The Effects of M&As in the Furtherance of Strategic Objectives of Dissertation

The Effects of M&As in the Furtherance of Strategic Objectives of Tesco Plc and Wal-Mart - Dissertation Example ................................................................................................................. ... Under the PEST analysis, political, economic, social and technological factors (for PEST) will be discussed. Additionally, legal and environmental factors will also be discussed (completes PESTLE analysis). Under Porters 5 Forces analysis, the 5 forces that influence any given industry will be discussed. These include powers handled by the supplier and the buyer, threat of substitution, competitive rivalry, and threat of new entry. Tesco – Company Overview Tesco Plc is an international retailer with active activities in most parts of the world apart from providing retail banking and Insurance services. Its wide distribution of stores enables customers to pick the products of their choice from various parts of the world. The company delivered a sales growth of 7.4% by the year 2012 and strong international performance with a return of capital employed of 12%. The company is projected to have a weak growth among its peers due to its low operating profit margin compared to the se ctor/industry average of 14.39% hence it is considered underperforming in the industry (Tesco Plc, 2012). Tesco Plc realized its potential in the retail industry and decided in many cases to consolidate its efforts with other businesses. The greatest interest was to establish the effect of these consolidations with its aims and objectives in order to unearth the truth on the possible effects of M&As. PESTEL Analysis Politically, the recession remains one of the main gamut that are currently affecting all the countries resulting to high numbers of unemployment. As one of the major and wildest growing retailers, Tesco will avail more jobs hence reducing levels of unemployment. Economic factors are significant for Tesco because they influence directly the buying behavior of

Ict analysis Essay Example for Free

Ict analysis Essay It is also very easy to produce the forms as it is just paper and questions that have been printed. This is very easy task for the restaurant but if the customer number increases higher it will be impossible for the system to work in order. Â  This filing system will never break down and have to go in for repairing unlike an application program, which might have to go in for repairing because of technical problems or damage. Â  The data wont get lost due to technical fault however through human error it can be misplaced but not every detail of the every customer will not be lost. But if the datas on the computer and it gets damaged all of Fusions information can be lost. To prevent this they will have to keep back up files. Problem Description This project will aim to solve the data-handling problems of the new restaurant called Fusion. This is a restaurant where a variety of foods are served. To do this work and provide these services customer details (name and address), booking Details and table details are collected and stored in filing cabinets. For the current system the data is collected by asking the customers their details over the phone or in person. This current system has a few disadvantages. These are some of the disadvantages for using the current system: Its very time consuming to use. When the staff wants to find a particular file it takes them an unesccerray long time to go through all the folders and find the file they needed. This is also waste the customers time as they can become very impatient waiting for their file to be taken out. Â  The current system is also a waste of paper because when a new customer comes in they have to fill in a form or if a customers form is misplaced they will have to fill it in again which will cause inconvenience for the customers and the staff at the Fusion Restaurant. Making the restaurant look incompetent. Â  The current system also takes up a lot of storage space, which is eventually going to run out as they are going to get more and more new customers everyday. Â  If a customer wanted to edit their details the staff may find it really difficult to edit it and update information, as it is on paper and will have to be crossed out. This will also be very untidy and not very eye catching. Â  Also, if one member of staff fills up one form and another member of staff has to use it the next day it will be very hard to understand some peoples handwriting. This may cause inconvenience for the customer. Â  The system which is being used now can also be damaged as it is just ordinary paper and can be ruined easily by water, tea or coffee. Â  Another issue is if the original form which was filled previously is misplaced the customer will have to fill another form. This is very frustrating and annoying for the customers. Possible solutions There are a lot of possible solutions for all the problems. These are some of the most sensible and important solutions: They could employ more staff as part of the staff can only organise all the files in the filing cabinet, but this has a disadvantage as it is very expensive to hire more staff and it might cause confusion among the other staff because of so many people working in one restaurant. Â  They can also have different filing cabinets for different customers in alphabetical order. This will make it easier for the staff to find the files as they can just go to the filing cabinet for the people whose name began with an A for example. They can also have a different filing cabinet for bookings and reservations for the day. As this will help the staff, because they can go and check the reservations as they will know which filing cabinet the information is in. Â  They could also have a data handling system made as this will save their time, will be user-friendly, it will also make files a lot easier to locate and there will be no misspellings in this system. This is also saves on the storage space that would have been used previously for storing all the files. Chosen Solutions I have chosen the best chosen solution for solving the problem that Fusion is currently facing. I think the best solution for this problem is to use an application program which might not be specifically made for storing data from restaurants but can be customised to what the restaurant needs in its data handling system. Some of the advantages of this solution are: Â  This application program will be able to save all the data from fusion restaurant, with no misspellings and it will also save a lot of storage space. Also the data cannot be misplaced to anywhere as it is on the computer and as long as the staff press the save button none of the data can be lost. Â  The data saved on the application program can be edited easily and will still be neat unlike the current system that is being used at Fusion. Â  The application program wont be time consuming as data can be found within approximately 45 seconds rather then the current system which might take more then 15 minutes. The application program will also save a lot of paper and ink as the system will be fully digital and wont need to be printed onto paper. The handwriting in the current system is very hard to read as different people fill out different forms, but with an application program everything will be typed in so this will make the writing very easy to read and understandable for all members of staff. Â  This might take some training for people who arent familiar with computers but in the long run it is better for the restaurant itself as it is a very modern restaurant and so should have a modern data handling system like the bigger and more established restaurants. System objectives There are a few system objectives for this application program as these will help improve the service provided by the application program. The system objectives for this application program are: It should allow the staff at the Fusion restaurant to edit customer details as neatly as possible. Allow me to find customer bookings quicker then the current filing system being used at Fusion. Â  Allow the staff at Fusion to find customers easily, so they can attend other customers. Â  The application program should be easy to use. It also allows the staff to get in touch with the customers which is a positive thing for the restaurant. Â  The application program should be able to display information fast so it doesnt cause any inconvenience for the staff or the customer. It should be able to quickly delete customers as when they had filing cabinets they had to find the folder which had to been thrown out. Performance criteria The performance criteria is linked to the system objective as it is just a more detailed explanation about the system objectives. The performance criteria for the application program are: The system should allow the staff to easily change customer details without time constraints. Â  It should also allow me to find customer bookings without any problems in about 45 seconds. Â  The application program should also allow me to find customers easily without showing me other customers and customer details. Â  It should be easy to use so people without any ICT skills can use it easily too. It should also allows the staff to get in touch with the customer as pictures can be added to the application program so this shows a clear picture of how the customer looks like. It should also display information faster, in about 45 seconds for the maximum. It should be able to quickly delete customers as when they had filing cabinets they had to find the folder which had to been thrown out. This is more efficient and environmentally friendly so therefore no paper is being wasted and also increases the speed of data being processed. Current resources Fusion has a PC even though not used for data handling it is used for emailing customers about current offers and information about Fusion. The current resources that are being used now at Fusion restaurant are: A Flat screen which is 15 inches in size and has a Screen Resolution of 1280 x 800. Â  It runs on Windows XP and has the software Microsoft office 2000 right now which is quite old and doesnt have a lot features. Â  It is of the brand Samsung, which is quite popular for PCs. The internet connection is DSL, which is faster than the normal internet connections available. Hardware The hardware in a computer is equipment involved in the function of a computer. Computer hardware consists of parts that can be physically handled. The functions of these components are usually divided into three main categories: input, output, and storage. Software Computer software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform tasks on a computer system. The term includes application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users, system software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for application software, and middleware which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.

Syrian Woman :: Art Painting Syrian Woman Essays

Syrian Woman Profile This portrait from the Riley collection is believed to have been taken off a funerary monument from Palmyra, Syria, in the early third century CE. Based on research of the lives of the Palmyrens and their funerary reliefs, a vague but somewhat accurate picture of the woman can be assembled. This woman was most likely a freeborn, although lower class, woman. Based on the known trends of Syrian art at the given period, it is likely that the woman had vey little monetary wealth upon her death, explaining the lack of any jewlery besides the headress being depicted in this statue. The woman was probably born in Syria of Arabic descent, and her age at the time of death was somewhere between thirty-five and forty. There are deep lines in her cheeks depicting this aging process, but the lack of other facial wrinkles gives the assumption that she died rather young. Based om the sunken cheekbones and large eyes, as well as the fact that she was most likely poor, it can be assumed that had been in relatively poor health at the time of her death, probably heightened by meager food and strenous activity. The decpition of the woman's right hand caressing her cheek, although not completely uncommon in Syrian portrature, draws attention to her hand and makes the assumption that she may have worked much with them. From this, it can be speculated that perhaps she was a midwife, an idea that shall assumed for the rest of the profile. She probably was betrothed early to her husband, possibly as young as six. By fourteen she was married to him, and taken into his home as not just the mother of his future heirs but to help out at the store, as most men of Palmyra are merchants. By fifteen she produced her first child, a son, and at sixteen her second birth ended both in the loss of the child andher own inability to produce further offspring.At the time of her death she was most likely widowed, her husband possibly dying as few as five years ago,but continues to live in the same house with her still unmarried son who by then would be running his father's store. Because of their low income, she would have had no household slaves, leaving the woman not only with all household responsibilities, but with responsibilities in the store as well.

