Thomas Telford Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thomas Telford - Essay Example awhile in the city of Edinburgh, but he intended London in 1782, the place where he has met many talented architects like Robert Adam and Sir William Chambers. It is only there where he was committed to building additions to Somerset House. He was upholding many different skills and talents either in design or in the management of building projects. Thanks to William Puteney, Thomas Telford turned out to be Surveyor of public works in Shropshire and with the aid of this wealthy patron, Thomas became an architect undertaking many successful projects such as the renovation of Shrewsbury Castle, the town’s prison, the church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth and another church in Madeley. It is reported also that he designed many bridges. Thomas Telford was famous for being a civil engineer and was all the time consulted for some very challenging and difficult projects. He contributed somehow to water supply works for Liverpool and made remarkable improvements to London’s dockland and the construction of London Bridge. What is more is that Thomas Telford took himself the responsibility of devising a master plan to enhance communications in the highlands of Scotland. This serious and thorny project has lasted some twenty years and has included the building and the redesign of various canals like the Caledonian Canal and the Crinan Canal. Obviously, the most striking incident in Thomas Telford’s life is when he was consulted by the king of Sweden himself in what concerns the building of a canal between Gothenburg and Stockholm. This occurred in 1806 and about four years later, his marvelous plans were carried out in the construction of the GÃ ¶ta Canal. Surprisingly, Telford was never married. The greatest works he did will therefore continue always to attest to his everlasting presence among

The Members Church of God International and The Community Essay Example for Free

The Members Church of God International and The Community Essay The Members Church of God International, is one of the most prominent and well-established religious congregations in the Philippines today. The organization is known to be highly principled and incomparable in upholding Gods righteousness, existing for more than 40 years. Believing that one of the most important missions of the members of the Church of God International is to propagate the pure and untarnished Gospel of Christ on earth, the Church has conscientiously and fervently carries this obligation to fellowmen all over the world through the use of mass media and the Internet. As a member of the Church, one is taught to follow religiously and conscientiously the fundamental doctrines for Christians and righteousness as a way of life, and to be law abiding citizens recognizing the fundamental laws of the land they live in. The true essence of a pure religion is manifested in the Church of God’s high-regard and concern for the fatherless, widows, handicapped and disabled people. The Churchs charity and social welfare ministry, Lingap Kapatid was organized and established in 1997 to help the church in its mission to organize and help establish key orphanages in various places to house and care for our less privileged fellowmen who are widowed and abandoned. The historical and current importance of this religion and spirituality in Metro Manila, in particular, manifests in the manner of living of its members. In this community, there are more than 30,000 members who abide not only by God’s law but also by the laws of the country. The members do not smoke, nor become engaged in drug addictions, nor drink liquors. They are even encouraged not to marry if they are not yet in the proper age and if they are not physically, financially and psychologically stable. This thing leads to helping the community in promoting birth control. Religiosity influences a persons attitudes and values, providing meaning and purpose in life resulting to a healthy and safe community. Reference Soriano, Eliseo F. (2002). Leaving Behind the Fundamental Doctrines of Christ. Philippines. The Members of the Church of God in Christ.

Identity Negotiation and Perception of Hair Essay -- African American

A woman’s hair is often referred to as her â€Å"crown and glory.† Hair is a salient physical characteristic of one’s self concept and how others view their level of attractiveness. One of the major intra-prejudice amongst African Americans is hair texture. This stigma is especially prevalent among African American women. For African American women, hair carries an even greater psychological complexity. Starting from slavery, African Americans were judged by the texture and curl pattern of their hair. For example, Blacks with lighter skin color and straight/wavy hair had certain advantages oppose to those Blacks who possessed more afro-centric features, such as darker skin and kinky hair (Myrdal, 1962; Neal & Wilson, 1989; Parrish 1944; Poussaint, 1975; Reuter, 1917). While a plethora of commentaries have been written on black hair, few empirical studies exist that have examined the reverberating consequences of slavery, as it relates to the western indoctr ination of hair and its impact on racial identity/self-concept among African American women. History of the Complexity of Hair among Black Women The origin of the controversy surrounding African American hair dates back to slavery. It was a major phenotypic characteristic used to classify African Americans’ racial identity, intelligence and attractiveness (Guthrie, 1998). European culture was used as the reference group of comparison. Whiteness became identified with all that is civilized, virtuous and beautiful, whereas Blackness was deemed as inferior, rebellious, and inadequate. Guthrie (1998) reported that the hair of the black man was wool, not hair. Subsequently, this racist ideology was internalized by many African Americans, which resulted in what Jones and Shorter-G... ...al, political and economic strides African Americans have made in society, are African American women still psychologically enslaved to their hair? The purpose of this study is to examine current perceptions of hair and its importance to racial identity and self concept among African American female college students. More specifically, this investigation addresses the following research question: Are perceptions of African American hair related to perceived attractiveness, self-concept, racial identity, and overall happiness? It is hypothesized that: 1) African American women are more likely to perceive mainstream hair texture, such as straight, permed hair, as more attractive than natural/ kinky hair; 2) An interactive effect is expected between skin-tone and hair texture on the dependent variables attractiveness, racial identity, self concept, and happiness.

Communication Is Complex Essay

When two or more people are sharing information, they both are sending and receiving at the same time, sometimes without even saying a word but by simply sending and receiving certain signals. Listening makes one the receiver and at the point when you respond, you become the sender and this interchanging and complex role shifting happens very fast. Non verbal sending and receiving is just as complex. A child could be crying (sending a message) and the parent put her arm around her for reassurance (receiving), when the parent pats the child’s back (sending), the child calms down receiving). The attitude of the people involved will largely determine the quality of their sending and receiving and the strength of their signals may affect how the messages are received. Messages a. Everything that is communicated is categorized into symbols. A symbol is something that stands for something else. Symbols are everywhere around us. The eagle in the United States stands for that country, the Statue of Liberty stands for freedom. The complex issue is that; any one symbol may have hundreds of interpretations depending on what sense the receiver makes out of the symbol. Any one symbol may have many contrasting definitions largely depending on cultural backgrounds. The human communication is made up of two kinds of symbols. The words that are used in a language are verbal symbols. Where no words are used, then that becomes nonverbal symbols. When the word refers to a physical object like someone says, ‘pads’,, this is called a concrete symbol because it represents an object. A female listener may think the sender is referring to the sanitary pads and the motor mechanic may assume that the sender is referring to the brake pads. Symbols are subject to different interpretations largely depending on the attitude, culture and background of the listener. Even more complex are the abstract symbols, these are the intangible or non figurative symbols like the word ‘love’. Various and interesting assignations may be given to the word depending largely on culture and background. A child brought up in a strict religious order may think it refers to the love that the Deity has over mankind and yet on the other hand a child raised by a mother of loose morals, may construe it to mean lust or the desire that may shared by two consenting and sexual partners. In nonverbal symbols, the communication has no written or verbal words. These symbols include but not limited to; facial expressions, gestures, posture, vocal tones and appearance. A yawn may mean that you are tired or bored and yet in another culture it may mean that you are sleepy and need to rest. Over ninety percent of messages sent and received by Americans are nonverbal. Thus, we see complexities arising out of the symbols, care and due diligence is therefore critical in deciphering symbols to be as near as possible to the intentions and definitions of the sender. Channels This refers to the channel or route that we use when communicating. In verbal symbols, we use sound and sight. The receiver has to interpret the sound and what he/she is seeing to come to a conclusion of what the sender is trying to send out. In nonverbal communications, people use several channels, like a firm handshake may denote confidence, jittery and nervous expression at a presentation may mean poor preparation and shallow knowledge. Use of a wrong channel will give a wrong message altogether and defeat the purpose of the communication. Feedback Feedback refers to the responses that the sender gets from the receiver. In a conversation, both sender and receiver get feedbacks as they talk. Feedback helps to assure the sender that the receiver is attentive and is responsive. When no feedback is given, it may send a wrong signal to the sender. In a lecture, if students don’t ask questions after the presentation, then the deliverer may assume that they have understood when in fact they have not. Noise Any interference that prevents a message from the sender from being delivered to the receiver is called ‘noise’. Noise is found in three forms; external, internal and semantic. External noise comes from the outside, the environment. While having a good conversation with your Pastor, you may be disturbed by the Pastor’s mate asking for the car keys from their mate or a squashed sitting area in a taxi might make you unbearably uncomfortable to lose out on what the person sitting next to you just said. Internal noise refers to what the receiver may be going through internally that he/she may fail to hear what the teacher just said. These are internal thoughts, and distractions†¦ Setting This refers to the environment in which the communication process occurs. The setting affects and influences the kind of communication process that will take place. The setting itself communicates a message to the participants. A divorcing couple would chose to meet in the lawyer’s office as that is perceived as neutral. From the above discourse, it is clear that the communications elements can pose a great challenge to the whole process of communication. Parties to the process should make sure that all the elements are in the ideal size, to effectively communicate as desired. Complexities will always exist, the parties to communication can only minimise them to enhance the process. Self Perception A human being is a complex individual. The process of communication starts with the self perception and the value that humans put on themselves. Self concept is how a person thinks about themselves. Sometimes in a communication process, people are so worried about how other people think they are and this ideally makes them less effective in their communication process and fail to either deliver their message or fail to get the correct message as intended by the sender. Social comparisons occur when people compare themselves on how they measure up to other members of the communities. When we fail to measure up to a certain standard that we see ion others, most likely we lose all home and get de-motivated and in worst case scenarios, become emotional wracks. The way in which the individual sees himself/herself is called self perception. Self perception is largely grounded on the past experiences. Positive experiences will influence a better perception and the opposite also holds true. The state of mind about oneself eventually impacts on performance. Its becomes dangerous when self esteem is too high as a failure results in negative and bad attitudes. Acts of perception require a form of expectations. ‘Without expectations, or constructs through which you perceive your world, your surroundings would be booming, buzzing confusion’ The perception process involves; selecting the information, organizing it and interpreting it. Perfect perception is always because of deletions, distortions, and generalizations. There are also perceptions filters.

