“All the Years of Her Life” and “The Gentlemen of Rio en Medio” Essay

The thing about synonyms is that even though they though they might seem like they are the same thing, if put in a different context they can mean something completely different. It’s interesting how two characters with very similar traits, goals and morals can be so different when placed in different stories, like when you switch a word for its supposed â€Å"synonym†. Don Anselmo and Mrs. Higgins are two very similar people. Both are traditional, respected, a little on the old-fashioned side and good at being seen as proud and confident. But it’s their greatest linking factor, their love for their families and communities, which divides them. Don Anselmo is a proud, traditional and very well respected man who has kept up the tradition of planting a tree for every child in the village to the point where a â€Å"gnarled but beautiful† orchard had become a part of his property. And when he is confronted with the request to ask the children to refrain from playing in the orchard, he explains that it is not his choice nor his place, as â€Å"the trees do not belong to him†. To him, nothing is more important than respecting the honor of his family. And to him, every child in that village whether they’re related to him or not, is his family. On the other hand, Mrs. Higgins has too close of an association with her son to the point where she sees his problems as hers. She has a proud and confident facade that hides a spirit broken by reasons that are out of her control. She appears to blame herself for her son’s inability to keep a steady job and lead a good life. Like Don Anselmo she closely identifies herself with her family that in her case seems to have an ill effect on her lifestyle. â€Å"You’ve disgraced me again and again,† she told Albert as they left the pharmacy. She feels as if her son’s shenanigans are her fault and this causes her spirit to crumble. This isn’t the first time that her family has failed her, which in her eyes translates into failing as a mother. So as you can see, both characters have almost identical personality building blocks. On one hand, Don Anselmo has used his love and respect for family to create a bond between him and his village that lead to a tight knit  community. And on the other, Mrs. Higgins chose to use her tolerance and pride to create a poisonous relationship between her son’s lifestyle and her happiness.

Principles of Macroeconomics Essay

An increase of government purchases occurs after a rise in aggregate output and employment. This tends to stimulate the economy, people then tend to buy more and save less. Therefore, it results to a higher importation than exportation, known as the trade deficit. The budget deficit increases the external deficits because the exports do not proportionately increase to counterweight increase imports. This explains that a large budget deficit raises domestic interest rates and the exchange rate. With a higher exchange rate the domestic products becomes more expensive and foreign goods cheaper. Hence, the import increases while export decreases. Resulting, the trade deficit to be enlarged. Consequently, to help drive the trade and current account of the balance of payments into deficit there is a combination of a higher interest rate and a stronger currency. However, to defend that the budget deficits mainly results from tax cuts that tend to reduce both public revenues and public saving; many researchers have justified the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis. Nevertheless, these tax cuts are effective on reducing public savings and enlarging the budget deficit, equivalently they increase private saving by amount. However, Ricardo’s neutrality hypothesis recommended that the private sector views budget deficits as public investment and treats public and private investment as perfect substitutes. How do the CPI and the GDP deflator differ? Why do economists believe that the CPI overstates the rate of inflation? Is this an important problem? CPI is an accurate measure of inflation. When the price basket goes up so does the CPI. It is limited to what it measures. It only measure the prices of the goods and services purchased by the urban consumers which is about 60% of the total production of the economy whilst on the contrary the GDP deflator measures the total production in the economy. It also allows to show up in the deflator the as people respond to changing prices. With this approach, the GDP deflator is being rebound up to date expenditure patterns. Despite that CPI only measure about 60% of the total production, it helps people give the idea how it affects them because it measures the type of goods they buy. Moreover, it comes out monthly and available anytime. With the historical comparison, most of the time the CPI and GDP price deflator had the same inflation rate, and when there is a difference, they do not differ much. However, if the CPI differs from the GDP deflator, it is only by a fraction of a percentage point, even so this could be important for some economic policy decision. Many economists believe that CPI overstates the rate inflation because they think that CPI is not a good indicator of a current inflation. According to David Ranson, a U. S. economist, a better indicator of current inflation would be increases in the price of commodities because initially inflation affects commodity prices and it will probably take several years for this commodity inflation to work its way through an economy and be reflected in the CPI. It is not an important problem so long as one is using whichever measure is appropriate for their findings. Reference Quantcrunch Tutor (April 2009 ) Q&A in Macroeconomics http://qainmacroeconomics. blogspot. com/2009_04_01_archive. html

Book Report About Oliver Twist English Literature Essay

Book Report About Oliver Twist English Literature Essay The title of the book is very easy to explain. It called Oliver Twist because it tells the life story of Oliver. Further reveals the title that the book goes about a certain person called Oliver Twist. However a link from the title to the theme is hard to find in first stand. After reading the book you can link the title to the theme. Setting The book Oliver Twist was written in the  Victorian period(1838). The story took place at the time that their where a lot of social problems in England. (19th century) The social problems are relevant for understanding the story. And his development of the plot. I give you underneath a few examples: The characteristics found in the book: – In the book is a big difference between social classes. The rich people are more important and have more power than the poor people. The high social class looks down on the low class.   For example: when Nancy comes into Rose Maylies house, the people there are disgusted of Nancy and they donâ€⠄¢t trust her, because she’s poor and filthy. Also, because Oliver Twist is an orphan and has no money, his future is already determined. He has to live in poverty and work in a workhouse and he can’t do things he likes. The society actually determines everything.   – Men are superior to women. Men think women only have a couple of purposes. Women can’t have an opinion. In the book, Nancy does everything the men say she has to do, she obeys them. The men look down upon women. So the poor women are the most discriminated. There is a patriarchal society. –  An intrusive author. Charles Dickens sometimes ‘talks’ to you in the book, tells a bit of the story and comments.   – The setting is realistic and reflects feelings. In the poor neighborhood, there’s almost always rain and mud and dirt but when Oliver Twist is with Rose Maylie, the sun shines and everything seems beautiful and right(because he’s happy). Summ ary Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse. Oliver’s mother died when she was giving birth to him so he became an orphan. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in the orphanage. In the orphanage, they gave him the name Oliver Twist. One day Oliver is sent by Mr. Bumble(a horrible man) to a coffin maker. There he also wasn’t treated well and so he ran away to London. In London he met Nancy, Fagin and Bill Sikes. Bill and Fagin wanted to make a criminal out of Oliver. One day Oliver had to break into a large house with Sikes. They got caught. Bill Sikes and his helper had the chance to ran away. But Oliver who was shot got back to the large house. Rose Maylie took care of him. Meanwhile, Nancy learned about Oliver’s past. She went to Mr. Brownlow (a nice man who had taken care of Oliver before) and Rose to tell them about Oliver’s history. It turned out that Oliver’s identity was found. He had a half-brother with the name Monks. He was a crimin al. Monks didn’t want anyone to know that Oliver and He where half-brothers, because otherwise he needed to share the inherited money. Meanwhile, Fagin found out that Nancy had helped Oliver and that she had told everything to Rose and Mr. Brownlow. For that Nancy got killed by her own lover Bill Sikes. After killing Nancy Bill Sikes ran away. The rest of the bad guys and Fagin got caught. Eventually Oliver was adopted by Mr. Brownlow and they bought a house close to Rose.

TNT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

TNT - Case Study Example The organization or company has to come up with objectives with an intention of supporting the aims. The objectives of a company ensure that employees get to know how and when things are needed. Objectives ought to be specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant and time bound. The objectives can be changed to help overcome threats and other obstacles. The topmost objective of TNT Company focuses on gaining a profitable growth. The mission statement of Coca Cola is to inspire happiness and optimism moments and to make a difference and create value. The aim of the company is to make the company a better working place for its employees and to be lean, fast moving and highly effective company. Objective of the company is to always respond to change and act with urgency (â€Å"Delivering a business strategy†, 2014). Business strategy is the ways in which a company achieves the stated objectives. An effective business strategy has to be planned and should relate to the environment, product and chosen markets. A strategy that is considered competitive is based on; distinct market position and development of core competencies. The strategy map of TNT is customer centered. The tool focuses on directing everybody involved; on how the company will be able to achieve the stated Goals. The strategy map acts as a frame work and practical guide in achievement of the stated objectives. The strategy is also considered a reference point that connects the organization together. The business strategy map makes everyone accountable in accomplishing their stated roles (â€Å"Delivering a business strategy†, 2014). The overall strategy of the TNT Company is set out under innovation, customer relationship management and operational Excellency. The services provided are reliable, quality and fast. The allegiance and loyalty of the customer is built by understanding their wants

Trade Union Decline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Trade Union Decline - Essay Example due to the implementation of varied types of macroeconomic policies, the rate of productivity and performance of the employees enhanced but it decreased the power of trade unions in these organizations. Due to which, the density of trade unions as well as the power of the members of the unions reduced that offered negative impacts over the productivity and brand value of the organization in the market among others. Other than this, as the rate of private sector organizations are increasing rather than manufacturing sectors, the demand for trade or labour unions is decreasing in varied countries such as United States, United Kingdom, and European Union etc. Due to which, over last 25 years, the demand of trade unions is decreasing at a rapid rate (Visser, 2002, pp. 734-745). Trade union is recognised as an association of a wide range of wage-earned members in order to amplify the working conditions and living standard of the employees of the organization. Other than this, the trade union is considered as the association that works for the welfare of the employees so as to amplify their dominance and position in the organization as compared to management. Moreover, it also tries to fulfil all sorts of desires such as pension, medical allowance, incentives, and bonuses of the workers so as to motivate them towards the assigned tasks that may improve the overall productivity of the organization. However, the demand of trade unions is decreasing as the amount of private sector organizations such as catering, IT organizations etc is increasing at a rapid pace as compared to manufacturing organizations. The trade unions act as a catalyst for the workers operating in different organizations. This is mainly because; it works always in favour of the employees by highlighting their needs and requirements (Snell & Bohlander, 2010, pp. 812-823). Trade union members communicate with all the employees of the organization so as to analyse their requirements such as pensions,

