Saturday, August 31, 2019

Animal Euthanasia

To Kill or Not To Kill In the past few decades, there has been a big uproar regarding the topic of euthanasia in dogs. Euthanasia used to be a term used to end the suffering of a life by putting them in a painless and permanent state of sleep. I believe that today, the term ‘euthanasia’ when referred to dogs has transformed to a word used to justify the mass murder of dogs across the world. Most people will agree that the only time a dog should be put down is when it is sick or suffering from pain. I believe that if a dog is euthanized for any other reason, the person in control is guilty of committing an abominable act.They do not call dogs â€Å"mans’ best friend† for nothing. With proper training, every single dog has the potential of making a good house pet and becoming an important part of an owner’s life. Most dogs that are being euthanized each year are not even suffering from any illnesses and are not aggressive either. They are just unlucky. The reasoning that is given by these shelters committing these vile acts is that there is an overpopulation of dogs in their shelters and not enough homes for all of them so they have no choice.The problem with this picture is the fact that many of these shelters breed dogs for the sole purpose of having them sold. Many of these dogs are being sold for sums well over a thousand dollars. The dogs that they are not able to sell are sent to shelters. These shelters fill up quickly because of these breeders who can’t sell their dogs and can only take what they have room for and can manage which leads to these breeders euthanizing their extra dogs, many times in the convenience of their own backyards.They figure that it costs them a lot less to murder their unsold dogs then the expenses they pay to take care of them while they wait for them to be sold. In the United States, an estimated 4 to 6 million dogs are euthanized in shelters each year. Pete Wedderburn, editor of Small Ani mal, says â€Å"It’s very disappointing that after all the noise that is made about how appalling it is, nothing changes. † Unfortunately, not everyone will agree with the fact that euthanasia amongst dogs should only take place when the dog is suffering from pain or terminally ill.Joy Leney and Jenny Remfy mention in their book Dogs, zoonoses, and public health why dog population management is necessary and very important. In their book they say â€Å"Some people love dogs. Some people hate them. Some dogs are man’s best friends. Others, or sometimes the same ones, are sources of injury, accident, disease and pollution. † (299) Dogs can breed and multiply their numbers very quickly but the breeding is not their fault. It is the fault of the breeder for breeding them in order to sell them.Once they are not sold, they either become stray dogs and usually end up being killed in the future or are sent to be killed right away. I believe that this is very inhu mane. Leney and Remfy continue to speak about the methods used to kill these dogs are beginning to be too costly because of transportation and drugs needed so kill shelters and breeders have come out with cheaper ways to get rid of their extra dogs. These new methods include ovens and gas chambers where they throw in large amounts of dogs at a time to be killed in order to save time and money.It makes me shiver how anyone who is responsible for these mass murders can live with their despicable acts. A simple solution to lower these rates of dogs being euthanized and to take control of the overpopulation of dogs is to alter the majority of dogs. Most shelters and animal organizations neuter dogs for no charge as well as give vaccines needed to prevent diseases from being transmitted. By altering dogs, the rate of dogs reproduced each day will drastically decrease. Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U. S. – and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born.As long as these b irth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. Early age altering of dogs (6-14 weeks) has been practiced for over 25 years in North America. The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem since many shelters will happily do it for free. The problem is the lack of education dog owners have about altering their dogs. If the benefits were understood, more people would be altering their dogs. Euthanasia should be thought upon and observed very carefully before being put to use.It used to be a treatment but is now mostly used as a weapon to kill. . In the Irish Veterinary Journal, Pete Wedderburn believes â€Å"†¦the government ought to proceed with compulsory micro chipping, a license for life and a discounted license fee for neutered pets† (Wedderburn 530). This is one way to really help lower the number of dogs being euthanized. Furthermore, it will be thought upon twice before euthanizing a dog since the dog is now neutered and will not b e able to produce more dogs. Not allowing a dog to reproduce may be a bit cruel but a big step towards lowering the kill rate.Having the dog micro chipped and placed inside a database will also help influence the decision of a shelter or breeder of whether or not to put down a dog. There are numerous pet owners surrendering their dog due to personal reasons and inadequacy in taking responsibility for their dogs. This also adds to the overpopulation of dogs. According to a survey conducted by the American Humane Association, out of the 1000 shelters who responded to the survey, 2. 7 million of 4. 3 million animals (64 percent) are being euthanized. Out of this euthanized number, 56 percent are dogs.Majority of the animals in shelters were being euthanized since there is a standard period of time, ranging from several days to weeks, for unclaimed stray animals. However, there are â€Å"no kill† shelters run by private and animal welfare organizations. This alone is part of the solution to end the overpopulation of dogs. These â€Å"no kill† shelters make it an official policy never to euthanize animals unless it’s for medical reasons. If overcrowding is really an issue, then it may be necessary to send dogs to other shelters instead of murdering them.I am sure there are many animal cruelty prevention organizations that will be willing to take these dogs in and finding them a foster home until they are adopted into a permanent household. This will lower the rate of dogs being killed, give the dog a better life, and be a much more humane thing to do. In the book Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America, the author Nathan J. Winograd writes â€Å"The decision to end an animal’s life is an extremely serious one, and should always be treated as such.No matter how many animals a shelter kills, each and every animal is an individual, and each deserves individual consideration. And finally, to meet the challenge that No Kill entails, shelter leadership needs to get the community excited, to energize people for the task at hand. By working with people, implementing lifesaving programs, and treating each life as precious, a shelter can transform a community. † (Winograd 22-31, 229) The programs Winograd is referring to include free spay/neuter, rescue groups, foster cares, pet retention, medical and behavioral programs, ommunity involvement, volunteers and a compassionate director to control the friendly shelter. Winograd calls this the No Kill Equation. I don’t quite agree with Winograd that this equation is the key solution to lower the rate of dogs euthanized each year. I think that there are much easier and more efficient ways to lower the rates. It will take too long for all community shelters across the country to set up these programs in their communities. The right way to do this is to hire lobbyists to fight for the no kill shelters and animal welfare organiza tions and push the passing of a law against euthanasia on healthy dogs.All dog owners should be taught the benefits of neutering their dogs. The usage of microchips should be implemented by all shelters in order to manage the population of dogs. For every single animal euthanized in a shelter, there is a person outside of that shelter responsible for it. The responsibility to keep shelters from euthanizing animals lies with each of us as pet owners. If we adopt through rescue, choose a good match, spay and neuter, and keep our animals for their lifetimes, the shelters will be near empty, not overfull, and euthanasia can become a tragedy of the past.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Lucent technology supply chain summary Essay

Lucent Technologies is a multinational telecommunication company which was spun off from AT&T in 1996. Before restructure, as an integrated telecommunications services and equipment company, AT&T had been primarily U. S. -centric market and more than half of income was generated by services in U. S. However, the restructure made Lucent focused on communications equipment globally. When Lucent expand into global market, its flagship product, the5ESS ® digital switch, was a market leader in worldwide telecommunication infrastructure equipment. While the 5ESS ® digital switch provided the company’s more competitive edge in global market. This custom configured, engineered-to-order product made only a portion of its assemblies could be built to stock. Moreover, 5ESS ® digital switch orders from Asian market had continued to grow rapidly, and Asia became an important part of Lucent’s business. U. S. -centric Supply Model Before Lucent’s independence from AT&T, it established some joint ventures in four Asian countries to meet the increasing telecommunication equipment demand in Asian market. But this marketing entry mode just provided access to these markets. Most manufacturing continued to be done in Oklahoma City. The Asian joint ventures only performed final assembly and testing. It was believed that Lucent would benefit from the cost saving from economies of scale in manufacturing in US. However, as tremendous demand growth and intense competition arose from these countries, the delivery costs and lead time became two critical issues in this industry. The long distance inhibited the instant response. Delay means market losing. What’s more, increasing local content by having locally purchased parts would lower the costs and made product more locally attractive. Asian-centric Supply Model After 1996, asset management, product lead time and supply chain efficiency became more and more important for this new independent manufacturing firm. The primary market shifted from U. S to Asian market required a redesign of the Asian supply chain. First of all, it took a â€Å"hub-and spoke† model. Taiwan was the hub of the Asian supply chain. Custom engineering and manufacturing of Asian orders would be manufactured in Taiwan rather than Oklahoma City, and Asian orders were placed with Taiwan rather than U. S. Low volume assemblies remained in U. S. Secondly, different supply modes (inshore or outsource) were decided by different product volumes. And then it used local components (direct procurement) and local suppliers (local procurement). Last but not least, it insisted a strict quality control. Products manufactured by Asian joint ventures had the same quality standards. There were also some barriers for the redesign of supply chain. For example, the new manufacturing center in Asian mean losing job in U. S. The transfer of production to joint venture may reduce Lucent’s profits. And also the sales organization worried about the sales decreased because of losing â€Å"Made in USA† label. All of these barriers were addressed when the benefits of redesigning outweighed the costs. The redesign decreased the lead time, and customer satisfactions had improved a lot. Meanwhile, Taiwan joint venture reengineered its factory to improve the productivity. The increasing productivity and decreasing costs means the firm became more profitable. Also, support of Asian joint ventures helped Lucent win more business in Asia, and the huge capacity of Asian joint ventures can support Lucent’ global customer demand. So the all improvement by redesigning the supply chain made Lucent more competitive in global market. Summary and Recommendations Despite its success in the later 1990s, new challenges have arisen. How to response the changing demand in this complex business environment and how to expand its capacity in other emerging markets? The internet and IT tools caused fundamental changes in business models and traditional customer-supplier relationships. Contract manufacturing company in Asian provides new opportunity for the firm to outsourcing its manufacturing and logistics responsibility. In my view, outsourcing its assembly and component is a better way for Lucent to cope with new challenge. Because 5ESS ® digital switch was reaching its mature period in the product life cycle, and the intensive competition and changing environment forced telecommunication industry to devoted more time to new product research and marketing strategy. In its initial stage, the core product is the key to success and the supply chain redesign facilitate its further success. But nowadays, the product life cycle is shortening and the industry is changing at ever-increasing rate. Lucent has to improve researching, marketing strategy and supply chain management at the same rate to cope with the changing market. In addition, Lucent can use merging and acquisition strategy to integrate available resources to expand its business. Questions for group As Lucent shift its main supply chain from U. S to Asian market, how to compete with domestic rivalry Cisco? As more and more local telecommunication company grew up, how to cope with fierce industry competition with local firms, and some multinational telecommunication firms now target at Asian market, how to compete with them in global market? Should Lucent insist its in-source strategy or use outsourcing for the future supply chain management? Because its flagship products had reached its mature period, is it necessary for Lucent to build a main R&D center in the emerging market like Cisco did?

