Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Corporation Privacy and the Impact of Mess Media to Business Thesis

Corporation Privacy and the Impact of Mess Media to Business - Thesis Example This research proposal holds significance in identifying the main steps required for the adoption of social media and helping adding to the literature on acceptance of technology. The need of the changing times requires us to study the practices of social media applications and determine how they differ in terms of different user motivations and social connections. It will also be important in examining the behavioral life cycle modification in the variation, retention and selection processes involved in the adoption of social media applications. The amount of literature on social media’s usage by small and micro-business owners is not much. There is a need to fill this gap in research literature regarding this subject. The research proposal is of extreme importance since the use of social media by small businesses is growing leading to the transformation of electronic commerce to social commerc.This research problem would provide the positive effects of Social Media for Busin esses that how the media facilitates Corporations and why the social media is necessary for organizations.  The research would be conduct by following the methodology of Case Study and focused on the Qualitative approach. In this method, we would use the interviewing method within the case study, which would be possible by the related public and the employees of the concern corporations and the social media as well.  

Monday, October 28, 2019

Social Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Social Philosophy Essay Introduction As more and more cities, counties, states, and counties ban smoking in public places, place high taxes on cigarettes, and otherwise enact anti-smoking laws, clashes between the rights of one group of people and the rights of another are inevitable. If this principle were the basis for deciding public policy, which Mill advocated as one of its usages, Mill would fall somewhere in the middle on the smoking/anti-smoking spectrum. Certainly, Mill’s harm principle can be (and has been) used by both sides to support their own arguments.    In the smoking debate, the harm principle falls short in determining which of two harms is lesser, or which of two rights or interests is greater. This is why it is a useful philosophy in debate, but should not be the sole basis for legislation and public policy. John Stuart Mill’s Harm Principle In On Liberty, John Stuart Mill argued for a society organized around â€Å"one very simple principle †¦ that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection† (15-16). This is referred to as the â€Å"harm principle,† and is considered one of the founding principles of utilitarianism (Wilson 45-48). Utilitarianism is a belief system which adopts the harm principle, arguing that each individual has the right is pursue his or her own happiness, as long as that pursuit doesn’t harm another individual also pursing their happiness or utility (Wilson 40-44). This is not quite the same as interfering or impeding an individual’s path to happiness, as Mill points out in chapter V of On Liberty; â€Å"In many cases, an individual, in pursuing a legitimate object, necessarily and therefore legitimately causes pain or loss to others, or intercepts a g ood which they had a reasonable hope of obtaining† (106-7).   In other words, Mill recognized that there was not a utopia where every individual could pursue happiness with no overlap when, for example, two individuals pursue happiness through the same, singular person. Mill’s goal was to create a principle that could serve as the basis for society, in legislation, and in social standards and customs. In the final chapter he goes into significant detail regarding the kinds of situations to which this principle could be applied, specifically â€Å"how far liberty may legitimately be invaded for the prevention of crime, or of accident† (108). Mill favors the strongest strictures on liberty in the case of children, where he argues for potential parents having to prove their financial fitness in order to have children at all, and then to provide education for all children (121-122). On issues of crime, he considers government to properly have a place as a precautionary, administrative organization than as a legislative and punitive one (Mill 128). Throughout the treatise, Mill treads the line between the liberties of individuals and the commitment each individual has to society, seeing individuals as heroes who must consistently fight against the whitewashing of democratic society, warning that â€Å"If resistance waits til life is reduced nearly to one uniform type, all deviations from that type will come to be considered impious, immoral, even monstrous and contrary to nature† (84). How the Harm Principle Relates to Anti-Smoking Laws Mill specifically discusses the â€Å"sale of poisons† and taxes on the sale of certain substances deemed to be immoral (109-113). He argues for both the sale and taxation of, for example, alcohol, as being regulation that is â€Å"not contrary to principle† (109). Therefore, we can extrapolate that he would not necessarily be averse to taxes on the sale of cigarettes, since It must be remembered that taxation for fiscal purposes is absolutely inevitable; that in most countries it is necessary that a considerable part of that taxation should be indirect; that the State, therefore, cannot help imposing penalties, which to some persons may be prohibitory, on the use of some articles of consumption. (114) This is important because it underlines Mill’s philosophy of harm as it relates to economics. He did not believe that by adding taxation which would put the price of a certain item out of reach for some individuals, that this was â€Å"harming† them in such a way as to impose on their pursuit of happiness and utility. He considered taxation to be most properly levied against â€Å"what commodities the consumer can best spare† (114). Cigarettes and tobacco are certainly considered ‘extras’ rather than necessities in contemporary society, but they have not always been considered as such. So where, at certain points and in certain cultures, cigarettes were considered something of necessity, the taxation of them would have been an encroachment from the State onto an individual’s liberty. This case problematizes the relationship between Mill’s harm principle and his theory of democratic societies being slavishly ruled by the majority opinion. We have seen an enormous shift in popular opinion regarding the use of tobacco in the United States. What may have been an affront on liberty 50 or 100 years ago (heavy taxation of cigarettes and tobacco products) may be viewed now as simply being necessary to fund our government. If societies are not static entities, and the mores of a single society may shift over even short periods of time, how can we be sure that the currently prevailing opinion is, in fact, the ‘right’ one? Mill believed that â€Å"Society has expended fully as much effort in the attempt †¦ to compel people to conform to its notions of personal, as of social excellence† (19). Indeed the taxation of cigarettes seems to amount to a sin tax, as more of a punishment than a tax of an item which is not absolutely necessary to survival. Medical science is not immune to these changing tides in public opinion. During the waning years of Prohibition in this country, teetotalers claimed that the exhalation of breath from a person drinking alcohol could effectively â€Å"poison† an innocent person standing nearby (Stewart lines 18-19). Similarly, anti-smoking proponents claim today that the exhalations of smoke from one individual can adversely affect the health of another individual. Mill saw this as an argument against censorship; â€Å"We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion, and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still† (14). While we may not be able to know without doubt which opinion is the right one, Mill saw this as an opportunity for individuals to exercise their liberty through discussion and debate. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Mill, Fred Wilson discusses the important of debate in Mill’s philosophy; â€Å"Only through free debate can such critical skills be developed and maintained: our self-development as reasonable persons, capable of critical assessments for belief and action† (45). The goal is not to produce an unerringly ‘right’ decision, but to create a society where open and honest discussion is a part of the mechanism of liberty in society, as both a check on our human fallibility and an encouragement to progress. Why the Harm Principle is Inadequate as a Basis for Public Policy The harm principle provides a philosophy of the individual and his or her relationship to society which is useful as an individual or institution level philosophy. This is especially true for those individuals or institutions without a set of religious beliefs, as the harm principle provides a system of morality to follow. However, as the basis for legislation and public policy, it is somewhat inadequate. There are, more often than not, many people with conflicting interests, and while the harm principle may form the basis of discussion, in the end an individual’s liberty may be stifled in favor of another’s. At that point, the decision has to be made as to which liberty is more important. In the case of smoking bans, an individual who derives happiness from smoking, particularly happiness from smoking in a public place, where he or she is also able to drink and socialize with friends, is taken away. At the same time, other individuals are not subjected to the possible ill health effects of secondhand smoke. The harm principle provides a useful lens through which to frame the debate, but policymakers must often make slightly messier decisions than On Liberty provides for. The very nature of public opinion as Mill saw it (which was as a tyrannical force) means that the definitions of harm will change throughout history and across geography. This leads to both sides of the smoking debate claiming Mill as a member of their side. In an interview, Mill biographer Richard Reeves, in discussing the misuse of Mill by policymakers, said that; What sometimes happens is that if you are doing something that’s actually quite paternalistic, and you don’t want to say so because you want to dress it up as a liberal policy, you might use Mill. And you stretch the harm principle well beyond reasonable usage to justify what’s fundamentally a paternalistic policy. The worst thing is to dress up a paternalistic argument in shoddy, ill-worn, liberal clothing (par. 9). Mill saw the free thought and operation of the individual as being necessary to the progress of society, and especially as a check against both the State and prevailing public opinion (19). Conclusion In this essay I have described and critically examined Mill’s harm principle and how it relates to the contemporary issue of anti-smoking laws. I have argued that the harm principle as applied to anti-smoking laws is and could be used by either side of the debate. An individual who smokes finds his or her happiness circumscribed by the happiness of those individuals who do not wish to have cigarette smoke in the public places they frequent, and vice versa. A group of individuals are going to have their liberty trespassed upon in order for other groups of individuals to retain their liberty, and rather than bringing harm to none there are only degrees of harm, which are considered more or less harmful according to the current tides of public discourse. While this creates space for a robust debate (one of the requirements of a society based on liberty), it does not provide a basis for policymakers and legislators to create public policy. Works Cited Mayes, Tessa. â€Å"Mill is a Dead White Male With Something to Say.† Spiked! Review of Books 28 March 2008. 16 April 2008 http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/reviewof  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   books_article/4923. Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty and The Subjection of Women. New York: Penguin, 2006. Stewart, C. â€Å"The Case Against Smoking Bans.† 2002. New York City C.L.A.S.H. 18 April 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.nycclash.com/CaseAgainstBans/Conclusion.html#Conclusion. Wilson, Fred. â€Å"John Stuart Mill.† The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Fall 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stanford University. 15 April 2008 http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2007/   Ã‚  Ã‚   entries/mill/.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

