Quality Management of processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quality Management of processes - Essay Example The first step is to establish a strong feedback as an important element of any quality assurance process. Evaluation should be a continuous process and not just left until the end of the project. The results of evaluation processes should be discussed with the researchers, perhaps by means of completing a record of achievement and current strategies. To avoid adversely, it is crucial to involve key researchers into the process of quality control requirements. A potential problem area in many institutions is the role played in it by middle management (Dale, 1994). They have a pivotal role because they both maintain the day-to-day operation of the project and act as one of its most important communications channels. They can often block change if they have a mind to or they can act as the leaders of teams spearheading the impetus for quality improvement. In this case, the quality control should be identifies as an important measure against possible pitfalls and mistakes caused by huma n factors. The quality control should interpreted as a preventive measure which helps the research project to save time and resources caused by possible errors and poor quality (Christensen, 1997). A special attention will be given to such principles as process approach, continual improvement and qualit

Improving Schools Essay Example for Free

Improving Schools Essay There are many improvements that can be made to our school. These improvements will progress the school into a higher grade of learning for students. There are many different facets to our school and small, inexpensive, environmentally friendly changes need to be made. Making changes to the school will help the students achieve higher grades, and therefore have even more university and college acceptance. Improvements such as free internet, a library on campus and free parking will for sure be solutions with a positive aftermath. My first suggestion to improving the school is free internet. Internet can be a positive solution for those students in St. Louis that English is not their first language. They can access translation sites to help them better understand the reading material and course assignments. Diagrams for courses with maps and graphs can be accessed on the internet. This will save paper for teacher, therefore creating a more environmentally friendly place and also will help students see the diagrams first hand in colour. We have decided as a democratic society that education is a right, with this right we must provide the tools to make it accessible, the internet will further progress students learning in variable ways. My second suggestion is that we have a library on campus. Through the library we can borrow books; this is a great solution to those who can’t afford to buy books. Buying books outside of school can be expensive and what can you do with them after you read them, borrowing them for the library is a simple and environmentally friendly solution. The library is a good place also to work on assignments and group projects on the lunch hour, this helps students get the work done and hand it in on time and also provides a work space other than their house. In addition to the above point, since we decided education is a right, it is imperative that a library be added for those who can’t afford a computer, internet etc. A library is a place for those to access the tools to have a better learning experience such as typing out assignments and accessing internet for class. We have decided education is a right but again we must provide to make that right available to all. Lastly, we should have free parking. Free parking has many positive variables. For instance, if we issue free parking for students we could insist that students carpool to reduce parking space demand, this will also lower our ecological footprint and therefore be good for everyone. Students coming from Cambridge, have a hour long bus ride to  get to the Kitchener campus and most of them have to come to the the Kitchener campus because Cambridge doesn’t offer University level courses. Free parking would make that drive less of a hassle that it already is. Also many students as St. Louis have kids and or a job. Free parking would aid in getting to work on time, or getting their child from daycare on time. In conclusion, our school has made a great start. But it is time to make even more effort to make students success more efficient. With solutions like free internet, a library and free parking we will reduce our ecological impact, make student life more enjoyable, and having a higher acceptance to University and College. We have decided that schooling is a right, with that we need to give students what they need to succeed. Our society will better from educated people that can support themselves, rather than people that depend on society. Education is not only for the now, it is forever.

Sex, Marriage, and Family: Revision Paper -- Essays Papers

Sex, Marriage, and Family: Revision Paper A marriage is a very special relationship that couples share. It’s a new level of love and an act of commitment. People get married for various reasons which include legal benefits, procreation, commitment and many others. A marriage provides legal benefits to couples that most other relationships don’t have. For example, if a person in a relationship dies, the spouse can collect the social security benefits only if they are legally married (Lamanna and Reidmann, pg. 260). The word â€Å"family† is a word that is loosely defined in today’s society. The U.S Census Bureau defines family as, â€Å"†¦two or more persons who share a household and who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption.† (Lamanna and Reidmann, pg. 5, pg. 259). There are two types of family: family of orientation and family of procreation. A family of orientation is the family that has raised the individual. The family of procreation is the family that is formed by marriage and by having children. Having a family is very important for a person’s development in society. Usually, a family shares the same value and is there for support when it is needed (Cowan). In society, the people that constitute marriage are the policy makers in our government. Unfortunately, marriage is a privilege and not a right. In some states, homosexuals are not allowed to get married (Lamanna and Reidmann, pg. 276). Although people in s...

