Income for College Football Athletes Essay

College football athletes have been selling their jerseys, selling signature footballs, and committing crimes in order to be able to feed and support themselves financially to survive in the real world. Student athletes don’t have enough time on their hands to work during the season or during off season workouts. It’s considered a year round sport due to the fact that in offseason, college football players in training to stay in shape for the return of their upcoming season in the fall. Football takes up more than half of their daily time each year. Maintaining a steady grade point average is often enforced because of the demands held by the football program. Should football receive income while on a scholarship? Football athletes should get paid, not necessarily as professionals, paid every game, but at least to receive some form of money to help increase their monthly pay. They should be paid because college football players are making money based off of their perform ance, football athletes are compensated for free education while 70% percent of the athletes don’t even graduate, football consumes too much of the athlete’s time, and are exposing their selves daily to serious injuries that may lead up to a paralyzed body or as far as death. College football and basketball for years have been the highest producing revenue sports in NCAA. More than $470 million in new money poured into major college athletics programs last year, boosting spending on sports, even though we’re in rough economic times. Most of the money made in athletics revenue was because elevation in money generated through multi-media rights deals, donations and ticket receipts, but schools also continued increasing their subsidies from student fees and institutional funds (Berkowitz). Helping with the success of revenues in schools are wins by football teams and basketball teams. 6.2 billion was spent in 2010 on athletics at 218 schools and spending grew by 3% while revenue grew by 5.5%. Money spent on athletics was equated to make a good amount of profit. Could this profit be distributed to the performers? In the years of sports in NCAA revenue, media agreements have created about 86 percent of revenue while the other 14 percent was made from ch ampionships ticket sales. Where does the money go? It is distributed directly to the Division 1 membership. 60 percent of NCAA revenue is distributed to Division 1 members which, in 2009-2010, totaled to a little more than $433 million (where does the money go?). Some of the distribution is used for particular uses, such as academic support or those that meet special student athlete needs. Most of the money is distributed to scholarships and sports sponsorships. These funds are paid to conference offices and divided among conference institutions. The common uses of the money would be for salaries, financial aid for student athletes, and facility maintenance and travel. Only some of the 60 percent is used for the athletes which pays for the tuition and living expenses. NCAA in the article â€Å"Where does the money go?† states that their revenue is relatively small part of the overall intercollegiate athletics fiscal structure. NCAA research estimates the college athletics spend about 10.5 billion annua lly. Overall annual revenue for college athletics programs is 10.6 billion. NCAA total expenses for 2009-2010 were 707.2 million. Schools are making profit off of the athletic programs and NCAA are just an helping hand. The schools are a big impact in budget managing. According to khan, college football and college men’s basketball generate professional level revenues. 757 million in 1999 were total ticket revenues for football and men’s basketball. The broadcast revenue from NCAA of all football, in season and off season, exceeds professional basketball at 2.2 billion. In the modern day, has increased by 8 billion. The university of Louisville’s budget has grown from 52.4 million to 68.8 million from football and basketball revenue. Even other larger schools, winning conferences, are making more from the revenue. Millions and billions of dollars are generated by the players, media and ticket sales, but few are given to them. Without the players performing, there would be no money generated. Televised games are one of the key contributors to generating revenues. In 1950s until 1984 NCAA exerted complete control over college football telecasts. Randall Bennett and John Fizel present the analysis of competitive balance in NCAA division 1 College football after the supreme court ruling. Supreme Court argued that NCAA had been successful in preventing a â€Å"power elite† from developing in college football because of bigger schools being televised while smaller schools are at a disadvantage. The results were the winning percentages in conferences significantly declined in two conferences and increased in two other conferences. NCAA control over television wasn’t focused on generate equality of playing strength among division 1 football teams. The teams with the most wins were highly focused by the NCAA in televising. Television is very important in gaining wins and more attraction â€Å"Televising is more important than money† as quoted by the Supreme Court in Bennett and Fizel’s article. Money is the NCAA’s center point and though most of the money generated by the players, most of it is not necessary for the players. In addition to generating revenues, recruits and players are compensated for free education while only under 70 percent of football player’s graduate. Division 1 student athletes who entered college in 1994 were the ninth consecutive class that met higher initial-eligibility. Student athletes who entered college and received an athletics scholarship as a freshman in 1994 graduated at a rate of 58 percent (NCAA). â€Å"The data of this class of student-athletes continues the pattern set by previous classes of graduating at a rate one to two percent higher than the general student body. Student-athletes in the two classes prior to the new academic standards graduated at a rate one to two percent lower than the general student body† (NCAA). These showings are obvious in the determined average football player who will graduate. What is interesting is that graduating is the number one goal as coaching staff and NCAA emphasize to football athletes. Overall, graduation rates for freshman class entering in 1994 were the same as the year before. This class equaled the rates of the 1988 through 1990 classes, as well as the 1992 and 1993 classes. In 1968 study of all Michigan state university athletes over a five year period revealed that 49 percent of team sport and 60 percent of individual sport athletes had graduate. In 1976, less than 20 percent of football players who entered North Texas State University graduated with a degree (Purdy, Eitzen and Hufnagel). 24 percent in that time were the graduating rate fort football players. Division 1 football and men’s basketball players continue to lag behind in graduating rates among all athletes, but it has grown since then. In 2004-2005 statics by (division 1 athletes’ graduation rates) NCAA division 1 rates for all sports is 82 percent and football and basketball stand at 68 to 69 percent in graduating rates. It has grown yet still the average is inadequate to the standards stressed by NCAA and faculty. NCAA could at least boost up the income for college football athletes if graduation is a main goal stressed. Below three quarters are exceed in graduation rates. Football players are getting their tuition paid for free with an addition of 1,000 to 1,500 monthly incomes if they are living on their own. It sounds like a decent amount, but when you break it down it becomes frustrating for the individual to live off of it. The minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 (Cowan). UNLV football athletes with scholarships receive 12000 dollars monthly for 10 months. The yearly salary is 12,000 dollars. So in reality, only 1,000 is received for each month. The weekly pay is $250. For one day, an UNLV football athlete is paid $35.71. The hourly salary is $4.46. Are we really worth this amount? College football athletes take four classes just to be eligible. In addition to the four classes, from2:00 to 6:30 is all football relation in during seasons. Lifting twice a week is mandatory. Study hall is also mandatory for new comers and those who have failed to meet the requirements by the NCAA. In a whole, all your time is needed to meet the standards set by NCAA. Passing all your classes include, studying (2 hours) and taking 1 to 2 classes a day(2-4) hours, lifting weights (2 hours), studying football, means watching tapes (2 hours), football meetings (2 hours) and football practices( 2 and half hours). Mandatory Study hall consumes about an hour of your day. In all, 12 to 13 hours is taken up by football daily. The rest of the hours are used for sleep and break times. The full time schedules, homework’s, practice, and travel for road games are big burdens for athletes to find other sources of income. NCAA prohibits payments beyond educational scholarships and specified expenses to athletes responsible for revenues. According Goldman that NCAA restricts the ability of college athletes to earn outside income because of the time consumed by the sport itself. Even if a part time job is allowed for student athletes, it raises concerns about over-taxing a student athlete’s already fragmented time schedule and increasing the opportunity for boosters to make â€Å"illegal† payments to favored athletes (Acain). There wouldn’t be a need for boosters or part-time jobs if NCAA could allow increasing the scholarship aids for football athletes. A study on football and basketball individual with scholarships, both generating revenues, say that they had less money. Ernie chamber, in Parent’s article, introduced a bill to pay college athletes but was lacking persistent. One of his arguments were that athletes are not getting enough money to eat and wash their clothes. Former All- American football player at USC who admitted that even though he was getting money from the grants there still wasn’t enough because he was sending it back home ( came from a poor family) to his family. He noticed how he was struggling to put food in his fridge and how the school was selling his jersey making money off of him. California state senator said â€Å"it was unfair that men’s division 1 basketball or football players do not receive at least a portion of the money that athletes have earned for their school and that NCAA has kept quiet about discussing these issues over the past years† (Parent). If a portion of the revenue is distributed to the performers, food and other expenses would be easy access. Also illegal money would not be a problem if more was given to the athletes. Adding to reasons why the collegiate football players should be paid, they are risking their lives for free education with some support for expenses and hopes of making it to the professional level. A data of five teams from major college in the nation were surveyed during practices and games in the 1976 season. Data were based on during drills in practice and games of the season. The injury rate was calculated very high in 12 specific drills, practice games, and other activities. Practice games, drill that simulate real live game emphasis had the lowest injury exposure, but are the highest risk factor. Agility drills were calculated as the fewest injury rates. Calisthenics had no injury rates because it’s a warm-up drill that prepares for the body for the practice. The study, according to Cahill and Griffith, was to determine harmful factors to prevent in the future and in other schools. The drills that were calculated high are often practiced throughout football even till to day. Head injuries are deadliest results of playing football. A survey commissioned by the NFL indicated that it retires have been diagnosed as having dementia or other memory related disease at rates higher than the national population. Helmet manufacturers have begun on protecting against concussion by designing air releasing shock absorbers that could handle a wider range of forces than foam alone (Schawz). Even though it focuses on the concussion taken, it is still not effective in how the head postioned.Dave Halstead states in Schwarz’s article, as advanced as helmets have become, they do not yet protect against dramatic rotational, rather than linear, forces. The position of the head is essential to avoiding head injuries and major risks. Major injuries in football could cost your life and productive time. A 22 year old football player at frostburg state university in Maryland died from head trauma sustained on the field. Dreks sheely died late Sunday at university of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock trauma center in Baltimore. According to Castillo, a spokesman for Frostburg State said sheely had been participating in â€Å"regular drills† with his teammates in Aug. 22 when he began feeling woozy. He was being helped off the field when he collapsed. This incident of dying is not likely, but has had cases like this 9 times in high school football. Head injury cases are at large with those who are paralyzed. Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was paralyzed below the neck when making contact with player returning the ball against army. Doctors says, in â€Å"Rutgers football player paralyzed from neck down†, that he will remain in hospital for the near future. Legrand was headed to the Hackensack University Medical Center where he had emergency surgery overnight to keep stabilized after making the tackle against the returner. Tight end Kevin Everett, from buffalo bills, in 2007was memorized when he duck his neck making a tackle during second kickoff. He was paralyzed from the neck down with the same situation as LeGrand is in. These are the horrors and risks of playing football. College football players are struggling while the NCAA generates income off of their performance. NCAA distributes money thorough out the Division 1 members and only few is given to players.Even when revenue is increasing each year the same amount of money used to support college football athletes. College spends a lot on the athletic programs even in our declining economic times. As athletes, coaches and staffs stress the goal of graduating football players graduate at a rate of under 70 percent. It has increased since 1960 but it still doesn’t meet the NCAA emphasis on graduating in exchange for their performance. Football players from back in the 80’s till today still struggle the life of being a college football player with the financial aid. The amount of money supplied by the NCAA is unfortunately short for paying living expenses and for those who may send the money back home. Also more illegal attempts, boosters giving money and players selling their jerseys, that attract attention may be prevented by providing a little more to the aids. Finding sources of money becomes impossible because of the time that football consumes. Lastly, the game of football exposes football players to many injuries. Players dying to players being paralyzed are a risk that cost more than what there are given in college. Health insurance may pay for the minor injuries, but can it pay for death that is the last thing in a football players mind? These are the reason that football players should get paid, in an increase in their monthly income.

