Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Data Mining - Questions to answer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Data Mining - Questions to answer - Essay Example Back-Propagated Delta Rule Networks (BP) is an example for multiple perceptron which contains additional hidden layers. It can function effectively compared to the single layer. In the prediction process of neural networks to make accurate prediction the training cases are increased which eventually leads to overfitting (George N. Karystinos, 2000). This occurs when the number of input variables is large compared to the training cases or when the input layers are highly correlated with each other. In methods like kernel regression and smoothing splines, the under fitting and overfitting of neural networks is usually encountered. The overfitting occurs in more complex networks. This leads to unprecedented predictions or wild predictions. Data cleansing is the process of removing inaccurate and inappropriate data records, which is an integral process of data processing and maintenance. In large data sets, the process of finding error and correcting the same needs interaction with the domain experts which is an expensive and time consuming process. Since it involves a comprehensive assignment of identifying and rectifying errors and hence the task is complex. Initially these operations are carried out manually and later computational means of data cleansing evolved and even this process are time consuming and error prone (Heiko Mller et al ). 3. What is the significance of Bayes Theorem in Data Mining Give an example of how statistical inference can be used for Data Mining. Most of the presently available statistical models in data mining are prone to overfitting and also unstable (sensitive to minor changes in the data). These difficulties can be overcome in the Bayesian methods of statistical mining. The reliability of these algorithms has been reviewed (J. Kolter and M. Maloof, 2003). The Bayesian algorithm facilitates integration of clustering and produces scalable powerful algorithm apt for data mining. Capturing correlation of large number of variables is possible using the Bayesian method. Example: In the search process of similar sequences (gene or protein sequences) in a sequence database, the data mining algorithm works by searching for similar matches which is based on the statistical preferences (e- value). Lower the expected value higher the relationship between the query and the retrieved results. Since the data involved is a mere combination of string only statistical measures ensures comparative account of the data sets. 4. Explain the concept of a Maximum Likelihood Estimator with an example. This is practically applied in prediction of phylogenetic relationships of protein sequences by tree algorithms. The maximum likelihood estimator forms the basis for the evolutionary prediction algorithms. The likelihood function predicts the relative function of all the given datasets (protein sequences). The algorithm eventually finds the most likely relative to the other sequences in the datasets by maximum likelihood estimator and hence it is easy to predict the ancestral route as well as how

Monday, October 28, 2019

Common Sense Summary Essay Example for Free

Common Sense Summary Essay Summary of Thomas Pains Common Sense Thomas Pain believed strongly in supporting the colonies for colonial independence. The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth, says Thomas Pain. He believed that not only the country should be involved but of at least 1/8 part of the globe. He illustrates in his article that a new era for politics has struck which leads to a new method of thinking. Pain also shows that reconciliation with Britain is not the answer. He states that America will flourish as much or more without Britain. Pain also illustrates how people think that Britain is protecting them. He responds saying that Britain was only thinking of Britains own interest instead of thinking of the interests of the colonies. Pain concludes in his article four of why they must show their declaration for independence. First he states that Britain and the Colonies may quarrel forever. Secondly he states that France and Spain want help the colonies unless they rebel and fight. Thirdly he states that they should be considered rebels and unite to fight the British. Fourthly they will send out to foreign courts published documents that state miseries that they have endured and the peaceful methods they used in return.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Catapulting though Time & Physics Essay example -- Essays Papers

Catapulting though Time & Physics Hurling an object towards one’s enemy may seem as old as time itself. People have hurled fists at each other, thrown spears, and launched giant rocks into enemy territory. The use of catapults, and other objects that hurl projectiles, also seem as old as human civilization itself. The effectiveness of the catapult in flinging objects over a great distance and causing destruction is due to a few basic physics principals that govern force, energy, motion, speed and mass to name a few. The design of the catapult denotes a change in modern warfare to the engineer behind weapons being just as important as the actual soldiers and people who use them. Projectile-throwing machines are found in three main categories: the catapult, the ballista, and the trebuchet (How Stuff Works). The catapult has a lever arm attached to a â€Å"bucket† that is usually pulled back by rope and the projectile is released when the rope is cut (How Stuff Works). The ballista is basically a giant crossbow and the trebuchet is similar to the catapult but is a weighted beam with a sling carrying the projectile (How Stuff Works). In this examination, we will mainly be discussing the design of the catapult and trebuchet. Catapults have been traced back to many different civilizations throughout history, but its modern origins are usually attributed to the Greeks and the ancient scientist Archimedes who designed them (Paul 58). We know that in 339 A.D. Dionysius ordered their design in Syracus (Hansen), but their history goes back even further. The first recorded description of the catapult found in the Bible 2,800 years ago (Paul 58). One passage gives the following description of a ruler of the kingdom of Judah : And i... ...nd projectile motion among others. Even though the catapult and its physics are ancient, it has changed the way warfare is waged in the present. Works Cited Hansen, Peter V. "War Engines of the Middle Ages." The Medieval Center Seige Engines. 1998. 2 Nov. 2005 <http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/warengines.htm>. Hewitt, Paul G. Conceptual Physics 10th Edition. 10th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Addison Wesley, 2006. "How Does a Catapult Work?" How Stuff Works. 2 Nov. 2005 <http://science.howstuffworks.com/question127.htm>. "Mechanics of a Simple Trebuchet." 2 Nov. 2005 <http://www.angelfire.com/in3/trebuchet/physics/mechanicsandoptimization.doc>. Paul, Jim. Catapult: Harry and I Build a Seige Weapon. New York: Villard Books, 1991. 54-62. Vogel, Steven. Cat's Paws and Catapults. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Personal Narrative - The Day the Police Came for Me :: Personal Narrative

The Day the Police Came for Me The door opened and in walked the hated vice-principal of my high school, who walked straight up to my 3rd hour English teacher and whispered something into his ear. They both turned and looked in my direction. I stared back blankly, wondering why they were looking at me. Through an undoubtedly bad experience in high school, I learned a very valuable lesson about life, people, and events. Mr. Burton, also the "dean of discipline", asked me to take my things and come with him. I obeyed as my mind scanned itself over and over to think of what I had done. I had always been a good kid in school, had always received at least honor roll or principal’s list every quarter since elementary school, and never got in trouble. Yet, here I was riding with the vice-principal in his golf cart through the rows of cars in the student parking lot, until he stopped behind mine. We got out and then he asked me to open my trunk, and then asked a very confusing and ridiculous question at the time, "Do you have a gun or any other weapon in your vehicle?" I almost laughed at him, and then stopped, realizing I did have a pellet gun I accidentally left in my car. How he knew or why he cared I didn’t know, so I said "Yeah I have a b.b. gun under the front passenger seat," as I reached under and grabbed it for him. We then proceeded to his office, where a police officer was waiting for me. They then informed me then of what the incident was about. The day before, like I always do, I usually take home about three or four friends in my car. That day, there happened to be about five or six people who wanted a ride. However, me being a nice guy and kind of gullible, and them being my friends, I couldn’t say no. So we crammed about three or four people in the backseat, one in the passenger seat, and one in the trunk. It was not a very wise decision to let my crazy friend Chris ride in the trunk with it open. I had left my b.b. gun in there by accident one day when I was bringing it to a friend’s house. Chris found it as we were driving down the road, so he opened the trunk up and pointed the gun at cars driving behind us.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Acknowledgments

I would be very remiss if I did not thank the many people who helped me survive the birthing of another novel: My parents have been my rock; I don't know how anyone does this without a dad's good advice and a mom's shoulder to cry on. My husband and sons have been incredibly long-suffering-anyone else would have had me committed to an asylum long ago. Thanks for keeping me around, guys. My Elizabeth-Elizabeth Eulberg, publicist extraordinaire-has made all the difference to my sanity both on and off the road. Few people are lucky enough to work so closely with their BFF, and I am eternally grateful for the wholesomeness of cheese-loving Midwestern girls. Jodi Reamer continues to guide my career with genius and finesse. It is very comforting to know that I am in such good hands. It is also wonderful to have my manuscripts in the right hands. Thanks to Rebecca Davis for being so in tune with the story in my head and helping me find the best ways to express it. Thanks to Megan Tingley, first for your unwavering faith in my work, and second for polishing that work until it shines. Everyone at Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers has taken such amazing care of my creations. I can tell it is a true labor of love for you all, and I appreciate it more than you know. Thank you Chris Murphy, Shawn Foster, Andrew Smith, Stephanie Voros, Gail Doobinin, Tina McIntyre, Ames O'Neill, and the many others who have made the Twilight series a success. I can't believe how lucky I was to discover Lori Joffs, who somehow manages to be both the fastest and the most meticulous reader at the same time. I am thrilled to have a friend and accomplice who is so insightful, talented, and patient with my whining. Lori Joffs again, along with Laura Cristiano, Michaela Child, and Ted Joffs, for creating and maintaining the brightest star in the Twilight online universe, the Twilight Lexicon. I truly appreciate all the hard work you put into providing a happy place for my fans to hang out. Thanks also to my international friends at Crepusculo- es.com for a site so amazing it transcends the language barrier. Kudos as well to Brittany Gardener's fabulous work on the Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer MySpace Group, a fan site so large that the idea of keeping track of it boggles my mind; Brittany, you amaze me. Katie and Audrey, Bella Penombra is a thing of beauty. Heather, the Nexus rocks. I can't mention all the amazing sites and their creators here, but thank you very much to each of you. Many thanks to my cold readers, Laura Cristiano, Michelle Vieira, Bridget Creviston, and Kimberlee Peterson, for their invaluable input and encouraging enthusiasm. Every writer needs an independent bookstore for a friend; I'm so grateful for my hometown supporters at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, and especially to Faith Hochhalter, who has brilliant taste in literature. I am in your debt, rock gods of Muse, for yet another inspiring album. Thank you for continuing to create my favorite writing music. I am also grateful to all the other bands on my playlist who help me through the writer's block, and to my new discoveries, Ok Go, Gomez, Placebo, Blue October, and Jack's Mannequin. Most of all, a gargantuan thank-you to all of my fans. I firmly believe that my fans are the most attractive, intelligent, exciting, and dedicated fans in the whole world. I wish I could give you each a big hug and a Porsche 911 Turbo. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any formor by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Little, Brown and Company

