Bela Bartok

Research Paper on Bela Bartok†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. By Jibin Parayil Thomas (2011B4A7628G) Introduction Bela Bartok (1881-1945) is regarded as a key innovator of the twentieth-century music. He is widely known for compositions strongly influenced by his folk music studies, and for his activities as a concert pianist, music editor and teacher. The works of Bela Bartok are generally approached from either of two theoretical premises.The first being an extension of traditional western art music that has preceded him (particularly the expanded harmonic resources which emerged during the ‘Romantic' musical period), the other being from Bartok's own research into the folk music of Europe. It has been said that through this research, Bartok was able to free himself from the tyrannical rule of the major and minor keys, leading eventually to a new conception of the chromatic scale, every tone of which came to be considered of equal value and could be used freely and independently .Bartok was not noted for his use of 12-tone concepts per se, but his search for harmonic freedom did parallel the concepts of the 12-tone composers of his time. His music rarely displays the consistent vocabulary that would prove a set-theory approach to be worthwhile. There are certain pitch collections that do appear consistently in his work. Bartok achieved something that no one had before his time, the symbolic handshake between East and West: synthesis, a seamless blending of two sources into a single style.Bartok was a knowledgeable ethnomusicologist who wrote and lectured on his areas of research into the cultural music of Europe in general, and of Hungary in particular. (Ethnomusicology  is defined as â€Å"the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts). The research paper comprises three sections: the first explores Bartok’s general philosophy on life, as it evolved within the turbulent political and cultural environment in which he grew up.Focusing on his major works the second section identifies the innovative characteristics of his musical style within the context of the diverse genres in which he composed. The third section examines the wide variety of critical and analytical responses to his compositions and his performances. 1-Bartok’s background and development Bartok’s family reflected some of the ethnic diversity of the country. His mother Paula Voit Bartok ,was ethnically German,though she spoke Hungarian fluently, his father,Bela Sr. considered himself thoroughly Hungarian,though his mother was from a Serbian family. Although Bartok’s musical upbringing was purely German ,parts of his background leaned towards Hungarian nationalism. Some of Bartok’s most important musical colleagues were the members of the Waldbauer-Kerpely String Quartet,who came together in 1909 specifically to perform Bartok’s and Kodaly’s first string quartets,and the compose rs and musicians of the New Hungarian Music Society.The turn of the twentieth century,which marks the beginning of Bela Bartok’s musical career,witnessed a Hungarian society divided from the point of view of its musical taste into three distinct layers:the upper classes which included the nobility,the urban financiers,industrialists and bourgeoisie turned to the west for their musical needs;the gentry and the urban middle class found satisfaction I the music of gypsy bands and in popular art songs;t was only the agrarian folk who lived with its folksongs and musical customs,solated from the rest of society.Bartok obtained his childhood impressions of Hungarian music from his provincial urban environment. At the age of four he could play with one finger on the piano the folk tunes familiar to him, about forty of them. When Bartok entered the Academy of Music in Budapest in 1899,he had no better knowledge of his country’s folksongsthan that of the general public.

Background and Methodology of the Research Process- Childhood Obesity

For some time there has been a largely growing concern about the junk food made available in schools and how it contributes to childhood obesity. In this article it is discovered through research among fifth graders that the junk food that is available in schools does not significantly increase the BMI or obesity of these students. This research was aided from the amount of junk food available and the amount purchased. Problem to Solve The problem that this article focuses on is childhood obesity. Childhood obesity in the United States is highest it has ever been with practically one-third of all children and adolescents considered overweight or obese (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). Therefore most of the focus has been on the schools in hopes to find this as the cause of the epidemic. There has been debates on the nutritional value of schools competitive foods and believe them to be the largest source of junk food. Purpose It seems as though the purpose of this study is to inform or let the reader know about the statistics behind childhood obesity and the junk food available at schools. They may have wanted the reader to be aware of the risks of childhood obesity that comes directly from the foods that their child may be buying from the schools vending machines or from the a la carte options. This is believed to truly not be the reasons for the increase in obesity of children. This articles purpose is to make it aware that it could also come from what they are eating outside the schools and what type of exercise they are getting (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). Competitive foods can be found in many schools, there is a difference in what is available to elementary, middle and high schools. 7% of high schools and 82% of middle schools have vending machines that students have access to, but in elementary schools there is only 17% that have vending machines. A la carte options are also a huge source of food sales. These a la carte lines are largely available in all grade levels, with 93% availability in high school, 92% in middle school, and a surprising 71% in elementar y schools (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). Research Question A research question is basically the first step that a researcher must conduct before starting the research. It is known as the methodological point and any questions that are asked should be answered during the research (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). It should be defined clearly as well as accurately. It can be used for qualitative and quantitative research. This step allows the researcher to figure out what he or she wants to know the most (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). This article did clearly state a question, these questions were for the fifth graders asking them what they are eating at school and at home or what type of exercise they are getting. A study was done in the fall on 1998 of kindergarten, and in the spring another was conducted on first, third, and fifth graders. This study got information from the kids, their parents, and the teachers. They collected information on their social, emotional, physical development, BMI, and their environment in and out of school. The only information that was used was that of the fifth graders. The study was taken in 2003-2004 school year from 9,380 fifth graders in both private and public schools. In the questionnaire they were asked about how often and how much of a certain food they ate during the past week. The kids were also asked to include any food that they also ate outside of school, including if they may have went to a friend’s house or to a restaurant. School administration and the children of the fifth grade gave information on the availability of junk food within the schools. The administrators stated that an average of 17 junk food items were available through vending machines, the school stores, snack bar, or from the a la carte that the children can purchase. Hypothesis A research hypothesis is a statement created by the researcher, and it is a speculation of what they believe the outcome will be. This article does not have a hypothesis directly stated; the authors only provide statistics within each paragraph. If there were to be a hypothesis it would state that the food did or did not cause the obesity of the children or if it were a direct result of their home lives and not just the schools fault (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). Independent and Dependent Variables An independent and dependent variable are two different variables. An independent variable is a variable that can be wielded by the researcher. It s basically a hypothesized to influence or affect the dependent variable. The independent variable is measured from the researcher. The researcher assigns an experimental or a controlled condition to the participants. The independent variables would be the surveys and what they say prior to the participants taking the survey (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). The dependent variables would be the participants that partake in the research. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework is used in research to give details or to create an outline of what the possible actions may be. It is used to try and connect the aspects of the topic. The theoretical framework that was conducted in this article was what the relationship between a parent’s perception of their child’s BMI and obesity and what the school’s role is in preventing as well as treating the children’s obesity issues. (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). Literature Review Literature review is important because it allows the researcher to discover what has already been discovered and what has not. It gives them a chance to create a research strategy that works best for them. It gives them a chance to avoid other researcher’s mistakes. Instead of surveying the school nurses or random people, the researchers in this article asked the fifth grade children how they felt and what they feel is important to keep children on a healthy track so that they do not become obese (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). Study Design There are many research designs that can be used. Descriptive design, correlation studies, semi-experimental designs, experimental designs, reviewing other research, and test study before conducting full-scale study. This article is more of a descriptive design because it was based off surveys (Datar, A, & Nicosia, N 2012). In schools students have access to so many foods and drinks that are full of sodium and sugars. These children can purchase things like candies, chocolate, cookies, salty snacks, and even ice cream. They also have access to drinks that are nothing but sugars and caffeine. Many of these children are consuming more junk food outside of the schools then they are within the schools and are not getting the proper xercise they need to burn all those extra calories they are consuming. The schools cannot give children all the physical activity that they need in a day. Children need to also be active outside of school because the little activity that they get while in school is not enough for any child to keep their BMI down. I do know that there are more and more schools that are removing the junk food from the vending machines or making that these vending machines are only in use dur ing thinks like sporting events or other after school activities. Childhood obesity is a growing issue, and there are many contributions to this problem. Children spend much of their lives at school, so changing the ways that schools handle health issues is important. By removing vending machines, providing more healthy programs, and allowing more physical activities can be a positive start. What the children learn in school can be brought into their home lives and when the school nurses, parents, and children are all on the same page healthier changes might start to show and the level of childhood obesity may start to decrease.

