Inventories Research Essay

1. SUMMARY In this research, group members are required to choose any company from bursa Malaysia and study about their inventories, during this coursework, we mainly focus on the general study about inventories and the inventories of the company- Ajinamotoâ„ ¢ 2. INTRODUCTION Inventories refer to a company’s merchandise, raw materials, and finished and unfinished products which have not yet been sold. These are considered liquid assets. There are various means of valuing these assets, but to be conservative the lowest value is usually used in financial statements. The LCM rule is applied. 3. CONTENT * Types of inventories There are mainly 5 types of inventories for Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ raw materials (eg. Raw husk monosodium glutamate etc.) amounting to RM34,445,868, consumables amounting to RM 4,536,693, work-in-progress amounting to RM2,374,316, and finished goods amounting RM21,445,751. These are the closing inventories for Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ * Manufacturing process. Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ uses green technology such as bio-cycle technology which improves amino acid, maximizing the usage of natural resources, such as water and energy, the above diagram show the manufacturing process. The main raw materials are raw husk. * Valuation methods Ajinomotoâ„ ¢ uses weighted average method. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition are accounted for as follows : * Raw materials : purchase costs on a weighted average method. * Finished goods and work-in-progess : costs of direct materials and labour and a proportion of manufacturing overheads based on normal operating capacity. These costs are assigned on a weighted average method. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less estimated costs of completion and the estimated costs necessary to make the sale. * Amount of Closing Inventories The amount of closing inventories is RM 62,802,628. This can be acquired from the financial statement of Ajinamotoâ„ ¢ of year 2011 4. ADDITIONAL CONTENT * FIFO(First In First Out) is an asset-management and valuation method in which the assets acquired first are sold, used or disposed of first. FIFO may be used by an individual or a corporation. For taxation purposes, FIFO assumes that the assets that are remaining in inventory are matched to the assets that are most recently purchased or produced. * Weighted Average Cost is a method of calculating Ending Inventory cost. Inventory valuation method used where different quantities of goods are purchased at different unit costs. Under this method, weights are assigned to the cost price on the basis of the quantity of each item at each price. It is also known as AVCO It takes Cost of Goods Available for Sale and divides it by the total amount of goods from Beginning Inventory and Purchases. * Taxation is a means by which governments finance their expenditure by imposing charges on citizens and corporate entities. Governments use taxation to encourage or discourage certain economic decisions. For example, reduction in taxable personal (or household) income by the amount paid as interest on home mortgage loans results in greater construction activity, and generates more jobs. 5. Conclusion After done this research, my group members and I increased our knowledge and comprehension about the company’s annual report. This can help us more understand about the accounting for inventories. This are useful for us as a future accountants. We get more extra information that can’t learn from the class. It also increase our leadership and communication skills with other group members. Besides that, before start our assignment we also learn how to build up a group successfully. We put a lots of efforts and times in order to make this assignment more wonderful. We sincerely hoped that our efforts is worthful. 6. Reference http://www.ajinomoto.com/about/history/index.html http://www.ajinomoto.com/about/ http://www.ajinomoto.com/ir/stock/info.html http://www.ajinomoto.com/ir/financial/financial_summary.html http://www.investorwords.com/2589/inventory.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/taxation.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/weighted-average-cost-of-inventory.html http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inventory.asp#axzz1fSj9WniT http://www.ehow.com/ehow_radlinks_ads.html?term=Inventory+Example&channel=biz_business_management,text,suggested5&google_rt=ChBOiX2xAAdWbgriAMoOXR1TEhFJbnZlbnRvcnk http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/crd/localgov/Second%20Level%20pages/topic_inventory_tax.htm

Play and sportsmanship Essay

In my opinion a sport in which levels of fair play and sportsmanship have totally been abandoned is American Football. With the amount of spectators the game gets, the coaches and chairpersons of the clubs like to put out their best players every game. Regardless of their physical health. There are countless times that players have been seen to go off with horrific groin strains and shoulder injuries, but the medical staff and coaches put them right back onto the pitch doped up with huge amounts of pain killers and drugs that will affect their performance. If a player of a sport that has the nature of American football, (being very physical and tough) goes on the pitch to play hyped up on pain killers then are clearly going to perform differently to that of a player who plays with spirit and strength. The other thing about this sport is the way in which each team is always reading the lips of the other teams coach to see what their next move is about to be. Surely if the oppositions know each others moves all the time then the fairness of the sport is lost. Today’s top athletes all use dietitions, health advisors and personal trainers to become the best at their particular sport. They all use performance enhancing techniques to improve their sporting ability and performance in competition. But is this against the Sportsmanship/Gamesmanship theory? With the production of illegal performance enhancing dugs being more and more common in the sporting environment of today , the governing bodies for the particular sports are having more and more trouble detecting whether athletes have used illegal stimulants to help them to train. To conclude. In today’s sporting world. Nations will use sport as a platform for political power. This can sometimes lead to sportsmanship being thrown aside and made way for other styles of gaming like gamesmanship. In my own opinion sportsmanship is still strong in many of today’s sports and athlete’s, but if the values of sportsmanship are not upheld, by the governing bodies of the sport, such as the FA then the sport is likely to become worse to be a spectator of and less fair to play in. If the bodies who govern the game do not maintain strong levels of justice and fair play within their own rulings then players will become less sportsmanship and the levels of the sports fair play will drop.

Bank of America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bank of America - Research Paper Example It trades across various asset categories to companies, governments, organizations, and people in the globe and it company more than 150 countries of the globe. This essay seeks to analyze the talent management program that leads to the organizations success, the strengths of the program. It will analyze how they lead to achievement and opportunities for improvement. In addition, the essay will also create two effective approaches to meet the talent management challenges in the future. The talent management program used for the bank’s success was the use executive on-boarding approach. The bank accommodates international and local executives every year. This program is designed to help new executives learn to be facile in navigating the bank’s large matrixes organization. It also helps them in building and leveraging networks of relationships for career success and implementing the company initiatives. The bank utilized a multifaceted approach to establish at the execut ive level and the managements support to the development program of leadership. The development of the bank leadership executive activities include management, selection, on-boarding, performance, executive talent upgrading process, process of experiences development and compensation. The organizations culture promoted by Lewis encourages conduct, trust, teamwork, and accountability at all management levels. The company deeply emphasizes individual performance and believes that today’s performer is not necessarily tomorrow’s performer. To develop an effective on-board program, the firm has created a program that is categorized in to four phases, which includes the selection phase of the program. The company does not only use expertise and experience to select executives but also leadership ability and cultural fit. An executive lacking leadership and interpersonal skills as well as cultural sensitivity is perceived to cause derailments, (Bank of America, 1994). To elim inate this, the company uses partnerships with executive search firms to get the ideal candidates for the positions. The people in the recruitment position must have an understanding of culture and leadership requirement of the bank when called upon to do an executive level research. Job design is also another consideration made in the selection phase, whereby the stakeholders are given clear job specifications before they are given a mandate to conduct the executive research. This allows the hiring executive not to make a blind selection of the new employees. Additionally, the LD partner is vital to the selection phase as he serves as the main talent officer in the process of recruiting and on-boarding. This individual usually has between ten to fifteen years of experience and with a leadership or organizational development background. This experience gives them an increased level of credibility in the eyes of the executive and the stakeholders. After executives have been selected, this is the entry phase and the most critical weeks on a job are the initial weeks on hiring. The new executive is expected to accomplish dour vital outcomes; develop business acumen, learn organizational culture, master the roles of leadership demands and build critical organization relationships. The new executive must be able to learn customer and financial information in regards to his/her new roles. He /he must also set realistic goals

Philosophical JournalDiary reflecting one's own thoughts and opinions Essay

Philosophical JournalDiary reflecting one's own thoughts and opinions upon several topics. Details below - Essay Example In the above context, the opposite choice group feel that the decision of assisting in euthanasia is intention to kill. In contract, the pro-choice groups argue that the favouring of euthanasia is due to intention of achievement of good and comfortable death. In that context, the opposite choice group feel that the sanctity of life is above the autonomy of one's decision to live or die. While discussing about the dividing line between acceptable and unacceptable measures, Somerville Margaret (2002), argues that both sides are wrong as the dividing line lies somewhere in the middle of both the arguments. The balance of the arguments lies in the right of competent adults to refuse treatment, which is painful. The refusal for the treatment lies in the fact that it is their right to have a treatment that can relieve pain even it shortens the life. Hence, the argument void of right of refusal of the painful treatment does not give a clear logic about the Euthanasia irrespective of pro and anti arguments. 1 While discussing pros and cons of Euthanasia, one have to consider the modern Hippocratic Oath that is taken by medical students from 1964. In that, it is clear that a doctor should avoid the twin traps of over treatment and therapeutic nihilism. Here one can quote Louis Lasagna about nihilism, which is a doctrine that declares nothing can be known or communicated. As Louis Lasagna is against therapeutic nihilism, the doctor should consider the views and intentions of patient regarding Euthanasia and should think combining them with medical ethics. In addition the modern Hippocratic Oath on web site of Nova Onlilne (pbs.org) states that, the duty of the doctor is to tread with care in matters of life and death. The doctor has to act responsibly in case of saving and taking life but with all humbleness and awareness. The above factor supports the idea of taking a life of patient on moral and humanitarian grounds without acting on god. Hence, as per the responsibility of the modern Hi ppocratic Oath, the administrations can allow Euthanasia in special cases that are according to norms prescribed in legislation. The modern Hippocratic Oath also states that "The doctor should treat a patient keeping in mind a sick human being but not a fever chart of a cancerous growth". The above quote states that the doctor should follow moral values and more technical while prescribing and emotional while treating. However, the emotions should not dominate the treatment, but they should guide the doctor up to the level maintaining morality about addressing the concerns of family and economic stability of the patient. According to above concerns in modern Hippocratic Oath, the pro choice groups can argue that the Euthanasia is reasonable if it relieves a patient from his painful sickness in the context of medical science is unable to treat him or relieve him of pain. Even in that inevitable situation, the question arises about the poor patient who suffers and cannot avail the benefits of medical science. In the above context, the role of

