Saturday, August 31, 2019

Improving Communication on Overloaded Staff Essay

When the number of employees is to short compared to the tasks they have to accomplish, there is really a tendency to have overloaded employees which, in consequence, produce unaccomplished tasks. In the end, the burden only accumulates and the company shoulders them all. As the manager, I am not allowed to get more employees to distribute the tasks evenly. This worsens the case. The business went slow and things could worsen if more tasks are not done. It may even stop the business from recovering. As much as I would want my boss to understand the case, he cannot see the bigger picture and I am left with the problem all by myself. The first thing I would have to do would be to ask for our own office and I would transfer my office near the employees. That way, I could easily supervise them and the handing of the tasks won’t be difficult. I find that the reason why my staff doesn’t heed to my requests is that the requests I made are not personal. They could easily ignore my e-mail messages or even pretend that they do not receive the message which would be unusual because I should have received a message failure notice. If I could be there to personally hand in the tasks with the employees, I think, there would be no reason or, at least, less reasons why they would find it difficult to handle the task because there would be a free discussion among us. The information dissemination would be a lot easier. Any confusion and conflicts would also be easily resolved if I am present. The presence of a leader is important in any organization and in any activities of that organization. I also think that one reason why my staff feels overloaded is that they have been performing poorly. In the first place, I won’t be giving them tasks if I don’t think they would be able to finish it. As a manager, I have to be reasonable without compromising the desired outcome of our business. I will give them tasks one at a time so we could be sure that none of the tasks overlaps. That way, they won’t be able to complain about overloading. I’ve mentioned that they may have been performing poorly that is why there is task overload. I think that they fail to finish tasks on time or maybe, they would start on something new without finishing the previous tasks so tasks pile up. The solution to that would be good supervision. Supervision would allow us to see if the tasks are done at the specified time and if the tasks are already piling up. For accumulation of tasks, I’ve said that I will be giving tasks one at a time so it will never be a problem. If, in unavoidable circumstances, there would be a need to perform tasks simultaneously, I think I think I would have to apply my management skills. It may have been possible that the staff feels lax. It is because nobody supervises them. With the presence of an authority, they won’t be that lax. I think that the atmosphere in the office has not been good because none was there to lead. In my previous observation, I have also found that my staff doesn’t know how to prioritize. Making priorities would never be my problem because I have the skills in managing. I could do the prioritizing for them. The thing is, as a team, we won’t be that effective if only I do all the initiative and just pass on tasks on them. As a manager, I really do have the right to assign. However, as a leader, I also have the responsibility to put the drive on my subordinates. I have to turn them into passionate employees because as much as I try to lighten the burden on my employees, if they really do not enjoy what they are doing, we will have a difficulty in being productive. I have to influence them and even teach them management skills because everyone needs that. In essence, my presence in the office will allow me easy supervision among the employees.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Black Men and Public Spaces Essay

In â€Å"Black Men and Public Spaces† Brent Staples reveals his experiences with different individuos in all kind of public areas. Staples talk about how people stereotype black men as a violent and dangerous individuals because of their appearance and the color of their skin. In the past when black men was associated with the word murderer or thieves or rapist or all kind of bad things people were afraid on being next to them. When Staples started the story saying â€Å"My first victim was a woman† and he specify (white) make it seems like he wasn’t the victim of this woman when he follows saying â€Å"After a few more glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest.† What the narrator is doing is letting know that people shouldn’t judge because of the others appearances. In the whole story Staples is leaving the clear concept of people will always see black men as a threat because of his race. The sad part is that the narrator is not saying that this happen long time ago is just like a decade ago when he mention about studying at the University of Chicago and then moved to New York. It make it seems that no matter when or where black men being dangerous or being involved in criminal activity does not leave the world’s general schema, people still see black men related to the word dangerous.The title is ironic because public space is supposedly available to everyone but, socially speaking, that does not appear to be that way for black men, even in today’s society. Staples demonstrates his struggle for acceptances from people whom are scared of him. He goes on to say that he now takes precautions to avoid situations he has experienced. He now whistles melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi when he takes walks at night because no one will assume a mugger knows classical music. Instead of people crossing to the other side of the street, he’ll keep his distance from those that may seem skittish of him. It seems that he does all this just to fit in to society. None of this will change the way black men are stereotyped. I was walking with my daughter one night around seven pm., and crossing the  street inside the parking lot mall this black woman was speeding like she was on the outside streets, We were slow walking on the street to reach our car and she got so angry and get out of her car and approach to me with the intention clear of fight me, she was a very heavy black young woman maybe on her middle twenties, she was screaming at my face â€Å"Do you have a problem with me?† I said many time no I don’t please leave me alone but my daughter who was fourteen by that time and to innocent of the danger we were on, told her â€Å"You shouldn’t be speeding inside the parking lot and talking on the phone† that was enough to her to start beating up my daughter. This was a really nasty experience that we will never want to repeat and since then we try to avoid on many ways to confront a black person. We call 911 and the police man who came was a black police who said this words â€Å"For people like that woman is that we have bad reputation† I think no matter when or where and no matter the race or color we need to be careful on how to conduct ourselves at public spaces. Stereotypes affect individuals regardless of race, sex, or religion. The narrator tell many time he was mistaken as a criminal for being black and six feet two inches tall with a beard and billowing hair, when he enter to the jewelry and the proprietor excuse himself just to get his enormous red Doberman Pinscher and he has to leave, or when he was mistaking as a reporter for the killer, police officers hauled him from his car at gunpoint. Black men on public space will continue to experience these situations. We cannot change the way people think and judge. Unfortunately the majority of black men, who are criminals, will continue to give a bad reputation for those that are not. We live in a world where we have to be in high alert to maintain unharmed. There’s no reason for anyone to feel the obligation or need to act a certain way so those that are judging them can feel a sense of security, the way Brent Staples did. As long as you know you’re not that type of person, you cannot let someone’s judgment stop you from succeeding and proving that you are not a statistic.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Autism and Psychology

