Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer - Lab Report Example Conclusively, the above experiment was not as successful as expected; it had a percentage error of about 22.63%. Notably, it will be upon the person doing the experiments to be keen and incentive whilst doing the experiment to ensure a more successful experiment. These errors might have been occasioned by misreading the measurements therefore giving inaccurate records; Equipments used were inefficient therefore unreliable and inadequate time was given for expansion. Some of these errors can be reduced by recording several readings of the water temperature, allowing adequate time of heating of the metal by the steam do expansion and being accurate and keen whilst reading the measurements. Thermal expansion is very vital for engineering format mostly in contraction and expansion, due to the temperature variations. Models used in these formats that have distinct coefficients of thermal expansion may not give room for contraction and expansion of units thus causing stress. This can be demonstrated during the building of bridges and buildings (Moaveni, 2011). Notably in welding, its important to use different coefficients of expansions to join two different metals. This is so because while metals are cooling down, tensile stress will be induced in one metal whilst compressive stress will be induced in the corresponding metal. Tensile stress may make the subjected metal to occasion a hot crack during welding or rather a cold crack in service, otherwise the asaid stresses may be relieved mechanically or thermally. A relevant example of this is the austenitic stainless steel/ ferrittic steel pipe butt joints that are viably used in energy-conservations mechanisms (Moaveni, 2011). Conclusively, the experiment can be noted as prospective with a minimal percentage error of 4.55%. Notably, for accurate results these errors can be reduced by various ways such as noting down multiple readings and conducting the experiment several times, thereafter

The preface reading of Seven Kinds of Smart Essay Example for Free

The preface reading of Seven Kinds of Smart Essay The preface of Seven Kinds of Smart begins with the question, â€Å"How intelligent are you?† (1) I immediately thought that the book is probably a step-by-step guide to improve my grades. I flipped to the next page, where the book quickly runs down what it isn’t. Among them: â€Å"This book won’t help you raise your IQ score† (2). What it claims to be is a â€Å"personal cognitive self-renewal kit† (2). What does that mean? Judging from the simple overview, this book intends to make the reader understand that being smart does not have to do with grades alone. Its premise is: â€Å"(Y)ou already have enough active brain cells inside you to accomplish many great things in life† (2). The next step then is to educate readers that the brain has different intelligence ‘departments,’ which they can develop and exercise simultaneously. The book does not promise to produce geniuses, but offers ways to help readers achieve their cognitive potential. It is a â€Å"self-renewal kit† in that it contains insights, exercises, assessment activities and practical tips for self-improvement, all at the reader’s disposal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I am a fresh graduate currently seeking a job. This book, I believe, would help me know myself better—the things I am good at, the things I am capable of doing, and the things I could work on.   The book discusses multiple intelligences based on well-established research—added knowledge that I will definitely learn from. Assessing myself by filling out checklist and performing the exercises would hopefully prepare me for any kind of job interview. This book of self-assessment would hopefully boost my confidence and self-assurance. These attitudes are especially important since I am an infant crawling on all fours in the world of work. Having just enough confidence prepares the brain’s alertness and the volatile ego should circumstances in the course of my job search do not work in my favor. For the long-term, I am certain this is a good resource that I can pick up time and again to guide me in developing a modest career.

moralhod Morality in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart

Morality in The Heart of Darkness  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   "I trust I shall be forgiven the discovery that all moral philosophy hitherto was boring and belonged among the soporifics" (Nietzsche 561).   Maybe so, but the issue of moral philosophy has been discussed though out time and provides a significant element in Conrad's story Heart of Darkness.   In general, the timeless discussion traces back to the first philosophical writings of Plato and transcends from general religious grounds to general applications and codes of behavior espoused by Kant and Mills.   These individuals and lines of thought try to establish a 'good' code of behavior based on something: a benevolent god, extensible codes similar to The Golden Rule, or even relativistic collective opinion. Later, in the eighteen hundreds though the turn of the century, popular thought turned around and attacked such codes though works such as Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Nietzsche's various works like Beyond Good and Evil. In more modern times a ki nd of balancing of those two streams leads to what Richard Garner describes as amorality, or the discarding of a moral system altogether.   Conrad, who wrote Heart of Darkness while his contemporaries were denouncing objective moralities, incorporates much of these philosophies and uses the work as a demonstrative system for a unique morality. Developing a moral system generally runs into quite a few problems; mainly, and this affects systems of morality based on Judeo-Christian religious principles, that evil exists in the world.   A morality based on a Judeo-Christian God enters into a conflict between the omnibenelovence and that existence, for how could an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenelovent god allow evil to exis... ...strate his own thoughts of a relativistic morality.    Works Cited    Conrad, Joseph.   Heart of Darkness.   New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1988.    Garner, Richard.  Ã‚   The Experience of Philosophy.   Ed. Daniel Kolak,   Raymond Martin. Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996.    Guerard, Albert J.   The Journey Within. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1988. Kant, Immanuel.  Ã‚   The Experience of Philosophy.   Ed. Daniel Kolak,   Raymond Martin. Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996.    Milton, John.   Paradise Lost. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1993.    Nietzsche, Friedrich.     Beyond Good and Evil.   Trans. Marianne Cowan.   Chicago: Gateway Editions, 1955.    Plato.  Ã‚   The four Socratic dialogues of Plato.   Trans. Benjamin Jowett.   Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1934.      

Amazon E-Business

Amazon. Coma's E-Business Model Monte Sutton strayed university Assignment #2 Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course BUSSES: contemporary Business Dry. Miller Fall 201 1 Discussion 1. Discuss the pros and cons of Amazons growth and diversification of business and specialization, and make recommendations about what Amazon could have done differently. The internet has become a part of most everyone daily life for many years now. In addition E-Business has appeared for several years now.E-dustless refers to conducting business over the internet. E-Business accounts for more than one- quarter of the value of all manufacturing shipments, sales and revenues, totaling $1. 3 trillion (Boone ; Kurt, 2011). In 1996 a famous retail company In E-Business was launched called Amazon. Com_ Amazon. Com sells various products like electronics, books, music, DVD's, housemates, PC's and cars. Amazon. Com is the biggest retailer in E-Business, It has expanded Its business In more than 220 countries. Amazon had first started out as a company had first started out as an online bookstore.While selling books Amazon was making a decent profit, but Amazon leadership did not feel hat they were not making as much money as they had hoped to make tort the first year _ Also a lawsuit from Barnes and Noble prompted Amazon to come up with a way to better Its corporation. In 1999 when the E-useless boom began Amazon Went Amazon began to emerge into the world of E-Business this was the best thing they could have done. By doing this they begin to make huge profits and turned into one of the world's leaders in E-commerce. Amazon was able to take over the E- Business because they began to offer to their customer's better deals than the otherE-Business corporations could offer. They were truly focused on customer satisfaction. The firm uses sophisticated inventory tools that help keep its costs down and allow it to wait for favorable supplier prices before placing orders . Amazon was able to restock when nobody else was restocking. As demands was falling off a cliff [because other retailers had placed holiday orders much earlier], they could get better rates (Boone ; Kurt, 2011 up. 223). The owner Jeff Bozo understood that in order to remain competitive in this business they had to first focus on the needs of the customers.Understanding what customers want and need is was very beneficial for the success of the company. Also expanded its merchandise at a lower cost would also attract more customers to order from Amazon. Another benefit of Amazon was that they had partnership with numerous transportation companies and could provide fast and accurate service to their consumers. Amazon has experienced many negatives ratings from some of their customers because of some of the defective merchandise they have received. Because Amazon has partnership with many consumers to sell their merchandiseAmazon does not really know what a person may be receiving. Con sumers only know that they ordered this merchandise from Amazon and if something is wrong Amazon should be responsible for the product. I fully understand their complaint. Understand the consumer's complaint. I recently ordered a Colby MPH player from Amazon and when I got the MPH player it did not work. I looked all over the internet to try and find a contact number for Amazon but could not. I called Colby and went through some trouble shooting techniques before it was determined that the part was defective.The Colby told me to return the merchandise back to Amazon and they would replace it. Although once I went on Amazon website to find out how to return the item it was fairly easy. I felt as though instead of me returning the item back to Amazon I should have returned the item to Colby and they could have sent me a replacement item. Now I have to wait until Amazon gets the old MPH player and the they order me another one from Colby. I would recommend that Amazon find out a way to cut out the middle man so that consumers can get their replacement items in an expeditious manner. Discussion 2.Determine the impact if Amazon. Com had split up and became a family of brands (for example â€Å"Amazon† for books, â€Å"Super toys† for toys, etc. ), each with a public face but all run by the same parent company. Amazon may have lost some consumers had they would have branded themselves into a family of brands. What makes Amazon so unique is that a person can go to their one website and find everything they are looking for. The website has made so many changes to make it easier for the consumer to go directly to their website categorize what they are looking for and will e able to see Just that product.Had Amazon would have Just distinguished itself into a certain brand it would have seemed like they may have been trying to promote a certain item and this would have created competition amongst Amazon with its who truly likes ordering from Amazon. They wo uld think that this is another E- Business that they are not familiar with doing business with. The ease of going to one website and understanding that everything at this website is all Amazon and the way that you use to order your merchandise you can still do it the same way.To any companies tend to think they are doing things to make it better for the consumer but in all actuality they are confusing the consumers. Discussion 3. Determine if it would be possible for Barnes and Noble or Borders to extend their markets in the same way that Amazon. Com has. Explain your rationale. Yes I think it is very possible for Barnes and Noble or Borders to extend their markets in the same was Amazon. Com has. The reason I feel this way is because the average American consumer we are always looking for the next best marketable company on the internet.Variety is the spice of life. At first consumers would be hesitant to order something other than books from Barnes and Nobles or Borders. But once the word get out that both these companies have become and establish E-Business like Amazon they should have no problem with becoming marketable in the E-commerce business. Not all consumers are happy with ordering merchandise from Amazon, so therefore it will take another company to get into the E-commerce business and have an established reputation and more will follow.In order for Barnes and Noble and Borders to become successful they need not to try and duplicate what Amazon is already doing in the E-Business. They need to come up with other creative ways to market their products, and also try and offer better pricing and better shipping rates than Amazon has to offer. Like anything, at first business may be slow for both companies because this is a new venture for them. But once the companies understand how the E-Business works and what customers want and need I don't for see any problems with them marketing other items other than books over the internet. Discussion 4 Determine what Amazon. Mom would need to do to expand their distribution chain to include some brick and mortar outlets, and whether or not this would be a good idea. In order for Amazon to get into the Brick and Mortar outlet Amazon now would have to go out and find more building throughout the world and then higher more employees to run the outlet facilities around the world. Now Amazon instead of competing in the E-commerce industry now they would also be competing in the store industry. By doing this would cost Amazon more money and could possible reduce the decline in sales over the internet. This would not be a good idea for Amazon for many reasons.Operation cost to maintain a building and a full time staff make up a large part of the overhead cost. Most retail stores commission are a big part of a sales person salary so therefore they may not have the best interest in the internet provides more information than the sales representative could. Most consumers now days go to a retail sto re and price and item then go home on the internet and get a better deal. Amazon is doing Just fine by remaining the top E- Business on the internet, References Boone, L. , Kurt, L. , (2011). Contemporary Business. Sons Inc. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and

Is it possible to demonstrate that a sociological analysis of the body and its varied states shed ‘light’ on the experiences of embodiment?

