The Space And Space Exploration - 844 Words

In the midst of presidential race between many candidates, Ted Cruz was one that stood out because of his many plans and policies on space exploration. Ted Cruz has spoken of what he plans on doing if he were to become president. He plans on developing a rocket and capsule that can take astronauts clear into Mars early as 2030. He adds that this is a crucial part in space exploration and developing NASA in to full capacity. The project which will cost billions of dollars will further advance the United States into the superior space program over any other country in the world. While many of Cruz’s opponents think that spending money on space exploration is an extreme waste of valuable cash, Cruz still defends his ideas and plans on turning this country into the space super power. Cruz seems to care a lot about space exploration and plans on making that a huge part of his run at presidency. The space war so to speak between the United States and Russia is one that will continue through the ages and one that Cruz has repeatedly said he will put a stop to. He insists that we can get astronauts to the space station without the help of our rival Russia. As we all know The U.S. has been reliant on Russia for a long time including back in 2011 when they helped shuttle astronauts to the orbiting lab. Cruz who represents the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas believes that he is the best candidate for those astronomy aficionados. Florida senator Bill Nelson deeply agreesShow MoreRelatedThe Space Of Space Exploration1254 Words   |  6 PagesSpace a waste?!!? Throughout the years there has been an increase in people against the idea of space exploration they believe it is foolhardy and a waste of money. Though space travel in not wasting money or blindly throwing resources away. Space exploration is an investment as we progress forward and continue to develop as a society, it will serve as a stepping stone in human expansion and help human’s learn more about their capabilities and limitations. Overpopulation Overpopulation has beenRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration Essay1913 Words   |  8 Pagesconcept of space exploration was first introduced to the American public in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy famously stood before congress and vowed that America would put a man on the moon â€Å"within the decade.† With hopes of defeating the Soviet Union in the â€Å"Space Race† and gaining a leg-up in the Cold War, NASA funding reached its all-time high in 1965-1966 when about four percent of the federal budget was devoted to exploring space. Since then however, funding dedicated to exploring space has nose-divedRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration1207 Words   |  5 Pages Keep Spreading Human Footprints into the Space The space is always full of mysteries embellished with humans’ fantasy. Developing from the ancient theory of â€Å"round sky and square earth† to the Big Bang theory and even sending astronauts to other planets, humans use their intelligence to satisfy their curiosity towards the universe. The new discoveries and achievements along with the space programs show the competence of humans and prove the necessity to keep exploring the universe with human. AlthoughRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration940 Words   |  4 PagesSpace Exploration Space exploration tends to be a subject that is arguable to Americans as we pride ourselves in boasting over every single one of our advancements. We progressed upon our predecessors such as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin: the ones that ventured into an unknown world. Their courage led us to achievements that have led our future to unsurpassable heights. I find myself almost having a vivid image of the moon landing in 1969 even though I would not be born for almost 30 years. AsRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration1464 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract Because our future depends on it, humanity must continue to invest in space exploration.. Technologies from the space program can be used to benefit the world and everyday life. Space flight encourages scientific aspirations and therefore more college educated people. The answers to the most deep-rooted questions of humanity lie in space. Who are we, why are we here? Are we alone? Why spend money on spaceflight when we have plenty of problems here on earth? The money that we spend on spaceflightRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration2341 Words   |  10 PagesSpace exploration has opened up so many new aspects to what is really out there and we have accomplished many things in terms of discovery and proof. There are issues involved with space exploration, though, such as space debris, astronaut safety, and the theory of space exploration really being a mission to find an alternative livable space if Earth ever becomes uninhabitable. Understanding the real reasons why we are going t o such great lengths to find life in space could change the outlook onRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration Essay2288 Words   |  10 Pagestriumphs in the fields of space exploration and aeronautics. The forefront of this â€Å"Space Race† arguably began with the Sputnik, a Russian artificial satellite launched in the late 1950’s. Following the launch of Sputnik 1, the genesis of American competitive space exploration built roots in the formation of NASA under the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was founded in 1958 under a premise of competitive space exploration and continued discoveryRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration1982 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Since the beginning of the Space Race between the US and USSR, human civilization began to step forward into a new era of space exploration. Numerous artificial objects were sent onto the earth orbits for various purposes. Their existence brought human race a broader vision and deeper understanding upon the outer space. However, many of them and parts remain in space. Some were retired and deserted, and some shattered into pieces. More and more have realized that,these out-of-controlRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration1787 Words   |  8 PagesHave you ever wondered how space exploration impacts your daily life? Space exploration is â€Å"the investigation, by means of manned and unmanned spacecraft, of the reaches of the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the cosmos and benefit humanity† (Logsdon). A spacecraft is a vehicle designed for travel or operation in space beyond the earth s atmosphere or i n orbit around the Earth. (dictionary.com). Advances in technology in the 20thRead MoreThe Space Of Space Exploration2152 Words   |  9 Pagescost of space exploration is too high, and therefore new technological developments should be left to the private sector rather than the taxpayers pockets. Some feel that the funding of NASA and space exploration is no longer necessary or important, but whether funded privately or b the government, funding of space exploration is imperative because NASA is essentially the only agency with the technological capabilities to support aircraft manufacturing, air safety, and air transportation. Space exploration

Lolita Response Paper Free Essays

Carleigh Craparo 12. 3. 12 English Lolita can be described as a controversial book that can draw the readers in and cause them to feel sympathetic towards a man who is a murderer, pedophile, predator, and an egomaniac. We will write a custom essay sample on Lolita Response Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now The author, Vladimir Nabokov, seduced the readers’ minds’ with numerous elements about Humbert to distract them from his true evil tendencies. Humbert is the main character of Lolita and describes his life story from an American jail cell. He begins to describe his childhood and how he was struck by his first love named Annabel Leigh. They were deeply attracted to one another and attempted to make love for the first time, however, they are interrupted and never able to follow through because Annabel died shortly after. Throughout the novel, Humbert attempts to â€Å"recreate† his past and therefore a psychotic obsession follows. Humbert is a sympathetic pedophile that is trapped in his own self-delusion. He is able to manipulate the readers by capturing them with his eloquent writing style, cunning looks, justification, and an array of attempts to get the reader to see through his eyes with his skewed perspective. Vladimir’s style of writing really stuck out to many readers at the time it was published. Humbert mainly writes in long sentences and uses elegant words to transpose the reader’s feelings towards his lustful desire. Humbert was raised by a multicultural father who gave Humbert the ability to become multilingual and have an impressive education. He feeds the readers’ minds’ with fancy words such as etiolated, sartorial, truculently, Lucerne, platitudinous, or even neuralgic. Humbert is able to distract the reader from the evil in his thoughts by using his literary illusions, ornate style, and multilingual puns. Also, Vladimir creatively uses anagrams throughout his writing such as a character’s name is Vivian Darkbloom, which correlates with the author’s name Vladimir Nabokov. The words and phrases he uses foreshadow the storyline. For example, the name Dolores, which is Lolita’s real name, means sorrow and grief in Latin. While, Lolita, (the name Humbert made up) sounds light, playful, and suggestive. Humbert changing Dolores’s name shows that he dehumanizes her and created a fantasy of her in his head. Mentally, he already separated her from the normal childhood she needed and fantasized of a fake realm. Also, the author creates many visual scenes like in the book when he was recalling a shopping trip, â€Å"Lifesize plastic figures of snug-nosed children with dun-colored, greenish, brown-dotted, faunish faces floated around me. I realized I was the only shopper in that rather eerie place where I moved about fishlike, in a glaucous aquarium. I sensed strange thoughts. † His style in writing connects the readers so intensely with Humbert so they can feel his emotions to end up having emotional empathy. Humbert was a man that was fascinated not only with nymphettes, but also his â€Å"charming outward appearance†. Even though Humbert Humbert is a narcissist man, he has a long history of women lusting after him. It all began with his beloved Annabel, then to his first wife Valeria, then onto Charlotte, Lolita Jean Farlow, and lastly Rita. All of these women became entranced by Humbert’s â€Å"clean-cut jaw, muscular hand, deep sonorous voice, broad shoulder†. Not only were many women falling for Humbert’s looks, but also Humbert himself. He was very aware of his appearance and even says â€Å"I was, and still am, despite mes malheurs, an exceptionally handsome male; slow-moving, tall, with soft dark hair and a gloomy but all the more seductive cast of demeanor†. Humbert is a very egotistical man and compliments his outward appearances to balance his inner guilt. He is able to charm the readers by distracting them with his likable attractiveness. Not only does Humbert Humbert manipulate the audience with his writing style, proper English background, and physical features, but he also justifies his actions. He desperately attempts for the readers to understand his shameful past and makes excuses for the actions he made. He is an unreliable narrator and rarely reveals how the scenes truly play out. Humbert gives the story in a biased manner and is overwhelmed in his self-delusion. He is constantly looking for sympathy and wants the reader to be as perverse as he is. Many say that he battles between beauty and lust. He pretends that he is appreciating beauty and completely voids his ethics and morals. Sadly, lust ultimately wins and he overtakes Lolita’s innocence. Again, Humbert blames Quilty for taking Lolita’s innocence when it was truly Humbert himself. He somewhat understands his actions were wrong when he begins to express regret, â€Å"Reader! What I heard was but the melody of children at play, nothing but that, and so limpid was the air within this vapor of blended voices, majestic and minute, remote and magically near, frank and divinely enigmatic—one could hear now and then, as if released, an almost articulate spurt of vivid laughter [†¦] I stood listening to that musical vibration from my lofty slope [†¦] and then I knew that the hopelessly poignant thing was not Lolita’s absence from my side, but the absence of her voice from that concord† Humbert is an evil man that will not accept his pedophiliac nature. Lolita quickly had her mother, innocence, and rights taken from her when Humbert walked into her life. Humbert likes to paint Lolita as a young girl infatuated with him because his looks resembled that of a famous celebrity she had a crush on. However, he rarely goes into depth on Lolita’s thoughts and emotions and completely dismisses them. He immediately believes this â€Å"street smart† girl feels the exact same way he does. Not only does Humbert try to twist that Lolita feels the same way as Humbert feels, but he also manipulates the readers to think that Lolita has full control over the relationship. If it wasn’t for Humbert madly obsessing over Lolita, her mother Charlotte, would not run away frantically from finding out about Humbert’s true dark feelings for Lolita. Charlotte is instantly killed by a car and Humbert truly has no guilt whatsoever for her death but feels relieved instead. Humbert then is able to take full control of Lolita’s life and belongings. Humbert is constantly bribing Lolita for sexual favors and strips her away from having any freedom at school such as talking to boys. They travel across the country and Lolita ripped away from having anything close to a normal life. Humbert is proven to be a manipulator and controller because of his behavior in the past. Throughout his childhood, he had control over his life after his mother’s death. He is able to manipulate Lolita by being in full control of the money and tells her that she has nowhere to go if she attempts to leave him. She had no other alternative but to fall to someone else to escape the trap that Humbert put on Lolita. Humbert is able to make the audience see that he is just a man that can’t control his lust and love for a girl when she is constantly throwing herself at him. However, that may not be the case and by him becoming more and more controlling of Lolita, he is losing less control of himself. Overall, Humbert is a sympathetic pedophile constantly lurking for others to understand his feelings or he may think that people just think and feel as he does. He uses numerous techniques to grab his victims and get them to be controlled or manipulated. When the book was first published, many did not see the art to Nabakov’s book and completely dismissed it as â€Å"pornographic† and â€Å"innapropriate†. However, Nabakov took a dark storyline and got the readers to â€Å"become one† with the villain. Even Nabakov says Humbert is a â€Å"monster of incuriosity† and â€Å"a vain and cruel wretch†. Nabakov is able to get the audience to feel sympathetic for him and seduce the readers with his memoirs. He uses How to cite Lolita Response Paper, Papers

