Individual Data Analysis Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Individual Data Analysis Report - Assignment Example Although he has enough knowledge needed to start such an upscale restaurant, he is unsure about the demand for such a restaurant in the city. The city had a population of nearly 500,000 but he could not provide any assurance regarding the taste or the income which would generate the demand for his restaurant. In such a situation, Michael requires to collect some additional information, on the basis of which he will succeed in promoting his restaurant properly and make the design, choices and price as per the preferable choice of the customers. In this context, the project aims to answer the questions raised by Michael and suggest him the most suitable way that he should choose to make his new business intervention profitable. The questions are as follows: Is there sufficient demand for such an upscale restaurant in the city? How much price are the patrons or the potential customers willing to pay? What should be the operating and design characteristics of the store? Where should the restaurant be located in the city? What should be the promotional strategy that the organization should follow? In order to find the answers to these questions, the study intends to frame certain hypotheses and find the answers to the questions by accepting or rejecting those. The study also uses descriptive analysis and frequencies to facilitate the process of finding the answers to the questions. Finally, the paper will be providing the necessary recommendations to Michael. Preliminary Analysis In the preliminary analysis, descriptive analysis and analysis using the frequencies is done and it is focused on finding answers to the questions raised by Michael. Frequencies of categorical variable The frequencies of the categorical variable when performed, it firstly found that the people of the metropolitan city where Michael is intending to open his business, about 100 percent of the people do eat in this type of upscale restaurant at least once in every two weeks. The analysis also revealed that maximum people is seen to pay $110 towards their meal in the restaurant for each month, which is unlike the expectation of Michael. When the survey participants were asked for their opinion on the average price charged for an evening meal entree, they are found to spend $16 for evening meal entree itself (See Appendix I). The analysis shows that about 96.3 percent of the respondents watch radio. Among those 96.3 percent, maximum of the respondents are found to be listening to rock music. The next higher percent listens to news or the talk shows. Among the participants of the survey, about 89 percent of the respondents are found to be the viewers of the local news channel. Out of these respondents, maximum percent is the viewers of 10:00 news. Among the 94.5 percent of the respondents who are the readers of newspaper, a majority of the respondents are more interested in the local news. Therefore, the overall analysis reveals that a majority of the sample who participate d in the study are interested in newspaper and radio as their most preferable media which they listen to often. The least preferred one is television. Thus, it can be suggested that among these three, Michael can choose

Kant Theory and Justice Essay Example for Free

Kant Theory and Justice Essay Immanuel Kant concerns himself with deontology, and as a deontologist, he believes that the rightness of an action depends in part on things other than the goodness of its consequences, and so, actions should be judged based on an intrinsic moral law that says whether the action is right or wrong – period. Kant introduced the Categorical Imperative which is the central philosophy of his theory of morality, and an understandable approach to this moral law. It is divided into three formulations. The first formulation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative states that one should â€Å"always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity†; an act is either right or wrong based on its ability to be universalized. This belief is part of the â€Å"universal law theory† and states that to determine if an action is essentially â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad,† one must essentially imagine a world in which everyone performed that same action constantly, and imagine if this would be a desirable world to live in. If not, then it is not okay to perform the action. He believes that this â€Å"universal law† lives within us; it is not something that is imposed on us from the outside. For example if one kills oneself out of self-love, it is logically contradictory because self-love refers to respect for one’s self as a rational being and rationality is based on objective (undistorted by emotion or personal bias). So, one can never justify suicide. The maxim of killing oneself cannot possibly exist as a universal law. The second formulation states that one must â€Å"treat humanity whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as means only. † For example, if I were to lie to a girl so that she would choose to go out with me then I, in effect, use her. Kant would say that I treated her as a means to achieve my end, and he specifically prohibits manipulating or deceiving a person for the purposes of achieving a personal end. According to Kant, only people are valuable as ends. Any action that disregards this is in clear violation of Kantian morality, and purports to reduce an individual’s autonomy; this consequently undermines a person’s rational capability and reduces him/her to a thing. This implies that if someone robs you and takes your wallet, he is treating you as a thing and not as a person. The third and last formulation requires that one sees oneself as the source of all moral law. This simply emphasizes the fact that the moral agent is the one who chooses to act morally. This third formulation tells us to imagine ourselves as the sole lawmaker in a society, and to choose the best possible set of laws that the society of rational beings would live by. Kant believes that we all have reason within us, but some choose to respond and act upon it while others do not. We can reason the way things ought to be, and based on that is how we should act, which explains Kant’s view that a moral action must be chosen through moral reason. For example, one does not cheat on a test because one’s reason tells him or her that it is wrong, not the consequences that follow if one gets caught. Another example is that we do not need the law to tell us not to steal because it is immoral; we simply have to access our ability to reason to rationalize this. In a world where each individual recognizes his/her moral dignity and freely chooses to adopt the same universalizable moral law, all actions become good. In opposition to the Categorical Imperative is Kant’s Hypothetical Imperative, which states that a particular action is necessary as a means to some purpose. Kant believes that these actions are not always moral because they are not performed out of â€Å"pure good will† (pure duty), which is the only thing in the world that is unambiguously good. In the case of the ethical credibility of the principles of affirmative action, Kant’s Categorical Imperative provides for the basis of approval. It is primarily out of a sense of duty that a society would seek to assist its struggling members who are in need of help. The action so far seems good, but we must test its universality. Can we imagine ourselves living in a world in which all societies seek to aid the underprivileged and the disadvantaged at the slight expense of others? Absolutely yes. It is important for one to bear in mind, however, that it is the very action of helping that is being judged as inherently good or bad, and not the action’s admirable or overbearing surrounding consequences. Secondly, we must test that the action is regarding everyone involved as ends and not as means to any particular purpose. Since the aim of affirmative action is to help the current predicaments of those people who were victimized in the past, focus is placed on respecting every individual’s autonomy. In this way, we can see that affirmative action is not a devious plan that seeks to manipulate, but one that seeks to compensate by adjusting the means (circumstances) and not the ends (individuals). Lastly, we must see if the action is establishing a universal law governing others in similar situations; one should behave as if one is the absolute moral authority of the universe. Is completing this action consistent with the application of moral law? If so, the affirmative action passes these three tests and the action is good. In his â€Å"Objections to Affirmative Action†, James Sterba talks about why he believes that Affirmative Action is morally wrong. He argues that a person’s race shouldn’t control his or her point of interest. Sterba argues that Affirmative Action leads to injustice and it is unfair to the white nonminority males because â€Å"it deprives them of equal opportunity by selecting or appointing women or minority candidates over more qualified nonminority male candidates. † He believes that the job of the government is to eliminate all kinds of discriminatory policies. He thinks that â€Å"alternative programs are preferable. † Thus, the government should instead promote equal opportunities through programs within agencies and departments instead of through Affirmative Action which he believes is a fancy word for discrimination. He argues that it is not fair to those who are more qualified for certain opportunities and cannot receive them either because they are not women or because they are not part of the minority. In his First Objection, he argues that Affirmative Action â€Å"is not required to compensate for unjust institutions in the distant past. † He talks about Morris’ argument that what occurred in the past is not the primary issue that puts all present-day African Americans at an unfair disadvantage; it is more about the issues of more recent origin. He makes a point that discrimination today could very well be the source of the disadvantaged disposition of African Americans and other minority groups, and it is certainly something that society could do without. The question remains that in attempting to â€Å"level the playing field† and eliminate present-day discrimination in America, is Affirmative Action a practical approach and should such a program be endorsed? The Fourth Objection goes on to say that Affirmative Action â€Å"hurts those who receive it† because in many ways the people benefitting from it would not see the need to work as hard, and it places â€Å"women and minorities in positions for which they are not qualified. † Sterba proposes that one of the solutions to this problem could be the installation education enhancement programs to compensate for any lack of skills. He believes that this will in a short time ensure that minorities are appropriately qualified for a position. In response to Sterba’s First Objection, Kant would agree that the rightness of Affirmative Action should be based upon the circumstances of the present situation and not what had occurred in the past; this is evident mainly through his a priori form of philosophical deductive reasoning that judges an action before the experience, or â€Å"in the moment. † However, Kant would disagree with Sterba’s Fourth Objection because in my opinion, Kant’s deontological theory correlates with the correctness of the affirmative action in its very aim toward helping â€Å"the right† people. Affirmative action has not significantly diminished gender, racial, and all other forms of discrimination, but the action has promoted equality and diversity to a large extent. In a world where everyone performs the â€Å"good will,† there is justice; and the installation of this program only serves to come closer to this justice. Discrimination is wrong because it violates a person’s basic and intrinsic moral rights. Thus, in itself the adoption of this program is an action that is good because without Affirmative Action it is true in many ways that minorities would remain at a disadvantaged position in the educational system and not be allowed the opportunity to exercise their true potential. Kant would argue that it is a duty out of â€Å"good will† to treat people equally. The concepts of equality and autonomy are emphasized in the nature of this program because it strives to treat everyone as a free person equal to everyone else. According to Kant, one should be treated as ends not as mere means. It can be argued that African Americans at a disadvantaged position were being treated as means by the dominant culture to achieve its own ends in the system. Discrimination cannot exist as a system of nature because those who discriminate would not want to be similarly discriminated against if things were reversed, and so Affirmative Action is justified because it aims to open the door of opportunities to those who have been oppressed for years. That being said, Kant would examine the action itself and not the consequences of the action. When making decisions, one has to put oneself into other people’s shoes and see if one wants to be treated the same way others have been treated; it is a duty to treat others as we ourselves want to be treated. Affirmative Action not necessarily needed in this society to reduce the inherent inequalities that are still existent, but it can certainly be used to assist in leveling the playing field. Affirmative Action has been successful on a short term basis, that is, in increasing the representation of minorities (including women) in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. However, on the long term basis it can be argued that the program only serves to perpetuate a cycle of need. Kant advocates the idea of equality through his deontological theory by saying that all people deserve equal treatment as rational ends in themselves and that this should never be compromised by the flaws in any social system.

The Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is characterized by three major events that occur on the town scaffold. What takes place on this platform will determine the path which the three main characters, Hester Prynne, Mr. Dimmsdale, and their daughter Pearl will follow. The three scenes mark the beginning, middle, and end of their ignominy. The scaffold is a platform where criminals are punished before all the townspeople. In this case, the criminal is Hester Prynne and the crowd has gathered to witness her shame. The first scene at the ominous platform is Hester's first public appearance with the child and the scarlet letter. Hester's husband, Roger Prynne (Chillingworth) makes a sudden reappearance and is among the onlookers. The Reverend Mr. Dimmsdale is also there but he does not stand with Hester on the scaffold, instead he stands on the balcony with those who pass judgment on her. During this time, Reverend Mr. Wilson demands that Hester give the name of her lover. He gives her the chance to "take the scarlet letter off [her] breast" if she were to "speak out his name"(64). Had she relented and revealed his name she might never have had to endure the humiliation of the scarlet letter. But she refused, and so her path was set. The second time at the scaffold was a turning point for Hester. She, Pearl, and Dimmsdale are together for the first time, "...the three formed an electric chain" as if they were always meant to be together if something, or someone, had not gotten in their way (140). But it is here that Hester finally realizes the damage which hiding Chillingworth's identity has caused Dimmsdale. Chillingworth was "a secret enemy...continually at his side, under the semblance of a friend and helper..." when in truth he was tormenting Dimmsdale at every opportunity (153). When Hester sees the miserable state that he is in, weak and "on the verge of lunacy", it leads her to later seek him out in the forest to confess the true identity of Chillingworth, which in turn leads to their plan to leave Salem. Their plans were never carried through because of another visit to

The tour :: Short Stories Science Medical Essays

The tour Her breath was becoming labored. It was always like this after working a full shift in the zone. The dust made her throat dry and her lungs ache. The feeling of every pore in her body closing in response to the biological assault was all too familiar. She had been on the Tour now for three months; many people did not survive more than two, and she theoretically had to serve five. There wasn't anyone she knew that had actually completed their Tour, except for Xern, and his respiratory system had been replaced at least twice. But now Sweepers were just as expendable as cars used to be -- internal organs could be replaced or even upgraded, but it eventually became more cost effective to generate a new body than to constantly maintain an old one. Besides, the Sweepers did not seem to be of use to anyone, beyond the task they performed. And after working a full shift, they were not even of use to themselves. Sometimes she was so mentally and physically spent that she would barely make it through the evening recalibration before falling asleep -- only to wake up feverish a few hours later. Tonight was no exception. It hurt so much to breathe, let alone cough or yawn. She had trained herself to take short, even breaths, because any sudden or deep intake sent a stabbing sensation throughout her chest. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt healthy. It was certainly sometime before she received that notice on her monitor: The Federal Medical Management and Research Association has identified a particular segment of your DNA that indicates immunity to BH-247XN30. This immunity merits a rarity of 5 on the Milton Scale, and has been identified in only .000014% of the population. Less than 5% of the same have been randomly selected to participate in Tour 598E that begins 1645/28/07/2048†¦ She had only vaguely heard of these Tours up until that point. They were of the vicious rumor variety, much like the perpetual threat of a comet-Earth collision. After she received the notice, she accessed the information site for the Tours. The laws governing them had been implemented 1022/03/05/2045, almost three years earlier. When she checked her voting account, she discovered that she had even submitted her approval for the laws.

Behavioral Observations of Number of Items Bought in Chain Stores

Students: Egor Karpunin, 5006119 Dominika Majcher, 5028142 Behavioral observations of Number of items bought in chain stores by consumers according to their sex Assignment for the course â€Å"Consumer Behaviour† Introduction The general purpose of our study was to define, which part of the observed buyers (male or female) tends to buy more than 1 item. According to our assumptions, women buy more items than men. This could be a result of the women’s shopping nature.Usually women going to some shopping mall to buy, for example, the presents for Christmas (or even just doing shopping for themselves) for their relatives do not set a specific goal before actually go shopping. They just find some time and then decide to visit some shop. Then being already in the shop they choose to buy anything that seems attractive or could be somehow useful for those whom they buy the present. So this so-called „shopping strategy† means that at the same time they can like a lo t of things and buy not only one (for their husband or sun) but also for their friends, colleagues etc.They can also like some additional things like jewellery for the dress that they have just decided to buy. We can’t say the same about men’s shopping. Everybody tend to think that men do not like shopping. But actually when there are some who likes it or they just have to do it to make their couple (or kid, grandmother, colleague) fell â€Å"real† Christmas (etc. ) they go to the shop with an already defined objective. As a rule it means that they had already thought through the present itself in advance and now they just want to go to specific shop and buy one. But they also can buy several items in one shop.All in all we are going to confirm or reject our assumption. | Male Customers| Female Customers| | 1 Item| 24| 10| 34| 2 or more Items| 12| 34| 46| | 36| 44| 80| Procedure Our observation was made on Friday, December 7th, 2012, between 3 o'clock and 6 oâ⠂¬â„¢clock in the afternoon. We chose the time of Christmas shopping when everybody finished their work and a lot of people went to stores located in the city center. We went to the chain stores H;M, Zara, New Yorker and Peek;Cloppenburg located at Zeil street in Frankfurt am Main offering their products to both male and female customers.We observed the main check out in every of these stores (both groups of customers buy there) – stores like these are very popular among both groups of customers. We chose the ‘Zeil’ street in Frankfurt because of wide variety of customers shopping there and their random preferences. In every store we observed first 20 customers who paid for their shopping at the main check out. Every time we stayed near the check out place and noted the sex of every client as well as number of items they bought. Results We observed 80 customers (one by one, without breaks) in described chain stores.We got 80 observations, 44 of them were women an d 36 men. In 46 cases the customers bought more than 1 item and in 34 just one product (so 57,5% customers bought at least 2 or more items). Distribution of these purchases has been shown on the graph below: The graph follows that women buy more often at least 2 or more items (vs. 1 item) in chain stores than men. To check this conclusion we computed the Chi-Square-test (the analyses have been included as an appendix at the end of the paper). We got the Actual Chi-Square value on the level 15. 4. The Critical Chi-Square value with 1 degree of freedom and p-value 0. 05 is 3. 84. We compared Actual 2 with the Critical 2 and made sure that the given Actual Chi-Square value is bigger than the Critical one (15. 64 ; 3. 84). This means that women buy more often at least 2 or more items (vs. 1 item) in chain stores than men. Conclusions (Egor) According to the results of the observation our initial assumption that women tend to buy 2 or more items in the stores while shopping, whether men tend more often to by only 1 item, is right.As the observation took part on Friday (end of the working week actually) from our point of view the results could differ the other day from that we have now, but the difference would not be so significant that could refuse our initial hypothesis. The location (the place where we made the observation) change also would not change the results. The prerequisite of our observation is to look at behavior of people in chain stores, so it does not really matter for the final result whether to collect out observations in the shops at Zeil Street or in Nordwestzentrum shopping mall.Our survey could also be useful for marketers of the shops where the observation took place. For instance, if women tend to buy more than 1 item in a shop like H;M, Zara etc. , then chain stores should make some combinations of matching product, offer some additional accessories or just a pack of few clothes for a bit lower price(for example, skirt + blouse). So when wo men can get this ability to buy something more than just 1 thing that they chose, this ability can be used and they would make their choice into buying additional jewellery for their new dress or buying skirt+blouse together than buying only one item of clothes.Appendix 1. Collected data | Male| Female| Row| 1 item| 24| 10| 34| 2 or more items| 12| 34| 46| Column| 36| 44| 80| Hypothesis 0: Men buy more often 2 or more items (vs. 1 item) in chain stores than women. Hypothesis 1: Women buy more often 2 or more items (vs. 1 item) in chain stores than men. 2. Actual 2 2 = (Observed Cell Frequency – Expected Cell Frequency)2/Expected Cell Frequency} Expected Cell Frequency| | | | | Row 1| (24+10)/80 | 0. 425| | Column 1| (24+12)/80 | 0. 45| Row 2| (12+34)/80 | 0. 575| | Column 2| (10+34)/80| 0. 55| Row 1 Prob x Column 1 Prob =| 0. 91| Row 1 Prob x Column 2 Prob =| 0. 234| Row 2 Prob x Column 1 Prob =| 0. 259| Row 2 Prob x Column 2 Prob =| 0. 316| 0. 191 * 80 = | 0. 234 * 80 =| 0. 259 * 80 =| 0. 316 * 80 =| 15. 3| 18. 7| 20. 7| 25. 3| Actual 2 = (24-15. 3)^2/15. 3+(10-18. 7)^2/18. 7+(12-20. 7)^2/20. 7+(34-25. 3)^2/25. 3 3. Actual 2 vs. Critical 2 Actual 2 = 15. 64 Critical 2 = 3. 84 (1 d. f. , p-value 0. 05) 3. 84 ; 15. 64 =; Critical 2 ; Actual 2 Conclusion: The hypothesis 1 is true. Women buy more often 2 or more items (vs. 1 item) in chain stores than men.

History of the Classic Teddy Bear

History of the Classic Teddy Bear Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, is the person responsible for giving the teddy bear his name. On November 14, 1902, Roosevelt was helping settle a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. During his spare time, he attended a bear hunt in Mississippi. During the hunt, Roosevelt came upon a wounded young bear and ordered the mercy killing of the animal. The Washington Post ran an editorial cartoon created by the political cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman that illustrated the event. The cartoon was called Drawing the Line in Mississippi and depicted both state line dispute and the bear hunt. At first, Berryman drew the bear as a fierce animal, the bear had just killed a hunting dog. Later, Berryman redrew the bear to make it a cuddly cub. The cartoon and the story it told became popular and within a year, the cartoon bear became a toy for children called the teddy bear. Who Made the First Toy Bear Called Teddy Bear? Well, there are several stories, but this is the most popular of teddy bear lore. Morris Michtom made the first official toy bear called the teddy bear. Michtom owned a small novelty and candy store in Brooklyn, New York. His wife Rose was making toy bears for sale in their store. Michtom sent Roosevelt a bear and asked permission to use the teddy bear name. Roosevelt said yes. Michtom and a company called Butler Brothers began to mass-produce the teddy bear. Within a year Michtom started his own company called the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. ï » ¿However, the truth is that no one is sure who made the first teddy bear.

World War II and its affects essays

World War II and its affects essays World war two significantly affected the United States and its people. Despite the awful tasks of waging and supplying a war, surprisingly the economy was booming. Big Businesses and Labor Unions strengthened, women were able to make a living on their own, and Blacks were given opportunities that they were shunned at previously. The war required so much, that money was constantly being pumped into the economy. Eventually, the United States obtained full economy in 1942 and many people were working. By many people, I mean people of all gender and race. Women were able to gain freedom and some independence for the first time. The war changed a lot of aspects of American life. Black Civil Rights movements started around this time. Blacks felt that if they were going to be supporting and helping a country with war, they should at least be given significant rights as a human being. Indian Right movements also stemmed from the war. Navajo Code Talkers were a significant advantage of the war. Using people to speak a code language that no one could crack was a brilliant idea; yet again Indians were not give basic human rights. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) started at this time. This was the first national Indian support and lobby group. As a lobby group they used American political tactics to ensure policies and protection of tribal rights for about 20 years, it was the only National Indian control group and the most important major force. America is rapidly changing. As I stated before women were gaining confidence in a way that they never had before. WAACS and WAVES were two very significant women rights groups. The war gave women a chance to feel what it was really like to work for themselves and be independent. They wanted rights to vote, hold a job, and essentially be equal to men. This was the springboard of the womens rights groups to ...

