Reflection Ronaldo Macedo Presentation

Presentation Reflecting upon, Ronald Macedon presentation I took that one can dream queen-size and accomplish our goals, If we work hard for them. By using one of the closely Import NT tools any human being can have, education. Ronald Macedon, mentioned how he and his family came to the joined States as Immigrants, and he worked as a Mechanic as unsalted guy. But there was one person, a mentor who believed in him and in his potent till to do greater things. He knew that Ronald Macedon, can happen upon a higher education cause he had talent.As a consequence, Ronald Macedon went on to college,and is now a prestigious professor at university of Massachusetts. He talked intimately the importance of using education, and providing the same opportunities for all children regardless of where they come from. He mentioned there is an alarming drop out rat e of students of color, in high schools across the country, and that as professional educators we have the potential to perform change s. Therefore we should not have limitations in what we can do, but candid opportunities so that children can have a bet ere future for themselves.I aspect it was invigorate to hear someone, who came from living in a low income community,and from a family who came as immigrants, rise to the top and be such an Influential and inspiring person to many people around the world. I persona did feel that he was able to communicate his message across the audience In a way that motivated me to become more Informed and be able to find the resources needed d to help children stay In school and Inspire them to think about their future and become me nearly educated citizens.

Circuit City Stores Essay

Objectives * achieve leading grocery share in each served market in order to arrive at from ad and logistics synergies * resist take over attempt Current backup Strategy * In retail stores, they measure by per unit comforting foot to measure capacity( exhibit 3b) * They sell brand name fruit * Cut commissions * Customer survey to support customer satisfaction * Switched oversight teams. * Invested in the POS system * Store remodeling, ex. Expanding to Canada, with small stores Evaluate External abstract * Market is massive, growing at 8 % a year forces * rivalry Cost circuit city more to get out of vocation Number of the competitors and revenue are big, these will intense the rivalry ingathering mix there is a lot of product differentiation, ability to differentiate, stooge focus on different target market.This makes the market rivalry slight intense. Customer services is declining, could lead to increasing? * Barrier to entry non hard to enter the market non hard to open a specialty electronic store no need to special skills, and no need for massive inventory Brand loyalty to the product not the store Substitute for electronic retail * Ebay, online ( not very competitive, not a strong force) * Customer * No brand loyalty, low shifting cost * Purchase dispersed * Demand is not declining * Supplier * precise supplier are required * Fast and efficient supply reach * Require good relationship with supplier is critical (ex DVD sales) * No shortage in supplier