Nucor Steel and Partner's Healthcare Term Paper

Nucor Steel and Partner's Healthcare - Term Paper Example As a function of this, the following analysis will consider and review the means by which Nucor Steel and Partner Health have attempted to leverage increasing returns within their organization as a means to make them more competitive and ultimately more profitable within the markets that they compete. Although it is oftentimes not easy to determine what aspects of a firm are primed for increasing rates of return, the instances that will be discussed in this case study and analysis have been determined from prior research which has been performed with the sole intent of labeling these increasing return mechanisms and seeking to implement them as a way to boost the profitability of the industry in question. Q1) Nucor challenge and principles of increasing returns working to help the firm achieve its strategic goals. Analyze the cases in terms of network effect, standardization, high switching cost, and learning effect. With regards to Nucor Steel, the case study in question presented a situation in which lower levels of company leadership outright refused to communicate and or learn from the experience of one another. As a function of this compartmentalized approach to management and information sharing, the firm itself was suffering from a lack of free flow of knowledge systems and intelligence transfer. As a result of this, the profitability and overall level to which the firm could hope to grow was necessarily constrained. As a means of outgrowing this constraint and leveraging increasing returns of the human capital inputs that the process entailed, the authors of the piece detail how they sought to implement a type of incentive system for information sharing within the firm and among leadership positions (Anderson 2009). Naturally, such an approach necessarily sought to change an aspect of the company’s culture. However, what was particularly intelligent about the means by which this was affected was the fact that rather than merely forcing this chang e upon the shareholders, it was presented to them by means of an incentive mechanism (Nucor 2012). In this way, the switching cost was alleviated, the network affect (by which shareholders sought to implement the change) was also assisted, and the learning effect was shortened. Such an approach was highly useful and insightful as it helped the firm to rapidly yet methodically implement the new structure and achieve the ultimate affect which was sought after without disrupting the otherwise solid performance that the firm exhibited within the market. The second article that has been analyzed dealt with the case of Partner Health and their desire to implement a type of EBM (Evidence Based Medicine) into their field of practice. Recognizing that the prime impediment to a higher quality of care and helping the firm to evolve to the next level was the fact that their current system of healthcare provision meant that there was little to no evolution and growth within the body of knowledge that medical practitioners disseminated on a daily basis, the top leadership sought to engage a system of EBM as a means of seeking to provide these affected shareholders with an ever expanding body of clinical knowledge which could help to inform them as to the decision that they should make. Likewise, with relation to the ultimate implementation of

Character Review from the Movie 12 Angry Men Essay

Character Review from the Movie 12 Angry Men - Essay Example Based on the knife, the inability to remember details of a movie, fighting with his father earlier in the evening, and eyewitnesses who saw him kill his father and leave the apartment, the young man should by all accounts sent to the electric chair. However, in this case, one juror, number 8, doesn't believe the defense case was convincingly portrayed and while not necessarily believing the boy to be innocent, needs to understand the facts of the case, and cannot in good conscience vote to send this young man to die. He has reasonable doubt, and voices it by voting not guilty. Juror 8, in 12 Angry Men, works from a place of virtue, principles, and good character at all times. By knowing his duty as a public servant, he does not allow idle chatter to distract him from the task, his selfish reasons to overpower, and he comes from a place of fairness and equality. Even when presented with the facts of the trial, his intuition continues to question what is right and wrong and stands by his principles. Using the virtuous approach to ethics, he listens to his inner voice, and listens to each fact once again in order to understand. As they begin to speak about the case, a number of facts exposed as exaggerated or untrue reveal themselves. The first piece of evidence being a knife so special the shopkeeper has never seen one like it before. Not quite believing the knife to be one of a kind, and following his instincts cause him to break the law by going to the kid's neighborhood and buying a similar knife. Now a lawbreaker, we may think his credibility shattered; however, he informs the other jurors of his intention of a greater good, and choosing to do something wrong in order to obtain it. In the Utilitarian approach, we see the consequence of the action is what determines right and wrong not the act itself. Was the result a good consequence for all and justifiable to produce the equality for all If so, then it was the right course of action. However, if Juror 8 continued to break the law in order to prove his point, the balance of ethics tipped, and the ends would not justify the means. An eighteen-year-old kid whose father beats him daily should be a prime suspect in the father's murder; however, juror 8 does not believe he seems like the type. Placing himself in the kid's shoes, juror eight tries to feel what the kid feels, and advocates why each fact does not convince him. Principled actions of compassion and empathy are universal and good by themselves. As a good leader would, juror 8 requests each person put themselves in the shoes of the accused - by posing questions and making it personal. "It's possible" is a favorite phrase of juror 8, and recommending another vantage point to each "fact", he shows each man a human side of things. He asks them if they have ever lived near an "L" train, if they have ever said they would kill someone without meaning it, and not remembered details of a day. Again, if the balance tipped to the principle side of ethics, analysis of each act and consequence would cause us to not move toward a resolution or ask entirely too many questions in order to understand.Eleven jurors believe themselves to be good-hearted people who are there to perform a duty. Good people do not necessarily make good decisions as mentioned in the reading. Juror 8 asks them to look at the consequences of their own actions - voting to send a kid to die

Mid - report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mid - - Lab Report Example In order to achieve this, several safe construction procedures were applied. Initially, the layout and planning of the building involved the consideration of the strategic location of the various rooms, walls, openings like doors and windows and also the number of floors to be constructed. Site and foundation aspects were other key considerations that the construction team considered during the initial stages of the construction. As part of initial construction planning activities, steps to furnish the lateral resistance and critical considerations of vulnerable sections, highly stressed areas, pillars and sections which are highly likely to be affected by the earthquake forces with respective reinforcement required laid down. This provided me with an ideal overview of the structural action, structural vulnerabilities and mechanisms of damage to buildings due to earthquakes. As the planning and layout foundations were carried out, there are several key technical lessons that I learnt. In a bid to construct buildings which are safer and able to withstand external forces, instead of structures being brittle and able to collapse suddenly, reinforcements should be included to make them tough and able to deform or deflect a reasonable amount of external force. This we achieved by using resistive elements like shear walls and bracing. These elements were evenly distributed throughout the initial construction procedures in multi-directions. In the initial layout that we constructed, all the elements which include the roof and openings among others were tied together. This was in a bid to reduce the effects accompanying earthquake forces. The technical explanation behind this was that this would make them act more like an integrated unit during the shaking resulting from earthquake and thereby transferring the resultant forces across the pre-created connections. This prevents

Power electornic lab 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Power electornic lab 4 - Essay Example Two types of power inverters are used according to the applications; voltage source inverters (VSI) and current source inverters (CSI) (Sen, 1997). A voltage source inverter (VSI) converts a DC voltage into an AC voltage, which has a distinctive square wave formation. In the similar manner, a CSI converts the DC into AC with a distinctive square wave formation. In the experiment, a further discussion, calculation and results are discussed to evaluate the functional characteristics of the voltage source inverter. The waveform generated by the voltage source inverter in given below. UPS (Uninterruptible power supply) make utilization of the DC/AC inverter with batteries as the DC source. UPS is mostly utilized as the emergency backup power to maintain the data in computer data systems, maintain undisturbed communication channel, emergency power for homes and offices and selective machines at industries in case of primary power source loss. Ups are also used to correct the condition of under voltage and over voltage in electrical systems. The safety function is used in computer data systems, medical instruments and systems UPS is also referred to reduce harmonic distortion. In this experiment, UPS is tested with different kinds of resistive and inductive loads. UPS is evaluated according to the dissimilar load circumstances in the experiment. In this experiment, both simulation UPS investigation software as well as the real physical investigation in inverter systems is carried to evaluate the performance characteristics of the UPS. The two tests will then be compared to evaluate the operation of the UPS. It is quite clear from the above results that as the load increase the output voltage of the UPS drops. On the other hand, with similar inductive and resistive loads, the voltage drop is more with inductive load that is about 6.64

The Natural Disaster of Hurricane Katrina Research Paper

The Natural Disaster of Hurricane Katrina - Research Paper Example Before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, there was a positive impact on the development in education, cultural and economic sectors. For instance, the teachers introduced digital directions in school curriculum and developed school systems that facilitated innovation and industrial revolution. In addition, demographers say that there was an influx of the college-educated newcomers in New Orleans and the number of people joining the university slots remained high. There was the competition for senior schools. Towards the anticipation of the Hurricane Katrina, teachers some of the teachers were making preparations to teach students during their leisure days. The congress disclosed in a report that the education system was running smoothly at the time, with and that it had given about $235 to be used in schools to educated the students. The district before the Hurricane Katrina had enough money to finance the school systems while keeping the ir budgets solvent (Waller, 2013).Furthermore, there was cultural diversity in the areas that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. For instance, the demographic statistics indicate that out of 484, 000 populations of people who were living in the cities, 28 percent were the whites while 67 percent comprised the African-Americans. In additional, there were cherished institutions in New Orleans that was the home to the cultural artifact and the history of the region such as The Camella Grill.

