Plural Forms of English Nouns

Have you ever tried explaining to a child why two feet arent foots, or two mice arent mouses? Of course, the grownup response to such questions is, Thats just the way it is. As youngsters, we learned that most nouns in English change from singular to plural with the addition of -s or -es. But regardless of our age, its the few hundred exceptions that can be perplexing. Rule-breakers: mass nouns--such as mud, music, and peace--which have no plural because they name things that cant readily be countednouns that show up only in the plural (called pluralia tantum)--scissors, jeans, and congratulations, for examplea few nouns, like ox and child, that still rely on the Old English plural marker, -ena few other nouns (foot, mouse) that form the plural by changing a voweland several borrowed nouns that hold on to their foreign plural endings--such as Latin alumni (or alumnae) and Greek criteria To illustrate some of these eccentric plural forms, here are two versions of an amusing little verse by our favorite poet, Author(s) Unknown. The English Lesson (version one) Well begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,But the plural of house is houses, not hice.If the plural of man is always called men,Why shouldnt the plural of pan be called pen?If I spoke of my foot and showed you my feet,When I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,Why shouldnt the plural of booth be called beeth?If the singular is this, and the plural is these,Why shouldnt the plural of kiss be kese?Then one may be that, and three would be those,Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.We speak of a brother and also of brethren,But though we say mother, we never say methren.So plurals in English, I think youll agree,Are indeed very tricky--singularly. The English Lesson (version two) Now if mouse in the plural should be, and is, mice,Then house in the plural, of course, should be hice,And grouse should be grice and spouse should be spiceAnd by the same token should blouse become blice.And consider the goose with its plural of geese;Then a double caboose should be called a cabeese,And noose should be neese and moose should be meeseAnd if mamas papoose should be twins, its papeese.Then if one thing is that, while some more is called those,Then more than one hat, I assume, would be hose,And gnat would be gnose and pat would be pose,And likewise the plural of rat would be rose.

The American Dream In Upton Sinclairs The Jungle - 765 Words

In the land of financial struggle that we live in at present, the fortunate are able to establish while underprivileged are left to survive in the dirt. It has been a continuous battle to find work and feed and support your family. Many are left to abandoned their families because they are not able support them financially. One textual example that portrays this struggle is Upton Sinclair’s novel, â€Å"The Jungle†. The Jungle provides the reader with insight of how the businesses took control of the average workers life, and the working conditions were horrible while the wages were low. The Jungle begins with a story of a group of Lithuanian immigrants who move to America leaving behind their loved ones in hopes of better life in America†¦show more content†¦They move to America because they have heard stories of other immigrants who make prosperity, and want to do the same for their family. They move into a settlement in Chicago known as Packingtown, a ghetto full with rundown housing and polluting industrial factories where laborers risk their lives inside and work for low wages. They are unconscious of the hustle of the citizens to cheat anybody they can and are taken advantage of by a couple of them. America isnt exactly what it appears to be, yet they are determined to start their new life in American since coming to America was the fantasy of numerous workers of this period. The story opens at the veselija, or wedding gathering of Jurgis and his wife, Ona. They have recently come from Chicago and are celebrating their marriage in a bar in their neighborhood. It is a depiction of a substantial social affair of glad Lithuanian individuals getting a charge out of an uncommon wealth of sustenance, liquor, and great circumstances. There is music, moving, singing, and a large number of similar things we would expect today at a wedding party. At the point when hungry individuals stand outside the door, it is Lithuanian custom to welcome t hem inside for their fill ofShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream In The Jungle By Upton Sinclairs The Jungle756 Words   |  4 PagesNo. 1 The â€Å"American Dream† is the idea that anybody, from any background, can ultimately achieve their goals through hard work and determination. This popular idea is what made America so appealing to foreigners, and immigrants alike. Which is why so many immigrants moved to America; to achieve their version of the â€Å"American Dream†. However, from reading, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, this was not the case. Many immigrants that moved to America wishing to fulfill the â€Å"American Dream† of happinessRead MoreUpton Sinclair and His Influence on Society Essay1552 Words   |  7 PagesUpton Sinclair, the famous American author, wanted to be a great influence on society. He was born in 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland, from a family of Southern aristocracy. His father was an alcoholic and his mother came from a wealthy family. When Sinclair was ten, the family moved to New York. His father sold hats and spent his evenings in bars coming home drunk every night. As a child, Sinclair was an excellent reader and scholar. By the age of fourteen, he began writing in his spare time. Read MoreA Cry for Deliverance Essay1263 Words   |  6 PagesWhen Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle was published in February 1906, it provoked outrage among the American public and prompted much needed legislative reform within America’s meatpacking industry. Responding to public pressure, President Theodore Roosevelt launched a g overnment investigation. The ensuing report, â€Å"Conditions in the Chicago Stock Yards,† confirmed many of Sinclair’s accusations and quickly led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. HoweverRead MoreThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair: Fame for the Wrong Reason Essay2798 Words   |  12 Pages1900’s America begin to transform rapidly. Many immigrants started moving to the United States in the early 1900’s with the hopes of living the â€Å"American Dream.† However, that glittering and gleaming American lifestyle is merely a distant ideal for the immigrants living in Packingtown, the meatpacking district of Chicago. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle portrays life through the eyes of a poor workingman struggling to survive in this cruel, tumultuous environment, where the desire for profit amongRead MoreThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair 792 Words   |  3 PagesCritics often argue that Upton Sinclair, author of m any classic American novels including The Jungle, was cynical and bitter even. However if one were to dig just a bit deeper they may realize that Sinclair was spot on in his idea that this â€Å"American dream† that our country sells is actually a work of fiction. In his book The Jungle, Sinclair, points out the flaws of the American dream. Many immigrants traveled thousands of miles aboard, cramped, disease infested, ships with hope of coming to thisRead MoreUpton Sinclair: A Voice For Food Safety Essay1501 Words   |  7 Pagesand centered on immigrant life in the Chicago meat packing district. â€Å"The Jungle,† was written by Upton Sinclair, a 27 year old author from Baltimore under a $500 advance from a socialist newspaper. This novel soon became a focus of controversy and change within the United States. Though known more for it’s horrific portrayal of the conditions inside slaughterhouses, only 60 pages of the 413 pages that make up â€Å"The Jungle† detail the goings-on of the meat packing industry.Sinclair’s book was intendedRead MoreModern Day Relevance of Sinclairs The Jungle Essay911 Words   |  4 PagesThe Jungle was first published in 1906. Contemporary critics disagree about whether or not the novel has any â€Å"relevance† for modern readers. What do YOU think? I believe this novel has somewhat of a relevance for modern readers in today’s society. In the world of economic competition that we live in today, many thrive and many are left to dig through trash cans. It has been a constant struggle throughout the modern history of society. One widely prescribed example of this struggle is Upton SinclairsRead MoreIndustrialization And Capitalism During 19th Century America1203 Words   |  5 Pagesthem to work in unsanitary, unhealthy, and even dangerous conditions for very little pay. The life of a working class citizen was a difficult one, and the lives of these workers are reflected in the descriptions presented in Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle. Though The Jungle follows the lives of a fictitious set of characters, the experiences, events, and trials they experienced are far too close to the reality faced by many laborers in late 19th century America. Sinclair States, â€Å"Here was a populationRead MoreThe Roaring Twenties And Progressivism2694 Words   |  11 Pageswithout Progressivism. An ideal example of the relationship between the Roaring Twenties and Progressivism is found in two novels, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In approximately 515 pages combined, the entire era is put on display. The Great Gatsby shows the charm and fortune associated with the Roaring Twenties, and The Jungle shows the corrupt and monopolistic features of the era. Mutually, these novels provide a realistic window for future generations toRead MoreMy Favorite Book is The Jungle by Upton Sinclai610 Words   |  2 Pagesimpressed me as The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. To me this book is one of the finest books in the world. In fact this novel is so remarkable that it made history and changed the course of events. The Jungle’s excellent qualities have made it my favorite book. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was first published in the United States in 1906. This book became an immediate success as it portrayed the corruption within American business and government. Sinclair based the novel on the American meatpacking industry

