A Website Review on the American Cultural History 1960-1969 Webpage Essay

Kingwood College Library’s American Cultural History 1960-1969 webpage (http://kclibrary. nhmccd. edu/decade60. html) is a webpage dedicated to the dessemination of information regarding the 1960s. It dubs itself a web and library guide, and is hosted and managed by the Kingwood College Library, an educational organization in Kingwood, Texas. It’s stated purpose is to â€Å"help the user gain a broad understanding and appreciation for the culture and history of the 1960s† (Goodwin, para. 2). The site itself is authored by Susan Goodwin. Unfortunately, no information in the site listed Ms. Goodwin’s credentials, and checking the Kingwood College Library for any information regarding the author proved futile as well. The webpage is primarily aimed for the general public, with information that is collected and compiled from different sources which are mostly official or scholarly in nature (some information, however, are linked from Wikipedia, a source generally not accepted by the academia). As such, the information can be considered valid and true, and is presented clearly and matter-of-factly, without any embellishments or personal views and opinions, and without any technical jargon that may confuse the lay reader. At the start of the page, the reader is immediately treated to a fact sheet of the decade, with hard facts about the population, the national debt, and the average salary, among others. Information is also placed in major categories, providing a coherent and easy to follow structure to the whole article. Since content is generally collected from the various sites off the internet and books, information and content ranges from the common to the not-so-common, but all are generally interesting and well-presented. Most of the major points are presented as links which redirect to another website discussing that particular subject matter. This is where most of the webpage’s problems lie, as a significant number of links (25, to be exact) are either broken or non-existing, redirecting the reader to the main site instead. One of the links even redirects to the wrong article. For an information-driven webpage run by an educational organization, such mistakes reflect poorly on the structure and management of the webpage itself. Another thing some people (especially researchers wanting complete information) might have an issue with is how the webpage cites it’s sources. After every category, the author lists the books which have more information on the subjects presented in that category. However, the author did not list the specifics of the book, ie. , date of publication, author, actual page information, etc. For a researcher who needs these information, this is a great omission on a website that considers itself a bibliographic essay. Also, the website design can be improved; as it is, it is presented in a simple and drab manner. Inspite of the faults stated above, the webpage gives enough historical information and data for any general aspect of popular culture in the stated era. And with how it is presented, via links and redirects, the reader can just connect on other links on the given website for more information about that particular subject matter. The webpage’s goal is to give out as much information as it can, in a concise and direct manner. In this regard, it has succeeded rather well. References Goodwin, S. (2006). American Cultural History 1960-1969. Retrieved December 20, 2007, from http://kclibrary. nhmccd. edu/decade60. html

Private Passions and Moral Responsibilities: Hamlet Essay

Many great works of literature often focus on personal tragedy and ways of overcoming it. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, however, the inability of the main characters to confront their problems properly leads to the destruction of all. The antagonist of the play, Claudius, allows his personal ambition for power to overshadow the will of his conscience. Hamlet opens at the royal castle of Elsinore where a ghost bearing the visage of the recently deceased King Hamlet is seen walking the halls in battle gear. Later it is learned that his brother, Claudius, has taken to the throne with King Hamlet’s ex-wife, Gertrude, after only two months since the King’s passing. The son of the deceased King, Hamlet, sees the marriage as a travesty stating, â€Å"(Oh God! A beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer) married with my uncle; My father’s brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules.† (Shakespeare 13) Clearly, Hamlet sees the marriage as incestuous in the beginning ; but he doesn’t take action until he is visited by the apparition of his father who proclaims that Claudius killed him in lust for power. Hamlet is asked, â€Å"If thou didst ever thy dear father love – oh God – Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.† (27) Here begins Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father by laying ruin to King Claudius. To be certain of the King’s guilt, Hamlet puts on a play bearing a resemblance to how the ghost described the murder. When King Claudius views it, he feels a sudden pang of conscience and abruptly leaves. This flinch provides a first glance by the reader, and Hamlet that Claudius is guilty and is at odds with himself for his foul actions. From a soliloquy after storming out of the play, the reader becomesaware of the personal anguish Claudius possesses. â€Å"O, my offense is rank, itsmells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, A brother’s murder! Pray can I not, though inclination be as sharp as will. My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent.†(84) For Claudius the act of killing his brother was a grievous one that he now regrets. His strong intent and ambition for  the throne has caused him turmoil in heaven’s eyes. The primary  consequence of Claudius’s actions on his character is that he will now have to make a huge decision as is delineated further into the soliloquy. â€Å"But, o, what form of prayer can serve my turn? Forgive me my foul murder? That  cannot be; since I am still possessed of these effects for which I did the murder – My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. May one be pardoned and retain offense?† (84) Will he give up the worldly things he now possesses for forgiveness or will he keep on, undaunted by his guilt  and remain stained by his ultimate sin? It seems that the king cannot give up his precious power, but instead asks others to join him in an attempt to oust Hamlet and retain the crown. Claudius asks Laertes, † Will you be ruled by me (†¦) I will work him to an exploit now ripe in my device under which he shall not choose but fall; and for his death no wind of blame shall we breath.† (116) Power hungry and greedy, King Claudius has rejected the notions of morality by attempting to kill his nephew and has sealed his fate in the eyes of God. Shakespeare’s Hamlet pivots on the theme of mastering passionbefore it is too late. Although Claudius confronts his sins committed in search of title and authority, he never takes the steps needed to achieve absolution. Instead, the King opts to use violence to solve his dilemma  which results in both the downfall of his royal family and the turning of his â€Å"envenomed†(144) blade upon him.

Chemistry of hazardous materials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Chemistry of hazardous materials - Essay Example The sooner the explosive is named, the quicker a response team can put together a plan of action. Explosives are classified by DOT (2012): Explosives must have a driver that is physically and mentally fit to understand all local, state, and federal laws regulating explosive transport. The Department of Labor (2012) explains that no smoking or weapons can be carried on their transport. Metal should be covered so no spark occurs. These transports should not be left alone. Like other hazardous materials, explosive transports shall be clearly marked as such. Finally, the Department of Labor (2012) requires a working fire extinguisher that drivers are trained to use in the transports. Explosives are different from other hazardous materials due to the mass destruction caused. For example, an explosion can destroy a road, railway, or ship and everything in the vicinity. A toxic gas leak can lead to evacuations, but can be cleaned up with little or no life loss. The property damage is less as well. Once something explodes it cannot be taken back. It damages, kills, and can potentially lead to other explosions. These are a few reasons explosions are different from other hazardous

Does the electronic cigarattes a good replacement of the traditional Essay

Does the electronic cigarattes a good replacement of the traditional cigarettes - Essay Example There has been a recent surge in the use of e-cigs promising to actually help smokers replace the old habit of smoking the much dangerous and potentially life threatening traditional cigarettes. However, a debate remains as to whether the e-cigs are good alternative replacements of the traditional cigarettes or not. One of the key reasons as to why the traditional cigarettes are being opposed by various organizations is the potential health impacts of the smoke on the overall health of the smokers. Traditional cigarettes tend to cause cancer, asthma and other related diseases. It however, is still unclear as to whether the e-Cigs have any demonstrated health advantages negating the harms of smoking traditional cigerrates. The World Health Organization issued warnings in terms of informing the users no to use the e-Cigs until their benefits or use is being endorsed by any of the leading health regulatory authority at the national as well as international level. It has also been suggested that e-Cigs are relatively safer however they may not be entirely safe to smoke. Though the related side effects of them are still need to be determined however, it has been suggested that their use may not be as safe as it may be perceived. The safety benefits are however, relatively larger as compared to the traditional cigarettes as the nicotine burning rate is relatively slower as compared to the traditional sources of nicotine. As a result of this the release of nicotine in bloodstream is slowed down and as such these are considered as safer as compared to the traditional sources. (FDA para. 12) Since the leading regulatory bodies still have not allowed the regulatory approvals to the e-Cigs therefore there is still a lack of manufacturing oversight on these e-Cigs. As a result of this lack of oversight, it is often argued that their manufacturing may have faults which can cause greater health concerns once such health hazards are identified. Some of the studies on

Developing Marketing Communication- Promotional Practice Report for Essay

Developing Marketing Communication- Promotional Practice Report for Sainsbury Christmas Campaign 2014- Christmas is for sharing - Essay Example This paper is focused on Sainsbury’s promotional campaign for Christmas. It covers the promotional activities of the company, the target audience, medium of communication and usage of required tools. Christmas in UK is the biggest celebration where the people involved in merry making, social gathering, and exchanging gifts. This gives the retail firms an opportunity to meet the customers’ need of buying gifts and other specialty goods for Christmas. The sudden rise in the purchase volume before the Christmas allows the retail firms to increase their sales thereby increasing their revenue. Thus Christmas is a major event that every retail company looks forward to. Sainsbury has designed its marketing campaign for Christmas termed as â€Å"Christmas is for Sharing† to attract the customers at a motivational level to buy and share gifts for their loved ones (Sainsbury’s, 2014). According to the theories discussed by Kotler and Keller (2011) approaching a customer group is done by three basic steps, segmentation, positioning and targeting. The segmentation allows the firm to select a market segment. For Sainsbury, it is the UK retail market segment. Positioning suggests how the firm wants its customers to perceive its value proposition. Finally targeting involves selecting a particular demographic from the entire population. Sainsbury is a multi brand retail store that offers a large portfolio of products belonging to a wide variety of piece range. Moreover, the ‘Christmas is for sharing’ does not target any particular customer segment, which suggests that Sainsbury has designed it Christmas promotional campaign for its entire customer base. Thus the target audience for this campaign is the entire UK population. However, Sainsbury is best known for its balanced positioning thereby targeting the middle and upper middle class of the society (Saunders, 2013). Thus it can be stated that the advertisement seeks to draw the attention of the entire UK

