Saturday, August 31, 2019
Critical Thinking Discussion and Summary Essay
I donââ¬â¢t know if there is a universal correct definition of critical thinking. I think this a very individualistic tool used by humans to break down different problems and situations and the best way to go about coming up with the best resolution in a non-biased manner. Gathering a thought process that is reasonable and with demeanor. This is simply how I would personally define critical thinking. Thinking things over more than once, second guessing yourself here and there, seeing things from multiple perspectives, and most importantly thinking if your thoughts would be different from the other side of an argument or situation. I think critical thinking is important for us to fully understand ourselves and our situations as well as others and their situations. Critical thinking is considering multiple angles and viewpoints and trying to understand them and where they come from, as well as why they exist. In my life personally, critical thinking has always been something I would like to think Iââ¬â¢ve had due to being raised in a very diverse atmosphere and a very diverse community. Iââ¬â¢ve seen racism towards more than one race, Iââ¬â¢ve seen both sides of different biases, and I have lived in a small town closed minded community as well as the middle of a large densely populated city. It makes you think differently than most around you. It seems like you feel differently than most around you. There isnââ¬â¢t much that surprises you so there arenââ¬â¢t many situations that you are uncomfortable in. You think before you act, you think before you speak, and you take time and consideration to realize the type of environment you are in and the people you are surrounded by. Things like this donââ¬â¢t go through every young personââ¬â¢s mind before acting or speaking. You slow down, you react calmer, and you try not to get too high or too low. From this course I donââ¬â¢t think Iââ¬â¢m looking for how to think critically as much as why some of us do think critically and some of us donââ¬â¢t. I think Iââ¬â¢m looking for more reasoning for the differential than a definition of critical thinking.
Friday, August 30, 2019
People Management Case Study
The SITUATION: the Ben Brooksââ¬â¢ dilemma Ben Brook, 43 years old, a solid professional with 20 years of experience at Livingstone Corp. , is extremely disappointed for not having been promoted CEO of his company. For the first time in his life, he is reflecting about his personal and professional history and choices, trying to get some lessons for the future. He considers quitting his company for a CEO job in another one. The FACTS: Ben Brooksââ¬â¢ personal and professional life Our starting point will be to understand (through a 3 pages letter) who Ben is as a person, and as a professional.We can deduce several key personality clues, based on the facts in the letter: ? An ââ¬Å"achieverâ⬠: born in 1935, graduated with honors, joins Livingstone at the age of 23, promoted to an important position after only 4 years in the company, promoted youngest ever Executive VP (35 years old) after 12 years in the company. ?Loyal to the company and proud of it: entire career at Livi ngstone (20 years) ? ââ¬Å"Work-aholicâ⬠at the expense of his family: regularly spend evenings and weekends in the office. Forgets about taking vacation.Immersed by work, leaves all energies in the office and fails in dedicated some to his wife and kids. One anecdote: after divorce, lives in a NYC hotel close to the office. ?Self-confident: believes others will notice and reward him for his own professional skills. ?Small (or none) circle of friends: having written this letter, at this point in time, to a professor he has neither seen nor talked to in the past 20 years seems like a strong sign that he had nobody closer with whom share his dilemma. The ANALYSIS: Ben Brooksââ¬â¢ profile 1. Psychological TypeWith the limited information available in the letter, we can guess Ben is an NT TYPE (ââ¬Å"Intuitive Rationalâ⬠): Ben is fascinated by power, he is very ambitious and believes he will progress and be recognized / rewarded by others as a result of his own personal c ompetences. As we said, he is a ââ¬Å"work-aholicâ⬠, his competence seems never enough to him and he lives permanently with the fear to ââ¬Å"failâ⬠(ie. to not getting as high as he believes he deserves). He is a ââ¬Å"visionaryâ⬠and permanently challenges the status-quo: a good example is the ââ¬Å"direct cost modelâ⬠Ben developed and implemented at Livingstone only 2 years after having joined the company.In his professional relationships with others, NT types are arrogant in that sense that they assume a small contribution from his peers and team since, ultimately, ââ¬Å"they are not as good as I amâ⬠. At the same time, as contradictory as it may seem, he can be as highly demanding with others as he is with himself. The NT types could go as far as hurting othersââ¬â¢ feelings without even noticing it. Worth noting: there is nevertheless one component in Benââ¬â¢s personality which could have led us to classify him rather as an SJ type.Ben is committed to deliver on his promises and objectives and, in that respect, he values duty above all and dedicates all of his time and energy to his work. That said, an SJ type is also very sensitive to others, to bringing harmony to the relationships and his ââ¬Å"duty senseâ⬠goes beyond work to also his family. This is clearly not the case for Ben. ? To further complete this picture, Ben seems to be more of an INTROVERTED type: difficult to say through the letter but he does not seem like a very social or externally-focused person.He does not seem to be sourcing his energy from others, but rather from himself and his work. He definitely prefers communicating in written, even to a professor he has not seen for the past 20 years (! ) which clearly shows how little genuine interest he has in knowing how others (the professor) are doing: he dedicates 3 pages to talking exclusively about himself and his dilemma. On the 4th axe, Ben seems more like a JUDGEMENT type: he enjoys plann ing is work and is excited about reaching objectives. That said, we do not have much more information about this topic. 2.Motivational profile Reading through his letter, we can sense Ben has consistently been moved by mostly INTRINSIC MOTIVATIONS, with some component of EXTRINSIC MOTIVATIONS but a total absence of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATIONS. Letââ¬â¢s elaborate slightly more: Most important motivation for Ben seems to have been his own self-fulfillment at work, the satisfaction of being a competent professional facing challenges and delivering results (INTRINSIC MOTIVATION) with the objective of being rewarded by the company with increasingly important jobs, power and status (EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION).Economic compensation, although also important (as for most of us), seems to play a secondary role for Ben. In his letter, he explains his jobs and some key business achievements yet never mentions other people, his teams, the role they played on his success or the impact he, as a manage r, had on their development (lack of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATIONS). This analysis is coherent with the conclusion we can drive from his (lack of) personal life: Ben acknowledges he failed in dedicating time and energy to his family and was not surprise when his wife left him.He talks about this ââ¬Å"personal dramaâ⬠in a very dispassionate manner, as a ââ¬Å"logical factâ⬠: another indication of the little relevancy of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATIONS. How does this affect his LEADERSHIP ABILITY? Nobody, no matter how good of a manager he/she is, could be perceived as a true leader by his/her organization, if he/she does not display a minimum of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATION, ie. a unique interest and empathy about others and about doing what is better for othersââ¬â¢ well-being. This motivation is a must in order to be able to generate VALUES in the organization.Ben thought his personal needs would be fulfilled with MATERIAL and PROFESSIONAL components. He disregarded AFFECTIVE needs or, equally worrying, he thought it was other peopleââ¬â¢s role (his wife) to provide him unilaterally with some affection. 3. Leadership Style and Competencies Ben appears as an EXECUTIVE LEADER, a ââ¬Å"DOERâ⬠. He has vision for the business and the skills to get there. He relentlessly focus on results, on delivering on objectives and is highly involved and committed to do so.This single-minded focus leaves little room for other people: he is egocentric and lacks genuine interest in others. He is a poor listener and could end up manipulating others (even unconsciously) in his will to get results at any cost. Ben is ambitious about his career and concerned about his own success above all. Through his 20 years of successful career progression, Ben has certainly demonstrated both BUSINESS and MANAGING COMPETENCIES (otherwise he would probably not have become Executive VP).As previously said, Ben has a vision for the business, knows how to administrate people and resources i n order to be effective in delivering results. On the contrary, lacking of Transcendent Motivations, Ben has been unable of bringing a SENSE OF MISSION to his leadership. Further, he has probably even been unconscious and unaware of the importance of this sense of mission. Ben has lacked the critical PERSONAL COMPETENCIES required to lead others behind a common ââ¬Å"visionâ⬠, a higher level commitment than merely objectives or tasks.With strong Business and Managing competencies, Ben has been able through his career to deliver results and to motivate his teams ââ¬Å"on the short-termâ⬠by merely leveraging on their extrinsic and intrinsic motivations (LIDERANCA TRANSFORMADORA). Nevertheless, as it is, Ben would be unable to motivate an organization behind a higher-end, longer-term mission (LIDERANCA TRANSCENDENTE), and this is certainly what Livingstone top management has identified as a gap for Ben to become the company CEO.In the words of another leadership specialist , Ben is certainly a COMPETENT MANAGER, he organizes people and resources to reach objectives. He is probably an EFFECTIVE LEADER, with a vision to engage others towards the pursuit of stretching goals. But he is not at the top leadership level, the LEVEL 5 EXECUTIVE, who builds solid organizations and preaches with his own example and humility, rallying the organization behind a common mission, one which transcends extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to truly make an impact on peopleââ¬â¢s well-being and, ultimately, on the society.Advice I would give to Ben Brooks Throughout the above analysis, the advice I would give to Ben is to take quality time and start a well-thought process of personal change. Any personal change process requires: -First, to acknowledge the need for a personal and a professional change: Ben has done so already, at least on the professional side, as we can see in his letter. He does not yet seem concerned about the importance of a well-balanced personal a nd emotional life and its positive impact on his leadership ability. Second, the willingness to change: Ben is starting to realize this as he says he will certainly behave differently if he joins a new company. -Third, to act, to plan the change and to execute it, as an iterative process. For a mid-aged person like Ben, with 20 years of professional experience in the same company (hence, already with a personal risk-aversion profile), changing profoundly anchored habits will be a very difficult exercise.Further, Ben is currently frustrated and angry about his top management decision and he will probably lack the necessary objectivity in analyzing his own case and the true reasons why they believe he is not ready to be the CEO the company needs. I would hence advice Ben to reach out to a professional coach who, same as psychiatrics do, will help him dissect the information and drive conclusions and who will design, with him, the steps needed for the change.I would advise him to start by complementing his own in-depth