Satyam Case Study Essay Example for Free

Satyam Case Study Essay The Satyam Computer Services scandal was a corporate scandal that occurred in India in 2009 where chairman Ramalinga Raju confessed that the companys accounts had been falsified. The Global corporate community was shocked and scandalised when the chairman of Satyam, Ramalinga Raju resigned on 7 January 2009 and confessed that he had manipulated the accounts by US$1.47-Billion. Contents [hide] 1 Role of Auditors 2 Aftermath 3 New CEO and special advisors 4 Acquisition by Mahindra Group 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Role of Auditors[edit source | editbeta] PricewaterhouseCoopers was the statutory auditor of Satyam Computer Services when the report of scandal in the account books of Satyam Computer Services was broke out. The Indian arm of PwC was fined $6 million by US Securities and Exchange Commission for not following the code of conduct and auditing standards while pursuing its duties while auditing the accounts of Satyam Computer Services.[1] Aftermath[edit source | editbeta] Ramalingam Raju along with 2 other accused of the scandal, had been granted bail from Supreme court on 4 November 2011 as the investigation agency CBI failed to file the chargesheet even after more than 33 months Raju being arrested. Raju had appointed a task force to address the Maytas situation in the last few days before revealing the news of the accounting fraud. After the scandal broke, the then-board members elected Ram Mynampati to be Satyams interim CEO. Mynampatis statement on Satyams website said: We are obviously shocked by the contents of the letter. The senior leaders of Satyam stand united in their commitment to customers, associates, suppliers and all shareholders. We have gathered together at Hyderabad to strategize the way forward in light of this startling revelation. On 10 January 2009, the Company Law Board decided to bar the current board of Satyam from functioning and appoint 10 nominal directors. The current board has failed to do what they are supposed to do. The credibility of the IT industry should not be allowed to suffer. said Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta. Chartered accountants regulator ICAI issued show-cause notice to Satyams auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the accounts fudging. We have asked PwC to reply within 21 days, ICAI President Ved Jain said. On the same day, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) team picked up Vadlamani Srinivas, Satyams then-CFO, for questioning. He was arrested later and kept in judicial custody.[2] On 11 January 2009, the government nominated noted banker Deepak Parekh, former NASSCOM chief Kiran Karnik and former SEBI member C Achuthan to Satyams board. Analysts in India have termed the Satyam scandal Indias own Enron scandal.[3] Some social commentators see it more as a part of a broader problem relating to Indias caste-based, family-owned corporate environment.[4] Immediately following the news, Merrill Lynch (now a part of Bank of America) and State Farm Insurance terminate d its engagement with the company. Also, Credit Suisse suspended its coverage of Satyam.[citation needed]. It was also reported that Satyams auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers will be scrutinised for complicity in this scandal. SEBI, the stock market regulator, also said that, if found guilty, its license to work in India may be revoked.[5][6][7][8][9] Satyam was the 2008 winner of the coveted Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Governance under Risk Management and Compliance Issues,[10] which was stripped from them in the aftermath of the scandal.[11] The New York Stock Exchange has halted trading in Satyam stock as of 7 January 2009.[12] Indias National Stock Exchange has announced that it will remove Satyam from its SP CNX Nifty 50-share index on 12 January.[13] The founder of Satyam was arrested two days after he admitted to falsifying the firms accounts. Ramalinga Raju is charged with several offences, including criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and forgery. Satyams shares fell to 11.50 rupees on 10 January 2009, their lowest level since March 1998, compared to a high of 544 rupees in 2008.[14] In New York Stock Exchange Satyam shares peaked in 2008 at US$29.10; by March 2009 they were trading around US$1.80. The Indian Government has stated that it may provide temporary direct or indirect liquidity support to the company. However, whether employment will continue at pre-crisis levels, particularly for new recruits, is questionable .[15] On 14 January 2009, Price Waterhouse, the Indian division of PricewaterhouseCoopers, announced that its reliance on potentially false information provided by the management of Satyam may have rendered its audit reports inaccurate and unreliable.[16] On 22 January 2009, CID told in court that the actual number of employees is only 40,000 and not 53,000 as reported earlier and that Mr. Raju had been allegedly withdrawing 200 million (US$3 million) every month for paying these 13,000 non-existent employees.[17] New CEO and special advisors[edit source | editbeta] On 5 February 2009, the six-member board appointed by the Government of India named A. S. Murthy as the new CEO of the firm with immediate effect. Murthy, an electrical engineer, has been with Satyam since January 1994 and was heading the Global Delivery Section before being appointed as CEO of the company. The two-day-long board meeting also appointed Homi Khusrokhan (formerly with Tata Chemicals) and Partho Datta, a Chartered Accountant as special advisors.[18][19] Acquisition by Mahindra Group[edit source | editbeta] On 13 April 2009, via a formal public auction process, a 46% stake in Satyam was purchased by Mahindra Mahindra owned company Tech Mahindra, as part of its diversification strategy. Effective July 2009, Satyam rebranded its services under the new Mahindra management as Mahindra Satyam. After a delay due to tax issues[20][21] Tech Mahindra announced its merger with Mahindra Satyam on 21 March 2012, after the board of two companies gave the approval.[22][23] The companies are merged legally on 25 June 2013.[24][25] See also[edit source | editbeta]

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essay -- essays research pa

The terrors of a totalitarian government presented in George Orwell’s 1984 apply not only to the Party, but also to the Stalinist Russia of the 1930’s. Frightening similarities exist between these two bodies which both started out as forms of government, and then mutated into life-controlling political organizations which â€Å"subordinated all institutions and classes under one supreme power† (Buckler 924). Orwell shows how such a system can impose its will on the people through manipulation of media, constant supervision as aided by technology, and the threat of pain, both physical and mental. Orwell also shows how the state has more subtle methods for imposing its authority, such as the manipulation of language and propaganda as they are used to achieve the goal of absolute power for the system. A key parallel between the Party and Stalin’s Communism is the use of technology and communication to control the economic, social, and personal aspects of life . Stalin and Big Brother achieved total control, not only of social and economic aspects of the state, but also of their people’s personal lives. They did this first and foremost by constantly observing the people. Both Stalin & "The Party" believed in total