Website evaluation for a destination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Website evaluation for a destination - Essay Example The font size and color combination was not so good. Here we can have a same theme of heading. Each heading in the webpage has different color that gives the feeing of distraction to the users. 14 Acceding to most of the questionnaire respondents the website navigation is good. In this web site we have a clear view of our presence in the website. Here we have proper and functional hyperlinks that offer us the capability to navigate through the whole website in an effective way. 14 Web based information platforms are aimed at offering the people valuable information about the relevant area or subject. The human computer based analysis offers the capability to weigh up and assess these systems working and performance regarding their interaction to users. This research and analysis based report will also offer deep and comprehensive overview of the website evaluation through the human computer interaction rules. This website is an E-Tourism website that belongs to Bangladesh. It is an official website of Bangladesh Government for tourism and its online address is: www.bangladeshtourism.gov.bd. The main intention of this research is to evaluate this website regarding its design, content, usability and interactivity for the better and effective system development that can effectively interact with its audience. The subject of Human–computer interaction deals with the analysis of the interaction among people and computer. In this paradigm we analyze how we can build a system (web site) that is able to offer better support and facility during the usage of system. This subject investigates the user psychology, behaviors and develops the system or designs the web site that is capable to meet the user expectations regarding system working. Website evaluation for better design, content, usability and interactivity is main area that developer needs to address while developing a web site for the user. Human computer interaction rules based evaluation process is

The Automobile Industry in Europe and Japan. Their competition with Term Paper

The Automobile Industry in Europe and Japan. Their competition with the U.S - Term Paper Example The imports and the exports will highlight the issues on the countries’ products for which they involve in transactions in the global markets. The imports incorporate all the automobile products such as the spares and the complete machinery that they acquire from other countries. The exports entail the products that a country sells to the other countries. The company may enable its country to participate actively in the international markets to execute that sale of its products. The tariffs incorporate the levy on products or a schedule of products’ prices in a record. The contracts will entail the terms and the requirements for an award of a specific task to a firm. All the aspects discussed above forms a fundamental basis in the international perspective fostering relationships and competition (Shimokwa, p 406). The competition and the comparison of the Japanese and the western automobile industries can achieve relevance with a comprehensive evaluation of the products designs and the customers’ satisfaction. The designs of the products are significant as they determine the companies’ flexibility to achieve the customers’ satisfactions. Throughout the research the analysis of the designs, customers’ satisfactions and the products advertisement will account for fundamental point of essence. The Products Designs The fundamental design procedures begin with a design decision. The design processes hold a crucial magnitude to the companies. The current modernity in the automobile industry operates closely with a notion which stipulates that the customer’s desires can only be prompted by the products outlook. The perception of the products’ outlook is essential since a greater percentage of the customers attain the products attraction before thinking of... The research established all the hypotheses that have been lurking amidst the automobile consumers in the global fraternity. The research realized that in spite of the expertise manifested by the Japanese developers; Japan is not equally prominent as the automobile manufacturers in the west. The Japanese have remained to show the significant degree of creativity in the automobile production and substantial competitive posture. The article joins in support of the fact that the automobile companies share the competition factor and significantly contribute to their individual countries economic growth and the eventual developments. The competition amidst the firms in the automobile industry has enabled for the development of products which have attracted customers worldwide. The consumers’ attraction on products has translated to fiscal gains in the western countries and Japan at large. The counties have experienced enormous fiscal profits that have helped in developing their economies. The countries are also similar ion the sense that they experience higher revenues through the exports from the automobile industries. Many firms have identified the consumers’ points of concern and have taken advantage in different perspectives. The Japanese involves them into development of different machinery to satisfy all the clients with dissimilar wants. The firms compete in developing new automobiles and their parts to realize their best images amidst the customers. Similarly, the companies in Europe and America have analyzed the same scenario to formulate strategies for curbing the reining of the other companies in the same industry.

The audit framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The audit framework - Essay Example More focus upon ensuring the independence of the auditors is made. Limitations and restrictions upon the non-audit services provided by the auditors shall remove much of the threat to the independence of the auditors along with the alterations in the mandatory audit rotation. Making it more dynamic and competitive makes the audit market in the European Union much efficient. Encouraging joint audits shall be able to overcome the dominance of the big fours in the market and thus shall increase the competition in the market. The harmonization of the audit standards in the European Union shall be expanding the audit market in the European Union. With the enhanced supervision of the audit sector and much reforms made in the audit sector it shall be affecting various stakeholders and its impact along with the difficulties are elaborated. The long awaited audit reforms have been completed by the EU however now awaits their practical implication it would reveal their impact over the companies. Audit reforms are move that come after the financial crisis that corporates have faced and proximity seen in the relation of the auditors to their clients. Reforms are not only the challenge for the audit firms but also for the companies, they would be required to adapt to new regulations. Some of the factors that would deeply affect companies that undergo are discussed as follow: Even changing of engagement partner was considered auditor rotation however changed reforms require change in audit firm maximum after 24 years including extension period. Companies would have to be more vigilant in their choice of auditor as relationship would be of limited period (more than previous 3 years) and non-audit services would be restricted. Changing of auditors before 10 years would not be appreciated; reforms do not aim to increase the competition in the audit market thus the replacement during first

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 17

Economics - Essay Example st be unfeasible to break the overall stock exchange market through market timing or expert stock selection, and the only solution to an investor for obtaining higher returns is by buying riskier investments. Efficient Market Hypothesis is divided into three types. These are strong, semi strong and weak. The weak Efficient Market Hypothesis theory says that prices on assets traded such as bonds, stocks, or property already show all past available information for public. The semi-strong Efficient Market Hypothesis states that prices in addition to reflecting publicly available past information also shows that prices constantly change to show new publicly available information. However, the strong Effective Market Hypothesis says that in addition to the above two types of information, prices also show â€Å"insider† information or hidden truths. Although Efficient Market Hypothesis is the foundation of the financial theory today, it is doubtful and highly uncertain. A large number of educational institutions are in favor of Efficient Market Hypothesis but an equivalent number of people are against it. For instance, Warren Buffet, an investor, has been beating the market for quite a long time now which is almost impracticable according to the theory of Efficient Market Hypothesis. Critics of the Efficient Market Hypothesis also draw our attention towards the event of 1987 and many as such when the stock price of Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) came down by 20% in one day as proof that stock prices can diverge to a large extent from their fair market values. There is also proof against and for strong, semi-strong and weak Effective Market Hypothesis. In an answer to the critics, the advocates of Effective Market Hypothesis claim that market efficiency does not ascertain complete certainty about the future but it is a generali zation of the financial market which may be false sometimes. However in practical, market is efficient for purposes of speculation for almost all

Housing pricing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Housing pricing - Essay Example A recent housing affordability ranking published by The National Association of Home Builder revealed a number of shocking findings. One of the findings of this research revealed the tendency of the less affordable areas to have high densities (Staley et al 1999). This can be explained out as a response to higher land prices, which essentially means that whenever there is land scarcity in a certain areas, people will always bunch-up, while when there is no such a scarcity, majority of people will choose to reside in low density areas (Staley et al 1999). In fact, the only surefire way that smart growth can increase densities is through the creation of an artificial land shortage, which will consequently drive up land prices (Staley et al 1999). The reason behind driving up land prices is because high land prices normally make housing less affordable. Other than density, local economic together with geographical location have been found to play major role on the affordability of housi ng. In this regard, we can look at the supply of land. Normally, Urban-growth boundaries create artificial land shortages that subsequently render land for housing less affordable (Gaeser & Gyourko 2003). A classic example of urban-growth-boundaries-induced land shortage can be found in Oregon where urban-growth boundaries around its cities were established in the late 1970s, boundaries that included sufficient vacant land enough to sustain about twenty years of growth (Gaeser & Gyourko 2003). It has been confirmed that housing prices might as well rise as a reaction to the absence of substitute housing in an areas for the regulated housing (like when the whole housing market is regulated). This absence of substitute housing has also been found to be at the center of the failure of majority of efforts towards relocating development. The best that can be done to caution poor

