Virtual Childhood reflection Essay Example for Free

Virtual Childhood reflection Essay Debbie has grown so much in the last few months. She has achieved some milestones that are predominantly seen amongst infants within this age brackets. Breast milk is still her main source of food up on till the time she clocked six months of age when solids were introduced. She sucks at everything that touches her lips; this is due to the sucking reflex that is inborn. My virtual child ate fairly well; she would once in a while vomit the food if she didn’t burp. Her motor development is consistently being tweaked as she’s able to coordinate her pass objects from one hand to another. She occasionally paddles and kicks in sort of a swimming motion. Sleep is somewhat troubling because she wakes up at night to feed and she fusses occasionally for no reasons. Debbie is currently at six months and she’s able to fully identify key persons in her life. This is because of the interactive activities she has been exposed to, such as reading. Her cognitive abilities have developed with exposure to her surroundings especially during evening strolls. Debbie warms up to people after a period of time. This is because she knows the key people in her life while she takes a couple of minutes to warm up to strangers. Eventually she warms up to them. At 3months she was starting to recognize key persons in her life. By the 8month mark, she was able to fully recognize her parents. An emotional attachment had developed. She would cry passionately and we respond to her needs. According to Ainsworth the continuity of this attachment would only build a child a child who would tend to be insecure in the future.

The organization that you work Essay Example for Free

The organization that you work Essay The organization that you work for is interested in expanding their business overseas. You have been asked to gather some preliminary information to help management decide on whether to pursue this idea further. Search the Cybrary or other online resource and find an article describing an experience of either: (1) a US company or division that conducts business in a foreign country; or (2) a company or division based in another country which has started doing business in the United States. Perform searches on joint venture, licensing, or strategic alliance. Based on your research submit a three page document to the managers of the organization which answers the following set of questions: 1. Was the companys experience positive, negative, or mixed? Justify your answer. 2. What legal or political barriers did the company have to overcome? What cultural or business differences did the company encounter? What problems did these differences create for the company? What did the company do to overcome the obstacles? Did the company handle cultural and business differences effectively? Why or why not? 3. Companies involved in international trade have to watch the exchange rates for the euro, Japanese yen, Brazil real, Russian ruble, and US dollar. If you were a U. S. exporter, how might a stronger dollar affect demand for your products? How might a weaker dollar affect demand? (Note: One Internet source for foreign exchange rates is www. x-rates. com/ ). Doing business in another r country can be extremely tricky. Numerous problems result from a failure to adapt packaging for other cultures. For instance, white symbolizes death in Japan, and much of Asia, green represents danger or disease in Malaysia. Some product names travel poorly. For instance, the gasoline company Esso found out that its name means stalled car in Japan. Proper market research may reduce or eliminate most international business blunders. Market researchers can uncover needs for product adaptations, potential name problems, promotional requirements, and useful market strategies. Food research may even uncover potential translation problems. As you can see, doing business in other cultures can be risky if youre unprepared. However, awareness of differences, consultation with local people, and concern for host-country feelings can reduce problems and save money. In dealing with international business you should know about licensing, strategic alliance, and joint venture. Licensing is an agreement to produce and market another companys product in exchange for a royalty or fee. Strategic alliance is a long-term partnership between two or more companies to jointly develop, produce, or sell products in the global marketplace. Joint venture is a special type of strategic alliance in which two or more firms join together to create a new business entity that is legally separate and distinct from its parents. More and more companies are experiencing the excitement of conducting business in the global marketplace. Although selling goods and services in foreign markets can generate increased sales, produce operational efficiencies, expose companies to new technologies, and provide greater consumer choices, venturing abroad also exposes companies to many new challenges. Each country has unique ways of doing business which must be learned: Laws, customs, consumers preferences, ethical standards, labor skill, and political and economic stability vary from country to country, and all have the potential to affect a firms international prospects. Volatile currencies and international trade relationships can indeed make global expansion a risky proposition. Companies must recognize and respect differences in social values, ideas of status, decision-making habits, and attitudes toward time, use of space, body language, manners, and ethical standards. Otherwise, such differences can lead to misunderstanding in international business relationships, particularly if language differences also exist. The best way to prepare yourself to do business with people from another culture is to study that culture in advance. Learn everything you can about the cultures history, religious, politics, and customs-especially its business customs. Who makes decisions? How negotiations are usually conducted? Is gift giving expected? What is the proper attire for a business meeting? In addition to the suggestion that you learn about the culture, seasoned international business people offer the following tips for improving intercultural communications: Be alert to the other persons customs. Expect the other person to have values, beliefs, expectations and mannerisms different from yours, Deal with the individual. Dont stereotype the other person or react with preconceived ideas. Regard the person as an individual first, not as a representative of another culture. Clarify your intent and meaning. The other persons body language may not mean what you think, and the person may read unintentional meanings into your message. Clarify your true intent by repetition and examples. Ask questioned and listen carefully. Adapt your style to the other persons. If the other person appears to be direct and straightforward, follow suit. If not, adjust your behavior to match. Show respect. Learn how respect is communicated I various cultures-through gestures, eye contact, and so on.