Competitive Advantage By Institutionalizing -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Competitive Advantage By Institutionalizing? Answer: Introduction Corporate Sustainability is an evolving concept that managers uses as an alternative method for the growth and development of the business (Pompper, 2015). Corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, stakeholder theory and accountability act as the four pillars of Corporate Sustainability. It focuses on the sustainability of the company and recognizes the growth (Eccles, Ioannou Serafeim, 2014). On the other hand, public relations are a method of how companies, organizations and individuals communicate with the media and public. A Public Relations specialist is usually required for managing the process of communication in organizations (Austin Pinkleton, 2015). A Public Relation specialist uses different tools and methods to increase the publicity of the activities or products of a certain company. Individuals related to public relations work for a company that manages customer relations or the relationship between the employees and managers of different branch office s (Luo Du, 2015). However, whether corporate sustainability is more real than public relations has been discussed below. Governments, media and activists have adapted at holding the companies to account for the social consequences of their activities. Companies and organizations are judged and ranked based on the performance of their corporate social responsibility. Business and society have an interrelationship (Tai Chuang, 2014). This is because successful corporations need a healthy society. Strong regulatory standards protect both the consumers and the companies from exploitation. Similarly, a healthy society also needs successful companies. There is a mutual connection and dependence between the corporations and the society (Goleman, 2017). This implies that both the business decisions and social policies follow the basic principle of shared value. Whereas, public relation tries to maintain a smooth communication between the public and the organization. Communication plays a vital role in public relations. Therefore, plenty of problems or trouble arises when there is lack of communication in the organization (Parsons, 2016). If the receiver misinterprets the information then it creates confusion in the organization. However, the role of public relations is not as real as corporate sustainability. A corporations impact on the society alters over time since the social standards evolves and science progresses. Every company should sort out social issues and rank them in categories of potential impact. Creating a corporate social agenda is necessary as it looks beyond the opportunities and expectations of the community. According to LEtang, public relations practitioners generally manage corporate sustainability. Therefore, corporate social responsibility is a part of the public relations (Herrera, 2015). This is the reason why public relations specialists have always engaged with the corporate sustainability. Public relations specialists are regarded as experts for spreading and popularizing the information. Therefore, if the information is popularized more then it the society will function more smoothly. It has been argued that public relations professionals have a chief role to play in the marketplace of ideas(Austin Pinkleton, 2015). The specialists of public relations use p lenty of techniques and tools for boosting the public image of the clients. Public relations practice has a positive effect and contribution in the society compared to what corporate sustainability has. Therefore, the role of public relations is more real than corporate sustainability (Pompper, 2015). It has been argued that the public relations practitioners needs to develop the research and evaluation skills. This is because it is essential in relation to the corporate sustainability initiatives in communities. These skills will ensure the individuals as to how the companys corporate social responsibility policies and practices have benefitted the corporations as well as the stakeholders in a transparent way (Luo Du, 2015). Many companies have worked on the four pillars of corporate sustainability and improved the environmental and social consequences of the companys activities. Corporate social responsibility has the license to operate and reputation. The concept of corporate sustainability protects the companies and organizations (Eccles, Ioannou Serafeim, 2014). The CSR reports are to convince the stakeholders showing that their views have been taken into account at the level of corporate governance. On the other hand, the role of public relations specialist is to help the company or the organization is to form and maintain a proper reputation among both the customers and the media by communicating on their behalf. Many a times, the public relations specialists fails to do their job that leads to a loss and bad image in the company. Public relation is different from advertising though (Herrera, 2015). At time the effect is a negative one on the public which is harmful for the organization. Corporations create shared value as business strategy. The strategy focuses on the role of business in society (Pompper, 2015). There are evolving approaches that a company goes through. Shared value deals with the integrating societal issues and challenges for creating economic value. It is the duty of the corporation to reconceive the needs, customers and products. The concept of shared value creates new ways of thinking about the business, social dimension and strategic positioning of the companies (Eccles, Ioannou Serafeim, 2014). The Corporate sustainability aims at the social impact that unites the goals of companies and government. Investors play a major role in creating shared value. Starting from maximizing shareholder value to being socially responsible for investing and to impact investing to increase the shared value investing process. Whereas, public relations has nothing to do with the creating shared value. Public relations are generally earned media. It is formed for the publicity of an organization (Austin Pinkleton, 2015). A public relations specialist only focuses on the communication skills. However, the public relations practitioners can use CSR as another element in forming a positive opinion towards the institution (Goleman, 2017). The organizational group is solely responsible for networking with stakeholders public relations practitioners is best to meet the needs of the stakeholders. It is the strategic process of communication that builds mutually beneficial relationships between the public and the organization. Therefore, corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility is more real than public relations. References: Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., Serafeim, G. (2014). The impact of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance.Management Science,60(11), 2835-2857. Austin, E. W., Pinkleton, B. E. (2015).Strategic public relations management: Planning and managing effective communication campaigns(Vol. 10). Routledge. Tai, F. M., Chuang, S. H. (2014). Corporate social responsibility.Ibusiness,6(03), 117. Parsons, P. J. (2016).Ethics in public relations: A guide to best practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Herrera, M. E. B. (2015). Creating competitive advantage by institutionalizing corporate social innovation.Journal of Business Research,68(7), 1468-1474. Luo, X., Du, S. (2015). Exploring the relationship between corporate social responsibility and firm innovation.Marketing Letters,26(4), 703-714. Pompper, D. (2015).Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and public relations: Negotiating multiple complex challenges. Routledge. Goleman, D. (2017).Leadership That Gets Results (Harvard Business Review Classics). Harvard Business Press.

Sonnys Blue Essays - Sonnys Blues, Sonny, , Term Papers

Sonny's Blue In James Baldwins story Sonny's Blues, blues plays a very important part, even the story itself is a blues, there is a mood of unhappy throughout the whole story. Also, this is a story about being safe and taking risk, and between the meaning of blues itself and for the story, we can some relations in terms of this theme. Blues is a kind of music that to express a sad mood. It is synonymous with low spirits and depressed emotion. The blues, both as a state of being and as music, are basic to the structure of the story, and both the narrator and his brother Sonny have had their share. The contradictory lives of the two brothers contribute to the theme of being safe and take risks. In this story, Baldwin writes about two brothers who grew together. As each of the boys grew older, they fell apart from one another and lived two completely different lives. The narrator, who is the older brother, seemed to be more conservative and more determined for a good future. Sonny, the younger brother, was more free-willed and did not even know what his plans were for the next hour, much less for the rest of his life. The narrator's major source of discontent has been his selfish desire to assimilate and lead a respectable, safe life as a high-school algebra teacher. When he learns of Sonny's troubles with drugs and the law, he feels threatened. For him, the way he lives now is safe, and all Sonny does are dangerous. Baldwin carefully establishes the brothers as opposites. The narrator is a cautious, respectable family man. He teaches math and is proud of his professional standing. Living in a Harlem housing project, he consciously protects himself from the dangers that surround him. Sonny, by contrast, is a romantic artist who is not afraid of taking risks to pursue the things he desires. His passion for music makes him impatient with everything else. He drops out of school. In his brother's view he is wild but not hard or evil or disrespectful. However, Sonny also tries to stay away from danger. It is not his wish that to live a corrupted life like he had. He has several things that he is trying to escape, He tries to escape by joining the military, but fails. He tries to escape through drugs and fails. The drugs become another thing to try and escape but only compound his problem. Later, he decides that the only escape he can get from his problems is those moments when he can immerse himself in his music. He realizes that the problems are real and that he can't truly escape them. Music becomes his escape. Perhaps there is no way that we can absolutely stay out of danger, like Sonnys father said that there is no safe place for anyone, or just like Sonny says that Sonny says there is no way not to suffer. English Essays

