International Marketing Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Marketing Environment - Essay Example 19). In order favorable balance of payment to be achieved, governments do subsidize the exports and impose quotas and high tariffs on imports. Though different countries adopt different strategies to increase the inflow of foreign currency through exporting, most countries facilitate shipping through forwarding agents and provide loans and other facilities as well. Some countries impose navigation policies as well to maximize the inflow of foreign currency and to add up to favorable balance of payment. Trade bloc member countries often enjoy free-trade so that each country can export and import to each other without any barrier to trade like quota, tariff and embargoes. As economist viewed, there can be several levels of economic integration within the free-trade area such as least integrated to most integrated (Hill, 2004, p. 270). Some times, member countries in a free trade area are allowed to determine its own trade policies since all the barriers to trade of goods and services a re removed. The major four levels of economic integration are – 1) Free-trade area, 2) Customs Union, 3) Common market and 4) Complete economic integration. 1-Free trade area, Tariffs are fully removed from the members of the free-trade area and each member country maintains its own external tariffs. 2- Customs Union in which a member-country adds a common external tariff to the Free trade form. 3- Common Market, which is the custom union plus the abolition of restrictions on the mobility of services, people, and capital among member countries. 4- Complete economic integration, in which members nations surrender certain elements of their sovereignty and involves high degree of economic integration (Ball et al 2005, p. 128- 129). 2. Describe the economic and cultural elements of the international marketing environment and explain how these factors affect marketing operations. Socio-cultural and economic elements do normally impact the international business environment as is n ormally evident in the home trade as well. Culture is the sum total of beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions and artifacts that can characterize human populations (Ball, 2005, p. 176). When it comes to international marketing, the culture in different marketing landscape is a critical element that would largely influence the business and its success. While going global, it is highly important that the business should know well all the whereabouts of the culture and socio-cultural elements prevailing in the market in order to understand customer’s specific as well as common attitudes, requirements and approaches to a particular goods or service. In international trade arena, economic elements are perhaps most uncontrollable forces for businesses. Though businesses depend on economic forecasting and other indicators, economic forces have generally been found to be highly fluctuating and more often economic crisis may create greater challenges on the business. GDP, Income dis tribution, GNI, unit cost per labor and the general economic conditions do normally impact the international trade. A marketer going globally is required to assess the economic conditions in the country and structure his marketing operations accordingly. 3. Summarize the major political and financial risks associated with international marketing. Hill (2004, p79) defined political risk as the likelihood that political forces cause changes in a country’

Cecilia Penifader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cecilia Penifader - Essay Example Instead, Cecilias life shows that women had agency, and that the peasant class—those who work—actually were not completely powerless and in thrall to the other two estates. Traditional medieval wisdom held that there were three different estates, or social classes of people. These were those who pray, those who fight, and those who work. These three parts of society were all needed to keep the whole thing running smoothly. In this model, those who prayed and those who fought were the social classes which had all the power. Those who fought were the ones who kept everybody safe from invaders, and those who prayed kept people spiritually safe and away from Hell, which was a big concern in the medieval period. Because of this, both of these important estates were the ones which took all the money and power for themselves. The third estate was those who worked, which consisted of peasants and farmers and other people who did not pray or fight. This estate was traditionally understood to not have any power at all, and be completely at the mercy of the praying and fighting estates. They usually were the ones who held up the whole society, though, because without their work the richer estate classes could not survive. An example of this is the Manorial system, which was â€Å"devised as a profit-making mechanism for its owners,† the noble or royal people (Bennett 30). In this system, the manor owners would earn the money that the workers created through harvesting and processing the grains. The other way in which medieval societies separated people into different types was through gender. It was â€Å"a world that clearly and firmly distinguished between female and male† (Bennett 115). Women and men both had distinct roles that they were supposed to carry out, without any overlap. In this model women were meant to deal with

Myths and narratives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Myths and narratives - Essay Example It goes on to explain the intricacies of the friendship between the two people, where they are a rock to each other in good times, especially when they are both enjoying and experiencing success. However, there comes time when one of them, labeled as a law breaker, makes a mistake and breaks the law, which threatens the friendship as the law-abiding friend tries to stay away from helping his friend. When the time of trial comes for the law breaker, he is sentenced to death, and because of his love for his law-abiding friend he frames him so that they are sentenced together and die together. This forms the basis of The Water Ghost narrative, which holds on to the ones it loves so that it is not left lonely in the next world. The story bears a common moral of not abandoning friends in time of needs as their love for those who abandon them could force them to take drastic measures against them leading to regrettable consequences. A critical look into the story shows that this is a rathe r uncommon occurrence as the law-breaking friend should leave the law-abiding one as he did nothing wrong. Instead, he frames him for wrongs that he did leading altogether to a paradoxical teaching and moral of friendship. However, listeners of the myth should pay attention to the intricacies of friendship and how friendships can ruin lives, even though with well-intended actions. A good highlight of this one is the way that the law-breaker frames the law abiding friend into serving a similar sentence with him despite being innocent. On the other hand, the same story shows the demerits of not meeting the expectations of friends when they are in difficult situations in spite of their actions. As such, the law abiding friend distances himself from the law breaker so that he is not implicated, but then again he gets framed to serve a similar sentence for breaking their beautiful friendship. The effectiveness of the events depicted in this story are applicable in many scenarios, especia lly when communicating a moral or social convention towards handling friendships in tight situations. As a result, the lesson acts as a guide to ward off bad friends and create awareness of different types of friendships as well as how much some friends are capable of ensuring the safety of their friends. It, however, fails in one aspect, which is that of helping with decision making towards friendships as it only portrays the positive and negative meaning of friendship likely to lead to not having any friends. At the same time the story also justifies irrational behavior in friendships. Narratives serve a crucial part in the delivery of information, where they are easily remembered by the audience, thus, bringing the concept closer to the audience (Calavera, 2008). In addition, narratives and storytelling such as the one above allow to pass concepts in fun ways and the ones that can easily be related to by the audience because stories are great ways of passing time and delivering c ommunication to the intended parties. Communication of a lesson in the form of a story is apparently different based on the evidence from studies which shows a higher level of captivation and arousal of interest as compared to the boredom brought about by following the rigid rules. These rules form a framework for resistance, while storytelling breaks away from the monotonous instruction of what should be done and that which should not. So,

Invent School Program Essay Example for Free

Invent School Program Essay I. Introduction Some students from Bansud National Highschool – Regional Science Highschool for Region IV-B MIMAROPA with other school’s representative from different towns in Mindoro joined a seminar held on 16-17th day of April 2013 at Filipiniana Hotel Convention Hall Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. The seminar is about on how to make a Science Investigatory Project and some topics regarding in research fields. The representative of Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST – TAPI) organized a seminar for us. The speakers for the seminar are Dr. George M. Colorado, Ms. Teresita O. De Vera, and others. In our two-day seminar the topics they discussed is about â€Å"Creativity†, †Creative, Perceptive, and Inventive Thinking†, â€Å"Ideation tools and Techniques†, â€Å"Creative Problem Solving Process†, â€Å"Invention Development†, â€Å"Prior Art Search†, and â€Å"Intelectual Property Rights.† II. Knowledge / Learning Acquired I have knowledge on making a Science Investigatory Project because when I was on 5th grade level I joined a contest regarding on it. I also have knowledge in research fields because we have a subject about in our class about it. Based on what I learned from the seminar It is important to always ask yourself, train to think always so that your mind can easily perceive the things around our surroundings to come up a novel invention. I also learned from the speakers the difference of an invention and not. The most emphasized thing in the seminar is how to think and invent a creative Science Investigatory Project. III. Observation During our seminar I observed that our speakers have enough knowledge about the topic they are discussing. I also observed that they have freebies for us to participate in their discussion and question and answer portion. I observed that all students are interested to the topic they discussed and participated with the speakers attentively and most of all listened enough to learn. IV. Recommendations/ Suggestions I suggest that they provide a hand outs for all the participants of the seminar so that the participants or all students have notes to be compile and use it while the seminar is going on so that they don’t need to copy instead they will focused on listening to the speaker.

