Thursday, October 31, 2019

Revisit my anwser to the question in week one What is Wisdom Essay

Revisit my anwser to the question in week one What is Wisdom - Essay Example My initial conception of this view mainly derived through the book, The Last Days of Socrates by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant, has been reinforced by further readings of authors like William Thomas, Aldous Huxley, Joseph Piper, Victor Frank. Before reading Socrates, I was focused on the materialistic concepts of wisdom, believing that wisdom, within context of modern life, refers to the success a person achieves materialistically. But after mulling over the philosophical musings of these renowned authors, I became aware that one’s spirituality definitely plays a key role in evolving his individuality by which he strives for the pursuit of wisdom, and there by acquires happiness. Thus my distorted perception of human wisdom and welfare transformed drastically through the treasure trove of knowledge I could acquire from the profound works of these great men. They promulgated the concept that living the life of a values, guided by spiritually and motivated by true virtues, for the common good of humanity is one philosophy that can salvage the man’s soul rather than hours together spent in religious rituals or millions of sermons chanted to appease gods. It now transpires to me that wisdom is the essential thread that holds together the astute concepts of spirituality, philosophy, ultimate happiness and there by supreme attainment of the soul. This, I understand, is the true meaning or purpose of life. The impact of this has enabled me to think positively and see life in a new perspective and meaning as the realization dawns on me that overall what the present world lacks is the essential insight into the need of spirituality due to which its focus const antly shifts to the wrong direction of materialism. And, unfortunately humans fail to realize where this ignorance, that entails from the lack of wisdom, is going to take them. The works of authors like Socrates, Thoreau, Huxley, Piper and Frankl read and

Monday, October 28, 2019

Academic degree Essay Example for Free

Academic degree Essay After the SPM examination,many students have to decide their future on which education to pursue. Some of my friends chose to enrol in college. I decided to study in matriculation college as a Pre-U qualification to enter university. My reason is university education is better than college education. This is because university has a better education system,more dedicated lecturers and better facilities. First,university education provides a better education system than college does. A SPM certificate is enough for you to enrol in a college but to enter a university you need a Pre-U qualification such as STPM or A-level. This simply shows that it is harder to study in university as you need some qualifications in which the college does not demand. Besides,the grading system in university is stricter than that of college. So,students have to work harder to get a good result. On the other hand,most college change their grading system,according to the overall result of their students. Moreover,the the syllabus in university is well designed. Besides giving knowledge,it helps to develop the social skills of students. For example,Students have to do survey on public about topics related to their study. This ensures that the graduates can have critical thinking skill and communication skill. Universities usually hire more experienced lecturers with better knowledge. According to a research, these lectures possess a Master or PhD degree and some even graduated overseas. Thus,they have higher level of of knowledge which benefits the students. Besides,Most of them have years of teaching experience and so they know how to guide their students,developing their skills and exploring their potential. For instance,a Physics lecturer does not only talk on theories. Instead,he teaches the students to analyse a problem logically. They are also more caring and responsible to their students. These qualities are hard to seen in college lecturers,who are mostly bachelor degree holder and work just for money. (very serious generalisation here!) Last but not least,university usually has better facilities,for example,the state-of-art computers. Unlike those college such as Inti College which are run by private companies,university has a better management. Thus every single thing in the university,including the infrastructure is planned and developed well. This is beneficial to students. For instance,university with advanced laboratories is beneficial to students as they can learn science better by being explored to the real situation while conducting experiments. Besides,university with better sports facilities can help the students to relax their mind. In other words,better facilities means a more conducive environment for university students. In a nutshell,university education is better than college education for its better education system,lecturers and facilities. Despite the growing number of college in our country,I advice fellow friends to choose university education so that when you graduate,you are competitive enough to survive in this ever developing world.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