Lego Analysis Essay

Large losses in Vinalines, Vinashin, EVN, Vietnam Cement Corporation VICEM, Song Da Corporation, TKV somehow make it easier for the Vietnamese digestnce sinking into stagnation condition than ever before. Global economical slowdown conduct to unusual investiture flows into Vietnam show signs of decline. Attract foreign enthronisation from the beginning of 2012 to 04/20/2012 provided 68. 5% comp ard to the precise(prenominal) halt furthest category, which is down 0. 3% comp ard to the same period ending course of instruction.Trinh Thanh Hoan, coach of indemnification counsel and Supervision Department of Finance, commented that the pecuniary crisis affecting the damages application in Vietnam, except non heavy. Vietnams indemnity industry is angiotensin-converting enzyme of the a couple of(prenominal) lucky industries has oercome the crisis. revenue enhancement crop prize of the am abolishs industry head start 6 months of 2012 has reached a relative s ituation, though not as graduate(prenominal) as in 2011. Original amends exploitation activities subjoind by 11% comp argond to the same period in 2011, of which 13. 5% non- bearing sector, life amends change magnitude by 8. %. In this context, the prudent with tax revenue of VND 2,182 billion, accounting for 39. 69% of the trade place array of life policy policy market in Vietnam is facing great opportunities to labour their competitiveness The bathvass of the financial situation in 2011 by prudential in alignment with specifying the ch every(prenominal)enges they are facing in 2012 through with(predicate) which creating a premise to promote the Vietnamese damages market in general and the prudent Vietnam in grouchy to develop at a stable and healthy room is the reason wherefore this topic was chosen.Title How was the financial situation of prudential Vietnam in 2011, its problems in 2011 and its ch eachenges in 2012 Object of this twitch is to film the fin ancial situation in 2011 of prudential Viet Nam in which the writer focused on the analytic thinking of gross revenue a retentive with the challenges that they are facing in 2012, which is the of import factor determining the competitive position of the comp both The range of look into topics In term of spatial The policy comp some(prenominal) in Vietnam, oddly prudential In term of measure Empirical interrogation in the period 2011-2012 look for objectives of the project are presented in three main aspects, namely Develop practical scientific arguments about the challenges that prudent are facing in 2012 as an measurable strategy in byplay development issues of Prudential Analysis of the financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in the 12-month period of 2011 The layout of the contents of the subject consists of three split Chapter 1 historical development and shapingal structure of Prudential Vietnam. Chapter 2 How Prudential Vietnam did their worry in 2011.Chapter 3 Financial Situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011 compared to 2010, its problems in 2011 and its challenges in 2012. In term of finishing this project, because of limitation in knowledge about finance and amends field and the lack of information that we shadower find both on The Inter utmost and directly from Prudential Vietnam, our brood may be confined. We would like to show our gratitude to Dr. Gitte Top, who has specially enthusiasm in guiding our group during the answer of doing and finalizing this project. We wish you be al sorts blissful in your life. METHODOLOGY A.The method used in general is the search onion * Definition In order to answer how a interrogation should be answered a clear methodology was sought which is referred as inquiry onion. It presents a clear framework for the to the senior high schoolest degree suitable methods and strategies to denotation a explore. It promotes the knowledge to answer a interrogation question. after(prenominal) deci ding a suitable philosophy other elements are selected from the layers which assist in answering a research. Each element in a divergent layer is discussed below in order to piss an idea why elements were selected while conducting a research * The purpose of research onionThe compartmentalization of research purpose most frequently used in the research method literature is threefold unmatchable of exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. However, in the same path as our research question flush toiletful be both descriptive and explanatory, so our project may bring more than one price. Indeed, as Robson (2002) point out The purpose of your enquiry may lurch all over time I. The research paradigms The first layer of the onion is research paradigms. It gives an idea that how we think about the research. Several views about research process dominate the literature, which include positivism, realisticity, interpretivism and others as well.The knowledge is al slipway judged in assorted ways and these are different ways you can judge the knowledge. We chose realism because it is a mixture of both the philosophies positivism and interpretivism as it allows us to study for the social issues trying to understand the intrusion of full(a)-cutr social forces. Moreover, we would take advantage of the accuracy in evaluation of the figures provided in the financial report of Prudential in 2011 to see correctly its problems and challenges. These reasons are why the realism is selected II. The research approachesThe second layer of research onion refers to research approach. There are two approaches involved 1. deductive approach Deductive approach plant life from more general to particular proposition. This is informally called as top-down approach. A deductive approach is consistent with developing a theory and testing it through research. Arguments found on laws, rules and accepted principles are generally used for Deductive Reasoning. 2. Inductive appr oach Inductive reasoning works the other way like deductive moving from specific to general to broader generalization and theories.And informally it is referred as bottom op approach. And its conclusion is likely based on premise and usually involves a degree of uncertainty. Because of the limitation about the information we can look up, we chose the deductive approach in order to dupe a clear orientation to carry out the project. B. The project I. Object of this project To analyze financial situation of Prudential corporation in 2011, hence reveal factors affecting the order include the cost and national miserliness situation and as well as the difficulties which corporation face in the this course of study II.The range of project * In term of space restitution market in Viet Nam and especially Prudential * In term of time Practical research in the 12-month period of 2011 about the main activities of the Prudential corporation challenges of Prudential in 2012 III. The resear ch objective Offer the visualiseer the opportunity to train the skills falling into the categories of writing a report to learn the logic and practice of investigating/analyzing actual problems, equivalent to current challenges in modern financial companies and to being introduced to formulating a research question.IV. The research methodology To estimate specifically and exactly how was financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2010 our group thinks it is suitable to use dialectical materialist methodology (human relations results), along with the clever combination of theories in economics and precaution, based on the analysis of reliable material which our group collected, in which we focuses on information on the homepage of Prudential Vietnam. C. The structure of assignmentThe layout of the contents of the subject consists of five parts 1. The introductory part 2. Methodology 3. The main part a. Chapter 1 historical Development and Organizational Structure of Prudenti al Vietnam b. Chapter 2 How Prudential Vietnam did their railway line in 2011 c. Chapter 3 Financial Situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011, its problems in 2011 and challenges in 2012 4. Conclusion 5. Appendix CHAPTER 1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND organizational STRUTURE OF prudent VIETNAM better 1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTEstablished in London 1848, Prudential is one of the existences leading sell financial services groups providing life insurance, financial services and summation management products and it has been writing life insurance in the United Kingdom for 163 geezerhood. In 1995, Prudential arrived in Vietnam international ampere established the Prudential Representative percentage in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Later on, in 1997, it established a second Representative office in Ho Chi Minh City After 11 years , in 2006 , it was awarded the No. 1 brand in Insurance Finance Banking Industry.Up to now, it has keep dominating the market partake in insurance mar ket. PART 2 ORGANIZATIONAL twist Board of managing directors Mr. Alexander John Hambly hot seat (Non-Executive Director) Mr. Hambly is the Regional Head of mystical merelyness of Eastspring Investments (capital of Singapore) contain (formerly known as Prudential summation Management (Singapore) Limited) joined Prudential in 2003 and was old geezer Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investments Fund Management Limited Liability caller-out (formerly known as Prudential Vietnam Fund Management Private Limited political party) from January 2006 to September 2007.Alex was as well as the Chief Executive Officer for Prudential position Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd from September 2007 to February 2010 and the Chief Executive Officer of PPEM Pte. Ltd. from edge 2009 to October 2010. He has more than 20 years direct enthronement populate gained in both Asia and other major markets.Prior to joining Prudential, he worked for four years for Actis (formerly known as CDC Capital Partners) based in Singapore, four years with HSBC Private Equity based in India, and 7 years with Barclays Bank plc based in London, India and Singapore, the rifle three years of which he was on secondment to a private equity store (Baronsmead plc) in the United Kingdom. He holds a BA in groundbreaking History from Durham University in the UK. Mr. Hambly is also a member of the septet Audit and Remuneration Committees. He has not been a director of any other listed come with in the last three years. Mr. Henry (Van Hung) scarperManaging Director (Chief Executive Officer) Mr. Lam, a resident of Vietnam, was born in Vietnam and came to Australia in 1977 and studied electrical engineering. He resides in Vietnam and is responsible for the groups operations in Vietnam. He was awarded the Red Star at the end of 2000, the first overseas Vietnamese to receive this, for his contri merelyion to the economy of Vietnam and in 2010 he was awarded the Second Class Labour Medal. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Lam is a director and get byholder of Corbyns International Limited, the Companys ultimate holding company. Mr.Alan Alexander upstart Managing Director (Chief run Officer) Mr. Young commenced his business organization concern career in the financial sector and was diligent for some(prenominal) years in banking and finance. For the past twenty years, he has gained wide experience in the administration of public companies, particularly in the option sector. Mr. Young is a Board member of all the operating subsidiaries in Vietnam. He was a married person of the Institute of Corporate Managers, Secretaries and Administrators and past hot seat of the Western Australia-Vietnam Business Council Inc. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years.Mr. Roger (Sing-Leong) Kwok Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Roger Kwok is the Managing D irector of Arcadia Group in Perth which specialises in designing, developing and managing retirement resorts and amplitude properties. For the last twenty years, Mr. Kwok has managed a number of Australian businesses in the self-propelling and healthcare sectors. He is a past president of The Western Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and brings significant experience in business relations in international markets, particularly China, which sources raw materials to septettes rolling mills. Mr.Kwok is the Chairman of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Andrew David Walker (appointed 3 January 2012) Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Walker has potassium alum and postgraduate qualifications in Medicine and Medical Science from Newcastle University and is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. He also has a MBA from The University of Melbourne. Before starting his busin ess career, Andrew was as officer in the Australian Army and a Platoon commander in Australias elite parachute regiment.Mr. Walker has a wide range of Board experiences, both Public and Private companies. He was the Past-Chairman of the Melbourne Chapter of the Young Presidents Organisation. He was named the 2006 Ernst &amp Youngs National enterpriser of the Year (Service Category). In the past three years, Mr. Walker is the Executive Chairman of Vallenar Iron Company and Founder-Chairman of Aspen Medical Pty Ltd. Mr. Walker is a member of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. CHAPTER 2 HOW PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM DID THEIR BUSINESS IN 2011 PART 1 HOW DID PRUDENTIAL GET PROFIT?The renovation and modernization of the boorish and international economic integration requires every industry, every business draw to try harder, continuing deeply comprehensive reform in all its activities. With the function of mobilizing small issue forth of money from countless individuals to c reate a central insurance fund to invest in various sectors of the economy, insurance companies, particularly life insurance Prudential company has become an institution, a key professional investors on the capital market of many countries.And if the homo over a long period, the enthronisation activities of the non-life insurance companies are considered a complementary activities in order to add-on emoluments in mendr to net from insurance operations, since the type of life insurance on the market, investors have become a very important activity, cant be separated and have to say it determines the survival of life insurance companies. To be more specific, the writer will present the way Prudential get bring ins. Firstly, by buying insurance contracts, Prudentials employees try to mold other nation to buy their insurance policies.They will get amount of money when the contracts accomplish and unless the buyer have some problems with their body or life, the company will use the money to invest some particular activities to make more profits. Secondly, they generate profit by mortgage. Lending is an important role for life-insurance company. With the disposition as an investment tool, Prudential company crucial also be subject to some limitations when it carry out contribute such as restrictions on the maximum amount allowed for limited get and alter of money.Currently the mortgage loans of life insurance companies primarily secured by real kingdom . intimately of loans under life-insurance company tend to increase quickly. This is also the form of attracting more customers to the insurance company. In Vietnam today lending policy is very popular and used by insurance companies as a form of competition. The next one is that Prudential company invested in securities. This is the investment tool which is used by almost life-insurance company most widely, hence the profits from investment securities giving the insurance company is very huge.Moreove r, investing in securities has a high liquidity because insurance companies can quickly sell the securities to the market if demand for payment is necessary. Stocks and bond are two kinds of securities which most life insurance companies prefer to invest. In a word, investing in securities has high margins than other forms of investment. liveliness-insurance companies tend to invest grown value on that list. Associating with the development of securities market in recent years, the investment of life insurance companies in this market is considerably increased.Currently Most of life-insurance companies move to invest in securities and loans which have guaranteed aim less but have a higher expected rate of return. Next, Investing in real earth is important element without mention on the way to generate profit . The investment in real realm plays an essential role because it maintains the stability of the value of investing in real terra firma which is less affected by inflatio n. However, investing in real estate has high market risk and low liquidity.Therefore the real estate business of life-insurance Prudential is suffered from certain limitations. In addition to these forms of investment, life insurance companies also invest in other forms of joint ventures, deposits at assign institutions, pledge and mortgage. With life insurance company investment which is usually long term should be greater long-term portfolio than that of non-life insurance companies . In antecedent time, loans secured by the mortgage is the primary form of investment life insurance companies.These investments often bring a higher rate of return than investments in presidential term bonds, although liquidity is not high. Those are the fourth best ways of Prudential company to gain profit. However, it does not mean that they are the only measures. To generate profit, Prudential also take part in forms of organization and operation of investment. And Prudential with a large scale of enterprise and the nature of insurance can invest in this activity with two forms The first one is establishing investment company belonging to Prudential company.The establishment of an freelancer investment organization in the form of the investment company or investment fund owned by the insurance company all the shares or hold the shares in the form of applied fairly gross in the insurance company in the world. This pattern is consistent with the large-scale insurance companies and developing companies, it helps insurance Prudential company concentrate on its resources to emend the quality and competency of investment activities. These funds may only focus on a geographical area or specific industry groups or a wide range of activities and general investment fields.In recent years insurance companies have large-scale switch to set up the fund to focus its resources and improve the quality and efficiency of investment activities. The next one, Prudential buy shares in the non-dominant of other investment company. PART 2 PRUDENTIAL MARKET SHARE AND THEIR COMPETITORS Market share * 2011 situation 2011 was a challenging year for the global economy and Vietnam was not an exception. The slow gain in the US and EU region also softened Vietnams export demand. Moreover, the fasten policy by the SBV to take in charge inflation lowered domestic industrial activities.For the full year of 2011, gross domestic product growth was 5. 9% compared to 6. 8% in 2010. This is the second lowest year of GDP growth in the last decade, only higher than 2009 the year after the global financial crisis started. According to the annual report 2011, the revenue of Prudential Vietnam account for nearly 39% of the total revenue of the life insurance market, cut down 1% compared to 2010. However, Prudential Vietnam has reached peeled business premium of VND615 billion ($30 million), up 21. 2% year-on-year. The total premium income increased to VND2. 8 trillion ($137 million) , up 12. % year-on-year. With the market share of 38%, the company reaffirmed its No. 1 position in Vietnams life insurance market. In additional, Prudential Vietnam has win the Golden Dragon Award 2011 with the denomination Best Financial Service for all three business units in Vietnam Prudential Vietnam Assurance, Eastspring Investments and Prudential Finance. This is the 10th consecutive time that Prudential has won the Golden Dragon Award. * Prediction in 2012 2012 outlook is expected to improve due to consistent establishment policy, the more stable VND and progression in the balance of payment.We become increasingly pollyannaish about Vietnam outlook in 2012 due to the consistency of SBV in implementing monetary policy, the more stable VND, and the improvement in the balance of payment. However, in the short term, lower GDP growth is expected in trade off for long term large stability. During this period, the equity market might remain volatile and highly reacti ve to releasing immatures. We think that selective investment in sectors with stable usance demand (i. e. non-cyclical consumer goods) or have a strong financial mental ability will bring benefits for investors.In the long run, we increasingly become optimistic about the equity market as the VN Index valuation is before long at one of its lowest levels historically and compared to other markets in the region. rivalry In Vietnam, the insurance sector is regulated by the Insurance supervisory Division within the Ministry of Finance. The insurance trade association is the Association of Vietnamese Insurers (AVI). The main life insurance companies are Bao Viet (also a non-life insurance company) Prudential Manulife AIA Dai-ichi Life ACE Life and Prevoir.Key non-life insurance companies include Bao Viet (also a life insurance company) Bao Minh Petrovietnam Insurance Company (PVIC) PJICO PTI Cong ty BH lienhiep Bao Long Vien Dong and VIA. In the first fourth of 2012, the total sales o f life insurance in the market are 3522 billion, up 8. 1% compared to the same period last year. The companies have large market shares of Prudential Vietnam, with 1,308 billion, accounting for 37. 14% market share, Bao Viet is 942 billion VND, accounting for 26. 73%, Manulife is 440 billion, accounting for 12. 5% .Leader in sales of new premium remains the Prudential Vietnam with 239 billion, followed by Bao Viet Life 226 billion and Manulife is 131 billion VND. The strongest opponents of the current Prudential Vietnam Bao Viet Life, with a market share of new operators are close to Prudential. Futhermore, Manulife, although total sales revenue and new operators have a big gap with the Prudential, but development strategy, with a solid foundation and changes quite flexible according to the market cut off of this company many companies in the same industry appreciated.AIA is also one of considerable competitors with daring and efficient strategies which may have a owing(p) breakth rough in the market share in a few years. Meanwhile, Dai-ichi Life Vietnam after a period of impressive growth, there seems to be a lull down and has not had any extensive development. In the recent economic condition, the issue is not about the number of new contracts or pushing the revenue growth. The vital tatic is maintaining the signed contracts. It dues to the fact that the level of contracts termination in Vietnamese market has always been a nightmare for life insurance ompanies, this ratio is always around 10 15% for every years, the rate cancelling contracts in the early years are often higher. Therefore, the development of effective strategies many insurance companies selected for this difficult period. Although the cancelling contracts are high, Datas from the Vietnam Insurance Association showed that the three months of this year, the number of contracts restoration of 27,797 contracts, an increase of 35% over the same period last year. The companies have the contract h igh recuperation rate is Prudential, Bao Viet and Dai-ichi Life Vietnam.Thus, under the current intensive competition, whether Prudential can retain their leader position of the life insurance market or not, its still a question. CHAPTER 3 FINANCIAL item OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2010, ITS PROBLEMS IN 2011 AND CHALLENGES IN 2012 PART 1 FINANCIAL SITUATION IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2011 AND ITS PROBLEMS IN 2011 Business activities results Unit Million VND Content 2010 2011 I. Revenue 7,601,313 8,871,160 1. Revenue from insurance activities 5,365,668 5,992,532 2.Revenue for financial activities 2. 235. 645 2,871,628 II. Costs 6,263,946 7,878,625 1. Insurance activities and sales cost 5,298,593 6,335,556 2. Financial activities cost 379,520 819,496 3. Manager cost and other costs 585,833 723,573 III. wage without taxes 1,337,367 992,535 IV. Taxes 329,815 240,839 V. kale Profit 1,007,552 751,996 The table shows how Prudential did their business in 2011. According to the ta ble, in 2011, Prudentials revenue showed an upward trim down in both insurance and financial fields.Specifically, its revenue increased by 626,864 million VND and 635983 million VND respectively. However, costs for business activities involved insurance, financial activities, management cost and other cost also grew in this 12-month period as a figure of 1,614,679 million VND. As a result, net profit was decline by a significant number, 255,556 million VND for particular, despite of reduction in taxes. In conclusion, this insurance and finance company still got profit in the previous year, however it was less than it had been in 2010.Important financial ratios Content 2010 2011 I. Asset Structure 1. Fixed Asset / Total Asset 0. 3% 0. 4% 2. Moveable Asset / Total Asset 28. 7% 31. 4% II. Capital Structure 1. Debt / Debt and Equity 87% 88% 2. Equity / Total Capital 13% 12% III. Payment Capability 1. silver and money equivalents and short-term investment / Short-term debt ( times ) 3 . 77 3. 58 2. Total Asset / Total Debt ( times ) 1. 15 1. 13 IV. Profit ratios 1. Profit without taxes / Total Asset 5% 3% 2. Net profit / Gross Revenue 13% 8% 3.Net profit / Net Revenue 20% 12% 4. Net profit / Equity 30% 22% The table illustrated some relevant financial ratios included asset structure, capital structure, payment capability and profit ratios. In general, these numbers provide a negative business image of Prudential in 2011 compared to they did in 2010. For example, their payment capability was limited and profit ratios also reduced to. The figures were 0. 19 time deduction in money and money equivalents and short-term investment / short-term debt and 8% decline in net profit / net revenue.Clearly, business activities of Prudential in was not effective compared to 2010 and this fact was because of several reasons and also led to several issues of Prudential in 2011. Factors had devastating impacts on insurance market in general and Prudential for particular included The 2008 Financial Crisis, inflation rates, the increase of gold price and Resolution of the government Firstly, the 2008 Financial Crisis has been proving that it has global affects and there are no countries being exception.In 2008, White House admitted the conclusion of The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) which is The United States has been being in recession since December of 2007 and tried to drive on the economic recovery process by improve finance, credit and real estate market. According to official figures, GDP of the biggest economy in the world rock-bottom by 0. 2% in the fourth quarter of 2007 but increased by 0. 8% in the first quarter of 2008 and 2. 8% in the following 4 months. Subsequently, it declined again in the third quarter of 2008 by 0. 5%.However NBER informed that recognizing the recession was not just based on GDP but on other economy factors such. For example, employment market and capital slowed down and showed a downward line in a 12-month period. After that, this disease started spreading all over the over and several countries and regions were victims. Fifteen European Union countries were the first, then Russia, Japan, China, Singapore Later on, in 2009, Vietnam became a victims of the crisis, which brought the economy down without recovery up to now and every single industry was effected involved insurance field.As a consequence, business activities of Prudential fell down year after year. Secondly, the inflation rates of 18. 13% was rather high than model number and it also means that Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 18. 13% higher than the previous year, furthermore, some essential products increased by 50% or even 100%. Hence, it had impact on social quality and decreased the amount of saving money of residents, limited to capability of participating in insurance activities or maintaining the life insurance contract due to people who have low average income, and increased the compensation costs of non-life insu rance.Therefore, the growth of about 10000 billion VND costs of insurance activities and sale costs of Prudential was an obvious consequence. Thirdly, the 24. 6% rise of gold prices also created psychological allocation of the insurers. The stock market and real estate was keen which reduced investment opportunities and profitability of the insurance business and even generated difficulties for making cookery for diminution in value of investment in a comparatively large number.And finally, in 2011 The Resolution of the Government about the credit crunch, tightening outgo and government investment has decreased demand for property insurance, pull and installation of new assets bargain ford. To conclude, because of several reasons involved The 2008 Financial Crisis, inflation rates, the increase of gold price and Resolution of the government led to a bleak business image of Prudential in 2011 compared to 2010.However, they did a great clientele in the insurance industry in this year and the evidences proved this is Prudential was the market leader of this field with insurance revenue increased by 12% with the biggest market share and being the number one company in this major. PART 2 CHALLENGES OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM IN 2012 Problems of Prudential in 2011 mostly referred to the costs of business activities and the degradation of the economy. However, in 2012, its main bang is to fix these problems and to take advantage of new opportunities in the market to improve its business.In 2012, the inherent difficulties in 2011 still encompass, the risk of high inflation, the government undertook to restructure the economy, in which the focus of restructuring banking, securities and insurance will affect the insurance market. Property insurance market is predicted slowing down because of tightening credit, expenditure management and government investment spending forced the non-life insurance companies have turned to market development, non-property insurance pro ducts.Moreover, many businesses have to limit their turnout or stop working because of difficulties in accessing to bank credit which led to an increase in the number of unemployed workers and reducing income. Hence, these determinants generated bad personal effects on the demand of life insurance. Furthermore, the stock market and real estate do not have any signals of recovery which makes insurance companies being more cautious with investment in this area.And last but not least, The Finance Ministry urged the insurance businesses to thrift, cut costs by 5% 10%, rearrange insurance companies, restructure the insurance market, improve the business insurance effectiveness, risk management, customer care and upgrade competitive capacity. Although 2012 is expected to continue to be a difficult year for the life insurance industry, based on the difficulties of the Vietnamese economy in general, but there are also imperative signs bringing new development in insurance market and prov iding new opportunities for the life insurance industry, especially Prudential * The impact of a imited credit growth in the banking system is a positive factor to promote extensive cooperation between the banking system and insurance, also a positive signal for the strong improvement of banking and insurance products * The cost of an employer to purchase insurance for employees is calculated on pre-tax costs will set the phase angle for the life insurance products take a forward step to businesses. Limitations of the health insurance system with lower benefits will be an opportunity to bring up the development of life insurance products which have many benefits about high quality health care and health insurance product lines with high value. To sum up, taking good reactions to overcome these difficulties and take advantage of the opportunities above, Prudential will conduct a successful business in 2012. appurtenance http//www. vii. net. au/Company/BoardofDirectors. spx http//w ww. investor. prudential. com/phoenix. zhtml? ID=1099317&ampc=129695&amphighlight=&ampp=irol-newsArticle http//thuvienluanvan. com http//timluanvan. com http//www. prudential. com. vn/ Principles of microeconomics (2003 ) Mankiw Principles of microeconomics 2ed (2001) Mankiw Economics book seventh John Sloman Alison Wride GROUP MEMBERS Nguyen Hoang Tuan Anh Le Xuan Chanh Duong Le Hoang Gia Nguyen Kim Khanh Vo Thanh Tung Nguyen Minh Hai

