Equal Opportunity for Financial Aid

Most post secondary institutions consider themselves to be equal opportunity establishments, although their financial aid system does not always seem to agree. In leaving my native country for university I have personally gone through the difficulties of trying to get financial aid. If you are an international student your only hopes of obtaining any aid are based on your athletic ability or your SAT scores. If we chose to come to America to get a university education, we should be treated as equals and allowed to apply for all the same financial aid that the American students do. It is every student-athletes dream to come to an American university. Athletes from around the world try to obtain athletic scholarships in hopes of getting the training and recognition to be able to go professional. Unfortunately not every athlete is able to obtain a full athletic scholarship, leaving the student to come up with the remainder. Not that we all deserve full scholarships, but in order to qualify for an I-20 student visa you must show proof of having 15,000 American dollars at your dispense. Once that amount is converted to Malaysian funds that amount is nearly $60,000, significantly more than ny American student needs proof of. The Malaysian government does not agree with giving of athletic scholarships, therefore they withhold any funding for student-athletes to leave to study in the United States. There is one source of financial aid for post secondary students from Malaysia, For students studying internationally, called the Malaysia Student Assistance Program. This is a near impossible student loan to obtain, it is available to students who's parents either make enough money to send them anywhere they want to go, or for students who could ot afford to go to university in Malaysia, therefore needing the athletic scholarships only offered in the United States. Being from a middle class family I, like many other Malaysian student-athletes could not qualify for this loan because of my working class The other option for international students to obtain financial aid from the institution of education would be from their SAT scores. The United States is the only country in which this standardized test is mandatory. In Malaysia the cost of taking this test is $100 American, which converts to approximately $ 400 Malaysian, the cost of aking this test restricts most people from taking it numerous times as we are prompted to do. I could only afford to take the test once, therefore limiting my academic scholarship American students also have to opportunity to hold employment while in university. International students according to the I-20 student visa are unable to hold employment. We are not given social security numbers or citizenship status, although the majority of us will end up acquiring a green card and living in the United States by the time that we are done our university educations. For the amount of money we are giving to the American economy one would think that they would be grateful and be willing to give back by helping to subsidize our education. We are forced into bank loans, and personal loans to pay for our education. The thought of living in debt for the rest of by life trying to pay back seven years of post-secondary education is absolutely terrifying. As well as the thought of only being nineteen years old an already being in debt, because I am unable to hold a job or obtain any sort of financial aid because I am not an American The Malaysian government has a right to withhold money from its citizens for leaving the country, as well as the American government has a right to only give to American citizens. I am just unsure as to why either country would want to with hold money from any student from any country. In a time where education is so important to the future why would either country want to hold its youth back. We would not be aiding or taking away from either economy by studying in another country. We aid the American economy by continuing our education here, and then we return to our country f origin where we pursue summer and winter employment, where we still pay taxes. We are not helping solely our economy of our country of origin, but we are helping a global economy by becoming aware of not just our country, but also other countries. We remain sheltered if we stay in one place all our lives, we need to explore and see the world, and we can start by going from our home country to another for post secondary education. The opportunity to study in another country does not come to everyone, but to those it does come to, it is a very difficult opportunity to pass up. If we are invited to this county to continue our education, why are we not treated as equals, both emotionally and financially. We, like the American students are just that, students. We do not come here because we do not want to study in our native countries, we come for the opportunity to experience new things, meet new people and become more educated, just like the American students. We do not come here to be judged or treated differently. We came to be treated like what we are, students, regardless of where we came from.

Competitive sport Essay

1. Write a summary of text 1 â€Å"competitive sport for children at the heart of Olympics legacy† in about 150 words. The text examines the notion and opinion of the current English prime minister regarding the necessity for Parliament to incorporate compulsory initiatives aimed at ensuring that competitive team sports is directly added to the current English primary school curriculum. As argued, David Cameron emphasizes that the government should nurture the development of a competitive sports culture as to adhere to the competitive ethos advanced by the recent London Olympics. The prime minister pointed out that the current period right after the Olympic Games could mark a point of inspiration for young children to play sports more regularly in their free time. Accordingly, a new national PE curriculum draft had been published in the autumn of 2012 that aimed at introducing an academic scheme which would enable sustained pupil physical activity, competence and physique deve lopment and the provision of opportunities for pupil sports engagement. The text also denotes an estimate budget cost of approximately one billion pounds Sterling for a period of five years to be distributed accordingly for the competitive sports initiative. The text concludes in the prime minister emphasising that the Olympic Game can be used as a clear example for competitive sports, as to revitalise and revive the competitive ethos of English schools. 2. Give an outline of the various attitudes to competitive sport in the three texts. The three texts all share a common theme of competitive sports and the revitalisation of physical education and activities as to encourage healthy conditions from the youth of the United Kingdom. Text one pointed out that there is clear positive re-enforcement deriving from both the prime minister and the government to pass legislation aiming to amend the current PE curriculum. Having said that, text 2 attempts to identify that although such reasoning can be deemed optimistically, it is also necessary to establish that sports is not simply a game involving a loser and a winner and that competitive sports and the Olympic games aim to promote the ideologies of ‘be the best you can be’ and that the aim of such physical activities is to send the message of working hard and moving forward. Text two accentuates the necessity to shy away from the ‘competitive’ attitude from governm ent perspective and to emphasize more on achieving a platform of  increased coordination skills for people who struggle with such skills and to promote the legacy of women to perform better in sports altogether. In contrast, however, text three identifies scepticism related to the initiative of incorporating mandatory competitive sports in the new PE curriculum draft. The text argues that competitive sports are in their very nature, elitist and that such activities would aim to identify the winners from the losers. It is also argued that some people would find it more beneficial to refrain from potential harm or physical strain, as well as, embarrassment derived from losing. The author of text three also perceives that the majority of coaches will aim to better the prospects of potential future athletes and this may therefore result in the negligence of less promising pupils, hence creating an immediate division of pupils into groups. This, in itself, would undermine the entire pr ospect and notion of creating a cultural ethos related to increasing physical activity and to better the overall health conditions of pupils all around the UK. Hence, the attitudes from all texts have all identified the pros and cons of such initiatives, in which one must consider as to whether such activities should be left to be voluntary or to be made compulsory. 3. Comment on the following statement from text 3: â€Å"If the alleged health benefits of sports are to be realised, then it needs to be voluntary and enjoyable.† It is of common knowledge to assume that sports can have outstanding results on an individual’s physical form and well being. Doctors and physical practitioners all attempt to entice their patients of the several positive benefits from increased physical activity. Having said that, it is also true, in my opinion, that sports should not solely be aimed at being the winner of a game, but rather an opportunity to enjoy the riveting activities that also aims in establishing and developing key future skills such as discipline, teamwork and aiding those who are less physically or mentally inept to accomplish a common goal. The statement acknowledges my opinion in which sports should not be of a compulsory nature as to be impeding on the factor of enjoying and fun, which in my personal perspective is the more primar y aim of sports. In conclusion, the statement simply emphasises the necessity to concentrate not simply on making competitive sports compulsory in primary school, but to leave in the hands of the youth to voluntarily enjoy and join in such activities. 4 Because of new rules, the local school has to introduce competitive sport from the age of seven. Write an article (150-200 words) for the school magazine in which you discuss the positive and negative consequences of this decision. According to recent news, our local school will be promptly introducing a new rule, making it compulsory to play competitive sports from the age of seven. Although many scientists and physical experts share the common opinion that such a move would incur an immediate reduction in the onset obesity of the United Kingdom, as well as, the possibility of the development a cultural ethos in which individuals are more conscious involving their health and physical ability, I aim to identify otherwise. Even though I may agree with what most of us have been taught in PE and biology class involving the aims of physical activity in ensuring a better life style altogether, I feel a bit sceptic. In sports, the outcome always acknowledges a winner and a loser, and per sonally I prefer not to be titled a loser; competitive sports are not for everyone, so to speak. Making such activities compulsory would not only garnish a new wave of winning attitudes but also, as a bi-product, develop a group of ‘losers’ whose only aim is to find a way to survive or get through a physically demanding competitive sports. There is also the onset likelihood of risk to your physical well being. In conclusion, there are both pros and cons for such a rule to be imposed and that, in my opinion, it should be something which the students and parents also have a say in.