Profile of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate

Profile of Toyo Ito, 2013 Pritzker Laureate Toyo Ito was the sixth Japanese architect to become a Pritzker Laureate. Throughout his long career, Ito has designed residential homes, libraries, theaters, pavilions, stadia, and commercial buildings. Since Japans ruinous tsunamis, Toyo Ito has become an architect-humanitarian known for his Home-for-All initiative. Background: Born: June 1, 1941 in Seoul, Korea to Japanese parents; family moved back to Japan in 1943 Education and Career Highlights: 1965: University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture1965-1969: Kiyonori Kikutake Architects and Associates (Kikutake is associated with the Metabolism Movement)1971: Founded Urban Robot (URBOT), renamed Toyo Ito Associates, Architects in 1979, Tokyo, Japan Selected Works by Ito: 1971: Aluminum House, Tokyo, Japan1976: White U House, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan1984: Silver Hut House, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan (1986 Architecture Institute of Japan award)1986: Tower of Winds, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan1991: Yatsushiro Municipal Museum, Yatsushiro-shi, Kumamoto, Japan1997: Dome in Odate, Odate-shi, Akita, Japan (Ministry of Education Award; Encouragement of Arts Aware; Japan Art Academy Prize)2000: Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai-shi, Miyagi, Japan (2001 Grand Prize of Good Design Award from Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization; 2003 Architectural Institute of Japan Prize; 2006 Public Building Award)2002: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London, UK2004: Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano, Japan2004: TODS Omotesando, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan2005: Mikimoto Ginza, Tokyo, Japan2006: Meiso no Mori Municipal Funeral Hall, Kakamigahara-shi, Gifu, Japan2007: Tama Art University Library, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan2008: Za-Koenji Public Theatre, Suginam i-ku, Tokyo, Japan 2009: Main Stadium for the World Games 2009, Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan)2010: Hotel Porta Fira, Barcelona, Spain2011: Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, Imabari-shi, Ehime, Japan2012: Yaoko Kawagoe Museum, Saitama, Japan The Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, Taichung City, Republic of China (Taiwan) was begun in 2005 and is under construction. Selected Awards: 2000: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters2006: Royal Gold Medal, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)2013: Pritzker Architecture Prize Ito, in His Own Words: Architecture is bound by various social constraints. I have been designing architecture bearing in mind that it would be possible to realize more comfortable spaces if we are freed from all the restrictions even for a little bit. However, when one building is completed, I become painfully aware of my own inadequacy, and it turns into energy to challenge the next project. Probably this process must keep repeating itself in the future. Therefore, I will never fix my architectural style and never be satisfied with my works.- Pritzker Prize Comment About the Home-for-All Project: After the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, Ito organized a group of architects to develop humane, communal, public spaces for survivors of natural disasters. The Sendai Mediatheque had been partially damaged during the 3.11 earthquake, Ito told Maria Cristina Didero of domus magazine. To the citizens of Sendai, this piece of architecture had been a beloved cultural salon....Even without a specific program, people would nonetheless gather around this place to exchange information and interact with one another....This led me to realize the importance of a small space like the Sendai Mediatheque for people to gather and communicate within disaster areas. This is the starting point of Home-for-All. Every community has its own needs. For Rikuzentakata, an area devastated by the 2011 tsunami, a design based on natural wooden poles with attached modules, similar to ancient pole or pile dwellings, was exhibited at the Japan Pavilion of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale. A full-scale prototype was built onsite in early 2013. Itos public service work with the Home-for-All initiative was cited by the 2013 Pritzker Jury as a direct expression of his sense of social responsibility. Learn More About Home-for-All:Toyo Ito: Re-building from disaster, an interview with Maria Cristina Didero in domus online magazine, January 26, 2012Toyo Ito: Home-for-All, an interview with Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, Marà ­a Josà © Marcos in domus online magazine, September 3, 2012Home-for-All, 13th Venice Biennale of Architecture Learn More: Toyo Ito: Forces of Nature by Jessie Turnbull, Princeton Architectural Press, 2012Toyo Ito: Sendai Mediatheque by Gary Hume, Actar, 2002Toyo Ito Works Projects Writings by Andrea Maffei, 2002Toyo Ito: Blurring Architecture 1971-2005 by Ulrich Schneider, 1999Toyo Ito by Toyo Ito, Riken Yamamoto, Dana Buntrock, Taro Igarashi, Phaidon, 2014 Sources: Toyo Ito Associates, Architects, website at www.toyo-ito.co.jp; Biography, the Pritzker Architecture Prize website; Pritzker Prize Media Kit, p. 2 (at www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/file_fields/field_files_inline/2013-Pritzker-Prize-Media-Kit-Toyo-Ito.pdf)  ©2013 The Hyatt Foundation [websites accessed March 17, 2013]

Change a Column Name in MySQL

Change a Column Name in MySQL If you already created your MySQL database, and you decide after the fact that one of the columns is named incorrectly, you dont need to remove it and add a replacement; you can simply rename it. Renaming a Database Column You rename a column in MySQL using the  ALTER TABLE and CHANGE  commands together to change an existing column. For example, say the  column is currently named Soda, but you decide that Beverage is  a more appropriate title. The column is located on the table entitled Menu. Here is an example of how to change it: ALTER TABLE menu CHANGE soda beverage varchar(10) ; In a generic  form, where you substitute your terms, this is: ALTER TABLE tablename CHANGE oldname newname varchar(10) ; About VARCHAR The VARCHAR(10) in the examples can change to be appropriate for your column. VARCHAR is a character string of variable length. The maximum length- in this example  it is 10- indicates the maximum number of characters you want to store in the column. VARCHAR(25) could store up to 25 characters. Other Uses for ALTER TABLE The ALTER TABLE  command can also be used to add a new column to a table or to remove an entire column and all its data from a table. For example, to add a column use: ALTER TABLE table_nameADD column_name datatype To delete a column, use: ALTER TABLE table_nameDROP COLUMN column_name   You can also make changes to a columns size and type in MySQL.

National Curriculum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

National Curriculum - Essay Example This paper approves that the patterns they describe are very characteristic of language maintenance and attrition among immigrant minority language groups worldwide, in English-dominant settings, when factors such as the degree of community integration/isolation, the nature of links between language and religion and the degree of contact with the country of origin are well documented as affecting language maintenance and transmission. This report makes a conclusion that the pupils generally saw little connection between their learning of the home language and formal foreign language learning in school. Just one pupil saw some positive connections between her earlier formal study of English as a foreign language in Iran and her present formal study of a European language, as this meant that formal grammar was not new to her. But as an effective learning method, this pupil personally advocated immersion rather than formal classes. One pupil commented that knowing several languages was a disadvantage, because she mixed them up; the others generally had little to say on the process of language learning, at most contrasting 'picking up' the language of the home with formal study. In the final instance of reported teacher interest, one modern foreign language teacher in School 3 was said to encourage her bilingual pupils, telling them that they should be confident about foreign language learning because of their earlier success. This was doubted however: 'you can't really; it's just the same as an English student you know, like knowing English, but having trouble with French'.

Analysis capital structure of saudi companies Essay

Analysis capital structure of saudi companies - Essay Example The same considerations affect Islamic financial instruments, but with the difference that Islamic finance does not charge interest, thus changing the considerations for which debt is incurred. This paper examined ten Saudi Arabian firms as far as capital structure is concerned, and inquired into the factors that bear upon the decision to avail of certain modes of financing. The methodology made use of financial ratio analysis and qualitative data analysis in arriving at its findings. It concludes that Saudi firms are conservatively capitalized, and that the effects of conventional capital structure theories are not rigidly evident in the choice of capital mix of debt and equity. Acknowledgment Table of Contents Title page 1 Abstract 2 Acknowledgement 3 Table of contents 4 Chapter 1: Introduction 6 1.1 Chapter overview 6 1.2 Background of the research topic 6 1.3 Research objectives and questions 7 1.4 Significance of the research 7 1.5 Chapter summary 9 Chapter 2: Literature review 10 2.1 Chapter overview 10 2.2 Theories 10 2.3 Optimal capital structure literature 14 2.4 Factors influencing capital structure 15 2.5 Arab countries 17 2.6 Chapter summary 29 Chapter 3: Methodology 30 3.1 Chapter overview 30 3.2 Research study and methodology 30 3.3 Subjects of research 31 3.4 Type and source of data 32 3.5 Method of analysis 33 3.6 Variables used in the study 33 3.7 Chapter summary 34 Chapter 4: Results 35 4.1 Chapter overview 35 4.2 Summary of capital structure for Saudi Arabian companies 36 4.3 Summary of EPS, annual dividend, and payout rates of Saudi Arabian firms 37 4.4 Chapter summary 38 Chapter 5: Discussion and analysis 39 5.1 Chapter overview 39 5.2 Description of the capital structure choice of Saudi companies 39 5.3 External influences on capital structure decisions of Saudi companies 49 5.4 Chapter summary 61 Chapter 6: Conclusion 62 6.1 Summary of the dissertation 62 6.2 Conclusion 62 6.3 Directions for future research 65 References Appendices Chapte r 1 Introduction 1.1 Chapter Overview This chapter sets the context of the dissertation. It introduces the problem in the context in which it is significant, in order to provide direction and guidance for the further progress of the dissertation. The statement of the problem and the supporting research questions are provided, to serve as focus for the subsequent discussion. 1.2 Background of the Research Topic The capital structure choice is a long-standing issue of great importance for companies. The mix of funds, which affects the cost and availability of capital, has long been the focus of interest among companies due of its impact on investment decisions. Capital structure is defined as the relative value of debt and equity used to finance projects. The importance of capital structure results from the financing sources and the mix of securities used by firms to finance real investment. Capital structure is also important in Saudi Arabia, especially after the 2006 crisis. Firms n owadays try to finance their capital in better ways. Capital structure theory began with the celebrated paper by Modigliani and Miller (1958). These authors pointed out the trend that must be shown by such theories by showing under what conditions capital structure is irrelevant. Since then, many economists have followed the study with regard to all matters relating to capital structure, and have

