Two Explanations of Depression

Describe and evaluate two psychological explanations of depression. (25 marks) There have been several psychoanalytical theories of depression; there is no objective view of depression. However, centre to all these different theories is the idea that unconscious forces and experiences during early childhood contribute to the development of depression in adult life. The first theory that will be looked at is, Sigmund Fraud’s theory, based on his 1917 essay ‘Mourning and Melancholia’. Here, Fraud related depression back to the Oral stage of development during childhood.The Oral stage, according to Fraud, this is the first of several psychosexual stages through which human infants develop towards maturity. It is characterised by dependency on their caregiver. It is possible to become fixated (stuck) at any one of these stages and this has consequences for later development. Fixation can occur as the result of either over-or under-gratification. This very dependant na ture makes them particularly venerable to depression in their adult life. They spend energy, money and more looking for love and attention and approval of others, this could lead to anger if their needs aren’t met.However, this anger is directed inwardly, at themselves instead of at others. An example of this is with the loss of a loved one, their anger is directed inwardly at the loss of their loved one, regressing back to the Oral stage. Fraud also distinguished between actual loss, in the case of the loss of a loved one and symbolic loss, loss of a job. However, both do lead to depression, as the individual re-experiences a childhood episode when they experienced loss of affection from a caregiver. There has also been a link between Low self-esteem and depression.Bibring’s psychodynamic theory (1965) stated that low self-esteem brought about by a harsh and critical upbringing could result in depression. This perfectionist parenting style can produce a wide inconsist ency between the child’s true nature and its ideal nature, the individual fails to live up to his/her unrealistic ego-ideal. This supports the theory that fixation on a childhood stage or experience can lead to depression later in life. According to Fraud, in order to avoid loss turning into depression, the individual needs to engage in a period of mourning, work, during which s/he recalls memories of the lost one.This allows the individual to separate him/herself from the lost person, and so reduces the inner-directed anger. However, individuals very dependent on others for their sense of self-esteem may be unable to do this, and so remain extremely depressed. There is some evidence for the idea that a set of dependant personality traits characterise people with depression. However, these traits appear to fluctuate with the level of depression so they might be an effect of the disorder rather than a causal factor. There is also support for the idea that the loss of a parent to death or divorce can be linked to later depression (Bifulco et al. 1987). Further research has shown that depressed people tend to be more aggressive than a control group of people who don’t suffer from depression. The strengths of the psychodynamic approach to depression are that, firstly, there is further empirical support provided by Waller et al (2000). Men who had lost their fathers during childhood scored higher on a depression scale than those fathers who had not died. Furthermore, Bifulco (1992) found evidence that children whose mothers died in childhood were more likely to experience depression later in life.This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for the idea of depression being caused by psychological factors. On the other hand, one weakness of Fraud’s expression is that there is contradictory evidence by Cooper et al (1992). Loss probably explains only a relatively small percentage of cases of depression – only about 10% of those w ho experience early loss later become depressed. This produces refuting evidence for depression being caused by psychodynamic explanations. Another weakness of Fraud’s theory is that there are methodological problems.The associated therapy (psychoanalysis) has not proven very effective with treating depression (Comer, 2002). This may be because of the difficulty depressed patients having in communicating during psychoanalysis; this proves that psychoanalysis is not always affective. Finally, Fraud’s theory is psychologically deterministic. The reason for this is because Fraud suggests that depression occurs due to a dominant superego. However, just because an individual’s superego is dominant, doesn’t mean that they will develop depression. This suggests that Freud’s theory does not take into consideration freewill.Another psychological explanation of depression is the cognitive approach. Beck (1967) was struck by the negative thinking shown by dep ressed clients and developed his own explanation. Here, he suggested that depressed is the depression is the result of negative thinking and catastrophising, which he called ‘cognitive errors’, Beck (1991) believes that depression is a disorder of thought, rather than of mood, he maintained that there are three components to depression, which he called the cognitive triad. This consisted of negative and pessimistic thoughts about themselves, the world and their future.In addition to the cognitive triad, Beck believed that depression prone individuals develop negative self-schema. They possess a set of beliefs and expectations about themselves that are essentially negative and pessimistic. He identified this as being routed to an early traumatic childhood event. E. g. Death of a parent or sibling, parental rejection, criticism, overprotection or neglect. It could also be due to bullying. People with negative self schemas become prone to making logical errors in their thi nking and they tend to focus selectively on certain aspects of a situation while ignoring equal relevant information.Beck referred to these errors as ‘cognitive distortations’, including drawing conclusions under the basis of sufficient or irrelevant information. E. g. feeling worthless because the weather disturbed your plans to go to a concert. He called this arbitrary interference. Others include selective abstraction. This is focusing on a single aspect of a situation and ignoring others: E. g. you feel responsible for your team losing a match, even though you are simply one player on the field. Thirdly, is overgeneralisation.This is making a sweeping conclusion on the basis of single event. Others include magnification and minimisation, as well as personalisation. Beck (1983) has modified his theory over the years and he now believes there are two types of negative schema that characterise depression: 1. Sociotropy-This relates to interpersonal relationships, and i ndividuals with this type of negative schema perceive themselves as failing at relationships. Their core belief could be something like, ‘If I am not liked by everyone, I am worthless’ 2.Autonomy-This relates to personal achievement, and individuals with this type of negative schema perceive themselves as failing to achieve work- or study-related goals. Their core belief could be something like, ‘If I am not successful and in control, I am worthless’. Cognitive theories of depression have been extremely influential and have stimulated huge amounts of research that have contributed to our understanding of the disorder and how to treat it. They have given rise to a range of therapies and, on the whole, these seem to have been very helpful for people with depression. Beck’s later idea that ndividual personality differences can predict the type of event that triggers depression could be used to explain some of the different symptoms sub-type. However, it is difficult to determine the next extent to which distorted cognitive patterns cause depression. Numerous studies have shown that depressed people do indeed show more negative thinking than the control groups. However, as yet there is no convincing evidence that such thinking precedes a depressive episode. It seems likely that negative thinking is a consequence of depression and that it might well serve to maintain the disorder rather than explain its origins.One strength of the cognitive approach is that it has practical applications provided by Butler and Beck (2000). They reviewed 14 meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of Beck’s cognitive therapy and concluded that about 80% of adults benefited from the therapy. It was also found that the therapy was more successful than drug therapy and had a lower relapse rate; supporting the proposition that depression has a cognitive basis. This suggested that knowledge of the cognitive explanation can improve the quality o f people’s lives.A major criticism of the cognitive explanation is that there is contradictory evidence from Lewinsohn (1981). He studied a group of participants before any of them became depressed, and found that those who later become depressed were no more likely to have negative thoughts than those who did not develop depression. This suggests that hopeless and negative thinking may be the result of depression rather than the cause of it. Another criticism is that it is reductionist. It doesn’t regard other factors as responsible for depression, but focuses on the psychological approach to depression.A final weakness is that the psychological explanation of depression is psychologically deterministic. This is because the information suggests that individuals with no social network will become depressed. In reality, this is not always true. If the individual did want a group of friends, then they could get them. This suggests that this explanation does not for freew ill. In conclusion, we have seen two different psychological explanations, one is Fraud’s psychodynamic approach, and the other is the cognitive approach. Both identify depression as underlying from a psychological problem.

