Communication Skill Essay

International Conference Conferences, Symposia and Campus Events 2006 The Integration of Professional Communication Skills into Engineering Education Dorthy Missingham University of Adelaide Originally published in the Proceedings of the EDU-COM 2006 International Conference. Engagement and Empowerment: New Opportunities for Growth in Higher Education, Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australia, 22-24 November 2006. This Conference Proceeding is posted at Research Online. http://ro. ecu. edu. au/ceducom/91 Missingham, D. The Universtiy of Adelaide, Australia. The Integration of Professional Communication Skills into Engineering Education Dr Dorthy Missingham School of Mechanical Engineering The University of Adelaide. Australia dorothy. missingham@adelaide. edu. au ABSTRACT Conventional Engineering curriculum is strongly focused on the development in students of technical knowledge and skills. However, in recent years, employers have increasingly acknowledged that this traditional preparation of Engineering students‘ is inadequate, as graduates lack the wide range of written and spoken communication skills required to engage with members of other professional groups and with the broader community. Recognition of the important role that communicative competence plays in professional success within the engineering industry has, as a result, led to a number of tertiary institutions developing curricula to address these needs. This paper presents a successful integrative Engineering Communication curriculum, developed for both local and international Engineering students in an Australian university, which aims to develop both communicative ability and community engagement. The courses that form the Engineering Communication Program provide for critical awareness-raising of community issues such as ethics, sustainability and gender, English for academic and professional Engineering purposes for both English as an Additional Language (EAL) and English background students and advanced research communication for postgraduate students. All courses are strongly informed by scaffolded learning techniques, systemic functional linguistics and genre theory, and most are run collaboratively by Engineering, Education and Applied Linguistics lecturers. The aims of the Program are to raise awareness in Engineering students about, and to equip them with skills for, their future roles and responsibilities, and to provide the community with engineers whose strong technical knowledge is balanced by an appreciation of the broader social contexts with which they will engage in their professional lives. INTRODUCTION The need for engineering students to acquire professional skills, in addition to technical skills, in order to enhance both community engagement and career success has been increasingly articulated by educators and industry professionals alike. Professional skills mentioned variously include teamwork, conflict resolution, and an awareness of social justice, sustainability and ethics. However, as highlighted by Adams and Missingham (2006) the need for improved communicative competence in engineering graduates has been the professional skills area most widely discussed in research and the engineering profession. Increasingly, engineers work in knowledge-intensive fields that require both high level communication and problem-solving skills (Alvesson 2004). In the Australian setting this need is recognised in the National Generic Competence Standards formulated by Engineers Australia, which extensively refers to communicative abilities throughout its descriptors of competencies required by engineers (IE Aust 1999). However, research on employer satisfaction with engineering graduates‘ communication skills indicates they are below desired requirements, both in Australia (DEETYA 2000) and abroad (Lee 2003). This paper discusses a successful integrative Engineering Communication curriculum, developed for both local and international Engineering students in The University of Adelaide, which aims to develop both communicative ability, and an understanding of the need and ability for community engagement. The paper begins with a brief comparative examination of engineering communication education in other universities, both in Australia and overseas. 346 COMPARATIVE APPROACHES The critical role that communicative competence plays in both academic and professional success has, over the past decade, been recognised nationally and internationally in a number of tertiary institutions involved in engineering education (Najar 2001, Riemer 2002, Einstein 2002). A review of literature, relating to engineering communication education, reveals several significant trends common both within Australia and overseas. These trends identify three major areas of academic and professional engineering communication recognised by educators as important skills needed by graduating engineers. The teaching of oral communication, written communication and teamwork skills have been introduced as part of the undergraduate engineering curricula in various Universities world wide (Einstein 2002, Schowm & Hirsch 1999). Whilst the combination of communication skills taught and the methodologies used may vary between institutions one particular theme or approach frequently emerges. An interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of engineering communication (Artemeva, Logie &St-Martin 1999, Jennings & Ferguson 1995) is being practiced by a small but increasing number of engineering faculties and colleges. Examination of interdisciplinary approaches is important in relation to the integrative approach used by engineering and communication educators within the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. In this respect, learning and teaching of oral and written communication skills in engineering communication curricula have been examined whereas team work skills have not been specifically examined for this particular discussion, as it is considered as worthy of separate dedicated research . Studies undertaken within Australian universities attest the need for high level communication skills. According to Najar (2001) communicative competence, including teamwork and professional writing skills for example, the ability to ? research, write and format basic research reports‘ as well as developing formal oral presentation skills is important to prepare students for both ?academic success and the workplace‘. Similarly Riemer (2002) claims that whilst engineering knowledge and technical expertise are important attributes the graduate engineer must be able to present this knowledge ? ith an excellent standard of communication skills‘. However, where Najar emphasises written and teamwork communication skills, Riemer (2002) claims that emphasis on oral communication skills is highly valued by employers. Riemer further elabourates that oral communication and presentation skills are ? career enhancers‘ which may be considered as ? the biggest single factor in determining a student‘s career success or failure‘ (Beder 2000 cited in Riemer 2002). Despite the apparent emphasis that Riemer places on oral communication skills he also acknowledges that there are a number of areas of communication skills which are necessary for engineers, including written communication skills, technical terminology and professional jargon. The later two areas are probably best described in linguistic terms such as genre and discourse, which are indicative that for each specific discipline there is an accompanying language culture. Internationally, universities are also engaged in the teaching and learning of engineering communication skills. Einstein in his 2002 overview of changes in engineering education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) describes a new approach implemented in the School of Civil Engineering which was developed in response to the view that what was being taught in universities was increasingly divorced from practice. As a result twelve courses were either created or developed in most of which ? regular oral, written and illustrated presentations‘ were required. Similarly Carlton University in Canada also recognised that the engineering discipline had specific needs in the teaching and learning of communication skills (Artemeva et al 1999). These needs related directly to the transition of engineering students from an ? academic to a workplace environment‘. In the case of Carlton University engineering communication studies emphasise written communication skills. The Carlton University approach described by Artemeva et al (1999) is in contrast to Riemers (2002) theoretical proposition on the prominence required in developing oral communication skills for the workplace. One other key difference in Riemers (2002) paper to the approaches suggested by Artemeva et al (1999) as well as Najar (2001) and Einstein (2002), is that Artemeva et al, Najar and Einstein are all overviewing programs of engineering communication already in existence. A common theme emergent in the literature is that many institutions recommend an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of engineering communication. Various researchers and educators claim that linking acquisition of academic communication skills to authentic engineering tasks 347 both challenges students negative attitudes, towards what they term ? earning English‘, as well as promotes student motivation. Shwom and Hirsch (1999) claim that shared agenda between disciplines recognises the equal status of engineering and communication, or the ? equal place at centre stage of the course‘. This view is also reinforced by Jennnings and Ferguson in their 2002 study, of communication engineering skills in Queen‘s University, Belfast, which states that through linking the study of communication skills to the exploration of engineering issues that communication skills become a key element in the educational process. Furthermore, ? here is a greater likelihood that students will develop a better overall perspective on their (engineering) subject‘. Significantly, many courses which have implemented an interdisciplinary approach have combined the teaching of communication skills with engineering design subjects. In an approach similar to that of the School of Mechanical Engineering, at The University of Adelaide, engineering schools at Northwestern University, USA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and Flinders University, South Australia advocate an interdisciplinary approach that combines engineering communication with engineering design. In reference to the program at Northwestern University, Shwom & Hirsch (1999), claim that design and communication are ? ideal partners‘ and that students ? combined knowledge of both fields will make them both better designers and better communicators‘. Additionally students are convinced of the importance of communication in engineering. Of the interdisciplinary approach taken at MIT, Einstein (2002) describes design as a synthesising process which requires various visual, written and problem solving skills inferring therefore that it is the natural setting for teaching and learning communication skills. He goes on to state that ? design (synthesis), coordination and communication‘ are regarded as the major features of the MIT , Civil and Environmental approach to engineering education. Najar (2001) discusses the Language in Use (LIU) modules linked directly to engineering design project work at Flinders University. A notable similarity with the approach of Adelaide University‘s School of Mechanical Engineering approach is that the development of students engineering knowledge is supported in an integrated way by the acquisition of professional and academic communication skills. Skills common to both universities include; how to communicate orally, how to research, and how to write and format research reports. Similarly the interdisciplinary approach employed in the Civil Engineering Department at Queens University, Belfast covers related communication issues in use of the library (how to research), English composition and technical report writing (written communication) and Public speaking (oral communication). Additionally Queens University covers poster presentation (visual communication) an area that the Adelaide University program covers in fourth year but which is not mentioned in the Flinders University program. It is apparent from the literature therefore, that the need for communicative competence in engineering education has been recognised in a number of places worldwide. In particular, an interdisciplinary education approach in engineering communication has been introduced in a range of Universities which offer engineering studies. Despite some differences in the methodologies, curricula and elements of communication addressed by different universities, including the University of Adelaide, these studies indicate that the synthesis of engineering design, which is inherently practical in nature, with the need to communicate the design process and outcomes is both an ideal setting and an important factor for positively influencing student motivation and skills in the study of professional communication. By promoting a shared agenda between disciplines the literature also suggests that this may also promote student recognition of the importance of communication in engineering. Regardless of the similarities and differences of engineering communication education taken by the programs discussed here the literature agrees that increased levels of communicative competence relate directly to employability and success in the engineering industry. THE ADELAIDE APPROACH Background The teaching of professional communication skills within the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide has evolved over a number of years since the mid 1990s. This evolution has experienced different iterations with the current approach developing more directly from a combination of initiatives taken both within the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering, and by the then Advisory Centre for University Education (ACUE), now the Centre for Learning and 348 Professional Development (CLPD). These initiatives led to the creation of various courses in Engineering Communication including courses for International Students. The Faculty wide Engineering Communication (EAL) course was traditionally managed by the School of Mechanical Engineering. In Semester 2, 2006 this course was transferred to management by the Faculty Academic Registrar in order to reflect the Faculty wide nature of the need for dedicated engineering communication course for international undergraduates. Within the School other initiatives led to the teaching of Engineering Communication to 3rd year students. Initially taught as a separate subject this course was combined with the Level III Design in 2004. In the same year the School of Mechanical Engineering also created a new course, Engineering Planning Design and Communication (EPD&C), for entry level students. The Mechanical Engineering Communication approach consists of a fully integrated, nested curriculum of courses, designed to; explicitly link communication learning to learning in engineering at all year levels, ? develop students‘ ability to construct and present logical argument discursively, ? oster language development from sentence level skills to large document written and oral communication, ? encourage active participation through class discussion and response to formative feedback, ? foster the ability to communicate problem identification, formulation and solution to diverse audiences and ? use development in communicative ability as a vehicle for fostering students‘ insight into and perspective on engineer ing practice in the community, including the social, cultural, political, international and environmental context of professional engineering practice. Each course in the program, illustrated below in Figure 1, addresses these aims while embedded within either broader Engineering course curricula or, in the case of Engineering Communication EAL, within a curriculum that employs specific strategies that address the needs of EAL Engineering students (Adams & Missingham 2006). 