Secularization

Historically, â€Å"secularization† first referred to the process of transferring property from religious jurisdiction to that of the state or other no religious authority. In this organizational sense, â€Å"secularization† still means the decline of formal religious authority for example; in education, prisons, and hotel room bedside tables. Institutional secularization has been fueled by the breakdown of a unified Christendom since the Reformation, on the one hand, and by the increasing validation of society and culture from the Enlightenment to modern scientific society, on the other. Some political analysts prefer the term â€Å"laicization† to describe this institutional secularization of society, that is, the replacement of official religious control by no religious authority. [1][2] It is clear that these two forces represent opposite tendencies of thought. To insist upon the principles of traditional Christianity is to rob modern views of its very life; it opposes pessimism to the optimism of modern thought. And yet reconciliation between the two is not absolutely impossible. It can take place, however, only as the result of a modification of the current view of Christianity. A new conception of religion must make itself felt, and this change can be readily effected. It must center on the person of Jesus and must abandon its dogmatic system. In the person and in the preaching of Christ, as an historical phenomenon, we have the basis for an understanding between Christianity and the culture of our day. Jesus himself never accepted the total corruption of man as the basis of his preaching. Rather it was an ideal of moral perfection that he held up to his believers–of life in God and activity according to his will. 2] Secularism has also influenced Western art since the Classical period, while most art of the last 200 years has been produced without suggestion to religion and often with no particular ideology at all. On the other hand, Western art has often been influenced by politics of one kind or another, of the state, of the benefactor and of the artist. While institutional and ideological secularization have been preceded at the same time over the past few centuries, the relationship between the two is not exact or necessary. Even in a medieval, Constantinian setting, formally religious in character, men and women were not untouched from having their life, thought, and work shaped by secular influences. In an institutionally secular (laicized) society it is possible for individuals and groups to live, think, and work in ways that are motivated and guided by God and religion. [1] With a great deal of emphasis on contemporary discussions of Christianity and secularism the confrontational Letters and Papers from Prison penned by writer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, because the work is incomplete leaves much to the imagination and not enough fact. Bonhoeffer's notions start heavy debates on the meaning and implications starting with titles like: â€Å"Christian worldliness,† â€Å"man-come-of-age,† the world's arrival at â€Å"adulthood,† and the need for a â€Å"non-religious interpretation of Biblical terminology. † Other writers Friedrich Gogarten (The Reality of Faith, 1959), Paul van Buren (The Secular Meaning of the Gospel, 1963), Harvey Cox (The Secular City, 1965), Ronald Gregor Smith (Secular Christianity, 1966), and the â€Å"death-of-God†: all leave little to the imagination just as Bonhoeffer’s does. These are examples of those who have shadowed one possible course. Kenneth Hamilton (Life in One's Stride, 1968) denies that this is the best way to interpret Bonhoeffer and argues that these writers hesitated in his indispensable, orthodox attitude. [2] Of course, the differences between the sacred and the secular is an undeniable gap; In the same way that God speaks and acts Christians must speak and act inventively and full of redemption for there actions. In all cases, Christian life in the secular world is to be carried out under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in compliance to the will of God rather than the will of the world. Christians may work to ensure that the Word of God is heard and is given room among the many other voices which will constitute the diverse whole. To insist that the Word of God be imposed on all without exception is to fall once again into an unbiblical oppression. To fail to articulate the Word of God in the saeculum, however, is to give in in a secularism which, by excluding the Creator, can lead only to death. Deliverance from sin and forgiveness of sin were indeed emphasized in his preaching; but his dominant thought was that of struggle toward an ideal moral life. This is the idea that must take possession of modern Christianity, if it is to be reconciled with modern views and civilization and to win for itself the educated classes. Not as a dogmatic system, but as a moral power, based on the powerful personality of Jesus, must Christianity be proclaimed to the thinking people of our times?

20 Book Activities to Try With Grades 3-5

20 Book Activities to Try With Grades 3-5 Book reports are a thing of the past, and its time to be innovative and try some book activities that your students will enjoy. The activities below will reinforce and enhance what your students are currently reading. Try a few, or try them all. They can also be repeated throughout the year. If youd like, you can print out a list of these activities  and hand them out to your students. 20 Book Activities for Your Classroom To be a little bit inclusive, you can ask your student to choose an activity from the list below that they think will go well with the book they are currently reading. Draw two or more characters from your story. Write a brief dialog exchange between the characters.Draw a picture of yourself on the television talking about the book you are currently reading. Under your illustration, write down three reasons someone should read your book.Pretend your story is a play. Draw two specific scenes from your story and underneath the illustrations, write a brief dialog exchange of what is happening in each scene.Make a timeline of the important events that are happening in your book. Include important dates and events that took place in the characters lives. Include a few sketches of the main events and dates.If you are reading a poetry book, copy your favorite poem and draw an illustration to accompany it.Write a letter to the author of your book. Make sure to include any questions you have about the story, and talk about what your favorite part was.Choose three sentences from your book and turn them into questions. First, copy the sentence, then beneath t hat, write down your questions. Example: The emerald was green as a blade of grass. Was the emerald as green as a blade of grass? Find 5 plural (more than one) nouns in your book. Write down the plural form, then write the singular (one) form of the noun.If you are reading a biography, create an illustration of what your famous person is known for doing. Example, Rosa Parks is known for not getting off the bus. So you would draw an illustration of Rosa Parks taking a stand on the bus. Then explain in two more sentences about the picture you drew.Draw a story map about the book you are reading. To do this draw, a circle in the middle of your paper, and in the circle write the name of your book. Then, around the title, draw several pictures with words underneath about the events that happened in the story.Create a comic strip of the main events that happened in your book. Be sure to draw balloons to accompany each picture with dialog from the characters.Choose three words from your book that you like the most. Write down the definition, and draw a picture of each word.Choose your favorite character and draw them n the middle of your paper. Then, draw lines coming out of the character, and list of the characters traits. Example: Old, nice, funny. Create a small most wanted poster of the meanest character in your book. Remember to include what he/she looks like and why they are wanted.If you are reading a biography, create a portrait of the famous person you are reading about. Under their picture include a brief description of that person and what they are most known for.Pretend you are the author of the book and make up an alternative ending to the story.If you are reading a biography, make a list of 5 things you learned that you did not know.Draw a Venn diagram. On the left side, write down the name of the character that was the hero of the story. On the right side write down the name of the character that was the Villain of the story. In the middle, write down a few things they had in common.Pretend you are the author of the book. In a brief paragraph,  explain what you would change in the book, and why.Divide your paper in half, on the left side write facts, and on the right side write fiction (remember fiction means it is not true). Then write down five facts from your book and five things that are fiction. Recommended Reading If you need some book ideas, here are a few books that students in grades 3-5 will enjoy reading: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy BlumeCaddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie BrinkThe BFG by Roald DahlThe Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice DalglieshEverything on a Waffle by Polly HorvathIn the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao LordThe Secret School by Avi

Frued as a Prism essays

Frued as a Prism essays Social Recognition of the Human Individual From the time of puberty onward the human individual must devote himself to the great task of freeing himself from his parents. -Sigmund Freud (General Intro. to Psychoanalysis) As a child develops from infancy to adulthood, it soaks up its environment and processes it like a biological computer. As it matures, so does the way it copes with the challenges life presents to him. If the child has the opportunity to be well educated, than he may learn from his history studies, and begin to recognize the different patterns of thought that society has gone through. Perhaps he will learn from these patterns and make an effort to use his knowledge to prevent making many of the same mistakes in his daily life that men have made before. If he studies medieval Europe, he may become skeptical of his own faith. Resulting in his search for a new religion that he can believe in, rather than continue to blindly participate as a member of the faith his parents had chosen for him. If he were to study Imperialism in Europe, than perhaps he would join an athletic team. He would form strong bonds with those within the team, but hopefully he could learn from Europes mist aken extreme nationalism and sees that the best thing he can do for his team is remain an individual, not conform to some unwritten code. He would see that it is best to create ones own identity within a group. Perhaps he has read Erich Fromm, and sees that he must recognize himself as a separate entity apart from the world around himself. He individuates. The development of this boy into an individual is exactly what Sigmund Freud would describe as a healthy development toward the formation a personal identity. It is the interactions that take place between a developing individual (the boy) and the society in which that individual lives in which we find the essence of human existence. Man has under gon...