reflection with the feedback he could get from several peers, subordinates and friends/family about who is Ben, how does he behaves, how is he perceived. This will be the starting point, the raw material to start the work with the coach. Also importantly, this process will take significant time and effort, yet it is crucial if he wants to become not only a better rounded senior leader for an organization, but also a happier person. I would suggest that he puts aside, for the moment, his prospection for new jobs.Ideally, if this is financially possible, he would quit his job and dedicate some time (some months) entirely to himself and his change process. Probably 20 years of experience do ââ¬Å"buy youâ⬠the right to do so and the personal ââ¬Å"winâ⬠will be worth the time and the salary. Ultimately, I believe Ben will be better off leaving his company: he has accumulated significant frustration that will impact him in his daily work an d, as he says, he will probably not make it to CEO there in the mid-term. That said, I believe he should also think whether ââ¬Å"becoming CEOâ⬠is his true objective.The title ââ¬Å"per seâ⬠does not say much. He should be more factual in writing down the ââ¬Å"must haveâ⬠and the ââ¬Å"negotiable elementsâ⬠of the ideal job he wants and, with the help of his coach, identify the type of jobs and, as importantly, the type of companies where he could find it. In my opinion, these are the lessons Ben Brooks should learn for the future Driven by his own professional ambition, Ben has failed in taking a ââ¬Å"helicopter viewâ⬠to evaluate his personal and professional life on a permanent mode.He has failed in growing as a leader and as a person to go beyond efficacy (delivering on results), to leave a positive mark on those surrounding him and to make his beloved ones happier and his collaborators more profoundly committed about a mission. A leader is not a ââ¬Å"top levelâ⬠leader if he does not: -First, knows himself (ââ¬Å"Self-Awarenessâ⬠), his motivations, his style, his strengths and weaknesses, the impact he makes on others, -Leverages his own emotions and skills to be more effective and empathic in working with others, to get the most out of them (Emotional Intelligence) -Has a genuine interest for other people, Behaves as a change agent, an influential leader well beyond a ââ¬Å"doerâ⬠delivering business results -Knows how to manage his own career and his personal time and, ultimately, balances both (Work Life Balance) to be an example as a professional but also as a human being. Ben invested all his time and energy on his own effectiveness as a manager and thought this would be enough to take him where he wanted to be.He invested all the time in his company, his projects and results and failed to dedicate time and energy to his beloved ones but also to himself. The best investment one can make, at any time in life, is the investment made to become a better person and a better leader, more genuine and more engaged to excel not only in results, but also in the positive impact we have on others. Ben is still on time to do so and excel in this new professional adventure, whatever makes him happier, with or without the ââ¬Å"CEOâ⬠title in the business card.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Countertrade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Countertrade - Assignment Example cting countertrade in that deals can be discussed and online and even technical support to buyers can be provided online without incurring travelling expenses. 1. Only option: Trade can be financed with counter-trade when other means are unavailable. Either supplier or buyer credit may be impossible to arrange. Performance or payment bank guarantees may be too costly. The project might call for longer term financing then government-supported export credit facilities allow. The political situation in host countries might preclude other government financial aid. The host country might not permit currency repatriation. 3. Non-trade benefits. Long-range management and technical benefits from joint venture partnerships can often be achieved through buyback counter-trade arrangements, specifically coproduction transactions. In most cases a host-country partner brings to the partnership local management techniques and protocol that might take a foreign company years to develop on its own. In some cases, the partner brings technical or application techniques unique to the host-country cultural environment. 1. Disposal of goods: Counter-trade contracts involving the exchange of goods that cannot be consumed internally require the sale or trade of these goods on the open market. Even with an in-house trading specialist and assistance from an international consultant, the process is time-consuming and costly. Using a third-party broker increases the cost of disposing of the goods. 2. Internal expertise: To achieve long-term success in counter-trade transactions, a company must establish internal expertise. This means setting up a department dedicated to arranging and managing counter-trade deals. This can be costly addition for a smaller company, and unless it engages in several counter-trade deals, these personnel add unabsorbed
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Comparisong between the Bell-LaPadula model and the Biba model Essay
Comparisong between the Bell-LaPadula model and the Biba model - Essay Example The Biba model does not reflect ââ¬Å"write-upâ⬠or ââ¬Å"write-downâ⬠, however, if a highly confidential or top secret information access is granted, the privileged user cannot read highly confidential information and cannot write to any authorized level other than the assigned authorized level. This restriction prevents the integrity of highly confidential information from low important information to be intermixed. Another explanation of the Biba model would incorporate integrity as its main focus i.e. gauging integrity in a scenario where a highly sensitive data placed in a way that it intermixes with low sensitive data by retrieving the data from a low level application or program, the integrity of that information can be demoted. For example, if an employee in an organization is utilizing an insecure application or program to view highly sensitive or top secret information, the application may corrupt that information or make temporary files that can be viewed by so meone else later. A scenario is selected incorporating Clark Wilson deployment in the UNIX operating system environment. Phantoms users are used in this scenario, as they resemble to locked accounts and their identity cannot be visible to users (Bishop 2003). In a selected scenario where, a triple user is donated by ââ¬ËTPââ¬â¢ and every TP is configured to be an owner of the phantom user (Bishop 2003). We will allocate the phantom user in groups that preserves every CDI allocated in the CDI sets. Now we will allocate all users ââ¬Ëexecuteââ¬â¢ rights for executing TP located on the CDIââ¬â¢s allocated on the CDI set that is available in the ââ¬Ëgroup ownerââ¬â¢ of that specific TP. One of the examples of this scenario incorporates access to each specific CDI is limited to users only i.e. in the triple, TP is assumed to be any one of the TP
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Marxism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Marxism - Essay Example Marx observed that men were below and even seemed that under the control of the society. This is the main point of agreement with Friedrich Engels who wrote the Principles of Communism (Kuper, 1972). Marxism started as a principle to manage the material conditions within the society such as the production of goods. According to Marx, the materialist conception should be the main focus in the record of history of human society because material production is the basis of social life, thus, the real history. He expressed that in the production of goods the process and development as well as the instruments and methods used were clearer and more distinct indications of the differences in the periods of human history (Dââ¬â¢Amato, 2006). Basically, the main content of the evolution of Marxism is based on the economic views ad capitalism. Although Marx perceived that this view is a holistic approach to the determination and study of the different stages in human history, the different succeeding philosophers created different perspectives within his classical view to the modern views. The main achievement of Marxism is the importance given to the meaning of capitalism. Prior to the concept, the perspective of the society is focused on different aspects. Through Marx and Engelsââ¬â¢ views, the economics of capitalism and the labor theory of value acquired more attention and became the subject of research. Marx focused his work in the systematic description of commodity which became the focus of his capitalist principle. Through the course of his career, he built up on the concept. He presented important factors that can affect the capitalist structure, for example the scarcity and the human labor (Dââ¬â¢Amato, 2006). Based on the analysis of Marxism, the feasibility of the principle can be compared to the life of an organism that grows, develops and
Monday, August 26, 2019
Critical analysis Twelfth Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Critical analysis Twelfth Night - Essay Example Although categorized as a romantic comedy, relating the story of a pair of twins washed up separately upon the same shore, each thinking the other is dead, Shakespeareââ¬â¢s Twelfth Night provides a great deal of this kind of social commentary as the two youths become involved with nobles they meet in their journey back together. By analyzing a single scene of this play, one can begin to understand how Shakespeare managed to convey social position and degree of intelligence in such a way that calls into question the prevailing social assumptions of his time. The scene is divided by the arrivals of two of the characters to Oliviaââ¬â¢s house that quickly demonstrate the difference of social classes existent in England at the time. At the opening of the scene, Feste, the house jester, returns after an unexplained absence and finds it necessary to charm his way back into his mistressââ¬â¢ good graces. According to Richard Holinshed, ââ¬Å"These men are profitable to none; for, if their condition be well perused, they are enemies to their masters, to their friends, and to themselvesâ⬠(1580). Thus, his behavior seems to suit his station as in attempting to ease his way back into the household, he distracts the other characters from pursuing his personal activities by making jokes until the scene is interrupted by the arrival of Viola, disguised as the servant Cesario, delivering a message of love from Duke Orsino for the noblewoman Olivia. The conversation between Olivia and Cesario sparks an immediate and intense interest from Olivia, who recognizes Viola belongs to her own upper class. In both halves of this scene, language variety reveals social class as well as sincerity of intention within the characters portrayed. Feste changes his language style depending upon whom he is speaking with, making it possible for him to switch from one class to another simply by changing his means of communicating. As he speaks
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Jazz and the influence it had on the 1920's Research Paper
