Learning English Essay

As an international student, learning English was a big challenge. For one thing, I grew up speaking my native language most of the time, and I only speak English when just necessary, such as talking to American or English strangers. This is why I found it hard to learn English, and there is still room for many improvements. At first I thought that once I studied English, I would learn quickly. But I found out it was hard because my tongue got used to speaking my native language. The hardest part was mastering the subject-verb agreement. Every time I speak, I struggle with evaluating whether the subject and the verb match. Sometimes I use verb with s when I refer to plural subjects. I also had difficulty understanding sentences that have very long subjects. For instance, A mountain range that sits between two larger mountains overlooking the valley is/are very beautiful. When my friend or anyone I talk to use this kind of sentence, I easily get lost from what he means to say. Thus, sometimes I misinterpret what he says. I guess the learning process took longer for me. But I am thankful that my experiences were training ground for the changes that took place. Also, the formalized learning from the classroom helped me a lot to learn another language (Smith). Little by little, I learned the right pronunciations of words. My teacher and my classmates and friends correct me when I wrongly pronounce a word or my sentence is grammatically incorrect. Reading has also helped greatly. I tried to understand what I read, and apply what I learned. I have also read short stories and I studied the way sentences are constructed. Learning from reading is advantageous. Aside from learning grammar, spelling, and understanding meaning from the books I read, reading has also opened my eyes to the many things that remained undiscovered to me. I can say that until the present time, I’m still learning. It has helped me greatly in dealing with day to day issues in the United States. Work Cited Smith, Mark K. 2003. â€Å"Learning Theory. † 26 February 2009 .

Running Head: Multinational Corporation

General motors is a multinational corporation that was begun in 1908 by William Durant.   It has ever since extended its services to several foreign countries including Mexico. It is the world’s largest known company for manufacturing of automobile (Cray & Chrome 1980).Its outstanding business activities in Mexico are among others, provision of high quality Products in order to remain competitive in the global economy.   The leaders inGeneral Motors have also invented business plans that enable them to reduce the costs of the  Intensive engineering, prototyping as well as tooling activities they operates in Mexico(http://www.gm.com)  The General motors management team has established a net working program for hiring new employees so as to facilitate manufacturing and marketing of heir automobiles.   The corporation has also expanded an initiative known as jumpstart in Mexico whose main goals are to indoctrinate those who have been newly hired into the corporationsâ⠂¬â„¢ culture and to give them a chance of meeting employees in other parts of the corporation so as to get exposed to the corporations’ business leaders (Cray & Chrome, 1980).   This ensures smooth running of the business activities since high employee relation is established and maintained.General motors operations on the host country, Mexico, has some comparative advantages. Compared to the US, labor costs in Mexico are much lower and therefore General Motors Corporation stands a good chance in Mexico as opposed to US since it cheaply obtain its parts production. At the same time General Motors Corporation in Mexico does not encounter stiff competition for skills and technology from many automobile companies than it could encounter in the US (Maurice, 1995).This is well explained by the fact that US is believed to gain those jobs that require high skills and technology as it trades with Mexico.   This indicates that most of the scientists and engineers who have the req uired skills and technology secure jobs in the General motors corporation (Lance & Ian 1998). Since it is a well paying and established compensations compared to any other automobile corporation in the country.The environmental issues that prevailed during the on set of the General Motors Corporation in Mexico such as rising costs of health care as well as pension costs really affected rapid growth of the company. General motors however, have worked on these issues through working extensively with the Workers Union on ways for trimming down the health  care costs for the workers their families as well as the retirees (http:delphi.com/about/social/)Although General Motors Corporation in Mexico was well established, it also faced stiff and competitive pressure form the other automobile companies.   This could lead to lower sales than expected by the management and overall economic strain to the company. However, General Motors Company have embarked on innovation ever since and it has expanded computer as well as electronic content on their vehicles (Lorean & John, 1980).   It has also extended its recruitment to cover most technologically advanced countries like China, Europe and India hence acquiring high skilled scientists and engineers.There is also the issue of globalization that entirely has benefited the General Motors Corporation.   It has been much easier for the company to get access to the technology that is being developed around the world (Jagdish, 2004). In Defense of Globalization.Oxford University Press.   The different scientists and engineers recruited by the General Motors from diverse cultures influence the culture of the host country, Mexico. The stiff competition brought in by globalization has also made it difficult for the Mexico-based automobile companies to compete in the market especially the small companies (Frederick, 1947)Resolving these issues has serious financial commitment and long-term expenses especially when the high skilled scientists and engineers demand for better salaries.The Acme motors should put in place strong criteria upon which its workers are hired or employed so as to improve and maintain supply of high quality automobiles to its clients. The workers should be able to conduct thorough research and be technologically innovative so as to enable Acme motors compete sufficiently in the global market.References.Cray, E. & Chrome C. (1980). General Motors and Its Time. New York: McGraw-Hill.Cray, E. & Chrome C. (1980).A History of General Motors. New York: Smithmark  De Lorean & John Z. (1980).On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors. London: Sidgwick and Jackson.David M. (2003).What the Market Does to People: Privatization, Globalization, and Poverty.   Clarity Press.Frederick H. (1947). Patterns of Union-Management Relations: United Automobile Workers (CIO), General Motors.Science Research Associates.Jagdish B. (2004). In Defense of Globalization.Oxford. University Press.Maurice E. (1995).Electronic Technology, Corporate Strategy, and World Transformation.Quorum Books.Lance D. & Ian M. (1998).Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology.  Ã‚   Routledge.Retrieved on 24th 2008, from http://www.gm.comRetrieved on 24th January 2008Retrieved on 24th January 2008, from http://delphi.com/about/social/

20th Century Intelligence Gathering Research Paper

20th Century Intelligence Gathering - Research Paper Example They may have their own concerns about India achieving a prominent role in Asian and global matters. They will try to create problems in India in ordered to destabilize India or to slow down the progress. Under such circumstances, it is necessary for India to gather all the possible intelligences about the actions and movements of its neighboring countries in order to formulate strategies necessary to defeat the attempts made by the neighboring countries. Threats come not only from external sources. It can come from internal sources also. External forces may establish ties with the internal forces in order to create problems in a country. In other words, intelligence gathering is necessary for countering both the internal and external threats, a country may face. Intelligence gathering methods have undergone drastic changes nowadays because of the enormous technological developments. Earlier spy works were used mainly to gather the secret actions of the enemies whereas nowadays, it i s possible to break the firewalls of the enemy computers to gather information about their secret plots. Even satellites and radars were used nowadays for gathering information about the movements of the enemies. This paper briefly analyses the evolution of intelligence gathering from the 1890s until 1945 George Washington wrote: â€Å"There is nothing more necessary than good Intelligence to frustrate a designing enemy, & nothing that requires greater pains to obtain.† Benedict Arnold, an American general in the Revolutionary War, doomed himself to perpetual disgrace by secretly passing coded military intelligence to the British in 1779–1780. Between 1815 and 1914, with improved means of communication and administration, information was collected more rapidly and thoroughly and used to greater effect1 The importance of intelligence gathering was realized by the country leaders even in

Radical Feminism most effective for the third wave of feminism Essay

Radical Feminism most effective for the third wave of feminism - Essay Example Passive methods of action will only do so much as structural and societal constraints will prevail. Unless there is a more radical outreach, women will remain the â€Å"underdog† in society, especially because the focus is more on conceptual ideologies such as the abolishment of gender role expectations. These issues, much like in the second wave of feminism, will only become marginalized by other social outcries such as welfare that are apparent and seem to need greater attention. Radical Feminism has proven to be the more effective choice of action since it promotes a greater, positive dialogue and initiates a course of action in support of feminist ideals. Therefore, radical feminism may arguably be considered more appropriate for the third wave of feminism. The following paper will define the term radical in relation to feminism and identify boundaries due to its significant spectrum. Furthermore, to support the above-mentioned claims, cases in which radical feminist movem ents in the past have been more effective from relatively passive movements in the incidence of the Women’s Suffrage, will be identified. Like much of feminism, radical feminism too is highly misunderstood. The textbook definition of the term is as follows, â€Å"Radical feminism is a "current" within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption of "male supremacy" used to oppress women†. Additionally, â€Å"Radical feminists tend to be more militant in their approach (radical as "getting to the root") than other feminists are† (Lewis, 2014). The first part defines the term in a broad ideological sense whereas the second shares the thought response. In the technical sense this is fair considering being a militant refers to a broad group of people such as activists, revolutionaries, terrorists or even insurgents, and feminists can be both revolutionaries and activists.