Unemployment Inflation And Gdp In The Us Economics Essay

Three cardinal elements qualify the growing of an economic system. They include rate of unemployment, rising prices and assorted figures that define the Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) . A reappraisal of these issues is indispensable in order to give the reader some good apprehension of economic growing. Harmonizing to the Bureau of Statistics, unemployment rate in the United States seems to lifting somewhat than expected. The agency maintains that 8.8 % of grownup work forces and 7.9 % of their female opposite numbers autumn under the unemployed class. In add-on, the rate of rising prices as indicated by latest study from the agency seems to on the rise. This has resulted in the overall addition of consumer monetary value index by up to 1.6 % before any signifier of seasonal accommodation. Finally figures from the Bureau of economic analysis indicate that the GDP for the 4th one-fourth of 2010 rose by 3.2 % . This is largely attributed to high demand of labour and additions in belong ings monetary values. This information is indispensable for family, investors and policy shapers towards the growing and development of the economic system.FamiliesInflation is the most pertinent issue that affects many families in the United States. Phil ‘s Stock World ( 2011 ) on his remark in the double authorization morass asserts that, harmonizing to informations from assorted transcripts, the Federal Reserve is still unconcerned about rising prices, in malice of important grounds to the contrary. In fact, the Fed is so unconcerned about rising prices that, it needed to advert â€Å" rising prices † 49 times in its study. Phil et Al ( 2011 ) goes on to add that, due to the merely passed planetary economical crisis, families should non anticipate a speedy reprieve. In fact the Fed expects the idle rate to stay â€Å" elevated † at the terminal of 2012 ; even though it claimed a lifting existent GDP might easy cut down unemployment. A study conducted on 60000 families indicates that rising prices does non offer any signifier of alteration aimed at change by reversaling the downward tendency in unemployment degrees. Morgan Stanley is of the position that although employment was reported to hold fallen by 622000, this information is still nonmeaningful. No uncertainty, monetary values of natural stuffs have risen. There are some basic grounds for this upward tendency. The planetary growing phenomenon is partially to fault. Increased demand from China, India, and Africa among others will set upward force per unit area on trade good monetary values. It is overriding to observe that trade good monetary values are besides a map of involvement rates. Low involvement rates cause a comparative addition in the value of low ended merchandises ( due to take down discounting ) , making less incentive for extraction, and cut downing the cost of keeping stock lists ( Phil et al 2011 ) .InvestorsInflation influences investor â €˜s determinations in more luxuriant ways as compared to families. With an addition in inflationary force per unit area, involvement rates will be high and hence decrease in investing. Phil et Al ( 2011 ) notes that, sing the relentless travel up in stocks, â€Å" Our market marks, breakout two degrees, and major jailbreak degrees are supplying more bullish fuel to our market thesis. † He further points out that, the U.S. bond markets were responding to inflationary concerns, ensuing in Treasury- bond outputs lifting and bond monetary values falling. Phil et al farther argues that, â€Å" It all comes back to rising prices. The Fed merely does n't believe it exists or, if it does, believes it wo n't last. It ca n't reallyA lose. The Fed can merely be incorrect this meeting and so make nil and delay until following meeting and so ‘reevaluate. ‘ Morgan et al 2011, in contrast argues that harmonizing to the FOMC proceedingss, â€Å" many participants expect that , with important slack in resource markets and longer-term rising prices outlooks stable, steps of nucleus rising prices would stay near to current degrees in coming quarters † . This means that rising prices is likely to impact investors ‘ determinations particularly in relation to short term investings.Policy MakersThe policy shapers play a major function in the running of the economic system. Morgan et Al reiterates that with the strong economic recoil, policy-makers are now following a somewhat anti-cyclical stance. The primary balance ( runing gross less entire outgo ) is expected to travel from a shortage of 0.3 % of GDP in F2010 to a excess of 0.3 % in F2011. Meanwhile, the overall budget balance ( which takes into history particular transportations, top-ups and net investing returns part ) is expected to travel from a shortage of 0.1 % of GDP in F2010 to a excess of 0.03 % in 2011. Specifically, the swing from a little shortage place to a more or less balanced bu dget is chiefly due to the addition in particular transportations being offset by cutbacks in development outgo. In add-on to that in order to hike g.d.p the Fed has a figure of tools ( such as contrary rest and clip sedimentations for depositary establishments ) to take militias from the banking system when appropriate. However, a crisp tightening in pecuniary policy is improbable. The Fed will finally hold to take the pes off the gas pedal ( non needfully â€Å" hitting the brakes † ) as a â€Å" standardization † of pecuniary policy. Removing the conditional committedness to maintain short-run involvement rates near nothing for â€Å" an drawn-out period † will depend on a alteration in the Fed ‘s declared conditions: low rates of resource use ( equivalently, an elevated unemployment rate ) ; a low implicit in tendency in rising prices ; and well-anchored rising prices outlooks ( Morgan et al 2011 ) .

Medical Marijuana and the impact on hiring and drug testing Essay - 1

Medical Marijuana and the impact on hiring and drug testing - Essay Example With increased medical marijuana legalization, questions are propping up as to how this would affect the workplace bearing in mind that most of those who consume it are worker. Most especially, human resource managers are concerned as to how the law would impact on the employment hiring process. The complexity of the matter is increased by the fact that those allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes also have a disability which is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and by the Civil Rights Act. Failing to hire such individuals in such states could be considered as a form of discrimination but employers get reprieve in that the Federal law does not offer protection for such cases. As such the issue is very complex needing careful consideration by employers especially in formulation of their zero-tolerance policies or maintaing a drug-free workplace. This essay will present the views of human resource managers on how medical marijuana impacts on employment hiring p rocess. The two human resource managers whose views will be presented here are Mr. Xi Zhao of Uterpy Music Company and Mr. YiChao Wan of Lucky Garden Chinese Restaurant. Uterpy Music company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts one of the states that legalized medical marijuana in 2012. It is a social media company (Internet industry) and the largest social website for people who love music. It aids musicians with networking; collaborating and also getting noticed (Uterpy.com). Lucky Garden Restaurant in the hospitality industry is located in Melbourne, Florida whose medical marijuana bill became law in June, 2014 after being signed by Governor Rick Scott. The company offers catering services and provides wide array of Chinese dishes. The two human resource managers were interviewed using a questionnaire containing wide range of questions as to how the law impacts on

The Relationship between Portrays of Abraham and Portrayals of God in Assignment

The Relationship between Portrays of Abraham and Portrayals of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Assignment Example There are three Abrahams with one covenant; this is because all the three religions view Abraham from a different perspective but the covenant in all the three religions is between God Almighty and Abraham. Christians view Abraham in terms of his faith and obedience in God, to Christians Abraham had a lot of faith and obedience in God and hence the making of the covenant. This is evident in Genesis 12:1-20 where God commands Abraham to leave his country and move to an unknown destination. The birth of Isaac shows that God keeps his promises to the righteous, faithful and those that obey him. Since Abraham was righteous even before he was circumcised, both the Jews and the Gentiles can become his descendants only when they have faith in the almighty God The Christians believe these to be the pillars that hold their religion together. Faithfulness and obedience are also evident when Abraham reaches sachem, where Yahweh pledged to Abraham that he would give Abrahams descendants that land, faithfully Abraham responded by building an altar. The Christians hold on to the faith that to both the Jews and the gentile Abraham is the â€Å"father of all those that are faithful. According to Christians believe Abraham rested has a special status in the world of the dead, Luke 23; 43 states that when the righteous die they rest in Abrahams bosom, a place believed to be paradise. Abraham being the ideal patriarch them bosom means paradise. The believers in the Christian religion believe that they should follow into Abraham’s footstep as his colossus faith and obedience in God showed them how to embrace Gods word with a universalism spirit and how to live well before God. The Muslim refers to him as Ibrahim, a man they believe to be the progenitor of Israel.  Ã‚  

System analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

System analysis - Article Example From the decisions, this article demonstrates the response of an organization to feedback generated from the information. The article uses a hierarchical structure in illustration of information flow, with an inclusion of information status changes at different levels. The second aspect of the structure is a topic-by-topic discussion, with illustrative diagrams, showing all steps of information development. These elements are relevant for the development of a system analyst. The rationale of this resource is that it can develop me into a competent system analyst and designer. This is because it incorporates aspects of organizational behavior into the processes of system analysis and design. It generates and reflects relevant decision information applicable in the change management systems and processes in organizations (French, 2011). The choice of this resource considered a holistic approach of organization behavior in line with the components of system analyst’s roles and scope of actions. The strengths of this resource are threefold. As a system analyst, I can develop competence by applicability it to many organizations, involving it in a practical procedures and use its published information as authoritative reference. The resource has practical demonstration of the processes, which a system analyst can use in relation to the Mary’s Seven Steps. The seven steps are easy for a system analyst to follow since the sequence is clear from one practical step to the next. As a System Analyst, the resource is reliable as a form publication of John Wiley and Sons Publishers in New York City. This makes it a more credible and dependable resource than unpublished materials. While using this article, one of the challenges likely for a system analyst and designer is that it does not have the latest information. It lacks timely information, hence it inspires the system analyst to seek the most relevant information with publication year being not later

Analyse and model engineering situations and solve problems using Math Problem - 1

