Advertising and promotion strategies of three different companies in Essay

Advertising and promotion strategies of three different companies in the cosmetic industry - Essay Example Advertising and promotion strategies of three different companies in the cosmetic industry The major strategy behind the advertising campaigns of the group is to highlight the brand in each and every product. The strategy is that it relates its product line to those individuals who deserves the best and is cautious about the beauty products they use. It advertises its products as premium priced but believes to deliver the best quality cosmetic products. It uses several communication or media channels and highlights is growth over the years to its customers. Apart from the advertising strategies of its newly launched products the company also undertakes promotional strategies through various forms such as using in-store promotions in retail outlets, direct marketing to YouTube and through bloggers, promotions through contests in the form of digital contest in Facebook and Instagram, and even given an opportunity to the customers to customize their products in terms of size and smell so as to associate with the customers easily. The main strategy behind the promotions is to reach out to large consumer market section. The company even incorporates many celebrity endorsements in its product advertisement. The major strength of its advertisement and promotional techniques is that it helps to trigger in the consumer mind the brand name; it helps to create a niche market in the industry and also strengthens its brand. The weakness of the strategies is that it focuses on premium segment of the market and loses behind the vast section of the middle income group of the market.

Chart and Reflection Essay Example for Free

Chart and Reflection Essay 1980 Election This was a political event because it caused a change in the government. Americans wanted a firm, patriotic leader who had a plan to fix the economic problems carrying over from the 1970s. Jimmy Carter was running for reelection, and Americans overall were very unhappy with his leadership. Ronald Reagan emerged as his challenger, a former actor with great public skills and a plan. They elected Ronald Reagan in 1980 who had a controversial plan for fixing the U.S. economy, later dubbed â€Å"Reaganomics. † 1980  Reagan Doctrine Treaty of 1987 the presidents foreign policy in the 1980s of supporting anti-Communist revolutions. reduced existing weapons. the Reagan Doctrine would not shy away from directly confronting Soviet-supported regimes or groups. prevent nuclear proliferation in our own territory and around the globe.   U.S. support favored groups that, while not Communist, were not democratic either. The most controversial of these efforts was in Nicaragua. Mikhail Gorbachev took control of the Soviet Union. He believed that the future of the Soviet Union depended on important reforms and began to implement two programs. the policy led to U.S. involvement in conflicts around the world. Part 2: Answer the following questions in a complete paragraph of your own words. Do you think President Ronald Reagans policies had a positive or negative effect on the country overall? Explain your response. Reagans foreign policy actions were very positive because they lead to the end of the Cold War and the threat of communism that had been plaguing America for decades. What do you think was the most significant event of the 1980s and why? -Ronald Reagan elected president -Britains elite SAS frees Iranian embassy in London after being taken over by terrorists -52 Americans held hostage are returned home after 444 days in captivity -Ronald Reagan survives an assassination attempt by John Hinckley -Riots in Brixton and inner cities in Britain -Britains Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencers wedding -Discovery of AIDS virus These events are significant because they have had an impact on our country today.

Metapsychologism In The Philosophy Of Logic Essay -- Philosophy Philos

Metapsychologism In The Philosophy Of Logic ABSTRACT: The problem of psychologism in the philosophy of logic and the different solutions of this problem are considered. Both traditional psychologistic and antipsychologistic solutions are shown to be untenable and the need for a new solution is demonstrated. The original program of metapsychologism is advanced as a solution to the problem of psychologism based on deduction-search theory. Two formalized levels of a logical procedure are distinguished: 1) an object-level at which a notion of inference is formalized; 2) a metalevel at which principles of deduction-search are formalized, and a thesis of metapsychologism according to which metalevel processes are formulated. Metapsychologism lifts usual psychologist considerations one level up in the hierarchy of logical procedure, while a non-psychologist justification of logical relations is kept at the object-level. The application of the thesis of metapsychologism to different concrete logical procedures is considered. "In the old anti-psychologistic days ...". W. van O. Quine. "Epistemology Naturalized" The debate between psychologism and antipsychologism in the XXth century psychology of logic seemed to be solved ultimately in favor of antipsychologism. After G. Frege, E. Husserl, R. Carnap and J. Lukasiewicz it was almost generally recognized that the only true philosophy of symbolic logic is antipsychologism. Antipsychologism was considered as a thesis belonging to the body of symbolic logic itself. In this paper I try to re-examine relations between antipsychologism, psychologism and modern logic. The problem of psychologism The re-examination mentioned presupposes an analysis of notions of psychologism and a... ...ress, 1993. Vol. 1. P. 349-489. (4) S. Haack Philosophy of Logics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978. (5) G. Frege Logik [1897] // Schriften zur Logik und Sprachphilosophie. Aus dem Nachlaß. Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag, 1990. S. 65. (6) J.A. Robinson, Logic: Form and Function. The Mechanisation of Deductive Reasoning. Edinburgh: Edinburg University Press, 1979. P.93. (7) Ibid. P.94. (8) E. Barth, E. Krabbe, From Axiom to Dialogue: A Philosophical Study of Logic and Argumentation. Berlin, 1982. P. 10-11. (9) Of course in practice we do not use such elaborate constructions. However, if we work with sequential systems, then the existence of an object level system and an opportunity for the translation of the results of a proof-search in sequential calculi into the proofs of a Hilbert type axiomatic or natural system are tacitly presupposed.

Consumer Behavior Impacts

Consumer Behavior Impacts Donna Thompson Kaplan University October 3, 2012 Consumer Behavior Impacts Within the context of the consumer socialization of children, adult consumer, and intergenerational socialization reflects home theaters. To measure the cultural impact on consumer behavior towards home entertainment versus theatre has two approaches etic and emic. Etic approaches on cross cultural end user research. While emic focuses upon indulgent issues from the viewpoint of the subjects being studied.All culture influences are not stagnant and do change over time from adults to children behaviors. Within the context of the consumer socialization of children, adult consumer, and intergenerational socialization reflects home theaters that allow for families to enjoy at home in privet, without interruptions entertainment. Also with the economy it saves money, families are going towards more to Netflix than cable they can get movies by mail and watch them at home.Due to these type of services people can comfortably watch movies at home without buying DVD’s, or go to movie theaters. Furthermore â€Å"The term family is a basic concept, it is not easy to define because family composition and structure, as well as the roles played by the family members, are almost always in transition† (Schiffman , L. G. , & Kanuk, L. L. 2007), which leads to cultural methods of measuring, impact and religion. To measure cultural impact on consumer behavior towards home entertainment versus theatre has two approaches etic and emic. Etic units and classifications are available in advance, rather than determined during the analysis. These advanced etic units can be based on prior broad sampling or surveys; emic units must be discovered† (Berry, J. W. 1989). Furthermore, etic approach in cross cultural end user research generally looks at comprehensive or culture free theories and conceptions. To search different socializations variables and constructs that are co nventional to all ultures and can be straightforwardly rivaled in order to discover how the way of life are different or similar to each other as families partake in home theater. Emic focuses upon indulgent issues from the viewpoint of the subjects being studied. Furthermore culture can be defined emic-ally as the lenses during the course of which all occurrences are seen. It determines how these occurrences are apprehended and assimilated. This relates to children looking up to their parents and friends to acquire skills and knowledge to function as consumers or even to build brand loyalty. Understanding the customers' needs and wants induces companies to realize that no two buyers are ever exactly the same, this heterogeneity in needs and wants drive companies to look for distinctive groups of customers† (Shahhosseini A, Ardahaey). Culture influences are not stagnant and do change over time, and at times â€Å"It has been argued that religion is highly personal in nature a nd therefore its effects on consumer behavior depend on individuals’ level of religious commitment or the importance placed on religion in their life† (Mokhlis, S. 009). Thus it is the responsibility of marketing managers to check for any changes and adapt their marketing policies, in view of culture to a great extent establishes how, why, when and for whom merchandises and services are procured. Whether working directly through prohibitions and obligation or through influences on the culture and society, religious values and beliefs are known to affect prescriptively and emblematically human behavior. All culture influences are not stagnant and do change over time from adults to children behaviors.To search different socializations variables and constructs that are conventional to all cultures and can be straightforwardly rivaled in order to discover how the way of life are different or similar to each other as families partake in home theater. It is the responsibility of marketing managers to check for any changes and adapt their marketing policies, in view of culture to a great extent establishes how, why, when and for whom merchandises and services are procured. Reference Berry, J. W. (1989). IMPOSED ETICS-EMICS-DERIVED ETICS: THE OPERATIONALIZATION OF A COMPELLING IDEA.International Journal Of Psychology, 24(6), 721. Mokhlis, S. (2009). Relevancy and Measurement of Religiosity. International Business Research, 2(3), 10. Retrieved from www. ccsenet. org/journal. html Schiffman , L. G. , ; Kanuk, L. L. (2007). Consumer Behavior (9th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersy: Pearson Education, inc. Shahhosseini A, Ardahaey F. Marketing Mix Practices in the Cultural Industry. International Journal Of Business ; Management. August 2011;6(8):230-234. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 3, 2012.

Team Ground Rules and Guidelines

What are the general expectations for all members of the team?Sarah Dowling- It is our goal as a team to work collaboratively to ensure all members’ thoughts, ideas, and input are shared, discussed, considered, and incorporated into the learning team assignments and projects. It is people’s duty to be accountable for his or her individual portion of the project and to strive to do their personal best.As a group we will seek out opportunities within each other’s strengths to improve our quality of work and assist those team members who may struggle to do so. In the event disagreement occurs between cohorts in regards to any one idea, including but not limited to: substance, quality, or timeline of work submitted, team members will vote to decide if the individual/ idea will continue to work with the group or project. Each member must be committed to the team’s academic achievement and success.Expectations for Time Management and Involvement (Participation, communication with the team, accessibility, etc.)Sarah Dowling- Our team will communicate frequently via e-mail and phone, as well as before and after class. Team members agree to attend all meetings in  whichever method possible. All persons must complete their portion of the agreed upon work in a timely manner that shall be determined by the group as a whole.Ensuring Fair and Even Contribution and Collaboration What strategy will you use to ensure that all team members are contributing and collaborating appropriately? Describe the communication strategy you will use if a team member is not contributing and collaborating effectively.How will the team manage conflicts between team members?Sarah Dowling- Team members will arrive on time to meetings and agree to share input and progress with his or her individual portion of teamwork. An absent team member accepts the decision of the team regarding credit points recorded in the team log. It is each member’s responsibility to c ommunicate to the team their honest availability, knowledge, and capability of completing the group assignments. Strategies to resolve poor work quality include additional tutoring and workshops to be completed by individuals as needed to ensure high academic achievement as the goal of the group.Special Considerations What do you, as a team, agree will make this team experience different from past team experiences?Sarah Dowling- By effectively communicating amongst each other and sharing ideas the team will be successful. A commitment to a timeline and a dedication to producing quality work will ensure that all team projects are executed with a high academic standard.

