Is gambling a moral issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is gambling a moral issue - Essay Example Although some of these arguments may be correct, gambling is more of a moral issue because it results in people’s suffering while others thrive. According to Fitzgerald there is no point in considering gambling and casinos as an economically viable industry. No doubt it adds to the pocket of a few and also contributes to the governments revenue box, yet considering the social maladies casinos and gambling are responsible for; it is more of a curse than blessing. Furthermore a healthy society can thrive amidst healthy individuals. Here health does not only refer to physical health but also the psychological one. Gambling results in erratic behavior through a complex neurochemical reaction that is far from being healthy and therefore according to Fitzgerald should be abstained from. Last but not the least the writer has also criticized gambling and casinos for spreading pollution and congestion in weekends through the rush of gamblers in peaceful localities where casinos are loc ated. Fitzgerald states at first that gambling although illegal in the state of California, in recent time permission has been extended to some Indian tribes. Might be placed in a light note but according to him since from historical times the Indians have been exploited by the other Americans the state now want to compensate them by conferring right of exploiting the others. United States of America as a uniform country must follow the same law for all and the logic that the writer has presented in legalizing gambling is no short of disgracing the goodwill of the government and the equality doctrine of the constitution. Without any grain of doubt the writer is against legalizing gambling but his arguments against such legalization are all driven on materialistic grounds. Fitzgerald has referred that gambling can never be considered as an economic boost owing to the $2 net loss it imposes on the government for each dollar earned as revenue. Another economic argument placed by the wr iter is the doubling of bankruptcy rate in countries with casinos in compare to those without them. The writer carefully states statistics to act as a psychologist while judging the compulsion of a gambler to spend more than he can afford. The statistics according to Fitzgerald in favor of such compulsion is quite high at 43%. Apart from economic and psychological reasons another aspect that Fitzgerald has referred to is the environmental aspect of gambling or casinos. The economic aspect that Fitzgerald has cited against gambling holds quite a ground. However quantifying the qualitative variables and indicators often stirs much debate. Owing to this fact it is hard to tell that whether the exact number that the writer has cited as a burden on revenue owing to gambling is appropriate. Another study amidst a different surrounding might have yielded a different result. Furthermore the modern day economics is a social science and much more beyond monetary value exists in a society that economic consideration must take into account. The psychological cost that gambling imposes on an individual in terms of erratic behavior and addiction might well receive a counter attack from those who support gambling and considers it as a means to joy. Gambling is based upon probability and neither the cost of loosing nor the profit from winning is assured. A

Gender Differences in Discourse Essay Example for Free

Gender Differences in Discourse Essay The ability to communicate with our fellow human beings makes us distinct from other living beings. The chapter has made it very clear that speaking is not conversation. Conversation is a collaborative effort by both the speaker and the listener. Our success much depends on how well we can interact with people around us. It much depends upon understanding certain factors called ‘social dynamics’ in conversation. In the essay â€Å"Women Talk Too Much† Janet Holmes makes it very clear that it is a wrong notion to think that women talk more than men. She says it is an assumption based on stereotypes. On the other hand, she says that it is men who talk more. There is no proof to say that men are biologically programmed to talk more than women. It is just the social conditions that promoted the wrong notion that boys are more active than girls and they talk more. She says it is entirely disagreeable. I find quite interesting to know that it is boys who interact more in the class rooms than the girls. Then, the author claims, how it can be said that women talk more than men In the second essay of the chapter, Tony Kornheiser makes a distinction in the communication style of women and that of men. He feels that women are very particular about everything and they have more to say than men have. He makes a point saying that women do not think life is as simple as men believe it to be. A conversation that turns into a lecture is definitely boring as Deborah Tannen points out in the essay â€Å"I’ll Explain It to You†. The most frustrating experience for anyone is when a conversation turns into a lecture. I feel it is not only boring to women but also equally tedious to men. There has been much literature on gender biased language and there is a gradual change in the use of language to sound neutral. Ronald Macaulay also agrees with Janet Holmes and says that many of the notions are myth and they have no validity scientifically speaking. It is rather social conditioning that has played a key role in imparting opinions that have no basis. Clive Thompson’s essay on how computer software can identify accurately whether the writer is a man or woman is quite interesting, His questions the many of the commonly held ideas about the differences between the two sexes. (407 words) Chapter6: Media Speak. What we know about the world is from media only. Our perception of the world is influenced by the media which presents it. The billions of dollars spent on TV ads clearly indicate the power that the media enjoys. Undoubtedly, the advertisements that come on television and newspapers and magazines have tremendous influence on us. Within a span of a century there is a great change in the media. Now the world is increasingly dependent on oral media where as it was mostly written word in the beginning of the last century. With the aim of reaching more number of audiences, the quality of language used in TV news and shows has become very low. Neil Postman and Steve Powers, rightly point out that the dependence on the image has made a great shift in news making. The highly quality visuals have replaced good language with low level popular language. They argue that it is not just language but also our views and opinions about the world are getting corrupted. The general saying is â€Å"a picture is worth a thousand words† but in the present days when news is re-created or re-presented, it is equally true to say that â€Å"one word is worth a thousand pictures. † There is little doubt that the language used by the media is aimed at creating sensations to attract more audience. Then, I do believe that it is not exactly what happened i. e. news. The article ‘All the World in Pictures’ is very interesting and thought provoking. It has clearly explained how the language is used in mass media. It is aptly said that ‘Advertising is the driving force of consumer economy’. The world is filled with advertisements. Wherever there are people, there are advertisements. They appeal to all our weakness creating a world of fancy with eternal youth, power, enriched beauty, immediate happiness, and fulfillment of our inner needs. I feel the use of language in creating such emotional appeals is quite amazing. Advertising plays much on the psychology of people. A small fifteen second ad can effectively tempt the people appealing to their emotions by making fantastic appeals and promises. The article â€Å"With these Words, I can Sell You Anything† is very enlightening. It has made it clear how they twist the language to send their message effectively. It is a finely engineered language that creates strong images on the minds of audience. I have found it very exciting to know the how the advertisers play on the people with their language. (419 words) Chapter7: Censorship and Free Speech Freedom of speech is fundamental to American democracy. It enables every American to freely express his ideas, opinions and beliefs. Any limits to the freedom of speech are seen as a threat to the rights of Americans. It is interesting to note that the discussion lays emphasis on the equality in enjoying one’s rights. No man or woman has the right to hurt the feelings or sentiments of others. It is by respecting others rights that we can enjoy our rights well. The censorship is against the rights given in the constitution. However, it is required in some areas. The censorship and books, biased language and hate speech and certain limits on campus speech have lead to interesting debate. The first amendment has not only given the right to express ideas freely but it also has given the right to know others’ ideas. The censorship on books has been a much debated issue with different opinions. It is beyond my understanding why some books are banned totally and some are censored. When a book raises questions that lead to controversy and debate, it will help people to know what exactly the truth is. Banning is not the solution for it. The controversy over Harry Potter books, which have attracted millions of children all over the world, seems pointless. Censorship on books is dangerous as it blocks all new creative and original ideas. Censorship on biased language and hate speech is quite useful as it raises many questions in the practical use of language. It is very difficult and almost impossible to classify what makes a hate speech and biased language. I feel it is highly impossible to make a law in the absence of any valid principles regarding what comes under biased language and hate speech. Sometimes, the words may be good but the tone in which they are delivered could be full of hatred. Censorship on free speech on the campus has some good in it, as it reduces misunderstanding among the students who come different parts of the world. The campus is a place where tolerance is mostly needed. The rules prohibiting certain speech acts is good for the minority students. But it does not guarantee that no racist speech is ever heard on the campuses. (378 words) Chapter -8 The English Language Debate The debate whether English should be made official language of the US or not, is very interesting bringing out valid arguments on both the sides. The United States, the nation of immigrants, respects cultural differences of people coming from different countries. Respecting other languages, the US has not declared English as the official language. I find it very great quality of the American people for their respect other cultures. It shows their multi cultural tolerance and national unity. The unity of American people has come more from their like mindedness in political and social values and self respect than from having one language. The discussion on what is Standard English has made it clear how different forces work on language. Robert MacNeil has explored well what makes American English and what exactly it is. The argument for Standard English has its own merits with clear focus on clarity in thinking and what we are saying. It argues for care and caution in the use of language as it is central for identifying an individual. If a person neglects his language and uses it causally, it will not help him or her in the long run. As the author has rightly put it â€Å"casualization† everything in culture has led to casual attitude to language use as well. The ‘growing informality’ of language is one of the major concerns of linguists. The scholars and grammarians who prescribe rules on how language should be used are rightly called â€Å"Prescriptivists. † Especially, John Simon, who is called the Prince of Prescriptivists, holds the view that the present day language is poor, unhealthy and hopeless. He represents those who argue for perfect use of language as it helps you to communicate clearly what you are. It is with the use of language only that a person can show his distinction. If the distinction is lost, he or she will be among many who can not say clearly what they mean. It becomes a serious challenge. I feel there should be certain principles which can not be sacrificed in the use of language. The â€Å"Descriptivists†, on the other hand, just describe how the language is used by people. They do not dictate any rules regarding how English should be used. They are permissive and tolerate the new expressions and the informality in expressions. They argue that a language is called a living language only when it is spoken. When it is spoken it is natural to have changes in the language as no two people can pronounce the same word in the same way. They are free to allow new words into English as change the law of life and of language. It shows tolerance towards people who speak the same language with some regional differences. There are many examples when the language of the Black people is accepted by the grammarians and included in the dictionaries. It helps the language to grow and reflect the present day culture. The fears about what will happen to American English seem justified, but nobody can stop the changes that take place in society. I feel the changes in English are an indication of changes in society, and language is just reflecting the same. (534 words)