Thursday, August 29, 2019

How did the group plan for a range of audience responses? Essay

Through our performance we wanted to convey a series of responses from the audience based around the many different feelings you can experience if you were trapped. As the topic didn’t really allow for the dynamics you can create with humour, we had to enable the audience to mentally separate their emotional response for each scene, in order for them to feel a new emotional experience. We did this by carefully planning the emotional journey we wanted to take them on, by first easing them into feeling scared – with the kidnapping scene, and eventually taking them to the paranoia featured in the final scene. We even monitored how the audience responded to the performance by asking them to fill in a questionnaire. In the first set of scenes which revolved around the kidnapping of a little girl, we wanted the audience to be shocked at the fact that this can happen in broad daylight. We therefore set the scene at the end of a school day, with the kidnapper stood in audiences view watching the little girl. This immediately creates suspense within the audience as they know something is going to happen. When the girl slowly follows her and reluctantly holds her hand we wanted the audience to feel shock and helplessness. The second part of this scene was a news report on the kidnapping. This scene was one that we planned to be short, yet grasp the audience’s attention and make them realise the seriousness of the situation. Though this scene was simple with its lighting and no sound effects, it was evident that the audience felt concerned. One of the scenes where we intended to emotionally shock the audience was mentioned many times through the questionnaires. It was the scene in which the mother interacts with the audience. For this we intended to use a Brechtian technique of breaking the fourth wall, and ‘mingling’ with the audience. We wanted her tone of voice to be very screechy and powerless to shock the audience into really believing that she has lost her child, and the use of close eye contact makes them feel inadequate to help. The audience said that they felt disturbed by closeness of the interaction between Laura (the mother) and themselves. We wanted to continue the Brechtian theme through the use of placards, as they create visual captions that interrupt and summarize the action. We planned to shout at the audience to make them feel uncomfortable. Another change is made when we add some loud and fast drum and bass music, and in corporate flashing lights. We thought that by creating something visually stimulating, we could make the audience feel vulnerable. Using physical theatre, we as a group wanted to physically represent being trapped. Charlotte (who played the girl being kidnapped), and then violently shaking and moving whilst Charlotte attempts, yet fails to escape and reach out. We planned to provoke an emotion of vulnerability and powerlessness but in such a way, that it would shock the audience. The use of physical theatre explicitly allows the audience to actually ‘see’ the scene, and leaves it open to interpretation. Also, the anorexia scene was a mixture of both naturalism – with the character of Sophie – and surrealism, in that Charlotte is physically representing anorexia. This in its own right should make the audience uncomfortable and nervous. Like Antonin Artaud’s theatre of cruelty, we wanted to create a character that’s physical representation would shatter the false reality and disturb the audience. That is how we came up with Anna’s character. However we firstly wanted the audience to feel sorry for Sophie (the character with anorexia, played by me), so we gave her a monologue in which she gradually became weaker as she was talking. This use of breaking the fourth wall by addressing the audience was intentional, as it would create an intimate connection with the audience. I started off with a confident tone of voice, but gradually got quieter and my body language more timid as I came to the end of my monologue. We thought that the use of monologues would help to engage the audience. The emotional journey we planned to take Sophie on was to give her a range of emotions, so the scene didn’t become dull and lose audience interest. The contrasts of the shouting at Anna, and then running away crying, were an attempt to take the audience on the same journey I was experiencing. When Sophie collapses at the end, it signifies her physical and mental exhaustion, that again we wanted the audience to feel after watching the performance. The poverty scene was used, in order to show the selfishness within our society, and how we ‘turn a blind eye’ to what is right in front of us. We wanted to use physical theatre to make the piece quite abstract. In order to do this we again thought a Brectian technique would work well, as we didn’t want the audience to be spoon fed there emotions. This method of distancing ourselves from the audience was a great way of allowing the audience to question what they are seeing. We wanted them to create there own interpretation of the scene and how they really felt about the issue of poverty. As there were no words, we used music which we felt embodied a lot of feeling. At one point in the music, the rhythm changed. We decided this would be a good point to interact with the audience, so we looked up and stared at them. This was an attempt to single out the audience members, in a way as if to say ‘you can change this’. We also repeated the scene again but with masks. We wanted to represent the facelessness of society, and how people are too self involved to see what is going on around them. However, after reading the questionnaires we had asked the audience to fill in, many of them wrote down that they didn’t understand the scene, especially when with the masks. We maybe could have thought this scene through a little more, and perhaps not have used the masks as it just seemed to confuse the audience, which we did not want to do. In conclusion, the groups plan for a range of audience responses was really dependant on what type of technique we wished to follow. As we have studied many practitioners and their theories; we felt that using a variety of different acting styles and techniques, we could plan and create our desired audience responses. However, we also had to consider the genre and context of the scene, so that we could create the response that we wished the audience to have.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Early Western Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Early Western Civilization - Essay Example popularly known as, Charles the great, was a King of a Germanic tribe in current-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and western Germany. He embarked on a charge to unite all Germanic peoples into a single kingdom and convert all his subjects to Christianity. Because he was a shrewd military strategist, he spent a majority of his reign engrossed in warfare so as to accomplish his goals. As a result of this role, he catapulted the Carolingian Renaissance, a cultural as well as intellectual revival in Europe. This Renaissance served as a platform for the rise of civilization in Europe. His unification of most parts of Europe changed the political inclinations of the time. Charlemagne also played a critical role in the economy of Europe by abolishing the monetary system based on gold that was a rare commodity. The new system based on silver that was adopted after that made trading and commerce easier. The Holy Rome Empire was at the forefront of the civilization in Europe. Through the empire’s solid grounding on Christianity to drive its course, myriad social services were provided to Europeans. These services included schooling and medical care, which are essential to the development of society. As the empire spread its holding to the rest of Europe, so did civilization. Another key participant towards the civilization of Europe was Germany. Germany had innovative ideas for economic growth, coupled with their eye for engineering. The Germans developed essential tools and equipment that promoted agriculture, and hence civilization. England, as a country had an enormous bearing on the civilization of Europe. Due to her stability in terms of politics, England was able to develop adequate tools to aid the amelioration of her economy. The ideas that were hatched in England moved to other parts of Europe, hence promoting civilization. The Byzantine Empire, headquartered in Constantinople, was one of the key drivers for European civilization. Over its

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Moral testimony Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Moral testimony - Article Example "Moral experts have no need to seek out others' moral expertise, but moral non-experts lack sufficient knowledge to determine whether the advice provided by a putative moral expert in response to complex moral situations is correct and hence whether an individual is a bone fide expert."1 The acceptance of moral testimony has been challenged on the basis that it does not make knowledge available to the recipient and therefore the use of such a knowledge is illegitimate.Before the reasons for this objection are discussed it is worth noting that little academic attention has actually been paid to the idea of whether or not testimony can be a legitimate source of moral beliefs.2 "we should be open to being persuaded by others, responsive to moral argument; but we should not take their word on moral issues, not allow ourselves to be influenced by the fact that they hold a certain view''.if, on the other hand, reliance on moral testimony is legitimate, there will still be questions about the conditions under which it is so". 3 This means that even though it is hard for us as humans to reject or accept moral judgements and considerations subconsciously , we cannot let these considerations to become a part of our analyses in real life. For example my idea that a certain person is "racist" or a "liar" is based on my own perceptions and experiences. When dealing with this person my prejudices will inevitably suffice (even though in a very subtle manner).However any action by a third party based on my views or "moral testimony" should not be relied upon. Even if my moral testimony does form the basis of another party's reaction or action and it is subsequently accepted Hopkins(2007) believes that there should be a more "solid" reason for doing so rather than my own value judgements. It has been further suggested that "moral discourse, for some reason or other, cannot meet the conditions necessary for learning from the word of others. Since the epistemology is wrong, there is no knowledge to be had from testimonial transactions on moral matters."(Hopkins 2007). It is for this reason that it is believed that it would be rather "illegitimate" to let other's claims guide one's moral belief. For example as an employer of a person I might be faced with the moral testimony of the hiring committee that this person has "moral shortcomings" but I cannot base my judgement on these moral shortcomings. Firstly because morality is largely a matter of perception and the evidence offered in this regard will also be based on "feelings" or the personal experiences of the moral expert, and not actual evidence of their shortcoming like theft or irresponsibility on the job. Of course the contrary view in this regards is that in the right circumstances, moral dialogue may meet and fulfil all the criteria of testimonies in general (Hopkins 2007). The problem however remains that moral testimony lies in a standard that only relates to morals and since knowledge is right, testimony does make moral knowledge available. (Hopkins 2007) For a more profound analysis of this issue it is necessary to delve deeper into what the words "moral" and "testimony" entail in

