Friday, December 27, 2019

Philosophy Is What You Know - 1314 Words

British logician Bertrand Russel once opined, â€Å"Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don t know†. Russell’s logic assumes philosophical discussion to be mere speculation. Russell’s logic aside, philosophies serve to provide an academic field its notional base. Serving as overarching theories, hypothetical philosophies are comprised of foundational principles and precepts. Like any conjectural philosophy, this one will speculate about effective leadership’s foundational precepts and principles. This treatise addresses four (4) foundational precepts and three (3) guiding principles comprising my personal philosophy toward effectual leadership. The Precepts A codified instruction, tenet, or canon, precepts regulate or govern†¦show more content†¦Idealized Influence (II) requires leaders to serve as an exemplar to followers. Inspirational Motivation (IM) obliges leaders to stimulate and encourage followers. Considered the most formative TL component, Individualized Consideration (IC) demands leaders hold developmental and supportive concern for followers. Finally, Intellectual Stimulation (IS) necessarily demands follower cognitive growth as a leader charge. Precept #3 deals with worthy leadership. Leaders must provide followers worthy leadership or cease to serve as leaders. Not all leaders are worthy leaders. In fact, research suggests most aren’t. Thompson, Grahek, Phillips, and Fay (2008) define worthy leaders as those with â€Å"ability to guide, direct, or influence people in a way that has great merit† (p. 366). In short, worthy leaders possess the â€Å"capacity, commitment, and character† to lead (p. 368). Take Hall-of-Fame basketball coach Bob Knight for example, Knight suggests he lost his fitness as a worthy leader by failing in his commitment to coaching at the highest level. â€Å"My competency was never in doubt†, explains Knight. â€Å"Nor was my character ever in question. I simply no longer wanted to suffer rigors or make personal sacrifices associated with coaching at a championship level.† Being a fully worthy leader demands leadersShow MoreRelated The Importance of Philosophy Essay1171 Words   |  5 PagesThe Importance of Philosophy The question is Philosophy. Why is it important? What makes it important? To answer theses questions you first have to know what philosophy is. Philosophy is defined as: the pursuit of wisdom; a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means. This is the written definition of philosophy, but I think philosophy can’t be defined to just words. It’s more then words. Philosophy to me is an attempt to understandRead MoreI Am Gained Through Philosophy, Even For The Computer Science Student1712 Words   |  7 PagesThere is knowledge to be gained through philosophy, even for the computer science student. When I first learned that this was a required course for my degree curriculum, I did not believe I would find value in taking the course. Now I am going to present my evaluation of why I have changed my mind. What is the definition of philosophy? The dictionary would define it as â€Å"the study of the basic ideas about knowledge, truth, right and wrong, religion, and the nature and meaning of life†. My firstRead MoreIntro to Philosophy955 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction to Philosophy Essay There are many reasons one should study philosophy. The study of philosophy can ultimately change the way a person lives and unlock some deep questions about the meaning of their life. Questions you ask yourself such as why you are doing the things you are doing or where your life is heading or what you want to become in life can be answered throughout the study of a philosophy course. Understanding philosophy is the key in motivating us as individuals to exploreRead MoreSocrates : A Classical Greek Philosopher And The Father Of Western Thought752 Words   |  4 PagesSocrates was a classical Greek Philosopher and the father of Western thought. He was born in Athens Greece, in (c. 470-399 B.C.E.) (Archetypes of Wisdom, 95) Little is known about his life, but what we do know through the writings of his students, especially Plato, is that Socrates had a unique philosophy and charisma. Socrates was born to Sophroniscus a sculptor, and mother Phaenarete, a midwife. Because he was not from a royal family it is assumed that he most likely received an ordinary GreekRead MoreWhat Role Does Philosophy Have in My Life?822 Words   |  4 PagesWhat Role Does Philosophy Have in my Life? In many circumstances individuals consider Philosophy to be a very abstract field, but what exactly is Philosophy? Philosophy studies the basic nature of existence, of man, and of mans relationship to existence. What we must question is, would one be better off with or with out Philosophy? I consider that one should live a life with Philosophy. Philosophy consists of questioning man’s relationship to existence; if man does not question existence, are weRead MoreDescartes : The Father Of Modern Philosophy1055 Words   |  5 Pageson First Philosophy,† 182) Rene Descartes is widely considered the father of modern philosophy. He created many new ideas about the self, which is something that has been contested since the dawn of philosophy. Even now, the world is nowhere near a unified thought on the soul. Descartes is most famous for addressing this, and is often summarized by the famous â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum (I think, therefore I am)†Descartes offers a great deal of important thought on what we as humans really are, what our soulRead MoreLeadership Philosophy : Leadership And Coaching Philosophy1621 Words   |  7 PagesLeadership Coaching Philosophy If we want to study and explain a leadership and coaching philosophy. We have to know really well what a philosophy means. Philosophy is a theory or attitude held by a person or organization that acts as a guiding principle for behavior. Philosophy is defined as the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct (Mertz, 2014). Furthermore we need to know about what being a leader means. Leadership is having a vision, sharing thatRead MoreThink Philosophically1283 Words   |  6 Pagesvaluable aspects in our lives. We don t only provide our mind with education, but from other s experiences and our beliefs as well. The examples of philosophy based on my convictions, beliefs are: who created this universe, why does gravitational laws exists, and why is there no treatment for schizophrenia? I think what Russel clarifies in his philosophy is that we can t justify a belief without logical reasoning, therefore we have to discover the roots and the reasons by combining science, with otherRead MoreComponents Of An Educational Philosophy1038 Words   |  5 Pagesperson’s philosophy is defined as, â€Å"A theory or attitude held by a person that acts as a guiding principle for behavior.† If a person’s philosophy shapes his or her actions, then it is vital for any professional to have a good philosophy in their profession, so their actions follow suit. Therefore, it is important for an educator to have a solid philosophy of education so that his or her teaching is effective and right before God. Six important components of an educational philosophy are metaphysicsRead MoreMy Per sonal Philosophy Has Changed My Life1351 Words   |  6 Pages My personal philosophy has grown greatly since starting Palmer College of Chiropractic. Before coming to school I did not know that even a philosophy existed. I knew I wanted to join this profession because I got a glimpse of what Chiropractic care can do to people. While deciding what school I wanted to attend, I weighed heavily how many techniques were taught, how many clubs were offered, and what study abroad options were available. Palmer Davenport was last on my list. I already sent in my

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Short Story - 721 Words

â€Å"We’ll need a couple of blankets.† Chase told Sylvester. â€Å"We do?† He questioned. â€Å"Yea, we are about to leave town!† â€Å"We are?† He questioned again. â€Å"Atlanta.† â€Å"And how do we get there?† Sylvester asked. Chase evaded the question. â€Å"When we leave here, were going to that abandoned Goodyear Tire building across from the park! Sylvester wanted to hear more. We sneak in the building. Steal a few blankets from the tramps that live there while they are out, running around looking for food!† â€Å"What if someones there?† â€Å"Well,† Chase heaved in a deep breath, stared at Sylvester and said. Well have to deal with it as we go!† â€Å"Deal with it?† Sylvester asked. â€Å"You arent gonna cop-out on me are you?† Not wanting to look cowardly, he told Chase.†¦show more content†¦He stepped around Chase, grabbed some blankets, shook them out, rolled them up and they left. When they reached the plywood board downstairs, they heard some men outside talking. Chase grabbed Sylvester by the hand and led him in the dark to one of the building support pillars that extended out from the wall. He put his back to the wall and he saw Sylvester doing the same to hide from view. The plywood board moved away. Sylvester tensed up. Chase tensed up. Sunlight showed up the lifts. A man came in, wearing loose clothes. He took advantage of the light and moved swiftly over the lifts to the steps. Two more men came in, their voices slurred. They both heard the board dragging across the floor and it was dark again. Two men went carefully where they stepped to the steps. Chase came from behind the pillar with Sylvester and they went quietly to the plywood board and waited for the last two men to get up stairs. â€Å"Hey, some motherfucker was in here!† The man up-stairs hollered. The two men going up the steps hurried to get inside the room. â€Å"What they take?† One asked. Chase moved the plywood board aside just a little and he, and Sylvester snuck out with the blankets. He put the board back, and they walked fast to the next corner, turned, and went towards downtown. â€Å"Shouldnt we be going the other way? Sylvester warned. They can see us with these blankets if they come out!† â€Å"A chance we have to take!† Chase told him. Was he up to fighting those menShow MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. If you are one of these writers, who have run out of short story ideas, and the deadline you have for coming up with a short story is running out, the short story writing prompts below will surely help you. Additionally, if you are being tormented by the blank Microsoft Word document staring at you because you are not able to come up with the best short story idea, youRead MoreShort Story1804 Words   |  8 PagesShort story: Definition and History. A  short story  like any other term does not have only one definition, it has many definitions, but all of them are similar in a general idea. According to The World Book Encyclopedia (1994, Vol. 12, L-354), â€Å"the short story is a short work of fiction that usually centers around a single incident. Because of its shorter length, the characters and situations are fewer and less complicated than those of a novel.† In the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s DictionaryRead MoreShort Stories648 Words   |  3 Pageswhat the title to the short story is. The short story theme I am going conduct on is â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber (1973). In this short story the literary elements being used is plot and symbols and the theme being full of distractions and disruption. The narrator is giving a third person point of view in sharing the thoughts of the characters. Walter Mitty the daydreamer is very humorous in the different plots of his dr ifting off. In the start of the story the plot, symbols,Read MoreShort Stories1125 Words   |  5 PagesThe themes of short stories are often relevant to real life? To what extent do you agree with this view? In the short stories â€Å"Miss Brill† and â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† written by Katherine Mansfield, the themes which are relevant to real life in Miss Brill are isolation and appearance versus reality. Likewise Frau Brechenmacher suffers through isolation throughout the story and also male dominance is one of the major themes that are highlighted in the story. These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. These language and sound devices create a stronger image of the scenario or the characters within the text, which contribute to the overall pre-designed effect.As it is shown in the metaphor lipstick bleeding gently in CinnamonRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 W ords   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. This story would be considered a gothic short story because of its use of setting, theme, symbolism, and literary devices used to portray the horror of a missing six-year-old girl. Plot is the literal chronological development of the story, the sequence of eventsRead MoreRacism in the Short Stories1837 Words   |  7 PagesOften we read stories that tell stories of mixing the grouping may not always be what is legal or what people consider moral at the time. The things that you can learn from someone who is not like you is amazing if people took the time to consider this before judging someone the world as we know it would be a completely different place. The notion to overlook someone because they are not the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intr uding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narrator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. In

