Corporate Governance and Risk Aversion - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1917 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Corporate Governance and Risk Aversion. Corporate governance defines the infrastructure of an institution. It is a system or practices, rules and procedures by which a company is controlled and directed. The role of corporate governance is to balance and align the interests of all stakeholders in a firm. These are the shareholders, the management, the customers, the government, the suppliers and the community impacted by the business unit. Corporate governance provides the framework for realizing the goals and objectives of a company. The main goal of any company is to give maximum returns for investment. Corporate governance lays down the internal controls, corporate disclosure mechanisms, action plans and performance evaluation mechanisms for the achievement of the firms’ objectives. Through efficient corporate governance the company demonstrates its ethical elements, environmental awareness and impressive corporate citizenship. Risk aversion is an economic s and finance concept that describes the attitude towards risk of different players in a business setting. It explains the behavior of investors in an attempt to reduce uncertainty when exposed to uncertainty. Risk aversion is the reluctance of an investor to accept a given bargain with uncertain returns as opposed to another bargain with certain returns but possibly lower. For instance an investor XYZ, with $50,000 may decide to put all this sum in a bank account where he will earn low but guaranteed interest as opposed to investing the $50,000 in stocks, where he is likely to have high expected returns but also high risks e.g. chances of losing all the $50,000. A risk averse investor dislikes risk. Therefore, he will stay away from high risk investments but this has the disadvantage of losing out on higher rates of returns. Such investors usually stick to safer investments like government bonds and index funds which have considerably low returns. There are three basic attitudes towards risk by investors. Some investors are risk averse or risk avoiding. Such investors will only accept a bargain where they are certain to make returns. Some other investors are risk loving. Such investors will accept a bargain even when there is no guarantee that they will make any returns. Such investors stand to make high returns for their investment though there is a high risk of losing all the investment. Other investors are risk neutral. Such investors are indifferent whether there is certainty to reap returns or not. In such scenarios the expected returns from an investment is known as the expected return, the expected returns with a high margin of certainty is known as certainty equivalent and the difference between the two is known as the risk premium. In any business corporation for successful operations the interests of the managers must be perfectly aligned to those of the shareholders. This must be clearly brought out in corporate governance. In this case the m anager who is the employee of the shareholders is known as the agent and the shareholder who is the employee is known as the principal. The shareholders invest their money in a firm. Unlike the shareholders the managers do not usually have any of their money invested in the business. The managers must always invest in a way that the shareholders get the maximum returns for their investment. They must also completely eliminate any losses. In order to achieve these objectives there is the need by the managers to minimize risks and make prudent corporate investment decisions. In order to meet with the shareholders expectations most managers tend to be aligned to risk aversion. By so doing they advance their own interests at the expense of the interests of the shareholders. This is a safe alternative that guarantees returns with a minimal margin of uncertainty. However this is not the best model because the rate of returns is usually lower. This kind of a scenario is called a principal agent problem in economics. In order to deal with the principal agent problem, one of the best responses is the shareholders increasing the monitoring on the management. This can be achieved through thorough scrutiny of the managers’ work by the shareholders. However, this is not practical because it is very expensive in terms of the shareholders time and resources. This necessitates the need for a more direct way to deal with the problem. The solution of this issue needs to be facilitated by corporate governance. The element of corporate governance that helps to align the interests of the shareholders with the interests of the managers is contained in the contract design. It is the most appropriate way of dealing with the principal agent problem and avoiding risk aversion. This is usually done in the initial stages of engagement of the managers and the shareholders. Both economic actors, i.e. the shareholders and the managers, can construct the contractual arrangements in a way that discourages risk aversion. This is achieved by using the information available and finding theoretical procedures to model or design the contract in a way that it motivates the managers to make appropriate decisions. The contract design that is successful is the one that comes up with plans to align the interests of the shareholders with the interests of the managers. One popular policy among firms that is incorporated in the contract design is granting stock options to employees. This is mainly for the employees in the upper management. The stock options are part of the employees compensation based on performance. The value of the stocks usually rises as the value of the company’s stock rises. As a result the financial well-being of the firm is directly tied to the recipient of such a stock option. As a result the managers are motivated to put in more effort in the growth if the company since this directly translates to more returns for them. It has also be en shown that the stock option instills a sense of responsibility in the employees since they now own a part of the firm hence they become obliged to ensure upward growth of the firm. They are also motivated to make prudent corporate decisions involving high returns but high risks because they know they stand to gain a lot if the high risk high returns investment succeeds. Therefore, this helps to avoid risk aversion. Another policy that is incorporated into the contract design to successively curb risk aversion is where the shareholders pay the manager a wage that is way above the market wage. This is usually referred to as an efficiency wage. This policy is known as the Shapiro-Stiglitz model. It was developed by Carl Shapiro and Joseph E. Stiglitz in 1984. This model is aimed at preventing the workers from being lazy or slacking off. The opportunity cost of getting fired is the lost wages which the employee is unlikely to get anywhere else. This induces the employee not to sla ck. Also, if one firm pays efficiency wages, then all firms in the same industry are likely to be compelled to pay the efficiency wages too in order to compete for workers. As a result all the wages in this case are above the market wage level leading to involuntary unemployment of workers in this industry. This has the effect of diminishing the chances that a fired worker will find another job after being fired. Therefore, the employee is compelled not to slack. This also discourages risk aversion because the employee is bound to perform exemplary and risk aversion can’t achieve that. Another policy that is incorporated in contract design to successfully mitigate risk aversion is performance-based remuneration. In this model the performance of the employees is benchmarked and the employees are compensated according to the value of the work done. A common way of doing this is trough commissions. The output value of the worker is determined. The worker then gets a percentag e of the total returns as compensation. This way the worker is motivated avoid tax aversion in order to be more productive. The productivity of the worker will be directly reflected in the workers compensation. Another form of performance based contract design is provision of employment on condition for performance. Under such contractual arrangement the worker is not employed indefinitely. The employment is time based with possible renewal of employment after a given time or sacking. For instance, a manager may be employed by the shareholders for one financial year with the condition of achieving a 10% growth on the company’s revenue within that period. If the manager has achieved the growth stated in the contract by the end of the year, the employment contract will be renewed. However if the manager does not achieve the growth as stipulated in the contract he will be fired at the end of that financial year. Therefore, in order to retain the employment status, the employe e is bound to perform. This has the effect of discouraging risk aversion in the sense that for high returns the employee needs to be a risk lover in order to maximize revenue. Another policy incorporated in the contract design in order to discourage risk aversion is the provision of incentives. The most common incentive is the bonuses. Under such a contractual arrangement the employee usually receives a monetary compensation in addition to the salary. This is given as a token for good performance. The employees who do not meet the criteria set in the contract for eligibility to receive the bonus do not receive the bonus. This ensures only the hardworking employees are rewarded. This helps to create competition in a firm. The competition is constructive to the firm in the sense that the productivity will be enhanced across all workers in their endeavor to receive the bonus. It also has the effect of discouraging risk aversion as all employees will employ the techniques that bring high returns to the firm. Risk aversion brings low returns hence it will be unpopular among workers desiring to qualify for the bonus. Another contract design policy that helps to align the interests of the workers to the interests of the shareholders is the use of seniority wages. This is the payment of higher salaries for the members higher in the management hierarchy. Initially the workers are hired at a lower rate. As their productivity increases, they demonstrate their value to the company. Consequently their rank in the company rises and so does their salary. This motivates the workers to be aggressive in order to be more productive therefore rising in rank. It also creates healthy competition in the firm and this has the effect of discouraging risk aversion. Finally another common policy which is modeled into the contract to discourage risk aversion is the use of non-monetary incentives. This includes awards and honors, promotions and recommendations. The criteria for e ligibility for each of these rewards, is clearly laid down in the contract. The awarding of these rewards may be based on performance, consistency and innovation in the respective fields. Such awards usually earn an employee peer respect and are also of a great advantage in a case where the worker wants to seek employment in another company. Therefore, a worker can do all possible in order to qualify for the award e.g. the employee of the year award. Other than creating competition in a company, such incentives also encourage workers to be more productive as they will be recognized. Consequently risk aversion is discouraged in the employees, since they seek maximum productivity, which is only achievable through high return but high risk methods otherwise unpopular with risk averse employees. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Corporate Governance and Risk Aversion" essay for you Create order

