Critical approach in project risk management Essay

Critical approach in project risk management - Essay Example As Wrona (2010, p. 1) states, â€Å"companies that do perform a risk management process on a fairly typical multi-month project (no longer than 12 months) will identify and manage possibly five to ten easily recognized project risks†. This statement shows that doing comprehensive risk analysis regularly at each stage of the project can reduce the occurrence of risks and make companies able to respond properly to any type of project risk. Risk analysis is necessary to conduct to ensure completion of construction projects within time and available budget. As Flanagan and Norman (1993, p. 45) state, â€Å"attention to risk is essential to ensure good performance†. It is the responsibility of the risk management departments to perform risk management activities regularly in order to save time and budget. The risk management staff needs to be able to identify all types of project risks that a company may face in order to take effective measures to eliminate the occurrence of risks. 'In this paper, we will examine the way risk management approach changes with changes in each stage of construction projects. Along with this, the paper will also cover the way risk analysis can be used to drive project management decisions. There will also be a discussion on different types of construction project risks, as well as the ways to reduce the occurrence of such risks. Moreover, the phases of risk management process will also be discussed in the paper. 2. Risk Management in Construction Companies As Akintoye and MacLeod (1997, p. 31) state, â€Å"risk management is essential to construction activities in minimizing losses and enhancing profitability†. This statement shows that risk analysis and management not only helps companies minimize the probability of potential risks but also ensures consistent performance and improved level of profits due to customer satisfaction. If we talk about risks related to construction industry, we can say that this industry is prone to a number of critical risks, which need to be handled carefully in order to keep the companies away from the damaging effects of risks. In this regard, proper risk analysis at each stage of the project is essential. Risk management is essential for construction projects (Schieg 2006, p. 77; Zu, Liu, & Lu 2012). As Sharp (2009) states, proper identification and assessment of potential risks is critical for a company to succeed in today’s competitive market. It is due to this reason that the managers of construction firms put their efforts on identifying and evaluating the possibility of risks that their companies may face at some point during project management related to operational, financial and, contractual activities. As Lyons and Skitmore (2004, p. 51) state, â€Å"risk identification and risk assessment are the most often used risk management elements ahead of risk response and risk documentation†. A properly planned strategy is required for construct ion firms to analyze the risks associated with project management, as well as to achieving the balance between their operational necessities and identified risks. As Edwards (1995, p. 4) states, â€Å"risk analysis is the identification and assessment of the likelihood of hazards†. Some companies try to eradicate the threat of potential risk

The Spreading Disease of Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Spreading Disease of Diabetes - Essay Example 186,300, or 0.22% of population below 20 years of age suffers from diabetes. 0.25% children and adolescents possess type 1 diabetes. Prediabetic individuals in the age range of 12-19 years are around 2 million adolescents (5% obese adolescents). After the age of 20 years, 23.5 million, or 10.7% of all population experience diabetes. 12.2 million, or 23.1% elderly population having age greater than or equal to 60 years suffers from diabetes. 12.0 million, or 11.2% of all men and 11.5 million, or 10.2% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes (National Diabetes Statistics, 2007). The certain populations have a higher prevalence of diabetes due to specific genetic traits leading to race and ethnic differences in diabetic rates such as 6.6% of non-Hispanic whites, 7.5% of Asian Americans, 11.8% of non-Hispanic blacks, and 10.4% of Hispanics (among Hispanics: 8.2% Cubans, 11.9% Mexican Americans, and 12.6% Puerto Ricans). Diabetic rates mentioned are after the age of 20 years (Na tional Diabetes Statistics, 2007). Diabetes is broadly classified into two types: Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes. Type I diabetes is juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and almost 10% of all diabetic cases are dependent on insulin for their survival. Other 90% cases display type II diabetes caused due to decreased insulin levels and/or insulin resistance (American Diabetes Association, 2002). Type II diabetes is mainly caused by passive still stressed lifestyle leading to onset of diabetes in obese children and middle aged individuals and also called as and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) (World Health Organisation, 1999). The genetic as well as environmental factors causes malfunctioning of the insulin functioning or secretion. Normal blood glucose levels are dependent on circulating insulin levels, counterregulatory

The Utilitarianism And Principlism Philosophy Essay

The Utilitarianism And Principlism Philosophy Essay Utilitarianism, started by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the opposition to Christian ethics, is a theory in ethics, which favors the idea of maximizing the greatest pleasure and minimizing the greatest harm. As stated in the book, Utilitarianism, The sole end of human action is happiness Therefore, to achieve this maximum pleasure and minimum harm, which results in happiness, one must apply the four main tenets: Consequentialism, Maximization, A theory of Value, and A scope of morality. Principlism originated as a method of investigation for determining if medical treatments are moral and ethical. Now, this theory is widely used for making ethical and moral decisions in general. The tenets for principlism are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. During the Presidential election on Nov. 6, 2012,  Washington, Maryland, and Maine all, by majority rule, approved same-sex marriage. This makes, in total, nine states, inc luding the District of Columbia that has legalized and recognizes same sex marriage. In addition, eight states have legalized and recognized civil unions. This decision has themes of utilitarianism and principlism but there are still several moral and ethical injustices taking place. In this paper, I will use utilitarianism and principlism to show that the banning of same-sex marriage is unethical and immoral. Same-sex marriage is the joining of two individuals, of the same sex, in matrimony. Currently, nine states in the United States recognize same-sex marriage. Eight other states recognize civil unions. The rest recognizes neither and upholds that marriage is a union between, only, a man and a woman. The nine states that recognize same-sex marriage offer some rights that come with marriage. However, the federal government does not offer any benefits or rights to couples in same-sex marriage. The states that allow same-sex marriage may grant some benefits but not all. Civil unions, in essence, are the same as a regular marriage. The only difference is that there is an even bigger limitation on some rights and privileges for the couples. I use same-sex marriage and civil unions interchangeably for the purposes of this paper. Consequentialists believe that, right acts produce the greatest amount of good consequences, versus motives, for the greatest number of beings (Pence). This means tha t right acts, as in doing what is right, tends to increase pleasure and happiness for all. The motives for action, in this case, are not relevant factors. Negating the views of religion, as they have no standing in what is morally and ethically right, legalizing same-sex marriage and granting the full rights of marriage will only cause happiness for all. Maximization states that, the number of beings affected by a consequence matters; the more beings affected, the more important the result (Pence). This emphasizes the fact that the larger the number of all relevant people hurting the extent of harm is at its worst. On the other hand, the larger the number of all relevant people happy, the extent of pleasure is at its highest. The whole goal of utilitarianism is, in fact, to make all relevant people happy while reducing all forms of hurt. Again, negating the views of religion, allowing same-sex marriage, and granting the rights of marriage will only bring about the greatest happiness for all persons. A theory of value refers to good consequences that are defined by pleasure, what people prefer, or by some other good thing (Pence). This creates a slippery slope concerning the value of marriage. Is marriage, specifically same-sex marriage, intrinsically valuable or is it valuable because of the thoughts and feelings people project onto marriage? Marriage in general is an institution where two people profess their love for each other. At the very least, being in a marriage acts in favor of the participants overall happiness. If anything works to increase pleasure and happiness, then it is intrinsically valuable. It is not valuable because people perceive this to be the right thing to do or because of expectations. It is intrinsically valuable on its own merit. Marriage increases your chances of living longer, Based on life expectancies, nine of ten married men and women alive at age 48 are alive at 65, while only six of ten single men and eight of ten single women make it to 65. Mar ried men may have better immune systems as well, either from support or from nagging to monitor blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and may be at less risk to catch colds (Waite and Gallagher). In addition to living longer, married men and women also have better financial stability, and they are less likely to commit suicide. Of course, with these side-effects of marriage, you would first have to be in a union and you would have to have the rights and privileges of marriage. Since these side-effects are actually beneficial, it would only make sense to permit all wiling people to marry and grant them the rights of marriage, specifically same-sex couples. If you are happier, normally, you will be healthier, and you will live longer. If dying were the greatest harm then life would be the greatest benefit. Therefore, giving people a chance at a happier, healthier life would only be the morally and ethically right thing to do. The last of the four tenets of utilitaria nism is a scope of morality. This states that Each beings happiness is to count as one and no more and beings who count are to be made explicit, whether these are only humans or all sentient creatures (Pence). For instance, take the couple Jack and Jim. Jack and Jim are legally married in one of the states that permit same-sex marriages. Jim becomes ill and he does not have insurance of his own. Jack does have insurance, but due to restrictions of same-sex marriage, Jim cannot use Jacks insurance. Where does Jim get the money to pay for treatment? The people who pay taxes provide the funds. Millions of people are currently uninsured, and of those millions, large portions of those people are in same-sex relationships. Allowing people in same sex marriage to have the benefits of using the health insurance of their spouse will be one factor in lowering the tax payments for the uninsured. The couples share health insurance and the rest of America may not have to pay as much for the taxe s. This results in the best consequence for all. However, the motive may be selfish; paying less for some taxes, but this would be the right thing to do. Principlism also uses four tenets, which act as criteria for determining the ethicality of certain decisions. These tenets are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The concept of autonomy, in essence, is free will. Autonomy allows for persons who are informed, competent, and unforced to state their freedom and pursue the maximization of their own individual liberties and values that matter in their own lives. Looking at Jack and Jim again, they both are fully aware of the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of marriage. They both are in great mental health and are mentally competent. They both are also willing to marry each other. They meet the criteria for having autonomy so they should be able to practice this concept. With having the free will that autonomy grants, the both of them feel that being married exercises their freedom and getting married would maximize their own individual happiness. Beneficence has always had an unclear place, in great part because to act kindly or generously toward others requires that we have some sense about what is actually good for them (Callahan). The concept of beneficience applied to same-sex marriage can be a slippery slope in that many people try to incorporate religion and how same-sex marriage affects children. Again, religion does not offer concrete rules reguarding morality. Also, you can not apply the morals of religion to those who do not practice a religious faith. You must take the person on their own merit. You must consider, without any bias, what is best for them. If a person can not marry the person that they love, then this will surely cause some discomfort and some harm to them. In this it would be kind and generous for anybody to allow those persons who want to marry become married. Non-maleficence, for instance, comes down to a right not to have our mind or body harmed by another, to be left intact; and that is a historical variant of autonomy (Callahan). This concept should include all aspects of harm not just physical harm. It should also not be limited to the interference with a persons freedom, but it should work to protect people from threats to peoples values, political welfare, social relationships, and overall well-being. You should take Jim and Jacks natural right to not be mentally or physically harmed by any action. They should be left with their own autonomy as long as they arent causing any mental or physical harm to themselves or each other. If the concept is to not harm, be it mental or physical, then you should take into account that not allowing marriage will cause some kind of harm. Since harm will be caused by withholding the rights of marriage is not ethical. So you must do the most ethical thing, which is to allow them to marry. As for just ice, I take it that the whole point of treating people justly, or allocating resources to them in an equitable manner, is to allow them to function as autonomous persons, not discriminated against or harmed by inequitable treatment (Callahan). Here, denying Jim and Jack the opportunity to get married will be unjust and unethical. Since there is and could never be any chance of marriage becoming scarce, there is no reason to withhold marriage from anybody, unless there is a just reason for doing so. This unjust reason may be too many divorces in the past or from trying to see some kind of monetary compensation. If Jack and Jim truly love each other and this can be proven, then there is no just reason to deny them marriage. Consequentialism, Maximization, A Theory of Value, and A Scope of Morality are all components of the theory of Utilitarianism. These tenets act to produce the main thought of utilitarianism, which is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Principlism, another ethical theory, uses autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice to determine the morality and ethicality of moral and ethical decisions. Using the theories of utilitarianism and principlism, and their four tenets, I believe that same-sex marriage should be legalized based upon the fact that there is no moral or ethical reason for denying the union. It becomes unethical and immoral when people are denied same-sex marriage.

