Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Gender Relations Between Rural Areas And The West Of Iran

Daniel Leitao-Graca 4058971 SYG 2000 2 November 2015 Gender Relations in Rural Areas Summary of the Article This paper gives a detailed analysis of a peer-reviewed sociology paper to discuss the theme in the paper, giving a summary of the article with research methods and research findings plus relevance of the paper ‘Geographical Perspective on Gender Relations in Rural Areas; a Comparative Study in North and West of Iran’. The article ‘Geographical Perspective on Gender Relations in Rural Areas; a Comparative Study in North and West of Iran’ featured in the volume 10 issue 2 of the Journal of Rural and Community Development. Dadvar-Khani Fazileh authored the article in 2015. Fazileh is of the University of Tehran in Iran and is a†¦show more content†¦Fazileh’s comparative study shows the effect of geographical distribution in generating gender identity and female roles in rural areas (Dadvar, 72). The study as seen from the two different rural areas reveals a significant outlook between genders in terms of women’s social rights and roles in both economic and social activities. The studies in two different townships in Iran, Langroud in north Iran and Paveh in the west show a variance in gender relations and especially in female participation in activities as agriculture and the general attitude men of the same locality depict towards the same. The overall concern of Fazileh is to study the contribution of geographical conditions like climate and topography in the shaping of social issues like gender identity and female participation in socioeconomic activities including agriculture and how this affects men’s attitudes towards various gender issues like the position of the female gender and the legal status of women. The results of the study turn out different in the two townships of different geographical characteristics clearly delineating the purpose of geography in gender relations as seen in the rural areas of west and north Iran Research method Fazileh employed the use of questionnaires to conduct his study in the rural population of Iran (Dadvar,68). The questionnaires contained 64 items and were geared towards; gender rights and duties and the attitudes of men and women towards the same,