Critically evaluate the claim that culture is best understood as a system of symbolic classification Essay

Introduction                      This essay will focus on evaluating the claim that culture is perfectly understood as a symbolic classification system. Culture can be defined as cumulative deposit of beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, values, experience, roles, meanings, spatial relations, hierarchies, notions of time, possessions and material objects obtained by a group of individuals in the course of the generations through group and individual thriving. Culture involves patterns implicit and explicit, for and of behavior obtained and conveyed through symbols, representing the unique achievement of the human groups, comprising of their personifications in artifacts; the fundamental core of culture include the traditional ideas and particularly their emotionally involved values; culture systems on the other hand may be deemed as products of action. A symbol refers to any object, usually material, meant to stand for another, even though there is no significant relationship. Typically culture is founded on a shared set of meanings and symbols. Symbolic culture allows human communication and therefore must be taught. The symbolic culture is more adaptable and malleable than biological evolution. Humans subconsciously and consciously, strive always in making logic of their surrounding world. Some symbols like objects, words, gestures and signs assist individuals in understanding the world. Usually symbols offer clues in understanding the experiences. They usually express familiar meanings which are shared by the societies. Uniform and badge held by police officers represent symbols of law or authority enforcement. When an officer is seen wearing a uniform or in a squad car enhances reassurance in man citizens, and anger, fear, or annoyance among others (Browne et al, 1990, p38-p42). The world has countless symbols. Company logos, traffic signs and sports uniforms are some of the symbols. A gold sign in some cultures symbolizes marriage. There are some symbols which are very functional; for example, stop signs offers valuable instruction. They belong to the material culture since they are physical objects, however they function like symbols, in addition they pass on nonmaterial cultural meanings. Some of the symbols are only helpful in what they signify. Gold medals, trophies and blue ribbons, for instance, provide no other function other than representing the accomplishments. However numerous objects have both nonmaterial and material symbolic value. Symbols are usually taken for granted easily. Few individuals challenge or even consider sticking the figure signs on the public bathrooms’ doors. However those figures signs are more than being mere symbols which informs women and men which bathrooms they are supposed to use. Also they uphold the value, in U SA, that restrooms ought to be gender exclusive. Even if stalls are comparatively private, most places do not offer bathrooms that are unisex (Hoijer, 1954, p. 14). Symbols frequently get recognized when used out of context. Symbols express strong messages and are used unconventionally. Even destruction of symbols is perceived to be symbolic. Effigies signifying public figures are beaten so as to express anger at particular leaders. Crowds in 1989 tore down Berlin wall a symbols which decades-old of the division between West and East, capitalism and communism. While diverse cultures have different systems of symbols however language is common to all. Language refers to a symbolic system by which individuals’ converse and through which the culture is spread. Various languages include a system of symbols utilized for written communication, whereas others rely on nonverbal actions and spoken communication. Societies regularly share one language, and a lot of languages have the same fundamental components. An alphabet refers to a written system which is made of symbolic shapes which refer to sound which is spoken. These symbols taken together , express definite meanings. English alphabet employs a mixture of 26 letters in order to create words; where these 26 letters create over 600,000 English words which are recognized (Smith, 2001, p. 46). Case study 1                      Additionally, through using language, individuals’ converse without using words. The communication which is nonverbal is symbolic, and, similar to the case of language, a lot of it is learned by the individual’s culture. Various signals are almost universal: crying regularly represents sadness and smiles frequently signify joy. Additional nonverbal symbols differ across the cultural backgrounds in their meaning. For instance, a thumbs-up symbol in the United States shows positive support, while in Australia and Russia, it signifies an offensive curse. Various gestures differ in meaning depending with the individual and the situation. A symbol of waving the hand can represent numerous things, considering for whom it is done and how it’s done. It may signify â€Å"no thank you,† â€Å"hello,† or â€Å"I’m royalty,† or â€Å"goodbye.† Winks express a range of messages, comprising of â€Å"Iâ€⠄¢m only kidding,† or â€Å"I’m attracted to you,† Or â€Å"We have a secret.† From a distance, an individual can comprehend the emotional idea of two individuals in conversation just through examining their facial expressions and body language. Folded arms and Furrowed brows signify a serious topic, perhaps a disagreement. Smiles, with arms open and heads lifted, imply a cheerful, friendly conversation (Durkheim, 2003, p. 41). Case study two                      Even though language is possibly the most apparent system of symbols that used in communication, numerous things we do express a symbolic meaning. For instance, of the way individuals dress and what it signifies to other individuals. The manner in which a person dress symbolically communicates to other people if that individual care about academics or if he or she is a fan of their school’s football group, or it might converse that the individual is a fan of punk music or has adopted an anarchist philosophy. In various urban settings, the symbolic meaning of individual’s clothes can signify gang connection. Other gang associates use these symbolic sartorial signs to identify allies or enemies. Anthropologists argues that, through their evolution course, individuals evolved a universal individual capacity to categorize experiences, as well as encoding and communicating them symbolically, like with language which is written. Due to the f act that symbolic systems were learned as well as being taught, they started developing independently of the biological evolution. Since this capacity for social learning and symbolic thinking is a human evolution product confuses older arguments regarding nurture versus nature. This view of culture shows that individuals who live away from each other begin develops distinct cultures. Basics of different cultures, but, can spread easily from one group of individuals to another. Belief that culture is coded symbolically and can, consequently, can be taught from one individual to another, meaning that cultures can change even if they are bounded. Culture is dynamic can be learned and taught, which makes it a rapid adaption form potentially to variations in the physical conditions. Anthropologists usually view culture both as supplement and product of the biological evolution; culture can be perceived as the core means of human version to the world which is natural (Middleton, 2002, p. 16). The above view of culture as symbolic system with the adaptive functions varying from one place to another, made the anthropologists to conceive of various cultures as described through different structures or patterns of continuing conventional meaning sets. These meanings took solid form in diversity of artifacts like rituals and myths, tools, well as the planning of villages and the design of housing. Anthropologists differentiate between symbolic culture and material culture, not only since each signifies distinct types of human activity, however also because they comprise of different forms of data that necessitate dissimilar methodologies to study. The culture sociology relates to culture since it is evident in the society: the ways of acting, the ways of thinking and the material objects that collectively shape the individual’s way of life. In regard to Max Weber, the symbols are very essential features of culture: individuals employ symbols to convey their spirituality as well as the spiritual side of actual events, and perfect interests are obtained from the symbols (Smith, 2001, p.21-24). In accordance with the sociologists, symbols composes one of the five essential basics of culture, the others being norms, values, language and beliefs. Symbolic anthropology perceives culture as independent system of meaning decoded through interpreting the key rituals and symbols (Werness, 2000, p.37). In conclusion, it is evident that culture is as set of symbolic classifications, referred to as a group of symbols which can prearranged into a paradigmatic set, frequently hierarchical. These systems of classifications show a world view or tribal order. Languages are constituted of the systems of classifications like grammars. Grammars classify number, person and time. Cultures consist of unconscious classifications which include relatives, plants, colors and animals. References Browne, R. B., Fishwick, M. W., & Browne, K. O. (1990). Dominant symbols in popular culture. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. Durkheim, E. (2003). Emile Durkheim sociologist of modernity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub..Hoijer, H. (1954). Language in culture: conference on the interrelations of language and other aspects of culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Middleton, J. (2002). Culture. Oxford, U.K.: Capstone Pub..Smith, P. (2001). Cultural theory: cn introduction. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell :. Werness, H. B. (2000). The Continuum encyclopedia of native art: worldview, symbolism, and culture in Africa, Oceania, and native North America. New York: Continuum. Source document

