Value Chain Concept

Dollar General has taken many steps to deliver value to Its customers. The Dollar General stores compete on the basis of convenience with highly price sensitive consumers. The chain also strives for simplicity with both 10 basic-needs core SKIS categories and and even dollar price points. Simplicity, price, and convenience are of high value to a Dollar General consumer. Dollar General practices a low cost business model and each step the company makes contributes to he value delivered to the customer.Before major transformations in the last two decades, Dollar General stores had followed a pack-away strategy to store all unsold seasonal merchandise for the following year. Since most stores only consisted of about 6,900 square feet, small back rooms piled up quickly with inventory causing overflow in some stores. Focus of managers was on how to keep the rooms organized with Irrelevant product rather than operational activities that involved staff and the customers. Managers minds ere also clouded with how to get the seasonal SKU Into the hands of the customers.Dollar General was able to evaluate this strategy and notice that the focus on the back rooms and no room for extra Inventory could erode the value the customer receives from shopping in Dollar General. Dollar store could potentially lose space for its core category products that initially attract the consumers. In the video â€Å"Keeping the Supply Chain Moving,† a shoe store is featured in which the layout also suffered from a tiny back room. KEFIR) The owner was often unable to provide certain shoe styles to her customers due to inventory pile up in her back room.Value is lost. In recent years Dollar General put the consumer value In front of them and made structural changes that addressed the legacy Issues (Kaufman 8). These changes were accompanied with the decision to eliminate the pack-away policy. This enabled Dollar Generals to provide fresher and more relevant merchandise. The remodeling o f the strategy also contributed to effectiveness of the District Managers-They are no anger elbows deep in back room inventory with the store managers digging up Ski's.Now, District Managers are now able to increase in-store training and improve labor planning by simply avoiding the back room problem. Dollar General was able to protect the core SKIS value that it delivers to its consumers. By evaluating its back room policies and activities, it was able to identify the value lost with decrease in manager/employee productivity and potential to lose core SKU storage space.

Salvador Dali – Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around

Salvador Dali went to the art school Academia De San Fernando in Spain, and rather than taking it seriously, he dressed oddly and preferred to daydream during classes. He was expelled. The rise of Franco in Spain led to Dalais expulsion from the Surrealist movement, but that did not prevent him from painting. He later married Elena Dinnertime Additional, or simply known as Gala, which became his muse and inspiration. When Dali was still in school, he studied many artist movements in which one was Dada, a post-World War I anti-establishment cultural movement.Although political, it philosophically influenced his paintings. He also traveled to Paris, France and met up with Pablo Picasso, whom he highly respected. He also met Joan Mirror, Paul Alular and Rene Emigrate, who introduced Dali to Surrealism. Dalais paintings became associated with three general themes: depicting a measure of man's universe and his sensations, the use of collage; and objects charged with sexual symbolism, and ideographic imagery.Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second before Awakening, or Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee for horn, shows quite a few of his themes, including sexual symbolism depicted by Gala Dali his wife, his idea of the degree of universe in a dream and also collages of images from his dream. And © Breton, whose manifesto the Surrealist movement was based off, first formed surrealist art: â€Å"Pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express, either verbally, in writing, or by any other manner, the real functioning of thought.Dictation of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason, outside of all aesthetic and moral preoccupation. † Surrealism was illogical, unexpected Juxtapositions of disparate elements in collages, and at first, it was a highly controversial movement, often insisted to be referred to as ‘revolutionary'. The group's works consisted of unreal and or dreamlike images of everyday objects , twisted and distorted into paintings and writings of ‘art'.In Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee, it is extremely perverse for a fish to burst out of a pomegranate, then to spew out a tiger, which in turn spews out another one tiger and a bayonet – only to sting Gala in the arm. It is clear that this is an image that was enervated by the mind, and shown on canvas. Although it seems exceedingly impossible, the style of art is intended to be generally surreal. Dali chose to paint Gala as his subject because he loved her so much; she was his motivation and source of his creativity.Due to his desolate past, he had probably not been as close to anyone as much as Gala to use her as his subject in many of his paintings, including Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee. It shows us as viewers a glimpse of his personal life, his choice of thought to put his subjects in a certain composition. Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee was composed very well, as it has a clear meaning, as well as it showing through in the title of the piece. Formal Analytical Framework Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee was painted with oil paints on canvas, which allows for the realistic finish of unrealistic matter.The fine details were rendered by brush, which creates the smooth appearance. Salvador Dali has used many elements and principles, which are incorporated to make Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee. One of the main elements shown is color; the vibrant colors exaggerate the rent occurrence. The bright yellows used to paint the tigers are false to the real color of tigers, which brings out the focal point of the artwork. The contrast of colors also helps separate the background from the objects.The color of the background has more white blended into it, forming a hazy effect, as compared to the tigers, the fish and the pomegranate, where the colors are more pure with fewer colors mixed in. Gala, atop the rock slab, is more a neutral color to balance out the painting. Dali has als o used color as a way of representing something, for example he yellow and black stripe on the tiger to represent a bee's body. Although not as obvious, tone has also been used to highlight the three-dimensional feel.The overall mood created by these elements has produced a dreamlike texture, with the soft background, and the surrealistically of the objects. The composition of this Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee also plays a considerably large part in forming this piece. The first thing a viewer might see is Gala and the tigers, followed by the strange elephant in the background, then followed by all the smaller details. By putting the tigers close to center, it emphasizes the meaning of the piece, as the viewer slowly starts to out the story together.There is also a certain rhythm of the arrangement, especially of the pomegranates, and the overall composition of the tigers and bayonet coming out of the fish, out of the larger pomegranate. This certain arrangement forms a bee, wh ich is repeated towards center bottom, under Gala. In Dream Caused by a Flight of a Bee, â€Å"A typical dream with a long theme, the consequences of a sudden accident that causes the awakening†, Salvador Dali has seed many symbols, in which some include a bee, an insect that traditionally symbolizes the Virgin.The pomegranate with the two droplets of suspended water can be used as a Christian symbol of fertility and resurrection, or it could also represent Venus because of the heart-shaped shadow it casts. The fish, two tigers and bayonet supposedly make up the body of a bee, showing the two sides of the bee's symbolism. The elephant carrying an obelisk is allegedly a distorted version of â€Å"Pulling Della Minerva† sculpture in Rome. Dali has explored to some extent his idea f the world of dreams in a dreamboats, and has shown the events in which a dream can occur, and the split second a person (Gala) could be awoken by Just a small provocation.

