Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Plan - Assignment Example This paper is bringing a report on how marketing solutions assist a brand for its productive and sustainable growth in the market. The report will imply marketing models of analysis and the frameworks that could help launch a selected product in a feasibly selected market. The product selected is â€Å"solar energy systems† which are proposed to be launched in the demanding UAE. The aim here is to apply marketing concepts in order to enable the successful launch of the selected product. The first section of the report will bring the constructive UAE market analysis and the second will imply marketing strategies for enabling successful establishment of the product. The objective is to build the prospect for the brand and its product, by applying all possible successful marketing schemes. With the 2020 scenario, UAE is looking out to revive its business industry. There is a multiple level of governmental plans to make the place a hub for business establishers. The trend of industrial and business growth is massive and at the great numbers as quoted by modern day researchers in UAE. This is showing a rise of demand in the power sector where there are thoughts circulating to bring alternate energy solutions, which are efficient, economic and to the most environmental safety. The need of the market is extensive as the bulk number of offices, production facilities, and factory warehouses are currently operational in UAE. They are requiring efficient power generating systems, systems that could cut the cost, meet the demand and ensure environmental safety. Initiatives are already there to find the most workable alternate energy systems. This to cut dependency on natural gas power generation, that is expensive and much effort taking. Apart from all, it has been assessed that electricity consumption in UAE is far much at the greater rates than in Europe, North America or Asia. In this alarming state, the most workable

Black People and Story Essay Example for Free

Black People and Story Essay What is the relevance of the title in Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Recitatif? † â€Å"Recitatif† is a short story written by Toni Morrison and first published in the anthropology â€Å"Confirmation: An Anthropology of American Women† in 1983. The author creates a pioneering story about the lives of two young girls, Roberta and Twyla, living in an orphanage during a period of racial inequality. Both girls had been taken away from their mothers, one for illness and one for indiscretion. What makes this story unique is that, while the characters are clearly separated by class, neither is affirmed as African American or Caucasian. In order to address the essential social issue of that time, Toni Morrison presents five sections that span many years; the author provides a clear insight of inequality between white and black people. Moreover, with the publication of â€Å"Recitatif†, â€Å"Morrison raised issues engaging middle-class black women whose education and personal achievements create tensions within and outside of the black community† (Fultz). A considerable aspect of this story is the title of the work. â€Å"RecitÐ °tif† is a derivation of the word â€Å"recitative† which may be defined as a spoken singing style used in opera and oratories. A now-obsolete meaning is the rhythm peculiar to any language; furthermore, this word uses the root â€Å"recite† which also has special meaning. To recite, or to tell from memory, exemplifies that the story written by Toni Morrison was from a series of memories. Both of these definitions suggest the episodic nature of this story (Kusumoto). The plot is the key to understanding the meaning of the title. There are five encounters that show what occurs when two people have contradictory memories about the same event. For example, when Twyla realizes that she and Roberta have completely different memories of a significant event, she asks, â€Å"I wouldn’t forget a thing like that. Would I? † (Bakara Bakara). Such uncertainty highlights to the main theme of the story. This instability of memory is expressed through narrative collage â€Å"Recitatif† brings together the rhythms of 2 different lives for 5 short moments that are narrated by Twyla’s voice. The story is, then, in several ways, Twylas â€Å"rÐ µcitatif. † The title of the story accurately conveys some changes in actual voice throughout the text; for example, when Twyla is a younger, it is obvious that the author â€Å"speaks† in a child’s voice. In some cases, it seems that this girl is too thoughtful to be the little child, but the author conveys her voice in such a way that there is no doubt that she is. The sing song voice applies to the narrator as well as to the nature of other characters in the story. Radical changes are visible during Robertas and Twylas meetings; moreover, the sing song nature of race is also a part of the character’s makeup. Each of them shows clues that may be interpreted as rÐ µpresenting a black or white race. That is why readers try to compare the various aspects of the story in order to identify the race it characterizes. This story develops like acts in an opera, presenting its characters at different points in life. Here is an interesting fact: the voice of the narrator grows with its character much as children grow throughout their life. The title describes Morrison’s prose narrative and provides that the use of â€Å"gaps† is an integral part of this story. They are left out purposely by the author so they can be filled in by readers. In the first lines of the story it may seems that â€Å"Recitatif† tells a simple story about the interactions of two girls. Toni Morrison divided this short story into five encounters which describe the ongoing narrative events from the lives of these two women. These interludes imitate the spoken singing style and narrative of the Morrison story implied by its title. The term â€Å"gaps† is suitable for this story because each encounter is separated by long periods of time that leave the reader guessing; as an example, Roberta’s reference to Jimi Hendrix at the meeting in the HÐ ¾ward JÐ ¾hnsons. Before the reference, readers are certainly unsure of the time period of this meeting, but with the mention of this famous pop star, everyone can fill in the gap and realize this part of the story takes place in the 1960s. In conclusion, it can be said that the title of Toni Morrisons story plays an essential role in the story. It accurately conveys the style of writing and the use of different techniques throughout the story. Works cited: Bakara, Imamu Amiri, and Amina Bakara. Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women. 1st ed. Morrow, 1983. Print. Fultz, Lucille P. Toni Morrison: Playing With Difference. University of Illinois Press, 2003. Print. Kusumoto, Jitsuko. Memories of the Daughters from â€Å"Recitatif† to Beloved. . 21-24, 2008. Web. 26 Feb 2013. .

Celsius :: essays research papers

Hot and Cold Winter is coming to the northern hemisphere, and with it, talk of central heating, gloves and scarves, snowfall, and record low temperatures. Monitoring temperatures is part of our everyday life — whether we're talking about the weather, our bodies, central heating, or cooking. In the United States, we typically measure temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. But in other countries, such as England, you'll get the weather forecast in degrees Celsius. Recipes will advise you to bake a pie at 205Â ºC and not 400Â ºF. In fact, the Celsius scale is the most commonly used temperature scale in the world. This week, we have special cause to wonder about the history of this scale, because November 27 is the 300th anniversary of the birthday of the man who invented it. Anders Celsius was born in Sweden in 1701. His parents didn't know that their son's work would one day make their family name an everyday word used by millions of people around the world. Meet Professor Celsius The world Anders lived in was very different than the world we know. Much of the knowledge that we now take for granted — such as the motion of Earth with respect to the Sun and planets — was only beginning to be understood then. In Europe, radical and brilliant scientists, such as Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton, had been developing new and revolutionary ways of understanding the workings of the world and the universe. The era was known as "the Enlightenment," and it was a good time for someone of Anders's ability to be working in the field of science. Anders's talent came from his family of academics: one of his grandfathers was a mathematician and the other an astronomer, and his father, Nils, was a professor of astronomy. As a child, Anders showed a natural flair for mathematics, but he developed a keen interest in astronomy and became a professor at the age of 29. So, how did a clever astronomer come to develop a temperature scale? The answer lies with the weather. When making observations of the night sky, Anders monitored the weather conditions, including the temperature. At the time there were a lot of different kinds of thermometers with different scales — by the time Anders started working on the problem of temperature measurement, around 35 different scales existed. (Compare this number with today, when three main scales are in use — Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin.

Napoleon Bonaparte from 1799 to 1850 Essay

â€Å"His main aim was to himself in power† How far do you agree with this view of Napoleon Bonaparte from 1799 to 1850? Napoleon Bonaparte was created by the revolution of 1789. In his 15 years of ruling, he managed to consolidate many of the aims of the French Revolution., However, whilst doing so, Napoleon also destroyed many aspects of the Revolution, breaking the trust and hope the people of France had in Napoleon when he promised to honour the revolution. Napoleon ruled the way he wanted to stay in power. Napoleon was a war hero to the French people. His great military tactics helped him to rise to power. Napoleon believed that the army is the true nobility of a country. His skills as a general were both tactical and strategical. By 1810, Napoleon had dominated all of Europe; his victory made him popular amongst his people and brought praise. However, it this praise and popularity that urged Napoleon to stay in power. He thought that when one when does bring victory, then the people would soon get bored and uninterested, thus Napoleon became ruthless and tolerate no argument. This was to prove disastrous in his defeat at Waterloo. Napoleon’s constant ambition to go to war and return with victory was his aim of keeping himself in power. Napoleon domestic policies gained the popular support he demanded in order to keep himself in power. He provided France with a strong centralised government, one that he would dominate when he became emperor in 1801, thus he went against the ideals of the French revolution as people of France wished for an end of the Monarch and one man power. Napoleon wanted to keep himself in power and stand against any threats. He also shaped public opinion by crude forms of propaganda, secret agents, arbitrary arrests and executions. Like a dictator, Napoleon relied on public opinion to prevent hostile criticism. This too was against the ideals of the French Revolution. Napoleon now controlled the media, maintaining his position as emperor. As he once said, â€Å"I can no longer obey; I have tested command and I cannot give it up†. Napoleon also used religion to maintain himself in his high position. Although, Napoleon was not religious himself, as he thought it made people meek and mild rather than independent and strong, he knew the French pubic would not understand or agree with him. His aim was to reconcile the church state; this would gain even greater approval from his people. Napoleon was calculating, intelligent and shrewd. Napoleon granted one of the rights mentioned in the declaration of the rights of man as he made Catholicism as the favoured religion of France whilst Jews, Protestants and Catholics could freely practise their religion. By doing this Napoleon had given the people what they wanted increasing his popularity. Napoleon said his aim was the defend the revolution, this is shown in the code Napoleon which incorporated the great principles of 1789 such as the equality before the law, freedom of religion, abortion of serfdom and careers open to talents. However, although the code agreed with most of the people’s interests, it took away some rights especially those of women and children, as Napoleon once said â€Å"Women are nothing but machines for producing children.† Workers were denied collective bargaining, trade unions were outlawed and women were excluded from education according to Napoleon they did not need education only religion. As the he once wrote†Marriage is their whole destination.† Napoleons economic policies were designed to strengthen France and increase his popularity. To secure the economy and please the bourgeoisie, he aided industry through tariffs and loans. He built roads, bridges and canals. His main achievement was the Bank of France which secured Frances economy. Observing what had happened to the men in power before him Napoleon assumed that he would not make the same mistakes, he knew that he must become both a statesmen and a tyrant. However, he became too confident and believed he was more powerful than ever before, as he once wrote â€Å"Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me† While in France he had a police state, he has spies everywhere, he tried to control as much as he could to stay in power. He violated the freedom of the press in article 11, of the declaration of the rights of man, reducing  and censuring the newspapers. Although napoleon changed and improved France, it must be noted that, in his legal reforms especially, all that he was doing was building upon the ideas and activities of other reformers before him. All what he did was consolidation of the achievements and developments of the revolution, there is however absence in social reforms as Napoleon cared little and had not much interest in economic or social matters and did not aim at improving standards of living as he said â€Å" France has more need of me than I have of France.† Thus, although Napoleon changed France and improved its conditions much of it was only done, in order to keep his popularity and maintain his position in power. Napoleon from the start knew he was great, therefore he rose to achieve the power he wanted, like all dictators he has ambition. One that cared more for power than others, one that did not know when the possible ended and the impossible began.