The Epic Poem, Beowulf - Vengeance and Revenge in Beowulf Essay

Vengeance and Revenge in Beowulf    The oldest of the great lengthy poems written in English and perhaps the lone survivor of a genre of Anglo-Saxon epics, Beowulf, was written by an unknown Christian author at a date that is only estimated.   Even so, it is a remarkable narrative story in which the poet reinvigorates the heroic language, style, and values of Germanic oral poetry.   He intertwines a number of themes including good and evil, youth and old age, paganism and Christianity and the heroic ideal code, into his principal narrative and numerous digressions and episodes; all of which were extremely important to his audience at the time.   Vengeance, part of the heroic code, was regarded differently by the two distinct religions.   Christianity teaches to forgive those who trespass against us, whereas in the pagan world, revenge is typical and not considered an evil act.   In Beowulf, the ancient German proverb "revenge does not long remain unrevenged" is strictly adhered to and verifies that revenge is part of pagan tradition. Two human relationships were deeply significant to the Germanic society.   The most important, the relationship between the warrior and his lord was based on a common trust and respect.   The warrior vows loyalty to his lord and serves and defends him and in turn the lord takes care of the warrior and rewards him lavishly for his valour.   The second human relationship was between kinsmen.   As Baker and Ogilvy suggest, a special form of loyalty was involved in the blood feud. (P.107)   If one of his kinsmen had been slain, a man had an ethical obligation either to kill the slayer or to exact the payment of wergild in compensation.   The price was determined upon the rank or social status of the victim... ... view was "an eye for an eye," if a man kills your kinsmen you exact revenge.   On the contrary, the Christian view was more like as Mohandas Gandhi said "An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind."   Christians believed God would inevitability do what is right and would rather turn the other cheek then have it result in more blood and murder.   Throughout the poem, the poet strives to accommodate these two sets of values.   Though he is Christian, he cannot negate the fundamental pagan values of the narrative story. Works Cited and Consulted: Abrams, M.H., ed.   Beowulf: The Norton Anthology of English Literature.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.   Baker, Donald C. and J.D.A. Ogilvy.   Reading Beowulf.   Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983. Earl, James W.   Thinking About Beowulf.   Stanford: Stanford University Press: 1994.

Home Depot Environmental Issues

1) On the basis of Home Depot’s response to environmental issues, describe the attributes (power, legitimacy, urgency) of this stakeholder. Assess the company’s strategy and performance with environmental and employee stakeholders. A stakeholder framework helps identify the internal stakeholders and the external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders such as: employees, boards of directors, and managers. Customers, special interest groups, regulators, and others who agree are external stakeholders who collaborate and engage in confrontations on ethical issues. ) As a publicly traded corporation, how can Home Depot justify budgeting so much money for philanthropy? What areas other than the environment, disaster relief, affordable housing, and at-risk youth might be appropriate for strategic philanthropy by Home Depot? Home Depot is about giving back and recycling money through the community. Giving to the community in return gives to Home Depot. Consumers motto after what t hey have set forth and help fulfill the need to give back to those in need.Those in need and those who help are a part of the environment, disaster relief, and youth. They are hitting every corner possible. Other areas could be the elderly in the community and schools in the community. What Home Depot does spreads out to consumers and the community. 3) Is Home Depot’s recessionary strategy of eliminating debt and halting growth a wise one? What would you recommend to the CEO? Wiser more than likely, the strategy Home Depot has set forth goes well in hand with their do good model.Home Depot has shown it doesn’t have to expand and add to in order to remain the top home improvement store. With the circulation of money from stakeholders and consumers, money does not have to be borrowed from outside lenders. Receiving payback money would add to the recession by borrowing what you do not need to owe at a later time. I recommend the CEO to not forget about employee incentives and keep the funds in circulation through the community and consumers. Similar essay: Summary â€Å"The Environmental Issue from Hell†

Meaning of Life by John Cottingham Essay

Every person has questioned the meaning of life; It is an idea that can be traced through out the history of mankind. John Cottingham, author of â€Å"The Meaning of Life† is just one of the many who have tried to explain and simplify this complicated question. â€Å"The Meaning of Life† is a short but informative book that attempts to breakdown the meaning of life with as little religious intervention as possible, while at the same time, be able to â€Å"reveal how [religion] connects with values and commitments that we all share, and to find a way of accommodating it without the sacrifice of scientific or philosophical integrity. † (ix). In â€Å"The Meaning of Life† Cottingham offers insight on individualistic ethical ideals and alternatives to individualism, which can often be contrasted with the beliefs of Jean-Paul Sartre, who is one of the best known philosophers of the twentieth century. Cottingham uses chapter one to argue that individualistic ethical ideals are â€Å"compartmentalized† and â€Å"self-defeating. † He believes that having activities and achievements in ones life, like sports, are not enough to make ones life meaningful. Humans are complicated beings that require much more than a few simple success stories to be truly content with life. As Cottingham states, people have â€Å"biological imperatives (for food, warmth, shelter, procreation), social imperatives (the need to cooperate, the drive to communicate), emotional imperatives (the need for such things as mutual recognition and affection), and lastly and just as importantly what might be called ‘rational imperatives’. † (26) With out these four essentials, humans simply cannot be happy and live meaningful lives, though it may seem they do on the surface. One example Cottingham uses to display this belief is Gauguin the painter. Though Gauguin was a very successful painter, which some may argue was meaningful, his choices and actions are those of one who could be considered to be living a meaningless life. Yes, Gauguin was a successful painter, but he also left his wife and children to pursue this â€Å"self indulgent† career. By pursuing the one thing that made Gauguin’s life meaningful to him, he himself ruined any chance he had at truly living a meaningful life. This is because he had to sacrifice his biological, social, and emotional imperatives when he left his family and friends. While many philosophers strongly believe in individualism, Cottingham offers an alternative in his book. Theism is the belief in some type of deity. As Cottingham states â€Å"A worthwhile life will be one that posses genuine value – value linked to our human nature and the pursuit of what is objectively conducive to the flowering of that nature. † (32) Theists ultimately have something to work towards throughout their lives. With out this metaphorical ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ people could quickly lose the desire to live meaningful lives. Those without the belief that there is a purpose humans came to exist can be haunted by the thought that â€Å" if ‘space’ is all the home we have, then our journey, a journey out of nothing and towards nothing, risks appearing futile, as void of significance as the ultimate void that spawned us and will eventually swallow us up. † (34) With nothing to strive towards it is easy to live a compartmentalized, closed, and selfish life, abandoning the four imperatives mentioned previously and thus living a life with no meaning. By being open and integrated, Theists can share their experiences on their quest towards living a meaningful life. One person that would strongly disagree with Cottingham’s belief in theism is Jean-Paul Sartre. One major reason Sartre is so opposed to theism is because of his concept of freedom. To Sartre, freedom is not possible when a person has a designed end or purpose. People must be able to decide their own purpose on this earth, and if they believe they were put here with a predetermined purpose by a â€Å"higher being† they will be unable to decide what their purpose is on their own. In the case of Gauguin, Sartre would disagree with Cottingham in that he would see nothing wrong with Gauguin leaving his family to pursue his artistic talents. If Gauguin had not left to do what he wished with his life, Sartre would have argued his belief of â€Å"bad faith† which occurs when any person denies their human freedom because they want to avoid the dread of realizing that their existence means nothing if one does not create meaning for themselves. Gauguin must leave his family to discover the meaning of his life in Sartre’s view, while Cottingham believes that by leaving his family he loses three of his imperatives and will be unhappy and live a meaningless life. While both Sartre and Cottingham make interesting and valid points on leading a meaningful life, I agree with neither. Sartre would have encouraged Gauguin to leave his family and search for his own meaning, which I believe would have been very selfish and would have lead to a miserable, meaningless life full of guilt and loneliness. Even if Gauguin loved painting, spending a lifetime alone is undesirable for even the most introverted people. Though I disagree with Sartre’s reply, I also disagree with Cottingham’s belief that Gauguin should have stayed with his family in order to live a life with all of the four essentials mentioned previously. If Gauguin stayed with his family and stopped painting, he would live a life full of questions and regret that he didn’t take the opportunity to pursue his dream when he had the chance. Rather than having to pick one or the other (family or art) I believe Gauguin could have had the best of both worlds. He could have saved enough money to move his family to Tahiti with him, or could have looked for the beauty in his own home and family to inspire him. The meaning of life is a frightening idea that all people have questioned at some point in their lives. While Cottingham’s book is very interesting, it is certainly not for everyone. Cottingham does a superb job in helping the reader to decide on their own what a meaningful life is made of by offering multiple philosophies and beliefs in one short, easy to read book.

