Explanation and Context Review Communication

University of Phoenix Material Communication Theories and Context Review Communication can be understood by examining the context in which communication takes place and by reviewing some of the theories that govern how communication works within each context. Part A – Communication Contexts Directions: Define each communication context. A. Intrapersonal: Face-to-face communication between people B. Interpersonal: Communication with oneself C. Group: Communication with a group of people D. Organizational: Communication within and among large, extended environments E. Public: Communication to a large group of listeners F.Mass: Communication to a very large audience through mediated forms G. Intercultural: Communication between and among members of different cultural backgrounds Part B – Communication Contexts and Their Related Theories Directions: Place the appropriate letter of each context above next to its related theory. Then write a brief explanation of each theory. Theories 1. _A__ Cognitive Dissonance – Explains the tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions, such as beliefs and opinions. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance.In the case of a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior, it is most likely that the attitude will change to accommodate the behavior. 2. _G___ Face-Negotiation Theory – Explains how different cultures manage conflict and communication. The theory explains that the root of conflict is based on identity management on individual and cultural levels. 3. __B__ Groupthink – Explains how individuals may withhold their opposing opinions to promote cohesiveness. Individuals may also withhold their opposing opinions because they fear rejection by the group. 4. _B__ Communication Privacy Management – Explains the process that people use to manage the relationship between concealing and rev ealing private information 5. __D__ Organizational Information Theory – Explains how organizations make sense of the information that is essential for their existence 6. __F__ Spiral of Silence – Explains why people tend to remain silent when they think their views are in the minority 7. __E__ Rhetoric/Dramatism/Narrative Paradigm – Explains that people are essentially storytellers who make decisions on the basis of good reasons. History, biography, culture, and character determine what we consider good reasons.

