Monday, September 30, 2019

Attitudinal Behaviour Essay

Purpose – In order to classify individuals based on their needs, this paper aims to consider both self-stated attitudes and behaviours in a comprehensive range of daily ï ¬ nancial affairs. Furthermore, it aims to study the impacts of socio-demographic variables such as gender, age, and education. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was answered by 1,282 respondents in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Factor analysis revealed ï ¬ ve components. Based on these components a two-step cluster analysis (Ward and K-means analyses) identiï ¬ ed distinct subgroups. Linear regressions were used to investigate the impacts of socio-demographic variables. Findings – Factor analysis revealed ï ¬ ve underlying dimensions of ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour: anxiety, interests in ï ¬ nancial issues, decision styles, need for precautionary savings, and spending tendency. Cluster analysis segmented the respondents into ï ¬ ve subgroups based on these dimensions with an ascending order of speciï ¬ c needs for ï ¬ nancial products. Gender, age, and education were found to have signiï ¬ cant impacts. Research limitations/implications – Real consumption behaviour cannot be observed through the survey, which limits the external validity of the study. Practical implications – The segmentation identiï ¬ es different levels of ï ¬ nancial competence and needs for ï ¬ nancial products. It allows ï ¬ nancial service providers to offer more effective advice and to meet customers on their own level to improve personal ï ¬ nancial management. Originality/value – Attitudes and behaviours in daily ï ¬ nancial affairs are examined to reveal individuals’ ï ¬ nancial competence and consequential product needs. A heterogeneous sample covers a variety of demographic groups. Keywords Personal ï ¬ nance, Savings, Questionnaires, Factor analysis, Cluster analysis, Switzerland Paper type Research paper Introduction Everyone has to manage his or her personal ï ¬ nance in one way or another. Some tend to save a lot, some like to collect information before each purchase, some like to follow their gut feelings. Private investors are not a homogeneous group but rather The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the University Research Priority Program â€Å"Finance and Financial Markets† of the University of Zurich and the National Centre of Competence in Research â€Å"Financial Valuation and Risk Management† (NCCR FINRISK), Project 3, â€Å"Evolution and Foundations of Financial Markets†. In addition, they would like to thank the Swiss ï ¬ nancial company that provided them with client data and the anonymous referee for the helpful comments. International Journal of Bank Marketing Vol. 27 No. 2, 2009 pp. 108-128 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0265-2323 DOI 10.1108/02652320910935607 individuals with various ï ¬ nancial practices combined with different levels of experience, anxiety and interest in ï ¬ nancial matters (Gunnarsson and Wahlund, 1997). In an increasingly competitive marketplace, ï ¬ nancial institutions need to emphasise customer relationships and the retention of existing customers that require an in-depth understanding of their attitudes and behaviours (Harrison and Ansell, 2002). The heterogeneous market is divided into smaller more homogeneous groups to meet speciï ¬ c needs with a corresponding business model (Jenkins and McDonald, 1997). Market segmentation relies, in the ï ¬ nancial industry, largely on socio-demographic information to deï ¬ ne segments for speciï ¬ c services (Harrison, 2000). It is questionable  ¨ as to how appropriate they are (Jorg, 2005), therefore in this study, selected aspects of ï ¬ nancial affairs such as routines and attitudes are gathered to gain insights towards signiï ¬ cant behavioural patt erns. The objective in this research is to examine the extent to which a broad range of private investors can be classiï ¬ ed into a small number of clusters in order to learn about group-speciï ¬ c needs in ï ¬ nancial affairs. More than 1,200 participants in Switzerland have answered our questionnaire with a response rate of 79 per cent. Unlike some other studies in this ï ¬ eld (e.g. Lim and Teo, 1997; Wood and Zaichkowsky, 2004), this survey is not limited to students, but includes a broader range of the public. Instead of focusing solely on savings behaviour (EBRI, 2002; MacFarland et al., 2003), the present study embraces a wider scope of daily ï ¬ nancial concerns. Thereby factor analysis exposes ï ¬ ve underlying dimensions: anxiety, interests in ï ¬ nancial issues, decision styles, need for precautionary savings, and spending tendency. We demonstrate that our respondents can, based on these dimensions, be classiï ¬ ed into ï ¬ ve distinct groups by cluster analysis where from cluster I to V, the need for action for a better handling of ï ¬ nancial matters increases: for example, the â€Å"Gut-feeling followers† show a intuitive way of decision taking, disinterest in ï ¬ nancial subjects and a lack of awareness for the need of provision which make it difï ¬ cult to argue for or to initiate remedial action. Each cluster raises key issues in meeting their needs and allows for guidance to design and adapt instruments to assist in speciï ¬ c ï ¬ nancial requirements. To illustrate how ï ¬ nancial behaviour can be modiï ¬ ed to improve personal ï ¬ nance speciï ¬ cally for each group, examples from the area of retirement savings, an important part of daily ï ¬ nancial management, are chosen (Clark-Murphy and Soutar, 2005). Linear regression further reveals that the clusters highlight socio-demographic characteristics and help generate a better understanding, although one socio-demographic factor alone does not offer enough information to detect cluster membership. The main theoretical contribution of this paper is that we segment the investors based on the revealed dimensions in attitudes (e.g., level of anxiety), together with the self-stated ï ¬ nance-related behavioural pattern (e.g., spending tendency). In this way we could identify the speciï ¬ c needs and provide different services to each subgroup. Theoretical background and literature review Individuals show considerable deviation from the expectation of rational behaviour implied by ï ¬ nancial models (Barberis, 2003). Being conscious of the empirical limitations of the homo economicus model for exploring the behaviour of private individuals, behavioural ï ¬ nance broadens the view by combining knowledge from psychology and economics ( Camerer and Loewenstein, 2004). Our study belongs to this area. However, instead of focusing on particular anomalies and biases that individuals succumb to, such as overconï ¬ dence and procrastination (Biais et al., 2005; O’Donoghue and Rabin, 1998), we broaden the scope under review by studying general patterns when dealing with ï ¬ nancial issues. Market segmentation In the ï ¬ nancial services industry, market segmentation is a common method to understand better and serve the diverse customer base with its wide-ranging needs and various behaviours (Speed and Smith, 1992). Competitive pressures from deregulation of the ï ¬ nancial services market increase the requirement for market orientation and a more intimate knowledge of the market and its segments (Gunnarsson and Wahlund, 1997). Previous research has shown that there are various beneï ¬ ts from taking a segmented approach to the marketplace: a better serving of customer requirements; a tailoring of offerings; and higher customer satisfaction (Harrison and Ansell, 2002). It can increase customer retention and create loyalty and long-term relationships that positively affect performance (Martenson, 2008). Market segmentation aims to recognise patterns of ï ¬ nancial behaviour, identiï ¬ ed by studied segment predictors to group individuals into segments according to their product needs (Harrison, 2000). Yet, marketing in the ï ¬ nancial services industry today is still predominantly based on socio-demographic features like gender and age which are easy to identify and easy to apply in the composition of groups (Machauer and Morgner, 2001). A prediction of needs from socio-demographic characteristics cannot be assumed; therefore these widely used a priori segmentations are under review (Speed and Smith, 1992). In contrast, post hoc methods entail the grouping of respondents according to their responses to particular variables, focusing on customer motivations (i.e. needs/behaviour) that are more likely to result in a service based on individual n eed (Durkin, 2005). In research, behavioural segmentation is increasingly found (Elliott and Glynn, 1998; Soper, 2002), although researchers continue to concentrate on the ï ¬ nancial behaviour of speciï ¬ c groups and selective variables  ¨ (Warneryd, 2001). This study focuses on the general population, giving a more holistic view of personal ï ¬ nancial management activities and taking attitudes and behaviour into account. Individual investors The literature on individual economic behaviour often focuses narrowly on speciï ¬ c  ¨ areas such as risk attitudes (Warneryd, 1999; Wood and Zaichkowsky, 2004) or saving (Normann and Langer, 2002; Thaler and Benartzi, 2004). Other ï ¬ elds of research target investment in securities (Barber and Odean, 2001; Brennan, 1995; Keller and Siegrist, 2006) or focus on speciï ¬ c segments such as occupational groups (e.g., dentists and  ¨ managers (Jorg, 2005)). Speciï ¬ c ï ¬ nancial issues or situations, however, are not indicative of an individual’s behavioural and attitudinal disposition toward ï ¬ nance. Rather an interest in ï ¬ nances or having certain habits related to managing one’s ï ¬ nancial means may indeed be a moderating factor to learn about behaviours and needs (Loix et al., 2005). The attitudes and behaviours toward ï ¬ nances regarded in this study focus on individual ï ¬ nancial management behaviour. It is a topic with important implications that has not been sufï ¬ ciently examined in ï ¬ nancial and economic behavioural studies (Loix et al., 2005). The subject is not covered by the extensive research on individual’s attitudes and habits towards money, as such studies focus on the meaning of money (Lim and Teo, 1997) or basic values concerning money in general as an abstract concept (Raich, 2008), and not on an individuals’ ways of dealing with his or her personal ï ¬ nance. Previous studies of private investors have used mainly behaviour-based criteria or attitudes and do not combine both aspects (Keller and Siegrist, 2006) that are the focus of this study. This study is not product-linked but wider ranging in that it examines the self-stated ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour of individual investors. Attitudes and behaviours A frequently discussed question in research is to what extent attitudes predict behaviour. A direct relationship between attitudes and behaviour has often been found to be weak, but difï ¬ culties in ï ¬ nding a strong relationship might derive from  ¨ differences in deï ¬ nition and measurement (Warneryd, 1999). The more speciï ¬ c the attitude is the better are the chances of ï ¬ nding a substantial correlation with behaviour if behaviour is also deï ¬ ned as a speciï ¬ c act (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). Therefore, deï ¬ ned questions or attitudes can have predictive power and a higher correlation of attitude to-wards behaviour has been conï ¬ rmed in studies (in a comprehensive  ´ meta-analysis: Glasman and AlbarracÄ ±n, 2006; Tesser and Shaffer, 1990). A further question is the beneï ¬ t of knowledge concerning behaviour. Whilst behaviour changes over time, there is a popular assertion that â€Å"past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour† (Ajzen, 1991, p. 202). It is a reï ¬â€šection of these ideas that leads to attitudes and behaviour being explored in this paper. Financial needs segmentation Several typologies concerning the ï ¬ nancial affairs of private investors can be found in the previous literature, but with more speciï ¬ c approaches: se gmentations are based on ï ¬ nancial maturity and knowledge (Harrison, 1994), provision for retirement (Gough and Sozou, 2005) or savings strategies (Gunnarsson and Wahlund, 1997). Loix et al. (2005) come closest to the focus of this study with the question of orientation towards ï ¬ nances but their goal is to develop a measurement scale for individual’s ï ¬ nancial management. In this study, we examine the self-stated ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour through a broader basis and do not restrict ourselves only to questions concerning risk or saving. We apply the methodology of cluster analysis to identify groups of private investors in order to obtain insight into the enforcing or modifying of speciï ¬ c behaviour. Cluster analysis has become a common tool in marketing and is a well-adopted method for market segmentation as well as the applied factor analysis apparent in this paper (Punj and Stewart, 1983). The aim of the present study is to obtain a better understanding of people’s needs in ï ¬ nancial matters to provide adequate services and products. This study, based on ï ¬ nancial service consumers, identiï ¬ es distinct motivational clusters that were independent of the more established socio-demographic segmentation variables used in targeting and communicating by ï ¬ nancial institutions. This study demonstrates that, by segmenting respondents on the basis of a broader range of ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour, a yield of clearly interpretable proï ¬ les can be realised and is helpful to identify those people in most need of professional ï ¬ nancial advice. This research suggests that customer’s ï ¬ nancial proï ¬ les may be useful in predicting their response to new products as well as persuading them to use existing services for the speciï ¬ c beneï ¬ ts they value. Participants and questionnaire The data come from a questionnaire that wa s completed by 1,282 respondents from various regions of the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The respondents were recruited from two sources: 53 per cent of the participants (n  ¼ 680) were clients seeking consulting advice from a Swiss ï ¬ nancial planning company, together with participants in courses in ï ¬ nancial training within the same ï ¬ rm (convenient sample). The second source was employed to avoid a client bias in the study. A total of 602 study subjects (47 per cent of the total study) were identiï ¬ ed through a combination of â€Å"quota[1] and snowball[2] sampling procedures† (Vogt, 2005) so that its composition in terms of sex, age, and other demographic characteristics came close to reï ¬â€šecting the respective proportions in Switzerland. Although not every member of the population is equally likely to be selected, the sample is composed of a wide variety of backgrounds. The diversity came from such groups as participants in a study relating to ï ¬ nancial literacy, and from different sources such as a nursing home, a group of university students, a group of teachers, company employees from four Swiss companies unrelated to the ï ¬ nancial services sector, a group of self-employed people, participants in a course for the unemployed, and a group made up of parents. The questionnaire was designed in German. Participants were ï ¬ rst asked to give their self-assessment by answering 17 questions on their ï ¬ nancial behavioural practice or attitude towards ï ¬ nancial affairs. The response format is a ï ¬ ve-point-Likert-type scale with â€Å"absolutely† and â€Å"not at all† at the two ends of the question spectrum. Subsequently, the questionnaire contains questions concerning socio-demographic variables such as age, gender, career stage, and education[3]. The age of participants ranges from 18 to 84 years old, with 58.9 per cent between 36 and 65 years old (n  ¼ 755). The natural demographic balance of men and women is reï ¬â€šected in the sample with 49.3 per cent men (n  ¼ 632) and 50.7 per cent women (n  ¼ 650). The proportion of people with a university degree or equivalent is 46.6 per cent (n  ¼ 598), whereas 33.8 per cent participants (n  ¼ 433) obtained an apprenticeship (up to ï ¬ ve years). There are 14.5 per cent participants (n  ¼ 186) who have a high school diploma as the highest educational level, whereas 5.1 per cent participants (n  ¼ 65) have only attended secondary school. There are 10.5 per cent (n  ¼ 135) participants who were studying at a university or at another institute of higher education at the time of our survey. Methodology and results Factor analysis As the ï ¬ rst step we conducted an exploratory factor analysis, a principal component analysis, in order to determine the underlying dimensions of the ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behavioural tendencies. The chosen solution with ï ¬ ve principal components was constructed using the varimax rotation technique and can explain 53.3 per cent of the total variance. Different opinions concerning what constitut es a high loading are found in the literature, e.g. 0.3 (Gardner, 2001). Here, the rotated factor loading of 0.5 was chosen as a threshold.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Love Medicine Study Guide Questions