PESTEL Analysis Of Tune Hotels UK

PESTEL Analysis Of Tune Hotels UK The hotel industry within the United Kingdom is a highly competitive market with many different hotel organisations, such as Tune Hotels, each trying to offer something unique, desirable and profitable. It is therefore important for organisations within this industry to remain constantly aware of the external factors that could potentially affect their performance and productivity. In this report I am going to identify and explain the key political, economical and socio-demographical factors that are currently having an effect upon the industry; these are three headings within a PESTLE analysis. PESTLE analysis is a tool that can aid organisations when making strategies by helping them understand the external environment in which they operate in the present and future (Renewal Associates, 2003). Once I have done this I will then draw upon my analysis and conclude with my thoughts and recommendations about the proposed UK expansion of Tune Hotels. The UK Hotel Industry As for most business organisations, it has been a tough time financially due to the recent global recession; however, according to an article on www.hotel-industry.co.uk, things are looking up for the hotel industry. Despite the recession, the UK hotel industry is continuing to expand, with over 10,400 rooms opening in 2010 and a further 43,000 for the period 2011-2015.'(Hotel Construction, 2010). The article goes on to mention how consumers are simply opting for low-cost, budget branded hotels, such as Tunes, during this time of financial uncertainty. Political Environment The political environment is an area that business organisations need to monitor constantly as politics can be very unpredictable and influential at times. (Palmer, A. Hartley, B. 2006, P7-8) This is because governments have the power to introduce legislation and regulations that may have a profound effect on organisations. Whilst the UK is a relatively free market, the government will still keep a close on what is going on in the private sector to ensure that businesses are functioning within the best interests of the country. These are just some of the political factors that may have an effect on the UKs hotel industry: * Digital Economy Act 2010 The Digital Economy Act 2010 is an act of parliament which was put in place mainly to decrease the amount of illegal file sharing and copyright infringements that currently takes place in todays digital society. However this has been met by fierce criticism from establishments, such as hotels, that offer free Wi-Fi internet connections hot spots. If hotels guests break this law whilst using the hotels connection, then it is the hotel that is, ultimately, held responsible and consequently face the possibility of having their internet connection disabled by the service provider (Benson, P. 2010). This may put hotels in a sticky situation as they will have to decide whether or not to start charging for the convenience of internet connectivity; which could put potential customers off. * New Immigration Policies New immigration policies from the coalition government have caused some concern for the UK hospitality industry. Caps on immigration outside of the European Economic Area could neglect the issue of skills shortages in the UKs hospitality sector, claim the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, who go on to say: Apart from operational roles such as chefs and bar staff, a shortage has been highlighted in management skills. Shortages in the UK market continue to exist with only 10 per cent of hotel managers and six per cent of restaurant and catering managers having qualifications at managerial level (Essentiallycatering.co.uk, 2010). Economic Environment * Crowded Market There is currently much competition for Tune in the UKs budget hotel market at the moment, especially in London. Brands such as easyHotel, Travelodge and Premier Inn all offer a similar service to that of Tune Hotels, but at lower prices; and some of them offer extras such as towels within the room price. Travelodge currently offers rooms at a promotional price of 19 and, like the Premier Inn chain, their rooms are family-friendly and they provide most extras free of charge, states Susannah Streeter (2010). * Increase in UK tourism spending The increase in UK visitors comes after the recession and the fall in sterlings value against the euro and dollar deterred Britons from making overseas trips. As a result, spending by tourists in the city hit a record 10.5billion (Sri Carmichael, 2009). This is great news for the hotel industry. * VAT Increase As the coalition government start to act upon the UKs budget deficit, the recent VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% will no doubt put more strain on the consumers disposable income and put more strain on peoples budgets. Lisa Francesca Nand (2011) states that the increase will discourage spending and deter UK-based guests and overseas visitors alike. However there are positives that can be drawn from this VAT increase for some businesses. Such increases will continue to divert customers away from highly priced hotels with underutilised facilities as Mark Lankester suggested in the Tune Hotels Press Release (2010). People will be looking for cheaper No frills accommodation such as Tune Hotels. The low cost, limited service business model has been a proven success over the past couple of years with in other industries organisations such as AirAsia, an affiliate company of Tune Hotels, boasting success. Socio-Demographic Environment * London 2012 Olympics The London 2012 Olympic Games have understandably been described as an opportunity of a lifetime for the UK hospitality industry by hotel-industry.co.uk. The games will bring in an influx of people from all over the world to London which will undoubtedly mean increased demand for hotels. However I think that this will only bring limited custom for Tune Hotels; as the games are stretched out over a two week period, I think that the people who are staying in London for a couple of days will be more than happy with the service that Tune Hotels provide as a comfortable bed and a hot shower is all that most people require during a short hotel stay. On the other hand, I think long-stay visitors will be put off by the inability to budget under the pay-as-you-use system operated by Tune Hotels. * Location Location is very important within the hotel industry, even more so with the London 2012 Olympics around the corner. Hotels in London need to be close to transport links, attractions and other amenities in order to draw in a healthy numbers of customers as nobody wants a hotel too far away from their desired location. This is a potential problem for Tune Hotels and their proposed UK expansion as there could be some difficulty in finding appropriate sites for their ambitious figure of fifteen hotels in an already saturated market. Recommendations and conclusion All in all I think Tune Hotels have a fairly good chance of making the UK expansion a success with their low costing business model, particularly with the Olympics on the horizon and the increased demand for hotel accommodation in London that the games will generate. However, I think it would be wise for Tune to offer some kind of incentive or special Olympic package to potential guests during the games to lure them away from rival hotels; an all-inclusive option for the guests staying for longer periods, maybe? However, I think fifteen hotels is a little ambitious in the competitive jungle of London and Mark Lankester should think about lowering his aspirations ever so slightly to and start talking about more realistic numbers like five or six. This would mean Tune could concentrate on having a smaller number of hotels in more desirable places as opposed to a large number of hotels in less sought after locations. The expansion would also create a number of jobs for the people of the UK

