Macroeconomics of my own life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macroeconomics of my own life - Essay Example On a day-to-day basis, our firm refines crude oil into useable forms, be it diesel, petrol or gas among others. The global market exhibits a great need for these products and this need does not get fully satisfied at any particular time. As such, even when we produce in excess, there would always be market for the products. But an interesting phenomenon I observed was the fact that with increased need for our products in the market, the prices would go up. Such are the times when, say, we receive more than usual orders. Macroeconomics refers to this need as demand (Sexton 105). This observed phenomenon has been documented by Mankiw (69) who notes that with increase in demand, there would be a consequent increase in price, all other factors held constant as retrieved from the demand curve. Even though the demand curve dictates that there would a proportionate decrease in price with decrease in demand, our firm often takes time to decrease its prices with decrease in demand. And even t he minimal decrease in price would not be comparable to the price increase trend. This could be attributed to factors held constant when theorizing the demand curve as documented by Mankiw (69). In our company, these factors could be customer loyalty and the limited substitute options in the industry since our firm controls a significant portion of the oil market in its locality. Furthermore, the government has set guidelines that govern the pricing in the gas industry because of the important role that the industry plays in driving the economy. In macroeconomics, the government would be said to have interest in the aggregate supply which encompasses the economy’s productive capacity for goods and services (Sexton 167). To further illustrate the effect of demand on the prices of our products, the 2008 economic recession provides an appropriate example. During this time, a majority of the countries were facing hard economic times and could therefore not engage in meaningful pr oduction activities. Similarly, a majority of air travels for instance reduced as people sought for ways of cutting down on their expenses. This meant that the demand for our products should have declined during the same period. But on the contrary, the demand increased with other countries joining in the list of our existing customers. As such, the prices of our commodities kept rising to an all-time high before the government set up proper guidelines on pricing. Information acquired from macroeconomics argues against this trend for the good of the economy. The increase in prices of oil products slows down economic activities, which in turn reduces the final goods and services which the country produces for its market at any given time, referred to as gross domestic product, GDP by (Sexton 585). This would be determined by summing up the output from each enterprise to give a total. The GDP serves as a significant indicator of the living standards of a country. The government apprec iates this fact and would thus step in to contain any factors that threaten the economy such as excessive increase in the cost of production, say due to increase in the prices of oil products. Whereas there would be times when the firm receives plenty of supplies of crude oil, there would also be times of limited supply. With oil producing and exporting countries being prone to wars, war would be the leading reason for limited supplies from such countries. During such times of low

No Child Left Behind vs. Inequalities Essay Example for Free

No Child Left Behind vs. Inequalities Essay The American educational system suffers from a wide disparity between the poor and rich schools in the country. Race relations is a prominent cause of the problem wherein the white-dominated school districts get the most funding and government support while non-white children live in poverty, academic underachievement, indifferent government officials and hopelessness. The No Child Left Behind Act seeks to lessen this disparity by equalizing governmental funding, ensuring a competent teaching workforce and instilling a system of accountability. However, like many other laws, No Child Left Behind has its shortcomings and needs re-examination and/or fine tuning to ensure its effectiveness. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Issues in Jonathan Kozol’s Book Through the book Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools, Kozol (1991) made several noteworthy points such as (1) many schools in poverty-stricken areas have non-white children comprising the majority of their student populations, (2) poor, run-down schools in non-white neighborhoods view themselves as serving those children who have little value to the country, (3) students, school administrators, public officials and community residents have a shared feeling of hopelessness for their plight and nobody is willing to be accountable for the problem, and (4) increased funding for the poorest schools in America can make a difference if this is accompanied by a change in the society’s attitude (pp. 82, 114, 243). Former US President George W. Bush signed â€Å"The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001† into law on January 8, 2002 as part of his educational reform agenda (â€Å"No Child†, 2007). The Act sought for immense transformation in America’s K-12 education by underscoring four principles: (1) greater accountability for results, (2) increased flexibility and local control, (3) expanded options for parents, and (4) an emphasis on proven and effective teaching methods (â€Å"New Jersey†, 2006). The four principles are aligned with the areas of racial inequalities among schools as identified by Kozol (Check, 1992, p. 1) which include funding, governmental assistance, political support, buildings upkeep, quality of educators, availability of and funding for school supplies, extra-curricular facilities, overcrowding and accountability system (Warner, 2002, n. d. ). Extent of Effectiveness of the Act Some of No Child Left Behind’s remedies are more pronounced in student academic performance. Thompson and Barnes (2007) cite that albeit slow progress, NCLB yields favorable results in strengthening student academic achievement. For example, scores in mathematics among 4th and 8th graders from 2003 to 2005 increased nationwide with scores for Hispanic and African American students showing significant improvement in the same period. Further, 4th graders’ national average scores in reading improved while achievement gap between African American and Hispanic 4th graders narrowed slightly from 2003 to 2005 (p. 16). More than two-thirds of the states also reported that test scores disparity in terms of race, income, or language background has lessened or stayed the same (Rentner et. al. , 2006 as cited in Thompson and Barnes, 2007, p. 16). On the contrary, the mostly debated shortcomings of the law fall in three areas. First, its stringent assessment and reporting requirements forced educators to allocate instructional time in preparation for assessment thereby suppressing creative learning in the classroom. Secondly, the Department of Education has failed to immediately ensure and monitor that the states comply with the NCLB’s teacher quality provisions; this being done only two years after the effectivity of the law. Lastly, fund disbursements in some states primarily devoted to professional development were done without full consideration of effectiveness or content quality of the trainings (Thompson and Barnes, 2007, pp. 19-20). Conclusion In summary, the NCLB has laid the foundations for educational reform and academic equality but continuous evaluation is essential to make the law work for all. References Check, J. (1992). Book Review: Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Shools, by Jonathan Kozol. The Quarterly, 14 (3). Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://www. nwp. org/cs/public/print/resource/1139 Kozol, J. (1991). Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York: Harper Collins New Jersey No Child Left Behind. (2006). Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://www. nj. gov/education/grants/nclb/

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Life is a series of new beginnings. We are always proceeding through life focused on one goal. When we were little, it was to put anything and everything that we could possibly find into our mouths. Later, we managed to put one wobbly leg in front of the other. When we were experts at that and getting into all sorts of trouble, we moved on to kindergarten. That is when it all began: our long journey that would lead us to today. Kindergarten was full of challenges and new experiences. White glue sticks tasted ... umm ... so interesting! There were twenty-six letters in the alphabet to memorize, finger-paints to use, the opposite sex to chase (and keep away from), and big sixth graders to survive. After that, a short nap on the area mats and a healthy snack of Ritz crackers and apple jui...

Comparing Sin in Fire From Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea :: comparison compare contrast essays

Sin in Fire From Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea In Fire from Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea, the authors take a stance on men and women committing sinful acts and using it as a main position in their work. They write from a very religious perspective which is probably due to the time period in which their work was written. They develop this idea in very different perspectives to get their point across. They express this position vividly throughout their work. David Underdown didn't live in this time period, but his work was a work of history and his ideas coincided with those of the Puritans. He uses these ideas to take a position on the Puritan's side and to better explain the good they were trying to achieve. The Puritans of Dorchester as we have learned about our reading, were a very religious group who wanted to create the perfect society. Their mission in Dorchester was to make extinct all the sinful acts of the townspeople. The struggle they started soon ended in failure. They were a definite influence upon his work. His views of sexual misconduct between married men and women being worse than that between unmarried people probably come from his growing up in a more modern world. The Puritans probably did distinguish some, but it wasn't very prominent or apparent. His makes this point clear in the passage, "Misbehavior among married people was especially serious, as it was likely to disrupt existing families, which were of course regarded as the essential foundations of any ordered, virtuous society(p.66)." The Puritan influence is very prominent in excerpt from the previous quote, "families,... the essential foundations of any ordered, virtuous society(p.66)." Underdown also makes a reference to the others towns in the area and how the Puritan presence made a difference, "It is unlikely that Dorchester people were any more, or any less, loose in their sexual habits than their neighbors in other place. But stories of their misdeeds even in the years of the puritan ascendancy are abundant(p.66)." With this passage the author shows how the presence of the Puritans changed the total view of the town and its people. Underdown used the sinful acts between men and women to draw out Comparing Sin in Fire From Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea :: comparison compare contrast essays Sin in Fire From Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea In Fire from Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea, the authors take a stance on men and women committing sinful acts and using it as a main position in their work. They write from a very religious perspective which is probably due to the time period in which their work was written. They develop this idea in very different perspectives to get their point across. They express this position vividly throughout their work. David Underdown didn't live in this time period, but his work was a work of history and his ideas coincided with those of the Puritans. He uses these ideas to take a position on the Puritan's side and to better explain the good they were trying to achieve. The Puritans of Dorchester as we have learned about our reading, were a very religious group who wanted to create the perfect society. Their mission in Dorchester was to make extinct all the sinful acts of the townspeople. The struggle they started soon ended in failure. They were a definite influence upon his work. His views of sexual misconduct between married men and women being worse than that between unmarried people probably come from his growing up in a more modern world. The Puritans probably did distinguish some, but it wasn't very prominent or apparent. His makes this point clear in the passage, "Misbehavior among married people was especially serious, as it was likely to disrupt existing families, which were of course regarded as the essential foundations of any ordered, virtuous society(p.66)." The Puritan influence is very prominent in excerpt from the previous quote, "families,... the essential foundations of any ordered, virtuous society(p.66)." Underdown also makes a reference to the others towns in the area and how the Puritan presence made a difference, "It is unlikely that Dorchester people were any more, or any less, loose in their sexual habits than their neighbors in other place. But stories of their misdeeds even in the years of the puritan ascendancy are abundant(p.66)." With this passage the author shows how the presence of the Puritans changed the total view of the town and its people. Underdown used the sinful acts between men and women to draw out