Best Celebration I Ever Had Essay Example for Free

Best Celebration I Ever Had Essay Graduation day, boy what a day. Man I’d have to say is that that was by far the most nerve-racking day ever. Up to this point in my lifeline of my history. Many thoughts were racing through my head. All the parties, family showering you with gifts. I couldn’t hardly sleep the night before because of the anixety of not having the choice of never having to go back to school again. Actually it was probably more of a relief for the faculty and staff because, I was the last Beckert running through the hallways. Of course out of the two of us in the family, my brother was a real angel. I was always the one who was made an example of in school and always into mischief all the time. Of course ,what do you expect when you come to school drunk and told to go home. As i got up for graduation day my palms were sweatty all day. I took three showers to keep cool , but then I realized I was only graduating. It wasn’t like I was winning a million dollars or going on the show, â€Å"Deal or No Deal†. When I arrived at the school, we gathered in the cafeteria and waited for the music to start so we could walk, for the last time, out of Tri-Valley High School as a student. I looked out of the corner of my eye and one of my teachers was waving his hand to tell me that I needed to come talk to him real quick. So, ran over and asked,† What’s going on Mr Rotella†. He replied ,noting I need to grace you with some information and you can take any way want to. At first I looked around and thought it was going to be something bad. So I listened. And it was advice on life from a teacher that had been through alot. He said, â€Å"Aaron remember, life is like a roll of tiolet paper†. Iwas dumbfounded by this statement. Then i said,† what do you mean by this Mr.Rotella†. He Replied, â€Å"you can mke your life short and wasteful, or you can make it long and useful†. I started to laugh inside to myself about it. He looked at me and said, â€Å"what is so funny†. I replied, â€Å" I’ve never thought that i would compare my life to roll of tiolet paper†. He looked at me and was telling to think about i t while. So I thought ,as I walked across the front yard of Tri-Vallley High School. It slowly started to sink in and I think it had hit me when I walked across the stage to receive the achievement that was worth the time invested. Right before I got ready to send my cap into the air, it finally dawn on me what he was trying to say. The simile hit me out of nowhere like as if Mike Tyson had blindsided me. Mr.Rotella was simply trying to lead me in the right direction. That’s why he was stating that it was up to me to make the choice. Just like the simile that he was portraying to me in the classroom. Needless to say, I took his advice. Oh yes i took his advice, and let me say I used that roll of toilet paper. But ,he never did state specifically that couldn’t have more than one roll. Meaning that I have had to â€Å"purchase† a few rolls, since the day I walked across the front lawn of Tri-Valley High School. I’m sorry no one can make one roll of toilet paper last ten years. I have though in the last ten years, educated that same thought on a lot of people and just like me they all did the same thing at first. They would giggle and then about twenty minutes later it would hit them. That look of â€Å"wow that’s an extremely deep thought†. My ten year reunion is coming up and I’m sure the rebutle to the teacher will be quite amusing. Hopefully since I have gained a few years. Maybe he will bestow another simile upon me to think about for another few years. At least I took one piece of information out with me when I hit them doors for the very last time.

Smoking Essay -- Tobacco Cigarettes

Smoking Introduction Some governments have banned smoking in all public places. Smoking has been proven to be very dangerous to health. Nonetheless 40 % of the population smokes. Actually I am a non smoker, although I used to be a smoker. Most people try out smoking when they are young ; many youths think smoking is a good grown-up habit. Furthermore many young people begin smoking as an act of rebellion and independence. Young smokers start smoking at their age of 12 or 13 just to get a taste of , what it is like. Some of them find it disgusting and unhealthy and some of them find it cool. Fact’s and Figures Tobacco use kills about 420, 000 smokers each year. According to recent studies 53.000 nonsmokers die each year from second-hand smoking. It is not surprising. Despite having plenty of anti-tobacco commercials on Television, and on every single pack of cigarettes there being an important note, chainsmokers can’t kick their bad habit. In Hungary a packet of cigarettes costs around 2 Euros. The average smoker buys a packet a day which comes to 730 Euros per year. Could you imagine , what you could do with all that money? Government intervention in the workplace Last month while I was reading the newspaper, I came across this article: „Smoking is not allowed in any public places anymore.† I found this ministerial decree, a very good decision, due to there being many smokers in my workplace. There is no assigned smoking area for them. As a consequence I ...

Reasons for the Fall of the Western Roman Empire Essay

There are many pieces of writing containing facts and inferences about the reasons of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. After reading selections from a number of writings on this topic, it is somewhat clear what the main reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire were. The vast majority of the people in those times believed that the old civilization was not worth saving, and that contributed to the fall of the empire, according to Gatzke from what he wrote in a textbook. Another more arguable reason for the fall of the empire is that it was simply too big. Because of it’s vast size, it was difficult to control and maintain order. Christianity was legalized when Constantine converted to it when he was the Roman Emperor. The introduction of Christianity was another heavy blow to the empire, because Christianity discouraged the active virtues of the society at that time, killed off military spirit, and some public and private wealth was consecrated to Charity. The Roman Empire was so vast because of how many battles it fought in and won. When the empire was out for expansion, they gained conquered territory and used the new resources (such as plundered wealth and markets) to fuel the prosperity, but when the empire ceased to expand, economic progress also ceased. The Roman Empire could not afford to slow economic progress however, because the government had very large expenses, most of which were created by the army and the bureaucracy. The army had it’s own internal problems rather than just economic. Another factor that contributes to the fall of the Western Roman Empire is that there was a shortage of children, and foreigners began to pour in to be apart of Rome’s army, soon the Roman empire was composed mostly of Germans. This was internal decay. In an attempt to pay the large expenses owed, the government raised taxes on the people, and this only made matters worse. The effects of high taxation on the people were pretty disastrous, people lost hope and left their responsibilities, tenants fled from farms and businessmen fled from their occupations, private enterprise was crushed, and the state was forced to  take over many kinds of business to keep things going. Welfare was introduced, and although it seems good to society today, back then it made things worse for the empire. People stopped being so self-reliant, and they expected something for doing nothing, basically they were made lazy.

