Communication In the Workplace Essay -- Effective Communication

In an interview with George Lakoff, a linguistics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Ian A. Boal examines the social, political and economic implications of language and its relationship to the conduit metaphor. The interview, published in Boal's essay, Body, Brain and Communication, takes a closer look at the conduit metaphor in connection with computers and communication on the Internet and World Wide Web. More importantly, Boal-who is also a Berkeley professor-solicits Lakoff's views of computer technology and artificial intelligence; their effects on human values and the basic way people communicate and understand information in today's world. Essentially, the conduit metaphor enables thoughts and ideas to be communicated through connecting cables and wireless transmissions using language as objects and metaphors. An effective conduit metaphor causes the listener to receive and understand the meaning behind a message without having to engage in too much thought. Comprehension of an idea is achieved intuitively, instinctively or with feeling. The conduit metaphor is a basic parable belonging to a larger family of metaphors, many of which can be found on Lakoff's Conceptual Metaphors home page at Berkeley's Cognitive Science web site, http://cogsci.berkeley.edu/. The conduit metaphor, as described by its creator Michael Reddy, suggests that the mind can interpret ideas as objects that can be put into words, and thoughts are the organization or manipulation of those objects. Reddy says the objects that make up words or language reside in a storage container, or memory, where thoughts and ideas can be retrieved or recalled when needed. When ideas are converted into words, they can be communicated to someo... ...perform many of their job functions. Just imagine, however, if computers had the ability to not only assume a particular function, but also could think and reason in the same manner as you and I. Are human beings really ready for this type of innovation? The answer to this question may come sooner that we think. Works Cited Boal, Ian A. Body, Brain and Communication: An Interview with George Lakoff. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston. McGraw Hill Publishing. 1998. (21-31). Ehrenreich, Barbara. Put Your Pants On, Demonboy. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston. McGraw Hill Publishing. 1998. (80). Lakoff, George. Conceptual Metaphors. 22 Mar.1994. 23 Mar. 2000. http://cogsci.berkeley.edu/ Shirley, John. Wolves of the Plateau. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston. McGraw Hill Publishing. 1998. (135-141).