Funding Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Funding Education - Essay Example Funding Education The university has principled values that is inculcated in all the students. Honesty, efficiency, exceptionality, and modesty are inscribed in students during the course of study. Every employer looks for an honest person. Now, being that the university is known for producing people of unquestionable integrity one would find it pleasurable and an honor to be part of this fraternity (British qualifications, 457). Employers also do not only want results, but they are impressed with exceptionality: a thing that the university inculcates in the course of study. The university teaches on how one can become innovative hence remarkable achievement in any field of endeavor. Queen Mary University is reach in diversity with an international outlook. This aspect of the university makes in a good ground for interaction and a place of multi-cultural experience. The university also has various exchange programs with many universities in other countries of the world. The university has such programs to help in the expansion of the worldview of its students. The grandaunts of this university are always diverse in opinion and they are often prepared to serve in any part of the world because of the nature of socialization in this great university. The university is not streamlined to the course work but it also gives the students the opportunity to interact widely and to experience the rest of the world.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Australian contract law problem question Case Study

Australian contract law problem question - Case Study Example The offer may be oral, written or implied from conduct. Offers are of two kinds: a specific offer is made to a specific offeree. No one else can accept it. 'If you propose to make a contract with A, then B cannot substitute himself for A without your consent and to your disadvantage, securing to himself all the benefit of the contract': see Pollock, CB, Boulton v Jones (1857)1. A general offer can be accepted by anyone, and usually without prior notification of acceptance: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke ball Co. (1893)2. It was found in Carlil that there was: 'an offer made to all the world'; 'to ripen into a contract with anybody who comes forward and performs the condition'; and that 'as notification of acceptance is required for the benefit of the person who makes the offer, the person who makes the offer may dispense with notice to himself if he thinks it desirable to do so.' In the given situation, Elaine's statement 'I will give that bike to anyone who can fix my neck', was clearly a general offer. However, neither it was shown that Kramer has validly communicated his acceptance to Elaine nor it was shown that the latter has dispensed with the notice of acceptance. Clearly, there was no valid and enforceable contract between Elaine and Kramer considering that there was no agreement between the parties. However, it can be argued that acceptance may be done by positive conduct of the offeree as long as the acceptance must be active and that there must be some positive act by the offeree: Felthouse v Bindley (1862)3. Hence, Kramer may argue that by massaging Elaine, he has communicated his acceptance by positive conduct to Elaine. Furthermore, a valid offer has certain characteristics: certainty (a promise to pay an extra 15 or 10 buy another horse if a horse 'proves lucky to me' is too vague to amount loan offer: Guthing v Lynn [1831])4 and communication (an offer must be communicated to the offeree before it can be accepted.) Thus, if a seaman helps to navigate a ship home without informing the owners in advance, he cannot insist on payment, since the owners have not had notice of his offer, and, therefore, no opportunity to accept or reject it: Taylor v Laird (1856)5. Thus, in the given situation, the promise 'I will give that bike to anyone who can fix my neck' lacks the requirement of certainty. Such promise is similarly too vague as the promise to pay an extra 15 or 10 buy another horse if a horse 'proves lucky to me' to amount to a loan offer: Guthing v Lynn [1831]) In several cases, it has been ruled that preliminary statement may not amount to an offer. An invitation to treat which is a statement that is intended to elicit an offer from someone else has been ruled to have no legal force as the offer it elicits can be accepted or not without obligation: Gibson v Manchester City Council (1979).6 Moreover, a statement of the price at which one is prepared to consider a selling a piece of land or any communication of information in the course of negotiations is a mere preliminary statement which were held not to be an offer. In the given situation, it can be argued that Elaine's statement was a mere preliminary statement which does not constitute a valid offer. Moreover, another requirement in the creation of a valid and enforceable contract is an intention to create legal relations. In an agreement between friends in a domestic arrangements, there is a presumption

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Disease Process of Cardiomyopathy Term Paper

The Disease Process of Cardiomyopathy - Term Paper Example It is included in the list of diseases that has the highest morbidity rate in the world’s aging population. The degree and the time course of the disease vary and do not coincide with the linear expression of symptoms. People suffering from such disease normally have asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction or both. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the state of the disease that is expressed when the balance between malfunction and compensation is disordered such that cardiac output can no longer be maintained at normal left ventricular filling pressures. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 16) Types of Cardiomyopathy There are three types of cardiomyopathy; dilated, hypertrophic and unclassified cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common among the three types. In this type, the heart’s main pumping chamber – the left ventricle, coming from the term ‘dilated’, grows bigger than its normal size. Th e ability to pump blood throughout the body becomes less forceful, making the blood flow uneasily. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 24) Although as mentioned above, Cardiomyopathy 3 cardiomyopathy can occur to people of any ages; this is most commonly seen in middle-aged people and is more often to occur in men. Some people who have this type of cardiomyopathy acquire the disease hereditary. The second type of cardiomyopathy is hypertrophic. This type of the disease entails the abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, affecting the main pumping chamber of the heart – the left ventricle. As the thickening occurs, it affects the blood circulation in the body due to the stiffening and the shrinking of the heart’s pumping chamber, which affects the ability of the heart to deliver blood to the entire body. Just like any other types of this disease, this may develop in any ages but it becomes more visible during childhood. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 33) Normally, people who acquire th is disease have a family history and more often than not, linked to some genetic mutations. Affected patients of this type of cardiomyopathy may be asymptomatic or may have signs of hindlimb paralysis or acute dyspnea. Examinations demonstrate abnormal heart sounds; from soft to prominent systolic cardiac murmurs and gallop heart sounds. The last type of cardiomyopathy is unclassified or better known as restrictive cardiomyopathy. The heart muscles of people who develop this type of disease become rigid and less elastic, which tends the heart to not expand properly to be able to contain blood between heartbeats. This is common in older people although it can develop in any ages just like the other types. This type is the least common among the three and can occur without known reason – idiopathic. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 41) This can also be caused by other diseases that affect the heart. This type includes patients with visible abnormalities in the myocardium on echocardiog raphy that do not fit into the other two types. This type of disease is also seen in cats. As mentioned above, Cardiomyopathy 4 restrictive cardiomyopathy have unknown causes. Nursing Intervention The disease is defined as ventricular dilation, systolic contractible dysfunction, low cardiac output and other congestive heart failure symptoms (crackles, edema, etc.) The decrease in the blood supply comes hand in hand with the decrease of amount of oxygen supply in the body. This can lead to kidney

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Vornado Realty Trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vornado Realty Trust - Essay Example operties aggregating to about 2.2 million square feet and 32.4% interest in Alexandra’s Inc., which possesses six properties, in the New York metropolitan area, including 731 Lexington Avenue and the 1.3 million square foot Bloomberg L.P headquarters building (Russell & Cohn 12). Retail properties owned by Vornado Realty Trust include 120 strip shopping centres, single-tenant retail assets and malls, which audits to about 20.8 million square feet mainly established in California, Puerto Rico and the northeast states (Russell & Cohn 12). Vornado, with about 70% interest, controls 555 retail shops, in California street, and a three building office, in San Francisco financial district known as bank of America centre, which aggregates to 1.8 million square feet (Russell & Cohn 13). Vornado realty trust has a 25% of its capital partners providing about 800 million dollars of the real estate fund. The stock information regarding rental changes and occupancy rates, in different regions, where properties of Vornado Realty Trust are located, were at $86.02 and dividend of about $2.92 (Russell & Cohn 34). Change was 1.2%, which yielded 3.39% in the latest result compared to the previous years. The company had an income of $856.153 million boosted, in 2011, by the increase in rental rates, in New York and Washington, in 2011. The Vornado Realty Trust owns high-rise commercial buildings, in the tune of hundred millions, in Washington DC and New York (Russell & Cohn 45). Over the past years, the company increased its revenue exponentially in the previous years was driven by increases in total square footage. The first quarter of the company’s sales, of 350-west mart centre, was a commendable rental and occupancy rate increase for almost $228million (Russell & Cohn 46). The second quarter rental changes, in Washington and New York, by the sales of Washington office brought the sales of $500 with a net gain of $177million to the company (Russell & Cohn 54). These rates, in