Social Structure of Bangladesh

Social Structure of Bangladesh Introduction Bangladesh  officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. The name Bangladesh means â€Å"Country of Bengal† in the official Bengali language. The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal and India in 1947, when the region became the eastern wing of the newly-formed Pakistan. However, it was separated from the western wing by 1,600 kilometres (1,000  mi) across India.Political and linguistic discrimination as well as economic neglect led to popular agitations against West Pakistan, which led to the war for independence in 1971 and the establishment of Bangladesh, with the help of India. In 2000, Bangladesh was estimated to be one of the ten most highly populated countries with an estimated population of just under 130 million. Nowadays it scored above 140 Million. This makes the population density of about 875 people per sq km (2,267 people per sq mi) higher than other countries.Almost 90 percent of this population lives in the rural areas and 80 percent of our population are still depends on agriculture for a livelihood. With the successful lowering of total fertility and growth rates over the past few years, the crude birth rate stands at 22. 4 per 1000 persons, with a total fertility rate 3. 0 per women. The rural birth rate was estimated to be 36. 3 birth per 1000 persons according to the 1985 census. On the other hand, the crude death rate stands at 8. 2 per 1000 persons with the rural death rate found to be 12. 9 per 1000 persons. Also the child death rate is 70 per 1000 live births in the rural areas.Most of the population is young with about 60 percent under the age of 25, with only about 3 percent over the age of 65 (life expectancy is 61 years). Twenty percent of the population was deemed to be urban in 1998, making Bangladesh's population predominantly rural. |National symbols of Bangladesh | |Anthem |Amar Shonar Bangla | |Animal |Royal Bengal Tiger | |Bird |Oriental Magpie Robin | |Fish |Hilsa | |Flower |White Water Lily | |Fruit |Jackfruit | Sport |Kabadi | Although urbanization is proceeding rapidly, agriculture employs about two-thirds of the labor force and accounts for 35 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), remains Bangladesh's primary sector. Bangladesh has predominantly remained rural and agrarian. Since more than 50 percent of the population, which has increased, depends on agriculture for sustenance and employment; peasant economy is the main mode of production in Bangladesh. The village is the peasant’s world and to understand the village community one must study the peasantry and their relationship with the nation at large.Being a citizen of this country, one simply cannot ignore the prevalent poverty and unemployment in the rural sector and the consequential rise in the number of unemployment in the urban areas as well. Villages play a very important role for Bangladesh. Without these villages economic development of this country is not possible. This paper will clearly indicate the rural life, society and social class, culture, education, occupation, religion, economic and political institutions, beliefs, and the way of living in Bangladesh. Social Composition The Main and Basic stratification between the rich landlords and the poor farmers.Here the class system is based on money and prestige, which is highly flexible. None has the fixed class here. All can have mobility to any direction if he or she manages to get that. Those who have enough Land they are more respected. Beside this Rural people of Bangladesh are stratified by other reasons related to their religion- Society in village is not strictly stratified; rather, it is open, fluid, and diffused, without a solid social organization and social structure. Social class distinctions are mostly functional and there is considerable mobility among classes.Even the structure of the Hindu caste system in B angladesh is relatively loose because most Hindus belonged to the lower castes. Ostensibly, egalitarian principles of Islam were the basis of social organization. Unlike in other regions of South Asia, the Hindu caste- based social system had a very limited effect on Bangladeshi Muslim social culture. Fairly permeable classes based on wealth and political influence existed both in the cities and in the villages. Traditional Muslim class distinctions had little importance in Bangladesh.The proscription against marriage between individuals of high-born and low-born families, once an indicator of the social gap between the two groups, had long ago disappeared; most matrimonial alliances were based on wealth and power and not on the ties of family distinction, and the same condition belongs to the village. Although Hindu society is formally stratified into caste categories, caste did not figure prominently in the Bangladeshi Hindu community. About 75 percent of the Hindus in Bangladesh belonged to the lower castes, notably namasudras (lesser cultivators), and the remainder belonged primarily to outcaste or untouchable groups.Some members of higher castes belonged to the middle or professional class, but there was no Hindu upper class. With the increasing participation of the Hindus in nontraditional professional mobility, the castes were able to interact in wider political and socioeconomic arenas, which caused some erosion of caste consciousness. Although there is no mobility between Hindu castes, caste distinctions did not play as important a role in Bangladesh as in they did in the Hindu-dominated Indian state of West Bengal.Bangladeshi Hindus seemed to have become part of the mainstream culture without surrendering their religious and cultural distinctions. Culture Language and Literature More than 95 percent of the people of Bangladesh speak Bengali which is one of the earliest modem languages of the subcontinent. It originates from the eastern Prakrit group of the Indo- Aryan family of languages. Early Bengali, in its lyrical form, originated in the 7th century. Its mediaeval period underlined a steady upsurge of poesy having strong devotional and romantic overtones.Since the early decades of this century, modem Bengali literature swept into the mainstream of world culture through the works of such geniuses as Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore and the rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam while poet Jasimuddin's austere lyrical anecdotes depicting rural life with its joys and sorrows, romance and patrol kept alive the link with the toiling masses. With this heritage to draw inspiration from, contemporary Bengali literature of Bangladesh has been throbbing with the creative impulses of a new generation of poets, novelists, playwrights and essayists.Many of their works have earned fame beyond the frontiers of the country. Music [pic] The rich tradition of music of Bangladesh can be divided into three distinct categories -classical, fol k and modern. The tradition of classical music, whether vocal or instrumental, is rooted in the ancient history of this subcontinent. It has been cultivated with great patience and passion by devoted musicians over the centuries. Internationally known sarod players Ustad Alauddiri Khan and Ustad Ayet Ali Khan hail from the soil of this country. Folk music, nurtured through the ages by village bards. s the most popular and timeless form of music in Bangladesh. Rich in devotional mysticism and love ores, folk music exudes authentic flavor and charm of the soil. The most well- known forms are bhatia1i, baul, marfati, murshidi, bhaoaiya and gombhira. Some of the greatest exponents of our mystic and devotional songs were Lalan Fakir, Hasan Raja and Abbasuddin Ahmed. Dances Dancing in Bangladesh draws freely from the sub continental classical forms as well as the folk, tribal, ballet and Middle Eastern strains. Of the tribal dances, particularly popular are Manipuri and Santhal.The Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA), set up in Dacca in the early fifties, played a pioneering role in the promotion of dances in the country. A number of other cultural organizations have helped in popularizing the art. No cultura1 evening in this country is complete without a dance number. The cinema has also popularized dancing. With the recent creation of the Academy of Performing Arts in Dacca dancing in Bangladesh is expected to gain further impetus. Jatra (Folk Drama) is another vital chapter of Bengali culture. It depicts  mythological episodes  of love and tragedy.Legendary  plays of heroism  are  also popular,  particularly in the rural  areas. In near past jatra was the biggest entertainment means for the rural Bangalees and in that sense for 80% of the population since the same percentage of the population lived in rural Bangladesh. Now-a-days jatra has been placed in the back seat in the entertainment era. Gradually western culture is occupying the place of tradi tional culture like Jatra. Different types of Drama are also popular in this society. Bangladesh Religion [pic] [pic] Islam, the state religion, is the faith of 88 percent of the population, almost all of whom adhere to the Sunni branch.Hindus make up most of the remainder, and the country has small communities of Buddhists, Christians and animists. Bangladesh is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. Most Bangladeshi Muslims are Sunnis, but there is a small Shia community. Among religious festivals of Muslims Eidul Fitr, Eidul Azha, Eiday Miladunnabi, Muharram etc. are prominent. The contention that Bengali Muslims are all descended from lower-caste Hindus who were converted to Islam is incorrect; a substantial proportion are descendants of the Muslims who reached the subcontinent from elsewhere.Hinduism is professed by about 12 percent of the population. Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Kali Puja etc. are Hindu festivals. Hindus in Bangladesh are almost evenly distributed in all regions, with concentrations in Khulna, Jessore, Dinajpur, Faridpur, and Barisal. Biharis, who are not ethnic Bangalees, are Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees from Bihar and other parts of northern India. They numbered about 1 million in 1971 but now had decreased to around 600,000. They once dominated the upper levels of the society. They sided with Pakistan during the 1971 war.Hundreds of thousands of Biharis were repatriated to Pakistan after the war. Tribal race constitutes less than 1 percent of the total population. They live in the Chittagong Hills and in the regions of Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Rajshahi. The majority of the tribal population live in rural areas. They differ in their social organization, marriage customs, birth and death rites, food, and other social customs from the people of the rest of the country. They speak Tibeto-Burman languages. In the mid-1980s, the percentage distribution of tribal population by religion was Hindu 24, Buddhist 44, Christian 13, and o thers 19.Major tribes are the Chakmas, Maghs (or Marmas), Tipras, Murangs, Kukis and Santals. The tribes tend to intermingle and could be distinguished from one another more by differences in their dialect, dress, and customs than by tribal cohesion. Only the Chakmas and Marmas display formal tribal organization. They are of mixed origin but reflect more Bengali influence than any other tribe. Unlike the other tribes, the Chakmas and Marmas generally live in the highland valleys. Most Chakmas are Buddhists, but some practice Hinduism or Animism. Economic InstitutionMany industries in Bangladesh are still primitive by modern standards. Despite continuous domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a developing nation. Jute was once the economic engine of the country. Its share of the world export market peaked in the Second World War and the late 1940s at 80% and even in the early 1970s accounted for 70% of its export earnings. However, polypropylene products began to substitute for jute products worldwide and the jute industry started to decline. Bangladesh grows very significant quantities of rice(chal), tea (Cha) and mustard.More than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labour and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5  billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than 3  million workers, 90% of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries. One significant contributor to the development of the economy has been the widespread propagation of microcredit by Muhammad Yunus (awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2006) through the Grameen Bank.By the late 1990s, Grameen Bank had 2. 3  million members, along with 2. 5  million members of other similar organizations. In ord er to enhance economic growth, the government set up several export processing zones to attract foreign investment. These are managed by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority. AGRICULTURE [pic] Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world with an annual per capita income of US$160. The agricultural sector provides the principal livelihood of the people in the country and is the main blood vessel of the national economy.According to statistics in 1990-1991, agriculture accounts for 46% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 59% of total employment. Agricultural productivity (yield per acre) is extremely low though, and Bangladesh continues to be a food-deficit country. The average annual deficit ranges between 1. 5 million and 2. 5 million tons. To achieve self-sustained agricultural growth, several policies have been formulated. Keeping these policies in mind, agricultural management policies have been devised, and interventions have been made. However, these h ave not necessarily yielded the anticipated results.In Bangladesh, the vast majorities of people are landless and work as agricultural laborers (66% of the rural population are landless, agricultural laborers, according to the latest statistics). Although they are the single largest portion of the total population, they are the poorest, most deprived, helpless and neglected. Presently 45% of agricultural laborers have no work at all, and those who do get work have no job security or reliable income; there is no period of employment specified no fixed wage. Most of the time they are poorly paid. They are not registered and do not have any trade union rights, no chance of bargaining.Agricultural laborers in Bangladesh also have no basic human rights. A huge percentage of them are inadequate or no housing, no educational opportunities and no rationing facility. Administrative and social oppression upon the land laborers is a common phenomenon. In addition to these concerns, Bangladesh is now facing various types of socio-economic and political problems. Among these, the most difficult, complicated and probably the most important issue is the agrarian question. One of the fundamental features of the economic backwardness of the agrarian question is very relevant for Bangladesh like any other poor country of Asia.If the agrarian question is addressed properly, the path of national economic development can be found. Land, no doubt, constitutes the most significant basis of sociopolitical power and the common factor of production for the overwhelming majority of the people. Today in Bangladesh the land problem remains as the main social problem: it is the main problem affecting the greatest number of people. Ownership of the land, its possession and cultivation, has sociopolitical overtones and economic implications, both simultaneously and mutually reacting around and reinforcing each other.Thus, an approach to locate the problems relating to land and their solution has to be, of necessity, comprehensive, multidimensional and dynamic. As the agricultural sector in Bangladesh has already experienced, these problems, and very recently the path and methods of alternative agriculture, are being talked about. This alternative thinking is often called â€Å"regenerative,† â€Å"sustainable,† â€Å"ecological,† â€Å"organic† or â€Å"natural agriculture,† which are more or less based on the following principles: ? Ensure as much or more productivity as chemical agriculture; ?Do not disturb the natural environment; ? Ensure sustainability; ? Put less dependence on external inputs. Beside Agriculture there are several jobs that are done by rural people of our country now a days. Few jobs are related to Agriculture, These jobs are: ? Rearing Cattle, Goat, Sheep. ? Poultry Business ? Dairy business ? Fishery Related Jobs ? Village Teacher ? Quack Doctor ? Kamar [Black Smith] ? Kumar [Pot Maker] ? Swarnakaar [Gold Smith ] ? Sweeper ? Tanti [Weaver] Political institution [pic]The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is a unitary, independent and sovereign republic comprising three basic organs the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. The President is the Head of State and is elected by the members of Parliament. The President acts in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister and the supreme command of the Armed Forces rests with him. The executive power of the Republic is exercised by or on the advice of the Prime Minister who commands the support of the majority members of Parliament and is appointed by the President.Other Ministers, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister nominates the cabinet members from among Parliament members and one-tenths of the total members are from outside of the Parliament. The cabinet is collectively accountable to the Parliament. The Government is unitary in structure and parliamentary in form. Co nclusion Finally we can conclude that Village Life is full of Loving Caring and Belonging. We can find here Peace Happiness chance to meet with our relatives smell and feel our culture and Tradition.That’s why every year thousands of people run for the Village leaving their Urban Life in their Religious Occasions. Living in urban Life but we have to depend on this village people for food and other product which they produce in the fields. Lastly we can say that every people of our country have to visit their Village simultaneously so that the people and their Generation will always attach with the village Life and Village Culture. And If the Young Generation will Plan to Recover or develop our Village Life than We think that Bangladesh will see Prosperity very soon. Read also: Padma Bridge