control over their "party members". The objectives of the Spies, the Ministry of Truth, Thought Police, and the telescreens in Oceania are mirrored in Stalin’s Russia by the actions of the KGB, and all the technologies they used to monitor people. Another way was by altering all forms of media. The Ministry of Truth worked to change the past in all forms of media, making Big Brother appear to have always been right. Stalin had books rewritten, histories revamped, and paintings altered to feature his presence. Although unlimited control could not be achieved in 1930’s Russia, Orwell gives Big Brother this power to demonstrate how, if ever attained, it would lead to the complete destr uction of individual freedom. Tangible similarities between the two leaders, Stalin and Big Brother, are also daunting. Joseph Stalin could easily fit the description of Big Brother in the novel. Stalin had his 5-year plan for the economy, just as references were made to the 3-year plans in 1984. The Party rejects and vilifies every principle for which the Socialist movement ever stood, and it chooses to do this in the nam... ... in two forms, mental and physical. "The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain" (Marx). Both Stalin and Big Brother drew greatly from Marx. Adhering to this policy of physical pain to fix mental problems, torture was used in both societies. Every human has a breaking point, and fear, hate, and pain are more motivating than love, happiness, and privacy. Anti-capitalism Renowned internationally as a forthright speaker against Stalin, Orwell was, however, an ardent Socialist and was keen to distance himself from Russian totalitarianism. His Socialist beliefs, coupled with his experience in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the revolutionary militia, led him to realize the threat of fascist, or at least autocratic, rule. No other book has been known to inspire people with such a love of liberty and hatred of tyranny. The individual has a basic desire to be free from restraint and control, and Orwell recognized this. 1984 is an expression of Orwell’s irritation at many of the facets of English Socialism, as well as Russian Communism. It is also a reflection of his own ideas about the nature of political corruption and, to be specific, Stalinist Russia.

Positive Enviroment Essay

Positive environment means environment which support all aspects of children’s and young people learning experience. This term is very comprehensive and must include lots of different aspects of learning which includes physical and emotional needs. The settings must provide appropriate conditions in order to encourage the development of the whole child (holistic way). Important part of positive environment is a space offered to run out an activities which support properly development of a child, therefore all settings must be divided for two basic areas such as outdoor and indoor activities. This areas are divided in smaller spaces in order to support children’s development which includes: physical development; personal, social and emotional development; intellectual development; communication, language and literacy development; creative development; problem solving, reasoning and numeracy; knowledge and understanding the world. Outdoor activities become an extension of those form inside. If planning offers painting indoor, there should be a space for outdoor painting too. As workers must support children in a holistic meaning this division is essential because children can experience a variety activities. Main indoor areas include: book corner (which could serve as quiet area or story time), small world, construction area, music area, homer/shop corner, creativity area, baby area in children’s centre. Outdoor areas extend those inside but there are also: slide, climbing structure, bicycle track or garden. Areas listed above may vary in some settings compared to others, as it all depends on the type of settings (day care, children’s centre, home setting) and the space which offers. The principal rule is to provide a safe environment therefore there must be enough space gap between individual activities and clear access to it. Children learning the best via experience. The activities must be planned in the way that gives them the opportunity to solve a problem and encourage them to be creative. Even though the children are under supervision and usually instruction given, they must have a freedom of their own choice and sense of independency. From the safe point of view all workers must be sure that activities such, as riding a bike or trickle, are located at a safe distance with the principles of health and safety regulations. They must take into account the relevant area to exploit the possibilities of learning experience. All the surfaces must be washable and easy to clean, floors non slippery as the messy activity could end up on the floor. Positive environment depends on the relationships between adults and children and creates positive ambience which is essential part in the learning journey. Practitioner must behave toward children with respect and be assured that all needs and interests has been addressed as well as plan all activities in the achievable way designed to a stage of development. Children under three years old should have a key person to establish closer relationship which makes a strong link between home and settings. Childcare settings must act on a basis of The Childcare Act 2006 and Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and be registered with: Child Early Years Register (EYS) for those who care for children between 0 and 5years. General Care Register (GCR) for those who care for children between 5 and 8 years and child attends for more than two hours per day. Ofsted is an organization which inspects all settings which cares for children for more than two hours per day in order to make sure that institution meets all requirements of positive environment. Therefore, in England exists an Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale which helps to achieve all aspects of the framework. We must not forget about Healthy and Safety Regulations and make sure that the illumination of the setting is appropriate and all areas are well lit. Setting should keep a tem. around 15-18 ? C or 20-22 ? C for babies. Ventilation plays very important role although there are no draughts acceptable. This in important to make sure that all door are locked and glass on windows toughened. All external gates should be locked and coded as appropriate with handles and locks out of reach of children. The safety gates should located of the stairways to avoid children climbing by themselves. Surfaces outdoor should be soft, stable, non-slippery and easily cleanable. Access points must be kept clear, unlocked and made known to children and adults. Environment policies and procedures must include: worm elcoming, clean and well maintained setting, sole use of premises, appropriate temperature, adequate space storage, appropriate rest areas, safe equipment, appropriate outdoor space and suitable equipment, appropriate toilets, kitchen facilities, safe supply of gas and electricity, security and supervision, awareness of fire safety, appropriate planning. Worm welcoming plays a big part in creating positive environment. We, as an adults, like to work in warm and welcoming atmosphere. The same applies to the children. Fist few minutes at the beginning of the day affect the rest of their stay. It is important to make them feel welcome and