Note: You should also write at least four of your own questions about the book as you read. These can be either things that confused you or aspects of the text that you would like to see us explore in class. HINT: HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO AFFECT THE FINAL EXAM. You can list more on the reverse if they occur to you while reading. Love Medicine YOUR QUESTIONS: 1. 2. 3. 4.Use this space to connect any relevant cultural information you find to aspects of the text:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Discussion Questions 1. The novel deals extensively with the love-hate relationships between family members. What are some of the different kinds of familial bonds, positive and negative? What themes are explored through these relationships? What does this novel suggest about the nature of families? 2.One theme of the novel is the unavoidable impact of the non-Indian world (for instance, Catholicism, alcohol, intermarriages, the Vietnam War, capitalism, the legal system) on the Chippewa. How does the interaction with outsiders affect specific characters? What does the novel suggest about the difficulties and consequences of dealing with a mixed world? 3. Why do you thin k Erdrich chose to write her novel in the way she did, using time leaps and a series of different narrators to recount their own tales? What do you think is gained by this form of narrative? How might the form's emphasis on individual storytelling relate to the novel's larger themes? 4. Why do you think the section â€Å"Love Medicine† was chosen as the title story of the novel?Would you have chosen another section on the basis of a strength or unifying theme? (Above questions from http://www. harpercollins. com/authors/2905/Louise_Erdrich/index. aspx) 5. Analyze the family relationships in Louise Erdrich’s novel. What does this novel suggest about relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings, extended relatives, etc.? Pay attention to both blood relations and those that are â€Å"taken† or adoptive, such as Nanapush and Lulu or Marie and Lipsha. 6. Analyze the depictions of gender in Love Medicine, giving at least some at tention to differences in gender concepts and gender relations in traditional Native and mainstream colonizing culture. 7.Analyze the romantic relationships in the novel, both within the institution of Catholic marriage, within traditional culture, and those outside of both. What do these relationships suggest about the concept of romantic love? 8. Compare and contrast the depictions of traditional Ojibwe spirituality and Catholicism within the novel. 9. Examine how the novel depicts the effects of colonization on the Ojibwe people and their world. 10. Analyze relatedness and relationships between Native and non-Native people in this novel, both community and familial. In other words, in responding to this question, you might include the relationship between King

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Communication Problems in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication Problems in Business - Essay Example Let me start with the latter issue because of its great importance. Imagine 300 people from several dozens of countries talking in different languages, exchanging diverse cultures and dissimilar professional experience — now you can see the problem: how could be the same information delivered to all members of the conference with the acceptable level of comprehension? The problem must be solved using two means: proper language use and no jargon. Modern technology allows us to use multiple simultaneous interpreters translating a report do lots of different languages at a time. Use of jargon is a more dangerous issue because many specialists often underestimate its true harm. To ensure clarity of the information presented at the conference, it must be checked for omitting slangy terms, which vary greatly from place to place and therefore can be a disaster to understanding. The next issue to be considered is the urgency of the information. Needless to say, people invited to the c onference expect to hear something new and useful. It is as important as the urgent information told in time in the internal company environment. Therefore we must make sure that our conference won’t be a museum-like into the past of fibre optics. Finally, the comprehensiveness of the information relates to the level of trust our company deserves. It is often a sad fact when a business implements greater secrecy than it is needed. Oppositely, â€Å"many organizations are now considering a relatively new philosophy called Open Book Management for this very reason.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Quantum Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quantum Technology - Essay Example Classical mechanics preceded quantum mechanics which is entirely the basis of quantum technology. â€Å"A team of researchers, including members of the University of Chicago’s Institute for Molecular Engineering, highlight the power of emerging quantum technologies...† (Koppes 2013). The emerging quantum technologies were realized after scientists drew more focus on microscopic objects from the macros in classical mechanics. The realm of quantum technology aims at changing the way scientists view technology in attempts to better living standard across all spheres of life. â€Å"The first quantum technology that harnesses quantum mechanical effects for its core operation has arrived in the form of commercially available quantum key distribution systems’’ (O’brien et. al. 2009). In the field of quantum computing, the technology promises to develop a secured information system that will challenge snoopers, hackers and prevent cyber-attacks. This will be realized by subjecting quantum cryptography as elaborated in an article by National University of Singapore (2014). In the very article Stephanie Wehner affirms that "quantum technologies will gradually become integrated with existing devices such as smart phones, allowing us to do things like identify ourselves securely or generate encryption keys". In the future wheel of quantum technology, one of the core primary effects lies in its ability to drive the next generation computing technology.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