New Strongly Robust DWT Based Watermarking Algorithm Computer Science Essay

Abstract- In this paper we have presented two watermarking algorithms. First one is a new strongly robust strategy for right of first publication protection. This strategy is based on ‘Discrete Wavelet Transform ‘ , by implanting scrambled water line in HL subband at degree 3. Direct burdening factor is used in water line embedding and extraction procedure. This scheme consequences in exact recovery of water line with standard database images of size 512Ãâ€"512, giving Correlation Factor peers to 1. The Correlation Factor for different onslaughts like Noise add-on, Filtering, Rotation and Compression ranges from 0.90 to 0.95. The PSNR with burdening factor 0.02 is up to 48.53 dubnium. This is nonblind and embeds binary water line of 64Ãâ€"64 size. The 2nd technique is traditional method of watermarking. We besides tried to compare advanced strategy of first type with traditional method and recommended our advanced strategy. Keywords-DWT, Scrambling, Arnold Transform, Copyright.IntroductionIt has become a day-to-day demand to make transcript, transmit and distribute digital informations as a portion of widespread usage of multimedia engineering in cyberspace epoch. Hence right of first publication protection has become indispensable to avoid unauthorised reproduction job. Digital image watermarking provides right of first publication protection to image by concealing appropriate information in original image to declare rightful ownership [ 1 ] . Robustness, Perceptual transparence, capacity and Blind watermarking are four indispensable factors to find quality of watermarking strategy [ 4 ] [ 5 ] . Watermarking algorithms are loosely categorized as Spatial Domain Watermarking and Transformed domain watermarking. In spacial sphere, water line is embedded by straight modifying pel values of screen image. Least Significant Bit interpolation is illustration of spacial sphere watermarking. In Transform sphere, water line is inserted into transformed coefficients of image giving more information concealment capacity and more hardiness against watermarking onslaughts because information can be spread out to full image [ 1 ] . Watermarking utilizing Discrete Wavelet Transform, Discrete Cosine Transform, CDMA based Spread Spectrum Watermarking are illustrations of Transform Domain Watermarking. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: Section II focuses on study of bing digital image watermarking algorithms. Section III focuses on importance of Discrete Wavelet Transform. In subdivision IV, we have presented two watermarking strategies: In first strategy a new strongly robust DWT based algorithm is presented and 2nd strategy is traditional technique. Section V shows Experimental consequences after execution and Testing for both strategies. In subdivision VI, we have concluded and urge our foremost DWT based strategy.SurveyIn traditional watermarking attack some LSB based every bit good as watermarking methods with pseudo random generator are proposed [ 3 ] . In transform sphere methods, watermarking utilizing CWT, merely DWT, merely DCT or combined attack of DWT-DCT are proposed. In CWT, Calculating ripple coefficients at every possible graduated table is immense sum of work, and it generates a batch of informations. There is extremely excess information every bit per as the Reconstruction of the signal is concerned. Due to the attractive characteristics of Discrete Wavelet Transform, researches have been focused on DWT [ 15 ] . Wang Hongjun, Li Na have proposed a DWT based method [ 14 ] in which water line was embedded in in-between frequence coefficient utilizing I ± as flexing factor with I ± =I? |m| , where m is average value of all coefficients watermarking embedded. But this method does n't supply adequate security. The method proposed in [ 14 ] utilizing DWT was extended in [ 15 ] to heighten security of algorithm by utilizing Arnold ‘s Tran sform pretreatment for water line. But this method can be extended to better PSNR and security degrees. As given in [ 16 ] , two stage water line implanting procedure was carried out utilizing DWT. Phase 1: Visible water line logo embedding, Phase 2: Feature extracted water line logo implanting. The algorithm was based on Texture Based Watermarking. A Integer Wavelet Transform with Bit Plane complexness Segmentation is used with more informations concealment capacity. [ 2 ] . But this method needs separate processing for R, G and B constituents of colour image. As given in [ 17 ] utilizing DWT, host image is decomposed into 3 degrees recursively. In flat one we get 4 sub sets. In degree 2, each subband of degree 1 is divided to 4 bomber sets to give entire 16 bomber sets. Finally, each subband of degree 2 is once more divided into 4 sub sets each to give entire 64 bomber sets. Then ‘ Generic algorithm ‘ was applied to happen the best subband for water line implanting to supply perceptual transparence and hardiness. But the procedure is excessively drawn-out and clip consuming. The common job with DCT watermarking is block based grading of water line image alterations scaling factors block by block and consequences in ocular discontinuity. [ 1 ] [ 6 ] . As given in [ 13 ] , J. Cox et. Al had presented ‘Spread spectrum based watermarking strategies ‘ , Chris Shoemaker has developed.DISCRETE WAVELET TRANSFORMDWT has become research workers focus for watermarking as DWT is really similar to theoretical theoretical account of Human Visual System ( HVS ) . ISO has developed and generalized still image compaction criterion JPEG2000 which substitutes DWT for DCT. DWT offers mutiresolution representation of a image and DWT gives perfect Reconstruction of decomposed image. Discrete ripple can be represented as ( 1 ) For dyadic ripples a0 =2 and b0 =1, Hence we have, J, K ( 2 ) Image itself is considered as two dimensional signal. When image is passed through series of low base on balls and high base on balls filters, DWT decomposes the image into sub sets of different declarations [ 11 ] [ 12 ] . Decompositions can be done at different DWT degrees. Fig 1: Three Level Image Decomposition At degree 1, DWT decomposes image into four nonoverlapping multiresolution bomber sets: LLx ( Approximate sub set ) , HLx ( Horizontal subband ) , LHx ( Vertical subband ) and HHx ( Diagonal Subband ) . Here, LLx is low frequence constituent whereas HLx, LHx and HHx are high frequence ( item ) constituents [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] .To obtain following coarser graduated table of ripple coefficients after degree 1, the subband LL1 is further processed until concluding N graduated table reached. When N is reached, we have 3N+1 subbands with LLx ( Approximate Components. ) and HLx, LHx, HHx ( Detail constituents ) where ten scopes from 1 to N. Three degree image decomposition is shown in Fig:1. Implanting water line in low frequence coefficients can increase hardiness significantly but maximal energy of most of the natural images is concentrated in approximate ( LLx ) subband. Hence alteration in this low frequence subband will do terrible and unacceptable image debasement. Hence water line is non be embedded in LLx subband. The good countries for water line embedding are high frequence subbands ( HLx, LHx and HHx ) , because human bare eyes are non sensitive to these subbands. They yield effectual watermarking without being perceived by human eyes. But HHx subband includes borders and textures of the image. Hence HHx is besides excluded. Most of the watermarking algorithms have been failed to accomplish perceptual transparence and hardiness at the same time because these two demands are conflicting to each other. The remainder options are HLx and LHx. But Human Visual System ( HVS ) is more sensitive in horizontal than perpendicular. Hence Watermarking done in HLxOUR WATERMARKING METHODOLOGIESScheme-1This strategy is betterment of algorithm presented in 2008 by Na Li et. Al, given in [ 15 ] utilizing Discrete Wavelet Transform with Arnold Transform. The betterment is made in following facets: The security degree is increased by presenting â€Å" PN Sequence ‘ depe nding on Arnold cyclicity and depending on threshold value absolute difference of Arnold Transformed-Watermark-images is embedded. Alternatively of ciphering flexing factor related to intend value of coefficients of water line image, here straight appropriate weighting factor is selected. The Image decomposition is done with ‘Haar ‘ which is simple, symmetric and extraneous ripple. Watermark Scrambling: Watermark Scrambling is carried out through many stairss to better security degrees. Different methods can be used for image scrambling such as Fass Curve, Gray Code, Arnold Transform, Magic square etc. Here Arnold Transform is used. The particular belongings of Arnold Transform is that image comes to it ‘s original province after certain figure of loops. These ‘number of loops ‘ are called ‘Arnold Period ‘ or ‘Periodicity of Arnold Transform ‘ . The Arnold Transform of image is ( 3 ) Where, ( x, y ) = { 0,1, †¦ ..N } are pixel co-ordinates from original image. ( , ) : corresponding consequences after Arnold Transform. Cyclicity of Arnold Transform: The cyclicity of Arnold Transform ( P ) , is dependent on size of given image. From equation: 3 we have, ( 4 ) ( 5 ) If ( mod ( , N ) ==1 & A ; & A ; mod ( , N ) ==1 ) so P=N ( 6 ) Implanting Algorithm: Measure 1: Decompose the screen image utilizing simple ‘Haar ‘ Wavelet into four nonoverlapping multiresolution coefficient sets: LL1, HL1, LH1 and HH1. Measure 2: Perform 2nd degree DWT on LL1 to give 4 coefficients: LL2, HL2, LH2 and HH2. Measure 3: Repeat decomposition for LL2 to give following degree constituents: LL3, HL3, LH3 and HH3 as shown in fig 1. Measure 4: Find Arnold cyclicity ‘P ‘ of water line utilizing equation 6. Measure 5: Determine ‘KEY ‘ where. Then bring forth PN Sequence depending on ‘KEY ‘ and happen the amount of random sequence say SUM. Measure 6: If SUM & gt ; T where, T is some predefined Threshold value, so happen two scrambled images using Arnold Transform with KEY1 and KEY2, where, ,, .Now, Take absolute difference of two scrambled images to give ‘Final Scrambled image ‘ . Measure 7: If SUM & lt ; T, so use Arnold Transform straight to watermark image with ‘KEY ‘ to acquire ‘Final Scrambled image ‘ . Measure 8: Add ‘Final Scrambled image ‘ to HL3 coefficients of screen image as follows: ( 7 ) Where, K1 is burdening factor, New_HL3 ( I, J ) is freshly calculated coefficients of level3, Watermark ( I, J ) is ‘Final Scrambled image ‘ . Measure 9: Take IDWT at Level3, Level2 and Level1 consecutive to acquire ‘Watermarked Image. Extraction Algorithm: The proposed method is nonblind. Hence the original image is required for extraction procedure. The simple algorithmic stairss are applied are given below. Measure 1: Decompose Cover image utilizing ‘Haar ‘ ripple up to 3 degrees to acquire HL3 Coefficients. Measure 2: Decompose ‘Watermarked Image ‘ utilizing ‘Haar ‘ ripple up to 3 degrees to acquire HL3 ‘ . Measure 3: Apply Extraction expression as follows: ( 8 ) If Otherwise Measure 4: Perform ‘Image Scrambling ‘ utilizing ‘Arnold Transform ‘ with ‘ KEY ‘ that we had used in implanting procedure to retrieve the Watermark. Figure: 2 Watermark Embedding Figure: 3 Watermark ExtractionScheme-2This spacial sphere, watermarking is traditional strategy of watermarking. Here water line is embedded by straight modifying pel values of screen image as given below. Watermark Embedding Measure 1. Read grey scale Cover Image and Watermark. Step2.Consider double star of pel values of Cover Image and do it ‘s n Least Significant Bits 0 e.g. For n=4, Binary of 143= & gt ; 10001111 and Making 4 LSB 0 = & gt ; 10000000= & gt ; 128 is denary equivalent. Measure: 3 Consider double star of pel values of Watermark and right displacement by K spots where k=8-n. For n=4, K will be 4. Binary of 36= & gt ; 100100 and after right displacement by 4: 000010= & gt ; 2 is denary equivalent Measure 4: Add consequence of measure 1 and step 2 to give watermarked image. E.g. Add 128+2= & gt ; 130. This gives pixel value of watermarked image= & gt ; 10000010 Figure: 4 Pixel of Cover image ( Original Image ) , Watermark, Watermarked Image and Extracted Watermark Watermark Extraction: Take pels of watermarked Image and left displacement by K spots where k=8-n. e.g. Left displacement by 4= & gt ; 00100000 = & gt ; 32. This gives pels of Extracted Watermark. The sample values of Pixel of Cover image, Watermark, Watermarked_Image and Extracted Watermark are shown in fig.4.EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTINGConsequences of Scheme- 1: The undertaking is implemented in Matlab and standard database images with 512Ãâ€"512 sizes as screen image and 64Ãâ€"64 size binary water line images are used for proving. The public presentation Evaluation is done by two public presentation rating prosodies: Perceptual transparence and Robustness. Perceptual transparence means sensed quality of image should non be destroyed by presence of water line. The quality of watermarked image is measured by PSNR. Bigger is PSNR, better is quality of watermarked image. PSNR for image with size M x N is given by: ( 9 ) Where, degree Fahrenheit ( one, J ) is pixel grey values of original image. degree Fahrenheit ‘ ( I, J ) is pixel grey values of watermarked image. MaxI is the maximal pixel value of image which is equal to 255 for grey graduated table image where pels are represented with 8 spots. Robustness is step of unsusceptibility of water line against efforts to take or destruct it by image alteration and use like compaction, filtering, rotary motion, grading, hit onslaughts, resizing, cropping etc. It is measured in footings of correlativity factor. The correlativity factor measures the similarity and difference between original ‘watermark and extracted water line. It ‘ value is by and large 0 to 1. Ideally it should be 1 but the value 0.75 is acceptable. Robustness is given by: ( 10 ) Where, N is figure of pels in water line, wi is original water line, Wisconsin ‘ is extracted water line. Fig 5 ( a ) Cover Image ( B ) Watermarked Image ( degree Celsius ) Recovered Watermark Here, we are acquiring PSNR 48.53 dubnium and =1, for burdening factor K1=0.02. The PSNR and for ‘standard database images ‘ with coeresponding trial image and recovered water lines are shown in Table 1. The grey scale ‘lena ‘ image is tested for assorted onslaughts given in Table 2. Here, we are acquiring within scope of 0.90-0.95 for assorted onslaughts. This shows that ‘watermark recovery ‘ is satisfactory under different onslaughts. Table 1: Experimental consequences for standard database images with size 512Ãâ€"512 Table 2: Experimental consequences for assorted onslaughts with K1=0.07, ‘Lena ‘ image, size 512Ãâ€"512 Consequences of Scheme- 2: This algorithm has simple execution logic. We have tested with PSNR less than 23 for different onslaughts as shown in figure 6. Figure: 6: Experimental consequences with PSNR for Noise Attacks with assorted strengths.CONCLUSION.First strategy presented here is a new strongly robust ‘Digital Image Watermarking ‘ with increased security degrees and bring forthing exact recovery of original water line for standard image database, giving correlativity factor peers to 1 and PSNR up to 48.53 dubnium. Experimental consequences have demonstrated that, this technique is really effectual back uping more security. As per ISO ‘s norms, the still Image Compression criterion JPEG2000 has replaced Discrete Cosine Transform by Discrete Wavelet Transform. This is the ground why more research workers are concentrating on DWT, which we have used for execution. The presented ‘Digital Image Watermarking ‘ methodological analysis can be extended for ‘color images and pictures ‘ for hallmark and right of first publication protection. Hence we are strongly urging our DWT based strategy which is presented here.RecognitionWe are grateful to BCUD, Un iversity of Pune for supplying ‘Research Grant ‘ for the undertaking â€Å" Transformed based strongly Robust Digital Image Watermarking † in academic twelvemonth 2010-2011.

