Doctor Faustus - Analysis Essay - 1785 Words

I. The play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow was first published in Manchester by Manchester Publishing in 1588, no information about the play’s first production date was found. II. Doctor Faustus is contrived of the following: Faustus, a man well learned in medicine and other knowledge’s known to man is dissatisfied with where his life is heading so he calls upon the Lucifer and His accomplice, Mephistophilis, to teach him the ways of magic. They agree to be his tutors only if Faustus will sell his soul to Lucifer and be His after 20 years. Faustus agrees and goes through trying times where he is unsure of his decision and considers repenting but then is persuaded again and again that the magic powers of the Devil are far more†¦show more content†¦Mephistophilis is very aware about what is going on around him; he does not miss a detail. That is why he knows how to manipulate people, especially Faustus, into giving him what he wants. IV. The language of this play is in literary prose. Since it was written well before 1830 colloquial prose is automatically ruled out. The dialogue in this play is more the thoughts of the characters instead of their actual words. For example Faustus says, â€Å"Faustus, begin thine incantations, And try if devils will obey thy hest, Seeing thou hast prayd and sacrificd to them.† (1.29) Here is alone on stage talking to himself. Normally people when alone do not talk to themselves, but Marlow uses that time to tell us what Faustus is doing, it keeps us informed. These words seem to be less natural because they sound like Faustus’ thoughts instead of his actual dialogue. An example of stage direction with in the dialogue is when Mephistophilis says, â€Å"Faustus, thou shalt: then kneel down presently, Whilst on thy head I lay my hand, And charm thee with this magic wand.† (1.120) V. As stated before, most of the stage directions are written within the dialogue of the script. The few stage directions in parentheticals are only the entrances, exits, and exeunts: â€Å"Damnd be his soul for ever for this deed! [Exeunt all except FAUSTUS and MEPHISTOPHILIS† (1.135) Occasionally,Show MoreRelatedDoctor Faustus Analysis1089 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis of Drama Doctor Faustus The play Doctor Faustus represents the conflict between good and evil inside everyone and how people can be influenced into doing things through religion and spiritual beliefs. This play illustrates the influences that people can have when met with promises of wealth, power and ultimate knowledge. Faustus is torn throughout the play on whether to repent and turn towards God or to sell his soul and indulge in earthly pleasures. Just like today, people can useRead MoreAnalysis of the Actions of Macbeth and Doctor Faustus Based on Free Will and Fate1677 Words   |  7 PagesMany scholars have debated whether the actions of Macbeth and Doctor Faustus in Shakespeare’s and Marlowe’s plays come from the characters themselves or whether they were following a predetermined fate. In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, each character’s destiny, or fate, seems to be predetermined by the supernatural and unpreventable by any actions meant to stop it from occurring. The concept of fate is a large component in many Aristotelian Tragedies, such as MacbethRead More The tragical history of Doctor Faustus Essay1562 Words   |  7 PagesThe tragical history of Doctor Faustus, which followed in the wake of Tamburlaine, is acclaimed by all as Marlowes best play in which the leaven of fertile poetry and fearless imagination works wonders. Introduction: The tragical history of Doctor Faustus, which followed in the wake of Tamburlaine, is acclaimed by all as Marlowes best play in which the leaven of fertile poetry and fearless imagination works wonders. The idea of a passionate struggle to reach beyond the grasp of Read MoreAcademic Expert1298 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare, concerning the subject of knowledge probably being a downfall as they have inferred in their own plays, Doctor Faustus and Hamlet respectively. Amusingly, the chief persona of both plays is an academic intensely occupied with the quest for knowledge. In addition, each character is as well a tragic idol whose demise is inevitable. In Doctor Faustus, Faustus trades his soul with the Devil for infinite knowledge acquisition while in Hamlet; Hamlet acquires portions of informationRead MoreThe Function Of The Tragic Greek Chorus1295 Words   |  6 PagesWeiner, 205). Aristotle goes on to say that â€Å"[the Chorus] should be a part of the whole enterprise and share in the action† (205). The more the Chorus is integrated into the play, the more it becomes more of a character. Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as well as his Macbeth’s witches all serve as a tool for play progression and representation of theme; by identifying these points, the Chorus becomes an actor in its own right. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and JulietRead MoreShift from Medieval Scholasticism to Humanism800 Words   |  3 Pages The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw a shift away from the traditional methods of medieval scholasticism which focused primarily on preparing men to be doctors, lawyers and priests and instead saw the beginnings of a movement which would become known as Rennaissance Humanism. This new movement was a rejection of the traditional methods, aiming instead to create a citizenry which could read and write with eloquence, and allowing them to participate in civic life - in this we see the originsRead MoreImplication Of Costume Design Choices Of William Shakespeare s Doctor Faustus Essay1916 Words   |  8 PagesImplication of Costume Design Choices in Staging Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus â€Å"An effective costume engages the audience’s attention and enhances the production and the actor’s performance: (1) it visually defines and supports the character developed by the actor, and (2) it helps establish the overall theme and mood of the production as interpreted by the director. An effective costume speaks to the audience’s subconscious store of knowledge and experience, helping them to identify the individual charactersRead MoreThe Supernatural in Marlowes Doctor Faustus2294 Words   |  10 Pagestime that are related to Marlowes play. The last and most extensive section focuses on the analysis of the supernatural elements in _Dr. Faustus_ and their connection with the ambiguities and contradictory ideals of the period. _Doctor Faustus_ is a non-traditional morality play, whose main character is not Everyman (the typical protagonist of this type of plays) but a single man -John Faustus-, who is a doctor in theology and has a raging thirst for knowledge. He wants to find the answers to all theRead MoreFaustus, By Dr. Faustus2669 Words   |  11 Pagesoutset, Dr. Faustus is in his study contemplating what academic discipline is the most fulfilling. He reviews a number of disciplines in his mind, such as logic and medicine (which he believes he is already adequately distinguished in), and law and theology (which he believes to have inherent inadequacies). Dr. Faustus’s route from religion to magic seems to be forcedly cobbled together in order to elicit a certain emotion towards sophists as a whole, and Marlowe laboriously thrusts Dr. Faustus into becomingRead MoreWhen Art Imitates Art757 Words   |  3 PagesThe novel deals with the Spanish Civil War and the warfare is described in the song. o â€Å"The Smallprint† by Muse, a song from the perspective of the Devil talking to a person selling their soul to him because of greed, is based on the story of Doctor Faustus, a person who sells his soul to the Devil to gain unlimited knowledge and all the worldly pleasures. o â€Å"Dont Stand So Close to Me† by The Police was inspired by Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, as is clear in the lyrics: Its no use he sees

My First Day at University Free Essays

My first day in buic I remember my first day I had wait all the summer to enter the university. I felt excited and at the same time I was very nervous because it was my first day in the university and I didn’t know any person. My first day in the university was good and give my love and pain to me. We will write a custom essay sample on My First Day at University or any similar topic only for you Order Now I didn’t know how to find my classroom. I was lost and I had to ask one person the easy way to go to there. This person was very nice and told me the right direction. I wouldn’t find my classroom I arrived to classroom late. When I walked on, I saw some people and I felt strange. I approached to one girl and asked for the classroom. It’s so lucky when I knew that we were in the same group, so I felt less nervous. I introduced myself and she also did it, her name is tip. We came in the classroom when the time to start classes began. All our classmates were quiet, nobody talked at all. The teacher arrived early. She started the class and after that we introduced ourselves. There were many people that came from different areas of over country, they were friendly and interested. tip and I sat closely and talked very much. After that, we spent the rest of the day together until we had to go home. We felt that we have many things in common with each other. Day by day, we have been best friends at university and usually helped each other in studies and also in life. At last ,days ago It was a Saturday when I first saw her. Her brown caramel eyes made my heart skip a beat for I had never seen anything so breathtaking. Her skin was a russet color and her hair was a shady black. That first moment when we saw each other is engraved in my head. I can still hear my heart throbbing loudly in my chest as her eyes landed on me in that small room. We stared at each other as she made her way to the seat in front of me and a smile flicked on her lips to seal that moment. It took a year for me to talk to her; we became best friends but nothing more, nothing that I wanted. Her life was mine, her thoughts were mine, she was my world and she didn’t even know. Everyone said that we had something between us, she always laughed because she never notice how I shatter every time she notice someone else, but what really destroyed me was the day she broke the news that she was leaving and maybe never coming back. I am always going to remember that day because I had the opportunity to meet more people ,especially made friend with tip. Finally, I think it is natural that on the first day we feel nervous, but this always have a happy ending. that’s why I believe my first day in the university was very good. My love for her is like the waves in the sea, it comes and it goes and She made me cry but she also made me laugh. But she never come back to me forever. How to cite My First Day at University, Essay examples

