Global Branding Strategies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Branding Strategies - Research Paper Example As the paper outlines, the world is becoming increasingly global. Companies are not just focusing on local markets in their service and product provision. They are now looking for new and more promising markets outside their borders and also need to incorporate market forces coming from their global competitors. The corporate world is now characterized by a fast flow of products internationally, an advertisement is also done across borders and there is a need to ensure that marketing strategies reflect these changes. (Kapfer, 1997)  Brands are a fundamental part of any company's key strategy. This is because brands give firms an identity. Keller (1998) asserts that brands help to strengthen their customer base and also to take away power from retailers alone. Aaker and Keller (1990) go on to add that a brand helps to solidify ones position in any market. However, there are some key questions that arise when dealing with the issue. Firms need to ask themselves whether they would lik e to maintain the same brand name in different countries and locations. Firms who choose to do this could justify their actions by claiming that this allows them to maintain their identity throughout. On the other hand, some firms may decide to take up different brands within the different countries that they will choose to operate. Such firms may believe that brand names need to reflect demand and the needs of a particular country. These questions need to be addressed so as to ensure that a given company take advantage of all the opportunities available in the international market. Some companies may have made quite a name for themselves in the domestic markets. Their products may have such a unique place in their product markets such that they have considerable influence there. It would, therefore, be advisable to maintain the same brand for such companies when venturing into global markets. Caller (1996) asserts that this will go a long way in ensuring that such companies are abl e to leverage their power in the domestic market to international markets. A good example of such a company is Coca Cola. It started with a very strong image in its domestic market and decided to maintain its name throughout its market.  Another aspect that could make certain companies stick to the same brand name is the integration of regional markets. For example in Europe, there are numerous countries that are now operating under the same currency and targeting each other. Consequently, it would be advisable to create brand names that can accommodate numerous countries all at once. The European Union has changed the traditional approach of locally-centered products. There is a need to incorporate brands for the EU markets. (Featherstone, 1990)  Some companies may be dealing with certain products that have relatively equal levels of demand in the target markets they are dealing with. A good example of such a company is Shell. The Company deals with various petroleum products. These are items that are in high demand in different parts of the world.  

Physics And Structure Motor Starter Engineering Essay

Physics And Structure Motor Starter Engineering Essay A motor starter, also known as starting motor and starter, is an electric motor that rotates the internal combustion engine and causes it to power up. The motor starter is made up of a powerful DC electric motor and a starter solenoid (electric switch) and requires a very high current in order to turn over the engine and start it. In the car, the motor starter begins when the key is put into the ignition and turned to the start position. At this point, the battery voltage goes through the starter control circuit and activates the starter solenoid. This process provides energy to the motor starter so that it can turn over the engine. The motor starter is made up of ground, or negative, cables that connect the battery terminal to the engine block and positive cables that connect the battery terminal to the starter solenoid. The starter solenoid acts to close the circuit and connect the starter motor to the battery. Full voltage motor starters are sometime also referred to as direct on line motor starters. Full voltage motor starters are most widely used and result in a high current. This current can range anywhere between 400 percent to 1,000 percent of a full load current, according to schneider-electric.be. Full voltage motor starters also provide a high starting torque (about 150 percent of the full load torque). Torque (also known as moment of force) is tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis or a pivot point. It is a very important concept in engineering because it essentially refers to the measure of the resulting moment. Reduced voltage motor starters decrease the full load current at the motor terminals in proportion to the voltage reduction. Furthermore, the full load torque of the motor is reduced by the square of the voltage reduction. These are used on machines that require a gentle start and smooth acceleration, according to electricmotors.machinedesign.com. They are also used in compounds that are limited by voltage regulations, such as power companies. Multi-Speed Multi-speed motor starters are divided into multiple categories. Starters for separate winding two speed motors consist of two standard three-pole starter units. A pole is the number of conduction positions that belong to that switch. These units are interlocked both electrically and mechanically. According to electricmotors.machinedesign.com, additional units may also be used for each speed. Starters for three-speed motors are three-pole and starters for four-speed motors have two sets of three- to five-pole starters. MOTOR STARTER COMPONENTS Every internal combustion engine in a car built after 1940 has a starter motor. This is simply an electric motor attached at the junction between the engine and the transmission by a special housing. The housing allows the motor to protrude into the space just enough to engage the flywheel on the back of the engine and turn it until the combustion process begins. Starters are made just like any other heavy-duty electric motor, but with a few additions. Armature The armature is the heart of an electric motor. It rides on the central shaft, which also contains the commutator in bearings front and rear. The armature runs in the field created by the coils and is essentially a moving magnet when the coils are energized. Commutator The commutator is a section of the shaft at the rear of the starter housing on which the brushes run to conduct electricity.The brushes are two pieces of carbon attached to wires. These wires are connected to the battery through the starter switch. When the switch is thrown, they conduct electricity to the coils and armature causing the starter to spin. Bendix The Bendix drive is a unique combination of a spring and a gear. When the starter is engaged, the gear extends into the housing on the front of the unit, engages the flywheel and spins the engine to begin the combustion process. The Bendix is sometimes activated by a solenoid and a wishbone-shaped lever, depending on manufacturer. How Motor Starters Work Starter motors come in either standard, high-torque or gear reduction models. The primary purpose is to turn the engine over in order for ignition to commence and the engine to start. The starter will always need to engage the flywheel on the rear of the engine in order to turn the engine. The flywheel is a large wheel with teeth around the circumference and is attached to the rear of the crankshaft. Generally the starter will be installed on either bottom-side of the engine with the gear end facing rearward toward the flywheel. Some vehicles have the starter attached to the top rear of the engine under the intake manifold. The starter is an electric, high-torque motor with a gear that rides on a spiracle shaft on the end. This spiracle shaft is called the bendix. When the starter motor is activated, the gear on the shaft spins at a high speed and the spiracle shaft causes the gear to wind its way up the shaft extending it out to engage with the flywheel. When the starter is deactiva ted, a spring pulls the bendix back in toward the starter, disengaging it from the flywheel. The wiring for a starter is consistent with most all vehicles with the exception of the security system intervention. The main power for the starter motor runs directly from the battery or battery source to the top post of the solenoid on the starter. In some cases the starter will have a separate solenoid located on the fender well. The solenoid is just a remotely activated switch to turn the starter on and off. If it is a remote solenoid on the fender well there will be two large terminalsone on each side of the solenoidand two small terminals in the center of the solenoid.The large diameter power wire from the battery is attached to one of the large terminals and the other large terminal goes to the starter. The small terminals are marked S and I. The S terminal is for a wire from the ignition switch that is activated when the key is turned to the start position. When this terminal is act ivated, the solenoid closes the circuit to the starter and activates it. When the key is released, the circuit is open and disengages the starter. The same thing applies with a starter-mounted solenoid. Electric starter The electric starter has wide range applications. The main components of Electric starter is: Main Housing (yoke) Overrunning clutch Armature Field coils Brushes Solenoid The modern starter motor is either a permanent-magnet or a series-parallel wound direct current electric motor with a solenoid switch (similar to a relay) mounted on it. When current from the starting battery is applied to the solenoid, usually through a key-operated switch, it pushes out the drive pinion on the starter driveshaft and meshes the pinion with the ring gear on the flywheel of the engine. Before the advent of key-driven starters, most electric starters were actuated by foot-pressing a pedestal located on the floor, generally above the accelerator pedal. The solenoid also closes high-current contacts for the starter motor, which begins to turn. Once the engine starts, the key-operated switch is opened, a spring in the solenoid assembly pulls the pinion gear away from the ring gear, and the starter motor stops. The starters pinion is clutched to its driveshaft through an overrunning sprag clutch which permits the pinion to transmit drive in only one direction. In this manner, drive is transmitted through the pinion to the flywheel ring gear, but if the pinion remains engaged (as for example because the operator fails to release the key as soon as the engine starts), the pinion will spin independently of its driveshaft. This prevents the engine driving the starter, for such backdrive would cause the starter to spin so fast as to fly apart. However, this sprag clutch arrangement would preclude the use of the starter as a generator if employed in hybrid scheme mentioned above; unless modifications are made. Also, a standard starter motor is only designed for intermittent use which would preclude its use as a generator. This overrunning-clutch pinion arrangement was phased into use beginning in the early 1960s; before that time, a Bendix drive was used. The Bendix system places the starter drive pinion on a helically-cut driveshaft. When the starter motor begins turning, the inertia of the drive pinion assembly causes it to ride forward on the helix and thus engage with the ring gear. When the engine starts, backdrive from the ring gear causes the drive pinion to exceed the rotative speed of the starter, at which point the drive pinion is forced back down the helical shaft and thus out of mesh with the ring gear. Manual Motor Starters Manual motor starters are simply manual switches designed to control larger current loads typical of motor control. They may be small and similar to the light switches in your home, or they may be much larger dedicated switches designed for control of high amperage circuits. These motor starters may be either Single Pole (switch one line only) or Double/Triple Pole devices (switch 2/3 lines). When a Double/Triple Pole manual motor starter is turned off, the power from the power cable is completely disconnected from the motor. Manual motor starters may also be equipped with matched heaters, which are overload protectors designed to open when the current load is too high. These heaters must be properly sized to the motor they are protecting or else they will either open too soon, or will not protect the motor. The disadvantage to manual motor controls is that they cannot have remotely located On and Off controls. Magnetic Motor Starters Magnetic Motor starters are essentially heavy duty relays, often equipped with heater/thermal overloads matched to the motor they start. They are then controlled using a lighter duty (low or high voltage) circuit, auxillary relay contacts and a control station (or several stations) utilizing lighter duty switches (usually momentary sometimes latching). These switches would not be capable of switching the large loads required by the motors. Because the control circuitry is separate from the Load circuit, the On/Off controls can be mounted remotely and can even be duplicated if desired. This type of motor starter will usually have an auxiliary contact switch: a smaller set of contacts that opens or closes along with the motion of the main contactors. These contacts will be used to latch the system in an on condition. Latching means that the auxiliary contact bypasses the ON button so the solenoid remains energized, until a separate OFF button cuts the power. Additional contacts (NO NC ) may also be provided and may be used for auxiliary circuits or to provide feedback to the rest of the system that the starter is engaged and the motor has power. Some older style motor starters have built-in latching. These starters have four terminals labeled 3, P, E, and C (historical leftovers from older models). The E and C terminals are for the hot and neutral wires, respectively, and remain powered. When power is applied to 3 and P at the same time, the starter will engage until power is removed from P. Power can be removed from 3 at any time without affecting operation. How Do AC Motor Starters Work? Electric Motors AC (alternating current) motor starters are used on electric motors that utilize a start and stop button or switch for the operation. Safety switches can also be employed in the low-voltage circuit that controls the power to the AC motor starter. AC motor starters are also used on large motors in which the electrical power requirements are so large that it would be unsafe to operate a single switch to turn the motor on. The motor starter can also be located at a great distance from the electric motor, so remote or automatic operation of the motor is made possible. The AC motor starter generally has three main components, the pull-in coil, the electrical contacts and the overcurrent protection. The Pull-In Coil All motor starters have an electrically wound coil made up of many strands of insulated wire. These wires are insulated from each other by a thin layer of varnish. The varnish keeps the electrical power from shorting against the individual wires that make up the pull-in coil. The coil is wound around a plastic form that allows a metal plunger to be pulled in or out as electrical power is applied to the coil. The metal plunger fits just inside the plastic form. When power is applied to the coil, the plunger is electrically engaged. When power is shut off from the coil, the plunger is disengaged. During the engagement of the coil and plunger, the electrical contacts touch each other. Electrical Contacts Attached directly or through a lever, the electrical contacts move in accordance with the plunger. These contacts are electrically connected to the motor and the power feed of the motor circuit. The contacts work in such a way that, regardless of the number of contact points, they all come together in the same moment of time. On the other hand, when power is released from the coil/plunger arrangement, the electrical power is withdrawn from all the contacts at the same moment. This ensures that no damage can occur to the electric motor or device that is being controlled by the motor starter. The electrical contacts can come in many sizes that range from a pencil eraser end (3/16 inch) to one inch in diameter. Generally, the more power that needs to be conducted, the larger the physical contact is. Overcurrent Protection Generally, built into all AC motor starters is an overcurrent protection device. This device monitors the overall amount of power that the motor is using while under operation. Usually a bi-metallic strip that will bend when overheated, the overcurrent protection will disrupt power to the coil and shut down the AC motor starter. Without the overcurrent protection, the AC motor starter could continually run if the motor becomes damaged and destroy the equipment that the motor is driving. PHYSICS BEHIND MOTOR STARTERS Electric motors operate on electromagnetic induction principle. It takes a few fractions of seconds for the windings of the electric motor to get energized and produce the electromagnetic induction. Till such time, the load to the electric supply is just the resistance of the windings and hence the initial rush of current will be high. In such circumstances it is not advisable to mechanically connect the supply to the motor. Further, for any defects in the electric motor circuit, more than the rated current might flow through the windings and thereby damage them. Description of a Electric Motor Starter: The above diagram shows a electric motor starter and its connections. The electric motor starter consists of a relay type contactor C, a thermal over load O and a set of on/off switch   buttons. The on switch is normally open and the off switch is normally closed. The above arrangement is for a single phase operation but the concept is same for 3 phase operation as well. Function of a Electric Motor Starter: Refer to the same diagram. When the on switch button is pressed, the supply is given to the relay coil of the contactor and the coil gets energized. The coil, due to electromagnetic effect operates the spring loaded plunger to make the contacts with the terminals on both ends of the contactor so that the supply is given to the motor. The motor starts running.  At this condition, even if the on switch button is released, the coil continues to get the supply from the load side of the contactor through the off switch and thus the relay continues to hold the contacts. The supply to the relay coil is given in series with a thermal overload relay. This relay opens out and breaks the supply to the motor in case the current drawn by the motor exceeds the rated current. If the off button is pressed, the supply to the coil is cut off and the plunger opens out to break the supply. Since the load side terminals have no supply now, the relay does not get the supply even if the off switch is rel eased. To restart the motor you need to once again press the on switch button.