Technical Report Writing

Technical Report Writing Researchers spend much of their time investigating and determining why or how things happen. Once they do this, they need to compose their findings in such a manner that it can be presented clearly and precisely to others. This is called technical report writing. It’s only by doing this that the researcher can convey his findings to others. Technical report writing is an incredibly important ability for anyone in the research or technical field. Using a technical report to explain your findings and how you arrived at that conclusion is vital to every researcher. Technical reports communicate to readers in such a way that everyone can learn from your research. It makes your hard work more accessible. Coming up with a thesis is important in technical report writing. By doing so one can maintain a tightly controlled report that addresses the main components. In technical report writing make sure that these following items are clearly stated. The report should be dated with your name and affiliation. This is so everyone will have no question about who performed the research and findings. Good technical report writing will contain a short paragraph that summarizes what your paper is about. A reader should be able to scan this paragraph in technical report writing and get a very good idea of what the whole paper is about. Choose appropriate keywords such as to assist others in locating your paper for their own research purposes. Write clearly and concisely so that others may read and understand what you are trying to explain. Technical report writing will often include graphs and diagrams to illustrate the data from the research. Keep your focus on the content of your paper, include the details of your work, the problems encountered, questions that arose and the consequences or your actions towards the research. Make sure that the beginning and last sentence of every paragraph clearly states the body of the paragraph and summarizes appropriately. Technical report writing involves precision in writing. Always explain the points clearly for the readers, even when it might be overkill. Since research often includes more than one individual’s participation, always give credit to them by acknowledging them in your technical report writing. When writing your report, cite references used in the research so that the reader can identify other related works. Always explain how those references affected your research. Technical report writing should be neat and organized. Don’t skip around all over the paper with any one specific action in regards to the research. For example, if you were to explain your methods in conducting the research, explain the methods completely in one section of your technical report writing. Don’t explain parts of the method in several different paragraphs scattered throughout the report. Decide before you do your technical report writing how you want to organize and in what order. Then write according to the organization that you’ve established. In technical report writing it’s important to make references back to the methods if necessary throughout the report but your main explanation of the methods should be contained within that one section. Simply reporting data and findings is not what technical report writing is about. The writer needs to spend time analyzing the data and show what your interpretation of the information is. Thoroughly discuss all the different aspects that have arisen due to your research, whether it’s negative or on the positive side. Technical report writing is expanding on facts with good writing that hooks the reader’s attention.

Missile Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Missile Crisis - Essay Example But though major powers were not directly involved, they armed or funded surrogates, lessening direct impact on the populations of their own countries, but increasing conflict and tension between millions of civilians around the world. One of the 'hot spots' in the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the then US President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev were practically eyeball to eyeball, each with a finger on the trigger. One wrong move and this would have escalated to a nuclear confrontation, and ccompletely changed the course of history. For the Americans, the countdown began on Monday, October 15, 1962, when a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft revealed several Soviet nuclear missile installations in Cuba. They promptly swung into action and the subsequent 13 days has been recorded for posterity and popular consumption in a typical American good-guys-verses-the-bad-guys movie "Thirteen Days," where the good guys were, of course, the Americans. Who knows when it began for the Russians Perhaps the insecurity of being on the defensive started after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the use of nuclear weapons is seen by some historians as a warning to the Soviet Union. According to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's memoirs, he conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Cuba to counter an emerging lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles. At this point of time, MAD, or "mutually assured destruction" was a prominent feature of the nuclear arms race, supported in particular by the deployment of nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The idea was that the two super-powers would not attack each other because both sides had nuclear weapons to decimate each other, and worse, to make the entire planet uninhabitable. So, since launching an attack would be suicidal for either party, neither would attempt it. (Wikipedia) For the Soviet Union, what brought things to a head was the presence of U.S. missile sites in Turkey, which directly threatened cities in the western sections of the Soviet Union, tilting the balance of terror in favour of the U.S. As for the Cubans, ever since the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, when the United States armed and funded Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's government, the Cubans lived under the shadow of fear of more reprisals from the United States. It was to protect themselves from another such United States-sponsored invasion, that Fidel Castro gave the Soviet Union approval to build missile installations in Cuba. The differences in their view-points are reflected in how they subsequently remember the incident. The Cubans know it as the October Crisis, just one of the many run-ins with the Americans. The Soviets refer to it as the Carribean Missile Crisis, where the Cubans are merely instrumental in yet another confrontation with the Americans in the Cold War, while the Americans call it the Cuban Missile Crisis. However they saw it, the thirteen-day countdown (Timeline of the Cuban Missile Crisis, n.d.) was it was considered one of the tensest and most perilous moments in history. Starting with the American discovery of the SS-4 nuclear missiles in Cuba, when President Kennedy immediately convened his Executive Committee to consider America's options, which ranged from doing

Detroit Bankruptcy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Detroit Bankruptcy - Essay Example The announcement of bankruptcy by Detroit is a prophesied case. The liquidation of a municipal’s assets cannot happen as a result of the request of a creditor. A municipality is under the state’s jurisdiction as it is defined by the state. The 10th Amendment of the4 American constitution reserves any power not defined by the constitution for the state. Declaration of bankruptcy rulings ate made in U.S. Bankruptcy courts under federal jurisdiction Many factors have indicated reduced financial activity in the city. The population of the city dropped from a 1.5 million figure in the city’s peak in the fifties to a current size of around 700,000 leaving the city a shadow of itself with tens of thousands of abandoned buildings ("How Detroit went broke - Economics - AEI"). This coupled with the deindustrialization of the city have largely affected the collection of the revenues in the city. However, the major contributor of the state of the city is the accounting of th e funds of the municipality. Legacy costs These are the bills of the municipality in the form of public employee pensions, healthcare, and other post employment benefits. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in 2006 required all local governments to report publicly OPEB liabilities but did not require the funding of the shortfalls of the OPEB liabilities (John Macomber). The city of Detroit uses 43% of the entire annual city revenue in making payments of this kind. This leaves only, 57% to run the city and cover the wage bill. In the last few decades, the percentage of the city’s revenue used in the settling of these bills has been on the rise with an estimation claiming the percentage will reach 65% in four years. These unfunded liabilities of the Detroit city funds have acted as a weight pulling down the city finances (How Detroit went broke). Half of the $18 billion debt is accounted in public employee retirement benefits, which are not funded. In 2012, the cit y spent $145 million on retiree health care benefits, which is greater by more than half of the $99 million used in 2000 ("How Detroit went broke - Economics - AEI"). The accounting methods relied in the evaluation of the finances of pensions of public employees allows rates of return that are overly optimistic on the supposed riskless pension to be assumed (How Detroit went broke). These also make it possible for the employer in the form of the city of Detroit, to contribute annual contributions that fall short of the required amount. These transform the guaranteed benefits such as pensions, into risky ones. The cause effect of these is a pension liability at a $3.5 billion level when appropriate accounting methods are used which is over 5 times the liability under the city’s accounting methods (John Macomber). This is not helped by the ratio of employees to retirees receiving pension, which stands at 2:1. Increased taxes After the post-war manufacturing and expansion, the c ity started losing revenue because of the high population decrease rates. In response, the city changed its accounting policies and imposed a 1% income tax on all corporations, residents, and non-residents. This aimed to cover the loss in revenues and maintain the city budget (How Detroit went broke). Over the years, the tax rate has been on the rise with the resident income tax doubling only six years after its establishment. A new utility tax came into being in 1971 aiming to maintain the services offered by the city as well as

Fireground Activity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fireground Activity - Assignment Example However, the informal discussion does allow for firefighters to share what they saw, what they felt, what happened, and any other observations that need to be added. This is an important aspect as far as data gathering is concerned when one is trying to determine what may have caused a fire, and how it may have burned. The more formal postfire conferences also have advantages and disadvantages. It provides firefighters with the ability to examine all of the evidence and come to a decision. However, it may be difficult to always come to the correct decision within one conference, and this can certainly be a disadvantage. There is also the problem of some individuals jumping to certain conclusions and assumptions before all the facts are in and analyzed. Furthermore, there is no assurance that all participants at the conference will agree. Therefore, both informal and formal discussions dealing with the post fire concepts do have positive and negative aspects.