Essay on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Nutrition

OCD and Nutrition OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder which affects 2.3% of the American population between the ages of 18 and 54. This condition is characterized by irrational or unwanted thoughts, obsessions, urge for repetitive rituals and compulsions. Symptoms usually start during early childhood or adolescence and the exact cause is still unknown. Some thought that OCD manifests due to personality defects and bad parenting, but this is not the case. OCD impacts the communication systems in the brain and according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, it produces a chemical imbalance in the brain wherein low levels of serotonin have been recorded. Serotonin plays an essential role in mood†¦show more content†¦It also helps in stimulating alpha brainwave production that promotes deep relaxation. IL-theanine also has properties that can protect against environmental neurotoxins. This amino acid can be found in green tea, black tea, and boy bolete mushroo m. St John’s wort - This herb has been widely used in treating depression and other psychological disorders. It also has hypericum, which is a chemical that has been found effective in modulating serotonin levels. Supplements Natural supplements have a distinct advantages than drugs and medications. They provide larger amounts of raw materials in the brain for the development of serotonin. However, they may become ineffective if the person has deficiency in one or more critical nutrients needed in producing serotonin. It is best to consult your doctor on how you can address and relieve OCD symptoms. N-acetylcysteine - N-acetylcysteine is a nutritional supplement used in treating compulsive disorders such as OCD. It has been found to be very effective on hard-to-treat disorders like hair-pulling (trichotillomania). Flax seed oil - Several evidence shows that taking flax seed oil can help manage OCD behavior. 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Zero Translation of Brand Name of Electronic Product Free Essays

Brand name translation is important for these companies to make their products acceptable in China. But brand name translation is more difficult than translation of other text types because of its features and functions. Among all translation theories, functionalist translation theory, proposed in Germany in 1970s, breaks through traditional translation theories and focuses on functions of translation action. We will write a custom essay sample on Zero Translation of Brand Name of Electronic Product or any similar topic only for you Order Now It provides zero translation with theoretic support. Zero translation is appropriate for brand name translation because zero translation emphasizes the effect of translation. This thesis is going to introduce the difficulty of brand name translation, zero translation and functionalist translation theory with many examples of electronic product brand name to prove that zero translation is an effective method for translating brand name. Key words: Zero translation; Functionalist translation theory; brand name; electronic products I , , , ,20 70 , , : ; ; ; II Zero Translation of Brand Name of Electronic Product Introduction During recent decades, China has become one of the largest markets in the world, and all international companies sell their products and services in China, including electronic products. In order to increase sales in China, many companies translate their brand names in Chinese to help Chinese consumers recognize and accept their products. However, there are many difficulties in translating brand names. On one hand, brand names and their translations must be informative and concise. On the other hand, there are unavoidable differences between the culture of SL and that of TL. Equivalence-based theory focuses on the translation and the equivalence of content. But if the translation of brand name is simple, it often cannot express the cultural meaning of brand name in SL or the characteristics of products, and users of TL cannot understand the brand’s meaning or imagine the product’s characteristics as users of SL do. If the translation of brand name expresses the cultural meaning of SL fully, it usually cannot be simple and easy to be memorized. Thus, how to translate brand names is difficult. In 1970s, functionalist theory was put forward and it emphasized the purpose of translation rather than the equivalence of content. The purpose of brand translation is to transmit the information of products such as advantages of products and the culture of company to domestic consumers. In consideration of conciseness and cultural differences, many brand names are translated with transliteration and transference. In 2001, Professor Qiu Maoru brought about a new term, zero translation, after the study of non-translation by Professor Du Zhengming in 2000. In the view of Qiu, zero translation includes omission, transliteration and transference. In recent years, some studies have proved that zero translation is an effective method of brand name translation and it agrees with the functionalist translation theory. Since 1970s, with the development of technology, a large number of electronic products, such as computers, mobile phones, digital 1 cameras, have been developed and produced, and they have succeeded in changing people’s life style and work pattern. This thesis is going to prove that zero translation is an applicable method of brand name translation by providing some typical examples and by analyzing the usage of zero translation in brand translation. Chapter 1 Literature Review 1. 1 Study of Du Zhengming Professor Du Zhengming defines zero translation as non-translation and he thinks that not only transferring the original form of SL into TL is a kind of non-translation but also transliteration is a kind of non-translation because non-translation is the opposite of translation and because translation is to translate meanings. Du negates zero translation as a special method of translation, and it was unacceptable by others that his concept of zero translation covered transliteration and non-translation. 1. 2 Study of Qiu Maoru In 2001, Professor Qiu Maoru published an article named Translatability and Zero Translation in Chinese Translators Journal and brought forward the item, zero translation. â€Å"Zero translation means translating words in SL without using the ready-existing words in TL. It includes two meanings: 1. translating with a deliberate omission of words in SL; 2. ranslating without using the ready-existing words in TL. † (Qiu 26) It is the first time that zero translation appears and triggers more debates on the definition of zero translation. But the omission should not be considered as a kind of zero translation because it is different from transference and transliteration. The omission is used to keep briefness without losing cultural meaning of SL, but the other two are applied for avoiding losing cultural meaning, therefore the purpose of omission is different from those of the other two methods. 1. Study of Liu Mingdong 2 In 2002, Liu Mingdong divided zero translation into two kinds, absolute zero translation and relative zero translation on the base of the study of Qiu. The absolute zero translation means direct usage of original form in SL and it includes ellipsis and transference. Relative zero translation is to express words of SL with the appropriate usage of words in TL and it includes transliteration, sound-meaning combination translation, complementary translation, image translation, literal translation with notes and adaptation. Although Liu developed the concept of zero translation, he still did not clarify the definition of zero translation. 1. 4 Study of Zhang Mengya In 2011, Zhang Mengya, in an article discussing brand zero translation, divided zero translation into two kinds, narrow zero translation and general zero translation. The former is transference and the latter contains transliteration and complementary translation. She further analyzed zero translation under the functionalist translation theory and thought that zero translation of brand name helped companies express their spirit based on the consumers’ cultural habits. Although the definition of zero translation is still unclear, translators have accepted the concept of zero translation and take it as a common translation strategy. This thesis will not focus on the definition or the classification of zero translation and it will analyze the usage of zero translation in brand name translati on to prove the applicability of zero translation. Chapter 2 Introduction to Brand Name In the modern society, the world has unprecedented prosperity of economy, which embodies the improvement of living standard, the decrease of unemployment and the production of various commodities. Meanwhile, competition is so fierce that all companies seek their own advantages to expand sales. Some companies with long history and virtue of excellent quality regard brand name as a significant advantage because it symbolizes recognition and faith of customers. What is brand name or trade 3 mark? â€Å"‘Brand name’ is the name given to a product by the company that makes it† (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 207) Brand name is a distinctive sign that help customers distinguish or identify particular products or services which produced or provided by a specific person, enterprise or a group of persons or enterprises. For example, in 1972, in order to change its brand name to a special one, Standard Oil Company in New Jersey spent million dollars and hired hundreds of people and they managed to discover a group of letters, Exxon, which had been never used in any language on Earth and thus would avoid ambiguity. When people see Exxon now, only Exxon Oil Company appears in their minds because Exxon has no other meaning but Exxon Oil Company and it is easy to be distinguished. This example shows some features of brand names such as conciseness, identification and novelty. In the following part, the author will discuss features of brand names. 2. 1 Features of Brand Name: Conciseness, Identification and Novelt y Brand name helps consumers to distinguish its products or services from others’, therefore it must be so easy to be recognized that people are likely to notice its products among products of the same kind, in other words, brand name must be concise and distinctive. Identification helps people to be aware of differences between different products. For example, brand names of mobile products of Apple Company include iPhone, iPad, iPod and iTouch and the company plans to produce a television called iTV. It is easy to recognize products of Apple Company because their brand names begin with the letter I, and even some people think of Apple Company when they see any sign beginning with the letter I. Brand name should be short because it is hard to be remembered if it is too long. It is undeniable that a long brand name leave people deep impression, but they can hardly distinguish it from similar ones. Because some shorter ones are imitated, for instance Hike imitates Nike and Kuma imitates Puma, let alone longer ones. Brand names are supposed to leave people deep impression as long as possible and some particular brand names always appear in their mind when they want to buy something. Novelty is a feature of brand name and it can not only avoid ambiguity just as the example of Exxon shows but also offer 4 people pleasant feeling and fresh impression. Nokia adopts Lumia as its next series of Window Phone because Lumia is easy to be pronounced in all languages and has no negative meaning in any culture. . 