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

pushcart war essays

pushcart war essays Harry S. Truman was sworn into office on April 12, 1945 as the thirty-third President of the United States of America. He did not win an election, but he was the Vice President under President Franklin Roosevelt who had died so Harry Truman became President. On August 6, 1945 President Truman announced the dropping of the A-bomb known as the Atomic Bomb. Truman, on August 9, 1945, announced he dropped a second atomic bomb on Japan that World War II. In June 1945, Harry S. Truman witnessed the signing of the formation of the United Nations, to hopefully preserve peace. President Truman presented to Congress a 21-point program, proposing the expansion of social security, a full employment program, and other things. The program became know as the Four Deal. In 1947, the Soviet Union tried to takeover Turkey and Greece. Truman asked Congress to aid those countries. This aid is known as the Truman Doctrine. In 1950, when the Communist government of North Korea invaded South Korea, Truman conferred promptly with his military advisers. A long, discouraging struggle happened as U.N. forces held a line above the old boundary of South Korea. Truman kept the war a limited one, rather than risk a major conflict with China and Russia. His term as President ended in 1953 when he decided not to run for another term. ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Meet Ulysses (Odysseus), the Hero Homers Odyssey

Meet Ulysses (Odysseus), the Hero Homers Odyssey Ulysses is the Latin form of the name Odysseus, the hero of Homers Greek epic poem The Odyssey. The Odyssey is one of the greatest works of classical literature and is one of two epic poems attributed to Homer. Its characters, images, and story arc are integrated into many more contemporary works; for example, James Joyces great modernist work Ulysses uses the structure of The Odyssey to create a unique and complex work of fiction. About Homer and The Odyssey The Odyssey was written in about 700 BCE and was intended to be recited or read aloud. To make this task easier, most characters and many objects are provided with epithets: short phrases uses to describe them each time they are mentioned. Examples include rosy-fingered dawn, and gray-eyed Athena. The Odyssey includes 24 books and 12,109 lines written in a poetic meter called dactylic hexameter. The poem was probably written in columns on parchment scrolls. It was first translated into English in 1616. Scholars are not in agreement as to whether Homer actually wrote or dictated the entire 24 books of The Odyssey. In fact, there is even some disagreement about whether Homer was a real historical man (though it is probable that he did exist). Some believe that Homers writings (including a second epic poem called The Iliad) were actually the work of a group of authors. The disagreement is so significant that the debate about Homers authorship has been given the name The Homeric Question. Whether or not he was the sole author, however, it seems likely that a Greek poet named Homer played a major role in its creation. The Story of The Odyssey The story of The Odyssey begins in the middle. Ulysses has been away for almost 20 years, and his son, Telemachus, is searching for him. In the course of the first four books, we learn that Odysseus is alive. In the second four books, we meet Ulysses himself. Then, in books 9-14, we hear of his exciting adventures during his odyssey or journey. Ulysses spends 10 years trying to get back home to Ithaca after the Greeks win the Trojan War.   On his way home, Ulysses and his men encounter various monsters, enchanters, and dangers. Ulysses is known for his cunning, which he uses when his men find themselves stuck in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus. However, Ulysses trick, which includes blinding Polyphemus, puts Ulysses on the bad side of the Cyclops father, Poseidon (or Neptune in the Latin version). In the second half of the story, the hero has reached his home in Ithaca. Upon arriving, he learns that his wife, Penelope, has turned away more than 100 suitors. He plots and takes revenge on the suitors who have been wooing his wife and eating his family out of hearth and home.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Top 10 Confused Words in English [E-F]

Top 10 Confused Words in English [E-F] Top 10 Confused Words in English [E-F] Top 10 Confused Words in English [E-F] By Maeve Maddox The words in the following list represent misunderstanding of the words’ meanings and not simply an inability to spell them correctly. This post covers words starting with the letters e and f (the a-b list is here, and the c-d one here). 1. economic / economical Both adjectives are related, but have distinct meanings. Economic refers to economics or the economy: â€Å"Reagans  economic policies  came to be known as ‘Reaganomics.’ † Economical means, â€Å"giving good value in relation to the resources used†: â€Å"Buying in bulk is an economical way to shop.† 2. ensure / insure To ensure is to guarantee: â€Å"The librarian held his passport to ensure that he would return the book before leaving.† To insure is to enter into an agreement to assure against future loss: â€Å"The Joneses decided to insure their house against flood as well as fire.† 3. envelop / envelope The word without the final e is a verb meaning â€Å"to surround†: â€Å"Come, let me envelop you in my arms.† The word with the final e is a noun, meaning â€Å"container for a letter†: â€Å"She placed the letter in the envelope and sealed it with a kiss.† The verb is pronounced with stress on the second syllable. For the noun, the stress falls on the first syllable. As for the pronunciation of the noun’s first syllable, both EN and ON are heard. For an extended commentary on the pronunciation of envelope, see The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations by Charles Elster. 4. famous / infamous Many bloggers seem to be unaware that these two words are not interchangeable. Not only have I seen people like Hitler and Al Capone referred to as â€Å"famous,† I’ve recently seen infamous used in reference to people who, as far as I know, are not noted for doing bad things. Both adjectives mean â€Å"well known,† but famous means well known for admirable qualities, whereas infamous implies despicable behavior. Princess Diana is famous for her work in ridding the world of landmines. The gangster John Dillinger was an infamous bank robber. 5. farther / further A great deal of ink, real and virtual, is spilled insisting that further must never be used in reference to physical distance. According to this argument, we may say, â€Å"I walked farther than you,† but not, â€Å"I walked further than you.† This is one of those prissy distinctions that has found its way into stylebooks, but is belied by centuries of usage. Either farther or further is acceptable in the context of physical distance. However, as Paul Brians (Common Errors in English Usage) puts it, â€Å"Some people get really testy about this.† Further, on the other hand, is the preferred form in abstract and figurative senses: â€Å"This office will be closed until further notice.† Further is the only choice as a verb: â€Å"Mr. Smith’s generous donation will enable us to further our plans for expanding the homeless shelter.† 6. flaunt / flout â€Å"To flout† is to express contempt for something. If you’re showing something off, you’re  flaunting  it. If you’re disregarding a law, a rule, or a social convention, you’re  flouting  it. For example: â€Å"I unfriended Charlie because he was constantly flouting civil behavior with his vulgar language.† â€Å"She is unbelievably wealthy, but she doesn’t flaunt it.† 7. flounder / founder Used as verbs, these two words are often confused. Literally, to flounder means â€Å"to struggle†: â€Å"The cat floundered desperately in the water.† Literally, founder may be used in any of the following senses: [of a building] to fall down [of a horse] to fall helplessly to the ground [of a ship] to fill with water and sink Figuratively, flounder retains the meaning of â€Å"to struggle† with the added connotations of ineptness, confusion, or embarrassment: â€Å"He floundered  for a bit,  trying  to figure out how to rephrase the question.† Figuratively, founder means â€Å"to fail†: â€Å"Even with that money, there’s no guarantee the daycare wouldn’t founder later.† 8. forbear / forebear The first, forbear, is a verb meaning â€Å"to refrain from†: â€Å"Prince Charles will forbear from making political pronouncements when he becomes king, The Observer reported yesterday.† The second, forebear, is a noun meaning ancestor: â€Å"The British must rediscover the boldness and ambition of their Victorian forebears, say the politicians.† 9. forward / foreword The confusion between these words is understandable. The adjective forward describes something that is in front of or ahead of something else. The noun foreword is a preface, a brief essay that stands at the front of a book. An easy way to keep them straight is to pay attention to the word in foreword. A foreword is made up of words. 10. fortuitous / fortunate Both words derive from Latin fortuna, â€Å"luck or chance.† Fortuna could be either good or bad; it was what happened to a person. In modern English, fortunate has the connotation of good fortune only: â€Å"It was fortunate for him that someone heard his cries for help.† Fortuitous, on the other hand, retains the notion of happenstance or accident. â€Å"A fortuitous meeting† is an accidental meeting. However, because of the similarity of fortuitous to fortunate, the expression â€Å"a fortuitous meeting† is most commonly understood to mean a meeting that was lucky as well as coincidental. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadPeople versus Persons20 Names of Body Parts and Elements and Their Figurative Meanings

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The aspects of sports merchandising and marketing Essay

The aspects of sports merchandising and marketing - Essay Example By combining the aspects of merchandising and marketing into a sports range, sports merchandising is the way expert sports teams and organizations market and distribute their products to the purchaser. The vast preponderance of the marketing attempt for sports team is accomplished throughout the playing of the teams' games. Professional sports are able to create an implausible amount of experience throughout their games since their uniforms, team colors, and logos are on exhibit for the course of the game to both those in attendance, and the people inspection the game on television. Teams use dissimilar tactics and marketing maneuvers to augment attention and sales in their apparel. We will spotlight on the merchandising efforts of the Wanderer Football Club (WFC), the leader in expert sports organizations in merchandising. I will look at the largely merchandising effort as well as how the league markets itself through a variety of dissimilar avenues (Stephens, Tim. 2002). Sports and the mass media enjoy a symbiotic relationship. On one hand, the mass media, more than anything else, were responsible for turning organized sports from a relatively minor element of culture into a full-blown social institution. On the other hand, sports has been the vehicle for bringing dramatic attention to new mass media forms, which in turn have brought new sporting experiences to the public. This marriage of sports and the mass media has enabled each to flourish. Sports marketers are interested in the relationship between sports and the mass media and in how to use the media to target their messages at sports consumers. In a sense, sport marketing offers a form of narrowcasting, whereby a large group of consumers with common interests is brought together through sports events and programming. The more specific the analysis of the sports-media relationship, the more targeted is the message, and the more effective and powerful is the sports marketing strategy (Buccaneer s Online). 3. Methodology Marketing Strategy What strategic issues confront the sports marketer The list is endless, and this section deals with three of the entries on the list. Licensing products has generated vast amounts of revenue for some teams as marketers take advantage of brand equity in teams and properties. In a sense, the majority marketing engages segmentation of one sort or another. This section examines one method of segmentation and in the process provides a great deal of high-quality advice about segmentation plan. When looking at the merchandising effort of professional sports teams, you must look at the top dog in this, the Wanderer Football Club (WFC). Football is king in the industry for a lot of reasons, none larger than the vast attractiveness and viewing of the sport. In a survey by ESPN/Chilton sports, two-thirds of all Americans consider themselves to be football fans. Maybe even more shocking is the fact that forty-three percent

