Computer programming Essay

1. What common programming language statement, in your opinion, is most detrimental to readability and why do you think that? The go to statement in my opinion can be the most detrimental to program readability, because it makes it difficult to keep track of where the program has been and will go during debugging. Extensive use of go to statements make it difficult to impossible to keep the program code in a top down format. 2. How does the distinguishing between upper- and lowercase in identifiers affect the three criteria? The affect to readability can be positive when it is used in conjunction with a cohesive programming technique. The use of upper case letters to help certain types of identifiers stand out in the code can be highly beneficial. The affect on writability will be positive because the readability of a program helps to improve the writability. The affect on reliability will also be positive because the more readable, and writable a language then there is a positive affect on the reliability. 3. How do type declaration statements for simple variables affect the readability of a language? Having type declarations that are easy to understand are very important to the readability of a programming language. When the type declarations are cryptic or easily confused it degrades the readability because it is not as easy to identify the variable type or distinguish between them. 4. Write an evaluation of Java and of C++, using the criteria described in this chapter. Please be thorough and provide a reason/justification for your evaluation. C++ Readability: C++ is not an overall simple language which complicates its readability. It does however have very good control structures and data type structures which can help the readability. But in general it can be difficult to read. Writability: C++ allows for high levels of data abstraction, and expressivity’s in the language allowing the programmer to create a myriad of structures to solve different programming problems making it very writable. Reliability: C++ has extensive exception handling and type checking capabilities, which lead to a more reliable language. Java Readability: Java because it is a functional programming language, which is structured completely differently than all other common programming languages. All of the computations in Java are carried out by applying functions to arguments. Java does not have the assignment statements or variables common in other languages. Alone this causes enough of a problem with the readability of Java, but the syntax for Java is doubly ambiguous because the same exact syntax is used for both data and function calls. Writability: Java has a high amount of expressivity’s with the use of functions, but the difficulties that can be encountered in readability will affect the writability of the language. Reliability: Java does not have the extensive exception handling of C++. 5. Evaluate both Java and C++ with respect to the ultimate total cost (as discussed in Chapter 1 of the Sebesta text). Again, please be thorough and provide a reason/justification for your evaluation. The total cost of C++ is acceptable. C++ is a very complex language that for a programmer to learn completely can take well over a year, but a programmer can learn enough to make powerful programs in a relatively short time. The style constructs of C++ help to improve it’s maintainability over time which is a major component to the cost of software development. The total cost of Java is potentially more than that of C++. The functional programming environment is sufficiently different from all other imperative languages that training for programmers to learn and become proficient in Java can take longer. Also the syntax similarities with data will make maintenance costs for Java programs to be higher because of their poor readability. Readability. Requiring the declaration of variables forces the programmer to document his/her expectations regarding variable names, data types, and scope (the region of the program where the variable will be applicable). Thus, the program becomes much more readable to the programmer and to others. Writability. Requiring the declaration of variables may actually decrease writability in its most direct sense, since a programmer cannot simply use variables as needed, but must write declarations in their appropriate places to avoid error messages. This increased burden on the programmer can increase programming time. On the other hand, without declarations there can be no local variables, and the use of local variables can increase writability by allowing the programmer to reuse names without worrying about non-local references. Forcing the programmer to plan the use of variables may also improve writability over the long run. Efficiency. As we saw, readability and writability can be viewed as efficiency issues from the point of view of maintenance and software engineering, so the comments about those issues also apply here in that sense. The use of declarations may also permit more efficient implementation of the program. Without declarations, if no assumptions are made about the size of variables, less efficient access mechanisms using pointers must be used. Also, the programmer can use declarations to specify the exact size of variable needed (such as short int or long int). Restricting scope by using local variables can also save memory space by allowing the automatic deallocation of variables. Note, however, that Fortran is a very efficient language in terms of execution speed, so it is not always true that requiring declarations must improve execution speed. Also, speed of translation may actually be decreased by the use of declarations, since more information must be kept in tables to keep track of the declarations. (It is not true, as Fortran and BASIC attest, that without declarations a translator must be multi-pass.) Security. Requiring declarations enhances the translator’s ability to track the use of variables and report errors. A clear example of this appears in the difference between ANSI C and old-style Unix C. Early C did not require that parameters to functions be declared with function prototypes. (While not exactly variable declarations, parameter declarations are closely related and can be viewed as essentially the same concept.) This meant that a C compiler could not guarantee that a function was called with the appropriate number or types of parameters. Such errors only appeared as crashes or garbage values during program execution. The use of parameter declarations in ANSI C greatly improved the security of the C language. Expressiveness. Expressiveness may be reduced by requiring the declaration of variables, since they cannot then be used in arbitrary ways. Scheme, for example, while requiring declarations, does not require that data types be given, so that a single variable can be used to store data of any data type. This increases expressiveness at the cost of efficiency and security.