Mexico vs. Us vs. Ifrs

pwc. com/mx/ifrs IFRS, US GAAP and Mexican FRS: similarities and differences* The Summary A comparison of IFRS, US GAAP and Mexican FRS pwc. com/mx/ifrs PricewaterhouseCoopers Mexico Mariano Escobedo 573, Col. Rincon del Bosque. C. P. 11580, Mexico, D. F. Tel. : 5263 6000 Fax: 5263 6010  © 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers. All rights reserved. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers Mexico, the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity. *connectedthinking is a trademark of PricewaterhouseCoopers. connectedthinking A closer look A sampling of differences This publication is designed to alert companies to the scope of accounting changes that IFRS conversion will bring and to stimulate executive thinking and preparation. With that in mind, the body of the publication provides an overview of some differences between IFRS, US GAAP and Mexican FRS(1). The differences with US GAAP included a re considered relevant because some Mexican entities may have had identified the differences between Mexican FRS and US GAAP for example for a listing in the US and might find helpful this reference.This section provides a summary of some of the similarities and differences discussed in more detail on the complete publication. No summary publication can do justice to the many differences of detail that exist between US GAAP, IFRS and Mexican FRS. Even if the guidance is similar, there can be differences in the detailed application, which could have a material impact on the financial statements. In this publication, we have focused on the measurement similarities and differences most commonly found in practice.When applying the individual accounting frameworks, readers must consult all the relevant accounting standards and, where applicable, their national law. Listed companies must also follow relevant securities regulations and local stock exchange listing rules. (1) Mexican Financ ial Reporting Standards – Mexican FRS. The references included herein are identified considering the new guidance effective from January 1, 2009 1 Revenue recognition Broad-based differences in the accounting for the provision of services (US GAAP generally prohibits the approach required by IFRS) may impact the timing of revenue recognition.Differences involving the separation of multiple deliverable arrangements into components, and the allocation of consideration between those components, may impact the timing of revenue recognition. Where differences exist, revenue may be recognized earlier under IFRS and Mexican FRS(1). The guidance in IFRS with respect to how customer loyalty programs are treated may drive significant differences. The incremental cost model that is permitted under US GAAP is not accepted under IFRS and Mexican FRS(1). 1) Mexican FRS requires following the IFRS guidance for revenue recognition as there is no specific standard in accordance with the frame work except for construction contracts where specific literature exists under Mexican FRS. When transitioning to IFRS, the accounting policy should be revisited. Expense recognitionshare-based payments Companies that issue awards that vest ratably over time (e. g. , 25% per year over a four-year period) may encounter accelerated expense recognition as well as a different total value to be expensed, for a given award, under IFRS and Mexican FRS (2).Income tax expense (benefit) related to share-based payments may be more variable under IFRS. There are differences as to when an award is classified as a liability or as a component of equity. Those differences can have profound consequences, since awards classified as liabilities require ongoing valuation adjustments through earnings each reporting period, leading to greater earnings volatility. (2) For Mexican FRS, the IFRS guidance for share based payments was followed until December 31, 2008, as there was no specific standard issued i n accordance with the framework.The new guidance applicable from 2009 is similar to IFRS. However, careful consideration should be given on the application of the new Mexican guidance as differences could arise in practice. Expense recognitionemployee benefits Under IFRS, companies may elect to account for actuarial gains/losses in a manner such that the gains/losses are permanently excluded from the primary statement of operations. Differing restrictions over how assets are valued for the purposes of determining expected returns on plan assets exist under IFRS.IFRS allows for the separation of certain components of net pension costs whereas US GAAP and Mexican FRS do not. The interest cost and return on assets components of pension cost may be reported as part of financing costs within the statement of operations under IFRS as opposed to operating income under US GAAP and Mexican FRS. Assets— nonfinancial assets Differences in the asset impairment testing model may result in assets being impaired earlier under IFRS and Mexican FRS. However, there are certain differences on the impairment testing under the three frameworks.The broad based requirement to capitalize development costs under IFRS and Mexican FRS (when certain criteria are met) creates the potential for differences compared with US GAAP, wherein development costs are generally expensed as incurred. IFRS prohibits (whereas US GAAP and Mexican FRS permit) the use of the lastin, first-out inventory-costing methodology. In addition, Mexican FRS accepts the inventory costing excluding the fixed overhead costs. IFRS and Mexican FRS do not have bright line testing criteria for the classification of leases (i. e. operating or finance (capital) leases). In addition, the three frameworks achieving sale/leaseback accounting and earlier gain recognition under sale/leaseback accounting are more frequent when reporting under Mexican FRS. 2 Assets— financial assets Many financing arrangements, such as asset securitizations, that achieved off balance sheet treatment (i. e. , derecognition) under US GAAP will require full or partial-balance sheet recognition under IFRS. Under Mexican FRS the requirements are very similar to IFRS but in practice the derecognition treatment could be achieved.Investments in unlisted equity securities generally need to be recorded at fair value under IFRS, whereas under US GAAP they are generally recorded at cost (except for certain industries that apply a fair value model). For Mexican FRS purposes, long-term investments in equity instruments where there is no control, significant influence or joint control are recorded at cost. Differences in the treatment of changes in estimates associated with certain financial assets carried at amortized cost may affect asset carrying values and reported earnings differently under the three accounting frameworks.Liabilities—taxes There are differences in the recognition and measurement criteria of uncert ain tax positions (i. e. , income tax contingencies) under IFRS, US GAAP and Mexican FRS. The physical location of inventory that has moved cross border within a consolidated group can impact tax expense differently under the three frameworks. Deferred taxes on intragroup profits are determined by reference to the buyer’s tax rate under IFRS. When reporting under US GAAP, any income tax effects resulting from intragroup profits are deferred at the seller’s tax rate. Mexican FRS is silent on this respect.Differences in the treatment of subsequent changes to certain previously established deferred taxes could result in less volatility in the statement of operations under IFRS and Mexican FRS. Liabilities-other Differences within the accounting for provisions, including differing thresholds as to when provisions are to be established, may lead to earlier recognition of expense under Mexican FRS. Specific communication to employees regarding the details of a restructuring plan is not required before the recognition of a provision under IFRS and Mexican FRS (which could accelerate the timing of expense recognition).Financial liabilities and equity Generally, warrants issued in the US can be net share settled and, hence, are classified as equity under US GAAP. Warrants of that nature would, under IFRS and Mexican FRS, be considered derivative instruments and would be marked to market through earnings. More instruments are likely to be classified as liabilities, as opposed to equity, under IFRS and Mexican FRS (e. g. , instruments with contingent settlement provisions). Because balance sheet classification drives the treatment of disbursements associated with the instruments in question, the classification differences would also impact earnings (i. . , the treatment of disbursements as interest expense as opposed to dividends). However, there are certain differences between IFRS and Mexican FRS. More instruments are likely to require bifurcation, result ing in treatment as two separate instruments under IFRS and Mexican FRS (i. e. , compound and convertible instruments being split between equity and liability classification). The split accounting under IFRS and Mexican FRS versus the singular accounting under US GAAP can create a significantly different balance sheet presentation while also impacting earnings.In addition, the result under Mexican FRS and under IFRS could be different even if in both cases the split accounting is achieved. 3 Derivatives and hedging While the hedging models under IFRS, US GAAP and Mexican FRS are founded on similar principles, there are a number of detailed application differences, some of which are more restrictive under IFRS and others of which are more restrictive under US GAAP and/or Mexican FRS. In relation to effectiveness testing, IFRS does not permit the shortcut method that is accepted under US GAAP and Mexican FRS.As a result, if hedge accounting is to be maintained on an uninterrupted basi s, current US GAAP and Mexican FRS reporting entities using the shortcut method will need to prepare documentation that supports hedge accounting (outside of the shortcut strategy), with said documentation in place no later than the transition date to IFRS. IFRS does not include a requirement for net settlement within the definition of a derivative, effectively resulting in more instruments being recognized as derivatives under IFRS.Hence, more instruments will be recorded on the balance sheet at fair value with adjustments through earnings and greater earnings volatility when reporting under IFRS. Consolidation The entities consolidated within the financial statements may vary with, generally, more entities consolidated under IFRS. IFRS focuses on a control-based model, with consideration of risks and rewards where control is not apparent. US GAAP utilizes a dual consolidation decision model, first assessing a variable interests model and then a voting control model.Mexican FRS fol lows a similar approach to IFRS, however certain differences exist. US GAAP is undergoing significant changes in converging with IFRS in this area. Companies will be required to present noncontrolling interests as part of equity following the implementation of new US GAAP guidance. Additionally, in the event of a loss of control, to the extent any ownership interest is retained, the new US GAAP guidance will require that the interest retained be remeasured at fair value on the date control is lost. Any resulting gain or loss will be recognized in earnings.This is similar to the accounting currently required under IFRS and Mexican FRS, except that the Mexican FRS guidance does not permit remeasurement to fair value on the date control is lost. Equity Method Mexican FRS requires analysing whether significant influence exists in Special Purpose Entities to apply the equity method to such investments, whereas this is not required for IFRS or USGAAP. For the preparation of separate finan cial statements (non- consolidated) the investment in subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures should be valued using the equity method.IFRS requires to measure investment in subsidiaries, associates and/or joint ventures in separate financial statements at either cost or fair value (equity method is not permitted) Business combinations US GAAP is undergoing significant changes in converging with IFRS in this area. Upon the adoption of the new US GAAP guidance, many historical differences will be eliminated, although certain important differences will remain. Mexican FRS was revised considering the convergence with US GAAP and IFRS and is effective from January 1, 2009.The detailed section on the publication provides an example of such differences. 4 A helpful reminder Mexican FRS As from June 1, 2004, the Mexican Board for Research and Development of Financial Reporting Standards (CINIF for its acronym in Spanish) assumed the duties and responsibilities for issuance of Mexican F RS, activity that was carried out previously by the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants (IMCP for its acronym in Spanish). As its main project, the CINIF made a decision to conduct a study of IFRS and US GAAP to identify the most significant differences with a view to promoting its convergence.The first step was revising the framework as well as revising some old Mexican standards to adapt them closer to IFRS. The plan is to finish the revision of Mexican FRS by 2011. The standards previously issued by the IMCP were called â€Å"General Accepted Accounting Principles in Mexico† and the standards issued by the CINIF are called â€Å"Financial Reporting Standards† For the purpose of this publication all the Mexican guidance is considered Mexican FRS, when necessary the distinction is made by reference to old FRS or new FRS, otherwise the Mexican FRS refer to both and effective at the time of publishing this document.Mexican FRS framework requires following IFRS (as i ssued by the IASB) as suppletory, when no specific guidance is provided by Mexican FRS for a particular transaction or event. PwC Mexico has prepared a list of those IFRSs, including interpretations (SICs or IFRICs), that are considered suppletory for compliance with Mexican FRS. The analysis of the suppletory application of IFRS for Mexican FRS purposes is relevant as it could reduce the differences when transitioning to IFRS.However, care should be taken because in certain circumstances the full application of the suppletory IFRSs was not considered because of specific facts and circumstances of the transaction or event and the interaction with other Mexican FRSs. Therefore, more differences could arise in practice. 5 Standard/ Interpretation IAS 18 Title Revenue Summary This standard establishes the accounting treatment of the revenue arising from the ordinary activities of an entity and when revenue should be recognized. This standard also establishes the rules relative to the d ividend’s revenue recognition.Mexican FRS C-11 â€Å"Stockholder’s equity† establishes the concerning rules, so it would not be appropriate to apply the IAS 18 dispositions on this matter in a suppletory way. IAS 18 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1,1995. INTERPRETATIONS that are also consider as suppletory in connection with revenue recognition: – SIC 31 Revenue – Barter transactions involving advertising services, establishes the conditions for the recognition of revenue regarding barter transactions involving advertising services.This interpretation only applies to an exchange of dissimilar advertising services. An exchange of similar advertising services is not a transaction that generates revenue under IAS 18. This SIC is effective from December 31, 2001. – IFRIC 13 Customer loyalty programmes These programmes consist in the granting of benefits (points that might be redeemed for products or services of the own entity or third parties, discounts in subsequent purchases, prices, etc. to the clients as a part of a sales transaction. The IFRIC establishes that such benefits should be recognized separately from the sales transactions. This IFRIC is effective for periods beginning on or after July 1, 2008. IAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance This addresses the accounting and information to be disclosed on the grants from the government, as well as the aspects to be disclosed in relation to other forms of government assistances.This standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 1984. INTERPRETATION that is also consider as suppletory in connection with government grants: – SIC 10 â€Å"Government assistance- No specific relation to operating activities†, which establishes that the government assistances that are not related to the operating activities of the entity receiving them, should be recognized in t he income statement. This SIC is effective from August 1, 1998.IAS 26 Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans This Standard deals with accounting and reporting by the plan to all participants as a group. It does not deal with reports to individual participants about their retirement benefit rights. Retirement benefit plans may be defined contribution plans or defined benefits plans. This standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 1988. IAS 31 Interests in Joint VenturesThis establishes the guidance for the accounting of interests in joint ventures and the reporting of joint venture assets, liabilities, income and expenses in the financial statements of venturers and investors, regardless of the structures or forms under which the joint venture activities take place. However there are certain exceptions contained in the standards. Also, establishes that for jointly controlled entities, the proportional consolidation method should be applied , or alternatively the equity method to recognize the participation in such ventures.This standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2005. This version supersedes the one revised in 2000. INTERPRETATION that is also consider as suppletory in connection with joint ventures: – SIC 13 â€Å" Jointly Controlled Entities- Non-Monetary Contributions by Venturers†, The interpretation deals with the venturer? s accounting for non-monetary contributions to a JCE in exchange for an equity interest in the JCE that is accounted for using either the equity method or proportionate consolidation.SIC 13 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1,1999. 6 Standard/ Interpretation IAS 40 Title Investment property Summary This establishes the accounting treatment and disclosure requirements for investment properties defined as properties (lands, buildings, part of a building or both) held (by the owner or by the lessee under a finance le ase) to earn rentals of for capital appreciation or both, rather than for: (a) use in the production or supply of goods or services or for administrative purposes; or (b) sale in the ordinary course of business.The IAS 40 allows the use of one out of the two models proposed for valuation of the investment properties, these are: cost model and fair value model. The Mexican FRS Circular 55, â€Å"IAS 40 suppletory application – April 2001† issued by the IMCP, considers the IAS 40 as suppletory; but it is only accepted that the cost model is used for the recognition and measurement of the investment properties. IFRS 4 Insurance contractsThis standard specifies the financial information the insurers should present on the insurance and reinsurance contracts, as well as the recognition of the financial instruments with similar features issued by an entity, including matters such as: temporary exemption from the fulfillment with other IFRS (test of liabilities adequacy and im pairment of assets for reinsurance contracts), insurance contracts acquired in a business combination, etc.In Mexico, the entities belonging to the financial sector, including the insurers, prepare their financial information according to the rules issued by the CNBV which differ from the Mexican FRS so they should disclose this fact as well as the differences between such rules and the Mexican FRS, including the application of IFRS 4 as suppletory. This standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2005. IFRS 6 Exploration For and Evaluation of Mineral ResourcesThis establishes the accounting treatment for the expenditures related to exploration and evaluation of mineral resources as well as the requirement of performing impairment test to those assets. This standard is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2006. IFRIC 2 Member’s Shares in Cooperative Entities and Similar Instruments Determining Whether an Arrangement Conta ins a Lease This interpretation provides guidance on how to account financial instruments, including members? shares that have characteristics of equity, including voting rights to participate in dividend distributions.This IFRIC is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2005. Provides a guide to determine if some arrangement are or contain a lease, in which case the provisions in the IAS 17 â€Å"Leases† should be applied. IAS 17 is not suppletory in Mexico, therefore, if based on IFRIC 4 it is concluded that there is an arrangement, the provisions of the Statement D-5 â€Å"Leases† should be applied. This interpretation applies to accounting in the financial statements of a contributor for interests from decommissioning funds as well as the related obligations assumed in their financial statements.This interpretation is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2006. This Interpretation provides guidance on the recognition, in the financial statements of producers, of liabilities for waste management under the EU Directive. The IFRIC 6 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after December 1, 2005. IFRIC 4 IFRIC 5 Rights to Interests arising from Decommissioning, Restoration and Environmental Rehabilitation funds â€Å"Liabilities Arising From Participating in a Specific Market: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment IFRIC 6 7 Standard/ Interpretation IFRIC 12Title Service concession arrangements Summary This Interpretation gives guidance on the accounting by operators for public-toprivate service concession arrangements. The concessions covered within the scope of this IFRIC are those where: (a) the grantor controls or regulates what services the operator must provide with the infrastructure, to whom it must provide them, and at what price, and (b) the grantor controls-through ownership, beneficial entitlement of otherwise-any significant residual interest in the infrastructure at the end of the term of the arrangement.This Interpretation is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2008. Currently, there is an exposure draft (INIF 17) regarding an interpretation on service concession arrangement similar to IFRIC 12 and is expected to be effective from January 1, 2010. New Mexican FRS The following standards and interpretations were considered suppletory until new guidance under Mexican FRS was issued as explained below: Standard/ Interpretation Title Summary IFRS 2 Share-based payments This standard establishes the measurement, presentation and disclosure requirements to be followed in the event of share based payments.This standard is effective from annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2005 INTERPRETATIONS that were also consider as suppletory in connection with share based payments: IFRIC 8 â€Å"Scope of the IFRS 2†, clarifies that IFRS 2 applies to transactions in which the entity cannot identify specifically some or all the goods or services received as consideration for equity instruments of the entity. It is effective from May 1, 2006 IFRIC 11 â€Å"IFRS 2 – Group and treasury share transactions†, which establishes the accounting treatment of shared based payments of different entities in a group. It is effective from May 1, 2006.The Mexican FRS D-8 â€Å"Shared based payments† effective from January 1, 2009, eliminates the suppletory application of IFRS 2, IFRIC 8 and IFRIC 11 from that date. SIC 12 Consolidation – Special purpose entities (SPE) Establishes that an SPE should be consolidated when the substance of the relationship between an entity and the SPE indicates that the SPE is controlled by that entity. The Old Mexican FRS B-8 â€Å" Combined and consolidated financial statements and valuation of permanent share investments† does not consider the treatment for SPE? s therefore the interpretation is considered suppletory.The Mexican revised FRS B-8 â€Å"C ombined and consolidated financial statements† and the new Mexican FRS C-7 â€Å"Investment in associates and other permanent investments† (both effective from January 1, 2009) consider the consolidation of SPE? s in relation with subsidiaries and/or associates. Therefore, this new guidance eliminates the suppletory application of SIC 12 from January 1, 2009. 8 To have a deeper conversation about how this subject may affect your business, please contact: Alberto Del Castillo alberto. del. [email  protected] pwc. com Michelle Orozco michelle. [email  protected] pwc. com Armando Martinez martinez. [email  protected] pwc. com Ricardo Noriega ricardo. [email  protected] pwc. com Cecilia Versolatto cecilia. sandra. [email  protected] pwc. com Arturo Martinez arturo. [email  protected] pwc. com Rodrigo Ruvalcaba angel. [email  protected] pwc. com Equipo de consultores altamente especializados en aspectos tecnicos de metodologia de conversion a IFRS, comprobada e n mas de 1,300 conversiones en Mexico y en el mundo. Centro de excelencia de PwC Mexico en IFRS con experiencia desde hace 6 anos. Profesionales especializados en IFRS y con calificacion internacional. Mas informacion y publicaciones en nuestra pagina web: pwc. com/mx/ifrs

