Prewriting Strategies Essay Example for Free

Prewriting Strategies Essay 1. In academic writing, assignments may require students to present the results of their research without including their personal opinion. By avoiding first- and second- person pronouns, and writing in the third person will help one doing so. The use of first- and second- person also gives the writing an informal feel. When writing academically, the writer should always be formal. 2. www.jackiekcooper.com/MovieReviews/Limitless.html a.In this movie, Jackie Cooper has the starring role and holds his own even in scenes with the legendary star Robert De Niro. In this sentence the adjective legendary describes Robert De Niro. b.In the film Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a down-on-his-luck aspiring writer. The adjective describes the writer as being aspiring. c.His girlfriend Lindy is fed up with his shiftless ways and breaks up with him. The adjective describes his ways as shiftless. d.When he takes the pill, his life becomes much clearer. The adjective describes life as clearer. e.It is not a great role and De Niro is only adequate in it. The adverb describes how De Niro acted in the role. f.It is not a great role and De Niro is only adequate in it. The adjective describes the role as not great. g.In â€Å"Limitless† the story centers totally on his character and he rises to the occasion to give the role his all. The adverb describes how the story centers on his character. h.Eddie may be riding high for a while but there is always that possibility of him falling down or being brought down. The adverb describes how Eddie is riding. Over all, the critic used the adjectives and adverbs in a very descriptive and effective way. 3. This class has already taught us that although we may have the imagination to write, we have much more to learn about proper academic writing mechanics. The most important lesson we have learned is to proofread carefully. When we first started our studies at the University of Phoenix, we were not aware of the significant difference between academic writing and casual writing. The difference between academic writing and casual writing is becoming clearer to us. The difference between the two is clearest when we receive instructor feedback. We will continue to pay closer attention to details in our writing. This is the way that we will change our focus in the future and also the way we will come closest to achieving our goals. 4. There are three key parts of a paragraph; the topic sentence or introductions, the body of the paragraph or supporting information, and the conclusion that summarizes the content of the paragraph. 5. It is important that the topic sentence and supporting points within that paragraph be directly related or else the writer’s message will be lost, and the reader will be confused. The writing will not flow smoothly, and the reader will be forced to work at trying to figure out exactly what they are reading. Unless the topic sentence and supporting paragraphs do not connect or relate, the reader will be left confused. In the end, the reader may dismiss the frustrating writing altogether. 6. An evaluation is the writer’s informed judgment about a reading. The author did a great job summarizing and tying in what they have learned from the reading. The author was able to relate to the topic by adding an experience he or she conducted to the material. One thing the author could have done better was to point out why he or she thought it was a good overview.

Projectification of the organisational world

Projectification of the organisational world It is fascinating to observe from the management and business sciences, how organisations are changing their structural behaviours: Nowadays, it is hard to imagine an organisation that is not engaged in some kind of project activity. Over the past decade, organisations have been turning from operations to project management as part of their competitive advantage strategy. Organisations are now redefining their business structures by adopting project management practices, thus Maylor et al. (2006, p.663) point out that projectification is the process that comprehends organizational changes through a process where work is managed by projects. We should therefore look at projects as projectification means to get to the implementation of strategy although it might be a realistic statement, it still has a more in dept reasoning behind it and we hope this document will enlighten this further. Projects as the fundamental of projectification are defined as temporary organizations created to deliver one or more business products translated in to project objectives according to their business case requiring specific competencies or skills for a pre-determined period of time according to The Office of Governament Commerce (OGC, 2009, p.31). However, Maylor et. al. (2006, p.664) have a different designation of projects, as managerial tools and structures for innovation and change. Other interconnected concepts related to projects will be further explained looking at the projectification of the organisational world. Maylor et. al. (2006, p.663) support that there are two completely opposite ideas between the managerialist concept of a project as a way to control and the idea that projects are flexible and less bureaucratic structures and as many commentators according to Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.8) cite, they position projects as more appropriate for implementing deliberate strategies. Despite the above, Maylor et. al.(2006, p.664) citing Davies, Brady and Hobday point out that organisations are finding that traditional organizational structures (i.e. with departments, business units and divisions) are no longer appropriate. However, Haniff and Fernie (2008) defend that projectification is not always seen as the most favourable process and it can become problematic if different organisations working together do not have the same projectification approach. Thus, projectification is not seen as a firm solution, i.e. in the perspective of delivering deliberate strategies. That might be the case in the construction sector where Haniff and Fernie (2008, p.9) state that it is naive to assume that any pre-determined project plan can be simplistically implemented. According to above pessimistic view, Maylor et. al. (2006, p.667) agree that we might face barriers to projects being carried out, this might in turn show that is an unwanted consequence of the projectification process but one to account for as limitations in the implementation of the organizational strategy may emerge. Despite these limitations, Maylor et. al. (2006, p.664) citing Packendorff and Hodgson support that there is an evidence of increasing belief of projectification through projects. This is stated by Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.5), they believe that corporate strategy is now a means of thinking through and articulating how an organizations corporate goals and objectives will be achieved. This lead us towards how Bracker cited in Shirley (1982, p. 263) characterises business strategy: as an environmental or situational analysis to determine a firms posture in its field and if the firms resources are utilized in an appropriate manner to attain its major goals. Some consider that business strategy is folded in strategic initiatives such as Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.5), explain that these initiatives are often clustered into portfolios of programmes and projects for implementation, whose support is given by organization roles in particular project workers and managers as Packendorff and Hodgson cited in Maylor et. al. (2006, p.664) emphasize. Again, Maylor et. al. (2006, p.666) agree these developing roles are a consequence of projectification as well as the search for authority by project managers. These are responsible for the planning, delegating, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project, and the motivation of those within the temporary organization to achieve the project objectives within the expected project performance measures, time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and risks according to OGC (2009, p.4). Gaddis (1969, p.96) makes a good point when distinguishing tactics from strategy doing the analogy to the advanced-tec hnology project manager and the research administrator, where the first is considered the tactician and the other the strategist. Therefore, project managers are not directly seen as a strategy deliver role as Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6) citing Thomas, Delisle, Jugdev, and Buckle argue. In addition project managers are seen as strongly execution oriented role, as per project management responsibilities, and as such, they are not perceived as strategically important by senior managers.Although, Pellegrinelli and Bowman (1994, p.126) see that projects are grouped in programmes to actually achieve beneficial changes of strategic nature for an organisation. Unlike project management, Pellegrinelli, Partington and Young cited in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.8) see implementation of strategy through programme management, as well as McElroy cited in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6) emphasizes the need for senior management involvement for successful strategy implementation. A more realistic view from Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.8) is that many commentators position projects as more appropriate for implementing deliberate (planned) strategies, while considering programmes for both deliberate and emergent (unplanned) strategies. Including the view of the Association for Project Management (APM) cited in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6) for good governance practice is that now clearly requires alignment between business, portfolio, programme and project plans, and transparent reporting of issues throughout the strategic hierarchy as well as Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6) defend that these should have a reciprocal relationship. Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.8) bring to this context that corporate strategy is not translated into project strategy by a simplistic process. It is further complex and it requires an extensive range of management competencies and a clear definition of roles and responsibilities. See Figure 1 below. Figure 1 Organisations Strategic Hierarchy Subsequently, Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.16) defend that the hierarchy of objectives and strategies, represented in Figure 1 by the interconnectivity between those 5 blocks, enable organizations to cascade strategy in a systematic way, such as the Archibalds model mentioned in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6) specifies, objectives and strategies are developed at the policy, strategic, operational and project levels and cascaded down, thereby ensuring alignment and continuity of strategy. Partington cited in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6), suggest three levels of strategy (See Figure 1) as corporate, business and operational being operational level focussed on programmes and projects. Yet, according to Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6), this hierarchy of objectives and strategies can generally be formed as a result of using a strategy planning process which in turn can be a highly effective mean of structuring and managing strategy, and communicating it to the organization and through out. Johnson and Scholes cited in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.5) highlight that, strategic management is often ambiguous, complex and dynamic, fundamental and organization-wide, and generally has long-term implications. Although, there may be pre-established strategy planning processes and practices, strategy may not be realized in a straightforward way as many planners assume according to Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6). Baker, Bard, Cooper and others cited in Srivannaboon and Milosevic (2006, p. 494) argue that aligning project management with the business strategy is not a clear process but Gomolski cited in Rathnam (2004, pp. 2-3) defend that with business ownership and accountability can lead the way to ensure alignment of business strategy. Most studies link business strategy with project management through project selection and see that as part of the alignment process. Others such as Thompson cited in Henderson and Venkatraman (1990, p.26), see alignment made not only of static elements but a combination of strategy dynamics and behaviors which are managed by external factors to the organization. Supporting this view, Mintzberg and Waters (1985, P. 271), argue that managing requires: ÂÂ ´a light deft touch to direct, in order to realize intentions while at the same time responding to an unfolding pattern of actions. Again, the interaction between projects or programmes and the organizations strategy may be both deliberate and emergent when attempting to implement the intended strategy, according to Grabher, cited in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.6). The UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.8) considers the alignment between strategy and projects to be one of the main benefits of programme management. However, this seems out dated regarding recent guidance on governance. It is expected that increasing need to understand this alignment issue will be translated in to more literature and experience based contributions on this subject. The project management has become an important business process for organizations and Srivannaboon and Milosevic (2006, p.493) support that project management and the business strategy alignment help organizations to focus on the right projects, given the objectives of the business strategy. On the other hand, any misalignment may cause an organization to lose market opportunities and the organizations recovery process might be difficult. Therefore, to effective project management and to achieve the business strategic alignment it is required to have a deeper understanding of these complexities. Accordingly to Shirley (1982, p. 268) it is in the study of such complexities in relation to internal strengths, weaknesses, and values of the organization that students and faculty are challenged and also confused with processes involved in strategy making. This is furthermore complex when various organisations are working together to deliver the projects objectives and therefore the business strategy. Accordingly to Haniff and Fernie (2008, p.9), each individual organisation has got their one project strategy that aligns with the organizational strategy. This results in individual team members influencing at some level the project strategy by creating an emergent project management strategy. Similarly, Jamieson and Morris cited in Srivannaboon and Milosevic (2006, p.495) suggest that most of the elements of the strategic planning process, such as internal analysis, organizational structures, and control systems, are strongly linked to project management processes and activities and thereby strongly influence intended business strategies. Accordingly to Mintzberg and Waters (1985, p.272) this strategic control mentioned above may be in managers which is further recognized by the patterns and actions of managers on their own actions with in the organization configuration. Despite project management processes, other issues co-exist such as the lack of a single coherent project strategy that can lead to loss of business understanding and directly influencing the link between business strategy and project implementation which may be extremely affected according to Morris and Jamieson (2005, p.11). In addition, Rathnam (2004, p.2) draws attention to research made by others that leads us to communication and understanding to be the strategy alignment problem. Morris and Jamieson (2005, pp.7-8) also point out that the business and operating requirements of a project frequently affect the project strategy significantly. Per instance, in the IT industry as Rathnam (2004, pp.4-5) shows, the lack of business strategy, lack of focus on business process, misalignment between business areas and organization structural barriers, lack of an enterprise-wide view, business against IT mentality, lack of awareness in need for strategy alignment, difficulty in communicat ing and understanding IT, resistance to escalate misalignment conflicts to executive management and rapid rate of technological change where considered the main gaps for strategy alignment. Cicmil et. al. (2006, p.679) argue that, If projects fail because of miscommunication and failure to meet expectations, what is it about project management that makes this happen so much in a project environment? Projects are very complex and characterized by issues related to uncertainty, control and mutual interaction among project intervenients according to Cicmil et. Al. (2006, p.676). In addition Cicmil et. al. (2006, p.683) claims that management actions to accelerate perturbed projects make the problem worse which is the case when the project is heavily time-constrained. Avots (1969) adds that the wrong man appointed as project manager, lack of support from the company management, inadequate task definitions, management techniques not appropriate or project termination not well planned are also the reasons for a project failure. Despite the fact that organisations may be using projects to secure business benefit, Midler cited in Maylor et. al. (2006, p.669) question whether this is actually being achieved by these management practices. The existing concepts for what constitutes a project may not be in agreement within the project management practitioners community. Also the temporary organisation (project team) and expectancy of the project outcomes may not be consistent with all intervenients. This is a result of organisational projectification and as such we shall reconsider the term project given this paper. It is evident that in a multi project level is where we can find a bigger gap in maintaining the strategic alignment through project management and projects. Therefore this presents an area of great interest for both practitioners and scholars. Different project management approaches and methodologies are now being used by organizations at all stages of the project life cycle with project strategy development, review and optimization occurring at specific points. A high percentage of organizations define the personal project management competencies required to develop project strategy. Several organizations stressed the leadership qualities that they expected of their executives in shaping and delivering strategy, at both the project level as well as the corporate level. It can be concluded, therefore, that although project strategy management is an underexplored and insufficiently described subject in the business and project literature, it is, in fact, a relatively well-trodden area, deserving of more recognition, formal study, and discussion. (Word count: Max 2500)

Symbolism Interpretation of Marriage Rites: Kom Marriage

Symbolism Interpretation of Marriage Rites: Kom Marriage ABSTRACT This paper will take a look at kom traditional marriage rites and the four stages the constitute the actual marriage in Kom. It will begin by citing where Kom is situated, the various 8 satellite villages that made up the Kom tribe, which are Achain, Akei, Baiso, Baicham, Bueni, Mbesinaku, Mbenkas and Mejang. How they perceived marriage, how marriage is practiced in this society. This ethnographic work will also look at the four stages of marriage in this community which comprises of courtship, Si Lun Ibi ( to ask for Kola- which means ask the girls hand for marriage), Ndo Wi ( the house of the wife) and finally the actual traditional marriage which is the Ncha Wi ( the chains of the wife). During the course of collecting data I will take in to consideration the symbolic interpretation of marriage rites during the four stages of marriage particularly the use of imagery. The paper will also focus on the importance of marriage and the factors that prohibits marriage in this society. La stly, the paper will look at the socio cultural evolution of marriage in kom, trying to compare the past and present marriage, the effect on the Kom tradition and its individuals. Also the ways of over coming transgressors involved in this marriage To effectively carry out and communicate this ethnographic work, different sources and techniques will be used to collect and analyze the data respectively. Different secondary source will be efficiently utilized. As regards primary sources, field trips, interviews, direct observations, questionnaires and other methods used to carry out ethnographic research will be exploited, the use of native narration. Finally, data will be analysed with the use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Tables, percentages, charts and graphs will be used after sorting, classify analyzing and interpreting the data. INTRODUCTION Marriage in Kom is believed to be the oldest social body that has ever existed invented by man. Marriage ceremony in Kom consuetude four stages and a series of rites, these rites are very symbolic in traditional marriage process.Marriage in kom begins with secret seeing between the boy and the girl until they have decided to make it official for their families. The union of man and woman in Kom compulsorily begins with introduction which is not a form of marriage but the path to marriage; this is the very first step which makes marriage as institution. A man or woman can obtain a prestigious traditional title when he/she is married. This goes alongside with three important aspects that accompanied marriage. Wain (a child), ifuonjini (food) iyamngvin (the jungle animal). These three Kom three fingers are very important any married couples lives in that a successful family must have children food and the head of the family must be strong to defend and protect and fend for the family. W hile the woman must provide food take care of the children and be strong as the jungle animal to carryout her matrimonial duties. Marriage in Kom can either be polygamous or monogamous it depends on the individual concerned. Apart from the traditional marriage which comprises of three main phrases of which families choose either to do all or just one, there are also some other forms of marriages the civil marriage, and the religious marriages. These two other marriages are choices of families thus; they are not of traditional importance to the Kom society. What can be defined as a marriage procedure is the marriage rite which plays an important role in marriage ceremony. With the absence of these rites the marriage procedure is considered fruitless. As time is passing by the Kom people have experienced evolution in marriage procedure and rites, that is why this paper will seek to find out while marriage have evolved? What have caused the evolution? and the effect of it on traditional marriage rites and Kom tradition as a whole which the people see it as problematic to their culture. PROBLEM STATEMENT In matrilineal societies like kom bride-wealth is not transferred because the children belong to the wifes clan or lineage and will inherit from their mothers group the husbands heirs are his sisters children, and not his own children who instead inherit from his wifes brothers, their maternal uncles. In Kom tradition, the groom is asked to pay bride price in cash and in material form like the various drums of oil, meat fire wood and host of other subsidiaries. This huge demands scared many young men from marrying. Some migrate and work in the plantations for year to get the necessary items for marriage, this make most of them to marry late since they have to work for years to obtain what will be demanded from them by their prosperous in laws. Another factor that hinders marriage is the cultural notion of witchcraft, the period given to the grooms family to wait, is usually the time the brides family consults a diviner to know the social background of the groom. The things they always look for are witchcraft, murderer, illness like madness, and mysterious death. When any of these ills are found they proposal will be turned down. The fact that marriage at times is strategic it is a problem to these people because background survey must be done to accord marriage which means it is not based on love. Intercultural marriages are also a hindrance to marriage in Kom, parents do not allow their child to marry out of the tribe because some cultural ideologies. For example daughters and sons are no suppose to get married to Bayangi tribe this because the tribe is noted for sorcery. A kom daughter or son that does this, invites evil into the tribe thus some people remain unmarried because the only companion suitable for marriage is from this tribe. Forceful marriages also hinders to marriage, in this society people are forced to marry because of poverty. For example the familys only way to recover its investment in a daughter may be to have her married in exchange for a dowry. Some fathers forced their daughters into marriages with men wealthy enough to give cattle, goats and money; in some cases the father owns the responsibility to get a wife for his first son. Thus he forces his girl child to a man who will pay her bride wealth so that it can be transferred to his sons wife. The preference of the individual is considered insignificant, in this situation even if the marriage holds it does not last for long, the couple end up in devoice. Education brings about class segregation in the society, people who are educated go for educated partners for marriage .Those who suffer the weight of this cultural practice are the females, and there is the problem of discrepancies in social values: some parents, especially in Kom, prefer sending only their male children to school and keeping the females at home. They argue that female education is a bad investment, the educated female child would later grow up and marry into another family, and so all her education would only benefit her husband and her new family. With modernity these girls suffer a set back in marriage because they educated men go looking for learned women even out of the tribe. RESEARCH QUESTION To what extent has the socio cultural evolution of marriage affected traditional marriage rites and Kom culture? With respect to this main research question the following specific questions can be asked. What is marriage to a Kom man? Why do people marry? Who is entitled to marriage? What age is one suppose to get married? Is marriage same today as the past? What are the changes? What are the causes of these changes? What are the impacts of these changes on marriage? OBJECTIVES To answer the above questions, the following objectives shall be considered. Specific objectives To point out the evolution of traditional marriage rites from past to present To assess the effect of evolution on Kom culture To investigate the strategies they are using to maintain these rites Finally to evaluate the positive effects of evolution in this institution of marriage. METHODOLOGY This investigation will be carried out in different parts of the eight satellites villages that make up the Kom kingdom. The methodology use will be divided into two parts; data collection and data analysis. Data and Information Collection Data for ethnographic work will be collected from primary and secondary sources Acquisition of Secondary data Data will be collected from both published and unpublished secondary sources. They will include documents and relevant web sites on the Internet. These documents will include textbooks, archives, dissertations thesis, journals, periodicals, magazine and native narratives. Acquisition of Primary Data This will involve fieldwork. Fieldwork constitutes a major source of data in anthropological research. That is field trips, interviews, direct observations and questionnaires. This will be in light to obtain information symbolic interpretation of marriage rites different parts of the eight villages. Approximately 130 people will be interviewed, random sampling methods will be used to interview those concerned. This will be accomplished by informal interviews and interaction with the main actors. Participant observation will not be lift out since this will help to get first hand information on how the marriage rites is being carried out. This information will be collected with respect to the social, cultural and historical perspective of the tribe Data Analyses After collecting these data, it is going to be sorted, classified, analyzed and interpreted. The data will be analysed with the use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Tables, percentages, charts and graphs will be used. DELINEATION RESEARCH DOMAIN Thematic Delineation of Research Domain Marriage is a social, religious and traditional legal union of individuals that creates kinship. It is the oldest institution which can be found in every human culture, although the forms and rules differ either polygamy, monogamy etc. All traditional marriages ceremonies have rites that give it a special grandeur. These rites are having symbolic meaning attached to the people of a particular culture. The word symbolic comes from the word symbol which can be anything such as objects, picture, sound, sign, mark, or any gesture that represents a different meaning, for example cam wood symbolises blood or danger and white stands for purity. Therefore, symbolism is the ironical representation of something that carries a particular meaning. Marriage rites are all symbols and meaning of different things in different cultural context. Evolution is simply the act of change from one stage to another for example the change of traditional marriage rite from past to present. Geographical and Socio-Cultural Delineation of Study Area Kom is one of 250 indigenous ethnic groups or tribe of Cameroon which is situated about is 50 miles from the North West capital of Bamenda. There almost 126,000 inhabitants with an area of about 300 square miles. Kom is found in Boyo division with its administrative capital Fundong. It has three sub divisions Belo, Njinikom and Bum. There are 8 satellites villages that make up this tribe Achain, Akei, Baiso, Baicham, Bueni, Mbesinaku, Mbenkas and Mejang. The people speak Itaing Ikom as their language; it is the only unique tribe in the province that practice matrilineal line of descend where succession and marriage enthronement lies in the mother line. LITERATURE REVIEW Traditional marriage is a very interesting topic and has been of great concern to researchers and writers. They have tried to know what married is all about, those involved in married, the rites performed during traditional marriage that identify as members of that community, and the problems they face in married. They are also seeking to identify some proposed solutions to these problems. The works of these researchers or writers will be analyzed in regard to this ethnographic research work in the subsequent paragraph. According by the (Journal of Religion and Science Published 15 2005 @2010 by the joint publication Board of Zygon, rituals serves to express those cosmic beliefs not for the scientific purpose of explaining or controlling the cosmos but for the existential purpose of giving human beings a placein it. This journal points out that it expresses beliefs about society not only by keeping human beings in their social place but giving them a social place. The traditional rite perform during traditional marriage in Kom gives the couple concern a place in the society of Kom. It gives them the base to perfom other rituals within their marriage and out of the marriage unit also thus it gives them a wider place in the social unit in the society. (Jayaram V @2000-2010 Hinduwebsite.com). He potrays the marriage rite perfom by the Hindu society during traditional wedding, the fire ceremony ( homam). The sacred fire is lit and the priests chant sacred mantras offering obligations to various gods to make marriage a succes and bless the couple. This is in line with the Komtraditional marriage rite where fire is the only objectthat lits the house when the bribe is being bnrought forward to the would be family. This rite symbilse unity and love between the two families, to the Kom people is the source of food and food brings love and unity to families andthe society at large. (John Wall 2000 ) in his writing states that marriage is a sacrament of marital love which finds its further expression in parents love for fruit of their sexuality. This was the case in Kom in the past, marriage was considered to be fruitful if their union was blessed with children. Today, this statement is far fetch people get married not because the want to get children but because they have some other particular strings attached to it for wealth and adventure. Thus children are not really important in marriage in kom as compare to the past. You can find a family without children, therefore marriage as a sacrament of marital love which finds its further expression in parents love for their sexuality is barely exist. (Kramers K Gthinji 2008 ) view point about traditional marriage , is a marriage between between a man and woman which is the most acceptable form of marriage in the society. To him traditional marriage conforms to the traditional culture and religion and this can be polygamy or monogamy. These marriage categories is cultural accepted by it depends on individual to chose which type of marriage to go in to. In Kom polygamy was the highly practiced marriage this was because a large family means wealth. Those who could not afford enough to go for many wives practiced monogamy. With the evolution of time and modernity,marriage in this society is monogamy people hardly do go for polygamous marriages again. CONCLUSION Marriage is a union between people and it is the oldest institution that has ever existed since from creation when God created man woman as husband and wife. Marriage should be based on love it should not be a trade where human beings are sold as commodities as the case of bride price, where men are tasked to pay higher bride price if the bride is educated. Some traditional rites should be modernised, traditional leaders should put a moderate price for bride price and a fixed amount of material goods for this purpose if only if the goods are of important to the marriage. Some rite should be kept out of the scene of marriage. In a nut shell marriage rituals are good because they attaches a lot important to marriage, some of them are prayers for a fruitful marriage. The evolution of marriage its rite has played a very tremendous role in the Kom society both positively and negatively. REFERENCES Carol Ann Muller 1999: Rituals of Fertility and the Sacrifice of Desire. Nazarite Womens Performance in South Africa. Publishing House .the University of Chicago Press Chicago and London. J.L Comaroff 1980: The Meaning Of Marriage Payment. Linda.S Cordell, Stephen J. Beckerman 1980: The Versality of Kinship Roy Willis 1975: The Interpretation of Symbolism. S.E Smith 2006: Marriage Past and Present, Future? Pro Devisch Rennat 2008/2009 Course Document. Wayne Jackson July 28, 2004: As Designed by God. Goody, Jack, and S. J. Tambiah. 1973. Bride wealth and Dowry. Cambridge, U.K.:Cambridge University Press. J. L. Cmaroff 1980: The Meaning of Marriage Payment. Kuper, Adam. 1982. Wives for Cattle: Bride wealth and Marriage in Southern Africa. Meyer Fortes 1972: Marriage in the Tribal Societies Sheila Ellison 2000: The courage to Be a Single Mother: Becoming Whole Again after Divorce. S E Smith 2006: Marriage past, and present, future. Wayne Jackson, July 28 2004: Marriage As Designed by God Maggie Gallagher, 2001: What is marriage for? Public purposes or Marriage Law.

An Investigation and a Report into the Customer Services at Sainsburys :: Business and Management Studies: Case Studies

An Investigation and a Report into the Customer Services at Sainsburys Introduction For my business report on customer service I have chosen to investigate Sainsburys. Sainsburys is a leading UK and US food retailer; although Sainsbury's main business activity consists of food sales they also have interests in financial and property markets. The Sainsbury's group consists of Sainsburys supermarkets and bank in the UK and Shaws supermarkets in the US and employ a total of 172,900 people throughout their company. What is Customer service? Customer service is very important to every company and keeping customers satisfied can lead to a big increase in profit. A survey carried out by NOP showed that reducing customer defections can raise profits by 25-85% and in 73% of cases the organisation in question made no attempt to persuade dissatisfied customers to stay with their company, despite 35% of them saying a simple apology would prevent them from moving to their competitors. Another survey carried out by HENL showed that a 1% cut in customer service problems could generate a 16 million pound profit for a medium sized business over 5 years. This shows that customer satisfaction can actually generate money. Another example of the benefits of keeping current customers satisfied are the surveys produced by TARP and PriceWaterhouseCooper. This TARP survey showed that 68% of customer defection takes place because the customer feels that they have been poorly treated and that it can cost up to five times more to buy new customers than to retain existing ones. Customer satisfaction not only benefits sales of goods and services but can also lead to bills being paid earlier by the customer. PriceWaterhouseCooper and the university of Bradfordsurveyed 3000 businessmen and the results show that if there was high customer satisfaction then bills were paid up to 14 days earlier than where there was poor customer satisfaction. All of this evidence shows that customer service is an integral part of a successful company. The importance of customer service to Sainsburys is reflected in their mission statement: 'Our mission is to be the customers first choice for food, delivering products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through working faster, simpler and together'. Types of customers There are many different types of customer and they fall mainly into two categories; external and internal. Â · External customers These are people who visit the store to buy their products or services and they all have different needs to be catered for. They are people such as the. Children (families)- Their need is equipment to be designed with their children's safety in mind. There will be a lot of families visiting Sainsburys to purchase

Protein Power Essays -- Eating Health Essays

Protein Power 1. Description Met-Rx can be used as a meal supplement or meal companion. It is mostly used by body builders in order to build body mass. It is packaged in the form of food bars or powdered shakes. (www.metrx.com/tutorials-and-quiz/quiz.html) The purpose of this treatment is to "support protein synthesis, energy production, and fat utilization" (www.met-rx.com/faq/default.htm). The ingredients contained in these combinations allow the body to acquire all the necessary nutrients for maximum metabolic effect. 2. Types of Protein Supplements Shakes are used so that the time consuming calorie counting, etc. can be avoided. They are also designed to "maximize the oxidation and storage potential of some metabolic pathways (protein and carbohydrates) and limits others (fat)" (www.metrx.com/tutorial-and-quiz/lesson7c.html). Currently, whey protein has the highest Biological Value (a number used for comparing protein value in foods.) The fact that whey protein was produced as a result of milk protein and there is no inclusion of fat or lactose allows whey protein to be very beneficial. Whey protein has also shown an increase in levels of glutathione (an antioxidant which is necessary in a healthy immune system). (www.powersupplements.com/protein.htm) For this reason, the University of Nebraska Medical Center studied the effects of a protein diet on hamsters. They concluded that the "life span of hamsters was extended by 60% by supplementing their diet with whey protein" (www.powersupplements.com/protein.htm). Considering this study deals with hamsters, the results can not be assumed exact for humans, nonetheless they are encouraging. 3. Food Vs. Protein Supplement ... ...cience Nutrition. Jul;39(4):317-328. (3) Dohm GL. (1984). Protein nutrition for athletes. Clinical Sports Medicine. Jul;3(3):s595-604. (4) Jenson, MB and I Hessov. (1997). Dietary supplementation at home improves the regain of lean body mass after surgery. Nutrition. May;13(5):422-430. (5) McCarthy, D and D Weihofen. (1999). The effect of nutritional supplements on food intake in patients undergoing radiotherapy. Oncol Nurs Forum. Jun;26(5):897-900. (6) Nesheim, MC. (1999). What is the research base for the use of dietary supplements? Public Health Nutrition. Mer;2(1):35-38. (7) Arslanian, S. and S DaSilva, FL Goss, J Kang, KF Metz, RJ Robertson, RR Suminski, and AC Utter. (1997). Acute effect of amino acid ingestion and resistance exercise on plasma growth hormone concentration in young men. Int. J. Sport Nutrition. Mar;7(1):48-60.

History of the PC :: Essays Papers

History of the PC â€Å"If one thinks about it, it is truly remarkable how far the technology has advanced since the first digital computer was introduced in 1946. The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was designed and built at the University of Pennsylvania. It weighed 30-tons and took up 1500 square feet of floor space. The first computer developed in Europe was the EDSAC (Electronic Delay-Storage Automatic Computer). This machine was built at Cambridge University in 1949. What characterized these earliest machines is that the switching and control functions were handled by vacuum tubes. This feature typifies what is termed the first-generation of computers. EDSAC had one feature that ENIAC lacked. Within the computer was stored the instructions to control the machine and the data to be operated upon. This was the first of the stored program computers. The first commercially available digital computer was the Sperry Rand UNIVAC I. This was sold to the Bureau of the Census and put in place in 1951. In the late 1950's the bulky and hot vacuum tubes were replaced in computer designs by smaller, more reliable solid state transistors. The use of transistors as the basic component of computer design characterizes what is known as the second generation of computers. 1963 brought about the start of third-generation computers. Solid-logic technology (SLT) enabled the development of the integrated circuit (IC). ICs allowed the placement of as many as 664 transistors, diodes and other associated components on silicon chip less than one eighth of an inch square. We are now in the midst of the fourth-generation of computers. Characterized by continued miniaturization of circuitry, such developments as large-scale integration (LSI) and very large-scale integration (VLSI) have enabled the current crop of machines to have a level of power and speed that was almost unimaginable 20 years ago. Now on to the history of the microcomputer. The first commercially available personal computer was the Scelbi-8H that went on sale in March 1974. The machine was designed around the Intel 8008 microprocessor, a less powerful 8-bit design than the later 8080. A machine in kit form with 1K of memory sold for $440.00. About 200 of these machines were sold in kit form and assembled. Half were the Scelbi-8H hobby machines, the rest were Scelbi-8B business computers, which were released in April 1975, having as much as 16K of memory. The first commercially successful microcomputer was the MITS Altair 8800 designed by Ed Roberts.

Impact of Mental Health Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence

Among the stated objectives of the Healthy People 2010, a national, multi-stakeholder program that aims to improve the over-all health of the American people through health promotion and disease prevention is to expand treatment services for mental health disorders. In particular, the program is aimed at â€Å"increasing the proportion of children with mental health problems who receive treatment† by enhancing the support network of affected children and their families and improving their access to mental health and other social services.The inclusion of mental health disorders as a priority public health issue that needs to be addressed stems from the acknowledgement of the gravity of the social and economic costs of mental health problems to families and communities. More importantly, the inclusion of mental health as a national health priority reflects a significant shift in attitude in public health policy.Indeed, mental health disorders have affected a significant portion of the American population for a long time. Estimates from the United States Department of Health and Human Services reveal that mental health problems affect 20 percent of the population annually. Likewise, the risk of developing mental health disorders cuts across age, ethnicity, gender, education, and socio-economic status, making children almost as vulnerable as older people to mental health problems.It is estimated, for instance, that 20 percent of children and adolescents within the 9 to 17 age group are likely to exhibit symptoms of mental health disturbances such as major depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders; with 5 percent of the cases being severe and debilitating to children’s normal growth and development. (USDHHS (a), 2000)Clearly, the impact of mental health disorders on children and adolescents’ well-being is grave. Children and adolescents with mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders usually perform poorly in school and are more vulnera ble to alcohol and drug addiction. As in adults, mental health disorders also increase the risk of children and adolescents towards violent and aggressive behavior and suicide. In the 1999 alone, the suicide rate among children and adolescents was as high as 2.6 percent. (USDHHS (b), 2000)Unfortunately, mental health disorders have been poorly understood which usually deprives those affected of access to necessary treatment and services. It is worth noting, for instance, that only 27 percent of children and adolescents afflicted with mental health disorders avail of treatments, most of them receiving help mainly from in-school facilities and services. (USDHHS (b), 2000) Prevailing health policies have largely ignored the fact that mental health problems usually begin during childhood and adolescence and may have a lifelong impact on affected children. In the same manner, the public and social costs of mental health disorders have been largely ignored or underrecognized.On the other hand, mental health disorders have been shown to have a tremendous impact on public and private health spending, amounting to $69 Billion in diagnosis and treatment expenses. (USDHHS (b), 2000) Majority of these costs were shouldered by public funds while the remainder were paid for through private spending. The figures could be higher when the indirect costs of mental health illness on productivity, damages to property, criminal justice and litigation, and insurance claims are accounted for.Likewise, mental health disorders also place a tremendous strain on the economic lives of families and communities. A study done by Busch and Barry (2007) aimed at determining the impact of childhood mental disorders on the financial well-being of families with afflicted children reveals that the impaired functioning of children with mental disturbances affects parents’ work productivity and caring for or arranging for the care of the child often leads to lost family income in terms of lo st work hours. (p. 1090) The researchers contend that caring for children with mental health disorders are as costly as caring with children with other chronic illnesses. (p. 1088)Busch and Barry’s study was conducted by analyzing the responses of respondents to the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) to compare the effects of children’s mental health disorders on the family’s economy to the economic impact on the family of children requiring special health care needs. (p. 1089)To this end, the researchers utilized propensity-score matching and logistic regression in controlling for differences between children with mental health disorders and the general population sample. Results of study supported their contention that caring for children with mental health disorders was a cause of financial burden especially for those who were privately insured. (p. 1089) Results of the study also showed that caring for a child with mental h ealth disorder severely limited the labor-market participation of parents, increased the time they spent caring for or arranging for childcare, and consequently reduced the time parents spent on other activities. (p. 1091)Thus, the authors encourage the implementation of programs and policies aimed at supporting the families of children with mental health disorders to alleviate the adverse economic outcomes brought about by heavy costs incurred from intensive and extensive child care and treatment requirements. (p. 1095) Such programs could include the elimination of mental health restrictions in private insurance policies that prevent or reduce children’s access to mental health services and treatment that increases the risk of prolonged and degenerative disability. Another suggestion made by the authors is extending financial assistance to families caring for children with mental disorders that would help defray some of the costs involved in the medical care of such childre n. (p. 1094)It is clear that the social and economic impact of mental health disorders should be a great concern for the nursing community. Nurses, who are at the frontline of health service delivery, play an important role in health promotion and disease prevention. As a critical health workforce, nurses’ support in the implementation of mental health programs is crucial in meeting health objectives and achieving positive health outcomes. Nurses have the ability to contribute to the promotion of mental health through a renewed focus on patient-centered care that takes into account the holistic dimensions of health and places emphasis on early detection and diagnosis of mental health problems.Nurses are an important part of the support network of families and communities with respect to the provision of information and other forms of resources. Given that mental health disorders are preventable and treatable diseases, the ability of nurses to provide a timely referral for tre atment services and intervention for children and adolescents who exhibit the symptoms of mental, behavioral, and emotional disturbance would be a significant factor in improving the health and lives of children and adolescents. A significant improvement in the detection of mental health disorders, for instance, can be achieved with adequate attention on the part of nurses on the cognitive, emotional, and psychological aspects of their patients.Therefore, the nursing community, as an important part of the health workforce, must be conscious of the prevalence of mental health disorders and be sufficiently informed about their role in the prevention and treatment of these problems. This way, nurses will be able to provide the needed support to reduce the economic and social costs of mental health-related diseases. Nurses will also be fully prepared to meet the exacting challenge of improving the health and quality of life of the individuals they serve.Works Cited:Busch, Susan H. & Col leen L. Barry (2007). Mental health disorders in childhood: Assessing the burden on families. Health Affairs, 26(4): 1088-1095.United States Department of Health and Human Services (a) (2000). Healthy People 2010: Leading Health Indicators. Retrieved 21 April 2008 from the Healthy People 2010 website: https://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/html/uih/uih_bw/uih_4.htm#mentalhealth