Analyse and model engineering situations and solve problems using Ordinary differential equations - Math Problem Example This empirical observation coincides to the Newton’s Law of Cooling which states that â€Å"the rate of change of the temperature of an object is proportional to the difference between its own temperature and the ambient temperature.† For instance, when a hot metal ball is placed in a bath of tap water at temperature of T0, it gradually cools. In this process which takes time to complete, naturally the metal ball gives off heat to the surrounding water so that the bath gets warm due to the heat released to it. However, as time proceeds, since the bath of water is open to the larger environment at T0, the system consisting of it and the material it contains would in time establish equilibrium with its environment. In which case, the Newton’s Law of Cooling applies such that, for the heated object being cooled within a room, the temperature of the hot body changes so that it approaches the room’s temperature which is T0. b. Formulate mathematical model for t he cooling process. According to Newton’s Law of Cooling with which the problem statement proves to be consistent, a first-order differential equation may be set up as follows: = -kT where ‘k’ refers to the constant of proportionality. The negative sign accounts for the difference in temperature since the object being cooled would have a lower final temperature compared to its initial temperature. Then on solving the equation: = -k Where Tf = final temperature difference T(t) - T0 Ti = initial temperature difference T1 - T0 Here, T0 = ambient room temperature T1 = initial temperature of heated object T(t) = temperature of the object (under cooling) at anytime ‘t’ So that upon evaluation of the integral, ln Tf - ln Ti = -kt By exponent property, ln = -kt ---? = ---? = Then, substituting expressions for Tf and Ti: ----? T(t) - T0 = (T1 - T0) 2. At time t = 0 water begins to leak from a tank of constant cross-sectional area A. The rate of outflow is pro portional to h, the depth of water in the tank at time t. Write the constant of proportion kA where k is constant. a. Analyse the tank leaking process. Since water leaks out of the tank from an initial height say h0 which corresponds to water volume of V(h0) in the tank, the finite change in this volume per unit change in time, beginning at t = 0 would be (?V/t). The tank is not being filled in so this merely represents the rate of water outflow which is proportional to the water depth in the tank. Essentially, the water depth may be expressed as the finite change in height h(t) - h0 as the water leaks out of the tank where h0 refers to the initial height in the tank and h(t) is the height of the water measured at any time ‘t’. b. Formulate mathematical model for the leaking process. The leaking process may be mathematically modelled as follows: = - k A ?h in which A pertains to the constant area of cross-section through water depth The factors kA serve as the constant of proportionality and the negative sign is used to signify the value of h(t) that is lower than h0. For depth ?h = h(t) - h0, it follows that ?V = V[h(t)] - V(h0). Thus, = -k A [ h(t) - h0 ] which on arranging yields to: Write conclusions based on your formulated mathematical model for leaking process. Task 2 – Learning Outcome 4.2 Solve first order differential equations using analytical and numerical methods. 3. Find the solution of the following equations: a. Separating variables, = t dt Integrating both sides, let u

Econometrix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Econometrix - Assignment Example Test for Significance of Coefficient In order to test the significance of the coefficient, the following hypotheses have been drawn. Ho: The coefficient is equal to zero H1: The coefficient is greater than zero Test Statistics In order to test the significance of the coefficient of Age, t statistic is needed to be calculated. Formula In the given case, the estimated coefficient may be referred as ?Age = 0.043 while the Standard error for ?Age = 0.003. Therefore, Now for the given data set the t tabulated value had been found using the degree of freedom in the given case is 21600 – 3= 21597. The significance level for the test is 1%. The t critical value for the given data is found to be 2.326 (Allison, 1991). Decision Rule The Null hypothesis is rejected if t calculated is greater than t tabulated. Conclusion Since the t calculated value is greater than the t tabulated value i.e. 14.3333>2.326, hence the criteria suggests rejecting the null hypothesis. So it can be concluded t hat the coefficient value is not equal to zero. 1b. The equation required for the desired calculation is In the given case, Age= 30 years Size= 100 employees Therefore, the earnings calculated for the given age and size is equal to 7.337 pounds (Belsley, Kuh & Welsch, 2005). 1c) It depends as it sounds logical that a person with higher education would be earning greater than the one who has less education. Therefore, assuming that bigger organizations hire more educated people, it may be assumed that on average there is less probability that an organization employees older people. Omitting education in case if it is related to age was necessary to rule out the chances of error caused due to the correlation existing between age and education as an increase in age is termed to be negatively associated with education. Thus the model would have implied the issue of multicollinearity. When variables are extremely correlated, the variability explained exclusively by the single variables c an be minor despite the fact that the variation explicated by the variables brought together is great. (Wooldridge, 2012). d. Model 2 (2.430) (0.053) (0.285) The sample size is 83, while R2 is 0.036 1d) By and large, with an increase in sample size, the estimated values tend to be better predictor of the population parameters. Therefore, with each additional observation that is admitted in the sample, the amount of information increases and that additional information usually aids in providing better statistics. Thus if the model provides a better estimating results, the standard errors will be reduced. The model 1 has been framed using an extensively large size of sample while model 2 has eliminated the general public and has enlisted only a specified fragment of the whole population resulting in a decreased size of sample. This ultimately targets the standard errors as they are increased due to the declined size of the sample. This contemplates the information that larger samples will bring forth more accurate estimates of the coefficients’ in a regression analysis (Aiken & West, 1991). e) Hypothesis testing for model 1 Where k=3, N= 21600 while R2=0.025 (Aiken & West, 1991) Calculating the F statistic Let the level of significance be 0.05, the F critical value in that case will be 2.6. Since the F calculated value is less than the F critical, hence,

EMPLOYMENT AND DISCRIMINATION LAW 2009-10 Essay

EMPLOYMENT AND DISCRIMINATION LAW 2009-10 - Essay Example The test for less favourable treatment is clearly an objective one and the question that is to be asked is whether the complainant would have been treated differently more favourably had it not been for his sex. Thus, the tribunal must ask what the ‘conscious or subconscious reason for treating the claimant less favourably was’ (Nagarajan v. London Regional Transport)1. The decision of less favourable treatment is for the tribunal to decide and it is not a difficult one. In order to determine less favourable treatment, a comparison with an actual or hypothetical comparator is to be made, however it is necessary that the relevant circumstances of the complainant and the comparative group are same or not materially different. Thus, in Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary2, it was stated that From s.63A and Igen v Wong3 it is clear that the evidential burden to show facts from which Employment Tribunal can conclude that the employer has committed an act of discrimination and if such burden is met then the legal burden shifts to the employer who has to show that the reason for the treatment was not related in any way with claimant’s sex. Thus, if an inadequate explanation is provided the Employment Tribunal must fina that the employer committed an act of unlawful discrimination. In the current scenario it is quite evident that Graham has received less favourable treatment on the ground of his sex and this is clear from what has been said by IRU in their reason for rejecting Graham. Furthermore, if a hypothetical comparator is drawn then in the same circumstances a woman would have received more favourable treatment and thus direct discrimination is established. The remedies that might be available to Graham are a recommendation that IRU should take action so as to reduce the effect of the discrimination. Further, he could receive compensation which could include pecuniary losses if any and injury to feelings. For the

Is mass migration more of a threat or a benefit to European host Essay

Is mass migration more of a threat or a benefit to European host countries - Essay Example The flows for the non-European region led to a large scale migration to Europe. The increased restrictions on immigration policies have resulted in the increased flow of non-conventional and illegal migrants in to the European nations. The involvement of European Union in the migration policies of the individual member nations has increasingly become necessary and further enlargement in the European Union territory has accentuated this necessity. The flows of migration in both directions have resulted in some major impact on the economies of the host countries in the EU. This paper analyzes the possible effects of the migration as to whether the mass migration results in some benefit or it should be construed as a threat to the nations. People migrate from one country or region to another for their own benefits which may include getting a better pay, joining the spouse of parent, to obtain more welfare benefits or for security reasons. Most of the host nations receiving these migrants stand to benefit. For instance, the demand for labour may be met easily when imported from other countries. On some other occasions the same country may export labour to other countries depending on the economic cycle the country is undergoing and due to the differences in the economies of different countries and labour markets. However whether the mass migration to another country really benefits the people in the host country is a matter of circumstance prevailing in the host nation. It may be noted that all the international migrants in the recent past to the United States and European Union represent spouses, dependants, relatives, students, asylum claimants for whom there is absolutely no demand in these countries. In any case th ey do not represent labour migrants. Apart from these there are other illegal and short term migrants who would like to stay and improve their position by any available avenues. Over the period the economic benefits of labour migration have become less significant and have even turned negative (Borjas 1996, Wardensjo, 1999). Argument for Economic Interests of Business The first argument that will be put forth in favour of mass migration is the economic criteria involving business interests. However this argument suffers from a lacuna that the business interests that favour mass migration inwards into a country is always of short term nature. Although easy and immediate access to labor will be preferred rather than the costs involve in training and capital investment for long term, the nature of economic cycle would make the labour which was essential yesterday totally unemployed today, as has been witnessed with most the factories and mills of Europe. Employers who demand more of immigrant labour could not be blamed for the changed scenario. If the businesses are made responsible for the dealing the with the life time cost of these labour immigrants they would obviously reduce their demand for immigrant labour and make long term capital investment. However it must be remembered that the countries can not be just treated as just a set of economic l evers but they consist of communities of people who have their own shared values, commitments, identities, origins and aspirations all of which will be affected by mass migration of people. Argument for General Economic Interest Mass

Privacy in the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Privacy in the Workplace Essay There are specific laws that protect consumers as well as employees in the workplace. Many of these laws relate to others. Laws, such as, FERPA, SOX, CIPA, and COPPA also grant rights to individuals under the First Amendment. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects a child’s student records from being viewed without parental consent. It gives parents access to their childs education records, an opportunity to seek to have the records amended, and some control over the disclosure of information from the records. When the child becomes 18 years old, the parents are no longer obligated to have rights to access the child’s personal records. Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is also engineered to the protection of children. Children are to be protected physically and mentally while in the care of school professionals. Schools must have policies in place protecting children from accessing harmful or obscene content over the internet. This law requires that K-12 schools and libraries in the United States use Internet filters and implement other measures to protect children from harmful online content as a condition for federal funding. The Child Online Protection Act (COPPA) applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. jurisdiction from children under 13 years of age. It details what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect childrens privacy and safety online including restrictions on the marketing to those under 13. While children under 13 can legally give out personal information with their parents permission, many websites disallow underage  children from using their services altogether due to the amount of cash and work involved in the law compliance. Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) set new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. The sections of the bill cover responsibilities of a public corporations board of directors, adds criminal penalties for certain misconduct, and required the Securities and Exchange Commission to create regulations to define how public corporations are to comply with the law.

