My missing key Essay

In the early year 2000, I discovered the amazing internet, it attracted me so much that I changed my mind regarding the path of my studies, consequently I wanted to study Business and informatics. Spending couple of years self-learning about computer hardware and software. Hardly using the internet and consulting few IT technician, I found out that I had missed a pretty important part of ICT since I came across this module. As a computer enthusiast and technician to become, I believe this module is the primary key that I needed all these years even though I first thought that I did not need it and it was going to be easy to pass the module, but it wasn’t quietly what I expected by means of time consuming work, fundamental skills in word processing and data processing in Excel. I have gathered knowledge about ICTs for development in a manner that I never thought of. With students in my group I had this first experience of sharing and debating on common and uncommon ideas which of many changed my point of views about the steps to take in many areas of life involving ICT. This module had first impacted my studies with overwhelming time consecration by submitting assignments almost every week. Therefore in the beginning I tackled all practical grader works after the first one in about two weeks around mid-August. Then I was left with the remaining discussions until I came across the unexpected â€Å"learning more about excel† assignment that I found very deviating from Engineering, but with the least of choice I had to stick to the schedule so I learnt and did the best I could. This is just to portray the last and only difficulty I encountered through my journey in this module. I truly believe this module is very important for my career however I feel that I should not limit to it as if I learnt everything on Ethical Information and Communication Technologies for Development Solutions though at the beginning I believed that I will get all the answers about ICT and development. Nevertheless the learning and working through the module gave  me the basics on that matter and widely opened my mind in the way of showing me exactly how to carry on what I learnt. There are few things that I found though that would have been very useful if they were added to this module such as; the basics of computer skills for example. Beside the ethical to find solution, I felt the need of knowing how to; switch on and to turn off a computer, safely save my work on an external storage or how to handle the computer itself against viruses. To conclude, I have the confidence that the module enhanced my knowledge about development solutions and improved my skills in word processing and spreadsheet and has gave me a shot in the arm with all the tools that was missing in my career which strongly make me feel of bringing a hand to my community.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 22