An Inward Collapse of the Human Perspective in Forsters A Passage to I

An Inward Collapse of the Human Perspective in Forster's A Passage to India      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reverberation of sound in the form of an echo is threaded throughout E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, and the link between the echo and the hollowness of the human spirit is depicted in the text. The echo is not heard in the beginning of the text when the English newcomers, Mrs. Moore and Ms. Quested, arrive in India; it is more clearly heard as their relationship with India gains complexity. The influence of the colonizers and the colonized on one another is inevitable; however, the usual assumption is that the colonists are the most successful in imposing their values and ideologies on the individuals whom they view as the "natives." In an introduction to a text depicting a portrait of the colonizer and the colonized, Jean-Paul Sartre states that in attempting to dehumanize colonized individuals, the colonist becomes dehumanized himself. "A relentless reciprocity binds the colonizer to the colonized-his product becomes his fate" (Sartre xxviii). While Forster 's text possesses numerous instances of the English losing a humanistic perspective as they place the Indians in a submissive role and treat them as subjects, it can be argued that Sartre's observation of the dynamic existing between the colonizer and the colonized is somewhat manipulated in Forster's text-instead of being dehumanized from their exposure to the colonized, the colonizers gain greater insight into the essence of humanity. The English characters in the text are embraced by the mystery and spirituality of the Orient, which is the focus of their imperialism. As a result, the English join their Indian counterparts in looking inward and outward to discover that the void a... ...rain and snows! O day and night, passage to you! -Walt Whitman       Works Cited    Crews, Frederick C. E.M. Forster: The Perils of Humanism. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1962. Forster, E.M. A Passage to India. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1984 Parry, Benita. "A Passage to More than India." Ed. Malcolm Bradbury. Forster: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Rosecrance, Barbara. Forster's Narrative Vision. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Introduction. The Colonizer and the Colonized. By Albert Memmi. New York: Orion Press, 1965. xxi-xxix. Stone, Wilfred. The Cave and the Mountain: A Study of E.M. Forster. London: Oxford University Press, 1966. Thomson, George H. The Fiction of E.M. Forster. Detroit: Wayne State University press, 1967.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Role of Money and Economic :: essays research papers

Power, education, wealth, poverty, and economic opportunity are all aspects, not the only aspects, which determine a societies progress and development. Throughout the duration of this class we have thoroughly examined these aspects and many more through books and movies. Books such as â€Å"The Republic† by Plato, â€Å"An Enemy of The People† by Henrik Isben, â€Å"The Laughing Sutra† by Mark Salzman, and â€Å"Nickled and Dimed† by Barbara Ehrenreich. We have also found these characteristics to be common in movies such as â€Å"Wag the Dog†, â€Å"Moscow on the Hudson†, and â€Å"Manwate†. All of these previously mentioned forms of information have included one or more of the aspects that have either help build or helped destroy the society mentioned within the particular book or movie. In the following I will be discussing these certain aspects and how they have had an affect on the outcome of these societies. Plato’s â€Å"The Republic† is a wonderful example of a society that is built or conditioned to use some of the best aspects to help form a perfect society. Even though Plato made it a point to not have classes amongst the people determined by how much money they made he still had groups of people that where better then others. Wealth wasn’t as big an issue to Plato as skills or education was. He believed wealth was destructive. A person who has wealth will be overcome by greed and not want to work and work was what his society was based on. Plato didn’t use poverty to keep people powerless since in his society money wasn’t a very important aspect of success. Keeping people more or less powerful was determined by what class of citizen they were. Classes shaped Plato’s perfect society. Some were born to be leaders, others were born to be guardians, and others workers. Opportunity for the economy to progress was Plato’s whole plan. In ot her words, Plato molded his society in a way that they would have and be the best of the best, so economic opportunity was very important and available. Plato believed that a perfect society can be based on equality but he also believed that there should still be classes of leaders, guardians, and workers. In contrast to â€Å"The Republic†, wealth was so much more important to the society in â€Å"Enemy of The State†. Even though it was said to have equality amongst the people, wealthy people were the main one’s who were heard and allowed to speak out.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Employee perception on suggestion scheme Essay

Introduction:- Suggestion scheme is a formalized mechanism which encourages employees to contribute constructive ideas for improving the organisation in which they work. The overall aim is to gather, analyse and implement ideas in order to create results that have a positive impact on the business and/or deliver new value to customers. There are two approaches to the suggestion scheme * Traditional approach-which offers cash to their employees for the suggestions they provide. * Participative approach-continuous improvement in employee job profile through higher level of participation. SCREENING OF THE SUGGESTION Every suggestion is evaluated as per the criteria adaptability, creativity, originality and efforts, taken by the suggestor/employee. The amount of award is indicated with proper calculation and understanding of committee. If there is rejection then similar remark is indicated. Generally award is given when the suggestion is implemented. However if the suggestions are accepted and the course of implementation is longer, then interim award is given to the suggestor/employee to keep up his moral. In the same format other information regarding the implementing is indicated. A certificate is given to the suggestor/employee when the suggestion is accepted. This is signed by the chairman of the scheme or some top/ respectable person in the organization. In the good cultured company there is practice of giving a certificate of appreciation to the suggestor/employee even if it gets rejected. Often it carries good value to the suggestor/employee. It is more than money for some of them. Objective:- Primary objective:- * To understand employee suggestion scheme. Secondary objective:- * To analyse effective implementation of suggestions availed by employees. * To interpret initialisation in the part of management in processing the provided suggestions. * To measure employee-superior relationship and support. * To integrate creativity and constructive aptitude and attitude in non-personnel employees. * To set up a management infrastructure to generate ideas, evaluate and capture quality ideas and sustain constant flow of ideas.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

RAYMOND CARVER'S "WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE" Stories, be they written or on screen, usually employ setting as a backdrop and having no direct relation to the actual storyline progression. This, however, is not the case in Raymond Carver’s tale â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.† In this short story, a single element – sunlight – reflects(no pun intended) the progression of the story, showing a direct relation between the characters openness in talking about love, their knowledge on the subject, their mood, the point of discussion as well as their confidence in their own abilities. As we will soon see, the element of sunlight will take us into four different levels of progression, helping us to dissect and better understand its role within the story. In the first phase of the story, when â€Å"Sunlight filled the kitchen from the big window behind the sink† the mood in the room is one of general happiness; the two couples are joking with each other, smiling and being affectionate as we see when Nick admires Laura’s fingers and also kisses her hand. (Carver 170) Their main point of discussion is about Terri’s ex-boyfriend, Ed, and how mentally unstable he was. During this conversation, we see that there is no sense of openness in the discussion, as it is only Mel and Terri that speak while Laura and Nick are more reserved, content to just listen to the stories rather than partake in the conversation themselves. The one thing that everyone does share, however, is their level of knowledge on the subject of love. Mel states quite simply that â€Å"I know what I know. That’s all† (Carver 170). Terri is also equally unequivocal in her understanding, saying â€Å"Say what you want to, but I know it w as† when talking about Ed’s love for her. (Carver 170) This also happens to be the one time early in the story that Laura shares her thoughts, stating â€Å"Well, Nick and I know what love is† to ill... Free Essays on What We Talk About When We Talk About Love Free Essays on What We Talk About When We Talk About Love RAYMOND CARVER'S "WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE" Stories, be they written or on screen, usually employ setting as a backdrop and having no direct relation to the actual storyline progression. This, however, is not the case in Raymond Carver’s tale â€Å"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.† In this short story, a single element – sunlight – reflects(no pun intended) the progression of the story, showing a direct relation between the characters openness in talking about love, their knowledge on the subject, their mood, the point of discussion as well as their confidence in their own abilities. As we will soon see, the element of sunlight will take us into four different levels of progression, helping us to dissect and better understand its role within the story. In the first phase of the story, when â€Å"Sunlight filled the kitchen from the big window behind the sink† the mood in the room is one of general happiness; the two couples are joking with each other, smiling and being affectionate as we see when Nick admires Laura’s fingers and also kisses her hand. (Carver 170) Their main point of discussion is about Terri’s ex-boyfriend, Ed, and how mentally unstable he was. During this conversation, we see that there is no sense of openness in the discussion, as it is only Mel and Terri that speak while Laura and Nick are more reserved, content to just listen to the stories rather than partake in the conversation themselves. The one thing that everyone does share, however, is their level of knowledge on the subject of love. Mel states quite simply that â€Å"I know what I know. That’s all† (Carver 170). Terri is also equally unequivocal in her understanding, saying â€Å"Say what you want to, but I know it w as† when talking about Ed’s love for her. (Carver 170) This also happens to be the one time early in the story that Laura shares her thoughts, stating â€Å"Well, Nick and I know what love is† to ill...

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to Write a Good Conclusion for an Essay

How to Write a Good Conclusion for an Essay How to Write a Good Conclusion for an Essay There is a widespread unjustified conviction according to which the conclusion of an academic paper should contain mere restatement of the main thesis, and perhaps some additional explanations concerning it. As a matter of fact, conclusion is a necessary part of every possible type of essay, whether it has a â€Å"strong† thesis, â€Å"vague† thesis, or does not have it at all. The classical function of a conclusion is to summarize the information given in the body text. With the course of time writers have been employing different strategies for formulating their conclusions. Here you will find several main approaches which are applied to school and college essays. 1. â€Å"Summary† This approach includes a short description of the paper: its context, main research goal, its thesis, and probably the method applied by you. This is the most popular strategy. Its drawback seems to be that it does not say anything new to the reader, and also the author of the paper is tempted merely to repeat the paragraph containing the main thesis. Besides, there is a possibility of making the reader bored by providing them with the same information. The advantage of this approach is that it is comparatively easy to be carried out and does not require additional reflections or clarifications. If you work on an academic paper, this strategy is perhaps the most suitable for you. 2. â€Å"Perspectives† Instead of repeating the same goals and theses already formulated in the text, you may direct the reader’s attention to some research questions. You can address questions like: What should be changed in the ways of research in the given field? Are there any new methods to be employed? How, according to you, the research in the field will go on? Do you expect surprising phenomena, data, or discrepancies? What does your research need in order to be complete? You may also write a â€Å"message† to the reader; for instance give them some instructions for research, or refer to some important theories which you have not incorporated in your text (but you conceive them as very significant in general). 3. â€Å"Philosophical† approach Some authors prefer employing aphorisms or famous quotations. In this way the reader becomes more impressed by the paper, and also they are able to see from another point of view the issue analyzed in the paper. There is an immanent flaw in this strategy the reader may find the paper incoherent and containing parts which are not connected logically. Thus, it is always better to hold onto such an approach when you are writing an essay on a very abstract topic. Do not use it in natural sciences, as strict logical inferences are required in this field. Our advice for you is to use features from all three strategies: to summarize a little, to present some perspectives on future research, and to conclude with a witty aphorism. Write up to five sentences, no more than fifteen lines, and try to use scientific terminology (for college level essays). Remember: good conclusion does not add new information, but presents the main points from general standpoint.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Book Review The Official SAT Study Guide, 2020 Edition