The Hunger Project In Ghana Environmental Sciences Essay

Ghana is rich in natural resources and has one of the strongest emerging economic systems in Africa. Ghana is quickly urbanizing. Despite this, most of Ghana ‘s hapless unrecorded in rural countries without basic services such as wellness attention and clean H2O, entree to recognition loan installations, basic instruction. Small-scale husbandmans, who are affected most by rural poorness in Ghana, depended on out-of-date agriculture tools and deficiency entree to improved seeds and fertilisers to increase harvest outputs. Like Caritas in Sierra Leone, The Hunger Project ( THP ) , was founded in 1977, in the aftermath of the lifting argument on universe hungriness triggered by the first Rome World Food Conference. Compared with Sierra Leone, NGOs presence in the state was as a consequence of the merely concluded war, Ghana on the other manus has non experience war but yet its citizens live below the poorness line. It should be noted that, the battle against poorness or the schemes implemented by NGOs to contend poorness and their targeted donees varies from NGOs to NGOs, part to part. The Hunger Project has been working in Ghana since 1995 and is authorising 250,000 spouses in 40 epicentre communities to stop their ain hungriness and poorness. Through its incorporate attack to rural development, the Epicenter Strategy, The Hunger Project is working with spouses to successfully entree the basic services needed to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) and lead lives of autonomy. 3.5.1- GENERAL ACTIVITIES OF THP Success physiques on success is the chief focal point of THP in Africa is mobilising people at the grassroots degree to be autonomy is a general concern of the THP and their chief mark groups are adult females and youth the marginalized in today ‘s society. Hunger Project strategies seek to construct people ‘s capacities, leading and assurance. They developing of adult females and work forces, fiting them with the accomplishments, methods and cognition needed to take autonomous actions to better their lives and conditions in their communities have been the undertaking of THP for a decennary period now. The Vision, Commitment and Action Workshop ( VCAW ) are the first phase set for rural communities to be autonomous. This has produced good figure donees in THP operational zones. The preparation of community or local energizers and their mobilisation procedure have become the flicker stopper for local action. As people take more significant action, THP provides accomplishments preparations in literacy, numeracy, nutritionA and local Torahs. The organize people into self-help groups to derive a stronger voice are behind their success narratives.Analysis OF NGOs ROLE AND APPROACH TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION4.0.3- NGOs ROLES: HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE/ RELIEF SERVICE AN APPROACH TO POVERTY ALLEVIATIONIn this stage, the function played by NGOs during exigencies, like war, and some natural catastrophes, will be assessed and analyzed. Relief service is one of NGOs speedy intercession countries, in the universe. However, one should hold the realisation that human-centered aid, is offer during exigencies, and that it is short live. These aid include: the proviso of Non-food points, like apparels, hard-on of cantonments as shelter for displaced or returnees, vulnerable, every bit good as victims, free medical installations, proviso of free instruction and skill preparation, proviso of nutrient, either all ready procedure, or through the battle of the donees in some agricultural activities, and nutrient points, formed the alleviation service programme. In position of the definition of human-centered aid or alleviation services, below is an analysis, of the alleviation programme implemented by two NGOs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Three major sectors which alleviation services ever focuses on are to be discussed below and these include: Agriculture, Health and Education. 4.2.1 AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ( Case surveies THP and Caritas The study highlights the agricultural plan, implemented by Caritas Sierra Leone, in Sierra Leone in the Eastern Region in three Districts. In the 2003-2004 Cropping Season supported by Caritas Germany Donor, The Caritas Germany plan supported 1110 farm households through Caritas Sierra Leone in the Kenema District. So far four major activities have been undertaken to implement agribusiness programme. These are: Base line Survey Input Distribution Monitoring Field Extension The program of activities was prepared by the Field Supervisor and the Agricultural supervisor and presented to the Administrative Officer for blessing. The base line study was done by the Field Extension Workers ( FEW ) . Besides, the bringing of Extension Service ( which is ongoing ) is being undertaken by the FEW. The Monitoring exercising is being undertaken by the targeted communities in January/February 2004. 4.2.2 BASELINE SURVEY The Baseline Survey/ Farms Registration were done in all the targeted communities in January/ February2004. The husbandmans targeted were chiefly farm household caputs shacking in either relocated communities of IDP cantonments in the targeted chiefdoms. Certain standards were use 500 to select/register the husbandmans including the followers: That merely the Farm Family Head is listed down That precedence is given to the most vulnerable, such as those who are husbandmans but have no entree to basic production inputs such as seeds/planting stuffs and tools. That the Farm Family Head has a minimal household labour force to cultivate at least two estates of land. That the Farm Family Heads have entree to free piece of land to cultivate in the vicinity. Precedence was besides given to adult females and widow Headed Farm Families. The donees in Nongowa and Dama Chiefdom in the Kenema District were registered and served in the internally displaced locations i.e. in relocated village/town communities. A fixed Farm Family instance burden of 200 was allocated for all relocated communities and 100 farm household from each cantonment in every mark Chiefdom. However, the figure of communities per Chiefdom was hot fixed. Few communities were selected from Chiefdoms with big towns/villages e.g. Nongowa, and more from little Chiefdoms with smaller towns/ small towns e.g. Dodo.5.2.3 INPUT DISTRIBUTIONTHE Caritas programme provided assorted types of Agriculture inputs for the 1100 targeted farm households. These were seed rice, tools and seting stuffs ( sweet murphy vine and cassava film editings ) The day of the month of the input distribution started in the 13th June 2001 and ended on the 29th July 2001.an analysis of the input distribution is given in the tabular array below.4.2.4 Monitoring AND ExtensionThe monitoring exercising started since 30th July2001. The targeted communities ( including displaced cantonments ) the Nongowa, Dodo and Small Bo Chiefdoms are being visited. The motivation fundamentally is to happen out How far the FEW were able to successfully present the inputs to the donees. The Extent of extended services being delivered to the husbandmans. How far the donees have been able to properly grip and use the inputs received services render them by FEW. Reasonable histories can now be given to the undermentioned activities. Timely conductivity of Base line study. Successful bringing and distribution of all inputs provided for the donees. The husbandman s accepted and described the inputs as good. Cultivation of the seeds and seting stuffs provided for the husbandmans now in advancement. Transplant of seeds rice had been completed in most of the farms. The cassava film editings and murphy vines had besides been planted. All three ( 3 ) harvests were shooting good.4.2.5 CROP PRODUCTIONThe harvests cultivated by the targeted donees included highland and IVS rice, maize, manioc, and miscellaneous veggies. Entire land area cultivated for each of the harvest by farm households and by all the donees combined is shown below: The undertaking end product was used in several ways by the husbandmans. The crop from the seed rice was used for place ingestion, refund of seed loans, proviso of seed stock for subsequent planting season and gross revenues. The harvest signifier manioc, maize, and veggies were used for gross revenues, place ingestion and seed seting stock. The sale of some of the crop allowed the husbandmans obtained money to run into other family demands to better on their societal economic position. The grain shops are soon being used for hive awaying agricultural inputs and seeds. In 2004/05, some constituent was formed under the agricultural sector. For this constituent, 25 Liberian refugees ‘ farm households were identified and registered. Shown in the tabular array below, the demographic profile of the donees ( household caputs ) .4.2.6 SEED LOAN RECOVERYFarmers were supplying with seed rice on the status that after harvest the same measure that was received will be paid. An estimation of 95 % of seed burden recovery was achieved. The seed tonss were collected in all communities covered. The loans collected were deposited into seed bank established in the several communities. These loans allow communities have stock of seeds from which seed loans could be obtained by interested community members for future planting season. See full detailed analysis on the seed loan below. THP, on its portion, has similar agribusiness programmes, organized for community engagement. Increasing Food Security Malawi is a state that is prone to natural catastrophes, enduring from both utmost drouths to heavy rain falls. As a consequence, the nutrient supply state of affairs in Malawi remains rickety. To this terminal, The Hunger Project-Ghana empowers and supports husbandmans with preparations and stuffs to increase and diversify their nutrient production. In these catastrophe prone countries, a cardinal component of the Epicenter Strategy is the community nutrient Bankss. The Hunger Project-Malawi has besides inaugurated a system of land irrigation to increase and diversity nutrient production. The Hunger Project-Ghana in 2005 sceptered and supported husbandmans with preparations and stuffs to increase and diversify their nutrient production. While Benin does non endure from major drouths or inundations, there is however a great deficit of nutrient. Food Bankss at the epicentre, small town and family degrees help communities remain nutrient secure in instance of a deficit. The Hunger Project-Ghana late launched a pilot undertaking, The Food Production Contest, which has successfully catalyzed spouses ‘ committedness to the terminal of hungriness in poorness by increasing stocks in community nutrient Bankss.4.2.7 EDUCATIONAL SECTOR( a ) -Skills Training This sub-project was initiated with the purpose of authorising Refugee Youths between 17-35 old ages to go an plus to their communities and doing pregnant parts to the development of their several communities whether they return. Trainees were identified among the Liberian Refugees population in coaction with the Liberian Executive and developing garb was rented at No. 18 Sesay Street, Sierra Leone, where the undermentioned accomplishments options were conducted: Tailoring, Gara Tie Dyeing, Soap production, Hair Dressing, Carpentry and Small Engine care. Quality preparation stuffs were produced and made available to the Centre for the different accomplishments through the Liberian Executive. Educational Officer In coaction with the Liberian Executives, Caritas Sierra Leone pointed Educational Officer registered 820 Liberian Refugee pupils for support in 2004/05 academic twelvemonth. 481 of these were supported in the primary schools out of which 245 were male childs and 236 were misss. 339 secondary school pupils were supported out of which 231 were male childs and 108 misss. As seen in the tabular array, above 63 % of the primary school pupils supported are between the ages 6-11yrs while 37 % are above 12 old ages. Of the 302 pupils under 12 old ages, 153 ( 51 % ) are boys and 149 ( 49 % ) are girls. Of the 179 pupils over 11 old ages, 90 ( 50 % ) are boys and 89 ( 50 % ) are misss. An estimation of 58 % of the secondary school pupils supported is between the ages 12-17 old ages and 42 % are above 17 old ages. Below is the distribution of the pupils harmonizing to age and class: Among the 339 refugee pupils supported and between 12-17 old ages, 126 ( 63 % ) are boys and 40 ( 28 % ) are misss. A sum of 110 refugee ( grownups ) registered for the Adult Literacy Program ( 52 males and 58 females ) and were all distributed to the assorted degree of the plan harmonizing to their output/progress. Out of this sum ( 110 ) , 70 ( 64 % ) are between 15-24 old ages and 40 ( 36 % ) are 25+ old ages. The library continued to supply utile services to refugee school kids, largely those in secondary who could non buy the prescribed reading stuffs in their schools. A sum of 1,829 pupils visited the library during the twelvemonth. Similarly, THP – Ghana has of all time since embarked on Promoting Education in Ghana ‘s eastern part. This portion of the state history for the highest degree of illiteracy. Adult and child literacy plans conducted in local and national linguistic communications are being carried out in more than 30 literacy centres in The Hunger Project-Ghana ‘s eastern part plan countries. The local authorities continues to back up The Hunger Project-Ghana with instructors and stuffs. In an attempt to guarantee that girl kids stay in school, The Hunger Project-Ghana implemented a Mother ‘s Club which sensitizes adult females to the benefits of directing misss to school. The plan has seen noteworthy consequences such as a decrease in local kid trafficking every bit good as an addition in literacy rates. 4.2.8 HEALTH SECTOR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES- HIV/AIDS PREVENTION 2002-2008 The Caritas Sierra Leone Health undertook the Primary Health Care programme, uses the undermentioned attacks in the HIV/AIDS bar Education Strategy: Sponsoring immature instrumentalists to compose vocals turn toing HIV/AIDS prevention/ attention and stigma ; Working through adult females ‘s groups such as Hunbgtateh Women ‘s Association in Kenema Town which conduct preparation in assorted accomplishment aiming dropouts, commercial sex workers, miss female parent, and female supported family ; Preventing HIV/AIDS bar through Audio-Visual shows, talk and function drama to establishments TBA ‘s, female parents an clinics yearss, young persons and grownup in the communities etc ; and Using the platform of World Aids Day for HIV/AIDS sensitisation activities. 4.2.9 CLINIC ACTIVITIES A entire figure of 172,145 Liberian refugees patient received intervention between March 2001 and May 2003 at Caritas supported clinics in the Kenema District. The reported clinical mortality rate was 0.14 % that is, 155 under five and 123 grownups. Malaria leads with 30 % of Acute Respiratory Infection ( ARI ) and pneumonia, 10 % of adult females infestation, 80 % skin infection, 17 % diarrhoae and dysentery, 6 % anaemia, and 5 % of Sexually Transmitted Infection ( STI ) . Maternal and Child Health Aids assigned by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to the 30 clinics constructed and supported by Caritas in the Kenema District assisted in 2,683 bringings 22 were maternal deceases and five 100s and 20 unnatural bringing were reported from the clinics. The Traditional Birth Attendants ( TBAs ) reported 2,476 normal were trained in the Kenema District and given obstetrics supplied by UNICEF. In Ghana eastern part, similar wellness plants are done by THP. THP in Ghana, through the creative activity of the Epicenters in the part, these wellness centres provide primary wellness attention and immunisations. They besides teach work forces and adult females how to better their wellness and hygiene. The Hunger Project-Ghana in 2003 has pioneered a household Planning and Nutritional Monitoring Community Dialogue Project in an attempt to continue the wellness of both adult females and kids in the community. When births are spread out, kids are constantly healthier and adult females have more clip and energy to put in their income-generating activities. In Ghana eastern part, where there is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and malaria, and in 2004, 3,000 anti-malaria bed cyberspaces were distributed among 3,000 community people. The Hunger Project-Ghana, conducts preparation of traditional birth attenders, as in the instance of Caritas Sierra Leone, mobilizes energizers to supply bed-nets and implements HIV/AIDS voluntary guidance and proving plans in epicentre communities. More than 215,000 people have participated in THP-Ghana ‘s HIV/AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop.[ 1 ] In the battle against malaria, Hunger Project energizers are enrolled as community drug distributers who are trained by the authorities and given malaria drugs to administer. Detailed records are kept of which spouses have received cyberspaces and accessed malaria intervention drugs. WATER AND SANITATION PROJECT Thirty new Wellss were constructed at assorted clinics location in the Kenema District. A sum of 26 old Wellss were rehabilitated profiting an norm of three 100 people per good. In add-on, four new gravitation H2O systems were complemented two at the Dodo and Nongowa Chiefdoms in the Kenema District. As mentioned in above, NGOs functions are diverse in nature. In this subdivision of the work, the issue of microfinance is capable of treatment every bit THP as in the instance of Caritas will be use as a instance survey to show the functions of NGOs as related to microfinance.Part TWO4.3.0. NGOs Function: MICROFINANCE AN APPROACH TO POVERTY ALLEVIATIONIs it clear that rendering human-centered aid to the hapless is a good thing, but non warrant, as these alleviation services are offer merely during exigency period, for illustration if there is war, drouth, civil agitation, and when natural catastrophe occurred in a given vicinity. It has its ain advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, if NGOs purpose is to relieve poorness in Sub-Saharan Africa, they should airt their development function particularly in states where no war has taken topographic point like Ghana. Redirecting their dockets can besides assist in refocusing people ‘s head from doing problems and do them concentra te. This of class, could merely be achieved if people particularly marginalized young persons and adult females, the voiceless are to the full engaged in plants that are profitable and could do them autonomy. â€Å" An idle encephalon they say is a Satan ‘s workshop † . As antecedently explained, in order to relieve poorness, The Hunger Project has used microfinance like many other NGOs, as an attack and mechanism to assist contend poorness in Ghana other sub- Saharan African states do besides hold microfinance operation. Microfinance plans have been embraced around the universe as an of import scheme for poorness relief. Surveies have demonstrated that the poorness relief impacts of microfinance services include making the hapless, raising their economic wellbeing every bit good as authorising them, particularly adult females ( Ashe, 2000 ; Todd, 2000 ; Fisher, 2002 ; Khandker, 2002 ; Robinson, 2002 ; Simanowitz, 2002 ; Snodgrass, 2002 ) . Over the last decennary the microfinance field has expanded well both in footings of figure of establishments and the size of establishments. Microfinance is an effectual tool that is been used by NGOs to cut down poorness in the rural hapless. Microfinance is the proviso of fiscal services to the hapless who do non hold entree to capital and fiscal services Kosiura, K 2001. A more precise definition describes microfinance as the proviso of appropriate fiscal services to important Numberss of low-income, economically active people with an terminal aim to relieve poorness ( Ledger wood, 1998 ) . Fiscal services can include one or any combination of the undermentioned: loaning, nest eggs, insurance, pension/retirement and payment services. Increasingly mature MFIs besides provide diverse products-housing loans ( chiefly betterments, fix and care ) , insurance ( both wellness and life insurance ) , and private pensions. Microfinance is besides often combined with the proviso of societal and concern development services, such as literacy preparation, instruction on wellness issues, direction or accounting preparation. The function of microfinance for development attempts in black Africa, peculiarly for poorness relief has been important. Supplying hapless people with entree to fiscal services are seen to cut down capital market deformations to except the hapless, cut down exposure by supplying the hapless with fiscal resources when needed, and chances for income-generating activities. In Sierra Leone, for case, the Agricultural Bank established by the authorities to be crediting husbandmans and pay in subsequent harvest home season was closed during the war and since after that the authorities has non being reestablished and husbandmans to day of the month are constrained with the issue of money Microfinance enables clients to protect, diversify and increase their income, every bit good as to roll up assets, cut downing their exposure to income and ingestion dazes ( Robison, 2002 ) . The solidarity group loaning methodological analysiss common in microfinance, aid increase the assurance of the hapless ( particularly adult females ) , authorising them to more efficaciously confront inequalities ; ( Ashe, 2000 ; Todd, 2000 ; Fisher, 2002, Khandker, 2002 ; Robinson, 2002 ; Simanowitz, 2002 ; Snodgrass, 2002 ) . The handiness of fiscal services has proven to be a critical factor in cut downing poorness and its effects, uncovering positive consequences on nutrition, instruction, wellness, gender equity, agribusiness and the environment ( Littlefield, 2003 ) . MFIs include all types of entities that provide microfinance services. MFIs scope from non-governmental organisations ( NGOs ) to regulated fiscal establishments such as non-bank fiscal establishments, commercial Bankss, recognition brotherhoods and province Bankss ( Christen & A ; Drake, 2001 ) . They are by and large guided and defined by two viing paradigms: fiscal self-sustainability and poorness relief.[ 2 ] The poorness relief attack ( besides referred to the welfare-statist attack ) claims that the overall ends of micro-finance should be poverty decrease and authorization. Such MFIs are rather expressed in their focal point on instantly bettering the well being of participants. Harmonizing to Woller ( 2000 ) , their nonsubjective tends to be self-employment of the poorer among the economically active hapless, particularly adult females, whose control of modest additions in income and nest eggs is assumed to authorise them to better the conditions of life for themselves and their kids. Within this paradigm, there are a group of feminist authorization writers that emphasize adult females ‘s economic, societal and political authorization. While microfinance is seen by these writers as an of import manner to react to the immediate practical demands of hapless informal sector adult females workers, it is seen as lone portion of a scheme for wider societal and political authorization o f adult females which, in bend, is seen as indispensable to sustained additions in income ( Mayoux, 1998 ) . In the point of view of THP, edifice and strengthening of the adult females ‘s administration and other marginalized people who formed Self-Help Groups are the footing of microfinance development. Through these community groups, the hapless cultivates their spirit of common cooperation and construct corporate actions. In relation to this attack, community facilitators and energizers as in the instance of THP, encourage people to set up themselves. THP put the constitution of CGs as a first and chief measure in the attempts to assist the hapless to be autonomous and battle against poorness. When these CGs are established, THP provides human resource preparation for the members of the group particularly on how to make nest eggs and recognition activities. It is a measure to be passed by all the members before they learn how to make concern activities. In other words, THP develops nest eggs and recognition activity as a footing for heightening micro concern, and to make micro concern. To accomplish this end, THP has established epicentres to ease their micro finance programme. In analysis, THP ‘s microfinance programme in Ghana eastern part is analyzed as follow between the old ages 2000-2006. Within 2000-2002, The Hunger Project has distributed USD $ 1,279,841 in loans to a sum of 3,917 spouses in their epicentre communities. The current cumulative refund rate bases at 87.23 per centum. In 2003-2004, The Hunger Project has distributed US $ 405,785 in microloans to 14,785 spouses, with an mean loan size of $ 68. There are three government-recognized rural Bankss that are runing in three autonomous epicentre communities. Through its microfinance plan, in 2005, The Hunger Project has distributed US $ 688,134 in microloans to 7,695 spouses.[ 3 ] The twelvemonth 2006, was THP ‘s immense fiscal expense. The Hunger Project has distributed USD $ 1,279,841 in loans to a sum of 3,917 spouses in their epicentre communities. The current cumulative refund rate bases at 87.23 per centum. Form the above, it is a clear grounds demoing how THP ‘s microfinance programme is an effectual agencies of relieving poorness, as there micro finance has capacitated the local communities to transport out their agriculture activities and make some nest eggs which subsequently would be of usage for small-scale concerns. The intent of microfinance is to authorise the marginalized in community, to do small nest eggs and besides to utilize the money given by givers to set about some little graduated table concern, and for those who are husbandmans to utilize in purchasing fertilisers, seeds, and in future be self-reliance. As human-centered services seem to be a short term end, and caters for a really few, microfinance on the other manus, screens broad scope of donees, as the money given are directed to groups and administrations, instead than single households, profiting at the disbursal of others. In modern-day times today, human-centered aid, and microfinance, ne'er seems to be plenty, as they people involved in the procedure, and donees are clump of nonreaders, and they few elect benefit most at the cost of others. The issue of Microfinance has been questioned ; this is because, microfinance, trades with banking and nest eggs procedure, therefore, if people ca n't read nor compose, the procedure can easy be fraud, as issues associating to certification is entirely in the custodies of the elite. Accountability and lucidity has ever been the job with money. African leaders are notably known for corruptness, graft and many other illegal activities, so whenever one talk of money, uncertainties are ever created in the heads of people. In a command to turn to this unfavorable judgment, NGOs have besides embark on another development function which is Capacity Building. The inquiry frequently asked by funding givers, is the capacity, and degrees of the alteration agents ( NGOs ) . Many argue that NGOs are â€Å" rawness, incompetent and incapable of covering with such proficient countries, and besides lack the expertness to manage pecuniary issues † ( Henrietta, 2007 ) . If this is no bias, so NGOs should seek so difficult to better on their proficient know-how if their ends are to be achieved. To turn to this issue of capableness, most NGOs have redirected their development schemes from alleviation services and microfinance to capacity-building and empowerment programmes. Many opined that if more pririority is put on this facet of NGOs functions, so it will still the frights of givers. In the short coming chapter, the issue of capacity- edifice and authorization would be another country of analysis to see it outcome and effectiveness in our society. 4.3.1 NGOs Functions: CAPACITY BUILDING AN APPROACH TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION Capacity -Building, as a term has late dominated NGOs vocabulary. â€Å" Teach me how to angle, instead than, given me fish every twenty-four hours † . This proverb can outdo depict what capacity edifice is all approximately. In modern-day times, divergent positions are held about the construct. Scholars are working round the clock to convey up a simple and precise definition, but till so no 1 definition is given. Some NGOs work to construct up local administrations, so that they can make more to back up local people themselves. This procedure is known as ‘capacity edifice ‘ . For case, it might include assisting little community groups come together and supply support to their members, or assisting national NGOs or authorities establishments to work better and turn. If the procedure works good, capacity edifice can assist local administrations deliver relevant services on a sustainable footing to local people ( including lobbying and helping authorization ) . Capacity Building is a procedure through which â€Å" NGOs strengthen the local communities, civil society administrations, authorities establishments, and other private establishments † . Although Lewis ( 2001, p. 69 ) argues that the NGO is an implementer and â€Å" can be engaged in supplying services to its clients through its ain programmes, † we argue, on the contrary, that NGOs, should non implement its ain plans, but instead should assist communities achieve their ain sustainable plans economic, political and societal countries. As Fowler ( 1997, p. 13 ) underscores, â€Å" facilitation is a critical facet of engagement procedure † that Southern NGOs need to larn and pattern. In a more definite term, Capacity-building is an â€Å" enterprise that focuses on the proviso of proficient support, for both NGOs for those situated in the LDCs, to assist their mark donees, and for those established in developed universe, know as Northern NGOs ( NNGOs ) , therefore enabling them to transport out their preferable ends of project-related services and protagonism † . Smillie ( 1999, p. 75 ) provides a substantial illustration. The Canadian Partnership Branch â€Å" has articulated several aims. Among them is capacity edifice in developing states: to beef up the capacity of southern organisations and establishments to do a important and sustainable development impact among the deprived communities through forming preparation programmes † ( see besides Duhu 2005, p. 44 ; Tapeline 2000, p. 40 ) . Capacity Building is much more than preparation and includes the followers Human resource development, the procedure of fiting persons with the apprehension, accomplishments and entree to information, cognition and preparation that enables them to execute efficaciously. Organizational development, the amplification of direction constructions, procedures and processs, non merely within organisations but besides the direction of relationships between the different organisations and sectors ( public, private and community ) . Institutional and legal model development, doing legal and regulative alterations to enable organisations, establishments and bureaus at all degrees, and at all sectors to heighten their capacities. Local authorities, communities and NGOs are the chief clients, but cardinal authorities and the private commercial sector besides need support. Community groups, frequently with strong NGO support, need to better their capacity to be after, form and pull off their vicinities. Departments of local authorities play an progressively of import function in enabling community groups to heighten their capacities and effectivity. There are really direct deductions for agricultural instruction in the country of human resource capacity edifice since by definition the term ( and the procedure ) has instruction, both formal and non-formal, at its nucleus. In its broadest reading, capacity edifice encompasses human resource development ( HRD ) as an indispensable portion of development. It is based on the construct that instruction and preparation prevarication at the bosom of development attempts and that without HRD most development intercessions will be uneffective. It focuses on a series of actions directed at assisting participants in the development procedure to increase their cognition, accomplishments and apprehensions and to develop the attitudes needed to convey about the coveted developmental alteration. Another indispensable mechanism for capacity edifice is partnership development. Partnerships give a local NGO entree to: cognition and accomplishments ; advanced and proved methodological analysiss ; networking and funding chances ; replicable theoretical accounts for turn toing community demands and managing resources ; options for organisational direction and administration ; and schemes for protagonism, authorities dealingss and public outreach. The Hunger Project -Ghana is one clear illustration of NGOs partnership. The Hunger Project-Uganda has been successful at making long-run partnerships with a figure of organisations. A partnership with Catholic Relief Services ( CRS ) in Kiboga Epicenter, in 2002, builds the capacity of rural spouses to fix and react to a figure of diseases impacting their chief harvest: manioc. Diseases have devastated crops and go on to endanger the nutrient security and incomes of cassava-dependent households. This four-year partnership with CRS will assist spouses to protect their crops and increase their outputs and family incomes. The Hunger Project-Ghana partnered with AFFORDS in Uganda and received 3,000 treated anti-malarial bed cyberspaces for spouses in Mpigi Epicenter. In the battle against malaria, Hunger Project energizers are enrolled as community drug distributers who are trained by the authorities and given malaria drugs to administer. By the terminal of 2002-2007 over 7,000 people received free malaria intervention in Ghana eastern part. The ideal of human development and partnership are non the lone ground for NGOs capacity edifice, but instead support has its ain instance to reason. The former can be carried out successfully, but in concurrence with support which is even the more ground for partnership. When people partnered, is either for fiscal, moral, proficient and other supports. Through NGOs local partnership, environmental sustainability could be achieved. Environmental sustainability is a basis of plan execution in The Hunger Project-Ghana epicentre communities. Many Hunger Project spouses in Ghana usage energy ranges, which cut down firewood ingestion by an norm of 60 per centum. Womans have replaced their cookery fire or three-stone ranges with more efficient clay ranges which burn less wood. In this manner, adult females do non hold to pass as much clip roll uping firewood. Efficient ranges mean less work for adult females. Capacity edifice, as a construct entails tonss of strengths, Northern NGOs may utilize their resources to beef up the capacity of Southern NGOs on many foreparts, as Duhu ( 2005, p.44 ) notes: â€Å" plan support, institutional support, proficient support, partnerships and alliances. † Skills in the country of strategic planning, and human development, for illustration, can non be overemphasized. Sadly, Lewis ( 2001, p. 158 ) argues that â€Å" in many aid-dependent contexts it is common for partnerships affecting NGOs to hold inactive character, frequently because the thought of partnership is forced in some manner. † â€Å" Capacity edifice is an terminal to itself, instead than a agencies to any other terminal † , in this context justifies that any support given to 3rd universe NGOs by northern NGOs, is a right to itself. Northern NGOs like United Nations, World Health Organisation, and any other UN related Agencies, given developing programmes like, study aut horship, accounting ; monitoring and rating and undertaking proposal/design and direction, to Sothern NGOs are illustrations of NGOs justifiable ends. However, it should be noted that effectual capacity edifice besides takes clip and depends on respectful duologue with the staff and stakeholders of the administration that is constructing itself up. From the above analyses, one could reason that NGOs are non merely ordinary societier members, but more positive histrions in the battle against poorness as demonstrated in the above analyses, and the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 as prioritized by United Nations and the universe at big. The three countries of concern used as a focal point for poorness relief by NGOs, proved beyond uncertainties the effectivity and importance of NGOs in our society. Hence a research of such nature, is deserving educating.

