Professional Sports Players and Their Salaries Essay

Professional Sports Players and Their Salaries How does someone become a millionaire these days? What about going on a television show and answering fifteen questions correctly? Maybe you can get all seven numbers right on that lottery ticket you bought at the store last night. What about being lucky enough to make the right investment decisions with your broker? For some this might be true, but for others it is as simple as going to work and doing what they do best. The everyday man goes to work on a daily basis, does his best, and sometimes even achieves more than what is expected, and still does not become a millionaire. The reason for this is that I am not talking about the everyday man. I am talking about the†¦show more content†¦Do not forget about the Super Bowl games every year when they raise the ticket prices. If we did not want them to make this kind of money then we would not participate in the entertainment. The athletes do not work for their salaries, they are being paid to play a game. This may be partially true. They are playing a game, but their play is work. You cannot just get on the field and become the Most Valuable Player. It takes an enormous amount of time, constant training, commitment, discipline, will power, and determination to do what they do. Many of us go to school to learn or train for our job. The athletes do too. They just train and learn differently than we do. This does not mean they should be paid any less than someone who spent four or even eight years at a college getting a degree. (((TOPIC SENTENCE GOES HERE))) Athletes play despite the pain they may be enduring at the time. Once time a New York Giants player fouled a ball right into his foot causing his foot to break. This did not stop the player from continuing with the play. The player ran to first base and relentlessly despite the pain continued. He then went on to steal second base. Eventually when the pain became overwhelming, he called it quits and got a replacement. These players put their lives on the lineShow MoreRelatedLarge Salaries of Pro Athletes Negative Effects on Athletes and Sports1574 Words   |  7 PagesLarge Salaries of Pro Athletes Negative Effects On Athletes and Sports Abstract This paper will explain the effects of the luxury contracts of athletes on sports as well as the athlete. The debate is whether the effect is a negative effect or not. This paper will aim to show how the contracts of athletes have changed significantly over time. It will also show how the pro athlete affect the sport of college in different aspects and if that helps or hurt the college athletics or influencesRead MoreThe Sports Of Professional Baseball Professional Sports1266 Words   |  6 Pagesof unfair working conditions and wages were salaries that may be minimal. One might not think of poor working conditions minimal salary when it comes to the three major sports of professional baseball professional basketball in the National Football League. You look at athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriguez and see the amount of money that these individual have earned through the years of playing professional sports you would have a hard time findin g anyoneRead MoreShould Women Get Paid The Same As Men1093 Words   |  5 Pagessame as men in professional sport? Professional sports, as compared to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Due to ability to draw a large income, professional athletes can afford to make their sport their primary career, devoting the training time necessary to increase skills, physical condition, and experience to become the best they can be. Most sports played professionally also have amateur players far outnumbering the professionals. Athletes involvedRead MoreEssay on Pro Basketball vs Pro Football717 Words   |  3 Pageswith a better salary or a career where injuries are frequent and sometimes severe, and salaries are not as good. Anyone in their right mind would choose the first option. This will now bring me to my topic, professional basketball is better than professional football. Professional basketball is more dominant than football in three critical areas, injuries sustained, salaries, and the number of years played in the sport. My first point is the injuries sustained while playing the sports. Football, unlikeRead MoreHow Collective Bargaining Agreements Effect The Players And The Owners1416 Words   |  6 Pagesconsidered great entertainment options. So what does professional baseball, football, basketball, and most other companies around the United States have in common? If you guessed Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), Unions, arbitration and strikes/work stoppages you are absolutely correct. In the coming paragraphs, labor relations within the world of sports will be discussed from their unions to how collective bargaining agreements effect both the players and the owners. What is a Collective BargainingRead MorePro Athletes are overpaid999 Words   |  4 PagesPro Athletes are Overpaid Sports are part of the everyday life of many people across the world, and in the United States sports are even more present in its societys life due to the fact that there are four major sports in the country. But should the professional athletes from these sports earn salaries as high as ten or twentieth times more than the national average wage? The answer should be NO. Professional athletes must be well remunerated but can not be overpaid when there are many issuesRead MoreProfessional Soccer Player As A Professional Athlete Player1179 Words   |  5 Pagesthe dream job? For many, being a professional athlete is like the perfect job. For me, that is too vague. I have done my research, and it is clear to me now what a great job being a professional soccer player is. Soccer players participate in the world’s most popular sport, which is soccer (Facts on File). Although, their job isn’t always just to play the sport. They must also deal with the media and everything t he club they are in asks of them. Being a soccer player can be tough, but it comes withRead MoreAtheltes Paid Too Much1152 Words   |  5 PagesAthletes Do Not Deserve What They Are Paid It would be great to make 31.3 million dollars a year. Adding an additional 47 million dollars in endorsements for simply playing a game that an athlete loves. Michael Jordan, along with several other professional athletes, think getting paid millions of dollars is perfect. In the 1996 season, after playing 3,106 minutes, Michael Jordan made 170,000 dollars a day which is the equivalent of 160.97 dollars a second (Christian Science Monitor). Another unbelievableRead MoreShould Professional Athletes Be Paid?1102 Words   |  5 Pagesseason. Welcome to the life of Alex Rodriguez. Alex Rodriguez s salary in 2013 was $4 million more than the whole Houston Astros roster, making him the highest paid baseball player for the 13th consecutive season (Blum). Although the talent of professional athlete or professional teams should be rewarded through their salaries, there needs to be a limit to the maximum amount paid to any individual player or a team. Currently, professional athletes are paid according to a contract that he/she may signRead MoreResearch Paper On Paying College Athletes1412 Words   |  6 Pages460,000 NCAA student-athletes that compete in 24 different sports while in college throughout the United States (NCAA). Over the past couple decades, the argument for paying these college athletes has gained steam and is a hot topic in the sports community. However, paying these college athletes is not feasible because most universities do not generate enough revenue to provide them with a salary and some even lose money from the sports programs. These collegiate student-athletes are amateurs and

Essay The Central Question of Hamlet - 2409 Words

The Central Question of Hamlet Hamlets tragedy is a tragedy of failure-the failure of a man placed in critical circumstances to deal successfully with those circumstances. In some ways, Hamlet reminds us of Brutus in Shakespeares Julius Caesar. Hamlet and Brutus are both good men who live in trying times; both are intellectual, even philosophical; both men want to do the right thing; both men intellectualize over what the right thing is; neither man yields to passion. But here the comparison ends, for though both Brutus and Hamlet reflect at length over the need to act, Brutus is able immediately to act while Hamlet is not. Hamlet is stuck thinking too precisely on th event-. Hamlets father, the king of Denmark, has†¦show more content†¦(Act 5, scene 2 . . . to Horatio) Yet he delays. It is this delay in performing the act he has sworn to accomplish which leads to Hamlets death. The poison on the tip of Laertes sword is but a metaphor for the poison of procrastination which has been coursing through Hamlets system throughout the play. Hamlets thoughts focus upon death rather than upon action. His words show an intense longing for death: O that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the everlasting had not fixed His canon gainst self-slaughter. (Act I, scene 2) In Act 3, Scene 1 Hamlet restates this theme: To be, or not to be, that is the question- The answer eludes Hamlet throughout the play, perhaps because it is the wrong question. Hamlet is alive and to be alive means to do, not merely to be. It is his inability to do, his tendency to reflect rather than to act which poisons Hamlets resolve and causes his tragic death. If the central question of the play is Why doesnt Hamlet kill Claudius immediately upon hearing the ghosts accusation? the easiest answer is that if Hamlet had done so, the play would have ended in Act I. And then Hamlet, Prince of Denmark would be a tragedy of plot management. In his 1904 work Shakespearean Tragedy,* A. C. Bradley describes Hamlet as a play which includes eight violent deaths, adultery, a ghost, a mad woman, and a fight in a grave. Here areShow MoreRelatedLiterature Is the Question Minus the Answer Essays613 Words   |  3 PagesCritic Roland Barthes has said, â€Å"Literature is the question minus the answer.† Choose a novel or play and, or considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Literature, as any other kind of art, is abstract and gives the readers the possibility of applying different meanings and thereforeRead MoreEssay Hamlets Flaws and Sanity1085 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet† is a classic revenge tale. â€Å"Hamlet† is well known for the famous soliloquy â€Å"To be, or not to be† which I find best to describe Hamlet’s character. Hamlet was given the task to avenge his father’s death. As the story progress Hamlet begins to question his worthiness, questioning his very existence. Hamlet’s emotions influence his every action throughout the story. Hamlet is not the typical hero that readers label; he has many imperfections and displays his own mannerRead MoreAn author can reveal characteristics of characters in literature through several different methods.900 Words   |  4 Pagesfigurative language. In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, imagery is used to characterize central characters to the play. Firstly, Hamlet’s characteristics are revealed through the imagery of death in his speech. Secondly, Claudius’ characteristics are revealed through the imagery in the Ghost and Hamlet’s descriptions of him, as well as his own thoughts. It is through this visually descriptive and figurative language, that readers can identify characteristics of these central characters. The beginningRead MoreHamlet Character Analysis918 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play Hamlet, Shakespeare raises the question regarding deception and the differences between â€Å"seeming† and â€Å"being†. Each character is trying to decipher what each other are truly thinking, contrary to what they are pretending to think. Shakespeare sets Hamlet up to illustrate the complexity of how one must deceive others to reveal the truth.  ¬Ã‚ ¬The coexistence of appearances and reality develops as the Danish court gets engulfed in a web of corruption, lies and deception. Through how ShakespeareRead MoreImpossibility of Certainty in Hamlet1296 Words   |  6 PagesThe Impossibility of Certainty in Hamlet â€Å"Doubt is that state of mind where the questioner faces no single answer nor the lack of one, but rather a choice between a pair of alternatives.† – Harry Levin in The Question of Hamlet It is appropriate that William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is regarded as the Bard’s greatest dramatic enigma, for misunderstanding is the unavoidable condition of Hamlet’s quest for certainties. Not only is Hamlet bewildered by puzzling visions and by commands seeminglyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - Conversation Enabler1332 Words   |  6 PagesIn Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is one of the most elusive characters of the play and her importance is very hard to pinpoint and has raised eyebrows for centuries. For example, the scene of her death is one that artists have depicted over and over, yet that iconic moment is merely alluded to and happens off stage. This reflects Ophelia’s character very well considering that she is often at the periphery of the action; more talked about then talked to. There are many questions surrounding OpheliaRead MoreMeaning Of Existentialism In Hamlet1446 Words   |  6 Pagesbecome what one chooses is also libera ting. Hamlet is an embodiment of existentialism as he exemplifies its core concepts such as anguish, despair and absurdity; his perplexity on life and death as well as his reflections on human existence reflect his predicament in the universe in which he becomes aware of his alienation from the human condition, thus exemplifying the existentialist essence of the play write. The central concern of Hamlet is also the question of all man, †What a piece of work is aRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Essay751 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Hamlet might well claim to be Shakespeares most famous play because of its language and the charm of its central character. Shakespeare wrote some thirty-eight plays. Taken individuallyRead More Reality and Illusion in Shakespeares Hamlet - Reality, Appearance and Deception875 Words   |  4 PagesReality and Illusion in Hamlet    Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlets mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by hisRead MoreThe Effects Of Soliloquy On Elizabethan Audience954 Words   |  4 Pagesrevenge tragedy play Hamlet, the prevailing themes of revenge, madness, and morality were recognized by the Elizabethan audience and appealed to them. The play s central focus is on a young prince, Hamlet, who has gone through many challenges to avenge his father s death. Prince Hamlet got his revenge on his deceitful uncle, Claudius, the same man who murdered his father and married Hamlet s mother. From the original text of the play, a major s cene in Act 4 shows where Hamlet decides that it s