Breakfast of Champions Essay -- Essays Papers

Breakfast of Champions When one hears the phrase â€Å"Breakfast of Champions,† he envisions a grinning picture of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan slam dunking, or Dale Earnhardt in a racecar on a box of Wheaties, a popular breakfast cereal. A few avid Saturday Night Live fans might recall a skit performed by James Belushi. In the skit, Belushi’s â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† was beer, cigarettes, and donuts. Neither of these examples are the subject of Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions or Good Bye Blue Morning. A â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† is actually a martini. Breakfast of Champions is a work of fiction with semi-autobiographical allusions. The main characters of the book are Kilgore Trout, Dwayne Hoover, and Philboyd Sludge. Kilgore Trout installs aluminum combination storm windows and screens and writes science fiction novels and short stories. He has no ambition to be a famous writer, so he sends his works to pornographic magazine companies to be published. The names and characters of his works are often changed in the process, and he is rarely paid for his efforts. Dwayne Hoover owns a successful Pontiac dealership. He slowly loses his sanity as the plot unfolds. Philboyd Sludge creates these characters and appears in the story to watch the characters as the story progresses. Breakfast of Champions depicts the story of Kilgore’s travel to Midland City to speak at a festival of arts. Kilgore, at first, rejects the invitation, but he decides to go because h... Breakfast of Champions Essay -- Essays Papers Breakfast of Champions When one hears the phrase â€Å"Breakfast of Champions,† he envisions a grinning picture of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan slam dunking, or Dale Earnhardt in a racecar on a box of Wheaties, a popular breakfast cereal. A few avid Saturday Night Live fans might recall a skit performed by James Belushi. In the skit, Belushi’s â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† was beer, cigarettes, and donuts. Neither of these examples are the subject of Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions or Good Bye Blue Morning. A â€Å"Breakfast of Champions† is actually a martini. Breakfast of Champions is a work of fiction with semi-autobiographical allusions. The main characters of the book are Kilgore Trout, Dwayne Hoover, and Philboyd Sludge. Kilgore Trout installs aluminum combination storm windows and screens and writes science fiction novels and short stories. He has no ambition to be a famous writer, so he sends his works to pornographic magazine companies to be published. The names and characters of his works are often changed in the process, and he is rarely paid for his efforts. Dwayne Hoover owns a successful Pontiac dealership. He slowly loses his sanity as the plot unfolds. Philboyd Sludge creates these characters and appears in the story to watch the characters as the story progresses. Breakfast of Champions depicts the story of Kilgore’s travel to Midland City to speak at a festival of arts. Kilgore, at first, rejects the invitation, but he decides to go because h...