Resistance of a Wire :: Papers

Resistance of a Wire Aim: - I hope to find out how resistance of a wire is affected. Prediction: - I predict that as the length of the wire increases the resistance will also increase. Scientific Knowledge: - ======================= A wire is a bundle of metal strips coated in plastic. The plastic can vary in colour and connect to different terminals These are: - ------------ ÂÂ · Black = negative terminal ÂÂ · Red = positive terminal ÂÂ · Blue = neutral terminal ÂÂ · Green and yellow = earth terminal ÂÂ · Brown = live terminal The material varies because it has free electrons, which are able to flow through the wire. The number of the electrons depends on the amount of electrons in the outer energy shell of the atoms, so if there are more or larger atoms then there must be more electrons available. If the material has a high number of atoms there will be a high number of electrons causing a lower resistance because of the increase in the number of electrons. Also if the atoms in the material are closely packed then the electrons will have more frequent collisions and the resistance will increase. Resistance is measured in Ohm's (ÃŽÂ ©). Ohm's Law The law actually says that the resistance of a metal conductor is the same whatever the current - unless it's getting hotter. However most people think of these equations when the law gets mentioned: V = IR V is Voltage in Volts, I is Current in Amps and R is resistance in Ohms. If the length of the wire is increased then the resistance will also increase as the electrons will have a longer distance to travel and so more collisions will occur. Due to this the length increase should be proportional to the resistance increase. If the wires width is increased the resistance will decrease. This is because of the increase in the space for the electrons to travel through.

Balancing Penn Foster Studies with Work and Family Demands Essay

My name is Julia and I am in my early twenties, and I would have never have imagined that I would one day be going back to school to earn my college degree. My mother and fiancà © encouraged me to pursue it, because of my love of art and talking to people, marketing and public relations and that it would be very expensive since I wanted to go to college in America but could not afford it at the time. They were very supportive from the start; my fiancà © assisting me in writing notes on flash cards and giving me pop quizzes and my mom reminding me to complete homework assignments when I was busy doing household chores. To me, my life was going great as I advanced further toward my future goals. Everything that glitters isn’t gold, I’ve learnt. My job as a Procurement Assistant became too demanding since the Procurement Manager left for a much better paying job. So I had to play both roles of Procurement Manager and Procurement Assistant as the directors hadn’t f ound a replacement yet and brought home extra work from the office. This left me no time for my studies. Fortunately my directors saw how stressed out I was with performing the duties of two positions and promoted me to Procurement Manager and had gotten me a competent and understanding Procurement Assistant who I trained to take over my workload when I was completing my coursework or studying for examinations so that my evenings were free. As if work wasn’t enough, I had to deal with my family and my fiancà ©. In the evenings, I had to do the household chores because my mother was taking care of my sickly grandmother and I had to run to do groceries, pay the bills and ensure my baby brother did his homework assignments and take him up in his revision as it was close to exams. Plus I had to cook dinner and since my step-father was away at his security job. If that weren’t enough, my fiancà © and I bought a small condominium after I went to oversee the work being done to by the night workmen because my fiancà © was in the Coast Guard and was working the whole week on patrol. When I returned home I was mentally and physically exhausted. I tried to study but it was no use. With my mother gone and my stepfather away at his job, my baby brother was quite the handful. Eventually when I had enough, I spoke to my parents about the household chores and they agreed that I was doing a lot  and decided that my mother would take my baby brother with her to my grandmother’s; even talked her into interviewing nurses so she can handle purchasing the groceries and paying the bills. My stepfather would step in to see to the household chores before going to work. In the little spare time I had to myself, I tried my best to complete all coursework required and tried to study for an upcoming exam. The day came when I thought myself to be well prepared for the exam and decided to take it. However, my fiancà © called me and said he was unable oversee the work that was being done that evening; so I took my laptop computer over to our condo and logged on. While I was mid-way through the exam, one of the workmen called me asking that I come and review a part of the house plan. While doing so, one of the workmen, being idle, fiddled with my laptop causing my exam to be submitted and when I discovered I had failed the exam, I had literally broke down. I was trying my best to ensure that I could cope with everything that was going on in my life but this was my limit. What was I trying to accomplish here? Two weeks, after that disastrous event, I eventually calmed down and called the school concerning my exam. Fortunately, they understood my situation and told me that I should have locked my computer when leaving it unattended and I was able to retake the exam and I passed with a good grade. I sat down with my fiancà © and told him what happened and he immediately replaced the workmen with a more responsible and sensible group of work men and even gotten his brother to oversee the work being done to our condo. My fiancà © was given annual leave so he is at home for a month and he is assisting me with my studies as before. Now that I had a plan set in motion that would help ease my stress and give a peace of mind; I think that I would be able to accomplish my goal of earning my degree in Business Management. My advice to students and persons who are considering returning to school to continue their education at the tertiary level is that when you have responsibilities that need to be taken care of you will need to find a way to make everything work together; sit with your parent or significant other and create a weekly planner and jot down the responsibilities that you are capable of handling and you are not capable of; this way you will not be stressed out. Also there are events that we are unprepared that will take place in life such as a loved one falling ill with a terminal disease or an accident. You will need to take extra care how you are to deal with these  kinds of situation. Always remember this is one of your goals to attain your degree and don’t let anyone or anything get in the way of your dreams!

Balance Sheet and Income Statement Analysis

BALANCE SHEET AND INCOME STATEMENT-Identify the different financial statements (BS*, IS, Statement of Stockholders’ Equity, and related notes) -Identify the different components of the BS (Assets: current and long term; Liabilities: current and long term; stockholders’ equity: preferred stock, common stock, PIC, treasury stock) -Identify the different component of the IS (Gross profit, earnings before interest and taxes, interest expense, income tax expense, income from continuing operations, discontinued activities, extraordinary items) -Identify within the IS, BS and Stockholders equity statement: comprehensive income,OCI and accumulated OCIPPE-Identify the different components of PPE (property, plant, equipment) and related accumulation depreciation. Locate the depreciation methods and estimates used for the calculations. -Identify valuation basis (market value or historical costs) and describe the impairment testing procedure for PPE. -Identify the amount of depreci ation expense in the IS (or the notes) Compute profitability ratios and provide a short analysis (see exercise 10-26B).INTANGIBLES-Identify the different components of Intangible assets (marketing, customer, contractual, technological, goodwill) and related accumulation amortization (if available). Locate the amortization methods and estimates used for the calculations. -Identify if they have definite or indefinite life– Describe the impairment testing procedure for PPE. -Identify the amount of amortization expense in the IS (or the notes)LIABILITIES– Identify current liabilities (including contingencies) in the BS – Identify the LT liabilities (nature and the total amount) in the BS – Identify the amount of interest expense in the IS – What type contingencies are disclosed, their probability of occurrence and their range of estimate. – Determine the number of LT debts (loans, bonds etc†¦), related maturity date and rate of interest (co upon for bonds) and amount. – Compute solvency and liquidity ratios and provide a short analysis.STOCKOLDERS’ EQUITY– Identify the types of shares, the number of shares authorized, issued and outstanding (if any, treasury stock) and PIC. For PS, identify the stated rate, covenants/characteristics. – Locate Dividends in the BS and SE (2schedules) and IS.– Identify which types of dividends have been issued (Cash? Stock, Split? Other?) – Identify Accumulated OCI in 2 schedules (BS and statement of stockholders Equity). – Explain briefly the different of Stockholders Equity Statement – Apply ratios related to chapter 13 (end of ppt presentation) and provide a short analysis.CHAPTER 14 – INVESTMENTS– Identify the different investments in the BS and related notes (Debt and Equity), then by classification (Held to Maturity, Trading or Available for sale) – Identify in SE section of the BS the accumulated OCI, then locate in Stockholders Equity Statement, the different movement of OCI (BB +/- changes). – Identify in the IS the OCI component (if any) and comprehensive income. – Check for investment between 20-50% that use the equity method (see notes) – Check for impairment testing for investmentsCHAPTER 17 – LEASING– Identify the capital lease assets and liabilities in the BS and related interest expense plus depreciation expense in the IS. – Identify if there is any operating lease. – What is the nature of every lease (sales-type or direct-financing) and related financial conditions. – Identify the lease payments for the next 5 years and the different categories of leased assets.*BS = Balance Sheet IS = Income Statement SE = Stockholder’s Equity statement (or statement of changes in equity)

Essay Sample on Personal Information Who Sells It

Essay Sample on Personal Information Who Sells It This essay is designed to help us identify our creditors and those businesses and companies we deal with on a regular basis in our daily lives. To prepare for future chapters, we are going to have you start creating a list of all your creditors and all those businesses you deal with on a regular basis that have your personal identifying information. As you go day to day conducting your personal business, identify each and every company and business you deal with on a daily, weekly, monthly and/or annual basis. Start writing these business names in a journal. The entities that should definitely be included in this list are the companies and businesses that have any item of your personal information such as your name, date of birth, social security number, home address, and home phone number. Make sure you write down the business name and exactly what specific personal identifying information they have on you. By creating this list early on, it will make the later steps of the protection process easier. When you get into the action mode of protecting your personal information, you will have a head start since you will already have started your list. If you need a custom essay, research paper, thesis, dissertation or term paper on English, Business or other discipline feel free to contact our professional custom writing service.