Changes in 1750 to 1850

This period of time (1750-1850) was the Industrial Revolution. This meant that the factory system and use of machines increased. There were also more wealth for Britain and increase of population! However there changes in social, religion, economic and more political changes, this resulted in incidences such as calls for education, voting, equality and so on. But the main changes were transport, industry, home/leisure and health. Transport changes quickly 1750-1850, it was an increase for much better methods of moving heavy goods such as fruit and vegetables! However the changes did not just happened at once, it had several stages. First roads were improved, than canals were built and finally the Railway was developed! This has a good impact because in 1750 travel was slow, usually on foot, but many main roads had been improved by becoming turnpikes (toll roads). Toll roads is a public or private roadway for which a fee, or toll is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recuperate the cost of road construction and maintenance, which on public roads amounts to a form of taxation. Journey times: London to Manchester took 4 days, London to oxford took 2 days. Over time the roads become flatter, they were not dirt tracks anymore, they made roads straighter, levelled out and they also built bridges on the roads. Canals were built so factories could move raw materials from factory to factory. The cannels had several advantages! Firstly a boat is not going to have a bumpy journey; so fragile goods are much less likely to smash on route. Secondly a canal barge is much larger than a horse drawn wagon and so it can be used to carry much more than wagons on Turnpike roads could be expected to. Also canals were cheap to use and could carry 50 tonnes! Railways developed quickly because of Stephenson! Stephenson invented steam trains. The steam trains would be used to power motors and would be used in mines to help bring coals to the surface quicker! In 1850 railways connected every major town and city in Britain, making much faster travel available for all. Journey times: London to Manchester 6 hours; London to oxford 2 hours! The most important change for the industry was the invitation of machines to do the work of hand tools. Iron was very important because it was used for machines, tools, ships, railways and trains. However the factories were making clothing and goods on time because the machinery made them quicker! The industry was now becoming more advanced. Power had changed from water to coal. Coal is very important because it power domestic homes, machinery and transport

KIEU paragraph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

KIEU paragraph - Essay Example There are a number of characteristics of Kim that have enabled Kieu to think about him in a special manner. The author has made Kim quiet loyal throughout the tale because it rather took a stance of devotion. The devotion of Kim is evident in the case that despite living away from Kieu for more than years, he continuously loved her the most. Throughout the story, Kim has been projected to be stuck to the vows both of them have taken (Lexuan). This is evident from the quote, â€Å"Our innermost sentiments fine as silk threads†¦ Will unite us forever - this we pledge (Adams Stanza 09). These words rather allow the readers to understand the intensity of love and bond of Kim and Kieu. Readers will also find Kim to be romantic. The romanticism being noted in this context is not just limited to the fact that he loved Kieu but also he loved his country the most (Lexuan). Being a learnt man, he knew that he will never lose the hope of finding Kieu. At the end of the tale, it becomes quiet evident that his hope towards finding Kieu was not wasted. Overall the story has provided a clear yet an in-depth hold of the essence of

Innocence and Experience Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Innocence and Experience - Research Paper Example Innocence asks of a man to remain aloof of the different things that take place around him. However this innocence could be taken in an entirely negative way if the individual does not quite understand the norms and procedures around him. Experience teaches him to comprehend how innocence could be turned into a point where the individual become mature and therefore represents maturity on a consistent basis. Innocence and experience form essential ingredients of a psychological domain that is closely tied in with the thread that derives the basis of life (of a man). Psychology asks of the person to understand the innate characteristics that basically hamper the very basis of his life time and again. These issues can also benefit him in the long run if he gets the hang of following the set dictum in a methodical manner. Therefore it is important to understand how life can be represented in a manner that entails both innocence and experience within it in an abundant capacity. Innocence is usually associated with individuals who are known to be immature or lack the authority to have their say. However this could be held in a very negative way as well. Children are usually known to be innocent because they lack the freedom to make sound decisions and assert their own selves in an out and out fashion. This is essentially true because children are indeed very innocent and they do not actually get the hang of a lot of things that are happening around them (Bridges 1993). Children look up to their elders so that the latter could offer them with the muc h needed experience in order to change the course of their lives, for the better. Experience is deemed as important as it can be decisive in understanding the life’s crucial decisions. Experience is also pivotal because it can differentiate the innocent feelings of the different people from a rational discourse which they might have within the distinctive undertakings of their lives.

Music and Color (which ones positively affect employees,which ones Essay

Music and Color (which ones positively affect employees,which ones negatively affect them) - Essay Example â€Å"Music in the workplace promotes positive mood, sense of team, improves alertness and can lessen the event of accidents† (Marshall 2007). There is a mood threshold beyond which productivity rapidly decreases. The high value attributed to the use of light music rather than classical music partly reflects the generally low level of effectiveness achieved by classical music. â€Å"Music â€Å"motivates workers, decreases boredom and leads to increased productivity perhaps because people work in time with the beat† (le Roux 2005 cited Marshall 2007). Music also means that people can learn more effectively and work more creatively, and hence sustain stress more effectively. Ability to work together harmoniously, or cope with unforeseen circumstances, points towards people feeling healthy, having a sense of well-being, having high morale and being able to accept more responsibility. In general, music allows people respond to work situations more positively. (Goodman 200 7). Similar to music, colors have great impact on employees and their mood. Pronounced colors have a negative impact on productivity increasing distress, low self-esteem and aspirations (Birren 23). In the long term, dark colors can have secondary effects on health and that visible flickering can have profound effects on the human nervous system. The trend towards darker colors is unlikely to affect health adversely, and may indeed be advantageous. The trend could have negative consequences for health if it were shown that the increasing levels of ambient light at night affect circadian rhythms. Improvements in brightness and the evenness of spectral power may be beneficial. In particular, the move towards a greater use of green, yellow and white is likely to be good for both health and performance. Intervention to ensure a healthy working environment should always be the first step towards improving productivity and work

Manage an information or knowledge management system Research Paper

Manage an information or knowledge management system - Research Paper Example ii) The policy guidelines do not draw attention to the areas of underperformance but it is the system performance that can be said to be underperforming or not. 6. True 7. A contingency plan is the process in an organization that prepares it to act coherently to an unplanned occurrence. It is normally a plan used as an alternative plan if the initial plan fails to function. Also known as the plan ‘’B’’. 8. To manage the problem of IT failure when it occurs, one would need to retrieve the information by contacting IT expert. The system can be traced immediately to find the lost data. However, managing this problem for the future, one need to be proactive in that, they need to realize that IT may fail any time; therefore, a data backup system is always required in place. Internet security system should be implemented to avoid data theft through hackers and data destruction through viruses and malwares. 9. Analysis, evaluation, probe, investigation 10. Brainst orming is the process of soliciting for ideas from a group of people in order to find solution to a given problem. This normally begins by the group focusing on a problem, the creatively developing various possible solutions to the problem and pushing ideas as far as possible. 11. False. Auditing finds mistakes and builds on them, not strengths. 12. False. One system cannot be reviewed in isolation since a system is continuous and one system is connected to the other systems. 13. Audits can consider the performance of system interfaces. 14. True 15. Organizational job design, performance indicators and how are suppliers to be used? 16. Organizational mission statement. 17. a, b, c & d. Assignment 2 Case Study 1 Date Incident Consequence Reported by 12/4/13 Request for employment records for a former employee Subpoena-law requirement Susan-HR department Action taken Date Modified File given 12/5/13 Modified By Job Title Sign Susan’s Supervisor Supervisor 1. Good quality inform ation is necessary for decision making purposes, planning, and reference purposes as well as proper management of an organization. 2. The benefits of information and Knowledge management system include assisting organizations to identify, select, organize, disseminate, and transfer information. It also helps the organization to share knowledge towards meeting its objectives. It enables the organization to compare itself with its competitors. The major drawbacks include failure of the system to deliver the expected outcome and the inability to use by some users. 3. Whether it will be able to provide a basis for the valuation of the company, whether it can stimulate the management in order to focus on the important things and whether the investment in Knowledge Management is justified. I & KMS require that measures like tight information security be applied to the organization’s information system. Confidentiality and legal consideration while dispersing knowledge is critical, keeping the organizational success-knowledge secret for economic prosperity are some of the measures that need to be applied. 4. The type of knowledge information that a sugar processing company uses in the demand side for example, include knowledge of things like; sugar consumption rate, sister companies sugar production capabilities, industry sugar production capabilities, cement import and export levels. Strengths The organization

Book Listing Website using PHP and mySQL,HTML Literature review

Book Listing Website using PHP and mySQL,HTML - Literature review Example This is where a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) comes into picture. According to (ACM SIGCHI 1996), â€Å"Human-computer interaction is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them†. HCI in general terms can be inferred as a mix of a discipline belonging to the field of engineering dealing with the science of design. It’s a kind of study which evaluates the level of ease with which a person could use the system using the attributes of practicability, intuitiveness and accuracy. A successful interface implementation depends on how well the requirements of the system are gathered in the initial phase. There are critical opinions mentioning the lack of knowledge with developers in identifying the characteristics of humans while using a system, especially a website (Lotze 2002). Reducing design costs, improving quality and the process involved are some of the research areas that are been explored in recent times. Being a subset of User Interaction, HCI involves identifying goals from the standpoint view of both the user and business and also, developing architectural prototypes that can be refined consistently. Most of the efforts that go into coding and creating designs are actually directed towards the development of HCI. In the current trend, with the emergence of cloud computing and other technical advancements, the necessity to develop a safe, useful and commercially viable website is imperative and looking forward, it stands to remain at the same cynosure. Software Development Life Cycle Software development Life Cycle (SDLC) provides an effective approach for developing a website or any kind of software. SDLC involves seven fundamental phases which enclose the entire development timeframe of the software. All these phases are equally important as faltering in any of the phase would lead to astronomical errors in all ot her subsequent phases. The phases includes, studying feasibleness, analysing requirements, designing, modelling, implementation, testing and active operation. SDLC directly relates the phases involved in the management of project with the corresponding phases of Software Development. Out of several SDLC models that are available, for a small term project of this nature, an iterative model of SDLC would be the ideal fit. Other options include the agile and waterfall model. An iterative model allows for an openness to exist between the client and the developer and also, allows for an interactive development – enabling changes to be made even in the middle of a development process. A waterfall model does not allow for the requirements to be added at a later stage as the models are based directly on the initial requirement analysis phase. In case of developing websites, requirements often keep changing and with the advancements in technologies, there is always a constant need for fine tuning the effectiveness of a website. Hence, an iterative model suits as a best model to follow for this kind of development. Additionally, the time spent in analysing the requirements would be quite minimal in an iterative model as there is this feasibility of augmenting the development process with additional requirements, if needed. So, a cost effective, minimal time consuming iterative model would suffice the demands of developing a book listing website. (Saleh 2009) Data Security and Accessibility Information security is one of the primary aspects of