Book Review The Official SAT Study Guide, 2020 Edition SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The College Board recently published a new versionof The Official SAT Study Guide (2020 edition). What’s the book like? Is it helpful? In this review, I’ll break down the strengths and weaknesses of this newest edition of the official guide, discuss how students feel about it, and tell you whether it’s ultimately worth buying. Should You Buy theOfficial SAT Study Guide? While the Blue Book (as it was called by students)used to be the must-have source for SAT prep, The Official SAT Study Guide,2020 Edition, is mostly not worth purchasing. The book in its entirety - including its eight practice tests - is available for free online, so don't waste your money buying the book. Why did the College Board release this edition for free?It’s part of the College Board's attempts to make the SAT more accessible and to reduce SAT inequality based on socioeconomic background.This is a wonderful move by the College Board, but it now means buying the book is a complete waste of money. If you have the time, is it worth reading The Official SAT Study Guide, 2020 Edition, free online?Yes and no.The eight practice tests from the book (which are all available online for free)are absolutely crucial to your SAT prep. However, the book doesn’t provide you with details of how to score your practice test; you have to go online to do that, rendering the book useless. If you can’t even score your tests using the book, why buy it? Also, the educational material other than the practice tests doesn’t give much helpful test insight or strategy.The educational material just provides surface-level details about the test.It doesn’t teach you the content needed for the SAT.There are far better, more in-depth SAT study guides out there including the free ones that we’ve written: check out our Reading, Math, and Writing study guides. The educational material also mostly just tells you to go learn more on the Khan Academy SAT prep site, which is free for anyone to access, regardless of whether you purchased the book. Strengths The strengths of the books are very limited: Eight College Board practice tests are pre-printed for you, so you don't need to spend money printing them yourself (including two, Practice Tests 9 and 10, that are not yet available on collegeboard.org) You can recycle the book (AKAuse it for kindling in your bonfire or use it for a paper machà © project). Weaknesses Unfortunately, there are many: The entire book is available for free online (including two extra practice tests not included in the book!) The book doesn’t provide you with scoring information for your practice tests; you have to go online to get the information. The book only provides surface-level descriptions of each section and doesn’t offer instructional material, so you can’t actually learn skills and content from the book. There are no content lessons, so if you’re, say, struggling with geometry questions, you won’t get any assistance from this book; you’d need to seek additional help. Just taking SAT practice tests without a method of learning from your mistakes will not help you improve. The book sadly offers no guidance on how to learn from your mistakes or how to study content. How Students Feel About theOfficial SAT Study Guide 2020 If you don’t believe me, check out how other people feel about it.On Amazon, the book is currently rated 4.3 out of 5 stars, with 69% percent of raters giving it 4 or 5 stars (remember, it's still full of official practice problems!). That said, the 2016 edition of the book (which contained fewer practice tests and was also available for free online) has several hundred more reviewers. Of these reviewers, 82 percent gave it 4 or 5 stars, and 7 percent gave it 1 star: The 1-star reviewers of both editions of the official guide generally agreed with my feeling that the book was a waste of money, noting that everything in the book is available online for free. The 5-star reviewers, on the other hand, generally felt that although the material is available for free online, the book was worth the money since it’s a hassle to print out the practice tests. HowYou Should Use the Official SAT Guide I recommend that no students buy the book, but all students should be using the free practice tests available online. I don’t think any student needs to read the additional information included in this guide.The information is superficial yet difficult to parse: it discusses the types of question and content covered without giving many, if any, examples.We’ve created better free guides forReading, Math, and Writing. If you’re a worrywart (like me) and are stressed that you don’t know everything you can about the test, then go ahead and read the extra material for free online.You should be able to read all of it fairly quickly.As I said, it’s pretty sparse and superficial. However,reading this book alone will not prepare you for SAT success.You need to review your SAT practice tests to learn from your mistakes.You should also do in-depth content review of subjects you don’t know well or might've forgotten, such as systems of equations or semicolons. You still need to study! What SAT Prep Material Should You Use? Now that you know not to buy this book and to print the free practice tests from the College Board website, what other resources should you use to help you prep for the SAT? First, I recommend our free SAT study guides forReading, Math, and Writing. As I mentioned before, these guides are all available here on our blog at no cost to you. If you find yourself still struggling to improve after taking a few practice tests and using our free guides,consider using a highly rated SAT prep book, hiring a tutor, or enrolling in an online program. Whatever option you choose, make sure the program is specialized to you.You want a program that will identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can improve your weak areas as well as your SAT score. What’s Next? Studying for the new SAT? Check out our complete guide to test changes and our ultimate SAT study guide. Looking for extra help? Check out our guide to the best SAT prep books. Trying to decide whether to hire a tutor or do an online prep course? We can help. Getting ready to apply to college? Unsure of where you want to go? Check out our guide to finding your target school and how to find out what your target SAT score should be. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Terroism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Terroism - Essay Example The age old adage that â€Å"one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter† (Bergesen & Lizardo 39) remains true and the term terrorist has been notoriously difficult to define. Seeking to address the difficult definitional questions surrounding these terms, this essay will compare and contrast the definitions offered by Chailand and Hoffman, scholars at the forefront in the study of the terrorist phenomenon. Taking a comprehensive look at global terrorism, we will define and address state terrorism as well as religious terrorism with an eye to the historical antecedents for the modern terrorist phenomenon. We look at the implosion of empires and state authority and how the end of empire has precipitated the growth of terrorism. Finally, we turn to the internationalization of terrorism and will describe both the causalities and consequences of terrorism in the twenty first century? Despite the definitional challenges surrounding the terrorist phenomenon, a definition of â€Å"terrorism† is integral to this essay and this term must be defined so as to provide our theoretical basis. Bruce Hoffman, world renowned terror scholar and expert of the use of terror as a political tool, understands the slippery nature of defining the term and argues that first and foremost, terrorism is a political concept. Secondly, terror is about power and the use of this power to enact political change (Hoffman 14-15). Another prominent international terror theorist, Gà ©rard Chaliand, terror is a tool which targets the mind. From this perspective, terror is â€Å"the most violent form of psychological warfare† (Chaliand et al. viii) and terrorism is a means to power and control through violent means. While both of these definitions shed insight into the terrorist phenomenon, Dr. Mia Bloom, the world’s foremost expert on the suicide terror phenomenon, defines t errorism in a different fashion. According to Bloom, terrorism is â€Å"premeditated,

Friday, October 18, 2019

Division of Labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Division of Labour - Essay Example This paper highlights that people usually focus on the interests of others in pursuit of their own interest and not out of humanity. Never do we refer to our personal needs, but the interest of others. The size of the production unit is one factor that determines the division of labour. The bigger the production unit, the higher is the propensity to divide work into smaller units to increase productivity. Smaller industries do not need as much division of labour as large productions units. The nature of the industry also plays a great role in determining the extent of division of labour. Manufacturing factories will need more division in their labour than agricultural industry, where activities cannot easily be divided. From the look of things, division of labour is not driven by wisdom, but trade. Every individual who lacks something proposes to his or her neighbour to exchange what they have for what they need. Division of labour arises out treaty, barter that people acquire what they lack. Adam Smith explains with the case of a tribe of hunters or shepherds. In his example, the individual who makes bows and arrows regularly trade them for cattle or for venison with his compatriots. His productivity can increase by focusing more on his production of bows and arrows for which he exchanges for more cattle and venison.

Theoretical Perspective on Secure Attachment Essay

Theoretical Perspective on Secure Attachment - Essay Example He claims that the infant's primary or original bond is with its mother, which then become the basis for all the forthcoming loves he will be feeling. He also claims that infants only have the desire in his mother's arms simply because the infant has already established that his mother will satisfy and provide for his needs without delay. However, Freud's more significant theory to the development of infant attachment is his drive reduction theory. He used the basic biological drives that are innate in human as the basis for this theory. He explains this by stating that when an infant is driven, an example of which is when he cries, he will then experience pleasure by receiving food resulting to the restoration of balance. (Freud, 1964) Another theory was introduced by Erik Erikson, called the Psycho-Social Theory also known as the Pschodynamic Theory. He was the first to propose that there are different stages of human development that lasts throughout the entire life span. His idea s were a huge influence that led to the study of personality development His theory also accounts for the term "identity crisis." He introduced eight stages to human development and later on added a ninth stage in his book entitled â€Å"Life Cycle Completed.† The first two stages pertain to the infant attachment theory, which he called the stage of hope and the stage of will. He claims that on the hope stage, between 0 to 12 months, an infant is trying to make a choice between trust versus mistrust as he tries to weigh whether his primary caregiver is reliable or not. The will stage on the other hand, is the stage of autonomy versus shame and doubt. He claims the will stage as the stage wherein the infant's need to explore the world, which may or may not be hindered by a caregiver's utter neglectfulness or over-protectiveness. (Cole, 2009) Though Freud instigated the infant attachment concept, John Bowlby was known as the father of the attachment theory after making the firs t and commonly known view on attachment theory. Bowlby believes that there are a number of innate control systems pertaining to behavior are a necessity for surviving as well as procreation. He also believes that attachment begins at infancy, continuing on throughout life. According to Blowby, an infant initially establishes a strong attachment with its primary caregiver and will become the infant's base of exploration. It is innate behavior for an infant to want to explore new things, however, when a child reaches away to explore and then faced with danger or feels scared, its secure protection base will be with the primary caregiver. Bowlby dedicated an extensive research to the concept of infant attachment, which he described as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings" (Bowlby, 1988). He also shared the psychoanalytic view that early experiences in childhood are important influences affecting development and behavior which may be seen later in life. Based on h is theory, our early attachment styles are established in childhood through the relationships between infants and primary caregivers. In addition to this, Bowlby was also of the belief that attachment had an evolutionary factor wherein it aids in survival stating that "the propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals is a basic component of human nature" (Bowlby, 1988). Bowlby also categorized different characteristics of attachments and are as follows: Safe Haven: When the child feels