What Factors Effect Student Cinema Attendance Media Essay

What Factors Effect Student Cinema Attendance Media Essay The main objective of this research is to determine factors that affect UEL students cinema-going behaviour. This report consist two main parts, Research Methodology and Finding and Analysis. At the end, a conclusion will be drawn out based on finding. 1.0 Literature Review Cinema-going refer to an action taken by individual to visit cinema for a movie screening, as those who visit cinema are called cinema-goers (Lipponen et al, 2003). Many researches have been done by researchers on cinema going behaviour in some country such as Australia (Henderson, 2007), Finland, Estonia, and Portugal (Lipponen et al, 2003). These studies focus on characteristics of cinema-goers that are similar between two or more different place. In order to determine what factors that affect cinema going behaviours, several areas of consumer behaviour have put into consideration. Knowledge Consumers knowledge refers to the amount of information that store within the memory of consumer on that particular product or services (Blackwell et al, 2001). What UEL students knew about that movie will affect their cinema-going behaviour. For examples, who is starring that movie? Who is the director? When the movie will be screen on local cinema? Attitudes Basically attitudes refer to what consumer prefer or like to consume. Cinema-goers usually go cinema watch movie is because of their favourite type movie screening. If that particular movie is dislike by him/her, most likely he/she wont go cinema. Perception Sometimes what consumer thought about that particular goods or services might affect their purchasing decision. Example action movies might suit to boys because of fighting scene but not suit for girl as they think that fighting is not good. 2.0 Methodology Research methods that going to apply is sampling method consist of survey throughout UEL students who study in International Business and Marketing course. Comparison between local and foreign students applied as different in background, education level, cinema censorship and perception toward a particular movie. Non-probability sampling applied where questionnaires were distributed based on their knowledge and personality. There are several limitations and advantages (Singleton et al, 1993) by using non-probability sampling. Limitations of non-probability sampling are unable to prevent bias of investigator on selection of participants and unable to predict the sampling error or sample precision. Advantages are less expensive and easy to collect with high respond rate. Primary data Questionnaire consist of 90 sets were distributed among UEL students and 80 sets responded. The questionnaire consists of 3 sections with total of 18 where most are close-ended questions (referring to Appendix 1). Total Responded Rate = 80 / 90 * 100% = 88.89% Besides that, focus group and personal interview have been used to collect primary data. This method apply is because focus group provide more information compare to observation (Morgan, 1997). Besides that, result can be obtained in fast and easy way. Yet some may not be able to join in the focus group due to distance and not easy to locate the right person (Morgan, 1997). Detailed explanation on these two methods stated on Appendix 2. Personally interview was carried out in order to obtain more accurate data beside questionnaire and focus group. Two respondents with different background and knowledge level were selected as they able to provide different answers which are not generalise. Yet limitation of personal interview is bias may occurred when selecting respondents and that respondents may not have the time for interview. 3.0 Finding and Analysis Based on Table 1, questionnaire respondents of 80 divided into two groups, 46 local students and 34 foreign students. All those respondents are UEL students. Question 2: What day in a week you likely will visit to cinema? Based on the finding from questionnaire, Saturday ranked as the first choose of day to go cinema for a movie with a total of 43 (27.56%), both local and foreign, students. While Wednesday ranked as second choice of UEL students with 37 (23.72%) students. Friday and Sunday follow after second ranking. Values of percentage refer to Table 2.1. From the overall finding, we conclude that local and foreign students prefer to watch movie on weekends. Result from focus group has found similarity to questionnaire where majority of member prefer to watch movie on Saturday and Wednesday. One of them stated that Wednesday they able to purchase the ticket using student price. The others stated Saturday is more suitable as their boyfriend/girlfriend/classmates doesnt have any class where they usually unable to meet during weekdays. Yet from personal interview, local respondent choose weekdays as weekends price for ticket is much expensive. Foreign respondent stated that weekends will not suitable as too crowded. Question 3: What types of movie genre you prefer to watch at cinema? Through questionnaire, both local and foreign students prefer to watch action movies in cinema with a total of 54 (20.69%) respondents. While comedy (46 respondents, 17.62%) and romance (30 respondents, 11.49%) following the back. Dance/musical movies found as the lowest pick (20 respondents, 7.66%) and hence being ranked as likely unwelcome movies among local and foreign students. Values of percentage can be found in Table 3.1. Focus group show same result where majority of them are like to watch action movie. Reasons are have different kind of feeling, more excited, sound system made it more real, love to watch martial arts and so on. One of them stated that romance movies are suitable to watch together with their spouse. None of them prefer to watch dance/musical movies at cinema. Personal interview indicated that action movies are their first choice if they wish go cinema. One of respondents says that dance/musical movies are not worth to watch at cinema. Hence conclusion is movie genre can affect UEL student cinema-going behaviour where the movie must in the preference of them. Question 4: What language of movie that you preferred to watch? Based on the result of questionnaire, both local and foreign students prefer to watch English language movies (68 respondents, 57.63%). Chinese language movies are the second higher (38 respondents, 32.2%). Certain respondents have chosen other languages such as Japanese, Korean, and Hindu. From focus group, all respondents choose English language movies. Reasons are they want to improve/strengthen their language in English, much better compare with other types, learn the way they speak and etc. Result from personal interview also supporting finding in questionnaire as they found that their spoken language in English is bad and want to improve by learning how they speak. Local respondent stated that English movies are much more excited that other language movie. Question 5: Usually you go to cinema with whom? From questionnaires result, we found that majority of local and foreign UEL students go cinema with their friends (75 respondents, 64.66%). Spouse (22 respondents, 18.97%) and family (13 respondents, 11.21%) following after friends. This situation occurred as majority of respondents prefer to watch action movies and their girlfriend unwilling to follow them. Focus groups respondents also providing similar answer as questionnaire where they feel that a group of friends go for movie watching is part of their entertainment, fulfil their social needs as illustrated in Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (refer to Appendix 3). Result from personal interview show different respond. Local respondent spend much of the time watch movies with his girlfriend while foreign respondent prefer to watch movies with friends as his spouse didnt follow him come here to study. Question 8: Based on your last cinema going experience, please the following statement. (1 Very Poor, 2 Poor, 3 Fair, 4 Good, 5 Very Good) Respondents in questionnaire choose that environment on previous visiting to cinema are good. Majority of local and foreign students (46 respondents which is the highest among three factors, 57.5%) are satisfied with the environment such as seats, screening, sound system and others. This shows that students satisfaction on cinemas environment can be important factor in affecting cinema-going behaviour. At the same time, focus group provide more reasons to support result in questionnaire as all respondents are satisfied with overall environment during last visit to cinema. One of the respondents stated that every single cinema company is competing with each other by providing better environment and services especially Golden Screen Cinema (GSC). The others say they will visit the same cinema again in the future because that particular cinema can satisfied them. Respondents in personal interview stated that environment play less role when determine cinema-going where location is the most important. Even the closer cinema to his house didnt provide good environment, he will insist to go there. Question 9: How do you become aware of the new movies screening in the local cinema? Through questionnaire, we can see that majority of local and foreign UEL students become aware of new movies and obtain their information through newspaper and friends recommendations (both with the same respondents rate of 49, 24.87%). Besides that, online website (36 respondents, 18.27%) is another place where they can get new movies information from. Focus groups respondents also stated that they usually obtain information from their friends or through newspaper. Seldom watch movie trailer before going to cinema and watch that particular movie. Online website usually used for e-reservation purpose only. Personal interview also found that local and foreign UEL students also obtain their information by friends recommendation and newspaper. Respondents stated that movies that rated best or good by friends should be fine with them. Therefore they will go cinema and watch that movies. We able to conclude that friends influence can affect their cinema-going behaviour. Question 10: Please indicate what reasons that discourage you from going cinema. Result from questionnaire show that location (53 respondents, 42.06%) is the main factor that affects their cinema-going behaviour, both local and foreign students. Ticket price ranked as second factor with 28 respondents and 22.22% while public transportation (21 respondents, 16.67%) follows at the back. Those respondents choose others provide reason such as environment and availability of new movies in that cinema. In contrast focus group provides different answer from questionnaire where majority of respondents stated that location is not their concern. They stated that environment is their main concern of going cinema even that cinema located far from their living place. Minority say that public transportation must available as they dont have own transportation. But personal interview show that location is their main concern as they need to travel with their own transport. Sometime traffic is too crowded until they feel tired if that cinema located far from their house. Environment will fall under consideration when going cinema. Question 12: Does the availability of movie viewing alternative such as DVD/VCD/Online streaming discourage you from going cinema? Based on questionnaire result, we may conclude that majority of the respondents will not be discouraged to go cinema even there is availability of movie viewing alternative. The result accumulated with 43 respondents or 53.75% of total respondents. Focus group show supportive result where all respondents choose that movie viewing alternative will not be the factor from discouraging them from going cinema. Respondents say that watching movie at cinema will have different feeling from watching VCD/DVD at home. Besides that environment in cinema can allow couple to strengthen their relation according to respondent. Moreover personal interview show the similar result as questionnaire and focus group. Both local and foreign students will not bought VCD/DVD/Online streaming as they want to be the first person to watch the movie in cinema. Besides that, if the movie is good then they can recommend to their friends. 4.0 Conclusion When preparing the report, comparison is made between local students and foreign students. Through the research, we can conclude that both local and foreign UEL students prefer to watch movies with their friends. Besides that, majority of them go to cinema based on their satisfaction on several areas such as environment, sound system, screen and etc. Yet local students obtain their information for that particular movie through their friends recommendation while foreign students prefer to get information through newspaper. However, this research topic required a deeper analysis to a wider range of factors and keeps up to date where human behaviour will change from time-to-time. (2,057 words) 5.0 Appendixes Survey form sample (Appendix 1) University of East London Stamford College Petaling Jaya Lot 7A, Jalan 223, Seksyen 14, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: (+603) 79563188 Website: www.stamford.edu.my Dear Sir/Madam, A research has been conducted in order to determine what factors that affect UEL students cinema-going behaviour. Therefore survey form was distributed among UEL students. Information will be used for education and research purpose only. All information disclosed in this survey form will not be distributed or re-used by third party. Please kindly answer ALL questions listed in the survey form. Thank you. Section A: Demographic (Please read the question carefully and place à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ on those answer that most appropriate) Gender: Male Female Age: Below 20 21 23 24 26 27 29 Above 30 Nationality: Malaysian China Indonesian Others: _______________ Race: Malay Chinese Indian Others: _______________ Marital status: Single Married Divorced Highest education level: Primary school Secondary school A Level College University *UEL ID: ____________________ (Year ___ Semester ___) * Field indicated to fill in for future data keeping. Section B: How often do you visit cinema? Everyday 3 4 times per week Once a month Once per week Never visit (Go to Section C) What day in a week you likely will visit to cinema? Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday What types of genre you prefer to watch at cinema? (Continued Pg 3) Animation 3D Horror Romance Action Comedy Sci-Fi Dance/Musical What language of movie that you preferred to watch? English Chinese Tamil Others: ______________ Do you prefer to watch movie similar to drama? (eg, High School Musical1, 2 and 3) Yes No Usually you go to cinema with whom? (Can choose more than one answer) Family Friends Spouse Alone How much are you prepared to spend to purchase a cinema ticket? RM 5 RM 10 RM 11 RM 16 RM 17 RM 22 Above RM 22 Based on your last cinema going experience, please rate every statements stated below: Lighting Lighting(1 Very poor, 2 Poor, 3 Fair, 4 Good, 5 Very good) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  1 2 3 4 5 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Clear screen Clear screen à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  1 2 3 4 5 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Air condition Air condition à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  1 2 3 4 5 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Seats setting Seats setting à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  1 2 3 4 5 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Sound system Sound system à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚  1 2 3 4 5 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ How do you become aware of the new movies screening in the local cinema? (Continue Section C) Magazines Friends recommendation Online website Newspaper Cinema centre Broadcasting Section C: Please indicate what reasons that discourage you from going cinema (Can choose more than one answer). Price Cinema location Public transportation Promotion Other (Please specify: _________________________________________________) Please rank the following cinema companies from most popular to not popular based on your opinions. (1 Most popular, 2 Popular, 3 Fair, 4 Less popular, 5 Not popular) GSC TGV Cathay Cineplex MBO Lotus Five Star Does the availability of movie viewing alternative such as DVD/VCD/Online streaming discourage you from going cinema? Yes No Thank you for helping in this survey. Appendix 2 Focus Group Discussion This group consists of seven members, both local and foreign UEL students. Their personal information was not collected as each person prefer to remain anonymous in this research. Below is the result from the discussion: Usually you prefer to watch movies on which day? Why? Wednesday. Promotion. Student price. Not so crowded as weekends. Friday. No class on Friday for most of the students. Can spend more time with girlfriend/boyfriend. Saturday. Weekends price cheaper than weekdays. Usually not class for their spouse. What movies genre that you always watch at cinema? Action movies Romance movies (usually with spouse) 3D movies yet due to newly introduce therefore seldom watch by students. Horror movies What type of movies language that you prefer to watch at cinema? Why? English. Strengthen their language. Improve their speaking skill. More better if compare with other language Adopt the correct way to speak English. Forced by lecturer to watch English movies. Usually you go to cinema with whom? Why? Friends. Part of their life. To entertain friends because they ask for a movie. Can share opinions after watching movies. Spouse. Being forced. Improve relationship. Do you satisfied with last experience to cinema in term of seat, sound system, and screen? Will you go to that particular cinema again? Satisfied with those three factors. Yes because GSC provide the best environment to their customers. Satisfied. Now every cinema companies are competing in term of environment in order to booths up their sales. Willing to visit that cinema again. How do you become aware of new movies screening in cinema? Newspaper. Online website (usually for reserve purpose) Friends recommendation Does public transportation affect your cinema-going behaviour? No. Usually have own transportation. Major concern when dont have own transportation. Does location will affect your cinema-going behaviour? Yes. Sometime that cinema is located far away from their house. Stuck in traffic jam will feel exhausted and eliminate the mood to watch movie. Usually price will discourage you from going cinema? No. As long the price is within reasonable price range. No. To enjoy different feeling. Yes. Not affordable to purchase expensive ticket. Does alternative of movie viewing such as DVD or online streaming will discourage you from going cinema? No. That kind of feeling which obtained through watching at cinema is different from watching movie at home. No. Able to have more private space with spouse. Personal Interview Respondents personal information: L: Local student (1116421) F: Foreign student (1116608) Date: 12 April 2010 Duration: 45 minutes Can you tell me in which day of a week that you always go watch movies? L: I always watch movies on weekends especially on Saturday because I able to save cost compare to weekdays. F: Prefer to watch on weekdays oh because I can use my student card to get student price on Wednesday. Then what movies genre that you always watch at cinema? L: Action movies will be my first choose because the way they fight make me feel excited. F: Action movies. I dont like to watch dance/musical movies because is very boring and not attractive to me. What language movies that you always watch at cinema? L: English movies. More excited and adventure compare to other type of language. F: English movies because I am weak in speaking English when communicating with friends or lecturer. So I want to learn how to speak English. You usually go to cinema with whom? L: Friends. To entertain them. But majority of the time will go on date with girlfriend as normal day is study day and unable to spend more time with her. F: Friends. No choice because my boyfriend is not with me at Malaysia. Do environment factors affect your cinema going behaviour? Factors such as seat, sound system and screen. L: Of course not. Fuel price becoming more expensive than before so nearest cinema will be my choice. F: No. As long that I able to be with my friends, other factors will not be my concern. How you get your information about new movies at cinema? L: Through my friends and sometime from newspaper. F: Friends recommendation and newspaper. Usually online website was used to book ticket only. Does distance from your house to cinema is another factor discouraging you from going cinema? L: Yes. More nearest to my house, more likely I will choose that cinema. F: Yes. Sometime when the traffic is crowded then I might late for that movie. Then how about public transportation? L: No. Usually I will drive my car. F: No. My friends will come and fetch me. Will you pay high price for a movie? L: Depend on what movie. If that movie is my favourite then I wont mind spending high price but must be reasonable. F: Usually wont because I have limited budget to spend on every week. Will you buy DVD or go online to watch movie instead of going cinema? L: No. That kind of excitement cannot found if watch at home. (Some reasons have been removed due to personal reason) F: No. As long I can be with my friend, I can go watch movie even I watch that movie for more than two times. Appendix 3 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, introduced by Abraham Maslow, a famous psychologist, divine into five areas: Physiological Needs, Security Needs, Social Needs, Esteem Needs, Self-actualisation needs. In Social Needs stage, human want to have a sense of belonging, being love or loving. Involved in relationship such as friendship, romance, families can help human being to fulfil their needs for companionship and acceptance (Maslow, 1970).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Mary Magdalen of Dostoevskys Notes from Underground Essay -- Notes Fr