Behavioral Management Theory Essay

As management research continued in the 20th century, questions began to come up regarding the interactions and motivations of the individual within organizations. Management principles developed during the classical period were simply not useful in dealing with many management situations and could not explain the behaviour of individual employees. In short, classical theory ignored employee motivation and behaviour. As a result, the behavioural school was a natural outgrowth of this revolutionary management experiment. Discuss – how behaviour management has changed over the years in the modern classroom we know today ? The behavioural management theory is often called the human relations movement because it addresses the human dimension of work. Behavioural theorists believed that a better understanding of human behaviour at work, such as motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics, improved productivity. Discuss – How does a better understanding of human behaviour enhance our own teching The theorists who contributed to this school viewed employees as individuals, resources, and assets to be developed and worked with — not as machines, as in the past. Several individuals and experiments contributed to this theory. Elton Mayo’s contributions came as part of the Hawthorne studies, a series of experiments that rigorously applied classical management theory only to reveal its shortcomings. The Hawthorne experiments consisted of two studies conducted at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago from 1924 to 1932. The first study was conducted by a group of engineers seeking to determine the relationship of lighting levels to worker productivity. Surprisingly enough, they discovered that worker productivity increased as the lighting levels decreased — that is, until the employees were unable to see what they were doing, after which performance naturally declined. Although the above experiments at the Western Electric Company seem pretty basic – it’s interesting to note how productivity increased when workers concerns were addressed and considered – do we think that the increased productivity is linked to employees feelings of value A few years later, a second group of experiments began. Harvard researchers Mayo and F. J. Roethlisberger supervised a group of five women in a bank wiring room. They gave the women special privileges, such as the right to leave their workstations without permission, take rest periods, enjoy free lunches, and have variations in pay levels and workdays. This experiment also resulted in significantly increased rates of productivity. Again the above experiment appears to give employees control over their working conditions and can this flexibility within the workplace contribute to the individuals feelings of self worth within their organisation – or can the lack of routines/boundaries allow a slip shod working pattern In this case, Mayo and Roethlisberger concluded that the increase in productivity resulted from the supervisory arrangement rather than the changes in lighting or other associated worker benefits. Because the experimenters became the primary supervisors of the employees, the intense interest they displayed for the workers was the basis for the increased motivation and resulting productivity. Essentially, the experimenters became a part of the study and influenced its outcome. This is the origin of the term Hawthorne effect, which describes the special attention researchers give to a study’s subjects and the impact that attention has on the study’s findings. The general conclusion from the Hawthorne studies was that human relations and the social needs of workers are crucial aspects of business management. This principle of human motivation helped revolutionize theories and practices of management. Abraham Maslow, a practicing psychologist, developed one of the most widely recognized need theories, a theory of motivation based upon a consideration of human needs. His theory of human needs had three assumptions: †¢Human needs are never completely satisfied. †¢Human behaviour is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. †¢Needs can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. My interpretation of the experiments and the correlation to Maslow’s theory below demonstrates to me the importance of setting ground rules in the first instance is paramount to ensuring workers or learners in our case – have some autonomy over their patterns of working increasing motivation and individual feelings of self esteem over their learning journey! Maslow broke down the needs hierarchy into five specific areas: †¢Physiological needs. Maslow grouped all physical needs necessary for maintaining basic human well-being, such as food and drink, into this category. After the need is satisfied, however, it is no longer is a motivator. †¢Safety needs. These needs include the need for basic security, stability, protection, and freedom from fear. A normal state exists for an individual to have all these needs generally satisfied. Otherwise, they become primary motivators. †¢Belonging and love needs. After the physical and safety needs are satisfied and are no longer motivators, the need for belonging and love emerges as a primary motivator. The individual strives to establish meaningful relationships with significant others. †¢Esteem needs. An individual must develop self-confidence and wants to achieve status, reputation, fame, and glory. †¢Self-actualization needs. Assuming that all the previous needs in the hierarchy are satisfied, an individual feels a need to find himself. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory helped managers visualize employee motivation. Douglas McGregor was heavily influenced by both the Hawthorne studies and Maslow. He believed that two basic kinds of managers exist. One type, the Theory X manager, has a negative view of employees and assumes that they are lazy, untrustworthy, and incapable of assuming responsibility. On the other hand, the Theory Y manager assumes that employees are not only trustworthy and capable of assuming responsibility, but also have high levels of motivation.

Halaie essays

Halaie essays Halalai is the third youngest and third most historically active volcano on the island of Hawaii. Six different vents erupted lava. Two of the vents generated lava flow into the West Coast of the island. Halalai is shield volcano. The summit of Halalai rises to an elevation of 2523m (8271ft) above sea level. The volcano is the westernmost of the five major Hawaii volcanoes. It has a well-developed northwestern rift zone, a moderately well developed South-Southeastern rift zone, and a poorly developed North rift zone. The most recent eruption of 1800-1801occurred along the Northwest rift zone. The volcano is has completed its main Tholeiitic Shield Stage. Its oldest rock dates back to about 128,000 years before present. The estimated age of Halalai apparently grew above sea level before 300,000 years ago. Although it has been 200 years since the last eruption of Halalai, it will most certainly erupt again. The last historical eruption on Halalai ended in 1801. This eruption produced very fluid, high velocity flows that entered the ocean off western Hawaii. Halalai rarely erupts, but is still an active volcano. It is also considered dangerous. Rubin, Ken. Hawaii Center For Volcanology. http:// www.Soest.Hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/halalai.html. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. http:// wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/halalai ...

Pronouncing the Spanish L

Pronouncing the Spanish L You may not have noticed, but the L in English has two sounds that are quite different from each other - and if you can remember that, you can easily learn the sound of the L in Spanish. The two L sounds occur in the word little - and the sound of the Spanish L is basically the same as the first L but not the second (a sound, by the way, that native Spanish speakers often find quite difficult). In other words, the Spanish L is always pronounced with the tongue at the front of the roof of the mouth similar to the L in words such as love and alike. It is never pronounced with the vowel-like sound found in words such as ball or cell. Phrases used by native speakers in our audio lesson on pronouncing the L are lo siento mucho, hola,  ¿quà © tal? and igualmente, gracias. The pronunciation of the L should not be confused with that of the LL, which used to be a separate letter of the alphabet.

