Individual as a member of a community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Individual as a member of a community - Essay Example However, in analyzing the subject critically, the theories of cultural relativism versus the subjectivism create a remarkably engaging perspective and understanding into the issue in the discussion (Chaffee, 2011). Thus, in discussing the subject of same-sex marriages, the ethical theory relating to the subject for the greater understanding and evaluation of the issue is cultural relativism. Additionally, from a metaphysical perspective, the theory to consider is naturalism versus the theory of idealism. Politically, the subject remains form the point of Kant’s philosophical analysis in defining the concepts of society from the knowledge of the external world. The society consist of individuals with personalized opinions whose amalgamation results in the collective expected course of beliefs as well as what they consider the social norm and accepted code of conduct. The society stands from the grounds of the individual opinions as they approach from the perspective of objectivism and subjectivism, viewing the issue and analyzing it from the point that it relates to the situation at hand. This factor leads to the collective and agreed concept and point of perception of the issue in consideration. Traditionally, the society holds that man and woman as entities created for each other; thus, the proceedings leading to the emergence of the subject of same sex relations remains a taboo in view of various societies. This collective agreement passes down the lineage of history from generation to the next forming the social basis of the norms regarding the issue in the discussion. Additionally, the societies we live in consist of highly religious composition. The world exists from the perception that God, the all Supreme Being created the universe and all that is in it owes allegiance to the statutes that God prescribes fit for the common good of the entire population. Religious perspectives, whether

Film and Television Genres Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Film and Television Genres - Essay Example There are so many different film genres that are present in the media world today, and although some of them certainly have their similarities, they even more so have their differences, and by understanding about both the similarities and differences of each film genre, we will be able to get a much more aware and critical understanding on each and every one. What is even more, by analyzing all the different film genre's we will not only be able to become more knowledgeable on the genres, but on the world of media as a whole as well. By doing this we will be able to come to a much more understanding and knowledgeable viewpoint on the subject matter at hand overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. There is really a multitude of different film genres that exist, and in film theory specifically, the term 'genre' refers to that of the primary method of film categorization, and it is a term which is basically used in order to allow separation between films, not only in order to make it easier for movie watchers to be able to predetermine the type of film that it is, but as well so that each film can be more specifically and properly identified and criticized. "A 'genre' generally refers to films that share similarities in the narrative elements from which they are constructed" (Wikipedia, 2007). 'Setting', 'mood', and 'format' are all terms which are used in the film genre classification process: the setting is where the film takes place; the emotional charge which is carried on throughout the film is known as the mood, and the format is the way or manner in which the film was actually shot. Each of these three terms is just as important in the next in regards to the process of c lassifying a film's genre, and they must all thus be taken into account in order to properly assess a film's genre. Film genres are considered as being various forms or identifiable types, categories, classifications, or groups of films which have similar or recognizable patterns which associate them as being in a particular subject area. There are film genres, and then there are genres which are considered as being non-film genres. Some of the most popular and well-known film genres would include that of: action, adventure, comedy, crime/gangster, drama, epics/historical, horror, musicals, science fiction, war, and westerns; some of the most popular and well-known non-film genres would include that of: animated films, British films, children's/kids/family films, classic films, cult films, documentary films, serial films, and silent films. The main difference between film genre and non-film genres is that the film genre titles are more specific and more often used, while the non-fil m genre titles are more subtle and for the most part less popular. The more conventional definitions of genre tend to, for the most part, be based on the notion that they are able to properly constitute for particular conventions of content, and this would include issues such as the theme or setting for instance, or any other film genre subjectivity. It is incredibly important to realize that the attempt to define particular genres in terms of necessary and sufficient textual properties is truly very necessary, and that although it is often seen as being theoretically attractive, often times it can be extremely difficult to complete this process,

The crime control methods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The crime control methods - Research Paper Example According to the research findings since police initiated computerized crime analysis, identification of crime trends in the cities is significantly easy. Police use accuracy of computers to focus patrol resources on times and places that crime do take place. As Lawrence portrays in his work, if there is more patrol on at â€Å"hot spots† and â€Å"hot times† of criminal commotions, there would be less occurrence of crime at those places. When police have an idea of where certain criminals hood and engage in illegal drug, it would be more effective than just wandering about looking for criminals. This introduces the emergence of hot spots policing traced from improvement of computerized mapping and database technologies that deals with criminals who illegally possess guns and those involved in illegal drug business as Weisburd and Braga found. Directed patrol reduces gun crime. Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) tried out this method and results were welcoming. They a pplied directed patrol method in two police districts, which had occurrences of violent crime. These crimes included illegal possession of guns and drugs trafficking amongst many others as indicated in report done by Edmund, Steven and Alexander. Deferred sentencing refers to a sentence postponed for a certain period as a guilty drug offender undergoes probation. Shouse Law Group observes that nonviolent drug offenders benefit a lot from treatment and education as compared to jail and criminal record. This method is effective in rehabilitating the offenders. While on probation, the drug offenders undergo regular treatment and this makes them show health improvement. Instead of subjecting drug offenders to harsh treatment in jail, deferred sentencing is an alternative that proves to be more effective. Chemical Castration for Sex offenders as a Crime Control Method There are many sex offenders that exist all over the world. They include among other rapists, pedophiles and exhibitionis ts. Other offenders are individuals that molest children. Such people commit a shameful sex offence and surprisingly, the number of these individuals is enormously large. Their crime inflict fear into the general public and a real threat to them those who live in the neighborhood. Chemical castration is all about administering Depo-Provera that reduces the level of the hormone testosterone. As a result, recidivism rate falls. It is an alternative punishment to pedophiles rather than taking them to prison where they might sneak out and go scot free. Considering sex crimes that men impose on women and children, chemical castration is an ideal form of punishment even though some may complain it is a cruel mode of punishment. Student Behavior Modification Program as a Crime Control Method It is a clear fact that students involve themselves in criminal offenses of different categories. The crimes they commit portray an appalling picture of them to the general public. They become a proble m to police and a threat to vulnerable individuals who cannot tolerate any kinds of mischievous behavior. However, existence of schools where these students study is an

Louis Pojman’s We Don’t Deserve What We Earn Essay Example for Free

Louis Pojman’s We Don’t Deserve What We Earn Essay Merit and desert are two terms that are always in opposition to one another. While merit measures value in terms of success or failures, desert presupposes that value is not only measured in terms of success or failure but also the intentions must be assessed. Desert asseses â€Å"whether or not one had good or bad intentions, whether or not one was responsible for the success or failure†. While it is tempting to decide on issues with regards to their value in terms of the intentions of doing them as well as the success or failure of the object to meet our specific demands, I do believe that we merit is the best way of making a decision; we deserve what we earn. Athlete who has been training for long hours everyday deserves to win a race because of his attempt to train, and not marely because he is tall or has some long strides. Merit presumes that a person deserves something provided that he has some qualities. This is in contrast to desert which assumes a person to deserve something given that he attempts or does something. The criterion for deciding whether we deserve what we earn may be either through merit or desert, but one fact is that we generally deserve what we earn. The society itself is full of pointers to the fact that we get what we â€Å"saw†. To begin with, the laws governing our actions in the society show a justice. The concept of justice is found in most cultures and religious institutions. An ancient Greek poet, Simonides, defined justice as â€Å"giving each person his due† an idea which is unequivocal in the ancient Greek laws which also defined justice as giving the people what they merited. This idea of justice is also evident in most religions. The concept of the final judgment done on the basis of ones goodness or badness cuts across all religions; in the Hindu scriptures the notion of reward got after reincarnation is portrayed as being proportional to the person’s deeds. This same idea is also exemplified in the Quran and explicit in the Hebrew and Christian bibles. The bible for example states that what a person sows such shall he reap. In the current world affairs, we can look at the US election as one indicator of the criteria by which the society measures its values. We can decide to look at Obama as deserving the win from two perspective, from a meritorious point of view or from a desert based point of view. If we look at it from a merit-based point of view, then we can say that Obama deserved the win because he planned well, mounted a successful campaign machinery and was successful in convincing the young people, many of whom voted for him. On the other hand, we can decide to say that Obama deserved to win because he represented a minority community which has been oppressed and so deserved to win the election on this ground. Reference Pojman, L. Merit: Why do we value it. Journal of Social Philosophy. New York. Vol 30:83-102.

Protein Synthesis Essay -- Protein Synthesis Biology DNA Essays

Protein Synthesis Protein synthesis is one of the most fundamental biological processes. To start off, a protein is made in a ribosome. There are many cellular mechanisms involved with protein synthesis. Before the process of protein synthesis can be described, a person must know what proteins are made out of. There are four basic levels of protein organization. The first is primary structure, followed by secondary structure, then tertiary structure, and the last level is quaternary structure. Once someone understands the makeup of a protein, they can then begin to learn how elements can combine and go from genes to protein. There are two main processes that occur during protein synthesis, or peptide formation. One is transcription and the other is translation. Although these biological processes slightly differ for eukaryotes and prokaryotes, they are the basic mechanisms for which proteins are formed in all living organisms. There are four main levels of a protein, which make up its native conformation. The first level, primary structure, is just the basic order of all the amino acids. The amino acids are held together by strong peptide bonds. The next level of protein organization is the secondary structure. This is where the primary structure is repeated folded so that it takes up less space. There are two types of folding, the first of which is beta-pleated sheets, where the primary structure would resemble continuous spikes forming a horizontal strip. The seco...