Friday, October 18, 2019

E-commerce of on Supply Chain and Logistics Essay

E-commerce of on Supply Chain and Logistics - Essay Example According to Berger, a study conducted by Momentum Research Group found that US organizations involved in internet business solutions realized cumulative cost savings of US $ 155 billion in a three year period starting in 1998. Johnson and Whang stated that the key aspect of supply chain management has been management of information flow, with the transfer of information between companies their suppliers and customers through internet the importance of information management has created an effective supply chain. E-business is defined as a "marriage between the internet and supply chain integration." This marriage has led to transformation of many processes within a supply chain from procurement to product design and customer management. Various forms of e-business applications can be categorized into e-commerce, e-procurement and e-collaboration (2002). According to Berger "e-commerce can be defined as the conduct of business communication and transactions over networks and through computers or as the buying and selling of goods and services, and the transfer of funds, through digital communications. It can include all inter-company and intra-company functions (such as marketing, finance, manufacturing, selling and negotiation) that enable commerce." E-commerce communicates through e-mail, EDI, file transfer, facsimile, videoconferencing, workflow or interaction with remote computer. E- commerce has also associated with portals, e-marketplaces, e-auctions or virtual inventory. E-commerce impacts upon the three major factors of supply chain namely Physical, Financial and Informational flows. Impact of E-Commerce According to Berger e-commerce essentially gives the companies an access to markets and customers without moving the products and inventory physically, thus the physical movements can be avoided and product information made available through internet. With e-commerce solutions and information access being made available '24x7x365', product tracking and tracing information are made simple thus eliminating traditional paper based approach. Hence information flow also gets affected by e-commerce. Similarly financial flows too get affected by faster payments and settlement at every stage of the supply chain by e-commerce solutions. On further analysis it is observed that e-commerce impacts on supply chain for five principle reasons, which are as follows: 1. Major companies cannot afford to sit silent for underperformance, thus "the performance gap can no longer be hidden." 2. The Y2K problem compelled most of the companies to implement newer technologies and software. The e-commerce revolution has lead to the adoption of ERP systems, which manage operations not only internally but also with customers and suppliers. But some companies are in the initial stages of implementation of above steps and thus are unable to enjoy the benefits of these investments. 3. Last few years has seen an unprecedented investment by technology companies leading to "an acceleration of development of new software technology to support supply chain management." 4. Change of supply chain is a tough task and thus most of the companies have been avoiding some areas of supply chain. "The supply chain is one of the last major areas of business benefit." 5. The development of internet technologies have made world smaller and supply

Managing People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing People - Essay Example In order to understand individual differences in talent management, there are various qualities which are usually measured. They range from abilities, personality characteristics, emotional intelligence, locus of control and other factors. The Big Five Personality Theory It is common for human resource professionals to use the Big Five Personality dimensions of traits which make up an individual’s personality. The five traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Wiggins 1996, p. 3). The term ‘openness’ indicates that people who love to learn new things and experiences have high degree of openness. Such people are marked by an appreciation for unusual ideas and art. They tend to be highly imaginative and creative. Those who possess creativity are resistant to change and analytical. Now, a look into the performance of Steve Jobs proves that he was a man who was highly open in nature. He was a man who loved innovation and cre ativity and he wanted his people to be so (Case study). Every time, he and his company managed to come up with radically new things. The second important point is conscientiousness. A person who possesses high conscientiousness is marked by high self-discipline. In the case of conscientiousness, it is evident that such people are capable of controlling, regulating and directing their own impulses. They are capable of developing long-term goals, organising ways to achieve the goals, and working consistently and tirelessly to achieve the goals. Admittedly, such people are capable of showing high degree of responsibility and reliability. One can see that Steve Jobs was a man who possessed great degree of conscientiousness which made him appear as a perfectionist at times. As Wiggins (1996, p. 87) points out, it is likely for conscientious people to be termed as perfectionists. Another point of consideration is their relentlessness. As a result, it is possible for people to term people with high degree of conscientiousness as workaholics. The next important point of consideration is extraversion. It shows how outgoing and social a person is. Such people enjoy being with people and participating in social gatherings. Admittedly, Steve Jobs had high degree of extraversion. He loved to be the spokesperson of the company and he communicated with customers directly (Case study). However, there is the other side of extraversion. The introverts do not love to communicate with the outside world. These people tend to be quiet and keep to themselves. Another important point is agreeableness which means warmth, friendliness, and tactfulness. Such people are marked by helpfulness, friendliness, and generosity. That means, in work, Steve Jobs was less of an agreeable person because he never was ready to compromise on his on perceptions and intuitions in order to accommodate the opinion of others (Case study). He knew he was correct, and this feeling made him less agreeable in front o other people who worked with and under him. The next important point is neuroticism. People with high neuroticism can be divided into various categories based on various sub-traits like anxiety, anger, depression, self-consciousness, and immoderation. Admittedly, Steve Jobs was a man who was famous for his short-temperedness. From the discussion, it becomes evident that Steve Jobs was a man with openness, conscientiousness reaching the extent of workaholic and perfectionist proportions, poor degree of agreeableness, and neuroticism. Also, the two important factors that made him stand out from the rest is the high degree of conscientiousness, openness and neuroticism followed by less agreeableness and high neuroticism. That means, if the company manages to find a person

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Research Paper PII Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Paper PII - Essay Example Cyber criminals use numerous technologies in forcing entrance into personal accounts thus obtaining valuable personal information most of which have financial value. It thus becomes prudent for users to understand the technologies effectively thus employing appropriate technology and measures to curb the spread of such costly vises. In order to cushion themselves from such risks, users must ensure to keep their personal information secure in both online and offline platforms. Online platforms refer to the platforms found on the internet. People often store their personal information on the cyber space on such media as emails, social media among other types of online accounts (Fafinski, 2009). Offline platforms on the other hand refer to the use of digital technology in storing data without necessarily connecting to the internet. Such media as smart phones, computers and media players have digital storage spaces. Storing data on such platforms do not require any internet connection but the information stored therein face eminent risk of destruction and unauthorized access features that require effective management in order to prevent. Disclosing personal information online is often the main cause of such loses. This implies that users of such technologies must use the technologies cautiously. Among the scenarios that often require disclosure of such information, include online shopping, online games, online competitions and subscribing to the numerous online services. Using such services therefor3e require extreme caution. In order to prevent the loss of personal information while taking part in such important online activities, users must always investigate the authenticity of both the services and the service providers. Users must take care and engage only the legitimate companies. Engaging legitimate companies and understanding their terms and conditions are important since it becomes possible to investigate cases of loss of personal information.

The reflection as successful ability of the students Essay

The reflection as successful ability of the students - Essay Example The reflection is the successful ability of the student to relate the theoretical approach with the professional challenges. The student should be able to understand the requirements that the respective profession and job sought from the candidate. The development of the critical and analytical skills is, therefore essential to handle the requirements of the profession with the logical approach under professional acumen. The professional obligations shall be realised by the candidates, and this has been possible by relating the learning experiences with the current situation. The difference between the role and responsibility of the student and candidate is the accountability of the latter. The candidate is under compulsion to involve in the interactive sessions inside the classroom to understand and develop professional motivation and direction. Considering the relevant example of the business situations, under my capacity as Business Analyst for the financial institution, it is exp ected that candidate shall be able to handle and resolve the economic issues of the company, and generate business opportunities for the company.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Research Paper PII Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Paper PII - Essay Example Cyber criminals use numerous technologies in forcing entrance into personal accounts thus obtaining valuable personal information most of which have financial value. It thus becomes prudent for users to understand the technologies effectively thus employing appropriate technology and measures to curb the spread of such costly vises. In order to cushion themselves from such risks, users must ensure to keep their personal information secure in both online and offline platforms. Online platforms refer to the platforms found on the internet. People often store their personal information on the cyber space on such media as emails, social media among other types of online accounts (Fafinski, 2009). Offline platforms on the other hand refer to the use of digital technology in storing data without necessarily connecting to the internet. Such media as smart phones, computers and media players have digital storage spaces. Storing data on such platforms do not require any internet connection but the information stored therein face eminent risk of destruction and unauthorized access features that require effective management in order to prevent. Disclosing personal information online is often the main cause of such loses. This implies that users of such technologies must use the technologies cautiously. Among the scenarios that often require disclosure of such information, include online shopping, online games, online competitions and subscribing to the numerous online services. Using such services therefor3e require extreme caution. In order to prevent the loss of personal information while taking part in such important online activities, users must always investigate the authenticity of both the services and the service providers. Users must take care and engage only the legitimate companies. Engaging legitimate companies and understanding their terms and conditions are important since it becomes possible to investigate cases of loss of personal information.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The novel Farewell, My Lovely Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The novel Farewell, My Lovely - Essay Example From the very beginning, the main character, Philip Marlowe does to Los Angeles. His journey leads him from the bottom to the top class of Los Angeles society, whose problems he denounces in sharp tones. Marlowe visits the home of a Southern California "psychic consultant" and a private house that is really a hideout for criminals. Marlowe disrespects himself as he is forced to do offensive things in the line of duty. One day, he has to make dead drunk an alcoholic widow to know more information from her, and at another case "he had picked a poor man's pocket," when he is discovered by a Mr. Grayle just as he is about to kiss the elderly gentleman's wife. He takes care of Marriott and tries to protect her from the outside world. One day, he investigates that Velma and Mrs. Grayle is the same person. Marlowe investigates that this woman killed Marriott. At the end of the story, she kills Malloy and commits suicide to avoid punishment. Chandler creates a strong and sympathetic character of Marlowe able to protect himself and fund truth. A detective element is particularly effective in the way that it resonates with the text's overall treatment of issues. The society recognizes that individual preferences can vary widely, and all behavior is openly tolerated as long as it is consensual for all participants. Plurality is again the keynote. If the dramatic context of the crime -cycle provided the essential clue for the interpretation of evil and suffering, the solidity and permanence of that context was responsible for the unshakeable conventions which governed the expression of suffering and evil. "I stood there and thought that if I lived in the house, I would sooner or later have to climb up there and help him. He didn't seem to be really trying" (Chandler 87). Chandler's vision of social problems is a place of diversity and change and is specifically presented as a preferable alternative to the consolation of pro blems. The specific tone of this selfconsciousness, along with the book's indeterminate message, also identifies The strain of lyric lament, however, is not a characteristic of the speeches given to evil figures, whose mode of suffering is wrathful or desperate, but it does characterize the innocent sufferers. The character of Marlowe can be seen as a moral center of the novel. Within its transparently didactic framework, the personifications of vices and virtues contend for the allegiance of the central figure or figures that represent man. The characteristic plot is a contest, and its characteristic movement is from the seduction of mankind by vice to the salvation of mankind by virtue and repentance. The fundamental issue of morality is thus always the same, and it is by definition a highly serious one; the fundamental evil involved, sin in one or another of its particular forms, is also always the same, and just as serious. But the dramaturgical expression of the issue and the evil, drawing from the heritage of the crime novel, combined both moral gravity and comic effect; the comedy of evil persisted along with the allegory of evil; like the allegory, it found its support and basis in the doctrinal and homiletic formulation which was responsible for the morality tradition The crime scene of the story is a complex one which consists of several sub-scenes. The first sub-scene reveals true identity of Velma and Mrs. Grayle, the second one depicts that she kills