A Culture That Supports Financial Acumen Part II Assignment

A Culture That Supports Financial Acumen Part II - Assignment Example by equipping all employees with basic skills in financial profitability, it is easier to expect that the actions of all these people will be focused on the achievement of the financial goals of the organization. Today, there is a new trend with cross-functional team work, which requires that all employees work together as a team. This however cannot be possible when financial acumen is not part of the skills of all employees (Brigham & Houston, 2013). I admire your post for a lot of things but more importantly is the fact that you stressed on the need to make financial acumen everybody’s business at the workplace. Indeed several organizations have failed to experience the full benefits of financial acumen because the whole concept has been made to center round only a few people. Because of lack of understanding for the concept, it is always difficult to get the support of others in implementing strategies that foster financial growth (Brigham & Houston, 2013). Based on personal experience, I realize that some other ways in which organizations can make financial acumen work from a collective perspective is by promoting cross-functional roles. Such roles will ensure that those in departments not directly related to finance will have a means of working with the financial experts. By so doing, the transfer of knowledge from those high on financial acumen can easily go down to those low on financial

Fiber Optic cables Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fiber Optic cables - Essay Example The phenomenon of guiding light through bent glass has been early given by Leonardo DaVinci in one of his notebooks. But, he has not been able to verify this assertion. What is known for certain is that total internal reflection of light in a beam of water, basically guided light, and was given by the physicist John Tyndall in either 1854 or 1870, depending upon which reference you consult. Tyndall showed that light could be bent around a corner while it traveled through a jet of pouring water. Using light for communications came after this. . In 1934 the first patent on guided optical communications over glass was obtained by AT &T. unfortunately, no materials were available at that time to fabricate a glass (or other type of transparent material) fiber optic cable with sufficiently low attenuation to make guided optical communications possible. Between 1968 and 1970, experts who were working at a number of different academic, industrial and government laboratories dropped the attenuation of glass fiber optic cable from over 1000 dB/km to less than 20 dB/km. Corning patented its fabrication process for the cable. In the late 1980's and 1990's this progress increased with the even lower cost plastic fiber optic cable and Plastic Clad Silica (PCS). In last few years a number of oceanic fiber optic cables have been fabricated. One cable was fabricated in 1990. That was relatively non-controversial. However, as additional cables were introduced, the coastal fishing industry became increasingly concerned about the loss of fishing ground resulting from cable placement, and their liability should they come into contact with a cable. Another cable was fabricated in 1998. To represent their interests a number of coastal fishers formed a committee. After discussion on numerous issues, the fishers and the cable owner reached on a conc lusion that has served as the basis for later agreements' between these two groups in Oregon. Two concentric layers termed the core and the cladding are the basic composition of a fiber optic cable. These layers are shown in the following figure. Fiber Optic Cable, 3 dimensional view and its basic cross section Both core and cladding have different refraction indexes with the core having R1 and the cladding R2. Light is piped through the core. In Fiber optic cable an additional coating termed as jacket is also provided around the cladding. Core, cladding and jacket are all shown in the three dimensional view on the left side of above Figure. The jacket is usually made up of one or more layers of polymer. This jacket protects the core and cladding from shocks that might affect their optical or physical properties. It acts like a shock absorber. The jacket also provides protection from abrasions, solvents, Small oil

Parent Education and Learning at Home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Parent Education and Learning at Home - Essay Example The essay "Parent Education and Learning at Home" talks about the ways and the sources very helpful for parents who feel they need assistance getting down to their children, especially when helping them out in doing their homework since most parents want to help, but don’t know the right way to do it. Parents play the most important role in the education of their children, even more than the teacher, or the teacher can only teach, but a parent helps a child sink it in. For a child, only knowing that the parents are concerned is enough to boost his morale and to motivate him to work harder. According to a research, children whose parents are interested in their studies, work several times better than those whose parents are not. The best possible way for a parent to show concern in the child’s education is to take interest in and help the child do his homework since homework is an essential part of education done away from the supervision of the teacher at home. If a par ent concentrates on the child’s performance, the child is likely to do much better than he would without. A question that may arise to minds of many parents would be that why should they help when they send their children to good schools, and that if they ultimately have to do so, what the teachers are for. A simple answer to this question is that a teacher can only teach a student but a parent shapes a child’s mind. No matter how less time a child spends with his parents, it is the time he values and remembers the most. and the things they do together are integrated in his mind much more deeply. So if parents show concern and take interest in their child's education, it gives them motivation and encouragement to put in more effort n waste less time. It also makes them feel good and more attracted towards education and remember what they have studied for a longer period of time. How to help For the parents who feel confused about how and from where to start and how to get helping their children, this essay might prove to be a guide regarding how to interact and deal with them. Following are some of the numerous steps that can be followed in this regard: Set a regular time and place: Setting a regular time and place helps finish the assignments on or before the deadline and makes it a compulsion to study. If a child knows that he/she ultimately has to study during a certain time, he/she is less likely to get distracted due to thoughts of watching television, calling up a friend, playing outdoors or any other activity in this regard during the specific time. Considering setting the time, it might completely vary from family to family and child to child. Some children might do well in the afternoon after school, while some children might shine in the evening or before going to bed. The parent should decide the time according to the child's capabilities and interests. As far as the place is concerned, a fixed study area motivates to study and creates a healthy environment. A table in the room or a corner of the

Apartheid and Crimes in South Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apartheid and Crimes in South Africa - Essay Example The novel tells the story of Stephen Khumalo who is a black Christian in the rural South Africa who sets for Johannesburg to look for the missing members of his family, his sister Gertrude and his son Absalom and his brother John. Even though, he gets to fin d them, it is evident that it is at an appalling cost. This is because he finds his brother having lost his faith and in turn learnt to hate his sister had lost her dignity and turned to prostitution, and his son having killed Arthur Jarvis son who is a white man opposed to the apartheid. Despite all these findings, it is noteworthy that the novel ends in a hopeful note, and this is by way of a conversation between James and Stephen on the future of South African racial understanding. This paper assesses the novel by focusing on the rampant crime that existed in the then South Africa, and this is to establish the accurate origin of the crimes. This book is laid down in South Africa of the 1940s a time during which there was both economic and political tensions that had resulted into a lengthy complicated history. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the mid 1600s, South Africa was inhabited by a considerable number of African tribal groups such as the San and the Khoikhoi and afterwards the Bantu speakers who are the ancestors of the present Zulus (Natarajan, 200). Even though, the Europeans had not come to settle as colonizers, a century later had resulted into a settlement of Europeans into deeper areas of South Africa, thus, displacing the native south Africans (Natarajan, 202). The arrival of the English almost a decade later transformed South Africa into a colony, and this had disastrous effects on the South Africans. This led to a conflict between the Boers who were the European settlers of South Africa and English, but it was till 1881 that a war between them transpired. However, this was after a series of clashes between the Boers and the native South Africans. At this time, it is evident that bla ck workers were only permitted to hold unskilled jobs, and subjection to pass laws that restricted their freedom (Ikejiaku, 451). The enactment of the Natives Land Act led to a reduction in the land the natives were permitted to own. This is evidenced by the assertion of Arthur Jarvis that it is merely a tenth of the territory, that was allocated to the native south Africans yet they formed four fifth of the country’s population (Paton, 156). This subsequently resulted into the emigration of most native South Africans into urban areas to work on mines. This influx of cheap labor was welcomed by the min e owners, who did not care about the housing and services of these people. It is in this context that the novel begins as Stephen Khumalo goes to the city to look for his son and other members of his family, and these are associates he had not made out for a lengthy time. The status of his family members at the time he finds them paints a true picture of the social evils in the Apartheid Africa, and this is of course the cause of the rampant crimes in South Africa. This is a clear indication that it is the society itself that caused the crimes. The novel depicts the whites as those affected by the native crime but also sheds some light on the social instabilities as well as moral issues as the cause for the breakdown of the tribal system. This disconnection, thus, leads to conglomeration of crime as the natives strive to survive.

Should the federal government legalize the use of marijuana Research Paper

Should the federal government legalize the use of marijuana - Research Paper Example Such studies have been quoted as proof of the good qualities of the drug whenever the subject of legalizing marijuana is brought up. However, most of these studies do not tackle the issue about common mental problems that are experienced by patients when they consume marijuana in order to contain pain symptoms. It is a recognized fact that marijuana can cause anxiety problems, as well as depression, in all users. Using marijuana can also set off schizophrenic characteristics in individuals who are predisposed to getting this condition. These are facts that are never directly addressed by scholars who study marijuana users. The word ‘marijuana’ refers to a concotion of flowers, dried leaves, seeds and stems that originate from Cannabis sativa, which is the hemp plant. This mixture has mind-altering substances like delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), among other related chemicals. This concoction usually also contains substances such as hash oil and hashish. Marijuana is said to be the most popular illegal drug in nations all around the world. There are a number of nations that have taken the step of banning its use, however. In America, the Federal Government does not support the proposed legalization of marijuana which has been proposed by many state governments. This means that, in some cases, federal laws will clash with state laws. There are 18 states that have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In other states, local governments are involved in debates concerning the legalization of marijuana for medical, as well as social purposes. For the most part, many users of marijuana do not consider the adverse effects of the drug, when proposing its legalization. This is something that has marked the majority of debates in which the advocates of the legalization of marijuana support the notion that it has medicinal properties that even serve to