Chapter 22 A Nod to the Queen of the Damned It only took five minutes to convince the police that Tommy had been at work all night and had seen nothing. Simon had done most of the talking. Tommy was so shocked to see his book in the cop's hand that he couldn't find the answers to even the simplest questions. He was, however, able to convince the cop that his shocked state came from a body having been found outside his apartment. Sometimes it paid to play on the â€Å"I just fell off the turnip truck from Indiana† image. They hauled the turtles up the steps and set the crates on the floor in the kitchen area. â€Å"Where's the little woman?† Simon asked, eyeing the huge chest freezer. â€Å"Probably still sleeping,† Tommy said. â€Å"Grab yourself a beer out of the fridge. I'll check on her.† Tommy palmed open the bedroom door, then slipped through and closed it behind him. He thought, I've got to keep Simon out of here. He's going to want Jody to get up and†¦ The bed was empty. Tommy ran to the bathroom and looked in the tub, thinking that Jody might have been caught there at sunrise, but except for a rust ring, the tub was empty. He looked under the bed, found nothing but an old sock, then tore open the closet door and pushed the hanging clothes aside. Panic rose in his throat and came out in a scream of â€Å"No!† â€Å"You okay in there?† Simon said from the kitchen. â€Å"She's not here!† Simon opened the door. â€Å"You got a nice crib here, Flood. You inherit some money or something?† Simon said. Then he spotted the panic on Tommy's face. â€Å"What's the matter?† â€Å"She's not here.† â€Å"So, she probably went out early to get a doughnut or something.† â€Å"She can't go out during the day,† Tommy said before he realized what he was saying. â€Å"I mean, she never goes out early.† â€Å"Don't sweat it. I thought you were going to teach me to read. Let's drink some beers and read some fucking books, okay?† â€Å"No, I have to go look for her. She could be out in the sun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Chill, Flood. She's fine. The worst that could happen is she's out with another guy. You might be a free man.† Simon picked up a book from the stack by the bed. â€Å"Let's read this one. What's this one?† Tommy wasn't listening. He was seeing Jody's burned body lying in a gutter somewhere. How could she let it happen? Didn't she check the almanac? He had to look for her. But where? You can't search a city the size of San Francisco. Simon threw the book back on the stack and headed out of the bedroom, â€Å"Okay then, Slick, I'm out of here. Thanks for the beer.† â€Å"Okay,† Tommy said. Then the idea of spending the day alone, waiting, threw him into another wave of panic. â€Å"No, Simon! Wait. We'll read.† â€Å"That one on the top of the stack,† Simon said. â€Å"What's that one?† Tommy picked it up. â€Å"The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice. I hear it's good.† â€Å"Then grab a beer and let's get literate.† Rivera, bleary-eyed and looking as if he had slept in his suit, sat at his desk looking over his notes. No matter how he shuffled them, they didn't make sense, didn't show a pattern. The only link between the victims was the way they had died: no motive. They wouldn't get the autopsy report for another twelve hours, but there was no doubt that the same person had done the killings. Nick Cavuto came through the squad room door carrying a box of doughnuts and a copy of the San Francisco Examiner. â€Å"They fucking named him. The Examiner is calling him the Whiplash Killer. Once they name the killer, our problems double. You got anything?† Rivera waved to the notes spread over his desk and shrugged. â€Å"I'm out of it, Nick. I can't even read my own writing. You take a look.† Cavuto took a maple stick from the box and sat down across from Rivera. He grabbed a handful of papers and began leafing through them, then stopped and flipped back. He looked up. â€Å"You talked to this Flood kid this morning, right?† Rivera was looking at the doughnuts. His stomach lurched at the thought of eating one. â€Å"Yeah, he lives across the street from where we found the body. He works at the Marina Safeway – was working at the time of the murder.† Cavuto raised an eyebrow. â€Å"The kid was staying at the motel where we found the old lady.† â€Å"You're kidding.† Cavuto held out the notes for Rivera to read. â€Å"List of guests. A uniform talked to the kid, said he was at work, but no one confirmed it.† Rivera looked up apologetically. â€Å"I can't believe I missed that. The kid was a little squirrelly when I talked to him. His friend did most of the talking.† Cavuto gathered up the papers. â€Å"Go home. Shower and sleep. I'll call the manager of the Safeway and make sure the kid was working at the time of the murders. We'll go there tonight and talk to the kid.† â€Å"Okay, then let's ask him how he's getting the blood out of the bodies.† Tommy had spent two hours trying to explain the difference between vowels and consonants to Simon before he gave up and sent the cowboy home to wax his truck and watch â€Å"Sesame Street.† Maybe Simon wasn't meant to read. Maybe he was meant to be all instinct and no intelligence. In a way, Tommy admired him. Simon didn't worry, he took things at face value as they happened. Simon was like the strong, free and easy Cassady to Tommy's introspective, overanalytical Kerouac. Maybe he would put Simon in his story of the little girl growing up in the South. The story he would be working on if he weren't worrying about Jody. He sat all day on the couch, reading The Vampire Lestat until he couldn't concentrate anymore, then he paced the apartment, checking his watch and railing to Peary, who listened patiently from the freezer. â€Å"You know, Peary, it's inconsiderate of her not to leave me a note. I don't have any idea what she does while I'm at work. She could be having a dozen affairs and I wouldn't even know.† He checked the almanac eight times for the time the sun would set. â€Å"I know, I know, until I met Jody, nothing really ever happened to me. That's why I came here, right? Okay, I'm being unfair, but maybe I'd be better off with a normal woman. Jody just doesn't understand that I'm not like other guys. That I'm special. I'm a writer. I can't handle stress as well as other guys – I take it personal.† Tommy heated up a frozen dinner and left the freezer lid open so Peary could hear him better. â€Å"I have to look to the future, you know. When I'm a famous writer I'm going to have to go on book tours. She can't go with me. What can I say, ‘No, I'm sorry, but I can't go. If I go away my wife will starve to death'?† He paced around the turtles, who were struggling in their crates. One of them raised his spiny head and considered Tommy. â€Å"I know how you guys feel. Just waiting for someone to eat you. You think I don't know how that feels?† When he could no longer look them in the eye, he carried the turtles into the bathroom, then returned to the living room and tried to get through a few more chapters of The Vampire Lestat. â€Å"This is wrong,† he said to Peary. â€Å"It says that vampires don't have sex after they are turned. Of course it only talks about male vampires. What if she's been faking? You know, she could be frigid except for when she drinks my blood.† He was working himself into a frenzy of sexual insecurity – something that felt familiar and almost comfortable – when the phone rang. He yanked it off the cradle. â€Å"Hello.† A woman's voice, surprised but trying to not to show it, said, â€Å"Hello. I'd like to speak to Jody, please.† â€Å"She's not here,† Tommy said. â€Å"She's at work,† he added quickly. â€Å"I called her at work and they said she left her job over a month ago.† â€Å"Uh, she has a new job. I don't know the number.† â€Å"Well, whoever you are,† the woman said, losing the pretense of politeness, â€Å"would you tell her that she still has a mother. And tell her that it is common courtesy to tell your mother when you change your phone number. And tell her that I need to know what she is going to do for the holidays.† â€Å"I'll tell her,† Tommy said. â€Å"Are you the stockbroker? What was it†¦ Kurt?† â€Å"No, I'm Tommy.† â€Å"Well, it's only two weeks until Christmas, Tommy, so if you're still around, we'll be meeting.† â€Å"I'll look forward to it,† Tommy said. Like I look forward to a root canal, he thought. Jody's mom hung up. Tommy put down the phone and checked his watch. Only an hour to sunset. â€Å"She's alive,† he said to Peary, â€Å"I'm sure of it. If she survived her mother, she can survive anything.† She heard steam rushing through pipes, rats scurrying in shredded paper, the spinnerets of spiders weaving webs, the footsteps of a heavy man, and the padding and panting of dogs. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was on her back on the basement floor, alone. Cardboard boxes were scattered about the room. Moonlight and sounds of movement spilled through the broken window. She got up and stepped up on a crate to look out the window. She was met by a yap and a snort and the growling countenance of a bug-eyed dog with a pan strapped to his head. â€Å"Ack!† She wiped the slime from her cheek. The Emperor fell to his knees and reached through the window. â€Å"Oh goodness, are you all right, dear?† â€Å"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine.† â€Å"Are you injured? Shall I call the police?† â€Å"No, thank you. Could you give me a hand?† She would have leaped through the window, but it wasn't a good idea in front of the Emperor. She took his hand and let him pull her through the window. Once on her feet in the alley, she dusted off her jeans. Bummer had fallen into a yapping fit. The Emperor picked up the little dog and stuffed him into his oversized coat pocket. â€Å"I must apologize for Bummer's behavior. There's no excuse for it, really, but he is a victim of inbreeding. Being royalty myself, I make allowances. If it's any consolation, it was only on Bummer's insistence that we ventured down this alley and found you.† â€Å"Well, thanks,† Jody said. â€Å"I don't know exactly what happened.† â€Å"Check your valuables, dear. You've obviously been accosted by some ne'er-do-well. Perhaps we should find you some medical attention.† â€Å"No, I'm just a little shaken up. I just need to get home.† â€Å"Then please allow me and my men to escort you to your door.† â€Å"No, that's okay. My loft is just at the end of the alley.† The Emperor held up his finger to caution her. â€Å"Please, my dear. Safety first.† Jody shrugged. â€Å"Well, all right. Thanks.† Bummer was squirming and snorting inside the Emperor's buttoned pocket like – well, like a pocketful of dog. â€Å"Can he breathe in there?† â€Å"Bummer will be fine. He's just a bit overexcited since we've gone to war. His first time in the field, you know.† Jody eyed the Emperor's cruelly pointed wooden sword. â€Å"How goes the battle?† â€Å"I believe we are closing in on the forces of evil. The fiend will be vanquished and victory will soon be ours.† â€Å"That's nice,† Jody said. When Tommy heard her coming up the stairs he threw his book across the room, ran to the loft door, and yanked it open. Jody was standing on the landing. â€Å"Hi,† she said. Tommy was torn between taking her in his arms and pushing her down the steps. He just stood there. â€Å"Hi,† he said. Jody kissed him on the cheek and walked passed him into the loft. Tommy stood there, trying to figure out how to react. â€Å"Are you okay?† Once he was sure she wasn't hurt, he'd tear into her for staying out all day. She fell onto the futon like a bag of rags. â€Å"I had a really bad night.† â€Å"Where were you?† â€Å"I was in a basement, about half a block from here. I would have called, but I was dead.† â€Å"That's not funny. I was worried. They found a body out front last night.† â€Å"I know, I saw the cops all over the place outside, just before dawn. That's why I couldn't get back.† â€Å"The cops had my copy of On the Road in an evidence bag. I think I'm in trouble.† â€Å"Was your name in it?† â€Å"No, but obviously my fingerprints were all over it. How did it get there?† â€Å"The vampire put it there, Tommy.† â€Å"How did he get it? It was here in the loft.† â€Å"I don't know. He's trying to freak us out. He's leaving the bodies near us so the police will connect us to the killings. He doesn't have to leave bodies at all, Tommy. He's killing these people in a way that leaves evidence.† â€Å"What do you mean, he doesn't have to leave bodies at all?† â€Å"Tommy, come here. Sit down. I have to tell you something.† â€Å"I don't like the tone of your voice. This is bad news, isn't it? This is the big letdown, isn't it? You were with another guy last night.† â€Å"Sit down and shut up, please.† Tommy sat and she told him. Told him about the killing, about the body turning to dust, and about being dragged into the basement. When she had finished, Tommy sat for a moment looking at her, then moved away from her on the futon. â€Å"You took the guy's money?† â€Å"It seemed wrong to throw it away.† â€Å"And killing him didn't seem wrong?† â€Å"No, it didn't. I can't explain it. It felt like I was supposed to.† â€Å"If you were hungry you should have told me. I don't mind, really.† â€Å"It wasn't like that, Tommy. Look, I don't know how to file this – emotionally, I mean. I don't feel like I killed someone. The point I'm trying to make is that the body crumbled to dust. There was no body. The people the vampire is killing aren't dying from his bite. He's breaking their necks before they die. He's doing all this on purpose to scare me. I'm afraid he might hurt you to get at me. I've suspected it for a long time, but I didn't want to say anything to you. If you want to leave, I'll understand.† â€Å"I didn't say anything about leaving. I don't know what to do. How would you feel if I told you I had killed someone?† â€Å"It would depend. This guy wanted to die. He was in pain. He was going to die anyway.† â€Å"Do you want me to leave?† â€Å"Of course not. But I need you to try and understand.† â€Å"I am trying. That's all I've been doing. Why do you think I've been doing all these experiments? You act like this is easy for me. I've been a mess all day worrying about you and you're in a basement a few steps away. What about that? Who dragged you into the basement?† â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"Whoever it was saved your life. Was it the vampire?† â€Å"I said, I don't know.† Tommy went across the room and pick up the paperback of The Vampire Lestat. â€Å"This guy, Lestat, he can tell when there's another vampire around. He can sense it. Can't you sense it?† â€Å"Right, and that's why we have a dead guy in the freezer. No, I can't sense it.† Tommy held up the book. â€Å"There's a whole history of the vampire race in here. I think this Anne Rice knows a real vampire or something.† â€Å"That's what you thought about Bram Stoker, too. And I spent an hour standing on a chair trying to turn into a bat.† â€Å"No, this is different. Lestat isn't evil, he likes humans. He only kills murderers that are without remorse. He knows when there are other vampires around. Lestat can fly.† Jody jumped up and ripped the book out of his hand. â€Å"And Anne Rice can write, Tommy, but I'm not throwing that in your face.† â€Å"You don't have to get personal.† â€Å"Look, Tommy, maybe there's some truth in one of these books that you're reading, but how do we know which one? Huh? Nobody gave me a fucking owner's manual when I got these fangs. I'm doing the best that I can.† Tommy looked away from her, then at his shoes. â€Å"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm confused and I'm a little scared. I don't know what I'm doing either. Hell, Jody, you might have AIDS now, we don't know.† â€Å"I don't have AIDS. I know I don't.† â€Å"How do you know? It's not like we can send you down to the clinic to test you or anything.† â€Å"I know it, Tommy. I could feel it if I did. Except for sunlight and food, I'm not even allergic to anything anymore. Hand lotions and soaps I couldn't get near before without breaking into a rash don't affect me. I've done a few experiments of my own. My body won't let anything hurt me. I'm safe. Besides†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jody paused and grinned, waiting for him to ask. â€Å"Besides what?† â€Å"He was wearing a condom.† Tommy resumed staring at his shoes, said nothing, then looked up at her and laughed. â€Å"That's incredibly sick, Jody.† She nodded and laughed. â€Å"I love you,† he said, moving to her and taking her in his arms. â€Å"Me too,† she said, hugging him back. â€Å"That's really sick, you know that?† â€Å"Yep,† she said. â€Å"Tommy, I don't want to break this beautiful moment, but I have to take a shower.† She kissed him and pushed him away gently, then headed into the bathroom. â€Å"Uh, Jody,† he called after her, â€Å"I got a present for you in Chinatown today.† There's an explanation for this, she thought, standing in the bathroom, looking at the turtles. There is a perfectly good reason why there are two huge snapping turtles in my tub. â€Å"Do you like them?† Tommy was standing in the doorway behind her. â€Å"These are for me, then?† She tried to smile. She really did. â€Å"Yeah, Simon helped me get them home. I didn't think I could carry them on the bus. Aren't they great?† Jody looked in the tub again. The turtles were trying to crawl on top of each other. Their claws screeched on the porcelain when they moved. â€Å"I don't know what to say,† Jody said. â€Å"I thought that we could feed them fish and stuff, and you'd have a blood supply right here at home. Besides me, I mean.† She turned and regarded Tommy. Yes, he was serious. He was really serious. â€Å"You haven't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Their names are Scott and Zelda. Zelda is missing a toe on her back foot. That's how you tell them apart. Do you like them? You seem a little reticent.† A little, she thought. You couldn't have brought me flowers or jewelry, like most guys. You had to say it with reptiles. â€Å"I don't suppose there's any chance that you saved the receipt?† Tommy's face avalanched into disappointment. â€Å"You don't like them.† â€Å"No, they're fine. But, I really wanted to take a shower. I'm not sure I want to be naked in front of them.† â€Å"Oh,† Tommy said, brightening. â€Å"I'll take them into the living room.† He pulled a towel off the rod and began maneuvering over the tub, trying to get a drop on Zelda. â€Å"You have to be careful; they can take off a finger in those jaws.† â€Å"I see,† Jody said. But she didn't see at all. The idea of biting one of the spiny creatures in the tub gave her an industrial-size case of the creeps. Tommy lunged and came up with Zelda, wrapped in swaddling clothes and snapping at his face. â€Å"She hates being picked up.† Zelda's claws tore at the towel and Tommy's shirt as she attempted to swim through midair. He set the turtle on her back on the bathroom floor and readied the towel to lunge into the tub for Scott. â€Å"Lestat can call animals to him when he's hungry. Maybe you can train them.† â€Å"Stop it with the Lestat stuff, Tommy. I'm not sucking turtles.† He turned to her and slipped, falling into the tub. Scott snapped, barely missing Tommy's arm, and latched on to the sleeve of his denim shirt. â€Å"I'm okay. I'm okay. He didn't get me.† Jody pulled him from the tub. Scott was still attached to his sleeve and was determined not to let go. Turtles hate heights. They don't even like being a few feet off the ground. It's the main reason they have resisted evolution for so long – fear of heights. Turtle thinking goes thus: Sure, first our scales turn into feathers and the next thing you know we're flying and chirping and perching on trees. We've seen it happen. Thanks, but we're staying right here in the mud where we belong. You're not going to see us flying full-tilt boogie into a sliding glass door. Scott was not letting go of the sleeve, not as long as Tommy was standing. â€Å"Help me,† Tommy said. â€Å"Pry him off.† Jody looked for a place on the turtle to grab – reached out and pulled back several times. â€Å"I don't want to touch him.† The phone rang. â€Å"I'll get it,† Jody said, running out of the bathroom. Tommy dragged Scott to the doorway, keeping his feet safely away from Zelda's jaws. â€Å"I forgot to tell you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Hello,† Jody said into the phone. â€Å"Oh, hi, Mom.†