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder - Essay Example No one can deny that people’s standard for being beautiful is first the value of one’s facial and body form. If one is shown a photograph of Jocelyn Wildenstein’s multi-million dollar face, he would not definitely approve of her to hit even the last number in the 50 million most beautiful women list. That may be rude but sometimes we just have to face the truth of how people evaluate beauty. Of course, one would wonder why Mr. Wildenstein’s paid enormous amounts for his wife’s surgeries. That face called by many as ugly might just be the prettiest in his eyes. In this case, the saying that goes, â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder† holds true. On a general note, people value the appearance of one’s face but sometimes, the value of a person’ overall appearance can change that. The Eye of the Beholder depicts how a woman came to realize what she values more in her personal view of beautiful. The storyteller who looked at he rself as ugly sought for professional help to become beautiful. However, when the artist thought she made a very good job, the main character realized that the value of beauty to her was being herself and having an identity. Perhaps the make-up artist beamed with pride with the change that she made in the physical appearance of her customer however, she was shocked with the reaction of the customer. She said, â€Å"I look terrible† (Suh, 189). ... With this, the protagonist says she feels negated. Furthermore, she says, â€Å"I have been blotted out and another face drawn in my place† (198). For the woman, she realized that being beautiful is not being like the other women. She valued her identity and that is what is beautiful in her eyes. â€Å"Hideous† was another word the main character used to describe herself when she looked at her new appearance. â€Å"I don’t even look human†, she continued, â€Å"Look at my eyes. You can’t even see me†. Maybe the protagonist was not really being unappreciative of the work of her make-up artist. She was acting so rudely because she felt she was turned into another human being. Or perhaps she might have been talking about her inner appearance. In the first place, she was the one who went to the shop to ask for help and the help was given to her. However, she might have felt that she betrayed her self and this made her feel terrible. She did not r ecognize her self anymore. â€Å"Hideous† might have been a word she used to describe her looks but it might have also been her description of her self because of the betrayal she committed. Coming from the shop, the main character went to wash her face and when she looked once again at her reflection, she thought, â€Å"I wasn’t pretty. But I was familiar and comforting. I was myself† (190). One could understand that another thing that the character values, is being one’s self. When she was observing herself in the shop, she said, â€Å"My face had a strange plastic sheen, like a mannequin’s.† She was disgusted at her reflection and she wondered if what she did was right. She questioned her appearance and considered it being fake. She was not her self therefore

Website Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Website Review - Essay Example The next section discusses the various chronological events discussed in the life of E.E. Cummings with all dates included. It provides various links to his works and related materials like poems, essays, paintings, other forms of work. The following are the contents and its evaluation: It takes in as input the date of birth, a month of birth, year of birth, sex, mode, BMI, smoking status and then calculates one death day and date. It is a tool which works on primary inputs and makes sure that BMI can be calculated and also lets the user know to calculate the death date, thereby calling it the death clock. It demonstrates itself into â€Å"Obituaries† which mention that all the people may how beautiful and famous they are they would perish away from this earth one day. The page â€Å"Your Will† is a FAQ page which lists the very questions one may have or usually do on an average. All the probable answers are written here to let the users know what they are thinking. The page â€Å"Dead letter office’ would make sure that all the user comments and archives The page â€Å"Testament† details the likes and dislikes of the site owner in accordance to various topics like â€Å"A game†, â€Å"Death Clock 2†, â€Å"Planet of the Apes†, â€Å"911†, â€Å"I hate my Cd burner† and much more. The last page â€Å"Your Prayer† details out the various communication techniques to reach the site owner for ay communication. The website would make sure that all the various compliances are met for the site owner and all the objectives are achieved through the website.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder - Essay Example No one can deny that people’s standard for being beautiful is first the value of one’s facial and body form. If one is shown a photograph of Jocelyn Wildenstein’s multi-million dollar face, he would not definitely approve of her to hit even the last number in the 50 million most beautiful women list. That may be rude but sometimes we just have to face the truth of how people evaluate beauty. Of course, one would wonder why Mr. Wildenstein’s paid enormous amounts for his wife’s surgeries. That face called by many as ugly might just be the prettiest in his eyes. In this case, the saying that goes, â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder† holds true. On a general note, people value the appearance of one’s face but sometimes, the value of a person’ overall appearance can change that. The Eye of the Beholder depicts how a woman came to realize what she values more in her personal view of beautiful. The storyteller who looked at he rself as ugly sought for professional help to become beautiful. However, when the artist thought she made a very good job, the main character realized that the value of beauty to her was being herself and having an identity. Perhaps the make-up artist beamed with pride with the change that she made in the physical appearance of her customer however, she was shocked with the reaction of the customer. She said, â€Å"I look terrible† (Suh, 189). ... With this, the protagonist says she feels negated. Furthermore, she says, â€Å"I have been blotted out and another face drawn in my place† (198). For the woman, she realized that being beautiful is not being like the other women. She valued her identity and that is what is beautiful in her eyes. â€Å"Hideous† was another word the main character used to describe herself when she looked at her new appearance. â€Å"I don’t even look human†, she continued, â€Å"Look at my eyes. You can’t even see me†. Maybe the protagonist was not really being unappreciative of the work of her make-up artist. She was acting so rudely because she felt she was turned into another human being. Or perhaps she might have been talking about her inner appearance. In the first place, she was the one who went to the shop to ask for help and the help was given to her. However, she might have felt that she betrayed her self and this made her feel terrible. She did not r ecognize her self anymore. â€Å"Hideous† might have been a word she used to describe her looks but it might have also been her description of her self because of the betrayal she committed. Coming from the shop, the main character went to wash her face and when she looked once again at her reflection, she thought, â€Å"I wasn’t pretty. But I was familiar and comforting. I was myself† (190). One could understand that another thing that the character values, is being one’s self. When she was observing herself in the shop, she said, â€Å"My face had a strange plastic sheen, like a mannequin’s.† She was disgusted at her reflection and she wondered if what she did was right. She questioned her appearance and considered it being fake. She was not her self therefore

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Commercial law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Commercial law - Essay Example This particular Act is stated to be applicable for all personal properties that comprise the tangible properties i.e. the items which have physical presence such as office equipments, motor vehicles, inventory, currency and livestock among others. Moreover, the Act also includes the intangible properties which embrace intellectual properties, licences as well as contract rights owned by organisational as well as individual entities. However, the properties which include lands and licences as well as the statutory rights such as water along with gambling licenses are excluded from the list of personal properties of the Act (Hempel, 2011). There were several personal properties which have been mentioned in the case of Rats River Pty Ltd (Rats River). The properties owned by the corporate entity includes a high tech bottling machine which was to be installed by Rats River in order to increase its production quantity and the oak barrels which were purchased by the company for the product ion purpose of a new brand of red wine named the Rat Box. Moreover, the personal properties which were referred in the case scenario comprise the new office block built by Rats River for expanding its business operations and original prints which the company borrowed on bailment for setting-up a new and more advanced working atmosphere. Among the aforementioned personal properties, it can be stated that the new office block of Rats River will not covered by the PPSA. This is due to the reason that the new office block built by the company for its business expansion would be treated as a land and is not granted by a Commonwealth (Cth), a Territory or a State law as an entitlement, right or authority. Thus, the asset has been excluded from the register of personal properties of the PPSA Act (Hempel, 2011). Apart from the new office block, the other personal properties belonging to Rats River are duly covered by the PPSA 2009 (Cth). Question 2 Rats River would have a better claim to th e grapes which were delivered for toll pressing. This is due to the reason that the company had developed a business plan following legal contracts with 30 local vineyards in order to process their grapes. For entering into the contracts with different local vineyards, Rats River felt the need of obtaining finances from two different banks such as EastPac and BAN. These two banks provided significant amount of financial support to Rats River as a loan for the expansion of the vineyard. In the meantime, the company had also recruited an Assistant Accountant named Ms. Onsen for managing the expanded business operations. Unaware of the personal trait possessed by Ms. Onsen to be seriously addicted to gambling habits, the company had to face severe financial losses. It was in this context that as days passed by, Ms. Onsen exhausted all the funds in the bank account of Rats River which consequently hampered the financial viability of the company to repay its debts within the stipulated p eriod. Therefore, if the company cannot repay the loan amount which they had acquired from the two banks i.e. EastPac and BAN, these two banks would possess the actual claim to the grapes which were delivered for toll pressing. Question 3 According to Section 14 of the PPSA 2009 (Cth), Purchase Money Security Interests (PMSI) is regarded as a specific kind of security

Game and Basketball Essay Example for Free

Game and Basketball Essay Have you ever wondered what basketball is like? Basketball can vary from being very intense and physical, while other time it is very easy. Basketball is a very exhausting sport. You can feel your muscles being pulled in every direction. You feel like you cant move when the season first starts. During a gamer you can hear the crowd cheering you on. You can smell the popcorn all around the gym as people eat it. You can feel the sweat pouring down your face as you run up and down the court. Your feet start to ache as you run. When you hear the buzzer at the end of the game, you look up to see how many points are on the board. Many players struggle to get the ball during a jump ball. When players are hit hard during a game, the referee will call a fould. Basketball gives people this unknown amount of energy during a game. When your in the stands during a game you can feel the excitement coming from all of the fans. Basketball can be played inside or outside. You can find most teens around here playing it almost all of the time. If you want to be good at the sport you need to have a passion for learning it. Basketball is an excellent way to get in shape or to stay in shape. Basketball will always be a sport to play no matter what season it is. If you look in a gym at a school you should find a court and hoops. Basketball is a way to keep you out of trouble. When you sweat, it runs down your face into your eyes and makes them burn like crazy. Basketball could be a wonderful sport for everyone to play, but many will not play the sport. Basketball is played worldwide. It is played in almost every country. Basketball will be around for many centuries to come. Almost everyone enjoys the sport, whether they are playing or watching. Basketball has been passed down to different generations through out the years. It has had the rules of it changed many times. Basketball is even an excellent way to make memories with your friends. Basketball will be passed on until the end of time, well at least it might be.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Relationship between GDP and Public Debt

