Behaviors of Domestic Cats

Cats have been kept as domestic pets since ancient times. They are known as loyal, finicky and independent creatures. Their behaviors can tell us whether they have a physical ailment, are upset or worried or are happy and contented. (Catsinfo. com) When a cat rubs up against someone, they are showing ownership of that person and marking them as such. Cats can be quite finicky as to who they like and can even choose to ignore someone if they decide they do not like them. (Budiansky, 2002) A cat is naturally inclined to claw things such as furniture, drapes or rugs.Many people have their cats declawed to prevent damage to these objects. While this was commonplace for many years, it is now becoming something of a controversy. Animal rights activists and many cat owners are comparing the procedure to amputation and vehemently oppose the practice. With time and effort, cats can be trained to use a scratching post. One problem for cat owners is the hazard that most house plants present to the cats. In the wild, cats eat grass to help with fur in their stomach. Many common house plants can be poisonous to cats if ingested.Hanging plants are not always safe since cats will climb furniture to reach them. Some owners have found that growning a small patch of grass in a container will keep the cats happy enough to leave the other plants alone. Many indoor cats use a litter box instead of the outdoors. In the wild, cats bury their feces to keep predators from scenting them. This behavior continues indoors as well. Cats are naturally clean animals and like the litter box to be clean as well. One of the main issues for cat owners is urination in an area other than the litter box.There can be many causes for this behavior and it is trial and error until the problem is resolved. Finding the right litter box and type of litter can also be trial and error as some cats prefer one thing, some another. One reason for a cat to refuse to use the litter box is that it is not clean. If the litter box is clean, it may be a physical ailment such as a bladder infection or urinary tract infection. Any ailments should be treated by a veterinarian. A cat may show it is upset by urination outside the litter box as well.Cats can be upset by any number of things such as changes in habitat, additions of new pets to the family or other changes. Watching a cat’s tail can be a good indication of the cat’s mood. A tail that is erect and held high indicates a friendly mood. A tail that is laying down and twitching usually indicates the cat is pensive or irritable. A tail held high and fluffed out is a good indicator that the cat will attack if provoked. (xmission, 2007) Cats show affection in several ways. Purring is the most commonly recognized behavior of a friendly, content cat.A cat will purr when happy, many times while being petted. Cats will also rub against a person to show friendliness and also to mark the person as their. Cats have scent glands all over their bodies that enable them to mark their territory. property This is another behavior taken from the wild where they mark their territory against other animals invading it. Butting their heads against a person is another way of showing affection. Urinary spray is also a way for them to mark their territory but having them spayed or neutered at around six months of age will stop this behavior.Cats are natural hunters and will stalk birds, small animals and toys. It is their instinct to hunt that causes them to pounce on toys and bat them around. Cats are good hunters and quite fast at times. Many farms keep cats as mousers in the barn and home. Cats will chase small toys or laser lights. This is the hunting instinct in them causing this behavior as cats are attracted by movement. Cats have a tendency to show attention to people who do not care for cats when they visit. This is due to a behavior in the wild that indicates submissivness.Cats will look directly at another cat and sho w aggression if protecting territory or young. A cat who refuses to look directly at another cat or seems to ignore it is showing submission to the other cat. It is the same behavior in people who do not care for cats, they tend to look away or try to ignore the cat. This is an invitation to the cat to show dominance. A cat that is injured or in pain will tend to hide itself in a dark area. This is a behavior that often saves their lives in the wild. Injured or weak animals often become food for predators so hiding is a natural instinct.Cats will often do the same thing indoors when hurt. It is important to remember that any injured or pained animal will strike out if frightened and extra care should be taken when attempting to extricate the cat from its hiding place. (xmission, 2007) Cats make wonderful pets and are relatively low maintantence due to their independent nature. They do not require constant attention or reassurance. They can be trained to overcome inappropriate behavi or and are extremely affectionate when it suits them. Whether the cat is an indoor cat or an outdoor cat, the behaviors tend to be the same.Instinct plays a large part in cat behavior and knowing these behaviors can lead to a satisfactory cat and owner relationship. Works Cited Budiansky, Stephen. â€Å"The Character of Cats: The Mystery Is Not Why They're So Antisocial but Why They're Social at All. † The Atlantic Monthly June 2002: 75+. Questia. 26 Sept. 2007 . http://www. catsinfo. com Moore, Glenda. â€Å"Catstuff† Retrieved September 24, 2007 from http://www. xmission. com/emailbox/whycat. htm

Masters of Satire: John Dryden and Jonathan Swift Essay

â€Å"Both Swift and Dryden are masters of satire. Usually the satire is directed against an opponent/enemy or a political process. Using references from one poem from each writer, discuss how and why each uses satire and wit as a cutting sword.† John Dryden and Jonathan Swift became remarkable satirists through their ability to cleverly entwine political innuendos into their writings. There were mountains of governmental and religious issues occurring in the era of Dryden and Swift and these two witty men penned their standings into poetry and tales of adventure. Dryden’s â€Å"Absalom and Achitophel† is laced with his outlooks on England’s situations. He uses numerous moments of humor to make fun of the religious situation between the Catholics and the Protestants and also the political drama after the death of King Charles. His descriptions of the similarities between England’s issues and the many parallels to biblical problems are uncanny. Lines 433 through 438 are just on example of the satire Dryden weaved into his poem. â€Å"Would David have you thought his darling son? What means he then, to alienate the crown? The name of godly he may blush to bear: ‘Tis after God’s own heart to cheat his heir. He to his brother gives supreme command To you a legacy of barren land†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (890) Dryden was exposing the hypocrisy of King Charles who claimed to be a pious man, yet he shunned his own son. In â€Å"A Description of a City Shower†, Swift incorporated hints of political and class struggles in England. As I read this poem, I got the feeling that Swift was implying that, when national tragedy strikes (when it rains), no matter what class of citizen you are or political party you belong to, you  have the same reaction as everyone else. The King on down to the poorest peasant shares the need to survive. â€Å"Here various kinds, by various fortunes led, Commence acquaintance underneath a shed.† (968) I may have been off on what the author really wanted to express, but that is how I felt and I could not help but think of 9/11 and how the United States came together. Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, and every other political party came together under tragedy. This poem made me see the bond of nationality all over again.