Criminal minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal minds - Essay Example In spite of the efforts in this direction crimes continue to exist and it can be concluded that the crimes will continue to exist and this problem can not be solved. In order to solve this problem it becomes necessary that the cause of the crimes or the reason why people commit crimes need to be analysed. Traditionally crime has been considered as associated with two domains by the specialists. The domains are the nature or the environment of the individuals including the family and the peers of the individuals. However it must be noted that these specialists belong to different fields of science as the complexity and dynamics of crime extends to different areas which are difficult to comprehend. When reference is made to the science of criminology automatically reference is made to different branches of science such as psychology, genetics, sociology etc. The main purpose of criminology is to deal with crimes and criminals and solve this social problem. As mentioned earlier the main approaches to deal with the problem of crimes and their resolution are the natural approach and the environmental approach. The environmental approach deals with the circumstances that made an individual to commit a crime and it does not consider the heredity or family background of the criminal. Whereas the natural approach is sure that the nature of the criminal, his or her genes, and heredity are the main reasons that make him/her to commit the crimes. The latest developments in genetics have been fairly successful in substantiating the environmental causes for people committing crimes and this has put away the theories about the heredity and genes being responsible for the crimes which need to be proved scientifically. The theories relating to the presupposition of the heredity and genes are ambiguous and are to be established with a scientific base before they can be taken into account. On the other hand the followers of the environmental approach also can not deny the fact that the heredity and genetic causes play an important role in shaping the character of a person. They also contribute to the committing of the crime by the individuals. It is important that environment in which a person is born and brought up is considered while studying the crimes, as such environmental factors do have a large influence on the formation of the personality of the individual and the shaping of his or her characters. Though this new approach is relatively young and new it is becoming more and more popular and deserves to be analysed thoroughly before any conclusion can be drawn from the approach. According to Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) "criminology is the study of delinquency and crime with the goal of developing a body of knowledge including all the dynamics that surround crime and criminals to assist in their understanding of the phenomenon". Thus the focus of the science of criminology is to evolve a deep understanding of crime, the reasons why people commit crimes and also the nature of the people who commit crimes namely the criminals. It is a fact that it would be difficult to understand the crimes as a social phenomenon in general and all the details of the crime in particular as it affects the society, unless the causes which make the people commit the crimes.

Ryanair â€Southwest of European airlines Essay Example for Free

Ryanair –Southwest of European airlines Essay The objective of my report is to analyze the external environment in Ryanair-Southwest of European airlines case, which is very important factor for the firms formulated effective strategy. The external environment consists of a wide array of economic and sociopolitical factors. It is the specific market arenas that the organization has chosen in its strategy; it provides the business opportunities to the firm and its also a source of threats or forces that may impede the successful implementation of a strategy. Macro-environmental Analysis (PEST factors affecting Ryanair Airlines)To analyze the macro environment, I will use the PEST analysis, which refers to political, economic, social and technical factors that confront Ryanair airlines. This analysis provides a no exhaustive list of potential influences of the environment on the organization. Each of the forces is categorized by a particular macro-level external influence, which directly impacts strategic direction at Ryanair. The political environment can have a significant influence on businesses as well as affect consumer confidence and business spending. The political environment is one of major advantages to Raynair, as the majority of its operations are contained within Europe. This region maintains political stability, thus Ryanair does not experience issues with governmental instability in Europe as a concern regarding passenger volumes or flight destinations. Political factors in our case are:-Irish government policy from September, 1989. This policy were known as two airline policy valid for three years and was directed at benefiting both Irish carriers Aer Lingus and Ryanair. The new policy ruled that the two major Irish airlines will not compete on any international route and they both had to have separate routes-European Union deregulation of the airline businesses from 1997; set up a number of low-cost airlines offering no-frills services. This deregulation enabled Ryanair to open new routes to continental Europe. -European Union expansion enabled the company to expand its business to new countries in Europe. Other very important factors that have near- and long-term effects on the success of companys strategy are the economic forces. They include inflation rates, tariffs, the growth of the local and foreign national economies, exchange rates, as well as unemployment rates. Economic factors include:-Economically- stable European Union market provided Ryanair with significant value in the form of higher volumes of consumers. -Increasing oil prices inflated the costs of fuel and impacted profit margins-At the same time people in Europe are willing to travel more for lower price and this was option for low-budget airlines like Ryanair. -European Union deleted duty-free on intra- European Union countries, and this new taxation policy affected Ryanair in loss of revenue, increased landing charges and increased the number of flight attendants. The social and cultural influences of business vary from country to country. Social cultural factors in Ryanair case include:-Increasing of the peoples mobility in Europe, where good transportation is essential for every European citizen and it was a great opportunity for Ryanair to expand its business. -Personal disposable income of people in Europe was rising which increased travelling lifestyles and business travelling. -People in Europe travel for leisure, business, and searching for new jobs, as well as the number of senior citizens who were enjoy travelling. -Travelling low cost has become a norm on European market. Technology is vital for competitive advantage and is a major driver of globalization. Technological factors have a major effect on the threats and opportunities firms encounter and in Ryanair case they are:-A new trend in European airline industry which was website establishment. Airlines set up websites through which they sell tickets and other ancillary products and services such as car rentals and travel insurances. This led to cost  decreases and to greater reach to customers. With creation of its website, Ryanair saved on cost and increased its revenue (no agent commission costs, but good advertising income). -The improvement of technology aid European airline industry development and competition. -Airlines provided satellite TV and phone services on board as well as broadband Internet and thus enhance value to customers. -Information systems allowed airlines collect data about passengers, cost, and prices as well as ensure better service when boarding and handling luggage. Industry Analysis: The effect of the Five Forces of Industry Competition on Ryanair. The five forces were identified by Michael Porter as the industry Five-Forces model. This is a framework for evaluating industry structure according to the effects of rivalry, thread of entry, supplier power, buyer power, and the thread of substitutes. Rivalry is the intensity of competition within an industry. The European airline industry is highly intense; market is highly competitive. Passengers have choices to switch to another mainstream (KLM, or British Airways) or low-cost budget airlines (EasyJet), because there is a low level of switching costs. The airline industry, therefore, is highly competitive and barely attractive. At the same time, the low-budget sector is in a more favorable situation due to greater traffic and customer affection. This sector is more attractive, as entry costs, as well as bargaining power of both passengers and suppliers are lower. Most cost advantages can be copied immediately, but if any company does decide to compete on the same basis as Ryanair there will be heavy pressure on prices, margins, and hence on profitability. In this industry there is not much differentiation between services and price in the main differentiating factor. Threat of new entry is the degree to which new competitors can enter an industry and intensity rivalry. There are difficulties to enter European airline industry, since high initial investment and fixed costs. High barriers to enter suggest that only early entrants such as Ryanair could succeed. There has been much industry shake-out and many airlines left the market. There are high entry costs due to the necessity to buy expensive aircraft and equipment, to pay high airport fees, and to advertise massively. In addition to some of the barriers to entry I would like to include restricted slot availability which makes it more difficult for airline companies to find suitable airports, the needs for low-cost base and flight authorizations. The threat of substitutes is the degree to which products of one industry can satisfy the same demand as those of another. In Ryanair case the degree for subsidies is in medium to high level. By this I mean that the European airline industry as a whole faced a lot of pressure. There was a high internal industry competition, encountered by other travel industries such as- cars, ferries, and high-speed trains in Europe (especially on short-haul routes are posing an increasingly serious threat). Supplier power is the degree to which firms in the supply industry are able to dictate terms to contracts and thereby extract some of the profit that would otherwise be available to competitors in the focal industry. The bargaining power of suppliers is rather low because there are four major aircraft manufacturer (Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer), which gives options for Ryanair to choose if decide to switch suppliers. But the switching costs from one supplier to the other would be high, because all mechanics, engineers and pilots have to be retrained. Boeing is Ryanairs main supplier and has an interest in co-operation with Ryanair because of stability of orders and high volume of outsourced services. Ryanair also proved its high bargaining power with aircraft suppliers (Boeing) by getting favourable contracts. Price of aviation fuel is directly related to the cost of oil and Ryanair controls it through hedging and future contracts. Also, the regional airports have low bargaining power as they are heavily  dependant on only one airline- Ryanair. Major bigger airports, where Ryanairs competitors operate, have greater bargaining power, and Ryanairs policy is to avoid these airports as much as possible. Buyer power is the degree to which firms in the buying industry are able to dictate terms on purchase agreements that extract some of the profit that would otherwise go to competitors in the focal industry. The bargaining power of customers in our case is from low to medium. If Ryanair increase its prices, the customers are price sensitive and they could switch to another airline relatively simple, with no high costs, because all airlines have internet web sites through which they sell services. The volume of the passengers traffic is great that airlines can afford not to satisfy all customers at all times. Even if a lot of passengers are not satisfied with customer care of Ryanair, companys profits continue to rise. Customers know about the cost of supplying the service and the trade off between the price and quality of service. Analysis of Opportunities and ThreatsOpportunities and threats are factors which contribute to the success or failure of achieving the organizations mission, and which are outside of the organizations direct control. Ryanairs opportunities are:-Expansion of the European Union would bring larger population base and larger transportation needs. There would be more new destinations open up and Ryanair could launch new routes. -Potential to capture market share, where low-cost carriers market share could double. -Advanced technologies could improve Ryanair service, as well as there would be possibilities of expanding aircraft. -Benefits from less exposure to geopolitical risks as Ryanair operates only in Europe. -Economic slowdown helps Ryanair, because customers replace traditional mainstream carriers as they seek lower fares. Threats for Ryanair are:-Ryanairs fuel costs depend on the oil market. The cost of fuel is increasing, due to oil prices raise globally. This affects companys speed development and earning ability; Ryanair operating expense has increased. -Increasing low fare competition on the market and limited economic growth on the South and East European markets. -Customers, as I already mentioned are very price sensitive and also regional airports gain bargaining power for second round. -Increase in air traffic control charges as more planes fly in the sky. -Weak employees relationships cause less production efficiency and effectiveness. It may waste Ryanair resources and capabilities. -The high salaries the company pays for its pilots and flight attendants would increase Ryanair operating cost. Resources: Fottrell, Quentin. The Rise and Rise of Ryanair, June 6, 2004, www.thepost.iePorter, M.E. (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy, March/April, 1979, Harvard Business Review. Channon, Derek. (1997). The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Strategic Management. , July, 1997, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers. Carpenter, M.A. and Sanders, W.G. Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective Concepts and Cases, 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009Thompson, J. L. (1997) Strategic Management. International Thompson Press: London. Delfmann, W., Baum, H., Auerbach, S., Albers, S. Strategic Management in the Aviation Industry, September 30, 2005, Kolner Wissenschaftsverlag, Koln, Germany.

