Free Energy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Free Energy - Research Paper Example Renewable sources of energy are those sources that can be replenished. Making a transition towards more renewable forms of energy would result in independency from local sources of energy and a more decentralized production of energy that is less vulnerable to supply cutoffs. Solar energy can be harnessed by concentrating solar power (CSP) or photovoltaic (PV) technology. The economic potential in industrialized countries, and the shift towards more renewables-intensive industry in both the US and China, is an optimistic sign for solar energy. Sustainable development is a hot topic in the world of politics today. The reason why it has attracted so much attention signifies a looming crisis and the repercussions it would have on people and the environment both. Numerous summits and conferences have been conducted and hundreds of organizations all over the world have met and discussed solutions to the predicament the world faces if it continues to use its energy sources the way it is doing now. The contours of the reason for taking such steps are worth pointing out. The population of the world is increasing at a rapid rate and has tripled over the past seven decades. It had reached an alarming figure of 6 billion at turn of the twentieth century. The rapid increase in the population does not come without its share of problems. Mankind is plunged into a yet deeper abyss of poverty, scarcity of resources and shortage of non-renewable energy reserves. Stocks of resources are being depleted swiftly. Where people in many developed countries have taken energy for granted, the developing countries are facing the brunt of the global energy crisis. The environment is deteriorating due to deforestation, increase in the greenhouse gases, extinction of species and climate changes. Increasing population has caused a dearth of food in many poor countries, where thousands do not have access to clean drinking water and are suffering from

Curriculum Development Essay Example for Free

Curriculum Development Essay 1. What is K-12 curriculum? What is the rationale of K-12 curriculum? K- 12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Philippines and Australia. It means kindergarten and the twelve years of elementary and secondary education. The kindergarten refers to the 5-year old unit that takes a standardized kinder curriculum. The elementary education refers to primary schooling that involves six or seven years of education and the secondary education refers to high school. The main purpose of K-12 Program is to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship. The outcome goals of the K-12 Basic Education Program is to make Philippine education standards to be at balance with international standards, to create more emotionally mature graduates equipped with technical and vocational skills who are better prepared for work, middle level skills development and higher education, to make the educational inputs significantly addressed shortages or gaps, to make the improvement of basic education outcomes broadened and strengthened the stakeholder support, to improve internal efficiency, system of governance in the department and quality of teachers. 2. Essentialists point of view of curriculum development? The curriculum is a crucial component of any educational process. It addresses questions such as what students should learn and be able to do, why, how, and how well. In the past, the curriculum was designed merely from the perspective of its cultural transmission functions with its structure consequently reflecting discrete areas of knowledge. According to Kern it is possible to use a six-step approach to curriculum development for Medical Education: 1. Problem identification and general needs assessment The most important step is the first one, the general needs assessment (GNA). The goal of step 1 is to focus the curriculum, by defining the deficits in knowledge, attitude, or skills that currently exist in practitioners and the ideal approach to teaching and learning these objectives. When completed, the GNA makes a strong argument for the need for the curriculum and identifies potential educational research questions. 2. Needs assessment of targeted learners The general needs assessment is applied to targeted learners. What kind of doctor do we want to educate it depends mostly on social needs but it can reflect job opportunities, financial rewards and attitudes acquired during process of studding. Sometimes it is very difficult to make balance between these several needs. Needs can be obtained on different ways. It can be done through study of errors in practice. It is very difficult to design curriculum which will fully meet the needs of society and students 3. Goals and objectives Institution should define overall goals and aims for the curriculum. Specific measurable knowledge, skill/ performance, attitude, and process objectives should be stated for the curriculum. 4. Educational strategies It is necessary to make a plan how to maximize the impact of the curriculum, which content should be included, how content should be organized and with which educational methods, how elements of curriculum should communicate, what kind of educational environment and climate should be developed. Content which is included must provide to student critical thinking. It must be selected and organized on the way to initiate critical approach to facts and development skill of information retrieval. 5. Implementation A plan for implementation, including timelines and resources required, should be created. A plan for faculty development is made to assure consistent implementation. 6. Evaluation and feedback Evaluation of curriculum presents the final stage inside cyclic process of improvement and development of curriculum. 3. Why develop a curriculum? Ever since the term curriculum was added to educators vocabularies, it has seemed to convey many things to many people. To some, curriculum has denoted a specific course, while to others it has meant the entire educational environment. Whereas perceptions of the term may vary, it must be recognized that curriculum encompasses more than a simple definition. Curriculum is a key element in the educational process; its scope is extremely broad, and it touches virtually everyone who is involved with teaching and learning. In no other area has greater emphasis been placed upon the development of curricula that are relevant in terms of student and community needs and substantive outcomes. The career and technical and technical curriculum focuses not only on the educational process but also on the tangible results of that process. This is only one of many reasons why the career and technical and technical curriculum is distinctive in relation to other curricular areas and why career and technical education curriculum planners must have a sound understanding of the curriculum development process. 4. What to consider in curriculum development? In planning and developing a curriculum, you should consider the following: 1. Convening a Curriculum Development Committee Such a committee, consisting primarily of teachers who represent the various schools and grade levels in a district, administrators, members of the public and perhaps students, becomes the driving force for curriculum change and the long-term process of implementing the curriculum. It is critical that an effective, knowledgeable and respected chairperson lead such a committee and it includes knowledgeable and committed members who gradually become the districts de facto experts during the development phases of the process as well as the implementation phases. 2. Identifying Key Issues and Trends in the Specific Content Area The first step in any curriculum development process involves research that reviews recent issues and trends of the discipline, both within the district and across the nation. This research allows a curriculum committee to identify key issues and trends that will support the needs assessment that should be conducted and the philosophy that should be developed. 3. Assessing Needs and Issues Curriculum development should be viewed as a process by which meeting student needs leads to improvement of student learning. Regardless of the theory or model followed, curriculum developers should gather as much information as possible. This information should include the desired outcomes or expectations of a high quality program, the role of assessment, the current status of student achievement and actual program content. The information should also consider the concerns and attitudes of teachers, administrators, parents and students. The data should include samples of assessments, lessons from teachers, assignments, scores on state standardized tests, textbooks currently used, student perception and feedback from parents.

The Origins Of Our Species Essays -- essays research papers

The latest discovery of a fossil skull in Kenya, more than three million years old, once again demonstrates the complex evolution of humankind. The following article examines the evidence and sees how it fits into the ideas of human origin formulated by Frederick Engels more than 100 years ago. "There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." (Charles Darwin, The Origin of the Species, pp. 459-60, Penguin 1985.) The latest discoveries in paleontology once again reveal the rich and complex evolution of the human species. In March, the magazine 'Nature' reported on a new fossil find in Kenya of a 3.5 million year-old skull. Originally, it was thought that the human linkage had been traced back to an ancestral genus called the Australopithecines (the "Southern Ape"), the most famous remains being 'Lucy', discovered by D.C. Johanson. These proto-humans roamed the savannahs and Rift Valley of Africa more than 3 million years ago, and are closer to modern humans than apes. However, new evidence suggests that the Australopithecus family was not the only hominid species to have existed at this time. 'Nature' describes a new species - Kenanthropus platyops - with a much flatter face than any Australopithecine. "Kenyanthropus shows persuasively that at least two lineages existed as far back as 3.5m years," said Meave Leakey of the Kenya national museum. It is clear that the evolutionary tree is far bushier that at first appeared. While the human lineage split from that of the African apes some 5-10 million years ago, this new evidence suggests possible new lines from which humans evolved. It shows a far greater diversification of human evolution prior to the emergence of the Homo genus. The newly discovered skull has a small ear hole, like those of chimpanzees. However, it shares other features of early hominids, such as a small brain. But there are other striking differences, including tall cheekbones, small teeth and a flat plane beneath its nose bone, giving it a flat face appearance. The flatter face - a feature once thought distinctly human - arises primaril... ...ical view of evolution, called punctuated equilibrium. Gould has recognized Engels' contribution, describing his essay on human origins as "a brilliant expose." However, notes Gould, it "had no visible impact on Western science." (Ever Since Darwin, p.210) "All merit for the swift advance of civilization was ascribed to the mind, to the development and activity of the brain", wrote Engels. "Men became accustomed to explain their actions from their thoughts, instead of from their needs... And so there arose in the course of time that idealistic outlook on the world, has dominated men's minds. It still rules them to such a degree that even the most materialistic natural scientists of the Darwinian school are still unable to form any clear idea of the origin of man, because under that ideological influence they do not recognize the part that has been played therein by labour." The latest discoveries in this field of human origins are a testimony to Engels thought and contribution, not least the discovery of Kenanthropus platyops. It is a confirmation of the method of dialectical materialism, the only consistent scientific outlook of the world. The Origins Of Our Species Essays -- essays research papers The latest discovery of a fossil skull in Kenya, more than three million years old, once again demonstrates the complex evolution of humankind. The following article examines the evidence and sees how it fits into the ideas of human origin formulated by Frederick Engels more than 100 years ago. "There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." (Charles Darwin, The Origin of the Species, pp. 459-60, Penguin 1985.) The latest discoveries in paleontology once again reveal the rich and complex evolution of the human species. In March, the magazine 'Nature' reported on a new fossil find in Kenya of a 3.5 million year-old skull. Originally, it was thought that the human linkage had been traced back to an ancestral genus called the Australopithecines (the "Southern Ape"), the most famous remains being 'Lucy', discovered by D.C. Johanson. These proto-humans roamed the savannahs and Rift Valley of Africa more than 3 million years ago, and are closer to modern humans than apes. However, new evidence suggests that the Australopithecus family was not the only hominid species to have existed at this time. 'Nature' describes a new species - Kenanthropus platyops - with a much flatter face than any Australopithecine. "Kenyanthropus shows persuasively that at least two lineages existed as far back as 3.5m years," said Meave Leakey of the Kenya national museum. It is clear that the evolutionary tree is far bushier that at first appeared. While the human lineage split from that of the African apes some 5-10 million years ago, this new evidence suggests possible new lines from which humans evolved. It shows a far greater diversification of human evolution prior to the emergence of the Homo genus. The newly discovered skull has a small ear hole, like those of chimpanzees. However, it shares other features of early hominids, such as a small brain. But there are other striking differences, including tall cheekbones, small teeth and a flat plane beneath its nose bone, giving it a flat face appearance. The flatter face - a feature once thought distinctly human - arises primaril... ...ical view of evolution, called punctuated equilibrium. Gould has recognized Engels' contribution, describing his essay on human origins as "a brilliant expose." However, notes Gould, it "had no visible impact on Western science." (Ever Since Darwin, p.210) "All merit for the swift advance of civilization was ascribed to the mind, to the development and activity of the brain", wrote Engels. "Men became accustomed to explain their actions from their thoughts, instead of from their needs... And so there arose in the course of time that idealistic outlook on the world, has dominated men's minds. It still rules them to such a degree that even the most materialistic natural scientists of the Darwinian school are still unable to form any clear idea of the origin of man, because under that ideological influence they do not recognize the part that has been played therein by labour." The latest discoveries in this field of human origins are a testimony to Engels thought and contribution, not least the discovery of Kenanthropus platyops. It is a confirmation of the method of dialectical materialism, the only consistent scientific outlook of the world.