Send Information Between Delphi Apps With WM_COPYDATA

Send Information Between Delphi Apps With WM_COPYDATA There are many situation when you need to allow for two applications to communicate. If you do not want to mess with TCP and sockets communication (because both applications are running on the same machine), you can *simply* send (and properly receive) a special Windows message: WM_COPYDATA. Since handling Windows messages in Delphi is simple, issuing a SendMessage API call along with the WM_CopyData filled with the data to be sent is quite straight forward. WM_CopyData and TCopyDataStruct The WM_COPYDATA message enables you to send data from one application to another. The receiving application receives the data in a TCopyDataStruct record. The TCopyDataStruct is defined in the Windows.pas unit and wraps the COPYDATASTRUCT structure that contains the data to be passed. Heres the declaration and the description of the TCopyDataStruct record: type TCopyDataStruct packed record dwData: DWORD; //up to 32 bits of data to be passed to the receiving application cbData: DWORD; //the size, in bytes, of the data pointed to by the lpData member lpData: Pointer; //Points to data to be passed to the receiving application. This member can be nil. end; Send a String over WM_CopyData For a Sender application to send data to Receiver the CopyDataStruct must be filled and passed using the SendMessage function. Heres how to send a string value over WM_CopyData: procedure TSenderMainForm.SendString() ; var stringToSend : string; copyDataStruct : TCopyDataStruct; begin stringToSend : About Delphi Programming; copyDataStruct.dwData : 0; //use it to identify the message contents copyDataStruct.cbData : 1 Length(stringToSend) ; copyDataStruct.lpData : PChar(stringToSend) ; SendData(copyDataStruct) ; end; The SendData custom function locates the receiver using the FindWindow API call: procedure TSenderMainForm.SendData(const copyDataStruct: TCopyDataStruct) ; var   Ã‚  receiverHandle : THandle;   Ã‚  res : integer; begin   Ã‚  receiverHandle : FindWindow(PChar(TReceiverMainForm),PChar(ReceiverMainForm)) ;   Ã‚  if receiverHandle 0 then   Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ShowMessage(CopyData Receiver NOT found!) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Exit;   Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  res : SendMessage(receiverHandle, WM_COPYDATA, Integer(Handle), Integer(copyDataStruct)) ; end; In the code above, the Receiver application was found using the FindWindow API call by passing the class name of the main form (TReceiverMainForm) and the caption of the window (ReceiverMainForm). Note: The SendMessage returns an integer value assigned by the code that handled the WM_CopyData message. Handling WM_CopyData - Receiving a String The Receiver application handles the WM_CopyData mesage as in: type TReceiverMainForm class(TForm) private procedure WMCopyData(var Msg : TWMCopyData) ; message WM_COPYDATA; ... implementation ... procedure TReceiverMainForm.WMCopyData(var Msg: TWMCopyData) ; var s : string; begin s : PChar(Msg.CopyDataStruct.lpData) ; //Send something back msg.Result : 2006; end; The TWMCopyData record is declared as: TWMCopyData packed record Msg: Cardinal; From: HWND;//Handle of the Window that passed the data CopyDataStruct: PCopyDataStruct; //data passed Result: Longint;//Use it to send a value back to the Sender end; Sending String, Custom Record or an Image? The accompanying source code demonstrates how to send a string, record (complex data type) and even graphics (bitmap) to another application. If you cannot wait the download, heres how to send a TBitmap graphics: procedure TSenderMainForm.SendImage() ; var ms : TMemoryStream; bmp : TBitmap; copyDataStruct : TCopyDataStruct; begin ms : TMemoryStream.Create; try bmp : self.GetFormImage; try bmp.SaveToStream(ms) ; finally bmp.Free; end; copyDataStruct.dwData : Integer(cdtImage) ; // identify the data copyDataStruct.cbData : ms.Size; copyDataStruct.lpData : ms.Memory; SendData(copyDataStruct) ; finally ms.Free; end; end; And how to receive it: procedure TReceiverMainForm.HandleCopyDataImage( copyDataStruct: PCopyDataStruct) ; var ms: TMemoryStream; begin ms : TMemoryStream.Create; try ms.Write(copyDataStruct.lpData^, copyDataStruct.cbData) ; ms.Position : 0; receivedImage.Picture.Bitmap.LoadFromStream(ms) ; finally ms.Free; end; end;

7 Signs of Trouble at Home Teachers Should Know

7 Signs of Trouble at Home Teachers Should Know As teachers, we arent only in charge of our students homework assignments and spelling tests. We also need to be aware of the signs of possible trouble at home. Our vigilance and responsible action help our young students be happy and healthy both at home and in the classroom. It can feel uncomfortable to bring up touchy subjects with a students parents. But as responsible adults in our students lives, it is part of our duty to look out for their best interests and help them live up to their full potential. Sleeping at School Sleep is exceedingly important to the health and well-being of young children. Without it, they cant concentrate or perform to the best of their abilities. If you notice a student regularly catching up on sleep during school hours, consider talking to the school nurse for help in formulating a plan of action in conjunction with the parents. Sudden Change in Behavior Just like with adults, an abrupt change in behavior usually signals a cause for concern. As teachers, we get to know our students very well. Keep an eye out for sudden changes in behavior patterns and work quality. If a formerly responsible student completely stops bringing his or her homework, you may want to broach the subject with the students parents. Working as a team, you can enlist their support and implement strategies to get the student back on track. Lack of Cleanliness If a student shows up at school in dirty clothes or with substandard personal hygiene, this can be a sign of neglect at home. Again, the school nurse may be able to support you in addressing this concern with the students guardians. Not only is dirtiness a health issue, but it can also cause isolation and teasing from classmates if its readily noticeable. Ultimately, this can contribute to loneliness and depression. Visible Signs of Injury As mandated reporters in some states, teachers can be legally required to report any suspected child abuse. There is nothing more important (and morally imperative) than saving a helpless child from harm. If you see bruises, cuts, or other signs of injury, dont hesitate to follow your states procedures for reporting suspected abuse. Lack of Preparedness Observant teachers can notice the outward signs of neglect at home. These signs can come in many forms. If a student mentions not eating breakfast each day, or you notice the student doesnt have lunch (or money to buy lunch), you may need to step in as an advocate for the child. Alternatively, if a student doesnt have basic school supplies, make arrangements to provide them, if at all possible. Small children are at the mercy of adults at home. If you notice a gap in care, you may need to step in and help make it right. Inappropriate or Inadequate Clothes Be on the lookout for students who wear the same outfit virtually every day. Similarly, watch out for students who wear summer clothes in the winter and/or lack a proper winter coat. Worn-out or too-small shoes may be additional signs that something isnt right at home. If the parents arent able to provide appropriate clothing, you may be able to work with a local church or charity to get the student what he or she needs. Mentions of Neglect or Abuse This is the most obvious and clear sign that something is wrong (or maybe even dangerous) at home. If a student mentions being home alone at night or getting hit by an adult, this is definitely something to investigate. Again, you should report these comments to a child protective services agency in a timely manner. It is not your job to determine the veracity of such statements. Rather, the relevant government agency can investigate according to ​its  procedure and figure out whats really going on.

How to Identify the Common Black Walnut Tree

How to Identify the Common Black Walnut Tree Black walnut trees (Juglan  nigra) are found throughout much of the central-eastern part of the U.S., except in the far northern and far southern part of this range, but familiar elsewhere from the East Coast into the central plains. They are part of the general plant family Juglandaceae, which includes all the walnuts as well as hickory trees. The Latin name, Juglans, derives from Jovis glans, Jupiters acornfiguratively, a nut fit for a god. There are 21 species in the genus that range across the north temperate Old World from southeast Europe east to Japan, and more widely in the New World from southeast Canada west to California and south to Argentina. There are five native walnut species in North America: black walnut, butternut, Arizona walnut and two species in California. The two most commonly found walnuts found in native locations are the black walnut and butternut.   In its natural setting, the black walnut favors riparian zonesthe transition areas between rivers, creeks and denser woods. It does best in sunny areas, as it is classified as shade intolerant.   The black  walnut  is known as an  allelopathic tree: it releases chemicals in the ground that may poison other plants. A black walnut can sometimes be identified by the dead or yellowing plants in its vicinity.   It often appears as a kind of weed tree along roadsides and in open areas, due to the fact that squirrels and other animals harvest and spread the nuts. It is often found in the same environment as silver maples, basswoods, white ash, yellow-poplar, elm and hackberry trees.   Description Walnuts are specifically deciduous trees, 30 to 130 feet tall with pinnate leaves containing five to 25 leaflets. The actual leaf is attached to twigs in a  mostly alternate arrangement and the leaf structure is  odd-pinnately  compound- meaning that the leaves consist of an odd number of individual leaflets that attach to a central stem. These leaflets are serrate or  toothed.  The shoots and twigs have a chambered pith, a characteristic that can quickly confirm the trees identification when a twig is cut open. The fruit of a walnut is a rounded, hard-shelled nut. Butternuts are similar, but  this type of native walnut has oblong  ridged  fruits that form in clusters. The leaf scars on butternut have a hairy top fringe, while walnuts do not. Identification When Dormant During dormancy, the black walnut can be identified by examining the bark; the leaf scars are seen when leaves are pulled away from branches, and by looking at the nuts that have fallen around the tree. In a black walnut, the bark is furrowed and dark in color (it is lighter in butternut). The leaf scars along twigs look  like an  upside-down shamrock with five or seven bundle scars. Beneath the tree, you usually find whole walnuts or their husks. The black walnut has a  globose nut (meaning it is roughly globular or round), while the nuts on the butternut tree are more egg-shaped and smaller.