10 Common Sentence Mistakes in English

10 Common Sentence Mistakes in English Some mistakes are common when writing sentences in English. Each of these 10 common sentence mistakes provides correction information as well as links to more detailed information.   Incomplete Sentence or Sentence Fragment One common mistake many students make is the use of incomplete sentences. Each sentence in English must contain at least a subject and a verb, and should be an independent clause. Examples of incomplete sentences without a subject or a verb might include an instruction or a prepositional phrase. For example: Through the door.In the other room.Over there. These are phrases we may use in spoken English. These phrases shouldnt be used in written English as they are incomplete.   Sentence fragments caused by dependent clauses used without an independent clause are more common. Remember that subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses. In other words, if you use a subordinating clause beginning with a word such as because, though, if, etc. there must be an independent clause to complete the thought. This mistake is often made on tests asking a question with Why. For example: Because Tom is the boss. Since he left work early without permission.   These sentences might answer the question: Why did he lose his job? However, these are sentence fragments. The correct answer would be: He lost his job because Tom is the boss. He lost his job since he left work early without permission. Other examples of incomplete sentences introduced by subordinating clauses include: Even though he needs help. If they study enough. As they had invested in the company. Run-on Sentences Run-on sentences are sentences that: Are not connected by appropriate linking language such as conjunctions.Use too many clauses rather than using periods and linking language such as conjunctive adverbs. The first type leaves out a word - usually a conjunction - that is required to connect a dependent and independent clause. For example: The students did well on the test they didnt study very much. Anna needs a new car she spent the weekend visiting car dealerships. The first sentence should use either a conjunction but, or yet or a subordinating conjunction although, even though, or though to connect the sentence. In the second sentence, the conjunction so or the subordinating conjunction since, as, or because would connect the two clauses. The students did well, yet they didnt study very much. Anna spent the weekend visiting car dealerships since she needs a new car. Another common run on sentence occurs when using too many clauses. This often occurs using the word and. We went to the store and bought some fruit, and we went to the mall to get some clothes, and we had lunch at McDonalds, and we visited some friends.   The continuous chain of clauses using and should be avoided. In general, do not write sentences that contain more than three clauses to ensure that your sentences do not become run-on sentences. Duplicate Subjects Sometimes students use a pronoun as a duplicate subject. Remember that each clause takes only one sentence. If you have mentioned the subject of a sentence by name, there is no need to repeat with a pronoun. Example 1: Tom lives in Los Angeles. NOT Tom, he lives in Los Angeles. Example 2: The  students come from Vietnam. NOT The students they come from Vietnam. Incorrect Tense Tense usage is a common mistake in student writing. Make sure that the tense used corresponds to the situation. In other words, if you are speaking about something that happened in the past do not use include a tense that refers to the present. For example: They fly to visit their parents in Toronto last week. Alex bought a new car and drives it to her home in Los Angeles. Incorrect Verb Form Another common mistake is the use of an incorrect verb form when combining with another verb. Certain verbs in English take the infinitive and others take the gerund (ing form). Its important to learn these verb combinations. Also, when using the verb as a noun, use the gerund form of the verb. He hopes finding a new job. / Correct - He hopes to find a new job. Peter avoided to invest in the project. / Correct - Peter avoided investing in the project. Parallel Verb Form A related issue is the use of parallel verb forms when using a list of verbs. If you are writing in the present continuous tense, use the ing form in your list. If you are using the present perfect, use the past participle, etc. She enjoys watching TV, play tennis, and cook. / Correct - She enjoys watching TV, playing tennis, and cooking. Ive lived in Italy, working in Germany and study in New York. / Correct - Ive lived in Italy, worked in Germany, and studied in New York. Use of Time Clauses Time clauses are introduced by the time words when, before, after and so on. When speaking about the present or future use the present simple tense in time clauses. If using a past tense, we usually use the past simple in a time clause. Well visit you when we will come next week. / Correct - Well visit you when we come next week. She cooked dinner after he was arriving. / Correct - She cooked dinner after he arrived.   Subject-Verb Agreement Another common mistake is to use incorrect subject-verb agreement. The most common of these mistakes is the missing s in the present simple tense. However, there are other types of mistakes. Always look for these mistakes in the helping verb. Tom play guitar in a band. / Correct - Tom plays guitar in a band. They was sleeping when she telephoned. / Correct - They were sleeping when she telephoned.   Pronoun Agreement Pronoun agreement mistakes take place when using a pronoun to replace a proper noun. Often this mistake is a mistake of use of a singular form rather than a plural or vice versa. However, pronoun agreement mistakes can occur in object or possessive pronouns, as well as in subject pronouns. Tom works at a company in Hamburg. She loves his job. / Correct - Tom works at a company in Hamburg. He loves his job. Andrea and Peter studied Russian at school. He thought they were very difficult. Correct - Andrea and Peter studied Russian at school. They thought it was very difficult.   Missing Commas After Linking Language When using an introductory phrase as linking language such as a conjunctive adverb or sequencing word, use a comma after the phrase to continue the sentence. As a result children should start studying math as early as possible.  /  Correct -  As a result, children should start studying math as early as possible.

Understanding Either … Or and Neither … Nor

Understanding Either †¦ Or and Neither †¦ Nor Understanding â€Å"Either Or† and â€Å"Neither Nor† Understanding â€Å"Either Or† and â€Å"Neither Nor† By Ali Hale If you’re presenting two alternatives, you’ll often use an â€Å"either or† or a â€Å"neither nor† construction. Here’s how those work: You can choose either cereal or toast for your breakfast. My friend’s car is neither green nor brown. Either is used in the affirmative sense, when you’re presenting possibilities that are both true or valid. Neither is used in the negative sense, when you’re presenting things that aren’t true or valid. So far, so straightforward – but you might have some questions about using â€Å"either or† and â€Å"neither nor† correctly. What About â€Å"Neither Or†? You may well have come across sentences like these: I’m neither angry or upset. This isn’t grammatically correct. The sentence should be rewritten as I’m neither angry nor upset. However, using â€Å"neither nor† can sound unduly formal or even a little archaic. If you want to avoid that, consider rewriting the sentence (e.g. â€Å"I’m not angry and I’m not upset.†) Can You Use â€Å"Either Or † and â€Å"Neither Nor† With More That Two Items? You might wonder whether sentences like these are permissible: She will have to choose either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. There is neither bread, milk, nor jam. Grammarians differ on this point, but there’s a long history of both â€Å"either or† and â€Å"neither nor† being used for three or more items. If you’re writing for a particularly formal publication, though, you might want to stick to just two items when you’re using â€Å"either or† or â€Å"neither nor†. Some Additional Rules for â€Å"Either Or†Ã‚   and â€Å"Neither Nor† It can be tricky to figure out verb agreement when you’re using these constructions. Here’s what you need to know: Use a Singular Verb if Both Elements Are Singular If the alternatives presented are both singular, then use a singular verb, like this: Either James or Mary has hidden the sweets. Neither the van nor the car is fast enough. Use a Plural Verb if One (or Both) Elements Are Plural If one or both of the alternatives are plural, use a plural verb: Either the boys or the girls have hidden the sweets. Neither the van nor the cars are fast enough. Omit â€Å"Either† But Not â€Å"Neither† It often makes sense to have a sentence without the word â€Å"either†, such as: James or Mary has hidden the sweets. The boys or the girls have hidden the sweets. However, you can’t omit â€Å"neither† from a sentence – the â€Å"nor† can’t stand on its own. Here are some quick rules of thumb to remember about â€Å"either or† and â€Å"neither nor†: The word either should never be paired with The word neither should never be paired with You can only use nor in a sentence if there’s a neither (Some people say that â€Å"not nor† is also a valid construction, but it’s safer to stick with â€Å"neither†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should KnowTime Words: Era, Epoch, and EonWhen to use "an"

On DQ1Diversification and Based on DQ2 PepsiCo Essay

On DQ1Diversification and Based on DQ2 PepsiCo - Essay Example One of the reasons for the success of this company has been its ability to innovate. Innovation has helped the company create thousands of consumer products. It is important for companies such as P&G to create products that meet the needs, expectations, and desires of its customer base. â€Å"Effective business communication requires a certain skill set to determine the customer needs and then deliver on that information† (Highprofitsmarketing, 2013). When companies ignore the fact that satisfying the needs of the customers is of top priority they often struggle maintaining a high customer retention rate. It is important for companies that use diversification to add product lines that are aligned with the strengths of the firm. Another example of a company that implemented a diversification strategy was Microsoft with its successful entrance into the gaming industry. The XBOX 360 has taken a lot of market share away from Nintendo. Technological products are susceptible to being influence by innovation. An example of a technological product that has been constantly innovating is Apple’s iPhone. In six years the company has launched five versions of the product. All new versions have new innovative features. Innovation is often also found in luxury products. PepsiCo is the 2nd largest player in the soda beverage industry. The company is behind the industry leader Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola has historically done a better job at marketing its brand globally which has helped the company maintain a higher customer retention rate. â€Å"One of the most important metrics to measuring your customer retention is your retention rate† (Newnorth, 2013). Pepsi has to do a better job at marketing its brand in order to gain the global recognition that Coca-Cola has achieved. A factor that differentiates both companies is the fact that Coca-Cola has greater popularity among international consumers. I think that

