Impacts of Cultural Differences

Hunan Information Science Vocational College Graduation Thesis Subject: Impacts of Cultural Differences on International Business Negotiation Name: Chen Xiujuan Student No. : 0 8 5 1 0 3 4 0 Specialty and Class: Business English, Class 3 Department: Department of Humanities and Arts Supervisor: Liu Mifan Date: 2011-3-02 Contents Introduction1 1. Types of Cultural Differences2 1. 1Value View2 1. 2. Negotiating Style2 1. 3. Thinking Model2 2. Impact Of Cultural Differences on International Business Negotiations4 . 1Impact of Value Views Differences on International Business Negotiations4 2. 1. 1Impact of Time View Difference on Negotiation. 4 2. 1. 2Impact of Equality View Difference on Negotiation. 5 2. 1. 3 Impact of Objectivity Difference on Negotiation. 6 2. 2 Impact of Negotiating Style Differences on International Business Negotiations. 7 2. 3 Impact of Thinking Model Differences on International Business Negotiation. 8 3. Coping Strategy Of Negotiating Across Cultures. 9 3. 1 Ma king Preparations before Negotiation. 9 3. 2 Overcoming Cultural Prejudice. 10 3. Conquering Communication Barriers. 10 Conclusion11 Bibliography12 Acknowledgements13 Abstract The business negotiations under different cultural conditions come to cross- cultural negotiations. With the economic globalization and the frequent business contacts, cultural differences seem to be very important; otherwise they could cause unnecessary misunderstanding, even affect the result of the business negotiations. This means it is very important to know the different culture in different countries and the ways to avoid the culture conflicts in the international business negotiations.The article commences from the types of culture differences, then it explains the impacts of these culture differences on international business negotiation and finally it analyzes how to deal with the problem of the cultural differences correctly in negotiation process. Such a standpoint is emphasized: In the business ne gotiations between different countries, negotiators should accept the other party’s culture, and try to make him be accepted; then make a correct evaluation with the help of valid communication and discover their real benefits between them.Besides, we should know clearly and try to accept the culture differences as possible as we can. It is very important for the success of culture negotiations. Key words: Culture; Cultural differences; Business negotiation; Impact Introduction Along with the advancement globalization and China’s WTO entry, business enterprises in China have to face more and more business negotiations with foreign enterprises, especially with American enterprises. In these negotiations, Chinese negotiators sometimes feel uncomfortable, puzzled, lost, irritated and the alike, because of unfamiliar custom and behaviors demonstrated by American negotiators.Meanwhile, American negotiators confront the same situation. Cult rural differences between China an d west countries could cause many problems. Therefore, understanding cultural differences and overcoming them is crucial in international business negotiations. Although the definition of culture is numerous and vague, it is commonly Recognized that culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, values, attitudes and expectations. Culture is a major determinant in business negotiation. So have a clear picture of culture differences if of great significance. . Types of Culture Differences The east countries and west countries have produced different cultures on the different continents. Among the different cultures, value views, negotiating style and thinking model appear more obvious. 1. 1Value View Value view is the standard that people use to asses objective things. It includes time view, equality view and objectivity. People may draw a different or even contradictory conclusion about the same thing. Value view is one of the most important differences among the many factors.It ca n influence the attitude, needs and behavior of people. The value view varies from nation to nation, people know that the eastern person focus on collectivism, while the western people pay more attention to individualism. 1. 2. Negotiating Style Negotiating style refers to the tolerance and graces which the negotiator shows in the negotiation. The negotiators show their negotiating style through behavior, manners and the method of controlling negotiation process during the negotiation.The negotiator’s negotiating style has a bearing on their culture background. According to the culture differences, negotiating style falls into two types: the east negotiating style pattern and the west negotiating style pattern. 1. 3. Thinking Model Thinking model reflects the culture. Because of the influences of history background, continents, words and living method, different nations generate different thinking models. Surely, there is more than one thinking model of a nation, but one is m ore obvious compared with others.As a whole, east people, especially Chinese have strong comprehensive thinking, image thinking and curved thinking, while analytical thinking, abstract thinking and direct thinking are possessed by the west people. 2. Impact of Cultural Differences on International Business Negotiations With the rapid development of economy, we need to do business with businessmen under different culture background, so in order to reach trade agreement, it is necessary for us to study the impact of culture differences on international negotiation in global business activities.The impact of culture differences on international negotiation is extensive and deeply. Different cultures divide the people into different group and they are also the obstacles of people’s communication. Accordingly, it is required that the negotiator should accept the culture of each other. Furthermore, through culture differences, it is important that the negotiator reveal and understa nd the other party’s goal and behavior and make him or herself be accepted by the opponent to reach agreement finally 2. 1Impact of Value Views Differences on International Business NegotiationsValue Views Differences on International Business Negotiations fall into three types: time view, negotiation style, thinking model. Each has big influences on business negotiation 2. 1. 1 Impact of Time View Difference on Negotiation. The time view which affects the negotiator’s behavior varies from east countries to west countries. The oriental or the Chinese negotiators are usually cautious and patient. They need to go through the phrases of coming up with proposes, bringing up objections and ending the trade which takes a longer time.And they hope to arrange rich time to go on a negotiation, thus knowing more about the opponent . They are good at long and continuous battle. While west people or we could say American people, consider time is precious. They tend to resolve prob lems swiftly. So, in business negotiation, American businessmen often complain about the delay and the lack of efficiency of negotiators from other countries, while these countries also make a complaint that the Americans lack patience. There is a popular saying among American negotiators and businessmen: It is prohibited to steal time.That shows the time view of Americans. To them, time means money. The time view of Chinese is cyclic. They use long-term and systematic viewpoints to value the importance of the topic. A famous people classify the time view into two kinds: straight-line time viewand cyclic time view. The former pay more attention to concentration and speed, and the later stress doing many things at one time. That they insist on different time view leads to different negotiating style and method. The American people represent the straight-line time view and they have a strong awareness of modern competition.They look for speed and efficiency. So they value time badly a nd consider time as a special commodity whose value could be assessed. They often use minute to calculate time . They hope to reduce negotiation time at every phrase and want to complete the negotiation quickly. But the Chinese time view is cyclic and they place emphasis on unity. Moreover, it is necessary to be punctual at negotiations. West people have a strong time view, if you don’t comply with the appointment time, they may give you a punishment and they will regard you as unreliable and irresponsible person.Being late for negotiation will give the west businessmen opportunities to exert pressure onyou, and then you will lose the status of being initiative. 2. 1. 2 Impact of Equality View Difference on Negotiation America went through the bourgeoisie revolution of striving for the equality and freedom, so they take equality into their heart. Americans stick to equality and fairness in business, and hope that both could gain benefit. When introducing the topic or situatio n, the west people would like to use concrete method, particularly data.Their negotiating method is that they will describe their viewpoint and propose at the beginning in order to get initiative. Under this principle, they would come up with a reasonable resolution which they think is very fair. In business relationship, the sellers from America regard the buyer as a counterpart. Americans are fairer than Japanese is sharing benefits. A lot of American managers think fair division of profits is more important than how much they could get. At this point, the east people are different. Because of the deeply influence of class view, they don’t pay much attention to equality.They usually adopt single-win strategy in business negotiations. When involving economic benefits they think much about their own benefits and profits and don’t give so much attention to the benefit of their partners. The market economic system of developed countries is quite mature, so west countries take win-win strategy more in negotiation; basically, they could take the benefits of both into consideration. 2. 1. 3 Impact of Objectivity Difference on Negotiation The objectivity in international business negotiation reflects the degree to which people treat any things.West people especially Americans have a strong objectivity on the understanding of issues. At negotiation table, Americans don’t care much about relationship between people. They don’t care if the status of the opponent is equal to theirs. They make decision based on facts and data, not people. The saying that public things use public ways is a reflection of American objectivity. Therefore,Americans emphasize that Businessmen should distinguish people and issues, what they are really interested in is the actual problems. But in the other parts of the world, it is impossible for them to distinguish people and issues. . 2 Impact of Negotiating Style Differences on International Business Negotiations T he impacts of negotiating style differences on international business negotiation mainly exist in negotiating method and negotiating structure. Take the negotiation between America and China as a example, since the oriental care more about unity in thinking, they method they adopt in negotiation is from unity to parts, from the big to little, from the abstract to the concrete, that is to say they should each agreement on general terms, then begin to talk about the concrete terms.And usually not until the end of the negotiation do they make compromise and promise based on all the items, and then to reach agreement. The west people are influenced by analytic thinking, so pay more attention to logical relations between things. They consider more about concrete things than integrity. And they tend discuss the concrete items at the beginning of negotiation, so they often resolve the price, delivery and issuance respectively at first. And they may make compromise at every detail, so the f inal contract is the combination of many little agreements.The negotiating structure is linked with cultures. Negotiating structure mostly refers to the number of the participants. In business negotiation, the foreign delegation is usually composed by 3-5 people, while the Chinese one could be more 15 people. The foreign negotiators not only need to negotiate with their counterparts but also need to discuss with related person in charge or the government. When making the final decisions, the Chinese negotiators often discuss the results repeatedly from the workers to the board to avoid being decided by a single person. That results from the influence of collectivism.So they often said to their partners: Let us think about it. Let us discuss it. But the west negotiators could make the final decision without going back for discussion. That because their admire individualism and hard working. They have strong independence. They would carry on according to the best ways after knowing th eir goals. What’s more, most west people think that they have the ability to deal with the negotiation situation on their own. And truly, they are brave enough to take responsibility. 2. 3 Impact of Thinking Model Differences on International Business NegotiationThe thinking model of Chinese tends to be comprehensive, concrete and curved, while the Americans are usually analytic, abstract and straight-line. We Chinese are accustomed to talking about general principles at first and then move onto details. To Chinese negotiators, the core is the general guideline, and the details are subject to the guideline. After figuring out the big picture, other problems are easier to resolve. It is the most obvious feature of Chinese negotiators. But west businessmen, especially Americans are likely to discuss the details first and try to avoid the principle.They value details very much and think noting about the unity. Accordingly, they want to discuss the details at the beginning of neg otiation. They are direct and simple in negotiation. As a matter of fact, many facts show that General principles first have impact of constriction on the parts and details. For instance, our government insists on the principle that Hong Kong and Macao are undivided parts of China’s territory. In the important diplomatic negotiations such as Entering into relationship with America, Hong Kong’s and Macao’s Coming back into their motherland.It is under such principle that we established the tone of the negotiation and controlled the skeleton of the negotiation, thus we get the advantage and prompt the success of negotiation. 3. Coping Strategy of Negotiating across Cultures The culture differences in cross-cultural communication have various impacts on operation of enterprises. These differences will influence negotiation and management of transnational operation; what’s more, it may have bad effects on the harmonious relationship between our country and fo reign countries.Maybe that will lead to the missing of market opportunities, the increase of trade cost and the low efficiency of company management. So, it is really necessary for us all to eliminate and avoid disadvantageous effects. 3. 1 Making Preparations before Negotiation. The negotiators must make good preparations if they want control the development of negotiation successfully in the complex situation. Only do they make good preparations can they make changes freely according to the situation of negotiation and avoid the happening of conflicts. Because the international business negotiation involves extensive aspects, more preparations are needed.The preparations often include the analysis of the negotiators themselves and the opponents; the constitution of negotiation group, elaborating the negotiating goal and strategy and going on imitation negotiation when necessary. When making preparations, you should try to know the opponents while you analyze yourselves. Analyzing yourselves mainly refers to studying if the project is feasible. To knowing about the opponents means understanding their strength such as credit status, the policy? business customs and regulations of their countries and the conditions of their negotiating members and so on. . 2 Overcoming Cultural Prejudice Tolerating different cultures and overcoming cultural prejudice contribute to better communicating with each other and understanding each other. West people often think that they are powerful, capable and experienced, so sometimes, we need to recognize then and give then some good comments. We should learn about the foreign cultures before negotiation and accept and understand their cultures in negotiation, because every country regard their own cultures as a matter of course and hope that their culture could be recognized and accepted. 3. Conquering Communication Barriers Two trains running at different railways in the opposite direction will collide with each other; maybe thi s is the best arrangement for trains. But to communication between people, there won’t be communications if people go ahead according to their own ways. Trains will collide with each other if they run on the same railway at the opposite direction. But if we measure by the objective of people’s communication, only we meet each other, can we have communication and friendship. In negotiation, sometimes we can’t make much progress although we have talked for long time.And sometimes both parties are not satisfied. After thinking, that is caused by communication barriers which happen easily in cross-cultural negotiation. We should make sure if there appear communication barriers, if so, we must overcome them. Generally speaking, we should pay more attention to the following three communication barriers in cross-cultural negotiation: the communication barriers caused by culture background of both; the ones caused by misunderstanding of the contents and information from the partner; the ones caused by not being willing to accept the opponent’s contents and ideas.Conclusion â€Å"Social Customs varies in different countries†. In a word, cross- cultural communication will meet the problem of culture differences surely. In turn, culture differences also influence all aspects of international business communication. To avoid or to resolve the culture differences is a huge task in international business negotiation. In order to step into the international market successfully, we must have the awareness of culture differences, acknowledge culture differences and understand different cultures.Try to know yourself and know them. What’s more, we should respect different behavior of businessmen under different culture background, and then we could reduce unnecessary conflicts resulting from not respecting the opponents. It is beneficial for both to form an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation, reduce culture differences and turn d isadvantages into advantages and benefits. Thus, we could avoid conflicts and obstacles, then to promote communication and harmony in international business negotiation. Bibliography 1]George Yule. The study of Language[M]. Cambridge University Press,2000:202-209 [2]Harvey, Paul,,â€Å"The Oxford Companion to English Literature† [M]. London: Oxford University Press. 1978:23-25 [3]Philip R Harris, Managing Cultural Differences [M]. Gulf Publishing Company, 1987:234-260 [4]Wang Cheng fa. A Glimpse of Foreign Land [J]. Kaifeng: Henan Univesity Press, 2000:58-62 [5]. [M]. : ,2000:2-6 [6]  · —— [M]. : ,2004 [7].. [M] : ,2003:340-342 [8]. [M]. : ,2001 Acknowledgements As acknowledgements for my paper, only I — the writer is responsible for the shortcomings. I much acknowledges my thanks to all my teachers, especially to Miss Liu Mifan, my supervisor, who has provides me support, critical ideas and careful suggestions. I also want to thank my family who alwa ys give me time, encouragement and secretarial services, especially my parents. Finally, my classmate and friends, who provided thoughtful and thorough reviews of my paper, must be acknowledged.