Routine Informative Message free essay sample

Chris Jones, my new assistant, will provide the training. As of January 15, you will be required to submit all articles electronically. 3. To submit an article electronically, go to the newsletter site on the intranet and click on that month’s newsletter. You will see a list of articles with page numbers. Go to the page given for your article, find the space for that article on the page, and paste your article into the space. If the article is too long, you may cut it, beginning with the least important information. Save the deleted sections in a separate file for future reference. 4. You may write a headline for your article, though it may be changed by Chris. You may add other design features as long as they fit the overall design of the page, and they may be changed by Chris. 5. At My Desk may be used for other things, including posters, brochures, reports, and presentation graphics. We will write a custom essay sample on Routine Informative Message or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Once you have been trained, you may use it for these purposes. Thanks for your cooperation in following these procedures. I know that you will be very pleased with the new software. VERSION 2 Date:October 1, 20xx To:Employees of Midsize Company From:Herman Bartleby, Publications Director Subject:New procedures for submitting newsletter articles In an effort to streamline our newsletter production and cut costs, Midsize is bringing the production process in-house, beginning January 15. This will result in some new procedures and a variety of benefits. Bringing Newsletter Production In-house As you may know, the newsletter is currently produced at TypeOGraphics, which has always done a wonderful job with design and typesetting. But to make the process more efficient and cost-effective, we have purchased state-of-the-art desktop publishing software, called At My Desk, which we will use to produce the newsletter in-house. My new assistant, Chris Jones, will direct production and train employees in using the software. Training †¢All employees who submit articles to the newsletter must attend a two-hour training workshop in using the At My Desk program. †¢Workshops will be held throughout November and December. Chris will send out a schedule of workshops, and sign up is on a first-come first-served basis. †¢Once you have been trained, you may begin submitting articles electronically. Beginning January 15, all articles must be submitted electronically. Procedures for Electronic Submission of Articles †¢When you complete the training, you will be given a PIN to get into the newsletter site. Once you have prepared an article using At My Desk, go to the newsletter site and click on that month’s newsletter. You will see a list of articles with page numbers. †¢Go to the page given for your article, find the space for that article on the page, and paste your article into the space. If the article is too long, you may cut it, beginning with the least important information. Save the deleted sections in a separate file for future reference. †¢You may write a headline for the article or use the various design features available in At My Desk, but Chris will make the final decisions about headlines and design. Other Uses for the Software At My Desk may also be used to create posters, brochures, reports, and presentation graphics. Once you have been trained, you may use it for these purposes as well. We are very excited about this new software and about bringing newsletter production in-house. The new software will give you more input into newsletter design, make the process more efficient overall, and give you a variety of design options for other kinds of projects. Chris will be contacting you soon about training.