Gender Discrimination Essay

The video is all about the portrayal of comic manual that was released by the United States military in handling situation of homosexuality among its soldiers. The manual is aimed in explaining the necessary steps and procedures in handling homosexual cases to soldiers. It features a particular case of a low rank soldier that was caught to be engaged in a homosexual acts and how his higher command treat him (professionally) towards his discharge because of his engagement in such acts. As the video had shown, the workplace is not a gender-neutral place. This is amplified in the case of a workplace that is considered to have a military orientation as shown in the video. As concluded by Kristen Schilt in the article, in many workplaces, the masculinity of a male is valued that is why feminine males or homosexuals are being undermined and discriminated. Shown in the video, PFC Williams was discharged in the military because of his engagement in the homosexual acts. As stated by Schilt, being a man or masculinity is an attribute that is celebrated in many professions especially in the military. This is because of the association of such attribute to other important characteristics and concepts like authority, prestige and instrumentality that are perceived to be related to highly regarded position such as leaders and managers. In this respect, any form of diversion from masculinity or being a man most especially in the military is discouraged. This drops the idea of a having a free world wherein each individual are respected whoever he or she is. Scenarios like this remind to us that there is still much work to be done for us to attain as situation wherein every individual get the respect that he or she deserve from the society. References MSNBC (n. d. ) Don’t ask, don’t tell: illustrated. The Rachel Maddow Show. Web. Retrieved from [http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/26315908/vp/38252662#38252662] Accessed 2 August 2010. Schilt, K. (2006) Just one of the guys? How Transmen Make Gender Visible at Work. Gender and Society Vol. 20 No. 4. Sociologists for Women in Society. Print. Accessed 2 August 2010. Williams, C. (1992) The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the Female Professions. University of California Press. Print. Accessed 2 August 2010.

Art History

Art History Introduction Art History is an important concept in today’s society especially since it is very resourceful in understanding our past culture, generating positive and useful ideas, and portraying different aspects of meaning among many other reasons (Chin). In this paper, as we try to elaborate the similarities and differences between ziggurats and Khafre’s pyramid of structures, it will be important to make an analysis of the two arts separately in order to have a broad overview of the structures which is discussed below.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Art History- Comparison essay between two figures. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Discussion Ziggurats were strong ancient structures which were built around 2050 BC in one of the most popular region of Mesopotamia valley (Architecturecourses.org). The wonderful structures whose images have been preserved up to date have taken the shapes of pyramid di splaying a creative art that is very attractive due to its beauty. The Ziggurat art is a monument which has been preserved up to date because it was constructed using very strong solid mud-bricks that were covered with a thick cover of burned bricks (Architecturecourses.org). The ziggurats structures were constructed to serve a multiple of cultural and religious practices in this region of Mesopotamia; in fact, the Ziggurat served as an administrative centre for the entire city due to its location (Architecturecourses.org). In addition to this, it also served as a religious place and it has been commonly known that the moon god known as nanna was dwelling here. For this reason, in the building there was an altar and shrine known as the bedchamber which was meant for the gods and was strictly placed at the ziggurat’s pinnacle (Architecturecourses.org). The Khafre’s pyramid is among the most prominent and the second largest pyramid of the ancient Egypt (Bayuk). This monu ment which is also known as the pyramid of Chefren, was constructed by pharaoh’s son who was known as Khafre between the years 2532-2558 B.C and was a constructed using beautiful limestone block making the monument to be very attractive (Bayuk). This pyramid has been preserved up to date and it has a wonderful design that makes it to look very unique in the way the top has been twisted. On the other hand, this pyramid also has an outstanding feature that makes it to be very perceptible; the color and texture of its top plus the unique design makes the pyramid to be very outstanding. The structure of the pyramid is horizontal in shape while its structure is made of very big stones at the bottom and small one at the top (Bayuk). The Khafre’s pyramid was built to be a multi-purpose and one of the major functions that it used to serve was that, it was used as a burial chamber (Bayuk). Inside the pyramid there are many compartments with each being designed to serve a differ ent function; towards the west on one of the passage sides, there is a burial chamber which was very distinct due to its outlook; it was also constructed using limestone beams in a rectangular shape measuring about 14m by 5m in size (Bayuk). On the other hand, inside the pyramids of the original structure, there were many other chambers within that served as stores. Mainly, there was one chamber close to the burial hall that was used for storage of burial equipment and other related materials while on one side also, there was another store but which was rather different from the others (Bayuk). This particular store was used for storing offerings that were to be used at different functions.Advertising Looking for essay on art? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are several instances in which the two monuments are similar; one of the major similarities between the two structures is that, both monuments are pyramid structures that were built in the early period. Although, these structures were accorded different names such as the â€Å"ziggurats† and â€Å"Khafre†, it is no doubt that they were still pyramids even still though they had different shapes; these two pyramids were both dedicated to serve their gods and had been designed to serve many other purposes during this early time of civilization. Additionally, the two monuments were a reflection of the culture and religious values of the people with each structure being designed in respect to the culture of the people around; the pyramid of the Khafre was constructed in manner that it could incorporate the cultural values of people of Egypt while the ziggurats monument was designed in a cultural artists way reflecting the cultural values of Mesopotamia people in the Iranian valley (Bayuk).Notably also is that, both structures had a secluded place for religious practices. A comparison table Pyramids of Khafre Nanna Ziggurat s -Foremost, the two monumental structures are located in different places with the pyramids of Khafre being located in the northern part of Africa in the great land of Egypt (Bayuk). -Secondly, there is the structural differences between these two structures in that, Khafre’s pyramid was a pyramid shaped structures that was build using the big and small limestone blocks in order to make the out look structure appear strong and beautiful as well. Another major difference is pronounced in the functions and purpose of the two structures. The pyramid of the Khafre was used to preserve the body of dead royal family members and other prominent people such as the king and queen; there were tombs for the kings and queen because the pyramids were seen as the gateway between the earthly life and the spiritual world according to the cultural beliefs of Egyptians and they also believed that if the body of the king was preserved here in this building, his spirit would rise and descent to the spiritual world (Bayuk). -While the Ziggurats are terraced pyramids which are located in the Middle East region of the Mesopotamia valley. On the other hand, the Ziggurats monuments are pyramids that were build using the bricks stones that were obtained through burning the bricks in a fire in order to make them fine and strong. -In contrast, the Ziggurats pyramids of the Mesopotamia valley in Iran were designed majorly to serve as temple for worshipping the gods in this region (Architecturecourses.org). However, just like the Khafre’s pyramids, the structures were also believed to be the gateway between the worldly life and the spiritual world but the different appeared in that, the Ziggurats structures were homes of the earthly gods who were adored very much Conclusion Through the study of this historical art, an individual is able to have a deeper and broad understanding relating to the structures of the ancient time. It is quite obvious that, the Nanna Ziggurat s and Khafre’s pyramid were wonderful structures that reflected a great work of art in the early time. Through a broad study of the two structures, it also obvious that, the two structures were similar in one way or the other; although they were also different in a number of numerous ways as already discussed. References Architecturecourses.org. â€Å"The Ziggurat at Ur†. 2010, Web. architecturecourses.org/ziggurat-ur Bayuk, A. â€Å"The Pyramid of Khafre†. 2002, Web. http://guardians.net/egypt/pyramids/Khafre/KhafrePyramid.htm Chin, J. â€Å"The Importance of History†. 2007. Web.

