Frankenstein, the Novel :: essays research papers fc

How does information about early cognitive development relate to violence the creatures commits?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human cognition is the study of how people think and understand. As part of growing up, there are four stages called the cognitive developmental stages that an individual goes through. From the sensory motor stage to the formal operational stage, human beings learn to interpret their surroundings of everyday life experiences. However, in the case of the Creature in the novel, Frankenstein, he was never developed in a cognitive way, and therefore, the creature was passively torn by opposing forces of human beings in his surrounding environments. Overall, cognitive development and the relation between the Creature’s turn towards violence is a result of neglect, psychological indifferences, and lack of socialization skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are a variety of perspectives and emphases within cognitive psychology of human beings. Psychological indifferences of the Creature creates conflicts within himself and his surroundings. If an individual has a different view of life, the resulting factor may be psychologically challenging. This Creature was brought to life with grotesque looks and an abnormal brain. He did not know any concepts to the environment surrounding him, and therefore, was a child in an adult’s body. According to Jean Piaget, when the Creature was first brought to life, he is in the ‘sensory motor stage’ of human development. This is the level at which â€Å"individuals experience the world only through their senses† (Macionis 65). Since the Creature was never taught right from wrong, he thought that whatever he was doing was the right concept. It is obvious that we do not commit acts of murder; however, in the Creature’s world of his own, he though t an act of murder was entertainment and dramatizing when he first comes into contact with a little girl. For example, when the little girl comes and asks the Creature to play with her, he ends up throwing her into the lake, drowning her because she can not swim (Frankenstein). If this Creature was psychologically taught that he is larger than other humans and needs to be cautious with how he handles situations, such circumstances might be prevented. In a movie version titled, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature and his creator, Victor Frankenstein are in a cave and they are both arguing with each other about the events that has happened with the murdering of Victor’s relatives. The Creature responds to Victor’s statements with, â€Å"You gave me these emotions, but you did not tell me how to use them† (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein).

Discussion As A Learning Strategy Education Essay

Askell-Willams and Lawson ( 2005 ) has carried out a sophisticated survey in teaching-learning treatment, they investigated the subject in different facet, and the overview below are concluded by positions of expertness in positions of psychological, sociological-constructivism and socio-linguists. There is a convincing ground that why treatment can function as instruction and larning intent. Dillon ( 1994 ) stated that treatment can profit in â€Å" apprehension of capable affair and declaration of issues related to the capable affair and its educational map ; personal growing ; and apprehension of the value of group contemplation and deliberation † . Discussion is besides a primary mechanism in pupils ‘ societal minutess. The treatment itself served as a cognition building procedure. Social minutess in schoolroom can promote pupil to set the cognition into â€Å" public sphere † , their logical thinking and understands can so be the augmented, examined, elaborated, critiqued and related to the apprehensions of other people. Tobin, Tippins, and Gallard ( 1994 ) besides stated that the function of treatment provided a perfect platform for pupils to interact. Group interaction can supply a background in which pupil can be negotiate differences of sentiment and seek understanding. It is more of import that pupil can bring forth inquiry and clear up apprehension of specific content. Peers interaction can develop their ability to talk out, fearless in order to take a proper base. Based on the societal cognitive position, discourse is besides a primary deliberation tool for cognitive development. Nuthall ( 1997 ) proposed that the possible benefit of discourse is â€Å" transactional relationship between socio-cultural experience and self-organizational activities of the head † . Such activities of the head are facilitated through treatment, Askell-Willams and Lawson showed us an illustration. If a pupil merely acquires cognition from a instructor, the pupil will merely integrate the â€Å" individual dependent position of the student-teacher relationship † . If, on the other manus, the pupil acquires the cognition in treatment in which different positions are described, explained and debated, the pupil ‘s representation of the scheme will integrate a â€Å" larger web of intertwined societal and logical relationships † . Such a web defines the dimensions of a mental infinite within which the pupil can research, interact with, and se ek out alternate beliefs, statements, and decisions. ( Nuthall, 1997, p. 743 )Problem rose from treatmentOf class utilizing treatment as a acquisition scheme is non suited in every state of affairs. Baxter, Woodward and Olson ( 2001 ) showed that larning through category treatment might non effectual for those â€Å" low-achieving † pupils, it is excessively hard for them to involved in the treatment often and they may non hold opportunity to talk out harmonizing to their shyness. Hollander ( 2002 ) besides noted that the organisation of effectual treatment at the single degree is non straightforward. Some pupil talk much while other negotiations small, the content of treatments can be awkward, there is no warrant that the treatment content will be â€Å" threaded in a coherent mode † and non all pupils might hold developed effectual accomplishment for part. It should besides be noted that, go forthing pupil discuss by their ain will non prosecuting an effectual treatment. Many pupils need specific direction in order to cognize how to inquire proper inquiries and give proper respond. Although the expertness may hold that treatment is a possible acquisition scheme for instruction, the cardinal shareholder is the scholar. If pupils ‘ cognition is non plenty to let them to do effectual usage of a treatment, merely like â€Å" how to move efficaciously † , â€Å" how to inquire proper inquiries â€Å" and â€Å" how to give proper respond † , in this state of affairs, the benefit of treatment as a acquisition attack are improbable to be survey.The value of coaction and treatment in larning scheme for Online acquisition EnvironmentJ. Clark / Stimulating coaction and treatment in online larning environments Internet and Higher Education 4 ( 2001 ) 119-124 From the above, we can see that how discussion benefit in pupils ‘ acquisition, here we will discourse the value of coaction and treatment in larning scheme for Online Learning Environments ( OLEs ) . Clark ( 2001 ) stated that although it is accomplishable that larning with pupil interaction ( inactive acquisition ) , active acquisition through interaction including â€Å" module playing as equals, ushers, and moderators † is by and large see more effectual and good suited to OLEs. Discussion is non like the traditional teacher talk method of instruction. Discussion and coaction increased pupils ‘ engagement in which engages pupils actively