Corporate Goverance And Social Responsibility CSR Report

Question: Describe about the Corporate Goverance And Social Responsibility for CSR Report. Answer: The Corporate Governance And Social Responsibility Issues Involved In Business Decision Making: Corporate Governance is a crucial feature of any business institution. Being a prospective business manager it is important to have a clear knowledge about the subject and how it will be significant for my business organization. Corporate governance is a set of range of duties, responsibilities and legal rights that manage and guide a business organization (Bucur, 2015). The main intend is to distribute the authority and responsibilities among various stakeholders in the organization like employees, managers, board directors, etc. It sets the responsibility and right of each member within an organization. A Corporate Governance is the process by which a business organization is governed (Murphy, 2012). It may be referred as carrying business processes according to stakeholders decisions as it is concerned about the interest of the stakeholders. In an effective business organization, generally there is a good terms between the directors and the managers (Leblanc, and Gillies, 2010). T he board directors must keep a positive point of view about the performance in accordance to the standard performance (Baker, and Anderson, 2010). These factors are very important to practice good corporate governance in an organization. In the 1980s it was noticed that there is an essential swing in the control relationship among owner the stakeholders and managers is taking place. There was a huge pressure from the stakeholders upon the managers for more effective and swift decision making in financial aspects of the organization (Werther Jr, and Chandler, 2010). The common allegation of the stakeholders was that the managers are not capable enough to safe guard the interest of the stakeholders (Du Plessis, et al. 2010). According to news media, the directors were held responsible for the incapability to safe guard stakeholders interest. The initiative of corporate governance applies globally in business sectors like banking and financial institutions, manufacturing industry, IT industry, etc. There are mainly three types of stakeholders in any business organizations; they are stakeholder, stakewatcher and stakekeeper (Gourevitch, et al. 2005). The power of the shareholders to manipulate the activities of the management is restricted in practice and is hardly ever put into effect (Blair, and Roe, 2010). This subsequently grants directors of subsequent authority to best fit in the situation. Thus it can be explained as a structure that is utilized in order to direct and manage an organization. The corporate governess includes both moral as well as immoral sense whichever is good to safe guard the interest of the stakeholders (Van den Berghe, 2012). The non-moral functions include efficient decision making, suitable resource distribution, tactical development, and etc. However, in its moral sense good corporate governance have move as encouraging an ethical climate which is equally morally suitable and automatically correct in terms of ethical behaviour in business where it is profitable also (Visser, et al. 2010). So the fundamental idea of corporate governance is about reasonable decision making with due diligence, the righ ts and responsibilities of the management or directors and corporate social responsibility of the organization (Alexander, 2010). The idea of Corporate Governance is to convey the message among workforce that do as I do and do as I say with the good intention (Nicolaescu, 2013). It has been observed that when there is a low level of commitment in the higher level in management, the lower level find it hard to practice ethical behaviour in the organization. The communication of authenticity will at all time pass down, and when the top management and board of directors are ethical and committed the same is passed down to the lower and middle level managers also (Okpara, and Idowu, 2013). This practice also promotes the ethical business practice within the organization. Ethical infrastructure is an expression of the obligation, a way of checking and solving ethical struggles in the organization and a remarkable expression of honesty (Tricker, 2015). G4 Gri Guidelines: Preparing a CSR report with the G4 GRI Guidelines is a framework that allows business organization to prepare sustainability reports irrespective of its location, nature of business and size by maintaining Reporting Principles, Standard Disclosures and an Implementation Manual (G4 GRI GUIDELINES, 2016). It sets international standards for originations that are interested in disclosing the governance nature of the organization and type of eco-socio-cultural performance and effect of organizations. The G4GRI Guidelines are highly used by organizations in creating documents that discloses organizations good governance activities. This guide G4 GRI Guidelines have been created and improved through a complex process that needed diplomats and executives from business organizations, labour unions, experts of financial market and lastly legal bodies and governments for analysis and standardizing. A global multi-stakeholder process was involves in creation of the G4 GRI guidelines relating re presentatives from business, labour, civil society, and financial markets, as well as auditors and experts in diverse areas; and in harmony with regulators and governmental agencies around the globe (Solomon, 2007). The guiding principles are shaped within association by means of globally accepted reporting associated papers. The author has noted the important doctrine for G4 GRI Guidelines guided report content. These principles are shaped to define transparency in the report. Firstly the stakeholders comprehensiveness, as practical expectations of the stakeholders is the main reason for many decisions in creating the report. It is necessary for any effective sustainable report to identify its stakeholders and clarify how they have reacted to the stakeholders expectations. Normally stakeholders can be explained to the individuals who are directly or indirectly related with the organization like, employees, suppliers, investors, customers, etc. (Farrar, 2008). The main perspective o f a sustainability report is to declare the performance of the organization so it should focus on wider situations of organizational performance. That means the report should cover the performance and activities of the business organization in relation to the standards that are preset and its impact on environment and local community. Thus it should be about organizations contribution in positive or negative way for improving ecological environmental economical and social-cultural impacts (Mallin, 2011). And it should focus on the impact that stakeholders have on decision making process of the organization that has impact on organizations performance. An effective sustainability report includes the aspects of possibility, limit and time. According to the standards that should be maintained while preparing suitability report is transparency. The principle of the guideline states that the sustainability should focus on organizations performance and its impact on eco-socio-cultural asp ect of the community and also the expectations of the stakeholders (Council, 2007). The guidelines ensure the quality and transparency of the report and its information provided so that the stakeholders can analyse the organizations performance and evaluate to take necessary actions. For brining transparency in a sustainability report the following principles are needed to be followed. Firstly balance in reflecting the positive as well as negative performance and aspects in negative impact for its business processes. The report should be balanced, neutral and provide a transparent picture in front of the stakeholders. Secondly, the report should be created and presented in a very comprehensive manner so that it is easy for the stakeholders could analyse and evaluate the performance and improvement of the organizational activities in time. Thus it should be containing information that is selected, compiled and present report constantly. Reactions to fiscal, ecological and social can be expressed in diverse ways which can range from qualitative to in depth quantitative dimensions (Council, 2010). The quality to create accuracy of the information differs according to characteristics of the data and facts and the user. The reported information must be adequately correct and comprehensive for stakeholders to consider the organizations performance. A report can be transparent and accurate when it is published in regular intervals as it will then only assists the stakeholders to evaluate and take part decision making process. Clarity and reliability are the last two characteristics that make sustainability report an effective and according to the G4 GRI Guidelines. Because clarity makes a report understandable and user-friendly which helps the stake holders to evaluate and analyse the organizational performance. Lastly, the fact that are offered in the report should be collected, recorded, assembled, analysed and presented in such a manner so that the information can be utilized later for analysis and assessments which could also set up a situation for organizational performance and achievement. Thus all the above featured discussed that are created as guide lines by G$ GRI Guidelines are important for making an effective and comprehensive sustainability and corporate responsibility report. Wesfamers Comparison: Wesfamers is one of the Australias leading business organizations. The Board of Directors plays a significant role in Wesfamers by directing and supervising the business organization to achievement of the tactical plans and also promoting good governance practices in the organization. The Board seeks to defend and improve the security of its shareholders, at the same time as taking into consideration the welfare of other associated stakeholders, which has workers, consumers, suppliers and community altogether. The management team get into day to day business activities to employ good governance and ethical behaviour and is supported by skilled leadership team. According to the managing director Mr. Richard Goyder, it has dedicated to development of the sustainability of the company to promote and safeguard the interest of the stakeholders. The organizations prominent economic, socio-environmental performance is managed by strong corporate governance structure assists to protect the i nterest of the stakeholders and community partners (Clarke, 2007). The business structure and horizon is such vast ranging that they have to interact with diverse individuals everyday and the corporate governance aims at preserve the reputation of the organization and in the process it also perform positive contribution towards the community. Wesfarmers publicises its CSR report every consecutive year. In this report the author is going to analyse and compare the 2014 and 2015 CSR report of Wesfarmers in relation to in relation to the G4 GRI Guidelines. According to the Wesfarmers CSR website it is a chief metallurgical coal producer and supplier of thermal coal for domestic power generation in Australian Market. According to the website information Wesfarmers is working in maintaining and generating significance over the long term, and is liable to actively administration of its societal and environmental impact and the objective of the CSR has remained the same for 2014 and 2015 a s well. Although the number of employees have decreased in Curragh mine from 547 number of employees in 2014 to 476 number of employees in 2015 which does affect on the total revenue collection, it differs only by $244 million. Although there is no change in the market share, it is still at 40%. In 2014, Wesfamers published its 14th sustainability report and in the consecutive year the 15th one. This shows that the management of Wesfamers are responsible for the interest of the stakeholders. Wesfamers has been actively participating in maintaining the community and environmental impact. In 2014 The Wesfarmers Group has reportedly reduced its greenhouse gas release by 4.1% which was more than 20 % less in comparison to last five years. And in 2015 moving one step further the group has reduced another 2.2 per cent as compared to 2014. The total amount of CO2e or carbon dioxide gas was 3.9 million tonnes and emission decreased by 8% in comparison to 2014 with 59.3 tonnes of carbon diox ide gas released per 1 Million dollars of income. The group achieved this millstone by constant observation and supervision of electricity usage in all sites of Wesfamers. The top priority of the organization is safety and in 2015 they announced that they have achieved the reduction rate by 66%. The water consumption by the sites has also seen notable decrease in the last three years. The total consumption in 2015 was 7,086 mega litres. They have recycled 4500 mega litres that is 29% of the water that have been used in the Curragh mining site. Due to enhanced data and information capture liquid water disposed ad recycled that resulted in recycle 356000 tonnes of wastes which is 17 per cent increase from 2014. The management took the initiative of distribution and donation of 7,800 tonnes of free food through their partner the Second Bite and Foodbank which experienced a 50% increased in donation in comparison to 2014. In 2015, the main issues that Wesfamers concentrated to improve were, safe workplace, improving and developing employee skills and gender diversity work environment including Aboriginals and Torres Strait Island inhabitants. They committed to build a stronger relationship with their valuable suppliers and working with them to improve the source of product to progress the ecological and social practices. The management made a positive communal impact by providing employment to one in every working Australian, providing taxes to the government like a responsible citizen and helping NGO who work on the grass root level in Australia. According to the Wesfamers the sustainable reports are been prepared according to the standards of GRI guidelines. In the process the report has explains the operations that are against the guidelines core elements of governance, financial, ecological and communal performance. The reports objective is associated with GRIs