State about your story Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

State about your story - Assignment Example Unlike many other subjects, mathematics is among the subjects that find application in almost all areas of life. As a student interested in a career involving mathematics, I find it necessary to pursue mathematics major in country where mathematics is a flourishing field of research. The skills and knowledge one acquires by studying mathematics apply to all aspects of life, and are not just limited to the career chosen. I believe that by studying mathematics, I have the chance to grow into a competent individual who can contribute positively to the society. In addition, studying in the United States gives me an opportunity to interact with students from different backgrounds. This is important for my development not only as a mathematician but also as a social being. Given that I have an ambition to work in the insurance field, I believe that taking mathematics major will prepare me adequately to work in this sector. One of the skills acquired through the study of mathematics is data acquisition and analysis. This is an example of the skills that can be applied in the field of insurance and finance. By solving mathematics problems, I will develop analytical skills that help grow my mind and thinking processes. Mathematics will enhance my ability to pay attention to detail, and this will be important for my future career in the insurance field. As an analyst, the knowledge acquired through the study of mathematics will be critical. Analysts are required to analyze large volumes of data, and make conclusions and decisions based on this data. By studying mathematics, I will gain the necessary knowledge and skills to become an analyst in future. Mathematics is a subject that mainly involves numbers and figures, and understanding how they are applied. For example, as an analyst, I need skills such as linear regression in order to effectively analyze financial data. Mathematics major provides the necessary foundation for acquiring such skills and also

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

SUPERVISORS CHALLENGES Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SUPERVISORS CHALLENGES - Coursework Example These problems above can be reduced by having every officer in the manufacturing plant and operations methods have specific duties, roles and responsibilities specified, limited and applied to him. In this light, all employees must be made aware of what is expected of them. This means that the plant will have to take division of labor seriously. As the firm specifies the role, duties and responsibilities that every employer should assume, the director and supervisor of the manufacturing plant must equally spell out the powers and privileges every officer should assume. Just as Cousens and Szwejczewski (2009) recommend, job specialization will also have to be effected in the plant so as to curtail the shortfalls being exhibited by the personnel. The crux of the matter herein is that although the director and supervisor of the manufacturing plant may be interested in parrying away undue blame for employees’ failures, yet there is a significant problem that is being ignored: employees are failing, regardless of the target of the blame. Assigning employees duties and roles in line with their area of professional specialization, skills and talents will enforce diligence, motivation, love for work, dynamism and self-initiatives. An employee trained in chemical engineering is less susceptible to blunders if he is assigned laboratory duties as opposed to when he is transferred to the metal work or assembly department. The director and supervisor of the manufacturing plant should also set performance targets for every officer. This will ensure that every employee in the manufacturing plant is answerable. In the event that performance gap is sustained, every employee becomes answerable for himself, instead of the director and supervisor taking the blame. The manufacturing plant should draw its hierarchy well to further facilitate answerability and accountability. An individual worker should be answerable to a group leader who is in turn

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

SSOrganizational Setting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SSOrganizational Setting - Coursework Example The expansion strategy saw the company introduce slightly above 45 manufacturing plants in the United States spread across 26 states. The manufacturing centers include the world’s largest food center that is located in Frankfort Indiana. â€Å"Currently, Frito-Lay has over 1800 distribution facilities and employs over 20,000 employees in addition to selling products in approximately 350,000 retail centers in the United States alone†(Wicklound & Alvers, 2001). In addition to this, Frito-Lay is also considered as one of the leading advertisers in the United States, a situation that has further strengthened the company’s market share as a leading marketer and snack manufacturer. As stated by Lucas and Baroudi, (2004) Frito-Lay has been in operation since the early 1950s where the company’s growth is attributed to the aggressive marketing strategy that Frito-Lay employs. In addition to this, Frito-Lay is involved in the advertising business that implies that the company spends less on marketing. The excess funds that could alternatively have been used in marketing are therefore channeled towards an expansion strategy that has seen Frito-Lay’s sales volumes increase drastically over the years. Over the years, Frito-Lay has introduced into the snack market various products that range from potato chips to various types of cheese dips. The introduction of cheese dips was necessitated by the increased popularity of Mexican food which began to rise steadily in the early 1960s. Today, it is estimated that a significant percentage of Frito-Lay’s dips are linked to vegetables, a situation that food and business experts attribute to low competition in this area. In addition to this, several researchers in food and nutrition have established that sour-based cream dips are increasingly becoming popular in the United States where Frito-Lay controls a significant market

Monday, September 23, 2019

Financial Policies of Westpac Banking Corporation Essay

Financial Policies of Westpac Banking Corporation - Essay Example The bank is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and has made a satisfactory performance over time. Financial Policies of Westpac Banking Corporation related to Capital Structure In 2008, Westpac went into a strategic alliance with St. George Bank Limited in a merger operation. In that merger, the exchange ratio of St. George Bank Limited to Westpac Bank was 1.31. This means that the valuation of the assets of St George was at a higher level than that of Westpac, and therefore the shareholders of St George have got a better valuation as compared to the shareholders of Westpac. The bank went into a merger policy because it wanted to make more use of its resources and have a better financial health (Rosenbaum and Pearl, 2009, p. 36). This would also help the bank to survive in the long run. At this juncture to retain the positive sentiment of the investors, Westpac announced a special dividend of $ 1.25 per share. This has a positive impact on the prices of the shares and the prices seem to go up; therefore, it is a deliberate step on part of the company to keep a stable position in the securities market. Dividend Payout Policies of Westpac The financial history of the company reveals that dividend has been paid by the company bi-annually in the month of July and at the end of the year, December. The dividend yield for the stockholders had ranged from 0.56 to 0.86. The returns that the shareholders have got by investing in the company is well understood by the dividend yield paid ever time (Gallagher, 2003, p. 194). The mean and the standard deviation of the yield have been calculated. Mean 0.736666667 Standard Deviation 0.108857705 The average yield of the dividend has been 0.736. A dividend payout ratio of 70% per share would encourage the shareholders to invest more money in the stock and to hold the stock for a longer period of time. These dividends are directly transferred to the accounts of the shareholders. The company generally adopts any of the two di vidend payout policies- the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) in which the retained earnings that the company generates are capitalized by the company instead of being distributed (Modigliani and Miller, 1958, p. 282). This is often known as the growth schemes by which the company acquires more assets or uses the money for productive purposes. The second option that the company takes is to distribute the dividends to the shareholders. The shareholders who look forward to short-term investments and do not want to engage their money in the long term in the stocks of Westpac would prefer the second option because they would be getting a dividend yield of an average of 70% within 6 months time. For example, in the year 2010, the company paid out dividends at a ratio of 64.9% (Westpac Group, 2012). The share price of Westpac that time was at an average of 23.24. Thus it is lucrative stocks for the investors who would hold the stock for a minimum period of 1 year. Buyback of Shares by West pac Most of the companies in Australia goes for a share buyback for avoiding the risk that any bigger firm may take over the business (Doan, Yap, and Gannon, 2011, p. 69). Westpac followed on the similar line to keep the capital structure fundamentally strong. The company announced the buyback of shares as a strategy for successful management of its finances. The cash profit of the bank from interest income and other supplementary services got increased by 10% during this time.  

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Homemade Plastic Baggy Ice Cream Essay Example for Free

Homemade Plastic Baggy Ice Cream Essay Ever really want ice cream but did not feel like going out to get it? Now you can make it at home with no ice cream maker needed to make it. Ice cream is surprisingly easy to make yourself. It is also a fun yet quick process. There are only a few steps in creating this delicious, loved, cold treat. All you need is a few ingredients and to shake, shake, shake! The first thing you will need to do is gather all of the items that you need. To make plastic baggy ice cream you will need the following; sugar, half and half, salt; rock salt works best, vanilla, ice cubes; enough to fill half of the gallon size bag, one pint size Ziploc bag, and one gallon size Ziploc bag. After all of your items are gathered, the sugar, half and half, and salt will all have to be measured out. You will need two tablespoons of sugar, a half teaspoon of vanilla, one cup of half and half, and a half a cup of salt. Once everything is gathered, measured, and ready to go, it is time to get started adding everything together. The first thing you will want to do is open your small, pint size plastic baggy. Next you will want to combine your sugar with the half and half and vanilla all in the plastic bag. Once everything is in the baggy, make sure it is closed and sealed tight. Afterwards, you will need to get the gallon size bag ready. Open your gallon Ziploc bag and fill it about half full with ice. Once the ice is in the baggy, add the half cup of salt right into the gallon bag, over the ice. Before you close your bag, place the sealed, pint size bag in along with the salt and ice. When the pint size bag has been placed into the gallon size, seal the gallon size back tight. After everything is combined into the right baggies and they are sealed tight, it is time to shake. It should take about five minutes or so of continuous shaking to start seeing the difference of the liquid turning into the solid. You want to shake the gallon size bag really well until you can feel the mixture of things in the pint size bag starting to get ice cream textured. Immediately following the shaking of the bag and the pint size bag is starting to harden, carefully open the gallon size bag. Make sure to open the bag carefully because you do not want the ice falling out. Once you have opened the bag, pull the pint size bag out of the gallon size bag. Your ice cream is now ready to eat! You will usually have a single serve size or two serving sizes. In the end, you can add whatever mixings you want to; sugars, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, etcetera. Making ice cream at home is not hard at all and there are only a couple of supplies needed in order to do so! Furthermore, making plastic bag ice cream is a great activity to do especially with kids! It is a fun way to get your children and their friends involved with making their own ice cream and learning measurements. It is a very simple activity. It also gives you a free, all access pass to the delicious treat you love, as well as an easy clean up! All there is to do in the end is simple, dump the ice out of the gallon baggy and throw both bags out.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Challenging Characteristics of Online Learning Essay Example for Free

