Identify and critically assess the principles which underpin the EU Essay

Identify and critically assess the principles which underpin the EU Public Procurement - Essay Example Framework Procurement can be defined as â€Å"the purchase of commodities, goods, works or services by public administrators†.1 A public administrator in the EU Law includes state, government, association governed by public law and similar bodies. Collectively, public procurement accounts for 13.5% of the European Union’s GDP.2 This therefore means that the authorities have a duty to provide a legally acceptable set of guidelines that promotes the European Union’s single market system and also prevents leakages and unfair procurement practices and corruption. However, some challenges in the EU Procurement Laws do not enable the EU Procurement system to achieve its objectives. In the UK, the threshold for the observance of EU Public Procurement Law is ?100,000 for government supplies and ?4 million for works and services.3 These thresholds are really high. This gives room for various forms of manipulation. A public institution that desires to be mischievous is lik ely to buy goods and services in lower amounts so that they will not be required to follow the EU Procurement Rules. This gives room for easy evasion and manipulation. Reasons for the EU Public Procurement Laws The first reason why the EU Public Procurement Law was enacted was that the European Union has laws that guarantee the freedom of movement, person, capital and services across borders so nations and governments should not have public procurement systems that discriminate against people from other EU nations.4 Also, non-tariff protection exists for all EU businesses in the transfer of their goods and services across the various borders.5 The EU Procurement Law avoids amongst other things, discrimination against efficient companies by ensuring the fair treatment of all potential bidders for a public supply tenders across the EU. The extent to which the procurement law has protected non-national businesses in bids and tender is quite questionable. This is because with higher tra nsportation costs and diversity issues, it is often common for public institutions to choose local suppliers and not external suppliers. In summary, the EU Procurement Laws state that public institutions should honour three things in their operations.6 The are: 1. They must treat a business and person of other EU nationality fairly7 2. No discrimination, there should be equality 3. There should be transparency in bidding and tender selection process. However, with the uneven trends of development in the EU, there are cases when there is the need for positive discrimination to help some national businesses to grow by supplying to public institutions in the country. Adhering strictly to the public procurement framework can only cause some local businesses in smaller nations like Portugal and Latvia to collapse in the face of other richer businesses from more powerful nations like Germany, France and Britain. Overview of Underpinning Principles The main areas and aspects of the EU Publ ic Procurement policy include transparency, publicity, objectivity, accountability, non-discrimination and flexibility/redress.

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay â€Å"It takes one step at a time. Small changes eventually add up to huge results.† Life lessons are important in the way life is understood. Without life lessons to teach the importance of life there would be much suffering and unhappiness. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. It was written in the early 1960’s about a young girl named Scout and her family about the racism that was provoked in the town. Harper Lee, in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrates three main lessons with the Tom Robinson trial: Stand up for what you believe in, racism is painful and avoid mob mentalities. One of the most important lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird is to stand up for your beliefs. The character Atticus is a promonate example Harper Lee used to express the importance of standing up for your beliefs. â€Å"Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her moth and screamed.† (Lee 323). Atticus throughout the novel displays the courageous and daring act of standing up for his beliefs. Atticus presented a strong defence for the coloured man, even though he knew that there was nothing he could really do. Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson in his case. Atticus took the case seriously and took it upon himself to take all evidence into close examination. â€Å"This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience-Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship god if I didn’t try to help that man.† ( ). Atticus strongly defends Tom Robinson for his own personal beliefs and took this case ‘white vs. Black’ seriously and he has taken all odds against society to justify this man. Standing up for what you believe in is a strong way to under mind authorities and prove a strongly arguable point. Atticus did not end up winning the case, but he still stood up for what he believed was right and held on to those beliefs until the end. Roberts 2 Racism causes pain to so many coloured people in the 1930’s, still to this day racism affects the lives of many. The Tom Robinson case is a prime example of how racism can negatively affect the lives of many. Maycomb the town in To Kill a Mockingbird is very racial. The town folk locked Tom Robinson up for a crime he simply did not do. The men in Maycomb did not care if this man did it or not, they just wanted him to be imprisoned because of the colour of his skin. â€Å"To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a niger to cut and run. Typical if a niggers mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw. Atticus Finch might’ve got him off scot free, but wait-Hell no. You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneers mighty thin. Nigger always comes out in ‘em.’’ ( ). Tom died because he was convicted of a crime committed by a white man. Tom was sent to jail, and first chance at free dome so he ran, ending himself with 17 bullet shots in him. Anger when associated with racism can drive a man insane. Bob Ewell let both of them get to him. â€Å"Mr. Finch-wasn’t crazy, mean as hell. Low-down skunk with enough liquor in him to make him brave enough to kill children. He’d never have met you face to face.† ( ). All just because Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson in his case, Bob Ewell got angry. Bob Ewell was furious with modem to kill because in the trail, Atticus’ defence for Tom Robison was rather embarrassing for Bob Ewell. Atticus made an embarrassment of Bob Ewell by presenting the jury and the courtroom to the evidence that clearly indicates that Bob Ewell was the one who abused Mayella. Bob Ewell being mad he had enough modem to go after Atticus’ children just because he did his job and defended a black man. Racism is still painful to many today. Harper Lee expresses the real pain behind racism in To Kill a Mockingbird. The white men of Maycomb posses mob mentalities which Harper Lee presents as despicable. All of Maycomb County think that black people are so different, but in reality no one is here to tell everyone who can be better or not. â€Å"A quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has to put his word against two white people’s. Need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand-you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the Sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negros lie, that all Negros are basically immortal beings, that all negro man are not to be trusted around women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.† (273). Maycomb judges coloured people on the colour of their skin and not what really matters. Tom Robinson was brutally exposed to racism and never got the chance to live it down. Atticus is very well to avoid mob mentalities. Atticus makes a point of making what he wants to be heard, heard. Atticus is very courageous in Roberts 4 the way that he will stand up for and defend his beliefs and not follow in the same corrupt path that others are on. â€Å"I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant, To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.† (271) Atticus actually took the time to consider all the evidence in the Tom Robinson case. Atticus presented his evidence before the jury and he strongly believed that it was not Tom Robinson. Atticus did not follow in the ways of others with no just assuming that because he is black he did it. Atticus took into all the consideration the evidence he had pulled together to treat Tom as an equal and give him a fair defence against a white man. Mob mentalities are everywhere. People believe in anything they hear and go along with it, but it takes one person to stand up and represent those who cannot. Standing up for what you believe in, racism is painful and avoiding mob mentalities are really important life lessons that Harper Lee expresses throughout the novel, epically in the Tom Robinson trial. Harper Lee incorporated life lessons into her novel to teach the reader the importance in knowing right from wrong and to teach you things you may not learn in schooling. History is full of examples of people that kept making the same mistakes because they fail to learn the first time. Life lessons are everywhere, you learn something new every day that builds your character and defines who you are as a person.

Operating System Used In Portable Devices Computer Science Essay

Operating System Used In Portable Devices Computer Science Essay This report is about Operating system used in portable devices like PDA and laptops etc. As the passage of time consumer needs are becoming more and more demanding and life is becoming compact so as devices are also becoming more powerful and their OS also more advanced and complicated we will discuss some those most commonly used OS and their different uses and the devices they are used produced by different manufacturers and a brief introduction to OS and its types. Operating system is the most important program which enables hardware to communicate with each other and humans also. Every program needs an operating system to run on computers or handheld devices. It is responsible of managing inputs given by user and transferring them into desired outputs by using devices like keyboard, mouse, printers and monitors etc. attached to motherboard. OS usually exists in hard drives of computers or in handheld devices in flash rom memory. OS also arrange, manage organize all file and folders on computers. The more systems are larger the more complex the process in those system becomes so the OS used in these systems are more powerful and the task they perform are also exponential. They are capable of doing many tasks simultaneously without interference of each other and providing expected performance at the same time. Different type of OS available for desktop or laptops are Windows which is dos based and Mac OS which is Unix based, Ubuntu which is Linux based etc. and for handheld there are many choices as well like Symbian OS, Android, Windows mobile and apple iOS etc. Operating system can be mainly of four types based on their use and support. They are as follows: Real time OS This OS is developed for devices which have limited memory and to make them efficient and fast less coding is used as resources are crucial and execution time needs to be minimal. Example is Windows CE. Single user single Task It is a advanced version of previously mentioned Real time OS. In this type one user can perform one task at one time. The palm top or PDA fits in this type. Example is Window mobile. Single user multi Task This is the most commonly used OS type nowadays. These OS are capable of Multitasking and capable of performing all user tasks as multimedia, internet ,games and all commonly used tasks Example of this type could be Window 7 ,Mac OS etc. Multi User These are the most powerful OS of all. They are capable of handling many users at same time and providing all of them with the resources they need. These OS are not like single user multi task where only one user can perform task at a particular time in this type many user can login at same time. Example is UNIX, Linux etc. Literature Review The increasing demand of handheld or portable devices created a new era in computing history as from year 2000 and onwards the approach of people regarding mobile devices changed and life started becoming fast and compact day by day so the need of business and entertainment devices and so the mobile OS started become popular and lots of computer hobbyist and developers started developing faster and efficient mobile OS and its applications. The use of internet, emails and messaging started becoming popular in devices and these facilities started becoming a part of handheld devices and some of those are discussed below. 1) PDA PDA stands for Personal Digital Equipment usually called pocket pcs or pocket computers it is an handheld device which has functionalities like phone, internet, multimedia etc. all in pocket able size. User interact with these through a stick called stylus or nowadays mostly fingers some of these also have built in QWERTY keyboards for quick and better input. PDA also have features like hand recognition, voice recognition and gesture response. 1.1) Types of PDA Some types of PDS available are as follows: 1.1.1) Palm It is kind of PDA which runs its own OS called Palm OS example could be Palm TX, Palm Pilot etc. Palm became a very renowned name in portable computing industry. It played a major role in the development of PDAs it introduced a variety of different versions of devices in market. Palm OS can also be found in Sony Clie, Handspring Visor and Tapwave Zodiac. 1.1.2) Pocket PCs These kinds of PDA are usually based on Microsoft Windows Mobile OS which uses Windows CE core. They are capable of all sorts of functionalities like video and music playback, Web browsing through built in internet explorer, fax sending, and email etc. There are many manufacturers of pocket pcs in market some of which are HP, HTC, Motorola, Dell etc. 2) Laptops These are smaller, lighter and in most cases equally powerful in performance computers compared to desktops. They are meant to do computing on the move. laptops got large capacity ,more memory and better processors as compared to other mobile computing devices. They run Windows Xp, Vista or 7, Mac OS and Ubuntu etc. 2.1) Netbooks These are a newer kind of laptops which are much smaller in size as well as computation. They include all components as normal laptops but in scaled down version there size is normally of a A4 size page and qwerty keyboard with a bit less keys then normal laptops. They are capable of performing normal day to day task as surfing web, using word watching HD YouTube widows (newer versions only).There battery life vary from 8 to 9 hrs. That is 4 to 5 times more than standard size laptops. Mostly Ubuntu, Android, Windows XP and Windows 7 starter are used as OS in netbooks. 3) Other Mobile OS We have discussed Palm OS and Windows Mobile but there are very well known OS which are as follows: 3.1) Symbian OS This OS is the most renowned in the industry and more than 85 percent of mobiles manufacturer use this as standard in their devices and lots of developers had become interested in developing their applications which totally changes the user experience of Symbian running devices. Symbian has released different versions of its OS like Symbian series 20 or 30 for low end handsets, Symbian series 40 and 60 for mid-range and series 90 for high end business communicators and uses 2.5G and 3G. 3.2) Android This is the one of the most promising and trusted OS compared to others. It is verily used in devices like 3G internet tablets ,mobile phones and recently released a 4G version of their android also installed in HTC EVO 4G. It is mainly based on Linux kernels so the development is quite easier and lots of applications are already in market for this OS. 3.3) iOS It is created and developed by apple Inc. It was knows as iPhone OS before it uses apple OS X also UNIX like OS. The new version iOS 4 is a hybrid system and it uses kernel type from Darwin foundation uses 4 abstraction layers. It also supports multitasking and features like video calling, VoIP (Voice over internet protocol), background music playback etc. Conclusion Operating System of devices like PDA and Laptops solves many user problems as the passage of time these mobile devices are more and more compact and high performance so their OS is also becoming more and more complex to develop. As we can see from this research that plenty of mobile devices companies are paying more attention to their OS because if its poorly designed whole device no matter how best the hardware is will change whole user view about device. If the device is losing its internet connection every second or hanging or giving unexpected errors means its OS is not properly developed and tested after implementation on device under different scenarios and environment. The best examples of well-designed OS in mobile industry are Android, iOs, Symbian etc. as mentioned in this report. Laptops on the other hand can run any desktop version OS according to their hardware capabilities and netbooks usually use lighter version of these OS as we have seen in this report.