Disabled Entrepreneurs Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Disabled Entrepreneurs - Literature review Example A disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired, relative to the usual standard of an individual or group. The term is used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness and various types of chronic disease. Furthermore, people with disability make up 20% of the total population of the poorest people in the world. There are 10 million individuals with disability in the UK alone, which comprises 18% of the total population of employed individuals (Wood et al., 2012: p. 146). A large number of disabled individuals have by now built opportunities or prospects for themselves by means of entrepreneurship. The advantages of entrepreneurship for these disabled people rest largely in their self-reliance and in the chance to engage in their own business decision-making, the capability to make their own timetable and pace, and the prevention of stereotypes and discrimination that are at times observed in the practise of recruitment, leading to underemployment or unemployment. Decreased transportation difficulties offered by home-based businesses are important advantages too. Disabled individuals usually face challenges, difficulties, or barriers when trying to embark on entrepreneurial projects, particularly in obtaining the resources or capital required for business start-ups, for they do not have the adequate resources or credit to fall back on as indemnity for a loan (Parker, 2009). This paper discusses the barriers confronted by disabled entrepreneurs and the possible measures that can be implemented to help disabled people become successful entrepreneurs and gain self-sufficiency and confidence. In certain instances, they may not possess the assets, knowledge, or information needed to formulate a business plan, a successful path to economic self-reliance

Media and communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Media and communication - Essay Example Gerbner’s therefore insists on the economically-determined nature of media violence, this he says undermines our chances of realizing effective reforms in the media. George Gerbner urges the society to think about the impact in complex and new ways and that media violence causes real world violence and therefore encourages us to think about the political, psychological social and development effect of growing up and living within a cultural environment of persistent, ritualized violence images (Gerbner, 1990). He mainly focused his theory of the content of our TVs and the impact of the content on the growing population of the children and the highly growing population. The cartoon network shown to most of the children on the Saturday was his major point of argument where he argue that the viewers are highly affected by what they watch and if they watch violent things on the TV then they will automatically become what they see and that violence comes with power and therefore ou r children will follow suit. Cultivation theory is a social that scrutinizes the long-term impact of television. It proposes that full television exposure produces a world of ideas and mental content that is similar and biased toward reality as is portrayed in media content. The main proportion of cultivation theory states that the more time people spend living in the television world the more they are likely to believe in social reality depicted on televisions and therefore tends to leave people of the misperception of what is true in the world. According to this theory, those who view television are cultivated to view reality the same as what they watch in the television. Most of the television shows are normally very easy to access and very easy to understand and for this reason they provide very easy means through which people socialize within the society without these people considering the social dangers caused by these programs

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - Essay Example J. Heinz Co’s Resources 40 2.3.1.1 Increase Competiveness 45 2.3.1.2 Long-term Sustainability 49 2.3.1.3 Corporate Social Responsibility 54 2.4 Porter’s Value Chain Framework 59 2.4.1 H. J. Heinz Co’s Porter’s Value Chain 59 3.0 Conclusion 70 4.0 Bibliography 73 1.0 Introduction H.J.Heinz Company was started in the year 1900 in Pennsylvania and it manufactures a vast range of food products throughout the world. The Company’s principal products include ketchup, condiments and sauces, frozen food, soups, beans and pasta meals, infant nutrition and other food products (HJ Heinz Company, 2005). The company is present in over 110 major locations worldwide, with leading brands on six continents. The Heinz brand is a $2.5 billion global icon and Heinz's top-15 power brands account for two-thirds of annual sales (HJ Heinz Company, 2006). With more than $8 billion in annual sales, Heinz's 50 companies have leading brands in more than 200 countries (HJ Heinz Company, 2009). In the year ending 2010, it achieved sales of $10.5 billion and gross profit of $3.8 billion (HJ Heinz Company, 2010). These positive results reflected increased innovation and marketing and dynamic growth in Emerging Markets. However, one of the core aspects of the company is also its unique lean production techniques which have played a major part in enhancing the efficiency of the company while at the same time managing to survive tough global markets especially for a US based company tackling recession. 2.0 Discussion 2.1 Evaluation on H. J. Heinz Co 2.1.1 Definition of Lean Production Lean production simply means a manufacturing paradigm that improves product quality; reduce production costs and being able to respond to customer needs quickly (Radhakrishnan and Balasubramanian, 2008). The main principles of lean focus on the methods of creating a continuous improving culture that engages employees in reducing production time and material in order to meet custome r’s needs. Lean production also concentrates on systematic elimination of non-valued added activity of waste from the production and implementation process of lean principles (Chalice, 2007), which will contribute an improvement environment performance (Radhakrishnan and Balasubramanian, 2008). The term lean production can be traced to its origins with Japanese companies more specifically in the Automobile market which faced issues like lack of resources including financial and labour. At this stage of crisis, two employees of Toyota Motors namely Eiji Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno developed this unique concept to manage such a crisis focusing solely on terminating waste in a production or manufacturing process which is called as Lean Manufacturing in the western region. 2.1.2 H. J. Heinz Co’s Lean Production Being a global food processing company, Heinz critically needs to leverage its production aligning with its strategy of waste management. While the company has extensiv ely worked on various lean production and waste management cases, research will focus on one of the major cases of the company where waste management was successfully done Amongst its other global strategies, when Heinz chose to give priority to waste management, it realized that technology would be one of the key aspects if it were to successfully compete in the industry and reduce waste. After careful analysis of several competitive applications, Heinz chose an enterprise asset

Qualitative critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Qualitative critique - Essay Example It presents the whole research from the objectives of the research, through the whole process and presents a conclusion of study at the end. The highlights on the purposes of the study outline what the study is all about, and this is critical in the beginning of any research where the reasons for conducting the research should be presented to the readers before the main body to give the guidelines on what to expect. The outlines on the methods used and the results of the data collected give the reader insight on the whole process and all the techniques applied during the research operation. The conclusions in the abstract highlight the whole process operations, findings and recommendations. The abstract gives an overview of the whole research paper; from the introduction through to conclusion (Fong, Finlayson, & Peacock, 2006). The researchers, Michelle Ploughman and the clue are from the Eastern Health, faculty of medicine from the Memorial University. They work in coalition with the people who are disabled of St. John’s Newfoundland from the Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. From the institutions they work with, it is clear that they are closely affiliated with the medical field. The institutions that these companies work with are well reputed in matters dealing with medicine and hence they can undertake the studies on patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Also, the study was supported by personnel in the faculty of medicine, Memorial University. Also, the authors had the support of Center of the Applied Health Research in Canada and the healthcare foundation. This further indicates clearly that the researchers were qualified to undertake the study to warrant the support of the reputable departments from the faculty of medicine. This is an article in Physiotherapy journal, Canada, V ol 64, No 1 from page number 6 to 17 (Michelle, Mark, Michelle, Marshall, & Mark, 2012). The problem in this research has been stated clearly. It is stated

Modern Europe History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Modern Europe History - Essay Example onomy was the dominant at the time, it was being threatened by the German and the American economy, which were also recovering pretty fast and growing immensely. This is where the British felt threatened by the Germans, since it was proving to be a major force in the struggle for the balance of power. The British perceptions of its own vulnerability forced it to start looking for support from countries that it felt were more friendly and supportive to it (Hobsbawm, 107). Thus, it ended up forming some alliances, which prompted other countries such as Germany and Italy, which were also struggling to emerge as dominant powers in Europe, to start establishing their alliances with the countries they found supportive and aligned to them. The creation of such alliances was the culmination of setting the stage for the First World War, since the dominant powers and their allies started preparing their armies to repel a possible attack to their allies by the antagonists (Hobsbawm, 92). Thus, when the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary accelerated, it was the time for their allies to support them, sparking off the First World War. According to Hobsbawn, revolutionary developments and pressures on the periphery finally engulfed European nation states that had seemingly found ways to manage their own revolutionary movements. This is true, as exemplified by the case of France. The French revolution had occurred in 1789, causing radical social and political changes in France (Hobsbawm, 123). However, the country struggled through the upheaval and finally managed to stabilize towards the end of 1799. Nevertheless, the pressure that followed thereafter caused France to be engulfed in a struggle for power in Europe, mainly after Germany annexed some territory of Alsace-Lorraine, which was previously under the French control (Hobsbawm, 214). This created a feeling of resentment and animosity between France and Germany, with France feeling that it had to avenge itself, for

Qualitative critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Qualitative critique - Essay Example It presents the whole research from the objectives of the research, through the whole process and presents a conclusion of study at the end. The highlights on the purposes of the study outline what the study is all about, and this is critical in the beginning of any research where the reasons for conducting the research should be presented to the readers before the main body to give the guidelines on what to expect. The outlines on the methods used and the results of the data collected give the reader insight on the whole process and all the techniques applied during the research operation. The conclusions in the abstract highlight the whole process operations, findings and recommendations. The abstract gives an overview of the whole research paper; from the introduction through to conclusion (Fong, Finlayson, & Peacock, 2006). The researchers, Michelle Ploughman and the clue are from the Eastern Health, faculty of medicine from the Memorial University. They work in coalition with the people who are disabled of St. John’s Newfoundland from the Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. From the institutions they work with, it is clear that they are closely affiliated with the medical field. The institutions that these companies work with are well reputed in matters dealing with medicine and hence they can undertake the studies on patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Also, the study was supported by personnel in the faculty of medicine, Memorial University. Also, the authors had the support of Center of the Applied Health Research in Canada and the healthcare foundation. This further indicates clearly that the researchers were qualified to undertake the study to warrant the support of the reputable departments from the faculty of medicine. This is an article in Physiotherapy journal, Canada, V ol 64, No 1 from page number 6 to 17 (Michelle, Mark, Michelle, Marshall, & Mark, 2012). The problem in this research has been stated clearly. It is stated