Monday, December 16, 2019

Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism Free Essays

In America, there is a predominant growth in multiple ethnicities and cultural backgrounds; leading to the usage of multiple languages in the American culture. There is a growing need for many people to learn and utilize multiple languages within the workplace and within one’s own personal life. The importance of bilingualism and the knowledge of multiple languages is ever increasing, and therefore becoming more important for the younger generations. We will write a custom essay sample on Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism or any similar topic only for you Order Now The push for knowing multiple languages and becoming bilingual has many potential negative and positive effects. Bilingualism is the ability to use two languages when communicating orally or in writing. The usage of multiple languages within the American culture is becoming very common and beneficial. It is difficult because as teacher you always have to find new and interesting methods in order to arouse learner’s interest, but at the same time it is enjoyable since teachers are given the opportunity to work with them. For myself, I enjoy working with bilingual children; I as a caregiver try to learn the students’ first language so that I will be able to communicate with them as much as possible in their native language. Currently in my classroom I have a German native. His name is Lucas and he is fifteen months old. His mother is German and his father is an American soldier. Both of his parents speak English and German. So at home they communicate with him in both languages. I talk to his mother and father on a daily basis to find out new words in German so that I can talk to him in both languages. I have discovered that some words that I do say in German he really does respond to them better, than if I would tell him to do something in English. Second language acquisition is the process of learning other languages in addition to the native language. Second language acquisition is a long process which can include many stages. For instance, a child who speaks German as the mother tongue starts learning English when he/she starts going to school. English is learned by the process of second language acquisition. Students of second language acquisition go through the same stages of learning, the period of learning varies. Some students tend to learn better by responding to visuals and pictures. There are many positive benefits in the acquisition of a second language and bilingualism. There are many positive affective factors for second language acquisition and bilingualism. Some positive factors can be listed as: the student’s attitude towards learning the new language, the teacher motivational attitude, and the proficiency in the student’s first language. Also learning a second language at an early age can have a positive effect on intellectual growth, and also enhance and enrich the child’s mental and development. Furthermore it can open the doors of opportunities to other cultures and help the children learn and appreciate other people from other countries. There are two types of bilingualism. The first type is simultaneous bilingualism. Simultaneous bilingualism is when children acquire two languages prior to the age three. Simultaneous bilingualism normally happens when the language used at home is different from language used in the community or school. The parents, caregivers or other family members might not speak the language of the school or the community, or the parents could speak two or more languages but have made a decision about which language they speak with the child. (http://www. brainy-child. com/article/bilingual. shtm) The second type of bilingualism is successive bilingualism. Successive bilingualism refers to instances in which a child acquire their second language after the age of three† (Otto, 2010, pg. 71). Once they have reached the successive bilingualism stage some children learn their second language formally through school or through language classes. With successive bilingualism a child has the advantage of their first language as a base. They use this to both analyze and develop t he second. For example, the child knows that language is organized in a particular order. The more mature a child is they also have a better vocabulary base, acoustic perception, and comprehension. Therefore they would make fewer errors in a second language. For example, I once worked with a little boy, Julien, he spoke NO English when he entered my classroom (only Spanish) also, and his mom spoke NO English. As time passed he picked up English but when he got angry he would spout off in Spanish. ABSOLUTELY the cutest thing I ever saw! When parents to do not speak English I take that as a learning opportunity for myself and the parent. I try to communicate in that parent’s native language as best as I know how. Even if that means only knowing the basics. As the year progressed, the parent also learned how to speak English from taking classes on the army installation. When she could finally communicate with me she was very excited and so was I. Our relationship really grew. However, there is a critical period of learning a second language, â€Å"Many linguists believe there is a ‘critical period’ (lasting roughly from birth until puberty) during which a child can easily acquire any language that he or she is regularly exposed to. Under this view, the structure of the brain changes at puberty, and after that it becomes harder to learn a new language. This means that it is much easier to learn a second language during childhood than as an adult. Apart from the above, children do tend to develop more native-like pronunciation when bilingualism begins before adolescence. † (http://www. brainy-child. com/article/bilingual. shtm) With that being said children tend to learn a second language better before the age of fifteen. â€Å"Learners and their learning strategies will change over time. A five year old will have a different language learning profile and language learning strategies than a fifteen year old. † (http://www. rainy-child. com/article/bilingual. shtm) As bilingual children acquire the home and target language they have been found to mix the languages in the same communicative interaction. This is known as language interference (Otto, 2010). â€Å"Code mixing is also when the children appear to be mixing the two languages. When the children code mix this may simply reflect their parents’ use of the t wo languages. It can also reflect the attempts to maintain a conversation when knowledge of the second language is not sufficient to express the desired message. † (Otto, 2010, pg. 72). I have seen this happen on a regular basis in the preschool classroom. One incident I remember, I was joining my son for lunch and I was passing the lunch to the child next to me, when handing him the ham in the container, he replied â€Å"no bitte† which means no thank you. He said â€Å"no† in English and â€Å"thank you† in German. According to Otto, the author of Language development in Early Childhood, â€Å"Codeswitching is distinguished from code mixing and language interference by the speaker’s apparently conscious and deliberate use of two languages within the same sentence or from one sentence to another† (Otto, 2010, pg. 2) Codeswitching usually occurs when a idea label is not available in the language being used. When talking to my father he uses codeswitching all time. He would be in the middle of a conversation with me speaking to me in English and if he does not know the correct word in English he would automatically say it in Spanish . I never knew that there was a professional word for this type of language. â€Å"In the past, especially prior to 1960, bilingualism was thought to be an educational handicap† (Otto, 2010, pg. 72). It was believed that children could not learn a second language, while maintaining their first language (Otto, 2010). This is termed subtractive bilingualism. When a child encounters subtractive bilingualism this could result in the negative impact on the families. The communication between the families can become disrupted. â€Å"Prior to the 1970’s research has increased our understanding of the factors involved in second language acquisition† (Otto, 2010, pg. 73). We as educators need to get involved and help children and their amilies that are bilingual. â€Å"Current approaches to bilingualism emphasize the acquisition of the second target language, with the continued development of the home language. â€Å"This approach is also referred to the as additive bilingualism because a child’s language skills are enhanced in both languages† (Otto, 2010, pg. 73). Immersion programs promote additive bilingualism for majority language speakers. These are highl y valued educational programs. Although teaching is provided in the second language, the teacher knows and may use both languages. For example, the Child Development Center that I work for here in Hohenfels, Germany offers immersion programs to the military community. They offer German and Spanish immersion programs. I believe that these are great programs and that will be very helpful for our community, being that we have some many bilingual families in our community. Right know the classes are offered for children ranging from ages three years until twelve years of age. Also in the Hohenfels community there is Host Nation classes offered at the Elementary school. The host nation class teaches basic German words. This class also teaches the German customs. The class is offered twice a week in forty –five minute blocks. This class is very beneficial when you are in a different country. I went out to eat with my co-worker and her daughter is in the fifth grade, and just from her attending those classes twice a week she was able to order my food for me at the restaurant. I was impressed. Just being able to communicate basically and the read the menu, is what she has learned from her host nation class at school. As mentioned before, I believe the younger the child is, the better the time is to teach a child a second language. â€Å"Children who have acquired a level of fluency in two languages have been described as having the following increased language competencies: higher levels of metalinguistic awareness, greater and earlier awareness of language structure, wider perspectives, and more social skills† (Otto, 2010, pg. 73). This supports the claim of there being positive effects to bilingualism. Language is not taught directly, but it is acquired through ways which are clearly understood in a low anxiety environment. I am seeing this in my profession more and more each day. The amount of importance put onto second language acquisition is much higher that it has been before; at least it is more profound now. As a caregiver, I have learned that relationships and learning opportunities will allow children to strive in acquiring a second language. Children and families will continue to learn English as they come to the land of the â€Å"American Dream,† and caregivers, like myself will only slowly begin to see the effects second language acquisition has on our society. References Otto, B. (2010). Language Development In Early Childhood. (3rd Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson BRAINSKILLS.  (2011).  How does language acquisition happen? .  Retrieved from http://www.brainskills.co.uk/HowDoesLanuageAcquisitionHappen.html Brainy Child.  (2011).  The Impact of Bilingualism on Overall Language Development and Academic Success .  Retrieved from http://www.brainy-child.com/article/bilingual.shtm) Education.  (2011).  Becoming bilingual: acquiring two languages.  Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/bilingual-acquiring-two-language/ Alice Callaghan.   (2010,  July  11). English immersion.  Los Angeles Times,p.  A.33.   Retrieved March 01, 2011, from Los Angeles Times. (Document ID:  2078277161). MacLeod,  A.,  ;  Stoel-Gammon,  C..  (2010). What is the impact of age of second language acquisition on the production of consonants and vowels among childhood bilinguals?  The International Journal of Bilingualism,  14(4),  400-421,511.   Retrieved March 01, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID:  2266735221). How to cite Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism, Essays

Sunday, December 8, 2019

My Favorite Year Review- Maine South Highschool spring Play free essay sample

I saw Maine South High School’s production of the comedy musical, My Favorite Year. I personally thought that all of the students did an exemplary job acting. The musical was very entertaining. It had at least one funny line in every scene. I do not usually like musicals, but the music in this play was decent. I liked the story line a lot. It was a realistic story about a young screenwriter. In the story, Benjy Stone works as a comedy writer for a television variety show like today’s Saturday Night Live. Benjy needs to find a guest star for the next week’s show. He calls in his old time movie idol, Alan Swann. He agrees to star on the show, but once he gets to the studio, the crew realizes that he is a drunk. The star of the show, King Kaiser, wants to bring in another star, but Benjy is willing to risk his job to keep Swann on the show. We will write a custom essay sample on My Favorite Year Review- Maine South Highschool spring Play or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Benjy must convince Swann to stay sober for the whole week. The bulk of the story is about Stone trying to keep Swann from drinking. Alan makes it a few days before he starts craving a drink. His temptation is too strong, and he passes out drunk the night before the show. Benjy freaks out and is paranoid about getting fired. Benjy gets Swann to the studio, but Alan becomes very nervous about being on live television and refuses to go on. His most memorable line was, â€Å"I’m not a T.V. star; I’m a movie star!†