Be Bop

Be Bop Bebop, also known as Bop, came about from jam sessions in Harlem in the early 1940?s. Among all of these new musicians, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk were the leading personalities. Parker?s exciting alto saxophone flights won him the popular nickname of Bird, yet he played equally creatively in ballads and in heartfelt blues such as ?Parker?s Mood?. Many Bop musicians rejected pianist Thelonius Monk because of his harsh, zigzagging melodies. Even so, he was highly regarded for the numerous songs which he had composed. Some of his songs such as ?Blue Monk? and ?Epistrophy? were very famous. Bop requires very fine technique to play and Parker was the most skillful of these musicians. Bop pieces were played at the fastest tempos yet heard in Jazz. Bop featured many-noted solos and unusually quickly changing harmonies. Bop was extremely difficult to sing. Despite this, vocalists such as Sarah Vaughan had the necessary voice range and control to sing it well.[Portr ait of Charlie Parker, Tommy Potter, and Max...

How education has changed through the years Essay

How education has changed through the years - Essay Example 131). Violence has had a considerable influence on the national agenda and as such has influenced changes in education in US schools. Previously, there was a perception that even when the community was unsafe, schools offered a safe haven for children. However, since the 1990s, these perceptions have changed and schools can no longer be perceived as â€Å"islands of safety† (Elliott, Hamburg and Williams 1998, p. 254). Violence in schools was once perceived as a purely urban problem and the source of the problem was violence directed at teachers. The 1955 film Blackboard Jungle is demonstrative of this perception. In Blackboard Jungle (1955) the violence was perpetuated by juvenile delinquents in an all-male school where teachers appeared to be passive, permissive and unmotivated. The suggestion is therefore that violence in school was specific to problem boys where discipline was lacking. Therefore, violence in schools was not only predictable but could be resolved by committ ed and serious teaching and administrative staff. Moreover, school violence was geographical in nature and could easily be tempered by identifying the juveniles and expelling them from the school.

Do you agree with Dave Eggers that community service should be Essay

Do you agree with Dave Eggers that community service should be required for college students Why or why not - Essay Example As the saying goes, "get the leader and the masses will follow". I personally agree with Dave Eggers community development strategy, as it will not only benefit the community and the students but the nation as a whole. Students are like droplets of water and when gathered together to perform useful community activities they can be compared to enriching the ocean that surrounds them. These droplets should be used to enrich the community, for example even with a modest 9 hours a year requirement (the equivalent of less than two mornings a year), America would gain 54 million volunteer hours to invigorate the nation's nonprofit organizations such as churches, environment protection groups and college outreach programs; if the community service requirement is made compulsory for all private colleges. In other words, American is wasting 54 million precious volunteer hours a year. The next question to be answered is; would if the college students would like serve the community That is said to be the million dollar question, as they say, "you can take the horse to the water, but can't make it drink". I agree with this quote, but this statement is only true when the horse isn't thirsty. Using the "carrot and stick" method proposed by Dave Eggers, where the students are awarded up to three credits for community service, would get the majority of the students motivated. There are many advantages for the college students to become involved in community service, such as: Community service also helps enhance learning by allowing students to integrate course material with actual issues in a community setting. Community service also takes out the "curiosity" which many students have about the "real world" and would help the students gain valuable practical life experiences or even valuable history lessons, like meeting a World War II veteran. Another valuable ingredient for the idea of community service to be a long-term success that is needed is instilling patriotism amongst the students. Community service should be showcased as something to be proud of like when you high grades in the exam. This would remove the temptation to quit halfway through, which was the case for Dave Eggers. Prevention is better than cure; thus community service can prove to be the answer to many problems like drug addition, gangs, etc. Doing something constructive, like community services will stop the students from getting into destructive activities like drugs. Community service plays an important role in personality development. Volunteering will him the student be balanced and indulge in activities that will be to help others. Community service will also help the students develop and hone, "soft skills" that are very much in demand in today's job market. Community service can also act as an anti-depressant by being of service to others. At the same time, it is also important for the student to volunteer in that activity or activities that he or she likes, for example if a person is religious he or she should rather volunteer to help out at a church than at a conservation group. Programs such as the, President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognizes institutions of higher education that support exemplary student community service and service-learning programs,

An illustrated critique of the nature of brand design and its value to Essay - 1

An illustrated critique of the nature of brand design and its value to a selected company - Essay Example It also critically evaluates its internal strength, weakness, and brand power due to massive international presence. The key competitors are under analysis and comparison with H&M to evaluate its brand image significant for its international standing and business operations. OVERVIEW H&M (Hennes and Mauritz) group is a renowned retail designer specialising in fashion apparel and accessories for men, women and children wear. It is the second largest international fashion retailer after the Spanish brand Zara (Inditex). It is operated through leased retail stores, franchises and online catalogue stores with operations in Europe, Americas, Middle East and Asia. It has expanded internationally through network of franchise stores as well as catalogue sales. It offers affordable and chic high street fashion from children to teenagers and adults with wide variety of fashion apparel, footwear, accessories and cosmetics. It divulges the concept of fast fashion i.e. offering premium fashion at affordable prices while maintaining satisfactory quality. It has a distinctive global presence across 48 countries with 2,700 retail outlets covering 50 franchises, 48 Monki, 18 Weekday and 35 Collection of Styles (COS) stores. It has a workforce of almost 94,000 employees globally. The significant growth was captured by introduction of cosmetics and accessories in the fashion apparel market. It derives 90% of its revenue from overseas market, where Germany being the biggest at 27%. The online and catalogue sale is only offered in the European region (Datamonitor, 2011). HISTORY The history of the multi-national retailer dates back to Erling Persson in 1947 at Vasteras, who started the brand initially with Hennes dealing with women wear. In 1969, Erling Mauritz bought a menswear retail company, together Hennes and Mauritz AB founded H&M fashion house dealing with both men, and women wear products. It expanded the fashion business from Sweden during the late 1960s to Norway, Denmark , Switzerland, UK, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Germany. H&M is listed on Stockholm Stock Exchange since 1974. In spite of H&M Scandinavian origin, its expansion into British and European market was a major success in the late 1970s. The online store was inaugurated in 1988 with consolidation of men, women, teens and children under one fashion brand called H&M. It is operated and headquartered in Stockholm. It turned into a multinational retail fashion business by acquiring 40% stakes in Fabric Scandinavian, which deals with brands such as Cheap Monday, Monki and Weekday retail stores. It also inaugurated its first COS concept store in 2011 at Stockholm (Datamonitor, 2011). H&M LOGO The logo signifies the first letters of the founding members of the H&M group, Hennes and Mauritz. The brand logo illustrates a bold red colour with light cursive that depicts softer outlook. The red colour illustrates a vibrant and enthusiastic outlook that comprehends with the company’s creative fashion trends. The font size and colour chosen for the brand depicts the

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

Greece - Essay Example hese changes from the strongly Egyptian influenced archaic to the more natural influence of the classical can be traced through the various changes in vase decorations and in sculptures dating from this century. In the older vases of this period, stories of Odysseus and other Homeric heroes can be found in the flat, single perspective styles of Egypt as well as the heavy use of a somewhat innovative style of decoration commonly referred to as black-figure. Black figure is called this because the objects represented on the vase were first painted in black varnish and then the varnish was scratched off to reveal details after the vase had been fired (Tarbell, 1905). One of these early vases is an amphora decorated with scenes of Herakles battling the Amazons dating back to approximately 570-560 BC. Amphora were used to carry wine and often depicted scenes from heroic stories and mythology. In this depiction, all of the characters are seen from the side view with no dimensional quality to them whatsoever, despite the fact that they are obviously intended to be seen in motion. â€Å"At the center of the scene, Herakles, wearing lion skin over short chiton and a scabbard, grabs Andromache, quee n of the Amazons, by the wrist and is about to dispatch her with a short sword† (Skaar, 2006). Like Egyptian art, these figures are seen from the side in all of their postures, but eyes, such as the eye of Andromache, are seen as if from the frontal view. Each of the characters can be recognized for who they are intended to be because of the artist’s inclusion of names alongside each of the figures represented. Another piece representing the Archaic period is the Odysseus kylix by the Painter of Boston dated approximately 560-550 BC. This cup, designed to drink wine from, depicts a scene from the epic story Odysseus, in which the witch Circe turns all of Odysseus’ men into animals. She can be seen in the center, handing out a wine goblet to the individuals coming up

Strategic thought and its practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic thought and its practice - Essay Example Examples of this include a shift from retail trading into chain store, from single product into diversification or from supplier to manufacturer. A new strategic thought could also be a response to the changes or expansion in the market of the given business. Where there is change or expansion of market, the business should ensure that its new strategy that will enable it respond to the demands, needs and preferences of this market. Changes within an organization not only revolve around its business strategies but also its governance. Changes taking place within the leadership or governance of an organization either make it more or less effective in achieving its business goals and implementing its business strategies. Young (2010, p154) concurs with this by stating that the emergent patterns of governance affect the effectiveness of a business regime and this is important for solving problems in its business environment. This implies that if the changes in the organization are makin g its more effective in implementing business strategies, the leaders of the organization are in a position to develop complex business strategies meant to achieve a higher competitive advantage for the business. For example, such a business could formulate a strategy for penetrating into international markets, expanding the product base for its local markets or formulate new and more productive work strategies. Industry conditions Industry conditions describe the nature of the business environment an organization operates in. It includes the characteristics of its customers, number of competitors and power of the organization verses that of its competitors. Ohmae (1982, pp 47)... The researcher states that the success of an organization depends on the level upon which it achieves its main goal and various sub-goals. This requires that an organization formulate strategies for attaining its goal and sub-goals. Strategy simply put, refers to an action plan specifically designed to achieve a certain goal. Petraf explains that a strategy provides a comprehensive way of pursuing economic ends by providing a long-term scope and direction through which an organization configures its scarce resources in the challenging environment. This is to say that a strategy sets a direction for focusing efforts. This way, a strategy enables an organization to achieve a business advantage by meeting the needs of its market or various markets and to fulfil the expectations of stakeholders. It should be noted that an organisation cannot depend on one strategy all its lifetime. Rather, there are conditions that stimulate or necessitate change in strategic thought over time and the ne ed for strategy implementation in order to achieve the new goals of the business, and to facilitate the realisation of the organization’s mission. This means that conditions of strategic thought and practice are of great interest to the management of every organization, state, and group of workers. Strategic thought and its practice is of great importance for any business that is aiming to thrive and profit from it its current and diverse socio, economic and political environments.

