Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Considering The Present

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

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

An evaluation of the impact of social policy in relation to childhood poverty since 1997

Introduction This essay considers the effects of government policy on child poverty since 1997. This date represents both a high and low point of the war against child poverty. On the one hand, poverty and inequality were at their most serious in post-war history, with over one in four children living in relative poverty; on the other hand, it saw child poverty come into focus like never before, leading to the development of some of the most ambitious new targets, the most notable of which was the commitment to completely ‘eradicate’ child poverty within 10-20 years (Hills and Stewart 2005). All policies must go through several stages, called the policy cycle. There are numerous different conceptions of the policy cycle, each with slightly different stages. This essay will concentrate on the four main ones: agenda setting (problem identification), policy formation, policy implementation, and post-policy evaluation. The chronological sequence of the policy cycle given above provides t he rough structure for this essay; however, on occasion policies are discussed with reference to all stages of the cycle. This essay begins with a brief background section in order to frame the discussion. It concludes by arguing that on the whole government policy has been relatively successful in combating child poverty across the policy cycle, but that there are several areas of weakness requiring improvement. The notion that child poverty should be a major area of government policy is relatively modern. Historically, children have tended to fall under the care of the immediate or extended family, or under unusual circumstances someone entrusted with their care from the community or social group of the parents. However, this norm has been revised in recent years, leading to a change in the effective definition of ‘caring’, which has been expanded to include care by social workers, nurses and doctors, nursery assistants, teachers, and others (Eisenstadt 2011). The very concept of poverty itself has also varied greatly over time. The important cornerstones of modern policy related to mental and psychological wellbeing are fairly recent in origin. By contrast, Victorian campaigners against child poverty focused on bodily, or physical, problems, as embodied in the period by ragged and starving children. By the mid-20th century many other issues were in vogue. For example, child poverty began to include deficits of education caused by socio-economic problems and learning disabilities. It also began to take into account social ills such as exclusion, asylum seeking, and refugee status among children. In 1997, poverty Government policy since the late-1990s has incorporated all these elements (Eisenstadt 2011). Prior to 1997 childhood has been described by some as a ‘policy free zone’ (Eisenstadt 2011), where goals and objectives were largely hidden from view, being established primarily in office by outside experts. Since then, however, there is a strong consensus that in the early stages of the policy cycle the government has been successful in its approach to child poverty. Agenda setting in particular has been on the rise perhaps since the early- to mid-1990s across many departments and in the core of government. For example, policy debates have been a regular occurrence on many topics regarding child poverty, including cash incomes and services, as well as long-term factors underlying disadvantage and survival chances for children. This represents an impressive degree of cross-policy linkages in the government’s approach. Moreover, it is argued that this has translated into concrete results in policy terms. As Bradshaw and Bennett (2014: 5) put it: ‘the use of targets has been prolific, with those on poverty and social exclusion some of the most high profile.’ This claim is well-supported by the evidence, and several prominent cases can be cited. Take, for example, the commitment to reduce relative child poverty by 25% by 2004-5 and by 50% by 2010-11, as well as to completely ‘eradicate’ it within twenty years (by 2020) – or more pessimistically to be ‘amongst the best in Europe’ (Bradshaw and Bennett 2014: 6). The latter is among the most enduring of government promises regarding child poverty. Additionally, there is the so-called neighbourhood renewal strategy, which laid out the government’s intention that within 10 to 20 years no one would be seriously disadvantaged by where they live. Bradshaw and Bennett (2014: 7) contend that ‘such targ ets (for example, in the annual Opportunity for All reports) involve the Government holding itself to account in a way that few predecessors have done.’ This suggests that at the level of agenda setting there has been considerable success in combating child poverty, but there are also many omissions in the way the government has approached important issues. For example, child poverty might arguably have suffered as a result of the conspicuously small number of targets for overall poverty reduction, as the two are strongly interrelated. It is also questionable whether the targets and agenda setting initiatives have translated to policy formation (Bradshaw and Bennett 2014; Lupton et al. 2013; Hill and Stewart 2005). Before proceeding to discuss this issue, a note of caution should be issued about the usefulness of policy in the first place. Lupton et al. (2013: 17) highlight some of the issues inherent in policy commitments: They note, for example, that goals are in actuality mere promises, or claims, which are unenforceable in both practice and theory. Moreover, it is likely under many circumstances that these will be driven by ideo logical agendas, which will shape change according to which party is in power, ‘and be more or less shaped by the legacy inherited, the particular problems of the moment, or fiscal pressures. They may be more or less explicit and discernible. Unstated goals, some of which later become apparent from internal documentary evidence and politicians or civil servants’ Lupton et al. (2013: 17). Indeed, it is for this reason that scholars working in this field tend to evaluate what Lupton et al. (2013) call ‘realised policy’ rather than policy in a broader sense (Bradshaw and Bennett 2014). There is evidence that this concern – that is, ostensible policy not translating into realised policy – has characterised much of the government’s approach to child poverty, rending it unsuccessful to a degree. For instance, it was only in 2012 that the (Social Mobility and) Child Poverty Commission was appointed. This meant that the body could not be consulted prior to the publication of the Child Poverty Strategy for 2011-14. This contravened the government’s statutory commitment and can be seen as evidence that policy has not necessarily been realised, to use Lupton et al.’s (2013) terminology. Importantly, this had concrete implications for the Child Poverty Strategy for 2011-14, which was widely criticised from not laying out in enough detail that actual means by which policy objectives would be achieved (Bradshaw and Bennett 2014). There are other reasons to believe that agenda setting so far has lacked specificity regarding how it will deal with child poverty. This conclusion emerges through a close examination of the policy statements of government publication and the results following from these policies. For example, the Department for Education posts a statement on its website reading: ‘Poverty, as measured by a household’s income relative to the national average, is often a symptom of deeper, more complex problems. Many of these problems are passed on from one generation to the next.’ As Bradshaw and Bennett (2014) note, the ‘background’ section state that one of its primary aims is ‘reducing poverty in all its forms’, and references social injustice, but does little to directly address the issue of child poverty. The website for the Department for work and Pensions does likewise, noting the existence of a child poverty strategy and the Positive for Youth Repo rt (2011) but failing to specify what this entails in terms of policy (Bradshaw and Bennett 2014; Forest and Parton 2009). This shows that to a certain extent there has been a disconnect between the early stages of the policy cycle (agenda and target setting) and the later one (policy formation). It can also be argued that the government’s approach to dealing with child poverty has been inadequate at the level of policy formation. There has tended to be a great deal of emphasis on the idea of encouraging unemployed parents to work in order that they may better support their children. While this is commendable in several obvious respects, it also has shortcomings. Bucci (cited in Forest and Parton 2009), for example, emphasises the importance of internal factors in children’s lives and downplays the external factors that are usually emphasised by officials and practitioners of policy. This suggests, therefore, the inclusion of many more people in the work force might actually worsen poverty of a social and emotional kind by depriving children of their parents for extended periods. Another strategy employed to end child poverty has come in the form of the Sure Start Centres, the stated aim of which is to ‘improve the outcomes for all children’ (Department of Education 2008). However, the attention paid to child poverty specifically was conspicuously lacking. For example, the first brief concentrated on the objective of ‘helping prevent family breakdown and promoting readiness for schools’, which only has an indirect relationship to child poverty and arguably should not have been prioritised over alternatives, such as the provision of financial support. In addition to the educational component, the Sure Start programme is largely geared around encouraging more parents to work. The government places the promotion of employment and education at the centre of its child poverty policy, as revealed in its description of Sure Start as ‘a cornerstone of the Government’s drive to tackle child poverty and social exclusion’ (D epartment of Education 2008) This is supported by a number of groups, including the Institute for Public Policy Research, which argued that ‘social inclusion is best promoted though enhanced employment opportunity’ and that ‘‘poverty and deprivation in children’s families and in their neighbourhoods is associated with their performance at school’ (Oppenheim, 1998: 113, 139). There is also support for this policy direction from the European Commission (2014), which argued that the most important priorities for reducing child poverty are to ‘improve access to affordable early childhood education and care services’ and to ‘support parents’ access to the labour market and make sure that work ‘pays’ for them’ (European Commission 2014). It might reasonably be claimed, therefore, that while the policy formulation as regards child poverty is indirect, its efficacy in ameliorating child poverty is supported in the literature. This gives credibility to the Sure Start programme, which represents not just successful policy formulation but also the successful implementation of policy initiatives (Lupton 2013). The noticeable educational improvements among children and young people reflect the efficacy of these policies, and it has been argued that they show the success of child poverty reduction measures. For example, results in national tests at 11 and 16 indicated great improvements and few people were leaving school with no qualifications by 2010 (Lupton 2013). Socio-economic gaps were reduced across all indicators – incrementally at age 11 and then more distinctly at age 16. Larger number remained at school after the age of 16 and more went to higher education. Socio-economic gaps in HE access also closed slightly despite concerns to the contrary (Lupton 2013). On the other hand, it has also been argued (e.g., by the European Commission) that the UK has so far not done enough on these fronts in order to combat child poverty. This suggests that while policy formulation might therefore be on the right track, the implementation has not yet gone far enough (European Commission 2014). On the whole, policy formulation has generally been lauded. Education Maintenance Allowances, for example, have complemented the Sure Start programme discussed above. More important have been the tax and benefit reforms, which Hills and Steward (2005) argue have ‘reduced child poverty quickly enough to give the Government a good chance of hitting its 2004-05 targets.’ This is a dated analysis, but it indicates that in the decade after 1997 policy was relatively successful. The importance of changes in incomes for parents and their children, moreover, is borne out by the Families and Children Survey, as well as other interviews conducted in low-income areas (Hills and Stewart 2005). Nevertheless, while there has been a fall in relative child poverty between 1996-7 and 2002-3, and falls in deprivation and child-related spending by parents, the UK is still some way behind the EU average (Hills and Stewart 2005; also see European Commission 2014) There has been considerable research into the effect of Labour’s efforts to alleviate child poverty, primarily because they have been in office for much of the period and have been the main drivers behind such initiatives. The Labour government’s record has been positive on many fronts. Health is closely related to poverty, and in these terms the life expectancy of children rose, with infant mortality declining and illness declining, between 1997 and 2010 (Vizard and Obolenskaya 2013). This is supported by Stewart (2013), who has noted that for young children in particular outcomes as a result of Labour’s policies improved markedly, with higher employment rates for lone parents and fewer mothers drinking and smoking during pregnancies (the tangible impact of this is reflected in a fall in low birth weights among infants); moreover, the improvements here were concentrated among the lower socio-economic groups, which suggests relative poverty declined (Stewart 2013 ). For older children and young people, results in national tests at 11and 16 showed substantial improvements and hardly anyone was leaving school with no qualifications by 2010. Socio-economic gaps closed on all indicators –gradually at age 11 and more dramatically at age 16. Greater proportions stayed on at school after 16 and went to higher education, and socio-economic gaps in HE access closed slightly despite concerns to the contrary (Lupton and Obolenskaya 2013). Some particular shortcomings of policy have been highlighted by the research, however. For example, research into child poverty arising from neglect and abuse has revealed policy failure at all levels of the policy cycle. The neglect, abuse and eventual death of Victoria Climbe in 2000 is a good example of a policy failure in the period under consideration (Forest and Parton 2009; Laming 2003). Older children have often been classified as ‘hard to help’ and failed by agencies, while long-term neglect cases have on occasion not been properly contextualised in terms of past events in children’s lives. Additionally, there has tended to be an overreliance on universal or adult social service for physically injured children rather than the more appropriate children social care. As Brandon (2008) notes, these are reflective of policy failures in this particular area at the levels of formation, implementation, and post-policy evaluation. At the final level of the policy cycle, evaluation, there has been some criticism of policy. In particular, March and Fisher (2005: 4) highlight ‘strong arguments for the development of the evidence base, and for shifting social services towards an evidence-based approach, instead of its historic reliance on an ‘authority-based’ approach. These arguments run similarly to those suggesting that healthcare needs more of an evidence-based approach (for example, the 1997 report for the DH on R&D in primary care) (Forest and Parton 2009). In this respect, it could be argued that policy has been less effective than it might have been because the research driving it has been conducted in the wrong way. It might even be said that improvements in this area required looking to the past: As Marsh and Fisher (2005: 5) put it: ‘Despite this lack of strategy, social work research has occasionally made a significant impact’. They point to the example of the childcare research programme that was shaped by the DH during the 1980s. This led to a cogent set of policies on many critical issues and helped to make policy more focused on relevance and practical matters.. Nevertheless, this ‘did not address the question of the infrastructure for research relevant to social care’ (Marsh and Fisher 2005: 5). In a sense, these failures of policy at the final stage bring the argument full circle back to the level of agenda setting and policy formation. Marsh and Fisher (2005) and Morrin et al. (2011) see the issue as a lack of a strategic framework, which impedes agenda setting from the outset and prevents re-evaluative improvement at the end. The fact that no publicly funded research body is in place makes this more difficult, ‘and the plethora of relevant bodies has not so far offered a unified voice that could command widespread support. Unclear academic roots complicate the process’ (Marsh and Fisher 2005: 15). It might be argued that this comes down to the problem that social care does not exist as an independent academic discipline (Morrin et al. 2011; Forest and Parton 2009). In conclusion, it can be said that the impact of government policy on child poverty has been mixed. On the one hand, many important and varied issues, ranging from education to financial hardship and psychological trauma, have been brought under the government remit. This represents a success in terms of agenda setting. A large number of influential programmes have taken form across the spectrum, and these have been implemented with reasonable success in many cases, as indicated by the fact that child poverty has declined since 1997 by nearly 10 percent (Forest and Parton 2009). To a certain degree, it is too early to tell whether evaluation has been successful. There have, of course, been various shortcomings such as the inability of policy to adequately protect abused children. Detractors have also claimed that policy, despite being relatively successful, has not been based on evidence. In the end, the record of government policy is generally good, although there is clearly scope f or improvement going forwards. References: Bradshaw, J. and Bennett, F. (2014) Investing in Children: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage: A Study of National Policies: The United Kingdom, European Commission http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/research/pdf/Naps2013Investing.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Brandon, M. (2008) Analysing child deaths and serious injury through abuse and neglect, Centre for Research on Children and Families http://www.uea.ac.uk/centre-research-child-family/child-protection-and-family-support/analysing-child-deaths [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Cleaver, H. and Walker, S. (2004) Assessing Children’s Needs and Circumstances: The Impact of the Assessment Framework, London: Jessica Kingsley Department for Education (2008) Sure Start Children’s Centres – good for your child and good for you http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/Surestart/Page1/DCSF-00787-2008 [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Department of Health (1997) R&D in primary care, London: The Stationery Office European Commission (2014) Investing in children http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1060&langId=en [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Eisenstadt, N. (2011), Providing a Sure Start: How Government Discovered Early Childhood. Bristol: Policy Press Forest, N. and Parton, N. (2009) Understanding children’s social care: politics, policy and practice London: SAGE Hills, J. and Stewart, K. (2005) POLICIES TOWARDS POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND EXCLUSION SINCE 1997, Joseph Rowntree Foundation http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/policies-towards-poverty-inequality-and-exclusion-1997 [Retrieved 22/06/2014] HM Government (2006) Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, Nottingham: Department for Education and Skills http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/youth-justice/improving-practice/WT2006-Working-together.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] HM Government (2004) Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme. Nottingham: Department for Education and Skills www.everychildmatters.gov.uk [Retrieved 22/03/2014] Laming, H. (2003) The Victoria Climbie Inquiry https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/273183/5730.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Lupton, R., Burchardt, T, Hills, J. Stewart, K. and Vizard, P. (2013) A Framework for Analysing the Effects of Social Policy, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/spcc/rn001.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Lupton, R. (2013) Labour’s Social Policy Record: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010, Centre for Analysis and Social Exclusion http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/spcc/RR01.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Marsh, P. and Fisher, M. (2005) Developing the evidence base for social work and social care practice, Social Care Institute for Excellence http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/reports/report10.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Morrin, M., Johnson, S., Heron, L. and Roberts, E. (2011) CONCEPTUAL IMPACT OF ESRC RESEARCH: CASE STUDY OF UK CHILD POVERTY POLICY, Final Report to Economic and Social Research Council http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/Conceptual_impact_study_report_tcm8-18146.pdf [Retrieved 22/06/2014] Stewart, K. (2013) Labour’s Record on the Under-Fives: Policy Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010. Social Policy in a Cold Climate Working Paper. London: CASE Vizard, P. and Obolenskaya, P. (2013) Labour’s Record on Health: Policy Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010. Social Policy in a Cold Climate Working Paper WP02. London: CASE