What are the effects of childrens various nagging strategies on their parents?

The trend for advertisers to target children rather than adults has several reasons behind it. The first reason is associated with the fact that during the 1980s working parents had less time to spend with their children and tried to substitute emotional connection with buying more things for their offsprings. It was the era when children emerged as an important category of consumers. The second reason is advertisers’ attempt to develop brand loyalty among their future customers from the early age. Children have been reported to recognize brand logos before they are able to speak their name. Advertisers reckon that nostalgic memories from childhood will propel consumers to buy their brand as grownups. The third reason for the focus on children is associated with effectiveness of nagging strategies children use to make their parents buy products they want. There are seven nagging strategies children employ, as identified by James U. McNeal, the author of the book ‘Kids as Customers. ’ The first strategy is referred to as a pleading nag and implies repeating words like ‘please’ or ‘mom’ until the child gets what he or she wants. The second strategy, a persistent nag, is based on requesting the desired object over and over again. It may include phrases like ‘I’m gonna ask just one more time. ’ The third form of pressurizing parents into buying certain products is a forceful nag that may involve threats and other pushy statement. The child may threaten to ask Dad instead thus playing on the mother’s willingness to be the most loves out of two parents. The forth strategy is a demonstrative nag – the most dangerous scenario characterized by scandals in public places, crying, refusing to walk out of the shop, breath-holding, and similar tactics. The fifth strategy is labeled a sugar-coated nag and relies on promising love and recognition in return for the desired object and may involve such phrases as ‘You’re the best parent ever. ’ The sixth strategy, a threatening nag, implies some forms of blackmailing, running away or vows of eternal hatred. The last form of a nag called a pity nag includes the child telling his or her parents that he or she will be immensely sad or socially stunted if the desired object is not purchased. All these tactics can be used in combination and can have a varying effect on parents. Quite often, these nagging strategies prove to be as effective as advertisers think them to be. There are several reasons for that. First of all, many parents are very busy nowadays, and it is easier for them to purchase a certain thing than to spend half an hour on persuading their child that the purchase would be unnecessary or undesirable. The second reason is that unfortunately, many parents do not connect well to their children and fail to establish a relationship of trust with them that is needed for reaching compromises or explaining which purchases are necessary and which are not. Young parents or single parents may simply lack communication and explanatory skills to avoid giving in to nagging. The third reason is that some parents believe that consumption is happiness and socialize their children into consumerism from the early age. Well-to-do and permissive parents are likely to supply their children with excessive amounts of unnecessary things. The fourth reason why parent give in to nagging is the society’s view that children should always get what they want. Increased attention to children’s right and eliminating child abuse make the society disapprove of parents that do not fulfill every wish of their children. Trying to avoid being labeled as a ‘bad parent,’ mothers and fathers prefer to buy the desired object not to be criticized by passersby or community members. The effectiveness of nagging strategies provides a rationale for continuing focus on children. This may have undesirable consequences, since advertisers often do not follow ethical standards in their attempt to maximize profits. People often say that advertising is intrusive, deceptive and manipulative. Therefore, it is ethically wrong to target children as prime consumers of advertising content. Unlike adults, children are incapable of distinguishing between advertising content and other television production. Furthermore, children may fall prey of commercials for alcohol and cigarettes. Marketing research into the likes and dislikes of children may interrupt their leisure activities and socializing. While buying decisions rests with adults, children are getting more and more power in shaping their parents’ consumption patterns though nagging. A conclusion can be made that parents should learn how to deal efficiently with their children’s nagging strategies and make more independent buying decisions. Advertising aimed at children should be limited and controlled by public authorities. While consumerism remains a questionable virtue, it may be wrong to socialize children into consumerist values before they are able to make informed decisions of their own.