Thomas Kings All My Relations :: Essays Papers

Thomas King's All My Relations This is an anthology of writing by nineteen Native Canadian writers, which represents both an attempt to promote Native writing, and an effort to undermine commonly held misunderstandings. It is published by McClelland & Stewart, "The Canadian Publishers", which gives the collection a status of national and cultural importance, while indicating how these writers are working in and through Canada's hegemonic culture. This would seem to go some way towards undermining the book's claims to authenticity, but for the fact that King's stated purpose is much more complex than that. In fact, his introduction specifically considers the concept of the authentic, and is wary of what is potentially a highly limiting notion. Thus, the selection includes work that represents Natives in both traditional and contemporary roles and situations; and the format of the writing ranges from a transcription of an oral narrative to examples of conformity with the generic conventions of the Western short stor y. He is reluctant to constrain the possibilities for Native expression, but is ready to admit that the advent of a written culture with English as a shared language has allowed the various indiginous cultures to discover and explore areas of common belief and practice. Although King believes that it is too early in the history of Native publishing to be able precisely to delineate characteristic patterns, the two major themes which he cites as frequently recurring are those of community and the role of oral literature. He has included a short story of his own in the volume, "The One About Coyote Going West." Coyote is an example of the mythological "Trickster" character who often occurs in Native literature. King himself says "The trickster is an important figure for Native writers for it allows us to create a particular kind of world in which the Judeo-Christian concern with good and evil and order and disorder is replaced with the more Native concern for balance and harmony." (King, xiii) He relates the story in a colloquial, spoken style. Witness the opening lines: " This one is about Coyote. She was going west. Visiting her relations. That's what she said. You got to watch that one. Tricky one." (King, 95) As the story unfolds, the reading expe rience can seem strange for the non-Native. Characters change gender and identity, abstract nouns are blurred with concrete nouns, and the physical universe is represented as a radically unstable place.

The Six Features of Academic Style

It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments you want to ake, rather than you. Your arguments should also show balance and both sides of . he issue. Explicitness Academic writing is explicit about the relationships int he text. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are related. These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signalling words. (PEE Point, example, empirical evidence. ) Hedging In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make decisions about your tance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways. Using verbs such as might/may/could and reporting verbs gives extra detail/protection of your position. Responsibility In academic writing you must be re sponsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and Justification for, any claims you make. You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you use. The Six Features of Academic Style By SapphireP

What is reactive patrol

What is reactive patrol? How does reactive patrol differ from proactive patrol? What would happen of policing agencies adopted only one of these patrol styles? Reactive patrol is when police officers respond to public calls or to a crime that has already occurred. Reactive patrol provides help to ensure that calls are responded to in an efficient and timely manner. Reactive patrol also involves the follow-up investigations required to get additional information to prosecute.It has the advantages that the public operate openly and in response to real public emands and with the consent of the public. Reactive patrol is more of a traditional style of policing. It consists of police waiting for crime and then going to the scene to try apprehends suspects. On the other hand, proactive patrol tries to prevent the crimes from happening in the first place. For example, Reactive patrol- an officer can respond to a violent crime or an armed robbery, and could be the first to arrive and my invo lved in a confrontation with the criminal.While proactive patrols, officers heck businesses at nightly on a regularly basis, and notify businesses owners once doors are found unlocked or other safety problems greatly reduces the chance that the businesses will be burglarized. Armed robberies, violent crimes, bike patrols in crowded pedestrian areas, night-time business checks; are all parts of the reactive and proactive patrol. If police agencies adopted only one of these patrol styles. It would be harder to have police discretion. Police officer would never be able to stop crime before it happen, without reactive and proactive patrol.

Writing Mantras

Writing Mantras    Im not a fan of interviews, which might sound a little self-centered because I have been interviewed many times. But I have to admit that when I see an interview of an author with all the stereotypical questions, I hit delete. I dont know how I managed to remain on this authors interview page long enough to read to the end of it, to the juicy part, but I did. And I immediately thought, My readers need to know this. lucberthelette.com/#!authorelizabeth-gilbert/c1vg0 Elizabeth Gilbert is author of several books, most notably Eat, Pray, Love. The interviewer asked a   few clichà © questions, but luckily Ms. Gilbert answered with genius. Rather than describe the interview, I chose to pull out snippets that I label as mantras. If youve read The Shy Writer Reborn (www.chopeclark.com), you know that I am a believer in mantras to instill willpower. The simplest path seems to be to embrace what you are good at, which is like swimming with the current, rather than against it. to figure out what, indeed, your own life is all about requires a ferocious level of attention to the way you are tuned, and equally ferocious stewardship of the Self once I began writing, it became clear to me: This is not a foreign language; this is my native tongue. You must write the book that you feel is missing from your bookshelf. My suggestion is to focus not on becoming successful, but on becoming great. dont demand that your art supports your life. Instead, make a promise that your life will always support your art. A degree in writing is not what makes you a writer. Writing every day is what makes you a writer. And writing every day is absolutely free. And when asked for a final word, she said, ONWARD. I smiled because mine is MOVE FORWARD. Always has been. Your mission is to live forward, not backward. Make each step new and fresh, not one that re-walks old ground.