Poetry essay Essay

?How does Owen Sheers use language, form and structure to explore ideas about separation and division in ‘Winter Swans’? The Poem ‘Winter Swans’ seems to convey a strong theme of natural love. The poem begins with setting a scene of a peaceful day, where nature seems to be stilled after the torrential weather that is referred to in the first line through ‘The clouds had given their all. ’ It goes on to say that there was then a ‘break’, and throughout the poem the poet uses words such as ‘silent’ and ‘rolling’, ‘stilling’ and ‘slow-stepping’ to capture this scene of peace and serenity, as if the world was resting after being thrashed about by a storm. With the idea of a natural love, there comes the confusion and the inartificial knowledge that love is not materialistic, a feeling and something that can not be brought on by force. Through all natural love stories come feelings of hurt and division. A separation that brings the subjects closer and strengthens the emotion. Sheers uses the theme of leaving, and then returning, or rage, and then peace, or the unknown, and then the known to reoccur throughout the poem, eventually strengthening the love, which could be argued as the main emotion of the poem. The poet also uses imagery such as ‘lakes and ‘swans’, to symbolise the peacefulness, and also to symbolise love. You notice words that show the subject is not alone, with ‘we’ and ‘our’. These words and also the motion of the swans, the lake, and the peacefulness are foreshadowing that the poem will take a turning onto love that is more literate. However I don’t think that the poems theme is so much about love in particular, but about a natural love, a natural pull that brings two people together even after hard times. Sheer’s uses Swans as a metaphor of love, the way swans will smoothly dip in and out of the water, and how they are known to curve towards and away from each other as if dancing on ice. They are the perfect example to show the way love will draw away and then come back. He uses vocabulary ranging from ‘silent’ and ‘rolling’ to ‘righting’ and ‘rough’ to show the separation and how quickly the emotions get confused, and how quickly compassion will turn into anger, and vice versa. The poem begins referring to this in the first stanza with weather, as raging storm. And then a ‘break’. The poet then adds on ‘in which we walked’, showing possibly that the subject and whoever they are with also went through a hard time, but are now peaceful along with the nature. In the fourth stanza it describes the swans ‘halving themselves’ in the ‘dark water’, to portray a hard time, but then ‘returning again like boats righting in rough weather’ It then moves onto the poems only piece of speech, â€Å"they mate for life. † Which rounds off the conclusion of the theme of the poem, that although there are hard times, they will always be pulled back together. The poem then shows this also applies for the people, as at the beginning of the poem it describes them as being ‘silent and apart’, but right at the end it shows them holding hands, symbolising how they are together. The poem’s theme is concluded with comparing them to a ‘pair of wings settling after flight’, to show that finally, the emotion has strengthened, and they can settle after the confusion and separation.

Performance Rating Written Report

For example, If the benchmark of dealing 52 cards In 0. 0 minutes Is established, a complete and specific description should be given of the distance of the four hands alt with respect to the dealer, as well as the technique of grasping, moving and disposing of the cards. The benchmark example should be supplemented by a clear description of the characteristics of an employee carrying out a normal performance. A representative description of such an employee might be as follows: a worker who Is adapted to the work and has attained sufficient experience to perform the Job In efficient manner, with little or no supervision.The worker possesses coordinated mental and physical qualities, enabling him or her to proceed from one element to another without hesitation or delay, In accordance with the principles of motion economy. The worker maintains a good level of efficiency through knowledge and proper use of all tools and equipment related to the Job. He or she cooperates and performs at a pace best suited for continuous performance.However, Individual differences between workers still exist Differences in inherent knowledge, physical capacity, health, trade knowledge, physical dexterity, and training can cause one operator to outperform another consistently and progressively. Sound rating characteristics The first and most Important characteristic of any rating system Is ACCURACY. Perfect consistency in rating is impossible. The rating plan with variations greater than Ð’Â ± 5 percent should either be improved or replaced. Time study analysts who to conduct such studies.It is not difficult to correct the rating habits of an analyst who consistently rates high or consistently low. But it is very difficult to correct the rating ability of an analyst who is inconsistent, rating too high today and too low tomorrow. Inconsistency, more than anything else, destroys the operator's confidence in the time study procedure. A rating system that is simple, concise, easily explained, and keyed to well-established benchmarks is more successful than a complex rating system requiring involved adjustment factors and computational techniques that may confuse the average shop employee.Workstation rating Performance rating should only be done during the observation of elemental times. As the operator progresses from one element to the next, using the prescribed method, analyst should carefully evaluate speed, dexterity, false moves, rhythm, coordination, effectiveness, and the other factors influencing output. Once the performance has been Judged and recorded, it should not be changed. However, this does not imply that the observer always has perfect Judgment. If the rating is questioned, the Job or operation should be restudied to prove or disprove the recorded evaluation.Immediately after completing the study and recording the final performance factor if overall rating even elemental rating was used, the analyst can approximate the operator's performance. This gives the operator an opportunity to express his or her opinion about the fairness of the performance factor, and to give his opinion directly to the person responsible for its development. Rating elements versus Overall study On short-cycle repetitive operations, little deviation in operator performance is realized during the course of the average-length study (1 5 to 30 minutes).In such cases, it is perfectly satisfactory to evaluate the performance of the entire study and record the rating factor for each element. Remember power-fed or machine- controlled elements are rated normal, or 100, as their speed cannot be changed at will by the operators. In short-cycle studies, an observer who endeavors to reference rate each element in the study will be so busy recording values that he or she will be unable to effectively observe, analyze, and evaluate the operator's performance.When the study is relatively long (over 30 minutes) or is made up of several long elements, operator p erformance may vary during the course of the study. They can consistently and accurately rate elements longer than 0. 10 minute as they occur. If a study is comprised off series of elements shorter than 0. 10 minute, then no effort should be made to evaluate each element of each cycle of the study, as time does not permit such action. It is satisfactory to rate the overall time of each cycle or a group of cycles.RATING METHODS Speed rating – Is a performance evaluation method that only considers the rate of accomplishment of the work per unit time. In this method, the observer measures the effectiveness of the operator against the concept of a qualified operator doing the same work, and then assigns a percentage to indicate the ratio of the observed performance to performance determine whether it is above or below normal. 100 percent is usually considered normal.A rating of 110 percent indicates that the operator was reforming at a speed 10 percent greater than normal, and a rating of 90 percent would mean that the operator was performing at a speed 90 percent normal. Two tasks were suggested by Preserve (1957) to develop an initial mental model ; (1) walking 3 miles per hour (4. Km/her), that is, 100 feet (30. 5 m) in 0. 38 minutes and (2) dealing a deck of 52 cards into four equal piles closely spaced In one half minute. Time study analysts use speed rating for elemental, cycle, or overall rating.The Westinghouse system One of the oldest used rating system was developed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Then termed leveling, it is outlined in detail in Lowry, Maynard, and Estrangement. This method considers four (4) factors in evaluating the performance of the operator: 1. Skill Lowry defines skill as † proficiency at following a given method,† and further relates it to expertise, as demonstrated by a proper coordination of mind and hands. A person's skill in a given operation increases over time, because increased familiarity with the work brings speed, smoothness of motions, and freedom from hesitations and false moves.The Westinghouse rating system lists these six degrees or lasses that represent an acceptable proficiency for evaluation: Poor, fair, average, good, excellent, and super. 2. Effort This rating method defines effort as a â€Å"demonstration of the will to work effectively. † Effort is representative of the speed with which skill is applied, and can be controlled to a high degree by the operator. The six effort classes for rating purposes are: Poor, fair, average, good, excellent, and excessive 3. Conditions In this performance rating procedure affect the operator and not the operation.Time study analyst rate conditions as normal or average in more than a majority of instances, as conditions are evaluated in comparison with the way they are customarily found at the workstation. Elements affecting working conditions include temperature, ventilation, light and noise. The six general classe s of conditions, with values ranging from +6 percent to -7 percent, are ideal, excellent good, average, fair, and poor. 4. Consistency Elemental time values that constantly repeat would have perfectly consistency.This situation occurs very frequently, as there always tends to be dispersion due to the and effort, erroneous watch readings, and foreign elements. The six classes f consistency are perfect, excellent, good, average, fair and poor. Perfect consistency is rated +4 percent and poor consistency is rated -4 percent. Once the skill, effort, conditions and consistency of the operation have been assigned, and their equivalent numerical values established. For example, if a given Job is rated CA on skill.CLC on effort, D on conditions and E on consistency, the performance factor would be as follows; The Westinghouse rating system demands considerable training to differentiate the levels of each attribute. The procedure generally followed is; 1 . A film is shown and he operation ex plained. 2. The film or tape is reshow and rated. 3. The individual ratings are compared and discussed. 4. The film or tape is reshow and the attributes are pointed out and explained. 5. Step 4 is repeated as often as necessary to reach understanding and agreement.Synthetic rating Morrow (1946) established a procedure known as synthetic rating. This procedure determines a performance factor for representative effort elements of the work cycle by comparing actual elemental observed times to times developed through fundamental motion data. The performance factor may be expressed algebraically HO Where; P= performance or rating factor. Fundamental motion time. 0= observed mean elemental time for the elements used in F. Objective Rating Developed by Mendel and Dander (1994), eliminates the difficulty of establishing a normal speed criterion for every type of work.This procedure establishes a single work assignment to which the pace of all other Jobs is compared. After the Judgment of pa ce, a secondary factor assigned to the Job indicates its relative difficulty. Factors (1) Amount of body used, (2) Foot pedals, (3) Femaleness, (4) Eye-hand coordination, (5) Handling or sensory requirements, and 6) Weight handled or resistance encountered. The rating (R) can thus be expressed as follows: where: P= Pace rating factor. Difficulty adjustment factor. Rating Application R=PIX job The value of a rating is written in the R column of the time study form.After the stopwatch phase is complete, the analyst multiplies the observed time (OR) by rating (R), scaled by 100, to yield the normal time (NT). RATING ANALYSIS TO X 100 Four criteria determine whether or not time study analyst using speed rating can consistently establish values within 5 percent of the rating average calculated by a rope of trained analyst. These are: 1. Experience in the class of work performed. 2. Use of synthetic benchmarks on at least two of the elements performed. 3.Selection of an operator who gives performances somewhere between 85 and 115 percent of standard pace. 4. Use of the mean value of three or more independent studies and/or different operators. To assure speed rating consistency, both with their own rates and with the rates established by the others, analyst should continually participate in organized training programs. One of the most widely used training methods is the observation of audiotapes or motion-picture films illustrating diverse operations performed at different productivity levels.Figure 10-3. A straight LINE indicates perfection, whereas high-irregularities on both sides of the line indicate inconsistency, as well as an ability to evaluate performance. The analyst rated the first film 75, but the correct rating was 55. The second was rated 80, while the proper rating was 70. In all but the first case, the analyst was within the company's established area of correct rating. Note, that due to the nature of confidence intervals, the Ð’Â ±5 percent accu racy criterion is valid only around 100 recent or standard performance.When performance is below 70 percent of standard or above 130 percent of standard, an experienced time study analyst would expect an error much larger than 5 percent. The closer the time study analyst's rating comes to the x-axis, the more correct he/she is. To determine quantitatively an analyst's ability to rate performance, compute the percentage of the analyst's rating contained within specified limits of the known ratings. This can be done as follows: 1 . Compute the mean difference ( CD )between the analyst's rating and the actual rating for n test (n should be at least 15 observations). Compute the standard deviation (SD )of the differences in rating 3. Compute the normal deviate(Z), where; 4. Compute the normal deviate (Z ), where; Z = +5 (or some other figure of accuracy) – CD 5. Compute the area under the normal distribution curve between Ð’Â ±5 (for some figure of accuracy) centered at CD, w hich is assumed to be equal to deed, and Sd which is assumed to be equal to ad Analyst overrated low performance levels and underrated high performance levels. This is typical of novice raters who tend to be conservative raters and afraid to deviate too far from standard performance.In statistical applications, this tendency is termed regression to the mean and result in a relatively flat line compared to the expected line with a slope of one. The novice rater who rates higher than the true value for performance below standard performance produces a loose rate. For performance above the standard, a novice rater who rates lower than the true value produces a tight rate. Straight Speed Rating The performance rating plan that is easiest to apply, easiest to explain and gives the most valid results. Rating Training -To assure speed rating consistency, both with their own rates and with the rates