Human Resource Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Human Resource Management - Assignment Example It will gradually evolve into a value adding area for any organization if proper research and education is provided in the field (Plessis et al., 2007, p. 279). Human resource management evolvement, relationship with the organisation and environment, and human resource planning i) The first record of HRM can be traced back to 1780s where the various handymen like carpenters and masons formed an alliance in England to increase their bargaining power and get standard wages for their work. The industrial revolution paved way for set up of huge factories. Various welfare workers who took care of both the men and women workers needs were appointed in the factories. A team led by Elton Mayo carried out the famous Hawthorne studies which serve as a major, pioneering research in HRM during the 1920s. Trade unions started to appear after the Second World War era. Separate departments with a group of people handling various activities related to workers welfare like payroll and grievance handl ing started to appear by the First World War. Contemporary Human Resource Management took its place as prominent department of a company by 1960s (Pravin, 2010). They gained much wider fame and importance in the next two decades as various MNC’s started to appear. (Pravin, 2010) Personnel management is considered as the forerunner of HRM as it involves recruiting, training and firing people. It is often viewed as a tool to organize the manpower in a company rather than a strategic management technique like HRM. Personnel management is different from HRM in the following ways. (Sreenath, 2009) ii) The evolution of any process leaves its mark significantly on the current version of the strategy. HRM as a discipline views people as an asset and its operative functions include procuring employees, developing their skills, providing proper compensation for them, integration, maintenance as well as separation or laying them off. The industrial revolution concepts paved way for a se parate department concerned to labour welfare. Personnel management streamlined the managerial functions of HRM like organizing the hiring process, directing the training and controlling the employees. HRM as a strategy paved way for various researches and well defined techniques to follow in hiring and training huge number of employees. Concepts like Michigan School Framework and Harvard Frame work paved way for smooth flow of employee management in huge MNC's with thousands of workers (Salaman et al., 2005). HRM will facilitate the growth of organizational competencies which will yield competitive advantage over other peers through strategic management of employees (Lado & Wilson, 1994). Companies started to see workers as an asset and harvesting their brain power as their major goal instead of training them to perform monotonous jobs as it was during the industrial revolution era using these frameworks. (Sreenath, 2009) (Sreenath, 2009) Line managers are quite important for TQB a s the concerned branches falls under their direct controls. If the HR department motivates them properly with promised perks in terms of power and money, they will serve as a very positive influence on the workers communicating directly with the customers in the new branches. TQB’s goal to attract potential customers in the new branches will become much easier if the HR manager maintains a good personal relationship with the line managers, heed ears to their personal issues, help them achieve their

The Requirement and Concept of Professionalism Essay

The Requirement and Concept of Professionalism - Essay Example However, according to Vener (1780), professionalism can loosely be defined as the skills and competence required or held by a person regarded as professional. It is thus a status of practice capability (Vener 1780). In order to comprehensively understand the concept, there is only one effective way to use, and that is to understand the attributes that constitute professionalism. The desirable attributes include altruism, honesty, compassion, accountability, social responsibility, the ability to read and communicate effectively as well as dress and act appropriately-just to mention, but a few (Vickie 131). It is the integration of such attributes and many other desirable attributes that create the aura of professionalism that practitioners and institutions should possess so as to guarantee improved healthcare outcomes. This paper reviews my research study period, and how the events of the period and involved people displayed professionalism in practice. Working on the morning shift greatly differed in the facility from what I had observed on night shifts. The night shifts were busier and everyone was either in a hurry to prepare the patient room for the next coming patient or preparing already admitted expectant mothers for delivery. I arrived at the facility at 7.00 a.m. and waited for Mrs. Susan, who is the obstetric patient safety nurse, and she arrived at around 8.00 a.m. Upon her arrival, we went through the observation tool that I had created for the study with additional help from Carey. This was in line with the professional need to align the study tool the study goals and objectives so as to achieve informative outcomes that would inform better practice. After a three-hour review, we all decided to have the tool completed prior to 11th December. The earlier completion was meant to help me have more time working with the unit.

Discussion 6 his Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion 6 his - Assignment Example A traitor who tries to gain power and authority to satisfy his personal gains cannot be regarded in any way to be a hero but a villain. It is for this reason that in my opinion, Minister Arthur Zimmermann was the villain for betraying the US by giving secret support to Mexico and wanting to put the US against her allies. 2. Search the internet for images of posters from World War I. Choose one, take an 8 1/2 x 11 inch white piece of paper and draw the poster by hand with a graphite pencil onto the paper. Take a photo of your drawing, and post it to the discussion board. Describe why the poster intrigued you, and what you learned about the image by taking a long look at it. The image above was selected due to its contrasting theme to what the president of the country at the time, who was President Woodrow Wilson, stood for at the time. It will be seen that whereas the president of the land was preaching peace and wanting the issues of the day to be settled through dialogue, there were those who were fueling the issue. The fueling of the issue took place with such posters that attributed joining the war to civilization. But on the other side of the case, one cannot deny the message of the poster, especially as dialogues broke down and it was becoming clear that America needed to join, at least for the reason of protecting its smaller allies. There are therefore so many lessons in the poster as it teaches the lesson of last resort. As depicted in the poster, war or violence must always be used as a last resort and should only be employed when there is no other alternative and once that time comes, it must be the responsibility of all. 3. Does the history of World War I teach us that it is in the best interest of the United States to fight in foreign wars and to enforce international peace treaties with our military? Write a 4-6 sentence paragraph in

The status of trustees Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The status of trustees - Case Study Example The status of trustees In case there is a breach of trust on the part of the fiduciary, the beneficiary can move the court and claim damages. Another interesting concept that introduces itself when a case is filed is that of 'equity'. A lawsuit might entail just monetary claims as a part of the verdict. However, equity as a set of legal principles restrains or orders the execution of a certain action. Calling it a course of natural justice would not be an exaggeration. Many case histories citing breach of trust in fiduciary-beneficiary relationship abound the legal corridors. What is important to understand in this context is the way legal implications were enforced. There are examples that hold a fiduciary's position as such that he is liable to be punished, whatever may be intentions. There are some other cases where the fiduciary was exempted. The basis of each case of course was the peculiar circumstances as well as the moral and legal guidelines that influenced it. 'Boardman was solicitor to a trust, which owned 8,000 of 30,000 shares in a private textile company, with whose performance Boardman was dissatisfied. The trust had no wish to buy the remaining shares, and in any case was unable to buy them, although it could have applied to court for power to do so. Since a company’s Facebook page will reflect its business and what it stands for, the management must pay higher attention to creating and maintaining its brand page. To illustrate, the firm may set a cover photo that depicts the essence of its brand and quality of products/services offered. Boardman decided to purchase them himself, undoubtedly benefiting from information he had received as in his fiduciary capacity (in knowing what price to offer), and did not obtain the consent of all beneficiaries. The shares later increased in value (partly perhaps because of Boardman's management in selling off some of the assets of the newly acquired company), so Boardman made a large profit for himself. Additionally, however, because the trust still had a large share in the same company, his activities also resulted in a large profit for the trust. There was no claim of bad faith, nor any obvious conflict of interest, since the trust did not have the power to purchase the shares itself, and in any case, the trust had positively benefited from Boardman's intervention. In negotiating for the majority shareholding Boardman had, in good faith, obtained information in his capacity as solicitor to the trust, which he would not otherwise have obtained. Phipps,a beneficiary under the trust, sued for an account of profits.' 1 As per the specifications of the legal framework, if a fiduciary performs an action, which is injurious to the interests of the beneficiary and profits a rival in the process, the fiduciary ought to reimburse the losses. However, in this particular case, Boardman had bought the shares in a personal capacity and in no way incurred any kind of loss to the beneficiaries. An increase in the value of shares implied profit for the trust. A pro-fiduciary perspective would view this action as a case of constructive trust 2 . However the court stretched it too far taking into consideration the viewpoint of the beneficiary, who put a question mark on Boardman's role s the beneficiary. The

Social Work Group Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Work Group Skills - Essay Example As work groups develop, the members come to play different parts in the socials structure. The emergence of different roles is a natural process. One of the most critical roles assumed by group members is that of leading the group. The essay is therefore written with the objective of presenting the results of a group video, specifically addressing the following, to wit: (1) method of intervention used in the group and the rationale for effectiveness; (2) identification of strengths and areas for development in leading groups; and (3) ways and means for group members to learn from each other. The method of intervention used by the group in the video is the cognitive behavior therapy. According to the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists (NACBT) (2009, par. 1), the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is â€Å"a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the important role of thinking in how we feel and what we do†. Cognitive behavior interventions are designed to educate and modify or change the clients’ attitudes and behaviors using nonpharmacological means (Delaune & Ladner, 2006, 1108). This approach is effective in terms of applying the garbage in – garbage out thinking where faulty thinking and information goes out to be replaced by new data which educates the client into effective recovery. It assists the client into developing skills to modify one’s behavior, identification of distraught thinking, assists in relating to others, minimize being indifferent and develop determination to change for the better. Negative thoughts are assessed and flushed out of the client’s mind, enabling new and improved mental processes to sink in and transform the client’s behavior and self concept. The exercise developed the following skills and strengths in leading the group: (1) cohesiveness where members are attracted to each other and engage in frequent social interaction. Feelings of belonging, acceptance and