Challenging Characteristics of Online Learning Essay In online learning there are some challenging characteristics that an online learner need to face during their study periods among them are lack of motivation, stress, bad time management and learning style, computer illiterate, and language barrier. Firstly in lack of motivation, having lack of motivation is one of the characteristic challenges in online learning. If a student has lack of motivation this will make them less interested in their studies and this will drag the online learners down from producing good results in their studies. This is because without any motivation it will affect on how well the online learners do in their work and on when they will want to do their work and this also affects on how long will it take for them to work on the task given and this will automatically make the online learners lose their concentration on their studies. Next is when the online students are having stress during their study periods. Stress is an emotional challenge that the online learner faced in online learning. When one is having stress during his or her study period it is never a good sign because stress can affect both the body and mind. Warnings of stress such as significant changes in the behavior and life patterns can indicate that a person might be having stress. Among the symptoms of stress are the sudden bursts of anger, restlessness and or uneasiness, lack of joy, spontaneity, enthusiasm and or happiness. By having stress the online learner will have difficulty in concentrating on their studies as well as having trouble or problems in making decisions. Then there is time management and learning style. If the students or online learners are not well discipline and cannot manage time in a reasonable manner, he or she will not be able to cope up with their studies, work and personal life. A disorganized person is not going to have a good experience in their online learning. As an online student one need to have a good time management skills. An older student tends to manage their time properly because they have developed better time management skills. Therefore the younger generation of students mostly will have problems in managing their time accordingly. With a bad time management this will influence on the online learner learning skills. This is because with a bad time management the online learner will not be able to cope up with their studies and thus will make them lose their concentration in understanding their learning style. Meanwhile being a computer illiterate is also one of the challenges that people have with online learning. This is because not many people out there who are an online learner are computer literate. Most of the online learners are adults who might not be familiar with the recent technologies and software. Even though there are many computer literate students but not all of them possesses all the necessary skills needed in online learning. Some may still not know on how to use the Microsoft Office Words, Excels, and Power Point features and some online learners might have lack of technical problem solving skills and basic technology literacy skills such as file management. Lastly is the language barrier among the students and their study materials. This is also one of the challenges faced by the online learners in online learning especially in a non – English speaking country like Malaysia. Most of the references retrieved by the online learners online are in English and some of the teaching materials provided for the online learner are also in English. Growing up with a non – English native mother tongue will somehow give trouble for some students to understand their study materials. They will need to take more time than other students to understand their study materials. So these will one way or another lower their self esteem and their confidence in doing the task given to them.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Poor communities relocation to Braamfischerville

Poor communities relocation to Braamfischerville Chapter 1: Introducing the study area Introduction â€Å"There is a crisis in housing in the third world. Large increases in the urban population of third world countries have dramatically increased the demand for housing. ‘traditional values, and increases in urban population have resulted in the deterioration of housing conditions in larger cities† (Aldrich and Sandhu, 1995). As quoted above, housing has really been a problem in third world countries, of which South Africa is considered to be, as much as population increases has been emphasized South Africa has another distinctive and very effective factor that affected housing and development, namely apartheid, prior 1994 apartheid laws restricted the non-white population of South Africa from residing where-ever and whenever they wanted. The influx laws that controlled the movement of the non-white population were further emphasized by limited amounts of money put forth for the development of black communities. De Loor (1995:158) as cited by Oosthuizen (2002) points out that from an initial amount of R402 million that was transferred to the Department of housing during 1990/1991 for national housing developments only R4 million was used the black communities development and revolving fund, this amount only constitutes about 1% of the total amount. It is as a result of this that there were an increased nu mber of informal settlements in South Africa. After being elected as president after the first democratic elections in 1994 then President Nelson Mandela promised the South African citizens a better life for all (RDP white paper, 1994:1), a better life for all includes better living standards such as better housing, clean water, electricity, safety and better health care and etc. With the aim of achieving the goals put forth by President Nelson Mandela the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) was initiated early 1994. This program was mainly aimed at developing South Africa to a better country socially and economical especially the poor. The question at hand currently is whether this has been achieved thus far, Sowman and Urquhart (1998) as cited by Moolla (2008) points out that informal settlements consisting of self-built squatter camps made from a variety of materials such as corrugated iron, plastic, tin cans, wood, and cardboard are still prevalent in South African cities, this also implies that living conditions ar e difficult and very unhealthy. There are many localities in South Africa where such informal settlements are found so, with still the aim of improving the lives of South Africans the government continued the RDP and built low-cost houses for the poor. These areas where theses RDP house are being built became of much interest to academics and they became good research areas. In 2008 Raheesa Moolla of the Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg conducted a study on one of these newly developed areas namely, Braamfischerville, her research was aimed at understanding whether the residence of Braamfischerville where satisfied with their new homes. This research showed much dissatisfaction by the community, it shows an increase in dissatisfaction levels from 37.3% in 2002 to 44.5% in 2008 (Moolla, 2008), this is just general dissatisfaction including factors such as housing qualities and sanitation. The results from the above mentioned research stimulates an interest as to whether Braamfischerville is different from where most this people come from or not? It is important to understand this so more effective solutions can be found to put these people out of their misery. Research Questions and aims This research is aimed at understanding what new changes, if any, that the move to Braamfischerville has brought to its community, whether their satisfaction level has changed for the better or worse. The research further more aims at answering the following questions: What is the cause to such increases in dissatisfaction levels by the community? What is the communitys perception on Braamfischerville as compared to where they come from? What improvements can be made to Braamfischerville in order to make it a better place? With great considerations, this research can contribute to the governments goal to providing a better life for all by drawing attention to what the people really need i.e. what they want the government to do in order to improve their lives. Study area: Location and History Braamfischerville is located on the outskirts of Soweto, south west Johannesburg, some few kilometers away from Dobsonville (see figure 1) thus forming one of the 87 townships (Wikipedia contributors, 2009) found in Soweto characterized by formal and informal settlements, squatter settlements and shanty towns. Braamfischerville is predominantly composed of RDP houses, 30m2 on a 250m2 plot, consisting of an open plan, bedroom, lounge and kitchen, and a separate toilet (Moolla, 2008). In total Braamfischerville is made up of four phases (namely phase 1, 2, 3 4) with only main roads having been tarred since the beginning of this development in 1996. On this report only phase 1 will be investigated. Phase 1 is composed of approximately 3000 houses (Moolla, 2009; Personal communication) predominantly RDP houses, bond houses and squatter settlements. Though the governments aim with these developments was to provide basic services, such as shelter, running water, sewerage and electricity, and amenities, such as schools and clinics, in the Sowetan newspaper as cited by Moolla (2008), Mohlale (2002) reported that many of these services are still absent in this area after six years of development. Methodology In 2008 the University of Johannesburg conducted a questionnaire survey on housing satisfaction amongst the Braamfischerville residents, this survey was a revalidation of a survey of the same kind that was conducted by the former Vista University (Now known as University of Johannesburg Soweto campus) both these studies used the same survey. As this is a small scale report and posses just small differences the questionnaire from 2008 was just used as a guideline and thus some minor modifications where done. Out of the four phases that make up Braamfischerville only one phase was chosen as the target for this research, namely Phase 1. A random sample of 30 questionnaires was conducted to achieve the objective of this study. The questionnaires where answered by means of interviewing residents of RDP homes, squatter settlements and bond houses of Braamfischerville Phase 1. The questionnaire looked at demographics; socio-economical and number of years these residents resided at Braamfischerville furthermore it also aimed at understanding where most of the residents resided before Braamfischerville, the main aim of the survey was to compare Braamfischerville to where most of these residents come from thus, to achieve that, the questionnaire also looked at availability of services and accessibility of basic amenities to the residents and, as a result the comparison was scaled on a scale of 3 (where 1 is worse; 2 the same and; 3 better) and thus conclusion was drawn based on this comparison between Braamfischerville and where most residents resided before. The results of the questionnaire were captured using Microsoft excel and thus statistical analysis were conducted which resulted in graphs presented in this report. The 2008 report was used as guideline for comparative purposes. As completion of report, as will be seen in the next part, literature review was done on what has been written in regards to housing the poor, and the progress thereof. The rest of the report will be based on results from site visitation and validation, if any, of literature based on the topic of study. Chapter 2: Low cost housing defined and explained Radikeledi (2007) cites Meng et al. (2004:88) as they define low cost housing, the define it as â€Å"a type of low profit commodity housing with government subsidies and policy support aimed at providing a large number of decent homes for middle and lower-middle income house holds.† RDPs function and continuation â€Å"The RDP endorses the principle that all South Africans have a right to a secure place in which to live in peace and dignity.One of the RDPs first priorities is to provide for the homeless† (Bond, 2008). Furthermore Bond (2008) mentions key things that RDP housing must provide as follows: Protection from weather; A durable structure; Reasonable living space and privacy; Sanitary facilities; Storm-water drainage systems; Electricity and; Convenient access to clean water. To ensure that these goals are achieved the Johannesburg City council in the financial year 2007/2008 allocated a budget to the different departments. RDPs progress in Johannesburg Knight (2001:1) as cited by Radikeledi (2007) states the goal that was set by the African National Congress (ANC) after winning the election in 1994 that they will ensure that with RDP 200 000 houses will be built annually until all South African citizens are fully accommodated, especially the previously disadvantaged. In contrast, the delivery of RDP homes has been heavily criticized, not only in Johannesburg but all over South Africa. 14 years into democracy still, a variety of self made informal settlements are still prevalent in South African cities (Moolla, 2008). One of the major criticisms against the delivery of RDP homes has been the procedures followed in order for one to obtain such a house. Marx and Royston (2007) identifiers three ways in which people find opportunities to access land: Through legal procedures involving local authorities, councilor and municipal officials. Family and friendship network. Information and assistance provided by the committee members through community meetings. Ndaba (2003) as cited by Moolla (2008) found that allocation of low cost homes in South Africa was undermined by corruption and malpractice from the officials. Furthermore Moolla (2008) cites The Star newspaper (Radler, 2008) which reveals that some 830 000 people have been on the waiting list since 1994 and are still waiting for their homes. Living conditions in RDP homes ‘Matchbox House is it may be known to many, RDP homes are generally a 30m2 house on a 250m2 plot (Moolla, 2008). As cited by Moolla (2008), Haggard (2006) states that a typical RDP house consists of a toilet, open lounge, two bedrooms, kitchen and dining area (Haggard, 2006). However, Moolla (2008) states that not all RDP houses are constructed in this layout but are rather made up of an open lounge, kitchen and single bedroom with no dividing walls, and a separate toilet. Furthermore, Dangor (1998) compares the RDP houses to the old apartheid matchbox houses and in this comparison no difference was found as far as standard is concerned but much difference in size as matchbox houses are rather slightly bigger than the RDP houses was noted. Part of the objective of the RDP was the availability and accessibility of basic services and amenities respectively. Amenities include schools, clinics and transport however, Moolla (2008) states that many of these services are still absent in these areas. It is due to the absence of basic services and poor infrastructure that dissatisfaction levels regarding the area has increased by 7.2% within a period of six years i.e. 2002 2008. Chapter 3: Demographics and socio-economical characteristics of inhabitants This chapter will present findings on demographics and socio-economic characteristic of the inhabitants, also to be looked will be proximity from basic amenities and delivery of services to the residents. Research shows that migration into phase one has been trending since 1996 this can indicate the unavailability of houses in the years of low migration. Demographic and socio economic characteristics. In this regard, to be looked at is the number of people occupying per household, dominating gender and employment status of these residents. Furthermore to be looked will be where the employed portion of the residents got employed i.e. in Braamfischerville or before the got to Braamfischerville. Braamfischerville Phase 1 is dominantly composed of households consisting of 3 4 people per house, and rather astonishingly it is dominated by females. Also evident from table 3.1 is that most these residents are aged between 31 and 40, educational qualifications show that most these people, especially the dominant age group, have at least a grade 12/matric qualification but yet employment levels are really low and thus most of the population is self employed by means of small businesses such as spaza shops and other retail services. A rather fascinating finding is that, as much as the governments aim with the RDP is to empower the poor statistics show that 27% of residents in phase 1 are renting the property they live on from owners who do not even live in the neighborhood. This puts much emphasis and reasoning to the criticisms mentioned in the previous chapter as far as RDP housing distribution is concerned. Proximity to basic services and amenities Braamfischerville appears to be rather dominated by Spaza shops with one large Spar supermarket for formal groceries. There was no clinic, police station or pension pay out point seen in phase 1, residents complain that to get these services they are forced to go to Dobsonville which is located just e few kilometers from their homes. Overall delivery of services is rather poor in this area as the most important services are located very far from residents and they have to pay transport to get to them. Living in Braamfischerville Having to have looked at demographics, socio-economic characteristics as well as proximity from basic services residents where asked to compare Braamfischerville to where they resided before. The majority of residents prefer to have rather remained where they come from. Reasons for such dissatisfaction from residents include that stated by Moolla (2008) of poor infrastructure, houses are leaking, poor service by municipality, absence of police for security reasons, no tarred road, unemployment, poor sanitation, no library and recreational facilities and unreliable transport systems. These results are of much surprise as the government intentions with areas such as Braamfischerville is to make sure everyones needs are satisfied. A large number of Braamfischerville residents come from areas such as Meadowlands and Alexandra; these areas are perceived to be of rather unhealthy, unsafe and just poor living conditions thus, to understand these results literature review was conducted about the most prominent area where these people come from. An overview on Alexandra Established in 1905, Alexandra is thus the oldest township in Gauteng but also one of the poorest of the province. Alexandra is located north east of Johannesburg some 3kms away from Sandton. It is characterized by lack of infrastructure, overcrowding and high rates of crime. The lunchbox fund (2008) highlights that this overcrowding has put much pressure on service delivery thus most shacks have no electricity and only 65% of household have access to piped water. Alexandra is made up of three different regions separated by the Jukskei River. To the west of the river one encounters the Old Alexandra predominantly composed of informal dwellings, three hostels and a block of flats, just to the east of the river lies East Bank which is predominantly middle class households. The Far East Bank which was developed recently is composed mainly of RDP houses (Wilson, 2008). Unlike other townships, Alexandra is rather very small, extending over approximately 800 hectares of land and ironically is home to about 350 000 people (Dlamini, 2008). Wilson (2008) reveals that of the 350 000 people, 70 % of them where young people aged below 15 and 35 years with a 1:1.22 ratio between male (60%) and female (61%). Former President Thabo Mbeki allocated a budget of R1.3 billion to the development of Alexandra in February 2001 (Dlamini, 2008). This budget was to be spread over seven years but when 2008 came was extended by two more years. This budget gave rise to the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) which then initiated the project by building about 90 000 RDP structures and also renewed the hostels and built a clinic. The ARP is still active and is renewing Alexandra to a suitable place for all. â€Å"The de-densification process has been highly successful. The relocation exercise since 2001 to new developments in Dieplsloot, Braamfischerville and Far East Bank extensions provided approximately 11 000 families with new homes. The ARP Housing strategy envisage the further relocation of 15 000 families out of Alexandra† (Dlamini, 2008). Conclusions As a result of poor services and unavailability of basic amenities, 63% of Braamfischerville residents are very dissatisfied with their new homes and prefer to have stayed where the resided before Braamfischerville or be relocated to a better area. The overview on Alexandra has shown that there is much progress in the development of the township, further more, all amenities that are absent in Braamfischerville are present in Alexandra, the only advantage Braamfischerville has over Alexandra would be that if these people had remained in Alexandra they would possible still be living in shacks and other informal dwellings not that they would complain much as research has shown that 44.5% of the population is not satisfied with the houses in general either way. This dissatisfaction levels will continue to grow until the government intervenes and start targeting areas of low satisfaction levels and attend to all basic needs, this will result in RDP houses being homes where people live with pride in and not show the clear distinction between the poor and the wealthy.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