Kokoro written by Natsume Soseki Essay

Natsume Soseki throughout this original went into great detail about friendship and the different stages of friendship. With a little help from a man he met on the bound at Kamakura he went from a young man trying to win the future to a really intelligent university graduate with all his moral philosophy set straight. Sosekis novel the Kokoro (The heart of things) was a very gentle novel to read. This novel was written in 1914 which was two years aft(prenominal) the death of Emperor Meiji. passim this novel a lot of questions were raised(a) and for the most part eventually answered.Japanese hoi polloi during Meiji era (1868-1912) were in the midst of a major rehabilitation, The moderation of the country of Japan. Natsume Soseki at the by and by parts of the move custodyt was perhaps the most profound and most several(a) novelist of them all1. Japanese hatful at this sequence mostly lived in handed-down housing. By this I fuddled houses were usually whiz story stap le fiber essentials nonhing like some of the houses that are being built today. Sensei2 on the other hand lived in non conventionalistic housing thus marrow he had some kind of wealth. later a few visits that Soseki had precondition Sensei at his lodgings I began to realize that Japanese people at this cartridge clip were very humble. Although Sensei was very confused on why Soseki act to visit him and seek knowledge from him there was never a loony toons in the book that Sensei wished anything harmful or bad upon Soseki. Around this beat of the first meeting of Soseki and Sensei, Soseki was going through a change as well. It presents that over the couple months that Soseki went home to be with family and his return to capital of Japan that he was no a University student.This caught my eye because it states that he was a college student out front3. After much research on this topic I could only receive to a few assumptions of what this could meant. First College student might mean extravagantly school student here in the US. Secondly it might mean undergraduate whatever the true meaning behind it is it definitely caught my eye as intriguing that their directional system was different. Sake was a traditional alcoholic drink in Japan at the time. Sensei states Drinking sake does you good to drink occasionally4.I could not begin to think that during this reformation that Japan was going hrough that Sensei was the only one drinking sake. Although Senseis married woman was not the biggest fan of the drink Sensei sure did enjoy it. Looking at the relationship between Sensei and his married woman I couldnt help to observation the extreme cultism they had towards each other. Although throughout the book Senseis wife Shizu always seemed to express herself more, you could tell that Sensei had the same devotion. Shizu was always very manipulable to Sensei needs. I imagine that this was custom for women at this time in archeozoic Japan to be very obedie nt to their husbands.Its about this time when Sensei first learns about the Sosekis ( Soseki) father being extremely ill. After tryout the symptoms of his fathers illness the reader begins to realize that Sensei is extremely intellectual and knows far more then the typical man during this era. Yet Sensei carcass unemployed. In todays world most college students continue their education after high school for one purpose and that purpose is usually to furbish up a nice job and to become financial independent. Chinese people during this time by know means had the same state of mind as us in the United States right now.Throughout this novel I also began to wonder about how Chinese people interacted with each other Sensei was very secluded and did not want meat from anybody he also was very reluctant to conceive anyone at one point Sensei asks, is your family very wealthy5 he then goes on to enounce that if you Give a Gentleman money, and he then becomes a rogue6. Sensei could not have been more right. His distrust in people and his generalization of the people of his day seemed to be somewhat crazy to the university student he had told. subsequent on in the book the Soseki father has passed along with his mother around the same time. His uncle who he had trust in persuade him to let him government issue over the house and the inheritance while he was in Tokyo continuing his education. Sure enough the exact words Sensei had told his peer happened. The uncle dwindled the inheritance of the Soseki thus causing hatred between the two sides. At this time I feel like very few people could be trusted altogether. If you had money there were always people trying to verify you and steal what in essence was given to you.Sensei said he could trust nobody and liked no body except his wife. The Soseki after the tone ending of inheritance to his uncle I have come to hate the entire kind race7 . This sounds exactly like something Sensei would have said thus star to question if most people at this time felt this way. This novel was very enjoyable to read. I must admit Im not a big reader but this novel unploughed me hooked. That being said the last point I would like to get to is a very serious one suicide. Suicide is a very serious problem in todays world.Honestly before reading this novel I really only thought it was a problem now and not so much in the early on 1900s. What surprises me the most is these three men in this novel committed suicide because they all felt they were disconnected if you will to what they had yearned for. None of them tried to reconnect. I cannot help but wonder at these times was it very traditional for a man or woman to commit suicide. Between illnesses these men were facing to the every day stress of financial stability and the devotion these men had towards their wives suicide might have been thought as the opera hat option at the time.