BP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

BP - Essay Example It should not concentrate solely on deep-water assets. The asset portfolio of the company should be diversified. It should have onshore assets, off-shore assets, natural gas assets, shale gas assets etc. The business level strategy of BP should combine its cost leadership with product or process leadership. The process leadership can be achieved by having the most sophisticated technological processes in place. The marketing strategy of the company should focus on improving the battered brand image of BP in the minds of the consumers and other stakeholders. The corporate and brand image of the company have become unfavorable after the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The network level strategy of BP at this juncture should be one of cooperation and not of competition. BP should also pursue inorganic growth through mergers with smaller firms in the industry. Recently it bought a stake in the reserves of Reliance industries of India. Such a cooperative network level strategy will be suitable for the company. The oil & petroleum industry includes all those firms and corporations that are involved in the exploration, drilling, movement & transportation, refinement and, marketing & distribution of oil & petroleum. The importance of the oil & petroleum industry lies in the fact that oil accounts for a large portion of the world’s energy consumption. This proportion amounts to as high as 53% for the oil rich Middle Eastern nations, 32% for the nations of Europe and Asia, 44% for south and Central America, 41% for Africa and 40% for North America (Matthew Yeomans,2004). The population of the globe consumes more than 30 billion barrels of oil per day. In terms of the dollar value of the turnover of all the companies involved in the various stages of the oil & petroleum supply chain, this industry is the largest in the world. The ongoing political unrest in the Middle East and Western Africa will have an adverse impact where a significant proportion of the

Quality management in the education sector Assignment

Quality management in the education sector - Assignment Example It is a methodology of complete quality control that relies on developed metrics and organisational techniques to achieve better quality in a variety of organisational dimensions and departmental divisions (Assadej and Igel 2009). Quality management is the achievement of mutual cooperation of all members of the organisation and the connected processes and procedures needed to produce quality outputs and services which exceed expectations of customers or other related stakeholders (Evans and Lindsay 2005; Dale 1999). It is a holistic organisational philosophy that manages to combine organisation teamwork with a quality management system, using a variety of qualitative and quantitative measurement instruments to improve processes (Creswell 2003), leadership, control costs, increase the organisation’s competitive position, motivate employees, and increase organisational responsiveness in a variety of activities. Having defined quality management and total quality management procedures and ideologies, quality management strategies can be applied to the educational sector in order to improve areas such as team-working, organisational behaviour, leadership and maintain a customer orientation to achieve competitive advantage. In the educational sector, academics are a form of learning that includes improvement of individual student knowledge, skills and competencies that are able to be transferred generationally through a variety of tactics that include training, teaching and even research (Hanushek and Woessmann 2008). Outside of merely teaching quality and the provision of life-long learning, in the university sector, the goal of universities are to improve revenues, enhance the competitive positioning amongst other higher education centres in a market, and ensure top quality professionalism throughout all aspects of the teaching process. In order to accomplish the aforementioned objectives, it is necessary to implement a

BP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

BP - Essay Example It should not concentrate solely on deep-water assets. The asset portfolio of the company should be diversified. It should have onshore assets, off-shore assets, natural gas assets, shale gas assets etc. The business level strategy of BP should combine its cost leadership with product or process leadership. The process leadership can be achieved by having the most sophisticated technological processes in place. The marketing strategy of the company should focus on improving the battered brand image of BP in the minds of the consumers and other stakeholders. The corporate and brand image of the company have become unfavorable after the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The network level strategy of BP at this juncture should be one of cooperation and not of competition. BP should also pursue inorganic growth through mergers with smaller firms in the industry. Recently it bought a stake in the reserves of Reliance industries of India. Such a cooperative network level strategy will be suitable for the company. The oil & petroleum industry includes all those firms and corporations that are involved in the exploration, drilling, movement & transportation, refinement and, marketing & distribution of oil & petroleum. The importance of the oil & petroleum industry lies in the fact that oil accounts for a large portion of the world’s energy consumption. This proportion amounts to as high as 53% for the oil rich Middle Eastern nations, 32% for the nations of Europe and Asia, 44% for south and Central America, 41% for Africa and 40% for North America (Matthew Yeomans,2004). The population of the globe consumes more than 30 billion barrels of oil per day. In terms of the dollar value of the turnover of all the companies involved in the various stages of the oil & petroleum supply chain, this industry is the largest in the world. The ongoing political unrest in the Middle East and Western Africa will have an adverse impact where a significant proportion of the

Consumer Behavior Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer Behavior Blog - Essay Example As a man, the society expects you to behave in a certain way with the feminine gender expected to behave in a different way. This means that the adverts must be tuned towards what the society perceives to be feminine or masculine. But what if you pick a product that is feminine or masculine while you are of a different gender? Does it make you a lesser human? The answer is all in the psychological imprint that the society has placed as a benchmark for what we feel and how we are expected to react to these feelings. The feelings are then transferred and commoditized into products which mean that each must pick that which is â€Å"gender correct†. All in all, there are those who are oblivious of what people think about their choices. They should not be condemned. Personally, anytime I feel like picking a soft drink and I come across a diet coke or Coke Zero, I do not think about it as a gender-based product. I pick that which I feel is right for me at that particular moment, whe ther people stare back or whisper in secret. CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE Last week was such an informative outing for me. While I was just walking across the shopping mall, I realized that people were baffled by all the products that were on display. It got me thinking, ‘why are people staring and admiring display items whereas they can just go in, get what they need and go back home?’ but I realized that many of these people have only seen the adverts and do not have any clue about the products rather than what they have heard. When these products, mainly clothes and accessories are displayed, people are dismayed by the prices and also the way they appear. They do not have any knowledge about the products they want or even how they can access that information. The sources of information could be many if one chose to look. People who have already bought and used these products could form the first source of inspiration. However, they may be biased given the chances that the prod ucts may have been irrelevant or not amounting to what they expected. Another way is to get an expert in that sector and get firsthand information on the best products to buy. This may be costly as some may offer information in exchange for money, citing consultation fees. But the presence of the internet offers one a chance to get as much information as possible with the click of a button. Therefore, next time you go shopping, make sure you have the details, the prices, and the quality of the product you need rather than stand in front of a shopping mall to admire what is on display. PRODUCT APPEAL For a long time now, companies have been looking for the best way of appealing to their target client through advertising. As people look for the best, they are mainly attracted by the visual aspect of the product before quality comes to focus. Many companies have come under attack for what has been termed as sexist adverts but let us be honest: in the current digital world, sex sells! W omen will always oh-ah when they see Brad Pitt or David Beckham. Men will always stand and stare when Angelina Jolie or Eva Longoria passes by. The young generation has identified Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga as some of their favorite musicians. These are people known for their sex appeal. Is it wrong when products capitalize on these? Passing through the streets of the nearby town, one cannot miss these sexual innuendos. A beautiful woman is advertising a skin lotion

Leadership Style Essay Example for Free

Leadership Style Essay Leadership is a role that not all can partake but that many have excelled at. When asked who I admire as a leader I had to think quite a while. I had to decide what category of leader I could relate to the most. Would it be a political leader, a spiritual leader, a business leader or even a military leader? Ultimately I decided that I want someone who is multi-faceted in that they can lead in many situations and scenarios. Further it seems that leading in unfamiliar and new situations can allow a leader more freedom in his direction without being swayed by observations of others in similar situations. This led me to choose George Washington as my admirable leader since â€Å"George Washington can be used as an example of strong and ethical leadership in virtually any walk of life.† (Rees 2007, p. preface) Growing up we all learned of George Washington and his role as the first president of the United Sates. We hear of his honesty as told through the story of the cherry tree and so on. His leadership is what gave him this large mark in our history books and it was not only displayed through his presidency. He was first a great military leader. In this role he displayed leader characteristics such as toughness, persistence, bravery and organization. These characteristics earned him the respect of his troops and the ongoing admiration of an entire country. His time as a political leader is what he is remembered most for. He was able to use his charismatic presence and moral strength to maneuver through a turbulent political environment. The leadership traits of foresight and strategic planning allowed him to hold at bay the continental army from a brittle and new civilian government. Through his, and with the help of other great leaders, efforts the path was paved for the United Sates to become the world’s leading super power. Though other leaders have achieved similar feats throughout history this one stands out for me as I have directly benefited from George Washington’s leadership.  Lastly a notable leadership trait that I admire of George Washington’s is his moral leadership. This helps distinguish him from other leaders of world powers before and after his time. It was not uncommon for leaders like Hitler, Stalin, and the Caesar’s or Persian Empire leaders who accomplished similar â€Å"world power† feats to rule by an iron fist and without morality to reach their goals. George Washington used his moral compass to create what may be a much longer lasting arena in which to lead, one that could be passed on to other worthy leaders. Many would like to think that they have the characteristics of a great leader. The reality is that if I, or anyone else, had the perfect mesh of traits for a leader then we would in fact be leading. While I do manage staff, departments and facilities I see myself as a professional and only an aspiring leader. It is my hope that through this course and the others I with be involved in throughout my time at University of Phoenix I will come closer to actually leading. Currently I have some leadership characteristics. There are some that seemed to come naturally and others that have taken time, effort and education. I’ve always seemed to have a knack at argument, or for our scholarly purposes, excellent persuasion ability. I can think clearly during exchanges and use opposing thinkers own examples and analogies to further substantiate my position. I treat people with respect regardless of their status. I strive to have a perfect balance on confidence and humility. I do not fear collaboration and tend to communicate well. If I were to list all the things I would need to do in order to become a better leader this paper would never end. In order to avoid this I will talk only about the traits I feel are the most important and in need of further understanding and practice from myself. Leveraging team strength’s needs some attention from me. I tend to look at people in their roles and corner them there. If I open my eyes a bit more as to their aptitude in other areas I could find that shining stars are sitting right in front of me. I need to be more fearless and take more risks. I have a tendency to play things safe seeking acceptable outcomes when I could take risks and seek excellent outcomes. If I were to take on a little more compassion for things going on with the people around me I may be able to find ways to create more dedicated followers. Followers that know I believe in them and care for their own well-being as opposed to simply the desired outcome of my leadership. Ultimately I wish to lead by example. I want to  lead follower’s development and act as a resource for their advice and assistance (Daft 2008). The greatest satisfaction I can achieve as a leader would be not only for my own desired success in life to be experienced but also to carve a path for those around me to thrive as well. Good leadership in my opinion will always result in an accumulative good, not and individual good. References Daft, R. (2008). The Leadership Experience. Mason: Thompson Learning, Inc. . James Rees, Stephen J. Spignesi (2007). George Washingtons Leadership Lessons. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, Inc.