AT&T Introduction and Corporate Ethics Assignment

AT&T Introduction and Corporate Ethics - Assignment Example AT&T has consistently been providing its consumers with reliable, durable and most importantly creative products for more than a century. AT&T is popular as a principal provider of IP-based communications all over the world. Among all US wireless carriers, AT&T happens to offer the maximum international coverage and is the fastest network of mobile broadband in the US. AT&T phones function internationally. The number of the total broadband connections of AT&T also exceeds those of all other companies in the US. Presently, AT&T is making its way into the entertainment industry by expanding its video packages. AT&T is trying to include many prestigious TV services including AT&T DIRECTV. â€Å"It's part of our "three-screen" integration strategy to deliver services across the three screens people rely on most — the mobile device, the PC and the TV† (AT&T, 2011). The customer services provided by AT&T are remarkable. One of the most fundamental and essential the traditions of AT&T is innovation. Making use of its technology, in the year 1927, AT&T located its way to the first ever transatlantic phone call. The UNIX operating system developed by AT&T played a fundamental role in the development of the Internet. Many other operating systems like Linux that are presently in use worldwide were originally derived from the UNIX operating system. ... â€Å"Today, our mission is to connect people with their world, everywhere they live and work, and do it better than anyone else. We're fulfilling this vision by creating new solutions for consumers and businesses and by driving innovation in the communications and entertainment industry† (AT&T, 2011). AT&T’s Vision AT&T developed its network globally with a view to providing the networking specialists in the AT&T Labs with plenty of resources in order to make them better equipped for making the disparate systems function together. AT&T has become a standard for others to compare themselves within the capacity of the world’s most efficient, reliable and the fastest global network.     

International Security in the Global Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Security in the Global Era - Essay Example The more popular of these theories, the realist and the neoliberal, however, have failed to provide a comprehensive understanding, or interpretive guideline, for state behaviour or, in fact, articulate a workable methodology for the enhancement of global security. Given the fact that both schools provide partial answers to the question at hand, one may argue that a more comprehensive understanding of the componential elements of global security is predicted upon the amalgamation of their arguments and interpretations. Neoliberals/liberals and realists/neorealists are locked in a perennial debate over the manner in which states define global/national security and the motivators for state behaviour within the international context. As Jervis (1999) notes, the primary area of contention between realists and liberals pertains to the source of inter-state conflict and whether it is engendered by relative or absolute gains. Identifying the state as a sovereign actor and the most important unit within the global context, realists maintain that states act towards the fulfilment of absolute gains. Within the parameters of the articulated understanding, realism assumes that conflict, rather than cooperation, is the distinguishing feature of inter-state relationships (Jervis, 1999). Concurring with Jervis' (1999) assessment of the neorealist/realist school's perception of the motivators for state behaviour, Wendt (1992) adds that the explicated perception is fundamentally predicated on the realist conceptualisation of both the international order as anarchic and of human nature as predatory. The realist tradition quite simply maintains that within the absence of a supra-state global institution as would govern state behaviour, states act towards the fulfilment of their self-defined interests, often operating in a predatory fashion, because they can (Wendt, 1992). Accordingly, and as Wendt (1992) states, realists primarily define the global order as a "self-help" system (p. 392) insofar as state actors therein are largely free to fulfil, or at least attempt to fulfil, their ambitions, often to the detriment of other states. The liberal/neoliberal tradition is, seemingly, sharply distinguished from the above insofar as it tends towards the assumption that global system is institutionalised and that state behaviour therein is not only governable but is naturally inclined towards cooperation. Both Jervis (1999) and Wendt (1992) highlight this particular neoliberal assumption and, to a degree, are supportive of it. Wendt (1992), for example, notes that the neoliberal school is fundamentally realist and rational insofar as it recognises the existence of anarchy, contrary to the neorealist assumption that neoliberals dispute this particular characteristic of the global order but, maintains that this does not function as an obstacle towards cooperation. In fact, those realists who concede to the anarchic nature of the global order contend that this functions as a motivator for cooperation and the creation of global institutions, insofar as rationality dictates that the former and the latter combine to enhance

Economic and Social Determinants of Infant Mortality in Developing Essay

Economic and Social Determinants of Infant Mortality in Developing Countries - Essay Example It also aims at reducing health disparities in the developing countries, and a very important indicator of economic development. Neonatal mortality rates are particularly responsive to procedures in the course of the pregnancy, delivery and the neonatal period, as well as the care given to infants and their mothers. Postneonatal mortality rates are contemplated to be determined to largely by parental circumstances such as the care provision and their socioeconomic position. Studying mortality rates will help policy makers to come up with ways of reducing the infant mortality rates. For example, if one of the leading causes of infant mortality is lack of healthcare to women, policy makers can come up with methods of providing healthcare for pregnant women. Every day, millions of lives of infants are lost around the world. However, 80% of these deaths can be avoided if the right measures are taken. Studying the infant mortality rates helps the government, hospitals and other relevant a gencies come up with new ways of preventing reducing the infant mortality rate. It will also help to improve the current prevention methods. Infant mortality is not only caused by biological factors but also social and economic factors. Studying the causes of infant mortality will help doctors and scientist to come up with new ways of controlling the biological causes of infant mortality. This will also provide them with ideas on how they can improve the quality of medicine. This study will begin by a review of literature, to establish the evidence that other authors have found regarding this topic. An empirical study will follow, whereby two models will be analyzed using regression analysis statistical methods. The results of the statistical analysis will be reviewed, and a conclusion will be made. As study focusing on Croydon’s infant mortality, was conducted by Ghosh and Alves (2011), whereby they found that newborn

The Global Reporting Initiative Has a Mission to Develop Global Essay

The Global Reporting Initiative Has a Mission to Develop Global Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Voluntary Use by Organis - Essay Example The specific Initiative has been proved particularly valuable leading to the increase of the power of sustainability as related to organizational reporting. At this point, the following issue has appeared: which can be the actual value of the information provided through the reporting rules used in the context of GRI. The specific issue is examined and evaluated in this paper. Emphasis is given on the value of the above information for the firms’ shareholders. Reference is made, as an example, to four firms listed in FTSE 100, aiming to show that GRI can be highly valued by a firm’s shareholders, even if there is no previous involvement of a particular organization in similar initiatives. It is made clear that firms are urged to produce the specific type of information under the pressure to respond to the demands of different parties; the adoption of GRI rules by competitors can also lead firms to participate in the specific scheme. 2. Global Reporting Initiative 2.1 Ke y points of the Initiative As noted above, the key aim of the Global Reporting Initiative is to urge organizations to use sustainability-reporting rules (Global Reporting Initiative 2012). GRI is ‘a non-profit voluntary organization’ (Global Reporting Initiative 2012) that produces such rules. These rules are voluntary, meaning that organizations are not obliged to adopt them. However, it has been proved that these rules can help organizations to improve their relationship with their shareholders who seem to value the relevant information, as incorporated in each organization’s annual reports. In order to understand the increasing pressure on companies for adopting the reporting guidelines of GRI, it would be necessary to refer to sustainability reporting, as an activity related to the operations of organizations in different industries. According to GRI, sustainability reporting is ‘the practice of measuring, disclosing, and being accountable to internal a nd external stakeholders for organizational performance towards the goal of sustainable development’ (GRI rules, p.3). The framework of sustainability reporting, as promoting by GRI, is presented below in Figure 1. It is clear that for GRI there are two key parts of sustainability reporting: the rules on which the reporting will be based and the content of the report (GRI rules, p.3). Figure 1 – Sustainability Reporting under GRI (source: GRI rules, p.3) Using the protocols and principles suggested by GRI an organization should incorporate in its annual report, three different types of disclosures, entitled as ‘standard disclosures’ (GRI rules, p.4) in Figure 1 above. These disclosures include: ‘strategy and profile, management approach and performance indicators’ (GRI rules, p.5). These disclosures could be further analysed as follows: a) the strategy and profile disclosures showing the firm’s key strategies and profile, as related to the organizational performance, b) the key managerial decisions for handling various organizational issues can be also used for understanding organizational performance; this idea is promoted through the management approach disclosures; c) the ‘economic, social and environmental performance of each organization’ (GRI rules, p.5) need to be also presented to the stakeholders; the relevant information is provided through the third type of disclosures, the performance indicators disclosures. For responding to the needs of these disclosures, organizations need to produce