Negative Effects of Technology on the Society’s Security and Privacy

Continuous studies on possible technological developments are being done everyday as initiated by private companies and the government military. Needless to say, these technologies, particularly those funded by private companies have been developed aside from making huge profits, to benefit the society in almost every aspect in their lives especially in terms of making their lives easier and more comfortable. Similarly, those developed by the government may have been initially done mostly for military and government purposes, but almost always; such technology comes to be marketed to the masses later on. Examples of which include the online technologies such as cellular phones, the computer and the internet. Cellular phones, computers and the internet have been for many years now, widely available for commercial use. Undeniably, such technologies have made casual life more productive in terms of the speed in which work can now be done. Cellular phones allow cordless communication in almost all places, all stations in the world; computers allow speedier processing of transactions, calculations and many other tasks; and the internet allows not only global communication but also better and more widely available databases of information which almost everyone with internet access can utilize. Attached with such array of commercial benefits however, are possibilities of misuse and thus disadvantages that could not only affect one individual but also huge numbers of populations at one time in general. With these, technologies come more ways of violation of individual privacy as well as security. These stem from such technologies’ nature of mass connection. The number of cellular phone users has been increasing. From 1997 to 2002, there has been 10-fold increase in global usage reaching 787 million (â€Å"GSM to Pass One-Billion Mark This Year†). This may mean better connection for these people but this may also mean an increase in the number of people probable of being violated of privacy. It is true that it is prohibited to access account information from private companies, but since the use of airwaves in this particular technology allows the personal tracking of the location of an individual, privacy cannot always be ensured. There are still people who have unlimited access to such information and are capable of such violation, that is, location tracking without the consent of the concerned individual. This is especially true with the number of hackers, both experimenting and professional, out practicing.   Individual information from private companies could also be tapped indiscriminately especially by government officials for their specific purposes. This may be beneficial (but may still be unethical) if the person concerned is a real crook, but for innocent individuals, the violation of privacy would be unwarranted. The rise of the computers and the internet creates a new breed of crime. Computers are an efficient way of storing important and sometimes company critical files. This computer function allows company’s easier management and access to their files which are in many ways beneficial. But these benefits are not limited to the companies as the storage of information in the computer also allows professionals, particularly hackers, access to the information. Just recently, 12 December 2006, it was reported by CNN that a number of names and personal information were exposed when a hacker attacked the database of the computer system of the University of California, Los Angeles (â€Å"Hacker Attack at UCLA Affect 800,000 people†). According to the same report, a survey released in October of this year showed that about a hundred colleges experienced a similar incident during the previous 12 months. The information stolen in such cases usually include names, birth dates, medical records, social security numbers, home addresses and other personal information (â€Å"Hacker Attack at UCLA Affect 800,000 people†). Clearly, the computers and the internet allow newer and more technical way of thieving, the most controversial of which is identity theft. The use of the internet has now evolved to allow even the purchase of items from objects as simple books to even loans and transactions can now be done conveniently through the internet using the credit card. It is this nature of internet transactions that allows identity theft through the internet. According to a report done by the Federal Trade Commission in 2003, the reported form of identity theft has been limited to those involving credit card transactions. According to the same report, about 13% of the victims reported that their personal information was obtained during transactions during credit card purchases. Among those purchases include those done through the internet.   Such information can be used by the thief in many ways such as obtaining government documents, purchasing online, obtaining loans, housing transactions, employment and filing of tax returns (Federal Trade Commission). These are just some examples of how technology, particularly phones, the computer and the internet disadvantage individuals. There could be a lot more other ways. Phones and computers have also been used in propagating pornography especially with the increase in use of video cameras, file sharing and websites that support such. Computer viruses had been and can still be easily distributed to corrupt several company and even government files, causing significant losses both in the concerned company as well as in the society in general. Freund cited a survey of the FBI that about 500 U.S. companies suffered significant financial losses amounting to $455.8 million in 2002. Technology is a powerful tool and is undeniably beneficial to the society especially with the ease in living it contributes to every individual. But as much as it is powerful and beneficial, it can also do harm because everything with advantages can always be exploited to bring otherwise. The results that technology brings just all depend on how the user chooses to use it. Works Cited Freund, G. â€Å"Perspective: Hacking 2003, The New Agenda.† Cnet News.Com. Cnet Networks, Inc. 2006. Federal Trade Commission. â€Å"Identity Theft Survey Report.† Sep 2003. Synovate. â€Å"GSM to Pass One Billion Mark This Year.† 2003. Cellular.co.za. â€Å"Hacker Attack at UCLA Affect 800,000 People.† CNN.com. 12 December 2006. Cable News Network LLP.      

Free Time-Telling Lessons and Worksheets for Kids

Report about Comparison of Three Different Sources of Information

ABSTRACT Information security and reliability is one of the most important factors considered when selecting a communication channel. The channel must ensure that the information is free from distortion. In this report, three sources of information are analyzed, their advantages and disadvantages evaluated and a recommendation finally made about the most appropriate source that can be used to handle information about climatic change and adaptations. INTRODUCTION This report aims at analyzing a newspaper article, journal article, and a policy report. After the analysis, a conclusion is made about the reliability of the articles. When looking at the newspaper, factors like the information sources are considered. We also look at the writer and the professionalism in the article. All these factors are considered in the cases of policy article and journal article. LITERATURE REVIEW A newspaper is usually used to report on events. Such events or news are normally not first hand information and their reference citation not a requirement. A newspaper is thus suitable for current affairs. A policy article, unlike the newspaper, is written by an expert. However, it undergoes the same political influence as that of the newspaper. A journal article is written by an expert and analyzed properly. Truth is its major concern. METHODOLOGY In this report, similar information that is contained in three different articles is scrutinized for reliability. The truth in all the three articles is justified and then a conclusion drawn about their reliability. We have found out that newspapers are normally for current affairs and always have political influence; policy documents also have political influence though they are written by experts. However, journals lack political influence. ANALYSIS From the research, we have found that newspaper articles are usually not first hand information and have no proper reference. The context within which such articles are written usually lack and the method of data collection not considered. The speed with which they are written makes it completely difficult for a substantial research to be carried out so as to verify some information. Newspaper is thus suitable for very current affairs. Policy reports, as opposed to newspaper articles, are written by professionals and the arguments are clear with strong bases. However, like newspapers, they suffer from political bias. Like policy reports, journal articles are also written by professionals. In these articles, truth is of utmost importance. Thorough scrutinizations of such articles by other professionals make it possible for the truth and accuracy to be maintained. Such articles are very reliable. CONCLUSION Considering the advantages and disadvantages of the above types of articles, it is clear that journal article is the most reliable. This is due to its key aim: to tell nothing but the truth. The proper scrutiny they are subjected to by other professionals makes it completely impossible for lies. Journal article is thus the most reliable in handling issues like the climatic change and adaptations.