In order to evaluate the extent in which sociological analysis sheds light on the experience of embodiment it is essential that we first break down the meanings behind the question. The concept of embodiment is derived from the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty, who argued: â€Å"that to the experience the world, we have to perceive it†¦. the embodiment of the human being is fundamental.† (cited in Reber & Reber 2001. p115). Reber & Reber (2001) go on to explain embodiment as the mode by which human beings practically engage and interact with the world. The experience of having a body alters in relation to the particular condition, or state, of the body at any one time. These varied states can include differences in long or short-term health or, for example, whether the body is in pain or not at a particular time. Other states can include diversity in age, or just altered states such as pregnancy. The sociological analysis of any subject matter involves having the ability to trace links between the wider society and the lives of the individuals within it, having an awareness of social structures. In contrast to sociological theories are those within the biological essentialist paradigm, whose explanations reduce the understanding of the body into terms of the physiological and absolute. This essay will attempt to illustrate the importance of the sociological explanation in understanding the body and its varied states, whilst highlighting the limitations of the more essentialist approach. The health and illness of the human body has traditionally been defined in terms of the biomedical model, which is based upon the reliance of scientific facts. The body is seen as a primarily biological entity thus ignoring external, environment factors, such as the family and the education system, shaping our bodies and minds. The idea that the mind and body are separate entities emanates from Descartes, dating back to the eighteenth century. A time, known as the enlightenment, when societies would come to depend more and more on scientific and rational explanations at the expense of religious explanations. There was an apparent move towards a more physiological and essentialist understanding of everyday life and a dramatic decline in more spiritual and less scientific explanations. Health and illness is traditionally described in a medical way. Pregnancy, for example, although a natural state for the female body, has undergone extreme medical intervention. Martin (1987) suggests that giving birth is in fact so medicalised that it can be described as â€Å"work done by the uterus†. She goes on to create a convincing analogy between the ‘job' of having a baby and the ability of women as workers to resist their conditions. The essentialist argument is argued to be both narrow in its assumptions regarding the body and the individual's ability to have free will. The theorists ignore the impact of external factors, arguing that all human behaviour is innate and fixed. In modern times, largely due to a more sociological understanding of the mind and body, it is understood that they in fact work together much more closely than ever realised before, and thus the concept of mind-body dualism is introduced. White (2002) argues that on the basis of empirical research sociologists demonstrate how the interactions of social class, power, gender and ethnicity enter into the formation of knowledge about the treatment of a sickness or disease. The social production and distribution of diseases and illnesses, illustrate how these varied states could be differently understood, treated and experienced by demonstrating how disease is produced out of social organisation rather than nature, biology or individual lifestyle choices. White (2002) also suggests that our knowledge of health and illness, the organisations of the professions which deal with it and our own responses to our bodily states are shaped and formed by the history of our society and our place in it. He criticises medical explanations, stating that they only serve to obscure, or completely cover, the social shaping and distribution of disease, disease categories and health services. Firstly we must consider more traditional sociological theories such as functionalism, mostly illustrated by Parsons' concept of ‘the sick role', a social role that is shaped by the social restrains of modern society. The focus is on how being ill must take a specific form in human societies in order that the social system's stability and cohesion can be maintained. Parsonian sociology emphasises the role of medicine in maintaining social harmony, pointing to the non-market basis of professional groups. Highlighting the social control of medicine in enforcing compliance with social roles in modern society. Marxist approaches emphasize the causal role of economics in the production and distribution of disease, as well as the role of medical knowledge in sustaining the class structure. Marxists are concerned with the relationship between health and illness and capitalist social organisation. Feminists' key argument is that the way in which we are socialized into masculine and feminine social roles will have a determining effect on our health and illness. They argue that medicine plays a vital role in enforcing conformity because controlling women's ability to reproduce is central to a patriarchal society. Feminists argue that the majority of medical attention paid to women is around their reproductive organs and their life cycle Marxist-feminists identify the ways in which class and patriarchy interact to define the subordinate position of women in society and the central role that medical knowledge plays in defining women. In contrast to these more structural approaches the interactionists would argue the focus should be directed at the way illness is a social accomplishment between actors rather than merely a matter of physiological malfunction (Bilton et al 1997). Self-identity has become more fluid and negotiable, separated from ‘social structures', which are often claimed to be just a figment of the sociological imagination. For some theorists the discovery of the body, linked to these weakened structures, has led to the argument that we construct our bodies as we see fit. White (2002) emphasises the openness of the body, and of the individuals that shape it. More recent notions of the body have examined the cultural meanings placed upon it, desirable body size, weight and shape etc. There has been much sociological research into understanding the ideas behind the individual's concept of ‘the self'. Much of this work is revolving around bodily appearance and individual self-perception, labels given to us by others and ourselves. Tyler (1998) investigated the recruitment and training of female flight attendants, concluding that their work: â€Å"involved adhering to culturally prescribed norms on femininity as well as organisational regulations governing her figure† Feminists' reactions to the way in which medicine ‘medicalises' their bodies have raised crucial issues at the centre of sociological explanations of disease. Illnesses are not simply deviations from the body's normal functioning, being ill can have a number of meanings that extend beyond a simple biomedical one. Sontage (1991) shows how TB and AIDS have attached meanings, so that they become ‘dirty' and ‘unclean' illnesses that ‘invade' the body. People who suffer from such stigmatised illnesses may well change the way they view their bodies and their own self-identity is affected, thus an illustration of mind-body dualism. Goffman, a key interactionist, theory of the body can be summarised by three main features. Firstly, that you can view the body as a material, communicating entity, controlled by individuals in order to facilitate and direct social interaction. Secondly, the meanings attributed to the body are determined by shared vocabularies of non-verbal language, such as facial expression and dress, which are not under the immediate control of individuals but which nevertheless categorise and differentiate between people. Thirdly, the body mediates the relationship between people's self-identity and their social identity, two quite different states. Consequently, these classifications greatly influence how individuals seek to manage their bodies and they way in which their bodies are perceived. In addition to its reflections on economic, social and political changes in society postmodernism is characterised by a mistrust of ‘science' as the truth. Senior (1996) suggests that people are more accepting of their own understanding of the world. Post modernists claim that no single theory can explain such a wide variation of experiences. Power is of crucial concern, not only economic power but also in the form of language, or discourse. Knowledge of the body becomes power, possessors of this knowledge can exercise control over those without, for example the doctor/patient relationship. Foucault, an extreme social constructionist, highlights the social role of medical knowledge in controlling populations. Similarly to Parsons, Foucault emphasises the diverse nature of power relationships in modern society, describing the emergence of a dominant medical discourse, which has constructed definitions of normality and deviance. For Foucault modern societies are systems of organised surveillance with individuals conducting the surveillance themselves, having internalised the ‘professional models' of what is appropriate behaviour. The usefulness of Foucault's position is the way in which he historically locates medical knowledge, especially in allowing for the development of the sociology of the body. By showing how the body is historically constructed, Foucault has been accepted and adapted by feminists, known as Foucauldian-feminisms, who show that it is in fact the construction of gender specific bodies that needs analysis. Okely (1993) writes a subjective account of her time spent at an all-girls boarding school, linking her experiences of class, gender and power inequalities, and the impact of these inequalities on the human body. She also refers to Mauss (1936) in her writings and the way in which it is discussed that different societies, groups and even forms of education make different uses of the body. These uses may and have often been documented to change over time and in individual variations. Mauss (1936) isolates three factors that are involved in understanding the body; those are social, psychological and biological (as cited in Okely 1993. p111). Okely (1993) talks of her constant attempts to convince ‘the authorities', for example teachers, that she had internalised the institutions way of life, of being a ‘lady' however, her body often let her down. She goes on to recall that the â€Å"minutest gesture could betray a lack of conviction, a failure of conversion† (Okely 1993. p112). Children and adolescents are the most vulnerable to these outside influences, which often permanently shape their minds and bodies. Okely cited a former resident that had attempted to train to become an opera singer, but who could not breath deeply enough. She believed this to be due to a constant requirement to stand tall and firm, therefore, leading the chest to become too ‘rigidly encased'. The girl obviously saw a connection with her education and her bodily state. In an attempt to draw attention to the social and individual impact of merely wearing a badge on the left or right side of your uniform, Okely highlights that in many cultures the right and left sides of the body, for example the hands, are used to represent symbolic and social oppositions. â€Å"the right is given pre-eminence and may be associated with order, legitimacy and the male while the left can be associated with disorder, disruptive forces and the female† (Hertz 1960 as cited by Okely 1993. p115.) In an effort to transform society, social constructionists inevitably raise questions about the past and the future, as they call into question prevailing ideological frameworks. Social constructionist approaches call attention to the paradox between the historically variable ways in which culture and society construct seemingly stable reality. Social constructionist theory suggests that sexuality is a fluid and changeable entity, the product of human action and history rather than the result of the body, biology or an innate sex drive, as essentialism would suggest. Vance (1994) in her research into female sexuality, which can also be seen as a varied state, uses the example of female circumcision. She illustrates that social constructionists have not ignored the body, its function and physiology, and still in fact have the ability to incorporate the body with it's theory without returning to essentialism. From a sociological perspective, biology is by no means the overriding factor in the development of a disease. Rather, as White (2002) suggests, it is the prevailing social and economic conditions that allow a disease to develop which must be accounted for. Furthermore; â€Å"given that germs do not speak for themselves, it is our interpretation of events that leads some conditions to be categorised as diseases.† (White 2002. p12) But to what extent has the sociological analysis of the body and its varied states shed ‘light' on the experiences of embodiment? It is clear from the brief evidence summarised above and the reading available on the subject that the essentialist explanation of the body in incomplete. As with any aspect of human society the impact of the relationship between the individual and his/her surroundings must be taken into consideration. There is much work to be undertaken in this area of study and many more links, or dualisms, to be uncovered.