Business inteligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business inteligence - Essay Example The main issues covered by each of these websites include, education, investment opportunities, visitations and tours, live work and an events study. Additionally, the company runs a number of other websites on the very categories but in different other languages among which are Arabic, French, and Spanish. This is due to the fact that the target market for Cardiff is international and hence there is need to customize the websites to suit the target markets. In order to ensure that the websites are of value to the clients, some of the categories considered include: Education Education is a two-pronged economical scope. The Cardiff city hopes to become an academic center within the region. To achieve this, the envisioned city must work strategies capable of beating other modern day academic centers such as Liverpool and London. The city must therefore have schools running and education centers from kindergarten to the university. Theses academic institutions will need accreditation by government authorities to check that they meet the standards of quality (Bogomolova, 2011). The validity of the courses offered Cardiff city must be ascertained. Hence, it will be critical to have an independent body to ensure that the high quality academic standards are maintained and that educational standards are not compromised in any way. The website runs the opportunities that the education sector presents to potential investors. The most common investment opportunity in the academic sector is the setting up and management of private academic institutions. To this, the website target of the currently existing universities, such as Oxford and Liverpool among others, is to invest in the establishment of new campuses within the city. The website offers basic contact information on how interested parties conduct the transactions of obtaining land and other resources necessary for such developments. The company welcomes both local and foreign investors, thus the translation into d ifferent other languages. Additionally, the website targets potential students. The education sector primarily depends on the availability of students. Attracting students in the region becomes difficult since children school in regions habited by their parents. The company thus runs a number of other websites advertising other diverse investment opportunities with an aim of attracting as much residents into the city. This way, the basic level academic institutions are certain of pupils (Jiaming, 2008). Tertiary and university level are not much perturbed by the locality of parents. This is thus a level opportunity and depends on the advertisement potential of the company and the reputation of the subsequent universities that will eventually set up in the region. To ensure that the students of higher learning institutions are comfortable, the websites advertise the various recreational facilities that are available. These include parks, night clubs and other outdoor activities. On t op of this, related websites showcase the opportunities available for part time work to suit students who need to make extra income. It is vital to note that the city targets established academic institutions due to their credibility. Most international students recognize institutions that are globally known hence it would be easy to attract them to Cardiff

Corporate Code of Conduct Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Corporate Code of Conduct - Essay Example The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), commonly known as HP, is one of the world's largest information technology corporations and is worldwide known for its printers and personal computers. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States, it has a global presence in the fields of computing, printing, and digital imaging, and also provides software and services. Hewlett Packard has reached the US$91.7 billion mark in annual revenue just this 2006. Hewlett Packard is now facing off and accelerating its business weapons to topple the higher ranked competitor called with IBM in order to be acknowledged as one of the best in the realm of world's largest technology vendor in terms of sales. Hewlett Packard has finally, after many years of painstaking hard work, has been recognized as the No. 1 ranked in terms of worldwide personal computer shipments from its arch rival Dell. Environment. Hewlett Packard has been implementing the best practices in its environment. The company is doing this environmental Code of Conduct by addressing its environmental footprint through by its increased introduction of computer recycling programs and partnerships. The company has good disclosure reporting standard and it produces an environmental report in compliance with the Global Reporting Initiative, a global framework for reporting. Hewlett Packard has a robust Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) management system which is patterned on recognized international models like the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. The company has strong performance, as evidenced by the continuously increasing energy efficiency of HP laptops. HP voluntarily participates in beyond-compliance programs including the Energy Star and the PFC Emissions Reduction Partnership. Hewlett Packard has been named as a potentially responsible partner in 15 Superfund remediation sites. Workplace. Hewlett Packard implements the best practices in its company workplace area. The company is energetically imposing many relevant policies and programs in diversity, labor relations and safety, It has put into actuality its workplace safety program that which also includes ergonomics and job-specific training. Like it competing computer companies, Hewlett Packard is working to reduce and even eliminate work conditions throughout the company's supply chain. Hewlett Packard is expecting its suppliers to have a spotless record in terms labor practices and occupational health and safety. Hewlett Packard has launched the Supply Chain Social and Environmental Responsibility Program to address in order to comply with this issue. Hewlett Packard's diversity programs includes many affinity groups, outreach efforts and domestic partner benefits. Aside from offering a comprehensive workplace safety program, Hewlett Packard's risk-reduction activities includes personal communication an d follow-up with employees. Hewlett Packard's human rights and labor policy includes supporting international human rights and recognition of the rights of employees to organize into labor unions if they choose to do so. As of the present and it is expected to continue, there is no incidence of labor unrest, safety violations, or discrimination of employees and other affected persons. Hewlett Packard has currently incorporated computer programs so that its products are designed to allow full access by more persons

The opportunities for YSL to expand into the youth market Dissertation

The opportunities for YSL to expand into the youth market - Dissertation Example This essay discusses that luxury fashion now plays a significant role in society and the economy, the revenue has raised every year no matter in western or eastern countries. More and more people are willing to put their budget on buying luxury goods even for their children. Globalization has made luxury fashion consumers have more choices to purchase, based on this circumstance; luxury brands need to create their brand strategy, unique selling proposition or market extension to face competitors. YSL is a French luxury brand with high reputation in the field of fashion industry, although its legendary concept has been deeply rooted in people for a long time, however, with the changes of time, it is a fact that YSL does not make a significant profit than in the past. How could YSL restore its splendid time and create its niche are the purposes of the dissertation. Many cases have shown that there is an increasing number of brands to launch second line to expand young market, it is bel ieved that younger consumers are lucrative consumers, in addition, teenagers are more and more considered as potential luxury consumers and are therefore the focus of some firm’s marketing investments in an attempt to construct a solid and loyal consumer base. It is undeniable that today’s young consumers are tomorrow’s adult consumers, with more purchasing power; therefore, having them as loyal customers early will result in a loyal adult consumer base. Based on this trend, it could be an opportunity for YSL to launch a secondary lines in order to attract youth market. Luxury fashion industry commonly manipulates advertisement which "feature products, models, celebrities and society personalities in advertising to reflect the brand essence and message" to communicate with their consumers (Okonkwo, 2007). Advertising is regarded as an important instrument which facilitates the decision making of the young customers, if they are going to buy the products offered by YSL. Different claims had already been regarded about the influence and impact of advertisement to a specific target market. While it has been associated to other determinants, the impact of advertising with the perspective of aesthetics and beauty, specifically for women have became renowned in the global market. In this regard, this part aims on discussing the importance of advertising specifically to attract the attention of the young customers for YSL. In a common aspect, advertising has been used to impart to the target customers of a specific brand or product and how it can be accessed and purchase. In addition, it also provides crucial data and information, specifically the characteristics and features of the customers. When an efficient advertising is attained efficiently, this can result to an enhanced demand of the brand. The main goal and purpose of visual analysis is to attract young generation by using the aspect of advertising. Contents Essay 1 Context issue: critic al evaluation of the relationship