Technology and Morals in Isbens An Enemy of the People and Freuds Civilization and its Discontent :: Enemy People Civilization Discontents

Technology and Morals in Isben's An Enemy of the People and Freud's Civilization and its Discontents As technology increases do the morals of society degrade? This is a very scientific question to ask about quite an emotional subject. A scientist would ask for a set of data correlating points of increasing technology with corresponding points of moral standards. The brutal truth is that you can't know. No one can be certain about the moral standards of a people at a certain time in the past, let alone the present. And how do you face a period of time when the technological standards and ideas actually fell in relationship from the previous time period. Did their moral standards improve? I doubt it. Arguing for the code of chivalry and the honor of knights falls apart when you look away from fairy tales, that and the fact that most of the population of Europe was peasants, anyways. But seriously, a person really can't know. The only problem technology brings forth is that people can find a more efficient way of getting what they want. Because after all, isn't that all huma n nature is? And morals are defined by human nature. So if one person wants to kill people, technology will aid that person in doing so. Of course there's a monetary price to that technology, so you'll be able to kill people only as efficiently as your budget constraint allows. However, it's still not that hard or expensive to buy a gun and shoot someone. What I'm leading up to is that technology does not affect the morals of a people. It affects how efficiently they can carry out their goals, not their goals directly. Of course you can say that the possibility of doing something creates a desire to do it, but is someone going to commit genocide if they don't want to kill a single person in the first place? Technology does not affect people's morals directly: it allows people to follow their nature (to carry out their goals) more efficiently. Henry Ibsen gives the best argument for this case. In his play, An Enemy of the People, the mayor of the town, Peter Stockmann, only wants what is best for the town and his public image. His brother, Dr.