Colonial Girls School

The poem opens with the phrase, â€Å"Borrowed images/willed our skin pale†, which is an allusiin to many teenaged school girls bleaching their skins with different creams and soaps to become a lighter complexion. The poem as a whole focuse on the rejection of one's color to a more favoured one, emphasised to them by the outer one. Borrowed images from the first world countries, where white is emphasised as better or more beautiful. It also focused on the image of girls' ‘dekinked' hair, yet another image of them rejecting their blackness for a more favourable image, that of white through chemicals to straighten their hair.The poem is one from a formerly colonized country which focuses on the fact that for years, their teachers have only taught them American, British and other aspects of European countries and â€Å"nothing about us at all. † They were taught Latin and SHakespeare, but nothing of their own language and were punished if they used it, but were to ta lk like little madrigals in a choir with the hills and valleys in their tonage, rejecting their baser language.They were taugh of the landscapes of other countries, of kings and queens of England, wheatfields of Canada and Steppes of Russia, but nothing of their own heritage or landscape. Mention of Marcus Garvey and 1838 and the fight for desegregation and the equal rights was mentioned as a beacon in black history, Little Rock, Congo, Lumumba, etc, all aspects of foreigh history, but nothing of their own fight for black empowerment. The writer alludes to a day being able to tell their own Anansi stories with pride, where â€Å"northern eyes in the brighter world before us† would seem pale. Muffled our laughter†, â€Å"willed our skins pale†, â€Å"lowered our voices†, â€Å"dekinked our hair†, â€Å"denied our sex in gym tunics†, â€Å"harnessed our voices to †¦ † and â€Å"yoked our minds† are all negative images.* To sh ow that Jamaicans continue to hold on to a system which deny their culture and race while elsewhere racial barriers are being destroyed. Marcus Garvey, who was famous for his pride in his race, would have been shocked to learn that his country has not yet thrown off the colonial chain. â€Å"†¦ kissed us awake† tells us that someone has given them new information which so alerted them that they threw off the negative images. This was done calmly, gently and lovingly. Examine the word ‘kiss' and you will see that whoever brought the change must have cared, must have confronted them after establishing a close relationship. * The last four lines reveal that with their new found knowledge, the girls no longer find pale skins attractive, no longer yearn to be pale themselves.

The Link Between Sanitation and Child Life Expectancy in India Critical Analysis

â€Å"The expectations are different†, is a statement that Perri Klass makes in her essay entitled â€Å"India†(1986). This observation refers to the difference in child life expectancy between Klass’ home in North America, and her current home in India, where she is practicing paediatric medicine. In North America, every child is expected to surpass their parents in life expectancy. Meanwhile, in India, the possibility that children will die young is very real and happens more than necessary. In 1998 alone, approximately 2. 5 million children under 5 died in India (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2000,). What makes this number even more astonishing is that almost all the deaths were preventable. The lack of sanitation leading to deadly water-borne disease in India is the main factor contributing to these extremely high numbers. This essay will explore the role that sanitation has in relation to child life expectancy in India. A base root to sanitation is human hygiene, particularly access to clean water and toiletries. The cost to install a toilet in India is 200 USD (Agoramoorthey&Hsu, 2009). This, to an average American, does not seem like very much money at all. However, when you are a farmer working in rural India making an average of 150 to 225 USD per year (Agoramoorthy & Hsu, 2009), this is a tremendous amount of money. This minimal income is barely enough to maintain basic survival (food, shelter, and clothing), let alone buy a toilet. The government of India, at one time, contributed up to 80% of the cost of purchasing a toilet to promote sanitation, but now the subsidy offered is only 20% (Agoramoorthy & Hsu, 2009). An overall lack of funds is the main contributing reason that only 34% of Indian households have access to a toilet (Agoramoothy & Hsu, 2009). The other 66% of the population is forced to defecate and urinate in public. The amount of people that do not have access to toilets in India is 638 million (UNICEF India, Water, environment and sanitation, 2011), which is more than 10 times the entire population of Canada (Stats Canada, 2010). The amount of public defecation in India poses massive health endangerment, especially to the most vulnerable population, children, through water contamination. The majority of Indian households do not even have access to running water. Water is mostly brought in to the homes from wells or unsanitary ponds, mainly by women. Proper storage of water is also a massive problem causing contamination, as most containers don’t even have handles. 67% of the residents of India do not treat their water, even though it most definitely is chemically or bacterially contaminated (UNICEF India, Water and environment and sanitation, 2011). As displayed in the below chart (Figure 1), the majority of the slum and rural parts of India rely on waters other than piped water for washing themselves and cleaning cooking supplies( Nath, 2003), leading to cross contamination. Figure 1: Sources of Water for Washing according to Different Population Sectors in Calcutta India (Nath,2003) Sewage control is also quite poorly maintained in India, hence becoming yet another water- related issue. With a total of about 4000 towns in India, only approximately 200 of them have partially covered sewage systems, resulting in poor drainage for storm waters leading to frequent flooding of defecated in waters (Nath,2003). Monsoon season is often the worst for defecation contaminating the waters due to the immense amount of rainfall and resulting in overland runoff. Contaminated waters are common in India; therefore the water is difficult to avoid especially for kids. Children inadvertently consume defecation in pond water as they are playing, resulting in illness. In the developing world 24,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from preventable diseases caused by contact of unclean water (water. org, 2011). That is almost a quarter of a million lives that could be saved alone by something as simple as clean water. 21% of all disease in India is water-related (UNICEF India, Water, environment and sanitation, 2011), and yet preventable. With the prevalence of water-related diseases in India, one would think the government would step in and vaccinate the children against rotavirus. Currently, children in India are not vaccinated against rotavirus, which is the leading cause of diarrheal illness. (UNICEF India, Water, environment and sanitation, 2011) A child here in Canada can get diarrhoea and be given over the counter medicine such as Pesto Bismal and be fine in couple hours or, at worst, be hospitalized for dehydration and be out the next day. In India, in 1996 there were a staggering 1600 deaths a day from diarrhoea, resulting from water contamination. Unicef India, Water, environment and sanitation, 2011). Something as preventable and treatable as diarrhoea should not cause as many children to die as it does. Only 39% of children that get diarrhoea in India receive the recommended treatments (UNICEF/WHO, Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done? ). If these children had received proper treatment, or had a vaccination to prevent this in the first place they would most likely still be alive. Aids was once thought to be the most targeted killer of children in developing countries, but now, a preventable and curable illness like diarrhoea has taken the lead. Diarrhoea now kills more young children than AIDS, malaria measles combined. (UNICEF/WHO, Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, 2009) As illustrated below in Figure 2, cases of diarrhoea did appear to decline briefly from 1992-1993 only to rise quickly again by 1998 (Nath, 2003). Figure 2: Reported Data on Diarrhoea in India from 1989 to 1998 (Nath,2003) As noted in Klass’ essay (India, 1986) expectations are different in India and North America regarding child life expectancy. In North America what seemingly are simple things like clean water, and toilets, are rare in most parts of India. We, in America also expect the government to readily step in with immunization programs and funding if needed. In India there are immunization programs but they are not readily implemented. We expect our children to live longer and not die from preventable disease due to unsanitary conditions. In India, it is expected that children may precede their parents in death, due to preventable illness caused by lack of sanitation. With millions of children dying yearly in India from sanitation related illness, maybe it is time something was done instead of just being said.

Medieval Life essays

Medieval Life essays The Middle Ages was a period in Western European history that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire between the 4th and 5th centuries and lasted up into the 15th century. Medieval Europe was far from unified. It was a large area split into small, culturally diverse units that were never totally in control by any one authority. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, Christianity became the backbone of Western civilization. The papacy gradually gained secular authority and monastic communities, generally under the Rule of St. Benedict, flourished during this time period. By the 8th century, culture centered on Christianity had been established. Feudalism, with the manorial system as its backbone, became the typical social and political organization of Europe. The new framework gained stability from the 11th century, as the invaders became Christian and settled and as prosperity was created by agricultural innovations, increasing productivity, and population expansion. As Eu rope entered the period known as the High Middle Ages, the church became the widespread and unifying institution. Strong popes, especially Gregory VII, worked for a renewed Europe guided by a centralized church, a goal which evolved under Innocent III. The church was weakened by internal conflicts as well as by quarrels between church and state. Finally, the great medieval unity of Christianity was shattered by the religious theories that culminated in the Protestant Reformation. The transition from the Greco-Roman world to the medieval world was a sharp break from the ancient past which preceded it. More specifically, the church and state were never separate entities during ancient times. Also, in terms of economics, the economy that was created in Greece and Rome centered on agriculture saw little change during the transition into the Middle Ages. Indeed, Europe during the Middle Ages took a sharp break from the tradition and legacy that was formed...