Relationships in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Essay

‘To what extent is Jane Eyre influenced by relationships in chapters 1-10 in the novel?’ Relationships are a key theme in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Throughout the novel we see the rise and fall of Jane, all most importantly due to relationships. This starts primarily with her lack of relationship with her parents, as she was orphaned when she was very young, she has no idea what it is like to love or to be loved and we see her strive to find out these feelings throughout the novel, until finally she achieves it, but the journey towards this is deeply important. In chapters one and two we see the basis of Jane’s view of relationships through her connection with the Reed’s. Firstly Mrs Reed does her upmost to make sure Jane is excluded from her and her ‘contented, happy, little children’ we as readers see this as a cruel act from Mrs Reed, she does not care that Jane is deeply unhappy because Jane is not one of her children, therefore she does not see it as her duty to care for her emotionally and thinks by punishing her and excluding her from the family that this will teach Jane to be a ‘contented child’ however we as readers see that this causes Jane to be deeply troubled within herself. This leads to Jane not only resenting Mrs Reed but also her children as they have been taught that Jane is a ‘dependant’ especially John who ultimately sees himself as above Jane in every aspect of life, he believes that Jane is just scavenging off them and this causes him to act in a horrific and bullying manor towards Jane. This causes Jane to act in a way she ordinarily would not, she even says herself that it causes ‘sensations for the time predominated over fear’ she feels so angry and let down that she finally stands up for herself. Therefore this influences Jane in a way that she feels like nobody will ever truly love her and she feels very much an outcast, this causes Jane to act in a way that even she herself expresses that she does not want to, she is cold and unloving and strives desperately to be appreciated but of course, this all happens in vain. We also see Jane to act very irrationally towards Mrs Reed, she deeply wants her to love her, yet w hen it comes down to it and she realises Mrs Reed never will she has an explosion of anger and tells Mrs Reed all the things that have been stewing up in her mind for so long; ‘I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to visit you when I am grown up; and if anyone asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick. . . .† this we  see as Jane being bitter towards Mrs Reed which we learn in later chapters as a very uncharacteristic feature of Jane Eyre, she is usually forgiving. The relationship between Jane and the nursery maid; Bessie is an important one, in the first few chapters we see Bessie as being somewhat cruel and dismissive of Jane compared to the other Reed children, she does not feel a connection towards Jane as she is not as pretty or funny as the other children therefore Bessie does not see her appeal. However after the event in the red room we see a change with Bessie’s attitude towards Jane, she turns somewhat softer as we see her feel sorry for Jane and how hard Mrs Reed is on her. This is an extremely important turning point in the novel as we see Jane in the chapters leading up to this as very self involved and saddened as she has no one to love, yet as soon as Bessie softens to Jane and tells her that she can sympathise with the position she’s been put in she tells Jane ‘I don’t dislike you, Miss; I believe I am fonder of you than of all the others.’ This affects Jane greatly and we see a completely different little girl, she seems to talk which much more glee and excitement and even for her ‘life had its gleams of sunshine’. So we see how much relationships influence Jane and her attitudes in the novel, relationships affect Jane and how her personality is. In chapter five Jane meets Helen Burns, Helen is also an orphan and see’s the school as somewhat of a sanctuary even though she is constantly picked upon by the teacher. Helen is Jane’s first friend but more importantly she becomes Jane’s best friend and we see as the relationship grows that Helen deeply influences Jane, she teaches her to be less excitable and too see the best in others, a quality that Jane desperately needs after her experience with the Reed’s. She teaches Jane to be self sacrificing when she tells her ‘it is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you’. Helen believes that you should suffer pain yourself than have others see and feel an action that you may regret when you have calmed down. Jane learns from this and this causes Jane to be a character who thinks beyond this life and onto the next with God. We see Jane finds this as a great comfort and now instead of looking onto God as something to be feared, she looks at him as somewhat of a comfort, especially after Helen dies of typhoid. Helen believes that after she dies she is going to be with her family and loved  ones and most importantly with God, therefore she does not fear death and although Jane is deeply distraught by the death of the only friend she’s ever had in the world, the fact that she will, if she lives correctly see her again is a great comfort. This shows the importance of friendship throughout the novel and how with Jane having the comfort of a friend she can be the person that she has always wanted to be, thanks to Helen Jane finds herself acting more appropriately and being able to handle her anger. Therefore this relationship has greatly affected Jane as she strives to be more like Helen. Relationships are of key importance to Bronte writing about Jane Eyre, it is how she expresses her feelings of how relationships have perhaps affected her and it shows how deeply the lack of love can affect someone. This novel is primarily about love, whether it being a lack of love or so much love that it turns into passion, Jane strives to feel this emotion and closeness with anyone who will allow her to be their friend. Therefore relationships are a key influence to Jane Eyre, they affect how she acts and how she feels and without them, as we learn in the first few chapters, life can be a very lonely existence.

U.S. Federal Reserve Monetary Policy

The United States is one of the few industrialized country in the world.   It is a country that is admired by many. The Americans have managed their finances quite well. The Federal Reserves system of the United States is one institution that handles financial fraction of the United States of America. It is the central bank of this developed country that was created by the Congress in 1913 to aid in having a safe, flexible and stable monetary and financial system (http//www.federalreserve.gov). To keep up with the mission of the Federal Reserve, they have created Monetary Policy. This policy is about all the actions taken by the Federal Reserve System regarding the cost and availability of money as well as in promoting economic goals. The Monetary policy is a very powerful tool; it can make or break the status of economic variables like employment and prices of goods and services. This is a responsibility is very crucial for the economic status of the country since their decisions dictates the would be trend. The task of handling monetary policy lies in the hand of able team members of the Federal System, the Federal Open Market Committee. This committee includes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Reserve Bank presidents (http//www.federalreserve.gov). Making monetary policies is a task that requires close scrutiny and careful examinations of data at hand. The Federal Open Market Committee has tools that aid them in making sound decisions about the policies that will be made by them and implemented country-wide. These three tools are open market operations, discount rate and reserve requirements. An open market operation is one tool used for monetary policies. This tool of monetary policy concerns controlling the supply of money by a buy and sell of U.S. Treasury and federal agency securities. They guide their decisions from the current status of the country’s economy regarding exchange rates or interest rates. The decisions are also based on an objective that is set by the Federal System. This objective is stipulated by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The objective that is set by Federal Open Market Committee each economic year varies accordingly (http//www.federalreserve.gov). Though there is one thing that is constant is that they base their assessment on how to maintain the stability of prices in the market to encompass a sustainable growth. An open market operation has also change through time. Nowadays, it can also be done electronically. The discount rate is the second tool of monetary policy. The federal system has regional banks and they also give loans to other commercial banks and institutions. The interest rate charged to these intuitions is the discount rate (http//www.federalreserve.gov). This is not given to just any bank or any depository institution though. They have to still meet a specific set of requirements to be able to loan and on what level of credit scoring from the federal system. Reserve requirements are the third tool in creating a monetary policy. The Board of Governors has the exclusive right to amend a change regarding these requirements (http//www.federalreserve.gov). This dictates the minimum reserve regarding customers’ deposits and notes. This year, the recorded reserve requirements in America is ten percent on transaction deposits and zero on time deposits and all other deposits. The booming field of information technology has helped lift the economic conditions in the country. In 2005, it has recorded 12.41 trillion dollars as its gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is one of the measures used to indicate how good the economy of a country is doing. This rate will include the measures of all finished products created and services produced (Wikipedia). It is wise that companies and businesses in the United States have the flexibility to adapt innovations in the field of information technology to make them more profitable. Koznar (2005) has said in his speech that the current stability in the economy is also because of the labor markets contribution. He has attributed some qualities of the American economy that makes it successful. These qualities include flexibility,  Ã‚   trade liberalization, and The monetary policy of the United States has been into ups and downs but the Federal Reserve team members are determined to succeed and to maintain a high standard. They are aiming on a more efficient and effective operation by having just a few locations. Federal Reserve is an independent entity, it is neither under the government’s jurisdiction nor is it to be called a private institution. They make sure that the monetary policies that they implement are in accordance to what the economy needs to succeed by careful deliberating the information presented and analyzing diverse views of the team members. Each of the monetary policy council member also its own team help them in formulating their positions for the economy. The team is complete from an economist and a financial analyst to translate the trends in the market, a payments system expert to check if the policies will an advantage, to an attorney to make sure that every policy is in accordance with the law thus it will not be questioned. Success is nothing if you can not measure it. In an international trade scene, economies of scale will play a critical role in determining the unit cost that will increase returns. Better organizational skills are needed by a management team that is gearing towards success. These factors include how we perceive the environment, time, power, structures and space; the emphasis we place on relationships or tasks, on individuals or the collective; how we think and communicate. Productivity within a team needs to be established for this is critical regarding the success of a company or an institution. Each component contributes to the behavior of the system. No component has an independent effect on the system. The behavior of the system is changed if any component is removed or changed. Reference: Krozner, Randall S. â€Å"Remarks by Governor Randall S. Kroszner   At The Forecasters Club of New York†, September 27, 2006. Federal Reserve. Retrieved November 04, 2006 from http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2006/20060927/default.htm Federal Reserve System. Monetary Policy. Retrieved November 04, 2006 from Wikipedia. Economy of the United States. Retrieved November 04, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States

Argumentive essay on Why the government should own public

Argumentive on Why the government should own public transportation - Essay Example Since decisions upon providing service are generally market driven, there is no public transit in these places, or they may be somewhat served by private companies with limited and expensive service. The rationale: not enough people will use it to make it profitable. Any suggested funding for public transport is always at the bottom of everyone’s budget list. The rationale there: we should not spend public money if the service is not used by a majority of the people. If this seems prejudicial, it is, since getting around is a necessity not a privilege. Unfortunately, too many people in the U.S., while admiring the wonderful benefits of the European mass transit systems when they travel, do not see themselves using such a system at home. And most assuredly they do not see themselves funding such a system with their tax money, as do European governments believing the service a crucial necessity for the people they govern. One might conclude that in Europe, good reliable mass tra nsportation for everyone everywhere is considered a right rather than a privilege. It is not totally dependent upon the profit model. The discussion of whether our own government should be running a system similar to Europe’s in the United States has been ongoing, and attempts, as in the case of California, to provide a seamless way for people to get around using mass transit have been sporadic. One online site states, â€Å"In most states, intercity passenger train service is provided solely by Amtrak, with no assistance of any sort from State or local governments† (History of Amtrak California, par. 1). Using California as a case in point, The History of Amtrak California discusses how the state subsidizes its growing system with state and local money largely from the federal government. Its success over the years in promoting and funding a growing mass transportation system has proven quite successful, considering California’s notorious love affair with

OBSERVE PAPEER OF OBESITY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

OBSERVE PAPEER OF OBESITY - Essay Example Observing these factors during my obesity study, I observed that even the eating habits, food choices, dressing and physical wellbeing is important nowadays when choosing friends. I have observed that obese people generally have obese friends and feel more comfortable with them. It was also observed that their sitting, eating and body movements are also similar. For the matter of fact, I bind obese people as a distinct group having similar habits, behaviors and characteristics. To understand the behavioral characteristics and needs of this group, I decided to conduct an observational study which was not longer but interesting and informative. In order to understand the factors for the observation purpose, I visited KFC being one of the largest fast food chains. During my 6 hours stay at KFC, I observed that around 65% of people (including males and females both) visiting KFC were either obese or overweight. Obese people with children were more likely to carry obese children. This may be due to genetically transferred obesity or due to the transference of the same eating habits from parents to the children. Obese children, during the study, were observed to opt for cold drinks and French fries usually. They were found to have candies, chocolates or some sort of dessert when they entered. This showed their inclination towards sugary food which may be linked to heir obesity. It was also observed that obese people mostly checked in with people of similar body structure. They felt more comfortable with their company and showed greater satisfaction during their stay as compared to those with slimmer companions. The observable difference between them lied in the meal they ordered, the way they ate and the pace of their eating. Obese people with similar companions showed more informal manner of sitting and eating. They took lesser time on ordering meals and chose different drinks and meals as per