Global population aging trends and issues

Global population aging trends and issues Population aging, as a global issue, has become increasingly important in these few decades. Regarding to this issue, the U.S. State Department and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) has hosted a report named Why Population Aging Matters: A Global Perspective in March 15, 2007. This report covered nine trends related to population aging which present a snapshot of challenges and opportunities showing why population aging matters. In which the first five trends describe the global demographic changes in recent years and the last four trends show the challenges and opportunities that caused by population aging. We appreciate the effort of the authors in raising global awareness. Every report, however, have strengthens and limitations. By arguing with some points mentioned in the report, we try to perfect it by replenishing it with more information. Methodology Aimed at raising public awareness about global aging problems, encouraging more cross-nation scientific research and international studies and stimulating biochemical, economic, behavioral and political dialogues, this report used plenty of statistics to show the impacts of population aging on nations. To show the whole picture of the global issue, the researchers did not conduct interviews and solicit the statistics by themselves; rather, they gathered the existing data from different part of the world. Generally, these data are from the United Nations, US Census Bureau, and the Statistical Office of the European Communities as well as some regional surveys. Summary of the report Trend 1 The overall population is aging According to the research done by United nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the global percentage of young children is decreasing while the percentage of older people increases sharply especially in the coming decades. In around 2017, older people will outnumber young children in estimation. In 2006, almost 500 million people are older people, who share 8% of global population, and it is expected that the number will increase to 1 billion in 2030. Besides, the speed of population aging is higher in developing countries than in developed countries. For example, France, as a developed country, has taken 115years for the proportion of the older people to increase 7%. However, in some developing countries like Singapore, 19 years is enough to reach the same rate. Population aging is a global trend in which the degree of development of the countries affects the rate of it. Trend 2 Life expectancy is increasing Change in Life expectancy reflects a health transition which is characterized by many changes including a shift from high to low fertility, a steady increase in life expectancy at birth and at older ages and a shift from the predominance of infectious and parasitic diseases to the growing impact of non-communicable diseases and chronic conditions. Some scientific research shows that the human survival curve in both women and men shifted upward. The life expectancy at birth has increased from 45years in 1950 to more than 79 years today. It implies that the life expectancy increases in every single age and deaths are highly concentrated at older ages. Trend 3 The number of oldest old is rising People aged 85 or about are defined as the oldest old. Currently, the oldest old constitutes 7% of the worlds 65- and-over population, in which 10 % was in more developed countries and 5% was in less developed countries. On a global level, the 85-and-over population is projected to increase 151% between 2005 and 2030.More than half of the worlds oldest old live in China, the United States, India, Japan, Germany, and Russia. Living from birth to age 100 may have risen from 1 in 20 million to 1 in 50 by 2030 for females in low-mortality nation, say, Japan, in estimation. Trend 4 Non-communicable diseases are becoming a growing burden There is an epidemiological transition that the non-communicable diseases have become the focus in light of global aging. In the past, a large number of people were killed by infectious and parasitic disease. However, non- communicable and chronic diseases are the major cause of death in both developed and developing countries nowadays. Regarding to this trend, there are three elaborations of the situation: 1) Compression of morbidity decrease in disability as life expectancy increases; 2) expansion of morbidity increase in disability as life expectancy increases; and 3) decrease in severe disability but increase in milder chronic disease. With the increase in life expectancy in general and the non-correspondent disability rate in different countries, it requires more studies and research to see which elaboration offers a better explanation of the real situation Trend 5 Aging and population decline Simultaneous population aging and population decline are happening in some countries. Where the global population is aging, more than 20 countries are projected to experience population declines in the upcoming decades. A research done by U.S. Census Bureau shows that Russias population declines the most rapidly (-18 millions) between 2006 and 2030. Following is Japan. The projected population decline in Japan is 11 millions between 2006 and 2030. Trend 6 Changing family structure In trend 6, it is about the world trend of changing family structure. Low fertility rate means older people have less family care and support. Family structure is change from nuclear or extended family change to other types e.g. divorce, remarriage, non marriage, voluntarily childless. Many people are living alone in older age. According to the reading, in some European countries, more than 40 percent of women age 65 and older live alone. And the diagram also show the trend in Japan, the older people living alone have growing faster in 1960-2000. Therefore, the cost of long-term care is a burden to families and society. Trend 7 Shifting patterns of work and retirement People tend to work at older ages. From the figure, we can see the European employment rate at age 55-64 have clear increase during 1994-2005. Beginning in the 1990s, a workforce participation rate for older women has been a steady increase. That means women have ability to accumulate and control economic resources in older age. But the job types of elderly are from full-time job changing to part-time job or transition job. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), life expectancy has increased and the retirement ages have decreased. In 1960, men on average could expect to spend 46 years in the workforce. In 1995, the number of years in the workforce had decreased to 37. Therefore, if we want to increase workforce, we should set up a high retirement age to maintain enough workforce in the market. Trend 8 Evolving Social insurance systems As the situation of population ageing, the increasing pension expenditure. According to our readings 25 EU countries consumed one-eighth of gross domestic product in 2003. Many countries reform their old-age social insurance programs. For example, Japan rose the pension age: mens pension age from 60 to 65, women from 57 to 65. In order to support the economic security, some government Increase tax rate on workers e.g. Twenty-four Europe countries now have payroll tax rates that equal or exceed 20 percent of wages.(P.21) Trend 9 Emerging economic challenges It says that population ageing is affecting on local and global economies. Therefore many countries have some social programs that are target to the older population- principally health care and income support programs. 1) Fully fund program: This describes a superannuation fund whose assets are sufficient to meet all the funds liabilities 2) Pay-as-you-go system: A method of paying income tax in which the employer deducts a portion of an employees monthly salary to remit to the IRS. On the other hand, we should be concern is high level of population aging, labor force tends to decline. That make government need high tax rate to solve the problem of growing older populations. The tax burden may discourage future workforce participation. Overall review Significance of themes Population aging is a global issue that can affect many parts of our society in the sense that it takes parts in the changes and adjustment in the economy, labor force, medical system, residential issues, continued development etc. It is important and meaningful for us, the people, to realize the effects it may bring. Though population aging is a global trend, there are only a few governments had taken actions to plan for the long term and tackle the possible challenges that may soon happen in their societies. Clearly, more research and policies are needed regarding to this problem. Raising global awareness regarding to the population aging issue is significant. Use of data In this report, many statistics are used to illustrate the trends. However, as a report talking about the global situation, we expect the data should provide us with the whole picture of the world. Since the data are not collected for the sake of supporting this report, some data are not general enough to explain the global situation. Say for example, when illustrating the increases in life expectancy in every age, data of white female survival in the US between 1901 2003 is used. Yet, the situation in the US, a developed country, may differ from other developing countries. Race and sexual difference may also lead to different outcome. In-depth review Population aging is driven by declines in fertility and improvement in health and longevity.  [1]   This statement is partially right. It is true that population ageing arises from increased longevity and decreased fertility. An increase in longevity rises the average age of the population by increasing the numbers of surviving older people and a decline in fertility reduces the size of the most recent birth cohorts relative to the previous birth cohorts, hence reducing the size of the youngest age groups relative to that of the older ones. Apart form these, migration, as another demographic effect, also contributes to population aging. Thought immigration usually slows down population aging, for example the women holders of One-way Permit in Hong Kong are likely to be younger and have more children, the other types of migration tend to worsen the situation that the immigration may not make up for the population aging. Obviously, emigration of working-age adults fastens population aging especially in some Caribbean nations. These people migrate for career development or for money, so they tend not to have or have fewer children. There is also immigration of elderly retirees from other countries. Return migration of former emigrants who are above the average population age is common in some region. It is estimated that migration will have a more prominent role in population aging in the future, particularly in low-fertility countries with stable or declining population size. The effects of migration on population aging are usually stronger in smaller populations, because of higher relative weight of migrants in such populations.  [2]   Non-married women are less likely than non married men to have accumulated assets and pension wealth for use in older age.  [3]   We agree with the statement because we find some support from studies. In the table from Health and Retirement Study Wave 1(1992), it shows that the total wealth of non married men is $191,836 and the total wealth of non married women is $157,098. And a finding of the International Longevity Center-USA, it found that unemployment of women who are in the labor force: in 1993 the rate was 24% for women compared with 8% for men.(ILC-USA, 2002) The high rate of economic activity for older men may make low level of old-age pensions. Preparing financially for longer lives and finding ways to reduce aging-related disability should become national and global priorities.  [4]   As suggested in trend 6 to 9, it is true that population aging leads to great challenges and demands for changes and adjustments in policy making. Financial preparation and improvement in reducing aging-related disability are important as the large number of old population will definitely increase the burden of the economy as well as the social insurance system. However, in tackling aging problems, we consider other aspects as the same important as the two mentioned in the report. Firstly, increase fertility is fundamentally important to deal with aging population. As it is rather impossible to shorten people life expectancy and disallow people to migrate due to econ reason, increasing fertility rate seems to be the only feasible way to deal with aging population; in which subsidized child care and childcare leave are possible ways to increase fertility. Subsidized child care enables women to combine work and family. When comparing the levels of womens labor-force participation and family size country by country, Daly, an economist, found that in societies that made it easier for women to combine paid employment with children Sweden, for example the rate of womens employment and the birth rate were both high. Also, High employment rates for women would also help countries with aging populations cope with a shortage of workers  [5]  . Moreover, baby bonus and childcare leave can also boost fertility. Parents in those countries who can get more help from the government will have relatively high fertility rates. Consider the experience in France. Pregnant women has at least 16 weeks of mandatory, paid maternity leave, as well as guaranteed job security and get a monthly stipend of up to 1,000 euros for a year if she has the third child. The fertility rates of those countries which practice these policies for decades are approaching 2.1, roughly the point where a population can sustain itself without immigration  [6]  . Secondary, for the problem of elderly living alone, we think that consolidating the traditional value of Filial piety is rather important. In the table below, we can see most of older people are living with children or grandchildren in Asian country. However, older people who are living with children or grandchildren are three times more compared to Europe and North America. Asian country can have such result because they have strong value of Filial piety. Such as China, they have strong confusion value that adult children may think take care of the older parents is their responsibilities and they do not think living with elderly is burden. Because elderly not only is care receiver but also can be the care giver. Nevertheless, adjustments in policy that favorable to longer working life are also the way out. Population ageing is a burden of government in the sense that it increases the pension expenditure and decreases the supply of labor force. It may lower the economy growth of the country. For that reason, increase the pension age is a good suggestion to tackle the aging problem. Elderly also have their ability to work. We can see the example of Singapore. The Minister for Manpower in Singapore wants to encourage older workers to stay active: 1) to remain at work to pay for a more comfortable retirement 2) to ease financial strains on the government 3) to ease strains of reducing younger workforce. As a result, the retirement age in Singapore increased to 62, . According to preliminary results from Ministry of Manpowers comprehensive mid-year Labor Force Survey, the employment rate for older residents aged 55 to 64 in Singapore is 57.2%, said Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower. Therefore, the employment rate for older men in Singapore has increased from 73.8% to 74.7% in 2008 to 2009. After increase the pension age, the supply of workforce will increase and the pension expenditure of government will decrease. Supplementary information As we know that, as other parts of the world, population aging becomes serious in recent decades in Hong Kong. We provide the below information about Hong Kongs welfare provision towards the elderly as supplement of the report in hope of that more people, including the government, can aware of the aging trend happened in our society and take active roles in planning our future. According to the social welfare department, there is about 60% of elderly who are receiving CSSA. It is a burden of Hong Kong economy. As the World Bank published the report Averting the Old-Age Crisis: Policies to Protect the Old and Promote Growth. Therefore, the government provides some scheme to solve the problem. They are the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), the Universal Retirement Protection Scheme and the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme (MPF) respectively. In the following, a slight discussion will be provided in comparing these social insurance schemes. Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) is the layer of social safety net. Nowadays, People seem to more relay on the safety net because we see the increasing tend on application. The value of Hong Kong people had changed, people try to fight for more welfare from the government. And people think that government had the responsibility to care of the elderly. So the government spending on CSSA is higher in these years and she need to concern. Universal Retirement Protection Scheme is a retirement fund that can cover the basic spending of the retirement life. In case of many poor elderly in Hong Kong, Legislative Council urges the Government to set up a sustainable universal retirement protection scheme, so that all senior citizens can enjoy financial security to maintain a basic standard of living immediately after retirement. proposed by Hon Lee Cheuk-yan. But this scheme may be a burden of Hong Kong government. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (MPF) is a financial security system to protect the working population in their retirement years. After the implementation of MPF, around 87% of the total employers are now covered under retirement schemes. However, it cannot solve the problem immediately because the scheme is only practice for a few years, the fund may not have enough financial support for the elderly and the cumulative of the fund highly depends on the employees salary and whether the investment program can receive a good return. Therefore it has limitations that may not be able to protect all people after retirement. Conclusion: To conclude, the nine trends suggested in the report are significant in the sense that a global perspective is useful for us to understand the challenges and opportunities brought by population aging. However, we think that both of the method of data collection and the content of the report are to general that may ignore many parts in illustrations. We argue some points mentioned in the report by providing more information regarding to the issue. Moreover, we think the views on population aging held in the report are a bit negative. Actually, older people have ability to contribute to the society by involving in social service. For example, Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) announced that there are more than 135,000 new volunteers in America last year. Last but not least, the report only pointed out the trends without many suggestions and solutions to the problems. It is hope that more international studies can be done to determine the best ways to address the situation before it is too late.

