Saturday, August 31, 2019

Assess the success of different methods used to overcome the imbalance between population and food supply

The term imbalance refers to a difference between the population's demands for food and the actual food supply. It is estimated that the current population of the earth is six billion people. There are two main theories that relate to population growth and food supply, these being the â€Å"Malthusian theory† and the â€Å"Boserup theory†. Thomas Malthus was an English clergyman and economist who lived from 1766 to 1834; Malthus expressed a pessimistic view over the dangers of overpopulation. He believed that the food supply was the main limiting factor to population growth. He also believed that human population increases geometrically whereas food supplies can only grow arithmetically. A Danish economist put the optimistic theory together in 1965 her name was Esther Boserup. She believed that an increase in population would stimulate technologists to increase food production. The sentence â€Å"Necessity is the mother of invention† sums up the Boserup theory. Agricultural Responses The green revolution is a worldwide agricultural movement but it all started in Mexico in 1944 and it involved the simultaneous development of 2 things; these include: > New varieties of food plants. > Altered agricultural practises that greatly increase crop yields. When the green revolution started in Mexico in 1944, it was importing half its wheat but twenty years later it was able to export half a million tons of wheat due to the green revolutions effectiveness. Even though in theory it achieved what it was set up to do it still had many disadvantages. Many farmers who invested heavily in the new technologies brought in from the western world found themselves laden with massive debts. An example of this is the Punjab area of India where the debt in rural areas has run to a staggering fifty billion rupees (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½745 Million). Also excessive pumping has led to a drop in groundwater and the water has become saline. Other problems cased by the green revolution include: > Human population growth > Diminished â€Å"biodiversity† in crops > Inherent soil fertility and water quality > Pesticides > Land degradation Demographic Response A demographic response to over population is China's one child policy. This policy was brought in by the communist government in 1979 to try and reduce China's ever-growing population. To aid this policy they brought in a law limiting a couple to only have one child. There are exceptions to this law ethnic minority are formal exceptions and families that produce a child with a mental or physical disabilities are sometimes allowed to have a second child. There is also financial incentives for couples to remain childless of only have one child. This however has had some very serious implications these include: > Human rights issues > Female infanticide > Sex imbalance > Aging population The policy is also difficult to enforce in rural areas where the policy is more open to corruption as large families are needed to support their parents in old age. Sometimes pregnant women would even be sent to relatives so that a child would be unregistered. This policy has proven to be fairly successful as it has managed to reduce population growth so that the population is remaining stable however it has not managed to reduced the population and it is not meeting its targets. My conclusion is that both approaches to tackling this global problem have positives and negatives to be taken from them. But on the whole they are causing more problems than they are solving so therefore I believe that both solutions are failing.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Tsingtao Beer Case Study

Consumer buying behavior Consumer behavior of purchasing beer is definitely emotional and of low involvement. The pleasure and gratification getting from drinking beer can be sensual but fleeting. When making purchase decisions, consumers hardly spend any time to recognize problems or to search information because when they feel like drinking, they will just buy some. Generally speaking, customers keep loyal to their favorite beer brand. In fact, many of my friends have told me that Yanjing Beer tastes the worst among all they have tried and even though it’s relatively cheap, they are not likely to buy it after first try.As you can see, among all the brand attributes of beer, the price is not a significant concern while taste, which can lead to brand value, matters much more. Once customers have recognized the nice taste of a certain beer brand, probably they are never going to switch brand and all the beer decisions they make later will be regular purchases. Beer market segme ntation The bases I choose for segmenting the Chinese beer market include age, gender, income level, life style, user rate and geographic area. All these factors matter in that they determine the different consumer behavior of drinking beer, as concluded in Table 1.AgeFrom 18 to 60 Young customers at 20-35 have strong potential GenderMen and women Women might drink beer less often than men or choose light flavor, out of concern of weight control Income levelFrom low to high-middle Income does not matter a lot due to beer’s relatively low price compared with other alcohol LifestyleWith leisure time and maybe some pressure User rateLight drinker, medium drinker, heavy drinker Geographic areaNortheast, southeast, northwest, southwest and middle Some areas have notable drinking habits such as northeast China. Besides, there is a tendency for people to choose their local beer brand.Table 1. Competitive landscape and Tsingtao’s status China is the largest beer producer throu ghout the world. Many local Chinese brands as well as foreign competitors are engaged in the competition. There are three main characteristics about the competitive landscape of Chinese beer market. First of all, price war is the main competitive tactic used by most local brewery brands. Not only small regional brands, but also large brands like Yanjing are entangled in price war. In general, price war does not lead to a favorable market position for any company because their profit margins will definitely be influenced.And most importantly, as I have mentioned before, price is not a significant factor that people will consider when buying beer. If companies put too much emphasis on lowering price through lowering cost rather than improving taste and quality, it will not work to their advantage in the long run. Secondly, there is a trend of foreign companies buying local brewers’ stock, meaning that foreign competitors are flooding into Chinese market in a more strategic way. Tsingtao’s collaboration with Anheuser-Busch is a case in point. It facilitates mutual learning and internationalization.The third characteristic might be a future trend that the consolidation and centralization level of Chinese beer market will become higher. With regard to Tsingtao Beer, it is one of the gigantic tiers of China beer brewers. Its competitive advantage is the superior quality due to unparalleled brewery techniques. According to the consumer survey results posted on its website, customers perceive Tsingtao beer as high quality and high price. In general, the fierce competitive marketplace has influenced Tsingtao a little but I think its established brand image is still far from being hurt.Positioning alternatives for Tsingtao Tsingtao’s positioning alternatives are whether to get more low-price market or to adhere to the current â€Å"high quality, high price† strategy, especially when it penetrates into Beijing market and compete with the local giant Yanjing. In my opinion, Tsingtao can adopt a multibrand strategy to fulfill needs of different target markets. For people who have great concern about price, Tsingtao can lower the price as a response to the local price war. For other people, however, Tsingtao should never pursue more sales at the expense of quality.To implement this strategy, Tsingtao has to do a complete consumer survey and then better segment the market. In the segmentation process, income level and geographic area might be the two most important bases. Besides, Tsingtao has to improve its advertising and packaging because beer is low- involvement and emotional product. As is mentioned in the case, nowadays the main reason for consumers to buy a certain brand of beer is brand image and the culture attached to the brand. I think Reeb beer, based in Shanghai, has done a great job in this part, although Reeb is just a small regional brand compared with Tsingtao.I remember when I was a primary school student, Reeb’s TV commercial was an interesting song. The lyrics were mainly saying that Reeb has witnessed the quick development of Shanghai and people’s great change after the opening policy of Pudong District (See the appendix). And at the end of the commercial, it said â€Å"Reeb beer is the reason why you love Shanghai†. Almost everyone from Shanghai of my age or older than me can sing this song and the attachment with this city definitely has enhanced Reeb’s brand image. I think Tsingtao might learn from Reeb to improve its advertising.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Liquids and Solids Essay

The purpose of this experiment is to examine the properties of several gasses, which were the products of a reaction, and examine the way the gasses react under certain conditions. These conditions, such as introducing a flame to the gas as well as oxygen and CO2, caused other reactions to occur. Experiment Before I began the experiment I gathered all my supplies from the given list in the lab manual. From there I began the actual experiment and diluted the HCL placed in a test tube and then placed the ZN in the tube as well. I placed the stopper and gas delivery plastic system on the test tube and arranged the tube in the well plate. I then took the test tube filled with water inverted it and placed on top of the gas delivery system, I had the well plate in a large bowl in case of flow over. I then removed and placed my thumb over the opening so gas wouldn’t escape I lit a match and held it approx. 1 cm away and allowed a small drop from the pipet onto the flame to observe the reaction. From here I took my pipet bulb and marked it in 3 equal parts with a marker. I filled the pipet with water and set it into the gas generation tube. When it was about 2/3 full of gas I removed it and set it facing down into the well holder as per the directions. I then cleaned up the other test tube disposed of the acid and washed the test tube and rubber stopper with water thoroughly. I then began the oxygen portion of the experiment where I placed some Mn into a test tube. I added some hydrogen peroxide and filled to nearly the top. I placed the rubber stopper with gas delivery system and put into the well plate in a straight position. I filled the pipet with water and once again inverted it and placed in on top of the gas delivery system. I then watched as it became displaced with oxygen and removed it placed my thumb over it so it wouldn’t escape.