We have been designed from birth to need and trust and socialize with one another in various ways. Yet, why is it so difficult for some but not for others. I have a four year old Autistic son that also has severe developmental delays due to prematurity and birthing complications. There are days that he gets frustrated at not even being able to communicate basic needs or just wants to be in his own world, left to his own device. That for anyone is rough, but knowing I am his mother makes it worse. Social interaction is such an important part of growing as not only a human being, but also for the brain. Even from the beginning of time man has leaned on the premise of needing that companionship and contact with the world around them. Being from the South, you are instructed and taught from day one to be cordial and have social interactions regularly with others in and out of your class, race, or religion. But what if you cannot convey and relate to the social customs? Does that mean you are to forever be labeled as a deviant, eccentric, or antisocial? If it is funding that you have mental issues you don’t discuss them or you are forever looked at as a child. Traditionally, that means that these individuals were ostracized, stigmatized and even eliminated for the good of the whole, as the compromised the very fabric of society by proposing to build a group of individuals, somewhat like a cult, that were interconnected forever( Aronson, 1995). Animal test subjects have been well conditioned to run through mazes or pressed bars for food or to avoid electric shocks administered by researchers; likewise humans comply within similar consequences. Furthermore, it has also been documented that behavior motivated by external consequences is relatively short-lived, ceasing with the consequence is no longer available (Thompson, Iwata, 2001). This can even be seen when a mother is watching her children, and then steps out. The children understand to behave in both situations and the latter situation may have a punishment if that direction is not followed properly. Yet, as soon as the mother steps out, the non-conformist child will misbehave, only because of the punishment, even if the other sibling(s) is behaving themselves properly. Something stops a child like this from comprehending why this is wrong and what is truly acceptable. This may be in part to some issues with the connections to neuro-transmitters or lack thereof. Often times these children are not even motivated by reward systems, they will continue to misbehave at some point even when the mother returns, almost challenging her. Therefore, they will never be in society as an integral part, but as part of the problem. This, however, is not true for Autistic children. They wish to be the same, but again, the neuro-transmitters misfire and do not allow for them to ‘compare apples to oranges’. In 1943 Leo Kanner named such children as, socially withdrawn. He outlined the social disorder in 11 boys that he studied as an â€Å"autistic disturbance of affective contact† because of their apparent disinterest in other people and inability to be socially influenced (Kanner, 1943, in Frith, 1989). In spite of this, in 1984 the American Psychiatric Association, deemed this as a pervasive disorder, among others, and now it is simply known as Autism (APA, 1984). Over the past ten years Autism has been redefined again as the most complicated neurological disorder affecting the central nervous system of a large number of people. It is also the most confusing and pervasive of the developmental disorders as little is known for a cause, there is no cure, and treatments vary among individuals (Frith Happe’, 1994). The typical stereotype of an individual with autism describes a withdrawn, mute child with an inverted gaze engaged in repetitive activities or self-stimulatory behaviors, ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, ranges from severe to very mild(Mesibov Burack, 2001). Yet, the ones that have such disorders, have recently been labeled as Autistic due to lack of social prowess and extreme knowledge and fixation on one profession. These subsets of children can often times appear normal within the first year but start regressing in knowledge and skill, or not improving or gain skills at all. Eventually, one can build a wall to even keep family out, or fixate on something so hard it becomes an obsession or routine that if stopped could be mentally, physically, and socially detrimental(Kennedy Shukla, 1995). Although, it is also important to remember that individuals with ASD are not totally withdrawn, socially and may even interact from time to time, but this can be limited. I know as more going from hearing your child say ‘I love you’ and hug often, to once or twice week is difficult. The first time my son ran and hugged me and looked me in the eye was very emotional for me, but he did not understand. This leads to my next point: cognition. As I said before many ASD children do not understand emotions or are seldom empathetic. They may ask questions about the emotions you are showing but do not fully understand what you are telling them. This again is due to a misfiring of neuor-transmitters. That is why so many ASD children really like Thomas the Train. He teaches them emotions and what the facial expressions mean. My son now understand crying, anger, and excitement. Therefore, while they have a social desire, the interference in the cognitive system proves to be the main problem (Happe, 1999; Baron-Cohen, 1985; Dodge, 1980). Cognitive processing systems such as motivation, decision making and emotions are believed to be prompted when one responds to stimuli. These stimuli characterize the different mental states (desires, imagination, emotions, etc. ) that psychologists believe to be the cause of ones actions. Yet, without appropriately developed social cognition individuals have difficulty forming social relationships with others and this is evidenced by poor social behavior (Baron-Cohen, 2000). A study was designed to test this theory, and it found that 64% of individuals with ASD have first degree relatives with more extensive mental health issues, like major depression, and 39% had other social phobias (Smalley, et al, 1995). That being said, one can conclude that unlike other studies, ASD maybe a genetic disease mutated from other mental illness issues. This would also help the justice system that was once scandalized by improprieties of inmates due to a lack of knowledge. By understanding what type of ASD and the severity one can simply argue mental illness? Now I am not condoning every run out on the crazy defense, but if the shoe fits, why would we just put someone who is innocent into the system as done years ago. Think of the good old days when one could be simply thrown in jail for no id or not talking but if you have a mentally ill or developmentally disabled individual, and you put them in an environment that is rough, harsh, and not anything like their routine, it is no wonder why we had so many inmate suicides and still do inmates slip through the cracks continuously. But we may never see that happen due to public opinion. We as a society look at children with developmental delays or ASD as animals. I find it sickening. Or we think the parent does not discipline the child. Yet, due to lack of cognitive understanding, it would gain to reason why one does not benefit from punishing this type of child; they simply do not understand and are eager to please. Some may disagree but my son’s doctor actually explained to us that anything more than timeout/cool down period would be over his head. Even taking away toys would be ineffective. So the next time you are at a store take that into consideration. Now that I am off of my soapbox consider this: The acceptance of inadequacies in the empathizing process of individuals with Autism can offer more tolerance of the behaviors they display. Thus, they are not capable enough to calculate the conduct of others readily and we would expect an avoidance of impulsive situations. This is apparent in the outbursts and obsessive behaviors these individuals show in an effort to control and maintain routines in their environments (Dodge, 1980). Now some can point to sensory issues, needing to feel secure through various methods close to the five senses. A lot of the Autism community says that therapies for these aversions and how to cope will cause the ASD patient to understand, control, and manipulate to achieve a normal life. Nevertheless, the sensory struggles coincide with socio-emotional issues and are noted as early as infancy. Hence, the various longitudinal studies of infants later diagnosed with autism show empty eye gaze, poor response to name, aloofness, reduced looking-at-faces, and deficits in directing attention (Mottron Burack, 2001). And while it appears that these skills, as well as impairments in early social-communication skills and joint attention are present long before speech and mind blindness develop (Koegel Mentis, 1985; Shanker, 2004; Wing Gould, 1979). Additionally, developmental theories on attachment and affective responsiveness have suggested that children with impaired social emotional relating in infancy will not develop appropriate social understanding and as a result social interaction and communication skills will suffer (Kennedy Shukla, 1995). In spite of that, Supporters of the theory of mind suggest that people with Autism lack the ability to comprehend thoughts and experiences that occur outside of themselves (Happe, 1991). While I can see that, since my son gets stuck on one thing that happened and will talk about it for months as though it happened yesterday, the difficulty in understanding the mental thoughts of others often results in bizarre communication patterns (Happe, 1999). Thus, blindness and a clear lack of meeting of the minds, also appears to interfere with the ability to identify with others or to understand another person’s point of view (Shanker, 2004). So do we really know what people with Autism need, or are we just grabbing air in a world full of marshmallows? Bibliography American Psychiatric Association DSM-IV (1984). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. ). American Psychiatric Association. Aronson, E. (1995). The social animal. (7th ed. ). New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company. Baron-Cohen, S. (1985). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Theory of mind and autism: A fifteen year review. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg ; D. J. Cohen (Eds), Understanding other minds: perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience (pp. 3-20). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dodge, K. (1980) Social cognition and children’s aggressive behavior. Child Development. 51, 162-170. Frith, U. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Frith, U. , Happe, F. (1994). Autism: Beyond †theory of mind. † Cognition, 50, 115-132. Happe, F. (1991). The autobiographical writings of three asperger syndrome adults; problems of interpretation and implications for theory. In U. Frith (Ed. ), Autism and asperger syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Happe, F. (1999). Autism: cognitive deficit or cognitive style. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 6, 216-222. Kennedy, C. H. , Shukla, S, (1995). Social interaction research for people with autism as a set of past, current, and emerging propositions. Behavioral Disorders, 21, 21-35. Koegel, R. L. , Mentis, M. (1985). Motivation in childhood autism: Can they or won’t they? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 26, 185-191. Mesibov, G. B. , Adams, L. W. , ; Klinger, L. G. (1997). Autism: Understanding the disorder. New York, NY: Plenum Press. Shanker, S. (2004). The roots of mindblindness. Theory ; Psychology, 14, 5, 685-703. Smalley SL, McCracken J, Tanguay P. (1995). Autism, affective disorders, and social phobia. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 27, 60, 1, 19-26. Thompson, R. H. , ; Iwata, B. A. (2001). A descriptive analysis of social consequences following problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 169-178. Wing, L. , ; Gould, J. (1979). Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 11-29. Autism and Psychology We have been designed from birth to need and trust and socialize with one another in various ways. Yet, why is it so difficult for some but not for others. I have a four year old Autistic son that also has severe developmental delays due to prematurity and birthing complications. There are days that he gets frustrated at not even being able to communicate basic needs or just wants to be in his own world, left to his own device. That for anyone is rough, but knowing I am his mother makes it worse. Social interaction is such an important part of growing as not only a human being, but also for the brain. Even from the beginning of time man has leaned on the premise of needing that companionship and contact with the world around them. Being from the South, you are instructed and taught from day one to be cordial and have social interactions regularly with others in and out of your class, race, or religion. But what if you cannot convey and relate to the social customs? Does that mean you are to forever be labeled as a deviant, eccentric, or antisocial? If it is funding that you have mental issues you don’t discuss them or you are forever looked at as a child. Traditionally, that means that these individuals were ostracized, stigmatized and even eliminated for the good of the whole, as the compromised the very fabric of society by proposing to build a group of individuals, somewhat like a cult, that were interconnected forever( Aronson, 1995). Animal test subjects have been well conditioned to run through mazes or pressed bars for food or to avoid electric shocks administered by researchers; likewise humans comply within similar consequences. Furthermore, it has also been documented that behavior motivated by external consequences is relatively short-lived, ceasing with the consequence is no longer available (Thompson, Iwata, 2001). This can even be seen when a mother is watching her children, and then steps out. The children understand to behave in both situations and the latter situation may have a punishment if that direction is not followed properly. Yet, as soon as the mother steps out, the non-conformist child will misbehave, only because of the punishment, even if the other sibling(s) is behaving themselves properly. Something stops a child like this from comprehending why this is wrong and what is truly acceptable. This may be in part to some issues with the connections to neuro-transmitters or lack thereof. Often times these children are not even motivated by reward systems, they will continue to misbehave at some point even when the mother returns, almost challenging her. Therefore, they will never be in society as an integral part, but as part of the problem. This, however, is not true for Autistic children. They wish to be the same, but again, the neuro-transmitters misfire and do not allow for them to ‘compare apples to oranges’. In 1943 Leo Kanner named such children as, socially withdrawn. He outlined the social disorder in 11 boys that he studied as an â€Å"autistic disturbance of affective contact† because of their apparent disinterest in other people and inability to be socially influenced (Kanner, 1943, in Frith, 1989). In spite of this, in 1984 the American Psychiatric Association, deemed this as a pervasive disorder, among others, and now it is simply known as Autism (APA, 1984). Over the past ten years Autism has been redefined again as the most complicated neurological disorder affecting the central nervous system of a large number of people. It is also the most confusing and pervasive of the developmental disorders as little is known for a cause, there is no cure, and treatments vary among individuals (Frith Happe’, 1994). The typical stereotype of an individual with autism describes a withdrawn, mute child with an inverted gaze engaged in repetitive activities or self-stimulatory behaviors, ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, ranges from severe to very mild(Mesibov Burack, 2001). Yet, the ones that have such disorders, have recently been labeled as Autistic due to lack of social prowess and extreme knowledge and fixation on one profession. These subsets of children can often times appear normal within the first year but start regressing in knowledge and skill, or not improving or gain skills at all. Eventually, one can build a wall to even keep family out, or fixate on something so hard it becomes an obsession or routine that if stopped could be mentally, physically, and socially detrimental(Kennedy Shukla, 1995). Although, it is also important to remember that individuals with ASD are not totally withdrawn, socially and may even interact from time to time, but this can be limited. I know as more going from hearing your child say ‘I love you’ and hug often, to once or twice week is difficult. The first time my son ran and hugged me and looked me in the eye was very emotional for me, but he did not understand. This leads to my next point: cognition. As I said before many ASD children do not understand emotions or are seldom empathetic. They may ask questions about the emotions you are showing but do not fully understand what you are telling them. This again is due to a misfiring of neuor-transmitters. That is why so many ASD children really like Thomas the Train. He teaches them emotions and what the facial expressions mean. My son now understand crying, anger, and excitement. Therefore, while they have a social desire, the interference in the cognitive system proves to be the main problem (Happe, 1999; Baron-Cohen, 1985; Dodge, 1980). Cognitive processing systems such as motivation, decision making and emotions are believed to be prompted when one responds to stimuli. These stimuli characterize the different mental states (desires, imagination, emotions, etc. ) that psychologists believe to be the cause of ones actions. Yet, without appropriately developed social cognition individuals have difficulty forming social relationships with others and this is evidenced by poor social behavior (Baron-Cohen, 2000). A study was designed to test this theory, and it found that 64% of individuals with ASD have first degree relatives with more extensive mental health issues, like major depression, and 39% had other social phobias (Smalley, et al, 1995). That being said, one can conclude that unlike other studies, ASD maybe a genetic disease mutated from other mental illness issues. This would also help the justice system that was once scandalized by improprieties of inmates due to a lack of knowledge. By understanding what type of ASD and the severity one can simply argue mental illness? Now I am not condoning every run out on the crazy defense, but if the shoe fits, why would we just put someone who is innocent into the system as done years ago. Think of the good old days when one could be simply thrown in jail for no id or not talking but if you have a mentally ill or developmentally disabled individual, and you put them in an environment that is rough, harsh, and not anything like their routine, it is no wonder why we had so many inmate suicides and still do inmates slip through the cracks continuously. But we may never see that happen due to public opinion. We as a society look at children with developmental delays or ASD as animals. I find it sickening. Or we think the parent does not discipline the child. Yet, due to lack of cognitive understanding, it would gain to reason why one does not benefit from punishing this type of child; they simply do not understand and are eager to please. Some may disagree but my son’s doctor actually explained to us that anything more than timeout/cool down period would be over his head. Even taking away toys would be ineffective. So the next time you are at a store take that into consideration. Now that I am off of my soapbox consider this: The acceptance of inadequacies in the empathizing process of individuals with Autism can offer more tolerance of the behaviors they display. Thus, they are not capable enough to calculate the conduct of others readily and we would expect an avoidance of impulsive situations. This is apparent in the outbursts and obsessive behaviors these individuals show in an effort to control and maintain routines in their environments (Dodge, 1980). Now some can point to sensory issues, needing to feel secure through various methods close to the five senses. A lot of the Autism community says that therapies for these aversions and how to cope will cause the ASD patient to understand, control, and manipulate to achieve a normal life. Nevertheless, the sensory struggles coincide with socio-emotional issues and are noted as early as infancy. Hence, the various longitudinal studies of infants later diagnosed with autism show empty eye gaze, poor response to name, aloofness, reduced looking-at-faces, and deficits in directing attention (Mottron Burack, 2001). And while it appears that these skills, as well as impairments in early social-communication skills and joint attention are present long before speech and mind blindness develop (Koegel Mentis, 1985; Shanker, 2004; Wing Gould, 1979). Additionally, developmental theories on attachment and affective responsiveness have suggested that children with impaired social emotional relating in infancy will not develop appropriate social understanding and as a result social interaction and communication skills will suffer (Kennedy Shukla, 1995). In spite of that, Supporters of the theory of mind suggest that people with Autism lack the ability to comprehend thoughts and experiences that occur outside of themselves (Happe, 1991). While I can see that, since my son gets stuck on one thing that happened and will talk about it for months as though it happened yesterday, the difficulty in understanding the mental thoughts of others often results in bizarre communication patterns (Happe, 1999). Thus, blindness and a clear lack of meeting of the minds, also appears to interfere with the ability to identify with others or to understand another person’s point of view (Shanker, 2004). So do we really know what people with Autism need, or are we just grabbing air in a world full of marshmallows? Bibliography American Psychiatric Association DSM-IV (1984). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. ). American Psychiatric Association. Aronson, E. (1995). The social animal. (7th ed. ). New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company. Baron-Cohen, S. (1985). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Theory of mind and autism: A fifteen year review. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg ; D. J. Cohen (Eds), Understanding other minds: perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience (pp. 3-20). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dodge, K. (1980) Social cognition and children’s aggressive behavior. Child Development. 51, 162-170. Frith, U. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Frith, U. , Happe, F. (1994). Autism: Beyond †theory of mind. † Cognition, 50, 115-132. Happe, F. (1991). The autobiographical writings of three asperger syndrome adults; problems of interpretation and implications for theory. In U. Frith (Ed. ), Autism and asperger syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Happe, F. (1999). Autism: cognitive deficit or cognitive style. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 6, 216-222. Kennedy, C. H. , Shukla, S, (1995). Social interaction research for people with autism as a set of past, current, and emerging propositions. Behavioral Disorders, 21, 21-35. Koegel, R. L. , Mentis, M. (1985). Motivation in childhood autism: Can they or won’t they? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 26, 185-191. Mesibov, G. B. , Adams, L. W. , ; Klinger, L. G. (1997). Autism: Understanding the disorder. New York, NY: Plenum Press. Shanker, S. (2004). The roots of mindblindness. Theory ; Psychology, 14, 5, 685-703. Smalley SL, McCracken J, Tanguay P. (1995). Autism, affective disorders, and social phobia. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 27, 60, 1, 19-26. Thompson, R. H. , ; Iwata, B. A. (2001). A descriptive analysis of social consequences following problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 169-178. Wing, L. , ; Gould, J. (1979). Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 11-29.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Is cooperation possible under conditions of International Anarchy Essay