Character Development in Lord of the Flies :: Lord Flies Essays

Character Development in Lord of the Flies The ability to create characters of depth plagues many a contemporary writer. Many of those writers should look to William Golding for expertise on this issue. Golding diverges from the path of contemporary authors and sets an example of how character development should be accomplished in his novel, Lord of the Flies. Golding's Ralph exemplifies this author's superior style of character development in this novel. At the commencement of the novel, the author introduces Ralph as an innocent boy far from adulthood. Almost immediately, Ralph is described as a "fair boy." This phrase indicates a stereotype of the perfect child--blonde hair and blue eyes with blemish-free skin--which the author manipulated to show innocence. Also, Golding used this to give the reader a feeling of Ralph's position on the scale of maturation. It guides the destination of the novel and how much Ralph needs to grow to attain complete maturity. Ralph's innocence is further implied when he says his daddy is "a commander in the Navy" and that "when he gets leave, he'll come rescue us." Clearly, Ralph's comments call attention to his inability to view matters, especially his current situation, realistically, and to show Ralph's simplistic thinking, as well. Later in the novel, Ralph views Piggy as a fat bore with "ass-mar" and "matter-of-fact ideas." Ralph is still at the point where he believes that he is on a schoolyard playground where teasing and handstands are an acceptable practice. Similarly, Ralph's thoughts are intended to show what a sheltered child he has been all his life. Thus far, Golding developed Ralph so that the reader interprets him as an ideal child without any indication of maturity. The author will build upon this to transform Ralph as a character and as a person. As the climax approaches, Ralph begins to mature slightly as chaos erupts. After Ralph discovers that a ship passed while the fire was out and Jack is culpable, Ralph confronts him and rather than acquiescing to Ralph, Jack takes out his anger, physically on Piggy, the only person at that time intimidated by Jack. Ralph responds by saying Jack's tantrum is a "dirty trick" and tells them to light the fire. All this infers that Ralph is becoming less gregarious and a bit more serious. He shows maturity when he takes up for the underdog and does not go along with the majority.

The Slow Food Movement Essay -- Cuisine Lifestyle Health Eating

The Slow Food Movement In 1987 Carlo Petrini started a coalition dedicated to the politics and pleasures of slowness and the opposition of fast food. (Leitch 439) He describes one of his goals by saying: I'm for virtuous globalization, where there's a just and true commerce to help small farmers. It's important to have a commerce that's organic and sane and against genetically modified organisms and processes that poison the land with chemicals. For example, there is coffee in Chiappas, amaranth in Argentina. Slow Food is able to provide them with more money and better offers than big business would be able to. (Leitch 430) The efforts of the Slow Food Movement are essential to the survival of an aesthetic world of authentic food and respect for the people who produce, grow, and prepare it. Slow Food is a deliberate name that is meant to be defined as the opposite of quick, unauthentic meals. (Pietrykowski 310) When developing his organization, Petrini thought that the snail would be the most adequate symbol for his cause because of the slowness of the animal. (Leitch 439) I believe that in order to preserve the authenticity of regional cuisine the people preparing the foods need to possess knowledge about their culture, an understanding of the ingredients they are using, and the ingredients they select must be from their region and no other. In their ess... ...ng if it should be used or not. The Slow Movement maintains respect from organizations around the world for sticking to what they believe in and letting opposing corporations and businesses to themselves. Slow Food and Carlo Petrini have much to be proud of and just reading about their coalition and beliefs has inspired me to incorporate their goals into my life. Works Cited Kummer, Corby. The Pleasures of Eating. : Chronical Books, 2002. Leitch, Alison. "Slow Food and the Politics of Pork Fat: Italian Food and European Identity." Ethnos 68.4 (2003): 437-462. Miele, Mara, and Jonathan Murdoch. "The Practical Aesthetics of Traditional Cuisines: Slow Food in Tuscany." Sociologia Ruralis October 2002: 312-325. Pietrykowski, Bruce . "You Are What You Eat: The Social Economy of the Slow Food Movement." Review of Social Economy September 2004: 307-317.

Japan’s Development & History

Those legends that give the history of Japan indicates that, Japan was founded in 600 BC by the emperor called Jimmu. Jimmu is said to be a direct descendant of sun goddess, and also the present ruling ancestor of the imperial family.Japan adopted the Chinese writing system, together with the Buddhism religion. This actually brought in an influence to the Japanese culture. The Japanese indigenous culture is based on the emperor concept, and has Buddhism as the focal point. The culture in the Japan entered in successive waves in the continent.Different concepts in Japan that has resulted back into past, entails all the human activities manifestation from the moment the man first populated the archipelago of Japan.Research has shown that during the Pleistocene period Japan was inhabited. Those who inhibited Japan during those times left behind cultural remains such as chipped stones. The chipped implements of this time are categorized into four groups. The first category consists of th e shale core implements.The shale core implement in some case are defined as hand axes. The second category is the obsidian and flake shale implements. These somehow consist of the upper European Paleolithic industrial flakes. The third categopry comprises of the spearhead. This in most cases is identified with the Solutrean of the Europe. The last group is made by the blade implements. These implements have got their microlithic proportion specimens increasing progressively.The culture of Japan took shape in the period of Yayoi. The present anthropologists argue out that, Japanese are direct descendants of the Jomon people. The Jomon culture in Japan is subdivided into five periods. These periods include the: earliest, early, middle, late and latest phase. The phase of the earliest Jomon was dominated by base pointed connoid potteries.The second phase of Jomon was characterized by the cylindrical potteries of a fibrous temper. The third phase, that is, the middle phase was characte rized by the emergence of the cultural subareas: central, northeastern, and southeastern.The middle phase of culture in Japan came up with multitudes of problems. In the late phase, three distinct subareas are blanketed by pottery that was cord marked that is black or grey, thin walled and well fired. Â  At present most of the cultural practices in Japan are similar to those of china (Shenfield, 1998, pp 55).The relationship that exists between languages is expressed by correspondence in: vocabulary, grammatical structure, as corroborated by the law of phonetic. In Japan, with respect to grammar, it is quite different to Austroasian, Chinese, and Austronesian.However, Japan has some structural similarity in its language with the Altaic group. Japanese and Korean share many grammar points as well as an ancient vowel harmony use. They also share at least two hundred cognates of vocabulary.The linguistics data of Japanese can be traced back to the 3rd century A.D. but came to be more after the 9th century. When compared with the neighboring language the Japanese language is in a better state. To compare them with the ancient Japanese is hard. The reason for this seems to justify the somatic variation along a running cline from southeastern to north eastern (Shenfield, 1998, pp. 57).In the process of its development, in 1542 Japan started to experience contact with the western countries such as Netherlands, England, Spain, and Portugal. The main aim for these countries coming to Japan was to trade with Japan.Later in 17th century Japan realized that the traders and the missionaries from the west countries were being used as military conquest forerunners by the European powers. This led to shogunates to place very tight restrictions on the foreigners. Finally, this forced those foreigners who stayed in Japan to leave.This barred the relation between the Japan and the outside countries except the china and Dutch merchants. The restriction lasted for 200 years, when Matthew Perry of the United States navy came for negotiation so that Japan could be opened for the west.The renewed contact with the west after several years profoundly changed the Japanese society. There was restoration of the emperor into power as the shogunate resigned. The 1868 Meiji restoration brought in so many reforms in Japan.There was abolishment of feudal system, adoption of several western institutions which included the government constitution together with the parliamentary lines, and the western education and legal systems (Mulgan, 2000, pp. 70).