Individual Case Study Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Individual Case Study Analysis - Essay Example The case study reflects the impact of the cultural difference between the employees of JET. The report has been prepared for understanding the key issues of the organization and focus on analysing the reasons behind these issues. It will highlight the impact of linguistic barrier and cultural differences within the organization. The different situations where the difference in the nature of thinking and the social values resulted in creation of distance between the employees of different nationality have been discussed in this study. Finally, recommendations to the organizations for solving the recent issues and improving its performance have been concluded in the report. 2. Introduction In this case study, the difference in the values of the Japanese and the Americans has been clearly shown The Japanese were formal and reserved. On the other hand, the American were informal and self assertive in nature. In case of accepting assignments in the foreign countries (as expatriates), it i s very important to consider the personality, psychology and cultural differences. ... This case study reflected the clashes which took place as a result of differences in the personality, values, psychology, culture and also lack in the orientation and training programs. It highlighted the factors which should have been considered by Kelly before planning to accept the offer. 3. Analysis and Issues Kelly found that the Japanese were too much devoted towards their work and were satisfied in working for extra time during the weekends and coming to office during the weekends. According to Kelly, the employees should make proper use of the vacation time provided to them in the job contract. Kelly noticed that none of the Japanese women have been promoted to a senior level in the Board of Education. The only women found to be working there were the young secretaries or office ladies. Mr. Higashi, who was the supervisor of the foreign participants of JET, had a tendency of arranging projects as well as other conferences and cancelling them without informing to the Assistant Language Trainers about the cancellation of such projects and conferences. In a similar manner, he arranged for special assignment during the holiday without providing prior information to the ALT’s. These were the key issues where the foreigners had to suffer because of the cultural differences. Moreover, as these foreigners could not speak the Japanese language properly, communication with them was very difficult. Moreover, the Japanese considered these foreign employees to be less committed towards their work as they never stayed in the office after the completion of the working hour at 5.00 p.m. on the weekdays and never worked during the weekends. The ALT’s had stated it clearly that there were vacation days mentioned in the job contract and they will utilise these

Dividend Policys of Companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dividend Policys of Companies - Essay Example Companies which are in stages of growth or in initial stages normally have a sparing dividend policy because they reinvest or plow back much of their earnings into the company to experience growth and development (Financial Dictionary 2011). Established companies such as blue chips, Unilever and Wal-Mart being some of them, are inclined to relatively liberal dividend payout policies and grant dividends regularly on quarterly or half-yearly basis. For instance, Unilever (bearing a symbol of UL and listed on NYSE) pays a regular dividend every quarter; the most recent payout has been an amount of US$ 0.307 on November 8, 2011. Similarly, Wal-Mart paid a quarterly dividend of US$ 0.365 recently on December 07, 2011; a payment every quarter is being followed by the company. Dividends payment do assure shareholder satisfaction but some research, particularly Modigliani and Miller (MM)’s proposition on irrelevance depicts that a company’s performance and profitability is not affected by its dividend policy. Talking from the shareholder perspective, shareholders are more satisfied when they receive regular flows of dividends, even in small amounts but the factor of regularity ensures their confidence in the company. An irregular or erratic pattern of dividend payouts can lead to bad image for the company and thus an adverse effect on its share in the market. Considering potential investors and their attitude towards a company’s dividend payment patterns or dividend policy, people, according to their stage of investment that is their age, invest accordingly. In the case of stocks, younger or aggressive risk taker individuals invest in growth stocks or stocks that induce capital gains rather than a stream of dividends. Investors in retirement stages or in the later faction of their lives invest in less risky income stocks which payout dividends on a continuous basis forming a regular fixed income. Mini Case – Topic: Dividend Policy Company Na me: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Description Wal-Mart was founded in the year 1962, with the inauguration of the first Wal-Mart discount store in Rogers, Ark. The company became public as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on October 31, 1969 and its shares began trading on OTC (Over The Trading) markets in 1970 and were listed on NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) two years later in 1972. The first dividend was declared on March 26, 1974. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the 18th largest publicly listed company according to The Forbes 2010 list of Global 2000 big publicly listed companies (The Forbes 2011). The company caters to customers and members more than 200 million times weekly at retail units more than 9,880 under 60 different banners in more than 28 countries. With the world’s highest sales revenue of US$ 405 billion, it employs more than 2 million employees worldwide. Dividend Policy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc Before discussing about Wal-Mart’s dividend policy, its payout history has to be taken into account; the table below depicts the same: Dividend Payment History – Wal-Mart Stores Inc Year 2010 2009 2008 Dividend Per Share* (DPS) (In US$) 1.09 0.95 0.88 Total Dividend (In US$ million) 4,217 3,746 3,586 Dividend Yield (IN US$) 2.1% 1.9% 2.1% *These dividends are paid in four portions on a quarterly basis such as US$0.3025 paid on January 31, 2011. The above table depicts the

Needs Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Needs Assessment - Essay Example The greatest area of need is the family support that these students are accorded by their families while handling stress. The educational program that the children go through is quite demanding and occasionally puts them under undue stress. That was the opinion of most parents. In reference to the educational staff at school, most parents were of the view that they made students work harder and thus put them under so much stress. In spite of the presence of the families, the stress needs to be managed well. In fact, most parents had a fair understanding of the processes that their students underwent during their therapy sessions at school. From the interviews, it is obvious that the students observed had shown incredible improvements since the first time that they attended the therapy sessions. It should be noted that the levels of motor coordination of the students directly affect their motor activities. This directly affects their concentration while doing activities, like dressing and eating. Overall, most parents thought that the performance of their children was improving. The progress that most parents would want to see is an exponential improvement in the physical performance of activities. The set goals that most parents needed to achieve were material support from the institution. Most parents shared their sentiments with other parents as well as the therapist. The biggest problem that affects the performance of the therapist is the overwhelming workload. He or she has to tend to the needs of the diverse student population alone. The biggest strength of the therapist is his/her understanding of the individual needs of the students. A therapist has a personal relationship with the students and thus is able to attend to their needs more effectively. Such a specialist’s biggest weakness is the fact that he/she lacks additional human resources to assist in delivering services. The priority that the therapist uses

Discussion Board creminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion Board creminal justice - Essay Example (Burright) Nonetheless, in recent past the privatization of prisons and jails found the way back into the criminal justice, once again arousing a wave of controversy and debate. Over-crowded correctional facilities, decreasing revenues, increasing crime rates, public call for more prison sentences and longer criminals' incarceration are among the factors that forced the nation's prison system to once again consider the option of private contracting to provide privatization of prisons and jails. ... Considering all these benefits, by 1987, three States had approved legislation authorizing private businesses to operate the State correctional facilities. At present, there are a lot of states and counties that have prisons being operated by private companies. So while the legal aspects of government delegating its responsibility for the custody of an individual to private organizations was much discussed in the 1980s, today it is clear that "objections to prison privatization on constitutional delegation grounds have little force". (McDonald, p.6) It is interesting that with so many privately operated correctional institutions in the country, there is no any case law to define exactly how general process standards are applied to private jails and prisons. There is no special legislation defining the authority of private contractors regarding use of force, especially deadly force. Privately run facilities usually lack legal authority to respond to various critical situations, e.g. escape and other emergencies. There is a great need for legislation that would govern these practices. Without proper legal solution to this absence of the relevant law of jurisdiction, it is quite possible that private companies will have to face civil or criminal liability. Special legal questions arise when sending prisoners from a certain jurisdiction to another, privately operated one. Some jurisdictions rely on contracts, others - on intermediary governments when placing prisoners in private jails. There is no common ground and these inter-juris dictional issues also put a question mark on the sufficiency of legal regulation and authority. To address other reasons proponents of prisons privatization offer, one should mention that there is no strong evidence to support the