Relationship between GDP and Public Debt On the Relationship between GDP and Public Debt during the EMU period (1991-present) The Maastricht Treaty laid out a central objective: that in order for the EMU to mature and lead to the establishment of a single currency in the EU – i.e. the Euro, the member nations’ fiscal and monetary policies had to be harmonized. The first task was for nations to reign-in their public debts by controlling their budget deficits. The Treaty created objectives that budget deficits had a ceiling of 3% of the GDP and the public debt had a prescribed limit of 60% of GDP. As Chart 1 reveals, that prior to the EMU efforts starting in 1991, there were some member nations that had extremely high public-debt to GDP ratios and they had to be under pressure to stabilize their government spending, and, hence the public debt. The idea behind imposing the upper limits on debt was to impose discipline and to reduce crowding out of private investment by lowering interest rates. As Chart 2 shows, that even though the growth rates of public debt in the pre-Euro years of the EMU era (1991 to 2005) were lower as compared to the pre-EMU period, they were still high for some countries. In order to study the relationship between GDP and Public Debt, this paper examines whether governments changed their fiscal policy regimes to suit the Maastricht goals. The dependent variable the ratio of Public Dent to Nominal GDP – is regressed on the GDP gap (i.e. the difference between Real GDP and the Potential Real GDP) as well as a dummy variable signaling a period when a regime shift would have occurred. The time-period is 1991-2005 and the data used is from the Eurostat (AMECO). There are two major events in the EMU era – the second phase of the process beginning in 1994 and the establishment of the Euro in 1999. So, two different models are studied – one that has a dummy variable equal to 1 for years 1994 – 2005 (Model A) and the other that has the dummy equal to 1 for 1999-2005 (Model B). If a country began controlling their debt around 1994, there should be a negative coefficient for the dummy in Model A and if they made a serious change in t heir fiscal policy around the time the Euro began, Model B should have a negative coefficient for the dummy. The coefficient for the GDP-gap variable should be negative – as theory dictates. (Macroeconomic theory tells us that governments ought to use expansionary fiscal policy in times of recessions and contract their deficits when the Real GDP cycle turns positive.) OLS Results for Model A. OLS Results for Model B. * These equations had evidence of auto-correlated errors; ** For these cases it is uncertain as to whether or not autocorrelation exists. The coefficient for the GDP gap is negative in almost all cases in both models. Most of the countries that do not have negative coefficients for the dummy variables in either model were those that had low public debt ratios to begin with – i.e. Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain. While Germany also had relatively low levels of debt, the integration of East Germany must have generated fiscal pressures. Among the high-debt countries – Belgium, Ireland, France, and Greece – only the first two show evidence of changing their fiscal policies in the EMU period. France and Greece continued with fairly high growth rates of debt growth. The fact that more countries demonstrate regime changes (negative coefficients for the dummy variable) in Model B might reflect that with the starting of the common currency, there was greater pressure to conform to Maastricht’s conditions. (For the cases exhibiting autocorrelated errors, I tried estimating the equations with differenced variables but that did not lead to improvement with respect to the problem. Hence, the original versions are displayed).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Wal-Mart International Essay -- Business Management, Case Study, solut

Wal-Mart International Introduction In 1993, Wal-Mart had become America’s leading retailer, with net sales of $67 billion from its Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs, and Wal-Mart Supercenters. The Company had grown at a rate of 25% per year since 1990, and it was clear that to continue at its current rate of growth, Wal-Mart would have to seriously consider continuing its recent international expansion. During 1992, Wal-Mart had entered into a joint venture with CIFRA, Mexico’s largest retailer, which currently operated 24 stores in Mexico and had plans to open 70 new stores by 1995. The Company had also recently completed the acquisition of 122 Woolco department stores in Canada. Each of these expansions had presented unique challenges for Wal-Mart to adapt its operations to suit local market demands, but Wal-Mart had successfully risen to the challenge. Given the Company’s successful track record, it seemed logical to continue to expand internationally. If Wal-Mart didn’t expand internationally, David Glass, Wal-Mart’s CEO, felt that companies would start to come to the US and increase competitive pressures domestically. International expansion would drive growth and help in maintaining Wal-Mart’s dominant domestic position. Namely, entrance into foreign markets would force competitors to focus on their primary markets. If Wal-Mart planned to maintain its dominant position in the U.S., international expansion would not only drive growth, but it would also keep potential competitors trying to operate stores in their home markets rather than expanding into the U.S. Wal-Mart Company Background: Sam Walton began his retail career working at J.C. Penney while in college and later leased a Ben Franklin franchised dime store in Newport, Arkansas (1945). In 1950, he relocated to Bentonville and opened a Walton Five and Dime. By 1962, Walton owned 15 Ben Franklin stores under the Walton Five and Dime name. Walton felt that big supermarkets would eventually destroy the smaller, traditional five and dimes and in 1962, Walton opened his own supermarket discount store. Eight years later, the Company was trading on Wall Street and had 30 stores. Wal-Mart’s growth accelerated greatly during the 1970s. The Company aggressively marketed itself to middle class shoppers by advertising "Everyday Low Prices." Walton motivated his employees by impleme... ...ring Argentina with a local partner, analysts expected the new stores to be able to capture additional market share and initially achieve lower operating and administrative expenses than if Wal-Mart entered on its own. Martin wondered which of these alternatives would be most beneficial to Wal-Mart. Summary The annual shareholders meeting was coming up, and Bob Martin needed to make a recommendation to Glass on how to proceed. Although Glass agreed with Martin that international expansion needed to continue, he wasn’t convinced Argentina was the best choice. Glass wanted to be sure that they had considered all of the risks involved before making such a large investment in a new country. If Martin did decide that Wal-Mart should invest in Argentina, Martin wondered which alternative to recommend. He needed to finish his analysis and prepare a report for Glass that compared the alternatives. Whatever Martin’s recommendations, he knew they needed to be presented with a compelling argument. This was a critical year for Wal-Mart, and Glass would want to be able to demonstrate to Wal-Mart’s investors that the Company could overcome its slow down in growth during the last year.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Harmony and Howling †African and European Roots of Jamaican Music Essa

Harmony and Howling — African and European Roots of Jamaican Music English colonial rule began in Jamaica in the year 1655. The growth of a plantation culture in the West Indies quickly changed the need for labor in the area. Between 1700 and 1786, more than 600,000 African slaves were brought to Jamaica. These slaves were required to work for their English colonial masters who would purchase them from slave traders at various ports around the island. Slaves were abducted from various regions of Africa, and brought over to the New World in large boats, packed to the teeth with the Africans. The slave trade over the Atlantic served as a connection between the West Indies- islands in the Caribbean, and what was to become the United states. In fact there was a large amount of interchange of slaves between these two regions. Therefore, an American reader with an understanding of the Atlantic slave trade in his own history will have some sort of an understanding of how this system worked. Slavery was not a system designed to accomidate freewill. Slaves were literally kidnapped from Africa, and as soon as they were in custody of slave traders they were assigned a submissive position under the white and Arabian merchants. When the slaves entered the New World, they remained in this submissive role and were forced into labor. Any freewill was instantly compromised the moment a shackle was placed around the limb of an African. European, Spanish, and Arab slave traders did not particularly like the Africans who were "volunteered" into slavery. Their actions, which were considered ugly and unacceptable reinforced their submissive position under the Europeans. An example of this kind of thought is the practice some African people had of "picking lice off their heads, with their fingers, putting them in their mouth and eating them." According to this slave trader, monkeys "had a parallel custom." Observations such as these reinforced the stereotype of slaves being monkeys. This is an example of how blacks, in a white mind, could descend to the level of an animal. Today we have a term for this: Ethnocentrism, but in the days of slavery this European view drawn from their own culture only served to further compromise the dignity of the Africans in the slave trade. This degrading view of Africans also made the moral aspect of slavery easier to digest. The E... ...ngs that created Reggae music. This music came out of a struggle between black and white, and the return to Africa reinforces the black nature of the music, almost subjecting the European tradition to a submissive role. In this respect Reggae music is a response to the European traditions that were inflicted onto black slaves in Colonial times in an unjust manner. Listen: The exploitation and eventually liberation of the Jamaican people have produced a very unique social condition. Reggae music is an optimistic answer to the history of oppression that draws upon the past, and uses it as a resource. In order for there to be a good future, the past must be considered and accepted. There is no way to right the wrongs of Jamaican history, but there is a way to promote awareness of these wrongs. The harmony that exists in reggae music between African and European tradition is a symbol for how it should exist in the world, and perhaps it is a map of how to get there. If two different combating traditions can exist in one music, then it is very possible for them to exist in every other facet of our society. Is this possible? What one person considers a howl is another's harmony.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Causes Of Stress Essay

Stress is usually caused by too much pressure being put on us by others or in some cases by ourselves and if it’s left unchecked, stress can lead to an inability to function effectively, meaning a person will no longer be able to cope with the pressures placed upon them. The purpose of this essay is to analyze these three main causes of stress. The first major cause of stress is finances. Debts are piling up. Credit Card payments, pending mortgage installments, rising costs of education, mounting expenditure on health concerns. College students stress over paying for an education, older senior citizens find that retirement income can be a major cause of stress. This is pretty significant because financial stress is linked to health problems like depression and sleep problem. The second cause of stress is work. You may be worried about your next promotion. You might be facing the negative or bullying behavior of your boss. You might not be reaching your well-deserved career goals; you might be worried due to office politics. You might be stressed about some major change that is taking place in the organization, or, you might be under stress because of the prospect of losing your job. Students, especially teenagers and college age students, cite school work as a cause of stress. Sometimes, work stress is brought on by others. Sometimes, we bring it on ourselves. The third cause of stress is Health. For some, the stress is linked to obesity, and a desire to lose weight. For others, the stress is a personal bas habit that affects health and must be changed. For example, smoking, abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Illness or injury, whether less or more serious, can be a leading cause of stress for many people. In conclusion, There are many cause of stress in nowadays, and stress have many effect for our health so how to decrease stress? There are many different ways to manage stress. They are Take Care of Yourself, Maintaining The Right Attitude, Creating The Right Atmosphere, Interactive Resources.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Husayn-McMahon Essay

McMahon-Hussein Correspondence refers to an exchange of letters between Sharif Husayn Ibn Ali of Mecca and Sir Henry McMahon of Britain detailing the future of the Arab world in the face of a possible annexation by the Ottoman Turks. The background to this communication can be traced to early 1914 when Sharif Husayn’s son, Amir, paid a visit to the then British Consular in Egypt, Lord Kitchener, seeking British assurance that they would offer their support incase Arabs opted to revolt against Turkey. While at first Kitchner was reluctant to make any commitment, his successor in the region, McMahon, upon sensing the dwindling British fortunes in the Middle East, made hefty promises to garner the Arabs support during the First World War. It is during this period that McMahon would initiate correspondence with Husayn. The Husayn family emerged to be an influential force in the Middle East as it lay claim to be the descendant of Muhammad and held the mantle leadership of a number of kingdoms in the region (Daly 215). The issue of McMahon-Hussein correspondence has emerged highly controversial and is held to be at the core of the crisis in the Middle East. It is regarded as an important correspondence by the Palestinians as it was seen as a commitment by the British of granting them independence. In these series of letters, Husayn had asked for Arabs independence, he outlined these areas to be the Arabian Peninsula, Palestine and Iraq amongst others. McMahon on the other hand made a commitment to ensure the independence of a number of territories which would not damage the existing cordial relations with France. Arabs in the Middle East have maintained that British had promised independence to the Palestinians; on the other hand, Britain claims that this was merely a declaration of intent that was not legally binding and cannot be used to lay claim of independence to the Palestinians (Mack 123).