guidelines for forming the sustainability report content which are stakeholders involvement, transparency, accuracy, sustainability context, clarity and reliability. Wesfarmers has committed towards a sustainability development goal by 2030. They are: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Gender Equality, Pure Water and Sanitation, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequality, Climate Action and Land on Earth. Fuji Xerox Comparison Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd is a joint collaboration between Fujifilm Holdings (Japan) and Xerox (USA) which develop fabricate and trade xerographic in the Asia Pacific area. It is the market leader in the improvement and functioning of sustainable operations. The management of Fuji Xerox is constantly working in promoting the CSR activities by helping the customers and sustaining as a trusted brand. The organizations constant effort is emphasized in safe guarding the interest of the stakeholders and to win their trust. According to Joseph C. Wilson, the business objective of the organization is to build a better understanding among its customers and stakeholders by building effective communication. In 2014, Fuji Xerox publicised its tenth sustainable report. It was the very first initiative to publish the report according to GRI guidelines. In the report the management has reported about the most important issues that matters to them as well as stakeholders and significant performance issues of 2013-2014 financial year. In 2014, the Fuji Xerox received the GBCA Five star Green Star rating for Eco Manufacturing Centre. The then MD of Fuji Xerox Australias MD Mr. Nick Kugenthiran stated that, Fuji Xerox is a business organization, which has been created on the basics of morals and reliability where sustainability has basically how the organization run the business opportunity and it is the principals and values which help Fuji Xerox to maintain the top position in the market. The organization commits to ensure that they provides a flexible, open, secured and considerate workforce environment for its workforce which provides ample opportunity for personal as well as professional growth. Fuji Xerox is a member of the Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform member which is formed to offer its members with a flexible to offer its associates with a flexible, sustainable planning to convene accountability in the Product Stewardship legislation. The vision of the organizat ion is to form a society which accumulates process and securely recycles electronic waste for positive environmental impact. In 2014, the Fuji Xerox Australia, sold hundred percent of the paper sold that were certified under FSC, PEFC and FSC certified which were either neutral or made from recycle papers. In 2015, the organization engaged with more social changes and sustainability. Fuji Xerox became actively participant in various societal change programs and the management believes that they can develop value for the society by effective value chain. It recognized the effect it has on community and the significance it has for its stakeholders by business activities, from procurement of raw materials, production, and usefulness of the customer till the dumping of the product by the customer. The value cannot be just created by any organization rather if is something that the stakeholders recognizes. This reorganization is done by monitoring and communiqu. Fuji Xerox considered emp loyees as an important part for organizational success. The main initiative of Fuji Xerox in 2015 was to build a unique corporate culture. But in 2015, there was less emphasis on environmental environment performance. The major difference between some of the difference in the guidelines used for reporting and disclosure in Japan 2015 sustainability report compared to the 2014 report produced in Australia can be because of the different cross cultural outlook. In Japan collectivism is given more importance and it is important for Japanese to look after community specially the old, despair and children (Globerman, et al. 2011). Collectivism can be defined as the priority of a group or community as whole over priority of the individuals present in it (Mukherjee, et al. 2012). Whereas Australia is a country where individualism is given more importance issues like personal comfort, self reliance, comfort are emphasized upon. It can also be said individualism is the tendency of self radia nt and independent (Hartung, et al. 2010). The theory of Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory explains the effect of societal values and beliefs upon its members and their impact on behavioural development of individuals (Chatterjee, 2014). On a score card of Power Distance Index, Japan Scores 46 on individualism and scores 86 in long term orientation where as Australia scores high in individualism, a 90 and only 31 in long term orientation. So, there is a difference between the basic outlooks of the corporate social responsibility as Japan sees collective growth and development of the society so more emphasis on employee growth and wellbeing (Anderson, and Landau, 2006). But in Australia emphasis is given on recycling of waste material rather than employee welfare. So, it can be understood how cultural and social outlook can affect the corporate social responsibility and decision making process in business organizations. Reflective Journal Of Personal Development After the completion of the assignment I have the basic idea about the Corporate Governance. They are that it is the duty of the board of directly to equally treat all stakeholders to practice ethics and morality in the organization and there should not be any conflict of interest and each director should be free of any obligations (Hopkins, 2012). It is the responsibility of the directors to ensure that the business assembles with the appropriate laws in needed situations. I learnt that Australian corporate governance law is highly influenced by the British governance law. However now it has a single legal structure, The Corporations Act 2001 which is controlled by Australian Security and Investments Commissions. The corporate governance is important in Australian market because it organizations and exercises the cost of capital in the international market. Social responsibility is a principle that has gain importance in welfare of human being for ages. However as we are experiencin g an age of globalization and cut throat competition in the business world, it has been an increasing apprehension of business managers. This is because the increasing communication among business organizations, society and legal bodies. Prior to the course my knowledge about corporate governance, ethics in business and social responsibility concepts and relevant principals were vague. Like all others, my basic idea of a business organization was that it is a simple money making organization. It is one of the basic facts, but if we analyse deeper and learn the basic of corporate ethics and morality I understood that a group of people cooperate and coordinate to form a business organization to achieve a common goal which they cannot achieve personally and make a contribution for the community and society as a whole. I used to believe that societal impact is about considering and recognizing the concern in the community. But the actual scenario is that community investment experts vie w it as a part of job and are quite excellent in it. From the course I learnt that the solo part that can create or split a community investment strategy understanding of the subject by the social investment team: its process, development plans, tactical challenge and priorities. Also, it was a general belief as others that the organizations do societal welfare work but does not tell. But it is not true; storytelling is also an important part of CSR as it creates awareness and movement for the initiatives (Trong Tuan, 2012). Also, I learned that if the organization does not announce its CSR activities, then its impossible for stakeholders to keep track of the communal activities of the business organization. So, it is a job role as a manager that I announce the societal welfare activity of my organization to keep aware the stakeholders which will in long run create brand awareness and loyalty. The contemporary CSR of any business organizations generally focuses on the environmental social and corporate governance (Larcker, and Tayan, 2015). Organizations are emphasizing on recycle of waters, resources and wastes to reduce the carbon footprint and decrease the environmental burden (Ghinea and Ghinea 2010). The organizations are also participating in community welfare and services most with the objective of giving back what they have taken from the community. Encouraging individuals who are socially challenged or services of the aged in the community are some of the common social measures in CSR. Lastly, generally all contemporary business organizations are emphasizing in good corporate governance (Mallin, 2011). As a business student I have learnt that managing a diverse workforce can be challenging so the manager has to practice gender and communal equality in the organization. The employees grow where there is flexible, open and encouraging work environment. So, after completion of the assignment I learnt about different aspects of Corporate Governance and it s relevant importance in business organizations and how board of directors are utilizing corporate governance to bring sustainability in business and stakeholders engagement. The GRI G4 guidelines are practically founded on philosophy to safe guide stakeholders and sustainability of the business organization, and according to my study and analysis this is the best possible practice in the industry. It brings clarity and truthfulness in the system and my analysis concludes that it also assists in keeping good relation between different levels in an organization. Refernce: Alexander, A.G., 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility in Australia, the European Union and the United States of America: A Comparative Analysis of CSR Corporate Policies. Anderson, H. and Landau, I.N.G.R.I.D., 2006. Corporate social responsibility in Australia.A review, corporate law and accountability research group working paper no,4. Baker, H.K. and Anderson, R. eds., 2010.Corporate governance: A synthesis of theory, research, and practice(Vol. 8). John Wiley Sons. Blair, M.M. and Roe, M.J. eds., 2010.Employees and corporate governance. Brookings Institution Press. Bucur, I. 2015, "A new corporate governance",Manager,vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 277-281. Chatterjee, D. 2014, "Management Control Systems and Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions: An Empirical Study of Innovators and Low Innovators",Global Business Review,vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 565-582. Clarke, T., 2007.International corporate governance: A comparative approach. Routledge. Council, A.C.G., 2007. Corporate governance principles and recommendations. Council, A.C.G., 2010. Corporate governance principles and recommendations with 2010 amendments.available at: www. asx. com. au/governance/corporate-governance. htm (accessed on 24 October 2012). Du Plessis, J.J., Hargovan, A. and Bagaric, M., 2010.Principles of contemporary corporate governance. Cambridge University Press. Farrar, J., 2008.Corporate governance: theories, principles and practice. Oxford University Press. G4 GRI GUIDELINES,. (2016). G4 GRI GUIDELINES. Retrieved 22 October 2016, from https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRIG4-Part1-Reporting-Principles-and-Standard-Disclosures.pdf Ghinea, C. and Gavrilescu, M., 2010. Decision support models for solid waste managementan overview.Environmental Engineering and Management Journal,9(6), pp.869-880. Globerman, S., Peng, M.W. Shapiro, D.M. 2011, "Corporate governance and Asian companies",Asia Pacific Journal of Management,vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 1-14. Gourevitch, P.A. and Shinn, J., 2005.Political power and corporate control: The new global politics of corporate governance. Princeton University Press. Hartung, P.J., Fouad, N.A., Leong, F.T.L. Hardin, E.E. 2010, "Individualism-Collectivism: Links to Occupational Plans and Work Values",Journal of Career Assessment,vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 34-45. Hopkins, M., 2012.Corporate social responsibility and international development: is business the solution?. Earthscan. Larcker, D. and Tayan, B., 2015.Corporate governance matters: A closer look at organizational choices and their consequences. Pearson Education. Leblanc, R. and Gillies, J., 2010.Inside the boardroom: How boards really work and the coming revolution in corporate governance. John Wiley Sons. Mallin, C.A. ed., 2011.Handbook on international corporate governance: country analyses. Edward Elgar Publishing. Mallin, C.A. ed., 2011.Handbook on international corporate governance: country analyses. Edward Elgar Publishing. Mukherjee, D., Hanlon, S.C., Kedia, B.L. Srivastava, P. 2012, "Organizational identification among global virtual team members: The role of individualism?collectivism and uncertainty avoidance",Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal,vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 526-545. Murphy, J., 2012.Governing technology for sustainability. Earthscan. Nicolaescu, E. 2013, "Business ethics, corporate governance, and social responsibility",Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management,vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 86. Okpara, J.O. and Idowu, S.O., 2013.Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Solomon, J., 2007.Corporate governance and accountability. John Wiley Sons. Tricker, B., 2015.Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA. Trong Tuan, L. 2012, "Corporate social responsibility, ethics, and corporate governance",Social Responsibility Journal,vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 547-560. Van den Berghe, L., 2012.International standardisation of good corporate governance: best practices for the board of directors. Springer Science Business Media. Visser, W., Matten, D., Pohl, M. and Tolhurst, N., 2010.The A to Z of corporate social responsibility. John Wiley Sons. Werther Jr, W.B. and Chandler, D., 2010.Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders in a global environment. Sage Publications.