Community College Students Essay Example for Free

Community College Students Essay Often times, community college students are depicted by the public and the media as â€Å"not smart enough† or â€Å"not capable. † For example, just recently I was at Barnes and Noble and as I was looking for a book the sales associate approached me. She asked me if I needed help then asked me what school I attended, when I told her that I go to Fullerton College her attitude changed. She asked me if I didn’t go to a four year university because of my grades, when I told her that, that wasn’t the reason she went on ranting that I need to do good in school and I shouldn’t be at a community college. It seems that the public look down on the students at community college. When watching the show, â€Å"Blue Mountain State,† you have a group of friends that happen to be on the universities football team. On the show is portrays the typical university life and the football players engage in heavy drinking, drugs and lots of sex. If a four university is offering that then what is so good about going to one? Often times you hear about crazier parties thrown by universities rather than community colleges. Universities are supposed to be prestigious but these huge parties are throwing them off. Many times the public says that community college is no good because of its parties with drugs, they say that’s why no students should aim for community colleges but statistics say that universities throw the biggest parties. Who are the bad guys now? Recent talk on the website collegeconfidential. om, students talk about how their parents do not want their kids to go to a community college. This is a website for real people with answers from people who have had the experiences. A student just recently posted that his parents did not want him to go to a community college because they are no good. Many people were quick to respond to his post, most of the people who replied were adults who have had the experience, even some professors, and they told him that community college is not bad at all. The responders replied by saying that ommunity college has great professors and are cheaper than a four year university. Of course at a four year university you will get a bit better education, but for those who cannot afford the fees it is great for them. For example, a user , â€Å"NTKTOP,† posted this comment. â€Å"My parents say that they suck and that theyre going to kick me out of the house if I go to one. † This student sees nothing wrong with community college but his parents do, then this is what one San Diego State University graduate had to say, â€Å"I dont think theyre bad. Of course, it depends on the school you choose and professor you get, but thats the same of any traditional school. CC can be a good jumping board for some people. No matter where you go, you will find easy professors but in my experience CC is a not a bad choice. † This is my second semester in a community college; so far everything has been going good. The professors I have had are not very difficult but do not give easy grades. Last semester I had a Spanish class that was for advanced speakers but there were some things that did not click in my mind. My professor would stay with me after class to try and help me to better understand the material. This semester my math class has tutors that they offer for free. I take advantage of these resources because they are free and the professors are willing to help me out without any problem. The stories I hear from my friends in community college are that they have teachers that care for the student’s education; they do not give easy grades just because we are in community college. Many professors want to further our knowledge and prepare us for our transfer to a university. No matter where you go, you will get a great education. The United States is known worldwide for its prestigious schools. A big part has to come from the students, if the student is willing to put in the time, dedication and effort their possibilities are endless. So far, community college has been a great experience for me. I have great professors who are always able to help out. The media tries to pick on community colleges but in reality, it is a great choice in this economy. Many students that leave a four year university have a huge debt to pay because of loans. Many students choose community college because it is a fraction of the cost of a university. I do not think it is fair when parents judge community colleges as bad; you can get a good education for a very affordable price. You can go to a community college such as Fullerton College, which has great professors, to get your general education classes out of the way for a low price then transfer to a four year university to mainly focus on your degree classes.