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

Greece - Essay Example hese changes from the strongly Egyptian influenced archaic to the more natural influence of the classical can be traced through the various changes in vase decorations and in sculptures dating from this century. In the older vases of this period, stories of Odysseus and other Homeric heroes can be found in the flat, single perspective styles of Egypt as well as the heavy use of a somewhat innovative style of decoration commonly referred to as black-figure. Black figure is called this because the objects represented on the vase were first painted in black varnish and then the varnish was scratched off to reveal details after the vase had been fired (Tarbell, 1905). One of these early vases is an amphora decorated with scenes of Herakles battling the Amazons dating back to approximately 570-560 BC. Amphora were used to carry wine and often depicted scenes from heroic stories and mythology. In this depiction, all of the characters are seen from the side view with no dimensional quality to them whatsoever, despite the fact that they are obviously intended to be seen in motion. â€Å"At the center of the scene, Herakles, wearing lion skin over short chiton and a scabbard, grabs Andromache, quee n of the Amazons, by the wrist and is about to dispatch her with a short sword† (Skaar, 2006). Like Egyptian art, these figures are seen from the side in all of their postures, but eyes, such as the eye of Andromache, are seen as if from the frontal view. Each of the characters can be recognized for who they are intended to be because of the artist’s inclusion of names alongside each of the figures represented. Another piece representing the Archaic period is the Odysseus kylix by the Painter of Boston dated approximately 560-550 BC. This cup, designed to drink wine from, depicts a scene from the epic story Odysseus, in which the witch Circe turns all of Odysseus’ men into animals. She can be seen in the center, handing out a wine goblet to the individuals coming up

Change management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Change management - Research Paper Example Planned change is a process where the company appoints an agent through strategic rationalization to assess the present issues and problems of the company (Blomme, 2012). It is worth mentioning in this regard that discrepancy analysis act as the base for planned changes within organizations which enables change agents to identify and sort the processes or aspects which should be inculcated or should be excluded from the business process (Goodman, Bazerman and Conlon, 1980). Emphasizing on this particular aspect, the report intends to present the basic need for successfully implementing a planned change in an organization. Therefore, the paper discusses the responsibilities and methods of the effective change agents. Subsequently, the report also intends to reveal some of the sensitivity issues raised by Bridges in relation to the implementation of planned changes within the organizational context. The ultimate aim of the discussion is thus concentrated on evaluating the possible stra tegies through which, the change agents could be effective in handling the issues raised by Bridges. Analysis of changes in organization In context of today’s market, there is continuous need for change in any organization. At times, changes are observed to occur voluntarily due to the influences created by external forces such as emergence of powerful competitors, change of government policies, consumer demand shifts and similar other variables. However, in certain circumstances, changes in the organizations are implemented through proper planning as per the needs or goals of the organization. For instance, in the modern day context, it has often been observed that companies initiate major changes in relation to its communication processes, the formation of employee-participation teams or establishing new product among others for the improvement of the business in today’s continuously increasing competitive environment. With the competition becoming more intense by th e every passing day companies are forced to make changes or initiate innovative ideas in their business processes to attain and preserve a leadership position in the industry (Daft, 2008). As per the current day context, the changes could be in regard to product or technologies or in relation to any other organizational concern. Changes in relation to products can be identified in terms of its quality and services over a certain period of time. In the similar context, technological changes refer to the specific alterations happening in the production or the distribution or communication processes of an organization. It is in this context that irrespective of the type of change, it is the foremost responsibility of the people to put collaborative efforts towards ensuring the desired outcomes. It is fundamentally owing to this particular reason that in order to implement planned changes in different dimensions of the organization, segregated teams of specialists are selected. These se gregated teams are further observed to operate following different set of policies and principles to that identified among other usual groups of organizational teams with the sole aim to provide new ideas of change to the business (Daft, 2008). When implementing changes in a planned way, organizations generally tend to follow a three step approach. The initial stage of planned change is often referred as ‘unfreezing’ where the change agents attempt to convey the existing

NET framework and common language runtime Essay Example for Free

NET framework and common language runtime Essay The . NET framework is a component of Windows that enables the running of more advanced applications and XML Web services (DePetrillo, 2002). One of the main aim of coming up with this framework is to enable applications to have a consistent object-oriented programming methodology. It is also useful in that it eliminate software deployment and the execution of code safely without problems of scripting and interpreted environments. Microsoft. NET is also referred to as Windows DNA, it was a Microsoft’s previous platform used for developing all enterprise applications. It includes a variety of proven technologies which are in the production they include Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) and COM+, Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ), the Microsoft SQL Server database. Common Language Runtime provides the . NET framework applications an environment to execute. These language runtime includes common type system Just-in-time compiler, manages memory and gives compiler the security required. Design of . NET and Common Language Runtime (CLR) The design of . NE framework gives of room for interoperability. .NET frameworks have a way of allowing applications which were developed in the framework to still operate in environments outside of . NET environment. The ability to access COM components is made possible by . NET developers which are in the SRIS and the System Services namespace. With this platform, communication between old and new applications is increasing and is becoming a reality. The design of . NET and CLR also allows for security implementation for applications. .NET has two features for security for their mechanisms for security. These two features include validation and verification, and Code Access Security. The latter feature uses the association with specific assembly (DePetrillo, 2002). Normally, the assembly source acts as the evidence regardless of whether they are installed on the local machine or has been downloaded from the Internet. This mechanism uses evidence to determine permissions that are given to the code. With other code, they can demand that calling code be given a specific permission. This demand normally enables CLR to countercheck the permissions; called call stack walk. This is a situation whereby for every assembly of each method in the stack is scrutinized for the required permissions. An exception is thrown if an assembly does not have the right permissions. When an assembly is launched, the CLR performs very many tests. Two of the tests include validation and verification. The verification purpose is to check if the code will do anything which is not safe. Also, . NET framework uses appdomains to isolate code running in a process (DePetrillo, 2002). The appdomains help when there is a crash in a system. In case one application crushes in a system, the other applications within that system will not be affected. An example of security problem is the buffer overflows. This is taken care of with the use of . NET framework. The stability of . NET is assured because it brings with it the end of manual memory management. The . NET framework does memory management by itself thus freeing the user the burden of doing this. The memory that was allocated for instantiations of objects meant for . NET is done contiguously from memory heap. This heap is normally managed by CLR. The . NET also manages garbage collection. This is done by the garbage collector which is compacting and non-deterministic. Memory leakage is an example of stability issue that is solved with the use of . NET framework. The last design feature added to . NET and CLR is the addition of class libraries. These libraries help in maintenance of the applications because one does not have to create applications afresh. Someone seeking to add some more functionality to their applications or do some maintenance will just use the class libraries available at their disposal to achieve all these. The class libraries is a collection of thousands of interfaces, classes, structures and enumerations that are aimed at adding functionality of core system and application services in order to ease programming. There are various classes that someone can use to manipulate the file system. For example there are classes to manipulate XML files, classes to manipulate databases, and serialize objects. In addition to the availability of vast collection of libraries in . NET, the user also has the capability of creating their own classes which they can use in many applications (DePetrillo, 2002). Advantages and disadvantages of . NET Framework Microsoft. NET offers a variety of features such as the time-to-market which are not found in others like the J2EE. It gives a fairly complete solution from the single vendor-Microsoft which may lack some higher end features. With the Microsoft. NET there is one place to get similar information since there is no question of what is the shared context repository. There is an established passport which is an active system. Microsoft. NET gives one the language neutrality when coming up with their new eBusiness applications thus allowing one to view other languages as one application. The cons It does not support a true web services since it lacks the support for ebXML. Microsoft. NET does not give tactics for improving the performance thus not allowing the developers to introduce errors into their systems. It requires qualified developers who are well educated and can handle more hand-holding. It is difficult to maintain since the . NET supports Win32 only in which a large number of machines are required. Microsoft. NET web services are not interoperable with the present industry standards since their BizTalk framework has proprietary SOAP extensions which do not support ebXML. References DePetrillo, B. A. (2002). Think Microsoft. NET. Que.