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

Rhabdomyolysis - Research Paper Example sed to or he/she may be experiencing low fitness levels and the moment he/she is introduced to intense physical exercises the condition sets in (Carter et al., 2005). The human body is made up of three different types of muscles namely; heart muscles which are very delicate and critical for the survival of human beings, skeletal muscles and finally the smooth muscles. The skeletal muscles are the ones that are responsible for a general movement of the body since they are tasked of anchoring the skeleton at the joints thus facilitating movement. Mainly these are the type of muscles that are prone to infection of Rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is a common condition among the people and is observed to be a major cause of renal acute failure (Hunter et al., 2006). Rhabdomyolysis is more of a lifestyle disease that a chronic medical condition thus it is caused by a number of causes many which are related to the manner in which people live their lives. Some of the most notable causes of Rhabdomyolysis are elaborated as follows. Muscle trauma or crush injuries are the premier cause of this condition, and it is responsible for over forty percent of the reported cases of Rhabdomyolysis. When people are involved in accidents that cause severe injuries in the muscles they will often result in the muscles rupturing and the end result will be the muscle contents being discharged into the bloodstream thus causing Rhabdomyolysis (Eberhard, 2000). Severe burns are yet another cause of this condition which takes place the same way muscles trauma unfolds. When one is subjected to intense burning like that of people being lynched or when a building is on fire the body is going to be mutilated due to the intense heat that will be coming from the fire and as a result most of the body tissues will be destroyed hence causing other complications. For the case of the muscles they are going to be burnt until they rupture thus releasing their contents into the blood hence the

Zara Case Study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Zara Case Study - Coursework Example However, each chain operates independently and is responsible for its own strategy, product design, sourcing and manufacturing, distribution, image, personnel, and financial results. Zara, which contributes around 80 per cent of group sales (Grant 2005, p.398), is by far the largest, most profitable, and most internationalized of the chains. Its stores can now be found in the most important shopping districts of more than 400 cities in Europe,  the Americas, Asia and Africa. With year-on-year sales increasing at around 25% over the last 5 years, it has become one of the world’s fastest growing retailers (University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing). The global apparel market is a consumer-driven industry (Criag, Jones & Nieto, 2004) in which profits derived from "unique combinations of high-value research, design, sales, marketing, and financial services that allow retailers, branded marketers, and branded manufacturers to act as strategic brokers in linking overseas factories" with markets (Collins 2003, p.44). Zaras business model can be broken down into three basic components: concept, capabilities, and value drivers. Zaras fundamental concept is to maintain design, production, and distribution processes that will enable Zara to respond quickly to shifts in consumer demands and tastes. The main business tactics of the company in context of its business model is:- At the heart of Zaras success is a vertically integrated business model spanning design, just-in-time production, marketing and sales.

Letter to state representative about Comprehensive Cancer Care Research Paper

Letter to state representative about Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2011 - Research Paper Example The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2011 now titled as H.R. 3705 offers a comprehensive government intervention that improves on the health care services provided to survivors and their quality of life. The bill â€Å"aims to improve survivorship care throughout the cancer care continuum by supporting coverage of comprehensive cancer care planning, establishing grant programs to increase provider education of palliative care and symptom management, and investing in survivorship-related research.† I appeal to you as a health care provider and as one of the many citizens who know or is related to someone afflicted with the disease. Anyone who has been acquainted with the disease, one way or another, will attest that Cancer must be addressed to alleviate the sufferings of the patients. I believe that Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2011 is one way to carry out this goal. In this regard, I urge you to support the review the bill and to support its enactment by voting for its passage in the

The adopted codes of conduct for psychological research Essay Example for Free

The adopted codes of conduct for psychological research Essay There is a belief among psychologists that by carrying out an experiment we should be lead to understand ourselves better and to the enhancement of the human condition and promotion of human welfare. This can only be completed if the experiment is ethically right to all parties involved. Ethics in an experimental situation deals with the idea of morality, what would be considered morally right behaviour in sight of a specific scientific goal. One idea which all psychologists agree on today which can be very rare, are the adopted codes of conduct for psychological research, these were created in 1985 by the British Psychological Society (BPS) in order to minimize the risk to human participants. There are six ethical principles which must be carried out in order for the codes of conduct to be complete. These include informed consent, where all subjects should be informed full information about the objectives of the research. In particular subjects should be told information that could prevent or permit their choice to participate in the experiment. Subjects should have the right to withdraw; participants should be informed that they can leave the experiment at any stage regardless of any payment. Intentional deception should be avoided at all times; subjects shouldnt be misleading deliberately without strong scientific justification. Researchers should offer full information about and explanation of research to participants so a full debriefing should be acknowledged. Confidentiality should be up held by researchers for their subjects at all times due to legislation requirements, if any data is published this should not be identifiable unless agree previously. When carrying out observation research psychologists must also follow the code of conduct by respecting the privacy of psychological well being of the individuals studied. Finally BPS guidelines require researchers to give full protection to their participants that they should not experience any physical or mental harm greater than what is experienced in everyday life. In order to keep to the last requirement giving full protection psychologists follow the code of not experimenting on minors which include any children under the age of 16. As the law of the BPS has only just been passed in 1985 there have been many previous studies carried out by psychologist which have made many break troughs in human behaviour, although there have also been some ethical problems toward subjects as the BPS laws had not been followed. One psychologist named Zimbardo carried put an experiment where the right to with drawl seemed almost impossible to subjects. There mental state had been confused they had really taken on the roles of prisoner and guard and so did not want to leave, also they could not cope outside the prison it took over their lives. In this experiment there was no informed consent as the subjects werent informed on what exactly they had to do because this would have spoiled the experiment due to demand characteristics. There were problems with debriefing as after the experiment subjects were not left in the same state of mind that they had when they entered. Above all of these ethic guidelines the biggest concern of all was that this experiment totally disregarded the protection of its participants, so much so that it wasnt until mental breakdown of some subjects the experiment was counselled. The next psychologist I looked at was Milgram. His ethical problems against the BPS code included deception as the subjects were deliberately deceived into thinking his role of teacher was given randomly where as in fact both the subject and actor were given teacher roles, only the actor played the role of learner. This study went against the right to withdraw as it was found that if the actor and teacher wanted to stop the experimenter would persuade the teacher to continue making teacher feel obliged to continues saying we take full responsibility for your actions. The psychologist Paliavin did an experiment concerning observation here the code was broken as psychologist are expected to respects subjects privacy in this experiment psychologists are aware of subjects at all times as here psychologist is looking for reactions so no privacy of individuals available. In this experiment there is no informed consent as subjects were not informed as to what the study involved all they new they were to get on a particular train. There was no total protection to participants as they could have had serious after effects from a situation where someone collapses on a train because of the shock and not knowing what to do.