Pollution Is A Major Public Health Crisis - 1573 Words

Introduction Water, it is one of the most significant source to mankind and our planet. While it exists, so does everything else along. However, in today’s epidemic, there has been certain factors that have risen to awareness whether we can the water today is beneficial or not? In other words, the health risks against water contamination have risen in the past few decades; all from what you may ask? Well, it could be for various factors and perspectives; either environmental or materialistic. Pollution is a major public health crisis in the world. (Friis, 2012). It is one of the conflicts that contribute to various aspects of an individual’s life, whether it is their health or environmental life. Methods Materials In order to collect†¦show more content†¦Why is that you ask? Water pollution, which not has caused water contamination but also hurt the quality of healthy water. Approximately two thirds of the Earth s surface is covered by water, while less than a third has land. As Earth s population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet s water resources. Nevertheless, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being squeezed by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced; hence poor water quality meaning water pollution. The oceans on the global are our most important factor in providing water. Not only do they provide as a source for us to live on but also has life among it. Various species live among the ocean such as fish, sharks, whales, otters, plants, etc. Yet, why is it that we don t keep our most important water resource clean towards its environment? Water contamination is an epidemic that is still rising in our world and creating multiple struggles, even towards survival. One the most ways our environment suffers is through chemical wastes that led to water contamination therefore lowering water quality. Among several water habitats and sources, many come in contact of hazardous chemicals (Chia, M. , Kwaghe, M, 2015) For instance, through natural and anthropogenic sources, chemicals contact our water supply; nevertheless this leads to drinking water being dangerous in