349 EPD&C Level I 2 Engineer Communication EAL 1 Design Practice Level I I 2 Engineering and the Environment Level III 2 Design & Commun. Level III 2 Research Communication Program 1 Design Project Level IV 2 (Postgraduate) Figure 1: Mechanical Engineering Communication courses showing their relationships to each other and the broader Engineering curriculum. 1 for students enrolled in all Engineering disciplines 2 for students enrolled in Mechanical Engineering Theory The theoretical underpinning of the first year Engineering Planning Design and Communication course and the third year Design and Communication course is based on the notion of ? ocial constuctivism‘ as advanced by Vygotsky. In particular, Bruners‘ concept of ? scaffolded‘ learning (Wood, Bruner & Rose 1975) informs the student based approach that is centred on active participatory curricula which aims at assisting students to develop increasingly skilled levels of academic and professional communication. Social constructivism grew from a view that educational methods needed to be base concepts of learning beyond rote memorisation, ? egurgitationâ⠂¬Ëœ of facts and the division of knowledge into different subjects. Early approaches sought to provide appropriate learning situations where teachers allowed students to develop their own knowledge, meaning and truth in a context which would enable them to use the learning throughout their life. Vygotsky developed this philosophy, noting that ? the central fact about our psychology is the fact of mediation‘ (Vygotsky 1978 p. 166). Social constructivists consider that the dynamic interaction between instructors, learners and tasks provides the opportunity for learners to create their own understanding through the interaction with others and is the most optimal learning environment. The constructivist approach, guiding the Mechanical Engineering communication courses is further reinforced in the application of Brunerian notions of the ? spiral curriculum‘. Bruner postulated that ? A curriculum as it develops should revisit the basic ideas repeatedly, building on them until the student has grasped the full formal apparatus that goes with them‘ (Bruner 1960) p. 3). 350 In the School of Mechanical Engineering these theories guide the designing of courses which are aimed at developing generic language skills which can be used as the basis for current and future application within the engineering industry, rather than a language course focussed solely on communicating engineering terms. The learning and t eaching of communication skills across all levels of the undergraduate program enables scaffolding of knowledge to be integrated rather than focussing on a short d of student teacher interaction. Through this approach skills acquired in first year communication are reinforced in second year Design Practice, extended and elaborated on in the level III course and then reinforced again through workshops and practice in the fourth year Design Project. Borrowing from neuroscience research into learning. the 2006 Level III and semester 2 EAL students have informed the idea of a concept of developing an habitual intellectual framework. Whilst relying on heavily on scaffolded learning, this concept also aims to redress some of the negative perceptions that engineering student have about ? earning English‘ by encouraging students to acquire higher cognition learning in communication skills which they can then apply as habit. PRACTICE AND PERCEPTION Three dedicated communication courses are provided at undergraduate level, Engineering Communication EAL (English as an Additional Language), Engineering Design Planning and Communication (Level I) and Design and Communication (Level III). The overall aim of the three courses is to provide students with an nderstanding of the importance of communication to the professional engineer and to equip them with the necessary knowledge, skills, flexibility and confidence to be good engineering communicators. Through the application of Student Experience of Teaching and Learning (SELT) surveys students are able to comment on and assess the effectiveness of the courses to their needs. At the same time instructors are able to monitor student needs and make appropriate changes to the curriculum and methodology if required. Engineering Communication EAL Engineering Communication EAL was designed specifically to meet the particular needs of international students and to be complementary to the technical engineering courses students undertake to complete their degrees. Through a variety of formal and informal learning strategies students are introduced to and practice basic research techniques. These techniques include ? locating, critically reading and interpreting academically acceptable sources ? presenting their analysis in the form of evidenced based propositions with sources integrated appropriately ? resenting the argument in both a written and an oral form suitable for an academic audience. The strategies used emphasise participation and practice as key elements to becoming effective communicators. Therefore, classes are very active, sometimes rowdy and frequently fun with group discussions and impromptu presentations of issues, group and individual exercises integrated with peer teaching/learning through guided presentation of answers to the class, and open class discussion inviting students to academically critique their own and others responses. Student Experience of Teaching and Learning (SELT) surveys consistently indicate that learning outcomes for students are enhanced by ? full participation on (sic) the aims of the course‘, ? giving feedback to students about their participation‘, adjusting the teaching ? of various topics accordingly (sic) to the class – enabling faster, more effective learning‘, ? very dynamic lessons‘ and being ? able to stimulate my learning‘. Formal assessment strategies involve a series of formative assessments which involve students applying feedback provided to a subsequent assignment. Student comments indicate that this approach is highly effective. Design and Communication courses The Engineering Design Planning and Communication (Level I) and Design and Communication (Level III) courses are provided for all students undertaking degree programs in the School of Mechanical Engineering. The integration of communication and engineering design was devised specifically to emphasise the importance of professional engineering communication and to ensure that communication is not seen by students as a stand alone subject that can be completed and then forgotten about. The effectiveness of this approach in highlighting the importance of communication has been recognised by students who report that the course(s) ? improves your speaking and writing skills‘, 351 ?helps with the written work in other subjects‘, they have ? learnt how to write for university assignments‘, and ? learning academic writing (is) useful to further years of study‘. A number of students have explicitly stated that the course taught them ? to communicate effectively and should be compulsory for all engineer‘?. These comments are also consistent with graduate attributes specified as important not only by the Faculty but also by the engineering industry, including ? the ? ability to communicate effectively‘, ? the ? ability to undertake problem identification, formulation and solution‘ ? the acquisition of skills to enable the ? pursuit of life long learning‘. Course material is also designed to be complementary to the Engineering Communication EAL course by providing reinforcement of and extension to the skills learnt. For example, the Level I course provides students with the additional educational framework and the opportunity to apply skills learnt in ESL to the needs of report writing and the oral presentation of progress reports on a Planning and Design project. Student feedback through SELT surveys consistently evidence the importance of these skills, for example, ? It was great knowing how to structure a report properly‘ and the ? introduction to engineering report writing is very comprehensive‘. A further integrative approach that has been taken in the Level I and Level III courses is reflected in the establishment of the relationships with prior learning and future learning. For example, Level III examines structure, cohesion, critical thinking and analysis, the use of evidence, presenting arguments both in written and oral form and report writing at a more advanced level than the Level I course. The Level III communication course is also an important prerequisite to level the IV Design Project, where all students must write an extensive design report and present a professional seminar on their project. Challenges and Outcomes Empirical and anecdotal evidence indicates that engineers are poor communicators and that one of the factors which influences student choice in undertaking engineering studies is the belief they will not need ? English?. Therefore, discussions and exercises are designed to encourage students to participate and practice skills, to be flexible in their approach to language and its uses, to contribute their ideas, to build on their strengths and to develop confidence. The value placed on practical evidencing of communication is reflected in a participation mark, worth 20% of the total assessment. As a result classes are noisy and dynamic. Students also find that effective communication can be both useful and enjoyable. For example, SELT comments show ? I like the idea of students presenting ideas on overheads (transparencies) in class activities‘, the course ? keeps people interested in tasks that could be very boring‘, ? A good environment for learning is provided‘ and ? interactivity of the class in tasks helps us to gain a better understanding of the subject‘. Similar strategies of regular class and group discussions as well as workshop exercises are used throughout the courses to ensure students regularly practice the skills of communication. Student response indicates that group learning and discussion ? stimulates learning without placing student under pressure‘ and that all students‘are able to learn something regardless of language ability‘. Individual students and groups are invited to present analyses and answers to the whole class and then to call for comments from their peers. The importance to student learning of this approach is exemplified in the following SELT comment ? Doing exercises and presentations in class forced me to do the work which I otherwise would not have touched if it had been set as homework. I appreciate that. Students are encouraged to form cross cultural groups during classes, so that a greater understanding of diversity and its value in engineering is promoted. At the same time students must undertake practical work in developing effective team work skills in order to be able to complete tasks and class based exercises. Students frequently comment that the group work is th e best aspect of the course as it provides opportunity to improve interpersonal communication skills and to gain a real sense of diversity through their interaction with students of different socio-cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Student comments indicate that working in cross cultural groups encourages ? acceptance of all ideas‘. Students discuss and at times challenge the characteristics of English for academic and professional purposes as presented in these courses. In doing so, students become increasingly aware of how purpose and socio-cultural factors shape the kind of language used in different contexts rather than 352 viewing language as simply correct or incorrect, or based predominantly on the rules of grammar. Issues of ethics and social responsibility arise naturally in relation to topics and lecturers encourage students to discuss these in class. Similarly communication and management themes highlight the nontechnical role aspects of engineering. Students have reflected that ? This (allows you to) practice skills you actually need‘ and there is a ? good balance for a broad variety of skills‘ development. Links to industry expectations are also reinforced through guest presentations from graduate engineers, Engineers Australia and industry leaders. In these way students are encouraged to broaden their perception of the engineering industry as a technical culture to include the understanding that engineering is also a communicative culture. Formal Assessment of Student Work A series of formal assessments, both oral and written are also undertaken to ensure that students can also apply research and analytical skills in a ? planned and timely manner‘ as highlighted by engineering graduate attributes. Formative feedback is given on all assignments in order that students may take full advantage of self directed learning. Students who apply the feedback to subsequent assignments are rewarded for both the attempt and the quality of the improvements made. Students report that this approach provides ? constructive criticism‘ which ? helps each student‘ to ? check their drafts carefully‘. Assessment criteria and their relationship to graduate attributes are fully discussed in both the course notes and in conjunction with exercises, and students have expressed this helps them to place learning in the context of professional and industry expectations, ? hen it‘s explained, it makes sense that engineers spend so much time writing reports, talking to clients and presenting project ideas to meetings‘. RESEARCH TOPICS AND TOPICAL RESEARCH To broaden student awareness of their professional responsibilities as engineers within society, in addition to operating within a company framework, research topics are carefully chosen to reflect community and industry concerns. In particular th e topics chosen provide for critical awareness-raising of community issues such as ethics, sustainability and social justice. For example, the research topic for the current semesters Engineering Communication EAL course is the Role of Engineers, through which students are exploring issues such as personal and interpersonal skills, engineering education and life long learning, ethical responsibilities, social and environmental factors, holistic thinking, entrepreneurship as well as technical skills. Previous topics have included an examination of gender issues in engineering education and the profession, forensic engineering, and the effects of teamwork on the outcomes of engineering projects. The imbedded nature of the Engineering Communications courses within the engineering curriculum ensures that the research topics are relevant to engineering practice, topical and frequently devised in collaboration with engineering lecturers. Level III Design and Communication research topics, for example, are devised together with the design lecturer and sometimes also with reference to other departmental members. The current semesters‘ research topic was directly linked to the Design Project topics. These topics and the communication research topic specifically designed to be co-related. Through this collaborative approach aspect of sustainability in engineering practice are reinforced and student skills in critical thinking, analysis and evaluation of research information are further developed. In Design the projects are to design a Formula SAE Car, Bio-Oil Trike, Biodiesel Bike, 1. 