The Legend of El Dorado

The Legend of El Dorado El Dorado was a mythical city supposedly located somewhere in the unexplored interior of South America. It was said to be unimaginably rich, with fanciful tales told of gold-paved streets, golden temples and rich mines of gold and silver. Between 1530 and 1650 or so, thousands of Europeans searched the jungles, plains, mountains, and rivers of South America for El Dorado, many of them losing their lives in the process. El Dorado never existed except in the fevered imaginations of these seekers, so it was never found. Aztec and Inca Gold The El Dorado myth had its roots in the vast fortunes discovered in Mexico and Peru. In 1519, Hernn Cortes captured Emperor Montezuma and sacked the mighty Aztec Empire, making off with thousands of pounds of gold and silver and making rich men of the conquistadors who were with him. In 1533, Francisco Pizarro discovered the Inca Empire in the Andes of South America. Taking a page from Cortes book, Pizarro captured the Inca Emperor Atahualpa and held him for ransom, earning another fortune in the process. Lesser New World cultures such as the Maya in Central America and the Muisca in present-day Colombia yielded smaller (but still significant) treasures. Would-Be Conquistadors Tales of these fortunes made the rounds in Europe and soon thousands of adventurers from all over Europe were making their way to the New World, hoping to be part of the next expedition. Most (but not all) of them were Spanish. These adventurers had little or no personal fortune but great ambition: most had some experience fighting in Europes many wars. They were violent, ruthless men who had nothing to lose: they would get rich on New World gold or die trying. Soon the ports were flooded with these would-be conquistadors, who would form into large expeditions and set off into the unknown interior of South America, often following the vaguest rumors of gold. The Birth of El Dorado There was a grain of truth in the El Dorado myth. The Muisca people of Cundinamarca (present-day Colombia) had a tradition: kings would coat themselves in a sticky sap before covering themselves in gold powder. The king would then take a canoe to the center of Lake Guatavit and, before the eyes of thousands of his subjects watching from shore, would leap into the lake, emerging clean. Then, a great festival would begin. This tradition had been neglected by the Muisca by the time of their discovery by the Spanish in 1537, but not before word of it had reached the greedy ears of the European intruders in cities all over the continent. El Dorado, in fact, is Spanish for the gilded one: the term at first referred to an individual, the king who covered himself in gold. According to some sources, the man who coined this phrase was conquistador Sebastin de Benalczar. Evolution of the Myth After the Cundinamarca plateau was conquered, the Spanish dredged Lake Guatavit in search of the gold of El Dorado. Some gold was indeed found, but not as much as the Spanish had hoped for. Therefore, they reasoned optimistically, the Muisca must not be the true kingdom of El Dorado and it must still be out there somewhere. Expeditions, composed of recent arrivals from Europe as well as veterans of the conquest, set out in all directions to search for it. The legend grew as illiterate conquistadors passed the legend by word of mouth from one to another: El Dorado was not merely one king, but a rich city made of gold, with enough wealth for a thousand men to become rich forever. The Quest Between 1530 and 1650 or so, thousands of men made dozens of forays into the unmapped interior of South America. A typical expedition went something like this. In a Spanish coastal town on the South American mainland, such as Santa Marta or Coro, a charismatic, influential individual would announce an expedition. Anywhere from one hundred to seven hundred Europeans, mostly Spaniards would sign up, bringing their own armor, weapons, and horses (if you had a horse you got a larger share of the treasure). The expedition would force natives along to carry the heavier gear, and some of the better-planned ones would bring livestock (usually hogs) to slaughter and eat along the way. Fighting dogs were always brought along, as they were useful when fighting bellicose natives. The leaders would often borrow heavily to purchase supplies. After a couple of months, they were ready to go. The expedition would head off, seemingly in any direction. They would stay out for any length of time from a couple of months to as long as four years, searching plains, mountains, rivers, and jungles. They would meet natives along the way: these they would either torture or ply with gifts to get information about where they could find gold. Almost invariably, the natives pointed in some direction and said some variation of our neighbors in that direction have the gold you seek. The natives had quickly learned that the best way to be rid of these rude, violent men was to tell them what they wanted to hear and send them on their way. Meanwhile, illnesses, desertion, and native attacks would whittle down the expedition. Nevertheless, the expeditions proved surprisingly resilient, braving mosquito-infested swamps, hordes of angry natives, blazing heat on the plains, flooded rivers, and frosty mountain passes. Eventually, when their numbers got too low (or when the leader died) the expedition would give up and return home. The Seekers of This Lost City of Gold Over the years, many men searched South America for the legendary lost city of gold. At best, they were impromptu explorers, who treated the natives they encountered relatively fairly and helped map the unknown interior of South America. At worst, they were greedy, obsessed butchers who tortured their way through native populations, killing thousands in their fruitless quest. Here are some of the more distinguished seekers of El Dorado: Gonzalo Pizarro and  Francisco de Orellana: In 1541,  Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of Francisco Pizarro, led an expedition east from Quito. After a few months, he sent his lieutenant Francisco de Orellana in search of supplies: Orellana and his men  instead found the Amazon River, which they followed to the Atlantic Ocean.Gonzalo Jimà ©nez de Quesada: Quesada set out from Santa Marta with 700 men in 1536: in early 1537 they reached the Cundinamarca plateau, home of the Muisca people, which they swiftly conquered. Quesadas expedition was the one that actually found  El Dorado, although the greedy conquistadors at the time refused to admit that the mediocre takings from the Muisca were the fulfillment of the legend and they kept looking.Ambrosius Ehinger: Ehinger was a German: at the time, part of Venezuela was administered by Germans. He set out in 1529 and again in 1531 and led two of the cruelest expeditions: his men tortured natives and sacked their villages relentlessly. He w as killed by natives in 1533 and his men went home. Lope de Aguirre: Aguirre was a soldier on Pedro de Ursà ºas 1559 expedition which set out from Peru. Aguirre, a paranoid psychotic, soon turned the men against Ursà ºa, who was murdered. Aguirre eventually took over the expedition and began a reign of terror, ordering the murder of many of the original explorers and capturing and terrorizing the Island of Margarita. He was killed by Spanish soldiers.Sir Walter Raleigh: this legendary Elizabethan courtier is remembered as the man who introduced potatoes and tobacco to Europe and for his sponsorship of the doomed Roanoke  colony in Virginia. But he also was a seeker of El Dorado: he thought it was in the highlands of Guyana and made two trips there:  one in 1595  and a second in 1617. After the failure of  the second expedition, Raleigh was executed in England. Was It Ever Found? So,  was El Dorado ever found? Sort of. The  conquistadors  followed tales of El Dorado to  Cundinamarca  but refused to believe that they had found the mythical city, so they kept looking. The Spanish didnt know it, but the Muisca civilization was the last major native culture with any wealth. The El Dorado they searched for after 1537 did not exist. Still, they searched and searched: dozens of expeditions containing thousands of men scoured South America until about  1800 when  Alexander Von Humboldt  visited South America and concluded that El Dorado had been a myth all along. Nowadays, you can find El Dorado on a map, although its not the one the Spanish were looking for. There are towns named El Dorado in several countries, including Venezuela,  Mexico, and Canada. In the USA there are no fewer than thirteen towns named El Dorado (or Eldorado).  Finding El Dorado  is easier than ever†¦just dont expect streets paved with gold. The El Dorado legend has proven resilient. The notion of a lost city of gold and the desperate men who search for it is just too romantic for writers and artists to resist. Countless songs, stories  books, and poems (including one by  Edgar Allen Poe) have been written about the subject. There is even a superhero called El Dorado.  Moviemakers, in particular, have been fascinated by the legend: as recently as 2010 a movie was made about a modern-day scholar who finds clues to the lost city of El Dorado: action and shootouts ensue.

A paper to explain the importance of the Pacing Guide Research

A to explain the importance of the Pacing Guide - Research Paper Example In addition, parents as well as guardians may use the pacing guides to know what their children are pursuing at a certain period of time and these study materials comply with the grade level indicators and State Standards. Moreover, these helpful pacing guides provide both students and teachers with a guideline for assessing instructions. Another importance of a pacing guide is that they help teachers to mark the essential concepts that they should teach and the amount of time they should devote for completion of one topic (Goldsmith, 2010). Pacing guides are also used by teachers to allocate time for assessments and instructions. Some of the pacing guides also provide teachers with assessment calendar as well as enabling them to effectively outline the curriculum to be used to cover all the skills in a certain assessment. Another important feature with pacing guides is allowing professional learning developments in communities of a certain district (Saricks, 2009). Since teachers in a certain district use similar teaching material, they discuss and come up with effective strategies for a certain assessment unity. Goldsmith, J. (2010). Pacing and time allocation at the micro-and meso-level within the class hour: Why pacing is important, how to study it, and what it implies for individual lesson planning. Bellaterra: journal of teaching and learning language and literature, 1(1),

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example   According to the figures by the Saudi health ministry, 598, 300 accidents occurred in Saudi Arabia in 2012(Toumi, 2015). These figures show that an average of 1,614 accidents occurred every single day in Saudi Arabia, and 67 accidents an hour. A look at the history of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia shows that the problem of traffic accidents is among the greatest causes of death in Saudi Arabia; the history of traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia also shows that the rate of traffic accident in Saudi Arabia has been increasing steadily since 1971 (Ansari, Akhdar, Mandoorah, and Moutaery, 2000). According to the public health statistics, between 1971 and 1997, 564, 762 people died or were injured in traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia. During this period, 66, 914 people were confirmed dead due to road accidents in Saudi Arabia (Ansari, Akhdar, Mandoorah, and Moutaery, 2000). This means that between the years 1971-1997, one person died and four people were injured in every single Houthis high rate of road accidents has been attributed to over speeding and disobeying of traffic rules and regulations by the drivers in Saudi Arabia. A further look at the recent history of road accidents in Saudi Arabia shows that there has been significant increase e in the rate of accidents in Saudi Arabia between 2009- 2012. This increase in the rate of accidents in Saudi Arabia has been caused by chaotic driving culture and blatant violation of traffic regulations by some dishonest drivers.

Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Evolution - Essay Example Biological organisms are known to take some of their characteristics from their dead ancestors and pass them on to the next generations. This is a part of the process of evolution. If evolution were goal-directed, then the genes and traits of biological organisms would be the same. It is known, and it has been proved that there is variation in the physical and biological traits of organisms regardless the family (Lenomard, Roze & Rousset, 1919). Organisms are also different when it comes to fitness; may it be physical, mental or biological. It means that some organisms will be more advantageous more than the others when it comes to the struggle for the fittest. This make evolution to be goal disoriented since it does not focus on making each and every organism equal. With continued evolution, organisms will always be different according to their genetic make- up or the physical traits. Evolution has no specific direction in which it occurs. The direction of the changes due to evolution is always determined by the environment of a given place at a given time (Lenomard, Roze & Rousset, 1919). In evolution, immoral behavior is usually rewarded. According to evolution, for an organism to survive in nature it has to be violent and strong enough to stand the rudeness of the others. Evolution supports only material things in nature. It disagrees with the biblical theory of believe that human beings possess souls while animals don’t (Lenomard, Roze & Rousset, 1919).The lack of goal direction can be proved through the similarities that have been found in fossil fuels. Some animal remains may have similar characteristics, and yet the animals are not of the same family or are they from the same location and adaptations. Mutation becomes a very important tool since it is the source of all genetic variations in the organisms. Mutation ensures that there is a difference or similarity in

Human Resource Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Human Resource - Research Paper Example In hitting this goal, going through a continuous performance management system is significant. The first step is defining acceptable employee performance. We need to follow a certain flow of appraisal process to identify the performance of the employees. In defining the acceptable employee performance, we need to review the performance of each employee according to his job description. Using the specific job description, we can establish performance measures and standards. We need to establish performance standards that can describe what constitutes below-average, average, and above-average performance. Then identify the best and worst case scenarios to come up with realistic standards for measuring performance. After defining the performance of each employee, we can move on to facilitate the employee’s performance. One of the most important roles of Human Resource Department is to support the growth and development of each employee. The best tool in facilitating the employee’s performance is to provide guidelines for improvement. We could set guidelines that outline how long it should it take an employee to improve and what steps will be taken if the employee fails to show improvement. Create basic policies that will highlight the personal growth and development of employees. To motivate each employee in following the guidelines for improving performance, the company itself should also encourage them. Encouraging the employees for developing performance could be motivated in a form of reward. However considering that the company is currently facing financial crisis, we need to review the compensation package first. This also includes evaluating the commission packages, expenses covered, perks and necessity of onsite amenities that are currently covered. We have to take a look if the current compensation programs have met the requirements and expectations of the employees from the company. Finding out if

Activity Based Costing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Activity Based Costing - Research Paper Example The total customer and distribution cost allocated to the various customers is as follows: Departmental stores=400+400+800=1600 Mid size specialty stores=3600+15600+19200=38400 Small gift shops=36000+64000+40000=140000 Total customer support and distribution cost =180000 Contribution margin less customer support and distribution cost will be as follows using the two approaches. Revenue approach Description Department store Specialty shops Gift shops Contribution margin 0.5*150000=75000 0.75*100000=75000 0.8*250000=200000 Less: Customer and distribution cost 54000 36000 90000 21000 39000 11000 ABC approach Description Department store Specialty shop Gift shop Contribution margin 75000 75000 200000 Less: Customer and distribution cost 1600 38400 140000 73400 36600 60000 The main core of a profit making company is to increase its returns and reduce costs. Management and cost accountants have to put up measures that reduce costs and ensure profit maximization (Bhimani, Horngren, Datar & Foster, 2008). In the above case, the customer who should be preferred is that whose contribution margin less Customer and distribution cost is high. It must be noted that fixed cost is not used in making decisions since the company has no control on the fixed cost. Considering the revenue approach of cost allocation, the company will prefer specialty shop because of the high return of 39000. The department’s stores with the return of 21000 and lastly the gift shop with a return of 11000 would then follow this. In the case of activity based costing allocation method, the department store will be more attractive compared to the other customers. The gift...Activity costing being one of the methods of cost allocation. There are four major steps in cost allocation using this method. First is the determination of the major activities of the business that result in cost increases. The cost centers of the activities are then determined. The third stage is the determination of the co st drivers i.e. the factors responsible for the increase in cost in the various cost centers (Horngren, 2009). The costs are then charged to the various cost centers considering the driving factors. The main core of a profit making company is to increase its returns and reduce costs. Management and cost accountants have to put up measures that reduce costs and ensure profit maximization. In the above case, the customer who should be preferred is that whose contribution margin less Customer and distribution cost is high. It must be noted that fixed cost is not used in making decisions since the company has no control on the fixed cost. Considering the revenue approach of cost allocation, the company will prefer specialty shop because of the high return of 39000. The department’s stores with the return of 21000 and lastly the gift shop with a return of 11000 would then follow this. In the case of activity based costing allocation method, the department store will be more attrac tive compared to the other customers. The gift shop will be second while the specialty shop will be the least attractive.

Digital Marketing Plan for an online multi-brand retail Essay

Digital Marketing Plan for an online multi-brand retail - Essay Example It is targeting to cater to the online shopping needs of modern females of UK, by offering the next generation trends in the fashion segment. Situational Analysis The UK is recognized as one of the leading markets for manufacturing and evolution of the fashion in the global arena with textile industries producing 8.5 billion pounds of finished goods (Fashionunited, 2009). As of the year 2010, the UK fashion industry has been valued at around 21 billion pounds (Guardian, 2010).The recession and the slowdown in the markets all over the globe, created a down trend in the industry. Further slowdown happened in this particular sector, as more and more consumers tried cutting their expenses. Also, the continuous fear emerging out of the slowdown in the Euro zone and possible chances of a double dip recession has continued to impact the economy as well as public spending for the fashionable clothing sector (Centre For Retail Research, 2012). This has led to the retaliation of fears contributing to a possible bleak outlook for the UK fashion and garments sector. Also, there has been a unique factor that has been realised and noticed in this particular industry for the year 2011. The online model of purchase, which has been prompted by extensive promotion for the online model of shopping has started to cannibalize the in store sales. This has further impacted and hampered the sales that are happening in stores for the entire year of 2011 (Centre For Retail Research, 2012). Objectives The high end ‘New Waves’ is trying to act as a platform for providing a collaboration between the new and emerging pool of new designers as well as the fashion industry of UK. The primary focus of New Waves online model is to act as an online window for the fashion conscious consumers of UK and introducing them to the next big thing that is going to happen in the fashion industry of UK. They are making efforts to aim for a 65% recall from the total target segment, within a period of 6 months duration. It also is trying to achieve the objective of promoting itself as a national level clothing brand in the UK Market. Strategy Segmentation Marketing segmentation is an important and vital role, which is employed by all organizations large or small and is considered as an extremely strong weapon in identifying the target consumers (Charles, Hair & McDaniel, 2011, p. 260). New Waves, in an attempt to promote itself as a national level brand in the UK market are essentially targeting the modern fashion conscious female consumers of the UK zone falling within the age bracket of 18-36 yrs. Targeting The modern generations of consumers, who are mostly falling within the specified age group, are increasingly becoming tech savvy and are more increasingly inclined towards the internet. So, it will be very much essential for the brand to target and communicate as well as interact with the consumers in order to make the brand’s presence felt online to these young consumers. Positioning In an effort to communicate the brand well in the minds of the modern consumers of UK, New Wave should increasingly use a combination of st rategies and tactics for promoting the concept online. The best way to make this happen is to use a number of effective online promotional tactics. Tactics and Actions New Waves can utilize a variety of online promotional strategy and techniques in an effort to market its platform and communicate effectively to the young target segment. In an effort to communicate with the young fashionable modern consumers, New Waves should think of making its presence felt by tying up and collaborating with various online fashion magazines like MC Magazine,

