Identical Diversity of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece

Mesopotamia is a Greek term which refers to the land between two rivers namely Euphrates and Tigris which is now called Iraq. Mesopotamia is known for being occupied by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians which helped in making it a very diverse civilization both in culture and design. Due to the fact that Mesopotamia is a land between two rivers, their way of writing, farming (irrigation), astronomy, literature and design all depended on the two rivers. Hellenistic Greece literally means a culture wherein Greeks and Asians are together. This vision started with the conquest of Alexander the great which started with the conquest of Babylon up to the trip to India. All of his efforts helped spread the Greek Culture all throughout Asia. Aside from that, the very first conquest of Alexander the great was Mycenae and then the infamous Egypt was next, which is why there was a city in Egypt called Alexandria. With all the different conquests and all the different cultures coinciding with each other, it is evident that there may be diversity in the three civilizations, but surely there will have been common structural and cultural designs that will clash with each other. Two of the civilizations, namely Mesopotamia and Egypt share common architecture. Seldom do they create towering homes or buildings most especially under the heat of the sun. They create buildings that have ceilings that would bend inwards if not arching upwards. In creating their housing they simply use branches and mud to be able to make their shelter weather proof. Although when it comes to building tombs or monuments such as temples and palaces they make use of bricks and in the case of the Egyptians by 4000 BC they make use of stones such as limestone, granite and sandstone. In both civilizations they creatively made sun dried bricks made of mud to be able to make their infamous monuments. Monuments that still stand until now such as Mastabas in the case of the Egyptians, where they bury their dead and the great Ziggurats of the Mesopotamians were the first monumental buildings made by man kind. On the other hand, Greece was famous for a number of different monuments. In Mycenae tombs such as that found in the other two civilizations is present namely the great beehive tombs and massive palaces. The Greeks are famous when it comes to the pillars with a decorated top or formally called as ‘capitals’. But unknown to many men, these originate in the basic design of Mesopotamian and Egyptian pillars. Pillars in these two countries used to be made of bundle of reeds. When one looks at the bundle of reeds they seem like a circular arrangement pointing upwards in a neat array with protrusions on the bottom and most especially on the top. Egyptians evolved from reeds to stone. Egyptians made pillars made of stone in the way that their previous pillars where made, they placed palm-leaf designs for the ‘capitals’ and ribbed fluting to make it similar to their pillars of reeds. From this design the Greeks altered it in such a way that they made the pillars a lot slimmer for balance but still kept the ‘capitals’ and used it as a horizontal support. Generally there are a lot more different influences are shared by these three civilizations due to the fact that they share common history. Monuments, buildings and pillars are just some of the great identical differences they may have. `Highlights from the Collection: Mesopotamia', Oriental Institute of theUniversity of Chicago, [Online] Available at: http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/highlights/meso.html ‘Mesopotamia’, Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia, [Online] `Iraq-Ancient Mesopotamia', Library of Congress; Article on Ancient Iraq, [Online] Available at: http http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/neareast/a/LOCIraq.htm `Greece', Cyber Museum, [Online] Available at: http://members.tripod.com/jaydambrosio/greece.html Fletcher, T. 2006, `A Short History of the World Architecture’, Essential Architecture, [Online] Available at: http://www.essential-architecture.com/MISC/MISC-hist.htm ; ;

How and Why did Labor Unions Start Essay

Essentially, labor unions are associations of workers who are banded together for the purpose of improving their employment conditions and protecting themselves and their coworkers from economic and legal exploitation. Members of labor unions engage in collective bargaining with their employers, as well as general political activism. Labor unions are almost as old as America itself. Although primitive unions of carpenters and other tradespeople made an appearance in various cities in colonial America, the first national labor unions gained strength in the 1820s. During this time, workers banded together to reduce the working day from a grueling 12 hours to a more manageable 10 hours. In 1866, the Nation Labor Union persuaded Congress to cut the workday down to today’s eight hour standard. Labor Day, a holiday observed on the first Monday in September, is a creation of the organized labor movement. The day is intended to honor the achievements of American workers and the contributions they have made to the prosperity and strength of the United States. The first Labor Day celebration was organized by members of the Central Labor Union and held on 5 September 1882. Labor unions are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries in the United StatesLarger unions also typically engage in lobbying activities and electioneering at the state and federal level. Most unions in America are aligned with one of two larger umbrella organizations: the AFL-CIO created in 1955, and the Change to Win Federation which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. Both advocate policies and legislation on behalf of workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics. The AFL-CIO is especially concerned with global trade issues. Although much smaller compared to their peak membership in the 1950s, American unions remain a prominent political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations around issues such as immigrant rights, trade policy, health care, and living wage campaigns. To fight alleged employer anti-union programs, unions are currently advocating new â€Å"card check† federal legislation that would require employers to bargain with a union if more than 50% of workers signed forms, or â€Å"cards,† stating they wish to be represented by that union. The current procedure involves waiting  45 to 90 days for a federally supervised secret-ballot employee referendum on the subject.

Minimum or living wage on unemployment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Minimum or living wage on unemployment - Essay Example Consequently, minimum wages stifle job vacancies for the minorities, low-skill workers, and the youth. In view of this, the essay classically analyses the impact of a minimum or living wage on unemployment. Minimum wage policies originated from Fair Labour Standard Act (FLSA) which was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938(Waltman 2004, p.141). During that period, the act covered specific areas in production industry, which include transportation, mining, and manufacturing industries. However, as time went by, other sectors of the economy were added such as public schools, laundries, and construction industry. Currently, the act covers over 85 percent of the labour force. Thus, the state requires employers to comply with the minimum wages set by the state. Minimum wage policies affect the overall economy. Employers are forced to change their living standards to ensure that they accommodate the increase in the minimum wage. Although the government has set a specific level of minimum wage payment, there is only a specific group that is affected by the law. Most employees who get the minimum wage are part-time workers, young workers, and people from poor families. Companies employ people are highly skilled and can perform different tasks at the same time. As a result, some of the workers have lost employment as a result of specialization or lacking the skills that are required in a company. Most employers employ the experienced workers living out the young people who are inexperienced. Thus, most young people are unemployed who paid minimum wages in their areas of work (Waltman 2008, p. 152). A research done by the Bureau of Labour Statistics shows that, 1.8 million employees are paid minimum wages. 49 percent of 1.8 million are the young adult aged 24 and under. 51 percent, or about 1.8 million people are over 25 years old (Rutkowski&Scarpetta 2005, p. 2009). They consist of

Interviews and Observations in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Interviews and Observations in Education - Essay Example The objectives in the third section deal with the similarities and differences between the two methods: interviews and observations. First of all, through the process of reflecting on different research, the writer must determine how similar the two methods are. Next, also through the process of reflecting on real research, the writer must determine the main differences between both methods with regard to: sensory, and participation. The aims of the fourth section deal with the different types of interviews and observations that can be conducted in different situations. First of all, the writer discusses both structured and unstructured interviews. Next the different ways of conducting observations in different places and for different purposes are discussed in detail. Finally, the aims of the fifth section are mainly to sum up the research paper. In this section, the main points of the paper are summed up and the main points drawn from the use of interviews and observations are discussed. Also, some recommendations for researchers in the field of education for the best use of data collection methods according to the different purposes of the research are included. The interviews and observations that were chosen for the purposes of this paper were selected based on their academic quality and overall relevance to the topic. Interviews and observations are solid methods and topics to discuss with regard to data collection in the educational field because of the quality of the data that they produce. The data is collected based on these methods because it is both primary and direct in nature. Therefore, it yields highly useful information that educational professionals can use to better manage the educational efforts that they participate in and perform on a daily basis. In order to select the specific interviews and observations that were discussed in the context of this particular paper, a basic Internet search was performed using the Google search engine. It is key to note that only the academic resources that were returned in the hit list were utilized. Common books and journal articles were chosen from the search string that was returned. Any potential resources that were determined to not be of solid academic quality, yet were returned in the hit list, were rejected for that very reason. In addition to the above method of resource location, a standard library search was conducted in order to obtain materials that were deemed to be of the same quality and standards. According to Inside Higher Ed (2008, pg. 1), "The problem is near-universal for professors who discover, upon assigning research projects, that superficial searches on the Internet and facts gleaned from Wikipedia are the extent - or a significant portion - of far too many of their students' investigations. It's not necessarily an issue of laziness, perhaps, but one of exposure to a set of research practices and a mindset that encourages critical thinking about competing online sources." The same research concept applies to the selection of the content of this paper. Great measures were taken to assure that this problem did not occur while research was being conducted to piece together this particular paper. The Different Research Methods that are Commonly Used for

Ad analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ad analysis - Essay Example This essay considers the specific aspects of audience, picture, language, and technique, as they are implemented in a Prudential advertisement that is featured in the current issue of the New Yorker. Audience The specific advertisement was found in an issue of the New Yorker. With this concept in mind it’s possible that the intentions of the advertiser were to reach a more educated audience, who already has a general understanding of financial aspects and upper-level vocabulary and comprehension skills. In these regards, the extent the audience is clearly middle to upper class and educated. Picture There are a great many visual techniques implemented in the advertisement. The first notable concept is that the advertising consists of a full page spread with an entirely dark blue background. The effect of this is such that it creates a juxtaposing effect in relation to the heavy text-based stories that constitute the majority of the magazine. In terms of specific pictures, in th e upper-right hand of the advertisement a city backdrop is pictured in muted-tones. The signification of this imagery seems to indicate that Prudential has a urban feel, perhaps reminiscent of Wall-Street. This is further indicative of an understanding of financial systems as being rooted in industrial or urban life. The very functions of the urban experience demonstrate the gear and wheels of the working economy; indeed, right next to the picture of buildings are pictures of gears in motion. Pictured even further to the left of these individuals is a small man in yellow. The implications of this imagery seem to empathize with the potential customer or client. In essence, the advertising is situating the reader in the position of the small man in yellow, and the Prudential advertisement is saying that through going to Prudential for financial advice will result in the individual being able to navigate this challenging urban environment. Language Perhaps unique to this advertisement is the reliance it places on text. One possible explanation for this is the obvious implication that since the advertisement is from the New Yorker, it is believed that the audience will be more interested in reading text than perhaps in a publication such as People or ESPN the Magazine. In fact, text is featured in two long columns throughout the entire body of the page. In terms of the actual language that is implemented, the first relies on a rhetorical feel, attempting to empathize and draw the reader into the advertisement. Even though it is featured in the New Yorker, the text still retains a crisp and to-the-point tone. Phrases such as, â€Å"What if today was the day we took on the big challenges?† are balanced against more financially specific language such as, â€Å"What if we could help create more reliable and durable forms of financial security?† Ultimately, it’s clear that the language remains in traditional advertising form, while acknowledging th at the reader is aware of general financial terminology. Technique The overall technique is the creation of an advertisement that doesn’t insult the reader’s intelligence, conforms to traditional advertising trends, and considers the medium in which it will be displayed. The overall signification of the advertisement seems to indicate that through Prudential’s experience the reader will be able to navigate the challenges of the contemporary financial environment. In these regards, the text moves from a general rhetorical style to more specific information related to reader interest. It implements contrast to bring out the heading ‘Bring Your Challenges’ which also represents the general theme of the advertisement. It also displays this theme in visual ways through the juxtaposition of the sm

Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Terrorism - Essay Example The use of explosive devices is partly explained by ease of achieving the goal and low-cost technical means. It is not surprising that terrorism is often called â€Å"the cheap war†. In addition, gun, knife and poison do not have such a powerful emotional impact on people, as is achieved with the help of explosives. Even in the case when it is possible to prevent the tragedy, the material damage caused to society, whose familiar life is interrupted for some time, is very serious. In addition, we can not forget about the hard psychological impact on innocent people. Conventionally, the terror can be divided into mass and individual, depending to what the action is specifically directed, whether to Implementation of the threat to society as a whole or action against a specific individual. But in both cases the purpose is to conduct a campaign of intimidation to achieve maximum possible effect: to sow fear, cause panic, and they, in turn, will finish the rest. The actions of terr orists are always demonstrative by character. The perpetrator of acts of mass terrorism is often prone to a peculiar diabolical narcissism.

Routing Protocol Security Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Routing Protocol Security - Dissertation Example The Pervasive nature of the existing information infrastructure when coupled with cyber terrorism related threats makes the security of the network infrastructure an area of interest for network or computer security researchers. While a significant amount of research has been done on the content of security information, and software development, securing of the network infrastructure has increasingly become an issue of concern over the years.   The key critical infrastructure security entails securing of the routing infrastructure. According to Jones & Moigne   (2006) abuse of routine protocol and mechanism is perhaps the simplest available protocol-based attack. Recently, the emergence response team highlighted the imminent need for ensuring that routing infrastructure becomes secured (Yasser, 2007). According to Russell (2003) routers are widely used by intruders as common platforms for activity scanning. They are also reported to be less protected by the security policy (Tanen baum,   2003). For purposes of routing, the infrastructure is often categorized into two domains. These are inter-domain and intra-domain (IETF, John & Moy, 1998). Generally, the whole routing infrastructure entails a collection of the intra-domain routing regions often connected through the inter-domain functionality (John, 2005). An intra-domain routing environment, which is commonly referred to as the Autonomous System, is often administered using an administrative authority (John, 2005). As often is the case, this authority owns routers.... These are inter-domain and intra-domain (IETF, John & Moy, 1998). Generally, the whole routing infrastructure entails a collection of the intra-domain routing regions often connected through the inter-domain functionality (John, 2005). An intra-domain routing environment, which is commonly referred to as the Autonomous System, is often administered using an administrative authority (John, 2005). As often is the case, this authority owns routers within its domain although this does not necessarily include all the links that connect all the intra-domain routers. Within an automated system, the routing protocols that are most commonly deployed in Autonomous System, are the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) alongside the Intermediate-System-to-Intermediate System routing protocols. The two protocols are based upon the link-state routing OSPF v2 Routing protocol, which is a link-state routing protocol that was developed purposely for the internet Protocol networks. OSPF is often based upon the relative cost of transferring the information between hops such as the networks and routers. This protocol is, most often than not, categorized into an interior-Gateway protocol with an intension of running it internally in the AS (Cisco Systems Inc, 2009). This protocol is mostly distributed in the AS amongst various routers and it provides an allowance for building similar representation of the network topology belonging to AS. This is often realized through publishing (LSAs) or Link state Advertisement by routers (Cisco Systems Inc, 2009). The routers then construct a tree of shortest-path to various destinations maintaining itself as a root. It then routes the IP packets via the internet basing on the IP addresses. If a topological change

Sustainability Of The International Trade Regime Term Paper

Sustainability Of The International Trade Regime - Term Paper Example The first reason is that the developing countries are as necessary to sustain the international trade regime now, as the developed countries/dominant countries. This is primarily because the international trade regime and the capitalist project are largely dependent on labor and natural resources – assets which the developing countries have in abundance. The second is that the viability and sustainability of the international trade regime depend as much on trade as well as on issues such as the environment and climate change. The debates created by a diverse international community has preserved rather than compromise the international trade regime. To this end, I will give the example of the debate between the US and Europe on biotechnology. A. The developing countries are as necessary to the international trade regime as the developed countries Krasner has argued that a â€Å"potentially dominant state has symbolic, economic and military capabilities that can be used to entice or compel others to accept an open trading structure.† (page 27). There is of course logic to this assertion as we have seen the many ways in which asymmetrical power relations were used to compel adherence to the principles of liberalization. He has also discussed the unfair and unjust ways that the developed nations might have taken advantage of developing nations in order to establish their lead, as for example, using protectionist policies to get ahead and then demanding openness and trade liberalization once a chasm has been created.

How to enhance expatriate motivation and effectiveness within a Term Paper

How to enhance expatriate motivation and effectiveness within a cross-cultural organization - Term Paper Example ................. 4 1.4 Structure ...................................................................................................................5 2. Theory Review.......................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Work motivation ...................................................................................................... 5 2.1.1 Definition of motivation ........................................................................................ 6 2.1.2 Motivation theories............................................................................................... 6 2.3.1 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 2.3.1 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ..8 2.3.3 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Model†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..10 2.1.4 Limitation of motivation theory ........................................................................... 12 3. Case Analysis: Nokia in China †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 4. Discussion and Recommendation.......................................................................... 13 5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 14 References........................................ ... In the modern world, it is common to find people from different countries and cultures working in the same environment. It is important for these organisations to improve effectiveness so as to better their competitive advantage so as to cope with the mounting competition in the global market. Employees are always willing to realise their goals in the work place. Thereby motivation factors are a concern of the employees and the human resource management. This boils down to the questions on whether employees from different cultural organisations are motivated in different ways and how management can improve overall effectiveness in cross- cultural organisations (Becker, 2000:33). In point of fact, there could be many problems arising in these organisations such as communication difficulties and cultural differences which might negatively impact on the efficiency and cause major problems for the HR department. It is therefore important for the HR department to maintain a motivated work force. Even though, firms face related HRM problems, the duty for culturally diverse organisations is far more intricate than that of their single- culture equals. In order cross- cultural companies to develop a motivate work force it is important for organisations to have a developed understanding of motivation factors (Becker, 2000:35). It is of great importance for companies to find out how employees from different cultural settings react to similar motivating factors, as culture has been found to have a an intense impact on human behaviour (Matic, 2008:94). Recent studies have revealed that people want more than money from work. There are five important issues including the link between work and life, relationship between