Why does America have a two-party system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why does America have a two-party system - Essay Example The classification of the party system is on the grounds of the number of relevant parties and the amount of fragmentation that is seen in the governing bodies (McKeever and Davies 2012). A two-party system is seen where two major political parties are at the time dominating the votes. Within the two-party system, one of the parties gets to hold the majority in the legislation (Bailey et al 2010). The United States is noted to have started the system of having two parties in its governance. There are many reasons as to why it does continue to have its system like that (McKeever and Davies 2012). When the history of the United States is considered, it is found out that its roots are based on the two-party system itself. This force behind the form of tradition, where that the state itself began with, has become very important to the Americans. It has had a lot of influence on the American government (Gerring 2001). Other nations have numerous political parties whereby the candidates ge t to be elected to the offices, and when the data is analyzed, minority parties give out great contribution to this. Over the course of political history in the United States, minor third parties have come up several times (Bibby and Maisel 2003). For example, the Poor Man’s party, the liberty party, and the free soil party have come up within the American history and get to influence the politics of America slightly. But, the worst part is that the names of most of them get forgotten easily and very quickly (Bibby and Maisel 2003). Two-party system is the only system where the county gets to have ideological parties with broad political beliefs and good values that can see the country forward to a better stand (Herrnson and  Green 2002). The minor parties only tend to be economic protests, and this is not what the nation needs at the moment (Campbell 2006). It needs to see progress from one stage to another in terms of a better solution to the problems and matters they are facing (Bibby and Maisel 2003). The minor parties do act as splinter parties in most situations. This paper is going to analyze the reasons why United States of America still has two party systems. Historical influence When the past political system is reviewed, the progressive party of 1912 splinted from the republicans gaining 88 electoral votes. Later on the same progressive party of 1924 gained 13 votes after splinting from the republicans (McSweene and Zvesper 1991). These groups always do not take up the goal of winning the election and transforming the nation, but conversely, they concentrate on changing the view of the current state of the electoral votes (Bowles 1993). One of the major reason as to why United States of America still continues to engage in the Two-party system is due to the reason of the great force of historical tradition (Sundquist 1983; Smith 2003). For a very long time, since the nation started with the Two-party system, the anti- federalists and the fe deralists have become used to the system so much that they cannot let go of it (Milkis and Rhodes 2007). When this system is trace, it is found that there have been five distinct party systems. These are: first party system, which was during 1796 to 1816: federalists and Jeffersonian republicans; second party system, which was during 1840 to 1896: democrats and Whigs; third party system, which was during 1860 to 1896; democrats and republicans; the fourth party system occurred during 1896 to 1932: republicans and democrats, and finally the fifth party system includes the democrats and the republicans: from 1932 to date (Sartori and  Mair 2005). American political Beliefs and Values One of the other factors which have greatly inclined the two party

The Global Reporting Initiative Has a Mission to Develop Global Essay

The Global Reporting Initiative Has a Mission to Develop Global Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Voluntary Use by Organis - Essay Example The specific Initiative has been proved particularly valuable leading to the increase of the power of sustainability as related to organizational reporting. At this point, the following issue has appeared: which can be the actual value of the information provided through the reporting rules used in the context of GRI. The specific issue is examined and evaluated in this paper. Emphasis is given on the value of the above information for the firms’ shareholders. Reference is made, as an example, to four firms listed in FTSE 100, aiming to show that GRI can be highly valued by a firm’s shareholders, even if there is no previous involvement of a particular organization in similar initiatives. It is made clear that firms are urged to produce the specific type of information under the pressure to respond to the demands of different parties; the adoption of GRI rules by competitors can also lead firms to participate in the specific scheme. 2. Global Reporting Initiative 2.1 Ke y points of the Initiative As noted above, the key aim of the Global Reporting Initiative is to urge organizations to use sustainability-reporting rules (Global Reporting Initiative 2012). GRI is ‘a non-profit voluntary organization’ (Global Reporting Initiative 2012) that produces such rules. These rules are voluntary, meaning that organizations are not obliged to adopt them. However, it has been proved that these rules can help organizations to improve their relationship with their shareholders who seem to value the relevant information, as incorporated in each organization’s annual reports. In order to understand the increasing pressure on companies for adopting the reporting guidelines of GRI, it would be necessary to refer to sustainability reporting, as an activity related to the operations of organizations in different industries. According to GRI, sustainability reporting is ‘the practice of measuring, disclosing, and being accountable to internal a nd external stakeholders for organizational performance towards the goal of sustainable development’ (GRI rules, p.3). The framework of sustainability reporting, as promoting by GRI, is presented below in Figure 1. It is clear that for GRI there are two key parts of sustainability reporting: the rules on which the reporting will be based and the content of the report (GRI rules, p.3). Figure 1 – Sustainability Reporting under GRI (source: GRI rules, p.3) Using the protocols and principles suggested by GRI an organization should incorporate in its annual report, three different types of disclosures, entitled as ‘standard disclosures’ (GRI rules, p.4) in Figure 1 above. These disclosures include: ‘strategy and profile, management approach and performance indicators’ (GRI rules, p.5). These disclosures could be further analysed as follows: a) the strategy and profile disclosures showing the firm’s key strategies and profile, as related to the organizational performance, b) the key managerial decisions for handling various organizational issues can be also used for understanding organizational performance; this idea is promoted through the management approach disclosures; c) the ‘economic, social and environmental performance of each organization’ (GRI rules, p.5) need to be also presented to the stakeholders; the relevant information is provided through the third type of disclosures, the performance indicators disclosures. For responding to the needs of these disclosures, organizations need to produce

2010 Mid-term elections Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

2010 Mid- elections - Term Paper Example In this structural context, mid-term elections can also change the dynamics of Congressional support enjoyed by a President for his or her legislative agenda. In 2010, the mid-term elections were a referendum on President Obama’s policies during the first two years of his administration. Standing for re-election on the President’s response to the economic problems of 2008-9, including the â€Å"Wall St. Bailout,† the economic stimulus package, health care reform, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives nationally and saw their majority in the Senate eroded by Republican gains. No third-party candidates made an impact in the 2010 mid-term elections; however the election did feature the participation of the â€Å"Tea Party† as symbolic of voter frustration over taxation and corruption in Washington. To summarize the electoral trends in the 2010 mid-term elections, the election can be generalized as representing popular opposition to President Obama’s management of the White House both from the Left and Right. On the Left, generally representing the socially progressive, activist wing of the Democratic party, third-party leaning voters, and independents who organized and voted for Obama in 2008, there was a general sense of disappointment in the first two years of the administration. Many from Obama’s own party developed doubts about his leadership. Many of the objections were related to the policies of Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s Chief of Staff, who largely governed in a manner consistent with the Clinton administration, but which illustrated Emanuel’s own close contacts with the banking sector. Popular association of the Obama administration favoring banking interests over â€Å"real† or â€Å"common† people was established in the Wall St. B ailout response, which essentially gave trillions of dollars from the public treasury to the richest

Why the mobile phone is important device Essay Example for Free

Why the mobile phone is important device Essay ‘The mobile phone has become an indispensable accessory in most people’s lives’. Explain why the mobile phone is now such an important device. Nowadays, we always face a situation that everyone is holding a mobile phone in everywhere. Maybe someone is texting and someone is playing games. So, is it meaning the mobile phone has become an indispensable accessory in most people’s lives? This essay will focus on the importance of mobile phone. The definition of ‘mobile phone’ maybe imprecise after some time passes. The meaning of ‘mobile phone’ is just a small machine which is use for communicate with someone at real time before 2008. People are just speaking and listening with other side. But the definition of ‘mobile phone’ is changed along with the invention and popular of ‘Smart phone’ since 2008. ‘Smart phone’ means there are a mount of functions grouped in a small machine. For instance, face to face real time communication, voice message, enjoys the music, photo taking and Internet. The next paragraphs will describe the importance of mobile phone based on 3 aspects. In the technology aspect, people are related to use mobile phone because there are a mount of functions grouped in a mobile phone. People can use it for communication, text, Internet, recording video. Also, some of the mobile phones are allowed to conduct word processing. That is a treasure for the office workers and students especially. So, this is a portable minicomputer and assistant of everyone. About the communication aspect, mobile phone provided a great platform for people to build their public relationship. For example, people can access to their Facebook by their mobile phone in everywhere. So that they can communicate with others and update their status without regional restrict. Certainly, they can check the status of their friends and celebrities at any time. Moreover, mobile phone provided various communications ‘App’ for people. Such as Whatsapp, Skype, Wechat and Line. These are significant tools nowadays. It is because people can use these apps to communicate with others without regional restrict at moment to moment. People can text, voice message, share photo or video, share location, share contact, Walkie Talkie  and video call in these apps. Therefore mobile phone is now such an important device for everyone. On the other hand, mobile phone is not just a communication machine nowadays. It is changed to be an accessory with fashion. As the luxury design of the outlook and the higher level of the price, there are a significant of people think that mobile phone is an accessory which can show off their fashion sense. So that is an indispensable accessory in most people’s lives. Due to the useful and convenient of the mobile phone, it has become an indispensable accessory in most people’s lives. But people should remember that they cannot be engrossed on it.