Plagiarism in Higher Education free essay sample

Dont miss your chance to earn better grades and be a better writer! It may be argued that although politicians do not necessarily write the words themselves, they endorse the words they use. But what if the words themselves are not original? In one instance, the presidential candidate Barack Obama was confronted by the fact that some of his speeches had taken material from Devil Patrick, the Massachusetts Governor. Obama admitted he should have acknowledged his source: Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues Volvo. No. 3, 201 0 up. 166-177 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1753-7983 DOI 10. 1108/1753798101 1070082 was on the stump. [Devil] had suggested that we use these lines and I thought they were good lines ] Im sure I should have didnt this time 1 really dont think this is too big of a deal (Obama cited in Whitefishes, 2008). Published by kind permission of HCI Press. Plagiarism has been defined as the unacknowledged use of someone elses work ] and passing it off as if it were ones own (Park, 2004, p. We will write a custom essay sample on Plagiarism in Higher Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 92) and it is interesting to speculate whether such an excuse would be accepted from a detent by an educational institutions plagiarism committee. Accusations of plagiarism in politics have been made before, Of course, though the outcomes were often different, suggesting that a shift may be taking place in attitudes towards plagiarism in politics. In 1 987, another presidential hopeful was forced to abandon his ambitions for high office largely because he had plagiarisms a speech by the British politician Neil Chinook and because of a serious plagiarism incident in his law school years (Sabot, 1998). Ironically, the candidate was none other than Joe Bidden, the man chosen by Obama to e his Vice President In politics today, it seems as though plagiarism no longer signals the end of a career. In contrast, students who are caught cheating or plagiarism can be subject to sanctions and consequences that are severely life impacting, which in the United Arab Emirates (AJAX) can include permanent exclusion from all tertiary education (see for example, Higher Colleges of Technology (HCI), 2008). One question of fundamental concern that we must ask ourselves as tertiary-level educators is why college students, who have much less at stake, considerably less experience and knowledge and who do not use English as their first language, should be held to higher standards of responsibility in communication than those in the highest political offices? Yet, if we make allowances for students who are still learning to orientate themselves in academic discourse, what standards should be applied? Plagiarism in a complex information society The concept of plagiarism is a relatively new cultural phenomenon. Greek philosophers regularly appropriated material from earlier works without compunction, and originality was considered less important than imitating, often orally, the retreat works of their predecessors (Lacked and Tangelo-Long, 2004, p. 37). All the way through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the study Of rhetoric rather than written language was often the norm, with students required to give public speeches to assembled faculty. Only the subsequent move towards written assignments brought with it new perceptions of student plagiarism (Simmons, 1999, p. 41). Around the same time, in the earlier part of the twentieth century, the formalization of citation styles from organizations such as the American Psychological Association marked a sire to standardize academic writing and provide a model for ethically quoting the work of others (Simmons, 1999, p. 42). With the rise of the information society and electronic media, another cultural shift seems to be underway. There have been recent suggestions that plagiarism is becoming more prevalent, and much of the blame has been placed on nearly universal access to the Internet (Cannon and Neumann, 2002, p. 374). Park (2004, p. 293) refers to the ease of copying I] in a digital world of computers, word processing, electronic sources and the Internet. However, the explosion of electronic sources of information has not just made copying easier, it has also made it much more central to our students cultural and social experiences. Students going into tertiary education have grown up with the internet and are at home with downloading free films, sharing music and modifying and emailing all kinds of material taken from the web. They have developed highly skilled ways of conducting non-academic research using services such as search engines, social networking sites, bedposts, IRS feeds, discussion boards, etc. With Dealing with plagiarism 167 EBBS 168 hyperlinks allowing them to jump from site to site as though the internet were a single-unified source, and with copying and pasting a mainstay of interaction. They take it for granted that a pop star such as will. I. Am can pick up and rework virtually the entire content of a political speech, and turn it into the award winning song and music video Yes we can, apparently without Beams knowledge or consent ((The) BBC News, 2008). They are not surprised when this video is then embedded in countless websites, with the lyrics of the song posted on music sites without any attribution of the original resource (see for example, Lyricists, n. D). This intellectuality is a perfect example of the postmodern, self-cannibalizing popular culture (Bowman, 2004, p. 8) that our students now engage with on a daily basis. Students may well bring to the classroom very different ideas from their teachers about what constitutes fair use. Indeed, one study of 2,600 tertiary-level students in the AJAX found that just over 40 percent considered cutting and pasting from the internet as either trivial cheating or not cheating at all. The attitudes of AAU students are similar to those of other students around the world Crouched, 2009). Some theorists have gone a step further and argue that as the new media become more interactive and collaborative, it calls into question the whole idea of a creative, original, individual who, as an autonomous scholar, presents his/her work to the public in his/her own name (Colons, 1995, p. 1). The multiple contributors to Wisped pages is a clear example of how a collaborative process undermines our sense of authorship. In addition, the notion of what constitutes fair use is changing quickly. This is exemplified by the open source movement where material can e downloaded, modified, and shared with minimal and strictly controlled authors rights (See for example, Open Source Initiative, n. D). As Blue (2009) notes, the rules about intellectual property are in flux. Where does this leave educators? Has plagiarism become an irrelevant concept, too outdated in its definition to be of use in the production of educated professionals ready to take their place in our post-modern society? Do we have to accept Johnnys (2007) argument that in the digital age, writing an Original essay outside Of class for assessment purposes is no longer viable in its current form because f the ease of copying from the internet? Do we have to agree with him when he says such tasks are no longer even relevant because they fail to reflect the modern workplace? As Joy moons argues: My transfer from education to the world of business has reminded me just how important it is to be able to synthesize content from multiple sources, put structure around it and edit it into a coherent, single-voiced whole. Students who are able to create convincing amalgamations have gained a valuable business skill. Unfortunately, most schools fail to recognize that any skills have been used at al, and an entire paper can be discarded because of a few lines repeated from another source without quotation marks. Plagiarism in education Plagiarism in education seems to operate under a very different set of rules from the pragmatic fields of politics or business and can create emotional responses that deploy highly charged metaphors such as The Plagiarism Plague (Bowman, 2004) or Winning hearts and minds in war on plagiarism (Chicks, 2008). In education, plagiarism is seen as a transgression against our common intellectual values, carrying justifiably bad consequences for those guilty of the practice (Sherman, 2003). Why is it generally accepted that politicians can use ghostwriters, but that students cannot, even if the stakes for the students are much lower? The critical issue for education is that plagiarism circumvents the learning process (Spencer, 2004, p. 16). The process Of analyzing and synthesizing ideas, and reformulating them in writing, is seen as central to learning. Only by ensuring that students struggle to assimilate material and develop their own voice do students go beyond surface information and develop higher order thinking skills. As Sherman (2003) notes: [.. .1 ownership over the words you use . Is really at the heart of the learning process. You can read a dozen books about the cold war, but if you cant explain what you have learned to someone else in your own words, no real learning has taken place [.. And you will have made no progress whatsoever toward realizing the central goal of a liberal-arts education: the ability to think for yourself. 69 This struggle for intellectual development is not easy, which is precisely the reason that makes plagiarism attractive for some students. In most cases teachers are not concerned about literary theft, but that their students are kissing out on opportunities for learning because they are failing to engage with the material in a meaningful way. Plagiarism is therefore denying them the opportunit y to learn lessons, improve their study skills, and improve their knowledge and understanding (Lancaster University, 2009, p. ). If plagiarism is especially serious in education because it is an obstacle to learning, then we should deal with instances of plagiarism primarily from an educational perspective rather than the punitive one. Students need to learn the importance of academic integrity and understand that it is not just a hoop to e jumped through, but is integral to intellectual and personal growth. Clearly this learning process cannot be instantaneous, and allowances should be made as students develop. However, this does not mean that severe penalties should be removed from the process entirely as there will always be students who refuse or are unable to meet appropriate standards. Factors influencing the incidence of plagiarism Individual, pedagogical, and institutional factors can all influence the incidence of plagiarism. Students themselves can be impacted by a wide range of factors including their educational conditioning cultural background, motivation, language skill, peer pressure, gender, issues with time management, ability, and even the subject being studied (Rig, 1997). If the tertiary experience is vastly different to students previous educational experience, the motivation for plagiarism again increases. In the AJAX, it is likely, for example, that the students primary and secondary schooling was characterized by rote learning and the quest for a single correct answer, non-transparent and poorly conceived assessment practices, and vast social inequities within the student base, and between dents and their Often socially and economically disadvantaged teachers. Norms, expectations, and demands learned in this context can be difficult to dislodge in subsequent institutions which place a premium on the exploration of problems and solutions, independent and critical thinking skills, and academic integrity. If plagiarism is not defined or academic processes made explicit, then such students will find it impossible to reach the standards that are suddenly and (to them) inexplicably imposed on them. Pedagogical approaches may also contribute to the prevalence of plagiarism. Current methodologies place much more emphasis on collaboration and group work, with a greater weight given to out-of-class projects and portfolios at the expense of formal exams. The result is that the line between collaboration and cheating during assessed tasks is blurred, and if this is not explicitly dealt with by assessors, it will inevitably 170 result in misunderstandings as to what is acceptable. Also, students are more likely to justify cheating if the coursework Or assignments they Were given were too hard, poorly scaffold, or based on unreasonable expectations of heir abilities (Naiads, 2008), and plagiarism will be made easier if the assignments are not constructed carefully so that stock answers cannot be copied from the internet (Wood, 2004). However, the institutional context plays perhaps the most critical role. For example, unclear and uncommunicative institutional policies with vague definitions of plagiarism can affect the incidence of plagiarism, as can the application of those policies (McCabe et al. 2002). Some aspects of an organization may unwittingly encourage plagiarism. For example, in contrast to schools, tertiary education institutions in the I-JAW do not typically award top grades to large numbers of students, and there is evidence to suggest that students justify using ghostwriters in such an environment because they believe they deserve better grades ( Crouched, 2009). An often overlooked but crucial aspect of deterring and detecting plagiarism is the application of institutional policies by teachers. One survey of 800 American academics at 16 institutions found that 40 percent never reported incidents of plagiarism while a further 54 percent did so only seldom, even though the evidence suggested they must eve received plagiarisms work (McCabe, 1993 cited in Schneider, 1999). There are many reasons why teachers may be reluctant to report plagiarism. Teachers may feel the potential penalties for students are too high (Aura and Kruger, 2001 They may also be wary of making false accusations which potentially undermine their own professional status. Some teachers object to taking on the role of detective or enforcer as it undermines the mentor- student relationship (Schneider, 1 999; Park, 2004) while others may not have the time to make an extra effort to uncover plagiarism and follow it up (Park, 004). It may also be that some teachers, especially teachers of content subjects where the focus is less on form and more on ideas, may not have sufficiently developed skills to detect plagiarism. Holland (2001) found that even teachers who detect plagiarism may use indirect feedback when dealing with plagiarism (for example, comments in the margins such as Are these your own words? ) which can lead to miscommunication with the student about what is acceptable. With so many factors at play, the responsibilities of teachers must be clearly codified if any institutional initiative is to have any success. Plagiarism and SOL/FEEL English for speakers of other languages (SOL) and English as a foreign language (FEEL) contexts may be more pr one to infringements of academic integrity because students lack the English skills to understand the coursework and so may feel that plagiarism offers the only solution (Holland, 2001; Lie, 2005). Moreover, the cultural conditioning of English as a second language (SSL) and FEEL students has been cited as another contributing factor. Modern (1 995 cited in Lacked and Tangelo-Long. 2004, p. 38) suggests that some societies, including those in the Middle East, value memorization and imitation as the mark of an educated person which may mean that plagiarism is viewed as being less significant. Lie (2005, p. 239) disagrees with the notion of cultural conditioning, however, claiming that it is based on incorrect information and is presented often via unwarranted jumps in reasoning and conflation of separate issues. More pertinently, perhaps, she goes on to argue that: C.. Even if we concede that such cultural conditioning indeed exists to some extent, we still cannot say for sure that it is the main reason that SOL students plagiarism. There are many other factors that may motivate SOL students from many Al backgrounds to plagiarism, including a lack of adequate proficiency, lack o f task specific writing skills, and of course, the urge to cheat (p. 239). SOL students, then, whether or not cultural conditioning is accepted as an underlying factor in plagiarism, may still have greater motivation than their first language counterparts to take and use the ideas and words of others in their own assignments. Ironically, plagiarism by SOL students is also far more likely to be detected because of more prominent differences in engage level and tone between copied and original work. Degrees of plagiarism Intuitively, plagiarism varies in its severity in a way that cheating (e. . Using crib sheets or having someone else take a test for you) does not. It can consist of minor lapses, for example, when original material is poorly paraphrased but the source is acknowledged, through deliberately copying parts Of a text without citing the source, to submitting work from an online paper mill (Rig, 1997). Critical factors in determining the severity of the plagiarism include the intention behind the plagiarism (was it deliberate or accidental? , the a mount of material that has been plagiarisms, the inclusion of the source in the list of references, the degree to which the plagiarisms material differs from the source (an indication at an attempt to paraphrase), the time the student has spent in tertiary education, and whether it is the first, second, or subsequent occurrence. Given the wide variation in the seriousness of plagiarism and the developmental process students must undergo to assimilate the norms of academic writing, it is clear that the appearance of plagiarisms material is not always a deliberate attempt to cheat. For example, students are often poor at paraphrasing and may not be fully aware that this could be construed as plagiarism. Rig (1999) gave English-speaking undergraduate students a two-sentence paragraph to paraphrase and found that between 41 and 68 percent of the responses contained strings of at least five words or more copied from the original. These results clearly back up the claim that plagiarism may indicate a deficit in appropriate skills and not intentional academic dishonesty. Towards an institutional response to plagiarism In many educational institutions, plagiarism is seen largely as a teacher/student problem. If plagiarism is detected, then the teacher makes a decision as to whether to escalate the case for possible punitive action. The plagiarism is seen either as morally wrong or as a crime ? the breaking of a rule that has inevitable consequences (Blue, 2009). Unfortunately, dealing with plagiarism in this way can result in decisions which are reactive, emotive, and which are made informally on an ad hoc basis, thus inviting inequity and inconsistency. When the focus is directed towards punishment, there may be little maturation in terms of academic integrity for the student concerned, or for those who attach their classmates fate from the sidelines. Academic endeavourer must take place within an institutional culture that routinely recognizes and reinforces the value of academic integrity so that all stakeholders are obliged to proactively follow and uphold best practice in order to reduce the impact of the contributing factors discussed above. This requires the establishment of an institutional response to plagiarism that is comprehensive, appropriate, fair, developmental, transparent, and educative. 171 Park (2004, p. 294) describes such an institutional framework for dealing with legalism that was developed by a working party at Lancaster University in consultation with staff and with reference to experience and the literature: The working party sought to move the plagiarism discourse beyond just detection and punishment and to situate and embed it in a cohesive framework that tackles the root causes as well as the symptoms of plagiarism as a family of behaviors. 72 The key elements underpinning this framework were consistency and transparency. These were ensured by the explicit codification of stakeholder responsibilities, procedures, and penalties. In order for such a framework to e implemented effectively, Park (2004, p. 296) noted that all stakeholders within the institution must understand and appreciate why the fra mework is necessary and how it protects their own interests. A case study Park (2004, up. 295-9) nominated a number of central pillars that lend validity and effectiveness to any such institutional framework. These included transparency, ownership by stakeholders, student engagement, academic integrity, framing the initiative to ensure compatibility with the culture of the institution, focus on prevention and deterrence, and the supportive and developmental nature of the framework. These pillars provide excellent reference points for the approach taken in one department in a college in the ALGAE and allow us to examine the viability and efficacy of such a framework for the local context. The Education Department at ABA Dhabi Womens College (ADDS) has addressed its concerns with academic honesty in a concerted, collaborative, and multi-faceted fashion. As teacher educators, the faculty in this department are intent on producing future academics. Much like politicians, words, information, and the generation of ideas are the very foundation of our professional lives, so we regard it as essential that the rules of using these appropriately are disseminated, understood, and followed at all times by all of our students. To this end, we have established and adhere to a set of policies and practices at all levels that support and facilitate academic honesty. Institutional/departmental level The HCI, Of which ADDS is only one of 16, institutionally mandates the prevention and sanctioning of plagiarism and related offences. Consequences of infringements of these rules are outlined in official policies, Student Handbooks (see for example, HCI, 2008), contracts signed by students at the enhancement of their studies, and reinforced by administrative staff and faculty at every student meeting and examination session held throughout the students academic career at HCI. From these guidelines, the Education Division throughout the colleges has documented standards and procedures that address academic honesty in its assessment handbooks one that is distributed to all education students and the other, more comprehensive and specific, that is used by all education faculty. This shared written documentation enables best practice in assessment to be disseminated and allowed, provides the underlying philosophy and approach for the division as a whole, and addresses academic honesty both directly and indirectly to better support student writing and make plagiarism a less viable or attractive option. The assessment handbooks reflect the developmental curricular approach of the division as a whole, and so specify the type, nature, and expectations for assessments at each level to scaffold the students ability to produce increasingly sophisticated and original work. Ensuring that requirements are reasonable and documented minimizes the students need to seek help through illegitimate means. These handbooks are the basis of communication within the ADDS Education Department on all matters regarding assessment and have served to ensure a common approach and understanding. Insights gained by instructors in their daily interactions with students and their submissions inevitably reveal general difficulties facing students, which are then examined in regular formal and informal meetings to brainstorm and implement further strategies that may be useful. The ongoing concern at faculty level with issues of academic honesty is mirrored in the systematic recycling of warnings, information, and explicit instructions o students. As a department, the theft or misappropriation of ideas and words has been, and continues to be, addressed as professionally offensive and inappropriate. Initiatives suggested by Education Department faculty as well as colleagues in other departments and colleges are pursued vigorously. One recent example has been the provision of workshops by library staff on research skills and academic procedures. The plagiarism detection software, Turning, was originally adopted by the department as both a defense against plagiarism and a tool to help students protect themselves against accidental legalism. This proved to be very effective, but unfortunately access to this subsequently became unavailable.