Lukes the Prodigal Son and Hollywoods Perception of the Gospel Essay

Lukes the Prodigal Son and Hollywoods Perception of the Gospel - Essay Example Here, at his execution, Jesus is tempted by an alluring image of a peaceful and pleasant life with Mary Magdelene to try to get him to refuse the sacrifice he must make. The carpenter Jesus of Nazareth, tormented by the temptations of demons, the guilt of making crosses for the Romans, pity for men and the world, and the constant call of God, sets out to find what God wills for him. But as his mission nears fulfillment, he must face the greatest temptation: the normal life of a good man. This movie is actually not based on the Gospels, but on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name. But in a sense, whether it is a movie or a novel, this ideology of a common and insignificant life is more of modern conception of self-help motives driven by (apparently) hazard free market economy. Jesus is shown at the outset as a lonely, masochistic soul full of self-contempt, tempted to leave the cross for the life of an ordinary man who knows the felicities of marriage, sex, and family: this is th e "last temptation" that nearly wrenches away the meaning of his sacrifice. But here is a perception that invokes the feeling of a common man who wants the world to be ideally trouble free and simple. Alternately, Godspell (1973) written and directed by David Greene based on the novel by John-Michael Tebelak is a modern-day version of the gospels, opening with John the Baptist

WHAT ASSUMPTIONS DOES THE CONCEPT OF TRANSFER MAKE ABOUT THE Essay

WHAT ASSUMPTIONS DOES THE CONCEPT OF TRANSFER MAKE ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF AND THE APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN AND BETWEEN EDUCATION AND WORKPLACE - Essay Example llenge for vocational educational programmes is therefore to provide effective support to students so that they are able to effectively make the transition from school to the workplace. This assignment deals with the concept of transfer of knowledge and skills from school to the workplace and how effectively an understanding of the transfer process helps to evaluate the degree to which this is being achieved. Existing vocational education curricula are unable to effectively bring about the transfer of students from the context of the school to the workplace. What are the reasons for this and what is the role of knowledge and skills acquisition in the transfer process? These are the questions I will attempt to answer in this essay. This first section discusses the concept of knowledge itself, in order to provide a basis for assessing how far the transfer of such knowledge is supported by vocational education. It will examine the different kinds of knowledge as well as skills and the importance of possessing them in the workplace. Knowledge may be tacit, explicit or situated. While situated knowledge is relevant within a particular work context and may be taught through workplace training and the use of handbooks and manuals tacit knowledge is group knowledge that develops within a specific cultural context and may be more difficult to replicate (Guile and Young 2003). Guile ([2002] citing Drucker [1993]) mentions that some authors view knowledge as an embrained phenomenon, for example, it exists either as a product of someone’s mental abilities or as data that may be found on websites, therefore innovation in such an instance will involve transfer of skill and expertise from one section of an organization to another. Other authors such as Noneka and Takeuchi ([1995] as cited by Guile [2002]) have suggested that the development of innovation in business is dependent upon the extent to which the tacit knowledge possessed by the firm is successfully exploited,

Hospitality Entrepreneurship Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hospitality Entrepreneurship - Assignment Example The qualities and attributes are usually same in every entrepreneurial act as long as the focus is on the basics, however it differs when you proceed further into the operations, like the basics in every service based or small business entrepreneurship would be more or less same. The characteristics of Marriott were that he was having willingness to take risks and a desire to make his dreams come true, he possessed self-confidence and met the challenges that confront him, he believed a lot on his hard work and efforts rather than blaming his fate. Of course the rewards that he got for doing all that are quite visible. The other things that are attached with the Hospitality Entrepreneurship are Segmentation, Location (Depends on business type), Communication, Advertising and Sales Promotion, Finance Management and above all the Human resource employed. The segmentation is necessary in Hospit... If you are having a hospitality entrepreneurship the three things you have to worry about are Location, Location and Location, as you should facilitate the target audience with the facility of identifying you easily. The communication is another aspect of hospitality business, as the customers cannot expect you to do some other work than their work. The sales promotion is necessary in order to attract the old customers and also for the purpose of getting them back. You also need to take care about the finance, every thing should be operated within the allocated budget otherwise things would be sooner out of your hands and finally Human resources are the key in hospitality, as the customer wants you to be very frank and well mannered at the same time. So the initial mission of Marriott was to provide people with entertainment and a unique service which today has become so common, it would not be unfair to say that Marriott is the role model in brining innovation in the hospitality industry. "To develop successful innovation, a corporation should establish a conducive organizational climate. Traditional managers tend to adhere more strictly to establish hierarchical structures, to be less risk oriented, and to emphasize short terms results, all of which inhibit the creativity, flexibility, and risk required for new ventures. Organizations desiring an intrapreneurial climate need to encourage new ideas and experimental efforts, eliminating opportunity parameters, make resources available, promote a teamwork approach and voluntary intrapreneurship, and enlist top management's support." (Hisrich, M. Peters, D. Shepherd 54) The management of the external resources has turned these days extremely important, if this section would be

Whole Foods Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Whole Foods - Case Study Example Thus, changing business dynamics to suit the transforming business environment ensure that companies not only survive but are also able to maintain their competitive advantage within the industry. The paper would therefore be analyzing Whole Food Inc for business initiatives that has helped them to maintain their market position even during the recessive period. Analysis of Whole Food Whole Food Market was started in 1980 in Austin, Texas as local supermarket that focused on natural and health food with emphasis on organically produced food products. As one of the largest retail market chains of organic food, the company’s 276 retail outlets across US, UK and Canada have seen stupendous revenue growth of 30% by 1991 and 20% since 2000. The company intends to achieve a target of 400 stores with revenue worth $12 billion by 2010. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Food, has been an exemplary leader whose intrinsic beliefs in the strategic vision and core values of the company have steere d it to the path of enviable success. Strategic vision and core values Company’s vision is to become a global brand for best quality natural and organic food and best food retailer in every community that it serves. The mission statements of the company are designed to meet the food requirements of the people by providing them with healthy food so that they can lead a healthier life and live longer. The core values of the company highlight sustainable business practice and are fundamentally based on ensuring customer satisfaction not only through quality food that is organically produced by also by empowering them with knowledge and information that would promote their general well being. The core values are aligned to their vision and mission. Interests of all stakeholders including workforce, customers and supply chain is taken into consideration within the business strategy of Whole Food. Business strategy and operational efficiency The company ensures customer satisfactio n by providing them with high quality of natural and organically produced wide variety of food products. The Whole Food stores had large, open format on huge area, often exceeding 40,000 square feet. The stores had well defined segments with cafeteria facility which ensured that customers could also taste and test the quality food that they would be buying. The brochures and information about food products and sustainable business practice were made available. The organizational culture emphasizes diversity in workplace and promotes cross cultural understanding to create barrier free and encouraging environment. The team leaders within the stores are empowered to make independent decisions that ensures improved performance outcome. The company fulfills its social accountabilities through measures of employees’ welfare schemes, environmental concerns and charitable works in the area of education, training and development of entrepreneurial skills etc. Its suppliers of food pro ducts from low waged countries were helped financially to ensure quality produce that also helped them to raise their living standard. It has introduced various innovative measures to propagate its environmental policies among its in-house staff and business partners. It has also facilitated wider interaction with various focus groups and forged alliances to motivate and promotes proactive participation of the public and workforce in its drive for environmental conservations. The growth plans of companies are primarily through opening of new stores and through acquisition of smaller stores which have also been into the same business. The company’s philosophy of ‘Whole Food, Whole People, Whole Planet’

Diabetes type 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diabetes type 2 - Essay Example inactivity, fat distribution (excess fat in the abdomen), age (above 45 years), race (African Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos among other natives), pregnancy and prediabetes (higher than normal blood sugar level). This paper will discuss two treatment methods of diabetes type 2 and the professionals involved in these treatments. With over 2.9 million of UK population being diagnosed with diabetes, and there being no cure for diabetes, an effective treatment plan is necessary and which should be followed. The two common methods of treatment of this disease are monitoring the blood sugar level and using medication. The first treatment method is the use of medication. This treatment method is mainly for those who cannot maintain a reduced blood sugar level or their condition has advanced. Some of the diabetes medications prescribed includes metformin (which is aimed at lowering production of glucose in the liver), glipizide (aimed at stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin) or acarbose (that prevents enzymes from breaking down carbohydrates in the intestines). Other than these medications, there is also insulin therapy which is administered through injection and its advantages is that it works rapidly and lasts longer (Spencer and Hughes, 2005). Monitoring of the blood sugar level requires a change in the lifestyle (as some of the risk factors are associated with lifestyle). This will require the diabetes patient to constantly exercise to burn off excessive weight around the abdomen area and in order to also reduce weight generally for those considered obese when a BMI (body mass index) is conducted. Healthy eating is also required which means eating foods high in fibre like whole grains, plenty of fruits and vegetables. A reduction in the intake of carbohydrates, sweets and animal products in general is also one of the treatment plans. It is also important to lay off stress or factors causing or perpetuating stress as well as reducing alcohol

Max Hamburger Essay Example for Free

Max Hamburger Essay History- Established in 1968, Max was the first burger fast food chain in Sweden. Their founders Curt Bergfors and Britta Anderson opened their first restaurant in Gallivare, high up in the northern part of Sweden. Max is a second generation family owned company run by the sons of founder Curt Bergfors. The name Max stems from founder’s nickname. The founder, Curt Bergfors is still active in the company as Chairman of Board, and family still owns 1000 percent of the company. Richard Bergfors is the company’s President and Christoffer Bergfors is the Vice President. Market Analysis 2007 was the year when Max took a good hard look at themselves, in terms of climate change. After hearing the reports of how global warming is affecting their planet, Max started thinking on how to make a change? Max realized that they were part of problem but they also want to be part of solution. Max conducted a climate inventory that also included their suppliers. In assistance with the Natural Step and UW, Max analyzed the entire production chain. The direct climate impacts were analyzed using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which also forms the basis for international ISO standards, 14. 065. The analysis included energy consumption in buildings, transports, packaging, and the climate impacts from each respective ingredient. In food production the main contributors to the greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. They soon realized that that in their business, the meat in their hamburgers was the greatest source of the emissions.