Reading Skills Essay

Reading Reading is the receptive skill in the written mode. It can develop independently of listening and speaking skills, but often develops along with them, especially in societies with a highly-developed literary tradition. Reading can help build vocabulary that helps listening comprehension at the later stages, particularly. Micro-skills involved in reading. The reader has to: †¢ decipher the script. In an alphabetic system or a syllabary, this means establishing a relationship between sounds and symbols. In a pictograph system, it means associating the meaning of the words with written symbols. †¢ recognize vocabulary. †¢ pick out key words, such as those identifying topics and main ideas. †¢ figure out the meaning of the words, including unfamiliar vocabulary, from the (written) context. †¢ recognize grammatical word classes: noun, adjective, etc. †¢ detect sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, prepositions, etc. †¢ recognize basic syntactic patterns. †¢ reconstruct and infer situations, goals and participants. †¢ use both knowledge of the world and lexical and grammatical cohesive devices to make the foregoing inferences, predict outcomes, and infer links and connections among the parts of the text. †¢ get the main point or the most important information. †¢ distinguish the main idea from supporting details. †¢ adjust reading strategies to different reading purposes, such as skimming Why is reading skill is so important? Reading is one of the skills most crucial for a child’s success in school and in life. If children don’t learn to read with comprehension early enough, their education is at risk. If they don’t learn to read effortlessly enough to render reading pleasurable, their chances for a fulfilling life–by any measure, whether academic achievement, financial stability or job skills–are tremendously diminished. How to improve reading skill: Teaching reading can be an arduous task as it is often difficult to know how to improve student skills. One of the most obvious, but often unnoticed, points about reading is that there are different types of reading skills. †¢ Skimming – reading rapidly for the main points †¢ Scanning – reading rapidly to find a specific piece of information †¢ Extensive – reading a longer text, often for pleasure with emphasis on overall meaning †¢ Intensive reading – reading a short text for detailed information These different types of skills are used quite naturally when reading in a mother tongue. Unfortunately, when learning a second or foreign language, people tend to employ only â€Å"intensive† style reading skills. I have often noticed that students insist on understanding every word and find it difficult to take my advice of reading for the general idea, or only looking for required information. Students studying a foreign language often feel that if they don’t understand each and every word they are somehow not completing the exercise. In order to make students aware of these different types of reading styles, it is useful to provide an awareness raising lesson to help them identify reading skills they already apply when reading in their native tongues. Thus, when approaching an English text, students should first identify what type of reading skill needs to be applied to the specific text at hand. In this way valuable skills, which students already possess, are easily transferred to their English reading. Outline: †¢ Ask students about what types of reading they do in their own mother tongue(s). †¢ Write different categories of written material on board. i. e. magazines, novels, train schedules, newspapers, advertising, etc. †¢ Have students describe how they go about reading each kind of material. You may want to prompt them by asking the following questions: o Do you read every word in the tv schedule? o Do you understand every word you read when reading a novel? o What kind of clues can the presentation of the material give? o How much time do you spend reading the newspaper? Do you read every single word? o What kind of assumptions do you make when you read the first few lines, or a headline? (i. e. Once upon a time†¦. ) o How much time do you spend reading the various types of materials? †¢ Based on students’ answers to such questions, ask them to identify the type of skills they are using in the various reading situations. †¢ Divide students into small groups and give them the skills summary and short worksheet. †¢ Have students discuss their opinions about the various skills required for the listed materials. †¢ Present various â€Å"real world† materials (i. e. magazines, books, scientific materials, computer manuals etc. ) and ask students to identify the necessary skills required. Reading Styles  Skimming – Reading rapidly for the main points Scanning – Reading rapidly through a text to find specific information required Extensive – Reading longer texts, often for pleasure and for an overall understanding Intensive – Reading shorter texts for detailed information with an emphasis on precise understanding Identify the reading skills required in the following reading situations: †¢ The TV guide for Friday evening †¢ An English grammar book †¢ An article in National Geographic magazine about the Roman Empire †¢ A good friend’s homepage on the Internet †¢ The weather report in your local newspaper †¢ A novel †¢ A poem. †¢ A bus timetable †¢ A fax at the office †¢ An advertising email – so called â€Å"bodyfit† †¢ An email or letter from your best friend †¢ A recipe †¢ A short story by your favourite author Note: There is often not a single correct answer, several choices may be possible according to your reading purpose. If you find that there are different possibilities, state the situation in which you would use the various skills. Developing Reading Skills How many of us remember how we learned to read? Even if we cannot remember how we learned, as parents and educators we can do a lot to help children learn to read and enjoy reading. Reading involves three distinct but intertwined skills: decoding, fluency and comprehension. Decoding is understanding and using sound/letter relationships. Fluency is being able to read quickly and easily. Comprehension is being able to get meaning from the words that have been put together. Comprehension is the point of reading—the reason for reading. But a reader must reach a certain level of decoding and fluency before comprehension can occur. Learning to read involves a constant back-and-forth flow among these three skills. A difficulty in any one of them can cause a breakdown in reading skill. Decoding Decoding means understanding the sounds associated with letter symbols and being able to put them together. A good reading program teaching decoding skills will include phonological awareness activities, blending sounds and segmenting sounds. Phonological awareness is the understanding that words are made up of individual letter/sound combinations. Blending is being able to put those sounds together to â€Å"read† a word. Segmenting is being able to separate a word into individual sounds. In more advanced reading, blending and segmenting will be used to put together or take apart multisyllable words. Some instruction in decoding is useful for all readers to help them read unfamiliar words and also in spelling. Many readers understand the decoding system easily. Those who do not should receive more extensive, direct teaching in these skills. Decoding is what we often associate with phonics and is frequently considered the boring part of learning to read. But it doesn’t need to be. Teachers can help their child with phonics and phonological awareness through word games. Rhyming activities, discussing words with alliterative sounds (â€Å"mean monsters munching mints†) or play games by deleting sounds (say â€Å"clap† without the â€Å"c†) are all ways to help young children become aware of sounds. Having them read or spell nonsense words (such as â€Å"glont† or â€Å"bresk†) can become a game which will help them practice using sounds and learn patterns in the English language Fluency Once a child knows all the sounds, he needs to be able to blend them automatically (or without consciously thinking about it) and speedily to achieve fluency. Fluency is the ability to read smoothly and with expression. Fluency is the bridge between decoding and comprehension. Sometimes children work so hard at decoding each word in a sentence that they cannot remember what they read by the time they reach the end. They lack fluency. Fluency is an area where parents can help since it requires practice and modeling. Reading aloud to your children with expression and enjoyment both before and after they can read themselves, is a good way to model fluency. Once they have learned to read, read aloud collaboratively, taking turns reading a page. Repeated reading is another way to improve fluency, so do not hesitate to read the same books over and over. Comprehension Comprehension is really the end-product, or goal, of reading. We read to gain knowledge and understanding, and we read for pleasure. Each of these requires good comprehension. Many thinking skills and life experiences involve reading comprehension. In addition to speed of decoding and fluency, comprehension has many other components, including knowledge of vocabulary and language usage, background knowledge, memory, sequencing (understanding and remembering events or ideas in the order in which they are presented), visualizing (making a picture in your head as you read) and focusing (maintaining attention and interest). Teachers can have a great impact on a child’s reading comprehension. Again, reading aloud with children will inspire a love of books and reading and will provide vocabulary and language stimulation and background knowledge that will aid them when they begin to read themselves. Children who have dyslexia or a specific learning disability can benefit much more quickly from remediation if they have good listening comprehension. Reading books together gives children a chance to talk about the book, to discuss new facts and explore new ideas. Children can also improve their vocabulary and background knowledge through  discussions and activities with their friends (a trip to the zoo to learn about animals, a walk in the park to talk about kinds of plants). Integrating the Skills These three skills—decoding, fluency, and comprehension—are used continually as children’s reading skills progress. As new phonemes (letter/sound combinations) are added to reading, some children need lots of practice to become fluent with them. As they encounter more difficult words, reading may become less fluent, and the students may need to review or learn new decoding skills. If decoding skills were shaky to begin with, that can become a problem as children encounter more difficult words. Sometimes in middle school, or even high school, a child will have difficulty reading new words, and he will benefit from some instruction in how to break words apart into their syllable parts for reading or spelling. A good reading program will include all three skills. It is important for teachers to understand that reading has several parts and requires many different skills. If a child is having difficulty with reading, he may need some testing or assessment to figure out the problem. A teacher or tutor or academic therapist can then give the child specialized teaching to remediate the problem. Characteristics of Fluent Readers †¢ read with a purpose (to get information or for pleasure) and understand the purpose of different texts (e. g. , ads to encourage buying, editorials to present and influence opinions, recipes to give instructions); †¢ read quickly, automatically recognizing letters and words, maintaining a flow that allows them to make connections and inferences that make the text understandable; †¢ use a variety of strategies, depending on the text, to read efficiently (e. g., varying reading speed, predicting what will happen next, previewing headings and illustrations); †¢ interact with the text, making use of background knowledge as well as the information on the printed page; †¢ evaluate the text critically, determining whether they agree or disagree with the author; †¢ expect to understand the text and get meaning from it; and †¢ usually read silently. Conclusion Much research has been concerned with first language reading and has generated many approaches to teaching reading. However, there is a growing body of literature on both foreign language academic reading and second language reading. All three areas contribute to the understanding of the reading process and have implications for instructional practice. Teachers who are aware of these reading approaches can tailor reading instruction to meet the needs and goals of English language learners. Suggestions for Developing Reading Instruction Knowing what good readers do and comparing this with the strategies used by learners in their classes will enable ESL teachers to gauge learners’ needs. Adult English language learners come with varied reading backgrounds and experiences. Some are fluent readers in their native languages; some are not. Their view of literacy will be influenced by the literacy practices of their culture. Yet, they all will share the experience of learning to read in English, and they will approach reading differently from the way native speakers approach it (Rance-Roney, 1997). The following activities can help learners develop reading proficiency. The choice of activity, however, depends on the needs of the learners, the nature of the text, and the demands of the reading task. Reading Proficiency Activities 1. Because good readers read with a purpose, learners should read texts that meet their needs and are interesting. Teachers can choose texts, or let the learners choose texts, that are relevant to the learners’ lives. They also need to be exposed to texts that they are likely to encounter in everyday life, such as newspapers and magazines, work memos, schedules, and medical instructions. 2. In order to develop automatic recognition skills, learners who are preliterate or literate in a language with a non-Roman alphabet should be given opportunities to develop letter recognition and sound-symbol correspondence skills. This should not be done in isolation, but with familiar texts that they have practiced orally or heard before (Hood et al. , 1996). For example, learners can identify words that begin with a certain sound in a dialogue they know. Learners who are literate in their own language may find phonics instruction unproductive unless differences between their native language and English are pointed out. Spanish speakers, for example, need to know that the letter â€Å"a† can express more than one sound in English. Vocabulary development also plays a role in automaticity. In texts where vocabulary may not be familiar, teachers can introduce key vocabulary in prereading activities that focus on language awareness, such as finding synonyms, antonyms, derivatives, or associated words (Hood et al. , 1996). Modified cloze exercises, where examples of the target structure (e. g. , prepositions) are deleted from a text and learners fill in as many blanks as they can, are also helpful. 3. Using appropriate strategies for various reading tasks increases comprehension, but acquiring an array of strategies is a long and difficult process (Grabe, 1995). Nevertheless, such strategies as skimming for the main idea, scanning for specific information, predicting what a text is about or what will happen next, and making use of the context and illustrations to discover word meanings are critical for English language learners beyond the beginning level. 4. Prereading activities that introduce the text encourage learners to use their background knowledge (Eskey, 1997). Class members can brainstorm ideas about the meaning of a title or an illustration and discuss what they know. The teacher can highlight cultural assumptions inherent in the writing. Awareness of various text types and their styles (advertisements, recipes, editorials) is also helpful. 5. Evaluating texts for implicit values and assumptions is another important reading skill. Reading texts that present different opinions or different descriptions of the same situation help develop an awareness of how language reflects values (Hood et al. , 1996). Texts that present an issue without presenting a solution, such as â€Å"Dear Abby† letters (without the replies), can lead to discussion and writing about differing points of view (Auerbach, 1992). 6. Good readers expect to understand what they are reading. Therefore, texts should contain words and grammatical structures familiar to the learners (Eskey, 1997). However, it is not always easy to find texts that are both understandable and interesting for adult English language learners to read. Authentic reading material can often be found by the learners themselves, who have written pieces to share with each other. 7. Extensive reading for a sustained, uninterrupted period of time is not only valuable for developing vocabulary but is also an important way to develop reading proficiency and language acquisition in general (Grabe, 1991; Krashen, 1993). In class, learners can engage in Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) of materials they have chosen themselves. They can be encouraged to read outside of class by maintaining (and periodically turning in) reading logs that list what they have read and by making one- to three-minute oral presentations recommending a book, story, or article to their classmates (Dupuy, Tse, & Cook, 1996). Conclusion Much research has been concerned with first language reading and has generated many approaches to teaching reading. However, there is a growing body of literature on both foreign language academic reading and second language reading. All three areas contribute to the understanding of the reading process and have implications for instructional practice. Teachers who are aware of these reading approaches can tailor reading instruction to meet the needs and goals of English language learners. AN APPROACH TO A READING LESSON STAGE 1: Check understanding of ‘essential’ vocabulary. (Do you think it is necessary or desirable for your students to understand all the vocabulary) AIM: For students to understand the meaning of words essential to the completion of set tasks. STAGE 2: Establish interest in the topic through discussion based on the topic or prediction. AIM: To generate students’ interest in the topic of the text. (These two stages are necessary to prepare the students for the reading skills. ) STAGE 3: Set atleast two different reading tasks. Give the easier task(questions), first to build confidence. This would be task which require scan reading. AIM: For students to have practice in scan reading skills. STAGE 4: Provide a task.

Everyman (Medieval Literature) Review essays

Everyman (Medieval Literature) Review essays The medieval play, Everyman, has defined what literature has come to know as The Everyman: the common, average person or character that is meant to represent every person. It is the character that is meant to allow the reader to identify with them. It is the character that represents society in general. Thus, the real message behind the medieval play Everyman is a social critique of what is wrong about The Everyman. Everyman can be traced back to the fifteenth century where it originated in a Dutch or Flemish play called Elckerlijc authored by Peter van Diest. The version must commonly read today is the sixteenth century English version. At its core Everyman is a morality play. Everyman is the main character who serves as an allegorical figure of the every man. In the play he is summoned by the allegorical figure of death to visit God and account for the life he has been lent by God. On his way, Everyman is told that he must go along, that his friends Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin, Goods and Knowledge will not accompany him. Only Virtue is willing to accompany Everyman and justify him before God. In the play, a messenger informs the audience that they must listen well, hinting that the play is really a message to them (the Everyman). The play begins with a conversation between God and Death, where God talks about the worlds people and the ongoing problem that they are able to sin freely without any thought of consequence. God order Death to go to earth and visit with Everyman and make him understand that his sinning is against Gods wishes. When they first meet, Everyman attempts to bride Death to get more time, but his request is promptly denied. However, Death does allow Everyman to find a friend to accompany him on his journey. The purpose of the friend is to serve as a witness before God and speak to Everymans alleged good virtues. E ...