Effect of Produce Placement in Computer Games

Effect of Produce Placement in Computer Games Product Placement Does Product Placement in Computer Games Affect The Consumer’s Buying Behaviour? Chapter 1 Introduction Can you remember a movie in the cinema without some kind of product placement (a product and/or a brand intentionally placed in a cultural medium (Lehu, Bressoud (2007))? Placing branded products in entertainment media like movies is not a new developed concept. This kind of advertising nowadays is very common. People often ask themselves what exactly advertising is. The term advertising describes any communication effort that might influence consumer purchase decisions (Rotfeld, H. J., 2008). Different types of models can therefore be used like product placement used in movies or in computer games. Everything started with investments in the production of radio programs at the beginning of the 1930s. Consumer product manufacturers tried to reach their target audiences via the radio through so called sponsor-owned shows (Lavin, 1995). Product Placement, also called brand placement and â€Å"brand casting†, appeared first in motion pictures as early as the late 1940s and early 1950s. One example was in 1948 in the drama Mildred Pierce where an actor in the movie drank Jack Daniels whiskey (Nebenzahl Secunda, 1993). In the beginning, using branded property by donating, loaning or purchasing them for particular movie scenes just to enhance their artistic qualities (Spillman, 1989). Since Reese’s Pieces appeared in the blockbuster movie E.T. The Extraterrestrial, over 20 years ago, product placement has developed and evolved significantly. That implicated that after the film release, Hersey claimed a 65% increase in sales of Reese’s Pieces (Karrh, 1998). Today, almost every movie contains product placement. While in the â€Å"James Bond†-Movies 007 drinks Martini, Will Smith drives a Porsche 911 Turbo in Bad Boys. (Quellen) There could be mentioned thousands of examples like this as today ads in movies are very common. Beside movies, another media based method to reach a wide range of consumers, can be seen in ads turning up in computer games. To date, except for movies or television, attitudes toward product placement in media have received little attention, despite increased product placement in games (Nelson, 2004). Computer and console games are getting more and more interesting for marketers due to today’s households own at least one PC and playing computer games nowadays is very common. This applies not only for the youngsters in a family but also for their parents who also play games. Computer games are emerging as a new medium for advertising but yet there is comparatively little empirical independent research investigating the outcomes of marketing communications using this medium. Ads in computer games have not a very long tradition like ads in movies but nowadays it is more and more often used. To reach key consumer segments, marketers are turning to games in order to improve their chances. In 2005, advertisers spent $80 million to reach video game players. Experts expect this spending to top $400 by 2009 (Park Associates 2006). Whether it is billboard ads, sponsorship and product placement, or the game character experiencing the product by drinking, wearing, driving or listening to it as a part of the game, the opportunities for branding in computer games are vast (Townsend, J., 2007). While European gamers’ most popular form of entertainment is watching TV, the $25 Billion gaming is even bigger than the $10 Billion film, as well as the $20 Billion home video industry. If we believe analysts from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the worldwide game industry is set to rocket to revenues in 2009 of about $54.6 billion (Ferrand et al., 2006). In regard to those numbers for today’s companies advertising in computer games has also become important to gain popularity. As 75% of people who have internet access also play online games for more than an hour per month (NEUE STUDIE IGDA Online Games SIG Steering Committee 2005). Another important issue today is subliminal advertising in media. Beginning in 1982 many people were concerned about subliminal messages in rock music claimed that messages had been recorded backward into popular rock music (Vokey Read, 1985). They feared that these messages could be perceived while listening to the music in the normal way. Even in computer games there is advertising that is perceived just incidentally. This might be true for example in racing games. Here might raise the question whether the player perceives billboards while driving with a speed of 130 MPH. Nobody can say if some kind of messages have an impact on our decision making process. Yet no empirical study has explored incidental effects on computer game players by advertising. Furthermore, it has not been investigated if the placement of the ads is designed to be subconsciously processed. 1.2 Reasons for Choice of Topic The topic in this paper was specifically chosen due to the writer’s interest in the area and desire to learn more on the subject of game related advertising issues and effects on the consumer of computer games. 1.3 Research Objectives This paper explores recent developments in the video game market in marketing practice that have resulted in brands being found in an increasing number of computer games. The main target of this investigation is to work out if product placement has any impact on the consumer in terms of the buying behavior and actions that the consumers enforce as a result of brands appearing in computer games. To investigate the prior research question, there will also be investigated if product placement is perceived by the respondents and their attitude towards product placement will be examined. As the subconscious as a component that should not be neglected in terms of subliminal advertising, it should be questioned whether it has any influence on the consumer or not. All these questions are coherent as if people perceive the product placement and have a positive attitude towards product placement it is possible that they subliminally perceive the placements. As all this is coherently, it is also possible, that buying decisions are predicated on these variables. 1.4 Computer Games Limitations Academic and professional literature on gaming often makes distinctions between computer games, video games and electronic games. These boundaries are blurred and moreover the situation is complicated by the availability different types of games. There are console games, PC games, mobile games, handheld games, interactive entertainment and virtual worlds that could be differentiated. Some of these distinctions are made to describe the hardware on which the games are played. Others also refer to a particular characteristic of the medium or the social aspects of playing. This variety of different types of consoles and handhelds is not helpful especially considering that today many games like for example the game Doom can now be played on cell phones, calculators in addition to PCs and tricked out consoles. Creating and using a separate name for each case/instance of a new hardware group would quickly become obstructive. The term â€Å"electronic games† might be too broad as it could also include games that are technically electronic like for example pinball machines. This kind of media is rarely discussed in the context of â€Å"video† or â€Å"computer games†. Like a good fit on the other hand seems to be â€Å"computer games†. The term â€Å"computer games† refers to games that are controlled or used by a computer which is a machine that digitally processes data according to a set of instruction. This then again includes a large range of devices that contain an embedded computer. Computer games that use a video display as the primary feedback device can be described by the term â€Å"video games†. Since most of the games discussed in this paper rely on computer monitor or a television screen for the visual playback, â€Å"computer games† and â€Å"video games† will often be used alternately. Below there will also follow a contextual definition while clarifications will be provided when necessary. 1.5 Chapter outline Following from this chapter; chapter two gives a crucial review of the literature available on the chosen subject matter and identifies an apposite theoretical framework for this study. It looks at the issues raised by academics and provides a basis for what has been observed. Chapter three discusses the quantitative methods used in this dissertation to collect the research required. The set up of a questionnaire is depicted as well as the appropriate methods that need to be factored in. Chapter four presents the findings of the primary research undertaken for this dissertation and the findings will be analyzed using content analysis in order to put some figure to the numeric nature of quantitative research. It will present the participant’s answers to the questions asked for the research of this project, and reiterate statements made in the data collection process (questionnaires). Finally in chapter five the research findings and analysis and attempts to draw conclusions from this are considered. To resolve the matters discussed and argued in this paper, the conclusion will help to draw an end to this dissertation. Chapter 2 Review of Literature 2.1 Introduction This chapter deals with the academic literature and pre-existing studies on the subject of product placement in computer games and its impact on the consumer. This chapter’s aims and objectives are to afford better clarification of the topic and the variables that affect consumers. Existing studies will be explored further and perhaps bring new understanding to the subject. This is achieved through the way in which this chapter is structured; by looking at the definitions presented by academics of product placement; subliminal advertising; brand recognition and recall; brand equity and trust; considering various studies and selecting the most appropriate ones for this dissertation to prove the research questions. 2.2 Product Placement From the time when movies provided brands in the 1940s and 1950s, they have been served as background scenery as well as props and character developers. Advertising supports media economically, yet for product placements but when the practice began with branded products it was donated, bartered or bought (Nelson et al., 2004). Today, companies generally are paid by film-makers to appear in the movies (Chunovic, 2002) and that change was then being followed in the game industry, too. Brand properties or placements differ from conventional broadcast advertising in leastwise three ways: At first, placements do not suspend the media experience of the consumer like it is done by paid media advertising which operates between media content (Nelson et al., 2004). Secondly, placements are according to Wasko et al. (1993) not always paid by the brand. Thirdly, Nelson et al. (2004) claim that it would be important that placements are not be perceived by consumers as commercial messages. In a public policy debate the extent of the consumer awareness and knowledge about product placements is considered an important measure. Product placements are presented as subversive, subconscious techniques, even though others assert that most consumers are aware of the practice (Nelson et al. 2004). The continuous advances in technology have made it incrementally easier for consumers to circumvent traditional advertising messages. Whether bypassing advertising by switching to another channel via the remote control or VCR and DVR make it necessary for advertisers to find other ways to catch the attention of the consumers to make them buying the company’s products. One such strategy that marketers have begun to make use of is product placement in entertainment media (Lee, Faber, 2007). 2.3 Definition of games and information about the people playing them While taking all the time about games; what is a game in the sense used in this paper? Jesper Juul (2003), a video game theorist, investigated seven well-known definitions of games which have been provided by different academics. Based on a screened listing of features which describes issues that are necessary for something to be a game, he then identifies it as â€Å"a rule-based system with a variable and quantifiable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable† (Juul, 2006). To be able to understand the distinctive features of the computer games particularly as a medium, this description will become helpful later. To understand the entire matter around games, there should be explained the type of people who play games. According to a study conducted by the Interactive Software Federation Europe (2008) the average gamer in Europe today is 33 years old. It is also claimed that in a typical week 45% of the PC owners play games more than 1-5 hours while 29% play more than 5 hours. In case of console owners it is more or less the same so this does not need to be considered separately as in this paper this component is not taken in account. The main reason of playing is for most of them to play just for fun (80%) followed by relaxing and de-stressing (55%) and playing when they are bored (41%) (Interactive Software Federation Europe, 2008). Gamers are people who immerse themselves in an alternate reality which allows brands having the permission to act in a way that helps players to do this. Shortly this means, as brands appear in or around a game, it makes sense to use them to enhance the virtual reality (Mediaedge, 2005). Nevertheless it would be pointless to place billboards of real world advertising like Coka Cola in games with a fantasy setting like for example the well known World of Warcraft. That kind of product placement would not turn up realistic and it would disturb the player’s experience. World of Warcraft is an ongoing multiplayer world that was subscribed by about 8 million at the beginning of 2007 which (Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 2007) has increased to 10 million in 2008 (Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 2008). The expert Samuel Turcotte (Lehu, 2007) claims that ‘product placement isn’t about sales; it’s about brand awareness’. Aiming on increasing sales and making the customer aware of one’s product, marketers should not try to disturb the player’s word but enhance it. Examples like World of Warcraft show that those players or subscribers are out of advertiser’s reach. Today in generally things have changed as product placements are part of many games. Depending on the setting and the kind of placement, many products found their way into the games. Whether BMW in car racing games like for example Need for Speed or ordinary products like Axe deodorants and Airwaves chewing gums in Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, most products that appear in the games are products that surround gamers and non-gamers daily. According to a study conducted by Nielsen BASES and Nielsen Games on behalf of in-game advertising network IGA Worldwide, 82% of gamers react positively to contextual In-Game Ads (Androvich, 2008). Results of this study showed that of consumers with the strongest opinion about in-game ads, both positive and negative, over 70% felt the ads made them feel better about the brand. They felt more favourable toward the brand and it made them more interested in the brand. Ultimately they believed that the ads are for innovative/cutting edge brands. More than 60% of these most opinionated customers feel ads do not interrupt their attention while experiencing the game. Also, the ads catch their attention and make games more realistic as well as the brands shown in the games are promoting relevant products. According to Lockergnome (2007), most of today’s computer games give the impression being made for men. An industry report published by IBISWorld (2008) reveals that women and older adults are the new driving force behind the success of the video games industry. According to IBISWorld (2008) it is also claimed that today, more and more women begin to play action games. Today in general the consumer research on product placements has focused on attitudes towards the practice and the effectiveness (Nelson et al., 2004). 