0 litre Biodiesel Taxi – Tuk-Tuk, Hybrid Solar Electric Vehicle, Biodiesel Boat, Formula SAE Aircraft, Alternative Energy 2-Seater Aircraft, Hybrid Solar/Biofuel Generator, Fossil-Fuel-Free irrigation system or a Nano-satellite. The topic for the Communication assignments is ? ustainability‘, applied to the chosen design project. , as outlined below. Topic The broad objective of sustainable development is ? to achieve social justice, sustainable economies, and environmental sustainability? ( European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, 1994). Australia has a National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development which aims to ? meet the needs of Australians today, while conserving our ecosystems for the benefit of future generations? (Office of Sustainability, Department of Environment and Heritage, 2006). 53 Task Environmental sustainability is a fundamental aspect of sustainability. For your Communication assignments you should identify how environmentally sustainable features can be incorporated in the design of your project, for example a bio-diesel boat, or alternative energy 2-seater aircraft. In addition, you should compare the effects of these features to a traditionally designed version of your project. You are not expected to justify sustainability. Your research must focus on the specific features of sustainable transport. Yong & Missingham, 2006) Previous research topics have included the following: Investigate an ethical dilemma in an engineering project, and critically evaluate the response of the engineering company or companies involved, in terms of relevant tenets of the IEAust Code of Ethics. (Yong & Missingham, 2005) Select an example of technological development that is prominent in industrialised society and analyse the benefits as well as the adverse effects of this technology to individuals, society and the environment. Yong & Missingham, 2004) A high level of both professional communication skills and an appreciation of community concerns required to be developed by the Level III Mechanical Engineering students. The topic descriptions have also been carefully devised to illustrate to students the inter-relationship of effective communication and an understanding of the social, cultural, political, international and environmental impacts implicit in the professional practice of engineering. These expectations are detailed in the Research Topic paper given below. ?Your research is to be based on a topic which has social, cultural, economic, and/or political implications. Engineers work in every sphere of life. As a professional engineer you will be working in an array of industries, in various contexts, and making contact with many people about professional organisations, government departments and agencies, allied industries and organisations, academics, and others. As an effective communicator and decision maker, you will need to be able to present your interpretation and findings on a range of issues, as will occur in the negotiation and management of projects, the submission of tenders, and the advising of clients. The topic for your research in this subject aims to provide you will strategies to both write and talk about your interpretation and findings about diverse issues. Your writing and your presentations will be an attempt to convince a nonspecialist audience of your point of view. You may choose one of the following areas of research for your project. Topic A – the impact of engineering projects on local communities The projects you may work on as an engineer could have significant social, cultural, economic, and/or political implications for people and communities who are not directly involved in the implementation of the project. Your research task is to: Discuss an engineering project which has, or has had, a significant impact/s on local communities Your research is to examine the impacts and outcomes of a specific engineering project on a community or communities. Examples of engineering projects could be dams or hydro-electric projects, weapons testing, mining, the building and operation of chemical or other industrial plants, building roads and railways, and others. The size of the project is unimportant, rather it is its impact on the local community which will be the focus of your research. The impacts could be one of the following scenarios, or a combination of scenarios: ? Well recognised and integrated into the planning of the engineering project, yet have provided, or are providing, difficulties in the implementation and outcomes of the project ? Recognised by the local communities or interest groups, but rejected or ignored by project planners and workers ? Unrealised in past projects, with the long-term consequences now the subject of community and/or legal dispute. 354 Your discussion needs to be an examination, that is, an analysis of the impacts arising from the project. Avoid lengthy descriptions of the history of the project, the engineering technicalities, or merely describing the impacts. You need to read as widely as possible about the project you have chosen, and from your interpretation of the source information provide a discussion of the (perhaps disputed) impact/s of the project. Limit your scope so that you have a specialised focus, that is, analyse only two or three impacts of the project. The word limit set for your assignments means you will not be able to cover all aspects of the project. Your focus needs to be an in-depth examination rather than a broad sweep of issues. Topic B – the impact of seemingly simple technology on the existence of communities. This topic also aims to examine the impact of (seemingly simple) technology on the existence and quality of life for those who use or used the technology. Your task is to: Discuss the impact of a seemingly simple technology on the existence of a community This research topic involves examining the design logic underpinning the technology and importantly the effectiveness of its use. Examples of apparently simple technology could be the boomerang, other hunting implements, for example, harpoons and poison arrows, a specific type of irrigation system, terracing for the cultivation of crops, and others. Your research needs to take account of: ? The design logic underpinning the technology ? The quality of life and survival provided for those who used the technology ? Any evidence which debates the effectiveness of technology, particularly its long term use. The technology you are examining may have been beneficial for a community in the short term, but in the longer term, further developments, modifications, abandonment of the technology, may have ensured a better quality of life, even survival, of a community. Long term environmental impacts could be important in your study. Your discussion needs to be an analysis of the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the technology. Avoid lengthy descriptions of the history or the form of the technology. This information needs to be only brief background information. You need to read as widely as possible about the technology you have chosen, and from your interpretation of the source information provide a discussion of the (perhaps disputed) effects of its use. Limit your scope so that you have a specialised focus, that is, on the analysis of two or three aspects of effectiveness of the technology. The technology could be from any era, past or even present day. If you are examining past technology, your focus needs to be on the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the technology itself for its intended purpose regardless of other influencing factors such as the introduction of other technology as a result of invasion, colonisation, or economic factors. Alternatively, the technology could be in current use or development, such as reversions to more environmentally sustainable technologies, for example, wind power. (Wake, 2002) CONCLUSION By promoting a shared agenda between language and engineering disciplines it is suggested that this may also promote student recognition of the importance of communication in engineering. Regardless of the similarities and differences of engineering communication education taken by various programs discussed here, increased levels of communicative competence relate directly to employability and success in the engineering industry. The program developed by School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide represents a successful integrative Engineering Communication curriculum, developed for both local and international Engineering students in an Australian university, which aims to develop communicative ability, community engagement and an awareness of the social, cultural, political, international, environmental and ethical contexts in which professional engineers practice. 55 ACKNOWLEDEMENTS Thanks go to many colleagues and friends, and to staff and students of the School of Mechanical Engineering who provided input (often unwittingly) to this research proposal. Thank you to Karen Adams for the stimulating and frequent discussions on many things educational and philosophical and Colin Kestell engineering lecturer extraordinaire who can always be relied on to stimulate teaching enthusiasm and creativity. Many thanks go to wonderful colleagues Elizabeth Yong and Kristin Munday whose considerable work is also represented here, and to Catherine Irving and Patricia Zoltan whose support, intellectual contributions and hard work have also contributed to this program. Thank you also to Barbara Wake whose commitment to and knowledge of academic communication which, together with the vision of Colin Hansen, Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering have enabled the development of such a successful program of professional and academic engineering communication. Special thanks to Roxanne Missingham for the editing and encouragement. REFERENCE Adams, K & D Missingham (2006) Contributions to Student Learning: An overview of Engineering Communication courses in Mechanical Engineering education, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, unpublished (internal) report. Alvesson, M (2004) Knowledge Work and Knowledge-intensive Firms, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Artemeva, Natasha, Logie, Susan & St-Martin, Jennie (1999) ? From Page to Stage: How Theories of Genre and Situated Learning Help Introduce Engineering Students to Discipline-Specific Communication? Technical Communication Quarterly, Summer, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 301-316. Bruner, J (1960) The Process of Education, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (2000) Employer satisfaction with graduate skills: research report, by AC Nielsen, DEETYA, Canberra. Einstein, H Herbert 2002, ? Engineering Change at MITâ⠂¬Ëœ, Civil Engineering, October, vol. 72, i. 10, pp. 62-69. European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, Aalborg, Denmark, 1994, Charter of European Cities and Towns Towards Sustainability, p. http://ec. europa. eu/environment/urban/pdf/aalborg_charter. pdf> viewed 21 July, 2006 Institution of Engineers Australia (1999) National Generic Competence Standards, IEAust, Canberra. Jennings, Alan & Ferguson JD (1995) ? Focussing on Communication Skills in Engineering Education‘, Studies in Higher Education, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 305-314. Lee, Tong Fui (2003) ? Identifying essential learning skills in students‘ Engineering education‘, paper presented at the Annual HERDSA Conference, 6-9 July, Christchurch, New Zealand. Najar, Robyn L (2001) ? Facilitating the development of disciplinary knowledge and communication skills: Integrating Curriculum‘, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Freemantle, 2-6 December. Newell, James A, Marchese, Anthony J, Ramachandran, Ravi P, Sukumaran, Beena & Harvey, Roberta (1999) ? Multidisciplinary Design and Communication‘, International Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 1-7. Office of Sustainability, Department of Environment and Heritage, Government of South Australia, (2006) What is sustainability? viewed 21 July, 2006 356 Riemer, Marc J (2002) ? English and Communication Skills for the Global Engineer‘, Global Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 6, no. 1. Shwom, Barbara & Hirsch, Penny (1999) ? Re-envisioning the writing requirement: an interdisciplinary approach‘, Business Communication Quarterly, March, vol. 62, i. 1, pp. 104-108. Vygotsky, L S (1978) Mind in Society, MIT Press, Cam bridge, Mass. Wake, B (2002) Engineering Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Wood, D, Bruner, J, & Rose, S (1975) ? The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving‘, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 17, pp. 89-100. Yong, E & Missingham, (2006) Design & Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Yong, E & Missingham, (2005) Design & Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Yong, E & Missingham, (2004) Design & Communication Course Notes, School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. 357