Branding Strategies and Product Development

According to the study of the project planning, I found that branding of products related to any specific organization is getting innovated day by day in order to provide effective brand value to organization. The concerned case study is elaborating about the effective measures related to sensory branding of product. In contrast with this fact, I am evaluating the project of improving branding of products in this essay. There are various phases involved in this project. I am considering three main considerable areas in the project to be evaluated in this essay.   According to stages used in improving branding of Color Studio Professional I have found three considerable phases related to the project implementation that needs to be reviewed in order to make the project implementation successful. Development of Gantt chart, Work breakdown structure preparation and Estimation of budget for the project development are the three considerable areas according to my point of discussion.    I have found that in the contemporary time the organizations are using sensory branding or sensory stimuli in order to make their brands powerful. Various organizations used two dimensional branding schemes for making their products popular in the target market. I noticed that, application of five senses during finalizing the branding schemes for making the product popular is the better way to attract the customers with respect to developing trends. In the concerned project of Color Studio Professional (CSP), the organization develops their brand value with the help of innovative strategies within their target market. I realized that the thought behind launching the products of CSP was justified with the five senses: â€Å"A typical day in her life†. I need to elaborate that this implementation of new branding perspective needed various project management stages that helped CSP to master the five sense in their branding perspective. Preparation of WBS and Gantt chart for proje ct success was the most effective one. In addition to this, budget estimation is also one important aspect to be considered in this segment. The project management is one of the important aspects that need to be managed by the project manager. In contrast with this fact, I found the project planner of CSP very unprofessional in this particular project of improving branding of CSP. There are various aspects I noticed that the project planner needed to consider in the project development phase. Every project development concern should be based on a structured and systematic way of execution. In contrast with the segmentation of tasks and scheduling techniques I noticed various aspects are missed out in the segment of scheduling and segmenting the task. According to my specific study on the budget estimation of improving the branding of CSP I have found that the budget is correctly estimated based on the respective functionalities of the project members in this particular project of CSP. In spite of this aspect I would like to introduce one more aspect into this critical evaluation of budget estimation of CSP project. This important aspect is the project planner of CSP did not used any advanced project management tools for calculating the project budget, this is another negative aspect involved in the pproject development. In contrast with the project phases of improving branding of CSP I found the Work breakdown structure to be inefficient in parison with one effective WBS structure. The project planner of the CSP did not explain the involved stages within the project development. According to the critical evaluation done by me I have found various inefficiencies within the concerned improvisation of branding related to CSP. The organization mainly introduced various perspectives within their strategic planning in improving their branding. I found the strategic perspective related to application of five senses in improving the brand value of product. I feel this concept pletely justified with respect to the objectives of the project. In spite of this primary stage of the project is justified correctly with respect to my critical evaluation of project management. There are other three aspects that were not maintained by the project planner in this project. First of these is, preparation of Work breakdown structure. I found the project planner inefficient in managing the project stages effectively, the project planner considered the project requirements in the WBS preparation; he did not considered the phases of project development. Second aspect that needs evaluation is that the budget estimation for the project cost estimation is correct but this can be improvised with the help of advanced project management tools such as Microsoft Project. Third aspect is that the project planner neglected the effectiveness of scheduling of Gantt chart. There are two day of gap between the project development phases that may include several malfunctions within project development. In addition to this, the project manager should also consider one testing phase after implementation of the project. I have found these stages being inappropriate within the project development. I think the project planner and organizational heads should be more responsible for these issues within the project planning. In contrast with this phase, I think the careful attention towards the project planning and scheduling will be helpful in solving these kinds of issues. Besides this, every project should consider one testing phase for viewing the result’s appropriateness. Therefore, the addition to testing phase will be helpful to resolve these issues. The process of improving branding within the CSP for gaining more revenues and attracting more customers, I have fund the project plan inefficient in some phases. I have critically reviewed these phases in this essay in order to develop a proper structure of effective project management. In addition to this, I have provided effective measures to resolve these issues with respect to the demands of CSP. The critical evaluation is helpful in understanding the effective measures related to project management of Improvisation of branding of CSP with respect to current business trends. I have evaluated all of these aspects within this essay in order to highlight the critical review of project planning of CSP. Alexander, B. and Heyd, B., 2014. Sonic branding within fashion retail brands: restrictions, opportunities, effectiveness and success.  BS Publications, p.154. Amsteus, M., Liljegren, F., Markovic, S. and Mà ¥nsson, M., 2016. Chocolate or Succulent Chocolate: the impact of sensory descriptions on choice. Berg, P.O. and Sevà ³n, G., 2014. Food-branding places–A sensory perspective.  Place Branding and Public Diplomacy,  10(4), pp.289-304. Chakravarty, S.M., 2015. Sensory Branding: Branding with Senses. In  Cases on Branding Strategies and Product Development: Successes and Pitfalls  (pp. 327-365). IGI Global. Chatterjee, S., 2015. Olfactory branding: a new trend for defining brands through smell-a case of ITC Sonar Hotel in Kolkata, India.  International Journal of Trade and Global Markets,  8(3), pp.196-206. Kumar, P., 2014. Multisensory Marketing-Building Sustainability Perspective in Diverse Sectors.  International Journal of Marketing & Business munication,  3(2). Richards, G., 2015. Food experience as integrated destination marketing strategy.  World Food Tourism Summit in Estoril, Portugal,  10, p.2015.