Monday, July 29, 2019

Module 2 Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Module 2 Discussion - Essay Example Various institutions are working towards improving the security of the cyberspace. Individuals are still bound to use the internet for such responses (White, 2010). The last decade has seen fruitful in-depth collaborations between people and the internet. In fact, it can be documented that stakeholders who don’t make use of the internet experience numerous forms of hindrances when fostering incident mitigation and fruitful cooperation in different fronts like terrorism or fire incidences. While it is clear that most issues affecting Incident Command Systems need engagements from various stakeholders, some changes have to be from within the communities. The Internet Governing Forum through the Multi-Advisory Group has acknowledged that well put out communal structured would even go further to help handle internet security issues that most organizations currently face. â€Å"ICS allows agencies to work together using common terminology and operating procedures for controlling personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications at an incident scene,† said Jeffrey Paniati who is the Associate Administrator for Operations Federal Highway Administration (Operations, 2006). A well-articulated emergency response plan made prior to the emergencies will certainly lessen property, liability and reduce chances of deaths. At the scene of critical incidents handling communication, controlling resources and personnel will certainly require a predetermined chain of command ( Moynihan, 2009). The internet is still facing security challenges. However, the use of internet in emergency operations is still crucial in responding to recurring emergency problems. Some of the challenges are like unmanageable span of control, nonintegrated communication systems and the inability to expand and contract mitigation resources. The backgrounds of