Friday, August 23, 2019

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 17

Project Management - Essay Example 67). These problems require the government to take responsibility and solve them. This report is going to highlight how the government was going to reduce the benefits as jobseeker’s allowance, employment allowance, and house benefit, into one single benefit. The UK’s government wanted to improve the welfare system. They laid down policies to implement this. The government had an ambition of stopping fraud by 2023 (Pensions, 2014, p. 23). The minister said this project would minimize the errors of costs usually experienced in departments. The project was to motivate people to seek up employment activities. This will see the standards of living of many citizens rise and reduce dependency on the government. This was a good project, but analysts say the lack of openness in the project raised eyebrows. There was the lack of direction in the project and weak management. The project came up quickly, and the government wanted to implement it immediately. This could bring many shortcomings. Experts advised the government to take things slow and take time to implement the policy (Institute, 2009, p. 87). The project was overambitious. They did not consider the value of money. Under the plans, single payment mechanism was to replace working tax credit, income support, child tax credit, house benefit, and jobseeker’s allowance. The disabled had no place in this project. They cannot get basic human wants because they have no source of income. This shows how the government was selfish in this bringing up this project. This project mainly targets the unemployed. The government should consider the world’s economy is at its worst, and the level of unemployment is on the rise. The project required technology to get a go ahead. The government did use the money wrongly, because they spent money on existing computer programs rather than developing new ones. The population of the people was not one of the issues the government wanted

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Pizza Pricing Essay Example for Free

Pizza Pricing Essay Pizza brand, famous or not, has been making price strategy to secure to have sales and profits to be successful. Pizza Hut uses the High/Low pricing strategy which makes them achieve success in the pizza industry. In high/low pricing strategy, a company can be allowed to have high prices and later have promotions to be able to have low price in a short-term(Badbreaks). Pizza uses this due to its good quality. Alongside with pizza hut, other pizza brands were priced according to high/low strategy these were La Grand Orange Grocery and Uncle Sal’s. But most likely these two brands sometimes do not offer promotions or discounts for its customer. For Dominoes, they were considering the low price strategy where they charge invariable prices. They even may have promotions to set temporary discounts. Dominoes set prices which not merely low as compared to its other competitors but provides good quality pizzas. Papa John’s also set price with regards to low price strategy, they also provide exceptionally good worth pizza with good quality (Scott). Together with price, product, promotion and place should be considered alongside with it. Usually these tools were considered as the marketing mixes that were employed to attain satisfaction of customers. Product is said to be the goods or services one company offers to the consumer. With regards to pricing, price should consider if the product is to be eagerly acceptable in the community. If it assumed to have good impact to society, the price could be of high cost. But it is advisable to have low cost even though not much good product. Promotion refers to how the company put into public their goods product, also means how they commercialize the product. Prices can vary in accordance with the cost of promotion or advertisement of the product. Place is said to be the where products are distributed to reach their customers. In busy commercial place, prices should be low because your product may have a good competition with other products. But in not crowded place, we may set a high price because your product may be a necessity and people will high chance of buying it (Lake). If I have to come up with my own price strategy, I will design a strategy that sets my prices at not so high cost and requires memberships from customers in order that they can avail of discounts from my products. Consumers will be required membership fees so that I can have much income even though discounts were given to members. Non members are to pay the prices set with no discounts. This strategy will fit any company because they were considered to have same value of pizzas.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

History of Non Profit Horse Rescue Essay Example for Free

History of Non Profit Horse Rescue Essay At present, there are plentiful of non profit organizations for horse rescue and all of them share the same goals and objectives. These organizations’ main goal and mission is to provide rescue, rehabilitation, foster care, and have a positive environment for those horses and equines that have either been abandoned, abused, unwanted, mistreated, neglected, tortured, retired, or are at risk of going to slaughter. Each non profit organization for horse rescue has its own history. Before long, horses and equines were used for transportation. In 1950’s when motorized vehicles were becoming more practical and affordable, horses were replaced as means of transportation by these lower maintenance and faster vehicles. Because of this, many horses were abandoned and neglected and were being sent to slaughter. Thus in 1952, a non profit horse rescue organization called HorseWorld was established to take care of the many working horses whose jobs were taken away and replaced by the motorized vehicles (HorseWorld, 2008). May wild horses or mustangs or more accurately termed as feral horses freely roam on public lands in several states of America like Arizona, California, Idaho, and Wyoming. But the numbers of mustangs were declining as time passes. Mustangs are horses whose ancestors were domestic horses that first arrived in America with Christopher Columbus on his voyage in 1493 (Lifesavers Inc. , 1997). Many of these domestic horses were freed or escaped from early explorers, native tribes, etc. to become free-roaming horses all across America. In order to protect and rescue these horses, the Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed by Congress in 1971 and many non profit horse rescue organizations have come out to protect, manage, and control wild free-roaming horses on public lands. One of these organizations is the Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue. There are many other non profit organizations that protect and rescue not only horses but also dogs and cats from dangerous situations. The important thing is that these organizations give a chance for these animals to have a better life. This reflects how these animal rescue organizations give value to the rights of animals to safety and just treatment.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Framing News on Foreign Countries: Media Interests