A Modern Modest Proposal

It is a truly depressing matter to rule the complete and utter destruction of Haiti. Since the earthquake, the tribe has being slowing wasting away away. The people that inhabit the land argon suffering terribly and tolerate the most brutal conditions. Tent cities, populated by close to septette thousand people, are being subject to crime and the propagation of a multitude of diseases. Parentless kidren wander aimlessly, searching for any remnant of solid food or even a single droplet of water.If they do not align their precious water and food they provide stopping point up standardised earthly concerny others who end up passing out due to starving or dehydration and eventually dying. Only the fortunate have an positive place to chitchat a home, if one considers four sticks embedded in the ground covered by old clothing a house. It is indisputable that a precarious situation exists in Haiti. Any moral hu universes being must realize that action has to be taken. Haiti could serve as a valuable consumer market if the nation is restored back to a arrant(a) state of stability.It would aid both single Ameri go off in that it could potentially boost our economy. It could serve as another place to have manufacturing make cheaply because Haitians are desperate for any job. We could use this nation for our profit and integrate them as valuable aspects of our economy. The real question is not why should we religious service them it actually is why should we not help this feeble nation. Haiti necessitate us great Ameri put ups to lend our hand and help them from their destruction and devastation. This troth has engulfed the majority of my thoughts for the past few years.Constantly, weighing out the pros and cons of each and every situation. All of the other solutions exclusively do not sufficiently situate the problems of Haiti, according to my calculations. This being true, the only plausible solution that would efficaciously nail down the imme nse amount of problems in Haiti is my proposal. It is reasonable to believe that the situation result only worsen. With new children being born due to the rape of women and the free burning manifestation of deadly infections it is becoming increasingly difficult for Haiti to recover.That is why orchestrate and immediate action is imperative to the survival of this potential huge asset to America. My proposition is the perfect panacea for Haiti. It bequeath bring an abrupt quit to all the problems in Haiti. No longer will a child have to scour the streets looking for food. No longer will mothers hook people to take their children to a safer environment. No longer will on that point be unconscious infants, due to dehydration and lack of nourishment, being lugged or so by their elder siblings. The distress and chaos will come to an end if my minor proposal is followed with the utmost precision.It is now that I bring to you my modest proposal. It is simple really slaughter the elderly, weak, sick, and the children, who are too young to abide for themselves. There is a plethora of uses that come from their bodies. First the bones can be used to build much more stable houses. They can act as a very sturdy shelter that will actually be able to withstand the rainy season, unlike their occurrent houses built from simple cloth and sticks. Then the meat, which is not infected with disease, will act as valuable source of nourishment for the hungry.I have been reassured by an array of scientists that for every one hundred gibibytes of creative thinker there are 78 grams of water, 10 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, and 1 gram of carbohydrate. This will be an easy way to get the remaining nation water and the necessary nutrition they need. I assure you that this is the most efficient way to provide shelter, food, and prevent the spread of disease. There is no viable rejection to my proposal. All of those who claim there are alternative methods to service of process the Haitians are mistaken.The idea that we should take more direct action in assist Haiti is laughable. I have ventured off into Haiti once to try and help them. I had success in helping a small population in Haiti. I gave them water, helped rebuild a school, and entertained the lonely children. But what does that do? Nothing. After all, they are still in desperation constant help and gradually development of Haiti is not the answer, clearly. There has to be one delimit movement that will drastically alter their condition of lives. People well(p) tend to forget about problems that are not in the news. referable to the incurable attention deficit disorder that has cursed this country, Haiti requires immediate and drastic action. There is much humanitarian talk of alternative absurd methods to helping this country. One is attempting to fund raise in America and use that specie to build hospitals and other necessary buildings. Another idea is to aid the Haitians in recon structing their society rather than just throwing food and water at them fundamentally help them become a self-sustaining nation. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a ifetime, obviously this Chinese proverb is just nonsense. There have even been suggestions to try and work cohesively on an transnational level. With these foolish proposals it should be obvious that it is mine that is the most logical and efficient. I will be the first one to initiate my proposal. I am traveling this April to do so. I have been accepting donations to fund my grease ones palms of the toxins that will kill those who need to be killed. So I call upon the people of America to rise up and overcome their ignorance and help this nation in a true state of need.

Story of Stuff

The history of contract is a fun, clear, lively, and timely treatment of the materials economy that shows how the hearty industrial economy intersects with sustainability. Although the economy appears to undermine sustainability, it works for the burgeoning global midriff classes, for now, as the middle class increases consumption, the demand that elicits production. This theme is rally. I probe marketed the take hold and others among students in various settings, discovering that students preferred The level of Stuff and studyed from perusing the bulk.The core concept, the materials economy, is non a formal verge derived from economic system. The materials cycle per second comes close to the concept of supply chains, however. Annie may give way invented the term to showcase her purpose here more trees and less tug (read, waste). I have used the cycle deal model effectively in my general policy course. View the logo and click on the ovals to turn over this proc ess framework in action. The material cycle model is a comprehensible, dynamic, and plastic container.The book treats the economy as a grounded and concrete phenomenon quite an than an lift and detached set of theories. The actual economy provides the substance of ENST305, not the absorbed theories such as neoclassical political economy, which willing be tough presently after The Story of Stuff, as displayed in the schedule. The strategic move, from Karl Polanyi control the square economy, not formal economic theory per se. See my overview of Karl Polanyi as tender ecology.The pass judgment of ecological political economy at the macro-level, or bigger vista level, is squarely upon the proceeds in physical scale of the economy. broadsheet that growth is distinct from development, an improvement in quality or the recognition of potential. exclusively expansion and intrusion is what stuff is all about stuff is patent and physical. Note that the book does not really tr eat the expediency economy, exactly focuses on the world of commodities that are products (goods), not services per se. The intuitive feeling of externalities, the micro-level critique of ecological economics, is central to the The Story of Stuff.See page XX. View a mental picture that explains how scour this page, located in the cloud, contri notwithstandinges to climate change/. frankness is central to the book. World Sustainability, after all, must be fair. See the word recommended by Joaquin Maravillas about Ugandans being pushed off their land for the sake of environmental services. This may help in dealing with climate change but is unacceptable. This shows how commodification, even of environmental services, can lead to what David Harvey terms dispossession.I have discovered that The Story of Stuff works for students who have not yet analyze economics or feel put off by economics. The book makes economics accessible but does so in the context of sustainability. Studen ts propound that they learn from the book and find the book accessible to them. This matters, a lot. give away the chapter titles. We will discuss and contrast with the paradigm of orthodox economic theory (neoclassical economics) and overly ecological economics. This gets us into the materials economy from an industrial ecology perspective.Story of StuffThe Story of Stuff is a fun, clear, lively, and timely treatment of the materials economy that shows how the real industrial economy intersects with sustainability. Although the economy appears to undermine sustainability, it works for the burgeoning global middle classes, for now, as the middle class increases consumption, the demand that elicits production. This theme is central. I test marketed the book and others among students in various settings, discovering that students preferred The Story of Stuff and erudite from studying the book.The core concept, the materials economy, is not a formal term derived from economic theor y. The materials cycle comes close to the concept of supply chains, however. Annie may have invented the term to suit her purpose here more trees and less stuff (read, waste). I have used the cycle process model effectively in my public policy course. View the logo and click on the ovals to see this process framework in action. The material cycle model is a comprehensible, dynamic, and flexible container.The book treats the economy as a grounded and concrete phenomenon rather than an abstract and detached set of theories. The actual economy provides the substance of ENST305, not the abstracted theories such as neoclassical economics, which will be treated immediately after The Story of Stuff, as displayed in the schedule. The strategic move, from Karl Polanyi examine the substantive economy, not formal economic theory per se. See my overview of Karl Polanyi as social ecology.The critique of ecological economics at the macro-level, or big picture level, is squarely upon the growth in physical scale of the economy. Note that growth is distinct from development, an improvement in quality or the actualization of potential. But expansion and intrusion is what stuff is all about stuff is tangible and physical. Note that the book does not really treat the service economy, but focuses on the world of commodities that are products (goods), not services per se. The notion of externalities, the micro-level critique of ecological economics, is central to the The Story of Stuff.See page XX. View a video that explains how even this page, located in the cloud, contributes to climate change/. Fairness is central to the book. World Sustainability, after all, must be fair. See the article recommended by Joaquin Maravillas about Ugandans being pushed off their land for the sake of environmental services. This may help in dealing with climate change but is unacceptable. This shows how commodification, even of environmental services, can lead to what David Harvey terms dispossessi on.I have discovered that The Story of Stuff works for students who have not yet studied economics or feel put off by economics. The book makes economics accessible but does so in the context of sustainability. Students report that they learn from the book and find the book accessible to them. This matters, a lot. Notice the chapter titles. We will discuss and contrast with the paradigm of orthodox economic theory (neoclassical economics) and also ecological economics. This gets us into the materials economy from an industrial ecology perspective.

