Proportional Representation Electoral System

Proportional Representation Electoral System Critically compare and discuss the major differences and similarities between proportional representation and majoritarian electoral systems. Which criteria are the most important ones with which to judge an electoral system in a new democracy? How does each system perform on these criteria? Resulting from an in-depth investigation into the establishment of new democracies, this essay explores the view that Proportional Representation electoral system (henceforth PR) promotes better stability, as opposed to the Majoritarian electoral system, which occasionally leads to instability. It is how a party interprets votes into parliamentary seats in each electoral system that determines which system to perform better. It is upon this factor that this essay will attest the claim that PR promotes an increase in social representation in parliaments. Although majoritarian systems do stipulate greater stability and accountability in governments, this does not support the belief that PR systems disregard a governments stability or culpability; each system tends to highlight certain factors, where others do not. This essay will commence by explaining the elements that characterise both PR and majoritarian electoral systems, after which it shall be seen how each system performs in the criteria of accountability, social representation and stability in a new democracy. It is in a new democracy where the most support for the government is needed; this is resulting from the often controversial past experienced in these nations before evolving into a democracy. By looking at South Africas first democratic election in 1994, and their utilisation of the PR system, one discovers why in this context a PR system most suited. The majoritarian system, which can be divided into two subsections, namely plurality and the second ballot majority run-off system, is the oldest electoral system having originated in the 12th century (Norris, 1997: 299). In both instances, the nation is separated into territorial single-memberconstituencies. Plurality decrees all citizens vote for a candidate party; while votes are counted, the party with the majority of votes in a specific constituency is granted the parliamentary seats for that region. The party with the most seats in the parliament will ultimately be the governing party (Norris, 1997: 301). For a government to come into power through the second ballot run-off system, the government would need to win the absolute majority of 50% +1; in cases where this does not occur, the two top contenders from the first round of elections run alongside each other in a second round of voting (Norris, 1997: 302).It is the majoritarian system of representation that sees larger part ies winning a higher proportion of seats than the proportion of votes they gain in an election (Heywood, 2007: 256). This increases the chance of a single party gaining a parliamentary majority and being able to govern independently (Heywood, 2007: 256). The PR system, which also divides countries into constituencies, is most often made up of multi-member districts, larger in size, which is geographically defined. Lists are presented by each party of their districts number of parliamentary seats available; lists in some countries are open to voters, allowing them to rank their candidate preferences, whereas some lists are closed and only made visible to the party. Seats, instead of being given to the majority winner, are granted according to a partys percentage of votes received (Norris, 1997: 303). This system guarantees an equal relationship between seats won by a party and the votes gained in an election. In instances were PR is implemented at its purest form, a party gaining 60 per cent of the vote would win exactly 60 per cent of the seats (Heywood, 2007: 256). PR systems, thus, make single-party majority rule unlikely, rather allowing for coalition governments or multi-party systems (Heywood, 2007: 256). Each electoral system majoritarian or PR has its own advantages and disadvantages. It does, however, depend on a new democracys main concerns and its aims, hopefully to be achieved, that would decide which system to implement. New democracies have clearly come from somewhere disagreeable in terms of democratic values, and so because they have experienced a severe shortage of representativeness as was the case with Mexico, Chile, South Africa, and Tunisia they will overwhelmingly want to replace this with representativeness (Pettinger, 2012).In order to achieve an increased representativeness, countries would most likely prefer the use of PR as it allows previously unheard minority groups the chance to voice their concerns. In terms of government accountability, both systems contain different quantities of this within. The majoritarian system, which allows candidates receiving the most votes in a constituency to have a seat, bestows the masses the ability to hold someone responsible, in this instance the victorious party member, in a specific area. The masses have the choice, during each election, to give their support or help vote a certain member out of power. As a result, representatives of the constituency are further stimulated to help voice the concerns of the people in that area. This motivates service production in the most successful style and, simultaneously, fortifies the bond with the constituency (Norris, 1997: 305). PR systems, which are able to produce single-party governments, usually lead to the establishment of coalition governments unless one party wins a majority of votes (Norris, 1997: 308). Following a survey of twenty newly established democracies, only 10 percent of PR systems led to the establishment of single-party governments (Norris, 1997: 308). Consequently, this lowered government accountability (also referred to as government responsiveness) as the populations cannot leave a single party responsible for choices made. Majoritarian systems, alternatively, are more often than not single-party governments. The aforementioned study mentions 60 percent of majoritarian systems lead by single-party governments (Norris, 1997: 308). With this in mind, as well as the fact that the controlling party is the dominant party in parliament in a majoritarian system, the party possesses enough power to carry out unpopular choices; they need not rely on minority parties support (Norris, 1997: 304) . Furthermore, the domineering party would be held wholly accountable for their actions during their time in power, and following the end of their term would their performance be measured. At this time it would be decided whether or not to vote them out of power. In a majoritarian system, responsibility and power are viewed as one. In a majoritarian system, the power that gives the ruling party in