Composition and Seperations Essay Example for Free

Composition and Seperations Essay When a kernel of popcorn is heated, pressure builds and, depending on the percent of water in the kernel, the kernel pops open and popcorn is produced. The percentage of water in each kernel differs between brands of popcorn. If the steam produced fails to pop the kernel, the kernel becomes hard and burns. The purpose of Part 1, â€Å"Popcorn Composition†, of the â€Å"Composition and Separations Lab was to determine whether premium popcorn brands display desirable qualities when measured and compared with cheaper brands of popcorn. The experimental relevance of Part 1 of the experiment was to demonstrate the effects of water in a popcorn kernel when heated and converted to heat. Differences in water percentage determine whether or not the kernel will burst and create popcorn. In Part 2, â€Å"Separating a Solid Mixture†, the purpose was to work with supplies in the lab to separate a solid mixture of popcorn, sand, salt and iron filings into the four separate components to eventually learn the percent composition of the solid mixture. By developing a plan to separate the mixture, the group should have ended up with four separate items with weights that added up to the original weight of the mixture. The experimental relevance of Part 2 of the experiment was to learn how to separate each component in a four part solid mixture from each other. Procedure: In part 1 of this week’s lab three popcorn kernels of a one brand were given to each group. A Bunsen burner was set up by each group and the three kernels were each weighed separately on an electric balance. The Bunsen burner was then lit following the instructions given. (ch185) A 100mL beaker was obtained and filled with a half inch of clean sand. The beaker was placed on a ring stand and one kernel of popcorn was submerged into the sand. The beaker was then covered with a watch glass and heated over the Bunsen burner until the kernel popped. After popping, the kernel was removed and weighed and the moisture content was measured. This procedure occurred for all three kernels. After the moisture content of all three kernels were measured, an average was deduced for the three and written on the board. Each of the other four groups also wrote their averages for their individual brand on the board to give the class a better understanding of the differences in moisture content for each of the five brands. In part 2 of this week’s lab, a 50mL beaker was filled with a solid mixture consisting of popcorn, sand, salt and iron filings. The group then got the mass of the entire mixture and began sketching a plan to separate the mixture properly into its original four contents. First the group separated the popcorn from the mixture by using a drainer. The popcorn was then weighed. Second, the iron filings were separated using a magnet after pouring the remaining mixture onto a piece of paper. After the magnet collected all iron, the iron was scraped into a beaker and the weight was recorded. The third and final separation used a beaker and a filter paper. The filter paper was weighed and put into a filter that spilt into the beaker. The remaining salt/sand mixture was then poured into the filter paper using water to dissolve the salt. After the solution was put into the filter paper and the salt had dissolved, the filter paper and sand was dried and then weighed. After subtracting the filter paper weight from the weight of the filter paper and sand together, the weight of the sand was known. Once you had the weight of the sand, iron and popcorn, the weight of the salt was found by subtracting the three combined weights from the original weight of the mixture. To find the percent composition of each component, the weight of each was divided by 100 and, in the end, each components percent added up to 100% of the initial mixture. Results/ Data/ Calculations: Part 1: Each group determined the moisture percentage of their brand of popcorn. Table 1 shows the moisture content of each brand. Table 1: Moisture Percentage of Popcorn Brands Group Number| Popcorn Brand Used| Percent Moisture| 1| Act III| 6.24 %| 2| Food Club| 8.35 %| 3| Jolly Time| 12.2 %| 4| Orville Redenbacher| 7.47 %| 5| Pop Perfect| 6.22 %| Jolly Time popcorn was measured for weight and the moisture content was then measured. Table 2 shows the initial weights, final weights, moisture contents and percent moistures of each of the three trials performed. Table 2: Moisture Percentage by Weight of Jolly Time Popcorn Kernels Kernel| Initial Weight (g)| Final Weight (g)| Moisture Content| % Moisture| 1| 0.105 g| 0.086 g| 0.019 g| 17.8 %| 2| 0.138 g| 0.140 g| -0.003 g| -1.89 %| 3| 0.113 g| 0.106 g| 0.007 g| 6.55 %| AVERAGE| 0.109 g| 0.096 g| 0.013 g| 12.2 %| Sample Calculations: Find weight= (cupcake holder + kernel – cupcake holder) = (.263 g .177 g) = 0.086 g Moisture Content= Initial weight – final weight = 0.105 g – 0.086 g = 0.019 g % Moisture= Moisture content x 100 Initial weight of kernel = 0.019 g = 17.8% 0.105 g Average % moisture = 17.8 + 6.55 = 12.2% 2 Part 2: The weight and eventually percentage composition was measure in a mixture of corn, iron, sand and salt and then with each component individually. Table 3 shows the weight and % compositions. Table 3: Percent composition of Mixture Material| Weight (g)| % Composition| Full Mix| 42.2 g| 100 %| Corn| 3.26 g| 7.79 %| Iron| 19.0 g| 45.0 %| Sand| 15.7 g| 32.5 %| Salt| 6.25 g| 14.8 %| Sample Calculations: Percent Composition:Initial Weight x100 Total Mixture Weight Beaker with nothing: 59. 95 g Beaker with mix: 102.1 g W/ Mix:102.1 g W/O Mix: 59.95g 42.98 g Discussion: The experiment in part 1 was done to show that even slight differences in moisture content in popcorn make a big difference when it comes to the popcorn’s â€Å"popping† abilities. Before the experiment, the moisture content and its effect on popcorn were unknown. After the experiment each group left with the knowledge of moisture content in both preferred brands and cheap brands of popcorn. This experiment gave insight into the importance of exactness for popcorn companies pertaining to the moisture content in each kernel. The experiment in part 2 was performed to show that most solid mixtures can be separated if using the right tools. Each group had to propose a solution to separating the mixture and then weighing each of the four components afterwards to conclude if they added up to the initial weight of the solid mixture. This experiment allowed students to use their brains to separate any solid mixture that they come in contact with, which will be helpful for the future in this lab and others. Throughout the two parts of this experiment several specific errors were found and dealt with. In part 1 of this experiment several popcorn kernels were burnt and did not pop. These kernels may have affected our experiment by giving us false data, as we did not include these kernels in any final data. With burnt popcorn kernels, we were shown that the moisture content in the popcorn brand given may have resulted in one of the â€Å"cheap† brands given. In part 2 of our experiment, the initial weight was supposed to be taken before separating any part of the mixture. Unfortunately, the initial weight was skipped before the popcorn was separated. The popcorn then had to be put back into the mixture and the mixture was then weighed for the initial weight. This may have affected the final data, although it was a small error. In part 2 another error occurred when the group began to separate the salt and sand in an incorrect manner. This, however, did not affect final data, as the salt would have been eliminated anyway. Conclusions: The goals in this experiment for part 1 were to determine the moisture content in a brand of popcorn, compare the given brand with others in the lab and then find out if moisture content affects the ‘popping’ or corn and which brand or brands has a better likelihood of popping (i.e. preferred vs. cheap brands). In part 2 of the experiment the goals were to separate a solid mixture and then find the percent composition of each of the four materials within the mixture. The average moisture percentage for Jolly Time popcorn was 12.2 %. To get to this point, the group popped three separate kernels and found the moisture percentage for each and then averaged them. The percent composition for part 2 of the solid mixture was 7.79 % for corn, 45.0 % for iron, 32.5 % for sand and 14.8% for salt. These measurements added up to the 100% solid mixture and the weights added up correctly. References: Ch185. How to Light and Adjust a Bunsen Burner. http://ch185.semo.edu/labsafe/bunsen.html (accessed Feb 12, 2013). Composition and Separations. http://linus.chem.ku.edu/genchemlab/184SP13/Download184_Labs/Composition%20and%20Separations%20Chem%20184%20Spring%202013.pdf (accessed Feb 12, 2013) Guidelines for Laboratory Reports http://linus.chem.ku.edu/GenChemLab/184SP13/guidelines%20for%20lab%20reports.htm (accessed Feb 12, 2013)