Justification of selection process an Example of the Topic Business Essays by

Justification of selection process Introduction The process chosen is a combination of a number of techniques. First a job analysis is done, this is then followed by a description of the type of vacancy involved and the position is specified, a selection process is done and lastly a justification made for this choice. Students Often Tell EssayLab support: I'm don't want to write my paper because I want to spend time with my boyfriend. Can I pay for paper writing here? Specialists recommend: EssayLab is Your Best Essay Helper Job analysis The purpose of the job analysis is to give a brief outline of all the requirements for the job. (Ervin, 1999) The method used is a combination of questionnaires, recommendations and observation. The observation will be done by the human resource manager who will find out what the physical and intellectual needs of a chef are. Recommendations will be done by members of staff from the affiliate restaurant that performs similar roles or those who supervise persons similar to the vacant position. Lastly, the method of Common Method Questionnaire will be used to obtain accurate information about the vacancy. This questionnaire will include five sections and 247 questions. The sections will be divided as follows; general background, decision making physical activities, contacts with people and work setting. The questions asked will include the following: Do you use cook books or TV recipes for your work? Ratings are also done by placing answers within four scales. Need essay sample on "Justification of selection process" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Job description The job description contains the following information: Department: Kitchen Job title: Senior Chef Responsibility: ensuring effective kitchen operation and customer service Job purpose: to coordinate a team of chefs and provide customer care. Main function: a) Kitchen duties- planning regular meals in the menu, planning specials, preparing meals and dishes to acceptable standards and adhering to strict hygienic standards. b) Customer care- providing direct friendly service to customers or ensuring waiters and waitresses do it appropriately, monitoring the speed of food production and providing assistance in the presentation of food. Special conditions: work will be done during the weekends and holidays. Overtime will also be necessary and will be paid accordingly and normal working hours will expected to be 32 hours. Position specification The company: The Tomato Deep Company is a restaurant that offers a variety of catering services from regular dishes to special functions like weddings and other entertainment activities. Location: Massachusetts Reporting relationships: the candidate who qualifies will report to the restaurant manager. Basic function: The Senior chef will ensure that food is made to acceptable standards and will provide customer care. Skills: supervising skills, meal presentation, meal preparation and customer care skills. Education: the candidate should have a degree in Catering and food services. Required experience: five to ten years experience in a busy restaurant. Skills: Must be innovative when coming up with new menus Must have good managerial skills to coordinate work done by other chefs Must be an excellent communicator with an ability to work well under pressure Selection Process This aspect will involve use of a number of processes. Because the application will be advertised in print media, it will generate a lot of buzz. A number of processes will be necessary in order to eliminate a high number of candidates. (Michael, 2002) Applications A resume and application letter will be necessary for this process and it must contain information about ones qualifications. The cover letter will be written manually and candidates must include all the information necessary from the job descriptions and must have at least the minimum qualification. (Jack, 2003) Performance Exam The performance exam will be conducted in order to determine whether candidates are able to do tasks related to the job. Notices will be given to applicants who passed through the first round. The exam will be conducted by chefs from Tomato Deeps affiliate restaurant from Mississippi. The following will be examined during this process: quality of work (this will be checked by testing the dish prepared, and examining table presentations), safety (the candidate must adhere to strict HACCP standards in his/her food handling), adaptability (candidates must be able to come up with a suitable meal given certain ingredients) and lastly, their ability to work well under pressure (they will be given two groups to cater to while preparing the dish). (Schuler, 1998) Panel interview Candidates considered are those who passed the latter exam and results obtained from this process will make candidates eligible for another selection interview- this will only be for candidates who score a percentage greater than seventy. The Panel will be made up of three evaluators. Candidates will be asked questions relating to the position of a Chef and this will be done within a specific time i.e. fifteen minutes each. Candidates will be categorized into three group starting from the least qualified to the most qualified: the first category will be called qualified, the second category is the well qualified group and the last category will be called Superior Candidate. Selection Interview This will be strictly for eligible candidates who will have been selected from the Panel interview. (Ervin, 1999) This will be conducted by the Chief Supervisor and some of the questions that will be asked in this interview include: What makes you think you can perform this job? How will you ensure that meals are innovative and exciting? What are some of the things to look out for when doing a hazard analysis? Give an example of dishes you can prepare for a wedding ceremony. What international cuisines are you familiar with? How would you ensure that your team keeps time yet does not compromise on food quality? What did you learn from your previous job that you can apply here? What can you suggest to ensure that the Tomato Deep restaurant remains ahead of the competition in the food industry? The candidate who qualifies will be required to undergo medical checkups, drug screen and an investigation will be done on his/her background. On commencement, they will be given probation of six months. The employee must bring their driving license or passport with them. In addition to this they must be qualified to work in the country. Justification of the selection process Before the selection process was done, there was a job analysis done, the reason why this was done was to enable the recruiters to fully understand the job. It does not make any sense filling in a vacancy when the position itself is not well understood. From this evaluation, the selection methods were chosen. The job analysis involved use of the Common Metric Questionnaire. The reason why this method was selected was because it can be completed by incoming employees. It is quite easy to follow and does not require any prior knowledge. It uses absolute ratings rather than relative ratings. This means that it is quite accurate. The same view is shared by Commission on Behavioural and Social Sciences and Education. (1999). In addition to the above advantages regarding this method of using questionnaires is the fact that a variety of jobs can be compared using this method. If there was another vacancy in the organization, it could have been rated alongside the chef position. There are a variety of questionnaires or instrumental methods that could have been used. The reason why the CMQ method was singled out was because it does not have a deficiency in content coverage. It is quite exhaustive since over two hundred questions are asked. The questions asked are related to behaviour and are not abstract. This is quite important for a job that is mostly practical especially someone like a chef who will have some management responsibilities. The type of English used is quite simple i.e. eighth grade reading level; some other types of questionnaires like the PAQ require a reading level of postgraduate or college. Other methods of instrumental analysis have been limiting in terms of ability to solve problems relating to personnel. These other methods have also been problematic because they are too general and lack specifity. (Robert, 1993)Lastly, other methods of instrumental analysis require hiring job analysts and consultants, this can prove too be quite expen sive to the interviewer. Another method chosen for the job analysis was through observation. The reason this was selected was because it adds a human dimension to the process. Instrumental methods are quite good but they need to be complemented by adding a human touch to the survey. The vacancy was communicated to interested candidates to eliminate the chance of biases which arise as result of personal references. Print media is also a good method of advertisement because it attracts a large pool of applicants. This increases the chances of getting qualified persons because one will be dealing with large numbers. (Sarah, 2007) After the advertisement, application letters and resumes were sent. Those who did not posses the specified qualifications in their resumes should be eliminated while those who posses them ought to be invited for further examination. Subject matter content in the cover letter will also be analysed by an expert to further sieve candidates-applicants should portray honest information. Contact information will be obtained from these very applications. Information included in the application letter must be detailed relating directly to the position and only those who send their letters within due time will be considered hence late entrants will be automatically disqualified. The importance of such a method is that one can be able to determine who meets the minimum qualification. This eliminates a large variety of applicants who may simply be trying their luck but have no idea whatsoever how to do the job. It helps in narrowing down the numbers and giving one an idea of the kind of personality applicants have through their grammar and organization in the application letter. This was the reason why the application letters were manually written and not online. (EL, 2007) Performance exams were chosen because some candidates may be nervous in front of a panel of judges. It can eliminate suitable candidates who might be possessing real talent. This brings about a balance to the selection process by introducing a practical element. It also focuses on job specific skills as some candidates are so convincing verbally but they may not be able to met job needs. Performance processes also help in determining candidates thought process and their ability to prioritize tasks or to work well under pressure. The Panel interview and the selection interview were chosen because they enable the employer and potential employee to get to know each other. It puts a face to the names and the qualifications. Because the interview questions are sometimes tricky, they help the interviewer to choose the fastest thinkers. This aspect is quite important in this job because it requires an ability to work well under pressure. The Panel comprised of one member from the Human Resources Department because they are quite conversant with detection of talent and they have an in-depth knowledge of the environment within the organization. They are at a good position to know who suits the position. The Panel also consists of a member from outside the work unit because they bring in a foreign element to the judgement process. They may be aware of some new things in the food industry and they also have no biases. (Southern Cross University, 2007) The interview as a selection process is quite important because it focuses on core questions that entail to the job description. The questions act as a platform for sieving the candidates who give specific examples and those who do not. For example the first question listed above is a bit general but must be put in context by the interviewee through examples. Another advantage of an interview is the fact that interaction is possible between both parties. Candidates can also ask any questions which may be unclear in the job advertisement or job description. This will also be another opportunity to find out what kind of personality a potential employee has. (Southern Cross University, 2007) If the interviewer has run out of time, then he/she has a criterion which he/she can use to cut down on the candidates who qualify for the selection interview in a fair manner. This is possible because the Panel interview divides candidates into categories from the highest to the lowest potential. So not all the candidates who passed have to be interviewed a second time. Conclusion A selection process must be free of bias and should provide a suitable ground for choosing the right candidate. This is the reason why a combination of many methods was used. The disadvantages of one process were compensated by the advantages in another process. Also, a large pool of applicants was chosen to increase the chances of selecting the most suitable candidate for the job. Reference Sarah, L. (2007): Human Resource Management: Employee Attraction and Selection Guide Schuler, R. (1998): Managing Human Resources; South Western College publishing. Ervin, B. (1999): Recruiting and hiring outstanding Staff; a journal by the Ohio State University. EL (2007): Selection process; retrieved from http://www.elinfonet.com/ ; accessed on 21st November Michael, R. (2002): Personnel/ Human Resource Management; Prentice Press Jack, E. (2003): The Human Resources Program Evaluation Handbook; McMillan Publishers. Southern Cross University (2007): The selection process Robert, J. (1993): Development of the Common Metric Questionnaire (CMQ)