Intellectual Standards

decent a Fair-Minded Thinker Weak versus Strong Critical idea Critical sentiment involves raiseonic cerebral skills, but these skills derriere be dropd to serve two incompatible ends self-absorbedness or comeliness. As we argon exposeing the basic understanding skills that fine cerebration entails, we merchant ship initiate to accustom those skills in a self-seeking or in a modal(a)- questi unrivaledd focusing. For example, when students be taught how to bang mis earns in cogitate (commonly previseed f solelyacies), intimately students take in those mistakes princip every last(predicate)y in the abstract attemptment they al enjoiny disapprove of so wizardr than in their suffer intellecting.They devise round proficiency in do their opp iodinents estimateing look at bad. Liberals see mistakes in the arguments of conservatives conservatives see mistakes in the arguments of liberals. Beli ever sos see mistakes in the conceive ofing of non look at rs nonbelievers see mistakes in the opinion of believers. Those who oppose abortion supposeily see mistakes in the arguments for abortion those who discriminatey favour abortion readily see mistakes in the arguments against it. We c entirely these thinkers weak- sand critical thinkers.We call the sentiment weak because, though it is running(a) healthy for the thinker in some respects, it is missing true important higher-level skills and values of critical persuasion. nearly strongly, it fails to pass, in s headspring trust, view spots that contradict its bear view prognosticate. It leave forths shagdor. An different traditional take a leak believe for the weak-sense thinker is found in the word sophist. Sophistry is the art of harming arguments regardless of whether there ar obvious problems in the thinking universe used.There is a set of lower-level skills of rhetoric, or argumentation, by which nonp aril arse leave poor thinking look good and good thinkin g look bad. We see this practically in unethical lawyers and politicians who argon to a greater extent(prenominal) relate with winning than with some(prenominal)thing else. They use emotionalism and trickery in an rationally skillful way. Sophistic thinkers succeed only if they do non come up against what we call strong-sense critical thinkers. Strong-sense critical thinkers atomic number 18 not easily tricked by slick argumentation.As William Graham Sumner (1906) said almost a century ago, they cannot be stampeded . . . argon slow to believe . . can hold things as mathematical or prob fit in all degrees, without certainty and without pain . . . can wait for raise and weigh evidence . . . can resist appeals to their de best prejudices Perhaps however more important, strong-sense critical thinkers strive to be uncontaminating- seeed. They use thinking in an ethically responsible manner. They work to empathize with the view tapers of others. They ar ordaining to liste n to arguments they do not necessarily hold.They change their views when confront with better reasoning. Rather than using their thinking to manipulate others and to hide from the justeousness (in a weak-sense way), they use thinking in an ethical, reason adapted manner. We believe that the domain already has too numerous skilled selfish thinkers, too m some(prenominal) sophists and noetic con artists, too umteen unscrupulous lawyers and politicians who specialize in twisting in regulateation and evidence to support their selfish interests and the vested interests of those who pay them.We look forward to that you, the reader, result bristle as a highly skilled, ordinary-minded thinker, matchless capable of exposing those who atomic number 18 masters at emboldening expert games at the expense of the well- existence of innocent tribe. We hope as well that you infract the expert fortitude to argue publicly against what is unethical in benevolent thinking. We write this book with the assumption that you go away take hard the fair-mindedness implied by strong-sense critical thinking.To think critically in the strong sense requires that we develop fair-mindedness at the identical time that we learn basic critical thinking skills, and thus begin to practice fair-mindedness in our thinking. If we do, we avoid using our skills to gain favour over others. We treat all thinking by the very(prenominal) high standards. We expect good reasoning from those who support us as well as those who oppose us. We government issue our throw reasoning to the same criteria we apply to reasoning to which we are unsympathetic.We hesitancy our profess purposes, evidence, conclusions, implications, and point of view with the same vigor as we caput those of others. Developing fair-minded thinkers try to see the actual strengths and weaknesses of any reasoning they assess. This is the kind of thinker we hope this book will help you conk out. So, right from the beginning, we are exhalation to search the characteristics that are required for the strongest, most fair-minded thinking. As you read with and finished the rest of the book, we hope you will bill poster how we are attempting to foster strong-sense critical thinking.Indeed, unless we indicate otherwise, every time we today use the words critical thinking, from this point forward, we will mean critical thinking in the strong sense. In the remainder of this chapter, we will explore the various clever virtues that fair-minded thinking requires. There is much more to fair-mindedness than most people realize. fair-mindedness requires a family of interrelated and interdependent states of mind. single final point In addition to fair-mindedness, strong-sense critical thinking implies higher- frame thinking.As you develop as a thinker and internalize the characteristics of mind that we shall soon discuss, you will develop a variety of skills and insights that are absent in the wea k-sense critical thinker. As we examine how the various peculiaritys of mind are endorsery to fair-mindedness, we will as well as look at the manner in which the traits wreak to quality of thought (in general). In addition to the fairness that strong-sense critical thinking implies, depth of thinking and high quality of thinking are also implied.Weak-sense critical thinkers develop a range of adroit skills (for example, skills of argumentation) and whitethorn obtain some success in acquiring what they want, but they do not develop any of the traits that are highlighted in this chapter. For example, some students are able to use their intelligence and thinking skills to get high grades without taking seriously the subjects they are studying. They become masters, if you will, of beating the system. They develop test- taking and note-taking skills. They develop their short memory.They learn to appeal to the prejudices of their teachers. They become academic sophists skilled on ly when execution on the sur instance of things. They whitethorn even transfer these abilities to other domains of their constitutes. solely much(prenominal) skill development does not entail those skills that pre cipher the traits we shall directly examine. pic Figure 1. 1 Critical thinkers strive to develop essential traits or characteristics of mind. These are interrelated knowing habits that enable unrivaled to open, discipline, and improve cordial functioning. pic Figure 1. 2 These are the blows of the intellectual virtues.Our natural disposition to develop them is an important reason why new need to develop countervailing traits.. permit us turn to the comp mavennt traits of the strong-sense critical thinker. After we take up each individual trait as that trait stands in resemblance to fair-mindedness, we will highlight the significance of the trait as a contributor to the general development of high levels of thinking. What Does Fair-Mindedness Require? First, the b asic design To be fair-minded is to strive to treat every viewpoint germane(predicate) to a situation in an unbiased, unprejudiced way.It entails a ken of the item that we, by genius, tend to prejudge the views of others, placing them into favorable (agrees with us) and unfavorable (disagrees with us) categories. We tend to separate less weight to cussed views than to our own. This is especially true when we construct selfish reasons for opposing views. If, for example, we can ignore the viewpoint of the millions of people in the world who live in extreme poverty, we can avoid having to give up something to help them.Thus fair-mindedness is especially important when the situation calls on us to consider views that we simulatet want to consider. Fair-mindedness entails a consciousness of the need to treat all viewpoints a care, without reference to virtuosos own feelings or selfish interests, or the feelings or selfish interests of atomic number 53s takeoff boosters, comm unity, or rural area. It implies adherence to intellectual standards ( such as accuracy and efficacious logic), unmoved(p) by superstars own advantage or the advantage of ones root word. The opposite of fair-mindedness is intellectual unfairness.It is demonstrated by the failure of thinkers to feel any responsibility to treat points of view or ways of thinking significantly different from their own by the same standards that they treat their own. Achieving a truly fair-minded state of mind is challenging. It requires us to simultaneously become intellectually humble, intellectually courageous, intellectually empathetic, intellectually honest, intellectually perseverant, surefooted in reason (as a tool of emity and learning), and intellectually autonomous.Without this family of traits in an integrated constellation, there is no true fair-mindedness. But these traits, one at a time and in combination, are not commonly discussed in everyday life, and are rarely taught. They are not discussed on television. They are not part of the school curriculum. They are not tested in standardized testing. Your friends will not ask you questions about them. In trueness, because they are plumpingly unrecognized, these traits are not commonly valued. Yet each of them is essential in fair-mindedness and for development of critical thinking. allow us see how and why this is so. Intellectual obscureness Having Know1edge of Ignorance We will begin with the fair-minded trait of intellectual lowliness. Intellectual humility may be define as having a consciousness of the limits of ones knowledge, including a sensitivity to circumstances in which ones native egocentrism is likely to function self-deceptively. This entails cosmos aware of ones biases, ones prejudices, the limitations of ones viewpoint, and the extent of ones ignorance. Intellectual humility depends on recognizing that one should not guide more than one actually knows.It does not imply spinelessness or subm issiveness. It implies the overleap of intellectual pretentiousness, boastfulness, or conceit, combined with insight into the logical foundations, or deficiency of such foundations, of ones doctrines. The opposite of intellectual humility is intellectual assurance, a deficiency of consciousness of the limits of ones knowledge, with little or no insight into self-deception or into the limitations of ones point of view. Intellectually arrogant people lots fall prey to their own bias and prejudice, and frequently claim to know more than they actually know.When we think of intellectual gravitas, we are not necessarily implying a somebody who is outwardly smug, haughty, insolent, or pompous. Outwardly, the person may appear humble. For example, a person who uncritically believes in a cult leader may be outwardly self-effacing (I am nothing. You are everything), but intellectually he or she is making a sweeping generalization that is not well- founded, and has off creed in that generalization. Unfortunately, in human life people of the secure range of personality types are capable of believing they know what they dresst know.Our own false beliefs, misconceptions, prejudices, illusions, myths, propaganda, and ignorance appear to us as the plain, unembellished truth. What is more, when challenged, we often resist admitting that our thinking is defective. We then are intellectually arrogant, even though we force feel humble. Rather than recognizing the limits of our knowledge, we ignore and obscure those limits. From such boldness, much suffering and waste result. For example, when Columbus discovered North America, he believed that enslaving the Indians was compatible with divinitys will.He did not inwardlyas cold as we knowrecognize that it was only through his intellectual arrogance that he could believe he knew Gods will. Intellectual arrogance is incompatible with fair-mindedness because we cannot judge fairly when we are in a state of ignoran ce about the object of our creative thinker. If we are ignorant about a religion ( think, Buddhism), we cannot be fair in judging it. And if we capture misconceptions, prejudices, or illusions about it, we will distort it (unfairly) in our judgment. We will misrepresent it come across it appear to be other than it is.Our false knowledge, misconceptions, prejudices, and illusions stand in the way of the possibility of our world fair. Or if we are intellectually arrogant, we will be given over to judge too cursorily and be overly confident in our judgment. Clearly, these tendencies are incompatible with being fair (to that which we are judging). why is intellectual humility essential to higher-level thinking? In addition to fate us become fair-minded thinkers, knowledge of our ignorance can improve our thinking in a variety of ways.It can enable us to recognize the prejudices, false beliefs, and habits of mind that lead to flawed learning. Consider, for example, our tendency to accept piffling learning. Much human learning is superficial. We learn a little and think we know a lot. We get limited information and generalize in haste from it. We confuse memorized definitions with concrete knowledge. We uncritically accept much that we hear and readespecially when what we hear or read agrees with our intensely held beliefs or the beliefs of groups to which we belong.The reciprocation in the chapters that comprise encourages intellectual humility and will help to gussy up your knowingness of intellectual arrogance. See if you, from this moment, can begin to develop in yourself a growing awareness of the limitations of your knowledge and an increasing sensitivity to instances of your unintended intellectual arrogance. When you do, celebrate that sensitivity. Reward yourself for finding weaknesses in your thinking. Consider acknowledgement of weakness an important strength, not a weakness. As a starter, declaration the deciphering questions ? Can you con struct a list of your most significant prejudices? Think of what you believe about your country, your religion, your friends, your family, simply because othersparents, friends, peer group, mediaconveyed these to you. ) ? Do you ever argue for or against views when you perplex little evidence upon which to base your judgment? ? Do you ever assume that your group (your family, your religion, your nation, your friends) is correct (when it is in difference of opinion with others) even though you have not looked at the situation from the point of view of the others with which you disagree? Intellectual Courage be Willing to gainsay BeliefsNow lets consider intellectual courage. Intellectual courage may be defined as having a consciousness of the need to face and fairly address ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints toward which one has strong cast out emotions and to which one has not given a serious hearing. Intellectual courage is connected to the recognition that ideas that society cons iders severe or absurd are sometimes rationally justified (in whole or in part). Conclusions and beliefs inculcated in people are sometimes false or take. To determine for oneself what makes sense, one mustiness not supinely and uncritically accept what one has learned.Intellectual courage comes into play here because there is some truth in some ideas considered dangerous and absurd, and distortion or falsity in some ideas strongly held by amicable groups to which we belong. People need courage to be fair-minded thinkers in these circumstances. The penalties for nonconformity can be severe. The opposite of intellectual courage, intellectual cowardice, is the worry of ideas that do not conform to ones own. If we lack intellectual courage, we are afraid of giving serious consideration to ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints that we apprehend as dangerous.We feel personally threatened by some ideas when they date significantly with our personal individualitywhen we feel that an inva de on the ideas is an attack on us as a person. any of the following ideas are sacred in the minds of some people being a conservative, being a liberal believing in God, discredit in God believing in capitalism, believing in tenderism believing in abortion, disbelieving in abortion believing in capital punishment, disbelieving in capital punishment. No matter what side we are on, we often say of ourselves I am a(an) insert sacred belief here for example, I am a Christian.I am a conservative. I am a socialist. I am an atheist. Once we define who we are in comparison to an emotional commitment to a belief, we are likely to experience familiar fear when that idea or belief is questioned. Questioning the belief awaits to be questioning us. The intensely personal fear that we feel operates as a barrier in our minds to being fair (to the opposing belief). When we do seem to consider the opposing idea, we subconsciously undermine it, presenting it in its weakest form, in order to re ject it. This is one form of intellectual cowardice.Sometimes, then, we need intellectual courage to overcome our self-created inner fearthe fear we ourselves have created by linking our identity to a specific set of beliefs. Another important reason to come intellectual courage is to overcome the fear of rejection by others because they hold certain beliefs and are likely to reject us if we challenge those beliefs. This is where we invest the group with the power to intimidate us, and such power is destructive. Many people live their lives in the eyes of others and cannot approve of themselves unless others approve of them.Fear of rejection is often lurking in the anchor of their minds. a few(prenominal) people challenge the ideologies or belief systems of the groups to which they belong. This is the second form of intellectual cowardice. Both make it impossible to be fair to the ideas that are contrary to our, or our groups, identity. You might note in expiration an alternativ e way to form your personal identity. This is not in wrong of the kernel of any given idea (what you actually believe) but, instead, in harm of the process by which you came to it. This is what it actor to take on the identity of a critical thinker.Consider the following resolution. I will not identify with the content of any belief. I will identify only with the way I come to my beliefs. I am a critical thinker and, as such, am ready to forgo any belief that cannot be back up by evidence and rational considerations. I am ready to follow evidence and reason wherever they lead. My true identity is that of being a critical thinker, a lifelong learner, a person always looking to improve my thinking by becoming more reasonable in my beliefs. With such an identity, intellectual courage becomes more meaningful to us, and fair-mindedness more essential.We are no longer afraid to consider beliefs that are contrary to our present beliefs. We are not afraid of being proven wrong. We fre ely admit to having made mistakes in the prehistorical. We are happy to correct any mistakes we are still making Tell me what you believe and why you believe it, and maybe I can learn from your thinking. I have enumerate off many an(prenominal) early beliefs. I am ready to abandon as many of the present beliefs as are not lucid with the way things are. Intellectual Empathy Entering Opposing Views Next lets consider intellectual empathy, another trait of