Six Ways to Make Your Editor Happy and Get More Story Assignments

Six Ways to Make Your Editor Happy and Get More Story Assignments Frequently writing coaches teach how to break into the magazine market, but not how to build a relationship with an editor well enough to become a regular contributor. After freelancing for eight years (including regular columns for several publications), I accepted the position of editor for a regional lifestyle magazine. Since joining the magazine staff, Ive come to wish every freelancer could spend enough time in an editors shoes to learn both sides of the business. Editors generally give new writers a chance with a short, front-of-the-book piece to see what they can do. Some never get a second chance. Others lose their foothold after several stories. If you struggle to develop a long-term relationship with the publications you wish to work with on a regular basis, see if any of these tips apply to you. Be punctual - Think this is self-explanatory? You wouldnt believe how many times Ive had to email a writer to ask for a late assignment. Late assignments clog the flow of everything, from copyediting to layout to printing. If your stories frequently hold up progress, expect your future queries to fall on deaf ears. Know your reader - Magazines generally have a demographic that encompasses education level, economic means and geographic location. As highly as we like to think of our own writing, remember the average American reads on a seventh grade level. If you are writing for the typical consumer magazine, nix the words nefarious and ubiquitous and speak the language of the people. If you see ads in the magazine for Rolex watches and Saks Fifth Avenue, dont assume the reader will want to read how to score big at Goodwill. Also, dont pitch articles to regional publications highlighting attractions outside of their geographic area. Be a servant - Freelance writers provide a service for the publication. That makes them servants, not celebrities, divas or gods. My first week on the job as editor, I had an irate writer demand a retraction for the edits I made to her story. She never respectfully questioned my changes. She demanded and threatened because, as a self-proclaimed prominent member of the community, she was embarrassed that the end product wasnt her work. Unfortunately, her work read like a list of facts, lacking life and quotes from real people. That said Provide life - Never turn in a story for which you havent interviewed a real person, in person. Dont tell me about those five places to go canoeing, let the man in the canoe tell m - in his words. Avoid emailing interview questions. You miss the opportunity to get random comments and the tone of voice, posture and facial expressions that prompt you to dig deeper. At least use the telephone. Make technology your friend Editors do not have the time, nor the desire, to teach you how to download a contract and sign and return it - electronically. If you cannot handle the technology required to become a regular contributor to the publication, the editor will not invite you to become one. Keep your emails organized When submitting a query, create a fresh email with your topic in the subject line. Then, when you follow up with questions, your editor wont have to search for 15 minutes to find the original query. I could go on. But if you can master just these few tips, and your writing is clean and your ideas are fresh, I guarantee any editor would love to have you on board.

Free Essays on Muslim Advances

â€Å"Muslim society had a sophistication matched at that time only by the Tang Empire of China.† (Mcdougal Littell, 242) The Muslim society was very advanced in many ways compared to the societies of other major civilizations. They made great advancements in the blending of cultures, math and science, and arts and literature. All this made possible the a semblance of the House of Wisdom, a combination library academy, and translation center. Muslim culture was centered around its four social classes. It included the born Muslims at the top. Converts were in the next class and had to pay higher taxes than the born Muslims. Next came the non-Muslim people who paid the most taxes of them all. The lowest class were the slaves, all of whom were non-Muslim. Muslims believed that math was the basis of all knowledge. A Muslim first described â€Å"al-jabr†, which we still use today as Algebra. Many of the Muslim’s researched of math lead to scientific discoveries. Astronomy and Optics were two fields in which the Muslims greatly excelled in. Ibn Haytham was the person to discover that rays pass from object to eyes. Literature was a strong tradition to the culture All literature stemmed from things such as bravery, love, generosity, and hospitality. All the culture’s literature was based on the sacred Qur’an. Muslims also had a deep interest in art, though they had to come up with inter esting ways to do it. Islam forbid the painting of humans. So artist came up with creative ways to do it, for example using calligraphy. But the most beautiful thing from their culture was the architecture. Though Muslims are now regarded as back-wards in their ways of women. In this particular time period Muslim women had more rights than most women. Poor women could work along side their husbands and the rich ones overlooked servants and could even get an education.... Free Essays on Muslim Advances Free Essays on Muslim Advances â€Å"Muslim society had a sophistication matched at that time only by the Tang Empire of China.† (Mcdougal Littell, 242) The Muslim society was very advanced in many ways compared to the societies of other major civilizations. They made great advancements in the blending of cultures, math and science, and arts and literature. All this made possible the a semblance of the House of Wisdom, a combination library academy, and translation center. Muslim culture was centered around its four social classes. It included the born Muslims at the top. Converts were in the next class and had to pay higher taxes than the born Muslims. Next came the non-Muslim people who paid the most taxes of them all. The lowest class were the slaves, all of whom were non-Muslim. Muslims believed that math was the basis of all knowledge. A Muslim first described â€Å"al-jabr†, which we still use today as Algebra. Many of the Muslim’s researched of math lead to scientific discoveries. Astronomy and Optics were two fields in which the Muslims greatly excelled in. Ibn Haytham was the person to discover that rays pass from object to eyes. Literature was a strong tradition to the culture All literature stemmed from things such as bravery, love, generosity, and hospitality. All the culture’s literature was based on the sacred Qur’an. Muslims also had a deep interest in art, though they had to come up with inter esting ways to do it. Islam forbid the painting of humans. So artist came up with creative ways to do it, for example using calligraphy. But the most beautiful thing from their culture was the architecture. Though Muslims are now regarded as back-wards in their ways of women. In this particular time period Muslim women had more rights than most women. Poor women could work along side their husbands and the rich ones overlooked servants and could even get an education....

Definition and Examples of Attributive Adjective

Definition and Examples of Attributive Adjective In English grammar, an attributive adjective is an adjective that usually comes before the noun it modifies without a linking verb. Contrast with a predicative adjective. Attributive adjectives are direct modifiers of nominals. Examples Hush-a-by, Dont you cryGo to sleep, little baby.When you wake you shall findAll the pretty little horses.(Traditional American lullaby, perhaps of African-American origin)In those tender mornings, the Store was full of laughing, joking, boasting, and bragging.In a rush of pity- sympathy, affection, hope- I said the most stupid thing ever.A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face; it gives a higher pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts.†(Ralph Waldo Emerson, Manners)I know he was a bad man who did vicious, horrible things, some of them to me, but he had a good side, too. Just like all of us.He was a gorgeous, heart-stopping, too-yummy-to-be-believed, genuine hunk, and she was crazy to even consider kissing him.It had been a nasty little affair, a grim and unpleasant war, fought in a dark, never-ending nightmare of ambush and merciless killingan eye-to-eye, face-to-face war where prisoner was a doubtful word. Observations on Attributive and Predicative Functions There are two main kinds of adjectives: attributive ones normally come right before the noun they qualify, while predicative adjectives come after to be or similar verbs such as become and seem. Most adjectives can serve either purpose: we can speak of a happy family and say the family appeared happy. But some work only one way. Take the sentence Clergymen are answerable to a higher authority. Answerable is exclusively a predicative; you could not refer to an answerable clergyman. And higher is strictly attributive; you wouldnt normally say, The authority is higher.Attributive adjectives sometimes follow the model of French and come after the noun, as when we refer to accounts payable, something important, proof positive, matters philosophical, paradise lost, a battle royal, the heir apparent, stage left, time immemorial, or a Miller Lite.(Ben Yagoda, When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It. Broadway Books, 2007)There are a significant number of adjectives which, either absolutely or wi th a certain meaning, are restricted to attributive function (e.g. mere, former, main) or excluded from it (e.g., alone, asleep, glad happy/please).(Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2002) Sources Maya Angelou,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969Leonard Michaels, Viva La Tropicana.  The Collected Stories. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007Nick Santora,  Slip Fall. State Street, 2007Julianna Morris,  Meeting Megan Again. Silhouette, 2001George Brown,  The Double Tenth. Arrow, 2012

Soviet Bloc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Soviet Bloc - Essay Example From World War II (WWII), there arise an imposed domestic revolution in Yugoslavia which emerged as a new socialist order that promised something profoundly new to those who lived under it in the form of social equality. However, the Eastern Europe side after emerging from WWII could have the opportunity to represent a greater break with the past than the promise that the elite class or the powerful would be considered low, that those who had been nothing. Even in member states that were economically developed and followed democracy like Czechoslovakia, this embodied a thrust toward egalitarianism and in response Hungary and Poland, given their traditional elitist social orders and yawning gaps between gentry and mass, it meant no less than transformation of the very bases and premises of society. The Soviet elite was a ruling group that could be clearly defined in context with the Western society where there were competing hierarchies based on wealth, political power, professional status, and religious authority. Mawdsley & White (2000) points out that in a society of the Soviet block, it was the regime itself that chose through the appointments system for the people who occupied the highest-ranking positions in government, in the economy, and in public life (Mawdsley & White, 2000: vi). It was clear that those who were chosen as the elite class were also members of the party bodies through which this form of domination was exercised. The main point that arises here is that to what extent according to Soviet block societies were seen as pyramids to answer a question that even for the Soviet case about how far from the vertex the defining line of the elite should be drawn. In looking at the Soviet elite we should consider all members of the Communist Party. Communist Rule and Policies As a world's first socialist state, the Constitution of Soviet Union only allowed a communist rule which was later by some member countries like Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia introduced elements of market-based reforms before the collapse of the Soviet Union (WB, 2002). As a communist state, it was only possible through Soviet's permission to allow Hungary and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to find their own future and it was Soviet pressure that encouraged Vietnam to do the same (Segal et al, 1992: 10). However, in many cases Soviet's example was not perceived as it was supposed to be accepted like in the Chinese and North Korea, it was dealt with pessimism but it is fair to say that no matter what happened to reform in the Soviet Union, the fate of the Soviet's revolution was important to all. Economic Performance The former member states never fulfilled revolutionary promises, particularly when they promised equality. Parliamentary democracy was neglected and remained involutorial in the region except in Czechoslovakia, yet subordination to the Communist regimes left less personal or

Influences of Tradition in Field of Counseling Essay

Influences of Tradition in Field of Counseling - Essay Example In both cases, dreams were a factor in the analysis (Neuman, 1954). A method pioneered by psychologist Carl Rogers was a person-centered approach known as humanistic counseling, and B.F. Skinner was interested in what could actually be observed in the outside world, leading at first to therapy as a separate strand from counseling (History: Freud, 2007). Freud believed in psychoanalysis as a field for laypersons, but in the United States lay analysis was not considered legitimate, and is in fact illegal at present. U.S. psychoanalysts are required to be medically qualified. This prejudice against lay therapists led to Roger's adoption of the word "counseling" instead of therapist to describe his method since he was medically trained (Rohan, 2001). The terms "psychotherapy" and "counseling" have now become interchangeable in psychiatry, but Roger's holistic approach to the human side of counseling is unique in the field and has led to hundreds of research agendas. He brought many new ideas into therapy that were resisted at the time they were introduced and continue to be resisted even now (History: Counseling vs. Psychotherapy Divide, 2007). It is the approach to the whole person rather than just analysis of conscious and unconscious thought that makes humanistic counseling a produc... We live in a global community with a mix of cultures and social norms throughout the world. If we look at ourselves as individuals interacting with others and making an effort to determine what factors give us the most satisfaction, we become our own therapists. Humanistic counseling is comprised of self-actualization, creativity, and free choice. John Rowan (2001) describes Rogers' person-centered approach to psychiatric analysis as empathetic, genuine, and non-possessive warmth on the part of the counselor and goes on to discuss the various factors that make this a working form of counseling and analysis. Influences Shaping My Understanding of Counseling Humanistic counseling is somewhere in the middle of the therapeutic system, with Freud and Jung still a major force in the field and family therapy a derivative of humanistic counseling. With the advent of child guidance clinics, family therapy became the recommended treatment in the belief that "a child's symptoms were usually a function of emotional distress in the family" (Family Therapy. par. 8). However, the bottom line is the ability of the individual to understand and accept self, and in that respect humanistic counseling would be the preferred method. The following shows the stages of individual development from the inside out (Rowan, 2001): The first is the importance of self-esteem, trust, and acceptance between client and counselor. Next, it is necessary for the client to gain personal control by being honest with self. The second aspect of humanistic psychology is what is called "self actualization," the whole person: body, feelings, intellect, transpersonal self, and spirit. Neglecting any one of these areas defeats the effort. With so much attention now on the body-diet