Economics Commentary Essay

The article concerns the price war in the airline business in China. Air companies sell tickets at lower than cost price to drive out competitors. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) wants to prevent this and will set a price floor for seats on 699 flights. In this commentary I will explain the situation and discuss the consequences of this issue. Air companies try to attract the necessary numbers of passengers to stop their routes from being canceled by the CAAC. Offering discounts is one of the ways to attract people to buy air tickets. In this case, discounts of 70 to 80 percents had been offered to consumers over the last few months, while a regulation made by the NDRC and CAAC in 2004 states that airlines should not sell tickets at less than 45 percent of the nominal price. Although this regulation, China Eastern continued the price war by still giving these huge discounts which were meant to provoke counterattacks from other airlines. Firms usually want to determine prices to maximize profits and one option is predatory pricing. Predatory pricing means that firms cut prices below costs to drive out competitors. As soon as firms have driven out competitors, obtained a bigger market share, they raise the prices again. Predatory pricing makes the industry more concentrated, because there a fewer firms in the market. With other words, the market becomes less competitive and more monopolistic. The CAAC tries to prevent this in order to keep the air business competitive. Options are price floors, as will be explained later. However, travelers are against the idea, as price wars are profitable for them in the short run. They can buy relatively cheap tickets now. Though the tickets will be more expensive in future, in the long run. This happens when the firms have driven out their competitors and have raised their prices again. Then producers will charge higher prices than the normal price and the consumers would therefore be worse off. Although this predatory pricing , also rumors about government intervention made consumers already unhappy. Some insiders have implied that China Eastern used funds injected by the government to subsidize its losses on ticket sales. The reaction of the CAAC was that the government had injected several billion yuan into China Eastern to maintain its daily operations, but not so it could cut ticket prices. The reaction from the travelers on the implementation of a price floor was also negative. A price floor means that a government introduce a minimum price that can be charged for a product. With an implementation of a price floor, the demand will decrease from Q0 to Qd and the price will increase from P0 to Pmin. The firms which are still in the industry will now charge higher prices at lower outputs. They pay more and get less. If the CAAC decides to implement this price floor it causes that there will be a excess supply, the area Pmin-(Qd-Qs) . The costs can be higher than the profits and therefore producers will leave the industry. This will lead to a shift in supply and to less excess supply in the long run as shown in figure 2. Secondly there is a problem with unemployment. By implementing a price floor, unemployment will occur. This is because the supply will shift to left in the long run. There are fewer suppliers and therefore people will get unemployed. People who were working in the area Qd-Q0 will lose their jobs. On the other hand, people who are working in the area 0-Qd will keep their jobs and will gain more. Consumers are obviously not happy with this and some people reacted with statements as, ‘We don’t want to pay extra just to fund some senior manager’s salary’, as mentioned in the article. Predatory pricing is a difficult task to prevent, since price floors do not benefit consumers neither in the short run nor in the long run. The CAAC probably needs to find other regulations and restrictions manners to prevent this ‘malicious competition’.

Analysis of Public Celebrity Apologies in America

Analysis of Public Celebrity Apologies in America Devin Black Julia TofantÃ… ¡uk Their circumstances and effects via analyzing specific cases Introduction Recently, I have become aware of a trend that has been sweeping across America – the celebrity apology, or precisely, the non-apology. I think I have always been aware of the constant apologies made by celebrities, but it has only been in the past year when I have actually paid attention to the words they were using to apologize, and under what circumstances they were apologizing. In fact, the exact moment when I became infatuated with the celebrity apology was when I was listening to a broadcast of the Opie and Anthony Radio Show in March 2014 and the hosts were discussing the numerous celebrity apologies that had been made during the previous week. Their discussion about celebrity apologies began to consume the show daily, until they officially established an â€Å"Apology Clock† on June 5, 2014 (Apology Clock, 2014). The experiment was to see if they could go t en days without a celebrity apology. The results showed that they could not, as there was at least one new apology a day and more often than not there were apologies from multiple celebrities. Their research ended unexpectedly one month later when one of the hosts became a victim of the celebrity apology. I will discuss more about this later in the paper. For the purposes of this paper, I will begin by defining the terms and scope the paper covers. Secondly, I will present some cases from a wide range of circumstances which celebrities apologized, and the results of their apology. Finally, I will discuss Americans’ reaction to the celebrity apology. Definitions According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary , a celebrity is defined as â€Å"a person who is famous.† For this paper, the definition will be narrowed to only a person who is recognizable in North America and broadened to include corporations, as these are considered individuals under the law. An apol ogy is defined as â€Å"an expression of regret for having done or said something wrong.† For this paper, we also need to consider the definition of a non-apology apology , which is defined as â€Å"a statement that has the form of an apology but does not express the expected contrition.† An example of a non-apology apology would be saying â€Å"I’m sorry that you feel that way† to someone who has been offended by a statement. This apology does not admit that there was anything wrong with the remarks made, and additionally, it may be taken as insinuating that the person taking offense was excessively thin-skinned or irrational in taking offense at the remarks in the first place (Lazare, 2005). Case Studies of celebrity apologies and the results of the apology There are hundreds, if not thousands of examples of celebrity apologies. For this paper, the time frame of the case studies of celebrity apologies examined will begin in 1998, well after the advent of the Internet. This starting point was chosen because the Internet disseminates information almost effortlessly, therefore more people would be aware of the apologies given by celebrities.