a place without time :: essays papers

a place without time From the mountains, you can see it coming. Time sits on the horizon like rain clouds, holding out. In the cities you carry it around in your pocket. Time is organized around where you have to be. You dash blindly around busy corners, always racing against it. But in the mountains, the world sits on the horizon, refusing to move. Before I ever went to the city, I used to know what that meant. Now I found myself trying to remember, waking up every morning to look at the mountains and see what they held. If there were clouds there, you knew there might be rain. But I knew there was something to wait for. I could watch time coming. I returned home because I was still longing for the clouds to roll over the skyline and the water to flow from the hills. It was if time was losing her memory, as the city had made me lose mine. My father used to say, when he would look down at his feet, "they look the same, but the ground is different." I don't know if he was forgetting things too, or remembering them all so well. My father carried it too, in his pocket, so he wouldn't forget. When people asked about it, he would bring it out and laugh. My sister and I needed our father to hold together our memories, to hold together the world before we were born. The world before our time. Where I lived, there were smashed bugs on the windshield, skittish coyotes, and, of course, trout. My dad remembered the river where he taught me about the sands of time, and how to fish. He said that in the days before me there had been fish the size of small children willing to take what ever gift God, or my dad, had to offer. So when I came home, I brought my dad to that stream, looking for a cure. Anyone who lives long enough begins to be infected by a search for time. You look for it everywhere because it is life. After a while, you can feel it in the ground beneath your feet, in the creeks in the back canyons, in the clouds over the hills that may never come back.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Importance of Friendship Essay -- Sociology

The Importance of Friendship Although relationships with parents determine in large measure our longer-term preferences, attitudes and values, during adolescence it is often relationships with friends that cause most concern and which pre-occupy the thoughts of young people as they grow up. Friendships are based on a completely different set of structural relationships to those with parents. They are more symmetrical and involve sharing and exchange. Friendships are important to young children but there is a change at the beginning of adolescence -- a move to intimacy that includes the development of a more exclusive focus, a willingness to talk about oneself and to share problems and advice. Friends tell one another just about everything that is going on in each other's lives... Friends literally reason together in order to organise experience and to define themselves as persons. The role of friendships In adolescence friendships normally exist within the larger social structure of peer relationships. In this larger social setting each adolescent has a particular role to play and is usually aware of their own status within the group. Close friendships are not independent of such status. Popular or successful youngsters stick together. Those who are 'in' do not mix as frequently with those on the periphery of what is acceptable to the group. Whereas the standards and styles set by the peer group can set highly influential markers around acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for young people, it is in individual friendships that young people find support and security, negotiate their emotional independence, exchange information, put beliefs and feelings into words and develop a new and different perspective of themse... ... become important points of reference. They provide social contexts for shaping the day- to- day behaviour of adolescents, and encourage conformity to norms and values. Despite much popular mythology about 'the generation gap', such standards are startlingly similar to parental values, though the similarities are masked by different youth styles or expressions. Such groupings clearly have a developmental potential in enabling young people to make the social adjustments necessary for them to operate in adult society. Educationalists concerned with young people have begun to pay much more attention to the concept of 'peer education'--for example, in relation to smoking, drug or HIV education programmes (eg Smokebusters or Fast Forward). How much attention do these programmes pay to the real dynamics of peer group pressures as they ebb and flow across adolescence?