The Oruro Mask Dance Essay Example for Free

The Oruro Mask Dance Essay Culture is usually expressed through different mediums. Values, beliefs, and aspirations of a particular group of people are imbibed in culture. Thus, in order for these cultural traits to be represented in what social scientists call â€Å"the world of cultural relativism†, people express it through rituals, dances, and songs. Generally, these mediums are called â€Å"festivals. † Here in Bolivia, specifically, in Oruro, Santa Cruz, the Oruro Devil Dance is a famous festival. Eight days before the Ash Wednesday, people gather around the town’s plaza to perform a beautiful devil dance or diablada in Spanish (Hamre 1). The devil dance is a commemoration of our ancestors prior to the coming of the Spaniards; a sort of tribute to the dead. The escolas de samba chooses a new theme each year. These themes have one direction: they ought to relive the days of our ancestors. For one, our commemoration of the dead is a symbolic gesture of respect and magnanimity to the dead. Also, we recognize the efforts made by our ancestors in fighting foreigners. Their blood was spilled in the country in order to protect it from invaders. Thus, even with the prohibition of Spanish colonial officials from celebrating this dance, our forefathers danced it in the mountains, far from the contours of civilization. As one may note, diablada survived almost unchanged for many centuries. We, the Bolivians, are also proud of the colorful features of the mask dance. Hundreds of devils in monstrous costumes can be seen in the streets of the town. Some masks are heavy and to an American viewer â€Å"scary. † Other masks have bulging eyes and long hairs, just like the characteristics of the devil in Hollywood movies. I especially like devil masks wearing sparkling breastplates and golden spurs. Some masks are really light, connotative of the â€Å"spiritual origin† of devils. The devil dance is supplemented by a pacifying, rhythmic music from brass bands, pipers, and drummers. The colorful image of the festival as well as its solemn dedication to our ancestors makes it my favorite holiday here in Bolivia. Then the noise in the festival becomes loud and frenzied. Out of the devil dancers comes China Supay (Hamre 1). She is the devil’s wife who performs a seductive dance to attract the Archangel Michael. By the way, this dance was modified by the Spaniards to suit the predominant religion of Bolivia (Roman Catholicism). Then, members of workers’ unions carry small symbols of their union. This is done to show their support for the festival. Dancers in Inca costumes, with headdresses and symbols of the sun and moon on their chests, dance with the dancers dressed as black slaves. These slaves were imported to Bolivia by the Spaniards from West Africa to work in silver mines (operated by the colonial government). Then, family members appear. They are led by matriarchs dressed in yellow. The man of the household appears first (in red dress); then the daughters (in green dress). After which, the families go to the football stadium. Here the next celebrations take place. In the stadium, two plays are conducted (Hamre 1). The first play is about the conquest of Bolivia by the Spanish conquistadores. The second is about the victory of the Archangel Michael against the devil and the Seven Deadly Sins. Michael’s flaming sword is emphasized as the sword of light bound to defeat evil for all eternity. Then, the singing of the song of the Patron Saint of the Miners becomes the next event. They are also expressed in dance using a Quecha hymn. The purpose of the plays is very clear. The plays are a protest to the abuse of Spanish officials and clergy during colonial Bolivia. Although the festival is mixed with Christian tales and concepts, it still adheres to the pre-colonial ceremony of giving gratitude to the dead and the mother earth Pachamama (Hamre 1). The struggle of good and evil are emphasized and made clear through the actions of early Catholic priests pacifying an â€Å"already civilized† nation. Thus, it can be said that the mask festival, specifically the devil dance, is a characterization of our nation’s history. Such history is, of course, characterized by the struggle of good (justice) and evil (injustice by colonizers). The triumph of good signifies the break of our country from the bonds of colonialism, and its entrance to a new hope (the hope that the good will reign in the future). For days, the celebration of the carnival continues. The diablada dancers break into smaller group. Usually, huge bonfires are set to characterize the spiritual and physical unity of the country. Processions are then made and the church becomes a refuge for the homeless. Then, men from different families jointly consume large amounts of Bolivian beer and the very potent chicha (Hamre 1). Chicha is derived from fermented cereals and corn and liquefied in high temperature areas. Usually as the celebration ends, many people sleep in doorways. Others fall (because of drunkenness) sleep in the town’s plaza. The mask festival, most especially the devil dance, is my favorite festival among the festivals in both Bolivia and the United States. One reason is the character of the festival’s message. The redemption of humanity (a Christian concept) from evil is likened to the separation of Bolivia from Spanish rule. This festival presents the history of our country as it both experienced oppression and hope. My next reason has something to do with culture. Among all the festivals celebrated in our country, the mask dance is the most comprehensive; that is, it establishes the full personality of Bolivia. Note that in my description, the mask festival does not focus on one character of a Bolivian; rather it draws from past historical experiences to highlight the full character of a Bolivian. For example, Bolivians are known for being hospitable and diplomatic. This is shown in the mixed dance of the devil dancers with the Incas (a sign of friendship). This festival is really the life and character of my country, Bolivia. Works Cited Devil Dance. (2007). Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 30 October 2007 from http://www. britannica. com/eb/article-77638/Native-American-arts (accessed). Hamre, Bonnie. (2007). Oruros Devil Dance is unforgettable. 30 October 2007 from http://gosouthamerica. about. com/cs/southamerica/a/Carnaval_3. htm (accessed). Oruro Carnival. (2007). New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 30 October 2007 from http://www. carnavalexhibit. org/bolivia. php (accessed).