Shouldice Hospital Essays

Shouldice Hospital Essays Shouldice Hospital Essay Shouldice Hospital Essay 1. How successful is the Shouldice Hospital? Generate a PL statement using available information from the case. Treat each of the two operations- hospital and the surgery- separately. Hospital: Revenues (4 days X $111/day x 6,850 patients/year)3,041,400 Cost2,800,000 Profit: 241,400 Clinic: Revenues ((($450 + 60 + 75) X 0. 20) X 6,850 patients/year)) 3,596,250 Cost2,000,000 Profit1,596,250 Total Profit1,837,650 2. How do you account for its successful performance? The following factors account for the success of Shouldice hospital: Unique and pioneering surgical technique for Hernia operation which reduced the suffering of the patients and led to rapid recovery as compared to the existing methods. The Shouldice technique enabled the patients to resume their normal routine and jobs in a much shorter period of time (one to four weeks) as compared to other hospitals (two to eight weeks). This technique resulted in 140,000 highly satisfied â€Å"Alumni†(past patients). Doctors could conduct 600 operations in a year as compared to 25 to 50 operations per year in other hospitals, which was possible by the standardization of operating procedures. This standardization led to efficient utilization of the medical staff and other resources. To adhere to the Shouldice technique and match the value system with that of the hospital, experienced doctors and nursing staff were recruited carefully. Due to the following techniques adopted by Shouldice created a warm and welcoming environment for patients: oCarpeting the hospital gave the place smell other than that of disinfectant oEncouraged interaction and recreational activities amongst patients and also with the hospital staff oMatching of roommates based on  similar background and the scheduling of their operation at the same time are examples and care exerted to create a friendly environment which led to faster recuperation oDeveloped feeling of belongingness to the hospital during the stay. Unique recovering techniques that stressed upon ambulation led to minimizing the cost by cutting down on various post-operative patient care activities such as common dining areas, common recreational facilities etc. This also resulted in low nurse to patient ratio compared to other similar hospitals (0.44) Offering the cheapest option for treatment of hernia in the region High reliability of Hernia operation with very small recurrence rate of 0. 8 % as compared to high recurrence rates of close to 10 % as in the United States. Doctors and nurses were motivated by way of higher salaries and profit sharing systems in the form of bonuses compared to other hospitals in the region and reasonable workload leading to sense of belongingness amongst the doctors and nurses leading to low attrition. Encouraged group cohesiveness and fraternity type of coordination mechanism within the organization leading to greater operational efficiency. The above factors resulted in remarkable credibility for the Shouldice Hospital that position edit in the market as a hospital which ensured cost effective, reliable, caring and responsive service to the hernia patients. 3. Prepare a patient process flow diagram from arrival through surgery and determine the capacities at each stage. For this diagram, only indicate major points in the process, e.g. , admitting, examination, operating room surgeries, etc. Use the actual hours of operation for each step in the process to determine the capacity of each step. Where is the bottleneck? Bottleneck in the Design Flow: Shouldice has the capacity to perform 42 examinations per afternoon and send 38 eligible patients to the operation rooms. It only performs 33 operations per day, so the bottleneck between these 2 processes is the number of operations being performed per day. Shouldice performs 33 operations per day, which generate daily bed demand of 116 on Wednesday and Thursday, and 99 on Tuesday, all exceeding the current bedding capacity of 89. So between these 2 processes, the number of available beds is the bottleneck. Overall, the bottleneck for Shouldice is the number of available beds. The hospital has to increase its bed capacity by 30% [(116-89)/(89)] to simply meet its current operation schedule. 4. Do a detailed analysis of potential on-site capacity expansion alternatives (on a per week basis). Assume an average of 3. 5 days stay at the hospital for each patient, including surgery, and Sunday admits. This means that half the patients spend three days while the other half spend four days. Alternatives to be considered: An assumption must be made, due to limited information in the case, that the expansion alternatives being considered are to meet an unmet market demand and is not driven by addition profit or other reasons. 1. Add an additional day by operating on Saturday Use 89 + 14 rooms (3. 5 average stay). Total number of patents per week = 180 137 current throughput/148 theoretical = x / 180 theoretical New throughput = 180 x (137/148)= 167 patients / week Additional patients per year = (167-137) x 50= 1,450 Additional revenue for the clinic = 1450 x (450+0. 20 x 75) = $674,250 – Cost $124,250 Net increase in profit: 550,000 for no additional investment Disadvantages Require to schedule 23-25 operations on Saturday Six surgeons and a supervising surgeon have to work on Saturdays Additional other personnel. Violates the implied contract that Shouldice has with its surgeons, strong opposition by the senior doctors Operating close the theoretical capacity of the facility Advantages No investment is needed Can still maintain quality 2. Increase additional beds by 50% by adding a new floor Total Number of Rooms: 89 +45= 134 Total number of patents per week = 193 137 current throughput/148 theoretical = x / 193 theoretical New throughput = 193 x (137/148)= 179 patients / week Additional patients per year= (179-137) x 50 = 2,100. Additional revenue for the clinic = 2100 x (450+0.20 x 75) = $976,500 – Cost $176,500 Return on investment = 800,000/2,000,000=40% Disadvantages Require to schedule doctors to the full capacity of five days per week Increase work load on admissions, kitchen, laundry, housekeeping and accounting Further staggering of meal hours for patients (100 seat dinning room) Disruption during construction Advantages Easy to control and maintain quality Retain the culture and environment 3. They can meet the unmet market demand with external capacity by opening a new facility in US or Canada Advantages. New location close to the customers, i. e. USA or Canada Improve its competitive position and increase its profits Operate in a less restrictive environment New opportunities for existing personnel Transfer of knowledge and expertise to the new facilities Disadvantages Requires a significant investment and Dr. Shoudice’s time Challenging to monitor the quality of service provided It is difficult to replicate the same culture and atmosphere that is so successful in the parent facility Potential competition with the existing facility.

Insect Courtship Rituals and Mating Habits

Insect Courtship Rituals and Mating Habits Ah, romance. Because insects are so numerous, a good deal of work goes into finding a suitable mate. Females can be fickle, with such a wealth of insect bachelors from which to choose. If a male stands a chance at passing on his genes, hes got to do something to stand out in the crowd. Courtship rituals in insect mating include serenades, dances, nuptial gifts, physical touch, and even aphrodisiacs. Serenades Courtship songs differ from calling songs, which are broadcast from a distance to help females find the males. Crickets use distinct calling and courtship songs, for example. Once the female cricket is nearby, the male suitor sings his best courtship song to sweep her off her six feet. Fruit flies have no calling song but they do sing when a mate is in close range. The fruit fly male vibrates his wings in a pulsing, rhythmic pattern. His song lets the female know he is of the same species, and available to mate. Mosquitoes sing harmonic duets with each other, adjusting the frequencies of their songs simultaneously as they near the moment of copulation. Dances and Foreplay Any woman is a sucker for a man that can dance. Some male insects and spiders cha cha cha their way to love, performing elaborate dances for their chosen mates. Jumping spiders are famous for their ballroom skills. They can perform a linear dance, a zigzag dance, and even a sort of can-can with their forelegs. Certain male flies perform aerial dances around a female to attract her attention and win the right to mate with her. Some female insects like to be cuddled and caressed to get in the mood. This is especially true of the more primitive, wingless insects. Springtails, for instance, will touch each other with their antennae. Sperm transfer in apterygotes takes place externally, with the male depositing his sperm on a surface and then gently coaxing his partner to take it. Some dung beetles engage in a different kind of foreplay. Together, the pair rolls a ball of dung to serve as a nursery for their offspring. Nuptial Gifts Gift giving is another clever strategy employed by some male insects in their pursuit of a mate. Before seeking a partner, hangingfly males hunt and capture arthropod prey. They then lure a female closer using a chemical signal and offer her the food gift. She examines the prey, and if she finds the meal to her liking, they mate. If the gift is insufficient, she refuses his advance. Balloon flies take gift giving a step further by wrapping the prey in pretty, silken balloons. Females fly into a mating swarm of males and choose a partner, who presents her with his silk package. Dont give the males too much credit, though. Theyve actually learned to trick the females by offering them empty balloons. Some male insects, like Mormon crickets, produce a spermatophylax, a protein-rich wad which they attach to the females genitalia. The female eats the sperm-free offering, which may have cost the male a full 30% of his body weight. Thats a pretty substantial gift. Aphrodisiacs When all else fails, insects may try an aphrodisiac to make a partner willing to copulate. Male queen butterflies dust prospective mates with an aphrodisiac produced by hairpencils, brush-like appendages on the tip of the abdomen. If his magic dust works, she will fly to a nearby plant. He dusts her once more to be sure shes ready, and if she is, they consummate the marriage. On the other hand, insects sometimes employ anti-aphrodisiacs to turn away suitors. Certain ground beetle females produce methacrylic acid, a potent anti-aphrodisiac that not only repels males, which can knock them out for several hours. Male mealworm beetles apply anti-aphrodisiac pheromones to their female partners after mating, to make them less attractive to other males.

How Age,Gender and Self-Perception Affect Self-Handicapping Essay

How Age,Gender and Self-Perception Affect Self-Handicapping - Essay Example The matter has caused so much attention from psychologists because of its perceived importance in helping create better responses from students and employees alike. Therefore, there have been much studies conducted to further understand the implications of self-handicapping in schools. In addition, more studies are being employed to consider more variables such as culture, setting and other factors. As more researches have been conducted, proven and accepted regarding the matter on the factors such as age, gender and self-perception, this paper will deal particularly on the aforementioned three components affecting self-handicaps in addition to the definition of the term. This paper will show how age affects self-handicapping. In addition, it will also show that women have been found to be more resilient and therefore able to escape self-handicapping more than men. Lastly, the paper will also look deeper into how self-perception affects the tendency of self-handicapping. First and fo remost, it is the aim of this paper to expound on what self-handicap is all about. According to McCrea and Flamm (2011), self-handicapping is â€Å"an anticipatory self-protective strategy in which individuals create or claim obstacles to success prior to an important performance to excuse potential failure†. ... Understandably, individuals tend to take pride in themselves regardless of their abilities and capabilities so that they would want to be appreciated most of the time especially when they perform well. Nevertheless, failure is inevitable even to the best of the best. However, there is such a circumstance that most people resort to in order to escape the embarrassment of failure and it is called self-handicapping. Leondari and Gonida (2007) summarize the definition of term saying, â€Å"it involves creating obstacles to successful performance on tasks that the individual considers important†. Such obstacles are influenced by factors such as age, gender and self-perception. Just like in many circumstances, age makes a difference in how people react. In the case of self-handicapping, it has been found out that younger children are less inclined to self-handicap compared to older children. According to a study performed on a population of 702 students in Greece, there is no signif icant difference in self-handicapping among the elementary and high school students involved in the experiment. Initially, the researchers assumed that high school students will use self-handicapping strategies more than elementary students because the â€Å"high school environment is more competitive and places more emphasis on performance demands† (Leondari & Gonida, 2007). Nevertheless, their study proved the supposition wrong. What the researchers have found though was that, task goals significantly affected the result of self-handicapping strategies. This means that task goals are more of a motivation to one’s accomplishment in relation to age rather than age alone as a factor influencing self-handicapping. From the

End of Course Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

End of Course - Assignment Example Third is the aspect of the balanced scorecard that would help the company improve its operations. Last are the benefits and drawbacks of zero-based approach to budgeting for the business. This section contains the analysis of the Brown Bear Leisure’s financial statement, using relevant ratios, for the two-year period (2014 and 2015). The ratios are as follows: profitability ratios, liquidity ratios, and efficiency ratios. Net profit margin- this ratio shows how well a company manages its operating expenses such as the administrative costs and interests on borrowed funds. The higher the ratio, the lower the operating expenses of the enterprise. Concerning Brown Bear Leisure Company, the net profit margin for the year 2014 and 2015 have been determined as 7.07% and -0.53% respectively. The ratio interpretation for the fiscal year 2014 means that only 7.07% of the company’s revenue were net profit, whereas, remaining 92.93% were consumed by the operating expenses. However, in the year 2015, the ratio is negative reflecting the loss made by the company during that period. Net profit margin decreased between the two periods due to a sharp decline in the profit from positive to negative (Loss). Based on the analysis, the company’s operating expenses are excessively high, which indicates the ineffectiveness of the company’s cost management methods. Therefore, it is justified to mention that the company’s value creation ability is dwarfed by the high level of operating costs (Baker & Powell 2005, pp. 3-10). Gross profit margin- the ratio indicates a company’s financial health after meeting the cost of sales. It also shows the company’s ability to pay for future operating costs. Concerning Brown Bear Leisure Company, the gross profit margin for the year 2014 and 2015 have been determined as 41.24% and 34.46 % respectively. The ratio interpretation for the fiscal year 2014 means that 41.24% of the company’s revenue were gross