Challenges of Implementing Evidence Based Practice

Question: Discuss about the Challenges of Implementing Evidence Based Practice. Answer: Introduction There has always been a disconnect between what IT systems do and what they were envisaged to do (Lyon, n.d.), (Wrubel, 2014). The customers do not always get the outcomes they desired from IT systems, despite a disproportionately large amounts of time and resources dedicated towards defining user requirements, following of the standard and fitting processes in developing the IT systems, and focusing on the functional characteristics of the IT system (Hillestad et al., 2005), (Kaplan and Norton, 2005). This has prompted a shift among researchers and stakeholders from focusing on the product and its functional capabilities through the process of development to the effects and outcomes of the IT project. This paradigm shift is term evidence based development; where the effects and/ or outcomes of IT projects determine and define the process of their development. Evidence based development (EBD) is a paradigm in which contractual agreements and the interaction between IT system vendors and customers is defined by the effects/ outcomes of the IT projects delivered. It is a shift from product functionality development of IT projects to a user centered design (UCD) (Dressel and Srivatsav, 2015). UCD (sometimes called UDD (user driven development) is a process framework in which user characteristics, usability goals, tasks, environment, and work-flow of a product, process, or service, is given extensive focus in every stage of the development process (Gransson, Gulliksen and Boivie, 2003). In the context of UCD, this paper reviews and critiques the new paradigm of evidence based development in IT projects as put forth by Hertzum and Simonsen ; it begins by stating the significance of the problem that has necessitated its (EBD) introduction into the mainstream and why it is an important area for research and study. The paper then discusses evidence and arguments to support their position and how convincing these arguments are; the discussion then delves into counter evidence in relation to the authors works. The paper then goes on to discuss the im plications of the authors thesis and position to the software development community, its implications to the author and how the authors sees how the new paradigm can be applied at the workplace; the paper then makes a conclusion. Significance Vendors and developers usually develop software that have the functionalities that can satisfy the user requirements. This process usually commences with a capturing of customer user requirements before a prototype is developed and the final product developed based on user feedback (Gransson, Gulliksen and Boivie, 2003). As the authors allude, while this process has been used extensively, it has pitfalls because much focus is placed on the product and process rather than the effects of the IT system/ project (Hertzum and Simonsen, n.d). Agile development, for instance, entails capturing of the user requirements both at the high level and piecemeal level just in time to enable each feature to be developed. However, the method is just barely enough (Waters, 2007). however, as the authors further state, there should a shift from product and process based interaction between consumers and vendors in IT projects to a measurable, evidence based UCD for IT projects development and delivery. This is still a new area of research that seeks to provide an alternative approach and view that promises, on the evidence of present research and hypothesis by the article authors, a better approach to IT projects where there is cooperation and UCD and that lower costs and risks for the customer while performing the functions that add value to the customer. The traditionally considered best approaches to IT projects/ systems development still have some serious flaws and pitfalls in as far as consumer satisfaction is concerned (Turk, Rumpe and France, 2014), (Brandon, 2008). The proposed method is therefore significant in providing new insights on how IT projects can benefit the consumer more and provide a platform by which tangible effects of IT projects can be measured and used as the basis for payments while also being the loci of the interaction between the consumers and vendor(s); rather than the use of technicals like the development process and the product functionalities. The concept can be likened a car; the consumer and vendor do not have a contract based on technicalities like the development process and its functionalities, instead, focus is placed on what the effects the car has; its acceleration, top speed, fuel consumption, comfort, torque, safety, and reliability, among others. Te concept of EBD in the context of UCD is t herefore important in providing a new paradigm and method of IT projects management and development that actually add value to the customer and forces vendors to spend more time on creating value adding effects in IT projects. Evidence The authors (Hertzum and Simonsen, n.d), argue that while vendors follow the laid down procedures during IT projects and place focus on functionality, the customer does not always get what they need. This is evidenced by many cases where customers reject IT project deliveries because it does not provide the envisaged effects and outcomes. They use new paradigms where the same concept has been used, in IT procurement using the case study of the California Franchise Tax Board where performance based procurement was used by a large IT customer to mange their relations with software vendors with the main objective of sharing risks and accomplished through performance based payments. In the case study, the vendor is paid only if the benefits defined in the contract are realized by the customer after the implementation; the benefits include operational savings, cost avoidance, and increased income). To implement the mode, there is an extensive pre-project phase where effects are defined an d documented and form the basis for the contract, all at the vendors cost. This ensures the vendor places the due commitment to the IT project and focus on the effects rather than on the product of process. In a case study lasting a year, the authors review a case of home care providers where they tackle and give evidence that measuring the effects can actually be easy because this has been and continues to be a major concern for IT stakeholders; how do you define and quantify effects/ outcomes? For instance, the authors propose measurable effects be formulated for the home care IT project as using percentages to measure effects; for example, documentation of compliance with a certain procedure is 95% of the cases. While presenting their evidence though, the authors remain cognizant of the challenges of operationalizing the concept of EBD in the context of UCD; that while challenges remain, they can be overcome if there is a will among stakeholders, especially vendors. The points pu t forth are very convincing; for example, compliance must be 95% with a certain procedure. In everyday life, this is how most transactions occur; that an airplane must, for example, carry a passenger across the Atlantic within 8 hours and land at the scheduled time. However, because software is intangible, defining tangible/ measurable benefits that is accepted by all stakeholders and partners still remains a challenge, based on the findings and arguments of Titler, (2008) and Farley et al., (2009). while the author avers that such an approach is interesting and would help create greater value and synergy between customer and vendor, quantifying effects and outcomes for IT projects can be a challenge; though these challenges can be surmounted. Implications for Software Development This paper has no doubt stirred the hornets nest; on the one hand, the customers will see it as a panacea to a long held practice in which their contract with the vendors is based on technicalities and process while the software development community will see it as a largely impractical approach to interaction with customers. The software development community will be likely jolted from long held beliefs and traditions where they defined how they interact with consumers through technicalities and knowhow to a new truly UCD where payments are paid for benefits rather than processes and technicals. Development. For the author, this paper provides a refreshing and highly inventive approach to risk sharing, UCD, and what I believe is the right and fair process for software development that will truly add value to consumers. It provides me with a new way of thinking and new knowledge that is not only empowering (from the customer point of view), but also sweetly challenging to software de velopment where customers needs are actually met rather than offering customers functionalities and processes that can meet their needs but in most cases, usually does not. My views as a result have greatly changed and challenged at the same time; that vendors have been the greatest beneficiaries in IT projects while the customer has received the short end of the stick. It has also changed my views about cooperation and synergy that will eventually benefit the vendors and consumers in a symbiotic way and will add value to IT projects and allow more equitable risk sharing between vendors and customers. I will apply these principles at the workplace or organization where payment is made for benefits and outcomes rather than for technicals, processes, and functionalities, that in many a case do not add value at all. Conclusion Customers usually do not receive what they want or what adds value to their organizations in IT projects, as evidenced by many rejected IT project deliveries. The authors provide a new paradigm on the best way to share risks and ensure customers get what they want; what adds value to them through the use of evidence based development. Using examples of the California Franchise Tax Board and using a case study, provide real life and viable examples of where the concept can be applied. However, the authors are cognizant of the possible challenges, including how to quantify effects and if all stakeholders will accept them. The new paradigm is likely to throw vendors into a spin initially, but eventually their will embrace it and customers will quickly embrace the concept due to the risk sharing and its cost-effectiveness. Personally, I think its a fresh new concept that deserves a chance and that I am ready to apply in my organization. References Brandon, D. (2008). Software engineering for modern Web applications. 1st ed. Hershey, Pa.: IGI Global (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA). Dressel, C. and Srivatsav, N. (2015). Evidence-Based Design: an approach to better projects and happier teams. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@impossible_labs/evidence-based-design-an-approach-to-better- projects-and-happier-teams-40532e6ed425 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Farley, A., Feaster, D., Sar, B., Oak, S., Bruce, L., DAmbrosio, J. and Schapmire, T. (2009). The Challenges of Implementing Evidence Based Practice: Ethical Considerations in Practice, Education, Policy, and Research. [online] Socwork.net. Available at: https://www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/76/335Conceptually [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Gransson, B., Gulliksen, J. and Boivie, I. (2003). The usability design process - integrating user- centered systems design in the software development process. Software Process: Improvement and Practice, 8(2), pp.111-131. Hillestad, R., Bigelow, J., Bower, A., Girosi, F., Meili, R., Scoville, R. and Taylor, R. (2005). Can Electronic Medical Record Systems Transform Health Care? Potential Health Benefits, Savings, And Costs. Health Affairs, 24(5), pp.1103-1117. Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (2005). The Office of Strategy Management. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2005/10/the-office-of-strategy-management [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Lyon, B. (n.d.). How to Ensure Strong Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction. [online] Managementhelp.org. Available at: https://managementhelp.org/customers/service.htm [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Titler, M. (2008). Patient safety and quality: Chapter 7The Evidence for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation. 1st ed. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Turk, D., Rumpe, B. and France, R. (2014). Limitations of Agile Software Processes. Third International Conference on Extreme Programming and Flexible Processes in Software Engineering, 3(1), pp.26-30. Waters, K. (2007). Agile Principle 4: Agile Requirements Are Barely Sufficient | All About Agile. [online] Allaboutagile.com. Available at: https://www.allaboutagile.com/agile-principle-4- agile-requirements-are-barely-sufficient/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Wrubel, E. (2014). Agile Software Teams: How they Engage with Systems Engineering on Department of Defense Acquisition Programs. [online] Insights.sei.cmu.edu. Available at: https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/sei_blog/2014/11/agile-software-teams-how-they-engage-with- systems-engineering-on-department-of-defense-acquisition-p.html [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].