The Legitimacy Theory And CSR Disclosure Accounting Essay

The Legitimacy Theory And CSR Disclosure Accounting Essay The issue of corporate social responsibility has got a lot of attention in the business and political world since the early 1990s and the major reason behind this was corporate scandals. Organizations had started to realize that the basis on which they were achieving economic growth was unsustainable and hence there was a need to develop a process which would intend at balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability and societal expectations. In fact the origin of corporate social responsibility can be found in the 1950s and 60s whereby successful companies were trying to link corporate social responsibility to the power that business holds in society. The theoretical progresses were subdivided in ethical and accountability and the stakeholder approach to strategic management. CSR can be distinguished from the three terms which are included in its designation phrase and these words are; Corporate, social and responsibility. Hence CSR can be explained as being the responsibilities that a company undertakes for the society within which it carry out its operations. To be specific, CSR require a business to identify its stakeholders and include their needs and values in the tactical day to day decision making process of the company. Consequently the society within which a business function and which identify the number of stakeholder to which the organization owe a responsibility can be broad depending on the type industry within which it operate. The different stakeholders to which a company is accountable can be illustrated using the figure below: http://www.industryplayer.com/images/corporate_social_responsibility.jpg Figure 1: stakeholder of a business According to figure 1, a business must respond to two aspects which evolve during their operating process and these are: The quality of management which is represented by the inner cycle and it is both in terms of people and processes. The nature of and the extent to which their processes impact on the society in various areas. The stakeholders who are outside take more interest in the activities undertaken by the company, i.e. most of them look at what has the company actually done. Their objective is to fid out if the company has done good or bad in terms of its product and services, the treatment it gives it its labour force and in terms of the impact of its activities on the environment and local communities. There seems to be an infinite number of definitions of CSR, ranging from the simplistic to the complex, and a range of associated terms and ideas including `corporate sustainability, corporate citizenship, corporate social investment, the triple bottom line, socially responsible investment, business sustainability and corporate governance. It has been suggested that `some researchers distort the definition of corporate social responsibility or performance so much that the concept becomes morally unintelligent, conceptually meaningless, and utterly unrecognizable'(Orlitzky 2005); or CSR may be regarded as `the universal remedy which can solve several social evil such as the global poverty gap, social exclusion and environmental degradation (Van Marrewijk 2003). Some definitions of CSR which are commonly accepted are: The notion of companies looking beyond profits to their role in society is generally termed corporate social responsibility (CSR)..It refers to a company linking itself with ethical values, transparency, employee relations, compliance with legal requirements and overall respect for the communities in which they operate. It goes beyond the occasional community service action, however, as CSR is a corporate philosophy that drives strategic decision-making, partner selection, hiring practices and, ultimately, brand development.  [1]   South China Morning Post, 2002 The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time.  [2]   Archie B. Carroll, 1979 CSR is about businesses and other organizations going beyond the legal obligations to manage the impact they have on the environment and society. In particular, this could include how organizations interact with their employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as the extent they attempt to protect the environment.  [3]   The Institute of Directors, UK, 2002 Why is CSR relevant today? CSR has become famous in the language and strategy of business and by the growth of dedicated CSR organizations globally. Governments and international governmental organizations are increasingly encouraging CSR. CSR is rapidly becoming a major part of all business management courses and a key global issue because of three trends which are easily identifiable: 1. Changing expectations of the society Following recent corporate scandals which have lead to the decrease in the trust that the public has on regulatory bodies and companies to control corporate excess, customers and the general public tend to expect more from the company with which they trade. 2. Rising affluence This is true not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Rich customers have enough money to select the product they want to buy and as the society need work and inward investment will not impose severe rules which will penalize companies which invest their money elsewhere. In other words if a company is investing its money in CSR activities and for this reasons its product become more costly, the affluent consumers will not punish the organization and they will buy its product. 3. Globalization Nowadays the least mistake made by companies is instantly make known to the public via the media. On top of that, increasing internet communication between people having the same opinion and the consumers, authorize them to spread their message and giving them the opportunity to take collective action that is they can boycott a product. In other words if a company is taking actions which is against the environment and the society, the public may takes action against the business. According to these three trends, more importance is given to brand which lead to the success of companies and thus there is a shift in the relationship between companies and customers whereby the latter are better informed and feel more powerful to put their belief into action. From the standpoint of businesses, the parameters within which they operate are more and more affected by bottom-up, working class campaigns, NGOs and consumer activists leading to a change in the relationship between consumers and the company. CSR is becoming more and more important in our fast developing world as brands are built on perceptions and concepts which appear to have higher values. Theoretical Frameworks and CSR Disclosure The Legitimacy Theory While there is no generally accepted theory for explaining CSR disclosure practices, recent research in the CSR literature has primarily relied on legitimacy theory (Deegan 2002, p. 285). Indeed, it is probable that legitimacy theory is the most widely used theory to explain environmental and social disclosures (Campbell, Craven and Shrives, 2003, p. 559) while, according to Gray, Kouhy and Lavers (1995), legitimacy theory has an advantage over other theories in that it provides disclosing strategies that organisations may adopt to legitimate their existence that may be empirically tested. The Legitimacy theory, according to Ness Mirza (1991), argues that the voluntary disclosure of social responsibility information can be perceived as a strategy to reduce political costs. Social theory reporting has been explained from a Legitimacy Theory perspective LT has been considered as widely accepted theory to shed light on social reporting practices of a firm. It states that firms will take actions to ensure that their operations are obvious to be legitimate from the point of view of the society within which the organization is assumed to operate. That is, they will attempt to establish resemblance between social values associated with or indirect by their activities and the norms of acceptable behavior in the larger social system of which they are part. Legitimacy Theory specifies a social contract between the organisation and society. Legitimacy is defined by Lindblom (1992) as: a condition or status which exists when an entitys value system is congruent with the value system of the larger social system of which the social system of which the entity is a part. When a disparity, actual or potential, exists between the two value systems, there is a threat to the entitys legitimacy. Hence, Legitimacy Theory implies that managers will not undertake any actions that will be considered as illegitimate in society. By engaging in social reporting, they tend to enhance the relevance of the financial statement as well as that of earnings by making people to believe in the reliability of what is being reported in the financial statements and by providing additional information on issues other than earnings and financial information. This may however redirect the interest of users away from the earnings figure. Institutional theorists (e.g Fogarty, 1992) observe that organizations need to respond to social expectations. Public expectations have undergone significant changes in the last decades such that profit maximization is not the sole measure of performance expected from the economic entity. There are a lot of implicit and explicit expectations from society vis-a-vis the operations of the organization. According to Heard Bolce (1981), with sensitive societal expectations, it is anticipated that successful businesses will react to attend to human, environmental and other social consequences of their activities. In spite of being unregulated, social and green reporting has increased in annual reports of organizations. Empirical tests of the Legitimacy Theory by Hogner (1982) revealed that the extent of social disclosures in the annual reports varied in response to societys expectations of corporate behavior. Deegan Rankin (1996) found that prosecuted firms for environmental charges increased their green reporting while Gray, Kouhy Lavers (1995) found that firms use corporate social reporting to fill the legitimacy gap. It is assumed that the economic entity will have the legitimate right to continue to operate in society to the extent that it fulfils the societal expectations. Otherwise, there will be a breach in the social contract between the entity and the society, and sanctions, such as fines, legal actions, and a fall in the demand of its product, will be taken. Society may revoke the organizations licence to operate or contract to continue its operations, for instance. Under Legitimacy Theory, not only the rights of investors are considered, but a much bigger picture of the public at large is considered. Furthermore, it is also expected that the organisation for its survival will have to adapt to the changing expectations of society. Downling Pfeffer (1975) refer to communication strategies, that the entity can use in order to legitimate or maintain the legitimacy of its activities. Reference is made to the public disclosure of information, in annual reports, for instance, to let the public know and educate them about the actions and performance of the firm and hence the manipulation of societys expectations, is made. In the same vein, they argue that one of the functions of annual reports would be to legitimate the existence of the organisation. Therefore, Legitimacy Theory proposes a relationship between corporate disclosures and societal expectations, as evidenced by a lot of research (Deegan Ratkin (1996); Gray,Kouhy Lavers). Stakeholder Theory Stakeholder theory (Gray, Kouhy Lavers 1995b, p. 53) state that the corporations continued existence requires the support of the stakeholders and their consent are required and hence the activities of the business are adjusted according to that approval. The more powerful the stakeholders, the more the company must adapt. Social disclosure is thus seen as part of the dialogue between the company and its stakeholders. Within the Stakeholders point of view, the success of a business depends on its capacity to balance the differing demands of its various stakeholders. The definition of stakeholder has altered considerably over the past four decades. At one end of the range the shareholder was believe the sole or principal stakeholder. This definition was based on arguments proposed by the Noble prize winner, Mr. Milton Friedmans view. According to him, the sole moral responsibility of a business is to maximize profits. Freeman (1983), however, expands the definition of stakeholder to include a broader selection of constituents including opposing groups such as interest groups and regulators. He defines stakeholders as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organisations objectives. Stakeholder Theory states that managers ought to serve the interests of all those who have a stake in the firm. Stakeholders include shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which the firm operates a collection which Freeman terms the Big Five. Therefore, all groups in an area in which the firm operates and all individuals in such area are stakeholders. Given that CSR reporting is attempted to underline how the company relates to society in the course of its different social activities, the stakeholder theory can be seen as a guideline which will direct firms to have proper way of disclosing CSR as they will know what type of actions stakeholders are expecting from them. Corporate Governance Corporate governance can be defined as a set of rules and regulations according to which the behavior of a company is affected. Another aspect of it is that it is also concerned with the relationships which exists among different stakeholders of the company and with the goals which the company has in view. Shareholders, board of directors, employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, and the community at large are the main stakeholders of a business. Gabrielle ODonovan defines corporate governance as an internal system encompassing policies, processes and people, which serves the needs of shareholders and other stakeholders, by directing and controlling management activities with good business know-how, objectivity, accountability and integrity. Sound corporate governance is reliant on external marketplace commitment and legislation, plus a healthy board culture which safeguards policies and processes. An essential part of corporate governance is to create a system that try to decrease or eradicate the principal agent problem which will ensure accountability of certain individuals in the business. Corporate governance has several areas of discussion such as the effect of a system of corporate governance in economic efficiency whereby more emphasis has to be put on shareholders welfare. Principles of corporate Governance Honesty, trust and integrity, openness, performance orientation, responsibility and accountability, mutual respect, and commitment to the organization forms an essential part of corporate governance. The most important part in corporate governance is to see whether the management has been able to develop a model which is in line with the standards of the corporate participants. In addition to this they must evaluate this model from time to time to ensure that it is effective. Hence the management should do their wok honestly and ethically, particularly concerning conflicts of interest and disclosure in financial reports. Commonly accepted principles of corporate governance include: Rights and equitable treatment of shareholders: company should respect the rights of shareholders and help shareholders to implement those rights. They can help shareholders exercise their rights by effectively communicating information that is understandable and accessible and encouraging shareholders to participate in general meetings. Interests of other stakeholders: Organizations should be aware of the legal and other obligations that all legitimate stakeholders have. Role and responsibilities of the board: The board needs a variety of skills and understanding to be able to deal with various business issues and have the aptitude to review and challenge management performance. It needs to be of adequate size and have an apt level of commitment to fulfill its responsibilities and duties. There are issues about the appropriate mix of executive and non-executive directors. Integrity and ethical behavior: Ethical and responsible decision making is not only important for public relations, but it is also a crucial part in risk management and avoiding lawsuits. businesses should develop a code of conduct for their directors and executives that promotes ethical and responsible decision making. It is important to understand, though, that reliance by a company on the integrity and ethics of individuals is bound to eventual failure. Because of this, many organizations establish Compliance and Ethics Programs to minimize the risk that the firm steps outside of ethical and legal boundaries. Disclosure and transparency: Organizations should simplify and make publicly known the roles and responsibilities of board and management to provide shareholders with a level of accountability. They should also implement measures to independently validate and safeguard the integrity of the companys financial reporting. Disclosure of material matters concerning the organization should be timely and balanced to ensure that all investors have access to clear, factual information. Nevertheless corporate governance, despite some weak attempts from various quarters, remains a vague and often misunderstood expression. For quite some time it was confined only to corporate management. It is something much broader, for it must include a fair, efficient and transparent administration and strive to meet certain well defined, written objectives. Corporate governance must go well beyond law. The quantity, quality and frequency of financial and managerial disclosure, the degree and extent to which the board of Director (BOD) exercise their trustee responsibilities (largely an ethical commitment), and the commitment to run a transparent organization- these should be constantly evolving due to interplay of many factors and the roles played by the more progressive/responsible elements within the corporate sector. CG and CSR Disclosure Following recent accounting and ethical scandals in firms such as Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat, corporate governance is being regarded as an important issue in the business world due to the fact that rules and regulations have become stricter with regard to societal expectations. In this respect the concept of corporate governance has start to cover some part of CSR. Previous researches has tended to study CG and CSR issues separately and not as combined manifestation in the fast developing business world where CG issues may also have impact on CSR disclosure and firms performance. Examples of studies that have directly or indirectly link CSR and CG are those that talk about the influence of CG reforms on business ethics most often in a particular region( mainly Rossouw 2005; Kimber and Lipton,2005; Ryan 2005); the role of socially responsible investors and shareholder activism (Aguilera et al., 2006; McLaren, 2004; Monks et al., 2004; Guay et al., 2004; Sjà ¶strà ¶m, 2008) and of employee relations (Deakin and Whittaker, 2007; Jones et al., 2007); and, perhaps most remotely, those that critically examine the stakeholder approach, frequently referring to an agency perspective (Hill and Jones, 1992; Jensen, 2001; Sternberg, 1997; cf. Kolk and Pinkse, 2006). There is several corporate governance practice which helps to find out whether corporate social responsibility should be disclosed or not, for example the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) comes across several indicators such as independence and expertise of directors which help to identify economic, environmental and social risks and opportunities and find out whether the financial and non financial goal have been achieved and hence based on this firms will decide whether CSR should be disclosed or not. Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility is therefore expected to be more integrated in the field of business disclosure practices. Nowadays companies are required to disclose other types of information, like what the business has done for the welfare of the society, and not only financial information. For this reason the number of firms which publish voluntary reports has increased. According to the triple bottom line, a business reports strategy and operational performance within three primary dimensions and these are financial, stakeholder and environmental performance. Thus these reports shows that there is proper planning in the business as the latter selects the most important issues to be included in the triple bottom line plan and report. This report is usually included in the annual report which shows that the corporate governance structure does indeed have an impact on CSR disclosure. According to Tricker (1984), CSR disclosure can be viewed as a strategy which leads to towards closing a perceived legitimacy gap between management and shareholders, especially foreign shareholders. Non executive directors are seem as a mechanism which not only acts in the best interest of the owner but also in the interest of other stakeholders and they advise about the presentation of the the companies activities. Zahra and Stanton(1988) said that members in the corporate governance team are more likely to concers about honour and obligations and they would make disclosures which would improve their social prestige and honour. Board Size and CSR Disclosure One important element of corporate governance mechanism is the board of directors as they see whether the business is properly managed by their agents. Previous studies have proposed that bigger board size can increase communication and coordination problem and decrease the ability of the board to control management and on the other hand small board can decrease agency conflicts between managers and shareholders (Lipton and Lorsh, 1992; Eisenberg et al., 1998; Raheja, 2003). Jensen (1993) found that large board size result in less effective coordination, communication and decision making is more likely to be controlled by the CEO. Thus it can be forecasted that ineffective coordination in communication and decision making will result in low quality financial disclosure due to the fact that managers have not been able to perform their roles efficiently. Independent Non Executive Directors and CSR disclosure Previous empirical governance literature that board independence will foster board effectiveness. The difference between socially responsible firms and non socially responsible firms board structures was studied by Webb (2004) and she found that socially responsible firms had more independent directors than non socially responsible firms. Independent directors has the objective to safeguard shareholders interest and they also play an important role in enhancing the corporate image. They are seen as an important tool to keep an eye on management behavior (Rosenstein and Wyatt, 1990) and hence this results in more voluntary disclosure. Forker (1992) found out that the higher number of independent directors supervise the quality of financial disclosure. CEO Duality and CSR disclosure When a person hold the position of CEO and boar chairman, CEO duality occurs (Rechner and Dalton, 1989). This combination reflects leadership and corporate governance issues. However vesting these two powers in only one person gives that latter a strong base which can erode the boards ability to exercise effective control (Tsui and Gul, 2000). Therefore, companies with the CEO duality offer greater power to a person, which enable him to make decisions that do not maximize the shareholders wealth and will help improved monitoring quality and reduce benefits from withholding information that may consequently result in enhancing quality of reporting. Audit Committee and CSR disclosure Prior researches have proven that audit committee plays an effective role in enhancing the corporate governance standards. Wright (1996) found that audit committee composition is strongly related to financial reporting. McMullen and Raghunandan (1996) provide support for the association between the presence of an audit and more reliable financial reporting. The existence of an audit committee was significantly and positively related to the extent of voluntary disclosure (Ho and Wong, 2001; Bliss and Balachandran, 2003). Audit committee roles is providing a mean for review of the companys processes for producing financial data and its internal control, thus its existence is in producing high quality financial reporting. According to Mauritian Code of Corporate Governance (First Edition,Revise April 2004), the board should establish an audit committee with majority of independent directors. The existence of audit committee with a higher proportion of independent directors should reduce the agency cost and improve the internal control that will lead to greater quality of disclosures (Forker, 1992). Managerial ownership The agency theory predicts that the principal-agent problem between managers and shareholders arises when managers hold little equity in the corporation. This will lead to managers to engage in an opportunistic behavior (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Past studies had showed that an increase in management ownership will reduce the agency problems and improved managers incentive to provide more disclosure. Mohd Nasir and Abdullah (2004) investigated the influence of ownership structure in explaining the level of voluntary disclosures among the financially distressed firms and found that management shareholding levels have a significant and positive association with the level of voluntary disclosures. Coffey and Wang (1998) found that managerial control (percentage of stock owned by insiders) is positively related to charitable giving. The above findings were in contrast to Guan Yeik (2006) and Eng and Mak (2003). In his study, he examined the relationship between managerial ownership and corporate social responsibility and he found that managerial ownership was significantly negatively related to corporate social disclosure. In his study, he found that managerial ownership level of 45 percent above will influence the corporate to have lower social disclosure. Eng and Mak (2003) found that lower managerial ownership is associated with increased voluntary disclosures. Foreign ownership Ramasamy and Ting (2004) examined a comparative analysis of corporate social responsibility awareness by using levels of corporate social disclosure as a measurement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness. In their study, they used employee perception towards CSR awareness. The respondents were questioned on their management of CSR within the company, such as awareness of corporate social responsibility, attitudes to CSR in the company, the types of CSR activity and the respondent involvement in CSR. The results show a low level of awareness in both countries, although companies tend to exhibit a relatively higher level of awareness. Chambers et al. (2003) investigated CSR reporting in seven countries through analysis of websites of the top 50 companies in Asia. This study investigated the penetration of CSR reporting within countries; the extent of CSR reporting within companies and the waves of CSR engaged in. The findings in Chambers et al. (2003) showed that, there are fewer CSR companies in the seven selected Asian countries compared with UK and Japan companies. The mean for the seven countries studied, show a score of 41 percent which is under half the score for the UK (98 percent) and Japan companies (96 percent). Thus by involvement of foreign shareholders in Mauritian Listed companies will enhance the extent of corporate social disclosure in Mauritius. Haniffa and Cooke (2005) found a significant relationship between corporate social disclosure and foreign shareholders indicated that companies use corporate social disclosure as a proactive legitimating strategy to obtain continued inflows of capital and to please ethical investors. Foreign shareholdings in Mauritian listed companies have considerably increased.