Woodstock Music and Art Festival

Introduction Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The town got its name from the famous 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival:Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Woodstock Music and Art Festival specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It has earned a reputation as home to one of the most exciting periods of American popular music. The festivals were actually held elsewhere, but many of the creative people who made them what they were had been part of the charmed life of Woodstock, and some still reside here among our wooded hills. (Wood Stock 1) Out of the festival, the world of Rock and Roll Music has grown and with every festival of the kind that has been held, many talents have been discovered, and the industry has continued growing. In this paper, we will explore on Woodstock Music and Art festival, the challenges that were faced, and the impact of the festival to the music industry. The Festival The festival happened in Bethel, in a farm that belonged to a dairy farmer Max Yasgur. Though this was not the original venue, the festival had to be held there as the only available venue after the original venue was denied a few weeks before the event. Out of the outcomes of the festival, the event served as the revolution point in the popular music history. The idea came from four young men who advertised themselves as having unlimited capital with an idea to fostering peace and music. During the festival, a big number of people turned up that lead to roads getting jammed up; many roads were inaccessible to the point that supplies could not get to the venue. Performers being an important part of the festival had to look for other ways to get to the venue apart from using the roads. In regard to this White record that Yasgur farm place was so packed with attendees to the extent that performers had to be ferried by helicopters. It was a rainy weekend; it could have been fa ir to expect fewer people to attend, but that was not the case since the concert goers seemed not to mind the cold and the muddy situation, if anything, the situation created an opportunity for the people to bond regardless of the region they came from. White in the Woodstock Journal for August 15, 1969 recorded that food was a rare commodity since the service providers were fewer than the number available to feed. To deal with the lack, attendees had to do with the little they had brought with them and also share with others who had nothing. This created an environment of love and concern for each other as the concert goers shared in the same situation. This was very important, particularly since the world had just come from civil war that had created major divisions among people.Advertising Looking for term paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As it is expected, when the number in attendance exceeds the n umber planned for, there are always problems in meeting all the demands and so Woodstock was not an exception. Some basic amenities, medical care, correct sanitation for the number that kept on increasing every hour were a great challenge to get. White in his record of the second day reported that a medical tent had to be set up to treat bare feet cut by broken glass and metal can lids that littered the site, bad acid trips, and retinas burned when their stoned owners lied down and stared directly at the sun (White 1). Despite the many challenges that were faced by the promoters and the festival attendees, ranging from the weather, drugs and alcohol abuse by the youths, electricity failure, and poor sanitation, there was much joy, humility and integrity that came from the energetic youth (Makower, Lang and Joel 2). The event was marked as the most enduring event of the century and out of it, so many other events have come up including anniversaries of the same. Challenges Initial ch allenges during the planning period were to get the venue. The festival was legally barred from its planned location just a month before its scheduled date; this led to the promoters relocating immediately and looking for another venue since there was little or no time left for planning (Makower, Lang and Joel 1). After getting the venue, the next challenge was getting the artists whom the promoters wanted. It was not easy since the managers insisted on booking their unknown artists as the price to get their famous clients (Fusilli 1). Due to planning in haste, the promoter’s plan to charging the event was paralyzed by the lack of fence and a gate (Makower, Lang and Joel 1). This was discovered to be impossible to fix when the promoters got themselves in the dilemma of either fencing or putting up the stage. With the little finances they had left, the stage was given priority out of the advice they got from the people who arrived early. This made the place accessible to every body who was willing to attend at no cost at all. Satisfying the needs of the many people that turned out was a challenge in itself. According to White, the organizers had to make major adjustments to stop the vices that were going on like drug abuse, excessive drinking and the crowd getting unruly by extending the time of performance and adjusting the starting time of the performance (Makower, Lang and Joel 1).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Woodstock Music and Art Festival specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The weather posed a major challenge for both the promoters and the audience. The disruptions by the heavy rains caused technical problems in electricity supply, and flooding were ankle-deep (White 1). Sound equipments had technical issues that could not be handled by the available engineers. Fusilli in the Wall Street Journal recorded that amplifiers buzzed, guitar cables crackled and microphones cut ou t. This posed the biggest challenge since the show had to be kept going. Impact it Made Out of the Woodstock Music and Art fair, many organizations have been founded based on the legacy the city made on preservation and peace keeping. An example is Sustainable Woodstock that was established in 2009 that works towards having a vibrant, inclusive, thriving community where people live sustainably now and in the future (Sustainable Woodstock 1). The festival led to the evolution of live music and its business over the period and beyond has built the music industry as far as rock music is concerned. It led to the change of perception that many people had on rock music as boring and old school but presented it as a thing of the present and the future (Bennett 1). Dave Allen is mentioned in Bennett’s book as considering â€Å"the significance of the Woodstock in terms of its illustration of a transitional stage between the more politically oriented folk-influenced acoustic music of the first part of the 1960s and the heavily amplified commercially-oriented rock of the second part of the decade† (Bennett 1). The Woodstock city got its status from being a hub of farming, quarrying and tanning to a productive and business-oriented town. Today, Woodstock is home to galleries that are widely noted for exhibits of the finest arts and crafts. There are important recital halls upon whose stages distinguish classical, jazz and popular music ensembles regularly performance (Wood Stock 1). Conclusion Even though the event was faced by so many challenges, it led to the change of the name for the town which was once known to be small and made up of farmers only. Just by one event that seemed impossible from the beginning, the town got an opportunity to grow economically and opened up to other things like trade and arts that were never there before. The event marked a turning point in the world of music since many started perceiving rock music as the thing of the pre sent. To them that are not sure of the impact that music could have on a place, Woodstock festival was an awakening time since many talents got developed, upcoming musicians who were not refined by then got an opportunity to present themselves, and many embraced music and live performance.Advertising Looking for term paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The event also served as a platform for peace since the world had just come from a civil war. As multitudes of people interacted and shared in the same problems of lack of food, water, heavy rains and poor sanitation, they helped one another out, which established peace. Works Cited Bennett, Andy. Remembering Woodstock. New York, NY: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2004. Print. Fusilli, Jim. â€Å"But How Was the Music.† The Wall Street Journal, 2009. Web. Makower, Joel, Lang Michael, and Rosenman Joel. Woodstock: the oral history. New York, NY: State University of New York Press, 2009. Print. Sustainable Woodstock. â€Å"Sustainable Woodstock.† Sustainable Woodstock, 2011. Web. White, Dave. â€Å"Woodstock Journal† Classic Rock Almanacs, 2009. Web. Wood Stock. â€Å"Town of Woodstock: Home.† Wood Stock, 2011. Web. This term paper on Woodstock Music and Art Festival was written and submitted by user Dominick Lara to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. 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Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management

Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management Secondary waste water treatment is majorly aimed at removing dissolved but biodegradable organic matter from water after physically suspended materials are removed by the primary process(Bengtson, 2010, p. 2).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Majorly, these types of treatment use biological treatment processes to treat water but final consumption is done after tertiary treatment has been done. Tertiary treatment is sometimes referred to as the advanced treatment because it treats what the primary and secondary methods have been unable to treat. Many of these types of treatment (tertiary) utilize chemical compounds to treat water (Bengtson, 2010, p. 1). Both the secondary and tertiary treatment methods utilize a number of processes to make each step a success but tertiary treatment is never usually a necessity because it depend s on the toxicity of the source of water. Some of the most significant differences in these treatment methods are that the secondary treatment methods majorly utilize physical processes but tertiary treatment methods utilize chemical methods of treatment. Also, the tertiary treatment method is majorly undertaken with the aim of removing nitrate and phosphorous compounds from the water but the secondary treatment method is aimed at removing organic waste materials. Lastly, the tertiary treatment method is not a mandatory procedure and varies from place to place but the secondary treatment method is mandatory and involves a couple of common processes such as the trickling filter, stabilization pond treatment systems and activated sludge (Bengtson, 2010, p. 4). Appropriate Uses of Reclaimed Water Reclaimed water can be obtained from many sources but it bears the qualities of being odorless, clear and high quality water, which enables it to be used for a number of purposes.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the most appropriate source for reclaimed water is irrigation but it is quite unfortunate that up to 50% of high quality water, which could be used for drinking, is used for irrigation (National Academy of Sciences, 2010, p. 3). Reclaimed water can therefore act as a good substitute. However, reclaimed water can be used in a number of industrial irrigation processes and in supplementing natural system needs. In this context, reclaimed water can be appropriately used in street cleaning operations; power generation plants; decorating fountains, quelling fires, dust control, aquifer discharge; cooling in industrial processes; and restoring depleted, natural systems (National Academy of Sciences, 2010, p. 3). However, some people have got the whole concept of using reclaimed water for body contact wrong because it is inappropriate to use reclaimed water for recreational purposes (like swimming pool); cooking or drinking; or irrigating vegetable and other foods such as herb gardens because they can directly absorb the contaminated chemicals from the reclaimed water and store them in their tissues. Recommendation Tertiary treatment methods are not good for ground water recharge and instead secondary treatment is recommended for this purpose. This is true because the operational plant facilities are likely to be affected by tertiary treatment methods because they eliminate nitrates and phosphates which are essential for ground water recharge, especially when the recharge is expected to support portable use, including metallic toxicants, or when the recharge process is expected to use nitrogen compounds and pathogens. However, tertiary treatment methods are useful for treating drinking water because many drinking water purification plants use the process to clean raw water. Moreover, the process can be used to remove i mpurities which the primary and secondary processes are unable to. References Bengtson, H. (2010). An Introduction to Primary, Secondary, and Advanced Wastewater Treatment Methods. Retrieved from  https://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/68537.aspxAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More National Academy of Sciences. (2010). Source Waters and Their Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/4780/chapter/4

Do economist matter Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Do economist matter - Assignment Example He points out that the public is uneducated in economic theories. Moreover, people and institutions of influence tend to muddle up these economic laws in order to server their own vested interest. Ultimately, the public is not only uneducated, they are also miseducated in the theories of economics and even refuse to be educated in these areas. In addition, even economists themselves rarely adhere to the economic theories that they themselves preach as they take into account external factors such as family security, pride, and societal acceptance. As such, economists end up sending messages that the public would be more comfortable to hear. This dilemma is further aggravated by the fact that economic theories have been, and may be, tested out on very limited platforms. Thus, economists usually have their hands tied and their tongues curled in defense of economic theories that may or may not work. Overall, Stigler illustrates that economists are almost always torn between being an academic who incessantly explains theories to an unaccepting public and an implementor whose proposals are periodically squashed by an unbelieving society. Either way, an economist’s quest for popularity and for influence will, in Stigler’s view, most likely lead him to parallel

Online Academic Book store Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Online Academic Book store - Assignment Example Since 1998, the Internet has increasingly emerged as a viable alternative to buying books at physical retail store locations. By the year 2004, the ratio of books sold at physical retail outlet and that through online stores has become 8-to-1. This shows the prevailing growth of the ebusiness for the books. And in case of Academic books the revolution has already taken place, during the past five years. Textbooks in the UK used to be published in parallel, split editions - a relatively expensive hardback for university libraries, and a much cheaper, cross-subsidized paperback for student purchase. Now, however, libraries buy paperbacks, the cross-subsidies have ceased, and the hardback undergraduate textbook has virtually disappeared. The cost of paperbacks has now risen. Publishing and book selling is no more a traditional business. With the advent of Internet the industry has gone global. Customers of modern era demand much from the industry. Customers want to browse the large scope of information, including bibliographical information on the net and wants to select and purchase their favorite books online. The competition is now on in the websites with huge number of online bookstores trying to catch the attention of Internet savvy customers. Publishers also finds it very difficult to catalogue the huge amount of data through the traditional means and the online solution will help them out of the difficult situation through easy search adoptions. By going online a company's publication will be accessible for more number of people and the business will definitely shoot up. And the problem with the traditional publishers is they produce high-demand textbooks for large numbers and to get low demand books out of season will be a time consuming task. Also in several areas of academic publishing, where texts are especially expensive to produce for example, modern languages, mathematics and medicine a very few number of publishers are producing and the demand would not be met in such cases. 1.Product innovation: The product component of the eBusiness model framework describes the value a firm wants to offer its customers. The current scope of the ebusiness model has sufficient value to its targeted customer segment by offering the product academic books. To deliver this Value proposition, the online firm should posses a certain set of in-house and /or outsourced capabilities. Value Proposition. This element refers to the value the firm offers to a specific target et customer segment. Through mass customization and through rule based one to one personalization or collaborative filtering, firms can propose value tailored to the profile of every single customer. The proposed features like Shipping calculator, Mini Cart Option on All Pages, Different layouts for cart & checkout pages, Address book function for easy checkout, Seamless check-out process, Built in shipping and tax calculation, Multiple shipping and payment options, On screen shopping list are highly dynamic in navigating the customer to the perfection of ebusiness. Target: A firm genenerally creates value for a specific customer segment. A firm can market either to businesses and/or individuals, commonly referred to as business-to-business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C). The target customers for