Was the Assassination at Sarajevo the Most Important Cause of World War 1 free essay sample

Assassination at Sarajevo the most important cause of World War 1? WW1 was announced on 28th July 1914, it was one of the most devastating wars ever to take place with over 16 million deaths. But how could a group of 7 young men known as the Black Hand, cause a war that effected millions of people around the globe. My aim is to find if there are any more causes that may have been overlooked, and in order to do that I must start at the very beginning†¦ The world in the early 1900s was dominated by European powers. From the start of the 18th century European country began to build empires. They did this in order to appear to have greater powers and were in control of more trading paths, not only in Europe but around the world. Many conflicts began due to the ‘scramble for colonies’ – particularly in Africa. A fierce rivalry developed between the European nations. We will write a custom essay sample on Was the Assassination at Sarajevo the Most Important Cause of World War 1? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The British Empire was the largest empire held by a European country. It included Canada, India and Australia. The newly formed (in 1871) Germany had ambitions to be as big and as powerful as Britain, they wanted to have an imperialistic empire. Imperialism is a belief that to be a strong country, you need to have a large empire and this will give great profit to your nation. Also in 1871, Germany defeated France in war. The Germans made the French pay 200 million francs in compensations and give the border territories of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. The Germans knew that France would look for revenge as soon as possible. To prevent this, Otto von Bismarck (the chancellor and leader) made agreements with other countries so that France would have no allies with which to fight against Germany in the future. In 1882 Germany signed an agreement with Austria-Hungary and Italy, known as the triple alliance. These became nationalist alliances: the belief that loyalty to a persons nation and its political and economic goals comes before any other public loyalty. Nationalism took hold among people who shared a common language, history, or culture. Such people began to view themselves as members a national group or nation. Germany had successfully made alliance with two of the other major powers in Europe. The only possible ally for France if it wanted to attack Germany was Britain. But Britain had no interest in war in Europe. It looked like Bismarck had success fully isolated France and kept Germany safe from attack. One of the reasons Bismarck’s plans came undone was the character of the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II. He was an intelligent man, but also very moody and he lacked diplomatic skills. Bismarck had worked hard to keep France isolated but Wilhelm II quarrelled with Bismarck and dismissed him from office. Then he dialled to renew the agreement with Russia. So Russia turned to France, and in 1894 the two countries signed the Dual Entente (understanding.) France had found an ally. By 1907, Britain had joined the Dual Entente thus making it the Triple Entente. They also promised to help each other’s would they go to war. Germany saw the triple Entente as a threat. In 1905 German generals drew up the Schleiffen Plan- a strategy to defeat an attack by the Entente countries if war broke out. The plan involved quickly defeating France, before attacki ng Russia. The generals thought Russia would take too long to get ready for war, and France was weak, so both would be easily pushed aside. War became almost inevitable by the early 20th century. Many people actually wanted a war at the time but a reason was needed for one to begin In 1904, Kaiser Wilhelm decided to test how strong the Triple Entente was. He knew that France wanted to take control of morocco, so in 1905 he visited the area and made a speech saying he supported the independence of Morocco. The French were furious but had agreed to hold a conference to discuss the matte rat Algeciras in Spain. At that conference Britain and other countries stood by France. They said that although Morocco was independent, France still had special rights I the country. Britain had controlled the seas since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and had the most powerful navy in the world. Britain’s trade was wide spread and her huge overseas empire produced great wealth for the country. As long as Britain had the worlds strongest navy, it could make sure that none of the other Great Powers would try to seize part of its empire. In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm announced that Germany was to start a militaristic method of preparing for war, building 41 battleships and 61 cruisers. This was part of the plan to make sure that Germany could defend itself and protect its growing overseas trade. The Kaisers ambitions caused alarm bells in Britain. Germany was in central Europe and needed a large army to protect its border, so why did it need a large navy? As the British foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, said in 1909: ‘There is no comparison between the importance of the German navy to Germany and the importance of our navy to us†¦ it is not a matter of life and death to them as it is to us. ’ Whatever Wilhelm’s intentions, Britain saw Germany’s ship building as a threat. Talks were held to try and limit the size of the British and German navies, but they broke down. The in 1906, the game changed. Britain launched the first of a new kind of battleship, HMS Dreadnaught. Germany Responded by building its own ‘dreadnoughts’. The naval race was well and truly on. The Balkans was the spark that truly lit the bonfire. It was a very unstable area with many different nationalities mixed together; the area had been ruled by Turkey for many centuries, but Turkish power was now in decline. The new governments which had been set up in place of Turkish rule often argued with each other. The two great powers, Russia and Austria, bordered the countries in this region and both wanted to control the area because it gave them access to the Mediterranean. In 1908 Austria took over the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia and Serbia protested but they soon backed down when Germany made it clear that it supported Austria and neither Russia nor Serbia was prepared to risk war with Germany over this issue. However, there were some serious consequences. Austria now felt that it would be backed by Germany in future disputes and this made Austria too confident, and encouraged it to make trouble with Serbia and Russia. There was a series of local wars in the Balkan regions called The Balkan Wars from 1912 to 1913 and Serbia emerged as the most powerful country of the region. This was a very serious issue for Austria as Serbia was a close ally to Russia. Austria decided that Serbia would have to be dealt with. By 1914 Austria was looking for a good excuse to crush Serbia. Austria’s opportunity came with the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo†¦ A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, had decided that the Archduke should be assassinated and the planned visit provided the ideal opportunity. Seven young men who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinands car would follow from the City Hall to the inspection. The first two terrorists were unable to throw their grenades because the streets were too crowded and the car was travelling quite fast. The third terrorist, a young man called Cabrinovic, threw a grenade which exploded under the car following that of the Archduke. Although the Archduke and his wife were unhurt, some of his attendants were injured and had to be taken to hospital. After lunch at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand insisted on visiting the injured attendants in hospital. However, on the way to the hospital the driver took a wrong turn. Realising his mistake he stopped the car and began to reverse. Another terrorist, named Gavrilo Princip, stepped forward and fired two shots. The first hit the pregnant Sophia in the stomach, she died almost instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck. He died a short while later. Although there was no hard evidence that Princip was acting under order form the Serbian government, Austria blamed Serbia and threatened to attack unless Serbia met certain demands. Serbia could not meet them so Austria attacked. As Russia had promised to protect Serbia, it began to prepare for war. Britain mobilised its navy to get ready for war and at the same time Germany declared war on Russia and France for going to war with a member of its alliance. To attack France, Germany invaded neutral Belgium but they had a good army prepared and managed to fight off the German army. It was at this point on the 28th July that Britain declared war on Germany. I think that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was a strong contender as the most important cause of WWI as it lit the spark of the bomb that had been about to explode, but each of the other causes add to it. I think that Germany’s greed to have more power and money was the main cause as the rest of Europe would not have had to form alliance for battle and waited in such tension with their armies ready to fight for their countries. This militarism was at breaking point until the assassination. Germany’s need for imperialism put all the countries at risk ad made their governments nervous so they felt the need to build their forces. The need for imperialism links with their want of nationalism after winning many countries after war they believed that they could be one of the strongest empires in the world with a united nation. In order to achieve imperialism, they believed they had to use militarism to gain influence. In conclusion, it was the fault of Germany that caused WWI as they wanted complete dominance and authority over the world and had it not started preparing for war by building up troops and alliances, other countries would not have had to either.