Brazil economic overview and solar power in Brazil Essay

Brazil economic overview and solar power in Brazil - Essay Example In 2008, Brazil became a net external creditor and two ratings agencies awarded investment grade status to its debt (Brazil Economy – overview, 2012). Along with India, China, Russia and South Africa; Brazil is one of the prominent members of BRICS countries. BRICS countries are the most rapidly developing regions in this world at present. While majority of the Latin American countries and America like wealthy countries struggling to develop properly, Brazil is developing rapidly. The injuries of 2007-2008 recessions have not affected Brazil very much. â€Å"In 2010, consumer and investor confidence revived and GDP growth reached 7.5%, the highest growth rate in the past 25 years† (Brazil Economy – overview, 2012). Even though the economic growth in Brazil has been slowed down a bit in 2011, the forecasts for 2012 and coming years are bright. â€Å"Despite slower growth in 2011, Brazil overtook the United Kingdom as the world's seventh largest economy in terms o f GDP. Urban unemployment is at the historic low of 4.7% (December 2011)† (Brazil Economy – overview, 2012). Social â€Å"The richest 10% of people in Brazil have access to over 40% of the country’s income. On the other hand, the poorest 10% receive about 1% of the income† (Brazilian Social Issues, 2011). The gap between the rich and poor in Brazilian society is extremely huge compared to that in many other countries. One of the most challenging problems facing by Brazil at present is the reduction of this gap. The living conditions of the rich people are advancing rapidly whereas poor people are still struggling to attain the benefit of economic growth in Brazil. Poverty, unemployment and other problems are still prominent in Brazil despite the huge economic growth. It is evident...This paper is the best example of PESTEL analysis of Brazil. There is also a strong analysis of current state of solar power industry development in Brazil provided in the pape r. Brazil is a federal presidential representative democratic republic, in which the president holds supreme power of the country as well as the government just like America. Even though multiparty system exists in Brazil, its democracy is different from other democratic systems Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries, and Brazil is expanding its presence in world markets The gap between the rich and poor in Brazilian society is huge compared to that in many other countries. One of the most challenging problems faced by Brazil is the reduction of this gap. The technological developments in Brazil are not so much attractive. Indigenously developed technologies are less in Brazil compared to other emerging countries The rapid development of a country often brings many environmental challenges Deforestation, acid rain, endangered species, air pollution, waste disposal, etc are some of the major environmental problems facing by Brazil. Brazil is a federative republic, constituting an indissoluble union of States, Municipalities, and the Federal District. The Brazilian legal system is codified. In 2012, the Brazilian National Agency of Electrical Energy approved the most important piece of new legislation for the solar industry in the country to date. Net metering for solar systems up to 1MW was introduced and utilities were granted an 80% reduction in distribution taxes for power generated by solar plants up to 30MW in size

Speech Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Speech Evaluation - Essay Example The presentation I chose is that of Neurolife speech, the reason why I chose this speech is because of the position it which is first runners up. This presentation is both a persuasive and informative speech whereby the presenter uses techniques to make this audience to become interested in his message and also to prove his idea. The writer starts his speech with a small narrative and example of his ideas, by this he makes his presentation more interesting and this also helps in making the audience to be attentive.The use of statistics in his speech makes his idea more realistic and interesting to his viewers, through these the presenter is able to present his idea, the problem involved and the solution to the problem.At the end of your speech, return to the topic sentence and revise it. Ask for their assistance by challenging them to do something, summarizing the important points, and indicating your own intention to do something. Close with a strong appeal for action.The main aim o f this presentation is to persuade and at the same time inform the audience, the presenter directly conveys this method by presenting his case to his audience using statistics and at the same time facts of the idea.the presentation was organised in a logical manner whereby there was an introduction, followed by the problem statement, possible solutions and then the best solution and finally the recommendations, after this the presenter asked questions to be forwarded to him, the presenter uses an ascending order of points whereby he starts with an introduction and lastly finishes with the question part. The presenter motivates his audience by analysing the possible benefits and solutions to his idea, through this he motivates his audience to do exactly what he prefers to be done. Speech delivery: the presenter is good in presenting this speech in that he is not shy and is confident enough in that he presents his speech in the best way, he talks in a confident voice and the audience to not struggle to hear what he has to say because he talks in an audible volume level, the presenter also does not read his presentation from a source he rather reads out only the topic and then discusses the tropic without referring or reading from an other source, this shows that the presenter is confident. The presenter also has eye to eye contact with the audience and this is very help full as it motivates them to pay attention and also shows how much confident the presenter is with his idea. The standing posture is also very important in presentation, the presenter stands upright, moves from one position to another and he talks in a clear and confident voice taking necessarily breaks to avoid the change in tone or talk strains. The length of the speech is of good time period, the presenter does not take long to finish his presentation as very long speeches tend to be tiring and boring to the audience, therefore he adheres to time and presents his speech in the time provided.Conclusion: The presenter summarises his main points in his speech at the end, the presenter afterwards concludes is objective to the speech and asks for any question that the audience may have, he later thanks his audience and exits. This speech therefore is an example of a good speech whereby the presenter properly and logically brings out his main points and finally concludes having convinced his audience. the use of body language and direct eye to eye contact with the audience is a clear indication of confidence in the presenter and also with the idea he presents, he uses humour and questions in order to keep his audience to

Oil Production In Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oil Production In Saudi Arabia - Essay Example With these statistics, it is undeniably true that Saudi Arabia’s contribution in the energy industry position’s herself as key player in the global economy. This paper therefore discusses the oil production in Saudi Arabia through understanding its history and development over the years. Statistics derived from organization of the petroleum countries (OPEC) in 2014 showed that Saudi Arabia’s value of exports from petroleum related products to be about $ 321, 723 million, and its current crude oil reserves standing at 265,789 million barrels. In a whole ,oil related products, natural gas reserves constitute about 8317 billion cubic meters. Pushed by the demand for oil of about 1000 barrels per day , Saudi Arabia has increased its production capacity to be about 9637 barrels per day; this is about 2507 barrels per calendar day refinery capacity. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s export earnings came from natural gas with 100030 million cubic meters exported globally (Bronson, 56). Before Saudi Arabia controlled its oil industry, the first king of Saudi Arabia Abd al Aziz Ibn Abd granted oil concession in 1923 to British investment groups who exploited, and utilized the concession granted. It is after the discovery of first oil reserve in 1938 that the concession agreement was changed to Aramco’s concession. It allowed an equal haring of profits between the company and the government on a fifty-fifty basis. With the discovery of large quantities of oil reserves in 1945, the use of pipeline was in evitable. The trans-Arabian pipeline company came into existence owned by Aramco’s group. After completion of the Tapline pipeline in 1950, it did collect oils from fields, and it was able to handle 480, 000 barrels per day. Tapline continued to operate with a number of challenges coming from within and externally and in 1982; it was forced to stop its operations in Saudi Arabia (Branson, 45). After 1982 and

Speech Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Speech Evaluation - Essay Example The presentation I chose is that of Neurolife speech, the reason why I chose this speech is because of the position it which is first runners up. This presentation is both a persuasive and informative speech whereby the presenter uses techniques to make this audience to become interested in his message and also to prove his idea. The writer starts his speech with a small narrative and example of his ideas, by this he makes his presentation more interesting and this also helps in making the audience to be attentive.The use of statistics in his speech makes his idea more realistic and interesting to his viewers, through these the presenter is able to present his idea, the problem involved and the solution to the problem.At the end of your speech, return to the topic sentence and revise it. Ask for their assistance by challenging them to do something, summarizing the important points, and indicating your own intention to do something. Close with a strong appeal for action.The main aim o f this presentation is to persuade and at the same time inform the audience, the presenter directly conveys this method by presenting his case to his audience using statistics and at the same time facts of the idea.the presentation was organised in a logical manner whereby there was an introduction, followed by the problem statement, possible solutions and then the best solution and finally the recommendations, after this the presenter asked questions to be forwarded to him, the presenter uses an ascending order of points whereby he starts with an introduction and lastly finishes with the question part. The presenter motivates his audience by analysing the possible benefits and solutions to his idea, through this he motivates his audience to do exactly what he prefers to be done. Speech delivery: the presenter is good in presenting this speech in that he is not shy and is confident enough in that he presents his speech in the best way, he talks in a confident voice and the audience to not struggle to hear what he has to say because he talks in an audible volume level, the presenter also does not read his presentation from a source he rather reads out only the topic and then discusses the tropic without referring or reading from an other source, this shows that the presenter is confident. The presenter also has eye to eye contact with the audience and this is very help full as it motivates them to pay attention and also shows how much confident the presenter is with his idea. The standing posture is also very important in presentation, the presenter stands upright, moves from one position to another and he talks in a clear and confident voice taking necessarily breaks to avoid the change in tone or talk strains. The length of the speech is of good time period, the presenter does not take long to finish his presentation as very long speeches tend to be tiring and boring to the audience, therefore he adheres to time and presents his speech in the time provided.Conclusion: The presenter summarises his main points in his speech at the end, the presenter afterwards concludes is objective to the speech and asks for any question that the audience may have, he later thanks his audience and exits. This speech therefore is an example of a good speech whereby the presenter properly and logically brings out his main points and finally concludes having convinced his audience. the use of body language and direct eye to eye contact with the audience is a clear indication of confidence in the presenter and also with the idea he presents, he uses humour and questions in order to keep his audience to