Victory Arch of Titus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Victory Arch of Titus - Essay Example The Arco di Tito (Arch of Titus) is situated in a slightly raised position on a branch of the Palatine Hill at the entrance to the Forum. Its religious relevance lies in its portrayal of the conquest of Jerusalem and its revered temple by the Romans in 70 AD.1 Domitian erected the Arch of Titus. In the year AD 70, Domitian was the Emperor of Rome. The Empire then was in a status of excellence. People all over were talking about the triumphs of Domitian’s brother Titus. Titus then was heading his army into Jerusalem to conquer the Jews in the Emperor’s name.2 Sometime around AD 80 word arrived that Jerusalem had been defeated and that Titus would be returning with the wealth of Jewish Temples. To await his return, Domitian ordered the building of the Arch. The Victory Arch of Titus honors Titus triumphant defeat of Jerusalem after the huge Jewish uprising around 70 AD. Although it was most likely built by Titus’ brother and successor, Emperor Domitian, there are some who believe that it was actually built by emperor Trajan because of resemblance to the Arch of Trajan located at Benevento. Titus had actually already died when the arch was constructed, but Titus younger brother Domitian was emperor, and he wanted people to think of his brother Titus. Hence, the writing has Titus name on it. (It says, the Senate and the People of Rome, to the Divine Titus, son of the Divine Vespasian, Vespasian Augustus).3 The letters were originally distinguished in shimmering bronze letters, but the bronze was stolen away. The Arch of Titus is situated on the topmost point of the Via Sacra, a road leading to the Roman Forum. It is positioned at the eastern most side of the forum and was used as an entrance and exit to the forum. This is a solitary arch, 15.4 meter high, 13.5 meter wide and 4.75 meter deep.4 At the interior of the arch are two panels with reliefs or an art figure in which the top exterior of the art work reveals some

Capital Budgeting Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capital Budgeting Analysis - Research Paper Example This shows that the company has improved on the efficiency of the usage of the assets of the company. This is also depicted by an improving asset turnover over the three year period. In 2003, the company generated $1.25 of revenue for every $1 invested in the assets of the company. Moreover, the company is also maintaining a strong control on its administrative and selling expenses; this is depicted by an improving net profit margin. This signifies that the company has strong growth prospects in future and could pave it way to become the market leader in its line of products. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Since the company has strong future prospects, the company can use the IPO to its advantage. It will provide Superior Living Inc with the much needed capital money for expansion of its product lines including the production facility. The ‘going public’ stance will also boost the awareness of the company products in the market and develop a whole new batch of potential cust omers. This can eventually lead to an increase in the market share of the company. However, once Superior Living Inc goes public, she will have to face a number of challenges as well. The company will require fulfilling all the necessary obligations of the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as Sarbanes-Oxley Act which will lead to additional costs. Similarly, the management will come under immense scrutiny and pressure from different stakeholders which can lead to somewhat questionable practices for boosting earnings. This is because investors look at short term growth instead of the long term stability in the company. Debt is another option to the company to fulfill the capital requirements for the necessary expansion. the debt option will provide the company with the total control of the business with no scrutiny and pressures from the investors and other stakeholders. Similarly, the interest on the debt will provide a beneficial shield to the company as it will lower the future tax liabilities. However, the debt financing option will increase the leverage of the company; thereby increasing the chance of bankruptcy. Superior Living Inc has a moderate debt to total assets and debt to equity ratio. As shown in figure 4, the company finances only 28.3 percent of its total assets through the short term and long term debt. If the company funds the new production facility through debt, the ratio will still stay below 30 percent. Figure 5 depicts the debt to equity position of the company. The company has maintained an excellent interest coverage ratio over the three year period. It does not face any chance of interest payment crisis in near future; therefore, can easily use this option as well. Figure 4 Figure 5 The company has huge growth potential and a chance to explore new markets and product ranges. The new production facility is the need of the time; and therefore must be carried be carefully analyzed and carried forward. The new production facilityà ¢â‚¬â„¢s cash flows were analyzed at different hurdle rates. Since the Net Present Value of the project is positive at all three possible hurdle rates, the project must be carried forward. Similarly, the Internal Rate of Return is greater as compared to each hurdle rate; therefore the project is acceptable. The project has a simple payback period of 3 years. However, the discounted payback period 4 years at a

Women's Suffrage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Women's Suffrage - Research Paper Example It was also considered inappropriate if women spoke in public or traveled alone. Women were trained to restrain themselves from pursuing any kind of education as it was believed that strong intellectual or physical activity would harm the reproductive system and the biology of the delicate body of a woman. Women were considered to be physically and intellectually inferior to men in the nineteenth century. "Women's interests were deemed to be subsumed in those of men" (Crawford 9). They were believed to be mere objects of beauty and desire and were supposed to be silent spectators of what was happening in their surrounding. Organized religion also added force to this belief of women being inferior to men as it preached stern and distinct sex roles. This inferior treatment of women gave birth to a political and economical reform movement hose motive was to extend the right to vote or suffrage to women. This movement was called the Women's Suffrage movement. "The suffrage movement was a major social movement, which at its peak absorbed the energies of hundreds of thousands and represented a vital extension of the democratic principle" (Scott 9). The movement first originated in the Eighteenth Century in France. New Zealand, which was a self governing colony of Britain, was the first country in 1893, to grant women the right to vote. ... However, some of these were not independent while the others had brief periods of independence. Though the right to vote did not apply to all women, Sweden is believed to be the first independent country to grant women the right to vote, where some women were actually allowed to vote during the age of liberty which was between 1718 and 1771. In Australia some women were given the right to vote in 1901, however this right was given to all non-native women in 1902. International law introduced voting rights to women in 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was accepted by the United Nations. "Everyone has the right to take part in the Government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives" (Donnelly 167). The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations, also clearly mentioned women's suffrage or the right to vote for women. Throughout the world in various countries at different times suffrage was granted to women. Women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage in many countries, and women from a few social classes and races were unable to vote. Voting for towns and city assemblies and meetings was open to the heads of the families in medieval France and several other European countries, regardless of their sex. The Corsican Republic of 1755 had granted women's suffrage. The Constitution of the Corsican Republic stipulated a national representative assembly, both men and women over the age of 25 elected it. When France occupied the island in 1769, women's suffrage came to an end. In 1780s and 1790s the movements for women's suffrage is found in the writings of Antoine Condorcet and Olympe de Gouges, in France, who promoted this right

Final Exam Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Exam Paper - Essay Example It also gives the impression of a performance within a performance, as he moves from frame to frame. The relationship between Alfredo and the boy Toto is the central theme of the film. The two actors act and react with each other, and the boy provokes the old man in various ways, so that he becomes cross at first, and impatient. Over time he mellows, however, and there are many camera shots of the two of them together, the boy in Alfredo’s lap, or on the handlebars of his bicycle, as if the little boy is in the shadow of his protective grandfather figure. At the time when Toto grows up and leaves his mentor, the old man has become weak, and the young man has become strong, reversing the relationship in a poignant way. Salvatore is first seen in the city behind the windscreen of his car, which puts his face in a wide angle frame. After that he goes to his bedroom and looks out through a window, which makes the frame tall and narrow. When the flashback to his village begins, it shows the dusty scene through the square opening of the bell tower, as if the eye of memory looks out from a small space into the wider world. The child Toto is shown clutching scraps of film in his hands through the frame of an internal window. The adolescent Salvatore looks up at Elena’s window with longing, and his first kiss takes place in the same small projection box in which he learned about love. The message here is that life comes through the window of the cinema screen, and this is made most clearly of all in the long scene where Salvatore watches the collage of screen kisses that Alfredo has left to him. This arouses Salvatore’s affective memory, reminding him of the impoverished childhood that he had, and the longing to grow up and escape from the constraints of his village to experience love and real life in the world beyond. Part Two The character of Rick in Casablanca is quite similar to the character of Alfredo, in some ways. He is portrayed as a somewh at distant and unfeeling person, hiding under his hat and smoking quietly so that no-one can guess what he is thinking. He is at home in the dark night club scenes, with shady characters and this is conveyed by the dim lighting of Rick’s cafe. The skill of the director is evident in the way that the audience is at first led to believe he is a bad character, always in the shadows but in the end the farewell scene shows that his gloom is because of sadness at the loss of his love, and he really is a noble character. Like Alfredo, Rick needs the presence of a completely different person to bring out his true nature. The female lead character is often shown in close-up and her acting is expressive. She reacts to Rick’s enigmatic silences with passionate looks, and provides the other side of the story that Rick is not telling anybody. There is a whole back story that only gradually is revealed. Ingrid Bergman has is open and sympathetic, where Humphrey Bogart is cynical and deceptive. Both films show how opposites attract, and enhance each other, but there is an element of nostalgia about them, since separation is the only way that they can live their lives. In both films kisses are the force that heals their pain. In Casablanca Rick and Ilsa’s bittersweet kiss is not a standard happy ending, because there are too many obstacles in the way for them to be together, especially Ilsa’s husband. In Cinema Paradiso the collage of kisses are like an intense reminder of all that is most