Path †Goal Theory and the Jeanne Lewis Case Essay

In the Path-Goal Theory of leadership, the leader is effective when their behavior has an impact on motivation. Follower satisfaction and performance can be improved by offering rewards for goals, clarifying the path to goal achievement, and removing impediments to task execution. Path-Goal Theory is related to the Expectancy model, which concludes that people are motivated if they see their efforts contributing to a desired goal. The behavior of the follower and the leader are linked, so the correct application of the Path-Goal Theory includes recognizing the situation of the follower and adopting a corresponding leader behavior. Jeanne Lewis held several different roles during her employment at Staples, Inc. (Suesse, 2000). There are four leader behaviors in the Path-Goal model, each of which was used by Lewis at different times and in different situations. The following examples include a discussion of Lewis’ behavior, how her behavior relates to the Path-Goal model, employees response to Lewis’ behavior, and how the employees’ behavior relates to the Path-Goal Theory. Achievement Leadership In 1994 Lewis was promoted to New England Director of Operations, inheriting an organization lacking in strong leadership, but with knowledgeable employees. Lewis replaced some employees, set aggressive performance goals and challenged employees. These actions are indicative of the Achievement leadership style, wherein the leader is both demanding and supportive, sets challenging goals, seeks continuous improvement, expects high performance, and encourages workers to assume more responsibility (Woolard, 2009). Lewis’ employees responded with increased motivation; launching new training programs and setting high goals for themselves. This behavior is representative of the Path-Goal theory wherein followers adopt high goals leading to improved satisfaction and performance (Hersey, 2008, p. 00). The Achievement Leadership style is used when there is a lack of job challenge in the follower. Directive Leadership Lewis was then moved to Merchandising, another area in which she had no direct work experience. With no time for her reports to teach her the ins and outs of merchandising, Lewis adopted the style of a Directive Leader and told her staff to â€Å"fix it and fix it fast†. The Directive Leader tells what is expected, how and when to do it and communicates how the task fits in with other tasks in the organization. The response from her employees to this style was favorable. They expanded their thinking beyond just the cost of the product and the selling price, developing strategic thinking which resulted in a tripling of the direct product profitability. Lewis’ boss, Richard Gentry, remarked, â€Å"Jeanne demonstrated that you can be a good merchant but you can also be strategic and think outside of the four walls† (Suisse, 2000, p. 5). The impact to the follower of the Directive leadership style is clarification of the path to the goal. The employees expanded their thinking to encompass the broad steps in their path to expected unit performance. Supportive Leadership When Lewis was selected to replace the departing Executive Vice President of Marketing, Todd Krasnow, she once again had to adapt her leadership style in response to her team. Lewis was placed in charge of retail marketing and small business to learn the ropes during Krasnow’s final time at Staples. The department was comprised of two different groups: marketing and an in-house advertising agency. When she challenged a marketing program with the direct, â€Å"rough and tumble† style she was accustomed to using in her previous assignments in operations and merchandising, the person presenting the idea was devastated. Lewis would have to adopt a Supportive style or would â€Å"have people leaving my office in tears and end up accomplishing nothing†. Lewis made an effort to be approachable, with an open door policy. In this situation, where the follower lacks self confidence, a Supportive or Relationship behavior is needed. The Supportive Leader demonstrates concern for the well being of followers and is open and approachable. Employees responded favorably to her change in style. Supportive leader behavior has in it the objective to increase confidence in the follower, thereby increasing their productivity and performance. Participative Leadership When merger plans with Office Depot were blocked by the courts, the Staples management team refocused on growth and profitability of the Staples brand. In Lewis’ mind, the marketing department was the â€Å"brand champion and key support for other departments†. The department was divided, however, with a marketing and advertising side that did not operate in concert. Lewis remarked, â€Å"the thought I would go home with at night was, if they knew more, then they would do a better job. † Lewis began holding staff meetings in an attempt to share information and decision making and break down the wall between the departments. I was amazed that while we had this huge marketing budget that everyone shared, no one knew what the other people were doing† (Suesse, 2000, p. 8). A Participative Leader approaches the task in a consulting, group-wise manner. They share work problems and solicit suggestions in an effort to include the entire organization in the decision -making process. Lewis expanded meetings with direct reports in an attempt to increase group interaction and encouraged advertising managers to share their work across business unit boundaries. This style changes reward and clarifies the needs of the followers. In Lewis’ case she was able to get key stakeholders in differing departments to buy in to more strategic thinking. Jeanne Lewis was given ever increasing responsibility at Staples due to her ability to adapt her leadership style to match the changing needs of her subordinates. By following the Path-Goal Theory, Lewis was able to harness the power of her followers and achieve success for the organization.

The Arrival

English Speech The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel which follows the story of a man who embarks on the journey of migration. The notions of belonging that are highlighted in the text are belonging to a place and belonging to a family. The composer establishes these through the masterful employment of various visual techniques. One of the foremost themes of the novel is the concept of belonging to a place, in particular the connection to a homeland. A disturbance in the main environment signifies as the stimulating factor for the disruption of the man’s sense of belonging.There exists an fragmented sense of existence in the old land, something that is established primarily by the ominous, malicious serpent like figures that force the man’s departure and his search for a new way of life. Tan’s symbolic representation of the serpents as the threatening and severe influences in the early pages of the novel drives the man out of his homeland as it is is a sour ce of unease and discomfort for his family. Upon entering the unknown land the man feels alienated from the new way of life that he is faced with.The author highlights this through the use of various shades of grey which are evidence of the shared melancholy of the migrants. Furthermore the positioning of all the migrants huddled up together reinforces the turmoil and hardship that they have collectively encountered. The use of dark and malicious tones and the overshadowing images of the technologically averse boat that towers over the migrants furthers their insignificance and defencelessness. The commonality with fellow migrants is carried throughout the novel and it soon becomes a source of solace for the man who is otherwise alien to the new world.Tan uses flashback scenes to illustrate the man’s opportunity to connect with his fellow migrants. Tan uses darker tones in the flashback scenes and the tumultuous journeys of the other migrants are elicited. Our protagonist is able to relate to their troubled background and this allows the connection between the two parties. The man is drawn into their stories and this is highlighted greatly through the change in tone to a grim, darkened one which the reader appreciates to be both captivating and intriguing. Tan is thus able to illustrate to his audience, a true appreciation of belonging to a place and its connotations.In addition to this, belonging to a family is a key concept in this novel. The novel opens with an alluring introduction to the family; a blissful atmosphere is created through the picturesque icons of their family life. The composer uses small photograph like icons to allude towards the widely acknowledged contentment that is readily associated with the memories in a picture album. Tan introduces the motif of the paper crane which he carries through the length of his novel as a symbol of affection and belonging between the family members.The next pages signify the break in contentment as t he man begins his journey and a salient image of the couple with their hands grasping the other’s parallels the anxiety and despair in their downcast facial expressions. Although the gloomy atmosphere, the light sepia tones in the picture allow an insight into the tender and loving relationship that the family members share. Upon the man’s departure the paper crane motif returns and he hands it to his daughter as a token of his undying love for her.His migratory experience is studded by the comfort and ease that he obtains from a picture of his family. In paralleled scenes on the boat and the new apartment, the man is seen reminiscing his time with family. He dines with and converses with the picture, the repetition of which is significantly indicative of the unfaltering sense of belonging he feels to them. In both scenes, the composer then zooms out to illustrate the man’s isolation in the ostensibly large structure that he resides in and the reader can then tr uly appreciate his sense of solace in the people from the picture.Through the use of these various techniques the concept of belonging to family is emphasised. The Arrival can now be truly appreciated as a graphic novel with allusions to the intricate and complex nature of belonging. In particular belonging to a family and to a place was discussed today and I hope I did justice to the carefully developed messages that Tan portrays. The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel which follows the story of a man who embarks on the journey of migration. The notions of belonging that are highlighted in the text are belonging to a place and belonging to a family.The composer establishes these through the masterful employment of various visual techniques. | One of the foremost themes of the novel is the concept of belonging to a place, in particular the connection to a homeland. A disturbance in the main environment signifies as the stimulating factor for the disruption of the man’s s ense of belonging. | There exists an fragmented sense of existence in the old land, something that is established primarily by the ominous, malicious serpent like figures that force the man’s departure and his search for a new way of life. Tan’s symbolic representation of the serpents as the threatening/menacing authoritarian influences in the early pages of the novel drives the man out of his homeland as it is is a source of unease and discomfort for his family| Upon entering the unknown land the man feels alienated from the new way of life that he is faced with. The author highlights this through the use of various shades of grey which are evidence of the shared melancholy of the migrants. | Furthermore the positioning of all the migrants huddled up together reinforces the turmoil and hardship that they have collectively encountered. | | |