What Works (Position Paper) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What Works (Position ) - Research Paper Example 52). The Phoenix Youth and Family Services (PYFS) was reported to be a community development program which established the Comprehensive Community-Based Judicial Services program as a means to address the needs of delinquent youths (Harris, 2006). The organization established linkages with various government justice agencies to assist juvenile-offenders in re-entry efforts to the community. Among the features of their juvenile correctional programs include: pre-release connections, transition phase support, a simulated work environment with family involvement, education and training support, community service, life skills and support, and job placement assistance (Harris, 2006). The Youth Opportunity (YO) Boston Youth Offender Program was stipulated as a program that serves the need of high-risk youth offenders (Harris, 2006). The key features of the program include the following: the provision for intensive pre-release intervention in detention facilities, the deployment of YO infrastructure for intensive aftercare support, the application of a four-tiered transitional employment services model, as well as offering summer and winter jobs programs targeted to serious offenders (Harris, 2006). According to Alarid (2015), â€Å"in juvenile corrections success is measured by the future behaviors of the youth† (p. 315). As such, juvenile corrections programs which offers interventions that aim to develop knowledge and skills of juvenile offenders to make them productive citizens are deemed to be most effective. As such, from the three juvenile corrections programs that were selected above, the program that is believed to be the most effective and efficient is the program which focuses on providing educational or skills-development training, in conjunction with assisting in seeking employment opportunities. So far, the three programs provide training and assistance for juvenile offenders by preparing them for re-entry and

BUDGET ISSUES IN NEW YORK STATE Speech or Presentation

BUDGET ISSUES IN NEW YORK STATE - Speech or Presentation Example One of the major issues that had an impact on the New York Budget was the reforms done on the sales tax in 2010. According to the New York State Senate Committee on Budget and Tax Reforms, the sales tax was not effective in keeping pace with the technological changes as well as economic development. One of the notable aspects of the sales tax was that there was large amount of uncollected revenue thus affecting the state budget in terms of increased deficit. For example, according to Scott Peterson a member of the streamlined sales tax governing board, in 2011 New York budget experienced a deficit of $1,518 million based on the uncollected sales tax amounting to $1,415.3million. This resulted to the establishment of public roundtable that was aimed at discussing the sales tax. Thus the sales budget collection process was streamlined leading to reduction in the budget deficit. According to the Senate Select Committee that was formed by the Senate, the sales tax legislation that was pa ssed in 1965, was being affected by the technological, political and economical trends. For example, the committee indicated that the economy was changing to service from industrial based economy. Additionally, there has been an increase in the tax credits as well as sales tax exemption over the years. Thus, there has been no significant growth on the revenue thus affecting the government expenditure. Another notable issue on the sales tax bill that was passed by then governor Nelson Rockefeller was that internet services as well as mail order were major areas where sales tax remained uncollected. This had a negative impact on the state budget in the sense that despite the increased government expenditure, there were no effective mechanisms of tax collection. Based on the impact of the trends in the technology, economy and politics in the form of undermining the fiscal position of the state of New York, Krueger, the leader of the Select Committee, arranged for a meeting with other s takeholders to discuss on how the fiscal stability of the state would be enhanced by establishing a proper sales tax policy which was more rational and economical. This included modernizing the sales tax system. After the meeting to improve the collection and use of the sales tax for improvement of public activities, the committee recommended the use of Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA). This entailed rules that the government authorities would adopt during the collection of sales tax from the urban and local sellers. One of the key aspects that led to the success of the roundtable meeting to solve the sales tax crises that was held in Albany, was the involvement of various stakeholders. For example, the committee took into consideration the ideas from eleven tax experts from various industries. Thus, the experts provided resourceful technical contributions to the select committee thus making the whole process a success. Fixation of New York broken budget process The s econd issues that affected the budgeting process were the reforms that were initiated by Senator Krueger to fix the New York broken budget process in 2010. Krueger aim was to make comprehensive reforms

The Renaissance and Humanism Essay Example for Free

The Renaissance and Humanism Essay The middle ages were a time of ignorance and lack of progress. The church had taken over the majority of power in the western world, and feudalism kept everyone in their place so that a time continued where the people of Europe made practically no progress. Humanism is the belief that a person has the power and duty to be the best person they can be. The middle ages could have stretched on loner, but due to the black plague exterminating a third of the population, social and economic needs changed. People that did not have much power could be lifted to a higher rank simply because so many upper class people had died. It almost seems like the men and women that survived the plague were proving to god and themselves that they deserve to be alive because they had something to contribute to the new dynamic climate of the renaissance. Humanism was the most important philosophy to the renaissance because it encouraged the kind of glorification of self that was needed to get out of the dark ages. A renaissance man was a humanist, but a humanist did not have to be a renaissance man. A renaissance man is a classic and very specific person. He must be trained in diverse skills and be good at all of them. Many higher-ranking men at this time accomplished being a renaissance man. Leonardo de Vinci was an Italian renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientists, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer. His genius, perhaps more than any other figure, epitomized the renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo de Vinci practiced humanism all his life and made many radical changes away from traditional western ways. His dissection of human bodies was the first time someone tried to understand the workings of man without any religion. Humanists like Leonardo do Vince caused conflict with religion because humanism spread through Italy and began effecting priests and other religious people. The humanist priests wanted to go back to the original holy texts, just to make sure what is being taught was really was needed to be taught. The focus on religion from the dark ages continued to the renaissance, after all. The great artists and writers were just using their  talents to celebrate god. Michelangelo was the most influential artist of the renaissance. His countless influences on western art mostly drew from his understanding of the figure. Pre renaissance art was very stiff and declarative in its nature. Michelangelo focused on the perfection of the human figure, a very humanist statement in his artwork. Humanism affected all aspects of the renaissance from art to politics. Humanists believed that there was a standard of excellence that had to be achieved by mastering many different skills. The ultimate humanist by that definition was Baldassare Castiglione. He was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent author. His most influential writing was the Book of the Courtier; it remains the definitive account of renaissance court life. Because of this it is considered one of the renaissance’s most important works. He described a humanist and a renaissance man that knew exactly how to behave. The influence of this book caused an even bigger expansion of the renaissance. A sudden burst of intellectual and humanist light cut through the superstitious fog of the dark ages, and it was called the renaissance. Humanism started and drove this movement from within. A realization of the power of man, the intellectual expanse of religious philosophy, and the holiness of human beings each headed new ideas in western civilization.