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Personal Response Essay - Jeffrey Andreoni’s Why Can’t I Feel What I See free essay sample

Personal Response Essay: Jeffrey Andreoni’s Why Can’t I Feel What I See Jeffrey Andreoni states in his article â€Å"Why Can’t I Feel What I See† that happiness was much easier attained by the generation born in the first third of last century than more recent generations. The idea presented to explain this statement is that recently we as a society decided that happiness is to be measured â€Å"in terms of material gain† (3); when really all that is needed for happiness is to create things with our hands. To illustrate this, he compares himself to his grandfather; who was a poor carpenter with very few possessions. I can understand and even relate to Andreoni’s idea of why his grandfather was much happier. Reading his article might have even explained why I personally feel the way I do. Firstly, I agree with Andreoni’s idea that in our recent past, humans began requiring some â€Å"observable proof of happiness† (3), that happiness could only be measured in material gains. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Response Essay Jeffrey Andreoni’s Why Can’t I Feel What I See or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I believe the media has been a large player in creating this social belief. It is often advertisements that push this idea onto us that more is better; that we should always keep up to date with the latest electronic products and hottest fashion trends. How often do advertisements pitch forth the idea of happiness without having to purchase something? I have personally seen very few of such advertisements. Another idea of Andreoni’s that I agreed with was the idea that happiness comes from creating things with our hands. Although I can only speak for myself, and I cannot definitively confirm his idea, I can confidently say there is a relationship between the two. When my family first moved to Canada I remember spending a lot of time watching my father build furniture for our home. I was mesmerized by how easily he converted raw building supplies into bed frames, wardrobes, and tables. After building up enough knowledge of power tools, I was able to start building my own tree fort at the age of eleven. Two years later, standing fifteen feet above the ground, I had a fort with a waterproof roof, a retractable hammock, and a locking hatch through which only friends could enter. I was very proud of my creation. Unfortunately, two years after its completion, it had to be torn down on the grounds that one of the trees to which it was attached, died and was no longer bearing the weight of the fort. After two years of hard work, my castle had to come down from the trees and be thrown into a pile of rotting lumber. Despite its destruction, I felt no grief or sorrow. I was proud of what I had created, and this pride  continues to bring me happiness today. Although Andreoni’s idea of creating things with our hands is one way of making ourselves happy, I believe there are other things that bring us just as much, if not more, joy. The positive experiences I have had with my close friends have definitely brought me a great deal of happiness as well. Several years ago I went on an RV trip with two close friends across British Columbia; the beautiful scenery combined with the hooliganism that we got ourselves into during the trip will be something I will remember for a lifetime. Just like anything I have created with my hands, I will be able to look back on this experience and get joy from the memories it has created. Generally speaking, I agreed with most of what Andreoni has written about, and I strongly relate to his idea of using our hands. Although I also believe that the methods for attaining happiness are unique to each individual.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on The Ethics Of Downloading Music

THE ETHICS OF DOWNLOADING MUSIC If I had a CD burner and decided to burn a few songs for some friends, all of whom live within an hour or so away by car, would I remember to stop and consider the ethical implications of what I'm doing? Probably not. So imagine the ease of exchanging some favourite tunes, stored as high-quality and quick-to-transmit MP3s on your computer, with people half-way across the globe. What are the ethical implications there? By law, downloading a digital song violates the intellectual property rights of the artist, or in most cases, of the record companies who contracted those rights from the artist. Swapping music leaves artists with little compensation for the reproduction of their work, other than a sense that their songs are providing pleasure and perhaps inspiration to music lovers. The players Napster, in 1999, was the first company to popularize peer-to-peer trading of music files. By offering a software application that allowed users to download MP3s directly from one another's computers, Napster became a phenomenon attracting over 50 million users to its music-loving community. But this phenomenon raised protests from many in the music industry. The Recording Industry Association of America filed suit against Napster in December 1999. Heavy metal group Metallica followed with their own suit in April 2000. Both RIAA and Metallica argued that Napster's software enabled people to download copyrighted work without permission, encouraging music piracy. The RIAA claimed that Napster members making copies of top-selling songs would avoid payment of royalties, which would result in revenue losses for the record industry. Some artists who originally opposed the idea of Napster found themselves changing their position on online music distribution. For example, Matt Johnson from the music group The The made a statement on the group's Web site describing how record companies marginalize... Free Essays on The Ethics Of Downloading Music Free Essays on The Ethics Of Downloading Music THE ETHICS OF DOWNLOADING MUSIC If I had a CD burner and decided to burn a few songs for some friends, all of whom live within an hour or so away by car, would I remember to stop and consider the ethical implications of what I'm doing? Probably not. So imagine the ease of exchanging some favourite tunes, stored as high-quality and quick-to-transmit MP3s on your computer, with people half-way across the globe. What are the ethical implications there? By law, downloading a digital song violates the intellectual property rights of the artist, or in most cases, of the record companies who contracted those rights from the artist. Swapping music leaves artists with little compensation for the reproduction of their work, other than a sense that their songs are providing pleasure and perhaps inspiration to music lovers. The players Napster, in 1999, was the first company to popularize peer-to-peer trading of music files. By offering a software application that allowed users to download MP3s directly from one another's computers, Napster became a phenomenon attracting over 50 million users to its music-loving community. But this phenomenon raised protests from many in the music industry. The Recording Industry Association of America filed suit against Napster in December 1999. Heavy metal group Metallica followed with their own suit in April 2000. Both RIAA and Metallica argued that Napster's software enabled people to download copyrighted work without permission, encouraging music piracy. The RIAA claimed that Napster members making copies of top-selling songs would avoid payment of royalties, which would result in revenue losses for the record industry. Some artists who originally opposed the idea of Napster found themselves changing their position on online music distribution. For example, Matt Johnson from the music group The The made a statement on the group's Web site describing how record companies marginalize...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Understanding Parasocial Relationships with Celebs