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Meaning of Life and Jeremy Fink Essay

A) MEANING OF LIFE – BY JEREMY FINK. B) CHARACTERS: JEREMY FINK, LIZZY MULDOON, MRS. FINK, MR. MULDOON, MR. OSWALD, SAMANTHA AND RICK, JAMES AND MR. FINK. CONFLICT: THE CONFLICT IS ABOUT JEREMY TRYING TO FIND FOUR KEY’S THAT WOULD OPEN THE BOX WHICH HIS DAD LEFT IT FOR HIM FOR HIS THIRTEEN BIRTHDAY PRESENT WHEN HE DIED AND JEREMY IS TO FIND THE KEY THAT WOULD FIT ALL FOUR SPOTS IN THE BOX BEFORE HIS THIRTEEN BIRTHDAY. SETTING: HAPPENS IN MODERN DAYS IN NEW YORK CITY. BASIC SITUATION: JEREMY AND LIZZY TRY TO FIND THE KEY BEFORE JEREMY’S THIRTEEN BIRTHDAY. C) PLOT: JEREMY SEE’S THE POSTMAN WITH A BOX ADDRESSED TO HIS MOM. JEREMY TAKES THE BOX AND OPENS IT TO SEE A BOX. WHEN HIS MOM COMES AND SEES HIM WITH THE BOX HIS MOM TELLS HIM HOW THE BOX WAS HIS PRESENT HIS DAD LEFT HIM FOR HIS THIRTEEN BIRTHDAY AND HAD TO FIND ALL FOUR OF THE KEYS THAT WOULD OPEN IT BEFORE HIS BIRTHDAY COMES. LIZZY AND JEREMY GET IN TROUBLE AND THEY HAVE TO DO COMMUNITY SERVICE. THEN THEY MEET MR. OSWALD WHO TRIES TO HELP THEM. THEIR COMMUNITY SERVICE WAS TO DELIVER STAFF TWO NEW PEOPLE WHICH THEN THEY GET TO MEET NEW PEOPLE. D) CLIMAX: IS WHEN LIZZY AND JEREMY OPENED THE BOX AND DISCOVERED HIS. FATHER’S MEANING OF LIFE. E) FALLING ACTION: IS WHEN JEREMY OPENS THE BOX AND FINDS IT FULL OF STONES. JEREMY THEN REMEMBERS HIS FATHER HAD COLLECTED EACH STONE AT EACH IMPORTANT EVENT OF HIS LIFE. F) RESOLUTION: IS WHEN JEREMY FIND OUT THAT MR. OSWALD, JEREMY’S MOM, THE MAILMAN, AND LARRY FROM LARRY’S LOCKS WERE ALL IN JEREMY’S DAD’S PLAN TO GIVE JEREMY THE BOX AT THE RIGHT TIME AND SO THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK FOR ALL FOUR OF THE KEYS, ALTHOUGH MR. OSWALD HAD THEM ALL ALONG. BY HAVING THIS PLAN HIS DAD KNEW THAT JEREMY WOULD MEET NEW PEOPLE AND GET TO EXPERIENCE. DIFFERENT THINGS HE WOULD NEVER DO. G) POINT OF VIEW: FIRST PERSON BECAUSE THERE IS TOO MUCH FEELINGS AND EMOTION IN THE BOOK. H) PERSON VS PERSON- JEREMY AND LIZZY AS THEY TRY TO FIND THE KEYS TO THE BOX. PERSON VS SOCIETY- JEREMY AND THE SOCIETY MEETING NEW PEOPLE TO TRY TO FIND THE KEY TO THE FOUR HOLES. I) THEME: A LESSON THIS STORY TEACHES ABOUT LIFE IS TO NEVER GIVE UP, AND ALWAYS BE MOTIVATED TO DO SOMETHING YOU KNOW YOU REALLY WANT TO DO. J) SIMILE- AS HARD AS IT CAN BE WITH HOPE ON THE WAY. SIMILE- LIFE IS AS EVENTFUL AS A JOURNEY. METAPHOR- NO PAIN, NO GAIN.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Special Interest Tourism

Some of the SIT categories are: * Sports and Adventure Tourism: Sports tourism Is the Involvement In any sporting activity (actively or passively) where tourists participate in a sporting activity or attend a sport event as spectators. Adventure tourism may include a physical activity and usually interaction with nature and/or cultural interchange. Adventure tourists generally go out of the comfort zone to experience some degree of risk or physical danger. Some examples in Dubbed are undressing, scuba diving, sky diving, mountain climbing, etc.They usually have an income above average and are professionals aged between 30-50, their profile is similar to that of the cultural tourist. Tourism trends and factors in holiday interests The rapid growth of the travel and tourism is one of the most important social and economic phenomena in the last decades. The tourism sector has evolved and international travel is no longer a â€Å"luxury', holiday trips have become accessible to irking c lass families.AS/ Market segmentation is a useful strategy to provide a close match between tourism products and customers. Market segmenting is dividing the tourism market into different groups of people with similar characteristics, motivations and needs in order to respond with the appropriate products and satisfy the preferences of the chosen segment; and thus, increase the profits. The intention is to identify these groups of similar type of customers, understand their behavior and requirements, and develop the right product to attract them.PA/ Peter in Jordan – Introduction Peter is an archaeological and historical site located in Jordan that is famous for its rock-cut buildings and tombs in the mountains, composed of reddish sandstone. Peter was created by the Anabases, a nomadic tribe from Arabia, sometime around the 6th century BC. The city was disappeared from Western awareness until it was discovered in 1812 by a Swiss explorer. Today Peter is Cordon's main landmar k and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Features and benefits * Historical site of great value: Vast area of tombs, temples, ceremonial buildings ND theatres dated from 6th century BC.It is a Unesco World Heritage site since the year 1985. * Natural attraction: Peter is a natural beauty with rugged mountains and reddish sandstone rocks. The main entrance leads to a narrow natural gorge, which used to serve as waterway flowing into the city. There are man-made steps to walk up on top of the mountains and enjoy the spectacular views. * Worldwide famous for the Hollywood movie â€Å"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade† where Harrison Ford enters The Treasury (Al-Channel) at Peter.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Environmental Ethics

1. Your case study will begin by looking up and writing a solid, detailed definition of: BIO-MAGNIFICATION. In order to understand the ethical dilemmas that corporations are facing we must look at some of the more obvious areas to the public: polluted water supplies, polluted air, dirt, etc. They understand bio-magnification and so does the EPA.Research and explain what this scientifically means and how it is applied when the EPA conducts the testing on ground water, as an example. (one page is required) Bio-magnification is a â€Å"Result of the process of  bioaccumulation  and biotransfer by which tissue concentrations of chemicals in organisms at one trophic level exceed tissue concentrations in organisms at the next lower trophic level in a food chain. – Environmental Protection Agency, 2010 (â€Å"Biomagnification,† 2012). In other words, bio-magnification is the increase in concentration of a substance that occurs in a food chain as a consequence of one of th e following: persistence (cant be broken down by environmental processes), food chain energetics, and or low (non consistent) rate of internal degradation/excretion of the substance (often due to water-insolubility).Biological magnification often times refers to the process by whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into our rivers, lakes and streams, are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. These substances become concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the food chain (â€Å"Biomagnification,† 2012). In summary, bio-magnification is the process whereby the tissue concentrations of a contaminant, such as pesticides or heavy metal, increase as it passes up the food chain through two or more trophic levels. . The second part of this case is about â€Å"genetically modified foods†. Debate the concept that utilitarian is concerned r egarding the rights of consent when dealing with potentially harmful new technologies. (2 pages are required) a. Conduct research on genetically modified foods using at least 2 sources and take a position. What is genetically modified foods? Genetically modified foods  (GM foods, or  biotech foods) are foods derived from  genetically modified organisms. Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by  genetic engineering  techniques.These techniques are much more precise  than  mutagenesis  (mutation breeding) where an organism is exposed to radiation or chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change. Other techniques by which humans modify food organisms include selective breeding; plant breeding, and animal breeding, and  somaclonal variation. Since genetically modified food has been introduced into supermarkets, there has been much controversy as to whether it is actually safe (â€Å"Genetically modified food,† 2012). Genetically modified foods in the US include over 40 plant varieties that have completed all federal requirements for commercialization (Whitman, 2000). . Is it ethical or not to produce these foods? It is ethical to produce the foods as long as the genetically modified foods are being produced for ethical reasons, such as meeting the ever growing hungers need of our world population. One ethical dilemma that is presented with genetically modified foods is â€Å"fairness in the use of genetic information†, which means â€Å"who should have access to personal genetic information, and how it will be used† (â€Å"Genetically modified foods,† 2012)? Another is privacy and confidentiality of genetic information, or who owns and controls genetic information? c. Do the benefits outweigh the costs?The benefits GM foods include enhanced taste and quality, reduced maturation time, increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance. Other benefits of GM foods include improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides. Also, new products and growing techniques are benefits of GM foods. Environmental benefits of genetically modified foods include conservation of soil, water, and energy and better natural waste management. The costs of GM foods include potential human health impacts and potential environmental impacts including unknown effects on organisms and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity.Another cost to weigh with GM Foods is the possibility of world food production domination by a few companies. Also, increased dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries is a cost to be considered when thinking about GM foods. Ethically, GM foods run the risk of potentially violating organisms’ intrinsic values and stress for animals. I do not believe the risks outweigh the benefits. I am afraid of what will happen while we are tampering with mother nature. d. Are these foods harmful to human consumption?It is not yet known if the foods are harmful to human consumption. The long term effects on humans after consuming GM foods is not yet known. e. Who is lobbying for this new breed of food? Business, governments, individuals, and why? Who benefits from these foods: financially, ethically, and humanitarian? Businesses lobby for this new breed of food. These businesses can acquire a patent for their GM foods and ultimately corner the market on said food items which is extremely financially beneficial for these businesses.Individuals in third world countries and impoverished countries benefit the most from GM foods. Our governments must find a way to regulate the GM Food industry in such a way that it is ethical and fair to individuals and companies. Thousand of starving people can be saved by implementing the GM food procedures but the risks of long term consumption on the human existence is unknown and therefore makes it very hard to decide whether or not it is ethical to produce GM foods. Works Cited Bioma gnification. (2012, July 8). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Biomagnification Biomagnification. (2012, July 8). Retrieved from http://toxics. usgs. gov/definitions/biomagnification. html Genetically modified food. (2012, July 8). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food Genetically modified foods and organisms. (2012, May 17). Retrieved from http://www. ornl. gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood. shtml Whitman, D. (2000, April). Genetically modified foods: Harmful or helpful?. Retrieved from http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php/review. pdf