Communications Journal Essay Example for Free

Communications Journal Essay Write a 700- to 1,050-word journal entry in the narrative style. Refer to this week’s readings to inform your responses. Describe the flow of information in your company. In your journal, discuss the following: The intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, and intercultural levels of communication within your company How information travels up, down, and across your organization and how it relates to the basic communications model The functions of the Y hierarchy of managerial communications. Does it apply to your organization’s communication hierarchy? A comparison of at least three managerial communication approaches you have observed in your organization At least three potential barriers to effective communications that exist in your company Format your journal entry consistent with APA guidelines. Information flow within an organization is just one key element to any organizations success. During this entry I will be describing the communication levels of Cubic, which is currently the organization that I work for. How that information flow from top to bottom, and the communication of the upper level management. I will also be comparing three managerial approaches within the company that I have observed, and three potential barriers to the communication within my organization. The intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational and intercultural levels of communications are all on display within the Cubic organization. There are multiple Taff’s within building 990 on Fort Irwin providing the same product for the government. Each Taff is comprised of six to nine personnel who are continuously communicating to provide a product for the government. Interpersonal communication is continuously conducted within each group so that nothing ever falls between the cracks. Indi viduals are always communicating with themselves due to the constant mission changes and be able to adapt to change quickly. There is a very diverse workforce here also, mostly all retirees but from many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As mentioned previously we generally work in small groups and communicate like one. It is almost like every Taff is its own little click,  we talk about others and they talk about us. So outside of our Taff we can generally be considered rivals in a matter of speaking. Information travels generally in one direction from our customer (Government) to us. There are occasions when we have a little say so in the actual product but for the most part it is a one-sided show. We have the Government, site manager Paul Zamora, our Taff Lead is Clarence Butler, and then there is the Taff. Generally the government provides Paul with marching orders that are eventually passed to out Taff lead Mr. Butler and we perform the tasks necessary to meet the quota of the government. The channel used is generally internet from the sender (government) to the Taff, via site manager and t aff lead. The feedback would be the product produced by the individuals working in the taff, and as long as the product meets the standards of the sender all is in good working order. The functions of Y Hierarchy of managerial communications do exist within this organization. Our manager is continuously creating and encouraging a wonderful work environment and providing opportunities for employees to take the initiative and self-direction. Management is always looking for new ways for employees to make significant contributions within the organization. Behavioral, empowerment, and contingency are the three managerial communication approaches that I have observed within the organization that I currently work for. Empowerment is the distribution or entrustment of power or authority to his or hers subordinates within an organization. Generally used when upper management is out of work for certain amount of time. Empowerment also encourages the employees to get more involved with the organization. The contingency approach is seen a lot in our Taff, Mr. Butler knows that there is more than one way to skin a cat and whichever way produces the best result is generally the path that is taken. This is probably the approach seen mostly around the Cubic organization because of the results that are produced. Behavioral approach comes with trust and individual character. Managers have been seen trusting and respecting the employees more now than ever due the product that the taffs put out for the military customer. Personality, emotional, and physical are the three potential barriers to effective communication within the Cubic organization. Everyone here has their own personality and that can sometimes create an issue throughout the  business day. Individuals are loaded with many traits that create personal attitudes, approaches, angles, quirks and different views on the world. There are many occasions in which this trait has stalled communication between two individuals and in some case hurt the overall product. Emotional barriers can be the worst. There are many individual at cubic that let things go straight to the head and forget that we are at the workplace. Emotions should not be brought to work with you at all, you should be able to brush things off and move on with the job. Managers are often seen using a softer touch to get through to the individuals with emotional issues. Physical barriers are one of the most common around my work place. There are many occasions that we are working with a wall between co-workers and with communication being the key to our success problem will generally arise on occasions. We have made complaints on many occasions with the same results â€Å"deal with it†.