government the ability to pass legislation and implement party policies increases the accountability of that party (Norris, 1997: 304). This gives rise to government effectiveness, and stability. Resultantly, fragmentation, which occasionally occurs in the PR system, is prevented. PR thus leads to instability in some cases (Norris, 1997: 305). This instability becomes clearer depending on the lifespan government tends to have; this occurrence is due to the majority of the masses not supporting the government, as apposed to the majoritarian system. It is when one considers social representation that one begins to see that a PR system is not necessarily more effective than the majoritarian system. By determining parliament seat rendering to the percentage of votes each party receives, the presence of smaller parties is ensured (Norris, 1997: 309).It is the fact that parties in a majoritarian system have support spread out in many areas that disadvantages the system despite overall greater support in the foundation (Norris, 1997: 305). This sees minority groupings excluded out of parliament as well as those groups experiencing lesser representation than warranted. After the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa, both the African National Congress and the National Party entered into negotiations in order to establish a democratic constitution that would allow for a swift transition; this realisation developed from a mutually hurting stalemate (Zartman, 1995: 147) that left neither side able to seize power by force (Zartman, 1995: 148). Due to South Africas diversity, which can be summarised as 79.4% Africans, 9.2 Whites, 8.8% Coloureds and 2.6% Asian/Indian (Statistics South Africa, 2010:4), social representation presented itself as a key concern during the transition into a stable democracy. Hendrik Verwoerd, who believed white men in Africa to not see peace and stability resulting from a satisfied nationalism (Verwoerd, 1960: 363), proposed no intermingling in the political sphere (Verwoerd, 1960: 364); this was the beginning of the oppression of many social groups, experiencing the domination of a nation ruled by one party. The adoptio n of the PR electoral system, which occurred following the amalgamation of the new democracy (Zartman, 1995: 45), would be to ensure the representation of all previously suppressed groups (Masiko-Kambala, 2008: 2). This system successfully maintained political stability despite having to reach a consensus while including various contradictory views. The PR system assured a diverse parliament, even though the system could not always ensure suitable accountability and stability (Norris, 1997: 305). Enforcing the majoritarian electoral system would have prolonged the aspect of Apartheid where certain groups were oppressed, the only difference is that the majoritarian system would oppress minority groups, whereas Apartheid oppressed South Africas racial majority. This would occur as parties would retain a majority in an area to gain a parliament seat, while the PR system presents any minority group the chance to win a seat (Norris, 1997: 303). Moving forward past a history of great viol ence and dissatisfaction amongst the populace, the PR system allowed an environment where all groupings were able to have their voice heard (Masiko-Kambala, 2008: 2); this would guarantee a great deal of support encouraging the new democratic government. Having discussed both electoral systems advantage and disadvantages with respect to each criteria with which to judge an electoral system in a new democracy, it can be concluded that each system is favourable in different instances. Where the PR system ensures a more diverse parliament, the majoritarian system is seen to generate greater responsibility and stability in government. It is purely a case of what a country views as the most important feature of governance at the time, and for South Africas case it would have been social representation, therefore ending in the implementation of a PR system; finding accountability or stability to be of more importance would have resulted in the establishment of the majoritarian system.

Essay example --

Napoleon Bonaparte was a bewildering man of many achievements. He attended military school at the age of nine, and joined the French military when he was sixteen. His mother was named Letizia, and his father was named Carlos. He had seven siblings, named Joseph, Lucien, Elise, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerome. He also supported the revolution, which led to him attending several places during the initial part of the revolutionary wars. He became renowned after shielding the Nation Convention in 1795. One of his more significant feats was that he led effective campaigns against Austria, Sardinia, and Italy. As soon as other people became aware of his accomplishments, he very quickly became known as â€Å"the General.† His earlier military occupation included the Italian Campaigns: from 1796-1797, he dominated most of northern Italy for France, and had established a liking for leading. Another triumph from his early military career was the Egyptian Campaign. In 1798, he was defeated by a British navy, which was under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, who devastated the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. Discarding his troops in Egypt, Napoleon returned to France and received a champion’s welcome. In 1796, Napoleon got married to Josephine. But by 1799, the dishonesty of the Directory along with the dwindling war effort against the Second Coalition left the government open for assaults. Napoleon was put in control of the military on November 9, 1799. The next day, he and his military took control by overtaking the government, which then decided to end the Directory. The Directory was swapped with three consuls, and Napoleon was elected First Consul. With the government in disorder, Napoleon launched a successful coup d’ et... ... European leaders at the Congress of Vienna tried to reestablish order and reestablish peace. The champions (mainly the alliance of Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Great Britain) restored the French boundaries of 1792 and the Bourbon dynasty. They made other modifications in the boundaries of Europe, founding Prussia as a "sentinel" against France, and produced a new kingdom out of Belgium and Holland. It was understood that the notion of the stability of power would preserve peace in Europe. But the demands of the conquerors, especially the Prussians and the Russians, for reimbursement threatened the balance. The Russian demands for Poland and the Prussian wish for Saxony led to conflict among the powers. Castlereagh, Metternich, and Talleyrand forced Russia and Prussia into a compromise whereby Russia got part of Poland and Prussia received two-fifths of Saxony.