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Financial Ratio Analysis Legal and Tax Environment

Question: Define, analyse, synthesise, critically discuss and interpret financial accounting reports and strategies and key concepts and comparative models, and relate this to the formulation of financial strategy and financial decision making within businesses and organisations. Identify, analyse and solve financial problems related to business enterprises, particularly within the contexts of corporate investment, asset management and financing decisions and strategy, and analyse the impact of economic, legal and tax environments on the strategic, operational and financial position of the firm? Answer: The 2 companies chosen for comparison are Easy jet and the first group plc. These companies have been undertaken due to their good services for the travellers. The Easy jet company is one of the leading airline companies of Europe that operates across 6,000 routes across more than 30 countries with the fleet of over 200 airbus aircraft. The company employs about 8,000 people and comprises of 2,000 pilots and 4,500 cabin crews. The company flew 60 million passenger during the last year. The company has the strong position in the following key markets: No. 1 at London Gatwick, London Luton, London Southend, Bristol, Edinburgh, Milan Malpensa, Naples, Venice, Nice, Basel and Geneva; No. 2 at London Stansted, Paris Orly, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Lisbon, Lyon, and Rome Fiumicinowith over300 million peoplewithin aone hour driveof an EasyJet airport. (Corporate.easyjet.com, 2015) The second company under review is known by the name of First group plc which is the leading transport operator in the United Kingdom and North America. The company has the revenues that exceeded to more than 6.7 billion during the year 2013-14. The services of the company helps it creating a strong and a vibrant opportunity of providing the choices to the customers and the communities. During the previous financial year, about 2.5 billion people were transported by the company to get to work, education, visit fmailities and friends and much more. The company employs about 117,000 employees to render the services. The company has about 5 operating division and leading positions in the markets. (Firstgroupplc.com, 2015) This report aims at discussing the ratios and the significant items in the income statement, cash flows statement and the balance sheet. Further, this report aims at throw some light on the other aspects that have been stated in the annual report of the company. Ratio analysis: Easy Jet: The following is the required ratio analysis: Particulars 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Remarks Solvency ratios: Total liabilities to net worth ratio: 1.04 1.19 1.21 1.30 1.36 Decreased Total liabilities 2,250.00 2,395.00 2,169.00 2,225.00 2,040.70 Net worth 2,172.00 2,017.00 1,794.00 1,705.00 1,500.70 Fixed assets to net worth ratio: 1.17 1.13 1.34 1.26 1.28 Decreased Fixed assets 2,542.00 2,280.00 2,395.00 2,149.00 1,928.10 Net worth 2,172.00 2,017.00 1,794.00 1,705.00 1,500.70 Leverage ratios: Debt equity ratio: 0.79 0.91 1.10 1.30 1.36 Decreased Debt 1,726.00 1,830.00 1,978.00 2,216.00 2,040.70 Equity 2,172.00 2,017.00 1,794.00 1,705.00 1,500.70 Interest coverage ratio: 52.82 20.71 41.52 8.97 6.50 Increased Operating income 581.00 497.00 331.00 269.00 173.60 Interest expense 11.00 24.00 25.00 30.00 26.70 Profitability ratio: Gross profit ratio: 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.27 0.40 Decreased Gross profit 1,383.00 1,250.00 1,038.00 920.00 1,179.50 Revenue 4,527.00 4,258.00 3,854.00 3,452.00 2,973.10 Net profit ratio: 0.10 0.09 0.07 0.07 0.04 Increased Net profit 450.00 398.00 255.00 225.00 121.30 Revenue 4,527.00 4,258.00 3,854.00 3,452.00 2,973.10 Operational efficiency ratios: Total asset turnover ratio: 1.02 0.98 0.88 0.81 0.77 Increased Net sales 4,527.00 4,258.00 3,854.00 3,452.00 2,973.10 Average total assets 4,447.00 4,353.50 4,382.00 4,235.75 3,837.75 Equity turnover ratio: 2.16 2.23 2.20 2.15 2.12 Increased Net sales 4,527.00 4,258.00 3,854.00 3,452.00 2,973.10 Average total equity 2,094.50 1,905.50 1,749.50 1,602.85 1,404.00 The total liabilities to net worth is the ratio that is expressed between the total liabilities and the net worth. The ratio shows that it has only increased over the years which is s positive sign. The total fixed assets to net worth is the ratio between the total fixed assets and the net worth. The ratio shows that it has only increased over the years which is good. The following table shows the details of the ratios calculated: Debt equity Ascertain the extent to which the equity as well as the liabilities of the company is used to finance its assets. dividing the total liabilities by shareholders equity Interest coverage ratio used to determine the ease with which the company is able to pay off the interest on outstanding borrowings dividing the earnings before interest and taxes by the interest expense Net profit margin ratio that is expressed between the net income that is earned by a company and the sales that are affected during that period dividing the net income by sales Gross profit margin ratio that is expressed between the gross income that is earned by a company and the sales that are affected during that period dividing the net income by sales Asset turnover measure that helps in ascertaining the extent to which the management is efficient in deploying the assets of the company in order to generate revenues dividing the sales by the average of opening and closing assets Return on equity Earnings that the company earns by investing the funds of the shareholders in the business. The more the return on equity, the better is the profitability of the business. dividing the net income by the average of opening as well as the closing balance of the shareholders equity The company increased its equity but also decreased its debt. The company must focus on the ways through which it can increase its profitability First group PLC: The following table shows the ratio analysis of the company concerned: Particulars Solvency ratios: Total liabilities to net worth ratio: 3.09 5.79 5.09 4.54 5.14 Total liabilities 3,784.80 4,716.80 4,439.90 4,315.20 4,681.90 Net worth 1,223.00 814.50 872.60 950.90 910.50 Fixed assets to net worth ratio: 1.52 2.43 2.30 2.19 2.51 Fixed assets 1,864.90 1,977.60 2,006.30 2,082.90 2,284.10 Net worth 1,223.00 814.50 872.60 950.90 910.50 Leverage ratios: Debt equity ratio: 2.86 5.29 4.62 4.08 4.52 Debt 3,496.30 4,307.30 4,034.60 3,882.90 4,111.30 Equity 1,223.00 814.50 872.60 950.90 910.50 Interest coverage ratio: 1.41 0.82 0.54 1.68 1.91 Operating income 232.20 139.80 91.70 309.30 364.20 Interest expense 165.00 170.50 170.10 184.00 190.70 Profitability ratio: Gross profit ratio: 0.03 0.02 0.07 0.05 0.06 Gross profit 232.20 139.80 447.00 313.70 365.30 Revenue 6,717.40 6,900.90 6,678.70 6,429.20 6,261.90 Net profit ratio: 0.01 -0.00 0.03 0.02 0.02 Net profit 64.20 -5.00 220.30 117.10 147.10 Revenue 6,717.40 6,900.90 6,678.70 6,429.20 6,261.90 Operational efficiency ratios: Total asset turnover ratio: 1.27 1.27 0.63 1.18 1.09 Net sales 6,717.40 6,900.90 6,678.70 6,429.20 6,261.90 Average total assets 5,269.55 5,421.90 10,580.60 5,429.25 5,754.45 Equity turnover ratio: 6.59 8.18 7.29 6.91 7.30 Net sales 6,717.40 6,900.90 6,678.70 6,429.20 6,261.90 Average total equity 1,018.75 843.55 915.95 930.70 857.40 The following table shows the details of the ratios calculated: Debt equity Ascertain the extent to which the equity as well as the liabilities of the company is used to finance its assets. dividing the total liabilities by shareholders equity Interest coverage ratio used to determine the ease with which the company is able to pay off the interest on outstanding borrowings dividing the earnings before interest and taxes by the interest expense Net profit margin ratio that is expressed between the net income that is earned by a company and the sales that are affected during that period dividing the net income by sales Gross profit margin ratio that is expressed between the gross income that is earned by a company and the sales that are affected during that period dividing the net income by sales Asset turnover measure that helps in ascertaining the extent to which the management is efficient in deploying the assets of the company in order to generate revenues dividing the sales by the average of opening and closing assets Return on equity Earnings that the company earns by investing the funds of the shareholders in the business. The more the return on equity, the better is the profitability of the business. dividing the net income by the average of opening as well as the closing balance of the shareholders equity The company needs to focus on its revenues since that is the major concern. Further, the company must take measures for the reduction of the expenses since only that would only help in the increasing of the profit amount. The company though was able to reduce its debt but it also increased its equity. It should have financed the same from the regular profits that were being earned. Limitations of ratio analysis: The analysis of the ratios is used to compare the information of the company that has bene taken from the financial statements so as to gain an understanding of the results, financial position and the cash flow of the business concerned. This serves as the tool for the outsiders such as the credit analyst, lender to the analyst of the stocks. The people are required to create a picture of the financial statements and the position of the business and assess its profitability merely by using the financial statements. But then the ratio analysies does suffer from many of the limitations as well:. The following are the limitations: Historical: all of the information that is used in analysing the ratios is actually the results of the historical data. This does not mean that the same results will be there for the future to. But then these ratios could be used for the pro forma information and for comparison with the results in order to ensure consistency. Historical versus current cost: the information that is contained by the income statements consist of the current costs but then the balance sheet contains the amounts that is historical which is capable of being