Summarizing the article with your opinion what AtlantiCare was working Essay

Summarizing the article with your opinion what AtlantiCare was working toward and if it would be successful - Essay Example AtlantiCare intends to become a successful ACO through coordination of healthcare and clinical outcomes of the patients it serves (HFMA, 2011). Secondly, the organization will work closely with its partners as well as the providers in order to establish defined clinical standards that will be appropriate and of high quality. Lastly, the organization intends to create new partnerships with some of the skilled nursing facilities and other providers as well as rehabilitation centers in order to create networks of high value. According to the vice president Schieder, AtlantiCare will move towards the accountable care by putting the patient experience at the lead of its goals. She is also of the idea that an organization cannot succeed if the people it serves are not at the centre of its framework. AtlantiCare has three key strategies to achieve its goals. One of the strategies adopted by AtlantiCare is launching a new lab for learning (HFMA, 2011). It will start a medical home from scratch citing that it is easier than transforming the existing ones. The reason is that the delivery, as well as the payment systems, will be redesigned simultaneously. The new model has the name â€Å"advanced primary care†, and according to the vice president, it has proven to be a better care. Another thing with the model is that it is linked to a few ED (emergency department) visits and hospital admissions. The second strategy involves identifying the patients’ needs. AtlantiCare recognizes the fact that patient experience is indeed important when it comes to growth and market share. The organization hopes to use surveys and focus groups to seek the patient inputs to help it create its ACO. It, however, identifies some challenges in monitoring its effectiveness in meeting all its needs. The last strategy is about using the satisfaction data in other new ways (HFMA, 2011). It involves directives to the physicians to standardize the

Module 4 - SLP THREAT ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 4 - SLP THREAT ANALYSIS - Essay Example This follows the fact that terrorism activities are often targeted at specific places and sites, and not general areas. This development has led to curiosity and the need for research on what exactly champions the terrorists’ thinking and planning of their activities. With reference to choice of targets, it is evident that terrorists do not make random choices like those witnessed with freedom fighters or liberation movements. Rislien & Rislien (2010) have observed that, â€Å"†¦one may add the indispensability of ideology, not only because it provides the initial dynamic for the terrorists’ actions, but because it sets out the moral framework within which they operate.† (P. 134). There seems to have been some drastic changes in the terrorists’ targeting policies; traditionally, those terrorists that had political ambitions would target major installation to attract media attention and general loss of life. For this reason, commercial centres were least spared. Currently, various considerations are put into perspective by terrorists; (Dugdale (2005), points out that, â€Å"First, they do a risk analysis† (p. 1). Terroriats make careful considerations of the potential benefits they stand to get from the target; this is often in contrast to the amount of resources and potential for success. In the same way, Rislien & Rislien (2010), explain that, â€Å"Academia thus claims that terrorism is rational and has a clear singleness of purpose† (p. 134), something that underpins the need for an understanding about their target choices and decision. It is this analysis that leads to ear marking of places as â€Å"soft† and â€Å"hard† targets by the particular terrorist groups. In this analysis, a â€Å"hard† target is that which has considerable security and may make the terrorists be easily intercepted in the course of their actions. On the other hand, a â€Å"soft† target is that which has few security considerations

Ethical Issues in Business DB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Issues in Business DB - Essay Example American culture however, does not recognize friendship in business. As a result, practices such as personal contacts towards monetary appreciations in transactions are considered corrupt and are unethical. A practice may therefore be ethical in one community but unethical in another community because of the involved cultural differences that establish ground for ethical considerations (Ambler, Witzel & Xi, 2009). Taking part in corruption in an international transaction may therefore be ethical or unethical, depending on a person’s culture. An individual whose culture considers corruption ethical will therefore assume its morality in an international business transaction while a party whose culture considers corruption unethical will assume a corrupt activity in an international business transaction to be immoral. Corruption in international business may also be legal or illegal. This is because of difference in domestic laws that may allow for or prohibit corruption (Czinkota, Ronkainen & Moffett,

Finance Course Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Finance Course Work - Essay Example A company needs capital to run the normal proceedings of a business and in order to gain such capital; organisations tend to approach financial markets. Such financial markets not only help in generating the finance to run an organisation but it also helps in many other ways. A financial market is a place whereby sellers and buyers meet each other in order to trade financial securities and commodities. The transactions within these markets are usually carried out in such a way that they reflect the supply and demand (Kapoor et al, 2012). Companies which usually trade within the markets tend to keep a record of their business and such record is usually kept within financial statements which are prepared by the financial managers. There are various financial statements but the most important one include: the statement of comprehensive income and expenditure (SOCIE), the statement of financial position (SFP), the statement of changes in equity and the cash flow statement (Kapoor et al, 2012). SOCIE gives an insight to the profit/loss which an entity may have obtained as a result of their operations within a given period of time. The SFP gives the year end assets position of an entity while the Cash flow statement provides a summary of the cash that has rotated in order to carry out the business operations (Madura, 2011). Companies tend to plan their operations in advance and also keep a record of that in order to keep a budgeted record, any deviation within the budgeted and the actual result is scrutinised if it is huge and the aberration is properly addressed to avoid the discrepancy in the future (Kapoor et al, 2012). The concept of time value of money is simple: the value of money in recent or in current terms is going to be higher than in future terms. This can be further explained that money if earned now would have more value than if the same amount

How Effective Are Educational Programmes in Improving Self-Management Dissertation

How Effective Are Educational Programmes in Improving Self-Management for Patient with Type 2 Diabetes - Dissertation Example Subsequently, the comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon with the virtues of critical review of selected literatures can also reveal new evidences inspiring objective-oriented thinking on the research problem (Aveyard, 2010). 2.0. Background/Justification of the Review ‘Type 2 diabetes’ is considered as a chronic disease which causes strong negative impacts on health inhibiting the life span of the sufferer. ‘Type 2 diabetes’, represents majority of diabetes patients in the world population, being one of the most common long-lasting endocrine illness. Medical observation depicts that in the short run, ‘type 2 diabetes’ may lead to physical weakness, while in the long run it can also cause sightlessness and renal failure among others. There are several strict guidelines adviced to be followed by the sufferers of type 2 diabetes in order to stay healthy and fit. As stated by Cilia (2007), continuous observations revealed that in spite of stri ct clinical guidelines for diabetes control, almost 60% of diabetes patients do not satisfy suggested clinical objectives, resulting in the increasing number of medical cases confirming ‘type 2 diabetes’ syndromes. With increasing occurrences of ‘type 2 diabetes’ among people, it becomes quite likely that more patients will have a need for rigorous controlling of health in terms of proper dietary habits, exercise and medication. It has also been observed in this regard that the actual challenge for ‘type 2 diabetes’ patients is to balance the short run and long run life quality against the stress of regular and thorough self-management (Cilia, 2007). In recent times, various suites to educate the patients about self-management have become the focal point among healthcare researches... The paper stresses that self-management education has often been argued to possess considerable significance to control patient’s responsive behaviour to the treatment procedure which in turn tends to improve the health outcomes. Diabetes is often referred as one of the most complex diseases. In order to accomplish best results for treatment of this disease, patients’ must have good knowledge about personal health situation. The patients must therefore follow a vigilant self-management approach to cope up with the problems of ‘type 2 diabetes’. The ethical approval for the research will be taken from university, and also from any specific committee relevant to the research as well as hospital authorities. This report makes a conclusion that health education includes aspects such as beliefs, empowerments, inspirations and level of capability to deal with the issues of diabetes. Health education is also considered as a key to assist patients to accomplish self-management in long run complex circumstances. Therefore, it can be affirmed that the proposed review shall help to determine how important health education is for managing chronic diabetes and ensuring a healthy lifestyle for the patients. This study will be thus based on the philosophy that education can provide additional support to the diabetes patients and benefits them in terms of better medical consequences. It can provide better management of psychological issues along with enhance their readiness to change bad habits such as smoking, unhealthy eating and drinking among others which tends to increase the ill-effects of such diseases.