participated in the acquisition procedure comparison with the traditional teacher talk learning method, treatment are able promote the belonging of â€Å" pupils ‘ accomplishment and satisfaction † . ( Hiltz, 1998 ; Johnson, 1981 ) . † Clark stated that, although the pupil and teacher remained as a cardinal participant in the treatment as larning scheme, there are still some different between the traditional schoolroom and OLEs. The diagram stated below illustrated their different.Tradition ClassroomLecture TimeLecture clip is limited Online categories run 24 hr a twenty-four hours from the beginning to the terminal of the classClass BreakCasual conversations in the schoolroom will interrupt the order of the category Discussion forums have replaced the insouciant conversations in the schoolroom and have a lasting written logDiscussion qualityDiscussion in category are ever rapid and experimental Discussions are no longer rapid and experimental. The treatment tool can be good defined in order to ease pupils ‘ treatmentRespond TimeDiscussion in category are ever conduct spontaneously, pupil has no adequate clip to believe about the inquiry and make a proper respond Students have adequate clip to read other pupil ‘s remarks, do research, and explicate a elaborate responseStudent Secret DialoguesSecret pupil duologues are non easy gimmick during the category For the treatment room there are no concern about secret pupil duologues, all informations will be logged and all the interactivities can be trace out from logTime and Space LimitationStudents may non take part at any clip of the twenty-four hours ; the treatment is limited by the location and infinite. Students may take part at any clip of the twenty-four hours that suits them from work, place, or while going.Students ‘ MotivationThe treatment is Instructor mediated, teacher played an of import to actuate pupil to larn. The subject imposed by traditional fixed meeting times and topographic points with reminders of due day of the months is replaced by the demand that the pupils self-motivate and keep control of their parts and deadlines. Fig1. The different between traditional schoolroom and OLEs.The Shift of Face to Face treatment to Computer Mediated DiscussionFrom the last session, we can see that there is advantage of utilizing OLEs in treatment than traditional schoolroom. How about pupil? Do they besides want to utilize the electronic resources to larn and interact with each other? An and Frick ( 2006 )[ I ]found that pupil preferred to utilize computing machine mediated communicating ( CMC ) than face to face ( F2F ) as communicating media under certain status. Here are the grounds: Flexibility The location and clip become an independent variable in CMC such that pupil can execute treatment on web anyplace. Interactivity increased The flexibleness of digital acquisition platform besides contributed to the 2nd point, it will increase the interactivity between the pupils and every bit good as the Instructor. The learning manner of the pupils is therefore transform from independent larning to equals larning by the usage of computing machine AIDSs. Sutton ( 2001 )[ two ]( in An and Frick, 2006 ) suggested that CMC has caused the displacement from â€Å" correspondence acquisition † to â€Å" societal acquisition † . Berge ( 1995 )[ three ]( in An and Frick, 2006 ) has besides suggested the interaction among teachers, pupils, contents and interface have been â€Å" maximized † in the on-line treatment and therefore ease the constructive thought. Allow pupil to larn by their ain gait When comparison to F2F, CMC provide pupil more clip to react the inquiry. It allows pupil to analysis and reflect the inquiry with adequate clip so that they can compose thoughtful responds. Student can therefore larn by their ain extremum in CMC, they can besides take control to their acquisition and interact with the equal in order to construct cognition.Overview of the Discussion Tool – Synchronized and Asynchronous Discussion toolDiscussion is decidedly a common execution for Computer Mediate Communication. Generally, on-line treatment tool can split in to two types, they are synchronized and asynchronous treatment tool. And as educational platforms, the two distinguishable format of interaction impact otherwise. In this session, we are traveling to look into the pros and cons of these treatment tools in acquisition. What is asynchronous treatment tool? Harmonizing to Johnson ( 2006 ) , asynchronous direction â€Å" occurs in delayed clip and does non necessitate the coincident engagement of pupil and instructor † . The asynchronous direction was used in distance instruction in the early twelvemonth due to postal holds. The asynchronous voice conferencing are already proven utile in some instructional contexts, text-based asynchronous direction are besides widely used in the post-secondary instruction, it can besides be considered as asynchronous on-line treatment. Johnson stated that pedagogues has been look into the efficiency of asynchronous on-line treatment, they reported that it can â€Å" encouraging in-depth, more thoughtful treatment ; pass oning with temporally diverse pupils ; keeping on-going treatments where file awaying is required ; and leting all pupils to react to a subject † ( Branon & A ; Essex, 2001, p. 36 ) . There are besides possible restrictions of the asynchronous treatment room. Student may non look into the forum often, deficiency of self-generated feedback may take pupils experience isolated, it is necessary to pass more clip in the treatment in order to do it mature ( Branon & A ; Essex, 2001, p. 36 ) . All in all, Dede and Kremer ( 1999 ) conducted a study to look into the pupils ‘ penchants of asynchronous treatment tool. They found that the asynchronous treatment provided a more comprehensive interchange for them, but it required more clip and provided less societal interaction than synchronal confabs. What is synchronal treatment tool? Harmonizing to Johnson ( 2006 ) , â€Å" Synchronous direction occurs in existent clip and requires the coincident engagement of pupils and instructor † . The synchronal direction was used in the closed circuit telecasting on university campus in the early twelvemonth. Until 1980s, video-conferencing and synergistic telecasting connected distant schoolroom, in which, the synchronal treatment let pupil to inquire inquiry and execute interaction in spontaneously, the pedagogues start behavior survey how synchronal treatment tool aid pupil in acquisition. As you can see, synchronal communicating tools allow multiple users communicate with each other at the same clip utilizing text messages, study ( Branon & A ; Essex, 2001, p. 36 ) showed that synchronal confab tools are utile for â€Å" † keeping practical office hours, squad decision-making, and brainstorming, community edifice, and covering with proficient issues † . Spontaneous feedback can do pupil feel connected ; pupil will non experience isolated in this state of affairs, meanwhile, pupil are all actively take part in the treatment tool synchronously, non like asynchronous treatment tool, required pupil to login often to look into for update. But there are still restrictions for the synchronal treatment tool. It is hard to implement synchronal treatment tool comparison with asynchronous treatment tool. It is difficult to acquire pupils online at the same clip, and it is hard in manage large-scale conversation. Lack of contemplation clip for pupil and it is demanding for the hapless typist. ( Branon & A ; Essex, 2001, p. 36 ) Synchronous Versus asynchronous online treatment Educators are normally agreed the larning result of asynchronous on-line treatment room