The Holocaust Museam Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Holocaust Museam Report - Essay Example The Museum, through static displays, brings history alive by explaining how the Nazi Party inflicted mayhem and cruelty out of sheer feelings of hatred and abhorrence for the Jews. The museum also takes great care to explain that women, elderly, and over one million children were killed in cold blood, in order to take revenge for the alleged support rendered by some European Jews to the enemies of Germany during WWI. It is believed that nearly six million Jews were massacred by different means during these twelve years, and that other cruelties were inflicted upon other racial communities. Between 1941 and 1945, five to six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime, its allies, and its surrogates in Nazi-occupied territories. Yet, despite the extraordinary scale and intensity of this genocide, its prominence in recent decades was far from preordained. Hatred can be overcome only if an honest, non-political approach is used towards those who may be affected or who m ay instigate the violence. Hatred, undeclared violence towards others left unchecked, can lead others to disregard their understanding of their own humanity. To dislike somebody or something is understandable; however, to do so in such an intense manner to somebody or something that evokes feelings of anger, hostility, or animosity, is wrong. To know hatred, there first must be an understanding of what forms of hate can influence our actions and theits effects on history. Once hatred is identified, hopefully through education, solutions can be implemented in ways to intervene and negate such actions. The Jewish Holocaust, a depressing subject, helps to shed light on the darkness of humanity in the modern age. Although other holocausts have occurred throughout history, it is often the victor of such tragedies who writes history. Thus, such tragedies are often relegated through time, and their long-term impact can be eroded. The museum helps to educate and serve as a venue of historie s past. Most individuals have never seen a dead body in person in a non-clinical setting. Imagine witnessing such an atrocity as someone being murdered. Try to comprehend this tragedy and multiply it by six million. This idea, with the use of pictures and the personal accounts displayed in the museum, illustrates this dark chapter of humanity with the use of personal details and artifacts of the Jewish-American immigrants who survived. The efforts by the museum can only help to teach, in a non-partisan way, what has happened and could continue to happen if efforts to stop such tragedies are not undertaken. As the WWII generation can no longer tell their story due to old-age, the Holocaust Museum will speak on their behalf for many years after their voices fall silent. The Holocaust Museum demonstrates the overall history of the solution through the logical sequence of Jewish migration. The museum displays explain that it is not easy to order a fighting soldier to take 25 innocent pr isoners and kill them. Social, political, and religious ideological understandings must be in place to activate such atrocities. Throughout history, evil persuasion has influenced others to act inhumanely. Although such instances are rare and difficult, history has proved that genocide has occurred

Safety Culture and how this overlap between Culture and Safety Affect Essay

Safety Culture and how this overlap between Culture and Safety Affect the Project In KSA CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY - Essay Example However, it is important to know that solution to this existing problem does not end with just having policies on health and safety in place. This is because Stank, Daugherty and Gustin (2004) made mention of a number of safety policies that exists in the construction industry, which have not been adhered to adequately by field supervisors and site managers. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and The Health Standards 1926 and 1910 are mentioned as examples of existing health and safety policies that have easily been overlooked by the construction industry. In an independent study, Symons (2005) noted that there are several site managers and supervisors who refuse to adhere to health and safety policies because they hold the opinion that the solution to increasing cases of accidents and injuries at the sites is not in documented policies. To most of these supervisors and managers, the need for field based practical interventions that address specific problems at the site should be the way forward. But as rates of injuries and accidents have been said to go up by up to 23% in the last decay, there is evidence that the field based interventions are not working well (Stank, Daugherty and Gustin, 2004). This calls for the need to revisit the use of documented policies that can be factored into the overall safety cultures of the companies. According to Williamsen (2013), safety culture provides the project leader with the courage to follow through all the decisions that he has made because without it, his decisions will most likely not be taken seriously by his subordinates, and will,  in fact, become meaningless. This means that the call to have documented safety policies will be a way to establishing and implementing safety culture because it will ensure that safety practices are followed in more specific means than in arbitrary ways. This means that in the Saudi

Criminological Theory and Sanctions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminological Theory and Sanctions - Essay Example Perceived net benefit, therefore, motivates a criminal behavior. Routine activities theory further explains interaction of motivation from perceived net benefits with presence of a vulnerable target and absence of guidance. Occurrence of a crime within these frameworks would therefore define a normal criminal activity and support normal sanction codes but not an occurrence outside frameworks, which should require a different consideration in determining a sanction. A criminal activity in which perceived cost is far above perceived benefits or one that is conducted in full presence of a guardian and on non-vulnerable target identifies factors that may require lesser sanctions. This is because of possible biological, social, and psychological complications into criminal behavior that requires different approaches to prevention of criminal activities based on causes. Remedying behavior caused by genetic problems, for example, require biological initiatives that are not the same for init iatives for social or psychological dependent behavior (Bryant 144-

Tower of Hercules and Las Medulas Mines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Tower of Hercules and Las Medulas Mines - Essay Example This essay â€Å"Tower of Hercules and Les Madulas Mine† investigates the history of Spain. It is unique in the sense that many of the historical buildings survived the turmoil of different invaders. The Tower of Hercules is one such monument, which stands erect on the Spanish soil since the first century. The architectural splendor of the tower is the achievement of Gaius Sevius Lupus, a famous imperial architect of that era. Tower of Hercules originally stood thirty-four meter high, with three levels. The first level has the structure of a typical Roman lighthouse, just near to the base of the tower is a rectangular roman building which provides for the purpose of a fortress. The final level contains a magnificent sculpture park, with several rock carvings surrounding it on all sides. These rock carvings are from Iron Age as known through architectural excavations. This tower signifies such glory that during the Muslim era, many aristocrats had a desire to rest in its protec tion when they die. A small Muslim cemetery exists in its pavilion, which certainly relates to the historical diversity of Spain. Sculpture Park consists of many interesting curvatures. These include a huge structure of a snail, tall enough to dwarf the existence of the humans, the park also includes small doors paved for entry into the park, and these doors include symbols of strength such as two lions guarding the door. The park extends to the central structure and provides a nice picnic spot for modern day tourists.

Criminological Theory and Sanctions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminological Theory and Sanctions - Essay Example Perceived net benefit, therefore, motivates a criminal behavior. Routine activities theory further explains interaction of motivation from perceived net benefits with presence of a vulnerable target and absence of guidance. Occurrence of a crime within these frameworks would therefore define a normal criminal activity and support normal sanction codes but not an occurrence outside frameworks, which should require a different consideration in determining a sanction. A criminal activity in which perceived cost is far above perceived benefits or one that is conducted in full presence of a guardian and on non-vulnerable target identifies factors that may require lesser sanctions. This is because of possible biological, social, and psychological complications into criminal behavior that requires different approaches to prevention of criminal activities based on causes. Remedying behavior caused by genetic problems, for example, require biological initiatives that are not the same for init iatives for social or psychological dependent behavior (Bryant 144-

Company critical analysis - DHL Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company critical analysis - DHL - Research Paper Example With time the company grew rapidly operating in over 200 countries with 110,000 employees and very recently the company was renamed as Deutsche Post DHL and established a new innovation centre division for more innovative and sophisticated way of logistic system (DHL, 2011). This research is concerned with the in depth study of the company for critical analysis of the core competence of the firm and the competitive analysis for DHL. Background of the company (DHL) and its problem with competitors The two companies under DHL are the exclusive delivery agents of the other company and the reason behind the domestic shipping of the company within US is mainly to reduce the cost and on the other hand increase reliability of the international shipping of the company. During the year 1990 the company on experienced 3% of the shipment inside the country but about 20% of the overseas shipment from US is accounted under DHL. From the beginning the company is focused towards delivering excellen t services to the customers and is always committed towards its activities. The success factor of the company is mainly its employee base that is always acting according to the needs of the customers and serving with a customized approach. Today the company is operating in over 220 countries worldwide with a wide network and diversified business expertise in express, ocean freight, contract logistics, international mail services and overland transport (DHL-a, 2011). The company’s main competitions in the market are Federal Express, UPS (Silverstein, 2011). The competitors’ strategies of using third party help during the logistic process is one of the problem faced by the company as the company follows a network of self owned agents which takes time for the company to enter into new market for establishment of the business. Another issue is intense price competition in the industry which needs to be evaluated by the company to implement an effective pricing strategy. Di fferentiation in the pricing strategy of documents and parcel should be there for the company and the company needs to evaluate its pricing techniques for different industries also which the competitors are taking advantages of. Interview Review The interview conducted with the different members of DHL also reflected the problems that are prevailing within the organization and its competitors. As the Regional Manager of DHL, Dean Jones mentioned that the company is mainly focused towards quality service rather than concentrating on the pricing of products or service. Due to this the company is losing market share to its competitors with competitive pricing strategies. Johnson Par, the country manager of Africa on the other hand mentioned about a problem on the logistic system. The company has their own logistic systems which sometimes fail to serve on time as the competitors use their third party service for faster delivery of products. But DHL believes that customers will trust in the companies on logistic system than on any third party channel. Analysis of the resources and capabilities of DHL DHL broadly comprises of four divisions which are mainly operated by their divisional headquarters. All the groups are managed by the centralized centre all under one group. The centralized internal services