Touch And Relationship Satisfaction In Romantic Relationships Psychology Essay

Touch And Relationship Satisfaction In Romantic Relationships Psychology Essay Although touch behaviors have been examined in many different contexts, little research has been done on the gender differences in the expectations of touch behaviors in nonmarital, romantic relationships. Touch has been defined as being an important nonverbal communicator in romantic relationships and plays a vital role in establishing the status and current nature of a relationship. Using the nonverbal expectancy violations theory as well as past research, this work proposes a new avenue of research that has not previously been adequately connected. Specifically, this work proposes the examination of the gender differences in the expectations of touch and how expectancy violations of touch may alter relationship satisfaction for individuals in romantic relationships. Nonverbal behaviors are essential in establishing and maintaining romantic relationships. They have the power to alter the feelings, perceptions, and emotions towards another individual in significant ways. Guerrero and Floyd (2006) state that, relationships sometimes suffer when people send conflicting nonverbal messages, express negativity through nonverbal cues, or misinterpret one anothers behaviors (p.1-2). Also, if a relational partner is not receiving nonverbal expressions of liking and affection from their significant other, this can cause the partner to feel unvalued and can increase uncertainty about the state of their relationship (Floyd Burgoon, 1999). Nonverbal cues are, therefore, relied on for attitudinal information in order to understand what a romantic partner is implying and meaning (Le Poire, Duggan, Shepard Burgoon, 2002). These behaviors are used to show the nature and status of a relationship to one another, as well as others around them. In romantic relationships, touch is one of the most important displays of affection (Floyd Burgoon, 1999). This particular nonverbal communicator has been labeled the cue that influences the nature and quality of the relationship (Guerrero Andersen, 1994, p.137-138). Couples rely on touch in order to initiate, resume, or end an intimate encounter (Mohen, 1993). Two behaviors that are associated with touch, first kiss and first sex, have been noted as important events for partners to show commitment in their relationship (Manusov, Docan-Morgan, Harvey, 2008). In addition, evidence has shown that people touch and expect to be touched more in close relationships (Burgoon, Walther, Baesler, 1992). Because touch is such an important nonverbal communicator in romantic relationships, it is necessary to examine how touch defines an interpersonal relationship. Are there gender differences in the expected use of touch in romantic relationships? This article intends to shed light on the expectations of touch in romantic relationships and how violations of these expectations can affect relationship satisfaction. This article will extend the current knowledge of the nonverbal expectancy violations model to touch behaviors and relationship satisfaction in romantic relationships. According to Floyd and Burgoon (1999), in established romantic relationships affectionate behavior should be more expected than it is among strangers. In these types of relationships, two individuals develop person-specific expectancies for their partner (Burgoon Hale, 1988). Nonverbal expectancies are acts that are seen as appropriate, desired, preferred, and most typical. These personal expectancies are based on an individuals intimate knowledge of their partner, their relational history, and their experiences with that person. Attached to nonverbal behaviors are different relational messages, which are the communicative means by which romantic dyads define their interpersonal relationship (Burgoon Le Poire, 1999). Burgoon and Hale (1984) concluded that there are as many as twelve nonorthogonal relational message dimensions that can be simplified into four categories: intimacy, dominance, composure, and formality. A single nonverbal behavior can have several different relational meanings, however, a few nonverbal behaviors, like touch, have consistently been used to only express liking, affection, and intimacy (Burgoon Le Poire, 1999). The way in which an individual evaluates the behaviors from their partner may have an effect on relationship satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction is an individuals evaluation of a relationship which is based on their attitude and overall happiness in the relationship. Relational Messages In association with four relational messages of intimacy, dominance, composure, and formality are sub dimensions of nonverbal involvement. Coker and Burgoon (1987) found nonverbal cues of immediacy, expressivity, altercentrism, conversation management, and relaxation to be applicable to the construct of conversational involvement. To breakdown interpersonal constructs into finer-grained constituents, positivity is also added to the preceding five sub dimensions. Immediacy includes nonverbal behaviors that establish a sense of psychological closeness or distance (Burgoon Le Poire, 1999, p.108), such as touch and proximity. Expressivity includes vocal variety, facial expressions, or any such behavior that makes a communication style more animated. Behaviors that signal attentiveness to another individual are related to altercentrism, and behaviors of conversation management promote smooth communication. Relaxation includes postural asymmetry, absence of adaptor gestures, and absence o f nervous vocalizations (Burgoon Le Poire, 1999, p.108) and lastly, smiling, nodding, and facial pleasantness are behaviors of positivity (Burgoon Le Poire, 1999). The relational messages of intimacy, dominance, composure, and formality frame the nonverbal cues that a partner sends. Burgoon and Le Poire (1999) state that these messages make an impact on current and future interpersonal judgments of a romantic partner, including judgments of rapport, likeability, honesty, and power. Relational messages of intimacy include themes of affection, immediacy, trust, receptivity, depth, and similarity or their opposites toward a relational partner. Intimacy is greatly associated with nonverbal cues of positivity, which express messages of warmth, affiliation, and rapport. Dominance is a composite of conversational control, assertiveness, power, and persuasiveness or their opposites, such as submissiveness and modesty. It can be expressed by both highly immediate and nonimmediate behaviors, as well as holding the conversational floor for a longer period of time and frequently interrupting another individual. Composure includes expressions of arousal and tension or relaxation, as well as composure that are tied to the relationship. For greater composure, behaviors of high immediacy, positivity, and relaxation are used. Finally, formality includes maintaining a polite and formal demeanor or allowing casualness into the relationship. Greater formality is expressed through nonimmediacy, inexpressivity, nonrelaxation, and absence of positivity (Burgoon Le Poire, 1999, p.109). In a study conducted for better understanding individuals perceptions of relational messages, Burgoon and Le Poire (1999) found that higher perceived intimacy was associated with higher immediacy, greater expressivity, greater proxemic involvement, better conversation management, moderate relaxation, and higher positivity. Greater dominance was expressed by higher immediacy, greater expressivity, greater proxemic involvement, more fluent speech, greater relaxation, and greater positivity. Composure was associated with greater immediacy, greater expressivity, greater proxemic involvement, fluent speech, greater relaxation, and higher positivity. Finally, higher formality was conveyed through less immediacy, reduced expressivity, less proxemic involvement, less fluent speech, less relaxation, and less positivity. Past research suggests that romantic partners expect their interactions with their partners to be more involved and pleasant, and thus the behaviors are more positively valenced (Guerrero Jones, 2000). So what happens to relationship satisfaction when that expectation is violated? Willis and Briggs (1992) have noted that when only one relational partner engages in touch, the other individual is perceived as being nonintimate and cold. This negative perception of the other individual, which is the result of a nonimmediacy violation, could cause partner satisfaction to decrease. Comparatively, Burgoon and Hale (1988) found that nonimmediacy violations for friends produced lower ratings on competence, character, sociability, and also produced lower ratings on attractiveness of the other individual. Also, it has been shown that as relational satisfaction decreased, the behaviors are seen as more controllable, stable, and intentional (Manusov, 1990). Therefore, it is apparent that this c ould be the same result for individuals in romantic relationships, and that this perception of the other individual could lead to a change in relationship satisfaction. Nonverbals in Intimate Relationships Guerrero and Jones (2000) suggest that when behaviors deviate so far from what is expected, they become unacceptable and result in large behavioral changes. These changes lead to substantial arousal change, dislike, and avoidance. Obviously, these behavioral changes in response to a relational partner would be detrimental to maintaining the relationship. In addition, the researchers found that romantic couples generally reciprocate the behaviors of their partners for both increases and decreases in intimacy. Therefore, if a partner is showing behaviors of less intimacy by not using touch, the other partner would use less touch behaviors as well. Overtime, the increase in the use of negative nonverbal behaviors, or the lack of using expected nonverbal behaviors, could alter each partners relationship satisfaction. Similar research has been done on touch behaviors in romantic dyads. However, very few studies have focused on the expectations of touch and how touch expectancy violations affect relationship satisfaction for romantic relationships. Past research has included age differences, contextual differences, and gender differences for touch. Research has also focused on relationship-stage differences, with a focus mainly on marital relationships. Studies have shown that married couples rely on nonverbal cues when communicating intimately and sexually. Also, differences in expressing affection between premarital and marital period suggest that affection becomes less physical (Mohen, 1993). However, in serious, dating, and marital relationships, it was found that touch increases as the relationship develops and progresses (Guerrero Andersen, 1994). Gender Differences in Nonverbal Communication Inevitably, various gender differences have been studied in nonverbal communication. Many studies find similar results, but there are mixed findings. Studies have shown that males and females differ in their use of nonverbal behaviors when comforting another individual (Dolin