Study of Business Companies in Colombo Stock Exchange

Study of Business Companies in Colombo Stock Exchange Capital structure is most significant discipline of companys operations. The Study attempts to identify the impact of Capital Structure on Companies Performance. The analyze has been made Financial year from 2005 to 2009 (05 years) financial year of Business companies in Sri Lanka. The results shown the relationship between the capital structure and financial performance is negative association at -0.114.. F and t values are 0.366, -0.605 respectively. It is reflect the insignificant level of the Business Companies in Sri Lanka. Hence Business companies mostly depend on the debt capital. So that, they have to pay interest expenses much. 1. Introduction To understand how companies finance their operations, it is necessary to examine the determinants of their financing or capital structure decisions. Company financing decisions involve a wide range of policy issues. At the private, they have implications for capital market development, interest rate and security price determination, and regulation. At the private, such decisions affect capital structure, corporate governance and company development (Green, Murinde Suppakitjarak, 2002). Knowledge about capital structures has mostly been derived from data from developed economies that have many institutional similarities (Booth 2001). It is important to note that different countries have different institutional arrangements, mainly with respect to their tax and bankruptcy codes, the existing market for corporate control, and the roles banks and securities markets play. Capital structure refers to a mixture of a variety of long term sources of funds and equity shares including reserves and surpluses of an enterprise. The historical attempt to building theory of capital structure began with the presentation by Modigliani miller (MM)(1958). They revealed the situations under what conditions that the Capital structure (CS) is relevant or irrelevant to the financial performance of the listed companies. most of the decision making process related to the CS are deciding factors when determining the CS, a number of issues e.g. cost, various taxes and rate, interest rate have been proposed to explain the variation in Financial Leverage across firms (Van Horne,1993; Hampton,1998; Titman Wessels,1998).these issues suggested that the depending on attributes that caused the cost of various sources of capital the firms select CS and benefits related to debt and equity financing The relationship between capital structure and financial performance is one that received considerable attention in the finance literature. How important is the concentration of control for the company performance or the type of investors exerting that control are questions that authors have tried to answer for long time prior studies show that capital structure has relating with corporate governance, which is the key issues of state owned enterprise. To study the effects of capital structure or financial performance, will help us to know the potential problems in performance and capital structure. 2. Literature Review Modigliani and Miller(M M)(1958) wrote a paper on the irrelevance of capital structure that inspired researchers to debate on this subject. This debate is still continuing. However, with the passage of time, new dimensions have been added to the question of relevance or irrelevance of capital structure. MM declared that in a world of frictionless capital markets, there would be no optimal financial structure (Schwartz Aronson, 1979). This theory later became known as the Theory of Irrelevance. In M Ms over-simplified world, no capital structure mix is better than another. M Ms Proposition-II attempted to answer the question of why there was an increased rate of return when the debt ratio was increased. It stated that the increased expected rate of return generated by debt financing is exactly offset by the risk incurred, regardless of the financing mix chosen. Brander and Lewis (1986) and Maksimovic (1988) provide the theoretical framework that links capital structure and market structure. Contrary to the profit maximization objective postulated in industrial organization literature, these theories are similar to the corporate finance theory in that they assume that the firms objective is to maximize the wealth of shareholders. Furthermore, market structure is shown to affect capital structure by influencing the competitive behavior and strategies of firms. Firms in an oligopolistic market will follow the strategy of maximizing their output in favorable economic conditions to optimize profitability (Brander Lewis 1986). The theory also holds in unfavorable economic conditions; firms would take a cut in production and reduce their profitability. Shareholders, though, while enjoying increased wealth in good periods, tend to ignore a decline in profitability in bad times. This is due to the fact that unfavorable consequences are passed in to lenders because of shareholders limited liability status. Therefore, the oligopolistic firms, in contrast to firms in competitive markets, would employ higher levels of debt to produce more when opportunities to earn higher profits arise. The implied prediction of the output maximization hypothesis is that capital structure and market structure have a positive relationship. In corporate finance, the agency costs theory supports the use of high debt, and it is consistent with the prediction of the outp ut maximization hypothesis. Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that the shareholders-lenders conflict has the effect of shifting risk from shareholders and of appropriating wealth in their favor as they take on risky investment projects (asset substitution). Hence, shareholders, and managers as their agents, are prompted to take on more borrowing to finance risky projects. Lenders receive interest and principal if projects succeed, and shareholders appropriate the residual income; however, it is the lender who incurs the loss if the project fails. It is difficult and costly for debt holders to be able to assess and monitor Huson, and Nazrul Hisyam. (2008) examined that the relationship between ownership structure and company performance has been issue of interest among academics, investors and policy makers because of key issue in understanding the effectiveness of alternative governance system in which government ownership serve as a control mechanism. Therefore, this study examines the impact of alternative ownership/control structure of corporate governance on firm performance among government linked companied (GLCs) and Non-GLC in Malaysia. It is believed that government ownership serve as a monitoring device that lead to better company performance after controlling company specific characteristics. We used Tobins Q as market performance measure while ROA is to determine accounting performance measure. This study is based on a sample of 210 firms over a period from 1995 to 2005. We use panel based regression approach to determine the impact of ownership mechanism on firms performance. Findings appe ar to suggest that there is a significant impact of government ownership on company performance after controlling for company specific characteristics such as company size, non-duality, leverage and growth. The finding is off significant for investors and policy marker which will serve as a guiding for better investment decision. Mohammed Omran (2001) evaluates the financial and operating performance of newly privatized Egyptian state-owned enterprises and determines whether such performance differs across firms according to their new ownership structure. The Egyptian privatization program provides unique post-privatization data on different ownership structures. Since most studies do not distinguish between the types of ownership, this paper provides new insight into the impact that post-privatization ownership structure has on firm performance. The study covers 69 firms, which were privatized between 1994 and 1998. For these newly privatized firms, these study documents significant increases in profitability, operating efficiency, capital expenditures, and dividends. Conversely, significant decreases in employment, leverage, and risk are found, although output shows an insignificant decrease following privatization. The results also show that Egyptian state-owned enterprises, which were sold to anchor-inves tors and employee shareholder associations, seem to outperform other types of privatization, such as minority and majority initial public offerings. B.Nimalathasan and Brabete (2010) pointed out that Dept equity ratio is positively and strongly associated to all profitability ratios in Listed Manufacturing Companies. 3. Conceptual Frame Work Based on the Litteratures, the following conceptual model is constructed. It shows that hypotgesized the relationship between capital structure and Performance of listed Business companies in Sri Lanka Debt Equity CS GP NP FP ROE ROI 4. Objectives The main objective is to find out the impact of Capital Structure on Financial Performance of the Business companies in Srilanka. To achieve the above objective the following sub objective are considered To identify the relationship between capital structure and performance To determinants of a capital structure 5.0 Hypotheses The following hypothesis is formulated for the study H1:- The capital structure has significant impact on financial performance. H2:-Capital structure is significantly correlated with financial performance 6.0 Methodology To produce the above mentioned research objective, the data for this study was gathered from the financial statements as published by Business Companies. In addition, another source of data was through reference to the review of different articles, papers, and relevant previous studies. For this purpose, collecting data of Business firms is used which are listed on Colombo Stock Exchange.. All firms are taken for the study representing the period of 2005-2009, and the average values of each item was considered for the purpose of ratio computation and analysis. 6.1 Mode of Analysis 1.Capital structure Role of debt and equity Debt ÃÆ'—100 equity Debt ÃÆ'—100 Total funds Total funds 2.Financial Performance Gross profit Gross profit ÃÆ'—100 Net Sales Net Sales Net profit Net profit Net profit ÃÆ'—100 Sales ROA PAIT ÃÆ'—100 Assets ROI/ROCE Investment PBIT ÃÆ'—100 Equity 7. Results and Discussions 7.1 Correlation Analysis Correlation is concern describing the strength of relationship between two variables. In this study the correlation co-efficient analysis is under taken to find out the relationship between capital structure and financial performance. It can be said that the what relationship exist among variables Capital structure correlated with R value R2 value Gross profit 0.360 0.1296 Net profit 0.110 0.0121 ROI -0.104 0.0108 ROA -0.196 0.0384 Performance -0.114 0.0129 7.1.1 Capital structure and Gross profit Table I Variables Capital structure Gross profit Capital structure 1 0.360 Gross profit 0.360 1 It shows the relationship between gross profit and capital structure variables. There is a weak positive relationship between two variables. The correlation is 0.360. significant level is 0.01. the co-efficient of determination is 0.1296. that is only 12.96% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the gross profit. So, There is a weak positive relationship between capital structure and gross profit 7.1.2 Capital structure and Net profit Table II Variables Capital structure Net profit Capital structure 1 -0.110 Net profit -0.110 1 It illustrates the relationship between net profit and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.110. Significant level is 0.01. The co-efficient of determination is 0.0121. That is only 1.21% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the net profit. 7.1.3 Capital structure and ROI Table III Variables Capital structure ROI Capital structure 1 -0.104 ROI -0.104 1 It indicates the relationship between ROI and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.104. Significant level is 0.01. The co-efficient of determination is0.0108. that is only 1.08% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the ROI. 7.1.4 Capital structure and ROA Table IV Variables Capital structure ROA Capital structure 1 -0.196 ROA -0.196 1 It shows the relationship between ROA and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.196 significant level is 0.01. the co-efficient of determination is 0.0384. that is only 3.84% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the ROA. 7.1.5 Capital structure and Financial performance Table V Variables Capital structure Financial performance Capital structure 1 -0.114 Financial performance -0.114 1 It illustrates the relationship between performance and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.114. Significant level is 0.01. The co-efficient of determination is 0.0129. that is only 1.29% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the performance. 7.2 Regression Analysis Regression analysis is used to test the impact of financial performance on capital structure of the listed companies traded in Colombo stock exchange 7.2.1 Capital structure and Gross profit Table VI Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.360a 0.129 0.098 0.32306 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and gross profit. Table VII Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.187 0.047 0.073 0.023 0.360 2.556 2.039 0.016 0.051 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and gross profit. multiple r2 is 0.1296. only 1.29% of variance of gross profit is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.21% of variance with gross profit is attributed to other factors. 7.2.2 Capital structure and Net profit Table VIII Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.110a 0.012 -0.023 0.36514 The above table shows the weak negative correlation between the capital structure and net profit. Table IX Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.124 -0.015 0.083 0.026 -0.110 1.498 -0.584 0.145 0.564 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and net profit. Multiple r2 is 0.012. Only 1.2% of variance of net profit is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.8 % of variance with net profit is attributed to other factors 7.2.3Capital structure and ROI Table X Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.104a 0.011 -0.025 115.19484 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and ROI. Table XI Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 31.283 -4.563 26.050 8.250 -0.104 1.201 -0.553 0.240 0.585 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and ROI. Multiple r2 is 0.011. Only 1.1% of variance of ROI is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.9% of variance with ROI is attributed to other factors 7.2.4 Capital structure and ROA Table XII Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.196a 0.039 0.004 0.10866 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and ROA. Table XIII Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.099 -0.008 0.025 0.008 -0.196 4.020 -1.060 0.000 0.298 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and ROA. multiple r2 is 0.039. only 3.9% of variance of ROA is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 96.1% of variance with ROA is attributed to other factors 7.2.5 Capital structure and Financial performance Table XIV Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.114a 0.013 -0.022 0.98395 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and performance. Table XV ANOVA b .354 1 .354 .366 .550 a 27.109 28 .968 27.463 29 Regression Residual Total Model 1 Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Predictors: (Constant), Capital_structure a. Dependent Variable: Performance b. Table XVI Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.704 -0.043 0.223 0.070 -0.114 3.162 -0.605 0.004 0.550 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and performance. multiple r2 is 0.013. only 1.3% of variance of performance is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.7% of variance with performance is attributed to other factors. 8. Concluding Remarks Correlation analysis explains, there is a weak positive relationship between gross profit and capital structure (0.360).at the same time, there is a negative relationship between net profit and capital structure (-0.110).it reflects the high financial cost among the firms. ROI and ROA also has negative relationship with capital structure at -0.104, -0.196 respectively. It is focused on the overall point of view of the relationship between the capital structure and financial performance. There is a negative association at -0.114. Co-efficient of determination is 0.013. F and t values are 0.366, -0.605 respectively. It is reflect the insignificant level of the Business Companies in Sri Lanka. Business companies mostly depend on the debt capital. Therefore, they have to pay interest expenses much. 8.1 Testing of Hypotheses Statistical Techniques Results Correlation -0.114 Co à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"efficient of determination -0.0129 Based on the empirical results of this study, H1this hypothesis come false .Because in this study the empirical results shows that there is a insignificant negative relationship H2: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“There is a positive relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. At the first step of testing the hypothesis(H1), hypothesis (H1) was considered and tested for its validity. It has the following result between the capital structure and firms financial performance measured by performance measures such as ROA , ROI ,Net profit margin and etc. Based on the above evidence gathered, the H2 was rejected. Because research result is negative relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performance. H0: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“there is a negative relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. After the rejection of H1, the Null hypothesis (H0) was tested for its validity. H0 was accepted based on the above evidence gathered. it has been provided that there is a negative relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performance(-0.114). 9.0 Suggestions and Recommendations The following suggestions are recommended to increase the Companys financial performance based on capital structure. Performance standards should be established and communicated to the investors. This will help investors to achieve the standard and take better investment decisions. Identifying weaknesses of investment may be best one to improve the firms financial performance, because it indicates the area which decision should be taken. Motivating the investors to help to achieve the high level of firms financial performance.. Political changes are very important factor in the share market. It is also determine the firm performance. Therefore, political should possible to increase the financial performance of the listed companies. Inflation and exchange rate also affect the listed companys performance. So, government should consider the economic growth to control the inflation.