Industry Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Industry Analysis - Research Paper Example This paper will analyze the competitiveness of Apple Inc in the industry. Application software industry analysis Introduction Apple Inc was established in Cupertino, California back in April 1976. Apple manufactures the Mac OS X operating system, the iWork suite of productivity software and iTunes media browser. Some innovative products include the Final cut Studio that includes professional audio and film industry software. The company has earned a good reputation due to its philosophy of innovation, aesthetic product design and distinctive marketing efforts. In the year 2009, the global sales turnover was $ 42.91 billion (Hoovers 2012). Mac OS X, based on NeXTs OPENSTEP and BSD Unix was launched in 2001 after several years of research and development. Mac OS X combines reliability, security of Unix and ease of the user interface. In the same year, iPod digital audio player was introduced while the iTunes store that offers online music was introduced in 2003. More than 5 billion mus ic downloads had been sold by the year 2008 (Henry, 2008). Microsoft Corporation has its headquarters in Washington that develops licenses and manufacturers different computing products. Some of the product divisions include servers and tools, entertainment, windows and windows live division, and Microsoft business division. Microsoft has not only focused on its software division but also consumer electronics, digital distribution, video games, hardware and online advertising (Hoovers 2012). The mission of the company is to help businesses around the globe to realize their full potential (Ungson & Wong, 2007). Apple Inc has various strengths that make the company competitive in the application software industry. Apple has a considerable market share due to its reputation of innovation. Apple has a competitive pricing strategy and maintains the operating costs lower than Microsoft. Apple has consistently differentiated its products and like the communications and media products. Appl e has achieved customer loyalty due to high quality software than Microsoft software (Hoovers 2012). Unlike Microsoft, Apple Inc has a strong online presence which has enabled the company to attain market leadership in the online sales (Ungson & Wong, 2007). STEEP Analysis Steep analysis refers to the social, technological economic, environmental and political factors that determine the competitive capabilities of the businesses in a particular industry. These external factors influence the competitive strategies that firms in the industry must implement (Hill & Jones, 2009). Social environment The social environment is conducive for Apple Inc business. The world population growth rate is currently high where the youth comprise majority of the population. The level of literacy is high since most of the countries have compulsory education laws thus the demand for application software will remain high. Generally, the US citizens have positive attitudes towards work and use of software products to facilitate the efficiency of work. US citizens desire quality and innovative products thus the demand for Apple’s application software and other media products will remain high (Ungson & Wong, 2007). Technological environment The recent advances in computing and use of the internet to market application software will enhance the market share for Apple (Hoovers 2012). Apple utilizes modern technology in the design and manufacture of its products like the iPhone. Unlike Microsoft

Ethics †Current Events Essay Example for Free

Ethics – Current Events Essay The issue between the United States accusing China of hacking the Pentagon’s computer network is in a way a violation of the Data Protection Law and international law. For many years the Pentagon has been the subject of cyber intrusion and attempts to penetrate its most kept defense data which if this system will be intruded there would be a possible attempt for an international terrorism. Although the intrusion was only discovered recently according to the US Defense Department it was possible that China has been trying many ways and means to penetrate Pentagon’s database system. The problem here lies not only to the People’s Liberation Army which Pentagon was pointing but China’s Foreign Minister, Jiang Yu is denying the accusations saying his country has no part in the intrusion attempt to the Defense Department’s systems. Fortunately, the US defense system is equipped with the most advance military technology that could detect and tract such intrusion. The Pentagon greatly considers the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in staging such hacking although it did not disclose that Beijing which is China’s seat of Socialism is involved here. Although the US Department of Defense confirmed that the existence of such group could be a small group formed out of the PLA, its intention is anticipated in trying to get information using technological advances (Starr, Todd and Payne). But it is just obvious that even the most highly advanced technology could not stop an ever changing development of computer viruses, spywares and worms to mutate into a more advance and destructive programs. All of these are man-made and unfortunately those people on the other parts of the world are trying to take advantage and could developed these into more powerful and persistent programs so they can merge themselves to the existing programs for destructive purposes. Not only the US is grieving about such violation of international law but even London as well who holds the same position as a powerful country is confirming such an intrusion. Although at this time China is showing its meekness with the present issues, no one can really tell if this is the result of a shadowing another Cold War between the two large countries. The US cannot totally eliminate espionage on its defense system and has a rich history in violation of its secret information. But what causes other personalities or even countries to have an interest to gather information from the US is still unfathomable to the ordinary people. China with its olden years of co-habiting principles with the old Russia has not totally erased its personality as a communist country. Indeed it has grown in terms of its economy because of the free trade but many believe that this was just superficial because China was trying secretly to be another growing superpower in the making. In terms of manpower and number of armies indeed China has not lost its capability to be an independent country. President Bush still wanted to play it safe and could not directly convict China of such intrusion. After all he is trying to build rapport to avoid another international issue that could destroy relationships between nations. On the contrary, the people in the White House are all aware of this issue and are not sleeping with two eyes closed. Fortunately, the incident only happened on the surface attacking the unclassified e-mail in the Defense department before it can penetrate the military’s database. The Pentagon had to shut down its unclassified e-mail for a few weeks although it is not networked to military network that contain confidentialities. No harm done so far and Pentagon officials said none of their operations were disrupted. Not only has Washington is confirming such an assault from the group but even the Britain’s Parliament and the Foreign Office has been hacked according to the Associated Press and Guardian newspaper of London. AP who is keen on making research involving China and international espionage has made a report that the day before the German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Beijing, the local newspaper Der Spiegel said they found Trojans (spy programs) at the Chancellery computer system. Everybody is not safe even to the extent of breaking laws and bypassing international boundaries. There are only countries that are only moving for their advantage notwithstanding privacy and securities. Indeed, the technology has made a great advancement with great leaps and development. It is only unfortunate that sometimes leaps and bounds are crossing the borders and surmounting other people’s space of confidentiality.