The effectiveness of business information Essay Example for Free

The effectiveness of business information Essay Evaluate the effectiveness of business information and its communication as key contributors to the success of an organisation In order to grow and expand, a business needs to a good communication and information management that will help them apply their different strategies and reach their goals and objectives more efficiently. Tesco is big business that has excellent communication and information management system within their organisation. They use information and communication method efficiently in the way they operate and that is why they are one of the biggest retailers in the UK. Methods of written communication Letter Tesco uses letters as a form of written communication, to get in contact with various types of people who include staff members from the other stores, customers or staffs who are unable to attend work for health issues. An advantage of using letters is that they can easily reach and communicate with their customers about financial issues or bills. A disadvantage of using letter is that the letter might not get delivered to the specific place you want it or on time, this could cause problems. Another disadvantage of using a letter is that it might get lost in the post and never get in to the destination. Reports Tesco use reports as a form of written information to communicate with between staff members within the company. The advantage of them using reports is that they record and show information of what happened during an entire week or month in a store for example. A report often contains information, sales figures and bar graphs to show the overall performance of something. Tesco use report to convey information about how they performed annually every year to show people their profit/sales etc. A disadvantage of using reports is that writing involves gathering a lot of data sometimes and they are quite time consuming. It would take a lot of time to produce reports because you have to record every that has occurred and sometimes doesn’t provide the full information it is hard to acquire all information and note them down. Newspapers Notices Tesco use notices as a form of reminder of tasks that needs to be completed during the day, in a week or sometimes in the near future. An advantage of using notes it that it can help save time as well as reminding member of staffs efficiently and tell their employees/staff on upcoming events/activities The disadvantage of notices is that it can create a waste of paper and a mess when they are too many notes accumulating in one place all at once. For when the all the notes from the past days and future are all stacked in one place. Leaflets Tesco mostly use leaflets communicate to their customers by informing them and keeping up to date about what changes within Tesco. For example, they could use leaflets to inform customers about offers, competition, sales, special deals and bundles. Another advantage of Tesco using leaflets is that they can inform customers any new products or services they bring out. A disadvantage of Tesco using leaflets is that their customers might misunderstand the information they convey. Another disadvantage of using leaflets is that Tesco will have to spend time and quite a lot of money to design and make leaflets. Emails Tesco use E-mails to contact customers as well as other employees with the company. An advantage of this written communication method is that Tesco can contact the person whoever they want to contact efficiently knowing that the person they are trying to reach will receive the message. They can also use is as a way to keep in contact with their customers and update them about things like special offers and promotions to avoid losing them. The disadvantage of Tesco using E-mails is that some people don’t use their E-mail regularly and therefore won’t be able to respond to the message that has been sent to them on time. Another disadvantage to of using E-mails is that some customers will see Tesco messages and offers as a sort of spam which could be inconvenient sometime. Magazines Magazines are also another way for Tesco to communicate information to their customers such as promotional information about offers, deals, bundles and others. They can also use magazines to convey information about the latest product and services they bring out. An advantage of using magazines as written information is that it allows them to reach their customers easily and efficiently regularly. Another advantage of magazine is the cost of it, it is cheaper for Tesco to publish and communicate information through magazine than do it on TV and radio adverts. A disadvantage of Tesco using magazines as a written communication tool is that they may not reach all customers that way because not all customers like to read magazines. Methods of non-written communication TV Tesco use television as a method of on-screen information to advertise new products or services to their customers. The advantage of Tesco using television as a way of communication is that they can easily reach they target group through such technology since everyone own and watches the TV nowadays. The disadvantage of Tesco using television as a method of communication is that they will have to spend a lot of money for advertisements to be shown on TV for an adequate amount of time so that their target group can easily perceive it. Presentations Tesco uses presentation as a tool for verbal to share information about carious things concerning the company, their competitors, their plans and strategies for the future and the market they operate in. During these presentations, specific strategies to reach future goals are discussed and established. Plans to overcome competition and threats are discussed as well as ideas for future promotions are discussed. A disadvantage of presentation is that not all the staffs working at Tesco will take part to the presentation. This could pose problems because staffs who haven’t attended the presentation will be uninformed and therefore won’t be aware of the changes being made. Radio Tesco uses Radio as a tool for verbal communication to share information to their customers about things like offers and promotions. The advantage is that they are more likely to reach their target groups by doing so. The disadvantage of using radio is it might not be clear when you try contact someone and also you may contact the wrong person this is because radio had different channels. Face to face Tesco uses verbal information like face to face conversation because it allows them to communicate important information easily with each other within the company. Using face to face communication is the best way of communication Tesco can use to communicate verbally because there is less scope for miss-understanding in it. They also use face to face communication to communicate information with their customer personally to which they will obtain instant reply. One disadvantage of this non-written method of communication is that people don’t always get the time to meet and discuss thing face to face. It would also cost a lot of money for people from different place of work to meet and have face to face communication. Telephone Tesco uses Verbal information on the telephone to contact their members of staffs when there is a problem or it can be to check and clarify something for example. The advantage of using telephone for verbal communication is that staffs and colleges at the company can get in contact with each other when they are outside of work. Another advantage of using telephone for verbal communication is that customers can contact them for enquiries about products or complaints. One disadvantage of using telephone as a verbal communication tool that when the customer calls, the employee answering to the phone might not be trained to answer the phone, this could create complications between the company and the customer Video conference Tesco use videoconferencing as a tool of verbal communication to contact members of staffs from other stores across the country or even in different countries. The advantage of this is that they will be able to reach the colleges they are trying to join easily and without having to pay much which will save them the coast of travel. The disadvantage of this method is that when they contact other stores in other countries, there may be some connection problem which will cause understanding problems for both groups trying to communicate. Voicemail Tesco uses voicemails as a way of communication because they are another way to get in contact with other within the company when the phone can’t be answered or when the person being contacted is absent for example. Tesco use voicemail as a communication tool to contact their customers or even other staffs within the company. They use voicemails to contact customers when they need to remind them about their product deliveries for example or even to arrange a date to pick up an item for return. The disadvantage of voice mail at Tesco is that the voicemail system might have a failure and delete the voicemails or might just auto delete itself if the message left has been left untouched for too long. Audience requirements Age and Attention span Tesco in stores for example do have age restrictions on products targeted to mature or older audience. The y also require an id to purchase things like alcohol and cigarettes. The advantage of this is that it allows taco to protect minors from purchase adult materials. Gender and Ethnicity Gender and ethnicity is about representing people from all background when and all ethnicity with both gender equally when targeting an audience for products or services. When aiming advert at an audience, the audience is more likely to respond well if they feel included and connected to the message the business is trying to pass on. This is an effective method of communication for Tesco because when they produce adverts for their new products, they make sure the advert represents a balanced cross-section of their audience. This in turn helps them reach and attract more people from the target audience regardless of their gender or race. Special needs and Accessibility The advantage of Tesco adapting their communication to special needs and accessibility is that it helps anyone from the target audience to efficiently perceive the information being communicated by Tesco. This in return encourage a great response from the audience to communication being shared. Reading ability This is communicating information in a way that everyone can read and understand the information being communicated to the audience. The advantages of Tesco using simple language to communicate with their audience is that they can easily and efficiently reach them the audience and obtain good response in exchange. The disadvantage of Tesco using simple language is that more sophisticated and educated audience would expect information to be communicated through more technical language and terms. Legibility This refers to the material that makes the business information being communicated to audience easier to read and to properly understand the information being communicated to them. An advantage for Tesco using this method is that the will be in a better position attract customers with the information they communicate to them. Interests This is about grabbing the attention of the audience to which the information of the business is being communicated to. This can be achieved by the business through getting straight to the point of what they want to say so that they can keep their audience attention. The advantage of this method for Tesco is that they can easily attract the interests of their audiences when they are communicating information. A disadvantage of this method is that the business might need more effort to try and grab the interests of audiences straight away because it is not always easy to win the attention of people quickly. Distraction avoidance This method is about minimising distraction during a verbal presentation to an audience. To do so, before giving a presentation, you can ask the audience to switch their mobile phones off so that it doesn’t distract during the presentation if someone tries to call. Industry related experience and knowledge This a about know the audience to which to you are talking to when addressing an audience for your presentation. This is important to know because when you are talking to an experienced audience they will not need too much explanation whereas if you’re talking to people with no experience, you will have to explain the information you are communicating or they will be confused. An advantage of his is that it will help save tame and allow to prepare before the presentation as to how much explanation you will need to do during your presentation. Communication skills Formal /informal Formal /informal information refers to the format in which the information communicated within the business is in. When communicating information to audiences such as customers or even for business reports, information is communicated in formally and uses professional and technical language. Between staffs at Tesco, information is mostly communicated informal. An advantage of communicating information formally / informally is that share information efficiently to different types of audiences. Verbal/non-verbal Most information is often communicated verbally or non-verbally, verbal communication usually involves the voice and non-verbal information doesn’t. The most common for of b=verbal communication is phone, face to face, presentation, meetings, video conferencing etc Non verbal information is usually done through paper, screen or emails. An advantage of verbal communication is that it is always clear and cannot be misunderstood by any audience. A disadvantage of verbal communication is that it might coast money for it to be possible sometimes, for example when people from different places of the organisation need to meet and discuss about the business. Listening understanding Listening is mostly bout hearing and understanding the information and message that is being communicated to you. The advantage of listening to information and messages is that it allows people to understand. Seeking Clarification Seeing clarification is about making sure you fully understand the information that is being communicated to you. To do so, you can ask question and ask for more explanation if you are not sure. The advantage of seeking clarification is that it helps understand information properly which makes it to easily put t in practices later on. A disadvantage of that is that it can sometime be a waste of time going and over some information. Another one is that it can be tiring sometimes. Responsiveness Responsiveness is about making sure that the audience to whom you are communicating fully understand the message you are communicating to them. As a communicator if you feel that your audience does not understand your message, you need to respond by giving them more detailed information. An advantage of this method is that it helps audience to understand the message you are giving them which will lead to a successful communication. Eye contact Facial expressiveness Facial expressiveness is about the impression you face is giving to the audience to which you are communication information. The advantage of having a good face expression when communicating information is that it helps convince your audience. A disadvantage of not having the right face expression is that it can mislead the audient to which you communicate information even if you don’t intend to. Body language When presenting information, body language can help understand the message you are trying to communicate by giving away your thoughts and feelings. An advantage of using body language is that it allows information to be communicated and understood easily and efficiently. A disadvantage of body langue is that it may be misleading sometime. Use of appropriate professional language Formal and informal communication needs to be shared through different ways to be efficient sometimes. The advantages of Tesco using simple language to communicate with their audience is that they can easily and efficiently reach them the audience and obtain good response in exchange. The disadvantage of Tesco using simple language is that more sophisticated and educated audience would expect information to be communicated through more technical language and terms. Ability to adapt communication techniques to audience requirements This is about finding the right method to use when presenting information so that your audience will be suited to and to which they can easily connect. This is due to the fact that not all communication techniques will suit all audiences. An advantage of choosing a suitable communication method for your audience is that it will help you communicate successfully. A Disadvantage of this is that by choosing the wrong communicating method for your audience could lead them to be disinterested or misunderstand your message. Presentational skills Presentational skills refer to the things you can do in order to enhance the presentation you will be giving to your audience. Preparation and notes could help structure and improve presentation. An advantage of presentational skills is that they enhance the information being shared to audience in an efficient way. Ability to invite Commitment to shared goals This is about adding information and interests that will help persuade and convince the audience. To make sure this approach is done successfully, you need to make sure you clearly articulate arguments you make, demonstrate your information honestly and to be ready to answer any questions.