even show our joy of seeing them again. As children are good observers (that’s the way they learn too), it is our role to make sure to develop positive bond with the parents or carriers. When they see us respecting adults they will feel more trustful and safe. It is good practice to involve a child in adult to adult conversation by e. g. asking them how they feel that day. Some children are not much of talkers but being involved by such a simple question, even if they don’t answer, shows importance of their presence. For those with special needs such as hear impairment, is worth to make an effort and learn few greeting words in sign language. This certainly prove our interest and respect. To achieve this point of a day and be successful, worker needs to gather some information about child and the family. Surely, saying lots in English toward the child who has just came from other country without knowledge of language, is a bad idea, as it may affects in confusion and discouraged to participate in activities. Practitioner must be very sensible on this field in order to meet all needs of children and their parents. Planning an activities is a difficult task as it has to follow the curriculum and meets all particular needs of children. All activities should considered children involvement. Even though that certain activities has been planned and often there is a main theme to it, settings must make sure that child takes an active part in it. Another aspect of providing a positive environment for those with special needs – settings must be prepared to provide variety activities and properly access. There must be an adequate space for the wheelchair users (to move freely between areas) and ctivities which allowed them to participate and make their own choices. Worker supports child by giving them a choice in many ways. It is good practice to assist child with choosing the paint in a painting area. Older children clearly reach different level. Younger ones may be taking part in mixing two colours and older may actually choose it by themselves. Those under 3 years old could be encouraged to involved by choosing a play materials (big painting brush or sponge or fingers), but those over 4 years old could choose if they want to paint, or maybe they prefer to use crayons. Children will engage more with the activity if they feel to be a part of the whole process of planning and executing. By this simple act, children take the responsibility of their work and surly will enjoy more the whole experience. The key, is to make them involved and responsible for their actions. They still follow the curriculum, learn but with joy and interest. Practitioner role is to provide the choice, but as well must meet children individual needs. Everyone is different and learn in a different way. Observation is the best way to meet those needs and create accurate environment for children to be able to achieved the goals. Young people often adapted or extend the activities. If practitioner notice that child is implying transporting schema by carrying a building blocks in a doll pram, should provide more pushing resources indoor and outdoor. If, a child tries to wash a doll in a water tray which at the time contains e. g. sea creatures, this should be a sign to adapt some space toward the child demand. Some children shows their skills by trying to write letters, therefore practitioner should encourage them to sigh the picture using their name and create an activity which requires using letters. Worker should be aware that children comes up with lots ideas if they have chance to express themselves. Some planned activities may be transformed, therefore it is important to be flexible but ready for the changes in the same time, ensuring that there is enough space for and the activity is purposeful. Example: mum shares her concern about her child, taking shoes at home and lining it up in the living room; after is doing the same with his/her teddy bears. This very useful information for the setting. Practitioner must assure parent that is nothing wrong about that, this is a trajectory schema which child is playing. To extend this activity at setting, worker should provide for this child appropriate resources to play with such as big building blocks etc. , as well enough space for the activity and support child during a play time. Children learn by using their senses such as touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell. Those come before the language therefore settings must provide a variety activities to promote learning via senses. Touching different textures is great experience to explore the world. To promote this sense, ‘sensitive basket’ is recommended for younger children to feel and pull out of the box different objects. As objects are inside, child cannot see them, so all concentration goes to sense of touch. Older children can make a collage out of different textures papers and other materials. Playing with different size beans such as lentil or white beans, or sand makes a great experience. There are cushions filled with different content e. g. soft once with cotton or those with rice or sand inside. The textures could be found in outdoor area, such as walking surface, surface under the climbing structure or even a grass. Worker should always remember to support child in the smallest aspects and make sure to pay attention to their interests. If, the child is playing with a dough, it would appropriate to ask how it’s feels. And even connect few aspects of using a senses. If there was a colour added is good to point it out and encourage child to recognize it (sight sense). In order to make this experience more complex, it would be good idea to put in it some herbs and explore a sense of smell. Tasting could be a great fun supported by the e. g. ‘boost’ where children can try together different fruits and vegetable along with chopping, mashing or mixing. Setting supports carry out ‘special design’ activity, but simply try to spot, in what child is interested. Young babies responds to bright colours and contrast. The settings should use worm, bright colours to make the ambient useful and pleasant. There should be planned reading time and music time which support hearing sense. Displays, information notes, posters could be done using different textures and colours, materials, shapes. Some of the settings has a special designed sensory room or sensory gardens to promote use of senses. In order to feel confident we must feel good about ourselves. Human brain is designed to encode information received, therefore also an important aspect of practitioner work is to provide positive information as it result in a positive response. It is much better to say ‘I feel good today’ rather than‘ I don’t feel bad’, as the sentence contains negative aspect. Praising is the best way to pass a positive information and in a short future the memory will brings it out. To promote positive environment workers should use a lot of praising and encouraging children in their behaviour. The key is to concentrate on a small things and ignored little failures. If, the child is trying to colour provided picture and cannot stay with it in the lines, practitioner should give a lot of praise for the effort. Child will remember the fact, that even the picture was not perfect, he/she put a lot of work in it and most important, it was clearly noticed by the adult and praised truly. In the future he/she will feel more confident, resilience to approach another activity. Giving a lot praise develops self-esteem