The Example of Questionnaire

CODE QUESTIONNAIRE This Questionnaire has the purpose to identify the correlation between the habit of watching English subtitle movie and Reading Comprehension achievement. All of the questions are for any movie or serial which uses English as the subtitle. Please be honest in answering every single of question. This questionnaire is purely for conduct a thesis in order to get the data. It will not affect your score mark at the certain lesson. The last, your data will be private for the researcher only. Thank you.Name| : ______________________| NIM| : _______________________| Gender| : ______________________| Class| : _______________________| Age| : ______________________| Academic Year| : _______________________| Address| : ______________________| Contact No. | : ______________________| General Question Have you watched at least 1 movie with english subtitle in the past of two years? a. Yesb. No. Specific Question 1. How many movies with english subtitle that you watch in a month? a. More than 10 titles b. 8 – 10 titles c. – 7 titles d. 2 – 4 titles e. Only 1 title 2. For the movie with multiple episode (serial), how many episodes that you watch in a month? a. More than 30 episodes b. 21 – 30 episodes c. 13 – 20 episodes d. 5 – 12 episodes e. 1 – 4 episodes 3. How often do you watch movie with english subtitle? a. Every single day (no day without movie) b. Almost everyday c. Twice or third in a week d. Once a week e. Once a month 4. How many times do you spend for watching movie with english subtitle in a day? a. More than 5 hours b.Around 5 hours c. Around 3 – 4 hours d. Around 2 hours e. Less than an hour 5. Rank the reasons of watching movie with english subtitle on it: Habitual| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Curious the cultural life as seen as on the movie| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Like the storyline or the topic of the movie| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Enjoying free time rather than other activities| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6. What language do you prefer in movie with foreign language? (English include) a. English subtitle b.Bahasa subtitle c. Original language subtitle d. No subtitle but English dubbing e. No subtitle but Bahasa or original dubbing 7. The most reason of choosing english subtitle more than other subtitle (Bahasa or other language) a. Improving English b. Understandable c. More interesting d. The available one e. Accidental 8. How does your habitual of watching movie impact your time to study? a. Prefer watching movie than study b. Study at first but can not concentrate, my mind is on the movie c. Watch movie while studying d.Concentrate to finish studying at first, then watching movie e. Prefer studying than watching movie 9. What do you do when you find difficulties in understanding the subtitle? a. Replay back immediately to the part that I lack of understanding b. Keep the movie goes and replay it again after the end c. Ask friends/try to find the s ummary or review of the movie d. Let the movie goes try to find the meaning over the actor/actrees action e. Just let the movie goes and ends 10. What do you do after watching movie with english subtitle? . Find and watch other movies b. Make a review, summary, or deep analysis c. Discuss with friends d. Replay it again e. Nothing to do, it is just for fun 11. Where do you get movies with english subtitle? a. Purchase CD/DVD online or offline b. Rent CD/DVD in the rental c. Download free online d. Copy from friends e. Accidental 12. How important the aspects you choose movie? Aspects| TU| U| I| VI| The storyline| 1| 2| 3| 4| Actors/actress| 1| 2| 3| 4| Literature aspetcs (genre, year,| 1| 2| 3| 4| | 1| 2| 3| 4| 13.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using NPV and IRR

The difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows. NPV is used in capital budgeting to analyze the profitability of an investment or project. NPV analysis is sensitive to the reliability of future cash inflows that an investment or project will yield. NPV compares the value of a dollar today to the value of that same dollar in the future, taking inflation and returns into account. If the NPV of a prospective project is positive, it should be accepted. However, if NPV is negative, the project should probably be rejected because cash flows will also be negative.Net present value, or NPV, is one of the calculations business managers use to evaluate capital projects. A capital project is a long-term investment or improvement, such as building a new store. The NPV calculation determines the present value of the project's projected future income. In the calculation, the present value of the project's cost is subtracted from the present value of future income. A positive net present value usually means you should accept or implement the project. Business owners who compare two or more projects tend to favor the one with the higher net present value.ADVANTAGES OF NET PRESENT VALUE (NPV)NPV gives important to the time value of money.In the calculation of NPV, both after cash flow and before cash flow over the life span of the project are considered.  Profitability and risk of the projects are given high priority.NPV helps in maximizing the firm's value.DISADVANTAGES OF NET PRESENT VALUE (NPV)NPV is difficult to use.NPV cannot give accurate decision if the amount of investment of mutually exclusive projects is not equal.It is difficult to calculate the appropriate discount rate.NPV may not give correct decision when the projects are of unequal life.IRR (INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN)Internal rate of return is a discounting cash flow technique which gives a rate of return that is earned by a project. We can define internal rate of return as the discounting rate which makes total of initial cash outlay and discounted cash inflows equal to zero. In other words, it is that discounting rate at which the net present value is equal to zero.IRR is a prominent technique for evaluation of big projects and investment proposals widely used by management of the company, banks, financial institution etc. for their various purposes. The calculation of an IRR is little tricky. It is advantageous in terms of its simplicity and it has certain disadvantages in the form of limitations under certain special conditions.ADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR)Perfect Use Of Time Value Of Money TheoryTime value of money means interest and it should high because we are sacrifice of money for specific time. IRR is nothing but shows high interest rate which we expect from our investment. So, we can say, IRR is the perfect use of time value of money theory.All Cash Flows Are Equally ImportantIt is good method of capital budgeting i n which we give equal importance to all the cash flows not earlier or later. We just create its relation with different rate and want to know where is present value of cash inflow is equal to present value of cash outflow.Uniform RankingThere is no base for selecting any particular rate in internal rate of return.Maximum Profitability Of ShareholderIf there is only project which we have to select, if we check its IRR and it is higher than its cut off rate, then it will give maximum profitability to shareholderDISADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR)To understand IRR is difficultIt is difficult to understand it because many student cannot understand why are calculating different rate in it and it becomes more difficult when real value of IRR will be two experimental rate because of not equalize present value of cash inflow with present value of cash outflow. Unrealistic Assumptionfor calculating IRR we create one assumption. We think that if we invest out money on this IRR, aft er receiving profit, we can easily reinvest our investments profit on same IRR. It is an unrealistic assumption. 3. Hurdle Rate Not RequiredIn capital budgeting analysis, the hurdle rate, or cost of capital, is the required rate of return at which investors agree to fund a project. It can be a subjective figure and typically ends up as a rough estimate. The IRR method does not require the hurdle rate, mitigating the risk of determining a wrong rate. Once the IRR is calculated, projects can be selected where the IRR exceeds the estimated cost of capital.COMPARISM BETWEEN NET PRESENT VALUE (NPV) AND INTRNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR)NPV and IRR methods are useful methods for determining whether to accept a project, both have their advantages and disadvantages.Advantages:With the NPV method, the advantage is that it is a direct measure of the dollar contribution to the stockholders. With the IRR method, the advantage is that it shows the return on the original money invested.Disadvantages:Wi th the NPV method, the disadvantage is that the project size is not measured. With the IRR method, the disadvantage is that, at times, it can give you conflicting answers when compared to NPV for mutually exclusive projects. The ‘multiple IRR problem' can also be an issue, as discussed below.WHY DO NPV AND IRR METHODS PRODUCE CONFLICTING RANKINGS?When a project is an independent project, meaning the decision to invest in a project is independent of any other projects, both the NPV and IRR will always give the same result, either rejecting or accepting a project.While NPV and IRR are useful metrics for analyzing mutually exclusive projects – that is, when the decision must be one project or another – these metrics do not always point you in the same direction. This is a result of the timing of cash flows for each project. In addition, conflicting results may simply occur because of the project sizes.