OSIM International Ltd Analysis

OSIM International Ltd Analysis INTRODUCTION OSIM is a global leader in branded healthy lifestyle products such as massage chair, shoulder and neck massagers, foot massager and slim belt. The company is well-known in Malaysia. OSIM is a brand management and niche marketing company with a focus on the consumer. Today, OSIM Company operates a wide point-of-sales network with outlets is over 371 cities over 33 countries in Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, United Kingdom and North America.â€Å"Inspiring Life† is the motto of the OSIM Company. OSIM (M) Sdn Bhd is engaged in marketing, distributing and franchising of healthy lifestyle products. The Company operates in two segments that are retail and distribution. The retail segment is engaged in outlets and counters operated by it in selected shopping centers and departmental stores where the products are sold directly to end user customers. The distribution segment is engaged in products distributed by the Company and franchisees in overseas markets. Its subsidiaries include OSIM International Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, OSIM (M) Sdn Bhd, OSIM (HK) Company Limited, OSIM (Taiwan) Co., Ltd, Nutrition Focus (USA) Inc, Global Active Limited (GAL), OSIM (China) Co., Ltd, Nutri Active Pte Ltd, Victoria House Pte Ltd and VHE China Limited. OSIM (M) Sdn Bhd also the most trusted brand. They receive a title as International Safety Standards because harmony to worldwide health and safety regulations. The entire product designed with safety and appropriate to health and safety regulations. Furthermore, the company also good in quality performance because all their product has been approved from clinic research, medical certifications and scientific studies. Their health-care product also checked and studies scientifically by expertise and they awarded certification and recognition from independents bodies. In terms of innovation and technology, OSIM company are worldwide technology patents and have a design right and trademark rights. OSIM is always in the frontline of innovation and the development of the most exhaustive range of products to bring the good health benefit to customer. OSIM also receive Award-Winning Design. OSIM brand and product design awards garnered from Japan, Europe and Asia. OSIM product was awarded the Largest Health Check and Care Equipment Retail Chain by the Malaysian Book of Records and Asia Pacific Honesty Enterprise Keris Award 2002. OSIM has been recently awarded ASIA No 1 Brand in healthy lifestyle equipment by a prestigious International Survey, it is for international market research company to determine Asian most preferred brand of health-care products. Besides, OSIM has also been rated by AC Nielsen survey in 2005 as the Number One brand in seven attributes (High Quality Products, Advance Technology, Premium Brand, Innovative Design Features, Trustworthy Brand, Good Customer Service and Good Store Ambience). BACKGROUND AND HISTORY The origins of OSIM International Ltd business began in November 1980 when Dr Ron Sim Chye Hock commenced his sole proprietor business of retailing an array of household goods such as knives, knife-sharpeners and mobile drying rods under R. Sim Trading Co and it was originally established in Singapore. OSIM were subsequently incorporated in 1983 under the name ‘‘R.Sim Trading Co. Pte Ltd to take over the sole proprietorship. Operating from OSIM International Ltd company first premises is at a shop Peoples Park, OSIM were only selling 2 health-care related products, namely, hand-held massagers and foot reflexology rollers. By 1987, OSIM had created a distribution network of 10 outlets in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan marketing household goods and health-care related products. Dr Ron Sim Chye Hock is a founder of OSIM then felt that there was market potential for specialty home health care products in an increasingly affluent Asia. Early 1987, OSIM saw that the home health care products sector was dominated by a disparate group of equipment manufacturers with little or no emphasis on marketing and as a result there was a lack of brand consciousness among consumers. Hence, in 1989 their decided to bring together different home health-care products from different equipment manufacturers and market their product using specialty branding. For this purpose, OSIM created the brand ‘‘Health Check Care to build and exploit a niche market in home health-care products. OSIM business start grew rapidly and by 1994 we had approximately 60 point-of-sales outlets in Asia. In business strategy, they believe that marketing and strengthening of their brand equity is of vital importance. As ‘‘Health Check Care was a generic name and was difficult to be registered as a trademark in many countries, in 1996 the company officially launched ‘‘OSIM brand name which had been using since the early 1990s. ‘‘OSIM is a combination of the founders surname and the letter ‘‘O which symbolizes for vision to become a globally recognized brand. As at 31 May 2000, the company have registered the name ‘‘OSIM as a trademark in 26 countries spanning Asia (including Australia), Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Israel. There are also made trademark applications for ‘‘OSIM in 10 other countries. A major tenet of OSIM marketing strategy is to have an extensive point-of-sales network and geographical coverage in their markets. Presently, they have point-of-sales outlets in Singapore located in all major departmental stores and suburban shopping malls. The company began developing their overseas distribution network in 1986 when they ventured into Hong Kong and in the following year, into Taiwan. To ride on the rapid development of the Asian economies in the early 1990s, OSIM expanded their operations to Thailand in 1990, Malaysia in 1992, Indonesia and Beijing in 1993, and Shanghai in 1994 by opening point-of-sales outlets in these countries either directly or through their franchisees and distributors. Furthermore, OSIM expanded their markets to the United States in 1997 and Dubai in 1999 through the appointment of franchisees/licensees to market and sell their products in these countries. At present, OSIM have 10 franchisees/licensees, 3 subsidiaries, 6 are affiliated compan ies controlled by their Controlling Shareholders and the remaining 1 is an unrelated company. The company point-of-sales outlets in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia are operated by Company and subsidiaries. The rest of their point-of-sales outlets are franchised outlets with the exception of outlets in the PRC for which we have trademark and licensing agreements with the owners. This is OSIM business strategy that future expansion of their point-of-sales network will be substantially undertaken by franchising. OSIM company begun to gradually move away from being a retailer to being a franchisor and, in furtherance of this strategy, they have also entered into franchise agreements with their subsidiaries, OSIM (HK), OSIM (Taiwan) and OSIM (Msia). Further, franchising help them to expand and multiply their point-of-sales outlets to more geographical markets at a faster pace with significantly less capital exposure. Franchising is also less taxing on their managements time than operating self-owned outlets in penetrating new markets. To diversify their sources of revenue, in 1998 OSIM ventured into wholesale distribution of health-check and health-care products such as blood pressure monitors, thermometers and pulse massagers, in Singapore to hospitals like Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Kandang Kerbau Womens and Childrens Hospital, pharmacies like the Apex Pharmacy and the Guardian Pharmacy chains, and Chinese medical halls. While wholesale distribution is currently only carried out in Singapore which contributes between 1 and 2 per cent. to their turnover in Singapore, and then the company intend to develop this business and carry out wholesale distribution in all their principal markets eventually. As part of its business strategy to extend the control over of their business process and to exercise greater involvement and participation in the source of supply for their products, in 1995 the company entered into a joint venture with Daito Electric Machine Industry Company Limited (‘‘Daito), a Japanese supplier  to OSIM Group, to take up a 30 per cent interest in Daito-OSIM (Suzhou) with Daito taking up the remaining 70 per cent.. Presently, Daito-OSIM (Suzhou) has a plant in the Singapore-Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu, PRC that manufactures products like hand-held massagers and foot reflexology rollers mainly for re-export and distribution to the markets in Japan and USA. Under the joint venture agreement, Daito has the right to appoint 3 directors of Daito-OSIM (Suzhou) while OSIM only have the right to appoint 2 directors as they are the minority shareholder. However, Daito-OSIM (Suzhou) shall not change the scope of its business activities from that as descr ibed in the foregoing, without the consent of Daito and OSIM. Any material financial commitment which is above US$100,000 or material contract to be entered by Daito-OSIM (Suzhou) also requires the consent of Daito and OSIM. The joint venture agreement is of unlimited duration but may be terminated with the consent of Daito and OSIM. Neither Daito nor OSIM can transfer an interest in the shares in Daito-OSIM (Suzhou) without first making an offer to sell the interest to the other shareholder. On 28 March 2000, the founder Dr Ron Sim Chye Hock was conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration by the Wisconsin International University in recognition of his prominent achievements in business. In July 2000, pursuant to the Subscription Agreement, Investor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, subscribed for 11,600,000 new Shares, representing approximately 5 per cent. of the post-Investor Subscription and post-Invitation enlarged share capital of the Company, at the price of $0.47 per Share, representing a discount of approximately 10 per cent. to the Offer Price. The company believes that the investment by Investor is a milestone in their corporate development and an endorsement of their Group. Investor has given an undertaking not to dispose of or transfer any part of its  respective shareholding for a period of 6 months commencing from the date of their admission to the Official List of the SGX-ST. Mr Khor Peng Soon, a nominee of Investor, was appointed as OSIM non-executive Director in June 2000. Ethics Ethics are common believes on whats right or wrong and good or bad based on individuals values and morals, plus a behaviours social context. Business ethics definition is ‘a normative undertaking, seeks to provide ethical insight and guidance to individuals in business, businesses as organizations, and to society. Although there is an overlap between corporate social responsibility and business ethics, they still can be distinguishing. Corporate social responsibility is about responsibility to all stakeholders and not just shareholders where as ethics is about morally correct behaviour. Not many business organisations directors will deny the essentialness of good, trusting relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and the community. All these are actually the elements of success that a company should rely on. Ethics in business is a very prominent issue nowadays especially in this high competitive business world. Organizations usually have a set of ethical as well as o perational or business values which they wished to see in operating their business. These values guide ideas of acceptable, desirable and responsible behavior, above and beyond compliance with laws and regulations. Ethics is formulated to enhance the standard of corporate governance and corporate behaviour. One should be ethical for motivation, good behaviour usually bring a reward. Think about it, if it were always in ones interest to be good, there would be no need for ethics. One can simply act selfishly and forget about obligation. People invented ethics precisely because it does not always coincide with self interest. Owners, employees, suppliers and customers were expected to have a good behaviour in their work place giving that issues of ethics will affect the business. Starting from the individual ethics, it is important since everyone has their own responsibilities in their work place. The very least a person can do is to be honest about what they do each day. Bribery should not be tolerated. There is so much poverty, so much hunger across the world. Greed for revenue and profits can only transform our world into an animal kingdom. Top management level of the company should have first practice good ethics themselves in order to show a good example to the employees and lead them to become more productive and efficient. Behaviour toward the employees, top management level of the company should practice fair policies such as adequate amount of time given to the employee to be notified if the company intend to conduct layoff exercise within the company and affected parties should be compensated accordingly. Other than that, the company is responsible for providing conducive environment which is clean and save for its employee to work in too. Employee salaries should be paid according to agreed amount based on their working hours and job classification. Privacy of employees must be respected too. Based on the information we gathered through our interview with OSIM, their company do have ethics practices. One of the examples is, employees who were stationed out of town for training were provided with decent accommodation. Every single employee has equal chances of being promoted. Outlet supervisors must also possess high accountability and responsibility in performing duties, without abusing power and position for self-gain or other interested parties. Employees are expected to always endeavour to improve knowledge, creativity and innovation as well as team spirit. Those who are in the sales position are required to be self-motivated to achieve great sales like theres no limit to it. Proper basic personal grooming and dress in clean, smart and decent clothing at work is a must and its considered basic manners for especially for those in sales  position working at the outlets. Strict basic grooming is required to reflect the professionalism of the employee. Furthermore, OSIM emphasised a lot on professionalism among its employees. Employees must always carry out duties efficiently, effectively and productively in order to produce excellent service. The managers are very strict on the employee, they must always on good behaviour and punctuality. The company will always provide in-house training for their employees. In addition, the company sales force undergoes trainings like product training, salesmanship training and on-the-job training. Other than that, OSIM organise talks by health-care professionals in their corporate headquarters for their sales staff. Periodically, they will also send senior management staff overseas to attend seminars and exhibitions. Therefore, employees are expected to improve knowledge and skills to produce efficient, prompt and accurate service as well as to possess characteristics of creativity, innovation, motivation and competitiveness This show that the company practices good ethics as their provide and g ive chances for them equip themselves. The product of OSIM International Ltd complies with Safety and Quality Standards of International Certification Boards. The company does not compromise its products quality lightly, and this is a good business ethics practice. OSIM have the quality controls namely product quality assurance for its products and service quality assurance to ensure the staff deliver their best. Last but not least, the company take honesty into