Consumer Sciences Education Essay Example for Free

Consumer Sciences Education Essay Puberty is the period when children experience various physical and emotional changes in their bodies. Puberty comes with psychological effects that affect the teen’s interaction at school, with their peers and parents. Puberty Puberty is the stage in childrens lives when they experience physical changes through which their bodies eventually develop into adult bodies that are capable of reproducing. It is triggered by hormonal signals that stimulate the growth, function and change in different parts of the body, including the reproductive organs, breasts, skin, muscles, bones, hair and the brain depending on the sex (Allison, 2000). Puberty has various psychological effects within the school context, peers and parents. Within the school context puberty has wide psychological effects like searching identity and role confusion. It impacts their choice of career, sports activities, work schedule and tend to rebellious to the administration. It has been noted that adolescents prefer more liberal schools. At the same time the transition for example to high school has various effects on their academic achievement (Steinberg, 2001). During puberty, adolescents have very high regard for their peers. They measure who they are, their morals and lifestyles against them. Young people struggle to belong and to be accepted and affirmed by their peers, and yet also to become individuals. This desperate need for acceptance may explain why many teens engage in substance abuse and sexual activities. According to Allison, (2000, 54), adolescents tend to heed to advice from peers than from teachers and parents. It is notably however, the relationship between a teen and his or her peers has great impact on their self esteem. According to Steinberg, (2001, 67), parent-adolescent conflict increases during puberty. Conflict has been found to be most evident in interactions between adolescent girls and their mothers and relatively between boys and fathers. Many adolescents feel that the parents do not understand them and that they have different lives and interests. They also feel that the parents cannot guide them properly through this â€Å"stormy† period because they do not face the same challenges (Allison, 2000). In conclusion, there need to be a mutual understanding between parents and adolescents as puberty is a sensitive stage and needs to be handled with care by both parties. Only this way that both will minimize the unnecessary conflicts and promote understanding. Reference Allison, Barbara. (2000). Parent-adolescent conflict in early adolescence. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education: Vol 18, No. 2 Steinberg, Laurence. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology: Vol 52: 83-110.