The Glass Rose essays

The Glass Rose essays Parenting is one major clash, or difference in the two stories of, The Glass Rose, and Life is Beautiful. The two films take two quite opposite ways of showing how a father can be, and act to there children. The Glass Rose shows an almost typical male approach to parenting, the father in the glass rose seems to have a little bit of love for his son, but fails to show any sign of it. He acts almost too tough, and acts really hard on his son. But it would seem that he does it only so his son can become a better person. In the film Life is Beautiful, the father takes a much different approach to his parenting. He is a truly loving and caring father, that shows his love for his child, but he shows so much love, that he protects his son from the real world, and kind of shades his son from the reality. Parenting in these two aspects are kind of similar in that neither really show their sons how life really is, and both kind of create a different world for their children. They create world that they wish existed for their children to live in, worlds where they children would just grow up and grow exactly how their fathers wanted them to be. Even though they are both shielding their children from the real world, it seems like they only want their kids to see, or do what they want, they are really only doing it for their kid for the best. There are many ways one can approach parenting, but they is no real perfect way to be a parent. And all parents were taught by their parents how or how not act, but no matter how any parents acts, they are trying to do the best for their kids. The father in The Glass Rose takes a real old fashioned, tough approach to parenting. He acts hard on his son the whole story, but it is not all for his sons good. It is also a bit of a cover up, because he gave his young fifteen year old son a job, that should be worked but older stronger men. And it is because ...

Fake FBI Warning Email Scam

Fake FBI Warning Email Scam Beware of messages purporting to originate from the FBI (or CIA) accusing you of visiting illegal websites. These emails are unauthorized and arrive with an attachment containing the Sober virus. This virus-bearing email with a malicious file attached has been circulating since February 2005. Make sure your antivirus software is up to date and your computer is scanned regularly. Another variant of the message comprises the users computer with a virus that can install itself when clicking on a compromised website. A window pops up indicating that the user’s Internet address was identified by the FBI or the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section as associated with child pornography sites. To unlock their computer, users are informed they have to pay a fine using a service for prepaid money cards. How to Handle a Fake FBI Email If you receive a message like this, dont panic - but do delete it without clicking on any links or opening any attached files. Attachments to these emails contain a worm called Sober-K (or a variant thereof). Though these messages and others similar to them purport to come from the FBI or CIA and may even show return addresses like policefbi.gov or postcia.gov, they were not authorized or sent by any U.S. government agency. FBI Statement on the Message Containing a Virus FBI ALERTS PUBLIC TO RECENT E-MAIL SCHEMEEmails purporting to come from FBI are phonyWashington, D.C. - The FBI today warned the public to avoid falling victim to an ongoing mass email scheme wherein computer users receive unsolicited emails purportedly sent by the FBI. These scam emails tell the recipients that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBIs Internet Fraud Complaint Center and that they have accessed illegal web sites. The emails then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions. The attachments contain a computer virus.These emails did not come from the FBI. Recipients of this or similar solicitations should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited emails to the public in this manner.Opening email attachments from an unknown sender is a risky and dangerous endeavor as such attachments frequently contain viruses that can infect the recipients computer. The FBI strongly encourages computer users not to open such attac hments. Sample Fake FBI Email Heres email text contributed by A. Edwards on Feb. 22, 2005: Dear Sir/Madam,We have logged your IP-address on more than 40 illegal Websites.Important: Please answer our questions! The list of questions are attached.Yours faithfully,M. John StellfordFederal Bureau of Investigation -FBI-935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 2130Washington, DC 20535(202) 324-3000 Sample Fake CIA Email Heres email text contributed anonymously on Nov. 21, 2005: Dear Sir/Madam,We have logged your IP-address on more than 30 illegal Websites.Important:Please answer our questions! The list of questions are attached.Yours faithfully,Steven AllisonCentral Intelligence Agency -CIA-Office of Public AffairsWashington, D.C. 20505phone: (703) 482-06237:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., US Eastern time Sources and further reading: FBI Alerts Public to Email ScamFBI press release, February 22, 2005

Underage drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Underage drinking - Essay Example A statistical voyage through this social malady would be more helpful to understand the inherent danger that under age drinking possess to our society. It has been estimated that each year around five thousand young people succumb to underage drinking. Here underage implies age below 21. Among these 5000 ill fortunate young blood, crash in motor vehicle claims 1900 lives, 1600 dies of murder and 300 ends their own lives. Ironically this high number of life casualty seems to have little effect on opening our eyes to this great danger that looms around our society. A survey among youths that has been carried on during 2005 revealed that 75% of the 12th graders, well over 66% of the 10th graders and 40% of the 8th graders are addicted to alcohol. More alarming fact is that heavy drinking or binge drinking as it is popularly known is a common phenomenon among 29% of 12th graders, 22% of 10th graders and 11% of 8th graders. Consuming alcohol rapidly such as more than four to five drinks w ithin two hours increases the blood alcohol concentration to an unprecedented high level of 0.08 grams%; this can initiate erratic behavior on behalf of the concerned underage person. Interestingly knowing all these have only led to the decline of the age of alcohol consumption over the years. As an example in the year 1965 the average age of beginners of alcohol was 17 and half. In 2003 the age of the first timer regarding alcohol has declined to 14. Such a decrease in first timer age regarding alcohol consumption reflects a grave social problem, as it has been observed that people who start early with alcohol, especially before the age of 15 are four times more prone to grow alcohol dependency (severe alcoholism) at some point of their lives (especially during the middle ages). Again such dependency often precedes middle age and starts quite early at young age and might be even during the adolescents. Moreover early drinkers are more likely to be socially maladjusted and cause har m to others as well as themselves. Risky behaviours such as taking illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine and others are more likely to be found among early drinkers. Changing of sex partners and simultaneously having sex with more than one person is also more common among underage drinkers. They also have been found to get poor grade in schools and Ds and Fs are common among them. It is worth keeping in mind that the associated problems with underage drinking that have been discussed so far expose one million high school students all over America to great danger as the number associated with underage drinking in America has been found around that figure. (Alcohol Alert, 2006) Questions might be asked that even after knowing the consequences why such practise among youths is growing day by day? According to scientists and psychologists, teenage is an age when a person seeks adventure and tries to explore the unknown, if he or she considers alcohol among those unexplored horizons then they might feel attracted to alcohol as well. Through out the adolescence conception regarding alcohol undergoes several changes. It starts with a negative feeling regarding alcohol consumption at the age of 9 but strangely by 13 they consider it as holding something fairy within itself and that’s when the problem began. It has also been observed that youth with troublesome nature and aggression as a main type of characteristic, anxious, lonesome and upset tend to consume alcohol at a much early age than others. It has been observed