Is cooperation possible under conditions of International Anarchy discuss in light of realist and pluralist approaches to international relations - Essay Example According to the principle of realists' movement, everything that need not be regulated within the general framework should be left to decide for subordinate groups and, in turn, to individuals to guarantee them a maximum amount of freedom. Proponents of pluralism argue that this negotiation process is the best way to achieve the common good: since everyone can participate in power and decision-making and can claim part of the ownership of the results of exercising power "Black, Bob (1997). Anarchy after Leftism." There can also be widespread participation and a greater feeling of commitment from society members, and therefore better outcomes. By contrast, few members make an authoritarian or oligarchic society, where power is concentrated and decisions. This School of thought holds that while the international system is anarchical, order can be promoted through diplomacy, international law and society. This school thus gives credence to establishing intergovernmental organizations s uch as the United Nations. The idea of international cooperation despite the unpredictable elements of anarchy can be viewed in the existence of the United Nations. ... d Social Council, ECOSOC assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development "Basic Facts About The United Nations", By United Nations (2004) ISBN 9211009367." Since 1998, it directs to make decision of the key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Their function includes information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations. International relations, in general focus the foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). It seeks to analyze as well as formulate the foreign policy of particular states. International Relation draws upon such diverse fields as economics, history, law, philosophy, geography, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and cultural studies. It involves a diverse range of issues, from glob alization and its impacts on societies and state sovereignty to ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, economic development, terrorism, organized crime, human security, and human rights. REALISM AS THE VEHICLE OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONS Realism chiefly denies that states seek to cooperate. Early realists such as E.H. Carr, Daniel Bernhard and Hans Morgenthau argued that states are self-interested, power-seeking rational actors, who seek to maximize their security and chances of survival. Realists previewed World War II as the vindication of their theory. They advocate that the current international system sustain by growing interdependence; the mutual responsibility and dependency on others. Globalization, in particular plays vital role with international