Achilles Tendon Sprain Case Study

Achilles Tendon Sprain Case Study Name: Lani Thompson Age: 26 Sex: Female Occupation: Merchandiser Height: 179 Weight:77.8, BMI: Diet: Mixed Family: She lives with her partner, no kids. Medical History: No history of Hypertension, Cardiovascular, Diabetics mellitus, pulmonary or any chronic disease. Footwear: A comfortable, properly fitted footwear should be used. Avoid High heels. Daily activities: Usually she goes to Gym thrice in a week, occasionally she goes for swimming. Balance: Muscle performance: No muscle wasting. Posture: Circumferential measurement: Alignment: There is no difference in alignment while she walks. History: Lani Thompson is a hockey and rugby player. About 4 months back, while she was training rugby she had a right ankle sprain. The Incident was happening around 7 in the night. Soon after she was shifted to the hospital and consulted with the doctor. On the same day she had undergone several investigations and examinations, including X-Ray and ultrasound. No evidence of any fracture on the x-ray and was diagnosed as an Achilles tendon sprain. Initial 2 weeks she was in a brace, subsequently she started ankle exercises. Later she exercised with Theraband and had started physiotherapy treatment for 2 weeks, eventually continued her exercises at home. Past Medical History: She has never been hospitalized for any chronic diseases. No history of Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Heart diseases, Asthma, Hepatitis, Sexually transmitted diseases or Tuberculosis. She regularly takes medications for depression/anxiety and for contraception. Medication: Venlafaxine, Quitiepine and a contraceptive pill. Surgical Intervention: No surgical interference. Gait pattern: Altered, limping of right leg. Range of Motion (ROM): Normal on left side, right ankle ROM is slightly altered, No muscle stiffness. Palpation: No tenderness or any abnormalities. Anatomy of the Ankle joint: The ankle joint mainly consists of two joints, the subtalar and the true ankle joint. The subtalar joint comprises three bones, the tibia, the fibula and the talus. The mechanism of the ankle joint is very complex. True ankle is responsible for the up and down movements of the foot. The subtalar joint is positioned under the true ankle joint and consists with two bones, the calcaneus and the talus. This joint is responsible for the side to side movement of the foot. The joint is covered with a cartilage known as articular cartilage. The articular joint is lubricated with synovial fluid. Many ligaments connect the ankle bones together, they are anterior fibular ligament, which attaches the fibula to the tibial bone. The second ligament is known as the lateral collateral ligament, which connects calcaneus bone with the fibula and the tibial bone and the third one is deltoid ligament, it connects calcaneus and the talus bones together to the tibia. Many tendons attach the muscles of the lower limb and the bones of the ankle, they are the Achilles, the flexor hallicus longus, the flexor digitorium, the peroneal tendons, the posterior tibialis and the anterior tibialis tendons. Among these tendons the Achilles tendon is considered to be the strongest tendons in the human body. It is located at the posterior of the leg and connects the calcaneus bone to the gastrocnemius ,solens and plantarius muscles. The Achilles tendon is about six inches long and can withstand around four time of body mass during walking and almost eight times while running. Achilles Tendonitis: It is the inflammation of the calcaneus tendon.Over use of the tendon causes pain and stiffness, for instance running up hill or climbing up stairs. Achilles Rupture: asdf†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Exercises: Group 1 Exercise: Evertion/ Invertion isometric exercises. Evertion: This exercise can be performed by placing the injured foot adjacent to a door or the leg of a table and gradually push extremely to the lateral side of the foot. Inversion: This exercise can be done by placing the medial aspect of the foot to any fixed objects such as a table leg or a door, then to push gently outward –in for two to three seconds. Evertion/Invertion with an exercise band: Evertion: The client has to sit and fix the leg straight, with the help of an elastic band One end of the elastic band is attached to a table leg and other to the foot and then gradually turns the foot outwards. Invertion: Rotate the foot inwards by reversing the position of the band .The movement of the foot should be apart from the leg of the table. The client can proceed to the group two exercises, if he tolerates to do group one exercise. Group 2 exercises: Gastrocnemius stretch: The patient has to bend forward and push the wall with his hands. The injured leg should be placed just behind the other foot, keeping the foot firmly to the floor for about 30 seconds. Soleus Stretch: Place the non injured foot behind the injured foot and bend the other knee joint. The heel should be raised while stretching. Weight bearing exercises: The client should stand on the floor with the affected leg and bend the other leg, so that the whole body weight should bear on the injured leg for 30 seconds and then lift the heel up and down. Injured leg stand with a cloth: The client is asked to stand on a 2inches thick cloth with the injured leg for 30 seconds. The client can proceed to the group three exercises, if he tolerates to do group two exercises. Group 3 exercises: Lateral step and bound exercise. This exercise is performed by placing a folded towel on the floor and to stand beside the towel and client steps on the folded towel. Other foot should be placed firmly on the floor. Repeat the same exercise with other leg. As the pain allows, increase the repetitions and speed accordingly. Hop exercise: It is performed by placing a folded towel on a floor and the client is asked to stand beside the towel and bound over the folded towel and to rest on the other foot. Then reverse the entire exercise with the other leg.As the pain allows, slowly raise the speed and hops. Rehabilitation: Range of movement: Stretching of the calf muscle: When the patient will be able to sand comfortably with an injured leg, he is asked to move back the injured foot and move the hip gradually forward, so that the calf muscle is stretched. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat for at least 2 times per day. Alphabet writing: The patient has to write alphabets with his greater toe at least 2 times per day. Balance training exercises: By holding a fixed object firmly with one hand and stand on a single leg, keeping the other knee folded. Repeat the same with the other foot as well. As the patients balance improves, he is encouraged to repeat the same exercise with eyes shut. GOALS: Short term: Phase 1 and 2 Improve joint range of motion and flexibility Increase ankle strength Gain normal gait pattern Progressive Proprioception and motor coordination Long term: Phase 3 and 4 Improve cardiovascular endurance Return to complete sports activity Rehabilitation program involves: Stretching of the calf muscle and around the ankle muscle Strengthening exercise Deep massage techniques Cardiovascular endurance exercise Agility training Phase 1: T o gain range of motion Stretching- Calf plantar fascia stretch: Sit on the floor with leg extended and knees straight Loop a towel around the affected leg and grip the end of towel on each hand. Affected leg should be in straight and pull the towel near the body Hold the position as same for 30 seconds and relax Repetition: 3 to 5 Calf muscle stretching: Open kinetic chain exercise: Toe curls Marble pickups Four-plane surgical tubing exercises Sub maximal Isokinetics in short arc Strengthening exercise: Plantar flexion exercises with Theraband Inversion and eversion exercise isometric exercise Flexibility: Grade 1 and 2 mobilization Alphabet ROM Proprioceptive: Stork standing Single plane tilt board Biomechanical ankle platform system in non-partial Weight bearing position. Cardiac endurance exercise: Pool therapy Stationary cycling. PHASE 2: Stretching: Achilles stretches in sitting and standing positions Open kinetic chain exercise: full –arc ISO kinetics Close kinetic chain exercise: Shuttle squats Heel raises Toe raises Tubing lunge steps Proprioception: Wobble board work Walking on uneven surface Biomechanical ankle platform system with partial Cardiac endurance training: Treadmill Stairmaster PHASE 3: Program in this phase should be considered according to the Strength and progression of the client. The program involves dynamic and functional tolerance of the patient. Start up with increase weight bearing force on the ankle joint Stretching of Achilles tendon in a supinated position Eccentric heel drop with knee straight Eccentric heel drop with knee bent Lunges and squats Step ups Side step ups with weight bearing To focus on lateral stability –up and down sideways movement Back pedalling exercise Caricos Plyomettric drills Proprioception: Ladder drill Netball throwing and catching with Standing on the affected leg moving to catch the ball and return to land on the same leg. Four square hopping drills Agility training: Shuttle running with changing the direction Zigzagging or figure of 8 runs Phase 4: functional rehabilitation activities such as tip toe walking. Polymeric progressions –hopping, bounding, depth jumps and box drills Sport-specific training Unstable surface training Stationary cross country skier Ensure normal plantar to dorsiflexion strength ratios and muscle balance Careful increase in training regimens

Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants :: Hills Like White Elephants Essays

In the story 'hills like white elephants' by Ernest Hemingway, we read about two characters, a girl and an American man. They have short conversations between them, and these conversations can hint of many clues about them and their relationship. In the story, we discover what the characters are like, through what they say, and also through the things they don't say. First, in the story, we understand that the American man has money, and he is an adult because he seems to knows what he is doing. He doesn't want to have a child. Therefore, he is asking his girlfriend to risk her life by having an abortion. The surgery's death rate was higher than its survival rate at that time. All this makes him very selfish, as well. He doesn't care about her, despite the fact that he says: 'well, I care about you.' (Hemingway, 255). He doesn?t even listen to her. She speaks to him, and he says some unrelated things back. We can assume that he always talks about drinking because he wants to get her drunk so she will accept the abortion. Also, we can understand from his comment: ?I?ve known lots of people that have done it?, (Hemingway, 255) that he had too many relationships with teenage girls before, and he has been through the same situation nemrus times. Secondly, the woman, who is called the girl in the story, has no identity. We don?t know where she is from, or if she has a family. We can understand that she is a teenager who depends on a careless man. Furthermore, it?s clear from her words: ?and if I do it you?ll be happy and things will be like they were and you?ll love me (Hemingway, 255), that she is a lonely desperate girl who still hopes for happiness. Nevertheless, she knows she will never have it. That?s why it?s obvious from her reply, ?I don?t care about me?, (Hemingway, 255), that she is depressed, and even ready to die by agreeing to the abortion.

Brave New World - Society And Socio-economic Class :: essays research papers

Discuss how the society in Brave New World works to ensure that people do not change their socio-economic class. Through Brave New World, Huxley depicts a new, industrialized world, which is financially stable and has prevented poverty and self-destruction. Dictatorial governments are there to ensure stability and maintain perfection of the world. Therefore, just like under any other totalitarian government, social, mental and economic freedoms are abolished in order to retain social stability. The government eliminated these freedoms by censoring art and religion, by predestining peoples’ social caste prior their birth, and by controlling each individual’s life with the introduction of conditioning. At the beginning of the novel, the Director addresses his students and mentions, â€Å" We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future Directors of Hatcheries,† (p. 29). Citizens of the World State are categorized into distinct social classes, before they come into existence. Mr. Foster explains, â€Å"The lower the caste, the shorter the oxygen,† and this shows how chemical conditioning of the embryos presets the mentality and physical features of individuals towards a certain standard specified by the government. (p. 29) In an autocratic society whose aim is to maintain perfection, people no longer have the right to choose who or what they want to be. The government engineers babies to grow into efficient adults, who will then again contribute towards a stabilized society. After birth babies’ minds are altered to accept the moral education of the government. Two processes the new world uses to control human judgement are the Neo-Pavlovian process and hypnopaedia. The children, during early childhood, are trained to like and dislike certain aspects of life, nature, and science so that they can consume the maximum resources. Beta babies receive electric shocks in the presence of flowers and books and then the Director teaches how, â€Å" They’ll grow up with what the psychologists †¦ call an ‘instinctive’ hatred of books and flowers †¦ they’ll be safe from books and botany all their lives," (p. 36). The conditioning of the children forms a barrier in their minds, so that they are never free to decide for themselves, but are always bounded by the instructions of the state. Thus, the government is achieving its goal, the maintenance of stability. The Alpha students also got a chance to hear one of the hypnopaedic repetitions addressing Beta babies which echoed, â€Å" Alpha children wear grey.

Master and slave operation Essay

Bluetooth devices exist in small ad-hoc network configuration with the ability to operate as either master or the slave; the specification also allows a mechanism for master and slave to switch their roles. The configurations can be single point, which is the simplest configuration with one master and one slave. Multipoint, called a Piconet, based on up to 7 slaves clustered around a single Master. And a third type called a Scatternet, this is a group of Piconets effectively hubbed via a single Bluetooth device acting as a master in one Piconet and a slave in the other Piconet. The Scatternet permits either larger coverage areas or number of devices than a single Piconet can offer. Figure 5 outlines the different master and slave topologies permitted for networks in the standard (see â€Å"Bluetooth: Goodbye Infrared†). The role of the master is to control the available bandwidth between the slaves, it calculates and allocates how often to communicate with each slave and locks them into the appropriate frequency hopping sequence. The specification describes an algorithm that calculates the hop sequence, the seed being based on the master’s device address and clock. In addition to hop sequence control, the master is responsible for transmit control by dividing the network into a series of time slots amongst the net members, as part of a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) scheme. These time slots can consist of data and potentially additional voice traffic i. e. you will always need a data channel before you can add a voice channel. The time slot is defined as 625  µs and all packet traffic is allocated 1, 3 or 5 slots, grouped together in transmit and receive pairs. Prior to connection some operations such as inquiry, paging and scanning operations may sometimes occur on half slots (see â€Å"Bluetooth: Goodbye Infrared†). Figure 5: Point to point, Piconet and Scatternet. A. 2. 3 Voice and Data Links. Bluetooth carries communication traffic over two types of air interface links defined as Asynchronous ConnectionLess (ACL) or Synchronous Connection Oriented (SCO). During a connection the links carry voice and data traffic in the time slots and are categorised as either time critical, as used for voice and audio, or high speed non-time critical data with a mechanism for acknowledgement and re-transmission. The first link established between master and slave is the ACL link and carries high speed data that is insensitive to time. It is packet switched, as the data is sporadic in nature, asynchronous, contains asymmetric and symmetric services and uses a polling access scheme. A master may be permitted to have a number of ACL links up to the maximum number of slaves permitted by the specification but only one link is allowed between any two devices (see â€Å"Bluetooth: Goodbye Infrared†). Once an ACL has been established a SCO link can be created on top of the ACL link. The SCO link is circuit switched; it has symmetric synchronous services and has slot reservation at fixed intervals, making it suitable for time critical data such as voice. The specification restricts the number of SCO links that a master can support to three. Summarising the two types of links: ACL ? Packet constructed of a 72 bit access code, a 54 bit packet header, a 16 bit CRC and Payload data ? Largest data packet is DH5 giving 723. 2 Kb/s as highest data rate in one direction. ? Non time critical data ? Asynchronous ? Packet switched ? Polling access SCO ? Same access code and header as ACL packets ? ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest) and SEQ (SEQuence) flags redundant since flow control and re-transmissions do not apply ? Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) field is absent? Payload fixed at 30 bytes, with source data of 10, 20 or 30 bytes ? Circuit switched ? Symmetric synchronous services ? Slot reservation at fixed intervals A special case exists that mixes SCO and ACL packets. Known as the Data Voice (DV) packet it carries data and voice on regular intervals like the SCO. The voice data has no flow control or CRC as per SCO packets, whereas the data part of the DV packet has flow control, re-transmission of the data part is permitted and the data part is CRC protected (see â€Å"Bluetooth: Goodbye Infrared†).