Huitzilopochtli, the Founding Deity of the Aztecs

Huitzilopochtli, the Founding Deity of the Aztecs Huitzilopochtli (pronounced Weetz-ee-loh-POSHT-lee and meaning Hummingbird on the Left) was one of the most important of the Aztec gods, the god of the sun, warfare, military conquest and sacrifice, who according to tradition, led the Mexica people from Aztlan, their mythical homeland, into Central Mexico. According to some scholars, Huitzilopochtli could have been a historical figure, probably a priest, who was transformed into a god after his death. Huitzilopochtli is known as the portentous one, the god who indicated to the Aztecs/Mexica where they should build their great capital city, Tenochtitlan. He appeared in dreams to the priests and told them to settle on an island, in the middle of Lake Texcoco, where they would see an eagle perching on a cactus. This was the divine sign. Birth of Huitzilopochtli According to a Mexica legend, Huitzilopochtli was born on Coatepec  or Snake Hill. His mother was the goddess Coatlicue, whose name means â€Å"She of the Serpent Skirt,† and she was the goddess of Venus, the morning star. Coatlicue was attending the temple on Coatepec and sweeping its floors when a ball of feathers fell on the floor and impregnated her. According to the origin myth, when Coatlicues daughter Coyolxauhqui (goddess of the moon) and Coyolxauhquis four hundred brothers (Centzon Huitznahua, the gods of the stars) discovered she was pregnant, they plotted to kill their mother. As the 400 stars reached Coatlicue, decapitating her, Huitzilopochtli (god of the sun) suddenly emerged fully armed from his mother’s womb and, attended by a fire serpent (xiuhcoatl), killed Coyolxauhqui by dismembering her. Then, he threw her body down the hill and proceeded to kill his 400 siblings. Thus, the history of the Mexica is replayed every dawn, when the sun rises victoriously over the horizon after conquering the moon and stars. Huitzilopochtli’s Temple While Huitzilopochtlis first appearance in Mexica legend was as a minor hunting god, he became elevated to a major deity after the Mexica settled in Tenochtitln and formed the Triple Alliance. The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (or Templo Mayor) is the most important shrine dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, and its shape symbolized a replica of Coatepec. At the foot of the temple, on the Huitzilopochtli side, lay a massive sculpture portraying the dismembered body of Coyolxauhqui, found during excavations for electric utility works in 1978. The Great Temple was actually a twin shrine dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc, and it was among the first structures to be built after the founding of the capital. Dedicated to both gods, the temple symbolized the economic basis of the empire: both war/tribute and agriculture. It was also the center of the crossing of the four main causeways that connected the Tenochtitln to the mainland. Images of Huitzilopochtli Huitzilopochtli is typically portrayed with a dark face, fully armed, and holding a snake-shaped scepter and a smoking mirror, a disc from which emerges one or more wisps of smoke. His face and body are painted in yellow and blue stripes, with a black, star-bordered eye mask and a turquoise nose rod. Hummingbird feathers covered the body of his statue at the great temple, along with cloth and jewels. In painted images, Huitzilopochtli wears the head of a hummingbird attached to the back of his head or as a helmet; and he carries a shield of turquoise mosaic or clusters of white eagle feathers. As a representative symbol of Huitzilopochtli (and others of the Aztec pantheon), feathers were an important symbol in Mexica culture. Wearing them was the prerogative of the nobility who adorned themselves with brilliant plumes, and went into battle wearing feathered cloaks. Feathered cloaks and feathers were wagered in games of chance and skill and were traded among allied nobles. Aztec rulers kept aviaries and tribute stores for feather-workers, specifically employed to produce ornate objects. Huitzilopochtlis Festivities December was the month dedicated to Huitzilopochtli celebrations. During these festivities, called Panquetzalitzli, the Aztec people decorated their homes held ceremonies with dances, processions, and sacrifices. A huge statue of the god was made out of amaranth and a priest impersonated the god for the duration of the ceremonies. Three other ceremonies during the year were dedicated at least in part to Huitzilopochtli. Between July 23 and August 11, for example, was Tlaxochimaco, the Offering of Flowers, a festival dedicated to war and sacrifice, celestial creativity and divine paternalism, when singing, dancing and human sacrifices honored the dead and Huitzilopochtli. Updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Berdan FF. 2014. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. New York: Cambridge University Press.Boone EH. 1989. Incarnations of the Aztec Supernatural: The Image of Huitzilopochtli in Mexico and Europe. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 79(2):1-107.Taube KA. 1993. Aztec and Maya Myths. Fourth Edition. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.Van Tuerenhout DR. 2005. The Aztecs: New Perspectives, ABC-CLIO Inc. Sanata Barbara, CA; Denver, CO and Oxford, England.

010 Peer Review and Intros Professor Ramos Blog

010 Peer Review and Intros Quick Write Quick Write Who is your audience? Who are you trying to convince with your argument? Introductions Introductions are very important. An introduction has to make a good impression, grab your reader’s interest, and make them want to keep reading. We will focus on starting our essays with a story. Focus on getting your readers attention, and making them care, so that they will want to keep reading. Using Rhetoric Notes Ethos Research Unbiased Pathos Emotional Storytelling So What? Logos Logical History Facts Statistics Evidence Authority/Pros Background Include the Conversation Peer Review . Argument –  a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong. Remember, an argument uses reasons and evidence to persuade. Have you provided enough reasons and evidence to convince us of your position? Keep these things in mind. Peer edit the same way you revise your own work. Be specific in identifying problems or opportunities. Offer suggestions for improvement. Praise what is genuinely good in the paper. Check for: Is the writer’s tone appropriate? Who is the audience? Looking at the essay as a whole, what is the thesis or main idea? Is each paragraph adequately developed? Are there sufficient details and/or   supporting quotations? For the Proposal, make sure you: Define the problem Recognize an audience Create, explain, and justify a plan of action. Persuade readers of the problem and proposed solution. Quick Write What is your plan of action for revising your essay?