International marketing environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International marketing environment - Essay Example Thus, governments play a highly influential role in promoting, restricting and regulating import and export of the goods. In a way, government interventions cause a tremendous impact on the firms marketing the goods internationally (Vorton, 2010). Further, government’s role is crucial in formulating trade policies, negotiating trade agreements with other countries and preparing an environment that helps promote multilateral trade among the countries. For example, the Office of the US Trade Representative, a body under the US government, is fully responsible to develop trade related policies with the other countries. The office works as the presidents spokesperson, chief trade advisor, and finally as a negotiator with trade organizations of the other countries. It is pertinent to note here that the US has entered into free trade agreements with a total of 19 countries. The North American Free Trade Agreements (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada is considered one of the largest of all the free trade agreements to promote bilateral trade among the member countries (NAFTA, 2012). Economic factor is quite important and critical as environmental uncontrollable while going for international marketing operations. Markets differ worldwide significantly in their growth prospects, size and the current GDPs. Some of them are developed, while many are in the developing stages and therefore, they differ widely in terms of opportunities. Many of the countries or regions do not have adequate infrastructure to undertake a fast paced economic growth. Natural resources, minerals, water, energy, skilled manpower are the key ingredients that are needed for the growth and industrial activities. Thus, marketers need to consider individual regions and economies carefully before launching any marketing operations (The Economic Environment, 2012). International marketing is influenced by the

Impact of Natural Disaster on obesity of the residents of New Orleans Essay

Impact of Natural Disaster on obesity of the residents of New Orleans - Essay Example However, the main focus of the paper shall be obesity in New Orelean, and the impact it is having on it's inhabitants, and lastly the conclusions and recommendations by our study shall be presented. But before discussing about Obesity in Nre Orleans, it is important to know what we mean by obesity. According to Graves, " obesity referes to having a body mass index (BMI) over 30. That ... would be like a 5-foot-8-inch person weighing 197 pounds. The National Institutes of Health defines morbid obesity as a BMI above 40." (Graves, bestofneworleans.com). It is a well known fact that New Orleans is the city that loves to eat. It's no wonder, that this passion is reflected on the appearance and health of dwellers. The estimated quantity of overweight people in the New Orleans is 60% percent. The officials say it is obesity that is the cause for most diseases the New Orleans dwellers suffer from. They also add that the obesity-related diseases account for more than half of Louisiana's health care budget. (Sell, bizneworleans.com) However, obesity has serious, long-term consequences. The incidence of type II diabetes has increased in U.S. children in parallel with the rising prevalence of obesity (Rocchini 854-855). Hypertension, hyper-cholesterolemia, heart disease, asthma, mental health concerns (e.g., depression and low self-esteem), and orthopedic disorders have all been linked to obesity (American Academy of Pediatrics 424-430). However, obesity is the single major health problem in the United States that is rapidly becoming worse (Sturm 2002). Nevertheless, the problem of Adult Obesity is related to children's food habits, the foundation of which lies in the understanding that a juvenile's physical and mental environment is a primary determinant of his or her health and well-being when they grow up(World Health Organization (WHO) 2003). The knowledge that complex interactions exist between the childhood obesity and adult obesity is not new. Indeed, one of Hippocrates' aphorisms was "for, in general, you will find the forms and dispositions of mankind to correspond with the nature of the country." (Sallis et al. 179-185) As the field of community health grows as a specialty, so does the body of research by leading scientists and clinicians who seek to further our understanding of the impact of environmental disasters on the physical growth on the residents, such as obesity. (MacIntyre et al. 213-243) In 2005 Men's Fitness ranked New Orleans the seventh fattest city in the country. In 2004 it was on the twenty second place. The quantity of obese people in New Orleans is growing rapidly with each passing year, and thus the quantity of those, who suffer from the obesity-related diseases, also increases. New Orleans dwellers become less active, and eat more. On the contrary, one of the reasons of this process is that the fast foods are gaining popularity in New Orleans, like in other American cities. The contemporary pace of life often

Bishop, V. (1998) suggests that effective clinical supervision needs a Essay

Bishop, V. (1998) suggests that effective clinical supervision needs a managerial commitment to its implementation and ongoing operation. Discuss and describe how you might gain this - Essay Example ever, a majority ÃŽ ¿f school counsellors do not receive adequate supervision; indeed, many are supervised by school administrators who are not trained in counselling (Roberts & Borders, 1994; Sutton & Page, 1994). The American Association ÃŽ ¿f Counselling and Development School Counselling Task Force (1989; now ACA) has declared a need for counselling supervision ÃŽ ¿f practicing school counsellors (hereafter referred to as clinical supervision). However, there are few studies on the effects ÃŽ ¿f clinical supervision on veteran counsellors ÃŽ ¿f any type (Bernard & Goodyear, 1992) and even fewer on school counsellors. Research on the effects ÃŽ ¿f clinical supervision on school counsellors is rare (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997; Roberts & Borders, 1994; Sutton & Page, 1994). Just one ongoing clinical supervision program ÃŽ ¿f school counsellors was found in a literature search, but other than informal comments from the participants, the authors did not report formal evaluation findings (Henderson & Lampe, 1992). Two peer group, clinical supervision programs have been described and tested in the literature: Borders (1991) Systematic Peer Group Supervision and Benshoff and Paisleys (1996) Structured Peer Consultation Model for School Counsellors. When compared with no supervision, the quantitative research findings on both programs were not significant (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997). The counsellor participants in Crutchfield and Borders (1997) study were provided few opportunities for supervision training, and their involvement in clinical supervision was limited to the duration ÃŽ ¿f the study. As a consequence ÃŽ ¿f the lack ÃŽ ¿f clinical supervision programs and research, there was a call for school systems to design and examine methods ÃŽ ¿f school counsellor supervision. Recent Counsellor Educators and Supervisors Network (CESNET) exchanges underscore the necessity and the complexities ÃŽ ¿f establishing clinical supervision ÃŽ ¿f school counsellors. In a December 1998 article in

Grant proposal presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Grant proposal presentation - Essay Example It will be a pilot project. It proposes to teach the Police Department Personnel the Spanish language, idiomatic terms, non-verbal communication, culture, traditions, history, and customs. Pending on the results of this pilot project future funding may be sought through philanthropists, state and federal grants, and corporations. The teachers for this pilot project will be Hispanic from the Hispanic communities that not only know the language but also know the idiosyncrasies that, in general, are pertinent to the Hispanic communities and the countries they come from. The Police Department personnel will be randomly selected given that the Hispanic when in need, when taken to headquarters, when interrogated this personnel will need to be sensitive, sensible, and willing and able to communicate, to obtain the best results. A change in the interaction between these two groups needs to be reinforced positively. The duration of the Project will be an intensive six months. The classes will meet Monday through Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The Police Department Personnel will have a reduced workload to support the participants involved in this pilot project. Classes – The Spanish classes will be using a new concept. It will teach the grammar of the Spanish language. The domains for the target language will be: Listening skills, the students will respond to nuances by unfamiliar speakers. The students will also demonstrate comprehension of instructions; Speaking skills, the students will present solutions to problems from a cross cultural perspective. The students, for example, will actively participate in the class and present their given situation (arresting, interrogating, filling out reports, directing people to the accurate places). Reading skills, the students will verify the information that is graphically presented and confirm the information. The students will demonstrate, for example, given a short article to

Vision of the Purpose and Structure of Schools of the Future Essay - 1

Vision of the Purpose and Structure of Schools of the Future - Essay Example This essay stresses that there are some basic assumptions in the views and approaches described in this work towards multiculturalism. The main assumption is that the minority cultures are similar in their differences from the majority culture. The vision assumes that all immigrants have equal access to technology and the necessary know-how. This paper makes a conclusion that the various cultures are so diverse among themselves that there is no single general rule that can handle all these differences at once collectively in order to integrate these cultures with the culture of the majority. The vision does not consider the possibility of any communication gap between the teacher and the immigrant students while communicating or learning online. It would be difficult to find teachers who are experts in both subjects and arts. Employing art teachers for interpreting subject classes will end up with the school having as many art teachers as school teachers. The languages are, in reality, extremely different in their writing systems, structure and interpretation. While some of the languages can be dealt with collectively, some will have to be taken into account separately. Handling these differences would be a Herculean task. Assigning teachers from various cultural backgrounds would likely leave the schools with more hands than they totally need. Furthermore, ensuring a balanced mix of minority and majority teachers would sometimes mean sacrificing or overlooking the abilities and skills of an efficient teacher for the purpose of maintaining the mix.

Blackface Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Blackface - Essay Example They wore woolly wigs on their heads, gloves for their hands and painted their lips in exaggeration. They also made use of either tail – coats or ragged clothes to highlight their totally transformed looks. Much later on, actual black artists took to the same art. Blackface minstrelsy played a very important and significant role in promoting racism worldwide through their racist perceptions and attitudes towards it. The greatest impact of Blackface on the community was â€Å"the precedent it established in the introduction of African American culture to an international audience, albeit through a distorted lens.† (Lott 1993, Watkins 1999) From a National level point of view, minstrelsy was the most popular form of art which was used to express themselves. There are multiple differences of opinions between scholars as to the authenticity leading to the social and cultural creations related to the Blackface practice. In this capacity, historian Robert Toll develops a perspective that reflects a relative ambivalence toward the institution of slavery in the North prior to the Civil War. The historian Eric Lott complicates the issue further by suggesting that Blackface minstrelsy were motivated by both â€Å"love and theft† of black culture. According to popular culture the North was regarded as being abolitionist and a champion of social justice during the Civil War; but contrary to this fact as demonstrated through the popularity of Blackface minstrel shows, there was clear evidence of the element of inferiority associated with individuals of African descent. What the Blackface minstrelsy shows reflected was the perceived unsophisticated nature of the entire African race compared to their European counterparts; the practice emphasized blacks falling short of white standards (67). Blackface minstrelsy made extensive use of malapropisms and puns and conducted their musical concerts while sitting in a wide

Human Resource Management Process Research Paper

Human Resource Management Process - Research Paper Example Human resource, as the name implies, refers to the workforce, and the management of the human resource is essentially the management of the workforce. The workforce is one of the most fundamental resources of an organization because all work is conducted through the workforce. Management of human resource includes addressing the individualistic and collective needs of the workers and keeping a check on their daily performance so that their salaries or other organizational benefits can be adjusted to suit their performance. Planning is the first phase of human resource management process. In this phase, managers assess the specific skills required to accomplish the tasks that need to be done in the project at hand. Different tasks require people with different sets of abilities. Some tasks require more physical input, so they need to be assigned to physically strong employees. Other kinds of tasks that require more mental input need to be assigned to employees that are mentally sharp and have a good academic record. Once the required sets of skills have been identified, the managers assess the various options for recruiting the employees. There is a whole range of methods that can be used to recruit the workforce. These methods include but are not limited to a face-to-face interview, interview over phone or skype, physical test, and tests directed at checking the intelligence quotient (IQ). Interviews can also be classified according to types in addition to the means of conversation. There are behavior-based interviews that tend to estimate an individual’s personality by listening to the individual’s behavioral response to a situation that he/she is likely to experience in the kind of job he/she is applying for. Interviews may be structured or unstructured depending upon the choice of the manager. In structured interviews, the manager assesses the responses of individual candidates against a particular set of questions. There is no addition or subt raction to these questions. The questions are chosen with the mutual consensus of expert professionals. In unstructured interviews, there is no definite set of questions that are to be asked to the candidate. The conversation can take any route but it ultimately leads the manager to make a rational assessment of the skills of the candidate. Interviews may be conducted individually or in the group. In the individual interviews, candidates are called into the office one by one for interview whereas, in group interviews, candidates are called in in groups. Big companies usually recruit the employees by conducting panel interviews of each candidate individually. In such interviews, the candidate is supposed to satisfy a whole group of experts, that tend to analyze the candidate’s abilities in their own ways. The candidate is first given a brief demonstration of the organization, it works, and its culture, and then each professional avails his/her turn to ask the question.