Booth-Butterfield, 1993). Researchers have shown that women rate items concerning nonverbal communication higher than men, that nonverbal communication is perceived as more important for more long lasting relationships, and that individuals in casual-dating relationships perceive nonverbal behavior as not important (Prinsen Punyanunt-Cater, 2009). Nguyen et al. (1975) found that unmarried men and women have different reactions to touch, however Hanzal et al (2008) have shown that men and women in marital relationships have comparable reactions to intimate touch. They also found that married women have more positive reactions to intimate touch than married men, and the trend reverses for unmarried couples. Beca use of the mixed research, it is necessary to take a closer look at the gender differences in the use of and response to touch behaviors in romantic relationships. Sex differences in the perception, expectancy, and use of touch behaviors could be a main cause for nonverbal expectancy violations and inaccurate decoding of nonverbal cues. Women associated more touch with sexual desire and considered it less pleasant or indicative of warmth and love. Men also associated more touch with sexual desire, but viewed the behavior as more pleasant, playful, and indicative of warmth and love. The fact that both genders hold contradictory views on intimate touch could mean that both genders have differing expectations of touch for one another. This could lead to expectancy violations between the partners, which could alter relationship satisfaction. In fact, Hanzal et al. (2007) suggest that it is possible that sex differences in reactions to touch are reflective of differences in feelings about the significant other, or relationship in general (p.32). Decoding Nonverbal Behaviors Floyd and Burgoon (1999) state that negatively misinterpreted nonverbal behaviors are also valenced negatively. This means that errors in decoding the cues can play a major role in determining how a person perceives his or her romantic relationship. For example, if an individual in a romantic relationship does not hold his partners hand as often as he used to, the partner might think he is being distant and cold. The detachment that is now associated with the others behavior could cause the partners satisfaction to decrease. Carton at al. (1999) found that couples who make errors in decoding certain nonverbal cues reported a less well-being of the relationship. Relationship Satisfaction It is obvious that nonverbal behaviors are important for understanding the actual meaning of a partners message. The evaluations of these behaviors are linked to relationship satisfaction. Previous studies have shown that individuals in dating relationships are more aware of the nonverbal cues of others (Fichten, Tagalakis, Judd, Wright, Amsel, 1992). Thus, if individuals are so aware of the nonverbal behaviors of their partners, the way the individual decodes their messages will influence their relationship satisfaction. Manusov et al. (2008) suggested that how positively or negatively one feels about their relationship may influence their evaluation of a behavior. For married couples, studies have shown that accuracy in decoding nonverbal affect was associated with a partners marital satisfaction (Koerner Fitzpatrick, 2002). Therefore, when the intended meaning of a message is accurately decoded, then the relationship has a more positive context. Likewise, Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2002) found that high satisfying relationships provide a framework for more accurate understanding and decoding of nonverbal cues. On the other hand, a decrease in relationship satisfaction can affect the way individuals decode nonverbal cues. Noller and Feeney (1994) found that relationship dissatisfaction in marital relationships leads to distorted perceptions of a partners message. Relationship Turning Points Manusov et al. (2008) argue that the ways one person interprets a nonverbal behavior can cause turning points in a relationship. These turning points are a product of an individuals interpretation that may not have occurred if a different analysis of the nonverbal behavior was made. Graham (1997) defines turning points as changes that happen in a relationship that trigger a reinterpretation of what the relationship means to [the] participants. These new meanings can influence the perceived importance of and justification for continued investment in the relationship (p. 351). This supports the idea that the decoding nonverbal of cues plays a vital role in establishing the current nature of a relationship. For example, interpreting a nonverbal cue positively could cause a relationship to become more serious and intimate, and thus increase relationship satisfaction. However, if one decodes the cue oppositely, it could possibly send the relationship in the opposite direction. They have a lso shown that touch is one of the most frequent nonverbal cues that have been reported as triggers for relationship change (Manusov, Docan-Morgan, Harvey, 2008). This further verifies that touch has a powerful impact on romantic relationships, as well as relationship satisfaction. Many of their findings reflect how behaviors work to shift an individuals view of their relationship with another person. Participants were asked to self report on a nonverbal behavior that they felt altered a relationship for them. After coding the entries, the researchers concluded that each participants recollected nonverbal behavior altered how they defined and viewed their relationship with the other individual. Their findings show that nonverbal behaviors are capable of altering relationship satisfaction. In addition, the results show that touch is one of the main causes for a perceptual shift of another person, as well as a main cause for relationship change (Manusov, Docan-Morgan, Harvey, 2008). Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory In order to examine the expectations of touch in romantic relationships, the nonverbal expectancy violations theory is applied to this study. The model states that people hold expectations and preferences about the nonverbal behaviors of other individuals. This is especially so in close, interpersonal relationships because of the known idiosyncrasies of the other individual. Based on the knowledge of the individual, a person will anticipate how the other will behave during interactions and will evaluate the others behaviors. This evaluation, or valence, is the persons approval or disapproval of the others nonverbal behaviors (Burgoon Hale, 1988). For example, if a person expects their romantic partner to hold their hand and the partner performs that behavior, then the nonverbal behavior is positively valenced. In addition, the model is used to predict and explain terminal communication consequences. If the actual (violation) behavior is more positively valenced than the expected behavior(s), a positive violation occurs and should produce more favorable communication outcomes than conforming to the expected (normative) pattern. Conversely, if the actual behavior is more negatively valenced than the expected behavior, a negative violation is said to occur and should yield more negative consequences than conforming to expectations (Burgoon Hale, 1988, p.65). Violations committed by a well-liked person, such as a relational partner, are upheld to higher standards than behaviors used by a stranger. During interactions with their significant other, romantic couples assume that their partners will act differently and more satisfyingly than how they would interact with another person. Therefore, if a relational partner avoids using an expected nonverbal behavior, it could cause the other partner to evaluate the behavior as a more serious negative violation. Also, by simply conforming to social norms, an individual may see that their relational partner has also committed a small, negative violation (Burgoon Hale, 1988). The accumulated research that has been done on this theory has supported a variety of conclusions. Evidence has supported that interactants will develop expectations about the distancing and immediacy behaviors of others, communicator behaviors and characteristics that contribute to interpersonal rewards mediate communication outcomes, and that violations are arousing and distracting. In addition, rewarding communicators frequently increase the most favorable communication outcomes by violating expectancies, and nonrewarding communicators frequently increase their optimal communication outcomes by conforming to distance expectancies for conversational distance. Finally, for eye gaze, evidence has supported that rewarding communicators achieve greatest attraction, credibility, and endorsement by engaging in nearly continuous gaze or normal gaze, while gaze aversion produces negative consequences (Burgoon Hale, 1988). The nonverbal expectancy violations theory has also been used in co mparison with other theories, such as the interaction adaptation theory (Le Poire Yoshimura, 1999) and has been extended to immediacy violations and to interactions among strangers and friends (Burgoon Hale, 1988). Overall, this review has shown that touch is an important nonverbal communicator in romantic relationships and is essential for displaying ones level of affection. Past research has shown that various gender differences exist in the use of, response to, and the perception of touch behaviors. Research has also found that the misinterpretation of nonverbal behaviors causes a decrease in relationship satisfaction. However, research has mainly focused on married couples and has not focused on the expectations of touch in romantic relationships. The expectancy violations model advocates that when our expectations are met, the other persons behavior is judged positively and when our expectations are not met, the behaviors are judged negatively. Because of this model, the examination of how the violations of the expectations affect an individuals perception of relationship satisfaction is necessary. Logical reasoning would be to address the gender differences in the expectations of touch in romantic relationships as well as its affect on relationship satisfaction because of the past findings. This study will examine how the violations of the expectations affect an individuals perception of relationship satisfaction. The following research questions are posed: Findings have shown that touch is an important nonverbal communicator in romantic relationships. It is known that various gender differences exist in the use and perception of touch behaviors. However, research has not examined the differences in the expectations of touch in romantic relationships. Because past research has focused mainly on the use of touch in marital relationships, it is necessary to observe the use of touch in dating relationships. The proposed research study will add to our understanding of how expectancy violations can alter relationship satisfaction for individuals in romantic relationships. Examining the gender differences in the expectations of touch will allow individuals to be more understanding of their partners behaviors.