Water Management in Yellow River Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Water Management in Yellow River - Essay Example The water resources in China are inefficiently used, over-allocated and coarsely polluted by industrial and human waste to the extent of killing sections of large rivers like the Yellow River (Ma, 1999). In addition, there is vast over-pumping and unsustainable consumption of groundwater resources; lakes are covered in pools of waste; numerous aquatic species have been extinct, with a host of other adverse direct impacts on the health of the ecosystem and humans widespread in the country. China is home to sixteen of the twenty most polluted cities worldwide; ensuring that all major watersheds of the nation suffer from extensive pollution. Desertification, as a result of too much ground and surface water withdrawal, is increasingly dominating the Northern region of China; a region hugely dependent on the Yellow River (Ma, 1999). The social issue facing the region involves handling of the disposal of wastes by local residents as well local industries. The densely populated regions resu lt in mass production of waste products which are inappropriately dumped into the river. These problems not only pose a huge threat to the political stability of the country but it is also a huge threat to the country’s economic development. The government is spending substantial amounts of money on health care issues as a result of major disease outbreaks in the heavily polluted areas of the country (Boyle, 2007). According to Eng and Ma (2006), major companies are calling off their business ventures due to water concerns as well as augmenting internal conflicts over the quality and allocation of water resources. These events have resulted in new political pressures on the regional and central governments to tighten their fight with the current water management problems. A 2005 Chinese Government report revealed that fifty thousand environmentally related protests occurred, most of which revolved around

Answers to 6 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answers to 6 questions - Essay Example Majority of the business oriented network sites have the profile of its members optimized for search engines and this has several benefits for the social network members. The member has the ability to control the business profile including the listing that will appear on the search engine results of the company. A business with a link is able to benefit from the authority especially if the business oriented social network has Google or any other search engine. On the contrary, enterprise social networks mainly focus on the various social networks for businesses and individuals that have the same business interests. An ESN is enterprise social software and in most circumstances regarded as an Enterprise 2.0 component used by various businesses for commercial purposes. ESN has corporate intranet alterations and various classic software stages that many large companies use to organize message sending and receiving, collaboration among other intranet features. ESN are thought to include standard social external service network which is essential in generating visibility for an organization (Thaw, 2013, p. 907). Popular mobile gambling has become popular after the business started to collect and send unwanted contents; the business has become a legitimate business especially in small islands. The reason behind this is that the carriers of the business have set guidelines and best practices for the mobile industry; this has been fruitful in developing these regions. Mobile gambling sites located in Small Island are considered to have a lot of integrity and this is evident from its history, trustworthiness and the security they put on a customer’s money (Yani-de-soriano et al., 2012, p.481). The online sites are similar to that of the real casinos while the services of others are much better, majority of this casinos offer the clients the opportunity to win cash easily as compared to the brick and mortar casinos. The mobile gambling sites offer a variety of sof tware features to its large users and this serves the work of satisfying the different types of customers. The mobile casinos are currently favorable because they have the best genres of real money casino games represented in the mobile gambling site. All that is required is to have the desired game downloaded and one can play it from any portable gaming device, such games include video poker, and many of these games come with bonuses that are designed the gamer enjoys a unique mobile experience. Botnets have the ability of turning computers into zombies they used as attackers for various sites, spreading email spam or stealing information that is important. When the PC is turned into a zombie, the malicious nature of the bots will be hidden from the owner. It is possible to cultivate thousands of botnet networks to thousands of computers and this is by commanding a bot herder who guides the computers to commit crimes, spams, and accessing a single site in order to shut it down rapi dly; this creates false traffic to the site which eventually inflates standing, adware spyware while spreading botnet to other PCs. Botnets evil forms of work distributed over computers and the power of processors are awesome forces botnet herders seek for new ways to use this power in gaining money and clout (Young et al., 2007, p. 281). Computers are becoming more powerful and prevalent and this creates more opportunity for the

Social venture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social venture - Essay Example Through the efforts of volunteers, the food collected are â€Å"sort, repack and shelve almost 400 tons of food at our warehouse every week, doing the work of what would be about 50 full-time employees† San Francisco Food Bank (2011). This makes the organisation boast of close to two million pounds of food in their warehouse. These pounds of food are given back to society by delivering them to over four hundred local non-profit making organisations who for various reasons may be in need of the food. Social Problems and Challenges addressed by San Francisco Food Bank As its name suggest, the social problem addressed by San Francisco Food Bank is hunger reduction and provision of food to feed the masses. This social problem addressed by the organisation cannot be described with any other words better than saying it is a course in the right direction. The decision to tackle food related problem is particularly important noting the fact that scholars shuch as Abraham Maslow recogn ises food as the number one need of humanity. This way, it is true to conclude that San Francisco Food Bank tackles the most important social problem of humanity. The basis on which the organisation operates in this venture of social problem is seen in its mission statement, which is stated as â€Å"We provide food to over 24,000 households in San Francisco and Marin counties each week. We will distribute 41.5 million pounds of food to the community this year, enough to feed 88,000 meals every day† (Charity Navigator, 2011). Clearly, the figure of 88,000 meals everyday is awesome and needful. Inversely, the city of San Francisco would have 88,000 meals missed every day and some 24,000 households would have suffered empty stomach but for San Francisco Food Bank. Strategies used in addressing social problems The major strategy used by San Francisco Food Bank in the jurisdiction of its social mission is volunteerism and fundraising. According to the organisation, they â€Å"rel y on volunteers like you to help sort, package and distribute healthy food to people in need in San Francisco† (San Francisco Food Bank (2011). Volunteerism is also seen in the acquisition of the food in the organisation’s ‘food bank’. This way, the company acknowledges the fact that â€Å"this can include test-marketed products, items close to code date, produce that is the wrong shape or size for conventional markets and excess. Food drives are an important source of variety.† Day in an out, the organisation through mass media advertisement and publicity programs solicit for the inclusion of the ordinary San Franciscan in its volunteer activities. The organisation also organises fundraising events that aims at soliciting for physical cash for the running of the organisation. Scrutiny of San Francisco Food Bank’s Strategies in addressing Social Problems – including Projected Social Impact The major strength of San Francisco Food Bankâ €™s strategy for addressing its social interventions is that the work output of the company is extremely large to be undertaken by regularly and fully employed workers, especially as the organisation is only a non-profit making venture. Volunteerism is chosen by the organisation purposely because the work load on the organisation is extremely tedious and vast. Needing to feed over 24,000 households with 41.5 million poun

Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Essay Example for Free

Martin Luther King Jr’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† Essay Martin Luther King Juniors â€Å"letter from Birmingham Jail† was the reflection upon protest against unjust laws was established against him and his fellow men. Throughout his letter he uses many great philosophers and historical events to justify his own protest to be necessary to do what’s right. King was the leader of civil-rights group that supported protest against traditional views of the society and unjust laws established in the era.† In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. † ( Taylor) In his letter from Birmingham Jail King states: â€Å"It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s anti-religious laws† (King, 6). Here in this excerpt shows that King encourages protest because in some extreme circumstances becomes necessary, be it in Hitler’s Germany, a Communist country, or any situation in which injustices are occurring. In the end of the sentence King openly admits that he would protest against established laws or traditions by all means necessary because they favor the unjust. The letter was written to his fellow clergymen to explain his prior actions and to attempt justified and appropriate for the situation. He expressed that he exhausted every other option to justify them. In the letter he tried to explain to the clergy that his actions although illegal were possible and direct action was the only available option left, which could make a difference. â€Å"One may well ask: â€Å"How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?† The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all†. Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? (King, 5). Throughout history, there have been many unjust laws. Many people follow laws just because they are laws. Sometimes people don’t even agree with a law, but they go along because it’s in society acceptable or because it’s just the law. I think that by writing the letter, and putting forward the definition, King is challenging his readers to consider whether or not a law is just. If a law is unjust, it is the responsibility of the people to get it overturned. A society should not live with an unjust law. By choosing to go against law it shows that king primarily a teleological thinker. In conclusion, King wrote â€Å"Letter from Birmingham City Jail† for the purpose of making his audience realize that they are not carrying out our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence which is the United States was founded upon. King only wants what should be granted to all United States citizens, this being freedom, justice, and equality. He is saying he is in jail for only doing what is right, by trying to achieve what is right through non-violence and the fact that he is in jail is unjust, does not support equality, and freedom. Work Cited Taylor, Justin.† Between Two Worlds. Martin-luther-king-jr-letter-from-birmingham-jail† http://thegospelcoalition.org/. 23 Jan. 2013.