Not for this I was born and then raised up. Unacquainted was I with such need. I once prayed to God, I was faithful. I once had a soul that knew peace. -from "Fallen," a Russian brothel song (Bernstein, 169) Prostitutes, women who sell their bodies for money, have been frowned upon since antiquity by most members of society. However, from as early as Rahab, the Whore of Jericho in the Old Testament who helped Joshua and his men regain the Promised Land, prostitutes have been portrayed as not only as sinners with the possibility of redemption, but women who lead men to salvation as well. This trend was particularly taken up in nineteenth-century Russian literature: "Elevated into powerful literary symbols by authors like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy..., prostitutes became female archetypes who either disillusioned the men with whom they associated or raised them to a higher plane of being" (11). Dostoevsky uses this idea of a "saintly prostitute" repeatedly in his works. The archetype that Bernstein claims he creates in based on the image of Mary Magdalen from the New Testament, the celebrated reformed prostitute who devotes her life to Christ. Crime and Punishment's Sonya Marmeladova, of whom "No tes from Underground's Liza is a prototype, performs the role of the penitent sinner who leads the way to salvation: the saintly prostitute Mary Magdalen. Despite common belief, Mary Magdalen is never referred to as a reformed prostitute in the four Gospels of the New Testament, though her actual role is just as pertinent to Dostoevsky's writing. In spite of the Gospels' tendencies to conflict with each other, they agree on four aspects of the Magdalen's life. First of all, she is one of Jesus Christ's female followers who is present at ... ...r one's sins and the perpetual chance of salvation. Works Cited Bernstein, Laurie. Sonia's Daughter's: Prostitutes and Their Regulation in Imperial Russia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. Conradi, Peter. Modern Novelists: Fyodor Dostoevsky. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988. Dostoevsky, Fyodor M. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. George Gibian. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1989. Dostoevsky, Fyodor M. "Notes from Underground." Trans. Andrew R. MacAndrew. New York: Penguin Books, 1961. Haskins, Susan. Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor. London: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993. Malvern, Marjorie M. Venus in Sackcloth: The Magdalen's Origins and Metamorphoses. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1975. Wasiolek, Edward. Dostoevsky: The Major Fiction. Cambridge, MA: The M.I.T. Press, 1964.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

BioPharma Case Study Essay

BioPharma Case Questions 1. How should BioPharma have used its production network in 2009? Should any of the plants have been idled? What is the annual cost of your proposal, including import duties? This solution was obtained using the tables displayed below. Note that Germany and Japan produced none of the Relax product and that side of their plants has been idled. The annual cost of this solution is: $24.85Total Transportation Cost (millions) $1,268.31Total Production Cost (millions) $195.15Total Tariffs (millions) $1,488,315,983TOTAL COST Highcal Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 7 0 0 1.23 0 0 Germany 0 15 0 0 0 0 India 0 0 5 3.77 0 0.35 Japan 0 0 0 2 0 0 Mexico 0 0 0 0 3 12.65 U.S. 0 0 0 0 0 5 Total 7 15 5 7 3 18 Relax Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 7 0 0 2.77 0 0 Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 India 0 0.65 3 5.23 0 0 Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mexico 0 11.35 0 0 3 0 U.S. 0 0 0 0 0 17 Total 7 12 3 8 3 17 Total Plant Output Plant Total Brazil 18 Germany 15 India 18 Japan 2 Mexico 30 U.S. 22 2. How should Phil structure his global production network? Assume that the past is a reasonable indicator of the future in terms of exchange rates. Phil should note that the Dollar and Peso have been getting killed by the Euro, Real and the Yen the last three years. Over the five year period, the net movement has not been a disaster, and recognition of business cycles would suggest that it would be wise to retain capacity and capabilities throughout the entire supply chain so that production can be diverted as currencies move against each other. 3. Is there any plant for which it may be worth adding a million kilograms of additional capacity at a fixed cost of $3 million per year? It doesn’t appear this improves the solution shown in question 1. The plants that are at capacity in part 1 are Brazil, India, Mexico, and the U.S.; adding a million kilograms of capacity to those plants does not result in a lower overall cost for the entire supply chain. 4. How are your recommendations affected by the reduction of duties? A reduction in duties to 0% across the board results in the following costs: $38.25Total Transportation Cost (millions) $1,325.40Total Production Cost (millions) $0.00Total Tariffs (millions) $1,363,650,824TOTAL COST The solution matrix is far less sparse; virtually every market receives imports from every other market with the exception of Mexico and Asia without Japan. Production increases in Germany and Japan at the expense of India, Mexico, and the U.S. Highcal Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 1.20 2.28 0.62 1.20 0.00 4.90 Germany 1.52 2.90 1.23 1.52 0.95 2.98 India 1.12 2.50 .83 1.12 0.55 2.58 Japan 0.53 1.91 0.25 0.53 0.00 1.99 Mexico 1.52 2.90 1.23 1.52 0.95 2.98 U.S. 1.12 2.50 0.83 1.12 0.55 2.58 Total 7 15 5 7 3 18 Relax Production Plant Latin America Europe Asia w/o Japan Japan Mexico U.S. Brazil 1.20 1.48 0.00 1.48 0.00 3.65 Germany 1.52 2.46 0.95 1.66 0.95 3.03 India 1.12 2.06 0.55 1.26 0.55 2.63 Japan 0.53 1.47 0.00 0.67 0.00 2.04 Mexico 1.52 2.46 0.95 1.66 0.95 3.03 U.S. 1.12 2.06 0.55 1.26 0.55 2.63 Total 7 12 3 8 3 17 Total Plant Output Plant Total Brazil 18.00 Germany 21.67 India 16.87 Japan 9.93 Mexico 21.67 U.S. 16.87 5. The analysis has assumed that each plant has a100 percent yield (percent output of acceptable quality). How would you modify your analysis to account for yield differences across plants? To adjust for yields less than 100%, the capacity of each plant could be adjusted down by the loss percentage. Another approach would be to leave capacity as stated but adjust the amount shipped down by the scrap percentage. 6. What other factors should be accounted for when making your recommendations? This global supply chain is exposed to a variety of risks as enumerated below. Supply chain decisions should be made after careful assessment of the likelihood of these events and the effectiveness of possible mitigation plans. Disruptions – disasters, war, terrorism, labor disputes Delays – inflexibility or poor yield of supply, insufficient supply Systems – IS breakdown, system integration issues Forecast – inaccurate forecasting Intellectual property – vertical integration and global sourcing Procurement – exchange rate movement, industry-wide capacity issues Receivables – number and financial strength of customers Inventory – rate of obsolescence, holding costs, uncertainty of demand Capacity – cost and flexibility of capacit