Oil and Non-Oil Economy of the UAE Essay Example for Free

Oil and Non-Oil Economy of the UAE Essay The general dichotomization of the economy of the United Arab Emirates is into the oil and non-oil sectors. While the aggregate output remains dependent on oil production, the United Arab Emirates is focusing on the development of its non-oil sector as part of its diversification plan. However, its ability to develop fully its non-oil sector depends on the performance of its oil sector. One consideration is the relative contribution of the oil and non-oil sectors to the economy. The other consideration is the ability to the oil-sector to support the diversification plan in the non-oil sector. Abed and Hellyer (2001) explained that in 1998 the production of crude oil accounted for less than a quarter or 22 percent of gross domestic product. However, even if the contribution of crude oil production to aggregate output is less than a quarter, the impact of the sector on the economy is much bigger. Oil exports contributed 37 percent of earnings in foreign exchange and 60 percent of public sector revenue. The oil sector contributes to the aggregate economy in four fronts, which are business investment, household income and consumption, public spending, and net exports. This substantiates the claim that the oil sector comprises the backbone of the UAE economy. Further growth occurred in the oil sector in 2006 with the Ministry of Information and Culture (2006) reporting that the oil and gas sector contributed 28 percent to aggregate output. Concurrently, there is also growth in the non-oil sector, particularly in manufacturing and financial sectors. The UAE Federal Government (2008) further reported that oil and gas production experienced further growth by contributing one third to gross domestic product. This is primarily due to programs intending to optimize oil and gas production in the different emirates. At the same time, there is also solid growth in the non-oil sector. In the next years, the contribution of the oil sector should stabilize at one third of the economy and the non-oil sector becoming a stronger contributor to economic growth. This would allow the UAE to maximize returns from the oil and gas sector to boost growth in the non-oil sector. UAE Economic Developments to Achieve Diversification The United Arab Emirates is already on its way towards economic diversification. Although, the oil and gas sector remains as an important sector, the UAE has achieved developments in the non-oil sector. There are areas of economic developments that the UAE has to focus on to achieve diversification. Dunning (2005) identified the optimization of resource base as a means of achieving diversification. The UAE has to hone the potential of its key resources to establish different industries. The country has already done this by continuously developing its oil and gas sector. However, it also needs to optimize the resource base for the non-oil sector such as the development of land through urban planning or the urbanization of peripheral lands to provide venues for manufacturing and services sectors or the maintenance of natural resources for tourism. Another economic development needed to support diversification encompasses structural changes. According to Shihab (2006), the economic structure needs to support the needs of the non-oil sector. One way of achieving this is influencing employment patterns to develop labor force for the non-oil sector. This means investing in human services such as education and health to ensure labor productivity. Muysken and Nour (2006) stressed on the deficiencies in the educational system and low level of skills of the labor force as areas for improvement if the UAE wants to succeed in diversifying its economy. Another way is the establishment of different industries to broaden the economic base and create employment. A third economic development is integration of infrastructure and social structures to support diversification. DeNicola (2005) explained that infrastructure developments are necessary to attract investments and create employment opportunities for non-oil industries. Shihab (2006) explained that social factors such as the development of a culture of consumerism and calm co-existence among local minorities and expatriates support growth in the non-oil sector. Justification for Diversifying the UAE Economy Imbs and Wacziarg (2003) explained that the overall justification for economic diversification is sustainable growth by spreading economic risk across different industries. Economies reliant on a single sector such as the reliance of the member countries of the Gulf Cooperating Council on the oil sector also face high risks in the long-term because oil is a non-renewable resource (Fasano Iqbal 2003). There are also specific reasons for the goal of the UAE for diversifying its economy. One is avoidance of the effect of the oil curse theory, which explains that dependence on oil has long-term negative effects on the economy. Oil exporting countries gain revenue by relying on price fluctuations in the global market alone, which does not require investments or efficiency that in turn precludes long-term development of economic capabilities or competencies. Revenue generated from oil is sufficient to support welfare services, placing focus on allocation instead of production. (HSBC Middle East 2003; DeNicola 2005) Another justification is the maximization of revenue generation through resource development. Diversification would enable an oil dependent economy such as the UAE to gain revenue from its other resources. Sole reliance on oil limits the revenue generating potential of the economy and hampers economic efficiency by idling resources. (Shihab 2006) Another related reason is resolving revenue volatility. Dependence on oil involves the downside of volatility in the long-term because oil is non-renewable, which means oil reserves will eventually run out in the future. Oil dependent countries need to develop other sources of revenue to ensure continuity of revenue generation even after oil reserves have dwindled. (Gylfason 2004) Still another justification is human development by creating employment opportunities for the young population. The UAE has a predominantly young population, which means a pool of intellectual and skill resource able to support the development of non-oil industries. Diversification enables the economy to develop its human resources to increase quality of life and sustain productivity. (HSBC Middle East, 2003; Muysken Nour 2006) Non-Oil Sector in Economic Diversification for Sustainable Economic Development The Ministry of Information and Culture (2006) explained that the non-oil sector contributed 72 percent of the GDP of the UAE. This reflects the potential of developing the non-oil sector to achieve economic diversification and ensure sustainable economic development. The non-oil sector comprises goods manufacturing and services, with the former contributing 57. 9 percent and the latter contributing 42. 1 percent to GDP from the non-oil sector. Industries under goods manufacturing are agriculture, livestock and fisheries, mining, manufacturing, construction, and electricity, gas and water. Industries under services include restaurants and hotels, transportation, storage and communication, real estate and business, and social and private services. Diversification is already apparent in these various industries and there is still wide room for the development of these industries and the establishment of new industries. Hejmadi (2004) explained that development of the economic free zones were crucial to the development of different industries in goods manufacturing and services. These zones provided a venue and incentives for the flow of both domestic and foreign investments into diverse industries to create employment opportunities and contribute to the growth in aggregate output. Apart from the continuous development of these industries, a potential industry for diversification in the non-oil sector is tourism. Sharpley (2002) explained that tourism is becoming a ubiquitous means of achieving economic diversification for many countries seeking to secure long-term economic growth. Tourism fits the resource approach to sustainable growth since the UAE has many tourism destinations to attract tourists and its cultural openness also comprise an impetus for foreign tourists. Blanke and Mia (2006) reported that travel and tourism already exist as an industry in the UAE and contributing 1. 1 percent to GDP. There is wide potential for development. However, there are challenges to tourism development requiring investments in destination development and promotions (Sharpley, 2002; Henderson 2006) References Abed, I. Hellyer, P. (Eds. ), 2001. United Arab Emirates: a new perspective. London: Trident Press Ltd. Blanke, J. Mia, I. , 2006. Chapter 22 assessing travel tourism competitiveness in the Arab world. [Online] Available at: http://www. weforum. org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/chapters/2_2. pdf [Accessed 25 January 2009] DeNicola, C. , 2005. Dubai’s political and economic development: an oasis in the desert?. Williamstown, MA: Williams College. Dunning, T. , 2005. Resource dependence, economic performance, and political stability. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(4), pp. 451-482. Fasano, U. Iqbal, Z. , 2003. GCC countries from oil dependence to diversification. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