Cost Accounting and Managerial Accounting

Question: Discuss about the Cost Accounting and Managerial Accounting. Answer: Introduction In this report, the discussion is focused on the subject area of cost accounting. During the report, mainly the answers of four different questions are given. The first question discusses about the use of managerial accounting information in strategic decision-making. The second and third questions focus on the different types of cost allocation and preparation of budget. In the fourth question, different approaches of performance evaluation and control are discussed. Critical evaluation of the use of managerial accounting information for the strategic decision-making Managerial accounting information is very much useful in the strategic decision-making in different types of organization. The managerial accounting information provides the knowledge regarding the cost structure of the organization (Collier 2015). This information helps the higher authority to understand whether the organization is operating cost effectively or it has exceeded the budget. On the other side, in case of private or public limited companies, the management of the organization can take the decision regarding the business diversification or merger and acquisition (Butler and Ghosh 2015). At the same time, in case of partnership or private and public limited companies, the managerial accounting information helps in taking the pricing decision and future marketing strategies. Selection and application of different types of cost allocation There are different types of cost allocation systems and those are absorption costing allocation system, variable costing allocation system and activity-based cost allocation system. Absorption costing allocation is such a technique of cost allocation in which the costs are allocated internally by using the financial accounting techniques (Fanelli et al. 2015). In this type of cost allocation technique, the costs allocation is not disclosed publically. Variable cost allocation system is more or less similar to the absorption cost allocation system. However, main difference between these two allocation systems is that in case of variable cost allocation system, the fixed manufacturing costs are not allocated (Kaplan and Atkinson 2015). On the other side, the activity based cost allocation system, allocates the costs based on each activity takes place during the business operations. Role of absorption cost allocation system Role of variable cost allocation system Role of activity based cost allocation system The absorption cost allocation system helps the management in taking the internal overall costing strategies. The variable cost allocation system helps the management in identifying the variable costs in the organization and taking the strategies for controlling such costs. Activity based cost allocation system helps in identifying the costs of each activity separately. With the help of this, the management can identify in which area the company is incurring more costs and can taken necessary strategy for controlling the costs. Design and preparation of budgets and feedback analysis Budget can be of different types like, cash budget, sales budget, production budget and many more. However, the design and preparation style of different budget are different (Strumickas and Valanciene 2015). Here, the design and preparation of cash budget are shown below: There is a company namely ABC Ltd, which needs to prepare cash budget for first three months of 2017. The cash budget is shown below: Particulars January 2017 (in $) February 2017 (in $) March 2017 (in $) Opening cash balance 1000 3000 5900 Cash received: Cash received from sales 7000 8000 10000 Total cash received 8000 11000 15900 Cash payments: Payment of wages and salaries (2000) (2000) (2000) Tax payment (700) Payment of miscellaneous expenses (3000) (3100) (3700) Total cash payments (5000) (5100) (6400) Closing cash balance 3000 5900 9500 In the above table it can be seen that in the third month, the cash payment of the company increased due to the payment of tax and increase in the miscellaneous expenses. However, the closing balances are expected to be increased. From the above table, the management can take the decision of controlling the cash payment in the third month. This will help the company to increase the closing cash balance more at the end of third month. Discussion on various approaches of performance evaluation and control There are various approaches of performance evaluation and control those are applied in different types of business organizations. In case of private and public limited companies, presently, the approach of balance scorecard is used (Jerraya and Bacivarov 2016). In this approach, the management of the companies evaluates and controls the performance on the basis of four perspectives and those are customers, financial, internal business and learning and growth perspectives. In case of the partnership and sole proprietary businesses, the performance evaluation and control are generally done by checklists method (Brosig et al. 2015). This is one of the simplest methods of performance evaluation and control. Under this method, few questions are asked to the employees and if most of the answers become negative, then the organization arranges for training sessions. There are few indicators of performance and those are as under: Quantitative indicators turnaround times, annual sales, yearly expenditure, number of journal entries and many more Directional indicators - This is a technique, in which the performance is indicated by comparing the current years sales with the last years sales Conclusion During this report, it has been identified that managerial accounting information is very much useful in decision-making purposes. It has also identified that there are different techniques of cost allocations and approaches of performance evaluation and control those are applied by the different types of business organizations. Evaluation of the regression models In the evaluation of the two regression models that are net-up costs and number of set-ups and set-up costs and Number of set-ups hours, it can be identified that the in case of second regression model, the slope is higher than the first one. In case of first one, the coefficient of X variable is 0.001103 and on the other side, in case of the second variable, the coefficient of X variable is 0.015168. This indicates that the number of set-ups hours has more influence on the set-ups costs than the number of set-ups. Therefore, the organization that is Dilbert Toys must use the second regression model in case of decision making. Reference List Brosig, F., Meier, P., Becker, S., Koziolek, A., Koziolek, H. and Kounev, S., 2015. Quantitative evaluation of model-driven performance analysis and simulation of component-based architectures.Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on,41(2), pp.157-175. Butler, S.A. and Ghosh, D., 2015. Individual differences in managerial accounting judgments and decision making.The British Accounting Review,47(1), pp.33-45. Collier, P.M., 2015.Accounting for managers: Interpreting accounting information for decision making. John Wiley Sons. Fanelli, A., Leniowski, D., Monaco, G. and Sankowski, P., 2015. The ring design game with fair cost allocation.Theoretical Computer Science,562, pp.90-100. Jerraya, A. and Bacivarov, I., 2016. Performance Evaluation Methods for Multiprocessor System-on-Chip Designs.Electronic Design Automation for IC System Design, Verification, and Testing, p.85. Kaplan, R.S. and Atkinson, A.A., 2015.Advanced management accounting. PHI Learning. Strumickas, M. and Valanciene, L., 2015. Research of management accounting changes in Lithuanian business organizations.Engineering Economics,63(4).