substantially varied. Due to this disparity, unusual ratios would be derived. Inflation: in case, there is inflation during the years, then that would mean that those numbers are not comparable across the various periods. If the inflation rate is 100%, then that would entail the figure of sales being doubled when the sales have not increased at all. Aggregation: the information that has been contained in the financial statements would lead to the using of the ratios that may have been aggregated during the past period so that when the ratio analysis is run on the trend line that would not compare the information through the entire period. Operational changes: any company may undergo a number of changes during the year and this could be to such an extent that the ratios that have been calculated several years ago could be compared with the same ratio even today. This could lead to the misleading conclusion. In order to illustrate, when there is an implementation of a constraint analysis system, then that might lead to a reduced investment in the fixed asset whereas the analysis may show that the fixed assets base of the company is getting too old. Accounting policies: the different companies have different accounting policies. For example, one company may use the written down value of depreciation whereas the other may use the straight line depreciation method. The amount of the depreciation and therefore, the amount of the net profit would vary in both the cases. Therefore, in such cases, the comparison of the 2 cannot be done. Business conditions: the analysis of the ratios has to be done keeping in mind the environment in which the business is operating. In order to illustrate this, the credit period of 45 days may be considered bad during the peak season but then the same could be considered to be good during the times the economy is contracting and the customers are no more bale to pay off their bills. Interpretation: it would be difficult task to assess the reason for a specific ratio. In order to illustrate, the current ratio of 2:1 may be considered to be excellent till the time the company realises that it has a huge amount of stock that could affect its cash position. When a detailed analysis has been undertaken, that might reveal that the current ratio may be at that level for some reason but then that will not be the same in the near future too. Strategy of the company: it could be dangerous for the company to conduct an analysis of the ratios by comparing the 2 firms that are having and that are following a different set of the strategies. In order to illustrate, one company that could be following a low cost strategy and would be willing to accept a lower amount of gross margin in return of an increased amount of market share. But then there could be another company that may be focussing on the high customer service strategy wherein the prices charged may be higher and the gross margins may also be higher but that will never help in the attainment of the required levels of the revenue for the first company Point in time: there are some of the ratios that extract some information from the balance sheet and then there are some of the ratios that extract the information from the income statement. The major problem in this is that the balance sheet is for the last day of the year but the income statement is prepared evenly throughout the year. In case, there is an unusual spike or a decline in the balance of an account as on the last day of the reporting period, then that would impact the outcome of the ratio analysis. In the nutshell, the analysis of the ratios has a number of inherent limitations attached with its name but then it also has some of its uses. As long as anyone is well aware about the problems and use some other methods as well for the collecting of and for the interpretation of the information, the ratio analysis would still be useful. (Accountingtools.com, 2015) The following are some of the advantages of the ratio analysis: It simplifies the financial statements It helps in benchmarking and in comparing the companies that are of different sizes It helps in the analyses of the trends that involves the comparing of the single period over a period It highlights the major information in the simplest way. Any person who is using that information is able to judge the profitability of the company merely by looking at the numbers instead of reading the entire financial statements. The following are more of the limitations of the ratio analysis: The different companies have different economic conditions that are exposed to them and therefore, these are the factors that impact the two companies from the different industries, so, comparison these two companies would give out the misleading results. The financial accounting information is affected by a number of estimates and a set of assumptions. The accounting standards allow the use of the different accounting policies that impairs the comparability and the analysis of the ratios that are not very useful in such situations. The analysis of the ratios explains the relationship between the information of the past but the users are concerned about the information about the future and the current information. Ratios deal in numbers: the ratios are only and only expressed in numbers, they do not talk about the product quality or the services that are rendered to the customers, the morale of the employees and these factors do play a major role in assessing the financial performance of the company The ratios are all about the past and not about the future. The analysts of the investments will make an assumption about the future performance using such ratios The ratios are very useful when they are used to compare the performance of a company over a longer period of time or as against the comparable businesses and an industry. But this information may not always be available. The financial information is capable of being massaged so that the figures could be used in the utmost efficient manner. In order to illustrate. May of the businesses accept the payments from the creditors at the end of the financial year so that the cash balance is higher than the normal and the creditor has a lower amount of balance too? (Accountingexplained.com, 2015) (tutor2u, 2015) Impact of legal and tax environment: Any company is regulated by the environment in which it operates. The same goes with these companies. The taxation and legal issues leads the companies in increasing the contractual obligations that it has to abide by. This only leads to the reduction of the efficiency on the part of the company since it is under immense pressure to comply with the legal obligations and fulfil all the requirements of the government. But then on the other side, the same is very important since they ensures responsibility on the part of the companies. From the analysis of the above stated figures, it would be right to say that the company is not stable enough for any investor to invest. And an investor would always like to invest in a company that is able to give him a regular rate of return on his investment and also give him some again when he sells his investment. But none of the companies seem worth it. Therefore, no company is a viable source of an investment. References: Accountingexplained.com, (2015). Advantages and Limitations of Financial Ratio Analysis. [Online] Available at: https://accountingexplained.com/financial/ratios/advantages-limitations [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. Accountingtools.com, (2015). What are the limitations of ratioanalysis? - Questions Answers - Accounting Tools. [Online] Available at: https://www.accountingtools.com/questions-and-answers/what-are-the-limitations-of-ratio-analysis.html [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. corporate.easyjet.com, (2015). Annual report 2011. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.easyjet.com/~/media/Files/E/Easyjet-Plc-V2/pdf/investors/result-center-investor/easyJet_AR10_18_1_2011.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. corporate.easyjet.com, (2015). Annual report 2011. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.easyjet.com/~/media/Files/E/Easyjet-Plc-V2/pdf/investors/result-center-investor/easyJet_AR10_18_1_2011.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. corporate.easyjet.com, (2015). Annual report 2012. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.easyjet.com/~/media/Files/E/Easyjet-Plc-V2/pdf/investors/result-center-investor/annual-report-2012.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. corporate.easyjet.com, (2015). Annual report 2014. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.easyjet.com/~/media/Files/E/Easyjet-Plc-V2/pdf/investors/result-center-investor/annual-report-2014.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. Corporate.easyjet.com, (2015). About us - EasyJet plc. [Online] Available at: https://corporate.easyjet.com/about-easyjet.aspx?sc_lang=en [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. Firstgroupplc.com, (2015). About FirstGroup. [Online] Available at: https://www.firstgroupplc.com/about-firstgroup [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. Firstgroupplc.com, (2015). Annual Report 2014. [Online] Available at: https://www.firstgroupplc.com/investors/annual-report-2014.aspx [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. tutor2u, (2015). Value and Limitations of Ratio Analysis. [Online] Available at: https://beta.tutor2u.net/business/reference/value-and-limitations-of-ratio-analysis [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. www.firstgroupplc.com, (2015). Annual report 2011. [Online] Available at: https://www.firstgroupplc.com/~/media/Files/F/Firstgroup-Plc/reports-and-presentations/reports/new/2011_annual_report.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. www.firstgroupplc.com, (2015). Annual report 2012. [Online] Available at: https://www.firstgroupplc.com/~/media/Files/F/Firstgroup-Plc/reports-and-presentations/reports/new/firstgroup-half-yearly-financial-report-2012.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. www.firstgroupplc.com, (2015). Annual report 2013. [Online] Available at: https://www.firstgroupplc.com/~/media/Files/F/Firstgroup-Plc/reports-and-presentations/pdfs/ar/first-group-annual-report-2013.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015].