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Microbial Biofilms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microbial Biofilms - Essay Example The continuous culture systems chemostat and turbidostat could also be used to culture the biofilms. The type of environment they are grown in, effects their ultimate morphological, clustering and adhesion character. For Visualization, traditionally electron microscopy was the method of choice to examine microbial biofilms under high resolution. Unfortunately, sample preparation for electron microscopy results in dehydrated samples. Consequently, this approach provided a deceivingly simplistic view of biofilms, since the biofilm collapsed when water was removed. (Davey and Ootle, 2000) Phase microscopy was also an alternative to visualization of living biofilms. Biofilms are removed and either directly visualised or fixed and stained prior to examination. Several techniques for microscopy examination of biofilms in situ on the substrata supporting their growth have been used in this study. These have included transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), episcopic differential interference contrast microscopy (DIC) with and without fluorescence, Hoffman modulation contrast microscopy (HMC), atomic force microscopy ( AFM). ... Light microscopy techniques, although unable to reproduce the high magnification of the methods described above, are still of importance in the examination of intact biofilms. HMC allows the in situ examination of biofilms, a clear image is produced without artefacts. DIC may be used to examine biofilms on opaque surfaces and if used in conjunction with fluorescent vital stains can be used to assess the viability of the microbial population. (Surman et al, 1996) Viability of the microbial biofilm populations can also be determined by LIVE/DEAD BacLight bacterial viability staining kit (Hentzer 2001) The application of confocal scanning laser microscopes (CSLM) to biofilm research radically altered our perception of biofilm structure and function (Laurence 1991). Before the use of CSLM, electron microscopy was the method of choice to examine microbial biofilms under high resolution. Unfortunately, sample preparation for electron microscopy results in dehydrated samples. Consequently, this approach provided a deceivingly simplistic view of biofilms, since the biofilm collapsed when water was removed. On the other hand, CSLM, which allows the visualization of fully hydrated samples, has revealed the elaborate three-dimensional structure of biofilms (Costerton 1995). CSLM is used very effectively to monitor Microbial Biofilms. It is used to investigate not only the presence and the viability of the biofilm consortium but also biofilm/substrata interactions. CSLM has been used very effectively to monitor biofilm development in flow cells. Flow cells are small continuous-flow systems with a viewing port that allows direct observation of the biofilm without disrupting the community. These systems are often once-flow, meaning that fresh medium

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Software Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Software Development - Research Paper Example There have been heated debates on the best strategy of developing software. Take a strategic position on this debate. Create an argument for which method (in-house, onshore, or offshore software development) is the best in terms of cost, security, reliability, and intellectual property protection. Support your response. In-house software development is the best choice in terms of cost, security, reliability and intellectual property protection for a company. By developing the software in-house, you are ensuring that you are using your own people, people who are already familiar with the company, how it works, what needs changing, and more importantly, how the software needs to work in order for the employees to do their job. This also ensures that there are no security leaks, that the company itself is able to see every step of the way what is being done, which allows for directional changes to be made quicker than if another company has to create something and then submit it for review, and it ensures that no other companies are able to take your ideas and use them as their own, ensuring the intellectual property rights of the company itself. Studies have shown that outsourcing brings with it â€Å"cultural barriers, expertise transfer difficulties and communication and coordination overhead. â⠂¬ ¦ (It) is riskier and more challenging that collocated development† (Bird, Devanbu, Gall & Murphy, 2009). Question 2: IT governance is concerned with organizational investments in IT and to ensure that the IT strategy delivers full value. The avoidance or prevention of IT strategic failures is the biggest part of IT governance. Describe two issues that drive IT governance. IT governance is driven by the quality of the internal structure of the system, and the cost of the system itself. â€Å"The malfunction of a key IT system sometimes leads to heavy financial losses,† (Bart & Turel, 2010), and as such, IT governance must strive to ensure that those key

Friday, July 26, 2019

Malware Forensic Computing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Malware Forensic Computing - Assignment Example Computer forensics or cyber forensics is a very imperative topic in information systems and networks management. Forensics is the structured procedure of gathering, examining and showing facts and evidences to the court of law, and thus, forensic computing is defined as â€Å"the discipline that combines elements of law and computer science to collect and analyze data from computer systems, networks, wireless communications, and storage devices in a way that is admissible as evidence in a court of law† (US-CERT 2008). This involves the seeking, locating and securing the electronic data so as to provide evidence. This electronic or magnetically encoded data may include text messages, databases, pictures, e-mail, websites, spyware, malware, and so on. The evidence collected is strong and indisputable as compared to any other branch of forensic science because a copy that is made of the collected data is identical to the actual data and there is no room left for dispute. The whol e concept revolves around the idea that a structured investigation is carried out to find out what exactly happened to the computer, when it happened, how it happened, and who did it. This is just like solving a murder case and performing postmortem. The operator does not know that the evidence information is transparently being created and stored by the computer’s operating system which can only be extracted through computer forensics software tools and techniques. ... The crimes include misuse of computer systems, attack on computer systems, using a computer system to work against another system, failure of a computer system, and the list continues. Computer forensics security solutions focus not only on recovery but also on prevention of security threats in order to provide securer solutions that are quicker and cheaper than the conventional techniques. These solutions include intrusion detection system (IDS), internet security system, biometric security system, net privacy system, firewall set-ups, network disaster security system, identity theft prevention system, identity management security system, and so on (Vacca 2005: 146). 2.2. Malware Forensics Malware is the malicious code that computer intruders use to do a cyber attack, and malware forensics is the forensic computing techniques used by the investigators to detect and analyze this malicious code or malware (Ligh et al. 2010). Since cyber attackers are becoming increasingly aware if com puter forensics techniques, they are designing much more sophisticated malicious codes that are at times hard to detect and analyze. Casey, Malin and Aquilina (2008) state that â€Å"By employing techniques that thwart reverse engineering, encode and conceal network traffic, and minimize the traces left on file system, malicious code developers are making both discovery and forensic analysis both difficult.† 2.2.1. Types of Malware The most common instances of malware are the viruses, worms, Trojan horses, scareware, and exploits. Viruses get installed in the computer files through email scams, websites, downloads, etc. Worms work the same way as viruses. Scareware is a malware that

Comparative Analysis of The Communist Manifesto by Marand The Gospel Essay

Comparative Analysis of The Communist Manifesto by Marand The Gospel by Andrew Carnegie - Essay Example new phenomenon but industrialization led to the emergence of the two classes which included the laborers or the proletariats and the owners of the means of production or the bourgeoisie (Marx and Friedrich). Carnegie on ‘the gospel of wealth’, wealthy individuals who have amassed their wealth through businesses must adopt a just distribution approach that guarantees good use of the money. Money from entrepreneurship venture must be protected and not spent on frivolous purposes which have no significant implication on the society and the people. The presence of poverty within the capitalistic world can be completely removed if entrepreneurs become philanthropists who share their business spoils with the disadvantaged in the society (Carnegie). In this paper, the thesis of Carnegie and Marx will be compared to provide a critical evaluation of how they impact on the society. The paper will adopt the position taken by Carnegie in the ‘gospel of wealth’ and advocate for the redistribution of profits and proceeds from business in capitalistic economies. In the communist manifesto, Marx highlighted his views of the society and how industrialisation had created significant segregation of people into different classes. As captured in the opening phrase of the manifesto, the history of human beings has an age old practise of dividing the human population into various classes based on their economic abilities and the influence they hold in the society. The class struggles have not necessarily been influenced by everything, but more specifically the principle forms of production within the society. When the industrial revolution arose, the European society was defined by the position that the individuals held within the industries and the production factors that they controlled (Carnegie). Those individuals who had the power to own the means of production such as raw materials, the cottage industries among other form of production belonged to the upper class and