Sexual attraction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sexual attraction - Research Paper Example Human sexuality has many aspects related to physiology and psychology. Biological or physiological aspects of sexuality are related to the continuity of human generation in the world. Without sexual relationship, it is impossible to sustain the generations by living things. Nature has given the sexual attraction to all the living things in order to sustain their species on earth. Psychological aspects of sexuality are related to the relaxation of mental stress. Sexual relationship is one way for the living things to release their emotional energies. Sex is a divine thing given to all living things by nature. It should be used for constructive things rather than destructive things. Sex related crimes and abuses are increasing day by day everywhere in the world. Even small children were sexually abused by elders in the current century. The total unawareness of sexuality and sexual relationship is leading to such abuses. People are engaged in sexual abuses because of the emotional dominance over their wisdom. Diana Russell has reported from his studies that in a sample of 930 women she has studied, 38% has been sexually abused before the age of eighteen (Hastings, p.20) The adolescent period is a stage in which infatuation dominates all other wisdom. People at this stage may not know much about the good and evil. They will act based on their physiological and psychological needs. Barriers may not have any place during this period and they often engage in sexual relationships without thinking twice. Much of the human sexual attraction is related to the physical attractiveness. The appearance of a person is interpreted by the senses which decide whether that person is suitable or not for sexual relationships. It is important for everybody to know about the meaning of sexuality and the importance of sexual relationships in order to sustain a healthy life. This paper briefly explains sexual attraction and its consequences. Selection of the life partner is

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 28

Case Study Example With the Freemium Pricing Strategy in place, it was obvious that the company’s user base would definitely increase. The strategy worked effectively in that Dropbox managed to grow from at least 4 million Dropbox users in January 2010 to more than 200 million users by November 2 years later. In as much as the company never revealed its exact revenues, it was reported by an industry analysts that the company made more than $400 million by 2012. Five years after it was launched, it can be reported that Dropbox was valued at more than 4 billion dollars. This means that the company benefited from the strategy. Alternatively, the company managed to secure a large share of Dropbox users especially for the cloud storage. This therefore enabled the company management to switch its attention to corporate customers. First, the strategy led to overcrowding with minimal competitors. Alternatively, getting users was somehow tough because of bureaucratic delays especially in making them integrate the services. There is also the notion that the freemium strategy would end being a costly affair for the company. It was feared that the strategy would leave the company with thousands of freeloaders and higher operating costs. It was also difficult to get individuals pay since most mainstream users were not used to paying for the services. Another challenge of this strategy is that the company might suffer from value perception of the services. The fact that the basic package is free, most users might have the perception that any other version that company offers has little value. Lastly, issues with competition are common. After the success of the freemium strategy, Houston started to target the corporate customers directly. Whereas the consumer Dropbox version started at only $120 per year, the business type was estimated to cost more than $800 on a yearly basis for users. Termed as the Dropbox for Business version, the strategy featured

Steps in Medical Billing Process Essay Example for Free

Steps in Medical Billing Process Essay There are several steps to the medical billing process step one to ten are as follows: Preregister patients, Establish financial responsibility for visits, Check in the patients, Check out the patients, Review coding compliance, Check billing compliance, Prepare and transmit claims, Monitor payer adjudication, Generate patient statements and finally Follow up patients payments and handle collections. Preregister patients is when you schedule and update appointments and collect insurance information for the patients. When you are scheduling appointments for new patient you need to get basic information and insurance information and reason for appointment. Establishing Financial Responsibility is an important step where you must determine what services are covered under the patients insurance and what service they are responsible for this also help if a preauthorization is need and ensures that are information is done and billed correctly. Check in Patients This is when you collect all necessary information from the patient such as copies for insurance cards. This is also, where you can collect copays and make sure the patient’s information is correct and updated if need be. Check out Patients This is where you record the proper medical codes for the visit. This is also where you provide information if the patient has made a payment or how much they owe and to make sure it is coded properly so the patient will be charged correctly. If payment or copays have been made then a receipt is given. Review Coding Compliance This is where guidelines must be follow when coding the visit. This must be checked for errors and the visit and the code should be connected so the payer understands the charges. Check Billing Compliance Each charge, or fee, for a visit is related to a specific procedure code. The provider’s fees for services are listed on the medical practice’s fee schedule. Most medical practices have standard fee schedules listing their usual fees. Even through there is separate codes for each fee not all are necessarily billable Prepare and Transmit Claims This is where the claims are prepared and submit in a timely manner listing the diagnosis, procedures, and charges for the payer. Most are sent electronically and each practice, as a policy as to when claims are filed be it daily, every other day etc. Monitor Payer Adjudication is where the where the health plans decide rather to pay the whole bill, part of the bill or deny the bill altogether. It is important for them to get their money as soon as possible, this is also where any discrepancies are address, and an appeal is then file if there are any discrepancies found. Generate Patients Statements This is where payments are listed from the payer, and what is still owed and what the patient is being billed it is them mailed to the patient. The date of service and any balances , and services provided are all listed on the statement. Follow up patients payments and collections this is where patients payments are monitored and checked and if they are behind they are sent a notice and if still no response collection procedures maybe started.