and confidence. In settings there are many ways to show the appreciation (specially in a bigger group) by giving a stickers, choosing a helper from the group, giving a certificate for the achievement, displaying all work has been done and sharing their success with others, including their parents. It is important to praise ‘at the time’, as younger children may not remember about the task before and won’t able to connect the fact that they successfully purred water into a cup during the lunch time. Praising small achievements is the same important as big ones. Other important part of setting is support the personal care needs of children and young people within a positive environment. This include: skin care, hair and teeth care. Skincare helps to avoid infections, so washing hands should be part of a daily routine. All children after outdoor activities should wash their hands using appropriate sink designed for them. Usually above it, there is a big poster explaining how to do it properly and why it is so important. As children must understand the world, it is good practise to promote healthily life style and explain why it is important to keep their hand nice and clean. This could be easily achieved by short talk about germs and batteries. Setting should apply a routine about that and make sure all kids remember what to do before e. g. snack time or after playing with sand. This will defiantly encourage them to take action and even with time they may start encourage others. During the summer time, when the sun is strong it is good practise to make sure, that all the children using a head to protect from the sunlight and sun block for their skin. Practitioner could support parent by recalling about applying it before activities. Some of the settings such, as day care, should always make an arraignment with parent and have a permission, if they wish a practitioner apply it on child skin during the stay in the setting. To avoid any types of allergies, settings should ask, if there are contraindicated connected with allergy or every other contraindications they wish to express. Settings should obey the rule, and keep children off the sun between 11 and 3 pm, sometimes however, in situation such as a school trip to ZOO is hard to avoid sun fully, that’s why heads should be covered, faces protected, high-factor sun cream applied. All actions should be made in agreement with a carrier and child himself. This applies to hair care, teeth care as well. Hair should be clean at all times to keep it healthily. There are a certain situation to deal with respect, such a hair lice. If this occurs in setting all parents should be informed to pay attention and check child hair on regular basis and begin a treatment as appropriate. As other kids could be cruel toward child who had head lice, workers should promote positive behaviour by explaining that this is a common thing and could happen to any of them, no matter how much their care about their hygiene. This talk will certainly create positive environment. Children should be aware about their teeth hygiene and how important is to keep it clean. As the teeth grows from early stage (milk teeth appears from around 6 months), setting should start learning activities and talk as soon as possible and in a manner suited to the child’s development stage. It is the same importance take care of milk teeth as a constant. To avoid decay, children should have balanced diet which doesn’t contain sugars, sometimes in drinks provided in lunch boxes, therefore in educational institution in UK, children are allowed to drink water and natural juices as it contain just natural sugar needed. The best way to carry out positive behaviour about hygiene and in order to create optimal conditions to support positive environment, it is essential to establish daily routines. Children depends on adults but knowing what happens next makes them feel safe. Routine gives them feeling of security environment and they can predict what is happening at the time. It is curtail to tell children about activities order, but they must be informed why those things happen. Even, us adults, we want to know why we’re doing certain work, not just ‘doing it to be done’. Children should understand the need of hands washing, tidying up after the play time and most of all, should know the cause of each action to a logical connection which results in understanding the facts and showing initiative. Practitioner should involve child in caring out the routine by e. g. letting them to hand a drinks or tiding up a certain area that they a responsible for. We must never forget about individual needs, and ensure that those with English additional language are supported. If children are regularly informed, they will learn about expectations. All settings must carry out a fire emergency evacuation routine. In a case of real emergency, children will exactly know how to behave. In a case of any changes to a routine, parents and children should be informed to avoid unexpected behaviour and confusion. Setting can prepare children for upcoming changes. Transition from reception to year one could be a difficult time, as children will change teacher, class room, and e. g. entrance gate. For this purpose, all children and parents should be informed about time to practice new collection procedure at the end of last days of summer term. Positive environment and routines meets emotional needs of children and their families. Settings should take in account the fact that all families are different and have different routines at home, therefore practitioner should always work with agreement with a parent. This applies to a sleeping and resting routine in a day-care setting for the young babies; or snacking time for older ones. Activities during the day should be balanced and meet parents expectations. Some parents may wish their child to sleep a lot during the day, so they can spend some more time with them in the evening; others may wish the child to drop the nap time in order to go to bed with their siblings. Although worker is not allowed to force child to do anything against their will – if parent wish his child to sleep during the day and child doesn’t want to do that, at this point is a good practice to talk with the parents about their child changing routines. If family is sharing toilet or bathroom with other family, child may have to wake up earlier therefore he/she may need more rest during the day to compensate early getting up. Relationship with parents and communication is very important. This can give information how the child feels that day – if, for e. g. the family has just came back from the long trip – child could feel more tired than usual and may need more rest during the day. To balance all this aspects practitioner should take into account the fact that some children may need more attention while other children are asleep. Setting must be prepared to provide activities which benefit child and not disturbing sleeping children. Physical activities encourages children and young people to develop all their physical skills. Setting should offer a variety of activities and range of equipment indoor and outdoor. There must be a balance between physical activities and rest time, as children will benefit play time only if they are rested. Rest and quiet times will vary according to the age and needs of children. Children with additional or special needs may have limited play opportunities, but it is a practitioner role to ensure that they contributed in many activities as possible.