The American Navy in The War Of 1812 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The American Navy in The War Of 1812 - Essay Example In fact, the war of 1812 broke out because Britain, France, Naples, Spain, and the Netherlands were all engaged in capturing more and more American ships and the number of captured American ships over the thirty year period from the Revolutionary War to 1812 was nearly 1500. That means an average of more than 30 ships in a year. It seems that they were all trying to exploit the vulnerability of the first democratic nation in the world that was young in all stages of development. It was this situation that made America declare war against Britain despite its much smaller Navy as compared to that of Britain. At this juncture, it seems useful to look into the history of the most prominent figures of the 1812 war. One of them was Isaac Hull who was the commander of USS Constitution. Admittedly, USS Constitution was a well-built ship, and it increased the number of guns on board to 50 during the war under the guidance of Hull. As a result of its better hull strength, broadside weight, and better gun power, the USS Constitution under the command of Hull effectively withstood the British attack, and returned heavier firepower, thus resulting in considerable loss to the British Navy. In August 1812, the USS Constitution captured the British Guerriere’s with this superior firepower. Another such prominent figure was Master Commander Oliver Hazzard Perry who was sent to face the British in control of Lake Erie. The British had better guns and bigger and stronger ships as compared to the vessels in the US fleet.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Bi-species Culturalisation Experiments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bi-species Culturalisation Experiments - Essay Example It not only helped the Bonobos to construct sentences but also helped them to develop a skill in grammar. Verbs Adverbs and Adjectives helped the Bonobos to use the forms of grammars just like the human beings can. As in the video, Pambanisha declared the caretakers as "bad", for playing a trick with Liz. It clearly illustrated that even chimpanzees can use grammar like the human beings. If given proper guidance the chimpanzees can work as they are asked to and can understand the language of the human beings. This experiment was a remarkable effort by Dr Sue Savage Rumbaugh in finding the effect of lexigram boards on the chimpanzees and clearly illustrated the intellectual power of the monkeys. The English grammar used by the monkeys showed that they can understand what they were being taught. At times the monkeys even reacted to whatever they were asked to do. This was an example of the intellect in the monkeys. The experiment clearly showed that Bonobos not only comprehend the huma n language but also act according to the instructions given. Pambenisha didn't go out for several days and thus was exhausted and sick of the environment. This forced her to do things which were quite unusual and unexpected but were of a great importance. To express her feelings, Pambenisha took a piece of chalk and started writing with the chalk on the floor. Firstly in the video it is shown that Pambenisha is writing quite far from Dr Sue but after a while when she realizes that Dr Sue is not paying attention to her writing she moves a bit closer to Dr Sue. And Pambenisha starts writing again near Dr Sue. This shows that Pambenisha is trying to express her feelings and inner emotions to Dr Sue. And when Dr Sue realized that Pambenisha was writing something on the floor she took a great notice. Upon findings it is known that Pambenisha drew an A-frame. This A-frame is meaningless if the lexigram board is not reviewed. The lexigram describes the A-frame drawing as 'a hut in the woods'. This shows that Pambenisha was interested in going out so mewhere to another place. Pambenisha does not stop writing over here and she again draws 'a flat rock' which according to the lexigram board is a place in the woods. And she writes further on the floor to express her feelings. This time she draws a 'collar' which she usually wears when she goes out. This clearly illustrated that Pambenisha was interested in going out to the hut in the woods. The drawings were not drawn as perfectly as in the lexigram board. But it can be clearly understood what Pambenisha means if the drawing is analyzed carefully and compared to the lexigram board. This writing of Pambenisha taught her a new way through which she could express her inner feelings and communicate with others. According to Dr. Sew the best possible way to make someone learn is not to teach them, instead of using the language around them. The curiosity to do the same what your beloved is doing, leads to the learning of new things. 3. What is the significance of the Bonobo's use of tools to our investigation of language origins Dr Sue's analysis has been of great significance and has brought revolution in the communication between a man and a chimpanzee. It has given a new birth to the language origins. It has derived many

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 11

Employment Law - Essay Example erms and conditions.2 It is important that businesses in the process of reorganization work within the permitted parameters of TUPE otherwise, there are significant opportunities for litigation arising out of employee complaints.3 While the managers are purporting to simply reorganize the business, this organization involves changes that are consistent with the definition of transfer of undertaking within the meaning of TUPE. Regulation 3(b) provides that TUPE applies to situations in which service provisions are changed.4 Therefore subcontracting and outsourcing will apply as they are situations in which service provisions are changed. In fact it was held in Fairhurst Ward Abbotts Limited v Botes Building Limited and others that where a contract for maintenance was split between two entities, it amounted to a transfer within the meaning of TUPE.5 Therefore even if the subcontracting only transfers out a part of the service, it would be considered a transfer of undertakings under TUPE. There are legal consequences for the business since the subcontracting and outsourcing is covered by TUPE. Regulation 7 of TUPE provides that where a transfer within the meaning of TUPE has the effect of terminating the services of an employee, that termination will be treated as unfair dismissal, unless the transfer is for an â€Å"economic, technical or organizational reason entailing changes in the workforce.†6 The effect of Regulation 7 of TUPE is to ensure that the rights of employees are protected in cases where undertakings effecting their employment are transferred.7 It therefore follows that if an employee’s job is lost to outsourcing or subcontracting, that loss is automatically unfair dismissal. Subcontractors and others to whom services from the business are outsourced may be reluctant to take on these contracts and jobs since there is a risk of litigation for unfair dismissal. In fact, the business will also be liable for unfair dismissal. Managers will also

Monday, August 26, 2019

Maternity Clothes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Maternity Clothes - Assignment Example At these times, the women need clothes that are not tight and clinging onto their skin but are loose and make them feel relaxed. Furthermore, these clothes are of chief importance because they allow the women the freedom of movement coupled with the freedom of space and provide comfort to the unborn baby. It is not advisable for pregnant women to wear clothes that are body hugging because such clothes can make them feel suffocating. Apart from the factor of feeling at ease, it is also important to several pregnant women that they look trendy and gorgeous. When the women are dressed in fashionable maternity clothes, it makes it easier for them to cross this pregnancy phase and also the months after in which they try to regain their figure. Maternity clothes are an excellent choice for the mental as well as physical well-being and to prove to the world of their proud accomplishment (Broderick & Broderick,

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The letter of Galileo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The letter of Galileo - Essay Example What Galileo is up to and what is he trying to say? In the letter Galileo states that his discovery regarding the solar system was unique. People who went against him doubted that his discoveries would upset nature and jeopardize science. Galileo in the letter tried to emphasize that discoveries based on truth helps in the growth in knowledge. With the passage of time his discoveries were considered to be correct by other eminent scientist. Galileo suggests that his book must be destroyed if any disparity is found between his views regarding Copernican system and the Church. (Galilei) A war began between science and Christianity. Europeans discovered they were residing in a world and era of ever growing opportunities. The Church no longer held its power over the truth owing to the reformation. The knowledge gained from university courses was no longer considered sufficient and it was time for natural philosophers to get their worth (Ede and Cormack, 103). In modern world scientists t hroughout the globe possesses variety of belief with respect to different religions. Some scientists claim that both religion and science are different entities and both are equally important in one’s life. ... Both are independent by their own nature and discover separate realms. The methods of both science and religion are similar and they both can help in enhancing each other. Religion offers a philosophical structure required to do science. Galileo always believed that science and religion is constantly in war with each other. Galileo’s discovery that earth orbits the sun was strongly denied by Church because they were ignorant about science. The Church was against the ideas of Galileo because they could never relate religion with science. Galileo along with his discoveries wrote that his discoveries never contradicted with Bible. Christians argue that according to Bible, science is younger than Earth. They believe that science or religion either of the one must be wrong or deny the fact that these two entities can ever reconcile with each other. If science is unable to find any natural mechanism for any particular event or phenomena then many people believe that behind the cause of the event is some supernatural force and that is God. But after few years when scientist discovers a natural mechanism which clarify the event, then the existence of god becomes questionable. (Stewart, 107-110) Difference between Science and Religion Religious belief was a hindrance to the progress of science during the Galileo’s period of time. A heated disparity aroused regarding the understandings of some of the verses in the Bible especially from lyrical sections of the Psalms. If it was imagined that these scriptures should be read as science rather than poetry then it could have be easily interpreted that Earth was centrally located in the universe. Galileo agreed with the theories of Copernicus that this ideology was

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Madonna and Child by Duccio di Buoninsegna Essay

Madonna and Child by Duccio di Buoninsegna - Essay Example The rough parts of the background also prove the painting’s current condition. The painting shows the picture of the Virgin holding her child (Christ). The virgin is adorned in black clothing while the child has brighter clothing. The Virgin's face and the inner parts of the clothing are also bright. The edges of the clothing also contrast sharply with the outer black part since they have been painted with a golden thin line. All these parts of the virgin and the child have been set on a golden background, which is somehow rough. The roughness in the background is slightly because of the rough patterns especially the ones on the ends of the painting just beneath the frame. On the virgin’s head is a halo. The virgin seems to be in a seated posture and the child is on her lap. She is also keenly looking at her child whose gaze is also directed towards the mother. The child’s hand also seems extended towards the mother’s veil as it pushes this part of her clothing probably with an aim of getting a better glimpse. One of the notable elements of the painting is the gaze between the mother and the child, which is mostly used to represent the future of a child, which would be full of pain and tribulations. The same future is also depicted by the luminous parts of the Virgin's garments. As seen earlier, the outer part of the mother’s garment is somehow dull. However, the inner parts of her garments are luminous, which is also used to represent the discussed element of the child’s future. The halo on the Virgin's head is probably used to depict her holiness. In addition, the mother ways of holding the child also depict the child’s humanism though she is of a godly descent. The painting is among the artworks in the Byzantine period, which were mainly influenced by biblical stories.  