Analysis of Investment Proposition on Cochlear Limited

Cochlear Limited is a biotechnology-based company with listings in the Australian Securities Exchange and global operations in all five continents. CEO Chris Smith heads the company with its board of directors headed by Chairman Rick Holiday-Smith (Cochlear.com. 2016). Cochlear Limited provides hearing solutions through its implantable surgical and non-surgical hearing products. The company has extensive sets of patents and applications numbering over 1000 upon hearing aid and sound processing technology. The company’s major manufacturing base is located in Australia and Sweden while supplies and distribution chains in over 100 countries with its headquarters located in Sydney (Cochlear.com. 2016). The company’s global operations are mainly segmented onto three different sets of geographical areas comprising of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Americas (both North America and Latin America) and Asia Pacific. The company generated a revenue of A$ 925 million for th e financial period ended 31.12.2016 (Markets.ft.com. 2016).   The company provides solutions ranging from minimal degree of hearing constraints to sensory-neural hearing loss. Its primary products comprises of cochlear implants, bone conduction implants and acoustic implant solutions. In terms of its products that are to be surgically implanted, Nuclear 6 is of primary significance owing to its ability to restore hear-ability in cases of complete hearing loss in both ears. The Cochlear Hybrid offered by the company provides hearing solutions for people unable to hear high frequency sounds through providing simulations using electronic synapses. The Hybrid processor offered by Cochlear assimilates and synthesizes external sounds and converts them into electrical and acoustics outputs for the patient’s ears.   The company develops the Cochlear Baha by taking into account people with high quantum of conductive hearing loss and one-sided deafness. Baha comprises of titanium hearing aids that are implanted surgically at the back of patientà ¢â‚¬â„¢s ears (Bloomberg.com. 2016). In terms of revenue generation, the company has displayed steady growth over the past four financial periods with reported revenues of A$ 752.72 million for 2012-13, A$ 804.94 million for 2013-14, A$ 925.63 million for 2014-15 (Markets.ft.com. 2016).The revenues for the period 2015-16 was to the tune of A$ 1.13 billion. The revenues generated in the current year displayed a increase of 22.14% over the past year, thereby highlighting efficient sales management and product pricing strategy. The forecasted revenues for the years 2017 and 2018 stands at 1.244 billion and 1.37 billion respectively at the average growth rate of 10.17%. Figure 1: Current and Prospective Revenues of Cochlear Limited The beta of a particular stock showcases the degree of volatility that the stock experiences as compared to prevalent market volatility. A beta that equals 1 displays same degree of risks as experienced by the market whereas a beta that is lower that 1 shows lesser degree of volatility and therefore is less susceptible to financial risks. On the other hand, a beta that is above 1 shows a high degree of volatility coupled with high prospects of returns. Figure 2: Stock price volatility between June 2016 and October 2016 Cochlear limited has a beta of 1.2, which specifies the fact that in case the financial markets raises by a margin of 100, the stocks of Cochlear will rise by 120. This also reiterates the fact that a fall in the market by margin of 100 will result in shares of Cochlear falling by 120 points. For investors that are seeking to earn high degree of returns, Cochlear presents prospective investments. Whereas in case of risk averse investors, including Cochlear in their investment portfolio may result in increasing the levels of portfolio risk The company has a market capitalization of A$ 7.234 billion as of October, 2016 with the total number of shares outstanding at 57.42 million. The company has an Altman Z Score of 2.989, thereby leading to an inference that the company is unlikely to be filing for bankruptcy in the near future based upon financial metrics. It is because an Altman score of 1.8 is considered the threshold below which the probability of filing for bankruptcy increases substantially. Whereas, on the other hand, a corporate entity with Z score of 3 or above has low or negligible probability of going bankrupt or filing for insolvency. Therefore, based on the parameters as regards to credit risks it can be construed that the company is likely to display satisfactory levels of solvency during the financial periods. Dividend yield is considered another parameter for taking investment decisions because of the fact that it displays whether the stocks of a particular company are overpriced or not. Hirshleifer, Hsu and Li (2013) mentions that stocks with high dividend yields are overpriced as compared to those having a low degree of dividend yields. Risk averse investors seek investments with low dividend yield thereby at a dividend yield of 1.8% it can be inferred that the stocks of Cochlear are underpriced. However, at dividend of A$ 1.2 for each outstanding share it can be displayed that for investors seeking returns from their investment in Cochlear, the company’s stocks are not an attractive proposition. The analysis upon the revenue generating capability of Cochlear Limited shows that at average revenue growth of over 10% the company has efficient operations and sales management. The genre of providing hearing aid solutions has lesser degree of competition for Cochlear globally. The Altman Z score of nearly 3 shows the fact that the company has virtually negligible risks of going bankrupt. Thereby, investors can be advised towards including shares of Cochlear onto their investment portfolio based upon their degree of solvency. Moreover, analysis of the stock’s beta, belonging to Cochlear, shows that the beta stands at 1.2 which therefore displays the fact that the company’s stocks are subjected to high degree of volatility. Based solely on the beta levels it can be construed that the stocks posses high degree of risks with probability of gaining high degree of returns. Overall, judging by the different sets of parameters it can be concluded that in case of investors seeking lesser degree of risks in their investments Cochlear can be construed as a attractive investment proposition. This is owing to high revenue growth, satisfactory levels of dividend yield and sustainable degree of returns despite a beta of above 1. Allen, E.J., Larson, C.R. and Sloan, R.G., 2013. Accrual reversals, earnings and stock returns.  Journal of Accounting and Economics,  56(1), pp.113-129. Bloomberg.com. (2016). COH:ASE Stock Quote - Cochlear Ltd. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/COH:AU [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]. Cochlear.com. (2016). Cochlear Hearing Implants | Official Website | Cochlear International. [online] Available at: https://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/intl/home [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]. Fama, E.F. and French, K.R., 2012. Size, value, and momentum in international stock returns.  Journal of financial economics,  105(3), pp.457-472. Google.ca. (2016). Cochlear Limited: ASX:COH quotes & news – Google Finance. [online] Available at: https://www.google.ca/finance?cid=671051 [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]. Hirshleifer, D., Hsu, P.H. and Li, D., 2013. Innovative efficiency and stock returns.  Journal of Financial Economics,  107(3), pp.632-654. Intelligent Investor. (2016). COH. [online] Available at: https://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/company/Cochlear-Limited-COH-249441 [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]. Markets.ft.com. (2016). Cochlear Ltd, COH:ASX summary - FT.com. [online] Available at: https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/summary?s=COH:ASX [Accessed 31 Oct. 2016]. Sorescu, A. and Sorescu, S.M., 2016. Customer Satisfaction and Long-Term Stock Returns.  Journal of Marketing,  80(5), pp.110-115. Getting academic assistance from

Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Contract - Essay Example All three cases are of Contract. The basic principle of contract law is "[t]he purpose of the law is to put the plaintiff in as good a position as he would have been in had the defendant kept his contract." 1 Principle of Incorporation: Within this principle, specifically the concept of mutual understanding is applicable which is â€Å"derived from the conduct of the parties that the conduct of hire was to be based on one of the party’s usual conditions’. 3 The first issue in the first scenario is whether or not the words â€Å"excellent reputation for being reliable† constitutes a misrepresentation, due to the fact that LLL were unreliable by arriving late and sending a limousine that was not clean and up to the mark. This was a common understanding developed that the service will be of good quality and presentable. The above statement could be seen as a mere puff (sales talk) which is not considered to be a statement of fact as courts would treat such as idle boasts with no contractual significance as in Dimmock v Hallet where the statement â€Å"Fertile and Improvable† was considered to have insufficient substance to be classed as a representation. Also the statement could be seen as an opinion as in Economides v Commercial Union Assurance Co Plc (1997) where estimate of content given to the insurance was considered to be a statement of opinion as he was not an expert thus not a misrepresentation. On the other hand, the above statement could be considered as opinion of a person in a better position to know the facts in which case it is misrepresentation as in Smith v Land & House Property Corporation where it was held that a statement of opinion from someone who knows the fact best is a statement of fact as the knowledge of fact justify the opinion. Furthermore, the statement was made by one party to the other i.e. LLL to AAA and if Lynda relied and acted on the statement to make her decision to give the contract to LLL, although the

Managing Across Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Managing Across Cultures - Essay Example It refers to various concepts of managing across cultures to explain the content of the article. Therefore, it is an important post which enables readers to connect various concepts to real world situations. The article reviewed suggests that the diverse human capital of an organisation can be used to represent the different needs of customers from different parts of the word. This is supported by Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2012) who suggest that managing diversity is important for companies located in different countries in order to utilize special capacities and gain competitive advantage. The article also indicates that diversity exists in terms of gender. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2012) elaborate on gender differences, suggesting that female are more outer directed and synchronic than men. Women create values that are different but complementary to those of men. Therefore, they create a synthesis of values. Regarding the importance of diversity on the performance of an organisation, the article reviewed by this post suggests that diversity in the workforce can benefit the company through improved performance if the company utilizes the different capabilities of the organisation. Different knowledge and skills are utilized from diversity in the workplace to create and innovate more effectively. Therefore, it shows that diversity is not just a challenge but also an opportunity for organisations. The main challenge identified in an organisation’s workplace is the difficulty of managers to bring together people from different cultural backgrounds. Managers need to understand that managing across cultures requires people to respect each other’s beliefs and culture (Gudykunst, 1997). The skills and capabilities of different employees need to be utilized in order to achieve higher performance and productivity. There may be various additions to this post. The post has not

Operation Menu - a covert bombing conducted in eastern Cambodia Research Paper - 1

Operation Menu - a covert bombing conducted in eastern Cambodia - Research Paper Example In my own opinion, I feel that this was a show of the US government’s unwillingness to accept diplomacy in conflict resolution. According to the VVAW (Para. 1), the Cambodia bombing continued despite a peace treaty â€Å"bombing halt† that required that the US stop its attack in Indo-China. The US launched over 500 thousand tons of bombs. The main targets of the bombs were the people’s army of Vietnam (PAVN) and forces of the Viet Cong and their air bases that were used to as the supply and training areas. The US persisted bombing despite the countries uncooperativeness to the diplomatic missions launched to end their conflict with Vietnam. According toTucker (740), this was a war whose intentions were personal and did not rhyme with the international strategies of resolving conflicts. This is the reason why the US kept the mission secret because they did not have any good reason to attack this country. From a critic’s point of view, Tucker states that the US government was undiplomatic in launching such a covert attack against Cambodia at a time when there was hope for a peaceful resolu tion. Other scholars have provided that the US president Nixon depicted the highest level of imperialism in their attack of the Cambodia. Owen and Kiernan (1) focused on the revelation of the Cambodia bomb attack after Bill Clinton, the US president released information that the US had concealed about the bombing. The purpose of Bill Clinton was to show the US’s accountability and its commitment to establish honesty in its history. From this report, it is clear that the magnitude of the bomb attack was much higher than what the people had approximated. It also reveals that most of the bomb targets were unclear and they remained undocumented even after the covert war. However, it is clear that there was catastrophic damage and the civilians in Cambodia suffered a great deal during this attack. According to Owen

Annotated Bibliography for Structure and Strategy Essay

Annotated Bibliography for Structure and Strategy - Essay Example It also provides useful tips that could be put into practice by leaders and managers regarding designing organizations that allow for creativity as well as flexibility. According to the article, leaders are able to realize that the ability of organizations to succeed in the current environment is dependent on the ability of the business to adapt its systems, structures as well as processes. This will enable the organization to venture into new markets and it will still be able to expand the existing ones. Organizational design therefore is a critical determinant of an organization’s strategic competitive advantage. Information provided in the article will enable a business leader to identify situations where an organization design is required and also provides some guidelines that may assist in redesign. Authors of the article have provided guidance on how to develop the appropriate design for an organization as well as the steps that can be followed in order to avoid the comm on issue of outmoded organizational designs. Case examples from different organizations have been outlined and this further impacts business leaders with skills. ... The article also suggests that leaders will have to play huge roles in organization designing efforts. Innovation-point.com. (2010). Strategy-Structure Alignment. Retrieved from http://www.innovation-point.com/Strategy-Structure%20Alignment.pdf This article aims at increasing strategic thinking abilities of the readers as it exposes them to a wide range of perspectives and theories. The article contains theories, frameworks, models and perspectives that have been clustered around strategy- structure issue in management. It also provides key aspects with which managers must deal with in their practice of management. This article is decision- oriented as it provides managers with key decisions that they have to implement in their practice for them to be effective managers as well as decision makers. Readers are provided with a challenge of looking at the strategic- structure issue from different aspects and perspectives. This article encourages a reader to engage and it also provokes c ritical thinking. Managers are required to identify the strengths and weakness of the strategy- structure issue and this will enable them to develop a better understanding of the problems experienced. The article therefore will provide managers with more skills and they will be able to develop innovative methods of solving the problems. The article also outlines the four phases that the strategy- structure follows and provides a clear explanation of what each phase entails. It therefore focuses on giving the reader a clear overview of the structure-structural alignment. The article can therefore be said to be based on an assumption that the reader has a need of developing skills that will enable him/her