New marketing plan for HMV canada

New marketing plan for HMV canada This report proposes a new marketing plan for HMV Canada and incorporates proposals on new profit streams detailed examination of the marketing environment, swot analysis, provides information on SMART objectives, gives a clear segmentation targeting and positioning report, proposals for 7Ps and control and evaluation will be provided in the end. This report has been created in close teamwork , using primary information through interviewing some of the HMV managers and secondary information available in HMV annual reports. HMV group is a leading specialist entertainment retailer operating through different stores in the UK, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore and transactional local territory websites, which include digital, download. It operates a small specialist chain of entertainment shops in the UK trading as Fopp. In Live entertainment, the group operates 12 venues, summer festivals and ticketing in-store and online. The group is extending to high-quality cinema and pay-to-play games. Hmv is also the UKs leading bookseller, operating as, In-store, Online digital Waterstones. Profit /loss 2010 Directory HMV UK Ireland: Total sales of 1,242 £m increased by 7.6%. HMV International: Total sales of 253 £m decreased by 8.5%. Hmv Live: The Groups result includes 0.9 £m of profit after tax making an operating loss of 0.2 £m. Waterstones: Waterstones total sales decreased by 6.5%, making total sales of 513.6 £m. Joint venture 7digital Inc: The Group acquired 50% of 7digital Inc, a digital media services company, The cash paid for it was  £8.1m. Acquisition of MAMA Group Plc: The acquisition of MAMA Group Plc for  £47.0m in cash, This was to achieve control over the Mean Fiddler Group, Net assets acquired was a total of 20 £m. HMV UK Ireland: The business now trades from 285 stores, following the integration of 32 ex-Zavvi [ex-specialist competitor] stores. HMV International: 125 HMV stores in Canada, 7 stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and local territory websites. Waterstones Total of 314 stores. the groups strategies: The company has successfully delivered most of the strategic objectives in the three-year plan commencing March 2007; The new strategies will be discussed later. FORCES ANALYSIS: Competitive Rivalry: [strong competitiveness] Supermarkets: Online: In general, supermarkets are not considered effective competitors to Large Range Retailers, as they stock a narrower range of titles, predominately best sellers and do not provide the browsing experience or pre-sales service offered by the others. Hmv competes with Amazon, iTunes, Play.com and other generalist and mass merchant retailers; Amazon offers a superior browsing experience as they have the ability to generate recommendations based on past purchases, as well as huge range of products. HMV Canada competes with Future Shop/Best Buy and Wal*Mart. The threat of entry: [high] The barriers to entry are low at all levels, with the increasing number of New competitors entering the internet sector to market their product directly to consumers, and also the use of technology that makes small companies, they face low barriers to entry with investments usually being recovered in short time, the threat is high . The power of buyers: [high] Because of the strong market position of Hmv as main routes to market, and as important marketing vehicles, Hmv are able to negotiate significant discounts with suppliers for the volume they sell, so the suppliers will have no option but to agree to higher discount terms. The power of suppliers: [low] In this market, the power of high street retailers like Hmv controls suppliers and as a result make their power very low, as discussed before, the buyers are very powerful and can incredibly threaten the suppliers to agree on important discount rates. So, the power of suppliers in this market is low. The threat of substitutes: [high] As discussed above, the technologic development and the growth of new digital market has made it easy for new substitutes products to compete with the high street retailers, and the threat of new substitutes in the market has become greater. SWOT analysis internal Strengths Market leading specialist in music, DVD and books Waterstones, member of HMV group is UKs largest high street bookseller Ottakars takeover- specialist book portfolio Fopp Stores [the group operates as a small specialist trading as Fopp.] Operations in seven territories Connections in film industry and events and festival ticketing. Few loss-making stores important Sales growth every year 100% of all packaging used in deliveries is either Re-used or recycled. outstanding product range across all genres Vibrant and stimulating store environments in key shopping locations. The use of in-store radio and listening posts and the latest plasma screen video walls. in-store personal appearances (PAs) :[album signings, and also live performances] Group synergies [Hmv and Waterstones have key operational features in common, example: the management of stock and inventory]. Strong internal communication with head office and employee in stores SWOT analysis + PESTEL external PESTEL Opportunities Political Economic Strategic alliances with media distributors/producers. Live music and entertainment evolve the product mix in stores and online Invest in cinema screens Social Online social networking Loyalty card scheme develop store atmosphere (increase footfall) Sufficient disposable income Technological Internet /digital downloads Pay-to-play services. Digital products E-books/e-readers and related accessories Mobile phone digital media In-store instant digital product purchase. Environmental Decrease Carbon footprint Reduce energy usage in stores. reduce water usage in stores: Waste management /recycling. green build [energy efficient ] Legal SMART objectives. Concentration on increase of revenue and profitability of business in 2011 through implementing new profit streams detailed in 7P proposals below, and monitoring the performance and execution of these business plans . The renaissance of stores of Hmv Group by reducing marketing expenses. Developing online music download portlal for affrortable pricing in first quarter of 2011. Pay more attention to the internet free illegal file sharing by finding new solutions how to ban or stop these type of anti-copyright issues by working with government in order to come up with new actions against those issues. Because an illegal file sharing causes much problems to financial, political and social ways for the Hmv Group Plc. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies. Through this part of the report, it will be focused on the methods in which a well-built strategy of market segmentation, targeting and positioning factors to successful marketing planning. Market Segmentation. It is generally suggested that, a market segment is made of a group of consumers who have similar set of needs and desires. There are a number of effective methods, which Hmv Group management should approach to segment HMV in competitive market: Geographic country, cities, population destiny, climate. Psychographic lifestyle, characteristics, personality. Demographic family life cycle, income and occupation , race, nationality, religion, education, age, sex. Behavioural knowledge, attitudes, readiness to purchase, occasions, benefits, loyalty status. From these concepts, it will be more convenient to apply to market segmentation of Hmv Group Plc. From the research it has been proven that, the geographic strategies of Hmv stores in Canada are basically located in every high street of the cities and towns. This is a successful way to open the Hmv stores in busy places where more consumers visit to purchase the products. If we look at psychographic strategies of Hmv Group Plc, it aims to change or effect positively to consumer lifestyles and personalities. Therefore, the Hmv concerns these terms into consumer views and commitments as to keep existent consumers and also new consumers by supplying with quality and brand new products. Demographic strategies, which Hmv that should be chosen with reasonable and profitable decisions. For that reason, several stages in the family life cycle which will be the most effective factors that should be concentrated: Bachelor stage: Young and single people who aged between 16-25 years old and they have few financial obligations which means they are able to spend money for new products. The classification of this group segment in occupation and income is normally semi skilled or unskilled (Group D) and casual workers, students or unemployed individuals (Group F). Usually, they are most likely to show their interests in buying entertainment products such as games, movies, music albums, books and new technologies such as mobile phones, computers and other brand new products. Newly married couples: In addition, another segment of people who are newly married couples without children and they aged between 20-30 years old. They have higher purchase rate of consumer desirables. This target group has disposable income available, therefore being valuable consumer group. The social grades for newly married people are basically, professional, intermediate managerial skilled (Group B) and junior managerial skilled, supervisory or skilled individuals (Group C1/C2). Market Targeting. Hmv Group Plc should apply market targeting in order to make decisions how those certain segment groups can be targeted. Differentiated market when an organisation targets numerous groups of segments. It would be effective decision for the Hmv Group Plc to choose differentiated market, for the reasons of having several pointed segments for their products. Because, it develops different products and services with separate marketing mix strategies targeted at the changing groups in competitive market. It is widely proven that, the most usual customers of Hmv are perceptive devotees who observe each purchase as a high priority. However, one of the visions of Hmv is to make their discerning shoppers and casual browsers satisfied by providing trusted and valuable brands. Product Positioning. Product positioning determines on the position within the market that product is to inhabit. In this way of strategy, Hmv should do product positioning by appealing product income and how it varies from present and possible competing products. According to Wilson and Gilligan (2005, p.354), there are several influences on product positioning and it would be good decision for Hmv Group Plc to pay attention to these suggestions of authors: Product variety Performance Prices Distribution network Advertising and promotion Consumer profiles Word of mouth Customers experiences Media used By analyzing these suggestions of authors, the product positioning strategy that Hmv can come with by attracting consumers by offering promotional, quality and price discounted products that might change consumers buying behaviour.