Culture and Blogging Essay

In this modern age, society has undergone evolution, making man’s life far more complex and diverse compared those of his predecessors. Once the dominant figure in the society, an individual’s influence over his self-identity has greatly been reduced and he has been a subject of change and development based on social forces. One of the theories that explore this modern development is Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration, wherein he explores and attempts to determine whether it is people who shape their social reality or modern social forces. Giddens (1992) cited that it is the individual who serves as the catalyst for social reality through the process of structuration, wherein social structures are seen as influential agents of change. He further emphasized that social structure contain system that actors (individuals) learn to use after experiencing it and moves towards its application in an actor’s culture. Changes with oneself and identity transpire with information, something that coincides with Giddens’ view of a reflexive identity. Reflexive identity is often identified as an endeavor, in which individuals seek to observe and reflect on their identity and work on it. He also emphasizes the process of repetitive social interaction to formally develop one’s self-identity, in which reactions of others are deemed important in order to attain growth and development. He addresses this as the narrative identity in which an individual continues to welcome events and integrate these into his life for developmental purposes. Giddens’ Theory of Intimacy and Self-Identity in Modern Society In his work, Giddens (1992) has broken down the possible changes that have taken place in the realm of intimate relationships, causing developments that shake teleological understanding. Using the American society as its model, Giddens (1992) cited that the supposed unity among marriage, sexuality and reproduction has been broken down by these changes and that it represented a new image of what is the new intimate relationship, something that is at par with modernism. Under these developments, couples could live through a compassionate marriage, and that it is also possible to nurture each other without the need to involve the opposite sex or a child as a medium of love. According to Jamieson (1999), what Giddens has cited in his works are probably what people call or view as â€Å"pure relationship† where intimacy matters less and that relationship itself matters more. This is seen among couples who do not conceive children all throughout their relationship. However, Giddens (1992) cited that the focus of the social order still lies on the heterosexual marriage and that there have been numerous advantages in entering such relationship. This led into what Giddens (1992) calls â€Å"plastic sexuality† where the discussion was centered on having attained or surpassed the needs of phallus in a relationship. Here, Giddens’ (1992) views intimacy as equal to sexuality. Giri (1994) cited that Giddens’ (1992) use the term phallus to describe the male experience or the intimate moments shared with the human male species. Giddens (1992) cited that â€Å"plastic sexuality† frees individuals from the needs of reproduction which characterizes heterosexual marriage. Much of the analysis of Giddens’ theory of identity will confirm that â€Å"plastic sexuality† commonly refers to the third sex, more commonly known as gays and lesbians. The relationship between individuals of the same sex has been one of the favorite topics of debate as early as the 1990s. It was criticized for being indecent mainly due to the concept of having physical and emotional relationship with the same sex. Giri (1994) cited that same sex relationships became a taboo, and were regarded as similar to incest relationships. Yet in the work of Giddens (1992), he cited that â€Å"plastic sexuality† was a decentralized form of sexuality which is not bound by traditional or conventional relationships. This is the reason why many have viewed Giddens’ (1992) work as something out of the ordinary, and at par with the changes occurring in society (Giri, 1994). As mentioned earlier, he brought a new definition to intimacy and expanded its application to a certain degree. Using the American and European society as its model, Giddens (1991) showed the transformation of intimacy to a new degree. Giddens (1991) cited that the third sex – lesbians and gays – aside from being involved in â€Å"plastic sexuality† are also tied with what he calls reflexive sexuality. This is where an individual’s sexuality serves as a property of oneself, while having its own qualities. However, the evolution of intimacy has produced transmutations of biological categories, between male and female, such as the degradation of the male’s sexual organ. The core idea in Giddens’ (1991) view of intimacy is close to the degradation of the male’s phallus or the function of the male’s sexual organ, and the fortification of the third sex. By emphasizing a relationship that is free from reproduction and moving away from the confines of the heterosexual marriage, Giddens (1991) indirectly pointed his views of intimacy as being directly justifying lesbians and gays relationships. In his work, he cited that women could now see men on the cognitive level at the very least. Schiffrin (1996) cited that it emphasized gender empowerment in terms of being involved in a relationship. He also supported one of Giddens’ (1991) view about self-identity in which fragmentation versus unification influences the formation or development of self-identity. In here, Giddens’ (1991) view of intimacy moves away from the widely perceived; although it still pays importance to physical contact, its significance lies in its support and empowerment of the third sex. As cited, Giddens (1991) also has views about the formation and development of self-identity. Unification versus fragmentation was cited earlier and there are still three other dichotomies of self-identity. Unification and fragmentation in simpler terms mainly focus on what cultural patterns offer against an individual whose self evaporated into a variegated context of action. Giddens (1991) cited that an individual constructs himself within the boundaries of his environment, culture or even his own parents. Unification is solely based on the emulation of something or someone that is recognized by the public (Giddens, 1991). On the other hand, fragmentation represents individuals who adjust themselves in relation to what is needed or demanded in a particular scenario or environment. Schiffrin (1996) cited this as â€Å"authoritarian conformity,† wherein an individual adapts to its surroundings until he is barely recognizable. The dilemma between the two is that the true self would feel empty and inauthentic (Giddens, 1991), and anything else could not fill it easily. The end result is likely an individual who acts and behaves reasonably or appropriately in front of the public, bringing in a sense of psychologically security; and yet the same individual may be feeling empty in relation to his true self. The second dimension is that of powerlessness versus appropriation. Giddens (1991) cited that powerlessness focuses on the alienation suffered by individuals in the context of modern society. Under the influence of capitalistic production, the individual loses its dominance over machines and markets. Giddens (1991) cited that in the process, what used to be human now seems alien and that in the so-called â€Å"mass society†, as such society becomes more extensive, individuals are more sheared with autonomy. On the other hand, Giddens (1991) describes appropriation as a complex picture between extensional and intentional change in a world under rapid globalization. It is a form of expropriation, wherein an individual undergoes a transformation that is characterized as disembedding, and moving away from the interest of any actors. Giddens (1991) also cited that it could also be a form of mastery of life only available in modern situations. Moreover, according to Giddens (1991), an individual would feel engulfed, being dominated by force that he could not transcend or resist. Unlike the first dilemma, in here, the dominating forces are compelling. The individual ends up having a feeling of helplessness due to loss of his autonomy.