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

What Does Feminism Stand For Who are These Creatures who call themselves Feminists

A layman views feminism as being focused on women gaining equal rights to men. However, this is a very simplistic way of addressing feminism. In reality, feminism is much more complex and larger than merely describing equality for women (Weisberg 234).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What Does Feminism Stand For? Who are These Creatures who call themselves Feminists? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Feminist philosophy espouses various hidden as well as non-expressed desires of all the people with regard to human equality. It is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks for women’s justice as well as an end of all kinds of sexism (Dutt 238). Generally, people disagree on a number of issues. For instance, they are against of the common definition of sexism. This question should reflect their craving for equality and measures which are to be done to achieve it. Whilst many people ca n easily define feminism, there is a need for deeper understanding of what feminism is and who qualifies to be termed a feminist. Feminist concept varies in two ways in majority sociological hypotheses (Walker 89). Firstly, it is the function of a multidisciplinary, multicultural as well as worldwide community, which consists of not only sociologists, but also professionals from several other professions, artistic authors as well as political activists. Subsequently, feminist sociologists operate with a dual goal to expand a deepen sociology by reviewing professional understanding. It is also necessary to take into account breakthroughs being attained by feminist scholars and to grow a crucial comprehension for a culture in order to alter the globe in guidelines considered much more humane. Various feminists want the society to accept that there is no strategic means of unifying different sexism instances and correspondingly, the lacks of a strategic unity in what constitutes femini sm. Rather feminism should be viewed as an avenue for coalition building (Dutt 236). Different entities operate to deal with various forms of oppressive actions; some entities handle oppression against females as of fundamental concern.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, feminists are motivated by the pursuit for social justice. The feminist inquiry offers a wide range of standpoints with regard to social, cultural, economic, as well as political aspects (Duplessis and Ann 34). Understanding feminism begins with developing an undertaking of the theory itself, as well as the politics surrounding it. Further, the sub-entries of feminism include aspects like disability, globalization, sex work, human trafficking, as well as sexuality, among others (Walker 99). These aspects extend the understanding as well as the scope of feminism. Different cultures, even without their own comprehen sion describe various aspects of feminism uniquely. For instance, within the African culture, feminism will show much focus on fighting the tradition that deters progress of women. In such societies, women have for long been sidelined in decision making and generally treated as the weaker sex (Kiss 343). The society has shaped women to be ‘submissive’ to men regardless of whether they are being oppressed or not. This is very much unlike the western civilization where women have long been accepted as participants within every process in the society. However, within such a society, another aspect of feminism emerging is the role of sexuality (Walker 102). As one would ask, is the western culture treating women as sexual objects? Broadly speaking, most societies describe feminism goal as being to end oppression and hence stresses that women oppression is not only unjust but an unethical practice. The perspective is likely to differ within diverse cultures and it must be ac knowledged that women oppression goes beyond the rhetorical sexism. Emerging issues from diverse cultures include: classism, homophobia, racial feminism, ageism, as well as ableism, among other areas (Jaggar 98).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What Does Feminism Stand For? Who are These Creatures who call themselves Feminists? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What is sure, is that all societies agree that unequally is unjust, that’s why feminists should fight for their rights to restore the justice. However, a closer look emphasizes that accomplishing feminism goals necessitates dealing with racism, as well as economic exploitation suffered by women (Jaggar 67). Information from different cultures reveal that women from different racial backgrounds suffer from different forms of exploitation. The plight of women in African societies definitely differs from that of white women, or Indian women. This impli es that feminists must address the issue of race. A fundamental question to query the racial perspective is how often a white woman will get similar treatment as the one accorded to a black woman (Delphy 87). Moreover, one can watch the media display pictures of women from different backgrounds and the plight they suffer. Feminism is a fight for liberty that is one of the larger battles to eliminate all forms of superiority. It is important to understand how patriarchal domination shares ideologies with racial foundations as well as other forms of oppression (Herrman and Abigail 131). The feminism aspect cannot be eradicated while leaving intact the other aspects. Such knowledge plays an important role in both feministic theory and practice. Feministic theory is a generalized from this point. It is meant to be wide ranging system constituted of ideas about social life as well as human experience based on a woman-focused viewpoint. There are three ways by which feminism is woman cent ered. Firstly, it begins with investigation, which seeks to establish the situations and experiences encountered by women in the society (Herrman and Abigail 132). Secondly, feminism puts women at its centre by seeking to view the world from an exclusive vantage point for women within the social sphere.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thirdly, feminist theory acts as a critical basis for activitism on behalf of the female-kind. It attempts to create a world where all humankind can live as equals. More answers are still general after decades of posing the question to the women’s plight in the society. Women are found within all social scenarios. Where they are absent, it is due to the fact that they don’t have the ability or desire, but due to the fact that there has been a purposive endeavor to leave them out. Where there are women, they have exercised roles extremely diverse from the well-known conception of them (with regard to roles of being passive wives or girlfriends as well as mothers). In fact, as wives and mothers as well as in a sequence of various other tasks, females have, alongside men, actively produced the ideals of being desired (Kiss 345). Females are actively present in the majority of social circumstances, professions, publics as well as community roles where a blind eye has been turned to the women’s contribution. Furthermore, female roles in a lot of social circumstances, whilst crucial, are diverse ranging from, much less fortunate compared to, to beings subordinate to men. Paying no attention to the role of women in society is a key to notice inequality. Feminism’s second fundamental query, then, is: â€Å"Why are things the way they are?† The initial query demands for an explanation of the social community, the second query requires an explanation of the community. Feminism’s responses to these types of queries provide people with a common social concept. Works Cited Delphy, Christine. Close to Home: A Materialist Analysis of Women’s Oppression, Trans. Diane Leonard. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1984. Duplessis, Rachel and Ann, Snitow. The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation, New York: Random House, 2008. Dutt, Martin. â€Å"Reclaiming a Human Rights Culture: Feminism of Diffe rence and Alliance.† In Talking Visions: Multicultural Feminism in a Transnational Age, ed., Ella Shohat. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998, 225-246 Herrman, Anne and Abigail, Stewart. Theorizing Feminism: Parallel Trends in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2007. Jaggar, Alison. Feminist Politics and Human Nature, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1983. Kiss, Elizabeth. â€Å"Feminism and Rights.† Dissent, 42.3 (2002): 342-347. Walker, Margaret. Moral Understandings: A Feminist Study in Ethics, New York: Routledge, 2005. Weisberg, Kelly. Feminist Legal Theory: Foundations, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993. This essay on What Does Feminism Stand For? Who are These Creatures who call themselves Feminists? was written and submitted by user Lina L. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

56 Best Writing Websites of 2019 How to Achieve Writing Mastery

56 Best Writing Websites of 2019 How to Achieve Writing Mastery 56 Best Writing Websites of 2019 The Internet is full of writing websites and blogs to help writers reach their creative goals. If you’ve been dreaming of writing your own book, but don’t know how to get there - or if you’re done writing, but feel unsure about what to do next - then it’s your lucky day, because we have put the best writing websites of 2019 in one single place for your convenience. They’re also organized alphabetically and by categories, to make them easier to find. Enjoy! Check out some of the best writing websites of 2019 here! Writing craft and inspiration51. Goins, WriterAs a best-selling author, Jeff Goins created this blog to share his thoughts and tips on writing and to inspire others to chase after their creative dreams.52. Jane FriedmanWith abundant experience in the publishing industry and general business strategy, Jane Friedman offers online classes and articles on the process of book publishing.53. Janet Reid, Literary AgentAs a literary agent, Janet Reid offers her advice on mistakes and pitfalls that all writers should avoid when querying.54. Nail Your NovelAs a bestselling ghostwriter who now publishes under her own name, Â  Roz Morris provides writing advice and posts on self-publishing. If you are interested in becoming a ghostwriter, she also offers courses on how to reach your goal.55. Nathan BransfordNathan Bransford is a former literary agent who offers writing advice and a variety of posts on how publishing works and information on agents and self-publishing. He also does consultations , edits, and critiques. Plus, he’s a Reedsy professional!56. Rachelle GardnerAs a literary agent, Rachelle Gardner has negotiated over 200 contracts with over twenty publishers and gotten more than 100 authors to fulfil their dreams of publishing. In her blog, she offers writing, publishing, and social media coaching, along with tips on writing and publishing. Answer all your writing questions with these websites from industry professionals What are some of your favorite writing websites? Let us know in the comments below!