Public health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

Public health - Essay Example Most importantly, they are tech savvy and greatly aware of their health and fitness. The Medicare is not able to handle the increased cost and therefore, they represent huge potential for marketers within the healthcare industry and healthcare service providers. Baby boomers have longer life expectancy which offers opportunities for health sector. They are looking for ways and means to incorporate their needs and requirements. Around 60% of the people above the age of 60 years are inflicted with atleast one chronic disease which rises with age. The health industry is anxious to exploit the opportunity to evolve new products for long term care, annuities, healthcare savings etc. to facilitate good health in their old age. Healthcare cooperatives and luxury retirement homes have increasing become popular amongst the boomers. Most importantly, boomers are active and empowered and therefore expect products that are not only useful but also have quality that would help them to maintain quality of life. Thus, they offer not only challenges but also huge opportunities for healthcare

Response Journal 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response Journal 4 - Essay Example Several bigger high-tech companies were noted to be actively searching for EEs such as Intel Labs Europe, ARM Holdings, and other companies in Belgium like Agfa-Gevaert Belgium, Alcatel-Lucent, Belgacom, Cisco Systems, and Nuance Communications International are looking for very specialized skills (Schnederman 1). The shortage in engineers was identified to be the result of an ageing workforce and the limited number of students pursuing the degree. The report provided optimistic information that could encourage more students to go into the engineering field, especially to develop specialized skills in areas where high demand has been projected. It identified potentially high growth opportunities for engineers in the field of space research and new technologies (solar energy), among others. The most relevant aspect deemed necessary to entice more students to pursue this endeavor is to make compensation and benefits highly competitive to other professions within the area. But like any other profession, more than the compensation, other factors need to be considered to make the career more attractive and encouraging.

A Comparative Analysis of Research Methodologies Essay

A Comparative Analysis of Research Methodologies - Essay Example Two papers delving into learning foreign languages require a closer evaluation of research methodologies employed by the authors, to wit:   Jonathan Culpeper, Robert Crawshaw and Julia Harrison   (2008) on Activity types and discourse types: mediating advice in interactions between foreign language assistants and their supervisors in schools in France and England published in Multilingua; and Pamela Rogerson-Revell’s (2007) Using English for International Business: A European Case Study, published in English for Specific Purposes.   The study conducted by Rogerson-Revell (2007) aimed to determine the nature and role of English for International Business (EIB) with the goal of furthering measures to improve communication in international events and to use the findings in the development of effective and appropriate training materials facilitating EIB (Rogerson-Revell, 2007, p. 109). On the other hand, Culpeper, et.al.’s research was designed to address four specific objectives focusing on developing ones â€Å"understanding of interactions between French/English Foreign Language Assistants (FLAs) and their school mentors (MEs), and, more specifically, of how ‘advice’ is sought, given and received† (Culpeper, et.al, 2008, p. 297). Thereby, the Rogerson-Revel research clearly identified a concise goal while Culpeper et.al. have four-fold objectives that need to be addressed. Rogerson-Revell (2007) used the questionnaire method specifically designed to solicit both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative information focused on the use of EIB, the first language used by participants, and other languages spoken. On the other hand, qualitative data were gathered using open-ended questions on the perceptions and views of participants regarding the use of English in various international and professional meetings. Culpeper, et.al.(2008) likewise solicited both qualitative and quantitative information through audio-recorded and transcribed  information in case studies which became the basis for gathering the quantitative data needed for the study.

Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Learning Essay Example for Free

Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Learning Essay Unit 4 Theories and principles for planning and enabling learning Introduction There are four main schools of thought around the concept of teaching and learning. This assignment aims to discuss what those schools are, how each of them are relevant to a teaching approach and how some of those theories relate to my own working practice. Identify and discuss the significance of relevant theories and principles of learning and communication The four schools which impact on learning are Behaviourist The premise behind this theory is that learning occurs because of an external stimulus. The teacher will impact on learning significantly and therefore learning will be a passive process. Skinner (1904 – 1990) used a ‘skinner box’ to show that animals would repeat an action when rewarded either through positive or negative reinforcement. In the learning environment examples of this theory are when a learner is successful they may gain a certificate, verbal praise, longer break (positive reinforcement) or achieving a high grade allowing them to miss out additional pieces of coursework. (negative reinforcement) E. L Thorndike (1874 – 1949) played a crucial role in determining key laws to learning from a behaviourist perspective. He argued that learning was a gradual process and certain conditions would encourage learning. These were: a) The law of effect – learners are more likely to continue with a behaviour /learning if there is some sort of reward. Most commonly in the learning environment, a teacher will give verbal praise for success and positive efforts. b) The law of recency – the most recent learning is most likely to be remembered and where a task has been completed and rewarded soon after will have most impact on a learner. A good example is in DTLLS, assignments and journals are read and feedback given very soon after it has been submitted. It helps learners to know that they have been successful and achieved. c) The law of exercise – The more a task is completed the quicker it is achieved. Within those 3 domains there are 6 levels of learning development. Starting from the bottom, with the easiest level, to the top, which is the most complex level of learning and achieving a form of ‘mastery in a subject’. When looking at Blooms 3 dimensional pyramid, I would argue that the behaviourist schools of thought would only promote lower level learning purely because there is no encouragement to think outside of the box and have free reign to test out hypotheses and ideas. Bloom taxonomy of learning has played a significant part in planning and enabling learning. The application of his theory helps teachers take an inclusive approach by being able to differentiate tasks to suit the learners’ abilities at that current time. It also means that whilst different levels of tasks are being set, all learners can grow at their own rate and feel fully valued in the process. We might be setting different learning goals with learners based on their current level of learning but with a view to helping them to grow towards the next level of learning in Blooms model. Therefore, Teachers should be focused on promoting a growth from surface learning or learning without understanding (Petty, G. Pg 11. 2004) to deep understanding where the learner is able to critically evaluate and dissect their own ideas and findings from their learning. Gestalt theory is another important piece of theory that sits under the cognitivism framework. In particular the work of Max Wertheimer (1922) shaped the theory in learning. Gestalt means â€Å"whole† or â€Å"shape or pattern† (www. learningandteaching. info/). In contrast to Thorndikes earlier concept that learning requires no insight, the Gestalt angle emphasises the importance of insight in learning. According to J. Atherton ‘it concentrates on the way in which the mind insists on finding patterns in things, and how this contributes to learning, especially the development of â€Å"insight†. ’ (www. learningandteaching. info/) According to gestalt theory, the brain will eventually see a pattern in what a learner is studying and make sense of it before the learner fully understands what it is they really understand the concept in a stage by stage process Once they have the ‘knack’, that learning becomes permanent. Within the learning environment, when many learners are trying to learn new skills, they can experience frustration and anxiety. It is the job of the teacher to keep motivating and encouraging them to continue until they get the knack. Such an example might be a learner driver learning to pull off without stalling. It’s useful to consider the Gestalt approach when planning lessons because if the teacher has a structured and repeated method of doing things, the learners will recognise the pattern and find it easier to complete exercises and learn from those exercises. Constructivism in learning Constructivism sits under the umbrella of cognitivism.