Loss Prevention Policies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Loss Prevention Policies - Assignment Example A fraud hotline will greatly enhance the system by allowing for anonymous reporting. Introduction Modern organizations are faced by an ever-increasing threat of fraud, both internally and externally. Fraud continues to increase alarmingly with each passing moment recording a new or even more sophisticated form of fraud. The situation is made worse by an increasing adoption of information technology that networks and connects the information infrastructure in businesses. Hard economic times are also tempting employees to engage in fraud. This paper will review the benefits of a comprehensive fraud control program and give a conclusion at the end. Literature review Question One A Fraud is a big problem even for large established global corporations; consider the case of dell Computer Corporation. In 2007, it had to redo its financial reports between 2003 and 2006 due to a deliberate manipulation of figures to meet quarterly budgetary targets. John Rigas, former chairman and founder of Adelphi Communications and his son Timothy who served as the CFO (Chief financial Officer) at Delphi were convicted for massive fraud in 2007 (Stanek, 2007). This illustrates the extent of fraud in organizations where even the senior leaders who are supposed to be role models actually initiate and commit heinous acts of corporate fraud. However, a comprehensive fraud monitoring system can come in handy to help detect and therefore help an organization reduce its risk to fraud. Comprehensive fraud monitoring involves the use of technology that incorporates forensic techniques to analyze data and information paths regularly to detect anomalies, to detect fraudulent acts while there is still time to stop or mitigate the fraud. An effective fraud monitoring system is difficult to achieve by using the existing requirements and regulations necessitating the need for a comprehensive fraud monitoring system especially where senior management can be involved in fraud. A comprehensive fraud m onitoring system continuously and constantly monitors happenings in a company’s financial system tracing the movement of cash, which can be used to trace back or detect potential fraud. A comprehensive system for fraud monitoring leverages the use of sophisticated methods of statistical analyses to thoroughly scrutinize a firms’ financial and other activity for acts of fraud, errors of omission and commission and misuse of the firm’s resources. It automated the process of analyzing a company’s financial data and information (Stanek, 2007). An automated system reduces direct human involvement and further helps shield the system from manipulation as well as improves the operations of the organization making them even more efficient (Schaeffer, 2008). An automated system also lowers the cost of hiring manpower that will be involved in the monitoring and auditing the financial and asset monitoring systems of a company. One B A comprehensive fraud monitoring s ystem will benefit the firm in numerous ways as discussed below; The assets of this organization will be protected and safeguarded against arbitrary misuse and even theft by staff; physical assets as well as non physical assets such as intellectual assets. The system limits access to sensitive information to data that can be sold by an insider to competitors for instance. Access to financial resources and money is also controlled further increasing data security. It will also help reduce the chances of fraud by detecting

The Big Five model Essay Example for Free

The Big Five model Essay The Big Five model is an inventory tool which is very helpful in assessing one’s personality by evaluating five dimensions; these attributes are conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Although these five dimensions alone cannot explain the human personality in its entirety, psychologists have agreed that these dimensions do encompass both heredity and environmental factors. This model has proved to be quite effective in evaluating potential candidates for jobs since the measure of its dimensions can be correlated to performance outcomes of various job roles (Tyler Newcombe, 2006). Conscientiousness is a dimension of the human psyche which emphasizes the need to be disciplined and goal-oriented. Individuals who have a high level of conscientiousness are usually very duty-bound and organized. Openness to experience is a personality trait which influences the extent to which an individual is open towards new and abstract concepts and thoughts. Individuals who are well-endowed with this trait are very creative and outstanding in problem-solving due to the ability to expand their horizons. Extraversion is an inclination to socialize and interact. People who posses a high level of extraversion are out-spoken and tend to easily mingle with new people. Agreeableness is a quality of being accommodative of other people’s actions and opinions. People who posses this quality are cooperative and work extremely well in groups. Neuroticism is a tendency to frequently and suddenly experience negative emotions such as depression, anger, anxiety or fear (University of Wisconsin). Neurotic individuals exhibit unpredictable behavior and mood swings due to the inability to keep their emotions under check. Samantha’s decent score in openness to experience signifies her willingness to experiment with new ideas. Her moderately high score in agreeableness implies that she is quite unbiased, fairly analytical and does not take things personally. Samantha’s excellent score in conscientiousness suggests that she is a very dependable and self-motivated person who is capable of gaining the respect of her associates. Her outstanding scores in extraversion vouch for her dynamic personality and indicate that she is free of inhibitions. She also has low neurotic scores, which implies that she is a calm and composed person. All these are indispensable qualities of a good leader and would certainly make Samantha an excellent manager. Reference: Tyler, G. and Newcombe, P. (2006). Relationship between work performance and personality traits in Hong Kong organizational settings. International Journal of Selection Assessment, 14, 37-50. University of Wisconsin. (n. d. ). A Quick Overview of the Big Five Model of Personality. Retrieved 28 January, 2007 from http://www. uwmc. uwc. edu/psychology/big_five. htm