The Traditional Costing Systems Accounting Essay

Activity-based costing emphasizes the demand to obtain a better apprehension of the behaviour of operating expense costs, and therefore ascertains what causes overhead costs and how they relate to merchandises. ABC recognizes that in long tally, most fabrication costs are non fixed, and it seeks to understand the forces that cause overhead costs to alter over clip. ( Colin Drury, 1995 p. 275 ) The definition of accounting supplied by Zlatkovich, et. Al. ( 1966 ) is the procedure of identifying, measurement, and pass oning economic information to license informed opinions and determinations by users of the information. ABC besides can be defined as a method of bing activities that are necessary for the production of merchandises or services ( i.e. activities being undertaken ) ( Dandago, 2003 ) . Whatever the definition of ABC, this method was originally developed by Cooper and Kaplan in 1988 as a solution to the insufficiency of traditional direction accounting techniques that used volume based methods to apportion operating expenses to merchandises. ABC is a method of apportioning overhead costs. Eventhough, it is similar to the direct method of overhead costs allotment found in traditional method, but there are two important different. In the traditional direct method, overhead costs are identified by service and production sections while in ABC operating expense costs are identified by activities which likely non the same as sections. In the traditional direct method, service section costs are allocated straight to production sections and so overhead allotment rates are prepared from these combined costs. Overhead costs are so assigned from the production section cost pool to the merchandises processed through this section. The different with ABC method this intermediate measure has been eliminated. Overhead costs are collected by activity and so straight allocated straight to the merchandise. In traditional method direct, the cost object is the terminal merchandise or service. And the premier costs and production costs are charged straight to merchandise or service whereas non-production costs will non bear down to merchandise or service. There are five ( 5 ) chief advantages of following ABC methods are:Accurate InformationABC offers more accurate estimations. Businesss typically have to compare an point ‘s monetary value and merchandising record to see if it is deserving bring forthing, and one of the benefits of ABC is better analysis of both profitable and non-profitable merchandises. Overhead costs can be a major job with some merchandises, but this method will place the costs and helps cut down operating expense. Directors frequently can work better under this costing method, because they have more accurate information.Accurate Product-Creation CostAnother benefit of ABC method is a more accurate product-creation cost. By following this bing method, analysts can calculate out the per-product cost and, therefore, more realistic prosodies are used for appraisal.Competitive PlacementABC is helpful in choosing which merchandises are profitable and which 1s should be eliminated. If a merchandise is identified a s non-profitable, the concerns seldom continuously sell a merchandise. This is because the ABC method enables the concerns to find more accurate merchandise pricing and therefore competitory placement of the merchandise in the market place.Better Decision MakingSince ABC provide accurate information on costs, more appropriate capital investing determinations can be made as a consequence of better burdening being determined on assorted facets.Future PlaningABC helps the concerns estimates the cost of all activities or processes that associated to future merchandise planning accurately determined before it is launched. This can so assist with finding pricing, and any associated outgo. By implementing ABC method, the concerns besides could place which production line is inefficiently. This enables the concerns to make up one's mind whether to go on the procedure or activity in-house or outsourcing the procedure or activity to 3rd party. Despite the advantages of implementing ABC, the method besides has disadvantages and restriction. The disadvantages of the method are elaborated in the following paragraph.ComplexityThe most obvious disadvantage of ABC is complexness in nature. It prevents the system to widespread into other companies. This ensuing the ABC methods normally remain hard to grok and dearly-won to run. ABC requires direction to non merely estimate the costs of each activities and identify and step the cost drivers for such activities, but besides update the same on a regular footing. This utilise much of the organisation ‘s resources such as direction clip and cost. slide 3 of 6PremisesABC while it institutes a complex methodological analysis to delegate costs to activities, the method remains far from perfect. The major defects include: Certain overhead costs remain impossible to split and apportion on a per-product usage footing. Not all productive activities will add value to merchandises. Most activity based bing methods assign such ‘business prolonging ‘ costs to merchandises on a proportionate footing or based on premises, and this makes the method far from perfect. slide 4 of 6The Big PictureABC places excessively much attending to detail and command on procedures. This causes a terrible restraint in that it obscures the bigger image by doing the organisation to lose sight of strategic long term aims in a pursuit for short term nest eggs. slide 5 of 6Confirmation to StandardsThis method, while supplying for better direction control over the concern procedure, does non conform to by and large recognized accounting rules ( GAAP ) . This means that for the companies that practising GAAP demand to duplicate their attempts by keeping two cost systems and separate accounting books for internal usage and external studies.Replacing ProcedureFinally, ABC method does non replace an bing occupation order or procedure cost system, but instead supplement the same. Indirectly, this will be seen as excess procedure. Eventhough the method has disadvantages ; it has proven that it still taking method to bring forth the most dependable, accurate bing information particularly for fabricating companies today. Although this method may non be easy to implement, since it utilizing activities to follow costs but it provides more accurate information ensuing in better scheme, better planning, and better prediction. However, the most influential facet of ABC is the ability to salvage cost. If company has a more accurate image of costs, so it is in a place to accomplish higher net