is better the face-to-face treatment. But the restrictions stated above ( isolation and often engagement ) deter them to utilize this mechanism entirely. There lead to the tendency of implementing synchronal confabs tool, it is because synchronal confabs can overrule those restriction, as it â€Å" efforts to emulates † face-to-face treatment. Using synchronal confabs non merely enhanced societal dealing but besides better pupil larning result. Johnson ( 2001 ) suggested the best methodological analysis is uniting the synchronal and asynchronous confabs tool in Online Learning Environment in order to acquire â€Å" higher degrees of pupil satisfaction and command of class demands than execution of either manner in isolation † . Johnson stated that there is a study supported pupil who ‘s used both treatment tools are most likely to accomplish the class demand because utilizing the both tools can maximise â€Å" personal battle in larning † .Review on bing systemInstructor Controlled Chat System ( ICCS ) ICCS ( Thirunarayanan, 2000 ) was proposed to allow the teacher involve into the pupil treatment, it can repair the job with chat confusion and convergence. He proposed two package sweetenings in order to accomplish the purpose: Instructor mediated confabs Teachers will hold two Windowss on their proctor, one is the pupil treatment window and the other is the teacher control window. Each message raised from the pupil will direct to the teacher window foremost earlier published to the other pupils, the teacher will take the relevant inquiry / response to print. Students are merely type and respond to the inquiry until the teacher sends the message to the pupil window Instructor intimations before the confab subdivision The 2nd point is to salvage short remarks ; inquiries and statement in the database before the confab session Begin. Once the pupil is deficiency of thought, the teacher can do usage of the pre-saved statements to inquire inquiry and remind pupils to remain focused on relevant subject. Potential job of ICCS As the treatment flow is extremely depended to the teacher, it will impact the smoothness of the treatment and do it uneffective. As the treatment stuff is censored by the teacher, the quality of the treatment will extremely depends on the quality of the teacher The less attending paid by the scholar as they can trust on the instructor remark or direction. The work load of the teacher will be increased as at that place may hold many treatment groups in a category. Mediated confabs The mediated confab ( Hugo, Pimentel, & A ; Lucena, 2006 ) was designed to avoid â€Å" Message Overload † . Harmonizing to the writers, message overload refers to many messages from the participants are being show at one time. Mediated chat uses the computing machine mediated channel to work out the job. In mediated confab, the pupil message will first direct to the confab waiter and waiting line. The confab waiter will roll up all the messages and print them to the duologue window one by one. The pupil are able to see a queue list in the window, they are able to see their topographic point in the waiting line. If their thought are posted by the pupil in the precedence topographic point in the waiting line, the pupil are able to cancel their submit message and compose a new one to direct to the confab waiter. Potential job of Mediated Chat The system can work out the message overload job is a reasonably effectual manner, nevertheless for the job of easing the effectivity of the treatment. There are some possible jobs in it: With this method it can take down the load of the teacher but there are no AIDSs to assist pupil to believe critically since they are without the aid of the teacher. As the treatment flow is extremely dependent on the confab waiter, there are no manner the quiz or alter the topographic point of the waiting line. CSCL environment for â€Å" Six Thinking chapeaus † Discussion Tamura, & A ; Shuichi ( 2007 )[ four ]proposed a scenario-based asynchronous treatment environment by utilizing the six believing hat theoretical account. In which, the pupil are put on a specific chapeau wholly and lend thought for this coloured chapeau. After the first hat session, a facilitator will travel the whole group to the group reappraisal subdivision ( illustrated in figure5 ) and it will further travel to other hat subdivision onward. For the â€Å" Group reappraisal † , each pupil will knock other scholars ‘ statement, and there is a facilitator to command the critic. Fig5 Scenario-based Process of Discussion The ground of the precedence of the chapeau colour: Red & gt ; While & gt ; Green & gt ; Yellow & gt ; Black and Blue is because: Red Hat: Emotion chapeau, it is easy for the scholar to province his personal sentiment even they are non familiar with the six believing hat method. White Hat: The chapeau of fact, It provided the pupil cardinal information to discourse. Green hat & gt ; Yellow hat & gt ; Black chapeau: These chapeaus used to lend thoughts and standing point to the treatment, it is a good manner to set it after the emotion chapeau and the chapeau of fact. Blue chapeau: Using bluish hat as a summarized chapeau. It is the best manner to set it at last. The sum-up of the â€Å" Six Thinking chapeaus † Discussion The treatment tool utilizes the six believing chapeaus theoretical account, in which, it provided a platform for parallel thought. And therefore it fulfilled the five advantages we suggested in the last subdivision. The chapeau sequence is logical. Which make the ruddy chapeau at the first, white chapeau follows and the blue chapeau at the terminal. Tamura, & A ; Shuichi ( 2006 ) have examined their theoretical account uses questionnaire, they found this system can lend to the assorted point of view for a given subject and supply the relaxation to sum up. There are some points we can take from this system: It is a good manner to allow the pupil to lend thought wholly ( all pupil contribute to a hat one by one ) at the really get downing. It can coerce to student to believe in different way at least one time. But we believe that it is better to lodge one pupil a peculiar function after the first rhythm. It is because the group may be ignored some minor thought during the ulterior treatment ( e.g. feeling ) . If we stick a pupil to a peculiar function after the first rhythm. The job will be fixed. ( Details flow will be explained in following chapter ) The system should enable some characteristics to ease the pupil to summarized thoughts. Meanwhile, it is besides a of import point to enable characteristic to ease pupil to take up their specific function.Discussion methodStructured Academic Controversyhypertext transfer protocol: //www.lawanddemocracy.org/discussionsac.html â€Å" ControversyA exists when one individual ‘s thoughts, information, decisions, theories, and sentiments are incompatible with those of another, and the two seek to make an understanding † ( Johnson & A ; Johnson, 1995 ) SAC is a learning attack that encourages pupil to take one side at one time and dispute with the other side, pupil will foremost divided in two squads, and they are traveling to reason a subject alternately, they are traveling to reason the subject BOTH sides of a controversial issue and finally achieved the understanding on the issue. Structured Academic Controversy is a learning attack that encourages pupils to take on and argue for, alternately, BOTH sides of a controversial issue and finally come up with a balanced sentiment about that issue. Students work in braces to go familiar with one side of an issue, and so argument with another brace who has become familiar with the opposing side. Pairs so exchange â€Å" sides, † become familiar with the opposing statement, and argument once more. Finally, the two braces come together to discourse the strengths and failing of each side of the statement, come to a consensus about their corporate sentiment about the statement, and present that thought to the other quads. This learning attack encourages pupils to see all sides of an issue every bit before explicating a concluding sentiment. Philosophic Chairs Discussion Six Thinking Hats Model