The Melting Pot

Is The United States of America the â€Å"melting pot† of the world? A melting pot is â€Å"a place where races, theories, etc. , are mixed. † (The Oxford Dictionary) Many immigrants come to the United States for the same basic reason: A better way of life. These same immigrants envision their dreams of success, freedom and happiness coming true. Without different cultures coming together learning from one another, many of today’s modern marvels would not exist. A good example of this is Marco Polo finding the different wonders like Gunpowder and exotic spices from his expeditions. Without the blending and discovers of the great people that came before us our world would not be as it is now especially America. Immigrants brings part of their homeland’s culture with them which, in time melts into other cultures. The basis of the U. S. was built on diversity, and is supported by statistic such as â€Å"Ten percent of America’s 281 million residents were born in other countries. (Swerdlow 12) Our country was founded and established under the principle that one man being different is yet equal by the same right. All of these cultures coming together are unique in their own ways but yet compatible. Many immigrants have enhanced the United States by their contributions as educators, authors, scientists, politicians. Alexander Graham Bell, scientist; Albert Einstein, scientist; and James Baldwin, author are examples, to name a few. It was not uncommon in the early 1900’s to find Ethnic individuals living all together in a community in some of the large metropolitan cities of the nation, but now while visiting any city in America you can often find dozens of different sets of people all living together in a community which allows individuals of our era tosee many different backgrounds, cultures, races, or people that may be the same as yourself or entirely different. I look at my own home as a result of the melting pot theory. My husband is Puerto Rican/Italian and I am German/English, and we both brought a lot of differences to the home from our cultures and beliefs. If we move on to the children we have with each other, but there are also blends of African American, and Jamaican. Having Stepchildren I find that through the social interaction of all the children in my home there is an ever evolving melting pot affect here due to the children learning from both sets of parents and then bring this lessons, ideas, and cultural information back and share it with the other children. Also, in our schools we have a multicultural mix of educators and students. During my time at Harrisburg Area Community College, I have met people from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Germany and Africa all here blending their heritage into our own. It was not so long ago in our nation’s history that there was a time where this evidence of the melting pot theory did not exist, and a good example with segregated schools. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson, signed the Civil Rights Act which, one part of this comprehensive bill, allowed the integration of races in American schools. It was one of the largest changes in this nation’s history that brought two different cultures and ideas into the living room of all homes in the nation which contributed largely to the melting pot theory in America. We all have a common bond; we all want to educate ourselves to attain careers in which we can better sustain our families and ourselves. Part of this endeavor is the American dream to be successful. I have also been privileged to have Amish friends. They are of German decent and are not much different from us, what they call â€Å"English† people. This can be an example of the melting pot theory, because the Amish have a completely different set of values and lifestyle. They have yet to introduce their lifestyle on the â€Å"English† people here in Lancaster County, but the citizens of Lancaster County have greatly impacted their way of life. They conform to the modern world just like other cultures, and while conforming they have adapted to the use of common items of convenience such as cell phones, and electricity in their barns or homes. There is even Order of the Amish that live the same as you, and only dress in Amish attire for Church making this order the most prominent example of the Amish falling in the melting pot. They work hard to attain there goals, to be productive people and have freedom of religion. Isn’t this part of the American dream also? We are all in the â€Å"melting pot† because we are all blended with our family’s ancestry, ideas, beliefs, and cultures. Throughout the history of the world many nations have risen and fallen. All great nations such as Julius Cesar’s Roman Empire, Alexander’s Greek Empire, Genghis Kahn Asian Empire were all notorious for conquering the other nations of their time. With this in mind it is obviously assumed that all of these nations had one thing in common regardless of how they were founded, and that is they all had new culture and belief’s come into their nation which in turn blended into their own ideologies. In every aspect of our society in the United States we are not so different from past great nations, and becoming a melting pot was destined to happen. All the cultures, and the beliefs of all the citizens have been melted together to form new variants of the original cultures. This melting effect had affected our way life from education to careers to home. No matter if you are first generation Immigrant or a naturalized citizen of this nation we all share the dream of success. The Melting Pot Is The United States of America the â€Å"melting pot† of the world? A melting pot is â€Å"a place where races, theories, etc. , are mixed. † (The Oxford Dictionary) Many immigrants come to the United States for the same basic reason: A better way of life. These same immigrants envision their dreams of success, freedom and happiness coming true. Without different cultures coming together learning from one another, many of today’s modern marvels would not exist. A good example of this is Marco Polo finding the different wonders like Gunpowder and exotic spices from his expeditions. Without the blending and discovers of the great people that came before us our world would not be as it is now especially America. Immigrants brings part of their homeland’s culture with them which, in time melts into other cultures. The basis of the U. S. was built on diversity, and is supported by statistic such as â€Å"Ten percent of America’s 281 million residents were born in other countries. (Swerdlow 12) Our country was founded and established under the principle that one man being