Framing News on Foreign Countries: Media Interests Framing news on foreign countries: Media Interests and Motivations. Analyzing 10 yrs of US and UK newspaper editorials on Venezuela. 1)INTRODUCTION Media organizations are essential in international affairs in terms of their important role in providing information to the public.[3] The question has often been whether the Media frames news in the context of the national interest of the host country, for example. Whether they reflect official position without challenging them or rather influence national interest objectives by putting pressure on politicians. The Medias interest and other motivating factors are essential for understanding how editorials for instance are framed. Lacking in the study of Media framing is the application to bilateral relations. This study would attempt to add that dimension to the numerous researches on the Media in international affairs. It would analyze editorials by four prominent newspapers in the United States and the United Kingdom on issues concerning Venezuela. The aim is to find the likely motivating factors when it comes to framing news on foreign countries For many countries the media represents an important window to the international world. Patched knowledge on foreign issues would be close to a reality without a source of information about what happens elsewhere in the world, made available by the media. In democratic countries in particular, the reliance on the media for foreign news might be as important as the quest for local news. Images of foreign countries, issues and happenings in a particular country abroad are likely to be influenced by the media to a much larger scale when impressions are created of a healthy or strained bi-lateral relations, for instance. Due to factors such as cultural assumptions and political beliefs, it is believed that news carves out images and impressions of the world some of which are preferred over other images.[4] The media, both electronic and print are a major component of the democratic processes in several countries. The media has often been referred to, in many countries, as an important branch of the government with roles from functioning as the main political informant'[7] There has been several publications on issues of Media and Government relations by several authors. For instance, in the scope of international relations and communications, there have been books published on the issue of how the media works in or out of line with foreign policy or the national interest. The debate has been whether or not the media is likely to support the national interest of the country in which it operates in relation to other countries(as the theory of Manufacturing Consent depicts)[9]. Either option makes foreign events relevant to the media. On the whole the media is believed to reflect social consensus.[15] There may be variations in the nature of the Media depending on the region or country of operation. A media in a democratic country may be freer than those in a non-democratic country so news coverage, media culture and ethics could vary. In this study, a section of the Media in two democratic countries would be analyzed in terms of their positions on issues in a third country(Venezuela). What would be of interest to this study, as mention earlier, would be the factors that would be most highlighted in the accounts of these editorials. It may bring about issues of objectivity and latent Media interests or the interests of the consumers of the news content. In the US for example, the Media is often said to domesticate foreign news. The themes represented in news in the US are those which often have some relevance to American interests.[17] Thus, how the media frames news is largely important for understanding the positions they yield to and their response to certain foreign events. In issues of national interest and in relation to bilateral relations, it would be important to know how the media in different countries frame news on events in countries abroad. 2) LITERATURE REVIEW NEWS FRAMING Entman, (1993) suggests that the concept of framing could be studied as a feature of a political discourse or as an instrument applied by the Media in making news.[19] And by extension, Media analysis or news analysis would deserve a look at the concept of news framing. Framing is, the process by which a communication source constructs and defines a social or political issue for its audienceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?.[23] Framing theory is also applicable to Media analysis. Media frames as explained by Entman (1991: 7), are attributes of news itself.[24] In a broad sense, frames are regarded as persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and presentation, and as selection, emphasis, and exclusion, by which symbol handlers routinely organize discourse, whether verbal or visual.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?.[27] Tuchman showed how framing as a process theory works. And that the routine procedures used by newsmakers, direct news frames in a particular way. She argues that these procedures continually help showcase certain places and ideas, while consistently closing off and blocking inquiry into others.[29] Entman (1993: 52) helped refine the scope of the definition given to news framing. He established that by the definition of news frame, frames could be seen as a process that defines problems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" determine what a causal agent is doing with what costs and benefits, usually measured in terms of common cultural values; diagnose causes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" identify the forces creating the problem; make moral judgments à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" evaluate causal agents and their effects; and suggest remedies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" offer and justify treatments for the problems and predict their likely effects.[30] Entman, (1991:7) also showed that frames used by the media are often captured in the keywords, metaphors, concepts, symbols and visual images in news narratives. He stresses the point that one way is which news framing works is through repetition which is important for Media news framing because news narratives, usually dependent on frames, are meant to direct attention to certain ideas, while excluding certain other ideas.[33] It has also been established that Framing involves processes of inclusion and exclusion as well as emphasis.'[38] Framing also has the ability to make consumers of news accept and adopt some symbolic themes and values.[39] While the process of selectively and emphasis is carried out by the newsmakers, those for whom a particular news is meant, are also likely to be predisposed to understanding and interpreting information in a selective way. Framing has also been explained to be the process of placing information into a context of preconscious symbolism. [43] The framing process employed by the Media is regarded as key to shaping both the publics and decision-makers knowledge, image and understanding of the world.[49]. Perhaps a perfect definition of the concept of framing in relation to the print media is the fact that, a frame is a central organizing idea or story line that provides meaning to an unfolding strip of events, weaving a connection among them. The frame suggests what the controversy is about and the essence of the issue'[53] One of the significant areas in relation to framing of news and Media positioning is Foreign Policy. Assessments of the response of the media to foreign issues is largely based on a critical analysis of how the media operates or how a particular section of the media churns out news or editorials, for example the position that major newspapers take on certain foreign issues. In a way how it sets the agenda for government or public reactions. Both agenda setting and framing have been identified in news framing literature as ways in which the media can influence policy making and public opinion.[57] There has been some convergence on how framing analysis can be carried out, according to the literature. Two approaches of framing analysis has evolved over the years. The Inductive approach and the Deductive approach. The latter has been proven more scientific than the former. The Deductive approach organizes the framing analysis based on pre-outlined broader frames.[59] There has also been an attempt by some authors to group frames along certain distinctions. Frames could be grouped under issue-specific frames which deal with particular issues in detail and generic frames which cover broader themes found in different settings.[61] One issue raised by some authors on framing is how the Media treat sources. When elite sources to news are relied on by journalists for example, they may in a way be a channel for promoting the views and opinions of the political order or the elites to the larger audience[63] Most of the literature also agree that the location of a news story gives it much weight in terms of the perceived influence on the newspapers readership and how important the issues are to them. It also demonstrates the importance the media attaches to that particular issue or event.[67] In all, Media scholars have studied Framing theory as either theories of Effects and Process. By Framing as effects theory, media scholars have studied the influence that news frames have on audiences while studies on framing as a process theory have addressed how news content is created and modified in certain ways considering the factors that influence the carving of news in a particular way. [68] . Although the framing of news is important to the coverage given to events and issues, there are other elements or factors that influence the framing of news in itself have to be identified.[72] This study would turn the spot light on the wide array of all the other factors that may help explain why news is framed in a particular way. As pointed out earlier, some literature on the Media have suggested that the sources that the Media relies go an extent to make the news themselves. In other words, Organizations with more resources, or that have more credibility in the eyes of journalists, are more likely to become regular news sources, and thus shape which issues (agenda-setting) and which perspectives (frames) dominate the news.[74] Some Media scholars are of the opinion that the ideal state of Media Objectivity is far fetched. Some are of the view that there is no fundamentally non-ideological, apolitical, non-partisan news gathering and reporting system. Since there may be dispute over objectivity and news without bias, the concept of framing becomes important to analyzing the frames used in making news.[77] While journalists may dispute these assertions, it is believed that news content is not an objective entity, independent of political, social, ideological or sociopsychological influences than mere information.[80] As stated before, the Media often depicts the Governments position in respect to interests and issues especially in relation to other countries. There has been the suggestion that the Medias position is based on national values, national interest and cultural values of their host countries.[82] The Media is likely to succumb to the views of governments because the latters position on issues is seen as an overriding common good transcending the specific interests of parties, factions, and other entities smaller than the nation as a whole.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?[84] The problem with the concept of framing is that it lacks clear conceptual definitions and a comprehensive statement to guide research.[85] Yet these challenges would make it important for more research into factors that influence news framing. The extent to which consumers of news perceive foreign leaders in either a positive or negative light is dependent on how framing is carried out.[86] The latter point might be important to understand how the reading-public of the four sampled newspapers are likely to perceive the leadership in Venezuela. Most of the research done on news framing have largely gone in the way of foreign policy research. A few have looked at news framing in relation to another country with a lengthy time range while Media response and framing on various issues are measured and analyzed. The study hopes to add to the already existing research on news framing in this regard. 3) Proposed Research Questions Research Question 1 :What is the tone of coverage on Venezuela in U.S. and U.K. editorials? Do the two groups of newspapers differ in tone? Research Question 2: Which frames dominated in the overall coverage and was there a significant difference between the two countries in terms of the frames used? Research Question 3: Which issues dominated the overall coverage country-wise? Research Question 3: Do positions on issues covered reflect National Interest of the two countries? Research Question 4: Do these editorials rely on government sources in arriving at opinions and conclusions? Research Question 5: Which issues are most prominent in all the coverage? Research Question 6: Do the editorials lean towards a kind of political or economic ideology? 4) VARIABLES The variables for this study would be the following 1 Independent -Tone of coverage and framing in UK editorials -Tone of coverage and framing in US editorials -Most highlighted issues 2 Dependent -The interests of the UK(economic, political, other) -The interests of the US (economic, political, other) -The ideology of the paper 5) Proposed Research Hypothesis 1 There is no difference in tone between the two groups of newspapers. 2 The level of interest given to highlighted issues between the two groups of newspapers will be the same? 3 Positioning and framing of news will depend on the interests of the host nation of the newspapers. 4 Positioning and framing of news will depend on the ideology of the host nation of the newspapers. 5 UK newspaper editorials are likely to be less critical of Venezuela because of better bi- lateral relations. 6 US newspaper editorials are likely to be more critical of Venezuela because of worse bi-lateral relations. 6) METHODOLOGY Method The study on these editorials would be carried out using quantitative content analysis to assess qualitative data published by the four newspapers. Content analysis is defined as a research technique that involves measuring a content( in this case, news frames) in a random sampling of some form of communication( in this case, editorials). The basic assumption implicit in content analysis is that an investigation of messages and communication will allow some insight into the people who receive these messages'[87]. However the use of content analysis in this study would be to capture the frames used in the sampled editorials and what informs interests in issues and not what the consumers of such news perceive or how they react to these messages. One advantage of content analysis is that unlike other research methods where the researcher can easily influence the outcome of the research, it offers mediated communication to be rather studied rather than the behavior of people which may be difficult to analyze. Additionally it provides numbers and figures which can be quantified to secure likely viable assessments.[88] Admittedly, the use content analysis technique also brings to the fore issues concerning the representativeness of the samples used, the adequate definition of issues, difficulties with measuring units to be analyzed and coder reliability issues.[89] A conversion of coded values into quantitative statistical data would be made after the content analysis. Population The population of this study would be all editorials on Venezuela within the ten year period by high circulating newspapers in the US and the UK. The assumption is that editorials from newspapers with a relatively high number of circulations, may have been read by a significant number of people or may have reached a wider audience or a politically responsive section of the public. The study would not be concerned with gauging public reactions but in the frames used themselves. Yet high circulation newspapers offer a good basis for selection in the sample. Sample The type of sampling used in selecting editorials is Criterion Sampling .Editorials which will make up the sample are those with references made to the words VENEZUELA and HUGO CHAVEZ and political and economic issues related to these terms. A retrieval of the editorials from the search engine LEXIS-NEXIS has already been carried out using the following terms: VENEZUELA, HUGO CHAVEZ and EDITORIAL for the US newspaper database. For the LEXIS NEXIS -UK database, editorials were retrieved using the search terms VENEZUELA, HUGO CHAVEZ and LEADING ARTICLE. Editorials not focusing on these issues or not focusing on issues of political relevance were dropped from the sample ,for example those focusing on say sports or those with the mere mention of these terms with no relation to relevant issues discussed. US Newspapers From an earlier assessment of the account of data on newspaper circulations by the Audit Bureau of Circulations in both the USA and the UK, the highest circulating newspaper over the 10 year period was USA TODAY with the most circulations for the said period. The WALL STREET JOURNAL (WSJ) came second with the most circulations over the period. The WSJ will however be discounted because of its orientation mostly to financial news and events. The research would be limited to newspapers which mostly deal with political news and also focuses on foreign political news in its content or publications. With these criteria, the third major political newspapers which polled the third highest number of circulations over the 10 year period was the NEW YORK TIMES (NYT). Thus editorials from the USA TODAY and the NYT will be used in the content analysis. UK Newspapers The selection criteria for the two highest Circulating newspapers in the UK however differ slightly from the basis on which the newspapers from the US were selected. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH and THE TIMES newspapers would be used in this study. The two newspapers averagely rank 4th and 7th in terms of circulation data according to the Audit Bureau from January 2000 to 2009. The two newspapers which ranked as the two highest-circulating newspapers for the 10 year period in the UK were THE SUN and DAILY MAIL. The two come under the category of Tabloid Newspapers and are not considered serious political newspapers. The two will not be the focus of this study. The DAILY MIRROR, DAILY STAR, and the DAILY EXPRESS ranked 3rd, 5th and 6th respectively. This study will focus on those newspapers which come under those usually termed newspapers-of- record or those which practice serious journalism. Of the newspapers under this category,THE GUARDIAN and THE TIMES had averagely, the highest number of circulations during the 10 year period discounting those newspapers which fall under the tabloid category. A percentage breakdown of the editorials from each newspaper is found below. The four newspapers had on average a significant circulation tally during the specified period namely from (January) 2000 to (December) 2009. Why Venezuela? Venezuela offers a good to chance to study the politics behind the news. Various perceived interests are involved in relation to the US, UK and Venezuela. The controversies have been over the stifling of democracy and civil rights, the abuse of power by President Chavez, issues over the supply of oil and what it means for the two western countries to have the economy of Venezuela in a bad shape. These factors make Venezuela a good choice and would it possible to analyze Media positioning on these issues in response to a relevant third country while factoring in bi-lateral relations. Time Period The choice of long time duration will allow for significant content analysis to be done on the editorials. Since this research would also assess government statements and positions on the issues arising from Venezuela, the time period which saw the BUSH and BLAIR administration for most of the period would offer an opportunity to compare the US and UK government responses and attitudes towards Venezuelan issues with hopefully little variation in policy change. The reasoning is that an unchanged administration or party in power is likely to have the same attitudes or reactions to foreign issues from a particular country than when the administration changes over a period of time, barring any major shift in interests and policy towards Venezuela by either country during the time period. The study will take all these changes into account in the final analysis, including the editorial responses and positioning on these issues. Coding Units Editorials will be the focal point for the coding procedures. Editorials are a good basis for this study because they often represent the view or position of the newspaper. Op-Eds and editorials with Bylines (those written by individuals and credited with names) have been excluded from the sample. The focus was to look out for editorials which have been written by the editorial board of the various newspapers and would represent a justifiable opinion or position of the newspaper itself rather than the views of individual writers. Coding Procedure The source for the editorials is the academic search engine; LEXIS-NEXIS (which stores electronic copies of newspaper articles and editorials including those that this study would be focused on). Pre-testing 4 independent coders would be used to code each editorial article according to frames created from a Pre-test which has already been carried out on two other newspapers. A pretest on The Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers has been carried out to source for appropriate categories of frames to be used in the final coding of the 141 editorials. In addition, coders could add extra categories of frames to the basic list during coding to update the original codebook. 24 editorials from the Washington Post and 54 editorials from The Guardian newspapers were retrieved with the same search words as the main sample. They all fit the same criteria. 25% of each newspapers editorial would be used in the Pre-test. The selection was done randomly. In all 19 editorials would be used for the Pre-test. Framing Variables Frames(meant for pre-test and to be modified). the problem frames, 1-the diagnostic frames( these coverage would identify a problem and assign a responsibility to someone or some other reason) 2-the prognostic frames.( here the study seeks to find an editorials solution to particular problems) the presentation frames, 1-the issue frame ( coverage on issues such as economy, oil etc) 3-the image frame.( portraying leadership, attitudes, affiliation of subjects) General tone (is the editorial positive(supportive) or negative(condemnatory))? Coder Reliability An intercoder reliability would predict the amount of agreement or correspondence among the 4 coders. Intercoder Reliability is the extent to which the different judges tend to assign exactly the same rating to each object.[90] The Intercoder reliability would be checked for the Pre-test and the main test. The formula to be used is Holstis (1969) formula. Coder agreement on each unit of analysis( i.e frames) would be calculated. Preliminary Coding Sheet for Newspaper Editorial Content Analysis(To be amended). Technical Data: Editorial Number= give in full Paper: 1= USA; 2= NY Times; 3= Daily Telegraph; 4=The Times Date: given in full Title of Editorial: given in full Page: page on which the editorial is written. Location( section of newspaper) 1= Editorials and Opinions; 2= Features; 3=Non Stated 99= other Length of words= please indicate number Is a source cited?: 1= Yes; 2= No; 99= other Source cited: please indicate Country Mentioned in affiliation to venezuela: please indicate Country Location(continent): 1= Africa 2=Antarctia 3=Asia 4 =Australia 5= Europe 6=North America 7=South America Issues linked to country referred to: please indicate Themes in the News: Theme of the editorial: 1 =Concerns over Venezuelan crises impacting the world 2 =Concerns over Venezuelan crises impacting the US 3 =Concerns of economic and political life of Venezuelans being grim 4 =Concerns over oil supply and price hikes 5 =Championing support for Chavez and policies 6 =Denouncing Chavez 7 =A critique of white house intervention in Venezuelan matters 8 =Concerns over Venezuelan influence in Latin America 9 =Need to counter Chavez influence over other states 10 =That socialist economies are often a disaster 11 =Concerns over human rights abuse 12 =Concerns over Media abuse 13 =Need to have effective policies to deal with Venezuela 14 =Supporting regime change 15 =Denouncing regime change Secondary Themes: 1= Concerns over Venezuelan crises impacting the world 2 =Concerns over Venezuelan crises impacting the US 3 =Concerns of economic and political life of Venezuelans being grim 4 =Concerns over oil supply and price hikes 5 =Championing support for Chavez and policies 6 =Denouncing Chavez 7 =A critique of white house intervention in Venezuelan matters 8 =Concerns over Venezuelan influence in Latin America 9 =Need to counter Chavez influence over other states 10 =That socialist economies are often a disaster 11 =Concerns over human rights abuse 12 =Concerns over Media abuse 13 =Need to have effective policies to deal with Venezuela 14 =Supporting regime change 15 =Denouncing regime change Tertiary Themes: 1 =Concerns over Venezuelan crises impacting the world 2 =Concerns over Venezuelan crises impacting the US 3 =Concerns of economic and political life of Venezuelans being grim 4 =Concerns over oil supply and price hikes 5 =Championing support for Chavez and policies 6 =Denouncing Chavez 7 =A critique of white house intervention in Venezuelan matters 8 =Concerns over Venezuelan influence in Latin America 9 =Need to counter Chavez influence over other states 10 =That socialist economies are often a disaster 11 =Concerns over human rights abuse 12 =Concerns over Media abuse 13 =Need to have effective policies to deal with Venezuela 14 =Supporting regime change 15 =Denouncing regime change Other Themes?: Please state Orientation of Editorial: 1= event-oriented 2= issue-oriented Framing of the Editorial: (A) References To Sources Domestic Sources( in US or UK) : please indicate International Sources(in Venezuela) : please indicate Other Sources: please indicate How instrumental is the source to the story: 1=very central; 2= central; 3= moderately mentioned; 4=only gets a mention (B) Character of Commentary Evaluation of Commentary: 1= very laudable; 2= favorable; 3= neutral; 4= critical; 5= abrasive; 99= other Secondary Evaluation of Commentary: 1= crusading; 2= argumentative; 3= descriptive; 4= summary; 5= cynical; 6= humorous; 7= warning/ helpful; 8= lyrical; Descriptive Characterization of President Chavez in editorials: As 1= authoritarian 2= socialist/leftist 3= populist 4= autocrat 5= strongman 6= bold 99= other ( please state) Characterization of other persons in editorials: please mention character and indicate descrption Main Discourse: Please state any significant words used: Location of word in editorial: 1= headline 2= main body 7) BIBLIOGRAPHY Althaus, Scott L. 2003. When News Norms Collide, Follow the Lead: New Evidence for Press Independence.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Political Communication, 20 Barbara Allen, Paula OLoughlin, Amy Jasperson, John L. Sullivan The Media and the Gulf War: Framing, Pri