Monday, October 14, 2019

A report on the poultry industry

A report on the poultry industry This report studies the poultry industry in the Sultanate of Oman, highlighting the strong performance and growth in the future. Will be identified ASaffa food as producer and supplier of its products and its position as market leader in the industry. The important cultural and social trends reported are the increase consumers awareness of healthy food, as well as the changes of the economic climate. It was found that the attractiveness of poultry industry has declined because the highly competitive of rivalry and power of buyers and also higher threats from substitutes. Its also addressed that the position of ASaffa is medium of the change of the attractiveness of the industry. Three significance functions of ASaffa : first is the logistics and Distribution network , where ASaffa can make efficient and quality control of distributions of its products through the network in the country. Secondly operations, which includes inventory management, quality assessment which support in value creation and third one is sales and marketing which keep ASaffa completive by providing promotions offers. In other side, found that ASaffa has three important resources and capabilities which can make its extremely proficient supply chain; success full supply chain, brand reputation and the location of the firm. At the end, recommendation is in two manner, a short term by budgeted more cost on advertisement of ASaffa as a healthy producer and convenience the consumers that the farm using natural chicken feed. In the Long term, recommended to focus on differential factors like diversify into more profitable fresh and frozen food due to probability of increase in the cost of production of the industry and which lead to less probability. Table of Contents: 1.Introduction 4 2.External Analysis: 5 2.1Macro environmental factors affecting the Industry (PEST Analysis): 5 2.2Porters Five Forces Analysis: 6 2.3Comparison of industry Attractiveness for ASaffa: 8 3.Internal Analysis: 8 3.1Assessing of food chain ASaffa Foods participate in: 9 3.2 Value chain Analysis of ASaffa Foods: 9 3.3Assessing a significant Resources and Capabilities of ASaffa Foods: 10 3.4SWOT Analysis: 12 4.Strategy Options: 12 4.1TOWS Matrix 12 13 4.2Scenario Analysis: investigate different futures: 14 4.3Strategic Direction with Ansoff Matrix 14 5.Recommendation: 15 6.References: 16 Introduction This report study ASaffa Foods S.A.O.G (ASaffa) position in the Food industry in Sultanate of Oman. To understand ASaffa Foods Strategy, will assess its internal operations and then its successful. Then, can make recommendations for sustained competitive advantage of a future based on an assessment of external factors that affect the market. With the growth of economic globalization, Food industry in the Sultanate of Oman becomes an additional significant last ten years. The poultry industry is extremely competitive in Oman and ASaffa Foods is leader of the market with biggest annual production in Oman, Gulf Countries and other countries. ASaffa raised its continuing ability to meet the growing demand in the country and abroad. Starting with capacity of 7500 MT in 2004 and increased to the current capacity of 17000 MT per year. The company I planning to add more capacity to achieve the capacity of 21,000 MT by end of 2011. In addition, the company announced its entry in Bahrain and Yemen, and is planning to enter Kuwait in the near future. The revenue driver of the Company is 35 % from Omani markets. The vision of ASaffa is to become No. 1. and mainly winning diversified food firm in Middle East. The products of ASaffa are natural, healthy and slaughtered as per Islamic law Halal. A Saffa has produce a frozen and fresh chicken products. Although, that Dhofar Poultry Company SAOG , Barka Poultry Company and Sohar Poultry are the main competitor of ASaffa Company but ASaffa is still a single player in the industry in Oman with 25 % of market share . To meet the increase demands from domestic from Oman and Gulf countries, ASaffa has a big capacity of its farm which allocated in Thumrait in the south of Oman, which is the most modern international manufacture techniques and machinery. With a home grown market share for poultry products of over 25 per cent and plans to increase this to nearly 35 per cent in the near future, ASaffa Foods core business is making great strides to reduce the dependency for chicken imports to the Sultanate (Oman Observer newspaper, Feb 1 ,2011). In addition, and as part of its plan, ASaffa continues to maintain its reputation as a leader in the food market and domestic production in Oman through the establishment of a study facility for the production of table eggs for 100 million annually, and manufacture of processed meat products. ASaffa uses its skills and expertise to assist in issues of food security in the Gulf Countries. Where the company working as a consultant to assist in the build and operate of the largest poultry manufacture in Qatar. External Analysis: The external environment analysis provides the company with a significant external link between its customers, competitors and the products it offer. In this section will analysis the external macro environment that affects the industry by using PEST analysis and examined how it will impact the profit of Al Saffa . After that will assess the position of the competitive environment by using Five Porters and will look at to the attractiveness of the industry to Al Safa in the upcoming years. Macro environmental factors affecting the Industry (PEST Analysis): This step is to identify the trends and issues that will affect and change the industry. Political Factors: The government of Oman encourages the supports the business of food toward the food security in the country by grants such companies. In Oman, Exempting Wholly Omani Owned Companies from Tax for 5 Year (The law of income tax on companies, Oman,1975). This trend is give the company opportunities brought by changes of the government and public attitudes toward the industry, changes in political institutions and the direction of political processes, legal issues, and the overall regulatory climate. Economic Factors: The economic changes in the world led to increase the level cost of food consumables, hence the consumer are thinking of other alternatives food at low prices. For example, buy frozen chicken at the lowest price rather than fresh chicken with higher-price. To compete on the low cost alternative, the company produces a frozen food instead of focusing on a fresh food only. With international commodity prices rising it will also become increasingly expensive to import food products making it more important than ever for the Sultanate to lower its dependency on imported food (Oman Turbine, 2011). Social Factors: The main social trend is increase of the customers awareness of the health food, and this lead to produce a healthy and fresh alternatives food. This trend gives the opportunity for the Company as the main player of Poultry Farms in the market. But in other side, its also making a potential threat in niche farmers markets in the internal region of the country which focus in produce the fresh Poultry Farms. During last three years, ASafa achieved and gaining Macro poultry industry in Oman and also invested the opportunity in the market. On more social factor is the trend of people to be more convenience by buying their needs from a single store includes all the products. This trend also makes the company the opportunity to increase demand for its products due to the distribution of their products to the largest number of retail market. This is an opportunity for also people to buy a fresh poultry in a manner faster without loss of time and effort where the consumer does not need to go to poultry farms to buy fresh poultry. Technology Factors: ASaffa has a modern international manufacture techniques and machinery. However, the technology is changing rapidly and do not need to spend more cost to renew or replace the old machine for long term. Porters Five Forces Analysis: In this section will assess the attractiveness and profitability of the poultry sector in Oman than assess the relative position of the company in the industry . Threat of substitutes: by examining the market, the threat of substitutes is high in poultry in Oman because ASaffa Foods faces many indirect competitors from farmers markets. Existing indictors in the local market , the indirect competitors are potential substitutes to ASaffa Foods and create threats in the future. Farmers markets have seen a significant expansion in Oman and providing a fresh food with convenience choice. With increasing the health consciousness towards health alternatives, the farmers markets sell fresh products and natural produce and this also cause a threat potential in the future. Degree of Rivalry: in Oman, the poultry business is highly competitive. Because the small number of main players in the market and lack of differentiation due to nature of products, a high degree of rivalry is exists in the market. Hence, the competition is based on price and other factors like sell location and choice of product. There is an increase in future rivalry due to the entry of new local company Barka Food (because their business will focus on the north area of Oman, which have a large number of the population) and also new competitors from UAE and Saudi Arabia which will make the industry further competitive and risky threat in future . Barging power of suppliers: bargaining power of suppliers is extremely very low. ASaffa Foods controlling market share for poultry products of over 25 per cent and numbers of local suppliers have a very limited choice of intermediaries to select from. Thus, ASaffa Foods is the main customer and purchaser of raw material in the industry. On the other hand, this set to change with the entry of new companies with Government policy increase the competition in the industry. Therefore, the bargaining power of the suppliers is a middle in the future because expect a bigger selection to deliver to. Barging power of buyers: the buying power of customers is in an increase. The government raise the level of food security by supporting and encourage the small-scale producers and reduce the competition barriers by allow farmers markets to come in the market which lead to increase customers selections (Al Watan newspaper, 2009). As a result, the customers barraging power is increase and thus, the increase of customers bargaining power will enable customer to compare prices and select the cheaper alternative and this aspects take customers barging to a further medium level. Threats of new Entrants: the threat of new entrants is low and this is due to the role of government of Oman to support the local business of food toward the food security in the country. ASaffa also says that it has no fear of other competitors entering the market place either in Oman or the region (Times of Oman, 2010). Despite that this market does not require a high infrastructure, but its needs experience to manage the project efficiently and its easily to be exposed to losses because spread of diseases (e.g Bird Flu) or change the social factors of people regarding the health food. Comparison of industry Attractiveness for ASaffa: From previous section on the Porters Five factors analysis, the poultry industry identified reasons of the weak bargaining power of suppliers and buyers and barriers to entry. Consequently, the company achieves profitability until now. Therefore, the position of ASaffa is medium of the change of the attractiveness of the industry. Also, the profit of Company may be decrease from high to medium in future. The reasons for this are increase in bargaining power of suppliers and buyers with the bigger rivalry and the entry of new companies. When the industry attractiveness and profitability has decreased from earlier levels, the capability to do better than its rivals depend on the Companys resources and capabilities which can develop in the future. Industry Attractiveness / Profitability of ASaffa Foods until now. Internal Analysis: In this section will identify the major resources and capabilities of ASaffa Foods by evaluating the situation of ASaffa Foods in the food chain to participate in and examine the major role within ASaffa Foods value chain which delivers the large amount value to the firm. Assessing of food chain ASaffa Foods participate in: ASaffa Foods is the sole supplier of all their chicken products and the food chain is provide wholesale with a channel to reach end consumers. The Company has a big farm with high capacity and intends to increase the production in the future to meet growing demands in Oman and Gulf countries. The ASaffa farm is on the main highway between South of Oman (Muscat city) and South ( Salalah city) which make distribution process are quick and well-organized. The Farm has its own water supply . From the poultry resource, no serious issues of supply chain face the ASaffa Foods. A dedicated Supply Chain Management (SCM) team works round the clock to identify potential suppliers and procure the required high quality raw materials in a timely manner (www.asaffa.com). Value chain Analysis of ASaffa Foods: ASaffa has made possible 100% product availability through its branch Sales offices spread across Oman covering all the regions and the interior markets. This is a very healthy sign of effective and intensive distribution system across the country. The total coverage exceeds 1600 outlets. With extensive branch network covering entire Oman, our reach is not just limited to groceries, we also cater to restaurants, butcheries, catering companies and other institutions. There are three main value creating functions to deliver Companys commitment: Logistics Distribution Network: the chickens feed is manufactured in ASaffa and therefore, the company has own operational control of the logist to conduct QA audits to ensure that the products is in a high manner. ASaffa Food is the sole supplier of all their products and its control the network of distribution of its products. To ensure that ASaffa products are available in every Hyper Super Markets and retail stores, ASaffa has owned a fleet of 25 reefer trucks to deliver a frozen and fresh product to be available to the customer at all time and across Oman. Operations: this includes inventory management, customer satisfaction and quality assessment. ASaffa offers a large choice of new products to its consumers. Quality Assessment: ASaffa has a commitment of the importance of the quality of its Clients/Buyers and to deliver highest quality of products .Also, the Company implements a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points systems. Furthermore, the chickens feed is manufactured in ASaffa farm by using a scientific feed management and this allow the Company to control the quality of natural fed. Inventory management: using a technology to make sure that stock level is adequate at all time. Also, using forecasting system to prevent unexpected increase or decrease in demand of the product. Sales and Marketing: as mentioned before, ASaffa Food is the sole supplier of all their products and its control the network of distribution of its products. Therefore, ASaffa Food is compete successfully and increasing its sales by a promotion of a product inside a shop, committed to deliver the fresh products to retailer on time and enhance a consumer research and environmental changes. This is an important to identify and use a strategy to compete successfully in future. Assessing a significant Resources and Capabilities of ASaffa Foods: Strategy capability examines different types of resources and competence within the organization in order to survive in the market. There are two types of resources, first is physical or tangible of the organization including (finance, Plant and labour). The other resource is the intangible resources which consist of (knowledge, brand reputation and information). To compete, ASaffa Foods is using strategy of differentiation and cost leadership by adopting an efficient supply chain to control the cost and brand image. Asaffa growth-oriented strategy to branch out into other complementary products began in 2009 by adding value-added packaged food products. The packaged products are currently out-sourced from the UAE and its contribution to the companys bottom line is less than 10 per cent. ASaffa has four significant resources and capabilities: Successful Supply chain: ASaffa food has an efficient distribution network across the country. The tangible assets such a manufacture of Chickens food and technological capabilities are important for ASaffa food to achieve a higher EBIT. But successful supply chain in inadequate as a distinct competency. Brand Reputation: ASaffa Food has built a brand reputation as providing a fresh food and Halal local products (The term is used to designate food seen as allowable as per Islamic law). This has already been through the consumer experience with products and also advertising campaign undertaken by the Company to promote its products. The reputation of the brand is very important of the consumer satisfaction. Therefore, the reputation is not a competitive advantage .it is a point of equality that the Company must have in order to compete. Financial position: the Company has a good financial position in the market .In addition; the government has supported the company by a Tax exemption which was expired in 2009. Regardless of the tax deducted for the next years, the profit after tax is expected to increase for the next two with an growth plan. Location: ASaffa has a big capacity of its farm which allocated in Thumrait in the south of Oman. This location gives ASaffa more advantage to build a big farm with water resources, government subsidy by not charging any cost of land and also near the big city in Oman. Despite the above resources and capabilities of ASaffa, the Company has facing a change in its top management. The growth on Omani economy has resulted in number of opportunities available to professionals. this created a challenge for ASaffa to change its HR policy by encourage the existing top management by pay high salary and others benefiters. Tax exemption which was expired in 2009, will lead to high cost of structure for next years. In addition, ASaffa has a large capacity of the production of the fresh chicken and to change to frozen chicken, it would be more cost for the Company. SWOT Analysis: Examination of the internal and external environment is significant measurement of the strategic planning process. SWOT analysis gives information that is useful in matching the resources and capabilities of ASaffa to the competitive environment. Summary of SWOT analysis of ASaff Food External Analysis Internal Analysis Opportunities : Low of new entrants Government support. Strengths: Strong brand name Good reputation Healthy and quality food Distribution network Create new products Location of the farm. Threats Substitute products. Industry is highly competitive. Shift the consumer from fresh products to frozen foods. Trade barriers between Oman and other countries e.g Yeman. Weaknesses: High cost structure. Losing effecting top management Strategy Options: TOWS Matrix By examine the Company Threats and Opportunities (External Environment) and the weakness and strengths (Internal Environment) , it can be understanding ,identifying and developing a strategy options for ASaffa Food. Its important for ASaffa to build the majority of its above strengths, avoid its weakness, take advantage of the opportunities available and control its threats. The following is the TOWS Matrix, gives A Saffa the options that can be could followed: External Opportunities (O) Low of new entrants/Government support. External Threats (T) Substitute products./Industry is highly competitive./Shift the consumer from fresh products to frozen foods./Trade barriers Internal Strengths (S) Strong brand name/Good reputation/Healthy and quality food/Distribution network/Create new products/Location of the farm. SO Maxi-Maxi Strategy Using strengths to maximize opportunities. ST Maxi-Mini Strategy using strengths to minimize threats. Internal Weaknesses (W) High cost structure/ Losing effecting top management. WO Mini-Maxi Strategy minimize weaknesses by taking advantage of opportunities. WT Mini-Mini Strategy minimize weaknesses and avoid threats. From the above evaluation of options, the Maxi-Maxi Strategy which use strengths to maximize opportunities is the most benefit to achieve the mission and vision of ASaffa Food. Scenario Analysis: investigate different futures: Scenario Analysis is useful way to assists ASaffa to make judgment in the situation of the different futures that could arrive. The take steps of make scenarios forces ASaffa to challenge its assumption about the future. By determining the Company plans based on a possible scenarios, than Company can make sure that its decisions are right even if environmental changes. The following is same of Scenario analysis process for ASaffa Food : High cost structure: ASaffa is planning to become a number 1. In the Middle East by soon. this can be done by providing a high quality of the fresh and frozen food with competitive price. From the PEST analysis, it was reported the key factors of political, economic, social and technological that impact the cost of products in ASaffa food. Thus, the key assumption of reducing a cost of products are: Build a new farm of poultry in North of Oman to increase the sale and reduce the cost of sale. Using international advert to keep up a market position of ASaffa products in order to increase the sale of fresh products Build a marketing plan to sale the fresh products during the period of validity, so that the company not losing a cost of products if the is expired. Developing the above Scenarios: A Saffa can start with improbability scenario of build of new farm in North of Oman . the future scenario will one of the following: Economy in Oman going up: with government support to the local firms to be more competitive. Hence the Company will have a sustaining competitive advantage over ten years. Economic slowdown : then the Company will have more cost of capicty which effect the cost advantage and loss the market. Strategic Direction with Ansoff Matrix Defining strategic direction might be a big challenge for Asaffa Foods. Ansoff Product/ Market matrix is a tool to recognize the basic option and directions for Asaffa Foods. Taking into consideration Asaffa Foods approach to develop new product and penetrate new markets, four different possibilities can be applied. Taking into account these combinations, Asafaa Foods seem to successfully attract and penetrate the highly competitive markets by offering its high quality products in a competitive price as the company have a competitive cost advantage. This itself will additionally define its market development and growth with reputation locally as well as existing market and internationally as new market, which will develop and enhance the existing products in the new markets. Asaffa could also move toward product development strategy with their existing capabilities or creating new ones to assure total satisfaction of the changing needs of the customer by developing new products. The company can also implement a diversification strategy and add new production lines such as dairy products as it has the capabilities and resources. Recommendation: In future,Asaffa should have a framework and control models. Those models have set targets, feedback, and measurement of performance (Frances, et al, 2007). For instance, the Company by applying those models can recognize if there is a gap between released direction and desired trend. By this technique, Asaffa Foods can set a plan for unforeseen events and circumstances. As an example, in the near future, there will be more existing or new Food production companies entering the local market. In this situation, Asaffa Foods can use its cost control advantage and adjust its plans to overcome the change in the aggressive competitive forces. The variable actions are planned by Asaffa Foods in nonstop developed process to administrate and control the unforeseen events the dynamic changing environment. Those actions are best technique to maintain the existing competitive advantage associates with the firm (Frances A. et al, 2007). By apply this technique; Asaffa Foods will improve the strategic planning which therefore, keeps the company doing well in long term