A Process Oriented Approach to Waiting Line Management in a Large Pilgrimage Center in India Essay

This article documents an innovative approach to manage waiting line in the largest pilgrimage center in the world. By a judicious combination of process orientation and advances in Information Technology, the pilgrimage center’s management has been able to dramatically change the pilgrims waiting experience. The pilgrimage location under study is Tirumala located in Andhra Pradesh state in India. The number of visitors to this important location has been steadily increasing over time. As of 2011, the location attracted approximately 30 to 40 million visitors a year. The primary objective of a pilgrim visiting Tirumala is to have darshan of the principle deity in the temple. The secondary objectives include tonsure (shaving head as a mark of respect), offering donations, prasadam collection, thulabaram, arjitha seva (paid services), local sightseeing and shopping. The immense popularity of the temple and its location poses significant challenges to the management of the system. This temple is a tradition bound Institution. Therefore, some alternatives to resolve pilgrim waiting time are feasible and some are not. There are some hard constraints which may not stand the test of logic. The ability to manage the traffic volume is a function of processing rate (darshan duration) at the temple and darshan time available per day. This case study is an example of improving operational effectiveness by using formal management methods in addressing an important real life problem in an under researched area. This pilgrimage center is located in the extension of Western Ghats and is popularly known as Tirumala. It is considered to be the abode of Lord Vishnu in the form of Venkateswara. The temple is the richest pilgrimage center, after the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, of any faith (at more than 50,000 crore) and the most-visited place of worship in the world. This center attracts a large number of visitors from all over the country irrespective of their caste, religion, belief, social status and professional affiliation. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world. The temple is on Venkatadri (also known as Venkatachala or Venkata Hill), the seventh peak, and is also known as the â€Å"Temple of Seven Hills†. Venkatadri, the hillock residing place of Lord Venkateswara is probably one of the oldest religious institutions in India. It is known to exist for over a period of 2000 years. It has a recorded history of thousand years. Based on the recorded history, the rituals and daily routines in this sacred temple are being performed without a break for more than 1000 years. Over a period of time Venkatadri has evolved as an epicenter of Vaishnavism. Several prominent Hindu religious institutions either have established a presence in Venkatadri or have made this as place of their administrative headquarters. Today, Venkatadri is not only a religious institution, but it has also evolved as a social institution. It supports financially a group of thirty (higher) educational institutions. Its mission is to systematically promote the study of Vedas and Sanskrit literature. The temple also provides generous financial support for construction of similar temples (Venkateswara) elsewhere in the country. Over a period of 50 years, the number of visitors to the temple and the town has increased by eight fold. [I960(2 million), 1970(4 million), 1980(7 million), 1990(11 million), 2000(16 million), 2010(30 million)]. Such a huge traffic generates tremendous stress on the social and physical infrastructure of the temple down (Tirumala and Tirupati). Being a tradition bound organization, certain modifications (on procedure, layout etc.) are not acceptable. The devotees (exposed to modern social norms) who come to the temple expect a better service quality and shorter waiting time. Thus, the managerial challenge is to balance the tradition, operational efficiency and increasing pilgrim expectations. Activities in the temple and the town and their management need to be also seen from a religious perspective. There is a divine dispensation in the institution, which may not be tinkered with in whatever modification(s) that are made in the facilities redesign and management of activities. Methodology The product and its delivery Pilgrims from all over the country arrive in the temple town. Usually they reach the foothill which is known as Tirupati. The mode of transport is rail, road (public or private transport) and air. Having reached Tirupati, those who have their own transport directly proceed to Tirumala. Some spend a few hours in sightseeing and visiting other temples and religious locations in and around Tirupati. The distance between Tirupati and Tirumala is 19Kms. Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) operates regular services between Tirumala and Tirupati. The round trip is about 2.5 hours including waiting time at both the boarding points. Having reached Tirumala, the pilgrims look for a suitable accommodation. There are about 5000 cottages owned and managed by TTD for pilgrim’s convenience. After (a brief) resting, pilgrims go for tonsure (there are 500 barbers who operate on a 3 shift basis; 15,000 tonsures are done in a day). The annual revenue from export of hair (from tonsure) is Rs. 100 million. Following tonsure pilgrims go for a wash and bath in the holy tank in the middle of the temple town and then join the queue for darshan. Some pilgrims on arrival at Tirumala directly join the darshan queue and after the darshan visit the tonsure centre, take a bath in the holy tank and departure to their place of residence. There are 32 waiting compartments to house pilgrims while they await darshan. The average capacity of these compartments is 500. About 17,000 pilgrims can be held in waiting at any time. The average waiting time for darshan can vary between 2-12 hours depending on the day and season. There is tremendous uncertainty as when darshan would happen. There is also anxiety as how long is the wait. There is no (accurate) information to the pilgrims on what is ahead. Because of the commitment to the pilgrimage process, individual pilgrims go through this tedious experience with reverence and patience. Finally on a FIFO basis, pilgrims arrive in front of the deity. The actual darshan lasts for about 1.5 to 2 seconds. However, the pilgrims can have a view of the deity from a distance of 30 meters from the main entrance. The travel time is about 45 seconds. Actually, the passage towards darshan admits a file of 6 or 7 columns of pilgrims to go through the darshan process simultaneously. After the darshan the pilgrims donate money at the Hundi, equivalent of donation box, located inside as well as outside the temple and then leave the temple premises. The Hundi collection is about Rs. 2000 million a year. Often, they stand in another queue to receive free laddu (there are several counters that sell laddu). Approximately, 75,000 laddus are sold in a day. In view of demand and supply gap, there is rationing and restrictions on how many laddus a pilgrim can buy. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) the administrative agency in charge of this temple provides free meal to about 25,000 persons in a day. After receipt of laddu(s) and a meal, the pilgrim returns to his cottage or wait for a transport to go Tirupati and subsequently to his place of residence.

Free Essays on The Age Of Reason

just quoted "in the state it has since appeared." For on August 5, 1794, Francois Lanthenas, in an appeal for Paine's liberation, wrote as follows: "I deliver to Merlin de Thionville a copy of the last work of T. Payne [The Age of Reason], formerly our colleague, and in custody since the decree excluding foreigners from the national representation. This book was written by the author in the beginning of the year '93 (old style). I undertook its translation before the revolution against priests, and it was published in Fren! ch about the same time. Couthon, to whom I sent it, seemed offended with me for having translated this work." Under the frown of Couthon, one of the most atrocious colleagues of Robespierre, this early publication seems to have been so effectually suppressed that no copy bearing that date, 1793, can be found in France or elsewhere. In Paine's letter to Samuel Adams, printed in the present volume, he says that he had it translated into French, to stay the progress of atheism, and that he endangered his life "b... Free Essays on The Age Of Reason Free Essays on The Age Of Reason THE AGE OF REASON IN the opening year, 1793, when revolutionary France had beheaded its king, the wrath turned next upon the King of kings, by whose grace every tyrant claimed to reign. But eventualities had brought among them a great English and American heart Thomas Paine. He had pleaded for Louis Caper "Kill the king but spare the man." Now he pleaded, "Disbelieve in the King of kings, but do not confuse with that idol the Father of Mankind!" In Paine's Preface to the Second Part of "The Age of Reason" he describes himself as writing the First Part near the close of the year 1793. "I had not finished it more than six hours, in the state it has since appeared, before a guard came about three in the morning, with an order signed by the two Committees of Public Safety and Surety General, for putting me in arrestation." This was on the morning of December 28. But it is necessary to weigh the words just quoted "in the state it has since appeared." For on August 5, 1794, Francois Lanthenas, in an appeal for Paine's liberation, wrote as follows: "I deliver to Merlin de Thionville a copy of the last work of T. Payne [The Age of Reason], formerly our colleague, and in custody since the decree excluding foreigners from the national representation. This book was written by the author in the beginning of the year '93 (old style). I undertook its translation before the revolution against priests, and it was published in Fren! ch about the same time. Couthon, to whom I sent it, seemed offended with me for having translated this work." Under the frown of Couthon, one of the most atrocious colleagues of Robespierre, this early publication seems to have been so effectually suppressed that no copy bearing that date, 1793, can be found in France or elsewhere. In Paine's letter to Samuel Adams, printed in the present volume, he says that he had it translated into French, to stay the progress of atheism, and that he endangered his life "b...

