Business in China Essay

There are many cross cultural differences that would need to be taken into consideration if a US company were to expand into China. Language is an important cultural difference that has to be taken into consideration. It would be wise to consult a native speaker. Due to various dialects and local slang a translation of something would have to be understood by all and to not offend a particular market. An American advertisement in English would be understood by all of the US but a Chinese advertisement in one of the seven Chinese dialects would not be understood by everyone in China. An American advertisement or product info that is mistranslated could make it off putting to consumers or investors. The legal system in China is vastly different than in the US. Corruption is rampant in China when doing business and often times bribes are necessary in order to ensure that your operation runs according to plan. The legal system in China is more difficult to navigate and lacks neutrality as the China Communist Party is in complete control of it. The US legal system has more neutrality, transparency and it is easier to file court cases. Bribes in the US would be completely illegal and never permissible. Gender is another cultural difference between the US and China. Gender inequality in China has existed throughout history and just recently laws are being passed in order to ensure equality but discrimination is still experienced. Women are still expected to do all housework even if they have a job and they normally make less than their male counterparts. Although the situation is improving, males are more favored in business dealings. A US company would need to be hesitant in sending a female executive to China to do any new dealings as Chinese companies might not be as comfortable compared to if they were dealing with a male. B The safety of products in the US is very different as compared to China. China is known for their cheap goods but they come at a health cost as low quality standards often lead to toxic or unsafe products. Many US companies outsource their production in order to lower costs and US products are often  recalled due to lead or other chemicals being found in the products after they have been purchased by the consumer. In the US this would not happen due to high industry quality standards and regulations. In China companies must strictly implement their own safety standards and monitor that they are being followed in order to ensure quality products up to standards. In the US, food and medical related products would need to follow the strict guidelines of the FDA in order to be able to sell the product on the market. In China, a food or medical product by the same company would not have as strict guildelines as compared to the US, but the FDA has been training Chinese companies on how to produce safer products. Products are often cheaper in price in China due to cheaper labor and production. China is able to produce products on such a large scale that it further decreases the price of each individual product. Workers are paid significantly lower wages as compared to the US. Chinese companies often receive the taxes they paid on products back if it is exported and this also keeps prices low. In the US products are not commonly advertised with a price ending in zero such as $10 or $20. Instead the product would be advertised one cent less at $9.99 or $19.99 because having the product price at the lower dollar amount makes the product seem more att ractive. In China there is much emphasis on the luck of certain numbers and 8 is one of the luckiest number in Chinese culture and many companies use this to their advantage by advertising products with prices ending in 8. Products are often promoted very differently between the US and China. Advertisements in the US often make it seem as though a particular product such as vodka will give you the adventurous life of the model in the advertisement. In China, advertisements for luxury products are banned as it doesn’t fit with the China Communist Party’s want to promote thrifty values and not promote extravagance. In China, a company new to the market must advertise its product with an emphasis on affirming its products safety due to the rampant counterfeiting and low product safety in China. In the US, a new company to the market would advertise its product with an emphasis on its distinguishing features or cheaper price as product safety is not an issue in the US. There is a large portion of China’s population that lives in rural areas and products have not normally marketed towards them due to the lack of infrastructure to effectively reach them. Recently, companies are marketing outside of major cities as  infrastructure is improving. This is compared to the US where the USPS can send a package to any address in the country in a few days. In the US businesses utilize large semi trailers to effectively distribute large batches products across the country as all city streets are able to accommodate the large trucks and the US highway system reaches to every part of the country. In China, businesses send out smaller batches to each store as space is often more limited but most major cities limit the use of trucks. Shipments must then be sent by vans or cars which is less efficient. Although the situation is improving, bribes are very common when doing business in China. Bribes are expected in order to cut through bureaucratic red tape. Not giving bribes would put a company at a disadvantage to their competitors. Any sort of bribery or corruption is highly illegal in the US and illegal for all US companies. In the US, workers must normally be at least 16 with permission or 18 to hold a job in order to not exploit children in the workforce. Child labor is a huge problem in China due to lack of enforcement of policies. Due to poverty, families are letting their children which can be as young as 5 years old be exploited by working in extreme conditions and long hours. If a US company was caught hiring child workers not only would it be ethically wrong but it would be a major hit to the companies reputation.

Manage Under Uncertainty

University of Newcastle October 2012 [Yellow Auto Case Study] [GSBS6001 Individual Assignment] [By: Shih Yun Lin (3172398)] Executive Summery Managers are constantly faced with critical decisions that will heavily impact on the company’s competitive ability and profitability. This report will analyse the critical decisions made in the case study The Change Story of Yellow Auto Company from a sociologic decision making perspective.The case study presents four main decisions which are: increase of market share, change in decision management style, clarify job description and invest greater time and money in human resources. The analysis of these decisions centres on the relationships between employees and managers and the positive and negative attributes of group decision making. The case study demonstrates that the decisions made by Yellow Auto have been successful in achieving the organisational objective of an increase in market share and an improved human resources quality.R ecommendations have then been made in order to improve the company’s future decision making process including: a more consultative decision making process for high risk decisions, a hybrid management style, a different set up for job descriptions and quality management for human resources activities. Table of Contents Executive Summery2 Introduction3 Critical Decisions4 Increase of Market Share4 Change in Management Style5 Clarify Job Descriptions6 Invest Greater Time and Money in Human Resources6Recommendations7 Conclusion9 Reference List10 Introduction Companies must constantly make critical decisions in order to choose strategies in order to gain a competitive advantage or keep up in the rapidly evolving market. The factors influencing decisions and the relative advantages and disadvantages can be viewed from multiple perspectives. This report will analyse the decisions made in the case study The Change Story of Yellow Auto Company from a sociologic decision making perspec tive.The sociological perspective focuses on the patterns of social relationships, interaction and culture and how this impacts on the company’s decision making process. Various critical decisions have been made in this case study including: Increase of market share, change in decision management style, clarify job description and invest greater time and money in human resources. These decisions have all strongly impacted the company and will continue to impact it in the future.These decisions will be explored with a sociological focus, discussing positive and negative attributes of each decision. Recommendations will then be explored in regards to how the company can improve their decision making in the future. This case study report is based on credible research retrieved from published books and accredited journals obtained from the internet. Critical Decisions Increase of Market ShareThe first critical decision in the case study is the goal set in 2001, to increase Yellow Auto’s market share to 50%. This goal has been derived by the top managers alone and without any input for from the middle managers or front line staff. The managers believe the only way to achieve this goal is through an improvement in the human resource quality. There are many sociological factors in this decision including autocratic management style and small group decision making.Firstly Yellow Auto’s management style is comparable with that of McGregor’s Theory X management style in which top management makes all the decisions and maintain a strict control over the business (Mathis, 2010). This decision making and enforcing style can be effective due to the nature of small group decision making, in which smaller groups are able to reach consensus more easily. This is due to it being a more timely approach as lower number of people correlates to a reduced number of differing opinions and an increase in the participation of all members.The group is then abl e to work out the differences in points of view and come to an agreement. The communication flow from this point is then one way as determined by the autocratic style and the decision can be implemented throughout the rest of the organisation. There are also many negative attributes with the style of decision making however as the subordinates of Yellow Auto have not been included in the decision making process they may not be as motivated to implement the decisions made by the top managers.This is exacerbated in the case study as this decision to increase the market share of the company is risky due to the economic situation in Turkey. Turkey had experienced a financial crisis in both 2000 and 2001 the latter being ‘particularly far reaching in terms of its impact, resulting in a major collapse of output and employment’ (Onis, 2006). Accepting this level of risk without the consult of other employees can increase uncertainty within the company and cause employees to fe el segregated from the company.Furthermore the use of a small group in this decision making process has the potential of experiencing the Abilene paradox (Harvey in Teale, 2003:290) in which some top managers may not voice their concerns to avoid being discredited or appear to lose faith in the organisation. In order to identify and address these potential issues management of Yellow Auto decided to work with academics in the implementation of this decision. Change in Management Style Following an audit from the external consultants they proposed that the utocratic management style currently in use is a barrier preventing the company from achieving their goal of an increase in market share. Accepting this advice, the top management of Yellow Auto change to a more democratic management style opening systems of communication and the development of trust in employees throughout the organisation. This changes the group structure of Yellow Auto as where previously employees could be cons idered part of Scott’s out status, they have now have the opportunity to move up to the fringe status or actively participate as a primary set member (Scott in Harrison 1999:222).This leads to increased motivation with employees and gives them a greater connection to the company. By increasing the amount of people participating in decision making, Yellow Auto are able to utilize the diverse human resources that they have in order to generate more creative ideas and solutions to issues the company has. There are downsides into an increased group size however as reaching a consensus with more people is much more difficult. There is also an increase in the time it takes to make a decision and leads to unproductively and can create divisions within the company.Clarify Job Descriptions Another critical decision made in the case study is to interview all employees in order to analyse their jobs and clarify their job descriptions. This was completed due to employees stating that the ir responsibilities were not clear and authority and relationships were not clearly defined. Upon completing the analysis it was observed that some of the tasks between managers and employees were overlapping and steps were introduced in order to distinguish between tasks and develop more comprehensible job descriptions.By distinguishing and identifying employee’s roles, the relationships between the employees are explained and can lead to better understanding of authority and improve communication throughout the organisation (Mathis, 2010). It also prevents particular roles from overlapping and can ensure that the right employee is completing the necessary job. While ensuring that job descriptions are up to date and clearly defined this can also have some negative implications for the company. Firstly in order to complete this is very costly and time consuming.It can then freeze the job, preventing it from evolving and result in a lack of flexibility and remove initiative fr om the employee. By describing the responsibilities of the employees it reinforces the boundaries of responsibility and can lead to the ‘it's not my job’ (Mathis, 2010) reflex. Invest Greater Time and Money in Human Resources The final critical decision made in the case study was to invest greater time and money into human resources. This decision has a heavy focus on sociology with the relationship between employees and an emphasis on communication.Yellow Auto hired new staff to fit the right jobs and invested heavily in their training. Training included individual aspects such as interpersonal skills, time and stress management as well as group sessions which increase coordination and communication and team spirit. These training methods and exercises focus on building the characteristics of effective groups including: cohesion, group roles, norms, conformity and interaction (Ayson, 2012). Cohesion is created through the team building activities and the job descriptio ns which also lead to an understanding of the roles and norms of the group.This allows for group activities to be conducted in an acceptable manner with each member of the group knowing how to act and what duties they must perform. This creates an environment in which the employees can work together easily without confusion and make decisions as well as perform their individual tasks to an acceptable standard. These characteristics also have negative attributes and can encourage groupthink, where ‘independent critical thinking and objective moral judgment will be suspended in deference to group norms and in observance of group consensus’ (Harrison, 1999:184).Setting particular roles may also create a reliance on particular group members and if they are not present or leave, then the group suffers and is not able to operate without the person carrying out their tasks. A similar issue that is present with these three characteristics is the reduction in innovation as the g roup has set standards of behaviour and expectations the need or ability to generate innovative responses is reduced. Lack of innovation and individual thinking is also an issue with conformity.In order to demonstrate that the group is performing well and in order to reduce conflicts, individuals conform to the group’s suggestions and decisions (Popova, 2012). While this may be beneficial in the sense of reaching decisions and working cooperatively in order to achieve goals, it limits the effectiveness of the group and the results of the group could be the same as that of an individual. Another positive aspect of Yellow Autos investment in human resources is the group interaction achieved through this program.As the employees train and work together communication and teamwork skills are improved which results in a greater ability of the group to work together in order to achieve organisational goals. It also allows employees to understand how to use each individual’s s kills and abilities in order to improve the decision making process and produce superior outcomes. Recommendations The decisions made and the decision making process in the case study are open to criticism.The result of these decisions however demonstrates that the correct steps were taken in order to achieve and exceed the organisations goal of an increase in market share to 50%. In light of the success of Yellow Autos decisions there are still various recommendations that can be made including: a more consultative decision making process for high risk decisions, a hybrid management style, a different set up for job descriptions and quality management for human resources activities.. Firstly the decision to increase market share to 50% was a high risk decision which had potential to highly negatively impact the company.Due to the nature of this decision as high risk and potential impact to the majority of employees Yellow Autos managers should have not made this decision alone. Ins tead this should have been a consultative process with employees and academics to discuss the potential impacts and rewards of the decision. This will lead to motivation for the employees as they have been a part of this decision as well as increase in commitment to the company as the employees can feel valued by the organisation as they are playing an active role in its future (Teale, 2003).Secondly, the company’s management style began as autocratic and then changed to democratic at the request of the academics. Yellow Auto should not just use one management style, but a hybrid of the two in order to effectively make and enforce decisions. By using a hybrid management style the top managers can decide the level of employee consultancy depending on the nature of the decision and its affect on the company and employees.This will ensure that the right amount of employee contribution and new ideas are gathered as well as coming to a timely and efficient solution. Another recomm endation is how the job descriptions are set. While ensuring tasks are not overlapping and there is an understanding of employee’s roles and responsibilities are necessary, the job descriptions should not be written in a way that restricts the employee’s activities or discourages flexibility and initiative.Finally with the heavy investment in human resources Yellow Auto needs to ensure that these activities are quality controlled and that the group interactions and decision making activities are effective. For example this means that issues such as conformity need to be addressed and such as demonstrated in the Asch Paradigm in which managers can encourage individuals to speak up, which then in turn enables other employees to snap out of conformity (Popova, 2012). ConclusionA number of critical decisions have been raised in the case study including the decision to increase market share, change in management style, clarify job description and invest greater time and mon ey in human resources. The decision making process involved in reaching these decisions and the potential positive and negative outcomes have been analysed from a sociological perspective. The case study has demonstrated that these decisions have yielded the desired result of an increase in market share and had many other benefits towards the company.Even so various recommendations have been made in order to improve Yellow Autos decision making process and improve the successfulness of the company. Reference List Ayson, S. (2012). Managing Under Uncertainty: Sociology of Decision Making, Lecture Slides. Harrison, F. (1999). The Managerial Decision-Making Process. 5th Ed. Houghton Mifflin Mathis, R. (2010). Human Resource Management 13th Edition. South-Western Cengage Learning Onis, Z. (2006).Beyond the 2001 Financial Crisis: The Political Economy of the new Phase of Neo-Liberal Restructuring in Turkey. Retrieved October 19, 2012, from http://www. cesran. org/Dosyalar/MAKALELER/ZIYA_ ONIS_Beyond_the_2001_financial_crisis. pdf Popova, M. (2012). Elevator Groupthink: A Psychology Experiment in Conformity, 1962. Retrieved October 19, 2012, from http://www. brainpickings. org/index. php/2012/01/13/asch-elevator-experiment/ Teale, M. (2003). Management Decision-Making: Towards an Integrated Approach. Pearson