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Reflection Summary Essays

Reflection Summary Essays Reflection Summary Essay Reflection Summary Essay Essay Topic: The Outsiders Reflection Summary Name: Course: Date: Question 1 Reflection How is â€Å"the local† valued (or not valued) in a community that you are familiar with? The locals in the Willow Glen Community in San Jose, in the United States of America, are valued on various but fundamental aspects that constitute the community. This is mainly attributed by the acknowledgement of the local aspects by outsiders who do not understand how the local community functions. Such aspects comprise the knowledge of the locals, the culture, resources, skills and processes. By acknowledging such aspects, the outsiders and the local people are able to interact positively and work together in harmony and concord. On the subject of local knowledge, it is correct to assert that the locals know most about their respective communities than the outsiders. However, most people tend to rely on external expertise in order to provide solutions for problems affecting the community. Utilizing the knowledge of external expertise devalues the local people’s knowledge since such experts are mostly outsiders. For instance, the Willow Glen community works with local groups such as Martha’s Kitchen and the Sacred Heart Community Service to provide basic needs for the homeless in the community. This enables the community to cater for its inhabitants without relying on outside groups. Both locals and outsiders need to have confidence in the local knowledge available. It is also noteworthy for outsiders to know and learn about the local culture. Since local culture refers to the practices and customs of the community, outsiders often are precarious about the local culture. For instance, every December on Christmas Day, the residents of the Willow Glen community decorate Christmas trees on the residents’ front yards. The event is an annual event comprising culture of the San Jose Community and is a common tradition among the residents. Therefore, learning about the culture enables the outsiders to value the local customs and practices as well as be cautious regarding rare occurrences of harmful practices. Outsiders require taking advantage of the local resources in the community. Local resources comprise the products and services a community locally creates. For instance, the Willow Glen Community Center relies on local produce in order to provide healthy and nutritious food for the visitors such as children and aged adults. Hence, by investing in local products, the community benefits since it becomes developed. Furthermore, investing in the local products and services enables the capacity of the local people. Additionally, the community will be able to rely on itself for the provision of communal amenities and even fund its own community projects. The local people also need to utilize their own resources to further their own community. Both the outsider and local person should value the local skills. Community workers are skilful workers in the community, and they work around their respective communities in order to improve the locals’ welfare. However, for a community to develop, the local people require to involve themselves in learning about the workers’ skills and participate in the community work. The outsiders are not an exception. For instance, The Willow Glen Community works together with the Willow Glen Business Action to incorporate a benefit improvement program that will transform the business district of the community. Hence, by working together with the community workers, the outsiders and the local people will be able to build relationships and work in solidarity. Outsiders should learn about the processes in the community. The processes dictate how the community works. For instance, locals at the Willow Glen community have specific times set for local meetings in order to discuss the welfare of their community. Hence, it is necessary for outsiders to learn about such processes because some of the processes can be easily ignored leading to disruption of the event. Furthermore, ignoring the community’s processes can make the outsiders change the event leading to discord leading to a negative perception of the developers by the local people since such processes should be respected. Therefore, taking an interest in the community processes induces the locals to perceive the outsiders in a positive way and appreciate them. In retrospect, the local community is knowledgeable on the fundamental aspects that constitute the community in which they live and they should portray this knowledge to outsiders. In addition, outsiders should know and learn the local culture and through its appreciation, they should enhance the local resources in the community. Question 2 Summary The chapter, the Development Hoax, discusses the paradox nature of development. Using the region of Ladakh, the chapter defines the irony associated with development by using the region as an illustration to outline the absurdity of development in the modern context. Ladakh was once a region that adopted conventional practices and the locals were able to be self-reliant and emphasize on contentment rather than material comfort. However, with the influence of the common paradigm known as modernization or westernization, the region immediately besmirched because of the increase in environmental degradation, greed and material gain: aspects that define the notion termed as development. The agents of development are perceived to be associated with technological advancements and economic growth. To incorporate such objectives, labor and capital intensive methods are required to inculcate the Westernized from of development, which comprises heavy infrastructure. However, the unfavorable as pect of such activities is never realized. The characteristics of development are not different around the world: hence, it is valid to enhance a broad generalization of development since it comprises the creation of a single economic and culture system and elimination of diversity and autonomy. The introduction of cash to a system assumes an improvement in development. Hence, the more finances a country possesses, the more developed it is. This defines the economic growth of the country while disregarding the ethical practices of acquiring the money. The money is used to fund high resource-consuming projects neglecting projects that can actually assist people. Moreover, such a notion eliminates self-reliance and contentment. Development is also attributed to environmental degradation due to the production of chemicals, such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers and energy intensive farming methods, for commercial gain. The negative attributes are because of the self-serving intere sts of industrialized countries and multinational enterprises who want to create a single and similar economic system. Furthermore, development is associated with tracing the paths of developed countries for underdeveloped nations to become developed. The influence to follow the developed countries is characterized by abstract low poverty and population rates and the reduction in environmental pollution. However, that concept is no more than a hoax since most developed nations consume essential industrial resources in a way that the resources cannot be replenished and enable the underdeveloped countries to develop. Development is, therefore, a term that characterized by the exploitation of resources of the underdeveloped countries by the developed to further themselves and ensure dependence of the underdeveloped countries. Despite the argument that poverty and overpopulation represent significant problems globally and that economic development is the viable solution, the truth is th at such problems are an attribute of conventional development. This is because of advocacy for urbanization, industrialization and negligence of agriculture and the bucolic economy, which has led to the creation for destitution on a grand scale. Hence, the notion of development has only created a biased system that disregards self-reliance and diversity and advocates for dominance and exploitation of underdeveloped countries, maintaining the same status quo for immeasurable time without alleviating the affected who are the majority of the world.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Prey essays

Prey essays I found Prey to be a very enjoyable book. It presents situations that could, in fact be realistic in the future, as this tends to be a common theme in Michael Crichtons writings. The book also puts forward interesting concepts in Nanotechnology that mankind is not too far from achieving. Michael Crichtons writing in Prey is ingenious because one conflict cleverly leads to another, each new conflict growing as the old one gradually fades. He utilizes the first person point of view to get the reader so immersed in the main character that he or she feels his emotions. Michael Crichtons brilliant writing creates an excellent book that will keep any reader captivated for hours on end. Prey has brought a new awareness to me of how quickly nanotechnology is developing and what a promising technology it is. Because of Michael Crichtons extensive knowledge in the field of science and his brilliant writing abilities, he is able to create a research-backed fiction book that is still enjoyable. In the bibliography, Michael Crichton states, This novel is entirely fictitious, but the underlying research programs are real. He then lists about 30 sources. This incorporation of nanotechnology into an interesting book really sparked an interest in me. I have done some research and seen that this amazing technology does have a quite promising future. The characters in prey are very well developed throughout the book. Because the book is in a first-person point of view, all of the characters are characterized by the main character, Jack. If Jack dislikes a particular person, the reader has a tendency to dislike that person as well. The characters are also very realistic, each having reasonable conflicts and a personality that remains fairly constant throughout the book. The story is largely affected by the characters in it. Often, a very large conflict in the book is an internal conflict experienced ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Ranching and Agriculture on the Frontier essays

Ranching and Agriculture on the Frontier essays Ranching and Agriculture on the Great Plains During the frontier days on the Great Plains there wee two dominant ways of life. Those ways of life were ranching and farming. Most people tend to believe that farming was a much better way of life, mostly due to ties of family and community life. These ways of life were in ways similar but also different in many aspects. Cattle ranching was a way of life that took a lot of land to sustain a number of cattle. This land was used fairly lightly and used creek beds as they were, which is a process called extensive farming. It took about ten to fifteen acres for every cow/calf unit that a rancher owned, which meant the more land that a person controlled the more cattle they could raise. The vast amounts of land controlled by ranchers led to the isolation of the families that ran them. Some ranches were hundreds of miles from the next place of settlement. Upper class ranchers were able to leave the ranch in the winter, but lower and middle class ranchers had to live there year round. This meant that kids had to be home-schooled. This led to a lot of the families not being able to get out and see anything other than their families and anyone else that happened to live on the ranch. Agriculture on the Great Plains was a very intense form of farming, this meant that farmers used smaller amounts of land heavily. Farmers also had to reroute the paths of creeks to irrigate their crops because of the semi-arid conditions. Farming was more of a family based operation in that as soon as children were old enough to help they did. Everyone that was able to help on the farm did. Farming also led to the development of towns because farmers needed a place to go and sell their crops that they had grown. Farming on the Great Plains was tough, considering the semi-arid climate, wind, and the light soil composition. These conditions led the Great Plains to get the nickname Next Ye...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Hypertension or CVD Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hypertension or CVD - Article Example The research findings indicates that approximately 5 percent of adolescents have coronary heart disease or its equivalents, or one or more of CHD risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, obesity and family history of early CHD (Kuklina, Yoon & Keenan, 2009). The authors then conclude that there is a high prevalence of CHD risk factors among the adolescents, but this does not seem to change screening rates. Therefore, they recommend that assessment and management of cardiovascular diseases, among adults should be improved. There is a significant bias in formulating the research hypothesis because the authors make this claim, but do not support it with a single evident from a primary or secondary source. The authors should have included at least two evidences from peer-reviewed articles on the same topic to valid their hypothesis. The research methodology is not well satisfying for a study in the nursing field. Other than using secondary data to for analysis, the authors should have included data collected from primary source. One-on-one interview with young adults and physicians would have provided valid data for this study. I feel that the authors’ conclusion that screening rates have not changed despite the high risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among young adults is not well satisfying. This is because CHD risk factors such as obesity and overweight have become so evident among children and adolescents, and most government programs are currently focusing on controlling these risk fact ors to protect the young adults from contacting cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors. This article is relevant in the nursing field because it shows that an unhealthy diet, which causes obesity, is one of the risk factors for the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and that screening of young adults, for the risk factors, is not yet a priority. Kuklina, E, V., Yoon, P, W. & Keenan, N, L. (September 25, 2009). Prevalence of Coronary

Friday, October 18, 2019

Answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answers - Essay Example a. a sprint by an Olympic runner b. a long, relaxing swim c. throwing a baseball d. weight training 4. The velocity of blood flow decreases when   a. Viscosity increases. b. Blood pressure increases. c. Vessel radius increases. d. Afterload increases. e. vasomotion decreases 5. The ability to see color is the due to a. rods b. cones c. rhodopsin d. Both A and C e. Both B and C 6. Stimuli produced by sound waves reach the brain following the pathway:   a. cochlear duct ? spiral organ ? ossicles ? oval window ? auditory canal ? tympanic membrane ? fibers of cochlear nerve b. auditory canal ? tympanic membrane ? oval window ? cochlear duct ? ossicles ? spiral organ ? fibers of cochlear nerve c. cochlear duct ? oval window ? auditory canal ? tympanic membrane ? ossicles ? spiral organ ? fibers of cochlear nerve d. tympanic membrane ? auditory canal ? ossicles ? oval window ? cochlear duct ? spiral organ ? fibers of cochlear nerve e. auditory canal ? tympanic membrane ? ossicles ? ova l window ? cochlear duct ? spiral organ ? fibers of cochlear nerve 7. Opening and closing of the heart valves is caused by   a. Breathing. b. Gravity. c. Valves contracting and relaxing. d. Osmotic gradients. e. Pressure gradients. 8. Rank the following steps in order (2 pts). ___4_ Myosin heads bind to actin forming a cross-bridge.