Aztecs 5 :: essays research papers

Analysis of an Aztec Encounter   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Spaniard and Aztec civilizations were two completely different worlds whose fated encounter caused some surprising reactions from both parties. Neither of these nations knew exactly what to expect or how to react to each other’s behaviors. Differences in religion, customs and weaponry became the deciding factors of who would be the dominant aggressor in these encounters. Even though both parties were unsure of what to expect, the Spaniards had already set a goal for themselves before they set foot in Mexico. They wanted to conquer the other nation and exploit them for anything of value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The climax of the Aztec Empire and the conquistadors occurred when Motecuhzoma and Cortes met face to face for the first time. The Spaniards as well as the Aztecs had no clue what to expect. Motecuhzoma told Cortes, “Our lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on earth… to sit on your throne, under its canopy.'; This was due to the fact that the Aztec religion told of a god, Quetzalcoatl, who would come from the heavens and take his place as ruler of the Aztec Empire. Thus Motecuhzoma showered the Spaniards with many fine gifts. Unlike the Spaniards believed, these fine gifts were not really a sign of Aztec submission but rather as a sign of wealth and power. In order to give proper respect to their so-called god, the Aztecs had to show that they were a worthy and powerful nation. The Spaniards took this as a weakness. They thought the Aztecs feared them, which boosted up their confidence level even though they were gre atly outnumbered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Spaniards had to communicate with the Aztecs by using La Malinche as an interpreter. She basically made the Aztecs believe that Cortes was a good man and would be cause them no harm. They also had other indigenous people who were allied with the Spanish. The Aztecs must have viewed this as a sign that these strangers would be peaceful since they had others of their kind on the Spaniard’s side. La Malinche translated all that Motecuhzoma had said to Cortes. On page sixty-four of The Broken Spears it says, “Cortes replied in his strange and savage tongue…'; In other passages in the book it depicts the Spaniards as wild and uncivilized. This brings up another point that just as the Spaniards thought of the Aztecs as being barbaric, some Aztecs felt the same way about the Spaniards.

Inner City

1. Financial Ratios— †¢Liquidity Ratio: measure the availability of cash to pay debt. Current Ratio = Current assets/ Current Liabilities 262,515/ 285,030= 0. 92 There is a problem meeting its short term obligations The best way to improve this ratio and better position the business to cover its short-term obligations is to better manage current liabilities (accounts payables).Generate more profit (cash) out of each sale by increasing profit (as long as it is competitive within the industry), reducing costs of goods sold (making the product with less cost or providing services with less costs) or finding efficiencies throughout the operating cycle. †¢Asset Management Ratio: indicate how successfully a company is utilizing its assets to generate revenues. Inventory Turnover= COGS/ Average inventory 1,428,730/ 18,660= 76. 57 Indicate a shortage or inadequate inventory levels, which may lead to a loss in business.Average days to sell the inventory= 365 days/ inventory t urnover ratio 365/ 76. 57= 4. 8 Measure of the number of times inventory is sold or used in a time period (a year). A low turnover rate might point to overstocking, obsolescence, or deficiencies in the product line or marketing effort. On the other hand, a high turnover rate might indicate inadequate inventory levels, which can lead to a loss in business, as the inventory is too low (stock shortages). Receivables Turnover= Sales/ Accounts Receivable 1,784,080/ 242,320= 7. 36 A low ratio implies the company should re-assess its credit policies in order o ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for the firm. Days Receivable= 365/ Receivables Turnover 365/7. 36= 49. 6= 50 The receivables turnover ratio is used to calculate how well a company is managing their receivables. Total assets turnover= Net Sales Revenue/ Average Total Assets 1,784,080/ 294,565= 6. 06 Measures the efficiency of a Co. use of its assets in generating sales revenue. Companies w ith low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover, while those with high profit margins have low asset turnover. Debt Management Ratio: measure the firm's use of Financial Leverage and ability to avoid financial distress in the long run. The use of debt can improve returns to stockholders in good years and increase their losses in bad years. Debt Ratio= Total Liabilities (Total Debt)/ Total Assets (285,030+ 15,000)/ 294,565= 1. 02 All assets are financed by creditors and some losses are covered by creditors. Indicates the proportion of a company's debt to its total assets. It shows how much the company relies on debt to finance assets. The higher the ratio, the greater the risk associated with the firm's operation.A low debt ratio indicates conservative financing with an opportunity to borrow in the future at no significant risk. †¢Profitability Ratio: represents the % of total sales that Co. retains after incurring the direct costs (variable costs) associated with produc ing the goods sold. Return on Assets= Net Income/ Average Assets 17,610/ 294,565= 5. 98% Indicates that the company is asset heavy. Net Profit Margin= Net Income/ Sales Revenue 17,610/ 1,784,080= 0. 987% A high percentage of each dollar generated by the company in revenue is actual profit Gross Profit Margin= 1,784,080-1,428,730)/ 1,784,080= . 20% Indicates that gross margin isn’t large enough to cover other expenses beyond cost of goods sold. Purpose of margins is to determine the value of incremental sales, and to guide pricing and promotion decision. Understanding and monitoring gross margins can help business owners avoid pricing problems, losing money on sales, and ultimately stay in business. Helps avoid offering prices that are too low or have costs that are too high to ultimately make a profit. 2. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats— †¢Strengths: Fast Service/ delivery- supplied paint to contractors within 24 hours, -Steady growth in its mark et, -Competitive price, -Cheap rent/ low overhead costs- gives a competitive advantage, -Cheap employee wages- nonunion organization, -Low production costs- low cost and high quality paint, -Excess capacity †¢Weaknesses: -Unorganized- operating with no management or financial controls, -Lack of consistent and reliable inventory control system, -No customer record (manual count): wastes too much time, -No office space, no billing records, no shipping information -Undesirable ocation and building is in poor condition: old plant, and old equipment (dusty, dirty environment) -No sales personnel, -No computer, no database, -Inexperienced/ unskilled employees, -Lack of delegation and employee empowerment -Narrow product line, -Bad cash flow: insufficient financial resources to fund any changes, -Culture, -Lack of customer confidence: customer perception as a company that negotiates price and unreliable to fill large orders. -Lag between time when they are paying their suppliers and e mployees versus time it takes to collect receivables from customers (30-60 days) †¢Opportunities: Expand product range: go after different segments, -Purchasing a computer to organize data and reduce needless paperwork, -Increase market share by taking large orders, -Hiring professional salesmen to ensure consistent growth and accountants/ consultants to identify problems and solutions: Lower cost of goods sold, lower expenses due to Walsh’s salary, and lower bad debt. †¢Threats: -Market is in slow growth- housing market and overall economy, -High bargaining power of suppliers -High threat of substitutes: larger Co are more reliable Threat of new entrants,low entry barriers in paint manufacturing industry -Rumors that company is in difficult financial straits- unable to pay suppliers and owes a lot for payment on previous taxes, -No audit has been performed= IRS penalties: Wash did not include his income taxes in his income statement; he owes $38,510 in taxes. 3. Re commendations— Within 30 Days: †¢Pay his taxes before he gets audited †¢Collect bad debt from clients †¢Hire personnel to assist in various tasks -Salesmen and accounting managers †¢Grow business and solve current financial problems Within 90 Days: Inner City Paint should keep records of inventory, finances, billing info. -They should invest in a computer and keep all records in a database to automatically calculate changes. †¢Take a cut in high salaries †¢Find and research new suppliers -To be able to provide timely delivery for large orders †¢Minimize COGS Beyond 90 Days: †¢Buy more equipment and trucks †¢Improve management skills and create policies †¢Earn business of larger clients †¢Manage business and growth of the company and to be able to acquire companies in the future that help attaining a larger market share.