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Research Paper - Essay Example Arrest, detention and seizure are governed by stringent regulations and limitations which, according to Pilon (2000) are primarily intended to protect the citizenry against unreasonable searches, unjustifiable detentions and importantly, against the possibility of law enforcement’s abusing its powers. It is in relation to the stated that Turkey stands in direct contrast to Canada. This Eurasian nation has been cited for human rights abuses on countless occasions and both Amnesty International and the European Commission for Human Rights have repeatedly shed light on abuses vis-Ã  -vis all of search, seizure and detention (ECHR, 2003; U.S. Department of State, 2007). A comparison of the arrest, detention and seizure framework in Canada and Turkey will serve to underscore the imperatives of limiting police authority through the clear explication of the citizenry’s civic rights for the prevention of abuses which translate into nothing less than inexcusable miscarriages of justice. The rules which govern arrest, detention and seizure in Turkey are grounded in the country’s constitution. The Turkish Constitution clearly outlines the civic rights of the citizenry and outlines the limitations on police authority. As Kinzer (2002) explains, arbitrary arrests are prohibited with no statements of exception. Law enforcement must have a clear reason for arresting citizens and must establish, before a judge that the citizen in question has violated the laws of the nation and accordingly, that there are legitimate grounds for the issuance of an arrest warrant. If a warrant is granted, law enforcement has the legitimate right to take the suspect into custody where he/she may be detained for a maximum period of 7.5 days. This period can only be renewed if law enforcement uncovers evidence pertaining to the detained suspect’s highly probable culpability in a crime. Not only that but law enforcement must

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

FAMILY VIOLENCE AND ABUSE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FAMILY VIOLENCE AND ABUSE - Essay Example He also threatened to injure maim her. The historical and the current standing posed beyond doubt that Marcia’s life was in great jeopardy and she needed redemption. The case also fulfills the requirement that the aggressor is not the defendant. The deceased aggressed the defendant’s myriad times thus attributing to the retaliation by his wife, Marcia. The obligation of applying just sufficient force in the defense as required by the law was not achievable because the husband threats were recurrent and he would justice only she shut her up for good. Marcia Norman option to end the life of her husband was pegged on her mission to save her life-perfect self-defense, and therefore was legally right. The eminent past and continuous history of mal-abuse by her husband would not allow limited room for her right of freedom from harm (Leverick, 2009). The courts would factually consider immense psychological distress and trauma that Marcia had undergone. According to a witness from the case, after she was asked whether she thought it was correct for Marcia to shoot her husband, she admits that from the examination and the assessment of her records and psychological files, it was exclusively fine for her to do so. She adds that Norman Marcia assumed herself doomed from the torture she endured from her husband. She had a perception of persecution ahead due to the immense social degradation and demeaning that her husband accorded her, and recognized that her death was probably not avoidable in future. The witness also notes the fact that Ms Marcia had attempted suicide before and there was a conviction that she would not succeed in her struggle against her unwavering husband. The witness notes that she believed that the defendant had grown insecure to an extent that he could not have any sense of attachment to her family. She could not run away from the deceased due to his immense power and

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Liberation Theology and Marxism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Liberation Theology and Marxism - Essay Example By contrast, Marxism is an earthbound ideology, content to reward or punish those in the here and now based on their support of the ideals of fairness, equality and the distribution of wealth. Both Christianity and Marxism are fundamentally concerned with promoting the general welfare and improving the lives of the vast majority of the world's citizens, yet both have suffered as much damage to their credibility from followers as from opponents. The extreme and selfish proponents of these ideologies have severely undermined their cause through the organization of vast bureaucracies that leave precious little time for doing the real work of making lives easier. At the same time, both Christianity and Marxism have a long history of supressing dissident voices and violently repressing infidel movements. Marxist liberation theology as applied to Latin American countries that were systematically exploited first by and then for European, and later American, interests has long been viewed a s an ideological threat to traditional Christian liberation theology. ... Since Christian liberation entailed not just applying to the needs of the oppressed, but also to inculcating an ideology that coerced followers to view the Church and its leaders as infallible, the only possible conclusion one can make is that is that while it is a contradiction to speak of a Christian Marxist, the contradiction lies in the fact that Marxism is much closer to Christ's original intentions for the human race than the religion that was founded in His name. Pope John Paul II directly addressed the issue of liberation theology during the course of his Papacy; not surprising considering that he had first-hand experience with the worst excesses of the perversion of Marxism as practiced under Soviet-dominated totalitarianism. Recognising that Christianity in its purest form had much in common with Marxism in its purest form, Pope John Paul II wisely avoided condemnation of Marxist liberation theology's desire to find a common ground between Christian charity and missionary work and Marxist economics designed to liberate the working classes. It was not the Marxist preoccupation with the incompatibility of capitalist economics and social welfare that John Paul found objectionable. Rather the Pope pointed to the limitations of Marxist liberation; the liberation was not of human suffering, nor the soul, but merely the liberation of one citizen from an undesirable economic circumstance. The question that Marxism doesn't answer, therefore, becomes what happens after the revolution How do the newly liberation people respond to the destruction of the class system. Even Pope John Paul II recognised that the end of Marxism was not

Monday, July 22, 2019

Advanced Practice Nursing Role Essay Example for Free

Advanced Practice Nursing Role Essay Health professionals like nurses have a chance to go for autonomy in the nursing career which is beyond the practice of being a staff nurse. Various pathways for advanced specialization in nursing career have been established for the past few decades. This expansion of responsibilities and vision as a health professional helps nurses to fulfill growth as professional and as a person. Among the advanced practice nursing roles, the author deeply prefer Family Nurse Practitioner specialized in cardiology. This will help her utilize skills in nursing science and as a health care specialist with a twist on promotion of health of the cardiovascular system. Creative APN Role in Health Promotion The author has chosen the field of family nursing practitioner because of the challenges and roles that it holds. The current responsibilities of the family nurse practitioner posts promising personal as well as professional growth on the field of the health care industry. The advance practice nursing role of family nurse practitioner is composed of different skills which pertains to the areas of management skills of community health nursing, patient care, primary care, intervention on the desired population, and it also deals with community assessment and actions regarding the said assessment. It focuses on promotion of health and healthy living, avoidance of degenerative diseases, and the supervision of the illnesses in different ages, both chronic and acute. (UTA 2008) The author has chosen a specialized field in cardiology because in reference to the data given by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention for 2005 Death data table C, the leading cause of death in the United States is cardiovascular related. According to the statistics, 652, 091 deaths were related to heart problems (CDC 2008). The stated data poses a major concern that there is a very big problem related to cardiovascular disorders. In relation to this, the author envisions to help in solving this problem via the career chosen by the author. The family practice nursing with a specialization in cardiology will help the author contribute in building the foundations of a society with healthy cardio vascular systems. Among the probable setting that the author hopes to practice the stated advanced practice nursing role is in the Christ Hospital. It was established for more than 115 years and it was well known to be one of the leading hospitals which continue to promote, plan and innovate for the healthy future of the region. It was noted as one of the best medical institution in the United States for the last few decades consistently. The setting includes 555 beds with more than 1200 physicians and holds the most advanced and sophisticated technology for health care. It is a not-for-profit acute care facility which is supervised by the highly trained specialists that has great passion for health care. It focuses on the services for major surgery, orthopedics, cardiovascular care and other related fields (Christ Hospital 2008). The competencies required for this job ranges from clinical expertise to social relationship within the community. It requires expertise in retrieving records for the data regarding the health, medical history, psychosocial and family records. Ability to conduct physical examination, for the health problems related to the acute and episodic phases are required as well as the ability to interpret the laboratory findings. Provide health assessment to the visited areas or patients and to arrange referrals to other health professional. It is also required to have a knowledge on developing and implementing plans for the supervision of problems in the acute and episodic problems of the assessed in and out patients. In the competencies required to assess patients also include ability to enclose screening evaluation for the cardiovascular health and other relevant information regarding it, distinguishes between normal and abnormal change. Evaluate the pressure of the family or psychosocial factors on patient sickness, situations related to developmental delays and learning disabilities in all ages, reproductive health of both women and men, sexual health, pregnancy, and postpartum care, assess some problems like substance abuse like drugs. Performs and accurately documents appropriate comprehensive or symptom-focused physical assessment on patients of all ages. Recognize health and cardiovascular risk factors of patients of all ages and families in all stages of the family life cycle. Demonstrates proficiency in family assessment; show proficiency in functional assessment of family members. Assesses specific family health needs within the context of community assessment especially the ones that is related to the cardiovascular diseases. Identifies and plans interventions to promote health with families at risk of heart disease (NONPF 2002). Diagnosing of health status focused on the health of heart is also needed, the following competencies are required. Recognize signs and symptoms of acute physical heart disease across the life span. Recognize signs and symptoms of chronic cardiovascular disease across the life span. Evaluates and summarizes collected data for patients of all ages. Plans complete differential diagnoses, with relevance to the epidemiology, environmental and community characteristics, this also includes life stage development and the arrangement seen with increasing age, family, and heart risk factors (NONPF 2002). Upon diagnosis of the members with cardiovascular or heart related diseases. The planning caring and management of the treatment of the disease will proceed which requires a lot of competencies indicated below. It is required for the nurse to have abilities to provide health information for protection, health promotion, formulate strategies for the intervention and prevention of the cardiovascular diseases which aims in improving the cardiovascular system of the family, requires a knowledge on how to treat acute and chronic of cardiovascular diseases in all ages to minimize the risk of developing complications and increase quality of living, prescribe proper medication for the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, adapts care for to meet the needs of the at-risk patients, evaluate the effectiveness of the plan in relation to the plans made for the at-risk group. Assist the members of the family of the cardiovascular disorder patient, provide referrals to the health care professionals that can support the treatment of the heart disease, and apply the study regarding the idea that is family centered and can supply positive change in the health of the family. Family or Population Health Promotion Theories Models The family nurse practitioner specialized in the cardiology focuses on promoting health in relation to individual level and the family level. The health promotion theory that is suitable for the family nurse practitioner in the individual level is the Health Belief Model which focuses on the person’s perception of the possible risk and the evaluation of the actions that would prevent the problem from occurring again. In this case, the author’s future interaction with individuals who are at-risk to cardiovascular diseases will give her chance to use the said model in promoting the health information. Upon approaching, an at-risk patient, the author will be discussing the perceived susceptibility of the subject to cardiovascular diseases and the initial reaction of the patient will more likely to be curios. The next part is the explanation of the perceived severity and the possible consequences of the CVD in the patient; the next step is to discuss with the patient the possible benefits of positive action. In such case, the patient will soon realize the benefits of the perceived action. And will arrive eventually on the conclusion that the patient should consider on performing the perceived actions that could give benefits. The author also considers another theory of which the community level is involved. The community organization is theory which focuses the involvement of the members of the community in evaluating health problems. Upon interaction within community sites, the author will soon be empowering these families in relation to the participation in campaigns for heart related problems. The participation of the community and the relevance of the selected issue to the problem of the community like the cardiovascular diseases will greatly enhance the active development of the community. The most important activity that the author can do is the critical consciousness that she will be spreading in the community (HPA 2008). Agency and Financing of APN Practice The Christ Hospital will be the institution where the author hopes to apply in the mere future it was the medical establishment that was considered in this paper. It was established for more than 115 years and it was well known to be one of the leading hospitals which continue to promote, plan and innovate for the healthy future of the region. It was noted as one of the best medical institution in the United States for the last few decades consistently. The setting includes 555 beds with more than 1200 physicians and holds the most advanced and sophisticated technology for health care. It is a not-for-profit acute care facility which is supervised by the highly trained specialists that has great passion for health care. It focuses on the services for major surgery, orthopedics, cardiovascular care and other related fields (Christ Hospital 2008). The mission of the Christ Hospital is to lead the region in giving the excellent experience in health care especially the personalized one while forwarding clinical excellence, technology and education. The role that the author will be holding will help the institution in a way of providing personalized health care especially in the cardiology patients. The author’s expertise will also help the institution in advancing clinical excellence especially in the field of cardiology. The role will be financially supported by the hospital or allied services institutions relating to cardiology. In the specific case, the Christ Hospital will be responsible for the financial support of the role. The nurse practitioner in the said institution is included in the employee pay. Some stakeholders that can support the role are the health related institutions, hospitals, clinics, nurse organizations and cardiology specialty centers. The role of family practice nurse practitioner goes beyond the limits of a staff nurse which will promote personal and professional growth. The specialization in cardiology will greatly help in the regression of cardiovascular disease cases in the United States. Thus the APN role stated above will surely benefit not only the author but also the society at large.