Mutual Mistake Essay

Abstract Mutual Mistake of fact is when both parties of a contract make an assumption of fact when contract is formed and signed. The mistake must significantly change what you have to do under the contract, almost to the point where it’s an entirely different agreement. Although, if you knew there was a strong chance or probability of mistake at the time the contract was signed, you may have assumed the risk of that mistake. You therefore cannot use the mutual mistake defense. Not all cases of Mutual Mistake are strong enough to void a contract. Contract Law: Mistake of Fact In the given case: Josh Hartly was interested in purchasing a new car and visits his local auto dealer. In the course of his negotiations, he tells the salesperson that he wants the car with a 3.2 liter V6 engine and not the one with a 3.9 liter engine because he has concerns regarding the fuel economy of the 3.9 liter engine. Josh then signs a contract agreeing to purchase the car with a 3.2 liter V6 engine. What neither Josh nor the salesperson knew was that the manufacturer had already stopped manufacturing both the 3.2 liter and the 3.9 liter engines, and was equipping the cars with a newly designed 3.5 liter engine. This is a mutual mistake of fact that makes the signed contract void due to the lack of knowledge by both parties that the manufacturer had stopped making the cars with either a 3.2 liter or a 3.9 liter V6 engine and now only makes a 3.5 liter V6 engine for there cars. Someone trying to avoid his or her obligation under a contract can raise a mutual mistake defense. The defense states that both parties to the contract relied on a mistaken assumption when entering the contract, which then makes the contract void. A mistaken assumption is a fact that both John Hartly and the auto salesman believed to be true at the time the contract was signed, in this case the fact in question was that John Hartly was to receive a car with a 3.2 liter V6 engine. However, due to the manufacturer discontinuing production of the 3.2 liter engine, this fact is no longer true. As a result, the salesman can no longer perform the contract as he originally intended. (LaMance, 2011) It is absolutely agreeable that in these types of situations that a contract be deemed void from a mutual mistake of fact. If, for example, someone was contacted to dig a whole in someone’s backyard but after the contract had been signed both parties had found out that under a thin layer of dirt was solid rock, a mutual mistake of fact could make the contract void since neither party knew of the rock under the surface. If a mutual mistake defense was not possible then the person contracted to dig the whole would have to dig the whole under any circumstance and run the risk of destroying their equipment and/or having to spend more money for equipment capable of doing the job. In the case of John Harlty neither party acted unethically. Though one could argue that the salesperson should of known that the manufacturer was to stop production on cars with either a 3.2 liter and 3.9 liter V6 engine and begin production on a new model with a 3.5 liter engine before trying to sell a discontinued car to a customer. This would make it a unilateral mistake of fact because the salesperson had a reason to know of the mistake and it was his fault that led to the mistake (Emanuel, 2011). But, on the other hand, buying a new car is a pretty big deal and the potential customer should have done their own research and found out that a certain model of car was to be changed in the coming weeks, months, years, or however long it was until the change. The Uniform Commercial Code or UCC is a model statute that has been adopted by every state in the United States in its entirety. The UCC is most often used to resolve contract disputes for the sale of goods (LaMance, 2013). The UCC only deals with merchants, which is defined as anyone with a special knowledge in a given commercial field. Therefore, a sale of goods between two private, non-merchant parties will not be subject to UCC requirements (Rivera, 2013). In terms of winners and losers, there are no winners. One could say that the winner would be the buyer because they won the defense of mutual mistake of fact but they are still with out what they were trying to buy in the first place. The loser, though, would be the seller because they have lost business with the possible customer and made no profit in the sale that is now void. References Emanuel, S. L. (2011). Mistake. In Wolters Kluwer MBE Bar Prep. Retrieved from https://www.inkling.com/read/wolters-kluwer-mbe-bar-prep/mbe-contracts/chapter-4-mistake LaMance, K. (2011, November 8). Revoking contracts: mutual mistake lawyers. Legal Match. Retrieved from http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/revoking-contracts-mutual-mistake.html LaMance, K. (2013, August 28). Uniform commercial code lawyers. Legal Match. Retrieved from http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/uniform-commercial-code-lawyers.html Rivera, J. (2013, November 12). When does the UCC not apply to sale of goods? Legal Match. Retrieved from http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/when-does-the-ucc-not-apply-to-a-sale-of-goods.html

Computer Crimes On The Internet Essays - Cybercrime, Identity Theft

Computer Crimes On The Internet Essays - Cybercrime, Identity Theft Computer Crimes on the Internet Thesis: Emerging with the Internet, a group of elite cyber-surfers have turned into today?s computer hackers. Software piracy is a major crime on the Net. $7.5 billion of American Software is stolen each year. Industrial Espionage is gaining access to remote sites illegally. Stealing of information from corporate sites is extremely illegal. Password Sniffers are used to get someone?s password. IP spoofers changes your identity. Many things can be stolen from companies. III. Email hacking is common. Mail bombs are thousands of messages send to a single address. Email forgery can cause people reputations to get ruined. Anonymous Email is illegal. Fraud is very common. Pyramid schemes are nothing but a scam. Credit card fraud is a half billion dollar a year scam. Computer viruses are destructive to computers. Computer viruses can be attached to Email messages. 99% of all computer viruses are detectable. Computer Crimes on the Internet Its the 90?s, the dawn of the computer age. With technology changing and evolving everyday, it may seem hard not to slip behind in this ever changing world. The Information Super-Highway has been following computers throughout the past few years. Along with the Internet, an emerging group of elite cyber-surfers have turned into today?s computer hackers. Most people don?t know about them, most people don?t know they exist, but they are out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for there next victim. It can be a scary world out there (Welcome to the Internet). In reality it is not nearly as bad as it sounds, and chances are it won?t happen to you. There are many fields of hacking on the Internet. The most popular type of hacking is software piracy. ?According to estimates by the US Software Piracy Association, as much as $7.5 billion of American software may be illegally copied and distributed annually worldwide?(Ferrell13). Hackers ?pirate? software merely by uploading software bought in a store to the Internet. Uploading is send information from point A(client) to point B(host); downloading is the opposite. Once it is uploaded to the Internet, people all over the world have access to it. From there, hackers trade and distribute the software, which in hacker jargon is warez. Industrial Espionage is another main concern on the Internet. Most recently, the FBI?s World Wide Web page hacked and turned into a racial hate page. Anyone can access files from a WWW page, but changing them is very hard. That is why most hackers don?t even bother with it. CNET stated ?This Web site should have been among the safest and most secure in the world, yet late in 1996, it got hacked.?(Ferrell18). To change a web page, hackers simply upload a new, modified version of the web page, in place of the original. But fortunately, almost all Internet Service Providers (ISP), the computer you dial to for Internet access, have protection called a firewall, which kicks off all users trying to gain access of change information that are not authorized. ?Theft and destruction of company files is increasing faster than the ability to stop it?(Rothfeder170). Another field of hacking on the Internet is Electronic-mail hacking. A hacker can intercept Email enroute and read it with no detection. To safeguard this, companies use encryption programs and no one but the sender and its recipient can read it(Rothfeder225). A mail bomb is another type hack on the Net. ?A mail bomb is simply an attack unleashed by dumping hundreds or thousands of Email messages onto a specific address?(Ferrell20). The only way to fix this problem is to either sit there and delete each message one by one, or to call you Internet Service Provider for help. Email forgery is also common. A hacker can change the return address on any given piece of Email to anything they want, such as [emailprotected] This is illegal because you can use someone else?s address to send false Email to people. Oracle Systems CEO Larry Ellison fell victim to forgery when a former employee accused him of sexual harassment and used a forged email message to help plead her case. And Bob Rae, the former premier of Ontario, suffered political embarrassment as a result of a forged and sexually explicit email that appeared on Usenet newsgroups. False or assumed email identities have played a part in espionage, as well. Forged email was

Développer - to Develop - French Verb Conjugations

Dà ©velopper - to Develop - French Verb Conjugations The  French verb  dà ©velopper  means to develop. Find conjugations for dà ©velopper  in the tables below. Conjugations of  Dà ©velopper Present Future Imperfect Present participle je dveloppe dvelopperai dveloppais dveloppant tu dveloppes dvelopperas dveloppais il dveloppe dveloppera dveloppait nous dveloppons dvelopperons dveloppions vous dveloppez dvelopperez dveloppiez ils dveloppent dvelopperont dveloppaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle dvelopp Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive je dveloppe dvelopperais dveloppai dveloppasse tu dveloppes dvelopperais dveloppas dveloppasses il dveloppe dvelopperait dveloppa dveloppt nous dveloppions dvelopperions dveloppmes dveloppassions vous dveloppiez dvelopperiez dvelopptes dveloppassiez ils dveloppent dvelopperaient dvelopprent dveloppassent Imperative tu dveloppe nous dveloppons vous dveloppez Verb conjugation patternDà ©velopper  is a  regular -ER verb