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Hobbit: From Childrens Story to Mythic Creation Essay -- Literature F

Hobbit: From Children's Story to Mythic Creation "Mr. Baggins began as a comic tale among conventional and inconsistent fairy-tale dwarves, and got drawn into the edge of it - so that even Sauron the terrible peeped over the edge." -J.R.R Tolkien, letter to his publisher (quoted in Carpenter 1977, 182). The Hobbit started as little more than a bedtime story for Tolkien's children. Like most of his fellow academics, Tolkien viewed fantasy as limited to childhood. The result was a book written in a chatty, informal style that contrasts sharply with that of its serious successors. The narrator makes frequent patronising and intrusive asides, such as "And what would you do, if an uninvited dwarf came and hung his things up in your hall without a word of explanation?" (H, 18). The language approximates baby-talk at times (nasty, dirty wet hole oozy smell"), and modifiers ("terribly", "lots and lots") abound. Many critics, including Tolkien himself, have viewed this as the chief weakness of the book. Although the tone does evoke the oral tradition through which myths were originally created, it detracts from the power of the book. It renders villains are more comic than truly threatening, its heroes more endearing than awe-inspiring. One commentator feels that The Hobbit "lacks a certain intellectual weight" and "deserves little serious, purely literary criticism" (Helms 1974: 53). The important words here are "purely literary". The novel cannot be studied in isolation, but must be seen against the broader backdrop of Tolkien's literary philosophy and the entire mythic tradition. For the writing of The Hobbit both influenced and was influenced by the profound intellectual change its author was undergoing, namely t... ...teaching its author the immense possibilities of fantasy. It itself does not exhaust these possibilities, but merely begins to explore them. It starts unambitiously, but in drawing from the rich store of world folklore and the author's imagination, soon develops into a myth that, like all good fantasy, speaks as clearly to the mythopoetic imagination today as it did in Tolkien's time. Bibliography: Carpenter, H. 1977. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography. London: George Allen & Unwin. Helms, R. 1974. Myth, Magic and Meaning in Tolkien's World. London: Granada Publishing. Nitshe, J.C. 1979. Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England. New York: St. Martin's. O'Neill, T.R. 1979. The Individuated Hobbit. Boston: Hougton Mifflin. Rogers, D. & Rogers, I.A. 1980. J.R.R. Tolkien. Boston: Twayne. Tolkien, J.R.R. 1937. The Hobbit. London: George Allen & Unwin.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Metals and Water Essay example -- Iron, steel, Corrosion, Alkalinity

Certain metals could be affected by the pH of water. This, however, could reflect on real life situations that could affect us, the environment, and also our pipe system as well. Some metals such as iron and steel oxidize when they are exposed to humidity and water thus forming corrosion known as ferric oxides (Roy, 2009). Corrosion has destructive potential if left untreated (Stahl, 2005). Knowing what metals are prone to corrosion is an important issue to take notice about because corrosion happens all around us including possessions that belong to us. It is necessary for industrialized cities to estimate the cost of such devastating nature of corrosion (Newman, 1994). Much of money are spend each year to replace equipment that are corroded, in the United States alone, corrosion causes about $276 billion each year. By using specific metals or methods such as alloying, metallic coating or organic coating can prevent or minimizing corrosion (Drigel, 2008). A specific type of corro sion is rust. Rusts are produced when iron converts to Fe 2+ ions and subsequently reacts with hydroxide ions within the water (Roy, 2009 and N/A, 2006). The physical characteristics of rust are coating of powder, scaly reddish-brown and reddish-yellow hydrated ferric oxides (Roy, 2009). The types of corrosion can be used in evaluating the performance of engineered structures (A reservoir to reduce rust, 2006). Metals are easily corroded in the sea because the salt makes the water a better conductor from the electrochemical cells (N/A, 2006). The ever-changing pH of the ocean due to planktic forminiferal abundance and other variables (Saraswat, 2007), and this could affect the rate of corrosion in metals. The pH is a measurement of the acidity or alkal... ...ltimately save many problems and health risks. It is important to note which metals to use to prevent corrosion because some may post health risks such as Chromium. Prolonged contact with Chromium may lead to lung cancer, ulcers, liver necrosis, and allergic dermatitis, so improper metals used in water distribution system could lead to a high extension in terms of risks because it could also affect the ocean and the wild lives (Chandra and Kulshreshtha, 2004). The world is changing and new technologies are emerging. Some of these technologies include micro-sized chips that are able to run a computer, and if corrosion is one of the problems, then it will post many more complications. Humans rely on technologies and equipment that are sometimes created with metals and they sometimes fail simply because they are exposed to salt water or high humidity (N/A, 2006).

How Effective Are Integrated Working and Multi-Agency Working?

Integrated working is when different services join together to offer more effective care for babies and young children, where multi-agency working is when different services work together to meet particular needs of babies and young children, along with their parents and/or carers. Multi-agency teams are made up of members of the children’s workforce drawn from a range of different disciplines who met for specific reasons on a regular basis; all the professionals will have joint aims and goals.It is a way that ensures that those children and young people that need additional support will have exactly the right professionals in place for them to be supported in the correct way. The benefits of integrated and multi-agency work are that it enables early identification and intervention of any needs that the children may have, as well as ways to better support their parents and carers. It allows children and their parents to have easier and quicker access to professional’s e xpertise and the services that they offer.With the services all working together it provides a better quality of service and means that children and their parents do not need to repeat themselves to each of the professionals that they work with, instead the professionals will already have the information. Multi-agency work also allows children and their families’ needs to be addressed more appropriately. As the child’s needs are addressed sooner and the correct support is given to them to help with their needs, the child will have an improved achievement and better engagement within education.The use the Common Assessment Framework which allows an early and initial assessment of the child’s needs for any extra services and support, and once this is carried out it will be available for all the services. In practice the professionals will put the needs of the child or young person before those of any one service, and also ensure that the service is inclusive and t hat all children’s basic needs are met. Sutton Hill Children’s Centre ensures that all the professionals within the centre identify children with additional needs at an early stage.They also need to ensure that all the information that they have is shared with all the other professionals and that they work together to provide early intervention and that the child receives the necessary support from specialist services as soon as they are identified as needing it. In the Camden Children’s Fund primary school project the school gets access to additional services which go beyond what is normally available and offers preventive and early intervention approaches to children and their families.The have a best practice approaches in place regarding the identifying and assessing of the child’s needs and then designing interventions for the particular child which will help them to improve. Within the practice at Camden Children’s Fund they are currently fin ding it difficult to allocate enough time to be able to carry out the best practice approach, and are trying to resolve this issue through all the agencies coming together and discussing what the best course of action will be.In conclusion integrated and multi-agency work is very beneficial to the child and their family at identifying any needs that the child may have early and providing appropriate and sufficient support to the child and their family that will help them to deal with any needs and support them with any help they may need in the future. It also brings together a wide range of specialist services that can work together with the family so that nothing needs to be repeated, and the child and their family will get the best out of each of the services that are provided.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