All Hail the Weirdos

The places the make me content are the endless rows of books at a library, a whimsical town in a Sarah Addison Allen novel, and a multitude of other places. There is not just one place that makes me content, the world is filled with amazing places from the Parthenon to Buckingham Palace. How could I choose just one? In these places I experience a rush of happiness that keeps my soul warm for a moment of bliss. The only thing that can keep that warmth and content pulsing through my veins are my friends. Wherever they are I will always be. Half the time, my hands begin to twitch with anger and annoyance when my friends come around, ready at a moments notice to slap them silly. But that annoyance easily gives away to laughter and smiles. Its because we CAN annoy and poke fun at each other that we are close friends. After all, its when my friends are not making fun of me that I need to worry. However, there is a second layer to my group of lovable morons which makes me want keep them in my arms for eternity. My friends were raised in chaotic households that could even make the most hardened criminal grimace. We often laugh and joke about the peculiar experiences weve had because of the deranged families we were born into. But, sometimes those laughs turn to faces stained with tears and heartache, this is when the meaning behind my friendships clearly emerges. We have been brought together through hell and high water to pick up the pieces of each others lives when we fall apart, we are the sticky glue that holds each other together. That and loads of inappropriate jokes fueled by plenty of Swedish Fish. I am perfectly content in any place as long as my friends are there as well. We always help each other through every strange problem and we always make each other laugh until our sides hurt at every strange joke. None of our lives are even close to perfect, and I would nev er want it any other way.

Distance versus Intimacy in child raising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Distance versus Intimacy in child raising - Essay Example We thrust our intellectual prudence in to the brains of our children. To emphasize the psychological well being of children, the arguments made by two authors namely, Lisa Firestone and Steve Nelson are now taken for debate. Although both the authors want the parents to focus on the emotional aspects of their children, they differ in the execution modality. Firestone advocates an attentive caring on children in her essay How To Raise an Emotionally Healthy Child. However, Nelson encourages an autonomous style of living for children in his essay Leave Your Child Alone. To reach the focal point of robust child rearing, both the authors traverse in two opposite directions. FIRESTONE SUMMARY Lisa Firestone asserts through her essay that communication is the key to understanding the way children respond with their emotions. She claims that parents should be aware of emotional problems that can go untreated. For example, when television, video games or excessive eating to cope with emotion s such as fear, anger, or anxiety that they might be avoiding overly consumes a child. Firestone’s rational on the subject is directed to children that regress rather than progress and challenge unpleasant emotions. She also proposes parents to intervene to help children address the source of unwanted feelings and what to do with them.

The management of financial risks in the telecom industry Essay

The management of financial risks in the telecom industry - Essay Example To study the financial risks of telecom industries, we will also introduce information regarding telecom sectors from countries such as India, China, and Philippines and so on to give an enhanced overview of existing practices. In this dissertation proposal, we will adequately sum up the reasons for this research, why it is significant, what methodology needs to be adopted, how information will be obtained and so on. As mentioned in the abstract, the purpose of this dissertation proposal is to study financial risk management in the existing telecom industry. Today, telecommunication is widespread and devices such as telephones, radios, internet, instant messaging and so on facilitate the process of communication. By definition, financial risk management means the process of identifying, evaluating and reducing financial risks. The telecommunication industry suffers from a number of problems such as market saturation2, financial recession, growing consumer prospects and so on. ... Moreover, certain external factors such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks, cross-border transactions, development of new markets and so on have added to the existing risks in the telecommunication industry paving the way for greater financial risk management. To gain a better perspective of financial risk management, let us consider some theories. Financial risk management3 becomes essential when an organisation desires an increase in its shareholders value by taking on a viable project. However, organisations alone, cannot hedge a risk correctly when the cost of the services or product is similar in the existing market and the market where the organisation desires expansion. For this purpose, these organisations require outside help in terms of financial risk management. Derivatives4 are commonly used in financial risk management as tools through which specific risks can be gauged effectively and accurately. Some of these derivativesi include swaps or forward contracts that tend to be costly; while others include trade on future exchanges that tend to be cost efficient but leave certain risks. Proposed methods As stated earlier, the purpose of this dissertation proposal is to study financial risk management in the existing telecom industry. In order to complete an efficient study of the project, the research will comprise of the following stages; a detailed literary search, anthology of a bibliography, drafting the literary review, designing the research instrument, revising, planning and organising the research, making a glossary of the bibliography, scheduling, conducting a research, collating and analysing the data generated by different agencies on a regular basis, writing the results and analysis, writing the full draft,

Journal 1 Information Structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 1 Information Structures - Essay Example There are, however, challenges which needs to be addressed so that the government can fully benefit from the IT, particularly pertaining to policy, strategy, data and information control, costs, workforce and changes. These rests on the shoulders of the CIO and the proficiency of agency leaders to match the rapid influx of technology with the corresponding policy decisions (Fountain, 2007, 63-93). Readings: Fountain, Jane, E. 2007. â€Å"Challenges to organizational change†: Multi-Level integrated information structures (MIIS). In Governance and information technology: From electronic government to information government, ed. Viktor Mayer – Schonberger and David Lazer, 63-93. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Main argument Governments are big users of information and appropriate resources to create, share and disseminate information to enhance delivery of public services. Design of information flow, however, revealed several challenges which need to be ad dressed in terms of complexity of a tri-level nature of change at the micro-level, organizational and inter-organizational levels, and institutional level.