Research Strategy of Service Quality Assessment

Research Strategy of Service Quality Assessment Methodology: For this study survey, strategy will be used in order to collect data. Survey researchers are quite distinct from the general surveys conducted for different purposes, including marketing survey. According to Tanur(1982) surveys are generally meant of collecting data related to characteristics, actions, or opinions of a large group of people, referred to as a population. The surveys conducted for research purposes are focused on advancement of knowledge within a specific domain. Research survey data can be collected through different methods, including interviews, questionnaires and observations. In terms of questionnaires, the data can be collected either through open-ended questions in which participants need to provide details answer or closed questions in which participants need to provide select single or multiple answers from the choice of answers. According to Groves et al. (2013) survey data will be biased if the process of the survey is not properly followed, which includes designing, writing, collecting and analysing sub-processes. Figure 1 presents the typical data collection process as describe by Groves et al.(2013)   Ã‚   Figure 1: A survey from process prospective (Groves et. al. 2013,pp.149) For the research survey, strategy will be used and data will be collected through set of questionnaires which respondent will be able to complete themselves. The reason for using questioner as data collection method was because, firstly, this research is using survey strategy and according to Saunders et al. (2012) questioner is one of the most widely used data collection methods within survey strategy. Secondly, since this research will be providing the closed answers which will be used for quantitative data analysis, therefore, questionnaire data collection method is more suited for this research. In terms of sampling, since its pilot data collection and research is focused on general consumer perception about the service delivery and expected quality evaluated through the prism of culture, therefore, as describe by Saunders et al. (2012) probability based sampling technique will be used to identify a group from population for data collection. For quality of data, research has applied stratified random sampling by using the one attribute that has the basic level of experience in terms of service delivery from the population. The validity or according to Saunders et al. (2012) content validity, questions in a survey provide adequate representation for research questions. As describe by Saunders et al. (2012) validity of the content can be evaluated through literature review, which has been provided for this research. For the reliability and consistency in response to the questionnaire, the research is confined to only closed questions with multiple-choice single selection answe rs, and questions are all design using simple language. The questions on the survey are design based upon the research questions, and all the questions in the survey are closed question that is multiple-choice single selection in order to collect consistent data. The order and flow of the questions are carefully design to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. Similarly, in order to avoid blank or missed questions the questions are presented on the same page, Please see the Appendix for actual questionnaire in the survey. Although the research is evaluating the research question using qualitative research methodology, but the data collected through a survey is processed by quantitative data analysis. The data collected through a survey is considered to numerical data, and exploratory data analysis(EDA) approach will be used to process it. According to Saunders et al. (2012) EDA approach for data analysis emphasis on using diagrams and tables for understanding and exploring data. Sin ce this is pilot research, therefore, as describe by Saunders et al. (2012) EDA approach is useful for initially stages of the research. Research instrument and data collection: The survey is divided into two sections first section contains demographic questions two get more understandings about the respondent and their classification. The second section contains the statement about the service encounter which participants had to rate using 7-points Likert scale starting from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Before attempting to rate the statements participants were asked to think of the service they have received from the industries like banks, retail, etc. and use the experience to rate the statements. The survey is conducted electronically by creating the questionnaire on a free online survey conducting website which provides functionality to share a link to the survey. The link to the survey is shared through email and also via different electronic forums, The data collected through the survey is analysed and evaluated after downloading it from the website. Sample data comprised of two sources that is the student of universities and colleges. A total of hundred responses was received out of several hundred survey requests. As the research aims to analyse the effect of culture on customer perception of service, therefore, the sampling framework was clustered into two major group based on their ethnicity that is white and non-white. Population targeted for this research was local consumers living in UK and had received service from industries like banks, retail, etc. in last few months. Participants from the sample are chosen using researchers own intuition and chosen with purpose. (Tellstrom et al., 2006). In order to further evaluate participant demographic information like age and education has also been collected. Measurement: In order to measure a perception of service quality and evolution process, in this SERVQUAL scale will be used, which was developed by Parasuraman et al. (1991). SERQUAL provides 22-items scale, spanning five dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy), of service quality expectations and, which has been evaluated and validated in numerous studies (Donthu and Yoo, 1998). Although researchers have identified some shortcoming in using SERVQUAL, but the model is most widely referenced and practiced among various industries. The questionnaires in this study were design to capture the customer perceptions of service quality based on five quality dimension of SERVQUAL. For gauging the culture of the survey participant, the study will use the Hofstedes framework of cultural dimensions. Several scholars have proposed alternative frameworks to conceptualize and operational culture to overcome the shortcoming of Hofstedes framework. However, Hofstedes framework is still the most widely used cultural framework in different fields of study, including psychology, sociology, marketing, or management (Soares et al., 2007). The research has used the approach of grouping the participant according to their individual scores on Hofstedes cultural dimension scale resulting in better understanding the role of culture in shaping service perception (Guesalaga et al ., 2016). The survey has been conducted within UK, and participants predominantly belong to western culture but some of the participant involved has a different culture which can give better understand of cultural effect on service quality perception. References Guesalaga, R.; Pierce, M. and Scaraboto, D. (2016), Cultural influences on expectations and evaluations of service quality in emerging markets, International Marketing Review, 33(1), pp. 88-111 Parasuraman, A.; Berry, L. and Zeithaml, V.A. (1991), Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale, Journal of Retailing, .67(4), pp. 420-450. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2012) Research methods for business students. 6th edn. Harlow: Pearson. Tanur, J.M.(1982) Advances in methods for large-scale surveys and experiments, in R. Mcadams, N.J. Smelser, D.J. Treiman (eds.), Behavioral and Social Science Research: A National Resource, Part II. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Groves,R. M., Fowler, F.J., Couper, M.P. Jr., Lepkowski, J. M., Singer, E. and Tourangeau, R. (2013), Survey Methodology, First Edition,John Wiley Sons Donthu, N. and Yoo, B. (1998),Cultural Influences on Service Quality Expectations, Journal of Service Research,1(2), pp.178-186 Soares, A. M.; Farhangmehr, M. and Shoham, A. (2007), Hofstedes dimensions of culture in international marketing studies, Journal of Business Research, 60, pp. 277 284

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Essay -- Literature

In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis emphasizes the three points of philosophy, themes, and symbolism throughout his writing. Lewis was a strong Christian man, and wanted to make children see and understand all the stories of the Bible. Therefore, he put Christian elements through his books, but with fantasy characters as well. Especially in this story, Lewis conveys the differences between good and evil. Aslan is represented as Christ just as the White Witch represents the sense of evil. Lewis wrote several books in this Narnia series, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe became the most famous and recognized of his novels. C.S. Lewis became one of the most prominent Christian writers in contemporary British society, not only because of his devotion to Christ, but also because his stories were so outstanding (Hitchens). Lewis wrote both fantasy and Christian books, which were both connected to each other in their own way. He used Christian elements to write fantasy stories, and vice versa (Langford). When he began to write The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he placed the story with four children that had to move out of their own house during the air raids (Hannay). In chapter one, the book tells us: â€Å"This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs. Macready and three servants† (Lewis 1). When the actual adv enture begins, one of the four children entered the wardrobe’s doors while playing hide and seek with her sibl... ...oit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012 Patterson, Nancy-Lou. "Always Winter and Never Christmas: Symbols of Time in Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia." Mythlore 18.1 (Autumn 1991): 10-14. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 109. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. Pietrusz, Jim. "Rites of Passage: The Chronicles of Narnia and the Seven Sacraments." Mythlore 14.4 (Summer 1988): 61-63. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 109. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. Walsh, Chad. "The Parallel World of Narnia." The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis. New York, N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Jonavich, 1979. 123-157. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 109. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 12 Jan. 2012.