The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Politics Essay

The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Politics Essay The act is based on the proposals of President Obama in effort to jump-start the economy after the economic crisis of 2007-2009. In his first weekly address since sworn in as president of the United States, President Obama claimed that the act will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century (Weekly Address, 2009). Vice President Joe Biden is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the act, which includes working closely with cabinet members, governors, and mayors (About the Recovery Act, 2009). The problems of economic crisis are severe and have resulted in recession, closing of businesses, job loss, and families losing their homes. The Recovery Act is said to be a major milestone in helping to resolve the economic crisis, but President Obama admits that there is still a large amount of work that needs to be done. The act has three immediate goals it hopes to achieve in response to the economic crisis. The first goal is to create new jobs and save existing ones; the estimated number of jobs saved or created is 3.5 million in the next two years (About the Recovery Act, 2009). Next, the act hopes to spur economic activity and invest in long-term economic growth. The last immediate goal of the act is to foster accountability and transparency in government spending. Along with these three immediate goals the act hopes to achieve several long-term goals. Some of these goals include igniting spending by both businesses and consumers. The act also hopes to create a new foundation for economic growth and prosperity (Track the Money, 2009). Health care has been a serious problem in this country, but this act aims to modernize the entire healthcare system, saving millions of dollars and countless lives. Increasing access to health care is also something the act hopes to accomplish. Upgrading classrooms, libraries, and labs for childrens schools as well as connecting rural homes, businesses, and schools to the Internet is another goal of the act (About the Recovery Act, 2009). There is also a major emphasis on modernizing infrastructure, including repairing bad roads, dams, bridges, and levees. Unemployment benefits and protecting peoples healthcare are other main focal points of the act. In addition, the act will work to stabilize, reform, and repair the banking system; this would get credit flowing to families and businesses (Track the Money, 2009). Last, the act hopes to stop the foreclosures on homes, and intends to help homeowners stay in their homes. Clearly the Recovery Act hopes to accomplish many things, but these are all things that this country needs in response to the economic crisis. The internal stakeholders of this policy include the Departments Governance Board for Recovery Act Compliance, program managers, and individuals responsible for daily operations related to the act. The external stakeholders are the recipients of the Recovery Acts funds, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, the Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board, and the American public. One of President Obamas main concerns in developing the Recovery act was to ensure accountability and effectiveness. To accomplish this goal the United States Department of Justice has developed mechanisms to ensure both accountability and transparency of stakeholders as well as monitor the distribution of funds. The Department of Justices accountability framework is based on top-down governance, management accountability and effectiveness, top-down communications strategy, performance monitoring, corrective action implementation, and evaluation of the internal control activities (Unite d States Department of Justice, 2009). The act is based on the proposals of President Obama, and was formulated by the House of Representatives and the Senate. The main debate exists between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. No Republicans in the House and only three Republican in the Senate voted for the bill. Republicans fear that the tax cuts are insufficient, and that in the long-run the country will drown even further into debt. They instead insist on larger tax cuts and less spending on government programs. Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell argues, This isnt Monopoly money. Its real. It adds up, and it has to be paid back, by our children and by their children (U.S. Congress passes, 2009). Obama and the Democrats hold to the notion that the bold actions of the policy are necessary to transform the United States economy and carry us into the twenty-first century. The final plan split into 36% for tax cuts and 64% in spending, and money for government programs and is funded on borrowed money. The main theory of the debate is the political systems theory, which stresses the way the political system responds to demands that arise from its environment (Kraft and Furlong, 2009). The Republicans favor limited government and low taxes, and these beliefs are dominant in their argument against the Recovery Act. In contrast, the Democrats believe that the government must take intrepid actions to fix the economic crisis and ensure the well-being of the average citizen. Each of these beliefs is developed from the larger economic context: the economy is failing, and the government must meet the demands of the public and the political parties that support their interests. There is a classic liberal-conservative battle over the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The left is of course pushing for more government spending and a bigger government, where the right claims that a bigger government creates more of a problem. Although the Recovery Act was passed by congress republicans still feel that it is not helping and are offering several different alternatives. Senators John McCain, David Vitter and John Thune all offer several different suggestions and amendments to the American Recovery Act. John McCains alternative stimulus plan was the closest to getting passed by the Senate of the three senators plan. However, the amendments were defeated in a 40 to 57 vote along party lines. McCain stimulus package includes changes to the home loan modification program and tax breaks for home purchasers (Human Events, 2009). He also suggests dues for rehabilitating military facilities and equipment. Similar to the recovery act, he wants to restore American infrastructure, mainly roads and bridges. McCain also believes that cutting the two lowest tax brackets by 5 percent and lowering the corporate tax rate by 10 percent for small businesses would drastically help with the economy (Human Events, 2009). The last element to his proposed plan was to accelerate depreciation for capital investments by small businesses. Although the amendments were not passed by the Senate, McCains plan did receive the most support and a similar plan will have potential to be passed in the future. Senator David Vitter, a republican from Louisiana, proposed amendments to the Recovery Act that would save the government an estimated 48 billion dollars (Human Events, 2009). He proposes a different way to spend government money and suggests prevailing-wage provisions that impact infrastructure projects, making them far more expensive. He also recommends spending 1 billion dollars to fund a census, 600 million dollars to invest in fuel-efficient vehicles by the government, and 400 million dollars for the construction of an FBI facility (Human Events,2009). Vitter also suggests spending 34 million dollars for management of bureaucrats at the department of commerce and a 75 million dollar training facility for the State Department. Last he advocates for spending 55 million dollars for the National Park Service and 125 million for repair and restructure of the D.C. sewer system. Clearly this Stimulus package is very different from President Obamas; however, it is far less expensive. Ne vertheless, the amendments were defeated in the Senate by a vote of 32 to 65 (Human Events, 2009). Senator McCain and Vitter were not the only republicans to offer amendments to the American Recovery Act. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota also suggested several alternatives to the act. In contrast to the previous senators, Thunes alternatives mainly focus on creating a smaller government to deal with the economic crisis. Thune recommends a reduction in corporate tax rates as well as individual tax rates (Human Events, 2009). He also suggests the removal of the alternative minimum tax, but he does want to incorporate an estate relief tax. Lastly, he calls for an increase in child tax credit and some restrictions on deductions, which would then cause a broader tax base. Although Thunes suggestions differ greatly from his republican colleagues, he still suffers the same fate; his amendments were voted down 37-60 in the Senate. Congressmen are not the only actors offering alternatives to the Recovery Act. Katzy and Puentes(2009) of The Brookings Institute offer their own criticism, asserting that the federal response has been mostly to keep throwing money at the problem, without any meaningful attempt to update our policies to the realities of today. They find that a more meaningful policy would place more emphasis on infrastructure investments. Experts of the Metropolitan Policy program, Katz and Puentes (2009) find that infrastructure investments addressed toward global warming could lead the way for a lower carbon future. They point out that transportation alone accounts for 28 per cent of U.S. emissions. The experts also stress that in order for the U.S. to compete in the globalized economy, they must work toward developing high-functioning global ports and transportation hubs by holding government responsible for maintenance and improvements. Countries in Europe and China have already done so. Finally, the U.S. should stop subsidizing the excessive decentralization of people and jobs, for household spending on transportation has risen to the second largest expense for most American households. They suggest we place the responsibility of transforming infrastructure investment in federal leadership. Leaders should include plans for freight movement, the electric grid, and water infrastructure across state borders and between metropolitan areas. The current policy on infrastructure centers on job creation which will create short term job success; however, the act should focus on creating productive and sustainable infrastructure that will create long-term growth. One thing that most economists agree on is that the money had to be spent. We agree with the bold actions taken by the president and congress to bring the economy out of recession and we favor and support the Recovery Plan. We do find that an alternative solution would spend the money more wisely, with more emphasis on infrastructure and better planning for the full scope of national needs. First, we agree with the experts of the Brookings Institution that in order to maintain development, we must take the focus off of job creation in infrastructure and focus on updating policies that dramatically improve infrastructure and establish economic competitiveness. Secondly, we find that program spending is too directed toward programs in local districts. While this is important for bringing the country out of recession and improving the condition individual, we believe that congress should work together to develop more national efforts that better serve the country as a whole, thus sustai ning long-term development. We also anticipate a coming crisis in the second wave of commercial real estate; we fear that there will be another real-estate bubble across the world. We find that more actions should be taken in the act to prevent such a crisis. In conclusion, large spending on public programs was necessary for bringing the country out of recession, but further action should look toward maintaining the long-term economic condition. But has the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, really fulfilled all of its promises to the citizens of the United States? The key to Obamas first year in office was the Recovery Act. But the Recovery Act, which should have set the pace for a year of strong reforms. Instead, for reasons partly having to do with the construction of the bill, its effects were nearly invisible-ninety-four per cent of Americans dont think it created jobs in their area-and Republicans quickly called it a failure. The American people were thinking radical change-not the status quo. Just the way Obama blamed Bush after 9/11, saying, You told America to go shopping, people are going to point the finger at him and say, You had an opportunity and you wasted it. We should have gone in and done the kind of stimulus that would actually turn the economy around. We ended up with something that was strong enough to prevent a depression. But it just wasnt strong enough to stimulate the recovery. Obama was trying to be favorably viewed by seventy per cent, and Reagan was willing to settle for fifty-seven per cent. He understood an intense fifty-seven was better than a sort of feel-good seventy. So in conclusion to that, I think that the Act could have been a much bigger success if they wouldnt have settled with what everyone wanted. But instead passed what was necessary to boost us out of the depression and get our economy back on the rise.

Moral Complexity in the Making and Keeping of Promises Essay examples -

The making of a promise involves the voluntary giving of one's word that, if and when a particular circumstance or situation comes about, one will undertake to act in a manner defined by the terms of the promise one has given. The act of making the promise, in other words, implies a willingness to keep it. What is being agreed is that, on the basis of something said in the past, one's future actions will, insofar as the future is foreseeable, follow a particular course and no other. On the related, but rather different question of the motivation involved in keeping a promise, it may be that the promise-maker's acting or deciding in a particular way places him in a position identical to or in complete sympathy with the person to whom the promise has been made. Equally, it is, possible that events may turn out in such a way as to suggest that to keep the promise would be harmful to the interest of the person to whom it was made. Should this dilemma arise, whether or not the promise is kept must depend upon the particular circumstances of the case. Choosing not to keep a promise in such a situation would be not a demonstration of the promiser's inability to keep his word, but a clear indication of his quite proper awareness that, in deciding what course to take, the promiser has quite properly concluded that the interest of others must be placed before his own. This situation is philosophically interesting in two immediately apparent ways: firstly, because of the questions which it raises concerning the ways in which a present or future obligation might be argued to exist in relation to a promise given in the past; secondly, because it is possible to imagine a society in which the concept of keeping promises does not exist, s... ... that of being possible beneficiaries by my action. They do stand in this relation to me, and this relation is morally significant. But they may also stand to me in the relation of promisee to promiser, of creditor to debtor, of wife to husband, of child to parent, of friend to friend, of fellow countryman to fellow countryman, and the like; and each of these relations is the foundation of a prima facie duty, which is more or less incumbent on me according to the circumstances of the case." Bibliography: Foot, Philippa (ed.) Theories of Ethics Oxford University Press, 1990 Honderich, Ted (ed.) The Oxford Companion to Philosophy Oxford University Press, 1995 Mackie, J. L. Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong Penguin, 1977 Norman, Richard The Moral Philosophers Oxford University Press, 1983 Ross, W. D. The Right and the Good London, 1930. Moral Complexity in the Making and Keeping of Promises Essay examples - The making of a promise involves the voluntary giving of one's word that, if and when a particular circumstance or situation comes about, one will undertake to act in a manner defined by the terms of the promise one has given. The act of making the promise, in other words, implies a willingness to keep it. What is being agreed is that, on the basis of something said in the past, one's future actions will, insofar as the future is foreseeable, follow a particular course and no other. On the related, but rather different question of the motivation involved in keeping a promise, it may be that the promise-maker's acting or deciding in a particular way places him in a position identical to or in complete sympathy with the person to whom the promise has been made. Equally, it is, possible that events may turn out in such a way as to suggest that to keep the promise would be harmful to the interest of the person to whom it was made. Should this dilemma arise, whether or not the promise is kept must depend upon the particular circumstances of the case. Choosing not to keep a promise in such a situation would be not a demonstration of the promiser's inability to keep his word, but a clear indication of his quite proper awareness that, in deciding what course to take, the promiser has quite properly concluded that the interest of others must be placed before his own. This situation is philosophically interesting in two immediately apparent ways: firstly, because of the questions which it raises concerning the ways in which a present or future obligation might be argued to exist in relation to a promise given in the past; secondly, because it is possible to imagine a society in which the concept of keeping promises does not exist, s... ... that of being possible beneficiaries by my action. They do stand in this relation to me, and this relation is morally significant. But they may also stand to me in the relation of promisee to promiser, of creditor to debtor, of wife to husband, of child to parent, of friend to friend, of fellow countryman to fellow countryman, and the like; and each of these relations is the foundation of a prima facie duty, which is more or less incumbent on me according to the circumstances of the case." Bibliography: Foot, Philippa (ed.) Theories of Ethics Oxford University Press, 1990 Honderich, Ted (ed.) The Oxford Companion to Philosophy Oxford University Press, 1995 Mackie, J. L. Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong Penguin, 1977 Norman, Richard The Moral Philosophers Oxford University Press, 1983 Ross, W. D. The Right and the Good London, 1930.

Why Learning about Floridas Diverse Hispanic Heritage and Culture is Important :: essays research papers

Hispanic's influence in Florida dates back for more than 500 years when the Spanish arrived and began to establish their permanent settlements. I am proud to say I?m an American of Hispanic descent. As a second generation Cuban-American and a Native of Florida, it is important for me to learn and pass down the unique qualities and richness of my Hispanic roots, culture and traditions. From birth the Hispanic heritage has had a strong impact on me. Being raised in a bilingual home and learning Spanish in school, has provided me the advantage to communicate in both languages. Hispanic- Americans can socialize and understand both the English and Spanish community in Florida. Hispanics can also share my language with those of non- Hispanic descent. As I approach my college years and life, I think I will benefit from being bilingual. Like the influence of the Spanish language, Hispanics have made many significant contributions Florida. In business, science, politics and education Hispanics have been a key factor in Florida?s development and its economy. It?s essential for people to know how Hispanics have contributed to this state, because without Hispanics the state of Florida may not be what it is today. It is important not only for me to learn of their accomplishments but to learn from them so that I too can be a productive Hispanic leader in my community. Hispanics have a beautiful and unique culture. Our music, dancing and delicious foods have become an integral part of Florida. In Florida, we have been able to share these with everyone. It is important to know about Hispanic culture and traditions so that I can teach others that aren?t Hispanic or don?t know the culture. Everyone should know about the Hispanic culture in Florida because it?