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

HCI Design Project Usability Evaluation Criteria Research Paper

HCI Design Project Usability Evaluation Criteria - Research Paper Example Several criteria have been established for evaluating the usability of a user interface design in the current design paradigms. For purposes of this evaluation we shall focus on the heuristic evaluation and usability testing criteria that has been supported by several authors in the field of user interface design (Madan & Dubey, 2012). Jacob Nielsen is considered the father of Heuristic Evaluation criteria. He developed a set of heuristics referred to as Jacob Nielsen’s heuristics that are used for user interface design and evaluation to date (Inostroza, Rusu, Roncagliolo, Jimenez & Rusu, 2012). According to Nielsen, the main goal of the heuristic evaluation criteria is to identify the problems that are associated with the design of a user interface. He developed the criteria based on his experience as a long serving consultant of usability engineering (Inostroza et al, 2012). Heuristics are common evaluation techniques in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) that is mainly conducted in the context of typical tasks that are performed by users. The designer obtains feedback from the users regarding the compatibility of the interface with their intended use and the performance in meeting their needs (Madan & Dubey, 2012). In a study carried out to determine usability of the Bogazici University Industrial Engineering website interface, heuristic evaluation was employed for evaluation of the usability of the user interface. To accomplish this task several scenarios were created for usability testing, user groups were determined based on their computing knowledge and skills. Their performance was then evaluated based on task completion success, time spent on the task, rate of accomplishment or quittance.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operation management - Essay Example At this point, it is good to elaborate some combined leadership and management activities in an operation, such as choosing a job design and work measurement. Managing people is an operation concept that is required to be established in every organization aimed at achieving competitive advantage, especially in today’s tough competition in industry. Apple Incorporated has successfully created its market share not just because of considering other important operational moves, marketing initiatives, good financial performance, but most primarily on how it handles its human resource particularly on managing people. Apple is not only good at creating innovative products for its product differentiation strategy, but also at its ability to managing or leading people, with close details on setting tasks, responsibilities, work performance, work conditions and general skills. Based on the research paper done about Apple, being good at its management function activity, the Apple Incorpo rated in its actual practice always integrates its initiatives to consider people skills and their ability to create highly innovative products. ... has given the job description especially in the product research and manufacturing department to create a significant product design that must be something new in the market. At this point, it should not be impossible for Apple to establish a promising market for smartphones and other products, as it strongly believes the potential of its human resource to formulate the finest products in its industry. This is due to the fact that the company is not only good at creating needs for its offerings; it also ensures that the job description of its human resource fits to its actual strategy of product differentiation. Now, it is, therefore, important that Apple must have substantially managed how it sets tasks for its human resource. Setting tasks requires careful implementation of systematic process of achieving immediate goals and objectives. After all, this should have high link with certain level of responsibilities. On the other hand, considering the fact that Apple wants to lead in i ts industry, implementing a high quality performance within its human resource is not just an obligation that everyone must come to realize, but an actual requirement for the company’s competitive edge. Now that everyone at Apple has specialized skills, the more the human resource will obtain a high opportunity for increase productivity, as the company continues to look forward to advance in the market by creating a need for its new innovative product offerings. Finally, setting tasks, responsibilities, work performances, work conditions and others are not just the actual activities Apple Incorporated must initiate. Another important function that it must establish under its ability to cope with change and complexities is the actual work measurement. As a company trying to lead in its

'Alternative dispute resolution is at the heart of today's civil Essay

'Alternative dispute resolution is at the heart of today's civil justice system, and any unjustified failure to give proper - Essay Example Early 1990s had been witnessing delays in the conduct of litigation in courts exacerbated due to complex procedures and interlocutory battles entailing heavy costs to the parties and the state exchequer as well. As stated by the English Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), British commerce can achieve cost savings of over ? 1 billion by avoiding time spent by the management, spoilt relationships, lost productivity and legal fees.1 Mediation method already has helped save about ? 6.3 billion since 1990.2 In a classical case decided in 2007 involving a claim of just ? 6,000, parties are reported to have spent nearly ? 100,000 as litigation costs. 3 Perceptions about mediation are still mixed as revealed by a survey of the Ministry of Justice in 2007. For 38 % of the respondents, mediation had resulted in cost savings and for 29 %, costs had increased. Those who had settled cases through mediation informed of cost savings except for 7 % of them for whom costs had increased. F or those whose cases could not be settled through mediation, 45 % of them stated cost increases, 19 % cost savings and 28 % did not see any difference in costs.4 Sequel to Lord Woolf’s report, the U.K. Government made it a condition as far as possible to provide for ADR in all government contractual disputes arising out of procurement contracts. 5 As a result, ADR was resorted to in 336 cases out of which 241 were settled with a resultant cost savings of ? 120.7 million. 6 in Royal Bank of Scotland v Secretary of State for Defence, the successful defendant was refused costs as it had not opted for ADR in line with the above said ADR pledge by the Government.7 An audit report of 2007 stated that non-availing of mediation in family disputes entailed additional cost of ? 74 million through legal aid i.e average legal cost for a non-mediated case amounted to ? 1,682 as against ? 752 for a mediated case. 8 Warren K. Wrinkler Chief Justice of Ontario notes with caution that mediati on if not successful ends up as an additional layer in litigation costs. 9 Time efficiency is another factor apart from cost factor. According to a report of the CEDR, in England 75 % of their cases were settled instantly (same day). 10 Mediated family disputes cases are settled faster at 110 days than non-mediated cases which take 435 days to settle. 11 Regardless of cost effectiveness and time efficiency, flexibility available in mediation towards mutually consensual resolution is absent in court led litigation. The English Alder Hey case that involved more than 1000 claims is a classic example of successful mediation that resulted in apology and erection of permanent memorial for the children whose organs had been withheld by the hospital. ADR provides for not only procedural flexibility but also of flexibility of outcome.12 Mediation offers larger number of remedies that include apology, explanation, enduring relationships, and undertaking by one party an obligation without any legal compulsion. 13 In order to have an effective mediation system, the 2008 EU Directive applicable for cross-border disputes states that member states should have legislation that ensures mediation that guarantees a predictable legal framework, provides for flexibility in procedures and ensures autonomy of parties. Besides, the mediation should be conducted in an effective, impartial and competent manner.14 The EU directive adds that it can be applied to internal mediation of the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The education system compare and contrast 2 countries(USA&UK) Essay

The education system compare and contrast 2 countries(USA&UK) - Essay Example According to the national curriculum, there are four key stages in the education system. The first and second stages combined, form the primary level of education, comprising of learners between the ages of five to eleven year. Stages three and four make up the secondary level and comprise of learners between the ages of eleven and fourteen year. Throughout the above stages, standard assessment tests are regularly administered to learners. The last key stage is the GCSE in which, students learn English, maths, citizenship, Information Technology, science and physical education. At the end, learners take the GCSE examinations in each subject. At the higher education stage, learners may opt to further their education by enrolling in vocational colleges or pursue secondary education for another year. Entry into universities in the United Kingdom, however, requires students to study for two more years then sit the Advanced Level examinations. Undergraduate degrees take three years to complete, one year for a master’s degree or two years for a research master’s degree. A doctorate takes three years to complete while professional courses such as teaching, medicine and law take five years. In the United Kingdom students are not ranked within their study year, rather, the GCSE, SCE, AS and A-level exams are used to assess their performance. The education system of the United Kingdom is advantageous in that; it provides in-depth learning of a particular discipline. This is especially useful for a student wishing to specialise in a particular field especially at the university. Another advantage is that education is relatively cheap since it is state funded. A disadvantage, though, is the number of subjects taught to children at the primary stage, which is seen to be too much for such young brains to handle. In the United States, the structure of the education system incorporates; primary, secondary and higher successively.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Consumers Choice Regarding the Selection of a Mobile Phone Brand Essay

Consumers Choice Regarding the Selection of a Mobile Phone Brand - Essay Example Globalization has made a severe impact on consumer behavior and choices, especially in the consumer goods sector. Consumer choices are influenced by several factors such as situational factors, socio-economic background, and cultural differences. Globalization has not made the consumer needs homogenous. Segmentation also is not sufficient and the marketers need to know consumer attitude because attitude helps the marketer advertise in the right market although attitude does not reveal the brand preference. The motivation for the study arose from the recent focus on brand image and how brands influence consumer choice, especially in the mobile phones market. With the aim to evaluate the factors on which the consumers make their choice in selecting the mobile phone brand, this study was undertaken. Four objectives were hence set and after extensive literature review in Chapter II, the methodology for research was presented in Chapter III. The justification for choosing the qualitative approach has been provided. The chosen instrument for data collection has been face-to-face interviews of the male consumers as well as of the representative from a telecom company. The female consumers were interviewed over the phone due to cultural barriers. All four objectives of the study have been achieved. The literature review suggests that the perception of the Saudi Arabian consumers differs distinctly from the Western consumers. Even though the Saudi Arabian consumers are attempting to adopt the western culture, the international marketers should note that certain elements of culture cannot be ignored. The study concludes that the needs and wants of the consumers are not homogenous and difference also exists across genders. While men prefer phones that offer technologically advanced features women look for the convenience of usage and the security of after-sales service. Many consumers identify their status with the phone and hence iPhone is preferred despite some weakness es that iPhone has. Price and country of origin matter little to the consumer. Consumers prefer Bluetooth enabled phones but most smartphones carry this feature today. All these factors would help the marketers plan and revise their marketing and promotions strategy to meet individual consumer needs and wants. Flexibility is the key to sales and the dealers should be able to meet consumer requirements. The consumers have not demonstrated any brand preference but they would not like to risk quality since mobile phones are not purchased frequently. They hence prefer to purchase tried and tested brands, and this demonstrates uncertainty avoidance culture in Saudi Arabia, which is a collectivist society. Hence to be able to sell something of repute such as iPhones or BB the dealers would need to offer something unique to the consumers. Dealers can position themselves as consumer-friendly points of purchase and offer user reviews through their blog or user forums. The study concludes by providing the area for further research where the role of the media and the role of the dealers could be evaluated in helping consumers make their choice of brand when purchasing mobile phones. Limitations of the study have been highlighted and ethical concerns have been addressed.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Marketing in Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Marketing in Practice - Essay Example Marketing is based on five Ps namely product, place, price, promotion, and people (Russel 2008, p.12) and through marketing, marketers identify market needs, and prices that consumers will be willing to pay for products addressing those needs (Blythe 2005, p.4); using people in global markets by communicating the specific places where they can be found, and their prices. This way, promotion marketing increases sales substantially, in addition to collecting market feedback regarding consumer tastes and preferences, and addressing specific market needs. Marketing promotion strategies offer great potential for the library of Birmingham, which if explored to the maximum could have the impact of improving the library experience and increasing attendance substantially. For instance, marketing promotion strategies will increase the library’s visibility to the market both around and beyond Birmingham thereby creating awareness of the library and its services fulfilling the marketersâ €™ objectives. ... Marketing promotion strategies are centred on the Library of Birmingham’s exciting displays of content, internal organization, rich archival offers, and user help guidelines that offer readers enhanced new experiences especially in terms of the ease of finding books. Additionally, marketing promotion strategies focus on the library of Birmingham’s innovative technologies such as online search databases that have greatly transformed the library experience; for instance, readers are able to evaluate particular resources in the library through online database reviews and can make book orders without necessarily visiting the physical store. Overall, marketing promotion objectives for the Library of Birmingham are to increase the number of visitors, internet users, book borrowers, Family History service users, in addition to increasing the library use by underrepresented ethnic minority and socially excluded groups, and the library’s use for learning and study. This p aper presents a report on the marketing promotion situation analysis of the Library of Birmingham using the SOSTAC model; this report aims at establishing the library’s current promotion and public relation marketing strategies, key objectives, in addition to a strategic direction action plan, and the control metrics. Apart from that, this report will also propose a number of recommendations for the library’s promotion and public relation marketing strategies, specific goals that should be focused in the approaches, and viable future trajectory options for the library of Birmingham. Introduction Marketing promotion strategies are increasingly becoming a focal point of management in the business world today due to increasing pressures in the complex market environments; in this