Australopithecus Facts and Figures

Australopithecus Facts and Figures Name: Australopithecus (Greek for southern ape); pronounced AW-strah-low-pih-THECK-us Habitat: Plains of Africa Historical Epoch: Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene (4-2 million years ago) Size and Weight: Varies by species; mostly about four feet tall and 50-75 pounds Diet: Mostly herbivorous Distinguishing Characteristics: Bipedal posture; relatively large brain About Australopithecus Although theres always the possibility that a stunning new fossil discovery will upset the hominid apple cart, for now, paleontologists agree that the prehistoric primate Australopithecus was immediately ancestral to genus Homo- which today is represented by only a single species, Homo sapiens. (Paleontologists have yet to pin down the exact time when the genus Homo first evolved from Australopithecus; the best guess is that Homo habilis derived from a population of Australopithecus in Africa about two million years ago.) The two most important species of Australopithecus were A. afarensis, named after the Afar region of Ethiopia, and A. africanus, which was discovered in South Africa. Dating to about 3.5 million years ago, A. afarensis was about the size of a grade-schooler; its human-like traits included a bipedal posture and a brain slightly bigger than a chimpanzees, but it still possessed a distinctly chimp-like face. (The most famous specimen of A. afarensis is the famous Lucy.) A. africanus appeared on the scene a few hundred thousand years later; it was similar in most ways to its immediate ancestor, although slightly bigger and better adapted to a plains lifestyle. A third species of Australopithecus, A. robustus, was so much bigger than these other two species (with a bigger brain as well) that its now usually assigned to its own genus, Paranthropus. One of the most controversial aspects of the various species of Australopithecus is their presumed diets, which is related intimately to their use (or non-use) of primitive tools. For years, paleontologists assumed that Australopithecus subsisted mostly on nuts, fruits, and hard-to-digest tubers, as evidenced by the shape of their teeth (and the wear on tooth enamel). But then researchers discovered evidence of animal butchering and consumption, dating to about 2.6 and 3.4 million years ago, in Ethiopia, demonstrating that some species of Australopithecus may have supplemented their plant diets with small servings of meat- and may (emphasis on the may) have used stone tools to kill their prey. However, its important not to overstate the extent to which Australopithecus was similar to modern humans. The fact is that the brains of A. afarensis and A. africanus were only about a third the size of those of Homo sapiens, and theres no convincing evidence, aside from the circumstantial details cited above, that these hominids were capable of using tools (though some paleontologists have made this claim for A. africanus). In fact, Australopithecus seems to have occupied a place fairly far down on the Pliocene food chain, with numerous individuals succumbing to predation by the meat-eating megafauna mammals of their African habitat.

A Biography of Geographer Ellen Churchill Semple

A Biography of Geographer Ellen Churchill Semple Ellen Churchill Semple will long be remembered for her contributions to American geography despite her association with the long-disregarded topic of environmental determinism. Ellen Semple was born in the midst of the Civil War in Louisville, Kentucky on January 8, 1863. Her father was a fairly affluent owner of a hardware store and her mother took care of Ellen and her six (or possibly four) siblings. Ellens mother encouraged the children to read and Ellen was especially enamored with books about history and travel. As a young person, she enjoyed horseback riding and tennis. Semple attended public and private schools in Louisville until she was sixteen when she headed off to college in Poughkeepsie, New York. Semple attended Vassar College where she earned her bachelors degree in history at the age of nineteen. She was the class valedictorian, gave the commencement address, was one of thirty-nine female graduates, and was the youngest graduate in 1882. Following Vassar, Semple returned to Louisville where she taught at the private school operated by her older sister; she also became active in local Louisville society. Neither teaching nor social engagements interested her enough, she desired much more intellectual stimulation. Fortunately, she had a chance to escape her boredom. To Europe In an 1887 trip to London with her mother, Semple met an American man who had just completed a Ph.D. at the University of Leipzig (Germany). The man, Duren Ward, told Semple about a dynamic professor of geography at Leipzig named Friedrich Ratzel. Ward loaned Semple a copy of Ratzels book, Anthropogeographie, which she immersed herself in for months and subsequently decided to study under Ratzel at Leipzig. She returned home to finish work on a masters degree by writing a thesis titled Slavery: A Study in Sociology and by studying sociology, economics, and history. She earned her masters degree in 1891 and rushed to Leipzig to study under Ratzel. She obtained accommodations with a local German family in order to improve her abilities in the German language. In 1891, women were not allowed to be enrolled in German universities although by special permission they could be allowed to attend lectures and seminars. Semple met Ratzel and obtained permission to attend his courses. She had to sit apart from the men in the classroom so in her first class, she sat in the front row alone among 500 men. She remained at the University of Leipzeg through 1892 and then returned again in 1895 for additional study under Ratzel. Since she could not enroll at the university, she never earned a degree from her studies under Ratzel and therefore, never actually obtained an advanced degree in geography. Although she Semple was well-known in the geography circles of Germany, she was relatively unknown in American geography. Upon returning to the United States, she began to research, write, and publish articles and began to gain a name for herself in American geography. Her 1897 article in the Journal of School Geography, The Influence of the Appalachian Barrier upon Colonial History was her first academic publication. In this article, she showed that anthropological research could indeed be studied in the field. Becoming an American Geographer What established Semple as a true geographer was her outstanding field work and research into the people of the Kentucky highlands. For over a year, Semple explored the mountains of her home state and discovered niche communities that had not changed much since they were first settled. The English spoken in some of these communities still carried a British accent. This work was published in 1901 in the article The Anglo-Saxons of the Kentucky Mountains, a Study in Antropogeography in the Geographical Journal. Semples writing style was a literary one and she was a fascinating lecturer, which encouraged interest in her work. In 1933, Semple disciple Charles C. Colby wrote about the impact of Semples Kentucky article, Probably this brief article has fired more American students to interest in geography than any other article ever written. There was a strong interest in Ratzels ideas in America so Ratzel encouraged Semple to make his ideas known to the English-speaking world. He asked that she translate his publications but Semple did not agree with Ratzels idea of the organic state so she decided to publish her own book based on his ideas. American History and Its Geographic Conditions was published in 1903. It gained wide acclaim and was still required reading in many geography departments across the United States in the 1930s. Continue to Page Two Her Career Takes Off The publication of her first book launched Semples career. In 1904, she became one of the forty-eight charter members of the Association of American Geographers, under the presidency of William Morris Davis. That same year she was appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of Geography, a position she retained until 1910. In 1906, she was recruited by the countrys first Department of Geography, at the University of Chicago. (The Department of Geography at the University of Chicago was established in 1903.) She remained affiliated with the University of Chicago until 1924 and taught there in alternating years. Semples second major book was published in 1911. Influences of Geographic Environment further expounded on Semples environmental deterministic viewpoint. She felt that climate and geographic location was the major cause of a persons actions. In the book, she cataloged countless examples to prove her point. For example, she reported that those who live in mountain passes are usually robbers. She provided case studies to prove her point but she didnt include or discuss counter examples that could prove her theory wrong. Semple was an academic of her era and while her ideas can be considered racist or exceedingly simple today, she opened up new arenas of thought within the discipline of geography. Later geographic thought rejected the simple cause and effect of Semples day. That same year, Semple and a few friends took a trip to Asia and visited Japan (for three months), China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India. The trip provided a tremendous amount of fodder for additional articles and presentations over the next few years. In 1915, Semple developed her passion for the geography of the Mediterranean region and spent much of her time researching and writing about this portion of the world for the remainder of her life. In 1912, she taught geography at Oxford University and was a lecturer at Wellesley College, the University of Colorado, Western Kentucky University, and UCLA over the course of the next two decades. During World War I, Semple responded to the war effort as did most geographers by giving lectures to officers about the geography of the Italian front. After the war, she continued her teaching. In 1921, Semple was elected President of the Association of American Geographers and accepted a position as a Professor of Anthropogeography at Clark University, a position she held until her death. At Clark, she taught seminars to graduate students in the fall semester and spent the spring semester researching and writing. Throughout her academic career, she averaged one important paper or book each year. Later in Life The University of Kentucky honored Semple in 1923 with an honorary doctorate degree in law and established the Ellen Churchill Semple Room to house her private library. Stricken with a heart attack in 1929, Semple began to succumb to ill health. During this time she was working on her third important book - about the geography of the Mediterranean. Following a lengthy hospital stay, she was able to move to a home adjacent to Clark University and with the help of a student, she published Geography of the Mediterranean Region in 1931. She moved from Worcester, Massachusetts (the location of Clark University) to the warmer climate of Ashevlle, North Carolina in late 1931 in an attempt to restore her health. Doctors there recommend an even milder climate and lower elevation so a month later she moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. She died in West Palm Beach on May 8, 1932 and was buried at the Cave Hill Cemetery in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. A few months after her death, the Ellen C. Semple School was dedicated in Louisville, Kentucky. Semple School is still in existence today. The University of Kentucky Geography Department hosts an Ellen Churchill Semple Day every spring to honor the discipline of geography and its accomplishments. Despite Carl Sauers assertion that Semple was a mere American mouthpiece for her German master, Ellen Semple was a prolific geographer who served the discipline well and succeeded despite tremendous obstacles for her gender in the halls of academia. She definitely deserves to be recognized for her contribution to the advancement of geography.

Chilis strategic market entry plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Chilis strategic market entry plan - Essay Example The initial step begins with identifying the foreign market that the firm wants to explore in. This decision is based on a number of strategic alternatives that underline the market opportunities and strategic orientation of the firm based on defined market needs. Once the decision of the foreign market is made, the next step involves identifying the market entry mode. This involves crucial decision on the firm’s choice of market entry mode and the decision is guided by several factors that require a deeper understanding of the country’s political and legislative environment. The report provides an insight into the market entry plans and strategic marketing alternatives that Chili’s will adopt in order to enter and establish its operations in London markets. The previous report analyzed the market environment and global marketing strategies that can help Chili’s strengthen its market position in London. This report explores the various market entry strateg ies that would be most appropriate for Chili’s and then identifies the marketing mix alternatives available to the company. The report also provides an insight into the suggested organization structure and a review the role of logistics and supply chain in the successful operations of the firm. The findings and recommendations of the report is supported by theoretical models and frameworks that help in explaining the decision making process and its viable impacts. The findings and recommendations of the report is supported.