Role Of Quantity Surveying Profession Construction Essay

Role Of Quantity Surveying Profession Construction Essay According to Williss Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.1), the role of the quantity surveying has been defined by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS, 1971) as ensuring that the resources of the construction industry are utilised to the best advantage of society by providing, inter alia, the financial management for projects and a cost consultancy service to the client and designer during the whole construction process. However, the roles of the quantity surveying profession within the contemporary built environment will be discussed as follows: Preliminary cost advice One of the quantity surveyor roles is to ensure that the proposed project is carefully constructed, in terms of costs arising throughout entire design and construction process (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.121). Quantity surveyor also acts to suggest his professional and reliable advices to his client on matter of cost at various stages during the design and construction process. The advices given during inception stage are vital important as the decisions taken in this stage will seriously affect the quality of works to be carried out (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.122). Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.121) stated that the quantity surveyor will offer cost advice for the comparative design solutions of the alternatives materials to be used or the form of construction to be adopted. Quantity surveyor is the recognized professional cost and value consultant, their measurement and valuation knowledge are without equal (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.123). Cost planning According to Williss Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor, Ashworth Hogg (2007, p.126) stated that the cost planning process commences with the preparation of an approximate estimate and then the setting of cost targets for each element. As the design evolves, these cost targets are checked against the developing design and details for any changes in their financial allocations. Quantity surveying profession under this aspect will require the quantity surveyor to allocate the approximate estimated costs into subdivisions, known as elements within a building. Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.122) stated that These elements costs can be compared against the element costs of other similar projects from the quantity surveyors cost library records. The purpose is to provide a better value of money for client. It also keeps the designer fully informed of all the cost implications of the design. Quantity surveyor might also try to reduce the estimated costs by simplifying the details without modifying the design. Besides, contract document will also be prepared on this basic to make the preparation of cost analysis easier. Cost planning will be developed and while taking account of appearance, quality and utility, the cost is planned to be within the economic boundary (Willis, Ashworth Willis, 1994, p.95) Procurement and tendering procedures It is important that quantity surveying profession to be applied during this stage. As stated by Ashworth and Hogg (2007, pp.237-238), role of quantity surveying profession in this aspect will include as follows: Recommending an organizational structure for the proposed development of a project (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Advising on the appointment of the various consultants and contractors in the knowledge of the information provided by the employer (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Managing the information and coordinating the work of the different parties (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Selecting the methods for the appointment of consultants and contractors (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Determining the employers requirement in terms of time, cost and quality (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Assessing the viability of the project and providing advice in respect of funding and taxation advantages (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Quantity surveyor plays a crucial role to provide appropriate advices on the method of procurement to be used for clients who wish to undertake construction work (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.237). There are various procurement methods to deal with the different demand and various situation, client should not select an inappropriate form of procurement unwittingly (Ashworth Hogg, 2007). Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.237) stated that Quantity surveyors are in an excellent position as procurement managers with their specialist knowledge of constructions and contractual procedures. They are able to appraise the characteristic of the competing methods that might be appropriate and to match these with the particular needs and aspirations of the employer. Hence, clients are advised to seek for quantity surveyor for relevant and reliable advices or recommendation before making their final decisions. Due to this, advices and recommendation provided by quantity surveyor must be independently without the intrusion of individual bias and self-interest (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.237). Contract documentation Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.243) stated that When the choice of form of contract has been decided, the next step is the preparation of the documents that will accompany the signed form of contract. The contract documents for any construction will normally include the following information: Contract drawings It includes plans, elevations and cross section. Some other additional details will also be prepared based on the complexity of the project. This will provide information for the client to get the idea of architects or engineers design intentions. The contract drawings are normally provided by architect and engineer (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, pp.243-244). However, the role of quantity surveyor is to collect the drawings and any specifications from the architect and at the same time discuss the job. There is however some more detailed questions will arise, therefore a timetable for the completion of the contract bills will be agreed, along with dates when additional detailed information and drawings can be expected (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.259) Contract bills Quantity surveyor will involve in preparation of contract bills. Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.258) stated that The appointment of the quantity surveyor is likely to have been made at early stage when early price estimates were under consideration. This may be before any drawings are available, in order to provide some cost advice to the client. Due to this, quantity surveyor will normally be needed except for on a very small project, the demand for the profession of quantity surveyor might only to be eliminated (Ashworth and Hogg, 2007, p.258). Besides, there is a condition for contractor who wishes to submit tenders in competition to provide approximate quantities required for particular works. Therefore, quantity surveying firms are then sometimes involved in preparing approximate quantities depending upon the completeness of the drawings and other information from which it was prepared contractors (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.258). Articles of agreement Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.246) stated that This is the part of the contract which the parties sign. The contract is between the employer (building owner) and the contractor (building contractor). The blank spaces in the articles are filled in with the (i) names of employer, contractor, architect and quantity surveyor; (ii) date of the signing of the contract; (iii) location and nature of the work; (iv) list of the contract drawings; (v) amount of the contract sum. Condition of contract The condition of contract includes the contractors obligation to carry out the work shown on the drawings and described in the bills to the satisfaction of the architect. They cover the matter of quality of work, cost time, nominated supplies and subcontractors insurances, fluctuation and VAT. (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.246) Appendix Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.246) stated that The Contract Particulars for the Conditions of Contract include that part of the contract which is peculiar to the particular project in question. It includes key information, for example, on the start and completion dates, the periods of interim payment and the length of the rectification period for which the contractor is responsible. Evaluation of tenders Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.274) stated that In public authorities, tenders will probably be addressed to the secretary or principal chief officer. With private clients they are usually forwarded to the architect or the quantity surveyor. On the due date for receipt of tenders, the envelopes received will be counted to check that they have all been received, prior to being openend. Quantity surveyor will then prepare a list of the tendered amounts after the envelopes are opened. Preliminary examination will be made after that to ascertain which tenders will be taken into consideration for acceptance. A fuller report will be made later by the quantity surveyor (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.274). Besides, according to Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.274), the architect will rely extensively on quantity surveyor for advice on these matters. A report will be made for the client, setting out clearly the arguments in favour of acceptance of one tender or another. Quantity surveyor will have to check and examine for the copy of the priced bills submitted by those tenderer who is under consideration (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.275). Financial reporting and interim payments, cash-flow forecasting According to Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.286) JCT 2005 makes clear duty of the clients quantity surveyor in this respect (clause 4.11): Interim valuations shall be made by the quantity surveyor whenever the architect or contract administrator considers them necessary for the purpose of ascertaining the amount to be started as due in Interim Certificate. Ashworth and Hogg (2007) stated that Most construction projects encountered by the surveyor will have contractual provision for the payment of the contractor for work done, at regular intervals during the contract period. Between the date of the first interim certificate and the practical completion certificate, interim certificates have to be issued by quantity surveyor at a certain intervals stated in the contract particulars. It is the responsibility of quantity surveyor to calculate the amount for the interim payments during each interval (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, pp.286-287). A professional quantity surveyor should always aware that there are conditions for employer to prevent the employer getting penalties and punishments and quantity surveyor should always provide his or her appropriate advices where necessary (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.288). Besides, clients generally desire the final cost of a project to be no more than contract sum. Due to this, it is the role of clients quantity surveyor to try to manage the costs by monitoring the design and site development and provide his professional advices of the likely impacts and remedies (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.302). It is also necessary for quantity surveyor to review all the correspondence and meeting issued on the project in order to identify the potential cost implications. Monthly financial reports will normally be required to advise the client of the anticipated outturn costs (Ashworth Hogg, 2007). Cash-flow forecasts report will be prepared in association with the contractor since it will be greatly influenced by the intended programme of works. Cash-flow forecasts are used as a basis upon which to arrange project finance and monitoring the progress of works (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.305). Final accounting Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.310) stated that The majority of construction projects result in a final cost that is different to that agreed by the client and contractor at commencement of the construction works. The calculation and agreement of this final construction cost, the final account, is usually of the utmost important to both the employer and contractor. Therefore, parties to the contract need to ensure that the final account incorporates a fair valuation of the works carried out. In this aspect, the quantity surveyor will decide on the suitable subdivisions into terms that will be adopted into the account prior to any abstracting or bill remeasurements. As the list of variations develops, quantity surveyor will be able to decide on how to group them. For example, there may be one instruction from the architect for increasing the size of storage tanks, another for the omission of a drinking water point and a third for the addition of three lavatory basins. Each of these will b e measured as a separate item, but the quantity surveyor might decide to group these together as variations on plumbing. It is preferably to highlight the reason for variation in cost report to acknowledge the client on reasons of the costs changed. (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, pp.315-316) Settlement of contractual disputes Quantity surveyors involved themselves in contractual disputes either in litigation in the courts, in arbitration or in alternative dispute resolution cases (ADR) cases. They sometimes involve themselves as witness of fact or expert witness, adjudicators, arbitrators or mediators in ADR cases (Ashworth Hogg, 2007, p.353) Project management Financial expertise of quantity surveyors make them ideally suited to project management services. According to Ashworth and Hogg (2007, p.376), project management provides the important management function of bringing the project team together and may be defined as The overall planning, coordination and control of a project from inception to completion, aimed at meeting a clients requirements in order to produce a functionally viable project that will be completed on time within authorized cost and to the required quality standards. (CIOB 2002) Quantity surveyor sometimes take overall control and responsibility of for coordinating the activities of the various contractors, subcontractors, processes and procedures for the full duration of the project (Ashworth Hogg, 2007) Ashworth and Hogg (2007) stated that The skills of the quantity surveyor traditionally included measurement and valuation and to these were later added accounting and negotiation. As the profession evolved, quantity surveying profession were extended to forecasting, analyzing, planning, controlling, evaluating, budgeting, problem solving and modeling. The quantity surveyor knowledge has also been developed by a better understanding of the design and construction process (Ashworth Hogg, 2007).