2.4 Gamers’ attitude towards product placement in computer games Advertising placements that mimic real-world ads – such as billboards in sports or racing games – are generally accepted by gamers because they have perceived to add to the realism of the game (Thompson, 2006) which is also in accordance with Nelson (2002). He claims the research on consumer attitudes to in-game product placement shows that participants were in the main positive about practice and did not perceive any disruption in the experience of the game used in the study. As already mentioned above, brands should be used as enhancer of the virtual reality (Mediaedge, 2005), some participants of the study just mentioned reported that product placement enhance the realism of the game as well as it would add value to the gaming experience (Nelson, 2002). The argument that consumers are more positively disposed towards brand placements relative to more conventional forms of advertising is also supported by research investigating consumer’s attitudes to product placement in other media (Nebenzahl and Secunda, 2003). They also found that product placement was related favourably by 70% of people going to the cinema, extensively higher than ratings for pre-movie advertisements. As attitudinal surveys and focus groups showed, questioned consumers generally find product placements to be acceptable. They even said that it would enhance the value of the media as well as the entertainment value (Nelson et al., 2004). On the other hand, some of the polled consumers, in most cases women from countries like the U.S., Austria, France and Singapore are not that positive about the acceptability of ethically-charged products. They claim that such things like guns, cigarettes or alcohol in media would be targeted at children (Nelson et al., 2004). According to information from PRNewswire (2008) women do also play computer games with that kind of content like action games or shooter. So it depends on the attitude of the individual and the kind of placement used in the media. In most cases when guns are placed in a computer game, it target adults (PRNewswire, 2008). In Germany for example, it is controlled by law what kind of games need to be censored or not. All this is the executed by an institution called USK. If a computer game is not checked by the USK, it is not coming out. And if it contains explicit violence and language, it may only be sold to adults which is from 18 years on. 2.5 Brand Equity and Social Trust Many customers buy needed goods by habit, are drawn to purchase by promotions, or simply do not pay much attention to which brand they buy (Walshe and Fearn, 2008). Therefore it is important for marketers to draw customers’ attention, convince them to prefer their product blindly and make them to trust in the product. Brand equity is depicted to be known by Yoo and Donthu (2002) to create customers’ blind preference for a brand over its competing brands. Brand equity also increases the company’s value by affecting the decision making in terms of merger and acquisition, stock market responses and the extendibility of a brand name. Brand equity measures most of which have long been used by marketers but which are only now being brought together as single intangible asset which in accounting terms, is brought forward at the start of the period and carried forward to the next (Ambler, 1997). As long as the marketers don’t do anything dreadful, traditional brand leaders will stay brand leaders. This can also be seen in the fact that the brand leaders in the 1920s were mostly the leaders 60 years later (Wurster, 1987). Brands with lower rankings normally hold their places. Ambler (1997) claims that the awareness is cognitive, as is our knowledge of a brand’s functional performance characteristics and price. Attitudes towards the brand are primarily affective. Most essentially, making use of regularly purchased brands is likely to be merely reinforced by advertising. Believing in a product blindly requires people’s trust in the company. To comprehend the importance of trust a definition of trust will now follow. ‘Trust is one of the most important synthetic forces within society’ (Simmel, 1950). Trust is needed to gain customers’ blind preference for a brand. Customers that trust in company’s products as well as in its established brands will buy these products in the future. Referring to this, for marketers it is an essential factor, that trust is built. This signifies that trust is controlled mentally. Ambler (1997) claims that as long marketers are engaged with what changes customer’s behaviour, mental stages of the customer cannot be ignored. While the customer perceives that a product represents a high profit, it is probable that the product will be bought in the future. Convincing a customer to consider another the own product to be better is very hard for a company to. If a product is favoured by the customer, then good arguments are needed by the marketer change the preferred product. By looking at features like customization in computer games like in many car-racing games it can be seen, that product placement can be implanted differently. Even the design or the car’s power can be adjusted. Very famous for that is for example the car racing game series Need for Speed. By implementing such features the player identifies himself with the brand, which in real life can results in an increased brand loyalty of the respective player. The virtually perceived quality then may have an impact on the gamer. A possible indicator of future performance might be the perceived quality which has been identified as a key; possibly it is the key (Gale, 1994). However, as we do not know the correlation it is hard to forecast which seems probable between perceived quality and trust. In a computer game, the perceived quality in a racing game may lead the player to believe the car he is driving with is unbeatable, but it is questionable whether it can be trusted in that car to be equal in reality. These examples show that the options of marketers in the game segment are enormous. Brands simplify the process of making decisions by acting as ‘summarized knowledge’. A brand reduces the need of the customer to undertake the time-consuming activity of ‘researching’ products (Morrison and Firmstone 2000). 2.6 Subliminal Messages in Media As already mentioned above, subliminal messages also appeared in media or still do. Embedding material in print, audio or video messages so faintly that they are not consciously perceived is called subliminal advertising (Rogers and Smith, 1993). Besides the attention, the capacity and the perception of in game advertising, there exists another theory. A lot of scientists say that subliminal messages do leave a mark on the brain. By using brain scanners, they found â€Å"we often record images we are not even aware of having seen† (Jha, 2007). Researchers from the University College of London proved on a psychological level that invisible subliminal images catch the brain’s attention on a subconscious level. Using a method called fMRI, this study investigated if it is possible images which the customer is not aware of – but ones that reach the retina – have any impact on activity of the brain in the primary visual cortex, part of the occipital lobe (Smith, Lewis, 2007). The brain of the subjects did act in response to the object even when they did not know about having seen it (Smith, Lewis, 2007). At a basic level, people perceive messages differently when they are presented in the form of an advertisement than when they are written in the form of other types of communications as the same literal content can result in different consumer perceptions (Rotfeld, 2008). The research of the University College of London tackles the theory of William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher (1842-1910), who once said: â€Å"We are conscious of what we attend to, and not conscious of what we do not attend to† (Subliminal Advertising Leaves Its Mark On The Brain, 2007). Within several tests scientists found out that there are situations where consciousness and attention don’t accompany each other. Nevertheless, the research also indicated that when the brain doesn’t have enough capacity to attend to an im age, even subconsciously perceived images simply do not get realized (Subliminal Advertising Leaves Its Mark On The Brain, 2007). According to Rogers and Smith (1993) many people in the public have heard of the term ‘subliminal advertising’ and know about its importance. They also claim that as the public understands the basics of the concept they believe it not only to be used by advertisers but also to be successful in influencing brand choice and purchase behaviour. Zanot (1984) examined 38 studies of American attitudes to advertising from the 1930s to the 1970s. He found that these became increasingly negative over time, perhaps reflecting increases in the volume of advertising, the growth of consumerism and rising concerns about the social responsibility of business. According to studies conducted by Zanot, Pincus and Lamp (1983) after a survey of 209 adults in Washington, DC it was reported that 81% had heard of subliminal advertising and that respondents believe that subliminal advertising is widely and frequently used and that it is successfully in selling products. According to Rogers and Smith (1993), these results were confirmed in separate surveys conducted later. They also conducted an own study to prove whether the results are still valid or not, and it was proved again. Heyder et al. (1992) compared attitudes across several East and Western Europe countries. They also found more positive attitudes in Britain than in France or West Germany, although Czecheslovakia emerged as the country best disposed to advertising. Attitudes were however less favourable in Poland, Hungary and East Germany. 2.7 Effectiveness of Product Placement Brand Recognition and Recall Even though advertising through digital games appears widely in popular print media and industry magazines there are only a few empirical studies attempt to explain the effects of the ads that target game players. Today the increasing brand awareness is amid the most ordinary goals advertisers have when product placement in games is used. Often it is assumed that the amount of people playing a game is equal to the number of people that actually pays attention to brand names turning up in the game. As a game player is busy playing the game then this is what occupies primary attention. It is important for advertisers to find out whether their brand name is being noticed at all since brand names displayed in a game are not the focal object of attention (Lee and Faber, 2007). According to Lee and Faber (2007), â€Å"most cognitive psychologists believe that attention is the progress of allocating cognitive capacity to an object or task†. Furthermore, researchers frequently focus their attention on two issues: on the one hand on the selective aspect on the other on the intensive aspect. Lee and Faber (2007) also claim that the intensity of attention relates to the amount of cognitive capacity. This intensity of attention is allocated to a particular task as well as the selectivity which refers to selective allocation of cognitive capacity to a certain task in preference to others. Beside the attention, there is also the capacity that should be thought of. As the player is attentive it might be that the brain does not have enough capacity to handle all the absorbed information. To explain both, the selective and intensive aspects of attention, the limited-capacity model of attention was generated (Kahneman 1973). This model makes use of the assumption that ones entire attentional capacity is limited at any moment (Kahneman, 1973). Even with a strong attention, it might be difficult as there is no capacity to handle the mass of information. Kahneman (1973) claims that the entire capacity that is allocated to execute all actions can be split into two parts: on the one hand there is capacity devoted to the primary task and on the other hand there can be regarded spare capacity (Kahneman 1973; Lynch and Srull 1982). According to scientists, spare capacity attends to secondary tasks and other surroundings. They also say that the capacity that is used to perform the primary task cannot be used for the secondary task as the more capacity is used for the primary task, the less is available for the person – in the context of this paper the gamer – to accomplish any secondary task. Both, primary task capacity and spare capacity are central to understand the how in-game ads are working in terms of product placement on brand memory. According to Lee and Faber (2007), playing the game is the primary task that players perform. Processing advertisements embedded in the game is then the secondary task. As more attentional capacity is needed to apply oneself to playing the game, the less will be accessible for handling brand information. Similar to industry measures, academics have relied seriously on memory-based measures. Examples for those can be aided and unaided recall, recognition, and sometimes on acceptance, reported usage behavior and perceived ethical factors related to product placement (Gupta and Gould, 1997; Karrh, Firth, and Callison, 2001; Morton and Friedman, 2002; Russel. 2002; Sargent, 2001). Andrà © Sonder, New Business Director of IGA Wordwide, subsidiary of Microsoft responsible for co-oper sations in matters of advertising, provides reasons for computer games as advertising medium. On one hand, he claims, that investigations showed that in particular men between the age of 18 and 34 have a six to seven times higher cognition while gaming than while watching primetime TV-Shows. In-game ads are for that reason very effective as the player is very concentrated and ads can be better recognized than in television. (Aichinger, 2006) Displaying brand identifiers in the games may be comparable to product placements in TV shows or in films in various ways. However in other ways, playing games is in some way different compared with watching a movie or TV program, and the force and consequences of product placements may, as a result of that differ. The major difference may be in the scope of involvement and its effects on the resources concerning attention. While gamer interact with the game actively by managing and influencing what happens in the game a ‘TV watcher’ passively just ‘watches’ television or movies (Nicovich 2005). Compared with movie or TV product placements, noticing a brand and remembering it may be more difficult in the game context to a considerable degree. This might be due to its immersive nature (Chancy, Lin, and Chancy 2004; Nicovich 2005). To create a to some extent on-of-a-kind situation for in-games this distinction may also interact with other variables. According to a study to investigate the effects of product placement in games on brand recall which was analyzed by Nelson (2002), it was found that 95% of the participants were able to recall the brand of the car they drove during the game spontaneously. Nevertheless, on the other side, recall declined to 0% after a five-month post-play period. 2.8 Effectiveness of in-game ads studies There are a few studies around product placement concerning computer games. The British company Bunnyfoot offers the op