different is yet equal by the same right. All of these cultures coming together are unique in their own ways but yet compatible. Many immigrants have enhanced the United States by their contributions as educators, authors, scientists, politicians. Alexander Graham Bell, scientist; Albert Einstein, scientist; and James Baldwin, author are examples, to name a few. It was not uncommon in the early 1900’s to find Ethnic individuals living all together in a community in some of the large metropolitan cities of the nation, but now while visiting any city in America you can often find dozens of different sets of people all living together in a community which allows individuals of our era tosee many different backgrounds, cultures, races, or people that may be the same as yourself or entirely different. I look at my own home as a result of the melting pot theory. My husband is Puerto Rican/Italian and I am German/English, and we both brought a lot of differences to the home from our cultures and beliefs. If we move on to the children we have with each other, but there are also blends of African American, and Jamaican. Having Stepchildren I find that through the social interaction of all the children in my home there is an ever evolving melting pot affect here due to the children learning from both sets of parents and then bring this lessons, ideas, and cultural information back and share it with the other children. Also, in our schools we have a multicultural mix of educators and students. During my time at Harrisburg Area Community College, I have met people from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Germany and Africa all here blending their heritage into our own. It was not so long ago in our nation’s history that there was a time where this evidence of the melting pot theory did not exist, and a good example with segregated schools. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson, signed the Civil Rights Act which, one part of this comprehensive bill, allowed the integration of races in American schools. It was one of the largest changes in this nation’s history that brought two different cultures and ideas into the living room of all homes in the nation which contributed largely to the melting pot theory in America. We all have a common bond; we all want to educate ourselves to attain careers in which we can better sustain our families and ourselves. Part of this endeavor is the American dream to be successful. I have also been privileged to have Amish friends. They are of German decent and are not much different from us, what they call â€Å"English† people. This can be an example of the melting pot theory, because the Amish have a completely different set of values and lifestyle. They have yet to introduce their lifestyle on the â€Å"English† people here in Lancaster County, but the citizens of Lancaster County have greatly impacted their way of life. They conform to the modern world just like other cultures, and while conforming they have adapted to the use of common items of convenience such as cell phones, and electricity in their barns or homes. There is even Order of the Amish that live the same as you, and only dress in Amish attire for Church making this order the most prominent example of the Amish falling in the melting pot. They work hard to attain there goals, to be productive people and have freedom of religion. Isn’t this part of the American dream also? We are all in the â€Å"melting pot† because we are all blended with our family’s ancestry, ideas, beliefs, and cultures. Throughout the history of the world many nations have risen and fallen. All great nations such as Julius Cesar’s Roman Empire, Alexander’s Greek Empire, Genghis Kahn Asian Empire were all notorious for conquering the other nations of their time. With this in mind it is obviously assumed that all of these nations had one thing in common regardless of how they were founded, and that is they all had new culture and belief’s come into their nation which in turn blended into their own ideologies. In every aspect of our society in the United States we are not so different from past great nations, and becoming a melting pot was destined to happen. All the cultures, and the beliefs of all the citizens have been melted together to form new variants of the original cultures. This melting effect had affected our way life from education to careers to home. No matter if you are first generation Immigrant or a naturalized citizen of this nation we all share the dream of success.

Master SAT Reading 5 Types of Passages

Master SAT Reading 5 Types of Passages SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The College Board wants the world to think that the SAT is detached from real-world trivia, a pure test of reasoning and skill. But, of course, this is essentially impossiblehence the scores of SAT prep options out there (of which we are one). As an attempt at a useful reference buoy in the SAT ocean, this post is an outline of the categories of writing that SAT Reading passages always fall into. Many students are frustrated by the opacity of many SAT reading passages, torn as they are from any meaningful context. The SAT gives a tiny preface to some of the more arcane passages, but mostly they just throw students in and let them sink or swim. The best way to prepare for SAT Reading is to do some realistic practice tests, but that might seem like a daunting first step. This article provides a good stepping stone of giving examples of passage types. We hope some students out there find this useful; the high school-to-college transition is a stressful time, and we’re in the business of making it less so. So, without further ado, the main types of passages you’ll see on the SAT Reading section. To give you a feel for each type of passage, we’re going to include a snippet from each that represents the typical style of that passage type. Okay, one bit of further ado: the categories are listed in order of frequency on the test. Now let’s go. #1: Science Culture Since the SAT is supposed to test students’ readiness for college-level academic work, the College Board loves passages like this. Topic: Language acquisition Sample: We know that adult language is intricately complex, and we know that children become adults. Therefore something in the child's mind must be capable of attaining that complexity. Any theory that posits too little innate structure, so that its hypothetical child ends up speaking something less than a real language, must be false. Topic: Evidence in scientific research Sample: It was disturbing to me to see anyone so facilely blur the distinction between observations and interpretations and then even go so far as to