Social construction of male and female identities

Social construction of male and female identities To understand gender analysis in a historic context, it will be important to start off by defining what gender is and gender analysis. Gender refers to the social construction of male and female identities. It is more than the biological make up of the two sexes. It deals with how the differences between men and women, whether real or imagined, are valued, used and relied upon to classify men and women and to assign them roles and expectations. The effect of this categorization is that the lives and experiences of men and women occur within complex sets of differing social and cultural expectations. Gender analysis therefore examines the differences in mens and womens lives and applies this understanding to policy development and service delivery (Zastrow Kirst-Ashman 2009). In history, the current understanding of gender as a category of historical analysis can be traced to the late twentieth -century feminist political mobilization that occurred in Europe and the United States which led to the development of the field of womens history both as a product and practice. Many of the early women historians in many cases employed the category women when talking about womens roles, perceptions of women or myths about women as opposed to the analytical language of gender as we know it today (Parker Aggleton 1998). Most of these embraced the concept of gender closely akin to Gayle Rubins classic early formulation that stated that in every society, there is a set of arrangements by which the biological human sex and procreation is shaped by human, social intervention which is actually gender (Shepard Walker 2009). The work of the feminists was primarily to expose those gender systems and redress their injustices to women. In this context therefore the work of the womens historians was to discover and bring into the public domain such patterns in the past, to return women and their activities to the historical record and to bring out ways in which women in the past tried to resist sexual oppression in the societies within which they lived. Despite the fact that distinction between sex and gender remained common in feminist history, its framework had many critics especially among theorists who questioned if physical bodies were not in a way socially constructed and whether they ever existed apart from culturally fashioned meanings about them (Shepard Walker 2009). Early women historians equated gender with sex. This meant that the physical body is what they used to classify gender. This was the bone of contention with other scholars who rightly asserted that it would be simplistic to equate gender with sex. However, since the field of womens history originated in social history, and so because the early womens history did not seriously interrogate bodies as a historic subject, most of the early women historian did not confront the dilemma of the sex/gender distinction which continued to inform the assumptions of their work (Shepard Walker 2009). Theorizing about gender increased from the 1970s through the 1980s among women historians but their emphasis was more on the relation of gender to other categories, more so class and patriarchy but not on so much on the gender itself. According to Shepard Walker (2009) efforts of this sort continued in many ways to conceptual gender, class and other social processes as distinct which made it difficult to capture the complexity and particularity of their unified processes in a specific historical circumstance. In absence pf a standard definition of what constituted gender, historians continued to write about gender from the Western cultural view of what constitutes gender. However by 1980s other issues had come up that challenged this position calling for a more inclusive approach. An analysis of gender and history has also focused on the position of the woman during colonialism in Africa and elsewhere. The woman was seen first as a daughter, then as a woman and finally as a prostitute. Any woman who stayed alone was seen as a prostitute. Women were seen as safe when within the confines of their home in the countryside. Those in towns were stereotyped as being of loose morals and rebels. Although the fuller investigation of these points would follow in the studies of gender and colonialism of the 1990s, scholars of race and slavery in the Americas and Europe were zealous in pointing out that the bodies of colored women had been socially constructed to meet the interests of Europeans since the first colonial contacts. Still in the 1980s the field of womens history was thriving. By this time it supported influential journals in Europe and in the United States. Works in womens history were beginning to appear on the lists of major publishers and also in prominent general historical journals. It was however not all rosy. Critics within the profession questioned the legitimacy of the field of women history and its practitioners. Women history was described as narrow, over-specialized and immaterial to the truly important matter of history (Downs 2004). Womens historians were accused of trying to fashion their own life frustrations into a respected field. A more unifying concept of gender free of activism might as a matter of fact provide legitimacy for the field and its practitioners (Shepard Walker 2009). If gender could be argued out as a key field of experience for both all persons, then gender is a subject of universal relevance. Joan Scottss (1986) article titled Gender: A Useful Concept of Historical Analysis, which appeared on the American Historical Review, December 1986 issue, was written in this political context. This was a no mean achievement for a prestigious conservative journal. Scott noted that the proliferation of case studies in womens history called for some synthesizing perspective and the discrepancy between the high quality of the work then in womens history and the continued marginal status of the field as a whole pointed up the limits of descriptive approaches that do not address dominant disciplinary concepts in terms that can shake their power and transform them. The articles purpose was to examine the implications of feminists growing tendency to use gender as a way of referring to the social organization between the sexes and to offer a useable theoretical f ormulation of gender as a category of historical analysis. Scott found the feminist theorizing of the 1960s and 1970s limited because they tended to contain reductive or simple generalizations that undercut both historys disciplinary sense of the complexity of social causation and feminist commitments to analysis that would lead to change (Scott 1986). According to Scott, historically gender has been used as a primary way of signifying relations of power (Scott1999). The power in question is the power of domination and subordination; differential control over or access to material and symbolic resources. Emphasis is laid on the difference as a characteristic of power derived from the oppositional binarity of gender, but it also defined and limited the concept of gender which having been defined could not operate other than as a vehicle for this power. Women in most societies have been dominated by men. However this proposition is challenged by a number of non western scholars who argue that not all societies organized on the basis of gender as implied in the work of most Western historians. Oyeronke Oyeyumi (2005), an African Historian from Nigeria is one of them. Oyeyumi argues that Western work on gender has been and continues to be preoccupied with the oppositionally sexed body, which in inhabit the category gender and invests it with a rigid corporeal determinism. This she argues is not universal but specific to the western cultures and history. If gender is socially constructed, then it cannot behave in the same way across time and space. Therefore if gender is a social construction there must be a specific time in each culture when it began and therefore the time before this beginning it never did exist. Thus gender as a social construction is also a historical and cultural phenomenon which may presumably have not existed in some societies. In a similar view, Ifi Amadiume (1987) criticized the use of Western gender concept as a category for analyzing Africa history of gender. She argues that the ethnocentricity of gender of early feminist anthropology does not have a bearing on African societies. To these groups she argues the social and cultural inferiority of women was not questionable. In her work among the Igbo culture in eastern Nigeria, Amadiume did identify a gender system through which numerous mythical, social and culture distinctions were articulated according to a binary of masculine and feminine. But she also did establish that in this binary the attributes associated with females did not necessarily lead to economic or political subordination of the social group women and that the social institutions, especially those of male daughters and female husbands permitted individual females to enjoy those privileges of social positions gendered masculine. In the United States, intervening decades have given birth to a rich and expanding scholarship on the history of colored women. The colored slave woman owed his master and the men his master had selected for her sexual favors and reproductive services on top of the labor (Gerald, N.G., Billias, G.A 1991). The work written on the colored woman history is however minimal compared to what have been written on white women. Furthermore much of the work done on colored women still subordinates them within the history of white women. What that means is that American historians, until very recently, have showed little interest in identifying differences between West African and colonial Euro-American ideas of the social and cultural relations of the male and the female or giving interpretive authority to evidence of differences between African American and Euro-American communities over time in the United States. Of greater importance is the construction of colored women as negative markers of a Western concept of gender and the pressure borne on colored women to conform to those to that concept. To greater extent this centers the story on Western concept, not on African American women or on the understandings of gender that may have characterized their communities (Collins 1989). To illustrate further the problems in the use of gender as a category in historic analysis, North America can be studied. The early republic provides vital information because that is where U.S womens history began classics like Carroll Smith Rosenbergs Beauty, the Beast and the Militant Woman, Kathryn Kish Sklars Catharine Beecher and Nancy Cotts The Bonds of Womanhood (Cott 1997).These works sought to understand the origins of the late twentieth century trope of gender in the nineteenth-century. This was not unusual because like other historians, these women historians studied subjects in the past that were of continued relevance to their day. They focused on the social and intellectual life in the early American Republic that resonated in the female struggle. This majored on familial, political, legal, and economic subordination of women as a group by men as a group. The works continued to organize the field as it developed with works such as Women of the Republic by Linda Kerber, Daughters of Liberty by Mary Beth Norton and Good wives by Laurel Ulrich. The wives in the seventeenth and eighteenth century played a greater role in the management of the family resources. It was taken as the duty of a wife to defend and take care of the husbands investments. Wives were supposed to be aggressive in this. However during the nineteenth century, the womans role in the management of the husbands wealth diminished significantly (Cott 1997). Another milestone in the study of gender analysis is the entry of women into public jobs in the 20th century (Scharpf Schmidt 2000). This brought profound change to the woman. She got financial independence and her dependence on the man diminished. This entry into the job market went hand in hand with increased education attainment, increased civil rights like the right to vote and increased participation in the political process. These were great milestones for women that changed completely the relationship with the man. With it too came increased divorce rates, and choosing not to get married. When gender is treated as a question of analysis, it encourages the researcher to regard the sources of information more critically and more creatively. To some extent it is true that historians have been able to establish gender as a category of historic analysis. This is because the circumstances human beings operate in have expectations of behavior and conduct based on ones sexuality. These are either classified as masculinity or feminine. A man is expected to act and behave in a masculine way while the woman is supposed to portray a feminine behavior. These expectations have over the course of history shaped the relationship between the males and the females. Not only that but also within a sex, treatment is different. In America for example, An African American woman, a white woman and a native Indian woman were all treated differently.

Functional Irrationality Essay -- Psychology Psychological Essays

Functional Irrationality (1) I. Introduction The view that some forms of irrationality may serve a useful purpose is being increasingly entertained, despite the disquiet it elicits. The reason for the disquiet isn't difficult to discern, for if the view were made good it might threaten the unqualified normative primacy that rationality enjoys in the evaluation of thoughts, beliefs, intentions, decisions and actions. In terms of the predominant "rational explanation" model, reasons both generate and justify actions, and carrying out the dictates of reason is held up as an ideal. If it can be shown that under some circumstances or for certain types of action irrational elements or procedures would produce "all things considered" better results, this would put these deliberative "ideals" in question. Nozick (1993), going deeper, advances the view that we accord rationality intrinsic value (over and above its instrumental value), because deciding and believing in a way that is responsive to "the net balance of reasons" has come to form an important part of human identity. We value a person's believing and deciding rationally in a way that is responsive to the net balance of reasons, and we think that is good and admirable in itself, perhaps because so deciding and believing uses our high and intricate capacities and expresses them, or perhaps because that embodies an admirable and principled integrity in guiding beliefs and actions by reasons, not by the whims or desires of the moment. (Nozick 1993: 136) In this paper I want to explore whether such entrenched assumptions and intuitions preempt a coherent account of functional irrationality, or whether, despite the presumption against it, it can be defended within th... ...McLaughlin (eds) Actions and Events. Perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson. Dunn, Robert. 1995. "Motivated Irrationality and Divided Attention", Australasian Journal of Philosophy 73,3: 325-335. Elster, Jon. 1989. Solomonic Judgements. Studies in the Limitations of Rationality. Cambridge: CUP. Johnston, Mark. 1995. "Self Deception and the Nature of the Mind", in C. MacDonald and G. MacDonald (eds) Philosophy of Psychology. Debates on Psychological Explanation: 433-460. Basil Blackwell. Nozick, Robert. 1993. The Nature of Rationality. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Rawls, John. 1993. Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press. Rorty, Amà ©lie. 1980. "Where Does the Akratic Break Take Place". Australasian Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 58, No. 94: 333-346. in Action. Essays in the Philosophy of Mind. Boston: Beacon Press.