Historical Perspectives In Kinesiology

Historical Perspectives In Kinesiology Why We Study Kinesiology. As one of the most innovative and exciting areas in the health care field, muscle testing through kinesiology has given professionals feedback tools to identify multiple aspects of human movement ranging from injury cause and rehabilitation to sports performance. Just think for a moment about how bicycle designs or helmets have changed in the past 10-20 years. Much is this is due to the study of kinesiology. To comprehensively understand human movement, we must approach the topic from a comprehensive point of view which means a physiological, biomechanical, psychological, and sociological perspective. However, in studying kinesiology not only will you begin to understand how and why we move, but gain knowledge on how we can optimize the human potential for movement and skilled performance, the use of different materials and fabrics, and the role of body balance for overall movement health. Kinesiology is a way of studying human movement from two perspectives; theoretical and applied. Each day we accomplish a variety of skills and tasks by calling on a vast array of motor skills. We drive cars, ride bicycles, paint houses, and type of keyboards. All of these skills are studied within the field of kinesiology. Tools are designed and redesigned, hockey sticks are made from new materials, cars are redesigned with more aerodynamics, and your armchair is home if more ergonomically built. To do any and all of these things we must consider the body and how it moves. Unconsciously, we select the muscles which are going to be most effective for the task at hand. The more we are able to recruit muscle groups, the more effective and stronger we become at performing that skill and movement. Moreover, the kinesiology repertoire is not limited to sports and human activities. The field covers everywhere from the study of movement to the anatomical aspects of humans and athletes, and b ecause biomechanics affects all aspects of our daily function, the field of study extends far beyond sports performance. This book focuses on human biomechanics which focuses mainly on humans involved in movement, sports and exercise. We might define sports and exercise biomechanics as the study of forces and their effects on humans in exercise and sport. As we have defined previously, kinesiology is the study of human movement. Kinesiology is the study referring to the whole area of human movement Included in this field is the study of biomechanics, or the study of motion. Kinesiology and Sports Biomechanics overlap to provide you with the knowledge you need to understand the mechanical aspects involved in everyday movements and also the techniques of sports. In both situations, similar questions arise, such as; why is this technique working better than the other ones I have tried? and Would my performance be enhanced if I fine-tuned a certain skill? Studying kinesiology will also allow you to know how and where to find answers to these questions. And in answering these questions you will be using biomechanics to improve your performance both in everyday life and perhaps more directly, your athletic skills and ability. An example of some questions the knowledgeable biomechanist might answer include the following: What is the safest way to lift and move this heavy object? What movement is the most economical? And is it possible to judge this based on visual observation? At what distance should a ball be thrown for maximum power? What change in body mechanics can be made to increase stability in the elderly? What allows some individuals to carry out a specific task while others are unable to perform the very same task? These questions provide a foundation for indentifying, analyzing and solving problems related to human movement. Regardless of the questions asked, investigations and experiments in the kinesiology and biomechanics field are leading us to design products and address problems in everyday life and sports. However, kinesiology is by no means a modern day science. Mechanics and forces in human work have long been studied in many walks of life ranging from transport, to battles to buildings. This is quite evident historically if you consider structures like the Pyramids, the great castles of medieval times, carts and horses for travel and of course bicycles. Therefore, history is rich with individual contributions to this field. I think you will be surprised to see of the great names of artists, designers, and craftsmen who have made instrumental contributions to the field and are therefore part of the great collection of kinesiologists in history. Understanding the Historical Development and Contributions in Kinesiology Kinesiology is a combination of the Greek word kinein (to move) and logos (discourse). Its long history spans the lives of Archimedes (287-212 BC), Galen (131-201 AD, deemed the father of sports medicine), Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Newton, on up to modern times and Dr. George Goodhart, who brought into our language the concept of Applied Kinesiology in 1964. Kinesiology is regarded as both an art form and a science; it is regarded as a science because it has rules, methods, principles and logical techniques while it also involves intuitions, feelings and practice which also make it an art form. Within the history of kinesiology much of the context consists of the history of sport biomechanics. The origin of kinesiology was first used in the 19th century, but it wasnt until the 1960s that biomechanics evolved as a more structured discipline and became popular. However, as aforementioned, the origins of kinesiology can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Roman Times and the gladiators and chariot races. One of the earliest works of exercise and sport biomechanics appeared in 1912 in The Baseball Magazine. This article described a study analyzing the pitching speed of a professional pitcher by the name of Walter Johnson. Following the publication of this article, the field and research of sport biomechanics truly began and a host of other studies in sports such as swimming, cycling and track and field began to appear. The start of the 1930s introduced the use of video cameras in filming and analyzing skills of sport. With the use of this technology, biomechanists were able to slow down the activity and look more intently at the athletes techniques and therefore, could more specifically make the necessary adjustments to positively enhance the performance. A perusal through the history books will show a noticeable improvement in world records for many sports in the 1950s-1960s. The technology that was developed for World War II soon carried over into other disciplines, and sports was o ne of these areas. It wasnt until the 1960s that the actual term and involvement in biomechanics research really started to become popular. In this decade came the introduction of the first Biomechanics seminar with the beginning of newly published Biomechanics Journals published and presented at these conferences. In the 1970s and 1980s, many biomechanics organizations were formed and there was an increase in the number of publications of sport biomechanics journals. The field of study has continued to increase rapidly over the past few decades. However, while great strides have been in recent decades, much foundation work was already laid. It is important to note and recognize these individuals who made marked contributions to the field. Not only is it important to recognize these accomplishments but also to put into context the rich history of kinesiology. Great Kinesiologists in History Aristotle (384-322 BC) Aristotle is known as The Father of Kinesiology. In fact, he is pretty much considered the first biomechanist. He was the first to describe the actions of muscles in his first book on the Parts of Animals, Movement of Animals, and Progression of Animals. He was the first to subject animals to geometric analysis and then document their findings. He viewed animal bodies as mechanical systems and researched the physiological differences between imagining the performance of an action and actually carrying out that same action. Furthermore, he described the various conditions and problems of moving and pushing a boat; which was a precursor to Newtons Laws of Motion. It was Aristotle, who also was the first to describe and analyze the movements of walking, explaining the transformation of a rotary movement to translatory movements. These describe the general motions of the body from an initial position to a final position. The rotary movement consists of one point of a bone remaining stati onary with all other anatomical points tracing an arc or circle around this stable point. Translatory motion, or pure linear, motion is the movement of an entire object occurring at all points on that particular object and includes all points moving the same distance. With the introduction of basic studies focusing on both animal and human biomechanics, Aristotle raised the importance and application of biomechanics to the musculoskeletal system and has led us to a better understanding of both joint function and dysfunction, resulting in design improvements in human motion structure and performance. Archimedes (287-212 BC) Following Aristotle was another renowned Greek scientist. Archimedes (287-212 BC) discovered hydrostatic principles governing floating bodies, which are widely applied today in all areas of aquatics, especially swimming. Archimedes also investigated the laws of leverage and determination of the center of gravity and buoyancy. In physics, buoyancy is the upward force on an object produced by the surrounding fluid in which it is partially immersed, due to the pressure difference of the fluid between the top and bottom of the object. In his treatise On Floating Bodies, Archimedes writes about the hydrostatic principle, or the Archimedes Principle, as it is more commonly known. This principle states that the body when immersed in a fluid will experience a buoyancy force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. In other words, when a body is partially or fully immersed into a fluid (i.e. a liquid or a gas), then it will experience that upward buoyant force which is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the immersed part of the body. Although Archimedes didnt invent the lever, he wrote one of the earliest known explanations of the principle involved, and he did design the standard block and pulley system which allowed the use of the principle of leverage to lift objects that would have been too heavy to move. In the first part of his treatise, On Floating Bodies, Archimedes describes his law of equilibrium of fluids and demonstrates that water will in fact adapt to a spherical form around a center of gravity. It has been said to be an early attempt to explain the theory that the Earth is round. In his second volume On the Equilibrium of Planes, Archimedes stated his Law of the Lever. In this Law he explains that Equal weights at equal distances are in equilibrium, and equal weights at unequal distances are not in equilibrium but incline towards the weight which is at the greatest distance. It was with the use of these principles that he derived to calculate the centers of gravity of various geometric figures. His contributions continue to guide modern day mechanics and the study of levers. Research Note: EUREKA! I have found it. This term is most famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes; he reportedly proclaimed, Eureka! when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be calculated with precision, a previously intractable problem. He is said to have been so eager to share his realization that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked. The story goes that a king at the time, Hiero II of Syracuse, wanted a gold crown but didnt trust the goldsmith to use 100% gold. He needed a way of checking whether or not the crown was indeed all gold. Archimedes insight led to the solution of a problem posed by Hiero of Syracuse, on how to assess the purity of an irregular golden crown. Equipment for weighing objects already existed, and now that Archimedes could also measure volume, their ratio would give the objects density, an important indicator of purity. Archimedes was able to determine how much water should be displaced for a crown made of gold for a given size and weight. The crown was designed as a gift to the gods in the shape of a wreath and therefore could not be disturbed. Archimedes ultimately concluded that the goldsmith had substituted some gold with silver in making the crown. Galen (131-201 BC) Galen, a Roman citizen, is widely considered to be the first team physician in history. His essay De Motu Musculorum is the first textbook on kinesiology. In this book he distinguished the difference between motor and sensory nerves, described agonist and antagonist muscle relationships, described tonus, and introduced terms diarthrosis and synarthrosis. Galen believed and taught that the contractions of muscles are a result of the passing of animal spirits from the brain through the nerves of the muscles. Some writers suggest that along with Galen being the first author of a textbook on kinesiology that he also is considered as the father of sports medicine. Da Vinci (1452-1519 AD) We all know of Leonardo Da Vinci for his great works of art. But his contributions in the field of kinesiology are also noteworthy. Following the works of Galen, kinesiology and biomechanics lay pretty much untouched until the 15th century when Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519 AD) advanced our knowledge further. As an artist, engineer and scientist, he was mainly interested in the structure of the human body as it relates to performance, center of gravity and the balance and center of resistance. Da Vinci was the first to record scientific data on the human gait. He used letters to identify muscles and nerves in the human body that he would retrieve from graveyards in the middle of the night. In his collection of human gait data, he described the mechanics of the body during standing, walking uphill and downhill, rising from a sitting position, and jumping. In order to demonstrate the progression action and interaction of various muscles during movement, he developed theories on the func tional anatomy by attaching cords to a skeleton at the origin and insertion points of the muscles. His theories and teachings remain commonplace and true to this day. Galileo (1564-1643 AD) Galileo followed Da Vinci, and was the first to propose the Law or Inertia, or what is better known as Newtons First Law. His theoretical and experimental work on the bodies of motion was a precursor of the classical mechanics developed by Sir Isaac Newton. Galileos Principle of Inertia stated: A body moving on a level surface will continue in the same direction at constant speed unless disturbed. It was this principle that was later incorporated into Newtons laws of motion. The basic framework for Newtons laws of motion also came from Galileos basic principle of relativity, in which he stated that the laws of physics are the same in any system that is moving at a constant speed in a straight line, regardless of speed or direction. Hence, there is no absolute motion or absolute rest. Galileo was also very well recognized as the founder of classical mechanics and the applications of variables such as space, time and velocity. He determined the correct mathematical law for acceleration: the total distance