2 Functions of Brand Name As mentioned above, brand names are concise and novelty, as a way of identification. Those features are met to suit the functions of brands. 2. 2. 1 Informative Function Brand name is directly linked to product, showing people their features. But brand name usually shows only one of their features of product because it is short. Some brand names come from the location or the main founder of company. For example, BMW, the world-famous automobile brand, is the abbreviation of Bavarian Motor Works, which shows that the company is located in Bavaria. Nokia, one of the largest handset manufacturers in the world, is just the name of the small town in Finland where the company was created in 1865. Goodyear, the third largest tire maker, is named after Charles Goodyear, the inventor of vulcanized rubber. Sennheiser, the famous audio equipment manufacturer, is named after its founder, Fritz Sennheiser. Some others show the quality or the cultural meaning of product such as the effect of products and the goal of purchase. For example, Lux, a soap brand name owned by Unilever, stresses the effect of the soap, which lusters the skin, because the letter lux shares the same root word with the letter luster and it is the unit of illuminance. Pampers, the most famous brand of baby diapers owned by P;G, reflects the love from parents to children. These brands named after people and location have little cultural meaning and they just show the history or information of company. But others are created on the base of culture and their results of translation are meaningless if they are transmitted without the ground of culture. . 2. 2 Stimulating Consumption When a company launches new products, it must consider and identify target 5 customers to meet the particular need of them because people of different ages, nations and genders have various needs and preference. Even for the same kind of goods, for example mobile phone, different people have different needs. Females usually focus on the appearance, elders pre fer to long standby time and teenagers intend to pursue high-end configuration and more functions. Thus, with the limit of cost, new products should highlight their different advantages. Similarly, brand names should also cater to target customers to stimulate consumption. Brand names of automobile should reflect the pursuit of speed or safety, for example, the letter Rover in Land Rover, an automobile manufacturer that specialize all-terrain vehicles, is the name of an ancient Nordic nation, representing bravery and riding waives. Volvo is a world-famous automobile manufacturer too and its brand name means rotating wheels, representing moving forward. However, cosmetic brand name should leave people, especially women, feelings of beauty and youth. People always imagine refreshing and cleanliness when they use products of Clean-Clear, and another brand name, Biotherm, shows perfect combination of human and nature, because bio represents human life and therm mineral springs. 2. 3 Common Methods of Brand Name Translation There are some common methods of brand name translation, including transliteration, literal translation, free translation and mixed translation. â€Å"Transliteration is a method which is used often. It refers to write a word, sentence, etc. n the alphabet of a different language on writing system†(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 2136) Many companies adopt transliteration because it can keep the pronunciation and exotic flavor of the original form closely. Some of brand names that adopt transliteration are Nokia as , Motorola as and Adidas as . Literal translation is the rendering of text from one language to another word-for-word and it expresses the meaning of words or characters of brand na me. Therefore, literal translation is the most common because it convey message of brand name directly and keep fidelity of brand name. Apple as , Blackberry as ? 6 ?, and Red Bull as apply literal translation. â€Å"Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner or the content without the form of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original†(Newmark 46). This method maintains the original meaning and achieves fluent and natural expression in TT, but it sacrifices the original form. Free translation has advantages in expressing functions and effects of products and in arousing identification of customers. For instance, Whisper as ? belongs to this method. Mixed translation combines transliteration with literal translation to preserve similarity of meaning and pronunciation. For example, Safeguard as and Head ; Shoulders as . 2. 4 Difficulties in Translating Brand Names The above part presents features of brand name, including conciseness, identification and novelty. When international companies sell their products or services in a foreign country, they usually translate their brand names into the local language because these foreigners are unfamiliar with products or brand names in foreign languages. Thus it is necessary to translate brand names. But translating br and names is more difficult than creating a new brand name because translation not only conforms to these features but also faces the difference of culture. The difference of culture has existed since the beginning of translation. Unlike translation of article, which can explain cultural differences by annotation, translation of brand name has no room for annotation because brand name must be short. Therefore translation of brand name always loses a part of information of the original form such as pronunciation, form and cultural meaning. For example, in China, Lux is translated as which only maintains pronunciation but has nothing to do with effects of product, therefore Chinese customers are unlikely to feel effects of product when they see this Chinese brand name. Like the translation of Lux, that of other brand names usually keeps pronunciation but neglects the cultural meaning. But it is true that some translators abandon cultural meanings deliberately to avo id conflict of culture because of special cultural preference and taboo. Arabs disfavor panda traditionally because panda looks like pig that Allah forbids Islamists to eat in the Quran. In western culture, peacock is 7 greedy and evil animal just as Lord Shen, who is a white peacock and the main villain in Kung Fu Panda 2, therefore peacock should not appear in brand names in western countries. In order to solve problems of the translation of brand names, translators have sought many translation strategies such as homophonic pun, transliteration and paraphrase, and a new concept of translation strategy has appeared since the beginning of 21st century. In the following part, the author will introduce this new concept, zero translation. Chapter 3 Introduction to Zero Translation 3. 1 The Concept of Zero Translation The concept of zero translation was mentioned firstly by Professor Qiu Maoru in 2001. In his article Translatability and Zero Translation, published in Chinese Translators Journal, Professor Qiu brought forward the new item, zero translation. In order to explain this item, he pointed out that zero translation meant translating words in SL without using the ready-existing words in TL and classified it into two kinds. The first one is translating with a deliberate omission of words in SL and the other one is translating without using the ready-existing words in TL. The first kind is used to olve problems of lexical and syntactical differences between two languages and it is called Omission by Zhang Peiji in A Course in English-Chinese Translation. But there is no lexical or syntactical problem in brand name translation because of the limit of length. The other kind includes transference and transliteration. Transliteration maps the sounds of source language to the best matching script of goal language, meaning English words are translated into Chinese characters and they have phonetic connection. Transference is a translation technique that employs foreign words directly in goal language. Professor Qiu thinks that both transliteration and transference belong to zero translation because they use no ready-existing words of TL. In 2001, Liu Mingdong further studied zero translation on the base of result of study of Professor Qiu. Liu divided zero translation into two kinds, absolute and relative zero translation. Absolute zero translation is to use foreign words directly 8 without any change. Both transference and ellipsis belong to this kind. The other kind is to translate original words by using words or characters of goal language with artful change. It contains transliteration, sound-meaning combination translation, complementary translation, image translation and literal translation with notes and adaptation† (Liu 30) Liu realized that it was difficult to find an equal script of TL for all translation actions and that adopting zero translation is unavoidable. Although many scholars have proposed their own opinions on zero translation and had a heated discussio n since the appearance of zero translation, widely accepted methods of zero translation contain transference, transliteration, sound-meaning translation and complementary translation. . 2 The Difference between Zero Translation and Non-translation Zero translation is different from non-translation, which is presented by Du Zhengming. He thinks that non-translation was opposite to translation. Defining zero translation as non-translation, Du stresses that the aim of translation is to convey meaning of original content and transliteration is not a method of translation because transliteration hardly expresses original meaning in TL. In his view, employing the original form of SL without any change belongs to non-translation too. But his viewpoint is not accepted widely. The discussion of zero translation and non-translation refers to that of translatability and untranslatability, which has been debated since May Fourth Movement. Proponents of translatability acknowledge difficulties in translation as the result of cultural differences, but such difficulties can be solved by translators. The task of translator is to achieve better effect of translation by exploring new translation strategies. The idea of proponents of untranslatability is opposite. They emphasize the incommensurability between languages, which means that the information of one language cannot be conveyed fully in another language. What is more difficult than the incommensurability between languages for translators is the incommensurability on culture level and the latter one embodies in the former. They overemphasize deficiency and the uselessness of translation. But they absolutize the cultural 9 difference and something special in one language. Changing and reforming special information in SL are common in practice of translation and such information is only a small part of the context of SL. The fact of translation history for thousands years also refutes the untranslatability. From the above introduction, it is clear that zero translation is different from non-translation because non-translation negates the aim of translation and the practice of translators but zero translation is an effective strategy to cope with untranslatability. In Zero Translation vs. untranslatability: On Essence of Zero Translation, Luo Guoqing stated that untranslatability was paradox and pseudoproposition. â€Å"Translation is cross-linguistic and bidirectional communication. Translators have ability to lead readers into the culture of SL to cognize the item of SL, which is progressive and respective sense of zero translation. â€Å"(Luo 120) In the age of information explosion, workload of translators has increased sharply and they are likely to face more untranslatable items. In such situation, zero translation is a good solution because it can not only prove efficiency but also realize communicational function. Zero translation approaches the original form with no or little change and provides better understanding of cultural meaning of SL for readers than traditional methods do. . 