Application of ANN Model

Application of ANN Model 4.0. Introduction In this chapter, the results of ANN modelling are discussed through performance parameters, time series plotting and presentation through tables. Before the application of ANN model, statistical analysis of data are done. It is discussed earlier that the selection of appropriate input combination from the available data is the crucial step of the model development process. Five different types of input variable selection (IVS) techniques were utilized and twenty six input combinations were prepared based on the IVS techniques which are discussed in section 4.2. Finally, results of four ANN models are discussed one by one. Firstly, the feed forward neural network model were picked to predict dissolved oxygen of Surma River with all twenty six input combinations and compared with one another. Secondly, the sensitivity analysis was done by changing the value of individual input variables in a certain percentage. Thirdly, six best input combinations were selected based on their performan ces and rest of the three ANN models were utilized with those selected six input combinations. Finally, three best models from each ANN model were picked to compare with each other. The results of statistical data analysis, results of IVS, and results of ANN models will be discussed in this chapter chronologically. 4.1. Statistical Analysis of Data: Statistical parameters are very important components to understand the variability of a data set which is prerequisite of any modeling works.This study used some basic statistical parameters i.e. minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variability (CV) as defined below: Where, N is the total number of samples, is the water quality data, is the arithmetic mean of that particular data series. The summary of analysis is represented in Table 4.1. Standard Deviation (SD) shows the variation in data set, where smaller value represents the data is close together, while larger value denotes wide spreading of data set. The SD of dependent variable (BOD) showed relatively small value with respect to other parameters. But sometimes its difficult to understand variability only by SD value. Thus, coefficient of variability (CV) was used in this study for clear understanding of variability. Value of CV for BOD displayed larger variation (75%) that represents huge quantities of untreated wastewater was dumping from various point and nonpoint sources into this river during sample collection. All independent variables (remaining 14 parameters) also showed an enormous variation in CV value (8% to 144%). Such variability might be happened due to geographical variation s in climate and seasonal inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uences in the study region. pH showed lowest variation and it may happen due to the buffering capacity of the river. Table 4. 1: Basic Statistics i.e. minimum (min), maximum (max), mean (M), standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) of the measured water quality variables for a period of three years (January, 2010-December, 2012) in Surma River, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Variable Min Max Mean Std. CV (%) Phosphate (mg/l) 0.01 3.79 0.53 0.70 132 Nitrates (mg/l) 0.18 4.0 1.53 1.05 69 CO2 (mg/l) 8.0 127 32.66 20.99 64 Alkalinity (mg/l) 21 195 59.34 30.56 51 TS (mg/l) 55 947 292.2 165.69 57 TDS (mg/l) 10 522 142.3 102.15 72 pH 5.7 8.25 6.92 0.55 8 Hardness (mg/l) 45 262 119 43 36 SO4-3 (mg/l) 2.0 33.10 10.68 6.82 64 BOD (mg/l) 0.6 17.3 3.79 2.86 75 Turbidity (NTU) 4.18 42.62 11.84 7.37 62 K (mg/l) 1.47 35.22 5.45 5.75 106 Zinc (mg/l) 0.1 0.52 0.19 0.09 47 Iron (mg/l) 0.09 6.09 0.48 0.69 144 DO (mg/l) 1.9 17.30 5.40 2.45 45 4.2 Results of input variable selection: It is mentioned earlier that selection of appropriate input variables is one of the most crucial steps in the development of artificial neural network models. The selection of high number of input variables may contain some irrelevant, redundant, and noisy variables might be included in the data set (Noori et al., 2010). However, there could be some meaningful variables which may provide significant information. Therefore, reduction of input variables or selection of appropriate input variables is needed. There are so many IVS techniques available such as genetic algorithm, Akaike information criteria, partial mutual information, Gamma test (GT), factor analysis, principal component analysis, forward selection, backward selection, single variable regression, variance inflation factor, Pearsons correlation and so on. In this research, five IVS techniques such as factor analysis, variance inflation factors, and single variable -ANN, single variable regression, and Pearsons correlation (PC) are utilized to find out appropriate input combinations. The explanation of five selected IVS techniques are explained with the respective input combinations. 4.2.1. Factor Analysis: Factor analysis is a method used to interpret the variance of a large dataset of inter correlated variables with a smaller set of independent variables. At the initial stage, the feasibility study was carried out for the input variables used in this study was done by KMO index and correlation parameter matrix. The data are suitable for factor analysis if KMO index is greater than 0.5 and correlation coefficient is higher than 0.3. According to Table 4.1, the data are feasible for factor analysis as the KMO index of all data is found as 0.720 (greater than 0.5) and a null hypothesis (p=0.000) indicates a significant correlation between the variables. Moreover, from Table 4.2, many of the correlation coefficient (Pearsons) between water quality parameters are greater than 0.3 which also confirms the feasibility of water quality parameters for factor analysis. Table 4.3 describes the eigenvalues for the factor analysis with percent variance and cumulative variance. To find out the numbe r of effective factor, factors with Eigen values 1.5 are considered for ANN model. The scree plot of Eigenvalues are illustrated in Figure 4.2. As observed in Figure 4.1, the Eigen values are in descending order and a drop after 2nd factor confirms the existence of at least two main factors. Table 4.2 Coefficient of KMO and Bartlett test results Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.720 Bartletts Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 533.3 Df. 78.00 Sig. 0.000 Normally, factors having steeper slope are good for analysis whereas factors with low slope have less impact on the analysis. The first two factors cover 64.607% of total variance (Table 4.4). The results of rotated factor loading using Varimax method are tabulated in Table 4.5. The results indicated that the first factor is CO2, Alkalinity and K+, which are the most influential water quality parameter for Surma River. However, hardness, total solid (TS), Fe and total dissolved solid (TDS) are grouped in the second factor. Figure 4.1 Scree plot of eigenvalues of the Surma River Table 4.4 Individual eigenvalues and the cumulative variance of water quality observations in the Surma River Factors Eigen Values % Variance Cumulative Variance % 1 3.800 29.227 29.227 2 1.839 14.147 43.374 3 1.553 11.947 55.321 4 1.207 9.286 64.607 5 0.997 7.668 72.275 6 0.802 6.172 78.447 7 0.645 4.965 83.412 8 0.639 4.914 88.326 9 0.442 3.400 91.727 10 0.331 2.548 94.275 11 0.304 2.341 96.615 Table 4.5 Rotated factors loading for water quality observations in the Surma River using a Vartimax method 12 0.241 1.855 98.470 13 0.199 1.530 100.000 Factor NO3 pH CO2 Alk. Hard. TS BOD Tur. K+ Fe TDS PO4-3 01 .070 .173 .791 .876 .238 .273 -.178 .443 .859 -.038 .079 .179 02 .133 -.22 -.004 .143 .702 .797 .007 .141 .176 .621 .787 .165 03 .789 -.41 -.050 -.13 .107 -.25 .152 -.526 -.010 .114 -.135 .613 04 .156 .737 -.199 -.057 -.283 .117 .613 .287 -.079 .416 -.162 .170 Phosphate and nitrate are grouped in factor 3 whereas pH, BOD, Fe are grouped in factor 4. In this research, the variables in the first, second, third and fourth factor are named as the M16, M17, M18 and M19 respectively. All the model names along with their respective variables are tabulated in Table 4.6. Table 4.6 results of factor analysis with their respective inputs Model Input Variables FA I CO2+ Alkalinity + K+ FA II Hardness + TS + Fe + TDS FA III NO3+ PO4 -3 FA IV pH +   BOD 4.2.2. Variance Inflation Factor The variance inflation factor (VIF) is a method which measure the multi-collinearity in a regression analysis. In this study, variance inflation factors (VIF) were utilized to find appropriate inputs for the proposed model. The performances of VIF are tabulated in Table 4.7. It is found that, the VIF value is not that much satisfactory for all the variables. However, alkalinity, potassium, total solids and phosphate show quite a good result. To prepare some effective input combination for the ANN model, alkalinity was preferred for the model first and all the variables were added one by one. Moreover, only alkalinity is individually not considered in the model as the SV-ANN shows a weak performance for alkalinity (Table 22222).   Eleven input combinations were prepared based on the VIF value which is shown in Table 4.8. Table 4.7 Result of variance inflation factor for individual variables Input Combination VIF Alkalinity (mg/l) 3.180 K+ (mg/l) 2.847 TS (mg/l) 2.628 PO43- (mg/l) 2.070 CO2 (mg/l) 2.036 TDS (mg/l) 1.997 pH 1.898 Hardness (mg/l) 1.820 Turbidity (NTU) 1.696 Fe (mg/l) 1.290 BOD (mg/l) 1.177 NO3 (mg/l) 1.175 Table 4.8 Results of variance inflation factor (VIF) with their respective inputs Model Input Combinations VIF-I Alkalinity + K+ VIF-II Alkalinity + K+ TS VIF-III Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3 VIF-IV Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2 VIF-V Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS VIF-VI Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH VIF-VII Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH+ Hard VIF-VIII Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH+ Hard+ Tur. VIF-IX Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH+ Hard + Tur. + Fe VIF-X Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2 +TDS+ pH+ Hard + Tur. + Fe + BOD VIF-XI Alkalinity +K+TS+PO4-3+CO2+TDS+pH+Hard+Tur. +Fe + BOD + NO3 4.2.3. Pearsons correlation coefficient   It is not always true that all the variables should contribute to simulate the value of other parameters. Some variables can have a very good relationship with other, some may have weak connection. Pearson correlation is an effective option to understand the relationship with one variable to another. While modelling DO value for the Surma River, it is important to select the variables to have positive relationship with one another. For this reason, a Pearson correlation was prepared which is tabulated in Table 4.3. It is found that there are 4 different types of data combinations which have positive and significant relationship with each other as tabulated in Table 4.9. Table 4.9 Input combinations using Pearson correlation Model Input Combinations PC I Alkalinity + TDS+ PO4-3+CO2+K+ PC II pH + Hardness + Turbidity PC III Alkalinity + Hardness+ TS+CO2+K+ PC IV Hardness+ TS+ K+ Turbidity PC V Hardness+ TS+ Fe +TDS PC VI TS + Turbidity + Fe +TDS + K+ 4.2.4. SV-ANN The performance of single variable artificial neural network was also done to find out appropriate input variables for the proposed model. All the individual variables are separately trained, tested and validated. During utilization of SV-ANN, only correlation coefficient (R) is considered to select the appropriate variables. The performances of SV-ANN are tabulated in Table 4.10 for testing, training and validation array. From the analysis, it is found that the individual variables show a weak performance. Only TS and BOD perform better comparing with other variables.   The SV-ANN with TS shows a correlation coefficient of 0.596, 0.600 and 0.700 for testing, training, and validation phases respectively. Moreover, the respective correlation coefficient (R) for SV-ANN model with BOD are found as 0.578, 0.574 and 0.652 for testing, training and validation. However, turbidity, carbon di oxide, phosphate and nitrate have quite good relations with DO. As individual variables did not pro vide significant result, the variables are not considered in the ANN model individually. BOD and TS have quite well Table 4.10 the correlation coefficient (R) for single variable ANN and single variable MLR Variables Phase SV-ANN SV-MLR R R PO43- (mg/l) Testing 0.439 0.115 Training 0.549 Validation 0.440 NO3 (mg/l) Testing 0.211 0.148 Training 0.311 Validation 0.112 pH Testing 0.234 0.087 Training 0.201 Validation 0.432 CO2 (mg/l) Testing 0.391 0.057 Training 0.453 Validation 0.514 Alkalinity (mg/l) Testing 0.222 0.200 Training 0.211 Validation 0.099 Hardness (mg/l) Testing 0.139 0.089 Training 0.649 Validation 0.155 TS (mg/l) Testing 0.596 0.199 Training 0.600 Validation 0.700 BOD (mg/l) Testing 0.578 0.100 Training 0.574 Validation 0.652 Turbidity (NTU) Testing 0.431 0.183 Training 0.583 Validation 0.398 K+ (mg/l) Testing 0.111 0.046 Training 0.543 Validation 0.219 Fe (mg/l) Testing 0.217 0.002 Training 0.210 Validation 0.306 TDS (mg/l) Testing 0.222 0.084 Training 0.345 Validation 0.245 relations with DO so they are grouped in one model (SV-ANN I) and turbidity, carbon di oxide, phosphate and nitrate are grouped in another one (SV-ANN II). The input variables utilizing SV-ANN is tabulated in Table 4.11. 4.3.5. SV-MLR Like the performances of single variable ANN model, SV-MLR with all the input individual variables show weak performance. Moreover, variables like alkalinity, nitrates, total solid and turbidity show good result comparatively. The performances of SV-MLR are tabulated in Table 4.10. It is found that, alkalinity and TS show quite good results comparing with other variables and hence they are grouped together (SV-MLR I). Another model (SV-MLR II) was prepared using all the variables with correlation coefficient more than 0.200. The input variables using SV-MLR model are tabulated in table 4.12. Table 4.11 results of single variable artificial neural network with their respective inputs Model Input Variables SV-ANN-I TS + BOD SV-ANN-II TS + BOD+ PO4-3+ CO2+Turbidity Table 4.12 results of single variable multiple linear regression with their respective inputs Model Input Variables SV- MLR I Alkalinity + TS SV-MLR II Alkalinity + TS + Turbidity + NO3 Model IVS Type Input Variables M1 PC I Alkalinity + TDS+ PO4-3+ CO2 +K+ M2 P

Shakespeare - Globe Theater :: essays research papers

Compared to the technical theaters of today, the London public theaters in the time of Queen Elizabeth I seem to be terribly limited. The plays had to be performed during daylight hours only and the stage scenery had to be kept very simple with just a table, a chair, a throne, and maybe a tree to symbolize a forest. Many say that these limitations were in a sense advantages. What the theater today can show for us realistically, with massive scenery and electric lighting, Elizabethan playgoers had to imagine. This made the playwright have to write in a vivid language so the audience could understand the play. Not having a lighting technician to work the control panels, Shakespeare had to indicate wether it was dawn or nightfall by using a speech rich in metaphors and descriptive details. Shakespeare's theater was far from being bare, the playwright did have some valuable technical sources that he used to the best of his ability. The costumes the actors wore were made to be very elabor ate. Many of the costumes conveyed recognizable meanings for the audience such as a rich aristocrat wearing silk clothes with many ruffles. Many times there were musical accompaniments and sound effects such as gunpowder explosions and the beating of a pan to simulate thunder. The stage itself was also remarkably versatile. Behind it were doors for exits and entrances and a curtained booth or alcove useful for actors to hide inside. Above the stage was a higher acting area which symbolized a porch or balcony. This was useful in the story of Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo stood below Juliet and told her how he loved her. In the stage floor was a trap door which was said to lead to "hell" or a cellar, this was especially useful for ghosts or devils who had to appear and disappear throughout the play. The stage itself was shaped in a rectangular platform that projected into a yard that was enclosed by three story galleries. The building was round or octagonal in shape but Shakespeare called it a "wooden O." The audience sat in these galleries or else they could stand in the yard in front the stage. A roof and awning protected the stage and the high-priced gallery seats, but in the case bad weather, the "groundlings," who only paid a penny to stand in the yard, must have gotten wet.

Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Essay -- DDoS Attacks, Cyber Ter

Within the last decade, the internet has proven to be the most efficient way to complete tasks in today’s society. Every major business in today’s society relies on the internet to conduct business. Though the internet is a useful tool, our reliability on it opens up the door for cyber-attacks that can be detrimental to business as a whole. One example of a cyber-attacks that have recently started becoming more prevalent are DDoS attacks. Recently, DDoS attacks have been a rising issue for businesses owners who run their own servers, such as video game companies and other high profile web servers, including banks and other credit card payment gateways. A DDoS attack, distributed denial of service attack, is when one or more individuals attempt to force a network offline and unavailable to its intended users. This process is typically performed by flooding a network with communication requests until the server cannot respond to the traffic, thus making the server go offline and become available. This process is relatively simple to perform to the average person through online programs. Since it is so easy perform, it has become a rising issue simply because anyone has the ability to hack into various servers. One example in recent news of DDoS attacks comes from Riot Games, developer of the popular online multiplayer video game League of Legends. After a month of inconsistency with their server stability and frequent shut downs, Riot Games reported that within the l... Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Essay -- DDoS Attacks, Cyber Ter Within the last decade, the internet has proven to be the most efficient way to complete tasks in today’s society. Every major business in today’s society relies on the internet to conduct business. Though the internet is a useful tool, our reliability on it opens up the door for cyber-attacks that can be detrimental to business as a whole. One example of a cyber-attacks that have recently started becoming more prevalent are DDoS attacks. Recently, DDoS attacks have been a rising issue for businesses owners who run their own servers, such as video game companies and other high profile web servers, including banks and other credit card payment gateways. A DDoS attack, distributed denial of service attack, is when one or more individuals attempt to force a network offline and unavailable to its intended users. This process is typically performed by flooding a network with communication requests until the server cannot respond to the traffic, thus making the server go offline and become available. This process is relatively simple to perform to the average person through online programs. Since it is so easy perform, it has become a rising issue simply because anyone has the ability to hack into various servers. One example in recent news of DDoS attacks comes from Riot Games, developer of the popular online multiplayer video game League of Legends. After a month of inconsistency with their server stability and frequent shut downs, Riot Games reported that within the l...

Aggression as a Negative

Aggression is viewed by many as a negative response in sport, but theories of why aggression occurs contradict each other. Evaluate critically theories of aggression that seek to explain why negative responses often occur in sporting situations Use practical examples for the theories you evaluate. Aggression is any behaviour outside the rules of the game that aims to harm an individual that is motivated to avoid such harm. Some skills appear aggressive for example, a slide tackle in football, however they are perfectly legal in the games rules so it is not seen as aggressive behaviour.Possible negative responses relating to aggression are caused by; actual/perceived unfairness, frustration at performance, displaced aggression from other sources, pressure to win, retaliation, copying others, nature of the game, reaction to a hostile crowd, being on the losing team and previous ill-feeling (derby game). There are 4 theories of aggression; Instinct Theory, Social Learning Theory, Frustr ation Aggression Hypothesis and Aggression Cue Hypothesis.Instinct Theory (Freud) suggests that behaviour is predictable, genetically inherited and it is the Trait view of behaviour. According to this theory, we can tell which players and when they will perform aggressive acts. This says that everyone has aggression within them, it is just a continual build-up of energy that needs to be released through catharsis, for example, small lashes out at an opposition to release pressure (Lorenz). However this theory completely disregards an environmental stimulus that we know exists.Social Learning Theory (Bandura) suggests that behaviour is learned from our environment, for example we observe behaviours through a role model, we perform the behaviour (copy) then this mode of behaviour becomes accepted through reinforcement. For example, young footballer copies Wayne Rooney and kicks out at an opposition player, then gets praise from team-mates, this behaviour is reinforced, then the young player will do it more to create this sort of response again.This theory does the opposite of Instinct Theory and accepts the environmental stimuli however disregards the genetic influence, that we also know exists. These next two are Interactionist Theories that aim to combine environmental and genetic influences. Frustration Aggression Hypothesis suggests that frustration occurs when our goal-directed behaviour is blocked, and there is more frustration if the behaviour is outcome orientated. This hypothesis suggests that environmental build ups create a biological reaction as a cathartic release, if this release fails then we become more aggressive.For example, Jordan Mutch of Cardiff blocked Wayne Rooney from getting past so Wayne Rooney (goal blocked), Wayne Rooney got frustrated, Kicked out at Mutch and received a yellow card as punishment, this cathartic release failed. Aggression Cue Hypothesis suggests that frustration is equal to arousal; it creates a readiness for aggressi on. This aggression will only occur upon environmental cue. For example in football, being on the receiving end of a bad tackle provides the environmental cue which will increase arousal. If there is the presence of aggression, chances of aggression are increased dramatically.

High School District Essay

Declining high school dropout rates continue to reflect on the American educational system. Dropout rate for high school students refer to the number of individuals within the high school age range, between 16 to 24 years of age, who have not enrolled in school, obtained a high school diploma, or achieved equivalency documentation when compared to the general population for this age range. National statistical data indicates that the dropout rate decreased by 6 percent from 15 percent in 1972 to 9 percent in 2006. A similar decrease by 2 percent from 11 percent in 2000 to 9 percent in 2006 also occurred. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008) There are differing interpretations of the implications of these statistics particularly on developments in the educational system. Some consider this a positive reflection on the educational system while others recognize this as the persistence of the problems. Regardless of the perspective, the relative dropout rate points to improvements in the number of people not enrolling or completing high school as well as an area for further improvement. Dropping out from high school has adverse consequences to individuals and the broader community. On the part of individuals, majority of those who have dropped out of high school were unable to find jobs or engage in odd jobs (Stanard, 2003). Even if employed, there are limited opportunities for career advancement. Income would also likely remain low. (Campbell, 2004) This affects long-term financial security. On the part of communities, the dropout rate means more people likely to become dependent on the social welfare program of the government. This also translates into greater risk of involvement in alcoholism and drug use likely to co-occur with criminal activity. (Martin, Tobin & Sugai, 2002) Even with a decreased dropout rate, it is important to continue addressing this issue by getting at the root of the problem. While the dropout rate has declined, there is no change in the dropout rates when considering all races. The racial gap over the dropout rate remained the same. (Heckman & LaFontaine, 2007; National Center for Education Statistics, 2008) In comparing the dropout rate among Caucasians and Hispanics, the difference or gap in drop out rate is 20 percent in 1980 and 19 percent in 2000. Two reasons account for the nil change in the racial gap over the dropout rate between Caucasians and Hispanics. One is the census bias with Hispanic immigrants who have not graduated from high school included in the statistical data (Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2007). This gives rise to the issue of the evaluation of statistical measures and variables in determining dropout rates. The rise in Hispanic immigrants kept a high dropout rate for Hispanics even if the national dropout rate has declined. Another is school related factors that cause the racial disparity in dropout rate at the states and district levels (Orfield et al. , 2004). This means that there are race related school factors at the local level that contribute to the persistence of a huge gap between the dropout rates of Caucasians and Hispanics. One factor is the extent of inclusion or seclusion of minority students in various high schools of different districts (Heckman & LaFontaine, 2007). Another factor is the lower socio-economic status or higher poverty rates of minority high school students in various school districts leading to higher dropout rates (Orfield et al. , 2004). There are differences in the causes of dropout rates at the state or district level because of variances in the existing determining factors and the impact of these factors on racial disparity in dropout rates. State or district level studies are important in identifying and understanding the root cause of the racial gap in dropout rates. In the state of California, there is a concentration of dropout rates in certain schools. There are 2,462 high schools in the state but 100 of these high schools contribute 40 percent of students dropping out from high school. Of this number, 25 high schools account for 21 percent of the dropout rate. The mean rate of high school drop outs in the state is 3. 5 percent and most of the high schools in California report a dropout rate that is lower or equal to the average. Of the total number of schools in California, 76 schools have a more than 50 percent dropout rate. However, there are 662 high schools in the state without any dropouts. This zero dropout rate in these high schools is due largely to the non-traditional schools. In the different high schools, the dropout rate relative to race varies. (â€Å"One hundred,† 2008) Even at the state level, there are disparities in the dropout rate per school when considered relative to the varying racial composition of the school and other closely related school factors. As such, understanding the disparities in dropout rates relative to race requires study at the specific district level. The largest high school district in California is Kern County High School District. The district covers 22 educational institutions serving at least 37,000 students and employing 3,500 educational workers. The school district ranks as the 17th in terms of the highest number of dropouts, with 1st as highest. A large number of the population in this school district is Hispanic comprising 68 percent, followed by Caucasian making up 44 percent. More than one-quarter of the population are living beyond the poverty line. (Orfield et al. , 2004) The racial composition of this school district provides an insightful locale in studying why there is disparity in the dropout rate between Caucasians and Hispanics. This district comprise a good venue in testing the applicability of different perspectives on the reasons for the racial gap for high school dropouts and the identification of other reasons for the differences in the dropout rates specifically between Caucasians and Hispanics. References Campbell, L. (2003–2004). As strong as the weakest link: Urban high school dropout. High School Journal, 87(2), 16–25. Christle, C. A. , Jolivette, K. , & Nelson, M. C. (2007). School characteristics related to high school dropout rates. Remedial and Special Education, 28(6), 325-339. Heckman, J. J. , LaFontaine, P. A. (2007). The American high school graduation rate: Trends and levels. IZA Discussion Paper No. 3216. Bonn, Germany: The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). Martin, E. , Tobin, T. J. , & Sugai, G. M. (2002). Current information on dropout prevention: Ideas from practitioners and the literature. Preventing School Failure, 47(1), 10–18. National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). The condition of education 2008. Department of Education. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://nces. ed. gov/FastFacts/display. asp? id=16. One hundred California high schools account for more than 40 percent of the state’s dropouts. (2008, February 21). Reuters. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from http://www. reuters. com/article/pressRelease/idUS82976+21-Feb-2008+BW20080221. Orfield, G. , Losen, D. , Wald, J. , & Swanson, C. B. (2004). How minority youth are being left behind by the graduation rate crisis. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. Stanard, R. P. (2003). High school graduation rates in the United States: Implications for the counseling profession. Journal of Counseling and Development, 81, 217–222.