Jazz and the influence it had on the 1920's - Research Paper Example Jazz originated in the 20th century in the communities of the African American in the South America. It is an amalgamation of African and European music (Kirchner, Bill 2005). Jazz is a piece of music which is difficult to define and there have been many attempts to define jazz by the help of other musical pieces. One solution to this is to define jazz more broadly and hence, Berendit defines jazz as one form of art which originated in the America through the confrontation of blacks with European music. He further argues that jazz has a special relationship to time, which is defined as 'swingââ¬â¢ (E, Joachim and Berendit.1981). The 1920ââ¬â¢s is commonly referred to as the jazz age but was also an age of contradiction because there was prosperity on one hand and isolation on the other hand. As already mentioned, Jazz is a term which is difficult to define but yet there are many definitions of it. J A Rogers defines it as ââ¬Å"A joyous revolt from convention, custom, authorit y, boredom, even sorrow from everything that would confine the soul of man and hinder its riding free on the airâ⬠(Rogers, J.A 1925).... New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz and Chicago and the Midwest were the home of recorded jazz until the late 1920s (Phillips, Damon J and Owen, David A. 2004). Jazz has always been a utilitarian music that is it is intended mostly for dancing. King Oliverââ¬â¢s jazz band, one of the excellent jazz bandsââ¬â¢ recorded 40 title in the year 1923. The Jean Goldkette orchestra of 1927 which featured Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke was relegated to recording a mostly dreary group of pop songs. The great jazz numbers arranged by Bill Challis were unreleased by Victor Records which considered them commercially unacceptable. The period from 1929 to 1940 is when most of the jazz standards were originated. During this era, there were many great and excellent song writers who contributed for Broadway shows, for example, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Lorentz hart, Irving Berlin and Walter Dinaldson. Most of the historians agree that jazz began just prior to the turn of the twentieth century, and the most likely birthplace of this great piece of music was the city of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans is on the Mississippi River, the major waterway from the southern to northern United States which made it a conduit for music of all types, especially ragtime from Missouri and the blues from Mississippi. A person could hear a brass band playing ragtime, string trios playing popular ballads, the street musicians singing the blues and early jazz bands playing all of these things. The first Blues number, which was written as a popular song was the ââ¬ËDallas Bluesââ¬â¢. Tunes with the word Blues became very popular from then onwards. The decade of the 1920s was marked by huge advances in the
Saturday, August 24, 2019
China's Economic Growth Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
China's Economic Growth - Research Paper Example All Millennium progress targets have been achieved or are within attainment (Eckstein, 23). With a populace of 1.3 billion, China lately became the second leading economy and is gradually playing a significant and influential role in the international economy. It remains a developing state. For instance, its per capita earning is still a portion of that in superior states and its market reforms are imperfect.à à Rapid monetary ascendance has caused many impacts as well, comprising high variation, brisk urbanization, impacts to the environmental sustainability, and external imbalance. It also encounters demographic pressures associated with an aging population and the domestic movement of labor. Important policy adjustments are necessary in order for its growth to be sustainable.à Experience depicts that transformation from middle-income to high-income class can be more hard than moving up from low to middle income (Lardy, 25). Chinaââ¬â¢s 12th Five-Year Plan that from 2011 to 2015 vehemently addresses such issues. It highlights the growth of services and procedures to deal with social and environmental imbalances, setting goals to cut down pollution, to raise energy effectiveness, to advance access to healthcare and education, and to inflate social safety. Its annual growth goal of 7 percent calls for the intention to focus on value of life, rather than rate of growth.à Chinas economy was afflicted from the devastating effects of decades of fighting. A number of mines and factories were damaged. At the end of the war with Japan in 1945, Soviet troops had demolished almost half the machinery in the major developed regions of the Northeast and transported it to the Soviet Union. Power system, transportation, and communication had been smashed or deteriorated as they lacked maintenance. Agriculture was interfered with, and food production was about 30 percent drop. Further, monetary ills were compounded by one of the strongest inflation in
Human Resource Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1
Human Resource Managment - Essay Example Figure 1 Applying the principles of total reward strategy into reality, Taj Group devised the STARS (Special Thanks And Recognition System) as an attempt to appreciate the excellent performers and making employees happy by recognizing their efforts and contribution made to the organizational success. STARS was more inclined towards fostering a spirit of cooperation, motivation and excellence by introducing more of intrinsic rewards than cash awards. STARS as such, worked as a five-level strategy where employees earned points for their acts of kindness, hospitality and teamwork (Chandran 2003). Based on the accumulated points, employees were put into silver, gold, platinum, etc. grades and were applauded in public. An overview of the nature of reward system and its components at Taj are shown in table 1 below: STARS Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Grade Silver Gold Platinum Chief Operating Officerââ¬â¢s Club Managing Directorââ¬â¢s Club Points 120 130 250 510 >760 Time l imit 3 months Within 3 months of attaining silver grade Within 6 months of attaining gold grade SPECIFIC FEATURES OF STARS Receipts Only recognition, no cash awards Acts Honesty, kindness, leadership, teamwork, etc. Gathering points Positive feedback or appreciation received either from colleagues or customers Rewards Hampers, vouchers, free vacation sponsored by Taj Group, etc. Recognition Award giving ceremony to highest point earners and public display of their photographs. Table 1: Components of STARS at Taj Group The incorporation of STARS fulfills the basic underlying principles of reward management. As Taj Charter says, its people philosophy is orchestrated to make employees feel important and special while working at Taj (Chandran 2003). Its core principle remains to attract,... This paper approves that reward management facilitate employees remain stuck to the organizationââ¬â¢s vision of quality, responsiveness and assurance. Cross-functional teams which are the talk of the town also perform well when total rewards strategy is put in place. Reward management even establishes a sense of equity amongst employees whereby they feel that efforts of every single person are appreciated proportionately. The research conducted on Le Meridianââ¬â¢s Hotel of practicing reward management as one of its core HR strategy put forth many positive findings, major of which was employees ranking high on their health and energy aspect. This essay makes a cocnclusion that Taj Group has no doubt innovated in its human resource adaptations and aligning its business objectives with that of people objectives. It thrusts on people-oriented culture rather than work or profit oriented one. This is the reason behind its immense success and expansion spree worldwide. Same feat is replicated by Le Meridian Hotel in Mauritius which is also known for its top class quality and service delivery. The commonality between both remains their people strategy and inclusion of a total reward component in their HR dimension to retain their best talent. Both these hospitality giants present an example of how recognizing and appreciating the efforts of people can garner unimaginable benefits and growth prospects to a service business. Though sustaining on such philosophies and making them happen against set standards remain risky, yet what these two have done is commendable and should be followed by others in the industry.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Absence s of trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Absence s of trust - Essay Example Another basis of absence of trust is conditioning; a personââ¬â¢s conditioning may make him to have problems trusting others. Conditioning happens when an individual gradually acquire certain behaviour patterns without realizing it. How someone was conditioned to behave in a family or friend setting may make him or her to lack trust in others (Duden, 2011). Past relationships is the other basis for absence of trust as pain and suffering from the past relationships may make it difficult for a person to trust others. Institutional corruption has been found to be another basis of absence of trust; as people lose trust in their institutions such as political or religious, they tend to lose trust at personal and organizational levels (Tan and Lim, 2009). Just like in personal relationships, trust applies greatly within an organization context. Trust determines whether an organization will meet its goals and objectives or not. Trust in an organization is broader in the sense that it relates to how employees, management, and other stakeholders rely on the ability, truth, strength, or character of each other towards realization of organizational goals (Duden, 2011). The essence of trust in organization has been captured through conceptualization of dysfunctional teams (Tan and Lim, 2009). Absence of trust has been identified as one of the five main dysfunctions of a team. This explains why organizations always work towards strengthening perceived or real trust within itself or with
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Swot Analysis for Keystone Bank Essay Example for Free
Swot Analysis for Keystone Bank Essay Keystone has a few strengths looking at its present financial condition financial statements. However, the bank is willing and able to pay higher competitive rates compared to other banks in the area. This is likely to send a strong signal to potential customers who may wish to take advantage of the rates by increasing their core deposits at Keystone Bank. Also, increasing local economic activities can also be viewed as strength to keystone. This is because if the local people are making more money than they need, they will be willing to save some especially at high rates of return which would benefit them and Keystone at the same time. It will increase their core deposits and decrease their dependence on other sources for loanable funds. Commercial and consumer loans are also strength of keystone looking at the two year period compared to their peers. They need to capitalize on that and see if they offer some commercial loans to the new companyââ¬â¢s coming into town at competitive rates. Weakness: Keystone Bank has a wide range of weaknesses compared to its peers. Some of their weaknesses are a result of their high exposure to credit risk, interest rate risk and liquidity risk. Credit risk can be defines as the risk of a corporation not being able to pay its debt as they become due. Keystone has a lot of CDââ¬â¢s on its books and need to pay the holders of the CD as they become due. This is going to put a lot of financial stress on the bank considering the fact that interest rates are low and the national economy is slowing down. Liquidity risk can be defined as a companyââ¬â¢s ability to convert its assets into cash at fair market value. Keystone Bankââ¬â¢s liquidity measures are below the average of its peers. If you consider its temporary investments to assets for 1990 and 1989, they were 10. 64% and 11. 02% compared to 15. 07% and 16. 