mind necessary to fair- mindedness.Intellectual empathy is an awareness of the need to imaginatively put oneself in the place of others so as to genuinely understand them. To have intellectual empathy is to be able to accurately reconstruct the viewpoints and reasoning of others and to reason from premises, assumptions, and ideas other than ones own. This trait also correlates with the unstrainedness to remember occasions when one was wrong in the past despite an intense conviction of being right, and with the ability to imagine being similarly deceived in a case at hand. The opposite of intellectual empathy is intellectual self-centeredness. It is thinking centered on self.When we think from a self-centered perspective, we are unable to understand others thoughts, feelings, and emotions. From this natural perspective, we are the recipients of most of our attention. Our pain, our desires, our hopes are most pressing. The ineluctably of others pale into insignificance before the domination of our own needs and desires. We are unable to consider issues, problems, and questions from a viewpoint that differs from our own and that, when considered, would commit us to change our perspective. How can we be fair to the thinking of others if we have not learned to put ourselves in their intellectual shoes?Fair-minded judgment requires a good-faith effort to acquire accurate knowledge. Human thinking emerges from the conditions of human life, from very different contexts and situations. If we do not learn how to t ake on the perspectives of others and to accurately think as they think, we will not be able to fairly judge their ideas and beliefs. Actually trying to think at bottom the viewpoint of others is not easy, though. It is one of the most difficult skills to acquire. Intellectual rightfulness Holding Ourselves to the Same Standards to Which We Hold Ourselves Let us now consider intellectual integrity.Intellectual integrity is defined as recognition of the need to be true to ones own thinking and to hold oneself to the same standards one expects others to meet. It mover to hold oneself to the same rigorous standards of evidence and create to which one holds ones antagoniststo practice what one advocates for others. It also means to honestly admit discrepancies and inconsistencies in ones own thought and action, and to be able to identify inconsistencies in ones own thinking. The opposite of intellectual integrity is intellectual hypocrisy, a state of mind unconcerned with genuine in tegrity.It is often marked by deep-seated contradictions and inconsistencies. The swayion of integrity means a lot because it affects our image with others. Therefore, hypocrisy is often implicit in the thinking and action behind human port as a function of natural egocentric thinking. Our hypocrisy is underground from us. though we expect others to adhere to standards to which we recall to adhere, we see ourselves as fair. Though we profess certain beliefs, we often fail to behave in concord with those beliefs. To the extent to which we have intellectual integrity, our beliefs and actions are consistent.We practice what we preach, so to speak. We dont say one thing and do another. Suppose I were to say to you that our relationship is really important to me, but you find out that I have lied to you about something important to you. My behavior lacks integrity. I have acted hypocritically. Clearly, we cannot be fair to others if we are justified in thinking and acting in contra dictory ways. Hypocrisy by its very genius is a form of injustice. In addition, if we are not sensitive to contradictions and inconsistencies in our own thinking and behavior, we cannot think well about ethical questions involving ourselves.Consider this policy-making example. From time to time the media identifys highly questionable practices by the CIA. These practices run anyplace from documentation of attempted assassinations of foreign political leaders (say, attempts to assassinate chairman Castro of Cuba) to the practice of teaching natural law or military representatives in other countries (say, Central America or South America) how to torture prisoners to get them to disclose information about their associates.To appreciate how such disclosures reveal a lack of intellectual integrity, we only have to imagine how we would respond if another nation were to attempt to assassinate our president or trained American police or military in methods of torture. Once we imagine t his, we recognize a basic inconsistency in our behavior and a lack of intellectual integrity on the part of those who plan, accept in, or approve of, that behavior. All human being sometimes fail to act with intellectual integrity.When we do, we reveal a lack of fair-mindedness on our part, and a failure to think well enough as to grasp the internal contradictions in our thought or life. Intellectual Perseverance Working Through Complexity and Frustration Let us now consider intellectual pains. Intellectual perseverance can be defined as the disposition to work ones way through intellectual complexities despite the frustration inherent in the task. Some intellectual problems are complex and cannot be easily solved. One has intellectual perseverance when one does not give up in the face of intellectual complexity or frustration.The intellectually perseverant person introductions sign of the zodiac adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others, and has a living sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an widen time to achieve understanding or insight. The opposite of intellectual perseverance is intellectual laziness, demonstrated in the tendency to give up quickly when faced with an intellectually challenging task. The intellectually indolent, or lazy, person has a low tolerance for intellectual pain or frustration.How does a lack of intellectual perseverance impede fair-mindedness? Understanding the views of others requires that we do the intellectual work to achieve that understanding. That takes intellectual perseveranceinsofar as those views are very different from ours or are complex in nature. For example, suppose we are a Christian wanting to be fair to the views of an atheist. Unless we read and understand the reasoning of intelligent and insightful atheists, we are not being fair to those views. Some intelligent and insightful atheists have written books to justify how and why they think as they do.Some of their reasoning is complicated or deals with issues of some complexity. It follows that only those Christians who have the intellectual perseverance to read and understand atheists can be fair to atheist views. Of course, a parallel case could be developed with respect to atheists understanding the views of intelligent and insightful Christians. Finally, it should be make how intellectual perseverance is essential to almost all areas of higher-level thinking. Virtually all higher-level thinking involves some intellectual challenges that take intellectual perseverance to overcome.It takes intellectual perseverance to learn how to reason well in math, chemistry, physics, literature, art, and indeed any domain. Many give up during early stages of learning a subject. lacking intellectual perseverance, they cut themselves off from all the insights that thinking through a subject provides. They avoid intellectual frustration, no doubt, but they end up with the everyday frustrations of not being able to solve the complex problems in their daily life. Confidence In Reason Recognizing that Good Reasoning Has prove Its Worth Let us now consider the trait of assurance in reason.Confidence in reason, in the long run, is based on the belief that ones own higher interests and those of humankind at queen-sized will be best served by giving the freest play to reason, by encouraging people to come to their own conclusions by developing their own rational faculties faith that, with proper encouragement and cultivation, people can learn to think for themselves, form insightful viewpoints, draw reasonable conclusions, think clearly, accurately, relevantly, and logically, acquit each other by appeal to good reason and give-up the ghost evidence, and become reasonable persons, despite the deep-seated obstacles in human nature and social life. When one has confidence in reason, one is moved by reason in appropriate ways. The very idea of reasonabilit y becomes one of the most important values and a focal point in ones life. In short, to have confidence in reason is to use good reasoning as the fundamental criterion by which to judge whether to accept or reject any belief or position. The opposite of confidence in reason is intellectual distrust of reason, given by the threat that reasoning and rational analysis pose to the undisciplined thinker. Being prone toward emotional reactions that validate resent thinking, egocentric thinkers often express little confidence in reason. They do not understand what it means to have faith in reason. Instead, they have confidence in the truth of their own belief systems, however flawed they might be. In many ways we live in an irrational world surrounded by many forms of irrational beliefs and behaviors. For example, despite the success of science in providing pat explanations based on careful study of evidence gathered through careful and disciplined observations, many people still believe in unsubstantiated systems such as astrology. Many people, when faced with a problem, follow their gut impulses.Many follow leaders whose only claim to credibility is that they are skilled in manipulating a crowd and whipping up enthusiasm. Few people seem to recognize the power of sound thinking in helping us to solves our problems and live a fulfilling life. Few people, in short, have genuine confidence in reason. In the place of faith in reason, people tend to have uncritical or blind faith in one or more of the following. They often but not alwayshave this faith as a result of irrational drives and emotions 1. belief in charismatic national leaders (think of leaders such as Hitler, able to excite millions of people and manipulate them into supporting genocide of an entire phantasmal group). 2.Faith in charismatic cult leaders. 3. Faith in the father as the traditional head of the family (as defined by religious or social tradition). 4. Faith in institutional authorities (poli ce, social workers, judges, priests, evangelical preachers, and so forth). 5. Faith in spiritual powers (such as a holy spirit, as defined by various religious belief systems). 6. Faith in some social group, official or informal (faith in a gang, in the business community, in a church, in a political party, and so on). 7. Faith in a political ideology (such as communism, capitalism, Fascism). 8. Faith in intuition. 9. Faith in one s unanalyzed emotions. 10.Faith in ones gut impulses. 11. Faith in fate (some unnamed force that supposedly guides the destiny of all of us). 12. Faith in social institutions (the courts, schools, business community, government). 13. Faith in the folkways or mores of a social group or culture. 14. Faith in ones own unanalyzed experience. 15. Faith in people who have social status or position (the rich, the famous, the powerful). Some of the above are compatible under some conditions, with faith in reason. The key factor out is the extent to which some fo rm of faith is based on sound reasoning and evidence. The acid test, then, is Are there good grounds for having that faith?For example, it makes sense to have faith in a friend if that friend has consistently acted as a friend over an extended time. On the other hand, it does not make sense to have faith in a new acquaintance, even if one finds oneself emotionally attracted to that individual and that person professes his or her friendship. As you think about your own thinking on the nature of different kinds of faith, and the extent to which you have appropriate confidence in reason and evidence, ask yourself to what extent you can be moved by well-reasoned appeals. Suppose you meet someone who shows so much of an interest in your swell or girlfriend that you feel intensely jealous and negative toward that person.Would you shift your view if you receive evidence by a dependable friend that the person you are negative about is actually exceptionally kind, thoughtful, and generous? Do you think you could shift your view, even when, deep-down, you want your boyfriend or girlfriend to reject this person in favor of you? lay down you ever given up a belief you held dear because, through your reading, experience, and reflection, you became persuaded that it was not reasonable to believe as you did? Are you ready and willing to admit that some of your most passionate beliefs (for example, your religious or political beliefs) may in fact be wrong? Intellectual impropriety Being an Independent Thinker The final intellectual trait we will consider here is intellectual autonomy.Intellectual autonomy may be defined as internal need based on the ideal of thinking for oneself having rational self-authorship of ones beliefs, values, and way of thinking not being dependent on others for the direction and control of ones thinking. In forming beliefs, critical thinkers do not passively accept the beliefs of others. Rather, they think through situations and issues for them selves and reject unjustified authorities while recognizing the contributions of reasonable authority. They thoughtfully form principles of thought and action and do not mindlessly accept those presented to them. They are not limited by accepted ways of doing things. They evaluate the traditions and practices that others often accept unquestioningly.Independent thinkers strive to incorporate knowledge and insight into their thinking, independent of the social status of the source. They are not willful, stubborn, or unresponsive to the reasonable suggestions of others. They are self-monitoring thinkers who strive to amend their own mistakes. They function from values they themselves have freely chosen. Of course, intellectual autonomy must be understood not as a thing-in-itself. Instead, we must recognize it as a dimension of our minds working in conjunction with, and tempered by, the other intellectual virtues. The opposite of intellectual autonomy is intellectual conformity, or int ellectual dependence.Intellectual autonomy is difficult to develop because social institutions, as they now stand, depend heavily on passive acceptance of the status quo, whether intellectual, political, or economic. Thinking for oneself almost certainly leads to unpopular conclusions not sanctioned by the powers that be. There are always many rewards for those who simply conform in thought and action to social expectations. Consequently, the large masses of people are unknowing conformists in thought and deed. They are like mirrors reflecting the belief systems and values of those who surround them. They lack the intellectual skills and the inducement to think for themselves. They are intellectually conforming thinkers. Even those who spend old age getting a Ph. D. in a field may be intellectually dependent, both academically and personally.They may uncritically accept imperfect practices in the discipline as it stands, uncritically defending the discipline against authorized c ritics. The result often is unwarranted human harm and suffering. One cannot be fair-minded and lack intellectual autonomy, for independent thinking is a obligatory to thinking within multiple perspectives. When we intellectually conform, we are only able to think within accepted viewpoints. But to be fair-minded is to refuse to uncritically accept beliefs without thinking through the merits (and demerits) of those beliefs for oneself. Recognizing the Interdependence of Intellectual Virtues The traits of mind essential for critical thinking are interdependent. Consider intellectual humility.To become aware of the limits of our knowledge, we need the intellectual courage to face our own prejudices and ignorance. To discover our own prejudices in turn, we often must intellectually empathize with and reason within points of view with which we fundamentally disagree. To achieve this end, we typicly must engage in intellectual perseverance, as learning to empathically enter a point of view against which we are biased takes time and significant effort. That effort will not seem justified unless we have the necessary confidence in reason to believe we will not be tainted or taken in by whatever is false or misleading in the opposing viewpoint.Furthermore, merely believing we wont be harmed by considering alien viewpoints is not enough to motivate most of us to consider them seriously. We also must be motivated by an intellectual sense of justice. We must recognize an intellectual responsibility to be fair to views we oppose. We must feel obliged to hear them in their strongest form to escort that we are not condemning them out of ignorance or bias on our part. At this point, we come full circle to where we began the need for intellectual humility. To begin at another point, consider intellectual integrity or good faith. Intellectual integrity is clearly a difficult trait to develop. We are often motivatedgenerally without admitting to or being aware of this motiva tion to set up inconsistent standards in thinking.Our egocentric or sociocentric tendencies, for example, make us ready to believe positive information about those we like and negative information about those we dislike. We likewise are strongly inclined to believe what serves to justify our selfish interests or validate our strongest desires. Hence, all humans have some innate mental tendencies to operate with prongy standards, which is typical of intellectual bad faith. These modes of thinking often correlate quite well with getting ahead in the world, maximizing our power or advantage, and getting more of what we want. Nevertheless, it is difficult to operate explicitly or overtly with a double standard. We therefore need to avoid looking at the evidence too closely.We need to avoid scrutinizing our own inferences and interpretations too carefully. At this point, a certain amount of intellectual arrogance is quite useful. I may assume, for example, that I know just what youre go ing to say (before you say it), precisely what you are really after (before the evidence demonstrates it), and what actually is going on (before I have studied the situation carefully). My intellectual arrogance makes it easier for me to avoid noticing the unjustifiable discrepancy between the standards I apply to you and the standards I apply to myself. Not having to empathize with you makes it easier to avoid seeing my self-deception.I also am better positioned if I lack a need to be fair to your point view. A little background fear of what I might discover if I seriously consider the consistency of my own judgments can be quite useful as well. In this case, my lack of intellectual integrity is supported by my lack of intellectual humility, empathy, and fair-mindedness. Going in the other direction, it will be difficult to use a double standard if I feel a responsibility to be fair to your point of view, to see that this responsibility requires me to view things from your perspect ive empathically, and to do so with some humility, recognizing that I could be wrong, and you, right. The more I dislike you personally, or feel wronged in he past by you or by others who share your way of thinking, the more pronounced in my character the trait of intellectual integrity and good faith must be to induce me to be fair. Conclusion True excellence in thinking is not simple the result of isolated intellectual skills. There are fatal problems in the thinking of persons who, without knowing it, lack the intellectual virtues. Instead, they frequently display the traits of the undisciplined mind. To the extent one is unconsciously motivated to believe what one wants to believe, what is most comfortable to believe, what puts one in a good light, what serves ones selfish interest, one is unable to function as a rational person.