Trainee Evaluation for Advocacy Council Inc Assignment

Trainee Evaluation for Advocacy Council Inc - Assignment Example This is probably meant to make the respondents become more open and provide information that could be used for the future improvement of the program (Fondern, 2006).   Instructions are indeed available at the beginning of the survey. The message here directs the respondents on the procedure of how the questionnaire is supposed to be filled. For instance, in the beginning, respondents are advised to circle as appropriate (Fondern, 2006).   Data in these survey is gathered by use of a questionnaire containing questions that the respondents are expected to answer. The questions are a structured in accordance with the objects of the evaluation process (Fondern, 2006).   The shortest item has only four words present. That is, â€Å"The presentation was clear.† The longest item, on the other hand, has eleven words. That is, â€Å"I have acquired knowledge that I can transfer to my practice† (Fondern, 2006).   There are thirteen items on the survey to be filled. However, based on the nature of the questions, the survey may take the respondent less than twenty minutes to complete. This is because some of the questions only require the respondent to circle as appropriate (Fondern, 2006).   Describe the statistical analysis that will most likely be utilized to analyze the various types of data acquired from the survey. It is possible that more than one analysis will be necessary! For example, frequencies, percentages, qualitative or perhaps all of these.   

Mills Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Mills Utilitarianism Essay In the beginning of Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill states that throughout history very little progress has been made towards developing a set of moral standards to judge what is morally right or wrong. Although a certain disagreement about such foundations can also be found in the most â€Å"certain† sciences, in those areas truths can still have meaning without understanding the principles underlying them. On the other hand, in philosophy, where all actions exist to proceed towards a particular end, statements unfounded upon a general principle have very little validity. Therefore Mill says that in order to know what morality dictates, it is necessary to know by what standard human actions should be judged. He rejects the idea of a moral instinct inherent in human mind, which supplies us with this ability to judge. Even if such a sense would exist, it wouldn’t show us whether something is right or wrong in a particular matter. Instead, Mill assumes that right and wrong are questions of experience and he tries to show that the principle of utility or â€Å"the greatest happiness principle† is the foundation of this distinction. In Chapter two, Mill tries to reply to some common misconceptions about utilitarianism. He claims that many people mistake utility as the rejection of pleasures, whereas in reality, it is pleasure itself, promoting happiness. He thus defines utilitarianism as the creed which â€Å"holds that actions are right in the proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness†. Accordingly pleasure and absence of pain are the only goals that are inherently good and desirable in themselves. Every other action or experience is only insofar good as it promotes pleasure. However, it is wrong to assume people should only do what makes them personally happy. Instead the standard of judging an act is the happiness of all people. Therefore people shouldn’t distinguish between their own happiness and the happiness of others. The motives underlying a certain act are of no importance in utilitarianism. Instead only the results of our conduct, or more specifically the impact on the general happiness, are to consider. In continuing, Mill states that some pleasures are more valuable than others, so not only the quantity but also the quality of pleasures resulting from a certain act determines its moral rightness. We can experience this difference in quality when we give one pleasure a clear preference over another, although it comes along with a greater amount of discomfort, and would not dismiss it for any quantity of the other pleasure. Mill claims that, given equal access to all kinds of pleasures, every man or woman gives priority to those employing their higher faculties. Appropriately he writes that †it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. Thus only people who have experienced both the higher and the lower pleasures are qualified to judge the quality of a pleasure. But by what extent are pleasures measurable or comparable? And what is it that makes a â€Å"higher† pleasure superior over a â€Å"lower†? Another criticism Mill responds to is that happiness can’t be the goal of human actions, since it’s unattainable. Moreover, detractors of the utilitarian moral state that a life without happiness is quite possible, and all noble beings have become virtuous by renunciation. Mill objects that if happiness is defined as moments of rapture, â€Å"in an existence made up of few and transitory pains† and not as a â€Å"continuity of highly pleasurable excitement† happiness is quite attainable. The only reason why mankind is not yet in this condition of happiness is because our education and our social arrangements are inadequate. Concerning the objection that virtuous men renounced happiness Mill asserts that those noble men acted as martyrs, sacrificing their own happiness in order to increase the happiness of other people. However, such a sacrifice is not in itself an act of good but only insofar as it helps others. Mill presents a couple of other misapprehensions of utilitarian ethics, which he says are obviously wrong but which many people nevertheless believe. First, utilitarianism is often accused to be godless, because its foundation is human happiness, and not the will of god. But if we assume that god desires in the first instance the happiness of his creatures, then utilitarianism is more profoundly religious than any other doctrine. Another objection holds that there is not enough time to outweigh the effects on the general happiness prior to every action taken. Mill replies that such a claim also implies that if our conduct is guided by Christianity we’d have to read the Old and New Testament every time before we act. Obviously this is not possible. Instead he asserts that we had the entire duration of human existence to learn by experience which actions lead to certain results. The last critique Mill responds to is that utilitarianism legitimates immoral tendencies by justifying the break of rules by referring to an increase of utility. He replies that this problem can not only be found in utilitarianism but also in every other creed. Does this argument really dispel misconceptions about utilitarianism? In the beginning of chapter three Mill asserts that every moral philosophy needs some source of obligation in order to be binding. Regarding utilitarianism this binding force consists of internal and external sanctions. External sanctions include â€Å"the hope of favour and the fear of displeasure from our fellow creatures or from the Ruler of the Universe†. Internal sanctions on the other hand, are feelings in our own conscience and create a pain if we violate duty. This second type of sanction is considered to be more powerful. Thus to provide a force which is binding enough to influence people’s conduct, utilitarianism needs to appeal to people’s inner sentiment. Mill claims that in fact every moral sentiment could be cultivated, no matter how bad it is. However such â€Å"artificial† feelings, will eventually crumble when they are analyzed thoroughly. The utilitarian morality on the other hand, emerges as a particularly strong foundation because it’s consistent with the social nature of human sentiments: every one of us has an innate â€Å"desire to be in unity with our fellow creatures†. Mill finally emphasizes that this natural sentiment needs to be nourished through education and law. [ 1 ]. John Stuart, Mill, Utilitarianism, ed. Mary Waldrep (Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc. , 2007), 1. [ 2 ]. Mill, 6. [ 3 ]. Mill, 8. [ 4 ]. Mill, 11. [ 5 ]. Mill, 11. [ 6 ]. Mill, 24. [ 7 ]. Mill, 27.

Hamlet - Act 5 Summary :: essays research papers

I have much to write about on this day, yet I cannot rightfully do it because I have tragically been killed. So, I will tell the story, as a spirit to the world. My life ended in a miserable way. Revenge was on my mind, as well as others. I completed the task that I had set forth to myself. I will start where I last left off.As I am walking with Horatio to the burial of Ophilia, we hear a gravedigger singing of odd things. We stop and watch him for a few moments and then when he begins to throw bones into the air, move out from our cover and inquire of his purpose. He then rambles on and on with strange wording, speaking of his call to be a gravedigger and his life existing since Hamlet Jr. was born. He continues to speak, telling me of a skull that was once Yorick. I tell him of how I had once known him and that he was one of my favorite jesters. Then, I began to carry-on about dying, and how people may be part of the wall. Then, as the funeral people begin to come in, Horatio and I move away, somewhat hidden and listen to the chitchat. The people are complaining of the unluxurious burial. Then, Laertes jumps onto the coffin and begins exclaiming that he wants to be buried next to her. I then enter, jumping onto the coffin with him and tell him of how he could never love her as much as I did. I then leave, after getting a 'load' off my chest.Horatio, still with me, listens as I tell him all the details of my trip to England, and back. I tell of rewriting the letters and being taken captive by the pirates. Then, Osric enters and after much speaking, informs of the request to a dual with Laertes. Then, when I am asked to come, I go to the dual. Laertes thinks I will lose, but I assure him that I have been working on my swordsmanship for some time.When I arrive, most of the royal people are there. I ask Laertes for my forgiveness before the dual begins and he won't except my apology until he has spoken to experts about his honor and reputation. I thank him and request for the swords and tell Laertes that he will be great, but he thinks I am making fun of him.

Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Rich Picture Diagrams in Analysing Value Creation in Houses of Culture Projects in Sweden