incomes which straight maximize the stockholder wealth.Case StudiesThe following paragraph discussed on the execution of the ABC method in four ( 4 ) different states with different civilization and industries. The analysis was based on the research documents conducted in these states. The first research paper by Wen-Hsien Tsai and Jui-Ling Hsu. The survey was carried out to analyse the operational costs of a hot spring hostel in the Yang-Ming-Shan country of Taiwan. The ABC method was used to calculate housing, hot spring usage and repast helping costs per client. Based on the consequence of the research, it was reported that the cost of merchandises was lower than utilizing other methods eventhough during winter season. The research worker besides compares the ABC method with the traditional costing method and concludes that the ABC method is practical and appropriate for such a hot spring state hostel and outputs more accurate information for cost direction and pricing determinations. The following research paper was carried out by Ahmet Agca and Ali Cagri Buran in implementing ABC method in Third Party Logistics ( 3PL ) houses at Turkey. This survey was carried out for selected endeavors that are expertise in logistic activities at Turkey. The successful factors for these houses are the service they provide and accommodating their clients to their procedures in an optimum manner. The 3PL houses can plan their services in a two different manner to run into their clients ‘ outlooks i.e. service-oriented and customer-oriented. By following ABC, it shown that either service-oriented or customer-oriented, both theoretical accounts need to find the optimal cost degree for accurate pricing determinations to enable them to find the profitableness of clients or services. Therefore, the bing method they use need to be qualified adequate to run into the demand for accurate cost informations. The houses have found out that, ABC method has proved the optimum method in both state of affairss. As this method allocates costs by the activities ; so, it is the method supplying the most accurate cost informations both in bing logistic activities and finding the costs of clients and services/products. The 3rd research paper was carried out by Francesca Bartolacci for logistic procedure in Italy. In this instance survey, Francesca defined logistics as portion of the supply concatenation procedure that plans, implements and controls the effectual and efficient flow of goods, services and related information from the point of beginning to the point of ingestion. Nowadays, the market really competitory, the merchandises, monetary value and quality are easy imitated and the velocity of the physical and information flows plays a cardinal function for the accomplishment of the company objectives. Excellence client service can be the cardinal component for the company to be at the competitory border and one of the maps evidently plays a critical function in the success or failure of a company is logistic. Eventhough Francesca Bartolacci has identified some disadvantages and drawback in implementing the ABC method in logistic, nevertheless ABC method has references to work out the jobs refering the usage of traditional cost accounting system based on volume and the betterment of concern profitableness. The method provides directors with utile information about labor and other resources, including ingestion for merchandises, consumers and providing channels, taking to the direction and control of the operating expenses nowadays in the company. The analysis besides managed to place the factors that determine the operating expense consumed. By following this method it is possible to do the logistics activities more efficient by extinguishing redundant or unneeded undertakings, and optimizing resource allotments to activities adding more value to the merchandise or client. Other advantage of the method is, ABC permits the planning of more efficient collaborative relationships among the companies in the supply concatenation. Francesca concludes that â€Å" the designation of costs in return influenced allows for a pick of coactions as a method which is more convenient for the whole partnership. Correct information about the differential costs originating from possible change of the coaction relationships aid companies to do those appropriate strategic determinations with their logistics activities. This in bend helps them gain, with other companies, how best to modify the object of the cooperation in order to do the whole supply concatenation more competitory † . The concluding research paper was analysing the consequences of following of ABC methods in service sectors at United State of America by Ashford C. Chea. It was reported that the acceptance of ABC to efficaciously apportion resources and to find monetary values was the primary aim in the instance of a big regional bank. Previously, the bank had no clear manner to be services or find how resources were being consumed by different activities. In add-on, since some of the clients were related parties, the bank wished to demo that the charges being made to them were effort-and-use-based, i.e. , there was a direct correlativity between the nature of service provided and the charge for this service. ABC method assisted the bank to turn to both i.e. internal pricing and strategic pricing. For planetary insurance company, the determination to follow ABC method simply for revenue enhancement intents. The method was adopted to find its allotment methodological analysis for external transportation pricing intents. This is because the company wanted to guarantee that its charges to its abroad affiliates were accurate and defendable to revenue enhancement governments. By following ABC, the company ensured that the services provided to all abroad affiliates were tracked through the ABC systems, ensuing in charges straight related to the economic benefit received by the receiver. As a consequence, the company was able to take down its effectual revenue enhancement rate.DecisionABC was introduced in the 1920 ‘s and over period of clip the method continually bettering. As shown in four ( 4 ) instance surveies, ABC is non merely allow for usage in a fabrication environment ; it is besides reported to be most appropriate for service organisations such as fiscal establishmen ts, the health care industry, and authorities organisations. In fact, some banking and fiscal establishments have been using the construct for old ages under other names. One of them is unit costing, which is used to cipher the cost of banking services by finding the cost and ingestion of each unit of end product of maps required to present the service.