IT163 BD Unit 2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

IT163 BD Unit 2 - Research Paper Example The objectives and needs of the enterprise must be considered when making decision on what to use in a distributed relational database. How the application program is going to be coded, where it resides in regard to the data and the network design that merges or connects the application program are all very important design considerations. Database design in a distributed relational database is more complex than when dealing with the I series relational database. It is important to understand the purpose of the business or the organization for which the database is to belong and the relational database technology. Operations that necessitate particular attentions when forming your strategy include general operations, networking protocols, system security, accounting, problem analysis and backup and recovery processes involved. Of great importance is to avoid replica of rows of the same data available in a database. This is referred to as data redundancy. Data redundancy gives problems to IT departments responsible for database management. Redundancy can be avoided by the use of keys in tables. For example, in the database of an organization for accessing and storing employees’ data, then for each employee we have a defined primary key condition for employee number. If an attempt is made to enter a second row of the same data for the employee the system should

Marketing on the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing on the internet - Essay Example Amazon.com hit off as an online bookstore. However they soon diversified their portfolio and ventured into selling DVDS, CDs, and MP3 downloads software’s, games, electronics, food, toys, furniture and apparel. They started spreading out from United States and established bases in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and China. Amazon’s target audience: Amazon has segmented its target market on the basis of various variables. Their target market is segmented on the basis of demographic, geographic, and psychographic variables. Demographically talking, Amazon attracts customers who have constant access to the internet. In a recent survey conducted by Cyber Atlas, 55% men and 49% women amongst the internet using population admitted that Amazon.com is their favourite site for shopping. (CyberAtlas ; 2001)Geographically speaking, Amazon.com is most widely used in the United States and everywhere else in the world where there is Internet access. At the moment 2 9 million people in 160 countries are using the site. Amazon provides its customers with an engaging and a satisfying experience on their site. This ensures that the customers return to their site. It works on building customer loyalty by enabling features like personal customization of the web page for each of its customers. Amazon’s business strategies: Amazon built its competitive edge on three core strategies. These were: 1. Cost Leadership 2. Customer differentiation 3. Focus Under its cost leadership strategy Amazon has stood out by offering rock-bottom prices. It provides good quality products at low prices. Its prices can’t be matched by its competitors. This makes it an obvious choice for customers. Under the second strategy, Amazon offers current and prospective customers differentiation via convenience. It is one of the largest e-stores at the moment. Its product assortment is huge. It capitalizes on its huge product assortment, fast and efficient delivery a nd efficient services. It has focused on 4 primary areas for its focus strategy. These include the 1. Product focus. 2. Customer focus 3. Technology focus 4. Distribution focus As mentioned before, Amazon has a huge product assortment. Its product assortment has always attracted customers. Technology has always been central to Amazon’s business. It is an e-commerce business, a virtual market place, where every transaction is done online. Amazon’s E-marketing Strategy: Goal and Objectives: In 2008 Amazon’s vision was defined and re-phrased to mark complete focus on customer experience. It said â€Å"relently focus on customer experience by offering our customers low prices, convenience and a wide selection of merchandise.† The vision was to offer the Earth’s biggest consortium of products and to be the most customer centric company. This was Amazon’s core marketing message and it communicated its online value proposition both onsite and offsi te. (Chaffey) Amazon ensured that it offered lowest prices for most of the popular products that it was offering. However it also included less popular products that commanded high prices in the market. As a result it was able to squeeze margins for itself. Amazon’s primary objective was to be customer friendly and offer convenience to its customer. This was why it started offering free-shipping services soon. Another core objective at Amazon has been the fulfillment of promises and ensuring that customers are well-communicated and well-informed. Amazon did

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Target group analysis of RedBull in UK Coursework

Target group analysis of RedBull in UK - Coursework Example The products also targeted the credibility of those that were involved in interaction with the young target audience (RED BULL GMBH v POTTERS LTD, 2013). The young group was the main target through the promotion and sales. Those that were close such as disc jokers were also target as they were able to promote the product more. Education that was carried out on the product-targeted consumers that are thought might need a lift. The places that were much explored with the sales include those that were in building and construction sites and those that were in offices. Those involved in the brand and product marketing use the local knowledge that they have to increase sale of the product. High profile marketing of the company has focused on maintaining a link with extreme sports. The sponsor that the company has given to two Formula one teams has enabled reaching the youthful energetic audience that has been the target (RED BULL GMBH v POTTERS LTD, 2013). The groups of consumer that have been targeted in all the activities of the company are those that use more energy as the product is an energy drink. The groups are mainly those in the youthful sage, those that are involve in sporting activities and also any of those that carry out activities that require more

Management 4330 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management 4330 - Essay Example Kathryn eventually leads the team to acceptance of their difference and corrections or criticisms from their individuals. In fact, the final retreat or meeting reveals a team that openly corrects one another. They follow her decision to correct other egocentric employees like Mikey, who could not take criticism from her peers (Lencioni 64). Therefore, Kathryn used trustworthiness as a tool to do away with mistrust problems like backstabbing and lack of openness. Effective teams nurture others and encourage team work and the attribute was missing in the previous leadership at Decision Tech. The underlying assumption is that teams that encourage group work outperform than individuals working alone. The attribute was previously missing in Decision since the members had bad relationships and poor communication. All problems within the company are as a result of the team’s inability to communicate clearly. Kathryn inherited a team where individuals are more self-centered and put their ego before anything in the company. For instance, Mikey, the head of marketing, has trouble communicating what she feels about others in the company (Lencioni 20). Others like Jan, with her experience in finance management, looks down on others and also treat company money like hers. When firing the head of marketing, Kathryn confirms that the manner in which the marketing head behaves affects the morale of the team. The new CEO also complains that Mikey doe s not consider how her behavior might affect others. The previous team was so self-centered that the members could not event confront each other in meetings. At the group formation stage, the team always develops some norms where some are good while others are bad (Whetten and Cameron 498). At Decision Tech, Kathryn inherited a dysfunctional group with unique behavioral norms. One of the behavioral norms in the previous team was is the illusion of invulnerability. The team believed did past success and was

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Marketing on the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing on the internet - Essay Example Amazon.com hit off as an online bookstore. However they soon diversified their portfolio and ventured into selling DVDS, CDs, and MP3 downloads software’s, games, electronics, food, toys, furniture and apparel. They started spreading out from United States and established bases in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and China. Amazon’s target audience: Amazon has segmented its target market on the basis of various variables. Their target market is segmented on the basis of demographic, geographic, and psychographic variables. Demographically talking, Amazon attracts customers who have constant access to the internet. In a recent survey conducted by Cyber Atlas, 55% men and 49% women amongst the internet using population admitted that Amazon.com is their favourite site for shopping. (CyberAtlas ; 2001)Geographically speaking, Amazon.com is most widely used in the United States and everywhere else in the world where there is Internet access. At the moment 2 9 million people in 160 countries are using the site. Amazon provides its customers with an engaging and a satisfying experience on their site. This ensures that the customers return to their site. It works on building customer loyalty by enabling features like personal customization of the web page for each of its customers. Amazon’s business strategies: Amazon built its competitive edge on three core strategies. These were: 1. Cost Leadership 2. Customer differentiation 3. Focus Under its cost leadership strategy Amazon has stood out by offering rock-bottom prices. It provides good quality products at low prices. Its prices can’t be matched by its competitors. This makes it an obvious choice for customers. Under the second strategy, Amazon offers current and prospective customers differentiation via convenience. It is one of the largest e-stores at the moment. Its product assortment is huge. It capitalizes on its huge product assortment, fast and efficient delivery a nd efficient services. It has focused on 4 primary areas for its focus strategy. These include the 1. Product focus. 2. Customer focus 3. Technology focus 4. Distribution focus As mentioned before, Amazon has a huge product assortment. Its product assortment has always attracted customers. Technology has always been central to Amazon’s business. It is an e-commerce business, a virtual market place, where every transaction is done online. Amazon’s E-marketing Strategy: Goal and Objectives: In 2008 Amazon’s vision was defined and re-phrased to mark complete focus on customer experience. It said â€Å"relently focus on customer experience by offering our customers low prices, convenience and a wide selection of merchandise.† The vision was to offer the Earth’s biggest consortium of products and to be the most customer centric company. This was Amazon’s core marketing message and it communicated its online value proposition both onsite and offsi te. (Chaffey) Amazon ensured that it offered lowest prices for most of the popular products that it was offering. However it also included less popular products that commanded high prices in the market. As a result it was able to squeeze margins for itself. Amazon’s primary objective was to be customer friendly and offer convenience to its customer. This was why it started offering free-shipping services soon. Another core objective at Amazon has been the fulfillment of promises and ensuring that customers are well-communicated and well-informed. Amazon did

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Management 4330 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management 4330 - Essay Example Kathryn eventually leads the team to acceptance of their difference and corrections or criticisms from their individuals. In fact, the final retreat or meeting reveals a team that openly corrects one another. They follow her decision to correct other egocentric employees like Mikey, who could not take criticism from her peers (Lencioni 64). Therefore, Kathryn used trustworthiness as a tool to do away with mistrust problems like backstabbing and lack of openness. Effective teams nurture others and encourage team work and the attribute was missing in the previous leadership at Decision Tech. The underlying assumption is that teams that encourage group work outperform than individuals working alone. The attribute was previously missing in Decision since the members had bad relationships and poor communication. All problems within the company are as a result of the team’s inability to communicate clearly. Kathryn inherited a team where individuals are more self-centered and put their ego before anything in the company. For instance, Mikey, the head of marketing, has trouble communicating what she feels about others in the company (Lencioni 20). Others like Jan, with her experience in finance management, looks down on others and also treat company money like hers. When firing the head of marketing, Kathryn confirms that the manner in which the marketing head behaves affects the morale of the team. The new CEO also complains that Mikey doe s not consider how her behavior might affect others. The previous team was so self-centered that the members could not event confront each other in meetings. At the group formation stage, the team always develops some norms where some are good while others are bad (Whetten and Cameron 498). At Decision Tech, Kathryn inherited a dysfunctional group with unique behavioral norms. One of the behavioral norms in the previous team was is the illusion of invulnerability. The team believed did past success and was