The Tea Party. The impact of the rise of the Tea Party on the American Essay

The Tea Party. The impact of the rise of the Tea Party on the American political landscape - Essay Example The initial stimulus for the beginning of the Tea Party was by Rick Santelli who worked in CNBC and he has been labeled by many as the initiator of the Tea Party. This is owing to the fact that he openly opposed the mortgage plan that was signed by the President after taking office in 2009 on air and this fuelled many protesters and groups to gather and initiate this movement. Different support groups of the Tea Party formed and worked throughout the country to present their points (Williamson et al 25, 37). The Tea Party laid a great initial impact on the political landscape of the United States owing to the great support that it received but the affectivity of the movement has greatly reduced over the years owing to the lack of proper leadership and unity as well as the changing manifestos. In the year 2009, the support for the Tea Party greatly increased and polls revealed that up to 300,000 residents of the United States took part in the organized protests. Different organization s registered under the flag of Tea Party to show their support for this movement. These included The Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots, The Tea Party Express and the Tea Party Nation. Such was the success of the Tea Party and its motif that by the end of the year 2009, political candidates who were associated with the Tea Party won 39 out of the total 129 seats of the United States House of Representatives and five seats in the Senate. These victories clearly demonstrated the political effect of the Tea Party on the American political landscape (Williamson et al 37, 38). The motives for which this movement began were mainly to reduce the federal government and at the same fight against the loopholes in the healthcare policies. The Tea Party also lobbied against the high amount of taxes and the mortgage plan and also demanded the resolving of issues including unemployment as well as the lower level of representation of the common public in the government (Gabriel; Williamson et al 32). The groups that formed under the flag of the Tea Party indicate the fact that they are mainly putting forward â€Å"the voice of the true owners of the United States† that is of the residents of the country. They indicate that they are following in the footsteps of the people who brought about the revolution known as the Boston Tea Party in the year 1773 and thus they refer to their movement as the Tea Party as well. They indicate the fact that they are fighting for their country and fulfilling the dreams of the founding fathers of the United States and trying to uphold the constitution of the country. They argue that the Constitution is to be truly followed and the freedom of the people is not to be invaded by the governing bodies. They present the fact that the common man should be represented in the governing offices so that their problems are properly solved. Furthermore, they also argue that illegal immigrants should not be allowed to enter the country and proper b udgeting schemes should be devised for the benefits of the common man and taxes should be reduced to minimum (The Tea Party). The Tea Party movement has been a center of controversy. It has its own supporters but opposing groups present the fact that the success of the Tea Party is not very high and it has greatly reduced over the years. Furthermore, it is also explained by the oppositionists that the Tea Party does not represent all the people of the country but it rather represents only a few groups and races. This was indicated by a survey that was conducted by the CBS News and the New York Times. This survey was conducted in the year

Inequality, Corruption and Distribution of Income in Indonesia (Post Term Paper

Inequality, Corruption and Distribution of Income in Indonesia (Post Independence) - Term Paper Example Islam has also played a significant role in the Indonesia’s identity and economic issues. The name of Islam has too often been used to promote an agenda as in the case of Indonesian politics bringing with it death, destruction and deception in order to establish an Islamic state with Sharia as the state law. It is uncertain if these agendas were sincerely to establish an Islamic state, or it is a propaganda tool used by governments to influence its people to respond in a certain way, or it is a bit of both. The Bali and Jakarta bombings are examples of death, destruction and deception where only time will reveal the truth. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, young radical Muslims pressured Sukarno to declare Indonesia’s Independence, uniting Indonesian against the Dutch attempts of re-establishing a colony in Indonesia. The Ulama declared Jihad against the Dutch. Muslim militias under the command of the Ulama with the Dutch-Japanese trained Indonesian armed forces drove out the Dutch. However, this unity of people did not last long. (Scott, 2008) Muslim militias in the West of Java broke ranks with the government after the government accepted a ceasefire agreement with the Dutch to withdraw its forces to central Java. Kartosuwiryo, a Muslim Politian, continued to lead the breakaway group against the Dutch and eventually establishing their own government and state with the sharia as law. This group was later known as Darul Islam or the Islamic state of Indonesia. Darul Islam remained a thorn for the Indonesian government with many other rebel movements from other provinces like Aceh and South Sulawesi joining Darul Islam. There were many other Muslim leaders who although supported an Islamic state, were in favor of the Indonesian Republic and condemned the violence of Darul Islam (Bruinessen 2002). Darul Islam was finally crushed and went underground in 1962 after the capture of its leaders (Bruinessen 2002). It was later to surface

Hypothetical Role-play Web Base Discussion Personal Statement

Hypothetical Role-play Web Base Discussion - Personal Statement Example Also, the level and volume of content of these subjects is quite high necessitating more time. Therefore, students in the first year of the secondary school are not expected to spend more time than required in creative writing. Rather, they are instructed to formalize their writing habits by learning the art of writing essays by the use of the standard format of the introductory opening paragraph, followed by three to four paragraphs which constitute the body of the essay and close it with the concluding paragraph. They are also trained in the ways of answering objective questions, grammar, letter and report writing, dialogues, interviews. The main intention behind training in the English language and literature in the secondary school is to develop the student's grasping power and communication skills. Coming back to Ryan, I was initially impressed by the high level of interest your son exhibited in the English subject. He was very keen to get the list of the books to read so that he could get started. However, I could see his expression change when he was told that the syllabus in the secondary school was different from the one followed by the primary school. From then on, I had begun to note with growing concern that your son's performance in the English subject... But the issue does not end with change of attitude towards English. Obviously, your son has experienced some disappointment, maybe even disillusionment, with the English subject in his current year. This is the time when he must be dealt with care and concern. This is also the period to educate the child in the words of St. Francis of Assissi, to, "learn to change what he can, accept what he cannot change, and have the wisdom to know the difference." Important guidelines Besides entering the first year of the secondary school, your son is at the stage in life when children begin to exhibit signs of growing up. He wants to do his best but does not know how. He wants to spend more time reading but is unable to do so as the amount of homework he now has does not allow him more time. He wants to concentrate on his studies but finds the disruption caused by a small number of students affects the whole class. He wants to stop them but feels scared of being ostracized. He looks forward to challenging assignments but finds the content and process new and he has to learn these contents and processes before getting to the position of facing the challenges. In the circumstances, there is little you and I can do to stop your son. After all, boys will be boys. Up to this point of time, they have been good and obedient. In the times to come they must learn to face challenges. They must learn to make their choices and make them wisely. The only way to help them make the right choice is to spend time with them, understand them and show you are there for them. I am Ryan's English teacher. I am experienced in dealing with my students. I will steer