Why Kill the Dolphins? :: Marine Life Whaling Fishing Conservation Essays

Why Kill the Dolphins? Dolphins make up the largest and most diverse family of cetaceans. The family contains 26 recognized species of which 13 tend to have long well defined beaks and streamlined robust bodies. Many vary in size, shape, colors, beaks and flippers, as humans have various characteristics. One of the most common dolphins that are found in southern California is the bottlenose dolphin (Kelly). The bottlenose dolphin is mainly found in coastal waters between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south, also in Northern Europe waters. It is believed that there are two types of bottlenose dolphin regional wise: oceanic form and coastal form. This species is studied the most by biologists (Jefferson). The coastal population lives in fairly open groups with twenty or less in a pod, some groups are found to contain more in open ocean. It is not uncommon for these species to interact and breed with other species, as would a human interact with other diverse humans. The dolphins feeding behavior is adapted to the availability of resources. They sometimes are known to work together to catch fish from large schools, they also trail behind large fishing boats to catch what falls behind (Leatherwood). A large problem today is the incidental exploitation of the bottlenose dolphins in the Black sea. The dolphins suffer from entanglement in gillnets, shark nets, shrimp trawls, and purse seine nets in the eastern pacific tropical tuna fishery. In the past twenty years a large amount of bottlenose dolphin have been killed due to the tuna fishery. In the Eastern Pacific swim large schools of tuna, these shoals tend to be under herds of dolphins, for some unexplained reason. Because of this, fishermen can easily find schools of tuna. The tuna are being caught under purse seine nets, which encircles the shoals of tuna and then is pulled back on board the fishing vessel, catching both tuna and dolphin. Initially the mortality rate was 500,000 each year for dolphins alone. Although some efforts are made to encourage the dolphins to leave the net by backing down part of the net, which allows the dolphins to escape, there are still a large number of mortalities (Bryant). On the other hand, in the last few years there has been dramatic progress in stopping the fishing industries from using purse sine nets. It has been found that dolphins are in immediate danger of extinction if these fishing techniques don’t stop.

I felt a Funeral in my Brain Essay

Dickinson uses the metaphor of a funeral in her poem â€Å"I felt a Funeral in my Brain† to describe abstract emotions related to stressful situations that could destroy or take away everything that an individual values in life. The poem is quite permissive in the sense that it allows multiple readings where the reader may ascribe the emotions described in the poem to various situations that are difficult to cope with in life. Of course, to add dimension to the poem, Dickinson uses numerous poetic devices to enhance the experience of reading this particular piece. The piece features alliterations such as in the line, â€Å"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,†. (1) Here there is a repetition of the consonant ‘f’ sound in the words ‘felt’ and ‘funeral’. Again, the same poetic device is seen in the line, â€Å"And I, and Silence, some strange Race†. (15) where the consonant ‘s’ sound is repeated in the words, ‘some’ and ‘strange’. Another one of these lines featuring an alliteration is the line, â€Å"And I dropped down, and down –â€Å". 18) While alliteration has no contextual function in these lines, the device serves to give the poem some sort of regular rhythm so that reading the poem is not just an intellectual experience, but also an experience that is enhanced by sound. The poem is given an interesting beat to it because of these alliterations. Another device intended to give the poem a more rhythmic quality is the assonance which is found in t he line, â€Å"Kept treading – treading – till it seemed†(3) where the vowel sound ‘ea’ is repeated in the word ‘treading’ and the vowel sound ‘I’ is repeated in the words ‘treading’,. ‘Til’, and ‘it’. In the same manner, the line, â€Å"And I, and Silence, some strange Race† (15) also demonstrates the use of assonance in the repetition of the vowel sound ‘I’ in the words ‘I’ and ‘silence’ and the repetition of the sound ‘ae’ in the words ‘strange’ and ‘race’. There are also metaphors in this very brief yet multi-dimensional poem. For instance, to demonstrate the frailty of reason, Dickinson writes, â€Å"And then a Plank in Reason, broke†. (17) Here one sees how reason is likened to a plank which breaks; a very clever way of illustrating the common human reactionary idiom which is ‘breaking under pressure’. Another metaphor in the poem is â€Å"With those same Boots of Lead, again† (11) which describes the heavy steps that a bothered or disturbed person makes. In effect, this particular line is an effective metaphor that illustrates the footfalls of a troubled or stressed person; perhaps, an experience that is familiar to most people as not having the energy to walk when stressed or trouble, hence heavy feet. Aside from metaphors, the very brief poem also manages to throw in a few similes, such as the line, â€Å"A Service, like a Drum –â€Å"(6), which likens the voices of the people in the funeral service to the incessant beating of a drum. So, the sound referred to in this line is an annoying or repetitive sound that seems to nag at the voice’s mind. Then, there is the line, â€Å"As all the Heavens were a Bell / And Being, but an Ear† (13-14) where the voice tries to illustrate how noisy or boisterous prayers are in the context of a person who is currently troubled or is dealing with problems that would seem insurmountable. These lines express the desperation of the state of the voice in that it describes how prayers are often empty and without significance or can do nothing to alleviate one’s sorry state. It is amazing how Dickinson is able to pack so many poetic devices into one very short poem. This demonstrates the brilliance of this poet in the art of poetry because it simply shows how expertly crafted and well-thought of the poem truly is. There is also a hyperbole in the poem in the lines, â€Å"And I dropped down, and down – / And hit a World, at every plunge† (18-19) describing the gravity or the seriousness of the state of the voice; hereto expressed as the feeling of falling down and hitting a world at every plunge. In effect, what the poet is saying here is that each disappointment or stressful situation puts the voice in a situation where he/she has to face the consequences presented or put before him/her by a confusing, unyielding, and indifferent society, here referred to as a â€Å"world†. Not to be left out in the poem is the personification which is found in the line, â€Å"And I, and Silence, some strange Race† (15) While personification is not immediately evident or apparent in this line, closer analysis of it would reveal, that in fact, personification is used to represent an abstract concept. When the voice puts silence in equal footage with himself/herself by treating silence as some sort of companion, personification is achieved. So, in this line, the voice of the poem claims that he/she and silence are both from a strange race; what this does is it gives the reader the illusion that apart from the ‘I’ who is a tangible concrete element of the poem, ‘silence’ which is an abstract concept also becomes a concrete element as it is personified by treating it as a companion of the ‘I’. This poem by Emily Dickinson simply demonstrates how craftsmanship is often very important in the creation of a poem. The intentions of a poet are mostly to convey emotion and to embody such emotion in words and the effective use of poetic devices achieves this particular poetic intention or objective. When a poem is able to effectively use poetic devices such reflects on the expertise and genius of the poet because while only some poetic devices can be found in some other singular poems, this poem packs in a large number, if not all poetic devices in the span of twenty lines spread throughout five stanzas. Such a feat is amazing in itself.

Aggression and Prosocial Behavior Essay

Social psychology is defined as â€Å"the scientific study of how a person’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others. † This definition is the basis upon which aggression and prosocial behavior are built. As a human being, each of us is given a daily choice of how and if we choose to interact with others. Although aggression and prosocial behavior are at opposite ends of the scale, the general idea behind each of them is that what we see, feel, understand and believe can have a massive impact on the way in which we choose to treat other people. On one end of the spectrum is aggression, a behavior intended to hurt or destroy another person. There are multiple rationales for what causes aggression and why some are more aggressive than others. The frustration-aggression hypothesis is the concept that different sources of frustration can cause a person to act aggressively. Environmental factors, such as excessive heat or noise, can increase frustration levels and thereby illicit an emotional response of aggression on the closest object. Other modern approaches for explaining aggression include a biological predisposition and learned behavior. Biologically speaking, it is possible that some gene or genes makes certain people prone to aggressive behavior under specific environmental conditions. Testosterone has also been linked to aggressive tendencies. The commonly known, â€Å"Roid Rage† that some bodybuilders and athletes experience when using steroids, is a prime example of increased testosterone affecting aggressive inclinations. Aggressive behavior can also be learned through observation. Over the years many psychologists have proven this theory in experimentation, such as the Zimbardo â€Å"prison experiment† and the Bandura â€Å"Bobo doll experiment†. When observing an authoritative figure or peer involving in an aggressive act and being reinforced after, the tendency is that the individual will learn this behavior and act in accordance. Many experiments on the influence of media, such as TV and video games, have looked to push aggressive behavior onto observational learning of violence. These findings have not been thoroughly proven and remain a public opinion rather than factual evidence. Although consensus has not been reached, and since it may be a culmination of all ideas, it is generally the person’s own choices that permit them to act in an aggressive manor towards others. The other completely different dimension of social interaction is found in prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior is all of the â€Å"socially desirable behavior that benefits others. † Altruism is one such behavior. To be altruistic is to help someone in trouble without concern for one’s self or expectation of reward. However there can be complications when the call for altruistic behavior sounds. When a situation is presented in which a person must make an active decision to help another individual there are five steps that come into play. Noticing, or realizing there may be an emergency, defining the emergency, taking responsibility, planning a course of action and taking action. These steps allow a person to process an incident and decide whether or not they should aid the individual involved. Two majors concerns also come into effect when prosocial behavior is necessary. The bystander effect, referring to the likelihood of a bystander to aid someone in trouble decreases as the number of bystanders increases. This is sad, but true fact in most situations. It is directly related to the diffusion of responsibility, in which a person fails to take responsibility for either action or inaction because of the presence of other people that share in the responsibility. This push of accountability allows someone to rationalize why they chose not to react to an emergency. If there are other individuals present, then they could have also done something, so the vicious cycle continues and no help is ever given. In both social behaviors, aggression and prosocial, the responsibility for a person’s actions are placed solely upon them. Even in cases of aggression where medical treatment is necessary, the individual must still take responsibility to acknowledge the problem and find a solution. As with all human interaction, people are presented with many options every day. It is how people decide to act or not act that creates the spectrum of behavior studied by psychologists today.