3 Usage of Zero Translation Before the concept of zero translation was proposed, its methods had been adopted in translation of, especially, proper names, abbreviation and words with special cultural meaning. Now, the writer is going to provide some examples of zero translation. 3. 3. 1 Translation of Proper Names Proper names include people’s name, place name, terms and abbreviation. Because of differences of pronunciation and writing system, proper names are more difficult to translate than other words. In TL, there always is no equal part corresponding to words of SL. But they are the most active part of language, thus they 10 will be communication obstacles if they are not translated. The translation of proper names, which should consider SL and keep accuracy, often adopts transference, transliteration and complementary translation. The following part will discuss the translation of people’s name, place name, terms and abbreviation. Terms are professional words in particular areas with characteristics of time and profession. Because their meanings changed with the development of their own areas, translation of them must be accurate and zero translation is the best way to translate them. Examples of transference are DNA, SARS, USB and GPS, and those of transliteration include clone as , gene as and Hertz as . Although these examples look simple, zero translation manages to meet terms’ requirement of accuracy and standardization. In Zero Translation: Translation Strategy of Standardization of Scientific and Technological Terms, Wang Juxiang and Sang Yuanwei concluded that standardization of scientific and technological terms are translated most precisely by zero translation. (Sang, and Wang 35) People’s name and place name contain obvious cultural identity. Place name often indicates geographic feature, products and history of the place. In the past, Chinese names were transliterated on the base of Wade-Giles romanization, which was invented by Thomas Francis Wade, a British diplomat. But the accuracy of Wade-Giles system has weaknesses, for example Peking as and Chingtao as ? ? . With development of Standardization, people’s name and place name are transliterated on the base of Pinyin such as Beijing as . Many translations have been fixed and some of them are Tom as , Alice as , London as . Because of cultural permeation, it is common for people to speak original names without any translation to express their friendliness. Most names are transliterated but some adopt sound-meaning translation, for example Cambridge as and New Delhi as . Such diversification of translation means that translation of name is becoming less strict and the world more open and inclusive. 3. 3. 2 Translation of Abbreviation An abbreviation is â€Å"a short form of a word or expression. â€Å"( Longman Dictionary 11 of Contemporary English 3) Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase. It is convenient for people to read and write. For example, people usually do not speak or write Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries but its abbreviation, OPEC. Such words have clear meaning but are too long for communication. They are created with social and scientific progress to meet the need of communication and have been widespread. Such words include ATM, NBA, GDP and VIP, etc. People can translate every word of original form into Chinese characters and results of such translation are correct, but these translations are still too long, for instance , , . Therefore most abbreviations are transferred and some abbreviations are transliterated. Table 1 Translation of Abbreviation Abbreviati Original Form Translation on Zero Method Translation OPEC Organization of Petroleum Transference Exporting Countries OPEC Transliteration WTO World Trade Organization WTO Transference WHO World Health Organization WHO Transference CEO Chief Executive Officer CEO Transference GDP Gross Domestic Product GDP Transference TOEFL Transference TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid ? Transliteration DNA Transference 3. 3. 3 Translation of Words with Cultural Meaning Zero translation is an effective strategy to translate words with unique cultural meaning. Such words, created in the history and tradition of particular group of people, have obvious features of area, history and nation. They are difficult for 12 translators because there is no equal part in TL. For example, people of TL cannot have the same feeling of pe ople of SL when they read or hear Avatar because, in culture of TL, there is no such a god or person like avatar. Thus it is better to adopt transliteration to solve this problem. In translating ancient poems, it is difficult to translate traditional musical instruments such as . This unique instrument always leaves people deep beautiful impression of young women. If it is translated as violin or other western instrument, foreign readers are likely to have incorrect feelings. Thus it is better to translate it as pipa by pinyin. The study of zero translation needs theoretic support. In the following part, the writer is going to analyze zero translation under functionalist theory. Chapter 4 Introduction to Functionalist Translation Theory Traditional translation theories focus on equivalence of text, which means the transmission of message, but neglect functions of translation such as cultural communication. Nida’s theory of dynamic equivalence and that of functional equivalence break the limit of traditional translation theories, but they are inadequate to process cultural elements in ST. In 1970s, functionalist translation theory appeared in Germany and flourished. It deemphasizes the equivalence of text, puts translation action into cross-cultural communication and considers function of translation as the core of theory. There are four people making great contributions to functionalist theory. They are Katharina Reiss, Hans Vermeer, Justa HolzManttari and Christiane Nord. This part is going to introduce their studies. 4. 1 Katharina Reiss Reiss proposed a model of translation assessment based on functional relationship between ST and TT in the book Possibilities and Limits of Translation Criticism. She points out that function of text should be a criterion of translation criticism. Her theory adheres to equivalence-based theory and advocates that the ideal translation is the achievement of equivalence of content, language form and 13 ommunicative function. But in practice it is impossible to achieve such equivalence. She is aware of the fact that not all functions of TT are the same as those of ST, and the form of TT is unnecessary to be same as that of ST, which means translation action does not need to achieve equivalence in traditional theories. Thus the function of translation is more important t han equivalence. Translation criticism should depend on the circumstance of text, not on the analysis of features of original text, which takes precedence over traditional theories. She thinks that a text has many functions but only one is dominant and this one controls the whole translation action. The judge of text type helps translators to determine the level of equivalence that should be achieved and to select the proper translation strategy. Reiss divides text types into three kinds, informative text, expressive text and operative text. Brand name belongs to the last kind whose purpose is to lead readers to act in a certain way. â€Å"Therefore, both the content and form are subordinate to the extralinguistic effect that the text is designed to achieve. Operative text translation should be guided by the overall aim of bringing about the same reaction in the audience. â€Å"(Zhang 10) 4. 2 Hans Vermeer Vermeer put forward the most important theory of functionalist theory, Skopos Theory. Skopos is a Greek word, meaning aim or purpose. He thinks that translation, like other human actions, has particular purpose, which is the core of the whole action of translating. Just as his teacher, Reiss, does, he considers that the purpose of translation determines which method should be used. ‘Skopos theory’ focuses above all on the purpose of translation, which determines translation methods and strategies that are to be employed in order to produce a functionally adequate result†(Mundy 97). Skopos theory has three rules, the skopos rule, the coherence rule and the fidelity rule. The skopos rule means the result of translation enables translation of text to realize its functions in the situation it is applied and with people who use it. In other words, the aim of translation determines the action of translation and the result of 14 translation decides selected strategy. The coherence rule, also called intratextual coherence, means that TT must be natural and fluent in TL and be understood by receivers, given the culture and circumstance of them. TT is the transmission of ST, and the content of TT must bear relationship with that of ST. Such relationship is called fidelity. From the above introduction to skopos theory, it is clear that the most element of translation action is addressee. Because receivers’ culture, knowledge and needs determine the method and the strategy of translation. The three rules should be applied in zero translation of brand name. The aim of brand name translation is to keep the flavor of brand name in ST, which is the first rule. The second rule is to make the result of translation acceptable and understandable in culture of TL. The last one, the fidelity rule, preserves features of original brand name as many as possible. Therefore zero translation of brand name must adhere to the three rules. 4. 3 Justa Holz Manttari Manttari further develops functionalist theory and expands the area in which functionalist theory is adoptable. In her theory, translational action is regarded as a complex action designed to meet particular needs. Translation, driven by purpose, is to transfer message with cross-cultural communication. She mainly studies translational action, roles in such action and circumstance in which translational action occurred. 4. 