Penetration Pricing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Penetration Pricing - Essay Example This pricing strategy makes the customers to come in large numbers to buy the products due to its lower price in the market making the firm to make high sales. Penetration pricing when applied properly can be of great help to the firm since it will increase in the market share and the sales volume. Experience curve pricing Experience curve pricing is a type of marketing strategy that is used to estimate future average cost of products or services. This type of pricing is based on the experience of the firm on how it estimates its price of product and services within a given period of time (Tellis 146). When conducting this type of pricing strategy the firm must use statistical techniques similar to those used in past pricing. Image pricing Image pricing is a marketing strategy that is used by firms when they have two products in the market that are exactly and have the same features but the prices are different. A firm makes sure that it will supply the market with product and gives it a new shape, name and consequently the price differs only by changing the image of the product. The idea behind this marketing strategy is to target the potential buyers who go for high price products since the customer thinks that the higher the price the better the quality. Examples of brands that emulate penetration pricing are consumable products like sugar, maize floor, cooking oil among others. Examples of products that adopt experience curve pricing are valuable products made up of gold and silver among other minerals while image pricing is used in pricing car models, clothes and furniture. Analysis of pricing strategies Penetration pricing if conducted properly, will achieve market dominance and this must be conducted for a long time in order to secure a good number of customers. If a firm is able to lower the prices for long time, it will create a barrier in the market making hard for new entrants in the market and lastly it will reduce competition since new entrants mus t wait until the firm increases the prices of products and services. Image pricing achieves dominance only to the upper class customers since they have to look at the quality of the products. The lower class customers will be exploited when the product is only one in the market. Lastly experience curve pricing will have no impact to the customer since the product may have the same price if the firm trend continues. The firm will achieve market dominance if the product will not increase the price of products and service thus enjoying an increase in sales. Impact of pricing strategy to the customers The pricing strategies aims at reducing competition in the market and this is achieved by lowering the prices of products and services which results to increase in the number of customers. The brand is not altered in any manner and the customer will benefit from the low prices thus making a firm to increase sales volume. For the image pricing, competition is reduced and new entrants will h ave to wait until the products are out of the market, but the customer will be exploited. Experience curve pricing aim at reducing high competition that will work; the customers will enjoy the pricing strategy since the product will be charged at low price. The brand will be of high quality and thus the firm will achieve market dominance. Conclusions of pricing strategies Some marketing strategies will exploit the customers while others will

Impact of New Technology and Internet Influencing Marketing Mix. LEGO Assignment

Impact of New Technology and Internet Influencing Marketing Mix. LEGO Company - Assignment Example Lack of innovation and advancement of technology would engender stagnation of the organisation. Without an innovative approach and technological progress an organisation would not be able to prolong in the extremely aggressive and competitive era. Thus, an organisation has to be innovative in every aspect. Considering LEGO Group, it splits its eminent innovative efforts into eight divergent parts from development of the products to model innovation. It gives principal recognition to technology and in recent times the prominence of intellect and behaviour had been acknowledged and through a partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Robot technology had been pooled with LEGO construction system ensuing in LEGO Mindstorms which allows its prospect customers to construct and design a robot within 30 minutes. LEGO has also a mission with regard to quality assured products. Mindstorm was an outcome of partnership amongst LEGO and MIT. The key idea behind it is to make th e children assess the toy. Another remarkable innovative product launched by LEGO is the movie maker which uses the similar proposal which allows the kids to make their own movies through the access to the computers. Marketing Mix Marketing procedures always require necessary attention on part of the management as production of goods would not have any intent unless products are sold in the market. Marketing mix signifies the assimilation of various marketing elements in an efficient way that would lead to the accomplishment of the organisational target in the best probable and desirable way. It is the strategy framework implemented by the marketer to achieve sensation in the marketing field. For being a thriving marketer one should always take into severe consideration the customer satisfaction as it is known that it is not the products that are sold in the market it is the satisfaction in terms of the product that is sold. The four heads under which the marketing elements are cate gorised are the product, price, promotion and place. Thus, a marketing mix is regarded as the unification of the four chief elements known as the 4P’s. Product refers to a physical and tangible characteristic allied with it for which the consumers are ready to pay for to derive satisfaction whereas services are intangible in nature which is purchased by the customers. Product is considered to be a key constituent for any marketing mix. The various decisions with respect to the product may be regarding the branding, product attributes product service support, product mix, product standardizing, colouring, packaging, product innovation, product modification and development of the accurate product among others (Russell Smith & Taylor, 2004). Price is the second constituent of the marketing mix affecting the sales. It comprises of determination of a pricing object and procedures, profit margins, price fixation, discounting policy, credit policy and concession policy among others. Promotion being the third constituent deals with influencing and drawing the attention of the customers. Promotion implies to the swaying communication about the vivid aspects of the product such as advertising, public relation, personal selling, sales promotional activities, displays and demonstrations among others (Russell Smith & Taylor, 2004). Place, also referred as distribution mix, is blend of decision making with context to location,

Kodak marketing 26-28' Digital photo frames Essay

Kodak marketing 26-28' Digital photo frames - Essay Example The tools employed will be the SWOT analysis, Pestels analysis and the five forces model. The analysis will lead to the discovery of marketing problems which will be solved using finding a new target market and proper positioning in that market. The paper will conclude with a market research plan to evaluate the success of the new market. This will be done for the 20-26 inch digital photo frames. Company background EastMan Kodak is a company which started in Newyork in the year 1880. The company presented the first camera in the hands of consumers in the year 1888 with the slogan "you press the button, we do the rest". Therefore the main aim of the company was to make photography as convenient as a pencil. (Kodak) The company was largely successful in doing so and developed different products for different market segments. The company currently operates in four segments which are photography, commercial imaging, health imaging and components. Its expertise lies in both types of imagi ng: traditional and digital, and it provides products, services and solutions for its customers in these arenas. Kodak tries to outperform its competitors in both digital technology and traditional forms of photography and realizes the threat which development of digital imaging presents to manufacturers and developers of 35mm. Thus its ultimate goal should be to become a market leader in digital imaging as it was in film based photography previously and to present such products in traditional imaging which are better than traditional products. The success of Eastman Kodak was due to an amalgamation of its inventive and marketing genius and more efforts like this are needed to regenerate this photography icon. The marketing expertise which made Kodak a household name was its catchy slogan along with the differential product mix which the company offered. By the end of the twentieth century Kodak had developed markets in France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom and its products were marketed by subsidiary companies in more than 150 countries. Kodak had virtually no competitors from its inception till the arrival of Fuji which was followed by Polaroid. The advent of new competitors coupled with the fact that the photographic film was becoming a less popular way of photography led to the company facing problems. By 2005, the company's share price had fallen considerably and the demand for its cameras and film rolls had also decreased considerably. The analog businesses were sliding irreversibly and Kodak tried becoming the digital forerunner. It closed its paper and printing plants, laid off jobs and went on a $3 billion shopping spree to gain technological expertise and resources for new product developments. (Eastman Kodak post 3Q profit) With the development of new products and the advent of new technology, new markets will have to be found and the products are to be rightfully targeted to those markets. Since the introduction of digital photo fr ames, the need for printing and processing a digital photo has been reduced as the image can be directly views. The proposed product is new as it is very large in size thus replacing the frames displayed in family houses. Audit Pest analysis Political environment The photography and imaging market faces a few challenges in the legal arena namely patent infringement issues and privacy issues. With high research budget and development it is very much possible that Kodak might use some other company's technology or its new technology might be used by its competitors leading to patent

The Author of Her Book by Anne Bradstreet Essay Example for Free

The Author of Her Book by Anne Bradstreet Essay The debate starts with an argument among two people, DeSean and Sole. Sole was trying to help DeSean through a spiritual crisis and trying to answer the question in such a way that it would have been treated if it were posed before Jesus, hence focusing on what Jesus might have done when found in the same situation. The theological debate for this argument is: â€Å"How do we reconcile the fact that Jesus Christ was fully God with the fact that Jesus was fully human? Christians believe that Jesus was fully man and God at the same time, formalized by the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. Arianism believed by the Jehovah witness is that Jesus was the first and greatest creation of God. Muslims on the other hand simply believe Jesus is just a prophet of God, but in all most people believe in Jesus Christ’s divinity and humanity at the same time. A group holds Kenotic Christology which explains God had to empty himself to become fully human, thus God laid is omniscience and became fully man. Two essays which offered defense of the classical Christological position and defense of the kenotic Christological position The Classical view where some Theologians agreed that Jesus was at and the same time omnipresent yet spatially located omnipotent but limited in power. Some evangelicals believe that Jesus was fully God and fully human, and insist that he laid aside the use of is divine attributes in order to become a human, whiles retaining his divine holiness and love temporarily whiles slowly releasing his divine attributes. While the Paradoxical concluded that Christ God was not only God and human but, but he also exercised his divine and human attributes. The Kenotic View is such that God became a human being. This view holds the point that God the father laid down his heavenly powers and made himself available hence making himself human like us. Thus, Jesus did not cease to be the Second person in the Trinity but put aside his power to be able to serve his purpose on earth. This argument was supported by (2:5-8),explaining that even though Jesus was in the Likeness of God he did not take advantage and make himself equal with him. And as such should be our mindset that even though Jesus came on earth us a human being, we should make ourselves equal with him as his spiritual attributes is still in place. Jesus did not have an idea about what was going to happen as in when he was going to return but still kept his duties on earth. As he left his riches, thus he who once rich became poor so we could become rich, the kenotic View gives believers a logical reason for Jesus being human and God as compared to Christology. It also makes believers take Jesus humanity on a more serious level. Even with tis view there were objection made about the Kenotic view such the undermining of Christ’s divinity, how Jesus did his miraculous deeds if it’s said he did not have his divine power and Paul’s interest in metaphysical.