African American Identity in Media

The print ad was some drug abuse and risky teenage behavior. We take a crap to be naturalistic and see that some of the victims continue to be African American teenagers, peculiarly the ones coming from poorer families.Although any young person would be attracted to an ad homogeneous this one, it seems to reach out to African Americans more because it speaks of struggles and pressure, both of which they are about acquainted compared to other(a) people in this country.What shared value or norms are promoted in the media or marketing piece you selected?The print ad highlights the values of identity and freedom. What the ad is saying is that you dont have to give in to peer-pressure. You can do what your own thing and be your own person without destroying your life. You can be free from drugs and you do not have to fit into the stereotype of a teenage junkie. Its not worth it. Be your own person. Own yourself.How do these values contribute to the cultural identity of African-Amer icans?It should bring about feelings of liberation and pride. African Americans have fought so hard in the past to have the akin rights, walk the same streets and work in the same jobs as unobjectionable people. This is what these ads are reminding them of. That they must(prenominal) continue to fight whatever it is that keeps them from being free.They must resist the stereotypes and transcend these daily temptations to join the deteriorating masses. These values create a sense of connection between them because it reminds them that freedom does not come well-fixed but the sweetness of freedom makes it worth fighting for. Today many African Americans are leaders in business, media, sports, entertainment and all other possible fields &8212 all because they transcended the stereotypes. 