Top 10 Confused Words in English [G-H]

Top 10 Confused Words in English [G-H] Top 10 Confused Words in English [G-H] Top 10 Confused Words in English [G-H] By Maeve Maddox Narrowing the list to ten is difficult, but here are ten words beginning with the letters G and H that are frequently mixed up in speaking and/or writing. 1. gambit / gamut Perhaps it’s the first syllable that leads to confusion between these two nouns. In the game of chess, a gambit is an opening move in which a player offers a sacrifice, usually of a pawn, in order to gain an advantage. By extension, a gambit is a ploy intended to gain an advantage, especially at the beginning of a contest or negotiation. As a musical term, a gamut is the full range of notes that a voice or instrument can produce. Figuratively, a gamut is the full range or scope of something. Ex. His handyman skills run the gamut from carpentry to plumbing. 2. genial / congenial Both of these adjectives derive from the same source. Used to describe a person, genial means cheerful, kindly, affable. Applied to a thing, like weather, genial means mild or pleasant. In reference to people, congenial connotes a character agreeable to one’s taste or liking. For example, a congenial friend has similar likes and dislikes. A congenial host anticipates the needs and likes of guests. Applied to things, congenial means suited to one’s temperament. For example, a congenial job for a bookish person might be one involving research. 3. gibe / jibe Both words are pronounced the same, and both can be used as either a noun or a verb. As a noun, a gibe is an insult or sneering comment. As a verb, to gibe is â€Å"to taunt or insult.† Both the OED and Merriam-Webster recognize jibe as a variant spelling of gibe, when used in the context of insulting. However, because jibe also means â€Å"to agree,† many writers to use the spelling jibe only in the context of agreement: When the witnesses were interviewed separately, their stories jibed. When the accountant went over the books, he found that the figures did not jibe with the previous report. 4. give / gift Conservative speakers (like me) shudder to hear both these words used as verbs. Give is a verb. Friends give gifts to one another. Alumni give donations to colleges. For most modern speakers, gift is a noun, something given, a possession transferred to another without the expectation of an equivalent. The use of gift as a verb is not new in English. The OED shows citations dated from 1500 to the 1880s. However, this usage dropped out of general use so long ago that its revival strikes modern ears as barbarous and pompous. I suppose a huge donation to a university might warrant a bit of pomposity: â€Å"The corporation gifted the university with a million dollars.† For ordinary purposes, however, it’s still more idiomatic to give presents and not â€Å"gift† people with them. 5. grisly / grizzly The adjective grisly refers to something that inspires great horror. The word is thought to derive from a verb meaning â€Å"to shudder with horror,† or â€Å"to be filled with dread.† The adjective grizzly comes from a word meaning â€Å"gray or grayish.† A beard could be described as grizzly, but in current speech, the participle grizzled is more common in the context of things that are gray. Although grizzly bears range in color from very light tan (almost white) to dark  brown, they apparently acquired their name from explorers who saw grayish specimens. One English explorer described the huge bear that he encountered as â€Å"neither white nor black, but silver-haired like our English rabbit.† Another wrote that he’d seen â€Å"the skin of an enormous grizzled bear.† A grizzly bear rushing toward an unwary camper would be a grisly sight. 6. hanged / hung When  hang  means, â€Å"to execute by suspending a person by the neck,† the preferred forms are  hang, hanged,  (has) hanged. For example: â€Å"The murderer was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead.† When hang refers to suspending an inanimate object or a person without intent to execute, the forms are hang,  hung,  (has) hung. For example: â€Å"The housekeeper hung the laundry in the garden.† 7. historic / historical The prevailing meaning of historic in modern English is â€Å"having or likely to have great historical importance or fame. For example, â€Å"The historic voyage of H.M.S. Beagle commenced on the morning of 27 December 1831.† Historical means, â€Å"concerned with past events.† It is also used to contrast events that actually happened with fiction or legend: â€Å"Although fictionalized, the novel is based on well researched historical events.† 8. hoard / horde The word hoard is used as both noun and verb. As a noun, a hoard is an accumulation of something valuable to the hoarder. As a verb, to hoard is â€Å"to put away something of value for preservation or future use.† The verb usually has a negative connotation, implying that the person doing the hoarding is being selfish (in the context of scarcity) or has a disorder (in the context of an inability to part with unneeded possessions). The noun horde originally referred to a tribe of Asiatic nomads. Now it can also mean a large gathering of people or animals. The word usually bears a connotation of ferocity: The child fled from a horde of angry geese. 9. home / hone The confusion associated with these words occurs when home is used as a phrasal verb with the particle in. To home in is â€Å"to come closer and closer to a destination.† A fighter pilot homes in on a target. A detective homes in on a suspect. To hone is â€Å"to sharpen.† One hones a blade to a sharp edge. I’ve read defenses of â€Å"hone in† as the equivalent of â€Å"home in,† but careful writers distinguish between the two. 10. hurdle / hurtle As a noun, a hurdle is an obstacle. As a verb, to hurdle is â€Å"to jump over an obstacle.† It is often used figuratively: Kornblut describes the roadblocks all female  candidates must hurdle as â€Å"hair, hemlines and husbands.† Hurtle is a verb. The usual sense in modern English is â€Å"to rush violently.† For example, â€Å"The runaway wagon hurtled toward us.† Related Posts: Top 10 Confused Words in English [A-B] Top 10 Confused Words in English [C-D] Top 10 Confused Words in English [E-F] Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageEmail EtiquetteUlterior and Alterior

SBA Offers Online 8(a) Program Application

SBA Offers Online 8(a) Program Application The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has unveiled a new electronic online application process that will make it easier, faster and less expensive for small businesses to apply for 8(a) Business Development and Small Disadvantaged Business certification. The 8(a) Business Development Program is a business assistance program for small disadvantaged businesses. The 8(a) Program offers a wide range of assistance to firms that are owned and controlled at least 51% by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Benefits of 8(a) Certification Small businesses that gain SBA 8(a) program certification can compete for and get sole-source government contracts worth up to $4 million for goods and services and $6.5 million for manufacturing. 8(a) certified firms may also from joint ventures and teams to bid on government contracts. â€Å"This enhances the ability of 8(a) firms to perform larger prime contracts and overcome the effects of contract bundling, the combining of two or more contracts together into one large contract,† notes the SBA. In addition, the SBA’s Mentor-Protà ©gà © Program allows newly-certified 8(a) firms to â€Å"learn the ropes† from more experienced businesses. Participation in the program is divided into two phases over nine years: a four-year developmental stage and a five-year transition stage. Basic 8(a) Certification Eligibility Requirements While the SBA imposes many specific requirements for 8(a) certification, the basics are: The business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by an individual or individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged. The owners must be able to prove they meet the SBA requirements for both social disadvantage and economic disadvantage.The owner(s) must be an American citizen, by birth-right or naturalization.The business must meet the SBA size limits for a small business.The business must demonstrate to the SBA that it has a â€Å"potential for success.† More About the 8(a) Online Application Announced during a luncheon at Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week by SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto, the new automated online 8(a) application will substantially reduce the time and cost of applying for certification. The newly launched 8(a) online application will allow small businesses to apply for 8(a) and SDB certification directly from the SBAs Web site, and ensure more small businesses are able to successfully compete for federal contracting opportunities, Barreto said. This user-friendly application represents another accomplishment of this Administration in developing e-Gov tools that make access to information less cumbersome for small business. [ Truth About Small Business Grants From the US Government ] The SBAs 8(a) Business Development Program helps small businesses owned, controlled, and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals by providing management, technical, financial and federal contracting assistance with the aim of helping these entrepreneurs create viable businesses. About 8,300 companies are presently certified in the 8(a) program. During FY 2003, $9.56 billion in federal contracts were awarded to companies participating in the program. The new automated application was developed by an 8(a) firm, Simplicity, Inc. in conjunction with the SBAs Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. It employs decision logic to screen applications allowing the SBA to review and process applications more efficiently and provide improved customer service. The application is 100 percent Web-based, allowing applicants to apply without downloading any software or plug-ins, replacing a four-page written application that required substantial supporting documentation.