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun - Dreams and Racism Essay

Dreams and Racism in A Raisin In The Sun At most times, the American Dream resembles an ideological puzzle more than a fully realizable image. Within the confines of her fantastical, theatrical world Lorraine Hansberry attempts to fit a few of these pieces together and, in the process, ends up showing exactly how everything doesn't just snap-together all nicely. The problems in her play, A Raisin In The Sun, deal primarily with the basic nature of humans and their respected struggle's to "make it" in America. The story, for the most part, centers upon an African-American family, their dreams for the future and an insurance check coming in for death of the eldest man. Stirring into the mix later is the hugely oppressive, segregationist aspect of mid-twentieth century America. With highly oppressive external pressures, combined with conflicting ideas of happiness, the story centers on the ideological conflicts between characters. The largest conflicts result between Mama Younger and her son, Walter. Walter represents, apparently, all the things America instills in men; the desire to work hard and make a better life for his family than he had, the inability to be compassionate towards his family, an almost ignorant refusal to vary from his dream for the dreams of others. Hansberry centers here, it would seem, on the most negative aspects of "manhood". In fact, overridingly, men in this play are horrible creatures: George is uppity, aristocratic and a braggart (mentioning the curtain time in New York to a women who obviously has no idea about that type of thing simply places him, in his eyes, that much higher than her); Walter's friends are loud-mouth-know-it-all's (one of whom takes off with all the money th... ...r but, until the day he dies she will be his sister, and therefore he will always be somewhat proud of her. To me, this is an intricate human detail and evidence of Hansberry's supreme ability of crafting characters right out of real life. In the end I believe she is making the statement that the so-called American Dream is different for everyone; sort of a spiritual fingerprint of utopia. Being an African-American woman in the 40's and 50's probably had a large influence on the tone of this piece; as did being a severely closeted lesbian. Even though our respective upbringings couldn't be much more different, I fully agree with the stance she's taken. The table of America isn't level, thus causing the puzzle to shift and tilt uncontrollably. The pieces don't always fit and it is sad that so many people spend their entire lives trying to force them to work.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller :: Papers

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller In every family unit or household there are roles that each members have to play. These are there so that each person knows what is expected of them and what to expect from other people. They can be basic roles such as the housework, for example one of a housewife's roles would be to keep the house clean. Or they can be less obvious, for example always being available to offer emotional support and being a friendly shoulder to cry on. These varied roles within a group of people can be recognised and discussed by the members, overt, or it can be that the members themselves don't even realise they exist or that any of these roles are assigned to them within the family group, covert. The roles that each member plays can be dependant on several things, for instance age, experience, sex or even the job that they do. Over time these have changed. In past the roles were rigid and ascribed. Women were expected to be housewives and mothers and men to be the breadwinners being able to support their family financially. Nowadays these set roles have become more blurred and conjugal roles in particular are often joint. However in the 1950's we have to remember that the roles within the family were somewhat archaic and traditional compared to today's society. Biff has several roles like all the members of the Loman family. As an elder brother to Happy he offers him advice and help. The two of them get on very well and have a good relationship. We see this at the start of Act I when the two boys are in their bedroom. They talk candidly and with ease sharing a laugh and joke. They have grown up together and Biff has always supported his brother and helped him out, we learn this from when Biff set Happy up with a girl for his first time. He is a good brother to Happy. Biff's other roles in the family are mostly all set by Willy his father.