The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Rich Picture Diagrams in analysing Value Creation in Houses of Culture Projects in Sweden Laurell Stenlund, K. Kristina. [email  protected] se Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden Abstract What kind of value does a public building for cultural activities create for clients, construction professionals and users? One approach to understand the complexity of ongoing processes over time is by identifying value-adding activities in building processes.However, value added activities are difficult to analyse especially when related to resources that have an immaterial character, e. g. knowledge, know how and social relations. Based on an indepth case study of stakeholders’ evaluation of a construction project, grounded theory methodology (GTM) and rich picture diagrams (RPD) were used in analysing stakeholder and end-user value. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with actors, public client, project manager, architect, contractor, employee and visitors of the building and during a workshop with representatives for different stakeholder groups.The results from the analysis show that building a house of culture creates stakeholders’ and end-users’ value that can be categorised into human, organisational and social capital. The strength of combining GTM and RPD is demonstrated in its ability to study complex organisational structures and relations between different actors, and specific as shown in this case, when analysing value creation in a construction project with many stakeholders with different interests and value. Keywords: case study, grounded theory method, intellectual capital, rich picture diagramsIntroduction Discussions during the last few years (e. g. Egan 1998; Finch 2000; Spencer and Winch 2002; Saxon 2005) have shown that integrating design and construction potentially delivers better value for money as well as better buildings, particularly when attention is paid to the full costs of a building over its whole lifetime. Research on how buildings deliver better value for money during their lifetime involves complex data analysis of activities and processes. Value-adding activities consist of complex building processes performed over time.A condition for activities to be value-added is that they are supported by resources that are utilised and developed in a positive way (Laurell Stenlund and Horte, 1999). According to the resource-based view, the resources that are difficult to imitate and replace create a competitive advantage to companies (e. g. Penrose, 1959; Grant, 1991; Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). The characteristics of these resources are described as dynamic organisational capabilities (Dosi et al. , 2008). However, value-added activities are more difficult to analyse. Resources that are immaterial, e. g. knowledge, know-how and social relations (e. g.Sveiby, 1997; Edvinsson a nd Malone, 1997) are difficult to 17 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 describe and measure. Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) argue that rich picture diagrams are tools suitable for analysing complex building processes. The purpose with this paper is to describe how grounded theory method (GTM) and rich picture diagrams (RPD) were used in analysing stakeholder and end-user value when developing and constructing houses of culture. Empirical evidence is developed from a single in-depth case study where data was collected by interviews, archives, documents and during a workshop.In the next section GTM and RPD methods are discussed in relation to the case study. The results from the analyses are finally presented and concluded. Theories and General Conclusions from Case Studies A researcher’s choice of methodology is not only a matter of strategy. Researchers argue that their â€Å"Weltanschauung† (ontology, i. e. our view on how the world is constructed) and opinion of how knowledge is developed (epistemology) are behind the planned or unplanned choice of methodology and research methods.Management studies involves people’s decisions and activities and are thus influenced by rules and structures built in society as well as in the specific organisation. The industry and the context of the studied processes are therefore important to consider (Chroneer and Laurell-Stenlund, 2006). The specific structure of construction industry, mainly project oriented organisations must find other solutions and concepts for improving performance and efficiency according to Segerstedt and Olofsson (2010).Inter-firm processes in construction industry could be identified by the supply chains and networks consisting of different supplying construction companies, e. g. architectural offices and contracting firms, engaged in the early phases of the construction project (Brochner and Kadefors, 2010; Segerstedt and Olofsson, 2010). In th e early phases of a construction project, these inter-firm processes may create a creative chaos developing new ideas of buildings and constructions. According to Gray and Hughes (2001), the collaboration between individuals is a part of the wider collaboration between firms in the construction sector.Describing and developing a deeper understanding of these networks also requires new research methods. Case studies are commonly accepted in management studies. Yin (1994) argues that a case study with one or more cases and with different methods for data collection, both quantitative and qualitative, can be theorised and generalised. A single case study makes it possible to capture different angles and perspectives in depth based on an inductive research strategy open for analytical generalisation and implications from a theoretical perspective rather than comparison with other cases (Eisenhardt, 1989).Selection of the Case The case presented in this study is selected by the uniquenes s of the building itself according to its special functional design and conditions of combining different cultural activities in one building involving art professionals with different goals. The House of Culture in Lulea was selected due to the researcher’s access to data as well as to the interest from the public client and the construction professionals. Previous studies (for example Short et al. 007) have discussed how arts clients require additional commitment from construction professionals. Building a house of culture is in this sense an interesting cultural construction project to study. Qualitative Research Based on GTM Qualitative data analyses with GTM are here applied to describe regularities and sequences (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) for certain building projects in a given situation creating common knowledge within a specific area. 18 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010Grounded theory was developed in the 60s by Glaser and Strauss in social medicine (Bryant and Charmaz, 2007). After a couple of years, Glaser and Strauss went in two different directions. Strauss revised the methods where data was interpreted by the researcher (Alvesson and Skoldberg, 2000). Glaser, on the other hand, continued to develop the ‘classic’ grounded theory with analytical methods for qualitative data coding with an inductive approach but also including methods for deduction and abduction, i. e. methods for developing and testing theories (Glaser, 1992).Grounded theory refers to the result of using grounded theory method according to Bryant and Charmaz (2007). The results should be traceable back to the empirical data and the studied phenomena (Sutrisna and Barrett, 2007). In this paper GTM is applied with an inductive approach (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The purpose of using GTM in this study was to investigate what kind of stakeholder value is created when building a house of culture. Stakeholder value is the key vari able in this study with the purpose of visualising stakeholders’ different value in the building process.Data collection and data analysis based GTM Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used in the case study. The total data collection was broad and open based on several methods, i. e. integrative focus groups, participatory observations, archive data, documents, semi-structured interviews and a survey (Yin, 1994, p. 80). According to the Swedish principle of free access to public records all archive data from the construction project was available and could be analysed.The analyses presented in this paper are mainly based on 17 semi-structured interviews with actors with different interest in the construction project, building documents and data from a workshop with internal and external stakeholders (Table 1, Appendix). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. After transcription, the interviews were analysed by coding the respondents’ activities chronologically in building processes. The interviewed respondents were belonging to different stakeholder groups with different roles in the construction sector as well as in society.Internal stakeholders, active in the construction sector may on the one hand act as clients, financiers and users, on the demand side, and on the other hand act as architects, engineers, contractors and materials suppliers, on the supply side, in the specific construction project (Winch, 2002, p. 67). External stakeholders also have a direct interest in the project and can be broken down into private actors (e. g. local residents) and public actors (e. g. local government) (ibid. ). In Table 1 the respondents are presented together with their stakeholder classification and role in the project by their title.Table 1: Data collection the House of Culture Semi-structured interviews, no 17 Internal stakeholder/Public client-Municipality: Municipal commissioner (Cmc080401) Municipal employee (Cme 070905) Project manager (Chp080117) Participants, Workshop 20090331 Client: Municipal commissioner (Cmc) Client/End-user: Municipal Culture Chairman (CEcc) Secondary data Feasibility study A 2002-08-15 19 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Project leader (Cpl080220)Client/End-user: Cultural manager (CEcm) Client/End-user: – Municipal Technical chairman (CEtc) Client: Project manager (Chp) Designer: Architect (DA) Constructor: Manager construction company (Com) Constructor: Project leader in construction company (Cop) Industry: The Swedish Construction Federation, Region North (BI) End-user: Concert Hall manager (Echm) End-user: Art Hall manager (Eam) Feasibility study B May 2003 Internal stakeholder/Municipal and cultural organisations: Cultural manager (CEcm070601,080117,080925) Library manager (Elm081006) Concert Hall manager (Echm081005) Art Hall manager (Eam081015) Planning document 2003-12-22Project directive 2003-10-20 External stakeho lder/Contractor: Manager construction company (Com071004) Project leader in construction company (Cop080930) Brief for architectural competition 2003-12-22 External stakeholder/Designer: Architect (DA081002) End-user: Tourist manager (Etm2) End-user: 2 Peoples Parks and Community Centres (Eppc) End-user: Orchestra member (Epo) External stakeholder/ End-user: 2 citizens (Eci) Commercial organisations : Tourist manager (Etm081022) Business manager (Ebm081023) End-user/Citizens, public and visitors: Orchestra member (Epo070905), Public (Eci, 2090330) Reference Group MeetingsThe public client as well as the construction professionals participated in the process of evaluating the effects of the construction project and the use of the building. They participated in so called reference group meetings and focus group interviews. During the research project four reference group meetings were carried out with two representative from the public client; one initiating the project and one intern al end-user of the building, one representative from the construction company, two representatives from construction industry and one representative from a non-profit cultural organisation together with three academic researchers.During these meetings the first evaluation results were presented and discussed. The relevance of the results was discussed and new questions developed for further investigations. 20 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Focus Group Interviews The empirical data was first coded and summarized and then confirmed and discussed by the practitioners. The focus group interviews were conducted more specific regarding a subject where the participants were asked a question that was answered individual in the group, by each of the respondents and then discussed within the group.The five focus group interviews were performed in accordance with the reference group meetings and one at another time. Workshop A workshop was performed with respondents representing the stakeholders of the construction project as presented in Table 1. The workshop consisted of two parts. The first was to present the results from the descriptive analysis of the construction project to implement the results back to construction industry. The second part was to develop a story line of the construction project based on the stakeholders’ successful factors describing the success of the building.Open coding – First Level From the data analysis based on the interviews, a story of the building process emerged. This story was built by the respondents and confirmed by all respondents when summarized in a case study report (Laurell Stenlund, 2010). Within this story different activities were specifically mentioned by different actors due to their significant influence on the performance of the construction projects as well as on the effects of the final building according to the respondents. These activities were confirmed by archive data and found in the construction projects documentation.There are different views about how categories emerge from the analysis, e. g. let the data ‘talk’ or if the researcher is shaping the categories (Bryant and Charmaz, 2007). In this study, no specific and objective theoretical frameworks were ready to pick. They were instead developed during analysis. Coding was in the first step based on a preliminary theoretical framework consisting of different phases of the building process. The activities were then categorised, based on their empirical characteristic, first in relation to the different stages in the construction project, e. . communication during design between architect and library manager and secondly in themes due to their organisational belonging, i. e. the content of the activity, for example, communication regarding specific functional solutions within the library between the architect and the library manager: strategic briefing during the design phas e. The resulted value-adding activities are presented in Table 2 below. Table 2: Value-adding activities in building houses of culture Activities in the briefing process related to strategic briefing The feasibility study 2002 and 2003 a. he rejection of the first proposal consisting of private and public investors in the construction project b. the development of the second proposal of combining different cultural activities in one building The political decisions 2003 a. political agreement on building a new house for the existing public library, the public art gallery and a new concert hall 21 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 b. political initiatives of starting the construction project The development of the project directives with requirement regarding a. ost b. time c. responsibilities The development of the strategic brief a. overall vision and goals for the building and building performance b. end-users’ functional requirements, ne eds and desires c. qualifying criteria for participating in the architectural competition d. order-winning criteria for the architect The client’s procurement decision a. design-bid-build based on a architectural competition b. architect creating a design team with client c. contractor’s relation to client during construction Open coding – Second LevelThe second analysis was based on a preliminary theoretical framework (Values surrounding the House of Culture, developed from Boyd and Chinyio, 2006:80) where the client’s requirements were coded to different stakeholder groups, and stakeholders’ value were coded in relation to project and product (Laurell Stenlund et al. , 2009). Coding into rich picture diagrams and general themes The third categorisation was an analysis of the value-adding activities performed by actors within the construction project as well as by end-users in the final building.Here the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Ba rrett (2007) were applied when coding the data into the rich picture diagram for further analysis of developed intellectual capital. This analysis is presented in the following section. Intellectual capital in rich picture diagrams Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) found that the use of the multiple case study approach was in agreement with the principles of GTM, i. e. that it relies on multiple sources and constant comparison of empirical data for the purpose of theory building.However, when using multiple case studies and GTM, the cross-case analysis can be found overwhelming and difficult to grasp all at once, according to Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). Therefore the rich picture diagram is suggested by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007) as an analytical tool in data analysis and here applied when analysing the development of intellectual capital in construction projects. 