Dwight Waldo Essays

Dwight Waldo Essays Dwight Waldo Essay Dwight Waldo Essay The reasons for including the works of Dwight Waldo in this collection differ from those for the other authors chosen. Waldo is included as much for his observations on the contributions of others as for his own contributions to the field. Waldo is recognized as an astute critic and a knowledgeable chronicler of the history of the study of public adminis- tration. He is also representative of an approach to public administra- tionthe Administration-as-Politics approachthat, combined with the Behavioral approach, constituted a devastating critique of the Clas- sical paradigm of public administration. Waldo is thus included both because of his views on the development and current state of the field of public administration and as a representative of a particular perspec- tive on the field. As a commentator on, and critic of, public administration, Waldo came to his task with reservations, and he has approached his subject with a certain wariness ever since. Waldos intellectual interests while a student centered on political philosophy, not public administration. His dissertation dealt with public administration, but was intended as an expose. His intent was to expose the political theory he believed to be implicit in the Classical approach to public administration. Waldo argued that by concentrating on the technical aspects of public admin- istration, the Classical approach embodied a philosophy and consti- tuted an ideology that effectively supported the existing political order. The publication of The Administrative State, a book based on his dissertation, earned for Waldo, by his own estimation, the status of a pariah in the field. Waldos views have softened over time, but there is still an element of the skeptic in him. He denies the possibility of con- structing a science of public administration. He doubts the existence of principles of administration. He questions the plausibility of a uni- fied theory of organizations. He is skeptical of those who would indis- criminately intermingle politics and administration. He even despairs of reaching common agreement on a definition of the field of public ad- ministration. Nonetheless, he believes that the fate of civilization may well rest on our ability to master the functions of administration.

Understanding SWOT Analysis

Understanding SWOT Analysis To most business and management students, the SWOT (which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis probably looks and feels like an uninteresting scholastic exercise; it’s either the sort of thing instructors like to make students do to make sure they’ve actually read the assigned case study, or alternately, a good way to pad out an essay with a challenging word limit. Yet despite its deceptive simplicity and its age – the method has been a staple of strategic planning and management textbooks for about 40 years – the SWOT analysis is still a very current and very useful planning tool for business, and well worth learning. What Is a SWOT Analysis? The SWOT analysis is attributed to Dr. Andrew S. Humphrey, who developed the method while working at the Stanford Research Institute in the early 1970s. SWOT can best be described as an environmental analysis tool; it combines an assessment of the company’s internal environment (Strengths and Weaknesses) with the relevant external environment (Opportunities and Threats). The SWOT typically takes the form of a 22 matrix, which allows planners to look at all the factors at the same time. Here is an example of a brief SWOT analysis, from a strategic assessment of a pharmaceutical company: Strengths Weaknesses Leading position in R D spending and organization Well-developed presence in global markets. Facilities are strategically dispersed to increase research volume. Testing processes are highly automated. Market reach and diversity help moderate effects of downturns in any one segment or market. Strong brand identity. Strong corporate responsibility images with the initiative to increase generic drug availability in underprivileged markets. Good financial position with respect to current assets liabilities: current ratio of 1.64, and acid-test ratio of 1.31. Less-than-ideal debt liability position High tax liability of 9.46%. Short-term debts greatly reduced in 2008, but long-term obligations correspondingly increased. Debt-to-equity ratio (at end of 2008) of 1.95. Opportunities Threats Consumer health issues are opportunities for new products High rates of vascular and heart disease increase demand for drugs to treat these conditions and their symptoms. Lower smoking rates increase demand for smoking-cessation drugs. Increasing obesity rates increase demand for weight-control drugs. Growing emerging markets, for example in Asia and Africa. Government support in the form of scheduled pharmaceutical price increases from 2009 2011. Strong generic drug competition in established markets, primarily the UK and the US. Mandated generic drug availability policies in large markets, for example, the UK and Brazil. Expiry of patents on some key products. Cautious or skeptical assessments from financial analysts can weaken investor confidence. Want to know more? Go here: Five Forces Analysis Critical Success Factors Analysis Critical Analysis Writing The ADL Matrix and Gap Analysis Advantages of the SWOT Analysis: The biggest advantage in using the SWOT analysis as a basic strategic planning tool is that it is an uncomplicated way to gather all the necessary information in one place; the methodology behind the SWOT is largely self-explanatory, and thus almost everyone in the organization can have input to it. This was the overall objective of Dr. Humphrey in developing it, as he was a champion of what he called â€Å"Total Action Management† (or TAM), an early conceptualization of what we know today as â€Å"flat† or â€Å"horizontal† organizational architecture, Total Quality Management (TQM), and the stakeholder approach to strategic planning. The SWOT analysis has an advantage over more complex and detailed environmental analysis methods like the PESTEL analysis because it categorizes the important factors – internal or external, good or bad. This can help the organization more easily determine which factors need attention. Finally, the arrangement of factors can help to identify other points that may have been overlooked; for example, an obvious threat from the external environment might reveal an internal weakness. Disadvantages of the SWOT Analysis: The biggest advantage of the SWOT analysis – its simplicity – is in some ways its biggest weakness; the analysis is only as good as the information put into it, and if key factors are not included, subsequent strategic planning can be adversely affected. One of the biggest flaws of SWOT analysis is not in the tool itself, but in its users, according to Professor Malcolm McDonald of Oxford University, who has called the SWOT, as it is taught in business schools these days, the SWAG (which stands for â€Å"Scientific Wild-Ass Guess†). The common problem, in McDonald’s view, is that many weaknesses and threats are generic and applicable to any organization’s environment – things like the threats of natural disaster, political instability, or poor global economic conditions – and are therefore not very helpful in planning for the specific circumstances of a particular organization and its market. The SWOT analysis is also not a stand-alone tool. It is an effective way to gather and organize information needed for strategic planning, but it gives no priority to the factors. In the example above, for instance, the various points are presented in a completely random order, as they were recalled by the managers helping to build the SWOT; beyond arranging the factors into their correct places in the matrix, the analysis by itself does not suggest which ones are the most important. Alternatives to the SWOT Analysis: In a regularly-cited 1997 article (â€Å"SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall,† Long Range Planning, Vol. 30, February 1997) authors Terry Hill and Roy Westbrook argue that the SWOT analysis produces ineffective results so often – largely due to the SWAG factors described by Professor McDonald – that it ought to be scrapped altogether. To compensate for some of the method’s shortcomings, variations of the SWOT analysis such as the POWER SWOT, the TOWS analysis and the Defensive/Offensive Evaluation (DOE) have been developed in recent years. These variations add depth and detail to the standard SWOT analysis and are valuable tools in the strategic planning toolbox. The traditional SWOT analysis, however, remains important for management studies even if its capital as a real-life assessment tool may be a bit diminished these days because it is the basis for more advanced and complex tools that followed. Understanding the SWOT not only makes i t possible to use this very simple tool to its full advantage but provides a necessary background for learning and applying more sophisticated strategic planning tools. offers professional academic writing services since 2005. In case you are in need of a paper on SWOT analysis, please feel free to visit our order page and our professional writers will be happy to assist.

Effects of YPF Nationalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effects of YPF Nationalization - Research Paper Example The nationalization has also severed Argentina’s social relations with other countries that threatened to impose stringent political and economic sanctions on Argentina. Nationally, the social effects of the nationalization include an increase in the amount of taxes paid by Argentines (Cassidy, 2012). The government is also restricting currency flight, which is growing at an alarming rate as more and more Argentines lose faith in the country’s economic prospects. As a consequence, Argentines continue to encounter immense restrictions, particularly with regard to making investments. The Argentine President infuriated Argentina’s allies such as Spain but also won the favor of a massive portion of Argentines who consider the expropriation of Repsol as serving Argentina’s interests. The Argentine government’s decision to wrench control from Repsol continues to instigate fear amongst Argentines, as well as other people in the region. This is largely beca use YPF is a prominent company, which contributes substantially to the economy of South America. Therefore, other South American countries are bound to be adversely affected by Argentina’s move to nationalize YPF. As a consequence, these nations are likely to consider the Argentina government as irresponsible with the country’s and region’s wellbeing. ... In essence, the nationalization of YPF will cause detrimental effects to the government’s capacity to provide its citizens with proper social services. On the other hand, Argentina is likely to suffer fuel scarcity as a consequence of the nationalization. This is because the country does not have the capacity to explore its vast oil and gas resources. Oil and gas scarcity will, in turn, result in increased living costs on the people of Argentina. Effects of the Nationalization on society in Argentina The nationalization of YPF serves to move Argentina back to the status of a net energy exporter while at the same time having immense sovereign power over the country’s energy industry, as well as natural resources. This perception towards the effects of YPF’s nationalization on Argentina’s social environment is quite distinct from the former signals, which indicated that the Argentine government was moving towards a wholesome nationalization of the countryâ⠂¬â„¢s oil and gas resources. As a consequent, the nation recognized that it its domestic investor pool was quite inadequate, and the country seriously required foreign expertise, as well as foreign investments to enable it tap its energy resources (Romero, 2012). This was especially the case regarding Vaca Muerta’s immense shale oil and gas reserves. In essence, all these moves signify Argentina’s growing appreciation for its sovereignty both socially and economically as the country is no longer afraid to invite a clash with other nations in its fight for its rights. Reception YPF’s nationalization was warmly welcomed by Argentines who thought that the government could have expropriated 100%, not just a portion of it. Most Argentines believe that the

Identify an issue which you think is important in the British Essay

Identify an issue which you think is important in the British Education system today. In what way can sociology help us understa - Essay Example However, evidence suggests that there exists racial inequality in the UK educational system (DFES, 2005) with the most affected groups being ethnic minority pupils of Black, Irish Travelers and Gypsy/Roma heritages. The evidence shows that pupils from these racial backgrounds perform poorly in schools compared to their counterparts from other ethnic groups, a situation that has long-term implications on their future. Efforts by various stakeholders to find a way of breaking this chain of inequality, educational underachievement and restricted life chances continue to remain a fundamental challenge. Although the UK policymakers and practitioners have come up with wide ranging attempts to alleviate this problem, the desired impact is yet to be achieved. This paper looks at racial inequality in the UK educational system and tries to explain the phenomenon though the lenses of theories of sociology at an attempt to understand the causes. Moreover, the paper outlines evidence that suggest s racial inequality still exists in the educational system