15% of its peers. This means that Keystone Bank is investing in products that cannot be quickly converted into cash at fair market price. They are also offering CDââ¬â¢s at a high rate compared to its peers. Other liquidity measures such as volatile liability to assets, is more than 11 % above the average of its peers. This means that Keystone has huge liabilities on its balance sheet which can easily be defaulted on. Net loans leases to core deposits also show an even high trend. There is over 25% difference between Keystone Bank and its peers. In the last two years Keystoneââ¬â¢s funds for lending to its customers have mainly come from borrowed money instead of core deposits. This means that the bank make interest payment on the money it lends to its customers which has put it at a disadvantages in terms of offering competitive rates to its customers. It also indicates that in the case of any liquidity crises Keystone bank will not be able to convert its investments into cash at fair market value as quickly as it may want. A banks largest asset is its loans or loanable funds which is not the case for Keystone bank. Lack of clear written policies regarding liquidity and interest rate management by the bank has made it difficult for managers to make good asset and liability decisions. This could be part of the reason why instead of loaning funds to customers, the bank is selling CDââ¬â¢s and increasing their liabilities. Opportunities: Design of the new information system of financial reports will help management make informed decisions on how best to use the banks resources and also meet the examiners criticisms. An increase in the population in the area provides a great opportunity for the bank. The bank can capitalize on this and help it propel into the future. The establishment of new facilities by three national firms in the area ââ¬â an electronics company, automotive parts and accessories manufacturer and the building materials supplier ââ¬â is expected to flood the local economy with about 2700 jobs. This is great news for Keystone since it can use incentives such as free checking accounts to bring in new customers and increase its deposits. It can also find new and qualified customers who might be interested in real estate, consumer and other types of loans. The establishment of the new interest rate sensitivity and liquidity reports will help management monitor and understand changes in interest rates and liquidity and how they affect the bank. Keystone can take advantage of the current low interest rates and borrow money from the Federal Reserve Bank. With interest rates expected to rise in the near future, Keystone can increase its adjusted rate mortgages to customers instead of fixed rate mortgages in hopes to increasing their returns when interest rates rises. Threats: There are numerous threats that Keystone faces as a bank. First there is the threat of other banks and thrifts in the area who will also take advantage of the expected increase in the local economy. Most of the banks in the area may be able to offer relatively high interest rates to lure in new customers. If these banks are in a better financial position compared to Keystone that will put them at an advantage over Keystone. Also, the thrifts will also compete for the same 2700 people who will be acquiring the new jobs moving into the area. The bank need to work hard to decrease it CDââ¬â¢s and increase its loans if it wants to survive in the long run. Lastly, even though the local economy might be booming the thought of an economic slowdown in other parts of the country may have a negative impact on the spending practices of the locals. This may result in people saving all their monies instead of spending or avoiding loans all together.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Power And Conflict In The Workplace Management Essay
Power And Conflict In The Workplace Management Essay For at least the past century, experts have been debating whether power and conflict are good or bad for organisational effectiveness. The purpose of this report is to highlight the importance of conflict and power by identifying the types, and clarifying the effects it has on an organisation. Conflict researchers propose that task conflict tend to have a positive relationship with performance while relationship conflict tends to have a negative relationship with performance. Furthermore, it will explain how power can be beneficial for an organisation, and how it can also destroy it. This report will give an understanding of both negative and positive sides of power and conflict. Introduction The purpose of this report is to identify how power and conflict can negatively affect modern workplaces, and how it can be seen as a positive for the organisation. Past studies have had many discussions on whether these two factors actually benefit the organisation, or affects in a negative way. Regardless, in todays society, being at work requires you to interact and communicate with others in the workplace; therefore understanding workplace conflict and conflict resolution theories is an important concern for many organisations. For a better understanding, this report will explain in depth what conflict and power is, then following; the causes and types of power and conflict. This can help organisations by identifying the causes of conflict; it can help find the best approach to resolve it. For example, having scarce resources; this can help organisations ensure that there are enough resources available for employees before any conflict arises. Preventing the situation before it a rises is the best approach as minor situations can escalate into major conflict. In relation to power, this report will explain how it will benefit the organisation by providing direction and better team work. Furthermore it will discuss how it will affect the organisation if it is misused, and how to prevent this from occurring. What is Power? Power, defined as the capability of one party to exert influence on another to act in a prescribed manner is often a function of both dependence and the use of that dependence as leverage. (Panteli, N Tucker, R 2009, p.113). The most basic prerequisite of power is that one person or group believes it is dependent on another person or group for a resource of value; for example, having power over others by controlling a desired job assignment, useful information, important resources or even the privilege of being associated with you. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 382). Generally, power can be categorised in five sources. Legitimate Power Refers to an agreement among organisational members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviours of others ( McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 383). This associates with having a position of power in an organisation such as a manager. This power comes when employees in the organisation recognises the authority of the individual. Reward Power Reward power is conveyed from the persons ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sanctions. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 384).This can be done by giving bonuses, promotions and raises, extra time off work and so on. Coercive Power Coercive Power is the ability to apply punishment. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 385). This type of power is conveyed through fear of losing ones job, receiving a poor performance review, being demoted, having projects delegated to someone else etc Expert Power This type of power refers to an individuals or work units capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that they value. Employees are gaining expert power as our society moves from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. The reason is that employee knowledge becomes the means of production and is ultimately outside the control of those who own the company (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 385). Referent Power Referent Power refers to the capacity to influence others on the basis of an identification with and respect for the powerholder. It is largely a function of the persons interpersonal skills and tends to develop slowly. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 386). In addition, it is evident that legitimate, reward and coercive power originate from the position. In contrast, expert and referent power comes from within the person (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 385). 2.0 How can Power negativity affect modern workplaces? The misuse of power or the lack thereof also results in an organization that is unresponsive to innovation and change and usually relatively powerless. (Seperich, G.J McCalley, R.W 2006, p.15). In todays society, peoples use of power can revolve around trying to use power they dont have and using the wrong kind of power to achieve results. In most cases, people misuse their power due to the fact that they have it and arent aware of it. As a manager or leader, it is important to know how to correctly use the power. Misuse of power can lead to employees feeling stressed, if there is the delegation of work-overload, which can eventually lead to high levels of absenteeism, turnovers, resignations, low performance levels and low job satisfaction. All these events will affect modern workplaces as they will have to spend time and money in order to resolve the situation. In addition, organisations that ensure their power is not misused, they adopt behaviours that build healthy relationships . This can be justified by not only having the ability to get the job done, but also having a positive behaviour and attitude around co-workers. Another tactic is to not play favourites. This can be seen as unfair to employees. Also being a good role model for your organisation is also very important. To have a respectable and good behavioural team, management and leaders need to set a good example. Lastly, those whos got the power should know that with great power come great responsibilities. This includes dealing with hard conversations. Management should use compassion to deliver hard messages, in which this comes back to making employees feel comfortable and building healthy relationships. 3.0 How can Power be seen as a positive? Power is seen to play a major role in team dynamics and interactions. According to Niki Panteli and Robert Tucker, a study of 18 distributed teams within an organisation was established in order to encourage the interviewees to recall their experiences from working in a team. Open-ended questions were asked to explore the background of the team, the performance levels, the distribution of power amongst the team members, the levels of trust within the team, and how trust changed over time. The interview also enabled the members to judge and describe whether they worked well, or did not work well in teams. Results showed that 11 teams worked well, 7 had good trust relationships, 7 did not work well and lastly, 4 teams developed trust over time. During the interview, power differentials were acknowledged in all of the teams; including those who considered themselves to have worked well. This isnt necessarily a negative action for the team. What differentiates the teams that worked well against collocated teams in terms of how the power differentials were used is that the team used it to their advantage; by having shared goals in order to create a higher level or an overriding goal or vision. These goals were focused on the success of the team as a whole; enabling the members to not feel like they are in a position to alter the power due to the situation. Therefore, allowing time to look for something that was more important than their individual needs. The study also found that in the high trust teams, power differentials does not disappear, however it shifts from one member to another. Power can originate from knowledge, therefore at any given point in time; the most powerful was the individual with the most relevant information (cited in Panteli, N Tucker, R 2009, p. 114). In this case, it is expert power that is being established. In modern workplaces, this is seen a positive due to the reason that power tends to move based on whatever the activity is going at that time. This will lead the power following those that are most knowledgably at any point in time; providing the organisation with the most efficient information, from those who expertises in that department. Generally, having power within a team or organisation can be very beneficial, not only can it voice expert power and opinions, but it can also provide direction. For example, when working in teams, there can be individuals who feel lost and unaware of what to do, therefore by having power, it can give the individual a sense of direction as they know who to report to and discuss their issues with. It can also help with quick decision making. For example, when a quick decision is to be made, power can speed up the process as generally, individuals who have legitimate, expert and referent power automatically have authority to make the decision, rather than having to discuss with other co-workers. Everyone recognizes the need to be organized in order to plan activities, assign r esponsibilities, and identify a common goal to be reached. Once everything is in place, power must be used to give direction and control the process. (Seperich, G.J McCalley, R.W 2006, p.14). Furthermore the power in an organization must be used as a resource to stimulate intelligent decision making, encourage problem solving, motivate sustained energy in its people, and foster the pursuit of excellence (Seperich, G.J McCalley, R.W 2006, p.15) What is Conflict? Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 414). Disagreement or conflict, risk, and time can be either assets or liabilities depending on how they are managed by you and the members of your team. (Troester, R Mester, C 2007, p.185). Personality of managers affects their managerial style and their conflict management method (Salimi, S.H Karaminia, R Esmaeili, A.A 2011, p.11), therefore styles should be thoroughly assessed in which the appropriate method should be chosen. When managing conflict, it is important to work together as it is extremely common for conflicts to escalate regardless of what type of conflict. Generally, there are three types of different conflict; Task conflicts, Relationship conflicts and Process conflicts. Torrance refers task conflict as primarily related to performing tasks, which is often proposed to improve the quality of group work by encouraging more alternative ideas and to help a group avoid conformity traps (cited in Choi, K Cho, B 2011, p.1106), while relationship conflict refers to the types of conflicts in which people focus on the characteristics of other individuals, rather than on the issues, as the source of conflict. They are not task-related; they focus on personal values, gossip, individuals styles or personality and personal tastes. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 416). Last of all, Jehn describes process conà ¬Ã¢â¬Å¡icts as arguments about logistics (how to best achieve the agreed-upon solution to a work problem) and delegation (how and to whom to delegate which tasks)- (cited in Romer, M et al. 2012, p. 255). Managing conflict in organizations has long been a topic of interest to researchers because of its impact on performance, whether its a negative, positive impact, or both (Williams, F 2011, p. 148). Though, as mentioned earlier, if possible, it is best to prevent the over all conflict before it escaluates. Conflict preventionà refers to actions seeking to address the underlying permissive conditions to prevent a conflict from turning violent in the first place. (Rodt, A.P 2012, 378). It is just as important to prevent the issue as well resolving it. However the six main conditions that cause conflict in organisational settings are incompatible goals, value differences, interdependence, scarce resources, ambiguous rules and communication problems Incompatible Goals Goal incompatibility is where the goals of one person or department seem to interfere with another persons or departments goals can be a source of conflict in organisations (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 418). Differentiation This refers to the differences among people, departments and other entities regarding their training, values, beliefs and experiences. Differentiation and incompatible goals can be linked together as two people or departments may agree on a common goal but have profound differences in how to achieve the goal. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 418). Interdependence Interdependence exists when team members must share common inputs to their individual tasks, need to interact in the process of executing their work, or receive outcomes (such as rewards) that are partly determined by the performance of others. Higher interdependence increases the risk of conflict because there is a greater chance that each side will disrupt ot interfere with the other sides goal (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 418). Scarce Resource This refers to the availability of resources. Scarce resources causes conflict between each person or unit requiring the same resource necessarily undermines others who also need that resource to fulfil the their goals. For that reason, these conflicts occur simply because there isnt enough financial, human capital and other resources for everyone to accomplish their goals, therefore employees need to justify why they should receive the resources. Furthermore, the more resources one project receives, the fewer resources another project will have available to complete its goals. (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 419). Ambiguous Rules Ambiguous Rules refers to the complete lack of rules in which it causes conflict. This occurs due to the reason that uncertainty increases the risk that one party intends to interfere with other partys goal. Nevertheless, when clear rules exist, employees know what to expect from each other and have agreed to abide by those rules (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 419). Communication Problems In terms of communication problems, there are three factors that can cause conflict; lack of opportunity, ability and motivation. When parties lack the opportunity to communicate, they tend to reply on stereotyping. This can negatively distort the meaning of an opponents actions, escalating perceptions of conflicts. Furthermore, when parties lack the skills to communicate in a diplomatic manner, the opposing party can view the situation differently in which it will likely heighten their perception to conflict. Lastly, it is in our nature as humans to feel uncomfortable when interacting with others in a conflicting relationship. Therefore avoiding the situation and distinguishing minimal communication can further escalate the conflict. How can Conflict negatively affect modern workplace? According to a survey by Pace, 85% of employees deal with conflict to some degree, 49% believe that the primary causes of workplace conflict are the personality clashes and warring egos between employees, 34% (believe that the conflict is) related to stress and 33% (consider it to be) due to heavy workloads (cited in Singleton et al. 2011, p.149). Therefore it is highly recommended to study workplace conflict, conflict management theories, and how organisational leaders can control conflict as a stimulus to creativity which causes their organisations to thrive (Singleton et al. 2011, p.149). As a result, it is evident that conflict not only affects the organisation, but the employees and their psychological well-being. What is most alarming is that workplace conflicts may have a long-lasting effect on individuals and the organisation, even after they have left. Past studies show that conflict increases negative emotions, affecting the well being of individuals, withdrawing satisfacti on and causing emotional exhaustion. What is seen to be affecting the individual, is also affecting the organisation. This emotional exhaustion from employees can lead to increase of absenteeism and employee turnover. Turnover is the rate at which an employer gains and loses employees. (Vijaya, T.G Hemamalini, R 2012, p. 577). Although all types of conflicts are associated with decreased well-being, past studies show that relationship conflicts seem to do more negative and detrimental effects on individual well-being; this is due to the fact that it affects morale which is likely to result in decreased satisfaction with the job, group and organisation as well as threatening ones identity, self-esteem and generating more intense emotion (Romer, M et al. 2012, p. 256). In terms of performance and team satisfaction relationship conflicts have a bigger impact than task relationships. For these reasons, it is why relationship conflicts are seen as always dysfunctional and more difficult to resolve. How can it be seen as a positive? In todays society, despite which career path is taken, it is important to understand conflict and conflict resolution as everyone in the workplace needs to work and interact with others in the organisation. Conflict is part of the normality and is manifested with varying degrees of intensity, occurring when people feel they have created inconsistencies between their goals, aspirations and expectations (Cojocaru, C 2010, p.429). Conflict is unavoidable whether it is in the workplace, or in social life. Hatch and Cunliffe states that learning to deal effectively with conflict and making it functional is a critical investment for good intrapersonal and interpersonal relations in organizations well as setting the tone for a positive climate and culture for success (cited in Judonoo, E Schroeder, K Boysen-Rotelli, S 2012, p.52). It is beneficial for organisations to promote a culture of healthy conflicts by creating the right atmosphere. This is the best approach for organisations as co nflict will occur regardless, in which time and money are spent in resolving them. However, in todays society, modern workplaces can sometimes see conflict as a positive. According to the Model of the Conflict Process the positive conflict outcomes include better decisions, responsive organisation and team cohesion (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione 2010, p. 415). In modern workplaces, conflict can be seen as having a lack of understanding about differing needs. This can result in disagreements and arguments. Furthermore, this is not necessarily negative. When organisations recognize the conflict, they become willing to examine the situation and environment, in a more compassionate manner, understanding all options. This conflict can be an asset for organisations as it gives the opportunity to discuss and explore other options while opening pathways to different ways of problem solving and team building. Conflict can be beneficial for organisations as it enables individuals to discuss the pros and cons of each scenario or situation; in which it will provide the organisation with the most relevant and important information. Therefore, if conflict hadnt occurred, further discussions and research wouldnt have been accomplished, leaving the organisation with limited options. Jehn states that task conflicts, on the contrary, are thought to benefit performance by leading to deep thinking and thorough consideration of information'(cited in Long, C Zhong-Ming, W Wei, Z 2011, p. 191). Lastly, another important positive factor of conflict is improved relationships. Although this factor mainly benefits individuals, it is also evident that it also positively affects the organisation. When individuals have a positive relationship with co-workers, the organisation benefits from this as there will be an increase of high performance, decrease employee stress and decrease turnover and absenteeism. In modern workplace, conflicts may lead to an awareness of many important issues in an organisation, and thus, a search for solutions, development of creative and new ideas and formations as well as effective and permanent decisions. The diverse and complicated nature of conflicts imposes a critical and important role on conflict management due to the fact that conflicts may contribute to the improvement of organizational effectiveness when they are managed well. (Altun, O.S Argon, G 2011, p.725) Conclusion The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that it is important for managers to put effort when dealing with power and conflict. As mentioned earlier, minor conflict can easily be escalated into a major situation. Furthermore in relation to power, organisations need to recognise that the misuse of power can be easily adopted, even without realisation.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
2D Colloidal Nanocrystal for Optoelectronic and Solar Cell