Smart City Interface Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Smart City Interface - Case Study Example A real-time city model can enable feedback loops from people themselves, also enable an interface onto the city, forming a kind of interface for the organization, thus personalized streams of city data are rendered into actionable information making our cities more legible, efficient and livable. City governments, technology companies, and design firms working together to construct these highly-networked future cities have come up with various prototypes of interfaces through which citizens can engage with the smart city. But these prototypes embody only institutional values not always aligned with the values of citizens living in the city. Judging from the promotional materials released by Cisco, Siemens, IBM, Microsoft and other corporate smart-city makers, one would think that the chief preoccupation of the smart city was on reflecting its own data consumption and hyper-efficient activity back to itself. At its heart is a control center filled with screens serving in part to visualize, and celebrate the city’s supposedly hyper-rational operation.IBM designed Rio’s Ops Center that integrated data from 30 city agencies; layered screens featuring transit video feeds, weather information and maps of crime statistics and power failures and others. The city is thus partitioned into atomized projects, services and flows, each competing for technician’s attention. The design of Swansea urban interfaces allows citizens to engage with the operating systems as more than mere reporters.  In addition, considerations of how these interfaces structure their inputs and outputs, how they illuminate and obfuscate various dimensions of the city, how they frame interactions, what are the reflections of these interactions in terms of informing the relationship between citizens and cities, and in what manner these interfaces transforms or shapes people’s identities as urban subjects.

The disscussion of the conceptual framework Essay

The disscussion of the conceptual framework - Essay Example The IASB’s main role is to assist international users to design an international framework for the preparation and presentation of financial report, a role that has over the years faced major criticism due to the weaknesses in the objectives and the concepts that it is based on. The Framework is developed to address the fundamental reason for the presence of the financial statements, which is to provide useful financial information about the reporting entity to all the related parties (investors, lenders, other creditors) for making decisions about providing resources to the entity. The contents of the Framework are central around the five elements from which financial statements are constructed. This paper aims at identifying and discussing the implementation of the IASB’s conceptual framework based on its hands-on objectives mainly that of providing a basis for administrative standard-setting and resolving accounting controversies in deliberation outline to the accoun ting concepts, principles and focus. The paper is organized into three sections; the first section explains the concepts, objectives and focus of the IASB’s conceptual framework, the second section describes the weaknesses and the basis of the criticism facing the IASB framework while the third section is a conclusion, summary and a discussion of the criticism facing the current IASB’s discussion paper. As stated, the IASB’s framework sets concepts that shape how financial statements are prepared and presented for external users. The IASB framework lacks accounting standard status in comparison to the statement of principles derived from the United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board (ASB). The IASB framework contains seven segments that cover areas such as; objectives of financial reporting, the underlying assumptions, Qualitative features of financial information, the fundamental rules of financial

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING assignment 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING assignment 4 - Essay Example To some, one thing could be different form another, to someone else. They precisely have different set of requirements which help them to conceptualize what they think is true. The point when emergency changes have to be made to systems they can be modified in the requirements document using a suitable process model. The model to be employed is the spiral model. The process activities involved in maintaining the consistency between the requirements document and the system implementation are: The spiral model is best to be used as it keeps on circling and thereby steps in all the phases of software development life cycle including system implementation and requirements documentation gets implemented. It makes the system consistent by circling every time a change takes place in the software and traveling all the phases so as to make it organized and complete. It is the best model to accommodate the changes in the business environment and document it for future reference.

Modeling an Animal Class Hierarchy by Employing UML Diagrams Assignment

Modeling an Animal Class Hierarchy by Employing UML Diagrams - Assignment Example Inheritance is an important principle in object-oriented programming. It not only serves as an organizational technique, but also allows code to be reused between classes that share certain characteristics. It is also known as â€Å"Is A† relationship because the classes down in the inheritance hierarchy are derived from the higher classes. So an object instantiated from a derived class is also a type of the superclass (Dale, Joyce, & Weems, 2006). Generalization and specialization are the two constituents of an inheritance relationship. The base class, from which the child classes are derived from, is supposed to be the more generic class and the child classes with additional members are considered to be the more specialized classes (Thampi, 2009). For example, a dog class can be considered as a sub class of an animal class. In this case the animal class is more generic class and the dog class is the specialized version of the animal class. To construct the animal class hierarchy, we consider the classes Animal, Fish, Mammal, Shark, Herring, Elephant and Rodent. Animal is modeled as the base class from which all the other classes inherit either directly or indirectly. Fish and Mammal classes are the direct child classes derived from the Animal class. Sharks and herring are types of fishes and hence we can derive these classes from the Fish class. Similarly elephants and rodents are both mammals and hence they can be derived from the Mammal class.

The First Day of School Essay Example for Free

The First Day of School Essay First walking into my new school of Terrace Park Elementary during the middle of 6th grade, I must have been the most awkward person on the planet. Moving schools because of my acceptance into a more challenging school curriculum, I had been told this group of students would help me learn much faster than the ones at my old schools. The material would have been learned at a much faster paced and higher level of difficulty. It was as if my old elementary school had kicked me out, placing me with kids who these similar â€Å"problems† as me. It had never occurred to me that the new environment I was in was so different than what I was used to. Going to this new school required a fifteen minute drive commute to and from home daily. This inconvenience made it hard for me stay connect with my classmates in the afterschool extracurricular activities. Changing schools meant meeting a new group of people I did not know. Joining the school mid-year I was the stranger that came in knowing nothing about how the school worked. Most people had already formed their little friend groups and created their own schedules. see more:my first day at school essay for kids On the other hand, the large amount of people at this school meant that some students still had time expand their friend group. It was a whole new experience and it was a case I had never handled in my life before. The two school environments were just too different. My new school was two stories high and had twice the amount of students. It was harder to get around the school and find my new classes. It had recently been renovated, so the whole appearance of the school was much more modern. Upon arriving, I noticed many remarkable building features. A five foot circular stained glass window started at me with its amiable eyes. The wolf drawn seemed to represent the school mascot. Compared to my old school, this school had much more classrooms and facilities. The six groupings of classrooms, the football and track field outside, the gym and cafeteria were all spread out. The colorful colors that were painted on school did nothing but spur my curiosity. Right outside the cafeteria was the playground of all children’s dreams. It was spacious and had two different playgrounds. There seemed to be a caterpillar toy that the underclassmen were fighting over. The real attraction, however,  was the large football field beyond the playground. I watched the daily lifestyle of this school I as wandered about. Some students hung out by the cafeteria eating their breakfast, some were conversing in the halls and some had already sat down in their classrooms. Twenty minutes before school had even started the amount of activity was surprising, when compared to my previous school. Yet people seemed to not notice me, whenever I passed by, none seemed to fully acknowledge my presence. Back home, I had friends how rushed to greet me as I walked through the doors of the classroom. The staff all were familiar with me and wore willing to help me out in any situation. As the first bell rung, I knew it was time to start my â€Å"first day† of school. Walking into Mr. Hagen’s room, I noticed a row of computers in the back right corner of the room. Their placement against the wall made it seem like they had never been used for a long time. I walked in, only to be greeted by a young aged man who I assumed to be the teacher for this 6th grade class. As I was introduced to the class, my experience as a stranger had officially began. I stood at the front of the room and slowly walked toward the seat I had been assigned. After a little bit of adjusting, the final bell rung and class had started. The first day was the day that would decide everything – from what type of friends I made to the spot I would sit during lunch. Knowing this, I tried my best to make myself look as normal as possible, attempting to discard my own shy character. Scanning the room, I knew absolutely no one. Making friends was also never one of my assets. Each person looked the same. I sat down next to a boy who had unkempt hair and had a Hawaiian shirt loosely thrown over a white t-shirt. Everyone knew my name, because it was different than the typical American name. The name â€Å"Jonah† was sure to stick in their minds, at least for next week or two. The faster paces of the classes were too much for me to handle for I never been used to such a speed in my previous school. I sat there, lost, wondering what to do. The faces of all the other students around me were intent and focus on their given task. I was left out of the atmosphere of the classroom. When lunch finally came, I was finally relieved of the pressure of the classroom. As a stranger, I remembered that didn’t know anyone well enough to sit with. For all I knew, I didn’t even know how to buy lunch. I frantically asked myself, â€Å"Is it the same way as my old school? Will I have the same PIN number? Where will I sit?† Luckily, on the way out  of the room, I was invited to eat with the boy with unkempt hair. I later learned that his name was Randy and that he was one year younger than me. As I sat down at the lunch table, many other kids sat down with me. All of them stared at me because they had never seen me there before. I was unable to come up with courage to talk to them, therefore awkwardly sitting at the table eating my lunch. I knew that they did not mean to be unkind, but just wanted to understand more about who I was. To my delight, I ran out onto the field and felt freer to finally act as myself again. The size of the field was much larger than I had expected from first look. The only color I could notice around me was the shade of green. Looking around, I had no one to kick my soccer ball with. Throughout the day, I received countless glares from many people I didn’t know. Many others from different classes had asked me many times for my name, asking me how I was and where I had come from. They had asked me so many types of questions that sparked one after another, triggering a large chain of questions that I did not know the answer to. Many of the others just called â€Å"hey new kid!† I will admit that my feeling of fear was more than I could handle. There was so much nervousness that I would start sweating and my nerves would spark all over my body. Walking in for the first time through those doors of Terrace Park Elementary made me feel so small in this large school. I was not used to such a large community, I like it when my classrooms were all close together, the student were allowed more changes to interact and the staff would be able to more easily connect with us. The few smiles I had received when entering felt forced- the ends of their lips raised for a quarter of a second. I had thought that I was different than all the rest of the kids – Was it my looks? My clothes? My awkward trot? Some might have thought that I was just another one of those Asian nerds. I felt that I would have trouble fitting in. that I should have probably stayed at my old school. Why would I just make my life harder for myself when I could just be chill with my old group? I knew that the ambivalent glances I received were not meant to be malicious. I know that even I would have done the same to a new student. My initial fears had changed th e way how every face in the school had looked. Even a perfectly joyful person could seem to have cruel intents. Trying to along with the other students was just a nightmare. I have always heard that the best thing to do on a first day of school was to make a good impression. However, I was never the type who was easy to get along with or outgoing. I tried leaving all those traits behind me as I spoke up, but it was no use. My true nature showed one way or another. My shyness only helped distance me from the other students around me, as if no one had wanted to become my friend. All the small things happening around me were, I was tuned into the world or small details. As I felt time go in in slow motion, I watched as the 1st graders dragged the lunch basket to their grade table, gave each other a high five for a job well done and then walked to the lunch line. I saw the fly buzzing around the air above me, before stopping on the table next to me. I had nothing else to pay attention but these fine details, no one would spare a second on the new kid at the table. I almost wanted to cry to show how I felt, but I realized that would probably ruin what first impressions I had left. Looking back, I realize that this experience was not that bad. It was own expectations of a new school that had caused me to sense so many different feelings. The feeling of a stranger was only because I was a new face in town. It was natural that the other students were curious of who I really was. It is even possible that, just as how I was too scared to talk to my new classmates, they had also been hesitant to approach me. Being a stranger was only temporary; I would eventually have assimilated into the daily lifestyle of Terrace Park. While that first day was particularly bad, I quickly was able to adapt to the situation in the coming weeks. I had become acquainted with the few students at my table in just a week, the rest of class in a month. This group of students who had all seemed so large at first was not as scary as they had originally seemed. They were actually very friendly; each of them had qualities that made them attractive. I had become very good friends with some of them, influencing my friends I my future schooling years. One could say that this school year affected my future directly. I would never have chosen the friends if it had not been for my experience at Terrace Park. The people that I had grown to enjoy were those who were smart and were willing to help me with any problems I had. I learned that other people are generally kind in nature, but just have trouble expressing their feelings. I have realized that I would never have attended Edmonds-Woodway High School without the experiences I had. I wanted to follow where my friends had gone to school, so I had chosen Edmonds-Woodway instead of my home school of Lynnwood.  Today, I have absolutely no regrets for changing schools mid-year during the 6th grade. I know I am a stranger, but I also know that being a stranger does not last for an eternity – t here will be a point where you will be a part of the village. We all know that every student had at least a couple first days of school. The moment where we walk into a classroom is always the worst part. We have no idea what could happen next. We see and meet people that we have never been familiar with. The sea of new faces would only help overwhelm the normal person. Shaky legs, sweat rolling down foreheads and that feeling of being a stranger will always be the initial feeling of the average person. Especially when we walk into the classroom midyear, these feeling are only amplified. Having no idea how to fit, we tend together take two actions. In my case, I tend to try to change my personality to make a good first impression, only to realize that I am unable to keep it up for days or weeks. Rather than to mess around with our true personalities to make that first impression, acting as yourself will allow others to truly know us better. People are much friendlier than we originally think; they are that frightening once we get to know them. Even more so, a bad impression does not mean that the rest of their life is ruined. Their identity can be redeemed through their actions. The important thing is not to worry and things will usually work themselves out. It is human nature to adapt to situations as the conditions change. Whenever a new student joins a classroom, the environment will change slightly. As time goes on, you will become a part of the environment that the rest of the students are used to. Working and communicating with others are a main part of changing from being a stranger to becoming a acquaintance and possibly to becoming a friend. This situation can apply to almost everyone. All new students will feel like a stranger a t one point or another. The time has come to realize that the overstated fears of the first day have only created discomfort in those who are new. No matter what, we cannot avoid the way that people look on u as strangers. But really, we are not entirely strangers. The only difference between you and them is the time spent attending that school.