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

International Management - Essay Example India is a country which is having the second largest population in the world. Moreover, it is blessed with different religions, languages and cultures across the country. â€Å"India comprises of 28 states and seven union territories† (India States, 2009) â€Å""Unity in diversity". It is not just another phrase or quotation. But, these words are highly prudent to a country like India that is incredibly rich in culture and heritage† (India Culture, 2009) â€Å"India is an enormously hierarchical society (arguably the most hierarchical in the world) and this, obviously, has an impact on management style† (Indian Management Style, n.d) Most of the Indian organizations consist of people from different parts of the country and the management should address the cultural diversity aspects all the time. Different management styles like conservative, entrepreneurial, professional, bureaucratic, organic, authoritarian, participative, intuitive, familial, altruistic etc are prevailing in Indian organizations (Khandwalla, 2009) I have worked as a production, planning and control executive in one of the topmost tire manufacturing companies in India called Apollo Tires situated in Cochin, Kerala. My organization consists of around 3000 workers divided in three shifts of eight hour duration. My organization was owned by a Punjabi Sikh person and hence some of the top management people were Punjabis. In Indian organizations, getting a promotion can be accomplished in two ways; purely on the basis of merits and on the basis of influence at the top management level. Some people utilizes their influences to get higher positions even though they were not qualified enough. One of the top production managers in my organization was a person from Punjab who has reached this position purely on the basis of his influence rather than academic qualification or expertise. This person often created problems to others because of his lack of ideas and knowledge in the

Critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Critical thinking - Essay Example ‘Positive reinforcement’ is experienced when occurrence of an event happening after a response raises the probability of that response to take place another time. The event that is presented is something an organism likes or prefers, and can be referred to as appetitive stimulus. The organism will do nothing to evade the event or the appetitive stimulus because of love for it. Moreover, in ‘positive reinforcement’, a raise in a propensity to respond is the fact that is significant most rather than subjective traits. It is established that an outcome becomes a ‘positive reinforcement’ when it makes the response to happen again (Coon, Mitterer, Talbot & Vanchella, 2010). For example, I like to drink cold water, since I would want to take icy water regularly when feeling thirsty. Additionally, I have a passion of drawing and singing; hence, I find myself singing and drawing most of my free time over and over again. The type of reinforcement takes place when a response is expected to happen another time when an event is removed. It occurs when an outcome of an occurrence makes a person to get rid of the odious circumstances. It is imperative to notice that ‘negative reinforcement’ does not entirely refer to unfortunate events, but particularly refers to events that lead to taking away of something (Coon, Mitterer, Talbot & Vanchella, 2010). Examples of events of ‘negative reinforcement’ include watching a boring movie or listening to noise from a neighbor. An individual will walk away from a cinema hall when the movie he/she is watching becomes uninteresting and tedious. In the situation of irritating noise from a neighbor, I often settle on staying in my room to lessen the tone of the sound. ‘Positive punishment’ refers to the occurrence of an event, which occurs after a response that decreases the possibility of the response from happening yet again. It occurs when the response of the event leads to

Experience with application of theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Experience with application of theory - Essay Example ng our impressions of the experience – how unbelievable the lines were, what classes we were going to be taking, whether we had picked a major yet, and wondering how much longer it was going to take. During these early conversations, because they were a series of very short question and answer type talks alternating with long periods of silence while we watched other people, we didn’t talk too much about our personal lives. I almost forgot to even ask her for her name. I probably wouldn’t have remembered to ask except we discovered we would be in some of the same classes. That first day, as soon as we were finished with the whole registration process, we said goodbye and expected to see each other in class. The next time I saw Patti was when we accidentally bumped into each other at the student bookstore. We were looking about the same as we had been in the registration lines – both of us looking sheepishly around trying to figure out just how we were supposed to know which books were the books we needed and where we might be able to find those fabled used books that were supposed to be so much less expensive than the new books. The sight of a familiar face, even one that was only vaguely familiar like Patti’s, was a welcome sign in an unfamiliar world. Together, we figured out how to learn which books were required and discovered that one of the most expensive books on our shared list only had one used copy left. The new books were twice as much and both of us were going to college on our own funding. We decided to be practical about the situation. We decided that we would both save money by splitting the cost of the one book and then sharing it through the semester. Whe n we sold it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester, we would split whatever we sold it for. This conversation led to an exchange of addresses and we discovered that we didn’t live very far from each other, which meant that sharing the book would be even

Change Organizational Model Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Change Organizational Model - Research Paper Example The core value of Mace Ford is that it deals with both new as well as used car sales. Through its performance, the company aims to provide its customers the cars that hold the most appropriate amalgamation of style, performance and safety for satisfying their exact needs and wants. Mace Fiord provides its customers the assurance of finding the exact vehicle for them that meets their necessities. 3.0 Organizational Development Problem in Mace Ford and Its Causes Considering the operations of Mace Ford over the past several years, it has been evaluated that the most crucial problem that it faced in its operational lifecycle is that of managing the changes in its new location on Highway 41 South, US. The dealership that they had with Ford has led to this change in location because after the deal, Mace Ford were supposed to have Ford trucks, the line of which is much bigger than the line of cars (Hayes, 2009). Quite a few causes have been identified for the prospect problem in the organi zational development of Mace Ford after its dealership with Ford. With the move of changing location, the organization faced the challenge of maintaining effective internal communication. The organizations’ people like that of the engineers, contractors and workers cited problems mentioning ineffective receiving of organizational information. The management at Mace Ford was not being able to ensure that up-to-date information was received by each employee. The management and operational controlling heads were not able to provide the appropriate means for accessing the systems of the company in the initial phases of its operations in the new location. The management of the company was much busy with maintaining the scheduled... Considering the operations of Mace Ford over the past several years, it has been evaluated that the most crucial problem that it faced in its operational lifecycle is that of managing the changes in its new location on Highway 41 South, US. The dealership that they had with Ford has led to this change in location because, after the deal, Mace Ford was supposed to have Ford trucks, the line of which is much bigger than the line of cars (Hayes, 2009). Quite a few cases have been identified for the prospect problem in the organizational development of Mace Ford after its dealership with Ford. With the move of changing location, the organization faced the challenge of maintaining effective internal communication. The organizations’ people like that of the engineers, contractors, and workers cited problems mentioning ineffective receiving of organizational information. The management at Mace Ford was not being able to ensure that up-to-date information was received by each employee . The management and operational controlling heads were not able to provide the appropriate means for accessing the systems of the company in the initial phases of its operations in the new location. The management of the company was much busy with maintaining the scheduled plan for the location change and adhering to the present orders of Ford and thus they could not organize their internal communication properly. The dealing with an individual employee is also an important task for the management.

Best practices in performance appraisal in government organizations Research Paper

Best practices in performance appraisal in government organizations - Research Paper Example Performance appraisal has been viewed as a crucial tool in the HRM and it helps in appraising the employee’s performances irrespective of the organizations they are working in. Government organizations have been pioneering in the field of performance appraisal of their employees. Since, government organizations have been serving the common people performance appraisal of these civil servants becomes mandatory. However, the requirement to mandate performance appraisal in the federal organization in order to measure performances is quiet evident. The civil servants of the system have faced certain backlogs in maintaining this standard of appraisal. The government of United States has been placing greater emphasis on the performance of their civil servants, for meeting up the expectations of their stakeholders and customers. However, one of the major problems faced by the government is regarding validating the standards of performance appraisal for maintaining transparency in the appraisal techniques (Maher, 2011). Moreover, it has also been observed that the current government workforce planning are lacking behind the set standards. This fragmented practice of the government, hinders their ability towards achieving their perceived targets. The unplanned structure of the government for the workforce management makes them deviate from their operations and results in lack of confidence within the people along with shattered market conditions (IBM, 2002). Government organization practices have largely been observed, to be the weakest while considering the performance appraisal approach. It has also been observed that many organizations, operating under the federal government, lacks proper tools for evaluating the performance appraisal of their employees (Rubin, 2011). The commercial institutions are more efficient in managing the employee performances and achieve their strategic goals. Moreover, the major backlog

HEALTHCARE ETHICS AND END OF LIFE DECISIONS Essay - 5

HEALTHCARE ETHICS AND END OF LIFE DECISIONS - Essay Example This causes an ethical challenge because decision is critical in the solving of the problem. In this regard, this essay will tear in to one ethical and moral dilemma case that will help in understanding this view. Further, the essay will focus on vital ethical principles related to the case and the process of making the ethical decision by medical administrators entangled in the case (Pozgar, 2012). In addition, the essay will provide an argument as to whether the handling of the case was appropriate then try to point out ways that would have the situation turn out differently. Therefore, the chosen case involved a sixteen-month-old baby boy whose father chose to end the life of his son at gunpoint. As per the case, hospital administrators refused to remove the boy from the respirator citing the right to life principle, as they did not agree to the father ending the life of the boy prematurely. In addition, the case presented the respect for autonomy to which the boy could not make the decision on whether to live or not because of the medical state and age of the boy (Zahedi, Larijani & Bazzaz, 2007). In this regard, the father decided to pull the plug after seeing that the boy was not getting any better hence going contrary to these two ethical principles. Ideally, siding with the request made by the parents of removing their son from the machine was not an option that the healthcare providers were willing to entertain. They stood their ground by maintaining that their hospital could not support their decision citing ethical reasons. Therefore, to them the decision was not a moral obligation rather an ethical move that they had sworn by before joining the practice. For one, every individual involved in the case acted out in a manner that they all saw fit hence justifying their deeds. Therefore, the handling of the matter was appropriate because there were injuries despite the presence of a riffle