Violence Against Nursing Workplace Health And Social Care Essay

Violence Against Nursing Workplace Health And Social Care Essay Nurses are on the front lines and the back bones in the health sectors . Workplace violence is becoming an important issue that all organizations, these behaviours , especially that of bullying are detrimental and effect staff , patients , and outcome. Violence are defined as ( an incident that results in physical injury).(Duncan, Hyndan 2001 as cited in Denise,2009). Regarding to many research I found that nurses in emergency department and in mental health sectors are the most high risk staff who are facing violence form patients , their families and visitors because of many factors that I will discussed on my paper . The aim of my research is review background of workplace violence . In addition to, identify situations and specific patient groups susceptible to being involved .Furthermore , identify the most health care sectors that are more susceptible to violence and factors leading to violence in these sectors depend on research articles to support my paper .Besides, identify the best nursing practice in the management of patient hostile behaviour and violence because nurses play a major role and the most staff dealing with different type of patient and cases. Finally, identify the role of health sector to minimize the risk of violence against nurses and the recommendation need it to prevent violence in health sectors . Violence against Nursing in Health sectors Work place violence is a serious occupational risk towards nursing.(International Council of nurses 2002 , Mc paul and Moore 2004 as cited in Jessica, Altair ,Lara, Cathy, Linda and Susan,2009).In hospital violence occurs most frequently in psychiatric wards, emergency departments ,waiting room ,and geriatric units.(Sofield and Salmond 2003 as cited in Jessica et al., 2009) they conducted studies and found that 35% to 80% of hospital staff suffering from violence either if its verbally or physically.. The causes of work site violence are multifaceted and diverse .In hospitals ,clinics, health home setting, co-workers ,family members, patients or visitors may cause or contribute to violent events.(MaggieTerriy,2005).The escalating risk in emergency department environment are reflective of patient under influence of drugs and alcohol abuse are often associated factors in patient-initiated violence on nursing staff , miscommunication and low staff levels leads to anger and long waiting times for patient.( Chalermrat , Virasakdi ,Suparnee ,Teem Rassamee,2008 ).Beside, related to emergency situation and increasing number of patient with dementia and psychosis .Other risk factors are prevalence of guns and weapons that being carried by patients and their family or friends. (Gordan,Donna,MargretPatricia,2010).In addition , lack of staff training or visible security ward. For instance, patients illnesses and unpleasant feeling ,as well as, the anxious and stress by patients and their fami ly member and also visitors are often escalated by not enough space All these factors contributing and may incite physical and verbal abuse against emergency department staff. On the other hand, nurses working in psychiatric setting have a higher risk for becoming victims of violence too. According to Gordon and Donna and Margared and Patricia,2010 was conducted a research about Workplace Violence in Health care Setting : Risk factors and protective Strategies and identify the risk factors in to perpetrator ,worker and setting environment risk factors. The perpetrator risk factors such as patient with mental health disorder like dementia, schizophrenia and alcohol and drug abuse have been associated with risk for workplace violence .However, setting and environmental factors that were related to increase risk for violence included day time versus evening and nighttimes hours .Equally important, work factors that were associated with violence include workers gender , the research show that women experienced a higher risk of verbal violence ,in contrast, men experienced physical violence.Besides,other characteristics of worker factors are number of hours wor ked per week and marital status. Employees in health care settings cant prevent all violent events,however,they can use vary strategies to protect themselves against consequence of workplace violence. Management of patient violence Nurses Violence against nurses can be dangerous aspect of ones nursing career. By providing the greatest amount of direct services to patients. nurses play a very great degree valuable role in the quality and efficiency of care and curative services.(Myduc,Stephen,Jay,Carri,Kenneth,2009). Violence can be prevented and avoided by nurses who are aware ,well trained and in control .Nursing care should be in corporate activities within the domains of providing physical, psychological and emotional support through assess physical and emotional and psychological needs for violent .In addition to maintain privacy and personal safety. Besides physical and emotional support , the nurses should enhance safety of the patient and their family by focusing on the needs of family as a whole ,also full assessment for patient and family . In addition , a calm environment and greeting can stop noisy arguments ..(Maggie and Terry,2005). Moreover, good communication skills and proper intervention are more important to reduce the effects on mental health people and performance because some patient who are violence under the influence of drugs and alcohol even the visitors of patient.(Chalermrat et al.,2008). Finally, promote self efficacy by provide patient care plan ,health education and provide information about local and national help and support and available opinion. Further-more ,encourage safety planning and recognizing the patients experience regarding their situation and respecting and support patient and their family decision.(Gordon,2008). Violence preventing training for hospital is one step in reducing the incidence of violence in hospital emergency rooms. Potentially, violence patients and visitors can be recognized by the hospital staff by attending training in violence prevention .Also, alert supervisors to any concerns about safety and report all incident immediately in writting.(Tessa,Sue,Maureen,John,Martha,Sabina,Sandra,Greg,2010). Staffs work together or with a professionally trained individual to provide an open atmosphere in which to discuss the critical violent incident and need to learn donà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t meet aggression with aggression. Role of health care sector All of the government initiatives in arrangement in light fixture and making the manager responsible to ensure well-being of their staff and put place reporting and monitoring systems ,but more emphasis is need in identity of the trigger factors to patient behaviour and appropriate management. Similarly, the nurse play major role with violent patient ,of course the health sector play a major role to protect their staff and preventing violence .Facility administrator should provide a culture of support to those person who experience violence exposures in the work. In addition , can use a conventional and a credible system data to develop programs that increase staff safety and reduce the occurrence of violence exposure. To prevent and avoid violence , staff need to understand both violent activities and their development in the workplace . Education the staff regarding the function , role and responsibilities of the emergency nurse and the department may reduce the tension between staff. Also, education and training staff in the administration regarding the appropriate response to aggression behaviour if necessary. Moreover, close relationship with the police to tackle violence against staff to deal with the abuse behaviour once occurs.(Magie,2005). Equally important, provide enough staff member including nursing, medical officer support and security staff , besides , reduction of waiting time and the development policies and procedures to deal with the situation in case of emergency. Finally, provide video camera in emergency department to be used as evidence if necessary.(Ontario Nurses association,2008). Conclusion Nursing is a hard profession its physically and intellectually demanding. It requires patience and ability to relate to diverse types of patients ,communication skills and flexibility. Violence at work place is a complex problem which demand multifunctional actions and cooperation even with safety policies and procedures in place ,hospital and other health care setting can be dangerous places ,filled with individuals who are under stress .Part of nurses job to raise awareness in the health and aged care sectors and the community about the incidence of violence and its unacceptability as a workplace hazard are beginning to empower nurses to report violent incidents, to act to minimize risk , and to ensure their employers accept their legal obligations to provide a safe place for nurses to work and to provide care for the community. Work place violence is unacceptable not only in nursing place ,but also in all workplace . An important planning ,systematic assessment and effective responses strategies are necessary to deal with mental health illness and violent patient in any sectors ,some times its difficult, but by training sessions and copying strategies it could help to prepare nurses for violence in workplace. Failure to prevent workplace violence , it could result in prosecution , loss of valuable employees , productivity and efficiency. (Stella,MalcolmJan,2008).

The Role of the Gods in Homers The Iliad Essay -- Iliad essays

The Role of the Gods in Homer's The Iliad "We everlasting gods....Ah what chilling blows we suffer-thanks to our own conflicting wills-whenever we show these mortal men some kindness." This exert clearly states what kind of authority Homer has bestowed on his Gods. John Porter said," their constant interference in the lives of the mortals, which seems to cast them in the role of malicious puppeteers, while reducing Homer's heroes to mere pawns in a selfish and often rather petty divine game of one-upmanship." I found it to be quite disturbing imagining these characters fighting in such a mercilous war, giving every ounce of strength they had, and in an instance, all of their efforts could be derailed by a God or Goddess. You almost have to wonder if these 'heroes' really have any control whatsoever, or if they are there for the pure amusement of others. Porter also mentions the morality of the Gods'. He points out that the gods display many of the same values that we criticize the heroes of having. " They are as jealous of their honors (time) as are Agamemnon and Achilles i...

Ernesto Guevara de Serna Essay -- Ernest Che Guevara Biographies Essay

Ernesto Guevara de Serna Ernesto Guevara de Serna was born in Argentina in 1928 into a fairly privileged family. He developed serious asthma at the age of two, which would plague him throughout his life. He was home-schooled by his mother, Celia de la Serna. It was these early years when he became an eager reader of Marx, Engels, and Freud which all were all part of his father's library. He went to secondary school in 1941, the Colegio Nacional Dean Funes, Cordoba, where he excelled in literature and sports. At home he was impressed by the Spanish Civil War refugees and by the long series of political crises in Argentina. These culminated in the ‘Left Fascist’ dictatorship of Juan Peron, to whom the Guevara de la Sernas were opposed. These events and influences implanted ideas of contempt for the charade of parliamentary democracy, a hatred of military politicians and the army, the capitalist oligarchy, and, above all, U.S. imperialism. Although his parents, most notably his mother, were anti-Peronist activists, he did not take participate in revolutionary student movements and showed little interest in politics at Buenos Aires University (1947) where he studied medicine. He focused on understanding his own disease, and later became more interested in leprosy. In 1949 he made the first of his long journeys, exploring northern Argentina on a bicycle. This was the first time Ernesto came into contact with the very poor and the remnants of the Indian tribes. It was during this leave of absence from schooling that Guevara, now nicknamed "Che" (Italian origin meaning chum or buddy), first experienced the depth of poverty and suffering of his fellows. In 1951, after taking his exams, he made a much longer journey. He visited southern Argentina, Chile, where he met Salvador Allende, and Peru, where he worked for several weeks in the San Pablo leprosarium. He then was in Colombia at the time of La Violencia, and Venezuela and Miami where he was arrested but soon released. He returned home for his finals sure of only one thing: he did not want to become a middle-class general practitioner. He passed, specializing in dermatology, and went to La Paz, Bolivia, during the National Revolution in which he condemned as an opportunist. From there he went to Guatemala, arriving during the socialist Arbenz presidency. It was in Guatemala that he began ... ...reabouts were a secret and his death was widely rumored. He was in various African countries, notably the Congo surveying the possibilities of turning the Kinshasa rebellion into a Communist revolution, by Cuban-style guerrilla tactics. He returned to Cuba to train volunteers for that project, and took a force of 120 Cubans to the Congo. His men fought well, but the Kinshasa rebels did not. They were useless against the Belgian mercenaries, and by autumn 1965 Che had to advise Castro to withdraw Cuban aid. Che's final revolutionary adventure was in Bolivia where he grossly misjudged the revolutionary potential of that country with disastrous consequences. The attempt ended in his being captured by a Bolivian army unit and shot a day later. Because of his wild, romantic appearance, his dashing style, and his unwillingness to bend to any kind of establishment, Che became a legend and an idol for the revolutionary—and even the merely discontented—youth of the later 1960s and early 70's. He was a focus for the kind of desperate revolutionary action which seemed, to millions of young people, the only hope of destroying the world of middle class industrial capitalism and communism.