Evaluation of Burberrys Market Position

Evaluation of Burberrys Market Position Critically evaluate Burberrys market position relative to that of its competitors. What has been the impact on their position in choosing Emma Watson for their latest advertising campaigns ? Burberry : Finds a position among the Top Ten Luxury Apparel Brands and Emma Watson proves to be a catalyst . Burberry is a iconic brand best known for its â€Å"Britishness† , in recent years has undergone a image overhaul having been described as ‘an outdated business with a fashion cachet of almost zero by leading fashion analysts in 1998 (Finch and May, 1998). By 1997, the annual profits of Burberry had gone to  £25 million from  £62 million (Moore, C., Birtwistle, G., 2004) . Over past few years, Burberry has become in themselves the sign of reinventing and extending product lines to adapt to the taste of times.â€Å" Our objective was to distil what the Burberry brand stood for and determine how to make it relevant for todays consumer† Bravo stated (Alderman, 2002). However, changes focused on brand repositioning turned revenues of  £427.8 million in 2001 into  £715.5 million in 2005 (Burberry Group, 2005). Burberry adopted a strategy to create a market position to explain its growth and extend the customer base by offering â€Å"Accessible Luxury† when most other brands were struggling to acquire a broader clientele. Burberry repositioned themselves and opened a flagship store on Bon Street in London (Moore, C., Birtwistle, G., 2004) placing it store among Gucci, Versace, Prada and Chanel. Approximately, Burberry operates in the global luxury sector to about  £145bn (Burberry Plc, 2009c). Jaeger recently bought Aquascutum and the annual turnover for both brands together was  £300m. Whereas, Burberrys current capital is about  £ 2.1bn. Burberry is considered among the top ten luxury brands. Burberrys competitors differ through its categories and price ranges or diffusion lines. Burberry is positioned between Polo Ralph Lauren and Armani considering apparel and Coach and Gucci for Accessories. Giorgio Armani, Coach, Donna Karan, Escada, Gucci, Max Mara, Polo Ralph Lauren, To ds, Hermes, LVMH, PPR, Prada, Chanel and Richemont are a few among Burberrys competitors (Burberry Plc,2009c). However, even after the recession hit Burberry has achieved to increase sales up to  £1,202m by 31st march 2009. In 2008/09 there was a sales increase through retail by 14%, 2% in wholesale and 9% decline in licensing which contributed to overall 7% revenue increase from the previous year (Burberry Plc,2009a). Comparing with the market Burberry Prorsum competes with Armani Black Label, Gucci and Prada. Burberry London Women is placed between Armani Collezioni and Ralph Lauren. Burberry London Men is between the gap of Zegna and Ralph Lauren. Tommy Hilfiger, Armani Jeans and Polo Jeans are the competitors for Thomas Burberry. Most of the Japanese brands like Ozoc, Michel Klein are a tough competition to Burberry Blue while Paul Smith competes with Burberry Black. In recent years Burberry has expanded its product lines which helped to improve on brand standing and growth. Many other fashion brands are following the same strategy to stand the competition like Armani extension into Armani Casa, Armani hotels etc. According to the top 15 luxury brands listed by Interbrand (2009) Burberry is eleventh in the list and among top ten if only apparel brands are considered. Also, comparing the brand values for the year 2008 and 2009, it can be concluded that competitors brand values declined. Only Hermes managed to get a 1% increase in their brand value AND Polo Ralph Lauren is not listed among top 15. Most of the brands managed to climb the ladder on global ranks, Burberry achieved 98th rank in top 100 global brands 2009. The market brand position of Burberry in terms of valuation can be compared through below segments : †¢ European Apparel Brands: companies like Escada, Hugo Boss, HM and Benetton are competitors in terms of product mix and the business model. Though few companies work on lower price range, few brands are tough to compete in terms of the value they offer to consumers. †¢ US Apparel Brands: Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger competes on basis of product mix and has more mature business. †¢ Luxury Goods Brands: brands like Hermes, Coach, LVMH, Tods . Performing better than competitors and beating analyst expectations, Burberry sales rose by 4.6 % to  £ 343m by September. Share price for Burberry doubled during the past year providing a good defense against competitors. Its market position is mainly in the fashion oriented mature sectors focusing on ready to wear and some accessories peers. Burberry continually tries to consider the cost effectiveness in maintaining the quality and enhance the product while trying to achieve competitive pricing and improving efficiency in sourcing the goods. Even in recession it continues expansion in other markets, for instance the launching kidswear store in US. Also, tailoring the merchandise mix according to the climate to attract more customers, some products are displayed only in selected stores for instance, the New York store provides service for customized trench coat, Beverley hill store contains light weight products etc. Comparing revenues below, 33% of non-apparel to 67% of apparel is a correct balance for a brand to display its products and innovations to provide their customers a wide variety. Where brands like Armani, Channel and Polo Ralph Lauren gain most revenues through apparel while others like Coach depend on the accessories. Burberry trench coats were worn by Hollywood stars like Humprey Bogart in Casablanca, Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther (Jackson and Shaw 2009, p.77).Burberry strongly believes that marketing and management are very critical to its success hence, it focuses on coverage in Editorials, advertising, fashion shows both domestically and internationally and has a website, twice yearly ad campaigns focusing on leading lifestyle and fashion publications and fashion shows in Milan. In order to reflect the essence of the brand ,create brand awareness and sustain brands aura, Luxury brands often feature models, celebrities or famous personalitys as they help wield an enormous power in fashion circles and help in making up or destroying a brand. Burberry uses a lot of images of London to represent it English lifestyle with a British celebrity. Burberry had renowned personalities like Stella Tenant, Rachel Weisz, Agyness Deyn, Lily Donaldson and Kate Moss endorsing the brand. Kate Moss was the most popular and high profile face Burberry had. While, other celebrities like Jerry Hall, Nicole Appleton, Jarvis Cocker and Beckhams also contributed. The beautiful, elegant Emma Watson â€Å"the Harry Potter ‘actress, a leading style icon is the new face of Burberry. Advertising campaign images of Burberry featuring Emma Watson as the face of Burberry were unveiled on 9th Jun 2009. Chistopher Bailey ( Burberrys Creative Director) who said â€Å"Having known and admired the lovely Emma Watson for some time, she was the obvious choice for this campaign†. â€Å"Emma has a classic beauty, a great character and a modern edge. Her charm, intellect and brilliant sense of fun made the whole shoot feel like a picnic on the Thames† he added.( Craik, L. ,2009). The advertising campaign was shot by renowned fashion photographer Mario Testino in Westminster, central London which is the global Headquarter of Burberry and directed by Bailey who considered Watson to strong enough and came up with the idea of presenting only girl surrounded by the young Cool British guys. The images in this campaign capture Watson wearing the classic trench coat looking winsome, accompanied by male models Tom Guinness, Charlie France and Douglas Booth. The images represent the rich history associated with the brand as well as the modernity of Burberry which emphasises on the beauty, timelessness and strength of the brand noteworthy at present. Emma Watson has been globally very popular due to her Harry Porter movies for years now. Watsons popularity and appeal as a leading style icon she has a huge fan following, which the brand uses to target a new young set of customer. Watsons high profile catwalk at the London fashion week in September 2009, helped the company to raise its profile in UK .It can also be assumed that the new ad campaign helped the brand to attract more customer base and resulting in sales increase which is evident from the sales figures for 2009. Burberry mentioned the increase in the second quarter sales climbing from 4.6pc to  £343m.Finacial Analyst and business advisors have forecasted that the tax profits will increase towards  £190m ( Hall, J. 2009) The linkage of Emma Watson as the face of Burberry has also helped the brand to increase the sales of handbags and pull on scarves called snoods. The analysts were proposed rise in the profits due to the increase in sales which helped Burberry to beat the market expectations in second quarter of financial year .However, It seems to a bit risky decision for Burberry as she is bound to get a bit older. To conclude, Burberry is an example of complex channel and distribution for luxury fashion ( Moore and Birtwistle, 2004 ) and proved its potential to be a tough competitor by making positive growth of brand value even when economic scenario is not very supportive. Burberrys decision of choosing Emma Watson for their ad Campaigns has proved beneficial for them to increase sales and profits, also, she reflects the same charm and personality as the brand. However, brand understands that the real task is to implement effective strategies in business that can develop and manage a brand. It is not only celebrity that brings success to the brands. Burberry proves to be approachable as the products not only have good aesthetics but also due to durability, functional and practical proving to be inclusive yet offering friendly prices. This results in higher brand value and brand appreciation. REFERENCES: Alderman, E. (2002) Luxury and the downturn: diamonds in the rough, International Herald Tribune, 6 December 2002. Baker, M., Foy,A,( 2003) Business and Management Research. United Kingdom : Westburn Publishers Ltd. Bergin, O. (2009) Emma Watson as the new face of Burberry. Telegraph [Internet] 9 June 2009. Available from Accessed on 17 December 2009. â€Å"Bravo† for Burberry- From bust to boom- creating a luxury fashion brand (2005), Strategic Direction, Vol.21 No.1,pp 22-24 , ISSN 0258-0543. Burberry (2002), Burberry PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2001-2002, Burberry, London. Burberry Group (2005), Annual Report and Accounts 2004/2005, Burberry Group, London. Burberry plc (2009a), Annual Report 2008/ 09, Burberry Group, London,[ Internet] 15th June 2009.Available from ( Accessed on 17 December 2009) Burberry plc ( 2009b )Investor pack- November, Burberry Group , [ Internet] 2 December 2009. Available from ( Accessed on 17 December 2009. Burberry plc ( 2009c ) Corporate Profile, Burberry Group, [Internet]. Available from accessed on 16 December 2009. Burberry Group plc London United Kingdom ,Overview(2009) Hoovers- A DB Company [Internet]. Available from Accessed on 13 December 2009. Burberry Toasts a lift in sales ( 2009 ) The Independent ( London, England). 15 October 2009, P. 44. Burberry Worries Investors ( 2005) [Internet].Available from Accessed on 27 November 2009. Chadha, R. , Husband, P. (2006) The cult of the Luxury Brand- Inside Asias Love Affair with Luxury. London Nicolas Brealey International pp.25-63, 149, 178, 267-77,280. Chiefs call for tighter business models ( 2009) The financial times, 5 October 2009, p.17. Accessed on 24 December 2009. Clark ,N. (2008) Burberrys Sales soar as Debenhams struggles , The Independent -Business, 16 April 2008 [Internet]. Available from Accessed on 13 December 2009. Craik, L. ( 2009) Harry Porter Star Emma Watson Charms Burberry. London Evening Standard, 9 June 2009 [ Internet]. Available from .Accessed on 13 November 2009. Diamond ,J., Litt, S. (2003) Retailing in the new millennium, New York : Fairchild Publications.p.21-23 Easey ,M. ( 1995) Fashion Marketing, India, Blackwell Publishing , pp.174-177. Everywhere is home for the global top one hundred (2008),Strategic Direction, Vol.24 No.5,pp 14-17 , ISSN 0258-0543. Finch, J. and May, T. (1998), â€Å"Reputations: putting a zip in a Burberry†, The Guardian, 27 June. Hall, J. ( 2009 ) Emma Watson helps Burberry beat expectations. The Telegraph- Telegraph.co.uk, 14 October 2009 [Internet]. Available from Accessed on 17 November 2009. Interbrand (2009) Leading Luxury Brands 2008 Rankings, Branding Studies- The Top 15 Luxury Brands, Interbrand-Creating and managing brand Value,[Internet]. Available from Accessed on 27 December 2009. Interbrand (2009b) Best Global Brands 2009 rankings, Interbrand-Creating and Managing Brand Value, [Internet].Available from Accessed on 27 December 2009. Jackson ,T., Haid, C. ( 2006) : Global Luxury Brands-trademark/ Intellectual Property In Jackson, T., Shaw, D. The Fashion Handbook, London: Routledge , pp. 72-81. Jackson ,T., Shaw, D. (2006) The Fashion Handbook. London : Routledge, pp. 61-3. 72-81,105-08,127. Jackson, T., Shaw, D.( 2009) Mastering Fashion Marketing. Wiltshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.12-15,63,161-63,247-250,288-98. Keynote ( 2009) Report Search [Internet]. Available from .Accessed on 18 December 2009. Kiley, D. (2007), ‘‘Best global brands, Business Week, Vol. 4005, August 6, pp. 56-63. Kollewe, J., Wearden, G.(2008) Burberry sees profits rise while Laura Ashley Suffers. The Guardian ,Financial section [ internet] 29 May 2008, pp 26. Available from Accessed on 18 December 2009. Leroux, M. ( 2009 ) Childs play for Burberry . The Times, 15 October 2009, p.51. Luxury Goods. Lex Column ( 2009 )The Financial Times, 21 November 2009, pp 24. Main Movers ( 2009) ,The Independent ( London, England) ,10 December 2009, p.52. Malem Wendy (2008) Practitioner Paper Fashion designers as business: London, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management ,Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 398-414. Milligan ,L. ( 2009) Emma Watson Exclusive. Vogue.com [Internet] > 12 june 2009. Available from Moore, C. and Fernie, J. (2004), â€Å"Retailing within an international context†, in Bruce, M., Moore, C. And Birtwistle, G. (Eds), International Retail Marketing; A Case Study Approach, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, pp. 3-37. Moore, C. and Birtwistle, G. (2004), ‘‘The Burberry business model: creating an international luxury brand, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 32 No. 8, pp. 412-22, ISSN 0959-0552. Neumier, M. (2006) The Brand Gap. United States of America: AIGA. Okonkwo, U. (2007) Luxury Fashion Branding. Hampshire : Palgrave Macmillan, pp.15-25, 30-37, 132-67, 173-78, 227, 260, 278-83, 310 ONeill, L. (2009) From Hogwarts to Burberry: Actress Emma Watson graduating into high fashion as new face of label. NYDaily News.com [Internet] 9 June 2009. Available from Accessed on 17 December 2009. Pringle, H. (2004) Celebrity Sells. India :John Wiley Sons ,LTd. Satherley, J. ( 2009) Emma Watson unveiled as Burberry Babe [ Internet] 9 June 2009. Available from ile:///C:/Users/Admin/Desktop/burberry/research/Emma%20Watson%20unveiled%20as%20Burberry%20babe%20%20%20Metro.co.uk.htm> . Accessed on 16 December 2009.. Vine, S. ( 2009) Coppy Emma Watsons Burberry Look. The Times-TimesOnline [Internet] 10 June 2009. Available From Accessed on 17 December 2009. Werdigier, J. ( 2009) Burberry Looks Online for Ways to Gain Customers. The New York times-Global Business [Internet] 9 November 2009. Available from . Accessed on 12 December 2009. IMAGE REFERENCES : Image No. 1: Burberry previous ad campaigns by Koko Royle ( 2009) Burberry Handbags resist the chav scandal [Online Image]. Available from [ Accessed on 29 December 2009]. Image No. 2 : Rosie Huntington and Sam Riley in Burberry Fall 2008 Ad Campaign by Foster, K. ( 2008) Rosie Huntington-Whitley for Burberry autmn/winter 2008-9- revealed [Online Image].Available from [Accessed on 14 December 2009]. Image No. 3 : David Victoria Beckham for Emporio Armani by Jane, Tina ( 2009 ) Celebrities for Luxury Brands09 Ad Campaign [Online Image]. Available from .[Accessed on 14 December 2009]. Image No. 4 : Madonna for Louis Vuitton by AmyGrindhouse ( 2009) David Victoria Beckham Armani Fall 2009 Ads [Online Image], 2 July 2009. Available from [Accessed on 14 December 2009]. Image No. 5 : Emma Watson For Burberry- Autumn/Winter 09 Campaign at Burberry Plc ( 2009) About Burberry- Ad Campaign [Online image].Available from . [Accessed on 17 December 2009] Image No. 6 : Burberry Spring/Summer 2010 Ad Campaign for Burberry Prorsum at Burberry Plc ( 2009) About Burberry-Introducing Spring/Summer 2010 [Online Image]. Available from .[ Accessed on 29 December 2009] Image No. 7: Burberry Spring/Summer 2010 Ad Campaign for Burberry Prorsum featuring Emma Watson at Burberry Plc ( 2009) About Burberry-Introducing Spring/Summer 2010 [Online Image]. Available from .[ Accessed on 29 December 2009] Image No. 8: Burberry London ad campaign for Spring/ Summer 2010 at Burberry Plc ( 2009) About Burberry-Introducing Spring/Summer 2010 [Online Image]. Available from .[ Accessed on 29 December 2009] Image No. 9: Emma Watson for Burberry Brit Spring /Summer 2010 Ad campaignat Burberry Plc ( 2009) About Burberry-Introducing Spring/Summer 2010 [Online Image]. Available from .[ Accessed on 29 December 2009]

Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unr

Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unrest Building a case against racial injustice, Baldwin describes how many blacks joined the U.S. military and were sent to fight in Europe during World War II, although the battles they returned to at home were sometimes worse than the war itself. In ?Down at the Cross,? Baldwin zeroes in on the discrimination against black veterans as the final blow causing many of them to hate their own country and become militant against whites. Historical accounts generally support his argument, even though Baldwin doesn?t speak to a few important points that differ from his personal perspectives on this issue. Overall, Baldwin builds a strong case for the need for social change in America to wipe out this type of racial outrage, especially in the case of black war veterans. Baldwin contends that ?a certain hope died? when black veterans were greeted with contempt by whites when they returned from the war instead of the praise and thanks that they deserved (Baldwin 317). From his observations, this was a wound that had been festering for many years and it was something that had been eating at the heart and soul of the black population since the end of World War II. This was such a terrible insult to blacks that it added fuel to the rage that was growing all across the country, and Baldwin explains that blacks finally felt they had taken too much abuse and that things were going to change ? one way or the other. To summarize his argument, Baldwin reasons it out that if a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, the very least they should expect is for their country to treat them with the respect they have earned and not as se... ...ry. Baldwin?s essay is, on the whole, true to the facts and feelings in America at that particular period in time as black veterans returned home to face a new battle against racial discrimination in their homeland. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Down at the Cross.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Fournier, Winston C. ?Desegregated Jobs.? The Wall Street Journal 3 April 1956: 1, 10. Huachuca Illustrated, Vol. 2 Web Page (1996). Retrieved March 2, 2004 from http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI2-09.htm#27. Lee, Ulysses. (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Murphy, Carl. (1944). This Is Our War. Atlanta Daily World, pp. 5-12. Wynn, Mike. ?We Were There.? The Augusta Chronicle 2 September 2001: 1-14. Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unr Baldwin Blames Mistreatment of Black Veterans for Increasing Racial Unrest Building a case against racial injustice, Baldwin describes how many blacks joined the U.S. military and were sent to fight in Europe during World War II, although the battles they returned to at home were sometimes worse than the war itself. In ?Down at the Cross,? Baldwin zeroes in on the discrimination against black veterans as the final blow causing many of them to hate their own country and become militant against whites. Historical accounts generally support his argument, even though Baldwin doesn?t speak to a few important points that differ from his personal perspectives on this issue. Overall, Baldwin builds a strong case for the need for social change in America to wipe out this type of racial outrage, especially in the case of black war veterans. Baldwin contends that ?a certain hope died? when black veterans were greeted with contempt by whites when they returned from the war instead of the praise and thanks that they deserved (Baldwin 317). From his observations, this was a wound that had been festering for many years and it was something that had been eating at the heart and soul of the black population since the end of World War II. This was such a terrible insult to blacks that it added fuel to the rage that was growing all across the country, and Baldwin explains that blacks finally felt they had taken too much abuse and that things were going to change ? one way or the other. To summarize his argument, Baldwin reasons it out that if a person is willing to risk his or her life for their country, the very least they should expect is for their country to treat them with the respect they have earned and not as se... ...ry. Baldwin?s essay is, on the whole, true to the facts and feelings in America at that particular period in time as black veterans returned home to face a new battle against racial discrimination in their homeland. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Down at the Cross.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Fournier, Winston C. ?Desegregated Jobs.? The Wall Street Journal 3 April 1956: 1, 10. Huachuca Illustrated, Vol. 2 Web Page (1996). Retrieved March 2, 2004 from http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/comment/huachuca/HI2-09.htm#27. Lee, Ulysses. (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Murphy, Carl. (1944). This Is Our War. Atlanta Daily World, pp. 5-12. Wynn, Mike. ?We Were There.? The Augusta Chronicle 2 September 2001: 1-14.

Operation System Security Essay

1. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of at least three different measures used to protect operating systems? 2. The ease of implementation of the measures. 3. The associated security management issues related to measures discussed above. 4. The ranking of the measures from best to worst with supporting rationale Answer Antivirus: Antivirus is the easiest protective measure that can be implemented on an operating system, and is also usually very easy to maintain. An update schedule is scheduled, or the antivirus software is configured to be managed by a central antivirus server which disseminates updates and virus signatures. Having an up-to-date anti-virus is always a good idea; it doesn’t take much work, and offers a decent amount of protection. Image-Locking software: This type of solution which exists in software such as Deep Freeze takes an image of the computer on startup to which it reverts after each restart. While this does little to prevent the computer from being compromised, it provides the ability to undo all changes, including any changes an attacker may have made, by restarting the computer. This is more difficult to implement, and is not an acceptable solution on hosts that need to maintain dynamic information, such as a database, as it would lose all new information entered since the image was created on reboot. Host Intrusion Detection System: A Host Intrusion Detection system is similar to Antivirus in that it looks for suspicious activity and compares against a definition file, but it also inspects network traffic that comes through the local interface. This allows the HIDS to detect an attack before it has actually put anything on your computer. HIDS also creates a host baseline, to which changes are reported to an administrator. This can result in a lot of logs if changes are made on a regular basis. This solution is both difficult to configure and maintain. In a real environment, you aren’t restricted to using a single solution. If you have the resources to support it, running multiple Antivirus programs is suggested as different vendors may publish definitions earlier than others. Antivirus can also be used in tandem with the other solutions, creating a more secure host

Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power

As a result of the current global warming issues and the ever growing scarcity of our current energy resources we may be forced to resort to nuclear energy. The Department of Energy has already given its support to energy companies who have decided to construct nuclear power plants. It appears that nuclear power is the right course to take, but before this decision is finalised it is important to weigh the multiple advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power. There are many pros and cons, but they weigh up almost equally which makes it a hard decision to choose the right course of action, nuclear power or non-nuclear power. The first step to deciding on the use of nuclear power entails looking at its pros. These advantages include its low carbon emissions, its containable waste products, its low cost technological research, and its abundant supply of energy. Abundant supply of electrical energy at lower costs. Uranium can be used instead of oil to produce electrical energy. A ton of uranium can release significant amounts of energy once it undergoes the process of nuclear fission. By nuclear fission, the mere splitting of atomic nuclei can go into a series of chain reactions that can produce great amounts of energy to be converted into electricity. Coal heated power plants require millions times more fuel to create an equal amount of energy as one ton of uranium. A very low amount of carbon emissions are created from nuclear power. Since there is no fuel burning process involved in a nuclear reactor, the amount of carbon emission released from nuclear power plants is less than a hundredth of the carbon emissions released by the fuel burning power plants such as coal heated power plants. Nuclear wastes can be contained and controlled. This is unlike carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions which are released in the atmosphere beyond human control. Carbon dioxide emissions have been the biggest factor that affect global warming conditions. Nuclear technology entails low cost. The nuclear technology of fission is a natural occurrence that does not require further development or research to produce energy that can be converted into electricity. The splitting of a large nucleus causes a chain reaction of splitting other nuclei and releasing shooting neutrons that can continuously split more atomic nuclei creating energy in the process. The next step includes comparing these pros with cons. These include the possible accidents or disasters, the possible creation of nuclear weapons, the expensive price of creating the nuclear power plant, The disposal and safe storage solution of nuclear waste, and the possible terrorist threat to nuclear power plants and waste disposal sites. Nuclear accidents or disasters have happened and taken place on different occasions in different locations in the past. Two of the most widely known nuclear disasters that occurred are the Three Mile Island reactor in the US and the Chernobyl reactor in Russia. Even the countries of France and Japan have had leakages and accidents. Japan experienced a partial meltdown of uranium core in Ottawa in 1952 and several other accidents afterwards including the well-known Tokaimura incident in 1999. France experienced its first major nuclear disaster in 1992 while the most recent was in July 2008. The latest involved a plant malfunction which caused 30,000 litres of uranium enriched solution to leak into two of France’s rivers. The possible creation of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty provides that every country has a right to undertake nuclear development for peaceful purposes. Many nations have taken its context as including the development of nuclear weapons because they feel threatened by other world powers. India feels threatened by Pakistan, while North Korea feels the same way about South Korea. Even developing countries will consider nuclear weapons to protect itself from possible threats of invasion. The setting up of nuclear power plants is expensive. Based on historical records, the actual costs incurred in building nuclear power plants have always exceeded the initial estimates. A report released by the US Congressional Budget Office in May 2008 disclosed that the actual costs incurred to build 75 existing nuclear power plants reached $144. 6 billion dollars. The estimated average cost of was $45. 2 billion. Nuclear waste disposal and storage solutions still have to be perfected. Nuclear waste is also known as Spent Nuclear Fuel or SNF. At the moment the only ideal system of treating SNF involves keeping them in temporary storage in deep disposal sites in the ground. However, SNF or nuclear waste disposal is still considered unresolved by many because there are no countries involved in deep ground SNF storage. Instead the nuclear waste is stored in dry-cask storages in steel lined silos with no definite disposal destination. Also uranium and plutonium have very long half lives and will take many years in storage to decay. The nuclear waste products are still considered radioactive for at least one thousand years. This could threaten homes and there residents if they have the radiation emissions enter their homes. Nuclear power plants and SNF storage silos are possible targets of terrorist attacks. Similar attacks like those launched by the 9/11 terrorists are likely possibilities which cannot be dismissed. This may seem unlikely but so did the attack on the twin towers. There are equal amounts of pros and cons for nuclear power usage and the decision to switch to it in the future is still uncertain. Although there are advantages such as the low carbon emissions and the large amount of energy produce from one ton of uranium the are still disadvantages including the possible nuclear disasters in the reactors and the possible terrorist threat. Either way it is necessary the choice is made soon otherwise our resources will be used up and we will be in a lot of strife.