Considering The Present

Getting my first apartment 3. Having my two beautiful daughters 4. Becoming the Head Cake Decorator on my Job 5. Returning to school Each of these experiences has had an amazing impact on my life in one way or another. Graduating from high school was a big deal for me as well as my family. I was the first of my grandmother's grandkids to graduate from high school. After graduating from high school I worked hard and paid to rent my first apartment.Having my own space and becoming independent was something I have always wanted because I had to share everything growing up. I have two beautiful daughters whom have changed my life for the best. Before having the girls I was a party animal. They have slowed me down and made me realize what Is Important in life. I have always liked to design things growing up. Becoming a head cake decorator has allowed me to show my creativity and provide for my family, Last, but not least returning back to school to further my education has been a goal tha t I have always anted to accomplish.Obtaining my degree from Gifford will help me to provide an even better lifestyle for my daughters. When I graduated from high school, I was so proud of myself. I accomplished something that none of my grandmothers grandkids had ever done. Getting my own apartment taught me how to be a strong individual. I worked hard and maintained my own space which some young ladies at the age of 19 couldn't do. Having my kids was the best thing that ever happened to me. It taught me how to love unconditionally and genuinely.I felt great that I had a home of my own to raise them in. Becoming head cake decorator was a goal that I accomplished that was really unexpected. I was the backup cake decorator. When the head decorator took a higher paying Job she nominated me to take her space which was a great accomplishment. Returning back to school has been one of my biggest dreams and I am overwhelmed with happiness on how well I am doing after being out of school fo r over ten years. In my first class I finished with a B I great for and proud to be a student at Gifford university. Considering The Present In childhood and throughout our lives we live, we love, and we learn. These learning experiences can be either positive or negative and they can quickly be forgotten or can stay with us forever. Throughout my lifetime I have gone through my fair share of both positive and negative experiences. It is through these experiences that I have become the woman I am today. Two of these positive experiences that I have gone through in the course of my life that have played the largest part in the woman I am today are; the birth of my first son and getting clean and sober.Both of these experiences came with a variety of mixed emotions in the beginning but in the end were very rewarding. I can still remember the day the doctors told me I was pregnant. That immediate sense of fear swallowed me whole and time seemed to stand still. It was not until a couple of months later that I realized there was no changing the situation and that I needed to make the very best of it. Finding out I was pregnant started out as a very scary experience but ultimately was one of the most positive and rewarding experiences I have ever endured.After the fear settled a little bit I was able to really start thinking about my life and what I needed to change. Up until that day at the doctors I was living day by day doing what I needed to do for me and no one else. I had no job, I was living with my parents and my only source of excitement came from the local bar rooms late at night. I knew things needed to change and I set out on a mission to make that change happen. Alone and afraid I was able to swallow my pride and ask my family for help and the guidance to get my life back on track before this baby entered our world.All through my pregnancy I knew I loved my unborn son more than I have ever loved anything in this world. I knew that my life was no longer mine rather it was my son and I’s and that I needed to be the very best parent I could be. Although I was not able to find a real job I was babysitting for other family members and earning my own money. I was able to buy almost everything that was needed for my unborn son all on my own. Two months before I was due to give birth I finally got my own apartment. I was starting to feel like my own person and I was not so scared anymore.Kaidon Douglas Bishop entered this world on July 26th, 2005. It is a day that I will never forget. That immediate feeling of unconditional love overwhelmed me. This little boy had changed my life forever and for the first time in my life I felt like I did something right and I had a reason to live the right way. I chose this experience to discuss first because I believe it has had the most profound impact on my life and the person I am today. Finding out I was pregnant was a huge eye opener and motivator.There has been no other experience in my life that has made me as happy and satisfied as this one. The second experience I have chosen to discuss is my journey through addiction and into sobriety. This is yet another experience that has had a lasting impression on my life. At about the age of 16 I went through some very hard times and rather than deal with all the feelings and emotions that came with those difficulties I turned to drugs to bury those feelings. Things quickly escalated and in only a few short months my life was turned completely upside down.My drug addiction was the only thing in my life that mattered and I did not care about anything except my next high and where it was coming from. The ages of 16 through 21 were by far the worst years of my life. My addiction to opiates was running my life. Throughout the five years of my addiction I did several stints in and out of County jails, State prisons and rehabs. When I was not in one of those places I was homeless, bouncing around from drug house to drug house when I could and sleeping on the streets when I had no other option.My final rock bottom was when my own family had completely shut me out of thei r lives. It was at this point I knew that something had to change and I needed to get help. I had nothing and nobody and it was a very lonely time for me. I began making phone calls to substance abuse programs all over New York State hoping and praying that somebody would want to help. I was finally accepted into a suboxone program for opiate addiction and once again had someone on my side. Slowly I was able to completely get off from the heroin and pain killers and regain some sense of control.I understand that this sounds like a very negative experience but I have chosen it as one of the more significant experiences in my life because the outcome was so positive and rewarding and to this day affects my everyday life and decisions. Once I was clean and my family saw my progress I was accepted back in to open arms and a boat load of support. I doubt highly I would have ever been able to beat this addiction and get my life back without the help of my family. This experience not only taught me t he value of family but that persistence and working hard to get something you really want does pay off.

Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy

In the literature, several motives for takeovers have been identified. One is the desire for synergy. That is, similarities or complementarities between the acquiring and target firms are expected to result in the combined value of the enterprises exceeding their worth as separate firms (Collis and Montgomery, 1998). A second motive involves the expectation that acquirers can extract value because target companies have been managed inefficiently (Varaiya, 1987). A third motive is attributed to managerial hubris the notion that senior executives, in overestimating their own abilities, acquire companies they believe could be managed more profitably under their control. Agency theory motive is the anticipation that firm expansion will positively impact the compensation of top managers since there tends to be a direct relation between firm size and executive pay. Contemporary specialists contend that managerial ownership incentives may be expected to have divergent impacts on corporate strategy and firm value. This premise has been recognized in previous studies. For instance, Stulz (1988) has examined the ownership of managers of target companies and has proposed that the relationship between that ownership and the value of target firms may initially be positive and then subsequently become negative with rising insider ownership. Moreover, Shivdasani (1993) empirically shows that the relationship of the ownership structure of target companies with the value of hostile bids is not uniformly positive. McConnell and Servaes (1990) have likewise analyzed the relationship of equity ownership among corporate insiders and Tobins q. Their results demonstrate a non-monotonic relation between Tobins q and insider equity stakes. Wright et al. (1996: 451) have shown a non-linear relationship between insider ownership and corporate strategy related to firm risk taking. Ownership Incentives and Changes in Company Risk Motivating Acquisitions An agency-theoretic motive for acquisitions has been used to explain managerial preferences for risk-reducing corporate strategies (Wright et al., 1996). The implication is that both principals and agents prefer acquiring target companies with higher rather than lower returns. In that, shareholders and managers have congruent interests. The interests, however, diverge in terms of risk considerations associated with acquisitions. Because shareholders possess diversified portfolios, they may only be concerned with systematic risk and be indifferent to the total variance of returns associated with a takeover. Senior managers may alternatively prefer risk-reducing corporate strategies, unless they are granted ownership incentives. That is because they can not diversify their human capital invested in the firm. In the literature, it has been argued that agency costs may be reduced as managerial ownership incentives rise. The reason is that, as ownership incentives rise, the financial interests of insiders and shareholders will begin to converge. Analysts conjecture, however, that such incentives may not consistently provide senior executives the motivation to lessen the agency costs associated with an acquisition strategy. Inherent is the presumption that the nature of executive wealth portfolios will differently influence their attitudes toward corporate strategy. The personal wealth portfolios of top managers are comprised of their ownership of shares/options in the firm, the income produced from their employment, and assets unrelated to the firm. Presumably, as senior executives increase their equity stakes in the enterprise, their personal wealth portfolios become correspondingly less diversified. Although stockholders can diversify their wealth portfolios, top executives have less flexibility if they own substantial shares in the firms they manage. Hence, if a significant portion of managers wealth is concentrated in one investment, then they may find it prudent to diversify their firms via risk-reducing acquisitions. In the related literature, however, takeovers and risk taking have been approached differently from the described approach. Amihud and Lev (1999) have contended that insiders employment income is significantly related to the firms performance. Thus, managers are confronted with risks associated with their income if the maintenance of that income is dependent on achieving predetermined performance targets. Reasonably, in the event of either corporate underperformance or firm failure, CEOs not only may lose their current employment income but also may seriously suffer in the managerial labor market, since their future earnings potential with other enterprises may be lowered. Hence, the risk of executives employment income is impacted by the firms risk. The ramification of Amihud and Levs (1999) contentions is that top managers will tend to lower firm risk, and therefore their own employment risk, by acquiring companies that contribute to stabilizing of the firms income, even if shareho lder wealth is adversely affected. Consistent with the implications of Amihud and Levs arguments, Agrawal and Mandelker (1987) have similarly suggested that managers with negligible ownership stakes may adopt risk-reducing corporate strategies because such strategies may well serve their own personal interests. With ownership incentives, however, managers may be more likely to acquire risk-enhancing target companies, in line with the requirement of wealth maximization for shareholders. The notion that at negligible managerial ownership levels, detrimental risk-reducing acquisition strategies may be emphasized, but with increasing ownership incentive levels, beneficial risk-enhancing acquisitions may be more prevalent is also suggested in other works (Grossman and Hoskisson, 1998). The conclusion of these investigations is that the relationship between insider ownership and risk enhancing, worthy corporate acquisitions is linear and positive. Some experts assert that CEOs personal wealth concentration will induce senior managers to undertake risk-reducing firm strategies. Portfolio theorys expectation suggests that investors or owner-managers may desire to diversify their personal wealth portfolios. For instance, Markowitz (1952: 89) has asserted that investors may wish to diversify across industries because firms in different industries. . . have lower covariances than firms within an industry. Moreover, as argued by Sharpe (1964: 441), diversification enables the investor to escape all but the risk resulting from swings in economic activity. Consequently, managers with substantial equity investments in the firm may diversify the firm via risk-reducing acquisitions in order to diversify their own personal wealth portfolios. Because they may be especially concerned with risk-reducing acquisitions, however, their corporate strategies