Knowledge and Emotion Essay

Emotion plays a big role in gaining knowledge even though when we do not realize it. Therefore, I agree with the quote, â€Å"There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours.† by Arnold Bennett, an English novelist. First of all, with the part, â€Å"There can be no knowledge without emotion1†, it can be proved by our experience. For example, we know about plate tectonics but until you feel it, you can’t have knowledge. Earthquakes prove that the plate tectonics are moving towards each other, away from each other or slide past each other. Since I live in Japan, earthquakes can be felt often and I have the knowledge of what it is like to be in an area with lots of earthquakes. Also, for example, we can prove that we have knowledge from genes. Sometimes, I feel that I have the same characteristic as my mother when I am talking to my pets. I talk with them in a softer voice than when we talk to other people. Also, my mother’s family loves animals and I was also brought up with an animal always beside me. Finally I can also see evidence from learning physics. I learned that the energy is transferred into other energies. Before, I wondered why bouncy balls bounced lower each time. When I learned about the energies, I gained the knowledge that the potential energy was transferred into heat, sound and other energies. From gaining these truths and experiencing it, it gives us knowledge of what it is like. By experiencing these things, it influences our emotion and gives us the knowledge. Though some people disagree that knowledge can be gained without emotion, I argue that the statement is not true. Though when you learn something, until you have realized what it is and accepted the information, then it is not knowledge. We have to know the information to gain the knowledge so to gain the knowledge we have to experience it. For example, I know the truth that floods occur and the consequences as well as the effects of it but since I have not experienced it before, I do not have the knowledge of what it is like to be in an area, which flooded. Furthermore, by learning biology, I know that there are diseases such as thrombosis, a blood clotting disease but since I have not experienced it I do not what it feels like to have thrombosis. As a result, I do not yet have the knowledge. Knowledge can be gained by other ways of knowing such as reason, sense perception and language. Though I agree with this, I think these all involve the ways of knowing of emotion. When we have a reason to gain knowledge, we gain the knowledge by realizing it and experiencing it. When we gain knowledge by sense perception it is done by experiencing something and realizing what is going on in our surroundings. Finally for language, we are experiencing it since we are talking or listening to the language. Since all these involve the action of experiencing, it all involves emotion. If someone did things unconsciously, I wonder if they can get knowledge. People who sleepwalk have been seen eating, dressing, driving cars, and many other things. Their brain is not fully shut down. Sleepwalking occurs before they are in the state of rapid eye movement, or the moment they are dreaming.2 They have their eyes open to recognize their surroundings. Therefore, I think they are using their sense perception when they are sleepwalking. Though they may not remember it when they wake up and get confused but I think their brain remembers it since the brain is not fully shut when people sleepwalk. Therefore knowledge is gained from experiencing things even if they are sleepwalking which is done unconsciously. Reflexes are also done unconsciously. They are done because we have the knowledge of what to do best to have the least damage to ourselves. That is why we pull our hands back when we touch something hot to reduce the possibility of burning our hand. We try to reduce it because we have the knowledge of what is going to happen if we do not. If we do not take our hand back, we know we are going to burn our hand and feel the pain. When I wake up, I have the reflex of stopping the alarm clock because I have the knowledge that I have to wake up to go to school. This reflex was done because I had the emotion that I did not want to go to school since I had to wake up at six o’clock in the morning. Therefore as a conclusion, I agree to an extent with the quote by an English novelist, Arnold Bennett of â€Å"There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours.† Emotion is connected to the other ways of knowing and everything we do in our lives. Experiencing things give knowledge to us which gives us emotion whether we do things consciously or unconsciously.

A Nazi In Auschwitz

A Nazi In Auschwitz Free Online Research Papers It was five a.m. when I awoke, I could smell the aroma of burning Jews in the furnaces. I had been awakening to this smell since I had been stationed at Auschwitz three months ago. I looked at my calendar and saw that it was August 19, 1941, just one more year until I would be relocated somewhere else. As I headed towards my post at the furnace, I wondered how we had been so fortunate to have a leader like Adolf Hitler. I conversed with the guards as I showed them my identification card that was required to pass through the gate. Rumor had it that we would have three or four groups of Jews to incinerate today, man I loved my job. At seven o’ clock a.m., a giant bell rung to wake-up all the Jewish slobs so they could ready themselves for the things we put them through during the day. Around the time the bell rang, I had slipped back into thought about Adolf Hitler. With him as our leader, there was no way that we could lose this war. He was smart, cunning, and extremely brave, it was my pleasure to have been selected as one of his soldiers. The only bad part was that I had been stationed at this foul place with Jews running around and contaminating everything. `â€Å"Toot Toot!†, the sudden sound of the train startled me as it reached the platform with the first load of passengers. Some Jews were selected for work while the others were sent to the gas chambers to be killed en masse. Later, some Jewish slaves came and picked up all the dead bodies around camp, and then delivered them to my group in the crematoria to be burned. We prepared the bodies for burning then incinerated them and buried the bones in a big pile. Occasionally, rapid bursts from machine guns broke the silence as they mowed down Jews. I had grown accustomed to these outbreaks, whereas a new recruit that had just joined our faction, was startled every time. This led to laughter and it lightened up our spirit during this boring work. I estimated about four hundred dead Jews today. It was eight p.m. when we were relieved from our duty by the night watch. As I headed towards my bed, I passed a lone Jew and shoved his face in the dirt and walked on his head. He got up and punched me in the back, so I whipped out my pistol and shot him in the head. Shooting people makes me hungry, so I stopped in for a quick snack at the main building and listened to the idle chatter and offered my input on how the war was going. I fell asleep around ten o’ clock, the quiet sounds of night lulling me to sleep. I dreamed of shooting hundreds of Jews as they were trying to run away from me. To my disappointment, I awoke to the same amount of Jews during their daily role count. Later that day, I was alone with one of the Jews that carried dead bodies. We were alone and he asked me my name. I had grown somewhat fond of this man and, seeing no harm in it, told him my name and asked him his. He said his name was David. Then the rest of my group came around the corner and I acted like I didn’t even know him and I took the bodies and prepared them for burning. The rest of my day was quite un eventful, but David and I exchanged secretive glances throughout the day. Somehow, David eventually softened me up and my hatred for his kind diminished a little and I felt that I had made a new friend. One day, David approached me as I was headed through his section of camp. He told me that he had heard talk about planning an escape and that he would keep me informed so I would not be targeted by the prisoners when they broke out. I thanked him and provided him with a couple of maps of the place so that I could stay on their good side and help make amends. A couple of days past before David contacted me. He asked if I could provide them with a couple of pistols and knives, we arranged a drop spot and away I went. That night I sneaked into the armory and put a couple of weapons into a duffle bag and then I was able to successfully sneak back outside and to the drop point. As I was falling asleep I wondered how I had gotten into this situation. I was helping the people I had previously hated with all my heart. I was glad to help them because it would mean that I would live and be able to return to my wife and kids. I had left them back in Berlin, and I hoped that they were doing well. Even though I had been here only six months it felt like a lifetime, and the bodies I burned were starting to haunt me. I figured that if I let the prisoners escape then I would get relieved of my duties and then I could return to my home. When I awoke, it was six in the morning so I ate, got dressed, and meandered over to my post at the crematoria. When I rounded a corner I ran into David and he told me that the escape would happen in two days. He told me that I should stay inside the crematoria since the escape would happen on the other side of Auschwitz, where there were forests to hide themselves. Te next day was uneventful and there were no unnecessary deaths in the camp. This left me wondering how the Jews could remain calm when they were about to escape a major death camp. When I awoke the next morning I headed to my post and tried to look busy, even though I was only waiting for the escape to occur. It was dusk when I heard a big explosion sound throughout the air, they had found explosives! The explosion was nearer to me than David had said, and I could see the shrapnel raining down. Then I heard machine guns and rifles gun down Jews. When my commanding officer told me to get my German butt down there and help kill Jews I shot him and anyone else who saw what happened. I couldn’t believe what had just happened, I shot one of my fellow soldiers over some Jews escaping. I looked around and couldn’t believe my luck. I saw that a car was parked near the crematorium I was at. I ran over then hot-wired it. I then proceeded to drive away from Auschwitz and towards Berlin. I needed to see my family and friends, I needed to look upon living people. The dead Jews I had killed filled my thoughts as I drove and I prayed that the Jews would live after their escape. Ten years later, I was driving past Auschwitz and into the nearby town. I was surprised when I saw all the Jews running around and I stopped at one of their stores to see what they had. When I walked inside , I saw the one man I never thought I would see again, David. We exchanged greetings and I asked how he had escaped from the forests. He told me a story filled with horrors and I was happy that I had the things I did. David and I were friends forever and always remembered that weird way we had met and helped each other achieve happiness. Research Papers on A Nazi In AuschwitzThe Spring and Autumn19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2The Hockey GameLifes What IfsWhere Wild and West MeetQuebec and CanadaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductDefinition of Export QuotasResearch Process Part One

Collins Last Name Meaning and Origin

Collins Last Name Meaning and Origin The Collins  surname has a number of different possible origins: In England, the name may have originated as a double diminutive of Nicholas, or as a patronymic surname meaning son of Colin, a short form of Nicholas. The given name Nicholas means victory of the people, from the  Greek ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ºÃŽ · (nike), meaning victory and ÃŽ »ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (laos), meaning people.In Ireland, a name derived from cuilein, meaning darling, a term of endearment applied to young animals.  The medieval Gaelic surname was Ua Cuilà ©in, most often seen today as  Ãƒâ€œ Coilein.As a Welsh surname, Collins may derive from collen, signifying a hazel grove.The French name  Colline, meaning hill, is another possible origin of the Collins surname. Collins is the 52nd most popular surname in the United States, the 57th most common English surname, and the 30th most common surname in Ireland. Alternate Surname Spellings:  Collin, Colling, Collings, Coling, Collen, Collens, Collis, Coliss, Coleson Where Do People With the Collins Surname Live? People with the Collins surname are most prevalent in Ireland, especially the southwestern counties of Cork, Limerick, and Clare, according to WorldNames Public Profiler. The name is also extremely common in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Forebears surname distribution data has the name pegged as very common in Ireland, Liberia, Australia, the United States, and England. Within Ireland, Collins ranks as the 9th most popular surname in County Cork, 11th in Limerick and 13th in Clare. Famous People With the Last Name Collins Phil Collins - English singer, songwriter and musician.Michael Collins - American astronaut, part of the Apollo 11 mission that first landed on the moon.Michael Collins -  The hero of the Irish struggle for independence.Patricia Hill Collins - American feminist sociologist (Collins is her married name).Marva Collins - American educator and civil rights activist (Collins is her married name).Joan Collins  - English actress, best known for her role in the television drama,  Dynasty.Suzanne Collins  - Author of the popular book trilogy,  The Hunger Games.Anthony Collins - English philosopher.Arthur Collins - English genealogist and historian. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Collins Over 320 group members belong to the Collins DNA surname project, working together to combine DNA testing with traditional genealogy research to sort out Collins ancestral lines. Includes individuals with Collins, Collings, and similar surname variants. Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Collins family crest or coat of arms for the Collins surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   Check out the Collins family genealogy forum at Genealogy.com, the popular genealogy forum for the Collins surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or use it post your own Collins query. Use FamilySearch.org to access over 8 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Collins surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Collins surname. You can also browse or search the list archives to explore over a decade of postings for the Collins surname. Explore DistantCousin.com, which hosts free databases and genealogy links for the last name Collins. The Collins page at GenealogyToday.com allows you to browse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Collins around the world. References Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia.  Bergenfield, NJ:  Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Hoffman, William F. Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings.  Chicago:  Polish Genealogical Society, 1993. Rymut, Kazimierz. Nazwiska Polakow.  Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich - Wydawnictwo, 1991. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Free Essays on Stuck In Neutral