Activity Based Costing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Activity Based Costing - Research Paper Example The total customer and distribution cost allocated to the various customers is as follows: Departmental stores=400+400+800=1600 Mid size specialty stores=3600+15600+19200=38400 Small gift shops=36000+64000+40000=140000 Total customer support and distribution cost =180000 Contribution margin less customer support and distribution cost will be as follows using the two approaches. Revenue approach Description Department store Specialty shops Gift shops Contribution margin 0.5*150000=75000 0.75*100000=75000 0.8*250000=200000 Less: Customer and distribution cost 54000 36000 90000 21000 39000 11000 ABC approach Description Department store Specialty shop Gift shop Contribution margin 75000 75000 200000 Less: Customer and distribution cost 1600 38400 140000 73400 36600 60000 The main core of a profit making company is to increase its returns and reduce costs. Management and cost accountants have to put up measures that reduce costs and ensure profit maximization (Bhimani, Horngren, Datar & Foster, 2008). In the above case, the customer who should be preferred is that whose contribution margin less Customer and distribution cost is high. It must be noted that fixed cost is not used in making decisions since the company has no control on the fixed cost. Considering the revenue approach of cost allocation, the company will prefer specialty shop because of the high return of 39000. The department’s stores with the return of 21000 and lastly the gift shop with a return of 11000 would then follow this. In the case of activity based costing allocation method, the department store will be more attractive compared to the other customers. The gift...Activity costing being one of the methods of cost allocation. There are four major steps in cost allocation using this method. First is the determination of the major activities of the business that result in cost increases. The cost centers of the activities are then determined. The third stage is the determination of the co st drivers i.e. the factors responsible for the increase in cost in the various cost centers (Horngren, 2009). The costs are then charged to the various cost centers considering the driving factors. The main core of a profit making company is to increase its returns and reduce costs. Management and cost accountants have to put up measures that reduce costs and ensure profit maximization. In the above case, the customer who should be preferred is that whose contribution margin less Customer and distribution cost is high. It must be noted that fixed cost is not used in making decisions since the company has no control on the fixed cost. Considering the revenue approach of cost allocation, the company will prefer specialty shop because of the high return of 39000. The department’s stores with the return of 21000 and lastly the gift shop with a return of 11000 would then follow this. In the case of activity based costing allocation method, the department store will be more attrac tive compared to the other customers. The gift shop will be second while the specialty shop will be the least attractive.

Health of the Aging (CASE) Module 1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health of the Aging (CASE) Module 1 - Coursework Example These reforms create cost-sharing and premium subsidies, create new markets for purchasing of health insurance, and develop new rules that would govern health insurance and the involved industry (Rosenbaum, 2011). The second element that has an impact on the elderly involves ensuring accessibility of the populations that are medically underserved to primary health care. Due to the elevated health risks involved with the elderly, they remain underserved in the society, thus prompting for the need of establishment of a system that will provide utmost care for them. The provision of long-term care has a direct impact on the elderly as most of the elderly individuals suffer from chronic illnesses such as diabetes among others, which require lifetime management (Rosenbaum, 2011). The intent of the Health insurance coverage reforms is to establish standards that guide insurers to mitigate the discrimination that initially existed against older people and other highly vulnerable groups including women and children (Rosenbaum, 2011). As such, this element bans the annual coverage limitations, use of conditions already in existence and prolonged waiting periods. On the other hand, the intent of improving the accessibility to primary health care is to mitigate the shortage in health care professionals, who provide primary health care. This can be achieved through investing in the development of the community health centers and the establishment of the National Health Service Corps. Lastly, the intent of the long-term care initiative is to protect the families of individuals who are terminally ill from becoming bankrupt through the establishment of Medicaid options that facilitate community-based care (Rosenbaum, 2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Act is likely to lead to low access to Medicare for the older adults in the long term given that it mandates Medicare payment reductions. As such, funding cuts on the involved services have a direct

Of Mice And Men coursework (Theme Of Loneliness And Friendship) Essay Example for Free

Of Mice And Men coursework (Theme Of Loneliness And Friendship) Essay Consider the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men. How does it affect the friendships and relationships in the novel? This novel was written by John Steinbeck which was set in the 1930s in Salinas Soledad which is in California. The novel consists of many historical factors which have affected the characters in this novel and one of them includes, The great depression Which leads the novels inspiration for the famous writer John Steinbeck which he mainly based on his own experience. In those days people travelled a lot differently to how we travel now. In those days migrant workers travelled extravagant distances looking for a job. There are many different themes in which are based throughout the whole book, such as loneliness, happiness, nature, dreams and reality: Which even lead to catastrophe. Many of the people in this novel have very lonely lives mainly because they are migrant workers and as we know they dont have time to make any friends or have any time to spend with their families. There are many characters that are lonely due to age, sex, and race. Two good examples would be Candy because of his age and Crooks because of his race. This novel consists of two main characters George and Lennie, who are an anomalous pair of migrant workers that look after each other. They are completely the reverse of each other. George is the one who has the communicative face and thinks of all of their problems and ideas and tells the other one what to do. Being like this all of the time, in what ever the story it is, always pictures that you would be the small quick one with sharp features. Lennie is the guy that is tall and always does what he is told and has an ill-defined, solid, and powerful body and does not know his own strength. Steinbeck describes him as the one with no shape in his face and his body. Lennie drags his feet when he walks and acts like an animal. In the descriptions of these two men their appearance is completely different. George dresses neat and tidy, while Lennie dresses very scruffy. Just by the description of George and Lennie, you can clearly see that Lennie is the child out of the two men, as you can tell how he talks and acts around George and throughout the whole book. Being a man Lennie lacks a lot of language, which I think that he never attended a lot of school. Examples look George, look what I done! this is immature language. This kind of behaviour makes George the father type figure, so he would be the defender. John Steinbeck relates to Lennie, in the theme of nature, by describing his walk, and some of the things he does in relation to the animals like the way he drinks from the lake as Steinbeck describes him as a horse that puts its whole head into the water and slurps. This links in to the theme of natures, because of the use of animal descriptions that Steinbeck uses throughout the book, which is very important to this novel because in the beginning of the book, Nature was introduced straight away. Steinbecks describes the surroundings in such detail, that he uses a whole page to describe the forest (which is in the beginning of the book) which gives the readers a good imaginative view of what Steinbeck is writing. George and Lennie have an abnormal relationship. They are two friends, one needs the other more .George often gets very frustrated towards Lennie, which also shows that George cares. George loves Lennie very much and will always be a friend to him and so does Lennie. Lennie could not live without him because George does everything for him. Between George and Lennie, George is the one that is mainly in control, he cooks, finds them jobs finds them a place to sleep and because of this, they always travel together, where one goes, the other one follows like a duck and her ducklings. George travels with Lennie because Lennie would not be able to survive on his own. These two men share the same dreams but George knows in reality, it is not going to happen. Later on in the story Candy has now been introduced to the book as the old swapper. He is tall, stooped shoulders and has white whiskers. When you first see him, he is very friendly, although he is a little weary of newcomers. His only friend is his dog that he has had since he was a little boy which symbolises that he is very lonely which refers to the theme of loneliness. When he gets to know people, he begins to trust them; he opens up and strikes a conversation with his new friends just as he did with Lennie. A little further on in the story as they become very close together and even share each others dream. In the future he looses both his dog and Lennie and cant really prevent Lennies death but tries to prevent his dogs death, but this fails. This shatters Candys dreams because he cannot share his dream with his long companion. In Chapter 4, Crooks is introduced. He is the only coloured (black) person on the ranch and this is where the theme of loneliness comes into play. Crooks is a stable buck. He has a crooked spine, and his eyes lay deep in his head, he is lined with deep black wrinkles and has thin tightened lips. Again relating to the theme of loneliness, Crooks lives by himself in a shed because he is the only Black man, this is why he can afford to leave all of his belongings lying around. He has got his own collection of items like books, shoes and his own copy for the California civil code which indicates that he knows his rights and does not want to be taken advantage of. Eventually Crooks and Lennie are talking about if Lennie could live without George and about crooks childhood explaining why his father never let him play with other kids and why he is so lonely. When he is speaking with Lennie about his childhood, he is speaking like it is still happening or it has recently happened. This is a very similar story to his life at that present time. Being the only coloured man, Crooks is treated as an outcast, as racism was very high in those days which forces him to spend his time reading while the others are playing card games. Crooks become very bitter due to the fact that everyone ill treats him which makes him feel hurt. In the next chapter Curley is introduced to the story. He is the bosss son, he has a wife, she has dark hair that reaches down to her shoulders, her eyes are quiet close together and has pink small lips with very pale skin. The book does not mention anything about her name which suggests that she does not know who her parents are and does not have an identity. She behaves like she is not Curleys wife and that she is single so she flirts with a lot of the men behind Curlys back. She would say things like now that were alone what do you want to do. To try and tempt the man. In doing this, all the men try as hard as they can to stay away from her because they know that she is trouble and know how Curley feels about his wife. Curleys wife does this because she wants attention, again, related to the theme of loneliness. All the farmers speak really bad of her because of her being flirtatious they also are frightened to talk to her because they fear Curley, and he would think that something is going on; plus he has the authority to get them fired or to shoot them. She married Curly to get some sort of status and to have an identity but she never liked him anyway. When she describes her life on the ranch, she says that her life is boring, that no one pays any attention to her and that she gets treated like a little girl. Curleys wife often dreams about herself becoming an actress. At the end of the novel, her loneliness causes Lennies death. Before Lennies death, Curleys wife and Lennie were talking in the barn whilst everyone else was playing games. They began talking to each other about each others dreams. They both talked about each others dreams and what they wanted to do in their life. Lennie has a fascination of stroking things. He was stroking Curleys wifes hair, he began to stroke her hair so hard, that he lost control and broke her neck. This has a big impact on George, Lennie and Candys relationship, as Curley wants to kill Lennie. As a result to this, George has to kill Lennie before he gets killed by Curly. Loneliness will always end in tragedy and dreams will rarely become reality. True Friendship never ends.