make numerous deductions without the slightest shred of evidence. When I was very young and did not "see"  what seemed obvious to adults, I often thought I was stupid and unsuited for science. Now I sometimes wonder if that is why I make progress. I see the ability to invent interconnections as no advantage whatsoever where the discovery of truth is the objective. #2: History History passages give the SAT a chance to test your understanding of specific meaningful events or evolution of ideas over long periods of time. These are situations in which outside knowledge is (a) most likely to occur, especially for students in AP History courses, and (b) most detrimental: remember, only draw your answers from the material on the page. Topic: The evolution of the meaning of bohemianism Sample: In 1843 when Michael William Balfe's once famous opera The Bohemian Girl premiered in London this meaning was still widely current. A Bohemian had come to mean any wandering or vagabond soul, who need not have been associated with the arts. It was the malnourished Parisian poet, Henry Murger, who was responsible for clinching the term's special association with the life of artists. Topic: Joan of Arc Sample: The report of a supernatural visitant sent by God to save France, which inspired the French, clouded the minds and froze the energies of the English. The sense of awe, and even of fear, robbed them of their assurance. Upon Joan's invocation the spirit of victory changed sides, and the French began an offensive that never rested until the English invaders were driven out of France. #3: Personal Narrative This and the categories below point more squarely at liberal arts topics, but mostly maintain the neutrality and of the Science and History passage types. Topic: Evolution and captive breeding Sample: The rationale for breeding endangered animals in zoos is nevertheless compelling. Once a species falls below a certain number, it is beset by inbreeding and other processes that nudge it closer and closer to extinction. If the animal also faces the wholesale destruction of its habitat, its one hope for survival lies in being transplanted to some haven of safety, usually a cage. In serving as trusts for rare fauna, zoos have committed millions of dollars to caring for animals. Many zoo managers have given great consideration to the psychological health of the animals in their care. Topic: An American’s visit to Paris in the 1960s Sample: The architectural space of Paris is an astonishment to me because its scale so accurately attunes inhabited earth to sky that I can actually walk in a work of art. I feel in some subtle way eased. I find myself in a world ordered by people of like mind to my own, in a companionship rendered visible. As if for the first time in my life I could be content to be human without having to forego, because of that limitation, my intuition of divine order. #4: Arts Commentary These are slightly less common than the above categories, but they’re still worth mentioning. They’re written much like other discussions of art or literature, and so a great way to prepare (and learn some good vocabulary) is to read some high-quality art and literature reviews, which have their own style and language that extends to the SAT Reading passages. Topic: Vermeer’s The Girl with the Pearl Earring Sample: Snow describes the girl’s gaze as a stew of unresolved contradictions, which only leaves the captivated viewer all the more guilty and confused. Surprise, bewilderment, yearning, acceptance, understandingin sequence, or all at onceher glance seems to convey all of these. â€Å"Suddenly, the most personal responses, drawn from the most private, well-protected regions of the self, are required.† #5: Literature Passages from this category show up less frequently on the SAT (thus, only one sample) and have a slightly different feel: they’re difficult not because of scientific terminology or historical references, but mainly because of antiquated language and totally unfamiliar subject matter (e.g. the descriptions below, or a character’s concerns about her upcoming marriage). Source: An old-timey novel about a ship Sample: The youngest man on board (barring the second mate), and untried as yet by a position of the fullest responsibility, I was willing to take the adequacy of others for granted. They simply had to be equal to their tasks; but I wondered how far I should turn out faithful to that ideal conception of one’s own personality every man sets up for himself secretly. A Few Further Notes Overall, SAT Reading passages should be similar to some of the material in your high school textbooks. If you’re curious about how the SAT relates to high school academics, see this blog post about the correlation between achievement in the two areas. Also, don’t be surprised if you see passages that combine two of the above passage types: the essay about evolution and captive breeding, for example, is also a personal narrative. Ready to take the next step and dive into the wonderful world of SAT Reading? Start by reading our guide on how to get a perfect score on SAT Readingit's chock-full of great advice. Like what you read? Get our FREE EBOOK Guide:

Programming games in C# using SDL.NET

Programming games in C# using SDL.NET One of the problems with open source is that projects sometimes seem to fall by the wayside or take confusing turns. Take SDL.NET. Ignoring the website for sale, a search on the web reveals cs-sdl.sourceforge.net a project that seems to have stopped in November 2010. We dont think it has stopped but just looks like it has. If you dont know C#, you will first need to learn how to program in C#. Looking elsewhere, we came across the Tao framework linked on the Mono website which seems to cover the same area and adding support for sound etc. But looking on sourceforge (again!), it has been superseded by OpenTK but the focus there is OpenGL. However, it also includes OpenAL so installing the two (cs-sdl and OpenTK) seemed to be the way forward. Part of the OpenTk install failed; the NS (shader) because we dont have VS 2008 installed! However, the rest of it was ok. We created a C# Console project and started playing with SDL.NET. The online documentation can be found here. Looking back, we can see that the OpenTK framework wasnt needed as such, that SDL.NET installed everything but that wasnt clear at the time. It still uses the Tao Framework even though development of that has been superseded by OpenTK. Its a little confusing and we hope the SDL.NET team will bring out an OpenTk compatible version in the future. What Exactly is SDL.NET? Its not, as we thought, just a thin wrapper round SDL, but adds considerable extra