James Joyce’s The Dubliners Essay

In â€Å"Araby†, â€Å"Eveline†, and â€Å"The Dead†, three short stories featured in James Joyce’s The Dubliners, the characters struggle with whether to live their lives with a structured routine or to seek opportunities, change, and adventure. These short stories center around everyday life for citizens of Dublin, Ireland in the early 20th century, when a choice between continuing the inherited tradition of routine and structure versus seeking any other form of life or adventure could be the most important decision in the peoples’ lives. With the terrible potato famine still in living memory and with Ireland seeking a new culture and identity, many of its citizens clung to their routine as means of survival. The quotidian routine of the character’s lives suppresses and dominates the characters, preventing any of the characters’ ideas and dreams of seeking adventure. In â€Å"Araby,† every aspect of the little boy’s rou tine and everyday life impedes him from his adventurous goals of visiting the annual bazaar and fulfilling his dream of a relationship with Mangan’s sister. Despite his infatuation with his friend Mangan’s sister, the boy cannot work up the courage to spark a conversation and is pleasantly surprised when she asks him if he is going to the annual bazaar, hosted in Dublin. She then says that she is unable to attend, and the boy offers to bring her an item from the bazaar. Every aspect of the boy’s routine and everyday life seems to be trying to impede the boy from his goals, from school’s boring lessons to his uncle forgetting to arrive home early enough to give him money for the train fair because he was out drinking. Despite the adversities of his everyday life attempting to ensnare him, the boy does make it to the bazaar, but his hopes about the bazaar are not fulfilled. When the boy arrives at the bazaar, he realizes that the bazaar does not live up to his expectations. The untimely distractions that caused the boy to be late to the bazaar cause the boy to show up after most of the excitement and trade has already ended. He approaches one stall that is still open, but the owner of the stall seems to be preoccupied with a conversation with several men. The woman notices him, but the boy says how â€Å"†¦the tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to [him] out of a sense of duty†. The boy buys nothing, feeling unwanted by the woman watching over the goods. With no purchase for Mangan’s sister, the narrator stands angrily in the deserted bazaar as the lights go out, with his hopes crushed as his grandiose imagination of the bazaar is disillusioned. This realization deflates the boy’s hopes and dreams of an adventurous and exotic life, ending his wishful love affair with his friend’s sister, as well as ending his ambitions for a more adventurous life, and is analogous to Joyce’s â€Å"The Dead†. In â€Å"The Dead†, the banal and reflectively melancholy party is indicative of the monotonous routine that the Dubliners live by; however, Gabriel, the protagonist, struggles with the psychological battle with his methodical approach to life versus a more acceptin g and unconventional mindset, in which he wishes to enjoy a happier outlook on life. The motif of adventure versus routine is ever-present in this short story through Joyce’s meticulous and selective diction. During a very normal routine of dinner, the food is on â€Å"rival ends† of the table, divided by â€Å"sentries of fruit†, and watched afar by â€Å"three squads of bottles†. This militaristic diction transforms a seemingly harmless dinner table into an adventurous battlefield filled with action and excitement. The â€Å"battlefield† is not the dinner table, but the story in itself. The war is not between sentries and squadrons of bottles, but between the routine of life versus the hunger for opportunity. After dinner, the guests begin to dance. The guests partake in â€Å"memorized dance steps† and fall into habit and routine, one after the other. These structured dance steps rob the dancers of their individuality and creativity as uniform seizes the dance floor. The dancers are either forced to abandon their creativity and join in on the synchronized march of the automatons or be excluded from the group. Later on in the story, Gabriel learns from his wife about a previous lover. Gabriel enters a pensive and reflective state, in which he muses on the mass snow covering all of Ireland, which most likely covers the grave of Michael, his wife’s ex-lover, as well as the graves of all future Dubliners. The snow, the culmination of millions of individual and unique snowflakes melting together to form one entity of uniformity, became a metaphor for the all-encompassing routine of the characters in Dubliners, covering them in life and in death. Gabriel’s reflections towards the end of the novel give the short s tory its name of â€Å"The Dead†, which is what all of the routine and structure does the characters in The Dubliners. Despite all of the negative occurrences that the routine of the evening and of life bring upon Gabriel, he summons the courage to change his bleak outlook on life, vowing to have a more optimistic and open view on the world. In â€Å"Eveline†, the protagonist Eveline is faced with a rare opportunity to move away from Ireland to Buenos Aires with her boyfriend, Frank, but the routines and memories of her life ensnare her and prevent her from making the choice to seek adventure and excitement. This decision is an important crossroads in Eveline’s life, to continue with a life of an abusive father or an uncertain future with her boyfriend. The story begins with Eveline reflecting upon her childhood and contemplating the difficult decision that lies before her. She first has an epiphany, realizing that she cannot stay where she is, stuck in the autonomous life of routine and then becomes sympathetic to her father, saying how he was not all that abusive to her. Soon after th is thought, Eveline hears an organ playing in the street, reminding Eveline of her mother. This recollection of her mother immediately compels Eveline to decide that she cannot live her life the way her mother did, being swallowed up and forgotten by the routines of cooking and cleaning, all but forgotten in a sad and monotonous life. Eveline decides to head to Buenos Aires with Frank. As they are about to board the ship, Eveline resorts back to her routine by praying. The familiar chanting of the prayers versus the desire to flee with Frank renders Eveline in a state of paralysis, stripped of confidence after the destructive battle raging in her head between the two waging sides of her life, fiercely battling each other for superiority of Eveline’s subconcious. Eveline is left on the docks while Frank boards the ship. Because she does not move away from her routines, she is stuck forever with them. Her momentary epiphany regarding her mother and the monotonous routines of her life will go in vain, and she will end up living the exact life that her mother did. The vicious cycle of repetitive and mundane routine leaves the Dubliners helpless and lonely. Often, the routine forces the character into a state of unrequited love. In â€Å"Araby†, the routine leaves the boy in love with Mangan’s sister, never to know whether she shared any of his feelings. In â€Å"Eveline†, Eveline is left in the abusive and vicious cycle of her life, while her love is sailing off to Buenos Aires. In â€Å"The Dead†, Michael is literally buried under the mass routine of the snow, while his lover lives on, loving someone else. These protagonists each face difficult situations, of which they are not sure how to solve. As a mechanism of coping, they seek repetition, comfort, and conformity that only the routines of their average lives can bring. Without ever taking chances, they are sure to never achieve more than an average life. The characters in The Dubliners never take a chance to succeed and triumph over mediocrity. In doing this, they never give themselves a chance to fail, but they also never give themselves a chance to succeed. These characters have an opportunity to try to lift themselves up from the routinely abusive cycle of their lives, but cannot free themselves from their shackles, simply adding a few more degrees to the circle of false hopes and adventure that defines these misfortunate and disillusioned characters. Works Cited: Joyce, James. â€Å"Dubliners.† Project Gutenberg. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. .

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

HRM Pharmaco case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HRM Pharmaco case study - Assignment Example "Human issues arising from the restructuring of multinational corporations are being delegated to HR for studay and implementation" (Fitz-Enz, 2002, 4). Therefore, human resource management should be prepared to deal with such challenges. Unfortunately, empirically, it has been a common practice to cut the human resources department first to save money and resources when a company is experiencing difficulty. "And when companies were downsizing and restructuring, human resource capabilities were the first thing cut" (Losey et all, 2005, 13). Such poor leadership decisions are not forward thinking and result in an understaffed HR department that is not prepared to lead the company's restructuring. In the case of Pharmaco, inefficient human resource decisions couple with poor communication between employees hindered development. Evaluation of the management style of Pharmaco yields information about the company's core values and beliefs. The purpose of the case study was to "appreciate the range of employees and types of job that exist within pharmaceutical companies" (Sewell and Scarbrough, 2002, 182) Pharmaco is a British company, which is important to note because the "pharmaceutical industry is often highlighted as one of the few examples of British manufacturing success in high value added markets" (Sewell and Scarbrough, 2002, 115). ... Like other industries dependent upon science, pharmaceutical companies need to constantly retrain and innovate in order to achieve and continue to enjoy market competitiveness (Sewell and Scarbrough, 2002, 43). This distinguishes such businesses from other more traditional companies and creates intriguing dilemmas for human resource management. Retention of employees is key as confidentiality is a premium for the field. Temporary workers require human resource analysts to design specific policy and compensation procedure that may differ from that of permanent workers. This inherently creates uncertainty which may be compounded by ineffective implementation or the perception of favourable treatment of one group over another. The first issue to be examined is why these individuals choose to become temporary workers so that their attitudes and effectiveness may be gauged. As David Cenzo and Stephen Robbins (2005) note: If temporaries are employed solely as a cost-cutting measure, the pay and benefits offered to contingent workers might differ from those offered to other workers hired part-time as a result of restructuring HRM, then, must discover specifically what these employees want. Is it flexibility in scheduling, autonomy, or the control over one's career destiny that such situations afford that attracts them Or is it just bad luck, and they are forced into this situation (19) Conflict between temporary and permanent workers must be anticipated by human resource management. If the new workers are given more pay or significant schedule flexibility this can cause concern and anger, resulting in a loss of productivity or even employees choosing to quit. A lesson can be learned from studying the massive

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reaction paper - Essay Example This was an indication of interruption of person Jack’s speaking. David would then take over speaking while counting the fingers on one hand from one to five, which is a gesture that can be attributed to the intensity of the issue at hand. At some point Jack’s face looked depressed and his eyes looked wet with tears. However, this facial expression changed when David began to smile as he talked and it seemed he was raising a point of encouragement since his smile was accompanied by a pat on the back of Jack. Apart from when David pated Jack on the back, touching as a form of body language was also evident in the manner that the two people greeted each other when they met. They shook hands firmly and moved their bodies close together and patted each other’s back smiling. This demonstrated the closeness between them and also the happiness of meeting. David welcomed Jack to sit by a show of hand towards a seat as he sat on an adjacent seat. David applied proxemics by moving his seat now and then closer and further from Jack and at times he could use his walking stick to draw figures on the ground as if he was demarcating boundaries. These movements varied between one to three feet from the position that Jack initially sat. It seemed David commanded great authority over Jack by virtue of his body language with regards to the utilization of the space around him. This was augmented by the hat that he wore, which indicated status in the society. Jack on the other hand seemed to be on th e receiving end as his body language ranged from being attentive to reacting emotionally to what David was saying. The diagrams drawn on the ground by David seemed to carry a lot of meaning to Jack by virtue of the way he gazed at them without blinking and shaking his head in acknowledgement. From the sound back-up, I learnt that the

Monday, October 7, 2019

Analysis of Research Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of Research Articles - Essay Example The use of likert scale response questions makes it easier for the respondents to answer the questions in addition to improving the questionnaire response rate (Crotty 1998). The researcher employed the use of questionnaire in this study in that, respondents respond according to their own opinions and are not controlled as in interviews and observations. The researcher had the questionnaire tested for reliability and validity. According to Greenfield (2002), for any research findings to gain the required scientific rigor, the research tool should be test-retested through a pilot study or through an expert’s forum to harmonize issues. This practice is done to ensure that the results from the tool can be generalized to fit the whole population. However, in terms of sampling, the researcher failed in that, different companies’ employees should have participated in the study to ensure non-biasness and rigidity in the generalization of the survey findings. Further, the researcher should have allowed the staff members to make an informed decision on whether to participate or not according to Denzin’s (1997) arguments. This practice is highly recommended in research ethics as it protects the participant from coercion and ensures justice of the participants. Another important aspect left out in the methodology is the fact that the participants had to be informed that the data collected from them was to be used confidentially and for the sole purpose of the study. This would ensure tangible, valid and reliable data is collected since if assured of confidentiality, then they may be biased to avoid victimization by the company. Further, a lesser sample would have been more economical in terms of time and resource requirements (Kaplan 2004). In this case, an un-biased sample would have resulted into the same kind of results as a complete count. Further, the sample should have had the same or nearly the same number of males as females. In the

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Marketing Communication Plan of Ryanair Case Study