covered (starting from rest) is proportional to the square of the time. Galileo also concluded that objects will retain their velocity unless a force or friction acts upon them. Galileo was a little contraindicated in his thinking and strongly defended heliocentrism; the belief that the sun is at the center of the solar system. Because of his belief in this theory, he claimed it was not contrary to the Scripture passages, and in 1616 he traveled to Rome to try and persuade the Catholic Church authorities not to ban and criticize his ideas. Galileo forged on and in 1632 published his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. As a result Galileo lost much support and became alienated and admonished by the church. Rome supported by one of its biggest and most powerful defenders, Pope Paul V, put Galileo on trial on suspicion of heresy in 1633. As a result Galileo spent the remainder of his life under house arrest albeit back in his home near Florence. It was during this time that he dedicated his time to one of his greatest works, Two New Sciences. In these writings he summarized on the two sciences now called kinematics and strength of materials. The book received great praise from Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein in later years. As a result of this work Galileo is often referred to as the father of modern physics. As an interesting side note, by the time Galileo started to write his new sciences text he was blind! Borelli (1608-1679 AD) Giovanni Borelli was a Renaissance Italian physiologist, physicist and mathematician. As a student of Galileo he contributed to the modern principle of scientific investigation through continuing the testing of hypotheses against observation. His largest achievements are those specifically related to his investigation into biomechanics. His studies originated with the biomechanics of animals. Borelli was the author of De Motu Animalium I and II, although he did not live to see the publication of this work. Borelli first suggested that muscles do not exercise vital movement otherwise than by contracting. And he was also the first to deny corpuscular influence on the movements of muscles. He demonstrated this by using scientific experiments to show that living muscle do not release corpuscles into water when cut. He also discovered that forward motion requires movement of the bodys center of gravity, with a swinging of the limbs in order to maintain ones balance. Since it seems that everyone gets a title, Borelli is labeled as the father of modern biomechanics. Newton (1642-1727 AD) Newton was/is arguably the most influential scientist in history. Newton published one of the most influential and original pieces of scientific hypotheses called Principia Mathematica Philosophae Naturalis. Published in 1686, it is a three-volume work containing the statements of Newtons laws of motion. His three laws comprise the foundation for modern dynamics, which express the relationships between the interaction of forces and their outcomes. Newtons laws can be summarized as follows: Law of Inertia: Every body continues in its state of rest or motion, in a straight line unless it is compelled to change that state by interacting forces impressed upon it (originally proposed by Galileo). Law of Momentum (Force = Mass x Acceleration): The change of motion is proportional to the motivational force applied and occurs in the direction of the right line in which that force is applied. Law of Interaction: For every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. The application of these three laws can be best demonstrated using an example of the mechanics of a discus thrower. While the thrower is pivoting, he must grasp the disc firmly (exert centripetal force) to prevent it from flying out of his hand. In accordance with the third law, the discus exerts an equal and opposite reaction (centrifugal force). When the discus thrower releases his grip the centripetal force no longer interacts with the discus and the object flies in a direct line similar to its former circular path. The distance that the discus covers is proportionate to the motive force placed upon it, in accordance with the second law. The trajectory of the discus is affected by gravity, wind, velocity, and other forces that may alter its state of motion, as stated by the first law. According to Newton, changes of motion are generally considered as a measure of the force that produces them. This is where the idea of measuring force by the product of mass and acceleration originated from. So, therefore, the greater the speed in which the discus thrower spins, the greater the acceleration that will be applied to the mass of the discus, and therefore the farther it will fly before gravity returns it back to earth, and the greater the force to have been applied to the discus. Hunter (1728-1793 AD) John Hunter was instrumental in summarizing the current state of knowledge in the field at that time. His lecture series summarized all that was known about kinesiology at the end of the 18th century, emphasizing that muscular function could be studied only by observations of living person. In these lecture series Hunter defined muscular function in major detail, including the origin and insertion and shapes of muscles, two-joint muscle problems, contraction and relaxation, strength, hypertrophy, the mechanical arrangement of muscle fibers along with many other aspects of the study. Hunter declared that muscle, while endowed with life, is fitted for self-motion, and is the only part of the body so fitted. Thus we can see a rich and detailed history of big names exists that have played a role in our field of study. Their contributions laid the foundations for early study and advancement. All in all knowledge progressed slowly for a long time and it wasnt until advances in measurement technology such as cameras and computers that more large and innovative steps were made. Recent Advancements in Research Research in the field of kinesiology and sport biomechanics has steadily increased throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. This increase in popularity is due in large part to the ease of data collection and analysis of films and video cameras by way of the evolution of modernizing digital cameras. Of course the creation of computers has been monumental. In the past two decades research in exercise and sports science and mechanics has been much more thoroughly covered. All kinds of movements, both sporting and non-sporting, have been recorded, digitized, analyzsed, and as a result new forms of movement have evolved. All made possible by the camera. Pioneer Cinematographers Today, many Kinesiologists use cinematography to record sports and exercise movements that need to be reviewed and analyzed. This allows them to break down the biomechanics of the motion and therefore make the necessary changes to improve the athletes performance. Cinematography is from the Greek words kinesis (movement) and grapho (to record). Modern technology literally allows the collection of thousands of data points within seconds providing volumes of information on very specific phases of movement. Muybridge (1831-1904 AD) Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer who was well known for his early use of cameras to capture motion, particularly in horses and horse racing which was very popular at the time. Advancement of knowledge concerning body mechanics was greatly advanced by Muybridges works using serial photography. Using cinematographic pictures to study human motion was highly recommended by an astronomer who had once used serial photos for other research studies. Although recommended to use photography to study human movement, Muybridges passion was in horses. In 1882 Muybridge produced the book The Horse in Motion and in 1887 he wrote Animal Locomotion in eleven volumes, in which several of his photographic sequences were published. Muybridges work and photographs projected images allowing everyone to see real stances in real movements. His work and photography provided the first insights into specific phase of movement. Marey (1830-1904 AD) Etienne-Jules Marey is widely considered to be a pioneer of photography. It was through his photographs that he studied the movement of the body. He was convinced that movement was the most important of human functions and that all other functions were merely support in order to accomplish a specific movement. He described and photographed these methods for his research and work which he recorded in his books Du Mouvement Dans Les Fonctions de La Vie and Le Mouvement in 1894. These photographic techniques opened way for further experimental studies and are still considered a major importance in the study of human gait. Mareys work also revolutionized aspects of medicine, particularly cardiology, where his photography was used to show the movement of blood. This knowledge was ultimately developed into chronophotography. What is interesting that Marey (a Frenchman) and Muybridge (an Englishman) benefited a lot from each others work as there own obsessions set about to confirm that each other was indeed correct with their theories. When Marey published La Machine Animale in 1873 (translated as Animal Mechanism) Muybridge carried out his Photographic Investigation in Palo Alto, California, to test Mareys hypotheses and ultimately proved that Marey was right when he wrote that a galloping horse for a brief moment had all four hooves off the ground thus settling a dispute between walking and running or more correctly cantering and galloping. Muybridge published his photos in 1879 with some public attention. Understanding the Importance of Kinesiology in Everyday Life Today there are many different forms of specialized Kinesiology and more are being introduced as new more specific areas of study evolve. From a biomechanical perspective, we take on ambitious tasks daily that require strength, force, balance and discipline in addition to many other mechanical functions of the body. With the vast array of daily movements people need help in improving human movement. Kinesiology requires the knowledge of why and how the human body moves. It is an important science in solving the problems of human movement and the skills necessary to perform the movements effectively and safely. The Equipment Design Revolution There is hardly an area of sports or exercise that has not been affected by the combination field of kinesiology and materials. In fact, you can now study this area of sports equipment design as a university degree. One could argue that no matter what area of sport and exercise you select new materials and kinesiological studies have changed the game. Consider the following: Safety helmets have benefited from new plastics. Protective padding is better with new foams and lighter plastics. Bicycles are lighter and stronger with new carbons. Tennis rackets are lighter and more powerful with carbon and titanium (as are golf clubs). Safety straps use Velcro. Lighter metals make up components on bats, bikes and skis. New rubbers and plastics are used in new playing surfaces. Running shoes are lighter, breathe more and more elastic. Balls spin more, have more grip, and come in many colors. We could continue with this list for a long time constantly identifying areas of improvement both in performance and safety. More people can now participate in sports because new equipment has made is safer and easier. For example, consider new shaped skis (photo) that have made it easier to turn and stop on difficult terrain. We have oversized golf clubs that allow us to hit the ball straighter and further. No area is left unaffected. Even more remarkable is that kinesiology and materials study has made it possible to people with no legs or arms to run, jump and play racquet sports. Research Note: The Olympic Games in 1896 were for able-bodied athletes. The Paralympics began in 1948 when Sir Ludwig Guttman organized a sports event for WWII veterans who had a spinal cord injury. The first competition was in Stoke, England. Four years later the Dutch joined in and the movement began. At the Rome Olympics in 1960 the movement expanded to include other disabilities and was called the Paralympics. In 1976, the first Paralympic winter games took place in Sweden. In 2008 in Beijing, over 4000 Paralympians competed. Many of their performances have been made possible by our field of study. So not only are humans with no legs running, in some cases they are outperforming able-bodied athletes. In 1992, Joe Gaetani, a paraplegic, set new world records in 100m (12.23 secs) and 200m (26.82 secs) in the Paralympics. Gaetanis legs were made from a new composite material of carbon fiber and epoxy pylon. The flexibility and weight of these materials is far superior to traditional wood or metal. At the same games Tony Volpentest won gold in the 100m and 200m even though hew was born with no feet. Of course much of the advancement in materials has come from the engineering field and then gets translated and applied into the sports field by kinesiologists. However, it is the overall collaborative effort that allows for these impressive advances. There is perhaps no area that has benefited more than athlete safety. Improving Safety If you have ever watched an old football movie you will remember that the helmets were made of leather. Old cycling helmets were made from foam and rubber. There was no molding for correct fit. Mouthguards are now custom fitted, as are lenses, ski boots, skates, etc. All these design features improve participant safety and comfort. Equipment can now be designed to not only fit better by considering body dimensions but also perform and protect better under stress. Shoulder pads flex and move like shoulders; football pants have padding in specific locations; shin guards can cover the knee and allow flexion, etc. The field of kinesiology has been instrumental in the design and assessment of these advances, allowing for both greater comfort and safety. Thus it is easier to understand that a student in this field has limitless options to apply their skills. Consider this: anytime someone builds a product you wear, sit in or ride on, you must consider body anthropometrics. Thus our knowled ge and skills are widely applied. Sample Problem Solving in Kinesiology In problem solving approaches to kinesiology and biomechanics, the desired relies on proper decision making to allow for comfort and safety as the outcome. This approach to good decision making includes one that is efficient, systematic and structured. If one can define part of the problem in biomechanical terms, one could better describe the outcome of the movement and therefore increase the positive outcome of their performance. Look at the following questions that all ask relevant questions you might be asked to answer. How can an athletic shoe be designed to reduce injuries on artificial turf? How do forces summate to produce maximum power in a golf swing? What is the best anatomical posture for sprinter running the 400 meter dash? What is the best body position for swimming the breaststroke? At what angle should a discus or javelin be thrown to achieve maximum distance? What is the best shape for an aerodynamic helmet to reduce drag? These are all examples of questions that relate to the kinematic characteristics of pure human movement and the mechanics involved. As we have already identified kinematics spans both quantitative and qualitative types of analysis. Quite often your problem solving ability will require the application of both quantitative and qualitati