Analysis of A World Where News Traveled Slowly by Lavinia Greenlaw Essa

Analysis of A World Where News Traveled Slowly by Lavinia Greenlaw Lavinia Greenlaw’s nostalgic poem â€Å"A World Where News Traveled Slowly,† captivates readers with its brilliant description of the evolution of communication. The poem is chronologically ordered, giving us the effect of how communication moved through the ages. The modern poem is written in three stanzas each describing a different form of communication. Starting from the time when electronics never existed to the current information age. The fashion is which the poem is written, takes the reader on a journey that lasts centuries. The first stanza talks about the old fashioned way of communication. People living far away carefully sent handwritten letters to each other. These letters were taken by horse rider to their destination. It is implied, importantly that these letters were mainly sent â€Å"while the head had to listen, the heart could wait.† That is at extremely important times and not just for insignificant banter. These lines imply that personal letters were not the prime objective of the post. It was for example at important times such as during war, that people sent mail. The second stanza is maybe a few hundred years later, in the seventeen hundreds, during the â€Å"French Revolution.† It describes a new quicker way of communication. This is still old fashioned and unheard of for the modern day man. It is the time of the â€Å"telegraph,† and the â€Å"semaphore.† This stanza implies that it was not an easy task and was yet difficult and hard to manage. â€Å"It still took three men with all their variables†¦.to read record and pass the message on.† This indicates that comm... ...e so close, we are still not. These messages sent to us so quickly make us feel as if we are incredibly close to each other. The title of this poem describes to us that the author thinks that maybe it would be better if we lived in a world where news traveled slowly. This poem gives us the feeling that the poet believes that technology is both a good and bad thing. Even though it gives as instantaneous messages, these very messages importance is lost. The author feels that the smoothness and speed of the current age is not in keeping with the way we talk to each other. It is implied that the world is now sending a barrage of messages that are not weighted with enough importance by the recipient. Maybe people would consider communication with much more importance if we resided in â€Å"A World Where News Traveled Slowly.†

Higher education Essay

†¢Assignment # 2 – Comprehensive Case: â€Å"Muffler Magic† Read the â€Å"Muffler Magic† case and write a four-to-five (4-5) page report that answers the following: 1. Specify three (3) recommendations about the functions of recruiting, selection, and training that you think Ron Brown should be addressing with his HR manager now. Currently you’re allowing your HR to hire employees without â€Å"carefully screening each and every candidate, checking their references and work ethic† due to such a high demand of staff. Envitably, you’re higher mediocre applicants for more than mediocre pay and at the risk of your name and overall profitability. Being able to answer minimal questions shouldn’t be enough to be hired as a technician and questions such as â€Å"what do you think the problem is if a 2001 Camery is overheating? What would you do? † should not be enough to secure a position within the company. Muffler Magic offers a range of products and services and engine issues is merely one of the many situations an employee may come across. How do these types of generic questions answer if your applicant is able to fulfill the requirements for â€Å"muffler replacements, oil changes, and brake jobs†? Obviously, from looking at the handful of situational mishaps you’ve described your HR department is merely hiring whoever walks into the office and in return you’re given inaccurate and potentially life threatening break jobs and repairs out of the companies pocket. This is not acceptable and it is no wonder why the company isn’t profiting. One of the reasons behinds why you don’t necessarily want to adapt or change some crucial points within the company is the money. If you broke down one instance where there was an error made by one of your associates, take the engine for instance a new engine can cost any consumer somewhere in the ballpark of $2,000 to $4,000*–not including the benefits or any extra perks. Now lets say that one of these errors happened in every single store then you’re looking at $50,000+ worth of mistakes coming out of Magic Mufflers pocket (keep in mind that estimated figure is from 1 mistake). With that type of money, I would imagine you could hire and appropriately train quite a few applicants that would be worth your time and money. I would recommend changing your recruiting, selecting and training standards immediately. Starting with the recruiting aspect of Magic Muffler. Instead of allowing the applicants come  to you, why don’t we go above and beyond and seek the preferred applicant. We can still advertise through local newspapers and internet, but we really should be seeking out those employees that have some kind of responsibility and potential retainability. The one major thing I didn’t see in the recruiting process you’re currently using is zoning in on what type of candidate are you looking for–in terms of education level and experience level based upon the types of work they will be working on. One of the huge factors to remember is â€Å"Presently, vehicles use high-tech computers and complex electronic systems to monitor the performance of the vehicle. A strong sense of understanding concerning the operation of a vehicle, including how each device interacts, as well as the ability to deal with electronic diagnostic equipment and digital reference manuals is key to the success of a technician†(http://www. careeroverview. com/auto-mechanic-careers. html) Therefore, Magic Muffler is in need of a qualified individual that is capable of working with UTD automotive machinery and possible situations that could arise. Therefore Magic Muffler should be spending their money recruiting individuals that â€Å"have successfully completed a vocational training program in automotive service technology†(ie:Automotive Youth Education Service (AYES)). For a more advanced position they will need ,in addition to vocational training, stoma kind of â€Å"Postsecondary automotive technician training† whether through a prior company, community college or technical college. Finally other â€Å"qualifications you should be focused on while recruiting is â€Å"the ability to diagnose the source of a problem quickly and accurately, good reasoning ability and a thorough knowledge of automobiles, strong communication and analytical skills and good reading, mathematics, and computer skills to study technical manuals† with the drive to continuously keep up with new technology and learn new service and repair procedures and specifications. † To find these types of applicants I would recommend some type of college recruiting; starting with on campus recruiting and then continuing the recuriting process with an onsite visit. Continuing with the selection process, I think its quite obvious that we should be focusing on a Personality Profile Analysis, which applicants can perform online and follow this up with a PPA(200 HRM BOOK). If you chose not to go that route you can always focus on tests of cognitive abilities (more specifically aptitude testing and motor/physical abilities). If these test’s pan out then we should go forward with a background check/reference check. This may seem to be an overwhelming process, but finding the perfect candidates is essential to low turnover rates and high satisfaction level across the board. The next step is to select the applicants that you are satisfied with their performance on the tests, interview and background check. After applicants are chosen and hired, we need to start with an orientation of the company and its overall goals and next is training. Although OTJ training does offer a lot to the employee it is not enough for these types of positions. Considering car technology is constantly advancing there needs to a need to continuously further your mechanics knowledge. As a responsible employer you should send your â€Å"experienced automotive service technicians to manufacturer training centers to learn to repair new models or to receive special training in the repair of components, such as electronic fuel injection or air-conditioners† and even beginner mechanics who show potential may be sent â€Å"to manufacturer-sponsored technician training programs to upgrade or maintain employees’ skills†. There are of course crucial training necessary, which cannot be offered OTJ and that is electronics training. This is vital because electrical components, or a series of related components, account for nearly all malfunctions in modern vehicles†. As the employee continues to thrive the company should offer additional training for possible certifications or advancement opportunities. For example: the â€Å"ASE certification has become a standard credential for automotive service technicians. While not mandatory for work in automotive service, certification is common for all experienced technicians in large, urban areas. Certification is available in eight different areas of automotive service, such as electrical systems, engine repair, brake systems, suspension and steering, and heating and air-conditioning. For certification in each area, technicians must have at least 2 years of experience and pass the examination. Completion of an automotive training program in high school, vocational or trade school, or community or junior college may be substituted for 1 year of experience. For ASE certification as a Master Automobile Technician, technicians must pass all eight examinations†. *http://www. ehow. com/facts_4830630_cost-car-engine-replacement. html 2. Write three (3) questions for a structured interview form that Ron Brown’s service center managers can use to interview experienced technicians. (Note: do not list possible answers. ) As I had said previously asking generic questions are not going to offer you the results in which most employers desire. There are a couple of things that should be kept in mind when creating these questions such as; which type of questions would be more effective in displaying the qualities Muffler Magic desires? Considering HR already has a lot to do with the hiring process, I think the appropriate form of interview would be a structured situational interview. After analyzing the positions and rating the jobs main duties, we would need to create questions reflecting such duties and daily knowledge to perform them. Three questions I would use to â€Å"test the waters† would be: What training(classroom or on the job), have you had with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment? Identify the diagnostic program and was it computer and software based? Have you worked with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment – computer and software? What was the diagnostic program and what was your involvement? What experience, knowledge, and skill do you have with air brake systems, anti lock, and heavy-duty truck suspensions? Relate your experience and describe your skills working with school bus, heavy-duty trucks, light duty pick-up truck, and van bodies/Relate your experience and describe your skills working with heavy and medium-duty diesel and gasoline-powered engines and light-duty pick-up truck and van engines. (www. msbo. org/library/HumanRes/Interview/Mech. doc).