Toxic leadership more deatails will be up loaded Essay

Toxic leadership more deatails will be up loaded - Essay Example Toxic leaders are of different shapes and sizes. Contextually, intentionally toxic leaders consciously harm others or enrich themselves at the cost of others, while unintentionally toxic leaders cause serious harm to others by their irresponsible behaviour and their incompetence. It is worth mentioning that most of the toxic leaders are relatively not toxic at every time. They may exhibit toxic behaviour in certain circumstances but not in others. Moreover, the degree of toxicity generated by these leaders may not be the same and their toxicity may be varying. At the same time, their actions and the variable degree of toxicity represented by them may result in different form and intensity of harm (Lipman-Blumen, 2005). Behaviour of Toxic Leaders Initially, the behaviours of toxic leaders are appealing but eventually they manipulate, maltreat and demoralize their followers. Ultimately, the toxic leaders are engaged in an array of destructive behaviours. ... deliberate untruth Pretending to be incompetent and misdiagnosing problems and issues Maliciously setting goals and objectives to be achieved by their followers Demonstrating failure to develop and enhance skills and knowledge of their followers Dominating their followers and others by the misuse of their power and position Behaving arrogantly to negatively influence the behaviour of their followers and others Source: (Lipman-Blumen, 2005) Rise and Fall of the Three Leaders in the Context of Walton’s ACE Framework Walton (2007) views leadership behaviour through three lenses that make up ACE framework. Contextually, ACE framework stands for actor, context and external environment. Furthermore, ACE framework from the point of view of Walton, what he considers as ‘Lenses’ has been precisely depicted below: Lens1: observing the behaviour of the executive as actor Lens2: viewing the internal context of the organisation Lens3: re-viewing the external circumstances in w hich the organisation operates Source: (Walton, 2007) In order to evaluate the leadership behaviour of three leaders on the basis of Walton’s ACE framework, the selected leaders’ names include Yulia Tymoshemko, Bob Diamond and George W. Bush. Dimension A: Observing the Behaviour of the Executive as Actor Yulia Tymoshenko as an Actor Yulia V. Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine happened to be the Prime Minister after emerging as a hero of the country’s Orange Revolution that calmly removed pro-Russian regime during the year 2004. However, constant hostility with her allies dragged her government down and as a result of this she was defeated in the presidential election during February 2010 (The New York Times, 2012). Furthermore, in the year 2011, Ms. Tymoshenko was charged with abuse of

Mentorship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Mentorship - Essay Example Most of the fields in healthcare, law, teaching, social works, army, and others are now actively engaging in this form of education. Its objective is to provide the protg a learning opportunity to integrate the theoretical knowledge gained from the classrooms and develop it in practical setting with the advice and support from the mentor. The advice and support may be job related or even personal matters. As the relationship progress, it aims to create the interest and confidence of the protg in carrying out the actual scope of the career. In 1999, Department of Health recognize the value of nurses, midwives and visiting health professionals and one strategic intention is to strengthen pre- and post-education and training. Since it is believed to be an important part of the education process, it will be expected that every practitioner will be responsible enough to support, teach, coach and advise the next generation nurses and midwives. It is aimed to provide high quality medical education and better practical skills by combining teaching and patient care. The importance of clinical practice is further emphasised by the DOH and gives four key areas of practice placements as follows: Providing practice placement Practice learning environment Student support Assessment of practice The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) as endorsed by the NMC, requires the programme to enable students to apply knowledge, understanding and skills to perform the standard for competency and to provide the patients with the healthcare they need under the supervision of the mentor. Mentorship is a special and complex relationship between the mentor and the protg wherein the mentor assumes the role of a parent, teacher, role model, adviser, counsellor or a confidant and the protg as the student or a descendant, so to speak. The success of mentorship, therefore, lies on the relationship of the mentor and the protg. There are factors affecting the mentoring programs that should be attended to. Some of these factors are the attitude of the protges, culture, race, religion and hidden agenda. The protge should be open to new ideas and give his trust to the mentor. Being close in accepting new information, ideas and suggestions makes the attitude a blocking factor for the success of the mentorship objective. In this case, a mentor who has the expertise of dealing with such kind of protge is needed to approach the concern accordingly. The mentor should also have the broad understanding of intercultural awareness. Studies showed that the culture plays a vital role in any relationship such as the mentor-protge relationship. These factors may also be true in the part of the mentor in addition to availability of time.

Topic Developement 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Topic Developement 3 - Essay Example Therefore, this study will attempt to answer the following questions: i. What is the legal definition of bankruptcy and what are the causes and consequences of bankruptcy? ii. What are the various forms of bankruptcy and what are the legal procedures applicable in declaring a company bankrupt? iii. What is the chronological evolution of bankruptcy in the USA? iv. What are the tendencies and signs pointing to bankruptcy of a company and what are the technical financial details of bankruptcy? v. How can bankruptcy be mitigated and what is the role played by other disciplines such as psychology and management in mitigating the effects of bankruptcy? Through answering these questions, it will be possible to thoroughly cover the concept of bankruptcy, right from its evolution to the current state, highlighting the tendencies and the signs indicating that a company is headed for bankruptcy, as well as addressing how the state of bankruptcy can be mitigated. Additionally, the role of certai n disciplines in addressing bankruptcy will be evaluated, to create an understanding of the interrelationships between various disciplines. This study will take the form of qualitative research design, where the historical background of bankruptcy will be analyzed, with a view to understanding the chronological changes in bankruptcy laws, up to the current laws applicable. The study will also take the form of a case study, where it will analyze the historical bankruptcy of certain companies in the USA. The focus of this analysis will be an inquiry into the causes of the bankruptcy, what laws and legal procedures were applied to declare those companies bankrupt and what were the consequences of the declaration of bankruptcy to the company and to tits stakeholders. Further, the study will engage in probing the attempts made by various companies to revive themselves from the state of bankruptcy, and how successful their strategies were, to revive the companies. The study will also enga ge in comparing bankruptcy for different companies, evaluating how such companies addressed the issue of bankruptcy and determining which companies were successful and which ones were not. In so doing, it will be possible to determine the most appropriate strategies that are applicable in addressing the issue of bankruptcy for companies. Additionally, the role of various disciplines such as psychology and management in helping the companies address their state of bankruptcy will be analyzed, with a focus to understanding the relationship between the concept of business, management and psychology. This will be followed by recommendations on how companies can address bankruptcy, based on the success factors identifiable under different company case studies. The effect of bankruptcy in the economy is yet another focus of this study. Bankruptcy offers an individual or an organization the opportunity to start afresh, through forgiving the debts that cannot be paid and strategizing on the way forward (Ekvall & Smiley, 2007). Additionally, the declaration of bankruptcy gives the creditors an opportunity to measure the extent of their debt repayment, based on the assets of the organization that are available. This way, the declaration of bankruptcy is beneficial to the economy, since it serves to untie and set free the resources held by the redundant business, which are then re-invested into the economy with much vigor (Ekvall & Smiley,

Impact of Globalisation and Innovation on the Business Operating Coursework

Impact of Globalisation and Innovation on the Business Operating Strategies of International Financial Institutions and Systems- - Coursework Example This has not only increased international trade but has also nurtured human resource development. Thus, the globalization theories set perfect on the principles of â€Å"Ricardo’s Comparative Theory.† Although, globalization has revolutionized today’s world, there exist opponents of this trend. This includes aid organization such as Oxfam and the G77 countries (Investor Words). History of Globalization The Industrial Revolution seemed to sow the seeds of the globalization that was to come years later. The concept of globalization has gone through several ups and downs. The globalization came to an end after the World War 1 when more countries planned on practicing isolationism (Globalization, Encyclopedia of Business). There were several rules and regulations imposed regarding foreign trade and so treaties were signed that assured barriers to foreign trade in the form of duties and tariffs. The Smooth Hawley Tariffs of 1930 is a famous one (Globalization, Encyclo pedia of Business). However, after World War II, Bretton Woods resulted in the formation of World Bank, International Monetary Fund and General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (Globalization, Encyclopedia of Business). This was the beginning of a new phase of globalization. Later in 1995, GATT was replaced by World Trade Organization that has the main motive of globalization and inculcates in trade in goods, services with the added benefit of an efficient dispute settlement system (Globalization, Encyclopedia of Business). Other trade blocs such as EU, SAARC and agreements such as NAFTA have come into the scene. Financial Globalization and Innovation Over the past two decades some very pronounced changes in the world financial system have been witnessed. All the financial markets of the world have become a complex network woven in a well knitted canopy. The liberalization policy has increased opportunities and varieties all over the globe. Privatization has been on an increase. Addi tionally, new hedging tools such as derivative instruments have been introduced against markets and credit related risks (Chernobai, Rachev & Fabozzi , 2007). Securitization has been adopted as means of trading as well (Chernobai, Rachev & Fabozzi , 2007). The most prominent example of trade liberalization is the European Union. The adoption of a single currency Euro and the inter bloc tariff free trade has empowered the position of the bloc and the currency as well. Financial integration is a similar process by which a strong integrated complex network of financial markets is developed. However, the rule of one price should prevail in these kinds of market which means that the risk-adjusted real return should equalize (Gudmundsson, 2007). The manifestation of globalization is the elimination of concentration of a particular/own country and an increase in cross-border activities. This would include capital investment in cross border projects, investment in assets and liabilities as well as an increase in banking and FDI (Gudmundsson, 2007). There have been certain implications well. According to Gudmundsson (2007), the global integration of the financial markets has not provided insurance against idiosyncratic shocks. Moreover, it has been concluded that due to the volatile nature of the capital stock due to asymmetric information, it has been more a source of shock rather than smoothing. There remain many repercussions of these integrated markets. Due to this increased trend outsourcing, expansion of