Group Dynamics Essay Example for Free

Group Dynamics Essay Trait approach- a trait is something we are born with. Certain characteristics have certain traits and these characteristics may make one player better suited to captaincy than another. Traits or personalities will affect performance and players in positive and negative ways. It can affect performance positively because if a person has a strong, slightly aggressive and determined personality then they can give the team an extra drive to win the game. However someone of this personality can get over aggressive if the team is losing therefore lowering other players morale and maybe causing arguments. Behavioural approach- this suggests that leaders display certain behaviours. This is different to trait in that behaviours are learnt rather than something we are born with. Players, managers and coaches who lack certain skills can watch others and pick up new skills and techniques. This will mostly have a strong positive affect on performance because if you are learning new skills then technically you are improving. On the other hand the new skills that are learned could not be very effective for a team/individuals style of play. Interactional approach- this combines trait and the environment influences. It looks at the need for different behaviour and leadership styles dependant on the characteristics of the group and the situation. If you have both type A and type B personalities on the pitch then this will have a positive affect on performance because you will have someone who can psych the team up and add some aggression to the team (type A) but you will also have someone who can clam things down and relax the team (type B). Stages of group development Forming- this is the development of relationships within the group. This usually involves a player assessing where they feel they fit into a group structure based on other players strengths and weaknesses. It also gives player the opportunity to see if the belong in that group. If a player fits into a team well it will have a positive affect on performance because it will raise the morale of both the individual and the team. However if the player finds that he/she isnt fitting into the team then their level of performance is likely to be low. Storming- sometimes involves conflict within the group as individuals attempt to establish their position and role in the group. It may involve confrontation between the leader and the player until different roles are established. This is more likely to have a positive affect on performance as players will be battling for positions therefore there will be a harder work rate from the team. On the other hand players may feel threatened and pressured by new players so they may be nervous in their performance incase they lose their position. * Norming- once the structure has been established the group gains stability and becomes cohesive. Players start co-operating and work towards their common goal. This is extremely positive on the teams performance because they are becoming more cohesive meaning that they will work better together and the team can become more successful. Performing- this is the final stage and involves all the players working together towards their common goal. Each individual accepts their role and supports other group members accordingly. Again this is very positive for the teams performance because by this stage the team will be both task cohesive and socially cohesive. It will bring great success to the team as players will be both mentally and physically prepared with each other.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Effect of Standard Costing Changes on Firm Operations