Training Incentives Essay Example for Free

Training Incentives Essay Training incentives helps employers meet the cost of training their staff. The funding helps to ensure that there is continued supply of qualified people. The employers use training incentives to assist employees who have no formal qualifications. Managers and supervisors are also trained in order to develop management and supervision skills. Trainees can be of any age and on any pay scale and training can be done during work hours or outside business hours. (Tuscon, 1994 pp32) Different Training Styles Self motivated style – training is thought of in terms of the practical results, the trainer likes direct results from training. He is assertive whereby he does not hesitate to express his views and disapproval when the training session is going on. The participants who are being trained are attentive and avoid embarrassing the trainer who is in control of the training. Informal and expressive style – the trainees make contribution to the session freely and openly express themselves in a personal and friendly way. They ensure the training session is informal and open to everyone. The trainer tries to avoid discussions that are unnecessary and are tactful in the way they direct communicators to the materials that are supposed to be used for training. (Brooks, 1999 pp13-15). Analytical style – here the trainer is dealing with interpreters whose main concern accuracy and detail. They do not accept information that is not backed by facts. The trainer will command subject matter to be used for him to retain credibility when dealing with individuals of this type. Readiness of different people to accept the information given to them will depend on the way that information is presented to them. Some people do not understand easily unless there are clear facts presented. In providing effective training the trainer should know how to help the audience accept the information given to them. There are also contemplators who always think about new ideas and concepts. They seek time to consider them and their special effects. The trainer will need to know the suitable pace for delivering the course material to ensure that they are able to understand what is being taught with ease. If they require more time for them to understand the concepts the trainer should be patient enough. (Eisman, 1995 pp32-35). What Works For Particular Employees When there are new employees in any organization, a worker mentor assist them to learn the job. Once the new employee is familiar with the job and can do it well without assistance, he can be left to continue working on his own. This is very important because, even if the new employee has qualified for the job, there is need for him to get experienced with new work environment. The supervisor monitors work performance to ensure that all the assigned duties are done well. A co-worker can help new worker get to know how to socialize with other workers and help him to make use of orientation training for him to make practical use of what he was taught during orientation. If there is any issue that was not understood during orientation, a co-worker can assist in answering any question that might arise. Employee assistant program assist particular employees to improve his job performance, get familiar to the work environment and make use of employment policies and adapt to changes on how some jobs are supposed to be performed in order for employees to do the job successfully. (Janak, 1997 pp345-349). Environmental support which includes physical structures and surrounding objects make the job site to be accessible for current and future employees. For example, automatic door openers that assists employees to move from one department to another. Procedural support activities help employees perform jobs and related job functions. Flexible time allows employees work within hours that are conducive to their personal lives. (Clement, 1995 pp53-58). Different Job Functions If essential functions require employees to have physical abilities or communication abilities for example frequent contact with people, this requires verbal communication for information to be conveyed or writing. If duties are performed in various locations, frequent travel is required and a driving license. Job descriptions contain statement that, jobs other than the ones enumerated can be assigned to employees which should be reasonably related to the assigned position. Duties and responsibilities should outline basic components of activities to be performed, scope of the assigned responsibility and level of authority and who is responsible. Each task should have a process that shows what methods are used, procedure followed when performing the task and the tools to be used. It should show how often the task should be performed. The expected outcome should be indicated which shows the acceptable quality of work. (Reynolds, 1997 pp40-45). Essential functions are the fundamental duties employees must be able to perform. Job function is considered essential when there is a position for that function to be performed, the number of employees is limited for distribution of the job function and the function is highly specialized and requires experts to perform it. Employee Training Retention And Feedback Employee training retention helps reduce the staff turnover rates which waste a lot of time, very costly and affects the success of business in the long run. The key component of retaining superior employees is to allow them to express themselves freely and give out ideas and opinions. Chief executive officers should be good listeners and collect feedback from employees. Supervisors should recognize employees’ problems and deal with them in an appropriate manner. (Peterson, 1999 pp15-17). Managing turnover maintains quality of work performed by experienced employees. Training expert who have track record should cause cultural change, improve organization productivity and be trusted by employees and management. Strategic plan should be implemented on how to conduct pre and post training survey and make follow up in order to ensure employee are productive. Talent management strategy sustains the organization and an action plan guarantees the continuity of the organization in future. Effective feedback survey design should be delivered with extensive resources and impressive reporting capabilities. Human resource department should fully staff in order to solve issues of human relations and offer standardized training. In order to assess staff climate, satisfaction survey should be done annually. New starter feedback should be done after four weeks to know employees perception on the effectiveness of recruitment and the process of induction and know the ideas they have for improvement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recruitment process feedback should be done immediately after recruitment is over and send short post placement survey to the manager responsible for hiring within one week after appointment. Analysis for training need should be done to know the training opportunities that the staff need. Post training feedback helps to know how staff valued training sessions. This can also be done by testing the staff knowledge in certain subject after the training session is over by giving them a short post training quiz. (Phillips, 1996 pp45-47) Best Practices   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Employer should ensure the work place is safe for all employees so that they can be able to apply their knowledge to improve the quality of work performed in the organization. Financial rewards should be given to employees based on their performance for them to be motivated to continue working hard. Performance standards should be set for all employees without favor or discrimination. Employees should be able and willing to employ all what brings best results. (Tuscon, 1994 pp30-31) Challenges   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Competition from other firms in the same line of business and labor shortages make employees work for long hours and harder and have more responsibilities. Modern training need is also demanded in order to reflect the changes in lifestyle. Organizations do not afford use of classrooms for training because; it involves traveling and lodging expenses. Productivity is reduced and revenue is low due to time spent while traveling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organization needs to improve performance of employees and retain them, this call for an organization to offer ongoing education and training in order to benefit from a work force that has better skills and have increased rate of employee retention. In order to keep training updated, knowledge and skills should be provided by managers rapidly. this requires organization to add more organization training mix. (Arkin, 1995 pp36). REFERENCES: Tuscon M. (1994): outdoor training for employee effectiveness: London Institute of Personnel Management, pp 30-32. Eisman R. (1995): incentives excellent adventure: Incentive, pp32-35. Clement C. (1995): The Ins and Outs of experimental training: Training and development, pp53-56. Arkin A. (1995). Breathing fresh air into training: people management, pp35-36. Alder A. (1995): Changing outdoor vision: Management training, pp21-23. Phillips J. (1996): the search for best practices, training and development: ROI, pp45-47. Peterson B. (1999): measuring impact of learning and performance. The Franklin, pp15-17. Reynolds M. (1997): management learning: London Sage, pp40-45. Janak E. (1997): A meta analysis of the relationship among training criteria; personnel psychology; pp345-349. Brooks H. (1999): Designing and facilitating experimental learning: thousand oak, pp 13-15.