Self-knowledge and the Sciences in Augustines Early Thinking Essay

Self-knowledge and the Sciences in Augustine's Early Thinking ABSTRACT: The idea of a firm connection of the seven artes liberales came first into being in Augustine's early concept of education (I. Hadot). Whereas this idea has been analyzed primarily in view of its philosophical sources, this paper is supposed to clarify its internal logic. The main feature of Augustine's concept is the distinction between the two projects of a critique of reason and of a metaphysics, and the coordination of these projects within a treatise on theodicy. Augustine systematizes the disciplinae in the perspective of reason's self-recognition. Reason manifests itself in culture and nature. Through the sciences, reason is led to a reflection upon its own products and, finally, to an understanding of them as reason's self-manifestations. Thus, reason becomes able to comprehend itself. Augustine distinguishes language-based disciplinae (grammar, dialectic, rhetoric) from number-oriented ones (music, geometry, astronomy, philosophy). The first group (with dialectic a s its top-disciplina) leads to a critical reflection upon the conditions of knowledge and into the insight to reason's power of creating sciences. The second group helps carry out a metaphysical ascent from the material to the intelligible world. In philosophy, reason comprehends its ability to constitute knowledge as a synthetic capacity that points to a transnumerical unity as the main ontological feature of the intelligible world. The insight into this kind of unity reveals the meaningful interwovenness of all beings and events and, thus, leads to a refutation of all objections against divine providence. Augustine's early dialogues are works of a special sort. Written soon after ... ...unt of Augustine's understanding of dialectic, cf. PÃ ©pin, J., Saint Augustin et la Dialectique (The Saint Augustine Lecture 1972), Villanova 1976. Cf. also my article: The Decline of Dialectic in Augustine's Early Dialogues, in: Studia Patristica (Proceedings of the XIII. International Conference on Patristic Studies), forthcoming. (7) Illa igitur ratio perfecta dispositaque grammatica admonita est quaerere atque attendere hanc ipsam vim, qua peperit artem; nam eam definiendo distribuendo colligendo non solum digesserat atque ordinarat verum ab omni etiam falsitatis inreptione defenderat. (De ordine 2.13.38) (8) [...] in hac se ipsa ratio demonstrat atque aperit, quae sit, quid velit, quid valeat. (De ordine 2.13.38) (9) Postremo quando istum virum movebunt aut ulla onera aut ulla pericula aut ulla fastidia aut ulla blandimenta fortunae? (De ordine 2.19.51)

College Admissions Essay: A Stepping Stone for Others :: College Admissions Essays

A Stepping Stone for Others    I have always had a passion to learn. My interest is in political theory and economics, hoping someday to become a lawyer and stateswoman. I realize that in order to reach any of these goals, a college degree is vital. When I in turn reach my goals, I will use them to encourage and uplift my community by investing my time, money, energy, and influence to become a stepping stone for others.    I feel the most important step in giving back to the community is to stay in the community. As a Mississippi native, I witness first hand some of the financial and economic set backs it faces. Although we are making tremendous progress, I know that I too must do my part in contributing to the well being of my community. So many times the best and brightest of our youth graduate from top Mississippi high schools, continue their college careers in another state, never to return again. After I have obtained my college degree from a Mississippi University, I will become an entrepreneur, contribute to my state by opening up a business, and provide jobs to help stimulate the economy.    With a college degree in the field of political science, and a career in law and politics, I would encourage youth to be active in the political arena. I would offer intern positions in my law firm to help provide youth with first hand experience to further understand our legal and justice system. I would also volunteer my time in becoming a speech and debate coach for a local high school, because it is very important to have corporate and professional involvement with schools. In a hopeful career as a state legislator, or perhaps a congresswoman, I would support legislation that would promote better conditions for our schools and teachers.    My community is very important to me.

Resolve Conflicts

RESOLVING CONFLICT The conflict resolution requires great managerial skills. Here we are trying to give a solution to a conflict turning it in a constructive side. If one party exercises the principles of interaction, listens, and us the six steps of collaborative resolution, that party may be able to end the conflict constructively. At the very least, he or she may be able to prevent the conflict from turning into a fight by choosing an alternative to destructive interaction? † There is a difference between resolving a conflict and managing conflict.Resolving a conflict ends the dispute by satisfying the interests of both parties. Managing a conflict contains specialized interaction that prevents a dispute from becoming a destructive battle. Managing a conflict attends to the personal issues so as to allow for a constructive relationship, even though the objective issues may not be resolvable. For example, the former Soviet Union and the United States managed their conflict du ring the Cold War by using a variety of mechanisms. The objective issues in the dispute were not resolved, and neither were the personal issues, which contained significant perceptual differences.However, both sides attended significantly to the relationship to keep the disagreement from turning into a destructive battle. Our goal in conflict always should be to seek a resolution based on mutual gain. Realistically, however, resolution is not always possible. When this is the case, we must manage the conflict to ensure that the relationship is constructive and that open communication is maintained. We Listen to Conflict to understand the other party and demonstrate the acceptance required to maintain the relationship

“Coming Back” by David Hill and “Tully” by Paullina Simons

‘Teenagers don’t always know all the answers. Texts can offer important lessons, which may assist responders in reflecting their own values’.Ignorant, unknowledgeable nature of youth exists as a naturalistic quality amongst teenagers; characters within the texts ‘Coming Back’ by David Hill and ‘Tully’ by Paullina Simons further endorse this characteristic. The themes of guilt and recovery as well as Pain and friendship provide insight into fundamental lessons that attest the responder’s values.A central concern addressed in ‘Coming back’ by David Hill is the primary battle existent within Ryan, which is endorsed in a series of actions that Hill associates with guilt. Both Ryan and Tara are heavily affected by the results of a tragic, traffic accident that hospitalized Tara Gower due to the negligence and recklessness of Ryan and his peers.Ryan foreshadows the car accident; repetition, short sentences and colloquial lan guage- â€Å"If only. Two little words with one massive bloody meaning. If only† emphasizing Ryan’s guilt and regret in conjunction with the accident. Direct language, low modality, negative connotations- â€Å"I had to punish myself. Hurt myself.† Forceful, objective tone and repetition in Ryan’s speech reiterate his guilt, as self- harmful thoughts began to justify his physical actions and behavior. Self -harm is a common result of pain amongst youth, which is demonstrated through the insightful texts of both ‘Coming Back’ and ‘Tully†, evidently guidance is often essential for teenagers during adolescents.Unknowing nature can result in fear, hence freezing recovery processes. Tara Gower’s recovery was often simultaneously affected by her fears and fears of the unknown. The enormity of Tara’s recovery is continuously illustrated throughout the text; demonstrated by the use of formal jargon- â€Å"An impact severe e nough to cause brain injury may also cause damage to other organs resulting in contusions of the heart† reflecting the serious notions of Tara’s condition, whilst providing facts and extenuating the trauma of the car accident.Medical context also reflects Ryan’s fears, providing dense, factual realizations that he unfortunately caused. Imagery, personification, metaphorical language-â€Å"I was too tired to fight it. All around me the river kept eating away.† Demonstrating Tara’s dream like state and reflecting her  fears of fading away. Initially Tara’s language is figurative and short, however her language develops over time. First person, imagery, positive connotations, high modality- â€Å"I felt myself swallowing. Orange Juice. A chocolate milkshake-my favorite!† indicating she was able to distinguish taste, but not able to feed herself during this point of recovery. Some of the most tragic issues are best conveyed in the depth of a novel, as they provide insight into fundamental lessons that attest the responder’s values.Pain is an explicit theme present in the text ‘Tully’ by Paullina Simons; how Tully copes with pain is a fundamental aspect of this text. The full horrors of Tully’s childhood are slowly unveiled; although the narrative begins when she is 17, flashbacks and accounts of her torn experiences as a child characterize her behavior and beliefs. She was abandoned by her father and unwanted by her abusive mother from a young age; repetitive clauses, negative connotations, recurring motif- â€Å"From the time Tully was two, she learned fear and with fear she learned hate, and with hate she learned silence† demonstrating she was raised in an atmosphere of neglect and unpredictable violence.Her pain resulted in self harm; metaphor, imagery, personification- â€Å"I do it because I want to feel what death feels like. I just want unconsciousness to wash over me- to h eal myself† illustrating the irony and juxtaposed nature of healing and death, provoking feelings of anxiety, portraying how damaged Tully has become. ‘Tully’ offers important lessons, which are relevant to societies concerns and beliefs.Friendship that endures through life times is a bold theme explicit in ‘Tully’. Regardless of her pain she found refuge in friendship with Jennifer and Julie, until Jennifer committed suicide in their senior year. She wrote a letter to Tully prior to her death; religious references, high modality, colloquialisms, metaphorical language- â€Å"God is going to call upon you to summon all your strength, all your iron clad, gritted teeth, clenched fists will to pull you through† demonstrating Jennifer believes Tully is unbreakable and will overcome her death, however, Tully sees it as an act of betrayal and is shattered by the harsh loss of Jennifer.Tully spent many hours compulsively cleaning the bathroom afterâ₠¬ ¦ and the unforgettable expressionless face of Jen’s father; low modality, emotive language,  imagery- â€Å"he is still stunned, yet I’m already falling, already can’t breathe without her† illustrating her affection towards Jennifer. Jennifer’s death had a huge impact on Tully, which reflects her future behavior and values.The themes of guilt, recovery, pain and friendship are undying concepts present in many teenagers lives, the notions of these themes are universal as ignorant, unknowledgeable nature of youth exists as a naturalistic quality amongst teenagers; characters within the texts ‘Coming Back’ by David Hill and ‘Tully’ by Paullina Simons further endorse this characteristic, demonstrating that teenagers do not always know the answers.