Effect of Standard Costing Changes on Firm Operations The Rise and Fall of Standard Costing and Its Effect on Everyday Operations For European and American Firms Contents (Jump to) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GENERAL OVERVIEW ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW LITERATURE REVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The overall purpose of this paper and study is to investigate cost or lean accounting within the operations management realm and how its unpredictable rise and fall allow organisations to continuously learn and utilize knowledge management as a core value. It was also important to use a larger organisation that has history of outstanding operations and customer centered focus upon services. This investigation will require an in-depth study of work processes, communication and leadership with regard to knowledge management as a value within the team construct while looking at how this reflects leaning accounting principles. What tools are available and what kind of evolution is Nestle undergoing in order to remain competitive in a changing economy? How does this change knowledge management and communication company wide? What this study argues is that accounting practices are changing due to the evolving business plan. This is a movement toward modern accounting and it is important to see the relationships between costing accounting, its fluctuations and how they impact the health of the organisation as a whole with regard to productivity and job satisfaction. How an organisation applies methods of costing into its framework for accounting of expenses and its direct rise and fall over the time period of the product life cycle, directly influences the production, operation, distribution and employee retention of the global company. In fact changes in accounting practices have led to many tried and true business models to no longer exist. Costing and its rise and fall can have a direct relationship with success and competitive advantage in the market place. However the purpose of this study is to explore and reflect upon how accounting practices change operations management and the supply chain management model as a tool of managers and team members alike. Really it is how accounting practices have changed business practices because of new legislation focusing on global companies in Europe and the United States. Accounting costs, expenses and losses reflects the health of the organisation and with change comes confusion. This study argues th at with such changes comes a lack of defining the company’s value within the market but also the value it has for its employees, as they become active participants and investors. GENERAL OVERVIEW How corporate accounting is handled is changing worldwide. How each expense is accounted for within an organisation’s financial sheets has been evolving. Such a proposal for change has received much commentary from not only the financial community and corporate America but also key members of Congress, European union leaders and the public. Such a response results from the uncertainty that such change will benefit businesses and economic growth. It is feared that such change will have the opposite effect and cause world leaders to lose its competitive edge in the global market. The urgency for a solution has only been stressed recently in light of such debacles like Enron and Tyco. It is believed that companies do need to account honestly for expenses but at what price to its employees, the public and the economy? Part of the issue with current legislation to change the practice of accounting for employee stock options is that there is no real way to value their worth. This cr eates an unsettling feeling among investors and employees struggling to understand this benefit. ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW What this truly means for any corporation functioning globally or even locally this that effective cost accounting because a volatile issue for management to consider. One could argue that such rise and fall of how costing pays a part in the entire operation has a negative effect upon how the company’s valuation is seen on the open market if done incorrectly. Costing at every step of the product life cycle plays a huge part in how this valuation is decided from inventory at the shop floor level, to everyday operations management, to an employee’s value with the company and their net worth personally. Changes within the global economy in the recent years the disappearance of tried and true business models leaves many with a poor taste in their mouths because one must understand how efficiency, affordability and effective leadership come into play. Effective costing of routine operations and corporate behaviours must be tracked and studied in order to carve the fat. This study aims to look at exactly what the rise and fall of costing means to a global organisation conducting business on many levels. For the purpose of proving the argument that such an evolution of accounting practices has a powerful influence on the organisation, one will look at examples from the shop floor to the continuous management of knowledge and communication. Accounting for such expensing and pricing correctly is what makes the organisation strong but also its people. The benefits of standard costing gives rise to more modern accounting practices today, which then lead to leaner functionality throughout the organisation. It can be argued that by putting a framework of standard costing as accounting practice also leads to a better defined operations team but also leads to a lean supply chain as further innovation is introduced into the organisation. With this in mind, evolved traditional business models like Wal-Mart and Nestle are discussed because these are globally operat ing corporations with high success rates. LITERATURE REVIEW PRICING STRATEGIES It can be difficult to assess why a product has a certain cost or price to the consumer. How is it that companies arrive at certain amount for a product or service? What are the factors that play into this amount and do they change over time while in the market? Mish defines clearly, price as being â€Å"the value or worth; the quality of one thing that is exchanged or demanded in barter or sale for another† (2004, p. 985). A mistake that happens to many companies is they allow the market to manage the price of the product and avoid strategic management of pricing in general. What is usually done according to Nagle is â€Å"they list the prices based on their own needs and then adjust transaction prices to based on what customers say they are willing to pay. Only a few companies question why someone is willing to pay no more that a particular amount or how that willingness could be changed† (2002, p. 1). In order to be strategic in pricing, a company must confident and understand that â€Å"pricing involves managing customers’ expectations to induce them to pay for the value they receive† (Nagle 2002, p.1). Fortunately, when it comes to financial products, many customers remain in the dark about product and services. Sometimes a service oriented company such as the Bank of England can take advantage of such undulation but as more information becomes available due to the Internet, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for a company to set the pace this way. More than not, more companies especially financial ones that rely on customer relationships, allow for a value-based price structure that is contingent on the customer paying when value is delivered. This type of pricing system relies heavily on segmentation of the demographic when it comes to offering promotions and incentives to buster customer loyalty. Much of this applies to financial type products that are well defined for the consumer either through education or these pr oducts are a must in life like the credit or loan product. Keeping this in mind, many financial products consist of high quality products and add-ons that when offered by one company allows that company to diversify and establish the price. The table here below aids in illustrating this point. Table 1: Pricing Strategies (Anderson Bailey 1998, p. 2) It is also important for a company to keep in mind demand for the product or service. This is why diversification and globalization are quickly becoming elements of strategy as companies look for new ways to target consumers and enter new areas where their original product has a new life cycle. This is a matter of economics but important for understanding marketing strategy with regards to cost switching or price switching. â€Å"The greater the price elasticity, the closer the company can price products to similar competitive products and vice versa† (Allen 2002). In an industry like the mortgage industry where homeownership is more prevalent in Western nations, elasticity is high and therefore, it is fair to remain competitive with other companies. Also a company like Nestle can bet that charging less may lead to more food products created as customers find they get more service for less money. In this respect elasticity can work either way. It really depends on degree of ri sk one company is willing to take. Still it remains to be found if such a tactic even works when it comes to customer loyalty, as this will be explored in greater detail later. However, it remains to be seen if price loyalty does exist. It seems â€Å"the key to effectively competing for loyalty is ensuring the quality of the customer experience, not the quantity of customer rewards or discount prices† (Compton 2005, p.1). However, the price needs to be adjusted for what the customer expects. It can be a cycle that changing continuously depending on the product or service. STANDARD COSTING AS ACCOUNTING PRACTICE There is concern with standard costing accounting methods and when the practice is an effective method, what advantages and or disadvantages there are to the practice’s use over time within the operations realm and production of a product. What is the history of standard costing, how it came into practice and popularity with managerial accountants? Are there situations where other methods are more beneficial? This plays into mainly focus upon direct material costs and not necessarily labour because of the set hourly wage. Was this the reason for adopting leaner accounting methods with the advent of more expensive operating costs? The fall of standard costing accounting systems may be due to a need for an integrated chain of activities across multiple product life cycles especially when a company diversifies at a global level. It should be notes here that standard costing is a only one method but can be used by management to estimate manufacturing costs of direct materials, direct labour and manufacturing overhead both fixed and variable across the chain of production. The fall of standard costing probably has taken place due to a need for a multifaceted supply chain or layered supply chain. Generally speaking there will be overlapping in the supply chains of a global company and therefore a system to meet this need. This system will appear seamless but also where everything is integrated and communication is at the speed of light and technology is a mandatory tool so that the organisation may remain at a competitive advantage. So how does standard costing accounting practice exactly differ from the other methods available? Obviously accounting practices have evolved to become leaner and applicable to a range of various business practices for a global company like Nestle. So how is standard costing still evident since it is no longer the popular choice? HISTORY Historically speaking the advent specifically for standard cost accounting systems began in the early 19th century United States with the management of the railroads (Hoskin Macve 2000, p. 18). Hoskin and Macve (2000) comment on standard costing always being a feature of the accounting practice from the beginning of business records. However, standard costing did not take an active role until modern business with this quote: Accounting has always embraced cost and management accounting in the sense of analysis of activity and the use of accounting information for choosing, planning and controlling activity. These purposes remained embryonic until choice between significant economic alternatives became available. (p. 19). Companies in the United Kingdom remained family based and therefore lacking formal, concrete accounting methods when compared with businesses found in the United States at the time. Any changes in accounting generally speaking remained with direct relations to changes in the business world. Part of the evolution and the rise of standard costing are directly related to business practices of this time period. There was a need for measurement of productivity in a framework understood by management members. They wanted to calculate human performance on the shop room floor. This sets into place the post-modern ideology for Total Quality Management or TQM, to be discussed later. With these adjustments also came radical changes for an organisational structure, the management’s strategy as this continued across the chain when further technology was introduced as useful tools (Hoskin Macve 2000, p. 21). With adaptations sees as innovative, it was only a matter of time before British companies adopted similar practices toward accounting. This can be evident as the organisation’s market presence gains global relationships and rely upon interaction and exchange of knowledge. At the end of the 19th century United Kingdom companies were learning standard cost accountin g principles and processes as a means of incorporating links into a wider organisational framework. While there was a need for streamlining, there was also a need for flexibility as standard costing started to lose its usefulness. Morelli and Wiberg (2002) concur with other experts that standard costing emerged in the early 1900s. To mirror the Total Quality Management system in place at factories, â€Å"Engineers developed information about standards in order to establish ‘the best way’ to use labour and material resources with manufacturing† (Morelli Wiberg 2002, p. 18). This furthered how processes were put into place to achieve an organisation’s objectives. In order to better understand how history influences practices within the business with regard to product production and the rise and fall of standard costing as an accounting practice, one must first understand different steps with in the standard costing system that defines the practice. All processes or production steps along the supply chain have identifiable, calculable costs as raw materials result in the manufactured marketed product for consumer purchase. Each area of focus to make the product, the costs involved can be absorbed by the final product sale and then profit. This includes materials, labour, outsourcing and fixed or variable burdens. These absorbable costs reflect the true cost of goods as referred to on the general ledger. Variable costs are environmental factors, which fluctuate from day to day. Variables come into play for production measurements as one figures out the true cost of goods when compared with the actual costs incurred for that particular production run. Variable exist when determining quality of materials and labour. However labour becomes a ‘grey’ area of contention when discussing standard costing. Indirect labour encompasses costs work-related but not task related. These become well defined further up the chain of co mmand and less so at the shop floor level. So what exactly is standard costing and why are