, â€Å"I love you,† are just out of reach. Stuck in neutral is just about that. About the everyday struggles with which Shawn deals. The inability to do this, the inability to do that. The inability to say, â€Å"don’t worry about me, I’m happy.† The only time Shawn is happy is when he has a seizure, for the fact that it is the only time he feels free. Isn’t that sad? To everybody else, it is sad. In reality his seizures are the only thing keeping him sane, even though everyone else thinks he is in pain. So now Shawn tries to avoid the inevitable, death. Death not by natural causes, but death by asphyxiation. By the person that loves him the most†¦his dad. But, for some reason his dad’s madness is, in a sense, honorable. He doesn’t want to see his son go through what he is. One has to take what life deals them. Life is like a box of chocolates. None of us know what’s going to happen to us or even when our ‘ticket’ is going to be called. The only thing we can do is try our best to live the life... Free Essays on Stuck In Neutral Free Essays on Stuck In Neutral Stuck In Neutral â€Å"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.†(Forrest Gump) Substantiated in Terry Trueman’s novel, Stuck in neutral, an unwinable war is fought between Shawn and the disability with which he was cursed. Cursed in a sense that†¦how would one feel if even eye contact was on the brink of impossible? And, that was the easiest thing that Shawn could do. Disability? What does that really mean? The best person to ask is Shawn McDaniel, if he could speak, if he could write, or even if he could give some sort of sign that he understands a thing that is said to him. So, who is to blame? His parents, himself, or how about nature? Shawn battles nature everyday for the anguish and loneliness to which is disability has subjected him. See, Shawn didn’t fall out a tree, or get hit by a car. During his birth, a blood vessel in his brain burst in the most profound spot. So now even the words, â€Å"I love you,† are just out of reach. Stuck in neutral is just about that. About the everyday struggles with which Shawn deals. The inability to do this, the inability to do that. The inability to say, â€Å"don’t worry about me, I’m happy.† The only time Shawn is happy is when he has a seizure, for the fact that it is the only time he feels free. Isn’t that sad? To everybody else, it is sad. In reality his seizures are the only thing keeping him sane, even though everyone else thinks he is in pain. So now Shawn tries to avoid the inevitable, death. Death not by natural causes, but death by asphyxiation. By the person that loves him the most†¦his dad. But, for some reason his dad’s madness is, in a sense, honorable. He doesn’t want to see his son go through what he is. One has to take what life deals them. Life is like a box of chocolates. None of us know what’s going to happen to us or even when our ‘ticket’ is going to be called. The only thing we can do is try our best to live the life...

Privacy and surveillance in the Information Age Essay

Privacy and surveillance in the Information Age - Essay Example According to Nissenbaum (1998, p.4), information technology has not only affected communication, but has actually led to a need to redefine privacy. With increasing surveillance and information recording, personal privacy is taking a new direction. According to Nock (1993) the cost of surveillance is personal privacy and the American public has to trade between privacy and security. The biggest turn in information technology came at about the mid of 20th century with the invention of the electronic computer. As soon as the computer was invented, it was used by governments and large corporations for information capture, storage and analysis. Information technology did not only help in increasing the way information is captured and stored, but also in the way the same information can be analyzed as well as manipulated (Hughes, 2004, p.78). As a result, the role of the government and private corporations can in safeguarding information has increased and has also taken a new course. Information stored in computes is easier to disseminate and can be accessed from remote access points. This leads to the risk of losing this information to hackers and this can lead to private information being disseminated by unauthorized personnel. Information and communication technology has changed the way people communicate and carry out their daily social, political and economic activities. With the arrival of computers and the internet, communication has always increased, and people are today better able to communicate. Business transactions have taken a new route as private firms can now easily capture, analyze and disseminate different formats of communication and information. A good example of this is the US based international retail giant Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has been able to develop a system based in computers and wide area network that is able to capture information from all the retail stores and then sending this information to a central database where the

Acid Rain in Hamilton Ontario Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Acid Rain in Hamilton Ontario - Research Paper Example The acid rain in turn pollutes the lakes making them acidic, which kills the fishes and other species in water, also affecting the trees which die due to acidic nature of the rain. Humans are also affected as they have to encounter various health issues. As a response, various short term and long term measures are being taken which have effectively reduced the emissions; however a lot needs to be done as the hazards of the problem are too severe to ignore. Acid rain has become a severe environmental hazard in the recent past due to the environmental implications it leaves on the ecosystem as well as on the human health. As a basic phenomenon, due to pollution in the environment owing to industrial waste or other reasons nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide are released in the atmosphere which is evaporated. These evaporated chemicals descend back on earth in the form of acid rain, creating severe hazards for the environment. Acid rain is one of the most crucial concerns for North America and Canada, as industrial emissions released in the atmosphere are surpassing the limits causing environmental hazards. According to a recent research, this problem has been predicted to continue for at least another 60 years. Hamilton Ontario located in Eastern Canada can be taken as a case study to inquire about the issue in detail, as this locale has been a victim of acid rain in the past and strong actions have been implemented to resolve the issue1. In context to the Hamilton Ontario, the first concern related to the causes behind the severity of the issue in this area. Since Ontario lies in Eastern Canada, the cloud approaches this area from the US. The industrial wastes emitted through the factories running in the US emit suphur and nitrogen containing acidic chemical in the environment which pollute the clouds2. When the winds blow east, they carry the clouds along which cause acid rain to drop over the area in the form of rainwater.

Pathophysiology of hyperglycemia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pathophysiology of hyperglycemia - Essay Example This occurs as a result of increased production of Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone (ACTH) as a stimulus to stress; this has the effect of stimulating the production of cortisol which triggers glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, therefore, increasing the blood glucose levels (Fowler, 2009). This stimulus to stress has been called a life saving mechanism to reset the normal optimum conditions in the body. Pathological conditions may also increase blood glucose levels by increasing the level of cortisol. These include Cushing’s syndrome due to adrenal hyperplasia and adenocarcinomas of the adrenal gland (Miller, 2010). Administration of exogenous steroids like prednisone leads to hyperglycemia. The pituitary gland secretes hormones which stimulate the production of other hormones that have a role in carbohydrate metabolism (Nikolic & Jovanovic, 2009). Any lesion in the pituitary gland that increases the levels of these tropic hormones also increases the levels of blood glucose increases. For instance, ACTH secreting adenocarcinomas increases ACTH levels in the blood, which, in turn, increases blood glucose levels via the actions of cortisol (Ruderman, 2010). Conditions that lead to an increase in Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels (TSH) levels induce to an increase in absorption of glucose from the intestinal tract and basal metabolic rate via the actions of thyroid hormone. Growth hormone produced in the anterior pituitary has anti-insulin effects and any condition that increases its levels during acromegaly, thereby increasing blood glucose (Marino, 2008). Catecholamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine increase blood glucose level via beta and alpha receptors and inhibit the secretion of insulin via alpha receptors. Conditions that cause increase in the levels of these amines are adrenal gland tumors (Miller, 2010). Pancreatitis is another condition that causes hyperglycemia (Pfaff, 2008). This

Testing (HRM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Testing (HRM) - Essay Example To be effective in meeting long term objectives of the organization, human resource system must fulfil at least two needs of organizational objectives: (1) accurate forecasting the human resource requirements and (2) providing management with the tools and knowledge for sound personnel decisions. These two decisions serve as the foundation of the selection process that defines and measures the potential of the job candidate. Appropriate selection process saves the organization from severe damage that can be done to the careers of individuals and to the organization's human resource by procedures if classified individuals inappropriately. The labels attached to employees as a result of such procedures often dog their footsteps throughout their work life with the organization. It is not uncommon for supposedly infallible 'high potentials' to find that they cannot perform effectively in a different functional department or in positions with increased responsibility. It is in such failure-prone situations that work 'burnout' begins to appear and, depending on the organization's human resource policy, the afflicted individual may either be given extended leave and advice to seek help, put out to pasture in some non-sensitive position, or ruthlessly severed from the payroll. Just as bad, and more difficult to document, is the number of 'low potentials' who are never given the opportunity to try out for other positions (Baehr, 1992, p. 7). The sad results of the procedures are the flawed careers of individuals and the irresponsible expenditure of the organization's human resource. The Testing Process The testing process allows the organization to measure the standards of the individual as an employee so that his personal organizational practices at time of recruiting and selection inform the organization about his professional and behavioural capabilities. These effects generalize from the specific practices to a wide range of perceptions and work-related attitudes. For example, applicants form impressions upon the organization of general personnel practices, anticipated treatment by the supervisor, expected interactions with peers and perceptions of the organization climate. The results show clear conflicts between the organization's interest in obtaining valid information and attracting the individual versus the individual's interest in gathering information for his or her own decision-making process. Nevo (1989) has analyzed three solid reasons for gathering information from examinees about their reactions to testing procedures. First, it is in the moral rights of the examinees to be given a chance to express their opinions, secondly it is practically in their interest to be useful to find out what they think and, theoretically, it is interesting to learn about examinee's reactions from psychological point of view (Schuler et al, 1993, p. 65). Physical Ability Tests Physical ability tests provide us the means and measures to evaluate the physical abilities of an individual in context with the physical ability required to perform a particular job. An example is that of an employer who want to evaluate