Marketing Communication Plan of Ryanair - Case Study Example There is no doubt that this unpalatable media propaganda about the lapses in the operations of Ryanair is threaten to exacerbate the dwindling fortunes of a potentially successful company in the wake of stifling competition in the low cost industry. It is against this background that management have committed themselves to the goal of reversing the tide of negative publication against Ryanair through a comprehensive media communication plan to be implemented in the 2009 business year. Ryanair understands that the process of realizing the comprehensive goals enshrined in the communication plan must of necessity reverberate amongst our global clientele base. We risk being pushed out of business by the contemporary challenges of the twenty first century. As an outcome of a broad based consultation exercise, Ryanair's immediate formal marketing quest is to target low and medium income earners, civil servants, students and seasonally unemployed people. For good reasons the current recession in the global economy as predicted by the World Bank is expected to run into the whole of 2009 into the early parts of 2010; the effects of the economic slowdown is definitely a fall in income levels which will compel people to opt for low flights to serve their traveling needs. The primary mission of the communication plan is to genera... The primary mission of the communication plan is to generate and sustain awareness about the innovative ingredients contained in the customer service package for the medium to long term framework. Aggressive promotional materials that will purposefully address the customer's needs as an integral component of the operations of the company. The plan will also allow for the efficient location of relevant customer information. For the 2009 marketing year, there will be considerable attention on such vital issues policy decisions, facilities, the introduction of new services, online platform for the discussion of enhancing marketing programs. Whilst pursuing these provisions, the communication plan will encourage continuity in the current list of workable marketing strategies that have served customers well in the last few years. It is expected that by so doing, the platform will be created to usher in the communication plan using a workable coordination of marketing activities. Objectives of the Marketing Communication Plan The strength of the communication plan lies in its ability to explicitly identify and recognize the following foundational objectives as the key to the success of the marketing policies of Ryanair. To positively impact on the attitude of our discontented customers with the view of attracting new customers; To be able to reach out to approximately 80% of air travelers within and outside Europe with the message of innovation in our transforming company; To create the enabling environment through incentives in the marketing strategy to boost the attractiveness of Ryanair to customers across the world. Message Strategy The increasing demands of the business climate in the twenty first century are characterized by tough competition

Saturday, October 5, 2019

PLC Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PLC - Coursework Example Apple may also lure customers to purchase the new product by using sales tools and pricing activities such as giving free samples and price incentives (Stark, 2011) In the growth stage marketing strategies goals that is used is monitoring competitors’ activities compared to those of the firm and ensuring that quality standards are adhered in order to maintain customer satisfaction. Finally the strategies that can be applied in the stage are, developing new product image, finding new customers, applying new technology and discovering new uses (Stark, 2011). c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the maturity stage, firms strive to ensure that they generate cash flows. They seek to ensure that they cover the initial outlay costs. They also struggle to hold market share, steal market share and increase share of customer. However, when this fails, you can apply some strategies to bring the business back to life. The firm can develop a new product image, try to lure new customers, find alternative uses of the product, and embrace new technology (Stark,

Friday, October 4, 2019

Assessments for Early Childhood Programs Essay Example for Free

Assessments for Early Childhood Programs Essay William J. Wilson once said, â€Å"The person who scored well on an SAT will not necessarily be the best doctor or the best lawyer or the best businessman. These tests do not measure character, leadership, creativity, or perseverance†. Why do we test students? What is the purpose of assessments? Do these tests and assessments benefit the students? These are questions educators have been asking for years. It is impossible for one to determine a child’s academic abilities based solely on a test. Yet there still needs to be some form of assessments performed in order to evaluate the academic level each student has reached. But how much assessing is too much? How heavily do educators rely on the results of these assessments? The main issues, when it comes to assessing early childhood students, are the consequences of the assessment results and how they affect the child. According to The National Academies of Sciences, there are two key principles that support the success of assessment. The first is that the purpose of an assessment should be a guide for assessment decisions. â€Å"The purpose for any assessment must be determined and clearly communicated to all stake- holders before the assessment is designed or implemented. Most important, assessment designed for programs should not be used to assess individual children. Because different purposes require different kinds of assessments, the purpose should drive assessment design and implementation decisions† (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). The second principle is that any assessment performed should be completed in a â€Å"coherent system of health, educational, and family support services that promote optimal development for all children. Assessment should be an integral part of a coherent system of early childhood care and education that includes a range of services and resources† (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). These two principles explain the main purpose of why assessing is important and how assessments should be conducted. After having an understanding of the purpose of assessments, why is it so important to begin evaluations at such a young age? What is the purpose of evaluating infants and toddlers? Author Sue Wortham explains evaluating toddlers and infants determine whether the child is developing normally or if they show any signs of delay and need assistance. All in all, the main purpose of assessment is to benefit the child (Wortham, p. 32). The NAEYC believes that during a child’s early years, evaluating and assessing their development should be the primary focus. They want to study how young children grown and learn. All the â€Å"results of assessment are used to inform the planning and implementation of experiences, to communicate with the child’s family, and to evaluate and improve teachers’ and program’s effectiveness† (Wortham, p.34). Teachers also use assessment results to in order to plan their curriculum accordingly. So exactly do assessments search for? Assessments look not only for what the child is already capable of doing independently but also what they can do with the help of a teacher or another student (Wortham, p. 35). So how are they assessed exactly? There are many different assessments given to children across the U. S. everyday. These may be administered orally or as written works, such as questionnaires, surveys, or tests. These may include: standardized tests, observations, checklists, rating scales, rubrics, interviews, or portfolios. Each of these serve a different purpose in order to give different pieces of information needed to evaluate the child in question. Standardized tests, though many disagree with them, are meant to measure individual characteristics. Observations, on the other hand, are one of the most effective ways to measure students’ characteristics. When children are young, it can be hard at times to determine if there are any developmental delays (Wortham, p. 39). Developmental checklists, or scopes, are mainly used at all levels of education. These checklists are lists of the learning objectives that have been established by the teacher in order to keep track of their learning and development. Items on a checklist are rated with a negative or positive response from the teacher. Rating scales, unlike checklists, provide measurement on a continuum and are used when a collection of criteria is needed to attain specific information. Another form of assessment teachers commonly use is Rubrics. Rubrics were created to â€Å"evaluate authentic and performance assessments† (Wortham, p. 41). Rubrics, like rating scales, have a range of criteria that must be met. However, unlike rating scales, rubrics can be used to not only determine the quality of performance required, but are also used to assign grades. Rubrics make it easy for students to understand what is expected and is makes it easier for teachers to grade assignments. The final types of assessments that are most frequently used are performance and portfolio assessments. These evaluations might be administered through interviews given directly by the teacher in order to understand the child’s thinking and understanding (Wortham, p. 41). Teachers may present these evaluations through directed assignments, activities, or games. The performance results are typically kept in a student or teacher portfolio. These portfolios contain samples of student’s work and are used as a sort of progress report card. Keeping detailed reports of student’s work in the portfolios help teachers keep track of their student’s progress and help determine which areas of learning are lacking attention (Wortham, p. 41). Overall, according to Wortham, these tests, whether administered to an individual child or a group of students, are meant to determine a student’s â€Å"abilities, achievements, aptitudes, interests, attitudes, values, and personality characteristics† (Wortham, p.39). Now having an understanding of the different types of assessments used to evaluate students and the purpose, let us turn to the negative and positive effects of these evaluations. It is crucial for educators to administer tests and evaluations carefully, because it they are poorly articulated, it can lead to decisions that are unfair or unclear, and they may do harm to programs, teachers, and, most importantly, children (Snow, C. E. Van Hemel, S. B. , p. 341-342). Evaluations and assessments are not meant to punish a child, and therefore, should never be overseen lightly. It is important that the information gathered outweighs any negative effects. Editors of Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, and How, Catherine E. Snow and Susan B. Van Hemel, explain that â€Å"although the same measure may be used for more than one purpose, prior consideration of all potential purposes is essential, as is careful analysis of the actual content of the assessment instrument. Direct examination of the assessment items is important because the title of a measure does not always reflect the content† (Snow, C. E. Van Hemel, S. B. , p. 346). So what are some negative effects? Negative consequences of assessment findings may include program de-funding, closing a center, firing a teacher, mislabeling a child, or a reduction in program resources (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). These effects, such as mislabeling a student, can follow students for the rest of their education career. Once a child is entered into a program, it can be difficult at time for teachers to look past that label. Children all develop at different his or her own pace. No one child will develop and learn the same way as another child. They all grow up and develop at different stages. Yet educational theorists have been able to observed and gather enough information to conclude that children, if divided in age groups, do tend to follow a certain development pattern. The problem is, it is hard to determine which children are the outliers in these results without carefully administering proper assessments. Assessments are not used to necessarily judge student or punish them. Their main purpose is to help students, teachers, and parents. So what are some positive effects of assessment and evaluations? Students that benefit from assessments and evaluations are those that are properly observed and tested. Teachers also benefit from the use of assessments because it helps them create an appropriate curriculum for their students. Evaluating children at a young age can have a positive effect if a delay or disability is in fact found, and because it was caught early, the student has a better chance of exceeding their potential in school. Catching developmental delays or disabilities at a young age is the same as finding cancer at an early stage in the sense that the earlier the cancer is found; the chances of survival are greater. Assessment results are used to plan for instruction, evaluate instructional programs, and report student progress. These are all positive results of assessments. Without the results of assessments and test, how can educators determine what to teach their students? Evaluations, if planned and administered properly, can be more beneficial than harmful. Unfortunately, not all teachers evaluate children fairly or appropriately. So it is important for parents to stay involved in their children’s education in the event that the results of an evaluation do not match the potential of their child. Parents should know the norms and abnormalities of their child’s behavior. Therefore, it is always beneficial to the child for parents and teachers to communicate. This way if a child is acting up in class, and the teacher notifies the parent, the parent may confirm any fears right away by simply saying, â€Å"that isn’t like him† or â€Å"he’s just nervous†. Avoiding drastic measures and not jumping to conclusions is the proper way to evaluate a child fairly. What are the predicted long-term benefits to Early Childhood Assessments? Are assessments and student evaluations accurate? Should teachers be required to assess and evaluate students as much as they already do? These are just a few of the questions that plagued educators for years. Too much assessing has placed so much pressure on students and teachers, inevitably taking away a child’s desire to learn for the sake of learning. The purpose of assessments and evaluations is a great concept, but placing too much pressure and emphasis on the test results is tainting the original purpose of learning. References Bers, T. H. Mittler, M. L. (1994). New Directions for Community Colleges. Assessment Testing Myths and Realities: A Critical Review of Student Assessment Options, 69-83. Brink, M. (2002). Involving Parents in Early Childhood Assessment: Perspectives from an Early Intervention Instructor. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(4), 251-7. Retrieved from Education Full Text database Early, D. M. , McKenna, M. , Slentz, K. L. (2008). A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood; Infancy to Age Eight. Washington State: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The National Academies of Sciences (2008). Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, And How. Retrieved October 19, 2011 from http://www. bocyf. org/head_start_brief. pdf. Early Learning Standards Task Force and Kindergarten Assessment Work Group. (2005). Early Childhood Assessment For Children From Birth To Age 8 (Grade 3). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania’s Departments of Education and Public Welfare. Snow, C. E. Van Hemel, S. B. (2008). Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, And How. Washington, D. C. : The National Research Council Of The National Academies Wortham, S. (2012). Assessment in Early Childhood Education, (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.