4 Christiane Nord Nord firstly systematizes functionalist approaches and introduces functionalist translation theory comprehensively in her book Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained in 1997. She agrees with the above three scholars’ theories and creates her own theory, function plus loyalty. In her opinion, translators would abandon useless part of ST after they clarify the purpose of translation. She stresses the importance of ST and thinks that translators should be responsible for ST writers, TT addressees and initiators, and such responsibility is 15 loyalty. Loyalty is different from fidelity because fidelity is just the relationship between ST and TT but loyalty is interpersonal relationship among translators, ST writers, TT addressees and initiators. Besides purpose of translation, translators have to reach a balance among other groups. TT must achieve the purpose of translation such as cultural communication and satisfy ST writers, TT addressees and initiators as much as possible. . 5 Zero Translation of Brand Name in the Light of Functionalist Theory According to functionalist translation theory, translation is a purposeful action and different text determines different translation strategy and criteria. Breaking through traditional translation theory, functionalist translation theory emphasizes the importance of function in evaluation and action of translation. In tr anslating brand name, â€Å"it is essential that in the target language the same effect be achieved as the original in the source language†(Reiss 41). As a new kind of translation method, zero translation can achieve functional equivalence furthest. Functions of brand name are transferring information of products and stimulating consumption. Translation of brand name must realize those functions of original brand name. In other words, translation of brand name helps people of TL to understand and accept products by transferring features of products and meaning of original brand name across cultural boundary and to persuade potential consumers to make a purchase. Zero translation is an effective method to translate brand name for following advantages. Zero translation transmits information of brand name with no loss or least loss of original form. It leaves customers of TL the same feelings as SL people have by lead TL customers to understand meaning of brand name in the circumstance of SL. Thus zero translation can preserve functions of SL brand name as much as possible. Another advantage is identification. Because zero translation keeps the form or the pronunciation of brand name in SL, it is easy to avoid confusion. For example, Windows, an operating system developed by Microsoft, once was translated as , but its owner was unwilling to use this translation because ? was likely to mislead Chinese users to consider it as an operating system developed by domestic 16 companies, and customers lost original user experience and feelings. Therefore Microsoft insisted on transferring Windows in China. The next chapter is going to provide some examples of electronic products to prove the applicability of main methods of zero translation such as transference, transliteration and complementary translation. Chapter 5 Zero Translation of Brand Name of Electronic Products People’s lifestyle and working pattern has been changed by electronic products including computer, digital camera and mobile phone, etc. These products bring about convenience and have been necessities for most people. In recent decades, many international companies produce and sell their electronic products in China. In order to compete with domestic products, those international companies apply different translation methods to make their brand names acceptable in China. Some Chinese intend to buy products of foreign brand names because these products signify wealth and taste. In such situations, zero translation keeps form and pronunciation more completely than other translation strategies. The writer finds that zero translation is common in translating brand names of electronic products because zero translation preserves the original flavor of brand name and wins customers’ favor. Transliteration is often applied to translate brand names, which are easy to be pronounced in Chinese and others are translated by transference and complementary translation. 5. 1 Transliteration Many foreign companies are named after its founder or the place where it was founded, and their meanings make no sense in Chinese culture. It is difficult and useless to transmit meaning of those brand names. Therefore transliteration is the best method if their phonetic symbols are similar with pronunciation of Chinese characters. Dell and Nokia belong to this kind. Some brand names reflect the history of company. For example Motorola 17 is the combination of â€Å"motor† and rola. Motor means the company produced cars and rola is the suffix of Victrola, the name of predecessor of Motorola. The literal meaning of such brand name will not help people of TL accept its product because of the lack of cultural ground. It is better to transliterate them to keep the pronunciation. Transliteration is also applied to translate brand name with special meaning. The former name of Sony Corporation was Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, but it was too long. In 1958, the former name was changed to Sony. The Sony name was created by combining sonus, the original Latin for sonic, meaning sound, with sonny, denoting small size, or a youthful boy. It was chosen for its simple pronunciation th at is the same in any language. The feature of Sony is conciseness and its meaning. But if translators want to express its meaning, TT will be too long and lose its feature. In China, it is transliterated to ? ? , which preserves the conciseness and the pronunciation of Sony. The writer will list more examples of brand name of electronic products. Table 2 Transliteration of Brand Name Brand Name Transliteration Canon Nikon Olympus Casio Leica Philips Alcatel Semheiser Shure 5. 2 Transference Some brand names are difficult to transliteration because of the difference of pronunciation between two languages and to translate their literal meaning with the 18 limit of length or the lack of original feelings. For this kind of brand name, the best translation method is transference. Thinkpad, created by staff of IBM, combines think with pad. The pad is the notepaper used in IBM and the letter think is IBM’s motto printed on the top of the note paper. Because the literal meaning of Thinkpad is ?, which makes no sense in China, it is better to keep its original form. Like the translation of Thinkpad, transference is also applied in translating Android, a mobile operation system developed by Google, Shuffle, a MP3 player produced by Apple, Nexus, a mobile phone designed by Google, and Palm, a mobile phone producer. . 3 Complementary Translation â€Å"Complementary translation in brand name translation is a method by which translated brand name is not only homophonic with the original, but also has specific meaning. † (Zhang 27) It keeps phonetic feature of brand name and change the form of TT with artful skills. For example, the translation of Galaxy, a series of mobile phone d esigned by Samsung, is . The literal translation of Galaxy is , but it cannot express its top status among mobile phones as does. The writer collects fifty foreign brand names of electronic products and analyzes their translation methods. Here is the result of the survey. Table 3 Result of a Survey on Methods of Brand Name Translation Translation Transference Transliteration Number Percentage Literal Free Mixed translation method Complementary translation translation translation 7 24 5 3 5 6 14% 48% 10% 6% 10% 12% Zero translation 72% 19 Conclusion In this thesis, zero translation is divided into two kinds, absolute zero translation and relative zero translation, like Liu Mingdong’s classification, but the former one is transference and the latter covers transliteration and complementary translation. The item, zero translation was brought about following the concept of untranslatability, which is undeniable to some degree because of the difference between culture of SL and TL. The aim of zero translation is to express effects of product and information pf producer in the culture of SL without any loss and zero translation is better than other translation strategy because it shows the cultural meaning in the form of SL. Zero translation focuses on the purpose of translation without the emphasis on equivalence of content, therefore zero translation corresponds the functionalist theory. By analyzing these examples of brand names of electronic products, this thesis proves that zero translation succeeded in meeting requirements of brand translation, thus zero translation is an applicable method in brand translation. 20 Reference 1. Du, Zhengming. [ ], , , (? )2000. . : ?, 2000 2. Holz-Manttari, Justa. Translational Action: Theory and Method. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 1984 3. Liu, Mingdong. [ ], ? . ? , 2002,(1): 29-32 4. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Researching Press, 2004 5. Luo, Guoqing. [ ]. :. , 2011,(2): 116-120 6. Mundy, Jeremy. Introducing Translation Studies Theories and Applications. London and New York: Routlege 2001 7. Newmark, Peter. A textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Foreign Language Teaching and Researching Press, 2001 8. Nord, Christiane. Translating as a PurposefulActivity-Functionalist Approaches Explained. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001 9. Qiu, Maoru. [ ], ? . ? , 2001,(1): 24-27 10. Reiss, Katharina. Translation Criticism: The Potentials and Limitations. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004 11. Sang, Yuanwei; Wang, Juxiang. [ ], : â€Å" †. , 2006(2): 32-35 12. Vermeer, Hans J. Skopos and Translation Commission. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2000 13. Zhang, Mengya. [ ], â€Å" â€Å", ? 21 , 2009 22 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to show my deepest gratitude to my tutor, Professor Liu Shizhu, who is a devoted, professional, resourceful scholar. He has helped me in more than one way during my college study as well as in my thesis writing. He lights the way for me. Thanks to his inspirational ideas, I chose translation of brand name as the thesis theme. In the writing process, he helped me with encouragements and guidance. I should say that without his help, there is no chance that this thesis would be present. In the second place, I would like to thank my family for their care and support for me. There is nothing more valuable to me than the love from family members. I still remember the day when I got stuck on writing the thesis; it is my father’s words encouraged me to look ahead. I should thank my mother for her delicious dishes and I owe a lot to my grandfather. My family has taught me to be a decent person, a person values honor and cares for others. Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all those who have helped me make this thesis possible and better. My lovely friends, my cheerful roommates, and the girl I want to spend my life with. They all help me, on the thesis or in my life. 23 24 How to cite Zero Translation of Brand Name of Electronic Product, Papers

Sati System Essay Example For Students