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Writing Research Papers

Writing Research Papers Writing Research Papers Writing Research Papers: Steps to Walk Writing research paper is a rather complicated task as it demands a lot of efforts from students. However, it becomes much simpler to cope with the task if you are acquainted with the main steps you have to walk while writing research paper. In this article, we are going to make you acquainted with these steps of successful writing research paper. Step 1. Choose the proper topic for your writing. You see if you like the topic, you are dealing with in your writing research paper, you have enough enthusiasm and desire to complete it and you do not have to torture yourself while writing it, as writing is like an exciting adventure for you. Of course, if you do not like the topic of your writing research paper, you will have to make yourself writing it, and it will be rather boring for you to deal with the task. If a person does something without a proper desire it becomes too difficult for him or her to succeed in completing the task. Step 2 . Searching for information. The majority of professors advise their students to make use of primary sources for gathering information for writing research paper such as libraries and textbooks. Of course, when you have enough time this is the best way to get your information. However, if you have limited time, we recommend you to serf the Internet. You see by clicking different links you may find useful information much faster than reading through hundreds of pages of textbooks. That is why if you have compressed time for completing your writing research paper, we recommend you to gather your information with the help of the Internet. Appeal to some custom writing service in order to make your search of information fast and effective. Step 3. Make an outline for writing research paper. You see in order to structure all the information you have gathered it is recommended to spend your time for writing research paper outline. This outline helps students to concentrate upon th e main points of view in their writing research paper and not to forget any important idea he or she wants to present. That is why we consider writing research paper outline to be necessary step to walk. After you have walked all the steps, it is high time to start writing research paper. We wish you good luck with your work.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Euthyphro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Euthyphro - Essay Example Because their opinions about holiness are at odds, Socrates who is portrayed by Plato as a person who is eager to engage in discourse with the people on Athens asks Euthyphro what his concept of holiness is so he might learn from how Euthyphro defines it. Says Socrates, â€Å"Tell me then, what is the pious, and what the impious, do you say?† (5e) Initially, this is how the concept of holiness emerges in the dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro and it soon takes a prominent position in the dialogue as it becomes the main topic of their conversation as they wait to be shown into court for their respective cases. In response to Socrates’ question, Euthyphro provides him with three basic definitions by which he thinks holiness is defined. Every time Euthyphro gives Socrates a definition for the concept of holiness, Socrates gives him an argument to refute it and thus Euthyphro is forced to provide another definition. Finally, when Euthyphro gives the third definition an d Socrates refutes it, Euthyphro storms off annoyed with Socrates for disagreeing with all his attempts to define what is holy. First, he says â€Å"I say that the pious is to do what I am doing now, to prosecute the wrongdoer, be it about murder or temple robbery or anything else, whether the wrongdoer is your father or your mother or anyone else; not to prosecute is impious.† (5e) Thus holiness is defined by prosecuting those people who are blasphemous and go against religion. Second, he says â€Å"Well then, what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious† (7) Thus, holiness is defined by what the gods like and mutually consent. Lastly, Euthyphro tells Socrates that â€Å"I would certainly say that the pious is what all the gods love, and the opposite, what all the gods hate, is the impious.† (9e). Therefore, piety is what lies within the bounds of actions the god’s love and those that the god’s hate, become automatically unholy. Socra tes refutes Euthyphro’s definitions at each stage by providing elaborate counter arguments of his own. To Euthyphro’s first definition that holiness is punishing people who go against religion, Socrates says that this is a definition that excludes a variety of holy things that have nothing to do with persecuting blasphemous people and thus an incomplete definition that doesn’t hold on various counts. To Euthyphro’s second definition that holy things are those that are approved by the gods, Socrates says that this definition is also flawed because the gods are often fighting and there is seldom a time they all agree on one thing, thus no deed is holy according to this definition. He says â€Å"Then according to your argument, my good Euthyphro, different gods consider different things to be just, beautiful, ugly, good, and bad† (7e) and that â€Å"The same things then are loved by the gods and hated by the gods, and would be both god-loved and god- hated†¦ And the same things would be both pious and impious, accord ­ing to this argument?† (8) Euthyphro is disgruntled but has no choice but to agree with Socrates. Lastly, Socrates refutes Euthyphro’s statement by asking him to consider an important statement â€Å"Consider this: Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?† (10) and he asks Euthyphro to run a parallel comparison between the preceding statement and the fact that â€Å"that which is being carried is being carried because someone

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Sales Force Compensation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sales Force Compensation - Coursework Example The features of the Compensation Plan of Hindustan Unilever are cited below: - 1) The first feature is Salesman of the Month which aims to reward the best salesman in the organization. It is completely a performance based reward awarded to the best salesman. This award is given when the employee meets its target or exceeds it. 2) The second feature is Customer delight. This is also a reward that is based on the performance of the employee. The reward is presented to the employee keeping in view his dealings with the customers, both internal and external (Hindustan Unilever Limited, 2013a). 3) The third feature is an A-T book which records all the achievements of the employees and at the end of a quarter rewards the employees who succeeds by maximum achievements. This is a good way public recognition (Hindustan Unilever Limited, 2013a). 4) The fourth feature is TOTB, which means ‘think outside the box’ (Manwani, 2014). This reward is given to that employee who comes up with new ideas and suggestions to enhance the business of the organization. 5) The fifth feature is On the Spot award. This is a very special award in HUL. The award is given to those employees for their on the spot attitude towards a particular situation, which gives a lot of honor to the employees. 6) The sixth feature is Target Commission, which gives monetary benefit to the employees. Here, the employees get a percentage (for example, 2% or 4%) of the target amount, if fulfilled (Hindustan Unilever Limited, 2013a). The higher the volume of sales, the higher the commission received. For any kind of reward, the employees must possess a positive attitude towards fulfilling its target. They must be self-motivated, enthusiastic, energetic, and focus-oriented in order to qualify for the rewards. The behaviors those are required for the above mentioned rewards are mentioned accordingly as follows; 1) Salesman of the Month- This is

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 115

Case Study Example Considering Jon was not totally on board with holding the meeting at Monte Sereno, giving in to a rate of $99, a complementary cocktail fair, and a free conference service is too much for a simple hotel representative. To negotiate each of Jon’s demands further and end with a win-win conclusion, Julia can comprehend Jon’s primary interests or concerns. At the beginning, Julia had simply prepared for questions about the $1,000 conferencing service and $110 hotel rooms, which she gets from regular customers on a virtually everyday basis. With Jon, Julia has to see the bigger picture by investigating with Jon’s staff or simply asking him directly about the benefits of a complementary cocktail fair when the meeting will end in a week. If anything, the cocktail should come at the end of their stay at the hotel and not at the beginning. This is an example of how important knowing a client’s primary interests furthers negotiations progresses (Lazer,