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Alternative Energy Essay Example for Free

Alternative Energy Essay Alternative Energy whether used for transportation or utilities such as generating electricity for home or business is a very significant subject going on right now because of the benefits it would provide for us, such as environmental, economic, job security and energy security. I believe alternative energy would be beneficial to our society, especially if it is used in transport; there is many other better, leaner and reusable energy sources out there, for example fuel for vehicles pollutes the air and yet can be changed by using a more natural source that doesnt create as much pollution if not any If we were to experiment more with the usage of natural elements, without mentioning that it would be cheaper for all of us in the long run. Evidence Despoiling nature to get at the tiny trickle of oil we have left wont make any significant difference in what we pay at the pump not now and not ever. And it wont make our country any less dependent on foreign fuel. Our thirst for oil is bad for national security, bad for our economy and bad for the environment, America needs to say no to pumping up Big Oils profits and yes to forging a new clean energy economy. -Build the Clean Energy Economy, www.nrdc.org ?(accessed Feb. 25, 2009). The nation is finally realizing that the solutions to these twin crises are linked. That is because nearly everything that is good for the environment and practically everything that is good in the fight against global warming is a job. We can power America through this recession by repowering America with clean energy. We can create millions of jobs that will make our people wealthier and the Earth healthier. (Jones, 2008) The U.S. renewable energy resource base is vast and practically untapped. Available wind energy resources in 12 Midwestern and Rocky Mountain states equal about 2.5 times the entire electricity production of the United States, Complete elimination of CO2 could occur as early as 2040. Elimination of nuclear power could also occur in that time frame. (Makhijani, 2007) Biofuels can provide a number of environmental advantages over conventional fossil fuels-most notably a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since the transportation sector accounts for about a third of total U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (an abundant GHG), cleaner transp ortation fuels can play an important role in addressing climate change. -Environmental Benefits of Biofuels, www.doe.gov ?(accessed July 8, 2008) Solar power is a prime choice in developing an affordable and feasible global power source that can substitute fossil fuels in all the worlds climate zones. The solar radiation reaching the earths surface in one year provides more than 10,000 times the worlds yearly energy needs, with the right product, therefore offering customers the type of added value they are looking for, coupled with innovative marketing technologies such as solar electricity should be able to compete with grid power in industrialized countries.- Solar Generation: Solar Electricity for Over One Billion People and Two Million Jobs by 2020, www.epia.org, ?Sep. 2006. Counterarguments It is estimated that there is enough oil and natural gas offshore and in non-wilderness and non-park lands in the United States but currently ruled off-limits for production by the federal government to fuel 50 million cars and heat nearly 100 million homes for the next 25 years. -â€Å"PuttingAmericasEnergyResourcesto Work, www.exxonmobil.com,?June 2008. Taking into account the EIAs [US Energy Information Agency] projected increases in electricity demand, the renewable sector would need to grow 19% per year for 22 years consecutively to meet U.S. demand by the year 2030. Clearly, these targets are overly ambitious and impractical The government cannot create wealth or jobs; all it can do is take from Peter to pay Paul, opening up a job in green industry A by eliminating one in fossil fuel industry B. (Murphy, 2008) We want to be very clear: solar cells, wind turbines, and biomass-for-energy plantations can never replace even a small fraction of the highly reliable nuclear, fossil and hydroelectric power stations. Claims to the contrary are popular, but irresponsible. (Patzek, Pimentel, 2005) The use of corn for ethanol has led to major increases in the price of U.S. beef, chicken, pork, eggs, breads, cereals, and milk a boon to agribusiness and bane to consumers, as global population soars to 8 or 9 billion toward mid-century, and a s we burn more grain as fuel, shortages and production costs could cause grain prices to skyrocket, taking food from the mouths of the worlds poorest people. (Pimentel, 2008). The suns energy is too widely dispersed and the land area required to collect it too vast for solar to become a large-scale power source. The suns energy is too widely dispersed and the land area required to collect it too vast for solar to become a large-scale power source, he solar problem is that no matter how you design the system it will always be inefficient and capture only a small, uneconomical amount of solar energy. (Leher, 2005) We can come to a conclusion that there are many viable alternate sources of energy that we can and should use to supply our energy needs other than fossil fuels and coal, but if we really want to change the energy we use, we need to make a dramatic change. Even if at a first impression we might think it is more expensive to switch to Alternate energy for transport, imagine how it would be like to have cars that don’t need gas to run, in the long run it would be beneficial not only to our wallets but also to our environment, if we really want a change we should start investing in alternative energy now.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Prison Term Policy Recommendation Essay Example for Free