Sati System Essay SATI ABOLISHED†¦ December 5, 1829 , Calcutta, PTI. Yesterday after the debate of 11 years , The sati regulation Act which declared the practice of sati, or suttee, or of burning or burying alive the widows of Hindus, illegal and punishable by the criminal courts by Lord William Bentinck. , governor general of all of British-ruled India. In 1817, Mritunjaya Vidyalamkara, chief pundit of the Supreme Court in Calcutta announced that sati had no sanction in the ancient texts and, in 1818, Lord William Bentinck, the governor of Bengal, banned the practice. The Prevention of Sati Act makes it illegal to abet, glorify or attempt to commit Sati. Abetment of Sati, including coercing or forcing someone to commit Sati can be punished by death sentence or life imprisonment, while glorifying Sati is punishable with 1–7 years in prison. Within the Indian culture, the highest ideal for a woman are virtue, purity, and allegiance to her husband. This custom in which a woman burns herself either on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband or by herself with a memento after his death is now referred to as sati or, in England, as suttee. In the original meaning, Sati was defined as a woman who was true to her ideals. A pious and virtuous woman would receive the title of Sati. In past few years things are changing in India especially in two provinces Bengal and the Bombay Presidency. The changes that began from this period were to have a huge impact on past few decades. In 1815, a pamphlet written in Bengali caused quite a stir in Calcutta. It was on the evil custom of sati and was written by Ram Mohan Roy had been speaking up for reforms in society, the need to improve the condition of women especially, and, equally important, to ensure that women received an education. Mr. Roy petitioned the government, published pamphlets, and travelled to England to appeal before the British Parliament to ensure the ban on sati. The more conservative groups in society were opposed to what they thought was an intrusion into the traditional customs and ways of people. Mr. Roy attempted to beat these conservative elements at their own game; when they insisted that sati had the sanction of religion, he quoted the scriptures too, to emphasise that none of the ancient Hindu texts ever sanctioned sati. He underlined the fact that the occurrence of sati showed how much society had ‘degenerated’. In response to this, 128 pundits published a manifesto arguing that Roy’s opinion was only that of a minority, and that the government could not defy religion and ban sati. He had gathered a lot of evidence, especially from the ancient Hindu scriptures and law books called the shastras, to show that sati was not obligatory and was in fact the least virtuous act a widow could perform. And that it had meaning only if it was done voluntarily. Mr. Roy later translated the 1815 pamphlet into English. While conservative, orthodox elements argued that sati allowed women who lacked virtuous knowledge to acquire such knowledge and gift it to their families Roy argued that women anyway possessed virtuous knowledge, for their lives showed that they were infinitely more self-sacrificing than men. Attempts to limit or ban the practice had been made by few individual British officers few years back but without the backing of the British East India Company. The first formal British ban was imposed in 1798, in the city of Calcutta. The practice continued in surrounding regions. But finally yesterday i. e. on 4 December 1829, the practice was formally banned in the Bengal Presidency lands, by the governor, Lord William Bentinck.

The Influence of Consumerism on 7

The contemporary business environment is becoming very competitive, thanks to globalization and technological advancement. The increased competition is now forcing organizations to adopt powerful strategies in order to gain competitive advantage. It is for this reason that consumerism has gained popularity, with business enterprises investing heavily in promotion of their products in order to influence purchasing behaviour of target markets.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Consumerism on 7-11 Years Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, the consumer market seems to be the biggest driver of economic development in most countries, as it continues to grow as the economy and population grow. Therefore, marketing becomes an integral function in organizations, where different organizations use persuasive and manipulative techniques and strategies to convince or change perceptions of consumer s to purchase their products and services (Schor, 2004). Nowadays, most organizations are focusing on children as a niche market with potentially sustainable growth and profitability. Although this may be a move in the right direction for businesses and society in terms of commercial empowerment, there is a dark side, especially in relation to social and health wellbeing of children (Palmer, 2010). This paper will critically discuss the effect of consumerism on children aged 7-11 years. In the past generations, parents dictated children’s consumer behaviour by purchasing things (toys, sweets, clothes among other children stuff) that they felt their children needed or deserved to have. This was mainly based on necessity and affection, but there was no significant influence from outside to do so. However, social changes in recent years have allowed children to have a commanding influence on their consumption patterns, thanks to ever-increasing advertisements and pressure from p eers (Evans Chandler, 2006). Today, many organizations are advertising their products directly to children with the knowledge that children have become more empowered and their psychological faculties can easily be manipulated or persuaded to like the products offered (Hulbert, 2004). Indeed, every organization will target a market that would be positively responsive to its products.  According to Schor (2004), children are nowadays being used as the conduit for marketing products to parents, especially due to their passionate consumption behaviour, brand loyalty, and tendency to learn fast. Generally, marketers focus on children based on three key roles they play as consumers including, controlling a big niche market, influencing family purchasing behaviour and brand loyalty. However, several other factors have contributed to increased consumerism and marketing being directed to children. Children at the age of 7 to 11 have their own purchasing power due to pocket money given to them by their parents; however, they do not have mental capacity to make informed decision about wants and needs (Hill, 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, peer pressure tends to be setting in during this age, thus influencing children to purchase things that will make them compete with their peers. Moreover, families are trying to alleviate their children from threats of stigmatization and social identity by purchasing things to their children that will make them socially compatible with other children (Hamilton, 2011). Indeed, it is worth noting that modern parents have compromised their control on children’s purchasing influence (Herbst, 2005) by yielding easily to children’s pestering and giving out money (or items) to them out of guilt for not spending enough time with them due to professional engagements. Consumerism culture has adverse repercuss ions in children, especially in their social development. Importantly, since children do not have the capacity to make informed decisions, they are vulnerable to manipulation (Roche, 2009). In recent years, advertisement efforts by organizations have gone a notch higher to segment children market into age groups in order to capture more attention. Importantly, children at the age of 7-11 years are beginning to identify their true gender and tend to associate themselves with popular culture; so they will demand products that make them look cool, in reference to advertisements. Here, peer pressure plays a big role as children try to compete against each other in terms of possession and coolness (Là ¼sted, 2010). Indeed, children construct their identity by having a large collection of brands (Archer, Hollingworth, and Halsall, 2007). Moreover, children can easily identify the most endearing brands and labels, and they can skillfully use their little consumer knowledge to acquire thes e things (Pilcher, 2011). Indeed, it becomes very easy for children to participate in impulse purchases due to the amount of pocket money given to them by parents and their ability to influence parents to purchase for them. Indeed, Buckingham (2013) claims that children would influence parents and the society to accept something due to emotional connection that exists between them and the society would also respond quickly if something is harmful to the children. The social platform set by the contemporary marketers is eroding children’s values as they try to define their true self, because of bombarding them with so many products, which make them believe happiness is found from accumulation of possessions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Consumerism on 7-11 Years Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Indeed, this is becoming immoral, as it is not only interfering with their psycholog ical health, but also their personal growth and development, especially because they are denied important tools (such as social, spiritual and intellectual) to respond appropriately to different situations (Schor, 2004). Consumerism is also interfering with the health of children; no wonder there are increased cases of child obesity and depression (Dittmann, 2004). Nowadays, parents prefer to buy ready or easy-to-cook food from fast food shops or retail shops due to lack of time or boredom to prepare healthy food as they used to do before. Importantly, marketers are taking this advantage to promote fatty, sugary and fast foods to children with the confidence of huge sales, the result of which is increasing cases of obese children due to consumption of these foods usually marketed as fun and cool (Gorman, 2008). Moreover, cases of drug abuse among children have increased due to the advertisements aired during children shows as well as sponsorship of children concerts and events by to bacco or alcohol companies (Schor, 2004). The excess reliance on toys, especially play stations and computer games by children is eroding the social and cognitive development aspect in children. Unlike in the past where children used to play with their neighbor’s children, modern children have their play stations and television as their best friends (Piachaud, 2007). Therefore, children are focusing more on their materialist possessions in expense of family and friendship. Moreover, some video games are training children to be violent instead of morally upright individuals, and this may justify the recent cases of violence and shooting in schools, especially in the US. Unsurprisingly, cases of mental disorder and depression have increased due to exposure to advertisements that have adverse psychological effect on children. Protection of this future generation is of paramount importance, and it should be a concerted effort by all stakeholders. Primarily, there needs to be regu lations on advertisements in order to prevent children from exposure to excess material that may alter their self-perceptions or behaviour. Indeed, regulations have worked in several countries that have limited or eliminated commercials during children’s programming and events, including Greece, Norway, Italy, and Austria among others (Hawkes, 2004, p.19). Another remedy lies with the parents who must nurture their children to be morally upright people. Parents should train their children about money management and consumer behaviour, as well as control the amount they give to children as pocket money.