2D Colloidal Nanocrystal for Optoelectronic and Solar Cell Novel 2D colloidal nanocrystal for optoelectronic and solar cell applications Recently, 2D material has attracted tremendous attention due to their fascinating physicochemical properties. Particularly, the discovery of graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a 2D honeycomb lattice has ignited the research on this class of 2D materials due to extraordinary mechanical, electric and optical properties not observed in their bulk counterparts. Considering graphene is a simple material composed of only carbon element, it cannot satisfy the increasing requirements of diverse applications due to limitations in the versatility and the tunability of composition, structure and functionality in addition to the paradox between the high-mobility FermiâËâDirac electronic structure and the need for a size-dependent band gap for traditional semiconductor devices. As a result, of paramount importance and interest is to search alternative 2D materials which possess much more flexibility and diversity of composition, structure, and functionality. Layered metal di chalcogenides such as WS2 and MoS2 have been extensively investigated. Like graphite, the atoms within the host layers form strong covalent bonding with relatively weaker interactions between layers such as van der Waals force. Consequently, micromechanical cleavage by Scotch-tape is the most straightforward method to obtain an individual layer while retaining their intrinsic host structure. Though it is crucial to evaluate their physical properties, this approach is time-consuming and the yield is also low. More recently, a direct liquid exfoliation where a suitable solvent is selected to stabilize cleaved crystallites was proposed to produce nanosheets. This process, comprised of ion-exchange, osmotic swelling, and exfoliation, is useful, but the concentration of unilamellar nanosheet in the solution is still very low with the yield no more than a few tens of percentage and the properties of the resulting nanosheets are dictated by their parent 3D materials, which loses the opport unities to design and control over chemical composition and structure. In order to meet the demand for fabrication of functional nanostructured electronic and optoelectronic devices, a facile process to produce large amount of 2D nanocrystal (NC) with possibility of tuning the properties is really imperative. Colloidal chemical synthetic route has been demonstrated highly attractive and powerful for their low-cost synthesis to obtain NCs from solution in excellent yield with a good uniformity in terms of chemical composition, surface properties, shape, and size. The complete control over size, shape and structure of the colloidal NCs via tuning reaction chemistry provides new pathways to design material where size or shape dependent properties can be exploited. In this project, the metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 and WS2, typically with a trilayer structure of covalently interconnected layers of S, M, and S atoms, will be the main candidates. High performance solar cells built from them in 2D NC form is the final goal. As such, colloidal synthetic route will require balance of the reagent choice and reaction chemistry to accurately control the growth in the NC. All the advantages of 2D colloidal NCs will be exploited to fabricate solar cells in low cost while retaining efficiencies towards 10%. The objectives of this proposal are as follows: Develop colloidal synthetic routes for 2D colloidal NCs. Balance the reagent choice and ligand chemistry to achieve NC growth with controllable size, shape, and particularly thickness. Assemble 2D colloidal NCs to device scale area and perform correlative material studies with electronic properties (carrier lifetime, photoluminescence, carrier mobility). Fabricate all-inorganic NC solar cells and optimize in the device parameter space towards high power conversion efficiency. The project will be divided into three work packages (WPs) with a number of tasks in each WP structured to achieve the aims and objectives. Work Package 1 Controllable synthesis Task 1.1 Develop colloidal synthetic routes to 2D semiconductor NCs. Hot-injection method which involves the injection of a cold solution of precursor molecules into hot liquid will be employed due to the instantaneous formation of nuclei with slow growth of the existing nuclei but not to new nucleation for well controlled size and thickness. The product will be separated by centrifuging and washed up for characterization and analysis by XRD, electron diffraction and HRTEM for structure, and EDS and Raman for chemical composition. Task 1.2 Monitor and control the thickness, doping and their effect on the optical properties. Unlike 0D and 1D NC, in addition to control over composition and structure of 2D NCs, of particular interest is to rationally design and tune the thickness-dependent optical and electronic properties. For example, few-layer MoS2 has an indirect bandgap, but when it is thinned to single-layer, it becomes direct bandgap leading to enhanced photoluminesence. In this task we will monitor the effects of the thickness distribution particularly on absorption and photoluminescence (lifetime and QY). The latter will also be used as a metric to decide on the more promising routes for device fabrication, focusing on highly PL materials as the most promising candidates. In addition, substitutional or interstitial doping of metal sites within 2D NC may be employed to engineer optical characteristics. Work Package 2 Optoelectronic Properties of NC solids The presence of covalently bound ligands on the surface of colloidal NC provide a versatile synthetic handle for tailoring the structure, stability, and importantly electronic and optical properties. The deviation of composition and atom arrangement along the terminating edge and corner sites of 2D colloidal NCs also offers another way to tune their properties. One of the key determinant factors of the performance of solar cells is the carrier mobility. In this task we will investigate ligand exchange strategies using ligands that are shorter than 0.3 nm and contain functional head groups such as di-thiol groups and carboxyl-acid based groups. At the same time those functional groups should serve to passivate dangling bonds and therefore their electron-donating density will be chosen accordingly. We will monitor the effect of those ligands on carrier mobility by performing CELIV measurements in diode structures resembling an actual solar cell device architecture as well as using FET mobility measurements. In addition to high carrier mobilities NC solids for efficient solar cells call for long carrier lifetimes. Such long lifetimes can be achieved by suppressing trap states and recombination centers typically caused at grain boundaries and interfaces. The role of this task is to monitor the degree of passivation of the ligands utilized with Photoluminescence and PL-lifetime measurements. Work Package 3 Photovoltaic device fabrication, testing and optimizing Task 3.1 We will develop simple Schottky and bilayer heterostructures in which the sole photoactive layer is the 2D NC which can be achieved by using a transparent n-type high bandgap semiconductor to form a junction. We will then perform carrier lifetime and recombination-rate characterization employing transient photovoltage and photocurrent measurements. Task 3.2 Optimization of heterojunctions based on 2D NCs. We will perform a device optimization study in which we will study the effect of layer thickness and contact selection to maximize efficiency. The optimized thickness will be sought as a combination of the expected carrier diffusion length and achievable depletion widths based on the mobility, lifetime and carrier density of the semiconductor. Appropriate contacts will be investigated based either on inorganic (MoOx) or organic hole transport layers (electron blocking layers).
Monday, August 19, 2019
1929 Stock Market Crash :: essays research papers
The 1929 Stock Market Crash à à à à à In early 1928 the Dow Jones Average went from a low of 191 early in the year, to a high of 300 in December of 1928 and peaked at 381 in September of 1929. (1929â⬠¦) It was anticipated that the increases in earnings and dividends would continue. (1929â⬠¦) The price to earnings ratings rose from 10 to 12 to 20 and higher for the marketââ¬â¢s favorite stocks. (1929â⬠¦) Observers believed that stock market prices in the first 6 months of 1929 were high, while others saw them to be cheap. (1929â⬠¦) On October 3rd, the Dow Jones Average began to drop, declining through the week of October 14th. (1929â⬠¦) à à à à à On the night of Monday, October 21st, 1929, margin calls were heavy and Dutch and German calls came in from overseas to sell overnight for the Tuesday morning opening. (1929â⬠¦) On Tuesday morning, out-of-town banks and corporations sent in $150 million of call loans, and Wall Street was in a panic before the New York Stock Exchange opened. (1929â⬠¦) à à à à à On Thursday, October 24th, 1929, people began to sell their stocks as fast as they could. Sell orders flooded the market exchanges. (1929â⬠¦) This day became known as Black Thursday. (Black Thursdayâ⬠¦) On a normal day, only 750-800 members of the New York Stock Exchange started the exchange. (1929â⬠¦) There were 1100 members on the floor for the morning opening. (1929â⬠¦) Furthermore, the exchange directed all employees to be on the floor since there were numerous margin calls and sell orders placed overnight. Extra telephone staff was also arranged at the memberââ¬â¢s boxes around the floor. (1929â⬠¦) The Dow Jones Average closed at 299 that day. (1929â⬠¦) à à à à à On Tuesday, October 29th, 1929, the crash began. (1929â⬠¦) Within the first few hours, the price fell so far as to wipe out all gains that had been made the entire previous year. (1929â⬠¦) This day the Dow Jones Average would close at 230. (1929â⬠¦) Between October 29th, and November 13 over 30 billion dollars disappeared from the American economy. (1929â⬠¦) It took nearly 25 years for many of the stocks to recover. (1929â⬠¦) à à à à à By mid November, the value of the New York Stock Exchange listings had dropped over 40%, a loss of $26 billion. (1929-1931) At one point in the crash tickers were 68 minutes behind. (1929-1931) An average of about $50,000,000 a minute was wiped out on the exchange. (1929-1931) A few investors that lost all of their money jumped to their deaths from office buildings.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
The Frogs :: Essays Papers
The Frogs The frogs were singing again. I had heard them all night through the thin membrane of my tent. Their songs had died down with the rising sun, but now they picked up again with a fervor that sounded not unlike desperation to my teenage ears. I rested in the tent only a few moments before clearing the sleep from my eyes and springing out of my sleeping bag to greet the mourning. Dew droplets still covered everything, and the mourning seemed as magical as any other morning does to a young person of sixteen, camping in the woods. My brother had already awakened. He was sitting on a rock waiting for other people to wake up and smiling happily to see that it was me first and not one of the other kids from our group. They were all pretty boring, and we had no interest in their stories of adolescent rebellion. I slipped my feet into my hiking boots and looked at my watch. It was just after seven, and I knew that the two counselors who were with us wouldnââ¬â¢t wake up till at least eight. We had time to play before they did. ââ¬Å"The lake or the cliffs?â⬠I asked, gesturing to the singing frogs behind me and the rocky face that we had nestled our tent under the previous night. We had been hiking a long time the night before, at least twelve miles. We still had a long way to go too. The stretch that we were completing started just at the Connecticut border and wound its way down through the mountains of New York and into New Jersey before finally ending at the border in Pennsylvania, the most famous of East Coast trails. ââ¬Å"The cliffs!â⬠he said keeping his voice to a hushed shout as not to wake the others. There were adventures to be had, and it just wouldnââ¬â¢t fit to have anyone wake up and tell us to do something and spoil our excitement. He was just a bit shorter than me, but his frame was already starting to develop into something wider and heavier than mine. I, two years his senior, wouldnââ¬â¢t allow him to beat me in a sprint.