The Problems of Lima City

The problems of Lima city Lima city is full of charm and scenic beauty, so visitors from around the world come to enjoy its typical dishes, museums,countless beaches and scenic wonders. Although Lima seems like a paradise,Not all what we find there is as as good as we think. Believe it or not, but Lima has several serious problems such as the poor public transportation,crime-violence and the bad infrastructure due to the lots of suburbs and places that have lack of lots of services. The first and most important problem in lima is its inadequate public transportation system. Thousand of residents rely on the city’s buses and minibuses to travel throughout this large city, however the bus routes are poorly planned wich cause rush hours and traffic. For example: a person who should take the bus at 7:45 am may not take it until eight o’clock or even later. Sometimes three or more buses or minibuses arrive in bunches at time that people are waiting, but they can’t the buses because they are full. That’s why, passengers frequently become unhappy become this problem causes them to be late for work or to miss important appointments. THE TRANSPORTATION,2010 ISABEL GUERRA The second serious problem that Lima faces is crime and violence. The security in Lima has declined in the last years because police corruption have increased in line with rising level of poverty. Besides the profileration of low-income settlements wich are known as â€Å"barriadas† that have as members young people that steal.. Nowadays, we can see lots of people who are complaining about the security in this city. According to some city polls, 82% of people who live in Lima say that they were robbed at least once while they were walking around the streets of this â€Å"insecure† city. Not only that, but people are also concerned about leaving home alone. To illustrate it, more than 50% houses were robbed during the last holydays. So to wrap out this, people are not secure neigher on the streets nor at home. BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH VOL. 27, NO. 2 The final problem is the lack of good infrastructure of housing and services in Lima. This is an interesting city that offers a good lifestyle for young, ambitious business and professional people. Also, immigrants are attracted to this city because is has tourist attractions and offers variety of typical dishes. All of these tourists or immigrants would need rental units that are in good conditions like apartments, flats and single family houses. But, unfortunately, Lima’s rental units have an old infrastructure. That’s why most of the buildings of Lima downtown are declarated in danger. Even though this, we insist on living in those old buildings. That is not secure for all the people who live, work or go to those places at all. â€Å"LIMA:BIG CITY AND BIG PROBLEM†, 2000 GILBERT A. In conclusion, Lima city must improve its public transit system for avoiding the traffic, develop a project to become places safe and housing in good conditions. In others words, Lima city must improve its image, or it will soon become just mediocre city due to the lack of administrative responsability to solve these problems. .

Blue collar jobs Essay

Are blue collar jobs less appreciated? Mike rose, thinks there are no fair share of recognition among people in the working class society. Rose was stressing his point to say that, in as much as the white collar job (workers) are perceived in the society as higher educated people it brings conflict among us. Also making the minimal jobs look less valuable and cripple our ability to talk across cultural divides. Blue collar jobs are far more effective; without these kind of jobs, it will be pretty difficult to communication and relate with different culture or society of people.it creates hope for those who had little or no opportunity to have sound education. What makes us is the ability to fit into the society of different class such as upper class, middle class and lower class. If everyone are destined to be a lawyer, doctor, politician, banker, etc. it will cause inflation in the society, leading to lack of diversity in division of labor and mediocrity in the society. Looking at i t, we all are equal and none is indispensable of another. We all need each other to survive be it blue collar jobs or white collar jobs. Making blue collar jobs no less good than white collar jobs. As rose notes, ‘’Broad knowledge and intuition about the ways and the rhythms of the restaurant business. Waiting on seven to nine tables, each with two to six customers, Rosie devised memory strategies so that she could remember who ordered what. And because she knew the average time it took to prepare different dishes, she could monitor an order that was taking too long at the service station’’ (244). She was smart and knew how to deal with her workers and also customer knowing in mind she a family woman who got attention from male customer and tips on how to deal with their needs. According to rose, ’’Joe learned the most efficient way to use his body by acquiring a set of routines that were quick and preserved energy. Otherwise he would never have survived on the line’’ (248). His uncle learned and taught himself how to be efficient with time and also maxima the best out of the material and still come out with a great result of production. This can’t be learnt at school rather it requires  first hand approach with the knowledge of know-how, and create a skill and set of work to come out supper productive. In all, it’s convincing that hand work creates skill set. It opens the mind to explore and be adventures. Risk takers gain result, because once you fail, you learn from your mistake and correct yourself on how to go about it next time. It creates healthy environment for communication through service offered to customers e.g. hairstylist, plumber, Welder, driver, body guard, beauty salon, maid. Etc. Also mutual understanding is gained through hand gesture, sign, picture and even spending adequate time to clarify a point or idea.

Non-Verbal Behaviour and Gestures in “A Streetcar Names Desire” Essay

Task: Tennessee Williams uses very specific and detailed stage directions to indicate the emotions, thoughts and actions of his characters. Select a character from the play and discuss how his/her gestures and non-verbal behaviour serves to further reveal his/her personality traits. You might also add how his/her behaviour relates to the surroundings and cultural setting. The essay is based on Scenes 1 and 2. Word limit: 800 Tennessee Williams uses very specific and detailed stage directions to indicate the emotions, thoughts and actions of his characters in his famous play â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire†. We communicate with much more than words. Most of the messages we send other people are nonverbal, these include our facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and tone of voice. The ability to portrait nonverbal communication in a play, or body language, is a powerful tool which can be utilized by any author to enhance the reading experience and give the play, even though it is just on paper in words and not enacted a deeper setting and a more natural interaction with the character. It acts like an unconscious language that broadcasts the character’s true feelings and intentions at any given moment. Blanche DuBois is no different in this respect to the extent that her actions speak more for her than she does verbally, considering her being a very talkative person. In the first Scene Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields to visit her Sister Stella, here the first sign of non-verbal behaviour can be observed. Blanche gives Eunice, the co-owner of Stella’s house and up-stair neighbour, a peculiar look as she enters the house, which she first doubted to believe was in fact her Sister’s due to its weathered grey and raffish appearance. This immediately causes a reaction on Eunice’ part resulting in a defensive tone of voice. â€Å"EUNICE [defensively, noticing BLANCHE’S look]: It’s sort of messed up right now but when it’s clean it’s real sweet.† – pg. 4 The defensive tone and the knowledge of Blanche’s â€Å"look† reveals that Blanche is used to living in a clean home, perhaps a bigger one with no neighbour on the second floor. It gives the reader the impression that she feels she has entered a house not up to her standards. This awareness directly influences the way the reader reads the next line, Blanche’s reply. â€Å"BLANCHE: Is it?† – pg. 4 Even though the author has not indicated a particular tone, the reader automatically may jump to a sarcastic one, developing the reader’s first impression of Blanche further solely due to the non-verbal message sent by Eunice through her tone of voice. The next instance is fully described by Tennessee Williams in one of his many stage directions right after Eunice leaves to hustle up Stella and tell her that her Sister Blanche has arrived. Alone in the house now, â€Å"Blanche sits in a chair very stiffly and her shoulders slightly hunched and her legs pressed close together and her hands tightly clutching her purse as if she were quite cold.† – pg. 5 Her posture exposes her inner feeling towards the situation and new environment she currently is in. She feels awkward in this estranged, messy house; her hunched shoulders and pressed legs expression anxiety and uneasy adaptation to the location. Her clutching her purse, valuable belongings, may also display intimidation or mistrust to a certain extent, but this is not directly hinted by the author. Perhaps it is her next action that plays a crucial part in understanding Blanche or having a better idea of the kind of person she really is. â€Å"†¦she begins to slowly look around. (†¦) Suddenly she notices something in a half-opened closet. She springs up and crosses to it, and removes a whisky bottle. She pours a half tumbler of whisky and tosses it down. She carefully replaces the bottle and washes the tumbler at the sink. Then she resumes her seat in front of the table.† – pg. 5 This short action tells us a number of different things about Blanche; she is a secretive and cautious person, she washes the glass and replaces the bottle to its original place as if nothing had happened. She does not feel guilty of using the situation to her advantage, she enjoys it. And last but not least, the reader is hinted at that she is not the person she may seem to be from the perspectives of the other characters; she is the secret alcoholic, addict without a strong se nse of self control. Later on in Scene two Blanche reveals another facet to her character – she flirts with Stella’s husband Stanley Kowalski and later even tells her about it. But that is verbal; the non-verbal component to this is in the stage directions: â€Å"[She sprays herself with her atomizer; then playfully sprays him (Stanley) with it. He seizes the atomizer and slams it down on the dresser. She throws back her head and laughs.]† I am not sure whether one would describe â€Å"playfully spraying† as a gesture, but either way it is non-verbal and leads to the direct assumption that Blanch is in fact flirting with her Sister’s husband, quite openly. It is something that usually people simply don’t do; it tells the reader that she is a character with a weak moral stem and an interest for men which outweighs her social values and family relationships. Her body language as she â€Å"throws back her head† also points towards feeling comfortable and not intimidated under Stanley’s presence and insinuates a further relation with him that may come out later on in the play. The significance of this is not yet known at the end of Scene 2, but it leads the reader to believe she may have an eye out for her Sister’s husband. The non-verbal behaviour and gestures throughout the first two Scenes of this play are more important than one may imagine. They give depth to every characters personality traits and have a direct impact on the way the reader categorizes them and in turns the tone the reader then reads their lines in.