Gran Torino Transcultural Analysis Essay

Gran Torino starring Clint Eastwood was about a man’s struggle in adapting to the changes in his environment when confronted by unfamiliar exposure to cultural differences. The film was chosen because it told a story about one’s struggle with traditional practice, cultural diversity, gender roles, and the acceptance of others. In terms of culture, there was an abundance of traditional practices related to the Hmong community. The screenplay was written by Nick Schenk and the movie was filmed in July 2008 (Longwell, T). Gran Torino was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also played the role of the main character known as Walt Kowalski. Walt was an American man and a Korean War veteran who resided in a neighborhood that became inhabited by Hmong families (Gran Torino, 2008). The relationship that Walt had with his own family was disconnected and distant because his sons embraced the modern way of living but Walt was more traditional. Walt was portrayed as a grum py old man who did not like to socialize with others. All of that changed when Walt became associated with the Hmong children next door, Thao and Sue. Walt saved Thao from being taken by the Hmong gang members and was viewed as a hero by the Hmong families despite the fact that Walt was just trying to keep other people off his lawn. Upon an unexpected invitation by Sue, Walt’s world became intertwined with the Hmong community as he was introduced to various traditional Hmong customs and foods. After a series of events, the Hmong gang returned and injured Thao’s family which prompted Walt to seek redemption from his war past by sacrificing himself for the safety of Thao and Sue. The film portrayed culture clashes between an American and Hmong families while focusing on the struggles that Hmong immigrants endure to survive within their community. The Hmong population was great in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it was the original setting of Gran Torino and also the home town of screenplay writer Nick Schenk (Longwell). Schenk had never written any other featured films prior to Gran Torino and it was his first recognized piece. In the early 90s, Schenk worked at a factory where many of his co-workers were Hmong and he gained some knowledge about the history of Hmong people (Longwell). The Hmong sided with the U.S during the Vietnam War but ended up in refugee camps due to communist takeover after the U.S. troops left, which resulted in the Hmong fleeing to the U.S. to escape from the communist forces (Gran  Torino, 2008). Schenk began to incorporate Hmong families into the story with a Korean War veteran to emphasize a clash of cultures. The intended purpose of this film was to express the cultural barriers in the language, customs, and gender roles between Hmong people and Americans. The writers and directors did a great job on portraying masculinity as the perceived dominant role between the characters. In Gran Torino, Walt criticized Thao for doing things that men are not supposed to do such as gardening. Thao does a good job in representing role reversal because he was proud to do women chores like washing the dishes and gardening. Walt tried his best to look after Thao and made Thao masculine by teaching him how to talk to other â€Å"real† men. Walt believed that real American men are supposed to be strong, fight for themselves, pay taxes, and work hard at a hands-on laboring job. Walt eventually helped Thao become a man by getting him a â€Å"real† job, tools for construction work, and social skills to interact with other men. This film was derived from Schenk’s prior experience as a factory worker with other Hmong people and this writer did not create any other significant work subsequent to the production of Gran Torino. The plot of t he movie was to show how two different types of culture collide and interact. In addition, there was also indication that masculinity in males was important as shown by the main character, Walt. The sub-plot was to show the viewers that men are not supposed to be barbaric but to become a sophisticated people with class and follow society’s rule. The main characters were Walt Kowalski, Spider, Thao, and Thao’s older sister, Sue. Walt played the dominating male that represented how a real man should be. Spider, Thao and Sue’s cousin, represented an antagonist barbaric villain that supposed to be a gangster whom terrorized Walt’s neighborhood. Thao played an innocent feminine teenage role that Walt believed was not masculine, but has class and self-respect. Sue played the smart, sophisticated, typical school Asian girl who ended up getting injured by her cousin, Spider, and his gang. It was through the interaction with Sue and Walt that the viewers were able to experience Hmong history and cultural customs. In one of the scenes during a car ride home, Sue explained to Walt the origin of Hmong people and she also invited him to her house for meal where Walt thoroughly enjoyed the foods of Hmong culture. Walt and Spider treated Thao like a child because they both wanted to teach Thao how to become a man. Spid er taught Thao that  he needed to become a barbaric person to become a â€Å"real† man, while Walt taught Thao that hard work and following society norms was what a â€Å"real† man should do. Sue was the only main female character that was able to change Walt’s mind about Hmong people. Because of Sue’s persistence, Walt decided to help her and her family from Spider and his gang. Walt became the protagonist at the end of the movie by risking his own life to bring down Spider and his gang and restoring peace to the community. My opinion about the film was that the director did a good job on portraying masculinity and how a real man should act and treat a woman. There were a lot of racism coming out of Walt’s mouth about Asians, but in the end, I believed he had a change of heart about his Hmong neighbors. I believe he came to realizations that not all Asians are the same as he remembered during his Korean War days. The way Walt finally gave a confession to the priest and how he died for his neighbor was really unexpected. The acting of Walt’s character by Clint Eastwood was really good as well. Walt’s character caught my attention and made me want to know more about his previous life, especially when he talked about how he was in the Kore an War. The cinematography could have been better and at times, it felt like I was watching a biography rather than a movie. One of the flaws was that Walt did not get in a fight for his rude behavior towards everyone that he encountered. Another flaw was that he sacrificed his life for a neighbor when he knew that he could have called the cops on Spider and his crew for possession of a fire arm and shooting his neighbor’s house, rather than choosing death at the end. Also, I believed the movie could have been better if they left out his illness from the doctor’s visit. If they had left that out and continued with the suicidal death in the end rather than risking Walt’s life because of a terminal illness, Walt’s character would have been more heroic. On the contrary, a strength of the movie was when Sue corrected Walt about the pronunciation of her race while giving him a history of where Hmong people came from and why they immigrated to America. The ultimate strength was when Walt died for his neighbor by going to Spider’s apartment complex with witnesses around to see h im get murdered. Throughout the movie, the film showed the audience that Walt always carried a gun to scare off his foes, but at the end, he realized that he did not need a weapon to bring down Spider and his gang. One of the things that I learned from the film was that nurses should not be too quick to judge someone based on appearance, like how Walt called all the Asians â€Å"gooks† without knowing their nationality. In one of the scenes in the movie, Walt was in the waiting room at the hospital for a check-up and a nurse mispronounced his name. The nurse called him â€Å"Koski† while his name was â€Å"Kowalski.† Walt gave her a disgusting look and the nurse did not apologize or asked if she was mispronouncing his name or not. As a future nurse, I want to maintain a professional role and acknowledge patients by their correct name. Correctly pronouncing a patient’s name also eliminates human error and also prevents doctors from diagnosing the wrong person. In conclusion, I would recommend this movie to people who are uneducated about Asian culture. There were a lot of racist terms that Walt used in the movie about Asians and the stereotypes of Asians eating dogs which are not true. I would rate the movie a 4 out of 5 stars because the movie was rich in cultural content and character development. The film is appropriate for audiences ages 13 and up and mainly geared toward mal es. There were a lot of violent content and gang related terms involved. As a result of watching this movie, I learned that one can change if surrounded by the right people under inevitable circumstances such as Walt’s culture clash with his Hmong neighbors. In addition, helping one another was the most rewarding take home message of Gran Torino. Whether I am helping a patient or just lending a helping hand to my next door neighbor, I will remember to be kind as to prevent one another from going down the wrong paths. References Eastwood, C. (Producer & Director). (2008). Gran torino [Motion Picture]. Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. Longwell, T. (2008). Eastwood recognizes Hmong immigrants with new film. Reuters. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/12/09/us-gran-idUSTRE4B81ZC20081209