General Biology Ii Essay Example for Free

General Biology Ii Essay I’m giving you a lecture note template rather than the ppt slides because the template takes less paper to print, includes tables that synthesize information from multiple slides, and includes blanks for you to fill in during in-class activities. IV. Practice Exam Questions These are questions similar to ones I will likely ask on the exam. Some of the questions are from past exams. V. Homework Assignment – This assignment covers the latter half of ecology and the first chapter of this unit. I. Learning Goals Overarching Content Goals: Students should be able to trace matter and energy across scales (cellular to organismal to ecosystem) and to use the laws of conservation of matter and energy in their reasoning. * trace molecules as they enter an organism as food or the building blocks of food (i. e. CO2 in plants) and follow those molecules as atoms are rearranged into the molecules used and stored in the body, and as they exit an organism and enter other organisms or the environment. * trace energy as it enters an organism as food or light (photoautotrophs) and should be able to follow the energy as it is converted to different forms (e. . chemical potential energy, heat) and trace energy as it exits an organism and enters another organism or the environment. * Explain body systems as mechanisms for transporting, transforming and conserving matter and energy (Ex. Discuss why temperature regulation is so important in plants and animals, and the costs and benefits of ectothermy and endothermy. )

Industrial Design And Engineering Design Cultural Studies Essay

Industrial Design And Engineering Design Cultural Studies Essay This paper gathers views in the literature on design thinking and representation of design processes from the point of view of industrial design and engineering design. The paper conducts a critical review of texts dealing with differences and similarities in design processes in the field of industrial design as opposed to engineering design, with particular attention to the elements of creativity in product design. The design of a consumer electrical appliance such as a hair dryer and the larger dimensions of car design are areas where what an industrial designer might do and what a design engineer might do can be usefully compared and contrasted. The paper goes on to survey the field of product design from a different perspective, that of art. It takes up the challenge to traditional design by the Bauhaus movement in Germany in the1920s to 1930s, and the Memphis movement of the 19760s to 1980s. It is a valid question, apart from the how of product design, to ask whether new movements or initiatives might easily change the what of the design world, and through emphasis on fashion and style both industrial designers and engineering designers might find themselves creating new, more creative patterns and products. Background The combined shortage of designers and demands of manufacturers led to criticism of industry by such designers as William Morris and John Ruskin who could see that separation of design from the processes of production had influenced esthetic quality (Haskett 1977). This paper explains how industrial design focuses on user interface and esthetic quality. At the same time engineering design has become a key element in product design, applying engineering principles to developing components, systems and processes to meet specific needs. A concept of an artisan, craftsperson, who is totally free to invent art forms and create designs, with no restriction, is not reflected in the history of art and craft, whether in Europe or in Asia. There is the economic restriction that there must be a user who purchases the work or supports the craftsperson; and it should be kept in mind that craft requires a properly equipped workplace and usually workers. There is the social reality of the acceptance of the work of a craftsperson and the general estimation of its value. Thus in focusing on the inseparability of invention and execution as it may be applied to design, the anachronistic idea of individualism need not be introduced in order to understand the creative process. A key condition is the ability of craft to produce the designs that emerge. Technology has, essentially, made that a very possible prospect. Further, in terms of a reciprocal effect of design on craft, the use of computerised design and the production of computer software to meet designers demands, along with the common feedback effect on production of new computer hardware, can mean that craft and design can contribute to each other. The Collins English Dictionary defines technology as the application of practical sciences to industry or commence, or the total knowledge and skills available to any human society for industry, art, science, etc. (1995). Barras (1986) has argued that the typical course of development in services has been from process innovation and focus on the new product design and market, then moving to achieving economies of scale and low costs. The decline of the traditional craft apprenticeship system meant that craftspeople became more familiar with others in in terior, industrial, theatre and product design, and with architecture, fashion, and performance art (Margetts 1989, pp.9-10). Although an industrial-design profession did not exist in the late nineteenth century, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright articulated its principles in 1901 by advising artists create prototypes for factory reproduction rather than to produce craft work. After 1900, manufacturers tried to give new form to electrical appliances, cars and other new technologies. In the 1920s, some decorators took up French modern styles, and Art Deco was adopted in the late 1920s. The Bauhaus school of art and design, closed by the Nazi regime in 1933, established a relationship between design and industrial techniques as well as between fine and applied arts (Chilvers Glaves-Smith). From there, there has been rapid growth in the design of manufactured products. Henry Fords rigid standardization, interchangeable parts, and special-purpose machine tools complemented Fords introduction of the assembly line in 1913, resulting in vastly increased production volume and relentless cost reduction. Global competition in the 1980s and 1990s impelled designers to give form to the hardware and software of the information age. Quality became a key criterion also (Volti 2005). Affective design that is able to translate human affections into product design specifications has been widely accepted as an effective tool for product development. It enables designers to identify product features that can meet consumer needs to feel satisfied with a product. Affective design knowledge can help designers improve product design (Zhai et al. 2009). Environmentally friendliness of consumer products is another aspect of design, but it has been observed that consumers need to be reminded of ecological issues when actually using the product. It is worth noting that it is a holistic, life-cycle-based analysis that will enable the designer to assess the environmental impact of design options: environmental damage can occur as toxic emissions during production, energy consumption during use, or toxic waste during disposal (Saue et al. 2002). As far as the larger environment is concerned, the US electrical industry has contributed played a part in the use of consumer goods ( Carlson 2001). Design encompasses these issues. Industrial Design Industrial design may be defined as The ideation, specification, and development of functions, properties and concepts of industrially manufactured products and systems, mainly regarding aspects of user-products interaction, aesthetics and identity considering a totality of ergonomic, usability, technical, economic and social factors (Warell 1999). Industrial designers are concerned with communicating the quality and function of a product as well as the reputation of the manufacturer object by visual means. The product should be easy, comfortable and safe to use (Dieter 1991, p.111). The industrial designer emphasises the user and the purpose of the product; its esthetic nature, including not only style and appearance but what the product will convey to the owner in emotional terms; and product identity, which may apply to strategic positioning within a specific market and linkages with other products. In the design process the designer has considerable freedom to decide on how an optimal result is achieved (Green Bonollo 2004). This illustrates the way in which creativity informs industrial design. Design is a part of product planning and development that come from the business strategy of the client company and are marketed and distributed in order to await success at the hands of the consumer (Cross 2000, p.198). Analysis of features of competing products, the use of benchmarking, or research into user needs and preferences may take place. Specifications may be elaborated and concepts critically examined (Green Bonollo 2004). Conceptualisation refers to highlights in the creative process. Synectics is a group technique which draws on analogical thinking, identifying parallels between apparently dissimilar topics (Dieter 1991, p.113). A process of rough visualisation through sketching may follow. At some point an industrial designer will have a basic idea of the concept to be embodied in the product-how it works, the overall shape and so on. In this phase the schemes are worked up in greater detail and, if there is more than one, a final choice between them is made. The end product is usually a set of general arrangement drawings. There is (or should be) a great deal of feedback from this phase to the conceptual design phase (Cross 2000). Before selecting a concept, industrial designer needs to consider the availability of technology: if there is no existing technology that can be used for a design, the industrial designer will need to consult with engineering designer. Dorst (2003) argues that the interaction itself has to be designed: the industrial designer should use design techniques such as scenario-based design and storytelling to deal with this issue effectively. A Rapid Prototype model may be made in order to finalise design details. In addition, industrial designers may carry out styling, where components of style are built into their own designs. This can involve materials or techniques, environmental influences or social trends (Mayall 1967). Detailed design issues follow: component parts, nesting, packaging, shipping and marketing issues may be relevant. Colour and placement of the brand name are important (Cross 2000, p 32).Finally the industrial designer uses three-dimensional computer programs such as Solidworks to create actual size 3D models and engineering drawings to be used in production. Engineering Design Engineering design tends to relate to the technical operation of mechanized products rather than their esthetic characteristics. In the automobile industry, stylists were used at General Motors as intermediaries between the mechanical engineers and consumers. What these stylists did was to give cars a visual identity through the shape of the body, grille or dashboard design, or colour choices and interior fabrics (Woodham 2006, p.141). Engineering design is design with particular emphasis on the technical aspects of a product. It includes activities of analysis as well as synthesis. This definition broadly describes what engineering designers do. They may be concerned with aspects of engineering consideration that includes machine elements, solid mechanics, strength of materials, aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, hydraulics, electronics engineering, software and systems engineering, quality engineering, industrial economics and human-factors engineering (Warell 1999). A formal definition of engineering design is found in the curriculum guidelines of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The ABET definition states that engineering design is the process of devising a system, component, or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often iterative), in which the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Engineering design should be creative and use open-ended problems and modern design theory and methodology. The approach process of engineering design is more systematic and problem-focused than industrial design. Engineering design is a sequential process consisting of many design operations. It may include exploring the use of alternative systems, formulating a mathematical model of the best system concept, or specifying subsystem components. It could mean selecting a material from which to manufacturer a part (Birmingham et al. 1997). In the product planning and task verification phase, the roles of engineering designer and industrial designer are similar, though a particular concern of the engineering designer will be what the client requested. Conceptualisation for the engineering designer involves determining the elements and mechanisms to be used in the product. This will often involve formulating a model, either analytical or experimental (Dieter 1983). Before moving to the embodiment stage, it is important for the engineering designer to understand the strengths and weaknesses of mechanisms, concepts or material and be able choose the one most appropriate to the product function. An excellent technique to guide the designer in making the best decision is a scoring