account very seriously. No one in the company should leak out the companys private and confidential information such as internal finance reports, marketing strategies and etcetera. Disciplinary action will be taken against those who leak out the information might face dismissal from the company. In conclusion, every business organisation has strict ethics to follow. The field and practice of business ethics is now well established. Often times senior individuals were hired in large companies and other organisations with dedicated teams to monitor that ethical standard and corporate responsibility (CR) commitments are understood and advocated. These commitments will be driven both by a set of ethical and business values set by the organisation itself, and by relevant legal and regulatory requirements that determine what acceptable conduct is. It is important to establish a standard or ethics of competence for corporate accountability which includes standards of professionalism and trustworthiness in order to uphold good corporate integrity. The experience within the country like Malaysia has exposed a critical need for the formulation of corporate accountability standards in order to establish an ethical corporate environment. It also ensures Malaysia is on the right track in turning into a first world country. Companies who are truly committed to uphold ethical conduct were found to be consistently outperforming companies who do not display ethical conduct according to research done by Does Business Ethics Pay? by The Institute of Business Ethics (IBE). If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you dont have integrity, nothing else matters. Alan K. Simpson INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USED â€Å"Information technology (IT) by definition is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications†. More recently it is the use of the computers and IT to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of businesses that has led to technological change. Due to technological changes is so rapid, there are important implications for businesses. A business can be affected by the following technological change in production, the provision of services and in the office IT act as an effective tool to aid businesses gain and make the best use of knowledge. Some of the systems can be very tedious to set up and time-consuming to maintain. About two decades ago, most businesses agreed that effective IT strategies needed to be embedded within the business strategy. Business executives needed to possess those IT strategies as well as the business strategie s in order to implement those business strategies successfully. Undeniably, IT has become an increasingly important business tool from small to big organisations, it is important for businesses to ensure that their business gets the most out of any system it introduces. In order to achieve this, you need to make sure that the IT system chosen supports the business and adds value to it. Databases organise information for easy access, managed and updated. For example, a business might have a database of customers storing their contact information, their orders and preferences. The database is one of the cornerstones of information technology, and its ability to organise, process and manage information in a structured and controlled manner is the key to many areas of modern business efficiency. As a business, the more we understand about our customers, suppliers and competitors, the better. Hence, the gathering, storing and processing of informationusing databases cangive businessesa distinct advantage. The advantages are such as cutting down the amount of time spent managing data. Allowing businesses personnel the ability to analyse data in a many of ways. It is also a way of promoting a disciplined approach to data management. In addition, databases technology turns different information into a valuable resource and improving the quality and consistency of informati on. Value of information in line with maintenance and production cost. Most companies produce information on demand to place a value to it. E-commerce is the ability of businesses to trade with the world via websites. With E-commerce, businesses are able to market and create awareness on their products a larger group of audience and business is now open 24 hours every day. This has created new opportunities for businesses that trade locally and may not trade internationally before to now expand the size of their market to worldwide. Amazon.com is one example of e-commerce as a worldwide book and CD sellers. Consumers can also make comparison on the products and search for best deals online. It allows entrepreneurs and or even individuals to sell directly to consumers. This is the opposite of conventional ways of selling at retail outlets. In other words, business transactions are now taking place online too. OSIM Directors believe that e-commerce is emerging as a very important marketing and distribution channel for businesses although the extent of the impact of e-commerce cannot be conclusively known today. OSIM have t he intention of tapping into the huge potential of e-commerce and other health-care retailers may also follow suit. Smartphone with internet access enabled and personal computers featured with office applications with office applications, save businesses time and travelling cost by enabling employees, customers, and suppliers to communicate from any location. This gives much convenience for the on-site and off-site employee to communication with each other. However, effective communication is very essential to most IT and e-commerce systems. Most of these technologies are invented to make communication between buyers and sellers faster and more reliable. On top of that, Computers can be used to process, analyse and store vast amounts of data to give the business more quality information. The Internet can also be useful for various purposes. One of it is to make business sales message to be send out to customers especially potential ones. To get sales message out to customers and potential customers, marketing by email and on the internet offers speed and cost benefits over traditional mail marketing. Company resources are put into better use as chances of reaching out potential customers are much greater. Other types of online marketing such as social media like Facebook also provide a cost-effective avenue for businesses in reaching customers. OSIM has registered their own website ‘‘www.osim.com to market themselves on the Internet to let more people know about the company and its products. It is important for a company to have a website especially for developing new products, offering new services and reaching new clients. Todays information age has leaded many people to use internet to search information and others. People can access to any website with just a few clicks. Although setting up a website might be costly, it is offset by reaching a large pool of potential customers and providing necessary information for existing customers too. OSIM is making use of the popular Facebook as a tool for them to promote their products and provide brief information and latest happenings in regard to their road shows. Job recruitment advertisement is also in their website, this will save the companys cost in advertising in other means such as the newspaper. Consumers can also sign up for the mailing list to receive spe cial offers, promotions and well-being tips from OSIM. Last but not least, OSIM made us of IT to provide its customers order tracking if they are not sure if their package has been delivered .The order tracking service will help you track it down. In conclusion, technological change can bring many benefits to a business. It reduces running costs, improve productivity, improved competitiveness, improved quality of service (e.g. speed of service) and reduce resources wastage. For companies who have yet to use IT to run their businesses should really consider it. Technology and business go hand in hand. Hence, technology is compulsory for business. 4P ANALYSIS DIAGRAM 1: The Marketing Mix Marketing mix is one of the most important aspects in marketing. The important of marketing mix are usually categories into four parts which are product, price, place, and promotion. The main purpose of this four Ps marketing is to help the company to achieving their target market. Customers are not the components of the marketing mix. However, the customer is the target of all the companys marketing. Product can be usually classified under two parts that is consumer product and producer products. Consumer product normally purchased for individuals used and these products are divided into three more categories that is convenience product, shopping product and specialty product. Secondly, the producer product, this product is purchased to use in running businesses. Beside that, physical of the product also become the main point to attract the customers for example the packaging and size of the product. Price is the price level that business wants to sell their product to consumer. There are many parts need to be consider first before the product were decides to be sell. The considerations such as objective of the business, the degree of competitor in the industry, channel of distribution and the business image. Furthermore, there are some strategies that can help a business in order to arrive at a selling of their product such as cost-plus pricing, mark-up pricing, predatory pricing, skimming pricing, penetration pricing, prestige pricing and demand-orientated pricing. Place is where the product put on the target market. This place refers to those points that are stores and the retail outlets where the product should be easily accessible by the customer. Next, is to the channel of distribution means the business uses to get their product from factory and make it available to consumers. Wholesaler, retailer and Distribution Company are example for channel of distribution. Promotion is the method of the company introducing and selling products and its one of the ways to attract consumers aware of their product. There are various ways of promotion such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, branding and packaging, direct email and loss leaders. Promotion is important of communication between the product and the customer in order to increase the sales. In conclusion, a marketing mix involves four Ps. In another word, the four Ps entire are related to each other in reaching target market. PRODUCT OSIM is a company that sells healthy lifestyle product. There are various type of health product that they sells such as massage chair, foot massagers, head massagers, back massagers, eye massagers, soothing gel pads, slim belts, pedometer, blood pressure monitor, personal hygiene and water purifiers. These products are help to maintain health and can give relaxing to the people. The latest product that OSIM launched is uDivine massage chair. The uDivine was designed by Japanese Master, Sato Tsuyoshi and he is expert of Japanese Chiropractic Massage. The uDivine is the world first Human-3D massage chair and this massage chair are combined with strategically position system airbags, realistic and human contour based, delivering the most humanized, pleasurable and effective full body massage. uDivine have multi-sensory pleasures from head to toe. The design of this massage chair are intelligent design with plenty to admire and it give more living space, seamless navigation, stereo sound build-in speakers, supreme comfort and family-friendly safety function. OSIM Company makes a consideration to the number of stage in development of new product. The first stage is the generation of ideas. The company thinks future whether the product that they create meet the objective of the business or not. Furthermore, they also make a question will the product contribute to the continued growth of their business and does the business have the spare capacity to produce the product. Secondly, is testing the new concept. OSIM want to know is there a sufficient market for the new product. This stage of the product development  process will involve carrying out extensive primary market research to test consumers reaction to the suggested product. Next, analyzing the cost or revenues. Based on cost of production, they will set the reasonable price of product to be selling. OSIM also caring of what will be the profitability of the new product and how many units of the product they want to produce. Furthermore, they make a considered of developing a prototype. The design, materials, quality and safety of the product will become paramount. A prototype of the product will be developed using the detail that the market research indicated that consumer wanted. It is essential to ensure that this stage of the development process is detailed ad extensive, since to make alterations and modification at a later date will be extremely expensive and time-consuming. Lastly, the goal of the company for their product is to make the customer easy to recognize its brand and provide customer satisfaction. If the product does not fit the customer needs or meet the standard, the company accepts the criticism and modifies their products until it is fulfilling the needs of their customer. PRICE OSIM (is one of the high-end brands that sells health-care product in the market. It stands by its own name, image, quality and safety. The good in pricing strategy of the company will affect the quantity of sell and the profit-margin received per unit. In order to achieve at selling price for its product, there are some method that can be use which is cost-plus pricing, mark-up pricing, predatory pricing, skimming pricing, penetration pricing, prestige pricing, demand-oriented pricing and competition-oriented pricing. The first procedure for setting price is to determine the objectives of pricing. Earning a profit is the main objective. OSIM Company has three strategies in setting the price of their product. OSIM used cost-plus pricing, where the total cost of producing each unit of product is calculated. After that, the percentage profit is added to this unit cost to arrive at the selling price. Next is skimming pricing, all of their products are innovative and high technology product. So the strategies for these products usually set at the high price because it required high cost to produce the product and it design to create an up-market. Nonetheless, another pricing strategy of OSIM Company is competition-oriented pricing. Competition-oriented pricing is the strategies to set a price for a product with comparison with the competitor. Some product of OSIM were pricing based on the price charge by the competitors. In conclusion, setting a price is not an easy job, it need certain method to set the product price. For the beginning, a listing price, varieties of discount and allowance should include when setting a price. PLACE MAP 1: MAP 2: OSIM has chosen the right place for selling their products. In Map 1 shown one of the places which OSIM outlet located, that is in Bintang Mega Mall, Miri, Sarawak. Our group got to visit this outlet to conduct interview about OSIM for this team project. Normally in business, without a good place to promote the company product will make harder to get successful in target market even the product have a reasonable price. In other words, to reach the target market, positioning is one of the important steps for placing. The location of the product should be easier for customer to purchases the product. If the customer hard to get the product, they might give advantage to other companies which they can get it easily. However, every customer has different needs with aspect of time and place. In order to attract more customers, the location of the product should fulfill the customers requirement. The company also can offer a delivery service in order to make