The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord Essay -- CSA Identity

The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord What does the word "terrorist" bring to mind? Without even seeing the accused, most people in this country automatically assume this person is Middle-Eastern and Muslim. Although Stern's Terror in the Name of God focuses mainly on Islamic terrorists, it begins by addressing terrorist acts of a more homegrown variety. Stern interviews American terrorists here in the United States. The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord or CSA, a group of radical Christians, became one of the "most violent white supremacist centers of the 1980s" (Phelps). Members lived communally on a 250-acre compound near the Arkansas-Missouri border (Barkun 428). The group "came to accept the teachings of Identity Christianity," which, according to Stern, means seeing "Anglo-Saxons as the 'true Israel,' America as a sacred land, and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as a God-inspired, Christian inheritance" (17). Followers of Identity Christianity also expect to be present for doomsday (Stern 17). In fact, the members of the CSA believed the Apocalypse was imminent (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord). As Kerry Noble (minister and second in command of the CSA explains, "we are Christian survivalists who believe in preparing for the ultimate holocaust" (Paranoia as Patriotism). And that is exactly what they did. The organization set up an "Endtime Overcomer Survival Training School," which offered a course in military tactics, "Christian martial arts" and urban warfare (Paranoia as Patriotism). All male members of the group trained in every aspect of military action (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord) and each was issued full military gear,... ...right." The Village Voice [New York] 25 Mar. 1997,36-38. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. W.E.B. DuBois Library, Amherst, MA. 11 Oct. 2007 . Stern, Jessica. Terror in the Name of God. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Van Boven, Sarah, and Seibert, Sam. "Prep work." Newsweek 126.7 (14 Aug. 1995): 4. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Amherst, MA. 10 October 2007. silk.library.umass.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9508147623&site=eh ost-live&scope=site>. Wheeler, Tim. "McVeigh could tell some tales." People's Weekly World [New York] 26 May 2001, National Edition: 13. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. W.E.B. DuBois Library, Amherst, MA. 11 Oct. 2007 . The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord Essay -- CSA Identity The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord What does the word "terrorist" bring to mind? Without even seeing the accused, most people in this country automatically assume this person is Middle-Eastern and Muslim. Although Stern's Terror in the Name of God focuses mainly on Islamic terrorists, it begins by addressing terrorist acts of a more homegrown variety. Stern interviews American terrorists here in the United States. The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord or CSA, a group of radical Christians, became one of the "most violent white supremacist centers of the 1980s" (Phelps). Members lived communally on a 250-acre compound near the Arkansas-Missouri border (Barkun 428). The group "came to accept the teachings of Identity Christianity," which, according to Stern, means seeing "Anglo-Saxons as the 'true Israel,' America as a sacred land, and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as a God-inspired, Christian inheritance" (17). Followers of Identity Christianity also expect to be present for doomsday (Stern 17). In fact, the members of the CSA believed the Apocalypse was imminent (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord). As Kerry Noble (minister and second in command of the CSA explains, "we are Christian survivalists who believe in preparing for the ultimate holocaust" (Paranoia as Patriotism). And that is exactly what they did. The organization set up an "Endtime Overcomer Survival Training School," which offered a course in military tactics, "Christian martial arts" and urban warfare (Paranoia as Patriotism). All male members of the group trained in every aspect of military action (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord) and each was issued full military gear,... ...right." The Village Voice [New York] 25 Mar. 1997,36-38. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. W.E.B. DuBois Library, Amherst, MA. 11 Oct. 2007 . Stern, Jessica. Terror in the Name of God. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Van Boven, Sarah, and Seibert, Sam. "Prep work." Newsweek 126.7 (14 Aug. 1995): 4. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Amherst, MA. 10 October 2007. silk.library.umass.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9508147623&site=eh ost-live&scope=site>. Wheeler, Tim. "McVeigh could tell some tales." People's Weekly World [New York] 26 May 2001, National Edition: 13. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. W.E.B. DuBois Library, Amherst, MA. 11 Oct. 2007 .

Raymond George Neher :: essays research papers fc

Because roads, streets, highways, boulevards, and freeways are an everyday part of our life, they understandably are part of our art. In the foreground or the background, they secure our art to reality, serve as symbols, or twist and turn in ways never dreamed by the imagination. Raymond Neher used roads and highways as his subject in many of his paintings. He began painting for his own benefit, because he â€Å"Enjoyed putting brush to canvas.† Raymond George Neher was born in Orange, New Jersey on September 14, 1943; he was the only child to Rudolph Neher and Evelyn Posadzki. Neher was awarded his Bachelor of Architecture form the Carnegie Mellon University and his Masters from the Columbia University. He began his career as an architect in New York City. In 1973 he transferred to San Francisco, California, where he worked on the Master Plan for a New Community in Ahwaz, Iran. He was well known and appreciated for his work in historical restorations and adaptive reuse. His projects included work on art and science museums, hotels and spas, hospital and medical school, as well as construction administration. As an artist his career spanned nearly 40 years. Neher worked mostly in acrylic paint on canvas. His works have been shown in exhibitions all across the United States of America and are in private collections throughout the United States, as well as Amsterdam, Rome and Santorini, Greece. Neher joined the Fort Mason Prin tmakers in the early 1980’s and created etchings and monoprints that often complemented his canvas work. Many of his subjects sprang from his travels around California’s Central Valley Interstate 5 highway. His roadscapes paintings he created were on photo quality. The images he creates, whether it is a highway, a bridge or a suburban street, are always free of pollution, road kill and litter. The paintings are full of colour which makes the painting a bit surreal, as if the image is just too good to be true. All his roadscapes are from the perspective a person in a vehicle on the road, making the viewer feel more engaged with the painting, as if they are actually there. The painting above is called Mount Hood Highway. Neher has used such contrasting colours to layer the painting. His use of straight lines and angles on the road, pine trees and the snow covered mountain in the background brake up the painting causing the painting to be easier to take in by the viewer.

Use of a Portfolio to Assess Students in Math and Science Essay

Use of a Portfolio to Assess Students in Math and Science For a young child, going off to school can be an intimidating experience. Thoughts of whether the other children will like them, if they will have enough money to buy an ice cream at lunch, or if they will have homework that night overwhelms their minds. However, a major part of schooling is testing, and many children freeze when they hear that word. Think about yourself in a testing situation then imagine what it is like for a young child to feel this defeating anxiety. That is why I am informing you, as fellow committee members, teachers, and learners alike, of these ideas for assessing children in math and science. I hope you will all take the time to think about these different methods, and possibly agree on a way to assess our children in the classroom, and eventually present these ideas to the school board to be voted on. As teachers of math and science, we need to stop and ask ourselves what it is we are hoping to accomplish in our classroom. Is it most important for the child to get the right answer, or are we more concerned with how he or she gets the answer? Granted, we are striving for the correct answer, but sometimes numbers are added incorrectly, data is written down wrong, or a child's handwriting is misread. Personally, I feel it is the process the student uses to get to the answer which is important, whether it is right or wrong. "Because the intent [of a new model of assessment] is to assess the creation of knowledge and the processes involved rather than to measure the extent to which students have acquired a coverage of the field of mathematics, a much wider variety of measures, many of them qualitative, are needed" (Bright & Jo... ...f our students in math and science. I feel very passionately for the use of a portfolio, because I feel the students will feel they have more of a say in their education. After all, we all need to work together, because we are all part of a team, the same team. References Bright, G.W. & Joyner, J.M. (1998). Classroom assessment in mathematics. New York: University of America, Inc. Christofi, C. (1988). Assessment & profiling in science. London: Cassell. Cutler, C.S. & Monroe, E.E. (1999, Summer). Contemporary education. What are you learning, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?–the diary of a teacher's incorporation of portfolios into mathematics instruction, 70, 52-55. Kulm, G. (1994). Mathematics assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Romberg, T.A. (1992). Mathematics assessment and evaluation. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Summation of “Desire: Intoxicationâ€Plant: Marijuana”

Plants produce a variety of chemicals for a variety of reasons. Most common is the production of a toxin to repel animals. The ancient Chinese and possibly other cultures became aware of the effect of marijuana by watching animals that had eaten flowers and seeds.Cultivation for human use began untold centuries ago and plant was used for clothing and fiber as well as for the â€Å"high† produced. Cultivation in the U.S. is illegal with rare exceptions. The author considers the illegality of cultivation to be a great reason why not to grow it; he relates a story of how he feared being busted years ago when growing some. He also spent time in Amsterdam researching this topic.Pot is legal in Amsterdam and it is the unofficial headquarters for pot growers. U.S. law prohibiting growing pot inadvertently caused growers to â€Å"go indoor†. Growers soon discovered the difference between cannabis sativa and cannabis indica; indica is easier to grow.Growers soon developed highly potent strains such as Purple Haze, Northern Lights, Skunk #1. The idea is to grow and clone only female plants as the unpollinated flower has the greatest potency. Indoor growers use high-pressure sodium and other exotic lights and grow hydroponically. Profits can be huge.There is much discussion on the popularity of pot as well as the effect on users. The effect can be considered transcendental, religious, empowering, etc. Note is made that the late scientist Dr. Carl Sagan had written anonymously about the virtues of pot.Most users report greater awareness and enhanced focus on what is at hand. The brain makes a chemical (cannabinoid) virtually identical to active ingredient THC; brain is very receptive to these chemicals. There are problems with short-term memory loss. Conclusion: humans like intoxication and gardens will provide it.