Mabel Cooper's Life Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mabel Cooper's Life Story - Essay Example ‘Mabel Cooper’s Life Story’ is a heroic tale of a very determined individual who survived in society against all odds. Qs. 1. Discrimination and stigmatization that Mabel encountered during her life Mabel was born to a poor and homeless mother on the 10th of August, 1944 in Islington, London, but was moved into care when she was just four months old. Thereafter, her childhood was spent in different care schools and finally she was moved to St. Lawrence Hospital, Surrey, where she spent the next 20 years of her life. Mabel was discriminated and stigmatized because she had a learning disability and had never been to school and moreover she had a very poor background history. Mabel was told that she was not capable enough to study and so was put in a ward where they learned basket making. They also had the option of working in the laundry or workshops or even remain idle if they wished. A learning disability proved to be a real setback for Mabel and besides not being allowed to go to school, she was also not allowed to use her own clothes or shoes but had to make do with the ones given by the hospital. Though dances were conducted on the premises, they were again segregated with males on one side and females on the other. There were a good number of staff and they had to dance in between them. Mabel and her friends were discriminated from society by not being allowed to go out and mix with the regular people. Money in the form of green coins were given to them but it could only be used in their own hospital canteens and not outside. People who ran away were brought back and put in a ward called G3 where they were locked up as punishment. In this manner people with learning disabilities were discriminated and segregated from society in contemporary Britain. 2. Explain the concept of 'social role valorization' and describe how you would ensure Mabel becomes a valued member of the community. Banks, S (2001) in the book, ‘Ethics and Values in Social Work’ sheds light on the contribution of social workers in fulfilling the concept of ‘social role valorization’. Broadly speaking, people with learning difficulties are looked down upon and discriminated by society for the mere reason that they are much less productive and very little use to the community and society at large. 'Social role valorization' (SRV) is defined as  "The application of what science can tell us about the enablement, establishment, enhancement, maintenance, and/or defense of valued social roles for people" (Wolfensberger, 1995a). The primary goal of SRV is lending support to people in society so as to enable them to enjoy all the good things that society has got to offer. Some of these good things are love and friendship, respect and dignity, acceptance and belonging, good education and status in the society. In the case of people with learning disabilities, it becomes impossible for them to find a valued place in society since th ey are not in a position to contribute to their community and society and automatically become devalued members of society. Hence being devalued members of society, they are not in a position to enjoy the good things in life. On the other hand, such members are rejected by their community and society, and thereby receive a lot of negative responses and in most cases become objects of abuse and violence. SRV is a response to such groups of devalued members and lends great support in helping them to become

Tourism's Social, Cultural, and Ecological Impact Essay

Tourism's Social, Cultural, and Ecological Impact - Essay Example There can be no doubt that when an area is opened up for tourism that there will be significant changes. Tourism, while stimulating the economy, places the social order, the cultural values, and the ecology of the area at great risk. The social structure of a tourist area will change dramatically as the enterprise matures. A study on North Cape Norway by Gerald (2005, p.48) found that the seasonal nature of the employment opportunities attracted in-migration to the area during the peak season, as well as an out-migration of young people dissatisfied with the "employment prospects offered by seasonal tourism". One respondent to the study noted the personal change that takes place and reported that contact with the tourists caused her to, "become someone ... something you're not. Without knowing it consciously, and it just seems like you are so cosmopolitan, so sophisticated" (Gjerald 2005, p.49). When we add in the factors of stressing the infrastructure, changes in local politics, and the loss of existing social networks the social change is substantial. While the social order is at risk of great change, cultural traditions and values may all but disappear. Tourist destinations are often modeled on the tourist it intends to attract, while the local culture is placed on display as an oddity. The islands of Aruba and Barbuda are, "exemplified by the dominance of large scale resorts, convention trade, and the increasing prevalence of manmade attractions like shopping, gambling, and cruise traffic" (Thomas, Pigozzi, & Sambrook 2005, p.19). In addition, Gerald (2005, p.50) reports a modest increase in drugs, alcohol use, theft, and sexual assault in the North Cape Norway area. Meanwhile, local customs and traditions are relegated to be a display for the tourists, rather than have any meaningful cultural value.

A comparison and contrast of the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Essay

A comparison and contrast of the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - Essay Example The theories of Marx and Engels envisage a social order where all mankind could avail of wealth collectively created and live in peace and harmony. Communism they believed was a state where the freedom of the individual was assured and the evils of child labor and illiteracy and miserable condition of he common man would come to an end. It is a tribute to the genius of these two men, that many of their theories have been adopted, bringing in change that has made the world a better place than it was in their time. Karl Marx the German philosopher, economist and revolutionary thinker is best known as the founder of modern socialism and communism. His friend Friedrich Engels, who some people referred to as Marx’s alter ego, was also a revolutionary with ideas similar to those of Marx. These two great thinkers shared their views on capitalism socialism and communism, and, as Engels once commented there was complete agreement in all theoretical fields. Engels collaborated with Marx in writing his famous work Das Kapital which is an analysis of economic and social history; and after his death edited and published the remaining two volumes of the book. Marx and Engels also co-authored The Communist manifesto that lays down the principles of communism and the role of the working class (Proletariat) in overthrowing the yoke of the bourgeoisie (Capitalists). In fact these two men collaborated so closely and their ideas were so much alike that it is often impossible to tell their individual cont ributions apart in their writings. The ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are commonly referred to as Marxism. The friendship of these two revolutionary thinkers is considered quite remarkable. Marx was a man whose barbed remarks spared neither friend nor foe. His life therefore is a saga of misunderstandings and broken relationships. Yet, his relationship with Engels which began