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Suggest how an economist would approach the problem of alcohol abuse Essay

Suggest how an economist would approach the problem of alcohol abuse - Essay Example Numerous examinations on this subject have been conducted by economist to determine the impact of the price of alcoholic beverages to alcohol consumption. Despite the varied nature of the researches conducted, the conclusion is common. That an increase in the price of alcoholic beverages results to a decline in drinking and heavy drinking, as well as the consequences of alcohol use and abuse. This is in direct relevance to the fundamental law of economics called the downward sloping demand curve. It states that, as the price of a product rises, the quantity demanded for that product decreases. Another way to curb the abuse of alcohol is the use of government policy. Economists have found that the most ignored policy of controlling alcohol abuse is the most effective and important (Chaplouka, Grossmann & Saffer, 2002). This is the raising of the taxes levied on all alcoholic beverages. The decline of federal, state and local taxes on alcoholic beverages over the years by considerably high margins is a show of ignorance to this policy. The effectiveness of this policy of this policy is due to the fact that the use and abuse of alcoholic beverages has been found to be sensitive to price. However, to address the matter with economical intellect the policy should be implemented after accounting for the effects of inflation. Prescription drugs fall under the industry of pharmaceuticals, which is funded in the country as part of Research and Development. In the recent past and the present this industry has been found to have very large costs of maintaining and they are always fixed. It is estimated that twenty percent of sales from research based pharmaceuticals has been devoted to research and development compared to four percent for other industries (Nebbit, 2000). This huge investment in relation to prescription drugs, therefore, results to high prices for these products. Since the products are essential for life, their consumption is fixed and may not be greatly

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Ratio analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Ratio analysis - Coursework Example An increasing interest coverage ratio means that the company is gearing sufficient funds from its operations. This implies that the company does not have to use the cash at hand to make up for any difference or need to outsource funds. Assets turnover ratio measures the amount of revenue generated from assets owned by the company. A decreasing trend because of reducing sales implies that promotions and advertising of sales must be done (Gibson and Gibson 187). The debt to income ratio measures the level of total income to that of total assets of the company. The company’s increasing ratio of 0.01% means that the both assets and sales are on the rise. Debt to equity ratio increases in the current year which means a lesser risk to the potential shareholders of the company. The investment potential of the company is safer for the likely investors. Competitors in the same industry are competing fairly with the company. The higher the higher the interest cover means improved ability of the company to pay its obligations. The company has enough chance to bear the amount of its prevailing finance cost. From its assets turnover ratio, the company is not optimizing the use of its assets. The company cannot generate more sales with any fewer assets. Decreasing asset turnover ratio means a negative impact on the return on equity (Gibson and Gibson

Monday, October 7, 2019

External Business Enviroment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

External Business Enviroment - Assignment Example De Rome (2006) describes environment as the surroundings where a person or an entity gets influenced. This means the circumstances that surround us are the environment. Same as we perceive the surroundings, the businesses gets affected the same way. Environment is very important when we discuss the nature of the business and its location. Perhaps, the environment controls businesses and can either make them profitable or else shut these off. The word external is described as any force, issue, person, or anything connected to outside, (Bradley C. Karkkainen, 1994 ; William H. Rodgers, 1994). This refers to everything that is connected with the exterior of a certain thing, is called external. External in this report, will be discussed with reference to the forces that influence a change in the business environment and its strategies. U.K. is a well stabled, prosper and a developed nation, and that's a major reason behind many businessmen who want to invest in United Kingdom. United Kingdom's environment is a business friendly and is also very welcoming to new trends, which makes the market profitable and every business find a way to the profits because of the cosmopolitan nature of the country. London is considered to be a magnet for global businesses and investors. Moreover, the European Union serves as an addition to the market of London. Businessmen just intend to enter in to the single largest market of the world, with the world leading financial services of the world. By now, it is fairly understood that how is the U.K. environment in terms of businesses, operate and why are the investors so keen to invest in the pool. Additionally, the U.K economy holds one of the highest GDPs (Gross Domestic Products) in the whole world. It is the Fifth largest economy of the world with the GDP of $2,727 billion (Source: World Bank, 2008). It means that the economy of United Kingdom is doing its very best for the investors and lenders, because in the future big amounts shall be returned as the dividend or the profit shares. It has been forecasted, that the economy of U.K. will do the best in all the European Union countries from the period of 2008 to 2012 (Source: EIU, 2008). It is because U.K. holds most of the tertiary sector and produce manufactured goods. The ideal country to invest for a business shall be U.K. It is because neither instability in the economy exists nor any fluctuations in the past years have been observed yet. Economically, U.K. is by far the best place to invest for a business in. According to the sources, the population of the United Kingdom has a figure of 61 million (ONS, 2008). It means that the population according to the area occupied by the country, is less, and as it is a centre place for investors, other families from different countries may migrate to London. In this case, families and individuals of other countries may increase the population of the country, but the native British people are just the number shown above. Discussing about the value of UK as an investment destination, we may see

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Writing Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing Assignment - Research Paper Example This is called bounded rationality. We all know that NASA from very long wants to send a man to Mars. But, since this would be the very first time a man would be going to Mars, we have only limited information available about that planet. So, this first visit to Mars might not lead to a definite success for NASA. According to Simon, to satisfice means to take a decision which is good-enough for the present situation. The term Satisficing is also called Muddling Through. The word Satisfice was coined by Herbert Simons. It refers to a sub-optimal choice made by the decision maker which he considers to be good enough. Satisificing, therefore, is a decision making process which leads to a near optimal solution and not the optimal one. Satisficing is not a form of rational actor behavior, since the rational behavior would lead to the most optimal alternative available as the decision. But, satisficing considers the sub-optimal decision. Satisificing is more closely akin to bounded rationality since both these approaches lead to a decision which is not the most optimal or rational one. Simon wished to replace the economic assumption of global rationality since he strongly believed that it is not possible for human beings to behave rationally because of their computing limitations, and also time and information accessing limitations. Simon believed that the way humans ‘actually’ make decisions is by following the approaches of bounded rationality and satisficing (Newell, 1972). I strongly agree with Simon on his approach to decision making. His approach does make sense because human decision making has a lot of challenges in terms of selecting the best alternative. I would like to enlighten this with the help of an important recent happening which is the law enforcement in recent London riots. The laws were enforced in a way such that the riots are deterred immediately. Even if the culprits could not be caught of immediately, it

Saturday, October 5, 2019

How teaming in the workplace has affected the culture of the working Essay

How teaming in the workplace has affected the culture of the working person - Essay Example Group formation might be temporary or permanent. Following are some of the main types of groups: Roles are sets of behaviors that individuals occupying specific positions within a group are expected to perform. These roles might be assigned (e.g. managers or other work related roles) or pre-determined (like father, mother, etc). Roles help in clarifying responsibilities and obligations of the group members. A status is a position or a rank within a group. People are sensitive to status because it is related to desired outcomes (e.g. salary and perks). High status people have a higher access to key resources relating to survival. Sometimes even physical features play an important role in gaining a certain status (e.g. a beautiful secretary). People can boost their status by behavior (e.g. intimidation, anger and threat) Norms are the rules within a group indicating how its members should or should not behave. Adherence to norms is a necessary condition for gaining status and other rewards controlled by groups. This forms the basis of organizational behavior. It comprises everything that causes the group members to remain in the group. It leads to depersonalized attraction, i.e. liking for other group members stemming from the fact that they belong to the group and embody or represent key features (like hard work or creativity, etc). These include effects upon performance resulting from the presence of others. Increased and positive effects occur due to collaboration, while decreased and negative effects take place due to dependence upon others. This theory says that the presence of others induces conflicting tendencies to focus on the task being performed and on the audience. The more the audience, the more the conflicts and thus, the more nervous you get. Working together with others to obtain shared goals is called co-operation. They are achieved by making others