Ancient Chinese Dynasties Essay Example for Free

Ancient Chinese Dynasties Essay There were many Chinese dynasties that rose and fell throughout China’s history. The history of China, in a way, is a history of battles and wars. These wars were so important that they changed the structure of Chinese culture both then and now. Three dynasties that rose and fell during ancient China were the Han, the Tang, and the Song. The rise and fall of these great dynasties form a link that runs through Chinese history. The Han period was one of the golden ages of Chinese civilization. The Han dynasty lasted from 206 B. C. to A. D. 220. It began when the prince of Han, Liu Bang, took the title Gao Zu and began to restore order and justice to his new empire. He lowered taxes and reduced the Qin emperor’s harsh Legalist policies. These policies created a strong basis for the Han dynasty. The most famous emperor, Wudi took China to a new level. During his reign from 141 BC to 87 BC, he strengthened both the government and economy. Economic expansion, strengthening the palace at the expense of the civil service, weakening the states hold on the peasantry and the rise of the rich and the gentry were all factors that led to the adoption of Confucian ideals. Han emperors made Confucianism the official belief system of the state. Under Wudi, China conquered many lands, expanding their power and influence. The Han Dynasty now controlled northern Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. Wudi sent explorers toward Central Asia, eventually opening up the famous trade route known as the Silk Road. However, signs of decay began to appear throughout the dynasty which put an enormous burden on the economy. Weak emperors allowed canals and roads to fall into disrepair. Burdened by heavy taxes, and crushing debt, many peasants revolted. Thousands of rebellious peasants abandoned their villages and fled to the mountains. In AD 220 warlords overthrew the last Han emperor. After four hundred years of unity, China broke up into several kingdoms. The Han dynasty was over. After the Han dynasty collapsed, China remained divided for nearly four hundred years. It was not until the development of the Tang dynasty, in 618 that China was restored to its earlier glory. The tang was an imperial dynasty of China. Its territory was acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers and was greater than that of the Han period. Tang rulers carried empire building to new depths. Chinese armies forced the neighboring lands of Vietnam, Tibet, and Korea to become tributary states. It is estimated that the population had grown by the 9th century to about eighty million people. The Tang Dynasty was largely a period of progress and stability. They rebuilt the bureaucracy and enlarged the civil service system to recruit talented officials trained in Confucian technology. Chinese culture flourished and further developed during the Tang era. It is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Tang emperors began to lose territories in Central Asia to the Arabs. Corruption, high taxes, drought and famine all contributed to the downfall of the Tang Dynasty. In 1907, a rebel general over through the last Tang emperor, which brought the dynasty to an end. The Song Dynasty lasted for more than three hundred years. It began in 960, when a educated general reunited most of China. The Song controlled less territory than the Tang dynasty did. The dynasty was constantly threatened by invaders in the north. Despite military obstacles, the culture brought rise to a new religion. Education expanded the growth of literature and the arts. Foreign trade flourished and Chinese cities prospered as centers of trade. Positions in government were no longer held by aristocrats and were instead given to people with experience and degrees. This made the government stronger and formed new concepts. Chinese wealth and culture lead East Asia even when its militaries did not. Most problems in this dynasty were due to military power. A combination of corrupt officials and weak emperors contributed to its downfall. China has a long and mysterious history of almost five thousand years. China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded until they became the great country we have today. Each rise and fall of a dynasty created new leaders, new laws, new rules, and usually new expansion. Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity. The rise and fall of many dynasties created a rocky path in Chinas history.