Understanding Parasocial Relationships with Celebs Have you ever wondered what a movie character, a celebrity, or a TV personality would do, even when you’re not watching them on-screen? Have you felt close to a character or celebrity even though you’ve never met them in real life? If youve had one of these common experiences, youve experienced a parasocial relationship: an enduring relationship with a media figure. Key Terms Parasocial relationship: An ongoing, one-sided bond with a media figureParasocial interaction: An imagined interaction with a media figure during a discrete viewing situation Donald Horton and Richard Wohl first introduced the concept of parasocial relationships, along with the related idea of parasocial interaction, in the 1950s. Although the relationship is one-sided, it is psychologically similar to a real-life social relationship. Origins In their 1956 article, â€Å"Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a distance,† Horton and Wohl described both parasocial relationships and parasocial interaction for the first time. They used the terms somewhat interchangeably, but mostly focused their exploration on the illusion of conversational give-and-take a media consumer experiences with a media figure while watching a TV show or listening to a radio program. This led to some conceptual confusion. Although a great deal of research has been done on parasocial phenomena, especially since the 1970s and 1980s, the most widely utilized scale in that research, the Parasocial Interaction Scale, combines questions about parasocial interactions and parasocial relationships. However, today, scholars generally agree the two concepts are related but different. Defining Parasocial Interactions and Relationships When a media consumer feels like they are interacting with a media figure- a celebrity, fictional character, radio host, or even a puppet- during a discrete viewing or listening scenario, they are experiencing a parasocial interaction. For example, if a viewer feels like they are hanging out at the Dunder-Mifflin office while watching the TV comedy The Office, they are engaging in a parasocial interaction. On the other hand, if the media user imagines a long-term bond with a media figure that extends outside the viewing or listening situation, it is considered a parasocial relationship.  The bond can be either positive or negative. For instance, if an individual adores the host of their local morning program and often thinks about and discusses the host as if he is one of their friends, that individual has a parasocial relationship with the host. Scholars have observed that parasocial interactions can lead to parasocial relationships, and parasocial relationships can strengthen parasocial interactions. This process resembles the way that spending time with a person in real-life can result in a friendship that then gets deeper and more committed when the individuals spend additional time together. Parasocial vs. Interpersonal Relationships Although the idea of parasocial relationships may seem unusual at first, it’s important to remember that for most media consumers, this is a perfectly normal and psychologically healthy reaction to encounters with on-screen individuals. Humans are wired to make social connections. Media did not exist through a majority of human evolution, and so when consumers are presented with a person or person-like individual via video or audio media, their brains respond as if they were engaging in a real-life social situation. This response does not mean that the individuals believe the interaction is real. Despite media consumers’ knowledge that the interaction is an illusion, however, their perception will cause them to react to the situation as if it were real. In fact, research has shown that the development, maintenance, and dissolution of a parasocial relationship is similar in many ways to real-life interpersonal relationships. For example, one study found that when television viewers perceive a favorite television performer as having an attractive personality and as being competent in their abilities, a parasocial relationship will develop. Surprisingly, physical attraction was found to be less important to the development of parasocial relationships, leading the researchers to conclude that television viewers prefer to develop relationships with television personalities they find socially attractive and who are attractive for their capabilities.  Ã‚   Another investigation assessed the way psychological commitments to a media figure led to the maintenance of parasocial relationships. Two different studies showed that for both fictional television characters, like Homer Simpson, and non-fictional television personas, like Oprah Winfrey, people were more committed to their parasocial relationship when (1) they felt satisfied watching the figure, (2) felt committed to continue watching the figure, and (3) felt that they didnt have good alternatives to the media figure. The researchers used a scale originally developed to assess interpersonal relationships to measure commitment to parasocial relationships, demonstrating that theories and measures of interpersonal relationships can be successfully applied to parasocial relationships. Finally, research has demonstrated that media consumers can experience parasocial breakups when a parasocial relationship ends. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as a television or movie series coming to an end, a character leaving a show, or a media consumer deciding to no longer watch or listen to a show where a character or personality appears. For example, a 2006 study examined how viewers reacted when the popular TV sitcom Friends ended its broadcast run. The researchers found that the more intense the viewers’ parasocial relationships with the characters, the greater the viewers’ distress when the show ended. The pattern of loss Friends fans exhibited was similar to that displayed by those who have lost a real-life relationship, although the emotions were less intense overall. Of course, while this research demonstrates the similarities between parasocial and interpersonal relationships, there are also important distinctions. A parasocial relationship is always mediated and one-sided, with no opportunity for mutual give-and-take. People can engage in as many parasocial relationships as they want and and can break them off whenever they choose without consequence. In addition, parasocial relationships can be shared with family members and friends without jealousy. In fact, discussing a mutual parasocial relationship can actually strengthen the bond in a real-life social relationship. Parasocial Bonds in the Digital Age While much of work involving parasocial phenomena has centered on parasocial bonds with radio, movie, and especially television characters and personalities, digital technology has introduced a new medium through which parasocial relationships can be developed, maintained, and even strengthened. For example, a researcher examined the way fans of the boy band New Kids on the Block maintained their parasocial relationships with the band members by posting to the band’s website. The analysis was conducted following the announcement of the band’s reunion after a 14-year break. On the website, fans expressed their continued devotion to the band, their affection towards its members, and their desire to see the band again. They also shared stories about how the band had helped them in their own lives. Thus, computer-mediated communication assisted fans in their parasocial relationship maintenance. Before the dawn of the internet, people could write fan letters to achieve a similar experience, but the researcher observed that online communication appeared to make fans feel closer to media figures, and that this could make the disclosure of personal feelings and anecdotes more likely.  Ã‚   It stands to reason, then, that social networks like Facebook and Twitter would make an even more substantial contribution to the maintenance of parasocial relationships. Celebrities appear to write and share their own messages with fans on these sites, and fans can respond to their messages, creating the potential for fans to develop even greater feelings of intimacy with media figures. So far, minimal research has been conducted on the way these technological developments impact parasocial relationships, but the topic is ripe for future research. Sources Branch, Sara E., Kari M. Wilson, and Christopher R. Agnew. â€Å"Committed to Oprah, Homer, and House: Using the Investment Model to Understand Parasocial Relationships.† Psychology of Popular Media Culture, vol. 2, no. 2, 2013, pp. 96-109, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0030938Dibble, Jayson L., Tilo Hartmann, and Sarah F. Rosaen. â€Å"Parasocial interaction and Parasocial Relationship: Conceptual Clarification and a Critical Assessment of Measures.† Human Communication Research, vol. 42, no. 1, 2016, pp. 21-44, https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12063  Eyal, Keren, and Jonathan Cohen. â€Å"When Good Friends Say Goodbye: A Parasocial Breakup Study.† Journal of Broadcasting Electronic Media, vol. 50, no. 3, 2006, pp. 502-523, https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem5003_9Giles, David, C. â€Å"Parasocial Interaction: A Review of the Literature and a Model for Future Research.† Media Psychology, vol. 4, no. 3., 2002, pp. 279-305, https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532785XM EP0403_04Horton, Donald, and R. Richard Wohl. â€Å"Mass Communication and Parasocial Interaction: Observation of Intimacy at a Distance.† Psychiatry, vol. 19, no. 3, 1956, pp. 215-229, https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049 Hu, Mu. â€Å"The influence of a scandal on parasocial relationship, parasocial interaction, and parsocial breakup.† Psychology of Popular Media Culture, vol. 5, no. 3, 2016, pp. 217-231, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000068Rubin, Alan M., Elizabeth M. Perse, and Robert A. Powell. â€Å"Loneliness, parasocial interaction, and local television news viewing.† Human Communication Research, vol. 12, no. 2, 1985, pp. 155-180, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1985.tb00071.xRubin, Rebecca B., and Michael P. McHugh. â€Å"Development of Parasocial Interaction Relationships.† Journal of Broadcasting Electronic Media, vol. 31, no. 3, 1987, pp. 279-292, https://doi.org/10.1080/08838158709386664Sanderson, James. â€Å"’You Are All Loved So Much:’ Exploring Relational Maintenance Within the Context of Parasocial Relationships.† Journal of Media Psychology, vol. 21, no. 4, 2009, pp. 171-182, https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105.21.4.171