Friday, October 4, 2019

Quantum Phenomena Essay Example for Free

Quantum Phenomena Essay Quantum theory (including subfields such as quantum mechanics and quantum electro and thermo dynamics) is at least to say, is a relatively new field of physics, having been born just over a century ago. It can be described as one of the most powerful theory ever to be proposed in the history of physics, even today our knowledge on this subject is regularly updated with new ideas and as we progress further into this subject we begin to discover basically, the many secrets of our universe. In the early 1900s, mankind had basically been able to answer nearly all of the questions concerning physics with the knowledge gained from giants such as Newton. However 10% were unanswerable, they simply could not figure out what was going on and why certain things did not obey rules set down by classical physics. In order to overcome this problem, scientists had to propose some new radical ideas regarding the relationship between matter and energy. Surprisingly a selection of these many dreamt up ideas worked and so quantum theory was born. As said by one of the forefathers of this theory, Erwin Schri dinger (famous for his thought experiment), I do not like it, and I am sorry I ever had anything to do with it. One from the Great Dane, Niels Bohr, Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it. And lastly one from the Richard Feynman, I think it is safe to say that no one can understand quantum mechanics. Generally quantum phenomena can only be observed in atomic and sub-atomic scale, it is rare to see such observations on a large scale. Of the various interpretations of quantum theory that have been proposed, most physicists accept the Copenhagen Interpretation, however this does not mean it does not have any faults or lead to any paradoxes. This brings us onto Schri dingers cat, a thought experiment which criticises the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, stating that the interpretation would just collapse when applied to objects on a large scale, in his case, a feline mammal. If atoms can exist in a state of superposition then is it reasonable to say that larger bulkier objects can since it is also made from atoms? He points of that such as theory would state that a cat can be dead and alive at the same time, which seems impossible. Now we introduce the observer effect, which makes this problem a little bit disturbing, many have talked about the act of measurement as the moment that causes the collapse of superposition, leading to an outcome. Furthermore some scientists even believe that human consciousness is necessary to trigger the collapse, resulting in questions about the roles of consciousness in our universe. For example, if we turn our back on an object, does that object even exist anymore; was it just a part of our imagination, a virtual reality? However, we are not here to discuss about such philosophical subjects, as I mentioned before, there are some special cases where certain objects can be seen with ones naked eyes obeying the rules governed by quantum theory. Once such example is the rather strange state of matter, BEC or Bose-Einstein Condensates, named after the two people who predicted the existence of such matter. It is regarded as an example of a superfluid, we will talk more about those later. The basic formation of a superfluid involves cooling down a sample such as helium gas (helium IV) just above -217oC or 2. 17K to form helium II. Note that the temperature required for such a formation is just above absolute zero, 0K or 217. 15oC. Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature in which particles have a minimum energy. However at these conditions we can observe odd and strange phenomena that are governed by the rules of quantum mechanics. To cut a rather long story short, when helium IV is cooled down to such a low temperature, every single atom will occupy the lowest energy level resulting in a very strange state of matter due to the fact that every single atom will be identical. The Indian theoretical physicists Satyendra Nath Bose in the 1920s, whilst studying the new idea of light being made from discrete packets (now we know as quanta or photons), proposed some rules which decided whether two photon should be treated as the same particle or differently. This is now known as Bose-Einstein Statistics. Einstein had several roles to play in the events leading up to the proposition of the existence of BEC. Firstly he used his influence to allow Boses papers to be published in certain journals. Secondly but also most importantly, he used Boses rule in the context of atoms, seeing that photons and atoms are relatively the same thing. When these rules were applied to atoms in gases, for most temperatures, the behaviour according to him was pretty much the same as Boses prediction. However when it was applied in near absolute temperatures, near 0K, strange phenomena were predicted to happen. So puzzled was Einstein that he himself was unsure if his predictions and calculations were correct. Both scientists were unable to live long enough to observe the production of BEC, although superfluids were able to be made, it was not until 1995 when the worlds first condensate was made. Made by Eric Cornell and Carl Weiman, both of whom with Wolfgang Kettle, won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for their works on condensates. In order to achieve this feat, they had to cool a gas of rubidium atoms to 170 nanokelvin, equivalent to -273. 14999983oC. Also it should be noted that BEC can only be called a true BEC when bosons, particles that carry a force, are supercooled, otherwise when other particles are used, the BEC can also be called a super atom (due to the fact that all the atoms are identical thus losing their individuality, all forming a single blob). As I have mentioned earlier, BEC can be considered as a superfluid. One very special example of a superfluid is helium II. The boiling point of helium gas was found out to be 4K, therefore when cooled, helium I (normal liquid helium) can be seen boiling and bubbling away. However as the temperaure moves towards absolute zero, 0K, we notice a change in properties. As it nearly approaches 2K, all movement stops, and the helium becomes very still. At approximately 2. 17K, helium I becomes helium II, a superfluid. This point is known as the lambda point due to the shape of the above graph, which looks similar to the greek letter lambda (? ). Here the helium I show some remarkable properties, such as at this point, the viscosity or treacliness of helium duudenly drops by a factor of a million, soon becoming zero. It also has zero entrophy, the measure of randomness of molecules in a system, and infinite thermoconductivity. It can perform two strange feats which can actually be seen with the naked eyes. One is when a beaker is lowered onto a container of helium II and then partially withdrawn, a thin film of helium II (a single atom thick) will form over the entire surface of the beaker. Then depending on the level of helium inside and outside the beaker, it will try and flow into the beaker until both levels are equal. A similar behaviour can be observed when a beaker of heium II is withdrawn completely from a bath of the same substance, it will creep up the sides of a container and try to debeaker itself via flowing over the top of the beaker and down the sides until it combines to form a drop of liquid at the bottom of the beaker, dripping back into the bath. Apparently in both cases, it is an example of the heliums futile attempt to reduce its own energy level, which is theoritically already at its lowest. The other feat I wish to mention is known as the fountain effect or the thermomechanical effect. If a capillary tube is placed in a bath of helium II and then heated, it will cause the liquid to flow up the tube, thus forming a fountain. It actually takes only a small amount of thermal energy to cause this effect, even radiation from visible light is enough to heat it up. One interesting application of superfluid was to trap and slow down the speed of light. In one experiment, performed by Lene Hau of Harvard, the speed of light was managed to be reduced to only 17 metres per second and momentarily stopped via the use of superfluids. Another phenomenon which occurs near absolute zero temperature is the existence of superconductors. This only happens with certain materials, characterized by zero electrical resistance and the expulsion of a magnetic field. Superconductivity can occur in a variety of materials such as simple elements (e. g. tin and aluminium), metallic alloys and some semiconductors. However it cannot occur in noble metals and most ferromagnetic materials. There are two types of superconductor, Type I (conventional superconductors), materials that only exhibits superconductivity at near absolute zero conditions. Secondly in 1986, there was the discovery of high temperature superconductors (Type II). This allows certain materials to undergo superconductivity at a higher temperature than conventional type I, around 77K, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The picture below shows a magnet levitating above a Type II superconductor; this is due to the fact that the superconductor can exclude the magnetic field of the magnet, resulting in the formation of an electromagnet that repels the magnet. The basic principles of superconductors can be explained by the visualization of electrical current as a sea of electrons, basically a fluid, which moves across an ionic lattice. Electrical resistance is caused by collisions between the ions and the electrons in the fluid. However, in superconductors, instead of a fluid scattered with individual electrons, it is filled with bound pairs of electrons, known as Cooper pairs. Quantum theory dictates that this fluid becomes a superfluid, resulting in a change in property, such as it cannot exhibit electrical resistance. The characteristics of superconductivity only appears when the termperature of the material is cooled below its critical temperature (Tc), generally Type I temperatures range from 20K to 1K. The graph below shows the relationship between temperature and resistivity of a material, we can see it must be a Type II superconductor due to its relatively high critical temperature.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Sizing Up The Active Wear Market Marketing Essay