Behaviorism and the Never-Ending Need for Discipline Essay -- Educatio

Behaviorism and the Never-Ending Need for Discipline Webster’s dictionary defines education as â€Å"the act or process of training by a prescribed or customary course or study of discipline.† I, however, see it as much more. Education, in my perspective, is the greatest gift a human can receive. I want to be one of the many caring individuals that can give this priceless gift- I want to be a teacher. There are many current trends and philosophies when dealing with education. Behaviorism, the philosophy of education in which I regard, will be incorporated into my classroom in some form or fashion. Education today has taken a turn for the worse when analyzing behavior. I know, from personal experience, that the behavior of children has curdled. I feel that if I can help students become more intelligent and courteous citizens, then I have completed my job successfully. Although there are many philosophies of education, I feel that behaviorism is one that should be included in every teacher’s curriculum b ecause children today need educated socially as well as cognitively. Often times people have life-altering events that occur at the strangest of times. I am no different than anyone else. My career was set from the day that I walked into my kindergarten class. It was then that I knew that I wanted to be an educator. It was quickly learned that I loved school and that I wanted it to be a part of my life forever. As I grew up, I recognized the many different types of individuals around me. I saw kids with learning disorders, physical handicaps, and exceptional abilities. After realizing that I would someday have to deal with these multiple situations, I decided that if I can influence children’s lives then it ... ... students can easily learn from. If God blesses me to learn all that I am supposed to learn here at Concord, then I know that I will be prepared to teach to the best of my ability. I feel that I am receiving the best education possible here and I am confident that I will be successful in my future endeavors because of this. The final comments of this paper should certainly contain a conclusion of my thoughts of how behaviorism can affect the school system. All the philosophies of education are good ones, but I yearn to see the day when all children are as courteous and loving as they used to be. If we can make children’s behavior better, eventually these kids will grow up and procreate, producing a new generation of disciplined individuals. The future begins now and behaviorism is the key to success in terms of education both cognitively and socially.

Nuclear Weapons: Destructors Or Saviors? :: Nuclear Weapons Essays

When one thinks of complete and total annihilation, the plumage of an infamous mushroom cloud is undoubtedly an image which comes to mind. This ominous image is ". . . a tiger which must be looked in the eye," (Looking the Tiger in the Eye, 1982). The reason for which we must examine the issue of nuclear weapons, is best stated in the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer, ". . . until we have looked this tiger in the eye, we shall ever be in the worst of all possible dangers, of which we may back into him." In an attempt to prevent ourselves from backing into this proverbial tiger, we will discuss the following subheadings of nuclear arms: should countries dismantle their nuclear arms; and whether a nuclear war can occur, without resulting in a total nuclear holocaust of both conflicting parties. Virtually all, who know of the rise in modern-day technology, oppose the first subheading, dismantling nuclear weapons; but, before stating their reasoning, we will change our viewpoint to that of the naive (no insult intended) or too optimistic. Assuming all nations dismantled their nuclear weapons tomorrow; the world would be peaceful: no more nuclear weapons, no more eminent destruction, no more bad guys. What? Exactly! How can we eliminate the evil side of humans, their inherent dark side? This leads to the reason supporting the maintenance of existing, and the development of future nuclear weapons. When a nation, terrorist group, or someone with ill intent secures sole-control of nuclear capabilities, the world will be at the mercy of this group's sanity, since the world is currently nowhere near an acceptable defensive system. So from this scenario, one can infer that in the present, the only deterrent to nuclear war is the existence of nuclear arms in opposition to each other. The second subheading, whether a nuclear war can occur without escalating into a victorless, nuclear holocaust, is an evolving argument due to its dependency on modern technology. The two stances on this topic are known by their acronyms of NUTS and MAD (Nuclear Utilization Target Selection, and Mutually Assured Destruction respectively). The position taken by NUTS is that limited use of nuclear weapons can occur, without igniting an all-out, nuclear holocaust-resulting in the devastation of both conflicting parties, and hence a mutual loss. The major fault on which NUTS lies is that no nuclear nation possesses, or is expected to soon possess, an acceptable defensive shield against nuclear weapons. While this fault is not due to our ability to destroy inbound weapons, it is due to our accuracy in destroying the sheer quantity in Nuclear Weapons: Destructors Or Saviors? :: Nuclear Weapons Essays When one thinks of complete and total annihilation, the plumage of an infamous mushroom cloud is undoubtedly an image which comes to mind. This ominous image is ". . . a tiger which must be looked in the eye," (Looking the Tiger in the Eye, 1982). The reason for which we must examine the issue of nuclear weapons, is best stated in the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer, ". . . until we have looked this tiger in the eye, we shall ever be in the worst of all possible dangers, of which we may back into him." In an attempt to prevent ourselves from backing into this proverbial tiger, we will discuss the following subheadings of nuclear arms: should countries dismantle their nuclear arms; and whether a nuclear war can occur, without resulting in a total nuclear holocaust of both conflicting parties. Virtually all, who know of the rise in modern-day technology, oppose the first subheading, dismantling nuclear weapons; but, before stating their reasoning, we will change our viewpoint to that of the naive (no insult intended) or too optimistic. Assuming all nations dismantled their nuclear weapons tomorrow; the world would be peaceful: no more nuclear weapons, no more eminent destruction, no more bad guys. What? Exactly! How can we eliminate the evil side of humans, their inherent dark side? This leads to the reason supporting the maintenance of existing, and the development of future nuclear weapons. When a nation, terrorist group, or someone with ill intent secures sole-control of nuclear capabilities, the world will be at the mercy of this group's sanity, since the world is currently nowhere near an acceptable defensive system. So from this scenario, one can infer that in the present, the only deterrent to nuclear war is the existence of nuclear arms in opposition to each other. The second subheading, whether a nuclear war can occur without escalating into a victorless, nuclear holocaust, is an evolving argument due to its dependency on modern technology. The two stances on this topic are known by their acronyms of NUTS and MAD (Nuclear Utilization Target Selection, and Mutually Assured Destruction respectively). The position taken by NUTS is that limited use of nuclear weapons can occur, without igniting an all-out, nuclear holocaust-resulting in the devastation of both conflicting parties, and hence a mutual loss. The major fault on which NUTS lies is that no nuclear nation possesses, or is expected to soon possess, an acceptable defensive shield against nuclear weapons. While this fault is not due to our ability to destroy inbound weapons, it is due to our accuracy in destroying the sheer quantity in

The Spanish Debate On The Americas :: essays research papers

Juan Ginà ©s de Sepulveda, Bartolomà © de las Casas, and Francisco de Vitoria arguments pertaining to the settlement and colonization of the native people of America, while presented in different manors, are all the same. All three Spaniards believed that the barbarians had to accept the rule of the Spanish because the Spanish were mentally superior, and divine and natural laws gave the Spanish the right to conquer and enslave the native people of America. The foundation for Spanish conquests was their interpretation of the bible. Ironically, it was the teachings of the bible they were all trying to bring to the newly found infidels. Sepulveda stated that the Spanish conquests were sanctioned in divine law itself, for it was written in the Book of Proverbs that "'He who is stupid will serve the wise man.'" In propositions one and two, Bartolomà © de las Casas stated that he believed that Jesus Christ had the authority and the power of God himself over all men in the world, especially those who had never heard the tidings of Christ nor of His faith. Las Casas also stated in his second proposition that St. Peter and his successors(that being missionaries located in the New World) had the duty by the injunctions of God to teach the gospel and faith of Jesus Christ to all men throughout the world. What is interesting is that Las Casas thought that it was "unlikely that anyone [would] resist the preaching of the gospel and the Christian doctrine..." While being a bishop and a Dominican missionary in the New World, he had the task of spreading the holy faith, expanding the area covered by the teachings of the universal Church(that being the Christian religion), and the improvement of the natives' souls as his ultimate goal. As stated in proposition ten however, the Indians sovereignty and dignity and royal pre-eminence should not, in his belief disappear either in fact or in right. "The only exceptions are those infidels who maliciously obstruct the preaching of the gospel... ." In proposition eleven though, he continues by contradicting himself by saying that "He who persistently defends it[that being the preaching of the missionaries] will fall into formal heresy." Sepulveda also thought that if infidels rejected the rule of Christianity, it could be imposed upon them by force of arms. Sepulveda's justification for the use of force was, after all, justified according to natural law, and that just and natural noble people should rule over men who are not "superior". War against the barbarians, according to Sepulveda, was justified because of their paganism and also because of their abominable licentiousness. Sepulveda and Las Casas both thought