Individual Determinants of Health A 600-word individual writing piece Essay

Individual Determinants of Health A 600-word individual writing piece - Essay Example This stressed behaviour would also prove to be a challenge because it might prompt him to be reckless in his behaviour – wanting to find a shorter and faster way to recover from his injuries so that he can get back to work and take care of his family. Reckless behaviour may include attempting to speed up the rehabilitative process and gaining independence in the conduct of his daily activities – even if he cannot function independently as yet. This would put him at risk for further injuries like falls. I also believe that Tom’s depression would prove to be a great challenge for me as a human services professional. The rehabilitative and recovery process requires a strong will and determination in most patients. Although Tom is obviously worried about his family, he also displays depressed and sad behaviour. His situation and the fact that he is unable to support his family is a source of depression for him. He feels incapacitated by his condition and these conditions will further slow his recovery. His depression would make him feel like he is useless to his family and would drain him of energy and fighting spirit. His lack of social interaction with his friends due to his limited mobility would certainly not give him strength and motivation to help himself recover from his injury. I would prevent Tom’s stressed behaviour from impacting on me working effectively with him by meeting with his family and to let them know about Tom’s worries. I would also coordinate with his work employers and seek some reassurances from them about Tom’s work and how his family can be assisted while Tom is not working. By taking away his worries about his family, he would be able to free his mind and just concentrate on the rehabilitative and recovery process. It would make him less anxious and less stressed about his life and consequently would allow his full concentration and cooperation

Contract and procurement management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract and procurement management - Case Study Example The budget of Ruralshire County is short and it is expecting high quality of services. Traditionally, only a small number of local contractors have the high capacity (100 seater) vehicles for these routes and because the routes are long they are challenging in terms of the ability of vehicles to keep to time, especially in adverse traffic and weather conditions. In keeping with wider practice, bus and coach operators deploy older vehicles to school transport and pupils can expect to travel in vehicles more than 10 years old.  The client is unhappy at the high cost and unreliability of a cluster (8) of long-distance routes transporting around 700 secondary age pupils from the city of Maynard Kaines (located outside the county) to Amplewealth (the county town) some 22 miles away where these children attend four local grammar schools. The combined cost of these contracts is 1.1M per annum. This report intends at identifying the important of this project. This report also intends at identifying the important of reverse e-auctions for the upcoming project. Moreover, this report ends at presenting a business case that identifies the benefits, costs, risks and gaps of the upcoming project (Worksafe.vic.gov.au, 2015). Effective procurement is a key to provide best services to businesses and customers. Selection process of suppliers is a way to identify a best person or company for a service. There are a lot if procurement approaches to select vendors to get service and goods. There are a lot of possible re-procurement approaches to achieve the business objectives mentioned in our case study of home-school transportation. In our case it is important to reduce the costs associated with the transportation of children from homes to schools. The award of new contract is strongly associated with the cost effectiveness of the transportation coupled with less travel time (Imagination.lancs.ac.uk, 2015).

Factors affecting mortgage interest rates Essay

Factors affecting mortgage interest rates - Essay Example As far as the business world is concerned, people have ventured into many different ways of acquiring capital as well as property. They have gone as far as borrowing money from financing institutions as loans which they commit their real property as security. Mortgage financing institutions as a capital market has since.Mortgage is money borrowed as loan from mortgage institutions to finance real property acquisition. It is usually paid back in specified periods, installments and interest rates. There are several factors that affect these mortgage interest rates in any given transaction and they vary from one financial institution to another. Us government debt is whereby the government raises funds from the public through issuing of debt instruments to finance its projects and debts. Treasury bill rates are defined as a short-term debt instrument of one year or less issued by the government to raise money from the public. After the maturity period, the government will pay back to th e bill holder by selling him or her at a discount as matter of fact when the treasury bill interest rate increase, the mortgage interest also increases because the debt instrument encourages buying more security for the benefit of the prevailing rates. Money in circulation will hence reduce due to its demand and so fewer funds are available to facilitate property acquisition, this therefore forces the financial institution to raise mortgage interest as they are in high demand.... reases the public will invest more on the debt instrument and consequentially the mortgage interest rates increases since there will be high demand for funds for property purchasing Treasury bonds are long term debt instrument issued by the government to the public. They are issued to a period of 30 years with interest being paid quarterly to the bondholder. If the interest rate is low the public will be mean to invest on them and hence mortgage interest rate due to the fact that demand for money to finance mortgage is low. Factors arising from Federal Reserve board. Federal reserve board is a government run board to oversee the banking system in US. Federal fund rates affect the mortgage interest rate. These are rate charged on loans that are given by depository institutions overnight These interest rates lead to increase in mortgage interest rates in that for example if a depository institution lends money to another, it has to charge a certain interest. Then the receiving institution has to raise its interest rates when lending money to the public so as to offset the interest charged by the other financial institution. To effect this, the New York foundation development governs all these transactions. Federal discount rates are interest rates charged to commercial banks as well as other depository institutions for money they receive from other financial institutions operating within the Federal Reserve. These rates are usually above the prevailing market interest rates. The mortgage financial institutions, which in this case are the commercia banks, and the depository institutions will have to increase the interest rates to their clients due to the fact that they have to recover the Federal

Contract and procurement management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract and procurement management - Case Study Example The budget of Ruralshire County is short and it is expecting high quality of services. Traditionally, only a small number of local contractors have the high capacity (100 seater) vehicles for these routes and because the routes are long they are challenging in terms of the ability of vehicles to keep to time, especially in adverse traffic and weather conditions. In keeping with wider practice, bus and coach operators deploy older vehicles to school transport and pupils can expect to travel in vehicles more than 10 years old.  The client is unhappy at the high cost and unreliability of a cluster (8) of long-distance routes transporting around 700 secondary age pupils from the city of Maynard Kaines (located outside the county) to Amplewealth (the county town) some 22 miles away where these children attend four local grammar schools. The combined cost of these contracts is 1.1M per annum. This report intends at identifying the important of this project. This report also intends at identifying the important of reverse e-auctions for the upcoming project. Moreover, this report ends at presenting a business case that identifies the benefits, costs, risks and gaps of the upcoming project (Worksafe.vic.gov.au, 2015). Effective procurement is a key to provide best services to businesses and customers. Selection process of suppliers is a way to identify a best person or company for a service. There are a lot if procurement approaches to select vendors to get service and goods. There are a lot of possible re-procurement approaches to achieve the business objectives mentioned in our case study of home-school transportation. In our case it is important to reduce the costs associated with the transportation of children from homes to schools. The award of new contract is strongly associated with the cost effectiveness of the transportation coupled with less travel time (Imagination.lancs.ac.uk, 2015).

Energy Efficient Middleware for Networking Protocols Essay

Energy Efficient Middleware for Networking Protocols - Essay Example This is to do with low-power design in all layers of the wireless network protocol. With integration of new technology with time, the modern infrastructure calls for efficient measures in the field of Network Protocols. The published work is critical in ascertaining the relevance of wireless services expansion in cellular voice; personal communication services (PCS), mobile data and wireless LANs. The authors to this work are researchers with extinguished experience in technology advancement. Christine E. Jones is an expert in Computer Science with a Masters in Computer Science form Washington State Universty, Pulliman. She currently works with BBN technologies in Cambridge doing extensive research computing and application in mobile and networking. Krishna M. Sivalingam is a computer scientist with a PhD. and Msc. Degrees from Staten University of New York at Buffalo. He has extensive research work in Electrical and Computer Science that has gave him interest in wireless network, op tical wavelength division multiplexed networks and performance evaluation. He has published and edited a number of works inclusive of optical WDM networks in 2000. His extensive work has been recognised by getting patents in wireless networks- 3 patents and several papers including 18 journal publications. Prathima Agrawal is an extinguished scholar and is the Vice-president of the Internet Architecture Research Laboratory and Executive Director of the Computer Network in Research Development at Telcordia Technologies. She heads research studies and has been involved with ITUSMO joint research: which is a third generation wireless access system research between Telcordia and Toshiba Corp. Her major research interests fall in computer networks, mobile and wireless computing and communication system and parallel process. She has over 150paper publications and received or applied for over 50 patents. Jyn Cheng Chen is a computer and electrical engineer academician. He has been a resear ch scientist since 1998 in Applied Research at Telcordia technologies. He has participated in ITSUMO as a senior architect and implementer working on QoS for mobile and wireless IP networks, IP-based station design, SIP-based mobility management and multimedia applications. He has also researched on energy efficient MAC protocols for wireless ATM networks at AT&T Labs and Whippany, NJ. The review of Research under Consideration The survey for energy efficient network protocols for wireless networks has been sought after and compiled with respect to a rich source of references. The study incorporates the works of notable researchers and scientists with respect to network protocols and wireless networking. With increased use of mobile networking, there greater need for efficiency in energy consumption owing to the complexity of the shortage and aftermath of energy use. The effective works cited in this study include Agrwal et al. (1998) and (1996) that clearly enhance the mobile power efficiency in video processing and mobile radio systems respectively. Energy efficiency is critical to enhance data passage and storage; therefore, improving the reliability in transportation and hand off is greatly influenced by the energy consumption, availability and reliability. Balakrishnam et al. (1995); Feeney (1999a,b); Gordon et al. (1996) among others has well been used to illustrate this. The use of