Is AP Chemistry Hard 5 Key Factors Considered

Is AP Chemistry Hard 5 Key Factors Considered SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips AP Chemistry is an intimidating subject if you're not familiar with the material. There are all these weird formulas with superscripts and subscripts to remember, and it involves what some students view as an unpleasant amount of math. But is AP Chemistry as hard as it sounds? In this article, I'll examine five different factors to reach a conclusion regarding the true difficulty level of AP Chemistry in comparison with other high-level classes. What Determines the Difficulty of an AP Class? 5 Factors Before we talk about AP Chemistry specifically, what are the main factors that determine how hard (or easy) an AP class is? Let's take a look at the top five. Factor 1: Passing Rate The number of test takers who score 3 or higher on an AP test is a good indication of how difficult the AP class is. If a very high percentage of students earn passing scores, it might mean that the class is less challenging. It might also mean, however, that the particular class attracts higher-achieving students who are extremely well prepared and tend to do better on tests across the board. That’s why, in addition to score averages, we also need to consider the perceptions of students and the actual difficulty of the content. Factor 2: 5 Score Rate Another piece of data that's slightly different from the passing rate is the percentage of students earning 5s (the highest possible score) on the AP test. A large percentage of students may pass an AP test, but if only a small group earns 5s, it usually means that true mastery of the subject is hard to come by. The cutoff for a 5 on most AP tests only requires answering 60-70% of questions correctly, so even a 5 doesn't necessarily represent complete comprehension of the material being tested. Factor 3: Content Difficulty The content covered is, of course, a central factor that affects the difficulty of an AP course. Even if most students pass the exam, the class itself might be challenging because of the amount of ground it covers or because of the complexity of the material. In this case, a high passing rate would indicate that only very driven students take the class, and everyone else shies away from it. Factor 4: How Students Perceive the Class The difficulty of AP classes can also be judged by the way students view them. As I mentioned, some classes with high passing rates owe these statistics to self-selection by high-achieving students. That doesn’t mean that these students think the material is easy, though. They’re just more dedicated to working through challenging concepts. Evidently, student feedback can provide yet another perspective on the difficulty of an AP class. Factor 5: When Students Take the Class If students take the class earlier in high school, they're more likely to perceive it as difficult. If they take it their junior or senior year, on the other hand, they're more likely to feel comfortable with the material. Why? By this time, most students have adapted to their high school workloads and have possibly already taken other AP classes, too. These are the five main factors that determine the difficulty of an AP class. In the next sections, I’ll analyze all these factors for the AP Chemistry class and exam to give you a better idea of how much of a challenge they'll present for you. Chemistry's the one with the shapes and stuff, right? (Sorry, I can't use a screencap of Channing Tatum from 21 Jump Street for legal reasons, and I can't say the real line cuz I'm keepin' it clean. But you get the reference- or at least you do now because I overexplained it.) What Do Statistics Say About the AP Chemistry Exam? It's now time for us to determine the difficulty of AP Chemistry specifically. First off, what’s the passing rate for AP Chemistry? In 2017, the passing rate (i.e., the percent of test takers who scored 3 or higher) was 52.4%. This rate is lower than that for the AP Biology test (64.1%) and slightly higher than that for US History (50.9%). Human Geography, US History, US Government and Politics, Physics 1, and Environmental Science are the only tests that have lower passing rates than Chemistry does. This data indicates that Chemistry is a difficult test- but, as you can see, there’s an eclectic mix of different subjects with low passing rates. Passing rates don't always reflect how hard AP tests are; rather, these results represent a combination of which types of students tend to take the class and the objective complexity of the material covered. AP Environmental Science, for example, doesn’t cover super challenging concepts, but students who choose to take this AP class tend to be less intense- they might take it as a one-off AP when they’re in mostly mid-level classes otherwise. Even keeping these factors in mind, I think AP Chemistry’s low passing rate is reflective of a high level of difficulty. Usually, only the most driven students take AP Chemistry, and they’re still not passing the test at an especially high rate. We can also look at the 5 rate for the test. The 5 rate for AP Chemistry is 10.1%. Only six other AP tests have lower 5 rates. This statistic is consistent with the passing rate in terms of AP Chemistry's position among other AP tests. Because the passing rate and the 5 rate are well aligned in this way, I’m inclined to conclude that AP Chemistry is a test on the difficult end of the AP spectrum. You know, the AP spectrum. It's like the color spectrum except with no colors- only darkness and pain. Is the Content of the AP Chemistry Class Difficult? There’s a lot of material covered in AP Chemistry. The course involves memorization of complex principles, mastery of specific mathematical skills, and the ability to visualize interactions between tiny things that can only be represented abstractly. It’s similar to AP Biology in some ways, but it’s even harder to intuitively understand if you don’t know much about chemistry in the first place. Take this official AP Chemistry multiple-choice question, for example: If you haven't taken any chemistry classes, this question will be virtually incomprehensible to you (the answer is D, if you're wondering). There's a whole separate language around chemistry, with symbols and words that are almost never used in daily life- unless you're a chemist or chemical engineer. Questions on a test like AP Biology might ask about advanced concepts, but there aren't as many unfamiliar terms or new ways of thinking involved as there are on the AP Chemistry test. In general, you need a wide range of skills to succeed in chemistry, and these skills build on each other from the ground up. The foundations of the Chemistry course deal with memorizing the properties of different substances and developing an understanding of why they behave in certain ways under certain conditions. You'll use this knowledge to conduct data analysis and do calculations. To show you what I mean, here's an example of a question you might see on the Chemistry test: For part a, the conjugate base form, In-, is the predominant form of HIn in the buffer in Beaker Y. This is because the pH of the beaker (7) is greater than the pKa of HIn (5), which means that the equilibrium reaction will form a significant amount of products (In- and H3O+). For part b, the acid form of HIn predominates the aqueous layer of Beaker X since pH (3) pKa (5). HIn is a neutral molecule, so some of it can dissolve in the oil layer of Beaker X due to London dispersion interactions with the oil (which leads to the yellow color of the oil layer). The oil layer in Beaker Y, on the other hand, is colorless because In- is charged. It will mainly dissolve in the aqueous layer of Beaker Y due to ion-dipole interactions with water. This question asks students to draw on background knowledge of acids and buffer solutions to explain the chemical interactions present in a specific scenario. If you don’t understand the basic concepts of the course, you won’t be able to justify your answers to more advanced problems. The cumulative nature of AP Chemistry's wide-ranging curriculum and the complex critical-thinking skills required to answer most questions on the exam contribute to its reputation as a very challenging course. If you have cracks in your foundation, you'll have to halt construction on the monument to AP Chemistry that symbolizes your understanding of the material. Seriously, though- stop building that thing and do your real homework. Do Students Think AP Chemistry Is Hard? From personal experience, I'd say yes to this question- but ultimately it depends heavily on your aptitude for the material, the quality of your teacher, and your previous experiences with chemistry. As someone who had a terrible AP Chemistry teacher, I found it very difficult to understand the concepts I was being taught. It was especially hard because my high school didn't give us the option of taking an introductory chemistry course before AP. Students who have a stronger background in chemistry might find the class easier to get through, but AP Chemistry is still notorious for having lots of homework and challenging tests. This goes back to one of the factors listed at the beginning of this article: when students tend to take the class. Many high schoolers take AP Chemistry in their junior or senior year after taking an introductory chemistry course. The fact that even these students see AP Chemistry as a hard course validates the judgments we've made thus far about its high difficulty level. Almost every academic skill is involved. You’ll have to deal with problem sets, labs, and extensive memorization of chemical properties. The math aspect of the course includes unit conversions, reaction balancing, and other stoichiometry problems (which use relationships between reactants and products in a chemical reaction to do calculations). If math doesn’t come easily to you, AP Chemistry will be more difficult. Students have varied opinions of the class depending on how it's taught at their schools. The main response is that although it's a lot of work, it can be a rewarding experience. Everyone seems to agree that the quality of teaching has a huge impact on the difficulty level and enjoyability of the class. Here's what some students think about AP Chemistry. Quotes come from College Confidential, and all bold emphasis is mine. I took it sophomore year and it was definitely rough. However, much of that was because of the teacher. If you've already taken CP Chem, AP likely won't be as hard for you as it is for many others. I think that it is hard compared to my other classes (I am taking 5 more APs at the moment in addition to this one), and the science department practically had to beg the ten people that are in the class to take it. Behind Calc BC, Chemistry is the hardest AP at my school as well. However, it is so much fun- a great curriculum. If you love chemistry, or even have an interest in it, definitely take it. If you can look at this without feeling a wave of panic rising in your chest, you'll probably do well in AP Chemistry. Will AP Chemistry Be Hard for You? Based on what we now know about AP Chemistry, how can you determine how hard the class (and test) will be for you? Here are three actions you can take: #1: Ask Teachers and Previous Students About the Class Every school is different, so the AP Chemistry class offered at your school could be more or less demanding than those offered at other high schools. This is why it’s best to consult with people who have the inside scoop. Talk to your current science teacher to see what he or she has to say about AP Chemistry. Will you be able to handle it based on how you did in science this past year? Have students who are similar to you had trouble with AP Chemistry in the past? You can also discuss this with your guidance counselor, who should have access to additional data on how previous students fared in the class. Previous students are great resources as well. If they’ve been through the class, they can give you a better idea of how overwhelming (or underwhelming) the workload actually is. #2: Think About Your Academic Strengths and Weaknesses If you enjoy math and science and are genuinely interested in chemistry, AP Chemistry will be an easier class for you than it would be for someone who would rather never look at a math problem again. Chemistry is more technical and math-centric than AP Biology is. It’s hard to memorize or reason your way out of aspects of the content you only vaguely understand on a deeper level. If you don’t know exactly how to do a chemistry problem, it can start to look like a meaningless jumble of numbers and letters pretty quickly. If you tend to rely on memorization to do well in most subjects, AP Chemistry might be a rude awakening for you. #3: Pay Attention to Your Schedule Only you know how much effort you're willing to put into your classes. However, I can pretty much guarantee that it'll be hard for anyone to take AP Chemistry at the same time as other time-consuming classes, such as AP Biology or AP English Lit. I don't recommend taking more than two intense AP classes simultaneously (see our take on which APs are the hardest), particularly if you have lots of extracurriculars. You should also try to fit an introductory chemistry class into your schedule the year before you take AP Chemistry so that you’re well prepared! If you get to the point where you're eating whole coffee beans to stay awake, it's time to reevaluate your choices. Conclusion: Is AP Chemistry Hard? Based on the evidence I've seen, we can say that Chemistry is one of the harder AP classes. It has a low passing rate, a low 5 rate, and its content is considered pretty challenging from both an objective viewpoint and a student's perspective. Don’t let this scare you away from the subject, though. Chemistry is truly fascinating once you break through the first couple layers of understanding. You'll learn so much about how the world works and why it works that way. If you take an introductory chemistry class beforehand and are prepared to work hard, you'll be more than capable of doing well! What's Next? Still not quite sure what to expect from AP Chemistry? Read this article for more details about the structure and content of the exam. Already taking AP Chemistry and need some extra help? We go over how to balance chemical equations in this guide. Are you planning on taking SAT Subject Tests in addition to APs? Learn about the differences between these two types of tests and which scores matter more to colleges. If you're still trying to figure out your schedule, take a look at this article for advice on which AP classes you should take in high school. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

SUNY at Purchase College Admissions and Acceptance Rate

SUNY at Purchase College Admissions and Acceptance Rate Students applying to SUNY at Purchase College will need to submit, along with an application, high school transcripts, SAT or ACT scores, and a personal essay. For complete instructions and information about applying, be sure to visit Purchases website, or contact the admissions office. With an acceptance rate of 44  percent, the school seems selective; still, those with good grades and test scores have a good chance of being admitted. Calculate your chances of getting in with this free tool from Cappex. Admissions Data (2016) SUNY Purchase Acceptance Rate: 44  percentGPA, SAT and ACT Graph for Purchase College AdmissionsTest Scores:  25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 500 / 610SAT Math: 470 / 570What These SAT Numbers MeanSUNY SAT Comparison TableACT Composite: 20  / 27ACT English: 21 / 29ACT Math: 19 / 26What These ACT Numbers MeanSUNY ACT Comparison Table SUNY at Purchase College Description The State University of New York Purchase College occupies a 550-acre campus in Westchester Country, just 35 miles from New York City. The college is unique among the SUNY schools because of its strong conservatory-based arts programs. The college wins high marks for both the arts and the liberal arts and sciences. Purchase College also ranks highly for its educational value. Few high quality conservatory programs come with such low tuition for either in-state or out-of-state applicants. The college is selective, and enrolled students can expect an intense undergraduate experience. The campus is residential with 65 percent of students living on campus, and student life is active with a wide range of clubs, organizations, and intramural sports. On the intercollegiate athletic front, the Purchase College Panthers compete in the NCAA Division III Skyline Conference. Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 4,156  (4,053 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 44 percent male / 56 percent female91  percent full-time Costs (2016-17) Tuition and Fees: $8,298  (in-state); $18,148  (out-of-state)Books: $1,298  (why so much?)Room and Board: $12,952Other Expenses: $3,215Total Cost: $25,763  (in-state); $35,613 (out-of-state) Purchase College Financial Aid (2015-16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 88  percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 58 percentLoans: 55 percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $7,153Loans: $6,558 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Art History, Dance, Drama, English, Film Production, History, Journalism, Liberal Arts, Music, Psychology, Visual and Performing ArtsWhat major is right for you?  Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Graduation, Retention and Transfer Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 81 percentTransfer Out Rate: 25  percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 53  percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 62  percent Learn About Other SUNY Campuses: Albany  |  Alfred State  |  Binghamton  |  Brockport  |  Buffalo  |  Buffalo State  |  Cobleskill  |  Cortland  |  Env. Science/Forestry  |  Farmingdale  |  FIT  |  Fredonia  |  Geneseo  |  Maritime  |  Morrisville  |  New Paltz  |  Old Westbury  |  Oneonta  |  Oswego  |  Plattsburgh  |  Polytechnic  |  Potsdam  |  Purchase  |  Stony Brook If You Like SUNY Purchase, You May Also Like These Schools: Hofstra University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphNew York University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphIthaca College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAlfred University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSyracuse University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphHunter College (CUNY): Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBrooklyn College (CUNY): Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphEmerson College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAdelphi University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphQueens College (CUNY): Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph Sports   Mens Varsity: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, VolleyballWomens Varsity: Basketball, Cross Country, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Voleyball Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