Report: Comair Flight

My Summary Comair Flight 191, also marketed and know as Delta Connection Flight 5191, was scheduled to fly from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia, on the morning of August 27, 2006. Unfortunately the jet crashed while attempting to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County, Kentucky. There is a ton of information on this accident and numerous â€Å"mistakes† that possibly led to it but it seems that the majority of the blame was put on the captain. I find this accident had multiple people at fault, in that if any one person was able to do their job professionally and accurately, this accident would not of happened and those people would still be alive today. The Event The aircraft was assigned by the tower to the airport's Runway 22 for the takeoff, but used Runway 26 instead. Runway 26 was too short for a safe takeoff which was typically used for general aviation, causing the aircraft to overrun the end of the runway before it could become airborne. It crashed just past the end of the runway, killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew. The first officer was the only survivor and not the pilot in command but was flying at the time of the accident. Matthew Kawamura 06/15/2013 Air Trans 1010 SM Errors Leading Some of these errors are of skill based, judgment and or perception based but some are a combination. 1. The flight crew initially boarded the wrong aircraft. A Comair ramp agent noticed that the accident flight crew had boarded the wrong airplane and started its auxiliary power unit. Another company ramp agent notified the flight crewmembers that they had boarded the wrong airplane. The flight crew then shut down the APU and proceeded to the correct airplane. I don’t know if this is a common mistake but shows me how easy the day can start off wrong. That’s 3 professional people that all walked on the wrong plane and did not notice. Should this have set off some alarms that something was not right? My question has no answers but am sure it may have caused them to be behind schedule and then add some sort of stress. 2. The LEX air traffic control tower was staffed with one controller at the time of the accident airplane’s preflight activities, taxi, and attempted takeoff. The controller was responsible for all tower and radar positions. I believe that if the tower did not check on the radar position and follow through on watching the aircraft. He was to make sure the aircraft was on the correct runway. According to the report, the tower was to be manned with two people. If this was enforced, maybe the controller would not have been so over worked and could have caught the mistake. I think also that the controller had assumptions that this crew knew what was going on and didn’t need to be babysat. There had not been any issues with any other aircraft getting on the wrong runway that we know of. 3. The first officer began the takeoff briefing, which is part of the before starting engines checklist. During the briefing, he had confusion as to what runway to use and stated, â€Å"he said what runway†¦ two four,† to which the captain replied, â€Å"it’s two two. † The first officer continued the briefing, which included three additional references to runway 22. This would lead one to believe that there was no more confusion about what runway to use and a second check could have saved them. 4. During the brief, the first officer also noted that the runway end identifier lights were out and commented, â€Å"came in the other night it was like †¦ lights are out all over the place. † This reflects the care of the airport fac ilities. Sounds like a simple task to replace lights but we have no answers to why this is allowed to go on. Having had been to this airport other times, I can see no concern for it as long as you are sure. Just because other planes are doing it doesn’t make it safe. I feel a lot of stuff is follow the leader or a check list mindlessly because that’s how it is and is the same result at the end†¦ Everything the same and ok. This brings in carelessness. Matthew Kawamura 06/15/2013 Air Trans 1010 SM Violations 1. During the start engines checklist, some shady stuff was going on. The captain pointed out that the before starting engines checklist had already been completed, and the first officer questioned, â€Å"We did†? The irst officer seems to be a little behind the curve, the captain is going to fast for him through the checks or just wanted to skipped it completely. Being only a first officer, who is going to argue and is just relying on the captain’s word or not doing checks properly. This also may be standard cheating around the industry. Who will blow the whistle? 2. The flight crew engaged in conversation that was not pertinent to the operation of the flight. This would be violating the sterile cockpit rules during critical moments. Matthew Kawamura 06/15/2013 Air Trans 1010 SM Maybe a sterile cockpit could of helped? Three people messing around sounds like fun but seem to forget about the other people on board who depend on them to be professional. Environmental The crew, tower, weather and plane all seemed to be good to go from the reports. The runway had lighting issues and the charts had some issues. 1. Runway 4/22 had high intensity runway lights that worked and also had centerline lights and runway end identifier lights, but they were out of service at the time of the accident because of a construction project. If more care would of been put in place to how this affects the pilots, and listened to pilot complaints this should not of been an issue. 2. The charts showed the taxiway configuration at the completion of the construction project that was not completed. I couldn’t figure out what all the before and after charts meant, but the bottom line is that the charts in use were out of date and or didn’t show proper information which could have caused more confusion for the crew. Supervision 1. The captain began a discussion with the first officer about which of them should be the flying pilot to ATL. The captain offered the flight to the first officer, and the first officer accepted. Matthew Kawamura 06/15/2013 Air Trans 1010 SM The captain delegated to the first officer and then seemed to rush through the check list and the first officer seemed to not be quite on the ball. The first officer let the captain take control of the check list, this in turn led to inadequate supervision and failure to correct. Organizational influence For the pilots, they seemed to be way relaxed not worried about what was going on around them. This was just another flight even though there was a lot around them going wrong to include the lights and short briefs. Seems that there is no checks to see how people work when no one is watching. For the tower, He seemed relaxed at his job also. He did some presuming and thought he didn’t have to babysit professionals. He saw the Comair airplane make a turn toward what he presumed to be runway 22, which was the last time he observed the airplane. The controller stated that, after he saw the airplane make this turn, he turned away and faced the tower cab’s center console so that he could begin the traffic count. Verbal guidance from the FAA’s vice president of terminal services, stated that facilities with radar and tower responsibilities were to be staffed with two controllers on the midnight shift so that the functions could be split, although both controllers could be colocated in the tower. There seemed to be checks and the tower continued how they wanted. Sounds like there should have been two controllers on duty so this puts people higher in the chain of command at being relaxed and not needing to worry cause it won’t happen to them. The Complete Chain IMO ( In my opinion) 1. I think the first link to the chain of events that led to this crash was when they boarded the wrong plane. This may have put them behind and then started the short cutting of briefs and procedures. Maybe it was just the beginning of their laziness and nothing cloud of have changed it. 2. The charts and lighting situation may have caused more confusion in the cockpit. 3. If the tower had two people, it may have helped out one of the controllers and allowed him the time to watch and make sure they were on the correct runway. The first two points being corrected still may not have prevented this accident but certainly the third would have prevented it unless they just didn’t listen. Solutions 1. Better taxi brief and follow. 2. Use check list and not shortcut. 3. Sterile cockpit. 4. Rest periods modified and day/night shift crews. 5. CRM training 6. Random safety checks 7. Fix lighting and make better 8. Look out the window for cues. Matthew Kawamura 06/15/2013 Air Trans 1010 SM NTSB determination â€Å"The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crewmembers’ failure to use available cues and aids to identify the airplane’s location on the airport surface during taxi and their failure to cross?check and verify that the airplane was on the correct runway before takeoff. Contributing to the accident were the flight crew’s nonpertinent conversation during taxi, which resulted in a loss of positional awareness, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to require that all runway crossings be authorized only by specific air traffic control clearances. †

Management accounting questions

Decision makers are variably constrained by the environmental factors, their education, and mental ability. Besides these, decision makers may be constrained by the deficiencies in the information that Is available to them. Required Elaborate this statement with reference to Information deficiency with regard to Information timeliness, Information accuracy and clarity, Information relevance, and Information aggregation levels.Cite examples to support your points Jam Ltd is a manufacturer of a fertilizer product which is packed in 50 keg bags. The following report for year ended 31st December 2013 based on account analysis classification is availed to you Manufacturing costs Account Nature or Classification Amount in This 000 Direct Materials All variable 360,000 Direct Labor 200,000 Overhead costs: Electricity and water 60% variable 60,000 Managerial salaries 20% variable 1 o,oho Maintenance costs variable Depreciation 0% variable Indirect labor 50% variable 120,000Non manufacturing costs Accounts Administration expenses Marketing expenses 40% variable Depreciation costs 80,000 During the year 2013, Jam Ltd produced 80,000 bags. Management is forecasting sales price for the year 2014 based on 2013 cost data. The following additional data is available for the year 2014 compared to the data for the year 2013 1 . Price for direct materials are expected to increase by 10% 2. Under the terms of labor contract, both direct and indirect labor rates are expected to increase by 0% 3. All depreciation costs are expected to increase by 10% 4.Administration and marketing expenses to increase by 20% 5. Electricity and water, maintenance costs and managerial salaries are not expected to change 6. Jam Ltd expects to produce and sell 96,000 bags of fertilizer in the year 2014 Required (I) Estimates price per kilo of fertilizer in the year 2014 if gross profit margin of 201% is targeted (it) Outline advantages and limitations of cost based pricing technique ) For the year 2014 the following projected company data is made available to you for planning purpose 1.Estimated manufacturing costs when production level is 190,000 units is: fixed costs This 180,500,000 and per unit variable costs This 2,800. This cost behavior is maintained at all levels 2. The annual fixed advertising costs of This 190,000,000 and per unit uniform marketing costs of This 800 at all levels 3. A market survey carried out shows that for a change in privet