Chemistry Of Natural Water :: essays research papers

The purpose of this experiment is to explore the hardness of the water on campus. Hard water has been a problem for hundreds of years. One of the earliest references to the hardness or softness of water is in Hippocrates discourse on water quality in Fifth century B.C. Hard water causes many problems in both in the household and in the industrial world. One of the largest problems with hard water is that it tends to leave a residue when it evaporates. Aside from being aesthetically unpleasing to look at, the build up of hard water residue can result in the clogging of valves, drains and piping. This build up is merely the accumulation of the minerals dissolved in natural water and is commonly called scale. Other than clogging plumbing, the build up of scale poses a large problem in the industrial world. Many things that are heated are often cooled by water running thru piping. The build up of scale in these pipes can greatly reduce the amount of heat the cooling unit can draw away from the source it is trying to heat. This poses a potentially dangerous situation. The build up of excess heat can do a lot of damage; boilers can explode, containers can melt etc. On the flip side of the coin, a build up of scale on an object being heated, a kettle for example, can greatly reduce the heat efficiency of the kettle. Because of this, it takes much more energy to heat the kettle to the necessary temperature. In the industrial world, this could amount to large sums of money being thrown into wasted heat. In addition to clogging plumbing and reducing heating efficiency, the build up of hard water also adversely affects the efficiency of many soaps and cleansers. The reason for this is because hard water contains many divalent or sometimes even polyvalent ions. These ions react with the soap and although they do not form precipitates, they prevent the soap from doing it's job. When the polyvalent ions react with the soap, they form an insoluble soap scum. This is once again quite unpleasing to look at and stains many surfaces. The sole reason for all these problems arising from hard water is because hard water tends to have higher than normal concentrations of these minerals, and hence it leaves a considerable amount more residue than normal water. The concentration of these minerals is what is known as the water's Total Dissolved Solids or TDS for short. This is merely a way of expressing how many particles are dissolved in water. The TDS vary from waters of different sources, however they are present in at least some quantity in all

Richard III - Ian McKellen Makes Shakespeare Accessible to All :: Film Movies Richard III Ian McKellen

Richard III - Ian McKellen Makes Shakespeare Accessible to All Shakespeare at the time and even now still seems like a foreign language to many minds. From its deep and complicated plot development, and the archaic English that was its makeup, to the strange and old-fashioned medieval settings and costumes, a Shakespeare film of that time was not something very appealing to the public. McKellen’s approach to making the film Richard III eliminated many of these prejudices people had of Shakespeare movies. The historical â€Å"authenticity† of costume and setting was something that was removed from McKellen’s Richard III. To many, the authenticity of costume and setting made it confusing, old fashioned, and distant. It made the story seem like a history lesson, rather than the drama Shakespeare intended. By placing the story of Richard III in a modern setting of the 1930s, it eliminates many of these problems and allows the public to relate the film to their era. (i.e. Hitler, Hussein) It also made the story much more clear as you could recognize who was royalty, aristocrat, etc. The choice of the 1930s setting helped set up the background information needed to understand the political turmoil. The general populace would not have much knowledge of the period preceding the play, which is vital to understand the actions and decisions of various characters. McKellen used the period preceding WWII where a tyrant like Richard III could have overtaken Britain and gave Richard parallel motives to Hitler, Mussolini, etc. Another problem McKellen had to fix was the length of the actual script and the number of characters. To make it appeal to the public, you couldn’t make the film the several hours that was needed to perform the whole script. The fast paced life of today doesn’t allow enough time for that Besides this problem, the original script of Richard III is very slow moving and not very action packed, which is one of the reasons why so many complain that Shakespeare is â€Å"boring.† . McKellen therefore cut irrelevant scenes out, cut out many pages of speeches and was left with an accelerated, quality, and much more compacted Richard III.

Budget for Terrorism :: essays papers

This year’s budget will be required to address the new and dangerous reality of terrorism on the US home front. Over the next 5 years $50 billion dollars has been allotted to plans that are specifically geared to dealing with terrorism. In my belief in is important to separate the budget into two different categories of counter-terrorism. The first category allocates money in response to the attacks of September 11th. This money will contribute to programs that offer monetary assistance to both those directly affected by the attacks and those suffering from the negative economic impact of the attack. Approximately $30 billion dollars will be allocated to these programs for the first 2 years of the budget. In the following three years the monetary aid will be decreased to $20 billion dollars and that money will be funneled into maintaining security concerns both at home and abroad. The second category of programs seeks to combat terrorism on the home front. The programs includ ed here will focus on preparing the US for and against more attacks. For the first two years the remaining $15 billion dollars will be given to these programs. After two years that $15 billion will be increased to $25 billion dollars because of the assumption that as the war on terrorism continues new avenues of terrorism will develop and new security measures will have to be developed. In the first 2 years $25 billion dollars of aid will be distributed into economic aid programs. $10 billion dollars will go as aid to US commercial airlines and the other $15 billion will go to increasing the benefits of the unemployed. It is important to help the airlines recover because of the money the represent in business and tourism. Also there is the issue of the lose of jobs in aviation since the attacks. In the 2-month period since September 11th 200,000 jobs have been lost in aviation. With the unemployment rate at it’s highest in the past 20 years the government cannot afford an even larger decrease in jobs. After 2 years this $10 billion will be decreased to $7 billion. This is an optimistic assumption that within this time period the airlines will be able to stabilize from the emergency and also be able to adapt to the new demands on their business. However, it is important to continue the aid

Coming Home Essay Essay

How does the poet bring out the theme of ‘passing of time’ in the poem ‘Coming Home’? The poem ‘Coming Home’ by Owen Sheers, explores the description of the poets visits to his family, and how the passage of time has changed some things and make some things feel odd. There are three main characters in this poem, namely the mother, father and the grandfather, as well as the narrator, who is the poet and reflecting on this visit of his. It is in the form of omnipresent narration, which gives it somewhat of a constant flow throughout each stanza. The reflection is done in a low tone, which makes the reader not focus at any particular part of the poem, while the vivid imagery and attention to detail captivates the readers mind throughout the poem. Passing of time is something that is evident in all of us, and appears to speed up when we are not with people close to us. The first stanza talks of the poets’ mother. A lot of time has passed since the poet last met his mother, and her hug is somewhat awkward since it is different from his memory of hugging her, probably when he was a teen or young adult. He calls the hug awkward, but only in the unfamiliar or odd sense of its meaning, rather than its negative meaning. The reader also gets the idea that the mother is taking the initiative to bridge the gap in their uneasy relationship. This is connected to the idea of passing of time, since it shows the awkwardness that is brought about by separation from one another over the time that has elapsed. The next scene is one where the mother is shown to be making something of dough. This involves a lot of physical process, and due to the fact that it is made of flour, this patting action also makes some of the flour go up and cover her face. This part of the poem shows the urge of the mother to try and cook something for her son, so as to continue some sort of tradition or some force of habit, despite her old age. This part also gives a great attention to detail, such as aptly describing the kind of motion involved in making whatever she is making, and also the point when the flour which covers her covers her and makes her face wrinkles disappear. The kinesthetics shown in this stanza (kneading, flipping, patting) also appeal to the auditory senses. The second stanza talks of the father working outside in a farm. The poet says that his father still goes outside, which tells us that it is a force of habit to keep doing what he wants to do.

Respect for Tradition

Respect for tradition Cultural differences In order to respect the tradition of India, Union Carbide should have done an investigation of Indian cultural values (Robertson and Fadil, 1998). It is possible that firms even within the same industry develop different values and traditions and the analysis of cultural differences permit to decrease the number of misunderstanding (Donaldson, 1989). One of the most important traits of Indian culture is the fatalism. The Indian population is very spiritual with the notions of karma, fate or destiny. According to them, everything happen for a reason and this way of thinking is significant in decision making in their personal life or within an organisation (Elder, 1966). Fatalism has an impact on two Hofstede’s dimensions. Power distance is defined as a degree of inequality among people of the community (Thomas, 2008). Hofstede (2009) found that India is a country with a high power distance which means that they accept unequal power and wealth. Indians think that people on the top were destined to be on the top so they accepted their decisions due to the fatalism philosophy. However, the power distance in United States is relatively low (Hofstede, 2009). Uncertainty avoidance represents the extent to which people are frustrated by unstructured and unpredictable situations (Thomas, 2008). India has low uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 2009). In fact, they prefer few rules as possible and less structures activities. In addition, they are not scared of the unknown and want to take risks. Fatalism emphasises the belief that people do not have the control of every situations (Elder, 1966). United States is also low in uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 2009). According to Hofstede research, both India and the U. S are masculine which means that the society accepts values like assertiveness, performance, success and competition (Thomas, 2008). Individualism/ collectivism is defined as the degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than members of groups (Thomas, 2008). India tends to be collectivist while United States are highly individualistic (Hofstede, 2009). After analysing Hofstede cultural dimensions between India and U. S, it is worth noting that there exist differences between the two countries. Union Carbide would have examined the Indian cultural values before doing business in the country. This could have avoided the Bhopal’s disastrous. According to Donaldson, it is important for communities to self-define the aspect of their business morality and in this case, Union Carbide would have been aware and accepted it in order to respect the Indian tradition. This is called the moral free space. Usually, business communities develop ethical norms which represent a collective viewpoint concerning deals and the right behaviour to adopt when making them (Donaldson, 1999). The respect of tradition could be in contrast with core human values Donaldson considers that companies have to respect traditions of country where they work; nevertheless, sometimes these traditions could be in contrast with the core human values. As already mentioned, India is a country with high power distance. For example, in Bhopal, the municipal authorities were against the continued use of the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant at its original location (Shrivastava, 1987). The plant site was for commercial or light industrial use but not for hazardous industries. However, as UCIL was a powerful company in India, the central and state government authorities rejected the city’s objection and authorised the company to stay at its location (Bennett et al. 2005). Everybody accepted it and this decision was final. Even if the hierarchical system is accepted in India, Union Carbide could not have respected this tradition because it is in contradiction with the respect of individual’s basic rights. The government did not protect the individual’s rights because the plant was about two miles from the Bhopal railway station, local commercial activities and two slum colonies were located across the street from the Union Carbide plant (Shrivastava, 1987). So, in order to support and protect the Indian’s right, Union Carbide could not have respected this tradition. Uncertainty avoidance is relatively low in India and it is worth explaining its consequences on the Bhopal plant. The working environment of the plant tolerated negligence and a lack of safety consciousness among workers and managers (Shrivastava, 1987). This behaviour is not only in contrast with the respect of human dignity concept but also with the individual basic rights. In fact, the employees’ low morale jeopardised the population’s health and safety.