Promoting Gender Equality Essay Example for Free

Promoting Gender Equality Essay For centuries women were not treated equal to men in many ways. They were not allowed to own property, they did not have a Share in the property of their parents, they had no voting rights, they had no freedom to choose their work or job and so on. Now that we have come out of those dark days of oppression of women there is a need for strong movement to fight for the rights of women and to ensure that they get all the rights which men have or in other words a movement for the Empowerment of Women. The present seminar has been planned with a view to discuss the various issues related to the Empowerment of Women and to suggest measures for achieving this end.The body of research on women‘s empowerment has conceptualized and defined this construct in many ways and used different terms, often interchangeably, including ―autonomy,â€â€"―status,â€â€" and ―agencyâ€â€" (Lee-Rife and Edmeades 2011; Malhotra et al. 2002; Upadhyay and Hindin 2005). see more:examples of gender equality A review of the literature also shows different measures for the same conceptualization. For example, studies often measure women‘s autonomy with an index that assesses their participation in decision-making in various household issues. This index represents women‘s degree of control over their environment. Some researchers include both major and minordecisions, while others include only major decisions, excluding day-to-day household decisions and those that are traditionally within the woman‘s domain. Women‘s empowerment encompasses many dimensions, including economic, socio-cultural, familial/interpersonal, legal, political, and psychological (Malhotra et al. 2002), which contributes to the wide variation in conceptualizations of women‘s empowerment. Given this variation in conceptualization, it is difficult to measure women‘s empowerment consistently. Kabeer (2001), whose definition is widely accepted, defines empowerment as ―the expansi on of people‘s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them. Two central components of empowerment are agency and resources needed to exercise life choices (Kabeer 2001; Malhotra et al. 2002). Even with a clear definition, these constructs are difficult to quantify in a standardized way.Additionally, to measure empowerment at an individual level, researchers must translate the amorphous constructs into a set of specific questions that population-based surveys can ask of individual respondents (Kishor and Subaiya 2008). Another challenge is the variation in cultural contexts that affect the measurement of women‘s empowerment. It is desirable to use standardized questions that enable cross-cultural comparisons of empowerment. Yet a measure that captures empowerment in one context may have limited relevance in another, as is the case with measures that assess mobility in a community where women‘s free movement is the norm. While many existing measures of empowerment were originally conceptualized and developed for the context of Asia, and for South Asian countries in particular (Dyson and Moore 1983; Mason 1987), measures that are universally applicable regardless of the gender equity environment, such as those used in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), are most useful for cross-national comparisons. Using the available standardized measures of women‘s empowerment among several population-based samples from sub-Saharan Africa will allow us to make comparisons and better understand whether the available measures adequately capture empowerment in these settings. It is still unknown whether the same dimensions of empowerment that were developed elsewhere are relevant in sub-Saharan Africa, where the gender environment is completely different than in other regions. In Africa, empowerment is likely to look different than elsewhere because of such differences as more working women who have control over their earnings, more polygamy, more nuclear families (as opposed to extended families), and larger ideal family size, and because women‘s status is often tied to their fertility. EMPOWERMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH A broad body of research exists on women‘s empowerment and reproductive outcomes. Substantial research, primarily focused on Asia, demonstrates that women‘s empowerment is associated with contraceptive use (Gwako 1997; Morgan and Niraula 1995; Schuler et al. 1997; Woldemicael 2009), lower fertility (Balk 1994; Dyson and Moore 1983; Hindin 2000), and longer birth intervals (Upadhyay and Hindin 2005). Some researchers have suggested that women‘s empowerment is a key pathway through which education influences fertility (Jejeebhoy 1995; Mason 1987). To operationalize women‘s empowerment, much of the research literature uses the previously mentioned index of participation in house holddecision-making. The standard DHS questionnaire includes a set of questions about household decision-making. Other approaches include assessing women‘s acceptance of reasons that a husband is justified for beating his wife, and also reasons that a wife is justified in refusing sex with her husband (Ethiopian Society of Population Studies 2008). The DHS includes questions about these issues. Such gender-role attitudes measure the extent of women‘s acceptance of norms that justify men‘s control over women. As expected, they are associated with lower levels of power over household decision-making among women (Dhaher et al. 2010; Hindin 2003; Linos et al. 2010). MAJOR OBSTACLES TO THE PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT Notwithstanding the widespread commitment shown through the ratification of international and regional gender equality frameworks, normative gains are not yet fully reflected in substantial changes in women’s lives, as shown in the preceding section. Large gaps remain between policy and practice and it is the aim of this section to discuss some of the major challenges that have been experienced. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity The continued presence of long standing cultural and traditional practices that discriminate against women and girls’ have constrained the progress towards achieving gender equality. Discriminatory practices and public attitudes towards the advancement of women and gender equality have not changed at the same pace as policy, legal and institutional frameworks. Lack of ratification of the instruments that promote gender equality Previous sections have identified the status with respect to a number of regional instruments, particularly the African Women’s Protocol. Some countries are yet to sign this instrument, while a considerable number are yet to ratify it. Ineffective institutional and policy implementation mechanisms Thirteen years after the adoption of the BPFA by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, the greatest challenge facing countries and regional institutions is the effective implementation of the adopted commitments. Good policies that do not have well formulated implementation plans and resources render the policies ineffective. In some countries, the capacity of gender machineries has also contributed to the slow pace. Some policies are not effectively implemented because they were not developed in a participatory way inclusive of both men and women. Lack of targets with well defined time-frames are also some of the factors that have hampered effective implementation of policies. Lack of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms also plays a significant role in the lack of implementation. Moreover, some policies tend to focus on the symptoms rather than addressing the persistent underlying causes of gender inequality. African women, especially those living in rural communities and those with disabilities, still face exclusion from participating in development processes that can empower them and improve gender equality. It is crucial to undertake inclusive participatory approaches in policy development that involve women as equal partners. Lack of adequate resources Lack of human and financial resources severely limits gender mainstreaming to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. Even in situations where a comprehensive plan of action for gender mainstreaming has been developed, countries may not have adequate resources to implement the plan. In particular National Gender Machineries (NGMs) experience limited financial and other material resource base to enhance the implementation of gender equality mandates, roles and responsibilities. In addition, there are gaps in human capacity, there is generally a challenge with respect to gender competence skills of officers in the NGMs to influence the engendering of macro-economic and sector policy frameworks. There is high staff turn over of experts, and low staff retention, most countries are facing difficulties of retaining and sustaining staff with the necessary expertise. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity in education In taking decisions with respect to the education of their children, some families continue to have preference for educating boys rather than girls. As noted female-to-male school enrolment, retention and completion favor boys in a majority of countries. Very few countries have female to male enrolment rates that favor girls over boys and these countries have been making progress to redress the situation. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity in health Some cultural and traditional practices continue to inhibit progress in the area of sexual and reproductive rights. Women and girls continue to risk death from maternal mortality. There is need to provide accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare services and education to reduce maternal mortality. Such interventions need to address the roles of both men and women. The rate of HIV infection is much higher among women than men and in this regard, governments must establish and monitor strict legal frameworks to address the vulnerability of women and girls. Furthermore, access to anti-retroviral treatment should be ensured. Lack of enforcement of laws that promote gender equality and lack of knowledge of laws In some countries laws that promote gender equality are in place, however lack of enforcement of such laws leads to the perpetuation of gender inequalities and violence against women. In some countries, laws are in place, but interpretation of these laws is lacking and as such, they are not enforced. Lack of full involvement of men and boys Changing cultural and traditional beliefs including patriarchy requires the involvement of men, and boys in the promotion of gender equality through innovative rights-based, culturally sensitive programmes and continued education and sensitization. Continued lack of recognition of women’s unpaid work The continued lack of recognition of unpaid work (domestic, reproductive, care and support) performed by women hampers the development of policies that can effectively promote gender equality. There is therefore need for such work to be given due recognition in the computation of national income. Limited role of the media The media can play a major role in promoting gender equality beyond what it is currently doing. In particular in creating awareness, sensitization and education campaigns to change patriarchal attitudes. As noted before establishing new laws alone is not enough; existing gendered social relations and cultural norms may quickly shape these laws. There is need for measures to counter preexisting social forces through education and training of both men and women. The media can make a major contribution towards promoting these gender equality messages. Lack of sex disaggregated and gender responsive data Sex-disaggregated data and information from gender-sensitive indicators are often not collected, lost in aggregation of published data, or not used. Gender responsive data would help in tracking the progress made towards achievement of gender equality. SUGGESTED RECOMMENDATIONS Translation of commitments and policies promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment into action on the ground remains a major challenge in Africa. Based on the findings of this study, this section highlights some recommendations that can help countries successfully implement the commitments and policies aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Improved research and collection of gender responsive statistical data It is important to systematically collect accurate sex and gender disaggregated data and conduct research that is essential for monitoring and evaluating progress towards achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. More efforts are needed to build capacity of national experts to collect gender disaggregated data in order to enhance integration of gender perspectives in the development process. Strengthen documentation and dissemination of information on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment Sharing of information is important within countries, between countries and internationally and is critical to the success of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. There is need to intensify documentation of experiences with successful and unsuccessful practices and widely disseminate this information. It is important for member States, development partners and international and regional bodies to identify information exchange systems that can facilitate wide exchange of this information in the region. CONCLUSION The Empowerment of women has become one of the most important Concerns of 21st century not only at national level but also at the international level. Efforts by the Govt. are on to ensure Gender equality but Government initiatives alone would not be sufficient to achieve this goal. Society must take initiative to create a climate in which there is no gender discrimination and Women have full opportunities of Self decision making and participating in the Social, Political and Economic life of the Country with a sense of equality. As countries around the world work to promote gender equality and empower women as part of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it can be expected that demand for smaller families will follow. Additionally, family planning programs can address women‘s empowerment as part of their mission to help women and couples have only the number of children they want. Such programs are likely to generate interest in family planning services, create demand for smaller families, and also reduce unwanted fertility. REFRENCES _Abadian, S. 1996. Womens Autonomy and Its Impact on Fertility. World Development 24(12):1793-1809. _Gwako, E.L. 1997. Conjugal Power in Rural Kenya Families: Its Influence on Womens _Decisions about Family Size and Family Planning Practices. Sex Roles 36(3-4):127-147. _Jejeebhoy, S.J. 1995.Womens Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive Behaviour: Experience _from Developing Countries. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. _Jejeebhoy, S.J. 2000. Womens Autonomy in Rural India: Its Dimensions, Determinants, and the Influence of Context. Pp. 204-238 in Womens empowerment and demographic processes: moving beyond Cairo, edited by H. Presser and G. Sen. London: Oxford University Press. _ Lee-Rife, S.M. 2011. Womens Empowerment and Reproductive Experiences over the Lifecourse. Soc Sci Med 71(3):634-642. _Linos, N., M. Khawaja, and M. Al-Nsour. 2010. Womens Autonomy and Support for Wife Beating: Findings from a Population-Based Survey in Jordan. Violence Vict 25(3):409-419. _ Mason, K.O. 1987. The Impact of Women‘s Social Position on Fertility in Developing Countries. Sociological Forum 4:718–745. _Morgan, P.S. and B.B. Niraula. 1995. Gender Inequality and Fertility in Two Nepali Villages. Population and Development Review 21(3):541-561. _Westoff, C. and A. Bankole. Reproductive Preferences in Developing Countries at the Turn of the Century. Calverton, Maryland: ORC Macro. DHS Comparative Reports No. 2. April 2002. http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=369#dfiles . _Malhotra, A., S.R. Schuler, and C. Boender. Measuring Womens Empowerment as a Variable in International Development. Washington, DC; June 28, 2002. http://hdr.undp.org/docs /network/hdr_net/GDI_GEM_Measuring_Womens_Empowerment.pdf . _ Gebreselassie, T. 2008. Spousal Agreement on Reproductive Preferences in Sub-Saharan Africa. Calverton, Maryland: Macro International Inc. DHS Analytical Studies No. 10. http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/AS10/AS10.pdf _ UNECA, (2004b), Seventh African Regional Conference on Women (Beijing +10) Decade Review of the Implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms of Action: Outcome and Way forward, Addis Ababa. _UNECA-SA, (2003), Land Tenure Systems and Sustainable Development in Southern Africa, Lusaka. _ WHO, (2002) Gender and Reproductive Rights Glossary. Geneva . _ World Bank, (2000), Can Africa Claim the 21st Century?, The World Bank, Washington DC. _Budlender D, J. Hicks and L. Vetten, (2002) South Africa: Expanding into diverse initiatives, in Gender Budgets Make More Cents Country Studies and Good Practice edited by D. Budlender and G. Hewitt, Commonwealth Secretariat, London. _ Government of Kenya, (2005), MDG Status Report For Kenya, Nairobi. _Government of Malawi, (2004) State Party Report of Malawi to the CEDAW Committee, Lilongwe. _ Government of Sierra Leone, (2004), PRSP of Sierra Leone, A National Programme for Food Security, Job Creation and Good Governance (2005 – 2007), Freetown. _ Green Africa Network, (2004), Policy Document on Overall Sustainable Women Development for Socioeconomic Development of Rural Africa, Nairobi. _ Longwe S. H., (2000), Towards realistic strategies for women’s political empowerment in Africa, Gender and Development, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 24-30. _ OECD and NEPAD, (2007), Gender and Economic Empowerment in Africa Outcome of the meeting of the 8th Africa Partnership Forum Berlin, Germany 22-23 May 2007. _Oxfam, 2004, Mozambique’s Family Law passes, http://www.oxfam.org/en/programs/development/ safrica/moz_law.htm _ Reeves H and S Baden, (2000), Gender and Development: Concepts and Definitions, Report prepared for the Department for International Development (DFID) for its gender mainstreaming intranet resource, Institute of Develo pment Studies, BRIDGE report Number 55, Brighton. _ Sen A, (1993) Capability and well-being, in Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum (eds.), The quality of life, Oxford, Clarendon Press. _ UNDAW, (2005) Enhancing Participation of Women in Development through an Enabling Environment for Achieving Gender Equality and the Advancement of Women, Aide Memoire held in Bangkok, Thailand, 8 – 11 November 2005. _UNECA and AUC (Forthcoming) Good Practices for Addressing GBV/VAW in Africa, Draft Document, September 2008, Addis Ababa. _ UNECA, (2008a), The Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges. _ UNECA, (2008b), Millennium Development Goals Monitoring: Challenges and Opportunities for African Countries E/ECA/STATCOM/1/6, Report prepared for the First Meeting of the Statistical Commission for Africa (STATCOM-AFRICA I) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 21-24 January 2008. _ UNECA, (2008c), The State of Older People in Africa –2007: Regional review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, UNECA, Addis Ababa. _ UNECA, (2007a), Accelerating Africa’s Growth and Development to meet the MDGs: Emerging Challenges and the way forward: An Issues Paper for the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development/Fortieth session of the Commission Twenty-sixth Meeting of the Committee of Experts held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 March – 1 April 2007. _ UNECA, (2007b), Ministerial statement of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development/Fortieth session of the Commission Twenty-sixth Meeting of the Committee of Experts held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 March – 1 April 2007. _ UNECA, (2007c), Millennium Development Goals Report, Report to the Conference of Ministers of African Ministers responsible for Finance, Planning, and Economic Development held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 2007. _ECA (2007d) Land Policy in Africa: A Framework to Strengthen Land Rights, Enhance Productivity and Secure Livelihoods, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. _ UNECA, 2006: Meeting the Challenge of Employment In Africa, An Issues Paper for the Twenty-fifth meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ouagadougou 10 13 May 2006. _ UNECA (2005a) Economic Report on Africa 2005 Meeting the Challenges of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa, Addis Ababa. _UNECA (2005b), Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa: Questioning the Achievements and Confronting the Challe nges Ten Years after Beijing, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. _UNECA (2004a). The African Gender and Development Index. (ECA) Addis Ababa.