Blog Image Context How To Choose Relevant Blog Images

Blog Image Context How To Choose Relevant Blog Images It was mid-autumn, and the air was getting colder. I was walking with a friend down the street, heading to that evening’s symphony performance. As we passed by the county jail on the opposite side of the street, I stopped. I could not believe my eyes. â€Å"Look at that!† I said to my friend. I pointed to the south entrance of the jail building. Now I know that it is commonplace to see photographers with their clients out and about, shooting photos in alleys, the middle of the street, parks, and especially our state capitol grounds library which has soaring two-story Ionic columns and is about the only place around here that you can get that kind of architectural background. But I admit I was surprised to see a photographer out shooting a very-pregnant woman in a tube top on the steps of the county jail. â€Å"What are they doing?† my friend asked. â€Å"I imagine she is having some pregnancy photos taken. You know, the ones that show a baby bump.† â€Å"But why in front of the jail?† â€Å"I assume they want the Art Deco architecture in the background,† I said, hoping it wasn’t because the baby’s father was inside the jail or that she was establishing some horrific self-fulfilling prophecy of where her child would end up. â€Å"I’m not sure the subtlety of the Art Deco elements is really worth it if you have to use the jail as the background.† Our discussion continued as we walked to the concert, ranging from how cold it would be to wear a tube top on that chilly evening to the proclivity for Art Deco to pop up in North Dakota architecture. But I’ve thought about that incident a lot since then, weighing the photographer’s decision to go for an interesting background for her photo and choosing to ignore the context that background provided. Not everyone would know the photo was in front of the jail, but many would. Every image carries, and is in need of, context. This is important when it comes to choosing powerful images for your blog posts. Every Image Needs Context Benign images- stock photos at their worst- carry very little context beyond that of you grabbing a photo for your blog post because you know it’s a best practice to have one. The problem is that even that seemingly innocuous context can work against your great blog post, suggesting that the copy that goes along with this plain vanilla image is just as unexciting. Every image needs context and has its own context, and all of this can work for or against your blog post and the likelihood that someone will read it. 1. A picture is worth a 1,000 words. Any words. A picture is worth a thousand words. But which thousand? On its own, a photo assumes the context the viewer is most comfortable with. Rare is the image that can’t be interpreted differently depending on what the viewer brings to it. One viewer sees complexity while standing before a Pollock painting, and another sees the handiwork of a kindergartner gone mad. That same painting evokes different reactions, too, depending on whether it is hanging in an art gallery or on the wall of an elementary school. A few weeks after the jail photo shoot, I met a friend for coffee. Out of curiosity, I asked her what she would assume if she saw the county jail in the background of baby bump-type photo. â€Å"I’d assume the father of the baby was in jail.† â€Å"Really?† Her reaction surprised me, but maybe she was correct. My assumption had been that the Art Deco elements were the goal, but then again, my major was in art and that’s how I see everything. Pollock’s painting will always be hanging in a gallery for me. The context of your  images helps define the content in which they  appear.Consider your audience. Consider your blog. The thousand words that your image contributes to your post might not be the thousand you were aiming for if you don’t consider who is reading and the blog it is being read on. Tip: In this day and age where it seems as if everyone is looking to be offended, always review the images you select for your blog posts. While you can’t please everyone (and you don’t want to, because that leads to bland, flavorless content), get a set of fresh eyes on the imagery and ask them what they think when they see it with your blog post’s headline and after reading the blog. 2. The words you put with an image changes its impact. Moving beyond the thousand words that your image brings with it, you can include words with images to change its impact. This works best with flexible or peripheral images, those that are illustrating an abstract concept or scenario that could be used lots of ways. These are powerful images because they evoke reader curiosity (which we’ll talk about in a bit). However, they also have to be framed into proper context or confusion arises. For example, imagine an image of a child, head down at a school desk. What does that image mean? If your headline or caption reads: â€Å"Almost half of children don’t eat breakfast before school†... ...your interpretation of that image would be different than if that same text read: â€Å"How to blame your dog for eating your homework, and other productivity hacks†. The same image can mean very different things. The words you use with an image puts it into context so that you don’t have to wonder if the baby’s father was in jail or if the mother loved Art Deco architecture. Recommended Reading:  How To Design The Best Blog Graphics With Free Tools And Design Theory Admittedly, when searching for stock images, we only have keywords to go on, and it’s tough to find images outside of the typical realm of our search. A search on â€Å"productivity† will turn up boring images of computers, notepads, office scenes, and so on. You’ll miss out on those peripheral images that can mean different things in different settings unless you get really good at searching on abstract words for big ideas (which we’ll talk about in a bit). Tip: Use captions with images, and consider captions that do more than indicate where you got the image. Pose a question as a caption, one that the image hints at to answer. Or, use highlighted text or pull quotes in the body of your blog post that frame your images properly. People who are skimming content will see images, headings, and pull quotes. If they are all in contextual sync, the better for you. 3. Images pulled out of context take on new context. Several years ago, I was reading a story online about a man who had been arrested for abusing children after quite a manhunt. The story had only one photo, a small headshot of the reporter who wrote the story. It was the newspaper’s practice to include the headshot of the author. The headshot was a few paragraphs down, embedded in the text of the story, on the right. The problem was that there was no other photo for the story. As this story was shared on social media, the bold headline that told of a man who had committed a horrific crime against children was associated with an image of the reporter. By the next day, the headshot was pulled from the article, so this unfortunate realization must have occurred to the newspaper, too, but I’d already seen the article shared on social media with the grinning reporter next to the headline, insinuating he was the criminal. The first rule would be that you should always have a featured image for every blog post so that your headshot or a random ad doesn’t become the image on social media. But there’s more to it than