Venus (Research Paper) Essay Example for Free

Venus (Research Paper) Essay Venus is one of the most beautiful and tantalizing heavenly body. It is much closer to Earth than any other planets. Venus is a brilliant object in the night sky and sometimes brighter than any other stars in the heavens. Only the Sun and the Moon outshines her. Like the remaining planets, Venus revolves around the Sun inside the solar orbit of the Earth. Thus, Venus can either be a morning or evening star.1 Her name, Venus, comes from the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Venus, as a planet, is rather frustrating. She hides herself in a thick white veil of clouds and no one clearly seen her surface.2 The astronomers are force to engage in an extensive effort to uncover secrets of her for they know a little about it. The main purpose of my paper is to show some facts about Venus and also deepen the knowledge of the readers. Venus possesses some features that are nearly the same as Earth’s. One of this is that Venus is closely the same size and weight as Earth. Just a little smaller in diameter and lighter in weight. Its gravity also holds captive an atmosphere about the size of our own.3 Venus internal structure is similar to Earth’s as it is composed of crust, mantle and core. That’s why Venus is often thought of as Earth’s twin. ______________ 1Robert Leo I. Heller, â€Å"Planets Inside the Orbit of Earth,† Challenges to Science (Montreal: McGraw-Hill Book Inc., 1979), p. 402. 2Gerald S. Hawkins, â€Å"Venus and Mars,† Splendor in the Sky (London: Harper and Row Publishing House, 1961), p. 122. 3Mark O. Palin, â€Å"Venus,† The Physical World (Miami: Hunter-Dee Book Inc., 1999), p. 99 But in other ways, Venus appears to be quite different from Earth. First, Venus rotates in a very strange manner. Most of the planets rotate counterclockwise while Venus rotates clockwise or backward. Then, Venus may have atmosphere but it wouldn’t be able to support life as you know like Earth. Its atmosphere is made up of more than 90% of Carbon Dioxide and almost no Oxygen. Her temperature too is high which is 100 times greater than Earth’s and enough to melt Lead.4 Unlike other planets, Venus surface is never seen though many scientists claimed to have a glimpse of it through cloud openings which seems very unlikely because her dense clouds are hundreds of miles deep. 5 Venus, though rotating around the Sun, never experiences day and night because of the thick, ash-like clouds covering it. It is dark for sunlight does not penetrate the clouds. What is the surface of the Venus like? Some astronomers said that Venus’ surface is covered by large mountain ranges and deep swamps. People who don’t know much about Science think that Venus is covered with glowing waters. But, according to Galileo’s old journal, Venus is impossibly covered by water because of its high temperature. The best guess today is that Venus is chiefly a vast and sandy desert. The desert is flat, for wind-driven sand has long ago worn down the hills and filled in the hollows. It is dry, for rain cannot fall on it and it is surely unable to support life.6 ______________ 4Heller, p. 403. 5Roy A. Gallant, â€Å"Exploring Venus,† Man’s Reach for the Stars (New York: Doubleday and Company Inc., 1959), p. 146. 6Patricia C. Lauber, â€Å"Mercury and Venus,† All about Planets (New York: Random House Inc., 1960), p. 56. Venus is mostly covered by volcanic plates because of her high temperature. The surface has been severely fractured and folded by stresses caused by convection of the Venusian mantle because of frequent volcanic eruptions. Radar images indicate that the highlands on Venus have rougher surfaces than Earth’s land forms because its images shows mini magma explosions inside.7 The light emitted by Venus which makes her shine in the dawn or evening possibly comes from the great bolts of lightning or from volcanic eruptions.8 Explorations on Venus cost many attempts in gathering data to prove some existing parts of her. Soviet Union and USSR probes are one of the most eager astronomers in studying the mysterious planet, Venus. Venera 1 or also called Venus 1 is the first probe sent by USSR in 1961. The Venera 1 is said to be a failed mission because the probe only flew past on Venus. This event is said to be a dà ©jà   vu for the second probe, Venera 2, sent by the Soviet Union in 1965, experienced the same miscalculated direction as it flew past on Venus too. The third probe, Venera 3, still sent by Soviet Union in 1965, is also a failed one but it touches the Venus surface because the probe crashes on it. Scientists reported that they had maintained regular radio communication with the 3 failed probes but the signals were lost before it reaches Venus outermost atmosphere.9 ______________ 7â€Å"Venus,† Compton’s Encyclopedia (U.S.A.: Compton’s Learning Company, 1996), 19:408. 8Lauber, p. 54. 9Robert W. Peterson, â€Å"USSR and U.S. Send Probes to Venus,† Space: From Gemini to the Moon and Beyond (New York: Facts on File Inc., 1972), p. 102. Venera 4, a probe sent by USSR in 1967, is the heaviest Venus probe known to have been launched by USSR. As the probe reaches Venus’ atmosphere, it was burned into ashes but luckily a parachute system operated by the USSR’s satellite smoothly descended into Venus’ surface. This probe successfully sent information about Venus to the NASA regarding its atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet might be as high as 22 times the Earth’s and later proved that its atmosphere was mostly composed of Carbon Dioxide. But, Venera 4 stopped sending unexpectedly; it seems that fierce winds and intense heat destroyed the probe. Venera 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all unmanned probes. Alongside of launching the Veneras, Mariner 1, a 3D Venus probe launched by USSR in 1962, veered off-course and was destroyed after launching but Mariner 2, launched in the same year, flew successfully and provided a large amount of data to NASA. Mariner 5 of USSR, launched on 1967, flew within 2,480 miles of the surface of the Venus and collected some information about Venus’ environment and thus, contradicted Venera 4’s collected information.11 Soviet unmanned probes, Venera 5 and Venera 6, reached the planet Venus. Though Venera 5 just stopped in the midst of Venus’ atmosphere, Venera 6 is there to pursue on entering the planet’s atmosphere and it successfully did. Venera 6 sent data about Venus having land forms such as mountain ranges and volcanoes.12 ______________ 10Peterson, p. 103. 11Peterson, p. 104. 12Peterson, p. 211. The USSR’s unmanned spacecraft Venera 7, launched in 1971, was the last probe sent to Venus. Venera 7 is the most successful probe because it sent countless of information about the planet. These are: Venus’ temperature was above normal, Venus’ don’t experience night and day, Venus rotate backward and many information that are helpful in learning the planet Venus.13 Today, NASA is trying to reach Venus again by sending 2 manned probe flyby by using the Apollo program. Meaning, a man will be riding the probe but he is prohibited ongoing outside the probe if he is in the vicinity of Venus’ atmosphere as said in Apollo Program. 14 In these given data, we can say that Venus is not just a mere planet revolving around the Sun, but a planet full of mysteries. It may not awaken our senses but it can poke our curiousity by asking question of what’s and how’s about her. In the science advancement today, more facts will be known about Venus. Powerful radar and other instruments will probe its thick clouds, mapping the surface and timing the rotation. Satellites and rockets will relay back information on what the clouds are made of. Someday, valiant explorers may descend through clouds and start discovering. The more bits and pieces of data we can collect from the planets, the better chances for us of reading our own history. ______________ 13Peterson, p. 258. 14Jeffrey K. Wagner, â€Å"Venus,† Introduction to Solar System (U.S.A.: Saunders College Publishing, 1991), p. 185. BIBILIOGRAPHY Gallant, Roy A. â€Å"Exploring Venus.† Man’s Reach for the Stars. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1959. Hawkins, Gerald S. â€Å"Venus and Mars.† Splendor in the Sky. London: Harper and Row Publishing House, 1961. Heller, Robert Leo I. â€Å"Planets Inside the Orbit of Earth.† Challenges to Science. Montreal: McGraw-Hill Book Inc., 1979. Lauber, Patricia C. â€Å"Mercury and Venus.† All about Planets. New York: Random House Inc., 1960. Palin, Mark O. â€Å"Venus.† The Physical World. Miami: Hunter-Dee Book Inc., 1999. Peterson, Robert W. â€Å"USSR and U.S. Send Probes to Venus.† Space: From Gemini to the Moon and Beyond. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1972. Wagner, Jeffrey K. â€Å"Venus.† Introduction to Solar System. U.S.A.: Saunders College Publishing House, 1991. â€Å"Venus.† Compton’s Encyclopedia. U.S.A.: Compton’s Learning Company, 1996.

Fords Value Enhancement Plan Analysis

Fords Value Enhancement Plan Analysis Fords Value Enhancement Plan aims to align the interests of various shareholders by offering them different options the choice of $20 in cash, additional new common shares or a combination of cash and new share. Based on the following analysis, Ford should go ahead with Value Enhancement Plan. Characteristic of VEP The Value Enhancement Plan has the feature of stock split and share repurchase. Exchanging existing shares for new shares on a one-for-one basis, shareholders are also offered the option to reinvest $20 to receive additional new Ford common shares. In this sense, share price would decrease while the number of shares outstanding is going to increase. According to Fords announcement mentioned in the case, shareholders choosing the share option would receive 0.748 new Ford common shares in lieu of $20 cash. So, the effect is similar to 1.748 for 1 stock split. However, not all the shareholders prefer share option. For those who elect cash option, they would receive $20 as though they sell part of their shares, which reflects the feature of share repurchase. Advantages of VEP With the combined feature of stock split and share repurchase, VEP has its strength. In terms of cash option, since there is no good things to do with the massive cash reserve, returning the excessive cash allows shareholders to make profitable investment by themselves. Unlike cash dividend, returned cash is taxed as capital gains, so it generates tax efficiency for shareholders. In addition, though the price of new Ford shares would decrease, shareholders will not bear any loss, because the reduced price is offset by the cash they receive. But from the companys point of view, they can reduce dividend payment. Companies tend to keep dividend payout ratio constant, so dividend for each new Ford share will decrease because share price falls. For those who choose to receive $20 in cash, they keep the same amount of shares before VEP is introduced, therefore, the total dividend payment is going to reduce and to some extent, the pressure for increasing dividend level can be relieved a bit. Moreover, the effect of cash option is similar to that of share buyback, the number of new shares outstanding will reduce; thus, earnings per share will increase and it can increase the overall demand for Fords share, which will benefit share price in the long run. If shareholders elect stock option, they can increase voting power and exercise more control over the company. Also, as we discussed in the cash option, share price will increase, so, shareholders will benefit a lot from holding more new Ford shares. As for the combination of cash and new shares, shareholders can take part of their money out of the stock to make other profitable investment, and they can also maintain their interest in the company. On the one hand, they can enjoy tax efficiency by paying tax of capital gains for cash received, on the other hand, they can enjoy the profit when share price increases and they can have a say in the firm. VEP is better than cash dividend in terms of tax effect, and compared with share repurchase, it meets shareholders need to remain or increase control of the company. Therefore, based on the analysis, Ford should go ahead with VEP. Possible Choices of Different Shareholders Ford family member will choose stock option because they want to expand their control in the firm. By supporting VEP, their 40% voting power remains unchanged but their equity in the firm decreases from 5% to 3.6%. If they elect stock option, they hold more common shares, and their voting power is beyond 40%. Institutional investors, such as TIAA-Cref and the Calpers would choose combination of cash and shares. Its obvious that VEP favors Ford family members and dilutes institutional investors voting power, so its hard for them to compete with Ford family members in terms of control even if they reinvest all the $20 cash to buy new Common shares. In this sense, combination of cash and new share is a better choice for them. They can get part of their investment out of Ford stock for good opportunities somewhere else; meanwhile, they can remain interest in Ford. A regular outsider shareholder doesnt care about voting power. The purpose of their investment is profit. So, if I was one of them, I would go for cash option, because I would think Ford cant find profitable projects and there are few growth opportunities. By getting money back, I can make good use of it by myself.