Medication error Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medication error - Essay Example Quality management philosophies and systems are highlighted because they emphasize a learning organization culture that critically determines and resolves medication errors in the long run. Hence, medication errors are not the responsibility of prescribers alone, but a responsibility of the healthcare team and the healthcare organization, as well as the government. Introduction On September 14, 2010, 50-year-old Kimberly Hiatt, a longtime critical care nurse at Seattle Children’s Hospital, administered the wrong dosage of calcium to a fragile baby, Kaia Zautner (Aleccia, 2011). Zautner died five days later, although it was not clear whether the medication error killed her. Nevertheless, Hiatt, who was fired and underwent a state nursing commission investigation, committed suicide seven months after Zautner died. Aleccia (2011) reported that around 1 in 7 Medicare patients are harmed because of medication errors. Andel et al. (2012) estimated the economic costs of medication er rors using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and the Institute of Medicine’s report of 98,000 deaths every year. They discovered that the conservative cost of these deaths is â€Å"$73.5 billion to $98 billion in QALYs† (Andel et al., 2012, p.41). ... Causes of Medication Errors: Providers and Environment Tully et al. (2009) examined the causes of and factors connected to medication errors that concern prescriptions for hospital inpatients. They grouped the causes according to Reason’s model of accident causation, which will also be used in this essay: active failures, error-provoking conditions and latent conditions. Active Failures Active failures pertain to hazardous acts that prescribers make, which means that all medication errors consist of at least one active failure (Tully et al., 2009, p.826). One of the most common sources of active failure is knowledge-based. Prescribers committed mistakes either because they did not know enough about the drug or about the patient (Grissinger & Kelly, 2005, p.62; Tully et al., 2009, p.826). Some of the examples are giving the wrong dose or not being aware that a patient’s co-morbidity was a contraindication for the provided medicine. Another kind of active failure is skill -based or based on memory lapses (Tully et al., 2009, p.826). A couple of instances are interruption of the prescriber, who then makes a mistake, and when prescribers were too busy that they made an error. Aside from skill-based faults, policy violations are also problematic. Violations refer to active choices wherein prescribers ignore formal or informal policies that they were expected to follow (Tully et al., 2009, p.826). One example is medication error that comes from a medical student because his supervisor did not check his prescription. These active failures contribute to numerous medication errors. Error-provoking Conditions Error-provoking conditions are different from active

Testing (HRM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Testing (HRM) - Essay Example To be effective in meeting long term objectives of the organization, human resource system must fulfil at least two needs of organizational objectives: (1) accurate forecasting the human resource requirements and (2) providing management with the tools and knowledge for sound personnel decisions. These two decisions serve as the foundation of the selection process that defines and measures the potential of the job candidate. Appropriate selection process saves the organization from severe damage that can be done to the careers of individuals and to the organization's human resource by procedures if classified individuals inappropriately. The labels attached to employees as a result of such procedures often dog their footsteps throughout their work life with the organization. It is not uncommon for supposedly infallible 'high potentials' to find that they cannot perform effectively in a different functional department or in positions with increased responsibility. It is in such failure-prone situations that work 'burnout' begins to appear and, depending on the organization's human resource policy, the afflicted individual may either be given extended leave and advice to seek help, put out to pasture in some non-sensitive position, or ruthlessly severed from the payroll. Just as bad, and more difficult to document, is the number of 'low potentials' who are never given the opportunity to try out for other positions (Baehr, 1992, p. 7). The sad results of the procedures are the flawed careers of individuals and the irresponsible expenditure of the organization's human resource. The Testing Process The testing process allows the organization to measure the standards of the individual as an employee so that his personal organizational practices at time of recruiting and selection inform the organization about his professional and behavioural capabilities. These effects generalize from the specific practices to a wide range of perceptions and work-related attitudes. For example, applicants form impressions upon the organization of general personnel practices, anticipated treatment by the supervisor, expected interactions with peers and perceptions of the organization climate. The results show clear conflicts between the organization's interest in obtaining valid information and attracting the individual versus the individual's interest in gathering information for his or her own decision-making process. Nevo (1989) has analyzed three solid reasons for gathering information from examinees about their reactions to testing procedures. First, it is in the moral rights of the examinees to be given a chance to express their opinions, secondly it is practically in their interest to be useful to find out what they think and, theoretically, it is interesting to learn about examinee's reactions from psychological point of view (Schuler et al, 1993, p. 65). Physical Ability Tests Physical ability tests provide us the means and measures to evaluate the physical abilities of an individual in context with the physical ability required to perform a particular job. An example is that of an employer who want to evaluate

Future of Modernization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Future of Modernization - Essay Example The citizens would also enjoy higher standards of living. This paper will look into various aspects of modernization in the United States and also around the world. The paper will also look into the consequences of modernization and various theorists of the idea of modernization. There are four different concepts that modernization manifests itself in the United States. One of the concepts is that is the diversification that the society is undergoing through. Another concept is that people are making more abundant choices while at the same time the concept of smaller communities is also a manifestation of modernization in the United States. The other concept is that the aging people are becoming more and more future conscious that it was witnessed a number of years ago. Manifestation of the modernization in the United States can be said to be following the theories of Emile Durkheim. Durkheim concentrated on how the society should uphold their virtues and integrity in the modern times and how the societies would share such things as religion and ethnicity in a very constrained manner (Wagner, 2008). To this effect, Durkheim with the assistance of Herbert Spencer sought to come up with a scientific approach to study the society and various phenomena that would be associated with the society. This was done in reference to the function the individuals played in quotidian maintenance to explain different elements of the society existence and hence Durkheim is seen by many as the precursor of functionalism. Thus he was involved in the study commonly referred to as Social Facts. Social Facts is the study that tries to prove that there is the existence of a phenomenon which is not bound by the actions of the individuals and how the individuals that make up a society adapt to some changes but which is precipitated by a social fact. To this effect, some of the most subjective and individualistic phenomena that include such things as suicide would be described by Durkheim as an example of social facts which are objective (Macionis, 2006). Hence, modernization in the United States is manifested by the society adapting some new social changes which can be attributed to the theory of Social Fact a theory that is credit to Emile Durkheim. This means that the society in America is experiencing these changes due to modernization and this means that the reality of modernization in America has manifested itself due to the changes that the society is undergoing through and how these changes are positively and negatively affecting the society (Tyrer, 2008). Modernization development in the United States Right now, the United States is undergoing through many changes that can be said to be political, social, economical and cultural. This means that the United States will have many more developments as far as modernization is concerned. Politically, the society is looking for more freedoms and rights and the government is forced to comply with the requirements of the citizens. This means that modernization in the political outlook of the United States have more room for development. It is important to note that the country is the most democratic country in the world but the people feel that they need to

Bullying in Schools Essay Example for Free

Bullying in Schools Essay Bullying is an ongoing problem for many schools and communities. This behavior consists of teasing, threats, and stalking. This behavior is unacceptable and can turn violent, and even worse, deadly. There are many influences in today’s world that promote this behavior such as music, video games, movies, parents and other peers. A bully is a person that’s show strong aggression either physically or verbally and thrives on gaining power over there victim. A bully has no respect for others and will resort to violence if needed. The environment where the child/ youth come from is just part of a factor that makes a bully. A parent and or other adult figure that lives in a hostile environment and displays negative actions or a bully themselves inspire and teach these children this is how to act. Another factor is when a child is being abused they take all their anger, hurt and aggression out on another because it gains them negative self-empowerment. Yet, another factor of bullying could be just an individual trying to fit in to the â€Å"in crowd â€Å"of their peers. Yet, peers fail to see their future will bring them to jail or prison. A victim is the individual who receive the attack. These attacks can be verbal, physical or psychological abuse. Most victims picked on are loner and appear to be very insecure. They tend to not talk back or take action being picked on. A bully finds his victim by either there appearance, shy types or being behind in their academics (low grade point average). Most victims want to gain approval and exception from others and normally make several attempts with the bully. There are several side effects from being bullied such as psychological issues, depression (feeling helpless – worthless), self- harm (cutting skin, hair loss), anxiety (stress), and worst case suicide. Bullying in schools is estimated 160,000 children and teenagers miss school every day out of fear of an attack or intimidation by another peer. Over two thirds of children and teenagers in our schools today have had some type of bullying and responded poorly to the situation. Researches show that bullying occurs more in boys than in girls when it comes to verbal threats. In the year of 1994-1999 there were 253 violent deaths in school, 51 casualties in multiple death events. Bullying is the main factor in school related deaths. (Hunter, 2012) Schools throughout the United States do respond to bullying with reactive meas ZERO tolerance† in place, they have also installed security cameras and have police on staff as well as monitoring hallways. As part of this policy students can be suspended and or expelled for carrying a gun or knife to school as well as bullying. On a recent pole I conducted many teachers and other school board members feel as though suspension and expulsion is an easy way for a child to escape out of education. Our community’s fails to see the school may be the only positive place the child may be able to come, throwing them out is not the answer. The school over the last five years has introduced new programs which also include and family counseling. Programs such as early intervention helps children build social skills and offers anger management. Training for teachers and all staff that are involved daily with the children need to be able to recognize and respond quickly and positively. Teacher need to be able to provide positive environment and stick to the rules of conduct and don’t let no slip up happen, pay attention. Parents need to provide a positive environment and monitor your children and who they associate with. Also look up lyrics to the songs your child hears or watch the movies they watch. If you the parent wither be the victims or bully feels like extra help is needed talk to the school psychologist or the child doctor. Talk to your child, ask how they feel and offer solutions that promote positive help. Some people feel that bullying is just something that happens during your younger days and the child will grow away from their actions. Let’s look here; school shooting is on a rise killing innocent children attempting to get back at their bullies. Suicide as young as third grade destroys homes, families and communities. Drug use is higher than ever and teenager everyday day die from over dosing. Unless society takes steps to fight this disease that peers face daily it will continue to destroys young innocent lives at a downward spiral.