functionality. There are a number of classes provided to provide the following: TimersProvides Sprites, including animation and TextProvides surfaces for 2D and OpenGlProvides support for Movie loading and playingProvides support for AudioProvides Bezier, polygon (and textures), square, circle, line, pie drawingProvides particle support with emitters and sprites and manipulators.Provides interfacing with Windows forms through a shared PictureBox with surface. Preparations There are several things you have to do to get it set up. Here they are: Locate the two SDL.NET dlls (SdlDotNet.dll and Tao.Sdl.dll) as well as the OpenTK dlls, and add them to the project references. After installation, the dlls are located in Program Files\SdlDotNet\bin (on a 32 bit Windows and Program Files (x86)\SdlDotNet\bin on 64 bit Windows. Right click on the References section in Solution Explorer then click Add Reference and select the Browse tab. That opens an Explorer dialog and after locating the dlls select then and click ok. SDL.NET uses the SDL set of dlls and installs them under the lib folder. Dont delete them! One last thing, click on the View\Properties so it opens up the Property pages and on the first tab (Application) Change Output type from Console Application to Windows Application. If you dont do this when the program first runs and opens up the SDL main Window it will open up a console Window as well. Were now ready to start and Ive created a short application below. This blits randomly sized and located rectangles and circles on the Window surface at 1,700 drawn per second at a frame rate of 50 frames per second. That 1,700 comes from setting the number drawn per frame to 17 and displaying the frames per second in the Window caption using Video.WindowCaption. Each frame it draws 17 filled circles and rectangles, 17 x 2 x 50 1,700. This figure depends on the video card, CPU etc. Its an impressive speed. // By David Bolton, http://cplus.about.comusing System;using System.Drawing;using SdlDotNet.Graphics;using SdlDotNet.Core;using SdlDotNet.Graphics.Primitives;public class ex1{private const int wwidth 1024;private const int wheight 768;private static Surface Screen;private static Random r new Random() ;public static void Main(string[] args){Screen Video.SetVideoMode( wwidth, wheight, 32, false, false, false, true) ;Events.TargetFps 50;Events.Quit (QuitEventHandler) ;Events.Tick (TickEventHandler) ;Events.Run() ;}private static void QuitEventHandler(object sender, QuitEventArgs args){Events.QuitApplication() ;}private static void TickEventHandler(object sender, TickEventArgs args){for (var i 0; i 17; i){var rect new Rectangle(new Point(r.Next(wwidth- 100),r.Next(wheight-100)),new Size(10 r.Next(wwidth - 90), 10 r.Next(wheight - 90))) ;var Col Color.FromArgb(r.Next(255),r.Next (255),r.Next(255)) ;var CircCol Color.FromArgb(r.Next(255), r.Next (255), r.Next(255)) ;short rad ius (short)(10 r.Next(wheight - 90)) ;var Circ new Circle(new Point(r.Next(wwidth- 100),r.Next(wheight-100)),radius) ;Screen.Fill(rect,Col) ;Circ.Draw(Screen, CircCol, false, true) ;Screen.Update() ;Video.WindowCaption Events.Fps.ToString() ;}}} Object Oriented Development SDL.NET is very Object Oriented and there are two predefined objects that are used in every SDL.NET application. Video provides methods to set the video mode, create video surfaces, hide and show the mouse cursor, and interact with OpenGL. Not that well be doing OpenGL for a while. The Events class contains events which can be attached to to read user input and other miscellaneous occurrences. Here the Video object is used to set the size and resolution of the game Window (full screen is an option). The parameters for SetVideoMode let you change these and 13 overloads provide plenty of variety. Theres a .chm file (Windows html help format) in the doc folder documenting all the classes and members. The Events object has a Quit events handler that lets you add close down logic and you should call Events.QuitApplication() to make it respond to the user closing the application. The Events.Tick is possibly the most important event handler. It calls the specified event handler each frame. This is the model for all SDL.NET development. You can set your desired frame rate and my reducing the loop to 5 and changing the Targetfps to 150 we got it running at 164 frames per second. TargetFps is a ballpark figure; it puts in delays to get you near that figure but the Events.Fps is what is delivered. Surfaces Like the original non Windowed version of SDL, the SDL.NET uses surfaces for rendering to the screen. A surface can be constructed from a graphics file. There are a large number of properties and methods that make it possible to read or write pixels as well as draw the graphics primitives, blit other surfaces, even dump a surface to a disk file for taking screenshots. SDLNET provides just about everything to let you create games. Well be looking at the various features over the next few tutorials then move onto creating games with it.

The implications of the deviations of the purchasing power Essay

The implications of the deviations of the purchasing power - Essay Example The deviation from PPP will also result in the variation of operating margins significantly. This will in turn affect the competitiveness of the multi-national companies. The main reason for the failure of Law of One Price is the presence of transaction cost. When the deviation of the exchange rate from PPP raises, arbitrage forces will later on become more strong. For a company who deals with differentiated goods, by grouping under one category, the PPP will deviate and this will result in increase in arbitrage forces.Question 2: You are hired by a South African firm with all local costs that has recently entered the export market. The firm prices their contracts in US$, as this is necessary to gain market share. They now realize that with 25% of sales as exports, they face a reasonably sized exchange rate exposure and are not sure whether they should hedge it or not. Knowing that you have training in international financial management, they ask you for advice. Provide a summary of your response on the types of foreign exchange risk this company faces and whether the firm should hedge the exposure. The Company Faces Transaction Risk and Economic Risk:â€Å"Transaction risk, which is basically cash ï ¬â€šow risk, deals with the effect of exchange rate moves on transactional account exposure related to receivables (export contracts), payables (import contracts), or repatriation of dividends. An exchange rate change in the currency of denomination of any such contract will result in a direct transaction exchange rate risk to the ï ¬ rm†.