What You and I Can Learn From Writer Patricia Raybon

What You and I Can Learn From Writer Patricia Raybon What You and I Can Learn From Patricia Raybon Who she is Her essays have been published inThe New York Times Magazine, Newsweek,USAToday, TheChicago Tribune, TheDenverPost, Guideposts,and aired on National Public radio. The first two of her five books,My First White Friend: Confessions on Race, Love, and Forgiveness(Viking/Penguin) andI Told the Mountain to Move(Tyndale) were award winners. Her latest book (Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace) releasesApril 28. (She’s the mother.) Her pedigree B.A. in journalism fromOhioState M.A. in journalism from theUniversity ofColorado Former editor ofThe Denver Post SundayContemporary Magazine Former feature writer forTheRocky Mountain News Former professor of journalism at the UniversityofColorado Former stringer, TIME Magazine, Denver Bureau Her personal life Married 39 years toDan Mother of two grown daughters Grandmother of five What Patricia’s lauded career can teach us Her writing awards already filled several single-spaced pages when she sold a personal essay toThe New York TimesSundayMagazinethat resulted in literary agents hounding her for a month. Her husband urged her to give bookwriting a try.My First White Friendwon a major award and is still in print after more than 20 years. The secret? Sure, she was an accomplished writer. But there are many of those. Just not many with books that stay in print longer than six months, let alone two decades. But Patricia wrote that essay from her passion, from her own experience, from her gut. And of course the resulting book came from that same place. What she told her university students about writing That good character makes good writing. â€Å"Talent helps, of course,† she says with a smile. â€Å"But hard work, persistence, integrity, curiosity, follow-through- these turn a dabbler into a professional.† She says writing is about truth and courage. â€Å"When readers see that on paper, they are often stunned. It’s transparent and real. You want writing gold? Know your truth and have the courage to tell it.† The biggest weakness she sees in beginning writers? â€Å"Fear.† What she says makes a good book stand out â€Å"It’s written for the reader, not for the author. Engage the reader, evoke an experience, as the famous editorSol Steinadvised. That tells the reader they matter.† What impresses me most about Patricia Raybon Her new book,Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace,is a stunner. I read several books a month, so my standards keep getting higher. This one is riveting. Imagine your own grown child leaving the faith she was raised in. I could tell you all the twists and turns and agonizing dynamics of praying, arguing, discussing, and wishing things were otherwise- all the while desperately loving your own flesh and blood and not wanting to jeopardize the relationship. But this is one you have to read for yourself to see how a master writer handles a most delicate subject. Click here to get a copy. What will you apply from Patricia’s writing life to your own this week?

The Depicting Graphs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Depicting Graphs - Assignment Example The decrease in the cost of production will increase the profit margins of the company. Hence, it will be willing to supply more t-shirts. This is depicted by the outward shift of the supply curve from S1 to S2. Therefore, the increased quantity supplied decreases the shortage in the market. The curve of Marginal Revenue depicts the extra revenue that is earned from selling an extra unit of output. It declines linearly as the output increases. The curve of Marginal cost shows the extra cost that is incurred from producing an extra unit of output. It is the U-shaped curve that first declines reaches a minimum cost and then rises as the output increases. The curve of Average Cost portrays the mean cost of producing a certain level of output. It declines sharply at first, reaches a minimum average cost and then steadily rises as the output produced is increased. The demand curve depicts the quantity demanded at different prices. It is a downward sloping curve. As the price decreases, the quantity demanded increases. I believe that the firm will not face severe competition for a long time as barriers to entry are high in this monopolistic market structure. This will guarantee the firm sure profits in the long run as well. One of the first impacts will be the increased price of the imported goods and services. This will increase the cost of these commodities in the UK market. As well as the producers will increase their cost to cover their rise in price in their imported raw materials. Therefore, this will lead to cost-push inflation in the UK market. On the other hand, the depreciation will boost the UK exports and lead to increase in their demand. All in all, the increases exports and the reduced imports will lead to a growth in the GDP of the country. At the same time, the other European markets will face tough competition from the low priced UK exports.  

Consumer behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Consumer behaviour - Essay Example Government and leaders of the company have become increasingly aware of the people’s needs and understand that at times people would break the rules in place to satisfy them. With the help of Maslow theory marketer’s can judge consumer’s motivations they can identify the generic level of need the consumer product is capable of fulfilling. This would help the marketers better form any of the marketing strategy. Products such as foods and clothes are purchased as they fulfill safety needs; personal care products such as shaving cream, perfume, soap, toothpaste, are bought mainly as they serve social needs. While luxurious products such as expensive clothing, fancy house, jewelry, and cares are bought mainly to serve self-actualizations and ego needs. Though, Maslow's hierarchy does consider relevant from an intuitive standpoint, however, there is little evidence to proof its hierarchical aspect. Today there are evidences to contradict such aspects as explained by t his motivation theory. For example, today we find some of the cultures placing social needs ahead of any others. Maslow's hierarchy further has difficulty explaining incidents such as the "starving artist" where a person ignores lower needs to pursuit higher ones. Finally, it cannot be prove that people g up t motivated just to satisfy a single need at a time, except in situations where one finds conflict between needs. Therefore, it fails to predict and shape market well. 2. How influential is gender stereotyping in the popular magazine or the drinks markets in differentiating and expanding the total market? Gender stereotyping makes use of magazines and other advertising mediums to govern and shape people’s perception. How influential they might would depend on the assumptions made about men and women which may or may not be true. It could have been said to predict fairly for a fewer numbers however, it might not be true for the larger part. In short that everyone could con fide to the description of gender descriptions as mentioned neatly in various advertising mediums such as magazines and drinks market. Today readers are found to be much sophisticated and are aware that much of the advertising stuff does not portray their sets of beliefs, perceptions, attitudes and likings. Post modern reader would take out several magazines to form a mix up suiting their sets of thinking patterns. For instance, one of the women might select the top and sandals off a photo shoot posted in a magazine but paired it with his favorite pants. So today, readers are conforming to some parts of gender stereotypes exposed to them but have willpower to surpass them if they feel like. So, in this case it would be relevant to conclude that magazines target audience in manner that they could influence majority and hence raise the sales of their products. However, there would be many readers who would know when to absorb and what to buy. 3. Give an example of ‘cultural jamm ing’ that to your mind works really well in causing consumers to think twice about their attitudes towards a brand or a product. What techniques does this example of ‘cultural jamming’ utilize to make it so effective? Culture jamming is arousing attention in consumers of particular brand to react in an emotional manner. It can be commercial, social or political. If done properly it raises awareness among the people and is effective adding legal way to mend the consumer’s perception. One of the best examples of culture jamming that

Copperative Learning Strategies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Copperative Learning Strategies - Assignment Example After the time to brainstorm has elapsed each group is allowed to share the findings with each other using the round robin style. The recorder jots down the answers of the group members (Rhem, 2010). Second structure is think-pair-share structure. This structure involves three steps. The first step involves individuals thinking silently about the question that has been posed by the instructor. During the second step, individuals come together in pairs and exchange their thoughts and ideas. During the third step the pairs that were previously formed share their findings with other pairs and come up with the final conclusion (Rhem, 2010). Third structure is ThinkPad brainstorming. This structure requires that students jot down their answers on a sheet of paper individually. Once all students write down their answers they share the information with the whole team (Rhem, 2010). Rather than cooperative learning structure, other forms of structures that can be used include focused listing, group dynamics and assessment techniques. These techniques can also be used to help the students grasp the topic easily (Rhem,

Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing Research - Essay Example Due to this, the firm used a third party to come up with an infomercial to raise awareness and recorded sales. However, after a few months 25% of the initial sales have been returned by consumers. Golfers who had tried the Jacket before its debut didn’t show any sign of embarrassment while wearing the device nor did they find it uncomfortable. In addition, during initial stages of development, no problems were identified at all. The problem is that, before initial production, the company did not have requisite consumer information to inform the actual production. In this case, the firm has proposed a study in order to determine the causes of Swing Jacket return rates once purchases have been made. Research Objectives In marketing products, consumer behaviour is always an important aspect (Aaker 1991; Conover, J. N. 1982). According to Perner, L (2010), a market research is often carried out to ensure that what is produced is what customers yearn for and not what the producersà ¢â‚¬â„¢ term as the ideal product. ... t return rates once purchases have been made despite the fact that golfers who had tried the Jacket before its debut didn’t show any sign of embarrassment while wearing the device nor did they find it uncomfortable. In addition, during initial stages of development, no problems were identified at all. Further, it will be of importance to establish whether the information contained in the infomercial is coherent with the product. This as Bettman and Park (1980) puts it goes a long way in maintaining marketing ethics of beneficence, where the benefits and not risks are spread out uniformly between the sellers and buyers. This goes a long way in maintaining consumer trust. Importance/Benefits The study of consumer needs on a Swing Jacket will help Swing Jacket Inc. to improve the Swing Jacket with the understanding of how consumers perceive the product and how they make their selections between different alternatives, if any. The returns are made after several months of using the Swing Jackets. In this regard, the study will help the firm determine the level of influence from their environment e.g. culture, family, the media etc.). Such information will further assist the firm in understanding the behavior of consumers while making shopping and other marketing decisions as well as in gaining understanding on limitations hindering consumer access and processing of information (Perner, L 2010; Brucks, M. (1985). Swing Jacket Inc. is in dire need to cut a market niche and to reduce the return rate of the Swing Jacket which is at nearly 25% of the total sales. In this regard, the information from the study will enable the firm adopt new marketing strategies and campaigns to reach more customers effectively translating to more profits. An understanding of what brand was