Research For My Career Plan Accounting Essay

Research For My Career Plan Accounting Essay Introduction My career choice is public accountant. My choice is highly influenced by the passion I have for working with numbers. My second choice career is internal auditing .it is closely related to accountancy. Both the careers entail working with the numbers. Accountancy is a career which involves communicating, summarizing, classifying, interpreting and presenting financial position about an enterprise to the management, auditors, owners or the shareholders. Strong accounting foundation is important when it comes to running successful businesses. Every business needs a book keeper, accountant or a chief finance officer. Internal auditors can assist police in white collar crimes since they can comfortably do forensic accounting. They can work with lawyer as professional witnesses in fraud cases. Government accountants maintain tract of public funds by maintaining records. Public accountants work for public accounting companies. Their major tasks are to do the actual accounting, tax and consultancy work. Accountants use financial statements to show in monetary terms the resources under direct control of the organization. According to Drake, P et al (2011), accounting is a study of how organizations track their assets, capital, and liabilities over time. It involves computing cost and capital gains from the capital. An accountant participates in strategies for mergers and acquisitions. Many accountants ends up being the chief finance officers(CFOs).this is because they have the best understanding of what drives the business and profits in an organization. According to careers in accounting website (2009) bureau of statistics projects 16% increase in job positions by 2016.the future of accounting is bright. Internal auditors are also known as Auditors, Fraud Investigators, Inspectors, and Investigators among other names. They frequently measure the level of compliance of the company with its policies and objectives. They advise the management on how to better execute their policies. They tend to improve the reliability of financial reporting, preventing and investigating fraud and safeguard company assets. People planning to be accountants and auditors should have an aptitude for mathematics .they should have good communication skills since the career entails communicating results to clients, management, shareholders and governments among others. They should be excellent when it comes to working with people, business systems and computers. Accountants should have unquestionable level of integrity. Educational requirement and certifications Most job vacancies requires at least a bachelors degree in accounting or related field .if you want to practice accounting and auditing in government, the requirement is 4 years of college in accounting or auditing with some experience. Since 2007 42 states and Washington DC requires all the CPAs to have successfully completed 150 semester hours of college course work. Many colleges have harmonized their curriculum to be in line with the law. Some organizations require masters degree in accounting or business administration with accounts as your major. A certified public accountant (CPA) is a popular requirement for big corporations. CPAs exam is divided into four parts in all states .examination is prepared by AICPA(American institute of public accountants).majority of states require one pass all the four other parts within 1year six months. Other additional requirements may include certified internal auditor (CIA) exam and the certification in control self assessment (CSA).CPA holders are licensed by state board of accountancy. The internal auditors are licensed by Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). Accountants who have passed in their exams and have met requirements needed by the state where they practice can become certified public accountants. However for renewal of licenses, one is required to have completed certain number of hours of continuing professional .the umbrella professional bodies for accountants organizes seminars, courses and continuing education programs. Other certifications provide a CPA and internal auditors with an advantage. These certifications are found in many accredited colleges. They include; the Certified Management Accountant (CMA),), the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), or Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designations, Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP), Accredited Tax Advisor (ATA), Accredited Business Accountant (ABA). These programs are marketable. They put the accountants and auditors at the highest edge of landing a high paying job. Some of these programs depend on the field one want to specialize with. Most of these professional societies require applicants to have at least 2 years working experience, pass a for part examination, agree to meet continuing education requirements and comply with professional conduct. Graduate schools test permit students from different colleges and universities with different grading system to be compared. Applicants to graduate schools school finish GRE which tests verbal, quantitative and analytical abilities. GMAT test verbal, quantitative and analytical reasoning but it is designed to address the needs of business schools. Many institutions review accountants GMAT score for employment.GRE is accepted in many business programs in business schools. it is simple to prepare science it has easier grading curve and the applicant does not waste a lot of time in preparation.GRE is easier than GMAT. There are institutions such as Manhattan review in New York which assist students to revise for their GMAT and GRE examinations. They have state of art facilities. Ethical Conduct Just like doctors and other professionals, CPAs and internal auditors should adhere the code of conduct. They should maintain high level of integrity. They should represent the interest of their clients. They should obey the bylaws set by their professional bodies. Working Hours According to BLS government website (2010), public accountants work 40 to 50 hours a week. According to Telberg, R (2007), accountants spend more time at work related activities at the expense of their families. Some carry their work with them to vacations and home. Many accountants have reported to CPA review website (2012), that during the busy season, they can work up to 70 to 80 billable hours. Internal auditors have long working hours .their day typically starts from 8am to 5pm.they work up to Job Duties CPAs maintain and audit organizations financial books. They also have knowledge bin book keeping, taxes, government audit and financial planning. They oversee the budgets and financial management. They ensure that they financial records are accurate and up to date. They also keep track of investments, expenditures and revenue generated by an organization. They research and analyze companys financial reports. They also create financial plan for the company. They also suggest way companies could save the money. They file tax reports of a company. CPAs help organizations to develop a strategy to legally minimize the amount of tax they owe the government. Many CPAs tend to be self employed therefore they hire staffs and manage businesses. Freelance CPAs can assist potential business owners develop business plans and get funds to start the same. Internal auditors appraise the organizations internal control system to see whether they are in harmony with state laws, the organizations objective. They liaise with both the external auditors and the Comptroller and Auditor General. They Recommend and advise the company on value for money and efficiency improvements. Salary According to the BLS, http://www.bls.gov (2012), Salary depends on a number of factors namely: the CPAs educational background, years of experience, and the company he is working for. CPAs take home $50,770 per year. CPAs with one to two years of experience may be remunerated lower amounts. And those working for large corporations like coca cola are paid higher salaries. Partners in public accounting firms can earn around $175,000 a year. CPAs enjoys an array of benefits, which includes all expenses paid for vacations, health and life insurance, and pension benefits. Internal auditors take an average of $81000 per year. Manager internal auditors earn up to $100000 per year. The level of salary depends with the level of experience and the company one is working for. Job Satisfaction and Lifestyle of CPA and Internal Auditor CPA and internal auditing are among of the careers which demand a lot of time. Some the accountants and internal auditors carry their work with them to home. During peak season they work long hours and sleep at least 4hours.they enjoy free vacations pension benefits. Their high income guarantees them a high living standard. Some accountants and auditors receive pay rise every year. Others enjoy up to 3 weeks vacations. It is one of the professions where there are no complains. The job opportunities are there. As a matter of fact it has been projected that the job opportunities for CPAs will rise by 22%.according to CNN money website (2012), it is number 9 in the 100 most lucrative jobs in business section in USA. They enjoy personal satisfaction from their careers .accounting profession make one to enjoy prestige and respect from the society since it is perceived to be hard than other professions. Conclusion Both careers are lucrative prefer my first career choice more. I am planning to do what it takes to realize my dream of pursuing accountancy.