22 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Rich picture diagrams Firstly, the value-adding act ivities of the ‘successful’ construction project, were used as a basis to develop a rich picture diagram.The activities were coded in accordance with the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). Secondly, the results from the workshop were included into the rich picture diagram. During the workshop, each stakeholder representative presented their three most important success factors, written on ‘post-it’-notes in four dimensions, namely strategic with external (market) perspective; strategic with internal (vision and financing) perspective; operational with external (customer) perspective and operational with internal (organisational and cost) perspective.For the purpose of the workshop, the four dimensions were related to the general themes developed by Sutrisna and Barrett (2007). The notes were then transformed into the same rich picture diagram as the story line of the construction project. Intellectual Capital The intellectual capital m odel consists of identifying financial, human, social, customer and organisational value (Sveiby, 1997). Identifying and visualizing intellectual capital are problematic and discussed for many years. Research with focus on intellectual capital started intensively during the 90s within the field of accounting.The Balanced Scorecard, developed by Kaplan and Norton (1993), The Intangible Assets Monitor, developed by Sveiby (1997) and The Skandia IC model with the world’s first public intellectual capital annual report, as a supplement to the financial report (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997), are examples of management models categorising, measuring and valuing companies’ tangible and intangible resources and assets. Edvinsson and Malone (1997) describe the company’s intangible assets as â€Å"those that have no physical existence but are still of value to the company.Typically, they are long term and cannot accurately be valued until the company is sold. † Measu rement of intellectual capital is thus difficult. According to Mouritsen (2009), it is not possible for an organisation to copy its intangible properties in a number; yet it is necessary because it allows intervention to happen since it develops a wholly new set of dimensions to manage. Measuring size, value and effects of intellectual capital does not yield definitive measures, yet the measures are comforting because they help develop the actions that can be made in the name of intellectual capital (Mouritsen, 2009).Analysing Intellectual Capital in Rich Picture Diagrams In the rich picture diagram value-adding activities in the building process together with stakeholders’ value of the construction project and building in use are pictured in a story line of building a house of culture as presented in Figure 1. In Figure 1, number 1 describes activities creating human capital in the municipality. Here the municipal commissioner played an important, entrepreneurial client role . This is seen as a distinctive feature in the case.Human capital was developed in a creative process of finding a new solution to an old demand, the need of a concert hall, and also driving the political process to a building decision of building a house of culture by combining the library, the hall of arts and the concert hall. The decision was a result of a more than 60-year-long discussion in the municipality, where special interest organisations argued for and against a new concert hall in the city. Human capital is measured in the individual’s knowledge and experiences creating a capability within the organisation (Sveiby, 1997; Laurell Stenlund, 2004).The development of construction industry, with advanced technol- 23 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 ogy put a pressure on actors’ capabilities to adapt to these new technologies. However, construction industry also relays on actors’ capabilities to create new ideas, new technologies and new types of buildings, as shown in this case were the public client was using his competence, based on political experience as well as on his skills from construction industry.Figure 1: The story line of a successful construction project visualising created intellectual capital Number 2 in the figure describes the activities related to the development of the brief for architectural competition, based on the vision of the building together with the transformation of the public client’s requirements into building programmes, e. g. functional and technical specifications. The public client's role during the development of the building programme was important.Different employees in the client's organisation were involved in the development of the feasibility studies taking political decisions and developing the project directives with requirements regarding cost, time and responsibilities. In the brief for architectural competition, the public client formulated the overall vision and goals for the building and the end-users’ functional requirements. People from the artistic organisations were partly involved in this strategic briefing process.The process, in the figure illustrated with dotted arrows, illustrates how the client’s representatives, foremost the project manager together with the architect, worked together with actors responsible for art and library activities. This work should also be seen as a strategic briefing process performed in the project during the design phase. The public client’s procurement decisions regarding the architectural competition made it possible for the architect to create a â€Å"dream-team† of consultants working together with designing the building.The bid-to-build procurement decision engaged a contractor, with the ambition to develop new knowledge within their own construction organisation concerning technical solutions in the building of concert halls. Here the municipali ty created organisational capital in measures of communication, trust and business relations (Sveiby, 1997) between actors in the local construction industry. The organisational capital belonging to the public client has created new construction projects in the community, even during recession, when normally no construction projects should have stated.Finally number 3 in the figure describes how the public client's decisions had an impact on creating social capital in the community. This is closely related to the client’s ambitions to create a building with symbolic value and also to the distinctive feature of having created future beliefs in the city. Social capital is described in terms 24 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 of change in attitudes, but also in terms of economic value regarding new job opportunities, development of organisational and business activities.End-users participating at the workshop expressed their view of the buil ding in use in terms of social value. They valued the multitude of cultural activities in the building as well as the building is easy accessibility, aesthetics, comfort, safe with a central location in the city. The social capital developed by building a house of culture in the community is described by the public client as valuable for the cities development in the future, not only because of its cultural activities, but also because of the buildings architecture and location. DiscussionFrom the results of analysing value-added activities and stakeholders’ value in a story line, the distinctive features for this specific construction project illustrates three key competencies generating human, organisational and social capital; firstly the human capital based on the public clients political and construction knowledge and skills in the pre-phase of the construction project; secondly the organisational capital based on the actors competencies of interacting when developing th e strategic brief involving internal and external stakeholders goals and visions, during the onstruction project; and finally the social capital based on the building’s multifunctional activities, its architectural design and its central location in the city, when building in use. From the results, one could determine certain success factors and key competencies that should be maximized. These success factors and key competencies could in turn be grouped into a number of distinct areas of focus such as financial, human, customer, process, renewal and development. Within each of these areas of focus, one could identify numerous key indicators to measure performance.Previous research studies have shown that companies and organisations have to identify their own relevant key indicators and success factors and relate them to their specific activities and resources when making the tools usable in management decisions (Laurell Stenlund, 2004; Anumba et al. , 2005; Roos et al. , 200 5). Measuring size, value and effects of intellectual capital does not yield definitive measures, yet the measures are comforting because they help develop the actions that can be made in the name of intellectual capital (Mouritsen, 2009).Conclusions Stakeholder value is the key variable in this study with the purpose of visualising stakeholders’ different value in the building process. From the results of the study, intellectual capital developed during the construction project has been visualised in terms of human, organisational and social capital. Houses of culture, public buildings for cultural activities, enable meeting places for citizens as well as they provide places for cultural events and spaces for creativity as well as they contribute to the development of new cultural activities.The outcomes were found useful when implementing the results back to the studied client organisation and the actors in the project team as well as they can be used to better understand t he situation, formulating improvement as well as a platform for future research. The strength of combining GTM and RPD is demonstrated in the ability of the methodology in studying complex organisational structures and relations between different actors, and specific as shown in this case, when analysing value creation in a construction project with many stakeholders with different interests and value. 5 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 References Alvesson, M. and Skoldberg, K. (2000) Reflexive methodology: new vistas for qualitative research, London: Sage. Anumba, C. J. , Egbu, C. and Carrillo, P. (2005) Knowledge Management in Construction, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Boyd, D and Chinyio, E (2006) Understanding the construction client, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Bryant, A. and Charmaz, K. (2007) The SAGE handbook of Grounded Theory, London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Brochner, J. and Kadefors, A. 2010) Varden och vardekedjor inom samha llsbyggande, forstudie. [Values and value chains in building societies, prestudy], Stockholm: KK-stiftelsen. Chroneer, D. and Laurell-Stenlund, K. (2006) Determinants of an effective product development process: Towards a conceptual framework for process industry. International journal of innovation management, 10(3), 237-269. Dosi, G. , Faillo, M. and Marengo, L. (2008) Organisational Capabilities, Patterns of Knowledge Accumulation and Governance Structures in Business Firms: An Introduction. Organization Studies, 29(08&09), 11651185. Edvinsson, L. and Malone, M.S. (1997) Intellectual Capital, The proven way to establish your company’s real value by measuring its hidden brainpower, London: Harper. Egan, J. (1998) Rethinking Construction, Report of the Construction Task Force to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on the Scope for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of UK Construction. Department of Trade and Industry, HMSO, London. Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989) Building t heories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550. Finch, P. (2000) Better public building, a proud legacy for the future, The Better Public Buildings Group.Department for culture, media and sport, London. Glaser, B. G. (1992) Basics of Grounded Theory Research. Sociology Press, Mill Valley, CA. Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Aldine, Chicago. Grant, R. M. (1991) The resource based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135. Gray, C. and Hughes, W. (2001) Building Design Management, Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Hamel, G. and Prahalad C. K. (1994) Competing for the Future. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D.P. (1993) Putting the Balanced Scorecard on work, Harvard Business Review, (SepOct), 134-147. Laurell-Stenlund, K. (2004) Three perspectives on measuring and valuing losses of key competence. (Licen tiate thesis in Swedish), Lulea: Lulea University of Technology. Laurell Stenlund, K. (2010) Effekter av byggandet av Kulturens hus i Lulea, [The Matter of Culture], Research Report, Lulea: Lulea University of Technology. Laurell Stenlund, K and Horte, S-A. (1999) Competence accounting – methods for measuring and valuing keycompetencies. Managing Operations Networks, EurOMA Conference, Venice, Italy, June 7-8. 26The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 Laurell Stenlund, K. , Ryd, N. and Vennstrom, A. (2009) Client's decisions in strategic briefs and their impact on user values. Proceedings 25th Annual ARCOM Conference. Nottingham: Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 361-370. Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994) An Expanded Sourcebook, Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd ed. ), California and London: Sage Publications. Inc. Mouritsen, J. (2009) Classification, measurement and the ontology of intellectual capital entities. Journal o f Human Resource Costing & Accounting, 13(2), 154-162. Penrose, E. 1959/1995) The theory of the growth of the firm. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Roos, G. , Pike, S. and Fernstrom, L. (2005) Managing Intellectual Capital in Practice, Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Ltd, Oxford. Saxon, R. (2005) Be Valuable: A Guide to Creating value in the Built Environment Construction Excellence, London. Segerstedt, A. and Olofsson, T. (2010) Supply chains in the construction industry. Supply Chain Management, 15(5), 347-353. Short, C. A. , Barrett, P. , Dye, A. and Sutrisna, M. (2007) Impacts of value engineering on five Capital Arts projects. Building Research and Information, 35(3), 287-315. Spencer, N. nd Winch, G. (2002) How buildings Add Value for Clients, Construction Industry Council, London. Sutrisna, M. and Barrett, P. (2007). Applying rich picture diagrams to model case studies of construction projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 14(2), 164-179. Sveiby, K . E. (1997) The Intangible Assets Monitor. Journal of Human Resource costing and accounting, 2(1), 73-97. Winch. M. G. (2002) Managing Construction Projects, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd. Yin, R. K. (1994) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Newbury Press, California: Sage. 27 The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 3, Special Issue 1, 2010 28