Prison Term Policy Recommendation Essay As the criminologist advisor to a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature, I have been selected to conduct research for a bill that would double the maximum prison term for anyone convicted of armed robbery. The bill is popular however it is unknown if it will do much good. It is my job to make recommendations in regards to whether the bill being voted on will be beneficial to everyone in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The prison term policies are sentencing guidelines that are created by Congress and the State Legislature to provide judges with bases for sentencing those individuals found guilty of committing a crime to ensure that each person is treated equal without discrimination (sentencing guidelines, 2010). There are four offenses that make up what is known as violent crime which are murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program a violent crime is any crime that involves force or threat of force to others (Department of Justice, 2006). Currently the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s prison terms for armed robbery are as follows: for the first offense of a violent crime a minimum of five years, for a second offense of a violent crime a minimum of 10 years, and for the third offense of a violent crime a minimum of 25 years total confinement or life imprisonment which is accordance with 42 Pa. C.S.  §9714 (Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, 2008). Pennsylvania’s Uniform Crime Reporting tracks all forms of Robbery together. According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, in 2008 there were 18,751 reported robbery offenses which is equivalent to 51 per day or one every 28 minutes and 2 seconds (PA UCRS, 2008). These figures showed a decrease of 2.5% from 2007 which had 19,239 reported robberies (PA UCRS, 2008). Robbery made up 5.4% of the crime index and 37.2%  of the violent crime index in Pennsylvania in the year 2008 (PA UCRS, 2008). The reported robbery rates in Pennsylvania in 2008 were 150.6 per 100,000 inhabitants (PA UCRS, 2008). Recidivism is defined as a habitual relapse into crime, which is a problem that is faced within the criminal justice system. Pennsylvania tracks information on inmates released in order to find the recidivism rates. In 2002 Pennsylvania Department of Corrections released 1,711 inmates charged with robbery and within three years 46.6% returned to prison, which was a decline from 2000 when 1,776 inmates charged for robbery were released and 52.8% of the inmates returned within three years (PADOC, 2006). A study was conducted in Italy in 2006 when the Collective Clemency Bill set all inmates with less than three years remaining on their sentence free however if the inmates were convicted of another crime within the next five years, the remainder of their sentence would be added onto the new sentence. This allowed studies to be conducted to see if longer prison terms would deter criminals. Studies showed that increasing the sentence by 50% should reduce recidivism rates by about 35% in seven months (Crime/Punishment, 2010). With inmates comes a bill to cover the housing, feeding, and medical costs of each inmate. The cost to house a prisoner in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADOC) is $ 69 per day (Barnes, 2010). In July 2010 the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections housed 51,281 inmates, at $69 per day that amounts to $3,538,389 per day or $1,291,151,985 per year (PADOC, 2010). There are multiple benefits of the bill being passed to double the maximum prison term for those convicted of armed robbery. The study that was conducted in Italy shows that longer prison sentences lowers the recidivism rates among offenders, which over time would reduce the population of the already over populated prisons. The criminals would be off the streets for a longer period of time preventing them from committing future crimes. Longer prison sentences could be a deterrent for some criminals. Robbery is one of the top two violent crimes committed in Pennsylvania and the longer sentence imposed on those criminals may lower the rate of armed robbery however it could cause an increase in other crimes. If the bill were passed and new prisons built to accommodate all inmates there would be more jobs available such as corrections officers, nurses, doctors, dentists, psychologists, and office personnel. These job openings would not only assist with job market, but also with having mo re  tax payers to assist with the money needed for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania budget. There are also multiple disadvantages to the bill being passed to double the maximum prison term for those convicted of armed robbery. Pennsylvania prisons are overpopulated as it is and by imposing longer sentences the problem is going to continue to get worse. As discussed earlier the prison population in June 2010 was 51,281 however the occupational bed capacity of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is only 43,872 (PADOC, 2010). The prisons are already operating at 116.9% of capacity and by passing this bill those rates are going to increase at a more rapid pace than they already are (PADOC, 2010). As discussed earlier the cost to house an inmate in Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is $69 per day which if this bill is passed a much larger budget is going to be required because inmates are going to be housed for a longer period of time. The need may arise for more prisons due to the longer prison terms which would require a much larger budget. With more prisons comes the need for more employees to operate those prisons which also is going to have an effect on the prison budget. Where is the money going to come from to meet the increase in the budget? The tax payers are the ones that are going to have to suffer to make the funding available for the prison system budget. Other crime rates may rise as a domino effect because criminals may turn to other crimes that are known to carry a lighter sentence if they are caught. If the bill is passed it is not required that judges sentence those convicted of the crime to the maximum sentence. Judges are required to look at mitigating and aggravating circumstances when sentencing individuals found guilty of committing crimes. Judges look at prior criminal history, personal life situation, was anyone hurt during the crime, or sometimes the remorse the person shows toward the crime they committed. This bill could be beneficial in the cases of habitual offenders because there would be stricter sentencing for the first offense rather than having to wait until the second or even third offense. As we all know with anything there is pros and cons. There appears to be more cons in this situation than there are pros which should make the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legislature take a second look into whether or not passing this bill is going to be the most beneficial thing for the Commonwealth as a whole. I would find that it would not be beneficial to double the maximum sentence for those individuals  charged with committing armed robbery. The evidence shows that it would cost the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania more money to double the sentence for armed robbery. The evidence also proves that close to 50% of people convicted of armed robbery are going to reoffend which is going to bring them back to the criminal justice system and with one offense already committed they will receive a longer sentence the second time around. This also allows for those who are actually capable of being rehabilitated to have the chance to prove themselves without having to spend 10 years in pri son. References Barnes, T. (2010). Post-Gazette. Pa. sentencing guidelines eyed. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10002/1025303-454.stm Crime/Punishment (2010). Do stiffer sentences act as a crime deterrent? Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://crime.about.com/od/prevent/a/deterrence.htm Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006). Crime in the United States 2004. Violent Crime. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/violent_crime/index.html Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (2008). Retrieved August 31, 2010 from http://pcs.la.psu.edu/guidelines/sentencing/sentencing-statutes-and-programs/related-statutes/mandatory-minimum-sentences/SentMandMin122008.pdf Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (2010). Monthly population report June 2010. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.cor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/research___statistics/10669/monthly_population_reports/568195 Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (2006). Recidivism in Pennsylvania State Correctional Institutions 1999-2004. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.cor.st ate.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/research___statistics/10669/annual_reports/567085 Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System (2008). Annual Report Robbery. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/UCR/Reporting/Annual/AnnualFrames.asp?year=2008 Sentencing guidelines (2010). Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.willdefend.com/CM/Custom/TOCSentencingGuidelines.asp

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Economic Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources

Economic Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources Economic Impacts of Climate Change in the Mountain Regions: Water as a source of peace and economic development Abstract When we think of the mountains we usually think of the mountains themselves and not the impact they make on the area below them. The purpose of this research is to review impacts of climate change at a global scale on the mountains and the mountains’ water supply. This paper also reviews major environmental/ecological, social, and economic issues facing us. Tourism industry will suffer because of it. The study concludes that climate change will bring in instability on global scale with possible water conflicts and decreasing economic developments especially in developing countries. This will bring increased people migration into the areas not much effected by water supply issues and will increase social and political instability in those areas. Keywords:relative water yield (RWY), â€Å"water towers†, â€Å"river piracy† Introduction It is estimated that out of 7.382 billion people in the world today (U.S. Census, 2017), about 11% of the world’s population live in the mountain regions (Kohler et al, 2014). The mountains provide water for billions of people. The mountains are â€Å"water towers† of the world. They cover 25% of the world’s land surface and more than 50% the world’s population depends on water that originates in the mountains (Viviroli et all, 2006). By comparison in 2015 we used less than 1% of fresh water. That water is made in more than 18,000 desalination plants. The water desalination production increased by 67% from 2008 (Thomas Sumner et all, 2016). The water from mountains is used for drinking, domestic use, irrigation, hydropower, transportation, tourism purposes and many other industries. Climate change in the mountains is bringing in an unpredictable winters. Winters with minimal snow or snow coverage which lasts for only a short time are the winters of today (J. Dawson et all, 2009). Climate change in the mountains will bring increased hazards and casualties, such as: fires, floods, avalanches, landslides, desertification, and mountain erosion. It will change the rainfall and monsoon patterns which will bring devastation and economic uncertainty to many regions. Climate change will increase people’s migration and will bring diseases not known in the area. The possibility of conflicts and even war might also increase. Water as a source of peace and economic development Mountains as water source around the world Climate change might have devastated outcome especially for semi-arid and arid areas which will be affected by less water coming from the mountains. The mountains help to distribute up 95% of water to these areas. In humid areas mountains’ distribution of water is up to 60%. (Swiss Agency et all, 1998). Figure 1 below shows mountain water run off around the world. Figure 1: Disproportionality of mountain runoff formation relative to average lowland runoff (RWY), mapped cell by cell for mountainous areas. Disproportionality in favor of runoff is given when RWY is greater than 1, its importance being marked for RWY > 2 and essential for RWY > 5 (Viviroli et al, 2007). As can be seen in Figure 1, the most important water mountain sources are regions in the Middle East, South and central Africa, Asia, Rocky Mountains in the U.S. and the Andes. In the Figure 1, we can see that relative water runoff is very important for the lower areas in the areas of where RWY is higher than 1 2 and essential for RWY > 5 (Viviroli et al, 2007). As can be seen in Figure 1, the most important water mountain sources are regions in the Middle East, South and central Africa, Asia, Rocky Mountains in the U.S. and the Andes. In the Figure 1, we can see that relative water runoff is very important for the lower areas in the areas of where RWY is higher than 1

Monday, August 19, 2019

Analysis of Memory and Time in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury Essay

Sartre and Brooks’ Literary Critiques: Analysis of Memory and Time in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury â€Å"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time.† Cicero presaged the study of historical memory and conceptions of time, which assumes that what and how we remember molds our past into something more than a chronological succession of events. Ever more appreciative of the subjectivity of recollection, we grasp that without memory, time passes away as little more than sterile chronology. In literary as well as literal history, time derives its meaning from Bergson’s â€Å"duration† – time as personal consciousness (322). In Faulkner’s fiction, duration is a centerpiece, even as chronology fails. Such is the case in The Sound and the Fury. For the Compson family, history as memory indeed testifies to their passage from respectable to regrettable. Thus it is appropriate that some literary critics of the novel have focused on time and memory in their analysis. Jean-Paul Sartre and Cleanth Brooks attempt to explain the Compson dynamic by examining conceptions of time in the novel’s four narratives. Sartre and Brooks address certain themes in common, including emotional and mental paralysis or freedom, and the interconnectedness of the past and the present – the future having forsaken the troubled Compsons. Sartre, perhaps better than Brooks, aptly makes the case for time as duration in the Compson experience. Sartre is concerned foremost with how the characters react to the limits of time. As evidence that time is personal, he explains â€Å"The story does not unfold; we discover it under each word† (265). He rightly suggests that the tensions between time and the characters free readers to better grasp the meaning o... ... who concocts violent schemes in his platonic passion, and who, Brooks suggests, lives for his despair and takes his life to preserve his suffering for all time. Quentin is so absorbed by the past and mythic codes of honor that he sees â€Å"no future he is willing to contemplate† (complete work, 333; 291). There is no escaping time in Faulkner’s fiction. The Sound and the Fury showcases two forms of time – the temporal chronology which is frustratingly disrupted and the duration of individual consciousness which speaks to lived memory. Cleanth Brooks wisely warns that, overwhelmed as we are by the apparent timelessness of the novel, we should not reduce its characters to mere abstraction, â€Å"stages in a dialectic† (292). They are people who expect and suffer - and remember. Restoring subjectivity to the passage of time also restores humanity to those who passed it.