Trifles Play Essay

Trifles Essay The play â€Å"Trifles† is a murder mystery, which takes place in the kitchen of the Wrights home. In the beginning of the story, Glaspell sets the murder scene in the audiences mind by having Mr. Peters and Mr. Henderson interview Mr. Hale on his discovery of Mr. Wright’s body. Mr. Hale then begins to talk about the condition of Mr. Wright, and then continues on and talks about the behavior of Mrs. Wright The rising action in the story begins after the men leave the women, and go upstairs to potentially find evidence, or a motive.The women began to ask many questions, and examine the kitchen, and how it was left after the murder. The men then overhear the women pondering on whether Mrs. Wright was to knot or pierce the rope. The men laugh at the women because they found such matters to be of little importance. The rising action continues with the women finding the bird cage, and the nervous stitching. All through the rising action, ironically, the women w ere shown inadvertently finding evidence to solve the murder case.Just after these discoveries, the climax of the play is signaled. The women find a dead bird inside of a box placed in the sewing basket. The women then notice that the bird’s neck was wrung, similar to how Mr. Wright had died. Glaspell then narrates that there was a look of growing comprehension between the two. This line is important because, their questions were answered, and the women know who murdered Mr. Wright. It is also ironic because the women find little ‘trifles’ that the men just deem as unimportant, which ironically solves the case.This is also because the men and even the women themselves wouldn’t expect to be capable of aiding in the murder investigation. Inadvertently, the women solve the murder case. It is also interesting that the discoveries were all found inside of the kitchen where the men tend to go very little throughout the play, but also just in general. The purpose of doing so was probably done in order for Glaspell to empathize on the theme of the play: Women are not appreciated by men, and seen lowly by them. This can also be supported because the men thought of what Mrs.Peters brought in was something that was harmless, and couldn’t possibly hold the main evidence that they would need in order to prosecute Mrs. Wright. After secretly and accidently solving the murder case, the women decide to not tell the men that Mrs. Wright did indeed murder her husband. The women mainly resolved to do this out of sympathy. The women’s decision is the resolution and beginning of the falling action of the play. The falling action of the play becomes intensive because the reader thinks that The Attorney will find the dead bird, and the women will be caught.The falling action of the play also achieves the purpose of the plays structure because it shows that women are actually useful in tasks other than housework, which is a sub-topic of the th eme. Also, it achieves it because the women hold the key to the one piece of evidence that the men needed in order to find Mrs. Wright guilty. â€Å"Trifles† was a murder mystery with a dramatic structure, but also an ironic twist to it. The women unknowingly find all the evidence, inside of the kitchen.Glaspell structured the play, so that the women and men would think that the women’s findings would be such small trifles, but in actuality were the clues to solving the case. Also, that was done so that Glaspell could place the theme of men believing that women are unhelpful, and unappreciated. Glaspell supports this theme by having the women solve the case, but not tell the men. The structure of this play also gave a underlying truth in the theme. â€Å"Trifles† ironically was structured off of dismissed trifles.

I Love Yous Are For White People

Reading your book brought to surface many of the occurrences in my life that I have found myself hiding from. You told my story seen through your eyes but from a deferent environment, I honestly thought I was alone In this world until I read your book.From moving from your home land, to being bullied and picked on for your accent, losing a friend through tragedy and having to meet new friends In a new world, from being physically and mentally abused by your father to molested by a family member, from ranking to numb the pain to Joining a gang/clack to feel at home and have a real family who cared, and finally occurrences to which I could have lost my life. Every story you told had a deeper meaning to me and my stories, you have helped me shine a light on the past which has held a strong grip on me for so long.Growing up in another country brought to light In my eyes the Importance of family, having respect for your elders, and to speak when spoken to along with not speaking out of tu rn. I grew up Belize with an abusive/ alcoholic father, in a way he was similar o what you described he was strict on me getting good grades and staying out of trouble: in any way I dishonored or disobeyed his orders he would be waiting my arrival home, his glare which literally made me weak in the knees and most of the time made me cry, but the various objects he would hold to give me my beatings never made me budge in a way; I was ready it was a routine.My mother I can say was in a way similar to the mother you described, she was always quiet and never intervened in anything my dad was involved in; she could never defend or protect e, she had to stay quiet, and had to make sure my father was satisfied whenever he was around. The phrase you used on chapter fourteen â€Å"l realized one thing- I am my father† really caught my attention. I found myself in life trying my hardest to run away from the thought of becoming my father not realizing that every action I participated in brought me closer to being him.At the age of eight I started stealing money from my parents and sneaking alcoholic beverages to drink so I could numb myself from my surroundings and the pain I was feeling, then it became worst as mime progressed. I don't usually talk about my best friend because it brings back painful memories and the feeling of hate and revenge, he was my big brother older than me by close to a year but he was too young to lose his life.I was eight when we loaned the family gang which Included friends and family members, at the age of 10 during a drug deal he was gunned down by a rival gang during their Initiation phase. Seeing my only brother lifeless In a coffin drove me to a dark place and I felt I had to do something about it. When I turned 10 years old my mother who feared for my life took me from my father and we left Belize to come to America; she wanted to give me a new start, a better life and a future to live for.In Tampa, Florida the elementary school m y mother enrolled me In I didn't feel alone the children were nice and friendly although I had my heavy Caribbean accent, then It changed when I graduated and went to a different middle school from the little bit of friend I had befriended the bullies and never was I picked on again; instead I was protected. My other received a better Job in a different location and I had to switch schools.The second middle school I was enrolled in became my worst nightmare; I was called names, physically picked on by the students and couldn't make friends, I was an outsider and found myself roaming the school yard alone. I became depressed, found myself eating away my pain, and started stealing drinks from my mother's wine bottles and from her boyfriend's liquor collection. I pleaded with my mom for a new change, as a result we moved to Long Beach, California after I graduated middle school; before arriving I swore to myself I would never stand for getting bullied ever again.In High school I starte d working out and turned all my fat into muscles and I also found myself getting in too much fights, about close to 70 in the first two years, then I switched schools to a predominated white upper-class high school in which I joined the wrestling team and took the varsity position at ass's my first year, ever since I moved to the new environment my life has changed. I am in college now pursuing a career in the Fire Service; I want to help people not cause harm to them.I never wanted to be a violent person, I was driven into it because at the time I felt there were no other possible solutions. Today I strongly believe the person I grew up to be does not shape my future, it's my choice; I can either stay and dwell in the past or move forward and strive for my future. You helped me enforce this idea and that's why I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read your novel â€Å"l Love Hoys Are For White People†.You can change the lives of many individuals Just by being able to elate, a lot of people feel they have to bottle up their emotions because no one out there would be able to relate and understand. I would and will recommend this novel for all my friends and family to read. I have come to witness that am still here in this world for a reason, I believe in the phrase you used and that is â€Å"Eve come across a couple of angels in my days here on earth†. I want to say thank you once again for speaking to me through your story and I really appreciate the words you wrote. Sincerely Clifford Usher