Friday, November 15, 2019

Assess The Company Pixar Media Essay

Assess The Company Pixar Media Essay This report is going to assess the company Pixar from an innovation perspective. This report will focus on the good and bad points of the company to give an insight into its attitude towards innovation. A number of different methods were used to gather the information in this report, such as websites, interviews, articles and books. Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) purchased the computer graphics section of Lucasfilm Ltd in 1986 and called this new company Pixar. Pixar started as a very small company with only 44 employees. Pixar started making short animations films which were at the forefront of CGI technology. Pixar also created a number of adverts for companies such as Listerine in their early years. The first feature length movie Pixar created was Toy Story and it was the first fully computer generated animated film ever, Toy Story grossed $362 million worldwide. Pixar did not just create animations, they also developed a lot of the technology which allowed them to create their films. Work teams and some individuals won numerous awards from organisations like The Scientific and Engineering Academy Awards in fields such as Digital scanning and Direct input devices. One huge advantage Pixar has over other animation companies is their unique understanding of innovation in company structure and employee relations, this report will aim to discuss this in further detail. Section 2 Employee relations Pixar is a very organic company which disagrees with the structure of mechanistic organisations. A mechanistic organisation has a very hierarchical structure and the companies future is dictated by those in senior roles. Section 2.1 Brad Bird Steve Jobs hired Brad Bird into the company after its first three successful films, Jobs was worried that they had ran out of creativity and he did not want the company to go stale. Brad Bird understood that there was room for improvement in the companies creative process. Bird understood that every employees input is valid and has its use. He knew that communication is vital in the innovation process so everyone can help each other to create the best work possible. The main problem with this is that It is difficult to get employees to speak their minds as they are often afraid of criticism from their peers, and they have good reason to fear this as they are working with some of the best animators in the world. Birds solution to this problem was to get the employees in groups to look at the work each member had done that day. Bird wanted to encourage people to speak their minds, he talked about the strong and weak points of each persons work and praised people for challenging his cri ticisms. At first this did not work very well, before Bird was introduced to the company the animators were afraid to criticise any work as previous managers did not take kindly to criticism, however constructive it was. It took nearly two months for any of the employees to actively participate in these group discussions, however one employee finally did and the rest of the employees saw that Bird praised this employee for doing so as he knew it was the best way to get everyone comfortable with this process. Section 2.2 Open Philosophy Pixar has a very open philosophy towards its business. Pixar encourage employees across its company to interact with each other. They want employees of all levels to talk about their ideas and problems so the company can benefit through this interaction. Even the lowest level employees have the option to speak to the highest level employees as Pixar has an open door policy in its offices. This idea originated from the quotation below. Interaction = innovation Steve Jobs Pixar also has a open approach when it comes to their technology and advancements. Pixar encourages employees to publish their work in academic journals as they dont believe in hiding success. At first this may seem like a bad idea from a business perspective as they will be helping rival companies to better their productions. When you look at it more closely it starts to make a lot of sense. Pixar does this because it attracts talent to the company, talented individuals become aware of the new advances being made at Pixar and are often very keen to be hired by them so they can be at the forefront of this technology. Pixar is very interested in bringing new employees into the company as they challenge the status quo and often lead to new and exciting ideas. Section 2.3 Pixar University Pixar wants its employees to branch out and learn new things. Pixar University was created to allow its employees to do so. Every single employee is given up to four hours a week to take courses. Some of these courses are on related subjects such as animation and some are completely unrelated such as yoga. These courses bring employees from different corners of the company together and it helps them all learn new skills or it can simply help them relax. This scheme seems to have paid off as some employees have realised they have a certain talent in a new field and they switch to a different department where their skills are put to better use. Employees are allowed to reject work and meetings if they coincide with these courses, this shows how strongly Pixar feels about learning in their company. Section 2.4 Perfection holds back innovation Brad Bird brought a number of new things to Pixar and one of them has changed the company dramatically in the way it produces its films. Bird believes that perfection is something that holds back innovation. This is something that shocked employees when he joined the company, the below quotation shows exactly what he means. Look, I dont have to do the water through a computer simulation programà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Im perfectly content to film a splash in a swimming pool and just composite the water in. Brad Bird (2008) This was a new innovative approach to how the animators worked. Before this, animators had always painstakingly created every part of an animation and never used shortcuts to create the same effect. Bird understood that some pieces of work needed to be perfect but for some pieces it was unnecessary as the same result could be achieved by different means. It was this kind of innovative thinking that helps the company produce at a faster and cheaper rate. Section 2.5 Concluding employee relations This section of the report has talked about how Pixar treats its employees and how it stimulates them to become better at their work. Its difficult to criticise Pixar from this perspective as they have an extremely good understanding of what employees want and how to develop their creative skills. It is evident that their approach to employee relations is working as they continue to create new and exciting films which could only be produced by employees who enjoy their work. Section 3 Environmental innovations Pixar has an unorthodox approach to the environment that their employees work in. The offices in which Pixar employees work are specifically designed to maximise creativity and interaction. Section 3.1 Cubicles The animators are allowed to completely customise their working cubicles. In a business as creative as Pixar you cant sit the employees in blank cubicles. (http://www.home-designing.com) Most of the employees like to give their cubicles a homely feel by bringing personal items and making the atmosphere as friendly as possible. This sort of environment is best for a creative business like Pixar. Section 3.2 Pixar HQ The building in which Pixar is based also has a slightly different design to conventional working spaces. Steve Jobs who as we mentioned earlier believes that interaction = innovation designed the office with this in mind. The main building has a large atrium situated in the centre of the office which people at first thought was unnecessary, but Jobs designed this atrium to contain the cafeteria, mailboxes and toilets. At first this seemed like a strange idea as everybody had to move from their individual areas to go to the bathroom or to collect mail. The reason for this was that people are essentially forced to see each other on a daily basis which leads to interaction which in turn leads to innovation. Section 3.3 Social environment The environment Pixar creates isnt just physical. There is also an important role in the social environment of the company. During an interview Brad Bird was asked Weve been talking a lot about how you promote innovation. What undermines it? (The Quarterly 2008) His response was the following Passive-aggressive people-people who dont show their colours in the group but then get behind the scenes and peck away-are poisonous. I can usually spot those people fairly soon and I weed them out. (Brad Bird 2008) Brad Bird made it his goal to get rid off people who hindered the innovation process as to him they were a cancer eating away at the creativity of the company. Section 3.4 Concluding environmental innovations The way Pixar designed its working space does seem very suited to the type of business that they are, a creative industry should have a creative environment. The idea of situating all the things people need on a daily basis in the atrium is essentially a good one, however it may not be to every employees liking as it may grow tiresome for people who have to take a long trip to just go to the bathroom. The social environment created by Pixar is very good as it is designed to embrace creative and happy people and it is also designed to eliminate people who bring innovative processes down. Section 4 Films Section 4.1 Films and reviews To date Pixar has produced 11 feature films which are listed below as well as ratings received by the popular movie critic website rottentomatoes.com. Toy story (1995) Rating 100% A Bugs Life (1998) Rating 91% Toy Story 2 (1999) Rating 100% Monsters, Inc (2001) Rating 95% Finding Nemo (2003) Rating 98% The Incredibles (2004) Rating 97% Cars (2006) Rating 74% Ratatouille (2007) Rating 96% WALL-E (2008) Rating 96% Up (2009) Rating 98% Toy Story 3 (2010) Rating 99% The above ratings show that Pixar have a tremendously good track record when it comes to producing films. You can also see that the latest films were produced much quicker. Since 2006 Pixar have been producing a film every year, this could be down to some of the innovative ideas from Brad Bird which were discussed earlier. Section 4.2 Cars In the rating system one film stands out from the crowd, and that films is Cars. (http://reponses.qctop.com) Every film Pixar has done has been rated over 90% except for Cars which received a much lower rating of 74%. There must be a reason for this dramatic drop in rating, and that reason is that Cars displayed a lack of innovation, the visual elements of the film were very good however the story lacked the Pixar magic a lot of critics refer too. The story was unoriginal and it was clear that something was missing when they were working on this film. While this film was being produced Pixar could have used an innovation method such as SWOT analysis to assess their strong and weak points. Below is an example of what they could have done to assess Cars. Strengths Good Animators Effective Marketing Strong Brand Productive work environment Weaknesses Bad basis for a film, Car racing is hard for a lot of people to relate too Unimaginative storyline compared to previous films Opportunities Further strengthen market position Huge profit potential Merchandise Threats Rival companies Growing dislike for cars as an environmental hazard. Above is a basic example of how SWOT analysis could have been used to ensure that Cars was received as well as all the other films they have produced. It would have been difficicult for this to have been performed by Pixar themselves as it is often hard to criticise your own work especially if it took 2 years to produce so an external person could have done the evaluation. Section 4.3 Attitudes towards money Some methods of analysis would not have worked in a company like Pixar such as The Boston Matrix which focuses on market growth and revenue. One of the key values that Pixar holds is that making profit can not be your focus in producing a good film. I dont make movies to make money-I make money to make movies. (Walt Disney) Above is Walt Disneys philosophy on making movies, Pixar as a creative organisation tries to adhere to this as they believe it will lead to greater success in the long term. Pixar has clearly learnt what they did wrong in Cars as the four movies they have produced since have all received above 96% which is an extremely high score. It is unclear what Pixar did, but it has worked. They may have used a method like SWOT analysis or maybe they hired new employees with a fresh perspective. Section 5 Conclusion Overall Pixar are a very good company to assess from an innovation perspective. Rival companies such as Dreamworks create similar films but often these films are overshadowed by the work of Pixar and this is down to the way that Pixar as a company works. Few companies are as organic as Pixar in their organisational structure and a lot of larger companies tend to have a mechanistic approach towards film making. You only have to look at the success that Pixar has had to realise how difficult it is to be critical of Pixar as a company. They are the worlds leading animation company who only have one film which let them down, and even that film was still extremely popular. Pixar are an extremely innovative company which is shown through their work and the dedication that the employees have towards their films. Pixar have had an incredibly good track record with their films and we can only wait to discover the new ways they will continue to spur creativity in their organisation. Section 6 References Pixars company history http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/history/1986.html Interview with Brad Bird http://gigaom.com/2008/04/17/pixars-brad-bird-on-fostering-innovation/ Details of Pixar films and ratings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pixar_films Images references Title page http://userlogos.org/files/logos/AlexT/PixarLogoLight.png Work cubicles http://www.home-designing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pixar-494539.jpg Cars http://reponses.qctop.com/upload/FlashMcqueen-21976.jpg Section 7 Bibliography Books Capodagli, B. Jackson, L. (2009) Innovate The Pixar Way McGraw Hill Interviews Interview with Ed Catmull http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2009/02/creating_a_safe_haven_for_crea.html Websites http://corporatelearning.hbsp.org/corporate/assets/content/Pixararticle.pdf https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Innovation_lessons_from_Pixar_An_interview_with_Oscar-winning_director_Brad_Bird_2127# Pixars Brad Bird on Fostering Innovation http://benfry.com/writing/archives/179 http://consultaglobal.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/pixars-innovation-recipe/ http://www.irishideas.org/GreatJournal7.pdf http://www.getdriven.com/2008/01/pixar-university/