Geoinformatics Research Centre Essay Example for Free

Geoinformatics Research Centre Essay The two countries are in the same hemisphere, and temperature latitudes but situated on either side of the prime meridian. In this context, the paper looks at some of the specific viticulture related aspects in different modalities, such as vector (point, contour), raster and text formats and then investigates into analysing the multimodal data collectively at a regional scale which is considered as appropriate for such a comparative study in this specific domain. The commonly used major themes for modelling viticulture and wine production until to date have been; growing degree days (GDD), minimum/ maximum temperatures during berry ripening, frost days at budburst for the wine regions within a country or in the world, and are briefly outlined. Meanwhile, at a relatively recent meso / micro scale (precision viticulture) modelling using grapevine vegetative growth and grape yield requires expensive equipment for multispectral satellite/ aerial borne imagery and yield data acquisition. Following a brief outline on the use of contemporary technologies, such as GPS, and methodologies to analyse information integrated into GIS, the paper then elaborates on the results of a comparative study conducted on seven major wine regions of New Zealand and Chile using GIS based thematic mappings of terrain, topography, climatic conditions, grapevine varieties as well as wine quality, the latter represented by regional vintage ratings, sommelier comments and wine label ratings. The results of one-way ANOVA tests show the difference across viticulture climate regimes of the seven regions as significant (95% confident). However, between countries the difference is significant only for dew point in November and December, sea level pleasure in December, and total precipitation in December. Keywords: viticulture, wine quality Legend Major lines of Latitude Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Cancer Equator Prime Meridian Chile Colchagua Maipo Santiago New Zealand Hawkes Bay Martinborough Martinborough Central Otago Figure 1. Chilean and NZ wine regions and viticulture climate regimes (base climate) source: http://www. weatherbase. com (T=Temperature) 1146 Shanmuganathan et al. , Analysing the Wine Regions of New Zealand and Chile: a GIS perspective . INTRODUCTION New Zealand and Chile are among the well-known â€Å"New World† wine producing countries. Incidentally, the major wine regions of the two nations are also in the same hemisphere, and temperature latitudes but on the opposite sides of the prime meridian. The rapid progress achieved in producing premium wine from these regions over the last few years have been described as remarkable hence a comparative study of this nature especially, on grapevine varieties cultivated and wine styles produced from the regions of the two countries would be appropriate. It is also considered as a timely one because the wine regions of both old and new world countries are seen as highly vulnerable to the predicted global climate change in the near future (Jones, 2007, Web, 2006). In this context, the paper looks at some of the specific viticulture related aspects in different modalities, such as vector (point, contour), raster and text formats and then investigates into analysing the multimodal data collectively at a regional scale which is considered as appropriate for uch a comparative study and for analysing the effects of climate on viticulture and wine production. The paper presents an overview of 1) the base climate and the 2) a detailed description of modelling the seasonal variability in climate and on grapevine phenology as well as wine quality. Interestingly, until to date, the commonly used major themes for modelling viticulture and wine production have been; †¢ †¢ †¢ growing degree days (GDD), minimum/ maximum temperatures during berry ripening, frost days for the wine regions in relation to varietal tolerance within a country/ in the world. Meanwhile, modelling at micro and meso scales using modern precision viticulture (or PV) using grapevine vegetative growth and grape yield with finer details integrated into a GIS, requires expensive GPS fitted equipment for multispectral satellite/ aerial borne imagery and yield data acquisition. PV is about the use of GPS and GIS technologies (at the micro scale) to understand the impact of plant-soilwater dynamics at different phenological growth stages on vine physiology in order to achieve improved yield by introducing subtle changes to vineyard management practices. Such a multipurpose integrated approach to mapping soil spatial properties illustrated in (Buss, et al. ,2005) as well described the success of the approch in generating irrigation management zones, evaluating the performance of the new irrigation schedules and the use of near continuous soil-water profile dynamics in irrigation scheduling, implementation and management strategies. The irrigation management strategies included were; regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) and partial root zone drying (PRD). Similarly, many more studies have reported on the complex and challenging issues relating to managing the dynamic relationship between site, soil, water and phenological stage, vine and wine quality within and among vineyards using a GIS and integrated data captured using wireless sensors (Fuentes, 2005). There is also research reported outside of Australia into climate and environmental factors integrated with the irrigation management in grapevines which are a traditionally nonirrigated crop (Cifre, et al. , 2005: Patakas, et al. , 2005: Ben-Asher, et al. 2006 : Guix-Hebrard, et al. , 2007). Recently remote sensing has led to the use of airborne multispectral and hyperspectral imagery incorporated into GIS for yield mapping integrated with soil or other properties such as soil spatial variability, vegetative growth, vulnerability to diseases (Ferreiro-Arm? an, et al. , 2006). Since the late 1990s, there has been significant progress in the use of PV with advanced GIS functions for monitoring yield and soil-water-plant dynamics with commercially available devices and technologies (Bramley, 2001). However, yield mapping against vigour in vegetation over vintages is a very recent method, as far as Australian viticulture is concerned only three years old. Despite this recent introduction, it has been shown that a number of Australian wine grape growing areas could have grape yields in single management unites varying as much as 8 to 10 fold. The surveys also emphasised the need for more data within individual blocks on yield, fruitvine indices and soil properties to optimise yield, and to find the blocks that produce high yield, by overlaying the data on different thematic mappings in a GIS. With that introduction to the use of contemporary technologies and methodologies for analysing information integrated into a GIS at the micro scale, the next section elaborates on the methods utilised for comparing and contrasting the wine regions of New Zealand and Chile using GIS climatic conditions, grapevine varieties as well as wine quality based on regional vintage ratings at the regional scale, and then sommelier comments and wine ratings at the vineyard level. 1147 Shanmuganathan et al. Analysing the Wine Regions of New Zealand and Chile: a GIS perspective 2. VITICULTURE AND THE CLIMATE Grapevine is among the most expensive cultivated and sensitive crops (Jones, 2007). Different grapevine varieties thrive under specific ideal climate conditions and niche local environmental settings, such as well drained soil, site aspect (compass direction of the slope). Due to this reason viticulturists undertake extensive investigations when selecting a site and the grape variety for a vin eyard. Of the many factors, base climate1 is the main factor used to determine a variety for the site. Once several blocks of vineyards have been established in a broader area, its climate patterns (or macro climate) becomes identified with certain grapevine clones of Vitis vinifer (or wine styles) for that area covering about 100 to 1000 miles, also referred to as the regional scale (Jones, et al. , 2003). Such base climate regimes and their varieties of seven wine regions (four from New Zealand and three from Chile) are shown in figures 1 and 2, and Table 1 respectively. On the other hand the quality of vintage wines is determined by the seasonal weather patterns that ripened the grapes. In view of the above factors the analysis is conducted in three parts; 1. 2. Initially, the base climate and wine styles famously linked with the major wine region of Chile and New Zealand are outlined. Secondly, the regional ratings and monthly climate data from (Wine Enthusiast wine vintage chart, February 2011 p56-57) (http://www7. ncdc. noaa. gov) respectively are analysed to establish the correlations between the regional wine quality ratings and the climate data. In the third part, quality of vintage wines are analysed to establish the correlations between wine descriptors extracted from sommelier comments (text) and their corresponding ratings (numeric) also provided by sommeliers. Chardonnay style Vintage wines from all seven regions are analysed individually and altogether to find the descriptors used for high and low rated vintages of this style. 3. 3. MODELLING THE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS Observations and results of this three part analysis are discussed in this section. 3. 1. Viticulture climate regimes of New Zealand and Chile The major wine regions of New Zealand and Chile (the viticulture climate regimes) as well as wine styles produced from the regions are listed in Figure 1 and Table 1. The viticulture climate regions of Chile seem to exhibit the extremes at both high and low temperatures (see Figure 1 graph). Furthermore, Pinot Grigio/ Gris are not grown in any of the Chilean regions. Of the all seven regions Colcahgua exhibits the lowest annual recorded temperature (-10oC) and second highest recorded annual high. Petite Sirah style vine is produced only from Maipo Valley region. Casablanca and Hawkes’s Bay have the mildest conditions in the Chilean and New Zealand regions respectively. Wine styles Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir are produced from all seven regions hence could be described as more tolerant varieties. 1 Figure 2. Major wine regions of Chile (left) and New Zealand (right) with the terrain elevation of the regions. Base climate reflects the weather conditions experienced over a longer time period i. e. , 3-5 decades. 148 Shanmuganathan et al. , Analysing the Wine Regions of New Zealand and Chile: a GIS perspective Table 1. Major wine regions of Chile and New Zealand along with the wine (styles) produced from the seven regions during 1990-2009. (Source: http://buyingguide. winemag. com) 3. 2. Seasonal climate change effects on the quality of Chilean and New Zealand wines Seasonal weather is the major influencing factor in determining the quality of vintage wines a part from those arising from grapevine varietal and winemaker experience/ talent. The influence exerted by the seasonal weather as 50% and this can be seen in literature of traditional grapevine growing and winemaking as well as recent research findings (Shanmuganathan, et al. , 2010). In view of this, monthly average, maximum and minimum temperatures, dew point and total precipitation are analysed along with regional wine ratings (figure 3). The monthly averages were calculated from the daily weather data extracted from (www. ncdc. noaa. gov) for the closest stations for each of the seven regions for this work. Meanwhile the regional wine ratings for the seven regions were obtained from 2011 vintage chart (www. inemag. com). The graphs (figures 3 and 4) show the years of high and low vintage ratings at the regional scale and the average variability in weather conditions experienced in the regions between 1990-2009. ANOVA test results One-way ANOVA test results of weather data (monthly averages of daily minimum and maximum temperatures, sea level pressure (slp) an d total precipitation over the growing season September-April (19902009, figure 4), confirm the difference in the seven regions as significant (at 95 % confidence) except for monthly average sea level pressure in February. Meanwhile, One-way ANOVA test conducted to see the difference across countries showed monthly averages of dew point for November, December, average sea level pressure and total precipitation, both for the month of December significant (at 95% confident level). Figure 3. Graphs showing the regional wine ratings of the Chilean (left) and New Zealand (right) wine regions from 1990 to 2009 analysed to establish the correlations between macro climate and regional wine quality. Data source: http://www. winemag. com/PDFs/Vintage_Chart_022011. pdf 1149 Shanmuganathan et al. , Analysing the Wine Regions of New Zealand and Chile: a GIS perspective Figure 4. Seasonal climate variability (averaged for 1990-2009) observed in Chilean and New Zealand regions. Central Otago monthly averages of temperature, dew point and total rainfall are the lowest even though Colchagua base climate graph (figure 1 bottom) exhibits the lowest of all regions. Classification rules WEKA (J48) Rules created with monthly averages of dew point for November, December, average sea level pressure and total precipitation for December (significant by ANOVA test results) are listed in Table 2. 3. 3. Modelling the wine vintages and sommelier comments using ratings Wine styles Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir are produced from all seven regions (see table 1), hence Chardonnay wine comments from all seven regions were studied to investigate the correlations between wine descriptors and ratings specified by sommeliers. The sommelier comments extracted from (http://buyingguide. winemag. com) for 556 wines, were programmatically converted into a matrix of 190 wine descriptors and 556 weights (of 350 Chilean and 206 NZ vintages) for this vector space model text mining approach as applied in (Shanmuganathan, et al. , 2009). The vintages used in the sample were from 1996-2010. Of these 190 wine descriptors only 55 were found to be significant by a one-way ANOVA test ran for both Chilean and NZ together and separately. Using this 556 x 55 wine descriptor weight table, rules were generates with C5, CRT (Clementine), JRip and J48 (the latter two WEKA algorithms). For this analysis wine ratings were converted into a binary rate with one (=87). The descriptors found to be correlated with these two ratings are presented in tables3. Furthermore, it could be noticed that a few descriptors used exclusively for describing wines of a particular region and either for one/two rating, for example blanc (for Sauvignon Blanc) is used for Marlborough region (table 4).