Abortion Essay -- Research Papers Pregnancy Papers

Abortion â€Å"Abortion is a procedure, either surgical or medical, to end a pregnancy by removing the fetus and placenta from the uterus.† This definition (A.D.A.M., 2003) is a dry medical definition that lacks meaning. This paper attempts to apply meaning to this dry definition, and in doing so, will show the less known and less published side of abortion; the human side. A Brief History Archaeologists have recently uncovered Roman ruins that contain the evidence of aborted children, abandoned children, and children that were destroyed just after birth (infanticide); all of these bodies were recovered from a brothel. Fast forwarding a few hundred years, Thomas Aquinas wrote on the evils of abortion, and the moral implications of such a practice in a civilized society. These two examples of â€Å"ancient† history show that abortion has been around a long, long time, and has been used as a means of birth control, to end unwanted pregnancies, for some time now; it is not a recent development. The act of destroying the young before birth has been present in the world for a while, however, but it has been only in the last century that this problem has reached an epidemic proportion. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the first abortion legislation in the United States was proposed, mainly concerned with the application of penalties for illegal a bortions; outlines what abortions would be considered legal. It should be noted, that these early proposals wanted to legalize abortion for reasons including the mental or physical health of the mother, pregnancy due to rape and incest, and fetal deformity (NRLC, 2003). In the late 1960’s forms of the earlier abortion legislation was passed in a few states; the number of states... ... of people out there that are able to think for themselves, based on the given facts and evidence. I would like to commend everyone in the class for giving me an opportunity to enjoy their views on life, for it helped me to better understand my own views. Bibliography The Boycott List. Life Decisions International. Washington. 2002 â€Å"Life and death before birth.† Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life 2003 Pro-life Resource Book. MCCL. Minneapolis. 2002 Heritage House 76. 2003. Arguments of Abortion. [Online]. http://www.abortionfacts.com/parsing_the_arguments/parsing_the_arguments.asp [Dec 14, 2003] Heritage House 76. 2003. History of Abortion. [Online]. http://www.abortionfacts.com/history/history.asp [Dec 14, 2003] NRLC. 2003. Abortion: Some Medical Facts. [Online]. http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/ASMF/asmf.html [Dec 02, 2003] Abortion Essay -- Research Papers Pregnancy Papers Abortion â€Å"Abortion is a procedure, either surgical or medical, to end a pregnancy by removing the fetus and placenta from the uterus.† This definition (A.D.A.M., 2003) is a dry medical definition that lacks meaning. This paper attempts to apply meaning to this dry definition, and in doing so, will show the less known and less published side of abortion; the human side. A Brief History Archaeologists have recently uncovered Roman ruins that contain the evidence of aborted children, abandoned children, and children that were destroyed just after birth (infanticide); all of these bodies were recovered from a brothel. Fast forwarding a few hundred years, Thomas Aquinas wrote on the evils of abortion, and the moral implications of such a practice in a civilized society. These two examples of â€Å"ancient† history show that abortion has been around a long, long time, and has been used as a means of birth control, to end unwanted pregnancies, for some time now; it is not a recent development. The act of destroying the young before birth has been present in the world for a while, however, but it has been only in the last century that this problem has reached an epidemic proportion. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the first abortion legislation in the United States was proposed, mainly concerned with the application of penalties for illegal a bortions; outlines what abortions would be considered legal. It should be noted, that these early proposals wanted to legalize abortion for reasons including the mental or physical health of the mother, pregnancy due to rape and incest, and fetal deformity (NRLC, 2003). In the late 1960’s forms of the earlier abortion legislation was passed in a few states; the number of states... ... of people out there that are able to think for themselves, based on the given facts and evidence. I would like to commend everyone in the class for giving me an opportunity to enjoy their views on life, for it helped me to better understand my own views. Bibliography The Boycott List. Life Decisions International. Washington. 2002 â€Å"Life and death before birth.† Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life 2003 Pro-life Resource Book. MCCL. Minneapolis. 2002 Heritage House 76. 2003. Arguments of Abortion. [Online]. http://www.abortionfacts.com/parsing_the_arguments/parsing_the_arguments.asp [Dec 14, 2003] Heritage House 76. 2003. History of Abortion. [Online]. http://www.abortionfacts.com/history/history.asp [Dec 14, 2003] NRLC. 2003. Abortion: Some Medical Facts. [Online]. http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/ASMF/asmf.html [Dec 02, 2003]

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Future of Broadband over Power Lines Essay -- essays research pape

The future of BPL (Broadband over Power Lines)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BPL, or Broadband over Power Lines, is in its infancy. Several utility companies are rolling BPL out to their customers for field trials, and â€Å"predict that 15 to 20% of its customer base will eventually be on BPL†. 1 There are several obstacles surrounding BPL and must be overcome to help with success of BPL. One obstacle is the issue of interference with radio transmissions. Another obstacle is the adoption of new technologies, which could greatly hinder the progress of BPL. While BPL is still in its infancy, the future of BPL could be very bright. If the issues are overcome, BPL could become a very strong contender in the Internet services arena. Radio Interference The amateur radio operators consider BPL to be quite harmful to the current radio spectrum. With several installations in the United Kingdom there has been some evidence that BPL does interfere with radio transmissions. â€Å"Earlier PLC systems such as the one developed by Nor.Web in the UK emitted a high level of radio noise in the 1-30 MHz bandwidth. This resulted in conflicts with the British government's Radio Agency, when it disrupted radio signals from the BBC World Service. The Department of Trade and Industry (UK) subsequently made it impossible to use PLC in the UK and contributed to the withdrawal of Nor.Web from the business†. 2 In the future there could be technology that is available to help with this interference. According t...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Design and Procedure

The study entitled â€Å"The level of Knowledge of Cigarette Smoker tricycle drivers of STOD (Pembo-Blueboz route) on sintax law and its relation to their Attitude towards Smoking† will use a quantitative approach. In which, according to Hammersley (1992), quantitative approach is taken when people are trying to analyze information, collect survey data and perform analyses and many other functions and since the researchers will use survey questionnaires as instrument. It is mainly helpful for strategic planning and implementation. This design was adapted by the researchers to find out the level of knowledge of cigarette smokers on Sin tax Law and its relation to their attitude towards smoking, as stated on Hopkin’s article, quantitative research aims to determine the relationship between one thing and another. The principle of quantitative research will be applied in this study for it will help them in studying the abstract things such as level of knowledge and attitude of the smoking tricycle drivers. Hence, the researchers will be able to identify the variables: age, monthly income and education to be utilized for the purpose of the study and analysis and also to know the relationship of their attitude towards smoking and their knowledge on Sintax Law. The researchers will also use Descriptive type of research. Descriptive research is used when the purpose of the research is to determine the characteristics of certain groups or a subject and it is much applicable in their goal in the study to present the details and social setting of the selected smoking tricycle drivers on their level of knowledge on Sintax Law and their attitude on smoking. This study will describe the real situation of the researcher’s study and will further explain the data that will be gathered. Research Method The researchers will use the survey methodology for it is considered as the faster and cheapest way among others. Hence, survey is effective in producing information on opinions, attitudes, belief, presumption, and or socio-economic characteristics. Also, data will be reliable and could avoid or lessen its inconsistency. In addition to that, survey is simpler to analyze and easier to associate the gathered data. The survey will serve as their medium to gather data by asking questions. The researchers will use the survey method for they believed that it will be suitable on their study. Since a population can be quite large of a number, researchers will question only a sample. The sample respondents will be asked questions on their demographic profile along with the respective set of questionnaires regarding the data needed. By this survey, the respondents may give just to their freedom by voicing out their opinion or ideas prior to the research conducted. Through survey, the reliability of information collected from cigarette smoker respondents will maintain. Also, surveying will enable to help the researchers to gain a great deal of information at one time and will provide quantitative data. The researchers believed that this method remains as the most widely used method in gaining quantifiable data. Instrumentation The self-executed questionnaires by the researchers are the instrument they will use for their survey. It will serve as the medium to garner the necessary information for the research. This device aims to distinguish the level of knowledge of the cigarette smokers on the newly passed Sintax law and its relation to the smokers’ attitude towards smoking. The researchers will use closed questions, multiple-choice format, checklist format and the likert scale. The set of questions will be categorized based on the problem and objectives of this study. Closed question is considered as the simplest way whereas it is being nswerable by a yes or a no. By close ended questions, the researchers can avoid the unessential responses from the chosen respondents. To review the validity, the researchers made 2 page survey questionnaires. As a process, validation involves gathering and analyzing data to figure the accuracy of the instrument used. This survey is divided into 4 se ctions: profile, awareness, knowledge, and attitude. First part is where the respondents are being asked about their demographic profile. Second part of the instrument will measure the awareness of the respondents. Third is where the cigarette smokers’ knowledge unto the law will be measured. And last, the attitude of the respondents towards smoking will be asked. The purpose of this questionnaire is to fully determine if the tricycle drivers are aware or knowledgeable about the sintax law. By this instrument, the researchers will identify the cigarette smokers’ attitude on the said law. As a clarification, this study is only a fulfillment of requirement, for academic purposes only. Sample and Sampling Technique Usually, researchers aren’t capable of observing directly in every individual in a population they are studying. Rather, they gather information from a subset of individuals, called sample. Sample is a group of people that can be described as the sub-collection drawn from the population. In order for the sample to truly reflect the population, you need to have a sample that will represent the population. So in this study, the researchers selected tricycle drivers of STOD (Pembo-Blueboz route) who smoke to be the respondents. They will be selected through Simple Random sampling or SRS which is the one of the most commonly used probability method. Each respondent will be chosen randomly and entirely by chance. A simple random sample is an unbiased surveying technique. With the help of fishbowl draw, all the corresponding numbers of each correspondent will be place in it and will mixed thoroughly. In that case, all of them will have the chance to be the respondents. By this sample, the research study will be carried out. Sample random sampling is common and just simple. Its simplicity makes it relatively easy to interpret data collected via SRS. And for this reason, simple random sampling best suits situations where not much information is available about the population and data collection can be efficiently conducted on randomly distributed items. Data Collection Procedure The researchers will conduct survey for five days. The questionnaires will personally administer to the selected cigarette smokers according to the number of sample that will be computed. The researchers decided to survey 50% only of the total population of tricycle drivers, for not all the drivers smoke cigars. The respondents will participate in the study. Thus, ethical issues will be considered to make sure that everything will be confidential, especially the responses and will remain private as well as the safety of the respondents. All important details of the study, including its aim and purpose will relay by the researchers. And through this, the respondents will be able to understand the importance of their role in the completion of the research study. The respondents will not be forced to participate in the said research. The confidentiality of the participants will be ensured also by not disclosing their names or personal information in the research. Those significant details that can help in answering the research questions will be included. The completely filled-up questionnaires will be returned to the researchers for the evaluation and analysis of data. Statistical Formula The researchers will choose Likert survey for the questionnaire type as this will enable the respondents to answer the survey without difficulty. It will measure the extinct to which a person finds a question effective or ineffective. A Likert item is simply a statement which the respondent is asked to evaluate according to any kind of subjective or objective criteria; generally the level of agreement or disagreement is measured. It usually has four choices: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree, but there are cases that it will go up to ten and sometimes, more than ten. And some times, instead of using the level of agreement, likert can also consists of options with assigned values (excellent, very good, average, below average poor; always, seldom, frequently, sometimes and never). A numerical value will be assigned to each potential choice and a mean figure for all the responses will be computed at the end of the evaluation. The final average score will represent the overall level of accomplishment or attitude of the respondents toward the subject matter. The researcher will then exclude irrelevant questions and will change difficult or unclear terminologies into simpler ones in order to ensure understanding. The researcher used the 4-point likert in order to have a concrete answers from the respondents because likert scale implied that the number of alternatives are open for manipulation, and this study will employ a manipulated likert scale by allowing only four choices and in so doing, will eliminate a default median response. Many techniques can be involved in statistics that treat data in required manner. Statistical treatment is one, and the result is dependent on the experiment used and the desired output. Describing the data is also involved in statistical treatment. And the best way is to undergo the measure of central tendencies- the mean. Through these, the researchers could easily explain how the data are concentrated. To fulfill the process of Statistical Treatment, the gathered data will be processed by the use of the software program called SPSS/PC+. Same principles will be followed in this program to compute for frequency distribution, percentage and weighted mean. To identify the awareness and to describe the profile of the respondents, the frequency distribution and percentage will be applied. And to describe the attitude of the selected smoking tricycle drivers of STOD (Pembo-Blueboz route) by each selected attitudinal area, the weighted mean will be utilized. The weighted mean which describe the attitude of the respondents will verbally interpret as follows:

Friday, August 16, 2019

Dubliners †Joyces depiction and portrayal of Dublin Essay

‘He felt how useless it was to struggle against fortune†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘A Little Cloud’ ‘There was no doubt about it: if you wanted to succeed you had to go away you could do nothing in Dublin.’ ‘A Little Cloud’ From your reading of ‘Eveline’, ‘Araby’ and ‘A Little Cloud’, write about Joyce’s depiction and portrayal of Dublin in relation to the quotations above. Dubliners are a group of short stories by James Joyce. The whole series of the Dubliners is based on the city of Dublin and the people who inhabit it. We are studying three of the story’s ‘Araby’, ‘A Little Cloud’ and ‘Eveline’. The tone of the stories are depressing and full of misery. In a ‘Little Cloud’ Joyce shows that you can do nothing in Dublin. Joyce presents the character of little chandler as a weak and pathetic character this is shown by the use of the phrase ‘his hands were white and small, his frame was fragile, his voice was quiet.’ Little chandler is visiting his friend Ignatious Gallaher who grew up in Dublin and is a successful journalist this is shown through ‘had become a brilliant figure on the London press.’ Additionally we can see that Gallaher has done well for himself by the place that he wants to meet little chandler. This is highlighted by the phrase ‘he had never been in Corless but he knew the value of the name’, ‘people went there after the theatre to eat oysters and drink liquers’. Little Chandler’s character shows how Dublin disappoints people constantly. Little Chandler would like to write poetry but he knows that he can’t because he lives in Dublin. He has too many responsibilities like his family and his job. We can see also that Gallaher is having a really exciting time visiting lots of places like Paris and London. He is also making a good name for himself being a journalist in London. We can see that Little Chandler is jealous this is shown by the phrase ‘that was Ignatious Gallaher all out ; and, damn it, you couldn’t but admire him for it’. Additionally we can see that Little Chandler doesn’t have a good relationship with his wife. This is highlighted through the phrase ‘At first she wanted to take it back’ and ‘she threw the blouse on the table and said it was a regular swindle to charge ten and elevenpence for that dress’. We can see that little Chandler would like to make it as a poet and what we learn is that he always did better in school than Gallaher and yet Gallaher was the one who was better off. This shows his disappointment and how Dublin disappoints and this is why he cannot make it as a poet because of Dublin. In ‘Eveline’ James Joyce portrays Dublin as a city in which is decaying, poor and hopes and dreams are constantly being ruined. Eveline is a young women who is kept in the city by a bond between her and her mum. This promise was made on her mother’s deathbed. Eveline promised that she would keep the family together no matter what happened. She lives with her father and she has brothers and sisters but they don’t stay with her. She provides the money for the family this is shown through the phrase ‘she always gave her entire wages seven shillings’. She is fed up of this horrible life full of poverty and decay. The only good thing in her life at the moment is a sailor called Frank and sails round the world with the navy. They have been seeing each other and she wants to go with him and live in Buenos Ayres. But we can that it is hard for her to do. We see that Joyce has a lot of resemblance to the character of Eveline she promised her mother on h er deathbed and Joyce’s mum wanted him to confess his sins at church on her deathbed. In ‘Eveline’ we know that she had quite a tough and rough childhood but she loved it this is shown by the use of the phrase ‘the children of the Avenue used to play together in that field’. This shows that her childhood was a good apart from one thing her father was very violent towards her and her brothers this is illustrated in the passage by ‘Keogh the cripple used to keep nix and call out when her father was coming’. But that was when Dublin wasn’t a slum. I know fro my own knowledge that at that time Dublin boasted the best slums in Europe. We can see how Dublin is a decaying city in the story through the phrase ‘in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne’, ‘inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne’. This shows that it’s all around not just in one spot. Towards the end of the story we realise that she can’t go with Frank to Buenos Ayres because of her promise with her mother she realises this just as she is about to board. She sees how her dad is old and can not look after himself with out her help. â€Å"Araby† is a short story by Joyce that I believe is a reflection of his own life as a boy growing up in Dublin. Joyce portrays the young boy as a narrator; however the narrator seems much more mature then the boy in the story. The story focuses on the boy’s feelings for the girl on North Richmond Street we can see how the story is about disappointment and love and I believe it is a reflection of Joyce’s life and the constant struggle. The boy is obsessed with his friend’s sister he hides in the shadows, peering secluded from a distance trying to spy her â€Å"brown figure† this is obviously his first love this is highlighted through the phrase ‘we hid in the shadow until we had seen him safely housed or if Mangan’s sister came out onto the doorstep’. One day he finally builds up the courage to ask her what she is doing at the weekend we learn that there is a bazaar going on in the city but ‘she could not go, she said, because there would be a retreat in her convent’. The narrator decides that he wants to bring her something back from the bazaar. The boy sees the bazaar at Araby as an opportunity to win her over, as a way to show her that he wants more than a friendship. However, the boy is lost for words to speak. He fantasizes about her, how bringing her a gift from the bazaar will capture her heart. He had promised her a gift and he is annoyed by his uncles late return home and his forgetfulness. This is shown through ‘at nine o clock I heard my uncles latchkey in the halldoor’, ‘I asked him to give me the money to go to the bazaar. He had forgotten’. Nevertheless, he is undeterred and catches an empty train to the bazaar. He finds it much like North Richmond Street, empty and dark with few people. The young lady at the stall ignores him while she talks with the men. This is shown through the phrase ‘a young lady was talking and laughing with two young gentlemen’. When she finally approaches, he is not certain what he wants. As the woman turns and walks away, he realizes the opportunity of winning his friends sister through gift has slipped. In the end, regret burns in his eyes as the cold grip of reality takes hold of him. In all of Joyce’s story’s Dublin is always portrayed as place of misery and depression. We see how this is shown through all of Joyce’s story’s. In Eveline we see how she is disappointed by the responsibilities at home and that is the reason she can’t go to Buenos Ayres. In Araby his uncle coming home drunk and not letting him go to the bazaar disappoints the boy. In a little cloud we see how the charcter of little Chandler is constantly being disappointed this is shown by Gallahers success instead of him. Gallaher has made it as a successful journalist and has visited all of these fancy places even though Chandler always used to do better then him at school. Chandler also doesn’t have a very good relationship with his wife and this depresses him. Dublin doesn’t sound like a great place to live or grow up as Joyce depicts it. In conclusion Joyce portrays Dublin as a prison of misery and depression people are trapped and it is a graveya rd of ambition.