Free Essays on Ethics of Abortion

It is widely accepted that the fact of abortion has been a subject of conversation and controversy for many decades. Since the proportion of people who accept abortion as a ‘normal’ procedure is equal to the proportion of those who think of abortion as a ‘‘crime’’, through time a lot of measurements have been taken against abortion but concerning it’s defense as well. Although the fact of abortion has been examined through it’s scientific and religious side, in this assignment we will try and examine abortion from an ethical point of view. The best way for someone to refer to abortion on an ethical basis would probably be through the description and evaluation of the subject based on two of the most known theoretical approaches: those of Kant’s and of Utilitarianism (Act and Rule). Beginning with the approach of Utilitarianism, we must say that Utilitarianism, is concerned basically with pleasure and with pain. Therefore someone should be concerned with the amounts of pleasure and pain in situations where abortion is permitted as contrasted with the amounts of pleasure and pain where abortion is forbidden. It might be suggested that the main consideration would be the interests of the fetus: not only can its future life be expectedly happy (or at least having a balance of happiness over suffering) it might also be the case that the abortion itself is painful, particularly if it occurs later in the pregnancy. However this focus on the fetus is unwarranted since any suffering involved in the abortion itself can be avoided by simply aborting the pregnancy sooner (before the fetus has even developed the capability of suffering), or with painless techniques. The direct suffering of the fetus can therefore be no argument against abortion generally, only the bad practice of it. A more significant consideration exists if we hypothesize that the future life of the fetus involves a probable balance of happiness over suffer... Free Essays on Ethics of Abortion Free Essays on Ethics of Abortion It is widely accepted that the fact of abortion has been a subject of conversation and controversy for many decades. Since the proportion of people who accept abortion as a ‘normal’ procedure is equal to the proportion of those who think of abortion as a ‘‘crime’’, through time a lot of measurements have been taken against abortion but concerning it’s defense as well. Although the fact of abortion has been examined through it’s scientific and religious side, in this assignment we will try and examine abortion from an ethical point of view. The best way for someone to refer to abortion on an ethical basis would probably be through the description and evaluation of the subject based on two of the most known theoretical approaches: those of Kant’s and of Utilitarianism (Act and Rule). Beginning with the approach of Utilitarianism, we must say that Utilitarianism, is concerned basically with pleasure and with pain. Therefore someone should be concerned with the amounts of pleasure and pain in situations where abortion is permitted as contrasted with the amounts of pleasure and pain where abortion is forbidden. It might be suggested that the main consideration would be the interests of the fetus: not only can its future life be expectedly happy (or at least having a balance of happiness over suffering) it might also be the case that the abortion itself is painful, particularly if it occurs later in the pregnancy. However this focus on the fetus is unwarranted since any suffering involved in the abortion itself can be avoided by simply aborting the pregnancy sooner (before the fetus has even developed the capability of suffering), or with painless techniques. The direct suffering of the fetus can therefore be no argument against abortion generally, only the bad practice of it. A more significant consideration exists if we hypothesize that the future life of the fetus involves a probable balance of happiness over suffer...

How to Pronounce the Spanish RR

How to Pronounce the Spanish RR Pronouncing the RR sound in Spanish can be difficult for some, but its possible to learn! 10 Steps to Master the Spanish RR Sound Keep in mind that there are two R sounds in Spanish: the single R sound and the double R (or RR) sound.Keep in mind that the single R sound is used whenever the single R appears in a word, except when its at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S, when the RR sound is used.The RR sound is also used to sound the letter combination of rr, which used to be considered a separate letter of the Spanish alphabet.Keep in mind that the Spanish R and RR dont share the distinctive R sound of English. Think of them as separate letters entirely.Remember that the RR is a trilled sound formed by a flapping of the tongue against the front roof of the mouth.Visualize the front of your tongue as a flag flapping in a vigorous breeze.Now try purring like a cat. If youve succeeded, you are approximating the RR sound.Alternatively, relax and pretend youre a child making the sound of a revving-up motor.Another way is to pretend it is extremely cold. Now make the sound of exhaling with your lips flap ping together. Now do the same thing with your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Alternatively, loosely hold the tip of your tongue at the front roof of your mouth. Now try blowing air between the tip of the tongue and roof of your mouth while you partly relax the tongue. Try an Audio Lesson To hear the rr sound in words as spoken by native speakers, listen to an audio lesson on rr. Sample words in this lesson are perro (dog), carro (car), barra (bar, such as one made of metal) and hierro (iron, the metal).

How hiring managers catch lies on a resume

How hiring managers catch lies on a resume As a hiring manager, almost nothing is as important as ensuring that your company has unfettered access to the best available talent in your industry whenever you have an open position on your team. That said, something that’s just as important is protecting your organization from candidates who lie on their resumes- including everything from small lies that may seem insignificant but could come back later to haunt your team, to bigger lies that may have a real adverse and lasting impact on your company.After all, in many ways you’re the gatekeeper between your company and the world, and your instincts and expertise as an HR professional will help decide who gets to play a key role in supporting and building your company. That’s a great responsibility, and one that should be taken with great seriousness if you want to fully support the company you work for. There’s just no upside to offering shady candidates keys to your kingdom- if they’re willing to start things off on a foundation of lies, it’s a real reflection of their compromised moral and ethnic judgment and decision-making abilities. And if they’re willing to be dishonest on their resumes, who knows what other duplicitous activities they’re capable of?You likely don’t need us to tell you how important it is to ensure that your HR pipeline remains as free from inaccurate and lie-laden resumes as possible- but are you confident that you’re going about it in the most effective way possible? Keep reading for ways you can help make sure that you’re catching resume lies when they show up at your company’s doorstep.Look for inconsistenciesCandidates who are intent on lying on their resumes will make a real effort to cover up their tracks, but you may (or may not) be surprised by how many of these deceitful images can be caught at their own game by a careful resume review. When reviewing resumes, look for things that simply don’t make obvious logical sense. Dates of employment that don’t line up or that unexplainably overlap, odd jumps between jobs (going straight from an intern to a vice president might be a red flag), or jobs that don’t seem to align with a candidate’s background or education (a candidate with a BA in psychology working as the head of a hospital’s psychiatric team might be questionable) should all serve as triggers that something fishy might be going on.Conduct careful initial phone screensWe know you’re busy and taking the time to carefully screen every potential candidate is time-consuming but trust us- it’s well worth your time. The truth is, the best hiring managers have well-honed lie-detection skills and speaking to a candidate can help reveal some truths that they were trying to keep under wraps.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Look for classic â€Å"tells† that might indicate someone is lying- these include things like misplaced overconfidence, over-explaining points on one’s resume, and curious nervousness and anxiety that comes and goes during the conversation. Also, be on the lookout for candidates who mention something that contradicts with what’s written on their resumes- sometimes they may not have committed their lies to memory and slip an accidental truth in while talking.Don’t short the reference checksAs an HR professional this may seem obvious, but trust us- the reference check often gets shorted in the process when things are busy, especially when a candidate makes a powerful and positive impression during interviews and you really want to hire her or him. Lying candidates are counting on this, and their lies are essentially a gamble that you won’t catch them up by performing a detailed background check.Diligence includes everything from requiring a comprehensive set of references to contacting them and following up if they aren’t immediately available. Yes, sometimes actually getting in contact with a reference can be a real chase, but it’s worth your time to be persistent. If there are any things that still seem odd on a resume, even after meeting with a candidate, the reference check could be a place to effectively get to the truth. Also, be sure to scour social media and LinkedIn, which may also uncover some discrepancies between what a candidate says on their resume and reality.  If you want to do everything you can to ensure that deceptive candidates don’t make it far along in your hiring process, you must screen them carefully- and the resume review process is a great place to get to the truth. Use the strategies and advice presented here to help support your efforts.

Response to Intervention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Response to Intervention - Research Paper Example The promoters of RTI claim that this olden method brings more confusion to the individuals with disabilities. However, Response to intervention teaching method provides clear and simplified identities to the students with learning disabilities and friendly to the subject. Response to intervention is a process that aims at shift of educational resources toward the delivery and evaluation of instruction, which are comfortable for the relevant student. It works away from the classification of the disabilities through instructional approach. This method has gained credibility in the recent years as an alternative for students with special education criteria for the case of students with incidences of disabilities (Mark and Brown 39). The model is very eligible to the disabled students. It provides data based decision-making for any student in deed of extra interventions in order to improve his or her performance. The introduction of the RTI was after the change of definition for the disa bled. Disability has changed its definition to mean the persons who have one or more psychological complication, which may dominate in the listening, thinking, reading, and writing or in mathematical calculations. These brain disorders may include some conditions like brain injury, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. This definition has changed a little to term disorders as those with basic psychological misunderstanding of language, whether in speech or written and exhibits majorly on the reading and writing difficulties. A child may be termed as disable if he does not achieve the common measure of knowledge following parameters like age and ability level. The child could also have a discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in areas like oral expression, listening and understanding and the basic reading skills. Response to intervention model is a know method of problem solving which is a variation of the scientific method but used to study natural phenomenon. The f irst step in the response to intervention method is clearly defining the difficulties experienced by the student. Clarity and precision are essential for developing hypothesis of knowing how to treat the affected individual. Reliability of assessment for the underlying behaviors is typically low but the perceived behavior has more accuracy. After identification and definition of the problem, the teacher is now in position to change the instructional intervention to cater for the child (Roth and Worthington 412). The response intervention model has a very important component of evaluation whether the child is making progress. This evaluation process is oriented to instructional decisions that help to design the appropriate programs for the student. The effectiveness of the RTI strategies The individuals with disabilities have greatly benefitted from the response to intervention practices since its authorization in United States. The government of the states funded the 12.5 billion US dollars project that supported the early intervention services for infants and toddlers with special education requirement. The program has