The Background Analysis And Performance Suggestions

The Background Analysis And Performance Suggestions Luciano Berios Sequenza IXa is a work of increasingly great significance for the clarinet repertoire. In the past few years, numerous international music competitions, including the prestigious Geneva, Munich, and Nielsen competitions, have included the Sequenza in the repertoire for their first rounds. In addition, it has become an integral part of the unaccompanied solo standard clarinet repertoire in the twentieth century, and it provides clarinetists with a wealth of opportunities for exploring new techniques and freedom for musical interpretation. Upon first hearing it, the Sequenza intrigues, but challenges the listener to accept a new musical language. A glance at the score immediately reveals a host of difficulties for the performer, including a variety of rhythmic patterns, dynamic changes, and multiphonics, as well as the physical stamina required over the length of the piece. Apart from the score itself, little information is available about the history and construction of the piece from scholarly sources. This limited literature cannot satisfy the curiosity that the composition inspires.  [1]  Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive aid to the study and performance of this piece, in order to make approaching the work more feasible and also more attractive to a wider breadth of clarinetists. My examination of the Sequenza will begin by contextualizing the work within the composers life and background, including a consideration of his statements about music and about the Sequenzas in particular. This will be followed by analysis of Sequenza IXa investigating the diverse array of musical elements, including harmonic fields, rhythmic patterns, transformational processes, structure, and multiphonics in the second part. To conclude, I will explore some of the difficulties in performing the piece and offer potential solutions. PART I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF Sequenza IXa Berio is considered the foremost Italian avant-garde composer of his time, and one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. He is particularly well known for his modernist approach and his extensive and experimental use of electronic instruments in art music. Born in Oneglia, Italy, he studied music with his father, an organist, before enrolling in music school in Milan.  [2]  In 1950, he married the American singer Cathy Berberian, a soprano who subsequently performed many of his works.  [3]  He traveled to the United States in 1953 to study with Dallapiccola, who he was introduced him to serialism. However, the most important aspect of his trip to the United States was his exposure to electronic music. In 1952, he attended the first public concert of electronic music in the U.S. At New Yorks Museum of Modern Art, the concert featured tape pieces by Otto Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky.  [4]  After returning to Italy, he co-founded the noted electroni c music center Studio di Fonologia Musicale in Milan in 1955, directing it from 1955 to 1961.  [5]  From 1965 to 1972, he taught at the Julliard School in New York City; during this time, he also held a number of international teaching responsibilities.  [6]  In addition, Berio served as a director of the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. In 1980, he accepted an honorary Doctorate of Music Degree from City University in London. Two years later, he became the Artistic Director of the Orchestra Regionale Toscana and in 1984, Artistic Director of the Maggio Musical Fiorentino.  [7]   Berios musical style may be seen as engaging and an extending of European and Italian classical traditions. His many years of education and his long career demonstrate this, as do the statements he has made about music and his own music in particular. Berio has described music as the constant search for an answer to something that continuously shifts.  [8]  He has further stated that the search for a deep unity, is maybe the most exciting, the most profoundly experimental and the least functional aspect of its presence.  [9]  These descriptive words are useful in understanding what Berio has said about the Sequenzas. The series of fourteen Sequenzas was a long-standing project, spanning 30 years. Each of these pieces is written for a solo instrument, and demonstrates extensive performance techniques. In virtually all of the Sequenzas, these techniques are intended to expand the boundaries of what was playable or singable on the respective instrument. The Sequenza series can be considered a manual of instrumental composing in the twentieth century. The majority of the Sequenzas were commissioned by or composed for a certain performer, and Berio often collaborated closely with these performers to understand the particular abilities and limitations of the instrument.  [10]  For example, one of his most successful Sequenzas is Sequenza III, for female voice, written for and dedicated to Berberian, a pioneer in avant-garde vocal techniques. Sequenza IXa was commissioned and premiered by the French clarinetist Michel Arrignon in 1980. Between 1977 and 1983 Berio worked on a piece entitled Chemins V for clarinet and real-time digital filters,  [11]  but it was never completed. Later, Berio withdrew Chemins V, and titled the extracted clarinet part Sequenza IXa.  [12]   Berio says that, All theSequenzas for solo instruments are intended to set out and melodically develop an essentially harmonic discourse and to suggest, particularly in the case of the monodic instruments, a polyphonic mode of listening  [13]  As he described further in regards to his flute Sequenza: I wanted to establish a way of listening so strongly conditioned as to constantly suggest a latent, implicit counterpoint. The idea was the polyphonic melodies of Bach. An inaccessible ideal, naturally, because what implicitly guided polyphonic listening in a Bach melody was nothing less than the history of baroque musical language, whereas in a nonlinguistic melody like my Sequenza for flute, history provided no protection, and everything had to be planned out explicitly.  [14]   In Sequenza I, various procedures project the concept of polyphony, largely based on Bachs polyphonic melodies. However, Berio soon came to realize the impossibility of achieving this goal, partially because Bachs polyphony was made possible by the universal tonal language of the time. Without the use of Baroque harmonic conventions, Berio relies on another way of implying underlying counterpoint. To achieve this, he explored the idea of a single instrument producing more than one voice. In this way, a monophonic instrument becomes capable of implying not only a dialogue, but also the sounding together of more than one voice. Sequenza IXa, like the flute Sequenza, can be said to use the same nonlinguistic type of melody. The most obvious and literal manner of achieving more than one voice with a monophonic instrument is through multiphonics. Another way to simulate polyphony in a monophonic instrument is to use a type of technique Bach uses in his pieces, compound melody. Following the idea of using two pitch-class collections differently, one melody tends to appear in the same register, whereas the other traverses the range of the instrument in very wide leaps and with great variety.  [15]  Berio developed these two pitch-class collections experimenting with temporal, dynamic, pitch, and morphological dimensions to generates a type of polyphony. These different musical elements are recognizable through the transformational processes, which will discuss later in the paper. In a discussion of the form of Sequenza I, Berio said, The title was meant to underline that the piece was built from a sequence of harmonic fieldsfrom which the other strongly characterized musical functions were derived.  [16]  In the same interview, Berio continued: The temporal, dynamic, pitch and morphological dimensions of the piece are characterized by maximum, medium and minimum levels of tension. The level of maximum tension within the temporal dimension is produced by moments of maximum speed in articulation and moments of maximum duration of sounds, the medium level is always established by a neutral distribution of fairly long notes and fairly rapid articulations, and the minimum level entails silence, or a tendency to silence. The pitch dimension is at its maximum level when notes jump about a wide gamut and establish the tensest intervals, or when they insist on extreme register: The medium and minimum levels follow logically from this. The maximum level of the dynamic dimension is naturally produced by moments of maximum sound energy and maximum dynamic contrast. What I call the morphological dimension is placed, in certain aspects, at the service of the other three and is, as it were, their rhetorical instrument.  [17]   This statement can further be applied to Sequenza IXa for solo clarinet, as it is also an essentially harmonic discourse which is melodically developed by temporal, dynamic, pitch and morphological dimensions  [18]  in order to suggest a polyphonic mode of listening. Analysis of the piece shows that Berios statement does in fact apply and is of use in understanding Sequenza IXa. PART II: ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION Harmonic fields As Berio states, the title Sequenza was meant to underline that the piece was built from a sequence of harmonic fieldsfrom which the other, strongly characterized musical functions were derived.  [19]  In his Berio, David Osmond-Smith observes that the harmonic field can be defined as a temporary emphasis on a single pitch or on a collection of pitches.  [20]  Berio uses both options to establish a harmonic field, similar to the function of chords in tonal music. Thus, when Berio moves from one field to another, it can be said that there is a shift of harmony. Andrea Cremaschi explains that Berio does not use a dodecaphonic series, but rather divides the twelve notes into two separate pitch-class collections: a five-note collection and a seven-note collection. The first collection traverses the instruments range, is used melodically, and is characterized by wide, varied leaps (see Fig. 1a). The seven-note collection, in contrast, tends to appear in the same register and generally appears with less variety (see Fig. 1b).  [21]  As the piece develops, these two distinct pitch-class collections appear in contrast, in alternation, or, in some cases, interlaced with each other. As shown in Figure1, while the two pitch-class collections are distinct, both are characterized by multiple occurrences of the tritone. Figure 1. The five-note (a) and seven-note (b) collections of Sequenza IXa.  [22]   Sequenza IXa moves through a sequence of harmonic fields which are defined by the use of one or more of the following devices among the two contrasting pitch-class collections: 1) the use of the two pitch-class collections in rapid succession; 2) the use of the first pitch of each collection as the beginning and ending note of a phrase; and 3) the use of what Berio calls tense intervals which suggest harmonic tension and resolution.  [23]   The two different pitch collections appear at the beginning of the work. The melody shown in Ex.1 is primarily based on the five-note collection, whose pitches move between three registers with relative freedom. The seven-note collection ornaments the melody, with only two notes from it, F# and D, appearing. These two notes function not only as passing notes, but also as ornamentation, similar to the grace notes in the second and third line. The ascending grace notes at the beginning of line 2 occur in rapid succession. Most of the notes are still based on the five-note collection, except for three notes from the seven-note collection, still F#, D, and now D#. Similar grace- note passages are prevalent throughout the piece. Berio uses this blending of the two pitch-class collections to establish the harmonic field. Example 1. Sequenza IXa, Page 1, Lines 1-3. Circles indicate pitches from the seven-note collection used as passing tones. The second device, the repetition of the first note, is illustrated in Ex. 2a, lines 4-8. The rehearsal A section consists of four melodic phrases, each phrase separated by a fermata and silence. The four melodic phrases are based on the seven-note collection, with the seven notes largely fixed in the same register. Now there are only two pitches chosen from the five-note collection, G and Bb. Here, the seven-note collection previously used for ornamentation becomes the principal pitch-class collection, which indicates movement away from the previous harmonic field. The starting tending pitches of the 4 phrases compose out the 1st 4-note motive, G#, F#, D, A. Berio unifies the four phrases here, beginning each subsequent phrase on the next of the first four notes (G#, F#, D, A) of the first phrase. As with the G# in the first phrase, the F#, D, and A serve as the beginning and ending notes of the second, third and fourth phrases, respectively. Example 2a. Sequenza IXa, Page 1, Lines 4-8: Circles highlight the repetition of pitches at the beginning and ending of phrases. In addition, the repeated use of a series of several notes drawn from both pitch-class collections in a fixed order