Noras Symbolism in Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House Essay -- Dolls Hous

Nora's Symbolism in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House      Ã‚  Ã‚   In every society power is the bringer of fortune and influence. In his play A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen portrays, through the character of Nora, the power women are gaining in patriarchal societies. Nora, who symbolizes all women, exercises her power throughout the entire play. She cleverly manipulates the men around her while, to them, she seems to be staying in her subordinate role. In all three acts of the play Nora controls many situations and yields the most power.   Act I, along with the introduction of Ibsen's tone and style, brought the introduction of power. It seems that since the Helmer household is symbolizing patriarchal European society that male characters should bare the most power. However, this is not true. Nora, a woman, yields a great deal of the power over the men in the play. In act I it becomes obvious that Nora has forged documents for a loan in order to save her husband, Torvald's, life. This deed in itself shows that she has power to   be manipulative and deceitful. But also in act I Nora uses one of her most powerful weapons, influence over Torvald, to threaten Krogstad. Krogstad is a malicious character who puts the Helmers' reputation in jeopardy by threatening to reveal Nora's illegal actions. Nora, on the other hand, will not stand for this type of slander and says to Krogstad, "Nora:   Sometimes one has a tiny bit of influence, I should hope. Because one is a woman, it does not necessarily follow that--. When anyone is in a subordinate position, Mr. Krogstad, they should really be careful to avoid someone who-- who-- Krogstad:   Has power? Nora:   Exactly." (21) Nora uses an understatement by making i... ...r over many years (or acts), until they have enough power to "shut the door" on the patriarch. The entire course of the play takes place in the Helmer household, which represents the patriarch, until the last scene where Nora leaves the house to show the beginning of women-powered societies. Nora's power-yielding role in Ibsen's play further proves that women were and still are gaining power in male run societies.    Works Cited: Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House (1879). Trans. Rolf Fjelde. Rpt. in Michael Meyer, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th edition. Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612. Shaw, Bernard. "A Doll's House Again."   Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.   Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1979. Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen." PMLA (January 1989): 28-40.

Language and Identity Essay

This paper is explaining and assessing the relationships between language and Identity. As the topic is too large to discuss, the paper will be focusing on the language and identity of teenagers. By looking at their characteristics, we will discuss how they build up a kind of identity in different social group by means of language. The paper will also include the argument on how people view the relationships between language and identity. Defining Identity According to The Free Dictionary by Farlex, identity is the state of having unique identifying characteristics held by no other person or thing. It is the individual characteristics by which a person or thing is recognized. For my own definition of identity, it is one’s conception and expression of themselves in groups, family, society. Identification is one of the related concepts of identity, which can help explaining what identity is. In sociological aspect, identification means one’s interests and values are accepted in a social group. The acceptance offered by the social group help building up one’s own identity. Subjectivity is another relating concept of identity. It means one’s thoughts and ideas are in the state of being subjective. Undoubtedly, think subjectively is a good way to show one’s unique identity. After discussing certain concepts related to identity, so, how identity is relating to language? Identity relating language As defined as above, identity is the recognition of one’s values and expressions in a social group. In a community, there are numbers of social group: family, schools, workplace, etc. Usually, an individual is a member of several social groups at the same time, and certainly, one is playing quite a different role in different social groups. As every social group is having its unique natures, ideas accepted by a group may not be accepted by another. Therefore, using appropriate language to show one’s identity is essential. In different social group, we can show our unique identity by means of language, since language enables us to express certain status, as well as giving impression to others. In the following part, we are discussing how teenagers view on their relationships around by looking at some characteristics of them and surely, the discussion will be based on language and identity perspective. Language and Identity: teenagers’ views on the relationships In teenage ages, schools and family are believed to be the two closest social group of adolescent. Therefore, we will be focusing on teenagers’ views towards these two groups of people, friends and parents. Friends/Peers Regarding to some common characteristics of typical teenagers, they usually put friends at the first place and like hanging out with friends. They even feel like no one understands them except their friends. Also, they start paying attention to their appearance and find peer’ recognitions on their outfit very important. Such being the case, language used among peers are usually aim at seeking recognition. For example, they like to develop some special terms or vocabularies which are only understand by them, but not their teachers or parents. This is one of the ways showing how teenagers build up a kind of unique identity among peers using language. Parents People in teenage ages usually want to get rid of parents’ control and start setting up a set of own values, which is often quite different from their parents. Besides, they emphasize on individuality. Furthermore, they start doing some adult-like things such as smoking, doing make up and buying luxury goods to express their desire on gaining more rights. Teenagers hate doing things which their parents expect them to do while enjoy doing things which their parents do not want them to, with a view to expressing individuality and drawing attention from their parents. Therefore, whenever their parents hold a disagree view on what they do, they love using language like ‘You know what?’ or ‘You don’t even try to understand me!’ to reply their parents. This show how teenagers view on their parents and how they using language express a kind of ‘new identity’ in the family. In next part, the paper will include analysis of some daily conversations, which are all real examples I took in my daily life. The analysis will be based on the SPEAKING acronym and the theory by Bakhtin about how speech genre affects one’s speech. Language and Identity: Case study Theory by Bakhtin Bakhtin proposed that language is used in typical social situations. He also added that speaking occurs in speech genres which guide the interaction and which are determined by social structure. Speech genres organize our speech in almost the same way as grammatical forms do.

The Joy and Pain of Raising a Child with Special Needs

The Joys and Pain Of Raising A Child With Special Needs Donna McFadden ENG121 English Composition I Mr. Jonathan Alexander, Instructor February 18, 2013 The Joys and Pain Of Raising A Child With Special Needs Even though I am not the only parent of a child of special needs this is my personal journey into the world of special needs. No one could have told me that at the age of forty three I would be experiencing motherhood again to a child born with Cerebral Palsy. In fact, I was just preparing to celebrate my 25th high school reunion when I got the news that I was pregnant.When faced with the complex challenges of single motherhood you will soon find out that love is all you need. Allow me to give my account of this life altering phenomenon that totally changed the course of my mindset and direction in life. After an extremely emotional pregnancy and delivery by C-section, my son Nathan took his first breaths into a world of chaos and confusion. Being rushed to the neo-natal intensi ve care unit weighing only 4 lbs 3 oz, being probed and pricked by doctors and nurses to help stabilize the very life he stepped into.The thoughts of what my little angel endured coming into this world shows me his strength and determination as he begins his fight on this journey to manhood. Life began for my son spending his first few weeks of life in a NICU as they call it in the hospital with incubators and feeding tubes combined with the constant care from doctors and nurses assigned to his care. How traumatic for both mother and child to experience the separation and disconnect that is being substituted by machines. I forced the hospital to allow me an opportunity to stay in a room so that I could be as close to my son as I could.I was there for every feeding, every diaper change, all the testing I would sit in the NICU beside his bed and sing to him to reassure him that I was there. I was determined to be with my child as much as I could through this torturous ordeal. The inst ructions that we had to follow when we got home were intense, because of his prematurity and low birth weight many important things were still developing. I had numerous classes and seminars that I had to attend and complete before leaving the hospital. I even had to purchase a new car seat because the one that I had was not sufficient for a premature child.We immediately began having to parade through doctors offices on a weekly basis to be tested and examined and this process required a lot of patience and dedication. At five months olds we were back in the hospital so that Nathan would have his first surgery to repair three hernias. Once he recuperated it was then time for the next round of surgeries and this rollercoaster ride seemed to go on for months. Throughout this process you’re trying to find those opportunities to enjoy your child, those memorable moments of accomplishments and milestones.During these months I had no idea my son has Cerebral Palsy, nor had I ever experienced anyone who had been diagnosed with this disability. When we got the diagnoses of Cerebral Palsy, Nathan was fourteen months old and a very happy, determined little toddler, actually to look at him you would never know that he had brain damage. For me, not really knowing what it meant to have Cerebral Palsy actually played to my advantage because I didn’t have an opportunity to get upset, but more of a determination to educate myself on what I needed to do to help this baby grow into a wonderful productive person.Just like when he was born we were thrown into the arena of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy more doctors and test after test after test. This process is extremely daunting, however necessary. I was just trying to tackle each obstacle as it came day-by-day with all the optimism I could muster. I had a determination to not think negatively or get in that place of despair or asking â€Å"why me? † How do you balance the range of emotions that not only go through your mind, but the minds of your family and friends about the hopes and fears of the destiny of your child?I am so grateful for my faith and belief system to help me sustain my strength and emotional well-being because I have no idea where I would be without it. This was truly one of the most difficult times of my life combined with an element of gratitude for the life and well-being of my son. Even though we are still on this journey a lot of progress has been made from that first day of life in July. My positive attitude about my son’s disability has been engraved in him and I am quite encouraged that through it all he will be such a positive example of how the challenges of Cerebral Palsy will not dictate his life.