What is the Impact of Downsizing

As the studies below indicate, layoffs have a number of negative effects not only on workers in different industries, but also on their communities and the market as a whole. Although it has been said that downsizing can be economically beneficial to companies, the following shows that there are two sides to this issue. Over the past decade, the workplace has altered considerably in terms of job stability. People have either experienced layoffs firsthand or directly known someone else who was impacted by re-engineering, downsizing, outsourcing or acquisition. For employees adversely affected by these changes or for those who do not completely understand why these changes are occurring, the effects can be very disturbing and impact both their personal and job life. A variety of different industries have been impacted by layoffs, not only manufacturing. For example, hospitals like other companies and nonprofit organizations have experienced downsizing that has negatively impacted healthcare employees with varying degrees of psychological distress and poor health. In a 2002 study, Greenglass, Burke and Fiksenbaum showed that restructuring and its changes can result in lower job satisfaction and job insecurity. The researchers studied the relationship between impact of restructuring, job satisfaction, job insecurity and absenteeism in nurses. The results were similar to earlier studies indicating that job insecurity can often have harmful consequences for individuals. Job insecurity has frequently been reported to lead to decreased psychological well-being (Dekker & Schaufeli, 1995; Ferrie et al. , 1998). In a study of Finnish employees, Kinnunen et al. 2000) reported that job insecurity, which led to negative relationships with colleagues and superiors, was still being noted at least one year after the event. The respondents of the Greenglass study, who consisted of 1,363 nurses employed in hospitals that were undergoing extensive restructuring, first filled out a self-report anonymous questionnaire. Results of this study demonstrated that the impact of hospital restructuring had a direct effect on job satisfaction, which in turn then had a pointedly negative impact on absenteeism and on job insecurity. In addition, the study found that the more the nurses believed hospital restructuring had lowered the quality of health care and had had a negative impact on working conditions, the less likely they were to experience job satisfaction and the more apt to report feelings of job insecurity. Findings further demonstrated that job satisfaction functioned as a intermediary between the impact of restructuring and job insecurity: That is, lower job satisfaction resulting from a greater impact of restructuring led to decreased job security. The impact of restructuring also placed an indirect effect on absenteeism through job satisfaction. The lower the job satisfaction, resulting from restructuring, the more likely the nurses were to be miss work. These results were similar to prior studies that linked layoffs with an increased amount of job insecurity. Campbell-Jamieson, Worrall, & Cooper (2001), for instance, compared responses from managers in three different business settings: organizations that restructured and downsized in the previous year, those firms that restructured without downsizing, and companies that had not restructured. Managers in organizations that had downsized had less job security, lower organizational commitment and reduced morale. Research has also demonstrated that reorganization can lead to greater emotional turmoil, including such feelings as anger, anxiety, cynicism and resentment (O'Neill & Lenn, 1995). Burke & Nelson (1997) found that this is most likely the result of a variety of negative observations throughout the restructuring, such as the belief that workers were treated unfairly, the psychological contract was eroded, and future employment would be insecure. The findings by Greenglass additionally showed that the restructuring impacts job insecurity in both direct and indirect ways. In other words, an effect of downsizing is lower satisfaction with one's job. This is most probably the result of disillusionment as well as feelings of being let down by the company and uncertainty about one's employment in the future. Decreased job satisfaction then leads to lower job security. The researchers do note, however, that these increased feelings of disillusionment and decreased feelings of job satisfaction and job security can be reduced if the organization's administration does its best to offer support, information sharing, and input into decision-making. To the degree that healthcare workers believe they are important to the hospital and that the institution cares about them and their opinions, the effects of restructuring can be considerably decreased. The impact of downsizing on workers is a combination of both the psychological and physical. Kivimaki et. al (2000) conducted a study to explore the underlying mechanisms between organizational downsizing and deterioration of health of employees. He found negative changes in work are associated with the declining support from aspouse, and increased prevalence of smoking. Sickness absence rate from all causes was 2. 17 times higher after major downsizing than after minor downsizing. Adjustment for changes in work, for instance, physical demands, job control, and job insecurity, diminished the linkages between downsizing and sickness absence by 49 percent. Adjustments for impaired social support or increased smoking did not change the relationship between downsizing and absence from illness. Such conclusions were unaffected by sex and income. Kivimaki concluded that the exploration of potential mediating issues offers new knowledge concerning the possible causal pathways connecting organizational downsizing and health. Downsizing results in changes in work, social relationships, and health-related behaviors. The noticeable increase in certificated sickness absence was partially explained by simultaneous increases in physical demands and job insecurity and a decline in job control. A reduction of employees leads to a number of negative effects; the closing of an entire plant or business can even result in greater problems. The recent economic history of Cleveland County, North Carolina, has been distinguished by factory closings, business layoffs, and significant unemployment rates. More than 3,500 workers have lost their jobs in this area in the last four years. This, in fact, may even be an underestimation, since it applies to events that involve 50 or more workers at a time. Many other smaller firms have fired workers as well. Such numbers are extremely significant since the county's labor force only numbered around 42,000 workers to begin with. Layoffs have been devastating to workers and their families. In the very best cases, unemployed workers were able to find other work, but normally there was a temporary loss of income and a reduction in pay. In the worst situations, these workers remained unemployed forever, either because they lacked the necessary skills for available jobs or believed themselves too old to move or go back to school. In such situations, economic dislocation also creates problems for the greater community. When unemployment rates rise, there is an increased demand for services at a time when communities are experiencing sharp declines in tax income. These decreases often result in poorer quality education, a deteriorating infrastructure, and larger welfare rolls, which make it more difficult to attract new businesses to the area. Thus, it is not always just the employees who are impacted when there is restructuring. A literature review of downsizing studies by Farrell (2000) also showed the connection between downsizing and the impact on market orientation. Specifically, his report gave evidence that (1) trust and commitment are keys to understanding the exchanges between a company and its workers; (2) the form of restructuring strategy will impact upon the degree of trust between personnel and senior management (Mishra and Mishra 1994) and will also directly effect the firm's market orientation; (3) the type of downsizing strategy and trust level will directly impact worker commitment to the firm's goals of creating high-quality customer value; and (4) employee commitment to such company values will impact the level of market orientation (Narver, Slater and Tietje 1998). Survivors of downsizing are impacted as well, as seen in a number of studies. In a longitudinal study, Moore, Grunberg and Greenberg compared 1,244 white- and blue-collar workers who recalled either zero, one, or two exposures with layoffs; all participants were personnel of a major industrial company that had had several large episodes of layoffs. They found that employees with the greatest number of contacts with downsizing both direct, or personally targeted, and indirect, coworkers laid off, noted considerably lower levels of job security and higher levels of role ambiguity, desire to leave their jobs, depression and health concerns. Contrary to what some others had thought, their findings did not support the notion that workers more quickly recover as they encounter a larger number of downsizing episodes. They also found only partial evidence that the similarity-that is, either repeated direct or repeated indirect layoff contact–or dissimilarity-that is, a combination of direct and indirect contacts–of the form of repeated downsizing exposure played a role in the amount to which personnel noted changes in outcome variables. Similarly, Masi (2000) looked at several pervasive ideas: First, that negative effects on the employees' morale who have survived downsizing may be so harmful to overall productivity that they overshadow any immediate economic gains the workforce reductions may bring. Second, those managers who are capable of eliciting trust and organizational commitment among employees as well as generally good labor relations may largely reduce or even eliminate the possible ill-effects of downsizing. Third, is it true as a number of political economists who are critical of the free-market model in the U. S. have argued that a crucial factor in helping reduce the fears and anxieties caused by industrial layoffs is the degree of employment and/or income security available to employees outside their current place of work? Fourth, recent research concerning the presence of unions suggests that the overall character of the industrial relations system will strengthen or weaken the negative effects of downsizing. In his article, Masi reported findings from a Swedish-Canadian comparison of blue-collar manufacturing workers who had been exposed to various kinds of change, including downsizing. The results provided strong support for the belief that experience with layoffs has a strong negative impact on survivor concerns everywhere. Simultaneously, there is also some evidence supporting that the amount of externally provided security has some mitigating effect on survivor worries, and the presence of unions within a strongly adversarial system of labor relations can increase such concerns. However, the quality of labor-management does not seem to have much of a helpful effect on the negative impact of downsizing. In the future, as downsizing continues, additional studies will have to be conducted to determine long-range impacts on individuals, their families, communities and the economy as a whole.

Colonial Latin America

1. Chasteen states that by the late nineteenth century Latin American countries aimed to imitate England, France or the US, countries that equated Progress. What material or technological transformations did Latin Americans seem to have associated to the idea of â€Å"progress†? Latin America decided to associate with the idea of progress the idea of being able to export their home grown goods.While England, France and the US, exported industrial machinery (because it was made in those countries) Latin America decided they could not compete with those countries in selling machinery so they made their economies of selling livestock and agricultural goods. 2. How does the idea of Progress relate to what we have learned about neocolonialism? Explain. Neocolonialism and progress can relate because the new countries that were made up of what once was Latin America began to grow economically once this period of â€Å"new colonies† took place.All these new countries started pr ogressing because they built their own economies and politics. 3. According to Altamirano, what were the main causes of the decadence and backwardness of towns like Texcoco? Altamirano, explains that the main causes of the towns Texcoco were due various changes like the construction and customs of the civilians. In addition, he also blames the conquest of the Spaniards. 4. Based on Ignacio Manuel Altamirano’s chronicle about the railroad of Texcoco, what transformations did railroads appear to have brought to some regions of Latin America?The railroads appeared to have brought to some regions of Latin America transformations in the fact that they instilled spirit and vigor. In Texcoco it restored a land that had been suffering for a long time. It was redemption for the Mexicans. 5. According to Altamirano, the first arrival of the Spanish in Texcoco brought missionaries. What does he say that the second Spanish Mission to Texcoco has brought and how do the locals feel about i t? The second Spanish mission to Texcoco brought gospel of Science and nineteenth-century civilization. 6. According to Burns, what was the importance of land for Latin America’s economy and society?The land was of grave importance to Latin America’s society because their economy thrived on the land to produce money. Latin America’s main import was all things agricultural and homegrown. 7. The slogan of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata was ‘Land and Liberty’. Explain what did Zapata mean by these terms? Zapata is advocating the transfer of land to the landless. He believes everyone should have the privilege of owning land. 8. What did Zapata’s Plan of Ayala intend to accomplish`? Zapata's Plan of Ayala was to recover land owned by hacendados or the oppressors at the time and return it to the citizens of Mexico. 9.Focusing on Ramon Beteta’s comments on agrarian reform, explain briefly what was the condition of the Mexican peasants during the early twentieth century? Mexican peasants were treated just as bad as slaves. Mexicans were exploited in the haciendas that were previously owned by them. 10. What changes did the Agrarian Reform aim to introduce? The Agrarian Reform was to change the old system of land holding. They believed in land distribution to be in: restitution, donation, and ampliation. 11. How is agrarian reform related to agricultural production? The land is being returned now more crops will be harvested and agriculture will grow.