Examine the Themes of Innocence and Experience in To Kill a Mockingbird
Examine the Themes of Innocence and Experience in To Kill a Mockingbird Innocence is a time when a person has never done something; it is the first step of the journey from innocence to experience. The second step in this movement is experience and this is what is achieved after a person has done something they have never done before or learns something they have never known before. This theme of growth from innocence to experience occurs many times in To Kill a Mockingbird and is one of the central themes in the first part of the novel, because it shows how Jem and Scout change and mature over a small period of time. Jem, Scout and Dill find ways to use their boundaries, in conjunction with their imaginations to amuse themselves by creating games based on adult behaviour. As the children move through the novel, they use these games to develop from their innocence to experience by defining the realities of their games through the lives of the adults. Through their own games and through the games of the adults, the children learn values of respect, courage, and understanding. The story is told by Scout, a mature narrator looking back on herself as a child. Scoutââ¬â¢s naivety and childish view of the world is highlighted by the reader, often understanding events better than Scout herself. The first example of Scout moving from innocence to experience is in Chapter 2, when Scout unwillingly begins school. Her fellow pupil, Walter Cunningham, refuses to borrow some money from Miss Caroline to buy lunch, however Miss Caroline will not accept this refusal. Scout enters the conversation and tries to explain this matter but is consequently punished. She then retaliates, resulting in a fight with Waler which ... ...ever, the main example of innocence in the novel is also in Chapter 10, when the children are given air rifles for Christmas. Atticus says ââ¬ËShoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ââ¬Ëem, but remember itââ¬â¢s a sin to kill a mockingbirdââ¬â¢. The mockingbird represents innocence. Like hunters who kill mockingbirds for sport, people kill innocence, or other people who are innocent, without thinking about what they are doing. Atticus stands firm in his defense of innocence and urges his children not to shoot mockingbirds both literally and figuratively. This is also in the title of To Kill a Mockingbird and it has very little literal connection to the plot, but it carries a great deal of symbolic weight. In this story of innocence destroyed by evil, the ââ¬Ëmockingbirdââ¬â¢ comes to represent the idea of innocence. Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Commercialising from the bottom up: Onions in central Tanzania
Key points: â⬠¢ With minimal assistance and direction, small farmers in central Tanzania have created thriving plots of irrigated onions, marketed in Dar, other parts of Tanzania and in the region. â⬠¢ Lack of formal credit has not prevented many farmers fertilising their crops heavily. Two villages have been able to overcome poor road access. â⬠¢ Informal marketing work well enough: traders make small margins on the onions they buy and sell. â⬠¢ Farmers are reluctant to co-operate in production or marketing; yet the irrigation depends on local water associations and these function. Government and donor roles have largely been keeping the peace, a stable macro-economy and investing in physical infrastructure ââ¬â the roads, and upgrading the irrigation intakes. Provision of schools and health posts have brought services to the villages. and outcomes. Surveys of 240 households have been complemented by interviews with groups of farmers, elders and key informants. The study Since 2009, researchers from Sokoine University of Agriculture have been studying four villages in central Tanzania ââ¬â see Map, where onions are grown under irrigation for sale to domestic and regional markets. Two of the villages, Ruaha and Malolo, are located close to the main Dar-Iringa highway, while the other two, Lumuma and Moswero, have much poorer access down long and difficult dirt roads. The studies are designed to understand and explain the role of commercialisation in the villages, the processes involved FAC Research Update 004 www. future-agricultures. org Research Update Box A: How things began: village history Irrigation began at Ruaha-Mbuyuni when Mohamed Nganyali, a fisherman from Iringa, moved to the village. He showed others how to use traditional intakes to raise water level in the river so that it can flow into earth canals. During that time the rainfall was enough for a typical rainfed cropping of field crops such as maize, simsim and sorghum. This intake was upgraded by government in 1963, after which people started to grow onions with seeds from neighbouring villages. As word spread, the village saw incomers seeking irrigated plots. The valley of Malolo was settled by Wasagara, later joined by Wahehe who fled the German war against chief Mkwawa in Iringa in the late C19; attracted by the water. In-migration accelerated after 1961. The irrigation intakes were upgraded in 2002, with 24 km of main canals lined: funds for the work came from Japanese aid. The first settler in Lumuma was Byalumuma who gave his name to the place and its river. Subsequently settlers have come from all over Tanzania In 1975 onion farming was boosted by extension services demonstrating improved techniques. The irrigation intakes were upgraded in 2003, thanks to Danish funding through the Agricultural Sector Development Programme. A recent memorable date is September 2008, when the first mobile phone signals arrived after installation of a local mast. Msowero was first settled by two Wakaguru and two Wasagara families who came for the chance to irrigate. The numbers rose sharply after ujamaa villagisation in 1975 which saw a school built. Its irrigation was upgraded as part of the works for Lumuma in 2003, since they draw on the same stream. Sources: Interviews with elders and other key informants What can be seen in the villages? Commercial production of onions began when farmers, shown how to do it by an ncomer in the 1960s, diverted water from the streams that flow off surrounding hills to irrigate small plots on the flood plain. Box A tells more of the history of the villages. Later farmers soon realised that onions were a profitable crop on the irrigated land and began to specialise in their cultivation. Onions are sold to traders, mainly small-scale operators who lack their own transport, who buy and bag the onions, then hire trucks to take them to Dar and Mbeya, and sometimes beyond to Zanizibar, the Comoros, and south to Malawi and Zambia. Onions are sold on spot deals to whoever arrives and offers a good price. There are plenty of traders and although farmers complain of their lack of bargaining power, the marketing chains appears competitive. Some farmers are making use of the ubiquitous mobile phones to arrange times for traders to come and collect harvests, and to check prices in distant markets. The villages have few alternatives to farming, but the onion trade has given them a living that they could not aspire to from growing food crops ââ¬â see Figure A, showing returns to crops. Figure A: Returns to land and labour in the four villages, median values in US$ One surprising finding is that many of the farmers who are most engaged in irrigated onions have few or no food crops. Instead they seem to be obtaining most of their maize and other staples from neighbours who grow a surplus on rainfed fields. Surveys in rural Africa usually find farmers preferring to grow their own staples on part of their land, even when they have more profitable cash crops. Research Update 003 www. future-agricultures. org What has made the difference? Most of what has happened has come from the initiative of local farmers, linked to traders who are mainly small operators from other rural areas. It was the farmers who built rustic offtakes, diverted the water, levelled the plots and learned how to grow onions. Almost all the capital invested is local: very few farmers obtain credit, yet they apply 135ââ¬â175 kg/ha of manufactured fertiliser on their plots. Almost all of them finance this from their retained earnings. At first sight, government has played a minor role. But that would be unfair. Government has ensured a stable economy where farmers can invest, innovate and market their crops. It has also built roads, maintained them. The villages have schools and health posts. When disasters have struck in the past ââ¬â major droughts and floods, government has provided some relief. In one case, onion producers benefited from extension. Most interesting of all, government guided two donors, Denmark and Japan, to the villages where they funded the modernisation of the intakes. Ideal aid: the donors just helped the farmers improve on what they were already doing, without trying to tell them what to do. The irrigation systems are maintained by the farmers, through water users associations. Marketing might be improved by farmers investing in storage allowing them to extend sales to the months when onion prices rise. Use of text messages to the mobile phones could supply them with regular price updates that would help them make better decisions on selling. There are threats. Population has been rising steadily in the area, as farmers from dryland areas come looking for irrigated plots. Rents correspondingly are rising. With a heavy concentration on onions, there is always the threat of disease or a new pest that could spell disaster. Moreover, the onions are so profitable, one wonders how long before more villages take up the crop and begin to compete in the market. For the two remote villages, there is the prospect that one day the road will be improved: at the moment they are less than 40 km from district headquarters at Kilosa, but cannot drive there directly and instead have to take a circuitous route where it takes five hours to reach the Dar to Dodoma tarmac highway. The road to Kilosa has been in development plans for some years, but it has yet to be built. What are we going to look at next? Current studies are looking at the water associations. These function well enough: they have to, water supply is vital. Yet farmers do not co-operate in production, marketing or almost anything else. The question then is, when people are reluctant to co-operate, how do the water bodies work and what is the secret of their success? Next year it is intended to go back and resurvey the farmers, so that changes can be tracked through time. What might the future hold? Some scope exists to improve onion cultivation through use of certified, improved varieties instead of relying on the sometimes variable quality of local seed. Research Update 003 www. future-agricultures. org This Research Update was written by Khamaldin Mutabazi, Ntengua Mdoe & Steve Wiggins of the Future Agricultures Consortium. The series editor is Beatrice Ouma. Further information about this series of Research Updates at: www. future-agricultures. org The Future Agricultures Consortium aims to encourage critical debate and policy dialogue on the future of agriculture in Africa. The Consortium is a partnership between research-based organisations across Africa and in the UK. Future Agricultures Consortium Secretariat at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE UK T +44 (0) 1273 915670 E [emailà protected] org Readers are encouraged to quote or reproduce material from Future Agricultures Briefings in their own publications. In return, the Future Agricultures Consortium requests due acknowledgement and a copy of the publication. FAC appreciates the support of the UK Department for International Development (DfID)
Friday, August 16, 2019
Changes and Continuities in Commerce in the Indian Ocean Essay