Students Social Lifestyle and First Year Average Exam Grade Essay Example for Free

Students Social Lifestyle and First Year Average Exam Grade Essay The Relationship between a Students Social Lifestyle and First Year Average Exam Grade Alternate Hypothesis: There is a relationship between a Students social lifestyle and their first year average exam grades Null Hypothesis: There is no relationship between a Students social lifestyle and first year average exam grades Introduction The aim of my investigation is to find a significant relationship between a student’s first year academic grades and his or her social lifestyle. I can relate myself to this study as I am in the second year so it would be interesting to see if my first year grades were influenced by my social lifestyle. In this study I will consider one dependant variable, the exam grades and three independent variables which I believe are the main components of a student’s social lifestyle. These are alcohol consumption, the amount of hours on Facebook and the amount of hours of television watched. The more units of alcohol consumed, the lower a student’s grade would be I myself believe that this hypothesis is significant because alcohol is consumed normally before and during a night out. Nights out normally end at 3am in the morning. This means that the next morning the student will wake up tired with a possible hangover which leads to decreased concentration during lectures and the effects may also reduce motivation to even attend the lecture. Therefore as a result of this, the student may not work sufficiently enough to obtain a high grade. A study by Wood et al found that â€Å"A longitudinal study of 444 freshmen attending the University of Missouri found a significant cross-sectional association between heavy or problem drinking and academic problems.† (Wood et al., 1997) The more hours online on Facebook, the lower a student’s grade would be Facebook is a popular social networking website which is used by a large majority of students. Students that spend an excess amount of time on Facebook are missing out on time to study and revise. Therefore they have less time to prepare for their exams which will lead to them attaining lower grades. Kirschner and Karpinski carried out an experiment and â€Å"Results show that Facebook ® users reported having lower GPAs (Grade Point Averages) and spend fewer hours per week studying than nonusers.† (Paul A. Kirschner, Aryn C. Karpinski, 2010) The more hours of Television Watched, the lower a student’s grade would be We can presume that there is a link between the hours of television watched and a student’s grade. The reasons to this are as followed, if a student spends more time watching television they are dedicating less time to learning and revising. The students that watch less television may spend more time learning and therefore could perform better in exams obtaining a higher grade. Currently there has been no research in support of hours of television watched and a university student’s grade so this research would be a first in its field. Data and methodology The data collected has been obtained by using a survey. It contains answers from 82 second year undergraduate students from the Aston Business School. The questions were based on personal information, life style, family background, academic related information and other information. The answers that related to a student’s social lifestyle were then chosen to become variables for the research. In order to process the data, a programme called Stata which is an integrated statistical package for data analysis, will be used. It will enable the data to be viewed easily in the form of graphs, tables and numerical values. A problem that may occur in the study is the presence of heteroskedasticity. This only occurs in cross-sectional studies. We will carry out a heteroskedasticity test and if the probability shows a value quite far from 0 then heteroskedasticity is present. We will use the following methods to interpret the information: * Mean: The average number for the data * Standard Deviation: This creates a value that shows how dispersed the values are from their mean. The lower the standard deviation, the less dispersed the values are. * Min: shows the lowest value scored for the variable examined. * Max: Shows the highest value scored for the variable examined. * Correlation: Shows how strong the relationship between the two variables are. A positive correlation means that as one variable increases, so does the other. A negative correlation means as one variable decreases, the other increases. Zero correlation means that the variables have no effect on each other. I am looking for negative correlations in my study which will be portrayed as a negative coefficient value * Regression analysis – Shows how the value of the dependant variable changes as one independent variable is varied and the others remain fixed. * P value – A means to test the hypothesis, at the significance level 5%, if the P value is equal to or lower than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected * R2 – Value used to see how much percentage the dependent variable is explained by the independent variable. The more units of alcohol consumed, the lower a student’s first year average grade would be Table 2 shows that there is a positive correlation of 0.0947 between the students grade and alcohol consumption. This suggests that the students that consumed more alcohol scored higher grades. However, this data could be inaccurate because of possible anomalies. Graph 1 Graph 1 shows a scatter graph of average score for first year against units of alcohol consumed per week. A linear trend line has been added to display the positive correlation that exists between the two variables. It can be argued that the line is only slightly angled which portrays a weak positive correlation. It can also be seen that there is a large concentration where there has been little alcohol consumed but the grades vary enormously. The highest grade was 85. One of the students that achieved this drank 0 units a week, however the other that achieved it drank 14 units a week which is much larger than the mean of 6.71 units a week. A regression analysis was then carried out. Table 3 shows the statistical results obtained. The coefficient is 0.1057496, holding all other variables constant, means for every increase in unit of alcohol, there was a 0.1057496 increase in grades. The R2 shows a value of 0.009 which means only 0.9% of the students grades are explained by the units of alcohol consumption. Further the P-Value is larger than 0.05 at the 5% significance level which means the null hypothesis is accepted. Finally a heteroskedasticity test showed the value of 0.9975 which is larger than 0 suggesting that the relationship is heteroskedastic. It is generally believed that an increase in alcohol consumption would have led to reduced grades because of the effects alcohol has on your body such as reduced concentration. However, the results show a weak positive correlation which suggests that as alcohol consumption increased, grades also increased. These results could be conclusive to Aston Business Students as they all have a similar amount of work and follow similar timetables. In other courses, drinking the same amounts of alcohol may have a different effect on grades depending on how difficult the course is whether the course is exam dominated or coursework dominated. The more hours online on Facebook, the lower a student’s average grade would be Referring back to table 2, the correlation between the hours online on Facebook and a student grade is 0.1291. This also doesn’t conform to the hypothesis as it suggests that the more hours online on Facebook, the higher a student’s average grade would be. Graph 2 Here we can see clearly a positive correlation between the two variables. As hours online on Facebook rises, so do the students grades. However the anomaly which is at (75,80) could have an effect on the trend line causing it to become inaccurate. There is a large concentration of grades around 0 hours. However the grades vary a lot at this area. Table 4 shows the results of the regression analysis carried out on Stata. The coefficient was 0.1333656, holding all other variables constant. This implies that for every hour online on Facebook, there is a 0.1333656 increase in the average score of a student’s first year grades. The R2 value shows that 1.67% of the student’s grades are explained by the hours they spend online on Facebook. This again is small figure so there is a possibility that there is no real relationship between these two variables. The P-Value of 0.248 is larger than 0.05 at a 5% significance value which implies the null hypothesis should be accepted. The heteroskedasticity test showed a value of 0.4790 which is further than two showing that the relationship is heteroskedastic. In theory, the more hours online on Facebook would lead to reduced grades as it provides a distraction for revision and learning. However some students may use Facebook for work purposes such as an online study group. Roblyer et al stated that Facebook has â€Å"the potential to become a valuable resource to support their (students) educational communications and collaborations with faculty.† (Roblyer et al 2010). This shows that students are able to communicate with lectures via Facebook so may be able to get help on topics they are struggling with. This will show an increase in grades. Another reason for the results found is that Facebook allows students to take a break from their work leaving them feeling motivated to return to their work after they have rested so maybe a couple of hours on Facebook is beneficial. Overall the theory and the results do not conform. The null hypothesis will have to be accepted, however on a larger population, theory and results may conform. The more hours of Television Watched, the lower a student’s grade would be Referring back to table 2 shows that the coefficient between these two variables is -0.0569. This portrays a negative relationship meaning that as the hours of television watched are increased, the student’s average grade decreases. Graph 3 Graph 3 shows the relationship between the two variables and the trend line confirms a downward trend. It could be said that there are anomalies in this data at 20 hours of television watched, however 20 hours is possible and three people have reported to have watched 20 hours so in this case, it is justified as valid data. The samples are very spread out thought it can be viewed that a lot of students watch zero hours of television yet their grades varied from 44% to 85%. Similar results can be seen at 10 hours of television viewed per week. This evidence implies that there is no difference between hours of Television watched and the student’s first year average score. Regression analysis results for the two variables are displayed on table 5. The correlation coefficient shows a value of -0.1073295. This shows that there is a 0.1073295 decrease in a student’s average grade for every hour of television watched holding all other variables constant. The P-Value and R2 both show that there is little relationship between the variables. The P-Value is 0.612 which is much larger than 0.05 at the 5% significance level. This means that the null hypothesis is accepted. The R2 is 0.0032 which means that only 0.32% of students grade are explained by hours of television watched. Watching television in my view will reduce a student’s grades as, like Facebook, it provides a distraction towards learning and revision. Also most programmes are an hour long and this is a significant amount of time not to learn or revise particularly if the student watches 2 or 3 programmes in a row. However, MacLean and Roderick (1968) believe that television is â€Å" a new facility through which the teacher can better achieve traditional educational aims.† In university, lecturers can record their lectures and put them on the internet to be viewed anytime, if this is counted as a form of online TV then watching these type of programmes will be educational and may help the student to attain better grades. Conclusion With all the results obtained and analysed and after considering the theory behind the relationship between the variables, it can be concluded that only one of the three sub hypotheses could be confirmed. The first sub hypothesis aimed to find a relationship between a student’s average first year grade and the amount of alcohol consumed, however, due to a positive correlation it was concluded that, in this study, as alcohol consumption increased, so did the students grade. The next sub hypothesis aimed to find a relationship between a student’s average first year grade and the amount of hours on Facebook per week a student used. Again a positive correlation showed that, in this study, the more hours on Facebook, the higher a student’s average first year grade was. The last sub hypothesis aimed to find a relationship between hours of television watched per week and a student’s average grade. The positive correlation confirmed the relationship that the more hours of television watched, the lower a student’s average first year grade was. It must be taken into account that there may have been external factors also affecting the student’s grade that weren’t examined in this research. There were some problems in the data provided that may have caused inaccuracies in the studies. Firstly, the data was collected by means of a survey with multiple questions asked regarding many topics of the student’s life. A problem with using surveys is that people may lack the motivation to fill out the survey correctly and truthfully. Further, if a student doesn’t understand the question, they may just guess the answer which leads to inaccurate results. It is highly doubtful that a student would accurately measure his/hers unit of alcohol consumption nor would they time the hours they are on Facebook or hours watching television. It could be argued that all the data collected is based on approximation rather than accuracy and this reduces the validity of the research. Next, the sample size which consists of 82 people is too small to represent an entire population of students. Also, all the students used were business students. This might have had an effect on the grades achieved for the year and the amount of time the student could use for socializing. For other courses, it could be easier to achieve a higher grade with the same amount of alcohol drunk, time on Facebook and television watched. Finally, it was only students from Aston University who were surveyed which means students from other universities were not taken into account of. This questions the validity of this study and whether we can generalize it to an entire population. In my opinion, a much larger sample is needed to show a more accurate result. Too add to this, another survey should be conducted with a larger population and the only questions that should be asked are the ones that relate specifically to the variables in the hypothesis. This study allowed me to apply the statistical and analytical skills learnt in the econometrics module. I learnt how to use software to help provide statistics to achieve a conclusion to my hypothesis and sub-hypothesis. The study in my opinion was not a success due to the lack of data received. In this study, my hypothesis was not proven so I must accept the null hypothesis: There is no relationship between a Students social lifestyle and first year exam grades. However I believe if I could redo the study with a much larger sample size and only specific questions related to my variables, then the results would confirm my hypothesis. References Kirschner, P.A, Karpinski, A.C, 2010. Facebook ® and academic performance. Computers in Human Behaviour, [Online]. Volume 26 issue 6, 1237-1245. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563210000646[Accessed 01 December 2011]. Wood, P.K et al, 1997. Predicting Academic Problems in College from Freshman Alcohol Involvement.Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, [Online]. Volume 58 issue 2, 200-210. Available at:http://www.jsad.com/jsad/article/Predicting_Academic_Problems_in_College_from_Freshman_Alcohol_Involvement/406.html[Accessed 02 December 2011]. Freemantle, N et al, 1993. Brief interventions and alcohol use. Quality in Health Care, [Online]. Volume 2 issue 4, 267-273. Available at: http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/2/4/267.full.pdf [Accessed 02 December 2011]. Roblyer, M.D et al, 2010. Findings on Facebook in higher education: A comparison of college faculty and student uses and perceptions of social networking sites. The Internet and Higher Education, [Online]. 13/3, 134/140. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751610000278#aff1 [Accessed 03 December 2011].