Using psychological skills training to develop soccer performance Essay

Using psychological skills training to develop soccer performance - Essay Example The aforementioned intervention program was comprised of relaxation, imagery and self-talk on position specific performance measures. Using a multiple-baseline across individuals design, five participants had three performance subcomponents assessed across nine competitive matches. The results of the study indicated the position specific intervention to enable at least small improvements on the three dependent variables for each participant. Social validation data indicated all participants to perceive the intervention as being successful and appropriate to their needs. Following a discursive analysis of the data, the research findings are presented. The findings provide further evidence to suggest the efficacy of sport, and position-specific interventions. Despite interest in applied psychology, evidenced in the increase in the studies examining the efficacy of psychological skills on sporting performance (e.g., Patrick & Hrycaiko, 1998; Rogerson & Hrycaiko, 2002; Thelwell & Greenlees, 2003), knowledge remains limited. Limitation has been determined by the scarcity of studies on the efficacy of psychological skills within an open skilled, team sport setting (Kendall, Hrycaiko, Martin, & Kendall, 1990; McPherson, 2000). Consequently, the present study sought to address the aforementioned shortcoming through the articulation of a role specific intervention for soccer midfielders, while examining the intervention's efficacy on role specific subcomponents, such as the execution of successful tackles, the completion of successful passes, and ability to control the ball (Luongo, 1996). Of the few studies which have examined the pertinence of psychological skills to sporting performance, only a minority has examined performance sub-components. Using a multiple-baseline design across subjects, Swain and Jones (1995) applied a goal setting intervention targeting specific basketball subcomponents. Each participant's performance subcomponents were assessed through the first half of the competitive season. Mid-season, participants were requested to select one performance subcomponent which they perceived beneficial to improvement. Using goal setting approaches to the targeted behavior, 3 of the 4 participants experienced improvement in their targeted area. No changes were evident in non-targeted behaviors. The practical implication was that while psychological skills benefit performance, performers cannot transfer acquired skills to alternative situations without understanding the how and why of their targeted utilization. Identification of the varying requirements of soccer midfielders is prerequisite to the utilization of psychological skills intervention. A primary requirement is the ability to cover great distances within 90-minutes, as supported by numerous scientific studies (e.g., Reilly, 1996; Rienzi, Drust, Reilly, Carter & Martin, 2000). Studies on elite English Premier League midfield soccer players confirm the necessity of the capacity to run approximately 12,000m per match (Strudwick & Reilly, 2001)., consequent to midfielders being required to both link the defensive and forward and act as both offensive and defensive when, and as, required. A soccer midfielder is further required to carry out complex motor skills, to possess finely tuned perceptual skills and to have advanced decision-making skills. As activity is prolonged, fatigue sets in and skill command becomes difficult (Taylor, 1995). The exigencies of exploring relaxation

Two articles on globalization of healthcare Article

Two articles on globalization of healthcare - Article Example The analysis of the budget of the healthcare systems seeks to determine whether there is an effective enough control system to account for the allocation of federal funds into medical centers across the country. The major sources of funding are through accounts of medical support, compliance and medical facilities. Allocation of funds for training of the healthcare workforce. Due to an increased number in populations who are aged, higher rates of disease and an increase in the number of people who are insured, the number of physicians and doctors available need to be increased. This is in direct contrast to the proposals in Congress to reduce the federal funds allocated to the training of medical workforce. Federal, state and private funds are allocated to the training of Medicare professionals. The allocation of these funds is through commissions such as Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the national budget and the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. These f unds are divided into direct payment for the salaries of resident and supervising physicians, and the indirect payments to assist in alleviating costs of sustaining a training program. Canada The provincial governments in Canada allocate a considerable amount of their annual budgets into healthcare and the hard economic times has laid financial strains on the allocation of funds into healthcare. This crisis in funding has posed a restraint in the preservation of national principles of healthcare such as free access and universality. Additionally, it has brought to question some of the healthcare provisions, imposed user fees and cost sharing between the public and private sectors. Funds are allocated in the healthcare department based on their effectiveness in treating, diagnosing and improving health considerably with comparison to the quantity of invested resources. The country uses an effective dimension of the economy in which the efficiency of various healthcare methods are eva luated by the government to determine the method that is more economical and benefits more. They assess the effectiveness of a solution based on research on healthcare for example two drugs that have similar or equal effect and serve the same purpose in treating a particular illness are evaluated and the more effective choice of the two is selected. The effective choice would be the one that treats faster and have fewer side effects and in the cost concept, the more effective drug would be the one that generally costs less. The government use committees to evaluate medical practice methods practiced by physicians to reduce the number of excessive practices such as full or partial examinations, house calls and diagnostic tests. These differences between the allocation methods in the United States and in Canada could be attributed to the amount of amount of revenue available in the governments’ budget available for allocation in the health care systems. The funds available in C anada are more strained as compared to the United States and hence the amount of funds to be allocated differ. Article 2 The United States health care system in addition to aiding in combating the travelers’ diseases such as Hepatitis and tuberculosis, should devote their resources to assist other countries in combating other health issues

Explain how the mechanicals bring humour into the play Essay Example for Free

Explain how the mechanicals bring humour into the play Essay The mechanicals in A Midsummer Nights Dream are the group of actors that bring most of the comedy to the play. This is done by the mechanicals resembling the more unintelligent group out of the four featured in A Midsummer Nights Dream. In the book, the mechanicals are called the Clowns. This implies that they are always fooling around; never getting any work done and maybe making people laugh. Maybe Shakespeare called them the Clowns because they convey most of the humour towards the audience in A Midsummer Nights Dream. However, the mechanicals play near the end of A Midsummer Nights Dream is a serious play; where they do not mess around as they do in the rest of the book. This might suggest that the name Shakespeare gave to the actors (Clowns) does not imply all that it is supposed to. From the start we establish that Bottom takes his role as a leader and we notice that others look up to him as if they are respecting his authority. One of the characters names (Bottom) sounds rude now, but back when the play was first performed the word bottom meant courageous. Nick Bottom comes across in A Midsummer Nights Dream as thunderous, friendly, and a little over-confident. He comes across to the other actors in the mechanicals as dumb or dull, insecure and irritating (e. g. when Bottom wants to play all the parts in the play And I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too! Ill speak in a monstrous little voice). Bottom also says that he will play every part in their play flawlessly, and that he can act every single part. Instead, when Bottom is rehearsing his part in the play, he messes everything up (pronouncing words wrong Odious instead of odorous) and he forgets lines. In the end, he just plays Pyramus. The way the mechanicals bring humour into A Midsummer Nights Dream is mainly through Nick Bottom. Bottom is the fool in the play; always getting things wrong. Bottom comes across as a little dumb; maybe eccentric. He gets his words wrong, comes up with feeble ideas, and has a spell put on him by Puck. The spell transforms Bottoms head into an asss head. I think it would convey more humour to A Midsummer Nights Dream by having Bottom transform into an ass entirely. Near the end of A Midsummer Nights Dream, in act 5 scene 1, the mechanicals act out their play. Many things bring humour into A Midsummer Nights Dream at this point. Peter Quince tells the audience that the lion is not a lion, but Snug the joiner. The audience would know that the lion is not a real lion, as it is just common sense. When Snug is playing the part of the lion, Snug doesnt want to scare the audience so the actor roars as softly as he can. Snug also explains that he is not really a lion, but playing the part of a lion. This may mean that when the play was performed, being a lion was a disgrace, or an insult. The result of Snug explaining that he is not really a lion, but playing the part of, is that he will not be shamed after the play, or be booed by Theseus. After Snug is finished explaining the he is not a lion, he earns approval from Lysander, Theseus and Demetrius (the stage audience). Shakespeare uses language to create moods and atmosphere within the characters, and also make the characters think how they are feeling. The main mood created in of A Midsummer Nights Dream is that of humour. He creates these moods by the descriptive writing he uses in his sentences. His sentences are well structured, and he chooses the places well where he makes the characters speak in prose and verse. For instance, when the mechanicals are talking casually together, they speak in verse; when acting out their play in front of the duke, they speak in prose. Some of the misunderstandings of the mechanicals are when Puck puts the spell on Bottom. Quince says O monstrous! O strange! We are haunted! Pray, masters, fly, masters! Help! This shows that they are unsure of what to think of Bottom, and Bottom is oblivious to the fact that he has an asses head on him. Instead Bottom starts singing (to show that he id not afraid of what they are saying to him). This in turn wakes Titania up, who has had the love juice put on her eyes. As she wakes up, she instantly falls in love with Bottom. This is reminiscent of the fact that of A Midsummer Nights Dreams main mood it creates is that of humour and that it is mainly the mechanicals that are involved in, or create the humour.

The Cat and his Master Essay examples -- Puss in Boots Folk Tales Essa

The Cat and his Master Puss in Boots is a strange little folk tale in which a talking cat performs deeds of heroism in order to further his master's lot in life. It is saddled with a moral which implies that through hard work and ingenuity one can rise above his station. This hardly seems to be the case, however, when we look at the contributions made by the miller's youngest son and master of the puss himself. Furthermore, the symbolism peppered throughout the tale would seem to indicate that there is more going on. The tale begins with the death of a miller, who leaves his sole possessions to his three sons. The youngest of the sons winds up with nothing but what he believes to be a lowly cat, which he is convinced will be good only for a meal and a muff. The young man begins the story in a passive hopelessness, bemoaning the fact that he received the least of his father's goods in his inheritance, and he retains this passivity throughout. He never makes any contribution to his own well-being, beyond his initial decision not to eat the cat, and to let the cat demonstrate his cunning and deceitful skills. He lets the cat do all of the thinking and all of the work. He even becomes the "Marquis of Carabas" at the whim of the puss, and follows all of the cat's instructions, including swimming nude when the cat directs him. He doesn't even ask for an explanation. The moral states that "hard work and ingenuity will take a young man further than his father's money," but the young man certainly shows n o signs of hard work nor ingenuity. In fact, he seems to be an icon for naivety and blind faith. This does not, however, mean that the moral is wrong. There are several aspects of this story which take folk tale conventions and turn ... ...ter. He traps animals and delivers them to a person of power, displaying his ability to negotiate. He puts a plan into action that will place his master in a position of power and manipulates the peasants to back up that plan. He craftily dupes the ogre into using his incredible powers against himself. In all of these instances we see evidence of the underdog using his wits and cunning to overcome the odds and be in control of the world around him, an idea that must have had appeal to people with little or no control of the events in their lives. Indeed, it is an idea that still has appeal today. Works Cited Darnton, Robert The Great Cat Massacre http://www.geocities.com/pashathecat/History/Cat_Massacre.html Perrault, Charles. "Puss in Boots." Folk & Fairy Tales Comp. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. 2nd ed. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview, 1996. 94-97.