Hoyts Cover Leter

Manager Hoyts Cinemas Dear Sir/Madam, I am apply for you position as team member at Hoyts Cinemas, Broadmeadows. I believe I am the best candidate, as I not only fill the stated requirements for the position but, offer to your company my talents, determination and keen interest in customer service. I have a very welcoming personality and a warm approach to not only my employment interactions but also my fellow employees. My former position as Crew Member at KFC had allowed me to display enthusiasm, persistence and attention to detail; all qualities that I believe would be an excellent addition to your establishment.Achieving excellence in customer service and connecting well with clients has always been of high importance throughout my work experience. I consider it necessary to build up a good rapport with all customers so that they enjoy their experience and have a desire to return. I hope to have the opportunity to prove that I am able to perform not only my set duties but to bran ch out, using initiative and flexibility in other tasks. I endeavour to understand exactly what clients’ need and promote as much as is necessary without being overbearing.I am also familiar with Windows and Mac processing and have excellent written and verbal communication. I am available to work weekends and would be happy to take on other days, if necessary. In writing this letter, I have attempted to convey my personality and expose strengths that are of use to your company. Actions however, do speak louder than words, and so I suggest a meeting, where you will better understand my inviting manner and hospitable nature. I am eager to meet with you so please, do not hesitate to call or email me. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,

Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Essay

Strategic Issues and Problems: The Jones Blair Company competes in a 50-county area throughout Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Their major business and financial center is located in eleven county Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan areas. Jones Blair Company is a privately held corporation that produces and markets paint under the Jones-Blair brand name. A large portion of the maturing paint industry, $10 billion, is established from architectural coatings and the annual growth rate is expected to equal that of general inflation in the coming years. Dollar sales have increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent per year over the past decade. The company has been very successful in maintaining their margins even with increased research and development material and labor costs. A small number of regional paint manufacturers have competed successfully against paint manufacturer that distribute their products national. Major producers of paint for the architectural coatings segments account for 60 percent of sales in the architectural coating segments. The competition is pretty stiff when it comes to private store brands or specialty stores. Even with the growing success of Jones Blair it is not enough and in order to reach their business goals at a time when growth is nonexistent, Jones Blair must take immediate action and surge their sales team and change their sales energies. Mass merchandisers pose a serious threat to the future achieved sales levels of Jones Blair Company. Jones Blair Company is currently looking for solutions for gaining more consumers through marketing their architectural coatings and sundries in the southwestern United States. Market Segmentation The market of Jones Blair can be divided to two groups: Dallas-Fort Worth area and Non Dallas-Fort Worth. Among these two areas, there are the contractors, the DIY households and the professional painters. From reading case, I gathered that the estimated dollar volume of architectural paint and allied products sold in Jones Blair’s 50 countries service area in 2004 was $80 million (excluding contractor sales). The DFW are accounted for 60 percent or $48 million, while the remaining 40 percent or $32 million is sold in the other areas outside the DFW area. 70 percent of the DFW sales are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 30 percent is sold to professional painters. In the other areas outside of the DFW area 90 percent of sales are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 10 percent is sold to professional papers. (See Exhibit 2). This would means the percentage of the market segment is as following: DFW ($48 millions) Non-DFW ($32 millions) Professional Painters 70% ($33.6 millions) 30% ($9.6 millions) DIY households 30% ($14.4 millions1) 70% ($22.4 millions) Plan of Action The senior management team has examined the paint industry, especially the architectural paint markets, and they have yet to come to a conclusion. The president of Jones Blair, Mr. Alexander Barrett, is planning to have another meeting with his executive team where they will each present their suggestions and he has exclaimed a decision must be made. Recommendations Jones Blair executives have developed four alternatives to relieve the company’s marketing problem (which are outlined as follows): a) Cut price by 20% b) Spend additional $350,000 on corporate advertising; c) Hire one additional sales representative d) Do Nothing (Status Quo) a) Cut price by 20% Compared to other leading national brands, Jones Blair is priced relatively high. This is based on the extremely high quality and performance of the products. By cutting price, Jones Blair will be able to stay competitive in price with other the other products on the market. b) Spend an additional $350,000 on corporate advertising This money will be used to increase awareness. Most of it will be spent on television ads targeted mainly in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area at the do-it-yourself market. Brand image is important to consumers and television ads are a great way to get their name out. Most of this population is aware of this product and only some of this population would purchase it. c) Hire an additional sales representative Hiring an additional sales representative will allow Jones Blair to focus on new markets. These markets should be outside of the DFW area and allow for new cities and states to recognize Jones Blair. d) Do Nothing (Status Quo) Since Jones Blair has continually seen profits each year; they should maintain their current marketing objectives and do nothing. Jones Blair has done an excellent job of this in the past by watching the margins and controlling costs. By doing nothing, the company will not need to spend any additional money. e) Alternative Recommendations a.) Cut price by 20% In 2004 architectural product sales volume was $12,000,000. Jones Blair has a current net profit of $1.14 million, and to stay profitable it must maintain this amount. $12,000,000*.35= $4,200,000 If Jones Blair reduced its price by 20% the contribution margin will drop to 15%. ($12,000,000)*.15 = ($1,800,000) If the company drops the price by 20% the company will see a 33% increase in sales. ($1,800,000 * .33) =$4,200,000 ($594,000) STRENGTHS: Jones Blair will sell more products, because it will be able to compete with its competitors in price. WEAKNESSES: May not be able to sell enough in volume to cover cost of goods sold. If the price is more competitive with other companies it may not be looked at as superior quality. b.) Spend additional $350,000 on corporate advertising. The marketing department proposes a television campaign targeted at the DFW do-it-yourself market. This will cost an additional $350,000, but will significantly increase the awareness of Jones Blair products. Research has proven that brand awareness is a major factor in purchasing decisions. If Jones Blair does agree to use this method the company will need to make at least $122,500 to break even and cover the cost of this new promotion ($350,000/.35= $122,500). Most of the DFW consumers are do-it-yourselfers, so a television ad will be beneficial in this market. STRENGTHS: Consumers will become aware of Jones Blair. Do-it-yourselfer’s account for 70% of volume in the DFW area. Advertising is proven to increase awareness, and awareness is a critical factor in consumer purchasing decisions. WEAKNESSES: Almost doubling current advertising costs ($360,000+$350,000). This recommendation requires a large budget and has little guarantee of results because about 75% of the viewing au dience does not buy paint. Consumer buying process shows household buyers choose a store first, not a brand; therefore, cooperative ad is required, not brand advertising. c.) Hire an additional sales representative. Sales outside of our home territory DFW are crucial for maintaining competition in the market. A sales rep would cost the company $60,000 a year. So the company would need ($60,000/.35) about $171,428.58 of additional profits to cover this. 120 retailers are located outside of DFW. If we look at our current dollar amount needed to stay profitable $4,200,000 and divide that by stores…$4,200,000/120= $35,000 So… $171,428.58/$35,000 = about 5. So the company would require a new sales rep to acquire at least 5 new accounts a year to breakeven. STRENGTHS: New clients may bring more opportunity to the table through word of mouth. Doesn’t cost the company a significant amount of money to do. WEAKNESSES: Does not promise new clients. It’s only concentrating on most profitable market, DFW. d.) Do nothing (Status Quo) Jones Blair will not change any of their marketing strategies. STRENGTHS: Does not cost the company any extra money to maintain current objectives. Jones Blair is currently making money, why change? WEAKNESSES • Jones Blair will not always be profitable in the future; the cost of research and development will only increase. Needs to stay competitive in the market and not looking into long term vision of the company. Final recommendation Jones Blair needs to look into the future and envision the company competing with competitors. Its best bet is to focus on the consumers in its main home market, DFW. If they can gain awareness of the home market, sooner or later word will spread throughout all of their markets and business will boom. Making a $1,000,000 minimum income looks like pocket change. Right now Jones Blair can afford this and still have a $400,000 profit. Target Market The target market for Jones Blair is consumers in its main home market, DFW. Specifically the consumers in their architectural coatings and sundries arena. Marketing Mix Promotion: Jones Blair Company advertising can potentially boost their clientele bringing more awareness to the DIY segment in the southwestern area of the United States. This was essentially the objective of the executive meeting and advertising is proven to increase awareness, and awareness is a critical factor in most consumer purchasing decisions. Place: The Company distributes its product through 200 independent paint stores, lumber yards and hardware outlets. With the expanded advertisements Jones Blair can expand to their marketing scope connecting with more consumers, especially in the southwestern area of the US. Price: Almost doubling current advertising costs ($360,000+$350,000), advertising would be the best way to reach the masses in the regions that are going unnoticed. Product: Architectural coatings and sundries supplied throughout the southwestern United States.

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Information Systems - Essay Example It makes switching cost or consideration of an alternative costly that it discourages customers to switch to another system. The classic example we can cite is SAP procurement system. The program is being used by many big businesses across the globe that includes industry leaders such as BMW, Ericsson, BASF Corp., Audi, Burger King, just to name a few. SAP markets its product to its customers by stating that it could â€Å"boost contract spending and and enforce compliance with procurement guidelines† (SAP, 2012). The â€Å"contract boost spending† just meant that its potential customers will have more business because it will lock in their clients to their business and will make it extremely costly for them to find an alternative because the present system (using SAP) reduces procurement cost by â€Å"automating, simplifying and accelerate the business’ procure to pay process for goods and services (SAP, 2012). It thus emphasize operational efficiency that the consideration of an alternative would be prohibitive in terms of cost, human resource and time spent looking for another supplier because SAP will already streamline the purchase of goods and services. In other words, the system (SAP) will make the products and services exchanged between suppliers and customers to be cost effective or cheap as long as the customer will buy solely from the supplier that uses SAP. To further simplify how informational technology lock in the relationship between the supplier of goods, services or information and its customer, we can further cite the popular computer tablet of Amazon which is the Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire makes a good case of how a supplier locks in or lures its customer it uses this to differentiate itself from its dominant competitor, iPad of Apple. Amazon knows that it has the advantage of deep informational database over Apple which is its online bookstore Amazon and would like to capitalize on this advantage to take away Apple iPadà ¢â‚¬â„¢s market share on the computer tablet business. Instead of offering numerous apps and competing with the technical features of iPad which Amazon knows it cannot measure up, Amazon instead offered numerous books and magazines for free with their Kindle Fire and will sell the same if a customer will purchase them using the iPad. It is short of saying that many books and magazines are free if you buy Kindle Fire and it will cost you a lot if you buy iPad. In addition, Amazon also offer their Kindle Fire way cheaper than Apple’s iPad and market it more as a book and magazine reader to differentiate from iPad. Above all, Amazon also offers unlimited cloud storage for books and magazines for free that was procured from Amazon. In the same vein, the same services of cloud storage will cost a lot if customers will buy it from their iPads because they have to buy the books at premium prices from Amazon which were free with Kindle and they have to pay again if they want to save it in Amazon’s cloud storage. In the examples stated, it showed that informational technology is not just used to make business efficient, but also made as a tool to keep existing customers and make the alternative costly for them. Information technology will not only make switching costs expensive but could also be used as a strategic capability that would serve as a barrier to new entrants into its markets. The classic example we can use to illustrate how companies make