may not enhance firm value through takeovers, although managerial intention may be to boos t corporate value. The above discussion is compatible with complementary arguments that suggest that insiders may acquire non-value-maximizing target companies although their intentions may be to enhance returns to shareholders. For instance, according to the synergy view, while takeovers may be motivated by an ex-ante concern for increasing corporate value, many such acquisitions are not associated with an increase in firm value. Alternatively, according to the hubris hypothesis, even though insiders may intend to acquire targets that they believe could be managed more profitably under their control, such acquisitions are not ordinarily related to higher profitability. If acquisitions which are undertaken primarily with insider expectations that they will financially benefit owners do not realize higher performance, then those acquisitions which are primarily motivated by a risk-reducing desire may likewise not be associated with beneficial outcomes for owners. Additionally, it can be argued that shareholders can more efficiently diversify their own portfolios, making it unnecessary for managers to diversify the firm in order to achieve portfolio diversification for shareholders. Risk Associated with HRM practices in International Acquisitions There are a number of reasons why the HRM policies and practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) and cross-border acquisitions are likely to be different from those found in domestic firms (Dowling, Schuler and Welch, 1993). For one, the difference in geographical spread means that acquisitions must normally engage in a number of HR activities that are not needed in domestic firms such as providing relocation and orientation assistance to expatriates, administering international job rotation programmes, and dealing with international union activity. Second, as Dowling (1988) points out, the personnel policies and practices of MNCs are likely to be more complex and diverse. For instance, complex salary and income taxation issues are likely to arise in acquisitions because their pay policies and practices have to be administered to many different groups of subsidiaries and employees, located in different countries. Managing this diversity may generate a number of co-ordination and communication problems that do not arise in domestic firms. In recognition of these difficulties, most large international companies retain the services of a major accounting firm to ensure there is no tax incentive or disincentive associated with a particular international assignment. Finally, there are more stakeholders that influence the HRM policies and practices of international firms than those of domestic firms. The major stakeholders in private organizations are the shareholders and the employees. But one could also think of unions, consumer organizations and other pressure groups. These pressure groups also exist in domestic firms, but they often put more pressure on foreign than on local companies. This probably means that international companies need to be more risk averse and concerned with the social and political environment than domestic firms. Acquisitions and HRM Practices: Evidence from Japan, the US, and Europe In contemporary context, international human resource management faces important challenges, and this trend characterizes many Japanese, US and European acquisitions.   From the critical point of view, Japanese companies experience more problems associated with international human resource management than companies from the US and Europe (Shibuya, 2000). Lack of home-country personnel sufficient international manage ­ment skills has been widely recognized in literature as the most difficult problem facing Japanese compa ­nies and simultaneously one of the most significant of US and European acquisitions as well. The statement implies that cultivating such skills is difficult and that they are relatively rare among businessmen in any country. Japanese companies may be particularly prone to this problem due to their heavy use of home-country nationals in overseas management positions. European and Japanese acquisitions also experience the lack of home country personnel who want to work abroad, while it is less of an impediment for the US companies. In the US acquisitions expatriates often experience reentry difficulties (e.g., career disruption) when re ­turning to the home country: This problem was the one most often cited by US firms.   Today Japanese corporations report the relatively lower incidence of expatriate reentry diffi ­culties, and it is surprising given the vivid accounts of such problems at Japanese firms by White (1988) and Umezawa (1990). However, the more active role of the Japanese person ­nel department in coordinating career paths, the tradition of semi ­annual musical-chair-like personnel shuffles (jinji idoh), and the continu ­ing efforts of Japanese stationed overseas to maintain close contact with headquarters might underlie the lower level of difficulties in this area for Japanese firms (Inohara, 2001). In contrast, the decentralized structures of many US and European firms may serve to isolate expatriates from their home-country headquarters, making reentry more problematic. Also, recent downsiz ­ing at US and European firms may reduce the number of appropriate management positions for expatriates to return to, or may sever expatri ­ates relationships with colleagues and mentors at headquarters. Furthermore, within the context of the lifetime employment system, individ ­ual Japanese employees have little to gain by voicing reentry concerns to personnel managers. In turn, personnel managers need not pay a great deal of attention to reentry problems because they will usually not result in a resignation. In western firms, reentry problems need to be taken more seriously by personnel managers because they frequently result in the loss of a valued employee. A further possible explanation for the higher incidence of expatriate reentry problems in western multinationals is the greater tendency of those companies to implement a policy of transferring local nationals to headquarters or other international operations. Under such a policy, the definition of expatriate expands beyond home-country nationals to en ­compass local nationals who transfer outside their home countries. It may even be that local nationals who return to a local operation after working at headquarters or other international operations may have their own special varieties of reentry problems. Literature on international human resource practices in Japan, the US and Europe suggest that the major strategic difficulty for the MNCs is to attract high-caliber local nationals to work for the company. In general, acquisitions may face greater challenges in hiring