Online Education for Brake System

Online Education for Brake System How many students who use the hydraulic brake system in my class? Development of an E-Course for How many students who use the  Hydraulic brake systems? The lesson aims to provide an online course for brake system (hydraulic) for TTC students. The proposed course is designed based on the approach of research based learning. Proposed design of the circuit is supported by the theory. The data will be collected from TTC students. The study will conduct survey and design an online course study the lesson aims to provide an online course for Automotive for TTC students, a new design for hydraulic course. The proposed course is designed based on the approach of research-based learning/ the proposed design of the circuit is supported by the brake system theory. The data will be collected from TTC students. The study will conduct surveys and design an online course/ study designs a prototype of hydraulic and test its function by asking the experts. The target group of my lesson is Automotive group of TTC and Refrigeration Air Conditioning students. Students will fill out the survey and the results will be presented and discussed during the c lass time. The expected result is to provide a new learning course for refrigeration brake system Provide a new function, improving the performance, solving the problem of hydraulic . Abstract Vehicle, traffic accident investigation, hydraulic drive braking system, braking system condition, braking process, braking efficiency, master cylinder, caliper, brake pads, brake drum, wheel hub, pistons, brake hose. Hydraulic system is just one system from multiple systems, which is common between the cars. The hydraulic system is work by different ways and easy maintenance and spare parts cheap ways compared with air system or electromagnetic system.The Brake systems most important in vehicles, planes and even trains, the brake system is the main workers in the slow movement of the car and turn it off, if the driver is driving a car or any vehicle moving at high speed and the brake at same moment damage, most be a crash or may be injured and even die.After a lot of traffic accidents since the invention of the car, most companies seeking to drive the security of all, and most important things the companies sought after improving the brake system in terms of performance and responsiveness in case of emergency. Definition First of all, the brake system its use to slow the vehicle or stop it. Second, brake pedal its moves the piston in master cylinder. Then the piston moves the brake oil inside the brake hose. After that, the brake pads or shoes get force to friction with dick brake and slow the vehicle or stop. Finally, stoplight a rec color will be switch on because the driver pressure brake pedal. Types of brake system 1-Disc Brakes This type circular shape, which is installed on wheel, caliper is who holds the disc brake. Hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder is the main reason for the pressure on the caliper piston to the friction between the pads and brake disk. This causes to friction and then stopped the car or slow down. 2-Drum Brakes The drum brake comprise brake drum attached to the wheel, brake shoes wheel cylinder, brake return springs, and wheel cylinder. The drum brake its use it most in big cars like GMC because higher weight of the vehicle. The drum brake gets the force or hydraulic pressure from master cylinder, then the wheel cylinder push the brake shoes against the brake drum. Because this thing will be friction between the shoes and drum, and will become the car is slow or stop. 3-Emergency Brakes This type its separated from brake system, its old system. This system was working by hand. The way it works as follows, when brake system Hydraulic no work or happened something cusses nonstop the wheel, the driver pull the cable around it. The emergency brake used in emergency situation, in container the other brake system fail. This system has become one of the important things related to safety, most of the modern cars use the system (ABS), the system working on the brake surprise, he was working on the tires from slipping on wet roads and after the rains, this system work monitors each wheel separately, when the car slipping what to do this system? ABS mechanism with the service brakes to decrease stopping distance and increase control and constancy of the vehicle during hard braking. It is important for TTC students to know more about the advantage of E-Learning. E-learning is using multimedia (video, text audio, pictures) together in learning. Students can learn any time and any place without problem. E-learning solve the problem of distance for those living faraway of universities. It is important in terms of documentation. Students can have the learning materials whenever it is needed. At TTC there are some examples of e-Learning practices. One of these platform is Bzoor where students can learn, get connected and have learning materials. 1.1. Benefit: The benefit of this e-course is use it anytime and you dont have to bring any materials with you so I will focus to use e-course to present my topic phishing which are part for risks in technologies. The study of Bolsunovskaya (2013) so the aim of the report is to explain what is e-learning and is important especially for students. The result was the students have knowledge about e-learning as they can use as video, text audio, pictures in anytime and it is important because solve the problem that face some students with distance for who lives faraway from colleges. As previous studies mentioned the aim if this study is to provide a new course for improving the skills and knowledge of brake system (hydraulic)for TTC students, the idea here is to solve the problem of understanding of hydraulicrisks for TTC students. The current study is going to answer the question of: How many students who use the hydraulic brake system in my class? David E, 1992, HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS FOR OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT Shenshen Shi, 2016, AUTOMOBILE BRAKE SYSTEM -D. Andrikova AT EL, 2016Design of flat wheel braking control system with three modes of motion: rolling, sliding, locking Bolsunovskaya (2013), Resource Efficiency in TPU: Implementation of English Language E-courses. -https://www.howacarworks.com/basics/how-the-braking-system-works -http://www.levintirecenter.com/types-of-brakes.html

Affirmative Action :: essays research papers

Affirmative Action   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Human Rights Act, Chapter 214 of the revised statutes, 1989, it states that â€Å"in recognition that human rights must be protected by the rule of law, this Legislature affirms the principal that every person is free and equal in dignity and rights without regard to race, religion, religious creed, colour, sex, physical or mental disability or ethnic or national origin.† Unfortunately though, sometimes this law is not always abided by. Women, aboriginal people who are physically or mentally challenged, and visible minorities have often been denied employment equity, or equal employment opportunities due to discriminatory practices. These groups should enjoy equal representative share of employment opportunities in all occupations and at all levels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example of discrimination that denies equal opportunity is the practice of allowing members of these four groups to advance within a company only to a certain level. The company may appear to be equitable by including members of these groups in management positions. However, the top executive positions are still out of reach for members of these groups not because these people are not qualified for the jobs, but because they are discriminated against. Legislation, including the federal Employment Equity Act, exists to ensure employment equity. Such legislation requires employers to report what proportion of their employees belong to these four groups. Employers must then prove that all groups are equally represented at all levels within their organizations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Affirmative action promotes equality in the workplace in such areas as hiring, training-apprenticeships, promotion, compensation, transfer, layoff, termination and goals. It also promotes equal employment opportunities for those groups or individuals who are disadvantaged due to race, religion, creed, colour, disability, national or ethnic origin, sex, age or marital status. Affirmative action programs are designed to improve the lot of people who have suffered as a result of past discrimination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By the year 2000, white males will likely account for only 15% of new workers - 85% of new workers will consist of women, aboriginal people, physically or mentally challenged people, and members of visible minorities. The number of women and minorities has increased in many occupations because of affirmative action programs. Some companies actually make a point of advertising that they are Equal Opportunity Employers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Application forms and advertisements for employment should not make any inquiry that directly or indirectly expresses or invites any limitation, specification, preference or information as to age, race, colour, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, ethnic, national

Fast Food Profit Essay -- Health Nutrition Papers

Fast Food Profit The American economy relies upon competitive exchange: a process where opposition within a market creates standards for quality and price valuation. To insure the quality of American products the US government encourages a competitive market and enforces regulations. "Capitalism is a system of private ownership of capital that relies on market forces to govern the distribution of goods" (Goldstein 533). In an ideal capital market companies will produce their product to meet consumer tastes, government regulations, and beat similar competitive products. As a capitalist rule: the more competition that enters the market, the better the quality and prices. However, even though there are many fast food restaurants, the industry is able to act in a monopolistic manner. First, they are able to set the market price and have it remain relatively constant without competitive interference with respect to bid wars. Second, the clientele may choose other fast food restaurants based o n personal tastes, but are locked into the market based on speed and price. Third, besides the regulations from the FDA, businesses attempt to offer the best taste, which does not always have to correspond with quality. The fast food industry has become overflowing with new business competiting for the large fast food clientele. The companies realize the significant profit losses created by an all out bid war, so each company implicitly understands its position and market offering with respect to its competition. The silent agreement hurts consumers because they could be receiving a better price. A majority of people eats fast food because they need the food quickly and/or cheaply. The constant and loyal demand allows the mark... ...iencies, paying employees minimally, and lowering the cost of ingredients. Works Cited Franz, Neil. Taco Recall Prompts Aventis to Halt Sales of StarLink Corn.  Chemical Week Oct. 2000. 12 Apr. 2002 Web Page . Goldstein, Joshua. International Relations. 4th edition. New York: Longman, 2001. Horngren, Charles, Gary Sundem, and William Stratton. Introduction to Management Accounting. 12th edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. Ross, Stephen, Randolph Westerfield, and Bradford Jordan. Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. 5th edition. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000. Schlosser, Eric. The Flavor Counts.  Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm and Resource Issues Wntr. 2001. 12 Apr. 2002 Web Page . Tevis, Cheryl. The Secret Ingredients of Our Industrial Food Menu.  Successful Farming Mar. 2001. 12 Apr. 2002 Web Page .