Texting vs. Drinking While Driving

Kameron Colley Maribeth Farr English 101 October 3, 2012 Texting While Driving vs. Drinking While Driving Texting and drinking while driving are very serious. Many negative things can be avoided by someone choosing to make the right decisions. While driving the person's undivided attention should be focused on the road and surroundings ahead. A person never knew what could happen while driving. Texting while driving are similar because they both have consequences, are a distraction, and can be fatal. The first way texting and drinking while driving are similar is because they both have consequences.If someone is texting while driving they are increasing not only the possibility of killing themselves but of killing someone else. If someone is caught texting and driving, the officer in charge is responsible for issuing them a ticket or fine. Also, points will be marked off against their driver's licenses. If someone is caught driving under the influence, the officer in charge is requir ed to arrest the driver. Once they are in custody a fine will be issued, alcohol classes are scheduled, and the person's drivers license will be suspended or revoked.The consequences can easily be avoided by choosing to make the right decisions. The consequences behind texting and drinking while driving should not be taken lightly. The second way texting and drinking while driving are similar is because they are both a distraction from driving. While texting and driving the person is paying more attention to their phone than the road. The average text message takes a person's eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. This means they are driving blindly, unaware of their surroundings increasing their chances of wrecking.Drinking while driving is a serious hazard not only to the person driving, but the people surrounding them. Drinking while driving is a distraction because the person is mentally unstable. This causes the person not to be capable of driving. The amount of brai n activity that is focused on driving is reduced because they are unable to focus on their surroundings. Choosing not to text or drink while driving increases your ability to concentrate on the road. The distraction behind texting and drinking while driving is something people should really consider before choosing to make a decision that could be dangerous.The final way texting and drinking while driving are similar is because they both can be fatal. When a person is texting and driving they are not completely focused on the road. This could cause them not to see the person, vehicle, or object in front of them. Drinking while driving can be fatal because the person is mentally unaware of the road or their surroundings. A person being mentally unstable increases their chances of wrecking. How would someone feel knowing that they could of prevented the accident. They could of kept from taking someone's life or their own by just following the law and making the right decisions.Fatalit y is something that can be easily prevented if people would only choose to not text and drink while driving. Texting and drinking while driving are similar because they both have consequences, are a distraction, and can be fatal. A person is not capable of concentrating on the road while texting and drinking while driving. Many wrecks, injuries, and fatalities are caused by texting and drinking while driving everyday. Only if people would choose to make the right decisions, the wrecks could easily be avoided.

Changing Views on Homosexuality

If you live in a metropolitan city like Atlanta, as I do, you may notice that the gay culture is mixed in with the rest of the multi-cultural happenings of the city. Having a large gay community is just another unique feature to Atlanta, GA. Although other cities may not have as large a grouping, the gay community is growing across the states. Men and women are feeling more open to express their homosexual lifestyle and this is in part due to the changing views of sexual behavior and homosexuality. Homosexual behavior is defined as sexual behavior with a member of one’s own sex (Sarason & Sarason, 2005). Prior to the 1970s, homosexuality was considered to be a diagnosable psychiatric disorder and was listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Homosexuality was viewed almost as a disease that people needed to be cured of. Research revealed that homosexual men and women did not differ in psychological adjustment from heterosexual men and women (Sarason & Sarason, 2005). There has been the debate of whether a person is born gay or if homosexuality is a learned behavior. In my opinion, I believe that a person is born gay and does not chose or learn this sexual behavior from others. I’ve witnessed a relative grow up and noticed behavior as child that suggested he may be gay. As an adult, he informed the family that he is in fact gay. This came as a shock to no one and when asked when he knew he was gay, he stated that he knew all along. It is thought that if people no longer viewed homosexuality as a behavior that people chose to partake in, that less emphasis would be placed on trying to â€Å"cure† homosexuality. Dr. Glenn Wilson and Dr. Qazi Rahman, authors of the book Born Gay, state that there is no single gay gene, but genes do contribute and consider the effect of sex hormones to which fetuses are exposed in the womb (Ahuja, 2005). Wilson and Rahman feel that sexual orientation is fixed at birth and that any evidence-based scientist would agree (Ahuja, 2005). With more people understanding that sexual orientation is innate rather than learned, viewpoints on homosexuality are shifting. Our society is slowly becoming more accepting and placing less of a stigma on homosexual behavior. In the past there were no rights for gays wanting to marry, but now gays in Massachusetts can legally marry. In Vermont and other parts of the world, gay men and women now have the right to enter into legal partnerships that give them some of the same protections and responsibilities of marriage (Sarason & Sarason, 2005). Past opinion polls have resulted in some Americans saying that gays cannot be considered good role models for children (Sarason & Sarason, 2005). Some people have thought that a child’s sexual orientation could be affected if the child had gay or lesbian parents. Research on child adjustment in homosexual households provided results that did not differ from children raised by heterosexual parents (Sarason & Sarason, 2005). Dr. Ellen C. Perrin feels that children raised by gay or lesbian couples do just as well as children raised as by heterosexual couples. â€Å"In some ways children of same-sex parents actually may have advantages over other family structures†, says Perrin (Chang, 2005). Studies conducted on homosexual couples show that lesbian couples share household responsibilities equally and that children adjust better when there is an equal division of labor (Chang, 2005). Raising healthy, well-adjusted children and understanding that homosexuality is an innate behavior are just two examples of why attitudes towards homosexuality are changing. Although there is still room for improvement in terms of accepting gay culture, strides are being made compared to earlier attitudes. To me the most significant change is understanding that homosexuality is not a disorder, it represents a person’s sexual orientation. References http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20051012/study-same-sex-parents-raise-well-adjusted-kids

Integrating Environmental Factors into Life Cycle Costing Research Paper

Integrating Environmental Factors into Life Cycle Costing - Research Paper Example This paper aims to discuss one of the recommended strategies to quantify the impact a product has on the environment, and this is life cycle costing or LCC. It provides an introduction on the concept of LCC. It describes various approaches to LCC and how these approaches contribute to getting an understanding on how a certain product affects the environment. Lastly, it includes several recommended improvements on life cycle methods. The life cycle cost of a certain asset is defined as the â€Å"total cost throughout the life† of the asset, including the cost to plan, to design or to acquire (New South Wales Treasury, 2004), to operate, to maintain, to convert and/or to decommission an asset, particularly a fixed asset (Barringer, 2003). LCC techniques are used for various purposes, from the acquisition of the asset to deciding when to retire the aging asset (p. 30, Dhillon, 1989). LCC is used across several disciplines such as accounting, finance, engineering and statistics (p. 35, Dhillon, 1989). It offers a lot of advantages for the entity that applies this concept. It enables the entity to choose â€Å"the most beneficial procurement strategy†, offers incentives to suppliers and establish long – term mutual beneficial relationships with them, choosing the optimal solutions for the entity, formulating effective (and realistic) budgets and, generally, effectively controlling the project and/or the acquisition of the assets (p. 30, Dhillon, 1989). Although the LCC is a methodology to gather the costs for further analysis and monitoring, it is inevitable that LCC will also be looked at as a possible means to solve the environmental issues faced by the world today. According to Hunkeler and Rebitzer (as quoted by Guidice, La Rosa and Risitano, 2006), LCC can play an active and important role in addressing environmental issues and concerns as â€Å"it acts as a primary link between environmental demands and the production

Nervous Shock Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Nervous Shock - Essay Example There are these elements in the mental shock case that have given rise to many debates and concerns on the specific scope of its legal liability. Physical illness has had many liabilities in history characterized by suspicion, fear and ignorance. Past cases have ignored the causes of psychiatric illness. The cases have also witnessed medical discipline judicial suspicion devoted to psychiatric illness treatment as well as the fears associated with opening liability that may lead to a number of claims. The liability of this law is considered to transform into the simplistic notion that if an event is not seen then there is no way it can be proved to have resulted to any harm. This has led some courts to consider psychiatric damage as being less important and not worth any compensation unless the damage is associated with physical injuries that can be measured and seen objectively1. Courts have in the recent past refused to consider psychiatric damage on equal basis as other physical d amages. The House of Lords came to the agreement that in case of any physical injury affecting a plaintiff in circumstances that are foreseeable, no matter how trivial they may be, but end up not taking place, then the plaintiff is viewed to be in a position to recuperate from psychiatric illness even without concerns on whether the condition was foreseeable. Any foreseeable or case of physical injury to some extend legitimate the plaintiff claims of psychiatric illness. The physical injury primacy in the dominion of compensation has proved to be apparent even in situations where the courts are taking part in allowing psychiatric illness recovery. The â€Å"greater subtlety elements† of Lord Macmillan are applicable in cases of psychiatric illness that are not offered by physical injury means to the affected plaintiff2. The Current Law The present law on psychiatric illness liability which does not result from the plaintiff’s physical injury is summarized in two House of Lords decisions; Alcock v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police (1992) 1 AC 310 and McLoughlin v O’Brian. In the McLoughlin case, the husband to the plaintiff as well as her children were victims of a road accident that had resulted out of the defendant’s negligence. The plaintiff received news about the accident two hours later and moved to the hospital where she learned of the death of one child and witnessed the injuries of the rest of her family members in circumstances that were so distressing. The House of Lords agreed unanimously to hold the claim of the plaintiff for psychiatric illness as to sail through. However, the house disagreed on the appropriate approach of testing liability. Lords Edmund and Wilberforce argued that the psychiatric injury foreseeability was not necessarily the main requirement. Lords Scarman and Bridge opted for a test that was solely based on foreseebility. This was untrammeled by temporal, physical and spatial limits that w ere proved to be largely subjective in how they were applied. These factors included in the aftermath test by Lord Wilberforce that led to a direction towards the extent of foreseeability of psychiatric illness. The main issue in the Alcock case was the decision status ruled in McLoughlin v O’Brian case. Its concern was whether the case came up with a liability test that was based solely on psychiatric illness foreseeability or were there other policy factors taken into consideration in determining the liability’s ambit? The case was concern about the actions taken against the police after the disaster that occurred in the Hillsborough stadium in 1989. In the disaster, 95 people lost their lives and more than 400 were injured. The disaster came about after too many fans were