William Shakespeare, :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare, April 23 of 1564 the beginning to the path of great literature and performance, the birth of William Shakespeare, whose creations have affected everyone for generations. |He was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. William was the third child out of eight from John and Mary Shakespeare. The names of the other seven children are Joan, Margaret, Gilbert, Joan, Ann, Richard and Edmund. William’s grandfather, Richard Shakespeare was a whittawer and a dealer in agricultural commodities. Richard died 52 days after the birth of William.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William attended the Stratford Grammar School. Even though the record-of- attendance have been lost it is no doubt that he truly attended the school, since the school was built and maintained expressly for the purpose of education the sons of prominent citizens. Because William attended church, the other obvious education is the exposer to either the Geneva Bible or the Bishops’ Bible or King James. It also brings him to the influence of The Book of Common Prayer. No one knows exactly how long William remained at the Stratford Grammar School but it is believed that an assistant of John Shakespeare forced him to withdraw William from thence. His later education must be the ways of business he would have learned around his father’s shop. Spectators said they have seen William give speeches to the calf before slaughtering them for his father’s leather work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William married Ann Hathwey in 1582. She was also from Stratford where William was born. Even though she was eight years older than he, their marriage was a success. Ann was three months in pregnancy when they were wed. Their first born Susanna was born in May 26, 1583. After that they had twins named after life time friends, Hamnet and Judeth Sadler. There wasn’t much talk from William about his marriage except some of his literature showed apparent resemblance of him and his wife. It seemed he was regarding him and his wife in some plays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were no records of Shakespeare’s activities after the birth of his twins. We called it the lost years. It was believed that at those periods he was on refuge from a sort of crime. There wasn’t any hard evidence on his activities but there were many theories to fill in the time of activity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mark of William Shakespeare’s rise in London theater world in 1592 on a famous literary by Robert Greene which clearly refers to William Shakespeare.

Black History: Facts and People

The way black people have been represented throughout history has affected the way black people are treated in the American society, their values, and their identities. Yes, black men were treated disgustingly and horrifically, but Black women have been the most overworked and unappreciated people and had to fight much, much harder than black men. â€Å"†¦sex and race are sued to ascribe to people a different rank, role and status, so long will they have a deferent historical experience from that of the dominant group† (pg xix Lerner) Many of these women were brutally raped and were seen as property rather than human beings. They were not allowed to receive any sort of education due to fear of them escaping. As women in the United States started to excel, black women had to fight harder to get the same level of appreciation. Race was always seen first before anything else even for women. The primary motivation for establishing black women studies as well as the key obstacles to its establishment as an academic discipline was done by fighting for respect in academia, their rights as women, and their struggles. Black women have significantly progressed in academia over the years. During slavery, black slaves were not allowed to learn or teach education and if caught could be severely punished or killed. Black women in academia were not taken seriously or be acknowledge for their work even if it was astounding. In the book by Lerner, â€Å"Black Women in White America,† black women's name and publications would be buried deep to ensure never to be found. â€Å"The papers of outstanding figures such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Charlotte Hawkins Brown, and Nannie Burroughs are scattered in various libraries, have never been edited nor even partially published.† Their published work was never read or even on the shelf due to the fact a black women had written them. The political position in America of black women has been historically tormented. Black Women's Studies emerged because of the failure of Black Studies and Women's studies. Black feminism in particular, needs to be perceived as intersectional and not just one-dimensional. Black women had to prove their work much more in a white-male dominated field where they're continuously questioned for every detail. â€Å"No white historian can ever again approach his work without recognizing that there were black people in the American past whose contributions and whose viewpoint must be considered†¦there is a female aspect to all history, that women were there and that their special contributions to the buildings and shaping of society were different from those of men† (pg xix, Lerner). It wasn't until black women like Lucy Terry Prince or Phyllis Wheatley, â€Å"the second woman to publish a book in America, in 1773.† (pg 4, Hine and Thompson)Black women who were teaching this course had to be extremely courageous and due it being a committed and passionate job. Even though black women studies was growing it was only until the 1970s where it was seen as an actual study. Facing the racism of white women and the sexism of black men, black women had to fight the fight on their own. At the end of slavery and the civil war, many white women still had the racist mindset of not wanting to be inclusive with the black community. Women's rights were a huge conflict in the early 1900's. The women who were fighting for equal rights to vote would be seen as Feminist. Feminism advocates women to be seen as equals to everyone else. The only problem with this was that even though they called themselves â€Å"feminists† they were not fighting for all women, just the white women. In 1920, Congress passed the 19th Amendment granting American women the right to vote. This excluded black women from voting meaning they were the minority in the country when it came to voting, they were the only group not allowed the same rights as everyone else when it came to voting. It was until 1960 when black American women were granted the right to vote through the African-American women's suffrage movement. Women in America were split up into groups due to their race that allowed white women to be more superior to black women regardless of their same biological makeup. Black women have consistently â€Å"had the lowest status in society- the economic and social-political status ranking order consisting of white men, white women, black men, black women.† (pg xxiii, Lerner). They were always the last ones to be considered because they were seen as caretakers, cooks, cleaners, or objects during slavery whereas a black man was considered to be better equipped based on their physical strength. Many black women were forced to become â€Å"mammies† to their white masters. Their jobs were to take care of the family, cook, clean over their own families. Many of the black women were put into the Fancy Girl Market, which was a sexual slave market. During slavery, black women were not allowed to be educated and would have to succumb to their everyday life of obeying their masters. They formed their own black communities in the salve quarters where they taught their children, especially their daughters, how to behave and follow rules when it came to their white masters. Their sense of closeness and kinship helped strengthen their bonds due to the lack of opportunities they were allowed. Black women were also selfless when it came to protecting their own families by obeying their masters in hopes of their children not being sold. Their protection over their own families is ironic because they were trying to give their love and affection to the families they worked in order for their own families close.