Fundamental Types Of Distortion Engineering Essay

Fundamental Types Of Distortion Engineering Essay The high localised heating required in welding joint edges cause non-uniform stresses in the component and lead to expansion and contraction of the heated material. Initially, compressive stresses are created in the surrounding cold parent metal when the weld pool is formed due to the thermal expansion of the hot metal (heat affected zone) adjacent to the weld pool. However, tensile stresses occur on cooling when the contraction of the weld metal and the immediate heat affected zone is resisted by the bulk of the cold parent metal. The magnitude of thermal stresses induced into the material can be seen by the volume change in the weld area on solidification and subsequent cooling to room temperature. For example, when welding CMn steel, the molten weld metal volume will be reduced by approximately 3% on solidification and the volume of the solidified weld metal/heat affected zone (HAZ) will be reduced by a further 7% as its temperature falls from the melting point of steel to room temperature. If the stresses generated from thermal expansion/contraction exceed the yield strength of the parent metal, localised plastic deformation of the metal occurs. Plastic deformation causes a permanent reduction in the component dimensions and distorts the structure. Fundamental Types of Distortion Three fundamental dimensional changes that occur during the welding process cause distortion in fabricated structures: 1. Transverse shrinkage perpendicular to the weld line 2. Longitudinal shrinkage parallel to the weld line 3. Angular distortion (rotation around the weld line) These dimensional changes are shown in 1 and are classified by their appearance as follows: (a) Transverse shrinkage. Shrinkage perpendicular to the weld line (b) Angular change (transverse distortion). A non-uniform thermal distribution in the thickness direction causes distortion (angular change) close to the weld line. (c) Rotational distortion. Angular distortion in the plane of the plate due to thermal expansion. (d) Longitudinal shrinkage. Shrinkage in the direction of the weld line. (e) Longitudinal bending distortion. Distortion in a plane through the weld line and perpendicular to the plate. (f) Buckling distortion. Thermal compressive stresses cause instability when plates are thin. Figure Various types of weld distortion Contraction of the weld area on cooling results in both transverse and longitudinal shrinkage. Non-uniform contraction (through thickness) produces angular distortion in addition to longitudinal and transverse shrinkage. For example, in a single V butt weld, the first weld run produces longitudinal and transverse shrinkage and rotation. The second run causes the plates to rotate using the first weld deposit as a fulcrum. Hence, balanced welding in a double side V butt joint can be used to produce uniform contraction and prevent angular distortion. Similarly, in a single side fillet weld, non-uniform contraction produces angular distortion of the upstanding leg. Double side fillet welds can therefore be used to control distortion in the upstanding fillet but because the weld is only deposited on one side of the base plate, angular distortion will now be produced in the plate. Longitudinal bowing in welded plates happens when the weld centre is not coincident with the neutral axis of the section so that longitudinal shrinkage in the welds bends the section into a curved shape. Clad plate tends to bow in two directions due to longitudinal and transverse shrinkage of the cladding; this produces a dished shape. Dishing is also produced in stiffened plating. Plates usually dish inwards between the stiffeners, because of angular distortion at the stiffener attachment welds. In plating, long range compressive stresses can cause elastic buckling in thin plates, resulting in dishing, bowing or rippling. Distortion due to elastic buckling is unstable: if you attempt to flatten a buckled plate, it will probably snap through and dish out in the opposite direction. Twisting in a box section is caused by shear deformation at the corner joints. This is caused by unequal longitudinal thermal expansion of the abutting edges. Increasing the number of tack welds to prevent shear deformation often reduces the amount of twisting. Angular Distortion (Hirai and Nakamura 1955) conducted an investigation to determine the values of the angular change in a free joint and the coefficient of rigidity for angular changes under various conditions. 2shows the values of angular change as a function of plate thickness, t (mm), and weight of electrode consumed per weld length, w (g/cm). In order to convert from w to the size of the fillet weld, Df (mm), the following formula may be used: Where ? = density of weld metal, ?d = deposition efficiency. The fillet size, Df, is commonly used in design work, while w is easy to determine in a welding experiment. Figure Angular change of a free fillet weld in steel The results shown in 2 were obtained using covered electrodes 5mm in diameter. The maximum angular changes were obtained when the plate thickness was around 9mm. Then the plate was thinner, the amount of angular change was reduced with the plate thickness. This is because the plate was heated more evenly in the thickness direction, thus reducing the bending moment. When the plate was thicker than 9mm, the amount of angular change was reduced as the plate thickness increased because of increased rigidity. Previous two dimensional investigations (Duffy 1970; Shin 1972) of out-of-plane distortion of welded panel structures have shown that distortion increases with span length, and size of fillet weld. The investigations also indicated that there is a peak in distortion around 10mm plate thickness with lower distortion for thicknesses of 6mm and 14mm. Buckling Distortion When thin plates are welded, residual compressive stresses occur in areas away from the weld and cause buckling. Buckling distortion occurs when the specimen length exceeds the critical length for a given thickness in a given specimen size. It is important to determine whether distortion is caused by buckling of bending. Buckling distortion differs from bending distortion in that: 1. There is more than one stable deformed shape 2. The amount of deformation in buckling distortion is much greater Since the amount of buckling distortion is large, the best way to avoid it is to properly select such structural parameters as plate thickness, stiffener spacing and welding parameters. Extensive experimental and analytical investigations described in (Masubuchi 1970) conducted at Kawasaki heavy Industry clearly indicate the existence of a critical buckling heat input for given conditions. The critical buckling heat input decreases as plate thickness decreases and free span increases. For a given panel size the critical values for the heat input, are not affected by plate thickness. The critical heat input for buckling is little affected by the difference in welding process. Longitudinal and Transverse Shrinkage Twisting Contraction of the weld area on cooling results in both transverse and longitudinal shrinkage, whereas non-uniform contraction (through thickness) produces angular distortion. For example, in a single V butt weld, the first weld run produces longitudinal and transverse shrinkage and rotation. The second run causes the plates to rotate using the first weld deposit as a fulcrum. Hence, balanced welding in a double side V butt joint can be used to produce uniform contraction and prevent angular distortion. Similarly, in a single side fillet weld, non-uniform contraction produces angular distortion of the upstanding leg. Double side fillet welds can therefore be used to control distortion in the upstanding fillet but because the weld is only deposited on one side of the base plate, angular distortion will now be produced in the plate. Residual Stress The temperature distribution in the weldment is not uniform as a result of local heating (by most welding processes), and changes that take place as welding progresses. Heat-affected zones of the weldment and the base metal immediately adjacent to the welded area are at a temperature substantially above that of the unaffected base metal. Compressive stresses are created in the surrounding cold parent metal, when the weld pool is formed due to the thermal expansion of the hot metal (heat affected zone) adjacent to the weld pool. As the molten pool solidifies and shrinks, it begins to exert shrinkage stresses on the surrounding weld metal and heat-affected zone. However, tensile stresses occur on cooling when the contraction of the weld metal and the immediate heat affected zone is resisted by the bulk of the cold parent metal. Residual stresses in weldments have following two major effects: First, they produce distortion. Distortion is caused when the heated weld region contracts non-uniformly, causing shrinkage in one part of the weld to exert eccentric forces on the weld cross-section. The weldment strains elastically in response to these stresses. The distortion may appear in butt joints both as longitudinal and transverse shrinkage and as angular change (rotation) when the face of the weld shrinks more than the root. The latter change produces transverse bending in the plates along the weld length. Distortion in fillet welds is similar to that in butt welds. Transverse and longitudinal shrinkage as well as angular distortion results from the unbalanced nature of the stresses in these welds. Since fillet welds are often used in combination with other welds in a weldment, the specific resulting distortion may be complex. Secondly, residual stresses may be the cause of premature failure in weldments. If the stresses generated from thermal expansion/contraction exceed the yield strength of the parent metal, localised plastic deformation of the metal occurs. Plastic deformation causes a permanent reduction in the component dimensions and distorts the structure. Residual stresses The residual stresses in a component or structure are stresses caused by incompatible internal permanent strains. They may be generated or modified at every stage in the component life cycle, from original material production to final disposal. Welding is one of the most significant causes of residual stresses and typically produces large tensile stresses whose maximum value is approximately equal to the yield strength of the materials being joined, balanced by lower compressive residual stresses elsewhere in the component. Tensile residual stresses may reduce the performance or cause failure of manufactured products. They may increase the rate of damage by fatigue, creep or environmental degradation. They may reduce the load capacity by contributing to failure by brittle fracture, or cause other forms of damage such as shape change or crazing. Compressive residual stresses are generally beneficial, but cause a decrease in the buckling load. Residual stresses may be measured by non-destructive techniques, including X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and optic magnetic and ultrasonic methods; by locally destructive techniques, including hole drilling and the ring core and deep hole methods; and by sectioning methods including block removal, splitting, slicing, layering and the contour method. The selection of the optimum measurement technique should take account of volumetric resolution, material, geometry and access. Prediction of residual stresses by numerical modelling of welding and other manufacturing processes has increased rapidly in recent years. Modelling of welding is technically and computationally demanding, and simplification and idealisation of the material behaviour, process parameters and geometry is inevitable. Numerical modelling is a powerful tool for residual stress prediction, but validation with reference to experimental results is essential. Allowing for residual stresses in the assessment of service performance varies according to the failure mechanism. It is not usually necessary to take account of residual stresses in calculations of the static strength of ductile materials. Design procedures for fatigue or buckling of welded structures usually make appropriate allowances for weld-induced residual stresses, and hence it is not necessary to include them explicitly. Residual stresses have a major effect on fracture in the brittle and transitional regimes, and hence the stress intensity, K, or energy release rate, J, due to residual stresses must be calculated and included in the fracture assessment. K or J may be obtained as a function of stress distribution, crack size and geometry by various methods, including handbook solutions, weight functions, and finite element analysis. Residual stresses in as-welded structures may be minimised by appropriate selection of materials, welding process and parameters, structural geometry and fabrication sequence. Residual stresses may be reduced by various special welding techniques including low stress non-distortion welding (LSND), last pass heat sink welding (LPHSW) or inter-run peening. They may be relaxed by thermal processes including postweld heat treatment and creep in service, or by mechanical processes including proof testing and vibratory stress relief. Different stress relief treatments are appropriate in different applications. The effectiveness of the treatment may be reduced or the residual stresses may be increased if the treatment is not applied properly. Specialised processes are available for inducing beneficial compressive residual stresses, including peening, shot blasting, induction heating stress improvement (IHSI), low plasticity burnishing (LPB) and mechanical stress improvement procedures (MSIP ).