high-caliber local employees than do domestic firms due to lack of name recognition and fewer relationships with educators or others who might recommend candidates. However, researchers suggest that this issue is significantly more difficult for Japanese than for US and European multinationals. When asked to describe problems encoun ­tered in establishing their US affiliates, 39.5% of the respondents to a Japan Society survey cited finding qualified American managers to work in the affiliate and 30.8% cited hiring a qualified workforce (Bob SRI, 2001). Similarly, a survey of Japanese companies operating in the US conducted by a human resource consulting firm found that 35% felt recruiting personnel to be very difficult or extremely difficult, and 56% felt it to be difficult (The Wyatt Company, 1999). In addition to mentioned problem, Japanese acquisition encounter high local employee turnover, which is significantly more prob ­lematic for them due to the near-total absence of turnover to which they are accustomed in Japan. The US, European and Japanese companies admit very rarely that they encounter local legal challenges to their personnel policies. However, in regard to Japanese acquisitions large   amount of press coverage has been given to lawsuits against Japanese companies in the United States and a Japanese Ministry of Labor Survey in which 57% of the 331 respondents indicated that they were facing potential equal employ ­ment opportunity-related lawsuits in the United States (Shibuya, 2000). Conclusion This research investigates whether corporate acquisitions with shared technological resources or participation in similar product markets realize superior economic returns in comparison with unrelated acquisitions. The rationale for superior economic performance in related acquisitions derives from the synergies that are expected through a combination of supplementary or complementary resources. It is clear from the results of this research that acquired firms in related acquisitions have higher returns than acquired firms in unrelated acqui ­sitions. This implies that the related acquired firm benefits more from the acquirer than the unrelated acquired firm. The higher returns for the related acquired firms suggest that the combination with the acquirer’s resources has higher value implications than the combination of two unrelated firms. This is supported by the higher total wealth gains which were observed in related acquisitions. I did however, in the case of acquiring firms, find that the abnormal returns directly attributable to the acquisition transaction are not significant. There are reasons to believe that the announcement effects of the transaction on the returns to acquirers are less easily detected than for target firms. First, an acquisition by a firm affects only part of its businesses, while affecting all the assets (in control-oriented acqui ­sitions) of the target firm. Thus the measurability of effects on acquirers is attenuated. Second, if an acquisition is one event in a series of implicit moves constituting a diversification program, its individual effect as a market signal would be mitigated. It is also likely that the theoretical argument which postulates that related acquisitions create wealth for acquirers may be underspecified. Relatedness is often multifaceted, suggesting that the resources of the target firm may be of value to many firms, thus increasing the relative bargaining power of the target vis-a-vis the potential buyers. Even in the absence of explicit competition for the target (multiple bidding), the premiums paid for control are a substantial fraction of the total gains available from the transaction. For managers, some implications from the research can be offered. First, it seems quite clear from the data that a firm seeking to be acquired will realize higher returns if it is sold to a related than an unrelated firm. This counsel is consistent with the view that the market recognizes synergistic combinations and values them accordingly. Second, managers in acquiring firms may be advised to scrutinize carefully the expected gains in related and unrelated acquisitions. For managers the issue of concern is not whether or not a given kind of acquisition creates a significant total amount of wealth, but what percentage of that wealth they can expect to accrue to their firms. Thus, although acquisitions involving related technologies or product market yield higher total gains, pricing mechanisms in the market for corporate acquisitions reflect the gains primarily on the target company. Interpreting these results conservatively, one may offer the argument that expected gains for acquiring firms are competed away in the bidding process, with stockholders of target firms obtaining high proportions of the gains. On a pragmatic level this research underscores the need to combine what may be called the theoretical with the practical. In the case of acquisitions, pragmatic issues like implicit and explicit competition for a target firm alter the theoretical expectations of gains from an acquisition transaction. Further efforts to clarify these issues theoretically and empirically will increase our understanding of these important phenomena. Bibliography Sharpe WF. 1964. Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk. Journal of Finance 19: 425-442 Markowitz H. 1952. Portfolio selections. Journal of Finance 7: 77-91 Grossman W, Hoskisson R. 1998. CEO pay at the crossroads of Wall Street and Main: toward the strategic design of executive compensation. Academy of Management Executive 12: 43-57 Amihud Y, Lev B. 1999. Does corporate ownership structure affect its strategy towards diversification? Strategic Management Journal 20(11): 1063-1069 Agrawal A, Mandelker G. 1987. Managerial incentives and corporate investment and financing decisions. Journal of Finance 42: 823-837 Wright P, Ferris S, Sarin A, Awasthi V. 1996. The impact of corporate insider, blockholder, and institutional equity ownership on firm risk-taking. Academy of Management Journal 39: 441-463 McConnell JJ, Servaes H. 1990. Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value. Journal of Financial Economics 27: 595-612. Shivdasani A. 1993. Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers. Journal of Accounting and Economics 16: 167-198 Stulz RM. 1988. Managerial control of voting rights: financing policies and the market for corporate control. Journal of Financial Economics 20: 25-54 Varaiya N. 1987. Determinants of premiums in acquisition transactions. Managerial and Decision Economics 14: 175-184 Collis D, Montgomery C. 1998. Creating corporate advantage. Harvard Business Review 76(3): 71-83 White, M. 1988. The Japanese overseas: Can they go home again? New York: The Free Press. Bob, D., SRI International. 2001. Japanese companies in American communities. New York: The Japan Society.