Performance Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Performance Appraisal - Essay Example The performance appraisals are used to give feedback to the employee on the performance rating and the need for improvements. This also expresses the need for trainings, promotion, demotion, retention or firing. The performance appraisal is among the critical factors of a manger or a leader to provide employee with the feedback and clarify the job expectations. An effective performance appraisal enables employees to know about themselves and understand the management values. The performance appraisals make use of evaluations as feedback in order to improve the performance of employee and reduce the turnover. It increases motivation and instills a feeling of equity among the employees. The appraisals act as a linkage between the rewards and performance. This enhances performance as employees are told about their performance and related strengths and weaknesses. This makes the employees become proud of whatever they are doing well and enables them focus their efforts on areas that require improvement. In overall, organization will benefit when the performance of the employees improves. Every organization is interested in witnessing their employees advance in the company and get other better and well paying positions. This is normally brought about by performance appraisal. For instance, when an employee is told to improve personal skills to be eligible for the following promotion may act as a driving force to that employee to enable them improve their per formance (Goswami, 2013). The performance appraisals are used by the management in making important decisions by the management. These decisions include promotions, demotions, firing and remunerations among many others. Efficient organizations must have established means through which they can make their decisions. The decisions depend on appraisal data. The appraisals can be considered as efficient tools in documenting the organizational decisions. This

History of Health and Human Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Health and Human Services - Essay Example The development of human services is thus affected by the beliefs and values held by the society over time. Since beliefs and values keep changing, the human services field develops accordingly.3 The current health and human services can thus be viewed as representing the current attitudes, beliefs, and values of the contemporary American society. There are also questions as to which group of people and the types of problems should be helped, to what extent and how. Many people and events have also shaped the development and direction of the field. This paper will try to outline the history of Heath and Human Services field from the start of US history up until the year 1880. It will try to explain the main pioneers of this field among other issues such as the main Acts. However, it will first give a brief history of the era before US independence in order to understand the development of the field better and its foundation. Pre-independence Era The US human services are based on the Elizabethan poor laws of 1601 of England. According to Woodside and McClam this law guided the social welfare practices in England and US for the next 350 years by specifying who was to provide what services to those in need.4 Before inception of this law, the early communities used to believe that diseases were caused by supernatural beings such as demons. The work of medicine men was thus to exorcise the evil spirits. As society progressed, so did their beliefs and development of human services field. The Hippocrates were more civilized began to attribute diseases and disabilities to brain malfunction as opposed to demons. Diseases were thus treatable with use of exercise, vegetable diets and change of lifestyle.5 The renaissance era marked the beginning of formal state intervention in provision of social services. The state established the poor laws which segregated people into three categories. The poor were placed in shelters and some were sent to poorhouse or almshouse. These houses were under poor conditions and lacked essential services; they were congested, food was in short supply not forgetting the stigma associated with such houses. Most people were against helping the poor and saw it as a means of promoting laziness. The situation was worsened by the industrial revolution. There was growth of urban centers due to introduction of the factory system. This led to mass migration of people from rural to urban areas hence an increase in urban poor and prompting the need for public institutions to cater for them.6 The new beliefs during this period were centered on the protestant work ethic. This was the belief that hard work portrays virtuousness and deserves to be rewarded while laziness deserved punishment.7 As such, wealth was considered as the reward for hard work and poverty as punishment from God. This philosophy was neither considerate of the poor in society nor those with disabilities or could not find a job. The poor were not to be helped but to be encouraged to work hard so as to earn a living and improve their well-being. The introduction of the less eligibility concept was geared towards encouraging people to work. It maintained that assistance given was to be lower than the lowest wage paid to any working person.8

Business Arrangements & Global Business Law Coursework

Business Arrangements & Global Business Law - Coursework Example The main advantage is that there would be more than one headcount to take care of the work. Since there are more than one the cost of running would get equally divided and more capital would be available. The income split will make the tax liability less for each of the partners. The business affairs would be private and there would be limited regulations from the external sources (MacIntyre, 2007). It would be easy to change the legal structures with the changing circumstances. Along with the advantages, there are disadvantages as well if they run it in the current model of operation. The liability of debts for each partner might become unlimited. Since there is no written document of the partnership past two years there might be cha ance of friction between the partners. If Barbara, Helen, and Maureen have a written document with all the valid points of their partnership it would be easy for them to avoid any kind of confusion in the future, which might lead to conflict in partners hip. As they are going to expand their business and employee, two people, it is advised to have everything in writing. Task 2 When Barbara, Helen, and Maureen are planning to make their business a limited liability company or LLC it is necessary for them to know about various types of LLCs (GCSE Business Studies, 2004).

Solving This Case Please Essay Example for Free

Solving This Case Please Essay Professor A. Van Cauwenbergh of Antwerp University, in a paper presented at the Tenth Anniversary Conference of the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, presented four revisions to traditional Management Theory. In summary, the revisions are: (1) The initiative for the renewal and adjustment of the activities of a firm should come from the different levels in the management hierarchy. â€Å"Strategy is not a privilege of top management†. (2) Firms, especially big firms, are incoherent systems (goals of the different component systems are not simply subdivisions of an overall goal; there are individual, conflicting goals as well). Some of these differences are manifestations of organizational initiative and vitality. Using information systems and central planning and rule making to suppress all differences is destructive to organizations. (3) The most vital â€Å"fluid† of an enterprise is the aggregate of its entrepreneurial values. The most fundamental and motivation and control come through these shared values relative to work, quality, efficiency, etc. Management often neglects these values and assumes that the collection and dissemination of information will provide sufficient motivation and control. (4) Enterprises are open systems; their structure and operating processes are determined by their environment. This means organizations must be designed to continually adjust to the environment. Questions:  1. If these revisions are correct, how is planning to be organized? How should the information system support the planning organization? 2. Can the information system aid in achieving shared values? 3. How might a comprehensive system be used to stifle initiative