Essay on American Dream Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On American Dream - Essay Example But it was not until the end of 20th century that this dream acquired its complete glory. Today America has developed into a prominent juggernaut with anchors deep rooted in the philosophy of American Dream. The autonomy of an individual in choosing the way of life has opened gates for many possibilities. They believe that they can become whatever they want to be, a trait which is obsolete in many other nations where many factors drives them in specific directions. An American can even dream to be a president of his country. The main driving force behind such state of mind is the suitable environment which makes it possible for them to fulfill any dream. They are provided with proper opportunities and guidance toward their goal. An achievement gives personal satisfaction and happiness which in turns gives a prosperous society. (Powers 2000). But that’s only one side of the coin. Although many cherish America’s strong economy others criticize the statistic that 13.7% pop ulation still lives under poverty level. Hence, a question can be asked here that why despite this economical boost and propagation of American dream about 36.5 million Americans are poor. For many this has been a topic of debate and the answer is still to come. (Chamberlain 1997). What is your dream? As it is impossible to contain a ripple of water, it is impossible to contain the horizon of your dreams. But in a nutshell, my dream is to have a prosperous life in a society where my potentials are fully recognized and appreciated where basic necessities of life such as infrastructure, healthcare, law and order are of highest standard. The more I think about American dream the more it fascinates me and incline me to be part of a system that influenced many nations around the world. My dream is to obtain higher studies in an American institute and become a successful medical physician. However, the key will be learning all the essential ingredients that make up this utopian society an d bringing the recipe back home. In this 21st century, world has become a global village and we all are inevitably linked to each other. So any amendment in one part will definitely have a positive impact on the whole. I believe it’s a responsibility of every individual to identify and embrace valuable factors and joins them with the fundamentals of their own society to make this world a better place. Is it accessible? Answer to this question can be quite subjective. There are two schools of thought on this; one believes that it can be achieved by certain group of people in the society while the other believes that it is within the reach of those who wish to follow the basic principles on which it stand. (Harris et al 2007). In my opinion it is a coalescence of both. It is difficult for a foreigner like me to get a job in the United States but it’s not impossible. In their present society a foreigner has to be more than excellent in his skills to obtain the same positi on that an American achieve even with average skills. So in this context it does seem like there is a partiality, but in reality it is just a way to make sure that society sustains itself. As I mentioned before it is vicious cycle, fulfilling the dream of an individual so that happiness prevails and it positive feedbacks in making a prosperous society. This is one way of looking at it. The other way is by simplifying the definition of American Dream. If

Fashion Cultures- Future Catwalk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Fashion Cultures- Future Catwalk - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Cultures- Future Catwalk" discovers the future catwalk in fashion. The social dynamics that prevails in every human population presents subsequent changes in cultural values like practices and beliefs. Dynamics in the ancient societies depicted changes in typical values like beliefs and medieval practices. However, the modern and the postmodern societies go through dynamics in the aspect of fashion and life styles. The shift in fashion pillars in the social scene signifies the changes in practices and values of generations. It is important to note that, we can evaluate the aspect of fashion as a mark of social dynamic and the elements involved during social dynamics in the road of fashion. Fashion is the basic element of lifestyle in every society. In the social context, fashion means the latest trends in the cultural values and practices prevailing in any given social setting. Fashion marks the evolution and changes of the society in conformity with the prevailing trends and life styles postulated by the reference groups. Reference groups in the society tend to set new or modified standards that define the appropriate styles and fashion values. These trends are meant to be adopted by members of any society at any given time. The actual aspect of fashion materializes in the society through clothing items used by people in that society. These clothing items include foot ware, body accessories, and clothes. In the modern world, the aspect of fashion has been implicitly incorporated.

Essay on American Dream Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On American Dream - Essay Example But it was not until the end of 20th century that this dream acquired its complete glory. Today America has developed into a prominent juggernaut with anchors deep rooted in the philosophy of American Dream. The autonomy of an individual in choosing the way of life has opened gates for many possibilities. They believe that they can become whatever they want to be, a trait which is obsolete in many other nations where many factors drives them in specific directions. An American can even dream to be a president of his country. The main driving force behind such state of mind is the suitable environment which makes it possible for them to fulfill any dream. They are provided with proper opportunities and guidance toward their goal. An achievement gives personal satisfaction and happiness which in turns gives a prosperous society. (Powers 2000). But that’s only one side of the coin. Although many cherish America’s strong economy others criticize the statistic that 13.7% pop ulation still lives under poverty level. Hence, a question can be asked here that why despite this economical boost and propagation of American dream about 36.5 million Americans are poor. For many this has been a topic of debate and the answer is still to come. (Chamberlain 1997). What is your dream? As it is impossible to contain a ripple of water, it is impossible to contain the horizon of your dreams. But in a nutshell, my dream is to have a prosperous life in a society where my potentials are fully recognized and appreciated where basic necessities of life such as infrastructure, healthcare, law and order are of highest standard. The more I think about American dream the more it fascinates me and incline me to be part of a system that influenced many nations around the world. My dream is to obtain higher studies in an American institute and become a successful medical physician. However, the key will be learning all the essential ingredients that make up this utopian society an d bringing the recipe back home. In this 21st century, world has become a global village and we all are inevitably linked to each other. So any amendment in one part will definitely have a positive impact on the whole. I believe it’s a responsibility of every individual to identify and embrace valuable factors and joins them with the fundamentals of their own society to make this world a better place. Is it accessible? Answer to this question can be quite subjective. There are two schools of thought on this; one believes that it can be achieved by certain group of people in the society while the other believes that it is within the reach of those who wish to follow the basic principles on which it stand. (Harris et al 2007). In my opinion it is a coalescence of both. It is difficult for a foreigner like me to get a job in the United States but it’s not impossible. In their present society a foreigner has to be more than excellent in his skills to obtain the same positi on that an American achieve even with average skills. So in this context it does seem like there is a partiality, but in reality it is just a way to make sure that society sustains itself. As I mentioned before it is vicious cycle, fulfilling the dream of an individual so that happiness prevails and it positive feedbacks in making a prosperous society. This is one way of looking at it. The other way is by simplifying the definition of American Dream. If

Social determinants of health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Social determinants of health - Essay Example Remarkably, the health situation in Australia is extraordinary and impressive in most aspects compared to other neighboring countries; however, the cancer issues continue to multiply creating the need to counter them and understand those affected for utter support. Definitely, cancer is an ailment that changes lives of most people with the survivors having positive outcomes resulting from well adjustment over time; nonetheless, there are still those that face daily challenges. The common health problems that result from cancer include weariness, aching, sexual complications, despair, apprehension and frame of mind deficiency; largely, these problems appear to be the core disruptors of the affected lives but the most frustrating are the social struggles (AIHW 2010). Typically, while undergoing treatment, most cancer patients are able to change their morals and objectives, perspectives on life and how they relate with others as part of the social development program: however, there are barriers such as occupational challenges, hitches with insurance and health worries that also negatively affect their social lives hence there still lacks a sheer solution. This article gives a brief analysis of the social impact on cancer evaluating the different social determinants of health relevant to the cancer and low socio-economic groups in Australia. Currently, cancer is the leading burden disease in Australia and has dominated for the last eleven years; the burden is a result of lives lost over the years due to premature death and disabilities from prostate, colorectal, breast, lung and melanoma cancers (CVA 2013). Occupational and social environment aspects of the infected affect the mortality rate; however, these are not the only core contributors but they are key determinants of a significant number of dissimilar cancers. The occupation determinant is about the exposures that people face in their workplaces; for instance, some of the machines and equipment used

Principles of Infection Prevention and Control Essay Example for Free

Principles of Infection Prevention and Control Essay Employees rights and responsibilities in the relation to the prevention and control of infection are to follow company’s policies and procedures, keep themselves safe and others, report any hazards which could lead to infection, attend relevant courses, use the PPE provided, keeping the work environment clean and tidy and to maintain good personal hygiene 1. 2: Employers responsibilities in the relation to the prevention and control of infection are to keep everybody safe and to provide a safe work place, they do this by following current legislation. This is why it is extremely important to wear the correct PPE and use the correct hand washing procedure and use the correct cleaning products. 4. 3: To carry out a risk assessment first of all you need to identify the hazards, then decide who might be harmed and how. Then evaluate the risks and decide on precaution and then record your findings and implement on them. After this is done review your assessment and update if necessary. 4. 4: It is important to carry out risk assessments to raise awareness of potential risks and to try and eliminate or reduce them and to ensure enough precautions have been taken to prevent injury. Outcome 5 PPE must be used in the correct way in order for it to be effective in the prevention of infection control. Some different types of PPE and there uses are explained below: †¢Disposable gloves- Wearing disposable gloves will offer a protective barrier against infection when worn when dealing with body products, e. g. blood, urine, mucus, vomit etc, changing soiled bed linen, clearing up spillages and dressing wounds. When wearing gloves they should be put on last after all other PPE is on and should fit the hands comfortably and not rip or tear easily. Hands should be cleaned thoroughly before wearing gloves to prevent germs spreading. While wearing gloves they should be change if they become heavily soiled or ripped and after each resident. Gloves should be carefully removed before any other PPE is removed and disposed of in the correct way in line with company’s procedures and hands should be cleaned again. †¢Aprons- these are used to provide a barrier which enables clothing to stay clean from bodily fluids, spillages etc. Aprons should be put on first before any other PPE. To put an apron on, one should be taken from the roll and opened out, after the head has gone through the hole the two ties should be tied together around your back. To dispose of carefully tare the ties and roll or fold into a bundle and dispose of correctly. †¢Masks- These are worn to stop airborne infections being inhaled. To put a mask on place over nose, mouth and chin and fit flexible nose piece over bridge of nose. A mask should be removed after all other PPE has been removed and disposed of correctly. Employers must provide appropriate PPE free of charge and ensure it is disposed of correctly. Employees must use this correctly and follow the training and instructions given. The regulations and legislation relating to PPE that we must follow are: †¢The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 †¢The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 Outcome 6 The key principles of good personal hygiene are vital in controlling the spread of infection. The most important action that will reduce the development of infection is regular hand washing. By using a good hand washing technique this will ensure bacteria and viruses have as little chance to spread as possible. You should always wash your hands: †¢Before starting and when finishing work †¢Before and after eating After using the toilet