The Virtual Team Leadership Management Essay

The Virtual Team Leadership Management Essay This review of research examines the process of leadership, Types of Leadership, Functions of leadership, Conflict models, Leadership performance, effectiveness of leader, Leadership outcomes, Self-management in Virtual teams, working skills, Building trust and cooperation through technology adoptions in Virtual teams. Based on the review of the literature and research many hypotheses were proposed regarding the functions of leaders in virtual teams to manage, reduce the conflict and to motivate team members for sustained outcome. Introduction In the discussion of large companies and organizations out sourcing and branching out their teams typical to reach the goals, productivity and consumer satisfaction. To manage organizations turn over throughout all the braches is impossible which have different people working on same task from different places with different timelines and schedules. So, leading these teams need special requirements and skills apart from general organizational behavior. This study concentrates from both leader and team perspective to resolve conflicts and increase teams performance. The use of virtual teams is common now-a-days and more than half of the professional employees are believed to work or already have worked on virtual teams during their career (Martins, 2004; as cited in Wakefield, Leidner, Garrison, 2008). These virtual teams were dispersed geographically and culturally in order help the organization with round the clock work and to allow efficient employees from all over the world. Thes e virtual teams may be used as RD, customer service, etc. Since the virtual teams have great diversity than collocated teams these virtual teams tend to have more conflict within the team. This literature review will briefly describes the challenges faced by virtual teams, types of conflicts involved in the teams, The types of leadership procedures followed by the team leaders in order to reduce team conflict and gain trust, confidence and manage motivation in the team members. This review also deals with effects and causes of the performance and outcomes of the leadership practices. Literature General Idea and Surface Findings The idea of Virtual team Leadership centers it attention over managing the teams, Reducing conflicts, Building trust, cooperation with in the team so that it can perform better and achieve more outcome. In acquired literature researchers concluded to different types of hypotheses which yields the required outcome from the team. The teams mutual awareness can be disrupted by removing the common factors like location , culture between the team members (Cramton, 2001). The electronic interactions among teams members that may be misunderstood and it is not surprise that team conflict is pressing problem in virtual teams (Armstrong Cole, 2002 Hinds Mortensen, 2005). The studies found many type of leadership skills and approach towards team conflict to increase the trust and motivation between team members. Virtual projects often include collaboration of multiple organizations or employee-client relations through which leaders lost ability to influence the workers and hence use of info rmation and communication tools to regain their lost influence for achieving better performance from the team. In some situations for virtual teams will see emergent leadership skill where the active team members will lead the teams according to the situation of the project or proposed work. There is different leadership behaviors proposed by various studies the main leadership skills exhibited by these team leaders will be transformational, transactional and participative behaviors. Some of the studies proposed the success of the team is not only due to a teams efforts but it is collective individual influence the performance of team. The challenges of the virtual team settings can be overcome enhancing the leader ability which can be achieved by the change in management principles (Levasseur, R. E, 2012). Leadership in Virtual Teams Virtual team is a group of individuals who are geographically dispersed, cross functional and they work on highly interdependent and collaborative tasks. For leading these virtual teams will need special leadership skills and practices, the authors like Rosen, Furst, Blackburn did intense research and found nearly six types of leadership practiced performed by virtual team leaders, those can elaborated mainly as establishing and maintaining trust through use of communication technology, ensuring distributed diversity, managing working life cycle, monitoring teams progress, enhanced visibility, enabling virtual team members to benefit from collaborated team work (Rosen, Furst, Blackburn, 2006 as cited in Malhotra, Majchrzak, Rosen, 2007). For me leading virtual teams requires all the leadership and project management skills. The communication through electronically and in person is not same, because the authors stated that the Synchronizing efforts of geographically, culturally and technically diverse team does not happen magically and they stated that its hard to motivate and influence people electronically (Rosen, Furst, Blackburn, 2006; as cited in Malhotra, Majchrzak, Rosen, 2007). Challenges faced by Virtual Teams The virtual teams have different and greater challenges than the traditional workplace environment, The working lines will cross over geographic locations, boundries, cultures, networks and alliances. Since the virtual teams are very diverse, they have very unique set of problem rather than collocated teams. The virtual teams face the issues of trust, communication, goal alignment, shared purpose, skills, resource availability and role clarity (ONeill, Lewis, Hambley, 2008). Virtual team has to overcome the following external and internal challenges. External factors are outside the control of a virtual team and the team has to find a way to manage them for example, like distance, time and technology. Internal factors are those will be within the control of a virtual team, the team can directly influenced or interact with these factors like culture, trust, communication, relationship and leadership (Friedrich, Bleimann, Stengel, Walsh, 2011). The Leadership is the key for any virtual organization setting, the right competencies, attributes, trust and rapport, and management of virtual workers and teams. Elective leadership is the key factor that influences success in a virtual organization. The Maintenance of cultural identity, brand of employment and employee-manager satisfaction requires consistent and regular communication (ONeill, Lewis, Hambley, 2008). Leadership skills are necessary for virtual work. According to ONeill, Lewis, Hambley,(2008) generally leadership included in virtual teams a strongly focuses on relationships, emotional intelligence, a track record and innovation, a focus on process and outcome, and the ability to give positive and constructive feedback. In the virtual organizations, the role of leaders tends to shift from one of controller to one of coordinator or coach and it is necessary for organizations to promote trust and working relationships (ONeill, Lewis, Hambley, 2008). Diversified Leadership Roles in Virtual Teams According to Chen, Yang, Tsou (2008) the diversified leadership roles influences both leadership effectiveness and team trust. There is some factors influence the teams effectiveness they are team trust, propensity, leadership effectiveness. The researchers also found that the trust mediates the relationship between both leader and team effectiveness. Synchronous ICT ( Information and Communication Technology) tools can be different in terms of social presence and information richness and text, audio- and video-conferencing systems are classified under these tools. From e-mails, discussion forms, and bulletin boards, to workflow, scheduling and other project management applications the ICT tools vary in wide ranges. The success of the virtual teams is clear purpose, goals always should be measurable, appropriate number of individual in the team, establishment of guidelines, communication, decision making and processes. The behavioral complexity theory clearly stressed on importance of leader in improving their team effectiveness by their diversified leadership roles (Kayworth Leidner, 2002; as cited in Chen, Yang, Tsou2008). The roles of leadership are categorized in to three types they are, interpersonal contact, information processing and decision making. The type of challenges that such as ICT-enabled communications, cross-cultural communications, global logistical design, technological complexity are more prevalent in the virtual teams. Diversified leadership roles, leadership effectiveness, and propensity to trust all positively influence team trust, in turn will contributes to two types of indicators of team effectiveness, performance and satisfaction (Chen, Yang, Tsou, 2008). Building Trust and Cooperation Project managers are the key people for making their teams successful. When the group was set virtually they go to face to face meeting using communication technology, but these meeting will affect both cost and time for travel during the project (PMI 2004). The researchers had a doubt in mind that weather effective management of information and communication technology offer VT leaders to regain the lost control over influence and performance over their virtual or not. Here the researchers proposed research model to find out how technology adaption will relate to the building trust and cooperation in virtual teams. The descriptive findings of study suggests that it is important to adopt to the new technology frequently, According to Thomas Bostrom (2008) The leaders failed to recognize technology adaptation although they recognized inherent tradeoff . Information and communication technologies usage failures will have a domino effect on productivity (Thomas Bostrom, 2008) this mea ns if the leaders fails to influence the team members and lost control over management power the whole team mechanism will lose its balance. Hence leaders can affect the teams outcomes by managing adaptions of their team information and communication technology. Project managers doing virtual projects must look at the big picture and not micromanage, (Fung, 2005: as cited in Jedd, 2006). Leader of virtual team should ensure standards are met and they should intervene with the teams activity when there is a problem, like noncompliance of standards. They get to know the each and every team member and learn how to motivate them and communication preferences. It is suggestive that the people are happier when they left alone to do their work and team empowerment was positively related to process improvement and customer satisfaction vice versa. The project leaders first they should understand clearly about the project and its objectives they are working on. After that they have to determine the essential skills required for the projects to select the subordinates. Trust is developed through guidance, not by micromanaging (Jedd, 2006) Leadership in Self-Managed Virtual Teams In most of the organizations virtual teams are typically project based with a limited time of life span and little deliverables. These teams are self-managed and do not have any designated leader to lead those teams (Yukl 1998; as cited Carte, Chidambaram, Becker, 2006). In this electronic context, might be better viewed as a collective effort distributed among team members characterized by the sharing and rotating of leadership roles (Zigurs 2003; Avolio 1999; as cited in Carte, Chidambaram, Becker, 2006). Although teams typically do not have any leader assigned these teams will have external supervision. Within such teams we can find diverse qualities of leadership behaviors exhibited by team members. The study was conducted on 22 virtual teams which had under graduate students of three university, this experiments had diffusion threat and time threat to external validity. Because of the communication exchanges among high performance teams characterized by high level of directive leadership and the behaviors exhibited among the teams mate during leaders were not persistence in accordance of time. For me this research gives a better idea that, the Article focused more on identifying emergent leadership behavior. It found that leadership behavior was strongly associates with performance of these self managed teams. Author suggests that shared monitoring and concentrated producing behaviors were more likely to exhibit by high performing teams. Subordinates exhibit the leadership behaviors early in teams life which are more predictive of success than those exhibited later during the process of emergent. The two likely bi products of the shared commitment to high quality teams outcomes are better relational development and greater trust among team members (Carte, Chidambaram, Becker, 2006). In order to ensure the self managed teams are more successful both individual and collective leadership behaviors plays major role. Model of Conflict, Leadership, and Performance in Virtual Teams Virtual teams are common in large organizations now-a-days and more professional employees are believed to work or already worked on virtual teams during their career. These virtual teams were dispersed geographically and culturally in order to facilitate the organization with round the clock work and to allow qualified professionals from all over the world. These virtual teams may be used as RD, customer service, etc. Since the virtual teams have great diversity than collocated teams these virtual teams tend to have more conflict within the team. This study mainly concentrates on the model of conflict, Leadership and the performance of virtual teams with conflict. The leaders are subjected to Quinns (1984) model of leadership and evaluate their performance with respect to conflict solving skills. The data for this study was collected from the virtual team members employed by a major U.S telecommunication corporation and virtual team members representing five firms in Korea. The firms and their location were chosen based on researchers personal contacts. The test measurements was based on hypotheses of different models like The monitor role and task conflict, Use of technology mediated communication, leadership role and team conflicts, Coordinator role and process conflict, Mentor role and relational conflict, Facilitator role and form of conflict and leadership roles and leader effectiveness, Leader effectiveness and team performance. All the teams are subjected to participate in electronic communications likes emails, group discussions, messaging, and video conference. The teams leaders will virtually guide the teams to resolve the conflicts between the team members. This research is motivated by interest in understanding how teams leaders can be effectively manage the conflicts with in virtual teams. Factors such as cultural diversity, geographical dispersion, few face to face meeting, increased complexity gave the momentum to virtual teams and it is critical to identify the factors contribute to virtual teams success. The leaders involving with more transformational, directive and participative behaviors of leadership approach had the greater team success. The internal leadership roles will improve in managing the teams conflict and leadership with these traits will be a better leader and the team will perform well in virtual environment. Transformational and Transactional Leaders Ruggieri, 2009 stated that the effects of transactional and transformational leadership on groups in which people interact in a virtual manner were analyzed and specifically the level of satisfaction and perception of the style adopted were evaluated. Most of the leaders who conducts transactional leadership will perceive the relationship as an exchange process between leader and follower (Bass Avolio, 1993; as cited in Ruggieri, 2009). Namely there are four principle factors that are categorized under transformational leadership: charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass Avolio, 1993; as cited in Ruggieri, 2009). The results suggest that the both transformational and transactional leadership perceived equally positive figures, Transformational leaders are intelligent and sensitive in many aspects of the leadership roles. Some of the leaders are oriented more towards the developing the relations of the subordinates rather than focusing on the goal of the team, these are known as charismatic leaders. They concentrate more on future and development of the workgroup. Since these leaders are involve in developing the personal relations and future minded they tend to induce more positive attitude in subordinates and motivates them to goal achievement. Apart from being intelligent these leaders are stuffed with more creativity and originality. On the other hand, some of the leaders are more tasks oriented rather than focusing on building relations; they are self esteemed and authentic about the job definition (Ruggieri, 2009). There are almost similar negative adjective coming to these two types of leaders. The Multilevel regression analyses indicated that leaders mode of care reasoning was more positively related to follower reports of transformational leadership but not transactional leadership (Simola, Barling, Turner, N. 2012). The transformational approach had many dimensions of the leadership process. Generally, the process involves initiating, developing and carrying out changes in organization. Transformational leadership includes nourishing and empowering followers. Since the transformational leaders tend to show charismatic behaviors, these leaders can become role models to their followers. Transformational leaders encourage others and celebrate their accomplishments ( Simola, Barling, Turner, N. 2012). By the end transformational leadership induces positive attitude in minds of followers making them feeling better overall and increase their contributions for achieving common goals. The transformational leadership is more efficient than the other type of leaderships due to its authentic factors like motivation and trust, where other types of leadership will have some sort of inconsistency and trouble maintaining the relations with the subordinates. The Effects of Leadership Style and Communication Medium The authors explained the process briefly with their outcomes and effects on the subordinates in the teams. Actually leaders leading the teams virtually by using communication technology as a medium where the subordinates are geographically isolated. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the leadership and sort out the best possible approaches of the leaders to achieve success for the teams; this may include vast variety of approaches. Since all the teams are handled virtually the communication between the team members will be in different kinds like text messaging, emails, video conference, tele conference , discussion and many more (Laura, Thomas, Theresa. 2007). This study gives a better idea how the leaders are approaching the team members and type of interactions using by them to get the job done. Study was the conducted with 30 graduate and under graduate students from the department of psychology acting as participants in six experimental conditions. Purpose of this study to evaluate the leaders by conducting experiments in all possible conditions and ensure that all the leaders are successful with the teams and typically time taken to complete the task on individual basis and as a team According to my opinion the success of the team depends up on the type of style leader is using on the team mates and their interaction, since all the communication is virtual there are lot of constrains taken in to consideration like time, schedules, cultural and thought barriers, technical issues and every aspect will affect the teams performance (Laura, Thomas, Theresa. 2007). Conclusion Finally, leading virtual teams requires all of the leadership and project management skills. The communication through electronically and in person is not same, Behavior of the emerging leader is associated to the performance of the self managed virtual team. Leaders can affect the teams outcomes by managing adaptions of their team information and communication technology. The two likely bi products of the shared commitment to high quality teams outcomes are better relational development and greater trust among team members (Carte, Chidambaram, Becker, 2006). In order to ensure the self Transformational leaders are intelligent and sensitive in many aspects of the leadership roles (Ruggieri, 2009). Leading virtual teams requires all the leadership and project management skills. The communication through electronically and in person is not same, because the authors like Malhotra, Majchrzak, Rosen, 2007 stated that the Synchronizing efforts of geographically, culturally and technicall y diverse team does not happen magically and they stated that its hard to motivate and influence people electronically. According to my opinion the success of the team depends up on the type of style leader is using on the team mates and their interaction. The change in management principles can enhance the leaders ability to overcome challenges that virtual teams present (Levasseur, 2012). Hopefully, as a result, leaders everywhere will better understand what to do to enhance the performance of their virtual teams. The internal leadership roles will improve in managing the teams conflict and leadership with these traits will be a better leader and the team will perform well in virtual environment.