Creon and Antigone as Tragic Heroes in Sophocles Antigone :: Antigone essays

Creon and Antigone as Tragic Heroes Creon and Antigone, main characters in the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles share some of the same characteristics that make up a tragic hero, but to varying degrees. Antigone, daughter of her mother/grandmother, Jocasta, and father, Oedipus is head strong, proud, and stubborn. She had three siblings, Ismene her sister, and two brothers Eteocles and Polyneices who found there deaths at the end of each others sword in battle over which would become king of Thebes. Antigone's pride fullness and loyalty is revealed when Polyneices is denied proper burial by her uncle and king Creon. The two buttheads in the political for Creon and personal for Antigone situation and bring about the downfall of the royal family. Aristotle's view on a tragic hero is someone that would have to be held in high standards (royalty) in order to evoke compassion and anxiety in the audience. Creon and Antigone are royalty and share the most important aspect of a tragic hero, each have a tragic flaw. Both of the two characters have an inability to compromise or even reason with. Antigone's tragic flaw was amplified by her loyalty for her brother; she acted irrational, in not taking preparation or thoroughness into consideration when burying her brother. Further more when confronted by Creon, himself she disrespected and basically told him to silence himself because his words were "distasteful" to her. So then sealing her death by becoming an immediate martyr for the wrong cause... anything against Creon's will. Creon, in his paranoia was plagued with the feeling of incompetence and need to establish dominance. His decree that no one would bury Polyneices only provoked the people of Thebes into thinking of him as insensitive to their culture. When his ruling was disobeyed, only led him to him to believe that conspiracy was about and that no matter, family or not, he would punish Antigone, causing a chain reaction of events causing the loss of his entire family, except Ismene. Leaving the audience experiencing pity and fear for both characters. Neither Creon nor Antigone, were either all bad or all good. Creon while tyrant like only wanted Thebes to flourish, Antigone while showing honor to her brother never stopped to really consider the effect that her actions would have on others.

pride and prejudice :: essays research papers

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Jane Austen presents many themes in her novel Pride and Prejudice. Some of these themes are relevant to today's society but none so much as the main themes pride and prejudice. There are two main themes because one usually leads to another. Coincidentally these two themes make up the title of the novel. Pride is something everybody should have. But not everybody should have too much. The amount of pride that one has in himself/herself is one of the first things one is characterized by. When Elizabeth first met Mr. Darcy and for some time after, she perceived him to be conceited, as did everyone else of her family. Mr. Darcy was not well liked too well by the Bennets for this reason. Too much pride in one's self is; too, present at the in today's society. This is usually linked to the wealth of a person. People who are wealthy tend to have an over abundant amount pride. They like to brag about their riches and show off what they have. Why do they do this? They do this to rub it in to the faces of lower class society. Overwhelming pride is just not seen in Hollywood or big cities; it is everywhere. Most commonly it is in schools. Some students tend to think it is fun to gloat about what they have, but this may lead to them being disliked by others. Nobody wants to listen to a spoiled kid! Pride can be a good thing and it should be but it may lead to some cases of the second theme of the novel, prejudice. Prejudice is viewed in all places and in all forms. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy's pride leads to the Bennet's, especially Elizabeth's, prejudice toward him. This is because Mr. Darcy is so much wealthier than the Bennets and he lets them know. He shows much prejudice against people of lower societies. Elizabeth thinks of him as a handsome, but a too good, conceited, "I'm too good for anybody," male. Even though she is attracted to him, she refuses his proposal due to her prejudice toward him. He does not help in her saying "yes" when he tells her how he sees her and her family; poor and unworthy. He even states that this proposal should probably not even be taking place due to these feelings.

Tribalism :: Personal Narrative Papers

Tribalism I. My sister recently put a map of the world in her bedroom, where she dreams always of being chased. Warfare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the Tao of survival and extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed. If you want to succeed in battle, act as if deranged. 1 I overheard two women arguing. One of them was me, in a later life. The other was God. My sister pushes her dream away and we'll call her a mystic; her lived reality defers to the visions, and details of where we'll live, how we'll earn a living, or who is at the door sink into the background. If creatures are helpless in a world of flags and fairies, we can break tyrants with our fists. Why wake up from that vision? If I could remember, I would never return to sunburn, rental cars, boy scout leaders, garbage, greasy hair, no water in the desert, cold nights of sweat and gleaning. Trust me. Spring the trap - a package with an umbilical cord, ties straining. Mourning doves and the sound of birds and rapids. The wind pushes the river backwards, completing the cycle. Before night fell into your lap you stared blankly at the traffic light on the corner wondering, why consult the Book of Changes? Every sign you need is right here: fire trucks a staple on brook street, power lines buzzing overhead like soldiers of fortune. The planets align in your seventh house, poking feebly at an electromagnetic field. So if I ever say anything I'm lying to you. Feel better or worse, see if I care. March toward madness, in the evening we swore up and down to stay alive. Foundry the boundary down to the last gravedigger. Morning or evening times are unimportant; don't live to compete, but fight when you must for a better world. We are all singers and mad and we make less and less money every year. Perhaps you care about all this loss, heaped onto your plate like steaming eggs on an English. Further along and we come to a crossing, where I found you waiting for me and left. Pretend you have come to a crossing. Not a fork in the yellow wood but a good city intersection, with traffic and manholes and strangers not particularly watching.