Essay on Social Networking Sites

Essay on Social Networking Sites Social networking sites peaked the year 2007. These sites encouraged online social connections. Early sites such as SixDegrees. com and Friendster allowed people to manage a list of friends. One drawback to these sites was that they did not offer users the ability to publish content like blogs. Social networking sites begin with a group of founders sending out messages to friends to join the network. In turn the friends send out messages to their friends, and the network grows. When members join the network, they create a profile.Depending on the site, users can customize their profile to reflect their interests. They also begin to have contact with friends, acquaintances, and strangers. Founded in 2002, Friendster used the model of friends inviting friends to join in order to grow its network. It quickly signed on millions of users. Unfortunately, as the site grew larger, technical issues surfaced. Painfully slow servers made it difficult for users t o move around the site. Additionally, management enforced strict policies on fake profiles. These false profiles, or â€Å"fakesters,† as they were known, were deleted by the site.This approach turned off users. Eventually, Friendster began to lose members in the United States. Fellow networking site SixDegrees. com closed its doors after the dot-com bust in 2000. Within a few years, these early social networking sites found their popularity declining. At the same time, a new social networking site called MySpace was beginning to take off. THE RISE OF MYSPACE MySpace brought together the social features of networking sites and the publishing capabilities of blogs. The combination of the two tools struck a home run with teens. Young people were looking for a more social way to blog.MySpace provided the solution. In 2003 Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe launched MySpace in Santa Monica, California. As music fans, the pair designed the site as a place to promote local music acts. They also wanted to be able to connect with other fans and friends. On MySpace, users created a Web page with a personal profile. Then they invited other users to become their friends. According to DeWolfe, the bands were a great marketing tool in the beginning. He said: â€Å"All these creative people became ambassadors for MySpace by using us as their de facto promotional platform.People like to talk about music, so the bands set up a natural environment to communicate. â€Å"1 Anderson and DeWolfe were determined to keep MySpace an open site. Anyone could join the community, browse profiles, and post whatever they wanted. User control was one of their founding principles. It also made initial financing hard to find. According to Anderson: â€Å"We'd get calls from investor types who wanted to meet us. They would say ‘Your site isn't professional. Why do you let users control the pages? They're so ugly! ‘†2 In the meantime MySpace continued to sign people up. Teens and young adults loved the site.They flocked to create their own profiles. The ability to customize pages, load music, and share videos added to the MySpace appeal. Unlike other early social networking sites, MySpace gave users a media-rich experience. Users could express themselves on their Web page by adding music and video clips. At the same time, they could socialize with friends. MySpace made social contact easier with tools such as e-mail, comment posts, chat rooms, buddy lists, discussion boards, and instant messaging. MySpace brought together the ability to express oneself and to socialize in one place.The timing was perfect. Over the next two years, MySpace grew at a tremendous pace. The site's success brought attention from investors. Rupert Murdoch, famous for his media empire, wanted to buy MySpace. Murdoch had interests in television, film, newspapers, publishing, and the Internet. In 2005 Murdoch purchased MySpace for an amazing $580 million. By early 2008 MySpac e had grown to a mind-blowing 110 million active users. It signed an average of thirty thousand people up every day. One in four Americans was on MySpace. The Web site had become the giant among social networking sites.It was the most trafficked site on the Internet. MySpace's influence traveled outside of the United States. The company built a local presence in over twenty international territories. MySpace could be found in places such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and Latin America. In a few short years, MySpace had become a worldwide cultural phenomenon. SOCIAL NETWORKING BEYOND MYSPACE The success of MySpace in the social networking arena spurred the development and redesign of many other online social networks. Some sites appealed to a general audience.Others, such as Black Planet, LinkedIn, and MyChurch, sought to serve a niche market. Facebook was one site that emerged as an alternative to MySpace. In February 2004 Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook . The site began as a closed network for college students. Closed networks only allow users to join if they meet certain criteria. In contrast, sites such as MySpace and Friendster were open social networking sites. Anyone could sign up for an account. Open and closed social networks have advantages and disadvantages. Open networks foster interaction between adults and teens.Parents can check up on their teen's profile and decide if they are comfortable with their child's online image. On the other hand, open access means that profiles are completely public and can attract unwanted attention. Closed networks are generally smaller. As such, there is a greater chance a user will know other members both online and offline. But a closed network blocks parents from reading their teen or college student's profile. Being closed also limits a social network's ability to grow and attract new users. As a closed college network, Facebook grew by adding more colleges to its network.By the end o f 2004, Facebook had almost 1 million active users. As Facebook's popularity grew, it expanded beyond colleges to high school and international school users. At this point, however, the site was still restricted to a limited pool of student users. In 2006 Facebook made a pivotal decision. It opened the network to the general public, expanding beyond its original student base. By May 2008 Facebook boasted over 70 million active users. At that time, it was the second-most trafficked social networking site behind MySpace and the sixth-most trafficked site on the Web.As an alternative to MySpace, Facebook's social network gained popularity with business professionals and colleagues. Facebook's purpose was to help users connect online with people that they already knew offline. Unlike the wild-looking pages found on MySpace, Facebook promoted a clean, orderly online experience. VIDEO- AND PHOTO-SHARING SITES Online social networking evolved into a full multimedia experience with the arri val of video- and photo-sharing Web sites. Users could upload visual content to share with friends and other users. Photo-sharing sites such as Flickr enabled users to transfer digital photos online to share with others.Users decided whether to share their photos publicly or limit access to private groups. Users could also use the site's features to organize and store pictures and video. One of the most popular video-sharing Web sites was YouTube. The site, founded in 2005, used Adobe Flash technology to display clips from movies and television, music videos, and video blogs. Users could upload, share, and view video clip topics from the latest movies to funny moments captured on film. Not everyone wanted to create a profile, write a blog, or upload pictures and video.Other social networking tools allowed these users to participate online. E-mails sent messages to a friend's electronic mailbox. Instant messaging was a real-time conversation between two people online at the same time . Comment posting allowed users to interact and talk about a friend's blog, profile, or pictures. Even online gaming was a form of social networking, allowing players to meet other people with similar interests online. WHY IS ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING SO POPULAR? The popularity of online social networking has prompted researchers to explore the similarities between online social networks and tribal societies.According to Lance Strate, a communications professor at Fordham University, social networks appeal to people because they feel more like talking than writing. â€Å"Orality is the base of all human experience,† said Strate. â€Å"We evolved with speech. We didn't evolve with writing. â€Å"3 Irwin Chen, an instructor at Parsons design school, is developing a new course to explore oral culture online. He agrees with Strate. â€Å"Orality is participatory, interactive, communal and focused on the present,† he says. â€Å"The Web is all of these things. â€Å"4 Mi chael Wesch teaches cultural anthropology at Kansas State University.He studied how people form social relationships while living with a tribe in Papua New Guinea. He compared the tribe to online social networking. â€Å"In tribal cultures, your identity is completely wrapped up in the question of how people know you,† he said. â€Å"When you look at Facebook, you can see the same pattern at work: people projecting their identities by demonstrating their relationships to each other. You define yourself in terms of who your friends are. â€Å"5 Despite the connections between social networks and tribal cultures, significant differences exist.In tribal societies relationships form through face-to-face contact. Social networks allow users to hide behind a computer screen. Tribal societies embrace formal rituals. Social networks value a casual approach to relationships. Millions of people across the world have joined online social networks. Perhaps their popularity stems from o ur innate desire to be part of a community. According to Strate, social networking â€Å"fulfills our need to be recognized as human beings, and as members of a community. We all want to be told: You exist. â€Å"6

A Comparison of Creation Myths from Genesis and Greece

The words myths and legends tend to be used interchangeably, but usually myths have a religious purpose whereas legends are the stories of heroes. Creation myths   have commonalities, because they are all seeking to explain the same things.It is part of human nature to wonder about the unknown and to seek answers. At the foundation of almost every culture is a story that explains how the earth, its creatures and its people came to be.These myths may be dismissed by some modern thinkers, yet continue to have huge influence as a frame of reference. In the case of Judaism and Greek mythology both emerge from the Eastern Mediterranean region, so although there are lots of differences, these are people not so far removed from each other geographically and there would have been some trading links at least and so it is likely that each group would have had some knowledge of the stories of the other.Myths are stories created by a group of people in order to explain some of the great questi ons in life such as ‘Where did man come from and from where did he gain knowledge?’ They originate in oral tradition as people discussed such matters and it would have been many generations before they were committed to script in some form.This goes some way to explain why there may on occasions be slightly different versions extant, as in Genesis 1 and 2 where there are two version of the creation. They are both included because at the time when the canon of Jewish scripture was finally fixed in the early years of the Christian era, beginning in about 90 C.E.[1] both stories had been in circulation for so many years and both were felt to contain something of value.Although myths may have internal chronology i.e. this happened first and then that, but there is no link with modern times.The book of Genesis differs on this point from the general rule in that after the story of the first family, Adam Eve and their sons,   in Genesis 4 and 5 there is a list of the generat ions between Adam and Noah, considered by the Jews to be an historical figure and after the story of Noah, in chapter 9 there are further lists , partly to explain the origins of the various nations of the earth , and in part to provide a link to the story of Abram ( later Abraham), considered to be the founder of the Jewish race.So the stories in Genesis are more particular than the generalised creation myths of the Greeks, which do not mention the founding of the Greek race.There is no such definitive collection of Greek myths, probably because the ancient Greek religion totally disappeared early in the first millennium C.E.[1] What are the Deuterocanonical book s of the Bible? Available from http://www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/deutero.html accessed 1st December 2008

Ask the Right College Tour Questions

Ask the Right College Tour Questions College tours are excellent things. Your perky tour guide will show you all the campus landmarks, spout the important stats and answer any questions. So dont waste time asking frequently asked questions - FAQs are on the universitys website. Instead, ask questions that speak to your childs particular interests and concerns, the ones about real student experiences. Its best if your child, rather than you, puts together a list of questions that are important to him and does the asking, but if every teen on the tour is afflicted with a shyness attack, go ahead and get the ball rolling. Here are a few questions to get you started, whether youre on campus for a regular tour or Admit Day. Dont ask about average class size - its a slippery statistic that averages gargantuan lectures with tiny senior seminars. Ask your tour guide about the size of his freshman year classes.Is this a commuter college or do students hang around on the weekend? What did your tour guide do last weekend? And the weekend before that? How often do he and his friends go home?Whats the best class or most inspiring professor your tour guide ever had? Why? How well does he know his professors, and how did that happen?Whats the most impossible class to get into on campus? Why? Is it because the class and the professor are so darn wonderful, or because its difficult to get the classes your child will need? Does that vary by major?Who helps your child choose classes? Does he have the same faculty adviser for all four years? Or does a peer adviser - a sophomore or junior, for example - help him register the first time and then hes on his own?What are the general education requirements - the GEs requir ed for graduation? For some reason, tour guides think GEs are the same on every campus. They are most emphatically not. Some schools require five humanities, five lab science, and three math classes, beginning with calculus. Others require one of each, plus a world religions class. The differences can be a deal breaker for your child. Why did your tour guide pick this school? What other schools did he consider? What does he wish hed known then that he knows now?What are the biggest campus traditions? Does everyone go to the football or basketball games?What percentage of students go Greek? Are the fraternities and sororities residential or social only? When is rush and what’s it like?How difficult is it to find housing? On some campuses, frats and sororities are a big deal because its so difficult to get into the dorms. Did your tour guide live in a dorm freshman year? Which one? Which one does he like best?What was the most difficult thing to get used to here? (A University of Puget Sound guide admitted it was the grey, drizzly weather, then rallied valiantly to say, â€Å"But it makes the sunny days seem all the sunnier!† Weather is a huge issue for many students.)Where does your tour guide study - in his room, the library, another favorite spot? How many hours a day does he study?Whats the favored campus hangout? How about off-campus (best pizza, coffee house, etc.)? If your child has health issues, youll want to ask questions about those concerns, of course. But everyone needs to ask what happens if a student has appendicitis or another health emergency - is there a hospital on campus or does campus security take you to a nearby hospital?Ask about academic support. Every campus has facilities to help students with learning disabilities, but most have tutoring help for anyone who needs it. What form does that take? Peer tutors or faculty support? Math and writing learning centers staffed 24/7? No matter how brilliant your child was in high school, he may be unhappily surprised by the higher expectations of college professors.Ask about the college career center and internship opportunities – and don’t be fooled by â€Å"the college encourages†¦Ã¢â‚¬  answers. Internships are an essential, often overlooked way to test drive career paths and start building a resume long before graduation. Some schools have extensive internship o pportunities. Some even require a certain number of internship hours. Others post opportunities in their career center but dont particularly solicit them. Ask about study abroad opportunities too. Nearly every college has some sort of international study program, but some majors are not conducive to study abroad - not if you want your child to graduate in four years, anyway. Some schools run their own satellite campus in a foreign country, so your child would be studying with University of Redlands faculty, for example, in Salzburg. Others tap into foreign university programs. (Do not be impressed by promises that a year abroad will cost no more than a regular year at your expensive private school or that the college will apply your scholarship to those months. All private colleges say that. State schools simply charge you whatever the international program charges. Hint: its not $45,000.)