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They should know that children of this age have some knowledge about what money is, they would tend to imitate their parents’ spending habits (Pfund, 2011), and they are vulnerable to peer pressure; therefore, guidance is important. Parents would also be in a better position to control their children’s exposure to harmful advertisements that influence their consumption behaviors (Palmer Young, 2003). Finally, the society plays a big role in protecting its members from harmful effects. Primarily, children need a clean and safe environment to grow and develop, thus any advertisements that tend to be manipulative or directed to children must be thoroughly regulated. As seen above, corporations target children because they wield a lot of power in influencing consumption in families and they tend to be sustainable target market due to their brand loyalty. However, they become victims to social ineffectiveness, lifestyle illnesses, and mental disorders. Therefore, all stake holders should unite and create an atmosphere that inhibits consumerism from destroying these innocent consumers. References Archer, L., Hollingworth, S., Halsall, A. (2007). University’s not for me – I’m a Nike person: urban, working class young people’s negotiations of style, identity and educational engagement. Sociology, 41(2), 219–237. Buckingham, D. (2013). The Material Child. London, England: John Wiley Sons. Dittmann, M. (2004). Protecting children from advertising. American Psychology Association, 35(6). Evans, J., Chandler, J. (2006). To Buy or not to Buy: Family Dynamics and Children’s Consumption. Sociological Research Online, 11(2). Gorman, M. (2008). Childhood obesity statistics and facts. National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutes. Web. Hamilton, K. (2011). Low-Income Families and Coping Through Brands: Inclusion or Stigma? Sociology, 46(1), 75-90. Hawkes, C. (2004). Food to children: The glo bal regulatory environment. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Herbst, M. (2005). Advertising to Children. Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag. Hill, J. (2011). Endangered childhoods: how consumerism is impacting child and youth identity. Media Culture Society, 33(3), 347-362. Hulbert, A. (2004). Tweens â€Å"R† us. The New York Times. Web. Là ¼sted, M. (2010). Advertising to Children. Minnesota, USA: ABDO, 2010. Palmer, E. L., Young, B. M. (2003). The faces of televisual media: Teaching, violence, selling to children. New Jersey, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum. Palmer, S. (2010). Toxic Childhood: How The Modern World Is Damaging Our Children And What We Can Do About It. London, England: Orion. Pfund, F. (2011). Advertising to Children. Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag. Piachaud, D. (2007). Freedom to be a Child: Commercial Pressures on Children. London, England: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. Pilcher, J. (2011). No logo? Children’s consumption of fashio n. Childhood, 18 (1) 128-141. Roche, M. (2009). Children, Consumerism, and the Common Good. London, England: Rowman Littlefield. Schor, J. B. (2004). Born to buy: the commercialized child and the new consumer culture. New York: Scribner. This essay on The Influence of Consumerism on 7-11 Years Children was written and submitted by user Abr1l to help you with your own studies. 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Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted

Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted By Maeve Maddox A Canadian reader asks, Has it become okay to change irregular past verbs like lit and shone to lighted and shined? The answer to the first part of the question is that irregular verbs have been in a state of flux for centuries, so I suppose that it’s always â€Å"okay† to change them. The dominant tendency in English has been for irregular past tense forms to be replaced by the â€Å"regular† -ed past tense ending. For example, the past participle of help used to be holpen: Now, when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help KJV, Daniel 11:34 As only about 300 strong verbs (what we call â€Å"irregular† verbs) existed in the Old English spoken and written a thousand years ago, I think it’s amazing that any of them have survived into modern English. The reader who posed the question implied that writing lighted and shined for lit and shone must have something to do with American spelling habits: I’m from Canada and we often struggle between American and British rules. A persistent misconception is that when American usage differs from British usage, the American version must be a corruption. I’ve received many a comment comparing American English to â€Å"real English,† as if Standard American English (SAE) were a usurper of the â€Å"real thing.† The fact is, King Alfred would have as much difficulty in understanding Queen Elizabeth II as he would President Obama. Both SAE and BrE flow from the same source, but both have traveled a long way from it. Generally speaking, shone and lit are preferred in British English and shined and lighted in American English. Both the OED and Merriam-Webster show the inflected forms lighted/lit and alighted/alit. In both dictionaries, the -ed form is listed first. Generalities aside, both weak (regular) and strong (irregular) past tense forms are in use on both sides of the Atlantic. I grew up in the American South and was quite comfortable saying â€Å"Mother lit the birthday candles,† and â€Å"The sun shone all day long.† The verb shine is used with two meanings: shine: of a heavenly body or an object that is alight; to shed beams of bright light shine: to cause to shine, put a polish on According to some authorities, context determines whether an American speaker will use shone or shined when speaking of the sun or some other object that emits light: The transitive form of the verb â€Å"shine† is †shined.† If the context describes something shining on something else, use â€Å"shined†: â€Å"He shined his flashlight on the skunk eating from the dog dish.† You can remember this because another sense of the word meaning â€Å"polished† obviously requires â€Å"shined†: â€Å"I shined your shoes for you.† –Paul Brians, professor emeritus, Washington State University. As for shine in the sense of â€Å"to polish,† British speakers would say neither â€Å"I shined your shoes for you,† nor â€Å"I shone your shoes for you.† For a statement in the past, they would probably use the verb polish: â€Å"I polished your shoes for you.† Now for the really interesting bit: The OED tells us that irregular shone is unrecorded in Old English and appears only once in Middle English. The form shined was in common use from 1300-1800. The form shone first appeared as a past participle in the second half of the 16th century. As for the forms lighted and alighted (to descend from a horse or conveyance), these -ed forms were in use before the 16th century. Shakespeare uses lighted in the â€Å"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow† soliloquy in Macbeth: And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. My conclusion is that shined and lighted are no less â€Å"okay† than shone or lit. But then, my dialect is American English. Note: British speakers pronounce shone to rhyme with gone; for Americans, shone rhymes with bone. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of Humor75 Idioms and Expressions That Include â€Å"Break†Preposition Mistakes #1: Accused and Excited

Benefits and Disadvantages of Saas Free Samples for Students

1.What is SaaS and outline its benefit and disadvantages. Explain your answer. 2.What business risks had Liberty Wines faced?. 3.What data and IT Problems were limiting FinCEN’s ability to Fight Financial Crime? 1.SaaS is the abbreviated form of Software as a Service is also known as a software which is on demand. In this software delivery model software and the information related to the same are stored in a centralised system and contacted with the help of a thin client which is generally a web browser via the internet such as Wikipedia. The said product is not required to be purchased and installed separately in a fix location (Clair, 2010). All it requires the user to pay a subscription fee and then pay as needed. The benefits offers by SaaS are as under: The disadvantages of using SaaS are as under: 2.Liberty Wines faced the biggest risk associated with the IT system which was installed in the organization since it was not of the latest version. The system was too outdated to cope up with the rising volume of data so much that the employees failed to reply to the customer queries on time. IT infrastructure of Liberty Wine had a negative impact on the petitive advantage of the pany. It is not being able to sustain the expanding business requirements therefore leading toa   loss of clientele. However, shifting of the pany’s IT system to virtualisation has benefited the pany in the many ways. The same is illustrated below: 3.FinCen was unable to fight financial crime successfully before 2008 as the IT system installed was outdated which did not have the capability to process huge volumes of data regarding the money laundering and terrorism at the right time. Usage of off-line system instead of an online system also was a cause for the delay in distribution of data to the required agencies and bureaus who could then take an action against the said crime. FinCen should upgrade its present IT system in vogue along with the analytical potentials. If it upgrades its system then the bureau will be able to process data well on time. For the same tey have even launched an App to support the real time availability of data of the past 11 years to the various users such as government officials and law enforcement agencies. Financial intelligence is dependent upon successful scrutinising of the data which would depict all kind of illegal activities clearly. The same is very crucial for the national security as well as these financial agencies help to find out if any kind of illegitimate work is being carried out in the country which could impact the safety and security of the people staying. There main aim is to find out if any danger is about to approach and if so make the country aware so that adequate steps to mitigate the same are taken (Lowers, 2015). Recently Ann Martin an associate of FinCen had detected the financial crime which was taking place between USA and Mexico where the latter was supplying drug pills in USA and the proceeds were being deposited in a local bank and wired back to USA. She analysed the big data set and found out the entire of such an act and informed the Mexican Government (Davidson, 2011). The same was possible because of the fact that FinCen had also upgraded its IT system well enough to help perform such analysis. Clair,G.S. (2010). Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Retrieved from https://smr-knowledge /wp-content/uploads/2010/01/EOS-SaaS-White-Paper-2008.pdf Davidson,J. (2011). Rewards of federal service. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost /politics/rewards-of-federal-service/2011/09/15/gIQAMoPcVK_story.html?utm_term=.8231a02babd0 Lowers,M. (2015). The role of FinCen in BSA/AML. Retrieved from https://www.lowersriskgroup /blog/2015/03/30/role-of-fincen-in-bsa-aml/ McLellan,C. (2013). SaaS: Pros, cons and leading vendors. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet /article/saas-pros-cons-and-leading-vendors/ Metzler,J. (2011). Virtualisation : Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions. Retrieved from https://www.stotthoare .au/sites/default/files/files/1_16100_WhitePaper_VirtualizationBenefits_by_Webtorials.pdf Getting academic assistance from