Iago – character study

Iago is the villainous character of ‘Othello' and it is his behaviour that ultimately leads to the downfall of Othello himself, the tragic hero. Iago is duplicitous; to all the characters he is a source of friendship, honesty and knowledge, but in soliloquis he reveals his real self to the audience. It becomes apparent that his machinations are fuelled by anger and a desire for revenge, and he carries them out with an aura of self-belief and resoluteness. What makes Iago so different from the others is that he is calculating; while Othello operates and hindsight and naivety, Iago is much more perceptive and uses foresight. Although on the exterior Iago projects an image of practicality, rationality and self-confidence, it emerges that his behaviour stems from distraught emotions and feelings of inferiority. Iago's thoughts and attitudes are clear from the beginning of the play, and they are what drive him on into bringing down Othello. He calls virtue ‘a fig' and tries to persuade Roderigo that there is little point in being moral. His first word of the play, in Act I Scene I, of ‘SBlood' is an indication of the kind of man Iago is. This violent swear is fitting for the rough soldier, however it veils the cunning and cleverness which he possesses. Further proof of his cruel nature is exposed when he is in dialogue with Roderigo, saying â€Å"Drown cats and blind puppies†¦ † It is also during this scene that Iago reveals the dominant reason behind his loathing of the Moor, which is that Cassio, who Iago describes as a ‘bookish theoric' has been chosen over him as the new lieutenant. He is angered at the fact that Cassio's many paper qualifications diminish his extensive field experience, and so divulges to Roderigo that he in fact does not serve Othello, but instead serves himself. This is summed up with his line ‘I am not what I am. ‘ While it seems to the other characters, and indeed to Othello himself, that Iago is devoted to The Moor, really he is engineering Othello's demise. Also, in this and other scenes of the play, a racist element to Iago, and another reason of his hatred of Othello, is evident. This is illustrated by his crude line to Brabantio (Desdemona's Father) of ‘An old black ram is tupping your white ewe. ‘ The ‘black ram' meaning Othello, and the ‘white ewe' referring to Desdemona. Iago's view that he is inferior seems to have been established due to the fact that Othello, who is black, holds a higher ranked position than himself. Another of Iago's thoughts is visible by his constant use of the words ‘Fill thy purse' and ‘put money in thy purse' during his speech to Roderigo in Act I Scene 3. This suggests that Iago believes a life full of money and material possessions is that path to happiness. He reinforces this when speaking with Othello, stressing the importance of name and reputation by stating, â€Å"Good name in man and women, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls. ‘ He seems to have no desire for love, and treats women with disrespect, calling his own wife, albeit jokingly, a common prostitute. However, women, the audience is lead to believe, are the basis of further motivation for Iago to destroy Othello, as during one of his soliloquis he says he will not be satisfied, â€Å"Till I am evened with him [Othello] wife for wife† There are two distinct sides to Iago's behaviour throughout the first three acts of the play. Publicly, Iago is a friend to all. To Othello he is the trusted ‘ancient' and to Roderigo a counsellor and friend. Many of the characters refer to him as ‘Honest Iago' and when Othello arrives at the scene after Cassio's drunken episode, it is Iago he trusts to tell him the truth about what happened. All this however, is merely a faiade to the real Iago. Only alone, and partially when Roderigo is present, does he begin to act as his real self. During these times he openly mocks the Moor and Cassio, and make slanderous comments about women. It is during these rare moments of privacy that he reveals his plans for Othello, and the motives behind them. Firstly, A classic example of a trademark Iago scheme takes place in the first scene. Acting upon emotion and anger, Iago devises a well thought out plan, and with trusty sidekick Roderigo, proceeds to Brabantio's home. There, he drops his defences and to a degree, the real Iago comes alive. They break to Brabantio the news of his daughter's secret marriage to Othello, and he is enraged, as Iago knew he would be. However, using forethought and perception that Iago seems to be the only character in the play to be blessed with he departs conspicuously early in order to go to Othello and warn him that Brabantio is after him, and so keep intact the alternate part of his character, the ‘Honest Iago. ‘ In this, like so many of Iago's other ploys he has initiated the action because of his twisted deep hatred of the Moor and own self-serving nature, but it is Roderigo, who Iago has exploited, who delivers. In addition to Iago's exploits in Venice, he too drives the action once everyone arrives in Cyprus. Not surprisingly, the success of his plan hinges upon the ability of Roderigo, whom Iago has convinced that if the Moor is eliminated, he will have another chance with Desdemona, who Roderigo is totally in love with. Roderigo however is not the only one who has allowed themselves to be manipulated by Iago's eloquence. Cassio too, falls under his spell when he is convinced to have just one more drink. Iago's ability to persuade and cajole in his subtle, general, almost casual way is one of his most important traits, which he uses to devastating effect on Othello, and leads him in to believing Desdemona is having an affair. A crucial part in every one of his plans is his own confidence. He carries out his actions with aplomb and when present he is a commanding figure, dominating the stage and speaking with powerful assurance, much like Othello in the first act, when Brabantio insults him and accuses him of witchcraft. To the audience, Iago's behaviour qualifies him as the villainous character of the play, and his immoral nature is plain to see. He takes advantage of Othello's trust, and preys on each of the main character's weaknesses in turn, out of spite and self-interest. He claims, however he doing this for valid reasons, and through soliloquies begins to break down the barrier between himself and the audience by exposing his inner thoughts, in an attempt to provoke pathos and justify his actions. In addition, Iago's style of language plays an important role in establishing his character. He has a unique way of speaking, and when he does, it seems he holds the attention of everyone on stage. His speech is so important to the development of the plot in fact, that large parts of scenes are devoted entirely to him in soliloquis. Throughout the first three acts of the play he speaks with the utmost confidence in himself, and he has the ability to inspire similar confidence in others, or he can use his eloquence to push others, albeit gently, into a state of angst and worry. Firstly, one of the dominant features of Iago's speech is his constant use of hypocrisy. For example, at the opening of Act I Scene 2 Iago tells Othello how Roderigo †¦ â€Å"spoke such scurvy and provoking terms against your honour†¦ † when really, as the audience knows, it is Iago himself who so often insults the Moor behind his back. Irony, on the other hand, is not used by Iago himself, but it is present when the others characters of the play refer to him as ‘Honest Iago,' when really, this could not be further from the truth, as Iago's whole surface demeanour of respectability and friendship is a lie. A number of Iago's speech techniques become evident in Act 1 Scene 3, as he counsels the downcast Roderigo, who has been rejected by Desdemona. Throughout his speech, Iago uses a series of imperatives, preying on Roderigo's weakness of needing to be led. He orders Roderigo, ‘Come, be a man' and ‘Put money in thy purse. The latter of these two phrases is repeated several times by Iago, as he attempts to instil in Roderigo his own idea that happiness stems from material wealth. Not only is Iago able to speak intelligently and with style, he occasionally lapses into the speech of a hard soldier, being sexist and racist, and playing on Roderigo's pride and virility. Unlike other characters in the pla y, Iago is an orator, and is able to use a delicate balance of emotion and reason in his words and, which he pulls of with absolute self-confidence, often with his style driving the argument over substance. His ability to persuade lies also in the fact that he is never absolutely specific, often speaking in a speculative, indirect style, or using ambiguous metaphors or rhetorical questions. He demonstrates his ability to manipulate and toy with people on two important occasions; the first is when he convinces Roderigo to aid him to bring about the downfall of Othello, and the second is later in the play, at Act 3 Scene 3, when he insinuates to Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. It is Iago's language that shapes the play and drives the plot of the novel, as he is involved with every strand of it. He has a dominating presence and uses his eloquence to possess influence over every character, from the lowest citizen, to the highest-ranking official. In conclusion, over the first three acts of the play Iago's character is firmly established and his purpose and motives exposed to the audience. Whilst he keeps up a faiade of honesty and trustworthiness in public, in private he confesses to being immoral and self-serving. He is unique in that he is able to befriend all, and use a blend of emotion and rational calculation to achieve his goals, and simultaneously ruin others lives and careers. He does this without remorse and is propelled seemingly by his own unwavering self-belief, however if also becomes apparent that he is constantly at battle with his own feelings of inferiority, which he smothers by bringing down the lives of others and making them suffer, in the same way that he feels he has had to.