Maria Hernandez Case

MARIA HERNANDEZ VAN NESS TEAM 10 The Story: Maria Hernandez & Associates is a company that started its business with a cash deposit. On June 20,2004 Maria Hernandez transferred all her savings of $30,000 into a new Bank account under her company’s name, two days later she transferred another $20,000 which she had borrowed from her father on a 6% p. a. interest rate. Thus, with an amount of $50,000 in its bank account Maria Hernandez and Associates was ready to start its life in the Webpage designing sector.After the Bank account transactions, Maria Hernandez quickly took care of the initial expenses that included pre-paid rent for the new office, giving a security deposit for the same, buying used computers and software from her previous employers and also ordering and acquiring office stationary. On July 2,2004 Maria Hernandez & Associates opened its doors for business. The substance of our report covers the first two months of the company’s operations. At the start of the operations i. e.July 2nd, 2004 the amount in the company bank account was $12,000; however on August 31st, 2004 (roughly two months of operations) the amount had declined to $6,600. We are therefore left with two key questions to answer. 1. How would we report on the operations of Maria Hernandez & Associates through August 31, 2004? Had the company made a profit as Maria Hernandez believed? If so, how can we explain the decline of cash in the bank? 2. What can we say about the status of the business on August 31, 2004?To answer these questions we analyzed the company’s income statement and balance sheet for the months of July-August, 2004 and have come up with the following analysis and suggestions: Financial Ratios: Through the analysis of the Income Statement and Balance Sheet, we were able to extrapolate the following Ratios, which gave us an insight into the workings of Maria Hernandez & Associates |Financial Ratio |Figures | |Current Ratio |4. 17 | |Return on Equit y |13% | Return in Assets |7% | |Profit Margin |9. 8% | |Debt to Equity |0. 74 | By and large, the ratio’s displayed are lower than ideal. However, given the fact that the operation is only 2 months old, the figures are very promising; especially since there was an increase in workload of the company in early August with four new clients by way of referrals. Considering all the ratios in more details we would like to start our analysis with ROE ratio that measures a company’s profitability.We have 13% what means that the company is making 13 cents out of every dollar invested. This figure is relatively low, but for a start-up company it is rather satisfactory, because it indicates a growth opportunity with increasing operations. ROA ratio shows us how many dollars the company makes in relation to its assets, thus 7 cents per 1 dollar. The ratio is deceptive because by definition a lower ratio denotes inefficient use of assets. But considering a start-up that operates f or only 2 months, there is a scope for improvement since the number of operations has been increasing.In addition, this ratio can vary depending on the industry in which the company operates. This is why our suggestion to Maria Hernandez is to compare ROA every month in order to be able to realize how productive or unproductive the business is. Profit margin represents the percentage of revenue that a company keeps as profit after accounting for fixed and variable costs. In other words, it is company’s health indicator. The company is keeping 9. 8 cents of sales as earnings for every dollar that the company earns.It is a good sign because the company was able to recoup the initial fixed costs and also showed a profit in the books within 2 months, on the other hand the usual trend for web-page design companies to show a profit is 1-2 years. Debt to equity ratio indicates extend to which the business relies on debt financing. As we know, Maria Hernandez borrowed $20,000 from he r father at 6% interest rate and invested $30,000 cash from her own savings. In addition, the company made revenue of $40,000 in cash that helped to cover all the expenses and operational purchases.So, we can conclude that the company is growing on cash mainly and in the tech industry this ratio is bound to go down, because once the assets [computers and software] are acquired there is no need to take on debt to grow the company, as the growth can come from the revenue itself. On an average computer companies have a Debt to Equity ratio of under 0. 5 Current ratio that shows the ability of the company to pay off its liabilities at a given period of time is the only point of concern. As a rule the acceptable figure is between 1 and 2, in our case we have 4. 7, what means that Maria Hernandez can pay off her loan with interest however, she has some excessive cash on hand what indicates inefficient management of funds. Suggestions: We would first like to address the matter of treating the Interest and Depreciation. The interest is accumulating and since the interest has to be paid at the end of the year, the amount at the moment is incomplete. Therefore, the interest payable should be accounted in the Balance Sheet, and interest expense in the Income Statement. In case of the equipment, accumulated depreciation is to be taken into consideration.The depreciation per month is $750, thus the accumulated depreciation is $1500 after 2 months of operation. As the expected life of the equipment is 3 years Maria Hernandez should credit the accumulated depreciation for 1/3 of the value of the assets, subtract accumulated depreciation from the equipment in the Balance Sheet and include depreciation expense in the Income Statement. An analysis of the Expense to Income ratio showed that currently 86% of the income is being used to write off expenses such as rent and salaries, which explains the decline in the bank balance as on August 31st.We recommend reducing such expenses by keeping fewer full-time staff and hiring interns or keeping staff on a part-time basis at least for the initial period of the companies life. Conclusion: In conclusion we would like to say that Maria Hernandez & Associates is doing rather well as a Start-up company. The numbers are mostly in its favor, and are bound to get better as the life of the company progresses. The only flaw in the design is by way of the expenses incurred in form of Salaries, which can easily be fixed.

Olaudah Equiano: a Man of Many Customs

James Pajich Prof. Carla Lovett Hist. 105 18 October 2012 Olaudah Equiano: A Man of Many Customs The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano describes the life of a native African who was kidnapped from his homeland in the Eboe Province (which is now the Nigerian town of Isseke) at age eleven and thrown into the horrors of the African slave trade. Unlike most victims of the slave trade, Equiano regained his freedom and experienced multiple facets of life that no one could have expected.Equiano became a man of diverse customs and values. However, due to the absence of written records’ it is often a matter of debate as to what his true origin really was. Throughout his autobiography, Olaudah Equiano defined himself as a native African. He used vivid illustrations of his homeland and experiences on the Middle Passage, and was even willing to defend the public’s view of him as a man of Africa. I personally define Equiano as a European citizen according to his c ustoms, personal desires, and behavior.Equiano’s narrative played a key role in a variety of cultural, historical, and literary issues, therefore, the identification and ultimately the validity of its author take on special importance. While reading The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano I found it very apparent that Equiano viewed himself as an African born individual. He illustrated his culture and customs as an Igbo African in vivid details of culture, religion, law, and agriculture. (43-56) He also described the atrocities of the Atlantic slave trade as if he had recently experienced them: stating the smell, appearance, and reaction of his fellow slaves. 64-68) â€Å"Although culturally Equiano became â€Å"almost and Englishman,† embracing Christianity and British customs, the experiences Equiano shared with slaves and free people of color, and living in a world that did not differentiate between members of separate African communities, led him to consider himself also a son of Africa. † (21) Equiano embraced his African heritage throughout his life and even fought to uphold his reputation as such. There was an instance where two anonymous notes appeared in London papers charging that he was not from Africa at all, but was actually born on he Danish island of St. Croix in the Caribbean. Equiano realized that this claim falsified the validity of his Narrative and immediately confronted and threatened those responsible for the papers with legal action, providing actual witnesses of the fact that upon his arrival in England he was only able to speak an African language (24-25). This reaction shows that Equiano held much pride in his African identity and was willing defend it against those who claimed otherwise. However, there is evidence of significant authority that claims Equiano may have fabricated the origins of his identity.There are two certain documents, discovered by literary historian Vincent Carretta, that pin point the birthplace of Equiano in South Carolina that keep modern day scholars and historians from absolute certainty of his actual birthplace. One of these documents was written on February 9, 1759 in the baptismal registry of St. Margaret’s Church in Westminster, England. It read, â€Å"Gustavus Vassa (Olaudah Equiano) a Black born in Carolina 12 years old. † (26) The second document was from Equiano’s Arctic expedition in 1773. It claims that he was currently 28 years old and born in South Carolina.Neither of these findings is conclusive as to whether Equiano was African or American-born, but they certainly leave plenty of room for uncertainty. (26-27) I personally define Equiano as European, particularly an Englishman. Notions of English nationality are found in great abundance throughout the text. Equiano’s narrative repeatedly expresses his desire for a male English identity. He doesn’t view Englishness as a racially exclusive nationality, b ut one that evokes an ethnic identity that Equiano defines through Christianity, and citizenship.Two to three years after arriving in England Equiano claimed â€Å"I no longer looked at them as spirits, but as men superior to us; and therefore I had a stronger desire to resemble them; to imbibe their spirit, and imitate their manners I therefore embraced every occasion of improvement; and every new thing that I observed I treasured up in my memory. † (83) Here we see Equiano’s envy for his new â€Å"superiors† and his wish to possess their culture and belongings. This desire strongly encouraged my opinion of Equiano’s identity as European.My opinion was also influenced by Equiano’s acculturation into English society and customs during his early teen years. â€Å"I could now speak English tolerably well, and I perfectly understood everything that was said. I now not only felt myself quite easy with these new countrymen, but relished their society a nd manners. † (83) It is clear that Equiano identified his shipmates as his â€Å"countrymen† and personally enjoyed the interactions he had with each one of them. It was now between three and four years since I first came to England, a great part of which I had spent at sea; so that I became inured to that service, and began to consider myself as happily situated; for my master treated me always extremely well; and my attachment and gratitude to him were very great. From the various scenes I had beheld on ship-board, I soon grew a stranger to terror of every kind, and was, in that respect at least, almost an Englishman. † (83) This passage shows that Equiano developed an affectionate relationship with his master and also that their bond strengthened Equiano’s identity as an adult man.Even more important, the identity Equiano is trying to proclaim for himself as an adult man, â€Å"a stranger to terror of every kind†, is as a European. There are also certain actions and beliefs that Equiano maintained that provoked the establishment of his European desires. For instance, he believed the only manner towards proper adulthood is as an Englishman. Equiano doesn’t come right out and say this but there is a point in the text where he noted that he considers himself very fortunate that he didn’t receive his family members’ tribal marking on his face, as is would have represented his entrance into mature Ibo manhood. As I was now amongst a people who had not their faces scarred, like some of the African nations where I had been, I was very glad that I did not let them ornament me in that manner† (69). Also, during Equiano’s voyage to Jamaica and the Mosquito Shore he went to see a Guineaman doctor to purchase slaves to cultivate a plantation. He even chose them according to their native land in hopes that it is near his own. (189) The identification of Olaudah Equiano is of the utmost importance becaus e of the critical role he played in the antislavery movement. Even the timing f a personable voice speaking out against slavery was important because it was a time when opposition to slavery was scattered throughout Britain and America and Equiano’s narrative, along with other factors, helped assemble the movement into one of the greatest in British history. It was Equiano’s personal accounts and experiences that validated his narrative. He possessed the intelligence and capability to spread his ideas to men and women on all levels of British society. He also had the members of significant political authority to support his narrative to yet further its validity.Unfortunately, Equiano never had the opportunity to bare witness to what he worked so hardly toward because the slave trade ended in both England and the United State ten years after his death (1807). Conclusively, it is very apparent that Olaudah Equiano distinguished himself as an African-born man, even though I personally identify him as a man of European customs based on his desires, influences, and his acculturation into European society. Most importantly, Equiano’s narrative played a key role as an abolitionist tool in the fight against slavery and the identity of its author deems it valid as a historical document.