Practical Guide To Teaching Social Studies Education Essay

Practical Guide To Teaching Social Studies Education Essay Chapter 1 Middle Secondary School Social Studies Reflective Essay Motivation and Enthusiasm (Chapin, p.1-2) are the key points as we begin our text. Well, who am I to want to be a Teacher? Especially in secondary grades dont you have to be someone who has motivation to teach? Arent you supposed to have the enthusiasm to work with young people and help them learn? Thats what June R. Chapin tells us in our textbook, A Practical Guide to Middle and Secondary Social Studies but yet when I look in the mirror long and hard after spending more than 30 years working in the fast paced advertising and marketing industry, I actually realize, yes, thats me! After raising a son to become a Bucknell University second year college student, and coaching his teams, leading his scout troops, guiding his steps (figurative and actual), and mentoring him and his friends it dawned on meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I do have the motivation and enthusiasm to teach. Watching a young mind tackle a difficult concept or wrestle with a perplexing question is a thrill for me to watch, assist and instruct. To guide and educate, thats what I need (and want) to do with for the rest of my life. Personal background, beliefs and biases (p.3) are also critical personality traits one must consider if you want to teach. In Shakespeares Hamlet Polonius son Laertes is in a hurry to get on with it, get onto the next boat to Paris, move forward with his life and get away from his fathers tiresome pontification. But, his father Polonius has one parting point of important wisdom for his son: This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell, my blessing season this in thee! Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 78-82 [my emphasis] How many of us are really true to ourselves? Do we know the kind of person we are? Are we honest and self aware when we look at that driver who just cut us off and in our anger think to ourselves: Well no wonder, that persons a ; and dont realize the bias, belief and possible prejudice weve just reinforced in our own mind. What if you are a secondary school teacher driving to work at your job to teach social studies to diverse classes of 7th and 8th graders, for whom youre teaching a lesson about different cultures or even have students who may also be . Are you aware of your own bias? Are you in the right profession? Can you manage, correct and reverse that attitude? A teacher must always be aware of who they are and why they may feel a certain wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and then just forget it. It isnt relevant except that you are aware of it and then put it away and if possible eliminate it. You know where youve come from, what may have originally prompted those sentiments years ago and now youve grown beyond it. And we must also face bias in materials or resources we read, watch or hear everyday. And just as with our own heritage, we must know what to look for and as it is said consider the source, to properly put into perspective, any statement, comment or alleged fact and assign the credibility or lack it may deserve. Your beliefs about human potential, ethics and culture are also intertwined with your teaching beliefs and practices.(p.3) For me, as a professional educator, particularly one in the social sciences, I must have the skeptics senses in order to discern the supposed fact from the genuine fiction, while also remembering that I myself have a personal perspective in the mix as well. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and standards movement has become a pervading concern among all adults involved in the education industry. Our textbook is no exception it is full of perspectives on the issue most likely because it affects the foundations of the education process and everyone except the students are concerned with what it means for the future. What I am also learning from many different resources, in and beyond this textbook, is that there is so much emphasis on problems that no ones seeing the successes. Beginning with A Nation at Risk, a report issued during the Reagan Administration suddenly there needed to be a new national standard and oversight from the Federal government for what was being taught, to whom and whether there was real comprehension and learning coming as a result. Now teachers, administrators, states and bureaucrats across the country are caught up in a challenge on accountability and standards versus schools autonomy and educational funding. My frustration with the arguments and debate really stem all the way from the National to the State to the Local to the District levels. I just want to be a classroom teacher and lead my students toward learning strong academic objectives; yet I repeatedly hear the harangue, well whos in charge here? So just as I am starting a new career it seems as though the struggle will escalate to the point where I will be unable to teach a lesson, any lesson, without some bureaucracy being involved with who, how, when and what I teach. And it seems there is minimal civic enthusiasm or encouragement for what teachers are trying to accomplish. Troubled Times for Public Schools (p7) is a mantra that the profession seems to have adopted as a frame-of-mind, instead of something to realize and which we must correct. The text also reinforces the concept of a good teacher being respected by his/her students for the same traits as one might expect from an adult, including: depth of knowledge and demonstrating a strong effort showing respect for themselves and their students having a sense of humor and perspective on what is really important While I remember Social Studies from my youth as a subject about which I was passionate and involved, I never really considered the textbook definition: an integrated, multidiscipline area of learning (pp.12-16) which leads me to understand why I cared so much the disciplinary materials covered were all my favorites sociology, political science, history, anthropology, geography, and even (some) economics. Yet today there is also a debate about how much emphasis is placed on the integration approach versus what used to be a single-discipline approach when Social Studies had more of the depth and fundamentals of certain disciplines like history, civics and literature. The term used in our text: Social Studies slush (p.14) got my attention because it was so vehement and succinctly critical. My personal perspective is currently rather muddied itself by my own education, my passion for the multiple Social Studies disciplines and what I am reading: There is an essential need for improvement in teaching of Social Studies. (p15) My son was in the AP US History course at his high school. What surprised me about what he was studying was that the content seemed to be what I thought should be in any US History course. Our Chapin textbook argues that some see the AP level as just a college pre-application opportunity instead of a class for higher level thinking. To me it is just a label for a popular provocative and broader educational area that should be expanded to all secondary students. Chapins first chapter also expounds on different teaching approaches for the Social Studies and includes charts showing examples of personal pedagogy intimating dont we want to avoid indoctrination? (And be sure we also stay away from Americanization?) It seems to me that in 2011 a teacher would be hard-pressed in the US secondary education system to find any Social Studies student who would tolerate being taught a lesson without permitting the individual to question or examine the information being transmitted.(p.18) In actual fact there probably arent many Social Studies teachers who have the integrity to promote an Americanized curriculum because it must today be integrated, balanced and politically correct. The NCSS article Teaching Social Studies as a Subversive Activity is a challenge to Social Studies teachers to return to the rebellious 1960s and 70s and dont just promote pat answers and accept the pabulum of patriotic dogma in their textbook. And instead teachers need to install a crap detector for students so to alert them to the whitewashed stories theyre being taught so that High school students, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦exercise the basic tenets of a democratic society. The authors promote Social Studies as a subversive activity whereby students maintain a civic engagement with local, regional and national concerns, (current events or local community issues, the elections, Hurricane Katrina, an international conflict, or school matters.) The problem I have with this perspective is that it seems the authors underlying approach doesnt promote discourse, it promotes discord; it doesnt promote inquiry it promotes disorder; it doesnt promote higher learning instead it promotes diatribe and invective. This is not to say that the authors arent in synchronization with much of what I hope to be my personal teaching approach; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Schools can also develop a greater sense of educational community through curriculum integration or inter-disciplinary teaching: teachers can team with other teachers as their students engage in reading about other nations and peoples in childrens literature, or integrate American literature with American history in secondary school English and social studies classrooms. p. 3, col. 2., Teaching Social Studies as a Subversive Activity by Charles L Mitsakos and Ann T. Ackerman,  © 2009, NCSS Point of View series. The criticism of many Districts Social Studies curriculum today is that it is in a permanent state of critique and cynicism versus practical awareness and preparation for graduates involvement in a larger society. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦government and business leaders who are worried about the economic consequences of inadequate education. (Chapin, p.19) In another NCSS article: Should Social Studies Be Patriotic? the author, Joel Westheimer promotes a different Social Studies approach when it comes to American history and civics lessons built on what he calls, democratic patriotism. Mr. Westheimer, who is a department chair at the University of Ottawa in Canada, believes that U.S. secondary students are learning authoritarian patriotism whereby unquestioning loyalty and commitment to my country right or wrong has become the norm and students remain unchallenged by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the debates around the various visions of patriotism. Yet my complaint with Mr. Westheimers approach is the same as previously mentioned; in the volatile world of 2011 where America and her citizens are more and more described around the world as pretentious ignoramuses, too fat and lazy to address, or even be aware of, the social needs of a struggling world, we shouldnt throw up our hands and admit, yup, theyre right! But, Mr. Westheimers use of democratic patriotism in the classroom is an approach that has merit, and his examples of different teachers motivating their students is impressive: There are many varied and powerful ways to teach a democratic form of patriotism aimed at both critical consideration of the history, present, and future of our society as well as at reinforcing the ideals of improving the country and the lives of its inhabitantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. [such as] students conduct research on improving conditions in their own neighborhood, especially with regard to broken promises to build a new school. These approaches to teaching about patriotism share several characteristics. First, teachers encourage students to ask questions rather than absorb pat answers Second, teachers provide students with the information (including competing narratives) they need to think about patriotism in substantive ways Third, they root instruction in local contexts, working within their own specific surroundings and circumstances. Because we cannot teach democratic patriotism without paying attention to the environment in which we are teaching it. And, as a teacher that believes discourse is possibly the most important strategy that we undertake with our students, we will lose their respect and our country their allegiance, if we try to gloss over or whitewash civic issues or historical controversy. But we must also remain vigilant and aware, as Social Studies teachers and as citizens, of the nearby precipice when we encourage dialog that foments dissent: Critique becomes Criticism Commentary becomes Cynicism Dissent becomes Despair and patriotism in any form, becomes passà ©. Finally in this chapter I read Chapins text about teaching values and ethics, and I askedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦why not? Ms. Chapin makes it clear that any social Studies teacher who undertakes a values approach must remain cognizant of the potential controversies and assessment dilemmas they face. First and foremost, whose values are correct? And how far should the discussion go before we are in a behavioral guidance area? Yet in my opinion, values, character, moral education are not areas that should be avoided, just tempered with an understanding that a values approach might only be effective for some students, in some circumstances. Last note: Improvement can be made to the teaching of Social Studies p.26 Chapter 2 Planning for The Social Studies Reflective Essay 1. The Social Studies? This bothers me; why is the subject discipline for which I want to become a State of CT, professionally certified secondary school teacher have an English language article: the placed in the title? It reminds me of the contemporary baseball zealots (usually on ESPN) who determined at the end of the last millennium that the acronym RBI which stood for Runs Batted In was inherently plural, so the acronym shouldnt or couldnt and wont be pluralized (he now has hit 27 R-B-Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to me this just sounds dumb.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦So I emphatically disagreed. As a youngster following Mickey Mantle or Carl Yastrzemski I would always want to know how many R-B-Is he had hit. We also called them ribbies meaning the plural of R-B-I, ended with an s. Now I find as I want to change my career after 30+ years in marketing and advertising (an industry which in itself has played fast loose with the English language,) that because of the new contemporary multi-disciplined approach that Social Studies is an integrated discipline of so many other Social Sciences, that the NCSS (I assume) has decided it must have the article the in the title. Well, when I was a youngster, going to Social Studies class, we sometimes talked about RBIs; and now as a teacher, I hope to teach Social Studies to students who sometimes will want to talk about Derek Jeters RBIs, when I will want to discuss their homework assignment, instead. (I had to reflect on this linguistic concernà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦thanks for understanding.) 2. Planning my Achilles heal This is the area as a Social Studies teacher on which I MUST concentrate and remain focused. An effective teacher must plan well in advance what Unit they will cover, composed of what Lessons, to accomplish what Objectives, followed by what type of Assessments they will use to complete their Evaluation of each of their students performance. Then as they begin to teach during that semester, an effective educator will always adapt and adjust those Lesson(s) to accommodate or modify the situation, setting and material for any exceptional learners or other student requirements, particularly as the calendar year progresses and any special needs or circumstances arise. A teachers effort at maintaining an inclusive classroom that differentiates the lesson plan according to their Exceptional Students Individual Education Plan (IEP) is following a standard policy and an appropriate attitude for a busy teacher. Yet, as I examine my own strengths and needs for growth it is clear that written plans will be key to my optimal performance, and this must include a period of reflection and examination on how each lesson may be improved after its taught. This may occur multiple times a day, or long after a unit is completed depending on how the lesson was received and performed by my students. It should also always be accompanied by my own observations and notes in the margin, as well as any notes or comments from colleagues, visiting administrators or other professionals so I can tweak, modify, adjust, or entirely re-teach the activity. And another major part of creating modifying and improving my lessons will be finding the necessary resources for students activities. In our Chapin textbook there is a list of a dozen areas to search, but that is just a start on the numerous areas one can find resources for planning Lessons. A common experience while teaching is feeling frustration and anger. Students are usually the trigger for these negative emotions. These emotions often make teachers tense and intrude on their thinking. (p. 34.) The key for me in this instance, or any new teacher, is patience, (they say Lesson Planning gets easier with experience.) Remaining confident and calm is vital, as I develop (and teach) each Plan that addresses the appropriate Objectives with the necessary Activities which meet correct Standards and use the necessary Assessment techniques for a comprehensive Evaluation. Confidence can come from the fact there are numerous resources, BUT only if I search extensively and frequently for topical and effective materials. By remaining dedicated to reaching that unnamed student who needs me to care, to making that extra effort on their behalf this is the personal integrity I want to have and will need in order to be the educator I want to and should be. 3. Long Range Plan After studying Figure 2.1, on page 35 of our Chapin textbook, my focus goes to the critical juncture before the plan is laid out, My Approach and the Rationale for what, why and how I will teach these lessons. The three areas that must be addressed as the Units Curriculum Plan is established are clearly identified and understood. Two of the areas have prewritten guidelines, formats and styles (taxonomies) to follow which must be aligned, the third is up to me: my Attitudes, Values Dispositions. One professional element that we havent covered extensively yet, but I know will be critical to my career as an educator is the colleagues and teams with whom I will be working. Their contributions to my development as a professional Social Studies teacher will be critical to my growth. Some frank and honest feedback from a professional peer can be invaluable in understanding how my Plans can improve, be expanded, edited or discarded. Constructive criticism will require some receptivity and acceptance without personal sensitivity to improve over time. 4. Objectives Standards my other Achilles heal Writing objectives is where we are in all of my professional semester ED and ESPY classes, and they are proving to be difficult for me to get a handle on. This may be because Im over-complicating them by trying to fit too much into a single activity or lesson, or I am confusing verbs and levels of learning or the activity I want students to perform isnt correct for the objective. Simultaneously I get hung-up on what Standard fits with what Objective instructional vs behavioral vs performance. I believe however that over time in each class I will get the hang of it, with practice. Fundamentally, I know what these terms mean: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ observable performance the physical activity that will be measured to meet the objective I have set. conditions of learning where the student is starting from or with what material, (e.g. After reading XYZ textbook, or Given a copy of President Obamas speech, etc.) measurable criteria an assessment is invalid and actually no objective can be written that doesnt have levels of criteria on a rubric that the students see in advance, accept and understand. The criteria can be difined simply with a number: and students will provide 5 examples ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ or a measurement device: using a Likert Scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree students will evaluate Organizing Content Units In number 2 above I described most of this section without realizing I was, however it is important to note the hierarchy of levels teachers use when planning their subject content: Districts Subject Curriculum (Year Long) Textbook(s) Team Semester Plan (2-3 Semesters) Curriculum Module (2-3 Modules) Unit Plans (6-8 wks) Lesson Plans (30-40 lessons/Unit) Activities (2-3/lesson) I hope to be able to frequently use each of the listed resources in my Lessons, particularly those that integrate other disciplines or areas of study: textbooks; commercial/free preprinted lessons, integrate units with colleagues discipline (literature, science experiments, etc); technology online, presentation or other devices. It is also important that I mention biases; Lesson Plan resources usually have some form of bias, particularly those obtained from a commercial or political or cause-related organization. Many teachers I have seen and known so far use valuable and expert resources, particularly those associated with a textbook or a discipline-oriented publisher. However as a professional educator I must remain vigilant addressing lesson materials that may contain some form of bias. This is not to say that they cant be used in a lesson, they will just need to identified as having a bias or perspective that must be considered in their usage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Unit Outline: The following is a skeleton Unit showing the elements that comprise most Unit structures, but these can vary and this is for a Teacher-made Unit (there are many pre-published in textbooks and elsewhere.). There are other formats that may use an integrated approach with another subject discipline or a variety of technologies (Smart Boards, MS PowerPoint, MS Publisher, etc.,) or some other device or strategy to stimulate students multiple intelligences. Unit Title; Standards Goals; Focus Big Idea question; Lesson Plans incl. Objectives; Assessments;