David Fletcher Case Essay

Jenkins, Fletcher Partners (JFP) has the potential to thrive and succeed in the financial service industry with stimulated, productive, and satisfied employees. However, there are small and large issues to be addressed in order to carry that in action. In this specific case analysis, we analyze the issues hindering JFP from further development, and suggest respective and appropriate suggestions to resolve those problems. First, a thorough evaluation of JFP shed light on a number of issues: The inconsistency with JFP’s differentiated and key organizational structure: wide, flat, informal structure for quick decisions. Struggles for autonomy within the company and the pending decision to hire a new research analyst. Anti-cohesiveness and lack of appropriate human resource management. Low team productivity and insufficient and inaccurate incentives within the work teams Although these issues present obstacles for further growth and potential of the firm, JFP is able to resolve th ese issues and consequently differentiate itself from its competitors in the industry with the following suggested resolutions: Further emphasize the informal and quick information sharing in between all the employees. Convince Stephanie to remain with the firm with a larger responsibility to enhance the structure under the assumption that her requirements are met. Hire Robinson based on her qualifications and acceptance by current JFP employees, and develop further evaluation of Fiske’s. Maintain a balance of young and senior analysts to achieve a productive and conducive learning environment. Implement regular and functional meetings at which every employee has an input. Develop performance management instead of performance reviews. Maintain the organizational restructures through work team productivity and implementation of appropriate incentivizing system. With these critical resolutions, JFP will become the unique, successful, and differentiated financial service firm that the founders originally dreamed of. One of the points of differentiation that JFP has from other financial service firms on Wall Street is its unique structure of small, flat, and wide for effective and efficient communication and decision making process. But Fletcher made a mistake to contradict that very principle of JFP. By not communicating with Stephanie and other salient members of the firm with regard to hiring process of Doyle, David Fletcher put more workload on himself, slowed the  decision making process, and disregarded other employees’ opinions and thoughts on Doyle, and practically created the silo effect. Fletcher explains, â€Å"I figured that Stephanie would do the health care and environmental stocks as well as the retail stocks while Brian would focus on his specialty, high-tech†, as he reveals his own â€Å"thought process† without the actual confirmation from Stephanie. Furthermore, Fletcher admits, â€Å"hiring Brian wasn’t coming from her pocket, it was coming from mine†, and demonstrates the contradiction to shared ideas and smooth flow of information he so desperately pursued himself. The employees at JFP are meant to communicate and share information with each other fluidly without any excluded members. However, Fletcher contradicted the ideal environment he desired to create by not communicating with Stephanie throughout the hiring process of Brian Doyle and thus deteriorated the structure he wanted. Although a desire for autonomy and greater success are contributing factors in Stephanie wanting to leave the firm, this significant incident has l ed to her feeling alienated and secluded from Fletcher and the work they used to do together. Another issue that Fletcher faces, looking forward, is whether or not to hire Fiske and/or Robinson. As previously mentioned, Fletcher makes the hiring process ineffective and inconsistent. When hiring Kindred, Fletcher learned from the conflict that had already risen between Doyle and Whitney, and makes sure to receive feedback from Whitney and other employees before moving forward with Kindred. Fletcher also maintains an incredibly packed schedule and the hiring process is overly crucial and overwhelming for him to do by himself. Moreover, because of his overwhelming schedule, Fletcher cannot possibly to train all the new hires on how evaluate stocks and consider the investment strategy. On a greater scale, throughout JFP there is an extreme lack of group cohesiveness and issues with conflict management. Members of the company compete to achieve the identical goal to become portfolio managers. Members of JFP have a power struggle to achieve their own individual goals; consequently, pay compensation directly associates with individual accomplishments. The very structure of Wall Street that Lodge dislikes includes silos with high departmentalization, and members with their own agendas. JFP requires a group cohesion for an effective decision making, yet the firm rewards for self-fulfilling achievements. Therefore, presented is a â€Å"Rewarding A while hoping for B†Ã‚  issue. Also, a clear relationship conflict versus task conflict is evident. There are personal and social disagreements that hinder employees to expend effort and resource on discussing vital company tasks and objectives. There are also many interpersonal and organizational conflicts that arise through peripheral transactions within JFP. One simple example includes Stephanie’s concern about where her desk is located. And yet, there are no company procedures to address and resolve these conflicts in a systematic way. Another example is lack of employees’ input about new hires. Unrest and social disturbances are within an organization present obstacles for employees to work efficiently and to be creative which affects their performance and in turn JFP’s success. The final issue to be address is JFP’s lack of effectiveness in work teams and motivation on both the individual and group le vels. More attention can increase productivity and motivation according to the Hawthorne Effect. Fletcher’s decreased attention toward Stephanie, demonstrated in Doyle’s hiring process, reduces her motivation and attachment to the firm and develops negative feelings about Doyle. Because Doyle and Stephanie have relationship conflicts, they cannot properly address task, including feedbacks for investment choices, which leads to decreased productivity and creativity within the firm. When Stephanie finds personal fulfillment and interest in her work, intrinsic motivation, Doyle’s hiring process situation diminishes it significantly. Because she is less secure and satisfied, Whitney is less motivated, which falls in line with Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory: hygiene factors, including security and working conditions, â€Å"operate primarily as de-motivators if they are insufficient† (175). Stephanie also has extrinsic motivation—Fletcher’s attention, praise, and guidance—which increases her intrinsic motivation as well as job satisfaction and a sense of purpose at JFP. Whitney’s lower job satisfaction results in a poor job performance and her attachment to JFP. In order to better achieve the wide, flat structu re for efficient and effective decision making, Fletcher should attempt to keep Stephanie Whitney with the firm because she has already gained expertise within the industry, and training and molding another new employee in place of Whitney bears immense opportunity cost for the culture and productivity of the firm. Additionally, Whitney has consistently performed at a high level, and the success she’s attained transitioning from  an administrative assistant to a portfolio manager can be leveraged as an effective tool to inspire others to work. Since Whitney has expressed a desire to leave, Fletcher needs to intrinsically and extrinsically motivate her to. In order to keep Stephanie motivated at JFP, Fletcher should have Stephanie with a team of her to delve into an industry that she is curious and enthusiastic about, so long as that industry has an investment potential for the firm. Since monetary incentives can be sufficiently satisfied with firms other than JFP, Stephanie needs to have the extrinsic motivator of autonomy. This reward for staying would be unprecedented in a firm where most decisions come down to David, and would be an indication that she is incredibly valued and essential to the organization. Permitting Stephanie to recruit her own team will also serve to widen the st ructure of the firm and delegate more tasks. Fletcher also needs to highlight the tie that they have shared in the past, apologize for not being transparent with her completely, and express respect towards her career development. Despite the possibility that Whitney will decide to pursue other opportunities, Fletcher needs to convince her to stay because of her credibility and the value lost from the firm’s perspective. There is an argument to be made that Whitney was at the root of personal issues in the past, but Whitney’s conflict was task-oriented, not personal. Her disagreement with many of Doyle’s investment strategies causes problems when Fletcher failed to address her concerns. In the end, Whitney ends up being right about Doyle, and it is not to be understated that she gets along very well with everyone else in the organization. Building a strong culture is a key for JFP in hiring new employees. Whitney, who already gets along with Robinson, can help to develop the environment in which portfolio managers work creatively and get along on a personal level as well. By treating Whitney as more of a thought partner than protege, Fletcher should keep Whitney for the benefit of JFP. As Kindred’s case reflect, new hires are more effective in their roles in hiring them. Therefore, the hiring process should be structured in a way that all existing employees get to meet the candidate before the decision is made. Organization’s small scale will allow such procedure that will result in more effective hiring process. More attention should also be paid to the current employees, not only to ensure new employees’ transition, but also to deal with the hiring process more  effectively. Whitney’s insistence upon leaving can be circumvented entirely had Fletcher heeded her concerns and addressed the issue earlier. JFP should also aim to balance between experienced and new hires, and encourage the experienced portfolio managers to act as mentors. Fletcher cannot possibly serve as a mentor for everyone; but forging mentor/mentee roles amongst the portfolio managers will lead to more cohesiveness in the organization, experienced employees leading by example and contribute to the flat structure of the organization with reduced risk of employees’ uneasiness. Fletcher has already taken a step in the right direction by seeking the approval of other employees for hiring Robinson, but needs to continue with evaluating Fiske. Moreover, JFP should feel confident about hiring Robinson because the other employees think highly of her and Robinson offers a unique background and valuable expertise. Despite Fiske’s experience, his ability to collaborate with his colleagues is the critical point to evaluate in the hiring decision. And thus Fletcher must turn to the rest of JFP for advice. In terms of cohesiveness and people management, JFP should implement work teams to emphasize the outcome is greater than the sum of individual ’s effort. Also, work groups can be particularly utilized in the new research analyst candidates’ environment because their primary task is to share information. Cohesiveness can be developed by rewarding employees as groups, increasing the time that employees spend with each other, stimulating competition amongst groups, benchmarking JFP’s performance to that of a competitor firm, and by increasing the exclusivity. Furthermore, JFP requires regular meetings at which everyone is involved and present to facilitate increasing the time employees spend together and resolving conflicts within the organization. Group successes and failures can be discussed and evaluated. In order to successfully restructure JRP, performance management is essential because it is another method for conflict resolution. Performance management will also bring a continuous flow of feedback so the employee can adjust his or her performance. An increase in employee satisfaction within the workplace will follow. Additionally, the Hawthorn Study states that non-financial incentives are more effective than financial incentives; also, attention from leaders has been pr oven to be 63% effective, praise from managers 67% effective, opportunities to lead projects 62% effective. â€Å"†¦(P)eople will  feel competent if they obtain feedback that indicates progress in their work or suggests ways that can increase their competence†. (176) The delegation of autonomy within JFP can also be addressed because autonomy is easily assessed and provided to employees if management constantly evaluates employee’s performance. Lastly, Fletcher needs to address work team productivity and motivation within JFP. As an example, Stephanie demonstrates enjoyment and a sense of fulfillment in her job, and Fletcher needs to develop these motivations further. He also needs to ensure a good team dynamic. Intrinsic motivation is conducive to creativity and result in more unique, productive and creative analysts. According to â€Å"scientific management†, extrinsic motivation is strictly positive; however managers often create undesired behaviors in their employees by utilizing this incorrect statement. (181) Therefore, Fletcher has to give critical feedback and attention to his analysts to provide them with some continuing extrinsic motivation. In addition, Fletcher should foster an environment in which analysts develop enjoyment and attachment, that will contribute to intrinsic motivation as well. Hackman and Oldham’s model of job enrichment (1976) suggests different ways to increase employee motivation. For example, task identity, task significance, and feedback are a number of them. Developing task identity means to increase an analyst’s sense of meaningfulness in one’s work and growing task significance means to increase the sense of importance of their work. Additionally, ongoing feedback will also contribute positively to the analysts’ motivation. Fletcher should focus on these methods, as well as an appealing work environment and good group dynamic, to increase his analysts’ motivation. With these constructive resolutions—further consolidating the unique organizational structure, effectively recruiting new employees, critically addressing conflicts and cohesiveness within the group, and appropriately maintaining the balance of motivation—JFP is assured to thrive as a differentiated, outperforming, and attractive financial service firm.