James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans Essay Example for Free

James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans Essay In James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans (1992), we witnessed death, integrity, pride, love, violence and revenge portrayed through the struggle over a piece of land between the French and English in a war that took place sometime in 1757. Not only that, since the novel was written in the early 1990’s, when women’s liberation and â€Å"girl power† are the predominant themes, the author also incorporated a different form of struggle between the main characters in the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I will focus on the character of Alice and Cora, the two heroines in the story and will attempt to make a comparison of the two characters in light of the commonly-accepted views on what a woman should be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alice and Cora Munro, as portrayed in the novel, are sisters who embarked on a journey to visit their father. Their journey, as can be expected is doomed from the beginning and is fraught with violence, revenge, conflict and emotional drama. In the novel, Cora, the older sister was depicted as a strong-willed woman who has no qualms in making her own decisions. Alice, the younger sister, is on the other hand, took the role of a fragile, weak-hearted woman who is always in need of rescuing and assistance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is apparent from the start that this difference in personality will probably result in conflict between the two sisters. It is surprising though that there was no remarkable conflict as between the two sisters in the novel. In fact, it is their stark differences of personalities which kept these two sisters together. Cora, the ever reliable and brave older sister is always looking out for the welfare of her younger sister. Alice, depicting the traditional notion of femininity, graciously lets her sister and their escorts do their task of protecting her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also worth stressing that the personality differences between Cora and Alice extends to their physical appearance. Cora is a brunette and has a strong feature while Alice is blond-haired thereby accentuating even more her frail physical features. It seems that Cooper had in mind the traditional, stereotypical notion of weak-blond-strong-brunette syndrome when he came up with his set of heroine characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interestingly enough, the heroines in the novel find themselves in a complex entanglement of emotions and feelings. As can be expected, the strong-willed Cora falls for reckless Uncas while Alice, the sentimental heroine, on the other hand, captures the heart of the perfect gentleman, Major Heyward.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In sum, although Alice and Cora were portrayed as having opposite personalities and physical attributes in the novel, it also cannot be denied that in more ways than one, they are also alike. Both are loving daughters whose main purpose from the onset of the journey, is to reunite with their father. Alice and Cora while seemingly in contrast in personalities also share the same attributes inherent in all women which is the ability to love and show intense feelings toward the opposite sex. The brunette-blond contrast is not really an issue here and it is not uncommon for sisters, especially half-sisters to be totally different in physical features.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I think that James Fennimore Cooper, in coming up with the character of Alice and Cora, simply wanted to impress on his readers the two types of women and how these differences can be reconciled and co-exist in a given situation. Furthermore, in a contemporary period, women are seen as possessing diverse traits and personalities akin to Cora and Alice. The stereotyping of blonds and brunettes unfortunately has not been obliterated although, with the advent of women’s liberation, it is difficult nowadays to categorize women into two limited persona such as that of Alice and Cora. Bibliography: Cooper, James Fennimore. The Last of the Mohicans. Bantam Classics, 1826. Ebert, Roger. The Last of the Mohicans. Chicago Sun-Times 25 Sept. 25, 1992. Kempley, Rita. The Last of the Mohicans. The Washington Post. 25 Sept. 25, 1992. â€Å"The Last of the Mohicans: Summaries and Commentaries.† 8 July 2008 http://education.yahoo.com/homework_help/cliffsnotes/the_last_of_the_mohicans/56.html.

Mitigation of Health Risk of Women at Child-Bearing Age

Mitigation of Health Risk of Women at Child-Bearing Age Mitigation of Health Risk of Women at Child-Bearing Age Through Nutritional Patterns – Strategy Assumptions Basic assumptions for above mentioned Research The Research uses the findings of three own epidemiological surveys carried out in 1991, 1993, 2000 on nutritional pattern and nutritional status of pregnant and non-pregnant women at child-bearing age, which contain a lot of representative features on a national scale, for the development of strategy on further research in the surveyed area during second and third decade of 21st century. The findings were used as a inputs for development of preliminary diagnosis of current status and as assumptions for the strategy of modern research on early nutritional health risks of pregnant and non-pregnant women at child-bearing age. The Poland lacks diagnosis that would be based on representative national survey of women population falling into 15-49 age category with the application of all necessary methods used in descriptive, analytical and molecular epidemiology. The diagnosis seems to be indispensable. It was proven that in the last several decades most of nutrients served in the right quantities and proportions strengthen definitely the health condition of woman at child-bearing age and her foetus as well as genome stability. Own surveys of the author in this field are one of the most representative on a national scale in the last several decades. The dataset of 3177 all-day diets coming from three own surveys on nutritional pattern and anthropometric measurements of the nutritional status of non-pregnant women at child-bearing age collected in 1991-2000 and dataset of 1472 all-day diets of pregnant women are the most numerous of all surveys published in the last 25 years. The major lessons drawn from the preliminary diagnosis are as follows: * Substantiation that high percentage (>50.0% of all-day diet dataset) with the energy from total fats (above 35%) is chronic and was found out in each of the carried out surveys both in pregnant and non-pregnant women subpopulations. *It was proven that in the last survey it was accompanied by definite deficiency of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Far higher-than-tolerated (up to 7% of energy from all-day diet) was the share of energy from saturated fatty acids. This enhances unambiguously in the surveyed population a risk of lipid management disturbances, a risk of cardio-vascular system diseases and a risk of diabetes type 2 and obesity. * The sodium intake from all-day diet was proven to be twice as high as Adequate Intake (AI), in predominant number of all-day diets, both in pregnant and non-pregnant women subpopulations. It should be noted that sodium is one of highly significant diet-related risks causing, inter alia, hypertension. *The lower-than-recommended iodine content was found out in the diets (mainly in the diets of pregnant women population), thus enhancing a risk of thyroid gland malfunctions, and in the foetus and infant populations – also physical and mental disorders. *Low iron content was discovered in the diets of pregnant women, which is conducive to enhancement of anaemia risk caused by iron deficiency. It enhances risk of premature birth, low body mass at birth and reduced infant health condition. Iron deficiency during pregnancy reduces its reserves for the foetus and in the first year of life, and also has adverse impact on further development of infant and in subsequent years of life. * For the population of women at child-bearing age evidence was found of lower than adequate intake (AI) from diet, on a population scale: D vitamin, proven by analytical testing, during multi-site clinical tests, published in 2012. The findings also confirm high risk of bone mineral management disorders, development of rickets in children population and growing risk of osteoporosis development in middle aged population. *For non-pregnant and pregnant child-bearing women subpopulations the lower-than-adequate intake (AI) of calcium from diet was discovered, which given specifically low D vitamin content and high phosphorous content in food enhances risk of mineral management disorders, including in particular bone structure, as well as probable increase of obesity prevalence, caused by the deficiency of nutrient in question. During the first decade of 21st century the situation most probably did not change. *Lower-than-adequate intake (AI) from food, on a population scale, was discovered for: dietary fibre, mainly in the diets of non-pregnant women, which by all means enhances the risk of abdominal obesity and diabetes of type 2. *Far lower-than-recommended folates content in the diets of Polish women at child-bearing age was discovered. Additionally in some diets low content of riboflavin, B6 and B12 vitamins was discovered. The folate deficiencies found out in the diets of Polish women enhance a risk of neural tube defects in infant population and they also enhance a risk of genome stability disorders. *Ten nutritional health risks listed above for the population of women at child-bearing age were paralleled by growing prevalence of obesity, mainly in the surveyed women falling into 45+ age category: a percentage of obese women in the 15–44age category rose insignificantly (from6.4% in 1991 to 7.8% in 2000), a percentage of obese women in the 45–49age category declined insignificantly (from21.1% to 20.5%), a percentage of obese women above 50 years of age, also found out in the population surveys in question, rose significantly in statistical terms (from27.7% to 33.9%) (p = 0.074); Prevalence of 3rd degree of obesity in the overall population of adult women rose from 0.2% in 1991 to 0.9% in 2000 (p = 0.001) in the population of 2725 women surveyed in 1991 the obesity was found out in 10.1% of the surveyed, whereas in 2000in the population of 1695 women, in the same age bracket, obesity was found out in a significantly higher (p The presented findings of three surveys carried out in the population of women at child bearing age with the application of only descriptive epidemiology methods, with underrepresentation of samples, with parallel discovery of many flaws in nutritional pattern and nutritional status, give legitimacy to the conduct of a survey, that has not been conducted so far, with the application of descriptive, analytical and molecular methods. The inevitability of such approach to the survey with random sample selection on a nation-wide basis is indicated by the state-of-the-art in the fields of mother and foetus medicine, epigenetics and nutrigenomics. Based on survey findings the following conclusions were drawn: ** The found out, aforementioned most probably prevailing, modifiable, nutritional health and current nutritional status risks in the subpopulations of surveyed non-pregnant and pregnant women at child-bearing age is probably a material dataset of characteristics enhancing a risk of occurrence of homeostasis disorders, threatening the physiological course of pregnancy and the maintenance of health of foetus, infant and child in consecutive decades of her/his life. **Overweight and obesity, with growing prevalence with age, enhances probably in the population of non-pregnant women a risk of chronic, low level inflammation conducive, as shown by the analysis of bibliography, to the occurrence of insulin resistance, diabetes of type 2, damage of blood vessels’ endothelium, development of metabolic syndrome, congenital anomalies, and also through, inter alia, cytokines also probable genome stability disorders. A decisive increase of prevalence of obesity in Poland was recorded mainly in the population of women in the 44+ age category. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population of Polish women at child-bearing population may probably grow in decades to come due to, inter alia, disadvantageous demographic situation and insufficient efficiency of health-oriented changes in lifestyle of this subpopulation of women. Intervention measures applied have to be more effective than to date and they should start, at least, one year before fertilization. **The analysis of current state of knowledge, based on survey findings, on early prevention of diet-related diseases (on a population scale) leads to a fundamental conclusion that molecular epidemiology, using methods applied, inter alia, in functional genomics and in epigenetics, should be introduced to diagnose health condition of women at child-bearing age as a tool with the same value as descriptive and analytical epidemiology methods. The molecular epidemiology investigating, inter alia, the susceptibility of genes to food-related conditions, seems to be an irreplaceable tool in the early diagnosis of health condition of women population described in this monograph. The collected and processed in a complementary fashion survey findings in each of the three disciplines should lay foundations for taking early interventions in the field of preventive measures and early secondary measures counteracting health disorders and diet-related diseases caused by faulty nutritional pattern, in both distinguished physiological conditions. The parallel implementation of measures and methods in the three aforementioned areas, in appropriate proportions, in the field of epidemiological studies on nutritional pattern and nutritional status of surveyed non-pregnant and pregnant women population, in order to strengthen effectively this part of public health system, seems to arouse interest of the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Health or their counterparts in most European Union Members States, and the interest of EFSA. **A number of material detailed findings, from cognitive and application perspectives, is provided in the individual sections of monograph.