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The great mortality

While there is much that is not known about the great pestilence which struck Europe most savagely in 1348 to 1350, this much can be said: in all of human history, there has never been a most devastating event. The modern analysis of surviving records indicates that the mortality rate throughout Europe averaged at least 50 percent. In the course of three years, one of every two human beings died, victims of a plague for which there was no effective remedy.In most communities, the pestilence struck and killed within a few months while sweeping on to other communities, making the impact of the staggering death toll all the more devastating. . A good deal has been written about this pestilence, and John Aberth makes an admirable contribution with his small book, The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents. Most of this book is documents from the period of the great pestilence, and these give insight into the suffering that swept across Europe during this period.When Aberth does interject comments, his observations are brief but thoroughly prescient. One of Aberth’s finest pieces is his comment on one of the great mysteries of the disease which destroyed so much of Europe. (Aberth 23-27) We do not know what it was. As Aberth notes, the term now commonly used for this disease, the Black Death, was not used by contemporaries. It was first coined in the sixteenth century. (Aberth 1) The modern reason for describing this disease as an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague is the outbreak of a similar, if much less devastating pestilence in Asia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.(Aberth 1, 23; Herlihy 20-21) During that plague, microbiologists isolated a bacterium as the cause of the outbreak, and given the similarity of symptoms, historians posit that the pestilence that devastated Europe in 1348 to 1350 was a variety of the same plague. (Aberth 23-25) Aberth does a fine job of reviewing the strengths and the weakn esses of the modern discussion, including issues about the temperature at which plague-bearing fleas flourish (Aberth 25-26), and also the strengths and weaknesses of his medieval sources (Aberth 24-27) .After all, knowing nothing of bacteriology and painfully little about the behavior of fleas and rats, medieval chroniclers were could hardly predict what modern scientists would like to know about the details of the disease their forebears encountered. As Aberth concludes, there are several problems with the conclusion that the pestilence of 1348 was the bubonic plague, but there are even greater difficulties with any alternative explanation that has been offered. (Aberth 26-27)Part of the difficulty with the notion that the pestilence was the bubonic plague lies with the fact that the flea which commonly carries the plague bacillus prefers to inhabit rats rather than humans, and will abandon the rat only when it dies of the plague and its body begins to cool. (ABerth 25-26; Herlihy 21-23) Reflecting this fact, modern outbreaks of the bubonic plague have been marked by the widespread death of rats. Albert Camus mentions this occurrence as the first sign of the arrival of the pestilence in his novel, The Plague.While some medieval sources do mention the widespread death of rats, it is not widely mentioned. However, the failure of these sources to mention a particular occurrence is questionable evidence from which to argue that something did not occur. For a wide variety of reasons, medieval chroniclers may not have connected the death of rats with the outbreak of the plague. Aberth also mentions that fleas can hide for long periods of time in grain, one of the items frequently carried along the routes which the plague followed.(Aberth 25-27; Ziegler 16, Horrax 7-8), Another difficulty which modern scholars have encountered is that the symptoms of the plague as described in the medieval documents do not match closely the symptoms noted in early twentieth century victims of the plague. Here Aberth shows his understanding of the complex scientific literature in the field, noting that plague bacillus has been shown to have a remarkable capacity for mutation, so that it is quite possible that what swept through Europe wasa particularly virulent mutation of the plague, a strain causing symptom somewhat different from those encountered in modern pandemics. (Aberth 26) The effects of the plague have been debated almost since they first occurred. Some historians contend that, especially in England, the plague so reduced that number of available laborers as to raise their standard of living as employers had to compete for their services.Here again, Aberth outdoes many other writers, by showing that variety and complexity of the economic responses to the devastating loss of population. In some areas, such as Egypt, the plague seems to have caused comparatively little change in economic relationships. (Aberth 67-70) In England, as noted, the conditio n of the lower classes gradually improved, and eventually, the true feudal system of serfs bond to the land fell away under the strain of the economic forces unleashed by the shift in the population.Aberth also acknowledges that the plague prompted many labor-saving inventions which helped improve the lot of the common folk, but adds a very sound admonition: any social or economic gain that cost the lives of half of the continent’s population must be hailed with considerable caution. (Aberth 68-70) In this analysis, Aberth again shows a good deal more subtlety and sophistication than many other historians who have tried to view the effects of the plague along more straightforward, if somewhat simplistic lines.In one of the noted revisionist essays, David Herlihy, for example, contended that Europe prior to the plague had reached a Malthusian breaking point: the population had expanded to the point where it was exhausting food production, and its continued geometric expansion versus the arithmetic expansion of the food supply had created a crisis. By greatly reducing the population, the plague alleviated this crisis while stimulating a wide range of inventions which eventually made much great food production possible.(Herlihy 31-39, 46-57) While not dismissing this interpretation, Aberth shows that it cannot explain the economic and social developments that occurred throughout Europe. These developments were sufficiently varied that no single theory can consistently bind them all together. (Aberth 69-70; Zeigler 203-09) While economic developments in the wake of the plague might be classified as â€Å"rational† responses to the pestilence, Aberth allows dwells on the hysterical responses, which took two primary forms: pogroms against the Jews and the flagellants.These two phenomena sometimes were related, as the flagellants blamed Jews for the outbreak of the plague, but also finds the phenomena occurring separately. The flagellants marked a parti cularly strange form of hysteria, organizing themselves into bands of zealots who carried the mortification of the flesh to gruesome lengths. With their belief that they alone had found the way to satisfy a wrathful God, they represented a break with the authority of the Catholic Church, something that led to their excommunication and their suppression by both religious and secular authorities.(Aberth 117-20;Zeigler 62-81) In a brief final chapter, Aberth considers how the plague altered the European conception of death. Here he notes some of the artistic changes that came about in the wake of th plague, including the appearance of â€Å"transi† tombs, which he describes as â€Å"a variation on tomb monuments by substituting or contrasting a skeletal and rotting cadaver to the idealized life-like portrait of the patron.† (Aberth 169) One example of this is the tomb of Francois de la Sarra, on which the arms crossed over the chest are covered with worms and four frogs o r toads sit on the face, covering the mouth and eyes. (Aberth 166, doc. 44) Another curious document that he presents is the :Disputacioun betwyx the Body and Wormes,† in which a noblewoman’s body argues with the worms that gnaw away the flesh after her death. (Aberth 176-78, doc. 46) The great majority of this book is made up of documentary selections, and Aberth has chosen his sources well.His introductory comments show the significance of each document, . and he notes grimly that many of those who tried to chronicle the plague fell victim to its ravages. He also shows the sad state of knowledge, in which the great medical faculty of the University of Paris, considered one of the leading centers of learning in its day, could find no better cause for the plague than the conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in Aquarius in 1345.(Aberth 41-42) While many authorities, Christian and Muslim, agreed that the plague was highly contagious, medical science was se veral hundred years from advancing any theory which would explain contagion in any credible way, and even farther from effecting a cure. The contradictory advice, the irrelevance of many proposed cures, and the gruesome stress on blood-letting show the sad state of medical knowledge at that time. (Aberth 45-66) Perhaps the grimmest aspect of these documents are the many comments showing the collapse of hope and human compassion during this terrible disease.Time and again, there is the repeated refrain of abandonment. With the disease almost invariably fatal, once a person was stricken, relatives and acquaintance would flee rather than risk being afflicted. Over and over, the documents reflect this in a litany of abandonment, (Aberth 33-34,54, 76) There has been no later pandemic on the order of the pestilence of 1348 to 1350. By comparison, deaths due to AIDS/HIV would have to increase more than a thousandfold to equal the slaughter that the plague inflicted.One can only hope that n o such pandemic recurs. SOURCES USED: Aberth, John. The Black Death: the Great Mortality of 1348-1350 (New York, New York: Palgrave McMillion, 2005). Camus, Albert. The Plague. (New York, New York: Vintage Books 1991). Herlihy, David. The Black Death and the Transformation of the West. (Cambridge, Massachusetts,L Harvard University Press, 1997). Horraxs, Rosemary. The Black Death (Manchester England: Manchester University Press, 1994). Ziegler, Philip. The Black Death. (Thrupp, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing 1969).