Importance of the Telemachy in Developing Major Themes of Odyssey Essay

The Importance of the Telemachy in Developing Major Themes of Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚   As we begin to read the Odyssey, one of the surprising facts is that we do not meet the famed hero until we are well into Book V, on Calypso's island of Ogygia. However, during these introductory four books, we learn of the situation in Ithaca, Odysseus' plight, some of the most important themes of the story and of course Odysseus' son Telemachus. Homer keeps us in suspense, building the reputation of Odysseus by the stories of Menelaus, Helen, Nestor and all Odysseus' friends in Ithaca. Also, by building up the character and heroism of Telemachus, we are impressed by him, and as Athene says "your father's manly vigour has descended upon you". We would expect Odysseus to actually be better than Telemachus, due to his kleos ('undying fame on the lips of men') and experience ("Few sons, indeed, are like their fathers. Generally they are worse" Athene). So we learn of our main hero through words and inference, but this section of the book is key for our understanding as to the rules and practices of the Greek world in this story, and how the rest of the Odyssey will be carried out. Homer does this by bringing in all the themes that we will encounter time and again as we read on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even in the first part of Book I, in Homer's appeal to the Muse and also the introductory meeting of the Olympian Gods, one of the most important themes is brought in. This is the theme that transgressions, especially non-pious ones, lead to punishment. Examples given here are Odysseus' men eating the Sun God's (Hyperion's) cattle, resulting in the destruction of their ship. Homer even comments on it - "their own transgression that brought them to their doom". As... ...seashore", indicating his mood of despair. The link here is between the seashore and despair. When a hero feels an emotion it can be expressed in the book by their location. Thus when we meet Odysseus for the first time he is crying on the beach of Ogygia. When the crew leave the land of the Cicones, they come ashore for a short while away from there to weep on the beach or shore for their lost comrades. They do the same thing when they arrive at the island of Circe.    Now we can leave the Telemachy with these ideas, narrative tools and themes in our mind of how the story will continue and according to what rules. We also have a good idea as to what our hero will be like when we meet him, as we do in Book V. Work Cited: Homer (Translated by Robert Fagles. Preface by Bernard Knox). 1996. The Odyssey. New York: Viking Penguin, div. of Penguin Books, Ltd. Importance of the Telemachy in Developing Major Themes of Odyssey Essay The Importance of the Telemachy in Developing Major Themes of Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚   As we begin to read the Odyssey, one of the surprising facts is that we do not meet the famed hero until we are well into Book V, on Calypso's island of Ogygia. However, during these introductory four books, we learn of the situation in Ithaca, Odysseus' plight, some of the most important themes of the story and of course Odysseus' son Telemachus. Homer keeps us in suspense, building the reputation of Odysseus by the stories of Menelaus, Helen, Nestor and all Odysseus' friends in Ithaca. Also, by building up the character and heroism of Telemachus, we are impressed by him, and as Athene says "your father's manly vigour has descended upon you". We would expect Odysseus to actually be better than Telemachus, due to his kleos ('undying fame on the lips of men') and experience ("Few sons, indeed, are like their fathers. Generally they are worse" Athene). So we learn of our main hero through words and inference, but this section of the book is key for our understanding as to the rules and practices of the Greek world in this story, and how the rest of the Odyssey will be carried out. Homer does this by bringing in all the themes that we will encounter time and again as we read on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even in the first part of Book I, in Homer's appeal to the Muse and also the introductory meeting of the Olympian Gods, one of the most important themes is brought in. This is the theme that transgressions, especially non-pious ones, lead to punishment. Examples given here are Odysseus' men eating the Sun God's (Hyperion's) cattle, resulting in the destruction of their ship. Homer even comments on it - "their own transgression that brought them to their doom". As... ...seashore", indicating his mood of despair. The link here is between the seashore and despair. When a hero feels an emotion it can be expressed in the book by their location. Thus when we meet Odysseus for the first time he is crying on the beach of Ogygia. When the crew leave the land of the Cicones, they come ashore for a short while away from there to weep on the beach or shore for their lost comrades. They do the same thing when they arrive at the island of Circe.    Now we can leave the Telemachy with these ideas, narrative tools and themes in our mind of how the story will continue and according to what rules. We also have a good idea as to what our hero will be like when we meet him, as we do in Book V. Work Cited: Homer (Translated by Robert Fagles. Preface by Bernard Knox). 1996. The Odyssey. New York: Viking Penguin, div. of Penguin Books, Ltd.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Noah Webster, A Man Who Loved Words by Elaine Cunningham :: Book Review Summary Report