matrix, which forces a more penetrating study of each alternative against specified criteria (Haik 2003). Embodiment involves the clear determination of the physical processes which govern the main flows and conversions of material, energy, and information. This stage of engineering design includes building and testing experimental models. Dieter (1983) notes that this phase lays the basis for good detail design by means of a structured development of the design concept. Most of the time engineering design requires experimentation where a piece of hardware is constructed and tested to verify the concept and analysis of the design as to its work ability, durability, and performance characteristics. The design on paper is transformed into a physical reality. Three techniques of construction are available to the designer: the mock-up, generally constructed to scale from plastics, wood, cardboard, and so forth. It is often used to check clearance, assembly technique, manufacturing considerations, and appearance. It is the least expensive technique, provides the least amount of information, a nd is quick and relatively easy to build. The model is a mathematical representation of the physical system. The prototype is the most expensive experimental technique but the one producing the greatest amount of useful information (Haik 2003): In the detailed design stage, the engineering designer may find many complex interrelationships involved in the product. The quality and cost advantage of a product are determined by the level of quality detail. Manufacturing specialists may also be involved. This is now a tested and producible product. The arrangement, form, dimensions, tolerances and surface properties of all individual parts and the materials and manufacturing processes are all specified (Dieter 1983). Communication and preparation for production now follows a sequential flow of operations. Tooling and machinery are laid down. Production cost estimates will be available, but close collaboration with mechanical engineers is necessary and high costs could mean changes in materials and even in design. The colour of a car is usually applied as paint, but paint goes beyond merely esthetic and cosmetic features. Consumers and manufacturers have to face the fact that new investment in vehicles is extremely expensive, and consumers are not inclined to accept alternative or radical designs. Paint is a comparatively cheap way out of this, and plastic components are painted as well. Paint thus keeps the car looking good, but it no doubt inhibits the use of new alternative materials or new manufacturing initiatives in design this in turn could inhibit the extensive adoption of new and alternative materials (Nieuwenhuis et al. 2006). The engineer manages schedules and uses resources after research in the car industry. He or she is also participant and communicator of design. The desire to be more ecologically and environmentally aware has had a major influence on automobile design. Automobile design factors will need to be covered as a broad range rather than just by focusing on particular single consumer requirements. The car has to meet human needs but also to be environmentally friendly. This will entail: (1) technological support for automobile design, (2) product innovation for various automobile prototypes (low emission car, high efficiency car, friendly car, advanced safety car), and (3) design methodologies (e.g., CAD-CAE-CAM, real time simulations, rapid prototype systems, parameter design technologies) (Ardayfio 2000). Design innovation, often pushed by customer needs and expectations, enables companies to gain leadership in an extremely competitive global marketplace. But products need to go beyond customer expectations. Industrially also, innovation is needed to remain competitive (Ardayfio 2000). Art and Design Apart from the creativity of design, there is the excitement of design. Bertola (2003) argues that design is a multifunctional activity. It can take many forms to adapt to contextual infrastructures, that is different organizations and purposes. Design can act as a knowledge broker, flowing from outside to inside companies. Design, if it is seen as a knowledge process that can adapt, can also be seen as an opportunity to support innovation in a particular context. This paper began with reference to creativity in product design. Button (2000) takes up the concept of ethnography in relation to design. Ethnographical field work has tried to analyse foreign cultures from the inside, developing theories about exotic cultures. But design in a Western culture can also be seen in terms of ethnography. This is particularly so in the context of industrial design, whose origins are quite recent. Ethnomethodology suggests that it is just not possible to go beyond the knowledge possessed by members of a society about what they do. Whatever explication given by the ethnographer may not be of interest to design engineers, for example, but the substance of his or her report should be recognisable to them. From an anthropological or sociological point of view, there is some logic in this. However this paper, building on what has been said about industrial design and engineering design, argues a further point: that the concept of design as allied to art can eas ily be misplaced or forgotten in an organisational situation where the concern is to produce a product. A Bauhaus or Memphis, even a postmodernist initiative, may not emerge from a tunnel of emphasis on products as products. This is where product design, along with architecture, has a place in the overall scope of Design and Art. There is an imagination within the desire to produce something novel. This is a field that allows the operation of graphic art, and a sculptured three dimensional impression that includes the artifact as well as the common consumer purchases. If modernism and postmodernism are currents, then they may be described as floating currents because they are difficult to locate precisely. The two currents interact at some points. In art, modernism may be said to date from about 1860, and became an orthodox school in the 1920s. Modernism tended to stress form more than content and to reject traditional esthetic values. It was very influential until about 1960, and then postmodernism came into vogue. It has been related to poststructuralist writers Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, whose writings embodied a radical relativism which was able to be used to deconstruct the status quo. It is important to note however that there have been 250 years of intellectual-literary-artistic alienation when from Rousseau onwards artists tried to stand aside from mainstream culture. Modernism and postmodernism are part of that overall movement (Murphey 1999). The Italian design group Memphis was a flash of artistic input to interior design. It is said to be part of postmodernism. The trend crystallized in Memphis was away from the decorative styles of the Arts and Crafts movement. Symbolism, pattern and of course ornament were relegated essentially to the modern era. The Bauhaus designs with their geometry dovetailed into a simplicity which in Italy focused on furniture design. The Memphis Group emerged. Austrian-born, Italian-educated Ettore Sottsass formed Memphis in 1981, with a loosely-formed group of designers. The designs that emanated out of the Memphis group included limited productions of unusual and functional designs, characterized by plastic laminated surfaces and bold colours and patterns.   The interpretation of the group has involved making a political statement: high and low classes should share perceptions and ideals. Meecham and Wood examine the proposition that as art itself has fundamentally changed in the modern period, so have ideas about it (1996, p.1). Postmodernism may be said to differ from modernism in that it returns art to a representation of the worldattempts to restore art to its external referencesRepresentational art is back, but it tends to be critical rather than celebratory, stressing bleak and shocking images rather than the beauty of nature or intimations of divine order (Veath quoted in Murphey, 1999). A group of designers of furniture and household accessories, who were known for erratic, illogical, avant-garde and anti-establishment style, Memphis in being concerning with juxtaposing reality infiltrated the world of the imagination, in a way that was deeper and different from the modern. There is a need to look back to compare with the modern, because in many ways this is a necessary context for the description of the postmodern. The Modernists had disliked decoration and colour, but Postmodernism used them with enthusiasm. Allegory, multi-historical and multi-cultural references came into new design. Memphis bad taste was an ironic bad taste. Pattern and ornament are characteristic of the works, just as they were alien to Modernism. The impression is kitsch, cheap and nasty materials, and bad taste throughout. Whether it is self-conscious or even self-mocking, the point is made that this is not modernism (Reed 1984). The bright and careless style of some of the Memphis design will have been trendy once, and some people will have worn them at some times. However these designs are bold and brazen. They seem directed to a middle class or intellectual section of society that likes to be overexpressive and does not care even if there are consequences for being like this. That is the impression I had, and that was the impression I gained from overhearing two possibly third year students who seemed to have generally quite mature attitudes on art. A group of designers of furniture and household accessories, who were known for erratic, illogical, avant-garde and anti-establishment style, Memphis in being concerning with juxtaposing reality infiltrated the world of the imagination, in a way that was deeper and different from the modern. There is a need to look back to compare with the modern, because in many ways this is a necessary context for the description of the postmodern. The Modernists had disliked decoration and colour, but Postmodernism used them with enthusiasm. Allegory, multi-historical and multi-cultural references came into new design. If accused of bad taste, Memphis would have said, Of course. Their bad taste was an ironic bad taste, but there was bad taste in their work. These attributes of Memphis no doubt related to its short-lived presence in the art world (Watson 2002). In a sense furniture design itself is an activity that can easily push against the boundaries of modernism, if only because small aspects of furniture design can jump past the outrageous modern stage into a stage which inverts and turns around artistic insights at will, lampooning commercial motives as it goes. The postmodern impulse that seems to be emerging from every joint is somehow trying to say, or saying, that this is something to sit on and it will probably hold you up, too, but you need to see it as something a little funny, a little amusing. Memphis asks not to be taken too seriously. This whimsical face of furniture design has a certain class aspect inasmuch as the poor and the working classes cannot afford to see their houses and what goes in them in terms of play. The question will be more often whether they can afford to buy furniture. Modern art and particularly postmodern art go beyond this basic complexion of need. Conclusion A striking thing that comes out of this survey of writing on the role of industrial design versus engineering design is the interdependence of the two. This may not mean an interrelated operation or a simultaneous operation involving the two aspects of engineering, but it is clear that to present an optimally designed product in the industrial sense means that it must work in the engineering sense. And engineering designers must be able to locate the device or consumer good within a framework of its production and ultimately its marketing and use. There are many articles on this issue that could have been referred to here, or summarised, or responded to in some way. However the coverage here is no doubt adequate to show how industrial and engineering designs are complementary. What has emerged most strikingly from the whole context of industrial design is its potential responsiveness to the culture in which it exists. It is possible to look back at various movements that have shaped the consumer products with which people are so familiar in their everyday lives, and where their parents have seen changes over the years. The Bauhaus, now a long time past, had a distinct and revolutionary approach to design. Memphis similarly had an avant garde approach which vanished into air. Whether such movements will resurface in some other form will probably not be the doing of the design engineer. But it may arise out of the imaginative design of the industrial designer. It may also arise as a resolution of forces in society that may flow conservatively for a time and then suddenly change direction. This can affect everyday objects-the hair dryer, the car, the television set, the computer and so on. It has certainly affected the miniaturised communication device, the m obile telephone. The fuel consuming, polluting yet status symbolic institution of the automobile will no doubt respond to pressures to change. There is an art in design that over time is likely to surface in different ways and in different places. In this context, the industrial designer along with the design engineer is likely to be closely involved.