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor Essay Example for Free

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor Essay Recently the spotlight has been set on renewable energies to assist with weaning off of greenhouse gas emissions, solving issues with energy independence, and to exploit their inherent renewability. Unfortunately our technology is not quite up to speed economically with our wish to rely completely on renewable energy, thus many non- renewable energies are recognized as viable options to power our economy (Fraser, 2011). The United States current position on diversifying with non-renewables onsists of oil, natural gas, coal, and the less spoken of, nuclear power. Nuclear power is the process by which a reactor contains a slow explosion called fission, which gives Offa positive net amount of energy that can be harvested. Of course the social stigma around nuclear is so strong that even if there were an undiscovered completely safe type of nuclear power plant, Justifying the complex science would be challenging. After events such as Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island, the vast majority of society believes nuclear energy is nothing more than a death wish. Contrary to popular belief, a safer alternative in nuclear energy has been discovered and has been gaining popularity over the past few years despite the recent tragedy in Japan (Sorensen, 2011). Though newly rekindled, the non-mainstream nuclear power known as Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) was discovered in the 1960s and had been proved to be a very attractive option to the more popular Light Water Reactor (LWR). It all began with nuclear physicist Alvin Weinberg, who would graduate from the University of Chicago soon become research director at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Weinberg was given the freedom to experiment with designing multiple types of nuclear reactors including the prominent LWRs that are in commercial use today. Subsequently Weinberg had noted the potential danger of a LWR and moved on to designing a safer nuclear power technology that he would end up supporting for the rest of his life. His research team at ORNL created a fluid fuel in a MSR, opposed to the traditional solid fuel in LWRs, in order to decrease the pressure and overall danger of the system. To Weinbergs delight, although this rototype MSR had corrosive issues because of the salt involved, Weinberg deemed this technology far more superior to LWR. Furthermore, the worst part about current hatred for LWRs is that although it can be a dangerous process, the technology is revolutionary and its power has potential that we are seriously unaware of. For now with our current state of knowledge about nuclear power combined with our worlds predicament with how we generate power so ineffectively, MSRs must be and should have always been the governments number one priority (Sorensen, 2011). This pecific type of nuclear reactor is certainly on the minds of at least China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, and Australia (Furukawa, 2008). Since these countries showed interest at least by 2008 it can be assumed that they are already in the process of construction. An example for our worst-case scenario would be for the United States to simply stand back and watch as the rest ot the world capi talizes on the best power generating technology known to man. A technology that of course the United States developed and had in operation fifty years ago, but the idea simply aded away. As the majority of the US would like to go green, it may not be too early to claim the MSR as green nuclear power. Nuclear reactors do not emit greenhouse gases taking care of one of the three major concerns with the future of energy. Though observing an entire life cycle of Thorium and materials to make the power plant, there are transportation emissions involved. It turns out however, that Thorium is extremely accessible in the US as it is already mined concurrently with other rare earth minerals but is typically discarded for lack of utility. The United States has omewhere in the order of 15% of the worlds total Thorium stockpile at around 15 million tons (Bonometti, 2008). Even if we were to run out of Thorium, the Moon has even greater amounts that by the time we begin to hit peak Thorium it will surely be so far in the future that extracting moon materials would not be a challenge. As an investor this further assures a safe bet, but what is so safe about the LFTR design is that a meltdown or explosion is so much more unlikely to occur than in LWR systems. Since the carrier of thorium is a liquid, liquid fluoride, it allows standard pressure at igh temperatures. Traditionally, in LWR, water had to cool down the solid fuel since it couldnt handle the high temperatures because of high pressure, which had always been a fine line behind meltdowns (Sorensen, 2011). In the LFTR, the system can naturally correct an over heated system by melting a frozen salt plug at the base of the system to enter into an emergency cooling tank. If LFTR technology has already been proved, proved to be safe, proved to be powerful, and proved to be available and cheap, then why doesnt the world run on it? The technology itself seems to be a it mysterious itself or maybe doubtful since it has already been ignored once before. What it comes down to is the timescale that nuclear reactors had been created. Back at Oak Ridge Laboratory where Weinberg had designed nuclear power he first designed the LWR, which happened to be more dangerous, but nevertheless reported his results. Quickly academics and politicians alike were astounded by the amount of power that could be generated through nuclear fission. Academics such as Weinberg understood the dangerous design of the LWR and proceeded to design afer alternatives, hence the MSR. Politicians on the other hand, had deadlines to meet, people to please, Jobs to create, and the LWR went commercial. There is even a specific phone call between President Nixon and a California LWR director expressing swift actions to commercialize the technology before elections (Sorensen, 2011). As Weinberg fought the Nixon administration to stop continuing with LWRs he was soon fired from the Oak Ridge Lab and so did the MSR department. Thus many scientists have since seen and admired his work and have finally had reason to express its arious benefits once the inevitable failures of LWR ensued, for example, Fukushima. In addition, it is important to note how resultant issues with LWR nuclear plants in the past have all been due to the intrinsic difficulty with handling a solid fuel at its required high pressure for fission to take place. In other words, none of those accidents would have happened if they would have simply listened to their founder, Weinberg, and chose to go with an MSR design. As the public is informed with this somewhat difficult science I imagine it will take about as long to understand the itterence in types ot nuclear reactors as it did tor the majority ot the population to understand the science behind the greenhouse effect. This is based on the fact that the same oil and coal industries will be threatened along with ill-educated environmentalists who will viciously support only renewable energy.

Critical thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical thinking Essay Before reading this article, what was your answer to the question â€Å"Who’s American?† How did you develop this concept of being an American? If you or your parents were born in another country, how would you define the National identity of that Country? (For example, what does it mean to be Dominican or Chinese?) When I first seen the question who’s American my answer was that the American culture is primarily western or any one born in the United States of America. My parents and I were born in the United States of America. How I developed this concept was from the way I was raised because I was born in the United States and I was always told your American. To be Dominican means that you was born to parents in the Republic. To be Chinese means that you was born to parents that are Chinese. How can the concept of a National identity both unite and divide people? Concepts of National identity can divide and unite people by providing conflicted opinions. Opinions serve as ways to unite people by providing sense of commonality. Opinions can also diverse set of ideals that cause conflict and division. After reflecting on these issues via this article, these questions, and class discussions, has your concept of what it means to be American changed? If so in what ways? I would have to say after I looked at all these issues and article and class discussions my concept hasn’t changed. But I have learned more about what it means to be American. But for myself I don’t look or judge people for where they are from whether they are American or whatever Nationality.