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Needs of the End-User Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Needs of the End-User - Essay Example Despite the fact that most of the competencies required in IT environments are similar, they vary in a number of ways, albeit marginally. There are therefore, certain definitions and key behaviours and skills associated with each competency, for clarity purposes (Salvendy & Smith, 2009). The behaviors in this regard are the unique and observable actions by which one demonstrates his/her competency. Although there is a variety of models for IT technical competency, there is a general consensus on the stages that one need to follow while evaluating the necessary competency for a given IT management environment or position. First, it is important that an individual identifies the technical competencies applicable for the various IT management functions such as data management, emerging technology, information security, information technology service operations and network and telecommunications technology competencies. The IT management competencies one should have include dependability , ethics, motivation, professionalism, time management, technical skills, teamwork and adaptability (Salvendy & Smith, 2009). ... Just like any other developers, IT developers’ objective is often to produce the best and most applicable technologies and gadgets. They have consequently created rather sophisticated technologies that require a lot of technical knowledge to understand, operate and maintain. It is at this juncture that the end-user-developer knowledge problems begin. That is, while developers are focused on developing the most sophisticated technologies, end-users want technologies that are easy to operate and make their lives easier. However, appropriately or extremely technically knowledgeable audiences are well placed to handle complex information technologies. Developers thus require building IT technologies and systems that help end-users to solve real life/situational problems rather than being just sophisticated and fashionable. In other words, Information Technologies should not only do things that the developers are interested in but should also avoid any unnecessary appliances or opt ions that do not serve the interest of end-users (Watson, 2005). User-testing is one of the approaches used by developers to assess the usefulness of technologies, more so among persons not involved in IT technology projects. These people are then exposed to the gadget in question and their response to the serviceability and the goal-oriented nature of the gadget assessed. Importantly, there is need to promote effective communication between IT developers and end-users as this practice would help bridge the knowledge gap between them. By extension, end-users would be better placed to use IT and other technologies maximally if they are trained or educated on the said technology (Watson, 2005). There are several ways in which an IT

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Brazil and India business environment comparison Essay Example for Free

Brazil and India business environment comparison Essay The United States and Brazil entered into a common agreement targeting to improve democracy in the Western Hemisphere and to bring an accelerated growth in regional trade and development so that the governments of the region can ensure its citizens better scope for greater prosperity. (Common Goals and Challenges in Brazil-US’s Agenda) The prospects for conducting business in Brazil are tremendous in view of its 150 million possible consumers, a hugely diversified economy and a gross domestic product worth of US7 billion. However, till the nation attains improved market and economic reforms, majority of the opportunities for US companies are prone to hover around particular sectors and projects. (Jennings, 14) The closed markets and heavy government interventions marked the economic development of Brazil during the last thirty years. During the 1960s and 1970s, such policies of import substitution and huge levels of international debt generated accelerated growth and industrialization however, giving rise to long term problems like long term economic difficulties, inclusive of high inflation, foreign debt difficulties and non-competitive industries. During the year 1990 the Government of Brazil initiated remarkable market liberalization measures including reduction of trade and investment barriers, declining import duties over 100% to a high of 35% inclusive of an average of 14%. Market liberalization also incorporated several tax and regulatory variations that have been of advantage to the foreign investors. The reduction of taxes on profit remittances and simplification of procedures and withdrawal of some of the disincentives to reinvest the profits have provided increasing scope for business activities in Brazil. As a result, the trend of the reaction of US companies was seen to be remarkable. (Jennings, 14) US companies exported goods of worth $6 billion enabling Brazil to be among the top 20 export markets of the world. The United States tends to maintain the position of being the single country supplier to Brazil constituting about one-third of the total of the Brazilian imports. The telecommunication and informatics market of Brazil extends fabulous prospective for US business, for the equipment manufacturers as well as for the service providers. The Telecommunication sector provides a market worth of $3 billion in Brazil. The US companies have presently extended limited involvement in the telecommunication sector and are exploiting the benefits of extending private networks as well as equipments. The energy sector in Brazil also entails good prospects for US technology as well as equipment. The current agreements and subsequent legislations at higher government levels and the private sectors assures for future prospects. The US equipment manufacturers are encouraged to actually take benefit of the opportunities that already prevail and are prone to expand with regard to the internal demand that promotes the expansion of this sector. (Jennings, 15) The Indian markets along with its over one billion population, provides profitable as well as diverse opportunities for US exporters with the right kind of products, services as well as commitment. Such opportunities are accelerated with the depreciation of dollar in the recent years in relation to its competitive currencies. The infrastructure, high-tech, energy, health care, environmental, transportation as well as defense sector are prone to surpass the tens of billions of dollars mark in the mid-term as the Indian economy tend to globalize as well as emerge stronger. In the year 2005, the total bilateral trade was $26. 77 billion. The US exports to India in 2005 was enhanced to $7. 96 billion, which was a 30. 3 percent growth in comparison to the previous year. (India – Market of the month) The potentiality of India for US companies is promising since India is the second largest small car market of the world; India is one among the three countries that manufactures its own supercomputers; India is the one among the six nations that is able to launch its own satellites and; India is having the second biggest group of software developers immediately after the US. The Indo-US relation is presently growing through a remarkable transition. The two nations which were having a gap between them in political and economic terms during the latter part of the 20th century, presently consider their national goals converging on several areas. (India – Market of the month) Indian tariffs have been decreased considerably since the early part of the 1990s. Irrespective of the fact that the tariff and poor infrastructure entails remarkable challenges for foreign investment and development, the infrastructure needs in India also entail trade and investment facilities for US companies. The best prospects for US firms and US exports on the basis of estimated Indian imports from the US has been earmarked to be â€Å"Airport Ground Handling, Computer and Peripherals, Education Services, Electrical Power Generation, Transmission Distribution Equipment, Food Processing Cold Storage Equipment, Oil Gas Field Machinery, Pollution Control Equipment, Safety and security equipment, Telecommunication equipment, Textile Machinery, water etc†. (India – Market of the month) Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State for United States and Celso Amorim, Brazilian Foreign Minister in their meeting on 26th April, 2005 in Brazil had a discussion in relation to the common agenda of the two nations as well as that of the unique challenges which were confronting the entire hemisphere. (Common Goals and Challenges in Brazil-US’s Agenda) Brazil as well as Argentina poses certain particular business challenges to be confronted by the US firms. For example, legal provisions with regard to importing technology materials require payment of duties, tariffs and a value added tax VAT which is as much as 22 percent of the total cost in Brazil. The business is even more complex in Brazil due to the variation of importation laws from one province to another. The fluctuating currency exchange rates as well as local economic issues pose grave challenges for conducting business. (Business Spotlight: Arrow South America) Franklin L. Lavin, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi on May 1st, 2006 remarked that the Indo-US relationship have improved on many fields and have great prospects in the sphere of trade. However, US face remarkable challenges as well. Irrespective of the fact that India has exhibited good trade statistics and the progress in the sphere of economic reforms and are opening markets during the last one and half decade there still need to be improvement in several spheres in order to reflect India’s important part in the world economy. The economic philosophies of Fabian socialism as well as third world nationalism are holding India hostage for many years. As a result of this it has been pointed out that even with 30 percent growth in US exports to India during the last year, India could constitute only 1 percent of all exports of US. The economic reforms in India is in relation to world reforms as a result of this the momentum of India is not impressive in the context of the competition for global attention. (Remarks by Franklin L. Lavin Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi) The annual US exports of $8 billion dollar is what the US ships to Canada within two weeks. In terms of the US foreign direct investment in India the cumulative figure is only $6. 2 billion at the end of 2004, US being the largest investor while the US FDI in Singapore remains amounts to be $56. 9 billion. Irrespective of the fact that tariff for non-agricultural products have significantly reduced, it still remains at 40% in case of agricultural products. The vibrant IPR regime is considered critical to the enhancement of a creative, technologically advanced economy. Irrespective of the fact that India has opened up a silver of its retail sector to foreign investment, presently, the sector is still considered to be closed to most of the American retailers. US companies required to obviate the aggressive competition exerted by the companies from Europe, Canada, Korea and Japan by knowing how to adapt their products as well as facilitate their activities in order to take advantage of the huge potential in India. (Remarks by Franklin L. Lavin Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi) The trading companies are generally prone to four types of risk such as strategic risk, operational risks, internal financial risks and compliance risks. (Sadgrove, 83) The trading risks in Brazil are considered substantially greater in comparison to the developed nations. The political risks like dismissal or appointment of a key government minister can exert influence on the value of the share of the company to have fluctuations. The purchase of shares of Brazilian companies is subject to increasing risks of fluctuations in the exchange rates that may exert considerable losses. Exchange rates also have a tremendous impact on the profitability. Inflationary trends also influence much on the profitability by making the services of the company more expensive. (Sands, 27) For US Government, for over several years Brazil has been a bastion of anti communism while the other states of South America seem to be leaning towards communistic. Moreover, the US companies in Brazil never desire to take the risk by means of their operations being disrupted by that of the shipping turmoil. (Fitzgerald, 20) The US companies engaged in outsourcing of their software development to India are prone to be hurt by the industrial espionage and poor intellectual property safeguards. However, India is seen to have a far outstanding cultural and legal climate for IP protection than many other nations offering offshore coding. (Pedraja; Toman, 164) References Business Spotlight: Arrow South America. Retrieved from http://www. arrow. com/media_center/news/BusinessSpotlightArrowSouthAmerica. htm Accessed 11 December, 2006 Common Goals and Challenges in Brazil-US’s Agenda. 27 April, 2005. Retrieved from http://www. brazzilmag. com/content/view/2207/ Accessed 10 December, 2006 Fitzgerald, Michael. Intellectual property protection. CIO Magazine. 15 November, 2003. pp: 18-21 India – Market of the month. US Commercial Service India. Retrieved from http://www. buyusa. gov/india/en/motm. html? print=1 Accessed 10 December, 2006 Jennings, Horace. Brazil: slowly emerging giant offers enormous potential. Business America. March, 1994. Vol: 115; No: 3; pp: 14-16. Pedraja, Rene de La; Toman, Rene De La Pedraja. Latin American Merchant Shipping in the Age of Global Competition. Greenwood Press. 1999. Remarks by Franklin L. Lavin Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi. 1 May, 2006. Retrieved from http://www. ita. doc. gov/press/speeches/lavin_050106. asp Accessed 11 December, 2006 Sadgrove, Kit. The Complete Guide to Business Risk Management. Gower Publishing, Ltd. 2005. Sands, Gary. The Risks and Rewards of Investing in Brazil. Brazzil Magazine. 23 March, 2005. pp: 27-30