First Gov Analysis :: essays research papers

FIRSTGOV.COM VERSUS CANADA.COM I compared the United States FirstGov.Com portal page with our neighbor Canada’s government portal page. I first looked at firstgov.com to get a feel for the United States government page. When you first open http://www.firstgov.gov/ you immediately notice that there is an abundance of information. There are four main tabs set up as the main crux of the web page and those are: For Citizens, For Businesses and Non Profit, For Federal Employees, and Government to Government. Right off the bat renewing a drivers license and passport application is what jumped out to me personally. These were under the, â€Å"Citizens Get It Done† heading. Also, under this heading were links that direct you to e-filing taxes, checking immigration status, governmental benefits, government job application procedures, changing your address, and even shopping at government auctions. At mid page on the For Citizens tab was a section entitled, information by topics. There are 14 main topics and when you click on one of them it sends you to another link that has numerous other topics that a user can click on for almost any kind of information you can imagine. For example: I clicked on Education and Jobs topic. Under the topic is brief information on what you can find such as employment, training, careers, labor, wages, workplace, online learning, schools, student and teacher resources...This led me to a page that has well over 70 links to other topics. A few examples here are : US Dept of Labor, US Dept of Education, College Search, Disability Information, Career Choices, Labor Relations, and many more subjects to look up. Each of these links takes you to other pages full of related information with more links to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What I found interesting also was you can read this web site in almost any language. I clicked on Spanish and the entire web page converted to Spanish. Also on the left hand side of the home page is a small index with links entitled: A-Z agency index, Federal Executive, Federal Legislature, Federal Judicial, Cross agency portals, state government, local government, and tribunal government. I chose to look at Federal Legislature and that takes to a page where you can find out information on the US Senate, US House of Representative, and agencies that support Congress. An abundance of information in all areas in the index.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When you go to Canada’s web site, http://www.

A Jew In Germany Or Occupied Europe: :: essays research papers fc

A Jew In Germany or Occupied Europe: This is my diary which I have decided to write, so that I can hopefully relive my youth when I read this when I am an old man. I live in the south of Poland with my family which I adore very much since they mean everything to me. We have a small family business, a small shop, which supplies us with enough money to get by on during these hard times since the slump nearly five years ago. Life is hard but rewarding at the moment, soon there will be a new member to the family, since my wife is expecting our second child. I hope one day to see my children grow up and carry on the business which I started nearly eight years ago in 1927. Today I received a letter from my sister Erika, who lives in Germany. She too followed the family tradition and set up her own shop in Germany with her husband, but in this letter she seems to be very distressed and worried. She says that life has started to become very difficult since 1933. There has been a new ruling body installed in Germany called NAZI and according to her newspapers it is led by a hero, who has come to save Germany; Adolf Hitler. These Nazis oppose our jewish religion greatly; nearly everybody does, but this is a new strain of hatred that I have no seen before. In letter she states that some new anti-semitic rules called "The Nuremburg Laws" came into effect just this month which will practically sign her business' death warrant. Over the pass year her shop has been fire bombed several times and even her distressed children are receiving threats from kids their own age. Her husband has even been assaulted by brown shirted thugs belonging to this Nazi party. I hope she will write soon because I think she will not be able to cope with any more of this harassment. There is an air of uncertainty of the frost bittern streets of our city. We are currently celebrating "Chunakah", the festival of Light which coincides with Christmas. These celebrations are now hollow to us, hollow with the emptiness of absent relatives. Many of my friends like me are worried for our loved ones in Germany and Czechoslovakia. The Nazi power in Germany has grown like an petty acorn to a giant oak tree. There are daily reports in our papers about increased pogroms against our fellow jews and families in Germany. My family and I are very worried about my sister.

Charles Darwin Essay -- Biography Biographies

Charles Robert Darwin was a man of many hats. He was a friend, colleague, son, father, husband; but above all, he was a naturalist. Through his dedication and perseverance did he manage to, in less than a generation, establish the theory of evolution as a fact in peoples' minds. In fact, "[t]oday it is almost impossible for us to return, even momentarily, to the pre-Darwinian atmosphere and attitude" (West 323). Darwin formed the basis of his theory during the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, on which vessel he was posted as it travelled around the globe. During that five-year span, this young man saw foliage, creatures, cultures that he had never known first-hand before. He was exposed to environments that not many of his contemporaries saw and lived the life that few did. Was his epic journey merely a series of trips to strange and exotic lands, or was Darwin affected by his experiences in more profound ways? Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809; the same day that another great man, Abraham Lincoln, was born. He was no child prodigy; he "was considered by all [his] masters and by [his] Father as a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect" (Barlow Voyage 28). The one trait in him that stands out in his formative years is a taste for the outdoors; he loved to gather shells, seals, franks, coins, and minerals. The passion for collecting, which leads a man to be a systemic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser, was very strong in [him] and was clearly innate, as none of [his] sisters and brother ever had this taste. (Barlow Autobiography 23) He grew up in Shrewsbury, and attended the local grammar-school there. After graduating, he entered Edinburgh University with the intent of studying medicine, but he found anatomy boring a nd his lack of sketching skills hampered him. It was decided between Darwin and his father that he should pursue ecclesiasticalstudies at Cambridge. Those subjects did not enthuse him either, but he discovered a "spontaneous and exceptional interest in natural history" (Moorehead 25). Academically, "he scraped through...with a pass" (Moorehead, 25) but socially, he enjoyed himself greatly, as he had fallen in with a crowd of sportsmen and naturalists. As well, he developed strong ties with his botany and geology teachers, Professors Adam Sedgwick and John Henslow. Henslow was indeed a true friend; he did ... ... bloom; his zeal sharpened his eyes and ears, and opend up his mind to "new ideas, new books, new friends, new observations, new hypotheses, new laws" (Dorsey 79). His spirit of adventure led him to far-off lands where obscure fauna and flora were living and breathing, and not just names in some book. "The discipline of the trip taught him an eternal lesson in good-humoured patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for himself and making the best of every occurrence" (Dorsey 71). While he eventually found himself to be at odds with the religion that he once wholeheartedly embraced, never did he attempt to derogate people's beliefs; it was with rare and noble calmness with which he expound[ed] his own views, undisturbed by the heats of polemical agitation which those views...excited, and persistently refus[ed] to retort on his antagonists by ridicule, by indignation, or by contempt. (Dorsey 270) So it was through hard work, flexibility and openmindedness that this gr eat man, whom his colleague and friend Wallace termed "the Newton of Natural History" (West 325), came to develop his trademark values of integrity and dedication as he sailed the shores of distant lands.

Look Before You Leap

Startled, Tom awoke to the ringing of his alarm, the day he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Sitting up, Tom tugged at his curly black hair and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. A feeling of excitement rushed through his body as he remembered that today was the day he was going to do the most exhilarating but equally terrifying thing he had ever dreamt of. Tom had turned eighteen the previous day and receiving a gift of skydiving had been something he had longed for. Growing up, Tom had always loved sports. His athletic frame had made him excel in all activities, however, he craved the trilling experience of extreme sports. Although anxious his parents had agreed this would be the perfect gift. After saying goodbye to his apprehensive parents, Tom headed off to the skydiving centre. He felt numb and uneasy as he drove the forty five minute drive to the skydiving centre anticipating the trill that lay ahead. Feeling the adrenaline kicking in, he saw the sign that read â€Å"Skydiving Centre†. Tom was led down a long winding road and finally arrived at the centre. Walking towards the vast white building, Tom could feel his heart pounding like the beating of a base drum. A tall stern looking man introduced himself as Allan, my instructor for the day. They proceeded to the training centre and initially went through a series of safety instructions. Through a haze of nerves and excitement, Tom listened as Allan enthusiastically explained and demonstrated every aspect of the jump. Several hours later Tom was deemed competent to take to the skies. Once fitted with his clothing and parachute, Tom followed Allan out to the vast runway where the small plane was awaiting him. His eyes lit up, and a serene smile spread across his face. Sitting in the back of the plane, a calm and composed Tom became anxious as he awaited take off. The roaring engines echoed in his ears and the plane shuddered uncontrollably as the plane left the security of the tarmac. Butterflies danced menacingly in Tom's stomach as he tried to listen vigilantly to Allan's instructions. Cautiously Tom peered out of the small window as cars and people turned into tiny pin heads and fields looked like a patch work quilt. â€Å"We have reached the required height† explained Allan, â€Å"are you ready to look before you leap†? As Allan opened the sliding door on the side of the plane the angry wind roared in with incredible force. Allan's voice became muffled as fear took over. Tom had told himself not to look before he leapt but he became fixated on the terrifying open space beneath him. He felt rooted to the spot as if bolts had been driven through his feet and unable to take that final step towards the edge of the plane. With Allan's support and words of encouragement Tom somehow found the courage to make that electrifying leap into the unknown. Adrenaline rushed through his body as free fall reached terminal velocity with the skin on his face pulling back so tight it felt as though it was going to tear. A feeling of euphoria gripped Tom as he was free falling through the sky at 125mph. Then at 5,000 feet, with the ground rapidly coming to meet him, he pulled his parachute cord hard and fast. Silence filled the sky as Tom's parachute opened and he experienced the breathtaking descent, free as a bird. The ground was fast approaching and Tom began to remember how he had been taught to land. Quicker than expected, Tom felt his feet running along the ground, all the fear and apprehension had disappeared. Tom had experienced a stimulating sensation that was difficult to explain to anyone who hadn't skydived. This had been a once in a lifetime experience where Tom's dreams had certainly become a reality. This unique and lasting experience was one he would never forget.