Cultures Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultures - Research Paper Example This borrows from the fact that formalization mostly applies to utilitarian organizations, whereby organizations come up with hierarchies that have supervisors with greater authority who have to coordinate the activities of subordinates. Formalization also helps in the understanding of the organizational culture as it leads to the prescription of procedures, as well as rules, which specify the duties of each employee. Moreover, formalization serves to ensure that the low ranking employees comply with the set rules and guidelines in the organization. At times, formalization can go far to the extent that the organization sanctions the employees who do not follow the set rules. In some instances, employees who do not follow the formal structure of the organization may be summoned and asked to follow the set procedures and rules (Young, 2007). There are various organizational cultures, which organizations employ when prescribing the rules that should be followed. One of the organizational cultures includes the normative culture. In this culture, there is a consideration of the procedures and norms of the organization. Moreover, the regulations and rules of the organization are set in accordance to the guidelines that exist. The behavior of employees has to be ideal, and they have to follow strictly the policies that the organization has set. The other form of organizational culture includes the academy culture. Organizations using this form of culture tend to hire skilled persons, and duties are delegated in relation to the job experience and the education qualifications of the employees. Organizations that follow this form of culture ensure that they train their employees so as to improve employees’ job performance and achieve the organizations objectives. Another form of organizational culture includes the pragma tic culture where the organization emphasizes a lot on the external stakeholders, as well as the

Graphic Design career statement (for admission) Essay

Graphic Design career statement (for admission) - Essay Example On the other hand, technology is becoming an essential part of modern man and society. Technology, in fact, evolves as man desires to improve the comfort of life. Furthermore, the role of technology changes man’s perception of life, nature, and art. For me, technology is shaping, and is being shaped by, the sphere of art. By and large, art and technology are finding a common ground for them to create and recreate an environment that is all too human. And for this reason, I decided to take up Graphic Design. Due to my personal strengths, I feel that I am qualified to be a Graphic Designer. I have two main strengths related to Graphic Designing: first, my talent in creating art works; second, my ability to manipulate technology both hardware and software. First, I have discovered in my early childhood that I possess an inherent talent for the art. And in the course of my life, I have honed this talent in order to put a sense of high art in my work. I believe that what I was doin g, or the results of my actions (e.g., drawing), was an art work in itself. Perhaps in pursuing Graphic Design, I will be able to sharpen more the art talent that I possess. And second, technology such as the computer is something not too foreign to me. Even with the evolution of computer technology, I am still able to learn and use it with ease and comfort.

Impact Of 14-19 Reform on SEN Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Impact Of 14-19 Reform on SEN Students - Essay Example As the report stresses in the last four years, there have been significant changes. It has become a normal part of life in schools in this country that some young people are studying and achieving recognised qualifications in vocational subjects before 16. New GCSEs in vocational subjects have been launched and the first group of young people have just succeeded in obtaining their qualifications. The Increased Flexibility Programme has given around 90,000 young people the opportunity to spend some time learning subjects in colleges which cannot easily be offered in schools. And from September 2004, for the first time, 14 year olds are pursuing Young Apprenticeships, giving them the chance to combine school studies with learning alongside skilled workers. Work-related learning is now a statutore requirement and the entitlement to enterprise education will be in place by September 2005. This discussion explores that in some parts of the country, designated as 14-19 pathfinder areas, the process has gone even further. Schools and colleges have worked with local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to offer young people a range of options which goes beyond what any one institution can provide and which is succeeding in attracting many more young people to learning. In other places, new sixth forms and colleges are being opened, boosting participation and choice.

Pick a new company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pick a new company - Research Paper Example The bar is especially popular on â€Å"football Saturdays,† which is the Saturdays that the University of Missouri hosts a home football game. The bar serves drink schedules twice a week, as they feature quarter draws of beer on Thursday nights, along with half price wings and $2 shots. The history of the bar and grill is that it was established in 1971 by Dennis and Randy Harper. The two brothers sold the bar, along with the Harpo’s in St. Louis, Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri, in the mid 1990s. Since then, the bar has been owned by Chuck Naylor and Kevin Fitzpatrick, both local businessmen. Although the ownership changed, the atmosphere and the popularity of the place did not, as it has only gotten better over the years. Product The product that is offered by Harpo’s is food and drink. Below is a picture of their menu: The food is all made, fresh, in house. The food is purchased from all local suppliers, and the food arrives every Tuesday. The drinks are al l purchased from Seven Seas Beverage, located in Bridgeton, Missouri. Location Harpo’s is located by downtown Columbia. It is an ideal location, as it is close to the University of Missouri campus. It is walking distance for many students. This is important, as many students do not have a car, as this is a campus that is not a commuter campus. This means that most of the students who attend this school actually live in dormitories or apartments that are close by the school. Students also tend to live in fraternity and sorority houses. As parking is an issue on campus, many students walk to campus. Since the clientele for this bar and grill are mainly students, at least during the school year, the location is ideal. Moreover, it is also walking distance from the football stadium. This is also important, as the bar and grill does excellent business during football Saturdays. People can literally walk from the bar to the football stadium and back again. Whenever there is a big g ame that is won by the home team, the goalpost is torn down and paraded to Harpo’s, and this is a fun ritual that increases interest in the bar and drives people, in droves, to this bar. Human Resources The workforce at Harpo’s is unstable, simply because the bar hires students to run the bar and to wait tables. Since the students have to be 21 years of age, this means that the students who are hired are in the last two years of college, and this means that these students only work one or two years before they graduate and leave for other places. The way that the work is scheduled at this business is that, once a week, the manager produces a schedule for the wait staff, the cooks, and the bar staff. They try to be fair – for instance, working from 4:30 to close is more lucrative than working 9:30 to close, as the waitresses who work this shift get to choose the area that they wait, and the earlier waitresses choose the areas which are most populated, leaving the later waitresses to wait tables in smaller areas. The job characteristics of the cooks are that they had some prior experience in some restaurant being a line cook. The managers need to know how to order food, how to know when to order food and how much food to order, and they have to know how to dispose of the food that is left over. The managers are also responsible for the hiring of the wait staff, the cooking staff and the bar staff

Trump Ltd Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Trump Ltd - Research Paper Example expense is utilized. Normally prepayments are made for items like rent of premises and payments are of current nature expense.First it necessary to define what is cash flow statements. Cash flows are useful addition to financial statements which describe the users that how much cash is there in the company. The statement shows the users that how much cash is out flowed and how much the company has received from there different activates.As we know that any company survival in the fast changing and tough competition environment, depend upon its ability to generate cash. cash flow accounting direct our attention toward this curtail issue.Cash flows full fill the needs of all users. Such as management will able to take more effective decision when they will know that what amount of cash will be present in the company. Management will be help through the cash flow forecast in taking expansion and investment decisions.... According to prepayments concept amount paid in advance for any expense will be treat as an asset until the expense is utilized. Normally prepayments are made for items like rent of premises and payments are of current nature expense. Discussion on cash flow forecast: First it necessary to define what is cash flow statements. Cash flows are useful addition to financial statements which describe the users that how much cash is there in the company. The statement shows the users that how much cash is out flowed and how much the company has received from there different activates. The main advantages of using cash flow forecast are as follow As we know that any company survival in the fast changing and tough competition environment, depend upon its ability to generate cash. cash flow accounting direct our attention toward this curtail issue. Cash flows are more comprehensive than accounting profits which are dependent on accounting concepts and conventions Cash flows forecast are easier to prepare and as well as more useful the profit forecast. Cash flows full fill the needs of all users. Such as management will able to take more effective decision when they will know that what amount of cash will be present in the company. Management will be help through the cash flow forecast in taking expansion and investment decisions. Cash flow forecast will be helpful for providing comparison with actual cash flows to see what variances has been incurred. Cash Flow Statement as on 31 Dec 2006 Month 1: Operating Activities cash from customers 6250 cash paid to staff wages -10000 interest paid ( 7% of 100000)/12 -583 cash

Fashion and Celebrities in time of Modernism Essay

Fashion and Celebrities in time of Modernism - Essay Example The essay "Fashion and Celebrities in time of Modernism" talks about Fashion and Celebrities in the Modernism era. Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet share the tribute for liberating women from their corsets. Swan bill, S-bend, or â€Å"health corset† was designed to ease pressure on the diaphragm and stomach and take the shape of the natural figure of the body of a female. Gibson, an American graphic artist designed the â€Å"Gibson Girl† hair style that was an ideal description of the gorgeous, autonomous American woman at the twist of the 20th century. A little boy kneeling down visualizes Gibson Girls magnifying him under a pair of lens, like an insect. Mariano Fortuny designed a Delphos Gown which was a finely pleated silk dress. Modernism at the same time has to do with futuristic, which is always connected with streamline and simplicity. One of the famous artist in the modernism faction was Pablo Picasso‘s cubism and futuristic. This is best demonstrated by the revolutionary fore-front leader in fashion, Paul Poiret with his illustrious lampshade dress in the year 1992 that depicted the best impression of modernism in fashion with simple lines and vivid color. Geometric patterns are among the common elements that can be seen in modernism. The space-age modern giant Pierre Cardin, in his design that combined esthetic strong lines and geometric shapes that were simple and remarkable, best illustrates these modern patterns. His style was simple, straight forward and emphasized some minimalism of ornament.