Importance Of Speaking And Listening Across The Curriculum Education Essay

Importance Of Speaking And Listening Across The Curriculum Education Essay Richards and Rodgers (2001) suggest that there are essentially four methods of teaching which are speaking, listening, reading and writing. An effective teacher achieves a good balance between these four methods throughout their lessons. As speaking and listening are two of Richards and Rodgers (2001) methods of teaching, it is evident that all teachers need to include speaking and listening in their lessons (DES, 1975 cited in Corson, 1990). Literacy involves the integration of speaking, listening and critical thinking with reading and writing (Wray, 2001, pg12). Literacy is the set of skills which allows an individual to engage fully in society and in learning, through the different forms of language, and the range of texts, which society values and finds useful Literacy can take many forms including mathematical expressions, websites, graphs, scientific symbols, signs, body language and cartoons (Paterson, 2007). Speaking and listening are intrinsically interlinked since there is no benefit to speaking if it is not being listened to, even if that means listening to oneself. Speaking can take place in a variety of ways within the classroom. These primarily include questioning, pair work, collaborative group work or whole class discussions. Each of these is suited to different tasks or situations and the success of the activity depends on the planning skills of the teacher (Capel et al, 2009). In terms of how the talking begins, planned talk or questioning is more likely to result in an informative discussion as more preparation will have taken place. Incidental talk at any time during a lesson can be equally as useful but can also more easily lead to idle chat (Capel et al, 2009). Listening is often considered as a skill which is very difficult to perfect (Lewis and Graham, 2003). Wragg and Brown (2001) state that there are four different types of listening; these are skim, survey, search and study. They believe the types of listening range from little awareness to trying to search for the underlying meaning of what is being said. The reasons for these four types of listening could be due to the amount of information which can be conveyed through speech and the challenge of the listener having to process this information (Capel et al, 2009, Wragg and Brown, 2001). In order for literacy to be taught effectively there needs to be some consistency across the curriculum (Paterson, 2007). Literacy should not just be the responsibility of the English department, as it applies to all learning and subjects cannot be taught effectively without speaking and listening. For example, to get a good grade in an exam or essay requires the student to have a good understanding of literacy (DfES, 2003). The Department for Education and Skills (2003), also states that for there to be effective literacy strategy across the school there needs to be a common framework which enables all subjects to work together to achieve the common goal. All subjects need to have the same standards to ensure consistency. The National Literacy Trust (2010) state that every school needs to have a literacy co-ordinator who should be responsible for providing training, recognising the needs of other subjects and developing teacher confidence and enthusiasm. It is important that teachers have the correct opinion with regard to the inclusion of literacy in all subjects ensuring that they regard reading or speaking aloud as ways for students to learn subject content rather than just generating additional workload (Paterson, 2007). Although perhaps taking longer to plan than other activities, speaking and listening tasks could actually save the teacher time as students can take responsibility for some independent learning and creative thinking, which can be followed up by group discussion or questioning. To ensure that the speaking and listening within the classroom is valuable and effective, it is important to make sure that a variety of questions are planned in advance and these questions are aimed at differing abilities to ensure that all students have access to the curriculum (Capel et al, 2009). Open questions should be used to get a better understanding of students knowledge as they require a more detailed and comprehensive answer. Throughout the lesson some pupils should be targeted as it is a good way to assess their level of understanding. Another area which should be considered is pupil response time as some students may take longer to respond not because they do not know the answer they could just be thinking about it (Corson, 1990, Capel et al, 2009). There are some advantages and disadvantages to having discussions within a classroom. Some advantages are that teachers can get a more detailed understanding of a students comprehension of a particular subject area or topic. Fassinger (1995) discusses how speaking and listening can invoke concentration, keep students involved and is a proven confidence builder. However, a disadvantage is that the teacher would be unaware of where the discussion would end up and it could go off track. Teachers also need to take care to avoid sensitive issues with open discussions (Capel et al, 2009). Part of the role of a teacher is to give students feedback on their work to help them to learn and develop further (Murphy, 1997). However, the assessment of a student based on speaking and listening alone can be difficult simply because it is arduous to evidence (Brooks, 2002). For example if the student was relatively quiet and did not say much the teacher may assume that they are not achieving their goals. Too much speaking within an assessment could mean that the conversation has become more general and the student could be talking a lot but not covering a topic in depth. In conclusion, having literacy skills allows people to connect to our society. Richards and Rodgers (2001) state that there are four methods to teaching; speaking and listening account for half of these methods. There are a variety of different ways in which speaking and listening can be used within the classroom to raise and measure achievement and understanding.

Capital Punishment Today :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Capital Punishment Today "He who sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God was man created."(Genesis 9:6) "Anyone who by violence causes a death must be put to death."(Exodus 21:12) "But should any person dare to kill another with deliberate planning, you will take that person even from my altar to be put to death."(Exodus 21:14) Capital Punishment can be described as a the punishment of death for a very bad or heinous crime like murder. Not all states have got capital punishment, otherwise known as the "Death Penalty." The states which do not have this type of punishment are Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The remaining states do have some form of capital punishment ranging from hanging, firing squad, electrocution, gas chamber, and lethal injection. If somebody killed someone they would not automatically get the death penalty, there are several circumstances that a judge, jury, and prosecutioner must look at to see how bad the crime was. In some states if you kidnap someone, and do heinous things to them, you could still be eligible for the death penalty. Each state which carries a death sentence has got their own requirements that a person must meet to decide whether they get life in prison, or the sentence of death. Below is each state which carries a death sentence and the requirements that a person must meet and be convicted of in order to receive the death sentence. In Alabama in order to receive the death penalty you must murder during a kidnapping, robbery, rape, sodomy, burglary, sexual assault, or arson. Also, someone would get the death penalty if they murdered a peace officer, correctional officer, public official, or murder under a life sentence. They're many more but they are kind of useless to my paper. In the state of Arizona, the only way you could receive the death penalty was if you committed first degree murder and had one of ten "aggravating" factors associated with the murder. In Arkansas you must kill someone with arson, kill a law enforcement officer on purpose, a teacher or school worker, kill a prison worker, a jail attendant, correctional worker, or someone who is in the military. Also if you are a hit man, otherwise known as contract murder. In California you must commit treason, which are acts to try to overthrow the government, homicide by a prisoner serving a life term, train wrecking, and lastly perjury causing