Madagascar

Madagascar Free Online Research Papers Madagascar was found by accident in the 1500s by Diego Dias Madagascar is located in Indian Ocean off the south-east of Africa. Also Madagascar is one of the largest is lands in the world, it takes up 587 thousand sq. km. and it has 18.6 million inhabitants. In Madagascar a total of 73% of the population is living in rural areas. The country was a former French colony, and got its independence in June 26, 1960. In the 1960s, Madagascar was one of the better-off African countries as far as income and living standards. After that Madagascar lost this position because of seven decades of economic mismanagement. Madagascar is one of world’s poorest countries. According to the 2005 household survey, more than two-thirds of the population 68.7% lives below the poverty line. The poverty rate in rural areas much higher than it is in urban areas. Since the current government took over in 2002, it has transformed and has better improvements in social, economic. Also the economy grew at an average of 5 percent each year and poverty has gone down to 69% from when it was 80 percent in 2002. These good developments and the smooth presidential elections in December 2006, Marc Ravalomanana who won was re-elected offer hopeful signs that Madagascar has stepped onto a path to sustained development, breaking with the history of economic mismanagement and periodic crises that impoverished the people. But Madagascar still has a long way to go some of the challenges are population growth, now 2.7 percent a year, putting big demands on the government and the economy they first have to educate people, then to make more income opportunities for them. Furthermore, Madagascar faces the challenge keeping its unique environment and biodiversity which are of global significance. In 2006 Madagascar continued to make good progress in bettering its poverty reduction strategy with good progress in the bettering of the roads program, education for all, nutrition, and health. Economic growth is about at 4.9 percent in 2006, it has gotten there by strong tertiary sector growth, but agricultural growth was not good it was lower than in 2005, with production impacted negatively by shortfalls in rain and low world prices for key export such as vanilla. The tertiary sector grew strongly by 8.9 percent, with public works, tourism and transport, banking and the telecommunications sectors as the key growth sectors. So to sum everything up Madagascar is doing better and growing in population. Also the government is coming up with more plans to better Madagascar. A lot of people come to Madagascar to see, Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve comprises karstic landscapes and limestone uplands cut into impressive tsingy peaks and a forest of limestone needles, the spectacular canyon of the Manambolo river, rolling hills and high peaks. The undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps are the habitat for rare and endangered lemurs and birds. Also people like to visit the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga consists of a royal city and burial site, and an ensemble of sacred places. It is associated with strong feelings of national identity, and has maintained its spiritual and sacred character both in ritual practice and the popular imagination for the past 500 years. It remains a place of worship to which pilgrims come from Madagascar and elsewhere. Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique Map Reference: Africa Area Comparative: Slightly less than twice the size of Arizona Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 4,828km Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center Natural resources: graphite, chromites, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower Land use: Arable land: 4.99%, Permanent crops: 1.03%, other: 93.98% (2000 EST.) Natural Hazards: periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation Environment current issues: soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered Environment international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Geography note: worlds fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel Population: 17,501,871 (July 2004 EST.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.9% (male 3,935,523; female 3,922,077) 15-64 years: 52% (male 4,509,877; female 4,596,662) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 245,168; female 292,564) (2004 EST.) Median age: total: 17.4 Years, male: 17.2 Years, female: 17.7 years (2004 EST.) Population growth rate3.03% (2004 EST.): Birth rate: 41.91 births/1,000 population (2004 EST.) Death rate: 11.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 EST.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 populations (2004 EST.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female, under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female, 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female, 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female, total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 EST.) Infant mortality rate: total: 78.52 deaths/1,000 live births, female: 69.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.), male: 86.84 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.54 years, male: 54.19 years, female: 58.96 years (2004 EST.) Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (2004 EST.) HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 EST. HIV/AIDS people living with HIV/AIDS: 22,000 (2001 EST.) HIV/AIDS deaths: 870 (2001 EST.) Nationality: noun: Malagasy (singular and plural) adjective: Malagasy Ethnic groups: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran Religions: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% Languages: French (official), Malagasy (official) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write, total population: 68.9%, male: 75.5%, female: 62.5% (2003 EST.) Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar, conventional short form: Madagascar, local short form: Madagascar, former: Malagasy Republic, local long form: Republique de Madagascar Government type: republic Capital: Antananarivo Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side Mahajanga There are many more tourist attractions in Madagascar despite the many problems. Music: plays a big part in Malagasy people lives. One Malagasy proverb said if you if do your work with music, it will be completed in a flash. So they always mingle music with everything they do, In Madagascar cab drivers play music all the time in their cabs. Kids who play frolic in the backyard habitually sing and dance together, men and women in the rice field used to finish their labor with songs, people who work in the office listen regularly to music while working, so on and so fourth. Music is everywhere. You can always catch a mixed bag of joyful music in the very heart of Antananarivo as well as in the midst of Horombe desert, thanks to thousands of exuberant rhythms that exist all over the Island. In general, music’s from provinces other than Antananarivo have fast rhythms, whereas the ones from the capital are relatively cool. Research Papers on MadagascarPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductDefinition of Export QuotasQuebec and CanadaTwilight of the UAWThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationBringing Democracy to AfricaPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2

