Principle and Practise of Management

International Case : Carrefour — Which Way to Go? Wal-Mart's biggest global competitor is the big French retailer Carretour, a firm that has hypermarkets, big stores offering a variety of goods. It has made large investments around the globe in Latin America and China. But not all is well as competitors taking market share its home market, for instance. There has been even speculation of a takeover by Wal-Mart or Tesco, an English chain. Mr. Barnard has been ousted after heading the company for 12 years; he was replaced by Jose Luis Durant who is of German-Spanish descent. Although the global expansion is cited by some as success, it may be even a big mistake. It withdrew from Japan and sold 29 hypermarkets in Mexico. Carrefour also had problems competing with Tesco in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In Germany, the company faced tough competition from Aldi and Lidle, two successful discounters. On the other hand, it bought stores in Poland, Italy, Turkey, and opened new stores in China, South Korea, and Columbia. Carrefour has become more careful in selecting markets. But. the company is eager to enter the Indian market, but found out in late 2006 that Wal-Mart will do so as well. In France, where Carrefour is well established, the company made the big mistake in its pricing policy. It probably started with the 1999 merger with Promodes, the French discount chain. Carrefour confused the French clientele by losing its low-cost image; whether the image can be changed remains to be seen. Mr. Durant, the new CEO since 2005, embarked on the new strategy by offering 15 percent new products in its hypermarkets and 10 percent in its supermarkets. Moreover, he wants to employ more staff, extend the operating hours in certain hypermarkets, cutting prices, trying small stores, and pushing down decision making. Mr. Durant aims to stay only in countries where Carrefour is among the top retailers.

Review of Tom Englehardt’s The End of Victory Culture Essay

Like many young men of his generation Tom Englehardt is the son of a World War II veteran and was raised in the shadow of Allied victory over Japan and Germany. It was an era of clearly evil enemies and clearly honorable victors. America was a â€Å"winner†, but according to Englehardt â€Å"between 1945 and 1975 victory culture ended in America† and he â€Å"traces its decomposition through those years of generational loss and societal disillusionment to Vietnam, which was its graveyard for all to see† (10). According to Englehardt’s cover-jacket promotion, â€Å"this remarkable and unexpected history of our time†¦reconstructs a half-century of the crumbling borderlands of American consciousness†¦a nation living an afterlife amid the ruins of its national narrative† (cover-jacket). Further, he presents the question of whether there is â€Å"an imaginable America without enemies and without the story of their slaughter and our triumph? † (Cover-jacket). Perhaps since its publication in 1995 Englehardt has had a chance to reflect on his version of American history and consider how it is that America has lived through its â€Å"afterlife† and despite incredible adversity continues to not just survive, but thrive. Englehardt begins his version of post-war American history with what can only be described as the academically-required survey of All That Was Wrong With America. There is a great value in discovering and analyzing policies and actions in a postmortem sense, for the obvious reason of improving what worked and reworking what failed. There is a great disservice in reviewing history within the context and framework of contemporary thought and morality. The reader gets Englehardt’s version of the European White Man’s conquest of indigenous Americans, the depredations of slavery and lynching, and the unworldly horror of American atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There is little, if any doubt in any rational person’s mind these were not exactly shining examples of Americana. But his recounting of these events raises questions he is unable to answer. First, and truly not callously, how long should America apologize, if that is what Englehardt demands? Second, with American â€Å"manifest destiny† and the bombing of Japan, just exactly what were the alternatives at the time? Finally, with slavery and the civil rights movement, where is the relevance to Englehardt’s central thesis? At some point realizations are made that we cannot undo historical fact, no matter how unsavory the events were, and ultimately, as a person and as a nation we must move on. Throughout his book Englehardt exhibits a not-so-subtle bias, evident from the onset and which must be taken into account. One need look no closer than the jacket promotion: Englehardt is careful to use the word â€Å"slaughter† in reference to America’s enemies, not â€Å"defeat†. Englehardt traces the â€Å"victory culture† through the media, beginning with the World War II era â€Å"Why We Fight† documentaries and Hollywood’s active war-time production of â€Å"hero† movies (51). In the post-war era â€Å"pride in on-screen westerns and war culture was any boy’s inheritance† (52). Englehardt believes the culture was based â€Å"on an ambush that could touch all but the imagination in only the most limited ways. Now for the first time since the earliest days of the European invasion of North America, the ambush (by nuclear weapons) threatened actual extermination† (52). Again, Englehardt is careful to use the word â€Å"invasion† instead of â€Å"migration† or colonization† preferring to impart a negative connotation whenever possible. For him â€Å"the military-industrial complex grew to monstrous proportions† leading to the first real nuclear standoff in the Cuban Missile Crisis (52-3). Englehardt does not supply any reference to support his claim that â€Å"nothing could rally Americans for such a war† (53). Englehardt writes in a very disjointed manner, alternately discussing the bombing of Japan, the Korean War, communism and McCarthyism, and his father (73). He devotes chapters to children’s toys and his own collection of war figurines (85). He discusses the impact of television, and declares that by the end of the sixties â€Å"war as myth and play seemed to have been swept clean out of American culture† (89). In the span of less than thirty pages Englehardt manages to discuss, and apparently relate, Malcolm X, George Kennan, the Cold War, vampires, Broken Arrow, UFO’s and The Incredible Shrinking Man (90-112). Apparently these all relate to the pronouncements of Malcolm X and Kennan, respectively: â€Å"the whole world knows that the white man cannot survive another war† and Kennan â€Å"marking the spot where his own society threatened to leap of some cliff† (111-112). Englehardt continues his review of the media culture of the late fifties and sixties, once again in a very haphazard and distracting style. It seems he is bent on throwing in every facet of American culture as if to miss any one item would spoil his entire recipe. The reader is left to his discussions of anti-communism and Cuba, juvenile delinquency, civil rights, Dobie Gillis, Mad Magazine, Bill Haley and the Comets, television advertising, Rebel Without a Cause and Happy Days. His chapters read more like the answers to a huge game of Trivia Pursuit than any historical reflection of substance. All he is missing is the game cards: question: who played Josh Randall in Wanted: Dead or Alive? answer: Steve McQueen (152). Somehow, according to Englehardt, it is all related to the demise of victory culture. When after approximately two hundred pages Englehardt finally decides to discuss Vietnam he does so with an expected emphasis on horrors and atrocities. But first he must take the reader through GI Joe (Englehardt takes pains to describe Hasbro’s late entry with â€Å"Negro Joe† and â€Å"She-Joe†), Sergeant Roc, Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory, and Fail Safe (175-187). Any review of substance of the war in Vietnam will by necessity be a huge undertaking, and Englehardt is not to be criticized for discussing what amounts to a â€Å"worst of† list of horrors that faced the Vietnamese, the American soldiers, and the American public. Unfortunately for Englehardt â€Å"the mineshaft has been thoroughly mined† and he brings no new information or analysis to the table. Vietnam was a tremendous â€Å"media war† in terms of coverage and indelible images. A few images, such as the young naked napalmed girl running in fright or the point-blank assassination of a captured Viet Cong soldier, seem to crystallize all of the horror and insanity of that war. Englehardt decides to provide the literary simile, with quotations from veterans describing the horrors and atrocities of My Lai and other villages. It is in a sense gratuitous and repetitious, and serves little purpose other than to reinforce the general negativity of the entire book. Before Englehardt turns his attention to the Desert Storm/Desert Shield operations he first makes the point that previous military operations in Panama and Grenada were unnecessary exhibits of force and quickly dismisses them as â€Å"exaggerated, over referential event(s)† (281). He prefaces his discussion of the Gulf War as â€Å"(in) the new version of victory culture, the military spent no less time planning to control the screen than the battlefield, and the neutralization of a potentially oppositional media became a war goal† (290). It is always remarkable that reporters and journalists who steadfastly claim they have either been manipulated or denied access manage to produce analytical and critical volumes assessing what they allegedly were not allowed to witness. Englehardt reaches the conclusion that in a sense â€Å"the Gulf War was a response to the Japanese and European economic challenges in that it emphasized the leading-edge aspects of the country’s two foremost exports: arms and entertainment† (295). Englehardt finishes his book by revisiting his friend GI Joe, who has â€Å"been running hard to survive in a confused world† (302). In closing he states â€Å"what path out of the ruins may be neither Joe nor we understand† (303). It is doubtful Englehardt is on anyone’s â€Å"short list† of consultants to contact regarding the contemporary framework of war. His work is well-researched and thoroughly documented with page upon page of footnotes and references. However what is telling is what is absent from his index. It reads like an encapsulation of American pop culture, as would be expected, with countless references to movies, television, and American icons. It reflects an insulated viewpoint of American â€Å"culture of victory† as seen only through American media. There is a much greater awareness of the geopolitical effects of any conflict, and it is difficult if not impossible to simply pigeon-hole war in outdated terms of American cultural â€Å"heroes† or â€Å"victory†. Ultimately he can take credit with the foresight to see the end of a culture of victory, but events since publication have drastically changed the meaning of â€Å"victory† in war, and unfortunately decrease the relevance of his work. Today’s battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan reflect America’s greater engagement in a global War on Terror. There is little, if any similarity in the dangers faced today compared to previous military engagements or World Wars. Global terrorism brings a previously unknown dimension to military theorists and analysts. Certainly there is a popular swell of support for the defeat, if not â€Å"slaughter† of Osama bin Laden and the terrorists responsible for the death of civilian non-combatants. But there is less a sense of a desire for a â€Å"victory culture† as there is for a â€Å"survival culture†. Without saying as much Englehardt could stand for the premise, as any wise man would, that pacifism is preferred to war, and in war the victors are often vanquished as well. That takes a world far different from the one that exists today. There is no doubt America is the superpower but it does not operate in a vacuum; today there is a broader and stronger global mandate for peace than any American desire for victory in war. At the time of publication The End of Victory Culture may have reflected â€Å"a confused world† with â€Å"paths not understood†. Since September 11, 2001 events have given clarity to any confusion, and the path to safety and survival must be followed.