Face It: the Impact of Gender on Social Media Images Essay

Social websites like Facebook enable users to upload self-created digital images; it is therefore of interest to see how gender is performed in this domain. A panel used a literature review of pictorial features associated with gender traits, and a sample of Facebook pictures to assess gender stereotypes present in Facebook images. Traits emerging in greater prominence in pictures of males included active, dominant, and independent. Those prominent with female users included attractive and dependent. These findings generally conform to gender stereotypes found in prior research and extend the research regarding stereotypical gender traits displayed in professional media depictions to self-selected social media displays. They also extend the research on gender differences in impression management generally, in both interpersonal communication and social media, to include gender-specific traits that are part of young mens and women’s impression management. Keywords: Facebook; Ge nder Display; Impression Management; Role Theory; Social Media Jessica Rose (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Susan Mackey-Kallis (Ph.D., Penn State University, 1986) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Villanova University. Len Shyles (Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1981) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Villanova University. Kelly Barry (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater New York area. Danielle Biagini (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater San Diego area. Colleen Hart (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a student at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Lauren Jack (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater New York area. The authors would like to thank Dr. Jesse Frey of the Mathematics Department of Villanova University f or his help in creating the tables presented in this article. Correspondence: Susan Mackey-Kallis, Department of Communication, 800 E. Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085; E-mail: susan.mackey-kallis@villanova.edu ISSN 0146-3373 print/1746-4102 online # 2012 Eastern Communication Association DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2012.725005 The centrality of gender embodiment has animated recent debates in media studies about the relationship among gender representations in media, gendered bodies in virtual space, and gender as performance. With the emergence of social media websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, users have an online platform that allows them to communicate widely, to virtually manage others’ impressions of them, and to even express gendered identities in cyberspace. With over 500 million active users as of 2011 (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics), Facebook dominates the social media market. Offering a highly interactive platform, Facebook users can leave comments on their friends’ walls, provide status updates and photos, and can even access one another wirelessly through Facebook Mobile. As of 2010, users spent over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ press/info.php?statistics), often updating their Facebook profiles to add relat ionships to their friends lists. One well-known feature of Facebook is the user’s profile picture, displayed in the upper left-hand corner of each user’s homepage. Intended to be the first thing seen, it is arguably one of the most important features of the user’s Facebook page. The profile picture offers friends, acquaintances and even potential employers a firstimpression of the user’s appearance and, perhaps, their character. Therefore, the content of users’ Facebook profile pictures is an important object of study for researchers interested in how people practice impression management. According to role theory, people follow unwritten social and cultural rules and norms as they behave ‘‘in ways that are different and predictable depending on their respective social identities and the situations they find themselves in’’ (Biddle, 1986, p. 68). Gender identity and gender roles are a significant part of everyday life and, according to Goffman, are actually constituted through social interaction (1976). Gender shapes how people make sense of themselves and their social relationships. However, as Wood notes, ‘‘What gender means depends heavily on cultural values and practices; a culture’s definitions of masculinity and femininity shape expectations about how individual men and women should communicate; and how individuals communicate establishes gender that, in turn, influences cultural views’’ (Wood, 2009, p. 20). Gender display, as a continuous communication loop, is defined by society and expressed by individuals as they interact while shaping evolving societal expectations regarding gender. In contemporary media and culture, women’s and men’s social desirability and gender have often been defined in terms of their bodies. For women, this has often involved comparing themselves to and even replicating the ‘‘thin ideal’’ (presented in modern mass media despite the looming specter of anorexia and bulimia), altering their bodies to heighten perceived sexuality or youthfulness (through cosmetic surgery, exercise or eating), or conforming to traditional definitions of femininity including qualities such as submissiveness or sentimentality (through dress, cosmetics, style, etc.). For men, gender-based definitions of success frequently revolve around presenting or developing their bodies as strong, youthful, active, and physically dominant. The evolution of social media (such as Facebook) and online digital gaming environments (such as massive, multiple online games [MMOs]) now offer venues where individuals can consciously self-select an d present virtual versions of themselves that can either conform with, challenge, or defy societal expectations and media presentations. Digital formats, on the one hand, represent exciting possibilities for individuals who can explore the freedom of presenting a physical self that might differ from the one they present or perform in everyday life or from socially-defined expectations. As Rettberg argues, ‘‘our fascination with creating digital self-portraits is indicative of our collective coming of age where we as a culture are discovering that we have voices online and can express ourselves rather than simply accepting the mass media’s views of the world’’ (2009, p. 453). On the other hand, digital formats may simply offer a chance to replicate cultural and mass media normative versions of the individual, specifically as they relate to gender. Since how people present and perform their bodies in virtual spaces offer specific impressions, many of which relate to gender, one objective of the current study is to examine how gender portrayals manifest themselves in self-selected social media displays. Specifically, can social media website content help us understand more about gender roles and the way people present themselves in the virtual social world? Do the ways they manage their images reinforce existing gendered stereotypes? Because social networks such as Facebook are relatively recent phenomena, the content of self-presentation profile pictures has not been analyzed in great depth. Extant literature supports the idea of expected gender roles unique to males and females (Goffman, 1976; Lauzen, Dozier, & Horan, 2008; Wanta & Legett, 1989; Williams & Best, 1990) and the idea that society advocates these roles through various media (Bell & Milic, 2002; Hancock & Toma, 2009), with both males and females engaging in impression management in order to control their public image (Dominick, 1999; Jones, 1997; Leary, 1996). Witmer and Katzman (1997) argued that females may display more emotional graphics than males while communicating on the Internet. Extant literature, however, only reveals one study that has examined gender differences in self-selected portraits in self-posed photographs (Mills, 1984) and one study that has examined gender differences in Facebook profile pictures (Strano, 2008). Strano’s study, focusing exclusively on gender difference in impression management, found that women engage in management more than men (Strano, 2008). In a related area of literature, self-presentation in computer-mediated communication (CMC), some studies suggest a great deal of ‘‘gender-swapping’’ on the Internet (Bruckman, 1993; Roberts & Parks, 1999; Witmer & Katzman, 1997) with some estimates as high as 60% (Roberts & Parks, 1999), and with males ‘‘gender-swapping’’ more than females (Bruckman, 1993; Suler, 1999). The fantastical and fantasy-based nature of many gaming environments, however, and the anonymous nature of most CMC in general might suggest that the freedom to reinvent oneself not only in terms of gender but also race, ethnicity, and other variables is much broader than in Facebook profile pictures. Facebook friends, who may know the person in real life, recognize a photograph as a self-selected presentation but, researchers argue, most likely do not assume that the profile picture reflects extensive alteration or photo retouching. The current study, therefore, makes a unique contribution by investigating whether self-selected Facebook profile pictures exhibit stereotypical gender roles consistent with traits emerging from existing research. Literature Review Gender Roles Some researchers suggest that gender differences result from a variety of factors including socialization and biology; as such, gender roles are often manifested through communication and culture (Goffman, 1976; Lauzen et al., 2008; Wanta & Legett, 1989; Williams & Best, 1990; Wood, 2009). West and Zimmerman (1987) claim gendering is a routine interaction of everyday life. ‘‘Both gender role and gender display focus on behavioral aspects of being a man and a woman’’ (p. 127). They use Goffman’s (1976) account of ‘‘gender display’’ to suggest gender is also constituted through interaction. Says Goffman, ‘‘If gender [can] be defined as the culturally established correlates of sex (whether in consequence of biology or learning), then gender display refers to conventionalized portrayals of these correlates’’ (1976, p. 69). Goffman cites sports as a framework to explain masc uline tendencies, asserting that the male gender is categorically viewed as aggressive, strong, and competitive. In agreement, West and Zimmerman (1987) assert that ‘‘Doing gender is unavoidable . . . because of the social consequences of sex-category membership: [this includes] the allocation of power and resources not only in the domestic, economic, and political domains but also in the broad arena of interpersonal relations’’ (p. 145). As men and women tend to assume ‘‘proper’’ societal gender roles, associated behaviors are viewed as cultural markers that indicate norms of social interaction. Williams and Best (1990) searched for gender stereotypes among respondents from 25 nations worldwide. Participants were presented with a list of 300 character traits and instructed to indicate whether the trait was ‘‘more frequently associated with men than with women,’’ ‘‘more frequently associated with women than with men,’’ or ‘‘not differentially associated with the two sexes.’’ Table 1 presents results for the traits most commonly associated with men and women and indicates the traits isolated for this analysis. Gender Roles in the Media Society often promotes gender role markers as social norms through photographs and other visual displays used in advertising. Wanta and Legett (1989) studied the media images of male a nd female athletes of the 1987 Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, concluding that men and women were depicted differently in terms of emotion, dominance, and power. Goffman (1976) accounts for these traits in his research of magazine and newspaper photography, finding women to be pictured in more submissive positions while men are depicted in more elevated positions. Based on Goffman’s inquiries, Wanta and Legett (1989) hypothesized that female tennis players would be shown more often in positions implying helplessness than male tennis players. Goffman’s (1976) studies of power within photographs asserted that the more dominant a person’s face was (i.e., the more full-front, direct-to-camera orientation of the face, and the greater the percentage of photo space taken up by the face), the more power was held and=or portrayed by the person pictured. Wanta and Legett used these ideas to predict that the photographs of female tennis players would focus more on the players’ bodies, while male tennis players would have more concentrated images of their faces. However, the majority of Wanta and Legett’s (1989) hypothe ses remained unsubstantiated; their gender stereotypes were not confirmed. In fact, opposite portrayals often emerged. They concluded that the photographer was trying to break gender stereotypes. In contrast to the work of Wanta and Legett, the research conducted in the current study does not rely on images shot by professional photographers. Rather, the present analysis is based on self-selected and, almost exclusively, self-created Facebook profile pictures. Gender roles, present in everyday interaction, are also enacted on television. Lauzen and colleagues (2008) examined gender roles enacted by men and women on television. Using a stratified random sample of 124 prime-time television series airing on six broadcast networks during the 2005–06 seasons, they looked at the rates at which men and women fell into categorically different social roles. Taking a category scheme developed by earlier research, Lauzen and colleagues defined social roles as the things ‘‘people do in daily life’’ (see Eagly & Steffan, 1984, p. 735). These roles vary from childcare and household chores to workplace activities. Through a content analysis, they found male characters on prime-time television were more likely to inhabit work roles, including blue collar, white collar, and extracurricular activities, while women were portrayed in more interpersonal roles involving romance, friendship, and family. Similarly, in their content analysis of 827 Australian magazine advertisements from 1997–98 to determine the presence of stereotypical gender roles, Bell and Milic (2002) concluded that ‘‘Males were more frequently shown in ‘narrative’ ways (as actors) than females, and this is true of both groups and individuals. Women were more likely than men to ‘behave’ (or to express emotion)’’ (p. 215). Their findings suggest stereotypical gender traits of men and women consistent with those of Williams and Best (1990) and consistent with Goffman’s (1976) analysis of advertising which found that women were ‘‘more likely to be portrayed performing submissive or appeasing gestures such as head or body canting, bending one knee inward (‘bashful knee-bend’), smiling, clowning, and acting less seriously’’ and were ‘‘often portrayed as being under the physical care and protection of a man’’ (as cited in Bell and Milic, 2002, p. 205). Ragan (1982) analyzed gender differences in 1,296 portrait photos from high school and university yearbooks, concluding there are gender differences; females smiled more than males, smiled more expansively than males, tilted their heads at greater angles than males, faced the camera less directly than males, and wore glasses less frequently than males. While this research identifies gender differences, it was limited by an influential factor: Photographers posed the subjects (Ragan, 1982). In hopes of accounting for this limitation, Mills (1984) conducted a study in which 34 men and 34 women were asked to present themselves as typical college students in pictures. Mills’ findings reinforced the suggestion that females smile more, and smile more expansively, than males. Gender stereotypes also abound in video games. Female characters are represented as highly sexualized while male characters possess exaggerated strength, are hypermasculine, aggressive, and, with the exception of showing hostility, lack emotion. They are also less likely to display helping or nurturing qualities (Robinson, Callister, Clark, & Phillips, 2008). One study found that the central role for male characters was ‘‘competitor’’ while females’ central roles were ‘‘victim,’’ ‘‘damsel in distress,’’ or ‘‘evil obstacle’’ for the hero to overcome (Heintz-Knowles et al., 2001). The findings of these video game content analyses have remained fairly consistent over time and have also been shown to be perceived by audiences (Robinson et al., 2008). Based on the work from several decades of research on gender roles from the fields of advertising, television, photography, digital gaming studies, and cultural studies, it is apparent that masculinity often implies strength, ambition, and independence, whereas femininity implies physical attractiveness, reverence, and sentimentality (Wood, 2009). The rapid growth of digital media invites researchers interested in the cultural impact of gender to investigate this alternative outlet for self-presentation. This study provides a natural extension of such work in investigation of gender differences in self-selected Facebook profile pictures. Self-Presentation Goffman (1959) argued that individuals were concerned with self-presentation during all social encounters. This is because, among other reasons, impressions impact the opinions of others regardless of an individual’s intentions. Burr (2002) claims J. Rose et al. The other people making up our audience can, by their own conduct, either legitimate or reject our claim to be a certain kind of person, and Goffman (1959) argues that this is done by carefully monitoring the match or mismatch between what we ‘give’ (the things we say or do to create an impression) and what we ‘give off’ (the body language, our general demeanor—the communicative aspects of our conduct that are harder for us to control and manipulate). The creation and maintenance of impressions is therefore a two-way street (2002, p. 73). Hence, for Goffman (1959), the ‘‘presentation of self in everyday life’’ and the roles maintained are pertinent to everyday interaction. People constantly play characters to avoid embarrassment and to ‘‘fit-in’’ with social norms. Gender role, then, focuses on the collectivity of logical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional responses to social situations (Burr, 2002). Most self-presentation studies have examined the concept only in face-to-face communication (Goffman, 1959; Leary 1996). Recent studies (Oh, 2004; Cho, 2006) about self-presentation in personal websites analyze only the styles and not gender display specifically. Similar to face-to-face contexts, individuals do make choices about gender-related impressions over the Internet. A number of studies, for example, have demonstrated extensive ‘‘gender-swapping’’ in ‘‘avatar’’ creation for online gaming and in text-based CMC (Bruckman, 1993; Roberts & Parks, 1999; Suler, 1999). In these virtual environments, physical identity markers are not apparent and, as a result, the self is more fluid and changeable (Gergen, 1991) and offers increased opportunities for strategic self-presentation (Walther, 1993; Walther, Anderson, & Park, 1994). Gender is often one of the variables that communicators can consciously shape in these mediated environments (Roberts & Parks, 1999; Bruckman, 1993; Wilbur, 1996). Some researchers have gone so far as to argue that the computer-mediated environment is a gender-bending world (Witmer & Katzman, 1997). Modern gaming environments, in particular, allow gamers to design or choose ‘‘avatars,’’ their virtual self in the gaming world, that possess a variety of differing characteristics such as height, weight, age, gender, dress, and profession. In these environments, the avatar becomes ‘‘inextricably linked to their performance of self and engagement in [a virtual] community’’ (Taylor , 1999, p. 438). Despite the above cited studies of ‘‘gender-swapping’’ and self-presentation in CMC, no researchers have examined the extent to which social media users ascribe to gender stereotypes in their presentation of self on the Internet. Samp, Wittenberg, and Gillett (2003) examined the extent to which ‘‘gender schematic’’ individuals (individuals with either strong masculine or feminine gender orientations versus androgynous orientations) and individuals who were high (versus low) self-monitoring engaged in gender-swapping on the Internet. The researchers in this study used self-report data from Internet users about their online gender-swapping behavior generally. The researchers in the current study, by contrast, provide a content analysis of actual Facebook profile pictures in terms of the presence or absence of gender stereotypes and do not focus on gender swapping. Hancock and Toma’s 2009 study of profile pictures on online dating websites created and posted with the intention of creating relationships comes closest to the focus of the current study. In line with Goffman’s (1959) suggestion that self-presentation is the process of packaging and editing the self in order to create a certain impression for an audience, Hancock and Toma (2009) examined the impact of gender on self-presentation and social desirability. They found that both women and men ‘‘edit’’ their profiles to create a better self-presentation through self-enhancement (Hancock & Toma, 2009). Some participate in ‘‘selective self-presentation,’’ an even more controlled act of impression management in which imag es are changed or distorted, often leading to further inaccuracy portrayed by the profile (Hancock & Toma, 2009). Having the ability to ‘‘select’’ or specifically change or display particular points of interest, the users can greatly affect the impression made of them (Hancock & Toma, 2009). Both men and women on the online dating social network use ‘‘selective self-presentation’’ to their advantage to give the impression of being more desirable to their audiences. Hancock and Toma (2009) suggest men and women can control their self-presentation through social networks (i.e., online dating sites). Such sites comprise one segment of social networks; Facebook is another. Realizing stereotypical gender roles are present in society, Dominick (1999) studied how men and women presented themselves on personal homepages. Dominick (1999) coded 500 randomly sampled personal homepages based on demographic and personal information, creative expressions, and photographs. He used Jones’ (1997) five strategies of image construction: ingratiation (state ments of modesty, familiarity, and humor); competence (statements of abilities and achievements); intimidation (statements of anger and unpleasantness); exemplification (acts of moral superiority); and supplication (images of helplessness, while acting self-deprecating; Dominick, 1999). He concluded that females released more information than males while both males and females were equally likely to have photographs on their pages. Women’s photographs tended to be more sentimental in nature, while men’s more often were ‘‘joke images’’ and images that made them seem more competent and capable. He concluded that ‘‘A personal web page can be viewed as a carefully constructed selfpresentation’’ (Dominick, 1999, p. 647). Dominick asserted that the concept of impression construction exposes the different strategies men and women use to present themselves through images and information to gain a higher level of likeability, respect, and power in society (1999). Jones (1997) noted that individuals strive to be liked and accepted, resulting in social rewards such as friendship, social support, companionship, romance, and social status. Because smiling is associated with being liked and competent, Jones (1997) correlates gestures with the ingratiation and competence strategies of image construction. As Facebook was not founded until 2004, Dominick’s (1999) study is expanded upon in this study (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet). Buffardi and Campbell (2008) studied whether photographs from a variety of social networks are self-promoting. They state, ‘‘Self-promoting connoted persuading others about one’s own positive traits’’ (p. 1307) and define physical attractiveness as the degree to which an individual appears self-promoting and vain in a photograph. While not examining gender differences in self-promotion per se, the researchers did examine ‘‘how sexy and modest . . . the individual in the main photo appeared to be’’ (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008, p. 1307).