Crimes and Trials of Lyle and Erik Menendez

Crimes and Trials of Lyle and Erik Menendez In 1989, brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez used a 12-gauge shotgun to murder their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The trial received national attention because it had all the elements of a Hollywood movie - wealth, incest, parricide, infidelity, and murder. Jose Menendez Jose Enrique Menendez was 15 years old when his parents sent him to the US from Cuba after Castro took over. Influenced by his parents, who were both champion athletes in Cuba, Jose also developed into a good athlete and later attended Southern Illinois University on a swimming scholarship. At the age of 19, he met and married Mary Kitty Anderson and the couple moved to New York. There he earned an accounting degree from Queens College in Flushing, New York. Once out of college his career soared. He proved to be a highly focused, competitive, success-driven employee. His climb up the ladder eventually led to a lucrative position in the entertainment industry with RCA as an executive vice president and chief operating officer. During this time Jose and Kitty had two boys, Joseph Lyle, born January 10, 1968, and Erik Galen, born November 27, 1970. The family moved to a prestigious home in Princeton, New Jersey, where they enjoyed comfortable country-club living. In 1986, Jose left RCA and transferred to Los Angeles where he accepted the position of President of Live Entertainment, a division of Carolco Pictures. Jose earned a reputation as being a heartless, tough numbers cruncher, which turned an unprofitable division into a moneymaker within a year. Although his success brought him a certain level of respect, there were also many people who worked for him that completely despised him. Kitty Menendez For Kitty, the West Coast move was disappointing. She loved her life in New Jersey and struggled to fit into her new world in Los Angeles. Originally from Chicago, Kitty grew up in a broken middle-class home. Her father was physically abusive to his wife and children. They divorced after he left to be with another woman. Her mother never seemed to get over the failed marriage. She suffered from depression and deep resentments. Throughout high school, Kitty was sullen and withdrawn. It was not until she attended Southern Illinois University that she seemed to grow and develop self-esteem. In 1962, she won a beauty pageant, which also seemed to bolster her confidence. In her senior year of college, she met Jose and fell in love. She was three years older than he was, and a different race, which at that time was frowned upon. When Jose and Kitty decided to marry, both their families were against it. Kittys parents felt the racial issue would lead to unhappiness and Joses parents thought that he was only 19 and too young to marry. They also did not like that Kittys parents were divorced. So the two eloped and soon afterward headed to New York. Kitty turned away from her future goals and went to work as a schoolteacher while Jose finished college. It seemed to pay off in some ways after his career took off, but in other ways, Kitty lost herself and became completely dependent on her husband. She spent much of her time tending to the boys and waiting on Jose when he was home. When she discovered that Jose had a mistress and that the relationship had lasted over six years, she was devastated. He later admitted to cheating on her with several women throughout their marriage. Like her mother, Kitty never seemed to get over Joses infidelities. She too became bitter, depressed and even more dependent. Now, having moved across the  country, she had lost the network of friends that she had in the northeast and felt isolated. After having children Kitty gained weight and she lacked style in her clothing and general appearance. Her taste in decorating was poor and she was a bad housekeeper. All of this made acceptance in the affluent Los Angeles circles a challenge. On the outside, the family looked close-knit, like a perfect family, but there were internal struggles that took its toll on Kitty. She no longer trusted Jose and then there was the trouble with the boys. Calabasas The San Fernando Valley suburb called Calabasas is an upper-middle-class area and where the Menendez moved to after leaving New Jersey. Lyle had been accepted into Princeton University and did not move with the family until months later. During Lyles first semester at Princeton, he was caught plagiarizing an assignment and was suspended for one year. His father attempted to sway Princetons president, but without success. At this point, Jose and Kitty were both aware that the boys were incredibly spoiled. They got most everything that they wanted - great cars, designer clothing, money to blow and in exchange, and all they had to do was live under the strict controls of their father. Since Lyle was thrown out of Princeton, Jose decided it was time for him to learn some life lessons and he put him to work at LIVE. Lyle was not interested. He wanted to go to UCLA and play tennis, not go to work. However, Jose would not allow it and Lyle became a LIVE employee. Lyles work ethic was similar to how he acted towards most things - lazy, disinterested, and leaned on daddy to get him through it. He was constantly late for work and ignored assignments or would just take off to go play tennis. When Jose found out, he fired him. July 1988 With two months to kill before returning to Princeton, Lyle, 20 and Erik now 17, began burglarizing their friends parents homes. The amount of money and jewelry that they stole amounted to around $100,000. After they were caught, Jose saw that Lyles chances to return to Princeton would be over if he was convicted, so with the help of a lawyer, he manipulated it so that Erik would take the fall. In exchange, the brothers would have to go for counseling and Erik was required to do community service. Jose also forked out $11,000 to the victims. Kittys psychologist, Les Summerfield, recommended psychologist Dr. Jerome Oziel as a  good choice for Erik to see for counseling. As far as the Calabasas community went, not very many people wanted anything more to do with the Menendez family. In response, the family headed to Beverly Hills. 722 North Elm Drive After being humiliated out of Calabasas by his sons, Jose purchased a spectacular $4 million mansion in Beverly Hills. The house had marble floors, six bedrooms, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a guesthouse. Previous occupants included Prince, Elton John, and a Saudi prince. Erik changed schools and began attending Beverly Hills High and Lyle returned to Princeton. The switch was probably difficult for Erik, who had managed to develop some friendships at Calabasas high school. Being the younger brother, Erik seemed to idolize Lyle. They had a deep bond that excluded others and as children, they often played exclusively together. Academically, the boys were average and even that level was hard for them to maintain without the direct help from their mother. Teacher evaluations often included the suggestion that the boys homework was above the capability that they showed in class. In other words, someone was doing their homework for them. And they were right. Throughout Eriks entire time in school, Kitty would do his homework. About the only thing Erik was good at was tennis, and at that, he excelled. He was the number one ranked player on the schools team. In high school, with Lyle no longer involved in his day-to-day life, Erik had his own friends. One good friend was the captain of the tennis team, Craig Cignarelli. Craig and Erik spent a lot of time together. They wrote a screenplay called Friends about a teen that saw his fathers will and went and killed him so he would inherit the money. No one at the time knew the implications of the plot. Spoiled Rotten By July 1989, things for the Menendez family continued to spiral downward. Lyle was on academic and disciplinary probation from Princeton after destroying property. He also tore up the golf course at the country club that the family belonged to, costing their membership to be suspended and thousands in repair cost that Jose paid. Erik spent his energy with failed attempts to make a name for himself in tennis. Jose and Kitty felt that they no longer could control the boys. In an attempt to get them to grow up and face some responsibility for their lives and their futures Jose and Kitty decided to use their will like a dangling carrot. Jose threatened to remove his sons from the will if they did not change the way they were living. Something Was Amiss Based on outside appearances, the remainder of the summer seemed to go better for the family. They were doing things together again as a family. But Kitty, for unknown reasons, did not feel safe around the boys. She spoke to her therapist about feeling fearful of her sons. She thought they were narcissistic sociopaths. At night she kept her doors locked and two rifles nearby. The Murders On August 20, 1989, at around midnight, the Beverly Hills police received a 9-1-1 call from Lyle Menendez. Erik and Lyle had just returned home after going to the movies and found their parents dead in the family room of their home. Both parents had been shot with 12-gauge shotguns. According to autopsy reports, Jose suffered explosive decapitation with evisceration of the brain and both his and Kittys faces were blown apart. Investigation The rumored theory about who murdered the Menendez was that it as a Mob hit, based partially on information from Erik and Lyle. However, if it was a mob hit, it was a definite case of overkill and the police were not buying it. Also, there were no shotgun casings at the murder site. Mobsters do not bother to clean up shell casings. What created more concern among the detectives was the tremendous amount of money the Menendez brothers were spending which began immediately after their parents were murdered. The list was long, too. Expensive cars, Rolex watches, restaurants, personal tennis coaches - the boys were on a spending roll. Prosecutors estimated that the brothers spent around a million dollars in six months. Big Break On March 5, 1990, seven months into the investigation, Judalon Smyth contacted the Beverly Hills police and informed them that Dr. Jerome Oziel had audio tapes of Lyle and Erik Menendez confessing to the murder of their parents. She also provided them information on where the shotguns were purchased and that the Menendez brothers had threatened to kill Oziel if he went to the police. At the time, Smyth was trying to end an alleged relationship with Oziel, when he asked her to pretend to be a patient at the office so that she could eavesdrop on a meeting he was having with the Menendez brothers. Oziel was afraid of the boys and wanted Smyth there to call police in case something happened. Because there was a threat on Oziels life, the patient-therapist confidentiality rule did not apply. Armed with a search warrant the police located the tapes in a safety deposit box and the information Smyth provided was confirmed. On March 8, Lyle Menendez was arrested near the family home, followed by the arrest of Erik who returned from a tennis match in Israel and turned himself into the police. The brothers were remanded without bail. They each hired their own lawyers. Leslie Abramson was Eriks lawyer and Gerald Chaleff was Lyles. The Arraignment The Menendez brothers had full support from most all of their relatives and during their arraignment, the atmosphere lacked the appropriate seriousness for what was taking place. The brothers strutted in like movie stars, smiled, and waved to their family and friends and snickered when the judge began to speak. Apparently, they found the serious tone of her voice humorous. You have been charged with multiple murder for financial gain, while lying in wait, with a loaded firearm, for which, if convicted, you could receive the death penalty. How do you plead? They both plead not guilty. It would take three years before their cases went to trial. The admissibility of the tapes became the big hold up. The California Supreme Court finally decided that some, but not all of the tapes were admissible. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the tape of Erik describing the murders was not allowed. The Trials The trial began on July 20, 1993, in the Van Nuys Superior Court. Judge Stanley M. Weisberg was presiding. He decided that the brothers would be tried together, but that they would have separate juries. Pamela Bozanich, the chief prosecutor, wanted the Menendez brothers to be found guilty and to get the death penalty. Leslie Abramson was representing Erik and Jill Lansing was Lyles lawyer. As flamboyant a lawyer as Abramson was, Lansing and her team were equally quiet and sharply focused. Court TV was also present in the room, filming the trial for its viewers. Both defense lawyers admitted that their clients did kill their parents. They then went about methodically trying to destroy the reputations of Jose and Kitty Menendez. They tried to prove that Menendez brothers had been sexually abused by their sadistic father throughout their lifetime and that their mother, when not participating in her own form of perverse abuse, turned her back on what Jose was doing to the boys. They said that the brothers murdered their parents out of fear that the parents were going to murder them. The prosecution simplified the reasons behind the murder stating that it was done out of greed. The Menendez brothers feared that they were going to get cut out of their parents will and lose out on millions of dollars. The murder was not a spur of the moment attack done out of fear, but rather one that was thought out and planned days and weeks before the fatal night. Both juries were unable to decide which story to believe and they came back deadlocked. The Los Angeles DAs office said they wanted a second trial immediately. They were not going to give up. The Second Trial The second trial was not as flamboyant as the first trial. There were no television cameras and the public had moved on to other cases. This time David Conn was the chief prosecutor and Charles Gessler represented Lyle. Abramson continued to represent Erik. Much of what the defense had to say had already been said and although the whole sexual abuse, incest  direction was disturbing to hear, the shock of hearing it was over. However, the prosecution dealt with the sexual abuse allegations and battered persons syndrome differently than how it was dealt with during the first trial. Bozanich did not address it at all, believing that the jury would not fall for it. Conn attacked it straight on and got Judge Weisberg to block the defense from saying that the brothers suffered from battered persons syndrome. This time the jury found both the Menendez brothers guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Shocking Moment During the penalty phase of the Menendez trial, Dr. William Vicary, who was Eriks psychiatrist since his arrest, admitted that Leslie Abramson asked him to rewrite portions of his notes that were being reviewed because it could be harmful to Erik. He said she called the information prejudicial and out of bounds. One section that was removed pertained to Eriks saying that his fathers homosexual lover told Erik and Lyle that their parents were planning to kill them. Erik told Vicary that the whole thing was a lie. The fact that Abramson had asked the doctor to remove incriminating comments could have cost her her career, but it also could have caused a mistrial. The judge did not allow that to happen and the sentencing phase continued. Sentencing On July 2, 1996, Judge Weisberg sentenced Lyle and Erik Menendez to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The brothers were later sent to separate prisons. Lyle was sent to North Kern State Prison and Erik was sent to the California State Prison.

Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Music - Essay Example ed and overlooked within mainstream histories of rock.† (Cateforis, T., 2006) When the Spice Girls became known in the 90s, they â€Å"introduced the language of independence to a willing audience of pre- and teenage girls – girl power.† (Whiteley, S., 2000) Consequently, girl groups became more aggressive in expressing themselves through their style and music. This essay will attempt to introduce the reader to two successful all-female groups of this generation. It will also attempt to explain why this writer prefers one of the groups with regards to image, performance style and singing skills. South Korea’s Wonder Girls (WG) became famous in Asia with their single, Tell Me. They are now making waves in the U.S. as the front act for the Jonas Brothers. The group which is composed of Min Sun Ye, Park Ye Eun, Kim Yoo Bin, Sun Mi and Ahn So Hee was formed under the guidance of famous South Korean R & B singer, Rain. They are signed with South Korean label JYP Entertainment and debuted in the beginning of 2007 on M! Countdown singing â€Å"Irony†, the title song of their debut album The Wonder Begins. (David, 2009) â€Å"The Wonder Girls has been one of the most popular groups (in 2007) with their first song and their cute and sexy dance moves.† (Han, S. 2007) â€Å"They seem to have broken the mould, also making their debut US TV appearance on Fox Network’s The Wendy Williams Show.† (Newsdesk, 2009) Even if the lyrics are in Korean language, so far, every song from the group has been well-received even by non-Koreans because of their catchy rhythms. With the Pussycat Dolls, the popularity spread is from the U.S. to Asia and other parts of the world. The group was formed under choreographer Robin Antin. From the USA, the Pussycat Dolls started touring to other parts of the world to promote their hits. The group whose image & members have evolved since beginning in 1995 started out as a burlesque troupe based in Los Angeles. (Pussycat Dolls, 2009) Among its