Looking At Personal And Professional Development Social Work Essay

Looking At Personal And Professional Development Social Work Essay The purpose of this essay is to offer the reader examples of my understanding in personal and professional development. The discussions of two ethical dilemmas, offered by comments on ways of dealing with them are included. It will further conclude with an evaluation of my support and supervision during the practice placement setting. My self-awareness resulted through childhood difficulties. In the gradual process of maturing I have become more conscious of my inner feelings, attitudes and thoughts, and through relating more to myself I have become a well-informed person. Individuals entering Social Work choose this career because similarities exist with other people, service users. However, to practice I should not dwell on personal experiences (Lishman, Adams, Dominelli Payne, 2009), and should move into brushing up my skills. Having natural ability is good, but in an ever changing world and reform of Social Services growing new awarenesss and understandings is good. The process of professionally developing derived from learning my own internalisation, absorption and the way in which I accepted a certain situation. For example, I observed another worker meet a mother and during the gathering of information she delivered her questions and explanations clearly. This was acceptable to the mum; she appeared relaxed and had no need to ask for further confirmation. My approaches seemed complicated and unsatisfactory at that point. I wanted change and felt motivated to try this workers method. In a different meeting conducted only by me I adopted the approach and incorporated it within my interaction. This was a better way to conduct an interview. I relayed my experience to the manager and through speaking to him I finally realised the connection between personal and professional development. In realising that I gained professional development through observing another I found myself wondering where else I could develop. Without trying I went into another colleagues office to pass a message onto her and by chance I noticed an aspect of her office organisation to be a better than mine. In an unconscious and instant comparison I realised my office organisation was not as well set out. My rearrangement of office resulted out of an unplanned observation. I was not only able find inspiration in others, but to find it when not expecting too surprised me. In adopting this better way I was able prioritise my workload by viewing what was in front of me, plus by pinning my notes on a desktop board I could write my notes without wading through paperwork. Enhancing my professionality through conscious and unconscious internalisation processes it has allowed me to replace the once known displaced professional work related knowledge and skills to a newer and even more superior professional work related knowledge and skills. By growing I have learnt to reducate myself and by updating my beliefs and values I can be proactive, overcome faults, weaknesses and insecurities. Part 2 Social Workers work relentlessly toward enhancing all peoples wellbeing, offering a large focus on meeting needs and empowering the vulnerable, oppressed and those suffering from poverty. Modern day professionals must observe environmental forces as they can make, and add to pressures already endured by clients. To end discrimination, oppression, poverty and social injustices Social Workers implement a Code of Ethics throughout all working practices. The embracing of core values, ethical principles and ethical standards assists Social Workers to make decisions and behave accordingly when faced with ethical dilemmas. During the practice placement a child required support. He was experiencing behavioural problems resulting from sexual abuse. To provide support for this child I was required to meet with the mother and do a screening report. During contact I presented an information sharing form, an explanation of the service, its purpose and usefulness. This was to inform the mother of her rights and allow for an insight into the charity, and its services. The child was asked to be absent as I wanted to get the mums perspective on things. In gathering background information Mum disclosed that her son was partially blind and required specialist Braille books. On return to the service and disclosure of my findings to the Children Service Manager I was told we had no reading materials suitable for this type of disability, therefore the provision of services could not be offered. It was felt that we could not meet his needs and a more specialised service should be found. This did not sit well with me. The child was being discriminated against because we did not have specialised materials. To reduce any possible conflict I let the conversation die down before approaching the subject again. Meanwhile, I thought of ways in which the child could be included within the service. In another meeting with the CSM I recommended that we ask to borrow a selection of materials from the mother. The CSM agreed. In a phonecall the mother agreed. She was elated. The child went on to have non-directive play and I was later informed that through use of the books brought from his home he had felt comfortable enough to disclose some of his bad memories. The service believed this to be a worthwhile cause and later purchased materials, staffs have signed up for new training. Another instance, Social Workers may often be oppressed within an organisation. I found myself within such a scenario. My placement began with an allocated Practice Teacher/Link Supervisor and our relationship begun to develop positively. Sadly a staff member died and shock hit the team. I briefly knew the woman, but for others they worked closely with her for years. I distanced myself and waited on the grieving process beginning, but it never appeared. Healing from a loss involves coming to terms with the loss and the meaning of the loss in your life (Family Doctor.org, 2009). The effects of losing the valuable team member and friend caused my Practice Teacher/Link Supervisor to withdraw from the group, she became quiet and non-engaging! I had to learn, but with no experience in working with children I too found myself lost in the process and did not know which way to turn. The Practice Teacher/Link Supervisor was my first port of call and whilst empathising with her situation I had approach her. She acted coldly, therefore any further approaches made me feel awkward and stressed. This continued for a fortnight and something had to give. In understanding the relationship between and among people change is sometimes required. I met with the CSM and aired my concerns. I believed I was not being treated fairly, nor respected. The CSM emailed all staff with the Five Step Programme Personal Life Changes. I put my head down and got on with my work, but still the atmosphere did not change. If anything the once friendly attitudes from everyone changed. Being in this situation I fully understand how one person can influence others and how group dynamics can change. The conflict was not resolved and for workers to forget their roots in practice says a lot. This example has taught me to remember the Code of Ethics when working with clients, but also to incorporate them into my work when working with colleagues. Part 3 Planned informal and formal supervision did not occur during the infancy stages of my learning. It can be argued that poor management was to blame. Once structures were in place it was time to explore my practice, my time to learn, a time to facilitate my growth. During preparation for supervision a requirement to select experiences for discussion scared the hell out of me, and in not having supervision previously what would I take? Armed with a planned agenda I entered what seemed to be the war zone (1st formal supervision). Encouraged to discuss my experiences I slowly began, during explanations there appeared to be an unsettling period. My own experiences were surfacing which resulted in an awkward fidgetiness. When quizzed I denied the reason. I did not want to appear incapable of my job. I breathed deeply and moved on. Confidence returned and I finalised my explanations. Achieving what could have been disastrously resulted in my first attempt to separate personal from professional experiences. Standing as a professional in other supervisions I reflected on experiences. It was like looking in a mirror, strengths and weakness became visible. Strengths were praised, but weakness required work, one weakness meant the return to literature. Applying knowledge to practice is one thing, but to understand what that knowledge is can be another thing. To apply my understanding I put my evidence into written pieces of work. During the review of my work it led to judgement. I was told work situations can be complex at times, but only if you allow them to be. Keep things clear and simple. My recognition of this phrase meant that I was being coached to identify thought processes and move from being ignorant to understanding. Feedback like this was good because not only was I learning to reflect, but I was also motivated to alter my future thinking. The contribution of support and supervision proved to be valuable, despite it being offered half through the placement. I recognise that self-awareness is part of the reflective process. To have my values and beliefs heard allowed me to become a happier worker; it also allowed change in the way I practised. With the willingness to accept positive and negative feedback I was able to adapt the way in which I thought. Nearer the end of placement it benefitted my practice and reduced the amount of support that I once required. To progress in a professional manner I will take forward all feedback and my skills developed during supervision. The important thing to capture is the experience and to learn from it. I will look at the bigger picture and through evaluation I can break down my strengths and weakness, and in recognising my weakness I can self as a better Practioner. This process has helped me to achieve a rewarding experience, and one I am keen to continue with into practice. It can benefit not only to me, but clients and colleagues also.

costa rica :: essays research papers

The population here is approximately 3.6 million. It’s attached to Central America and is south of Honduras and north of panama. Costa Rica is situated between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The country’s economy is based on agriculture, electronic exports and tourism. Coffee has historically been the country's most important crop. The banana is the second most important export crop, with vast plantations covering parts of the Caribbean lowlands, but there is also significant land dedicated to such things as pineapples, sugar, oranges, rice, cattle, hardwoods and ornamental plants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have seen many beautiful national parks here such as the Manuel Antonio national park that has 105 000 visitors per year. Another park such as Irazu has 104 000 visitors per year. Poqs has the most visitors per year with 175 000 per year. A lot of other things that have attracted me are surfing, snorkeling, and scuba diving. The nature here is spectacular with some amazing rain forests. I am even trying to learn a little bit of Spanish because that is the official language here. All year round there are numerous festivals, parades, fiestas with fireworks and even bullfights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were certain things that I didn’t like about the island and that is the poverty I see everyday. I hope there won’t be a storm while I’m staying here because lots of hurricanes pass by Costa Rica. Something you might not now about Costa Rica is that there are One million tourists here every year! Also, the new TV program Temptation Island 2 is being filmed in Costa Rica. I have been staying in the city of San Josà ©, which seems to be one of the more popular cities on this island. I am currently staying at an inn called El Rodeo Country Inn. It’s located only 5 minutes from the San Jose Airport and just 12 minutes from the city center. It was just built in July 1996; the El Rodeo Country Inn is a countryside village. There are amazing scenic views of the nearby volcanic mountains, vegetable farms, pastures and fields. Right now I am relaxing in the Jacuzzi and just came from the sauna and swimming pool. All the rooms are air conditioned with cable TV, hot water, bathtub and telephone, hairdryer and safety deposit box. Costa Rica's system of government is very similar to that of the United States of America.