Saturday, September 14, 2019

The strategic role of the Royal British Navy in the First World War

Introduction The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom (UK) is the oldest part of Britain’s combat forces and is often referred to as the â€Å"Senior Service†. The Naval Service is comprised of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Fleet Air Arm and reserve forces. From the 18th century up to the end of World War II, the Navy was the world’s principal and most powerful navy. Therefore it played a very important role during the period in keeping Britain’s position as the ultimate ‘superpower.’ The Royal Navy used various strategies and tactics such as the Antwerp, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli and the Zeebruge campaigns. The involvement of various sections of the Royal Navy helped to make sure of victories against serious enemies and opponents of British interests (Benbow 2011). This paper discusses the role of the Royal British Navy during the First World War by analyzing the war tactics they used in varying campaigns both on land and on sea. In the first place, the Royal Navy was crucial from a defensive point of view, a point made all the more acute by the fact that Britain is an island nation that is relatively isolated geographically. In terms of the home front, therefore, the navy was the first and more imperative line of defence. It must be considered, as an adjunct to this, that the wealth and power of Britain relied in large part on his expansive Empire, which could not have been protected by means other than naval power. It might be argued, of course, that Britain had established effective naval supremacy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (Benbow 2011; Halpern 1994). However, despite the nation’s best efforts in conflicts such as the Seven Years War, among others, the state of affairs in 1805 had in actual fact been reversed to a significant extent by the turn of the 20th century. By the time of WWI, Britain’s navy was fairly outdated and its competitors were on the ascendant (Benbow 2011). The changing status quo by WWI made the burden on the navy heavier than ever. It still remained its 19th-century reputation as the ultimate military power and it had massive capacity to move soldiers and vessels across large international spaces territories. It still, moreover, had the capability to prevent rivals from doing similar strategic moving of troops and equipment (Halpern 1994). The floating gun vessels in particular were a devastating tool in the arsenal that frequently made it impossible for foreign leaders to act against Britain. The crucial fact was that the Royal Navy was able to stymie the efforts of foreign powers, making certain that there was always a supply of tradecrafts and raw materials so that Britain’s factories could make and distribute their products overseas. The Laissez Faire economic model that Britain adopted as the basis of its trading would not have been possible without the authority of the Royal Navy (Friedman 2001; Halpern 1994). It is clear , therefore, that regardless of apparent historical supremacy, the navy as important as ever in economic and defensive terms during WWI. Another aspect of the Royal Navy’s powerful role was control of communications and supply lines, so that it was possible to link up the Empire and control activities across the globe. Throughout the whole period, the Royal Navy’s war preparation and entry into the First World War demonstrates its state-of-the-art operation. This ability, however, arose not just through the navy itself but also the vast and sophisticated underpinning of expertise and strategy. For example, the Royal Navy was backed by a comprehensive research programme into maritime history, careful studies of allied and defensive maneuvers, and knowledge of politics and power in various regions across Europe and beyond (Friedman 2001). An important part of this was that Navy’s role in reconnaissance and observation. It was able to procure information about the capabilities of rivals, for example, whether political, military, or economic. The strategic role of the navy is best discussed in the context of contemporary events. The Germans marched into France and Belgium in August 1914 and desperately needed a â€Å"flying column†. At this time, Britain had between 20 000 to 30 000 navy reservists but could not make sure that all these reservists played a full role. Those parties in charge of strategy concluded that there were enough reserve soldiers to create two groups that would form vital brigades. So, in Britain the Naval Brigades and the Royal Marines Brigade were set up. The brigades became publicly recognized as the RND (Royal Naval Division) and soon after they were sent to Ostend, where they took part in a fierce battle in Antwerp. This battle demonstrates a number of different things about the strategic important of the navy. On the one hand, it indicates a clear purpose: the opposing of a German threat on the continent which, if unimpeded by the reservists, might have become a serious threat. The Marines were among the only British forces participating at the battle of Antwerp, and they brought about Germany’s withdrawal of a large proportion of their troops from the French front in order to capture of Antwerp (Stephenson 2011). However, the extent to which these soldiers struggled in due to poor training and shortages of proper equipment suggests that at this stage the Royal Navy was of limited strategic value. Thus, the Belgium army, which was comprised of mainly six divisions, was overcome by the Germans at Liege and the River Gate and had to retreat to the stronghold city of Antwerp (Halpern 1994). Had the Royal Navy been more adept in the first place this might never have occurred. However, the strategic role of the navy in this instance was salvaged to an extent when Winston Churchill, astutely realizing the important of Antwerp, bolstered the city using the Royal Navy Division. In this way, a key strategic position, in terms of Allied shipping, was saved by virtue of the navy. This point is made all the more compelling by the fact that the Belgians were forced to withdraw their forces from the fray on 6t October 1914, opening the path to a German victory. The intervention of the Royal Navy therefore came at a critical moment, heightening its importance (Grove 1987). The tactics of the Royal Naval Division on this occasion also suggests strategic relevance. An innovative plan was devised by which the troops dug trenches so that they could position themselves strategically during the battle. The aftermath of the battle is also worth mentioning. On 11 October 1914, the residual divisions of the Royal Navy Division arrived back home in England and immediately commenced their training camp in Blanford in Dorset (Jolly 2000). Crucially, they brought with them Belgian experience and the innovation of British armed forces. Changes were made to the training to better prepare the Naval Division as well as the Marine substitutes, that in the future would be selected and serve in Royal Marine battalions. Thus, through the navy’s combat experience and later role in Britain, the capability of the armed forces was enhanced. The French believed the Germans were on maneuvers in Belgium and sent some ships to trouble the German cavalry which were by now in North of Dunkirk. This maneuver was successful, which managed to give the impression that it was the central army. The British forces began to move ahead towards Brasa and captured Fort Zain. They also stopped efforts by the Turks to obstruct the river so the Turkish forces retreated from Brasa. Then, General Sir Arthur Barrett, the commander of the British army, deployed regiments to the city and the British forces established a strong occupation on 23 November 1914 (Knight 2006). The triumphant campaign allowed the majority of the British troops to return home, leaving only a small garrison. This episode is more than mere narrative. It reveals that for certain periods the Royal Navy was rendered almost redundant in a military sense due to a lack of conflict at sea. This is suggested by the fact that on 28 August, marines were located on ships during t he battle of Heligoland, with no lives lost. Later, however, at the Battle of Coronel in November, the British forces experienced a loss of 196 soldiers. One of the last encounters at sea was in 1914 during the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The importance of the navy was brought back into focus when, towards the end of 1914, the deadlock between the Western and Eastern Fronts ceased (Friedman 2011). This allowed the British Navy to establish and consolidate maritime control and superiority, but it was not practical to have the opening of a similar instance as Trafalgar. The British administration therefore needed to begin searching for an alternative that would conclude the war. During December 1914, the strategic importance of the navy on the Western Front became apparent. The British government had responded to a request for assistance from Russia, which was struggling to fight the Turks in the Caucuses. On 2 January 1915, the Secretary of State for War, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener agreed to demonstrate British strength to support Russia (McMillan 2013). Kitchener could not take any troops from the Western Front, so he turned to naval capacities for active involvement. As a result, the best location for action would be the tapered strip of water from the Mediterranean into the Sea of Marmara. The purpose and plan, masterminded by Winston Churchill, was to avoid the Turkish capital, First Lord of the Admiralty. Churchill created a complicated structure of a ‘third Allied front’ which gave tremendous assistance to Russia. The Royal Naval Division, moreover, went on to form an important part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary force (MEF), was wh ich also included the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), the 29th Division (British Army) and the Royal Naval Division (RND) (Dupuy 1967). Responsibility for the division was given to General Sir Ian Hamilton, The marines’ first conflict was in March 1915, where they targeted Turkish citadels and 22 individuals lost their lives while several others were injured. On 25 April the Plymouth Battalion with a group of 2nd South Wales Borderers landed on â€Å"Y† beach where a number of soldiers lost their lives (Churchill 1940). However, these successes were not without setbacks, and it should not be concluded that the Royal Navy was unequivocally of strategic value in these cases. There had been an early problem when the navy initially landed on 25 April and this had given Turkey chance of help to organize their defenses from Germany especially on top of cliffs that gave a direct view of the neighboring beaches and into the interior of the land (Dupuy 1967). On 28th April, the Chatham Battalion landed on the Anzac shoreline in order to safeguard a beach, and they stayed there until 12th May despite many deaths and casualties. On the 29th April, the Admiralty gave control of the Royal Navy Division to the British War office and it became the 63rd Royal Naval Division. The 63rd also had control of the RM training division located at Blanford (Herwig 1987). During May and June, Royal Marines participated in warfare at the 2nd and 3rd Battles of Krithnia. Additionally, there was action at Achi Baba on the 12th June. The MEF held their initial position at Gallipoli to try and find a conclusion to the struggle (Herwig 1987). One point of important to note about this episode is that the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF), along with the Royal Navy, experienced various levels of difficulties and higher levels of casualties. This prompted MEF’s withdrawal from Gallipoli, moreover. Winston Churchill’s administration has received severe criticism for the large number of lives lost over this period, and it can reasonably be questioned whether such as campaign can be deemed of strategic value. One might even say it was a strategic folly in human terms; and as Osbourne (2004) points out, the fact that Churchill stepped down from the Admiralty as a result is damning. Following the activities of this period, more action then took place in the sea rather than on land. The Battle of Jutland was the largest wartime conflict that occurred at sea during World War I. The battle commenced on 31st May 1916 when Germany fired against the British Battle Cruiser regiments. Royal Marines proved their strategic value here, as they were involved in 10% of the most important naval attack on crafts (Osbourne 2004). This proportion comprised mainly RMA whose job during this time was to operate guns. As it got bigger, the battle looked like it was getting out of control. The next day, British demolisher vessels attacked and sunk the Pommern. However in total, the Germans lost 11 ships while the British lost 14 ships, which suggests strategic folly in numerical terms (Osbourne 2004). In May the same year, RMLI brigades arrived from Gallipoli and were repatriated to France where new resources and weapons were organised. In addition, they were given more manpower and upgraded weapons to machine guns. In July, the RM Company was joined by companies called Howe and Anson the 188th Brigade of the re-titled 63rd RND (Herwig 1987). This group moved to a fairly quiet region of the Western Front. At this point, because of new weapons technology it was necessary to safeguard the line using three trench positions. Common Trench warfare was intended for use in heavy infantry but that was not commonly experienced through the commando tactics of RMLI (Friedman 2011). These battalions became a vital element to the Battle of Ancre Heights near Beaumont Hill. There were financial implications for this battle, as well as many casualties. On 17th April 1917 the 1st and 2nd regiments participated in armed combat at Miraumant and also during the 2nd Battle of the Scarpe later that m onth. During this armed effort, troops from the 63rd Division took over captured Gavrelle, led by General C. Lawrie. Immediately afterward, the 63rd Division also participated in the Battle of Arleux (Friedman 2011). The RND marched to various regions including Arras and Ypres during the winter weather, carrying heavy army equipment. In Ypres, the battalions trained very hard to prepare for a key offensive on the German border, north of Ypres. When it happened, the attack would take the forces to the strategic location of the Paddebrek stream, in the north region of the canal (Randier 2006). Because of significant losses earlier that year the 1st and 2nd RMLI contingents joined together to increase their masses numbers. However, at this point, there were some signs that the war was moving towards an end and the Germans begun realizing that their momentum begun to slow down. Finally, on 8th August the British put into place their counter plan to impact on German troops, disturbing all levels of hierarchy in the army, including the German High Command. This appeared to be a possible chance for victory, although it is vital to point out that victory was not guaranteed. On 2nd to 3rd September 1918, the 1st and 3rd Armies fought at the Battle of Drocourt-Queant, alongside the 63rd (RN) division in the Third army (Morison 1942). On 27th September to 1st October 1918, the 1st and 3rd Armies also engaged in combat at the Battle of the Canal du Nord. During this time, the 63rd RN group was once again a component of the third Army (Stephenson 2011; Osbourne 2004). As has emerged through this essay, the strategic value of the Royal Navy was mixed. Many historians viewed Gallipoli as a catastrophic tragedy, facilitated by confusing tactics and problems that allowed the enemy to prepare for the attack (Stephenson 2011). However, despite awful circumstances, the Marines still managed several successes demonstrating that they were a significant force on the ground in the capacity of infantry. Many of the experiences acquired by soldiers in World War I were valuable resources that were applied again in the experiences they would go through in WWII (Stephenson 2011). This essay has detailed the many triumphs of the Royal Navy; however, of them all the Zeebruge campaign was arguably the most important in strategic terms (Koerver 2010). After dealing with frightful conditions and dreadful weather, the Marines still managed to carry out their responsibilities and sabotage the canal (Stephenson 2011). Their accomplishments led to an unintentional benefit of giving a confidence boost and momentum for all British soldiers involved in the conflict in other places (Knight 2006). As a final, but by no means insignificant point, the importance of the Royal Navy as a blockading force deserves a mention. The efforts of the marines and the navy kept Germany surrounded, creating barrier to many trade routes and ports, causing starvation and eventually defeat. This contributed to higher levels of bankruptcy, as Germany exhausted its finances trying to keep up with Britain (Stephenson 2011; Osbourne 2004). In conclusion, is clear that the Royal Navy was an indispensible strategic tool during WWI. It had the capacity to fight effectively in different environments and landscapes, as has been outlined in the narrative sections of this essay. It was also useful in observing and introducing a wide range of tactics, strategies, and military equipment to Britain, which helped to evolve many modern aspects of warfare that are still with us today (Knight 2006). Its versatility on land and sea, moreover, which has been outlined throughout this essay in description of campaigns, was enormously useful. In concrete terms, the most essential raids that consolidated included Antwerp, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, and Zeebruge, all of which involved the Royal Navy. Of course, it certainly had its shortcomings, and some of its failures and blunders have been discussed. However, this is an inevitable part of the operations of any force. In the end, while the Germans lost the war for a wide range of reasons, the impact of the British Royal Navy was certainly one of them; it was undoubtedly of great strategic value. Reference List Benbow, T Naval Warfare 1914-1918: From Coronel to the Atlantic and Zeebrugge. (Newbury: Amber Books Ltd, 2011) Churchill, W The Second World War. Vol. 2, Their Finest Hour ( Houghton Mifflin Company, 1949) Dupuy, T. N. The Military History of World War I: naval and overseas war, 1916-1918. (New York: Franklin Watts, 1967) Friedman, N., Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines, and ASW Weapons of All Nations: An Illustrated Directory (UK: Naval Institute Press 2011). Grove, E. Vanguard to Trident, (London: Naval Institute Press/The Bodley Head, 1987) Halpern, P. A Naval History of World War I. The Standard Scholarly Survey. (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994) Koerver, H. J. German Submarine Warfare 1914 – 1918 in the Eyes of British Intelligence, (Reinisch: LIS 2010) Herwig, H. H. Luxury Fleet: The Imperial German Navy,1888-1918. (Oxon: Routledge, 1987) Joll, R. Jackspeak. (UK: Maritime Books, 2000) Will Knight, UK unveils plans for a new submarine fleet. New Scientist (Environment) 2006, McMillan, M. The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914(London: Profile Books Ltd, 2013) Morison, E. Admiral Sims and the Modern American Navy. (UK: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1942) Osbourne, E. W. Britain’s Economic Blockade of Germany, 1914–1919. (London and New York: Routledge 2004). Randier, J. La Royale: L’histoire illustree de la Marine Nationale Francaise. (Brest: Editions de la Cite, 2006) Stephenson, D. With our backs to the wall: Victory and defeat in 1918. (UK: Penguin, 2011)