that. A clever or innocuous image that relies on the body copy of a blog post may seem fine, but when it gets shared on social media, all that people may have to go by is the headline and the image. Is the right context still there? More than ever, headline clarity matters. But so does headline-image match. Look at your blog post’s featured image, the one that you (and others) will be seeing when it is shared on social media. Is the context all wrong? Is the message not what you expected? Tip: If need be, incorporate words into your graphic itself (using Canva.com perhaps) so that wherever the image travels, the context does, too. This is especially helpful if your blog post topic is controversial or evokes strong reactions. Choosing Powerful Images That Work It isn’t easy choosing an image to go with a blog post, matching image with message. Most of the time is devoted to the actual blog post, and it’s pretty common to toss an image in as an afterthought just before you publish. The image, however, is doing some serious work (such as helping your blog post get read on already image-saturated social networks), so you should give it serious consideration. Recommended Reading:  How To Make The Best Blog Graphics (For Non-Designers) I came up with a few ways to approach making a decision about images you will use with your blog posts. Whether you use all or some from this list is up to you. 1. Your image must stand out. Getting your image to stand out isn’t easy. Every social network is overrun with images. The methods you’ll use to get your image to stand out are, quite simply: Color Startling image Using humor. Humor is probably the easiest way to go when it comes to creating a startling image that stands out, but when everyone does it...no one does it well after a while. This is particularly the case with memes. I know that a lot of blog posts recommend using memes and other pop-culture images, but I suggest proceeding with caution in how you choose those types of images. We’ve all seen the Boromir â€Å"One does not simply†¦Ã¢â‚¬  meme to death, or the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man In The World meme. Neither are particularly funny at this point, and are almost completely ignorable. In other words, they are no longer a startling image because they became overused. Humor startles when it’s fresh and stinks when it’s stale. Shake up assumptions. Startling images are hard to come by, at this point, and completely subjective. However, you can use an image out of typical context and make a strong point for your blog post that is completely within your context. An example is an image I found for a post Garrett wrote several years ago. Despite the age of the post, that image still comes to mind even now. In his post, he introduced the concept of content marketing to readers, and discussed how it was different from traditional marketing forms. While looking for an image to illustrate the post, I considered the usual suspects: stock photos of computers, people, pens on notebooks, guy holding a loudspeaker- you know the kind of generic images I’m talking about. And then I found this: The color (or the lack thereof) is striking, but the image itself is also startling. And the image, in conjunction with the title (â€Å"What Is Content Marketing?†), is startling, too. It inspires curiosity that could get someone to read your blog post, because what would a post-apocalyptic dystopia have to do with content marketing? When I stumbled across the image in the stock photo gallery, I was immediately drawn to it, and it suddenly occurred to me that it perfectly illustrated the problem that content marketing solved. In the wasteland of marketing, there had to be a better solution. I captioned the image, â€Å"Traditional marketing has desensitized our audience and made them tune out our message. What now?† and used it to tap into the initial problem that filled the introductory paragraphs of the blog post (to which content marketing was the eventual solution, of course). Another example is this post, a blog post about capturing ideas. Avoiding the usual imagery of a lightbulb, post-it notes, or someone with question marks above their head, I went with goldfish in a bowl that had striking orange-blue (complementary/opposite) colors. An example of blog image context with an unusual, interesting visual. Tip: The best image is the one that makes you ask a different question about your blog post. Instead of merely illustrating the blog post’s obvious concepts or generic associations, try finding an image that illustrates an abstract concept in a surprising way. 2. Your image should illustrate the idea. Not every post will have a post-apocalyptic dystopian photo to go with it (nor should it), but you should always try to match your graphics up to the big idea in your post. What I mean is that your post is about something bigger than a computer keyboard or a jar of pens or whatever other generic stock photo image you so often see on blog posts. Boring imagery often illustrates objects that are related to the topic instead of the higher concepts. Sure, a computer is related to content marketing, but who cares? This is tricky, particularly if you are pressed for time and know that you need to have an image with every blog post so that it fares well on social media. It takes serious time to find or create images that perform this level of illustration. One of my favorite illustrations is the one Ashton did  for a blog post I wrote about creating content for fragmented audiences. When Ashton finished the illustration and sent it to me for review, I absolutely loved it. She illustrated the big idea perfectly, showing two forms of fragmentation (generational and device use) in one simple image. The image hit on concrete points in the post as well as showed, at a glance, the challenge a fragmented audience presented to content marketers. The post-apocalyptic dystopia image from #1 fits this criteria, too, by addressing the big idea behind the problem which requires the solution outlined in the blog post. Any image is better than none (mostly), but part of your editorial planning should be about deciphering the big idea in your post and finding or creating imagery that illustrates that instead of peripheral objects or actions that don’t mean anything. Tip: When you finish writing your blog post, sum it up in one sentence for yourself. Find the big idea, and then find an image to illustrate that specific idea instead of finding an image to illustrate your blog post in general. 