Monday, October 14, 2019

Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior Theory

Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior Theory Buyer Behavior and Marketing Strategy The theory of reasoned action assumes that consumers consciously consider the consequences of the alternative behaviours under consideration and choose the one that leads to the most desirable consequences (PO: 8th edition: 2008) where intention is the key cognitive demonstration of a persons willingness to carry out the specific behavior and is the single best predictor of actual behaviour (PO: 8th edition: 2008) this means that any action that requires a certain amount of cognitive thinking and decision process requires a behavioral intention in order to complete the behavior. The Theory of reasoned action is not relevant for extremely simple or involuntary behaviours such as automatic eye blinking. Turning your head at the sound of the telephone, or sneezing (PO: 8th edition: 2008) The Theory of reasoned action is an adapted and broadened development of the multiattribute model by Fishbein. This is a useful guide for devising strategies to change consumers attitudes (PO: 8th edition: 2008) The theory also assumes that people tend to perform behaviors that are evaluated favourably and are popular with other people (PO: 8th edition: 2008) therefore external and environmental factors influences such as the social environment and personal variables such as values, goals, lifestyle patterns and psychological characteristics manipulate the consumers intention to engage in the behavior. If the behavior is seen or regarded unpopular among people in close proximity of that person then it is highly likely that the intention to perform the behavior will not occur. Behavioral intention (BI) is a proposition connecting self and future action (PO: 8th edition: 2008) and these are created through Choice and Decision process (PO: 8th edition: 2008) depending on consumers intention to engage in that behavior and the subjective norm regarding whether other people want the consumer to engage in that behavior. The strength of intentions of the consumer is very important aspect as this is combined with evaluations that highlight the consumers salient beliefs about the function consequences (PO: 8th edition: 2008). This combination creates the attitude towards the behavior or action where we can see the overall manifestation of evaluation of performing the behavior. For marketers the measurements of these beliefs are important and the same method is used to measure beliefs about product attributes. attitudes towards behaviors are likely to be strongly related to specific behavioral intentions (PO: 8th edition: 2008) Thus in continuation if behavioral intentions and actions become more specific towards an object then this strongly changes attitudes toward the salient beliefs and consequences of the behavior moreover forming different evaluations. This is important as marketers must be careful to determine whether they are concerned with consumers attitudes toward the object in general or some action regarding the object (PO: 8th edition: 2008) for the measurement of strengths and evaluations of salient beliefs about the consequences. For example it would not be odd to find that a consumer enjoys eating take away fish and chips occasionally, but they would have negative attitudes toward eating takeaway fish and chips everyday as this behavior would have negative consequences and would not be perceived as a favourable or popular among other people. The levels of specificity should be appropriate in relation to attitudes as more specific actions will see the need for different behaviours the measured intention should be specified at the same level as the observer (PO: 8th edition: 2008) other wise the relationship between measured behavioural intentions and observed behaviour will be weakened. This relates to appropriateness of specific behavior in specific situations, for example if a person wore jeans to the gymnasium for a work out, the observed behaviour by the social norm would think it is inappropriate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social Norm is another key element in the theory of reasoned action as this reflects consumers perceptions of what other people want them to do (PO: 8th edition: 2008). This of course is directly linked with behavioral intention and the individuals compliance to the expected social normative beliefs. Measured in probability of individuals motivation to conform to the subjective social norm, similar technique to how behavioral intention and belief strength is measured. If the subjective norm is higher then than intentional strength, then the behavior is evaluated under normative control rather than attitude linked control. In addition another hugely important factor is time, time is the major predictive accuracy of measured intentions, the longer the intervening time period, the more unanticipated circumstances (PO: 8th edition: 2008) consumer intentions and attitudes change over time and the longer it takes between measurement of intentions and observation of behavior the more likely other factors adjust the original intention so that it no longer corresponds to the observed behavior. Thus marketers must expect lower levels of predictive accuracy when intentions are measured long before the behavior occurs (PO: 8th edition: 2008) In 1985 the Fishbein model was modified once again with an additional variable of perceived control in the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this variable assumes that the consumer does not have complete voluntary control over some behaviors, if this is the case then we assume that the intentions are misleading which would create inaccuracies observed behavior. Addictions to smoking and alcohol would deter perceived control where he or she has little or not control, in comparison to someone walking into a supermarket and with out going through any cognitive or decision making processes picks up a Cadbury bar instead of a Mars bar. But do consumers really approach and purchase products in the same fashioned way by the theory outlined? The theory is required to be falsifiable, and looking at different perspectives of authors, critiques and methods of application in real time environments we can come to a better understanding of whether this theory is accurate or not Like any other theory posed in the past, the theory of reasoned action has been under criticism for the past 30 years, The theory of reasoned action identifies the types of cognitive and affective factors that underlie a consumers intention to perform a specific behavior, although intentions determine most voluntary behaviors, measures of consumers intentions may not be perfect indicators of the actual intentions that determine the behavior (PO: 8th edition: 2008) According to PO, the theory of reasoned action gives possible motives, triggers and possible cognitive and decision making processes that determines peoples behaviors through behavioural intentions, The intentions themselves are not solid indicators that people will actually perform those behaviors. According to David Trafimow in his Journal Theory of Reasoned Action: A case Study of Falsification in Psychology (2009; 19; 501) David Trafimow poses a question which is also posed by Miniard and Cohen (1981) that criticises two key components, what if behavioural beliefs normative beliefs are really different names for each other? and as a consequence Trafimow underlines that there is a conceptual problem with the theory of reasoned action. The suggested illustration of a behavior is eating a chocolate bar; the behavioral belief is my father will disagree with me if I eat a chocolate bar and the normative belief is my father thinks I should not eat a chocolate bar. This clearly suggests that there is a contradiction in the theory where it states that behavioral beliefs and normative beliefs have a clear distinction. As a result of this contradiction the theory is left rendered unfalsifiable (Trafimow: 2009; 19; 501) so if this distinction is considered incorrect then surely attitud e and subjective norms subject for question? In contrast to the theory of reasoned action researchers believe that attitude contains both affective and cognitive variables (Trafimow 2009; 19; 501), (Triandis 1980). Factor analysis is used on this assumption to test and determine the conception of attitude by many researchers; however Trafimow indicates that researchers limiting themselves to factor analysis paradigms would in no way seem to falsify the theory. Instead, Trafimow Sheeran (1998) include auxiliary assumptions to assume an associative hypothesis to test on participants associative pathways if beliefs that are more cognitive are likely to become associated with each other compared to beliefs that are more affective. The results substantiates the hypothesis, The participants in the study contiguously retrieved cognitive beliefs to each other and affective beliefs to each other; therefore it brings us to an essential assumption about the theory of reasoned action attitudes do not contain distinctive and affective comp onents (Trafimow Sheeran, 1998) As a result of this falsification it is this reason that the theory has directed the modification to apply distinction in the Ajzen and Fishbein model (2005). The application of theory of reasoned action in marketing environment research methods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trafimows method of auxiliary assumptions to falsify theories has shown us that the theory of reasoned action is used widely by many researchers and marketers nevertheless it is still not an unconditional technique. Personally, the theory is still an assumption and it does not accurately illustrate consumers approach to the purchase of products, as shown by Trafimows case study the theory is proving unfalsifiable and has critical conceptual problems that would need to be addressed before this theory could be used to show accurate results, but even then human psychology and behavior studies are still in the dark ages and achieving that is a accomplishment for the future generations.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Dynamics of the Dengue Fever Virus and the Creation of its Vaccine