Pressures Of Society :: essays research papers

Pressures of Society Our behavior usually is controlled and decided by us, but that is not always the case. As we saw in the play Marty's behavior was not always his own decision. The behavior of any person can be greatly manipulated by society. There are a few points in the play and in normal life that can prove this statement is true. Marty's actions were greatly influenced by the views of his family and friends. Marty was forced into many actions by the people around him. A person will consider what other tells them as much as what they believe in themselves. Marty was always a quiet man that didn't like going out, it was his family and friends that told him to do so. It was his decision, but it wasn't his choice. Marty did not want to go anywhere yet he did just because his friends and family told him so. It is not always easy to refuse such thing, Marty had to make a decision and decided he should go out. By analyzing the pros and cons he made a decision, basing it on knowledge and commonsense, after all going out is not a bad thing. But what if there is no decision? What if the person is forced to do something that he does not agree with? This can be blamed on the pressure of society as well, sometimes you do something that you know you don't want just because someone is forcing you. Marty showed such behavior many times throughout the play. It was not always a conscious decision every time that Marty did what he did, he based many of his decisions just on what his friends and family told him. It is this play that made me think, that our decisions and choices are based on what we think just as much as what others think. It is not always your choice and it is not always what you want that you do. For example I am writing this essay because someone told me so, and it is not my choice either to do it or not, I can decide if to do so but that doesn't leave with other options. Some actions people do are subconsciously inputted by society, that means that there was no specific someone that told you what to do, yet you still do it because society has set this standard. This type of action can be seen in anyone at every given day. It can range from the simpler things like dressing up, and looking good all

Summary and Response Essay Essay

How often do we actually use cursive writing these days? And if we don’t write incursive, should we continue to teach our children how to? This is one of the biggest questions in our education system today. Many states are eliminating this practice, while others are trying to preserve this slowing fading art. Dr. Vi Supon, tells us is in the article, Cursive Writing: Are It’s Last Days approaching?, â€Å"Indicators are that technological advances and state mandated tests, in addition to other variables, are forcing cursive writing to become a casualty of the American educational landscape.† Some people believe that the historical aspect of cursive writing is one we need to preserve. Before typewriters and computers, everything had to be hand written. It wasn’t just a form of communication in the past; many saw it as an indicator to a person’s level of education. In the past penmanship was a separate grade on report cards and students had to spend 45 minutes everyday on handwriting. Today, students might get 10 – 15 minutes a few days a week for handwriting instruction, if any. (Carpenter, 2007). Teachers today are spending more time on keyboarding skills and are teaching it at a much younger age than before. Another concern that is addressed in this debate is students who have learning disabilities and students that use English as a second language. It is harder for these students to read and write, so teachers tend to have the students use print or block form. The block form helps to better enable translations, helps with comprehension and concept attainments. When they understand what they are reading, they are better able to communicate effectively. It also helps the students focus on their compositions and not worry about their handwriting, which leads to a more logical thought process and the mechanical components are more likely in place. The block form also makes reading and assessing students work easier for the teachers to grade. And with them spending less time on deciphering writing, they are able to spend less time on grading and more time teaching. Teachers today have more content to teach and need to concentrate on the requirements for the state  tests. After reading this article I asked myself the same questions I first asked you. Having school-age children myself, I realized how much school has changed since I myself was in school. I was always taught when composing a paper to first put all your thoughts on paper and then compose into a rough draft and then final draft. All of these were always suppose to be in cursive writing. After we had our written final and the teacher looked at it, we had to type out our papers, either on a typewriter or on the computer. I always struggled with this due to the fact that I have awful handwriting. But my kids don’t seem to have any issue because their writings are done on the computer the first time and they don’t have the anxiety of how their handwriting looks. Having recently returned to school myself, I have found that a lot of the teaching methods have changed. And even though it is an adjustment, it is more practical. Thinking back I realized how much extra work I did by writing and then rewriting, followed by typing. And if I wouldn’t have spent quite so much time on trying to get my paper to look nicer, maybe I would have gotten a better grade on the report for the mechanics of the paper. Without I doubt, this debate will likely continue for quite some time. The historical, practical and essential aspects still raise many questions in today’s society. With our youth becoming more technolically advanced, we will more than likely continue to see other changes to our education system. Unfortunately, there will be other casualties of our changing educational landscape. But only time will tell what the outcomes will be. References Carpenter, C. Cursive Writing: Are It’s Last Days Approaching? Supon, Vi Cursive Writing: Are It’s Last Days Approaching?

Marketing $100 Laptop

Mr. Negroponte wanted to create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a low cost laptop. This laptop will have educational software to provide children with otherwise unavailable technological learning opportunities. OLPC provides an interesting vantage point from which to examine the dynamics between non-profit and for-profit competitors because of the rapid development of the low-cost laptop market. OLPC was undoubtedly the innovator in this category of low-cost laptops with their â€Å"$100 laptop† concept. However, now that for-profit companies have entered the market and released a slew of similar products, OLPC must find ways to maintain its competitive advantage. OLPC was facing some marketing challenges and some the non-marketing challenges. The $100 price for the laptops is to be achieved by operating with no profit, cutting all unnecessary frills including marketing campaigns and assembling large quantities of computers. Negroponte estimated the program will launch with a distribution of at least 5 million computers, and said he hopes to increase that number to 100 million by the second year. He predicted that as the laptop design improves, the per-unit price will go down. Marketing Challenges: †¢ Marketing a low-cost, lightweight laptop seemed contradictory to recent products that are lightweight and ultra-thin that were typically more expensive and harder to manufacture. †¢ Most children using $100 laptop would not have ready access to electricity. †¢ Consumers criticizing OLPC for discounting the value of teacher training and curriculum development using the device. †¢ Governments opting out to put its resources toward traditional method of education. †¢ Prices for the OLPC don’t seem to stay at $100 causing different price floats. †¢ Competition like Intel(for profit companies) launching its own cheaper laptop targeting developing nations as well. Offering enhanced capabilities and the ability to run version of Linux or Window XP 3. Analysis: Differentiation: Price and Technology OLPC should differentiate its product, the XO, from direct competitors such as Intel’s Classmate PC and indirect competitors in the netbook category such as Dell Mini product lines. Differentiation must be visible on three distinct levels; price, technology, and brand. Price: OLPC is currently the cost-leader in this category. The Intel Classmate PC, which is OLPC’s most direct competitor, is currently priced at $285. The OLPC’s XO is priced at $175. Since both OLPC and its competitors are serving government education programs, cost will be extremely important as a number of nations are creating bidding wars for purchasing contracts. Even though OLPC is the lowest cost offering at this point, maintaining this price advantage will become increasingly difficult as competition in the market for low-cost laptops heats up. OLPC overcame some of the challenges by keeping laptop at low-cost by outsourcing the major design work and key part of the operating systems to different countries. Technology and Innovation: OLPC had a first-mover advantage in this market as its XO offering was perhaps the first entrant into the affordable netbook category. OLPC is specialized for its market of children ages 6-12. The design and child-friendly operating system is very unique. The unique connectivity is important for rural areas with sparse communications infrastructure. The XO is built for ultimate adaptability. Even its power sources can be diversified. OLPC has done an admirable job differentiating its product from its competitors through its innovative technologies and education-specific software and hardware. Competitive Strategy: Though OLPC is a leader on price and feature set, sustaining this advantage will be extremely difficult when facing competition from the largest computer companies in the world. Thus to keep its top position, it must leverage its advantages as a non-profit organization. OLPC must create value from its non-profit status to build reputation and trust. As a non-profit, OLPC can build goodwill in ways that for-profit companies are not able. Also being a non-profit enables OLPC to finance and maintain pricing schemes that are different than the competition. In terms of cost savings, OLPC has the advantage that many companies are eager to produce components for the OLPC. For example, Microsoft has gone out of its way to create a version of Windows to run on the OLPC. This is a cost savings that competitive firms are unable to match. To exploit this advantage further, OLPC could even attract advertisement agency to advertise on their PCs to further lower the cost of each machine.

Family, its meaning, important and functions Essay

Family, what is it? The Thesaurus dictionary defines family as â€Å"a primary social group consisting of parents and their offspring. † Dcitionary. com defines family as â€Å"any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins. † Do you agree with it? What is your concept of family? For me, family has more to do with the emotional side because someone might have been adopted, might be an exchange student but still is part of the family. Two years ago, I was an exchange student. I lived in Snellville, Georgia with the Head family. I wasn’t related to them by blood, I was not even adopted (meaning that I didn’t have their middle nor last name) but that didn’t stop me from feeling like I was a part of the family. There I learned a new concept of what family is and what the functions of the family are. The functions of the family are giving material and emotional security to the ones you love, social placement, and socialization besides regulation of sexual activity through the incest taboo (meaning that there shouldn’t have sexual relationship or marriage between certain kin). Between all the things I learned that were functions of the family, one seems to me the most important, emotional and material security because those are the base of a good and happy family, once the others can change. Due to career changes, a lot of families now-a-days move quite often, thus every time you move you have to once again adapt yourself to the new habits of the place you are and start to socialize, going through the whole social path again (meeting the people, getting to know there culture, showing them your culture and adapting yourself to the new). I admit that this path it is not easy but if you have material and emotional security you’ll go through it easier. For me it was a bit different because I didn’t have my â€Å"blood family† with me but they were supporting me every way they could. Even without them, it wasn’t hard to adapt myself to the American culture because I also had my American family with me. Whenever I had difficulty with something in the American culture I had my American family to help me to understand the new concepts and also to show me some other new things; and whenever I need help in accepting the new cultural values, my Brazilian family (even far from me) were supporting me and showing me that all the values they taught me when I was younger were now going to be used because, sometimes you don’t need to like the new but you always have to respect it. My family taught me that the love, affection and companionship family members have for each other are bigger than any other feelings someone can have and that is what makes a family, that’s what makes family such an important concept in everyone lives.