The eNotes Blog Why Are College Students StudyingLess

Why Are College Students StudyingLess A new study, The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from Half a Century of Time Use Data by Philip S. Babcock and Mindy Marks has revealed the college students spend much less time studying today than they did in 1960 a drop of 13 hours per week. From the study: Using multiple datasets from different time periods, we document declines in academic time investment by full-time college students in the United States between 1961 and 2003. Full-time students allocated 40 hours per week toward class and studying in 1961, whereas by 2003 they were investing about 27 hours per week. Declines were extremely broad-based, and are not easily accounted for by framing effects, work or major choices, or compositional changes in students or schools. We conclude that there have been substantial changes over time in the quantity or manner of human capital production on college campuses. The study does not have any conclusions as to why this may be the case. What do you think? Are time-savers like have a real impact on how much time students need to study? Or are todays students less engaged in their work?

Procurement and Contracting Process

Procurement and Contracting Process Introduction Due to economic related challenges or opportunities and need to establish strategic competencies, companies often resort to outsourcing. This report considers the outsourcing options to be explored to ensure Travel Magazine is up and running despite budgetary constraints. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Procurement and Contracting Process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Outsourcing involves subcontracting or giving third parties work that would otherwise be done within the organization (McIvor, 2005, p. 7). Many organizations especially in the developing world are tending towards outsourcing. Outsourcing is an easy option but it all depends on organizational characteristics. Considerations in Outsourcing There are many reasons why institutions choose to outsource their operations. However, at the core of the outsourcing decision is desire to develop a competitive advantage or edge. The competitive adva ntage is gained through being able to focus on core business, enjoying expertise that is not available in the organization, use of technology that would otherwise be expensive investing in, or benefiting from economies of scale enjoyed by the outsourcing partner. Travel Magazine plans to outsource so as to cut start up costs due to limited capital. Outsourcing will enable the company to share assets or use the assets of other companies thus it does not have to invest in the assets. Secondly, outsourcing will enable the company to produce high quality magazines by relying on already established expertise in another company. The company will seek out only vendors with prerequisite experience and expertise for each given outsourced service or activity. The outsourcing process will enable the company to invest the available capital in the core of the business. Outsourcing comes with a number of benefits but there are also numerous challenges or demerits that the company has to consider in making the outsourcing decisions (McIvor, 2005, p. 23). One key concern is the capability of the company to which Travel Magazine processes are outsourced to deliver quality. Unless considerable care is taken, outsourcing could compromise the final product i.e. quality of the magazine. Secondly, control of business of processes should be designed into the outsourcing contracts. This measure is taken into consideration because Travel Magazine as a company could easily loose control over the Magazine if all the core functions are outsourced. The outsourcing contract has to be designed in a way that it secures the company’s independence in the future. A magazine publishing company has to control its information sources.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Business Processes to Outsource The outsourcing process starts with analyzing organizational processes to determine which ones are worthy outsourcing. Travel Magazine as a company has a number of functions that it can outsource. The functions include accounting, editorial, photography, publishing, distribution, printing, layout, advertising, editing, articles, etc. due to budget constraints; the company has to outsource at least five functions. The guiding principle for outsourcing any of the processes or functions is its relative contribution to quality for customers, cost reduction and competitiveness of the magazine. The processes that should be outsourced include photography, advertising, printing, distribution and publishing. Printing a magazine requires heavy investment in printing machines. Fortunately, there are many organizations that specialize in printing; printing is their core business. By outsourcing the printing process, the organization will save money i.e. no need to invest in expensive printing machines. The money saved can be invested in core business of the organiza tion. Photography is also worthy outsourcing because it allows the organization to focus its efforts on core business. Although photography is an integral part of the magazine quality, there are a number of organizations that specialize in such services. Outsourcing to such institutions will mean that the organization gets best shots from wherever at relatively low costs. Secondly, taking good photographs, especially for a magazine, is dependent on many years of experience. Outsourcing such a function would ensure the company accesses experts in the field at lower costs when compared to hiring staff and developing own photography studios. Advertising is a tricky affair because marketing determines whether a brand resonance for the magazine is built in the long run or not. Given the organization is young and has a budgetary constraint, developing a marketing branch that is fully empowered to do effective advertising may not be cost effective. There are many marketing and advertisin g agencies in the market that can be used. These agencies have built the structures and mechanisms or ensuring correct and effective execution when it comes to market communication. They have the personnel with long experience of delivering on brand building and retail activations. Engaging them would mean riding on their long experience and thus following a proven track.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Procurement and Contracting Process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Distribution is best outsourced so as to benefit from already established trade channels. If the company is to set up its own distribution channel or develop its own selling points; that would be an expensive venture. Secondly, that would mean creating competitors out of the established distributors. There are established distributors in the market who specialize in the distribution of various magazines. All the company needs to do is sign a contra ct with any of them and the distribution needs are catered for. The distributors would deliver the magazine to all corners through their channels. All the company has to do is identify the niche market and thus contract a distributor with wide penetration in the niche areas. Finally, publishing is also better off outsourced. Publishing is not a core function or process despite its importance. Once again, relying on established publishers would mean the company does not have to develop its publishing function. Developing such is an expensive venture that is capital intensive. In the information age we live in, much magazine sales sell online. Finding a reputable publisher to publish the magazine online will be a welcome move. This will mean that the company does not have to invest in IT requirements that would facilitate online publications. The company will maintain in-house business processes such as accounting, editorial, layout and article sourcing or development. Given the orga nization is going to outsource many processes; accounting has to be done in-house for proper monitoring of the different concerns. If accounting is outsourced, the organization looses total control over processes in the way. It would have to wait or rely on accounting reports from elsewhere to maker pertinent decisions. If the process is left in-house, a financial manager can closely monitor all processes and facilitate towards better decision making by management. Sales from a magazine and by extension profits are largely dependent on its perceived quality. Quality of a magazine is dependent on kind of information it contains, the magazine layout, language use (general look and feel matters a lot). Therefore, strategic positioning of a magazine largely depends on perceived value and import of articles contained in the machine. Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The perception is build basing on article content, positioning in the magazine and general structure. It is content, then look and feel that make customers irking for the next copy of a magazine. Therefore, keeping editorial, layout and article sourcing or development in-house is of great importance. Keeping those functions in-house helps maintain the company’s independence. As illustrated, the magazine sells based on articles and general look and feel. Therefore, if that comes from in-house, it means that the organization is actually in charge, it is the primary source of the magazine. If those processes are outsourced and a problem or misunderstanding happens, the other institution can easily paralyze the companies operations. However, if these core functions are maintained in-house, any breach of contract or misunderstanding by providers of the outsourced services can easily be dealt with. If it is a problem to do with distributors, the organization can easily engage some other distributor or a number of distributors. Preliminary Performance Targets/ Level of Service Expected from Vendors Once an organization is clear about what processes are worthy outsourcing, the next step is to be clear about performance expectations (Brown Scott, 2005, p. 25). Performance targets should guide the decision on what vendor is best suited to handle an organization’s processes. The performance levels in each outsourced process will be determined by the characteristic performance indicators in each process. When it comes to printing, the printing vendor would have to guarantee production of timely clean copies. The vendor must have capacity to do custom printing and be timely about deliveries. A vendor that is dealing with many clients and does not have enough capacity could easily end up affecting Travel Magazine’s operations. Therefore, the vendor must have capacity that will be specifically assigned to the magazine’s printing as per schedule. Performance in distribution is determined by level of penetration into designated niche markets. The distributor must have capacity to transport the magazines and assure protection i.e. no theft and no defacing. Timely delivery of the magazines into markets will also be of critical concern. The distributor has to have capacity to deliver the magazine to all parts of the niche market in a timely way. All people who know how to use a camera can take photographs. However, the photographer’s expertise and photo development technology determines final quality of a photograph. The photography vendor will need to have mechanisms of ensuring quality is guaranteed and photo shooting at all designate sites is facilitated. Quality will be guaranteed by professionals who know camera positioning and other aspects of photo shooting like depth and distance calculations. For a travel magazine, the vendor will also need illustrate capacity to avail relevant photos from all interesting sites as may be required. Performance on the advertising front is determined by the level of brand resonance achieved and sales volume increase over time. The advertising firm will have to demonstrate capacity to develop relevant market communication and design point of sale material that adhere the magazine to target population. Retail activations are also a critical aspect of trade development and thus the agency has to have capacity to instate awesome retail execution and brand performance measurement mechanisms. The service level expected on the publishing front has to do with acute capacity to drive internet sales of the magazine. Preferably, the organization will engage a publisher with capacity to drive internet sales volumes. Publishing online and related sales is the in-thing in the publication industry of late. Many people spend their time online and e-trade is the way to go. The publishing company has to have capacity to complement the efforts of our editorial team by ensuring the right content is carried in the magazine and it is well structured in the layout. Type of Contract for Outsourced Processes The contract between company and service providers will have to be flexible enough to cater for future changes in market structure (Brown Scott, 2005, p. 27). For example, the company was forced to outsource over five processes due to economic down turn. However, the economic fortunes are likely to change. When it comes to distribution and publishers, the company will seek a distributor and publisher that can accept a revenue sharing kind of contract. This means that the distributor will be getting a given percentage of total revenues they help generate for the company. This kind of contract is good because it means the distributor earns of own efforts. Such an arrangement, normally, motivates distributors to drive sales highly. The contract with printers will be a fixed price contract. A fixed price will be set for every batch of printing work done. Som ehow batch estimates are predetermined; therefore, fixed contracts will work just fine. The photography work is not like the printing work due to inability to reach exact estimates of involved costs. Therefore, the company will pursue a cost plus margin kind of contract with the photography service provider. The advertising agency will have different actions or levels of activity to drive sales. Therefore, a hybrid system consisting of cost plus mark up and fixed pricing will be used. When it comes to retail execution, cost plus mark up will be used because different costs are involved depending on geographical dispersion. Fixed pricing will be used when it comes to above the line market communications. Criteria for Selecting Preferred Vendor Cost reduction is the major drive towards outsourcing of business processes. However, pricing will not be the only criterion for choosing a vendor. This is so because tender prices do not often reflect quality guarantee. For each of the process es, we shall be keen on service provider capacity and characteristics. A concern for quality and competitive edge will drive the vendor selection. Some of the required characteristics have been described under expected service levels. Each vendor will have to meet stipulated service levels at a competitive price to be awarded the tender. Number of Vendors per Process Some processes are better handled by a multiple vendors while some are best handled by a single vendor. In advertising, at least two vendors will be welcome. One vendor will deal with market communication especially above the line communication. Another vendor will deal with retail execution e.g. sensitization and promotion awareness activities. In printing and publishing, a single vendors will work just fine to benefit from economies of scale due to consolidated service sourcing. More than one distributor will be used for the distribution of the magazine. Using different distributors ensures wide coverage and diffuse s distributor bargaining power. Finally, a single vendor will be sourced for the photography contract. This is important for consistency plus there is little service variation needed. Time Line for Contracting Process Time Activity 1st and 2nd Month Prepare the Service Level Requirement based on research 3rd and 4Th Month Open Tendering (RFP) 5th Month Outsourcing Contract Negotiations 6th Month Refining Contracts as per negotiations 6th Month Contract signing and Post tendering negotiations 7th and 8th Month Implementation preparations 9th month Magazine Roll out Reference List Brown, D. Scott, W. (2005). The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities. New York: John Wiley and Sons McIvor, R. (2005). The Outsourcing Process: Strategies for Evaluation and Management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Amazing Strategies for Building Confidence in Teachers