Thursday, November 21, 2019

In-Office Nuclear Cardiac Stress Lab Term Paper

In-Office Nuclear Cardiac Stress Lab - Term Paper Example This report will take into consideration the financial, health and economic implications of adding an in-office nuclear cardiac stress lab as an investment to an existing eight-physician cardiology practice while taking into consideration the expected returns, compliance to Stark physician self-referral law and recommendation on whether the project remains viable or not. More importantly, it is essential to undertake assumptions upon which the evaluation of the project is based on. One of the assumptions is that as a profit making organization, the project implemented should give high levels of returns that are of additional value to the existence of the healthcare facility as a whole. In addition, the forecasted revenues and expenses are expected to remain constant over the period in which the project is functional. Nonetheless, the initial costs comprising of marketing expenses, clinician education cost are paid only once at the initial start of the project. More so, the rest of th e expenses and revenues remain constant for the rest of the project life cycle (Moyer et al., 2012). Finally, the investment in the in-office nuclear cardiac stress lab will be a long-term project that is expected to last for a longer period. Estimated net revenue and volume projections More significantly, an analysis of the data issued based on income and expenses issued in the spreadsheet are more likely to be based on the initial costs and revenues to be recovered on implementation of the project. Nonetheless, the main question is based on considerations made in case the project become a success or failure and the revenue collected would face increase or decrease in the estimated net revenue and volume projections (Young, 2003). As a result, the changes in volume projections should influence the estimated net revenue over the years as the project is expected to be a long time. Payor mix and contract rates, including bad debt assumptions Considerably, the payor mix influence the a mount of collections that go to the contractor who is involved with the implementation of the project (Moyer et al., 2012). Nonetheless, the current contract rates through allowance of $941,223 seem to be favorable in case they are paid at the initial project outlay because it still ensures that financial benefits derived from the project remains viably high. Considering that bad debt include those revenues that are likely to be defaulted by the customers, the estimated value is high as it stands at $149,363. Capital expenditures and start-up costs In most cases, capital expenditure relates to the cash from a business that is spent on purchasing of new fixed assets that are entitled to give the business-increased benefits. More so, the capital expenditures relate to the start-up costs of investment projects for example, the implementation of the initial outlay in-office nuclear cardiac stress lab allows expenses to initiate the costs. However, it is advisable to recover the capital expenditure and the start up costs over a lifecycle period within which the project yields free cash flow (Moyer et al., 2012). Therefore, the costs that attribute to the start up costs and capital expenditu

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religion - Essay Example This creates the essence for various rituals, libations, cultures, behaviors and lifestyle as observed by different religious traditions. It is worth noting, the fact that there is no single religious tradition that can claim to have fully understood this mystery of the origin of life. This has created superstitious values systems and opinions that have eventually seen these traditional religions differ, based on locality, intellectual background and levels as well as on human tribes and races. Religion, as stated by Harvey (2000) is â€Å"any form of belief, about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life†p.89. It is the pulling together of various cultures opinions and viewpoints that relate humanity to the spiritual world. However, any spiritual believe or viewpoint uphold by an individual is remarkably different from religion. This is because religion has the public outlook, where many people subscribe to such a faith. Thus, religion can si mply be said to be a belief and/or a practice. Therefore, religion can be expressed in term of myths. These are kinds of stories explaining why a group subscribes to a certain faith.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Entrepreneurship Essay Example for Free