Philosophical Autobiography Essay

Life is what not it’s cracked up to be. Sure, it sounds like good, but eventually we all encounter despair, failure, suffering, frustration, the being unloving of our own hearts and of those around us, and finally death. Experience tells us even the best aspects of life are ultimately unsatisfying.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probably the most significant question we can ask ourselves is what the most important thing in life is. The question has far reaching implications in that the answers that we arrive at can determine the course of the rest of our lives. Many would consider money or financial success as the most important factor in life. The high rate of suicide amongst lottery winners would contradict this. Others would search for fame, yet the list of famous people who have committed suicide or died from an overdose of drugs continues to grow. Good health would be high on anyone’s priorities, and the presence of love in ones life is also of major importance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would propose that wisdom is the most important thing in life. The best definition of wisdom that I have read is â€Å"the best means to achieve the best ends†. Wisdom is needed to achieve the best results in the myriad decisions we all need to make daily in our personal, financial, family, work, community lives. Each one of us has a unique mindset or set of beliefs which are continuously changing and which we use to make decisions, each of which has significant roll on effect on how the rest of our lives turn out. These mindsets are determined by the unique environments we have grown up in, our age, our education and the cumulative impact that each life experience has had on us. Our unique mindset is either working in our favor or working against us in each and every situation that we face. One way that we can test how online our thinking is in a particular situation is to look at the results we achieve as a result of the actions we took. Good results means our governing beliefs were online, bad results means that we need to re-evaluate our beliefs to determine what caused the negative outcome. I would propose that life is very much like a game and that a comparison between the two is very enlightening. In any game, you need to be fit, possess certain skills and have a good knowledge of the rules in order to participate. In life, we need to have a good knowledge of the rules that apply and to use this knowledge continuously in order to assess and make decisions in every situation that we face. The more intensely we play the game of life, the better our knowledge and application of the rules, the better the results we will achieve, much like a football player who is skilled, trains hard and knows the rules. During the course of our lives we progress from being dependent on our parents for food and shelter and emotional support, to being independent as we become young adults. We learn to make decisions for ourselves, and as we see the results of our decisions we get feedback and the resultant experience adds wisdom to subsequent decisions. The next stage is to develop relationships with others, or interdependence, and it is through these relationships that significant personal growth can occur. Many of us however have a low sense of self esteem which holds us back in relating to others. We look at the results we have and are achieving in our lives. If our results are unsatisfactory, we reassess our beliefs and make adjustments to our actions. Additional feedback is our emotions like fear, anger, unhappiness, disappointment etc. Our target is to lead a joy-filled, intense yet balanced life, leading to continually increasing wisdom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, most of us need to unwind and get away from our hectic schedules from school, work, and other things that keep us busy. Like other young adults, they hang out in bars to have some fun but in my case, I rather go to the beach or in the mountains with my family to spend time with them and at the same time to recollect, meditate and appreciate the creation of God. Each place has its own beauty that attracts my attention. I love nature that much. I am thrill and feel excited every time I gaze their natural beauties. These are the places where I can meditate, recollect and reminisce my past or the things I do previously.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I like going to the beach if I want to find enjoyment and fun. I like the beach a lot because the breeze is very fresh. When I am in the beach, I enjoy staying under the heat of the sun while reading my favorite book and the sun makes my skin tan and adorable to look at. I also feel free and at ease. I can wear too my favorite swimwear.   When I am in the beach, it gives me an opportunity to surf and play beach ball games which I cannot do when I am at home and school. I also bury myself under the sand as a sort of relaxation and therapy to my body and when I do that, it gives me a sort of relief. Going to the beach also gives me an opportunity to meet new set of people from different walks of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, going to the mountains is also an interesting thing to do. It is fun and adventure. If I want to be on my own and don’t want to be disturbed by people, I immediately go to the mountains. The air there is as fresh as in the beach but it is not crowded with people. I can only find trees and animals. The chirps of the birds really inspire me and want to live life to the fullest. It makes me realize, too, that though birds live simply, they are happy and contented with their lives. They don’t ask for more but happy of what they have. This is the perfect place for meditation and for adventure. I am free from air and noise pollutions from the city where I live. When I am on the mountains, it gives me an opportunity to sleep early and helps me wake up excitedly the next day to have a brisk walk or climb some mountainous areas. Moreover, as a wide reader, I love to read detective and inspirational books. These would help me develop my critical thinking and analyze why things happen that way. Hence, I also like the works of Shakespeare especially the story of Hamlet. Considered as one of the greatest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Hamlet is also one of the best-known plays in world literature. It is distinguished to be one of the first of its kind of being peculiarly a â€Å"philosophical play†, in addition to having a variety of metaphysical and psychological theories. Although revenge tragedies already existed during and before its time, Hamlet best exemplifies the genre of Elizabethan revenge. A center of many arguments is the apparent delay of Hamlet’s revenge. Critical discussion of this supposed procrastination has a long history. Goethe thought Hamlet too sensitive, Coleridge and A.W. von Schlegel too intelligent to be capable of action. The early 20th century English critic A.C. Bradley saw him as restrained by melancholia, the 19th century German scholar Herman Ulrici by moral scruples; the Freudians viewed him as too complex-ridden to kill his uncle (â€Å"Hamlet†). This aspect of Hamlet’s behavior is seen either as a flaw or a virtue. The story contains four sons of murdered fathers (Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras, and Pyrrhus), but Hamlet differs from the three’s pursuit for revenge. He even goes as far as feigning insanity in order to conceal his real agitation and divert attention from his task of revenge. The subject of revenge, which is one of the focal themes of the play, transcends every genre, for there is a Hamlet in every one of us. As Hamlet in the story suffers pain and grief as a result of the circumstances surrounding his father’s death, the usurping of the throne and by the betrayal he felt from his mother’s remarriage to his father’s brother, Hamlet is then filled with the dilemma of whether to take revenge against the wrongdoer. Suffering and grief as a consequence of injustice and oppression is as old as man’s history. Even during the course of the play, Hamlet’s torment alienates him from all those around him, even though he has a close friend to confide with. Such inner turmoil is only expressed in his soliloquies but unknown to those around him. Certainly, the depth of suffering is known only the most by the one who suffers.   How people variously react to such agonies is showcased in the play’s story. Most often, it is the common desire to act as the three other young men (Laertes, Fortinbras, and Pyrrhus) did — pursue their task of vengeance with ruthless single-mindedness. However, Hamlet’s situation is far more complicated. This shows that indeed, vengeance is far from simple. While it seeks to retaliate by inflicting pain for pain, Shakespeare’s Hamlet shows the peril of vengeance. All those who sought revenge died. Hamlet’s loved ones (such as Ophelia), those whom he could have sought solace and comfort, and himself also died. They became victims of Hamlet’s reckless rage as a result of his deflected and unfulfilled desire for retaliation. Revenge therefore, sinks both the offender and the avenger, pulling down along with it the innocent. It is a bearer of destruction. While most revenge plays justifies the avenger by emphasizing him or her as a victim, Hamlet’s character hangs a question above it. At the very core of revenge is bitterness, and is like a ‘rotten apple that spoils the whole bunch’. It has destroyed everything that’s good in Hamlet and made him much more evil than his stepfather. The danger of retaliation is to do greater harm than what was received. No one overcomes evil, with evil. Before bitterness could do its harm, it is best thrown out. Truly, Shakespeare’s Hamlet speaks to every individual in every genre, since ALL of us must pass through a time of making that choice: â€Å"TO BE (bitter) OR NOT TO BE (bitter)? That indeed is a question we all must face.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, I believed that I am a one of a kind person so the saying or quote that would definitely describe me is â€Å"The Grateful One†. The reason I chose this quote is because this is what I perceive myself as and this is what other people think about me too. Not all people are being appreciative and thankful of what they have in life. Some of them would only be grateful when things go smoothly and when they can get the things they want. But through the years and seasoned with testing and circumstances, I have learned that I should be grateful in every way; thus, thanking those people who have helped me shape my character not only those people who brought positive impacts in my life but including those people who have hurt me. It is so irony to be grateful for those people who have hurt me but to some degree, their negative actions toward me make me strong as an individual and learn to depend on God. I have learned, too, that I should not only be thankful during the times when my spirit is uplifted but as well as the time when I am also down because I believe that everything has a purpose why things happen and during those gloomy days of my life, I was able to ponder and see the true beauty of life; thus, showing me who are my true friends are.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, I never let the day pass without being appreciative and thankful to every people I meet. I may not directly say thank you to them but at least I would tell them that I appreciate to be with their presence. But most of all, I will continually be grateful to God for giving me a family and parents who are very supportive and really inculcated that good conduct. Actually, I come from a strong Christian background and my family tells me, consistently, to always acknowledge God and to remember where my blessings come from. I am what I am today because of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though I am very active with my academic career and civic organizations, I had this experience before that totally teach me a lesson. It teaches me how to listen some advices from others especially from our parents. This is my other side. To let go of someone you dearly love is very painful to do. The pains cause by ending relationship is very unbearable. Some people may find their world tear apart when they realize that their relationship with their partner is not going well. I have had this relationship in the past that truly marks in my heart and in my mind. I do love this person very much despite of his weaknesses and flaws but many people around us do not like the idea of being us together. At first, I try not to give ear to their comments and opinions because of my love for my partner. But in a long run, I decide to call it quits because I find out that my partner is having an affair with other man; take note, it’s a â€Å"man.† It truly hurts me a lot because he exchanges me to a man! It is a big slap my on face. That is the first factor I consider when I break up with him. He is not trustworthy and faithful. I just strongly believe that a woman is meant to be with a man and a man is meant to be with a woman. Though I live in a liberated world but I cannot just take and stand with this kind of idea that is having an affair with same sex. When I break up with him, I feel so much freedom that I never been experiencing when we are still together. I don’t know why I feel that way, but that is how I really feel. I feel like a bird being imprison in a cage for a long time and has the chance to be released. When my friends especially my parents learn about it, they are very happy and relieve. They don’t just like my partner because they can smell something fishy on him. After the break, I feel such joy in my heart and feel more beautiful inside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, many people think of personality as being made up of observable traits such as shyness, friendliness, and initiative. However, such traits are only the outward expression of various inner conditions and processes such as intelligence, attitudes, interests, and motives. Normal persons develop relatively consistent personalities that are distinguished by certain dominant traits. Persons belonging to the same cultural group—such as a family or nation—have many traits in common. But each person exhibits different traits under different circumstances, and each has unique traits as well as those he or she shares with others. It is also known that personalities develop throughout life, and may even undergo fundamental changes as result of psychotherapy or other treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, personality is produced by the interaction of heredity and environment. Inborn qualities affect the individual’s response to the outside world, and the environment influences the way in which inborn capacities develop. However, the precise reasons why one person develops certain personality traits, while other develops other traits, are not known.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What you have known to yourself is not known to others. They only base their judgments on what they see and that is your personality. Basically, the treatment of people on you depends on how you carry yourself, through your composure when you are irritated and how you dressed up yourself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An example of this is how you dress up yourself.   Don’t wear clothes that will give others a reason to criticize and not respect you at all but rather wear clothes that would motivate them to respect you as a person because if you would like to be respected, pay respect first to yourself by wearing clothes decently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have observed that people that I meet pay me respect because of the way I dress and talk to them. I have a number of experiences that with regards to how I dress up and gaining respect from others. They find my personality respectable because of how I act and how I carry my clothes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another thing, we cannot deny that there is always prejudice and biases wherever we go. People will treat you nicely or give you special treatment if they find you attractive or appealing but if you are not attractive to their eyes, they will just ignore you as if you do not exist. It usually happens in big and known department stores or any establishment. If you wear flashy clothes and very attractive to look at, the salesperson will entertain you very well and gives you a welcome smile but if you wear just a simple dress and you are not that attractive, there is a tendency that the salesperson will not give you a fair treatment. She/He might think that you cannot afford the stuff they are selling and why does she/he bother entertaining you?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are times too that attractive people are always popular and they are respected because of their good looking appearances. Moreover, many people would be fanatic to them and may imitate their styles. Just like the actresses and actors that we have in the past and at present. Because of their charisma, many people would try to imitate and dream to be like them. But if you only have a plain face, there is always a tendency that people would make fun of you. So we cannot deny that in this world, most people are looking only for the outside appearance and they forgot to look what is in the heart.