Topic Developement 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Topic Developement 3 - Essay Example Therefore, this study will attempt to answer the following questions: i. What is the legal definition of bankruptcy and what are the causes and consequences of bankruptcy? ii. What are the various forms of bankruptcy and what are the legal procedures applicable in declaring a company bankrupt? iii. What is the chronological evolution of bankruptcy in the USA? iv. What are the tendencies and signs pointing to bankruptcy of a company and what are the technical financial details of bankruptcy? v. How can bankruptcy be mitigated and what is the role played by other disciplines such as psychology and management in mitigating the effects of bankruptcy? Through answering these questions, it will be possible to thoroughly cover the concept of bankruptcy, right from its evolution to the current state, highlighting the tendencies and the signs indicating that a company is headed for bankruptcy, as well as addressing how the state of bankruptcy can be mitigated. Additionally, the role of certai n disciplines in addressing bankruptcy will be evaluated, to create an understanding of the interrelationships between various disciplines. This study will take the form of qualitative research design, where the historical background of bankruptcy will be analyzed, with a view to understanding the chronological changes in bankruptcy laws, up to the current laws applicable. The study will also take the form of a case study, where it will analyze the historical bankruptcy of certain companies in the USA. The focus of this analysis will be an inquiry into the causes of the bankruptcy, what laws and legal procedures were applied to declare those companies bankrupt and what were the consequences of the declaration of bankruptcy to the company and to tits stakeholders. Further, the study will engage in probing the attempts made by various companies to revive themselves from the state of bankruptcy, and how successful their strategies were, to revive the companies. The study will also enga ge in comparing bankruptcy for different companies, evaluating how such companies addressed the issue of bankruptcy and determining which companies were successful and which ones were not. In so doing, it will be possible to determine the most appropriate strategies that are applicable in addressing the issue of bankruptcy for companies. Additionally, the role of various disciplines such as psychology and management in helping the companies address their state of bankruptcy will be analyzed, with a focus to understanding the relationship between the concept of business, management and psychology. This will be followed by recommendations on how companies can address bankruptcy, based on the success factors identifiable under different company case studies. The effect of bankruptcy in the economy is yet another focus of this study. Bankruptcy offers an individual or an organization the opportunity to start afresh, through forgiving the debts that cannot be paid and strategizing on the way forward (Ekvall & Smiley, 2007). Additionally, the declaration of bankruptcy gives the creditors an opportunity to measure the extent of their debt repayment, based on the assets of the organization that are available. This way, the declaration of bankruptcy is beneficial to the economy, since it serves to untie and set free the resources held by the redundant business, which are then re-invested into the economy with much vigor (Ekvall & Smiley,

Design a balanced scorecard and linked strategy map and evaluate the Essay

Design a balanced scorecard and linked strategy map and evaluate the techniques used - Essay Example Thornton Chocolate Company has been going through a rough phase, as the company has to deal with consecutive losses. In this scenario development of balanced scorecard and strategic map for guidance become necessary for the company. A comprehensive discussion on balanced scorecard and the key performance indicators, targets, and objectives of the company are also ascertained to develop a strategic map for the company. The strategic map will put forward the strategies by which Thorntons Chocolate Company can pull up sales, minimise cost and increase their market share in the industry. The balanced scorecard has identified the unfavourable effect of performance indicators and stated strategies to pull up company’s performance. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Vision and Mission of Thorntons Chocolate Company 5 Strategic Direction 5 Balanced Scorecard 7 Balanced Scorecard and Thornton Chocolate Company 9 Strategic Map 12 Recommendations 13 References 15 Append ices 16 Appendix 1 16 Appendix 2 16 Appendix 3 18 Appendix 4 19 Appendix 5 20 Introduction Thorntons Chocolate Company was established in the year 1911, in Derbyshire, UK. The company was established by Joseph William Thornton and after the recent takeover of Cadbury it became the largest independent confectionary and chocolate company. Thorntons Chocolate Company has more than 360 cafes and shops and apart from this, it also owns 230 franchises that offer commercial, internet and mail order services. The revenue of the company decreased to ?217,144 million in 2012, which was ?218,255 million in 2011. This reveals a decline in revenue by 0.51percent and the company is also running at a loss since past few years. Thorntons Chocolate Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and it has more than 4200 employees. Presently the company holds around 7.9 percent of market share in the chocolate industry of UK, which the management expects would increase in the coming years (Jennings, 2005). Reasons like dull marketing, dismal display, or unappealing packaging are being put forward for escalating profit warnings for Thorntons Chocolate Company. The company however, blames it on the climatic condition and snow. Britain’s largest chocolate company has revealed a decrease of 23 percent in chocolate sales in the recent times. The franchises and shops are struggling hard to sell their products in the market. Even the share prices have fallen by 30 percent in the last 1 year, which is also posing as a profit warning for the company. Thorntons Chocolate Company was one of the best selling brands on High street, but the future projections do not reveal the same picture (Jennings, 2005). This study aims to develop a balanced scorecard for Thorntons Chocolate Company and link it to a strategic map. Keeping in mind the recent turn of events and financial position of the company, the balanced score card would be developed and strategic map would be prepared, so that t he management of the company can identify ways of reviving the company’s position and pull it up to the place that Thorntons Chocolate Company had, as one of the largest Chocolate makers (Haberberg, 2008). Vision and Mission of Thorntons Chocolate Company Thorntons Chocolate Company enjoy a 100 years of heritage of treating its customers with delicious confectionaries and chocolate. The vision of the company is â€Å"