Entrepreneurship Essay 1. Is it ever too late for an entrepreneur to launch a new business venture? I am sure that it is never too late for an entrepreneur to start a new business venture if he/she is ready to spare nothing for making the enterprise effective and shoulder all the responsibilities. There is a great amount of famous successful businessmen over 50-55, who continue opening more and more companies and expanding their business. Besides, I think that if a person feels ready to open a new venture, it is not necessary to go for something huge. One can open a small company or go in for home business. Such decisions about launching a new business enterprise depend exceptionally on personal qualities, talents and abilities of an entrepreneur. I believe that older businessmen have greater experience and knowledge, as well as more connections and opportunities in business world, than many young entrepreneurs. Therefore, I do not think that age can be a serious obstacle for opening a new business. 2. Given the sluggish economy and the highly competitive casino industry, should Wynn establish a new venture in a saturated market? Why? Why not? I suppose that it is quite risky to launch a new venture in terms of sluggish economy in a saturated market, especially in casino industry. Casino business is rather specific and has a specific demand, that’s why it can be possible to advance in such environment only for those businessmen, who have already managed to earn a good name and reputation, as well as have a lot of business connections and potential customers. Otherwise it is really difficult to reach positive economic benefits in terms of saturated market. As we can learn from the case, it proved to be very hard to re-enter highly competitive market even for such a respectful and successful businessman as Steve Wynn. His rivals started seriously improving their facilities, changing their marketing strategies and attracting more and more clients. That is why Wynn had to give up some incomes, invest more money into his hotel and sell some of his property in order to upgrade his facilities. 3. Does it matter that Le Reve is located in a less than desirable area of Las Vegas? I do not think that it can be the most principal disadvantage for an ordinary hotel, because the customers usually take into consideration other important factors, including the price for hotel rooms and the quality of services. Nevertheless, it is known that the majority of the clients of Las Vegas luxury hotels are very wealthy Americans, who are ready to pay more money and stay in those hotels, which are located closer to the centers of gambling and entertainment. Therefore, in such situation hotel location really matters a lot. In addition, the main problem of not favorable location is that fact that it can not be changed easily and shortly. If it is possible to improve the quality of hotel services by hiring more qualified personnel or lower the prices to attract more customers, there’s hardly something that can be done about the place where the hotel is built. That is why such factor as location has to be undoubtedly considered by those who want to make their hotel business really successful. 4. Are there other reasons besides money for new business ventures? We all know that from economic point of view, the main goal of an enterprise or business company is making profits. But, certainly, there are many other reasons for launching a new business enterprise but just earning more and more money. For example, opening a new casino or any other gambling facility can be taken as socially important campaign, because it offers new prestigious workplaces to people, as well as brings a lot of income to national budgets due to high taxes, etc. Also, for many businessmen starting a new business or a new company is a great personal challenge. They can be looking for success and public recognition, trying to win a good reputation, or considering entrepreneurship to be a way to apply their talents and skills. Finally, when opening new business ventures, some businessmen are thinking about their future generations and making their life easier.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Subject of Family in Lessing’s Flight, Hughes’ Mother to Son, Kincaids

Subject of Family in Lessing’s Flight, Hughes’ Mother to Son, Kincaid's Girl and Adrienne Rich's Poem, Merced Family as defined by Webster’s College Dictionary can be one of many different people. Family can be your parents, spouse, children, brother, sister, grandmother, uncle, any blood relative, or even people who are not blood related that share that common bond (Webster 475). My definition of family is similar to Webster’s, but I feel that there is more to it than just being a blood relative or close friend. A person’s actions, beliefs, and morals play a major role in deciding who makes it into that â€Å"family† group. Family becomes more of an idea or feeling, like love or hate, than just who a person is or where they fall in your family tree. There have been people that I have considered closer than family just by their actions, even though they were nowhere near related to me. Fortunately, I have not had any blood relation family members make me wish they were not in my â€Å"family† (maybe my older sister when we were younger, but that doesn ’t count). While reading from Children and Families in our text, I came across many readings that I feel were inspired in many different ways by what the author believed was â€Å"family.† There were two readings that jumped out at me and reminded me of my view of how a family should be in their interactions with each other. They were the short story â€Å"Flight† by Doris Lessing and the poem â€Å"Mother to Son† by Langston Hughes. There was also one writing that I read that went against my idea of family and made me happy that this wasn’t the way that my family acted as I grew up, that was â€Å"Girl† by Jamaica Kincaid. And while some authors lean their writing one direction or another, Adrienn... ...s us think that this can happen to any of us, even if we think that we are loved and in a family. This helps us realize how important it is to keep the family together, throughout anything that happens. While reading through the writings from Children and Families in our textbook, I see many different connotations of what â€Å"family† means either to the writer, or the meaning that the writer is trying to place in their story or poem. Often times the writer is portraying their own culture or that of which they are writing, and at other times they may be taking a straightforward, eye-opening look stand at what â€Å"family† has become to some people and that it needs to be changed back to a positive part of life. Again, a member of your family doesn’t have to be a blood relative, they can be anyone who has an impact on your life, positive or negative, friend or enemy.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Hotel Management Documentation