Business E-solutions for Small Construction Companies

Business E-solutions for Small Construction Companies BUSINESS E-SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL CONSTRUCTION  COMPANIES AND FREELANCERS Sergiu Catinas Florin Matei Abstract.There is a direct correlation among number of employees who work in construction industry and the average productivity of the construction workers. A first notice when these two factors are compared simply resides from the annual charts that follow these two factors. It is quite obviously that the average productivity of the workers depends primarily on technologies used, but depends on some other factors as well. The link among technologies used and productivity is not a subject to discus in this paper. Even though it is well known that construction industry requires a big variety of skills it is well known that some of the construction jobs are completed by workers with multiple qualifications. Also a principle of productivity clearly states that productivity of a worker is grown once the area of qualification is restrained. Therefore, in order to create a better productivity of the construction workers it is necessary to create workers with super high qualification in one small area and allow movement of the working force among construction sites. Most of the construction company has a great deal of mobility, but the most sensitive problem remains the problem of getting together the needs of labor with the suppliers of labor services. The main purpose of this paper is to underline the needs of a better link among construction actors. Also the paper proposes an e-solution for a better connection of construction players through implementing/changing an internet based site and shows some of the proposed benefits. Keywords: e-solution for construction business G14 A12 E60, construction average productivity D61 B22, construction companies’ mobility M54 C12, publically provides goods H44 D60. 1. Introduction By definition the average productivity is defined as in (1). Please note that an average productivity can be expressed with respect to marginal productivity as Saari1 said and as seen in as in figure 1. Figure 1 average productivity and marginal productivity with respect to real output/input As expressed by Harris2 the main economical factors that influence the productivity in construction industry are mortgage and accountants, fraud, cash flow, estimators and the cost engineers. By analyzing these factors and the influence of these factors over the total cost of a construction project, a solution is to be created in order to address the influence of factors like fraud and cash flow as well as the other three factors. Out of statistics offered by US Department of Labor the average construction manager contractors and the number of construction output in 2012 in US are almost the same (450 000-number of construction managers and 480.000-number of output construction in US according to US Department of Construction). Also by considering the top 5 US contractors and the number of their projects ongoing over the number of the contractor’s company employers the rate is over 0.08 in all cases, according to ENR.Construction.statistics. This leads to the idea that the big general contractors don’t have more than 12 of their own employees on the site. More over the second observation is that the big general contractors use the working labor of the subcontractors in order to complete their jobs more than their own workers. An internet based solution in order to reduce the general cost of the construction project is the proposal introduced by the present paper. The solution presented tries to m inimize the importance of the general contractors by implementing an internet based program that will allow small contractors and freelancers to bid for their project with no respect the general contractors. This system will bring significant benefits for small contractors and freelancers and will increase the average productivity of construction labors. 2. Main Concept As expressed above, the main idea is to implement a system based on the internet application that allows creating a strong connection among actors from construction industry. As a historical data it is important to mention that similar attempts were made outside Romania, but this kind of projects are not very popular. Also a similar model was build for tracking industry in USA. The system proposed would generate business revenue for all three categories involved in the construction industry, being a â€Å"triple win† system. The winners would be the owner of the site through charging money for any contact established, the general contractor or owner of the construction site and the freelancers or contractors that execute jobs because they can find jobs for their own. Never the less a major winner for this system could be the government through a better control of the labor black market and the society in general because this system would develop very effective companies and fr eelancers with high standards of safety and quality. More over a quality control can be implemented through expressing a relevant history data of every participant and through offering solid warranties for executed projects. 3. Details about techniques of implementation The internet page should provide valuable information about potential contractors or subcontractors. First this page would provide references wit previous jobs done so far by the contractors. This can provide solid knowledge about the quality, timing and safety rules applied by the contractors. According to this it can be created a scale ranging from 1 to 100 that would give a good view about an opportunity to create business relation with a specific contractor/freelancer. The internet page proposed by this idea can create a good point of view about the payment conditions, contract forms and eventually any history data for the beneficiary institution/person. Very often the government has that data offered but the private entities are not capable of showing any data related to their capabilities of assuming contractual obligations. The owner of the internet page, which can be a private entity or the government can charge both the contractors/freelancers and the developers/private owners or government agencies. Due to a good administration of the internet page it is recommended for the government to create and own such a business. The charge can be enforced only when the contact is established and an extra charge can be enforced when a contract is signed through this internet connection. Once the need for a job is expressed in details by the developer an auction that can last for 10 days can be started in order to allow the contractors and freelancers to put their best offer online, similar with the e-bay system. The winner would have to make a written contract with the developer and enforce according to the terms established in the description provided by the developer and the applicable law. To mention that a similar system exists in Romania, but with no history data for none of the sides and not very popular. Also the actual system is not open for private jobs. More over the actual internet page called â€Å"www.licitatia.ro† is for contractors only and not for small enterprises or freelancers and sometimes the value of contracts is not affordable for small companies. The main idea for this site is to create opportunities for small companies to cooperate with big contractors. A great disadvantage for the internet page that already exists is that the winners of the auctions are most of the time big construction companies and the execution of the job is done through small contractors/freelancers by subcontracting the job. T he main idea of this site is to allow the investor to create a working plan and graphic and according to that graphic to connect directly to small contractors/freelancers and decrease the cost of the labor. 4. Technical motivation for the propose As expressed by Harris2 the main important economic factors for a construction project are: fraud, mortgage and accountants, cash flow, estimators and cost engineers. Figure 2 Labour productivity growth in US, measured by GDP per hour worked (indexed) Fraud can’t be expressed mathematically by any formula and can vary a lot from a project to another. The Romanian construction industry is marked by so called underground black market of workers/labors. The rate of construction workers in Romania that are not hired legally is over 28% according to INS Bucharest. Apparently these workers represents a cheaper work force for the employers, but the long term run shows a different situations when accidents on the site construction happened and in our country the percentage of workers injuries and fatalities is double among black market according to Business Inside Magazine statistics. Therefore is hard to deliver any precise formulas or data regarding fraud in Romanian construction industry or elsewhere but we surely know that black market in construction is significant. For the mortgage and account factor the situation is expressed in detail by Nigrini4. The problem comes from the underestimation of the project and the lack of money to complete the jobs contracted. One of the solutions is implemented by creating smaller jobs and that is a main source of inspiration for the present paper and the idea proposed. Cash flow can be defined5 as the movement of money into or out of a business/project and it has three aspects: operational cash flow, investment cash flow and financing cash flow. Also cash flow factor is one of the great advantages that can be obtained through introduction of the idea presented in this paper. Estimators can get greater attention through introduction of the present idea. The error introduced by estimators is as Amos6 said in (2) and (3). (2) (3) Where is the parameter being estimate and is the expected value of the estimator. Please note that the error, â€Å"e†, depends not only on the estimator (the estimation formula or procedure), but also on the sample. Estimator engineers are engineers in charge with an estimation of the projects to be executed. The estimator engineers will have a greater implication by applying the present idea and their contribution should be linked to the estimators through trying to eliminate the errors margins as Amos6 proposed in the mathematical formulation expressed by (4) that shows how far, on average, the collection of estimates are from the expected value of the estimates. (4) 5. Example of the benefits of implementing the present idea. Consider a large construction project in Romania, in the city of Cluj-Napoca of a total value 54.00 million euro. The general contractor that was award the contract was a big general contractor with good experience in similar jobs. The second bid offer was as big as 92.10 million euro and the beneficiary was the institution of prefecture. The project was to build a sport complex in the city of Cluj-Napoca. Due to a court decision the project was stopped in the construction phase for over 18 months. The court decision was issued as a complaint by the general contractor who made an offer of 92.10 million euro. The time spent from the moment of interruption due to the court decision and the moment of the re-awarding the job to a bidder involved big amount of financial losses for both of the general contractors. Not to mention the financial losses suffered by the contractors, but to mention the difference of the bids amount will result as a margin profit of 37.90 million euro. If the exa mple above is not relevant for the profit margins obtained by general contractors let’s take the revenues of the top general contractors from US in 2012 and divide it by number of contracts completed by the same amount of time. This would generate revenue of 1.08 million dollars per project and considering an average medium project of 1.78 million dollars. These data are obtained from US Department of Construction Statistics. By applying the dates in our specific case we would obtain revenue of 19.87 million dollars. By considering dollars to euro ratio as 0.76, the revenue for our specific case would be 15.1 million euro. And this calculus does not include any losses due to the court decision that put a brake on the project. If the estimator engineers made a mistake according to (2),(3),(4) that error can be estimated from statistics as an average of 17% of the total value of the project after the project is finished according to Corps of Civil Engineers from US. In our spec ific case the average error of the estimator engineers for the project from Cluj-Napoca is 9.18 million euro. The difference of 5.92 million euro can be estimated as profit margin that can be linked to the present paper idea by creating small jobs to be done and the saving of the 5.92 million euro could be achieved. Please note that in the example above the cost of implementing the idea was not mentioned but according Brynjolfsson7 in the current practice the cost of IT development could not be more than 5 % of the total amount of the project, so a profit margin is still available. 6. Conclusions As expressed above the main idea of this paper is to express the need and procedures of creating an internet page that allows the beneficiaries of the construction structures to create a working plan and implement this plan. This working plan is technically known as Gantt plan and contains dates regarding each article of work and labor needed and the time allocated for that process. The site would create an auction system for every job/article that needs to be done. This system would benefit the contractors and small freelancers, the beneficiary of the construction structures as well as the government agencies and the general welfare. This internet application would create a triple win situation for government, contractors and beneficiaries of the construction structures. Moreover, another benefit would be due to high specialization class of small contractors and freelancers and the safety measures that would be strongly estimated and evaluated. The internet page proposed is subject to have a special section reviews regarding safety measures enforced. Regarding the safety of the labors and workers the government can enforce in a more efficient manner the black market control. Obviously the government agencies would have a better idea in what specific areas of construction the number of accidents is bigger and can enforce better safety rules. Also by knowing the contracts signed the government can put a better hand on the quality of the work in the most sensitive areas and can control the construction sites on the exact time when the most sensitive work and companies are on the site. References [1] Saari, S., Productivity. Theory and Measurement in Business,: European Productivity Conference, Espoo, Finland, 2006, pp. 44-69. [2] Craig, C.; Harris, R., Total Productivity Measurement at the Firm Level, Sloan Management Review, Feb-March 1973, pp13–28. [3] Hollmann, John, K., Total Cost Management Framework, AACE International, Morgantown WV, 2006, pp113–147. [4]Nigrini, M., Forensic Analytics: Methods and Techniques for Forensic Accounting Investigations. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley Sons Inc., June 2011, pp 206-235. [5]Strong, R., Portfolio construction, management, and protection, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio, 2009 , pp.527-537. [6] Amos, S., Skills and Knowledge of Cost Engineering,-Fifth Edition, AACE International, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004, pp 109-127. [7] Brynjolfsson, E., The productivity paradox of information technology.Communications of the ACM International, Mason, Ohio, 2003, pp 66–77.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas Essay -- fight