Anomalies are Not Always Wrong :: Transexual Transvestite Essays

Anomalies are Not Always Wrong Transsexualism, as well as transvestism, has had a long yet obscure history. Bryan Tully in Accounting for Transsexualism and Transhomosexuality writes, "In Antiquity, Hippocrates considered transvestism in men to be an illness sent by the Gods" (1). His comments indicate how long transvestism has existed and been recognized. Tully also explains that the first report of transsexualism in medical history took place around 1853, yet neither transsexualism nor transvestism were scientifically researched until after the Second World War. Around the 1950's the most famous account of transsexualism, meaning an actual operation, occurred when a Danish man named George Jorgensen was surgically castrated to make him "feel" more like a woman. He also got his name changed to Christine Jorgensen. By using these accounts, it can be understood that these are not "new" fads, but true dilemmas that have their own history. Transsexualism and transvestism are variations from society's views of "normal" sexual behavior. These variations of the norm are explained as being disorders and are almost exclusively found in men. Transvestism is the activity of cross-dressing for sexual arousal from that specific object, whether it be clothing, shoes, or what. This can simply be called a fetish. The reasoning behind the few cases reported of female transvestism is explained in the following statement. "The culture apparently permits a greater range of fashion to women. The male transvestite wears female undergarments and uses makeup to achieve a female appearance" (Feinbloom 17). The only reason transvestites do not cross-dress for is to "transform themselves temporarily into an entity that more closely matches their own identity" (Brown 36). This is a description of why a transsexual would cross-dress. This is the difference between transvestites and transsexuals. Transvestites feel that their assigned gender is "correct" for them, and transsexuals do not feel that theirs is necessarily "correct". This mind and body incongruity of the transsexual has also been recently referred to as gender identity disorder (GID). Male cross-dressing can be divided into three groups: homosexual (attracted to the same sex) transvestites, heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex) transvestites, and bisexual (attracted to both sexes) transvestites. Homosexual transvestites dress for egotistical reasons or to be sexually attractive to other men. Heterosexual transvestites are compulsive cross-dressers. In the beginning their cross-dressing is purely for erotic purposes. "To use as a measure of the sources of genital pleasure and self-identity, both the homosexual and heterosexual male transvestite see themselves as male and would be most uncomfortable at the thought of sex-reassignment surgery" (Feinbloom 18). Anomalies are Not Always Wrong :: Transexual Transvestite Essays Anomalies are Not Always Wrong Transsexualism, as well as transvestism, has had a long yet obscure history. Bryan Tully in Accounting for Transsexualism and Transhomosexuality writes, "In Antiquity, Hippocrates considered transvestism in men to be an illness sent by the Gods" (1). His comments indicate how long transvestism has existed and been recognized. Tully also explains that the first report of transsexualism in medical history took place around 1853, yet neither transsexualism nor transvestism were scientifically researched until after the Second World War. Around the 1950's the most famous account of transsexualism, meaning an actual operation, occurred when a Danish man named George Jorgensen was surgically castrated to make him "feel" more like a woman. He also got his name changed to Christine Jorgensen. By using these accounts, it can be understood that these are not "new" fads, but true dilemmas that have their own history. Transsexualism and transvestism are variations from society's views of "normal" sexual behavior. These variations of the norm are explained as being disorders and are almost exclusively found in men. Transvestism is the activity of cross-dressing for sexual arousal from that specific object, whether it be clothing, shoes, or what. This can simply be called a fetish. The reasoning behind the few cases reported of female transvestism is explained in the following statement. "The culture apparently permits a greater range of fashion to women. The male transvestite wears female undergarments and uses makeup to achieve a female appearance" (Feinbloom 17). The only reason transvestites do not cross-dress for is to "transform themselves temporarily into an entity that more closely matches their own identity" (Brown 36). This is a description of why a transsexual would cross-dress. This is the difference between transvestites and transsexuals. Transvestites feel that their assigned gender is "correct" for them, and transsexuals do not feel that theirs is necessarily "correct". This mind and body incongruity of the transsexual has also been recently referred to as gender identity disorder (GID). Male cross-dressing can be divided into three groups: homosexual (attracted to the same sex) transvestites, heterosexual (attracted to the opposite sex) transvestites, and bisexual (attracted to both sexes) transvestites. Homosexual transvestites dress for egotistical reasons or to be sexually attractive to other men. Heterosexual transvestites are compulsive cross-dressers. In the beginning their cross-dressing is purely for erotic purposes. "To use as a measure of the sources of genital pleasure and self-identity, both the homosexual and heterosexual male transvestite see themselves as male and would be most uncomfortable at the thought of sex-reassignment surgery" (Feinbloom 18).

Ireland and Its Development Essay -- Irish Ireland Economy Essays

Ireland and Its Development 1. Introduction Ireland has faced extremely fast development in many industrial sectors during the last decades. This has not happened by accident and that is what made it for us an interesting case to study in more detail. The Irish government policy towards Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has affected in large extend to Multinational Organizations’ investment decisions into Ireland. The FDI is one of the main focuses through the paper as we see that they have had a major impact on the development of Ireland during the 80’s and 90’s. In this paper we will focus on three main areas. First area is a view to the historical development of the country from the mainly agricultural driven society in the 50’s to a highly developed industrial country in the 21st century. The second part of this paper will focus more carefully on the reasons why this development has been possible. We will go through some theory about government policy in attracting Foreign Direct Investments. The last part of this paper will focus on the company point of view of FDI. We will go through one company example and discuss this according to an introduced theory of companies doing FDI. With this paper the group wants to give the reader a more specific view to the fast and well-planned development Ireland has been able to reach during the recent decades. We hope that this view encourages the reader to take a closer look to the fascinating Irish culture and we hope that the reader will get some perception what possible tools a government has to attract foreign firms to invest in the host country. 2. Economic History 2.1 Overview Ireland will go down in economic history as the economic miracle in the last decade of the twentieth century. For most of the 20th century although, even well into the late 1980s, Ireland was in economic terms quite unsuccessful. Chronic unemployment led to large emigration flows and dampened entrepreneurial activity. The country’s economic situation eventually reached crisis levels because of the spillover effects of the two oil shocks of the 1970s and the high interest rates resulting from the United States’ anti-inflationary policies of the early 1980s. By 1988, the public debt exceeded 140% of Irelands gross domestic product. But the unemployment situation was also serious, emigration resurged, the economy stag... ...Donnell Kevin D.; â€Å"The economic transformation of Ireland-Underpinnings, Impact and Sustainability of the Rapid Economic Growth†; Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, 1998 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  OECD; â€Å"Knowledge worth the investment†, OECD 2003 (http://www.oecdwash.org/NEWS/LOCAL/oecdwash-jan2003.pdf) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Somers Michael J; â€Å"The Irish Economy†, National Treasury Management Agency, 2000 (http://www.ntma.ie/Publications/Parismay00.pdf) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Torkildsen, Erik et al.; â€Å"Ireland in the Global Market for Foreign Direct Investment-A study of Eight Norwegian Companies†; Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, 1996 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World Bank; "Social Policy and Macroeconomics: The Irish Experience", World Bank, 2001 (http://www.worldbank.org/transitionnewsletter/octnovdec02/pgs20-23.htm) †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World Bank; â€Å"Ireland: Participation in macroeconomic policymaking and reform†, World Bank 2002 (http://www.worldbank.org/participation/web/webfiles/ireland.htm) Internet sources †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.ida.ie †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.oecd.org/htm/M00008000/M00008465.htm †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.cso.ie †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.finance.gov.ie †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ei.html

Educating Rita and the Allegory of the Cave Essay

The film â€Å"Educating Rita† and the essay â€Å"the Allegory of the Cave† are based on philosophical ideas and problems connected with personal development, education and understanding of the good life. ‘Educating Rita† and the essay â€Å"the Allegory of the Cave’ portray personal development of people and importance of education, persistence and hard work crucial for success and self-determination. Thesis Both works portrays that only self-improvements and education combined with personal values will create a unique personality able to obtain social status and understand the world. Educating Rita’ and ‘the Allegory of the Cave’ discuss the role of persistence and hard work in education and learning. In the film, the main heroin would not be able to achieve success and change her personality without diligence and great desire to archive this success. Similar to the film, Plato portrays that persistence and desire to learn something new drive the personality. Thus, both works show that learning differences arise from different motives and personal traits, different goals and life expectations of the characters. Socrates questions: â€Å"And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the cave and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them? (Plato). In this case, thinking and analysis are the main tools which help the student to learn and develop new knowledge. For learners, one of the first and most basic steps to master new knowledge is to develop strong skills through practice and cramming. The works portray that a unique personality is coined by education and learning, knowledge sharing and continuous practice. ‘Educating Rita’ portrays that learning ensures that the knowledge is generated and perceived currently. ‘Educating Rita’ portrays that every person can improve her knowledge and receives good education in spite of her class location and background. Similar to the film’s theme, Plato says: â€Å"Whereas our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already† (Plato). It is important to note that in contrast to many other students who work hard for many years but fail to achieve their dream, the film and Plato’s essay describe that learning can shape any personality in a short period of time, but he/she needs long-life learning and education in order to to keep abreast of time and expend his/her knowledge. Both works, â€Å"Educating Rita† and â€Å"the Allegory of the Cave† discuss the important role of teacher and mentor in education and self-development. The role of the teacher is to motivate and inspire his pupil. In general terms, motivation in the pupil can be described as the direction and persistence of action. It is concerned with why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others, and why they continue with a chosen action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties and problems. The process of learning is closely connected with self-regulated learning. Plato comments: â€Å"He will then proceed to argue that this is he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world, and in a certain way the cause of all things which he and his fellows have been accustomed to behold? (Plato). In the film, this process is supported by strong personal commitment to work, life goals and hopes which have not come true. In contrast to ‘the Allegory of the Cave’ in the film motivation is concerned, basically, with why Rita behaves in a certain way. Personal motivation and life goals have a direct and positive impact on her self-direct learning. Her motivation can be describes as urges, aspirations, drives and needs of human beings direct or control or explain their behavior. Symbolically, for prisoners ‘light’ symbolizes ‘truth’ while for Rita ‘education’ becomes the light in her life. In sum, both works describe that our world views depend upon education, learning, and a teacher who supports and guides his pupil. Education is the first major step that increases personal values of everyone and creates new opportunities to succeed on the workplace. Learning is typical for people, because they see persistence and diligence as important qualities of a character and personal traits. Character Sketches Rita (Susan) Rita is a young (about twenty) working class girl (hairdresser) who wants to improve her life and continue education. She is marriage but her husband is constantly against her education. From the start it is clear from her bad grammar that she has a less polished education than the other students. At the start she is simply the instrument of Frank. Later she seems to have some pity for him. One sign of Rita’s development is her growing realization of how Frank cares about her. She is smart, brave and courageous to start a new life. To be so clear about one’s upbringing is a step in overcoming it. At the end of the film she becomes persistent, diligent and hard-working students. A diligent attitude to learning is the best way to prove that hard work and persistence can result in social recognition and high social status. Dr Frank Bryant Frank is a middle aged academician who achieved nothing in his life. He lack money and decides to teach working class students to earn for living. Frank combines the moral and social qualities of a gentleman. He is patient, sympathetic and kind. He inherits honesty; he is a reliable and sensitive, clumsy and inaccurate person. In his love for Rita, he shows that he has none of snobbery or egoism. His tact is evident in his treatment of Rita and in the delicate way he corrects her manners. Frank is, above all, a loyal friend who actively helps Rita in her attempt to change herself. Knowing how to work and motivate his pupils is one of the marks of a true teacher. Frank conforms to this ideal. His fine manners show that he is a gentleman at heart.