Bureau of Indian Affairs :: American History Native Americans Essays

Bureau of Indian Affairs This is a great day for you and for us. A day of peace and friendship between you and the whites for all time to come. You are about to be paid for your lands, and the GREAT FATHER has sent me today to treaty with you concerning the payment...And the GREAT FATHER wishes you to have homes, pastures for your horses and fishing places. he wishes you to learn to farm and your children to go to a good school; and he now wants me to make a bargain with you, in which you will sell your lands and in return be provided all these things. – Isaac I. Stevens, 1854 The US government’s official role in Indian affairs began as far back as the Continental Congress (1786) when the Indian tribes were still considered independent nations with whom the settlers had to make treaties (Jackson 1). The purposes for these interactions were to buy land and to keep peace between encroaching settlers and natives. Unfortunately, these first transactions reflected the cultural misunderstandings between the two parties that would continue to plague communication until this century (Taylor 5). The Europeans assumed the Indians viewed land in the same way—individuals owning plots of land for agricultural purposes. Most of the eastern tribes were nomadic and moved to meet seasonal needs for hunting. When the Europeans offered to buy land, the natives did not understand that they would thence be barred from the use of that land for migrating and for hunting. Even at these early stages of negotiations, conflicts arose between the two levels of government as to who had jurisdiction. The federal government alone had authority to make treaties with foreign nations, but the states had to deal with the individual tribes. This led to more local intervention by "agents" of the federal government to actually negotiate between states and tribes (Jackson 15). Another role of these agents was, as Henry K nox stated, "to familiarize Indians with the American way of living" (Jackson 20). As the bureaucracy began to develop to meet the needs of the westward expansion, the department’s oversight was given to the Secretary of War. This did not seem to be an intentional statement of purpose but rather a decision of convenience because the Department of the Interior did not exist yet. However, Francis Prucha felt that this may have been because the Indians had been viewed as siding with the British during the Revolutionary War and thus were adversaries(319).

Using Computers in My Work :: Exploratory Essays

Using Computers in My Work What comes to mind when you hear the word computer? When I realized what profession that I wanted to go into I didn’t realized just how much computers will affect me. I decided around the age of sixteen or seventeen that I wanted to become an executive protection specialist, also known as a bodyguard. I never really gave it much thought about it. After putting some thought into it I discovered that computers in general, especially laptops, will play an important part in a bodyguard’s daily day to day business in the near future. But there are some disadvantages of using laptop computer also. There are many advantages for using a laptop. One, you can make out a detailed itinerary anywhere that your client may take you, let it be on an airplane or in a limo. Second, with the small size, the laptops that are on today’s market, they can almost go anywhere and everywhere that you could possible imagine! With an Internet connection, at your hotel, you would have instant connection readily available to the World Wide Web without having to monkey around with a conventional computer desktop that would consist of having to haul around the big tower, monitor, and speakers. This could be an important asset being able to check out what going around different parts of the county or even in a specific part of the world if your client is heading that way. You then could be notified about any potential trouble spots. Another example could be if you’re away with your client for a long period of time, you could use the laptop and Internet capability to keep in touch wit h family and friends. Since there are so many computer manufacturers out on the market these days this causes the price of the laptops to go down and the quality to go up. Even having the same capacity of the desktop computers. Nevertheless, with all the great thing about laptop computers, there is a negative aspects as well.

Maida on the Work of O’Connor – Light and Enlightenment

Maida on the Work of O’Connor Jordan Hollowell English 103 Professor Kuzmenkov October 6, 2012 (2) The main idea of Maida’s article is to tie together and explain the common literary devices apparent in Flannery O’Connor’s short stories.There are four reoccurring devices in O’Connor’s work: first, the eyes, which reflect an individuals innermost thoughts and emotions; then the tree-line which symbolizes the division of understanding between the world understood by an individual and the world beyond their comprehension; then the color purple which represents emotional or physical trauma which is often evoked alongside the Sun, which represents divine intervention.In describing these devices Maida also describes the arc of O’Connor’s characters as one in which they begin their journey with a sinful or selfish understanding of life and ultimately are bestowed with an enlightened understanding of life after embracing the love of God , Christian values, or both. (3) Maida’s writing is a brilliant exploration of the subject matter.From the citations given throughout the article it seems apparent that the core idea would not be lost on any reader, but after having been provided with a thorough examination of the O’Connor ‘s symbology her writing can now be appreciated to it’s full extent. For instance, a symbol like the Sun might be mistaken for a moment of clarity to someone unfamiliar with O’Connor’s other works. (4a) Maida (1976) asserts that the Sun is unmistakable as God’s active force, due to its ability to violate the laws of physics concerning its shape and movement (p. -3). However, since it is used as a metaphor its movement or changes could be interpreted as imagined movements that reside only in the mind of the character to whom they apply. The Sun as metaphor would then represent the comprehension of a life lesson as it eludes or is absorbed by the chara cter. This understanding would recast the role of God from one which is shown to be an active participant spurring characters’ ultimate realizations, to one in which the character must grasp the truth of God and life more independently.While the story would still make sense, the nuances of God’s love and patience would be lost. (5) My claim that Maida’s examination of O’Connor’s symbolism enable’s readers to understand the authors writing to it’s full extent stems from my personal reluctance to embrace the idea that God is active in peoples lives. I know that I would miss the message which (4b) Maida continues to stress, â€Å"Although man is thwarted by his lack of vision, the light remains a hovering presence-ready to pursue if necessary, the recalcitrant† (p. ) Were I to read O’Connor’s works I feel that I would choose to believe that the characters have their notions shattered and come to enlightenment through introspection, that they come to their own conclusions about God independently of Him. I would choose to view the Sun not as something that pursues, but rather something which as always been with the character, but never accepted or explored until the time wherein the individual was ready for it. References (1a) Maida, P. D. (1976). Light and Enlightenment in Flannery O'Connor's Fiction.In Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Retrieved from http://www. fofweb. com. proxy1. athensams. net/activelink2. asp? ItemID=WE54;SID=5;iPin= BLTSAR011;SingleRecord=True (1b) Maida, Patricia D. â€Å"Light and Enlightenment in Flannery O'Connor's Fiction. † Sin and Redemption, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. October 6, 2012. ;http://www. fofweb. com. proxy1. athensams. net/activelink2. asp? ItemID=WE54;SID=5;iPin= BLTSAR011;SingleRecord=True;.