Biography of Mark Twain

Biography of Mark Twain Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens Nov. 30, 1835 in the small town of Florida, MO, and raised in Hannibal, became one of the greatest American authors of all time. Known for his sharp wit and pithy commentary on society, politics, and the human condition, his many essays and novels, including the American classic,The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, are a testament to his intelligence and insight. Using humor and satire to soften the edges of his keen observations and critiques, he revealed in his writing some of the injustices and absurdities of society and human existence, his own included. He was a humorist, writer, publisher, entrepreneur, lecturer, iconic celebrity (who always wore white at his lectures), political satirist, and social progressive. He died on April 21, 1910 when Halley’s Comet was again visible in the night sky, as lore would have it, just as it had been when he was born 75 years earlier. Wryly and presciently, Twain had said, â€Å"I came in with Halleys Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I dont go out with Halleys Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.†   Twain died of a heart attack one day after the Comet appeared its brightest in 1910. A complex, idiosyncratic person, he never liked to be introduced by someone else when lecturing, preferring instead to introduce himself as he did when beginning the following lecture, â€Å"Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands† in 1866: â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen: The next lecture in this course will be delivered this evening, by Samuel L. Clemens, a gentleman whose high character and unimpeachable integrity are only equalled by his comeliness of person and grace of manner. And I am the man! I was obliged to excuse the chairman from introducing me, because he never compliments anybody and I knew I could do it just as well.† Twain was   a complicated mixture of southern boy and western ruffian striving to fit into elite Yankee culture. He wrote in his speech, Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims,1881: â€Å"I am a border-ruffian from the State of Missouri. I am a Connecticut Yankee by adoption. In me, you have Missouri morals, Connecticut culture; this, gentlemen, is the combination which makes the perfect man.† Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri had a lasting influence on Twain, and working as a steamboat captain for several years before the Civil War was one of his greatest pleasures. While riding the steamboat he would observe the many passengers, learning much about their character and affect. His time working as a miner and a journalist in Nevada and California during the 1860s introduced him to the rough and tumble ways of the west, which is where, Feb. 3, 1863, he first used the pen name, Mark Twain, when writing one of his humorous essays for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise in Nevada. Mark Twain was a riverboat term that means two fathoms, the point at which it is safe for the boat to navigate the waters. It seems that when Samuel Clemens adopted this pen name he also adopted another persona - a persona that represented the outspoken commoner, poking fun at the aristocrats in power, while Samuel Clemens, himself, strove to be one of them. Twain got his first big break as a writer in 1865 with an article about life in a mining camp, called Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, also called The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. It was very favorably received and printed in newspapers and magazines all over the country. From there he received other jobs, sent to Hawaii, and then to Europe and the Holy Land as a travel writer. Out of these travels he wrote the book, The Innocents Abroad, in 1869, which became a bestseller. His books and essays were generally so well-regarded that he started lecturing and promoting them, becoming popular both as a writer and a speaker. When he married Olivia Langdon in 1870, he married into a wealthy family from Elmira, New York and moved east to Buffalo, NY and then to Hartford, CT where he collaborated with the Hartford Courant Publisher to co-write The Gilded Age, a satirical novel about greed and corruption among the wealthy after the Civil War. Ironically, this was also the society to which he aspired and gained entry. But Twain had his share of losses, too - loss of fortune investing in failed inventions (and failing to invest in successful ones such as Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone), and the deaths of people he loved, such as his younger brother in a riverboat accident, for which he felt responsible, and several of his children and his beloved wife. Although Twain survived, thrived, and made a living out of humor, his humor was borne out of sorrow, a complicated view of life, an understanding of life’s contradictions, cruelties, and absurdities.   As he once said, â€Å"There is no laughter in heaven.†Ã‚   HUMOR Mark Twain’s style of humor was wry, pointed, memorable, and delivered in a slow drawl. Twain’s humor carried on the tradition of humor of the Southwest, consisting of tall tales, myths, and frontier sketches, informed by his experiences growing up in Hannibal, MO, as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, and as a gold miner and journalist in Nevada and California. In 1863 Mark Twain attended in Nevada the lecture of Artemus Ward (pseudonym of Charles Farrar Browne,1834-1867), one of America’s best-known humorists of the 19th century. They became friends, and Twain learned much from him about how to make people laugh. Twain believed that how a story was told was what made it funny   - repetition, pauses, and an air of naivety. In his essay How to Tell a Story Twain says, â€Å"There are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind- the humorous. I will talk mainly about that one.† He describes what makes a story funny, and what distinguishes the American story from that of the English or French; namely that the American story is humorous, the English is comic, and the French is witty. He explains how they differ: â€Å"The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter. The humorous story may be spun out to great length, and may wander around as much as it pleases, and arrive nowhere in particular; but the comic and witty stories must be brief and end with a point. The humorous story bubbles gently along, the others burst. The humorous story is strictly a work of art, - high and delicate art, - and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of telling a humorous story - - understand, I mean by word of mouth, not print - was created in America, and has remained at home.† Other important characteristics of a good humorous story, according to Twain, include the following: A humorous story is told gravely, as though there is nothing funny about it.The story is told wanderingly and the point is â€Å"slurred.†A â€Å"studied remark† is made as if without even knowing it, â€Å"as if one were thinking aloud.†The pause: â€Å"The pause is an exceedingly important feature in any kind of story, and a frequently recurring feature, too. It is a dainty thing, and delicate, and also uncertain and treacherous; for it must be exactly the right lengthno more and no less- or it fails of its purpose and makes trouble. If the pause is too short the impressive point is passed, and the audience have had time to divine that a surprise is intended- and then you cant surprise them, of course.† Twain believed in telling a story in an understated way, almost as if he was letting his audience in on a secret. He cites a story, The Wounded Soldier, as an example and to explain the difference in the different manners of storytelling, explaining that:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The American would conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it†¦. the American tells it in a ‘rambling and disjointed’ fashion and pretends that he does not know that it is funny at all,† whereas â€Å"The European ‘tells you beforehand that it is one of the funniest things he has ever heard, then tells it with eager delight, and is the first person to laugh when he gets through.† †¦.†All of which,† Mark Twain sadly comments, â€Å"is very depressing, and makes one want to renounce joking and lead a better life.† Twain’s folksy, irreverent, understated style of humor, use of vernacular language, and seemingly forgetful rambling prose and strategic pauses drew his audience in, making them seem smarter than he. His intelligent satirical wit, impeccable timing, and ability to subtly poke fun at both himself and the elite made him accessible to a wide audience, and made him one of the most successful comedians of his time and one that has had a lasting influence on future comics and humorists. Humor was absolutely essential to Mark Twain, helping him navigate life just as he learned to navigate the Mississippi when a young man, reading the depths and nuances of the human condition like he learned to see the subtleties and complexities of the river beneath its surface. He learned to create humor out of confusion and absurdity, bringing laughter into the lives of others as well. He once said, â€Å"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.† MARK TWAIN PRIZE Twain was much admired during his lifetime and recognized as an American icon. A   prize created in his honor, The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the nation’s top comedy honor, has been given annually since 1998 to â€Å"people who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best known as Mark Twain.† Previous recipients of the prize have included some of the most notable humorists of our time. The 2017 prizewinner is David Letterman, who according to Dave Itzkoff, New York Times writer, â€Å"Like Mark Twain †¦distinguished himself as a cockeyed, deadpan observer of American behavior and, later in life, for his prodigious and distinctive facial hair. Now the two satirists share a further connection.† One can only wonder what remarks Mark Twain would make today about our government, ourselves, and the absurdities of our world. But undoubtedly they would be insightful and humorous to help us â€Å"stand against the assault† and perhaps even give us pause. RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING Burns, Ken, Ken Burns Mark Twain Part I, https://www.youtube.com/watch?vVs, https://amphilsoc.org/sites/default/files/proceedings/150305.pdfMoss, Walter, Mark Twain’s Progressive and Prophetic Political Humor, http://hollywoodprogressive.com/mark-twain/The Mark Twain House and Museum, https://www.marktwainhouse.org/man/biography_main.php For Teachers: Learn More About Mark Twain, PBS, pbs.org/marktwain/learnmore/index.htmlLesson 1: Mark Twain and American Humor, National Endowment for the Humanities, https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/mark-twain-and-american-humor#sect-introductionLesson Plan | Mark Twain and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, WGBH, PBS, https://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/773460a8-d817-4fbd-9c1e-15656712348e/lesson-plan-mark-twain-and-the-mark-twain-prize-for-american-humor/#.WT2Y_DMfn-Y