Performance Of Google And Its Management

Performance Of Google And Its Management Since Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and incorporated in 2003, it has been focused on technology innovations to help its users find the information with unprecedented levels of ease, accuracy and relevancy. Google primarily concentrated on the areas of search, advertising, operating systems and platforms, enterprise and hardware products. These programs include AdWords, AdSense, Google Display and Google Mobile, with Android and Google Chrome serve as its operating system and platforms. Google generate revenues primarily through delivering advertising to promote products and services for businesses. Currently, it moves to new area, except for providing specific features to mobile device users, Google also operates in mobile segment, as it made an acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (Motorola) on May 22, 2012 (acquisition date). Industry Position: Google Inc. competes with other players in the Internet Information Providers industry within the technology sector. Although there are competitors worldwide, the key players are recognized as general-purpose search engines, such as Yahoo and Microsofts Bing, and social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Because of its years of focus on technology innovation and huge amounts of expenses in RD every year, Google has become the global technology leader and one of most well known general Internet search engine all around the world. Comprehensive Analysis Part 1: Liquidity situation analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) Based on the statistics on Google Inc.s financial statements, there is a continuing increase in its revenues and net income, showing a tremendous and overall healthy growth path. Moreover, from the ratio exhibit, from 2008 to 2009, Googles current ratio (change from 8.77 to 10.62), quick ratio (from 8.03 to 10.08) and its free cash flow (from1754 to 2510) all have a big jump. However, we all know that the severe worldwide recession happened at the same time period, it seems Google didnt feel the shock if we only see from these numbers-but it is not true. On the one hand, the recession spread all over the world, even the mighty search giants cannot escape from it. If we put aside those annual numbers that only show final results, Google revealed its first quarter in 2009 web search declined in sales, which forced Google to make cutbacks in online advertisements spending. At the same time, Google announced two rounds of job cuts. Because of the actions of cutback on cost, Google finally beat its 2009 profit expectations -this can be shown in Googles income statement exhibit, the Total operating expenses of 2009 is $6494 million, which is lower than $6542 million of 2008, given Google is expansion scale, it proves the managements action of cutting cost sharply. However, on the other hand, even influenced by recession, Googles investors were relatively optimistic than others, since Googles slowdown still looked good compared with the other players. Moreover, some investors and observers believed that the recession gave a golden opportunity for Google to increase its value and gain more shares in the overall market-since almost all of Googles revenue come from advertisements that are placed next to customers search results, during recession, more and more businesses would choose cheaper advertisements to promote their products, such as Googles online Pay Per Click (PPC), rather than the traditional offline advertisement which used to work well before recession. From this point of view, as their competitors in traditional media cannot keep up, Google got this opportunity to effectively control the online space. As a result, during recession, Googles liquidity situation improved as shown the increase of their current ratio, quick ratio and free cash flow (as the reduced cost and shut down of some projects have released more capital that can be used to reinvest). However, after the recession, from 2009 to 2010, we can see a rapid decline of its liquidity ratios (e.g. Current ratio from 10.62 of 2009 to 4.16 of 2010), this is because after recession, Google continued to reap the growth of digital economy. It gave Google a huge opportunity to stretch in the market since the shift of consumers and advertisers from offline to online continued unabated, and it fueled Googles growth in its core business-search advertising. If we look deeper to seek the causes for the liquidity ratio declines, it is simply the management wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity, as Google decided to invest aggressively and heavily to achieve rapid innovations in its search technologies. It also made big investments to make notable enhancements to search including Instant Previews, Google Instant and Place search. During 2010, Google invested $1.8 billion to acquire products, services, companies and technologies. As a result of these huge investments made in 2010, Google liquidity ratios have a big drop, as well as its free cash flow. But this doesnt mean its competitive situation is weakened, on the opposite, these investments may have opened the doors for large amounts of future profits for Google Inc. and its stockholders. From 2010 to 2012, its current ratios and free cash flow have an overall increasing trend but are much lower than 2009 numbers. The quick ratio in 2012 is lower than that of 2010, this is because Google started to sell real goods, e.g. mobiles, so it had to rely on the inventory to be sold to convert to cash, so this reduced quick ratio. This might indicate that Googles ability to cover its current liabilities by those assets (which are expected to be converted to cash in the near future) is weakened, however, using benchmarking to compare with the industry average (industry average: current ratio 3.2, quick ratio 1.52), Googles liquidity situation still plays as competitive advantage. Part 2: Asset management analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) From 2008 to 2012, Googles days sales outstanding (DSO) has increased from approximately 44days to 57days. DSO normally represents the average number of days it takes for a company to collect outstanding receivables. The increasing DSO of Google indicates that there is a bigger amount of customers owing payments on its sales; this will make Google unable to collect cash on its sales in time, also expose the risk of ending up with bad debts. It would also limit the companys ability to make reinvestment due to lack of cash. Moreover, DSO is a component of the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC), which is usually used to determine how long cash is tied up in working capital. Thus, a big DSO contribute to make a larger CCC, it will also deteriorate Googles growth and its value in the long run. While the reason that longer DSO appeared, it is mainly because the growth of international business in this search advertising market, competition is getting awful that some of its powerful customers are testing the paid search model, and they request longer payment terms. By this way, credit terms of the company tend to be longer, as well as extended credit to certain big customers. This is a common issue for all the major players (e.g. Yahoo!), so it should not degrade the management performance just by the increase of DSO. For the asset turnover ratios, we can see that the changes of it correspond with the liquidity ratios as analyzed before: they go up in recession since a good use of the opportunity, decline sharply in 2010 as the huge investments for growth, and continuing increase from 2010 to 2012. This indicates Google is on a healthy growing path with its management making proper decisions to deal with problems, and to invest for greater future profits. Part 3: Profitability analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) As shown in exhibit, Googles Return on Assets (ROA) ratio goes up in 2009 as a peak, while decline all the way till 2012 after the peak. ROA shows the rate of return (after tax) that is earned on all of Googles assets regardless of its financing structure (debt/equity), it measures the management effectiveness using all stakeholders assets to earn profits for investors. The same trend shows in ROE ratios. For Google, this indicates that Google continues to dedicate a lot of money to new ventures that are not paying off, as the declining shows that assets are growing much faster than profits. For example, Google acquired Motorola and expect to make money off the patents in the way of exciting hardware. Also, Google+ is relatively unprofitable and potentially will be a cash cow, although Google+ is used as a defensive weapon to Facebook and other social networking business. These kinds of segments of Google are dragging down its ROA and ROE ratios. However, we can conclude that the declining ROA and ROE is basically derived from its aggressively expansion and investment, and Google is still showing growth every year, but the uncertainty of the profitability of these investments will bring bigger risk for Google. At the same time, the decline in its returns can also indicate that revenues need to grow much quicker in the future to achieve its expected earnings. Other profitability indicators of Google, such as operating margin and basic earning power are showing the same trend, exemplifies the causes analyzed above. Part 4: Debt management analysis (see Exhibit 4 graph) Googles debt to asset ratio shows a small drop in 2009 and an overall increasing trend from 2009 to 2012. Combined with the asset management analysis in part 1, its reasonable to explain Googles higher profits and faster growth in recession compared with other companies result in its assets increase more than debt. Also, after 2009 recession, continuing expansionary strategy adopted by Google has driven large amounts of investments, as Google has to borrow more from its investors and creditors to reach the investment requirement, its debt grow more than assets and consequently increase its debt to asset ratio. Current performance of Google and its management Recently, after the acquisition of Motorola that bring Google the Mobile segment, Google is spending a fortune to expand its already huge Googleplex site, such as preparing to break ground on a 42-acre campus. Most obviously, Google continues to diversify its business to move to mobile and shift to social networks. Google expects Motorola patents that it acquired can be used to develop a phone to compete with some big players such as Samsung and Apple, it has already tried to feature its Android service. It is also moving into the Internet market with Google Fiber to help acquire advertisements. However, as the ratios and trends analyzed before shows that there are problems of short-term returns and higher risks, and fortunately the management has already recognized it. We can find that it has been revealed in Googles annual report that the management are making good efforts to prioritize their products, they shut down a number of products in 2011, including Google Buzz, Google Desktop and Google Labs. The management has learned a lot from those discontinued products and are putting that learning to work every day in new products. To conclude, during recession, Googles management reacted properly and took good use of its online ads advantage, to gain more market. However, the aggressive investment to grow bring uncertainties to the returns, its management should pay more attention to this issue and operate Google business with more caution and conservation, thus maximize its stockholders wealth in the long run. Googles Future Prospects Summarization It is obvious that Google has strong ambition to diversify and dominate its products in different fields, as shown from its many historical acquisitions and its recent moves. Because of its fast growth model, their short-turn foreseeable profits are shrinking, however, Google is still a technology leader in the field with unparalleled competitive advantages. If managed properly, Googles investments will bring optimistic returns in the future. Googles Corporate Governance Corporate governance mainly focuses on the way that top managers operate and interface with its stockholders. For Google, its code of conduct is well known as dont be evil. However, concerning its investors interests, the corporate governance in Google is not optimistic. Since Google initially made the IPO, it has been using dual-share-class structure, under which its shareholders can buy class A shares with one vote per share, while Google founders and co-president Larry Page and Sergey Brin and CEO Schmidt control the majority of its class B super-voting stock with ten votes per share. This makes it hard for outside parties to take over or influence Google. Even as Googles latest actions regarding corporate governance to make stock split via a new class of stock, this would not change its top management already overwhelming voting power, since the power would decay very slowly while Googles shares get diluted. This structure has advantages, as they can avoid hostile takeovers and allow Google to concentrate on its long-term strategies rather than obsessed by tactical short-term moves. But it has much more negative effects, as there is more risk that the CEO make bad decisions. For example, Google stopped its China mainland operations, and this decision made in haste by Mr. Brin, has caused huge loss for Google and its investors. This directly reflects a lack of input from investors on Googles decision-making. In conclusion, although Google has focused on core strengths to make profits, the really challenge right now is to change the way that pushing ideas top-down and improve their current corporate governance condition, because whatever industries Google break into, good corporate governance is the fundamental insurance of keeping all its operations on the right track. Recommendation for Google Investors Although Google bear potential problems in its management investment strategy, Googles business is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive. The overall optimistic attitude held by its current investors shows their confidence in Googles investment returns, but since Googles declining ROA and ROE as well as its shrinking margins reveals higher risk or probable late returns, investors should be careful when making investment, because Googles ongoing investment in new business, products and services is inherently risky, and may disrupt its ongoing business. Besides this, investors should be aware of its internal issues that may deteriorate their investment given its corporate governance situation. Exhibit 4 Representative graphs of ratios during five years Part 1: Liquidity graph Part 2: Asset management graph Part 3: Debt management graph Part 4: Profitability graph Cited References: (n.d.). Retrieved from http://news.techeye.net/business/google-plans-enormous-real-estate-expansion (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.aqueous-seo.co.uk/sem/seo/did-googles-profits-increase-despite-the-recession-or-because-of-it/99787 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2009-04-17/google-the-recession-takes-its-tollbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ycharts.com/companies/GOOG/return_on_assets (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ycharts.com/companies/GOOG/days_sales_outstanding (n.d.). Retrieved from http://baike.baidu.com/view/105.htm (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/506281-what-google-s-split-means-for-investors (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.preservearticles.com/2012010319733/here-is-your-short-essay-on-corporate-governance.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeover#Tactics_against_hostile_takeover (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/dealflow/archives/2006/01/why_is_dso_risi.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Google#cite_note-63 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/goog/profile (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/about/company/ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/financialHighlights?symbol=GOOG.O (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/goog/insideractions (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Google_Inc.fb3f79c4d1791506.html#megamenu.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ct?s=GOOG+Components (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/finance/related?q=NASDAQ%3AGOOGei=FIozUbDVCNG30AHxRQ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/236438-google-is-still-a-consumer-services-and-tech-leader (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/506281-what-google-s-split-means-for-investors (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/1101721-james-demasi/252598-don-t-rely-on-corporate-governance-ratings (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/580961-behind-google-s-smoke-screen (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/3774191-ecpofi/1483231-beware-google-s-drop-in-margins-roa-and-roe (n.d.). Retrieved from http://seekingalpha.com/article/1114161-google-not-a-buy-suffering-from-declining-return-on-assets (n.d.). Retrieved from http://business-ethics.com/2012/08/14/10058-is-22-5-million-dollars-a-big-enough-penalty-for-google/

Animal Farm Comparison :: Animal Farm Essays

Most directly one would say that Animal Farm is an allegory of Stalinism, growing out from the Russian Revolution in 1917. Because it is cast as an animal fable it gives the reader/viewer, some distance from the specific political events. The use of the fable form helps one to examine the certain elements of human nature which can produce a Stalin and enable him to seize power. Orwell, does however, set his fable in familiar events of current history. Old Major, a eminent pig on the Jones farm, is regarded as the wise superior by the other animals. He has had a strange dream and calls the other animals together to talk about their disastrous situation. Old major declares: ';Let us face it, our lives are miserable, laborious and short';. He declares in Marxist terms that Man is the problem: ';Only get rid of the Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could be rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades. Rebellion!'; The simple, but emotional appeal, gets trough to the uneducated and plain animals and, as in all revolutions, the planning begins in euphoria and idealism. No voice is raised to ask relevant question or call for a considered debate. The appearance of rats at the meeting raises a question: ';Are rats comrades?'; A democratic vote results in a ringing ';Yes!';. And Old Major proclaims, ';No animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. All animals are equal!'; It was however generally understood that the pigs were the cleverest of the animals, so the work of organising for the Rebellion fell naturally to them. Especially two pigs take over leadership: Napoleon and Snowball. The pigs developed Old Major’s teaching into a complete system of thought: Animalism. Rules of equality, formality, and hard work was proclaimed and encoded in The Seven Commandments - ';an unalterable law.'; The animals enthusiasm was expressed through a hymn, ';Beasts of England.'; The Rebellion comes sooner then it had been excpected and the successful animals join together with a will to build a new and better world. To symbolise the new day the name of the farm is changed from Manor Farm to