Data Collection and Analysis of Sports Games

Data Collection and Analysis of Sports Games Statement of task As gowning up I was always around sports, for that fact always around many different sports, and one thing that I noticed in each sport is that the interaction, passion, and the interrelations that the fans have with the players. This relation between the players and the fans, many times causes the turnout of the game, which it has. Whether its soccer or football, American or African, males or females, no matter what sport it is all of the games can be determined by how the fan are. Different types of fans react differently in a game, like a hockey fans are mostly angry in nature who cause riots if the game does not go the way they want it to, when a tennis player does not do as well as hoped, there fan will obviously react in a different way. In Europe, they are big soccer or football as they call it there fans, during a game of soccer, if a riots breaks out they have to stop the game completely for the safety of the players and the fans, sometimes these riots last for days†¦ t he understanding of these fans can tell you how the game or even the series will end. Data Collection In sports there are many different ways to measure how the games will end up, whether your then wins or not, or is going to end up like. One can never tell how the fans are going to act; they can do and will do anything to see a good game. They do a lot of things, just to see their team win. They, the fans, have done many crazy things, like kidnapped a player so he couldnt make it to the game, for threaten the player physically or physiologically to get into the players head. The players always get energy form the fans and how each one of them has the courage to stand up for what they come to see, see their team win†¦ This is one of the greatest comeback in soccer history†¦ The comeback may be the most thrilling event in sports. One team or player is left for dead, done, kaput, down too many points or games to come back. We are rational beings. We like to believe what we see, that when a game looks over, it is indeed over. But the comeback, the one done against all odds, speaks to our irrational, dreamy side. It makes us realize that against all odds, great things can happen. They came back for 4 down in the 80th minute and won the match. In base ball the fans are tend to be always fun and interactive with the players. Sometimes a great comeback is spurred by a single moment. Take, for instance, the 2004 Boston Red Sox. In the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox found themselves down 0-3 to the New York Yankees. They had been pummeled 19-8 in Game 3. History was not on their side: No baseball team had ever come back to win a series after falling behind 0-3. And there was that little matter of a certain curse that shadowed the club. In the last game they were down 4-3 and they with the help to the fans the player found a new motive to bet the Yankees and bet them they shall, because after that the Sox went on to win in extra innings, then won the next three games, completing the single biggest comeback in baseball playoff history. In the World Series, they swept the St. Louis Cardinals to end an 86-year championship drought. There was the 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox rallied against the Yankees to become the first team to ever overcome losing the first three games of a postseason series. Here are some of the other comebacks which were inspired by the fans for them to win the 1999 US Ryder Cup team; 2005 Champions League winner Liverpool FC; golfer Karrie Webb; tennis player Ivan Lendl; basketballs Duke Blue Devils and Boston Celtics; and hockeys Toronto Maple Leafs. DATA ANALYSIS cs shows that soccer games, 40 percent of the time the games are won form a comeback win. In football about 25% of the games are won from come from behind victories. Most people when won or lose the game blame the most important player on the team, which may or may not be the quarterback, although it is the fans that never give on their team, it is the fans that get people back in to the game, it is the fans the control the game. 35 percent of basketball games are won from comeback victories. 45 percent of the games are come back games in baseball. Six times in the previous 114 World Series has a team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a World Series, and a team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in six of the 48 LCS that have been played since it was expanded from a best-of-5 to a best-of-7 in 1985. Evaluate For every game that has been ever been played, more than one third has been won with the help and support of the fans in the stadium. One of the important factors that affect the betting odds at football betting is the Home and Away wins. If you have a look at the statistics, you will find that around half of the total matches are home wins, the other quarter matches are draws and the remaining quarter are away wins. These statistics are very much same for all the football leagues around the world. Thus, this fact backs that a home team has a better advantage over the away team. This is not just for football but every sport out there such as, soccer, baseball, even basketball its all the same. There are many reasons for a home team to have advantage over the away team. One reason is the presence of the home crowd. The shouting and cheering of the home crowd really motivates the players, as well as make them play harder to win. On the other hand, the away team always has tremendous pressure, when playing away from home. In such situations, the away team tends to create mistakes, while playing. In any game these days, you will always find that the home team is always the favorite before the start of the game and accordingly the odds are decided. After the kick-offs of any sport, the odds change depending on the situation of the game. In case the home team scores the first goal, home run, or basket, the odds change in the favor of the home team. In other words, if you wish to place a bet on the home team, there are chances that you may win it, since the home team is the favorite and on top of that, it has scored the first goal, home run, or basket also. Without any doubts the winning teams are the favorites to win no matter, if it is a home or away match or team.

White Fang Essay -- essays research papers

White Fang During peoples lives they can be influenced due to the emotions and feelings around them. In the book White Fang by Jack London, White Fang is influenced by three different emotions. The first influence on White Fang was the wild. Another influence on White Fang was fear. A third influence on White Fang was pure hatred. These influences can all be related to similar emotions in my life. The wild’s influence on White Fang is similar to influences in my life. The wild influenced White Fang many different ways throughout his life. One way that the wild has influenced White Fang was when he was a young pup and coming out of the cave for the first time, all the sounds and things that he couldn’t understand brought about in him a strange feeling that he would never forget. Another way that the wild influenced White Fang was by calling him out and away from the fires and tents of the Indian Village. "It was like something was calling him, urging him to run free through the meadows and play in the streams, this was the wild and his White Fangs home"(124). This feeling that White Fang was given when he was born, helps to lead him through life and teach him the dangers of the unknown. The third and most dramatic example of the wild’s influence on White Fang happened late in the book after Weedon Scott had met White Fang. White Fang was torn betw een his new found feeling of love and the way of life in the wild that he had enjoyed and mastered throughout his life. This proves the strength that the wild has on the creatures who live in it. The wild has also had a small effect on my life. The wild while not as suvier as the wild in White Fang has shaped me into a nature lover, ever since I was little I would always wonder to my grandparents woods and climb trees and just play there until I was forced to go home. Another example of the wilds influence on myself is by, the constant wanting to leave Monticello and travel down to Kentucky, where we have a house on a lake, so that I can be alone with all the things I have grown to love. The third example of the wilds influence on my life is the constant searching for something new and exciting that I have never done before. These are all ways that the wild has influenced my life. White Fangs dealings with the wild have had a ... ...it. Another way that hatred has influenced me happened last year when a former friend of mine made me and Aaron Newton so made that we took his wakeboard and broke it in half and sank his boots in the bottom of the lake. The third and most dramatic display of hate happened a few years ago when I said a few choice words to my step mom that got me kicked out of my house and sent to live with my mom. This was something that just fueled my hatred for her, by blaming her for what happened and causing the whole deal. These are all examples of how hatred has influenced me on some of the choices I have made during my life. White Fangs dealings with hatred have been somewhat similar to those that I have encountered during my life. White Fang has been influenced in many of the same ways that I have been influenced throughout my life. One of these influences was the wild that pulled on him his whole life. The second was a fear that kept him from enjoying many of life’s great things and the third was a pure hatred for several different things during his life. Even though White Fang is not a true story it can still be related to peoples lives today.

Greaest Quality :: essays research papers

Kindness. What is it? Kindness is characterized by the quality or state of being kind. Kindness is a major element of, do on to others as done on to you. Most of God’s gifts come to us as Grace and often it is not necessary for us to ask for these gifts. He has given us the gift of being able to overcome the difficulties that face us. We have much to be thankful for because of God’s kindness to us even from before we were born. Kindness is needed in life because we need to be grateful for what we were given and help others who aren’t stricken with the same abilities, kindness results in a more worth while life, and everyone needs kindness to live. People haven’t always been grateful to God for his gifts. I know I was very grateful when I learned what I was born with, for example, I was born with apnea, a disease stricken in infants that causes their breathing to stop while they are sleeping. That most be the reason at the current point in my life that I enjoy sleeping so well. But God’s love and grace pulled me through and kept me safe through my early childhood. Certain dependability is necessary to practice kindness. Kindness is our way of imitating life’s true meaning. Kindness is always something special. For example. On your way to work you notice an elderly man struggling to cross a busy street. He is surrounded by so many cars, he doesn’t know what to do. He reaches the pedestrian crossing and pushes the button but the cars and trucks keep coming. Being a kind person you take the man by the arm and help him across the avenue. That’s kindness! Your kindness may be the difference between a "good" and a "bad" morning. Look for these opportunities! Some people do not like to be assisted. They feel able-bodied enough to tackle street crossings even though they are elderly.