Implementing Theories of Management in an Organisation

Implementing Theories of Management in an Organisation Organizations are a set of people arranged socially to perform and achieve a common goal. These organizations form the essential building blocks of modern society. Such organisations across the globe are constantly evolving and the rate of evolution changes from one country to another. Organisational Behaviour can be best explained as the study of the ways individuals and groups act at work, which also includes the analysis of interrelationships and interaction between individuals and groups with their environments (Cole, 1995). In this essay, I wish to explain certain behavioural practices that had existed in my previous organisation and implement two theories (motivation and organisational culture) to my work situations.   Ã‚   First let me give an insight into my background. I was born and educated in a city called Chennai in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India. I graduated bachelor in Mechanical Engineering in the year 2013. After graduation, I was trying for job placement in various companies. During one of my interviews in a company called ETA General Private Limited, my answers were noticed by a silently observing gentleman who did not participate in the interview process. I had no idea who he was so but after my interview, he spotted me in the waiting room, asked for my CV and after a few minutes of going through it, offered me a job in Dubai. He introduced himself as Mr. HMT, head of a polymer division of ETA group of companies. Now I understood why he was present here, it is because General Air Conditioners is also a part of ETA group. I was surprised but I felt it was a very good offer and didnt want to miss it. Shortly thereafter, I received my offer letter which promised a good salary, decent accommodation and proper working condition. Despite being an engineer, I opted to do a non-engineering job as a sales assistant. Mainly because the salary package was compelling and moreover an opportunity to gain work experience in the Gulf was like a big deal for a fresher. Thus I landed my very first job. Emirates Trading Agency LLC, shortly known as ETA is a major corporate group headquartered in Dubai. ETA is a joint venture between UAEs Al Ghurair group and a South Indian company. ETA provides contracting, manufacturing, construction, property development, commodity trading services, power projects etc (Built on trust, 2017). It has operations in Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia, Far East, North Africa, parts of Europe etc. ETA had approximately 70 individual divisions and each division has its own business unit heads. The particular business unit which I had the opportunity to work for is called Green Star Polymer. Green Star Polymer (GSP) was a commodity trading company which is the polymer trading wing of ETA. It was formed in 1998 by ETA to buy and sell polymer cargo all around the world. GSP had a 400,000 sq ft warehouse in Abu Dhabi for processing polymers. It also was doing waster paper business domestically. Mr. HMT was heading all these operations and was the Senior General Manager (SGM) of ETA. He belonged to the family of the Indian partners so he was very influential within ETA. The Arab partner, Al Ghurair, invest money and the Indian partners run the business in ETA. Like most Arab and Asian companies, ETA is also a family run business. So the business unit heads are the Indian partners who predominantly belong to the same family. Around mid-2013, ETA was in a huge liability and there was difference opinion among the Indian Arab partners. To reduce cost, ETA was closing/selling many businesses and sacking several employees. Dozens of lawsuits were also filed between partners. This casted a very bad image on the entire company in the market. There was lot of uncertainty among employees and ultimately Mr. HMT was dismissed and GSP division was closed down in 2015. Mr. HMT began his own business in mid-2015 and I was the only one from GSP that he trusted and employed for his company. Sigmund Freud argued humans are provoked to act by unconscious forces within us. These forces within us make us act in a certain way to achieve a goal. Motivation is the cognitive decision-making process through which goal-directed behaviour is initiated, energized, directed and maintained (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Work Situation I: Moving to Dubai for work was the first time moving away from family and the comfort of my home, so I was nervous and excited about my new venture. When I landed in Dubai, I was received from airport by my HR coordinator who dropped me at my accommodation. When I reached my new home, from the outside, I can easily say this is the oldest apartment I had seen in the brief time I was in Dubai. Inside was not good either. The HR guy handed me the key and left. When entered into the room, I was surprised to see 3 people asleep in 2 double cots with one lower cot left vacant for me. The room was half the size of my room in Chennai and 3 others with one bathroom/toilet to be shared. Anyway, I was tired so badly I went to sleep. Next morning, I had a conversation with my roommates as they informed me the rules of the accommodation, office directions, morning timings for using the single bathroom etc. They all worked for ETA but in different divisions. There was no kitchen or pantry available so food had to be purchased from outside. I soon learned the whole building belonged to ETA and occupied by its staffs and also it had been standing there for more than 35 years which is very old compared to UAE standards. All the staffs had been living in unpleasant conditions. I went to my new office that day. I was introduced to all staffs by the HR coordinator. We exchanged greetings and my immediate boss briefed me about the business activities of GSP and about my job. Later I met with Mr. HMT, who welcomed me to the company and handed my employment contract to me. I was shocked to notice that the contract had much lesser salary than what had been promised. It also stated my visa category as simply sales. No executive, no assistant, nothing. I later found out this category of visa is possibly the lowest, more or less equivalent to a clerk. Practically no company should employ me under that category owing to my qualification. I was even rejected to apply driving license with this visa. But my superiors were quick to convince me this is normal. Even though so much was not right, I still didnt express my disappointments to others (I usually dont). I was instructed to be trained for probation period of 6 months. In the very first week, I also learned GSP staffs are working more than 8 hours even after 6pm. I didnt have a clue so I left promptly at 6pm. My line manager called me one day and enquired about me leaving early. I was puzzled and tried to justify that I dont leave during office hours, but even though he advised me to stay until other staffs leave. Again I soon learned the reason behind it. Mr. HMT arrives office at 11am and stays in office till 8pm. He might need some staffs randomly after 6pm so most of them stayed in office till 8pm even though they arrive at 9am in the morning. No policy for overtime pay in place for staffs. Couple of managers quit their jobs within two months of my recruitment but their vacancies were not filled. So I was also assigned additional responsibilities in operations department as GSP was understaffed. Eventually I recognized I was deprived of all the promises made to me. No proper salary, no decent accommodation and no proper working condition. This is when I lost all hope and was very depressed. I was considering to quit my job and go back to India. Applying Motivation Theory: Abraham Maslow argued the content theory which aims to rectify the confusion between drives and motives. He claims that we have innate needs or motives (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). The Fig 1 shows the hierarchy which Maslow framed in detail. Figure 1: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (Source: Maslow and Lewis, 1987) Physiological needs are to the basic elements to survive for any human being which needs to be satisfied before aspiring for the next need which is social and security. Then comes affiliation needs and self-esteem. If these needs are satisfied, we can feel confident whereas if not, we tend to feel inferior and helpless. Self-actualization is the ultimate goal for any individual (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Recommendations: In my case, I began to feel de-motivated because I was cheated with false promise of better salary, accommodation and decent work condition. What I failed to understand initially was that I already have satisfied physiological and safety/security needs. I earned enough to feed myself and had a safe place to live and work. Secondly, I maintained good relationship with my colleagues and housemates, also made few friends. Moreover, I realised I was more confident in communication and analytics at work than my colleagues. All these factors combined, gave me a self-realisation that I am doing good for my age and the little experience I have gained. It motivated me to push harder. I felt proud and appreciated by Mr. HMT when I achieved the sales target the very first month I was given full responsibility when my boss was on holiday. Organisational Culture is the collective values, traditions and practices that are relatively similar among the employees of an organisation. Culture varies from one organisation to another and it is argued that the culture also affects the performance of an organisation. Therefore it is essential for managers to control organisations culture (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Work Situation II: Although ETA is a MNC, its employees are predominantly South Indians. This is mainly because the South Indian business heads are more comfortable working with people from this region. I was also comfortable learning from those people since I am also a South Indian. But there are certain practices that I cannot agree with them. I noticed most of the employees of GSP were servile to Mr. HMT. It was obvious for me to notice these employees behaviour. They are so obsequious to please Mr. HMT. But I couldnt understand if Mr. HMT is not noticing this or if he is oddly comfortable with it. This behaviour of those employees (including few managers) can be attributed to their expectations to progress in work, pay etc. Some employees even degraded themselves to the level of doing household chores for Mr. HMT. There were even few cases where these managers tried to make me oblige to this custom which I had politely refused to do in multiple instances. This behaviour shocked and disgusted me. When Mr. HMT was dismissed in 2015, none of the so-called loyal employees were willing to join him in his new company. They all wanted to transfer to different divisions within ETA for accumulating end of service gratuity and other reasons. After I and Mr. HMT quit from ETA, I brought this matter to his attention during a casual conversation. He confessed that he knew but was oblivious to it and this culture was prevailing within the organisation since he started working in ETA 27 years ago. His realisation about his employees was already too late. Applying Organization Culture Theory: Edgar Schein argued organisations have three levels of culture as depicted below in fig2. The first level is the surface manifestation of culture where the organisations culture is most visible to its customers, visitors and employees. This may include artefacts, ceremonies, norms etc. Second level are the organisations values which underpins the surface manifestations. Although not visible, individuals could be made aware and it distinguishes one organisation from another. The behaviour of all the employees are guided similarly and given a common direction by the values of the organisation.. These values affect the final level which is the basic assumption, which according to Schein is the culture of the organisation. Assumptions are the behavioural aspects which are preconscious, unseen and taken for granted (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Figure 2: Scheins three levels of culture (Source: Schein, 1985) Recommendations: In case of GSP, many staffs sought benefits by other means, rather than by improving work performance, it also had an impact on the overall performance of the company. This behaviour can be attributed to Scheins theory as basic assumption of ETA employees were less than noble. Since I was new to the company, initially I could only see surface manifestation level of ETA and when I coped up to work with these people, I could clearly see what their basic assumption of working for this organisation was and how their values affected it. As the head of GSP, Mr. HMT needed to have addressed this culture at his level when he had the chance. Moreover it should have been controlled by the senior management of ETA and maintained a healthy culture before it infuriated the Arab partners and the companys reputation was damaged. Better work environment can be achieved by applying organisational theories. All employees are directly affected by whatever is happening in an organisation. It is all attributable to human behaviour. With better understanding of organisational behaviour, managers can effectively influence employee behaviours to do achieve better outcome as discussed in these above scenarios. References Built on trust (2017) Available at: http://www.etaascon.com/ (Accessed: 24 January 2017). Cole, G.A., 1995. Organisational behaviour: Theory and practice. Cengage Learning EMEA. Huczynski, A.A. and Buchanan, D.A. (2001) Organizational behaviour. 4th edn. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education. Maslow, A. and Lewis, K.J., 1987. Maslows hierarchy of needs. Salenger Incorporated, p.14. Schein, E.H. (1985) Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unr

Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unrest Building a case against racial injustice, Baldwin describes how many blacks joined the U.S. military and were sent to fight in Europe during World War II, although the battles they returned to at home were sometimes worse than the war itself. In ?Down at the Cross,? Baldwin zeroes in on the discrimination against black veterans as the final blow causing many of them to hate their own country and become militant against whites. Historical accounts generally support his argument, even though Baldwin doesn?t speak to a few important points that differ from his personal perspectives on this issue. Overall, Baldwin builds a strong case for the need for social change in America to wipe out this type of racial outrage, especially in the case of black war veterans. Baldwin contends that ?a certain hope died? when black veterans were greeted with contempt by whites when they returned from the war instead of the praise and thanks that they deserved (Baldwin 317). From his observations, this was a wound that had been festering for many years and it was something that had been eating at the heart and soul of the black population since the end of World War II. This was such a terrible insult to blacks that it added fuel to the rage that was growing all across the country, and Baldwin explains that blacks finally felt they had taken too much abuse and that things were going to change ? one way or the other. To summarize his argument, Baldwin reasons it out that if a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, the very least they should expect is for their country to treat them with the respect they have earned and not as se... ...ry. Baldwin?s essay is, on the whole, true to the facts and feelings in America at that particular period in time as black veterans returned home to face a new battle against racial discrimination in their homeland. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Down at the Cross.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Fournier, Winston C. ?Desegregated Jobs.? The Wall Street Journal 3 April 1956: 1, 10. Huachuca Illustrated, Vol. 2 Web Page (1996). Retrieved March 2, 2004 from http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI2-09.htm#27. Lee, Ulysses. (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Murphy, Carl. (1944). This Is Our War. Atlanta Daily World, pp. 5-12. Wynn, Mike. ?We Were There.? The Augusta Chronicle 2 September 2001: 1-14. Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unr Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unrest Building a case against racial injustice, Baldwin describes how many blacks joined the U.S. military and were sent to fight in Europe during World War II, although the battles they returned to at home were sometimes worse than the war itself. In ?Down at the Cross,? Baldwin zeroes in on the discrimination against black veterans as the final blow causing many of them to hate their own country and become militant against whites. Historical accounts generally support his argument, even though Baldwin doesn?t speak to a few important points that differ from his personal perspectives on this issue. Overall, Baldwin builds a strong case for the need for social change in America to wipe out this type of racial outrage, especially in the case of black war veterans. Baldwin contends that ?a certain hope died? when black veterans were greeted with contempt by whites when they returned from the war instead of the praise and thanks that they deserved (Baldwin 317). From his observations, this was a wound that had been festering for many years and it was something that had been eating at the heart and soul of the black population since the end of World War II. This was such a terrible insult to blacks that it added fuel to the rage that was growing all across the country, and Baldwin explains that blacks finally felt they had taken too much abuse and that things were going to change ? one way or the other. To summarize his argument, Baldwin reasons it out that if a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, the very least they should expect is for their country to treat them with the respect they have earned and not as se... ...ry. Baldwin?s essay is, on the whole, true to the facts and feelings in America at that particular period in time as black veterans returned home to face a new battle against racial discrimination in their homeland. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Down at the Cross.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Fournier, Winston C. ?Desegregated Jobs.? The Wall Street Journal 3 April 1956: 1, 10. Huachuca Illustrated, Vol. 2 Web Page (1996). Retrieved March 2, 2004 from http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI2-09.htm#27. Lee, Ulysses. (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Murphy, Carl. (1944). This Is Our War. Atlanta Daily World, pp. 5-12. Wynn, Mike. ?We Were There.? The Augusta Chronicle 2 September 2001: 1-14.

Describe the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance Essay

The two schools I shall be discussing are Parkstone Grammar School, and Canford Heath Infant School. I have chosen these schools, as they are very different, not only in their age ranges but also in the processes in which they admit their students. Parkstone Grammar School is a selective all girls academy school in Poole, Dorset. (Academy meaning â€Å"a school directly funded by the governments Department of Education, but independent of local government control.† â€Å"An academy may receive additional support from personal or corporate sponsors, but must meet the same National Curriculum core subject requirements as other state schools and be subject to inspection by Ofsted.† Source Wikipedia) The school provides for girls aged between 11 and 18, teaching key stages 3, 4 and 5. The selection process to determine which girls will be eligible to be considered for an admission place is formatted by means of three exams, one verbal reasoning and two non-verbal reasoning. The girls who meet the appropriate level of ability in these tests can then apply for a place at the school via the local borough. The places are then considered and decided by the schools Governors’ Admissions panel following the criteria shown below. a)Eligible girls who are classed as â€Å"looked after† or have previously been â€Å"looked after†. b)Eligible girls who live within the Borough of Poole. c)Eligible girls who live outside the Borough of Poole, in rank order of the entrance test scores, with those girls obtaining highest scores given higher priority. Parkstone Grammar School has a substantial governing body who describe their role as â€Å"A critical friend† to the school. The governing body, or school governors are responsible for the admissions to the school, as previously mentioned and the recruitment of staff. They also have control over the school funds in order to ensure the teachers and students have the resources they require. Parkstone Grammar School receives most of its funding from the local  authority, receiving  £15464 for 2011-2012. This money is then used to support learning in numerous ways, such as, curriculum support, work experience and SEN. The school also receives The school also receives funding from local companies who sponsor and support the school by providing equipment and help fund building projects such as a new sports hall, for example. In contrast to the Grammar school, Canford Heath Infant School is a state run primary school, providing education for ages 4-7, which covers the Early Years Foundation Stages (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 and 2. The admissions policy is very different to the Grammar, all admissions for the infant school are organised by Poole Borough. Poole admissions conduct and equal preference admissions system, where parents select 3 choices which are considered together, but the highest ranked preference is offered subject to availability. Similarly to the Grammar school though the admissions consider the following criteria when the school is over-subscribed. a)A child in care or who was previously a child in care. b) Pupils who live within the schools catchment area. c)Pupils who live outside the catchment area in the following order 1)Pupils who have sibling who’s already enrolled in the school 2)Pupils who have a significant medical or psychological condition 3)All other pupils As with the Grammar school, Canford Heath Infant School has a governing body which has certain legal duties and responsibilities to ensure that the school provides the correct services to parents and the children attending the school. Canford Heath Infant School governing body consists of five types of governor. 1)LEA – Appointed by the local authority 2)Parent – Elected by parents 3)Community Governor – Elected by the governing body 4)Staff governor – elected by the staff 5)Associate governor – elected by the governing body As with the Grammar school funding is a vital necessity. Canford Heath Infant School is mainly funded the local authority but also has a parent support group who work with the school to provide extra funds for school trips, discos, book bags and library books. Although these schools are very different in their admission procedures and the age of children attending, both schools follow similar structural criteria. For admissions, funding and academic, most importantly both have governing bodies that support the whole school and provide essential guidance, advice and ensuring schools provide equality of opportunity for everyone, by setting values, aims and objectives, agreeing school improvement strategy’s, which involves approving budgets and agreeing staffing. So therefore, in conclusion, despite the differences these schools are effectively run in the same manner, with the same goals and objectives.

Benefit of watching television Essay

Many people think television has mostly a negative impact on their lives because television displays a lot of violence, gossip, and erotic things. They think watching TV will waste their time, disorder their thinking, and give bad demonstrations to their child. Actually, most people hold the wrong views about watching TV; it is beneficial to watch TV. Here are the reasons why. First of all, there is the information that I can absorb from television. Daily news, for example, has a lot of information that I never know about and reports a lot of incidents which happen around the world such as America sends army and air force to Iraq and catches its president, by the way, we can learn not only information but also about different societies, cultures, and customs I can not learn from news such as some strange traditions of a small city that I have never heard in China or another small country in the corner of the earth. Although I spend my time on television but I get something more valuable and helpful than what I consume. Secondly, there is the excitement that I can get from television when I am bored. There are many exciting movies on HBO, for instance, â€Å"Terminator I, II, and III† are very good movies to cheer me up. Many parents think that kind of exciting movies are too violent for their children to watch because they blame the movies for their children’s behavior rather than tell their children what is right and what is wrong; furthermore, parents and adults can watch â€Å"RoboCop† by themselves and they can enjoy the movie without worrying about their children learning bad things or violent behaviors from it. Last but not least, there is the stimulation that I can bring to my brain from the television such as the show – Super Millionaire. This program is very popular not only in America but also in my country – Taiwan because people can join the game in their homes with the participants at the television station, and this can stimulate my brain by thinking about and answering the questions even I can’t really get the bonus if I got the correct answer. Moreover, I can call in the show to win the prize if there is no winner today; this kind of television program suits both children and  adults; there is no bad influence or side effects. To sum up, it is in terms of absorbing information, getting excitement, and stimulating my brain so that television has no negative but only positive impacts on my life. If I want to learn or know something by another way instead of television, I truly believe that I will spend more time and more money to reach my goal.