Black Is Beautiful Essay

When you hear the word black what comes to mind? Some individuals think of it as a color. Other may think of it as depressing, dismal, wicked, evil, or just a sign of hatred. My definition is the total opposite. The essence of the word black displays a strong feeling of prosperity, deliverance and all the characteristics of what us; the black people have overcome for many decades. Words can’t even describe how grateful I am to be apart of this dynamic culture. To me the word black describes a thriving culture of beautiful and unique individuals. Starting with the period of slavery the black race has suffered tremendously from harsh and cruel treatment, but we managed to overcome. The black race is responsible for the wide spread of many sub-cultures to the U. S. and around the world. For instance, in the 1920s blacks were playing jazz music in nights clubs around New Orleans. This type of music caught the attention of whites and soon spread to big cities like Chicago and New York, were there was frenzy for jazz music. In this point of time, hip-hop music has touch many people from around the world like: China, India, and even places like Kuwait. The people in these countries don’t only embrace the hip-hop music but they embrace this way of life. They go to extreme lengths; changing the tradition of how they were raised to talk, dress, and act. Pg. 2. I feel that we the black people are one of a kind in many ways. The black women are some of the most strong-mined women I know. They have this certain mentality about their selves that I just can’t get enough of. From the fullness of their lips to their nice shape hips, I adore the black women in every way. Black men are some the most athletic beings I know. I not saying that we are dominated over all races but, if you look at the NBA, NFL, and other sports like track blacks dominate in skill and numbers. At times being a man of this skin tone is hard due to stereotypes placed on the black race. We all steal, sell drugs, and kill at will. Despite these stereotypical insights that we receive from others that don’t fell the same about this beautiful race, we keep our heads up and strive for the best. Black is beautiful, no matter what anyone says. God creates all of his children the way he wishes; neither one of us are the same. We all are beautiful people no matter what race. It is just up to you to realize it.

Balloon Angioplasty Essay

Introduction: Angioplasty is a technique that broadens a narrow or congested blood vessel using a inflatable catheter. It is used to treat atherosclerosis (blood vessel impediments), and regularly made by an interventional cardiologist, a medical doctor with distinctive training in the handling of the heart, using invasive catheter-based measures. Angioplasty is frequently achieved as a minimally-invasive technique, where a stent is implanted into the blood vessel to preserve it open. A conceivable substitute to heart surgery, it has dependably been shown to diminution indications due to coronary artery disease and decrease cardiac ischemia. Procedure: 1. An introducer pointer is entrenched into the femoral artery in the leg. 2. A sheath introducer is placed in the opening to preserve the artery uncluttered and controller hemorrhage. 3. A controller drain is then strapped through the sheath introducer. Colorants can be inoculated through the guide catheter into the coronary artery to pinpoint and study the polluted artery using x-ray. 4. After reviewing the x-ray image, the cardiologist chooses the type of balloon catheter and plastic coronary guide wire that will be used. 5. The elastic coronary guide rope with radiopaque plastic tip is then introduced into the supervisory catheter and into the coronary artery. 6. Watching through x-ray imaging display, the cardiologist directors the flexible coronary guide wire through the coronary artery to the site of the obstruction. 7. When the stretchy guide wire reaches the obstruction, it is then strapped across the obstacle. 8. A hollow-tipped balloon catheter is then interleaved, using t he plastic guide wire as a conduit to the site of the impasse. At this point, the balloon is still collapsed. 9. After the balloon catheter spreads and is strapped inside the obstruction, the balloon is then exaggerated. Inflating the balloon increases the area about it and bandages the plaque accumulation (blockage). The exaggerated balloon also enlarges the artery wall. 10. A stent (wire mesh tube) occasionally is surrounded to keep the artery wall prolonged. The stent originally is implanted along with the balloon catheter, increases when the balloon is magnified, and left behind in the lengthened position as the balloon catheter is detached. For certain  people, heart disease cure can be accomplished without operation. Angioplasty is a non-surgical technique that can be used to open congested heart arteries. Stent appointment is another option that can be done throughout angioplasty. 11. The technique is achieved in the cardiac catheterization workroom by a dedicated cardiologist and a squad of cardiovascular nurses and specialists. Cardiac catheterization is achieved as part of angioplasty. Next, a sheath is implanted into an artery — regularly in your groin, but occasionally in the arm. A long, thin, hollow tube, called a catheter, is accepted through the cover and directed up the blood vessel to the arteries nearby the heart. A minor quantity of difference material is injected through the catheter and is cracked with an X-ray as it changes through the heart’s hollows, valves, and chief containers. From the cardinal movies of the difference material, the clinicians can tell whether the coronary veins are narrowing and whether the heart valves are active properly. There are abundant sorts of interventional procedures as below: Balloon angioplasty: During this process, a specially intended catheter with a small balloon tip is directed to the point of contraction in the artery. Stent:   A stent is a tiny metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to deliver support privileged your coronary artery. A balloon catheter, positioned over a guide wire, is used to supplement the stent into the lessened coronary artery. Once in dwelling, the balloon tip is exaggerated and the stent enlarges to the size of the artery and grips it open. The balloon is then collapsed and detached while the stent stays in dwelling enduringly. Over a several-week dated, your artery heals around the stent. Stents are usually placed during interventional events such as angioplasty to help retain the coronary artery exposed. Some stents comprise medication and are intended to decrease the risk of obstruction (restenosis). Atherectomy: The catheter used in this technique has a hollow chamber on the tip with an open space on one adjacent and a balloon on the other. When the catheter is introduced into the pointed artery, the balloon is exaggerated, assertive the window in contradiction of the fatty material. An edge within the cylinder alternates and shears off any fat that projected into the window.  The shavings are caught in a hollow within the catheter and detached. This procedure is recurrent as wanted to permit for better blood flow. Cutting Balloon: The cutting inflatable catheter has a singular balloon tip with small blades. When the inflatable is inflated, the razorblades are triggered. The small edges score the panel, and then the balloon wrappings the fatty material into the artery wall. Mechanics of Balloon Fabrication Angioplasty balloons, such as those described above, are fabricated by first designing a tube that is extruded in certain dimensions. This tube is then crystallized so that only a small length is left amorphous, and then the tube is free-blown into a balloon in a machine designed for that purpose. Lastly, the balloon is heat-set. All of these processes are carefully controlled in order to achieve a balloon that meets the necessary standards.