Do Girls in Elementary Schools get better grades. Than boys when the achievement levels are the same?

Marion T. Academy Charter schools are one of the independent public schools in the US. A charter school that establishes each school in a performance contract detailing the scholastic mission, program, goals, and measures of success. They are accountable to their authorizers, parents, and to the public. It’s freed from bureaucracy that often found in traditional schools, charters design and deliver programs tailored to educational excellence for the student and community needs.The creation of the charter school legislation is intended to improve student learning; encourage the use of different and innovative or proven school environments in teaching and learning methods; and provide parents and students with improved measures of school performance and greater opportunities in choosing public schools within and outside their school districts; in order to provide a well-educated community. This research will discuss about the following concern namely:†¢ The Problem: Do girl s in elementary schools get better grades than boys even when the achievement level is the same? †¢ Interpretation of data school profile †¢ Measures applied for the problem †¢ Recommendations findings for the problem Page 3 Do girls in elementary schools get better grades than boys even when the achievement level is the same? Studies believe that both genetics and environment are a factor that can make girls more intelligent than the boys; nutrition is also a huge factor, for example, especially during the developmental years of the child.Some individuals are born with more innate math ability than others. Just as some people are born with radically different physical attributes, and capabilities, the same holds true for their mental attributes. Then, environment kicks in, which is also extremely powerful. In regards to whether males have more innate math ability and if females have more innate ability in verbal/language, most of the studies That have supported the h ypotheses that males have a genetic advantage in spatial-visual stuff, and that females have an advantage in language .Early in the 20th century-old study of researchers discovered that all tests of mental ability ranked individuals in about the same way. Although mental tests are often designed to measure specific domains of cognition–verbal fluency, say, or mathematical skill, spatial visualization or memory–people who do well on one kind of test tend to do well on the others, and people who do poorly intelligence generally do so across the board. This overlap, or Interco relation, suggests that all such tests measure some global element of intellectual ability as well as specific cognitive skills.In recent decades, psychologists have devoted much effort to test intelligent isolating that general factor, which is abbreviated, from the other aspects of cognitive ability gauged in mental tests. The statistical extraction of intelligent quotient is performed by a techni que called factor analysis. Introduced at the turn of the century by British Page 4 Psychologist Charles Spearman, factor analysis determines the minimum number of underlying dimensions necessary to explain a pattern of intelligence.The Interesting thing about the study was that sex hormones may play a part, which would explain why this could be accounted for partly through genetics, since the hormones kick in at puberty. I think this is obviously just the A general factor suffusing all tests is not, as is sometimes argued, a necessary outcome of factor analysis. No general factor has been found in the analysis of personality tests, for example; instead the method usually yields at least five dimensions (neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to ideas), each relating to different subsets of tests.But, as Spearman observed, a general factor does emerge from analysis of mental ability tests, and leading psychologists, such as Arthur R. Jensen of the U niversity of California at Berkeley and John B. Carroll of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have at this point, and goes against much of gender feminism, although not â€Å"classic† feminism. According to recent studies, girls outperform boys in primary and secondary school and have higher high school graduation rates and higher rates of college admission.In Arizona, the disparity is startling: Statistics published online by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne show that girls score more than five percent higher on the AIMS reading and writing sections at all four tested grade levels. Schools across America report having high female-to-male ratios on honor rolls and in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes, according to The New York Times. For the Class of 2004 in Arizona, graduation rates among white students were 88.7 percent for females and 83. 7 percent for males. The percentage gaps were nearly identical for Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American students. Interpretation of data School profile Page 5 Marion T. Academy Charter School opened in September 2000. The Department of Education and State Board of Education approved this school. The plan for the school was to open with grades K-5 and then add a grade each year until the school was K-7.In September 2000, it opened at a temporary site in modular buildings at 97 Vandever Avenue on the east side of Wilmington, while a permanent facility was under construction. The first year, the school served approximately 400 students in grades K-5. During 2003-04 and the school enrolled approximately 600 students in grades K-8. In summer 2001, the school moved into a permanent facility at 1121 Thatcher Street on the east side of Wilmington, a few blocks away from the original temporary site.To accommodate additional students due to expansion, the school leased additional space at the Police Athletic League Building in Wilmington beginning in school year 2003-04. The school’s charter has been renewed by the Delaware Department of Education and State Board of Education for operation through school year 2007-08. The Secretary of Education and State Board of Education required that the school’s Marion T. Academy Charter School, offers classes for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.It's classified as being in or near a mid-sized city having a population less than 250,000 With 34 full-time classroom teachers, and the school has an approximate student population of 521 with a student/teacher ratio of 15. 6:1. This school allocates approximately $2,977 per pupil for instructional expenses. It is committed in providing a safe, nurturing and challenging learning environment, with the aim of producing responsible and productive citizens in the future. Marion T. Academy Problems encountered Page 6 Marion T. Academy encountered problems during the operations stated as follows:†¢ Marion T. Academy were not offer ed the school choice option and it failed to attempt to enter into a cooperative agreement with another LEA that would have allowed for parents of students with a home â€Å"feeder† school identified for the improvement to select choice options and transfer to a school not identified for improvement. †¢ Marion T. Academy did not budget funds for school choice of transportation to meet the federal spending requirement for school choice transportation costs This school does not have adequate funding to accommodate the transportation costs†¢ Associated with the school choice option of students had been offered and had exercised the school choice option. †¢ Two LEAS’ did not comply with supplemental educational service requirements. The SES parental notification letters sent by CSD and IRSD failed to include all of the information required by the ESEA. And the school had procedural failures contributing to the insufficient implementation of SES at one school . †¢ SES Notification Letters Deficiencies, are the delayed sending of important letters to the parents and other important persons for all the activities and all the achievement and problems of the students.

Preview 8 Hayek, The Road to Serfdom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Preview 8 Hayek, The Road to Serfdom - Essay Example But unfortunately its meaning is highly ambiguous† (76). The book attempts to bring out what is good to humankind while at the same time addressing how best humankind can manage to embrace good for communal happiness. Following these, the book focuses on the need of freedom for all with more concentration on the minority and economic affairs. This is evident in where he states that â€Å"the will of a small minority be imposed upon the people† (107). This is in support of the minority so as to have them enjoy the share of freedom, property and money through centralized goals. THE NATURE OF HAPPINESS IS socially determined. The book addresses issues of social injustices which are in most cases detrimental to the minority. This is particularly with regards to property and freedom. He focuses on satisfaction for all so as to ensure there is freedom and social equity for all when he states that â€Å"the world needs that which is satisfactory† (98). It is through a sa tisfied world that the minority will also have a place and voice. He therefore calls for centralized planning as well as organization which will ensure that all the society is happily considered. He talks of a social welfare which is concerned with the needs of the general society rather than neglecting freedom in the economic affairs of the minority. The nature of happiness according to the author is based on continuity of prosperity through a centralized planning that is capable of contributing to totalitarianism. He stresses the need to â€Å"replace the impersonal and anonymous mechanism of the market by collective and ‘conscious’ direction of all social forces to deliberately chosen goals† (28). This is in effort to advocate for social justice as far as societal goals are to be achieved collectively. Freedom and coercive representation of the entire society are therefore key according to the author. THE NATURE OF COSMOS is depicted as a threat to realization of economic freedom and social justice if individual freedom is not concentrated on. There are a number of issues pointed out in the book which are responsible for economic problems faced in the society. The author states that the destiny of our development will eventually rely upon how we take care of the investment issues we ought to face (48). He identifies both economic and social concerns as the most pertinent issues which render the minority to be discriminated. However, he presents socialism as a means by which equality is driven into the society by way of increasing reverence for governing states. Intervention through governmental efforts is identified as the appropriate ways through which to effectively manage economic affairs and guarantee individual freedom. This is capable of being achieved through policies to regulate different aspects such as health, education, economic platforms in the markets among others. Hayek states that the characteristic rationale of communalis m makes it difficult to keep it to a restricted circle (76). This is capable of playing a big role in ensuring that coercion is achieved as far as freedom and economic strength are to be attained. Nonetheless, the book attempts to bring out connection between socialism and fascism through involvement of democratic atmosphere and

Foundation of Law concerning Employment Assignment

Foundation of Law concerning Employment - Assignment Example In the same way that the employer is legally entitled the profits of an employee’s work, the employer has also a legal liability if the same work results in harm. On the other hand, is someone is injured and needs to be compensated; the legal system makes the victim whole and assigns liability to the employer and not the employee. The employer is therefore liable for any harm caused by their servants acting within the scope of employment. There are various legal theories which the employer may be held responsible for the actions of their employee. The master can be held liable for any harm caused by the employee acting in the scope of occupation. This applies to both employees and to the independent contractors for as log as there is an agency relationship. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, the employer should know that the employee might cause harm. If the employee cause the harm while acting within the scope of employment, his/her employer is liable for damages incurred by the victim. This means that irrespective of the employer’s good intentions, or policies, I the employee cause an injury or harm to anybody within and without the company, while performing within the scope of the employment, the responsibility traces back to the employer. Unlike the vicarious liability, the negligent hiring, retention and supervision arises from actions performed by an employee outside the scope of his/her employment. An example of this liability occurs when the employer is held responsible for criminal conducts of the e mployee. The bases of this liability are upon the carelessness of the employer on hiring a criminal for a piece of work that he expected would endanger the lives of others. This is now recognized as a cause of action by many nations. There elements are required for liability to attach to the master (employer). Firstly, employers who employ individuals must train them in every sector of their job responsibilities, if failing to do so would result to injuries. Â  For example, employees who operate a vehicle should be adequately trained to do so to avoid destructed driving because the risk is foreseeable. Secondly, the employer is responsible for hiring, training and supervising employees. Failure to do so is described as a breach of that duty. Lastly, there must be causation between the injury and the conduct. Â  By virtual of employees using some unnecessary devices at work such as the mobile devices while driving company’s vehicle, the employer is said to have breached his/ her duty to supervise his/her employees and is thus held liable to the accident victims.