Dylan Thomas was born in the Britain in 1914. He was a Welsh poet and writer who wrote exclusively in English. According to Poets Organization,† His father was an English Literature professor at the local grammar school and would often recite Shakespeare to Thomas before he could read† (1). The home education developed his writing style which led him to have his first piece of work published in 1925. The poem,† Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† was written by Dylan Thomas in 1945 during the last illness of his father's life. Thomas addressed this poem to his father whose eyesight and general health were failing. He expresses a powerful message about the flight and passage of death in his poem. Meanwhile, he begs his father to fight against the darkness which is taking over and leading him into the afterlife. In this villanelle form poem, through the use of the metaphor language and images, especially the parallelism, writer gives examples of wise men, goo d men, wild men, and grave men to his father who was dying at the time this poem was written and also tires to convince his father to fight against the coming death. Thomas thinks a man who is dying in an old age should not die quietly, but fight with death until the last second. He begins the poem with second-person point of view and constantly reminds readers not to go gently into death and darkness, but rather to fight with them. To express the death and darkness, In the first stanza, Thomas uses a metaphor in which day represents life, night represents the afterlife and close of day represents the moment of death,† Do not go gentle into that good night,†¦, at close of day†(line 1-3). The first line of the poem is also a refrain. To makes reader notice this sentence, wri... ...getic, warm, intimate acts. â€Å"Fierce tears† images passion in nature. Thomas hopes that his father can fight with death. He also asks him not be indifferent or accept death mildly. Life is limited; therefore we need to fight to do the most and the best things without any doubting. Even when we face with death, we also need the passion to live, no matter what the result is. So the poet naturally prays his father to fight with death again in the last stanza, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, Rage, against the dying of the light† (line 18-19). The cycle of life and death formed a constant underlying theme in this poem. Thomas once brings readers into the darkness and death meanwhile, makes readers understand the meaning of life and death. Even at the end of life, everyone should attempt to "burn" with life, to "rage against the dying of the light". Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas Essay -- fight Dylan Thomas was born in the Britain in 1914. He was a Welsh poet and writer who wrote exclusively in English. According to Poets Organization,† His father was an English Literature professor at the local grammar school and would often recite Shakespeare to Thomas before he could read† (1). The home education developed his writing style which led him to have his first piece of work published in 1925. The poem,† Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† was written by Dylan Thomas in 1945 during the last illness of his father's life. Thomas addressed this poem to his father whose eyesight and general health were failing. He expresses a powerful message about the flight and passage of death in his poem. Meanwhile, he begs his father to fight against the darkness which is taking over and leading him into the afterlife. In this villanelle form poem, through the use of the metaphor language and images, especially the parallelism, writer gives examples of wise men, goo d men, wild men, and grave men to his father who was dying at the time this poem was written and also tires to convince his father to fight against the coming death. Thomas thinks a man who is dying in an old age should not die quietly, but fight with death until the last second. He begins the poem with second-person point of view and constantly reminds readers not to go gently into death and darkness, but rather to fight with them. To express the death and darkness, In the first stanza, Thomas uses a metaphor in which day represents life, night represents the afterlife and close of day represents the moment of death,† Do not go gentle into that good night,†¦, at close of day†(line 1-3). The first line of the poem is also a refrain. To makes reader notice this sentence, wri... ...getic, warm, intimate acts. â€Å"Fierce tears† images passion in nature. Thomas hopes that his father can fight with death. He also asks him not be indifferent or accept death mildly. Life is limited; therefore we need to fight to do the most and the best things without any doubting. Even when we face with death, we also need the passion to live, no matter what the result is. So the poet naturally prays his father to fight with death again in the last stanza, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, Rage, against the dying of the light† (line 18-19). The cycle of life and death formed a constant underlying theme in this poem. Thomas once brings readers into the darkness and death meanwhile, makes readers understand the meaning of life and death. Even at the end of life, everyone should attempt to "burn" with life, to "rage against the dying of the light".

General Motors - Financial Ratio Analysis Essay -- Business Finance Ac

General Motors - Financial Ratio Analysis I. General Motors History Highlights In its early years the automobile industry consisted of hundreds of firms, each producing a few models. William Durant, who bought and reorganized a failing Buick Motors in 1904, determined that if several automobile makers would unite, it would increase the protection for the group. He formed the General Motors Company in Flint, Michigan, in 1908. Durant had bought 17 companies (including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Pontiac) by 1910, the year a bankers' syndicate forced him to step down. In a 1915 stock swap, he regained control through Chevrolet, a company he had formed with race car driver Louis Chevrolet. GM created the GM Acceptance Corporation (auto financing) and acquired a number of businesses, including Fisher Body, Frigidaire (sold in 1979), and a small bearing company, Hyatt Roller Bearing. With the Hyatt acquisition came Alfred Sloan, an administrative genius who would build GM into a corporate colossus. Sloan, president from 1923 to 1937, implemented a decentralized management system, now emulated worldwide. The auto maker competed by offering models ranging from luxury to economy, colors besides black, and yearly style modifications. By 1927 it had become the industry leader. GM introduced a line of front-wheel-drive compacts in 1979. Under Roger Smith, CEO from 1981 to 1990, GM laid off thousands of workers as part of a massive companywide restructuring and cost cutting program. In 1984 GM formed NUMMI with Toyota as an experiment to see if Toyota's manufacturing techniques would work in the US. The joint venture's first car was the Chevy Nova. GM bought Ross Perot's Electronic Data Systems (1984) and Hughes Aircraft (1986). In 1989 the company bought 50% of Saab Automobile. In 1990 GM launched Saturn, its first new nameplate since 1926, reflecting a new companywide emphasis on quality. Two years later it made the largest stock offering in US history, raising $2.2 billion. Culminating a period of boardroom coups (relating to the company's lagging effort to reduce costs) in the early 1990s, John Smith replaced Robert Stempel as CEO. NBC apologized in 1993 for improprieties in its expose alleging that GM pickups equipped with "sidesaddle" gas tanks tended to explode upon side impact. The government nonetheless asked the ... ...improved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The stock holders equity has increased dramatically indicating the better management of the companies equity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The EBIT has improved for the last two year mainly because the level of interest paid has decreased due to the reduction of liabilities. Profitability   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Gross Profit Margin has increased from 1993 to 1994 as the cost of goods sold did not increase at the same level that the sales increased. The Operating Profit Margin ratio was stable in 1995 when compared to 1994 and the Net Profit Margin has also been improving for the last two years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Return on Total Assets has increased due the increase in the companies profitability, while Return on Equity has decreased on the last two years as the stockholders equity increased Overall   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is clear that the profitability of the company has been increasing for the last 2 years, mainly due to the decrease in liabilities, improvement in accounts receivable and better management of the company debt..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The company also demonstrates that the profitability can be improved even further by having better inventory management and productivity maximization on their fixed assets.

Notes on Religion

Cremation is more important than burial in which religion? a. Buddhism b. chrlstlanltyc. Hinduism d. Islamoc 2 The dominant branch of Islam is a. Druze b. Eastern Orthodox c. Shiited. Sunni00 3. From the Russian Revolution to the tall ot the communist government, what was the policy of the government towards religion? all churches were closed b, the old church was replaced by Eastern Orthodoxc. churches remained open but played a limited role d. youth were encouraged to attend so that the could be Indoctrinated Into 4.Animists believe that a, people should complete God's creation of the Earthb. Inanimate objects and atural events have spirits c. people should make complete use of the Earth's resources natural disasters are preventableO[7 5, The world's largest ethnic religion is a. Buddhism b. Christianityc. Hinduism d. IslamC0 The world's largest universalizing religion Is a, Buddhismb. Christianity c. Hinduism d, IslamC? 7. Which is not an ethnic Asian religion? a. Buddhism b. Conf ucianism c. Shintoism d. DaolsmL]L] 8.Lutheranism Is an example of a Christian branchb_ denomination c. religion d. sectnn 9. What policy did the British follow in India? a. they divided India into two countries they forced all of the Hindus to migrate c. hey turned the problem over to the united Nationsd. they encouraged the abolishment ot the caste system00 10. Worship in Hinduism is most likely to take place a, In a holy shrine b. as part ofa pilgrimage'c. at home d. In a pagodaClD 11, The belief in the existence of only one god is a. anlmlsm b. osmogonyc. monotheism d. solstlceoc 12 Roman Catholics are clustered In the LJ_S_ southwest primarily because of migration ofa. Roman Catholics from Latin America b. Roman Catholics from the northeast U. S. c. Roman Catholics trom Ireland d. Protestants to the northCC 13. Hinduism's caste systema_ assigns everyone to a distinct class decrees the ilgrimages which should be taken c. is a substitute for the lack of a holy book d. identifies a family's important deities0C 14. A universalizing religion a.Is based on the physical characterlstlcs of a particular location on Earthb. appeals to people living In a wide variety of locations c. Is rarely transmitted through missionaries d. is intentionally developed to be a world religion0L] 15 What Is the holiest book In Hinduism? a. the Bible b. the Old Testament c. the Qurand. none of the above?0 16. The goal of the majority ot people living in Northern Ireland is toa. remain part ot the United Ireland d. Join the Irish Republican Army00

Motivational Strategy and Action Plan Essay

Determine the motivational strategy or strategies that would likely be most appropriate for each of your three employees on basis of their individual characteristics. Indicate how you would leverage their employee evaluations to motivate each of the three employees. Describe one or more of the motivational theories and explain how the theories connect to each of your selected motivational strategies. Team Member Name Summary of Individual Characteristics Motivational Strategy and Action Plan Relevant Theory Tina Engaged Passionate Persistent Inspirational Leader Happy Emotional stable This employee would not really need much motivation, since already in engaged, passionate and is a leader at work. I would suggest that the employee uses an action plan to continue with positive attitude. Also since the employee has passed reviews, to advance in progress with promotions in the company. McClelland theory is relevant to this situation. It relates to this situation because for the most part the employee is happy at the job. Brittany Competitive Good communicator Influential Independent Emotional Quick thinker This employee shouldn’t much motivation since she is so competitive. However we could motivate her to be more engaged and happy at job since so emotional. An action plan for this strategy would be to assign her to do task she is interested and likes to do that are easy and take little thought since she is a quick thinker. This situation relates to the self-efficiency theory because employee is independent. She likes to do things on her own and feels she can. Denise Timid Considerate Neutral decision maker Eager Happy with job Encouraging This employee needs motivation in company involvement in communication since timid and shy. She can demonstrate these skills in an action plan by being more involved in conferences, presentations, and meetings. This situation could be also related to the McClelland theory because for the employee is happy with job, but there is room for opportunity.

Robert Brownings My Last Duchess Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Robert Brownings My Last Duchess - Essay Example In this manner she is finally entirely within his grasp. In life the Duchess had been free-spirited and blessed with a sunny disposition which had irked the Duke as he felt he could not suppress and possess her completely. In the finishing lines of the poem the Duke makes an allusion to Greek mythology which further illustrates his manic need for control and his inherent pride-"Notice Neptune, though/Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity/Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me! The poem is written using iambic pentameter and rhymed couplets. This sets the tone for the poem, and the language thus used gives the reader an impression of power wielded by the narrator. Another poetic device called the enjambment is used so that the lines at times have an unfinished feel creating a hanging effect, and ultimately creating a mood of apprehension as the Duke makes his chilling revelations. He is a compelling narrator and the words he uses have a subtle yet forceful quality to them.

Starbucks International Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Starbucks International Operations - Essay Example Sweden is an affluent European nation that is a part of the European Union, Bulgaria is an East European nation that has a much lower per capita income and is not yet a member of the European Union, although it is provisionally set to become one in 2007, while Nigeria is an African nation that is the poorest among the three countries. This Report will select one of these countries as potentially the best country that Starbucks could consider entering and then outline an entry proposal strategy that Starbucks could apply in order to derive the best benefits from that potential market. In terms of worldwide coffee consumption, Scandinavian countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) â€Å"continue to be the areas with the highest consumption (Reporter, 2007). For this reason, Sweden offers enormous potential for Starbucks coffee because it is one of the highest per capita coffee consuming countries in the world, which is estimated at 10 kilos for an 8 million population. (McCabe, 1994). According to Datamonitor reports, the Scandinavians are coffee fiends and the average Dane drank his/her way through 7.5 kilos of coffee in 2002, which is about 75 regular sized cups of coffee (www.beveragedaily.com). Sweden follows this trend closely and one of the reasons that have been put forward for high consumption of hot coffee is the cold weather in the country. Additionally, the Datamonitor report states that this trend could â€Å"partly be explained by high alcohol prices – these mean caffeine can be a far more cost-effective way of getting wired than drinking† since coffee is also much cheaper (www.beveragedaily.com). However, there is one aspect that must be taken into consideration in countries such as Sweden, which is established coffee drinkers such as France and Italy.