Nature of Partnerships Essay

Nature of Partnerships When starting a business, it can be with a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or as a company. A partnership is the most popular and the easiest to form. Partnerships combine individual talents and skills together for a hopefully successful business enterprise venture. Man has realized that it is easier to do something with the help of others than singly. Partners, also, provide a greater chance of obtaining equity capital for their business venture, while sharing the risks that go along with a rapidly growing business. There are basically three types of partnerships: the general artnership, the limited partnership, and the limited liability partnership. This paper discusses the general partnership. The definition of a partnership is â€Å"the association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business for profit . † Partnerships may be formed as a formal agreement or informally with a handshake. Either way, a partnership agreement should be written up with all the aspects of the partnership covered. Once the partnership agreement is filled out and agreed on by all partners, each partner will need to sign stating they are in agreement. A artnership agreement helps to alleviate any conflicts that may arise at any future date. When accounting for a partnership, it will depend on the accounting method stated in the partnership agreement. If any noncash assets were contributed, these will need to be assigned a fair value. Any noncash assets brought to the partnership are the property of the partnership . Each partner investing capital will have to be agreed upon by all partners. This investment will determine the ratio or percentage of net profit or loss to be divided between each partner. If there is no ratio or ercentage stated in the partnership agreement, then everything is divided equally. When setting up the accounting for the business, most accounting methods have multiple accounts for each partner. These accounts are the capital account, which shows the initial investment of each partner, the drawing account, showing any withdrawals taken over a years’ time, and the loan account, where partners can take a loan from the business. The capital account can be maintained in two different ways: the fluctuating capital method or the fixed capital method . The division of net profit equally. To account for this division, say S, T, and U decided to set up a partnership. S contributes $40,000, T contributes $30,000, and U contributes $30,000. This would be a ratio of 4:3:3. The total contributed to the partnership is $100,000. Profit for the first year is $300,000. Because the ratio is 4:3:3, S’s net capital would be $120,000. T and Us net capital would be $90,000 each, for a total of $300,000. If the partnership decides to add a partner, whatever was determined in the partnership agreement will determine what steps to take for adding this new partner. Adding a new partner normally adds profitability. If the partners decide to cease operations, there are two alternatives to help them decide which approach is better for the business: liquidation or dissolution. â€Å"Liquidation refers to the complete sale of the business’ assets and dissolution refers to the closure of a business, often on voluntary terms of the business owner. Liquidation means that the business is closing its doors and liquidating all noncash assets and liabilities. Dissolution may mean that the partnership is dissolving and a new partnership, another partnership or business is buying out the business, or the business is dissolving. When considering dissolution, there are two types, a technical dissolution and a general dissolution . A technical dissolution is when there is a change in the composi tion of the business. A general dissolution is a complete dissolution or winding up of the partnership and the business. The dissolution may result with a mutual agreement of all partners, a partner being served notice, a court order, fraud, misrepresentation, or illegal activity, or where the business is not making a profit. Whether liquidating or winding up a business, transactions to process are the collection of receivables, conversion of oncash assets to cash, payments to creditors, liabilities closed out, and the remaining distribution of net balance to the partners, in cash . When starting a business with a partnership, it is with the intent purpose of longevity.