Electromagnetic research Essay

We can relate the density to the scattering of radiation in the X-ray region by using the mass attenuation coefficient,  µ/? , and the mass energy-absorption coefficient,  µen/?. In the X-ray region (10-100 KeV), we will find that as the electron density increases, the x-ray signal also increases1. X-ray scattering is considered to be due to the electron density of the atoms in a sample2. J. J. Thomson derived a formula relating the intensity of coherent scattering from a particle. If the incident radiation is not polarized, then his relation takes the form: I(2? ) = Io [(e4)/(r2 m2 c4)] [(1 + cos2 2? )/2] where e is the charge of the particle, r is the distance from the â€Å"scatterer†, m is the mass of the â€Å"scatterer†, c is the velocity of light, and [(1 + cos22? )/2] represents the partial polarization of the scattered photon. An electron is 2000 times lighter than a proton. Most nuclei are made up of many nucleons that have an even greater mass than the mass of a proton. Because the scattered intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the mass of the particle emitting the X-ray photon, scattering of X rays from the nucleus is considered negligible compared to the scattering from the electrons of an atoms. We can conclude that X-ray scattering is due to the density of the electron. The probability for coherent scattering decreases with increasing photon energy and increases with increasing atomic number (increasing number of interfering electrons). As a fraction of the total mass attenuation coefficient, ? coh/? is maximal at atomic numbers around Z=10 and photon energies in the interval 30-50 keV. At higher atomic numbers, the relative fraction decreases due to the strong increase of photoelectric absorption with increasing atomic number3. In silicon, for example, the relative probability for coherent scattering is 14% at 50 keV. Let us refer to table 1, where the densities of elements could be found, and figures 2. 1, 2. 3 and 2. 4, the Absorption of Electromagnetic Radiation by Gold, Silicon, and Iron respectively. The density of silicon is 2. 330, iron is 7. 874 and gold is 19. 32. In the graphs, as the radiation increases we will notice that the absorption decreases. For gold, this will continue until it reaches 200 eV where a discontinuity takes place. In terms of the densities of the elements, as the density of the element decreases, the coherent scattering also decreases. For example, gold, which has an atomic number of 79, contains a higher electron density than an element such as silicon and iron (of lower atomic number 14 and 26 respectively); therefore the photon-absorption processes are stronger (higher  µ) making gold suitable as a radiation-shielding material. However, the decrease in ( µ) with increasing photon energy (below 1 MeV) means that relatively thick sheets are needed to absorb hard (short-wavelength) x-rays or gamma -rays, compared to soft (long-wavelength) x-rays for example. Photon absorption in the visible region of the spectrum depends on the atomic arrangement of the atoms and their bonding. Pure silicon (Si) is strongly absorbing but silicon combined with oxygen is transparent. For the energetic photons in the x-ray regime, photon absorption is much easier to predict and is independent of the details of atomic arrangement. It depends primarily on the electron concentration per unit volume. Since the concentration of atoms per unit volume only differ by factors of 2 or 3 from each other, the electron concentration in two materials can be estimated from the atomic number, Z. Gold (Z=79) absorbs x-rays much more efficiently than silicon (Z=14) or iron (Z=26). X-ray absorption does depend on the energy of the x-rays and decreases with increasing x-ray energy, E. Absorption decreases nearly proportional to the cube of the energy (i. e. absorption proportional to (1/E3). The eventual rise in  µ indicates that a third process occurs at high photon energy; this is pair production, in which a pair of elementary particles (a particle and its antiparticle of the same mass but opposite electrostatic charge) is created from the energy (hf) of the original photon4. In this case, the two particles are an electron and an anti-electron (more commonly known as a positron, whose rest mass m0 is the same as that of an electron but whose charge is +e). Pair production can be represented by an equation, which represents the conservation of total energy (or mass-energy): hf = 2(m0 c2) + K(-e) + K(+e) Here, (m0 c2) = 0. 511 MeV is the rest energy of an electron, which is equal to that of the positron, so the factor of 2 represents the fact that two particles of identical rest mass are created. K(-e) and K(+e) represent the kinetic energy of the electron and positron, immediately after their creation. If the photon energy were exactly 2m0c2 = 1. 02 MeV, the two particles would be created at rest (with zero kinetic energy) and this would be an example of the complete conversion of energy into mass. For photon energies below 2m0c2, the process cannot occur; in other words, 1. 02 MeV is the threshold energy for pair production. For photon energies above the threshold, a photon has more than enough energy to create a particle pair and the surplus energy appears as kinetic energy of the two particles. BIBLIOGRAPHY Giacovazzo, Carmelo. Crystallography. Retrieved 9 June 2008, . McAlister, B. C. and Grady, B. P. The Use of Monte-Carlo Simulations to Calculate Small-Angle Scattering Patterns. Macromolecular Symposia, 2003. The American Physical Society. X-Ray Radiation from Non-linear Thomson Scattering. Vol. 91, No. 19, 13 November 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2008, . Weidner, R. T. and Sells, R. L. Pair Production and Annihilation. Retrieved 9 June 2008, .

Julia’s Food Booth

(A) Formulate and solve an LP model for this case The objective here is to maximize the profit. Profit is calculated for each variable by subtracting cost from the selling price. The decision variables used are X1 for pizza slices, X2 for hotdog, and X3 for BBQ sandwich.X1 (pizza) X2 (hotdog) X3 (sandwich) Sales Price 1.50 1.50 2.25 Cost 0.75 0.45 0.90 Profit 0.75 1.05 1.35*For Pizza Slice: Cost/Slice = $6/8 = $0.75 cost per slice Maximize Z = 0.75 X1 + 1.05 X2 + 1.35 X3 Constraints: Budget: 0.75X1 + 0.45X2 + 0.90X3 ≠¤ 1500 Oven Space: 24X1 + 16X2 + 25X3 ≠¤ 55,296 in2 The calculation for the oven space is as follows: Pizza slice total space required for a 14 * 14 pizza = 196 in2. Since there are eight slices, we divide 196 by eight, and this gives us approx. 24 in2 per slice. The total dimension of the oven is the dimension of the oven shelf, 36 in * 48 in = 1728 in2, multiplied by 16 shelves = 27,648 in2,  which is multiplied by 2, before kickoff and during the halftime, giving a total space of 55,296 in 2.(B) Evaluate the prospect of borrowing money before the first game. The shadow price or dual value is $1.50 for each additional dollar Julia would increase her profit, if she borrows some money. However, the upper limit of the sensitivity range is $1,658.88, so she should only borrow $158.77 and her additional profit would be $238.32 or a total profit of $2488.32.(C) Evaluate the prospect of paying a friend $100/game to assist. Yes, she should hire her friend for $100/game for it is almost impossible for her to prepare all the food in such a short time. In order for Julia to prepare the hotdogs and barbeque sandwiches she would need the additional help. With Julia being able to borrow the extra $158.88 she would be able to pay her friend.(D) Analyze the impact of uncertainties on the model.The impact of uncertainties such as weather (to sunny, rainy, or cold), competition, increase in food cost, and the attendance at each of the six games could r educe the demand for the items sold by Julia. If it is raining or cold then there may not be as many patrons at the games and if it is to hot people may not want to eat before or during the games. The higher the uncertainties the demand shifts, therefore the solution of the LP model will change and so does her profit. She will not be able to produce a $1000 profit under high uncertainty.

Dessartation Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dessartation Proposal - Essay Example Further, the Project would be managed by a consortium of developers – International with partnership of local ones. In a third-world city, there are numerous pressures from the local political and economic setup for additions and deletions of the proposed route. This can take the form of tedious litigation that should be factored in the planning process. A failure to do so would result in time and cost overruns. Before embarking on a project the size of a metro, the scope in terms of the kilometre or mile length and the routes that it would cover needs to be decided. This is of course subject to iterations as the various approvals and considerations of the authorities and the citizenry themselves needs to be taken into account. Also, the land to be acquired for laying the metro needs to be identified upfront and all obstacles to the acquisition must be dealt with. This is the single biggest reason for delays in the metro projects worldwide. As far as possible the scope of the project should be frozen before the commencement of actual work. However, in reality, it would not be feasible to completely have the blue-print ready before we literally â€Å"hit the ground†. Any changes to scope must be approved by a board of the project consisting of the representatives of the consortium, the local authorities and the public if invited. An â€Å"in principle† approval has to be ensured before the scope of the project is submitted for funding and technical feasibilities. Time is of the essence in any project and particularly so in the case of a metro for a city that is groaning under the weight of the inadequate infrastructure. There should be sweeteners for completion on time and penalties for delays. Of course, delays on account of litigation, no approvals and other exigencies should be factored into the budget. As outlined above, delays in the timelines are mainly due to legal

National Geographic guide to the national parks of the United States Essay - 4

National Geographic guide to the national parks of the United States - Essay Example The source further provides insights on the activities and sites that one needs to photograph. Additionally, the site provides guidelines on how one needs to conduct research on travel photography. The guardian’s travel section is a credible source for travel topography essay. This is because the site is a research site bearing reference lists that appear comprehensive in their coverage on matters of travel topography. The author also presented relevant context and background information. In addition, the site has a research methodology that is presented to the reader in a right manner. Consequently, the information presented in the source is applicable and valid today. The source specifies some of the tips that one need to consider during travel photography. One needs to understand the traditions and customs of a given place. Subsequently, the source outlines the ways of discovering the life rhythm of life in a given place and figure out what exactly to shoot. Digital is lowe r in resolution than film because its images have high signal-to-noise while film images have higher spatial resolution because of the fine-grained film. In addition, long digital exposures add random white dots to photos resulting to a noisier image than film. As a result, a development of large prints for photos, with a lot of texture that needs preservation, such as landscapes, is favored by prints from film cameras. Film blends light and colors better than digital cameras. The camera’s sensors are made up of millions of tiny pixels that combines to give an image while film isn’t split up in such a linear way (â€Å"National Geographic guide to the national parks of the United States†, 64) High-end film cameras are currently less expensive and will not become obsolete in a few years’ time. Their maintenance cost is also low as film cameras require little power to operate, so battery life is longer than in digital camera. Although the cost of film devel opment might be