Twitch Muscle Fibers Essays

Twitch Muscle Fibers Essays Twitch Muscle Fibers Paper Twitch Muscle Fibers Paper muscle contraction Introduction For a skeletal muscle fiber to contract, a stimulus must be applied to it. The stimulus is delivered by a nerve cell, or neuron. A neuron has a threadlike process called and axon that my run 91 cm or more to a muscle. A bundle of such fibers from man different neurons composes a nerve. A neuron that stimulates muscle tissue is called a motor neuron. The motor neuron branches into terminal structures called telodendria that come into close approximation with a portion of the sarcolemma o a muscle fiber (muscle cell). The site where the neuron and muscle fiber meet is called a neuromuscular junction. At this junction the muscle fiber membrane is specialized to form a motor end plate. The sensitivity of a muscle fiber to electrical stimulation through the skin surface is largely a function of the proximity of a neuromuscular junction, the thickness of the skin, and variations in skin conductivity. An electrical stimulus that causes a muscle twitch at one spot may have no effect on muscle fibers that are only a centimeter away. Specific spots on the skin where minimal electrical stimuli cause muscle twitching are called motor points. The purpose of this exercise is to identify specific spots on the skin where these motor points are located. If the electrical stimulus is close enough to pain receptors (naked nerve endings) in the skin, one may experience a slight pricking sensation as the stimulus is applied. Since the skin has many of these pain receptors, this sensation is often experienced; however, a muscle twitch may or may not be produced simultaneously with the pricking sensation. Our intent will be to concentrate on the identification of motor points. Muscles are made up of functional units called motor units. Each motor unit consists of a neuron which supplies one or more muscle fibers. When a motor unit is stimulated, its muscular component will contract with all of the orce they (it) can generate, or they (it) are not contracting at all / in a given muscle there are many motor units, these units vary in their level of irritability. Tat is some will respond to a weak stimulus, while others may require a much stronger stimulus. Often the smaller units are less irritable than the larger units, therefore we often have better control when the task requires only slight strength, and we have much poorer control when greater strength is needed. The overall strength of a contraction of a muscle is the summation of the pull of the motor units operating at any one time. There are two types of summation, spatial and temporal. An increase in the strength of the overall muscle contraction due to spatial summation is brought about by increasing the strength of a stimulus which increases the number of motor units that are operating. Remember that the muscle fibers that are contracting are doing so with all of their strength. Temporal summation is brought about by increasing the rate of stimulus so that the same muscle fibers are contracting again before they have had a chance to completely relax. Each individual fiber can contract more powerfully when the stimuli arrive close together in this fashion, then it can contract in a single twitch. This may at first seem to violate the all or nothing principle. The explanation for temporal summation involves the elastic properties of muscles. Tension developed is translated through many structures. It is transmitted from the cross bridges through thick and thin filaments, across Z lines, extracellular connective tissue, muscle and bone. Each of these components has a certain amount of elasticity. Only when all of these elastic structures are taut can increasing contraction by the muscle occur. When a second stimulus occurs very close to the first the elastic structures are not yet slack and the result is the contraction is stronger than any simple muscle twitch. Temporal summation will not be studied at this time. Human muscle can be directly stimulated through the skin using a relatively strong stimulus. When stimulating skeletal muscles in this way, certain sensitive spots can be located that elicit a much greater response. These spots are called motor points. Motor points are usually located directly over the area where the nerve supplying the muscle being stimulated enters the muscles, often the belly of the muscle. IN the first part of this exercise, we will study the motor points of the hand using the isolated square wave stimulator. In the second part of this exercise we will use the Physiogrip system to study the details of a single muscle twitch which can be separated into three phases; the latent period, the period of contracting, and the period of relaxation. Refer to Chapter 10 for details of muscle physiology. We will establish the minimal or threshold stimulus required to cause your flexor pollicis brevis or flexor digitorum muscle to contract, and see the consequences of increasing the stimulus strength which increases the force of contraction due solely to spatial summation. The flexor pollicis brevis is located at the base of the thumb, if flexes and adducts the thumb, and it is innervated by the median and ulnar nerve. The flexor digitorum superficialis is located on the inside of the forearm, and while not a deep muscle, it is beneath the palmaris longus, flexor carpi radialis, pronator teres and the brachioradialis. The flexor digitorum superficialis flexes first the middle and then the proximal phalanges. This muscle is involved only in rapid, forceful flexion of the digits in grasping movements; it is not at all involved with gentle, unresisted flexion. The flexor digitorum superficialis is innervated by the muscular branch of the median nerve. The third part of this exercise will involve further analysis of the simple muscle twitch and the knee jerk reflex using the Flexicomp program. Using a transducer attached to your knee the physiology of the knee jerk reflex (an example of a monosynaptic reflex arc) will be studied. Procedure Introduction: Each experiment (motor points of the hand, Physiogrip, and Flexicomp) will be performed by the same groups of 3 students. One member will be the subject, a second will be the stimulator or apparatus operator, and the third member will be the recorder. Subject Preparation: For each procedure there will be a considerable amount of preparation. Take notes while your instructor discusses each procedure. For determining the motor points of the hand, use the abrasive pad, detergent and paper towels (or Kleenex) to thoroughly clean your hand. The superficial layers of the stratum corneum and excessive skin oils must be removed to obtain proper conductivity. Remove rings which will interfere with identification of motor points. After the skin is completely dried position the subject’s arm in a relaxed manner on the table, with palm up. Electrode gel will be applied to the areas to be tested (hand and forearm) to improve conductivity. The Physiogrip procedure involves attaching a flat electrode (with electrode gel) to the back of the hand while probing for the motor point of the flexor pollicis brevis or flexor digitorum superficialis muscles. The Flexicomp procedure involves attaching a knee jerk transducer to the knee and then properly calibrating it using onscreen directions and the help or your instructor. Stimulators: Your instructor will discuss the stimulators. Take notes. The electrical stimuli to be applied to the skin will be minimal, or threshold, must sufficient to elcit a response. The threshold stimulus is governed by duration and voltage. If the duration is too short, more voltage is required. Before starting each experiment make sure the stimulator voltage is zero. As the voltage is increased in 5-volt increments, a point will be reached when a muscle twitch will occur, or the subject will indicate a sensation of minor pain. If a twitch occurs, you have reached the minimum voltage or threshold for muscle stimulation. Stimulation process: For determining the motor points of the hand, outline your hand in the report section and record the minimum voltage required to elicit a twitch for each spot. Continue to increase the voltage and to probe the hand until 2 or more motor points have been identified or until the stimulation process becomes uncomfortable. For the Physiogrip procedure, locate the motor point for the flexor pollicis brevis or other flexor muscles of the hand muscle. Follow the onscreen directions of the computer to determine muscle twitch information. Your instructor will help you select the proper responses. For the Flexicomp a modified patellar hammer will be used to stimulate the knee. When you tap the patellar ligament a simultaneous signal will be sent to the computer. Your instructor will show you how to print out and evaluate the simple muscle twitch obtained using the Flexicomp equipment. Detailed Setup for the Physiogrip Procedure: . Put a small amount of electrode gel on the flat electrode and strap the electrode to the back of your right or left wrist. The wrist area should be cleaned with alcohol prior to attachment of the electrode. Put a small amount of electrode gel on the front of the wrist. This gel will be spread around with the stimulus electrode as you search for the flexor digitorum superficialis mo tor point. 2. Grasp the pistol grip and apply enough pressure on the trigger to lift the screen plot off the bottom of the screen. 3. Your lab instructor will show you how to analyze and print out your data. Staple your Physiogrip and Flexicomp printouts to the Lab Report #14. Label your data with the following information: a. The stimulus voltage b. The latent period and its duration in seconds c. The contraction period and its duration in seconds d. The relaxation period and its duration in seconds 1. Threshold voltages for motor points in the hand can vary from person to person. What could account for these differences in threshold voltages? The threshold voltages for motor points in the hand can vary from person to person due to the thickness of the skin, dirt on the hand, or oily hands. . Outline your hand in the space below and then for each part of the palm and fingers record the minimum voltage required to elicit a muscle twitch. [pic] A = 230 X 0. 1 = 23 mv (lumbricales) B = 350 X 0. 1 = 35 mv (Flexor Pollicis Brevis) 3. ) When a nerve cell is at rest, there is a relatively greater concentration of sodium ions on the outside of its membrane 4. ) When sodium ions are actively tra nsported outward through a nerve cell membrane, they are exchanged for K+ ions which are transported inward. 5. The difference in electrical charge between the inside and the outside of a resting nerve cell (neuron) is called the resting membrane potential. 6. ) If the resting potential becomes less negative (-70 mV toward 0) in response to stimulation, the process is called depolarizing graded potential. 7. ) Any stimulus weaker than a threshold stimulus is termed a subthreshold stimulus. 8. ) If a series of subthreshold stimuli is quickly applied to the neuron, the cumulative effect may be sufficient to initiate an impulse. This phenomenon is called temporal summation. 9. Following depolarization, potassium ions diffuse outward and cause the cell membrane to become more negative. 10. ) An action potential (or nerve impulse) is a rapid sequence of changes involving the inward movement of Na+ ions followed by the outward movement of K+ ions. 11. ) Following the passage of a nerve im pulse there is a period during which a threshold stimulus will not trigger another impulse. This period is called the refractory period. 12. ) A single nerve cell, just like a single muscle fiber, transmits an action potential according to the all or none principle. 3. ) Nodes of Ranvier (neurofibral nodes) occur between adjacent axon segments of the Schwann cell. 14. The type of nerve conduction in which and impulse jumps from node to node is called saltatory conduction. 15. ) The greater the diameter of a nerve fiber, the faster the impulse travels. 16. ) Explain in detail what physiological events are taking place during the latent period. In your discussion explain the difference between the â€Å"latent period† for the Physiogrip experiment and the â€Å"latent period† for the Flexicomp experiment. In the laboratory, a witch can be produced by direct electrical stimulation of a motor neuron or its muscle fibers. The record of a muscle contraction is called a myogram. Twitches of skeletal muscle fibers last anywhere form 20-200 Msec. This is very long compared to the brief 1-2 msec that a muscle action potential lasts. Note that a brief delay occurs between application of the stimulus and the beginning of contraction. The delay, which lasts about 2 msec, is termed the latent period. During the latent period, the muscle action potential sweeps over the sarcolemma and calcium ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. If two stimuli are applied, one immediately after the other, the muscle will respond to the first stimulus, but not to the second. When a muscle fiber receives enough stimulation to contract, it temporarily loses its excitability and cannot respond for a time. Physiogrip: It also showed that there was a less latent period because it only interacted with the nerves to the fingers. Flexicomp: The impulse generated below the knee has to travel to the spinal cord and then reaction takes place, making the latent period longer.