A Biographical Review of the Glass Menagerie

A Biographical Analysis of The Glass Menagerie and Tennessee Williams It’s apparent in the play and the life of Tennessee Williams that he was, in fact, writing about himself and his family when he wrote The Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie was the first success of Tennessee Williams career. He says in the beginning of the play, †I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion† (Williams 47). The characters Tom, Laura, and Amanda are very much like Williams, his sister Rose, and his mother Edwina.We are able to see this when we look into Tennessee Williams’ life. Tom, the narrator, can be viewed as himself, Thomas Lanier Williams. There are many similarities between his life and his character Tom’s life. These similarities can be found in his actions, the actions in the life of his family. First we look at Tennessee Williams life, and how it is very identical to the life of the character Tom. â€Å"He is the narrator, an undisguised inventi on of the play. He takes whatever license with dramatic convention as is convenient to his purposes.I am the narrator of the play, and also a character in it. The other characters are my mother, Amanda, my sister, Laura. † (Williams 47). Tom is the narrator, and the narrator is the one who tells the story, we can justify that Tom resembles Tennessee Williams. This means we can also relate Amanda to Williams mother Edwina Williams and Laura as his sister, Rose Williams. Tennessee Williams dropped out of high school when his father asked him to leave school to work in a warehouse. In the play, Tom also dropped out of school to work in a shoe factory.Tom says,† Listen! You think I’m crazy about the warehouse! You think I’m in love with the Continental Shoemakers? You think I want to spend fifty-five years down there in that Celotex interior! With fluorescent tubes! Look! I’d rather somebody picked up a crowbar and battered out my brains than go back mor nings! † (Williams 56). Both Williams and Tom blamed their families for their horrible jobs and the lives they lived. Williams loved poetry and was his way of escaping the thought of his terrible job and depressing life. Tom is also a poet in our play. Jim knew of my secret practice of retiring to a cabinet of the washroom to work on poems when business was slack in the warehouse. He called me Shakespeare. † (Williams 68). Both Tom and Williams wanted to get out of their real lives by playwright and poetry. Like Tom, Tennessee Williams left home to live in New Orleans when he was 28. Moreover, Tom is a little bit younger than this in the play. Tom leaves home in the end because it is holding him back from what he wants to do. â€Å"His nature is not remorseless, but to escape from a trap he has to act without pity. † (Williams 46).The father in The Glass Menagerie worked for a phone company who fell in love with distance. †He gave up the job with the telepho ne company and skipped the light fantastic of this town. † (Williams 47). Tennessee Williams’ father was a traveling salesman. Just like in The Glass Menagerie, Williams’ father was also not home as often as his family would’ve liked. While he was growing up, Tennessee Williams and his family moved into an apartment in St. Louis. The front door of their house was opening up to look at an alley. In the play, Tom describes to the audience where his family lives.He says, â€Å"The apartment faces an alley and is entered by a fire-escape, a structure whose name is a bit of accidental truth, for all of these huge buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation. â€Å"(Williams 46). Also, Tennessee Williams eventually spent some time at Washington University in St. Louis but ended up going to the University of Iowa instead. In The Glass Menagerie, Tom’s mother Amanda says to him, â€Å"a night-school course in accou nting at Washington-U! Just think what a wonderful thing that would be for you son. † (Williams 62).We can see how Tennessee Williams didn’t want to remain in St. Louis University to attend school. Tennessee Williams and his sister were very close. him around like a ghost through his life and his art because she was not all there with him. However, he loved her very much, like Tom in The Glass Menagerie loves his sister Amanda. Tom says to his mother, â€Å"Laura seems all those things to you and me because she’s ours and we love her. We don t even notice she’s crippled anymore. † (Williams 66). It is also true that the Character Laura in The Glass Menagerie is very much like Williams’ sister Rose.She was diagnosed clinically insane in 1938 after he graduated from the University of Iowa. It’s obvious that Laura seems very strange sometimes. Tom say’s â€Å"Laura is very different from other girls. Through the eyes of strangers, she’s terribly shy, and lives in a world of her own and those things maker her seem a little peculiar to people outside the house. † (Williams 66). Rose spent almost all of her life in sanitariums. Edwina tried to find Rose a mate by sending her to Business College, but failed her first assignment and never continued.Amanda says to Laura, â€Å"No dear, you go in the front room and study your typewriter chart. Or practice your shorthand a little. Stay fresh and pretty! It’s almost time for our gentlemen callers to start arriving. (Williams 50). Amanda had also sent Laura to business school. In the play, Laura cracks under pressure and the scrutiny of her typewriting teacher and does not get a job to support her self. In Amanda and in Rose Williams’ life there was a gentleman caller in particular for Rose/Laura, who opened them up but never came back. â€Å"We are going to have one. What? A gentleman caller!Do you realize that he’s the first young man we’ve introduced to your sister? It’s terrible, dreadful, disgraceful that poor little sister has never received a single gentleman caller! † (Williams 64). Both in our play and also for the real Rose Williams, hopes were restrained on this young man whose characters referred to as Jim in The Glass Menagerie. Jim mistakes Laura’s absence of school for her sickness as Blue Roses and ends up referring to her as this through high school. This can also provide evidence that Laura is Rose Williams. In the start of The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams says this about Laura. A childhood illness has left her crippled exquisitely fragile. † (Williams 46). Rose was more mentally inept instead of having bad leg like Laura. However, they are both defected fragile young women who were abandoned by their fathers, gentlemen callers, and brothers in the end. Williams and his mother didn’t get along much and says this of her, â€Å"A little woman of g reat but confused vitality clinging frantically to another time and place certainly she has endurance and a kind of heroism, and though her foolishness makes her unwittingly cruel at times, there is great tenderness in her slight person. (Williams 46). This identifies description of what Edwina Williams was like. She obviously had many bad experiences with Tennessee Williams’ father that made her sad and difficult for Williams. Furthermore even though they didn’t get along, Williams loved his mother very much. His mother raised Williams almost entirely herself. She was domineering of him and very sheltering. Proof can be found during the exchange at the dinner table Amanda says to Tom â€Å"So chew your food and give your salivary glands a chance to function! You re not excused from the table.You smoke too much. † (Williams 48). There are many instances where it is shown that, like in real life, the mother and son have a difficult time with each other. Tom is ve ry impatient of his mother but later says, â€Å"now that we cannot hear the mothers speech, her silliness is gone and she has dignity and tragic beauty. † (Williams 88). This evidence proves that, in the end, Williams loved his mother very much In the end of the play Tom says †Oh Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, and I speak to the nearest stranger anything that can blow your candles out! For nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura and so good-bye. â€Å"(Williams 88). Tennessee Williams’ literary work was entirely in recognition and memoir to his sister, his family, and his life. Works Cited Rusinko, Susan. â€Å"Biography Of Tennessee Williams. † Critical Insights: Tennessee Williams. 8-13. n. p. : Salem Press, 2010. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. Williams, Tennes see. The Glass Menagerie. New York: New Directions, 1999. Print.

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The AGROVOC Concept Server (AGROVOC/CS) Workbench is a web-based working environment consisting of numerous functionalities for the distributed management and enhancement of the AGROVOC/CS built from the AGROVOC thesaurus. Following the Semantic Web’s vision, that emphasizes collaboration in the development of data and metadata to be shared and reused across the web, the management of AGROVOC will progressively be transferred from a few individuals in FAO to a wider community of international AGROVOC experts. These interested and competent users will share the collaborative maintenance and extension of AGROVOC, one of the most frequently used terminological resources for agricultural information management in the world. Maintenance of the future extended AGROVOC will thus be completely decentralized with people worldwide contributing to its development. This report provides a brief note on the technical aspects of the AGROVOC/CS Workbench. Technical details †¢ Multilingual web interface and content (UTF8). †¢ The software is developed in pure JAVA (version 1. 5. x), with no calls to any third party modules requiring precompiled DLLs or other operating system specific features. †¢ The Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is used with an Eclipse plug-in for development of the system. It is used to build the system as a fully Java based AJAX client browser application that is compatible with all common web browsers. †¢ Where possible the JSP 2. 0 Expression Language (EL) is used for any JSP development within the project (it’s a way of writing script-less JSP pages). Protege OWL api framework is used to connect OWL. †¢ MySQL is used as RDBMS. †¢ The system is DBMS-independent. Additional database abstraction layer for interacting with the OWL backbone and the relational database will be used (e. g. the hibernate persistence and query service, etc. ). The system follows FAO guidelines for HTML publishing: †¢ Guidelines for Web site development; †¢ File naming convention and file organization guidelines; †¢ Check list for the clearance of Web sites. In summary, the system is based on the following components: Development components †¢ Eclipse 3. 2 †¢ JAVA-JDK version jdk1. 5. x †¢ Apache Tomcat (that supports JSP and JAVA Servlets) Google Web Toolkit (for AJAX framework), version 1. 4. 60 †¢ Google Web Toolkit Incubator, version 1. 4 †¢ Protege OWL API 3. 4 libraries †¢ Hibernate 3. 0 libraries †¢ Hibernate 4 GWT, version 0. 5 RC2 †¢ MySQL version 5 Server side †¢ Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Linux †¢ Apache Tomcat 5. 5. 9 or higher †¢ JAVA-JDK version jdk1. 5. x or higher †¢ MySQL version 5 or higher †¢ Protege OWL API 3. 4 libraries †¢ Hibernate 3. 0 libraries †¢ Hibernate 4 GWT, version 0. 5 RC2 †¢ WAR file with compiled JAVA files and necessary libraries Current Server Configuration †¢ OS : Debian GNU/Linux 2. 6. 22-2 †¢ CPU: AMD 64 bit †¢ Memory: 8GB †¢ MYSQL version: 5. 0. 45 TOMCAT Version: 6. 0. 14 †¢ Java-JDK: 1. 6. 0_04 Required Application 1. MySQL version 5 or above Available link to download: http://dev. mysql. com/downloads/ 2. Apache Ant version 1. 7. 1 or above Available link to download: http://ant. apache. org/ 3. JAVA JDK version jdk. 1. 5. x or above Available link to download: http://java. sun. com/javase/downloads/index. jsp 4. Apache Tomcat version 6 or above Available link to download: http://tomcat. apache. org/download-55. cgi 5. Protege Version 3. 4 beta Build 130 Available link to download: http://protege. cim3. net/download/old-releases/3. 4%20betas/build-130/full/ 6. GWT Version 1. 4 Build 1. 4. 62 Available link to download: http://code. google. com/webtoolkit/versions. html The Step of Configuration 1. Download AGROVOC Concept Server Workbench code from the CVS Server. 2. Download the sql script from CVS Server at folder named sql. Create the database. †¢ Run the sql script file located at your_directory\SQL\administrator_agrovocwb _v_0_2_beta. sql This will install administrator_agrovocwb database. †¢ Run sql script file to install the owl model database located at your_directory\SQL\blank model _v_0_2_beta. sql Here we have provided blank owl model. †¢ You can convert owl file directly to database by using stand alone java program located at: our_directory\src\org\fao\aoscs\server\protege\convertToDatabaseProject. java †¢ You need the change the variables in the file. |18 private final static String url = jdbc:mysql://; | |19 private final static String table = ; | |20 private final static String user = ; | |21 private final static String password = ; | |22 private final static String uri = file:/c:/; | 3. To add model in the ontology list, go to database and table and insert new row with these values. Ontology id: (Auto increment) †¢ Ontology Name: Blank Model †¢ Ontology Description: AGROVOC Concept Server Workbench Blank AOS Module †¢ Database URL: jdbc:mysql://:3306/? requireSSL=falseuseUnicode=truecharacterEncoding=UTF-8 †¢ Database Driver: com. mysql. jdbc. Driver †¢ Table Name: †¢ Database Username: †¢ Database Password: †¢ Display Ontology on the list: 0 for hide and 1 for Show 4. Use java editor to †¢ Change the configuration of the hibernate file that located in your_directory\src\hibernate. cfg. xml Change the property of your connection password instead of â€Å"your_password† and change the property of your connection url instead of â€Å"your_url†. 13 your_password | |14 jdbc:mysql://your_url | †¢ Change the configuration of the database properties that located in your_directory\src\org\fao\aoscs\server\owl\ DatabaseConnection. properties Change the property of your username of database instead of â€Å"your_username† and change the property of your password of database instead of â€Å"your_password†. |4 userAdminDB = your_username | |5 passwordAdminDB = your_password | †¢ Change the configuration of the mail file that located in your_directory \src\org\fao\aoscs\utility\Mail. properties Change the property of your host name instead of â€Å"your_mailserver_host†, change the property of your port instead of â€Å"your_port†, change the property of your user instead of â€Å"your_user†, change the property of your password instead of â€Å"your_password† and change the property of your from information instead of â€Å"sender_email†. |1 host=your_mailserver_host | |2 port=your_port | |3 user=your_user | |4 password=your_password | |5 from= sender_email | †¢ Run build file to create war file using Apache ANT. 5. Copy the war file to folder of tomcat installation directory. 6. You can use the program by opening your browser and type †¢ http://localhost:8080/your_project_name

The Ag element Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Ag element - Lab Report Example According to Watt (4), Ag has been prized one of the precious metal next to gold from earliest days of Civilizations. Since medieval times, countries have enacted laws to protect this precious metal. This is evidenced by the requirement for the goods made of Ag to be tested as well as stamped before being sold (Watt 4). Silver is a unique element with distinguishable chemical properties. Although Ag is chemically inactive, it may be attacked by concentrated nitric acid and sulfuric acid. In relation to its inactiveness, Ag does not react with oxygen, nitrogen or hydrogen at normal temperatures. However, a thin layer of Ag at the surface of the metal can oxidize. Its melting point is 961.930c whereas its boiling point is 2212.00c. The valence electron potential of Ag is 11.4eV. Apart from having a quite moderate ionization potential, Ag has 11.3kj/mol as its heat of fusion. Ag does not react readily with other acids like concentrated nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Additionally, Ag does not react with water and other compounds. Another interesting chemical property of Ag is its ability to form many new compounds, as well as dissolve into many solutions. It is as a result of this property that silver is regarded as the most deadly element in humans. It can be absorbed at a slow rate by the body tissue s and organs. Ag damages the cornea when it comes into contact with the eyes. A high concentration of Ag can result in death. The physical properties of Ag are defined by its appearance, density, and malleability. Ag is a whitish metal. It can be polished to produce a silvery shine appearance. Ag is also ductile, and as a result of this, it can be formatted into thin sheets by light beatings. In addition to this, Ag can be bent into any shape because it is malleable. As it was introduced above, Ag is a good conductor of both heat and electricity; it is considered one of the best conductor of heat

Short written presentation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Short written presentation - Assignment Example The housing market was not unaffected with foreclosures, evictions and the resultant massive unemployment. The crisis contributed to the failure of many businesses, it reduces the consumer earnings and a reduction of overall economic activity (Anon, 125). The current European debt crisis is attributed greatly to this crisis with countries affected taking austerity measures that have had far more adverse effects on the citizens of these countries. This paper analysis how the crisis led to decreased lending and how this affected the economy. During the summer in 2007, the lending market experienced drastic disruptions with the market for asset-backed commercial disintegrating while the interbank market stagnated. The financial crisis created a fright that led financial institutions to seek to run through other financial institutions as a way of mitigating the escalating financial risks. These institutions suffered greatly when the lenders increased their lending requirements as a way o f reducing lending. The banks hoarded liquid asset as a reaction to a number of factors. One, there was a rising concern solvency of these interbank operations. Moreover, the banks were experiencing an increase in the risk of their asset collection. Moreover, they could predict a risk related to draw-down of a long line of committed credit. Besides reducing lending, the banks used several other measures to management liquidity. These range from one bank to another depending on the pressure they felt for having liquid assets. During the crisis, the banks increased their liquid asset by selling assets such as government securities and treasuries. This enabled them to accumulate huge reserves in the central bank which was lucrative as they would earn huge balances from the large reserves. The banks also invested more in mortgage backed securities from Fredie Mac and similar banks whose security was guaranteed by the government (Anon, 1230. The liquidity hoarding was seen to be common a cross all banks irrespective of their sizes. The reduction in lending was seen to be different on the local and foreign banks. The foreign banks reduced lending compared to the local banks. This is because; the financial shock such as the one that was experienced has been seen to transmit negative effects to the foreign subsidiaries. A research conducted showed that there was no decrease in lending in both local and foreign banks in the fiscal year 2008 to 2009 (Anon, 69). This could be probably because the effects of the crisis had just started to be felt. However, in the following fiscal year, foreign lending was seen to have reduced by 5% more than the local banks. This is a reason why foreign investment across Europe reduces at a greater rate compared to local investments. The effects of the crisis are still being felt by banks around Europe and the globe in general. Banks have been restricted to in order to improve their immunity against the effect of such crisis. This is eithe r through government conditions or the banks initiatives. The banks have also been forced to adapt to the changing economic climates. They now have to deal with a shrinking economy in the advanced economy and increasing economic opportunities in the emerging economies such as China. It is evident that the decrease in lending has a detrimental effect on investment. This is because with reduced lending or greater credit requirements, investors will shy away for making investments. The uncertainty of the market also discourages