Analysis of Graph Theory

Analysis of Graph Theory In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs: mathematical structures used to model pair wise relations between objects from a certain collection. A graph is a very simple structure consisting of a set of vertices and a family of lines (possibly oriented), called edges (undirected) or arcs (directed), each of them linking some pair of vertices. An undirected graph may for example model conflicts between objects or persons. A directed graph (or digraph) may typically represent a communication network, or some domination relation between individuals, etc. The famous problem of the bridges of Kà ¶nigsberg, solved by Euler, is viewed as the first formal result in graph theory. This theory has developed during the second half of the 19th century (with Hamilton, Heawood, Kempe, Kirchhoff, Petersen, Tait), and has boomed since the 1930s (with Kà ¶nig, Hall, Kuratowski, Whitney, Erdà ¶s, Tutte, Edmonds, Berge, Lovà ¡sz, Seymour, and many other people). It is clearly related to Algebra, Topology, and other topics from Combinatorics. It applies to and gets motivating new problems from Computer Science, Operations Research, Game Theory, Decision Theory. â€Å"Because of its inherent simplicity, graph theory has a very wide range of applications in engineering, in physical, social, and biological sciences, in linguistics, and in numerous other areas. A graph can be used to represent almost any physical situation involving discrete objects and relationship among them† (Narsingh Deo). The term â€Å"graph† in mathematics has different meanings. There is a graph for the function and relation. Graphs, especially tree graphs and directed graphs appear in the computer and information sciences. Flowcharts for example are directed graphs. A flowchart is a visual representation of an algorithm. It is frequently used in the planning, development and structuring of an algorithm for solving a complex problem. The flowchart is regarded as an essential part of the documentation of any computer translation of the original algorithm (Seymour Lipschutz). There are two commonly used tools to help to document program logic (the algorithm). These are flowcharts and Pseudocode. Generally, flowcharts work well for small problems but Pseudocode is used for larger problems. Flowcharts are used in the design phase of software creation. It specifies the logical flow of a program. The semantics of a flowchart are totally concerned just with control flow-what happens first, and then what happens next, and so on. A flowchart is drawn using a small set of symbols with well-defined meanings. An elongated oval denotes the beginning of the program, where the execution commences. Passage of flow from the beginning, and at later stages, is denoted by edges with directional arrows. A box in the shape of a parallelogram denotes either an input (such as a READ), or an output (such as a PRINT). A rectangle denotes a computational step, such as addition, and a diamond-shaped box denotes a decision step. A diamond usually has one arrow leading in, and two or more leading out, denoting different ways the control can proceed from that point. A diamond is used in cases of decision statements like, If A is more than 7, proceed to multiply B and C; else, divide C and D. Example of flowchart which reads 2 numbers A and B, and prints them in decreasing order after assigning the larger number to BIG and smaller number to SMALL. â€Å"Essential computer mathematics† Seymour Lipschutz, 1987, page 101 A flowchart is a visual representation of sequence of operations performed to get the solution of the problem. They are usually drawn in early stages of programming project. They help with better communication between the programmers and their business customers. The flowcharts are very helpful with understanding complicated problems and programming logic, especially for people who do not work with (or understand) programming and coding. We can say that flowcharts are necessary for better documentation of complex programs. They also work as a guide during the system analysis and program development phase. If we have good flowchart for the programme the maintenance becomes easier, as the programmer can be more efficient in debugging process, as he can clearly see which parts he has to focus on. Flowcharts are also used in industrial and process engineering and management. The Unified Modelling Language (UML) created by the Three Amigos of software engineering borrows some of its basic ideas from the flowchart paradigm, although it is much more sophisticated. Visual Paradigm for UML is a professional tool that supports complete software lifecycle object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design, construction, testing and deployment. The UML modelling software helps to build quality applications faster and better. You can draw all types of class diagrams, reverse or generate code. It allows turning models into Java codes and Java codes into models. Graph theory is also helpful when building databases. Directed graphs (or digraphs) are a special case of graphs that constitute a powerful and convenient way of representing relationships between entities. In a digraph, entities are represented as nodes and relationships as directed lines or arrows that connect the nodes. The orientation of the arrows follows the flow of information in the digraph  ­. Digraphs offer a number of advantages to information visualization, with the most important of them being: comprehensibility the information that a digraph contains can be easily and accurately understood by humans and expressiveness- digraph topology bears non-trivial information. Case of graphical representation of logic rules, digraphs seem to be extremely appropriate. They can offer explanation of derived conclusions, since the series of inference steps in the graph can be easily detected and retraced. Also, by going backwards from the conclusion to the triggering conditions, on e can validate the truth of the inference result, gaining a means of proof visualization and validation. One of the examples can be found in the book â€Å"Automated Data Processing and Computations by David I. Donatoy. It is an example of geographic names database. An algorithm specifies how to quickly identify names that approximately match any specific name when searching the mentioned database. The algorithm identifies matching names by applying an artificial measure of name simplicity. A digraph index enables computer name searches that are carried out within this technique to be fast enough for Web application. The use of digraph index enables name search application to restrict comparisons to a small subset of the database name, speeding up processing. A digraph index lists in digraph sequence all digraphs found in the database of geo ­graphic names. The entry for a particular digraph consists of a set of pointers to all names in the geographic-names database that includes at least one occurrence of that digraph. Once the search-for name has itself been broken down into a list of its unique constituent digraphs, the digraph index can then be used to produce a candidate list containing only those names from the database that include at least one of the digraphs found in the search-for name. In most cases, several names in the candidate list will be referenced more than once (by different digraphs). After sorting the list of can ­didate names (thus, bringing together all occurrences of each particular candidate name), the number of occurrences of each candidate name can be counted. The number of occurrences of a candidate name will be the same as the number of unique digraphs a candidate name has in common with the search-for nam e. This number can be regarded as a first-approximation measure of a names similarity to the search-for name, with larger numbers corresponding to stronger similarity. Computer scientists have developed a great deal of theory about graphs and operations on them. One reason for this is because graphs can be used to represent many problems in computer science that are otherwise abstract. Finding a way to represent the solution to a problem as a graph can present new approaches to solving the problem or even lead directly to a solution derived from graph theory. This sort of technique is often used when discussing algorithmic efficiency and when trying to prove that a certain algorithm is NP-Complete; because many problems involving graphs, such as finding the shortest path to traverse all nodes (the Travelling Salesman Problem), are NP-Complete, if you can find a way to represent a problem as a graph and show that it is analogous to one of the other NP-Complete problems, then you can show the problem you are trying to solve is also NP-Complete, which gives you a hint that the solution will take a great deal of time. Another reason for using graphs is that many problems computers are used to solve involve representing relationships between objects, places, or concepts. Because graphs can be either directed or undirected, they are a flexible method of showing connections. For instance, you can describe who knows who in a room as a collection of nodes, each representing a person, and directed edges, each representing that one person knows another. Because graphs are so often used and because they allow the representation of many problems in computer science, they are a convenient means of expressing problems with which many people are comfortable. This familiarity simplifies the process of creating mental models of problems, which ultimately leads to better problem solving. Because computer science is a young discipline, it played essential role in development of graph theory. Mathematics plays essential role in computer science, as its language defines the generic structures and proves properties of those structures. Computer systems can be very complex and it is very difficult to have a clear picture of all details and keep the overview of the whole system. Computer science has put lots of effort to develop mathematically based frameworks to model computer systems. References: Gibbons, Alan (1985), Algorithmic graph theory, Cambridge University Press http://www-leibniz.imag.fr/GRAPH/english/overview.html http://www.bookrags.com/research/flowchart-wcs/ Brent Daviduck† Introduction to Programming in C++: Algorithms,  Flowcharts and Pseudocode† Narsingh Deo â€Å"Graph theory with applications to engineering and computer science†2004 An augmented directed graph base for application development Dan C. Clarke , 1982 Knoxville, Tennessee David I. Donato â€Å"Fast, Inclusive Searches for Geographic Names Using Digraphs† Chapter 1 of Book 7, Automated Data Processing and Computations, Section A, Algorithms, page 2-3 Quentin Charatan Aaron Kans â€Å"Java in two semesters†, The McGraw Hill, 2006, page 4-7 Seymour Lipschutz â€Å"Essential computer mathematics†, McGraw Hill 1987, page 95-107

Othello Essay -- essays research papers

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is "Honest" Iago. At first glance, Iago seems to be the essence of "motiveless malignity." However, despite Iago's unquestionable malignancy, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iago's quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evil's sake. Iago's rapacity can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello. Iago's main interest is the destruction of Othello. The reason being that Othello has chosen another man, Cassio, as his second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by Iago's fabricated accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise the kindly moor, and shortly thereafter, begin to conspire against him. Because Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he proceeds with the arduous process of dismantling him emotionally. Iago also knows that he must distance himself from any of the harrowing occurrences that transpire, so he cleverly gets other people to do his dirty work. The first to fall victim to Iago's illiberal manipulation, is the half-witted Roderigo. Iago knows Roderigo is consumed by lust for Desdemona, and would do anything to make her his own. Iago tells Roderigo that the only way to win Desdemona's love, is to make money to procure gifts for her. "...put money in thy purse.." (Act 1,...

Labor Rate

Labor rate variance is the difference between the actual labor rate and the applied overhead rate (standard rate multiplied by the number of actual hours worked). Consider this and respond to the following: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Our workers are all under labor contracts. Therefore, our labor rate variance is bound to be zero. † Do you agree or disagree that the labor rate variance will be zero if all workers are under labor contracts? Explain giving reasons. The concept of labor rate variance and its application are accurately identified and explained with pertinent examples. The labor rate variance is the difference between the actual labor rate paid and the standard rate, multiplied by the number of actual hours worked. The formula is: Actual rate – Standard rate x Actual hours worked = Labor rate variance. An unfavorable variance means that the cost of labor was more expensive than anticipated, while a favorable variance indicates that the cost of labor was less expensive than planned. There are a number of possible causes of a labor rate variance. The labor rate variance will not be zero because workers ate under contract. Wage rates paid to workers are quite predictable. Nevertheless, rate variances can arise because of the way labor is used. Skilled workers with high hourly rates of pay may be given duties that require little skill and call for lower hourly rates of pay. This will result in an unfavorable labor rate variance, since the actual hourly rate of pay will exceed the standard rate specified for the particular task. In contrast, a favorable rate variance would result when workers who are paid at a rate lower than specified in the standard are assigned to the task. However, the lower-paid workers may not be as efficient. Finally, overtime work at premium rates will result in an unfavorable rate variance if the overtime premium is charged to the direct labor account. Direct labor variance is the difference between the standard cost and the actual cost of production. Considering this, answer the questions that follow: †¢What effect, if any, would you expect poor quality materials to have on direct labor variances? If poor quality materials create production problems, a result could be excessive labor time and therefore an unfavorable labor efficiency variance. Poor quality materials would not ordinarily affect the labor rate variance †¢How must a company plan to mitigate the risks associated with direct labor variances? The standard labor rate established by a company is an average, usually pertaining to average quality workers. Newly hired workers will likely get paid less which creates a favorable labor rate variance. They will also work more slowly than more experienced workers creating an unfavorable labor efficiency variance. The opposite is true if a company employs highly skilled workers The production supervisor hires production workers and assigns each a wage rate. He is able to give them raises and terminate them if necessary. For this reason, if a labor rate exists, we inquire with the production supervisor to try to determine the variance cause. The production supervisor oversees the production workers and monitors the efficiency with which each of these workers works. For this reason, if a labor efficiency exists, we inquire with the production supervisor to try to determine the variance cause