How to Start Investing in Your 20s

How to Start Investing in Your 20s When it comes to making plans, long-term savings and investments might be the furthest thing from your mind. â€Å"I’m a millennial,† you say. â€Å"I have plenty of time to deal with that!† And while this is may be true, technically, it’s totally in your interest to take a hard look at what you can do to get started. â€Å"I have plenty of time† turns into â€Å"Meh, I’m busy, I’ll deal with it later,† which turns into â€Å"Yikes, where did the time go?† Personally, I remember sitting in a standard 401(k) seminar at work, where younger employees were advised to start saving as soon as possible. The guest investment advisor trotted out a horror story of a sweet old lady who retired with grand plans of freedom and travel, only to find $12,000 in her investment account. The tone and implication were similar to those stories that high school health teachers tell you to scare you away from†¦ well, everything, but it was an effective tactic. Knowing myself, I’d keep putting off big financial investment decisions until â€Å"later,† until I was that sweet old lady with no savings. The story may or may not have been true, but it hit the mark.And the numbers are persuasive. Finance site Betterment lays it out pretty clearly:Consider this: If you start saving just $1,200 a year- a mere $100 per month- starting at age 25, by age 65 you’ll have about $185,700 (assuming a 6% return).If you put off investing in your 20s, you’re potentially leaving a lot of money on the table. According to Betterment.com’s example, someone who waits 10  years longer loses almost half of that total nest egg. Plus, you’ll have to answer to 65-year-old-you, too.Why Start Investing Now?If you’re in your 20s, entry-level salaries and the costs of living out on your own can make investing seem like an impossibility. Sure, a healthy retirement account would be great to have, but w hat about rent/food/phone bill in the meantime? Even though it may sound counterintuitive, budget-wise, it’s actually the right time to start down the investment path.Time is on your side. Like the old Rolling Stones song, time really is on your side here. The same reason you might be giving to put off investing in you 20s (â€Å"plenty of time†) can be tweaked slightly to justify a more proactive approach: â€Å"plenty of time†¦for my investments to grow.†You can afford to be aggressive. As you get older, you might be more hesitant to make aggressive or risky investments- after all, you’re getting closer to the time where you’ll want to have access to the money you’ve earned through your investments. When you’re in your 20s, though, it goes back to point #1: you have time to absorb short-term losses, or make higher-risk investment choices that could yield higher rewards. Let’s not forget that investing means buying into t he stock market, which always incurs some degree of risk.There’s no magic time to start, so why not now? This whole process is on you- it’s your money, and your timeline. If you’re thinking of having a family (however eventually) or buying a house, you’ll become even less likely to think about extra financial matters like investing when you’re busy getting through the day-to-day. If you get started now, making investing a part of your financial routine, it’s one less New Thing to add later when there are extra stresses on your budget.You never know what will happen later. Job losses, illnesses, financial curveballs- all of these can happen to any of us. Working on your investments and savings now can help you manage surprises and losses down the road and prevent you from losing more long-term ground than you would if you hadn’t done any saving and investing.How to Get StartedSo now you have the reasons to start investing in your 20s- now what? Let’s look at the things you should start doing ASAP to start making progress in your financial plans.Pay off your student loans.If you’re one of the 70% of people who graduated with student loans in the past few years, you know that this is not a little task for you as you start out in your career and in your post-college life. It’s a huge part of your financial picture, and it can seem like a dark, looming mountain that you can’t possibly chip away. Business Insider recommends coming up with a personal spending plan that allows you to pay off those loans as soon as you can, so that you don’t have that debt looming over your future longer than it needs to be there. Do what you can do, as you can do it.Come up with a budget.A real and realistic budget of what you have coming in, what you need for essentials, and what you can spend on non-essentials and financial future planning. If you’re not already budget-inclined, it can feel li ke a pain- especially when it might not allow you to do/buy some of the extras you really want. Once you’re serious about creating a budget you can stick to, there are lots of tools that can help you do it.Set your goals and start saving toward them.Want to have a down payment on a house in five years? Take a deluxe trip to Europe for your 30th birthday? Think about some of the big-ticket items you want to have in your future. Once you have those in mind (and an approximate price tag), set a savings schedule.Sign up for your employer’s 401(k) program.A 401(k) is a retirement investment account where your contributions are taken out of your paycheck pre-tax. So you’re not only putting your money into an investment account that will chug along under the guidance of investment professionals, but you can decide how hands-on or hands-off you want to be in those investments. Plus, there’s a huge benefit if your company has a policy of matching employee contribu tions. That, my friend, is free money for your future.Or sign up for a Roth IRA.If your workplace doesn’t offer a 401(k) program or you don’t want to go that route, you can also opt for a Roth IRA account. This is also an investment account where you can set automated contributions, but unlike a 401(k), the money in this account is not taxed when you pull the money out for retirement. However, there are also yearly caps and income requirements, so if you go this route, it’s important to understand the benefits and the drawbacks.Don’t go too crazy.There’s risk that leads to greater rewards, and there’s risk that leads to a series of bad decisions and a wiped-out investment account. Especially if you’re just starting out in investing, Nerdwallet recommends investing in index funds, a.k.a. exchange-traded funds. In these, you’re buying into a portfolio that includes a number of investments, instead of buying specific numbers of sh ares of specific companies or commodities. These funds are managed, and save you the hassle of having to choose, monitor, and shift specific stocks on your own.Get help.You’re not in this on your own- there’s an entire industry of financial professionals who can help you navigate this process. If you’re investing through your company’s 401(k) or Roth IRA program, that program will have an administrator and advisor who can help you at every stage of the process. Also, since this is the future, you can also turn to robo-advisors to help you manage your investments. (No flying cars, but for now we’ll take robot advisors.) Unless you’re an expert on the stock market and investment options, get expert opinions to guide you before you put your hard-earned cash into any investments.Increase your contributions when you’re able.While much of the heavy lifting in investing is involved in the process of getting started, this isn’t somethi ng you should just forget once your investments are up and running. Review your investments frequently, and revisit your investment budget whenever you have an income change (a raise, a promotion, a new gig with a higher salary, a side hustle that’s paying off). Make sure you’re increasing your investment contributions as much as you can, when your budget allows.And the most important next step of all: don’t be afraid. As a twentysomething, you have the luxury of time and long planning to support your investment decisions. No matter what your salary and your budget are, it’s worth it to move past your reservations and start investing what you can. Starting small can have lead to rewards later, so why not start now? Future You will thank you, from that comfortable retirement chair.

Cover Letter Guide Writing Your Best Cover Letter for 2017

Cover Letter Guide Writing Your Best Cover Letter for 2017 The cover letter is often the underappreciated sibling of the resume. It’s a little lefts)Do You Have Tips for My Particular Field?Here at TheJobNetwork, we’re constantly working on spotlighting different fields, but if you’re in one of these fields and writing a cover letter, then you are already in luck:How to Write a Perfect Teacher Cover LetterHow to Write a Perfect Admin Assistant Cover LetterHow to Write a Perfect Human Resources Cover LetterEven if you’re not in one of these specific fields, you’ll find helpful tips and tricks that you can apply to your own letter as well.And there you have it†¦you should be good to start your own cover letter! Congrats on not neglecting this oft-overshadowed piece of your applicant package, and boosting your chances of getting to the next steps.

Palestine israeli conflict for international relations class Research Paper

Palestine israeli conflict for international relations class - Research Paper Example The common thing in both perspectives of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict is that the main reason is on the issue of land and there are serious consequences that accompany the conflict. There has been loss of land, loss of lives and immigration of the people from their ancestral lands in order to obtain safety in other countries. The research on international relations relate to the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The research paper examines the conflict from a Palestinian perspective. The research will conduct an analysis of the cause of the conflict, which constitute the factors that led to the start of the fight. The history of the conflict helps in understanding the causes, effects, interventions, and future of the conflict. The two parties could just have easily settled their conflicts amicably, but this has not been the case. Both territories have seen the need for continuing to fight a war that started way before they existed. The help from outside parties in trying to arbitrate the conflict have further pushed the countries into further and more serious measures of dealing with the conflict. There are several impacts that have resulted from the conflict. Israel, for example, has become a highly militarized country, with every gender from the teenage years becoming full soldiers. It is a rite of passage for the children to become soldiers when they reach a certain age. For the Palestinians, the oppression they have suffered at the hands of the Israelis has made them have a lot of hate and distrust for the Israelites. The Palestinians also do not have trust in the external parties who have had a history of favoring the Israelites over them when it came to the conflict. The Palestinians further blame outside forces for heavily contributing to the fight. From the Palestinian perspective, the Palestinians are the wronged party, and they would not concede to the Israelites. They want revenge and

The manufacturing of a Premount Base Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The manufacturing of a Premount Base - Essay Example The manufacturing process was aligned and synchronised after the launch of Computer Numerical Control. The performance and machining characteristics of the Computer Numerical Control is consistent, and possibility of production or machining error is minimal. The human error has previously consumed significant effort and time, and in cases have been cause of production downtime. The evolution of the Computer Numerical Control is in compliance with the quality standards. The material for the fabrication of pre-mounting base shall be inspected through several non-destructive techniques to verify its compliance against standard, and strength. The metal identification of the job piece is important; the identification of the metal constituents through metal identification shall conform to the description provided by the vendor. This test shall be followed by hardness measurement; the hardness of the job piece shall be within the range as described in ASTM standards. The dye penetrant test of the job piece is recommended to verify the possibility of existence of external cracks on the job piece; it is strongly recommended that the cracked job piece shall be rejected. The ultra-sonic flaw detection shall be conducted; the test will verify the existence of internal flaws of the job piece. Beside ultra-sonic flaw detection, another recommended technique shall be eddy-current testing. The machining process for the pre-mounting base is simple. The job piece after certain inspection and quality checks should be placed on the lathe machine for trimming. It is important that the job piece shall be not greater than 2mm from the maximum required length. The quality of the cutting tools has to be ensured and maintained. The lathe machine shall be suitable for this job. The fabrication of the pre-mounting base requires essentially straight machining. After machining, the drilling of holes at specified

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 58

Leadership - Essay Example According to Polelle (2008), leaders comprise of people entrusted to come up with security laws and measures. These regulations are what the security enforcing people follow in order to ensure safety in a nation. From this aspect, it is vital that a nation has reliable leaders characterized by sound reasoning and high integrity. All security measures are highly determined by our leaders and this exhibits the importance of leadership. On personal level, a leader must have proper principles that guide them through their lives. Effective leaders also concentrate on local level by coming up with projects that are beneficial to social, economic, and political transformation of their local communities. In the year 2015, the leader who has had a great impact on me is U.S.A is president Barrack Obama. Since his election as the president, Obama has had a number of achievements. These achievements include improving the economy, enhancing human rights, and enhancing foreign relationships. Obama has sure stand out as an influential leader. Obama’s achievements are of great inspiration that demonstrates that it is possible to achieve self-actualization. It may have taken a period of time and a number of hurdles, but he demonstrated attributes of a real leader to persist until results are achieved. Shifting to the concern of security, Obama has gone to all breadths and lengths to ensure there is security in the U.S.A. In addition, he has also deployed security forces to other parts of the world that needs security enforcement. Obama’s ability to achieve great success regardless of the hurdles makes him a leader of significance influence. A community cannot survive without proper leadership within its boundaries. Leadership held by people fall at three levels of national, local and personal. One of the greatest leaders that have had significant influence in my life is Barrack Obama. Obama has stood strong in various difficult situations to

Managing property Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing property Business - Essay Example It has a gross turnover of 662 million Euros and a gross operating profit of 156 million Euros. This company has employed 3,300 employees across Europe. I. Being an investor in London one is guaranteed a dynamic offer in investment. London is one of the most dynamic and large cities of the world. This means there are wide ranges of opportunities available in London. Investment in real estate in this town offers an exposure in insurance, banking, technology, media, education industry and fashion industries. This needs different types of building, specification and a wide range of designs. Investment in this town will offer exposure to different risk profile and will help to reflect the dynamism of the town with creation of new building. Therefore investing my money in a big company will offer me this opportunity of transformation of London (BNP, 2013). II. The Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) have a wide variety of companies associated with it. This includes the computer industry, software industry and start up tech companies. All this companies need a huge space for their location. In addition, the increasing numbers of people employed in these areas need a lot of space to stay and to carry out their work. The growth in these sectors therefore requires a company that is focused into the future. PNB Paribas Real Estate is one such company with research on future trends of the current market. This helps the company to plan and therefore be prepared to meet the future requirement in the dynamic world of real estate investment. With this in mind, it makes it prudent to invest in a company that lives the future and is prepared for the future. This gives security to the money invested (BNP, 2013). III. The economic recovery in UK has increased the confidence of investment in UK. This has increased both local and foreign investment in UK for real estate. Many executives from overseas companies

To what extent China's historical period since 1978 still shape Essay

To what extent China's historical period since 1978 still shape China's contemporary society How has this been a constituting milestone to modern development or a hindering handicap - Essay Example The policies undertaken by Deng Xiaoping and the subsequent government were aimed at increasing the investments in the industrial sectors and meeting the demands of the people of the country. The political ideologies of the Communist governments changed since 1978. The historical period since 1978 in China has influenced the development of the contemporary societies. The policies of economic liberalization have stimulated the process of increasing demand in the company. This has increased the level of liquidity and has changed the lifestyle of the people of China. The contemporary societies and the lifestyles have been influenced by the economic reforms of the government since 1978. The policy reforms implemented by the Chinese governments have been a milestone for the modern development of China and its rapid growth in a short span of time. The differences between the economic reforms of China and Russia have also been discussed in this work. The socio-political and economic issues in China are wide ranged and varied and can be identified to be rooted from the vast cultural and political history of China, the different economic reforms implemented in China in the late 1970s and the immense population and its growth in China. China demonstrates a bubble economy and a weak social balance which are combined to make the country an unstable one where a number of social, political and economic issues prevail (Jing, 2001, p.4). China is mainly a communist state where the external environment related to conducting business in the country has several socio=political and economic issues. The environment for conducting business in the country is a challenging and complex environment. The political framework as well as the legal structure in China is highly unstable making it difficult for businesses to establish their operations there. The various economic reforms that have been implemented in the 1970s in China have caused increas ing

Microsoft Monopoly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Microsoft Monopoly - Essay Example The reasons that lead to Microsoft being reconnoitered for antitrust performance is the fact that there were reports of Microsoft Company abusing the position they had as one of the leaders in supplying operating systems of computers. It leads to various lawmakers carrying out investigations if Microsoft Company was creating a monopoly to the markets available for the computer software’s. These lawmakers later found out that Microsoft Company was causing a monopoly in the industry of computers.The lawmakers came out with facts used in supporting their judgments (McLaughlin, 1999). Microsoft Company created Microsoft office which gave services to everyone in any professional field. The Microsoft office was to be used to operate an operating system that was specifically from Microsoft Company. This operating system used by Microsoft, is windows. McLaughlin(1999) affirms that during the internet development, Microsoft Company tried to put measurements that were to eradicate and p ush out other companies competing with them in terms of net browsing. By doing so, Microsoft Company came up with the internet explorer which was to be used freely in their all operating systems introduced. The introduction of internet explorer came when people were spending their money in using Netscape Navigator and other browsers. According to the lawmakers, Microsoft Company was mortified of these exclusive dealings. This type of regulation gives Microsoft sole rights to a particular commodity.