Size of financial sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Size of financial sector - Essay Example Moreover, profitability across all the financial sectors has improved except the insurance sector and it is anticipated to remain strong in the first quarter of the year 2015. Unfortunately, for the insurance and the building society the forecast suggests otherwise. The number of employment in the banking and insurance sector has decreased in comparison to other sectors while the training expenditure has risen. Department, I. M. F. M. C. M. (2014) suggests that this is a clear indication of the existence of shortage of skills and talents in the financial labor market. The financial sector has enormously grown over the last decades. Gloria (2015) illustrates that the parameters that measure these growths are: quantity of the financial market; the share of the GDP; wages; and employment. For instance, the economy of the UK has grown faster since the financial crisis of 2007/2008. It expanded by approximately by 1.9% in 2013. The growth is also attributed to the securitization in the financial market; intermediation of credit; and the subsectors of finance in the financial sector. On the other hand, the insurance sector has been steadily growing (at a steady pace). In addition, the growth is also evident in the increase in the financial claims and contracts such as bonds, stock, fund shares, and derivatives. Before the 200/2008 financial crisis, central banks use a simple modality that would effectively maintain and stabilize the inflation rate. However, in 2009 the interest rates were slashed to a level close to zero (zero lower bound). Jeucken’s (2001) notion indicates that below this benchmark would hav e been practical but wouldn’t have achieved the desired results. Central bank faced an uphill task of dealing with the increasing rate of unemployment as well as the collapse in the output. At some instances central banks have adopted the unconventional

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Theme Analysis - Research Paper Example She is referred to as a â€Å"debutante† and one who has â€Å"come of age†. This generally happens in high social circles. In other rare circumstances, age is of little consequence. One may refer to a person- young or old, has having â€Å"come of age† when he has surmounted a serious problem and emerged from it victorious. It is to be understood that chronological age does not really matter; it is the mature way the person handles the situation that counts. What is important is the ability to make a wise and sane decision that could change one’s life considerably and even forever. But that choice must be in one’s best interests. This situation, however, is rare and is more the exception than the rule. The Civil War in America left the Southerners swamped with difficulties as a result of the freeing of the slaves – the direst of which was economic in nature. There was much damage to life and property. All that could have contributed to economic recovery was in ruins – plantations, farms, buildings, the transportation system – everything, resulting from the emancipation of a million slaves. The family of Abner Snopes was no exception. Snopes earned the reputation of â€Å"barn burner† simply because he was just that – a barn burner. His younger boy, Sarty was a namesake of Colonel Sartorius Snopes, appears in court with his father who is accused of the aforesaid crime recently committed. The boy hopes he will not be interrogated for he would be forced to testify against his father who is, of course, guilty as alleged. Snopes is described as a wiry figure who was often dressed in a stiff black coat. His voice was cold and harsh, level and without emphasis – a brief but fitting description for a person addicted to crime – more specifically, arson and theft. It might be mentioned here that Sarty has inherited his father’s way of thinking – foremost being that people

Making a theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Making a theory - Essay Example More over it has got a five button mouse, which will assist the user working in a natural way.2 Using a pen tablet with its matching point will help the user to get the design displayed on the screen exactly what he draws on the tablet. The pressure sensitivity is yet another feature of the product, it lets the user to have a control over the software tools such as brush size, opacity and other things can be controlled dynamically.3 The tablet has a Ergononic design with sloping control palm , in addition to multiple cod positions for generator work and space flexibility. Above all it has enhanced resolution and available in various sizes. The Grip Pen has 11024 levels of tip and eraser pressure sensitivity for control, battery free technology, multi-position pen stand three nib styles and tilt sensitivity. The five button mouse has a smooth and accurate tracking without ball or optic functioning with battery free technology.. Previously were using only a scanner or a Paint Brush soft ware to draw something, and then came Auto Cad, which too helped in drawing diagrams of machines and tools with help of pre fixed shapes such as straight lines, circles, rectangle, etc. But INCUOS.3 has gone forward more steps further and the easy way to develop a graphic design is very clearly seen in this method. The flexibility which this product gives has all the reason behind my attraction towards this product. When you find your imagination take its shape with colors and you get the chance immediately to view your dream spot or painting or thought with a realistic touch, the happiness you get is immeasurable. The INCUOS.3 Graphic Pen Tablet , I would say with least hesitation that, is it a yet another invention, a miniature of a dream factory. Usually a cinema world is called a dream factory, where those things we imagine are given life for quiet some time and there we get a partial but better satisfaction that

Does the SIP Clearly Identify the Areas of Weakness Reflected in Essay - 1

Does the SIP Clearly Identify the Areas of Weakness Reflected in District, State, or National Assessments or Other Data - Essay Example This essay discusses that SIP enabled the identification of various weaknesses among students in coping with their studies. Furthermore, it also enabled the identification of the varieties of difficulties that students experience during their learning program, as well as the fact that the proficiency level varies between African American students and Caucasian students. Sip enabled the identification of the variety of problems faced by the school, such as the status of struggling students as well as their difficulties in learning. as such, these students require appropriate support in order to improve their proficiency levels in all their subject areas., such as improve in Algebra proficiency scores from 32% to 40%, improve English proficiency score from 75% to 83%, and to improve the school attendance by both students and staff by 99%. The objectives of this SIP include focusing on individual students and helping them to improve their achievement. Teachers hold conversations with st udents regarding simple issues like why they have failed to understand specific problems of a course.   They regularly analyze data to understand whether students are maintaining state-level standards. As Schafer Elem School develops its improvement plan for the year, the school comes from a backdrop of poor performance as the students perform poorly in various subjects thereby resulting in consistent poor results save for mathematics.