trends in its use so important to understand? While much of standard costing explains business evolution, organisational practices and diffusion of technology, making labour much different than the post-modernist view; standard costing still applies to business today as many eliminate fat from operations and look into clear streamlines for production purposes. This is mainly due to expenses being on the rise but also a need for reinvestment back into the company for technology needs when at a global level. In many ways, modern lean accounting allows for standard costing to be a framework from which other accounting practices emerge. Standard costing systems are good for production of items in volume but with very little diversification and stable costs. The benefit of this method is that organisations can trace specific cost flows from purchasing to inventory. What distinguishes standard costing as an accounting practice but mostly a framework used today in business, what allows the method to remain a turning point in evolution to other methods like Activity Based Cost or ABC accounting and lean accounting, is by definition in its name. There is the standard by which the accounting practice is defined. By allocating a standard, the organisation already has a set of expectations and even core values of what the costs for production will be. Standards set the pace and atmosphere of production. They remain elemental to preconceived notions of the quantity and cost of inputs needed for production of one simple unit of output. With this backbone, one can develop a proper cost-volume-profit analysis. Still in order for a standard to work effectively it must be well defined and accepted by the organisation. This is where continuous improvement, communication and values for Knowledge Management or KM become important tools for managers. The accoun tant in charge of setting standards must have a comprehension of the full organisational picture and its health. Along the line of command for accounting, standards become commonplace and procedures; or a methodical means of carrying out tasks. For instance, every accountant actively monitors the standards by which the standards apply to him or her. There is only a small window of time for payroll for a week. Without these standards in place, tasks become less defined and unachievable. In this respect and according to M. L. Houlton (1979): â€Å"There are basically two types of standard: (a) Ideal Standards which assume not wastage or inefficiency and (b) Expected Standards which allow for normal and expected losses† (p. 2). By creating such a system leads organisations to ways of measuring performance and other difficult erroneous concepts in need of a qualifier. Still a manager must also understand how standards create a regimented place to work, which may not work for ever y employee on the team. Organisations like Nestle and Wal-Mart may see the advantage of utilizing a standard costing system because â€Å"actual costing has the ability to revalue inventory based on actual costs, which are most accurate† (Peoplesoft 2000, p. 12). Any changes are reflective immediately but also this leads to an organisation the chance to use other accounting methods as well like ABC. This could be especially important to inventory management. Remaining within the standard costing scheme affords the organisation a specialised function with respect to the types of activities. As activities become more detailed so does the accounting. For instance: Technology or electronics industries benefit most from this type of costing because component variations affect total actual costs. Industries that deal with commodities, for example, dairy products or precious metals, and are characterised by widely fluctuating costs, might use an actual costing system to provide the most current values. (Peoplesoft 2000, p. 12). As organisations have grown into multiple national corporations or MNCs with multiple activities on different supply chains, maybe this is why standard costing has become less important to accountants because it called for too much detail where they too must remain efficient to keep their positions. A new leaner way needed to match the business practices because as much as standard costing applies to every product or service on the chain it also allots for more manpower and time. There had to be a way to allow for multiple operations and one accounting system that could branch off to meet multiple activities. OTHER ACCOUNTING METHODS Carmona, and et al (2004), writes of the origin of activity based costing method of accounting or ABC that came into vogue in Europe during the 1920s. What ABC does specifically as Carmona, and et al (2004) speak of Vollmers’s work as: Deployed significant efforts to account for distribution and marketing costs, which ‘tend to be ignored today.’ This first event is then taken as record of the origin (both in terms of time and space), from which the new practice mainly spread both temporally and spatially. (p. 36) This is the start of a movement toward the double entry system and this saw delay and many weaknesses because it did not present a clear, complete picture of accounting. Its weaknesses were found in inefficiencies with charges and discharges. As a result, early double-entry systems were seen as unreliable and not useful to big business. It would not be until later that advanced book keeping procedures would take into account advanced operating processes in production. Carmona, and et al (2004) found these systems although not perfected were used in England and the Colonies as early as 1760 (p. 37). It seems this was the trend as no real streamlined, conforming system would be adopted until modern business practices came into place in the United States. Move to a global arena and model of production purposes and a more refined system is needed because a lot more is at stake. Global business is all about the details. It became common practice more investment applied, the more generally accepted accounting practices became as a diffusion of new technology. Accounting practices became more generally accepted behaviours as businesses became bigger and more prominent in communities across the world. Practices are implemented as Abu-Raddaha, and et al (2000) surmises the following: The information provided by accounting should facilitate international trade and capital flows, not hamper them. It should inform, not just report. More importantly the information demands of both domestic and international financing and other commercial relationships, have to be satisfied. (p. 19). Everything must remain in balance or presented as a well-oiled machine. How does an organisation get to this point of transformation with its accounting practices? Modern accounting asks for more participation and optimisation from the start to finish by the corporate accountant. The actions of the corporate accountants must change as the movement toward lean functioning continues to take place. It should not be a painful process but one of creativity, flexibility and growth. There is a concern that lean accounting requires one to turn off creativity and be boxed into one function or thought process. This will be explored late as a post-modern viewpoint of business where each person has a function within the total quality management or TQM perspective. Modern business may use this as a framework but the modern business model has evolved beyond this fixed view. The truth of the matter is that modern accounting practices could not be further from this view of being boxed in but rather goes beyond breaking the box and creating a different mindset where thin king is seen differently than before. Accounting is seen differently as not having finite possibilities but infinite reasoning. Traditional methods are flawed as proposed by Van Der Merwe and Thomson (2007), â€Å"the direct costing approach doesn’t absorb any overhead or even fixed costs†¦resource consumption accounting or RCA makes no arbitrary assignments at all† (p. 29). A lean, effective method allows for a more detailed account of capacity costs and a basic approach to data collection. Modern times call modern values and thought processes with regard to business seamless behaviour across the production floor. The lean method maintains a â€Å"one-touch flow system† (Van Der Merwe Thomson 2007, p. 29) for information diffusion across the life cycle. This one-touch flow system can be integrated with a supply chain easily and reflects this value added element as a method for better, honest accounting. OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT A most important factor for facilities management to recognize is the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) or a variation of TQM. TQM according to David Steingard is â€Å"a set of techniques and procedures used to reduce or eliminate variation from the production process or service delivery system in order to improve efficiency† (Steingard 2002, p. 2). TQM fits with the facilities management way of doing things as many of their functions require repetition or constant monitoring of daily, weekly and monthly items. Because this is a modernist concept and the modernist movement believed in certainty and static methods of looking at the world, there is not much room for the uncertainty that change creates in today’s workplace using strictly TQM. Therefore either change in this environment must be controlled change or a variation of TQM must be used for the process to work and involve new technologies. Otherwise, TQM alone invents a work environment reminiscent of Franz L ang’s Metropolis and dehumanizes the employee. A variation TQM can be used in facilities management to aid defining team member responsibilities as it sees the whole team as a â€Å"machine creates a system of interlocking parts each with clearly defined use, centralized authority and high degrees of worker discipline culminating with the goal of routinised, efficient and predictable system performance† (Steingard 2002, p. 2). Each team member plays a role in the functioning of the machine. Still much like today’s business environment where change is constant, this system requires continued adjustment, modification improvement of function. TQM as way of defining a work process cannot operate entirely in today’s global market because it succeeds at the expense of innovation and the growth of the employee. It also does not leave room to incorporate change and new ways of improving functions. Still a memory of pure TQM feeds the â€Å"modernist machine of c onsumer capitalism which encourages over-consumption, planned obsolescence, ecological damage and depletion of natural resources† (Steingard 2002, p. 4). This memory has also burdened management as the obsession for perfection, control, consistency, productivity and efficiency increases over time. In today’s facilities team, there must be a healthy medium to not only use past methods for increased productivity and efficiency but also to include modern tools and equipment to make the job easier. In order to remain competitive, technology cannot be ignored, the systems it provides must be implemented in order for logistics to remain seamless and keep up with demand and customer expectation. For instance failure to embrace logistics and technology results in inventory costing a company more money to store than it is worth. McCullogh writes, â€Å"Right now sitting around the globe is a bunch of inventory (worth an estimated) United States $1 trillion—United States $1 trillion of boxes of stuff is just sitting around a warehouse† (‘Warning: Don’t Snub Logistics’, p. 1). This has the potential to represent about 60 percent of the average company’s working capital. This is capital in limbo that is not maximizing its investment potential. A sign of successful shop floor operations is reliance on very little warehousing. In other words, warehousing is measured as the amount of days per month a product sits in the warehouse and if logistics is implemented effectively, this number will decrease and stabilize. The retail average storage of inventory is 26 days of investment not being utilized, profit being lost and daily expenses being incurred in an endless holding pattern. In order to reduce the amount of days inventory sits means companies must create tighter relationships with suppliers via the web or perfect a system of communication between resources to cut out warehousing all together. Instead of inventory remaining stored because of wireless communication and data collection, the product can go straight from the supply source to the retailer’s shelves via a distribution centre that acts much like mail sorting centre. This can work because technology enables a retailer to send data immediately to the supplie r of products that are moving off the shelves with a click of a button. From this electronic message, the supplier knows what the retailer needs, what products are popular, how much and sends then instantly to the retailer’s distribution centre. In organisations the size of Nestle or Wal-Mart, logistics strategy requires much forethought and planning, as there are many branches and divisions that are involved in the process. The idea is to reduce expenses and increase value to the organisation by making the company more productive and efficient. This needs to be done as seamlessly as possible to continue brand loyalty and customer relations while maintaining market share and competitive advantage. In many ways, implementation of this strategy creates a delicate balance. In order to have better Business to Business or B2B relationships, one must understand the connection. Robert Thierauf and Hoctor (2003) explain, â€Å"B2B is about connecting shared businesses and information processes of the extended trading networks, planning, shipping and logistics, inventory management and customer retention to name a few† (Thierauf Hoctor, p. 181). In other words, an optimized planning process can save millions dollars and allow a multination corporation to carry out its objective and gain market share. This means applying advanced technology such as i2 used by Dell Computers and typical ERP vendors. In today’s act of doing business, B2B exchanges are based on supply chain management or SCM technologies (Thierauf Hoctor, 2003, p. 182). This will mean considerable investment in such technology but the benefit of market share will prove it to be a valued investment over the long-run (Burn Hachney 2002; Scerbo 1999). Running these centres effectively certainly poses a challenge of management. Manufacturers must develop new skills and confront channel conflicts with dealers, distributors and independent operators. Leaders in these positions must have an understanding of managing the conflicts in these channels. But well-managed distribution centres would more than justify the risks, as it would save the organisation a significant amount of overhead. With operating expenses as the main cost, it is possible to make the distribution venture essentially self-funding. Facilities can be rented on short-term leases and surrendered if the location isnt successful within a year or two. The cost of goods and labour can be managed as volume grows. Companies should remember that a manufacturers original warranty work usually accounts for about half of the labour expenses and for as much as 20 percent of the total value of services rendered, but these costs are typically charged back to the business unit rather than borne by the company’s distribution. In markets poorly served by local dealers or other distributors, for instance, a centre should gear itself to its company’s end users or consumers b