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Personality Theories Essay Example for Free

Personality Theories Essay This paper will compare the Psychodynamic Theory and the Humanistic Theory. A description of each theory and its leading theorist will help in pointing out both their differences and similarities. Psychodynamic Theory, developed by Sigmund Freud in the 1900s, believes that most human behavior stems from their unconscious. That personality comes from beliefs, memories, feelings, and instincts of which the individual is not aware of (Feldman, 2010). According, to Freud the personality is made up of three major components; the Id, Ego, and Superego. The Id is the raw inborn part with sole purpose is to reduce tension caused by aggression and irrational impulse, operating according to the pleasure principle (Feldman, 2010). Ego acting as a buffer between the Id and the outside world, the Ego is developed soon after birth and strives to balance the desires of the Id. The Ego operates according to the reality principle, making decisions permitting problem solving at a higher level than the Id is capable of (Feldman, 2010). While the Superego is part of the conscience representing right from wrong in society, thus being handed down by one’s parents, and teachers, the Superego keeps one from improper behavior by causing one to feel guilty. Freud suggest that personality development has several distinct stages; Oral (birth – 18 months), Anal (18 months – 3 years), Phallic (3-6 years), Latency (6 years to adolescence), and Genital (adolescence to adulthood) (Feldman, 2010). Another huge part of Freud’s theory is the defense mechanisms which include: Repression, Regression, Displacement, Rationalization, Denial, Projection, Sublimation, and Reaction formation. These defense mechanisms are used to cope with life’s anxieties. Humanistic Theory believes that it is at the conscience level that all people have the drive and tendency to move forward. Both Maslow and Rogers is theorist that believe in the Humanistic Theory, believing that we all have a basic need of self- fulfillment to reach our highest potential in our own unique ways. This Theory suggest that people see and judge themselves through the eyes of others causing one to become preoccupied with what others think. This is why unconditional positive regard from family and friends is so important to how one feels about themselves. The acceptance one gets from others has a direct effect on both emotional and cognitive development. Maslow believes a person grows in stages based on needs: beginning with physical needs such as food, and sexual needs, than safety needs, a secure safe place to live or an organized life, on to a sense of belonging, where one feels connected or loved. Maslow believes these needs have to be met in order to have self-esteem which drives one to be all they can be (Feldman, 2010). The Humanistic Theory suggests that personality is more about one’s unique self and freedom of choice. In comparing the Psychodynamic Theory and the Humanistic Theory, the most noticeable difference is that the Psychodynamic believes that the determinants of personality are of the unconscious, while the Humanistic believes more of the opposite in that personality determinants are of the conscious. The Humanistic suggest that it is the interaction of both nature and the environment that set the path for personality, while the Psychodynamic believes that personality is more inherited that nurture factors. These two theories are opposite in their believes of free will, Humanistic stresses the freedom of individual choices, and Psychodynamic stress the view that behavior is directed by factors outside of one’s self (Feldman, 2010). Psychodynamic suggest that a person’s personality keeps the same characteristics throughout a person’s life. On the other hand Humanistic believes that personality characteristics remain flexible and resilient throughout one’s life. Assessing personality can be done in many different ways. There is psychological test that are used to help people understand more about themselves. Psychological test are based on norms which are created by giving the same test to a large number of people and comparing their answers. Self-Report measures personalities by asking a person to explain a sample of their behavior, these reports are than used to look for particular characteristics. Projective testing is done by showing an ambiguous stimulus and asking that the person tell a story about the stimulus. The responses are considered to be projections of one’s personality. These are just a few of the ways personality can be assessed. While the Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories are different in their beliefs they both hold valid aspects at evaluating human personalities. Just as there is no one way to test personality there is no one theory. Reference (Feldman, 2010) Feldman, R. S. (2010). Psychology and your life. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Understanding Child Development through Observation