Evaluating the Research Process Essay

* The most important steps in a research project or study is accomplishing a literature review. A literature review is the process of gathering information from other sources and documenting it. This is not a report or a statement verbatim according to Creative Research Systems (2010). A literature review is a significant and a detailed evaluation of earlier research. It is a summation and abstract of a particular aspect of research, allowing the individuals evaluating the paper to understand why one is tracking a particular research study. It is not an assortment of quotes and rephrase from additional sources. A good literature review should have selected evaluations of the quality of the study, and conclusions of the research study. While reviewing Commendador, 2010, Parental influences on adolescent decision- making and contraceptive use. Published in the Pediatric Nursing May-June 2010, The study hypothesis stated in the article according to Commendador, 2010 â€Å"the United States and the health care industry are researching various ways to lower the adolescent pregnancy rate, thus identifying paternal communication, specifically maternal communication with their adolescent is showing to be a major factor of adolescent delay in sexual intercourse, and a major factor of contraceptive decision making. However, the study also revealed the effects of paternal communication was not readily available, therefore the research statistics are not equalized, and supporting the determination of furthering the research of this subject. * Ethical considerations for data collection * Ethical issues are present in any kind of research. Research procedures may produce some * apprehension between the purpose of research to make generalized statements for the benefit * of others, and the rights of the research subjects in preserving privacy. Ethics, in research * relates to doing what is morally correct and evading any harm. The damage or harm can be * alleviated or decreased through the use of appropriate ethical principles. Thus, the * security of human subject matter or contributors in any research study is essential. Qualitative * research studies center the research on investigating, probing, and describing individuals and * their ordinary surroundings. Fixed in the qualitative research studies are the perception of * associations between researchers and the research participants. The study subject’s * anticipation to partake in a research study solely rests upon a research subjects compliance to * share his or her encounters. Nurse researchers are obligated to sustain equilibrium research * ethics in addition to the security of the research subjects. Qualitative research is * attentive of the events of individuals in relation to the subject which is studied. Still nurse * researchers may discover that their position as researchers may perhaps be in conflict. * Qualitative studies are normally performed in surroundings relating to the involvement of * ndividuals in their daily setting. As a result, any research that consist of individuals commands * an understanding of the ethical concerns that may be resulting from the exchange of * communications. Ethics in research includes the relevance of the research purpose, and the * procedural strategy, in addition to the manner in which information is reported. * The nurse researcher conducting the study relies mainly on previous research studies conducted by several other research entities, which demonstrates ethical collection and reporting. The research study’s primary focus is on adolescent sexual behavior. This subject dealing with under-age children has to be handled with the utmost of confidentiality. The researcher as well as the data reported does not identify the individual minor participant, nor are family member participants indentified in any way. The integrity of the participants and the research study, in the observers opinion was without biasness and completely anonymous. * * What data tells us in terms of statistical analysis Largely, the definitive objective of every research study is to find the relationship between the unpredictable, according to Statsoft Electronic Statistics Textbook (2012). The viewpoint of research states† that there is no other way of representing meaning except in terms of relations between some quantities or qualities† both ways involve a relationship between changeable matter. The statistics gathered and reported in this study in the reviewers opinion, is statistically significant. Statistic significance is defined in research as probable, probably true not due to chance according to Creative Research Systems (2010). However, the statistics reported are focused on the maternal communication with adolescents and does not represent the paternal communication with the adolescent due to the lack of research subject interviews with the fathers. In addition, the interviews conducted did not include those adolescents that had sexual contact and were actively pregnant. The researcher, to better understand the decisions regarding sexual contact and the lack of using birth control methods, should have interviewed this group of adolescents as this group could have communicated more information based on the decisions that were made which resulted in a pregnancy. Also interviewing the parents of this group of adolescents could have also given more insight on the maternal communication. Conclusion Although the statistics possibly could have been more precise and reported in more detail had the research subject sample size been larger, if the fathers had been surveyed, and if the group of adolescents that were presently pregnant had been surveyed. Even though the statistics were not balanced, the conclusion matched the results of the research study. The research question asked in this study, does the parental communication with the adolescent influence the contraceptive decisions that are made by the adolescent? The research study states that the maternal communication with the adolescent daughter increases positive decision making on behalf of the adolescent regarding contraceptive decisions. The positive effects that maternal interaction is influencing is associated with lowering the teenage pregnancy rate and has increased the use of contraceptives. The conclusion drawn answers the research question posed in this study. The conclusion states the results of this text review indicate an connection between parent communication and parenting style, and adolescent sexual interest and making birth control decision. The parental exchange of ideas with the adolescent is as significant now as it was 25 years ago. Maternal communication and contact has an abundance of potential as an intercession to enhance optimistic adolescent decision making and regarding contraception and premature sexual contact. Maternal interaction is possibly influential in lowering adolescent pregnancy and is successful in promoting sexually active teenage girls to make use of birth control methods. The conclusions are appropriate according to the information collected. Again, one must consider the differences in the outcome of this study had the omitted groups been surveyed . According to the conclusion of this study â€Å"More research is needed in the area of parenting style, maternal influence, and adolescent contraceptive behavior. The potential relevance for practice is that mother-daughter dyads should be included in any health promotion around female adolescent sexuality, (Commendador, 2010), the author of this paper decided the study is somewhat effective. The statistics supported the objectives that were measured, however there were other aspects that the researcher should have surveyed which would have made this study much more relevant. The purpose of research is to either generate or test a hypothesis. Research is the device used to investigate to discover if a hypothesis is acceptable or not. It is the process by that data is collected to create an assumption or to test an assumption. Therefore, based on what research is defined as, the researcher attained and supported the purpose of the research study. While the researcher’s theory was supported with the information compiled from the study, the data also supported the necessity and importance of continuing further research regarding adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive decision making. The nurse researcher also recommends various options to address this very serious issue that plagues the United States. Suggested discussions of sexuality and the process of making choices regarding contraceptive methods would be beneficial if included in the educational curriculum of the school system, as well as be an aspect of the pediatric providers’ educational routine in pediatric health centers providing care to older children. Discussions among nurse practitioners, mothers, and daughters might promote conversation about sexuality, such as teen maturity, the changing body, the processes of decision making regarding sexual activity, and contraception. The researcher thoroughly covered the research topic in an effective manner, and through the analysis of the data collected made relevant recommendations, showing research evoking action plans.

Of mice and men by John Steinbeck Essay

â€Å"Studying stage Drama enables us to see into a world that is very different from our own and to feel compassion for those who are unable to take control of their own lives† â€Å"Of mice and men† By John Steinbeck is a very interesting and compelling text, and positions us as the reader to accept Lennie as the victim even though he killed someone, we as the reader are given many insights that some of the other characters do not get to experience, and therefore can get this message as the dominant reading. The earliest accounts of the life of Lennie and George tells us a tale about Lennie and his accidents involving mice, Lennie who gets presents of mice from his aunt, crushes there heads, because he doesn’t know his own strength, he loves the mice, and cared for them, but because of his love for the mice they bite him and he crushes the mouse’s heads, Lennie is definitely mentally retarded, and as such he does things that regular people would not do it would seem that Lennie’s mentality was not designed for his body, if he was a thin weedy man then he would have no problems, he could pet animals AND make them stay alive, but things aren’t always as we like them Because the playwright is trying to establish Lennie as â€Å"the good guy† we are also positioned at the scene of their last job, Lennie feels a ladies dress, the woman screams, he holds on, she starts yelling to the police, he holds, and as a result, poor George has to spend a night in a ditch and what was the reason? â€Å"I only did it to feel how soft it was† says Lennie, even though this is still fairly strange, you as the reader can relate to him and say well, it really isn’t his fault. Now I know you are wondering, â€Å"Why did Lennie hold on even through the screams and the yelling police, why didn’t he just let go?† consider this story, a young child between the ages of 1 and 3 is found near his dead mother, holding on for dear life, and mentally Lennie was much the same way whenever he gets scared or frightened, he will hold on to it, you cannot blame the woman for her reaction, a big tall man grabbing onto her dress, she has every right to feel threatened, and as a result, Lennie gets George into trouble, and they have to spend the night in the ditch. On the farm, curly is picking fights; not only is he picking fights but he is picking fights that he can’t win, apart from his height, what exactly did Lennie do? He laughed, oh no, dear God, how will he survive? George was going to teach him a lesson, but he wanted Lennie, this time he went too far, Lennie didn’t want to fight curly, but he gave him no choice, he was scared and frightened, and once again, the mentality issue shines brightly, he grabs Curly’s hand and he doesn’t let go, he crushes every single bone in his hand, and again Lennie is portrayed as the â€Å"good guy†, what else could he do? The final matter is the matter of Curly’s wife’s death, this even if he is retarded, still classifies as murder, no matter how much they try to sugar coat it, it is still murder, and he pays for it with his own death, he gave George, his best friend, no other choice other than to kill him for his own good, his strength, has been the cause of all these problems right from the beginning, and although you can feel sorry for him, he should have had more common sense, he was retarded, and there is nothing you can do about that, but he should have learnt what was right and appropriate, and killing innocent people, even if it was manslaughter, is still bad. And so we are given an insight into the life of Lennie, we feel compassion for him and George, we have been positioned to draw this conclusion, well, you’d be hard pressed to try and prove he wasn’t wouldn’t you? It seams there is two cases of murder (not counting the various animal deaths) George isn’t the bad guy because he did what was best for Lennie, and Lennie wasn’t the bad guy because he is retarded.