Reflective Experience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective Experience - Assignment Example en defined by many to mean a situation where self evaluation on the set goals in a given setting, can be applied at any time in the course line of anybody (Cunningham, 2008). In my theoretical studies I got this meaning that learning is evaluated on the end of semester exams but with field and writings of the likes of Billie Cunningham, then a lot needs to be done on the side of the lecturer. The lecture is everything in the success of the learning process not in giving powerful lectures but in creating that atmosphere that enable each student to be a very participative one in class (Edmonds, 2005). The lecturer is to provide structures and guidelines to facilitate the students do the learning themselves. Any consultative work is to the part of the lecturer. I concur with the effect that action research is a self researching basis whereby the lecturer takes time to think on the ways and means viable to carry out a goal he wants to achieve concerning the class he is teaching (Cunningham, 2008). For this course, the lecturer will be involved in a series of events. I have this feeling that though the action research is highly recommended, its success is only valid if the right steps are taken into consideration fail to which the whole process if futile. Design and implementation is the bottom line for the success of this process. The lecturer, as Cunningham gives in the example, needs to design an outline i.e. the reasoning and planning of the goals to be achieved have to be clearly out lined. This includes anything that will amount to consolidating the class members. Mostly classes are made of different characters whom some are easily distracted while others are very apt and all needs to be put in a platform which they can move together in a harmonious way. This will include a person response calculation and as a lecturer I would put this as a point forward in engaging the class throughout the semester. Upon understanding the setting and needs of the class

Positives and negatives of obamas presidency period Research Paper

Positives and negatives of obamas presidency period - Research Paper Example One of the most commendable aspects of the Obama presidency has been his rapprochement with the Iranian government over its nuclear program. The fact that the Iranian nuclear program has been a source of major controversy over the past decade can be considered to have been a source of much contention on the international scene. This is mainly because of the fact that the United States has been drawn into the issue as a result of the activities of the powerful Israeli lobby which has had much influence in the formulation of American policies over Iran. It is for this reason that Iran has been largely isolated from the international scene due to the sanctions imposed against it by most of the western powers (Mostofi 226). In addition, the economic sanctions that have been imposed against it have created a situation where its people have come to face many hardships mainly because of the constant shortages of food as well as the reduction of the purchasing power of the state because of t he blockade on its financial sector. Moreover, the decision to impose sanctions against it has ensured that the prices of natural gas and oil have remained high on the global markets in addition to the lack of exploitation of the extensive reserves that Iran possesses. Therefore, the initiative taken by Obama to promote dialogue with Iran has ensured that American interests will be protected within this country once the negotiations come to an end. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have come to be extremely unpopular with the American public and this is mainly because of the fact that there has been massive loss of American life as well as high expenditure in wars which have failed to achieve their intended objectives ("Obama Commits to Troop Withdrawal from Iraq by 2011" 3). It is for this reason that Obama’s order to withdraw American troops from both of these

Argument synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Argument synthesis - Essay Example However, no matter the age of the child, the ultimate goal that the parents have established in the minds of these young girls is either the tiara or ribbon or trophy along with the prize money. To my consideration, I strongly consider that these children beauty pageants should be either outlawed or they must be regularized by government administration. There are numerous things that can be considered regarding these beauty pageants, such as parenthood, ethics, mental health, competition, development or interpersonal associations. A toddler has no knowledge of what the world is all about but their innocence is being cashed by their parents for the sake of acquiring money in future. As the mothers consider these competitions will provide a future to their child and let them earn various scholarships. These mothers forget about the mental well being of their child while offering their child to such competition where they are needed to pose not their real personality but instead one that is in the minds of those judging the competition. The children are being forced to these competitions by their parents and in this way they are instructing them that the only way to earn money is through manipulating their bodies. These competitions can impact negatively on the way children presume themselves. Being the focus of these competitions, the participating kids are taught that their looks, is the most vital thing in this world that is to be considered. And this particular beauty consciousness may cause lower levels of self-esteem in the children who are not able to meet the standards defined in the competition. This may in turn cause various problems like eating disorders amongst children who consider a perfect body to be their ultimate goal. In addition, it is particularly hard for children to consider they are beautiful, when they are insisted by parents to put on heavy make ups, flippers, fake eyelashes and spray tans at these pageants. Issues also arise on the way

States of consciousness Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

States of consciousness - Term Paper Example Dr. Bell’s thesis is that, contrary to the usual psychiatric emphasis on states of consciousness and psychopathology, the ability to change one’s state of consciousness is useful as a survival skill, when faced with severe stress. Black culture is no stranger to stress and suffering, and in fact has developed sophisticated techniques to manage intrapsychic survival and to avoid survival fatigue. Bell argues that inner-city Blacks, in particular, deal with chronic trauma (family separation, rejection, illness and death of parents, severe illness and injuries throughout life, school and residence shifting, unemployment, divorce, pregnancy complications, war and disaster). Goals are frustrated and integrity threatened by loss (Bell, 1982, p. 1018). Surviving this kind of life is exhausting and the continuous onslaught of stressful events challenges a person’s ability to focus on the problem, analyze the situation, plan creative solutions, and remember their competen cy at doing so and their hope that this too can be survived. In responding to a stressful event, an individual needs to change or escape from the stressful environment, develop new skills for action, protect against overwhelming emotions with defense mechanisms, and recover from the event and its outcomes. Altering one’s states of consciousness furthers all four of these requirements (Bell, 1982, p. 1018), and is therefore a critical skill to develop. Traditional Black culture’s approach to healing involves altering consciousness to handle natural and supernatural persecution, central to cultural cosmology. It also involves divination and possession techniques to insure natural harmony with the universe. Black Christian culture uses prayer and testimony and being filled by the Holy Spirit in a similar way, expanding consciousness. Blacks use dancing and music and singing to alter consciousness, as well as physical exertion, masks, drugs, and fasting. Altering conscious ness is a tool for survival, establishing harmony, protection, creative solutions, and change. The article on psychotherapy is entitled, Dyadically Expanded States of Consciousness and the Process of Therapeutic Change. Tronick (1998) discusses the importance of emotional connection and inter-subjectivity, from infancy, and application to the therapeutic relationship. Without emotional connectedness, the mental health of the infant is severely damaged. Tonick (1998) introduces an hypothesis, to explain this, the Dyadic Expansion of Consciousness, Hypothesis, based on his Mutual Regulation Model (MRM) of infant-adult regulation. The MRM is a micro-regulatory social-emotional process of communication that generates dyadic states of consciousness. This infant-adult process is applicable to the client-therapist relationship, as well, and if the dyadic states of consciousness is generated successfully, therapeutic change will likely be forthcoming. Interpreting therapeutic material is no t enough. The infant must regulate to maintain balance, physically and emotionally. The adult is part of the infant’s regulatory system, as critical a part as any internal part. Maintaining homestatic balance is a dyadic collaborative process (Tronick, 1998, p. 293). For example, to regulate body temperature, the infant can kick off a blanket, change positions, become more or less active, or can use crying and other dyadic communication to be picked up and held comfortably by an adult. This

Windows Upgrade Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Windows Upgrade Report - Essay Example XP is termed a real operating system capable of working on a separated mode giving maximum benefits in terms of server features for home and office use. Windows 7 came to live in 2009 as a replacement for Window XP. The Edition was designed for business, home and desktop use. The graphic features improved those of XP and implored the 3D. The â€Å"super bar† improved the architecture of the task bar with better coding scheme for instant access. In addition to Windows Media player, the new revolutionary Windows Movie Maker and Windows Photo Gallery updated the media segment (Er. Vivek Sharma, 2013). Windows 7 is available in many versions and present different features. Windows 7 is available in Starter, Premium, Enterprise, Professional and Ultimate. A user has a choice of these versions according to their needs. The system adopted higher requirement specifications than those of XP. Windows 7 is characterized by 64-bit and 32-bit architecture with 64-bit 1 GHz processor. The minimum RAM size mandatory is 2GB with a lowest amount of 20 GB hard disc. The 32-bit architecture has a RAM requisite of 1GB. This is the disadvantage with Windows 7 if the current hardware does not suite the requirements. Another issue is that Windows XP is not easily upgraded to Windows 7. Window 7 Enterprise has a number of features that minimizes cost for the business user. Direct Access is one such feature. Like the Direct Access, Branch cache is another application in Windows 7 that can be utilized together Windows server 2008 to improve the speed of extracting data from remote locations by caching the information in the intranet or the internet the first time it is requested. Other advancements include VDI, App locker, Federated search and Language Pack (Abraham Silberschatz, 2013). Windows 8 was first released for manufacturing on August 2012 and is an extension of the 6.2 version of the Windows NT Kernel. The new

Argument synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Argument synthesis - Essay Example However, no matter the age of the child, the ultimate goal that the parents have established in the minds of these young girls is either the tiara or ribbon or trophy along with the prize money. To my consideration, I strongly consider that these children beauty pageants should be either outlawed or they must be regularized by government administration. There are numerous things that can be considered regarding these beauty pageants, such as parenthood, ethics, mental health, competition, development or interpersonal associations. A toddler has no knowledge of what the world is all about but their innocence is being cashed by their parents for the sake of acquiring money in future. As the mothers consider these competitions will provide a future to their child and let them earn various scholarships. These mothers forget about the mental well being of their child while offering their child to such competition where they are needed to pose not their real personality but instead one that is in the minds of those judging the competition. The children are being forced to these competitions by their parents and in this way they are instructing them that the only way to earn money is through manipulating their bodies. These competitions can impact negatively on the way children presume themselves. Being the focus of these competitions, the participating kids are taught that their looks, is the most vital thing in this world that is to be considered. And this particular beauty consciousness may cause lower levels of self-esteem in the children who are not able to meet the standards defined in the competition. This may in turn cause various problems like eating disorders amongst children who consider a perfect body to be their ultimate goal. In addition, it is particularly hard for children to consider they are beautiful, when they are insisted by parents to put on heavy make ups, flippers, fake eyelashes and spray tans at these pageants. Issues also arise on the way