Reading Cap 3 Market Leader

READING CAP 3 A) What area of business do you think the company American International Group (AIG) is envolved in’ a) Tobacco b) Insurance c) Oil d) Packaging B) What dot he following people mentioned in the article: Maurice Greenberg: Chairman Corneluis Vander: founder Edmund Tse: Runs Asian operations C) What do the following numbers in the main fthe article refers to? 166. – capitalisation 1992- Graduate licence 1919- Year of foundation in shangai 80,000- # of employees 130. -# of countries D) According to the article what are the main factors responsible for AIG? s success in Asia?R= because relationships in government E) Read the article and answer these questions 1. -What objective does AIG have in china? Increase the share 2. -What does Mr Greenberg see as his role in the company? As a employee 3. – Why in Asia important to AIG? The respect and valuies F) Find three verbs in the article which combine with the noun relationships to mean develop. Build Turni ng Success G) Find phrases (adjective and noun) in the article which mean the following 1. -Unused possibilities -odds 2. -continuing in the same place for a great length of time- permanency 3. -unlimited entry- . -representative connected to a company– image 5. -developing sales areas – develop training 6. -important talks- discussion 7. -most important countries – main advantage H) Discuss these questions 1. -what can spoil relations between companies? -. – missunderstoods 2. -a foreign company is opening a branch in your country. What factors should it consider? .- share of market 3. – In your experience are certain nationalities better at building relationship than others? If so which ones? American and japannesse 4. -How can you build good business relationships?. Favours and respect

Just like Helen Keller Essay

Marketing new services that will enhance existing organizations must be carefully thought out and planned to be considered a needed addition to any organization. Companies which have been founded on principles of ethics and quality services, ensure that every additional service provided to the many existing services must meet the expectation of each customer that is serviced. Team B has begun to target the process of marketing the expansion of processing packages that are undeliverable within the Fed Ex organization. Instead of returning the packages to place of origination, or re-delivering packages after an additional delivery failure, a process specifically geared to contact the person for whom the package is meant, will be the newly planned addition to the existing services which Fed Ex provides. Learning Team B will focus on reviewing the existing organization, providing a more detailed description of our LT goals in this process, review the importance to our success in planning and executing the idea, provide a SWOTT analysis on the project, and will develop a marketing strategy in order to be successful with this new process. Providing a consumer friendly service will give Fed Ex further success in the industry of package delivery to all consumers; both within the U. S. and Internationally. In today’s fast paced, high competition and deadline driven environment millions of people turn to FedEx Corporation everyday to get packages to the desired destination because of the assurance and commitment behind the name. FedEx Corporation was built upon providing top of the line innovative solutions and it continues to be an crucial part of the FedEx the overall culture and business strategy. FedEx Corporations commitment has been an instrumental part in the overall development of products, ideas and services that have given FedEx’s customers the ability to grow their businesses around the world. What is known as FedEx Corporation today, was originally introduced in 1971 as FDX Corp, and since their inception has engineered the shipping and logistics industry and has set the mark over and repeatedly, for all others in the business to meet. Since its beginning, FedEx Corp has been seen in the public eye as a leader in the transportation and logistics industry. The FedEx Corporations ability to collectively work together through their different entities demonstrate the leadership and foresight of the trusted FedEx brand. It is this loyalty which brings customers to FedEx every day. â€Å"FedEx provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. FedEx Corporation offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. † (FedEx Corporation, 2009). With a marketplace that is always changing FedEx Corporation is always putting forth full effort to be on the forefront of technology and to bring new and innovative ideas to maximize their profits and customer choices. FedEx currently handles an â€Å"averaged 3. 4 million† a day and delivers to over 213 countries† (E-Logi, 2009). Even in a hard international economical time, many â€Å"Customers are increasingly seeing the value of using FedEx to reach new markets, grow their businesses and cut inventory carrying costs. The global economy is expanding steadily, particularly the manufacturing sector, giving our business more opportunities to grow in the future. † (FedEx Corporation, 2009). As one can tell FedEx Corporation is a trend setting and revolutionary business force which continues to be on the forefront of innovation due to its ability to focus on the customer, ability to make tough decisions and always absolutely positively delivering on its promises. Federal Express is a global leader in getting packages to consumers. Business consumers already enjoy services like a hold feature for important packages and documents. This service is designed for the organization that ships a large number of packages and documents to regular business partners or employees. Employees and partners can retrieve their package from the closest sorting facility by having a hold placed on any or all incoming packages. Federal Express notifies partners and employees via pre-recorded voice mail that their package is available for pickup at the location nearest them. The service that is being contemplated is a kiosk idea, where customers business or individuals can send packages or documents, as well as pick them up all in an automated system that is based on the needs of the consumer. Undelivered packages and documents will be retained with in the kiosk, and consumers can pickup their delivery. This will be offered in a few different manners. Customers can log into the web site and obtain a pin number for the package, or it can be e-mailed or an automated voice mail can be sent to a cell or land line telephone. Customers whom do not want deliveries to be sent to there place of residence can have the option to have this become their primary way of receiving anything shipped by Federal Express. People in a specific delivery area will have the ability to ship and receive their packages and documents using the same kiosk based on geographic and delivery area. The kiosk will be totally automated and open twenty four hours a day, based on customer needs. Marketing is defined as the strategy-allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve the objectives of (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service). The economy uses tactics to get buyer’s attention in order to gain maximum success. â€Å"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large† (American Marketing Association, 2008, p. 1). Marketing is vital to any organization in meeting the needs and wants of the consumers and if the marketing department is not focusing on meeting the needs of the consumers, stakeholders or vendors, the organization will not be successful. Marketing helps the organization develop a plan, collect data on the target population, examine and explore areas of the organization that will improve services to his or her customers in order to provide top quality services. FedEx marketing department has decided to explore the problem of holding customers package when they are not home to receive these packages. With the current system, customers can pick up their packages at the nearest Kinko’s FedEx store, but in order to know if the package is there for pick up, the customer would need a tracking number then have internet access to see if the package is there for pick up but many times, the package is not there before the driver finishes his or her route, therefore, FedEx has decided to incorporate a kiosk system. This system will create a faster tracking system and enhance the quality of service provided to the consumers, vendors and stakeholders. The marketing department will create services that would fit the lifestyles of the consumers, by understanding demographics, psychographics, cost and time in providing a new service as well as if the new service will be beneficial to the consumer. Without a clear understanding of the importance of marketing in the success or failure of the organization, misrepresentation of marketing can have consumers going to the competition because of getting their needs better met with faster turnaround services, better customer service and overall, top quality management. Strengths of reputation and organizational processes of Federal Express now known as, Fed Ex are what they have worked hard to create. Companies which have the focus of excellence usually have the proper organizational values in a progressive environment. Weaknesses within Fed Ex are between the past upper management decisions to categorize delivery drivers as independent instead of employees of Fed Ex. In 1998, 203 drivers filed a lawsuit against Fed Ex, citing they were paid as independent contractors instead of regular employees with benefits. (1) This class action suit would cause competitors to think Fed Ex has less sensitivity to employee requests for better benefits and more importantly working relationships within the company. Opportunities may present of growth within a company for in-house middle management and upper management. Promotions are readily available to the employee who shows they are working toward the growth of the company. Threats may be exhibited in ways which show habits that are representative of carelessness and lack of ethical behaviors of employees. Intrusion of thieves which may attempt to sabotage or rob delivery persons of packages delivered is another type of external threat. Any action which causes the inability to provide the services for which the company is known for may be categorized as a threat. Major mistakes, poor decision making skills, package losses, or failure to deliver on time are all errors which represent key threats to an established business such as Fed Ex. Of these threats they are known as internal and external threats. Trends may be what a company starts and is shown throughout the city, state or world as a mainstream guide for other companies in similar fields of service. Other companies may begin to show the public how a stable company works; as a level of standards. As a company which is known for delivery, productivity, quality improvement techniques and reputation, Fed Ex is a trend setter. Analysis of the plans of a package holding process will aid with deliveries that cannot be delivered after the second attempt. This is an opportunity for Fed Ex to stand out from among the other delivery services. Creating a personalized processed to contact the recipient until located will cut costs with returned item shipping, in addition to up-building of customer services. Marketing research can be a quantitative or qualitative process. Quantitative research would be conducting surveys to the consumers. Qualitative research includes focus groups and observational studies. The best marketing research approach for our service would be a qualitative approach. It is the less expensive approach and a more efficient way of getting feedback from the consumer for our particular service. Marketing research follows the guidelines of the scientific process. The research project for this particular process is a 24 hour automated Kiosk for Fed Ex customers to send and receive packages based on their own needs. The next step would be to collect primary and secondary data about the new Kiosk service. Then we can perform qualitative research by use of observational studies, by picking a sample of Fed Ex customers to test the new Kiosk service. From the observational studies, we can then compile the data on how the customers reacted to the new Kiosk service. Once we have all this data we can then summarize our findings and determine whether or not this idea is feasible for Fed Ex. The market research process leads us to our marketing strategy for the new Kiosk service. A good marketing strategy includes a target market and marketing mix. Our target market would be adults over the age of the 18, and our marketing mix would include the 4p’s: product, price, place and promotion. References American Marketing Association. (2008). Marketing definitions. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from http://www. seologic. com/ E-Logi (2009). E-longi. net FedEx corp. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www. e-logi. net/index. php? ID=696 FedEx Corporation (2009). FedEx Corporation – investor report. Retrieved January 5, 2009, from http://ir. fedex. com/releasedetail. cfm? ReleaseID=259392 http://www. fedexdriverslawsuit. com/ (1) Retrieved Feb. 8, 2008 http://www. fedex. com/Dropoff/start? locale=en_US Retrieved 2-7-09