Amazons Business Model and the Operational Strategies Coursework - 1

Amazons Business Model and the Operational Strategies - Coursework Example Amazon has been able to pull of its business model through the use of three operational strategies to enhance its competitive advantage: low-cost leadership and customer differentiation. However, when we evaluate Amazon’s business model and the operational strategies that underlie it they greatly resemble those of its key competitor Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble also used its economies of scale to support low-cost leadership, it broke new ground by developing software that would enable its customers to personalize their web pages and also enjoy the results of collaborative filtering (Ghemawat 13). The difference in one organization’s choice to use a pure play system while the other uses a brick-and-click system is too simplistic to explain the relative success of Amazon.com over Barnes & Noble. This would be best explained through the dynamic capability. Dynamic capability refers to the ability of the firm to purposefully create, extend or modify its resource base so as to achieve congruence with the changing business environment (Menon and Mohanty 3). Of importance to note is the use of the word â€Å"purposefully† which negates the element of accident or luck. Dynamic capability involves intent and the emergent stream of activities within an organization that is taken with a certain implicit aim. Although dynamic capabilities are equifinal and exhibit commonalities across firms, performance differences arise between firms due to both cost and differential timing with which the dynamic capabilities are used (Menon and Mohanty 5). They are path dependent processes thus are idiosyncratic and difficult to imitate. Dynamic capabilities can be a source of competitive advantage. That is why even though Barnes & Noble seem to be following similar operational strategies to Amazon.com, the results are different for each firm.

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Case Study Example It is mainly written from the perspective of the business and the compulsions and challenges that they have to meet in order to survive and compete within the highly volatile market. Looking from the health care perspective, the articles become highly relevant as they tend to focus on influencing the decision making process of the end users. Healthcare imperatives have increasing become hugely important for the customers. In the age of advancing technology, the customer has become more empowered with informed choices on the subject. The internet facilitates not only research but also the medication. Berndt says that anticipating needs of the customers and help developing customized report that meet the specific healthcare needs of the customer can give distinct boost to influence customer’s decision making processes. While the availability of treatment is available on the net, the Online Analytical Processing or OLAP offers customized reports on specific topic based on his unique needs rather than trend. Thus, customers are better equipped with information that suits his healthcare needs vis-Ã  -vis detail information about illness, medication, specialists based on geographical location etc. Veccia’s article is a wake-up call for businesses to evolve new ways of identifying customers’ changing preferences and helping them meet. In the current times, speed, differentiation and scalability have become extremely critical inputs which the traditional marketing research cannot meet. Hence, competitors’ offering, attributes associated with product and research that correlates these attributes to the requirements of customers become important factors. She suggests that forced choice technique greatly helps to identify the characteristics that are preferred and speeds up the process of new product development or value addition to the product. This applies to the healthcare products also. Indeed, Berndt’s proposal for preparing customized

The Machinist Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Machinist Movie - Essay Example It looks at the protagonist of the movie and looks into the reason why this person cannot get any sleep and is frequently attacked by severe paranoia. This is important because catharsis is natural but when people start hiding from their own emotions, sometimes they have to face severe consequences. In this movie, the protagonist, Trevor Reznik is an average male working at National Machines, a manufacturing facility that builds machine parts. One year back, he hits a little boy on the road with his car while reaching for the cigarette burner. He drives away in his car demonstrating a classic example of ‘hit and run’. Although he escapes but this incident gets to him and he is unable to get any sleep. His body does steal a few moments of sleep when he is unaware but these comforting moments last only for seconds and he wakes up again. He tries to bury the whole road accident inside his head but he remains unsuccessful. Running away from the scene of the accident was his instinctive self-defense mechanism but keeping it in him without sharing was a bigger mistake where he went against nature. The insomnia starts eating away Trevor’s peace of mind and he is never really awake as he starts hallucinating and imagining different things. He tries to lock up severe emotions inside him. He never talks to anyone about the road accident but he is unable to get rid of this memory that has stuck in his thought cycle. He reflects to a prostitute that he hasn’t slept in over a year. Moreover, he loses his body mass considerably. He starts looking sick, like a drug addict. He is unable to perform his job without getting into trouble. He is having troubles living a normal life all because the guilt is making him abnormal. But more troubles are yet to come as his hallucinations begin and he gets shocked at seeing normal things such as car cigarette burner, which reminds him of the road accident. He doesn’t get memory flashbacks when he sees the cigarette lighter but he remembers that such a piece of equipment is significant somehow. His subconscious still tries to bring out that memory but he suppresses it and this conflict represses such memories. He gets the feeling that something is there but he never gets to know what exactly it is that is bothering him. He starts seeing this big fat man, Ivan, who is also a projection of his mind and not a real human. This big fat and mean looking person is only a reflection of himself. That is how he sees himself as a repulsive fat person. This is another attempt of his subconscious mind to relive the trauma that he is hiding from. He has tried so hard to forget the accident that his conscious memory has actually forgotten it but his subconscious hasn’t forgotten it. That is why it tries to push out those feelings, visions and emotions that Trevor is running away from. He sees Ivan as if he is standing right in front of him and he nearly kills a man because of this delusion; His co-worker Miller asks him to help him with the machine, Miller starts fixing the machine while Trevor assists him, during that instant, Trevor sees Ivan and accidently hits the machine switch, turning it on, Miller loses his left arm as he is unable to free himself even after struggling. His delusional persona Ivan, makes a gesture right before this accident happens, he makes a ‘slit throat’ sign at him most probably pointing at what he had done in the past. He frequently visits the cafe

Understand the sources of finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Understand the sources of finance - Essay Example Sources of Finance Name University Body An outline of the various (at least 8) sources of finance that participants may choose from. (AC 1.1 Identification the sources of finance available to a business) Trade credit refers to the purchase of goods and services on the basis of credit; this means that the business can purchase the raw materials from its suppliers on credit basis. Business can even ask for a loan from a particular bank if it wants to finance its operations. The business can even save money by obtaining discounts on purchase of raw material by paying money in cash; various suppliers provide discounts to those businesses that pay their invoices in cash. Bank overdraft refers to the allowance of obtaining higher amount of finance than the depositor has deposited in his/her bank account. Business tend to share its profits among shareholders as dividends after a particular period of time, businesses can use this profit for operational and expansion purposes instead of distributing as dividends. Business can decrease the amount of inventory they hold, this will help them use the money for other purposes and money will not remain tied up in inventory for a longer period of time. Business can delay the payments it has to make to its creditors and suppliers and they can even sell portions of the company to the public and obtain finance for their operations. The legal, dilution of control and bankruptcy implications of the various sources of finance identified (AC 1.2 Assessment the implications of the different sources) There are several advantages and disadvantages associated with the financing sources obtained through external financing sources. The advantages of external financing sources stated in this report are that these finances can be obtained at a very fast pace, the cost of obtaining these finances is quite lower and the amount of interest paid for these sources are even at a very lower end. These sources of finance are quite flexible, the repayment method of these sources of fi nance is even quite easy and terms of financing are simple. These sources of finances are although used for financing short term financial requirements, but they can be obtained for the longer run. For example: the time period of repayment to creditors can be extended. There are even disadvantages associated with the stated external sources of finance, the business has to bare the burden of paying interest even of the business ends up making a loss and has to repay the loan amount (NEEDHAM, 1995, p.99). Another problem with this source of finance is that, in order to obtain a bank loan an organization has to give something to bank as collateral. If the organization fails to repay the loan, the bank sells the collateral in order to retain the amount they have given to the organization as loan. During the periods of recession and economic downtrend, businesses face decline in profits and even experience loss due to which they face issues in obtaining bank loans and suppliers do not tr ust them and do not offered goods and services in credit form to the organization. An analysis of the financial implications (e.g. tangible and opportunity costs), and tax effects of using the various sources of finance that you outlined in AC1.1 and AC1.2 above (AC 2.1 Analyse the costs of different sources of finance) There are severa