What the Tapster Saw and the Yellow Wallpaper

Ryan Bristle English 101-20 Ms. Harris 9 November 2012 Throughout â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and â€Å"What the Tapster Saw† there were many similarities. Some of the main ideas were setting, insanity, doctors, and the sudden and gradual changes. The ideas of the stories have many similarities, even though they in very different times and places. The ideas of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† are composed of inner thoughts of self- imposed insanity. What the Tapster Saw† was an inner evaluation of the surrounding world situations about country invasion and how humans can only function under certain circumstances due to our nature of modern civilization. The differences that stuck out the most were the setting and the conflict. The two settings were the two largest components of the stories. The author describes the house in which she is staying as an â€Å"English place† with â€Å"hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate smaller houses for the gardeners and others† (Gilman 1). Even though the house seems pleasant in description, it had been around since the civil war or reconstruction. This old house set the possible mood of the house to where there is a lingering spirit from the original owners of the house which cause, the room with the yellow wall paper to cause the wife to act so irrationally or appear to go crazy. With the isolated setting of the house and the room with the yellow wall paper, I believe that it caused Jane’s mental state to slowly decline. Her mental state was in a slow decline because of the isolation of herself constantly being in the yellow room. The setting for â€Å"What the Tapster Saw† is in a palm forest in Nigeria. In which the forest is full of trees, animals and a river â€Å"whose water was viscous and didn’t seem to move† (Okri 185). Nigeria sets itself apart from America because of the lack of modern knowledge or technology. The fact that there is an herbalist that is having the wine Tapster bring him items to talk about his dream of him dying shows the differences from America to life in Nigeria. The Tapster being alone in the forest all the time he is away from villages, people and the â€Å"modern world. The separation between the Tapster and everything else, the writer gave the tapster time to make inner evaluations of himself and watching foreign companies coming into his home, therefore rendering himself into looking at the world surrounding him and how it is changing. Although there are differences to the setting of the two stories there are also a few similarities about the setting. Th e psychological effects on the characters in both of the short stories, which lead to self-imposed insanity and inner evaluations of surrounding situations, have an effect on Jane and the tapster. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† the wife spends the entire day inside, which leaves her to be drawn to the almost toxic room. At one point she took the keys to the room and locked the door so she can take the wallpaper down and free the woman she believes she can see. In this situation the husband gets the keys to the room and saw what his wife had done and fainted in astonishment. With Jane’s growing self-imposed insanity she becomes restless, and with this she believes she can see the old woman, and she needs to be freed causing her say â€Å"I am getting angry enough to do something desperate. To jump out of the window would be admirable exercise, but the bars are too strong even to try† (Gilman 9). In â€Å"What the Tapster Saw† he is going insane because of his dream of dying while climbing, which he believes will happen. The tapster believes this may happen which leads him to going to an herbalist in seeking knowledge on what to do. While with the herbalist he receives no help due to the herbalist’s wives distracting him from helping the tapster. When the tapster left the herbalist with no advice or help, he falls deeper to pondering inner evaluation of the surrounding world. With the tapster’s growing insanity he evaluates the surrounding situations, and country invasion. With his newfound evaluations the story introduced new characters. These new characters were a multicolored snake, and two turtles and one of the turtles had Tobasco’s (the herbalist) face. These new characters help the tapster realize that country invasion for natural resources is happening, and that modern civilization is upon them whether they can comprehend what is happening or not. The needs for natural resources are desired throughout the world, and societal compliances of need and demand require humans to function under the pressure of needs and wants. With both of these main characters are having issues with their insanity they have doctors near them to help them. John from â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a physician, so he could help his wife with her problem of insanity. Jane confronts him with her problem and asks for him to help her, by telling him what is happening. He does not believe her about her problems and this drives Jane to spend more time in the room with the yellow wallpaper. Jane has been spending more time in this room and she notices more and more sinister objects such as rings and things in the wall, the bed nailed down, and gouges in the wall around the bed. She eventually goes completely insane believing she had freed the woman in the wallpaper, because she had mentioned seeing this woman walking along the edge of the woods. In the similarity to â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† the herbalist in â€Å"What the Tapster Saw† had the tapster at his home or where his place of work is. The tapster came with a problem believing that he was going to die while climbing palm trees due to a dream he had. The herbalist was distracted by his many wives and told the tapster to return the following day with turtles and kola nut and the herbalist would help him. The herbalist did not initially help the tapster due to distractions. Like modern society today there are many distractions that can prevent even a professional from completing their job. Even though there are many similarities between these two stories, there is a large difference. This difference is that in â€Å"What the Tapster Saw† there was a very sudden change in the story. While in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† there is a very gradual change in the story where Jane goes slowly insane. The very sudden change with the tapster is that in roughly a two day span, he had the dream he would die then saw the herbalist, and the next day while out he died. With that being a very sudden change, Jane had a very gradual change where the effects of the room with yellow wallpaper had psychologically impaired her from functioning the way she should be. The two completely different stories have many interpretations, and connections can be made from either. The effects of self-imposed insanity and the inner evaluation of the surrounding world situations about country invasion and how humans can only function under certain circumstances due to our nature of modern civilization, show that the world is changing. The old and new merging together quickly, problems will be found and exploited. Works Cited Okri, Ben. â€Å"What the Tapster Saw† Stars of the New Curfew. NY: Viking P, 1989. 183-194. Print Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Suny. edu State Univ. of NY. nd. Web. 29 Oct. 2012

Technology: Higher Education

Technology Taking Over The person of the 21st century has the luxury of being dependent on technology, allowing for certain weaknesses to sprout out of individuals due to their lack of natural abilities. Technology is the making, modification, use, and knowledge of tools, machines, or techniques, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, or perform a specific function. It’s true; technology has made life more efficient and reliable. Many great inventions have been possible through technology.Technology is also one of the causes of people becoming lazier, uninspired, and less creative. Technology is not bad in and of itself, but people are misusing it. Planes, trains, and automobiles carry people from place to place at high speeds. Telephones, television and computer networks help people communicate with others across the world. Medical technologies from vaccines to Stem Cell therapy, allow people to live longer, healthier lives. Although most people think technology made life easier, it’s actually making them overly dependent on those technologies.Today’s generation is becoming much lazier because they are too dependent on the latest gadgets. Some of them are unable to do things on their own. Nowadays, people use computers in business, public services, education, and most of all, in entertainment. There are many advantages to this situation. Firstly, computer controlled cars, planes or ships all people to travel safely and reduce travel time. However, a disadvantage to this is that all of these affect our environment in some way or another which eventually ends up harming ourselves.Faster travel times have led to easier dispersal of airborne viruses and diseases between locales, as well as increases in jet lag. Jumping from time zone to time zone can have a detrimental effect on the body. Most powerful countries depend on their industrial power to stabilize their status. Technology made indust rial development increase rapidly. Industries depend more on machines than human power. This newly discovered robotic technology makes human workers obsolete in some factories. Robots have been built to do tasks equally the same or better as humans, leaving them jobless.Robotics are a blessing and a curse to a company. While it’s nice to have a machine do everything, it can lead to issues down the road as customers notice the quality may not be the same as the quality they experienced from human hands. Another major con to robotics is that companies still need employees to manage the machines. When a problem happens, the machine will continue to run instead of stopping and â€Å"thinking† of what needs to be done in order to fix the problem. This is why companies still need to have skilled and qualified employees to run the machines before they cause them to lose millions of dollars.Also, today’s society is based upon quick sound bites and short attention spans. The world is at our fingertips, yet paradoxically, the more we connect, the more we actually disconnect. The internet has taken over, dominating our lives. The internet is an easy access for information from around the world that can be attained within seconds. There are many interactive applications on the internet that can bring distant people closer together without having to commute. Also, shopping has become more convenient. The disadvantage of the internet is that it has become too reliable for most people.People can get â€Å"hooked† on the internet. Some people may take advantage of all these things and scam others for their money, as it is that simple to create a legit seeming website. Despite it’s ease, technology has caused people to become so reliant that, in a poll by CNET, 28 percent of people said they wouldn’t be able to live without high-speed internet. Many people don’t know how to look up information in libraries or encyclopedias. Thou gh technology has allowed us to improve and modify traditional tasks, it has also clouded our realization of the dependency we have on it.America’s education level has become an average ranking. Education has developed into a network of many avenues that now allows the average American to obtain education easier. Higher education has branched out from the traditional university into online degrees, trade schools, and junior colleges. Obtaining a high school education has also advanced : high school students can take AP courses and high school dropouts can get a GED. With all these opportunities, why is it that America ranked as average in the international education ratings?The number of options available has caused our country to have no ambition to excel. Other countries have less options and freedoms which may be the motivation that allows them to achieve higher education rankings than the U. S. Many people are pointing to technology as a cause of childhood obesity. The yo unger generation has lost it’s curious nature to explore the world. Instead, children are hiding behind a TV screen or video game. For adults, the accused culprits are different yet the same, for example people spending more time driving and less time walking or biking to reach their destinations.Technology doesn’t just keep people in their chairs, it changes the way people eat. Obesity in children has increased by thirty percent in the past thirty years in America according to the Center for Disease Control and prevention. Obesity leads to many health problems including, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, respiratory problem, and cardio-vascular disease. The public is carried in street cars; elevators take the place of stairs in our larger buildings, and the necessary activity of the energetic is not directed in the use of muscles needed in running and walking.It is becoming noticeable that people are slowly losing those abilities and letting machines or computers do the wo rk for them. People are no longer required to think. If posed with a difficult or even simple problem people will simply â€Å"Google† it on an iPhone and the answer is found within seconds. Students are also becoming too dependent on calculators. Instead of using a graphing calculator to solve complex mathematical formulas, students turn to calculators for even simple calculations.Though calculators are important in an evolving world, it is still important for teachers to teach students how to do mental math and reasoning (Metz). Scholars, particularly teen scholars, are no longer required to spell correctly. Words like tomorrow, tonight, and before, become 2morrow, 2night and b4 in playful texting conversation. Spell check is also contributing to the downfall of spelling. Too often, people type a word sloppily into a web document and let spell check do the work without even noticing the word was misspelled.We are living in a society which is called â€Å"technologically ci vilized†. Every small work we do is technology dependent. Today every other person is recognized with the device or gadget, he or she carries. Ultimately we can say that, â€Å"living without technology is like living without air†, in this technical world of today. In conclusion, we can use technology but with moderation. If we use it, firstly we should have to check if we can do that action without it. If we are ever in a situation where technology is not present, we will find it difficult to resolve the situation.