My Grandmothers House by Kamla Das Essay

Kamala Das is one of the best poets in contemporary Indo-Anglian literature. Kamala Das, born in Kerala in 1934, is a bilingual writer. She writes in Malayalam, her mother tongue, under the pseudonym Madhavikkutty. Her poetry is an exploration of the geography of her own mind, and the lyric is an instance of such self-exploration. Through images of repulsion and horror, she brings out the emotional emptiness and sterility of her married life, and the intensity of her misery as a wife who had to submit to her husband whom she found repulsive, and with whom she had no emotional contact at all. She has won many prizes for her work . some of them being the P. E. N. Asian Poetry Prize, Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for fiction, Asian World Prize for literature, Kendra Sahitya Academy Award etc. She was short listed for the Nobel Prize along with Marguerite Yourcenar, Doris Lessing and Nadine Gordimer. On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune, but has earned considerable respect in recent years. Themes in the Poetry of Kamala Das: The poetry of Kamala Das is a search for the essential woman, and hence the woman persona of her poems plays the various roles of unhappy woman, unhappy wife, mistress to lusty men, reluctant nymphomaniac {A woman with abnormal sexual desires}, silent Devdasi and love-lord Radha. Kamala Das has also been called a poet in the confessional mode. The confessional poets deal with emotional experiences which are generally taboo. There is a ruthless self-analysis and a tone of utter sincerity. E. V.  Ramakrishnan rightly says, â€Å"In her poetry, Kamala has always dealt with private humiliations and sufferings which are the stock themes of confessional poetry. † Reminiscent of the Poet’s Ancestral Home: The poem is a reminiscence {a mental understanding of the poem by people} of the poetess’ grandmother and their ancestral home at Malabar in Kerala. Her memory of love she received from her grandmother is attached with the image of her ancestral home, where she had passed some of the happiest days of her life, and where her old grandmother had showered her love and affection. With the death of her grandmother the house withdrew into silence. When her grandmother died, even the house seemed to share her grief, which is expressed in a very touching manner in the phrase â€Å"the House withdrew†. The house soon was crushed by grief and snakes crawled among books. Her blood became cold like the moon because there was none to love her the way she wanted. She understands that she cannot reclaim the past but she wants to go back home, look once again through its windows and bring back a handful of darkness – sad and painful memories, which she would have made her constant companion, to keep as a reminder of her past happiness. The poet is unable to proceed with her thoughts for sometime as is indicated by the ellipses dots. The poet is now strangled with the intensity of grief. She craves for love like a beggar going from one door to another asking for love in small change. Her need for love and acceptance is not satisfied in marriage and she goes after strangers for love at least in small quantity. But she does not get it even in small change or coins. Her love-hunger remains unsatisfied, and there is a big void, a blank within her, she seeks to fill up with love but to no advantages . The image of the window is a link between the past and the present. It signifies the desire of the poet for a nostalgic peep into her past and resurrects her dreams and desires. The moon is being an emblem of love. The worms on the books seem like snakes at that moment, in comparison to the size of the little girl. The poet also implies that the deserted house is like a desert with reptiles crawling over. The poet now longs to ‘peer’ at a house that was once her own. She has to peek through the ‘blind eyes’ of the windows as the windows are permanently closed. The air is frozen now, as compared to when the grandmother was alive-the surroundings were filled with the warmth of empathy. Kamala Das pleads with us to â€Å"listen† to the â€Å"frozen† air. Neither is the air a visual medium, nor can air cause any displacement because it is â€Å"frozen†. In wild despair, she longs to bring in an â€Å"armful of darkness†. Firstly, that it is not a ‘Handful’ but an armful. Secondly, ‘darkness’ that generally has negative shades to it, has positive effect here of a protective shadow. It also reflects the ‘coziness’ inside the house. This armful of darkness is her essence of craving for her past. Kamala Das was very proud about her grandmother and the love she received. The Ellipsis after the word loved shows how much she grieves at the loss of the person who unconditionally loved her and satisfied her to the core. She was so convinced by the environment, in which she lived, that the loss of it was indigestible, and un-compromisable. She feels so proud of her grandmother and the house in such a way that she wants all the others know how promising and satisfying was the atmosphere at her grandmother’s home. The pronoun ‘I’ here is very emphatic and also melancholic. Sudden and strong in order to tell the world that no one would or could have come across such an admiring part of life the poet had lived and melancholic to let the readers know that she is a great loser and there can be no loser like her in the world. It also echoes her inner reverberations that when her grandmother was alive she was rich with love and after her demise she became bankrupt and started begging at stranger’s door. She dint expect the equal amount of love that she received from her grandmother from the society she was in but only little. Even that little love she was deprived of. This makes it clear that Kamala’s grandmother was a shape of unconditional love. Conclusion: The poem springs from her own disillusionment with her expectation of unconditional love from the one she loves. In the poem, the image of the ancestral home stands for the strong support and unconditional love she received from her grandmother. The imagery is personal and beautifully articulates her plight in a loveless marriage. Thus, the old house was for her a place of symbolic retreat to a world of innocence, purity and simplicity, a place of complete bliss and delight and peace world where love and happiness are still possible. †

How Hamlet Changes Throughout the Play

The changes in Hamlet's personality are reflected in his changes in costume. At first, there is the Hamlet in the â€Å"nighted colour†, in mourning for his father and resentful of his mother and uncle. This is Hamlet in Act one. He is passive and reactive, making snarky remarks under his breath and behind the king's back but being sullen and unresponsive in his presence. After the visit of the Ghost, Hamlet changes. Ophelia describes his costume as â€Å"his doublet all unbraced, no hat upon his head, his stockings fouled and down-gyved to his ankle. This is Hamlet of the antic disposition. His pretense of insanity gives him the liberty to sharpen his wit on the various spies which come to sound him out. He becomes more active, arranging for and essentially directing the play The Murder of Gonzago, but he is a perfectionist, and cannot see his way to killing Claudius without the circumstances being just right. He thinks he has got them right but he is wrong–it's Polonius behind the arras and not Claudius. Then he is sent to England. He discovers that Claudius is not going to wait for the perfect opportunity, but has already made arrangements to have Hamlet killed. He changes again. He arranges for the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and when the pirates attack, he takes the opportunity to board their ship, and bribes them to return to Denmark. He arrives on the shores â€Å"naked and . . . alone†. â€Å"Naked† here means that he has only the clothes he stands up in, whatever he can find. Hamlet is now an opportunist. He no longer insists that the conditions be perfect. He will take his opportunity where he finds it. He becomes a fatalist: â€Å"There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow . . . the readiness is all. † It is when he reaches this stage in his journey that he can do what he wants to do and needs to do. He expresses his love for Ophelia (too late) and is able to take his revenge on Claudius (almost too late).

Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL) - Assignment Example Some of the famous brands that the company owns include Colgate, Palmolive, Irish Spring, Ajax, Speed Stick, Suavitel, and Fabuloso. The financial statements of the company with a trend analysis for the last three years are illustrated below. The net margin of Colgate-Palmolive in 2012 was 14.47%. A net margin measures the profitability of a company. The debt ratio of the firm was 0.79. This metric measures the solvency of the company. The current ratio shows the ability of a company to pay off its short term debt. Colgate-Palmolive’s current ratio of 1.22 is acceptable due to the fact that is above one. The firm’s working capital was $820 million. Working capital measures the ability of a company of paying its short term debt solely using its current assets. The asset/sales ratio of the firm in 2012 was 81.91%. In 2012 the EPS of the company was $5.19. The return on assets and return on equity of Colgate-Palmolive in 2012 were 17.66% and 103.43% respectively. The table below shows a comparison of five financial ratios of Colgate-Palmolive versus the industry. The net margin of the company is much better than the industry standard which is a desirable outcome. The firm’s debt ratio shows that the company has a bit more debt than the industry standard. The liquidity position of the company as reflected by its current ratio is below the norm. The efficiency ratio of assets/sales reflects that the company is doing better than the industry. Information regarding the market value ratio of the industry was not readily

A Case Study of China's C Information Technologies Co Dissertation

A Case Study of China's C Information Technologies Co - Dissertation Example Alongside with the competition growing in various sectors, Information Technology (IT) sector has also been rapid in growth as a sector as well as competition within industry. Therefore, combination of competition in Information Technology (IT) sector as well competitive resources is multiplied and human resource with Information Technology (IT) skills is of multitude competition. Among 150 economies, China being an emerging economy has also increased its pace of digitalization hence accelerated its move of growth in IT industry (as show in the figure below). This growing pace has also increased importance of IT professionals’ altogether. However, this growth is not only concerned to meet statistics but immense consideration have been given to high value performing IT professionals and hence, performance management of IT professionals of IT industry has arisen as important area that calls for due consideration (Dutta and Bilbao-Osorio, 2012). (Dutta and Bilbao-Osorio, 2012) MATA (1995) has found that proficiency of Information Technology (IT) employees of an organization on technical as well as operational front has significant positive correlation with business performance. Higher their capacity to provide more customized products or projects greater it will benefit the firm. Their competency is also important as implementation phase of the Information Technology (IT) project also require more knowledge staff than other sectors. Information technology since its development and growing phase has been progressively facing issues and challenges pertaining to its application. IT issues vary in large in number from sector to domain, size and type of the company etc. These may range from the selection and implementation problems of the system to staff issues and also variation from sector as well (Shaukat, Zafarullah, and Wajid, 2009). Among large number of failures of IT project, many of them fails and cited reason of failur e is the delay and financial excess burden that it causes. In HR only, 30 percent to 70 percent of the projects fail in this respect (Sohal, Moss, and Ng, 2001). If explored reason behind these two factors is directly or indirectly human resource as it is human resource that work on implementation of designed technology and scope. Project Management in general and Information technology in specific has a dominant list of failing projects. Most of projects fail for their inability to be completed on time, within defined cost and scope. And main reason cited behind the failure of IT projects is its inability to meet the organizational need to technology update. Top ten corporate information technology failures given in images below, cites former or later the similar reason: (Top 10 Corporate Information Technology Failures) With the highlighted importance of Information Technology (IT) staff in an organization, author of the study has aimed to explore the avenue in China due to it acc elerated growth. With case study methodology, author has selected China's C Information Technologies Co., Ltd. for this study. The study is aimed to find the factors, methods and strategies that are effective tools of performance management in specific relation to the performance of Information Technology (IT) personnel. Researcher has identified certain research questions addressing them will lead to get insight of the topic. Following are the research questions for the case: 1- Given the characteristics of C Company’s Information Technology (IT) project staff, what are the theoretical bases for their incentives? 2- In C Company, what are

Not enough though has been given in any European code to the way Essay

Not enough though has been given in any European code to the way contracts might or should be classified Do you agree - Essay Example Main land Europe is looking to create a common civil legal framework which will be developed in a number of steps. This common legal framework is currently being heralded as the European Civil Code and would require coordinated efforts over a number of decades for effective implementation3. The first step has been termed as the PECL4 and is aimed at unifying the contract law prevalent throughout Europe. Success of the PECL and its precedents will determine if it is possible at this stage to develop a common legal framework for the European continent. This could have even wider implications for the global harmonisation attempt given that the obstacles encountered in PECL would be encountered similarly elsewhere too. Importance of the PECL is enhanced by the fact that the European community is looking to create the Common Frame of Reference based on the learning from the PECL5. At this point in time the PECL is not an instrument that has been recognised by governments around Europe. In stead the PECL is more or less a document drafted by academics to serve as a standard reference when hard-core moves to harmonisation are attempted. The PECL is a broad attempt to create a set of â€Å"general rules† which are flexible enough to accommodate future developments and to provide a framework for contract law6. Here due consideration must be provided to the fact that contract law is the first thing that is being attempted in terms of a common legal framework for a number of reasons. Contract law is highly important when it comes to cross border trade. The significant differences between national contract laws make trade beyond borders costly, time consuming and often legally complex. Furthermore, a number of companies are dissuaded from trading in neighbouring nations because of complex trading instruments and their legal ramifications. This in turn promotes domestic trade at the expense of transnational trade which is not beneficial for the commercial interests of the European Union. Europe is currently looking to develop something close to the Lex Mercatoria so that trading and commercial transactions of all kinds are simple all across Europe7. In order to facilitate trading all over Europe with the same legal principles it was necessary to create a common legal framework. The PECL is the resulting legal framework which has emerged from these efforts. In addition there is another reason behind the PECL’s importance. As mentioned before, the PECL will serve as the basis for the future of the Common Frame of Reference so this enhances the important of the PECL even more. Here it must also be mentioned that the success of the PECL and the Common Frame of Reference are critical to the future of harmonisation attempts in Europe. Hence, careful consideration is mandatory in order to provide a framework that is successful and tends to provide solutions that are holistic. Any such framework would need to be carefully thought out. As mentione d before, there is no question of implementation as yet because these harmonised frameworks are merely guidance based as yet and are not strictly enforceable as yet. Drafting a standard set of principles for guidance over the domain of contracts may not be as simple or straightforward as it may seem. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to creating a common contractual framework is coming to