Lillian Hellman Essays - Hollywood Blacklist, English-language Films

Lillian Hellman Lillian Hellman was one of the most influential and successful playwrights of her time. Throughout her professional life she has expanded her writing into different genres, as well as being a playwright she was a screenwriter during a popular time in Hollywood and later in her life she wrote many popular memoirs reviewing her life. Hellman was gripped with many obstacles in her career and personal life, including a torrid love affair with writer Dashiell Hammett, having to testify in front of the house on un-American activities and being a female in a male dominated profession. Julia Newhouse and Max Bernard Hellman had only one child, Lillian Florence Hellman, born June 20th 1905 in New Orleans. Growing up she would spend her time between New York where her parents lived in New Orleans. Lillian stayed with her two aunts in a bed and breakfast they owned in the French Quarter. As a child Lillian would romp through the dangerous city of new Orleans by herself proving she was very independent at an early age. Six months out of the year she would attend school in New Orleans, the rest was spent in New York where she also attended school. She decided to go to college in the east, attending both New York University and Columbia University. In 1925 Lillian Hellman left college and read scripts for a living. On December 31st she married her husband Arthur Kober, who also became a successful playwright. Through these years Hellman traveled to Paris and Germany. Kober and Hellman moved to Hollywood in 1930, where Kober worked as a screenwriter and Lillian Hellman read manuscripts for MGM. In Hollywood she met Dashiell Hammett. Shortly after she moved to New York and lived with Hammett, she divorced Arthur Kober. In New York Hammet wrote The Thin Man modeling his character Nora Charles after Lillian. After little luck in New York Hellman moved back to California as a screenwriter. While in Hollywood her mother died. The Children's Hour an early and controversial play written by Hellman opened in London. The play deals with a child's accusation that ruins two school teachers lives. The taboo subject matter of same sex relationships that the play deals with led to praise by her peers and boycotting by conservatives. The Little Foxes is the next Hellman play to be performed, it is her most popular play yet, staying open for 410 performances. In The Little Foxes material greed for power create tragic conflicts in a southern family. Hellman bought a 130 acre farm in upstate new York with the money her plays had brought her. Watch on the Rhine opens in 1941, with the success of this play Hellman had established her endurance and talent throughout the literary and theatrical world. In Watch on the Rhine, the destructive evil of the nazi disrupts the sheltered lives of a suburban family in Washington ,DC. She went on to write the Autumn garden (1951) and Toys in the Attic( 1960). In 1952 Lillian Hellman was supposed to appear before the house un-American activities committee for her slight affiliations with the communist party in Hollywood when she was a script writer. Hammet was also harassed by Charles Mcarthy and the committee, leading to his arrest. Hellman refused to discuss her friends political views as many Hollywood employees were forced to do. this was what she thought on the subject; "I'm pleased with what I did in front of the house UN American committee because it had good results and it let other people take the same position, which was the first time anybody had ever taken it." (Bryer dust cover) Dashiell Hammett died in 1961. In the 1970's Hellman gained recognition for her autobiographical writings. She was the author of three memoirs, An Unfinished Woman, Pentimento, and Scoundrel Times. Throughout these books she recalled her relationships with many people during her life. From her childhood best friend, Julia, who was killed during World War II, to her maid on her farm. All three memoirs gained critical acclaim and consumer recognition. An Unfinished Woman was the winner of the National Book Award and Pentimento was made into a movie starring Jane Fonda. Scoundrel Time, her last published work touches on the hardships she suffered during the Mcarthy era. "Hellman combined tightly woven plots with insight into psychological weakness and deep concern with the social issues of her time," one critic said about her work. She was thought of as a strong woman in hard times, "I don't have to tell you