Nike Case

Nike Case 1. Should Nike be held responsible for working conditions in foreign factories that it does not own, but where subcontractors make products for Nike? No, I do not believe Nike should be responsible for working conditions in foreign factories. I do believe that there should be working standards in place and adhered to but I do not believe that is Nike’s responsibility. Nike is a business in order to run a successful business one must abide by good business practices including respecting others beliefs and values.It would be no different than if a Nike employee another employee how to raise their kids. As long as they are abiding by the laws governed in that their own country people are free to raise their children how they please. 2. What labor standards regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, and the like, should Nike hold foreign factories to: those prevailing in that country, or those prevailing in the United States? Nike should uphold the standards prevail ing in the particular country.If there are issued regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, etc, they should be discussed through separate entities, for instance the United Nations. 3. An income of $2. 28 a day, the base pay of Nike factory workers in Indonesia, is double the daily income of about half the working population. Half of all adults in Indonesia are farmers, who receive less than $1 a day. Given this, is it correct to criticize Nike for the low pay rates of its subcontractors in Indonesia? It is not appropriate to criticize Nike for low pay rates.According to salary. gov, the average American income is 46,326. If a company from United Arab of Emirates came exports products from a store in the U. S. and paid the works 105,623 (equal to the percentage raise Nike is paying in Indonesia), Americans would be grateful. 4. Could Nike have handled the negative publicity over sweatshops better? What might it have done differently, not just from a public relations perspectiv e, but also from a policy perspective? Yes, Nike could have handled the negative publicity better.For instance Andrew Young should have brought is own interpreter into the factories. There is no way of knowing what is actually being said and the motives behind a foreign interpreter. Nike took the right steps when it mandated hours worked per week, minimum wage per governing country, and raising the child labor laws. They set emplace standards and followed up with them. When they found businesses not adhering to the regulations they increased them, and gave the business a clear definition of what the regulation mandates.I don’t think Nike could/should have done anything else. 5. Do you think Nike needs to make any changes to its current policy? If so, what? Should Nike make changes even if they hinder the ability of the company to compete in the marketplace? No, I do not believe Nike needs to make changes to its current policy. The fact that they even implanted policy shows th eir character. If Nike did make changes and couldn’t compete in the market place thousands of Americans would be upset about losing their favorite sports brand, and millions of people would be out of jobs.The failure of Nike to compete in the market place could literally mean the down turn of foreign economies. 6. Is the WRC right to argue that the FLA is a tool of industry? The WRC is correct in stating FLA is a tool of the industry. However, the businesses involved are exactly that, businesses. The FLA was an appropriate step in the right direction for the pursuit of better business practices by other countries while maintaining the best business relationship possible. Disrespect, is not only a great way to lose business, but wars are literally started over it.FLA takes the times to look at the beliefs, and values of the companies it is working with and not just â€Å"do what they feel is the right thing to do†. 7. If sweatshops are a global problem, what might be a global solution to this problem? The United Nations should handle the sweatshop issue. That way it is not just the U. S. attacking, or implementing their business structures on other countries. The United Nations is specifically designed to handle global issues. Having multiple nations give their input and suggests would be an incredibly helpful and compromising tool for employees and employers in all countries. Nike Case Corporate Finance Nike, INC: Cost of capital 1. What is the WACC and why is it important to estimate a firm’s cost of capital? Do you agree with Joanna Cohen’s WACC calculation? Why or why not? Definition of WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital): WACC is basically the average of the cost of finance (debt and equity). Since a company’s assets can be financed by debt or equity, WACC can show the averages of the costs involved in the sources of financing. These costs are then weighted by the users of the information as required in a specific situation.This shows how much both debt holders expect to pay in interest and how much return the shareholder can expect to receive, for each dollar of financing (Investopedia, ND). The calculation of the cost of capital is one of the important elements that decide the enterprise value. The value of the enterprise can significantly change when the percentage of cost of capital changes in the business model, with the cost of ca pital representing the expected return for shareholders. We disagree with Joanna’s WACC calculation for following reasons: The calculations of WACC and DCF can be effected as they are subjective by her human judgment.Even though there are no right answers to make these decisions, our team disagrees with some of the assumptions Joanna Cohen made. i. ‘Ratio of debt financing’ and ‘Ratio of equity financing’ It has to be applied the market value because current shareholders’ expected return has to be reflected. Both ratios should be calculated not by using ‘Book Value’ but ‘Market Value’. ii. Cost of Debt Cost of Debt can be calculated with the current yield publicly traded in the market, because we are projecting the future cash flows. Joanna calculated this by using historical data.However cost of debt should be calculated using current YTM of debt. iii. Cost of Equity Joanna calculated cost of debt by using following CAPM formula: Cost of Equity = 5. 74% (20 year Treasury bond) +0. 80 (Average Historic Nike beta) *5. 9% (Average premium of the market over Treasury) =10. 5% When calculating the beta, using the most current beta is better than using the average, because the current beta reflects the most recent environment of Nike stock. 2. If you do not agree with Cohen’s analysis, calculate your own WACC for Nike and be prepared to justify your assumptions. i. Ratio of debt financing’ and ‘Ratio of equity financing’ Market value of debt = 5. 4 + 855. 3 + 435. 9 = $1,296. 6million Market Value of equity= There is no information about market value of debt. We will use ‘Book Value’ $1296. 6million Market Value of equity= Share price ($42. 09) * Shares outstanding (271. 5million) =$11,427. 4million Ratio of debt financing=1,296. 6 / (1,296. 6+11,427. 4) = 10. 19% Ratio of equity financing=11,427. 4/ (1,296. 6+11,427. 4) = 89. 81% WACC=9. 81%*89. 81%+7. 168 %* ( 1-38%)*10. 19% =9. 26% ii.Cost of Debt Market value of debt should be: Current price of debt: $95. 60 Coupon rate: 6. 75%(semiannual) =coupon $3. 375 per 6month Period to maturity: 20 years =40 period Face value: $100 YTM (=cost of debt) =3. 584% (semi annual) =7. 168% (annual) iii. Cost of Equity Using CAPM formula Cost of Equity = 5. 74% (20 year Treasury bond) +0. 69 (Latest beta) *5. 9% (Average premium of the market over Treasury) =9. 81% 3. Calculate the costs of equity using CAPM and the dividend discount model. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method? * CAPM Cost of Equity = 5. 4% (20 year Treasury bond) +0. 69 (Latest beta) *5. 9% (Average premium of the market over Treasury) =9. 81% Advantage:| * CAPM considers only systematic risk, beta. It does not consider company specific risk. * It is useful to see an individual stock in entire portfolio. | Disadvantage:| * Some inputs are hard to reflect the situation of real world. * Relatively difficult to use co mpared to DDM| * DDM Share Price($42. 09) = Dividend($0. 48) / (re –Dividend Growth(5. 5%)) re(Cost of Equity) = 6. 64% Advantage:| * DDM only focuses on an individual stock rather than a portfolio. Always use, when calculating stock price. * Relatively easy to use compared to CAPM. | Disadvantage:| * Results are very sensitive to change when assumptions are inputted| 4. What should Kimi Ford recommend regarding an investment in Nike? RECOMMENDATION: should buy NIKE stock. NIKE stock price should be $58. 22 under the condition WACC, 9. 26%. Currently Nike stock is $42. 09. Now Nike stock is under value by $58. 22 – $42. 09 = $16. 13 per share. Works Referenced Investopedia, ND. M&A, Preferred Shares, Investopedia. [Online] Available at: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/w/wacc. asp [Accessed 1 April 2013].

Competencies Job Analysis

Background to the study Organizations continuously change their processes and structures due to the dynamic forces In the environment (Beer, 1980). Such forces Include; divestiture, changes in technology, working practices, employment legislation, and culture (Appear & Gondola, 1998). This transition often means change in employees' roles and relationships thus the need for systematic Job analysis procedures such as competence analysis to remove ambiguity and Improve role clarity In order to ensure consistency with the new environment.Competence analysis is that part of job analysis that is concerned with functional and behavioral analysis to determine work-based competencies and establish behavioral dimensions that affect Job performance (Armstrong and Baron, 1995). It Is a human resource tool that generates competence profiles that provide human resource baseline data which is utilized to design human resource instruments such as competence based Job descriptions that enhance role clarity in organizations.The success of competence analysis depends on the role incumbents' capacity to uncover acid knowledge and role complexities and the analyst's experience to gulled role incumbents in the process. This removes ambiguity, improves role clarity and enhances reflective learning leading to improved individual and organizational performance (Immune, boss & Buoy, 2003). Many organizations in Uganda and most Sub-Sahara Africa lack this vital human resource tool to produce generic role definitions.This has resulted Into role ambiguity consequently leading took related stress, Job dissatisfaction that reduces organizational commitment and productivity abstinently undermining the overall individual and organizational performance (Immune et a/. , 2003). 1 The importance of Involving role Incumbents In profiling competencies was neglected In the Job analysis exercise carried out In 2003 by Uganda Telecoms Limited (TTL), this culminated into role ambiguity that has persist ed to date.

Argumentation with thematic synthesis of materials Essay

Argumentation with thematic synthesis of materials - Essay Example Nevertheless, issues arose in the U.S. against bilingual education for immigrants. Bilingualism activists argue that in teaching students in the country, teachers must use only the English language as the medium of instruction. Opponents on this argument stated that students must be taught through the use of their native languages before teaching and exposing them to mainstream English classes for in this way they can learn better, which is the primary benefit of bilingualism. However, using the English language as the primary medium of instruction can help immigrants to learn English and to effectively communicate with others; hence, this will present arguments against bilingualism. Literature Review English is considered to be the universal language that is used by individuals from around the globe in order to effectively communicate with others despite of cultural differences. Thus, it is highly important for people to learn how to speak and manipulate the English language. As to M. Mujica, â€Å"children need to learn English to succeed in the real world today† (581). ... By doing so, they will also be able to have greater chances towards achieving their goals and dreams in life. With the help of the English language, they will be able to gain competitive advantage among other nations across the globe. Furthermore, bilingual activists further argued that U.S. must not learn to adjust on the language used by these immigrants. Instead, they must be the one to do the adjustments as they strive to live and start a new life in this foreign country. Part of which is to adopt and learn the English language. Immigrant children must be taught in school using English as the primary medium of instruction and not their native language. Study showed that non-native English speaking children who were taught with the use of the English language from the very beginning learn better and faster as compared to children, who were taught by their native language or bilingualism, before emerging them to mainstream English classes. Activists stated that to avoid confusions in the minds of these immigrant children and to help them to adjust in the norms and standards of the new society they are in, they must learn to adopt the English language (B. Mujica 152). Thereby, allowing non-native English speaking students to learn English effectively as they grow older. Nevertheless, opponents of the English Only movement, headed by James Fallows, strongly argued that teaching non-English speaking students with their native language or using bilingual education will help them in learning and understanding better their lessons, allowing to them acquire outstanding academic performance in school. In this way, it would be easy for children to learn and understand English. This will also serve as a stepping ground for these students in preparing themselves to English