System Analysis and Design 251 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

System Analysis and Design 251 - Essay Example The company requires information management systems, which can flexibly undergo dynamic development to add competitive advantages to businesses. This report project is based on the hypothesis that information technology has the capacity to improve the level of productivity and profits of business enterprises2. The proposed system is expected to conduct comprehensive data processing including order processing, billing, purchases, insurance payments, customer support tasks and processing of payments. The justification of the need for this system is that SC is an extremely busy pharmacy and has many customers, whom it cannot serve adequately without the use of an integrated Information Management System. Purpose of the report The main purpose of this report is to verify the preliminary findings of the manager, and to present the expected resultant benefits that the information management system should bring to SC. It has to present a reliable framework explaining mechanisms through whic h the integrated information management system will assist the process of preparation of prescriptions for various medicines3. Part of its fundamental details will be on how to receive orders from pharmacies and care providers or nursing homes in more advanced methods. The report provides details of operation of automated inventory management modules for medicine stock management4. The report must convince the administration of SC that the system is simpler to use than Excel spreadsheets and MS Access. Finally, the report has details explaining business continuity plan based on how the system will always change to meet its contemporary needs. Structure of the report The report has a major title ‘Integrated Inventory Information Management System’. Under this topic, there are various subtopics addressing the areas of need for this system. The subtopics are as follows: Order Processing Purchase Billing and payment processing Customer service and support The next part of t he report is about the benefits of the system to the operations of businesses in SC. The benefits are presented in summary form as follows: Quick and reliable order processing More reliable billing processes Quick data access and real time processing Advanced System Integration The final section of the report contains the recommendations for further improvements of the system for better functionality in the future. This is one of the most essential needs, which SC administration expects as an outcome of the integrated system. 2. Preliminary findings The report presents the preliminary findings in the following event table: Event Trigger Source Use-Case Response Destination Maintains the records of who pays for the drugs Changes to Data information in regards Care provider Maintain Data information of who pays - - Immediately records information that comes in Newly received orders Client Records the new information - - Organization needs to capture and maintain prescription data New orders coming in Client Records information for prescription - - Produce Case manifests Start of the day - Produce case manifest Case manifest Pharmacist assistant Monthly order reports Monthly Pharmacist Produce order report Report produced Management nursing Home Maintain Drug Information Changes to drug Information Supplier Maintain Drug information - - Points Label for each residents Requests to point labels Pharmacist assist

Discrimination and Racial Profiling Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discrimination and Racial Profiling - Coursework Example The categorization of people based on their race has resulted in numerous problems starting in the 17th century all the way to the 21st century. It promoted slave trade, especially for Africans. This explains why the African-Americans are the most segregated group in the U.S (Klein, 2012). After being arrested, a black person is 33% more likely to be incarcerated as compared to the whites. An African-American is 30% more likely to drop out of school than the whites and 21% than the Hispanics or Latinos. In the same way, the police are likely to pull over and frisk either blacks or Latinos than whites. In the city of New York, 80% of the police stops made were for African-Americans, 60% for Hispanics, and 12% for whites. In 2013, the U.S Sentencing Commission reported that blacks received 11% longer than whites for similar crimes than whites. In the same way, the black drug offenders were 20% more likely than whites to receive mandatory minimum sentences (Alexander, 2013). To that eff ect, the blacks remain the most discriminated ethnic group. As the most segregated minority groups, the blacks have been forced to give up their culture so as to participate in the mainstream American life. Recent studies have indicated that 75% of the black ethnic minority experience unemployment. Furthermore, their health and education facilities are poorly equipped than the white’s who are considered the majority community and superior (Waters,

Physiology and metabolism, cardiovascular system, MacMan computer Essay

Physiology and metabolism, cardiovascular system, MacMan computer simuklation - Essay Example Physiological homeostasis in the cardiovascular system is maintained depending on baroreceptor and chemoreceptor reflexes. Baroreceptor reflexes respond to changes in blood pressure and chemoreceptor reflexes respond to changes in pH, which are usually caused by an increase or decrease in blood CO2 (Scanlon & Sanders, 2011). Question 1: What happens to the blood pressure and heart rate? The systolic blood pressure is increased to 132.8 mmHg and the diastolic pressure is increased to 82.2 mmHg. The heart rate is decreased to 51.8/min (table 1). When arterial resistance is increased, the vessels experience vasoconstriction, which leads to an increase in blood pressure and a decrease in heart rate. Changing the heart rate resulted into a change in the time of the systole and that of the cardiac relaxation. The alteration in the blood pressure and cardiac output displayed a plateau, but increased by a small margin. At low heart rates, the existence of pericardial constraints causes a limitation in the viscous pressure (Her, Mandy, & Bairamian, 2005). A decrease in the heart rate led to the redistribution of the thoracic compartment from the extracic hence causing a reduction in the blood pressure. Question 2: What might give rise to the altered arterial resistance in a natural situation? The result of altered arterial resistance is increased high blood pressure (hypertension). Systolic pressure ranging between 125 and 139 mmHg and diastolic pressure that range between 60 and 80 mmHg are often considered prehypertension. This can be caused by stress, smoking, and high level of salt consumption (Her, Mandy, & Bairamian, 2005).

Pax Romana Essay Example for Free

Pax Romana Essay The lands arounf the Mediterranean Sea and most of the land in the Northwest Europe consists the Roman Empire. The life of Romans was very comfortable. There was indeed a beautiful way of living life. They have water and sewage system which enables them to have clean water. They have theaters and they also have public baths. The people who are wealthy lives in villas or mansions or big houses and they can afford to have a central heating system in their house. Roman Empires greatest part was the Pax Romana which is also called as Pax Augustea. It happened around 27 B. C. after the several Republican Civil Wars and it ended in 180 A. D. In english, Pax Romana means Roman Peace wherein it was a period in the Roman Empire where it refers to the empire in its height of success. Aside from reaching the height of success and glory, the Pax Romana Era which is also called as Pax Augustea was also a time of civil order in the empire. Although there are still foreign wars and rebellions are still on going, the interior or the main empire was free from being invaded. This era was a time of peace and order in the empire. The Roman Legal System was used to attain peace and order in the provinces. At the same time, arts and architecture flourished althroughout the land and there was indeed a stable and well economy. This was the time that Greek and Roman culture was known in the whole empire thus, the flourishing of several aspects of the Roman culture was developed and was known by every people. There were several developments during this Era. Rome turned in an empire and an emperor rules over the whole land. The emperor hired full time workers who will carry out his policies and at this time, government in the province was improved because of the legal system. They follow the same law which made the whole empire organized and this kind of law is what was used by wertern societies in present. The concept of Pax Romana is far different from the peace we have in our contemporary society. The contemporary Society or the Modern Society viewed peace perhaps as a period of rest and absence of conflicts or problems in life. At the same time, the modern world looks at peace as a sign of freedom and escape from worldly things and ideas while Pax Romana was a time of success, absence of war in the main empire and developments. The use of peace in Pax Romana is quite misleading because it did not really mean peace but rather development. Pax Romana was characterized by great Romanization and development of the empire and not by the absence of war and silence. In the contemporary society, peace would mean of relaxation and absence of conflicts.