The Artist Essay Example for Free

The Artist Essay Describe what Spoon Feeding is in cinema. What example did we watch in class? The actor in that film spoke four words to the camera what are those words? How did the speaking of those lines spoon feed what was obviously depicted prior to that dialogue? Spoon feeding in cinema is a device used by directors to plainly state to the audience exactly what happened. Sometimes it may be obvious, such as the example we watched in class. Schwarzeneggers character, Dutch says aloud after the Predator passes him over, He couldnt see me. The audience has certainly already realized that the predator couldnt see him. This sort of device has the ability to be used artistically but in this case it really Just seems a little belittling to the audience. 2- Describe the use of body language in Peter and the Wolf, how was this achieved in the film? Peter and the Wolf, being a silent film, depended largely on character body language to illustrate concepts. Each character was specifically defined in their motions. Peter was curious and sneaky. You could sense caution in the way that he moved and looked at things- the eyes were very telling. The duck, carefree and goofy, flipped, flopped, and plopped all over the place. The wolf was dangerous yet noble, his posture was very distinct. The music in the film helped to magnify that body language. 3- Describe the scenes and what form of communication is depicted when pretense is revealed in 2001 a space odyssey and One flew over the Cuckoos nest 2001 : Pretense is revealed when the two men speak in secret while in the pod. HAL, despite being cut off from audibility of the other two, is still able to see the men speaking. All sound in the film cuts off and the camera zooms in to the mens lips oving, panning back and forth between the two mens conversation. Not knowing that he can see them, they continue to conspire against HAL as he reads their lips. OFOTCN: The most obvious pretense in One Flew would be Chiefs unveiling to Mac that he does indeed speak and can understand everything around him. The men sit on a bench awaiting treatment and Mac offers Chief a stick of gum. He takes it and thanks him. In Macs moment of bewilderment Chief goes on to say Ah, Juicy fruit. To which Mac is simply overjoyed. The difference between the two being that one Describe director Stanly Kubricks use of the absence of sound used in 2001 a space odyssey Kubricks use of silence is all too relevant in 2001. With so many long drawn out shots of the ship, he does well to remind the audience that the scene is set in space. Space, by nature, is a vacuum and for that is void of all sound. This really helps to put the audience up there with the astronauts. In many scenes which he doesnt use are those involving the processes of HAL. It kind of suggests that he is cold and collected. He is not a human with a heartbeat. His processes are silent. Looking back on the cene where HAL witnesses the other two astronauts speaking secretly the audience hears nothing. This silence is his processing. Its his cold logic and elaborates planning of what to do in order to preserve himself. 5- Describe director John doormans use of sound in Hell in the Pacific. Describe Jane Campions use of sound in The Piano. What kinds of sounds do both films have in common? I absolutely loved the sound used in Hell in the Pacific. Much of it was so wild and chaotic, not dissimilar the trapped mens situation. doorman embellished the sound of water in several instances; waves crashing, water droplets, rain. Its probably one of the most important props in the film; after all, you cannot live very long without water. Campion used music very creatively to establish setting and give characters a means of expression. Ada would play, Baines would lust after her music, Flora would sing. Both films, though portray water in very deliberate ways. The Piano begins and ends with the main characters crossing over water to a new home. It seems like the water is trapping Ada here on this island and the first indication of what would be a difficult Journey is the wave crashing upon her and the piano while she played it on he beach. This scene is similar to the one in which the Japanese man, while on lookout, had water crash through his fort, if you will call it that. 6- Billy and Flora While the two characters serve very different purposes in their respective films they are alike in that they have very childlike attitudes. Flora actually is a child and her actions are expected of one of her age. Billy, on the other hand, possesses the shyness and demeanor that a child might but it is most likely attributed to his mental affliction. The two both wear their emotions on their sleeve. Flora very vividly xpresses her disapproval of Ada attempts to contact Baines through her and goes so far as to, twice, betray her own mother. Billy is easily flustered by social situations, is often seen in The Piano entertaining herself. She has a wild imagination and will talk to Just about anyone. Billy tends to hang around the other patients but is still well reserved. He has nervous tendencies; stuttering, lack of eye contact, closed off body language. Another stark contrast between our two youthful characters is that they lie on opposite sides of their respective communication spectrum. Flora acts as a translator for Ada. When Ada wants to be heard she signs to Flora and Flora speaks for her, whereas it seems as though Billy is the one that needs a voice in One Flew. An example of this is during the therapy session when he is clearly uncomfortable and would rather not speak on the subject. It is here that another patient speaks up and suggests that maybe Billy doesnt want to talk about this particular subject. 7- Stewart and Nurse Ratched Two intriguing characters. They are both antagonists to their stories but both seem unaware, at least outwardly that that is their place. Their antagony does not seem to be misplaced though. Nurse Ratched is the head nurse; I think her character is a little deeper than Stewarts. It seems there are many levels to her. Initially she appears as a good well-kept nurse. She is soft spoken yet direct in her tone. It later becomes more apparent that she is more controlling than one might have initially thought. The ward is her world. What she says goes. And even when the patients play her game she always is the victor; the vote, for instance, despite there being Just enough votes to trump her she still refused the boys the baseball game. Its really hard to say whether she is really truly bad though. As head nurse it is her Job to maintain absolute order. In a facility such as the setting she is right to say that even the slightest change would potentially provoke certain patients to cause a difficult situation. Steward, on the other hand, despite his wealth and position he doesnt have complete control. He wants control but Adas will is too strong. Stewart goes to great efforts to try to keep her caged but she prevails. Even when he violently cuts off her finger she does waiver. Even Stewards anger and upset (not necessarily his actions) are understandable. He has brought Ada over to marry him and love him but ever for a moment is this what she wants. Hes frustrated but he truly does try to make her happy. When he cannot please her he falls apart. Ada and the Chief The most obvious similarity is the characters silence the two share. You do at some point in both films get the experience the voice of the characters; Ada, while she narrates the beginning and end of the film and Chief, while he and Mac patiently wait for their punishment and enjoy a stick of gum together. While the Adas and the Chiefs silence is chosen I feel that Chiefs is more of free will than Adas silence. The Chief only ad opted silence as a way to protect himself while in the institution. Ada accustomed to it not only as a habit but as a lifestyle. Youth is when you develop your personality Even in the film it is evident that Chief is effluent in his speaking abilities. When Ada begins to speak again she has a difficult time because she simply never learned to do it well. They both seemed to be hiding themselves somehow. Its unsure exactly what might be affecting Ada, maybe a childhood event of some sort. It does seem clear that Chief is affected by two clashing cultures. His mother is white nd his father native American. His father lost himself in alcohol, he is clearly affected. 9- Mac and Baines Mac and Baines are both deviants to their cultures. They have both been shunned and placed outside of society on one way or another. Baines seemed to have disagreed with his own culture so much he went so far as to remove himself completely from it. He actual mingled into the Maori culture, the natives of the land. In this culture some of the social mores of the colonial white culture are accepted with open arms. Baines is a very emotionally expressive character and he chose to join an expressive culture. Mac is most certainly deviant. But where Baines is more of an introverted deviant Mac displays extroversion in spades. He comes from a workhouse. He was kicked out for getting into a fght with another worker. He chose to run with the verdict that he was crazy because it meant that he would not have to go to Jail. They are both very sexual. Baines provokes a sexually driven relationship between an initially unwilling Ada. He knows what he is doing is unacceptable and its certainly done in secret. Mac, our Type A personality has no qualms about keeping his sexual life and desires out in the open. He has no discretion in discussing it and is very eager in encouraging others, such as Billy to do the same.