One flew over the cuckoos nest Essay Example for Free

One flew over the cuckoos nest Essay Through Keseys use of literary features, his novel helped base an understanding on what society decided to believe is normal. Kesey highlights the significance of the insane and their positive energy. He uses McMurphy as a tool to highlight each patients positive side whereas society only searches for the negative. Keseys outlook on mental illness is simple; he uses his novel to point this out. His novel shows how the patients in the ward are there because society placed them there. Society labeled these people to be against the norms or conformities, which in return allowed the patients to feel inferior and out of place. This novel stresses the fact that each person should not be forced into a corner; they should be given rights to live regular lives with other people. Society should not force inferiority complexes on these patients. The fact that most of the patients were voluntary helps prove this point. It shows how society forced them into a completely different and inhumane lifestyle. Another novel that joins this rebellion against society in relation to insanity is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. In this novel, Plath interprets insanity in her own way trying to prove practically the same point as Kesey. Plaths use of description, metaphors, and characterization help provide her main point of allowing insanity to merge with reality. The Bell Jar is a novel equipped with descriptions that allow the reader direct access to the main characters mind. Plath uses an abundant amount of physical descriptions such as the description of Esthers surroundings at all times to help give examples of how society has forced this woman to think. Esthers thoughts on life, death, and the world all seem to be reasonable and justifiable thoughts. She is capable of convincing the reader that those thoughts are not insane. Through the use of descriptions, Plath was able to highlight the unjust life of a 1950s woman. Plath also uses metaphors to highlight the suppression made by society on the women. The title of the book is the major metaphor that best represents Plaths idea on societys conformities. The entire novel revolves around the idea of the bell jar and this jar represents how society analyzes and reduces the contents provided in the jar. The jar represents insanity. Esther feels secluded and isolated from the real world when she is labeled as mad. She feels like she is an airless jar that ruins her perspective of what the real world is. It signifies a buffer that ends the connection between Esther and the real world4. These literary features were all used to highlight Esthers alienation from the real world. It shows how a young woman from the 1950s was forced to act. Esther wanted to pursue a writing career and is supported completely, but her thoughts begin to change when the fact that she cannot merge her career with being a mother come to place. Esther becomes depressed and her thoughts begin to change on the world. These individual thoughts begin to accumulate leading to actions that are condemned upon by society. Society expects a lot from Esther such as the idea of her virginity. Esther rebels against the conventional role of virginity with women at that time by embarking on a sexual experience. Esther did not become insane because she believed against the norms of society but rather insanity fell on her. The treatments in both novels are similar in many aspects. At first, the hospitals provide healthy conversations between the patient and a professional psychiatrist. In both novels, the sense of talking is important because a lot of information is released about society and what they think of it. Another treatment usually done after talk therapy is electroshock therapy. Electroshock therapy was created in 1936 in order to help patients clear their mind5. As years passed, this treatment began to evolve which therefore led to the change of its purpose. In One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, ECT was used as a form of punishment. Patients were punished for doing anything out of the ordinary. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood undergoes several electroshock therapy sessions to clear her mind. She continuously states how painful the therapy is and tries to refuse treatment. Her recollections of these treatments show the inhumanity in medical treatments. Another treatment that falls into the controversial category is Lobotomy. It is shown insignificantly in The Bell Jar, one patient briefly converses about it. On the other hand, Lobotomy has a major impact in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. The main character undergoes a lobotomy at the end of the novel. This act completely criticizes the ways of society in relation to medical treatments. Many forms of medical treatments on insanity exist but whether they provide a positive outcome is the main question. Society and mental illness are very closely related in the sense that society creates the separation between sanity and insanity. That separation is miniscule and changes constantly over time. Both of these novels emphasize isolation, suppression, and seclusion forced by society. Society forces these on the ideas that are condemned or not wanted. These ideas should not force inhumane actions but rather welcome ideas as an advantage to a better society, a more open society. Mental illnesses and treatments are used as major themes in novels to help highlight the negative aspects of what society creates. Through showing the unjust actions forced by society on people, the idea of insanity should evolve from punishment to help. Word Count: 1,605 1 One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, by Ken Kesey. 2 Gale, CD-Rom, HS Library. Source 1 3 Gale, CD-Rom, HS Library. Source 1 4 Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography, 1941-1968; Contemporary Authors, Vols. 17-20.

France In The Franco Prussian War

France In The Franco Prussian War Three wars determined the fate of Germany, the first one early in 1864 with Denmark, then in 1866 Austria, the final one, France. The last one, Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71 directly led to the founding of Germany after French defeat. The Prussian victory was due much to the isolation of France. A.J.P Taylor commented that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦France was isolated in 1870 as Austria had been in 1866, and actually, these two isolation was the arts of Bismarcks foreign policies. There is no doubt that the favourable international circumstances benefited Bismarcks foreign policies, but like what Taylor had commented that it is inadequate to explain Bismarcks success solely by the mistakes of his opponents, acknowledging his contribution to the isolation of France in the Franco-Prussian War. This essay thus includes the architects of the Iron Chancellor to isolate France before this war. After the defeat of Austria in Seven Weeks War, the Franco-Prussian rivalries were more apparent. While Napoleon III was suspicious of Prussia due to her growing influence in Central Europe, he called for reward for French neutrality in the Austro-Prussian War. Bismarck, however, cleverly utilized his ambition to isolate France. To do so, Bismarck was intended to keep British isolation of France. After Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian war in 1866, Napoleon III of France looked for the purchase of Luxemburg as compensation for neutrality in the war. French diplomat Vincent Benedetti even proposed a draft treaty of Franco-Prussian alliance to Bismarck, which was called the Benedetti treaty, proposing French annexation of Belgium. He later used them as a means to discredit France before the Franco-Prussian War by disclosing this treaty in The Times on July 25, together with the conspiracy of Napoleon III towards Belgium. This move was to arouse the discontent of British and to ensure her isolation on France. It is true that Britain was always suspicious of France right from the start of the 19th century owing to the Napoleonic Era and her strong nationalism, but this is not enough to explain British neutrality. It is Bismarck who utilized British fear to isolate France. British practical concern was Belgium. The Treaty of London in 1839 Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality. During the Belgian Independence War(1830-9), British had resisted French intervention, since she had to prevent the spread of French influence there. Bismarck was wise to publicize the ambition of France in this region to gain British neutrality in times of war against France. This showed Bismarcks manipulation of international circumstances in foreign policies. The Iron Chancellor, on the other hand, tried his best to keep Russia neutral in the war to isolate France. He tried to get Russian goodwill first by offering the help for the chase of those Polish rebels, though it was rejected by Tsar Alexander II. Bismarcks later foreign policies finally succeed, especially during the period 1866 and 1870, when the Near East Crisis revived. Bismarck did not get involved in it, but he looked to peaceful ways to solve this. For instance, in 1869, Bismarck called a conference in Paris to solve the Cretan Crisis by acting as an honest broker. Actually, the relationship between Russia and Prussia was going on the right track. The Russo-Prussian Agreement was issued by Tsar Alexander II to station 100000 troops on the Austrian frontier to keep Austria in check. This showed that Bismarck in fact won the goodwill of Russia at that time, and it is not surprising Russia would stay neutral in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Of course, Bismarcks foreign poli cy was only one of the reasons contributing to the Russian neutrality. In fact, Russian military weaknesses led to her neutralization. She just lacked military power in Galicia to mobilize, let alone intervention. However, one cannot deny the effectiveness of Bismarcks foreign policies, which won the goodwill of Russia, avoiding her intervention in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71. Bismarck was well-aware of the Austrian foreign policy. Prussia had just defeated the Austrian in 1866 in the Seven Weeks War. However, Bismarck knew clearly that Austria was crucial to German unification due to the fact that he did not want a Greater Germany, but a Little Germany to ensure Prussian domination in Germany. Bismarck cared much about Austrian neutrality in case of a Franco-Prussian conflict. Actually, he was trying to recover the relation between Austria and Prussia after handing the former a lost in the war in 1866. He forced William I to treat Austria leniently by a threat of suicide. At last, this previous dominant power in the Central Europe lost only Venetia, Holstein and the presidency in the German Confederation according to the Treaty of Prague. She was still remained a power in the Central Europe. However, the above policies by Bismarck did not result in the neutrality. Actually, Austrian intention to take revenge on Prussia was not diminishing until 1870(Struggle for Mastery in Europeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. p169), which could be seen in the attempt to seek a Triple Alliance between Italy and France in 1868. Notwithstanding, Bismarcks policy to deliberately weakened Austria by stimulating the Hungarian revolt against the Hapsburg Empire during the Austro-Prussian War was the reason for Austrian neutrality. The dual monarchy, Austria-Hungary, was an indirect cause of Bismarcks plot. This led to internal instability in Austria because the newly-founded monarchy had too much to settle, for example the multi-racial sentiment like the demand for equal national rights by the Czechs in Bohemia since 1868, and the compromise with the Magyars, that is, Hungary, on the organization of the government. Austria-Hungary after 1866 defeat faced a chaotic situation, with complicated internal affair s remained unsettled. She was not ready for intervention. She was afraid of repeating Custoza rather than revenging Sadova. In this case, credits should be given to Bismarcks foreign policies, making Austria weak politically and militarily, resulting in her neutrality in Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Uniting with the Southern Germany was a highly serious matter considered by Bismarck. The Prussian Minster-President after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 faced a difficult task in unifying these Southern German states. Nationalism among these four southern states, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstabt and Wurttemberg, were not strong enough to unite with the North German Confederation. Though Bismarck had tried several times to unite with the Southern Germany, these were not successful. The most important one is the setting up of a Zollparlament after 1867, including all the delegates from all German states, regardless of Northern or Southern one. Most deputies from those Southern German states were only inclined to discussions of commercial problems, not political one. On the other hand, the four southern states were hostile to Prussia, and they were different from Prussia in terms of their religion. Prussia was a Protestant state, while others Catholics. Adding to it, there was a danger of these four southern states falling into the hands of Bismarck also due to the demand of Napoleon to get all territories of the left bank of the Rhine. Bismarck was in a headache not only in getting the unification with Southern German states, but to keep them in Prussian side. However, Bismarck turned impossible to miracle. He, intentionally quarreled with France, used her to generate a great force of nationalist emotion and, through inviting foreign French intervention to unite the North and Southern Germany. He wisely exposed the ambition of France in the discussions with the Southern German states to frighten them. This was effective. Secret military alliances were signed between Prussia and the four Southern German states respectively in August 1866. These were crucial, not only did these facilitate the development of close personal contacts with Prussians, but also in 1870, when the Franco-Prussian war was imminent, the Southern Germany took up their arms to help Prussia in the war. In this case, Bismarcks foreign policy manipulated the certain circumstances in the isolation of France before Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Italy, the most ineffective sixth power in Europe, however, was still a concern for Bismarck. He, before the Austro-Prussian War, signed an alliance with the Italians, promising to win her Venetia if she cooperated with Prussia against Austria in the war. At last, though it was France forcing Austria to cede Venetia after the Battle of Sadova in 1866, it was Bismarcks Treaty of Prague confirmed it. This foreign policy by Bismarck was part of the reason leading to the neutrality of Italy in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. But it is arguable whether the neutrality was all of Bismarcks work. Truly, it is the long-time hostility of Italy towards France that caused this neutrality. Actually, France, since 1849, had troops in Rome, and the Italians would not co-operate until France had withdrawn her garrison there. (Bismarck and Germany 1862-1890 p.?) Therefore, those circumstances favoured push Italy away from France, even though an alliance with Austria and France was offered, she found it pointless to cooperate with France. Therefore, Italian neutrality in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 was not only due to Bismarcks foreign policies, but also the favourable circumstances internationally. But Bismarcks work should not be regarded useless, but crucial since Bismarck as least tried his best to win Italian friendship. This was a smart decision. Italy strove to complete her unification. Prussian help in ensuring the return of Venetia won much Italian appreciation. Italy, thankful to Prussia, would not easily take action to stop her in the Franco-Prussian War. So, Bismarcks foreign policy was valuable in the isolation of France. To say Bismarck created circumstances is simply a joke. One can say Bismarck as an opportunist, as he made use certain international circumstances to isolate France. In a period when all the powers in Europe longed only for achieving their own needs, Bismarck was still able to play out his tactics in it. The Austrian neutrality was his playing, the Russian was, and even the Italian was. However, we cannot deny the fact that Bismarck was an architect, planning for the alliance with the Southern German states, for the Ems Telegram. Bismarck was a diplomatic genius. His cruel blood and iron policy earned him, and William I, an entire new and Prussian-led German Empire.

The Ambiguity of Plato Essay -- Philosophy Essays

The Ambiguity of Plato For hundreds of years, Plato has been admired as a writer, a master rhetorician, an artist, and above all, a philosopher; however, Plato's backlashes against sophistry and art have led to much confusion concerning his ideas and beliefs. John Poulakos says of Plato, "[F]or most rhetoricians Plato has always played the same role he assigned to the sophists--the enemy" (Nienkamp 1). Plato will always appear to be the skilled rhetorician or artist who speaks out against rhetoric and art. In Apology and Phaedrus we see the character of Socrates rail against writing because it can quickly get out of control of the author and just as easily be misinterpreted, yet Plato is known for his skillful dialogical writing. In reference to the Divided Line, Plato informs us that art is one of the lowest forms because it is no more than an illusion, yet Plato uses his artistic ability in "Simile of a Cave" to help us understand the journey to knowledge. This ambiguity within the texts leads to, what a ppears to be, Plato contradicting himself; however, to fully understand these contradictions we must ask ourselves, "Who is the real Plato?" Plato's contradictory nature and overall ambiguity make the lines of distinction between the writer, the rhetorician, the artist, and the philosopher become blurred, so it is difficult for anyone to understand or explain the real Plato. Jean Nienkamp says of Plato, "[He is] the writer who writes that nothing of importance can be conveyed through writing; the word-smith who argues that words are but imitations of imitations at the same time that he insists on precise definitions, divisions... " (1). In Phaedrus, Plato presents some of his more powerful arguments against writing. Most... ...1: 23-44. Plato. Euthyphro. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company Inc., 1981: 5-22. Plato. Meno. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company Inc., 1981: 57-88. Plato. Phaedo. Trans. G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company Inc., 1981: 89-155. Plato. Phaedrus. Trans. A. Nehamas and P. Woodruff. Amherst: Hermagoras Press, 1999: 165-213. Plato. "Simile of a Cave." The Republic. Trans. Desmond Lee. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002: 1-9. Tejera, Victorino. "The Apology and the Phaedo: Plato's Tragic Humor." Plato's Dialogues One by One: A Dialogical Interpretation. Lanham: University Press of America, Inc., 1999. Thesleff, Holger. "In Search of Dialogue." Plato's Dialogues: New Studies and Interpretations. Ed. Gerald A. Press. Lanham: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1993: 259-266.

Child Abuse: An Inexcusable Crime Essay -- Violence Against Children

Child abuse occurs in families of all different social classes and of all different cultures. According to the Heritage Foundation, abuse and neglect of American children has increased 134% since 1980 ("The Child Abuse Crisis†). No excuse for child abuse exists. Children are among the most defenseless group of people in society, and to harm those who are defenseless is simply unacceptable. Abusers may make excuses for their actions or even deny they are harming the child, but they are wrong. Child abuse causes significant damage to the victim’s physical and psychological health, the victim’s behavior and social skills, and society as a whole. The most obvious form of child abuse is physical abuse, which involves physical harm or injury to a child (Smith and Segal). While physical abuse can come through the form of neglect, inaction on the parent’s part is not the only issue. Other common examples of physical abuse include actions such as the following: Chocking, shoving, pinching, spitting, hair pulling, arm twisting, pushing into or pulling out of a car, banging someone’s head, pinning against a wall, punching, attacking, and even harming to the point of death. According to Dr. James Kent, there are four different categories of physical abuse; these categories are termed â€Å"flashpoint,† â€Å"spare the rod,† â€Å"you asked for it,† and â€Å"who needs it.† The term â€Å"flashpoint† refers to the parent’s need for psychotherapy to address the root of the problem. The â€Å"term spare the rod† refers to the parent’s need for help in learning altern ative discipline methods. The term â€Å"you asked for it† refers to the parent’s need for help in actually managing the child’s behavior and the need to address the parent’s or parents’ lack of economic stability.... ...buse Suffer Long-Term Consequences." Family Violence. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect." 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. "Emotional Abuse." Emotional Child Abuse – Definitions of Child Neglect and Other Emotionally Abusive Behavior. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014. Grapes, B. . Child Abuse: Contemporary Issues Companion. Greenhaven Press, Inc., Print. National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. "Poverty Is the Leading Cause of Child Abuse." Child Abuse. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Child Abuse and Poverty." Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. Ed. Lawrence Robinson. â€Å"Help Guide,† Aug. 2013. Google. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

The Transformational Leadership Practices of National Board Certified S

Introduction According to Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (American Association of School Librarians, 2009), â€Å"The school library media program is built by professionals who model leadership and best practice for the school community† (p. 45). This leadership role is a new one for school librarians; earlier guidelines documents (AASL, 1988; AASL, 1998) embedded leadership activities within the roles of information specialist, instructional consultant or partner, teacher, and program administrator. These earlier guidelines were aligned with the larger educational culture, in which school librarians have rarely been regarded as leaders by their colleagues, administrators, or themselves (Hartzell, 2002; Ishizuka, Minkel, & St. Lifer, 2002; McCracken, 2001). Perhaps because of this perception, few researchers have studied the activities of school librarians who act as leaders. The purpose of Empowering Learners (AASL, 2009) is to define â€Å"the future direction of school library media programs† (p. 5). Both Empowering Learners and its predecessors (AASL, 1988; AASL, 1998) serve as guidelines for exemplary school library media programs, providing a mission and vision for the program and identifying and describing the roles of the school library media coordinator (SLMC). The mission of the program is â€Å"to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information† (AASL, 2009, p. 8) and to support this mission the SLMC must take on multiple roles. The original guidelines document, Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (AASL, 1988) defined these roles as information specialist, teacher, and instructional consultant. The 1998 version of the guidelines (AASL... ...ndards as classroom teachers, but the SLMC standards are currently under revision and will parallel the teaching standards closely, including a leadership component (R. White, personal communication, October 8, 2010). School library media coordinators must demonstrate leadership to meet the expectations of their national professional organization, to achieve advanced teaching credentials, and even, in North Carolina, to maintain their professional positions. Since the release of Empowering Learners (AASL, 2009), no research has examined the extent to which librarians are able to carry out the leadership practices it identifies. In this climate, however, it is important to know how school library leaders behave and to what extent they implement these practices, both to evaluate the standards and to provide examples for leadership development for school librarians.

Human factors in aviation accidents Essay

As a result of researches that recognized the existence of human factors in error management, the aviation industry also began to take initiatives to reformat aviation organisations. The aviation industry shifted to a more open culture that valued communication and at the same time recognized that human error will always be present but through time and more advanced studies can be reduced further (Sexton, Thomas & Helmreich, 2000). Almost all aspects have been looked into. Selection and training processes were raised to a different level. While technical skills were highly valued before, they have been found to be inadequate in dealing with safety concerns. Selection of aircrew now includes processes that determine their ability to learn from errors and to become team players. There also has been a new approach for training – not only the pilots, but the entire crew is trained. There are also a mounting number of interventions that are being tested for their effectivity to modify behavioral patterns that could injure a system’s safety. Because crew resource management (CRM) failure is implicated in most aircraft accidents, CRM training programs, which began as a part of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] program in 1979, began to be widely received by aviation organisations. Now on its 5th generation, CRM trainings for the crew have been conducted by major airlines and even the navy. The CRM training program encompasses many aspects of aviation safety such as situation awareness, task management and communication (Thomas, 2004). The 5th generation CRM programs can be viewed as a tool to effectively manage errors. CRM combats errors in three ways: obviously, the first one is the avoidance of error; the second Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 10 one is the â€Å"suppression† of the error before it happens; and third, the mitigation of the effects of the errors should it not be avoided (Helmreich, Merritt & Wilhelm, 1999). The focus of the 5th generation CRM is the normalization of errors – whether due to active or latent failures – and the development of strategies to manage these errors (Helmreich, Merritt & Wilhelm, 1999). Although CRM programs focus on human errors and its effects on aviation safety, it is never entirely a behavioral training. After all, if you recall, a â€Å"productive system† is an interaction of human and technological factors. Therefore, CRM is not to be taken as a stand-alone program. It is meant to be incorporated to technical trainings where the crew has to be adept in the operation of modern aviation technology and at the same time has to learn non-technical skills such as effective communication, coordination and teamwork. Despite the fact that intervention programs like the CRM has been introduced and conducted for crews in major and regional airlines for the two decades, the percentage of CRM failures in aviation accidents remained relatively flat (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2001). Although initial results of CRM programs have been found to be encouraging such that positive results were seen almost immediately after the conduction of the program, it was soon obvious that such results were short-lived (Taneja, 2002). What could have happened that prevented such interventions to perform as expected? Helmreich & Merritt (2000) offers an explanation – at least for CRM. First, not everybody responds to CRM training. Some may have become less accepting of CRM after the training. Although attitudes do not necessarily define behavior, it has been a well-known maxim that those who reject a concept are more likely not to follow the principles that it imparts. (Helmreich, Merritt & Wilhelm, 1999). Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 11 Culture – national, professional and organisational – is also a significant factor that determines the level of acceptance for a CRM concept (Helmreich & Merritt, 2000). When CRM was introduced to other national cultures, it soon became evident that certain CRM concepts can either be readily accepted or rejected depending on the national culture. Cultures such as China and many Latin American countries that stress the importance of absolute power and authority of their leaders will necessarily be less receptive to the idea of subordinates questioning the decisions of their leaders, than cultures that are less hierarchical (Hofstede, 1980 as cited by Helmreich, Merrit & Wilhelm, 1999). While CRM programs encourage subordinates to be more assertive in questioning their leaders, junior crew members in these cultures are quite disinclined to do this because of fear of showing disrespect. These same cultures are also collectivists who stress interdependenc and the necessity to work together for a common goal. In contrast, American and European cultures, which are highly individualistic, give more value to independence and more priority to individual goals. The value of teamwork and the need for coordination will most likely be readily accepted in the former than in the latter. There are also High Uncertainty Avoidance cultures like Greece, Korea and many Latin American countries that prefer CRM concepts already specifying required behaviors. Cultures that are low in Uncertainty Avoidance tend to be more flexible when it comes to behaviors but have difficulty adhering to standard operating procedures. Furthermore, this kind of culture, along with non-collectivist cultures are more questioning with regards to the usage of automation while High Uncertainty Avoidance and collectivist cultures accept the idea of automation usually without, or relatively less, questions. Intervention programs such as CRM should therefore not be patterned after a single national culture. From the discussion it can be seen above that autocratic cultures can also Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 12 value teamwork and interdependence than non-autocratic cultures (Helmreich, in press). Cultures exhibiting difficulty of adherence to SOPs may be more innovative when dealing with novel situations not covered by procedures. In contrast, cultures who stress strict adherence to rules may find it difficult to be more flexible in new situations. Although CRM programs require behavior modification, certain beliefs ingrained into a culture are quite difficult to modify. If CRM has to attain widespread global use, it has to design programs that are congruent to national culture and yet still enhances safety. Error management should therefore be embraced as a culture in itself. Focusing on threat and error management as goals, training programs should not aim for a total reversal of norms and beliefs but rather for a drawing out of positive behaviors without directly confronting national culture. Many professions, including aviation, have strong cultures and develop their own norms and values (Helmreich, in press). Each culture encompasses both positive and negative aspects. Aircrew for example has a high level of motivation and a strong sense of professional pride. The negative component, which is seen to be universal, is the inability to admit vulnerability to stressors. Majority of pilots in almost all national cultures agree that their decision-making abilities are not hampered by personal problems and that it is as good in emergency situations as in normal situations. Furthermore, most of these pilots have indicated that they do not make errors even while under stress. This â€Å"macho† culture, when left uncorrected, can lead to risk taking, failure to coordinate with other crew members and error. Indeed, one focus of the 5th generation CRM program is to help pilots acknowledge that human error does occur and they are more vulnerable to it if they continue to deny the existence and effect of stressors. As stated earlier, the organisational culture determines the principle of the organisation towards safety. One reason why CRM does not deliver results when it should is Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 13 the organisational context on which the program was delivered (Helmreich & Merritt, 2000). Organisations may have a highly evolved safety culture and possesses a positive outlook on safety. Such organisations will most likely benefit from CRM and other intervention strategies. Others react only to safety threats once they are looming while some organisations give perfunctory attention to safety issues without really embracing a safety culture that works towards a highly effective accident prevention program. The current process of investigating errors during accidents also contributes to the apparently limited success of intervention strategies. Most accident reporting systems are primarily technological and have been designed with little regard to human factors. Such systems are on their way to being perfected in terms of identifying mechanical failures but in itself is also a bit of a failure when it comes to assessment of human errors (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2001). An examination of an accident investigation process may help drive down the point. When an accident due to mechanical failure happens, investigators examine objective and quantifiable information such as that obtained from the flight data recorder. The data is processed and the probable causes of the accident are recorded so that safety recommendations can be identified. After the investigation, the data obtained is entered into a database which can be periodically accessed to provide feedback to investigators. The information in the database can also be used by funding organizations to determine which researches to fund. As a result, intervention strategies are further developed to prevent mechanical failure from happening or mitigate consequences once they do happen (Helmreich & Merritt, 2000). Either way, the number of accidents due to mechanical failures has been greatly reduced. Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 14 In contrast, investigations of accidents due to human errors produce results that are not tangible and are difficult to quantify. And because the studies of human factors came later than studies of mechanical failures, investigative techniques used in human error analysis are less refined than those used to assess engineering and design concerns. When these techniques are used to analyze accident data, the results are rarely very useful and safety issues cannot be readily addressed. Therefore any intervention strategy designed using this data is not assured of success. Taneja (2002) echoes this concern stating that human errors have been implicated in 70-80% of aircraft accidents demonstrating the very limited success of current intervention strategies and also proposes a solution: a holistic approach to intervention strategies. To date, most researches on human factors in aviation have focused on specific aspects of aircraft accident prevention. Sarter and Alexander (2000) have observed that current researches on human error focus mainly on three key aspects: the development of error classification schemes, the design of error-tolerant systems, and error prevention through improved design and additional training (as cited by Taneja, 2002). Because accident prevention is such a wide field of study, it is very possible that certain aspects have been missed out or overlooked. Error framework also abound as almost every human factor researcher comes up with his own error framework. With so many intervention strategies proposed by researchers and some even practiced in the industry, there have been inadequate attempts to integrate these strategies into a holistic solution. A holistic approach to intervention strategies involve looking at all the possible links to an aircraft accident in order to come up with an intervention that best fits an organisation. Basing on all the links, an organisation must assess in what area their weaknesses lie and determine if these need intervention. The intervention strategy to be used in a certain Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 15 organisation will therefore be customized according the weak links in the organisation’s system. The two links that are directly related to aviation accidents are the aircraft and the aircrew. Although accidents due to mechanical failures have been greatly reduced to advancement in technology, there needs to be constant assessment of the aircraft in general and the human factors affecting the man-machine interface in particular (Taneja, 2002). Intervention strategies that can be applied to aircrew can be divided into two broad categories: selection and training. Ever since the knowledge that human factors contribute to aviation accidents, the selection process have been amended such that the pilots are not chosen based on technical skill alone but more so on their ability to coordinate with fellow aircrew, recognize their own errors and be willing to work with others to deal with these errors. Once chosen, the pilot’s training will have a great impact on his proficiency and possibly, on his ability to avoid accidents. Possible interventions on these two main links can have a major influence on the number of accidents encountered by the organisation. The process of accident investigation, although a secondary link, should also be looked into in for possible intervention strategies. To date there is no benchmark as to the training and expertise a safety investigator must have. In order for a standardised level of investigation to be achieved, there needs to be a minimum with regards to the exposure an investigator must have. The investigative tools that the safety investigator uses could also be subject to an intervention. As discussed earlier, investigation techniques for human errors are inadequate at present and needs further researches in order the reach the level of refinement of evaluative techniques for mechanical failures. The kinds of human errors as discussed by Wiegmann and Shappell (2001) while developing HFACS, are also links that could be used to come up with more effective Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 16 intervention strategies. Furthermore, autopsy results during aircraft accidents, although unable to prevent future accidents, can be used to design intervention strategies that will make an aircraft accident more survivable. Upon carefully assessing the links just mentioned and determining the areas that need intervention, it is recognized that the success of any strategy ultimately depends on the Organisational Safety Culture (Taneja, 2002). Toft (1989) defined an organisation’s safety culture as â€Å"the set of norms, beliefs, attitudes and roles, social and technical practices that minimizes the exposure of the managers, employees and the general public to conditions considered dangerous or injurious† (as cited by Taneja, 2002). Discussed in brief earlier, the way an organisation handles errors and error management strategies depend on its safety culture. A safety conscious organisation will not treat an accident as just another unavoidable circumstance but rather will focus its efforts in preventing future accidents from happening. A careful investigation that searches for the possible factors leading to the occurrence of the accident will be performed. Ideally, an organisation with a highly effective safety culture will aim to plug the hole in the Swiss cheese model before another opportunity for a catastrophe will be created (Reason, 1990 as cited by Taneja, 2002). Even organisations that have a sound safety culture however can still be plagued by errors caused by human limitations such as fatigue, severe workloads, inadequate training, poorly-maintained equipment and errors caused by the air traffic control which would consequently affect the aircrew and the organisation. Even if the organisation has tried to remove every conceivable active and latent failure, chance errors can still take place (Heimrich & Merritt, 2000). But every organisation is bound to have a loophole. Thus, constant monitoring of all aspects in the organisation , whether directly related to safety or not, is essential. Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 17 Because errors can arise from a variety of sources, any single intervention strategy, such as the CRM must not be taken as a panacea for eliminating error. CRM is only a tool that organisations use to perform error management. All intervention strategies have its limitation – the effects it will have on an organisation depends on the national culture, the strengths and weaknesses of the professional culture, and the organisational safety culture. Furthermore, the way the people at the frontline perceive the intervention strategy will affect the outcome of such a strategy. In summary, the study of human factors affecting aircraft accidents has fostered an abundance of researches in this field. With the conception of CRM almost three decades ago, numerous error frameworks and intervention strategies have been proposed and used. Unfortunately, such a plethora of studies have not created a significant reduction on human error-related aircraft accidents. Presumably because it is still a relatively young field, the researches need more focus and the intervention strategies need more refinement. Intervention strategies have to address differences in national, professional and organisational culture. It is also important that intervention strategies be customized to a certain organisation to ensure a greater amount of success. With the continuous development and improvement of researches in this field, there will bound to be a breakthrough in time, and the success that has long been sought will finally be at hand. Human Factors in Aviation 18. References Helmreich, R. L. (in press). Culture, threat and error: Assessing system safety. In Safety in Aviation: The Management Commitment: Proceedings of a Conference. London: Royal Aeronautical Society.Retrieved October 2, 2007 from http://homepage. psy. utexas. edu/HomePage/Group/HelmreichLAB/Publications/pubfiles/Pub257. pdf. Helmreich, R. L. & Merritt, A. C. (2000). Safety and error management. The role of Crew Resource Management. In B. J. Hayward and A. R. Lowe (Eds. ), Aviation Resource Management. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 107-119. Helmreich, R. L. Merritt, A. C. & Wilhelm, J. A. (1999). The evolution of Crew Resource Management training in commercial aviation. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 9(1):19-32. Reason, J. (2000). Human error: Models and management. BMJ, 320(7237): 768-770. Sexton, J. , Thomas, E. J. & Helmreich, R. L. (2000). Error, stress and teamwork in medicine and aviation: cross sectional surveys. BMJ, 320:745-749. Taneja, N. (2002). Human factors in aircraft accidents: A holistic approach to intervention strategies. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from www. humanfactors. uiuc. edu/Reports&PapersPDFs/humfac02/tanejahf02. pdf. Thomas, M. J. W. (2004). Error management training: Defining best practice. ATSB Aviation Safety Research Grant Scheme Project 2004/0050. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from www. atsb. gov. au/publications/2004/pdf/error_management_training_best_practice. pdf. Wiegmann, D. A. & Shappell, S. A. (2003). A human error approach to aviation accident analysis. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Human Factors in Aviation Accidents 19 Wiegmann, D. A. & Shappell, S. A. (2001 February). A human error analysis of commercial aviation accidents using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System [HFACS]. Office of Aviation Medicine. Retrieved October 2, 2007 from www. hf. faa. gov/docs/508/docs/cami/0103. pdf.

Barnes and Noble Business Assessment

Barnes and Noble Booksellers MGT 499 Barnes and Noble was acquired by Leonard Riggio in 1974 after they had fallen into decline. He started his career selling books early in his college career when he founded the Student Book Exchange or SBX. Once purchasing the rights to the name he quickly began transformations on the once giant retailer, making it into his dream, the worlds largest book store. In addition to all the Barnes and Nobles around today, Mr. Riggio also owns an operates over 600 college campus bookstores, like the one at Wright State University, which is where over 4 million students and 250,000 faculty members buy their books.Internal Environment Barnes and Noble has many strengths which are quickly fading in the ever changing book market. When individuals think of a bookstore these days, typically two come to mind first, Barnes and Noble and their now dead competitor Borders. They had and still have the great strength of partnering with College Campus’s to opera te their bookstores which allows them to connect with the consumers who typically spend the most on books (textbooks). With this being said, we also need to point out Barnes and Noble’s weaknesses.This can be summed up by saying that their lack of innovation failed to keep up with consumer trends and the changing market. Barnes and Noble is now trying to compete in the technology market by the creation and selling of their Nook, which is essentially an IPad where you can download and read books electronically. Barnes and Noble’s current leadership team consist of: Leonard Riggio- Founder and Chairman William Lynch – CEO Michael P. Huseby – Chief Financial Officer Chris Trola – Chief Information Officer Mary Ellen Keating- Senior VP of Corporate Communication and Public AffairsCompetitive ConsequencesPerformance ImplicationsValuableRate Non SubstitutableCostly to Imitate Sustainable C. A. AARNoYesNoYes Temporary C. A. Avg – AARYesYesYes/NoYes Competitive ParityAvg ReturnYesYesYes/NoNo Competitive DisadvantageBelow Avg ReturnNoNoYes/NoNo Mergers and Acquisitions Barnes and Noble has had several mergers and acquisitions, but only a few are extremely important when we look at the financial impact and operations impact they had on the company. In 1987, it purchased B. Dalton Bookseller from Dayton Hudson.This acquisition of 797 retail bookstores made it Barnes and Nobles largest acquisition and opened consumers eyes across the nation to the then second largest bookseller in the United States. Another major one that hit news headlines was in 1999 when Barnes and Noble acquired Babbage’s Ect. , which is now known as GameStop. Barnes and Noble had control of GameStop until 2004 when the game store bought back 6 million shares from the bookstore to gain its independence. The next and most important acquisition occurred in March of 2009 when Barnes and Noble acquired a company called fictionwise which is now known as eBoo k marketplace.This was the first step they made into the digital world of books with their Nook. This was by far their most important acquisition because it was an attempt to meet the demands of the ever changing market by inserting themselves into the digital book market place. The External Environment When talking about the external environment in terms of Barnes and Noble, the company has many strengths and weaknesses. Starting with the demographics, Barnes and Noble attracts a wide range of consumers, from students to elderly for either educational purposes or recreational purposes.The wide range of demographics is because most consumers either have to read for school or like to read for recreation or entertainment. Today, the retail stores draw mainly an older audience while the stores on college campuses attract mainly just college students. The economics of Barnes and Noble go hand and hand with the sales of the company. Not to long ago there was a rumor that Barnes and Noble was going to be bought out by a company named Liberty which causes the stock to spike 30% in one day. It soon there after returned to its $14 dollar range, which was a 16% decrease from previous years caused by the company announcing a . 6 million dollar loss.. There are also other factors at work in the market that are affecting Barnes and Noble negatively. One of the biggest players that impact B and N is Amazon, and their online, digital marketplace of books where the consumer and compare prices and find the cheapest option. Barnes and Noble has struggled to compete and overcome this obstacle since a majority of their previous consumers are now looking in their stores then going to the internet and Amazon to find cheaper prices. When it comes to bargaining power, Barnes and Noble is between a rock and a hard place.They would love to compete with the low prices their competitors offer, but cannot drop below certain prices because they must have some sort of profit margin on the s ale of their books after the authors take their cuts. Competition Barnes and Noble has millions of competitors because anyone with a computer can put a book on the internet to sell these days. However, this being said, there are a few formal competitors out there that greatly impact Barnes and Noble and their bottom-line. The biggest competitor is by far Amazon.Amazon is an online giant that sellers and buyers can place all of their new and used books on the market at their own set prices. This allows a consumer to â€Å"shop† for the cheapest price for the quality of book they desire to purchase. This was one of the major reasons a previous competitor in the industry, Borders, closed its doors not to long ago. Barnes and Noble has identified that they are in a changing market and that they need to adapt to the changes being made around them. This was the goal of the launch of the Nook in 2010.The Nook is a digital tablet that operates on Android software that gives access to the eBook Marketplace. This allows consumers to purchase books at cheaper prices and have them downloaded directly to their tablet for easy reading. Launching the Nook took Barnes and Noble into a different field which they had not previously experienced with other competitors. Now in addition to competing with retail bookstores, Barnes and Noble is also competing with Apple’s IPad, Amazon’s Kindle, RIM’s BlackBerry Tablet, and all other technology companies who are launching their tablet style computers onto the market.So now Barnes and Noble is competing with Apple, Amazon, RIM, EBAY and thousand of other smaller retailers. That is not a group I would like to be competing against. Barnes and Noble’s Struggles On October 29 of 2011, Barnes and Noble announced it 6. 6 million dollar loss or 17 cents per share to the public. This was just months after their biggest competitor in the retail side of the business closed. Some would think the closing of Borde rs would allow Barnes and Noble to grow, but the decline across the table shows that bookstores are a dying industry, and one that a smart investor would most likely not invest in.Fastforward a year to 2012. Barnes and Noble announced that it was projecting a loss of between $1. 10 and $1. 40 per share. As of late Barnes and Noble has been pumping money into the development and marketing of its Nook, the electronic book of the future. The question that needs to be asked here though is can the Nook really support an entire company with it having to compete against the IPad and the Kindle? Although the Nook has created the greatest revenue for the company, it is really all it has going for it.Liberty Technology offered to buy Barnes and Noble for a whopping 1. 03 billion dollars, this just to acquire the rights to the Nook which Barnes and Noble promptly turned down. But although the company is making money selling this tablet, the gap between the number of IPad users and Kindle users compared to Nook users is growing wider every day. Corporate Level Strategy Barnes and Noble’s strategy is extremely easy, offer customers inexpensive books. This is the cost leadership and a differentiation strategy that we learned in class.Barnes and Noble found a hole in the retail bookstore industry, which focused on bigger named, and newer types of books and well known authors that topped the best sellers list, that the bookstores then sold at a extremely high costs. The best seller books were not sources for great gain for Barnes and Noble though. Barnes and Noble found, that the customers wanted inexpensive books, regardless of author of rank on the best selling list. By publishing books internally through their company they were able to increase their profits.Differentiation was also prevalent in the cost leadership strategy because of the companies intense focus on the outside of the top seller list which only accounted for 3% of the companies Today however, althoug h the retail side of the industries corporate level strategy remains the same, the insertion of the Nook has caused the company to take is cost leadership and differentiation strategy and focus it toward the online eBooks marketplace, selling those cheap books through a digital market. International strategyBarnes and Noble has 691 stores covering all 50 states and 641 stores on college campuses, but has no stores in other countries. At this time is has no intention of spreading globally and says that it meets the demand of the international markets by its website. Recommendation Moving Forward At this point in time I believe the best strategy for Barnes and Noble would be to sell off the company to a company like Liberty to maximize profit for the stockholders. Although their current business strategy with the Nook is succeeding, that piece of technology does not have the capability to support an entire company by itself.

Positive Male Role Models Essay

The Key to the Success of the African American Male March 11, 2007 For the majority of African American males, the path to success is a challenging one. Young African American males in today’s society face major challenges to their growth and security. The lack of opportunity and motivation stems from preceding obstacles set before the pathways of their ancestors. Therefore, the crisis faced by present day African American males is nothing new. Having unchanged outcomes in the social aspect of present-day African American males, Black youth should take the unsuccessful paths of their predecessors as lessons learned. Nevertheless, there can not be any type of change expected without adequate opportunities as well as appropriate motivation. From an early age, it has become increasingly apparent that Black males are confronted with a series of obstacles in their attempts to attain academic, career, and personal-social success (Lee, 1992). Being that children are very impressionable, young black males need to be inspired with confidence by a positive example or influence in the beginning stages. The prior stages of adolescence are the most important to the development of successful African American males. This is where the need for positive male role models becomes affective. Most would agree that the key factor of role models is greatly needed. Within the article, Wanted: A few good men, the importance of role models to increase opportunities for African American males were emphasized. Pointed out was a specific period in which a defining moment takes place in the young black male’s life. This was noted as the second of several defining moments, â€Å"When individuals assert their independence and often engage in high-risk behavior† (Simms, 1991). This was seen in many black males, but particularly in those whose lives lacked a successful role model. In many cases, this is the key setback in the development of successful black males. The concern for the lack of successful role models is not the only factor, but the lack of realistic models for African American males is an issue also. In the article, Fighting the failure syndrome, it speaks of rescuing African American males from a future of self-destruction and an absence of positive male influence. The fact of the matter is, the majority of black youth grow up in female-headed, poor, and negative influenced environments (Simms, 1991). Now, with the lack of a father or father figure, the stereotypical negative branding, and no other inspiring influences, Black youth are left with a limited choice of models to follow. It is stated that successful celebrities are too distant to offer realistic models of reliable maturity. â€Å"The adult males whom many black boys try to emulate come from their own neighborhoods, and in tough urban areas, these â€Å"models† are all too often involved in drugs and crime† (Tifft, 1990). With that being said, there needs to be an empowering of young Black males. And coincidentally, Empowering Young Black Males, is an article that covers a variety of problems and possible solutions to the major challenges young Black males are faced with today. This article deals with African American males in schools, psychosocial development, as well as actions for intervention. The acknowledgement that young Black males are sufferers of negative attitudes and lowered expectations further enhances the need for empowerment schemes. Such initiatives must focus on helping Black male youth develop attitudes, behaviors, and values necessary to function at optimal levels at school and in the world (Lee, 1992). Black male empowerment can play a major role in sponsoring a positive-based developmental program. The articles used provide good supporting facts of why positive male role models are needed as well as how much of a factor they are in the path to success. The process of developing young African American males goes through many stages. Having to find the right man for the job, the effort in being effective in breaking the negative cycle, to the overall empowering of Black youth is a task.

Reflective Report

The purpose of this report is to reflect upon an aspect of my development that I have encountered throughout my time as a student in Personal and Professional Development (PPD) class conducted by lecturer Mr. Jeremy Ivan Thambirajah. I am a student here for almost a semester, and over my time here I have gained a lot than expected. Going through the PPD programme has taught me so much. It taught me how to be me. I have learned here how to write and express myself, how to think for myself and how to find answers to the things that I do not know.Most importantly, I have learned how important self esteem is when conducting a presentation. I learnt that ethics, like how we dress when conducting a presentation is very important. The lecturer has made me aware of these formal systems of organization that enable people carry out tasks in the workplace. I even find the class exercises enabled me to be more disciplined, in others words, it has taught me to manage myself properly when it comes to completing coursework given by the lecturer. On top of that, it gave me a better team working skills, thus managing others well and overall was a good exercise in time management.I can be slightly about getting my own way. Although I value myself as a good listener, I could benefit from considering other people’s opinions more carefully. Through this I can conclude here that this programme has enlightened me on the need for self-development. Even though I prefer to avoid confrontation, especially with people I know well. However, this is something that I need to overcome in order to be a successful leader. This, I realised after going through the PPD programme. I also found myself to be more confident with the work that I was assigned by the lecturer.I have learnt to be patient and to communicate effectively. Writing had always been one of my strengths, but it was challenging to take that initial step past the high school, five-paragraph essay form that constricted my ide as for so long. Moving past this form, however, has greatly opened my mind. My thoughts are now able to be more complex because I have learned to adapt a logical argument in an organized way. I have reflected on this picture and concluded that I should not forget these experiences. I still wished we had been taught about more stuffs, like how to manage stress.

Gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gold - Essay Example Gold’s actual discovery remains only known to the ancients (Mineral Zone, 1). Gold is the seventy ninth element on the periodic table and it has symbol AU which is derived from the Latin word â€Å"Aurum† which means shining dawn. â€Å"It occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically uncombined except with selenium, tellurium and possibly bismuth. The elements only naturally occurring isotope is gold-197† (Gold.yabz, 1). Deposit of gold with high amounts of gold: hydrothermal veins, where it is associated with pyrite (fools gold) and quartz; and consolidated and unconsolidated placer deposits that are derived from the weathering of gold-bearing rocks. Gold is considerably associated with differential amounts of silver; with electrum being the most common and naturally occurring gold-silver alloy, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Geographically electrum is found in Western Anatolia, present day Turkey (Gold.yabz, 1). Occurrence of gold-bearing rocks rich in it, is unusual, which is to say gold ores are not so (common. In seawater gold occurs to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Presently gold quantity of gold in seawater is estimated to be 9 billion metric tons. Its deposits are widespread in low concentrations all over the continents. Gold deposits are found in two types; lode deposits which is mined through conventional mining methods and placer deposits found along stream beds caused by the erosion of the lode deposits. Its abundance is estimated to vary in concentrations in igneous rocks on the continent varying between .001 to 0.004 ppm. Since discovery, 165,000 tons of it has been mined. Gold is commonly used in ornaments and jewellery (USGS, 1). This is because the metal is highly malleable as it can form very thin sheet of about 0.000005 inches in size, so it served the purpose. Additionally as it is a noble metal, it