Maxs Grocery Mart- Projected Income Statement Research Paper

Maxs Grocery Mart- Projected Income Statement - Research Paper Example I have read the CQU policy on plagiarism and understand its implication. I can produce a hard copy of this assignment within 24 hours if requested. Max's Grocery Mart is a family-owned business that has been experiencing a stable growth since its inception. Mr. Leroy Feronti, the owner of the business now wants to expand the business by renovating the grocery mart building with a bank loan. To help the application for bank loan, Mr. Feronti has prepared the pro forma financial statements for three years from 2007 onwards. The data of the accounting period 2006 are taken as the base, upon which the projections for 2007, 2008 and 2009 are based. The bank has demanded to prepare Pro forma Income Statement for three years on the basis of the likely growth and other important parameters of the firm. The statements are prepared projecting the future likely growth of the firm. The growth rates estimated are 7.25, 7.75 and 8.25 annually. The projected in come statement exhibits that at 7.25% growth rate, the firm will be able to achieve $ 477175 net income. Similarly, for the year 2008 and 2009, the projected net income is $479400 and $481624 respectively. Mr. Feronti is also asked to prepare projected income statement to reflect the changes in sales at various rates. The income statement is also prepared to reflect the impact on the net income of the increase in workers hourly rate from $12 to $14 and Mr. Feronti's salary is reduced from 15% to 8% of Gross Profit. The impact of increase in the number of workers from 17 to 19 is also projected through income statement. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Discussion 5 Projected Income Statement for the Year 2007, 2008 and 2009 7 Statement Showing the Impact on Net Profit on account of 9% growth in sales 9 Statement Showing the Impact on Net Profit on account of 9.5% growth in sales 10 Statement Showing the Impact on Net Profit on account of 10% growth in sales 11 Statement Showing the Impact on Net Profit on account of 4% growth in sales 12 Statement Showing the Impact on Net Profit on account of 5% growth in sales 13 Statement Showing the Impact on Net Profit on account of 5.5% growth in sales 14 Pie Chart 16 Statement showing the impact on Net Income of the changes in employee hourly rate and Mr. Feronti's Salary 17 Statement showing the impact on Net Income of the changes in the no. of employees from 17 to 19 18 Recommendations 20 Appendix 21 Introduction Max's Grocery Mart is a family-owned business that has been experiencing a stable growth since its inception. Mr. Leroy Feronti, the owner of the business now wants to expand the business by renovating the grocery mart building with a bank loan. To finance the business expansion, Mr. Feronti has approached a bank. The bank wants Mr. Feronti to prepare Pro forma Income Statement for three years to substantiate the loan allocation as a formality. The pro forma financial statements are usually prepared in line with the likely changes in the financial affairs of a firm. Mr. Feronti prepared the statements taking into account the various changes that are likely to incur in his business. First, Income statement is prepared to reflect the growth at 7.25%, 7.75 %and 8% rates. The projected in come statement exhibits that at 7.25%

Business Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Business Plan - Assignment Example It is projected that the company can be able to fulfil its predetermined business targets by following the aforementioned aspects at large. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction and Background of the Venture and Management Team 4 Background of the Venture 5 Management Team 5 Main Objective of the Proposed Business Plan 6 Marketing Section – Including Market Research & the Marketing Mix 7 Market Research 7 Marketing Mix 9 Competition 13 Operations Section - Including Manufacturing & Physical Distribution 15 Manufacturing 15 Physical Distribution 19 Financial Section 22 Source of Finance 22 Financial Goals 22 Income Statement 23 24 Projected Profit & Loss 25 Break-Even Analysis 25 Implementation Time Table 26 Conclusion 27 References 29 Introduction and Background of the Venture and Management Team A business plan is often regarded as a crucial step for an entrepreneur intending to inaugurate a new business venture or expand the existing business unit at a newly loc ated marketplace. It essentially plays the role of a guide to the various operations of the organisation within the marketplace (Tiffany & Peterson, 2011). In order to demonstrate a viable business structure, the business plan reflects a clear depiction of the business including its offerings, sales and marketing strategies, information of management groups and their roles along with making a prediction of the financial forecast for succeeding few years that the organisation will take into concern (Analoui & Karami, 2003). Moreover, in order to demonstrate the viability of the overall business design, it is also important for the organisation to identify the specific market for the products and services, find out the competitive advantages as well as to evaluate the cost and profit margins of the business (GRANT finder Ltd., n.d.). With regard to the notion of business plan, the primary objective of this study is to prepare an effective business plan for XYZ Company concerning the p ractice of manufacturing and marketing of electronic dash duster product especially for the car care and aftermarket accessories segment in Australia. Background of the Venture XYZ Company intends to commence its business operations as a small competitive car care product manufacturer in Australia. The company would aim to perform a competitive role in the Australian car care product market through rendering a range of innovative and creative products to the customers. Moreover, the company would also like to build a respected position through its exceptional marketing and promotional campaigns which further would enable the company to execute its activities efficiently in the respective industry. The business processes of the company will be highly focused on manufacturing innovative car care products which would offer substantial benefits for the customers. Moreover, the manufacturing process of XYZ would be focused on providing adequate facilities to its ultimate customers in ter ms of maintaining their cars in an efficient manner. Management Team XYZ aims to establish itself as a pioneer in the field of innovative product offerings in the Australian car care aftermarket industry. The company will be incorporated with the aid of a well-built management team with a feasible number of staff in its different

The mechanical testing of a silk fibrion (SF) scaffold seeded with Essay

The mechanical testing of a silk fibrion (SF) scaffold seeded with MSCs in Colon Engineering - Essay Example TEC was spawned by the rats 100% with no regard to source of tissue, the initial occurrence of adult cells of engineered intestine or an engineered tissue. Architecture of TEC is same as acetyl cholinesterase, inherent actin staining on muscularis propria staining for actin identified in deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-digoxigenin nick end labeling assay similar to native colon, lamina propria of a linear distribution, ganglion cells, S100-positive cells, and a terminal (Fonkalsrud 1999). By the use of cavity information specified in function of vitro dependable with advanced colonocytes, and an optimistic response of short circuit current to theophylline demonstrating integral transfer of ion. TEM exhibited regular architecture of micro part (Dayton 2000). Architecture of colon was retained in anastomosis with uncultured uptake of fluid visualization. The rats survived embedding and 100% of all them spawned TEC. Almost 60,000 OU was obtained from every pup colon of rat. This is an adjustable quantity as the surface area of tissue in every case may differ. For the reason that adult colons were very large, every rat colon of adult rat gave a result of a specimen of 800,000 (Meagher, 1998). These were inclusive of the ones spawning subordinate TEC and the ones embedded with adult tissue TEC. The TEC average size was 4cm by 5cm by 4 cm. There was absolutely no measure of TEC going below 3cm by 3cm by 2 cm, and the prevalent one was 6cm by 8cm by 7.5 cm. This is shown below TEC was paramount visible as a minor cyst with a lumen that was mucus-filled lumen the second week onwards (Shepherd 1990). Prior to that, there was no visible lumen recognized. Sequential growth took place the weeks after the second week. 9. Grikscheit TC, Ochoa ER, Ramsanahie A, et al 2001. Tissue engineered colon, characterization and comparison to native colon. Owen Wangensteen Surgical Forum Abstracts of the American College of Surgeons

Is the institutionalisation of social movements inevitably Essay

Is the institutionalisation of social movements inevitably emasculating - Essay Example These movements make demands through various means like lobbying, protesting and other campaigns. This is in contrast with the historic system of overthrows whereby people, mainly men, with dissatisfaction with a given regime, used various means to either overthrow the entire government or military cessations that led to a complete revolution and change in the nation. This paper examines whether the institutionalisation of social movements are emasculating or not. Hence, this research paper will examine the following research question: whether the institutionalisation of social movements is inevitably emasculating or not. To this end, the paper critiques various theories and concepts of social movements and its impact. The paper will draw on contemporary and historical examples in order to critique the topic in order to synthesise different concepts and theories to draw conclusions on the fundamental research question. In previous times, protest groups were seen to be an affront to the nation and to the authorities of the state (Marx, 1974). Therefore, the governments, police and authorities in these different nations and communities used informants to spy on these protest groups in order to get inside information about these protesters in order to make arrests (Marx, 1974) . Examples of these situations and phenomenon include totalitarian regimes like Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, North Korea and other nations. These countries used various approaches and means to gain information and feedback about protest groups. However, in the West today and in most parts of the world which are democratic, the attitudes and approaches to protests are different. Save for a few countries like Egypt and North Korea today, most countries are nations with freedom of speech and the right to free association. Nations like the United States and the United Kingdom have also come a long way. And the previous system of viewing

Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Literature Review - Essay Example Kundera shows himself both as a talented historian and psychologist. In well-structured, enchanting manner Kundera entraps his readers in the worlds of his novels. His creative works is a sign of ideological struggle of Czech intellectuals in the age of Stalinism. Kundera was a Communist himself when this ideology was born, but very soon he was expulsed from the Party and his career was threatened because of his innocent joke. From that moment Kundera in his novels used jokes, irony and sarcasm in order to show how innocent trifle can ruin lives. This research paper is focused on his two novels â€Å"The Joke† and â€Å"The Book of Laughter and Forgetting†. On the examples of these two works a transformation of Kundera from a scrutinizer of the past to a sarcastic mocker of the past is shown. Dualistic manner of Kundera’s writing is shown as a basis for his novels. Thus the writer talks about the past and the present; he shows realistic and nonrealistic main characters; depicts the gap between heroes’ beliefs and realities etc. His manner of writing is bipolar; in such a way Kundera supposedly wants to show the ambiguity of human lives. This ambiguity was well-discerned on the example of the age of Stalinism. People had to think and act in one way in their daily life, but in their conscious, hearts and souls they lived other lives. Destructive force of Stalinism is shown on the examples of Kundera’s main characters of these two main novels. Ludvik, Helena, Mirek, Tamina and others were destructed by the huge ‘Communist slaughter’. In order to assess their essence, analyze their past, these characters wander between self-analysis and revenge, between accusing them and the history of their lost lives. In these tragic turbulences echoes a destiny of Kundera. Therefore while reading these two novels it is possible to reveal the curtain of mysterious genius of

Analysis and argumentative commentary for a case-study article Essay - 1

Analysis and argumentative commentary for a case-study article (provided) by answering questions at the end of the article - Essay Example Nation states can now freely purchase natural resources from companies such as Anglo American PLC and Unocal and this has worked completely well to almost all countries. Even the largest economy in the world has depended on trade for its need of raw materials to propel its economy. China on the other hand has a huge demand for natural resources due to its rapidly expanding economy (China Defence & Security 47). It also wants to secure the source of its raw materials by a series of acquisitions and joint ventures in the past several years (Concha 139). I also do not think China’s growth will be threatened if it needs to rely on foreign-owned sources of materials. All countries have dependended on other countries for natural materials in one way or another and no country in the world has the monopoly of all resources. Even United States is dependent on Middle East for its oil requirement. This explains why there is trade and trade agreements because each country has to depend upon another for its natural resources and vice versa. What China is trying to achieve is to secure the source of its natural resoures for the expansion of economy. It is not contented of developing its own natural resources but rather would acquire the natural resources of other countries either by acquisition, joint venture or ridiculous claim such as its nine dash claim in the Pacific which is known to rich in oil and gas and offending all its neighbors in the process. Regardless how much resources China will need, there will always be a company or companies that will provide because it is an opportunity to make business. Being such, it is never a threat to China to depend on foreign owned companies with its need of materials. Even the largest economy in the world which is United States also depends on other countries for many of its materials need but it does not feel threatened by its dependency knowing that it is also

Green Design Essay Example for Free

Green Design Essay The notion of a responsible architecture design is something that flourished way back in 1970s. However, green designs during that time were only developed on a domestic or small scale basis (Papanek 4). It is only in the late 1980s that green commercial developments are done as an effect not only of the 1980 economic boom but also of various social, political and design factors (Beaufoy 199). At the present age, the author argues that the attempts of modern architecture to merge new trends in office design and environmental friendly features are primarily commercial in nature and not really fully environmental. Having such premise in mind, the author formulated the research question: Should interior designers encourage clients to go with green design? In order to sufficiently answer this question, the author have provided a comparative analysis of the pros and cons of the green design and then significantly deduce based from the said arguments the writer’s stance weather he will respond to the question on the affirmative or the negative manner. Arguments on the affirmative side claims that: (1) The green design will help reduce the environmental burdens that the present society brings to the aforementioned and also help man conserve energy (Winter 8); and (2) The green design will help to minimize or to an extent prevent sickness that are acquired within a particular building or house. On the other hand, the arguments on the negative side are the following: (1) The green design raises the costs in erecting buildings or houses; (2) The green design is difficult to implement on certain states, depending on the statutory laws governing a particular state. Body The body of the research elaborates on the positive and the downsides of implementing green design. Reducing Environmental Burdens and Energy Conservation The relevance of green buildings on a global level and its effect to the environment and energy conservation is one of the major arguments in terms of promoting green designs. Buildings or houses that are tailored to be such are expected to reduce carbon dioxide and CFC emissions that are brought about by airconditioning (Beaufoy 203). For instance, IBM has been creating buildings that are completely asbestos free and avoids the use of hardwoods unless the latter came from a sustainable source. They are also using low ozone-depleting chemicals and has been controlling the ozone emission of their airconditioning, and even planning in the near future to eliminate aircondition altogether. In some instances, where green buildings use glass on the exterior, such helps to lessen the need for heating, and the small amount of heat that is needed could be gas-fired. Corollary with this, one can also help to reduce the use of light bulbs of fluorescent lights, hence conserving energy (Beaufoy 203). The use of energy efficient devices such as those of modern HVAC devices helps buildings to save operating costs and could even make the former eligible for rebates offered by local energy companies. In addition with this, through designing building facilities that make use of energy through natural ventilation and daylight also reduces operating costs (Meyerson 47). Health Benefits One of the major premises why green buildings are favorable is due to the health benefits that it could bring to people. For instance if a building is designed to draw air at a high level, cooled and the filtered, the air conditioning or water system of the aforementioned could help eliminate the risk of Legionnaires Disease (Beaufoy 203). The Greenpeace building in Islington, London are also geared towards creating a more environmentally sustained building in their inclination to reduce the risks of office illnesses that result due to the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) emissions of airconditions (Beaufoy 204). Increased Construction and Soft Costs The actual costs of building green architecture are something that is too expensive that a lot of green features can not be really accommodated by most marginalized companies (Johnston 1). As such it is often argued that green buildings are only for wealthy people (Wilson 1). The problem of first costs or the initial expenses that has to be paid prior to building a house is something that is of a growing concern for customers. For instance, the use of uncommon trades and materials could increase costs in addition to LEED commissioning (Syphers et al 8). In addition with this, higher soft costs are also most likely to be incurred in green buildings. The use of additional design analysis, computer modeling, commissioning, product research and lifecycle costs analysis for materials that could be substituted could also paved the way for up-front costs (Syphers et al 8). Legal Considerations Local conditions that are unique to every country and state cold also be one of the problems in terms of attempting to erect green buildings, for some state regulations could pose certain problems on the aforementioned. For instance, the state of California prohibits the use of water-free urinals that could have saved certain buildings a significant amount of water (Syphers et al 6). In relation with this, the use of solar panels that could have help buildings to save electricity, though highly encouraged within various states regulations; also poses some problems as the law requires buildings to locate these panels somewhere that could not be seen on public roads due to the risk of accidents. Also, local building codes have given limitations on the height windmills including its zone restrictions (Syphers et al 7). As generally known, windmills are also one of the most environmentally friendly way of generating electricity. Analysis After presenting the abovementioned arguments of the positive and the downsides of the use of the green design, it is also noteworthy to tell that amidst all of these most basic issues, the author perceived that the advocacy for the adaptation of green buildings is something that is primarily commercial in nature rather than really environmental in focus. Although it could be significantly noted that green buildings indeed helps the environment due to cutting the use of certain machines that could have harmed for instance the ozone layer, it could be implied that the primary motivation of customers is indeed on cost cutting and juxtaposed with that of course is a relatively healthy lifestyle. In this respect, it could be said that although the positive side of green architecture is emphasized most specially its environmental underpinnings, the fact couldn’t be hidden that such an endeavor is not really one hundred percent pro nature as one could see a compromise between capitalism and protecting the environment. It is with this respect that the author remembered that capitalism is indeed a necessary evil. There are a number of human endeavors that will not proceed without its aid, and such includes even the environment. In addition to these issues, the notion of the difficulty of implementing the architectural design of green buildings is something that should also be taken into consideration. The initial construction costs and soft costs could be really expensive; however, experts still argue that the life cycle costs of the building in the long run could be very cost effective (California Integrated Waste Management Board 1). The legal considerations of course are something that is imperative in order to assure order and efficiency to the society. Albeit it should be noted that the process of adopting green design is something that is still in the process of development; hence it is theoretically possible that the future technology could bring about changes that could fully actualize the fullest utility of the program. Conclusion Given the abovementioned factors, the author wishes to answer the research question: â€Å"Should interior designers encourage clients to go with green design? † in the affirmative. It could be seen that although the green design has a number of short comings, it could not be denied that these flaws are only minute in comparison to the overall utility that it could bring to man and to the environment. The short comings of green design could be solved through active collaboration of various stakeholders that are concerned to such like customers, contractors, architects, interior designers, engineers, the government, non government organizations, private corporations and the likes. Literature Cited Beaufoy, Helena. â€Å"Case Study: The Green Office in Britain A Critical Analysis†. Journal of Design History 6,3 (1993) 206. California Integrated Waste Management Board. January 2007. Sustainable (Green) Building: Project Design Cost Issues. 23 October 2007 http://www. ciwmb. ca. gov/GreenBuilding/Design/CostIssues. htm#Primers Johnston, Ritchey. Actual Costs Is Building Green Too Expensive? January 2000. Housing Zone. 23 October 2007 http://www. housingzone. com/topics/nahb/green/nhb00ca029. asp Meyerson, Andrew. â€Å"The Dollars and Cents of Green Construction: Being Environmentally Friendly Brings Financial as Well as Social Benefits†. Journal of Accountancy 199,5 (2005) 47. Papanek, Victor. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. London: Thames Hudson, 1985. Syphers, Geof et al. October 2003 Managing the Cost of Green Buildings K-12 Public Schools Research Laboratories Public Libraries Multi-family Affordable Housing. State of California and Almeda COunty Waste Management Authority. 23 October 2007 http://www. ciwmb. ca. gov/GreenBuilding/Design/ManagingCost. pdf Winter, Metta, â€Å"The Greening of Design: Jack Elliott Believes Interior Designers Can and Should Play a Major Role in Preventing Environmental Degradation, That Sustainability Should Be Central to All Design Decisions†. Human Ecology 30,1 (2002) 8. Wilson, Alex. Building Green on a Budget. May 1999. Building Green. com. 23 October 2007 http://www. buildinggreen. com/auth/article. cfm? fileName=080501a. xmla