` USER MANUAL CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Getting Started 3. Main Menu 4. Master file Maintenance 5. Payroll Reports 6. Payroll data Backup and Restore INTRODUCTION Confide payroll system is a windows payroll software written in Microsoft Visual Basic (VB. NET). Although confide pay system is extremely powerful it is in no way difficult to use. The payroll software includes many new features that enable the user to do your work easier and faster. In this windows version, user will improve productivity with time saving windows feature.All command bars and drop menus are logically organised in systematic manner that will enable user to operate smoothly. Confide payroll is highly respected because of its high performance, user friendly and data integrity. We therefore strive for the best improvement to support customers in terms of quality. These notes, together with the practical you will do during the day, will ensure that learning to use the system is an informative and useful experi ence for you. GETTING STARTED After installation procedure a shortcut icon is created on the desktop to provide easy access to your program.Double click the shortcut icon to gain access to your Confide payroll system. When you see the log in main screen appears, you have to type in the correct information so that you can successfully enter into the system. 1) Enter your User name in the text box provided. Press Tab to move to the next box. 2) Enter your password. The password is case sensitive so ensure that your Caps lock key is on or off as required. MAIN MENU Once you have entered your password and selected the payroll required you will find yourself in the Opening menu.Features include: – 1) A drop down list of all the chief program options. Like the drop down lists in other Windows menus, if a folder has a + in the box beside it, when you click the + 2) A list of the options included in that folder will drop down, while the + changes to a – COMPANY SETUP Before at tempting to store any employees, you have to enter your company details. Go to MAIN MENU select FILE and then click on the NEW COMPANY tab the following window appears Enter all your company details and press the Save button on menubar. PAYROLL STANDARDSTo setup the payroll standards you go on the SETUP Menu, SELECT Payroll Standards then set your standard hours and days. PAYROLL CALENDAR Under the main menu select SETUP go to PAYROLL CALENDAR then in the textbox enter the 12 runs per year. Set your calendar from January to December. MASTERFILE MAINTAINACE The section enables the user to add, update, delete and view employees in the master file. Employee details such as Name, Date of Birth, ID Number, Medical aid scheme and number of dependents are stored in the Employee File. ENTERING A NEW EMPLOYEE 1.Select Employees from the Confide Navigation bar and double click ALL employees, click the new employee Button. 2. The employee data entry screen offers a series of tabs each correspo nding to a Page of information about the employee. . 3. Click on the tab with the details you need to enter and enter the details about the employee in the form presented – see example overleaf. PAYROLL RUN To run the payroll, go onto the Payroll menu select Payroll Run. The following form appears select the Process button. You will be asked to backup your data for payroll pre run .Specify your data backup name and SQL path and press OK. PAYROLL REPORTS PAYROLL SUMMARY To view the payroll summary select the + sign on the REPORTS icon on the payroll navigation bar types of reports are shown as shown on the screen below: Double click on the payroll summary icon and the payroll summary for the month is displayed. PAYSLIPS To view and print pay slips on the reports menu double click the pay slip icon and you will be asked to enter the date to be printed on the pay slip and also to select the number of pay slips you want to print and then press OK.The pay slips will be generated a utomatically. DATA BACKUP Backup – A backup is a compressed copy of your data at the moment when you make the backup. Work that you do after a backup is lost if the backup is restored, so that we recommend that a backup is done every 30mins when working on the payroll. Clicking on the payroll on the menu bar and select payroll data backup button will bring up a screen that allows you to back up your data as shown below:Specify your backup name, the path where you want to store your backup and select OK a message is shown for notification that your payroll data had been successful saved. RESTORE The option to restore is found under payroll on the main menu, as shown in Fig 2g below. Selecting this option brings up the Data Restore screen 1) Select the path on which source database is stored 2) Select the SQL Server Data Path 3) Select one of the two buttons shown and your data will be successfully restored.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Mixture & Solids

Fawn Lovell February 25, 2013 Lab#2 Separation of Mixture of Solids PURPOSE The purpose of this lab was to understand the steps involved in separation of multiple solids and how to proceed in the separation of iron filings, sand, table salt and benzoic acid. DATA SEPERATION OF MIXTURE OF SOLIDS | |DATA TABLE | | |GRAMS |PERCENT OF MATERIAL | |IRON FILINGS |1. | | |SAND |1. 5 | | |TABLE SALT |UNKNOWN LAB WAS COMPROMISED **** |UNKNOWN LAB WAS | | | |COMPROMISED*** | |BENZOIC ACID |. | | |TOTAL |3. 3 total for the above available count | | ****while mixture of water and table salt were evaporating in the cupboard in-law accidently spilt out of container it was in so test amount was never able to be done*** OBSERVATIONS The separation of material for the iron filings were to get out of the mixture even though a few passes had to be done to make sure all of them were out.The experiment to extract the sand, table salt and benzoic was slightly difficult of a process and with only one t est material available the lab was not able to done correctly. The process to get the sand and the Benzoic acid was easily accomplished but even four days of evaporation time to get the distilled water to evaporate to the grams of table salt would be available there had been no evaporation and then the experimental incident with the spillage of the salt/distilled water . CALCULATIONSUnable to complete due to percentage of table salt not found due to accidental spilling of distilled water and table salt left in cup to determine appropriate percentages between all substances. CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION The experiment to find how to extract multiple materials out of one sample was a long and difficult process to this researcher. The flow chart was helpful in understanding the steps but when the experiment was conducted it was not as simple. There were plenty of iron filings and with the strength of the magnet provided took multiple passes to retrieve all of them out of the mixture.The benzo ic acid crystals in the cold bath went better than expected and was the researcher was surprised how many crystals were obtained out of the original mixture. The hardest was to obtain the salt grams and percentage, the evaporation time was to short and with the invalidation due to an experimental accident was never obtained and the experiment was never completed correctly. What the researcher has learned from this experiment is to better allocate time, understanding evaporation time and to make sure experiments that need to take time to complete are stored in a better location.QUESTIONS A. How did your procedures or flow charts at the beginning of this experiment compare to the actual procedures of this lab exercise? The procedural flow chart that was designed to extract all the mixture followed the lab experiment, however possibly a slightly bigger magnet could have been used for the iron filings, they were hard to extract all of them and also the procedure to obtain the salt might have been designed better so days would not have been involved since the experiment had a time limit and evaporation can take weeks.B. Discuss potential advantages or disadvantages of your proposed procedure compared to the one actually used. The advantage of using a flow chart procedure is to show how you are going to conduct the experiment so other researchers can follow the same steps as the previous researcher so if experimental errors occur the researcher can go back to what step might have been done incorrectly. C. How would you explain a sand recovery percentage that is higher than the original sand percentage?The sand recovery percentage that is higher from the original sand percentage might be from not letting it dehydrate all the way and could still hold the potential of water molecules in it. D. What were potential source of error in this experiment? The potential sources of error could possibly be from not extracting all the mixture out of the sample, evaporation of the distilled water and as in this researchers case having the material being accidently spilled.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Monostasm essays