To what extent China's historical period since 1978 still shape Essay

To what extent China's historical period since 1978 still shape China's contemporary society How has this been a constituting milestone to modern development or a hindering handicap - Essay Example The policies undertaken by Deng Xiaoping and the subsequent government were aimed at increasing the investments in the industrial sectors and meeting the demands of the people of the country. The political ideologies of the Communist governments changed since 1978. The historical period since 1978 in China has influenced the development of the contemporary societies. The policies of economic liberalization have stimulated the process of increasing demand in the company. This has increased the level of liquidity and has changed the lifestyle of the people of China. The contemporary societies and the lifestyles have been influenced by the economic reforms of the government since 1978. The policy reforms implemented by the Chinese governments have been a milestone for the modern development of China and its rapid growth in a short span of time. The differences between the economic reforms of China and Russia have also been discussed in this work. The socio-political and economic issues in China are wide ranged and varied and can be identified to be rooted from the vast cultural and political history of China, the different economic reforms implemented in China in the late 1970s and the immense population and its growth in China. China demonstrates a bubble economy and a weak social balance which are combined to make the country an unstable one where a number of social, political and economic issues prevail (Jing, 2001, p.4). China is mainly a communist state where the external environment related to conducting business in the country has several socio=political and economic issues. The environment for conducting business in the country is a challenging and complex environment. The political framework as well as the legal structure in China is highly unstable making it difficult for businesses to establish their operations there. The various economic reforms that have been implemented in the 1970s in China have caused increas ing

Cross-cultural education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cross-cultural education - Essay Example Moreover, Eiser, Arnold and Ellis suggest that the nurse education should incorporate enhancing cross-cultural awareness, communication, and race. They argue that the knowledge shall boost the competency of physicians to deliver quality services that incorporate social and historical comprehension of a disorder (Eiser, Arnold and Glenn 185). Even though the past and present information is vital for determining and diagnosing, I think it is discriminatory to link specific conditions with African Americans past. The African Americans had ways of treating the diseases, but they are outdated. Hence, studies should address the changing circumstances and disease. However, it is prudent to acknowledge the African American views regarding the handling of the patients and their past health records. I concur with the authors in the section that they describe that cross-cultural education should investigate the conflicting paradigms for illness, issue of mistrust and aspects of conflicting cult ural norms. In this perspective, it is imperative to recognize African Americans social institutions, religious beliefs and practices and perceptions of life. A tolerable knowledge of the social concerns shall generate an environment that fosters unity and peace. Besides, it will minimize the gap between the perceived minority groups in the crucial sector. Conceivably, the authors of the article illustrated the differing viewpoints that hinder African Americans from accessing the health services.

Cupcake Leavening Methods Essay Example for Free

Cupcake Leavening Methods Essay I have found three that I will test in order to find which produces the fluffiest, or least dense, batch of cupcakes. They allow for a greater leavening, or increase of volume of baking dough caused by the formation of gas bubbles. The methods to create this effect on the cupcakes are using egg whites only, mixing each ingredient separately before adding them to the mixture, and adding a teaspoon of corn starch to the mix. Eggs are a necessary ingredient to nearly any baked good. However, the two parts of the egg, the yolk and the white, have very different compositions. Egg yolks are high in fat, while the whites contain a great amount of protein. Fats interfere with the proteins ability to form bonds and trap air, keeping them from becoming as fluffy as they could be. However, whipping egg whites on their own mixes air into the whites and disarranges their protein molecules. The protein molecules are usually in clusters. Whipping causes them to stretch out and link together, trapping the air into tiny bubbles. Thus, using the egg whites on their own allows the proteins to whip up to their fullest potential height. A simpler method of decreasing the density of a batch of cupcakes is to mix each ingredient separately before adding them all together. By putting all dry ingredients into a bowl and whisking them until there are no lumps you are lightening the cake mix. Also, one should mix the eggs before their addition because this adds many small bubbles to them, which will cause bubbles to also be in the cupcakes, thereby making them light and fluffy. Finally, it is said that adding a teaspoon of cornstarch to your cupcakes before baking them will allow for extra lightness. Cornstarch is made from the endosperm of corn or wheat. It is used in baking as a leavening agent. It includes starch, which absorbs moisture and lets the little bubbles to form more easily in the batter during baking. Cornstarch does not contain any gluten, which is a strong and stretchy protein that gives baked goods a very solid structure. As temperature rises while the cupcakes bake, the cornstarch cause gas molecules to move farther apart, thus expanding air cells. This reaction will give the cupcakes the desired fluffiness. An important part of my experimentation will be determining the density of each cupcake. The formula for finding density is Density=Mass/Volume. In order to find the density, however, I must first find the mass and volume. Using a triple beam balance I can find the mass, but the volume will be more complicated. I have determined that the easiest way to calculate the volume would be to hypothetically separate each cupcake into thin segments by increments of approximately one centimeter. Then, I will have many approximate cylinders sitting on top of each other. Next, all I must do is measure the circumference of each cylinder, use that number to calculate the radius, and input that radius into the formula for finding the volume of a cylinder: Volume=? *radius^2*height. By adding the volume of each cylinder I can find the volume of the entire cupcake. I will do this to each cupcake in each batch and use the volume to determine the densities. Then, the batch with the lowest average density of cupcake is the one with the most effective method. Using all this research, I have hypothesized that the cornstarch will do the greatest amount of leavening.

What extent is Psychopathy a disorder of empathy

What extent is Psychopathy a disorder of empathy Current literature seats a lack of empathy as one of the most distinguishing symptoms of psychopathy (APA, 1994). Commonly found amongst the factor one items of diagnostic criteria, it is valued as part of the core psychopathic personality; essential to understanding the disorder (Kantor 2006). It is, for example both common and plausible to attribute the recidivistic violation of social, moral and legal norms (characteristic to psychopathy) to a distinct lack of empathy. Paradoxically, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are also claimed to lack empathy, yet the discrepancies between the disorders (psychopathy and ASD) raise questions as to whether such claims are fully justified. Some of these discrepancies include (a) the inability to form attachments in psychopathy versus the ability to do so in ASD (b) Amorality in psychopathy vs. a degree of morality in ASD (Frith de Vignemont 2007) (c) Sadistic, premeditated and inexcusable antisocial behaviour in pyshcopathy vs. innocent and excusable antisocial behaviour in ASD (Hansman Hummelen 2006). This essay will explore the great extent to which Psychopathy (compared to ASD) reflects a significant disorder of empathy. It will selectively and briefly address (a) the role of empathy in typically developed individuals (b) the definition of empathy and the type of empathic deficits present in Psychopathic and ASD populations (c) Empathic dysfunction as an essential determinant of psychopathic tendencies. Empathy is said to be the cornerstone of morality; central to the development and maintenance of friendships and romantic relationships. The ability to understand another persons perspective and share in their emotional state (Baron- Cohen 2003) puts constraints on impulsivity, inhibits violent and aggressive behaviour and hence strengthens sociability (Stoff, Breiling Maser 1997). Simultaneously the absence of empathy produces adverse/opposite effects (stoff et al 1997), most of which (in its entirety) are manifest in Psychopaths .Empathy has not escaped the common setback of being defined and used in an range of ways by an range of authors (Hoffman, 1987) but for the purpose of this essay, empathy will be acknowledged in terms of its cognitive, affective (and motor) components. The cognitive component of Empathy encompasses Theory of mind or mind reading, which entails the capacity to understand another persons feelings and take their perspective (Baron- Cohen 2008 pg 62). Interestingly, Psychopaths do, to a certain extent possess the ability to understand the feelings and perspective of others, in fact they must do: to be so successfully manipulative. Consistent with this, Psychopaths are unimpaired on measures of theory of mind, even when tested on the Advanced theory of mind test (Blair 2005).They are superb mind readers enabling them to deceive and swindle other people( Frith 2003) as well as mimic empathy for their own gain (motor empathy). Dangerously mistaken for being charming, likable and a great success with the ladies (Cleckely), psychopaths possess skills (if I may call it that) to superficially blend into society and cognitively identify (not emotionally) with the perspective of others. At this superficial level of interaction and continuous ma sking of sanity, psychopaths can never form genuine attachments : empathic deficits result in self centeredness ,disregard for others emotions , impulsivity, behavioural problems and a lack of remorse; confirmed by an inability to sustain long term relationships, parasitic lifestyle and promiscuous sexual behaviour (Hare 1991). Autistic individuals however, differ from psychopaths on both cognitive and behavioural levels (Rogers, Vidina, Blair, Frith Happe 1997). They lack theory of mind profoundly, have difficulty in interpreting /predicting the intentions, behaviour and thoughts of others (Frith 2003) and therefore cannot socially interact, even on the superficial level that psychopaths do. The observed lack of empathic behaviours in ASD may be attributed to the inability to mentalize or correctly evaluate social situations (e.g. distress in others), resulting in antisocial behaviour (e.g. social withdrawal,) misinterpreted as uncaring (Rogers et al 1997). According to Blair (1999), once autistic individuals are aware of others mental states, appropriate emotional responses are given. Autistic individuals can also form strong attachments to caregivers (Sigman Capps 1997). There is no cognitive empathic deficit in psychopathy; only the manipulation of their intact form, to their own ends. The antisocial b ehaviour (comprising factor two of diagnosis) is often premeditated, exploitative and repetitive (Hansmen Hummelen 2006); indicative of a Psychopaths inability to empathise with the emotional impact on their victims. Psychopaths lack the emotional component of empathy which is defined as an affective response more appropriate to someone elses situation than to ones own (Hoffman, 1987: p.48). However, through manipulation of cognitive empathy, psychopaths are able to exercise motor empathy in order to substantiate and disguise the reality that they are without emotional empathy. This lack of emotional empathy equates to the inability to connect emotionally with ones perspective, thus producing impaired/inappropriate responses as a result. Psychopaths have selectively impaired emotional processing (Hare 1991); (relative to controls) they show significantly reduced autonomic responses to expression of fear and sadness as well as aversive events (Blair 1999). Supporting evidence is the dysfunction (hypo activation and reduced volumes) of the amgydala (key in emotional processing) and orbio frontal cortex observed in Psychopathic populations. Autistic individuals however, show physiological responses to others distress, indicative of intact emotional empathy, possibly accounting for their ability to distinguish between moral and conventional rules whilst psychopaths cannot (Blair 2005). Impairments in emotional empathy predispose Psychopaths to the characteristics that are the bedrock of the disorder e.g. Shallow affect, callousness, behavioural problems, and lack of guilt, and the extent to which this is true become magnified when Psychopathy is compared to ASD. Without Depreciating the cognitive, social and emotional deficits present in ASD; autistic individuals are loveable and respond to love, affection, fear and anxiety (Quinn Quinn 2006 pp), suggesting emotional empathy may not require the ability mentalize. Critically speaking, Psychopathic tendencies do reflect biologically predisposed deviances in emotion, personality traits and behaviour and may stem from an array of (other) deficits in e.g. (a) processing of general emotions but specifically negative affect , (b) passive avoidance learning , (c) behavioural inhibition , and (d) violence inhibition mechanisms (Herve Yuille 2007). Yet although investigators place varied emphasis on individual deficits, emp athic dysfunction has its (cause or effect) role to play in many of them. Appreciating the unlikelihood for any one explanation, of any disorder to suffice; we conclude on the note that psychopathy is a disorder of empathy to a very great extent; yet not without additional and intermingling deficits.

Basics of Quantum Computing Essay -- Physics Computers Science

Fundamental Differences of Quantum Computers In the standard architecture of computer storage, values are arranged as a series of bits, each of which is either true or false(0 or 1). This fundamental restriction of two states is the most basic difference when working with quantum states. Rather than allowing just the two singles states, a superposition of the two states is also possible, forming a state that is neither 0 nor 1, but something in between with a probability of either state. Further, in the standard organization, it is possible to attach various bits together to force correlations between their values. This is also possible within the superposition of the states represented in a quantum bit. (Qubit) The correlation between these superpositions in the two qubits is referred to as Entanglement. With proper tying it is possible to evaluate the qubit as both one and zero at the same time, and do so across the entirety of the set of qubits at the same time, allowing for massively parallel evaluations of all possible sequences at the same time. Of course in the end there can only be a single full set for the stable state, but information can be gathered from each of the possibilities by its influence upon the whole system during each step of the evaluation. History of Quantum Computers Initially the famous physicist Robert Feynman breached the subject of using quantum effects for computation in 1982, though his primary interest was in using the effects of one quantum effect to simulate another. Three years later in 1985 David Deutsch of the University of Oxford published a paper detailing the workings of a universal quantum computer, detailing the functionality of the theoretical process, but not... ...e technological barrier has not progressed so far as to allow convenient usage. At every stage of production the quantum computer has a great deal of work that needs to be done, and each step must be painstakingly analyzed and protected from the harsh environment that surrounds the extremely delicate system. Even once such systems can be produced for small experiments to confirm the effects we seek, it will be quite some time before the production techniques and applications are so well refined as to allow for mass production or even a working prototype. More importantly, there does not seem to be any choice but to move to these systems. As our computers become more and more compact, the effects of quantum events are going to make themselves first known and then become overwhelming. The solutions appear to be evolution or stagnation.

Knapps Stage Model Essay

Dear John, the drama-filled romance movie, John Tyree, a young soldier, meets Savannah Curtis, a college student on spring break, and they quickly fall in love. The movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom, adapted from Nicolas Sparks’ novel of the same name. Dear John showcased many aspects of communications in its most simple forms. Including the ten stages of the Knapp Stage Model, which could actually be witnessed throughout the Dear John the movie and the book, as the two main characters, John and Savannah, developed their relationship and as they tried to maintain their relationship. In the Knapp’s Stage Model, Mark Knapp describes the progression and development of relationships as a series of ten stages in two phases: the ‘coming together’, initiation is followed by the experimenting , intensifying, integrating and bonding stages. In the ‘coming apart’, the differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding and terminating stage occurs. The se stages are illustrated in the film Dear John. In the opening scene of Dear John, it was John’s and Savannah’s first time meeting, it was attraction at first sight. During the night scene at the beach, they conversed. I would still think it’s the initiating stage because the content of their conversation. They didn’t ask questions with the intention of knowing more of each other apart from that one question, ‘’When are you going back? † which was rather casual. That will sum up the initiating stage. In the later scene, John asked for a date and Savannah agreed. That means they have both passed each other’s test so there is an experimenting stage. By the way, John actually stayed at the Barbeque till the night when he mentioned that his dad cooked dinner. Why else would one blow off his dad if it isn’t because he likes the girl? Therefore, that supports my stand that they were already attracted to each other at the beach. At the dinner scene, they were started talking about something more personal. They were making small talk. The topic of family and John’s past came in. These topics usually w ouldn’t be brought up at the initiating stage because they’re too personal. I would also like to link to another concept with this scene which is relational needs of openness. If you notice, John wasn’t too comfortable with the talk to the point he asked â€Å"why do you want to know so much?† He would fall under the kind that closed off to other people. His answers were all one-liners, straight to the point with no further explanations. In the next scene, when they were walking towards the wooden house, that was another example of  getting to know each other through talking. This ends off the experimenting stage. They have a fight, but reconcile before John’s leave from the army is over. When john returns to the army, he and Savannah begin long distance relationship through handwritten letters. The first letter was very clear that Savannah loves John. Previously, John actually gave Savannah a note in which the content wasn’t disclosed to the audience till the very end of the movie. The note said â€Å"I love you† which was why Savannah wrote him, that letter was a reply. Those were disclosures of feelings to each other . In that scene, John said â€Å"I made you a promise, didn’t I?† and later, they both agreed to write to each other all the time. She was supposed to wait for him for a year while he was away in Germany. That was a sense of commitment to the relationship. This will summarize the intensifying stage. The fourth stage is integrating. This point is rather straightforward. It’s the turning point whereby the couple announces to their friends and family that they are a couple. In this case, you could see John being introduced to Savannah’s parents. Couples do not always follow strictly to the model. Steps could be jumped or revisited again. Sadly, there was no fifth stage (Bonding – marriage, engagement) for this pair in the movie. Conflicts arise because of different perceptions; it is also illustrated in this movie. There was a fighting scene at the patio and it was because John wanted to extend his tour with the army but Savannah did not want to wait for another two years. So after a long time apart, John and Savannah find themselves drifting apart and resigned to being apart from John, and Savannah sends a ‘Dear John’ letter telling him that she has bec ome engaged to someone else. John finally got a letter from Savannah which she initiated a break up. Break ups are due to many possible factors, in their case, changes, poor communication and unrealistic expectations. Changes referred to the huge changes they went through from the two weeks of summer break together to being thousand miles apart. Next, poor communication, I think this might be the least contributing factor. Even though, letters took weeks or months to reach each other, their letters were filled with words. They told each other everything about their lives so it wasn’t a case of drifting apart. Lastly, it is the factor I think contributed the most probably which is an unrealistic expectation. Long distance relationships are hard enough and a person can only take it for so long. The first year was fine but when  John added two more years onto the pile, it was too hard for Savannah to take. Although John’s and Savannah’s falling out they eventually came together as friends, es pecially when John’s father is on his death bed, John returns home and connects with his father, something he was not able to do before. John then sells his father’s coin collection to fund Savannah’s husband’s cancer treatment. In the last scene of the film, John sees Savannah on the street and they embrace. The movie may not showcase as much details; however it does show the importance of communication in a relationship. For example, Savannah chooses to write a letter to John to break the news of her engagement, instead of calling him, it shows that it is already a sign od avoiding the issue directly. A handwritten letter is a linear form of communication, as John is not given a chance to reply immediately. If you were in John’s position, and you received a similar letter about your partner’s engagement, would you go back home to fight for what you want, or would you be ‘John’, and just bury yourself with work? Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of the Knapp’s model and see how it fits into every relationship!

Do Childrens Feet Grow with Age Essay

Newman (2011:35) states ‘older kids have bigger feet’. This experiment will explore through an investigation whether childrens shoe sizes do get bigger as they get older. In order for this to be proven, data needs to be collencted, this will be done so by going into a local school and verbally asking pupils and their parents what shoe size they take. The main objective of this experiment if to find out if the hypothesis is correct or incorrect. Aim The aim of this experiment is to determine whether childrens shoe sizes get bigger as they get older. The hypothesis will be tested by completing an experiment, then by examining the results it will be seen whether the hypothesis was right or wrong. Hypothesis – As children get older their shoe size increases Null Hypothesis – As children get older their shoe size does not increase. Method It was decided to collect the data in form of a simple table. This was decided because only certain information was needed about an age and shoe size, therefore a questionnaire would not be suitable. Also, considering the investigation was mainly aimed at children, the table was the simplest way to collect the data. It was decided to ask the parents of the younger children what their shoe size was as it was assumed most younger children would not know their shoe size. Design and Materials The type of study completed is one which gives an outcome of qualitative data. Furthermore, this can then be shown to be ‘continuous data’, where the data can fall anywhere over a certain range and the scale is only restricted by the accuracy of measuring, in this circumstance, measuring children’s shoe sizes (Mathematics Enhancement programme 2000).

Differences in Worldview Exhibited by the Different Social Classes

Humans are social animals. They can not live alone in this world all by themselves. All humans need other humans in order to live their lives properly. They might be able to live without fulfilling their emotional desires etc but they can certainly not live without fulfilling certain material needs such as food. For example, even if a person manages to live without friends and family who fulfill emotional needs and needs of belongingness, he will not be able to live properly without the farmer who grows food or the barber who cuts his hair.Thus, humans live in large groups of people where different people perform different duties and make each other’s lives simpler, easier and better to live. If one person does something, he needs the other one to do something else and this way, they exchange the benefits of performing one task rather properly instead of doing many things in a haphazard manner. These groups of people are called societies. Societies are the basis of lifestyles and cultures (Fiona, 1997). However, this all is not that simple.Some humans in the societies are much better off than many others while, in contrast, some are way below the line. Some enjoy best opportunities of life while some don’t even have proper food to eat. Hence, there exists a whole system of social classes in which there are various blocks or sub-groups of people based upon various factors like income brackets, life styles, cultures, religions, nationalities and so on. (Crothers, 1996) Social Classes These social classes perform various different duties in the societies and have entirely different lifestyles and outlook of life.These classes live physically in the same world, but in actuality, their worlds are absolutely different. In fact, different is a very weak a word to describe how apart they are. The people belonging to these classes have entirely different world views and perceive the world totally differently depending on there life styles and circumstances . Although different types of societies are divided into various kinds of social classes, in its essence, there are three basic social classes based on the income levels that exist in almost every society (Fiona, 1997).These societies are (Crothers, 1996): †¢ Upper Class (The Elite) †¢ Middle Class (The Moderate) †¢ Lower Class (The Poor) These classes do not exist in isolation, but are intermingled. Moreover, it is more like a continuum, that is, transition classes like Upper-Middle Class exist as well. These are the class differences that advertisers should be aware of in targeting different classes of people. World Views Exhibited by Social Classes The perception of the world, by the social classes, varies widely.The rich people have no idea what poverty is and what is it like to earn living on a daily basis. The Upper Class or the Elite people sit at the executive positions giving orders to the working class (The Middle and Lower Classes). To the rich, the world i s heaven where they can whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want. They just wish for it and bingo! Generally they disregard the poor, as if it is their birth right to be rich. Whatever they do is right and they have they right to exploit everyone and everything below them.  (Summer, 2008)In contrast, the working class’s life revolves around work and is spent struggling balancing work and life. However, the life of middle class (generally the educated portion of the working class) is comparatively easier than that of the lower class (mostly uneducated or poorly educated). The middle class people live a comparatively moderate life when it comes to income and fulfillment of desires (Crothers, 2008). They perceive the world to be generally uncomfortable but not like hell.For them, there is misery, exploitation and tough luck in this world, but there is a ray of hope as well, since due to their education and experiences, they do have a chance to work hard and ju mp up to the upper class. Out of all classes, the lower class is the one which suffers the most in these and other dimensions. For them, there is very rarely a ray of hope of getting any better. To them, the world is like hell, full of miseries, poverty and exploitation (be it social, moral, political or any other exploitation) and life can never be good no matter how hard they try.(OCLC, 1971)ConclusionTherefore, I conclude, that although these social classes exist in the same world under the same sun, the perception that they have of this world is entirely different. The rich continue to exploit the poor while the poor keep on being exploited, living in disappointments, doing nothing about it. The rich has absolutely no idea what poor goes through, each and every single day while the poor has no clue to what it is like to be rich. (Summer, 2008)

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example This implies that regardless of whether or not the theory of anthropogenic global warming eventually finds a firm and strong support in the peered-reviewed journal, it cannot be denied that there is a consensus in a world scientific body on the anthropogenic root of global warming and its association with fossil fuels. The United Nations-created IPCC â€Å"states unequivocally that the consensus of scientific opinion is that the earth’s climate is being affected by human activities† and that â€Å"the observed global warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations† (Oreskes, 2004, p. 1686, citing an IPCC document). Further, according to Oreskes (2004), â€Å"the IPCC is not alone in its conclusions† because â€Å"all major scientific bodies in the United States whose expertise bears directly on the matter have issued similar statements† (Oreskes, 2004, p. 1686). For example, Oreskes (2004, p . ... hropogenic and greenhouse gas-associated climate change to be an accurate reflection of the current thinking of the scientific community on the issue (Oreskes, 2005, p. 1686). According to Oreskes (2004, p. 1686), the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) have issued statements with a conclusion that â€Å"evidence for human modification of the climate is compelling.† Second, environmental activism is good because it is through environmental activism that we can adopt policies that promote good health and a better quality of life associated with clean air, clean seas and oceans, clean rivers, and clean terrestrials. For instance, Wong et al. (2004) examined the health benefits of reducing air pollution under the United States Clean Air Act and estimated that the decrease in morbidity and mortality among children would add at least US$600 billion to the $100 billion benefits through the reduced morbidity and mortality of adults. Third, environmental activism because it promotes intergenerational equity: development must not be at the expense of the future generations, we must meet the needs of our generation but not to disadvantage of future generations. For instance, Weiss (2008, pp. 615-616) noting that â€Å"the impacts from warming are predicted to be long-term, widespread and severe† has affirmed that â€Å"climate change is an inherently international problem with extremely serious implications for equity between ourselves and future generations and among communities in the present and future.† Thus, in summary environmental activism promotes humanity’s survival or comfort, good health and quality of life, and intergenerational equity. Position 2: Negative Response We can also cite three key

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Education - Essay Example However, there exist a degree of consensus in the field of education regarding its goals, concepts, and principles. The main goal of teaching multicultural education is to restructure the schools in order for students to acquire skills, attitudes and knowledge that are needed to function in a racial and ethnically diverse world. Additionally, it also seeks to ensure education equity for students with diverse cultural, racial, socioeconomic groups and ethnics. It also provides students with educational experiences which enable them to maintain their commitment to their cultures, in addition to acquiring skills, cultural capital and knowledge that is needed to function in the community. In this regard, this paper aims at expounding on the challenge of teachers in recognizing the multiple identities of students, and making their teaching responsive to students’ diverse identity in their work. The essay will also incorporate the definition of identity by Vygotsky and Erickson, as well as give examples of different identities through discourse, community, multiculturalism among others and lastly, explain some of the problems teachers face and their solutions. Some of the challenges the teachers face in recognizing the multiple identities of their students, in terms of making their teaching responsive to their student’s diverse identity in their work is the ability to incorporate knowledge and skills that will be of use to the multiple identities of the students. Coleman (1999) regards skills as democratic ability and living in order to function effectively within diverse groups as important goals of schooling. Student’s diversity in today’s classrooms underscores the importance of developing teaching strategies, policies and curricula in order to help every student in succeeding in school. However, an effort to affirm, welcome and understand all students as well as treat their linguistic and cultural background as equally important and va lid is one of the problem teacher’s faces. This kind of approach is important when it comes to addressing literacy for a diverse student population. Effective instruction literacy is built upon the linguistic and cultural background, ways of building meaning and prior knowledge that all students bring in classrooms. Broder & Chism (2002) claims that such instructions helps acknowledge the importance of the role of every culture in literacy and language learning. Therefore, when teachers respect and understand the array of different languages and cultures represented in their classrooms it helps them adopt or come up with strategies for teaching, which will support and encourage their student’s achievement. There is rapid shifting demographics of school-aged children, as well as other projects for enrolling students who are linguistically and culturally different from what is referred to as the mainstream in United States culture continues to increase. Such students dif fer from the mainstream in terms of primary language, social class and ethnicity. Teachers, will help improve the academic achievement of diverse students who come from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds by responding and being sensitive to the wide cultures in their classrooms. This is because; children from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds do not experience high levels of academic success because their literacy is often unaddressed because such students were only encouraged to assimilate into the mainstream (Broder & Chism, 2002). Identity

Observation essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Observation - Essay Example He actually calls upon his mother for assistance to keep his sisters out of his room. It is very apparent from how marshal behaves in the morning that he is very quick in doing things. He also seems very impatient. He likes things happening fast and therefore pushes everyone around. He yells to his sisters asking them whether they are ready. Torn between breakfast and going to school, he seems to prefer to forego breakfast. Maybe he is time conscious and would not want to be late for school. Marshal feels proud to be the only man in the house and wants everybody to notice that. Self-assertive people are characterized by a degree of authority in expression of their ideas (Pfeiffer 6). It is not difficult to notice his self-assertiveness as he talks to his sisters. However, he is intelligent enough not to be overly assertive towards his mother. Interestingly, Marshall intelligently gauges every situation and reacts to it appropriately. It does not come by surprise that his attitude varies as he talks to different people. It is not so difficult to notice the way he stri ves to show his authority around the house. He has to hang his jacket or a coat on one of his shoulders and swing around for everyone to see. It is interesting to imagine what kind of a man or a boss he will be when he grows up. Although Marshal is usually impatient, he sometimes calms down and lets natural events take place. Regardless of the hunger, he still sits down and waits to be served with the available food. However, the food is not pleasing to him and he refuses to take it. He has a strong self-drive and would always do what pleases him most which makes him go for tuna and wheat meal instead of served beans and corn bread. Additionally, he confidently asks for ice cream even after refusing to eat the food prepared for family. Although it cannot be claimed that he is so self-centered, he always thinks about himself first. While his sisters

Framework for K-12 Science Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Framework for K-12 Science Education - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that professional development opportunities are being offered with a view to equipping the teachers with the resources required to implement the NGSS in their classrooms. Not all teachers, however, have been able to successfully incorporate NGSS practices in their respective classrooms. It can be said that standards and performance expectations aligned with the framework should consider that students cannot completely comprehend scientific and engineering concepts without being involved in the inquiry practices and the discourses that lead to the development and modification of such ideas. This is suggestive of the state and significance of science today in the K-12 educational curriculum.Teachers should have a vast knowledge of and expertise in research methodology and must be skilled in scientific research to pave the way for authentic scientific inquiries in the classroom. The National Science Teachers Association recommends the teachers o f science to demonstrate their comprehension and understanding of the tenets, process, and assumptions underlying the different methods of inquiry related to scientific knowledge and also to encourage students’ participation in inquiries that are developmentally appropriate and that impact the need for the students to scientifically develop relationships and concepts using data, inferences and personal observations. A potential way in which teachers can acquire such knowledge and understanding is through participation in the Research Experience for Teacher (RET) programs. The purpose of RET programs is to equip the teachers with fundamental knowledge in the conduct of practical research for ongoing application in their daily experiences in the class.

Inviting a Distinguished Guest (email format) Assignment

Inviting a Distinguished Guest (email format) - Assignment Example Core to the group’s agenda is development of members’ entrepreneurial potentials for self-employment and job creation for members and the group believes that you are a perfect example of successful people in this scope, both in your industry and beyond. The group succeeded in ventures such as sponsoring its members’ viable business ideas. Visionaries Group therefore wishes to invite you to address its members on your strategies to success, challenges that you have faced in the journey, your motivational factors, and your vision for the next decade. We believe that your presence and address will have great impacts on the young minds that wish to follow the same path as yours. The seminar will be held at University of California Los Angeles. Every member of the group is looking forward to your address and to interact with you at a personal level and the group is able to reschedule the seminar to suit your schedule. There will be other invited quests but all have communicated their availability and flexibility to our scheduled time. There will be a token of appreciation for your special time as the group has set aside $ 500 for the purpose. All of us look forward to your confirmation of your availability for our seminar and your suitable date, time, and suitable duration

Human Resources Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Management Essay Human Resources Management (HRM) is a new concept. It is a combination of HR, Accounting, Management, Financial Management and Economics. Globalization to would economy has exposed the corporate business organization to worldwide competition, mobilization of professional manpower and modern quantitative management practice. So, there are growing realization cannot achieve its goal effectively and efficiently. To face this complex management challenge, effective objectively measurable database system to measure and apply HRM information. Now-a-days, in Bangladesh, every year, and huge amount of money and talented HRM are being engaged by corporate to improve the productivity or skills o f their workforce across the country. Such huge expenditures are made with the expectation of future returns in terms of improved services to be rendered by skilled employees. In other words, organizations by investing human resources development definitely increase the service potentials embodied in human resources and these investments thus create economic assets for the organizations. Human resource (or personnel) management, in the sense of getting things done through people, is an essential part of every manager’s responsibilities, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that the human resource function is performed efficiently. â€Å"People are our most valuable asset† is a cliche which no member of any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for many organizations are that their people remain under valued, under trained and under utilized. The rate of change facing organizations has never been greater and organizations must absorb and manage change at a much faster rate than in the past. In order to implement a successful business strategy to face this challenge, organizations, large or small, must ensure that they have the right people capable of delivering the strategy. There is a long-standing argument about where HR-related functions should be organized into large organizations, e. g. , â€Å"should HR be in the Organization Development department or the other way around? The HRM function and HRD profession have undergone tremendous change over the past 20-30 years. Many years ago, large organizations looked to the â€Å"Personnel Department,† mostly to manage the paperwork around hiring and paying people. More recently, organizations consider the â€Å"HR Department† as playing a major role in staffing, training and helping to manage people so that people and the organization are performing at maxim um capability in a highly fulfilling manner. Company Profile History of Partex Group: Partex Group is among the large Bangladesh private sector manufacturing and service based enterprises, owning and operating over twenty units giving value for money to all customers. The group started modestly in 1959 in tobacco trading and with prudent entrepreneurship of our Founder Chairman Mr. M. A. Hashem today we have a stake in tobacco, food, water, soft drinks, steel container, edible oil, wooden board, furniture, cotton yarn and the IT sector. After Bangladesh was established our Chairman set up M/S Hashem Corporation (Pvt) Ltd. n Chittagong city meeting the large demand of food and materials needed for sustaining the needs of a new nation through imports. From importing to import substitution was the next logical step and the stepping stone into the manufacturing sector, which has matured to the multi million dollar diverse investment of the Partex Group today. A dedicated work force and committed board members led by our Chairman and backed by a market oriented corporate strategy has been the cornerstone of our success. Today the group has over twenty family owned private limited companies with a sizable turnover. Ours is a dynamic organization always exploring new ideas and avenues to expand and grow further. Long before environment came to dominate the development agenda. Star Particle Board Mills in the sixties pioneered an eco-friendly industry to reduce pressure on our scarce forest recourses. It is a unique combination of environmental protection and commerce; belaying most doomsayers who claim the two to be at odds. The one score and ten year successful perpetuation of our timber substitute products not only speak volumes of the foresight of Partex’s founders but also their vision of the future. They make particle board from agro-waste, mostly jute stalks, and ensure greater value to the jute growers of Bangladesh. Products are processed using modern technology to produce homogenous and strong particle board that can withstand seasonal change and are free from termite and fungal attack. These particle boards go on to produce veneered boards of various design and texture. Also door panels both plains and decorative in various finishes and sizes. In addition their produce special furniture boards, stylish furniture and even various plywood on our range of products. Beside, in house and outside training, recruits business graduates from reputed universities as management training for mainstream banking to enrich quality of human resources contributing towards operations effective and long-term sustainable results. Vision Statement: The Sky is not the limit for us, but their expectation is within limits. Therefore, their imagination soars beyond conventional barriers. Partex Group share or destiny with their beloved motherland. They want to serve her in the greater quest for national uplift. Mission statement: To sincere traveler, the way is never too long. Partex Group believes in â€Å"progress in diversity and service through entrepreneur†. They are merchants and missionaries, doers and dreamers, entrepreneurs and professionals. They are futuristic with emphasis on creating thinking and dynamic action. High quality financial services with the help the latest technology. Fast and accurate customer services Balance growth strategy High standard business ethics Steady return on shareholders equity. Innovative banking at a competitive price. Attract and retain quality human resource. Firm commitment to the society and the growth of national economy. The spirit: Enterprise is Partex Group’s spirit. Partex Group manufactures superior import-substitute consumer and industrial products. Their cutting edge precision leads to greater public utility and hygiene, with a great care for the environment and human inhabitation. It is the very ingredient that gives their organization the integrity upon which their reputation is built and we zealously guard it everyday. Many a thousand minds of their group contributed to their gathered knowledge to keep the wheels rolling that in turn leads them to goal. This cumulative strength of knowledge is required, today, to find new solutions for the manifold problems of fast- changing economic cultural and ecological milieu. Objectives: Partex Group is a customer focused modern banking institution thriving fast in both earning and ability to stand out as a leading banking institution in Bangladesh. They deliver unparalleled financial services with the touch of heart to Retail, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), corporate, institutional and governmental clients through the outlets of branches across the country. Their business initiatives center on the emerging need of the clients. Partex Groups’ client commitments are the following: Provided services with high degree of professionalism and use of most modern technology. Create life-long relationship based on mutual trust and respect. Respond to customer needs with speed and accuracy.

Global Organisational Environment Of IKEA

Global Organisational Environment Of IKEA In this topic, we learned about the pros and cons of different types of organizations and the main influences of the external and internal environment on these organizations. This subject also analyzes the expectation of the organizations major stakeholders. By using the stakeholder mapping power/interest matrix, the company can identify its major stakeholders, their expectations, and conflicts between the stakeholders. This is very important for decision-making process because if the company can understand thoroughly different stakeholders expectations conflicts, they can have the right strategy to deal with each stakeholder, and so gain the profit of the company. The concept that I found it is difficult is how to identify the correct stakeholders power and interest on the stakeholder mapping. When I did the example together with my classmates, we have different point of views. More or less power and interest of the stakeholder also depends on what view the companies are on. I should practice more from other big companies in the world to see how they identify the expectation of their stakeholders. I can also study from the websites http:www.stakeholdermap.com show us the important of the stakeholders to the growing of the company, and also how to analyze and map the stakeholders power and interest. The article Making Sense of Stakeholder Mapping of Ruth Murray and Peter Simon on 2006 provides us three basic important dimensions when considering stakeholders: power, interest and attitude Power: how much the stakeholders have the potential to influence in the organization Interest: how much they are interest in the projects of the organization Attitude: how they will back (support) or block (resist) to the organizations project. The article also states that if we only consider two out of three above dimensions, it just gives a partial and less than useful picture  [1]   Topic 2: International environment Organization and Institutions (Mark) Multinationals is the corporation that locates its management headquarter in one country (home country), and operates its business in other several countries (host countries). Through this topic, we see the good and bad sides of globalization. We learned the differences between the free trade and protectionism. The benefit of free trade is no longer tariff barriers, so there will be good prices for customer because of increasing competitions. However, the bad side of free trade is that it will create a big gap between rich and poor, harming the environment, and cultural convergence. On this chapter, we also learned more about the benefit of World Trade Organization such as promotes peace, constructive handling of disputes, free trade cuts costs of living, increase choice, raise income, and simulates economic growth. This chapter also includes types and level of integration as well as the effects of integration such as static effects and dynamic effects. The concept that I found it difficult to understand is the Krugmans objections. I do not really thoroughly understand what this concept is about. This is something that I need to spend more time to read more from the book or find more information from internet. It is obvious that the world today is becoming more global. Beside some advantages of free trade by globalization, there are still a number of criticisms that free trade brought to the worlds economic. The term free trade actually depends on the interest of powerful nations and corporations. For example, according to Criticisms of Current Forms of Free Trade article, there is the phenomena of brain drain. It means that some rich countries try to attract educated people from poor countries. Thus, increase bigger gap between rich and poor countries  [2]   Topic 3: Analysis of the Environment Understanding the Managerial Environment The topic, Analysis of the Environment Understanding the Managerial Environment is about learning the external and internal environment and how they are impact to the organizations. This session helps us to understand the different dimension of the environment such as complexity, stability, market diversity and hostility. It is very important for the company to understand the effect of the environment factors to the organization in the future so that they can have the right strategy to develop the company. We learn different types of the organization environment, and how to analyze the environment by using PESTEL framework (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal). PESTEL is a useful tool for understanding the industry situation as a whole; it allows us to have in-depth analysis of the external factors impacting on the organization. This topic is straightforward and was explained very clear in class, so I did not find any concept that difficult in this topic Topic 4: The Macro-economic Environment the Economy and the Role of Government In this subject, we indentified the macro-economy and its objectives. Macro-economic Environment is the first step of a strategic analysis; it is also referred as an external analysis (PESTEL analysis). It helps us to identify what will affect the growth of our industry as a whole. Four essential measures that are used in the macro-economy are inflation, economic output, unemployment, and balance of payment. This topic also raises the impact of the government in the economic system. Government has an important role in economy. These objectives include: a low rate of inflation, a reasonable rate of economic growth, low rates of unemployment, and a balance of payments in equilibrium or surplus. The government uses the fiscal policy to stabilize the economy by controlling interest rates and the money supply. Topic 5: The macro-economic environment. Understanding the Global Environment (Mark) This topic helps us get more knowledge about globalization and the forces that drive globalization. Globalization is increasing global business activities and multinational companies. Globalization also means rising political and social connection between government and people. Globalization helps to improve communication and share information worldwide. Friedman (2007) supposed that globalization is a flattening process. In this book named The world is flat, he indicated ten forces that flatten the world as follow: collapse of Berlin wall, Netscape public offering, work flow software, open source or uploading, outsourcing, off-shoring, supply chain, in-sourcing, in-forming, and the steroids. In other words, globalization is affected by the key drivers namely political, technological, and economic, market drivers, and cost and competition drivers as well. For example, outsourcing and off-shoring in China and India help many multinational companies such as Toyota, Sony and others probably reduce production cost because of low material and labour cost. This results in increasing competitive advantages. However, it also creates more highly completive market in the world. In addition to globalizations advantages, there are some plausible disadvantages in global competitive environment. Particularly, globalization makes to increase the gap between rich and poor countries and people as well. Globalization also leads to cultural convergence. Moreover, it is true to confirm that globalization makes contribution to cause environmental pollution. International expansion of multinational companies has aroused increasingly environmental issues in which they operate. Therefore, in global competitive environment, business organizations today have to confront with some key challenges such as cross-culture management, competition, sustainability as well as global rules. This chapter is straightforward and well explained in class. Thus, I can easy to follow and understand, and I did not find any concept that is difficult to understand. The article Critical Challenges of Globalization to Vietnam  [3]  on CDI website (Center for Development and Integration) states that globalization challenges Vietnam in two ways: Challenges to the country competitiveness: under globalization, the demand for competiveness is much higher. Competition is not only about products but also about competing social settlement Challenges to Vietnams labor, migration, and womens right: women play an important role in growing the countrys economic; however, womens work and value are less recognized than men Topic 6: The global environment: Emerging economic in three continents This topic provides an overview of emerging economies mainly in Asia, America and Africa and especially BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). In addition to this, the author would like to compare the different economic, political and other developments between countries. Chapter 14 Contrasting developments in the Americas shows US economic development and its hegemony in international affairs as well. Moreover, this chapter helps me understand the reasons why the BRIC countries have possibly achieved increasingly importance in the eyes of Western economists, investors and politicians. BRIC countries in order to secure their development Chapter 15 Asias economic potential indicates in-depth analysis the major Asian economies and their historical development. Indeed, this chapter describes major characteristics such as geographical, political, economic and cultural diversity of Asia through major countries such as China, India, and tiger countries (Hong Kong, S.Korea, Singapore and Taiwan). For example, at the present, there is no doubt that with high level of education, high saving and investment, modern technology and others, tiger countries completely compete to other countries in the world. Chapter 16 Africas struggle for reform describes a big picture of political, economic and social developments in Africa and major barriers inhibiting Africas development. In particular, African countries have to face some social problems in relation to poor education, housing and sanitation, low standard of living, disease, and poor public health care. Moreover, poor governance and inability of politicians are impossible to maintain stability. Besides, heavy debts have also become an urgent problem to many countries. It is undeniable that poor productivity and strong dependence on other donation has led African nations at the mercy of world markets. Based on this analysis, the author is willing to discuss the potential solutions to Africas future development and prosperity. Topic 7: The micro-economic environment market structures and industry analysis (Mark) This topic provide knowledge about different types of market structures and describes the link between market structure and companies behaviours and performance through analysis of Porters five forces. To start with, there are three kinds of market structures including monopoly (diamond market), oligopoly and perfect competition market. Especially, in term of oligopoly, in order to avoid price war and compete by non price methods, many companies choose to collude. In addition to this, this topic also describes industry life cycle. In period of introduction, customers buy products regardless of price because of products uniqueness. It is called fragmented industry where no firm has large market share and each firm share small pieces of big market cake. As new competitors enter this industry, prices drop as a result of competition. Companies use experience curve and economic scale to reduce cost faster than competitors. By the time an industry enter maturity, this is a consolidated industry which dominated by a few larger firms struggling to differentiate their products from the competition. As an industry moves toward decline, its products growth of sale begins decreasing; therefore, firms will convert their facilities to alternate uses or sell them to another firm. Moreover, Michael Porter, the author of competitive strategy, has highlighted evidently affect of the level of competition to the level of the specific business unit. Hence, it will help me obtain insight about the organizations competitive environment such as the dominant forces in the industry including threat of entry, power of buyers and suppliers, substitutes, and competitive rivalry, and the factors influencing on these forces. However, Porters five forces have a plenty of shortcoming. For instance, the model is effective in static situation. It assumes that the companies interest and profit always come first. Moreover, the business environment is competitive, hostile and predictable. More importantly, it ignores one of the most significant factors called human resource. In addition to Porters five forces, in oligopoly market, Game theory is considered as a branch of mathematics often used by economics that analyzes situations in which players must make decisions and then receives and then receive payoffs. It is applied for members of an oligopoly because they always face to a prisoners dilemma which is a game in which the gains from cooperation are larger than the rewards from pursuing self-interest TASK 2: IKEA REPORT I. Introduction 1. History IKEA is a home-furnishing retailer founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943. The Swedish company that sells and designs flat pack furniture, appliances and home accessories through its stores around the world at affordable price. Since then, IKEA has grown up rapidly and now it becomes the largest furniture retailer in the world. Its mission is to offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, excellent quality and durability, at prices so low that the majority of people can afford to buy them (IKEA, 2010). 2. Vision IKEAs business idea: To support this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. And its vision is to create a better every day life for the many people (IKEA, 2010). To bring a better everyday life, IKEA are committed to provide well-designed, good quality and durable home furniture and keeps the low price for many people. Keeping low price is a cornerstone of IKEA; however, it does not mean that low price but not at any price. IKEA wants sustainability as a part of its business. In fact, it believes that taking about social and environmental responsibility of its customers, suppliers is a crucial for running good business. IKEA made decision for contribution to create a good world by providing products, service which are beneficial effect on people and environment. 3. Product range There are a wide range of products which inspired and developed based on the essential customers needs of home furnishing. In general, IKEAs product is a combination with three main characteristics: good design, function and low price. That means all IKEAs designers design goods with well designed and functional home furnishing available for everybody that at low price. 4. Store In 2010, there are 316 IKEA stores in 38 countries, and most of them in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia (Swedish Furniture, 2011). IKEA store format is a single-story, large blue buildings with yellow company name. The large numbers stores of IKEA are located suburban because of land cost and traffic access. IKEAs stores open for long hours, normally, 24 hours per day. IKEA always encourages customer to visit its store in order to look inside, touch, try everything, even if walk away empty handed. By this way, IKEA hopes that after leaving its store, customer will have a full of fresh ideas for their own home. II. Stakeholders mapping Employees IKEA does not have its own factories; they give orders to different factories in low cost countries. Hence, it is acknowledged that majority of employees still has low power and interest to the company. Global society / Local community Environmental issue such as friendly, reduced packaging is being promoted by the Government and is concerned by community. However, it may impacts negatively on IKEAs social responsibility and total cost. Thus, local community has high power and low interest to IKEA. Customers The power of the buyers is moderately low because majority of customers are consumers. The company targets the customer who is looking for value and is willing to do a little bit of work serving them, transporting the items home and assembling the furniture for a better price. The typical IKEA customer is young low to middle income family. Competitors IKEA operates in a highly competitive industry, characterized by other low priced furniture producers such as Galiform of England and retailers such as Wal-Mart of the United States. Domestically, IKEA faces the threat of potential entrants; as the dominant firm, holding 25% of the market in its native Sweden for example, there is a very real possibility that others will enter the market to challenge IKEA directly. Hence, competitors have low power and high interest to IKEA. Suppliers IKEA does not only create competition among suppliers but also treats them as long-term business partners. As IKEA offers nearly the same products in its stores all over the world, they can order very high volumes and therefore get cheap prices. Moreover, its suppliers are usually located in low-cost nations, with close proximity to raw-materials and reliable access to distribution channels. These suppliers produce highly standardized products intended for the global market, which size provides the firm with the opportunity take the advantage of economies of scale factors. In fact, IKEA is using its size when dealing with subcontractors in two ways. The first is to put pressure on the subcontractors to become more and more efficient. Secondly, IKEA can use its size to get good discounts from the suppliers. This is done by placing itself as a large customer to the supplier, to get some power in price negotiations. Local government Local government has high power and low interest to many companies. The reason is that changes of laws, regulationns and policies influence the production, total cost and sale of IKEAs products. Shareholders This group can also be considered high power potentially. This is more important in recent years where shareholder activity has increased significantly in the boardroom, and management of firms has been scrutinised much more and even given threats if certain actions favoured by the shareholders were not pursued. Managers Managers play an important role in controlling business activities and improving IKEAs global competitiveness by promoting timely, decision-making for operational matters. In other words, they possess high power and interest from the company. III. PEST analysis The Pest analysis tool looks at political economic, social, technology changes which are likely to affect on the business (Robert, 2004). These varieties of external environment factors in 2010 which IKEA faces are: Political changes: Governments regulation and policy change: Generally, there were sorts of challenges and chances, which IKEA faced in 2010. For opportunities: These host countries changed policies to encourage foreigner companies invest in the country such as reducing procedure papers, exported tariff -exempt,. By contrast, the countries also tied up protectionism and subsidies for its products in order to compete to foreigner products for instants, launching policy of rising imported tariff. Economic factors: Economic growth: Although global economy recovered slowly, it helped IKEA has boosted its market share because of its low-price goods which can compete to expensive retailers in 2010. IKEA group still opened continue to expanse their stores in other countries and increasing sales in emerging economic market-Asia where leading the global economy recovery in 2010. Inflation: It is a true that inflation rising which let price of all commodities rose remarkably in 2010 such as raw materials which led increasing IKEA inputs purchasing cost. In addition to this, fuel price also rose rapidly in 2010 which impacted on IKEAs transportation cost. All of this, affected on IKEA business performance as well as customer purchasing needs. Furthermore, increasing price implicated that IKEA has less competitive advantage in the furniture market. Competition: IKEA is a Sweden giant furnishing company which has strong brand, therefore, there are few competitors running in the market. However, IKEA should not underestimate its competitors. The company should launch innovative and eco-design products at low price for meet a wide range of customers needs. Social factors: Lifestyle: Becoming a global company that means IKEA faces challenges as different culture, language barrier, and taste. Thus, before opening new stores, it should have concrete plans of research market. IKEA has expanded its stores in emerging market like China, India, and Pakistan which society is distinct compared to Western countries. Generally, Asian is savers who do not spend too much money on purchasing. They are willing to buy durable and high-quality products in conventional retailers which are expensive rather than low-price ones like IKEA, a reputation of self assembly. Population growth rate: This factor plays a role for IKEAs development as well as helps IKEA make decision for opening new stores in these regions. These largest populations countries as China and India, people have huge needs for buying low-price products of IKEA. Thus, expanding new stores in the markets bring benefits for IKEA such as increasing business sale, number of subcontractors and so on. Technology: Normally, technology plays an important role for almost companys success especially a global company. For IKEA, it used quality technology to implement better communication services and software modules that communicate to a home base, delivery service and selling online via the Internet. Technology helps company to increase production and employees productivity, improve its business performance, and gain competitive advantage. IV. Market position and segmentation Market position There is no doubt that IKEA is a well- known furniture company in the world. In spite of world economic recession in 2010, IKEA has been growing up and has a leading market position in the future. There are some evidences demonstrating for statement above: total sale rose by 7.7 % to 1.1 billion Europe (FY 2010 report) compared to 2009. In fiscal year 2010, Ikea group opened 12 stores in 8 countries. Figure 1: Annual Sale, Billion Euros (Source: http://issuu.com/interbrand/docs/bgb_report_us_version?viewMode=presentationmode=embed) According to Branding consultancy Inter-brands Best Global Brands 2010( Top 100 brands) released on the fifteenth September 2010, the Sweden giant furniture- IKEA was ranked at 28th place the most valuable brand with brand value is 12,487 ( dollar million) and changing branding value is 4% higher than last year. Figure 1: Best Global ranks 2010 (Source: http://www.interbrand.com) Market segmentation: Market segmentation IKEA uses various mixes of segmentation bases including geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation. Geographic segmentation: IKEA stores are located around the world, however, most stores of them based in at Europe where get the highest sales ( 79%), meanwhile Asia and North America account for 6(%), 15%, respectively. Figure 2: Ikea, sales per region (Source: welcome_inside_2010, IKEA report 2010) Demographic segmentation: According to IKEA, it wants to bring a better life to many people. This means that its customers are people all over the world who are low and middle- income. In addition to this, IKEAs customer target is focus in young people and family who are appealed by stores decoration as well as can take time working together IKEA to design their products. V. SWOT Swot is an acronym of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which is a useful tool for helping organization to analyze current situation of the organization in order to solve its problems and take advantage to reach its objectives. Strength and weakness are internal environment such as management, operation, finance; meanwhile, opportunity and threat are external environment like economy, society, environment and technology (Andrew, page 7). Strengths: That is any resource advantage and capability of organization which gives competitive advantages in the market. Strengths are organization capabilities such as human resource, management, financial status, service, manufacturing and so on. Strength considers as a basic quality element for evaluating companys success. There are some IKEAs strengths below: Wide range product: IKEA is famous for its wide range of affordable and good-quality products which can meet almost customers needs. Furthermore, IKEA has restaurant, cafeteria, and children- playing room in the each IKEAs store in order to help their customer feel comfortable when shopping here. Less competition: IKEAs business model is quite unique, besides, IKEAs range product is wide that means it meets multi target markets. This leads to IKEA has little direct competition. Global brand: IKEA Company has strong brand reputation which appeals key customers. That also means it provides the same quality and a range of products. Advanced- technology and new materials: IKEA continues to introduce and apply new-technology as well as materials in its furniture industry in order to reduce cost and weight of its products for customers as well as eco-friendly environment. Low price strategy: Because of IKEAs business ideas is offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. That is a priority strategy of IKEA which make the company as a well-known brand. Clear vision and strong concept: IKEA wants to create a better every day life for the many people by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. Supplier-long-term partnership: Supplier plays an important role for IKEA Company. To maintain good-product quality as well low-cost, it creates long-term partnership with supplier. By this, IKEA can buy large volume with negotiable price over many years. Flag-pack furniture: Flag-pack furniture is becoming popular since it was launched by IKEA Company. The most crucial reason that makes flat-pack furniture popular is because of its saving-cost such as transportation and storage cost. In addition to this, flat-pack furniture is easy to carry for both customers and suppliers, assemble at home just following company instructions; minimize shipping damage, increasing inventory capability. Weaknesses: They are internal factors which make company cannot reach its success as well as its full of potential compared to others. Weaknesses can be controlled and eliminated. Each enterprise has to know its weaknesses in order to improve and manage its. IKEAs weaknesses including: Lack of customer service: Low-cost is the cornerstone of IKEA which may not attract customers who are used to go traditional furniture shopping. This lets the customers who feel that IKEA Company does not care about them. Furthermore, scale of company- a global company also makes it difficult to communicate with its customers. Lack of customer service will effect on IKEAs brand. Global company: As a global company, IKEA has encountered problems to control, operate and maintain its stores standard as well as quality of products through the stores chain in various regions. Difficult to balance between low cost and high quality: There is a said that, quality and price accomplish together. The fact that, it is easy to produce good- quality product for high price, but IKEA makes different ways. If it is too focus on cost-saving, it will effect negatively on products safety as well as user. Cost needs to be balanced against quality. Opportunities: They are chances in economy which helps businesses to gain competitiveness advantage, profitability and increasing production. In addition, opportunity arises suddenly, even if, these may arise from competitors, government policy, technology, thus organization should be careful and catch the chances whenever they arises. IKEAs opportunities include: Urban sprawl: IKEAs stores are located at outskirt of centers, because of land cost and traffic access. Nowadays, there is increasing number of people living in metropolitan areas to move far away center which places that are closed to IKEAs stores. In addition to this, most of them are young, educated and rich. IKEAs strategy meets new trends. Increasing demand of low-price products: Because of being effected by depressed global economy, citizens have trend for purchasing goods at low-price for saving their money. In order to meet rising customers demand as well as increasing its sales, the company may design new products, reviewing manufacturing process, materials or labour. This is a chance which IKEA should exploit. Selling online: Selling online is one of opportunities of IKEA. Online shopping makes a revolution to traditional shopping. For global company- IKEA, its online retailers have expanded all markets globally. Its customers in every region can shop just a click mouse and then waiting for goods delivered. This helps IKEA increasing sales, profits, and brand recognition. Expansion into emerging market: There are numerous countries of Asia which are potential markets for IKEA in the coming years. Meanwhile, the demand of citizens living in emerging markets focus on buying good-quality at low-price which is the IKEAs concept. Threats: Threats are used to external factors in environment which effect negatively for profitability, operation enterprise as well as growing new rivalries. Actually, if company is aware of external threats, it can plan to solve the problems. Threats of IKEA derived from: Increasing rivals: There is growing competitors entering low-cost furniture market which impact on IKEA Company such as Wal-mart, Ashley furniture, Howden. These competitors can copy low-cost value model. Therefore, IKEA needs to improve its product qualities to compete with other rivalries. Economic crisis: Businesse