Future of Educational Finance Essay Example for Free

Future of Educational Finance Essay Gary Marx stated â€Å"identifying, monitoring and considering the implications of trends is one of the most basic processes for creating the future† (Stevenson, 2010 p. 1). The world of education is forever changing at a pace that gets more rapid as the years go on. The decisions made in the past have laid the foundation of education today, as will recent changes affect the future. Programs such as choice schooling and No Child Left Behind will impact school funding. Rulings such as the Lemon Test and separation of church and state will impact decisions that can potentially result in litigation and court rulings dictating educational decisions. In his work regarding educational trends, Kenneth Stevenson (2010) stated, â€Å"a continuing recession, escalating political polarization, rising racial/ethnic tensions, a growing national debt, and a widening divide between the haves and the have nots portend a future fraught with unprecedented challenges to and clashes over the form and substance of public education in America† (p.1). Analysis of the Lemon Test The Lemon Test was created by Chief Justice Warren Berger as a result of the court case Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) and is based on the principles stated in Everson v. Board of Education. The case of Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) centered on Rhode Island’s Salary Supplement Act. This act approved a salary supplement of up to fifteen percent for teachers who taught secular subjects in private religious schools or non-public elementary schools. The courts determined that approximately twenty-five percent of Rhode Island’s students attended non-public schools. Furthermore, ninety-five percent of the parochial schools were Roman Catholic. Pennsylvania offered a similar program that reimbursed non-public schools for expenses related to secular education and required schools to account for the expenses separately. Approximately twenty percent of Pennsylvania’s children attended non-public schools and ninety-six percent of the schools had a religious affiliation. The high courts looked at its own precedents and determined that, in order  for a law to be in compliance with the Establishment clause it, â€Å"must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion; finally, the statute must not foster an excessive government entanglement with religion (Barnes, 2010, p. 2-3). The Lemon test was created to, â€Å"determine when a law has the effect of establishing religion† (The Basics, 2014, p. 3). The court applied the Lemon test to the Pennsylvania and Rhode Island supplemental funding programs and deemed that the programs in both states were unconstitutional (The Lemon Test, 2009). Both programs met the first requirement of the Lemon test as they had a secular purpose. However, the court determined that it was unclear if the programs met the second set of criteria as â€Å"while the aid was intended for secular use, it was not entirely secular in effect† (The Lemon Test, 2009, p. 1). The court decided that it did not need to establish if the programs met the second part of the Lemon test as they failed to meet the third criterion as both programs â€Å"excessively entangling state administrators with the operations of parochial schools† (The Lemon Test, 2009, p. 1). The Lemon test has â€Å"become an extremely influential legal doctrine, governing not only cases involving government funding of religious institutions but also cases in which the government promoted religious messages. Over the years, however, many justices have criticized the test because the court has often applied it to require a strict separation between church and state† (The Lemon Test, 2009, p. 1). The test has been the foundation for many of the court’s ruling regarding the establishment clause since 1971. The choice  The idea of vouchers for education was first introduced in early 1950 in a move to privatize education. In that same year, as a result of Brown v. Board of Education, the southern states put the first voucher program into action as a way to â€Å"enable white students of all income levels to attend the segregation academies and continue receiving a publicly-funded, all white education† (Save our Schools NJ, 2014). In 1989, Wisconsin’s more modern voucher programs, focused on poor children of all races. (Save our Schools NJ, 2014). Regardless of the nature of the voucher program, the impact is the same- taxpayer funds being diverted from public school funding. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruling of the case of Zelman V. Simmons-Harris  stated that it was not a violation of the Establishment Clause to provide scholarships for some students to attend private or parochial schools. This ruling had a subsequent impact on the development of S1872, also known as the Opportunity Scholarship Act. This act allowed for vouchers to go to private or religious schools. Changes from S1872 resulted in an almost $1 billion dollar revenue loss for school funding by the end of its fifth year (NJEA, 2011). In addition to the government revenue lost, a 100% tax credit is given to companies who donate to these funds thus losing additional revenue. The children given these scholarship vouchers are children from targeted failing school areas, which then result in that already failing district to lose additional weighted funding for those children. â€Å"Shifting a handful of students from a public school into private schools will not decrease what the public school must pay for teachers and facilities, but funding for those costs will decrease as students leave† (NCSL, 2014). A study by the American Federation of Teachers in 2011 looked at the revenue lost in several states as a result of money being diverted to voucher programs. In most cases, these programs obtained funding by either increasing taxes or by reducing state aid to local school districts. Both the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program did just that. The Milwaukee program, in 2009, cost taxpayers roughly $130 million and the Cleveland program reduced Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid to the Cleveland public schools by $11,901,887 in 2007 (American Federation of Teachers, 2011). One of the most significant issues with voucher programs is the fact that they do not have the same monitoring and regulations as public schools in order to obtain funding. â€Å"Perhaps the biggest critique of market-based reforms, such as school choice and performance based accountability is that they will further exacerbate inequalities in education† (Fusarelli and Young, 2011, p. 92). Not all program funding is distributed in the programs based on poverty. Parents of special education students are not guaranteed special education services. In addition, many programs are not monitored for the way they appropriate money. When a review of the Arizona tax credit programs was conducted, it was discovered that â€Å"almost two-thirds of all voucher orga nizations kept more funds for overhead than allowed under state law† (AFT, 2011, p. 7). Per student revenue that local districts lose to  these programs is not guaranteed to be 100% applied to the students attending the private school. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education had a budget cut of $5 billion (The Education Trust, n.d.). In 2013-2014, over 35 states are providing less funding per students, more than 10% in fourteen of them. (Leachman Mai, 2014). With decreasing numbers such as these, voucher programs only continue to threaten to take limited funding away from local districts. Continued funding cuts will have an impact on the economic future of our country. As stated by Brimley et al. the more education provided, the more wealth developed; the more wealth created, the more funds available for investment; the more investment undertaken, the more wealth available for investment in physical and human capital: (Brimley et al., 2012, p. 3). The Impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is the largest federal funding program in the history of the United States. No Child Left Behind is a, â€Å"reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which originated in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty† (Braden and Schroeder, n.d., p. 1). While NCLB provides additional funding from the federal government it also imposes mandates that states must follow. The supplementary funding provided under the No Child Left Behind Act is not necessarily enough for states to meet the standards required by the act. The main focus of NCLB is Title I funding which the federal government allocates to states to help provide an education to economically disadvantaged students. No Child Left Behind includes eight other forms of Title funding such as school safety, teacher quality, assessments, and American Indian education (Braden and Schroeder, n.d., p. 1). Title I funds are the most important part of No Child Left Behind as the majority of the funds are earmarked for Title I purposes and Title I funding holds states accountable for student achievement as evidenced on state assessments. The move towards holding states accountable for student achievement began prior to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Most states included accountability in their education reform acts during the 1990s (Ladd, 2001). By the year 2001, the same year as NCLB, more than forty states published a school report card, more than half had some type of school achievement rating, and numerous states offered assistance or sanctions to schools with low student  performance (Meyer, Orlofsky, Skinner, Spicer, 2002). In January of 2002, No Child Left Behind was signed into law and for the first time in history the federal government was involved in, â€Å"setting broad parameters, implementation timelines, and sanctions for state accountability systems† (Dun combe, Lukemeyer, Yinger, 2006, p. 1). States began to implement NCLB in 2002 during a time of financial difficulties. This created concerns based on the cost involved in funding a program of its magnitude as well as questions regarding the extent to which the NCLB program was funded. Most estimates concerning the cost of implementing the program were far from accurate. This prompted states, such as Connecticut and Utah, to pass legislation which allowed them to either ignore the parts of NCLB that required funding from the state or sue the federal government for a lack of funding (Duncombe et al., 2006). While NCLB involves many federal education programs, the act’s requirements in regards to school improvement, accountability, and testing are a priority. No Child Left Behind required states to test students in grades three through eight yearly in math and reading. Students in grades ten through twelve must be tested once. In addition students must be tested in science once in grades three through five, six through eight, and tenth-twelfth. In addition, states, school districts and individual schools are to â€Å"publicly report test results in the aggregate and for specific student subgroups, including low-income students, students with disabilities, Eng lish language learners, and major racial and ethnic groups† (New America Foundation, 2014). Another requirement of NCLB is that all teachers must be highly qualified. Teachers must pass a licensure exam and be certified by the state they teach in. Teachers who teach a specific subject area must demonstrate their subject knowledge by passing the subject knowledge portion of the licensure exam. NCLB specifies that states develop a plan â€Å"to ensure that low-income and minority students are not taught by teachers who are not highly qualified at higher rates than are non-minority and low-income students† (New America Foundation, 2014). In addition, NCLB give parents and guardians the right to know the qualification of their child’s teacher and if their child is receiving instruction from a paraprofessional and if so the qualifications of that individual. NCLB requires that school district’s notify parents in writing if their child will receive instruction from a teacher who is not highly  qualified for longer than four weeks (New America Foundation, 20 14). No Child Left Behind stated that all school districts in the United States were to guarantee that each child enrolled in their district would score proficient in the state’s reading and math assessments by 2014. Each state was given the freedom to define what grade level proficiency meant in regards to their state standards. NCLB required that schools make â€Å"adequate yearly progress† (AYP) towards achieving their goal. Proficiency rates increased yearly up to 2014 and individual states were allowed to choose their rate of increase. In order for a state to make AYP they must meet their goal for student achievement in reading and math every year (New America Foundation, 2014). Forty-three states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, a group of California school districts as well as the Bureau of Indian Education applied for waivers exempting them from being required to meet their targets and other requirements of NCLB from the Department of Education. In September of 2011, President Obama and Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, announced that the Obama administration, â€Å"would allow states to request flexibility in meeting some of the requirements under NCLB in the absence of the law’s reauthorization† (New America Foundation, 2014). For a state to qualify to receive flexibility throu gh a waiver, the state needs to show they have adopted or will implement reforms to their, â€Å"academic standards, student assessments, and accountability systems for schools and educators† (New America Foundation, 2014). According to No Child Left Behind schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years will be identified for school improvement, and will have to create a school improvement plan (SIP), and apply a minimum of ten percent of their federal Title I funds to professional development. Schools that do not make AYP for a third year will be under corrective action, and will be required to apply interventions to improve school performance, â€Å" from a list specified in the legislation† (New America Foundation, 2014). If a school fails to make AYP for a fourth year they will be, â€Å"identified for restructuring which requires more significant interventions† (New America Foundation, 2014). If a school fails to make AYP for a fifth year, â€Å"they must implement a restructuring plan that includes reconstituting school staff and/or leadership, changing the school’s governance arrangement, converting the school to a charter, turning it over to a private management company, or some other major change†Ã‚  (New America Foundation, 2014). Specific school districts that have a high percentage of schools that fail to make average yearly progress for multiple years could be, â€Å"identified for school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring† (New America Foundation, 2014). The Future of Church-State Relations As religion continues to hold influence on the American culture the U.S. judicial system remains the authority for interpreting the constitutionality of matters of religion. The separation of church and state comes as a result of America not having an established religion for all of the residents to follow; the people were given freedom of religion. According to Thomas Jefferson, God is acknowledged as the creator of mankind and government is not a divine organization therefore it is the responsibility of the citizens to oversee the institution of government. In 1791 the government discontinued support or promotion of any religion. The decisions made so long ago continue to greatly impact organizations such as schools today. In the classroom teachers are held accountable to the state that they will remain neutral on the subject of religion while on school grounds (The Boisi Center, n.d.). Cases such as Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v Nyquist (1973) and Mueller v Allen (1983) have kept the courts busy on the subject of funding religion in the educational system (Pew Research Center, 2008). The Free Exercise Clause permits students to practice their faith privately on campus as long as it does not cause disruptions to the academic day and students are not being persuaded to follow his/her beliefs. School vouchers and tax credits that were distributed from 1983-2002 were considered constitutional under the Establishment Clause as they approved a parent’s choice to have their child attend a religious school. The courts accepted these practices because they did not show intent to persuade on the side of religion (The Boisi Center, n.d.). During this time all over the country courts were hearing cases to oppose the allowance of vouchers to religious organizations as they felt it went against the separation of church-state. In some states courts ruled that vouchers could only be used for parents that wanted to move their child to a higher performing public school so that private religious schools did not receive state education funds. Now and in the future the United States  will continue to permit religious liberty to the people, the government will not be accountable nor will it dictate ones religious practices (The Boisi Center, n.d.). With the increased cases that continue to build against religion in schools and educational funding to religious private schools it is predicted that the future of church-state relations in educational funding will give more authority to the state education departments on the placement of funds. The state will seek more control of religious private schools, as the voucher program seems to be here to stay. The state is going to want more control of curriculum if they will be providing financial support (Pardini, 1999). Tax credit programs are also popular and seem to offer a compromise of church-state relations. Tax credits provide financial support to families that choose to place their child in private schools. As time progresses state government will advocate for an increase in charter schools, this will allow for state funds in the form of vouchers and tax credits to support schools that do not have a religious focus (Pardini, 1999). This battle will continue until a decision is m ade by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the Blaine Amendments. These amendments were established in 1875 to disallow states to financially support private schools that teach religion. At this time there are approximately thirty states that incorporate Blaine language in their constitution, which disrupts the success of vouchers being used by parents that wish to relocate their child to a higher performing and/or religious private school (DeForrest, 2003). Future Trends in Court Decisions and Power over Educational Financing The courts have had a hand in education dating back to the creation of the United States Constitution. Although there was no specific mention in the Constitution as to who was responsible, who carried the power in terms of financing education, education was valued in the early days, and many early settlers used the Bible to teach the young to read. As time went on people challenged the use of teaching the Bible in Public Schools. People used the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to argue about the intermingling of church and state and the use of direct government support for parochial, and private schools (Brimley, Verstegen, Garfield, 2012). The courts found themselves hearing cases of people challenging the use of government funds in schools other than public schools and, in the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters  (268 U.S. 510-1925), the courts ruled for using public funds for church-related schools. Because of this ruling financing public schools has seen some great changes, and will continue to see changes. This court ruling could potentially change the makeup and the system of education in the United States. States will implement more stringent guidelines as to what they expect from schools in regards to performance standards since they are the ones providing the funds. These guidelines are the result of schools continuing to fail to meet state requirements, running low on funds due decreased income from property taxes, or the need for states take over more schools or shut them down, To date there has not been a proven method that will solve the problems of educational financing. Politics have a large influence in financing education. This was evident during the Bush administration, when money went into funding Laura Bush’s library after other school programs were cut. For nearly forty years the constitutionality of the way schools are financed has been scrutinized. There have been one hundred thirty-nine lawsuits in forty-five states promoting finance reform after the ruling of Serrano v. Priest (Education Next, 2010). The states are required by their individual state constitutions to provide an adequate education to all students. Currently there is no solution to the challenges of financing public schools so that all individuals feel like they are being treated equally. The debates and challenges have been going on for decades and will continue for years to come. Responsibility is placed on the states to ensure that their State Constitution requirements are being met and to provide funding for local schools. Conclusion As previously stated education as it is known today continues to change at a rapid rate and will continue to change forever as the world that we all reside in is ever changing. Technology has had a major influence on education, and the world in general. â€Å"If students are not being taught to use technology, and not being taught adequate math, science, and communication skills, the United States will continue to lose its superiority to other countries† (A Nation at Risk, 1983). In order for the United States to keep up with the competitive commerce, today’s students need to be pushed a little more to achieve more and not just be satisfied with mediocrity. There was a time when funding private and/or parochial  schools was not even an issue, as it was clearly understood that government monies was allocated for public schools. As time went on, needs changed, be it individual needs such as students with disabilities, or families of low income. With these needs came reasons to challenge the norm. Attorneys were contracted, and the status quo was challenged. Nobody could have predicted the changes that would happen nor is it possible to predict the future from today. It is impossible to guess the future of financing education because no one knows what the needs will be in fifteen to twenty-five years from now. It is crucial that past rulings be thoroughly examined to assist with preparing for future financial direction, although that is not the magic solution. 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