Easy Jet Competitive Advantage Tourism Essay

Easy Jet Competitive Advantage Tourism Essay Easy jet which is having Mission statement as to provide our customers the safe journey,good worth,point to point air service and to offer a reliable and consistent product and fares appealing to leisure and business markets on a range of european routes and to achieve this will increase our peoples and estabilish lifelong relation ship.this mission statement is clearly saying that wat they want and we will get in to this case study and find out how easyjet get into this position and where it is now and where it is going what it should do with the following analysis given below, Is market positioning enough to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in this industry? To analyse this activities we will use Porters Five Force analysis and SWOT and PEST analysis of this industry and we will check the value chain and competitive scope of this Easy Jet. The overall analysis will give the clear conclusion that its profitable factors and to be continued in same manner and to develop to get grow in the future. Strategy: It is defined as an alternative chosen to make happen a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem. Art and science of planning and marshalling resources for their most efficient and effective use. The term is derived from the Greek word (Stratigos) for general ship or leading an army. (www. businessdictionary.com) Macro environment: Major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organizations decision making, and affect its performance and strategies. These factors include the economic, demographics, legal, political, and social conditions, technological changes, and natural forces. 2. Factors that influence a companys or products development that are outside of the companys control. For example, the macro environment could include competitors, changes in interest rates, changes in cultural tastes, or government regulations. (www.businessdictionary.com) PESTLE ANALYSIS: PEST analysis is the tool to measure the marketing environment, and its looking the external factors of the airline industry. First we analysis the present situation of easy jet. Politico legal factors: Politico legal factors is The political and legal environment consists of government agencies, laws and the pressure groups which influence. In some situation the law also create new opportunities for starts the new business. The two important trends in the political-legal environment are to increase the growth of special interest groups and the business legislation (Kotler, et al., 2009, p.171). The Easy Jet had the political problem in Switzerland due to the delay of flights to the various cities. The basic problem for these incidents is given below.The EasyJet flights are flies into Basel and Geneva airports but with a dismal on-time record, according to status of the flightstats.com. The online websites that tracks that the 20 most active routes for the carrier, but the Easy Jet planes from Geneva to London to be schedule about half of the time, It is the average delay of 74 minutes. Flights from London to Geneva are mismatch in its schedule by 31% of the time, and its the average delays of 38 minutes. The worst route for being on time between Palma Mallorca to Geneva, by these 82 per cent of the flights are late, according to flight stats. At no time did the company want to have such delays, said Jean-Marc Thà ©venaz, general director. We regret the situation. To help fix the problem, Thà ©venaz said that the company had decreased the number of flights during certain periods. We are trying to create some timeslots during the day when we fly less so as to be able to juggle our planes around to minimize delays, he said. He added that the company also has an extra plane on the ground in Britain that could be assigned to stay in Geneva. European Union is enlarging in the east. Its a right time the Easy Jet will increase the new market in the Eastern Europe. UK government going to increase the tax coming year .so it will affect the low cost and no frills approach. Economy factors: The available purchasing power in an economy depends on prices, current incomes, savings, credit availabilities and debts. Marketers must pay careful attention to trends affecting purchasing power, because they can have a strong impact on business (Kotler, et al., 2009, p.163). Easy Jet shares had fell up-to 7% on the last month for the fears over crewing issues. Carolyn McCall, who joined as chief executive from Guardian Media Group at the start of this month, said Easy Jet would seek to address the staffing problems, with a focus on flight delays at Gatwick airport. Douglas McNeill, said the crewing problems were worrying and we know theyve developed a problem, But we wont know the causes and the long-term costs of fixing it until November. From the volcanic ash problem the company had paid  £36m as compensation. The company had lost their estimated sales and its cost around  £29m. Easy jet said It was disappointed with the decision by the UK government not to compensate losses related to the ash cloud, which forced Easy Jet to cancel 7,314 flights. Easy Jet revenues for last three months are 5.3% to  £759m and the seats are flown up into 1.7 %. The Easy Jet peoples said It expected to make a pre-tax profit this year of between  £100m and  £150m at current exchange rates. Share Price of Easy Jet Figure: Chart of easy jet share price for last three months http://www.lse.co.uk/SharePrice.asp?shareprice From my analysis the company must be on-time performance and its needs to be better the numbers staff can be improved. Sometimes it may spoil the good name, goodwill, reputation and the image of easyGroup. Socio-Cultural factors: Society shapes the values, beliefs and norms that largely define consumer tastes and preferences. People absorb, almost unconsciously, a worldview that defines their relationship to themselves, to others, to organisations, to society, to nature, and to the universe (Kotler, et al., 2009, p.171). Easyjet had a problem in the social and cultural factors. The company has various approaches to selling the air tickets through online and telephonic rather than agencies. German and France peoples are dont have much interested to use online and telephonic ticket booking and also they dont like to use credit cards and debit cards in internet booking. So the company is having difficulty to achieve the target of sale. Most of the people expecting to fly in cheap and friendly fare when we giving advertisement in newspaper like family package and also giving low cast fare  £10 per person. Technological factors One of the most dramatic forces shaping peoples lives in technology. Every new technology is a force for creative destruction. The number of major new technologies we discover affects the economys growth rate (Kotler, et al., 2009, p.169 ). Easy Jet had design the new devise to fix in the tail. Around 100km the device can detect the ash clouds. The cost of  £1m is spent by the company to develop and test the technology. Airbus is the leading manufacturer of aircrafts. The company hopes to fix the devise to all their aircrafts. It can be implemented by next year. The AVOID Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector technology is designed to work like the weather detection systems already in use for spotting thunderstorms. A lightweight infrared device would provide images to both the pilots and an airlines flight control centre, enabling pilots to see an ash cloud at altitudes between 5,000 feet and 50,000 feet. In the volcanic ash problem all the airline industries are lost more than one billion US dollars and the relevant business to the airline companies are lost twice the amount like tourist hotels, cabs, and airport authorities. In the volcanic eruption the flights are damaged massively. We have understood the basic problem of the aircrafts during the time of ash clouds. The companies are monitoring the problem of ash clouds through the satellites. But its not enough to prevent the aircraft at the time of eruption. So the aircraft companies are ready to spend millions and millions of amount to solving this problem. According to the statement of ESA (European Space Agency) from the period 1982 to 2000 the volcanic ash clouds can damage more than 100 aircrafts by average of 65 volcanic eruptions by each and every year. Around 250 m US dollar can be estimated as a loss for the airlines industries from last 25 years. The basic problem of the volcanic ash is that can be containing so many raw particles (eg glass, rocks and other relatively large objects) can damage the propeller of the jet. It can be easily affect the engine to stop immediately. Then it can damaged the sensitive parts of the aircrafts (eg clog its sensors, limit the view of its pilots, and severely scratch, or sandblast, cockpit windows, landing light covers and parts of the tail and wings). These damages are found by ESA through the satellites. Technologically Easy Jet is in the right place to develop the new trends but it can lacking to implement the technology in the aircraft maintenances. External environment: Conditions, entities, events and factors surrounding an organization which influence its activities and choices, and determine its opportunities and risks. Also called operating environment.(www.businessdictionary.com) Easy Jet Airline Company Limited: Strengths: Easy Jet is a leading provider of low budget, no frills air travel servicing many of the leading city destinations in the UK and across Europe, including Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Prague. They offer a high quality service at competitive prices and offer a number of features including ticketless travel, internet booking and assisted travel services.They have a highly distinctive livery on their fleet of aircraft making them easily recognisable and distinguishing them from their competitors. They have a user friendly website which fully discloses the price breakdown of the passengers planned travel. Offering a full breakdown of the price plan prevents any hidden charges when the customer confirms there booking. Easy Jet offers an online promotion alert which is e-mailed to existing customers and contact on the companys database. It is recognised as a leading brand name in the UK travel industry. As a market leader in an industry widely seen as a leading contributor to the green house effect and global warming, Easy Jet actively embrace there environmental responsibilities and continue to keep these factors as a keep priority when developing their future strategies. Easy Jet operate a fast and efficient service with an average turnaround time of 30 minutes or below. This enables them to maintain a reliable and hassle free service to their passengers. Weaknesses: Domestic air travel is an extremely competitive industry with EasyJets main competitors being Jet2, BMI Baby, Ryan Air plus a host of smaller independent competitors. These external competitive forces can restrict and shape pricing policy on some of EasyJets less profitable routes as they seek to compete with their competitors. They do not offer a free food service on longer flights of 2 hours plus. Opportunities: It might possible for an opening of alternative routes to major cities in Europe. A key route could be from Dublin to the UK, as this has a large potential for travellers going to soccer matches in the UK plus new links into corporate flyers to and from the UK. Offering of free refreshments on flights with a travel time of over two and a half hours. This would offer an extra perk and comfort to passengers making their experience with EasyJet all the more comfortable and enjoyable. Updated versions of the fly on the wall documentaries would provide the brand with more coverage and publicity. Threats: Competitors flying the same routes compete very competitively on price forcing pressure on margin on more popular flights and time slots. External market forces can have a significant impact on Easy Jets business, e.g. the rising cost of oil can have a significant impact on running costs putting significant pressure on the profitability of less popular routes and time slots. Pressure from unions and employee relations committees can significantly impact on the day to day operations with strikes proving to be very costly to the companys image. Economic downturn may lead to a decrease in casual flyers and corporate travel as companies seek to curtail what they see as unnecessary expenditure and in turn make less business trips. Competitive advantage: Marketing mix is the most important factors in the marketing management. Every company is using the marketing mix to attract the customers and develop the company. Marketing success of a company is depends on how much marketing mix using Fairley to cover the customers. After several studies and research the classic 4ps of marketing mix has changed into 7Ps (by Booms Bitner). However the 4ps is still the most common model of the marketing mix. By the competitive advantage we analysis the Marketing mix. It contains 4Ps that Production, Price, Promotion and Place/Distribution. Easy Jet has been named the worlds best low cost airline in the annual World Airline Awards. Skytrax made a survey for 15million passengers by the period of 11 months. It is the world largest survey among the passengers. Its shown the star ranking of the airlines and quality of the airlines. Commenting on Easy Jets achievement, Skytrax CEO, Edward Plaisted, said: Low-cost does not need to, nor should it equate to, low-quality service. Easy Jet is clear testament that low-cost operations can be delivered with a good standard of customer care and passenger service quality with their level of customer loyalty clearly demonstrating a winning formula. No-Frills, point to point air services We can hire the car from the website of Easy Jet and we can access the hotels and apartments from their websites. Place / distribution: Place /distribution refers to how the product gets to the buyer; for instance, point-of-sale assignment or retailing. This third P has furthermore at times been called Place, referring to the channel by which a product or service is sold. The easy jet websites has targeted the customers those are not willing to get the tickets through agencies or third parties. The company policies are not allowed the intermediates to raise the actual price up to 20 percent to 30 percent as a commission. So the passengers do not know the actual price of the ait ticket. The company is targeted the passengers are saving the money as well as the time. The Easy Jet websites provides the customers very easy to access. Easy booking accommodation Flight schedule Cab booking And other transportation Likewise the company has provides the customers are easily book their tickets through telephone. There are unique packages for the business peoples which is having the special selection on their websites. The option is B2B-Business to Business transaction which can be indicates in the EasyJet website. Promotion: This includes advertising, sales promotion, including promotional education, publicity, and individual selling. Branding refers to the assorted strategies of promoting the product, brand, or company. Media advertising- Pulsed, pioneering, competitive or product oriented. Comparative ads disrupt consumers beliefs re competitors. Creative campaigns create controversy, shift perceptions change rules of the game. Personal selling- Although needed, is seen as less important for destabilizing in turbulent market. Public relations- Less important, but small PR activities can nudge system towards destabilization. Sales promotions- If used with price, can be effective/destabilizing. Minor, but unusual promotions/ changes lead to major impacts. More effective than adverts inturbulent markets. Word of mouth -Very important influence-the-influencer promos. Spread info re new, amazing aspects of product. Use multiplier channels like Internet, discussion groups. Aggressive use of promotions-Aggressive use enables trends to be nudged advantage to be taken of turbulence. Speed of change- To be unusual surprising, campaigns must be short-term, changed frequently. Importance -Important to manage via nudge effect, but less effective for major changes. It is a decision of how best to communicate the product to target audience and how to persuade them to buy it (Lovelock, Patterson and Walker, 1996). No marketing program can succeed without an effective communication program. This component plays three vital roles: providing needed information and advice, persuading target customers of the merits of a specific product, and encouraging them to take action at specific times (Lovelock and Wright, 2002). Easy Jet achieved the target of 500 routes in 15 years. The company crossed 300 million passengers are live in the airports in an hour. The growth ratio of the company is increased by 10 percent while compare to the previous year. The Easy Jet is the leading low-price airlines in the European airlines industries. The advertisement strap line is Size Matters!And Its slogan is The Webs favourite airline. Their approach is called No-nonsense approach like humorous. (http://business.easyjet.com/downloads/easyJet-Price-Comparison-Results.pdf) Conclusion: Easy Jet need to consider regarding responding to new entrants by the segments or considering competition based on price, services, and routes that gives an advantage to keep new entries outside the market. By considering the current market trends a perfect strategy to be planned based on the marketing mix.   To discriminate the brand sustain on development lines, the company can implement a CRM (cause related marketing) offers, manage its accessibility of being a caring airlines. And by providing travelers a sense of psychological comfort and well-being while they selecting to fly by Easy Jet. On overall, Easy Jet needs to develop the accurate and realistic to serve the passengers.