Amazing Strategies for Building Confidence in Teachers Having confidence will only improve a teacher’s value as it naturally boosts their overall effectiveness. It is a key component of being successful. Students in particular quickly pick up on a lack of self-confidence and use that to tear a teacher down even further. Lacking self-confidence will eventually force a teacher to find another career. Confidence is something that cannot be faked, but it is something that can be built. Building confidence is another component of a principal’s duties. It can make all the difference in the world in how effective a teacher is. There is no perfect formula because every person has their own unique level of natural confidence. Some teachers do not require their confidence to be boosted at all while others require lots of extra attention in this area. A principal should develop and implement a strategic plan for building confidence in teachers.   The remainder of this article will highlight seven steps that can be included in such a plan. Each of these steps is simple and straightforward, but a principal must always be cognizant of implementing them on a regular basis. Express Gratitude Teachers often feel under appreciated, so showing them that you truly appreciate them can go a long ways in building confidence. Expressing gratitude is quick and easy. Make a habit of telling your teachers thank you, send a personal appreciation email, or give them something like a candy bar or other snack on occasion. These simple things will improve morale and confidence. Give them Leadership Opportunities Putting teachers who lack self-confidence in charge of something may sound disastrous, but when given the chance they will surprise you more times than they let you down. They shouldn’t be put in charge of large overwhelming tasks, but there are plenty of smaller type duties that anyone should be able to handle. These opportunities build confidence because it forces them to step outside their comfort zone and gives them a chance to be successful. Focus on the Strengths Every teacher has strengths, and every teacher has weaknesses. It is essential that you spend time praising their strengths. However, it is necessary to remember that strengths need honed and improved just as much as weaknesses. One way to build confidence is to allow them to share strategies that highlight their strengths with their colleagues in a faculty or team meeting. Another strategy is to allow them to mentor teachers who struggle in areas where they have strengths. Share Positive Parent/Student Feedback Principals should not be afraid to solicit student and parent feedback about a teacher. It will be beneficial regardless of the type of feedback you receive. Sharing the positive feedback with a teacher can truly be a confidence booster. Teachers who believe they are well respected by parents and students gain a lot of confidence. It naturally means a lot of those two groups to believe in a teacher’s abilities. Provide Suggestions for Improvement All teachers should be given a comprehensive Personal Development Plan that serves as a guide for improvement in areas of weaknesses. Most teachers want to be good at all facets of their job. Many of them are aware of their weaknesses but do not know how to fix them. This leads to a lack of self-confidence. An integral part of a principal’s job is to evaluate teachers. If there isn’t a growth and improvement component to your evaluation model, then it won’t be an effective evaluation system, and it certainly will not help build confidence. Provide Young Teachers a Mentor Everyone needs a mentor that they can model themselves after, seek advice or feedback from, and share best practices. This is especially true for young teachers. Veteran teachers make excellent mentors because they have been through the fire and seen it all. As a mentor, they can share both successes and failures. A mentor can build confidence through encouragement over a long period of time. The impact a mentor has on a teacher can span the length of several careers as the young teacher transitions into becoming a mentor themselves. Give Them Time Most teacher preparation programs do not prepare a teacher for life in a real classroom. This is where the lack of self-confidence often begins. Most teachers come in excited and fully confident only to realize that the real world is much tougher than the picture they had painted in their mind. This forces them to adjust on the fly, which can be overwhelming, and where confidence is often lost. Slowly over the course of time with assistance such as the suggestions above, most teachers will regain their confidence and begin to make the climb towards maximizing their overall effectiveness.

Discuss Marx's concept of surplus value and the exploitation of Essay

Discuss Marx's concept of surplus value and the exploitation of workers by capitalists. How convincing is his argument - Essay Example Marx also considered labor as a form of private property, classical economists, whereby considering the social labor as dead labor. Nevertheless, the main objective of the paper is to analyze various arguments by Marx concerning the concept of surplus value and exploitation of workers by capitalist, in order to determine how convincing they are. Marx redefined human being as a social being, who conceives the human generic life as a social activity of labor in a way that the concept of alienation is established with a certain meaning. On the other hand, there are consequences related to the difference of the definitions, role of the concepts of value as it is depicted in his works. The theory of labor value focuses on the scope of economic investigation, whereby even the historians of economic thought included Marx among classical economists. Therefore, Marx’s theories are depicted as radicalized versions of the classical theory of labor value. Marx’s concept of labor va lue has been inspired Neoclassical or NeoRicardian theory, which argues that labor is a unit of measure of commodities and capital, as he applies the argument to discuss the theory of capitalist exploitation (Skillman, 362). Moreover, the difference appears more relevant to remember, since the works various economists such as Torrens and Sraffa have embraced the knowledge of labor value. This is through the Ricardo’s theory, which serves as a unit of measure of capital and social products under assumptions. Moreover, the effort of assigning the role of measuring the distribution of the social products to the concept of value is a crucial role in Marx theoretical framework. The critical role refers to the specifically social and historically relative state of production mode, which depends on the exchange value. There are claims by Marx indicating that the classical economists identified labor as a source of value, and they considered the law of the capitalist mode of producti on to be natural and internal. This resulted to consideration of value form being quite indifferent or external to the nature of the commodity. There is a significant explanation of Marx perception concerning the inability to deduce more developed form of value such as money and capital or labor from economic classes. Therefore, there is a critical aspect of Marx methods, which depends on exposing the relative value of social labor in the contribution made in the first section of Book I of The Capital (Skillman, 309). Marx claimed that the reason why political economist fails to recognize the source of value in labor is due to exclusive concern on the question related to distribution of the social products, which relate to the magnitude of the value. Consequently, they consider the labor manifests in the value of commodity, hence making them unable to differentiate between labor producing use value and labor producing exchange value. Invocation of price value equivalence by Marx is considered as ideal case of the commodity exchange, which is appropriate based on pursuing the basic logic of capitalist exploitation and treatment of alternative circuit of capital that fails to account for a mode of production in which they operate. Moreover, Marx suggests that an imprecise conception of capital is a social relation of production, whereby three divergent circuits of capital that

Choosing Childs Sex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Choosing Childs Sex - Essay Example In this research paper, I will try to give reason to the possible ethical issues that arise from the likelihood parents to be able to choose the sex of their children. The scope of this research paper will try to determine what is the ethical pros and cons in dealing with child sex selection. Whether desirable practice for medical, cultural, social or demographic reasons prohibiting or allowing it by law will likely result in producing harm for the given nation. There are ethical reasons that I will present in this paper - namely the genetic predisposition of female or male fetus to be born with anomalies. These arguments are plausible. The unethical ones go as far as altering the sex ration, further devaluing women and creating social imbalance. It will be further argued whether families having 2 or more children from the same sex will be permitted to keep the balance of their offspring by prenatal sex selection. It will be discussed whether couples have reproductive rights and how they can be infringed and violated. The consequences of forbidding or permitting child sex selection vary considerably from society to society and from individual to individual. Statistical data also varies between North America, Europe and Asian countries - India and China, in particular. Logically a comparison is impossible to be deduction about the child sex selection, because the social, cultural and economic factors that exist in India and Chine for a strong preference for son will be never prevalent and almost absent in Europe and North America. There are four major arguments which oppose sex selection methods: Such practices devaluate either one of the sexes; It reinforces the social attitudes and discriminate against girl/boy preferences; Women are struggling whether to choose abortion of the fetus if it is not from the desired sex or to give birth and kill it; It creates demographic imbalance in the sex ration. Since the introduction of the first sex selection clinic in Europe which happened around 1990, the interests, debates and even hostility surround these procedures. Often the hatred is generated and voiced by media and certain pressure groups, most likely religious organizations or professional bodies (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), 1993a). The public is struck by ethical and emotional concern and people have extremely polarized opinions - positive or negative. There are those who demand complete freedom to choose the sex of their children and those who express total disagreement and prohibition of prenatal sex selection which is not done in case of medical reasons. The main objections for sex selection come due to the demographic statistics in countries such as China, Korea and India, where the culture requires a sex preference due to the family policies restrictions. Population Reports (1994) shows that in some of the Asian countries as well as in the Middle East, boys are highly valued for religious, cultural, economic and hereditary purposes. The widespread practice of abortion or infanticide in case of female fetus suggests that the possibility to select the sex of the child in advance will further

The Daily Life of a President Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Daily Life of a President - Research Paper Example Job of a president includes â€Å"chairing meetings, setting agendas, appointing committees and assuring their proper functioning, and supervising the board administrator† (Stafford). What to talk of the meals, even the breakfast of a president is hardly ever taken in a private setting. Quite often, the president has to attend breakfast out of the house. Such news are typical of a president; â€Å"Georgian College  employees are invited to attend a  President’s Breakfast  at the  Barrie, Midland, Orillia  andOwen Sound  campuses† (â€Å"Have Breakfast†). Almost every day, the president has to deal with unforeseen matters and be present beyond the office time to make decisions of national and international significance. This practically involves the president in the job mentally, if not physically for full 24 hours because most presidents can not escape their job even in their dreams. The day of a president starts with the personal secretaryâ₠¬â„¢s report, who does the night duty to make note of all news, calls and messages for the president that may arrive in the night while the president is sleeping. While he is delivered a glassful of fresh juice or bed-tea as may liked by the president in the bed, the personal secretary narrates the report and the two discuss how to modify the schedule to incorporate the changes. The secretary also confirms the numbers of flights, time of flights. He also checks if the pre-departure arrangements have been made to all local and abroad tours. The president has breakfast with the family, if he is spared the opportunity by the local ministers, government officials or foreign ministers. A heavy breakfast acquaints the president with all the energy that is required during the day. After the breakfast, the president sets off to make guest appearance at some school, hospital or conference. He may or may not accompany his wife with him on such visits. In a vast majority of cases, presidents t ake their wives along with them to the opening ceremonies. On his way to the ceremony or conference, the president tends to take a preliminary in-sight to the speech prepared for him by the personal speech-maker. Most presidents appoint a person with exceptional vocal skills for this purpose. The speech is hardly ever read completely and thoroughly by the presidents as they are so many and have to be made at quite a lot of places on a daily basis. Occasionally, a president may experience difficulty reading a speech if the words are printed wrongly. The president’s visit adds tones to the importance of a ceremony and it is brought in the lime-light. The president may be offered buffet at the location of ceremony for lunch. After the ceremony, the president proceeds towards the press-conference for clarifying public’s doubts over the enforcement of recent alterations in the rules and regulations. A president takes the press-conference as an opportunity to clarify the con fusions that may have cultivated in the minds of the public and the media from time to time and satisfy their queries. Press-conference is a very challenging event for a president because he has to live answer the most critical questions openly raised by media’s representatives. To make it worse, the whole session is telecast live and each and every emotion of the president is recorded. In order to gain public’

Globalization and Its Main Characteristics Essay

Globalization and Its Main Characteristics - Essay Example Reich (1998) defined globalization as â€Å"a process through which events, decisions and activities in one part of the world can come to have a significant consequence for individuals and communities in quite distant parts of the globe (Reich, 1998, p.5). It is the process through which economies, societies, and cultures are exchanging their resources for mutual benefits. Moreover it is the process which integrate global network of political, technological, economical and cultural ideas through communication, transportation, and trade. In short, globalization is an effort to bring all the people in this world under one umbrella. This paper analyses the different characteristics of globalization. Globalization succeeded in bringing many social, political and economical changes in the world. It is intended for decreasing the gap between; rich and poor, different religious beliefs, different political and social ideologies etc. Poor countries may have many resources, but they may not have the infrastructure or technological expertise to exploit it. Globalization can help such poor countries to mobilize their resources more effectively with the cooperation from rich countries. For example, it is quite possible that oil resources are available in many of the poor countries. However these countries may not have the technological expertise or financial abilities to explore oil in their coastal regions. Rich countries can help such poor countries in exploring oil resources in their territory as a result of globalization. Thus, both the countries will be benefitted from their mutual cooperation. It is illogical for a poor country to keep their valuable natural resources untouched wh ile striving for progress. According to Lauder et al (2006), many people tempted to think globalization as the â€Å"process of transportation of jobs, ethnic and cultural composition of nations etc from one country to another† (Lauder et al, 2006, p.32).

Did Robert E. Lee make the correct decisions at Gettysburg or could he Essay

Did Robert E. Lee make the correct decisions at Gettysburg or could he have employed a different strategy - Essay Example The war involved about 170,000 men. Upon losing the battle, the General led the remaining group back to Virginia, in the process bringing the war to a halt and concluded by sealing the Union victory. Despite the defeat, Lee’s still believes they would have won the battle if only they were united. He makes this clear through his letter to the President of the Confederate States, â€Å"†¦.we must expect reverses, even defeats. They are send to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies and to prevent falling into greater disasters. Our people only have to be true and united, to bear manfully the misfortune incident to war, and all will come right in the end.† (General Robert, 8th August, 1863). The losing of the battle at Gettysburg had nothing concerning the decisions he made but instead, it was enabled by the failure of the subordinates not only failing to follow his directives but also acting contrary to them. This is seen when the Cavalry, Generals Ewell and Longstreet end up failing General Lee by failing to act in unison with him. Much about these is as discussed in the successive paragraphs. For a number of weeks, General Lee had not received any feedback from his cavalry. This posed a challenge since the General went ahead to make decisions without having much knowledge on the magnitude and strength of the enemy. This, in other words, shows how the subordinates (Cavalry) contributed in the defeat of General Lee’s Army. General Lee knew the importance a good standing ground as far the winning of any battle is concerned. He figured out a large hill which was referred to as Little Round Top. He ordered one of General Ewell, who he trusted as a Division Commander to go take the hill but instead, the commander let him down. The hill was only having about 1,000 Union soldiers (James, 36), a far much smaller number as compared to the group that was under Ewell (over 20,000 men). This depicts how easy it would have been

John Stuart Mills Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

John Stuart Mills Theories - Essay Example The essay concludes that Mill's proposed limitations on legitimate interference with the individual has limited sustainability, and can only be applied in a system which has already liberated its citizens through education and cultural revolution. John Stuart Mill, the nineteenth century philosopher, is an icon for liberal ideals. Noted as "An extraordinarily nice, warm-hearted and intellectually generous man, as well as an extraordinarily gifted one" (Marquand, 2007), whom it is impossible to dislike, Mill set the standard for ideas on the nature of individual Liberty in a functioning society. Unlike many philosophers of his age, Mill put the need for Individual freedom above the need of the state for social order and control. Mill was not alone in theorizing about liberty, and the constraints on government. A century before his writing, two nations had risen up and overthrown what had been legitimate government. The American Revolution argued that there can be no taxation without representation, and the French Revolution succeeded in toppling a monarchy; within Mill's lifetime, the latter revolution had still been battling to come to terms with these events, the monarchy having been recreated and overthrown for a second time. During the first French Revolution, intellectuals had rushed to view the action, and intellectual society was still shaken by what it had seen. Questions and worries about what these events meant for society were therefore not far from the minds of philosophers and creative thinkers in JS Mill's social circle. This paper attempts to examine Mill's proposal on limitations on state interference in light of his intellectual influences and events of the time. By examining some of the ideas which Mill discussed in On Liberty, both about government interference with individual will, and how his own constraints on Liberty serve to protect individuals from harm by others, this paper will attempt to analyze the limitations which Mill proposed be placed upon legitimate government. Interpretations and discussion of Mill's most famous work center on the connection between Mill's theories of freedom, and the school of Utilitarianism in which he was brought up. According to Isaiah Berlin, his intellectual achievement, after a "Terrifying education at the hands of a rigid and dogmatic father" (Marquand, 2007), remains that he managed to develop his own need for freedom and happiness into a set of principles which remain at the centre of debates into the freedom of the individual (Berlin, 1991). Berlin also suggests that Mill hung on to his Utilitarian upbringing, which has been criticized more recently by, amongst others, John Gray. In the introduction to On Liberty in Focus, Gray and his co-editor G Smith consider the idea that Mill had given up Utilitarianism, and instead "It is rather the celebrated 'one very simple principle' of the first chapter of On Liberty" (Gray and Smith, 1991) which was Mill's motivation, and suggest other alternatives to Berlin's interp retation.

Did Robert E. Lee make the correct decisions at Gettysburg or could he Essay

Did Robert E. Lee make the correct decisions at Gettysburg or could he have employed a different strategy - Essay Example The war involved about 170,000 men. Upon losing the battle, the General led the remaining group back to Virginia, in the process bringing the war to a halt and concluded by sealing the Union victory. Despite the defeat, Lee’s still believes they would have won the battle if only they were united. He makes this clear through his letter to the President of the Confederate States, â€Å"†¦.we must expect reverses, even defeats. They are send to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies and to prevent falling into greater disasters. Our people only have to be true and united, to bear manfully the misfortune incident to war, and all will come right in the end.† (General Robert, 8th August, 1863). The losing of the battle at Gettysburg had nothing concerning the decisions he made but instead, it was enabled by the failure of the subordinates not only failing to follow his directives but also acting contrary to them. This is seen when the Cavalry, Generals Ewell and Longstreet end up failing General Lee by failing to act in unison with him. Much about these is as discussed in the successive paragraphs. For a number of weeks, General Lee had not received any feedback from his cavalry. This posed a challenge since the General went ahead to make decisions without having much knowledge on the magnitude and strength of the enemy. This, in other words, shows how the subordinates (Cavalry) contributed in the defeat of General Lee’s Army. General Lee knew the importance a good standing ground as far the winning of any battle is concerned. He figured out a large hill which was referred to as Little Round Top. He ordered one of General Ewell, who he trusted as a Division Commander to go take the hill but instead, the commander let him down. The hill was only having about 1,000 Union soldiers (James, 36), a far much smaller number as compared to the group that was under Ewell (over 20,000 men). This depicts how easy it would have been

What is Islamophobia Is it a real concern Is it racism Essay

What is Islamophobia Is it a real concern Is it racism - Essay Example The unwanted importance given to the fear of Islam leads to dislike towards the majority of Muslims, who are moderate and secular. Besides, Islamophobia denies the feelings of moderate Muslims who consider religion and politics as different entities. Halim Rane, Jacqui Ewart, and Mohamad Abdalla state that Islamophobic expressions are either passive (inauspicious attitude) or active (discrimination) (Rane, Ewart, & Abdalla, 2010). Islamophobia forces the world community to consider Islam as the most important threat on world peace and co-operation among world religions. In addition, Islamophobia projects the aggressiveness of Islam and its ideology. At the same time, Islam is considered as a political ideology based on religious ideology. In short, Islamophobia is the enmity towards Islam and Muslims as a whole. But it leads to discrimination and marginalization of secular Muslims who are not interested in political Islam. In the United States, Islamophobia is a burning issue which leads to the discrimination of Muslim minority. But all Americans do not consider Muslims as terrorists or religious extremists. As the United States is a multi-religious society, there exists high possibility for difference in opinion on a particular issue. The 9/11 attacks resulted in the strong hatred against Islam as an extremist religion. Mahmood Mamdani states that the post 9/11 culture talk shows unwanted interest to connect terrorism and Islam (Mamdani, 17). The global spread of terrorism and religious extremism increased the scope of anti-Islamic sentiment among the people. For instance, the term ‘Camel Jockey’ is used to denote Muslims. Terrorism sponsored by the fundamentalist groups operating from the Middle East forced the Americans to consider Islam as a dangerous religion. The American war in Iran and Afghanistan ignited hatred among the Muslims. But these wars were not fought against Islam or Mu slims, but against the terrorists who are against world peace

Business Report Essay Example for Free

Business Report Essay Business opportunities in NSW are impacted by internal and external factors. Internal and external factors influence the business opportunities as they determine the success and failure of opportunities in the business environment. External influences are factors which mainly influence the environment outside the business and therefore they determine what the management staff inside the business must do to adjust with the changes in the external environment. External influences include factors such as; economic, financial, geographic, social, legal, political, institutional, technological, competitive situation and markets. Internal influences are factors affecting the business from within i. e. internally. Internal influences include factors such as; product, location, management, resource management and business culture. The following business report is commissioned to examine the influence of external and internal factors of business opportunities in NSW. The economic influence includes factors which relate to changes in the wider economy i. e. booms and recessions in the economy. The benefit of a growing economy allows opportunities for a business to increase profit, so businesses are able to experience rising living standards. ‘Booms’ and ‘upswings’ benefit business opportunities as they are periods where the economy is going through a positive phase where businesses have the opportunity to increase their positive total revenue. Consequently, this will lead to a rise in employment, consumer spending and wages. On the other hand, â€Å"Busts’ and ‘downswings’ are periods where businesses are impacted negatively. An example of a business which suffered from the negative factors of the economic cycle was Harvey Norman. Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported Harvey Norman experienced a ‘downswing’ period as profits decreased from $128. 95 million to $81. 9 million and total sales had a decline of 7. 3% due to lack of consumer spending. Financial influences involve ‘deregulation’ which is the removal of government regulations from the industry in hope of improving competition. The improvement of competition allows businesses the opportunity to improve efficiency and productivity of their employers and aim to achieve their required goal. Woolworths and Coles have recently removed regulations relating to supplier payments in order to lower costs and open up opportunities to expand their business and increase profit. Geographical influences such as location will determine the growth and development of a specific business. Geographical influences impact business opportunities as it provides challenges to increase profits, sales and expansion of business. An example of expansion of business is IKEA who have expanded their business to Melbourne, Australia because of economic growth in the Australian economy. Due to dramatic increase in consumer spending, IKEA’s profit increased rapidly and therefore they were able to purchase an 80, 000 metre square warehouse. Geographical influence impacts on business opportunities as it increases employment, sales and expansion of business as seen by the actions of IKEA. Social influences provide opportunities for businesses to change or develop to meet consumer demands. Social influences such as changes in consumer tastes and preferences significantly impacts on business productivity and opportunities. Failure for a business to satisfy consumer’s wants can be detrimental to a business and therefore can lead to a decrease in profits and sales or even cessation if they fail to meet consumer demands. An example of social influence on a business is the impact of the style of clothing of AussieBum. AussieBum manufactures and sells their products via the internet and are successful as their material and style of the underwear and beach clothing is famous among society. The business is successful as the material they produce is unique. Additionally, the location of the manufacturing is based in Australia further satisfying the taste and preferences on Australian consumers. Social influences for this business includes its consumers demanding Australian manufacturers to maintain uniqueness and reflect the Australian image; and consumers demanding products to be purchased over the internet. In this case, AussieBum successfully responds to social influences by having the correct production process of manufacturing their commodities and satisfying consumer demand and preferences. Legal influences impacts on business opportunities as it sets out regulations and laws that impacts business operations. Legal influences sets out guidelines that prevents businesses from discriminating or financial rorting. Additionally, legal influences such as laws and contracts can impact businesses as they are forced to buy from specific and this affects their total revenue. An example of legal influence on a business is the investigation of Coles. A recent article published by Sydney Morning Herald states that Coles is undergoing an investigation on discrimination between suppliers based on their private label brands. This breaches statutes which include anti – discrimination laws. Legal investigation is costly and affects consumer buying and spending at this business. Hence, it is crucial for businesses to abide by legislations to take advantage of the opportunities and maintain consumer satisfaction. Political influences impact businesses as government policies can lead to business uncertainty or business confidence. Political influences impact businesses as they implement policies which can change the structure of businesses. An example of political influences on a business is the impact the carbon tax has on BHP Billiton, a company in the mining industry. The carbon tax affects the company as BHP Billiton is now in charge of paying taxes which affect the company’s total revenue as there is an increase in costs. The carbon tax affects business opportunities in BHP Billiton as they are unable to hire new efficient and productive employees due to increase in their costs. Business opportunities in NSW can also be affected by taxation that can increase business costs and therefore restrict the businesses ability to expand or increase their profit or sales. Additionally, the exchange rate can affect the volume of import and exports from global markets hence impact of the price of products. Institutional influences refer to three bodies (Federal, State, and Local) which all have factors which impact business opportunities in NSW. The regulations of institutional influences are the safety and protection of employers in the business, the compulsory minimum wage, payment of taxes, approving new development and simple business codes of conduct and abiding by the legal business laws. These factors impact business opportunities as businesses must abide by these regulations in order to continue running and the breaching of the regulations can result in penalties which may affect the business financially. A recent investigation involving Coles breaching these regulations as they demanded additional payments from their suppliers led to a decrease in profits and loss of other suppliers. These factors affected Coles as their supply of specific products is decreasing yet they have such high demand but in result aren’t able to satisfy consumers wants. Business opportunities are impacted by the institutional influences as businesses are forced to run in a certain way as it can affect their financial status as well as their reputation if they fail to do so. Technology is improving at a rapid pace and allowing businesses to produce more efficiently. Technological influences impact vehicle manufacturing businesses such as Holden. Holden’s vehicles are produced rapidly because of innovative technology. The new Holden Barina features Apple’s Siri voice command providing more features and improving the product. Additionally, technological influence can impact businesses negatively. For example, technological advancements often replace employees and this decreases the opportunity of hiring new employment contributing to unemployment. Nonetheless, technological influences provide opportunities for businesses to produce products more efficiently and in turn increase their total revenue. Competition is advantageous to both consumers and businesses as it provides opportunities for improvement and demand for consumer satisfaction. A competitive situation often influences businesses to lower prices of its products to gain consumer satisfaction. For example, Woolworths and Coles promote lower prices to compete with one another. This provides consumers with wider range of choice and preferences. More so, they promote consumer points for purchasing goods and services at their store to remain competitive. Also, Jetstar has a policy which states they will provide a 10% discount on their service if their competitive airlines (i. e. Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways) offer a cheaper price for their service.In recent times financial/capital, labour and consumers have significantly changed. Financial/capital markets have seen international financial/capital flows become more flexible and easily accessible due to globalisation. Therefore, markets are more integrated. ASX is an example of these changes as the business has now made it more easily accessible for consumers to purchase and sell shares globally over the internet. Financial/capital markets influence business opportunities as businesses in NSW are linked globally are able to communicate and operate more efficiently. However, negative economic influence can impact on domestic markets in NSW which can impede on business operations.

Religion a hindrance towards the development of societies

Religion a hindrance towards the development of societies As difficult as it can get to define religion, it gets even harder to explain its parameters. There has not been a general consensus on the definition of religion although social scientists have long tried to provide clarity to the definition of religion as it fits best to justify their work. Belief is at the core of Religion (Jeff Haynes, 1997). According to Jeff, Bellah termed religion as, a set of symbolic forms and acts which relate man [sic] to the ultimate conditions of his existence. Jeff interprets these ultimate conditions of existence in two ways, in material and spiritual sense. I will be modifying the material sense of conditions as those pertaining to the political, social and economic factors defining the sophistication of modern world. Empirical and theoretical researchers have long stressed on only the instrumental factors affecting the development of society. It is important to understand that these instrumental factors are insufficient to reflect true results withou t the inclusion of qualitative factors such as religion. The effect of religion on the economic development of an economy cannot be fairly established without defining economic development. This concept has been a popular one among the economic and social scientists throughout the history of economics. However, the inclusion of terms to define this concept has varied. The concept of economic development lies beyond the conventional boundaries. It is not just a mere calculation of income levels per person in an economy. As noted by Amartya Sen in his book Development as Freedom, it is not simply adequate to take the maximization of income or wealth as our basic objective. Rather than quantifying economic development as a function of wealth or income it should be more focused with its relevance in enhancing the lives being lead and the freedoms being enjoyed. The concept of economic development is far younger than that of religion. Religion and prosperity have often been seen essential to exist side by side. The presence of one has serious implications on the other. The inclusion of religion in economics was first introduced by Adam Smith, who is also known as the Economist of Religion. He viewed religion from a public finance perspective. Adam Smith argues about the idea of increased competitiveness under the presence of different religious institutions in an economy. His approach towards religion and its role in economics was rather a neglected one but he raised some broader questions that have been centre of research by many contemporary economists. These questions pertain to whether competitive religions or established (state) monopoly churches or both are a fundamental requirement in achieving optimality in religious markets. Many economists have worked on making a statement about Adam Smiths stance on religion in economics. Gary And erson (1988) extended the argument to the farthest reach. According to him, Smith argues in favor of free-market anarchism stronger than in any of his works. Adam Smith regarded the notion of moral sense as tied with the concept of self-love, altruism and the right to interact with others on a contractual basis. It was Max Weber who dealt with the impact of religion on economic forces by stressing the effect of religion on economy through its direct influence on the individual traits of the economic agents. According to Weber, religion affected individuals by making them more or less productive hence indirectly effecting the operation of an economy. Robert Barro and Rachel McCleary were the ones who found religion to have a positive effect on economic development. The parameters defining development were cooperation, government, working women, legal rules, thriftiness and per capita income levels. The effects of religion differ between and across religious denominations, but overall, their studies found that Christianity based on the attendance level in churches and belief in life after death is associated positively with attitudes conducive to economic growth. However, there have been economists like John L. Perkins who have criticized the existence of religion as a sole determinant of econ omic retardation in the developing country. He is one of the few contemporary western economists that have tried capturing the effects of religion particularly Islam on the socio-economic evolution of a society. However, there has not been much work done on Pakistan and its development in the context of religion. Thesis Statement The main hypothesis is to find if the economic failure of Pakistan is self inflicted or caused by political and socio economic forces beyond control. Is it the growing religious fanaticism that is hindering the growth and development of Pakistani society as projected by the world nowadays? Approach and Development The paper addresses some crucial questions that need to be answered in the wake of the past decades events. There is a growing dissent towards the role of Pakistan in the modern world. The concerns are not only raised by international community but also by the moderate citizens within the country. The cries to bring about a change have been raised by people who are being victimized by the internal situation of the country, majority of them being women, minorities and the educated middle class. The paper intends to focus on addressing a vital question. Can religion play a role in the retardation of the economic development or wellbeing of the society? How have the so called Islamic laws such as Hudood Ordinance left a devastating impact on women and minorities? What is the future of Pakistan in terms of its economy and the level of prosperity? Is it time to review the extent of religious interference with the matters of the government? These questions will be addressed by conducting a research and analyzing the influence of religion on economic progress and development. Religion and economic development will both be defined in terms of certain factors based on the amended definitions presented in the early part of the proposal. The paper will focus on religiosity as an empirical determinant of economic development in Pakistan. Robert R. Barro and Rachel M. McCleary in their working paper, Religion and Economic growth captured the effect of religion by considering the effect of church attendance and religious beliefs. This paper will provide as a starting point for this research paper. The empirical model used in their paper can be amended and adopted to cater to the needs of a developing country, in this case Pakistan. However it is important to note that the motive here is not to capture the effect of the typical dictionary term religion on economic development of a society. The events happening around us do not require an answer to this question anymore. It is the extent of the adoption of religion resulting in religious extremism that requires the attention of economists. The data used by Barro in his paper has a few drawbacks when modified for the case of Pakistan. As the approach to assessing the possi ble effects of Islam on the economic growth of Pakistan has to cater for the changes in the way religion is defined nowadays, the two fundamental variables used in his work are not applicable here any more. The inclusion of attendance to church (mosques in this case) does not signify anything about the evident extremism in the country. It is therefore important to base the research on the right questions. These sample questions are compiled from a variety of questions pooled in for The measurement of Family Religiosity and Spirituality for Indicators for Child, Family and Community Connections. These will help answer the vital questions presented earlier. Variables that can define religiosity in Pakistan better can possibly include like: Religious school enrollment in Pakistan. These schools are the madrassahs that focus on the religion as mode of teaching. There is a clear distinction between private and public schools which follow a regular curriculum with the inclusion of knowledge of religion only. Level of religious communication at home. This includes the frequency with which religion is preached at home. The nature of religious beliefs. This focuses on distinguishing if the person is just spiritual and not religious. Desire, willingness or involvement in religious training camps and activities. Similarity in religious beliefs to ones parents and partner. How comfortable does the person feel to be around people sharing strong beliefs? Religion through media. To what extent are people trying to explore more of their religion through the use of different religious web-sites, chat rooms and religious programming on television? The willingness to find opportunities to learn more about religion. The willingness towards women achieving higher education. The level of tolerance towards a secular state rather than a religious monopoly. Does the person view complete Shariah rule as a necessary step. The paper will use survey data based on questions designed to capture the level of extremism prevailing in the society. Individual data will be collected for the survey applying to 1000-2000 respondents. The survey data will be used to form country-wide average of data which will be based on questions pertaining to the data compiled for Pakistan. The result of this research would help in highlighting the partial correlation between measures of religiosity and indicators of economic development. These indicators might be the women representation in the country, GDP per capita, percentage of people living under poverty line, capital and investment inflow, freedom to minorities, literacy rate and level of migration etc. In compiling research data it has to be kept in mind that there are certain problems associated with the empirical data of this nature. A main limitation of this research is the possible reversibility of the causation effect of the data. This pertains to the problem of determining if economic growth is affected by increased religiosity or is this extremism an outcome of vicious economic traps faced by developing economies. Another limitation is the inability of economic development to take into account just the economic factors. Religion influences the development of not only the economic forces but also has serious political and social implications. Similarly there are other determinants such as culture that are closely linked with religion in countries with strong historical background. These determinants tend to create a bias towards the findings of how religiosity can influence development. This problem has to be dealt with very carefully when analyzing empirical work. Implications of Research The area of religion and economic development is a very sensitive and dangerous one to handle. It has been analyzed for years by social scientists but there has not been much done on Islam and its effect on Pakistan over the decade when it was much needed. There is a need for new set of parameters defining religion as there is a fine line between spirituality and religious extremism which has to be revealed in order to understand the mechanisms of a developing country with religious monopoly. This study will help overcome this gap and will assist in finding answers about the future of Pakistan and its role in the modern world.

Freedom in Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings :: Braveheart Lord of the Rings Essays

The Power of Freedom in Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings How far would you go to defend freedom? Would you overcome impossible odds? In the films â€Å"Braveheart† and â€Å"The Lord of the Rings,† the main characters, Mel Gibson and Elijah Wood, go to the ends of the earth to achieve their goals and bring freedom to the people within their society. The two main plots emphasize the concept that no matter what nation you live under, any man or woman will fight to defend their right to freedom. In â€Å"Braveheart†, Mel Gibson, plays William Wallace. In the movie his wife is brutally killed by one of the English kings. Before the death of his wife, Wallace also experiences the death of his brother and father by the hands of the same aggressor when he was a child. After this he decides that any aggressive action against those he holds dear will not be left unavenged. The day of his wife’s death, William waited for his wife at a secret hiding place and when he finds out she isn’t coming because she was killed, he takes the ways of the law into his own hands. When William becomes a revolutionary he leads the Scottish people to an uprising against the English government. William then begins to de-thrown all the kings in the English region. He loses all sense of inhibition while pursuing his desire to avenge his loved ones’ death and brings freedom to his people. â€Å"The Lord of the Rings† is a movie about the plight of mankind while defending itself against a great evil of a supernatural kind. In this movie, the main character, Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Woods, must protect the ring of power on an arduous journey across the country in an attempt to destroy the ring. If he fails, all of mankind will be destroyed and ruled by sorcerers and unseen forces of evil. Although he faces many grueling obstacles during his journey, his determination and knowledge of the possible disintegration of the human race fuels him and gives him the strength to complete his journey. In the end, after many trials and near death experiences-not to mention the loss of close friends and his own personal struggles centered around the power the ring has over him-he accomplishes his goal and successfully destroys the ring and brings freedom to mankind.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare: Critique Essay

A critique on the main character in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. So foul and fair a day I have not seen.† This is a famous quote by Macbeth, the antagonist in William Shakespeare’s classic work, The Tragedy of Macbeth. This one line takes place when Macbeth and Banquo are returning from their victory in battle over the Norwegians. Following this quote further it could be looked at in a broader spectrum of Macbeth’s triumphs and failures. He goes from a warrior hero to a murderer, and lastly, his tragic flaw brings him to his death. When critiquing Macbeth the main points to look at are his actions, blind ambition, excessive pride, and lastly, his boldness and impression of personal invincibility which eventually leads to his death. See how he can be at the height of his life one moment and in his grave the next due to a few prophecies by witches and his blind ambition. To begin, looking at Macbeth, his actions are obviously a major flaw. In the beginning of the tragedy, his actions are looked at as heroic with his destruction of the Norwegians and King Sweno in battle. This is crucial to the play, because a tragedy depends on the downfall of an already great man. In an outside source, it is said that the lines when Macbeth killed Duncan (â€Å"unseam’d him from the nave to the chops, and fix’d his head upon our battlements†) are meant to foreshadow Macbeth’s death at the end of the play. However, as the play progresses, the major action occurs when, although Macbeth is filled with misgivings, he ascends to King Duncan’s chamber and murders him in his sleep. This shows that he is willing to kill his loyal king so that he can make the prophecies come true that he may someday be king. Following this, when Macbeth thinks back to the witches’ prophecy regarding Banquo that one of his descendants will become king. Macbeth looks at this as a threat to his own position. Unable to undo these thoughts, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. During the Banquet the murderers contact him and explain that Banquo is dead, but Fleance escaped. Macbeth explains that he is not worried with Fleance. The final action that dooms Macbeth is when he kills Macduff’s wife and child. Macbeth goes to the Weird Sisters to hear a series of apparitions to predict his future. This first apparition is Macduff’s head warning Macbeth that a  bloody revenge of Duncan’s son, Malcolm is soon to come. When he is threatened again for his position of kingship Macbeth looks for further political survival and is also angered. He arranges the death of Macduff’s wife and children. This ultimately hurts Macbeth because it angers Macduff more, and he sides with Malcolm for revenge on Macbeth. Moreover, throughout the play Macbeth’s life if completely subverted and undermined by his insatiable ambition. At the start of the story he was reasonable enough to keep his ambition under control, although it eventually became to strong and overpowered him. However, he did control his ambition much longer than his wife who was overcome once she heard that King Duncan was coming. The first sign of Macbeth losing his ambition is with the three witches and their prophecies. Although he questions their motives, he doesn’t believe that they are in fact pushing him down a path of evil and despair. He says that their visit â€Å"cannot be ill, cannot be good.† This scene shows that Macbeth at first questions the motives of the witches, and the moral implications of killing King Duncan. He also sees his ambition forming when he doesn’t refute the title as King and in fact accepts the title of Thane of Cawdor. This shows in the lines – If Chance will have me King. Why/ Chance may crown me.† (Shakespeare; I, iii, 141-142) Macbeth’s ambition doesn’t take off until it is fueled by his wife’s great ambition. An interesting character in the story is Banquo. He parallels Macbeth in the beginning but when they both hear the prophecies he is much less accepting of them. I believe that the contrast was created to emphasize Macbeth’s tragic flaw. One critical perspective views Banquo’s function as essentially symbolic: he is portrayed as a man who, like Macbeth, has the capacity for both God’s grace and sin; but unlike the protagonist, he puts little stock in the Weird Sisters, prophecies and does not succumb to their temptations. Banquo’s reluctance to dwell on the witches’ predictions therefore underscores, by contrast, the nature of Macbeth’s descent into evil. (Scott; 238)To reiterate, looking at Macbeth’s ambition throughout the tragedy, I came to one conclusion. As time passes, a once moral man cannot hold off the temptations of the power he could achieve. This idea is stated in the following passage: â€Å"One of the most significant reasons for the enduring critical interest in Macbeth’s character is that he represents humankind’s universal propensity to temptation and sin. Macbeth’s excessive ambition motivates him to murder  Duncan, and once the evil act is accomplished, he sets into motion a series of sinister events that ultimately lead to his downfall.† (Scott; 236) As one can clearly see, Macbeth’s ambition clearly got to him and he couldn’t overpower it. Furthermore, the last flaw in Macbeth is his boldness and impression of personal invincibility. Toward the end of the play when Macbeth approaches the witches for three more prophesies, which seem impossible. The first prophecy is the head of Macduff warning Macbeth of a bloody revenge by Malcolm. The second is a blood-covered child who explains to Macbeth that he cannot be harmed by any man â€Å"of woman born†. The third is a child wearing a crown that explains Macbeth cannot be defeated until Birnam Wood physically â€Å"uproots† itself and moves to Dunsinane hill. Macbeth is not worried because he believes, as anyone would, these predictions are impossible. However, as the play progresses he hears from a servant that a large army is moving toward Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth ignores the warning, as he believes he is invincible. These are the beginning signs that we see that Macbeth may be ignoring his own doom due to his belief in personal invincibility. In addition, in the last portion of the play we find that English and rebel Scottish armies who march to Birnam Wood have been directed by Malcolm for each soldier to cut a branch and carry it in front of them as camouflage â€Å"to shadow the numbers of our host.† When Macbeth hears word that this has happened, he begins to realize that the prophecy has come true, but he still is trying to deny it. When Malcolm and his troops finally reach Dunsinane hill under the â€Å"leafy screens† of branches the apparition has come true: Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth puts on his armor and goes to battle with his army. On the battlefield Macbeth and Macduff at last come face to face. Macduff reveals to Macbeth that he entered the world by being â€Å"untimely ripp’d† from his mother’s whom. Under these circumstances he was not strictly â€Å"born† of woman. When Macbeth hears this he realizes his struggle for survival has come to an end. He realizes how foolish he was for believing in his invincibility. Macduff kills Macbeth with anger in his heart for the death of his family. These final couple scenes really show that Macbeth’s boldness and belief in invincibility end his reign of power,  and cause his death. In conclusion, â€Å"So foul and fair a day I have not seen.† Is a very appropriate quote by Macbeth for the battle at the start of the play, but also for the path of his life. In William Shakespeare’s masterpiece Macbeth, he created a character that will live on for years to come. The character Macbeth is a great antagonist because he is bought up to be a hero in the beginning of the play but because of his actions, blind ambition, boldness, and impression of personal invincibility he finds his death. This play was clearly my favorite by Shakespeare solely because of the character Macbeth and how, I, the reader could sit back and realize all of the mistakes he is making, before he realized it and was too late. Works Cited 1.) Free Essays – Blind Ambition in Macbeth. 123HelpMe.com. 02 Jan 2008. 2.) Macbeth. Cliff Notes. 26 Dec. 2007. 3.) Scott, Mark W. (Editor). Shakespeare for Students. 1992. Gale Research Inc. Detroit, Michigan.