Changes and continuities in commerce in the Indian ocean region from 650 to 1750 C. E. In the period between 650 C. E. and 1750 C. E. , the Indian Ocean region endured both change and continuity. One continuity is simply trade, for this 1,100 years the Indian ocean was an important trading zone. One change in Indian ocean trade over those years was which country dominated trade their. Over those years the Indian ocean was controlled by the Indians, the Arabs, the Chinese, and last but not least the Europeans. Their was continuity and change in trade in the Indian ocean over the aforementioned years. In the Indian ocean from 650 C. E. and 1750 C. E. there have been many continuities in commerce. One such continuity was the goods traded. For instance, spices from India and Indonesia such as black pepper were traded constantly to other countries throughout this period. Luxury products such as ebony, silk and fine textiles were also commonly traded in the Indian ocean. / Another example of continuity would be that although no one country always dominated trade in the Indian ocean the Indians and Indonesians were involved with trade to varying degrees throughout this entire time period. Weather it be threw their products being traded, receiving goods from other countries, or doing the trading themselves, they were always involved in trade. / One more example of continuity was how Indian ocean trade stayed so important over the years. Almost all major world powers did trading in the Indian ocean, Europe for instance went to great lengths to find a better trade root between the Atlantic and Indian ocean. The desire to trade in the Indian ocean region is actually what caused Europeans to discover the Americas. The Europeans were looking for a sea rout to get to Asia without going all the way around Africa, so they tried to go around the world, not knowing yet of the Americas existence. Their desire to trade urged them to explore new frontiers. There are many examples of continuity in Indian ocean commerce between 650 and 1750 C. E. In the Indian ocean from 650 C. E. and 1750 C. E. there have been many changes in commerce. One change in commerce over the years was who dominated Trade in The Indian Ocean. Over the course of this time period the Indian ocean trade was dominated by the Indians, the Chinese the Arabs and even the istant European powers. Their were also changes in what goods were traded. Some trade goods like the exotic animals taken from Africa to China that werenââ¬â¢t traded for longer then a few decades. The reason Ming China had imported animals was because they were in an age of exploration at the time and wanted to have some animals for their exotic royal zoo. Also sen ding great explorers like Zheng He showed their ability to travel to distant lands and take what they please. Another change was how things were traded. Over the course of the 1,100 years described many changes occurred in the world of sailing. China had many of these inventions with in itââ¬â¢s walls before this time period. China was so Ethnocentric . that they did not spread their inventions till generations after they were made, and even then it was often by accident The compass were great improvements on how sailors navigated to their destinations. The ships them selves also changed throughout this period. The Chinese Junks were incredible ships, vastly larger then the ones Columbus used, They were equipped with cannons to defend them selves from pirates and were, in their time the most impressive ships on the water. There are changes in commerce in the Indian ocean between 650 and 1750 C. E. Many changes and continuities and in commerce in the Indian ocean occurred between 650 and 1750 C. E. Indian ocean trade can even be related to the discovery of America. Some examples of continuities are; who was involved in trade, what was traded, who dominated trade. Examples of change are; how things were traded, the importance of trade, and what was traded. There were many changes and continuities in commerce in the Indian ocean.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
The Spearheading Commitments of Goldsmith
The spearheading commitments of Goldsmith (1969), Mckinnon (1973) and Shaw (1973) in regards to the connection between budgetary improvement and monetary development has remained a vital issue of level headed discussion in creating economies. The hypothetical contention for connecting money related advancement to development is that an all around created money related framework plays out a few basic capacities to upgrade the effectiveness of intermediation by diminishing data, exchange, and observing costs. An advanced money related framework advances speculation by recognizing and financing great business openings, activates reserve funds, screens the execution of administrators, empowers the exchanging, supporting, and expansion of hazard, and encourages the trade of merchandise and ventures. These capacities result in a more effective distribution of assets, in a more fast collection of physical and human capital, and in quicker mechanical advance, which thus bolster financial development [Creane, et al. (2004)]. The vast majority of the writing has fundamentally centered around the part of macroeconomic steadiness, disparity, pay and riches, institutional advancement, ethnic and religious decent variety and money related market imperfections.1 Among these components the part of budgetary markets in the development procedure has gotten significant consideration. In this system, money related advancement is considered by numerous financial analysts to be of central significance for yield development. Especially, government confinements on the saving money framework, for example, loan fee roof, high hold necessities and coordinated credit programs block money related improvement and diminish yield development [Mckinnon (1973) and Shaw (1973)]. The early commitments because of Mckinnon (1973) and Shaw (1973) hypothesize that the administration mediation in the valuing and distribution of loanable assets obstructs budgetary restraint chiefly discouraging genuine financing costs. Governments are looked with just restricted alternatives, for example, inflationary financing, in this manner much further crumbling the genuine financing cost. Mckinnon underlines that the request what's more, fitting sequencing of budgetary changes in the money related area would be much more compelling once value adjustment has occurred. Truth be told, budgetary improvement is not desolate a component of changing money related instruments but rather ââ¬Å"predictable macroeconomic strategy bundle involving a scope of strategies, including brief money related market supervision keeping in mind the end goal to screen credit value of borrowers and to maintain a strategic distance from bends, for example, moral perils and unfavorable selectionâ⬠.2 The endogenous development writing stresses the impact of budgetary markets on financial growth.3 Benhabib and Spiegel (2000) contend that a positive relationship is normal between monetary advancement and aggregate factor efficiency development and speculation. In any case, their outcomes are exceptionally touchy to display particular. Moreover, Beck, et al. (2000) locate that money related advancement has a huge and positive effect on add up to factor profitability, which bolsters through to in general Gross domestic product development [Neusser and Kugler (1998)]. Various scholars have underscored the part of budgetary improvement in better distinguishing venture openings, lessening interest in fluid however inefficient resources, activating investment funds, boosting mechanical advancement, and enhancing hazard taking. The issue with the past investigations is that a positive connection between budgetary advancement and yield development can exist for various reasons. As yield builds the interest for money related administrations increments as well, this thusly has a beneficial outcome on money related advancement. Robinson (1952) contends that ââ¬Å"all things considered, it is by all accounts the case that where undertaking drives back streamsâ⬠. Kuznets (1955) states that monetary advertise starts to develop as the economy approaches the middle phase of the development process and grow once the economy ends up develop. Lucas (1988) states that ââ¬Å"the significance of budgetary issues is severely overemphasizedâ⬠while Chandav arkar (1992) noticed that ââ¬Å"none of the pioneers of improvement financial aspectsâ⬠¦ Even rundown fund as a factor of advancementâ⬠[Luintel and Khan (1999)]. Consequently the interest for the specific kinds of monetary administrations produced by monetary development.Many observational examinations have researched the connection between budgetary profundity, characterized as proportion of aggregate bank store liabilities to ostensible GDP and monetary development. In any case, the outcomes are equivocal. The examinations in view of the cross segment and board information discover beneficial outcomes of money related advancement on yield development a great many representing different determinants of development and in addition for potential inclinations initiated by synchronization, overlooked factors and imperceptibly nation particular impact on the back development nexus.5 On the other hand, the investigations in view of the time arrangement information give opposing outcomes. Demetriades and Hussein (1996) discover the confirmation that back is a main factor during the time spent monetary development. They additionally found that for most of the nations, causality is bi-directional, while at times money related improvement takes after monetary development. Luintel and Khan (1999) utilized a test of ten less created nations and inferred that the causality between money related improvement and yield development is bi-directional for all nations. At long last, contemplates, which take a gander at the structure and wellsprings of organization back, likewise finish up that the advancement of the money related area encourages the development of corporate division [Rajan and Zingalas (1996)]. Every one of these outcomes demonstrate that an agreement on the part of budgetary improvement during the time spent financial development does not exist up until this point. The part of money related factor in financial improvement of Pakistan isn't well inquired about. This investigation is an endeavor to fill this hole. The target of the present contemplate is to look at the connection between budgetary advancement and monetary development in Pakistan for the period 1971-2004. We additionally look at the auxiliary solidness of the back development relationship within the sight of monetary segment reforms?which were indispensable piece of the advancement procedure of the economy started in mid 1990. The significant segments of the money related part changes identified with the deregulation of the business bank's loaning rates, bringing down of their save prerequisites and the presentation of prudential controls and gauges extensively alongside the lines suggested by the Basle Committee on Banking Supervisions.6 Whatever is left of the paper is sorted out as takes after. Segment II outline the monetary part changes in Pakistan. Demonstrate determination and information issues are exhibited in Segment III. Econometric strategy and observational discoveries are given in Section IV, while some closing comments are given in the last segment.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Secret Life of Frogs (Poetry by Gwen Harwood)
ââ¬ËThe Secret Life of Frogsââ¬â¢ is a poem that delves into the childhood perception of war, in particular World War I, and the experiences of their fathers. ââ¬ËThe Secret Life of Frogsââ¬â¢ deals with the idea of misunderstandings incurred when children attempt to understand adult concepts. This is evident through the use of punning. The term ââ¬ËFrogââ¬â¢, which is frequently used throughout the poem adds amusement to the text because to the readers, it not only translates literally to a frog, but also represents the rival French people in the war through a negative light. However, the narrator, who is also one of the children in the poem, does not understand this other meaning attached to the term ââ¬Ëfrogââ¬â¢. This can clearly be seen in the final sentence when the narrator believes in protecting the amphibians, but does not distinguish the term ââ¬ËFrogsââ¬â¢ to also represent the French people. The use of allusion, reference to World War I in the poem, emphasizes the idea that children in their innocence, particularly children during the war, can misinterpret what adults talk about. Evident in the line ââ¬Ësome syllables we used as charmsâ⬠¦Gallipoliââ¬â¢, where the children have heard of these words and the negative connotations attached, however they do not know of the magnitude of the events that are associated with the words. Throughout ââ¬ËThe Secret Life of Frogsââ¬â¢ themes that are expressed include childhood innocence and the negative influence of war on children. The theme of the innocence of children is clearly conveyed through the use of the parenthesis, ââ¬Ë(we thought a brothel was a French hotel that served hot broth to diggers)ââ¬â¢. This technique is used to enclose a thought that the children had in their childhood, and helps to further emphasize the idea that they misunderstood the adult concept of brothels. The parenthesis also helps to change the tone of the poem as it cuts the seriousness of the stanza through their misinterpretation of the word brothel. This highlights the idea that the children did not understand the insinuations of the word. The notion that the war had a negative impact on children is discussed throughout stanza 3. The use of the metaphor ââ¬ËDad the Impalerââ¬â¢, accentuates the idea that children saw this term in a very positive manner when in actual fact it has negative connotations. This highlights the brutality of war, and the negative influence of war on children because the children in the poem used ââ¬ËDad the Impalerââ¬â¢ in a heroic manner. The use of simile in the last stanza ââ¬Ëmatchstick hands as pale as the violet stems they lived amongââ¬â¢ is used to compare a frog to violet flowers, which are very delicate and easily broken. The innocence of childhood is painted through this visual technique as the narrator only sees the frogs being very delicate, but to the readers the simile also creates a vivid image of the condition of the ââ¬ËFrogsââ¬â¢/ the French. The use of first person helps to create a reminiscent tone about the narratorââ¬â¢s experiences, and further helps to stress the ideas of childhood innocence and the influence of war on children because the poem is written from a childââ¬â¢s perspective. The use of enjambment generates a conversational and personal tone, emphasizing to the readers the reality of the themes discussed throughout the poem. The use of symbolism of frogs as pets and also representing the French highlights the idea that adults saw ââ¬ËFrogsââ¬â¢ as insignificant or unworthy to speak about, whereas the children could not understand this adult thought, and they placed exemplary regard to the wellbeing of the frogs.
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