Community Needs Assessment for the Population of Little Havana Essay

Community Needs Assessment for the Population of Little Havana - Essay Example Little Havana is an urban area in the Miami city setting as characterized by a robust street life, good restaurants, several enterprises, parks, banks and a few cigar factories. The housing structures are mainly apartments although there are other housing structures. Physical Environmental Considerations General Identifying Data Little Havana is a neighborhood in west of downtown Miami in Florida, in the Miami-Dade County. Like the rest of Miami, Little Havana is an area in a larger plain topographically, with the Miami River forming its boundary to the North (Miami.gov.com, 2010). The climate of the larger area, city of Miami, is described as semi-tropical although there are a few extreme weather conditions due to hurricanes. The annual average rainfall is usually about 60 inches, with the months of July and August being both the hottest and the wettest. Most of the days are sunny but neither humid nor hot, and nights are characterized by cool temperatures. Boundaries and Area Little Havana’s boundaries are the Miami River in the north, SW 16th Street in the south, the SR 9/West 27th Avenue westwards and I-95 in the east. It has also been said to extend as far west as LeJeune Road/West 42 Avenue when taking considerations of the demographics that describe the area. The area occupied by Little Havana is officially cited as 4.208 square miles although the area is said to extend for example westwards (Miami.gov.com, 2010). Environment In terms of sanitation, Little Havana is served by the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department. Since the major form of housing is composed of apartments, Little Havana’s water, sewer services, garbage considerations follows these lines. In this regard, it is observed that most of the apartment owners pay for water supply, sewer and trash removal. The Little Havana community is thus not in hazard from lack of water supply, sewer and garbage collection. The other consideration is pollution which has to take in to account the not only the larger Miami city area but also the state of Florida. First, Miami-Dade County ranks in the upper percentile in terms of water and air toxicant releases. Florida is also home to 7 of seven air polluters under watch from the federal EPA. Although, most of the figures are still below the harmful levels, the state and thus the residents in Little Havana are exposed to averagely higher levels of releases than the national averages. The pollution index for the Little Havana neighborhood is 43,296,200, whereas for the state of Florida the figure is 16,442,453 and the national average is a significantly lower 6,623,939. This means that the Little Havana community is at greater risk than the rest of the USA from chemical releases that include ozone depleting substances like 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane and cancer risk substances such as chromium (Scorecard, 2011). A consideration closely related to overall pollution is the air quality. As discussed earlier, Florid a has 7 factories under the watch-list of federal EPA, and although the air is clear and odorless, particulate releases are present including ash and carbon. The Air Quality Score for Little Havana (also for Miami and the rest of Florida) is 33, while the national average is 37. Due to this, the residents of Little Havana are subjected to averagely higher risks of carcinogenic, developmental, immunotoxicant and skin toxicants than the rest of the USA (Scorecard, 2011). Little Havana and the wider state of Florida has stable food supply from the sea, farms and processed sources. Little

Pros and Cons of working in both right-to-work and forced unionism Research Paper

Pros and Cons of working in both right-to-work and forced unionism states from employees point of view - Research Paper Example The advantages of unionization include that employees enjoy more benefits, employment is more secure and senior workers are usually secure. The disadvantages of unionization include that the fees burden workers, the worker sacrifices their autonomy and merit is disfavored due to the regard for seniority. From the discussion, the advantages and the disadvantages of the two systems show that RTW favors organizations, but unionization is friendlier to the affairs of workers. The question as to whether states should adopt right-to-work or unionization laws has remained a hotly debated issue. Right-to-work laws stop unions from subjecting workers to some security clauses, compelling them to join unions or pay fees as a condition for employment. Through this paper, the question of, whether employees should be subjected to right-to-work laws or unionization laws – depending on their advantages and disadvantages – will be answered. The advantages of the Right-to-work system include that the right to work inclusion is a fundamental right, which is expressly guaranteed and expressly provided for, in the US constitution. This implies that the right-to-work system allows the worker, the right to their choice to associate or not to associate with a workers’ union, in the case that they find benefits from it or not. Further, without affiliations to any workers’ union, the system allows employees to choose whether other reductions, apart from those of taxes should reduce their earnings (Moore 460). For that reason, the system offers the advantages of giving workers the opportunity to make a choice of what they would like to do with their salaries, without being compelled to join any unions or their salaries being slashed (Honthaner 200). The second advantage of the right-to-work is that it allows workers to avoid the business aspect of unions, noting that unions are businesses offering

History of Art Art in the age of mass media Essay

History of Art Art in the age of mass media - Essay Example Some of the commonly used cultural forms are web sites, multimedia, databases, computer games and animations and to a lesser extent, virtual reality. In today's culture of information and media, there is permanence and crumbling of both old and new media. New media exists due to the foundation laid by the old media and its language. But there are instances where new media is coming on its own and breaking from its roots. The distinctive feature about new media is its capacity to create a virtual world of information that, in the case of the internet, exists in servers worldwide but visualized at a computer workstation at any corner. This illusion of reality that is organized and structured has transformed human experience. In the culture of the information society, computerization has led to developments of new forms. Old media such photography and cinema have in some ways reinvented themselves and converged into new media. The computer revolution has considerably enhanced the scope of visual culture and new avenues of expression have opened up to artists. Bolter and Grusin offer an alternate way of thinking about the new media. They present the idea of remediation and define it as "the formal logic by which technologies refashion prior media forms" (Bolter and Grusin 2000 p.273). Modern society which is increasingly turning its interests towards various entertainment and information media has fallen into preoccupations that Bolter and Grusin term as "immediacy" and "hypermediacy" which are the two strategies of remediation. Immediacy is a style of visual presentation which aims at making the viewer unaware of the presence of the medium e.g. photographic film, cinema, artist canvas, TV sports events etc. Immediacy attempts to give the appearance that the media doesn't exist. For example, anything shown "live" would fall under the immediacy category. Live sports events, live or breaking news, live car chases on TV are preoccupations that the general public appear to be interested in. Most of these visual presentations focus on the action taking place. There is no effort in creating a visual masterpiece or making it look artistic, instead, immediacy tries to flow along with the on going event. The emphasis is on the raw action and not on other characteristics of the event such as statistics, replays and in-depth analysis. Immediacy tries to create an intimate link between the event and the viewer by covering the event as smoothly as possible without interrupting the flow or introducing distractions. There is an effort to engage the viewer more directly with the event and make him or her feel as if they are there watching from the stands. Hypermediacy is contrary but closely related to immediacy and involves the use of event statistics, replays from every angle and in-depth analysis to study the event and allow the viewer to gain a better understanding of it. Multiple forms of media e.g., text, graphs, animation, film are involved in hypermediacy. It can be observed that hypermediacy is a pre-occupation the media and viewers are able to engage in after the live event. For example, a live football match which falls under the immediacy term can be scrutinized ball by ball and statistical analysis studied once the game has ended or during the half time period. Hypermediacy allows the viewer to gain a wider knowledge of various aspects of the game's details whereas