Windows Upgrade Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Windows Upgrade Report - Essay Example XP is termed a real operating system capable of working on a separated mode giving maximum benefits in terms of server features for home and office use. Windows 7 came to live in 2009 as a replacement for Window XP. The Edition was designed for business, home and desktop use. The graphic features improved those of XP and implored the 3D. The â€Å"super bar† improved the architecture of the task bar with better coding scheme for instant access. In addition to Windows Media player, the new revolutionary Windows Movie Maker and Windows Photo Gallery updated the media segment (Er. Vivek Sharma, 2013). Windows 7 is available in many versions and present different features. Windows 7 is available in Starter, Premium, Enterprise, Professional and Ultimate. A user has a choice of these versions according to their needs. The system adopted higher requirement specifications than those of XP. Windows 7 is characterized by 64-bit and 32-bit architecture with 64-bit 1 GHz processor. The minimum RAM size mandatory is 2GB with a lowest amount of 20 GB hard disc. The 32-bit architecture has a RAM requisite of 1GB. This is the disadvantage with Windows 7 if the current hardware does not suite the requirements. Another issue is that Windows XP is not easily upgraded to Windows 7. Window 7 Enterprise has a number of features that minimizes cost for the business user. Direct Access is one such feature. Like the Direct Access, Branch cache is another application in Windows 7 that can be utilized together Windows server 2008 to improve the speed of extracting data from remote locations by caching the information in the intranet or the internet the first time it is requested. Other advancements include VDI, App locker, Federated search and Language Pack (Abraham Silberschatz, 2013). Windows 8 was first released for manufacturing on August 2012 and is an extension of the 6.2 version of the Windows NT Kernel. The new

Electronic Medical Records Essay Example for Free

Electronic Medical Records Essay Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are becoming more widely used across the healthcare spectrum. One of the reasons for their popularity is the potential that is presented for increasing the quality of care delivered to patients by decreasing handwriting interpretation errors, reducing medication administration errors and eliminating lost charts. Time management is a crucial skill to have as a nurse. It allows for a smooth workflow which translates into quality patient care. Much time can be wasted not only by the nurse signing off illegible handwritten orders, but also by the other nurses that have to help interpret the handwriting. The EMR requires the physician to enter orders electronically, thereby eliminating handwritten orders. Electronic orders are more precise and more accurately followed (Sokol, 2006). Fewer errors make it to the patient, reducing unnecessary tests and increasing the quality of care that patients are receiving. Electronic medication administration records (MAR) are useful in displaying medications due at specific times. Not only is it possible to sort the medications due at one time, the MAR will also alert the nurse to potential drug interactions. Late medications will be displayed in red to be easily seen. If bar coding is implemented, medication errors can be reduced by a range of 60%-97% (Hunter, 2011). A lost chart can be very frustrating while trying to deliver seamless care to a patient. Paper charts are easily misplaced. Since there is only one, if a single provider is using it, no one else of the medical team can view the chart. The EMR can be viewed from any computer with secure internet access or on a handheld device. When the internet is down, a downtime view only access is available. Nursing Involvement Nurses are known as patient advocates. In advocating for their patients, nurses strive for what is best in their patient’s care. Since nurses will be using the EMR most frequently, it is imperative that they are part of the selection and implementation on an EMR. A nurse, on the EMR team, will represent all nursing. Nurses will be accessing the EMR through their shift several times and will become familiar with the layout and workflow and will be able to provide insight into what would work best to ensure quality of care. There is a saying that you don’t know what you don’t know. A nurse knows what she will need and is the best to supply this information. While researching which EMR would be the best for a facility, a nurse can provide information on time saving workflows between systems. Nurses must also be trained as super users to provide a seamless change from paper charting to electronic charting and provide support to fellow nursing staff. A nurse on the EMR team will be able to deliver new information in a way that other nurses are more receptive to. Handheld Devices If nurses were to use handheld devices in delivery of patient care, there would be a noticeable savings of time as well as more accurate charting. Nursing personnel carrying a handheld device would have immediate access to their patients chart to notice new orders, lab results, or medication admission records. The need to review the paper chart repeatedly throughout the day would be eliminated along with the long search that commences every time you have to look for the paper chart. This could add several minutes to a nurse’s time at the bedside, improving patient satisfaction. When vital signs are taken, written on a slip of paper and then transcribed into the paper chart, there are many opportunities for error and delay. Numbers can be transposed, written incorrectly or the wrong patient’s information could go into a chart. With the immediate availability of a handheld device, the information from the vital signs monitor would have the ability to interface into the patient’s chart virtually eliminating late charting and errors. Security Standards The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was initiated in 1996 as a standard for protecting individually identifiable health information (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). HIPAA requires that all information, either written or electronically, that falls under the criteria is protected from unauthorized viewers. An EMR carries more stringent HIPAA guidelines than a paper chart due to the risks associated with computer based files and there are a few key steps that must be taken to ensure compliance with this act. Access control: each user will have a unique user name and password that must not be shared. Firewall protection must be used on the internet server the hospital utilizes to prevent hackers from obtaining access to protected information. If users are authorized to access patient information from home, there must be a secure server used (Arevalo, 2007). Storage: Data must be encrypted to enhance the security while information is being stored and while it is transferred. Encryption entails protection of files and data that is only viewable to authorized users. Compliance of these regulations should be audited on a regular basis with any violation being swiftly remedied (Medical Records, 2013). Healthcare Costs Purchasing an EMR can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In order to justify such a large purchase, one must examine the potential ways that money can be saved while using an EMR. After spending hours training users and with a little practice, nurse’s workflows will improve and less time will be wasted. A chart will not have to be searched for, double or triple charting is eliminated by using handheld devices for immediate charting. The quality assurance team will be able to run reports on compliance of core measures and be able to recommend changes to nursing personnel to implement. Fewer medication errors will be made by using the electronic MAR. Most importantly, these time and money saving factors will enhance patient safety. With fewer paper charts to store, valuable space can be remodeled into patient care areas that offer services not previously offered due to space issues (Power, 2013). This will increase revenue for the facility. Comparison Epic offers a computerized management system that is utilized by everyone in the healthcare setting including, nurses, nurse aids, physicians, dietary, radiology, emergency department and the business office. Each department will have a unique look and functionality to their program. There is no need to use multiple systems to gather information on a patient. It can be used in medium size ambulatory settings such as a clinic as well as in a hospital setting for either inpatients or outpatients. With all departments having access to the same information on a patient, errors will be reduced in delivery of patient care. The chance for entering erroneous lab results or miss- documentation will also be reduced with department specific workflows. Not only will this result in better patient care, but also in a nurse’s ability to delivery effective, efficient, quality care without delay. In addition, all physician order entry is electronic, every time. Order sets can be customized for each prescriber, saving time and hassle while maintaining meaningful use and following core measures. For added security, the system can be set to automatically sign a user out after a specified length of time of non-use. And while all of the patient’s information is available to each user, audit trails are left enhancing patient security. Epic has pre-loaded patient teaching materials available as well as the option to custom make information. After visit summaries are easily printed upon discharge and an electronic copy is permanently attached to the chart. Patient would benefit from a facility the uses the Epic system by having access to MyChart. MyChart is a portal of access between a patient and their provider for communication as well as a portable computerized health record. IF a patient were to access care from a facility that does not utilize the Epic system, that patient would have access to MyChart and would then be able to provide critical information that would enhance their care. Another computerized management system available is one from Cerner. This system can be used in all settings in a hospital including nursing. For medication administration, Cerner has available barcode identification of medication to help nursing staff complete their five rights verification prior to administration. It also allows charting at the bedside to enhance accuracy either through a handheld device or a stationary computer. All order entry by physicians is done on the computer allowing the providers to follow built in prompts for allergy information and adverse drug interactions as well as prompts that will aid in the order of care protocols to enhance patient care. Cerner also has a portal designed for patient to have access to their records no matter where they are as well as tracking information for health goals a patient and their provider have established. The portal allows progress tracking and provides information on steps that can be used to help the patient reach their goals. This gives patients more responsibility for their health while providing the incentive needed. Nursing care will be escalated similarly to the way it would be in Epic. Patient information is easily accessible through intuitive workflows allowing nursing staff to make responsible decisions regarding patient care. My recommendation for a computerized management system would be the one available from Cerner. It is the most user friendly for staff including nursing and offers intensive training and yearly upgrades. The different departments systems appear to work together seamlessly resulting in increased savings of time and money (Cerner, 2013).