Friday, September 13, 2019

A Look At Johannes Itten English Literature Essay

A Look At Johannes Itten English Literature Essay The Bauhaus art connoisseur that I chose as a subject to study is Johannes Itten. He was a visionary color and art theorist who developed color wheel and stars which are widely studied by art students. He also delved into spiritual and psychological aspect of color. I feel deeply connected to his work as the first step towards understanding art is to understand color. I feel Johannes Itten’s simplistic approach towards embracing color and portraying his sensitivity in his artwork is quite palpable and that is the reason I feel the need to learn more about his artwork and color theories. Where are they located? When were they born? What was the world like when they were working? Johannes Itten was born on 11th Nov, 1888 in SÃ ¼dern-Lindern, Switzerland in a school teacher’s family. After realizing his passion for Arts he moved to Vienna for art studies in 1916 and then moved to Weimar in 1919 to teach in the Bauhaus. It was a competitive world when Johannes Itten lived . Europe was war trodden and people laid more emphasis on wages and savings then cultivating artistic aptitude. Although Johannes Itten somehow escaped the horrors of war, most of the artist, painters, architect during that period had to forcibly enrol in the war. In the art world people were sceptic of new ideas and that was one of the main reasons of his expulsion from the Bauhaus. Art and craft was thriving in that period and graphic designing grew bold with experiments in typography, calligraphy and photography etc which led to a sudden interest in graphic designing. Did they go to school? Where? What did they study? Since Johannes Itten was a teacher’s son he trained as a primary school teacher to pursue a career in the field. Itten however realized that teaching primary school was not his thing and that he has predilection for color and arts. Under parental pressure he decided to take Diploma in mathematics and science to teach at a secondary school, but not before taki ng a semester at Geneva Ecole des Beaux – Arts in Genf. It was after studying there that he realized his inclination towards arts. He then studied under Adolf HÃ ¶lzel in Stuttgart. After finishing his studies he moved to Vienna in 1916 where he met Walter Gropius in 1919 (founder of the Bauhaus) who extended him the invitation to lecture at the Bauhaus in Weimar. In 1926, however, after falling out with Gropius Walter, Johannes Itten established an art school in Berlin to train architects, artists, painters and photographers. From 1932 to 1938 Itten taught at the Krefeld School of Textile Design, where he edified industrial designers. He became the director of the Museum and Institute of Arts and Crafts in Zurich before retiring in 1955. Having being fully dedicated to the teaching institutes Itten never found much time to devote to his own creations until 1955, after retirement however he became more prolific then before. He died in Zurich in 1967. Can you define the desig ner’s philosophy in his/her work (i.e. did they follow or create a certain movement?) What type of work did they do?

Read an article about how Hackers Broaden Their Attacks Against Essay

Read an article about how Hackers Broaden Their Attacks Against Business Organization and write a 2 page response - Essay Example Lockheed is a major information and defense technology supplier to the federal government. After a few days, the renowned broadcaster PBS also faced a serious cyber attack. In the words of Worthen et al (2011), â€Å"Over the weekend, the website for the PBS show "NewsHour" was altered by hackers to include a fake article claiming that rapper Tupac Shakur, who was murdered 15 years ago, was alive in New Zealand. The hackers also posted login information that stations and other entities use to access PBS sites.† In the article, the writers have further pointed out that the hackers generally used to target corporations, which stored and managed secret government information or critical financial data. Hyundai Card/ Hyundai Capital Co., Epsilon, EMC Corp., etc. had been victims of such attacks. But of late, the hackers are targeting corporate secrets, media operations, and other sorts of diverse information security implementations too. The situation is changing rapidly, and the CEOs, CIOs, and CTOs of different organizations are facing unexpected challenges in the sphere of IT security.