3. Your image could evoke curiosity. As long as your image isn’t fighting the proper context (i.e. suggesting the opposite of what your blog post is about), it could function successfully even if it is vague (sort of like the examples in #1). Let’s take a look at an old blog post of mine from several years ago. The blog post is about how the people you follow on social media can actually change you and how you view and react to things. When I set about trying to find an image that would go with the post, I wanted to avoid social media logos, stock photo people, or those creepy white stock photo balloon stick figures. But this was a tough topic to find an image for. Should I find something that illustrated the concept of following? Of social media? Of change? These were abstract ideas, which are hard to find images for. I decided to focus on the idea of â€Å"view†, and I ended up using this image: It was visually strong with its graphic circles and bold red element, fulfilling #1. It’s a photo of camera filters, suggesting the idea of how the people we follow on social media filter our understanding and view. Now, in hindsight, I’d have gone back into the post to rework the copy a bit to highlight this concept, freely using the camera/lense/viewfinder/filter analogy so that it would make better sense to the reader. That would have made it work better. Tip: Write your post. And then, if you find a fantastic image that evokes curiosity, go back and edit your post so it fits. Sometimes the image can inspire the copy, and that’s perfectly fine. How Will You Explore Blog Image Context? In a nutshell, this post is about understanding how context can affect a reader’s interpretation of an image, and what you can do to frame that context. And then, it’s about playing around a bit with context, bending those rules as far as you can so that you choose blog post images that really get attention and get readers to read. Recommended Reading: We’ve written a lot of posts to help you with both choosing and creating images for your blog content. Are You Sure You’re Using Copyright Free Images For Your Blog? Should You Use Stock Or Free Images For Blog Posts? Color Psychology In Content Marketing: The Ultimate Color Guide

AMC 12

How to Study for the Math Olympiad AMC 10/AMC 12 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Have you ever wondered what it would take to represent America at the International Math Olympiad? Or maybe you’re a strong math student who is wondering what opportunities are available to you outside the classroom? In this article, we'll answer all your Math Olympiad questions! We’ll explain what it takes to qualify for the International Math Olympiad and how to ace the qualifying tests – the AMC 10 and AMC 12. How Do You Qualify for Math Olympiad? In this section we discuss the three key steps to qualifying for Math Olympiad. Step 1: Take the AMC 10 or AMC 12 The AMC 10 and AMC 12 are nationwide tests administered by the Mathematical Association of America that qualify you for the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME). Only those with top scores will be invited to take the AIME.The MAA recommends 9thand 10thgraders take the AMC 10, and thand 12thgraders take the AMC 12. You can take the AMC 10 and/or 12 multiple times. The AMC 10 and AMC 12 each have 25 questions. You have 75 minutes for the entire exam. Each correct answer is worth 6 points (for a maximum score of 150) and each unanswered question is worth 1.5 points.There is no deduction for wrong answers. Note thatyou don’t need to get all of the questions right to get a qualifying score.You just have to do better than most of the other students taking the exam! Keep that in mind as you come up with a strategy for the test. Youneed to be in the top 5% of scorers on the AMC 12 or the top 2.5% of scorerson the AMC 10to qualify, so the vast majority of people who take the AMC exams don't qualify. But, if you do, you can take the AIME. Step 2: Take the AIME The AIME is a 15-question, three-hour exam, and each answer is an integer between 0 and 999, inclusive. Regardless of whether you took the AMC 10 or AMC 12, everyone takes the same AIME. It's offered once a year (with an alternate test date available for those who can't make the official exam date) in the spring.Unlike the AMC 10 and the AMC 12, you can only take the AIME once, so you want to make sure you do your best on it. After you take the AIME, your AIME score is multiplied by ten and added to your AMC score to determine if you qualify for Math Olympiad. The cutoff score for qualifying changes yearly, but it's set so about 260-270 students qualify for Math Olympiad each year. Step 3: Qualify for and Compete in Math Olympiad If you do well on the AIME, you can qualify for the US Mathematical Olympiad. The top scorers from that competition then have the opportunity to train to be on the US team that competes at the International Math Olympiad. (You can find more info on this process over at the Mathematical Association of American website.) It’s a long process to get to the IMO, and very few students make it that far. But even just taking the AIME can set you apart in the college admissions process, especially if you are interested in engineering programs. Along with a high GPA and strong SAT/ACT scores, taking the AIME is a way to signal to colleges you have superior math and problem-solving skills. How Can You Learn Math Olympiad Content? Math through pre-calculus covers most topics tested on the AMC 10 and 12 and the AIME, but math competition problems will be trickier than what you see on your usual math homework assignments. If you’re not up to pre-calculus in school yet, your first task will be learning the content before focusing on how to solve problems that the AMC 10 and 12 tend to ask. See if there is a teacher or peer who is willing to tutor you if you haven’t taken pre-calculus. You could also see if it’s possible to take the course over the summer to get caught up quickly. In the meantime, you can explore parts of your own math textbook you haven’t gotten to yet, or ask to borrow textbooks from teachers at your school if you want to brush up on a topic not covered in the math class you’re taking this year. Also check out these online content resources from the MAA to help you study. How Can You Learn Problem-Solving Skills? The key to doing well on AMC is not just knowing math and being able to do rote problems, but to know concepts inside and out and be able to use them to solve tricky problems. Think outside the textbook. The website Art of Problem Solving is a hub for math competition resources and problems, and has been mentioned by many former AMC-takers as a top resource. They have pages on learning to solve certain types of problems, advice on the best prep books, and forums where you can talk to other AIME hopefuls about studying and strategy. This page provides links to practice problems and prep books and is a great place to get started. Our advice to study for the AMC is to do lots of practice problems, and then correct them. Carefully analyze your weaknesses. Don’t just notice what you did wrong, get inside your head and figure out why you got a problem wrong and how you will work to get it correct the next time. To improve your problem-solving ability, you can also consider borrowing or purchasing books specifically about solving math problems. Try How To Solve It by George Polya, Problem-Solving Strategies by Arthur Engel, or Challenging Problems in Algebra by Alfred Posamentier and Charles Salkind. These books will give you skills not typically taught in your math classes. How to Prepare for Math Olympiad Studying is more than just putting the time in. You want to make sure you are using the best practice problems and really analyzing your weak points to get your math skills to where they need to be. Read on to learn the six tips you need to follow to study like a pro. #1: Use Quality Practice Problems Use practice problems from past AMCs when possible. You want to prepare for the format and type of questions on the AMC. Any problem-solving practice you get will be helpful, but if you’re set on qualifying the AIME, you should spend the majority of your time prepping for AMC-type questions. If you're unclear on how to solve a problem, ask your math teacher, a math team friend, or an online forum like the one at Art of Problem Solving. The better you understand