Workplace Climate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Workplace Climate - Essay Example However, professionalism also sets in since one must manage his/her temper when under stress. My co-workers were supportive and during break time, they would give practical tips in how to deal with an angry client or rebook a missed flight. Another characteristic of that workplace is that we were like a family. As a Chinese, we believe in team work and unity. Fortunately, my co-workers tolerate individual and cultural differences. Recognizing diversity in a company really contributes to a positive workplace. Employees do not feel discriminated and they work more productively since they are free to be themselves. Every morning, our boss calls in for a quick 15-minute meeting that reports the transactions done yesterday. We were constructively criticized and accepted the need to improve our behavior. This has greatly helped in creating a positive environment. If there was one department that needed some data or extra hand we immediately collaborated so that we can reach our goal for a certain day. I think that is the essence of team work. Because of the premise of recognizing individual differences, we tried to adjust our expectations from one another. One co-worker would state† this is not my forte, crunching numbers so If you need more clarification, just ask me†. In this manner, we admit our limitations and even find co-workers who would mentor us. Even our boss is not controlling. Perhaps, he really knows the true meaning of empowerment. There is a high degree of trust and responsibility bestowed on us which we try to achieve. If we need help, we do voice out our help by asking immediate superior so a concern can be addressed. Like any other organization, problems and conflicts arise. When there is a mistake committed, we evaluate on our meetings what went wrong. We identify people who are responsible with the task and analyze if procedures have been followed. It is

Interpretation of Financial Statements and Performance Management Case Study

Interpretation of Financial Statements and Performance Management - Case Study Example Cleanup Limited has initiated the discussion on a new product that has been designed by the director of the production division. But the discussion on the new product was premised on the recent analysis that the market share of the company, while steady for a number of years at 12 per cent, is now becoming under serious threat from competitors and a maturing market. Hence, the main challenge is how to secure the hold of the company on the 12 per cent market share. The company should come up with fresh strategies that would allow it to hold on to the 12 per cent market share, and if the company would be aggressive enough, it should even aspire for an increase in its share of the pie. How can Cleenup defend or increase its market share? Several strategies include market creation for a new product, market penetration for a current product, product differentiation for the current market. According to Kotler (1994, p.383), market share can be expended by continuously searching for â€Å"new users, new uses, and more usage† for the product. Defending market share, on the other hand, would simply require a management mentality of â€Å"continuous innovation† (Kotler, 1994, p.385). Firms should avoid the temptation to be complacent, and Kotler advised not to be content with â€Å"the way things are, and (the firms) leads the industry in developing new products and customer services, distribution efficiency, and cost-cutting† (Kotler, 1994, p.385). This brings the discussion to the new product design developed by the director of the production division. After investing on research and development to the tune of â‚ ¤350 thousand, and securing a patent for the design of the product at a cost of â‚ ¤275 thousand, the directors are to determine which course of action to take next, realizing the financial rewards and requirements of each option available. Vis-à  -vis the financial considerations, the directors of Cleenup are considering three options: sell the patent, develop a prototype and sell the right to manufacture, and manufacture the product itself.  Ã‚  

Gastroesophageal Reflux disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gastroesophageal Reflux disease - Essay Example Other factors that are involved in pathogenesis of GERD included the reflux of gastric acid and pancreatic enzyme that lead to injury of the oesophageal mucosa. In essence, the defence mechanism of the oesophagus are in two ways i.e. clearance and resistance of the oesophageal mucosa. Oesophageal clearance plays a significant role in neutralising the acid that is refluxed through the LES. Enhanced clearance reduces the time that oesophagus is exposed to the corroding effect of gastric acid mixtures. The mucosal resistance of the oesophagus offers a protective mechanism and if these defences fail then oesophagitis ensues as a complication of GERD. The Lower oesophageal sphincter (LES) has a significant role in causing GERD. Dysfunction of LES may occur due to transient relaxation of LES and increase of intra-abdominal pressure that exceed the pressure of LES. Delay in gastric emptying may cause GERD because of the increased pressure in the stomach that may overcome the pressure of LES . A Hiatal hernia may cause GERD because it may push LES to move proximally into the chest making it lose its high-pressure area in the abdomen (Kahrilas, 2010). Management of GERD involves lifestyle modification as well as the use of medication to reduce gastric acid. The lifestyle modifications include weight loss, elevating head of bed if experiencing nocturnal symptoms and avoidance of food that worsen the symptoms. Proton pump inhibitors, for example, Omeprazole, Lansoprazole and rabeprazole are the drug of choice in managing GERD. These drugs inhibit the secretion of gastric acid from the gastric parietal cells. H2-receptor antagonists are used in mild cases, which act by competitively blocking histamine receptors specifically those of gastric parietal cells. These drugs include ranitidine, cimetidine and nizatidine among others, they are also used as maintenance therapy to prevent relapse of

Crime Scene Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crime Scene - Research Paper Example Even though they are the most common, they are also the most easily contaminated and therefore, must be handled literally with kid gloves. When a crime scene investigator is called upon to collect hair sample evidence, he can do this a number of ways. However, the most common method is to ; â€Å"use the fingers or tweezers to pick up hair, place in paper bundles or coin envelopes which should then be folded and sealed in larger envelopes. Label the outer sealed envelope.† In instances when the hair is found to be mixed with blood or other items at the crime scene, it is important to preserve all the types of evidence present. Therefore, in order to collect the hair sample while attached to say, a bloodstain, a CSI might find himself leaving the hair intact where it dried up or got mixed up in because of the method by which it is recovered and packed ; â€Å"If the object is small, mark it, wrap it, and seal it in an envelope. If the object is large, wrap the area containing the hair in paper to prevent loss of hairs during shipment. â€Å" (â€Å"†Evidence Collection Guidelines†) Tests that can be performed on a hair sample include Fresh Blood on the other hand, â€Å"... needs to be absorbed in a gauze pad or sterile cloth and allowed to dry thoroughly†. If whole pieces of clothing are retrieved, â€Å"label and roll in paper or place in a brown paper bag or box and seal and label container. Place only one item in each container. Do not use plastic containers., then allow it to dry at room temperature at the crime lab.† (â€Å"†Evidence Collection Guidelines†) These types of evidence cannot be exposed to sunlight as it will contaminate the blood. Dried blood on the other hand, requires that the clothing be wrapped in clean containers in the same manner as fresh blood. If the blood is found on small objects, the object should be wrapped, labeled, and sealed in a box before being shipped to the laboratory. (†Å"†Evidence Collection Guidelines†). It is important to not mix blood stains and instead place any stains retrieved from table or counter tops in separate envelopes. It is important to not retrieve the blood evidence with moistened cloth or tissue paper because its chemical composition will influence the freshly recovered evidence. One of the tests can be performed on both dry and liquid samples would be DNA matching and blood chemical analysis for those suspected of being poisoned. When recovering firearms, it is important to wear latex gloves in order to preserve any DNA, trace, or fingerprints on the gun. Remember to treat it as a loaded gun even though the visual evidence indicates the cartridge is empty. Remember that there may be unfired bullets in the chamber and therefore, the weapon should not be shipped by any method for safety reasons. Prior to sending the gun to the lab, it is of the utmost importance that the serial number, make and model, caliber and model markings are properly recorded because â€Å"Marking firearms is important since duplicate serial numbers are sometimes found on different guns of the same make and general type.† (â€Å"†Evidence Collection Guidelines†) When a gun is recovered at the crime scene, shell casings from the bullets won't be far behind. As with the gun itself, latex gloves are the order of the day when recovering the bullet casings. The bullets should be wrapped in paper or dropped into the small evidence bag that are properly labeled. Once a while, labeled pill boxes and envelopes may