Government and Politics - Time to Stop Lying Essay -- Argumentative Pe

Time to Stop Lying A great number of young adults have lost interest in the political system of this country. It is really quite simple- the power structure is not working in our favor, we see no great future achievements in legislation or politics, and we would much rather put our energies towards more fulfilling ends. The nature of politics in this country has progressed to a corrupt web of lies and deception that clearly favors the white male who spends his life working nine to five and has given his voice, his freedom, his manhood over to his government. Â   Those of us who refuse to succumb to this lifestyle find ourselves constantly battling to maintain even a base level standard of living. We have not chosen to close our eyes to the social conditions that surround us, and we have not chosen to be pretentious suburbians living life in a bubble of our own creation, fooling ourselves into believing that words and legislative acts will solve the many problems of these times. Â   We do not have much faith in the legislative system in America. We study our history, and realize that nothing has really changed, despite numerous amendments, acts, and programs. We find these to be simple attempts to pacify the masses in a scheme of the largest proportions to launder our riches and our wealth. Â   You ask why we do not vote or participate actively in politics. I ask why should we choose betwee... ...ve us some skills to enter into this rat race you have started. Give us computers, teach us to use them, and help us in our individual pursuits. Stop sucking us dry with taxes and fees, and give us financial assistance to start our independent pursuits. Repay the descendants of slaves and repay the Native Americans. Find some justice for the people of this country. Educate us on truth and the world. Don't shut us in a box, ignorant of the world community, perpetrating white supremacy and western "democracy." Give us something worthwhile to vote for and we might start showing up at the polls. Don't be afraid to admit the wrongs of the past and present; that is the only way to grow and move into the future. Â  

Homelessness and Spare Change

Over one-hundred million people in the world today are homeless and out of that more than two million of them are from the United States. We the people are unaware of the things that are happening behind our backs. For instance, while you’re complaining about your pillow being too hard someone across town is looking for a pillow to sleep on although their chances of finding one are slim. Homelessness is a type of suffrage that has been around since the dawn of time.How does one live without a pillow you ask? There are many different ways to become homeless. Ninety-five percent of people without homes are victims of poverty, condition of being poor. Most people lose their money from addictions to substances like tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, and/or many others, some gamble it all away trying to do a get rich quick scheme or will get laid off by their jobs. They will dig themselves into such a deep hole that the light from above is barely visible.Some are lucky enough to make it out of the hole. As if the gods decided that they at disserve a chance. These chances might be a job offer with a good annual salary, a permanent home practically given to them, or many other different possibilities that have and will happen throughout history. Religious people will pray night and day searching for hope while struggling through life and its common challenges.God is a resource used by most homeless people. When people become desperate to find hope, even the non-religious ones, they go to a higher power and beg for it. Shelter homes are often used by homeless people. The wait in line is long and sometimes you have to show up hours before they start opening the doors just to get in because there are not enough beds for everybody. Plus the security cannot be trusted either, people will often be pickpocketed or raped while sleeping. Some don’t resort to these conditions; instead they sleep on the sidewalk or find vacant houses and make camp there for the night.The se circumstances are not right; people should not have to live with them no matter how they got there. They need help and there are many ways for a  common citizen to do so. In some parts of the world, like the United Kingdom, there are clothing stores called Shelter that give sixteen percent of proceeds to local homeless shelters. Spare change can also be shared with a beggar on the side of the road. No matter how annoying they are, you should give grace because it is always a good thing to help out of the kindness of your heart.Although, sometimes a beggar isn’t who he claims to be, one confessed and told the press that he made six figures a year which is plenty of money to afford a home. That is one misconception about the homeless that is hard to see. Also, not all homeless people have shaggy beards and stinky feet, some find a way to take care of hygiene because they are too scared of being labeled and judged as the failure they have become. How would you think of a co worker if you knew they didn’t have a permanent roof over their heads as they slept at night? Most managers would fire them because they didn’t want â€Å"trash† in their staff.Now that you’re aware of the horror filled life that is forced upon hundreds of thousands of people each day, I hope you give the beggars spare change next time you see one or volunteer at the nearest shelter home or soup kitchen. Doing so will not only make someone else’s day better but will also make your pillow feel softer than it actually is.

It Is Good for Children to Learn by Heart

It is good for children to learn by heart Children today learn in many different ways, it depends on who they have as â€Å"teacher†. Today most of the teachers at school agree with that it is good for children to learn by heart. While other, disagrees. Why is it good for children to learn by heart, why not? First of all I’d like to mention that each one of us isn’t the same. We all like to learn in different ways. Some like to learn by heart. Some need an explanation of everything they learn. Learning by heart is such a good idea. It leads to good grades. It also makes a person smarter.When we for example learn the dates of important events that had been, by heart, we have control of how the world’s history has been through time. If someone ever mentions 1945, we will think of every event that had been in this year. It is also great to know each states of America by heart. Also name each country in the world. We then know where the state New York lays if someone mentions it. There are several things in life we just have to learn by heart. Like formulas in maths, they may not make sense, but you’ve got to learn it to solve a math problem.This is an advantage for why child should to that. However, every good thing has also a bad side. Learning by heart isn’t the best thing we can tell a child to do. You may memorize everything you hear or read, by heart, but do you really understand everything of it? Not for sure. There may be difficult words that we read. We find out what the definitions of those words are. But still, don’t understand it. We just learn it by heart. And when we have a test on school where we are supposed to explain one word, we just write the definition of what we have learned by heart.After some days, weeks or even months we may have forget what we have â€Å"learned†. Therefore it is good to understand what you know, so you can use it in practical situation, or explain it with your own wo rds to somebody else. There are many other ways to learn. Since we all learn in different ways. We should spend time to figure out how and when we do learn best. Then again, you have to understand what you learn! Some ways to learn: Make pictures in your head when you read, for example. Search for an easy explanation on internet. Or ask somebody to help you.Teachers at school can teach in a unique way. At school we can use what we learn in practical situations. It’s important to repeat what you’ve just learned, and think of it. I personally think that learning by heart is in a way pointless. I do learn in that way. Only when I have to learn nonsense things! Otherwise, I believe that everything has an explanation. I’m used to make an illustration of almost everything I hear. I make combinations of things I learn and then fantasize it to myself. This makes me understand the new things I learn through a day.