Setting and Theme of these stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Setting and Theme of these stories - Essay Example The plot type is tragedy, and the novel is about depressed, hopeless and saddened characters, which endure hardships and loss. The novel focuses over the wanted success of different characters, and it describes their dreams. The needed relationships in life, friendship and loneliness of characters are the elements contained in this novel that makes it worth reading. The themes of the novel include pain of loneliness and tragedy of mental retardation. Locations discussed in this novel are the California farm, Salinas River and villages. Author is sympathetic to the characters, yet he does not give them a happy ending. Even till now, it is argued that the novel is emphasizing over hope, happiness and joys of life or it takes its reader into depression. The style of this novel is naturalist, which relates to the depressing literary style. The tone of the author throughout the novel is gloomy and dismal. Steinbeck is a naturalist writer and for the naturalist writers the human characters are more like a human-beast as they seem to be the victim of others around them. In the novel, the author has referred Lennie as a â€Å"bear† and â€Å"horse†. The author does not describe his characters as evil or good as he believes that they are controlled by their environment, chances or heredity. The author does not represent its characters by enforced judgment about their actions; he just presents the characters as they are. He mirrors his characters through the writing style. The language used is simple but compelling. Author keeps the language simple, straightforward and descriptive. A famous novel A Tale of Two Cities is written by Charles Dickens, the novel portrays the scene and circumstances in London and Paris during French Revolution. This novel consists on three books named Recalled to Life, the Golden Thread and the Track of a Storm. The

Stat project Statistics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Stat - Statistics Project Example it the economic performance of the country. The contribution of different industry sectors of the country when combined together then creates the cumulative production level or the productivity of the economy. The gross productivity of all the sectors of the country by the residents of the country is referred to as the gross domestic product. The gross domestic product is represented in terms of absolute values or numbers, which may create difficulty in evaluating the performance of the country. Therefore, other mathematical as well as statistical methods can be used for the purpose of analysis. The most common indicator of the performance of the country is the GDP growth rate per year. The growth rate can be calculated using the periodic change in the production level of the economy in terms of percentage change. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the performance of the economy of Saudi Arabia in terms of its GDP growth rate along with the impacts of exports and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) on GDP growth rates. The GDP of Saudi Arabia is assumed to be one of the most important economies for the Muslim World, as well as, for the western world because it is oil based economy. The influence of the Govt is significant with respect to controlling major economic activities. Saudi Arabia contributes around 18 to 20% of the world petroleum reserves. It is assumed to be one of the largest exporters of petroleum. Therefore, the study of the economy, as well as, the interests of the investors towards such a profitable economy seems interesting. Moreover, another reason for the selection of the topic is the study of relationship of foreign direct investment, exports and GDP together. Therefore, the whole study is based on the literature review on the economy of Saudi Arabia and the statistical analysis using the regression model to evaluate the impacts of Foreign Direct Investment and Exports on GDP. There are different

Womens Issues Essay Example for Free

Womens Issues Essay This research was conducted from an investigate concept through personal interviews of minorities and female executives, Human Resources executive recruiters, through journals, articles from websites, peer publications, and secondary research of studies performed through data collection and data analyzation. The various articles and journals reviewed will provide an overview of the glass ceiling, address the problems and challenges, identify the types of barriers and trends, and propose a solution. Through this study we will attempt to measure whether organization’s recruitment process, criteria, and strategic plans are aligned with the goals and objectives to meet the needs of the organization and better identify the best qualified candidate and improve the organization’s bottom line. Glass Ceiling Overview Definition The â€Å"glass ceiling† is defined as the invisible but real barrier through which the next stage or level of advancement can be seen, but cannot be reached by a section of qualified and deserving employees. Such barriers exist due to implicit prejudice on the basis of age, ethnicity, political or religious affiliation, and/or sex. Although generally illegal, such practices prevalent in most countries (www. businessdictionary. com) Overview The analogy â€Å"glass ceiling† is a terminology used quite often in corporate America to best identify just how far women or minorities have or will rise up the corporate ladder. Many feel it is often impossible for that demographic to exceed beyond the level of mid-management; and although we have made some strides and have increased the number of women and minorities entering today’s workforce, it’s no surprise a small fraction of those have successfully risen to the executive level in the corporate environment. Problems and Challenges Women Women face greater barriers and rely on strategies for advancement that are different from those of their male counterparts (Lyness and Thompson, 2000). There are many ways discrimination against women exists, such as job segregation, gaps in compensation, sexual harassment, inability to participate in career developmental opportunities, lack of available mentorship programs, and the lack of career advancement opportunities. According to a report from the federal bipartisan Glass Ceiling Commission (1995), 95% to 97% of senior managers of Fortune 1000 industrial and Fortune 500 companies are men, yet white males make up only about 43% of the workforce. The same study reported that only 5% of senior managers in the Fortune 2000 industrial and service companies are women. These commission findings are especially striking since women make up nearly half of the workforce (www. highbeam. com). One would have you believe the success of women career both economically and self gratifying can only be accomplished if and only if there is a change in behavior. We want to believe the selection process is objective and carefully thought out. Yet, others expect the process to be about the individual’s performance and merits and together the choice is based on the right fit for the organization. I conducted a total of 22 individual personal interviews, 11 of which included female executives. When asked what were some of the challenges they faced throughout their tenure? The responses varied but the one thing each clearly stated was â€Å"learning the language of the male dominant role†. Other challenges provided were: †¢ Advantages males have related to social networking †¢ Lack of mentorship †¢ Wage gaps for comparable work †¢ Work-life balance †¢ Shadows of the predecessor Minorities The remaining personal interviews conducted were with 11 male minority executives. When asked what were some of the challenges they faced throughout their tenure? Again, the responses were in variations; however each clearly identified â€Å"race† was the greatest challenge. But, the one thing that I found to be quite astounding when each expounded on race as an issue, was they all made the decision in their career they would not make this their problem, yet it would be others. What I got out of those words was without acknowledgment there cannot be acceptance. Other challenges provided were: †¢ Respect †¢ Removal of identity crisis †¢ Externally viewed before internally judged †¢ Education inferiority (studies outside of the U.  S. ) †¢ Mindset of organizational promotions Human Resources Meeting with executive recruitment representatives, I found they in fact face many of the same challenges women and minorities face. As a recruiter their responsibility first and foremost is to stay in-lined with the organization’s mission and vision. However finding the most qualified candidate is the biggest challenge. In terms of demographics, they aggressively seek to recruit more women or minorities for those positions because there is such a small percentage currently in place. Unfortunately if the candidate is not the right fit or if felt the cultural and/or environment carry an abundance of testosterone, many of the female executives are driven away which begins the recruitment process. Another challenge is with the selection process and not being able to question the decision-making especially when clearly felt other candidates were possessed more qualifications. Glass Ceiling Barriers Types The gender wage gap if asked is probably the biggest challenge women executives will tell you they encounter. A study conducted by the National Census Bureau showed U. S. omen still earned only 77 cents on the male dollar in 2008, according to the latest census statistics. That number drops to 68% for African-American women and 58% for Latinas (www. time. com). When speaking with one female executive she explains â€Å"one of the biggest challenges she faced would be the initial promotion as an executive. She indicated she was very excited because she knew the promotion was not only well deserved but she would be the only female executive within the organization. However in looking back she realized how the male dominant environment worked as she would only receive a 3% pay increase†. She regrets that decision but stated she attributes who she is today because of that unfortunate event. Discrimination or harassment is another challenge women and/or minorities face in achieving executive positions. African American executives feel to survive this culture it is essential remain true to themselves. However women executives will tell you there is a constant misrepresentation related to the gender and the ability to maintain as their counterparts. Although illegal, discrimination and harassment occurs subtle and overtly, with the glass ceiling harassment being the most difficult to prove. Work and family is another major challenge women face because many of the female executives are made to choose between working long hours and their family; while their male counterparts don’t have to make such decisions thereby giving them the opportunity and ability to put in those extra hours. The lack of mentorship is also challenging. One of the interviewees stated â€Å"higher profile jobs at the executive level will require more of your time. It is felt that males can depart and detach, however females feel an excuse has to be made†. Women enter the business environment in the early stages of their careers and in many instances are usually on the same level as men. However, according to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) studies show in the next 5 to 10 years, men seem to benefit from upward career movement more than women, in part because women do not locate mentors as easily as men (www. shrm. com). Some organizations have recognized the need to assist in getting mentors and have also implemented training and development programs in support of women and minorities to develop mentoring relationships. Leadership Challenges Roles and responsibilities Many female and minority executives say leadership can be quite challenging especially being in the shadow of a predecessor. For women achieving this role, it is a constant second guessing of management styles. Clearly men and women possess different leadership styles. However one group may view as more of the nurturing role whereas counterparts are viewed as having no personal or emotional ties and are in capable of relating to personal issues. Many women feel like the outsider at the executive management level. They also have to deal with the shrewdness of having to prove they belong in that role. One of the interviewees is a Captain in the Police Department who not only was the first female she was the first African American to obtain that high ranking in the organization. One of her greatest challenge is having to constantly prove that she fits into this male dominant career. Many decisions are questioned and she often times finds herself having to put on the hardcore role to show she is capable of performing her roles and responsibilities while her counterparts are received with blessings.