Chemistry Assignment Essay

Metals are mined from ores, considering yield to see if it is economically viable for a business to mine at a particular site. However, due to environmental damage and global warming, recycling has increased globally to create a sustainable future. By examining the cost and energy expenditure of recycling and extracting aluminium we can understand why recycling is a better choice than extracting metal from its ore. Discuss the importance of predicting yield in the identification, mining and extraction of commercial ore deposits Yield is the amount of product obtained or in mining terms how much (amount) a particular metal can be extracted from an ore (a deposit of minerals in which a commercial metal can be extracted from). Predicting yield in the processes of identification, mining and extraction is vital to the success of a business. For a business to compete with the global markets, the investment must be profitable and in some cases sustainable to last year’s into the future. Percentage composition is used widely in the mining industries to calculate and measure the yield of particular metal from an ore. For example, haematite (Fe2O3), a compound consisting only of iron and oxygen, can theoretically produce around 70% iron while chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), consisting only of copper, iron and sulphur can produce theoretically 35% copper. However if we express yield as a percentage of the ore dug out, an iron ore would only contain about 16% iron and for a copper ore only contain 1-5% copper. This is because an ore dug out of the ground contains unwanted minerals like dirt, rocks and other waste products which add to the mass of the required mineral ;giving a low yield percentage. Since compounds like chalcopyrite and haematite have uniform composition, ores are mixtures of useful minerals and other waste products which have variable composition (different location will yield different amounts of metals). This will affect if it is economical to mine the ore at a particular location and hence demonstrate that predicting yield is important. Predicting yield in the process of mining and extraction is important, whether extracting the metal from the ore or actually mining it, because it can determine if it is profitable or not. Extraction techniques must be efficient and sustainable. Copper is extracted through roasting it with oxygen before smelting it to form liquid copper. It is then reduced by bubbling air into the liquid copper to reduce copper sulphide to copper metal. Since this sulphur dioxide doesn’t escape fast enough, it forms blister copper with is 98% copper. Electrolysis is used to refine it. Due the significant amount of energy required and the cost involved it may seem copper is unprofitable. Yet if the copper price is high, the consumption is high, location is not far from refinery plants and factories that use copper, if there is a steady sustainable source(abundance) of copper ore and the extraction technique is efficient plus cost effective then a profit can be gained from the high cost of extraction, transport and the money needed to pay for the energy consumption. For a copper ore site to be economical it must contain at least 5% of copper or more. Haematite is extracted through reducing it with carbon monoxide to form iron (metal) which falls to the bottom of the blast furnace. Limestone is also heated in the blast furnace which decomposes and reacts with silica to form a slag that floats on the liquid iron, hence stopping iron from reacting with oxygen. High heat is needed to separate iron from oxygen since iron is reactive to oxygen and sand and limestone is needed to prevent the union of these two elements. Hence for haematite to be economically viable an ore must contain at least 20% iron as the energy needed to extract the metal is large and the world’s demand for iron is great. Since iron ore price is relatively high, a profit can be obtained from deposits of iron ore that contain more than 20% of iron. Hence predicting the yield of ore deposits is important to determine if it is profitable to mine. Justify the increased recycling of metals in our society and across the World Recycling is a process that changes waste materials into new products. In recent years, recycling of metals has increased dramatically in Australia and across the world. This is because we are more aware that recycling metals saves money, energy and causes far less pollution compared to extracting metals from ores. This is also spurred on by the fact that our metal ore deposits are depleting (going to run out) if we mine and extract metals at this rate. Hence recycling has been encouraged by organisation like Planet Ark and this has helped spread the message of the benefits of recycling instead of putting money into extracting and mining ores. ‘Reusing and recycling’ metals allow us to conserve these precious commodities so it would be available for the future generation. Demand for metals will increase as new technology will be discovered. Hence recycling is needed to return back old and useless appliance so it can be made it new useful products. Figure 1: It shows froth floatation Note: The vast amount of water used during the process Generally recycling metals use less energy (melting material requires the breaking of weak intermolecular bonds), water and cost less (less energy is needed to break the intermolecular bonds hence the cost will be minimised and new products with recycled material would be cheaper). Energy used in metal extraction comes from coal, oil or gas (as high temperatures are needed to break strong Intramolecular bonds). These fuels are non-renewable and are limited. It also releases large amounts of greenhouse gases when burnt which can cause global warming. Water is used extensively in mining during froth floatation (figure 1). This water can be better spent for human consumption as some countries are experiencing drought and this can cause famine (Africa). Also, harmful chemicals used in the extraction of some metals can seep into the soil and water making it toxic to fauna, flora and humans (figure 1. 1). Figure 1. 1: Acid mine water pollution For example, Bauxite (aluminium ore) is mined near tropical forest. This can cause irreversible damage to the environment as natural vegetation is destroyed, leaving soil bare and subjected to erosion. It can scar the land(figure 2)(removing so much soil and rock that leaves a gigantic hole in the landscape) and since many chemical process need to take place before aluminium is extracted, slag (unwanted metals) are left behind and pollutants are released into the atmosphere adding to global warming. Figure 2: Shows a mine that is extracting metals Note: The extensive invasion of the land and that it is irreversible. But recycling aluminium on the other hand doesn’t scar the land. Little to no pollution occurs and natural vegetation and fauna are not disrupted. Large amounts of rubbish are no produced and water is not needed. For every 1 tonne of aluminium that is recycled, 5 tonne of bauxite is conserved. Metals make up a small percentage of the ore. A large percentage of the ore is the gangue (consisting of dirt, sand and other material) which ends up in landfills. This reduces the space for cities to expand, limiting the number of farms and communities that can be developed and cause overcrowding. Recycling metals doesn’t take up space; hence reduces landfill, as scrap metals are mostly recycled back to make new products. Since ores are non-renewable resources (created by the Big bang and there is no way of returning it to Earth’s crust) it is conserved, reducing the amount of mines opened and environmental impacts that it is associated with. As ores high in metal concentration decrease, the cost of processing ever less pure ores increase. To compensate for the increase in less pure ores, more must be mined. This increases the price of ores making it a valuable resource which is expensive to the consumer. Recycling metals helps to lower the prices of these ores, as the metal is reused without having to mine for new ores. Metals are used worldwide for a variety of purposes from soft drink cans to aircraft bodies. Australia has recycled 63% of aluminium cans; nearly two billion cans a year with a total value estimated to be 33 million dollars. America has recycled in excess of 62. 6 billion cans in the year 2004, worth more than one billion dollars back into the economy. Since recycled aluminium is exported to other countries, Australia benefits as it generate large amounts of money; positively impacting on Australia economy and its benefit flowing into society. However, recycling can only be done if used material is collected from scattered location. The ore on the other hand is confined to one location (the mining site); where factories are often close by to produce products from the freshly extracted metals. But once the product hits the shelves it is scattered across many different countries and throughout communities. It is hard to keep track of all these products as some end up in landfill, waterways or in the people’s backyard. Collecting used material for recycling would cost money as trucks are needed to transport scrap metal to recycling centres. Hence energy (fuel) is needed to operate this machinery. In recent years (figure3), the media has focused on recycling aluminium drink cans because they are widely used and commonly dispersed inappropriately throughout the community. E. g. In waterways, storm drains and in the ocean. Recycling of others metal like iron, steel, copper and lead have always been significant but never reported as it is mainly used at an industrial/commercial level rather than by consumers. However since iron rust, it can be returned to the environment, but aluminium doesn’t corrode (if it does, it forms an oxide layer that actually protects it from further oxidation) it ends up in landfill; taking up space. The only way to ‘get rid of it’ is to recycle it so it can be made into new products. Notice that recycling of lead and ferrous materials have decreased Figure 3: Shows recycling metals Notice that when metals are recycled they can be reused to make different products. Recycling is a sustainable process, saving the environment from pollution, money, conserving natural resources and reduces landfill. Energy is also reduced as recycling requires less energy than extracting a metal from its ore. This will ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy a better standard of living. Analyse information to compare the cost and energy expenditure involved in the extraction of aluminium from its ore and the recycling of aluminium The recycling of aluminium is cost-effective and uses less energy compared to extraction of aluminium from bauxite. To extract bauxite, land must be cleared for mining. Heavy equipment like bulldozers, hydraulic excavators and explosives are used to clear and mine the ore. These equipment cost considerable amount of money and use vast amount of energy (fuel) to operate. Transporting trucks, ships, railway cars are used to transport ores to extracting facilities or shipped to other countries; cost money and again energy (fuel) is needed to power these machines. Notice the size of the person compared to the truck.

Racial Conflicts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Racial Conflicts - Essay Example These racial conflicts have brought the societies to a different level, and seem to be rising day by day. With the existence of the racial conflicts, the history has shown how immensely they have affected the world economy and the standard of living. Although it is a global issue, it has been seen that each society has been adversely hit by the problem resulting in the impact on their quality of life. The world is one place which has to be protected and our species given the right to live freely. Unfortunately, due to the value of life, conflicts arise constantly crossing the ideas of religion, social class, and appearances. Although it can be assessed that most of us can live with at least one, but for most of us, it is a critical point (Levine 128). As an effect, the political leaders feel constantly pressurized as to the influence of these racial groups. And thus, while making necessary decisions, they might as well feel partial or biased. Their choices tend to reflect the whole world. This is because control of one country affects the surrounding countries as well and impacts the racial groups throughout the globe, if of the same kind. The other countries thus act as a chain of reactions that may be brought in one country. In many ways, it has been assessed that the racial conflicts are not the result of few, but of many. And it does not only affect one of the aspects but affects the whole globe collectively. These racial conflicts have been affecting the various factors of the globe. On one hand, it affects the psychological growth of the racial group as they have to suffer criticisms, unfairness, and inequality in the society at the hands of the majorities.  Ã‚  

International Systems Corporatin Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Systems Corporatin - Case Study Example The most significant problems that are affecting the plant include, material cost and a bad co-ordination between Research & Development people and Production engineers. Repeated design changing is making the overall cost higher. Had been designs coming from R & D section go directly for production without any more rectification, cost would have lowered. There is a dispute between R & D and Production peoples. One is blaming the other, which forces me to incorporate one special investigation team to govern actually where the conflict is. One design after coming to Production section does not reserves the right to be changed without proper notification to me. According to the notice sent by Employee & Community Relation Manager, we need to hire women and people of color very soon and make sure a higher percentage will be recruited into Production section which requires more effective manpower. Nothing is born perfect. We have to give the color of perfection. Question is not how effective we are, rather question is how much more we have to be. There must be a good relation among the people in the department as well as within various departments. After getting sure that design is complete and may rule over the market then only materials should be purchased. Otherwise it's immaterial to periodically purchase and change the model structure. To set up good relationship, weekly meetings will be organized where all the in- charges of various sections may come with their ambiguities and questions if any. Other than this, picnic party, cultural activities will help the employees to intermingle. As Baker and Baker is interested for our model 80, so production engineers must do their work to make the product available as soon as possible. After that only other models and multi channel digital system will be carried out. As we are hiring people, later on works can be split up. The product whose design is about to complete; before going to production department, requisites must be sent to material management people. If after purchasing any such modification is required, it should be done showing valid cause before me. Finally, instead of maintaining own records department heads are requested to provide necessary information to the finance authority. Response to Robert Strauss We all know that company is running above the projected expenditure for last few months especially due to higher material cost. I have understood the actual reason behind it. It has been decided, next time onwards prior to sending the design to production department, a list of required materials will be given to your department. And also designers/production peoples are not allowed to change the design so easily ensuring proper utilization of the resources purchased. Model 95 will be told to stall for a moment till model 80 gets done. Another discussion I want to make with you regarding the materials that remain unutilized due to the changing of designs. We will check if

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Reflection paper - Essay Example I read many medical terms while completing this activity. The words or abbreviations were PRN, vaccine, injection, body surface area, means and extremes, milliequivalent , proportion and ratio. These five steps could be used in various problem solving situations, for example they remind you to ask questions when help is needed. They also reminded to do what needs to be done and that I should show initiative and be a team player. Dealing with Medical math this observational serve introduced me to some Pediatric considerations in dealing with medications and where Medical Math is used. Here are some of the various formulas that are used for calculating dosages for children. They are Young’s Rule, Clark’s Rule, Fried’s Rule and Body surface area. I also learned the Five Rules for Medication Administration and they are right dose, right time, right route, right medication, and the right patient. I learned the routes of administration as well and they are enteral, percutaneous, and parenteral. (Christensen, p.395) This assignment of doing an observational serve would be good for a Medical Math course for it gave me practical knowledge and practice using my math skills, for example means and extremes. It also gave me a chance to show what I can do in a Pediatric type office. I found out that I liked working with the children. This observational serve showed me how to use the various problem solving skills in an academic way along with dealing with social issues when I was reading to the children and some of them were afraid and I read a children’s book about visiting the doctor’s