The book I read was "Noah Webster, A Man Who Loved Words." It was written by Elaine Cunningham. The book has twelve chapters. The book has 176 pages in it. This book is a very good book. I would recommend it to anyone my age. The book was kind of sad also. In the beginning of the story, Noah is five. He was always eager to learn. Noah could not wait to learn. When he could go to school, he was so excited. One thing that was upsetting to Noah was that the older boys could only go to school during the cold seasons. On the first day of school, Noah was expecting to learn to read. They didn't, so Noah was upset. Once Noah was ten, he had to work on the farm. By then, Noah knew how to read and write. Noah read the books he borrowed from the priests. When Noah was fifteen, he went to college. He was really excited because there were teachers to meet, books to read, and lessons to learn. Noah was going to go to Yale University. The day he finally left, Noah was sad about leaving his family. His father helped him unpack. Noah's roommate was Oliver Walcott. In June of 1776, Noah got a letter from his father saying that there was going to be declaration of independence for the country from Great Britain. The letter also said there was going to be war. For the second year of college everyone was talking about the war. Noah wanted to help fight the British. A few days later, Noah got really sick. Noah had smallpox. Luckily, Noah got better really soon. In 1778, 21 year-old Noah graduated from college. Noah wanted to be a lawyer but he had no money or a job. Finally, Noah applied to be a teacher for the winter terms. His students loved him dearly. He enjoyed teaching. Noah promised a spelling book for his students. Still the students worked hard to please their school master. By 1781 Noah was a junior esquire attorney at law. He studied and studied. All that studying helped Noah. He mastered all the law books in his friend's library.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Roswell Incident :: essays research papers

The Roswell Incident Forty-seven years ago an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for all mankind. It involved the recovery by the U.S. Military of material alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by the Army Air Force on July 8, 1947 through a press release carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be a cover story claiming the material was nothing more than a weather balloon. It has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since. The press release announcing the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four-star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a cover-up has been confirmed by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose, who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C. ordering the cover-up. Numerous other credible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original press release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. One such individual was Major Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer of the 509th Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene. On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, announced to the press that he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting information on the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investigation into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and concluded it was apparently "another government cover- up." History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often meaningless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure that the truth about Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and warranted. To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, it would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Such a measure is essentially what presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eighteen years ago in 1976. If, as is officially claimed, no information on Roswell, UFOs, or extraterrestrial intelligence is being withheld, an Executive Order declassifying it would be a mere formality, as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order would, however, have the positive effect of setting the