The Dynamics of the Dengue Fever Virus and the Creation of its Vaccine Abstract: I investigated Dengue Fever and the dynamics of creating a drug or vaccine to cure it. After acquiring a basic knowledge of the virus I dove into various topics including variants on the virus such as Dengue Shock Syndrome and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Then I looked into the molecular structure of the disease’s proteins and how their shape relates to how it can be treated by drugs. Professor Tantillo’s lectures about drug design, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity) connected the concepts of protein molecular structure and effective ways to treat diseases. After researching the basic history behind Dengue Fever, I came to the conclusion that Dengue Fever is an extremely prominent disease that has no cure and will be very difficult to cure in the future due to our lack of knowledge about it. A nine-year-old boy in Campos dos Goytacazes, and urban region of Rio de Janeiro, was admitted into a hospital displaying a fever in excess of 103 degrees. He was treated for his symptoms but there was no official diagnosis [6]. A day later he was discharged from the hospital, yet returned two days later with a worsening condition and elevated levels of his previous symptoms. On the fifth day he was diagnosed with Dengue Fever Shock Syndrome (a derivative of Dengue Fever). Eventually his condition spiraled into anemia, heart murmurs, and gastritis. Dengue Fever (DF) is a known â€Å"Flavivirus† [2], which falls into the same family of viruses such as Yellow fever, Hepatitis C, West Nile Virus and about fifty other viruses [4]. DF is found in such places as Central/Sou... ...222-2225 25 July 2008 [5] Schlesinger, R. W. Dengue Viruses. Wien: Springer-Verlag, 1977. [6] SOUZA, Luiz Josà © de, CARNEIRO, Helder Gonà §alves, SOUTO FILHO, Joà £o Tadeu Damian et al. Hepatitis in Dengue Shock Syndrome. Braz J Infect Dis [online]. 2002, vol. 6, no. 6 [citado 2008-07-29], pp. 322-327. Disponà ­vel em: 86702002000600010&lng=pt&nrm=iso>. ISSN 1413-8670. doi: 10.1590/S1413- 86702002000600010 [7] Tantillo. (Lectures 23 July 2008 and 25 July 2008) [8] Whitehead, Steven S., Joseph E. Blaney, Anna P. Durbin, and Brian R. Murphy. "Prospects for a Dengue Virus Vaccine." Nature Reviews 5 (2007): 518-28. 25 July 2008 [9] Xinhua. "Thailand to test Mahidol-developed dengue vaccine prototype." People's Daily Online 05 Sept. 2005.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

A Fortunate Life :: Free Essay Writer

Essay – A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey â€Å"Bert Facey is the epitome of the legendary Australian†. Demonstrate this from a study of his autobiography. Albert Facey’s novel, A Fortunate Life depicts the life of an extraordinary man living in old Australia. Facey portrays many characteristics that would label him as being a ‘true Aussie battler’, but it is the deeper and more sensitive side of him that allows him to be labeled with the term – a legendary Australian. A legend by dictionary terms is someone who is admired by others and achieved great accomplishments. Facey has certainly both achieved and accomplished much during his life, such as learning to read at a late age. Facey’s life was full of private success and were it not for his book; he would have remained an unsung hero throughout Australian history. Facey’s lack of education haunted him throughout his early life. As Facey ‘hadn’t any schooling’ he found it difficult to read and write. Facey had always viewed his illiteracy as a personal shortcoming and took pains to not display his ignorance to the world. ‘Then a waitress came with a list of what we could have to eat. I was stumped – I couldn’t read or write. Then I had a brainwave and decided to have what Mr. Lander ordered.’ Facey was not comfortable with his feelings of inadequacy, and took many painful steps to try and rectify the situation. He eventually, through much practice and determination, learnt to read and write, and was able to pen his novel. The fact that Facey both acknowledged and overcame his illiteracy, shows him to be a man of great spirit and willpower as facing up to personal faults is never an easy thing to do. Life as an itinerant rural worker was very tough for Facey and not very rewarding. Throughout his early life, Facey was forced to work for extremely poor money and working conditions. Although life was hard, Facey was not one to complain or make trouble. He worked hard for the Bibby’s and previous employers, and was a loyal worker and a good companion. Facey showed an immense amount of pride in his work and was always willing to lend a hand to a mate. During his life, Facey made numerous friends or ‘mates’. He was friendly to the people he worked with, the soldiers he fought with and his family he lived with.

Friday, October 11, 2019

The Concept of Total War

The period between 1914-1918, or most commonly known as World War I, is historically significant. Aside from its unforgettable aftermath wherein a number of casualties and various war damages were recorded, World War I also paved the way for the emergence of the concept of total war. It is through this total war that the series of wars that followed within the international system based their strategies and learning experiences making the subsequent conflicts a lot worse. Total War, according to Stephen Badsey, is considered as the â€Å"organization of entire societies for war in social, economic, and even spiritual sense† (Badsey n. ). It is a war strategy wherein combatants forcibly involved properties, lands, and attenuate the vulnerable civilians or non-combatants in their struggle against the enemies instead of just focusing on conquering their military targets. Basically, it is an armed force waged using all national power, human strength and material goods, considering that the traditional presence of big battalions are insufficient without the â€Å"Home Front† support (Kiraly 15). This movement showed tremendous effects in the country's populace and showed social changes. The economy of states involved in total war is strictly controlled to monitor and regulate the flow of money and where finances are utilized. Moreover, through the influence of media and nationalistic propaganda, the citizens are moved to strengthen their support for the total war (Schmiechen 459). As stated earlier, the First World War gauged the intensity of the wars after it. Because of the tragedy caused by World War I, many citizens became very suspicious and fearful of their surroundings and the eventualities around them. The American public is no exemption to this escalating fear and apprehension with the actions and decisions done by their country either domestically or internationally. Post – World War I As eventful as the World War I, the Great Depression of 1929 – 1933 sson took place. It was also known as the Global Economic Slump wherein the Wall Street stock market crash affected the American financial system (Baylis & Smith 57). Because of this economic depression, many Americans feared a massive social consequence manifested in a surge of unemployment. Unemployment was perceived as USA’s primary enemy because it resulted to a number of impoverished families suffering because of the collapse in the market (Baylis & Smith 59). Different reactions emerged during this period including the government’s economic response by pursuing protectionism and avoid importing products from other countries. The period of depression ended with the emergence of World War II. Supposedly, the years 1939-1945 should relieve the American society from the economic slump it previously experienced, however, circumstances worsen as conflict escalates among the involved factions in the war. One of the domestic enemies America experienced during this period was the massive influx of immigrants from different parts of Europe. This is a manifestation of the escalating civil war among the different Western countries. As a response to this, US modified its migration quota system to filter out desirable citizens to enter their land. Immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland were awarded generous qoutas as compared to Russians and Italians as they were affiliated with the emerging powerful satellite group, the Soviet Union, threatening the American democratic system (â€Å"Immigration Through Time†). After World War II, the Cold War era, from 1945-1990 followed. It was a war between two â€Å"Superpowers,† the United States of America and the Soviet Union (Baylis & Smith 72). Many proxy wars in the Third World took place during this period, dragging countries all over the world in the war and dividing them between the two superpowers. The emerging power of USSR threatened the American society as the manifestation of communism is felt world wide and even domestically. The eventualities during the Cuban missile crisis triggered greater military threat in the country as the Soviet Union is believed to be keeping weapons of mass destruction. America reacted in this situation by entering the global battlefield with the USSR and pursued an arms race (Baylis & Smith 81). By the end of the cold war period, USA emerged as the most powerful country and helped some European countries rehabilitate the damages of war. The country continued to emerge as a powerful country wherein they are perceived as primary trade partners world wide. However, in the post 9/11 period, American society placed the blame to the Twin Tower tragedy to the terrorists who were considered as â€Å"the axis of evil† which includes some rogue states in West Asia (Chenoy 13). As a preemptive response by the present administration, they pursued counter-terrorism campaign and established the â€Å"coalition of the willing† to overcome acts of terrorism world wide (Schifferes n. p). The periods of conflict that America experienced over the years showed how the public is very much affected. From the Great Depression and the fear of unemployment, World War II and the problem on undesirable immigrants, the Cold War era and the emergence of communism, and post 9/11 period with the threats of terrorism, the American public is imparted with so much problems and enemies both domestically and internationally which greatly affects the country's internal affairs and national interest to pursue. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the government to ensure that the public interest is taken into consideration in their policy-making to assure the security and safety of their citizens.