Understanding Child Development through Observation Introduction: Background For observing and evaluating the child development, an online site is accessed where a nursery video is available and in the video the child that I chose to observe is a four year old girl that I will refer to as Amani. She is highly intelligent and confident child; not only has this she had extraordinary skills to socially move around independently. I observe Amani in the school classroom; play area and garden area where she has been involved in different activity. This observation has been conducted between 9.23am until 11.09am of all her activities. The objective of this observation is to make the progressive note of the childs physical, intellectual, emotional, linguistic and social development. In the next section there is description of observation and followed by the evaluation and childs profile. Observation Description Amani stands near to table on which there are name tags of students, she leans to pick her names tag with a little hesitance and picks the tag and pastes it on the name board. During the time she has smile on her face and looks pleased with this activity. Later on she is in her classroom sitting on floor along with her all classmates, she is smiling and has her eyes on her teacher, and paying attention to what teacher is saying intently. She is constantly smiling and moving her body in swinging way. Now, teacher is singing a poem Mary and Amani is singing along with the teacher and continuously smiling with pleasure. Teacher is reading the students story about growing flower plants, teacher speaks of flower planting, that there are some seeds and Maule! You will plant them and they will grow into a beautifulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦flower Amani says flower with the teacher. Teacher says Maule! What do you think that seeds are going to needà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ soilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Amani cheerfully speaks waterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ waterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ making herself to be heard. Teacher says that you can go and play and Amani raises her hand cheerfully turns back and forth to her classmates and she walks around touching the different objects, she is in painting area and takes out a color out of jar and write her name with write hand, she put down green color and picks another marker. She gets up and walks to garden yard, wears her apron ties the laces and ribbons. She is standing by a large soil pot from where other children are getting the soil; she has a soil pot and tries to get the soil from one of a child standing closely. Second boy standing next to her has two scoops she tries to snatch the one because other boy is not letting her have the soil scoop. She snatches a scoop off the boy and cheerfully put some soil into the pot and says put some soil and it will make soil she picks a scoop and presses the soil inside the pot and says I am gonna show my soil and sits next to her teacher, she tries to take wax dough and laughs when her teacher refuses to g ive her the wax dough, teacher parts the dough and gives her half of the dough she smells it pleasingly and kneads it with her hand. Teacher says to her how does it feel? she says good. Teacher says how does it feel like? she says soft and cheerfully shifts the dough from hand to another. She says where is the stick to put it? and leaned forward to get the one and crushes an object on the table, the teacher exclaimed Oops! due sudden movement of Amani, she says she needs sticks and she hold the stick plate and put that near to her and picks the sticks one by one and put them in dough. Teacher says you could sing a song? she says yes and walks to the garden accompanied her teacher after finishing the wax dough, she puts the dough near to flower pots and waters the plants with the help of water shower. Now she is sitting in the garden party table and holding a spoon with plate and pretending to be eating with them. She gets up and leans forward to get another spoon and uses the spoon for picking sugar from the pot and pours into a tea cup and picks another pot, a milk pot and pour it into tea cup to make tea. She again pretends to be eating and her teacher says can you please make me a cup of tea, Maule!? she says with a smile yes, and puts sugar in the cup pleasingly, teacher says again what are you putting? she says with a smile I am putting sugar, and pretends to add more sugar into cup with spoon. She is on the garden party table and eating with spoon and drinking and says I have made it and get off the chair. Now she is in the class and standing next to her teacher who is sitting and singing a poem to children sitting on the floor. She sings the poem Mary with her teacher and classmates. According to Sheila Riddall-Leech (2005), observation is the most effective way to understand about the childs development stages, and its aim is to gather observation base information about a childs progress. Riddall-Leech (2005) further expresses that a single observation is not enough to determine whether or not a child is progressing and improving the developmental skills. Any observation should provide the data necessary to enable a professional to make balanced and informed decisions, such as the planning of specific activities to meet childrens needs, or whether to seek professional help. According to OHagan (2001), it is vital that parents are involved in the childs day to day activities in the school setting. In addition, the parents permission for observing child development is also important in the same regard. Evaluation Physical Development In physical development, Amani is observed for Development of Gross Motor Skills as well as Development of Fine Manipulative Skills (DeRobertis, 2008). Physically Amani is observed and found to be healthy and normal child since she continues to show physical activeness and physical involvement in every activity that a child of four year old is supposed to do such as walking, running, bending, carrying objects, and rolling. During observation, she is found to be physically comfortable of her environment like roaming around without any physical unbalance. She has shown almost all characteristics of Development of Gross Motor Skills. However, she has good physical balance yet at one point she shows lack of balance and co-ordination and control of body like leaning against the table and crushing other objects on the table. Another level of physical development observed is Development of Fine Manipulative Skills (DeRobertis, 2008). Just like every normal child of four year old Amani is ob served to able to using equipment, holding and gripping and drawing, writing and building. She is observed to feel, pouring, filling, touching and exploring dough and building another new object with it. She is observed to using objects like scoop and plant shower very efficiently and using spoon, dressing and using laces and ribbons. Intellectual Development Amani is intellectually observed remarkable as she shows intellect of mind and especially of knowledge and understanding. Both in classroom and play area she is observed as attentive, concentrated, understanding and learning child. The attention and concentration level is highly related to her responsive attitude. She shows some imagining and creativity too, working with wax dough and making cake and pudding of it. She is observed to have knowledge such as answering the teachers questions with her knowledge and writing her own name. The most important intellectuality observed in the Amani is her problem solving tendency such as wearing apron and tying the apron laces herself that shows her intense ability to show problem solving attitude. The sensing and concept formation of Amani is observed in play area where she makes pudding with wax dough, where she is asked about the wax and she responds correctly of the question that wax is soft and it shows great understanding and conceptuali zation of the girl. She seems to show good memory like sugar is added in tea and how to use the eating objects. Her understanding and recognition of objects and colors is extraordinary; she seems to differentiate between a light shade of green and vice versa. Since children learn language and other things by asking questions such as what, where, why, there has been lack of asking questions by Amani, and she intends to respond to the questions rather. Emotional Development Emotionally Amani is observed to be independent as she is able to walk around freely without any hesitation. Moreover, there is no hesitation or difficulty in her expression. She is expressive and good at expressing herself. However, she shows little lack of control over her emotions like when she is in her play area to plant a seed in soil she snatched the scoop from her classmate who refuses to hand her that scoop, though there is not any intense situation yet she looks little out of control of her emotions. Besides, she shows a good emotional balance towards her classmates, she seems to show warm towards her classmate. Facial expression is observed as maturely because she intends to smile all the time whenever she is amused to show her pleasure. She continues to responds the teacher apparently pleasantly and in expressive way. She seems to show good interaction with others but little direct eye contact is observed. The overall body movement and body posture is simply frequently wi thout any hesitancy and normally active and responsive. Tone of voice and play attitude is observed as interactive and sociable involvement. There is such as no sudden change in behavior or language tone. Linguistic Development Amani is observed to have language skills of the level of four year old child. She seems to express herself rather using language. In addition, she is observed to use short sentences and no difficulties and hesitation in speaking. Since language development of child depends on its cognitive skills and Amanis cognitive skills is observed as functioning and efficient, her language fluency and efficiency is improved and better than other children in the classroom. The selection of words and fluency in the speaking is extraordinary good with correct use of tense. Social Development However, Amani is observed as an active, balanced and interactive child yet it has been observed that she has very little double-sided interaction with her classmates. She is observed to interact with her teacher but little is observed her interaction with her classmates. She seems to look warmly and positively but she does not show a productive and cooperative interaction; for example, at one point, she rather snatches the scoop from her classmate rather than making a polite request she seems to behave a little intense. Since, a child of 3 or 4 year is capable of waiting of his/her turn and in normal situation can share and cooperate with fellows (Kail, 2007) therefore it was a little surprising aspect of her because she seems to behave normally so far in other development. In addition, social roles and social behavior like learning appropriately and respond to other is observed normally. However, she seems to enjoy being in classroom with other classmates and enjoy the social appea rance. In regard to other social skills like dressing and moving around without any help and doing different activities she is observed doing them independently. She seems to show a parallel social playing behavior like playing alongside but not with another child, not very much interacting and talking to other children in her different activities. She has been observed as cooperative and with high self-esteem- valuing herself as a person and confident. She rather seems to appear a self-reliance person in social development point of view. Child Profile I observed the child thoroughly and assessed her physically, intellectually, emotionally, linguistically, and socially. The overall development of Amani is observed to be normal and healthy. She has shown normal tendency in all level of development including physical, intellectual, emotional, linguistic and social. However, physical development means doing movement either gross or large movement of limbs or fine manipulative movement of fingers (Grych Fincham, 2001). Amani is found to have large movement of her body and her finger by using pencils and writing. Because physical development mainly depends on the body growth and nervous system that sends message from the brain to body it demonstrates the muscles to motivate them to move. There is great relevance of physical development with intellectual development, because if a child physically not fit or shows problems like little movement, hesitation, and inactive, all these symptoms show inefficient intellectual development of chil d. Amani has been observed as physically active and responsive her intellectual and mental capacity can be assessed as normal and frequent. The intellectual development of Amani is found to be mentally active and interactive along with reasoning mind. She seems to understand the environment, the teachings taught in the classroom and questions asked; she seems to answer them intellectually. She is very attentive and concentrated girl along with ability to respond the external environment. She has good imagining, creative ability and problem solving attitude. Moreover, she possesses an ability to utilize conceptualization of her reality and creativity. Emotionally she is a well balanced child with independent attitude; she has got normal body posture, eye contact, language tone and unchanged behavior. Moreover, her body language and facial expressions are even and warm towards other mates. In linguistic development I observed that she has ability to use language to express her and the re is fluency in the way of her language. Socially she is active, balanced and inter-active child, she is warmly and positive towards interacting towards her mates. She has good learning skills as a social roles and social behavior like learning in a group appropriately. She is socially independent and warm and communicative and responsive. She is expressive, social, cooperative and sharing the things. She has got remarkable cognitive skills and memory power. Different social activities like eating, moving in group and responding; these are those abilities which are extraordinary brought on in her. Common child features of asking questions about the things that they do not know or do not understand, in Amanis case it are bit different in the way that she does not asking question but answering the question rather. Another thing that is important to conclude is her overpowering and strong and intense feeling about her movement. She is intelligent, cooperative, talkative, communicative , and furthermore, creative and imaginative with good self confidence. According to Gambrell (1994) the child who is motivated to learn has many reasons to read and it also includes knowledge gaining, on the other hand Amani is not observed for reading, which can prove her learning motivation. Nevertheless, she is motivated to learning and learning in group which is undermining part of her development.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Joy of Bach Essay -- Biography Composers Music Essays

The Joy of Bach The Baroque period was filled with the new idea that every issue had two sides. Great thinkers and masterminds left behind the idea that the world was either god- influenced or science-influenced. Most people embraced this notion, with the exception of a few. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of these few people. Bach, although the greatest composer of the Baroque period, led a life based on tradition and past influence, which left him virtually ignored for many years after his death. Bach was born in 1685 in Germany amongst the turmoil of national reconstruction. He lived a quiet life with little musical influence, until the death of his parents at age ten. After their death, Bach’s older brother, who taught the very young Bach to play clavichord and harpsichord, raised Bach. Now, his life had the musical influence that is associated with Bach’s greatness. At the age of eighteen, he joined an orchestra where he learned to play the violin and organ. During this time the musical genius of Bach began to emerge (Jackson 15). Although Bach’s name is widely recognized today, his contemporaries held little respect for his creative works (Herz 1). Only his skills as an organist were highly recognized and praised by those who knew of him. Many organ builders would not allow anyone but Bach to approve their creations. The composer’s works remained unpublished and unrecognized until many years after his death. One explanation for Bach’s lack of recognition is his modesty over the works he created. He did not consider himself a genius. Bach merely sought to be industrious and diligent in his work. Most of his works are signed, â€Å"I did what I could† (Herz 2)... ... The last five years of Bach’s life made up the fifth period of his work. He wrote in a style unique to himself during the Baroque period that became known as the Bach style. He would create a line of melody and establish it in a song. Then, he would create variations of the melody to make up the rest of the piece. The longest composition contains eighteen variations, each distinct, but dependent upon one line of melody. The composers that followed Bach attempted to recreate his works, but none have reached his level of perfection (Jackson 16). Though born in a turmoil-ridden Germany and ignored during his life and nearly 80 years after his death, Bach was the greatest and most influential composer from the Baroque period. His music has come to life and will likely never die. Johann Sebastian Bach will remain in the top of his class of composers. The Joy of Bach Essay -- Biography Composers Music Essays The Joy of Bach The Baroque period was filled with the new idea that every issue had two sides. Great thinkers and masterminds left behind the idea that the world was either god- influenced or science-influenced. Most people embraced this notion, with the exception of a few. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of these few people. Bach, although the greatest composer of the Baroque period, led a life based on tradition and past influence, which left him virtually ignored for many years after his death. Bach was born in 1685 in Germany amongst the turmoil of national reconstruction. He lived a quiet life with little musical influence, until the death of his parents at age ten. After their death, Bach’s older brother, who taught the very young Bach to play clavichord and harpsichord, raised Bach. Now, his life had the musical influence that is associated with Bach’s greatness. At the age of eighteen, he joined an orchestra where he learned to play the violin and organ. During this time the musical genius of Bach began to emerge (Jackson 15). Although Bach’s name is widely recognized today, his contemporaries held little respect for his creative works (Herz 1). Only his skills as an organist were highly recognized and praised by those who knew of him. Many organ builders would not allow anyone but Bach to approve their creations. The composer’s works remained unpublished and unrecognized until many years after his death. One explanation for Bach’s lack of recognition is his modesty over the works he created. He did not consider himself a genius. Bach merely sought to be industrious and diligent in his work. Most of his works are signed, â€Å"I did what I could† (Herz 2)... ... The last five years of Bach’s life made up the fifth period of his work. He wrote in a style unique to himself during the Baroque period that became known as the Bach style. He would create a line of melody and establish it in a song. Then, he would create variations of the melody to make up the rest of the piece. The longest composition contains eighteen variations, each distinct, but dependent upon one line of melody. The composers that followed Bach attempted to recreate his works, but none have reached his level of perfection (Jackson 16). Though born in a turmoil-ridden Germany and ignored during his life and nearly 80 years after his death, Bach was the greatest and most influential composer from the Baroque period. His music has come to life and will likely never die. Johann Sebastian Bach will remain in the top of his class of composers.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Creating a Personal Electronic Home Room Security System Robot with Leg

Personal Electronic Home Room Security System-Bot Question: Is it possible to create a personal electronic home room security system with Lego’s Mindstorm kit? Hypothesis: If I use the Lego’s Mindstorm kit, I hypothesize that any type of security system is possible with legos because the freedom of using as many RCX blocks as possible allows room for larger and more complex robots, though the program NQC does have some limits to it. Background Research: Ever since the beginning of civilization, people had been searching ways to secure their own privacy from intruders. First, it was fire, the most basic form of security that scared unwary animals away, along with dangerously exposing one’s â€Å"clandestine† hideout to curious nature. Next came the actual fortification of structures and barricades, which provided temporary protection from unarmed thieves. Finally, after centuries of failed attempts of searching a flawless security system, the world entered the Information Age, where home security was given a complete renovation in safety and style. A typical home security system consists of an alarm system that sounds after an unwanted break-in. Motion sensors around the house may also trigger such an alarm, just in case if the burglar is already hiding out in the house after security is set. Paranoid housekeepers may also take the extra step of installing timed light systems, just to inform burglars that there is still life and activity within the house. However, the price is horrendously expensive. Nevertheless, one security system for the house is enough for the whole family†¦ unless, those pesky teenagers want one too. Subsequently, installation of nested alarm systems and motion sensors is rather inconvenie... ... further studies, future creators can remedy this problem by developing new ways for two RCX to communicate with each other, such as touch sensors that are attached to both RCX’s, or the usage of laser communication. One other problem is the exposure of the RCX blocks that can allow intruders to simply turn off the blocks to shut off the alarm system. This can be fixed by developing automatic enclosing boxes that lock over the open RCX’s when password is set. The idea of multiplexing sensors without the usage of extra hand-created pieces is another important research that can allow more convenient robots and even a numeric pad controlled security system. With these studies, paranoid room securers may someday finally find peace in the security they have. References: Baum, David. Definitive Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS: Second Edition. New York, Apress 2003

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Culture and Values Terms :: essays research papers

High and Popular Culture High culture is a term referring to the "best of breed" (from some elitist viewpoints) cultural products. What falls in this category is defined by the most powerful sections of society, i.e. its social, political, economic and intellectual elite. The opposite of high cultural art forms, such as the opera, historic art, classical music, traditional theatre or literature; popular culture includes many forms of cultural communication including newspapers, television, advertising, comics, pop music, radio, cheap novels, movies, jazz, etc. In the beginning of the 20th Century, "high art" was the realm of the wealthy and educated classes while popular culture or "low art" was considered commercial entertainment for the lower classes. In the 1950s and 60s the gap between high and low art closed with the rise of Pop Art. Post colonialism This term describes the situation in existence since a majority of countries have achieved their political independence from Britain and other Western European powers such as Spain, France, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Post colonialism describes the cultural, intellectual, political, and literary movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries characterized by the representation and analysis of the historical experiences of the victims, individuals and nations, of colonial power. A recent site of postcolonial change in the English-speaking world is the formal overthrowing of the "apartheid" system in South Africa. Post colonialism has transformed our sense of what we are about; and such impressive changes will naturally have important implications on English studies. Multiculturalism Similar to Post colonialism, multiculturalism has transformed our sense of what society and culture is about. Multiculturalism describes the status of several different ethnic, racial, religious or cultural groups co-existing in harmony in the same society. The existence of multiculturalism in the Western World today has expanded the English literary world, displacing the narrow notions of literature and increasing recognition of non-Western-European genres of writing, oral performance and cultural production for example legends, histories, laws, fables, anecdotes, oratory, song, chant, and song and dance. Culture itself is a broad term, therefore there are various views on what multicultural can mean. It can describe the existence of a multiracial society, in which case emphasis is placed on people's physical attributes i.e. Hair texture and skin colour. It can also describe the existence of multiethnic society, where the emphasis is placed more on people's social organisation or cu lture rather than physical make-up. Cultural differences of all kinds that exist in society can also describe the term multiculturalism, including differences of class, rank, caste, sexuality, gender, occupation, region, age etc. Culture and Values Terms :: essays research papers High and Popular Culture High culture is a term referring to the "best of breed" (from some elitist viewpoints) cultural products. What falls in this category is defined by the most powerful sections of society, i.e. its social, political, economic and intellectual elite. The opposite of high cultural art forms, such as the opera, historic art, classical music, traditional theatre or literature; popular culture includes many forms of cultural communication including newspapers, television, advertising, comics, pop music, radio, cheap novels, movies, jazz, etc. In the beginning of the 20th Century, "high art" was the realm of the wealthy and educated classes while popular culture or "low art" was considered commercial entertainment for the lower classes. In the 1950s and 60s the gap between high and low art closed with the rise of Pop Art. Post colonialism This term describes the situation in existence since a majority of countries have achieved their political independence from Britain and other Western European powers such as Spain, France, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Post colonialism describes the cultural, intellectual, political, and literary movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries characterized by the representation and analysis of the historical experiences of the victims, individuals and nations, of colonial power. A recent site of postcolonial change in the English-speaking world is the formal overthrowing of the "apartheid" system in South Africa. Post colonialism has transformed our sense of what we are about; and such impressive changes will naturally have important implications on English studies. Multiculturalism Similar to Post colonialism, multiculturalism has transformed our sense of what society and culture is about. Multiculturalism describes the status of several different ethnic, racial, religious or cultural groups co-existing in harmony in the same society. The existence of multiculturalism in the Western World today has expanded the English literary world, displacing the narrow notions of literature and increasing recognition of non-Western-European genres of writing, oral performance and cultural production for example legends, histories, laws, fables, anecdotes, oratory, song, chant, and song and dance. Culture itself is a broad term, therefore there are various views on what multicultural can mean. It can describe the existence of a multiracial society, in which case emphasis is placed on people's physical attributes i.e. Hair texture and skin colour. It can also describe the existence of multiethnic society, where the emphasis is placed more on people's social organisation or cu lture rather than physical make-up. Cultural differences of all kinds that exist in society can also describe the term multiculturalism, including differences of class, rank, caste, sexuality, gender, occupation, region, age etc.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Fifth Amendment Essay

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides, â€Å"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. The Fifth Amendment also refers to the practice of invoking the right to remain silent rather than incriminating oneself. It protects guilty as well as innocent persons who find themselves in incriminating circumstances. This right has important implications for police interrogations, a method that police use to obtain evidence in the form of confessions from suspects. The clauses incorporated within the Fifth Amendment outline b asic constitutional limits on police procedure. The Fifth Amendment is important mainly because it protects us from having our rights abused by the government. It protects us from having the government take our freedom or our property without convicting us of a crime. It also makes it harder for the government to actually convict us of crimes. By doing these things, it helps to protect us from a tyrannical government. The framers of the Fifth Amendment intended that its provisions would apply only to the actions of the federal government. However, after the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, most of the Fifth Amendment’s protections were made applicable to the states. Under the incorporation doctrine, most of the liberties set forth in the Bill of Rights were made applicable to the state governments through The U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Due Process and equal protection clauses of the fourteenth Amendment. As a result, all states must provide protection against double  jeopardy, self-incrimination, deprivation of due process, and government taking of private property without just compensations. The grand jury clause of the Fifth Amendment has not been made applicable to states governments. In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking ruling in the case of Miranda v. State of Arizona. That ruling found that the Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights of Ernesto Arturo Miranda had been violated after he was  arrested and tried for rape and kidnapping. The Fifth Amendment protects an arrested person from being compelled to be â€Å"a witness against himself,† or self-incrimination. Miranda signed a confession after hours of interrogation by the Phoenix Police Department. At no point was he informed of his right to remain silent or his right to an attorney. In Texas, the Court upheld the conviction of Genovevo Salinas, who was found guilty of homicide after prosecutors argued that Salinas’ silence during a police interview prior to his arrest was a very important piece of evidence and that only a guilty person would have remained silent when questioned about his connection to a crime. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion that Salinas â€Å"was required to assert the privilege in order to benefit from it,† even though a person questioned while under arrest could not have his silence used against him. The Rutherford Institute filed an amicus curiae brief in the case, arguing that a person’s refusal to answer police questions, even before arrest and before Miranda warnings are given, does not indicate guilt in light of the well-known â€Å"right to remain silent,† and exclusion of evidence of silence is in keeping with the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. Sources: www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fifth_amendment www.enotes.com/fifth_amendment https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/on_the_front_lines/us_supreme_court_delivers_blow_to_fifth_amendment_right_to_remain_silent_

Friday, August 16, 2019

Respect Atticus Essay

â€Å"It is far better to be trusted and respected that is to be liked.† In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is told from a child’s point of view, a girl name Jean Louise Finch that goes by the nickname Scout. Atticus Finch, her father, is the lawyer defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of a crime. This story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama around the 1930’s. Atticus Finch does not care about age, appearance, or even skin color. He is not afraid to be himself and he is the same inside the house as he is on the streets. As the story progresses, Atticus presents himself as kind, wise, and calm. All the qualities which make him an admirable and respected leader throughout Maycomb. First, Atticus proves that he is one of the kindest men in Maycomb. He does not yell or swear and he treats everyone how he wants to be treated. One day, when Scout comes home from school, she tells Atticus that her teacher Miss Caroline does not want her father to teach her how to read anymore. Scout loves to read with Atticus and does not want to stop, so she explains to him that she would like to quit school. Atticus really didn’t like that idea so he makes a promise with her saying that they can keep reading together as long as she stays in school. Rather than threatening to punish his daughter for even thinking of that idea, Atticus speaks respectfully to Scout. Atticus always wants his children to come to him for advice so, that they grow up being kind and compassionate towards each other. Atticus also shows kindness when he tries to make Dill, Jem and Scout friend, feel better. After running away from home, Dill hides under Scout’s bed, cold and hungry, and Atticus decides to help him. Instead of telling Dill to go home without food, he talks to Scout. He says, â€Å"Scout, we can do better than a pan of cold corn bread, can’t we? You fill this fellow up and when I get back we’ll see what we can do.† Later on, Atticus realizes that Dill has a difficult home life, and with his kindness, he looks out for him as if he was his own child. Being kind is a way to be respected, because if you’re mean and mad all the time people won’t even acknowledge you. Next, Atticus is considered wise because he is able to use things he has been taught toward his children and others in distinct ways. When Mrs. Dubose, the Finch’s elderly neighbor dies, Atticus uses her death as an opportunity to teach Jem and Scout a lesson. Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict who was dying of old age. She wanted to die clean of any drugs even though with her giving up caused her much pain. Atticus believes her decision shows true courage and bravery. He explains this to his children, â€Å"‘I want you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you even begin, but you begin anyways and you see it through no matter what.† Atticus respects Mrs. Dubose for her courage as much as Mrs. Dubose respects Atticus for his wisdom and good advice. Atticus thinks when Tim Johnson had shot that rabid dog that does not make him brave. Also, Atticus wisdom never gives up during the trial. During his closing statement he says to the jury, â€Å"A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God do your duty.† Atticus was trying to remind the jury that Tom is a human being with a family. That was a wise way for Atticus to end his defense strategy at the trial, because his statement leads the jury to deliberate for hours rather than minutes. Atticus defending Tom Robinson was unacceptable in the town of Maycomb. People respected him because he stood up for what he believed was right. He believed that the court was the only place what provided equal justice but it didn’t. He had real courage to do something that other people were scared of. Additionally, Calm is another way to describe Atticus Finch. He never overreacts under pressure even in the worst situations. The day Atticus hears that Tom Robinson was shot, it was a horrible day for him, but he knew what he had to do. He had to stay calm and tell his family what had happened. Atticus explains the tragedy to Calpurnia, his cook, by saying, ‘â€Å"Depends on how you look at it. What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner.† Atticus could have become angry with the guards that shot Tom, but instead he takes the time to see Tom’s death from the guards’ point of view. Staying calm is important, especially when dealing with someone who is unreasonable. For an example, Bob Ewell, the father who accused Tom of raping his daughter Mayella, is one of the meanest men anyone could come in contact with. Instead of being mature and talking to Atticus when he was upset, Bob decides to take his anger out on Atticus and spits on his face. Atticus controls his actions by simply wiping his face and walking away. He could have become mad but he maintains his self control. Atticus stays calm, even in the most difficult situations. That’s what makes him so respected by so many people. People doesn’t want a leader that over reacts or doesn’t stand up for what he believes. They want somebody that’s responsible and willing to stay strong in any circumstances. Throughout the Story, Atticus shows that being Kind, wise, and calm is the best way anyone can live his life and be respected. Atticus approaches the worst times with warnings and thoughtfulness while continuing to take care his children. Scout and Jem learn through their father that everyone makes mistakes and that resolving the problems takes skill and patience. Atticus’s experiences serve as important life-lessons for his children rather than situations too challenging to handle. His reminder to walk in someone’s skin rather than judging him teaches his children that all people can be misunderstood just as easily as they can be appreciated. People supported his actions and respected his courage. They just don’t have their own courage to speak up for justice. Atticus’s views towards the blacks in the community are not socially acceptable; however, so people criticize him for these bad choices or risks.

Dream Chocolate Company Essay

Analysis of D.C.’s Competitive Environment and Information Need Dream Chocolate (D.C.) is a small company trying to survive in an industry with many competitors. The competitive environment comes from some factors. Firstly, D.C. bars are sold in specialty markets, fine gift stores and also available online. However, the competitive companies can also provide various chocolate bars for customers with the low price on the Internet. Secondly, comparing to the big chocolate company like Mars, D.C. is a small company that has the lower brand reputation. Therefore, there may be not many people would trust their products. On the other hand, facing this competitive environment, D.C. has developed many competitive advantages that could attract customers to choice its products. D.C. Company pursues the high quality chocolate and changes the basic milk chocolate bar into variety of flavors. The company’s niche is European-style custom chocolate bars and labeling, and it is known f or its flexibility and speed. A small customer order can be printed, labeled, and ready for pick up or shipping within one hour if the company already has the label in its system, which few company can achieve that level. Moreover, D.C. also faced the pressure from the continued national recession hurt sales in 2011. Thus, in order to deal with the internal and external competitive environment, the D.C. Company needs more business to utilize their capacity and make a profit. The main issue will be training people. It takes up long time to train people adequately. Also, customer labeling needs to be more effectively marketed, which is D.C.’s best margin area. For purpose that the company’s strategy and product can be efficiently carried out, D.C. Company should provide actual cost per order or per unit that can compute the operating margin for the individual products and the allocation of overhead costs that can know whether orders are profitable or not. Pros and Cons for Different Costing Systems Job Costing System A job is simply a product or service that can be easily distinguished from other products or services and for which the firm desires that a specific cost be recorded for the product or service. Job order costing records the  actual materials and labor expenses for specific jobs and assigns overhead to jobs at a predetermined overhead rate. Job order costing offers a detailed analysis of the costs of materials, labor cost and overheads by functions and nature. One advantage of job order costing is that it allows managers to calculate the profit earned on individual jobs, helping them to better decide whether specific job are desirable to pursue in the future. This is best for businesses that do highly custom work, such as construction contractors and consultants. Also, Job order costing gives managers the advantage of being able to keep track of individuals’ and teams’ performance in terms of cost-control, efficiency and productivity. It can evaluate efficiency of diff erent types of jobs with cost records by using statistical techniques. Job order costing facilitates the estimation of the cost of a similar job and allocates overheads on the basis of a predetermined rate. Moreover, job order costing makes easy to identify spoilage and defects to take corrective actions. However, there are also several problems with the job order costing system. Firstly, job order costing needs a great deal of clerical work in recording material issue, wage computation, payment and overhead charges. Therefore, the employees are required to track all materials and labor used during the job, which will need more accountants to works and creates additional cost for small company. Secondly, job order costing focuses attention primarily on products rather than on departments or activities. This is not an issue if there is supplemental systems in place that record information about other cost categories, but it leaves management with inadequate information if this is not the case. Additionally, strict control of cost associated with a job is difficult since overheads are allocated on estimation, which should using reasonable parameters like selecting suitable basis. Process Costing System Process costing typically used by companies that produce large quantities of identical products that are made in long, continuous production runs through a series of process centers (departments). Process costing accumulates costs in a department for an accounting period and then spreads them evenly, or on an average basis, over all units produced that month. Process costing is an easier system to use when costing homogenous products compared to other cost allocation methods. Each process applies direct materials, labor and  manufacturing overhead to the production cost total. Management accountants take the total number of goods leaving the process and divide the total process cost by this number. This creates a simple average cost for each item produced. Another advantage is that business owners use process costing because it creates a flexible production process. Companies needing to refine their process can simply add or remove a process as necessary. This also allows companies to lower their production cost for each good. Adding a process allows companies to produce slightly different goods or improve product quality. This flexibility ensures companies can produce at the most competitive cost in the economic marketplace. Also process costing provides an approach to allocate costs to partially completed production. But the process costing also exists several disadvantages. Production cost error is a significant disadvantage for cost accounting systems. Process costing does not use direct allocation to apply business costs to individual goods, which will arbitrarily increase each item’s cost and also increases the consumer product price. Management accountants may also create under-costed products. Under-costed products usually result in lower business profits because goods are actually more expensive than actually reported. Other problem is that accountants must calculate equivalent units in the process costing system. Equivalent units represent the amount of unfinished goods left in a process at the end of an accounting period. This information is reported as the work-in-process on a company’s balance sheet. Inaccurate work-in-process accounts may also result in distorted finished good totals. This creates a difficult process for managing inventory and determining how many products the company has to sell in the open marketplace. Operation Costing System Operation costing is a hybrid of job and process costing, which is used in manufacturing goods that have some individual characteristics plus some common characteristic. An operation is a standardized method of making a product that is repeatedly performed. Operation costing is often used when different products use common processes but differ in their material. The advantage of operation costing system is that some products are mass-produced and can be customized to order, which cost accountants use the operation costing system. Using operation-costing system could be more accurate to record the cost of product because it separates materials for  each type of products and allocate the conversion costs through departments. Also, because much of the production is the same for all products manufacture, accountants use operation costing to distinguish these costs and determine individual product costs However, operation-costing system is more complex to calculate, company should require collecting much more data comparing to process costing or job costing. It needs to compute the units of production and the product cost of each unit according to the information of materials be collected and the unit of equivalent products. Activity-Based Costing System Activity-based costing (ABC) is two-stage product costing method that first assigns costs to activities and then assigns them to products based on the products’ consumption of activities. The use of ABC is especially important to businesses that provide customized products or services. A customized production environment requires ABC’s allocation of actual indirect costs to a product to identify its true cost. Implementing ABC is a challenging task for any business and the process carrying several advantages and disadvantages. One of advantage of ABC system is to improve business processes. It allocates indirect cost based on a product’s cost drive or the factor that creates the cost, which would be more accurate than the other costing methods. ABC can be used to identify non-valued added activities and can help to better allocate resources to efficient and profitable activities. Another advantage of ABC system is to identify wasteful products. ABC can allow the business to better understand where overhead costs are going. The data can identify wasteful products and unnecessary costs, so that resources can be used productively. The method also helps to fix the price of products or services that are excessive or incorrect. Overall product and service quality can improve as ABC’s data details production and cost issues that need to be resolved. Additionally, ABC system tends to reduce per unit cost of high volume products and increase per unit cost of low volume products, but the impact is more dramatic on the low volume products. However, implementing an ABC system can be expensive and time-consuming. Manager should break down business activities into each activity’s individual components. The entire process needs to collect much valuable resource as data to measure and enter into the new system.  Businesses may also require hiring the assistance of a consultant who specializes in the setup of an ABC system and provide training for them. Moreover, using ABC system sometimes is easily to misinterpret the data. It is also possible that some ABC may be irrelevant in certain decision-making scenarios. For instance, ABC does not conform to accounting standard and should not be used for external reporting. Since traditional cost figures tend to be the norm, interpreting ABC data along with regular accounting information can be confusing and lead to bad decision-making. Recommend a Costing Method to D.C. D.C. is a small but growing company trying to survive in an industry with many players. This small company has limited staff and they do not currently track actual cost information during production. However, D.C. has the competitive advantage that it combines high-quality, variety of flavors and custom labeling together. Due to D.C.’s high-end process, high volume and various types of chocolates, I recommend D.C. use operation costing system that combines the process costing and job costing together. Firstly, D.C. has three sizes of chocolate, which are 1.25 oz. bar, 3.0 oz. bar and 3.25 oz. Bar. And the three sizes bar can be divided into two types chocolates that are organic and non-organic. The different materials will be added into production to get various flavors. Thus, the martial of production that is direct cost can use job-costing method. Using job order costing is that it allows D.C. to calculate the profit earned on individual jobs, helping them to better decide w hether specific job are desirable to pursue in the future. Job order costing also makes easy to keep track of the production, identify spoilage and defects to take corrective actions during the period of production. Then, the labor cost should be included in product cost. Direct labor comes from pouring, inspecting, foiling and labeling. Notice that larger bars can be inspected twice as fast as the smaller bars. Because each area might be working on multiple customer jobs at a time, it is difficult to track labor hours for each customer order. Therefore, using the job costing system records the different type of customer order, which would be more accurate to record labor cost. And we should also calculate equivalent unit to compute labor cost per bar for each department. Finally, for the overhead cost which is indirect cost, each product is produced using the  same process, which means there is no difference in the overhead costs for the different products. So it is suitable to use process-costing method. And process costing is more flexible in allocating conversion costs, because it only accumulates the total costs and allocates the costs to each department or process. The operation costing system is a flexible way to handle high-volume or low-volume production month. It is used when different products use common processes but differ in their materials. When the volume is high, D.C. company do not need to hire more employee to work because the combination of job costing and process costing could figure out the mass production. Also, the operation costing can easily find any mistakes and don’t have to wait till the end of the month to fix the problem. Handling the new special order and new cost Recent order from the wellness company shows that bars can have one or more types of special flavors and ingredient additives. Bars with higher-cost flavor additives such as coffee and Kava can be viewed as direct cost. Thus, they would be treated for the same as direct materials and be allocated to the specific products. But less expensive additives, such as flavoring oils are not included in direct costs and these cost usually show up in overhead cost. In addition to the direct materials cost for these ingredients, there is additional labor required for stirring to achieve equal distribution throughout the bar. Moreover, the labeling design cost for new special order is overhead cost, which is related to the product cost. So it would be allocated to the specific product separately as well. Summary and Implementation In conclusion, I will recommend the company using the operation costing system, which combine the job costing and process costing. In case of DC the manufacturing environment is complex. Product in its initial stages has identical processing, and then is finished using specific procedure like adding activities or customized packaging. The method accounts for costs based on difference in the products. Also operation costing as it will give clear cost of products and their profitability. It will help Kay to set up the price of the products will help him to determine most profitable product. In order to calculate the cost of chocolate bar, we should require  the actual production for organic and non-organic bars, cost of ingredients for special orders and additional training and labor hours for special order.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Aristotle on Gender Essay

The peer discussion held last week had its attention focused on a comparison of Aristotle’s and Plato’s ideas of justice and gender. As previously discussed from our lectures, Plato’s idea of justice was concerned with an internal equality between the members of the classes present within the polis. This focused more on individualism in that one must only be concerned with his/her business and not minding other’s problems. The justice that occurs in their society depends on the class to whom one belongs. However, Aristotle, his student, was more for all-encompassing justice aiming for the ultimate goal of the constitution. Equality, for Aristotle, depends on the constitution in which the society is built upon. For democracy, it promotes equality for those who are equal, but only for those who are equal. Elaborating on this, equality only exists for the majority, who rules in this kind of polis. On the other hand, oligarchy focuses more on the distribution of office, in which there is equality for those who are unequal. (Curtis, 1981) However, this failed to consider the degree of goodness in a citizen. Oligarchs depended more on a wealthy upbringing, giving them superiority over the others who have less riches than them. Democrats was more dependent on free birth, all for equality among every member of the society. Aristotle’s justice was an advocate of excellence over birth. Considering his example of the story of the flutists, Aristotle concluded that justice all ends ups to the contribution of a good citizen to the aim of the society and to the â€Å"end† of state. Aristotle could care less about the social standing of a citizen, instead focusing more on his triumphs instead of what he was born to be. Gender is another topic wherein these two philosophers’ opinions differ. For Plato, equality among women and men existed within the society itself. Women were free to choose what profession they have, provided that they have the proper education to back it up. Aristotle’s idea for gender, however, is a sexist one. He believed that only men were worthy to be citizens, and that was only if he was a holder of office. Women were â€Å"naturally† governed by men, as indicated in his works, specifically identified by the phrase â€Å"mastery of husband over wife†. He gave statements wherein the men were given rights over those of the opposite gender. In spite of their standings as teacher and student, their opinions differ regarding how a society must work in order to achieve peace and harmony within their constitution. However, important points can also be withdrawn from their works, such as the fairer justice referred to in Aristotle’s works, and Plato’s ideas of equality and the manner of governing a society. Not one person is perfect, and we cannot find fault upon one making a mistake that we ourselves may have committed. Group: # 4 – Section: WBYDX.