Monostasm essays Christian monasticism had its origin in Egypt. In the second and third centuries, Christians sought to lead ascetic and holy lives in the deserts of Egypt. Some lived alone as hermits, and others formed communes where they devoted themselves to the pursuit of holiness rather than worldly success. Christianity became legal in the fourth century, and the monastic lifestyle became popular throughout the Roman Empire. In the early days of monasticism, each community developed its own rules, procedures, and priorities. Some communities demanded strict lifestyles and some did not, which resulted in Monks frittering away their time or wandered aimlessly from one monastic house to another. These haphazard conditions prevented monasteries from mounting effective Christian missions. The early monastic movement was strengthened by St Benedict of Nursia in 529. He prepared a set of regulations known as Benedicts Rule that he founded at Monte Cassino. The rule did not permit extreme asceticism, but required monks to take vows to lead communal, celibate lives under the absolute direction of the abbot who supervised the monastery: poverty, chastity, and obedience became prime virtues for the Benedictine monks. The Rule also called for monks to spend their time in prayer, meditation, and work. Hours were divided up during the day into periods of study, reflection, and manual labor. They were called, matins, lauds, prime, teree, sext, nones, uespers, and compline. The discipline introduced by the Rule strengthened monasteries. They became a dominant feature in the social and cultural life of Western Europe throughout the middle ages. Monasteries helped to restore order in the country and expand agriculture production. They accumulated large landholdings, as well as authority over serfs working their lands. Mostly in France and Germany, abbots of monasteries dispatched teams of monks and serfs to clear forests, drain swamps, and p...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

JavaFX Controls and ComboBox

JavaFX Controls and ComboBox The ComboBox class creates a control that allows the user to select an option from a drop-down list of options. The drop-down list appears when the user clicks on the ComboBox control. When the number of options exceeds the size of the drop-down window, the user can scroll down to further options. This differs from the ChoiceBox which is primarily used when the number of choices is a relatively small set. Import Statement javafx.scene.control.ComboBox Constructors The ComboBox class has two constructors depending on whether you want to create an empty ComboBox object or one populated with items. To Create an Empty ComboBoxComboBox fruit new ComboBox(); To create a ComboBox object and populate it with String items from an ObservableList ObservableList fruits FXCollections.observableArrayList( Apple, Banana, Pear, Strawberry, Peach, Orange, Plum);ComboBox fruit new ComboBox(fruits); Useful Methods If you create an empty ComboBox object you can use the setItems method. Passing an ObservableList of objects will set the items in the Combobox. ObservableList fruits FXCollections.observableArrayList( Apple, Banana, Pear, Strawberry, Peach, Orange, Plum);fruit.setItems(fruits); If you want to add items to the ComboBox list later on you can use the  addAll method of the getItems method. This will append the items to the end of the options list: fruit.getItems().addAll(Melon, Cherry, Blackberry); To add an option to a particular place in the ComboBox option list use the add method of the getItems method. This method takes an index value and the value you wish to add: fruit.getItems().add(1, Lemon); Note: The index values of the ComboBox start at 0. For example, the above value of Lemon above will be inserted into the ComboBox option list at position 2 as the index passed is 1. To pre-select an option in the ComboBox options list, use the setValue method: fruit.setValue(Cherry); If the value passed to the setValue method is not on the list, then the value will still be selected. However, it does not mean this value has been added to the list. If the user subsequently picks another value then the initial value will no longer be in the list to be selected. To get the value of the currently selected item in the ComboBox, use the getItems method: String selected fruit.getValue().toString(); Usage Tips The number of options normally presented by the ComboBox dropdown list is ten (unless there are less than ten items in which case it defaults to the number of items). This number can be changed by using the setVisibleRowCount method: fruit.setVisibleRowCount(25); Again, if the number of items in the list is less than the value set in the setVisibleRowCount method the ComboBox will default to displaying the number of items in the ComboBox dropdown. Handling Events To track the selection of items on a ComboBox object you can use the addListener method of the selectedItemProperty method of the SelectionModel to create a ChangeListener It will pick up the change events for the ComboBox: final Label selectionLabel new Label();fruit.getSelectionModel().selectedItemProperty().addListener( new ChangeListener() { public void changed(ObservableValue ov, String old_val, String new_val) { selectionLabel.setText(new_val); }});

Saturday, November 2, 2019

JetBlue Airways and WestJet Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

JetBlue Airways and WestJet Airlines - Case Study Example Furthermore, long waits and booking difficulties caused the company to drop its customer loyalty scores. Â  Learning lessons from WestJet’s experience, the JetBlue approached the upgrade process in a more proactive way. In order to ensure the smooth flow of the transition, the company limited its schedule and sold only the very low number of seats on the remaining flights. In addition, the company had taken a number of measures to deal with software upgrade problems effectively. Although WestJet faced some issues such as an increase in call times and network errors in kiosks and ticket printers, the comprehensive transition approach assisted the company to execute the upgrade process better than WestJet. Â  While analyzing the case of WestJet, it seems that the organization did not take any precaution to prevent software upgrade problems. Actually, WestJet was not aware of the complex troubles associated with switching to a new reservation system, and this is the reason why the organization approached the software upgrade process so frivolously. In contrast, JetBlue had WestJet’s crashing website in mind when the company planned to upgrade its reservation system, and hence it took several precautions to complete the upgrade process successfully. First, the JetBlue developed a backup website to deal with upgrade issues if any.