establishes a new harmonic field. In Ex. 2b, the first phrase establishes the following sequence of pitches: G#, F#, D, A1, D#1, C#2, G2, C2, A1, Bb2, D. Subsequent phrases rotate these pitches, moving the first note of the previous phrase to the end of the sequence, though not the end of the phrase. That is, the order of the pitches remains fixed, though their relative position in the sequence changes. Thus, the repetition of this note order establishes the harmonic field. Example 2b. Sequenza IXa, Page 1, Lines 4-8: Circled pitches reveal the fixed sequence, while boxes indicate discreet phrases. Berio expands the device of repetition as the basis of a harmonic field later in the piece. In Example 3 a brief sequence of pitches from the third line of the work, D1, A1, D#1, C#1, B1 is extracted and subsequently repeated. The appearance of this fragment implies the earlier harmonic field seen in Ex.1, line 3, but the addition of other pitches in addition to its repetition implies movement to a new harmonic field. Example 3. Sequenza IXa, Page 2, Lines 1-3: The circled portions show the repeated pattern from the previous harmonic field. The third way in which Berio establishes a harmonic field is by the use of tense or dissonant intervals. As discussed previously, the piece changes harmonic fields by moving to different pitch-class groups. In Example 4, line 2, the dotted quarter-note G# is the first note of substantial duration in the new harmonic field from the seven-note collection. It is preceded by a leap of a major 7th and followed by a diminished 5th, minor 7th, minor 2nd and minor 7th, in that order. The minor 2nd, between the eighth-note E and the quarter-note F, functions as leading-tone to tonic relationship resolving back to the five-note collection. The sense of harmonic tension and resolution created by these interval relationships thus implies the harmonic field. Each subsequent harmonic field uses the same idea of tension and resolution, thus implying harmonic shift. M7 m7 m7 d5 m2 Example 4. Sequenza IXa, Page 1, Lines 1-3: Use of tense or dissonant intervals All of the above methods define the sequence of harmonic fields in Sequenza IXa; therefore, this piece conforms to Berios description of his Sequenzas as a sequence of harmonic fields. Rhythms In Sequenza IXa, there are many places on the score where Berio specifies tempos. At the beginning of the work, the tempo is marked as a quarter note equals sixty. At letter A, it increases to a value of seventy-two. Berio also gives specific durations for the fermatas, placed at the ends of most phrases. Despite these specific tempo markings, the composer places the expressive marking ma sempre un poco instabile (but always a little bit unstable) at the beginning of the score. Perhaps Berio wanted to give the liberty to the performer to vary the tempo within the phrase. In this piece, Berio does not use complex rhythmic techniques, but instead creates a lot of variety using simple rhythms. Although using a limited number of distinct rhythmic figures, Berio rarely repeats the same groupings. Through this rhythmic variety, he creates a feeling of unpredictability. This can be found in Ex.5 and 8. Example 5. Sequenza IXa, Page 8, Lines 1-4: The representative of the rhythmic figures Berio has an extraordinary range of rhythmic arrangements. Below is a list of the four most frequent rhythms used in the piece. There are additional rhythms used in the piece, such as long notes and grace notes, but shown below are the most prominent rhythms. Figure 2. Four rhythms He applies the idea of a rotating sequence, as he did for pitch, to arrange the rhythms in the A section. He uses these four rhythms to create a rhythmic sequence. The following graph reflects the use of the rhythmic sequence (see Fig.3). In the first line of the graph, there are four melodic phrases with each phrase containing all four rhythms (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" ). As indicated in the second line, each of these rhythms begins and ends a phrase. In addition, the first phrase begins with the sequence of rhythms ( à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  ) . The subsequent phrases rotate the rhythmic sequence by moving the first rhythm of the previous phrase to the end of the sequence, though not the end of the phrase. (see Ex.6) First phrase Second phrase Third phrase Fourth phrase à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  long note à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ long note, rest à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ long note à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" long note à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" Figure 3. The graph of rhythmic sequence in Sequenza IXa, Page 1. Lines 4-8. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"’ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"â€Å" à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"  à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘ Example 6. Sequenza IXa, Page 1, Lines 4-8: The circled letters indicate the rhythmic sequence Transformational process As Berio discusses a polyphonic mode of listening, the piece set out and ismelodically developed by altering time, dynamic, pitch, and morphology. It uses a transformational process that suggests a polyphonic mode of listening rather than creating actual polyphony. Each of these unique layers develops and presents material in a different way. Even though each layer develops differently, they combine to create a unified whole. This is the way to understand a polyphonic mode of listening, in Berios concept. The first stylistic feature is the tempo at the highest level of intensity, when there are passages with either very rapid articulations or very long notes. Ex. 1, line 1, at the fermata, shows the temporal dimension at a very high level of intensity because of the length of the held note. Ex.7 shows an example of the temporal dimension at a high level of intensity that is transformed from the held note into a passage of ascending and descending, rapid, staccato articulation, which eventually becomes an extended chromatic passage lasting fifteen seconds at letter E. From example 1. Sequenza IXa , Page 1, Line 1. Example 7. Sequenza IXa, Page 3, Lines 3-9: the transformation of the tempo. The transformation of pitch, the second stylistic feature, can be heard in ascending grace-note figures such as at the beginning of line 2 in Ex. 1. The grace- note figures transform at the end of the same line, altered by the removal of the last two notes, which is pitches G1 and B1. This feature is seen again in line 3 of Ex 1, where the pitches are altered to imply a new harmonic field. The transformation of the dynamics, the third stylistic feature, is demonstrated by the staccato grace notes seen in Ex. 8. In the first line, the first staccato grace note is a G# and the next is a D. Both are played piano in the midst of a fortissimo, which interrupts the dynamic level with a very short and quiet note. This feature is used several times in Ex. 8. At the beginning of line 5 in Ex.8, this feature is seen in the p grace notes continuing to interrupt the ff dynamic level. As the piece develops, this feature transforms when the grace notes becomes a mezzo forte interruption of a pianissimo dynamic level. (See Ex.8) Example from Sequenza Ixa, Page 4 line 1-6 Example 8. Sequenza IXa, Page 6, Lines 7 : The transformation of the dynamics The rapid 32nd -note figure in Bb shown in Ex. 8, lines 2-7, appears four times. In the final pages, when Bb recurs, it transforms into a fermata with a specific duration. Although the Bb does not belong to the main harmonic field here, it plays an important role in the final pages. The tritone effect between Bb and the ending E is almost directionless, in a way that seems to recall the opening of piece.  [24]  (see Ex. 9) Example 9. Sequenza IXa, Page 10, Lines 4-8: The tritone effect between Bb and the ending E. The last stylistic feature is morphological tension, which is demonstrated in the multiphonics and microtones within the trills and tremolos of Ex 11, the C1 to C1-multiphonic passage. This relationship of C1to B is explored by a trill from B to C1 two notes. The use of multiphonics and micronotes is especially significant because they create the greatest pitch and morphological tension in the trill. The multiphonic passage shown in Ex 10 is transformed rhythmically and dynamically by becoming more active when it returns. Like the other stylistic techniques, multiphonics and micronotes are transformed by each recurrence. Example 10a from Sequenza IXa, Page 2, Line 3. Example 10b. Sequenza IXa, Page 10, Lines 4-8: The transformation of morphology Structure chart of Sequence IXa Just like most classical works, this piece also includes an exposition, development and ending à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ three major parts. However, the process of this whole piece creates a sequence of harmonic fields by alternating, blending, and transformational processes among the two contrasting pitch-class collections. The chart below clearly shows how Berio uses these pitch-class collections as a motivation throughout the whole piece. Beginningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢A Two pitch-class collections appear: a five-note collection and a seven-note collection Exposition B Transition Transition C Primarily based on a five-note collection with a wide range, activated rhythm, and big leaps to start transformation and development Development I D Primarily based on a seven-note collection with rapid grace notes gradually transforming to a passage of thirty-second notes E Primarily based on a five-note collection, similar to the C section; Bb appears as a thirty-second note to foreshadow the climax Fà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢G Two pitch-class collections alternating and blending with each other. The rhythm becomes more agitated, to further indicate the climax is coming Transition H Transition, similar to the B section Transition I Primarily based on a seven-note collection. The rhythm figure is similar to the Fà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢G section Development II Jà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢L Multiphonics, two pitch-collections further develop and blend with each other. Transition to next section Transition Mà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Q Cadenza, two pitch-class collections alternating with each other as a preparation for the climax of the piece Development III (Climax of the piece) Rà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢V Climax of the piece, two pitch-class collections present at different ranges, dynamics, and rhythms, which alternate between calm and frenzied phrases Wà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Z Epilogue, ending Ending Figure 3: The structure of Seuquenza IXa Solutions to problems of performing multiphonics Sequenza IXa Clarinetists who use an instrument without an Eb key will have a difficult time performing this piece, since there are some multiphonics that appeared on page 6, lines 4, 5 and 6 (see Ex.11) playable only on a clarinet with an Eb key. For those without the Eb key, there are a few techniques to recreate these multiphonics. One may be the use of the performers voice to sing one of the desired pitches. This solution might change the idea of the solo work, but the notes can be produced and the piece would be complete. Another way is the use of a tube to extend the length of the clarinet, effecting an instrument very similar in pitch to one with an Eb key. With regard to the multiphonic fingering applied to the two-note chords in the section around K, the player could use a low E fingering (without the thumb key in the left hand) plus the throat G# key in the left hand for the first multiphonic at line 6. The low E fingering (without the thumb key in the left hand) plus the throat A key in the left hand for the second multiphonic at line 7. The problems with this solution are, first, the tone of the clarinet will be different; second, the player must quickly insert and remove the tube during the performance, which could be clumsy and awkward; and third, the player would have to use an alternative fingering for the B natural at line 4. However, the most difficult thing is getting the chords to speak reliably à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ this will require practice. A final solution could be the substitution of other multiphonics which are playable on the performers instrument. However, the problem with this alternative is at least one of the pitches must be transposed, resulting in changing the piece somewhat. Example 11. Sequenza IXa, Page 6, Lines 4-6: The fingering for the multiphonics After hearing and seeing several clarinetists perform this piece, it seems that switching to the alternate multiphonics is preferable because this does not interfere with the natural sound quality of the clarinet. On the other hand, Berio specified different fingerings on the music, and he did not provide an alternate version of multiphonics in subsequent editions since the piece was written 20 years ago. Maybe Berio did not consider this a major issue, and wanted to give the clarinetist the freedom to imagine ways of solving the problem.