Discuss the meaning of justice Essay

Critically analyse the extent to which the law is successful in achieving justice, and discuss the difficulties which is faces in seeking to do so. (30 marks + 5 AO3) Justice is central to our law. Most would agree the law should be just, but justice is not easy to define. The concept has been studied by many philosophers all of whom have their own theories of what a just society should be. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, was born 384 years before Christ (BC). He separated justice into two parts – distributive justice and corrective justice. Distributive justice is concerned with the fair distribution of society’s wealth. He went onto say that this wealth should be spread according to merit and an individual’s contributions into society. So this system relies on giving to those who have contributed in some way rather than to those who are needy. Aristotle said that distribution on the basis of people needs merely rewards the lazy and so would be unjust. Correctiv e justice he said, is needed to ensure that individuals can keep their entitlements. He believed that if someone is to steal from another the court should ensure that the offender does not gain and the victim does not lose out. This idea can still be seen in areas of law such as compensatory damages for negligence. Aristotle also had other controversial views. He believed that people where either suited by nature to be slaves or masters and this was seen by a matter of fit. He thought that children who were born into families of slaves were suited to carry out that role. Aristotle also believed that women where inferior to men as they are ‘colder’ and lack the ability to produce semen and so he viewed them as ‘infertile men’. He went onto say that women belong in the home and should be ruled by men who were superior. Our law today prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex so these ideas are no longer acceptable to us. Thomas Aquinas, born in 1225, was a theologian who also believed in distributive justice, but said that our society’s wealth should not be distributed just by merit, but also by rank and need – he stressed our moral obligation to look after the poor. Read more:  Justice Denied is Justice Delayed Essay Karl Marx, born in 1818, is widely regarded as the founder of communism. Marx developed a very different model of distributive justice which can be understood from his words ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. This requires that each should maximise their contribution to society by exercising full use of their abilities and secondly, each should receive in accordance with  need, regardless of what they have contributed. But if people are automatically given what they need, will they be motivated to work hard? Not only this, but how do we accurately determine what someone needs? Bentham, widely known for his development of the utilitarian approach to justice, said that maximising happiness is the object of justice. Utilitarianism is based on the doctrine that all actions should be judged in terms of their utility in promoting the greatest happiness for the largest number of people. John Stuart Mill, a 19th century liberal supported Benth am in his work of utilitarianism. He said that actions are right ‘in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness’. But unlike Bentham, Mill concentrated on the quality of happiness rather than merely the quantity of people who are happy. He also went onto say that justice ‘includes respect for people, for property and for rights, as well as the need for good faith and impartiality’. But the concept of utilitarianism can be heavily criticised. The greater good will not benefit the minority groups and ignores the feelings of individuals, as satisfying those needs may sacrifice happiness for the greater good. Under utilitarianism, torturing one person, even if it turns out that the person is not to blame, as an attempt to save the lives of others is considered to be just which some would consider morally wrong. So the expense of one innocent person or a minority group would justify the happiness of a greater number. John Rawls (1921-2002) was a professor of political philosophy at Harvard and set out in his book ‘Theory of Justice’ the concept of social justice. Rawls said that a just society is one in which rational people would choose to live if covered by a ‘veil of ignorance’. This meant without any bias towards their own situation i.e. their wealth, age, social class, gender, health intelligence and every aspect of their life. He said there are two basic principles of justice that would be chosen under these circumstances. Firstly, the principle of liberty, i.e. the maximum possible liberty for all. And secondly the principle of difference which says that goods should be distributed equally except where unequal distribution benefits those who are least advantaged. He also said they would choose equality of opportunities for social advancement which differs from Aristotle’s idea of people being born into or fitted to certain roles. Robert Nozick was a Harvard colleague of Rawls and developed an entitlement  theory of justice which had three elements. 1) A principle of justice in acquisition, dealing with how property is initially acquired. 2) A principle of justice in transfer, dealing with how a property can change hands. 3) A principle of rectif ication of injustice, dealing with injustices arising from the acquisition or transfer of property under then two principles above. This third principle, he said, would not be required if the world was entirely just. He said that where a person gains property in accordance with the principles of acquisition and transfer, they are therefore entitled to keep the property. But where people gain property due to wrong doing i.e. fraud or theft the third principle provides a remedy. Nozick’s ideas are consistent with right wing conservatism, but are diametrically opposed to the ideas of Marx. The term law can be defined as ‘the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom of the police, recognized and enforced by judicial decision’. Justice on the other hand is not as easy to define as we have discovered people have very different views of what a just society is, but I think we would all agree that the law should attempt to achieve justice as best it can. This view was expressed strongly by Lord Denning who said that law should always strive to achieve justice. He said that ‘the proper role of the judge is to do justice between the parties before him. If there is any rule of law which impairs the doing of justice, then it is the province of the judge to do all he legitimately can to avoid the rule or even change it so as to do justice’. But others views are slightly more restrictive. For example Sir Robert Megarry had said that it is the judge’s role to administer justice ‘according to the law’. But we have seen this will not always give a just result. Emily Andrews had told the police that she was repeatedly raped by her husband, but later withdrew the accusation because of great family pressure. She was then jailed for 8 months for perverting the course of justice and her guilty husband was able to walk free. After spending 18 days in prison her prison sentence was finally overturned by Lord Judge. She is now struggling to gain custody of her four young children. Lord Judge said ‘this is an exceptional case and we hope that it will be very exceptional for cases of this kind to be prosecuted to conviction in the Crown Courts’. So it seems as if Lord Judge was saying she should not have been prosecuted, but it would have been  a very bold person to not have imposed charges because the law is very clear. So this example clearly shows that justice cannot always be achieved by following the law. Justice is often sub divided into procedural and substantive justice. Procedural justice refers to the idea of fairness in the processes of legal proceedings, whereas substantive justice is justice in the content of the law. One aspect of procedural justice is natural justice which has two basic principles. The first is the rules against bias (nemo iudex in causa sua). In the case of Rv Bingham Exparte Jowitt the defendant was on trial for a speeding offence, and his evidence was contradictory with that of the police officer’s. The magistrate said ‘my principle in such cases has always been to believe the evidence of the police officer’. This shows bias, and so it was not considered to be a fair trial – judges must be impartial. It was said by Lord Denning in Metropolitan Properties Ltd v Lannon that ‘justice must be rooted in confidence, and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: the judge was biased’. It also means that where a decision maker i.e. a judge has a connection with a part y or a witness they should stand down. In Re Pinochet Lord Hoffman should have done just that. Amnesty international gave evidence against Pinochet. Lord Hoffman was a non-executive direct of Amnesty so he had an undeclared link to the case. There had to be a second rehearing so justice was seen to be done. The second basic principle of natural law is the right to a fair hearing – the right to be heard (audi alteram partem). Both parties’ cases must always be put forward. This is illustrated in the case Re A where it involved a decision whether conjoined twins should be separated which would end the life of the weaker twin. Although the twins could not speak for themselves, both were represented at the trial. It also includes that a person should be given adequate prior notice of charges or allegations and a reasonable opportunity to put together his or her case. In R v Thames Magistrates’ Court ex parte Polemis a sea captain was not given adequate time to prepare his evidence for the case. He received his summons at 10.30am and the trial was heard that day at 4pm. Another difficulty in achieving justice is m oney. Although the legal aid budget is  £2 billion, legal aid was already very restrictive in civil cases. It is not available for personal injury cases so they usually run on a no win – no fee basis which means that  solicitors will only accept cases that they think are very likely to win. This means that a lot of personal injury cases will go unheard because of lacking representation. Not only this, but the current legal aid bill makes very severe cuts to legal aid.  £350 million will be cut from family and civil cases which will impact on the poorest in our society like those who are on benefits. Also legal aid will no longer be available for debt advice, benefit advice or housing. This means that more people will be forced to represent themselves at trial which will make trials much longer and less efficient therefore ultimately more expensive. It has also been proposed that legal aid is removed from medical negligence. This means that again, people will have to rely on a no win – no fee basis. So a lot of cases won’t reach court as solicitors will only take on cases that have a very high chance of winning. As a result of this, badly injured people will remain uncompensated. It is also important that rules of evidence are strictly followed to ensure that justice is served. After there has been a crime, especially if it is a high profile case, there is often a lot of pressure on the police to secure a conviction. This pressure may sometimes lead to unlawful behaviour in the way evidence is obtained. An example of this can be seen from the case of Paul Blackburn who was charged with the attempted murder and sexual assault of a nine year old boy at the age of 15. Paul Blackburn served his 25 year sentence and not until 2 years after he was released was it found that he was actually wrongfully convicted. The entire case against Blackburn rested on a confession he had handwritten, after more than four hours of intense interrogation. He finally gave into the two detectives and wrote a statement which was, he says, effectively dictated to him by the detectives. He said ‘they even helped me spell the words I didn’t know. My writing was quite basic at the time’. At the appeal in 2005 the three appeal judges heard expert testimony which questioned how a 15 year old, poor educated boy could have written a document which was punctuated and included technical terms, all of which spelt correctly. So it wasn’t until the 25th of May 2005, 28 years after the conviction that Paul Blackburn was finally acquitted. Some may argue that now Blackburn has been found to be not guilty at appeal, justice has finally been served. But 25 years of imprisonment down the line, not to mention the actual criminal walking free, can we really say justice has been served? Paul Blackburn is  now described as ‘an emotionally shattered man’. Another difficulty in achieving justice is unreliable expert evidence. When someone is up at the stand and introduces themselves as for example Professor Sir Roy Meadows a member of the general medical council the jury are likely to believe what they say. So in some way it must be checked upon that this evidence is reliable before it sways the decision of a jury in a serious criminal trial. An example of how unreliable expert evidence can affect a trial can be seen from the case of Sally Clark. Sally Clark was convicted for the murder of her two sons in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment even though she insisted it was caused by cot death. After spending more than 3 years in prison she was released in January 2003 after expert evidence given at the trial by Professor Sir Roy Meadow, a paediatrician, was discredited. During the trial he had said that the chance of having two cot-deaths in one family was 1 in 73 million, which undoubtedly and understandably lead the jury to convict. This evidence given by Sir Roy Meadow also lead to the conviction of Angela Canning who was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2002 for the murder of her two children which she insisted was caused by cot death. He had said that one cot death in a family was unfortunate, two was suspicious and three was murder. After 20 months in prison Canning was released in December 2003. Her case was re-opened after an investigation found three previous cot deaths in the family, suggesting a genetic cause. After investigation it was actually found that Sir Roy Meadow’s evidence had no statistical basis and ‘grossly misinterpreted the chance of two sudden deaths with in a family’ so Sally Clark and Angela Canning’s convictions were overturned. These two cases show the power and the effects of expert evidence given at a trial. I think that it is important for future cases that expert evidence is checked upon for its reliability to prevent more horrific miscarriages of justice like the cases of Angela Canning and Sally Clark. And in fact the Law Commission want to do just that. Their report in 2009: ‘The Admissibility of Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales’ said that expert evidence’s reliability should be assessed by the trial judges, their recent report published in 2011: ‘Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings’ makes recommendations to the original in light of the comments they have received. The repo rt proposes that there should be special statutory admissibility test for expert opinion evidence. However the courts will only apply the test if it appears that the evidence might be insufficiently reliable to be admitted. They also said that there should be a single list of criteria to help the trial judges apply the test. And finally that the party seeking to rely on the expert evidence should bear the burden of proof in demonstrating its reliability, even if that party is the accused. These proposals where agreed in February 2011 and I think would ensure a much fairer law on the admissibility of expert evidence and will help us to achieve justice in future criminal cases. Corrective justice is an aspect of procedural justice which involves rectifying mistakes. One way in which mistakes can be rectified in our law can be seen from our appeal system. Originally in our appeal system, a retrial was not permitted if the defendant was acquitted but the appeal system has now broadened and gives the prosecution a right of appeal against an acquittal if there is ‘new and compelli ng evidence’: Criminal Justice Act 2003 (part 10). For example in Rv Dunlop the defendant confessed to a police officer that he had murdered Julie Hogg in 1991 but as he had already been acquitted in 1989 so no further action could be taken. This meant that in 2006 Dunlop was retried and was convicted of murder. Another way in which our law seeks to ‘correct’ justice can be seen from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which was set up in March 1997 by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is an independent and impartial body that reviews the convictions of people who have been found, they think, wrongfully convicted or harshly sentenced and refers the appropriate cases to the appeal courts. The CCRC have had over 1,300 applications, 320 of which have been re-heard and the convictions quashed. An example of such is Rv Andrew Adams. The defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on the 18th of May 1993. The defendants appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in January 1998. The CCRC referred the case to the courts in 2005 on the basis that there was incompetent defence representation, material non-disclosure by the prosecution, errors in the summing-up and that the jury had received inadmissible evidence concerning the appellant’s bad character. An appeal was granted and at the trial, finally, after spending 14 years in prison, on the 12th of January 2007 the defendant’s conviction of murder was quashed. It could argued that because Andrews was convicted of murder and spent 14 years in prison, justice was not fully achieved for him. But at least  because of the CCRC he is now a free and proven to be innocent man. I do think that the CCRC do well to help us achieve justice in our society, but there are mixed opi nions about the body. It has been found that every year the CCRC reject 97% of applications from individuals who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Professor Michael Zander a member of the Runciman Royal Commission which recommended the setting of the body after cases the Birmingham Six, Guilford 4 and Maguire Seven, all of whom were wrongfully convicted. Zander believes that the CCRC need to use a little known power to refer cases to the court of appeal even when no new evidence has been uncovered, if there is serious doubt about the conviction. ‘They could use this power more’ says Zander. He also went onto say that ‘innocent people are in the greatest difficulties once they have been convicted. It is not always the case that something new can be found, even with the best will in the world and all the investigations that can be mustered’. He has also criticised the body for its overreliance on paper analysis of evidence and for not actually visiting the individuals in prison which is something that the Royal Commission had recommended. Also the body will only refer cases where they think there is a â €˜real possibility’ that the conviction will be overturned on referral to the court of appeal. But many have said that this is too restrictively interpreted by the CCRC. 45 cases listed by campaigners as having ‘plausible claims’ of innocence have been turned down by the body. So although the CCRC have been successful in overturning the convictions of some innocent people, there is still a long way to go. Just 3% of applications to the body are referred to the appeal court. So although the body is succeeding to help a small number of people who have been wrongfully convicted, which of course should be commended, there may still be a large of number of those who are not guilty whose cases are bit referred. Substantive justice is justice in the content of the law. Does the way we set out our law achieve justice as best it can? The law of murder is regularly criticised for being unjust as you can be guilty of murder with intending to kill or surprisingly, intending to cause serious harm, without knowing any risk of death (Vickers), both of course receiving the mandat ory life sentence. It seems unjust and extremely unfair, that a man who only intends serious harm and a man who sets out to kill are put in the same category of crime and both receive the same mandatory life sentence. In 2006  the Law Commission proposed that murder should be sub-divided into two categories. The first would be called ‘first degree murder’ and would cover defendants who intended to kill. And the second category would be called ‘second degree murder’ which would cover defendants who intended serious harm but were not aware there was a risk of death. By separating the offence, only defendants convicted of first degree murder would receive the mandatory life sentence and second degree murder would allow the judge discretion in sentencing. I think these proposals ensure a fairer law on murder and would help justice to be achieved. To conclude, I don’t think that anyone could say honestly, that we have a legal system that ensures that justice is always achieved, however much we aim to promote it. But I don’t actually believe that a law can ever be drafted that ensures justice for every individual. Even now, when wrongfully convicted people like the Birmingham Six, Paul Blackburn, Sally Clark and Angela Canning walk free, their lives are changed forever always hindered by the effects of a convicted of murder, justice doesn’t quite seem to be the word. It may be possible that someone is able to create a legal system that they believe will always achieve justice, but as we have seen people have very different ideas of a just society, so it is impossible that everybody’s needs are met. For our legal system to achieve justice, all members of that system have to be fair, unprejudiced and free from corruption, which we have seen is not always the case. The detectives who questioned Paul Blackburn, then a 15-year-old boy for over 4 hours and forced a conviction out of him, dictating the words for him to write in his statement were most definitely not fair. How can we ensure that every single person who in some way affects the course of justice is impartial, unbiased and honest? How can we ensure that a judge, an influential and important part of any trial is fair and non-discriminatory? Former Law Lord Tom Bingham said that perfect justice is an unattainable ideal. He said ‘a time is unlikely to come when anyone will ever be able to say that perfect fairness has been achieved once and for all, and in retrospect most legal systems operating today will be judged to be defect not yet recognized’. Unfortunately I think that these realistic words run true and although we can do everything possible to strive to achieve a just society, it will only ever be an unattainable ideal.