each AMC problem you encounter, the more likely you are to be prepared for the real thing. #2: Don't Lounge Around Quality practice time is key! Make sure to time yourself and simulate real test-taking conditions when doing practice problems – find a quiet room, don’t use outside resources as you test, and sit at a proper table or desk (don’t lounge in bed!). As you review problems, bring in your outside resources, from websites to problem-solving books, but remember to stay alert and focused. Don't let study time turn into naptime! #3: Focus on Your Weak Areas When studying, spend the most time focusing on your weak areas. As you work through practice problems, keep track of problems you didn’t know how to solve or concepts you’re shaky on. You can log your mistakes into a journal or notebook to help focus your studying. And don’t just log your mistakes and move on, figure out why you made those mistakes – what didn’t you know, what you assumed – and make a plan to get similar problems right in the future. #4: Beware of Tiny Mistakes Be very, very careful about small mistakes – like forgetting a negative sign, accidentally moving a decimal point, or making a basic arithmetic error. You could get the meat of a problem correct but still answer a problem wrong if you make a tiny mistake. Get in the habit of being hyper-vigilant and careful when you practice, so you don’t make these mistakes when you take the exam for real. Never assume you're too smart for a silly mistake! #5: Schedule Regular Study Time Finally, set aside dedicated time each week for studying. By practicing at least once a week, you will retain all of the skills you learn and continue to build on your knowledge. Build studying into your schedule like it’s another class or extracurricular. If you don’t, your studying could fall by the wayside and you’ll lose out on getting the amount of practice you need. #6: Attend Other Math Competitions If there is a math team or club at your school, join for the practice!Doing smaller competitions can help you learn to deal with nervesand will give you more opportunities to practice. It will also help you find a community of students with similar interests who you can study with. Also, the earlier you can start, the better. Some middle schools and even elementary schools have math clubs that expose you to tricky problem-solving questions in a way your standard math classes will not. What Should You Do the Night Before a Competition? After all your preparation, you don't want to trip at the finish line and ruin all your hard work right before the competition. Don’t do tons of studying the night before you take the AMC. By that point, you will have done all of the work you can. Focus on relaxing and getting in the right mindset for the exam. Also, make sure you get enough sleep the night before, and follow our other tips for the night before a test. Don’t waste all of your hard work studying by staying up late the night before! Finally, make sure you are set to go in the morning with transportation and directions to where you are taking the test. You don’t want to deal with a morning-of crisis! Plan to get to the exam center early in case you hit traffic or any other last-minute snags. What’s Next? Curious about the math scores it takes to get into top tech schools like MIT and CalTech? Read more about admission to engineering schools. Going for a perfect math SAT or ACT score? Get tips from our full-scorer on how to get to a perfect 800 on SAT math or a perfect 36 on ACT math. Wondering about paying for college? Check out automatic scholarships available for high ACT and SAT scores. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Questions - Essay Example Some families, who are immigrants, move several times throughout the year as their parents follow migrant worker travel schedules and these schools are not prepared for students in these circumstances; often failing to provide adequate opportunity for the student to meet passing criteria. Many complete high schools are undocumented citizens with few choices but to resume work in labor similar to their parents. Providing a path to education and employment, was the goals of the Dream Act that was placed before congress in 2011, failing to get the Senate vote. This act had provisions for higher education and citizenship status and college availability for those immigrants who have been in the United States throughout school with no citizenship. Lack of citizenship greatly increases college tuition, which is another factor that works against promoting higher education of immigrants. Cultural lag creates a social problem within society as one portion of society becomes further advanced or in a more beneficial position and other portions do not, such as the case in immigration. Less educated workers in an ethnic group, often receiving public government benefits and unable to find work contribute to society as a whole. Deblassie, A. (1996). Education Of Hispanic Youth: A Cultural Lag - Research and Read Books, Journals, Articles at Questia Online Library. Questia - The Online Library of Books and Journals. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5000343563 Immigration and Public Education. (2011). The United Church of Christ | No Matter Who You Are Or Where You Are On Lifes Journey, Youre Welcome Here. Retrieved from

The Balance Scorecard (BSC) in practice- the factors affecting the Essay

The Balance Scorecard (BSC) in practice- the factors affecting the successful implementation of a BSC - Essay Example Norton and Robert S. Kaplan (Punniyamoorthy & Murali, 2008). Balance Scorecard helps in implementing the organizational strategies in terms of actionable plan and make it a thorough continual process by providing a comprehensive road map of how to effectively carry out strategy, including the alignment and mobilization of the management team and other employees (Punniyamoorthy & Murali, 2008). According to Harvard Business Review, the Balance Scorecard is one of the most influential management ideas of the past 75 years (Palladium, n.d.). Today, many large, medium-sized and even small organizations use the Balance Scorecard as a performance measurement system, but usually small and medium-size companies fail to successfully implement that. This happens generally due to the gap between their strategies and vision. This paper is based on the concept of Balance Scorecard. The essay starts with the introduction, followed by a thorough understanding of the Balance Scorecard, with the significant reviews of the applicable literature, including factors that obstructs the successful execution of a Balance Scorecard. The Balance Scorecard is a tool that helps the organizations to create a link between its strategy and actions, encourages the individuals to involve in organizational planning, focuses on the critical phases of the business and take action instantly when change is required (Atkinson, 2006). It is a multidimensional tool that can be used in management, strategic and measurement systems. With its multidimensional tactics, the Balanced Scorecard integrates the performance measurement of both financial and management aspects (Punniyamoorthy & Murali, 2008). It measures the performance by focusing on four major perspectives, which includes financial stability, customer base, business operations, and learning and development. This tool gives the meaningful interpretations of the interconnections between the business processes