Suzanne Drolet – Marketing Perceptions

Introduction: Suzanne Drolet is the manager of a McDonald’s restaurant in a city with a lot of senior citizens. These senior citizens have become regular customers at the restaurant. They come in for the senior citizen breakfast special and stay till late afternoon, with coffee refills being free. So, even though they stay there from breakfast to lunch, they only order the breakfast special and get refills of coffee. Suzanne likes them, they are all very friendly and clean customers. The restaurant isn’t facing any crowding issues either as there is more than enough room for them and the other customers.However, Suzanne is worried about the future of the restaurant. Problems: In my opinion, Suzanne is right to be worried about the future of the restaurant. First and foremost, her fears that the restaurant might be labelled as an ‘old people’s’ restaurant by the younger generation is correct. If they younger generation starts to percieve the restauran t as a place for old people, they will stop dining at it and look for substitutes. Secondly, although the senior citizens are nice and friendly to the customers that come and go, the ambiance of the place is severly misleading for the younger generation.If the place has an old person home feel to it, then less and less people will go there. Simply because the restaurant itself is positioning itself as a place for older people to hang out. Thirdly, the restaurant will lose a great amount of its sales in the future if the seniors keep doing what they are currently doing. This is simply because they don’t order food the same way ordinary customers do. They come in for the breakfast special and get free refills of coffee. Furthermore, if the group of seniors that come in keeps growing in number, it might lead to a crowding issue.The restaurant might sooner or later run out of space to accommodate everyone. People might start to avoid the restaurant because of that. In addition, t he employee and customer relationship might become stronger and stronger as more time passes by which would make taking a drastic decision harder in the future. Even if Suzanne does make a tough choice, she will become unpopular with the rest of her staff. This can result in the drop of the worker's morale. Solutions: Suzanne can manipulate the promotions to dictate when the seniors come in to the restaurant.She can change the breakfast special from everyday to weekdays only. This would reduce the number of seniors that come in on the weekends which is when the majority of the younger generation goes out. Whereas on the weekend she can put up special discounts for students to bring them in to the restaurant. She can also remove the free coffee refills or limit them somehow to reduce the time the seniors spend in the restaurant. Suzanne can also hold special events for the younger generation to attract them to the restaurant.She could turn up the ambiance of the place by holding kara oke nights or open mic nights. This would attract customers and change the feel of the place. If these simple steps do not help, then Suzanne will have to take drastic steps to save her restaurant. She may have to completely get rid of the senior specials such as the breakfast special and put a restriction on how long people can sit at the restaurant without ordering food. These would make the restaurant and the employees very unpopular with the senior citizens of the area. Suzanne Drolet – Marketing Perceptions Introduction:Suzanne Drolet is the manager of a McDonald’s restaurant in a city with a lot of senior citizens. These senior citizens have become regular customers at the restaurant. They come in for the senior citizen breakfast special and stay till late afternoon, with coffee refills being free. So, even though they stay there from breakfast to lunch, they only order the breakfast special and get refills of coffee. Suzanne likes them, they are all very friendly and clean customers. The restaurant isn’t facing any crowding issues either as there is more than enough room for them and the other customers. However, Suzanne is worried about the future of the restaurant.Problems:In my opinion, Suzanne is right to be worried about the future of the restaurant. First and foremost, her fears that the restaurant might be labelled as an ‘old people’s’ restaurant by the younger generation is correct. If they younger generation starts to percieve the restaurant as a place for old people, they will stop dining at it and look for substitutes. Secondly, although the senior citizens are nice and friendly to the customers that come and go, the ambiance of the place is severly misleading for the younger generation. If the place has an old person home feel to it, then less and less people will go there.Simply because the restaurant itself is positioning itself as a place for older people to hang out. Thirdly, the restaurant will lose a great amount of its sales in the future if the seniors keep doing what they are currently doing. This is simply because they don’t order food the same way ordinary customers do. They come in for the breakfast special and get free refills of coffee. Furthermore, if the group of seniors that come in keeps growing in number, it might lead to a crowding issue. The restaurant might sooner or later run out of space to accommodate everyone. People might start to avoid the restaurant because of that.In addition, the employee and customer relationship might become stronger and stronger as more time passes by which would make taking a drastic decision harder in the future. Even if Suzanne does make a tough choice, she will become unpopular with the rest of her staff. This can result in the drop of the worker's morale.Solutions:Suzanne can manipulate the promotions to dictate when the seniors come in to the restaurant. She can change the breakfast special from everyday to weekdays only. This would reduce the number of seniors that come in on the weekends which is when the majority of the younger generation goes out. Whereas on the weekend she can put up special discounts for students to bring them in to the restaurant. She can also remove the free coffee refills or limit them somehow to reduce the time the seniors spend in the restaurant. Suzanne can also hold special events for the younger generation to attract them to the restaurant.She could turn up the ambiance of the place by holding karaoke nights or open mic nights. This would attract customers and change the feel of the place. If these simple steps do not help, then Suzanne will have to take drastic steps to save her restaurant. She may have to completely get rid of the senior specials such as the breakfast special and put a restriction on how long people can sit at the restaurant without ordering food. These would make the restaurant and the employees very unpopular with the senior citizens of the area.

The Financial Performance Measures Accounting Essay

During the last old ages, more and more attending is paid to the fillip construction of CEOs of big multinationals. CEO bonuses has become an international issue debated in the parliament and routinely featured in front-page headlines, screen narratives, and telecasting intelligence shows. Several factors have contributed to the widespread involvement in CEO fillips. First, the compensation of CEO has risen aggressively during the last decennaries ( Murphy, 1999 ) . Secondly, some houses in the Netherlands were in existent problem during the fiscal crisis, they needed fiscal aid from the authorities, but their CEOs still got a fillip ( Hooft van Huysduynen, 2011 ) . But since the regulations about CEO compensation were wholly ill-defined for companies which needed fiscal aid from the authorities, more arguments were held in the authorities and regulations were changed often. This contributed to the widespread involvement of the topic of executive compensation in The Netherlands ( de Horde, 2011 ) . And in conclusion, there has besides been an detonation in academic research on executive compensation, which contributed to the rosen involvement of CEO bonus-structure ( Murphy, 1999 ) .CEO compensationThe compensation bundles negotiated with main executive officers ( CEOs ) of big corporations largely contains four basic constituents: a base wage, an one-year fillip tied to accounting public presentation, stock options, and long term inducement programs ( including restricted stock programs and multi-year accounting-based public presentation programs ) ( Murphy, 1999 ) . The incentive constituent frequently is comprised of both an one-year fillip program and a long-run inducement program, where the final payments from these programs depend on an intricate portfolio of public presentation steps ( Bushman et al, 1996 ) . The compensation commission can take different public presentation steps, including stock return, accounting return and non-financial steps, to fin d how much of each signifier of compensation the CEO will gain ( Krolick, 2005 ) . Paying CEOs based on short tally accounting net incomes provides inducements to increase short-term net incomes ( by, for illustration, cutting R & A ; D ) even if making so reduces value in the long tally. Conceptually, the â€Å" perfect † public presentation step for a CEO is the Chief executive officer ‘s personal part to the value of the house. This part includes the consequence that the CEO has on the public presentation of others in the organisation, and besides the effects that the CEO ‘s actions this twelvemonth have on public presentation in future periods. Unfortunately, the CEO ‘s part to tauten value is about ne'er straight mensurable ; the available steps will necessarily except ways that the CEO creates value, and include the effects of factors non due to the attempts of the CEO, or neglect to uncover ways that the CEO destroys value ( Murphy, 2013 ) . A long line of literature has argued that compensation should be related to public presentation. The grounds for the linkage are both normative and positive. In a normative sense, compensation is considered just if it has been †earned † through superior public presentation. In a positive sense, bureau theoreticians argue that associating compensation to tauten public presentation steps provides inducement to increase steadfast value ( Balsam, 2002 ; Lewellen and Huntsman, 1970 ; Murphy, 1985 ) .Fiscal public presentation stepsFiscal public presentation steps consists of steps of hard currency flow, net income, earnings-per-share, gross revenues, economic value added, return on invested capital, return on assets, return on equity, return on gross revenues, stock monetary value return and cost decrease ( Ittner et al, 1997 ) . The literature paperss that i ¬?nancial accounting steps, particularly steps of proi ¬?tability, are extensively used in executive compensation c ontracts. There is grounds of widespread, expressed usage of proi ¬?tability steps in the one-year fillip programs and in the long-run public presentation programs of corporate executives. The inexplicit usage of proi ¬?tability steps in the board of manager ‘s rating and compensation of top oi ¬?cers is supported by a robust, positive statistical relation between proi ¬?tability steps and assorted steps of executive wage, including managerial turnover chances ( Bushman and Smith, 2001 ) . The most of import ground of utilizing fiscal public presentation steps alternatively of utilizing nonfinancial steps, is that fiscal marks are cheaper and easier to mensurate, since all companies are already compulsory to print a balance sheet and an income statement ( Epstein, 2006 ) . Paul ( 1992 ) shows that stock monetary value need non supply efficient inducements in a multi-task scene because monetary value gaining controls the value of the house instead than the value-added by the director. Ittner et Al ( 1997 ) argues that fiscal steps entirely may non supply the most efficient agencies to actuate directors to move in the mode desired by the house ‘s proprietors. While companies use a assortment of fiscal and non-financial public presentation steps in their one-year CEO fillip programs, about all companies rely on some step of accounting net income such as net income, pre-tax income, or operating net income. Accounting net income measured over short intervals is non, nevertheless, a peculiarly good step of the CEOs part to tauten value, for several grounds. First, CEOs routinely make determinations ( such as sequence planning or R & A ; D investings ) that will increase long-term value but non short-term net income. Second, accounting net incomes ( lik e equity-based steps ) are constantly influenced by factors outside of the control of the CEO, including the effects of concern rhythms, universe oil monetary values, natural catastrophes, terrorist onslaughts, etc. Third, while the steps of accounting net incomes typically used in fillip programs take into history both grosss and disbursals, they ignore the chance cost of the capital employed. The usage of these accounting steps provides inducements to put in any undertaking that earns positive accounting net incomes ( non merely those that earn more than the cost of capital ) , and provides no inducements to abandon undertakings gaining positive accounting net incomes that are less than those needed to cover their cost of capital ( Murphy, 2013 ) .Non-financial public presentation stepsNon-financial public presentation steps consists of steps of employee satisfaction, merchandise or service quality, efficiency or productiveness, employee safety, market portion, non-financial strat egic aims, procedure betterments and re-engineering, new merchandise development, invention, employee development and preparation, work force diverseness, leading and client satisfaction ( Ittner et al, 1997 ) . Recent grounds indicates that i ¬?rms are progressively utilizing non-i ¬?nancial public presentation steps such as client satisfaction and merchandise quality in the catching procedure within i ¬?rms ( Ittner et al, 1997 ) . Anterior literature shows that noni ¬?nancial public presentation can counterbalance for â€Å" noise † and â€Å" end incongruence † of i ¬?nancial public presentation steps. Another desirable undertaking property of noni ¬?nancial steps is their ability to foretell future public presentation and to ease intertemporal fiting between current investings and future returns ( Matejka et al. , 2009 ) . Non-financial public presentation steps are assumed to ease the board ‘s appraisal of private managerial information so it ca n more closely supervise the executive decision-making procedure ( Schiehll and Bellavance, 2009 ) . The ground for the usage of non-financial steps in compensation contracts is that they provide information incremental to accounting steps in rewarding and motivation directors ( Davila and Venkatachalam, 2004 ) .Fiscal CrisisPearson and Clair ( 1998 ) developed a definition for organisational crisis ‘ : †An organisational crisis is a low-probability, high-impact event that threatens the viability of the organisation and is characterized by ambiguity of cause, consequence, and agencies of declaration, every bit good as by a belief that determinations must be made fleetly. † Several illustrations of organisational crisis ‘ are: Extortion, Bribery, Hostile coup d'etat, Information sabotage, Terrorist onslaught, Executive kidnaping, Product callback, Natural catastrophe that destroys corporate central offices ( Pearson and Clair, 1998 ) . The fiscal crisis started in September 2008. Assorted causes of the i ¬?nancial crisis have been cited, including slack ordinance over mortgage loaning, a turning lodging bubble, the rise of derived functions instruments such as collateralized debt duties, and questionable banking patterns ( Kothari and Lester, 2012 ) . This research is concentrating on this fiscal crisis, which started in September 2008, and is still go oning at the minute of composing this thesis. Ittner et Al. ( 1997 ) argues that as the noise in fiscal steps increases, houses tend to put more weight on non-financial steps. At the other side, Matejka et Al. ( 2009 ) i ¬?nd that proi ¬?t urgency and i ¬?nancial hurt ( which make i ¬?nancial public presentation steps more congruent with i ¬?rm ends ) are associated with a lower accent on noni ¬?nancial public presentation steps.Hypothesis developmentAlthough old literature us non consistent the usage of non-financial public presentation steps in times of fiscal crisis, more recent research ( Matejka et al. , 2009 ) leads to the premise that the usage of non-financial public presentation steps in CEO fillip contracts will drop during the current fiscal crisis. Based on this premise, the following hypothesis is developed: Hypothesis 1: The usage of non-financial public presentation steps in CEO fillip contracts has been decreased from 2005 to 2010, due to the impact of the fiscal crisis.III. MethodologyThis subdivision describes the research methods used to look into the empirical association between the fiscal crisis and the usage of non-financial public presentation steps. Sample A mark sample of 27 houses is identified from Dutch companies listed on the Amsterdam Exchange Index ( AEX ) at the beginning of the twelvemonth 2013. No differentiation is made between different sectors, all AEX-listed companies were taken in the sample. Data aggregation Data was collected from proxy statements in one-year studies in two different old ages. To mensurate the consequence of the fiscal crisis, the first twelvemonth which had been measured is 2005, since during 2005 no influence of the fiscal crisis could be perceived. The 2nd twelvemonth which is used to roll up informations, is the twelvemonth 2010. 2010 has been chosen because it was in the center of the fiscal crisis and all informations is now available from this twelvemonth. This research surveies the comparative weights placed on fiscal and non-financial public presentation steps in main executive officer ( CEO ) fillip contracts ( Ittner et al, 1997 ) . This method is similar to the method adopted by Ittner et Al ( 1997 ) and used by Schiehll and Bellavance ( 2009 ) . Variables The empirical theoretical account of this research will be as follow: Y = I ± + I?1Xi +I?2Xi Where Y will incorporate the dependant variable usage of non-financial public presentation steps, I?1 will stand for the state of affairs of the usage of a non-financial public presentation step in 2005 ( 0 will stand for the usage of a fiscal public presentation step in 2005, and 1 will stand for the usage of a non-financial public presentation step in 2005 ) , I?2 will stand for the state of affairs of the usage of a non-financial public presentation step in 2010 ( 0 will stand for the usage of a fiscal public presentation step in 2010, and 1 will stand for the usage of a non-financial public presentation step in 2010 ) , and Xi contains the house.