Contemporary Concepts of Innovation and Organisation Changes

Contemporary Concepts of Innovation and Organisation Changes INNOVATION AND CHANGE MANAGMENT Q1. Describe contemporary concepts of innovation and organisational change. Ans. The concept of changing an idea or invention into a valuate service that create values or for which you can earn money/profit. The innovation idea must be satisfying all the needs and must be changeable at an economical cost. It includes deliberate application of imagination and information in creating greater and different values. If we talk about todays business environment innovation is very important to survive Change management entails thoughts planning and sensitive implementation and consultation with the involvement of the people affected by the changes. If the force change on people normally problem arise. Change must be realistic, measurable and achievable (Business dictionary). Q2. Describe the forms and types of innovation. Ans. There are more than 10 types of innovation, here i am explain some of them. SERVICE INNOVATION: it is very clear that god service is very important to run any business, if any business is not giving good service they cant survive in business environment. It also makes permanent customers if you give good service. SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION:- its all about describing your product that what are you selling, whats the product configuration and in every promotion what you introduced new or improved about your product. BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION:- In business environment there is lots of competition, so if you want to survive in the market you have to bring changes, come with new products to attract more customers. INCREMENT INNOVATION:- This innovation is all about improving you service, products. Make their product cheaper but good quality. PROCESS INNOVATION:- the processing of product, what we can change in that process to make them cheaper and good (Mok). Q3. Assess the role of innovation and organisational change at a strategic level for New Zealand organisations. Using innovative plans at different type of levels. To achieve the professional objectives making strategies and giving them direction is very important. VOLPARA Solutions is a wholly owned sales and marketing arm of MATAKINA Technology Limited of New Zealand. The company was founded with the vision to enable radiologists to give women the most accurate information about their breast health. VOLPARA Solutions gives an innovative range of volumetric breast imaging solutions that are specifically designed for the early detection of breast cancer. The company has been introduced new and improved solutions all over the globe, including the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. VOLPARA Solutions breast cancer detection technology used on 4 million women and GE Healthcare tie-up set to ramp up global sales. GE healthcare is one of the largest medical device companies. VOLPARA Solutions is the only company that offers a dose measurement tool specifically designed for breast imaging. (volpara solutions wins technology innovation awards, 2014) . Q4. Describe contemporary innovation frameworks. Ans. When employee are working on innovation first of all they make a plan/idea that how to innovate the company. They have to make proper plan and distribute work between the company members. It starts from the idea generation. The next step is making a decision that which project are persuade and which are not. Then they decide the idea to tangible technology or services and then they start making the technology and test them that it works in a good way or not. Then they launch it in the market and learn how the process works. There are some key points which implement innovation in an organisation Platform for success Principle should be correct. Role of employees/their ideas. Focus should be on innovation. VOLPARA SOLUTION FRAMEWORK VOLPARA is running with 53 employees and they all are the expertise. Any technology introduced are checked and tried by all expertise. VOLPARA was a slow service before developing the technology VOLPARA DENSITY. VOLPARA DOSERT provides clinicians with patient-specific x-ray dose. Now they got a technology from which they can detect breast cancer in earlier stage (INNOVATION MANAGMENT.SE, 2013) . Q5. Identify the factors that foster innovation. Ans. Great communication:- if there is a communication gap between the staff members, then the company may have to face lose/unsuccessfulness. There should be a good communication network between the staff, so they can talk to each other understand each other and work together. In VOLPARA there are 53 members, all have their own work and own expertise. Better monitoring of results:- To be successful you have to monitor your products , your past and you also have to think about future. VOLPARA introduce VOLPARA DENSTITY which is fast, from that technology their company is going up. After that they come with a software from which they do high quality breast screening. They are monitoring their older technologies and coming with the new ones to help patient. There are also some external and internal factors External factors: Costumers feedbacks Innovation Change in political or economical cycle. Needs of public Internal factors: Change in leader. Company performance rate Business facing problems (ONLINE JOURNALISM) . Q6. Describe different types of innovation strategy with appropriate examples from NZ organisations. Ans. Basically there are four types of innovation strategies that can be used by VOLPARA SOLUTIONS like Proactive strategy Active strategy Reactive strategy Last but not the least passive strategy PROACTIVE STRATEGY: In this approach companies tries to do more and more research and spend huge expenses to gain each and every information regarding new inventions so that they can adopt the new techniques quickly and become the market leader. In other words we can say they are the high risk taker in the market. The best example for proactive strategy is Singapore airlines and Apple. There are two types of technological innovations used in the proactive strategy is Radical and incremental approach. In incremental approach company tries to bring constant changes in their products and services till they get satisfied. VOLPARA is a research based company, they are researching day by day to bring new technologies. The latest technology they introduced is high quality breast screening, from which they can detect breast cancer in earlier stage. ACTIVE STRATEGY: Another strategy is Active strategy. In this type of strategy company tries to protect or defend their existing technology. Companies who follow this approach have broad knowledge about the market and even technology and they are treated as medium to low risk taker in the market. As per the case study, it is very clear that VOLAPARA has only 4 products in the market and they are best in what they are doing. REACTIVE APPROACH: Reactive strategy is used by the company who are treated as followers of other in the market and they mainly focuses on the operations, apart from this they always looking for low risk opportunities in the market. PASSIVE STRATEGY: last strategy is passive strategy company doesnt bring any change in their products and services until customer wants a change in their products or services (BUSINESS DICTIONARY, 2017) . Q7. Describe The Place Of Professional Values And Ethics In Innovation. Ans. PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND ETHICS IN INNOVATION: There is a relationship between ethics and innovations. Company do innovation to get more profit and ethics is a thing which stops them to take wrong decision/ wrong things for environment and health of public. Companies that foster one they mostly foster the other just because of critical values and respect and trust even they are encouraged and rewarded. Now a day company tries to hear more and more ideas or opinions from their employees and they try to adopt their ideas so that their employees get motivated and feel satisfied. Managers generally have huge responsibilities they have to balance the cost, innovations moreover they have to take care of corporate social responsibility. Even they have to forecast or monitor the ethics dilemma. VOLPARA SOLUTIONS got the award for innovation in health and science. Also, an organization which fosters ethics and values will easily attract good, talented and honest workforce which will eventually be instrumental in shaping the organizations future If we talk about VOLPARA SOLUTIONS their ethics and values are: Achieve the goals effectively and efficiently by taking care of the interest of the customers. Research for new technologies. Whatever they research they first it check it, for public safety. Like it may have side effects. Burdens of public health measures must be recognised. Burden should be minimized and there should be another alternative to reduce the burden. There should be balance between burden and benefits. Treating people with dignity. Treating people fairly. Supporting patients choices (NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY) . Q8. Explain why innovation may require change in organisations. Ans. If the company wants to grow, they have to stay firm with their resolution and ethics moving ahead with technologies. VOLPARA has a mission o reduce the mortality and cost of breast cancer by providing clinically-validated software that underpins personalized, high-quality breast cancer screening. also they need to innovate their software so they can research better and come with new technologies in market. Innovation is always better for organisation (VOLPARA SOLUTIONS). Its very clear that if the organisations is coming with changes or coming with new products. Customers/clients always like change. Its always attracted. If you are investing money in changing something in your organisation, it will definitely give you double time profits. VOLPARA is technology/research based company. Their expertises are always trying to find some new technology which can make people healthy. In past VOLPARA is not dealing with phone, now they launched VOLPARA DENSITY (ABOUT VOLPRA, 2017). Q9. Critically analyse the role of leadership and different leadership styles on innovation and change management. Ans. Role of leadership and different leadership styles on innovations and change management: No doubt successful implementation of change depends upon the leaders or managers of the organization. A leader plays an important role in innovation and change management like: Understanding the scope of change: A leader tries to find out the areas where there is a need to bring change in the organization and them also set the priorities that who will guide the change. They also try to measure the affects of change and innovations in the organization. Being to implement the change or bring innovations this requires focusing on who is most affected by new business processes and they also require leaders to take care of their whether they wants to adopt the change or not. Last but not the least makes adjustments. Focus on the outcomes and if there is requirement of bring changes then leaders should take care and make adjustments (IVEY BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2017) . Q10. Using individual ADKAR model or group Lewins model describe the effectiveness of various approaches to the management of resistance. Ans.LEWINS MODEL OF CHANGE: LEWINS model is 3step model. The three steps are: Unfreeze Change Refreeze UNFREEZE: In the first step the change is communicate within the whole organization and should motivate the employees to adopt these changes because these changes are necessary for them. If the organization is suffering from decrease sales, decrease in financial results and profits then should communicate with employees that they cannot work with the older ways or existing ways in the organization they should adopt new changes. It is the most difficult part of the process. Without motivation change cannot be bring in the organization. More participation is required to discuss about the change in the organization. CHANGE: In this people start working in a new way and start thinking new ideas and start supporting the new changes. Change cannot bring overnight in the organization. People takes more time and commit mistakes because everything is new for the whole organization. More contribution should be there so that change can be implemented successfully. People need to understand these changes organization should provide quickly solutions to the mistakes done by the employees. REFREEZE: Refreeze is the last step of LEWINS model. In this stage change become normal for the whole organization. Identify the more things that support the change and removing all barriers that create problem in adoption of changes. Leaders should support each and every employee. There must be rewards system to motivate the employee moreover frequently feedback should be taken from each and every employee. If there is a need of training then training should be given to the employees. Every information and support should be given and success of the organization should be celebrated in the organization. Q11. Draw conclusions about the place of innovation and change management for contemporary organisations. Ans. VOLPARA Is running successful with only 53 staff members, its difficult to manage everything if you got less staff. For the future innovation, researching for the solutions of other cancer, it will increase the business and profit too. For that we have to hire more staff and we can also open new branch, so people can come easily to us. As cancer is very dangerous diseases now a days and it causes death. So finding solution to prevent cancer is a better thinking for our business and public health also. References ABOUT VOLPRA. (2017). Retrieved 02 26, 2017, from VOLPARA SOLUTIONS: http://www.volparasolutions.com/about-volpara/ Business dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved 02 15, 2017, from what is innovation : http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/innovation.html BUSINESS DICTIONARY. (2017). Retrieved 02 26, 2017, from WHAT IS INNOVATIVE STRATEGY: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/innovation-strategy.html INNOVATION MANAGMENT.SE. (2013). Retrieved 02 26, 2017, from SEVEN STEP TO CREATING A SUCCESSFUL INNOVATION FRAMEWORK: http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2014/01/27/seven-steps-to-creating-a-successful-innovation-framework/ IVEY BUSINESS JOURNAL. (2017). Retrieved 02 26, 2017, from THE LEADERSHIP ROLE: http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/the-leadership-role/ Mok, C. (n.d.). Decision Innovation. Retrieved 02 15, 2017, from types of innovation: http://www.innovation-management.org/types-of-innovation.html NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY. (n.d.). Retrieved 02 26, 2017, from VALUES AND ETHICS: http://www.au.af.mil/AU/AWC/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch15.html Online journalism. (n.d.). Retrieved 02 15, 2017, from five factors that foster innovation: https://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/05/five-factors-that-foster-innovation-in-the-online-newsroom/ ONLINE JOURNALISM. (n.d.). Retrieved 02 26, 2017, from FIVE FACTORS THAT FOSTER INNOVATION: https://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/05/five-factors-that-foster-innovation-in-the-online-newsroom/ volpara solutions wins technology innovation awards. (2014, 09 19). Retrieved 02 27, 2017, from health managment.org: file:///C:/Users/india/Downloads/volpara-solutions-wins-technology-innovation-award.pdf

Small Country Farm at Bordighera :: Essays Papers

French, 1840-1926 Small Country Farm at Bordighera 1884 Museum Purchase, 1943.39 In January 1884 Monet set out alone for the Mediterranean village of Bordighera, just across the Franco-Italian border. Originally intending to stay only for three weeks, Monet became so absorbed in the challenges of capturing brilliant hues of the lush landscape (so different from the cool, gray tonality of northern France) that he spent over two months there and produced forty paintings. Monet recorded his progress and frustrations in copious letters to friends back in Paris: "These palms are driving me crazy; the motifs are extremely difficult to seize, to put on canvas; it's so bushy everywhere, although delightful to the eye.... I would like to do orange and lemon trees silhouetted against the blue sea but cannot find them as I would like." Small Country Farm at Bordighera was probably painted in March and represents his finest achievement there. Years later Monet mentioned it with one other painting of the sojourn as a work with which he was especially satisfied. In it, Monet used remarkably varied brushwork to create a wide range of optical effects and to organize his pictorial space as the viewer's eye is carried from the thick, bushy vegetation of the foreground to the hazy mountain peaks of the distance. Above all, the painting is remarkable for its bold handling of color and rainbowlike palette, which point away from the years of classic Impressionism to the color-saturated paintings of Monet's final decades in Giverny. Monet often represented the times of the day when light is at its most dramatic: sunrise, midday and sunset. In such views as Cap Martin, near Menton (1884), Monet contrasts the intense light of the southern sun burning bright on the coastal road against the deep calm blue waters of the Mediterranean. In other pictures of olive groves and olive trees he focuses on the volley between light and shadow Monet's pictorial style is the quintessence of Impressionism -- an investigation of the transformational properties of light. Emile Zola, the 19th-century French novelist and critic, wrote that Impressionism is a perception of the world "through a temperament." A scrupulous observer of light and color, Monet could define what he was feeling with loose brushwork and