Thw Woman Who Had Two Navels

Characters Connie Escobar- the lead female character, was described by literary critic Epifanio San Juan as a sufferer of her mother’s estrangement from a world where unconfident males take advantage of women by violating them or by venerating them. Macho Escobar- a man who had an affair with Connie’s mother, a past incident that serves as an â€Å"umbilical cord† or â€Å"umbilicus†, a remnant connected to her present and future because of her refusal to leave the issue in the past.Manolo Vidal- is the embodiment of the Filipino nationalistic bourgeois who were once critical of the theocracy of the Spaniards but became transformed puppets and servants of these colonialists. Paco Texeira- was a survivor between the behaviors of the Monson and Vidal families, and also acted as Nick Joaquin’s â€Å"conscience†, an observer who could have penetrated the existing rituals and ruses. Concha Borromeo- she is the mother of Connie Escobar. Esteban Bor romeo- he is the husband of Concha Borromeo. Father Tony- A priest, and the brother of Pepe Monson.Pepe Monson- A horse Doctor and the brother of Father Tony. Doctor Monson- A former rebel hiding in Hong Kong to avoid postwar trials. Rita Lopez – The future wife of Paco Texeria and Business partner of Hellen Silva's painting shop. Hellen Silva- A owner of a painting shop. Author Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin A Filipino writer, historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaquin was conferred the rank and title of National Artist of the Philippines for Literature.He is considered most important Filipino writer in English, and the third most important overall, after Jose Rizal and Claro M. Recto. Joaquin was born in Paco, Manila, one of ten children of Leocadio Joaquin, a colonel under General Emilio Aguinaldo in the 1896 Revolution, and Salome Marquez, a teacher of English and Sp anish. After being read poems and stories by his mother, the boy Joaquin read widely in his father's library and at the National Library of the Philippines. By then, his father had become a successful lawyer after the revolution. From reading, Joaquin became interested in writing.At age 17, Joaquin had his first piece published, in the literary section of the pre-World War II Tribune, where he worked as a proofreader. It was accepted by the writer and editor Serafin Lanot. After Joaquin won a nationwide essay competition to honor La Naval de Manila, sponsored by the Dominican Order, the University of Santo Tomas awarded him an honorary Associate in Arts (A. A. ). They also awarded him a scholarship to St. Albert's Convent, the Dominican monastery in Hong Kong. Some of his awards are: Ten Most Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), Awardee for Literature (1955)National Artist Award (1976). Stonehill Award for the Novel (1960) Jose Garcia Villa's Honor Roll (1940) S. E. A. W rite Award (1980) Joaquin died of cardiac arrest in the early morning of April 29, 2004, at his home in San Juan, Metro Manila. He was then editor of Philippine Graphic magazine where he worked with Juan P. Dayang, who was the magazine's first publisher. Joaquin was also publisher of its sister publication, Mirror Weekly, a women’s magazine. He also wrote the column (â€Å"Small Beer†) for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Isyu, an opinion tabloid. Nick Joaquin SummaryIn the of the story, it started when Connie went to Pepe's place for consultation. The problem of Connie is how to remove her other navel. Because if she (if ever) give birth, where would the other umbilical cord be connected. Connie told Pepe the story about her child hood times. Pepe talked to Seniora de Vidal, and everything that Seniora de Vidal told Pepe exactly the opposite of what Connie told Pepe. Some things that Seniora de Vidal told Pepe, was that Connie only have a navel, her navel was not rea lly two. Also the age, which Seniora de Vidal said that Connie was just 18 years old.And she was not just got married that day, but she was married almost a year already. Pepe know that Connie hide from her after hearing that Seniora de Vidal ordinary that her father was in news and that controversies often comes when her father is in the government. Connie's mom told her not to be affected with the controversies. After that, Seniora de Vidal also told Pepe that her daughter likes Paco. Pepe knows Paco because they were classmates during they are in Grade School. After talking with Seniora de Vidal, Pepe went to Texeria's after.They talked and Pepe discovered that Paco was in Manila, he writes Mary a lot of letters about Connie's Mother. Paco was in manila with his band to play and sing in two different clubs, they had already signed contracts. Paco became interested with Manila, while Seniora de Vidal became interested with Hong Kong. The even talked an said, they would meet often and know each others countries. One time, Connie's mom was not around their house, and Paco met Connie. Starting that time, Connie started watching Paco and his band playing for the club. Until one they, there were few people fighting and one of them got shot.Connie was there and she was shocked. Paco with Connie went together to a Chinese Temple. Connie told Paco that she can talk to somebody else, Connie left him. After some weeks past by, Paco exited the club that he was playing for, and suddenly saw Connie's car in dark. They drove till they reach Paco's hotel. Paco went out of his hotel room and go away. After that happening, 2 days to be exact, Paco left Manila alone and went back to Hong Kong. Mary, Pepe, Paco went to the park and talked. After few hours, Mary went home ahead with her children.The two gentleman’s talk about Connie's two navel. They where wondering if it is true or not. After talking about it, Pepe went home while Paco was left in the park. When we came home, he saw his father who was supposed to be in Manila. His father was very unusual that time and cannot answer most of Paco's questions. Tony his brother and Rita, who he is engage to, went to Paco's house because their father was their. They ate together and his father went to his room earlier that other. They were all thinking what happened to their father when he was still in Manila.He wasn't able to answer their questions and he went to Hong kong earlier than what is expected. The only this he saw in the room was the dirty run that was full of dust. Pepe gave up of figuring up things and went away. in In the next chapter, Rita Lopez and Hellen Silva's painting shop. The phone rang and the person on the phone was Pepe and ask Rita to go to a dinner with Mary and Paco. Hellen told Rita it was sweet but Rita said, it was all Mary's idea. Rita wanted to go home and change clothes but Pepe told him that they will be going straight to Rita's shop.So Rita has to just stay in her sh op and not to change clothes. So they went to ride a ferry going to a Disco club in Tovarich. They went there to see one good band playing in Tovarich. Pete Alfonso went near them in the bar and talk to them. And ask a drink with them, Paco ask Pete Alfonso why there where no singer and pianist. So he answer and said they ran away and need a replacement. So Paco applied and was accepted to start the next day. Next, Rita asked Pepe to dance with her but Pepe told him he was too full to dance. Pepe ask someone who was siting across them awhile ago and said it was Vidal.After talking, Pepe ask permission to Rita if she can go to the balcony, Pepe went to the balcony to talk with Connie Escobar. Pepe went back to Rita and told them to go home first because he is going to talk to someone. So Connie Escobar drive Pepe very fast but Pepe said stop and went away. But after minutes pass by, Pepe went back to the car. Then Connie told Pepe stories and at last, the arrived at the hotel. Connie kissed Pepe on his cheeks and go to her room. But, Connie went back to Pepe and ask him to bring her to other places. Pepe ask her why and she said, because his husband is up their.Pepe told her, why should you get worried. Connie told him that Macho has other girls, the worst thing about it was, her own mother Concha de Vidal was the girl of his husband. Connie saw the letters of her mother to Macho. So Pepe help her and brought her to his wife's place. Connie ask Pepe to tell Macho that she was just sick, she don't like to go there. Pepe told that to Macho, Macho ask Pepe if Connie is alright, and ask him if he is a doctor, Pepe told him he was not a doctor. So Macho ask him to get Connie one, Macho was asking and asking Pepe where Connie is but Pepe didn't tell him because it was what Connie ask him to do.When Pepe was to leave Macho's room, Macho stop him and told the story of how he and Connie got married. Macho became emotional, while the story was on going. Macho's father wa s stroke and after a few days, Macho's father died. So Macho has to take care of their business and their â€Å"hacienda†. As Pepe went home, just daylight before Rita awoke. Rita didn't saw Connie in the sofa. The next chapter started when it was New Year in Hong Kong. Paco and his band perform in Tovarich. Everybody there was having a lot of fun. In the convent of St Andrew, Father Tony was planning to teach novices different languages.But he had a visitor, it was Seniora de Vidal. She told Father Tony that Connie was starting to invent stories. She knows that Connie hated her because she as Father Tony to convince her to go back to his husband Macho. After hearing the story, Father Tony was confused and felt very uncomfortable. After that, Father Tony when to the club to talk to Pepe, Rita, Paco & Mary. He told them everything that Seniora de Vidal told him, there Paco hated them more. Later that night, Concha remembers when she first met his husband Esteban Borromeo. A Handsome boy, a good painter, and an activist she fell n love with and who she married. After Esteban died, she met and married her latest husband, Mr. Vidal. That night, Concha ask Father Tony to go to her car. They talk everything about Concha's past and about Connie. Then Tony and Pepe went home and they saw Connie standing infront of their door. They try to talk with her, to forgive whatever her mother did to her. And try to start a new life, and told her she only have one navel. And it was just her imagination. Then Connie started to tease Father Tony and Pepe to look if she really has two navels.The next chapter is about what happen to the Connie's life. How she want to destroy her parents. How she hated her husband Macho and can't forgive him. How she sees the world as an evil world, trying to live in a make believe world. Connie can't accept to accept the really world. While Connie was on the top of the peak. She recalled everything that happened and felt hated that is ins ide her heart, her mothers and his fathers. She remember the times when she always says that her father and mother are bad, and not her. She felt soared but still, cannot accept the truth.After a while, she went to the Monastery. When she was in the Monastery and got inside, she wanted to talk to Father Tony but is was an older father who approach her. They had confrontation of what Connie really felt. The father showed her that she was bad. But whatever the Father told her, she always believe that she is not bad. V. Setting Nick Joaquin's â€Å"The Woman Who Had Two Navels† revolved around the upper middle class expatriates' consciousness during the American period of colonization. It portrayed every character's struggle to maintain their â€Å"selves† in a foreign setting like Hongkong.It can also be defined as coming to terms with the political consciousness during that period. The novel also contained mixtures of hatred, love, anger, insecurities, and sufferings th at manifest in the realities of life making the flow of the story more provocative and appealing to the audience. The title of the novel excited my curiosity; that's why it took me a long time to analyze and think the interpretations that I have to use to show its significance. The story started with Connie, a daughter of a wealthy politician. Connie portrayed herself as a person with two navels.Literally, when a woman has two navels, this means that she has two umbilical cords. The navel is the shortened umbilical cord – usually removed when a person is born. But it is not possible because if a person has two umbilical cords, he is a preternatural being – a mutant. Connie, pretending that she has two navels may refer to the â€Å"rebirths† that she underwent. The first rebirth was escaping from her mother's evil clutches since she was an unwanted child – always ostracized and continuously suffered from the ghosts of the past that haunted her.Let us not a lso forget her inability to deal with her life due to parental constrictions and the love affair of her husband Macho and her mother that made her feel miserable at some points in her life. The second rebirth refers to her awakening, herself realization and emancipation as a woman. She learned to face reality and accepted the truth. In my point of view, her reason why she pretended to have two navels is that she wanted to forget everything about her, to be different so that another personality will reside and dwell on her.