How to Illustrate the Plate Tectonic Theory Essay

The Plate Tectonic Theory mainly revolves in the idea that the Earth’s crust was made up of rigid and thin plates that are in motion relative to each other. The theory was first proposed during the 1960 and was later on developed by other scientists and geologists to fully explain the logic behind the formation of continents and oceans, as well as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Two of the proponents helped in the development of the theory were Alfred Wegener and Arthur Holmes. Wegener was the first to observe the relationship between the shapes of the seven continents. He saw that their shapes fit together, as if they were pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. From here, he built up the continental drift theory, saying that the before, continents were just a mass of a large land, or simply a plate. This landmass drifted apart and turned to smaller parts—the seven continents. However, Wegener had nothing to support the theory, until the day Arthur Holmes suggested his of convection currents. According to Holmes, certain convection cells were the components of the Earth’s mantle. These convection cells are the responsible for the movements of the Earth’s crust through the radioactive heat they dissipate. Because of his discovery, Wegener’s theory was given support and proved to be true. However, how could we really imagine the process behind Plate tectonic? To better illustrate how the Earth’s crust move, an example using a pot of water could be used. Let us assume that the pot of water is the Earth’s mantle. If we would boil the pot of the water, heat would be produced. Let us imagine this heat as the convection cells composing the Earth’s mantle. Through the heat, the pot of water suddenly emits a great amount of energy that could move a material near it. The movements could be divergent, convergent, or transform. In divergent boundaries, the plates are sliding apart from one another. In convergent, though, the two plates are sliding towards one another. Finally, transform boundaries occur when the plates are grinding past one another.

Ethical Dilema Case 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Dilema Case 2 - Essay Example Hence, a decision that his activities be reported to the police officials was taken. It was justified as the police would be in a better position to investigate his motives. The ethical duty has been done as the potential threat to other people’s lives has been reported. Having stated all this, it is, however, important to state that the Middle Eastern descent was only a potential threat and this fact does not make him an offender or a terrorist. He might have had differing views but it might be possible that despite having such views, he might not be dangerous at all. After all, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Hence the person should investigate what had happened to the Middle Eastern man and his belongings. Have the police taken him into custody? Is he being tortured just for having such views? Or has he been deported? What happened to his belongings in his apartment? The answer to these questions must be sought to ensure that an innocent person is not being punished or tortured for what he has not even thought of doing, let alone committing the offense. The first decision can be supported by the moral rule that one must carry out his or her responsibilities. These responsibilities may include reporting a theft, a murder or reporting to the concerned authorities even if a suspicious activity is seen to be taking place. The man rightfully informed the police officials so that he and his neighbors can avoid any impending danger. In doing so, he had not only made himself secure but also others around him and had also helped the concerned authorities in maintaining law and order situation by taking the appropriate decision at the right time. The second decision is that the person should further investigate the whereabouts of the Middle Eastern man. This decision is based on the moral rule that no innocent should ever be

Theoretical Analysis - The 21st Centy Organization Assignment

Theoretical Analysis - The 21st Centy Organization - Assignment Example The three articles: Why Few Organizations Adopt Systems Thinking by Ackoff; How to be a truly global company by Prahalad and Bhattacharya; and Putting Organizational Complexity in Its Place by Birkinshaw and Heywood, are highly relevant as they provide a huge insight into the factors that are having an impact on organizations in the 21st century. Three reading that are interesting Ackoff (2005) in his article is distinct in its philosophy that system thinking is vital ingredient of organizational success or its failure when it is not part of organizational strategy. According to him, there is a distinct lack of dynamic decision making that takes into account the changing environment and organizational management’s willingness to learn from its failure or wrong decisions. These are important factors because organizational culture does not allow failures thereby not only restricting creativity within organization but also failing to take risk that could provide the organizations with competitive advantage. It is important that one takes the risks and commits mistakes and learns from it. System thinking broadly encourages responsible decision-making and allows its workforce to err in order to make a successful decision next time. In the contemporary environment of competitive business, new challenges need to be faced with equanimity and as new opportunities of growth. Prahalad and Bhattacharya (2011) have given important clues to become a global company with success. They emphasize that organizational restructuring greatly helps to inculcate trust in the stakeholders across the globe. Meeting local demands through customization of products and using local resources is very important for business to gain the trust of the local people where they are doing business. McDonalds’ has customized its products to suit local requirement across its global outlets. Exploiting local talents and cultural competencies become the highlight of truly global companies which thrive on global competitive businesses. Globalization has given a big thrust to industrialization and development through expansion of business across geographical boundaries. In globalization, inter-dependency of resources has become a reality. Thus, flexible approach and acting local with global vision provides the individuals and organizations with greater leverage to compete and gain leverage. Birkinshaw and Heywood (2010) have raised very pertinent issues of organizational complexities within and outside its offices across different geographical areas which emerge due to changing dynamics of business environment in the 21st century. The outdated business processes, ambiguity in roles, conflicting ideologies of pluralistic workforce etc. are vital obstacles that hinder growth. The institutional complexities and individual complexities need to be addressed and managed effectively for higher productive outcome. Institutional complexities are major issues which considerably impact employees’ performance. The complexities like role ambiguity, identifying obstacles like poor processes, product alignment with current demand etc. must be addressed and redefined to accommodate changing preferences of the