Overcoming Misfortunes in Siddhartha :: Hesse Siddhartha Essays

Overcoming Misfortunes in Siddhartha On page 132 we read "Everything that was not suffered to the end and finally concluded, recurred, and the same sorrows were undergone." What does this mean in regards to Siddhartha and any other of the characters in Hesse's story? Do you agree with this statement? Explain. This quote is taken from the context of when Siddhartha is crossing the river and he sees his reflection and it looks like his father. This quote refers to a repeating of events. It is illustrated by Brahmin being separated from Siddhartha and Siddhartha being separated from his own son. This parallels the quote in three ways. Taken literally it identifies the "father-like-son" aspect of the situation. It can be taken as a metaphor for the endlessness of time as well. Taken out of context, this quote identifies that anything that is not followed or completely worked through will continue to exist and it will repeat itself. Siddhartha left his father, Brahmin, at a young age to join the ascetics. Siddhartha is now considering the pain his father must have gone through not seeing his son again. Siddhartha's son, too, was separated from his father. Without dealing with this situation, the distance between father and son would never be reconciled. Thus the situation Siddhartha had with Brahmin would be repeated. The quote can also be interpreted as a metaphor for time. Obvious recurrences can be noted in time, suggesting that time repeats itself. Instead of a river, another symbol can be used for time, perhaps a pool. According to this quote, things repeat themselves in time. In a pool objects float around until they finally make their way to the outlet. Events swirling around in time without reconciliation are "trapped" until they are dealt with. The entire pool makes up all that time is. All the experiences and thoughts of past, present, and future that have not been dismissed all contribute to the whole of time. If the quote stood alone, without the context of Siddhartha's reflections on his father and his son, it would state that anything that isn't finished through completion would forever hang in the cloud of time.

Remember the Titans 2: Invasion of the Gorgons :: Women Sports Essays

Remember the Titans 2: Invasion of the Gorgons Years after the heart-wrenching tale of young males overcoming racism by bonding over sweat and spandex pants comes the sequel, Remember the Titans 2: Gorgons. Instead of addressing the racial issue, it will follow the integration of women into the tradition of football. The unification comes about when a professional football is given the choice to drop out of the world altogether or merge their male and female teams due to new law that states that all teams must be coed. The story opens in the locker room of the women's football team. The team is fairly new, shown by new equipment and jerseys, with their mascot, the Gorgon, proudly emblazoned in green on white jerseys. Redefining Title IX years before had brought about this change. Women must have exactly the same sports as men, with the same funding. Somehow, it all worked and women's sports are finally on par with men's sports; even as women draw the same size crowds, however, they still maintain a physical and strategic difference from the men. Women, in football especially, play a quicker, more strategic game than men. Men over the years have gotten bigger, stronger and more stupid. Strategy developed into a clash of shoving bodies. But now, the schools have run out of money. Also, the fans have become restless, waiting for the sport's new development. When the team integrates, it becomes doubly sized and doubly staffed. No one wants to give up his or her position, least of all the coaches. In the tradition of the original movie, the non-traditional coach becomes the leader of the team. With a female as head coach, men, especially the drugged and technology enhanced male players must learn to cope with this loss of authority. The movie medium is perfect for representation of this situation; the coach berates an unruly player while he towers above her, roughly three times her size even as she puts him in his place. With such a size difference, drama ensues, as some female players get hurt. Women's status as an equal sex is tried and triumphs as the men and women learn to work as a unit and stop trying to kill each other. The public wants none of the political or economic burden of the shift. They want their old sports back; sports as a whole evolved since the first movie.

Metafiction and Happy Endings (Margaret Atwood) Essay

A. Definition: The narrator of a metafictional work will call attention to the writing process itself. The reader is never to forget that what she is reading is constructed–not natural, not â€Å"real.† She is never to get â€Å"lost† in the story. B. Possible Contents: intruding to comment on writing involving his or herself with fictional characters directly addressing the reader openly questioning how narrative assumptions and conventions transform and filter reality, trying to ultimately prove that no singular truths or meanings exist C. General Characteristics Metafiction often employs intertextual references and allusions by: examining fictional systems; incorporating aspects of both theory and criticism; creating biographies of imaginary writers; presenting and discussing fictional works of an imaginary character. Authors of metafiction often violate narrative levels by: intruding to comment on writing; involving his or herself with fictional characters; directly addressing the reader; openly questioning how narrative assumptions and conventions transform and filter reality, trying to ultimately prove that no singular truths or meanings exist Metafiction also uses unconventional and experimental techniques by: rejecting conventional plot; refusing to attempt to become â€Å"real life†; subverting conventions to transform reality into a highly suspect concept; flaunting and exaggerating foundations of their instability; displaying reflexivity (the dimension present in all literary texts and also central to all literary analysis, a function which enables the reader to understand the processes by which he or she reads the world as a text). It also poses questions about the relationship between fiction and reality by drawing attention to its characteristic as an artifact by itself. No sense of reality in its entire spectrum as a genre even though the extremes of each end are minute acceptance and merely exploration of fictionality to the other end being utter denial of reality itself. D. Examples: Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 1979. Mitchell, David. Cloud Atlas. 2004. HAPPY ENDINGS A. Characters: The author uses common names for the characters which allows him the versatility of putting them into different situations. Doing so supports the way the author puts much importance on what happens during the story instead of how it ends. John one of the most common boy names, has ranged from musicians (John Lennon), to leaders (John F Kennedy), to philosophers (John Locke) etc. This can emphasize the author’s use of putting the character into different contexts, changing the plot and how he plays different roles, yet emphasizes that it all ends the same (death). -Idea that the ending of a story is always the same, but only the middle matters In the story he is a loving husband, adulterous partner, womanizer Mary meaning of the name Mary is: Wished-for child; rebellion; bitter. Famous Bearers: the Virgin Mary; Mary Magdalene; Mary, Queen of Scots. Also shows how the author putes his characters in different situations. James -minor character Fred – minor character Madge – minor character B. Setting: The author employs the use of place as setting in the story. Various examples of setting seen in the story are an apartment, as seen in story B, and a â€Å"charming house,† as seen in story A, C and As seen in the line, â€Å"Remember, this is Canada. You’ll still end up with A, though in between you may get a lustful brawling saga of passionate involvement, a chronicle of our times, sort of,† the setting of the story and each of its segments is a medium for what each character does before he reaches the end. The setting of the story could have an influence on what one could do before he dies, the end which everyone eventually reaches. This is seen in the story wherein each segment (letters) had different bodies of story, yet everything â€Å"continues as in A† in which the characters live on with their lives then die. D. Concepts: Ex: How do elements in the story help to create meaning? Like: setting, tone, imagery, symbol, irony, etc Metafiction in Happy Endings The author tackles the â€Å"What?† question in the writing process through his story Happy Endings. He goes through many scenarios but shows us that the conclusion to each scenario is the same. The question â€Å"What?† only leads to the ending of the story which we already know will be the same. The important things to ask rather are â€Å"How?† and â€Å"Why?†. These questions make up the middle of the story, the events that happen, the part that counts. Textual Irony Title is Happy Endings but the real endings are al the same and result in death Conflict Is always changing depending on the situation given. Always has something to with the subject of love. SYMBOLS E. Title â€Å"Happy Endings† Most people usually focus on the ending of a story Everyone wants a happy ending, but in reality we all meet an equal end which is that we eventually die There is no such thing as a happy ending. All are the same in which we all eventually pass away. What matters is what is done as we reach the end. F. Theme What matters the most in the story is not the ending, but what what we do on the way there, because we can change our situations by choosing to act in the present, but not matter what you do you can’t change your inevitable end. RANDOM NOTES Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings is an illustration of the idea that the ending of a story is always the same, but only the middle matters. And Love plays an important factor in all scenarios. SYNOPSIS: It includes six stories in one, each ending with death. The author believes that this is the only sure ending to anything. The stories are all inter-related, containing the same characters and similar actions. Behind the obvious meaning of these seemingly pointless stories lies a deeper and more profound meaning†¦. What is the common denominator between all these scenarios? In case you missed it, Atwood sums it up in her concluding remarks. ‘John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.’ ‘ Happy Endings’ forces us to question the point of life. Every story, carried to its ultimate logical conclusion, has the same ending, because all lives have the same ending. We may die in the heat of battle; we may die in our sleep. We may die in infancy, in a gang war, in a nursing home. But we’re going to die. The story isn’t in the ending — it’s in what we do on the way there. RESOURCES USED http://ronosaurusrex.com/metablog/list-of-metafictional-works/ http://www.geneseo.edu/~johannes/Metafiction.html http://postcolonialstudies.emory.edu/metafiction/#ixzz2e1Z087Wr http://www.storybites.com/book-reviews/happy-endings-by-margaret-atwood.php characters http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/char.html themes http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/themes.html (online copy: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rebeccal/lit/238f11/pdfs/HappyEndings_Atwood.pdf ) View as multi-pages