History of Security in the United States Essay

Abstract Security in America has evolved from the time of the first settlers to today’s well-trained forces. Factors leading to the significant growth of private security from pre-Civil War to post World War II consisted of a lack of public police and large monetary loss by private industry. Today, security is global and faces challenges and changes, with increases in terrorism and technology crimes. It must maintain a high level of professionalism and maintain technological innovation remain a respected industry. History of Security in the United States Nineteenth Century The nineteenth century saw the private security industry fill in many of the gaps left by public law enforcement in both manpower and ingenuity. The development of public police forces was slow in the infancy of the United States. In the latter half of the 1800’s, police departments were fragmented, decentralized and often corrupt, creating a need for private security. The American frontier saw an extreme shortage of law enforcement, as they had to resort to deputizing civilians and forming posses. Citizens often had to resort to vigilante justice due to a lack of law enforcement. In 1850, Henry Wells and William Fargo established American Express and Wells Fargo cargo companies and in 1851 Allen Pinkerton established the first national private security and investigations service (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 10). Pinkerton provided security and investigative service to the railroad, offered private detective services and was actually the intelligence arm of the Union Army during the first half of the Civil War. In 1853 August Perry patented the first burglar alarm followed by Edwin Holmes in 1858, who produced the first central station burglar alarm. That same year, Washington Perry Brinks introduced the armored carriage for the transportation of valuables and money (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 10). Twentieth Century The quelling of labor unrest brought about a poor reputation to private security leading up to the Great Depression. Decades earlier, industries such as manufacturing, transportation and mining turned to agencies like Pinkerton for not only asset protection, but also to combat labor violence and break strikes. There were numerous violent incidents involving strikes resulting in civilian injury, deaths and job losses. One incident in particular was the Homestead Strike of 1892 in Pennsylvania, which culminated in a gun battle between Pinkerton agents and the strikers (Lipson, 1988). Incidents such as this eventually led to private security being viewed as ‘Knights of Capitalism’ by the public. Security companies were banned from carrying weapons and crossing state lines to break strikes in some states (Joh, 2006). There was a decline in the employment of private security during the Great Depression. According to The HUB, â€Å"There seems to be some controversy as to whe n the first proprietary security forces arose, but many sources attribute Henry Ford as the man who refined ‘in house’ security to factory work. As the automobile gained popularity so the industries providing the necessary materials for the factories producing them across the nation needed and utilized private security personnel. With the high unemployment and possibility of crime due to the Great Depression, private security further embedded itself within industry† (Hub pages, http://dyonder.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-Private-Security). There was an expansion of private security leading up to and during World War II due to infrastructure, military and industrial security concerns. Post World War II saw an increase in the professionalism of private security, as returning veterans with military police experience began to seek employment in the security industry. Anti-espionage procedures established by the government during World War II carried over into the Cold War era, with the government insisting on a quality security force and plans, to protect defense contractors and government assets. The private security industry followed the government’s lead, thus entering the era of the security manager (Hub pages, http://dyonder.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-Private-Security). The security industry increased in size in the mid twentieth century, as did the crime rate and police were unable to protect private property. Many organizations realized the value of protecting their personnel and property during this time. In 1955, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) was formed and today is the world’s largest organization of security professionals. ASIS continues to formulate security policy and direct security programs in a vast number of businesses, industries and government operations (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 11-12). In 1970, private security continued to grow and matched the number of police personnel at 500,000. In 1976, the Task Force Report on Private Security was published and it was addressed for the first time that private security was an essential element to public safety. The Task Force recommended that the private sector be encouraged to nurture and improve the quality of security services and work with law enforcement to fight crime. This created an environment that saw the security industry continue to grow due to concerns over increased crime and limited law enforcement resources. By 1991, the number of security personnel had nearly tripled that of law enforcement and by the year 2000, private security personnel numbers rose to two million, clearly showing private security is the primary protective service (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 6-7, 13). Future The private security industry has made giant steps since the nineteenth century. It is clear from history that the private security industry must continue to complement the public police forces by providing innovative and needed support to industry and government. It must maintain and constantly improve upon its procedures and training, to keep the respect of the public, which it currently commands. It must above all remain one step ahead in today’s technological world, as M. Lipson (1988) stated, â€Å"The history of the ancient craft of private security may be illustrative of opportunities for those of the industry with foresight† (Lipson, 1988). It is crucial private security continue with its current expertise in antiterrorism and computer security operations. It is also imperative private security continue to foster the close, post-911relationships that were developed with law enforcement, from federal to state to local police agencies, to successfully move into th e future. References Joh, E.E. (2006). The Forgotten Threat: Private Policing and the State. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 13(2), 364. Lipson, M. (1988). Private Security: A Retrospective. Annals Of The American Academy Of Political & Social Science, 49811-22. Ortmeirer, P.J. (2009). Introduction to Security. Prentice Hall. The Hub (2009). (Hub pages, http://dyonder.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-PrivateSecurity).

Muti-racial success in schools

It is interesting to note the results of Grace Kao’s study of a multi-racial group of high school students with focused on how students from different races varied their measurement or definition of success. Individuals have set criteria, which over the years served as the standards in perceiving how one student can consider himself or herself successful. Students have classified their classmates belonging to different race and create mindsets based from physical differences like skin color and from natural origin or based from cultural characteristics. Changing or modifying student’s perception on success will not be an easy thing. The educator must consider the existing perceptions, skills, and knowledge of the students in attempt to modify their meaning of success. Every student must be encouraged to discover his or her potential and make use of it to the fullest. Academic institutions should have well rounded programs that will cater to and showcase the students’ unique abilities. In this manner, they will realize that being academically successful does not only pertain to passing a course, attaining high grades, receiving awards, or earning good jobs but more importantly, success is using potentials to their fullest and being satisfied with their performances. It must also be clear to them that an individual can be considered successful regardless of race or ethnicity. There should also be avenues for knowledge and skills sharing among multi-racial students. In this manner, they will develop appreciation of what they can offer and what others can share with them.   Healthy competition and respect for individuality must be consistently promoted. There is nothing wrong with multi-racial students setting their own standards of success, but these perceptions should not limit them from being truly successful in life. The challenge for educators is how to create a learning atmosphere that can motivate students to do away with stereotyping based from race and ethnicity and to treat one’s self as a unique individual with a set goal in his or her academics to be successful. References Kao, G. (2000). Group Images and Possible Selves Among Adolescents: Linking Stereotypes to Expectations by Race and Ethnicity, Sociological Forum, Vol 15 no 3, 2000. Retrieved, April 17, 2007, from http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~grace2/kao.soc.forum.2000.pdf. Race and Ethnicity. Retrieved, April 17, 2007, from http://www2.austincc.edu/jtaylor/outlinech9.htm. Wikipedia. Perception. Retrieved, April 17, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/

Singapore Road Traffic Control essays

Singapore Road Traffic Control essays SINGAPORES ROAD TRAFFIC CONTROL As vehicle numbers grow, cities around the world face serious road traffic congestion problems. On some major roads can be so bad that speeds are 10 km/h or lower, slower than a bicycle. The costs include lost work and leisure time, increased fuel consumption, air pollution, health problems, stress, and discomfort. Furthermore, congestion slows the movement of goods and services, adding to the price of products and reducing the competitiveness of business. This essay will examine three of the policies implemented by the government to control road traffic in Singapore. One obvious way to discourage private car usage in Singapore is to provide an efficient and convenient public transport system. Singapore invested, in the past decade, S$ 7.5 billion in its transportation sector, of which S$ 5.2 billion was on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), rail and public transport, and S$ 2.3 billion was on roads. The extensive MRT network encourages commuters to utilize the rail rather than private cars. The network is spread across the island covering key constituencies and areas of interest. The current construction of North-East MRT Line will link the World Trade Centre with the new housing estates of Sengkang and Punggol. In addition, Singapore aims to have 75 per cent of all trips made by public transport (50 per cent now). For this reason, bus fares have been kept reasonable. The extensive setting up of feeder services assists the public in taking them from an MRT station to their destination. One can now travel not only cheaply but in comfort too. Another one of the policies that helps the government in controlling road traffic in Singapore, is the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP). Under this system, when a vehicle approaches ERP gantries, charges are deducted automatically from stored-value cards that are slotted into an in-vehicle unit. Being intelligent and more use-friendly, the ERP syste...

Compare abd contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare abd contrast - Essay Example ference in the way these people eat, drink, dress, hang out, meet with new and known people, and bury their known ones as well as their day-to-day activities which vary a great deal when one thinks of them in a broader context. Hence the comparison holds solid ground due to the fact that these people, both from the American nation and the Saudi Arabian territories known how distinct and different they are from each other and it is good to know one’s strengths and weaknesses beforehand. The similarities exist within their nationalism and the attitude with which both the societies echo their voices in favor of the patriotism myth. Religion is pretty intrinsic to a culture of a society and in broader sense to a country where its different people carry out their rituals and activities in accordance with the customs and traditions as dictated by their respective religions. Same is the case for the two countries under study here which are basically being compared. United States is a much more developed nation that Saudi Arabia while the latter is an oil-rich state and fundamentally more than 90% of its inhabitants are pre-dominantly Muslims. While the super power nation of the world is more or less comprised of nearly all ethnicities that are found elsewhere, where one can find blacks known as the Afro Americans, the Asians consisting of Indians and Pakistanis mainly and so on and so forth. On the whole, United States of America has a lot of diversity has far as its single basic culture identification is concerned and hence the people obviously practice different religions in accordance with their beliefs and con victions. This paper discusses the comparison between America and Saudi Arabia in terms of their cultural values and religious bases. If one looks at the American distribution of people who have religion apart from that of Christianity, one finds that around 2% of them are Jews, 0.5% are Muslims while similar is the ratio for Buddhists. This accounts for the

Trade without borders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Trade without borders - Essay Example It can also be stated that tariffs and trade in the national territories of these two economies have profoundly affected their business activities through various channels of commodity specifications, technology assistances as well as the benefits of influx socio-cultural diversities (Hornok, â€Å" Trade Without Borders: Trade Effect of EU Accession by Central and Eastern European Countries†). The paper intends to discuss on the advantages and disadvantages of trade without borders by analyzing the available relevant information in relation to the trade affairs performed within Canada and the US. The paper also aims to provide recommendations to small business owners in obtaining the complete benefits of trade liberalization. Undoubtedly, in the present day context, international trade activities play a crucial role in determining economic growth through capital inflows. Cross-border trade liberalization has also been considered as strongly influencing in relation to the labor migration activities and business cycles of the economy. From a critical perspective, the initiatives to eradicate borders when liberalizing trade render greater opportunity of growth to the traders in a less risky business environment. This in turn serves as a supportive attribute towards economic growth and sustainability at large (Caporale and Girardi, ‘Business Cycles, International Trade and Capital Flows: Evidence from Latin America’; LSE, ‘International Trade and International Capital Flows: A Theoretical Perspective’). The liberalized trade activities practiced in the developed economic structure of Canada can be illustrated with reference to increasing amount of exports to various regions of the US, especially from the small business sector of the nation. Stating precisely, the survey conducted by Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) also stated that trade practices are mostly performed by small business

Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cases - Essay Example There is a set of outlined mitigating circumstances in terms of FWA, which should be taken into account in the process of considerations about an employee’s dismissal (the personal and economic situation of the employee, the employee’s unblemished record, genuine remorse and contrition). The article â€Å"Fair Work Australia: unfair dismissal, at the employer’s initiative and demotion† by Carol Andrades and Ryan Carlisle Thomas deals with the Fair Work Australia Full Bench decision, which is focused on the factors, which should be taken into account in the process of an employee’s dismissal. On the example of a pregnant woman, who had many difficulties in the process of her work, it is shown that the employer did not take into account her special needs and concerns and as a result, this woman experienced an efficient decrease in remuneration. The employer made an emphasis on an employee’s incompliance with the terms of the contract and the employee had to accept the repudiation. This case illustrates a harsh, unjust and unreasonable dismissal and the employee, who was awarded $25,821 compensation. Question: which factors should be taken into account in order to avoid an unfair dismissal of an employee? There is a need to focus on de facto and de jure agreement of a contract; the assessment of the contract repudiation, the â€Å"termination at the initiative of the employer† means and the cases, when a demotion constitutes a dismissal. The article â€Å"Social media dismissals: work/home dividing line blurred† by Joe Catanzariti deals with a role social media plays in the process of an employee’s dismissal. There is the first case, which deals with the employee, who posted a negative commentary on his Face book page about his employer. Fair Work Australia did not support an employee and a decision to fire