The Richness of Spiritual Companionship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Richness of Spiritual Companionship - Essay Example Being with friends and family members is a gone commodity since our lives are so much on the move. We are busy with the different undertakings of our lives in a manner which asks us to devote our time to nothing else but our commitments. We have lost the essence of imparting time to the ones who are close to us, the ones who are in trouble and need and the ones to whom we owe our love and gratitude. When it comes to religion, we have lost the path on which our forgiveness is destined (Hannabuss, 2011). We seem to part ways with virtuous acts and fall time and again on the road which leads us towards evil and wickedness. Spiritual compassion therefore is one aspect that comes from understanding how one interacts with the other individual and what kind of feelings, emotions and sentiments are being displayed at the best of times. This suggests the basis of his growth and development with regards to the society as a whole and the universe in essence. There is compassion happening across the board which remains a very quintessential factor nonetheless (Marques, 2011). The innovations of the present era have similarly brought problems for all and sundry. Undoubtedly these technological inventions and changes have solved our problems but when seen in the midst of our physical existence, we have not gained much over a period of time. In fact we have lost on this count by any stretch of imagination. There is just so much that can be done through finding out the real meaning of our existence yet we are shelved in our own worlds where there is nothing else but progression for one matter or the other. We just cannot seem to find time for the things in our life which hold supreme value and importance (Souto, 2007). These seem to take the backburner on a regular basis and hence our lives have become pretty much the same over and over again. One cannot really blame the advent of science and technology on our forgetting to being own selves because science and its various tool s are there to help and facilitate us and in no way be the substitutes for the people, the religion and the way of life that used to be so much close to us when we were young and when we did not care about anything apart from our loved ones, our family and the joys that childhood brought with it. It is imperative that people do not judge one another. The growing age of technology and with the advent of so many scientific innovations has meant that people have started to take one another for a ride, and thought less about what the others seem to think, perceive and therefore act upon (Levitt, 2011). The behaviors have more or less changed and this is the basis of their respective comprehensions which are coming to the fore. God has always been very clear and lucid as per his instructions towards mankind. He has made it clear that a man should come towards the good and keep away from the evil ways that embody nothing but trouble and sorrow for him in the long run. He has openly advoca ted for man to be good to his own self as well as to God as well since this would benefit him alone in all fields of life. Hence when the role of God has been discussed upon in entirety, the judgmental angle must come about from man’s perspective alone. This is significant because he is the one who decides what is good for him and what can be considered as wrong, both morally and practically within the relevant midst of things. The struggles within relationships have more or less been vital for comprehending where man has lost out. He has failed to understand the dictum of how well he can make use of the relationships and where exactly he is going wrong all this while. What this implies is that he thinks

Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Suicide - Essay Example Statistics show that the population at risk for suicide includes the age people who have recently failed at a venture or have lost a loved one and those who have failed at business. It is quite common for businesspeople to take their own lives when they fail at a business and hence incur heavy losses. Once they feel that they are unable to pay off their debts, they usually commit suicide. Further, among teenagers the suicidal tendencies are more particularly for those who have been rejected by someone who they feel that they have loved. These are the cases where passion plays a major role in the reasons for committing suicide. The signs to watch out for when people have an intention to commit suicide include loss of appetite, general withdrawal from social activities, a tendency to be inclined towards depression etc. Hence, the people around the potential suicide victim need to watch out for these signs and take preventive action before it is too late. It is usually the family or friends around the person who has suicidal tendencies who need to take the potential victim to a therapist or counselor and make him or her attend those sessions with a view to provide succor to them and deter them from committing suicide. Usually when a person commits suicide, it is the people around him or her who need to bear the pain of the loss of a loved one and particularly so considering that they might blame themselves for the victim’s behavior. Hence, it is contingent upon the family and friends to spot the symptoms early and take necessary action. Suicide and the act of taking one’s life represent an extreme form of behavior and hence, laws explicitly prohibit people from taking their own lives. Hence, not only is the act of committing suicide illegal but also immoral as well. It is ingrained in our nature to fight the

Ping Sweep and Port Scans Essay Example for Free

Ping Sweep and Port Scans Essay Information system threats are central to developments in information systems and should be viewed positively. Introduction The emergence of computers effectively led to a change in the approach to business operations. Information technology led to the development of a completely different approach to operations and is cited as a key driver to globalization which is central to the high level of competition being experienced in different industries. High levels of competition have led to an increase in the need for security since information is central to identification of opportunities and development of innovative approaches to operation. The internet as an information superhighway is especially laced with all kinds of security threats. Protocols are continuously being developed to try and ensure high levels of security; however the threats have managed to stay abreast due to the diversity they exhibit. Ping Sweep There are different modes used by an attacker to gain and interfere with the operations of a system. However, most attacks require a system to be active and therefore implement a mechanism to detect the activity of a system. Ping is one such technique that has found use in by both black and white hat hackers. The first step in the hackers’ manual is to determine the activity of a network and its connection status to the internet after which codes are subjected to the system to try and gain its control (Kurtz, McClure, Scambray, 2005). The actual mechanism involved in ping operations includes sending network packets and awaiting some unique response that will show the activity of the system. To effectively attack a network an attacker must gather as much information as possible; this is done by a ping sweep (Kurtz et al, 2005). A number of ping operations are done and each targeted at a specific IP address (Kurtz et al, 2005). To be effective in remote information collection, multithreaded sweep tools that allow for customized time-outs (Kurtz et al, 2005). Port Scanning The threats posed by ping operations are known to all administrators who often developed mechanisms to ensure that their security is not compromised. Open hosts are a key security threat and can be used by attackers to deal a deathly blow to systems (Scambray, McClure, 2007). Port scanning as a system maintenance mechanism is mainly concerned with searching network hosts to determine which ports are open. Administrators and crackers use port scanners which are software component to determine states of networks thus their vulnerability. Scanning can take on different approaches which include TCP, UDP or SYN scanning (Scambray, McClure, 2007). It is worth noting that the objective of the scanner determines the effects that the scanning activity will have on the network or system. A port scanning mechanism where multiple hosts are scanned to determine the one that is listening is referred to as a port sweep (Scambray, McClure, 2007). Implication Port scanning and ping sweeps can be dangerous depending on the objectives of the person or entity initiating them. They can be considered system threats or maintenance procedures depending on whether they are being initiated by a hacker or a system analyst. There are several approaches that have been developed to minimize the risk of malicious ping sweeps against a network. Disabling ICMP protocols for networks connected directly to the internet and configurations of firewalls to do the same is effective in dealing with ping sweeps (Kurtz et al, 2005). Port scanning is used to gather information on a networks security which can then be used to cause malfunctions such as buffer overflows. Conclusion Port scans and ping sweeps can be used by administrators and hackers and are thus both beneficial and risk causing. Managers should ensure that their systems are developed in a manner that is security conscious in that even if it is scanned no security weakness should be discovered. Dealing with the threat of port scan can cause inefficiencies though ping sweeps can be dealt with effectively. Developing a robust network that is near perfect is the ultimate approach to dealing with the threats posed by ping seeps and port scans which are just information seeking mechanisms. Being aware that versatile and creative hackers are in a position to scan a system is motivation enough to ensure system security is kept up to date with development in information technology. Thus, scanners and sweepers are motivators behind the development and improvements in information strategies aimed at development of secure information systems. References Kurtz, G. , McClure, S. , Scambray, J. (2005). Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets Solutions. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Scambray, J. , McClure, S. (2007). Hacking Exposed Windows: Windows Security Secrets and Solutions. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.