Examine the Importance of Corporate Governance on Bank Risk Management Essay

Examine the Importance of Corporate Governance on Bank Risk Management - Essay Example It is also a process to maintain proper supervision over the functions of the employees, thereby controlling the flow of information inside the hierarchy. Thus, corporate governance is mainly utilised by various organisations in order to endorse corporate equality, transparency and responsibility among the members, which helps to enhance their motivation and morale, thereby improving the efficiency of an organisation. Moreover, it also ensures that proper management information is transmitted among the employees in order to maintain uniformity and justice in the organisation. This would be beneficial both for the organisation and the employees. Thus, with the help of corporate governance, proper control mechanisms can be ensured in order to maintain the business operations in a systematic and effective way. Hence, it can be depicted that the framework of corporate governance is also utilised for retaining an appropriate balance among the members of an organisation (International Fina nce Corporation, 2010). ... It can be observed that the penetration of corporate governance increased by a considerable extent in this recent era in order to condense the corporate scandals occurring in global markets (The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, 2002). The paper mainly describes the importance and the benefits of corporate governance in organisations. Along with this, it also highlights the significant impact of corporate governance in managing the risks associated with banks. Importance of Corporate Governance on Bank Risk Management Corporate governance is the system by which business conglomerates are directed and managed in order to attain business objectives. Moreover, in modern times, corporate governance is implemented in most of the organisations as a strategic policy in order to handle the threats in a challenging way. The prime objective behind this approach is to eradicate financial and other risks. Corporate governance is unswervingly related with risk management of any financial organ isation, thereby acting as an umbrella to protect its perspectives (Colley, 2003). Risk management in financial institutions is most common as compared to other sectors. This is due to the fact that it mainly deals with fiscal instruments, thereby controlling both market and credit risks in a tactful way. It is so because financial risk can lead to economic downturn along with recession in the whole economy (The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, 2002). Hence, corporate governance is extremely important in banks as it would enhance public faith and confidence, which is very essential for their efficient running. Thus, poor corporate governance in banks may lead to operations failure, which might cause considerable

Feminism Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Feminism Article Analysis - Essay Example Ann Tickner in her work â€Å"You Just Don’t Understand: Troubled Engagements Between Feminists and IR Theorists,† that is, the eradication and repudiation of gender inequality that traditionally characterized the relationship between man and woman. With it also is the breaking of the glass ceiling or the â€Å"objectification† of women either as a sexual subject or an entity that can be exploited or abused. I agree this has to be relegated to history and people should move forward with renewed vigour to pursue and work as equals to build a more harmonious, more productive and better society. Women, after all, compose a half of our population, which means half the talent that could make our lives better, and half the capacity to produce. Therefore, it is not only a matter of political propriety that women should be equal to men, but also as an economic and political imperative. This however is only limited to personal, economic and societal relations, and not to international relations. Thus, I disagree with Tickner’s approach of transcending the feminist perspective to international relations. Feminist theories and approaches just got it wrong in interpreting international relations in terms of the feminist approach. International relations cover a complex and wide array of interests that intersect with one another and require balancing, better judgement, relevance and efficacy. Resolving this complexity that characterizes international relations with the epistemological and ontological perspective of feminist body of knowledge is just too simplistic. For example, we can cite the Kantian tradition and solution as a workable approach to an economic problem such as the recent financial crisis that almost dragged the world into recession whose Kantian solution that have been adopted by many, such as Obama’s Stimulus Plan, and for most part it has succeeded in saving jobs and in general, the economy of the United States and most part of the

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

History - Essay Example In 539 B.C., armies of King Cyrus swept into Mesopotamia and managed to capture Babylon. They then took over northern Mesopotamia, Syria, Asia Minor, Canaan as well as the Phoenician cities. Of importance to note is the fact that Cyrus the Great showed all his new subjects great kindness; and his good treatment to them played a significant role in holding his empire together. Cyrus also had an army of professional soldiers trained – sometimes they conquered without bloodshed. In order to connect their holdings, which were obviously extensive, the Persians built roads, with the Royal Road stretching from Asia Minor to the Persian capital, Susa. The Persians also set up wayside stations to supply king’s messengers with fresh horses as well as food and shelter. What is more is that the leaders who followed Cyrus did not cease to add to the Persian territory – they conquered a region northeast of Greece called western India, Egypt, as well as Thrace (Spielvogel 132). Another thing worth noting is what the rulers did to the Persian Empire when it became bigger and therefore very challenging to manage. The government needed reorganization to make it manageable, which King Darius did following his coming to the throne in 521 B.C.

Ergonomic in my workplace Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ergonomic in my workplace - Assignment Example This is because they are required to bend stretch and twist their bodies. Also, the fact that the bed ridden or injured clients are awkward people makes it hard for the nurses to safely move them from one position to another. The bending and twisting cause chronic back pains and injuries. The solution to this problem is the use of mechanical lift sheets, draw sheets and specially trained lifting teams for moving the equipment. In addition, most health care organizations have no lift policies that make clients tiresome when they bend, stretch and twist their bodies. The most common ergonomic issues revolve around interactions between the staff members, the clients and the psychiatric unit systems. The first ergonomic issue involves lifting causing back pain chronic back injury. The most immediate operations after clients are received in the psychiatric unit is the x-ray, blood tests on HIV, TB and STDs. Due to the client violent behaviours and the need to attend the clients physically, the staff find it hard to relate with this working environment (Salvendy, 2012). It is hard to get the client relaxed and ready to receive medical treatments. Sometimes the clients spit on the staff members or escalates while being injected. In order to curb this problem, the clients are fitted with masks or face shield to prevent them from spitting on the staff. In addition, the psychiatrics give medicine to the clients for them to sleep usually for 8 to 48 hours at one time. In this way, the staff can easily attend the clients, perform their tests and draw blood from their bodies. Another common ergonomic issue arises when moving the clients from the stretcher to the bed or from one bed to another. The issue has also spread in the raising of the blood drawing table position in an elevated position. Usually, the nurses are required to bend, twist or stretch because lifting injured clients

Anorexia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Anorexia - Research Paper Example exia is caused by a variety of different factors, including biology, sociological considerations and psychological adjustment patterns that are often driven by youth historical experiences in society and with family members. It is also known to be caused by media representation of what constitutes an ideal form for men and women which alters a person’s self-esteem levels and sense of self-worth in a social context. Such causes of the disease are known to be attributed to body dysmorphia, an unreasonable and rather perverse sense of the self as it pertains to body image as well as youth caregiver attachment problem (to name only two potential causes). Treatment options include cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical interventions, family therapy, support groups, pharmaceuticals, and even more radical psychotherapy methodologies. Hence, there are potential solutions that can reduce prevalence of this mental disorder with many of the aforementioned treatment options sustaining credible and sometimes substantial recovery and success rates. The goal of treatment, as indicated by research, is to change the distorted sense of self that is common with anorexia and improve cognition patterns to develop healthier eating and coping strategies. Anorexia Nervosa is a variety of eating disorder in which the individual radically curbs their food intake and maintains an unreasonable and rather groundless terror of weight gain. It is usually accomplished with a maladjusted viewpoint about their bodies. Anorexia is characterized by extreme weight loss. People who maintain this mental illness begin an extreme regulation of dietary consumption which leads to a variety of health problems. Anorexia is a common eating disorder that affects women and men, however its prevalence is most widespread in the female population. Those that have been diagnosed with anorexia often maintain an irrational obsession with maintaining a thin body figure and become preoccupied and often fanatical

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

Marketing Communication - Essay Example The hyphen was later removed. Their first office was located in Albuquerque(History of Microsoft ). The turning point for Microsoft came when it introduced its Graphical User Interface (GUI) based operating system. The first version of its GUI based operating system, namely Windows 1.0, was launched in 20th November, 1985. From there onward, Microsoft continuously improved its operating system, adding new capabilities and functions, the latest being Windows 7. It also started its web based services later. The Net Income of Microsoft was $14.57B as of June 30, 2009. It employees about 91,005 people, among which 75.4% are male and 24.6% are female. An astonishing number of 36,875 employees work in Sales & Marketing Support Group (Microsoft.com). Gates considers â€Å"innovation† as the main factor of their success. He thinks their decision of creating a software industry around the personal computer was the most innovative thing(Corcoran, 2008). There is always a reason for the establishment of an organization. These reasons are expressed through vision and mission statements. A company may have a clear purpose or mission initially, but as it grows, its mission may become unclear as the organization adds new products or markets in its portfolio(Philip & Gary, 2003). Same happened with Microsoft. Initially, Microsoft was only a software provider, so it had a simple mission statement of: Microsoft initially had a product oriented Mission Statement. A product or technology oriented mission statement do not last forever because they become obsolete. On the other hand, market oriented mission statement lasts for ever because it considers the basic market needs (Philip & Gary, 2003). Microsoft’s current mission statement includes most of the qualities of a good mission statement such as it is market oriented, realistic, achievable, inspirational and motivational; and it fits the market environment. Microsoft is

MANAGERIAL TRAITS AND SKILLS Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MANAGERIAL TRAITS AND SKILLS - Dissertation Example The trait of being self-confident and tolerant to stress plays a very important role to be creative and tactfully handle situation. Dominant nature of the individual helps to lead a team and organise managerial activities in his/her own way of working. The trait of being ambitious facilitates the process of achievement of certain task for the leader. As a researcher how would you establish if those traits are fundamental to the effectiveness of the leader? A leader should have the traits within to be successful in the implementation process. An informative leader has the capability to understand the methods and the processes to manage the technical aspects of the managerial activities for the different organisational units. The conceptual skill of the person grows the creativity and foresight involves in the process of judgment and manage critical situation in the organization. The interpersonal skill of an individual helps to understand the human behaviour or any processes and take decision according to the motives of the others and will be able to communicate with the surroundings. These are the traits required by a person to be a successful leader in the long run. Reference Changing Minds.org. (2011). Trait Theory.

Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

Marketing Plan Essay Marketing Plan is defined as written plan that is used to guide an organization’s marketing activities for a period of two years or less. It is quite detailed and specific, and it helps an organization coordinate the many steps and people that play a role in marketing. * Marketing plan is also called as tactical plans or short-term plans. * Strategic plan or a long-term plan is a three-year or more that is more general and less detailed than tactical plans. REQUIREMENTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING PLAN 1. Fact-based It must build on previous research and analysis. A plan is established on managerial hunches is like a house of cards; if one key assumption is proven wrong, the whole plan falls apart. 2. Organize and coordinate It must be as specific and detailed as possible. It needs to clearly identify the departments and people responsible for specific tasks; it must also describe the promotional and other materials that are required. The required level of sportsmanship should be clarified, including the quality and level of effort and service from all involved. 3. Programmed It must be orchestrated so that activities are carefully sequence. Timing is vitally important in marketing. Thus, a marketing plan must have a detailed, staged timetable. 4. Budgeted Every marketing plan must be budgeted carefully. In fact, several tentative budgets should be prepared before the organization decides on a final figure. 5. Flexible Unforeseen events will happen. Therefore, no plan should be cast in stones. The marketing plan should be adjusted if it appears that objective will definitely not be achieved, or if there are unexpected competitive moves. Contingency planning must built in. This means allowing some room in the plan and marketing budget to take care of unexpected events. 6. Controllable Making a plan work as it was originally designed is perhaps even more difficult than developing it in the first place. Every plan must contain measurable objectives and ways to determine, during the planning period, if adequate process is being made toward satisfying these objectives. The plan must also define who is responsible for measuring progress. 7. Internally consistent and interrelated Most parts of a marketing plan is interrelated and, therefore, need to be consistent. For example, advertising, internet marketing and other promotions must work together for better for greatest impact using integrated marketing communication (IMC). 8. Clear and simple Being detailed does not have to mean difficult. It is not enough that the plan’s architect is the only one who understands it. The efforts of many go into creating a successful marketing plan. Objectives and tasks must be clearly communicated. Possible areas of overlap, confusion, or misunderstanding needs to be eliminated. BENEFITS OF HAVING A MARKETING PLAN 1. Activities matched with target markets. Assuming that a segmented marketing strategy is being used, a plan ensures that the activities are focused only on chosen target markets. One of the steps in writing the plan is detailing the marketing mix (8 Ps) on a market-by-market basis. Budget waste from appealing to unattractive target markets is avoided. 2. Consistency of objectives and target-market priorities. The questions: â€Å"How far should the plan go to meet objectives?† and â€Å"Should each target market get equal attention?† are resolved by a good marketing plan, which ensures that the level of effort is consistent with the marketing objectives for each target markets and the relative size of each market. The more ambitious is the objective, the greater the required effort. 3. Common terms of reference. A marketing plan details activities for many people both within and outside an organization. A good plan provides common terms of reference for all. It carefully coordinates their efforts. It improves communication among those responsible for marketing and is great help in orienting outside advisors such as advertising agency staff and website designers. 4. Assistance in measuring marketing success A marketing plan is a tool of marketing management, because it provides the basis for controlling and evaluating marketing activities. 5. Continuity in long-term planning Marketing plans complement strategic market plans and provide a link between short and long-term planning. They ensure that an organization’s long-term goalsare always kept in focus. Because they are carefully rationalized and detailed, marketing plans remain useful even if their originators leave the organization. CONTENTS OF A MARKETING PLAN There are three parts to a marketing plan: the execurive summary, the marketing plan rationale, and the implementation plan. 1. Executive Summary is a brief summary of the major highlights of the marketing plan; it is for the organization’s executives to quickly review. The executive summary should be no more than two to four pages long and should be easy to read. It is called â€Å"executive† because executives can pursue it quickly, but still get it a ggod grasp of the main reason, intiatives, and costs for the marketing plan. A good approach is to sum up the highlights of each of the main sections of the markting plan rationale and implementation plaan. These highlights can be presented in the order in which they appear in the plan, according to the five key questions in the hospitality and travel marketing system. 2. Marketing plan rationale explains the facts, analyses and assumptions upon which the marketing plan is based. It describe the marketing strategies, target markets, positioning approaches, and marketing objectives seleccted for the plaaning period. The marketing plan rationale provides a historic record for those putting together future marketing plans and strategic market plans. It is also very helpful to outside advisors, such as advertising agencies and website designers, who are asked to handle only one specific task. The marketing plan rationale has two parts: a. Situation Analysis Highlights (where are we now?) is a study organizations strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. It plays an important role in constructing marketing plans because marketing plans must build upon the organization’s marketing strengths, address major competitive weaknesses, and capitalize on identified opportunities. * Environmental Analysis The marketing plan should list and briefly discuss the major opportunities and threats presented. It should explain what impact is expected during the planning period. * Location and Community Analysis New factory or plant openings, major events to be staged, business closures or workforce reductions, residential development, industrial expansion, and new highway construction or redesign are just a few things that can have a very positive or negative effect on an organization or destination in short time span. The events should be identified and summarized in the marketing plan, and their impacts reviewed. * Primary Competitor Analysis It should also highlight each side’s competitive strengths and weaknesses. * Market Potential Analysis Should include the highlights of special marketing research studies. * Services Analysis The market plan should discuss such development projects and how they will be integrated with other marketing-mix (8P) activities. * Marketing Position and Plan Analysis The marketing plan and position analysis does just that; it goes over what has been done before so important lessons can be learned for future marketing planning. A synopsis of the organization’s current positioning in its target markets and the effectiveness of activities in previous marketing plans is presented. * Major Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Constraints This part of the plan is similar to summary. It forces marketers to consolidate all key situation analysis and other research findings. It should involve attaching relative importance weightings and priorities to identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and constraints. b. Selected Marketing Strategy (Where would we be like to be?) This details the strategy that the organization will follow in the next one to two years. It explains the facts, assumptions, and decisions influence strategy choices. * Market Segmentation and Target markets The plan should briefly review the segmental approach and characteristics used to divide the market. Some statistics should be presented on the size of the market segments and the organization’s penetration or market share of each. The selected target markets should be discussed, along with the reasons for choosing them. It is also useful to briefly review why other market segments are not being targeted wnd how the chosen target markets will interact with each other. * Marketing Strategy The plan should explain the analysis and assumptions that supported these choices. * Marketing Mixes The market plan should review these individually for each target market. A more detailed list of activities comes later in the implementation plan. * Positioning Approaches The marketing plan should explain how the positioning approaches will be reflected in each marketing-mix element (8 Ps). * Marketing Objectives The objectives for each target market should be clearly stated. They have to be result-oriented, stated in numerical terms, and time specific. A good idea suggested by some experts is to break up each objective into milestones. This means dividing each objective into sub-objectives with specific time deadlines. 3. Implementation plan (action plan) details the activities, marketing budget, staff responsibilities, timetable, and method of controlling, measuring and evaluating activities. The function of implementation plan is to specify all the required activities , responsibilities, cost and budget, time schedules, and control and evaluation procedures. It is sometimes called an action plan. A. Activities Plan (How do we get there?) It details the marketing mixes for each target market selected. It provides the specifics on the entire task required for each mix element of each target market. * Activities by Target Market All plan activities should be listed and described. It is best to do this separately for each marketing-mix element, and to arrange task in a time schedule based on when they will be initiated. * Responsibilities for Activities In most cases, several departments or divisions, many organization employees, and some outside firms will play a role in implementing the marketing plan. They must know what is expected in each one of them. A good way to do this is to know the description of responsibilities into the marketing plan and to identify each responsible party in the timetable and activity schedule. * Timetable and Activity Schedule This is a key part of the plan that is frequently referred to as the plan is being implemented. It should show each activity’s starting and completion dates, where the activity is to be carried out, and the persons responsible for the activity. B. Marketing Budget (How do we get there?) Every marketing plan should include a detailed budget that outlines how much will be spent on each of the 8 Ps or marketing-mix element for each target market. Knowing how much money to allocate to marketing as a difficult decision, but a good marketing budget should meet these four criteria: * Comprehensive All marketing activities or task or task are identified and estimated. * Coordinated Budgeting for all activities or tasks is carefully coordinated to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and to maximize the synergy among budget items. * Practical The budget specifies the sources of the money and human resources for the marketing activities and tasks. * Realistic Marketing budget cannot be set in isolation from other departments’ priorities and activities. They have to be related to the organization’s resources and position in the industry sector. WAYS TO ESTABLISH MARKETING BUDGETS The most effective is known as the objective-and-task or empirical method. This process follows the zero-based budgeting idea, which means that every budget starts at zero each year and then builds up activity. A multi-stage budgeting process is used. The advantages of four budgeting approaches are as follows: 1. Historical or Arbitrary Budgeting This is a very simple approach. A certain amount or percentage is added to the last marketing budget. The budget increase is often set close to the economy’s rate inflation. 2. Rule-of-thumb Budgeting This approach is also known as the percentage-of-sales or heuristic method. In this method, the budget is calculated using an established industry sector average, and is usually a percentage of total sales revenues. 3. Competitive Budgeting This approach is also called competitive-parity approach. Like the previous methods, this one is easy to use. All that is needed is information on what competitors are budgeting for marketing, which can be found by reading published materials on these organizations or by studying their annual reports. Because this method begins by assuming that some amount will be spent in relation to a specific competitor, kt is nat a zero-based approach. 4. Objective-and-Task Budgeting This works exactly the way it sounds; marketing objectives are set first and then the activities or tasks to achieve them are detailed. The budget starts at nothing, which implies that it is a zero-based approach. Some called it build-up method, because an organization establishes the budget from the bottom up rather than starting with a total amount and then deciding how to spend it. C. Control Procedures (How do we know if we get there?) Controlling the plan is a marketing management function. To control effectively, the manager must know what is expected (desired results), when it is expected (progress points or milestones), who it is expected of, (responsible parties), and how expectations are to be measured (measures or metrics). Financial control of the marketing plan is achieved through budgeting and periodic reports that compare budgeted with actual expenditures. D. Evaluation Procedures (How do we know if we got there?) The ultimate test of a marketing plan’s success is the extent to which its marketing objectives are achieved. In addition to this type of analysis, results must be reviewed carefully on an objective-by-objective basis. Effective evaluation requires expected results and measurement techniques, metrics, performance standards, and a timetable for evaluation.