Why Did Euro Disney Fail But Disneyland Successed History Essay

Why Did Euro Disney Fail But Disneyland Successed History Essay Many of Businesses in America make detailed assumptions about the potential of expand their business to other countries and structural models of organizing which can be easily failed to consider the cultural differences. One of the examples of the outcome to intercultural business is Disney Corporations European venture. Due to lack of cultural information of France as well as Europe, further on their inability to forecast problems, Disney acquired a huge debt. False assumptions led to a great loss of time, money and even reputation for corporation itself. Instead of analyzing and learning from its potential visitors, Disney chose to make assumptions about the preference of Europeans, which turned out that most of those assumptions were wrong. 2 CASE DESCRIPTIONS Until 1992, the Walt Disney Company had experienced nothing but success in the theme park business. Its first park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Its theme song, Its a Small World After All, promoted an idealized vision of America spiced with reassuring glimpses of exotic cultures all calculated to promote heartwarming feelings about living together as one happy family. There were dark tunnels and bumpy rides to scare the children a little but none of the terrors of the real world . . . The Disney characters that everyone knew from the cartoons and comic books were on hand to shepherd the guests and to direct them to the Mickey Mouse watches and Little Mermaid records. The Anaheim park was an instant success. In the 1970s, the triumph was repeated in Florida, and in 1983, Disney proved the Japanese also have an affinity for Mickey Mouse with the successful opening of Tokyo Disneyland. Having wooed the Japanese, Disney executives in 1986 turned their attention to France and, more specifically, to Paris, the self-proclaimed capital of European high culture and style. Why did they pick France? many asked. When word first got out that Disney wanted to build another international theme park, officials from more than 200 locations all over the world descended on Disney with pleas and cash inducements to work the Disney magic in their hometowns. But Paris was chosen because of demographics and subsidies. About 17 million Europeans live less than a two-hour drive from Paris. Another 310 million can fly there in the same time or less. Also, the French government was so eager to attract Disney that it offered the company more than $1 billion in various incentives, all in the expectation that the project would create 30,000 French jobs. From the beginning, cultural gaffes by Disney set the tone for the project. By late 1986, Disney was deep in negotiations with the French government. To the exasperation of the Disney team, headed by Joe Shapiro, the talks were taking far longer than expected. Jean-Rene Bernard, the chief French negotiator, said he was astonished when Mr. Shapiro, his patience depleted, ran to the door of the room and, in a very un-Gallic gesture, began kicking it repeatedly, shouting, Get me something to break! There was also snipping from Parisian intellectuals who attacked the transplantation of Disneys dream world as an assault on French culture; a cultural Chernobyl, one prominent intellectual called it. The minister of culture announced he would boycott the opening, proclaiming it to be an unwelcome symbol of American clichà ©s and a consumer society. Unperturbed, Disney pushed ahead with the planned summer 1992 opening of the $5 billion park. Shortly after Euro-Disneyland opened, French farmers drove their tractors to the entrance and blocked it. This globally televised act of protest was aimed not at Disney but at the US government, which had been demanding that French agricultural subsidies be cut. Sti ll, it focused world attention upon the loveless marriage of Disney and Paris. Then there were the operational errors. Disneys policy of serving no alcohol in the park, since reversed caused astonishment in a country where a glass of wine for lunch is a given. Disney thought that Monday would be a light day for visitors and Friday a heavy one and allocated staff accordingly, but the reality was the reverse. Another unpleasant surprise was the hotel breakfast debacle. We were told that Europeans dont take breakfast, so we downsized the restaurants, recalled one Disney executive. And guess what? Everybody showed up for breakfast. We were trying to serve 2,500 breakfasts in a 350-seat restaurant at some of the hotels. The lines were horrendous. Moreover, they didnt want the typical French breakfast of croissants and coffee, which was our assumption. They wanted bacon and eggs. Lunch turned out to be another problem. Everybody wanted lunch at 12:30. The crowds were huge. Our smiling cast members had to calm down surly patrons and engage in some behavior modification to teach them that they could eat lunch at 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM. There were major staffing problems too. Disney tried to use the same teamwork model with its staff that had worked so well in America and Japan, but it ran into trouble in France. In the first nine weeks of Euro-Disneylands operation, roughly 1,000 employees, 10 percent of the total, left. One former employee was a 22-yearold medical student from a nearby town who signed up for a weekend job. After two days of brainwashing, as he called Disneys training, he left following a dispute with his supervisor over the timing of his lunch hour. Another former employee noted, I dont think that they realize what Europeans are like . . . that we ask questions and dont think all the same way. One of the biggest problems, however, was that Europeans didnt stay at the park as long as Disney expected. While Disney succeeded in getting close to 9 million visitors a year through the park gates, in line with its plans, most stayed only a day or two. Few stayed the four to five days that Disney had hoped for. It seems that most Europeans regard theme parks as places for day excursions. A theme park is just not seen as a destination for an extended vacation. This was a big shock for Disney. The company had invested billions in building luxury hotels next to the park-hotels that the day-trippers didnt need and that stood half empty most of the time. To make matters worse, the French didnt show up in the expected numbers. In 1994, only 40 percent of the parks visitors were French. One puzzled executive noted that many visitors were Americans living in Europe or, stranger still, Japanese on a European vacation! As a result, by the end of 1994 Euro-Disneyland had cumulative losses of $2 billion. At this point, Euro-Disney changed its strategy. First, the company changed the name to Disneyland Paris in an attempt to strengthen the parks identity. Second, food and fashion offerings changed. To quote one manager, We opened with restaurants providing French-style food service, but we found that customers wanted self service like in the US parks. Similarly, products in the boutiques were initially toned down for the French market, but since then the range has changed to give it a more definite Disney image. Third, the prices for day tickets and hotel rooms were cut by one-third. The result was an attendance of 11.7 million in 1996, up from a low of 8.8 million in 1994. 3 ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS 3.1 Problems and underlying cultural differences The Case of Euro Disneyland can represent a lack of cultural focus and awareness of concept which was a globalization of the Disney Corporation. Difficulties that Disney Corporation met are typical for a multinational corporation which has not implemented cross cultural management and strategies. In fact, Disney Corporation failed to adapt to the French environment and to foresee the influences of foreign and domestic factors. Organization and management relied mostly on American cultures, experiences, and understanding. By not identifying certain cultural differences, Euro Disneyland created an environment that was not acceptable by the European culture itself. Cultural differences between the US and France has been ignored by Disney. One of the themes of Euro-Disneyland was American. Like other Disneyland in other places, Disney followed one of its two major traditions of not serving wine, despite the attitude among the French that alcohol was a fundamental right. And also restaurants were all American foods. The only exception is Fantasyland which re-created European fables. The recipes in American restaurants were also indistinctly adapted for European tastes. As a consequence, different regional American food was introduced to Americanize the Disneyland in Europe. Intention of Euro Disneyland was to continue Disneys traditional design in that it shared the many features and attractions of other Disneyland. Wide spread market research was conducted and also the cultural adaptation was expressed in such things as designs for park, standards for employees, and habits for eating. In the research, Disneyland was among the top three tourist spots for Europeans when they want to travel U.S., Euro Disney emphasized on making the Disneyland extremely American to visitors. The hotels, rides, and themes of the Disneyland were mostly named in a way of an American flavor, appealing to the European appetite for an American experience. However, the Euro Disneyland received many complaints from the visitors that Euro Disneyland is too Americanized. Some of the associations and the media in France have expressed cruel criticisms condemning the risk of cultural imperialism by Euro Disney. Appearance of Americanized Disneyland in Europe would encourage damaging American brand of consumerism. For some others, Euro Disney became the symbol of America and even of anti-American parties. Disney was tried to hire employees of different nationalities proportional to expected visitor as 45% of French, 30% of other Europeans, 15% of outside of Europe, but most of the visitors were from France. Disneylands employees were trained by managers and supervisors to ensure high quality of services and reliable managerial practices. While European managers were trained at other theme parks, foreign managers were also sent to Euro Disney to work. Although Euro Disney mainly hired Europeans to work in the park, most of the top managerial places were held by the hands of American experts. Standards of judgment for the jobs in Disneyland were criticized by applicants, and the press. The argument revolved around Disneys grooming requirements. Euro Disney insisted on a strict dress code which was much stricter than other jobs such as a ban on facial hair and colored stockings, standards for neat hair and fingernails, and even a policy of appropriate undergarments. So applicants felt that requirements were unnecessary for a job like cast member of theme park. One of the challenges that Disney faced was convincing the French cast members to break their cultural hatred of smiling and of impoliteness to visitors. While Euro Disney successfully trained cast members, but more than 1,000 employees left their jobs within the first nine weeks of opening of Euro Disneyland. Main reason why they left was long working hours at the park. And managers couldnt understand the European habits and ethics of work, and the working style was not the Europeans were used to in the past.    3.2 Solutions and recommendations Euro Disney needs to take controls of the management resolution and analyzation of their problems and concerns based on their own practice in other places. Thus, there is also the essential need of understanding and appropriate plans for the gap of cultural differences such as acknowledging the characteristics and attitudes of the national Europeans in terms of the business knowing what can work on mutually both sides and accomplishing good marketing strategies which can work for Euro Disneyland. Euro Disney should incorporate with some customary European aspects in order to accommodate the preferences of European visitors and French. Euro Disney already brought out the foods from the world. Many restaurants fortunately were custom-made to the European of less spicy food. Only one of the parks which called Fantasy land carried European dishes out, which have a variety of origins such as Germany, Spain and so forth. It seems the visitors are waiting long lines for rides or food since there was no regulations and no tolerance of such practices in France or even in Europe. So this matter also caused weak attendance. The financial and business plan must undertake concrete evaluation and perhaps Euro Disney can use some other plans and strategies which can help changing the structure of the park, framework of the planning process into a modernized one and convincing visitors to choose Euro Disney over any other parks by having some special events such as discounts and gifts. 3.3 Lessons learned Until such time that problem faced Euro Disney by false assumptions and wrong plans, Disney seemed to perfect theme park as it never did a mistake or such a failure. In case, some mistakes were obviously shown in the result. We can learn several lessons from this Euro Disneyland case. As we plan, we should always have concrete business planning before deciding on the actual process of the project, applying all the potential needs and understanding cultural differences. Also, value of the financing control is also a lesson and that in every aspect of business function, integrated assumptions concerning to financial problems should be improved and value of managing menaces has to be accurately reviewed and to be trained with positive thoughts and motivation in order to solve problems and concerns in every business environment.   5 CONCLUSIONS The business performance of Euro Disneyland was not that great and stable. It couldnt have right assumptions on the European market and there has been cruel European recession such as increase in interest rates and French currency value. The preliminary plan was not ample and accurate in providing resolutions to Disney problems and concerns that arisen. A major criticism on Euro Disneyland was that it is neither international nor French in nature, and it failed to satisfy Europeans at all. Many of the visitors could not figure it out the theme of Euro Disneyland that whether it is going to be a European park, an American park, or a French park. In the meantime, the cost for Euro Disneyland was also an issue for some visitors. Many of the French visitors had been discouraged from coming because of the cost such as housing cost, souvenirs, admission cost and so forth. Attendance was kept on decreasing and the company of course, had great financial loss. Euro Disney gave people who couldnt afford to go to America an identical experience as same as in America. However, the Euro Disney was failed to please French visitors, even European visitors but made them to complain about the long lines, and poor service.