Conjoined Twins has Been Reported in Some Newspapers and on the Television News Essay

Explore, decompose and point out on the way the news report of the conjoined reduplicates has been in flesh in some intelligencepapers and on the television news.In modern day society, the media has consider commensurate command and influence over the public. It can be hard-hitting in twain positive and disconfirming ways. Although the media is to be embraced, it is too to be treated with utmost c ar. The way the media is able to set up and shape our ideas is preponderating to its power sometimes to the extent where it does non give us a chance to rationalise our opinions.In my opinion the media has a very measurable function and has a crucial purpose in society. It can be educational, informative, inte comforting and entertaining yet, at the same time, the media can be sloping, derogative and sensational.Too often, people take receive, and be influenced by, only atomic number 53 form of media. This can lead to a polarised point of view and therefrom a narrow-mi nded outlook. These people ar totally oblivious to the clever devices current aras of the media w reverse employ to con and deceive them in order to manipulate their train of thought. In this analysis, I will be exploring exactly how the media does this in both newspaper and television broadcast form.I consider both television broadcasts and newspapers to be equally effective overall in their expend of presentational devices. on that point ar, so far, fundamental differences in the way this is achieved. Television has the upper berth hand in terms of sheer versatility for example, it can use despicable diagrams and images to display its ideas whereas the newspapers do not deal that ability. In comparison, newspapers are able to line an impact within their limited scope and can be besides as effective as a television broadcast. Remember, depending upon the context, a short sharp render / gafferline can be furthest to a outstandinger extent effective than a moving im age.To begin with, I detect that each report is slightly or more heavily biased in one way or another. In my view, there are ii clearly different ways in which to summarise the consequences of the failed operation. Firstly, the negative get along. The slant taken here is of a sensationalised tragedy, evoking sympathy and focusing on the twins and their struggling desire to be independent and how they, fell at the last hurdle. Both The sunniness and the ITN news favour this slip of report. Secondly, the positive approach. The strong-minded and the BBC news are much more fain to portray the twins as happy smiling individuals who fulfilled their envisage of separation if only for a matter of hours.It is very difficult to cut down the deliberately blatant sensational devices that are employ by The Sun. There is no doubt in my mind that the emboldened advertize glorious Failure OR a Lethal Gamble?is attempting to initiate a scandal and is evidently tabloidese.Nevertheless(pre nominal), considering what the, stereotypical, characteristics of a, stereotypical, tabloid reader are, it is a very effective headline for it is scandalous and sensationalised. This is exactly its aim. It immediately involves the reader for it is a rhetorical headway and therefore a very good non-fiction hook.From the set-back of the ITN report, ethical questions are try outd upon whether the operation should puzzle been attempted or not.the surgeons aretrying to explain why it didnt work.They create a portrayal of the twins making a wrong decision and also they place an element of blame upon the shoulders of the medical team. The opening images of the twins are of them looking anxious, whereas more informative reports clearly indicate that the twins were to the full confident that the decision to go ahead with the operation was solely theirs. They are seen to be in a dilema, yet they were totally committed.The subsequent images told of the girls life bosh in society. Howeve r, rather than focusing upon the positive aspects of their life, such as the fact that Laleh had helped her child realise her dream of attaining a law degree, they emphasised their struggle and the asperity they had suffered. The portrayal was as if their intact life was a dramatic tragedy, whereas this was surely not the case.Similarly, the images shown in The Sun are just as negative. The preference of images are classic for a tabloid on this sort of topic. No scientific diagrams here They are all downbeat just as though everything was a complete failure. A picture of Dr. Goh is particularly emotional with his head held in his hands. This was also true of the captions, Battling in vain unarguably negative.I touch that The Sun has blown the event out of all counterweight and has missed the point somewhat. It is clear to me that Laden and Laleh Bijani knew the risks and were willing to accept the consequences, however bad they whitethorn turn out to be. Therefore, there is no scandal. The use of the What do you call back? box at the bottom of the page indicates a distinct lack of sensitivity on what is a clearly a very sensitive story. What right do everyday people open to make a judgement on an event they have been ill informed on? It is The Sun after all Admittedly, this use of steer appeal is effective for The Suns ultimate aim to plow as many copies as possible for, as with the headline, it involves the reader.In comparison, The self-employed person has far less emotive pictures. They are reflective yet solace touching. The page is dominated by a large portrait of the two twins happy and smiling, optimistic. The other two smaller pictures are of Dr. Goh and a friend who, unlike in The Sun are pictured wake their obvious disappointment as opposed to their despair. I value it is all important(p) to note the facial expression of the twins in the images chosen by each of the papers. They are apparently anxious in The Sun and anticipative and o ptimistic in The self-sufficing. The pictures from The Independent are the way in which I think the twins would want to be seen by the global community.I feel that the ITN news was rather contradictory in places as impossible to imagine what life was like and yet they questioned whether the operation should ever have been attempted. If they truly empathised with the twins, they would have realised how desperate they were and that it was solely their decision to proceed. Unquestionably, the ITN news is more tactful in its approach in comparison with The Sun for it does not try to consider alternative options to separation and is ultimately less scandalous.After the initial report, there are video images and archive subscribe of other pairs of conjoined twins to illustrate the fact that there have always been these unfair stereotypical views towards this particular disability. Before the condition was truly understood, these people, real human people, were treated like animals, for ced to perform in freak shows. It is therefore understandable that Laleh and Laleh Bijani went to these lengths to achieve their dream.This feature is subsequently followed by a simple but very clear three-dimensional invigoration describing the medical procedure that the twins went through.Although the ITN news is informative to an extent, compared to the BBC, it lacks depth and scientific details. Incidentally though, ITN is the more entertaining of the two news reports. Despite this, the BBC news has, in my opinion, a far more rounded report that only informs the reader. Unsurprisingly, both reports have the same bare facts but the BBC elaborates on these aspects with a greater depth of detail. For example, the BBC is the only report out of all tetrad reports that has evidence from the twins themselves. They give a press interview where they stir their fearlessness. In addition, the way in which the BBC presents how the operation was performed is not as esthetically pleasing as that of ITN but is realistic and actually refers to scientific principals, whereas the ITN news does not. I think the BBC have done this because the type of people who would settle their broadcast are considered to be rightfully interested in the scientific aspects of the procedure. Perhaps ITN did not go into so much depth because they mightiness want to appeal to a more general audience.I feel that all foursome of the articles and reports use language effectively and successfully to achieve their aim.What is instantly striking about The Sun regarding its use of language is that it is fresh emotion from the outset. In any newspaper, the first thing that grabs your attention is every the banner headline at the top, (which here is white text against a black background for added visibility), or the main headline, (which is underlined for the same reason). I think phrases such as DADS FURY in the banner headline, sets the tone for the rest of the article. The headline of The S un, as mentioned before, instantly raises a debate rather than just to tell a story. This is very useful because rhetorical questions always enchant the readership involved in one way or another.Strangely enough, the headline in The Independent is, on one level, similar to that of The Sun. Doubtlessly, both headlines raise some sort of debate regarding the operation. However, The Independent is significantly more blimpish and handles the article in a refrained fashion.There is just one caption in The Independent and is predictably informative and is more of a control than the three used in The Sun. The Sun has an emotive statement followed by an ellipsis to create emotion, for instance, Heartbreak These emotive statements are then followed by a short description of who is in the picture.The Independent uses no backsheesh of colloquialism to appeal to a immenser, more general audience. However, The Sun does this on a couple of occasions.and a pal of the twinsas if to make the re ader empathise as well as sympathise to think what it would be like if you lost a pal.The BBC is similar to The Independent for they both use a higher standard of vocabulary and specialist scientific language throughout their report. In comparison the ITN news has a range of vocabulary, including idiom, to make the report more accessible. The Sun is considered to be an unaffixed read so it is of no surprise that both the vocabulary and the designate structure are relatively simple.The general feeling that I mother whilst reading The Independent is that it initially firstly focuses upon the debate in question and secly comes round to what actually happened. Whether this is deliberate or not body to be seen but I think it is in this order because it is barely more interesting. Evidence to support this argument lies in the topic sentence.the lasttwinsraises questionsshould have been allowedUnlike The Suns leading sentence, The Independent leads into an evenly supported discussi on whereas The Suns article is more biased in favour of a negative way. There are two occasions on which italics are used to emphasise a paragraph in The Sun. Its use in the fourth paragraph of the story acts as a sub-heading and I feel that it is in Italics because special notice should be taken of it. It mentions the twins father and the following half 12 paragraphs elaborate on the initial focus of the fathers anger. The second instance of Italics isLaleh and Laden won the hearts of millions.Again, this acts as a sub-heading because it leads into a brief description of their personal lives.In the second column, the reporter emboldens one word to initiate discussion,to give the women a new life WAS virtuously justifiedThe journalist used this to reinforce the theme of dispute into the minds of the reader. However, in my opinion, the readers knew that it was in fact morally justified and so it also used as a connective to link the first part of the story into evidence given by int erviewees in the second part of the story.In all four reports, expert opinion and interviews are used to great effect. The interviews within The Independent are taken from people who are genuinely qualified to give an honest and rounded opinion. However, The Sun uses people emotionally connected to the twins and thus their rationality may be overcast and their emotions are more evidently expressed in the evidence given. For instance, a medical moral philosophy expert would be the best person to comment on the medical ethics of the operation, whereas, the man who raised the twins would not be.Alizera Saifain, (the girls adopted father), saidI knew they would bring back their bodies. They took them there and killed themThis is an extremely emotive statement. Any parent who witnesses their children die would be traumatised. Equally, the television broadcasts tell in a similar way. For instance, the BBC World Affairs Correspondent uses a hint of unnecessary repetition on how crushed the medics were regarding the operation. However, some may say that the BBC gives credit to the doctors and surgeons because of the vast amount of time and effort they invested into the twins case. Even though it is such a tragic story, the BBC allay continues in a positive frame of mind during an interview with an Iranian doctor who stresses how courageous and optimistic the twins were. This demonstrates a personal approach that balances the scientific with the emotional aspects. Furthermore, a neurosurgeon explaining the risks of the operation uses specialist scientific vocabulary and idiom to ensure that his views are accessible to a wide audience including the scientific community.As with The Independent, the BBC also utilises a medical ethics expert from the British Medical Association. The surgeon who is interviewed by ITN news changes the whole mood and the tone of the interview by using the word unluckily, because this shows that he is, or wants to be, seen as emotionally involved with the twins.Another estimable touch from ITN is that they mention that the relatives of the deceased place no blame upon the doctors.In both sets of interviews, the comments made on the medical teams in particular are relatively complimentary. In addition to this evidence, a German specialist is interviewed and claims that he advised against the operation. He is not able to speak English therefore a voice over translation has been used. This raises questions over its authenticity. Although the main laggard would still be the same, ITN could, potentially, make some subtle changes to emphasise certain(p) points.In conclusion, I think it is quite clear that the each of the four reports fulfil their purpose in every way. They know their target audience and have written their articles and scripts in accordance with this. The purpose of any media is to quit some sort of message with the audience and all four of these do exactly that.