Economy and Environment (part of petroleum engineering group project) Essay

Economy and Environment (part of petroleum engineering group project) - Essay Example In this operation, there was both the capital expenditure (CAPEX) as well as the operating expenditure (OPEX) that will be involved in the initial years of the project, hence hindering any revenue generation in the initial years of operation. It therefore means that, the cash flow during the initial years will only consist of the CAPEX and the OPEX data before revenue generation begins. The project needed a capital injection for the first three years of operation before, hence no revenue for this period. On the fourth year, however, the project begins generating revenue. This is explained that, the project will begin producing oil on the fourth year with no or zero water at the beginning. The production will then continue after which, from the sixth year on to the ninth year, more water will be produced; hence the revenue is expected to reduce as less oil will be produced to increase the revenue. After year nine, the oil production is again expected to increase with a decrease in the production of water, hence there will be a rise in the NPV once again as oil production is expected to follow such a trend of increasing initially up to year seven where it will again be expected to decrease and again rise after year nine. This trend is demonstrated in the table below. Net Present Value is the difference between the present value of the cash inflows and the present value of the cash out flows. To calculate the Net Present Values, the project cash flows are discounted using an appropriate rate which is usually the minimum rate of the return required by the investors. The appropriate cash flows in this case are the after tax cash flows and the net cash flow is therefore estimated on an after tax basis. For this project, the appropriate discounting rate used was 7%. The various applicable rates for each year were calculated in the discounting