Equity of Access in the Australian Healthcare System

Equity of Access in the Australian Healthcare System The Concept of Equity of Access in the Australian Healthcare System The Australian health care system is founded on the concept of equity of Access. Discuss this Statement with relation to the concepts of Effectiveness and efficiency and any interrelation that may exist. Introduction: As Stated in National Health Reform Agreement-Equity of Access is the fundamental base of the Australian Health Care System (DHA. 2013a). Effectiveness, which focuses on ratio of outputs to outcomes and efficiency, which defines as achieving maximum outputs with available inputs or resources, these are other elementary component of the Australian Health Care System. Equity, effectiveness and efficiency these represents ideal health care system, which tends be effective and efficient and able to achieve the efficacy (specified outcomes) in a way that maximize access (distribution); Productivity (output) and outcomes within the resource provided (NHHRC. 2009. P.4). Responsibilities like funding, delivery regulation is shared by the national state government of Australia makes the Australian Health Care system universally accessible within the people (AIHW, 2000). Public hospitals community care funding is joined effort of common wealth (i.e. federal government), states territories where common wealth use its revenue and tax to fund most of hospital medical service health research (Common wealth Department of Health age care, 2000). Since 1990’s National State health Minister worked alongside of many health care professional to develop a certain Universal framework to assessing the Australian health system (NHPC, 2000). A new framework for measurement of Australian health performance was inspired from Canadian Health information Roadmap Initiative Indicator framework, which was commenced by NHPC (NHPC, 2001). Equity: Equity in health and health care with context of social objective can be defined in many different ways. As Amarty sen argued, when we talk equity we forget to ask on fundamental question ‘equity of what?’ (Sen, A.,1992). But for the context of our knowledge and study we base our understanding on the definition of culyer wagstaff, ‘the appropriate positive criteria for mormative judgement regarding equity in distribution of health and health care is equality of health status and health care access (Culyer, A.J., Wagstaff, A., 1993). By adding the equality in the process of equity gives the sense of clear fairness to the consumer. But equality is not equity; equality is just simply described as similarity of status, capacity and opportunity. Equity is an ethical value. A unequal opportunity of being healthy associated by people in socially less privileged groups such as poor people, different racial people to others native land, religious ethnic group, women and rural resident is reduced by equity in health ( Braverman, P. Gruskin, S., 2003). Further Braverman et.al stated that the equity in health pursued by eliminating disparities of health that are connected with certain social disadvantage or marginalized or disfranchised community and group within, but may not be limited to the poor. This definition argues for need for the health care services by individuals which is completely result of both of their medical condition and their social condition. As we know the problem of health care system is not only related to the inequity in health. According to Mathews, social, cultural and educational and more or less classical medical causes are related to the poor health of the indigenous Australian (Mathews, C., 2003). Equity of Access: Equity in health has been spoken and written frequently by many economist but they never tends to do or continue to do more consistently, clearly passionately. As Gavin Mooney stated, ‘equity means equal access to equal care for equal needs,’ (Gavin, M., 2003). Since 1960’s quest for equity in health has been major issue and concern to Australian health care system. The introduction of Medibank in 1975 and reinstatement as Medicare in 1984 was the most significant development in term of equity of access after the access of financial barrier (Scotton, R. B., Macdonald, C. R., 1993). The equity of health service and the consultation time frame for consumer of lower socio-economic status and consumer of high socio-economic status doesn’t shorten by breaking and disappearance of financial barrier (Furler, J.S., et.al 2002). The result in context of other dimension of equity is not good. Access of health care (both primary and hospital care) in term of geograp hical equity is significantly different between urban and rural area. Fewer doctors per 1000 population in rural Australia relative to urban area is the best example to describe the complex nature of geographic equity in simple. Rural communities considered access of specialist service, access to hospital service to be a problem due to traveling of significant distance to gain and access those service. Equity of Outcome: Environmental factor and the quality of health care provided equally affects the result of equity of outcomes. Major Policy attention is needed by the appalling health status of our Aboriginal Torres strait Islander population is one of the best example is equity of outcomes. By action in health sector will not remedied the factor Affecting health status, issue of dignity, identity and justice should be the strategy for the improvement of the health status of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander. Reconciliation is one of the key elements required for progress further (Jackson, L.R., Ward, J.E., 1999). Efficiency: What is efficiency? According to Farrell efficiency is production of maximum amount of outputs from given amount of input or alternatively minimum input quantities producing a given amount of output (Farrell, M.J. 1957). It is referred as to a concrete goal oriented index indicating how well socially desirable health system is achieved desirable. Health Service efficiency is also considered to be great important dimension of quality health because service affordability is affected by it with the context of limited available resources in health care. Efficient service means providing optimal service and care to patient and community rather than maximum care to patient and community; it is about providing greatest benefit with available resource (Brown, L.D., et.al 1992). One of the key criteria for evaluating the health care system is efficiency. According to the economic point of view, efficiency divided into two key elements; allocative efficiency and technical efficiency. Allocative efficiency: To provide best outcomes health care system dependent on distribution and allocation of resources; technical efficiency, effectiveness and priority are involved in the process of best outcomes. The optimized ratio of outputs to outcomes, which is also known as effectiveness is the second key element of allocative efficiency. The priority setting in term of overall ratio of inputs to outcomes is the third and last element of allocative efficiency. Technical efficiency: Flexibility and adaptability to change and innovation of health care system as a whole and as its constituent elements, is known as technical efficiency. Development of casemix measure for hospital services by palmer was a unique contribution both nationally and internationally (Palmer, G.R., et al, 1986; Palmer, G.R., 1991). Over last decades significant improvement in allocative efficiency was achieved after introduction of casemix funding in Victoria in 1993 (Duckett, S.J., 1995). There have been constantly adaptations of new technologies (like drugs, surgical instrument, surgical technique and diagnostic instrument technique) since the development of Australian Health Care system. Over the decades of increase in publication and citation, Australia has been able to build up strong and dynamic medical research system (Butler, L., 2001). Comprise of allocative efficiency technical efficiency gives ‘overall efficiency’, firm can operate on cost or revenue frontier if i t’s able to achieve overall efficiency. Effectiveness: It acts as a key dimension for achieving desirable outcomes with correct provision of evidence based health care service to all who couldn’t benefit, but not to those who would not benefit (Aran, O.A., et.al 2003; WHO, 2000). Donabedian argued then effectiveness is the extent to which attainable improvements in health are in fact attained (Donabedian, A., 2002; Donabedian, A., 1982). In same way Juran Godfrey argued effectiveness to be the degree to the process which result in desired outcomes without any error (Juran, J. Godfrey, A.B., 1999). The ratio of output to outcome is optimized by effectiveness. Out of number of elements, ‘efficacy’ act as one of key component to the certain extent of which health care sector output leads to the ideal outcomes under best ideal condition (Cochrane, A.L., 1972). The major objective is to ensure the actual effectiveness (in term of ratio of outputs to actual outcomes) which helps to move closer to objective. Effectiveness is the dimension of Australian Health Care which explicitly includes time element, so we can evaluate whether the health intervention are primarily achieve the desired and appropriate outcome within the time frame. The interventions are the care must be provided to people most needed is advocated and supported by effectiveness framework. Early detection and prevention performance within a population area is the indicators for the effectiveness. Effectiveness conceptualize framework of health care system as dimension of performance where â€Å"care/intervention/action† achieves the desired result in an appropriate time frame (NHPC, 2001). Norms and specification at central level defines effectiveness to be an important dimension of quality. Effectiveness issue should be handle in local level too, where manager implement norms and work on how to adapt them to local condition. Actual outcomes (effectiveness) for an intervention or system is affected by numerous factor like the care system design, surrounding environment of discharge patient, safety of device manufactured pharmaceuticals used and care quality. Proof of evidence of significant level of preventable adverse events occurring in hospital leading to drastic outcomes can be provided by the quality in Australian health care study (Wilson, R.M.et al., 1995). As stated by McDermott, it is suggested that large number of death related to trauma can be preventable or potentially are preventable, which is has be documented after analysis of care following trauma (McDermott, F.T.et al., 1996). These study shows that there are important effectiveness issues in Australian healthcare system with respect to quality of care and it can be described as inability to provide high-quality care. Interaction between equity, efficiency and effectiveness: The concept of equity, effectiveness and efficiency in term of health input and its outcomes are internationally tackle by WHO and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) to reflect an economic way of thinking. Due to growing concern about safety, service delivery and quality of patient care there have been interesting trends of implicit and explicit link between the concept of equity, efficiency and effectiveness, which is understandable (Berwick, D.M., 1998). As we know second element of allocative efficiency is optimized ration of outputs to outcomes which is also known as effectiveness. Which shows that efficiency and effectiveness are linked and interacted? After the implementation of equity, sick individuals who seek help have their need meet. The value of treatment provided by health service organization is equally distributed to the people in need. With the equity you are not judge or treated and cared on the basis of your fame, fortune, you ability to p ay. When the resource is equally distributes between the need of people then equity taken an affect and when there is the equity then we can evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care service of that organization or of any country. Conclusion: Health policy where attributes and value plays prominent role, ideological driven problem related to it are inevitable as part of the policy. Perception of problem is affected by attributes and value which plays significant role in policy academics so as to attempt to shape public debate for making rational and reality based perception. There are many problem identified in the context of equity of access in the Australian healthcare system based on efficiency and effectiveness by many writers like Palmer, Wilson, McDermott, Jackson wards, Farrell and many more; even the solution to that problem have been presented by them but we haven’t yet identify the problem and adopted the solution presented by them. But important aspect is that progress are being made and hopefully health care system will experience continuous improvement in near future. References : Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2000). Australia’s Health 2000. Canberra Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2008). Australia’s Health 2008, Canberra Arah, O. A., Klazinga, N. S., Delnoij, D. M. J., Ten Asbroek, A. H. A., Custers, T. (2003). Conceptual frameworks for health systems performance: a quest for effectiveness, quality, and improvement.International Journal for Quality in Health Care,15(5), 377-398. Berwick, D. M. (1998). Developing and testing changes in delivery of care.Annals of Internal Medicine,128(8), 651-656. Braveman, P., Gruskin, S. (2003). Poverty, equity, human rights and health. Bulletin of the World Health organization,81(7), 539-545 Brown, L. D., Franco, L. M., Rafeh, N., Hatzell, T. (1992).Quality assurance of health care in developing countries. Quality assurance project. Butler, L. (2001).Monitoring Australias Scientific Research: Partial indicators of Australias research performance. Australian Academy of Science. Canberra Cochrane, A. L. (1972). Effectiveness and Efficiency (Rock Carling Fellowship, 1971).Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust. Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, (2000). Australian Health Care Agreements Annual Performance Reports 1998–1999. Canberra: Common Wealth of Australia. Culyer, A. J., Wagstaff, A. (1993). Equity and equality in health and health care.Journal of health economics,12(4), 431-457. Department of Health (DHA) (2013). National Health Reform Agreement. Donabedian, A. (1982). Explorations in quality assessment and monitoring. Vol. 2. The criteria and standards of quality.Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press. Donabedian, A. (2002).An introduction to quality assurance in health care. Oxford University Press. Duckett, S. J. (1995). Hospital payment arrangements to encourage efficiency: the case of Victoria, Australia.Health Policy,34(2), 113-134. Farrell, M. J. (1957). The measurement of productive efficiency.Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General), 253-290. Furler, J. S., Harris, E., Chondros, P., Davies, P. P., Harris, M. F., Young, D. Y. (2002). The inverse care law revisited: impact of disadvantaged location on accessing longer GP consultation times.Medical Journal of Australia,177(2), 80-83. Jackson, L. R., Ward, J. E. (1999). Aboriginal health: why is reconciliation necessary?.The Medical Journal of Australia,170(9), 437-440. Juran, J., Godfrey, A. B. (1999). Quality Handbook.Republished McGraw-Hill. Matthews, C. (2003). Caught in a vicious cycle.Australian Medicine,15(12),16. McDermott, F. T., Cordner, S. M., Tremayne, A. B. (1996). Evaluation of the medical management and preventability of death in 137 road traffic fatalities in Victoria, Australia: an overview.Journal of Trauma-Injury, Infection, and Critical Care,40(4), 520-535. Mooney, G. H. (2003).Economics, medicine and health care. 3rd ed. London: Pearson Education. National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission. (2009). A healthier future for all Australians: Final report of the national health and hospitals reform commission. National Health Performance Committee (NHPC) (2000). Fourth National Report on Health Sector Performance Indicators – A Report to the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference. Sydney: New South Wales Health Department National Health Performance Committee (NHPC) (2001). National Health Performance FrameWork Report. Brisbane: Queensland Health. Palmer, G. R., Aisbett, C., Reid, B., Jayawardena, Y. (1986). The validity of Diagnosis Related Groups for use in Victorian public hospitals: report to the Department of Health, and of Management and the Budget.Victoria, Kensington, University of New South Wales. Palmer, G. R. (1991). The use of DRGs in the management and planning of hospital services.Australian Economic Review,24(1), 62-70. Scotton, R. B., Macdonald, C. R. (1993).The making of Medibank(No. 76). School of Health Services Management, University of New South Wales. Sen, A. (1992).Inequality reexamined. Oxford University Press. Wilson, R. M., Runciman, W. B., Gibberd, R. W., Harrison, B. T., Newby, L., Hamilton, J. D. (1995). The quality in Australian health care study.Medical Journal of Australia,163(9), 458-471. World Health Organization. (2000).The world health report 2000: health systems: improving performance. World Health Organization.

Good Advice is Hard to Find Essay -- Personal Narratives

Good Advice is Hard to Find Advice is something that is very important in my life and in the life of most others. It allows us to ask another person their feelings and experiences about certain situations they have encountered in his/hers lifetime and then attempt use that information to help yourself. Good advice however is hard to come by. My dad has many stories that begin with, â€Å"Well when I was your age†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is an example of bad advice. It is hard to relate what he experienced to my life, because of the generations of difference. Good advice to me is something that I ask for, and in my past, has come from people who know me extremely well. I agree with most in that good advice can come from anyone, but the best has come from my friends. They know my feelings in general and how I have reacted to certain situations in my past. In general, advice also needs to come from someone I trust and respect. I also tend to listen more closely and see how I can adapt it to my life if the advice has come from someone who is close to me, especially if it is someone who I believe t...