Sizing Up The Active Wear Market Marketing Essay In the wake of falling sales and decreasing profit margins, Harrington Collection is evaluating the opportunity to expand into the high-growth active-wear market. The idea of expanding into lower priced fashion product lines was not new to the company (Tedlow Beckham 2008) which was renowned for its sophisticated high class roots. However, after three years of consecutive lacklustre sales and margins Sara Huey, Vice President of Strategic Planning and her team have to take a critical look at the active-wear product line option as a possible solution to reverse the companys negative performance trend. To come up with sound decision Harrington Collection executives would have to analyze the financial implications of the opportunity, assess trade and competitor reactions, consider the risks, and determine whether they have the capacity to successfully launch and manage the new product line. This basically means that they will have to assess consumer behaviour, product introduction and financial implications. Consumer behaviour Consumer buying behavior refers to the buying behavior of final consumers (individuals households) who buy goods and services for personal consumption. This is generally affected by consumer culture, social, personal and psychological characteristics. Consumer products are designed to be attractive to consumers, so that they feel encouraged to buy. This makes it mandatory for any organization to understand and manipulate product attributes so as to positively influence consumers to buy. However, buying behavior is also a function of the competing products in the marketplace and the brand marketing strategy applied by that given firm. In order to design the best product, it is necessary to understand not just the physical and chemical nature of the product, but also the psychology of consumers and the sociology of consumer groups. Harrington Collection is a company with decades of expertise (Tedlow Beckham 2008) that has an excellent relationship with its retail trade (Tedlow Beckham 2008) therefore their knowledge of consumer behaviour is high. Moreover we are told that the company also commissioned surveys and focus groups which revealed that their target customers showed considerable interest in buying active-wear clothing (Tedlow Beckham 2008). The push for introduction of a new product line is also supported by three factors that determine consumer behaviour i.e. loyalty, sociology and psychology. Loyalty is defined as that tendency for consumers to stick to the same products. Loyalty is also manifested through what is referred to as the memory effect, which represents that tendency of consumers in returning to products they had previously used, after trying something new they then did not like. The focus groups commissioned by Harrington Collection showed that a subset of Harrington customers who had been loyal throughout their careers were interested in something fresh and comfortable that would fit their active lifestyles (Tedlow Beckham 2008). On the other hand the sociology factor was heightened by the popularity of active-wear among Hollywood celebrities. Sociology in this context implies how one persons buying is influenced by that of others. We are told that this trend toward more contemporary athletic fashions resulted in rapid growth for firms that offered these lines. Harrington Collection estimated that over seven and a half million active-wear units were sold in 2007 with the projection that this would grow to 15 million by 2009 (Tedlow Beckham 2008). Moreover by 2009 it was expected that 40% of the 15 million buyers would prefer the better category which is what Harringtons Vigor division specialized in. Vigors market expertise could come in handy in deploying the active-wear better product line. Psychology covers what, and how, aspects of the actual items on the shelves influence people to make their choices, possibly buying something different from previously. Most firms would use advertising to influence consumer psychology. Harrington on the other hand we are told was known for its top in-house design staff, extensive national advertising campaigns and its exceptional quality and styling (Tedlow Beckham 2008). Plus, after analyzing the better sets of active -wear that were in the market Harrington knew that the standards they had could not allow them to produce such poor quality products. Therefore a launch of a product line in active-wear could provide Harrington with an opportunity to display their superior products to the low end consumer market and thus rapidly increase their market share and probably pull though a customer lock-in. Also we cannot ignore the fact that introduction of a new product onto the market by as renowned a fashion company as Harrington has the ability to change the way consumers, or at least some of them, view the other established active-wear brands. Harringtons quality and styling might draw attention to some quality which was not previously much regarded by consumers in this category, or it might make people give different weightings to the established products when making their decisions. If Harrington Collection decides to go ahead with the idea to add an active-wear product line to its existing business then they would have to model their target consumers behavior. They will need to look at the external stimuli that assist the consumer to make the decision to buy their product. An external stimulus that Harrington Collection has direct influence over is the marketing mix: product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. Product is the active-wear itself and here decisions regarding the features of the product, quality level, product lines and branding will be addressed. Place caters for decisions on channel type, service levels, managing the channels, transporting and delivering, market exposure, intermediaries, locations and stores. Pricing in this case is vital considering that the target market is price sensitive and there are other large competitors such as Liz Clairbornes Juicy Couture. Decisions regarding the discounts to be allowed, allowances and whether pricing will change with product life cycle will also depend on the breakeven analysis that we shall be looking at later in this paper. Promotion decisions regard the communications mix, the type, qualifications and number of salespeople needed the required media, sales promotion, and publicity. People decisions regard the type of customers, the customer care personnel and their knowledge, qualifications and motivations for participating during the service encounter. The process factor looks at the length of the process, the activities that can be done during the process and technologies that will facilitate the process and finally, physical evidence is concerned with decisions on the types of tangible evidence available to customers. In spite of all the theories and models made with respect to consumers it is still acknowledged that the buyers decision process is a black box that even with knowledge of characteristics that affect consumer behaviour. Product Introduction The introduction process of a new product into any market is highly complex. It requires ability to coordinate work of numerous teams within an organization, as well as with the extended network of partners and suppliers. The new product in here would be the active-wear apparel (hoodies, tee-shirts and pants). One aspect of the complexity is derived from the use of several different new parts, each of which may need unique design, specifications, development, and other specialized conditions. This complexity is compounded further by the myriad of tools used during the new product introduction (NPI) process e.g. computer aided design (CAD) applications, project management tools and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. A typical new product development and introduction process would consist of three core phases: 1) product definition, 2) product development, prototyping, and testing, and 3) product build and ramp to production. Each of these phases requires effective project management to ensure that at the end we have optimized productivity and results. In modern best-in-class NPI processes, a collaborative approach is encouraged, that is, where manufacturing integrates into the design phase early, ramping up the manufacturing effort as the design progresses to production. Engineering continues to participate even in the production phase to ensure the design is correctly built (Arena 2007). This joint approach shortens new product introduction time to market and enhances product quality. However, it also necessitates greater levels of communication and coordination amongst the project teams. The first phase in the new active-wear apparel introduction would be product definition. At this stage the design and marketing teams come up with new ideas either from market research. The NPI team for Harrington Collection would then perform technical feasibility studies and business case analysis (which we shall look at later in this paper using the breakeven analysis). This is duly followed by the creation of initial market and product requirements. These initial planning documents outline the objectives and goals for the new product introduction (NPI). The real challenge at this stage is in the selection of the right ideas and managing them to commercial success. It is advisable for organizations to develop a disciplined portfolio management process that they shall be using to aid them in consistently choosing the better product ideas and NPI processes to bring better products to market, before their competitors do so. After product definition we proceed with the product development phase. How this phase is managed generally determines how quickly the innovative idea reaches the market. New product development is complex partly due to the huge number of participating groups required to collaborate e.g. the design team, sourcing, quality control and others. These teams carry out hundreds of activities, such as design, prototyping, sourcing, quoting, testing, manufacturing and planning. This situation could be worse for global outsourced players because of the geographical distance and the extension of the teams beyond the boundaries of a single company. To deal with such a complex team environment the organization would need to set up a centralized and shared project and data management infrastructure, so that cross functional and cross enterprise teams are able to access the latest design files, work instructions, change orders, task list, and project plans as and when they are revised. The idea that Harrington Collection should pursue this product development under its Vigor division is heavily supported by this point. Being a division that is already running we would expect most of the infrastructure required for data management and information sharing to be in place in contrast to having to set up everything a new in the case where a new division is formed to handle this new product line. Also, with the increasing environmental and regulatory compliance pressures from different countries where the active-wear would eventually be sold, an organization at this product development phase must seek cost-effective solutions to meet product and process compliance requirements such as Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Global Best Practices for Clothing Manufacturers and ISO standards. Harringtons is advantaged here since it has not outsourced its manufacturing. In an outsourced environment, companies need to assess compliance risks of all outsourced activities, implement necessary controls, and create documentation to establish an audit trail. This adds to complexity and has high cost effects too. The final key phase for NPI is the production phase. To ensure that manufacturing is efficient and cost-effective all teams (operations, manufacturing, testing, component manufacturing and design engineering etc.) must work together to ensure that a given design is manufactured to correct specifications. The earlier teams begin to collaborate the better equipped they will be for a rapid production ramp. According to Arena to facilitate efficient and accurate communication of product bills of materials (BOM), companies must ensure that the product record is available to all involved in the production and change implementation, including internal groups, contract manufacturers, and suppliers. Providing contract manufacturers and suppliers with selected visibility to centralized product record allows them direct access to the most recent changes. It removes the data communication bottlenecks that result from relying upon individuals and reduces the potential costly revision errors (Arena, 2007, p5). It is our opinion that having the product line run under Vigor division would be more efficient and effective than establishing a new division to do it because it has a seasoned team, supportive infrastructure in place and Harrington Collection could more easily develop a cross-functional product development process which is important to ensure the success of the new product introduction (NPI). From the shared project and data management infrastructure within Vigor division teams involved in the NPI would be able to access the latest project plans and tasks that are related to parts, sub-assemblies, and assemblies. It is also easier to ensure that project revisions are accessible to everyone involved. Demand and Profitability Analysis Template Table 1: Start up costs table Start Up Costs: Amount ($) Start-up Costs Pants Plant 1,200,000.00 Start-up Costs Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant 2,500,000.00 Equipment Pants Plant 2,000,000.00 Equipment Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant 2,500,000.00 Launch PR, Advertising 2,000,000.00 Fixtures for Company Stores* 2,500,000.00 Total Start-up Costs 12,700,000.00 Annual Depreciated Start-up Costs** 2,540,000.00 *For Fixtures for Company Stores we assumed that only the exclusive Vigor stores would be stocked with active-wear apparel. The company owned stores are 120 in total but exclusive Vigor stores are 50 (Tedlow Beckham 2008). Fixtures for each Company Store would cost $50,000.00 (Tedlow Beckham 2008). The figure obtained above was therefore obtained by multiplying $50,000 by 50 stores. **We are told that all launch fixture, plant start-up, and equipment costs would be depreciated over a five year period (Tedlow Beckham 2008). We used the straight-line depreciation method: Table 2: total fixed operating costs Annual Ongoing Operating Costs Fixed Overhead Pants Plant 3,000,000.00 Overhead Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant 3,500,000.00 Rent Pants Plant 500,000.00 Rent Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant 500,000.00 Management / Support 1,000,000.00 Advertising 3,000,000.00 Total Fixed Operating Costs 11,500,000.00 Table 3: total direct variable costs Direct Variable Costs Hoodie ($) Tee-shirt ($) Pants ($) Sew and Press 3.25 2.00 2.85 Cut 1.15 0.40 0.70 Other Variable Labor 3.20 2.40 3.05 Fabric 9.10 2.20 7.50 Findings 3.85 0.50 2.30 Total Direct Variable Costs 20.55 7.50 16.40 Table 4: total unit direct variable cost Direct variable costs translated into unit cost Hoodie ($) Tee-shirt ($) Pants ($) 20.55 7.50 16.40 multiply by 0.50 1.50 1.00 10.28 11.25 16.40 37.93 Table 5: Vigor unit Retail Price Suggested Retail Unit price Hoodie ($) Tee-shirt ($) Pants ($) 100.00 40.00 80.00 220.00 Wholesale unit price = 50% of Retail unit price = $110 Table 6: total variable costs as % of Wholesale Price Total variable costs as % of wholesale price working capital requirements 3.00 sales commissions 4.00 inventory costs 1.00 bad debt 0.70 transportation 0.24 miscellaneous 0.15 9.09 Table 7: total variable costs per unit Indirect variable costs Wholesale unit price 110.00 Total variable costs as % of wholesale price 9.09 Indirect variable costs per unit 10.00 Direct variable costs per unit 37.93 Indirect variable costs per unit 10.00 Total variable costs per unit 47.92 Table 8: contribution per unit Contribution Wholesale price per unit 110.00 less total variable costs per unit 47.92 Contribution per unit 62.08 Table 9: Breakeven units Breakeven Fixed annual costs (operating and depreciated start-up) 14,040,000.00 Ã · Contribution per unit 62.08 Breakeven Units 226,174.37 Table 10: Vigor active-wear approximate revenue Vigor active-wear approximate revenue Total units sold in 2007 7,500,000.00 Vigor Market share % 7.00 Vigor total unit sales for 2007 525,000.00 Vigor retail unit price 220.00 Approximate Vigor revenue for 2007 115,500,000.00 Table 11: Profit Margin Profit Margin Revenue 115,500,000.00 less fixed annual costs 14,040,000.00 less total variable costs (Vigor total unit sales for 2007 x total variable costs per unit) 25,160,100.00 Profit before tax 76,299,900.00 Profit margin before tax % 66.06 Making the Decision Based on the breakeven analysis we see it would be prudent for Sara Huey to approach the board and advise them to embark on the new active-wear product line because within a year Harrington Collection would have been able to not only breakeven but make a pre-tax profit of $76.3 million. Secondly we believe that the new product line of active-wear should be folded within the Vigor division so that it can benefit from the already existing infrastructure and sales channels. Moreover, like Myers suggested, the active-wear line would be a perfect addition to the Vigor division because it also focused on better wear plus fewer than 2% of respondents in their customer research survey felt that a less-expensive active-wear line would cheapen the brand (Tedlow Beckham 2008). This is a big thumb up from the most important public for the Harrington Collection, i.e. the consumer. We have also seen from the consumer behavior analysis that Harington Collection has got a lot more to gain from intr oducing the active-wear line for example we are told that the aging baby boomer population wanted clothes that would not make them feel old. In addition to that, another survey showed that 10% of customers purchasing apparel in the $100 $200 price range would buy an active-wear set if they could get one with superior styling, fabric and fit, which is what Harrington Collection was intending to manufacture and sell.