Case Study Finance Investment Marketing Essay

Case Study Finance Investment Marketing Essay The company we chose for this assignment is Toys R Us. The purposes of doing this assignment are fulfilled the requirement of the subject ABDT3273 Marketing and more understandings in Marketing. Our assignment included the Toys R Us background, segmentation, targeting and positioning, marketing mix strategy, recommendations. Our group members included five members which are Teoh Wen Dee, Tan Si Min, Lim Yong Rou, Michelle Lim Mei Chern and Lim Yee Theng. Toys R Us is the biggest range of hot toys and holiday gifts retailer in Malaysia. The products sold in Toys R Us included education toys, dolls, model cars and so on. In other words, Toys R Us is a comfortable place for children and it is also childrens paradise. In this shop, children can enjoy and gain their knowledge while playing with the toys. R in the Toys R Us represent four different words which are rapid, real, reliable and responsible. In other words, they will best serve their customers, employees, shareholders, communities and kids with the meaning of the R. During the completion of this assignment, we managed to build up strong relationship between our group members and we had learnt how to prepare a proper report of a company. Due to the cooperation carried out by each member in our group, we able to finish this assignment on time. Company Profile Background of Toys R Us Toys R Us is a toy store chain headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. The chain also has locations in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Canada. The company currently operates 840 stores in the United States and 716 stores in 34 other countries, with some of them under franchises or licenses. The flagship store in New York Citys Times Square is the largest toy store in the world, featuring a colorful Ferris wheel. It is the largest toy-centered retailer and the second largest overall toy retailer in the United States. History of the company Founder Charles Lazarus realized in the companys early days that success in the toy business meant focusing on the everyday shopper, such as a parent searching for the perfect birthday gift or a child is hoping to spend their weekly allowance on a much coveted toy. Today, Toys R Us embodies those same ideals by focusing on a memorable shopping experience for customers through classic, in-demand and exclusive merchandise, unique feature shops, a knowledgeable and toy-trained sales staff and by providing great values every day. Charles initially started Childrens Supermart, which would later evolve into the modern day Toys R Us in Washington, DC during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby furniture retailer. Its first location was at 2461 18th St, NW, where the nightclub, Madams Organ Blues Bar is currently located. Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for more mature toys. Eventually, the focus of the store changed in 1957 and Toys R Us as it is known today was born in Rockville, Maryland. Toys R Us was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Stores, owner of the White Front and Topps Department Stores as well as Childrens Bargain Town USA, a sister toy store chain to Toys R Us in the American Midwest which would later be rebranded as part of the Toys R Us chain. Li Fung Retailing became a licensee of Toys R Us and acquired 100% ownership of Toys Li Fung (Asia) Ltd in 2002, for the business in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines and Macau with provisions for entry into new geographic markets including other South East Asian countries. Until today, there are 131 stores in 8 Asian markets, 22 stores in Malaysia. Nature of Business Toys R Us is provide a place for children and adults to buy their favorite toys. Their products is not only for play or fun, they are also selling some toys can be educated. In addition, they are selling some outdoor Toys which is camp tent, it provide a family go to outdoor for natural experience. Besides, baby also can found their related product such as diapers, milk bottle. Vision To be the dominant toy and educational toy retailer for children in Asia offering the right products, at the right price, at the right place, at the right time in a pleasurable and convenient shopping environment. Mission To nurture and develop the core competence of the Toys R Us retailing chain for the benefit of our stakeholders (customers, shareholders, and employees). Operations As of mid-Feb, 2011, Toys Li Fung (Asia) Ltd operates 131 stores in 8 Asian markets. In Malaysia, there are 7 main stores, 11 Toys R Us Express stores and 4 Toy Box. Toys R Us stores are located in 6 states in Malaysia where each state have at least one store operated which is Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Pahang and Terengganu and Sarawak, State Shopping Mall Penang Gurney Plaza, Queensbay Mall, Sunway Carnival Kuala Lumpur Ikano Power Centre, One Utama Shopping Centre, Tropicana Mall, Mid Valley Meagamall, Pavillion, Bangsar Village, Hartamas Shopping Centre, Alamanda, Suria KLCC, Great Eastern Mall, IOI Mall, Empire Shopping Gallery Johor Tebrau City Pahang East Coast Mall Terengganu Mesra Mall Sarawak 1 Borneo HyperMall, Miri, Hills Shopping Mall, Kuching Toys R Us. Inc Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gerald L. Storch Executive Vice President, Human Resources Dan Caspersen Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary David J. Schwartz Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer Deborah Derby Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Clay Creasey Oceania Asia (Li Fung Group) North America Europe Trinity Limited Toys (Labuan) Holding Limited CEO: Peter Schats Convenience Retail Asia Limited Li Fung Limited Malaysia Singapore Hong Kong Others Toys Li Fung (M) Sdn. Bhd. Country Manager: Carol Chua The Organizational Chart of Toys R Us in Malaysia Country Manager Account Manager Logistic Manager Sales and Merchandising Manager Other Department Manager Branch Manager (3 in Penang, 12 in Kuala Lumpur, 1in Johor, 1 in Pahang, 1 in Terengganu, and 4 in Sarawak) Supervisors Retail/ Promoter and Royalty Card Recruiters and Others Management Structure of Toys R Us in Malaysia Corporate Social Responsibilities Hot Wheels Celebrity Drive for Charity Challenge event in 2010. Malaysias first F1 driver Alex Yoong put his considerable skills to the test as he took to the Hot Wheels track racing against the clock and three other young drivers from the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association. Alex Yoong clocked in a time of 2.5 seconds with his silver Hot Wheels no.11 Mustang, but was beat by a young Hot Wheels driver, Micheal, from the Lighthouse Welfare Home Association who led the pack with a remarkable time of 2.3 seconds. From the 19th to the 28th March, any Hot Wheels enthusiast that partakes in the Hot Wheels Race World Challenge and manages to beat Alex Yoongs time of 2.5 seconds, a toy will be donated towards the Childrens Home of Hope (under the National Cancer Society of Malaysia) and the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association. Buy a Toys R Us shopping bag and help a charity. RM1 from each purchase will be donated to charity. Toys R Us gives RM10, 000 to Trinity Childrens Home Toys R Us (Malaysia) donated RM10, 000 to Trinity Childrens Home, Petaling Jaya, at the opening of a new store at Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya in June 2010. Event Description Hot Wheels Celebrity Drive for Charity Challenge event in 2010 A toy will be donated towards the Childrens Home of Hope (under the National Cancer Society of Malaysia) and the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association once any Hot Wheels enthusiast that manages to beat Alex Yoong. Buy a Toys R Us shopping bag and help a charity. RM1 from each purchase will be donated to charity Toys R Us gives RM10, 000 to Trinity Childrens Home RM10,000 donated to Trinity Childrens Home, Petaling Jaya. Future Plan Toys R Us retailing is given to Li Fung (Asia) Ltd who have a series of plan in Asia to develop a core competence of the Toys R Us retailing. Consumer market: They have planned to open more and more Toys R Us branches in Malaysia. This will benefit the stakeholders. For consumer, they will be more convenient to buy toys for their children. Toys R Us also provides some educational toys. So that children are not only playing toys for fun but at the same time they are gaining extra knowledge. Besides, company will produce more safety toys to children and parents which fulfill the rules and regulations. Consequently, parents wont worry about the toys are dangerous or harming their children while the children feel happy playing with their toys. Furthermore, company will lead employees to another level which is in line with the 2010 Incentive Plan of Toys R Us Ltd. They will arrange some courses or trainings to employee. Through the courses and trainings, employees can improve their knowledge and skills. This would be benefited to the employees and company. Company will be operated effectively and efficiently as the employees are capable and trained. On the other hand, employees will get higher salary and their ability is improved. In addition, company possesses employees of great ability to produce fun and better toys to children. Consumer will not be worry about the safety issues and enjoy consuming our products. They are intended to make Toys R Us as the retailer of dominant toys and educational toys in Malaysia as well. The company wants to offer a right product and right price to consumers. Moreover, they also want to maximizing wealth of shareholders to satisfy them. It will be benefited both sides which are consumers can get right product and right price and shareholders can maximize their wealth. The company will achieve a good reputation in toy industry. These are the future plans in Toys R Us in Malaysia. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Segmentation is dividing a market into smaller segments with distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviors that might require separate marketing strategies or mixes. The segmentation made by Toys R Us is according to the demographic segmentation, which consists of dividing the market into groups based on variables such as age, gender, family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race, and nationality. Toys R Us is differentiated by the ages and gender of customers. Based on Population of Malaysia is 28.25 million which is including 27.2% is less than 15 years old, 68.1% is 15 to 64 years old and the rest of 4.7% is more than 65 years old. Their product is selling to customers who are 15 to 64 years old. This is because the customers are more purchasing power to buy toys. They already have source of income to satisfy their wants. For example, teenagers have received their pocket money from their parents; they are saving to buy their toys for collection. Adults have salary from their works; they will spend partly of salary to fulfill their wants. Besides that, young parents also is including in 15 to 64 years old. They are young and modern, so that they will be buy more toys for their children, the education toys also is popular for them, they hope their children can get knowledge through playing toys. Targeting is the second stage of the segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) process. After the market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments and target it. Resources and effort will be targeted at the segment. Their targeting strategies is using differentiated (segmented) marketing which is targets several segments and designs separate offers for each. For example, Toys R Us is segmenting to a small group which is based on income, age and gender. Their products target in toys collector who are more purchasing power to buy their toys. Besides that, toys collector is not miss out any opportunity to buy their favourite toys or limited edition. Compare to children, children is not enough power to influence their parents buy toys for them every moments. Parents only buy toys for them in special events such as birthday, Christmas. They are just a partly customers in Toys R Us. Positioning has come to mean the process by which the marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand or organization. Toys R Us is positioned as the worldwide authority on kids, families and fun. At Toys R Us, they believe that by being rapid, real, reliable and responsible, we will best serve our customers, employees, shareholders, communities and kids. Rapid, we believe that speed is a reflection of our culture. Our team is focused and clear with common, user-friendly processes and solutions; fast and urgent in decision-making an speed-to-market; and quick in adapting to change. Real, our team is urgent, sincere, authentic, helpful to work with and confident. Reliable, being reliable means working as a team so everything can move faster. We are a company that is dependable and we produce what we promise. Responsible, we believe that honesty, integrity and compassion are the foundation upon which we work together and conduct our business. Keeping kids safe is a cornerstone of the brand. Marketing Mix Four Ps of Toys R Us Marketing mix is a composite of product, place, price, and promotion, also referred to as the 4Ps. Each of these elements is an important factor in a companys marketing strategy. These four Ps are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that centre the four Ps on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response. The Toys R Us marketing mix is always being fine-tuned and thus is never static. Toys R Us is a for-profit organization that has implemented a winning marketing mix within its marketing strategy. Products Firstly, the companys products, products is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption and that might satisfy a want or need of consumer. Types of consumer goods in Toys R Us is a shopping products, thats, it is bought less frequently and there is brand comparison on basis of price, quality and style. The distribution channel which they are using is selective distribution, the outlets can easily found in the area. Besides that, the advertising and personal selling of their product is undertaken by both producer and reseller. Toys R Us is famous for their products quality, their product is in the performance product quality dimensions. For their product feature, the cost of the company is usually lower than others and creates a value to their customer and therefore, they always is the first choice of consumer. The branding and packaging are also the attracted part of their product. Toys R Us have a high recognition within consumer, consumer usually will choose the brand which is well-known that can help them to identifies the product quality and consistency. Besides that, a giraffe cartoon was introduced as Toys R Us mascot with the name of Geoffrey the Giraffe. In the packaging part, the product of Toys R Us is ensure the consumers safety. They will ensure that the products do not bring any harm for childrens health and safety and the instructions of using is provide for every single toys. Toys R Us was also introduced its own private brands such as Babies R Us. They introduced the exclusive line of baby essential-diapers, wipes, baby foods and toys. The product in the store is separated to six different zones. In Family and Fun zones, they provide the games which help parents to take interest in children, communicate, and spend time enjoying entertaining activities with them. For Educational zones, the children can learn the natural skill while having fun. In the Tween zones and Outdoor and Sports zones, the toy is usually for the children above two years old and can let the children sharing the fun with their friends or with parents. Besides that, the item in Toys R Us is also designed to meet the specific needs of boys and girls such as Barbie Shop, The Auto World and etc. The consumer can easily found and spot the toys they need due to the cleverly designed of the store. For example, one entire section of shelves is fully devoted to dolls. The shelves in this section are painted pink with tiny flowers decorating them, and it can easily being seen and recognise by children. Doll clothes and doll accessories are also provided in the same section. Price Price is the amount of the money charged for a product or service. It is the only element that produces the revenue while all other element is representing the cost. Toys R Us is using competition-based pricing which means that they are setting prices based on the competitors strategies, costs, prices and market offerings such as Parkson, Jusco and Tesco. When consumer compare based on their own judgement of a similar products value, Toys R Us always be consumer first choice. The cost of the company of Toys R Us is definitely lower due to their low cost of supply as they owning largest manufacturer, Hasbro and Martell, and hence they could able to satisfying the customer by the low price and create high customer value. For example, as a competitor for Toys R Us, Jusco also provide a high quality toys but the toys is limited and not as many choice as Toys R Us. As for pricing, Toys R Us is much more lower than Jusco. For example, the price of the Battery Operated Rabbit at Toys R Us is only RM39.95 while for Jusco is RM49.90. The pricing adjustment strategy of Toys R Us is seasonal pricing. They will have a promotional during special event such as school holiday or festive season Christmas. And sometimes, they will temporary reduce the price to increase the short run sales by using promotional price adjustment strategies. With member card or the star card of Toys R Us, the member can purchase the item with low price while enjoying the rewards and benefits. Besides that, they are using market penetration pricing as their new product pricing strategies. They setting low initial price for their new product to stimulate their sales quickly and increase their market share. For example, Toys R Us comes with the low price guarantee and they are request that if you find the same toys being sold elsewhere at a lower price, customer can just bring original receipt within 7 days and will gladly refund the difference. Promotion Promotion is referring to the short term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. The promotion can be towards final buyers, retailers, customers or the member of the sales force. Promotion of Toys R Us normally is during school holidays. This is because Christmas and New Year is in school holidays. Toys R Us will inform members through send email, post notice in their website or social network (Facebook) and banner in front of their outlets for promotion. During the school holiday, children usually will spent their time by playing games and thus it is the right timing to had a promotion. And for the festive season such as Christmas, parents can buy their children a toys as a presents at a lower price. They also offer coupons and the gift certificates to those member and non-member which help them to attract new customer and keep the current customer. Toys R Us having a personal selling towards their customer and allow them to interact with the consumer through face to face and enable them to access to customer needs and wants efficiently. For example, they provide more sales assistance to helps the customer to access the details of the item they needed. One of the strategy of Toys R Us to build the long term customer relationship is provide the membership to increase the customer value and satisfaction where members can purchase the item with member price which are more cheaper than the original price and now they are also offering Star Card which customer can enjoy a lots of rewards and benefits. Besides that, Toy R Us is offered a lots of services, such as, delivery service, free wrapping service and also exchange and refund service in which the item purchased can be exchanged or refunded within 14 days from date of purchase. Place Place or a distribution is where the product can be found, such as in physical stores and online purchase, it includes everything connected with getting the product from the place to the customer. A distribution channel is the route a product takes from the place it is made to the customer who is the end users. Toys R Us is consider as consider as selective distribution, that is, their outlets can being found by customer in a area. The type of distributing channel they are using is multichannel distributing whereby they set up two or more marketing channel to reach more customer segments. Besides that, Toys R Us which located in a shopping mall can let the customer found it easily and brought more convenience for customer which they do not need drive to a place only for seeking for toys. For example, in Penang, there are Toys R Us store in Queensbay Mall, Gurney Plaza and Sunway Carnival. There are 20 stores of Toys R Us in Malaysia: 6 Main stores, 7 Toys R Us Express stores and 5 Toy Box. In addition, they are using the selling direct strategies where the product is selling direct to customer in their outlets without go through intermediaries. For example, Toys R Us are act as the franchise for Li Fung where the product are taking directly from them and selling to the customer. Customers Toys R Us (Producer) Agent (Li Fung Group) Toys R Us also has an online store, which provides customers the convenience of allowing them to make Internet purchase and purchase returns. Customer can also search the actual location of stores of Toys R Us through internet. Recommendations Our group had investigated on marketing department of Toys R Us in Malaysia such as their company background, segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) and also marketing mix strategy (4Ps product, price, promotion and placement). So, we give some recommendations to Toys R Us company in Malaysia. Based on our research, the segmentation of the company is using demographic characteristic such as gender and age. We recommend it should add in local culture which is region of country. Since the company have franchises in difference countries, so they can sell some toys related to the cultures of the country. Toys R Us can produce some traditional toys such as congkak represent the culture of Malaysia. When foreigners come to toys R Us Malaysia, they can buy toys as souvenirs for their friends or relatives. Furthermore, most of the toys sold in Toys R Us are based on Disney movies or cartoons such as Spiderman, Transformer, Toy Story and etc. They need to pay copyright fees or other administration fees to relevant departments before produce the toys. So the price of toys is relatively higher, so we recommend that the company can produce and design their own toys; it will lead their cost to be lower and develop their own products. For example, they can produce more series of toys or relevant products such as Geoffrey and friends. Moreover, promotion of the Toys R Us is mostly during school holidays. It is because usually Christmas and New Year are in school holidays. They will send an email to each member; place notice in social network (facebook) and banner in front of their outlets inform the public about their latest promotions. However, their promotion is not publicly known by everyone. This resulted losing potential customers. A smart consumer will only buy things during promotions, so to get more customers in Toys R Us, we have put more effort in some special event. In line to that, we suggest promotions held by Toys R Us should be more actively run some event related with their products such as Logo competition, fashion show of Barbie doll. In conclusion, we recommend Toys R Us add in local culture for produce some toys represent Malaysia, produce more own toys and also conduct some special event for their company. Dont forget that your explanation or examples MUST BE in MALAYSIA context, as I saw some of it using US context. Format of the assignment, fonts size, tab..please double check Conclusion Toys R Us is a company which sells toys to children all around the world. It provides many types of toys to parents to choose for their children. There are 22 stores in Malaysia which is in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Terengganu, Pahang and Sarawak. Besides, Toys R Us is doing Corporate Social Responsibilities, for example, Buy a Toys R Us shopping bag and help a charity. In their future plan, they planned to open more branches in Malaysia. Toys R Us is using demographic segmentation for their business such as age. Toys R Us are focusing on the age of the children so that they can produce more toys according to the ages. Toys R Us is targeting parents who have purchasing power to buy toys for their children and those toys collectors. Toys R Us positioned as the Worldwide authority on kids, families and fun and there are many meaning about the letter R which is real, rapid, reliable and responsible. The marketing mix of Toys R Us is products, price, promotion and placement. Their product is a shopping product, their category different kind of toys. For example, Boys zone, Girls zone, family fun games, educational toys, tween zone, sport outdoor and Baby R Us. Price is based on competition-based pricing because customers more sensitive in price, they will compare price of product with different company. Most of their promotion is banner in front of outlets, send email to member, notice in website and social network. Place is Toys R us produce toys to agent, then agent is selling to final customer. Recommendation by us is produce some toys to add in local culture, produce more own toys represent Toys R Us and also conduct some special event for their company. Department of Statistic Malaysia , http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=54%3Apopulation-updated-31072009catid=35%3Akey-statisticsItemid=53lang=en,2010, Population,2 July, view 2 March 2011. Toys R Us, http://www.toysrusinc.com/about-us/, 1999, company info, view 25 February 2011. Marketing Teacher, http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-segmentation.html, 2010, segmentation, 28 February 2011. Toys R Us Malaysia, http://www.toysrus.com.my/inside/about.htm, company info, view 18 February 2011.