Chopra & Meindl

1. Consider a supermarket deciding on the size of its replenishment order from Proctor & Gamble. What costs should it take into account when making this decision? The main cost categories for the supermarket’s inventory policy are material costs, ordering costs, and holding costs. Material cost is the money paid to Proctor and Gamble for the goods themselves. Ordering costs, also called procurement costs, are incurred by requesting the goods from the supplier and are fixed in the sense that they do not vary with the size of the order. Examples of such fixed costs are the labor required to place the order, handle the resultant paperwork and the transportation fee to ship the order. The holding cost is the cost to carry one unit in inventory for a specified period of time, usually one year. This cost is variable and includes the cost of capital and all of the costs associated with physically storing inventory – shrinkage, spoilage or obsolescence, insurance, the cost of capital, the cost of the warehouse space, etc. 2. Discuss how various costs for the supermarket change as it decreases the lot size ordered from Proctor & Gamble. As the lot size ordered from the supplier decreases, the holding cost (variable with respect to lot size) decreases. As the lot size decreases, the ordering cost remains the same, but the annual ordering cost will rise since the total number of orders each year must increase. As the lot size decreases, the cost of the materials will drop on a per-order basis but will stay the same on an annual basis since total annual demand hasn’t changed. The exception to this occurs if the supplier has a price break for an order size above a certain threshold; in this case the cost of the goods might increase if the reduced order size is not sufficient to trigger a substantial per unit discount. 3. As demand at the supermarket chain grows, how would you expect the cycle inventory measured in days of inventory to change? Explain. As the demand at the supermarket chain grows, we would expect the cycle inventory as measured in days of inventory to also increase, although the increase in cycle inventory is only 40% of the increase in demand. This is because the relationship between the optimal lot size Q* and the annual demand D is [pic]. Since D is under the radical, its doubling to 2D does not translate to a jump from a Q* to a 2Q* order; it translates to a jump from a Q* to a 1. 4Q* order. 4. The manager at the supermarket wants to decrease the lot size without increasing the costs he incurs. What actions can he take to achieve his objective? One action would be to simply decrease the lot size and let the robust nature of the EOQ model work its magic. The total cost curve on either side of the optimal order quantity, the Q*, is relatively flat, so movements in either direction have little impact on total annual procurement and carrying costs. If greater cuts in lot size are desired, the manager can aggregate multiple products in a single order. Recall that the EOQ model is based on a one-product-at-a-time assumption; if multiple products are aggregated, then the fixed procurement cost is spread over all of the items and dramatic lot size reductions are possible. If the same products are being ordered by another supermarket in the same chain (or at least by stores that are willing to cooperate) the combined orders can be delivered by a single truck making multiple stops, thereby reducing transportation expense. Other techniques that should be deployed when aggregating across product lines include advanced shipping notices and RFID tags that will make inventory tracking and warehouse management simpler. 5. When are quantity discounts justified in a supply chain? Quantity discounts are justified in a supply chain as long as they are the fruits of a coordinated supply chain and maximize total supply chain profits. For commodity products for which price is set by the market, manufacturers with large fixed costs per lot can use lot size-based quantity discounts to maximize total supply chain profits. 6. What is the difference between lot size-based and volume-based quantity discounts? Lot size discounts are based on the quantity purchased per lot, not the rate of purchase. Lot size-based discounts tend to raise cycle inventory in the supply chain by encouraging retailers to increase the size of each lot. Lot size-based discounts make sense only when the manufacturer incurs a very high fixed cost per order. For commodity products for which price is set by the market, manufacturers with large fixed costs per lot can use lot size-based quantity discounts to maximize total supply chain profits. Volume discounts are based on the rate of purchase or volume purchased per specified time period. Volume-based discounts are compatible with small lots that reduce the cycle inventory. If the manufacturer does not incur a very high fixed cost per order, it is better for the supply chain to have volume-based discounts. For products for which a firm has market power, volume-based discounts can be used to achieve coordination in the supply chain and maximize supply chain profits. 7. Why do manufacturers such as Kraft and Sara Lee offer trade promotions? What impact do trade promotions have on the supply chain? How should trade promotions be structured to maximize their impact while minimizing the additional cost they impose on the supply chain? Manufacturers use trade promotions to offer a discounted price and a time period over which the discount is effective. The goal of manufacturers such as Kraft and Sara Lee is to influence retailers to act in a way that helps the manufacturer achieve its objectives. These objectives may include increased sales, a shifting of inventory from manufacturer to retailer, and defense against the competition. Trade promotions may cause a retailer to pass through some or all of the promotion to customers to spur sales, which increases sales for the entire supply chain. What happens more frequently in practice is that retailers may choose to pass through very little of the promotion to customers, purchase in greater quantities, and hold this cheaper inventory in greater quantities. This action increases both cycle inventory and flow times within the supply chain. Trade promotions should be structured such that a retailer’s optimal response benefits the entire supply chain, i. e. , retailers limit their forward buying and pass along more of the discount to end customers. If the manufacturer has accumulated excessive inventory, then a trade promotion may provide sufficient incentive to the buyer to forward buy, thus drawing inventories down to an appropriate level. The manufacturer may be able to smooth demand by shifting it to a period of anticipated low demand with a trade promotion. Research has shown that trade promotions by the manufacturer are effective for products with high deal elasticity that ensures high pass-through (passing the discount on to the consumer) and high holding costs that ensure low forward buying, paper goods being the poster child for this combination. Trade promotions are also more effective with strong brands relative to weak brands and may make sense as a competitive response. 8. Why is it appropriate to include only the incremental cost when estimating the holding and order cost for a firm? The cycle inventory models discussed in the chapter are robust; thus incremental (variable) costs per lot size are more important than costs that are fixed with respect to lot size. The labor component of procurement or setup costs may be salaried; therefore changes in lot size do not impact this component.

Aging U.S. Infrastructure

This paper talks about the United States of America and the state of its infrastructure which is aging now these days. Its infrastructure has been in a deplorable state, however much has not being done about it, except when for instance a road accident takes place or some citizen goes through the tragic experience caused by the suffering of the infrastructure, that the relevant Governmental units and committees decide to take action by formulating a plan.The paper has been divided into the various different segments the U.S. Infrastructure has and functions as.U.S. is a country which is far ahead in terms of economic and political prosperity. However a basis fact still remains that despite the vast differences that exist within it, it works as one single unit working towards prosperity and the American Dream.The Government spends and has always been spending a lot on its public expenditures and infrastructure. Today, when we see the state of this physical infrastructure we see gaps a nd loopholes in terms of physical state of these things.The naked eye however still cannot pin point towards a particular infrastructure unit and comment on its ‘deplorable state’, however research and the technician’s/ engineer’s eye can.The only area where the ASCE team saw improvement in the last four years from the Report dated 2005 was energy. The report said this area got a grade of D plus after a consistent D. Another area getting an improvement card was the flood protection system which received a D minus from an Un-graded grade.Much of the state that U.S. levees are in was and is unknown to the Committee. The new president also announced this week that an $825 billion package needs to be and will be spent on improvements in U.S. highways, bridges and rail projects along with expansion projects at airports. (BBC News)The different segments or divisions in its infrastructure are as follows: ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roads ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bridgeso  Ã‚   Traffic Congestion ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Broadband ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aviation ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brown-fields ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dams and Levees ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Drinking Water and Waste Water ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inland Waterways ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Energy ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rails ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schools ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Security ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   WastewaterRoads and BridgesThe state of America’s infrastructure has not improved in the last four years. This has been a report by the country’s top civil engineers. According to them US has received a Grade D in terms of its roads, public transports and basic transits.It, in the report called ‘Report Card’, from the American Society of Civil Engineers also claimed that around $2.2 trillio n need to be spent for proper repairs to this section of infrastructure. A news item also claimed of a bridge getting destroyed by collapsed in Minnesota in 2007 leading to loss of lives, injuries, property, reputation as well as money. (BBC News)When the bridge at Minnesota collapsed due to poor infrastructure state, it became evident back then in 2007 how appalling the condition of U.S. infrastructure is getting year after year. Poor roads have caused many people driving in cars and motorbikes their lives and injury traumas, and the Government $54 billion each year, especially in the year 2005.Annually, around $59.4 billion is spent on infrastructure pertaining to roads, bridges, airfields, brown fields, drinking water and wastewater; and waterways also.A lot many NHS or the National Highway system is an appalling state of affair as insufficient funds have been dedicated to this and more needs to be done without any further delay.Currently, around $ 32.1 billion needs to be spent on this NHS which consists of only 4.1 percent of all highways roads in America (however around a little less than half of all motorists are carried to and fro by the NHS, despite its minute percentage of the total. It is being said that congestion is the cause that ages these bridges, highways and roads even more fast since a lot is being in use by the motorists.US $ 70 billion of funds that are attributed to highways and bridges has to get doubled, so that this doubled figure can be put to appropriate use as said by the Federal Highway Administration.It also says that till 2015, or six years from now total investments needs to rise to double of what it is only to ‘maintain’ the current state all these things pertaining to transit and transport they are in. So, without a doubt, much more than the doubled figure needs to be spent so that improvements only if by a slight ratio are and can be seen. Logistics management and NAM have announced their dedication to this area. (White, F.)On the other hand, another report by the US Texas Transportation Institute has proclaimed that the major issue is congestion that when coupled with aging infrastructure leads to a faster decline towards collapse, or voluntary destruction. (Berman, J.)US bridges’ condition is also being said by US DOT, has decreased in conditions by a double figure. This is how fast things have been deteriorating. (Let’s Re-build America)Every year around a lot of time amounting to 4.2 billion hours is wasted in traffic congestion, costing the US economy $78.2 billion. It also costs $67 billion to these motorists for repairing and operating costs. Also, around 15000 lives of American citizens are lost due to traffic and road related incidents.A little less than half of all urban highways and bridges are congested and it is said that for a substantial improvement, $186 billion will need to be allocated and spent. (Report Card for America’s Infrastructure)One-fourth of the total US bridges in America face either of the two problems; one, their structure is lacking and deficient or second, that they cannot function at all. This huge 26% is proof enough to say that bridges especially in urban areas are declining rapidly.$17 billion according to the ASCE needs to be spent on this area every year to induce betterment in this infrastructure division of US. As of now $10.5 billion only is spent on the construction of new and repair of old bridges in USA, which is a figure too low. (Report Card for America’s Infrastructure)