Smoke-laden Essay Example for Free

Smoke-laden Essay We read the following Sherlock Holmes stories; The adventure of the veiled lodger, The speckled band, The red headed league, The crooked man and The silver blaze. In detail I studied The adventure of the veiled lodger, The speckled band and The silver blaze. In terms of narrative of the characters, the use of language, Structure and the authors view point and then compared them. In The veiled lodger Holmes is passed on a message by a landlord, from a tenant. It said do you wish to find out what really happened to Mr. Render. When Holmes and Watson got to the house they find out that the tenant was Mrs. Render. They also found out that Mr. Render did not die the way they originally thought, which was being attacked by a lion, but it was a murder carried out by Mrs. Render and her lover called Leonardo. They did this because of the way that Mr. Render treated Mrs. Render, he would abuse her when she commented on how he had other women. They made the murder look like it was a lion from the circus attacking him, by using a club with nails attached, to look like claws but the plan went wrong. They managed to attack Mr. Render but when Mrs. Render opened the loins cage to let the lion loose from the cage the smell of blood had sent it wild and it turned on Mrs. Render. The Speckled Band is about a family of two sisters and their step father. The mother had died and left a sum of money in the step fathers possession to keep the whole family going. When the daughters gets married some of the money was to go to them, so that the money in the end will be split three ways between them. When one daughter does get engaged she starts to notice strange occurrences, like a low whistle early in the morning about three am which is not normal. She then dies in mysterious circumstances and the case was never solved. When the second of the daughters got engaged she had to move into her sisters old room as her room was supposedly being decorated, she too started to hear a low whistle early in the morning. She then comes and finds Holmes and explains her situation she asks him to investigate what is happening. Holmes looks at all the evidence and clues only to discovers that the step father is planting a deadly snake in their bed each night and then calls it back after so long using a whistle and milk. The plan was that the snake would bite the daughters and then he could call the snake back before someone could see it. In The silver blaze Holmes is called to investigate the murder of a man and the where abouts of a lost racing horse. When Holmes gets to the site he notices something even before he has left the carriage, he stays sat down quiet for a moment and when he gets up he doesnt say what it was he noticed, which was that some of the sheep seemed to be lame. When the case is closed he then reveals what he found and how he got his conclusion. What actually happened was the victim had drugged the stable boy and taken the horse out in to the moors, where he attempted to take a nick out of a bone of the horse so that would be paralysed . It would therefore lose its next race. He did this because he had a bet on another horse to win. But the plan went wrong when he started to cut the horse, as it kicked him in the head killing him. The horse had wondered off and had been found by the rival horse trainer and then hidden. In these three short stories there are some big similarities, they all contain a murder they are either at the start of the story, end or both. The plots begin very close to the start of the stories this makes the readers intrigued sooner and therefore continue to read the stories. The odd murder is in The veiled lodger where the story is been told as past not present like The Speckled Band and The silver blaze. There are more similarities in The Speckled Band and The silver blaze because of this. For instance both the stories were solved by Holmes instead of Holmes been told the story, this could have a negative effect upon the reader because it is harder for them to become involved in the story as they already know the outcome. The characters in The veiled lodger and The Speckled Band have similarities between them, for example Helen and Mrs. Render both have a dominant male in there lifes who they fear. Helen goes behind Dr. Royllots back to see Holmes and does not confront Dr. Royllot. Mrs. Render also describes Mr. Render as being the devil. But there are still some similarities with The silver blaze, for example the victims wife in The silver blaze and Mrs. Render in The veiled lodger both have men which dont stay faithful to them. In The veiled lodger Mrs. Render is a middle aged widow, she got married young to the circus manager and found out too late it was a wrong decision because he physically abused her. This drove Mrs. Render to her limits and she planned his murder. She did this with Leonardo a lover of hers he was the strong man in the circus. He came up with the killing method but when the plan did go wrong he ran from the scene. When the other people heard Mrs. Render they came to help and Leonardo came to. This shows what judge of character Mrs. Render has, it is clear that she has a poor judge of character.

The Effects of Underage Drinking on the Brain

The Effects of Underage Drinking on the Brain Corey Negin, Devin Glim, Aman Gill, Helen Marzec, Kimberly Dias Keywords: Alcohol, Brain, Development, Hippocampus, Frontal areas, Cerebellum, Neuroplasticity, Addiction, Deleterious behaviour and Chronic consumption. Rational/Goal: This video will fixate on alcohol, but will explore the effects of underage drinking on the brain, targeted to teenagers. Underage drinking is widespread as adolescents undergo stressful developmental transitional periods rendering them vulnerable to alcohol consumption. Research indicates that adolescents consume a lot of their alcohol intake by binge drinking, which has detrimental effects upon brain development, as brain maturity and refinement is not finalized until an individual reaches their mid-twenties. Subsequently, the brain development compromised by chronic alcohol consumption can promote deleterious behaviours that persist into adulthood and future functioning. Description/Summary: We will first describe the regions in the brain affected by alcohol consumption. Early in development, the brain creates as many synaptic connections as possible. However, development then shifts to creating efficient neural pathways. Our video will delve into the heightened neuroplasticity that occurs within adolescence. This is a duration by which the prefrontal cortex undergoes myelination and extensive synaptic pruning. The prefrontal cortex governs decision-making and concentration. However, periods of binge drinking have been shown to cause significant white matter loss and myelin damage within the prefrontal cortex. Our video will describe the importance of myelination and how myelin sheath aids in increasing nerve impulse speed. Thereafter, we will denote that a compromise within the nerves ability to conduct impulses would result in cognitive impairment. We will then continue onto the structural and functional changes that the hippocampus incurs due to u nderage drinking; specifically, an increase in immature dendritic spines whereby the branches off the nerve cells appear long and thin. The hippocampus is crucial for learning and memory. This therefore cultivates alcohol-induced memory deficits. Furthermore, the altered brain functioning appears to be irreversible. Additional evidence exhibits a thinner prefrontal cortex and smaller hippocampus within adolescent drinking individuals, relative to the age the alcohol consumption began. Script: (Skit beginning)-45secs (Start of party scene; incoherent speaking) (Sees person two stammering, falling over the table, and trying to stand properly) 1: Are you okay? 2: Ye aaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Im more than okay! Im gr e aaa t! (Swinging an alcoholic beverage around) Heyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ heyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (Points towards friend and walks over to them struggling, falling over) Dont you feel great too? 3: Yeah, I feel awesome man! Heyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ eve ee ryo on e! Le ts taake shoots s! Everyone: Yeah! (Shots by LMFAO playing) 1: Dont you think youve had enough? 2: You can never have enough! (Takes 3 shots in a row) (Continues dancing to the music [Shots by lmfao]) 1: Sure, but dont you also have a paper due on Friday? 2: Do I? I forgot Its okay, I still have a day to do it 1: Its 10 pages 2: What was on again? 1: You dont remember? 2: More relevant things are on my mind, like how great this alcohol is 3: (Nodding in agreement, 3 1 toast with their shot glasses) (Continues to dance, however, while dancing backwards, 2 hits the 3, and both fall face forward, blacking out) [Cut to dream-like scene when 2 is older in university, conducting thesis on underage drinking] Main: 1. Describe brain regions affected by alcohol consumption (eg. prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum) [Both structural functional changes) Hippocampus: learning memory (learning new information would become difficult; transfer from short term to long term memory [propagating blackouts]) -Kim- 30secs Many regions of the brain, including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, are actively developing throughout ones adolescence, and are therefore more susceptible to damage due to alcohol consumption. The hippocampus is a small part of your brain that processes and stores memories. Drinking excessive alcohol can affects ones ability to form new memories, and hold on to new information. This is because alcohol can impair your brains ability to transfer new learned information from your short term to your long term memory (Hiller-Sturmhà ¶fel, Swartzwelder, 2004). As a result, you may be able to remember whats happening in the moment during a night of drinking, but may find it hard to recall the events that occurred that night the following day. Alcohol can also affect your ability to form new explicit memories, which are memories of facts such as names and phone numbers, or events, like what you did last night. Excessive drinking can cause excessive damage to the hippocampus, resul ting in blackouts: periods of time that you cannot remember what happened at all. (Anderson et al., 2009). Finally, studies have shown a correlation between excessive drinking and a decrease in hippocampus size in the brain. (Debellis et al., 2000). Frontal areas: impulses, thinking through consequences (poor decision making, lack of self control)- Aman -30secsAs soon as we take that shot of vodka, one of the first parts of the brain the alcohol will affect is the frontal lobe, specifically the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex involves planning complex cognitive behaviour, attention, and decision making (Abernathy, Chandler, Woodward, 2010). Therefore, it should come to no surprise that alcohols profound effects on the prefrontal cortex, ultimately impair our ability to make rational decisions, as well as our reasoning and judgement! In fact, George, Rogers Duka, conducted a study among social drinkers to assess the decisions they made through various gambling tasks. They concluded that acute alcohol intake lead them to make significantly more risky decisions (George, Rogers, Duka, 2005). To add, another study conducted on the effects of adolescent binge drinking and decision making showed a high association between r elatively more disadvantageous decisions and those who started binge drinking at an early age (Goudriaan, Grekin, Sher, 2007). So how exactly does alcohol lead us to tell our crush how obsessed we are with them? The prefrontal cortex inhibits cortical and subcortical structures, which help prevent us from the urges to say something socially unacceptable (Munakata et al., 2011). Alcohol affects the NMDA glutamate receptors by inhibiting these same inhibitory effects of the prefrontal cortex, essentially making us disinhibited (Tu et al., 2007)! Cerebellum: motor control (balance; difficulties standing or walking)- Devin 20secsAlong with the hippocampus and frontal areas, the cerebellum may also be affected by heavy adolescent alcohol consumption. The cerebellums main functions are to control motor function while also participating in cognitive learning related to spatial awareness (Doya, 2000). This is why we have difficulties walking, standing, or even preventing our drink from accidentally spilling on our crush as we tell them how much we like them! Unfortunately, these difficulties can become long-lasting as alcohol can change the biochemical function of the cerebellum (Ward et al., 2009). Microglia levels (the brains immune cells) also increase in response to alcohol exposure, resulting in an increase in the inflammation of the surrounding brain tissue, leading to eventual long term neuronal death (Riikonen et al., 2002) 2. Heightened neuroplasticity that occurs during adolescent brain development (myelination, synaptic pruning; see letter of intent for more)- 30secs 3. The brain isnt fully developed until 25 years old thereby critical development is interrupted [Explain the long term lasting consequences]- 30secs Adolescence is a time between childhood and adulthood whereby neural development is composed by physical, psychological and social changes marking this a period of vulnerability and adjustment (Bourque et al., 2016). It also marks a time of increased emotional reactivity and sensitivity which contributes to a greater degree of addiction during the developmental period (Bourque et al., 2016; Case, Jones, Hare, 2008). Indeed, neuroplasticity, the ability to form new neural connections, is influenced by the environment, and particularly within adolescence when the brain is still within development (Hiller-Sturmhà ¶fel Swartzwelder, 2004). The cognitive development that occurs during adolescence is linked to greater cognitive control and modulation whereby increased activation in the prefrontal regions is indicative of maturity (Bourque et al., 2016; Case, Jones, Hare, 2008). However, adolescents indulge in deleterious and high-risk behaviour such as binge drinking which significant ly impair the neuroplasticity of the brain, involving the myelination of the prefrontal fiber tracts (Clark, Thatcher, Tapert, 2008). As myelin sheath aids in increasing nerve impulse speed, a compromise within the nerves ability to conduct impulses results in cognitive impairment. The rational portion of an adolescents brain isnt fully developed until 25 years old therefore obstructing connections in the prefrontal cortex hinders the adolescents social and mental health trajectories for years to come. 4. Susceptibility to addiction (Underage drinkers are 4x more likely to develop an addiction to alcohol, as opposed to an individual who waits until legal drinking age) [Basically the conclusion? Can also do a bit of an introduction about binge drinking in general to lead into the portion about the structural/functional changes that occur]-30secs Corey To wrap things up, underage drinkers are 4x more likely to develop an addiction to alcohol as opposed to an individual who waits until legal drinking age to start consuming! As a result, binge drinking can start to develop, which is the consumption of excess amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Binge drinking can lead to many structural and functional changes such as difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times and impaired memory. It is important to note that maturational changes in brain anatomy, connectivity, and function continue well into late adolescence. To date, imaging studies using different modalities have consistently reported that alcohol use during adolescence is associated with abnormalities in brain structure, function and connectivity. Furthermore, the altered brain functioning appears to be irreversible. Additional evidence exhibits a thinner prefrontal cortex and smaller hippocampus within adolescent drinking individuals, relat ive to the age the alcohol consumption began.So is it really worth it? I dont think so! Yes you are a teenager but I promise you, you dont need alcohol to have fun! (Skit ending)-20secs 2 wakes up to people looking over him 3: Hey man, are you okay? 2: Yeah, I think so 3: Are you down to take another shot? The alcohol is almost finished, and I saved the best for last 2: (Thinks back to what has happened) 2: No, its okay I have a paper to doà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Scratches head; zooming in on face) 2: (Face expression displayed is sort of like this: https://media.giphy.com/media/pai7N0iFj01CU/giphy.gif) Camera zooms out; scene fades to black) Examples of videos with alike infrastructure relative to alcohol the developing brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY37BFmVxwQ (Animation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2gVzVIBc_g (Animation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_Pe4R9Myu4 (Animation; brain scans shown) Member Contributions: All 5 group members equally contributed to the research and writing of the script for this video. Helen is the facilitator for the knowledge translation video, and is responsible for the part of the video pertaining to the heightened neuroplasticity that occurs during development. Aman is responsible for the portion that covers the effects of alcohol on the prefrontal cortex, and Kimberly is responsible for the effects of alcohol on the hippocampus and memory. Devin is responsible for alcohols effect on the cerebellum and motor control, and Corey for Conclusion and take home messages. Helen will also be narrating the audio for the video, while we all will be involved in the production of the skit, and editing of the video cuts and final video. Finally, all 5 group members will be equally contributing to the production and editing of this video. References Abernathy, K., Chandler, L. J., Woodward, J. J. (2010). Alcohol and the prefrontal cortex. International review of neurobiology, 91, 289-320. Anderson, P., De Bruijn, A., Angus, K., Gordon, R., Hastings, G. (2009). Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol and alcoholism, 44(3), 229-243. Bourque, J., Baker, T., Dagher, A., Evans, A., Garavan, H., Leyton, M. et al. (2016). Effects of delaying binge drinking on adolescent brain development: a longitudinal neuroimaging study. BMC Psychiatry, 16(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1148-3 Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., Hare, T. A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 111-126. Clark, D. B., Thatcher, D. L., Tapert, S. F. (2008). Alcohol, psychological dysregulation, and adolescent brain development. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(3), 375-385. De Bellis, M. D., Clark, D. B., Beers, S. R., Soloff, P. H., Boring, A. M., Hall, J., Keshavan, M. S. (2000). Hippocampal volume in adolescent-onset alcohol use disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(5), 737-744. Doya, K. (2000). Complementary roles of basal ganglia and cerebellum in learning and motor control. Current opinion in neurobiology, 10(6), 732-739. George, S., Rogers, R. D., Duka, T. (2005). The acute effect of alcohol on decision making in social drinkers. Psychopharmacology, 182(1), 160-169. Goudriaan, A. E., Grekin, E. R., Sher, K. J. (2007). Decision making and binge drinking: a longitudinal study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 31(6), 928-938. Hiller-Sturmhà ¶fel, S., Swartzwelder, H.S. (2004). Alcohols Effects on the Adolescent Brain-What Can Be Learned From Animal Models. Alcohol Research and Health, 28(4), 213-221 Munakata, Y., Herd, S. A., Chatham, C. H., Depue, B. E., Banich, M. T., OReilly, R. C. (2011). A unified framework for inhibitory control. Trends in cognitive sciences, 15(10), 453-459. Riikonen, J., Jaatinen, P., Rintala, J., Pà ¶rsti, I., Karjala, K., Hervonen, A. (2002). Intermittent ethanol exposure increases the number of cerebellar microglia. Alcohol and alcoholism, 37(5), 421-426. Squeglia, L. M., Jacobus, J., Tapert, S. F. (2009). The influence of substance use on adolescent brain development. Clinical EEG and neuroscience, 40(1), 31-38. Tu, Y., Kroener, S., Abernathy, K., Lapish, C., Seamans, J., Chandler, L. J., Woodward, J. J. (2007). Ethanol inhibits persistent activity in prefrontal cortical neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 27(17), 4765-4775. Ward, R. J., Lallemand, F., De Witte, P. (2009). Biochemical and neurotransmitter changes implicated in alcohol-induced brain damage in chronic or binge drinking alcohol abuse. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 44(2), 128-135.

Cross-cultural Experiences :: Personal Narrative Essays

Cross-cultural Experiences Question Answered: Present the ways in which cross-cultural experiences strengthen a continuous development of the world environment. Cross-cultural experiences can be defined in several ways. Some view these experiences as a way to interact with individuals who are diverse, often experiencing things unfathomable in relation to one's own life. Some view these experiences as an opportunity to strengthen world relations, promoting the idea of peace and worldwide togetherness. Also, some would say that cross-culture is a way to understand people of all races and circumstances, lowering the threat of war and misunderstandings. I believe that cross-culture envelops all of these ideas. It is an extreme responsibility that should never be taken lightly. It is a chance to share the American culture with others, often learning more about a foreign place in the process. Regardless, cross-cultural experiences are very significant and wonderful. They enrich the lives of those who participate by offering experience, knowledge, patience, and an understanding into one's own culture, as well as into that of those who share this be autiful world with us. Cross-cultural experiences allow the partaker to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes." This old adage is quite relevant when addressed to the experience of learning in another surrounding. One gets to encounter how another person lives his or her life. They get to taste the different cuisine, enjoy music, and interact with citizens who are dissimilar. By doing this, the individual is seeing what life is like in another atmosphere. They are becoming aware of the different plights and jubilant exercises someone across the globe views as normal. For instance, if someone from a relatively peaceful country visits a warlike realm, they will understand and see "firsthand" the variation of the two atmospheres. When focusing on the situation, it is easier to clarify why certain individuals behave in a different way. These experiences also teach one about oneself. It offers the chance to promote the great country from which one came. Often, America is stereotyped for all types of ideals, such as baseball and apple pie. However, once entered into a new culture, one can adequately portray America for the diverse melting pot and land of opportunity for all races that it indeed is. Cross-culture is a shared mutual respect for the world in which we live. It offers strong ties to other countries, while promoting the greatness of the red, white, and blue.

The Category of the Individual Essay -- Sociology Sociological Papers

The Category of the Individual In The Order of Things, Michel Foucault argues that there is a "pure experience of order and its modes of being" (Foucault xxi), that order exists and that it is necessary. Foucault is concerned with language because it is a mode by which we maintain order in the world, and according to his argument, what we should fear are heterotopias, which "undermine language," "make it impossible to name this and that," "shatter or tangle common names," and "destroy 'syntax' in advance" (Foucault xviii). When Foucault refers to 'syntax,' he is not just talking about our method of constructing sentences but "also that less apparent syntax which causes words and things (next to and also opposite one another) to 'hold together'" (Foucault xviii). In other words, there is need for us to take into account how the things in our world are related to each other. One of the ways in which we do this is through the method of categorization, which allows us to organize our world according to similarities an d differences. However, Foucault stresses us to be cautious, to realize that "we shall never succeed in defining a stable relation of contained to container between each of these categories and that which includes them all" (Foucault xvii). An all-inclusive category does not exist; it cannot exist. Foucault insists on the need to pay attention to what is present in the "empty space, the interstitial blanks separating all these entities from one another" (Foucault xvi). It is not that language is inadequate; it is just that we must be conscious of not only what is stated but also what is not directly stated, what is contained inside language and what is outside language. When we organize the things in the world in... ...gle words. I don't believe in 'sadness,' 'joy,' or 'regret.' Maybe the best proof that language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling" (Eugenides 217). We must realize that the only "normal" that exists is what is "normal" to the individual, to us. Our categories do not define us; we define ourselves. Through our experiences, we create identities that are unique to us, and we, as "others," must learn to value our individual experiences because that is where the answer is, where it always has been. Works Cited: Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. New York: Picador, 2002. Foucault, Michel. The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. New York: Vintage Books. Moraga, Cherrà ­e. "The Breakdown of the Bicultural Mind." Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity. Eds. Becky Thompson and Sangeeta Tyagi. New York: Routledge.

Christopher Columbus Case Essay

Christopher Columbus is one of the most well-known explorers in history. Christopher Columbus had many voyages that he had done throughout the years. There was several letters that he had written, one regarding his first voyage was to Luis de Santangel that explained what he had found, and the way he felt during his voyage. Another was his fourth voyage to Ferdinand and Isabella, in which he shows sorrow and regret for his discoveries. In the letters that Christopher Columbus had written his tones were very distinct and different. It is hard to think that it is even the same person wrote the two letters. Columbus made a complete change from arrogant to humble in his attitude. The letter that Christopher Columbus had written to Luis de Santangel was regarding his first voyage and his tone in this letter can be described as very eager, passionate, and anxious for his upcoming voyages. When reading the first letter you can tell that he is excited just by the way he describes the way the island looks. He goes in great length about the marvels of the new lands he encounters. He explains them as he is a child experiencing something new for the first time. â€Å"All are most beautiful, of a thousand shapes, and all are accessible and filled with trees of a thousand kinds and tall, and they seem to touch the sky† and â€Å"Espanola is a marvel†. Christopher Columbus radiates his excitement through his letter to Luis de Santangel. Christopher Columbus almost feels as he truly has the whole world at his finger tips, and awaits more. In His letter Regarding the Fourth Voyage that was to Ferdinand and Isabella you see a much different demeanor about him. Very pessimistic and down attitude surrounds his writing. He speaks of â€Å"weeping† when he thinks about the lands that he has found, due to the fact that they are pretty much barren. He goes on by saying people are dying them daily because of the audacity that people have there, imprisoning people, and taking their lands. He goes on deeper by explaining how he has grown old and grey. â€Å"Not a hair on his body that isn’t gray†. He states how everyone is trying to explore and plunder without any knowledge of exploration or any heart for the matter, just trying to get a piece of the action. I think he feels somewhat betrayed, and asks mutual punishment for Alonso de Ojeda, who is the man that took almost everything he had. â€Å"The same punishment is due to him who robbed me of the pearls, and to him who infringed my rights as admiral†. Christopher Columbus is one of the most well-known explorers of all time. Columbus’ life was a voyage in itself. While he rose to fame as an outstanding explorer, he also had terrible lows in his life. During his voyages, Columbus wrote letters documenting his experience. His tone and diction in Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage is upbeat and hopeful, while his tone in the Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage is full of sadness. His series of four voyages between 1492 and 1504 produced a brief moment of wonder following by a longs series of disasters and disappointments, which reflect his attitudes at these different times in his life.

Broad Narrow View of CSR

In my view the statement ‘the social responsibility of business is to increase profit’ is true to a point, however, I believe a corporation’s responsibilities spread beyond just maximising profits. The ‘Narrow View’ argues that profit maximisation is the only objective for a business. Levitt. T wrote, â€Å"In the end business has only two responsibilities- to obey the elementary canons of face-to-face civility (honesty, good faith and so on) and to seek material gain†. Milton Friedman argued that business has no social responsibilities other than to maximise profit.Friedman also argues that the corporation is an artificial person and can, therefore, only have â€Å"artificial responsibilities. † â€Å"Business† is apparently an even more artificial construct and therefore we are left with just proprietors and corporate executives who can actually be responsible. Because the function of business organisation is to make money, the owners of corporations employ executives to accomplish the goals, thus managers are obliged to act in the interest of owners. According to Friedman, executives have social corporate responsibilities beyond pursuit of profit.They must spend shareholder money for general social interest such as taxing the owners and spending taxes on social causes. (Friedman, 1970) â€Å"There is one and only one social responsibility of business is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud. † If there was no initiation of force, there is nothing wrong with profit. However, at the same time, there are many instances of initiation of force that give businesses, and the market, the illusion of profit.Most of the time, these initiations of force come in the form of which creates regulation benefiting one company at the disadvantage of free competition or some sort of subsidy which takes money from taxpayers. Every business has a responsibility to its owners and shareholders to increase its profits, but successful businesses also help provide for the community. Financial managers don't often think about the business' social responsibility to increase profits. However, while their main concern may be aking money for themselves and their company, their efforts will often generate revenue within the community, providing benefits which business owners and shareholders may never consider. All things being equal, the profit and loss of a business tells an owner how well or how poorly a business is meeting the wants and needs of individuals in society. This is true for a small or the largest of corporations. It doesn’t matter whether a business services a few folks locally, or a mass of population internationally, the role of profit and loss is still the same in any business situation.The only way a business ca n increase profit is if a business, small, medium, or large is providing something of value to other individuals. Each of these businesses is benefiting someone in society, and the business knows this because of such profit. In contrast to what Friedman and Levitt said about business has other obligations in addition to pursuing profits, the broad view maintain that a corporation has obligations not just to its shareholders but to other constituencies that are affected.Keith Davis stated that social responsibility implies that business decision maker in process of serving his own business interest is obliged to take actions that protect and enhance society’s interest. Shareholders own the company and they entrusts management with their funds and in return the management make as much money for them. The manager of a corporation does indeed have a fiduciary duty to look after the shareholder’s interest. In argue with the narrow view theory, management have duties to othe r constituencies as well like employees and customers. A stakeholder value perspective places worth on social responsibility above profit.However, if the business is not profitable, it cannot provide for its valuable stakeholders. Thus, the business has a social responsibility to all involved to increase its profits. As long as the business works to balance the needs of all stakeholders, it should have no problem meeting its social responsibilities. When businesses increase their profits, they often create new jobs. Employees benefit from these jobs, and the community benefits from the money spent by these employees. When employees are able to spend money and pay taxes, they indirectly contribute to schools, libraries and other public institutions.

Motivational Approach

Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual needs (Robbins, 168). For some business analysts, employee motivation is a good way to increase productivity in an organization. When people get motivated, they will have a reason to put more efforts on what they are doing. Motivation is a crucial management tool in lifting the organization's work force's ability. There are many different ways to motivate employees. Employers can motivate their workers as individuals, groups, teams, or the organization as a whole. Motivation takes forms like offering rewards, improving working conditions, or employee recognition. However, which approach should employers try? Team-based reward systems have been raised as an issue in work management areas. Many people prefer team-based reward systems to an individual approach. San Diego Business Journal, issued on Oct. 6, 1997, published an article titled â€Å"Team-Based Productivity Incentive System.† This article summarized the ideas that supported the team-based approach. The author, Bob Harrington, opposed the individual reward system. As he stated, individual reward systems create unnecessary competition and reduce cooperation between employees. It also reduces creativity because employees will only do what is necessary to get rewarded. Moreover, Harrington said team-based incentives influence individuals to work well together and cooperate with one another. No longer are employees and management measured purely against financial information. Instead, outstanding performance is based on a combination of items that measure the strategic objectives of the corporation. This paper will see if the team-based incentive systems are the best approach for business environments as Harrington discussed. Medical insurance and educational opportunities, among others are all common benefits in compensation programs for many manufacturers. Many people argued that these benefits attract and retain employees, but have little to do with work performance. Some also believe that if these benefits are spread out among workers in general, these kinds of work incentives will not guarantee good performance. Well Pay vs. Sick Pay is an example of how an incentive program reinforces wrong behavior and reduces productivity. Manufacturers with incentive systems that reward employees for achievements and growth can increase their competitiveness and profitability in today's global market. Yes, it is true that organizations need to have incentive systems to satisfy their work force. Team-based incentive systems such as gain sharing, profit sharing, etc., become increasingly popular in work environments. People now are required to work as a team, and altogether help each other to achieve an objective. Your work is my work, and your responsibility is mine. People will become more cohesive as working in a group or a team. Team-based incentives offer several advantages. However, I do not totally agree with Harrington that individual incentive systems do not have any good influence over workers' performance. Some people are extremely successful when they work on their own. People, who are raised in an individualistic culture, might not benefit from working in a group. So, individual incentive systems do play an important role in increasing a work force's productivity as long as the employers know how to use this reinforcement system properly. If organizations set a standard to measure individual achievement and reward that individual on what he (she) perform, then, the individual incentive system might work as well as the team-based one. Moreover, managers need to realize that team-based incentive systems might cause Social Loafing effect in the work force – the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually (Robbins, 260). Motivations are necessary in a working environment to increase the productivity of the work force. Reward systems must create a win-win situation for employees and employers. Team-based incentive systems might work very well and are a preferred process for many organizations in today's work market; however, managers should adopt individual incentive systems in many cases, when employees are more skillful, efficient, and effective as working individually. The major purpose of the incentive system is to motivate and organize employees.

Language is not only the problem faced by International students in the UK

In recent years, coming to the UK have became a attractive option for students who want to get further education with the higher quality. Because the UK is famous by its impressed education in the history. However, the increasing number of international students does not mean it is undemanding to study in the UK without facing any difficulty or it is much easier than before as a oversea student. In fact, there are numerous problems they have to solve for a meaningful oversea study experience.When referring to this topic, language has always been mentioned as an unavoidable issue for these students who are far away from their motherland. But language is not the only problem faced by international students in the UK. There are many difficulties such as differences in learning and homesickness. Language can be the main problem for all the international students even if the student is a native speaker of English, such as Americans, Australians and Indians.The reason is that students who come from an English-speaking country can be proficient in daily English, but it does not mean that they can skip this obstacle. For example, although most of the students have to get a high enough score in TOEFL or IELTS for being accepted by the school they want, they may still be unfamiliar with some terms for the subject they studied (Bamford, 2008). In other words, the ability of using English can be a barrier that every international student has to overcome. Otherwise, they would be trapped in their little safe zone and ended up as a person without sufficient confidence.So language can be the main problem for international students in the UK, but precisely it is definitely not the only issue. Because obviously, it is impossible to be a good international student by such a easy way. Differences in learning will also make oversea students feel confused at the beginning of their British life. As reported by David, Brian, Anne, Claire and Sinead (2006), in some cultures it is depr ecated to raise doubts about what the teachers said, which is totally different from the academic culture in the UK.For students who have got accustomed to this way of learning, critical thinking, which plays an important role in school life in the UK, can be difficult to adapt to the new study atmosphere and it needs time to get used to it. Differences between academic cultures are inevitably driving some international students into corner. Similarly, they must force themselves to make appropriate adjustments which is required for their study in the UK, or they would be stuck in a dilemma.Learning how to behave properly in a completely different environment of study can be a serious challenge for those students who get used to keep silence and take notes without thinking of its value. Homesickness is another conspicuous problem which make international students feel troubled. The main features of homesickness can be defined as the surrounding images about home in their minds, an in tense desire to go home, a sad emotion because missing home(Adrian, 1997).For most of oversea students, it is their first time to live further from home for perhaps thousands-miles away. In other words, it is reasonable that they would feel lonely without their family especially when some bad issues happened in their homeland. If these students can not get rid of homesickness, their whole life would be exposed in danger. Similarly, students who soak themselves in the bad mood of homesickness were likely to lose their faith in life and stayed unmotivated.As the result, they would be failed in their study and also make their family and friends down, which is the last achievement they want to reach in the world. In conclusion, international students in the UK have to face many problems, including but not limited to language. Besides language, difficulties in learning and homesickness also can not be ignored. There are still many problems which did not be mentioned in this essay. So it can be hard to deal with so many problems for international students in the UK. But it is also a unique opportunity for them to upgrade themselves.

Intertextual Relationship Between Renoir’s Parte de Campagne Essay

France can be credited as the home to the film industry. French film directors can be said to have invented the whole concept of cinema. For instance, as early as 1895, Lumiere brothers produced a 50 seconds film titled The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station and this led to pundits to name it as the first bold step in the cinema industry. They continued in their production until the First World War where they shifted focus to producing documentaries films and newsreel. However they had already laid the bedrock for the advancement of the film industry and other pioneers took it in the 1930’s. (Hortelano, 2011, p.256) While during the First World War, the cinema industry seemed to have grounded to a halt, the period after 1920 going to 1930’s show emergence of younger film directors with much enthusiasm in the industry. Such included Marcel Carne, Rene Clair and Jean Renoir (Conley 2007 p.166). He adds that they experimented on wide styles and cinematic themes in the process. However, France was plunged into the Second World War in 1939 which consequently led to slow down the evolution of the cinema industry. This did not pick up until 1950’s where again France show emergence of young budding enthusiastic film directors who are regarded as the new wave, Nouvelle Vague, of cinema industry. This included among others, Jacques Rivette, Jean lucques Godard, Loius Malle, Francois Truffaut and Alain Resnais. This group of film makers believed that a filmmaker has possession of the film without interference from either studios or producers. This paper will discuss Partie de Campagne and Les Mistons., two films made by two great French film makers, Jean Renoir and Francois Truffaut respectively. Renoir’s Partie de Campagne is a forty-minute film produced in 1936. It is regarded as the greatest unfinished film ever made. While many films are abandoned and fail to break the ground due to unreliability of financiers or filmmaker’s own volition to abandon the project, Parte de Campagne was abandoned due to persistent bad weather (Miller, 2006, p.3). However, despite it being unfinished, it was released ten years down the line. Renoir is famed for producing films with lots of realism and satirical content (Hortelano, 2011, p.257). Just like Truffaut’s film, the film Parte de Campagne is a romance filled film based on a story by Guy de Maupassant and the plot of the film revolves around a family that decides to take sometime in the country side. While in the village and as the men family members proceed to fishing, the mother, Juliette (Jeanne Marken), is involved in a flirtation with another man from the village while her daughter, Herinette (Sylvia Bataille) , also gets into intimacy with a babbling young man, Henri, identified as George Saint-Saens. However, being a vacation, the family leaves and never to return in the same place any sooner. When they did fourteen years later, so much had changed. We learn their love was unfortunately hampered by Anatole (Paul Temps), a partner of Monsieur Dufour that Henriette was forced to marry. The former lover, George Saint-Saens, undertook to renew the initial relationship but to no avail. They both try to catch up but the family heads to the city. Episodes on what happened were never shot as the project was abandoned (Miller, 2006, p.5) Exemplar, the shots of the summer storm and the long sequence of the rain firing the river that, underlying the explosion of passion of the natural element, and between Henry and Henriette. The sequence leads the film to the next encounter of the lovers, dramatically resulting in the resigned acceptation of the course that social norms have imposed on their existences. It has been argued that the film captures the importance details of the French history, at a time when there were no hostilities, in the 1900’s. Being produced 1936, no one would ever think what lay ahead in 1939 when France was involved in the war and Paris fell in 1940. The film captures the serenity of the moment when people were relatively care- free before the world fell into disgrace (Hortelano, 2011, p.258). On the other hand, Truffaut’s Les Mistons delves onto the lives of children. It was shot in 1957, when Truffaut was only twenty five years old. Unlike Renoir, Truffaut represents the second phase of French new wave in the cinema industry. However, the two seem to put emphasis on the theme of love. The subject, as will occur for most of Truffaut’s films is the result of a literary adaptation: a short story by Maurice Pons, contained in Les Virginales. But adaptation is not so much based on the principles of inventing without betraying the spirit of the text, but rather by the need to filter the situations offered by inspiration through the feelings and concerns of the author, by combining the elements of the story to traits of his personality. Telling the story of five teenagers who spend their time to monitor and harass a pair of lovers, during a sunny summer in a small town in the south of France (Nà ®mes), the film disposes to surprise and record, with participation and detachment together, the disturbances produced by a nascent sensuality, awakened by all the more insinuating and fleeting images, a new tenderness full of mystery fuelled by sweet visions of bare legs showing under fluttering skirts, of still images of breasts, furtive kisses exchanged in the dark of a movie theatre and of embraces favoured by the complicity of a deep forest. Bernadette is the origin and object of a prestigious discovery, symbol of a bright sensuality, mysterious and fascinating personification of the dark dreams and secret imaginations that populate the nights of adolescents in Nà ®mes. She becomes the victim of a hostile crowd as soon as the brats learn the impossibility to possess the object of desire, the sense of their strangeness as jealous witnesses, forced to only spy kisses and desire hoped tenderness. The camera takes on this helpless anger, clutching close behind the five Mistons, following them lovingly. The destruction of the couple has a remote character, is projected out of the exclusive world of adolescents: there is just a little bitterness, pity perhaps, only as a memory of the adventures of adolescence. Thematically, the film seems to anticipate, in an inaugural gesture, the main obsessions that make up the universe of director’s film: the cruelty of childhood, the fleeting nature of happiness, the unstoppable flight of time, the purity of feelings and the instability of the couple. Claude Beylie, in â€Å"Cahiers du cinà ©ma† comments upon the film â€Å"I ​​like this sincerity on the skin that follows them like the look of someone who has not forgotten his childhood, this luminous sensuality that they pursue (and the camera with them) without having the exact consciousness, this unbridled eroticism sifted through a demanding purity †¦ For me, some say, is like little pieces of wood. With small pieces of wood and a crazy talent put together, Truffaut reinvents cinema â€Å". (Alberto Barbera, Franà §ois Truffaut, Il Castoro Cinema, 1976) The film was the foundation of what Truffaut would be viewed in future as a romanticist. He attempted to make the film as sensuous as possible using affects such as reverse motion and slow motion in for instance the scene where Gerald is seen kissing Bernadette on the balcony (Dixon, 2006, p.6). Just like his hero Renoir, the shooting of the film was grounded for some time, as the cast took a ten days break and came back to continue as if nothing had happened. Being twenty five years then, it captures the moment of the time as it displays his love for the youth and relationships. It being shot in black and white does not diminish its feel. It adequately captures the serenity of the summer time and the bouncy energy of the youthful age (Hortelano, 2011, p.258). Truffaut’s creatively is portrayed in the fact that no boy stands out as the main play and hence they could be used interchangeably to play their role of admiration. So well was the synchronization that any boy chosen to appear on the scene would be seen to be representative of the entire idea of all boys’ infatuation (Conley 2007 p.166). This is based on his approach in acquiring the cast where he conducted interviews with boys in the age bracket eleven to fourteen, where he was looking for raw talent and best fits into the cast rather than theatrical experience. His desire to grow and uplift young people saw him recruit a young person for the position of director of production, his friend and collaborator Bazin (Dixon, 2006, p.5). In Les Mistons another feature that has accompanied the entire work of director is evident: quotes from other movies, but never a pure a cinephile divertissement but rather they are the filmic transposition of the sympathies and antipathies of Truffaut as a critic. You could almost say that the French director never fails to be a film critic and does so on newsprint, continuing to write about cinema, and in film, when substituting the typewriter with the camera. The film captures evident homages to the Lumià ¨re brothers, Jean Vigo, Roger Vadim, his friend Jacques Rivette, of which the two lovers see at the cinema Le coup du berger , but also a fierce critic to Chiens perdus sans collier, film by Jean Delannoy already crushed by Truffaut. In fact, one of the boys out of the cinema rips the poster while the others sing Colliers perdus sans chiens, reversing the lyrics of Paul Edmond Bacri Misraki which is part of the soundtrack of the film by Delannoy. Both Renoir, and years later, Truffaut managed to convey the message on the ‘frailty of human nature, the uncertain journey of human heart and the inevitability of passion taking over convectional social mores and the mutability of love’ (Miller, 2006, p.4). Both aueturs treat similar themes in a natural framework, signature of both’s poetic realism. Conclusion From the discussion above, it becomes apparent that both films can be categorized as short films. Yet they captured all the essence of a full blown film. Though both the films are short, the writers have been able to capture the theme ad impression intended. They were shot at a time when commercialization of film was not entrenched and as such, they are as authentic as they can be. In addition, coverage of the films was done in the natural setting using not so advanced technology and hence, they have both been regarded as masterpieces up-to-date. Reference Conley 2007, Cartographic cinema, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Dixon-Winston 2006, Senses of Cinema. [Online]. Available at: http://sensesofcinema.com/2006/cteq/mistons/ Hortelano, TJ 2011, Directory of World Cinema: Spain, Intellect, Bristol Miller, K 2006, Parte de Campagne. [Online]. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028445/reviews

Strategies for Implementing Accounting Software Systems within SMEs Essay

Strategies for Implementing Accounting Software Systems within SMEs - Essay Example Under these circumstances it is essential to conduct a detail research all factors that help SMEs in providing good corporate governance while preventing accounting crime through careful selection of accounting software. This project, therefore, will provide advice on selecting and implementing appropriate information technology tools or software among hundreds or more available accounting software packages currently available in the market. AMI-partners tell "[in the U.S. alone] small businesses [] spent $86 billion on IT products and services over the past 12 months [in which] spending on IT products and services grew by 11 percent" (Small Business Computing, 2003).1 The project, for that reason, will discuss various considerations need to take into account for SMEs when selecting and implementing accounting software. In compliance with the issue, Lisa Kanarek (2004), the founder of HomeOfficeLife.com and the author of some books on home office business, says that deploying high tech technology like accounting software should consider several items in order to ensure increased productivity effectively and efficiently. For that reason, the product of this rese... ploying high tech technology like accounting software should consider several items in order to ensure increased productivity effectively and efficiently. For that reason, the product of this research is list of several appropriate considerations for SMEs in selecting and implementing accounting software packages that match their operational needs while taking into account strategic software implementation strategies obtained over the courses of the research. Problem to be Solved and Worth Selecting the best accounting software become challenging task since it will determine whether the company have spend money for useful software package or vice versa. There are thousands or possibly millions of standard and customized accounting software available in the market. To figure out the number of accounting software, we can try to use 'accounting software packages' as keywords word while searching out with Google. We might be surprised to see that there are about 1,690,000 sites about accounting software packages. Although the number does not reflect the exact number of accounting software, at least, it indicates the growing concerns on the development of accounting software packages. The vast number further implies that ones should have appropriate tools in selecting and then implementing suitable accounting software that match their diverse needs and characteristics. This situation suggests we should perform thorough research and understand what we needs and expect from accounting software packages so that the software will be supporting tools for managements in assessing the accounting performance while acting in accordance with good corporate governance. Unfortunately, there is no common rules determining the way we should take in selecting and implementing

Strategic Marketing (Jet Star) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Marketing (Jet Star) - Assignment Example The key stakeholders of Jetstar are the frequent air travellers and tourists travelling around the world, the government who regulates the law and regulations within the airline industry and supplementary companies that depend heavily on airline industry, companies and industries which directly affect the functioning of airline industry, such as manufacturing, services etc and investors (Lamberg, Savage and Pajunen 2003, 388). 1.3. Overall performance The Jetstar Group is the largest low cost airline in the Asia Pacific by in terms of revenue, the airline carrier is considered as the largest low cost passenger in the Asia pacific region. It has provided service to more than 100 million passengers since its launch in the year 2004. More than 20 million passengers were carried during the fiscal 2011-2012. Jetstar is considered as the fastest-growing airline in the Asia Pacific. It reached this milestone in a short span of seven years. When Jetstar was established in 2004, it had a tota l of 400 employees (Qantas, 2013). Now the number has grown to more than 7,000 across the Asia Pacific today. The Jetstar Group carries off over 3,000 flights a week collectively, to 57 destinations in 16 countries. It also serves the territories across the Asia Pacific region with a fleet of around 95 aircrafts. The airline has shown steady profits since its inception in 2004. The airline recorded an EBIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes) of 203 million dollars in 2011-12, and a 20 per cent increase on the previous financial year. During the same period the overall capacity of Jetstar increased by 14 percent and the airline carried 20.6 million passengers, registering an 11 percent increase on the last financial year (Qantas, 2013). The total revenue earned by the airline was... Jetstar Airways Private Limited is a part of the Qantas group, as a wholly owned subsidiary. The group company, Qantas was founded in Queensland in the year 1920. The main business of the group includes transportation of customers using their two major airline brands. The group is also involved in subsidiary business, which includes other airlines, and specialist business markets such as catering. Jetstar was established by the Qantas group in the year 2004 as a low-cost service provider. This low cost carrier was established as a part of the group company’s branding strategy, where Qantas focused on the business and premium market and Jetstar focused on leisure market. The mission of Jetstar is to provide every day low fares with the aim of attracting more customers to fly to more places, more often. The objective of the airline is to have the lowest fares on all the routes where it operates and backs every airline fare with a Price Beat Guarantee. Jetstar follow the policy o f giving discount of 10 percent in case the route, the fare and the timings of any rival airlines are comparatively similar. This is the positioning strategy which the company followed to gain a competitive edge. Like others airline companies, Jetstar offers varied services. The aircraft provides business and economy class travelling facilities. The airline operates both domestic as well as international flights. The airline provides specific facilities for customers according to their requests. The airline is divided into six group companies. Jetstar has its operations in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, New Zealand and Singapore. Jetstar New Zealand and Australia are wholly owned subsidiaries of the parent group, Qantas.

Forensic Analysis of Soil Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Forensic Analysis of Soil - Assignment Example Soils develop on these accumulated sediments because of physical and chemical weathering. The characteristic of the uniqueness of the soil such as horizon that has unique physical and chemical properties, color, structure, and texture are the common features that and in forensic analysis. Techniques currently used to characterize soil samples rely on either physical descriptors such as color, density gradient, particle size determination, and microscopy or chemical analysis chemical analysis such as elemental composition. However, these characterization techniques are not adequately capable of investigating organic compounds present in the soil. On the other hand, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) technique involves collecting a range of soil sample that has already undergone oxidative pyrolysis hence all organic have been degraded. This spectrum is spectrum is subtracted from the spectrum of the same sample that contains the organic prior to pyrolysis. The result IR spectrum represents the organic portion of the sample. Samples of soil collected from within the agriculture site where the murder scene is committed to the victim. After soil samples are collected from the surface to 3.4 below, the sample from the scene is compared with various color layers of different places several miles from the ‘agricultural site’ of the scene. Each sample is compared to every color in the Munsell Color Chart and is assigned a Munsell value. A second examiner later confirms each color assignment. The assigned values help to indicate the soil color both before and after pyrolysis is similar within the ‘agricultural site’. Color is a useful tool to distinguish soils that do not share a common color to show that they do not have a common source. Lastly, those soil samples that cannot be distinguished using color are submitted to a more rigorous analysis to eliminate common provenance.