorised amongst the world’s poorest nations but also graces the world’s most unequal countries list. Studies have estimated that about 70 percent of Nigeria’s population lives below poverty line, largely due to inequitable distribution of the national resources such as oil revenue limited access to basic amenities and social services such as healthcare (Salawu, 2010). Chapter 3: Research methodology and design The researcher proposes to use qualitative research method to increase the understanding of the attitudes, motivation and other non-numerical information. The study will seek to investigate these phenomena using structured and semi-structured questionnaires, interviews and observation. According to Panneerselvam (2004), qualitative approach to research is the most appropriate research method when studying issues that require in-depth understanding of issues. Panneerselvam (2004) advises that researchers intending to study societal issues such as corruption and governance should immerse themselves into the culture of the society and experience what is in the system. Qualitative research allows the researcher to practice the needed flexibility, thus the ability to amend the emerging sub-questions as they become more familiar with the people, culture and system construct (Panneerselvam, 2004, p.158). Qualitative research methods help researchers to collect non-numerical responses from r espondents using less-structured research instruments such as interviews, observation and ethnography. Ethnography uses fieldwork to provide a descriptive study of human society and presents the results as an organized whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It is founded on the principle that a system’s individual properties cannot always be accurately understood independent of each other. Qualitative research is thus based on relatively small sample sizes and may evoke inherent challenges when larger sample sizes are needed. In-depth Case study This research will also adopt a case study as a research methodology. The case studies will focus on General Babangida’s regime and Obasanjo’s reign and draw any comparison and similarities in terms of socio-economic development. Case study as a research method is popular due to its ability to draw inspiration from the empirical curiosity and practicality (Stake, 1998). Although the researcher maybe interested in a wider question of socio-economic development of Nigeria, the case study will allow the researcher to specifically focus on issues of oil resource management, corruption, and leadership ideals. Case study is an important research method because it is able to combine other research strategies, hence the reason why it is often referred to as a meta-method (Stake, 1998). Gillham (2001) argues that a case study should not be viewed as more important than other research methodologies but should be seen as more suited for practice-oriented fields. That is, the abili ty of the researcher to act within a professional practice is dependent on the knowledge of a repertoire of cases. 3.1 Scope of the study This research will focus on oil resource management and its impact on socio-economic development in Nigeria. The focus will draw similarities and contrast between General Babangida’s regime (1985-1993) and Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007). References Balouga, J. (2009). The Niger Delta: Defusing the Time Bomb. International Association for Energy Economies 1 (3), 8-11. Gboyega, A. (1996). Corruption and Democratization in Nigeria. Ibadan: Agba Areo Publishers. International Centre for Asset Recovery. (2009, September). Sani Abacha. Retrieved on 25 August, 2014 from http://www.assetrecovery.org/ Gillham, B. (2001). Case Study Research Methods. London, New York: Continuum. Ian, G. and Terry, L. (2003). Bottom of the Barrel: Africa’s Oil Boom and the Poor. Stanford: Catholic Relief Services. Julius-Adeoye, R.J. Nigerian Playwrights and Official Corruption: a study of selected plays. In Oshionebo, B.,Mbachaga, J.D., eds. (2010). Literary Perspectives on Corruption in Africa 1. Markudi: Bookmakers, 2 (1), 5-17. Odebode, S. (2004). Husbands are Crowns: Livelihood Pathways of Low-Income Urban Yoruba Wwomen in Ibadan, Nigeria. The Hague: ISS, 11-12. Panneerselvam, R. (2004). Research Methodology. NY: PHI Learning Pvt. Salawu, B. ( 2010). Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: Causal Analysis and Proposals for New Management Strategies. European Journal of Social Sciences 13(3), 345-353. Stake, R. (1998). â€Å"Case Studies† in: Norman Denzin & Yvonna Lincoln. (eds.): Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage.