The Irish Culture Essay Example for Free

The Irish Culture Essay The Irish are the people living on the Island of Ireland. Their culture is not that huge as per many beliefs. This is due to the prominent divisions that are there between urban and rural people, between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics and also divisions between the Irish speakers and the English speakers. This division has gone ahead to even affect the new migrants and the native population (Mitchell, 1998). With such divisions, the Irish culture is bound not to be monumental, though it is significant to as far as international levels. The old pagan tradition is still considerably reflected in the Irish calendar up to date. The Christian traditions have also a significant effect even though they came much later. For instance, in other countries around the world, Christmas coincides with the winter solstice, something that was chosen deliberately (Comerford, 2003). In Ireland, Christmas just like most places have several local traditions, some of them are in no particular way connected with Christianity. One example is on 26th December where it is also known as St. Stephen’s day. There is a custom of â€Å"Wrenboys† who make door to door calls with assorted material’s arrangement. These equipments tend to vary with place which is meant to a dead wren that has been trapped in the furze. There is also the 1st of February which is the Brigid’s day. This day has also acquired different names which include Imbolic and Candlemas. This too does not have any Christian origins. Instead, it is seen as another observation that is religious in nature and was superimposed during the start of spring. There is also the Brigid’s cross that was made on this day out of rushes. It is used to be a symbol of a solar wheel that is pre- Christian. Sumhain in November is another festival that is still greatly observed to date and it is currently called Halloween. Halloween has gained popularity and is celebrated world wide. The other pre- Christian festivals that have their names as Irish months name include Bealtaine that is May and Lunasa which is August. Easter and Marian observances are part of the important church holidays (Mitchell, 1998). The most eventful and prestigious of all is the S. t Patrick’s day. It is marked as a national holiday in the republic of Ireland. To really ascertain its importance, the day is celebrated with a lot of festivals in the cities and within towns all around the country. Parades and marching bands are also availed to mark that day. Dancing is part and parcel of the Irish culture. In Irish dancing, two main kinds have been identified. They are the Riverdance and Real Irish dance. The Riverdance is very popular in that it is running up to the moment in major cities apart from Ulan Bater. It is even credited with the Irish economic boom by some economists. On the other hand, the Real Irish dance is performed in such a manner that men do not dress in frilly blouses and one is not allowed to communicate except in a note in print to the panel of adjudicators (Comerford, 2003). The work habits in the Irish community vary with different people. Farming is largely prevalent in Ireland even though it is one of the activities in the Irish culture that comes from way back in history. Therefore in arming, the men are the ones who handle most of the activities that are related to it. The women on the other hand do the marketing of the produces. The Irish farmers have come to be known for using the latest methods in agricultural production. The kind of produce that they make includes meat and dairy products. Cereals like wheat and barley are also chiefly produced. In production the Irish industry has done tremendously well in pharmaceuticals textiles, clothing, and even in fishery (Mitchell, 1998). Language is only one way of communicating. There are other forms of sending a message that bring forth communication. Gestures are one way of communicating. The Irish culture also has its own unique gestures. Women are allowed to sit first before the men. The women are supposed to sit with their legs crossed right at the ankle or even at the knees. It is considered informal to have ones ankles crossed over the knee. A good gesture also includes buying your friends or drinking partners a round of drinks when your turn comes. It is looked at as rather rude not to. Therefore the people tend to be disciplined and everyone knows what is expected of them at a particular situation no matter how informal it may seem or be. Shoving the line is frowned upon. Order is highly regarded and no one is supposed to be treated unfairly to an extent of having others shove the line. Using a firm handshake is also seen as a good gesture. Loose handshakes are associated with disrespect towards the person greeted or eve lack of interest. Therefore firm handshake symbolizes reverence (Comerford, 2003). In terms of governance, the Irish government of the time holds the office only and only when it still has the support of the majority of Dail Eireann members. The Taoiseach who is the head of the government can voluntarily resign and if he/she does so, the whole cabinet is considered to have resigned. Then a new nomination is put for Taoiseach before the parliament to approve a new one. The Irish government according to its constitution should constitute between 7-15 members. The head of the government is nominated by one of the houses of parliaments and the Irish president formally appoints him. For that post, each political party nominates its member who needs the support of the majority members of parliament to win (Mitchell, 1998). The Irish government is elected for a ruling term of five years. In this case since the current government was elected in 2007, it is expected to conclude its term in 2012 and go for a general election. In parliament, the senate and parliament debates are available and even published all the way through the session. The issues and questions tabled by the members of parliaments during the sitting are taken by the minister in whose docket it concerns. The replies are published at the end of each day’s parliamentary proceedings. Each committee meeting has an official report which is published in 2-3 working days and at most in a week’s time. Therefore Ireland has a democratic system of governance (Comerford, 2003). In essence, the Irish culture is a unique one and identifies the Irish people. It is richly religious with over 80% of its population being Roman Catholics. They have lots of days they observe that are not necessarily Christian oriented but that is what makes them uniquely Irish. References. Comerford, R. Ireland Inventing the Nation. New York: Hodder Books, (2003). Mitchell, Frank and Ryan, Michael. Reading the Irish landscape. London: SAGE. (1998).

Analysis of The Sykes-Picot Agreement

Analysis of The Sykes-Picot Agreement Christopher Mike White The current actions of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq are a result of religious and political conditions which exist due to irresponsible foreign diplomacy and the imperialistic tendencies of both Great Britain and France over one hundred years in the past. In a viral video declaring the establishment of their Islamic Caliphate early in the summer of 2014, the Islamic militants of ISIS expressed their goal to reverse the territorial lines established by the Sykes-Picot agreement.1 By the end of 2014, the groups advances in Northern Iraq and at the Turkish-Syrian border had, in fact, destabilized the existing borders drawn in the Sykes-Picot agreement.2 The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a deal negotiated between the Entente Allies, minus America, in anticipation of the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War One. The agreement split the Middle East, which had been under Ottoman Rule for nearly four hundred years, between the three Western nations. Britain would maintain control over what is modern day Iraq, France the region of what is now Syria and Lebanon, and Russia initially partitioned a small section of land north of Iraq. The Russian zone was removed with the rise of the Bolsheviks in 1917 and subsequent collapse of the Russian Imperial State. The boundaries drawn in the Sykes-Picot agreement would be used post-war as the basis for the formation of the mandate system in the Middle East under the League of Nations, giving Great Britain and France their mandates to develop their respective regions.3 The Sykes-Picot agreement ultimately failed for several reasons. First, they used a negotiator who was centered on imperial interests and refused to listen to those who had experience with the people and history of the region. Second, they sought to use King Hussein as a political tool and negotiated in bad faith to make sure that things went in their favor. These mistakes showed a flawed understanding of the people and culture of the region, an error that haunts the American military today as they too refuse to learn the history of the area and use errors of past Empires to their advantage. The first problem the British encountered in the agreement was made before the deal even being signed. The British used a negotiator who was not objective enough to realize what would be necessary for a lasting peace and control, a negotiator who was focused on imperial interests and expansion. Mark Sykes was the representative of the British Empire in the negotiations. Sykes was an imperialist member of the Tory Party who, to his credit, possessed a broad personal experience in the region. Sykes was atypically tolerant of different religions but still suffered from the typical racial and cultural prejudices of the time. These biases would affect his decision-making process during negotiations.4 Sykes was convinced the Arabs were incapable of self-rule, not being as capable and civilized as the British, a common feeling in the Empire at the time. Due to these arrogant Imperialist ideals, Sykes sought to help them prosper through continuing advancement of the British Empire and its beneficial, benevolent influence in the Middle East. Sykes lack of understanding of the local population and his Britain-centric ideals of Empire made him a poor choice to negotiate the fate of the Middle East due to his lack of proper analysis or to use any of resources available to him. Sykes negotiations ignored the proposals made by a group of scholars known as the British Arabists who were very familiar with the issues of the region. These men and women were members of the British foreign service, a branch of British Government similar to the U.S. State Department, who worked almost exclusively in the Middle East. The unique experiences of this group led them to develop a deeper understanding of the local population than that of most close minded imperialist subjects. Their deeper understanding led them to develop ideologies about the local culture and people based on self-determination of the indigenous peoples vice outside rule and interference. The most famous and easily recognized of the Arabists were T.E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell. Lawrence and Bell both petitioned the British Empire to move forward with a policy supporting independence in the Middle East to avoid future conflict in the region due to the Governments complete lack of understanding of local c ultures. Despite their considerable knowledge and experience, both Lawrence and Bell were marginalized by the bureaucracy of British political intrigue. The borders drawn by the Sykes-Picot agreement were recognized during the San Remo Conference of 1922 through the League of Nations mandate system.5 Had the British government looked at, analyzed and understood any of the Arabists policies, the post-war borders drawn for the Middle East would have considered the myriad differences in culture and religion, differences that still complicate regional politics. By ignoring the Arabists, the Sykes-Picot Agreement altered the development of Middle Eastern society and politics in the twentieth century from its natural tribal based system into a Western, nation system with definite borders that did not consider religious and cultural differences. This modified system contributed to several unintended consequences. It motivates militant groups such as ISIS. Additionally, perhaps, more importantly, it grants them a level of legitimacy with the local population that makes them a larger threat. The militant groups have developed into an idea to be eliminated not just insurgents to be killed. The second issue in the agreement was the faithless negotiations they conducted with King Hussein. In early 1914 the British initiated discussions with the ruler of Mecca, Emir Hussein, the King of Hejaz, who claimed to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Because they were direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, Hussein, and his sons would be a powerful and symbolic tool to unite the various religious sects in a revolt.6 As Britain was drawn into the War with the Ottoman Empire, Husseins son Abdullah reached out to the British to garner support for an Arab revolt in Hejaz.7 Discussions in support of this revolt continued over the next two years with both sides specifying demands.8 These negotiations were primarily carried out through a series of letters between Hussein and Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt. Husseins desired an independent Arab state in the Middle East in return for his cooperation in defeating the Ottoman Empire, conversely, while the British badly needed the local Arab support they would not abandon their imperial ambitions in the region. by October 1915, with negotiations having stalled on this point, Hussein had become increasingly angered by Britains unwillingness to agree to his terms. To move past the negotiations stalemate, Hussein gave the British an ultimatum of thirty days in which to concede to Arab independence following the war in return for his suppo rt. If the British declined, Hussein informed them that he would sign an agreement with the Turks who were willing to consent to his demands in return for his allegiance to the Axis powers at this point of the war.9 Britain now had an important decision to make. They could grant Hussein his wishes, gaining crucial support in what had become a long and costly war, but in doing so give up any hope of acquiring any new post-war provinces in the Middle East. Alternatively, they could decline his offer turning potential allies into yet another enemy to contend with, making gains in the Middle East more costly and endangering vital territories already held such as the Suez Canal. Given these choices, and in the grand fashion of Brittania waving the rules as she sees fit, McMahon combined the choices into a less than optimal choice. McMahon informed Hussein of his consent to Husseins conditions in return for aid in defeating the Turks, consent which of course came with stipulations in favor of the British. The most significant demand by the British was that certain regions of Mesopotamia, those rich in oil, be placed under special administrative arrangements.10 McMahon also specified that such conditions could only be enforced with the approval of Britains ally, France. McMahon and his advisors knew of the French desire to acquire more territory in the Middle East and the potential trouble which would be caused by overtly opposing them following an Allied victory.11 By making these requirements including the stipulations on France, the British had virtually made Hussein a promise which they would not and could not keep. The French ambassadors discussed their determination to take hold of the entire region but the British having special administrative arrangements now had the upper hand. Now British diplomats wer e willing to negotiate in regards to Syria, however, they were absolutely unwilling and had no reason to relinquish any claim to the area that is now modern day Iraq. With this impasse, France and Britain set out to negotiate an agreement which would split the Middle East between them following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire instead of honoring any agreement they had with Hussein. By May 1916 British representative Mark Sykes finished his meetings with Georges-Picot of France, mainly in the pub over a few pints per Professor Kohnen, and had drawn a map which would ultimately determine the boundaries of the modern day Middle East.12 Looking at the map of the modern Middle East and the ongoing conflict involving ISIS in Syria and Iraq today you can see the geographical connections to the negotiations between McMahon and Hussein which centered around Husseins desire for an independent Arab state in the Middle East. At the height of its power the Islamic State had established territories under their control stretching over parts of Syria and Iraq up to the border of Turkey. The Areas that ISIS has reclaimed were the areas originally promised to Hussein for Arab independence by McMahon in his correspondence. This rapid rise and success of ISIS has come about due the direct results and the inadequacies of the Sykes-Picot Agreement and British Imperialism as well as the dispute between Sykes and the Arabists. ISIS seeks to create the promised independent Arab State envisioned by Hussein, though this time based on Islam, promised in the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence and Sykes-Picot agreement one hundred years prior. T he problem now is that they have a desire to expand beyond what was promised and turn it into a worldwide caliphate in revenge for the past.13 The Peshmerga, Kurdish fighters from Turkey and Iraq, are in opposition to ISIS and its policy of ethnic cleansing. The Peshmerga are fighting for an autonomous Kurdish state in competition with the Arab state desire of ISIS. At least these two opposing forces in the Middle East and its current conflict are motivated by ethnic and religious differences exacerbated Sykes-Picot and the arbitrary lines it drew in the sand without considering culture and religion. Because of the imperial ambitions of Sykes and the desire of France to control Syria and the disregard of input by the Arabists and the individual Arab groups affected by the agreement, the borders of the Middle East were artificially created by Sykes and Picot. These artificially created countries have populations who fundamentally oppose each other ethnically and religiously. Had the Arabists and affected Arab ethnic groups been involved in creating the new Middle East map instead of just the Governments of France and Britain focusing on imperial aspirations, many of todays problems could have been avoided. If the British Government had acted in good faith in the negotiations with King Hussein, they would have been regarded more as allies than enemies whose word could not be trusted. The locals of the Middle East have a strict code of ethics and honesty is important. With the British being the visible representative of the West to the local population, McMahon has managed to show t he entirety of the West as untrustworthy to a populace with a very long memory. The United States has now inherited this problem and has a chance to use the history of the region and the agreements made here to help come to a more peaceful and lasting conclusion. Unfortunately, we are not using history and its lessons, instead reverting to mirror imaging the enemy and trying to win a war based on what we consider to be rationality without considering that the enemy gets a vote on the progression of hostilities. The training that we do to learn the culture of the area is a decent start, but it is only an overview and does not help in that it is out of context with the beliefs of the people. We are the same in the eyes of the locals as those who have oppressed and invaded their territories for hundreds of years with the only difference being a slightly different accent. If we are to be effective, we need to incorporate more history into the cultural training of the region so that our troops and Government leaders can begin to understand the root causes of the prob lems seen and then start to find solutions while avoiding further antagonization of the local people. Perhaps it would be a good choice to ensure a space for a historian on the major command staff so that these lessons wont have to be relearned. NOTES 1 The End of Sykes-Picot, (ISIS. 2014. Syria: Youtube, February 26th, 2015). 2 Sykes-Picot Agreement | 1916 | Britannica.com, accessed January 5, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement. 3 Sykes-Picot Agreement | 1916 | Britannica.com, accessed January 5, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement. 4 The Balfour Declaration Key Players and Events by Mary Grey | The Balfour Project, accessed January 9, 2017, http://www.balfourproject.org/the-balfour-declaration-key-players-and-events-by-mary-grey/. 5 The Origins of the Sykes-Picot Agreement | History | Smithsonian, accessed January 5, 2017, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/sykes-picot-agreement-180957217/. 6 Lawrence of Arabia. King Hussein | PBS, accessed January 6, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/players/hussein.html. 7 Lost Islamic History | The Arab Revolt of World War One, accessed January 12, 2017, http://lostislamichistory.com/the-arab-revolt-of-world-war-one/. 8 Husayn-McMahon Correspondence | British-Palestinian History | Britannica.com, accessed January 15, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Husayn-McMahon-correspondence. 9 Husayn-McMahon Correspondence | British-Palestinian History | Britannica.com, accessed January 15, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Husayn-McMahon-correspondence. 10 Contradictory Promises, by Peter A Shambrook | The Balfour Project, accessed January 14, 2017, http://www.balfourproject.org/contradictory-promises/. 11 Contradictory Promises, by Peter A Shambrook | The Balfour Project, accessed January 14, 2017, http://www.balfourproject.org/contradictory-promises/. 12 Sykes-Picot Agreement | 1916 | Britannica.com, accessed February 7, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement. 5 Sykes-Picot Agreement | 1916 | Britannica.com, accessed January 4, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sykes-Picot-Agreement. 13 The Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Making of the Modern Middle East, accessed February 4, 2017, http://theconversation.com/the-sykes-picot-agreement-and-the-making-of-the-modern-middle-east-58780.

Objectives of Standard Costing

Objectives of Standard Costing What is the definition of standard costing? Standard costing is the system of using standard costs. Standard costing involves using the predetermined costs/standard costs to compare with the actual to find the difference or variance. Variance can be adverse (actual result is worse than standard) or favorable (actual result is better than standard). An adverse variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the companys actual profit will be less than planned. Whereas, a favorable variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the actual profit will likely exceed the planned profit. What are the major objectives of standards costing? What are types of cost standards? The standard is the level of attainment accepted by management as the basis upon which standard costs are determined. There are four different standards to consider which are current standard, ideal standard, basic standard and normal standard. A current standard is a standard which is established for use over a short period of time and is related to current condition. It reflects the performance that should be attained during the current period. The period for current standard is normally one year. It is presumed that conditions of production will remain unchanged. In case there is any change in price or manufacturing condition, the standards are also revised. Current standard may be ideal standard and expected standard. However, ideal standard is the standard which represents a high level of efficiency. Ideal standard is fixed on the assumption that favorable conditions will prevail and management will be at its best. The price paid for materials will be lowest and wastes etc. will be minimum possible. The labor time for making the production will be minimum and rates of wages will also be low. The overheads expenses are also set with maximum efficiency in mind. All the conditions, both internal and external, should be favorable and only then ideal standard will be achieved. Ideal standard is fixed on the assumption of those conditions which may rarely exist. This standard is not practicable and may not be achieved. Though this standard may not be achieved, even then an effort is made. The deviation between targets and actual performance is ignorable. In practice, ideal standard has an adverse effect on the employees. They do not try to reach the standard because the standards are not considered realistic. Third standard which is basic standard may be defined as a standard which is established for use for an indefinite period which may a long period. Basic standard is established for a long period and is not adjusted to the preset conations. The same standard remains in force for a long period. These standards are revised only on the changes in specification of material and technology productions. It is indeed just like a number against which subsequent process changes can be measured. Basic standard enables the measurement of changes in costs. For example, if the basic cost for material is Rs. 20 per unit and the current price is Rs. 25 per unit, it will show an increase of 25% in the cost of materials. The changes in manufacturing costs can be measured by taking basic standard, as a base standard cannot serve as a tool for cost control purpose because the standard is not revised for a long time. The deviation between standard cost and actual cost cannot be used as a yardstick for measuring efficiency. The last one is normal standard. As per terminology, normal standard has been defined as a standard which, it is anticipated, can be attained over a future period of time, preferably long enough to cover one trade cycle. This standard is based on the conditions which will cover a future period of five years, concerning one trade cycle. If a normal cycle of ups and downs in sales and production is 10 years, then standard will be set on average sales and production which will cover all the years. The standard attempts to cover variance in the production from one time to another time. An average is taken from the periods of recession and depression. The normal standard concept is theoretical and cannot be used for cost control purpose. Normal standard can be properly applied for absorption of overhead cost over a long period of time. What are the advantages and disadvantages of standard costing system? Standard costing have several advantages. First advantage of standard costing is as a key element in a management by exception approach. If costs remain within the standards, managers can focus on other issues. When costs fall significantly outside the standards, managers are alerted that there may be problems requiring attention. This approach helps managers focus on important issues. Second advantage is standard costing is standards that are viewed as reasonable by employees can promote economy and efficiency. They provide benchmarks that individuals can use to judge their own performance. Besides that, standard costs can greatly simplify bookkeeping. Instead of recording actual costs for each job, the standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead can be charged to jobs. Last but not least, standard costs fit naturally in an integrated system of responsibility accounting. The standards establish what costs should be, who should be responsible for them, and what actual costs are under control. However, the use of standard costs can present a number of potential problems or disadvantages. Most of these problems result from improper use of standard costs and the management by exception principle or from using standard costs in situations in which they are not appropriate. Standard cost variance reports are usually prepared on a monthly basis and often are released days or even weeks after the end of the month. As a consequence, the information in the reports may be so stale that it is almost useless. Timely, frequent reports that are approximately correct are better than infrequent reports that are very precise but out of date by the time they are released. Some companies are now reporting variances and other key operating data daily or even more frequently. Besides that, if managers are insensitive and use variance reports as a club, morale may suffer. Employees should receive positive reinforcement for work well done. Management by exception, by its nature , tends to focus on the negative. If variances are used as a club, subordinates may be tempted to cover up unfavorable variances or take actions that are not in the best interest of the company to make sure the variances are favorable. For example, workers may put on a crash effort to increase output at the end of the month to avoid an unfavorable labor efficiency variance. In the rush to produce output quality may suffer. In some cases, a favorable variance can be as bad as or worse than an unfavorable variance. For example, McDonalds has a standard for the amount of hamburger meat that should be in a Big Mac. A favorable variance would mean that less meat was used than standard specifies. The result is a substandard Big Mac and possibly an unsatisfied customer. Another problem of using standard costing, there may be a tendency with standard cost reporting systems to emphasize meeting the standards to the exclusion of other important objectives such as maintaining and improving qua lity, on-time delivery, and customer satisfaction. This tendency can be reduced by using supplemental performance measures that focus on these other objectives. Just meeting standards may not be sufficient; continual improvement may be necessary to survive in the current competitive environment. For this reason, some companies focus on the trends in the standard cost variances aiming for continual improvement rather than just meeting the standards. In other companies, engineered standards are being replaced either by a rolling average of actual costs, which is expected to decline, or by very challenging target costs. In sum, managers should exercise considerable care in their use of a standard cost system. It is particularly important that managers go out of their way to focus on the positive, rather than just on the negative, and to be aware of possible unintended consequences. Nevertheless standard costs are still found in the vast majority of manufacturing companies and in many service companies, although their use is changing. For evaluating performance, standard cost variances may be supplanted in the future by a particularly interesting development known as the balanced scorecard. How standard costs are sets? Standards should be set for the quantities and prices of materials, labour and services to be consumed in performing each operation associated with a product. Product standard costs are derived by listing and adding the standard costs of operations required to produce a particular product. Two approaches are used or setting standard costs. First, past historical records can be used to estimate labour and material usage. Secondly, standards can be set based on engineering studies. With engineering studies a detailed study of each operation is unedertaken under controlled conditions, based on high levels of efficiency, to ascertain the quantities of labour and materials required. Target prices are then applied based on efficient purchasing to ascertain the standard costs. How a standard costing system operates? Standard costing is most suited to an organization whose activities consist of a series of repetitive operations and the input required to produce each unit of output can be specified. A standard costing system involves the following: The standard costs for the actul output are recorded for each operation for each responsibilty centre. Actual costs for each operation are traced to each responsibility centre. The standard and actual costs are compared. Variances are investigated and corrective action is taken where appropriate Standards are monitored and adjusted to reflect changes in standard usage and/or prices. Variances What is the main purpose of variance analysis? There are very few plans that turn out exactly as planned. Even when the overall objectives of the plan are achieved, some, if not all components of the performance will have varied from the sub-plans or standards that make up the overall picture. For example, a football team may win an important game, as planned, but within the team performance there may be many aspects that the manager will analyse during and after the match so that performance can be improved for next time. As in business, good points need to be encouraged, less positive aspects need to be discussed and corrected. In a game of football, a side may have won a high number of corner kicks, but conceded too many free-kicks in defending. There is little to be gained for the next match if we do not think about the last performance in detail. Variance analysis provides a framework for business managers to breakdown the overall performance of an organisation, so that each individual element of the business can be isolated and analysed in turn. What are the causes of labour, material, overhead, and sales margin variances? Quantities cost variances arise because the actual quantity of resources consumed exceed actual usage or vice versa. Examples include excess usage of materials and labour arising from the usage of interior materials, careless handling of materials and failure to maintain machinery in proper condition. Price variances arise when the actual prices paid for resources exceed the standard prices or else. Examples include the failure of the purchasing function to seek the most efficient sources of supply or the use of a different grade of labour to that incorporation in the standard costs. How to calculate material, labour, variable overhead, fixed overhead, and sales variances.

Common Motifs of Edgar Allan Poe Essay -- Biography

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His first book was published in 1827. In 1829 Al Aaraaf Tamerlane, and Minor Poems, Poe's second book was published. Poe became the editor of The Southern Literary Messenger in 1834 after his lawyer persuaded them to publish some of his stories and make him an editor. During this time his mark on American Literature began. Three of Poe's well-known stories are â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, which was published in 1846, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart, which was published in 1843, and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, which was published in 1842. In these three stories like most of Poe's stories they deal with the deep, dark, psychological side of the human brain. In Poe's short stories â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, Poe use three common motifs; death, fear or terror, and madness. The meaning of death is the permanent end of all life functions in an organism or part of an organism. Death can take different forms, sickness, revenge, hate, misunderstandings, love. Death is one of the main motifs in all two of the three short stories, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Montresor kills Fortunato in revenge, and although death is mentioned in â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† there is actually no form of death even though it was close to happening. â€Å"..I felt that I tottered upon the bring – I averted my--...An out stretched arm caught my own as I fell fainting into the abyss. It was that of General Lasalle† (The Pit and the Pendulum p. 10). In â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† where Fortunato was chained to a wall and then bricked into a little cavern filled with bones and then the room was set on fire. â€Å"I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture ... ... he starts to think more of how he may die. When he is finally pushed over the edge of the pit, which could be considered being pushed over the edge of insanity, everything comes rushing back to reality when he is grabbed by a General. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum†, all have common motifs; death, fear or terror, and madness. Each story has their own special way of showing the three different motifs. In all three stories these three motifs were connected in some way. Someone was afraid of something or someone, which drove them mad, which led them to kill someone. In the case of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† death was caused by revenge, and hate. Death, fear and madness are all common themes in a lot of Poe's work. They add depth and different perspectives to look at things from. They all make the stories what they are.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns †¦ we ain’t seen nothing yet! One of my favorite books when I was little was "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. I’m sure many of you here tonight are quite familiar with it. It is about a young boy named Max who loves to dress up in his wolf suit and cause trouble. When his mother disapproves, Max creates a world of make-believe with his imagination in which he is king of all wild things. Here he is accepted and revered for his savage behavior. I loved it in my younger days because of the pictures of the big monsters and was jealous of the boy who got the chance to live with them. I always wanted to be that boy. To be a "wild thing," carefree, with no responsibilities or authority figure to answer to. "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called hi... ...ere he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot." It is now time to step out of high school and enter a world of choices. It is time to leave "where the wild things are," taking our experiences, memories and knowledge and follow our hearts and dreams. It is time to give thanks to all who have supported and helped us down this path. Thank your friends for being there for you, thank your teachers for preparing you, thank your parents for guiding you and thank all others who always made sure your supper was still hot. So as you hop in your sailboat and follow to where good smelling things are to eat, remember what you’ve learned from being in the world of the wild things. Take this experience and utilize it towards your future, because I guarantee you that what lies ahead for us is gonna make being a wild thing look like a walk in the park. Thank you.

Movie Yasmin Essay

‘Yasmin is remarkable as a film for its cinematic economy: not a scene, shot or speech is wasted. ’ Explore some elements of the film in relation to this statement. The movie Yasmin, released in 2004 and written by the highly acclaimed writer of The Full Monty, Simon Beaufoy, is an impressive drama about what it means to be an Asian-looking Muslim in Britain of the 21st Century. The story is about the young and vivid Yasmin, a woman who tries to â€Å"succeed, by the skin of her teeth,†[1] in the two worlds she grew up in.On the one hand there is her life at home with her believing father and rebellious little brother, for whom she has to mark â€Å"time as a dutiful Muslim wife until her arranged marriage can be terminated. â€Å"[2] On the other hand there is her life outside this domesticity, where she is â€Å"like a fugitive, maintaining a double life as she changes into Western clothes, wins employee of month award at work and goes to the pub with colleag ues. â€Å"[3] One of the main topics of the movie is the difficult tension between being a religious and respectful woman and integrating into the Western society.Another important theme in the movie is the impact that the terror attacks in September 2001 had on the British Asian community in Britain. Yasmin’s story therefore deals with a wide range of themes such as discrimination, guilt, and the progress of searching for one’s own identity. It is especially â€Å"remarkable as a film for its cinematic economy (since) not a scene, shot or speech is wasted. † There are no fill-ups in this movie, everything has a meaning. This essay will explore some carefully chosen scenes of the movie concerning its sometimes hidden or masked intention and meaning.It will therefore especially concentrate on the beginning scene, which is regarded as being â€Å"the strongest part of the film†[4]. A closer look at the opening of the film is worth it since every well comp osed novel or film is creating a deliberate relationship between the beginning and the rest of the movie. It will be examined in the following, that additionally in the case of Yasmin the directors develop a consistency, a pattern of the main themes of the film, in the beginning.Everything is already there in the very first three and a half minutes; things shown in the opening reappear later in the movie; conflicts the film deals with can already be assumed in moves, placements, and pictures. It will be proven that, if taken into account every detail, every shot of the scene, the viewer will already be able to see the whole film in miniature in the beginning. The essay will therefore also have a closer look on what is shown in the opening scene and will then search for coherences and connections throughout the rest of the movie.It will hereby not go through the scene chronologically but will pick up separate shots of it and put them together in categories; although it will start wit h the first shot to which the viewer is introduced in the movie. When Khalid, Yasmin? s father, lopes over a typical grey English street followed by Nazir, Yasmin? s brother, a few steps behind him, Nazir? s bearing strikes the viewer immediately: the way he creeps a few steps behind his father with the hands in his pockets expresses discouragement, maybe even irritation.He seems to be unhappy with the situation, possibly because it? s too early in the morning, since gentle beams of sunrise just touch the wall behind them; possibly because he dislikes the purpose of their walk. His father, however, hastens to raise this purpose: in his hurry he turns around to see where his son has got to. It becomes clear that it is the father who controls the situation— that he is the leader whom the son has to follow. So apart from the obvious, the authority person walking in front might tell the viewer something about the relation between father and son.One could even go further and sugge st it might also tell something about their attitude towards life, about their religion, about the way the head of the family is treated in the Islam faith. The scene therefore implicates the parental respect of which is set value in this family. How important this topic is to Yasmin? s father Khalid becomes more and more clear during the course of the movie: he repeatedly calls for respect towards the parental authority over his children. When Yasmin is complaining about her husband and gives him humiliating names, Khalid reprehends her immediately and stresses his will with a slight slap.He even repudiates Yasmin when she dares to apply for a divorce against his will. So the viewer already gets in this very first scene, in the very first seconds, an initial impression of what domestic life in this family is about: about respect and family ties. The two move on and finally arrive at the mosque, which is gated by a metallic blind. After abandoning their shoes, Nazir and Khalid enter the interior of the mosque; and in doing so they pace over a formidable carpet in a remarkable red. It s admirable how strikingly this little scene influences the movie? s atmosphere: after the grey and dusty outside of the mosque with its bleak stone-walls and metallic blinds covering the entrance, the viewer now gets an impression of the inside; the colourful, bright, shining red carpet. The jump is a quiet astonishing little moment: the greyness outside opposes the bright shining colour of the huge carpet these seemingly little people are crossing (amplified by the way the scene is shot: with bird? eye view). Inside the mosque the viewer gets a sense of richness, a glimpse on the whole tradition, an idea about the Islam faith. The scene is not just remarkable because of its visual orchestration, but also in introducing the viewer to this huge and rich religion and the way it sees the world. Later in the beginning scene there is a shot that shows the grey and grim wall of a Yorks hire stone house in the front, again contrasted by the beautiful outlines of the colourful mosque in the background.The two absolutely different styles of architecture standing next to each other implicate a huge imagery: the mosque as a symbol for the tradition and a stonewall which symbolizes the here and now, indicates how the life of the Muslim people in Great Britain stands side by side with the traditional life of the British natives. This deliberate expression of a coexistence of the two traditions is an expression of crossing cultures at its best in this movie, and at this point of the movie it also stands for a successful integration of the Muslim tradition into the British society.This impression is furthermore stressed during the course of the beginning scene: the mosque is using modern techniques; it is using the loudspeaker, the microphone, so a lot of quite modern technology. Satellites are shown. Here the movie is not only supposing the ageing culture of Islam against the modern British culture of science and technology but goes further: it brings it together. There is an interchange going on here through what the viewer can hear (the singing of Nazir) and what he can see (the loudspeakers and satellites).By bringing these aspects together at the same time the fusion becomes immediately clear to the viewer. In another shot of the beginning scene the viewer observes the vivid life of the Muslim community that is taking place in the streets of the town. Even though one quickly might suggest that this shot might be just a fill-up it, in fact, goes further: the viewer here gets an impression of what the life in this Muslim community is like. The reason for that is that later in the film, after the 11th of September 2001, the same streets are depicted deserted, isolated, dead.Whereas the beginning scene expresses the successful integration of the Muslim tradition into the British society, the contrasting scene in the middle of the movie now stands fo r the failure of this coexistence, for the loss of community. The remarkable contrast of this two scenes is to â€Å"illuminate Muslims' increasing disenchantment with Western society†[5] after the terror attacks. So it now comes clear that nothing in the movie is there without reason: showing a typical East-Asian community in a British town is not a fill-in but is a part of the whole effort of later showing a community being disrupted. Nothing in the movie is wasted.One of the most impressing returning scenes of the movie is Nazir singing in front of the microphone. Also this theme is introduced in the beginning scene: after watching the film the first time, the peaceful scene in the beginning immediately reminds the viewer to the very last scene in the movie, when Khalid, the father is putting in a tape into the recorder as an ersatz for the son. This final scene has a huge impact on the viewer since one here really realizes that Nazir has gone off and will not come back. I t is therefore a really tragic little moment: it is emotional even though there is no actor playing the emotion.What is on the first glance less striking but not less important is that the image of the son singing comes back three times during the course of the movie; in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. It runs through the film like a red thread: in the beginning it is, as said, introducing not only to the family? s religion but also to the family background itself. In the scene in the middle of the movie Nazir, before he starts, coughs as if he smoked too much. Since the viewer knows that he started â€Å"indulg(ing) in petty drug dealing and consorting with local girls†[6], it seems as if he became corrupted by what he is doing with his life.His coughing therefore is again not without meaning but stands for Nazir? s life becoming more difficult to handle. The returning scene is a marker in the film and each time it means something different: in the beginning it is quite straight forward, in the middle it appears as a comment for what happened to Nazir and his life, and in the end it is tragic since he is gone and will never come back. So as a major thread throughout the movie the scene with the singing Nazir displays the different states the movie and its protagonists are currently in. A similar red thread s the theme of dressing and clothes that recurs throughout the film and, again, the theme is already introduced in the opening. By watching Yasmin changing her clothes hidden by one of the typical grey stone-walls one gets an impression of this girl transforming herself into another person. Yasmin makes an enormous effort of putting herself into the trousers, since they are really too tight. She tries hard to fit herself in, she even has to jump up and down. The connection is easy to make: this movie is about someone who tries to fit in with two different worlds, tries to force herself in.So here the choice of incredibly tight trousers simply indicate what Yasmin really wants: she wants to make herself fit. If something returns deliberately, a number of times, during the film it becomes a symbolic act: when Yasmin for example dresses up to revolt against her father later in the movie, it symbolizes Yasmin? s wish to break out, to be able to be herself. In the end of the film she switches to traditional Muslim clothes, since she is at this point of the movie staying in the side of the traditional. Here the clothes express how a religious thought became fixed and hardened. Dressing here becomes a signifier for her state of mind.Since it returns later in the movie several times it always tells the viewer something when it comes to clothes. So by following how the dressing in this movie changes throughout the plot one gets a neat impression of how the state of Yasmin’s mind changes with it. The clothes are never chosen without reason in Yasmin, there is an intention in every piece the actors wear. Even though i t is just a little detail it strikes the viewer and is therefore very well-thought. So after Yasmin changed her clothes she turns over to her car and plays around with it: she locks and unlocks it with her remote control several times.This car is, as Yasmin later in the movie declares, not a ? t. p. car`, a ? typical paki-car`, but a sporty, feminine little cabriolet in an outstanding red. With this car, she wants to separate herself from those typical Pakistani people, and, even further, wants to declare her independence: â€Å"it gives her a life away from her husband and her home†[7]. By buying this car she is able to show herself and everybody else that she is different, what makes it an act of almost deliberate despair. But on the other hand, by playing around with the car, she expresses her excitement.She does it simply because she can. This gives the viewer a sense of how she is playing with things she owns, how she creates the parts of the world around her she can con trol in the way she likes it. The motif also returns later in the movie, after 9/11: Yasmin gets in the car and there is a news report on the radio about the terror-attacks. Yasmin? s reaction is as playfully as in the beginning of the movie: she just puts a CD in, and listens to the music. She does simply not want to think about, does not want to care. The viewer gets an impression of the ambiguity of Yasmin? life, of how difficult it must be to live in two different worlds, to create her life successfully around the different expectations the people she deals with have of her. The last shot of the opening scene in the movie depicts this challenge in a deliberate way: it shows the long, small, winding road Yasmin has to take day by day to drive to work and back. This road is the connection of the two worlds she lives in; it is a connecting thread between not only two different locations but two different worlds. Yasmin is having this journey – this transformation, this strug gle – every day.By driving over this street she is migrating from one world to another and she has to transform herself before she is accomplished with the migration, since she changes her identity day by day. Furthermore the road is connecting the two different worlds as well as dividing them. That becomes clear through the visual impact of this shot: the road is crossing the whole screen and Yasmin and her little car have to follow its way through the landscape; it deliberately makes the viewer ask: how long will it take her? And how long will she stand this?The struggle of â€Å"balancing two separate worlds in quest to please (a) conservative family, without sacrificing the obvious advantages of the Western environment†[8] is depicted as lovely and rich in detail in the movie Yasmin. It is â€Å"the beautifully realised opening, entirely without dialogue for a good few minutes, (that) is the strongest part of the film†[9] as it, as shown, already gives the w hole of the movie, its main conflicts, themes and topics in miniature. Although this is a primarily visual scene, dialogue, if used in the movie, is very effectively— â€Å"Not a scene, shot or speech is wasted. But the dialogue is used economically and not in the opening: it is a visual opening; in general, Yasmin is a visual movie. Every scene, every act, every piece of clothing has a meaning. As the director of the movie, Kenny Glenaan himself, says: â€Å"obviously the beauty is what you can do within the frame and some people are amazing at doing that. â€Å"[10] Bibliography Dilks, Richard, Yasmin, in Close-Up Film, 2003, http://www. close-upfilm. com/reviews/y/yasmin. htm Docherty, Alan, Yasmin – Kenny Glenaan, in Culture Wars, 2001, http://www. culturewars. org. uk/2004-02/yasmin. tm Glenaan, Kenny, in a BBC Interview, last updated in September 2004, http://www. bbc. co. uk/films/festivals/edinburgh/yasmin. shtml Jennigs, Tom, Tom Jennings’ essay on c inema representations of European Asians & Muslims, 2005, http://libcom. org/library/ae-fond-kiss-dir-ken-loach-yasmin-dir-kenny-glenaan-head-dir-fatih-akin-film-review The Hindu Magazine, Being Asian, Muslim and British, Online edition of India's National Newspaper, 2003, http://www. hindu. com/mag/2004/11/14/stories/2004111400270200. htm ——————————— [ 1 ].Docherty, Alan, Yasmin – Kenny Glenaan, in Culture Wars, 2011, http://www. culturewars. org. uk/2004-02/yasmin. htm [ 2 ]. Docherty, Alan, Yasmin – Kenny Glenaan, in Culture Wars, 2011, http://www. culturewars. org. uk/2004-02/yasmin. htm [ 3 ]. Docherty, Alan, Yasmin – Kenny Glenaan, in Culture Wars, 2011, http://www. culturewars. org. uk/2004-02/yasmin. htm [ 4 ]. Dilks, Richard, Yasmin, in Close-Up Film, 2003, http://www. close-upfilm. com/reviews/y/yasmin. htm [ 5 ]. Docherty, Alan, Yasmin – Kenny Glenaan, in Culture Wars, 2011, http://www. culturewars. org. uk/2004-02/yasmin. tm [ 6 ]. Jennigs, Tom, Tom Jennings’ essay on cinema representations of European Asians & Muslims, 2005, http://libcom. org/library/ae-fond-kiss-dir-ken-loach-yasmin-dir-kenny-glenaan-head-dir-fatih-akin-film-review [ 7 ]. Dilks, Richard, Yasmin, in Close-Up Film, 2003, http://www. close-upfilm. com/reviews/y/yasmin. htm [ 8 ]. The Hindu Magazine, Being Asian, Muslim and British, Online edition of India's National Newspaper, 2003, http://www. hindu. com/mag/2004/11/14/stories/2004111400270200. htm [ 9 ]. Dilks, Richard, Yasmin, in Close-Up Film, 2003,

An assistant professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University says of her earlier years as autistic child

This term paper discusses autism in relation to nursing. Its aims are:   (1) to define autism and its causes, (2) to describe the process of evaluating if a child has autism, (3) to report abnormal findings observed among autistic patients, and (4) to describe appropriate treatments, including medical and nursing treatments, as well as prognosis and chances for recovery.What is Autism?I was 2  ½ years old when I began to show symptoms of autism; not talking, repetitious behavior, and tantrums. Not being able to communicate in words was a great frustration, so I screamed. Loud, high pitched noises hurt my ears like a dentist’s drill hitting a nerve. I would shut out the hurtful stimuli by rocking or staring at sand dribbling through my fingers (Grandin, 2002)Temple Grandin, one of the thousands of individuals with autism, described aptly what was happening to her then. It has been reported that autistic children and adults are lacking in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interaction, and leisure or play activities. It is hard for them to communicate with others and relate to the outside world.They exhibit repeated body movements, unusual responses to people or attachment to objects and resist any changes in routines. In some cases, aggressive or self-injurious behavior may be present (Autism Society of America, 2006).According to the Autism Society of America (2006), autism occurs in approximately 15 of every 10,000 individuals, four times more prevalent in boys than girls, and conservatively estimated that nearly 400,000 people in the United States have some form of autism.Autism is defined as a â€Å"complex childhood disorder that involves abnormal emotional, social and linguistic development â€Å"(Ball & Blinder, 1995).   It is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life as a result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain (Autism Society of America).  Studies have shown abnormalities in different areas of the brain, including the cerebellum which participates in the execution of organized movements such as walking, running, eating, dressing and writing (Isaac, et al. 2005).The major brain structures implicated in autism are the cerebral cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, basal ganglia, brain stem, corpus callosum and cerebellum (Strock, 2004).   Many of these brain structures are responsible for higher mental functions, general movement, perception, behavioral reactions, speaking and other bodily functions.What causes autism?According to Jennifer Humphries (2000), the cause of autism remains unknown. It has been attributed to damage to the brain, but she said it is not conclusively proven.   She enumerated five factors cited by Frith (1989) that may be responsible for it, which are as follows: genetic or chromosomal abnormality, viral agents, metabolic disorders, immune intolerance and perinatal anoxia.Family studies show that autism is 50 times more frequent in the siblings of autistic people than in the general population. Siblings who are not autistic themselves show an increased incidence of other cognitive impairments.Infections like German measles (rubella) and herpes encephalitis may damage the brain during pregnancy and childhood.   Children with autism have shown elevated blood serotonin (a chemical in the brain) levels, although this is not specific to autism. It is postulated that there is delayed maturation in the central nervous system functioning (Isaac, et al, 2005).How is autism diagnosed?There is no specific universal diagnostic or laboratory test to detect autism. Diagnosis is often made by a psychiatrist using established criteria by the American Psychiatric Association (2000) which focus on communication skills, social interactions as well as repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior.Moreover, â€Å"clinicians can use behavioral observation instruments and ask parents and/or teachers to fill out behavior checklists (Hallahan and Kauffman, 2006).