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Violence As A Social Problem Essay -- essays research papers

Violence is a social problem that increases over the years. Violence is not so much shown in magazines and books as it is on television and the media. This does not mean that violence on television is the only source for aggressive or violent behavior, but it is a significant contributor. Children can also pick up violence from a parent or guardian at an early age. Peers are important in a child’s life. It has been psychologically proven that males are more aggressive than females. Therefore, if a child’s peers are being aggressive, their actions tend to be imitated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American children watch an average of three to four hours of television daily, which can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. Hundreds of studies of the effects of media violence on children have found that children may gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitate the violence they observe on television and identify with certain characters, victims or victimizers. Parents can protect their children from excessive television violence by paying attention to the programs their children are watching and restricting them from shows known to be violent, pointing out what is wrong with the program. Another solution to this problem is to explain that the actor has not actually been hurt or killed and such violence in real life results in pain or death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children are not born understanding the difference ... Violence As A Social Problem Essay -- essays research papers Violence is a social problem that increases over the years. Violence is not so much shown in magazines and books as it is on television and the media. This does not mean that violence on television is the only source for aggressive or violent behavior, but it is a significant contributor. Children can also pick up violence from a parent or guardian at an early age. Peers are important in a child’s life. It has been psychologically proven that males are more aggressive than females. Therefore, if a child’s peers are being aggressive, their actions tend to be imitated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American children watch an average of three to four hours of television daily, which can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. Hundreds of studies of the effects of media violence on children have found that children may gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitate the violence they observe on television and identify with certain characters, victims or victimizers. Parents can protect their children from excessive television violence by paying attention to the programs their children are watching and restricting them from shows known to be violent, pointing out what is wrong with the program. Another solution to this problem is to explain that the actor has not actually been hurt or killed and such violence in real life results in pain or death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children are not born understanding the difference ...

Friday, July 19, 2019

Taking a Deeper Look at The Piano Lesson by August Wilson Essay

Taking a Deeper Look at The Piano Lesson by August Wilson Winner of multiple awards such as the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, August Wilson is known most for his forceful cultural plays. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wilson was born to a white father that later abandoned his family, and a black mother. Wilson dropped out of school in the ninth grade after being accused of plagiarism. Wilson after went to public libraries and read various books; this was an initiation for Wilson and his successful future. When Wilson first started writing he didn’t think he was able to write his own works because of such great writers before him. â€Å"Quote black literature criticism†. However Wilson has managed to accomplish great works such as his second Pulitzer Award winning play, The Piano Lesson. The play introduces an outstanding and dynamic cultural view of many black Americans in the twentieth century. It conveys a family feud that is set off by a piano, a miraculous piano. In The Piano Lesson, August Wilson introduces two siblings, Boy Willie Charles and Berniece Charles Crawley, set in 1937. Wilson first reveals that Boy Willie lives in Mississippi, and Berniece lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (set of the play). This identification of the two allows the audience and reader to know that there is and will be a difference between the two siblings. The play is about the two siblings and their conflict between the piano. During slavery time, Boy Willie and Bernieces’ grandfather’s (Willie Boy Charles) slave owner Sutter had exchanged their grandmother and uncle for the piano as a gift for his wife. After getting worn out of the piano, Sutter’s wife missed her slaves so much, Sutter had Willie Boy to hand-carve the faces of his wife and son’s faces on the legs of the piano. However, Willie Boy didn’t stop there; he carved all of their ancestors on to the piano. The conflict between Boy Willie and Berniece is set off when Berniece’s husband dies due to stealing the piano with Boy Willie. Because of this, Berniece blames her brother for the cause of her husband’s death. She moves to Pittsburgh after and leaves Boy Willie. When the land that their ancestors worked on is offered to Boy Willie, Boy Willie decides to sell the piano as a down payment. Boy Willie thinks that it’ll b e better to have the land and m... ...to sit in her home unused. She loses all ties with her heritage while in Pittsburgh and only praises the piano for it’s meaning from what she sees on the outside of the piano. The song symbolizes how worthy the piano is; it has to be played. The song is also what makes Sutter’s ghost disappear at the end of the play. It plays a very important role in the play in that it was taught to Berniece by her mother. Perhaps her mother appeared to Berniece spiritually at the end of the play to urge Berniece to play the song again to get rid of Sutter’s ghost. Having Sutter’s ghost appear to Berniece doesn’t only motivate her to play the song, but also sends Boy Willie back to Mississippi. After frightening both Berniece and Boy Willie, it is clear to the two that the piano is more significant than they both thought before. August Wilson does a very fine job by presenting three symbols: the piano, Sutter’s ghost, and the song. All three symbols play major roles and are the foundations of the play. The symbols here allows the reader and audience to tie the history of the Charles family and the feud between Boy Willie and Berniece together. It’s a relation between the past and the present. Taking a Deeper Look at The Piano Lesson by August Wilson Essay Taking a Deeper Look at The Piano Lesson by August Wilson Winner of multiple awards such as the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, August Wilson is known most for his forceful cultural plays. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wilson was born to a white father that later abandoned his family, and a black mother. Wilson dropped out of school in the ninth grade after being accused of plagiarism. Wilson after went to public libraries and read various books; this was an initiation for Wilson and his successful future. When Wilson first started writing he didn’t think he was able to write his own works because of such great writers before him. â€Å"Quote black literature criticism†. However Wilson has managed to accomplish great works such as his second Pulitzer Award winning play, The Piano Lesson. The play introduces an outstanding and dynamic cultural view of many black Americans in the twentieth century. It conveys a family feud that is set off by a piano, a miraculous piano. In The Piano Lesson, August Wilson introduces two siblings, Boy Willie Charles and Berniece Charles Crawley, set in 1937. Wilson first reveals that Boy Willie lives in Mississippi, and Berniece lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (set of the play). This identification of the two allows the audience and reader to know that there is and will be a difference between the two siblings. The play is about the two siblings and their conflict between the piano. During slavery time, Boy Willie and Bernieces’ grandfather’s (Willie Boy Charles) slave owner Sutter had exchanged their grandmother and uncle for the piano as a gift for his wife. After getting worn out of the piano, Sutter’s wife missed her slaves so much, Sutter had Willie Boy to hand-carve the faces of his wife and son’s faces on the legs of the piano. However, Willie Boy didn’t stop there; he carved all of their ancestors on to the piano. The conflict between Boy Willie and Berniece is set off when Berniece’s husband dies due to stealing the piano with Boy Willie. Because of this, Berniece blames her brother for the cause of her husband’s death. She moves to Pittsburgh after and leaves Boy Willie. When the land that their ancestors worked on is offered to Boy Willie, Boy Willie decides to sell the piano as a down payment. Boy Willie thinks that it’ll b e better to have the land and m... ...to sit in her home unused. She loses all ties with her heritage while in Pittsburgh and only praises the piano for it’s meaning from what she sees on the outside of the piano. The song symbolizes how worthy the piano is; it has to be played. The song is also what makes Sutter’s ghost disappear at the end of the play. It plays a very important role in the play in that it was taught to Berniece by her mother. Perhaps her mother appeared to Berniece spiritually at the end of the play to urge Berniece to play the song again to get rid of Sutter’s ghost. Having Sutter’s ghost appear to Berniece doesn’t only motivate her to play the song, but also sends Boy Willie back to Mississippi. After frightening both Berniece and Boy Willie, it is clear to the two that the piano is more significant than they both thought before. August Wilson does a very fine job by presenting three symbols: the piano, Sutter’s ghost, and the song. All three symbols play major roles and are the foundations of the play. The symbols here allows the reader and audience to tie the history of the Charles family and the feud between Boy Willie and Berniece together. It’s a relation between the past and the present.