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Bad things

With a increasingly sexualities society (Mulligan, 1994; Kumar, 2013) and the influence the media has over young people (Slough, 1995), it mess pertinent to ask the question why as a nation, are we not more clued up in preventing rather than recovering from such tragedies? A noted aim of Sex and Relationship Education (SERE) is to teach about awareness, knowledge and correct actions related to sexual abuse (Lobber et al, 2010) to ensure the learner has the best chance of societal integration and healthy sex life (Lobber et al, 2010).Herein lies the concern, differing societies engage differently, leading SERE to assume many guises (Lobber et al, 2010; Fontanne et al, 2012). The dichotomy for policy makers and Laotians concerned is that relevant and appropriate content has to be offset against the fear of public outcry (Consoled, 2012; Chou, 2012). Sex and the surrounding paraphernalia is still seen by some, especially parents or those involved in the education of children, as taboo ( Former, 2011).It is a subject that evokes an unusually deep emotional response in a wide demographic of people (Vassar, 2011), perhaps because sex and relationships are something we all feel a connection to. Perhaps then surrounding such controversy it is little surprise that there is elegance to update national policy (Evans and Trip, 2006; Confined, 2012), indeed there has been no major update to any government guidelines concerning SERE in 13 years (Evans and Trip, 2006; Holly, 2012; Sex Education Forum, 2013).Invariably this has led to schools and educators hesitant to deliver any form of SERE (Former, 2011) explaining the comment of the Sex Education Forum's claiming a one in three reply of ‘poor' or Very poor' amongst respondents concerning their experience of SERE (Sex Education Forum, 2013, p. 4). Initially this echoes the contention we know surrounds SERE, however the Sex Education Forum is an independent body, even advising government policy, adding validity to such statements.The previous two and the current government have come under criticism (Evans and Trip, 2006; Former, 2011; Holly, 2012, Sex Education Forum, 2013) about failing to enact meaningful change in support of schools in this clearly vital area of education (Lobber et al, 2010; Fontanne et al, 2012). There is an assumption that governments would wish to enact decisive and lasting policy change after weighty social change is promised, yet Evans and Trip (2006) have suggested that more radical policy is necessary than has been thus implemented. Such policies may even go as far as introducing pornography within the classroom (Holly, 2012).Marled (2012) suggests the current Coalition Government has already hastened and strengthened reforms and guidelines in the wake of recent abuse tragedies such as those in Recordable and Exosphere (Marled, 2012; BBC News, 2013; Burke, 2013). One must be wary to believe such rhetoric in light of these circumstances, as it is common practice for such vague press releases to appear, simply to soothe public fear and discontent. This may be cynicism on the writer's part though and the current Coalition does intend to release a new curriculum for schools in 2014 (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013).It was hoped by pupils in particular that SERE would feature strongly within the revision (Former, 2011) yet it seems that the trend of ambivalence towards SERE continues. Even with an extended consultation period on the curriculum, both pupils (Former, 2011) and advisory councils (Sex Education Forum, 2013) feel that their views or recommendations have been ignored. The position of SERE within the curriculum was meeting all parties wanted to see reinforced with the Sex Education Forum calling for SERE in the form of Personal, Social and Health Education (SHE) or better, standalone to be made statutory (2013, p. ). The proposal curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013; Sex Education Forum, 2013) will not howev er, be making this so. This course of action is analyses by Even and Trip (2006) as predictable, claiming that despite valid and objective support, orthodoxy persists in education. Perhaps disappointing as if there can be a shift in orthodoxy regarding SERE, profound social and demographic benefits may be seen.Sweden has had a strong form of SERE embedded in practice for over fifty years (Lobber et al, 2010) and enjoys a high standard of social stability and new from the current Coalition Government (Analysis: Cameraman's Swede Dreams, 2012). It is dangerous to make broad sweeping statements from limited sources, especially of those with a distinctive demographic difference to the I-J. It is usually agreed though that SERE should learn from those with best practice globally (Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Chou, 2012), perhaps lessons may also be learnt from the Finnish model.Having had tooth statutory and non-statutory shapes of SERE, Lobber et al (2010) surmises that it is the statut ory model that returns the cohesion and essential improvements to sexual health political leaders crave (Evans and Trip, 2006). Instead of taking the opportunity to make SERE statutory content, this Coalition Government has drafted a proposal that has elements of SERE embedded within the new science curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013). Science by nature is objective and if for this reason SERE was amalgamated then it is commendable, combating bigotry and misunderstanding (Chou, 2012).As Lombardi (2012) helpfully reminds us, humans the world over reproduce in the same way and so taking a scientific approach follows. These laudable reasons for merging SERE within a broader science curriculum appear not to be the motive though. Nearly twenty years ago Slough (1995) instructs how children should be aware of basic reproduction biology and yet this is not stipulated for today's learners. It would appear SERE is once more regressing to a state of UN-objective and UN- founded content (Hess, 2010; Former, 2011; Lombardi, 2012; Sex Education Forum, 2013).It is difficult to tell if this slide is uh to bad advice or simply to be purposefully uncontroversial (Vassar, 2011; Confined, 2012). It is unlikely that poor advice is the primary reason as there were both lengthy consultation periods on the draft curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013) and extensive data from numerous reputable studies (Evans and Trip, 2006; Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Lobber et al, 2010; BC Council for Families, 2011; Former, 2011; Channel 4, 2013; Sex Education Forum, 2013).These aversions to objective SERE is unhelpful to learners who are understandably worried about hangers happening during puberty (Former, 2011; Sex Education Forum, 2013) and have a right to know (Mulligan, 1994). These learner responses are supported by More (2012) who asserts learners are inquisitive for biological reasons. Questioners do not simply stop questioning Just because they a re ignored (Lobber et al, 2010). Instead they seek answers from other sources (Slough, 1995; Holly, 2012) with Hess (2010) commenting that these sources should be UN-ambivalent as possible to reduce over simplicity.It is crucial that correct answers are given as The Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013, p. 2) states that an average of ten sexual partners is common in men today. The theory is that if quality SERE sessions are in place, with appropriate answers available, then wider social and sexual health risks can be avoided (Mulligan, 1994; Holly, 2012; Sex Education Forum, 2013) and some, such as the curtailing of the uneasy truth that the I-J has the highest rate of unwanted teenage pregnancy in Europe.This alarming fugue only worsens when realizing that the I-J is second only to the United States of America in terms of developed nations (Evans and Trip, 2006). This should be qualified however tit the Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013, p. 2) and other parties (Holly, 2012; Sex Education Forum) quick to point out that these pregnancy levels are at a multi-generational low here. Ignorance is another principal reason for high quality SERE to be delivered in schools.A Sex Education survey of over 2000 young people, one of the largest of its kind in this country, found that seventy four of sexually active fourteen to seventeen year olds had sexual experiences under the age of consent and that twenty percent of these had these experiences under the GE of thirteen (Channel 4, 2013) It is easy to let emotion override at this point and this is a danger faced at policy level too (Combo, 2012; Holly, 2012).Instead compare these fugues with the six percent from the survey (Channel 4, 2013) who said they would wait until marriage before engaging in sexual experiences. On a personal note, regarding ignorance, the author was surprised to see that ‘Setting (Combo, 2012, p. 28) carried a custodial sentence of up to four years (Crown Prosecution Service, 2012) for the creation and distribution of such images. This is because often those reading are underage and although (hopefully) unaware of it, they are distributing ‘Indecent Images of Children' (Crown Prosecution Service, 2012; Holly, 2012).Evans and Trip (2006) warn that once experimenting in sexual experiences under the age of sixteen (consensual age in the I-J) becomes the norm, it is far harder to prevent unwanted sexual health related issues. This a common counter to allowing overt SERE within education today, as parents, educators and wider societies believe exposure to SERE automatically correlates to a rise in sexual experimentation (Mulligan, 1994; Fontanne et al, 2012; Chou, 2012). The results from the Sex Education survey (Channel 4, 2013) counter this however, showing that the mean age for first consensual experiences is seventeen in both male and females.Certainly, wider evidence from across Northern Eur ope, a good comparison to make with the UK due to similar socio- economic patterns, show that the greater the liberality with engaging children in SERE, the lower the risks (Evans and Trip, 2006; Lobber et al, 2010). There is a third dimension to the debate of SERE, that of abstinence. Abstainers argue that it is the only scientific method that is proven to completely eliminate all forms of sexual health risks (Hess, 2010) such as those outlined by Fontanne et al (2012).Lombardi (2012) argues that this is in fact counter productive as it provides a dichotomy to learners to choose either protection or abstinence, leading to a drop in quality of SERE. The abstinence method does carry weight and is enjoying increasing support globally (Confined, 2012), in terms of the benefits of sex in good relationships. Alongside having the worst sexual health in teenagers in Europe, the I-J also boasts a higher bevel of marital breakdown and single parent families than found on the continental main land (Evans and Trip, 2006).It is argued that by teaching sex as something to be enjoyed once firm commitments have been made to one another, the bond between couples is stronger thereby reducing breakdowns (Hess, 2010; Bloom, 2012). It is also worth noting that Hess (2010) and Bloom (2012) acknowledge the abstinence approach has much ground to cover in terms of accessibility to those who do not see or desire a loving marriage as standard (Evans and Trip, 2006; Comb', 2012). Lobber t al (2010) and Milkshakes (2011) both produce a damming testimony of the abstinence approach.This is not surprising as SERE as a topic does carry strong emotions (Former, 2011). By providing historical contexts and citations in both counters it does however help to remove the personal emotive element often seen in this area of discussion. Such emotions are very apparent in both Hess' (2010) article and the demonstrations reported by Vassar (2011). A final thought for the abstinence methodology is that of the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LIGHT) learners. The Sex Education Forum (2013, p. Rightfully highlight that these people are equal in need to heterosexual learners and the dangers an evasive traditional hetero marriage' approach to sex and reproduction may have on their education and sexual health. By looking to educational theory, we may hope to provide a consensus for SERE. Evans and Trip (2006) note the link to quality SERE with social learning theories. The Social Cognitive Theory (ACTS) established by Bandeau (1986) is a respected and time-tested model to use.Linked to the findings of the Sex Education survey (Channel 4, 2013) and the findings of other noted projects Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Former, 2011; Sex Education Forum, 2013), the ACTS model requires an understanding of current trends of the behavior of society in conjunction with the goal that society is hoping to achieve. The abstinence approach would argue that to achieve the goal of a so ciety having minimal unwanted teenage pregnancies and a majority of stable relationships, it is the attitude of young people that needs to change.This is not the simple fix that may have been hoped for though. The Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013, p. 9) tresses that currently around eighty five thousand females are the victims of rape or assault by penetration annually. It is very difficult for even die-hard abstainers to argue that if these victims had different attitudes, they wouldn't have been assaulted. Indeed, the attitudes of young people and parents are reflected in Livingston and Hadrons report (2009, p. 6) showing that twenty percent were worried about viewing inappropriate sexual content. Using the ACTS, it would seem then that it would be beneficial to more learners if quality and objective SERE sessions were available. This old allow the continuing motivation of society to reduce the spiraling sexual health issues (Evans and Trip, 2 006; Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013) whilst simultaneously progressing education appropriate to the young people. It is clear that young people want answers (Former, 2011; Sex Education Forum, 2013).By providing them through quality SERE, it reduces the risk of obtaining spurious answers such as questions regarding genital size and shape (Channel 4, 2013) from dubious sources such as pornography. The same survey (Channel 4, 2013) found that more than a third questioned rely on pornography for their information. For the educators then, it is clear that emotion and embarrassment needs to be laid aside once more in favor of providing better sources (Barker, 2012; Comb', 2012).It is pertinent then to question who takes on the role of the educator, parents or the school. With the draft curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013) it is obvious that some responsibility does lie with schools. Fontanne et al (2012) would support this decision, finding that with expe rienced educators schools provide ideal environments for SERE as they can reach the majority of children instantly. Former (2011, p. 166) does end a counter, suggesting that from his research, sixty seven percent of SERE sessions are not taught by classroom teachers.Fontanne et al (2012) retorts with the idea that this is not a bad thing as often teachers resort to passive learning in SERE and not memorable experiences, provided by external sources, something which Former (2011) agrees is more effective. Chou (2012) comments that teachers should not be expected to deliver high quality SERE as it could involve topics of anatomy and physiology knowledge beyond that of most teachers, yet it is arguable that most parents would fall under this category also.Chou (2012) counters himself too, commenting that in Chinese society, sex is not a topic of conversation traversed by most parents, leaving the question of responsibility unanswered. A common reason for teachers reluctance is being st igmatize as Holly, a leading expert in SERE, found herself (Robbins, 2011) or finding themselves in compromising situations (Knows, 2012; Vaughan, 2012). In actuality the most common reasons cited for hesitance or refraining from delivering high quality SERE is actually identical between parents and teachers (Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Hess, 2010; Former, 2011; Chou, 2012).Lobber et al (2010) does offer consolation to this conundrum, stating that with training, teachers' attitudes reversed dramatically. It is vital that this happens as it necessary that some sort of service is available outside of the home (Livingston and Haddam, 2009; BC council for Families, 2011; Barker, 2012; Children, 2012). As with many quality strategies in education, it has been proved that the most successful SERE occurs when schools and parents cooperate fully (Baldwin and Abrasions, 1990; Evans and Trip, 2006; Barker, 2012; Fontanne et al, 2012; Marled, 2012).With the continuation of findings as outline d in the Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health; 2013) and truly shocking reports across the UK (summers, 2007; Marled, 2012; BBC News, 2013;) and beyond (Burke, 2013), it must be seen as vital from schools, parents and politicians that the issue of SERE needs addressing. From these brief research findings it is clear that no universal solution has yet been tailored to fit all needs.