Dream Weaver

This act also ensures that nonfinancial contributions to a marriage are considered on the dissolution of the marriage, effectively achieving greater justice for women. However, many criticise this legislation for rendering divorce too easy, with 1/3 marriages ending in divorce A current focus area for law reform has been de facto families. Previously, the law did not allocate them legal recognition, as society perceived these relationships as immoral. Altering societal ethics led to their statutory recognition under the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW), granting them many of the same rights as married couples. However, whilst one party could claim maintenance upon the breakdown of a DFR, the law does not take into account future needs of the parties upon separation. The law also attempted to regulate the division of property however, less weight was given to non?financial contributions, shown in Turnbull v McGregor where the homemaker’s contribution to the property in a 32 yr relationship was valued at just 16%. This ineffectiveness was addressed with the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008 (Cth), through enabling them to resolve their financial and parenting issues in the Family Law Court, using nationally consistent processes An important change in social attitudes has been the increasing acceptance of homosexual relationships. Statute law failed to reflect this shift in societal values, as it was changes to common law that fostered the legal recognition of same?sex couples. Various significant cases created law reform momentum, such as Hope and Brown v NIB Health Funds (1995), in which a same?sex couple successfully argued that their health fund had discriminated against them on the basis of sexual orientation, through denying them a ‘family’ status. Eventually the Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 1999 (NSW) altered the definition of a de facto relationship to non?gender specific, effectively incorporating homosexual couples. This provides protection in property division, maintenance and inheritance  © (2012) All Rights Reserved 1 of 3 For more info, go to www. scintheholidays. com. au Ongoing reform in the new millennium has attempted to eradicate all areas of discrimination, the most significant being the Miscellaneous acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Bill 2008. It enabled equal parenting rights for the female partners of mothers and protected the rights of both parents upon separation. However, the modern definition of ma rriage, â€Å"the voluntary union for life of one man and woman to the exclusion of all others†, established in Hyde v Hyde and Woodmansee (1866), remains exclusive of homosexual marriages. Significantly, it is now the only point of legislative inequality between same?sex couples and other couples. For same sex couples, legal recognition of their marriage signifies the provision of adequate legal protection. Until this barrier has been overcome, justice for same?sex family members will remain unachieved. Justice for children has recently been an area of legislative focus, with an emphasis on parental responsibility. The care and protection of children has been a primary focus of law reform. Children (Equality of Status) Act 1976 (NSW) states that all children, nuptial or ex? nuptial, are treated equally under the law. Parents are prohibited from using physical force on the head or neck of the child as punishment by the Crimes Amendment (Child Protection? Physical Mistreatment) Act 2002 (NSW), which effectively saw a father in Woy Woy sentenced to a one?year good behaviour bond after excessively disciplining his child. Perhaps the most significant reform is the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (Cth). This law emphasises the changing nature of parental responsibility, as it enshrined the equal shared responsibility of both parents to care and protect the child as a primary objective. The government is clearly trying to move from the previous situation where over 95% of children are not in shared care Such law reforms justly place emphasis on the ‘best interests of the child’, effectively catering for their vulnerability, as well as reflecting society’s perception of parenting as a moral obligation. However, criticism has been directed at the preference for ‘shared parenting’ as it could more easily expose children to domestic violence. Furthermore, protests by Michael Fox in 2011 about the family law system’s bias against fathers, reflects the failure of the law to achieve justice for fathers. Holding up banners saying â€Å"Kids first†, Fox claimed that DOCS was a failed department. These areas of ineffectiveness highlight how the law’s emphasis on shared parenting is often more idealistic than it is effective. In the past, domestic violence (DV) has been an area where the law has failed to protect family members. Correlating with growing societal concerns, the law recognised DV as a crime under the Crimes (Domestic Violence) Amendment Act 1982 (NSW). Furthermore, the laws just recognition of the effects of DV is noted in the use of ‘battered women’s syndrome’ as a defence for murder. The recent introduction of the Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model improves the response of the criminal justice system to victims of DV, requiring police to immediately begin investigating and apply for an ADVO on hearing a DV report. This has been effective, with BOSCAR evaluating â€Å"victims reported that they were very satisfied with the police response†¦ they felt safe†. Ineffectively however, many are still victim to DV. R v. Aytugral (2009) revealed the law’s inability to protect Ms Bayrak from being murdered by her ex?partner. Furthermore, recent media reports state that DV has increased 3. 3% in Sydney. The use of birth technologies represents a contemporary issue concerning family law. The Artificial conception Act 1984 (NSW) states that the biological mother and her partner are the legal parents, protecting families that choose to undergo these procedures. However, the law has been widely condemned for being too slow in addressing many of the ethical issues in this area, such as the question of ownership of frozen embryos in case of both parent’s deaths. A major concern is the lack of legislation regarding