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Negotiation Skills

Effective negotiation skills are becoming increasingly important for today’s global business. A lot of time is spent negotiating in a global setting as companies and individuals conduct business. This paper will attempt to critically assess the significance of cross cultural negotiation skills for the success of international mergers and alliances. To begin with let the definition of negotiation be deduced. Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2004) identify negotiation as a sequence of actions in which two or more parties address demands, initiate, conduct or terminate operations in a foreign country. Gulbro and Herbig (1995) define it as the process by which at least two parties try to reach an agreement on matters of mutual interest. In order to be successful in such a diverse and complex business environment, negotiators must be globally aware and have a frame of reference that goes beyond a country or region and encompasses the world (Fowler, 2005). International executives attempt to negotiate for an optimal solution minimizing conflicts and maximizing gains. According to Martin et al. 1999) a clear negotiation strategy is the most important factor for successful international business relationships. Cross cultural negotiation skills are vital in today’s business. It is not just about closing deals but it also involves looking at all factors that can influence the proceedings. Cross cultural negotiation skills not only shows the people involved how to start from a strong position and find common ground with others, but also provides practical techniques for to use when talking and bargaining during business ( Kozicki, 2005). People from other countries and cultures do things differently. For alliances and mergers to succeed, these cultural differences must be taken into account when negotiating to reach a deal that will last and bring benefits to both sides. Therefore as these people play an essential role for the success of merging companies, it is crucial to have an understanding of different national and organisational cultures. Cross culture is an integral art of the overall corporate culture of the firm, which is applicable for all international alliance and merging partners (Luo,1999). Negotiation skills bring added challenges that help the international negotiator to understand how partners from other cultures view negotiation and how they think it should be handled (Michal, 2005). Although there may be much commonality between members of both sides it should not be assumed that people have the same benefits, values or priorities as each other. Nowadays, businesses of all sizes search for internat ional partnership. The increasingly global business environment requires the approach to the negotiation process from the global business person’s point of view as the process can be complex and difficult but will create huge opportunities to develop and increase success in avoiding barriers and failures in international mergers and alliances. As one partner better understands that the other partner may see things differently, they will be less likely to make negative assumptions and more likely to make progress when negotiating. Nations tend to lead a national character that influences the type of goals and process the society pursues in negotiations and this is why specifying and understanding cultural differences is vital in order to perform successfully in inter-cultural communication (Copeland, 1996). In addition, for international mergers and alliances to succeed, it is important for both sides to agree that no one approach is better than another. Lack of cross- cultural skills can cause difference in problem-solving and decision making and this can easily lead to misunderstanding. Therefore it is important for everyone involved in the proceedings to be able to use a range of decision making and problem solving techniques. Nonetheless, companies from other countries run into problems which stem from cultural differences and this leads to difficulties between negotiating parties. Negotiators from cultures that place a high importance on punctuality and schedules are more prone to set deadlines and then make concessions at the last minute to meet the schedules than are negotiators from cultures that place less importance on punctuality and schedules. They may underestimate the importance their counterparts place on the negotiations if their counterpart arrives late and do not adhere to schedules due to lack of cultural awareness (Daniels et al, 2004). Furthermore, one counterpart may understand and be adaptive to the other’s culture. Therefore it is important for both parties to have some cross-cultural knowledge as this will determine at the start whether they will follow some form of adjustment. The choice of response should be highly dependent on how well both sides understand each other’s culture. Cross-cultural negotiation skills provide people with increased knowledge which means people have the opportunity to progress at international level. For alliances and mergers to work, there must be collaboration between the two parties for the betterment of both. Kanter, (1998) argues that communication is important to achieving synergy between partners. It is harder to derive the benefits of cooperation and easier for rivalries to escalate when there is no relationship history to draw upon. Stereotypes are a pitfall when attempting to create an international merger or alliance. National stereotypes prejudice groups in the absence of evidence and should be avoided at all times. An entire culture cannot be relegated to one or two commonly held attributes. Culture is a very complex issue encompassing a plethora of subjects. A group’s customs, belief systems, values and behaviour must be understood in order to fully realise a successful partnership in a business context. A key component of successful international negotiation is effective ross-cultural communication. This requires that negotiators understand not only the written and oral language of their counterparts, but also other components of culturally different communication styles (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2005). In essence, it requires an understanding of the more subtle, nonverbal aspects of communication as they play a vital role in understanding the communication process. Cross-cultural communication proble ms can arise in any given situation, even huge co-operations can fall into this problem. For example, when the U. S. car manufacturer Chrysler merged with the German Daimler – Benz Company in 1998, problems arose out of their different decision-making processes. Chrysler was accustomed to making quick, high–profile decisions while Daimler – Benz, with their hierarchical system, were used to a slow, cautious business model with little need for public pronouncements. Cultural difficulties occurred between the more easy-going and more flexible style of Chrysler and the well structured and bureaucratic style of Daimler-Benz. All of this was as a result of the different working styles, decision making and communication processes within the company (Shelton, 2003). The incompatibility of the two different cultural aspects was realised too late and became very difficult to be overcome. In the end it was no merger of equals but one company dominating over the other. This case shows the different aspects of the need for cross- cultural awareness as its importance must be considered in cross-border alliance and merger processes in order to become global players. Negotiation involves clear communication which involves important skills such as understanding, speaking and listening. It is not possible to have one skill without the others. Negotiation is most effective when people are able to clearly identify and discuss their source of disagreement and misunderstanding. Very different cultural attributes were evident when the French Pharmaceutical company Rhone- Poulenc merged with the U. S. Company Rouer. Not only did the Americans take issue with the French people’s lax attitude owards time-keeping and punctuality, they also had to deal with their propensity to express their emotions. Emotional outbursts such as crying or shouting were commonplace in the French company as they are not considered shameful; on the contrary, the French idiom ‘soupe au lait’, used to describe such outbursts, is believed to aliviate stress, allow them to vent anger and present them from bearing grudges (Dornberg, 1999). Perhaps the best example where cross-cultural negotiation skills were used effectively is in the case of Colgate Toothpaste Company. In 1985, the U. S. Colgate Palmolive Cooperation bought Hong Kong based Hawley & Hazel Chemical Company. Hawley & Hazel’s Toothpaste, ‘Darkie’ had a 70% market share in Asia and it featured a smiley man in ‘black face’ and a top hat resembling a minstrel or Al Jolson. This image presented no protests in Asia since the association with the image was with brilliant smiles. However, Colgate knew the connotations of the name and image of the toothpaste would be offensive to many U. S. minority groups and therefore had to enter into lengthy negotiations with the Hong Kong Company with a view to changing the name and image of the toothpaste. In order to give customers in Asia time to get accustomed to the new name and image, changes were brought in generally over a year long time frame. Eventually the product was called ‘Darlie’ and the image replaced by a racially-ambiguous smiling character in a tuxedo and top hat (Morrison and Conaway, 2004). In all these examples, the negotiation skills in a cross-cultural context were successful as the negotiators took into account cultural differences, while allowing for compromise to take place. Negotiators were undoubtedly familiar with Hofstede’s models of value systems and used his suggested five fundamental dimensions to national culture: Hierarchy, ambiguity, individualism, achievement- orientation and long-term orientation to their advantage. Negotiation skills are essential in determining the terms under which a company may enter and operate in a foreign country. International negotiations occur largely between parties whose cultures, educational backgrounds, and expectations differ, it may be difficult for negotiators to understand each other’s sentiments and present convincing arguments. Negotiation skills offer negotiators a means of anticipating responses and planning an approach to the actual bargaining (Daniels, et al 2004). The key to effective alliances and mergers is skillful management of relations from the initial handshake onward. In cross-cultural alliances and mergers there is great challenge because each party brings different cultural schemata to the table through which they interpret events. For example, the French dislike being rushed into discussions, they prefer to examine various options in decisions and negotiations are likely to be in French unless they occur outside France. Punctuality is expected and they tend to be formal in their negotiations and do not move quickly to expressions of goodwill until the relationship has existed for some time. Negotiation skills call for creative thinking that goes beyond the poorly thought out compromise such as those arrived at when there is a rush to solve before an effort is made to comprehend. A deep understanding of the true and often manifested nature of the underlying challenge is required if a long term solution is sought. Many conflicts that on the surface seem to be purely about resources, often have significant components related to issues of participation, face saving and relationships. For negotiation to work in international mergers and alliances, people need to be able to share their needs and fears with each other. Negotiation skills include being well prepared, showing patience, maintaining integrity, avoiding the presumption of evil, controlling emotions, understanding the role of time pressures, breaking down bigger issues into smaller ones, avoiding threats and manipulation tactics, focusing first on the problem rather than on the solution, seeking for interest-based decisions and rejecting weak solutions (Richard, 1999). All of these help one way or another when thinking through challenging or difficult business situations and also play a huge role in successful negotiation. The skills help negotiators to learn about other people’s preferences and also make their own clear. As logic is not the only thing that prevails in bargaining efforts it gives people time to work out essential problems especially when dealing with someone of a dissimilar culture and additional time may be needed to work out an agreement (Brett, 1998). In some cases emotional outbursts tend to escalate rather than solve a conflict. This can be extremely difficult for some people to hide their emotions and this can permit negative emotions which can take control of some negotiators due to lack of skill. Business partners negotiate through life and while there may be no easy answers that will fit every negotiation need, there are many important skills that will help to become more effective. Without the relevant skills negotiation will not prosper in the absence of cooperative decision-making as it will suffer absence of commitment and participation from the individual’s part. Limited knowledge of either the alliance or merger partners’ languages or cultures puts them at a disadvantage. They may hold power by maintaining a percentage of shares of the venture, but in reality many lose power through ignorance. Skilled negotiators spend twice as much time asking questions as opposed to average negotiators. They probe to clarify issues and understand underlying drivers and reasons for the stance a given party has taken. Talented negotiators also try to understand what the other side wants so they can develop a solution that satisfies all parties. Skilled negotiators also make many more positive comments than average ones (Hayman, 2007). This emphasises and builds on the good in the negotiation to make it easier to deal with other issues. Without any knowledge of the other party’s culture they may not have any idea of what the other side wants and therefore, it is vital to explore more options to test limits. These skills help to think about how the partner should be approached, what can be given away, and what must remain non-negotiable and all is due to tolerance for differences in culture and outlook. No matter how many companies want to merge or become an alliance, success rests upon skillful management from the beginning and without this relationship between the business partners will suffer from poor initial planning, mismatched expectations, poor communications, inequitable power distribution and inadequate negotiation potential and decline can be quite rapid. Success rests in accepting the other partner despite differences in values, beliefs, educational experiences, ethnic backgrounds or perspectives. The skills involved permit partners to examine a problem from all sides, and to promote understanding and interest in the other without necessarily agreeing to one party’s viewpoint. Genuine interest in contributions help to build trust and this provides a foundation for continuing relationship and also eases future efforts to solve problems ( Herbig and Kramer,1991). The negotiation skills allow everyone involved in the business to make suggestions openly without fear of criticism and is accepted. All negotiations are completed by consensus and a negotiated solution is reached when every partner has given up something to gain common benefits. A hypothetical example of a skilled negotiator dealing with another in a foreign country could be that they both have identical proposals and packages. If one has no knowledge of cross-culture believing the proposal will speak for itself and the other party has the knowledge which involves the culture, beliefs, values, etiquette and approaches to business, meetings and negotiations the latter will most likely succeed over the rival. This is so because it is likely they would have endeared themselves more to the host negotiation team and would be able to tailor their approach to the negotiations in a way that maximises the potential of a positive outcome. It is very important to know the commonest basic components of our counterparty’s culture. It is assign of respect and a way to build trust and credibility as well as advantage that can help us to choose the right strategies and tactics during the negotiation. It is not possible to learn another culture in detail but when something is learnt especially at short notice the best that can be done is to try to identify principal influences that the foreign culture may have on making the deal (Salacuse, 1991). Apart from adopting the other side’s culture to adjust to the business environment, difficulty in finding common ground, focusing on common professional cultures may be the initiation of business relations. The skills needed to approach negotiation differs across cultures, for instance the Japanese will negotiate in teams and decisions will be based upon consensual agreement while in Asia decisions are usually made by the most senior figure and in Germany, decisions can take a long time due to the need to analyse information and statistics in great depth. Clearly there are factors that need to be considered when approaching cross-cultural negotiation. Through having the skills, business personnel are given the appropriate knowledge that can help them prepare them effectively and this will help succeed in maximising their potential. CONCLUSION In an increasing global business environment, cultural misunderstandings may sabotage even the simplest negotiation therefore, cross-cultural negotiation skills are an essential, highly accessible resource for navigating boundaries for the success of international mergers and alliances (Brett, 2001). It helps to understand how people from different countries behave and conduct business, also to close deals that create value, resolve disputes to preserve relationships, and make decisions that get implemented around the world. Cultural negotiating skills are necessary for managing in multinational network organisations. Managers heading abroad to negotiate a deal, businessmen relocating to foreign countries, multicultural teams within large organisations and individuals involved in international merger and alliance activities are those who will benefit having the skills to negotiate and acquire knowledge and development that are indispensable in today’s global business world. If there is no knowledge of cross-cultural negotiations involved, a great deal of difficulty in understanding the findings of cross-cultural experiments concerning co-operation and conflict will arise because the partner or partner’s identity is not clear to the subjects in the business (Smith and Bond, 1993). Negotiation is a specific type of interaction that should be known to partners and professionals. For mergers and alliances to succeed those involved must also recognise that cultural differences can lead to different behaviours and assumptions at work and that these can sometimes cause misunderstandings or delay. Despite their risks, mergers and acquisitions are becoming increasingly common events as a result of rapid globalization and it is important for those involved to aim to develop levels of cultural awareness and understanding within organisations so that their clients can operate more effectively and profitably within the global market place. Negotiation helps to put things in context, gives a broader perspective, and increases the likelihood that an agreement that comports well with the interests of constituents will be reached. In addition, careful attention should be paid to the interests of other parties in the negotiation process. This can help to craft a solution that makes for a successful negotiation (Cohen, 2002). Finally, everyone must do their best to learn about the cultures of their negotiating partners as this drives decisions and the more they comprehend in their strategy and tactics, the greater the likelihood that the agreement they reach will provide their negotiation partner something to bring back to whomever they consider the powers that be. Negotiators need to be well prepared for the beginning, collecting information from possible sources, clarifying their objectives, and setting their limits. During the negotiation, the relationship orientation is most important. An appropriate emphasis on time should be considered. At the end of the negotiation, consensus is the most important consideration. The success of international business relationships depends on effective business negotiation. If negotiators are well prepared, understanding how to achieve international business negotiation outcomes and the factors relevant to the process will allow negotiators to be more successful. Word count 3,185