Nike Marketing Essay

Introduction Former University of Oregon track coach and co-founder of Nike Bill Bowerman once said: â€Å"If you have a body, you are an athlete!† (Nike Inc., n.d.) It is this way of thinking that describes the root of Nike’s approach to marketing. Every person is a potential athlete or â€Å"consumer†. This is a common thinking in the realm of athletics but when Bill Bowerman said this, it was in direct reference to the shoe industry. From their marketing strategies to their selling philosophies, Nike has developed one of the most recognizable and demanded names and logo ever. Nike, which is the name of the Greek Goddess of Victory, was born in 1972 when Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) launched its first branded shoe at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. A former University of Oregon track team member Phil Knight created Blue Ribbon Sports. At Oregon, Knight was coached by the legendary Bill Bowerman and then went on to become alumnus of the Stanford School of Business. BRS was crafted in 1962 when Knight made a deal with Onitsuka Tiger Company, a Japanese shoe company, to import their shoes to the United States. Knight had the idea to sell a low cost shoe with a very high quality, with high aspirations of taking Adidas out of the top spot in the athletic shoe market. In 1964, Bill Bowerman decided to join Knight as a partner at BRS to create a joint quest to be number one. Bowerman redesigned the Tiger shoes while Knight acted as the accountant/personal seller and the two went on the road to sell their newly crafted sneakers at track meets and local shoe stores. By 1966, Blue Ribbon Sports opened its first store in Oregon, which is where Nike is still currently headquartered. Knight and Bowerman managed the store with the only one employee, Jeff Johnson. By 1972 BRS was able to subcontract its own shoe line and began selling Nike Brand shoes. Over the next decade Nike expanded almost double its size each year from the previous year. BRS officially became Nike in 1978 and opened manufacturing plants all over the U.S. Nike was a household name for most athletes by early 1980’s. Today, Nike is the world’s leading designer, maker and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a series activities, as well as sports-inspired civic shoes. The company’s target market is in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, with its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike employs around 38,000 people to produce footwear for running, training, basketball and  soccer use. The company also sells tennis, golf, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking, outdoor activities and other athletic shoes. The company provides these products for men, women and children. As the leading global footwear brand, Nike reported revenues of $7.0 billion for first quarter, 2014. Identification of Target Market(s) In its beginning Nike’s focus was primarily on track and field, and for the most part track athletes were their target market. One of the first individuals to endorse a Nike product was a man who exemplified their style and way of conducting business, Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was a household name in the late seventies and has gone down in history as one of the best American track and field athletes ever. Prefontaine was a friend of Knight and had been coached by Bowerman at the University of Oregon. Prefontaine embodied what Nike wanted as its differential advantage of other companies, due to his brash attitude, high talent level, and cavalier mentality. This is why Steve Prefontaine and Nike were a tremendous tandem in the early years of Nike’s existence. Athletes are still currently the majority consumers of Nike’s products. This is because of the usefulness that goes along with the items. Nike focuses on these consumers by means of agreements with sports team, college sponsorships, and endorsement with individual athletes. Through this, Nike is able to reach an extensive number of consumers and clients who are likely to purchase their products. Nike pays particular focus on the athlete more than other individual consumers. However, a secondary market came to light in the 1980s. During the period from 1985-1987, Nike dropped back down to number two in the running of the shoe market. Sales had dropped off because the running boom of the late 70’s and 80’s had begun to diminish, the NBA was becoming increasingly marketable, and consumers tended to wear their court shoes on the street. (Katz, 1993) Nike began to notice an entire market that the company had been avoiding, everyday athletic activities. These activities were things done by everyday people and not just the serious athlete. Fortunately for Nike, in 1985 their star was brought to light by a rookie basketball player with amazing talent and a nice smile, his name is Michael Jordan. Jordan came to Nike at a time when the marketability of the NBA was increasing. NBA games  were being nationally televised during prime time television hours and weekends. This gave Nike the perfect platform to develop and market their new star and the products that he endorsed. During the first few years Nike introduced Jordan to the public and Jordan familiarized himself with the American public. Nike ran a series of ads with Jordan and film director Spike Lee. These ads were aired during prime time television hours and were solely targeted for pre-teen school students. These ads displayed an expressed message to â€Å"Stay in School.† The ads presented kids with a national figure that was selling both school and Nike’s products, how could parents deny their children the shoes of such a virtuous spokesman? Jordan was a figure that children adored, looked up to and tried to the best of their ability to copy. Nike used this to display a positive image for their company and to sell their products. Consumer Decision Making Process â€Å"Consumers believe that the firm makes better shoes. Whether or not that is true, Nike has been a magician as a marketer.† (McIntyre, 2011) When a consumer purchases a product, usually there is a five step process in making a decision. The steps are need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post purchase behavior. (Perreau, 2013) Nike tries to make this decision process easier with their advertisements. For example, the Nike fuel band is one of Nike’s newest products and people didn’t know much about it when it came out so Nike used an ad that caught ones attention, but that’s not all. Nike’s commercial explained what this product is in great detail. Just by watching the commercial, Nike completed the first three steps for you, making your life a bit easier. In many cases consumers skip steps one through three and buy products on impulse, as Nike would put, they â€Å"just do it†, but in this case Nike does the â€Å"leg† work for you. This is an example of the magic in Nike marketing. However, it’s obvious that Nike hasn’t actually used a wand on its customers and there is no proof which can measure that a Nike pair of shoes is better than an Adidas pair of shoes or another brand, so it must be magic, right? The answer is â€Å"No†, it’s the brand image and product position that is the driving force being Nike sales. The two concepts are why we buy Nike rather than another brand. Brand image refers to the schematic memory of a brand. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Simply, it is what people think of and feel when  they hear or see a brand name and is the set of associations consumers have learned about a brand. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Product positioning is a decision by a marketer to try to achieve a defined brand image relative to competition within a market segment. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) Lastly, the ability to benefit from a brand image is called brand equity. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 335) According to Aaker (2013) â€Å"brand equity has four dimensions – brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations, and perceived quality, each providing value to a firm in numerous ways.† The core of building the equity for Nike is brand association. Nike associates its brand with famous athletic celebrities that exemplify the personality of the brand; they are achievers, winners, determined, accomplishment oriented, and nontraditional. The most famous example for brand association ever was the collaboration between Nike and Jordan. This association personified Nike as a superior top performing brand. The depth of this personification became permanent, even after Jordan was no longer there. Also, Nike associates with top sport events by sponsoring many major league sports, including the National Basketball Association. Through its brand association, Nike increased its brand awareness. Nike communicated its celebrity associations through TV ads, which increased their sales dramatically. In addition, one of the most important sources of Nike brand equity is the high perceived quality. Although, in today’s market, most of Nike’s consumers are the public that use their shoes just for walking, Nike is committed to design their shoes according to the high standards of professional competition. Seeing a winning athlete wearing a Nike shoe in a professional competition authenticated the quality perception in the minds of the customers. Lastly, Nike has a good relationship with its customer, which creates s ome sort of brand loyalty. Recommendations Nike’s ideals and goals remain the same as those of the days of Steve Prefontaine and Bill Bowerman. Nike’s Phil Knight is not slowing down as he continually signs new colleges on as Nike endorsed schools, even purchasing a portion of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Nike has reached a point where they can count on the Nike name promoting itself, and yet they continue to produce innovative ideas. These ideas have been productive and entertaining promotional tools. In the case of Nike, it should continue to market itself  towards people of all ages who wish to be active and still comfortable. This marketing strategy has been particularly successful as its capability to reach many athletes, and according to Nike that is anyone with a body. Nike focuses on the consumers who embrace product understanding and closeness, which allows the company to set a higher cost than its competitors. This is a marketing strategy of Nike which calls for superior pricing points in order to push the supposed value of the product. This strategy has also proven successful for the company. Lastly, the more reliable the distribution of the product is improves the sales and results in more profits. Product delivery at the required time to the consumer not only affects usefulness it also results in a high level of customer’s satisfaction as well as loyalty. It goes without saying that Nike’s customers are satisfied and loyal. References Aaker, D. (2013, September 13). What Is Brand Equity and Why is it Valuable? | Aaker on Brands | Prophet. Retrieved from http://www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/156-what-is-brand-equity-and-why-is-it-valuable Hawkins, D. (2012). Mp Consumer Behavior With Ddb Data Disk (12th ed.). Irwin Professional Pub. Katz, D. (1993, August 16). Triumph of the Swoosh. Sports Illustrated, 53-73. McIntyre, D. A. (2011, March 18). Nike’s Brand Strength: A Round Of Prices Increases – MarketWatch. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikes-brand-strength-a-round-of-prices-increases-2011-03-18 Nike Inc. (n.d.). NIKE, Inc. – About NIKE, Inc. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/about-nike-inc Nike Inc. (n.d.). NIKE, Inc. – History & Heritage. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage Perreau, F. (2013, October 25). The 5 stages of Consumer Buying Decision Process. Retrieved from http://theconsumerfactor.com/en/5-stages-consumer-buying-decision-pro cess/

Abortion: Gathering Sources Online Essay

Read Lester pp. 39-60, â€Å"Gathering Sources Online,† and complete the answers to the questions below related to the chapter. Submit with answers written below each question: 1. What are two important things to be aware of when using online rather than print versions of an article? -The text may differ from the original printed version and may even be a digest. -Resist the desire to quote from the abstract and, instead, write a paraphrase of it or find the full text and cite from it. 2. What does .com indicate about a site? See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay For-profit organizations, selling advertising space, they often charge for access, can be ISP sites 3. For research purposes, when evaluating sites, which two site suffixes should you prefer? .edu and .org 4. List 3 reasons to be careful of .com sites: -They are selling advertising space; they often charge you for access to their files; they can be ISP sites that people pay to use and to their â€Å"material.† 5. What are three ways to check for the professional affiliation of the writer of a Web article? -Opening credits or an email address – Search for the writer’s home page -Type the writer’s name in Amazon.com for a list of his or her books 6. What does the acronym URL stand for? Uniform Resource Locator 7. What does http:// in a Web address mean? Transmits data 8. What does the domain indicate? Names the organization feeding information into the server with the suffix to the label of the type of organization 9. What does html stand for and what does it name? Hypertext markup language; names the computer language used to write the file 10. What is the key difference between subject directory search engines like Yahoo! and Lycos and robot-driven search engines like Google and AltaVista? Directory search engines are human compiled and indexed to guide you to general areas that are then subdivided to specific categories. Robot-driven search engines respond to a keyword by electronically scanning millions of web sites. 11. What is a metasearch engine? List four examples of them. It examines your topic in several of the other two search engines and gives you the more relevant sites. For example: dogpile.com; mamma.com; metacrawler.com; surfwax.com 12. How can you find a specialized search engine? Go to one of the major sites, and ask â€Å"Where can I find a search engine on journalism?† The computer will name specialized search engines. 13. What is the best source on the Internet for academic journals? The library’s database collection 14. What are three ways to access an online academic journal? – First access your favorite search engine and use a keyword search for â€Å"journals† plus the name of your subject. -Second access a search engine’s subject directory. -Third, if you already know the name of a journal, go to your favorite search engine to make a keyword query, which will link you to the social science journal of that name. 15. List four directories that exist to help you discover articles in magazines: -NewsDirectory.com; Highbeam Research; Pathfinder; ZD Net 16. How can you find almost any newspaper in the United States? www.newspapers.com 17. Online books in the public domain are available through what Web address? http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/ * Read Lester, pp. 107-131, â€Å"Evaluating Sources for Research.† Select and submit to me the title and author of a non-fiction book related to the Mississippi Delta and preferably one that relates to your broader research topic to read and critique for essay one (See the bibliography and annotated bibliography posted in this week’s folder for your choices.) Type this here: Crowe, Chris. Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case. Dial, 2003. * Read â€Å"Five Myths of the Information Age† posted here. * Read the article â€Å"Ten Simple Google Search Tricks,† posted in this folder. * Watch the video lecture on using Google Scholar posted in this folder. * Search for and locate at least five Internet sources that you may be able to use in your larger research project. Submit to me an annotated bibliographic entry for each (see Lester, Glossary, page 371). Type this information here: Locate a book using Google Books that you may be able to use in your larger research project. Submit to me an annotated bibliographic entry. Type this information here: Crowe, Chris. â€Å"Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case.† Dial, 2003. * Locate a scholarly article using Google Scholar that you may be able to use in your larger research project. Submit to me an annotated bibliographic entry for it. Type this information here: William Bradford Huie, â€Å"What happened to Emmett Till killers?† Look Magazine 63. (1956). Print. * Write a paragraph explaining the criteria you should use to evaluate an Internet source for possible use in a research project. Type this paragraph here: You must make judgments about the validity and veracity of the materials. You should look for professional affiliation of the writer, which you will find in the opening credits or an email address. You should also look for the writer’s home page. Look for a bibliography that accompanies the article. You should try to find the timeliness of the information on the site. Check dates of publication and how often the information is updated.

Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Framework - Essay Example This paper reviews and compares the methodologies, recommending the best strategy to develop the system. Analysis Fixit’s Nature of business Fixit TV repairs and video repairs deals with the repair of various electrical and electronic equipment while also selling part of the equipment. The employee base of the enterprise is made up of proprietor, who deals with customers and does most of the repair work, a part-time administrator who deals with the book-keeping and bill payments, and a team of sub-contractors who are brought in as necessary. At present the day-to-day running relies heavily on the proprietor’s memory or is written on a scrap of paper. As indicated, at the moment all procedures are manual, repairs are logged as they arrive, and the equipment and the customer details together the descriptions of the fault are always noted, giving each job a unique job ticket. The ticket has a unique number and contains the customer demographic details, the equipmentâ€℠¢s details and the fault’s description. As a result of the complexities associated with the current procedure, the business through its proprietor seeks to implement a new system to run the business operations. However many question arise in how to develop the system. Questions How can the requirement be captured How can these requirements be conceptualized How can the system design be implemented, tested and debugged How will it be documented? How can the system be integrated, evolved, maintained and finally decommissioned? Comparison Agile development approach and object oriented design have various features which make them significant though distinctively separate. The main distinction is the approach in which the developer employs to realize an end product. The agile development approach involves a set of software development approaches which are founded on incremental and iterative development (Satzinger, Jackson& Burd 2012). On the other hand, object based design is a p rocedure of planning a scheme of relating objects for the reason of resolving a software issue. The primary thing to consider in the assertions is the reality that one encompasses planning while the other employs emergent and incremental development approaches. To begin with agile development approaches, it utilizes some principles and practices which can be glowered upon by various developer who favor planning and implementation of plan as opposed to bind coding. The major setback with this approach is that the design models do not need to model each single detail. The models do not require to be complete and perfect. This implies that an iterative methodology is utilized whereby no specifics are being operated with, instead they are operated on in tandem with the deliverable system. The other challenge relates to the documentation of the end system. With the case of agile development approach, the documentation of the system though essential is not accorded the much desired emphas is as it is the case with object oriented design(Yourdon 1994). Instead, the agile approach focuses on unit tests to form a greater part of the documentation of the design. Now as we develop the system using the agile approaches and procedures guided by spiral or waterfall model, without the presence of

The art and Science of Teaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The art and Science of Teaching - Essay Example Because of this, the academia has continuously tried to define and categorize teaching, in order to determine and improve its efficacy. These attempts of categorization have often led to perceiving teaching variously as â€Å"science† and â€Å"art†, pitting one definition against the other. Students can be from different age groups, regions, social backgrounds, may be eager or not so keen to learn, may have different personalities. The same goes for teachers. Subjects may vary from micro biology to dancing and all the other things between and beyond. Despite this diversity, or perhaps because of it, there is an undeniable need for standardized teaching techniques, so that the extraneous factors affect the learning process but little, and maximum knowledge is imparted effectively to maximum number of students, in the shortest possible time. This calls for a scientific approach to teaching, which recommends the use of a pre-determined methodology to aid learning. The application of operant conditioning to education is simple and direct. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn.....Teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening the appearance of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly. (Skinner, 1968) Proponents who perceive teaching as a science believe that it is possible to eliminate chance from the process of education, which can be ordered, monitored and controlled, much like in a scientific experiment. According to them, this can be achieved by the careful choice of learning materials and the rate at which they are introduced, modulated student-teacher interactions, and most importantly, an unbiased focus on learning outcomes. Teaching, like science, is at its best when it is passionate. But like good scientists (and unlike artists) teachers need not--should not be captivated by their own performance.

Quality improvement in clinical practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Quality improvement in clinical practice - Essay Example Sufficient application of patient safety within various organisations contributes to overall quality of services offered within a specified establishment. Patient safety and healthcare quality, therefore, remain two components which affect each other directly. This paper seeks to analyse the element of patient safety within various healthcare organisations. The paper presents a discussion of the various factors influencing the occurrence of patient safety incidents within a hospital setting. Patient safety incidents become significantly affected by three major factors; human factors, medical complexity and system failures within healthcare organisations. Majority of issue leading to the occurrence of these instances could be regulated through adoption of efficient patient safety framework and policies, enhancing patient safety. The current framework includes guidelines provided by government organisations regarding processes of implementing sufficient patient safety policies. Numerou s organisations continue to follow the government provisions; however, modifications enhancing safety become necessary in increasing the efficiency of the safety systems. These modifications, however, must conform to the provisions of regulating government authorities, charged with overseeing implementation of patient safety. ... ons 13 References 14 Introduction Patient safety refers to the prevention of erroneous occurrences, related to healthcare provision, which could present adverse effects on patients. Comprehensive safety includes the capacity for employees to operate within stipulated regulations, seeking to minimise occurrence of medical mistakes (Hughes, 2008). Such medical errors could potentially harm patients through presenting a hazard to patients. The inclusion of these regulations within different healthcare establishments ensures that patients remain unexposed to dangers, while residing within these establishments. Patients commonly attribute patient safety to quality healthcare; hence seek healthcare from organisations where they feel safe. Safety of patients remains fundamental to establishing a good reputation for various healthcare organisations. Enhanced safety operation ensures minimal cases of injuries and deaths of patients while residing within hospitals. The inclusion of safety proc edures within the healthcare sector remains fundamental in improving the quality of services offered within healthcare organisations. Patient safety has been identified as an indistinguishable component of overall patient safety (CokerGroup, 2008). Through patient safety, the balance realised between the realised operational procedures and provided guidelines comprise patient safety. The quality of healthcare resides within the perception of individuals receiving the care. This perceived quality could become enhanced through ensuring patient safety while receiving medical services, within a medical organisation. Enhanced patient safety, therefore, signifies quality healthcare to the recipients of the services. While safety procedures can become clearly defined, quality cannot be defined,

Human Patterns and Quantities of Consumption Essay

Human Patterns and Quantities of Consumption - Essay Example The message of this paper is to analyze and portray the harmful and detrimental effects on how human patterns of development and quantities would result in the environmental crisis. The fact that many environmental disasters are due to the steps in which humanity strove to be better also meant that human needs and wants were prioritized than the conservation and preservation of many natural resources and life. Many different cultural backgrounds, especially those which maintained its past traditional understanding of nature, have maintained ideas and beliefs that stressed the respect and care towards nature and the environment. The format of this paper will be using the American Psychological Association (APA) form of citation. The paper will be divided into three different sections, each focusing on a specific main sub-topic for the research paper. After all the main sub-topics have been discussed, a conclusive synthesis will wrap up the discussion of the papers and provide personal solutions or applications based on the research made. This research dissertation explores the interconnecting effects of modern day consumerism and its impact towards the natural environment and the human spirit. As human growth continues, the needs of human beings increase as well. This increases consumption of resources to satisfy human needs and wants. However, the rise of the much environmental crisis has led to an increasing attention on how the human spirit can focus on the preservation and protection of the environment instead of its exploitation The research done by this organization focuses on the balance between environmentalism and economic progress. Current business and economic enterprises find difficulty in increasing profits while trying to be more environmentally friendly.  

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 Research Paper

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 - Research Paper Example A whistleblower is a person who makes a disclosure that evidence improper or illegal activities in an employment setting (Whitaker, P1). On the other hand, King defines the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 as a United States of America’s federal law that protects federal whistleblowers or government employees who report any misconduct by a federal agency. An example of a famous whistleblower was Jeffrey Wigand, Brown & Williamson’s former research and development vice president in 1966, who disclosed that cigarette companies’ executives were aware of the fact that cigarettes were addictive and increased the amount of nicotine deliberately to make them even more addictive (King, para5). The Whistleblower Protection Act/WPA was enacted in 1989, following apparent weaknesses in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which was an earlier attempt to protect whistleblowers. This law led to the creation of the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates complaints from government employees that they received punishment after reporting about abuse, fraud or waste in their agencies to Congress. This office has jurisdiction over whistleblower reprisal allegations that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission employees make. The Congress passed the Act with the intention of strengthening and improving Federal employees’ rights protection, to end retaliation and to aid in the eradication of unlawful activity within the government. It mandates that workers should not go through adverse consequences because of personnel practices that are prohibited  and establishes that the Office of Special Counsel’s primary role is protecting workers, particularly whistleblowers, from forbidden personnel practices.

GATT Priciples in International Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

GATT Priciples in International Economics - Essay Example The General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) is a voluntary agreement to give tariff concessions and reduce restriction on imports among 135 countries of the world (Blirtit). The agreement was formulated within the jurisdiction and framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). There are four basic principles covered by GATT. These are: (1) discrimination is prohibited in trade relations, (2) Tariffs instead of trade barriers should be utilized by countries to protect themselves from foreign competition, (3) all member nation must promote the trading interest of each country, (4) negotiations between concerting terms of trade must follow the GATT framework (Blirtit). These principles have a positive influence in international trade. Discriminatory practices against a particular country hurt the balance of trade among nations. For example if the US discriminated against Argentina’s agricultural products it would hurt the internal economy of this nation which subsequently affects the purchasing power of Argentina and the amount of trade activity with other nations. An example of a discriminatory trade practice that can hurt a local economy of a GATT member nation is dumping. Dumping occurs when one country exports a significant amount of goods to another country at prices much lower than the domestic marketplace (Anwers, 2009). The anti-discriminatory clauses with the GATT principles provide a safeguard that protects the integrity of trade relations in the international economy. Tariffs are am instruments which creates a tax imposition on imports that raise the price and can be used to manipulate the demand specific goods and service imports. The good thing about this economic tool is that it provides consistency as far as creating a simple mechanism that can be utilized by any country to protect local industries. The GATT principles stipulate that tariffs should be the universal