Sustainability in Project Management

Sustainability in Project Management This review discusses the journal Sustainable Project Life Cycle Management: the need to integrate life cycles in the manufacturing sector (2005) authored by Labuschagne and Brent. The theme of this paper is that incorporating the current project management methodologies with the principles of sustainable development requires comprehensive understanding and integration of different life cycles.[1] This journal provides a good introduction of life cycle management; however, the authors do not make holistic perspective on the aspects of sustainability in project management. At the outset of the paper, the authors note that the social, economic, and environmental impacts of a project long after its completion have required increasing attention; the project life cycle management principles thus require revision. However, reasons for the consideration to life cycles when aligning sustainability with project management has not been specified. According to Azapagic (2004), people may unintentionally aggravate the impacts when trying to alleviate them. Therefore, protecting the environment without increasing burdens can only be assured by adopting a systems approach based on life cycle thinking which takes the whole life cycle of an activity into account.[2][3] Labuschagne and Brent (2005) have focused on defining various life cycles, yet the descriptions of the proposed impact assessment indicators on the three main sustainability dimensions are only briefly stated which causes the concept rather vague. In 2005, Brent and Visser demonstrated an environmental performance resource impact indicator (EPRII) calculation procedure by introducing the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) framework for comparing burdens at operational level.[4] The approach evaluated impacts in four different resource groups including water, air, land, and mined abiotic resources[5] based on three process parameters comprising water and energy usage, and waste produced.[4] Research regarding the social sustainability dimension has also been executed subsequently. All the social criteria and its sub-criteria were verified with respect to project management and business[6][7], but particular impacts were found to be more significant in certain appraised asset or techn ology life cycle phases. The EPRII approach was used as a basis to calculate the social impact indicators; however, results appeared to be unreliable and the method was hence concluded to be not applicable for decision-making purposes at the moment due to the lack of social project and footprint information (Labuschagne and Brent, 2008; Labuschagne and Brent, 2006).[7][8] Despite its defect, this paper is a well structured piece of work which utilizes a large number of diagrams and tables. Koedinger (1992) explained that diagrammatic representation outperforms sentential expression due to its use of location to group information which facilitates search and avoids the need of symbolic labels and also encourages perceptual inferences.[9] This consequently enables readers to have a better understanding of the concept. In conclusion, although this journal does not provide a holistic overview of sustainability in project management, its detailed descriptions of various life cycles and their interactions in projects have provided an explicit concept of project life cycle management. Moreover, a considerable amount of literature review has been carried out in this article; it therefore deserves to be widely read. References Labuschagne, C. and Brent, A.C. (2005), Sustainable Project Life Cycle Management: the need to integrate life cycles in the manufacturing sector, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 159-168, Azapagic, A. (2004), Appendix: Life Cycle Thinking and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), in Azapagic, A., Perdan, S., and Clift, R. (ed.), Sustainable development in practice: case studies for engineers and scientists, John Wiley and Sons, pp. 426-437. Azapagic, A., Millington, A., and Collett, A. (2006), A Methodology for Integrating Sustainability Considerations into Process Design, Chemical Engineering Research and Design,vol. 84, no. 6,pp. 439-452. Brent, A.C. and Visser, J.K. (2005), An environmental performance resource impact indicator for life cycle management in the manufacturing industry, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 557-565. Brent, A.C. (2004), A life cycle impact assessment procedure with resource groups as areas of protection, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, vol. 9, no. 3,pp. 172-179. Labuschagne, C., Brent, A.C., and van Erck, R.P.G. (2005), Assessing the sustainability performances of industries, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 373-385. Labuschagne, C. and Brent, A.C. (2008), An industry perspective of the completeness and relevance of a social assessment framework for project and technology management in the manufacturing sector, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 253-262. Labuschagne, C. and Brent, A.C. (2006), Social Indicators for Sustainable Project and Technology Life Cycle Management in the Process Industry, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 3-15. Koedinger, K.R. (1992), Emergent Properties and Structural Constraints: Advantages Diagrammatic Representations for Reasoning and Learning, SS-92-02, AAAI Technical Report, viewed 21 March 2010,

Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf as the Ideal Anglo-Saxon :: Epic of Beowulf Essay

Beowulf as the Ideal Anglo-Saxon Beowulf is a hero who embodies the ideal characteristics in the Anglo-Saxon culture; these characteristics all come together to make up an epic tale. He possesses the virtues, traits and beliefs that were respected in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf displays these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances throughout the tale. Beowulf was "the strongest of the Geats" and also "greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world". Beowulf is shown to be the strongest among the strong. Physical strength was very much envied by the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf could slay the greatest monster of all, Grendell. Beowulf killed Grendell; Grendell had never come to such a match among a stronger person "That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder". This shows the physical strength that Beowulf embodied. Beowulf was fearless of all opponents and fought to defend his fame and glory. Beowulf did not need to tell anyone that he was fearless; he showed them how fearless he was. Beowulf needed no sword or shield to protect him from Grendell when he killed Grendell with his own hands "My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster". Beowulf jumped in the water to fight Grendell's mourning mother, he did not know where he was going yet, he went for glory and fame showing no fear. Beowulf displayed that he was very resourceful, as well as, the other traits listed. He shows how intelligent he can be when he was fighting Grendells mother and he became weary and became stumbling. In the midst of a battle, Beowulf almost dies if it were not for his woven mail shirt he wore on his chest. "Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy sword, hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons", "lifted it high over his head and struck with all the strength he had left, caught her in the neck and cut it through, broke bones and all.

Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Ten

There were two messages on my PDA after dinner that evening. The first was from Gretchen. â€Å"That Magdy character tracked me down and asked me out on a date,† it read. â€Å"I guess he likes girls who mock the crap out of him. I told him okay. Because he is kind of cute. Don't wait up.† This made me smile. The second was from Enzo, who had somehow managed to get my PDA's address; I suspect Gretchen might have had something to do with that. It was titled â€Å"A Poem to the Girl I Just Met, Specifically a Haiku, the Title of Which Is Now Substantially Longer Than the Poem Itself, Oh, the Irony,† and it read: Her name is Zoe Smile like a summer breeze Please don't have me cubed. I laughed out loud at that one. Babar looked up at me and thumped his tail hopefully; I think he was thinking all this happiness would result in more food for him. I gave him a slice of leftover bacon. So I guess he was right about that. Smart dog, Babar. After the Magellan departed from Phoenix Station, the colony leaders found out about the near-rumble in the common area, because I told them about it over dinner. John and Jane sort of looked at each other significantly and then changed the subject to something else. I guessed the problem of integrating ten completely different sets of people with ten completely different cultures had already come up in their discussions, and now they were getting the underage version of it as well. I figured that they would find a way to deal with it, but I really wasn't prepared for their solution. â€Å"Dodgeball,† I said to Dad, over breakfast. â€Å"You're going to have all us kids play dodgeball.† â€Å"Not all of you,† Dad said. â€Å"Just the ones of you who would otherwise be picking stupid and pointless fights out of boredom.† He was nibbling on some coffee cake; Babar was standing by on crumb patrol. Jane and Savitri were out taking care of business; they were the brains of this particular setup. â€Å"You don't like dodgeball?† he asked. â€Å"I like it just fine,† I said. â€Å"I'm just not sure why you think it's an answer to this problem.† Dad set down his coffee cake, brushed off his hands, and started ticking off points with his fingers. â€Å"One, we have the equipment and it fits the space. We can't very well play football or cricket on the Magellan. Two, it's a team sport, so we can get big groups of kids involved. Three, it's not complicated, so we don't have to spend much time laying out the ground rules to everyone. Four, it's athletic and will give you guys a way to burn off some of your energy. Five, it's just violent enough to appeal to those idiot boys you were talking about yesterday, but not so violent that someone's actually going to get hurt.† â€Å"Any more points?† I asked. â€Å"No,† Dad said. â€Å"I've run out of fingers.† He picked up his coffee cake again. â€Å"It's just going to be that the boys are going to make teams with their friends,† I said. â€Å"So you'll still have the problem of kids from one world staying with their own.† â€Å"I would agree with this, if not for the fact that I'm not a complete idiot,† Dad said, â€Å"and neither is Jane. We have a plan for this.† The plan: Everyone who signed up to play was assigned to a team, rather than allowed to pick their own team. And I don't think the teams were entirely randomly assigned; when Gretchen and I looked over the team lists, Gretchen noted that almost none of the teams had more than one player from the same world; even Enzo and Magdy were put on different teams. The only kids who were on the same â€Å"team† were the Kyotoans; as Colonial Mennonites they avoided playing in competitive sports, so they asked to be the referees instead. Gretchen and I didn't sign up for any teams; we appointed ourselves league managers and no one called us on it; apparently word of the intense mockery we laid on a wild pack of teenage boys had gotten around and we were feared and awed equally. â€Å"That makes me feel pretty,† Gretchen said, once such a thing was told to her by one of her friends from Erie. We were watching the first game of the series, with the Leopards playing against the Mighty Red Balls, presumably named after the game equipment. I don't think I approved of the team name, myself. â€Å"Speaking of which, how was your date last night?† I asked. â€Å"It was a little grabby,† Gretchen said. â€Å"You want me to have Hickory and Dickory talk to him?† I asked. â€Å"No, it was manageable,† Gretchen said. â€Å"And besides which, your alien friends creep me out. No offense.† â€Å"None taken,† I said. â€Å"They really are nice.† â€Å"They're your bodyguards,† Gretchen said. â€Å"They're not supposed to be nice. They're supposed to scare the pee out of people. And they do. I'm just glad they don't follow you around all the time. No one would ever come talk to us.† In fact, I hadn't seen either Hickory or Dickory since the day before and our conversation about touring the Obin planets. I wondered if I had managed to hurt their feelings. I was going to have to check in on them to see how they were. â€Å"Hey, your boyfriend just picked off one of the Leopards,† Gretchen said. She pointed at Enzo, who was playing in the game. â€Å"He's not my boyfriend, any more than Magdy is yours,† I said. â€Å"Is he as grabby as Magdy is?† Gretchen asked. â€Å"What a question,† I said. â€Å"How dare you ask. I'm madly offended.† â€Å"That's a yes, then,† Gretchen said. â€Å"No, it's not,† I said. â€Å"He's been perfectly nice. He even sent me a poem.† â€Å"He did not,† Gretchen said. I showed it to her on my PDA. She handed it back. â€Å"You get the poetry writer. I get the grabber. It's really not fair. You want to trade?† â€Å"Not a chance,† I said. â€Å"But he not's my boyfriend.† Gretchen nodded out to Enzo. â€Å"Have you asked him about that?† I looked over to Enzo, who sure enough was sneaking looks my way while moving around the dodgeball field. He saw I was looking his way, smiled over at me and nodded, and as he was doing that he got nailed righteously hard in the ear by the dodgeball and went down with a thump. I burst out laughing. â€Å"Oh, nice,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Laughing at your boyfriend's pain.† â€Å"I know! I'm so bad!† I said, and just about toppled over. â€Å"You don't deserve him,† Gretchen said, sourly. â€Å"You don't deserve his poem. Give them both to me.† â€Å"Not a chance,† I said, and then looked up and saw Enzo there in front of me. I reflexively put my hand over my mouth. â€Å"Too late,† he said. Which of course made me laugh even more. â€Å"She's mocking your pain,† Gretchen said, to Enzo. â€Å"Mocking it, you hear me.† â€Å"Oh, God, I'm so sorry,† I said, between laughs, and before I thought about what I was doing gave Enzo a hug. â€Å"She's trying to distract you from her evil,† Gretchen warned. â€Å"It's working,† Enzo said. â€Å"Oh, fine,† Gretchen said. â€Å"See if I warn you about her evil ways after this.† She very dramatically focused back on the game, only occasionally glancing over and grinning at me. I unhugged from Enzo. â€Å"I'm not actually evil,† I said. â€Å"No, just amused at the pain of others,† Enzo said. â€Å"You walked off the court,† I said. â€Å"It can't have hurt that much.† â€Å"There's pain you can't see,† Enzo said. â€Å"Existential pain.† â€Å"Oh, boy,† I said. â€Å"If you're having existential pain from dodgeball, you're really just doing it wrong.† â€Å"I don't think you appreciate the philosophical subtleties of the sport,† Enzo said. I started giggling again. â€Å"Stop it,† Enzo said mildly. â€Å"I'm being serious here.† â€Å"I so hope you're not,† I said, and giggled some more. â€Å"You want to get lunch?† â€Å"Love to,† Enzo said. â€Å"Just give me a minute to extract this dodgeball from my Eustachian tube.† It was the first time I had ever heard anyone use the phrase â€Å"Eustachian tube† in common conversation. I think I may have fallen a little bit in love with him right there. â€Å"I haven't seen the two of you around much today,† I said to Hickory and Dickory, in their quarters. â€Å"We are aware that we make many of your fellow colonists uncomfortable,† Hickory said. It and Dickory sat on stools that were designed to accommodate their body shape; otherwise their quarters were bare. The Obin may have gained consciousness and even recently tried their hand at storytelling, but the mysteries of interior decoration still clearly eluded them. â€Å"It was decided it would be best for us to stay out of the way.† â€Å"Decided by whom?† I asked. â€Å"By Major Perry,† Hickory said, and then, before I could open my mouth, â€Å"and we agree.† â€Å"You two are going to be living with us,† I said. â€Å"With all of us. People need to get used to you.† â€Å"We agree, and they will have time,† Hickory said. â€Å"But for now we think it's better to give your people time to get used to each other.† I opened my mouth to respond, but then Hickory said, â€Å"Do you not benefit from our absence at the moment?† I remembered Gretchen's comment earlier in the day about how the other teens would never come up to us if Hickory and Dickory were always hanging around, and felt a little bit ashamed. â€Å"I don't want you to think I don't want you around,† I said. â€Å"We do not believe that,† Hickory said. â€Å"Please do not think that. When we are on Roanoke we will resume our roles. People will be more accepting of us because they will have had time to know you.† â€Å"I still don't want you to think you have to stay in here because of me,† I said. â€Å"It would drive me crazy to be cooped up in here for a week.† â€Å"It is not difficult for us,† Hickory said. â€Å"We disconnect our consciousnesses until we need them again. Time flies by that way.† â€Å"That was very close to a joke,† I said. â€Å"If you say so,† Hickory said. I smiled. â€Å"Still, if that's the only reason you stay in here – â€Å" â€Å"I did not say it was the only reason,† Hickory said, interrupting me, which it almost never did. â€Å"We are also spending this time preparing.† â€Å"For life on Roanoke?† I asked. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"And how we will be of best service to you when we are there.† â€Å"I think by just doing what you do,† I said. â€Å"Possibly,† Hickory said. â€Å"We think you might be underestimating how much different Roanoke will be from your life before, and what our responsibilities will be to you.† â€Å"I know it's going to be different,† I said. â€Å"I know it's going to be harder in a lot of ways.† â€Å"We are glad to hear that,† Hickory said. â€Å"It will be.† â€Å"Enough so that you're spending all this time planning?† I asked. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. I waited a second to hear if anything else was coming after that, but there wasn't. â€Å"Is there anything you want me to do?† I asked Hickory. â€Å"To help you?† Hickory took a second to respond. I watched it to see what I could sense from it; after this many years, I was pretty good at reading its moods. Nothing seemed unusual or out of place. It was just Hickory. â€Å"No,† Hickory said, finally. â€Å"We would have you do what you are doing. Meeting new people. Becoming friends with them. Enjoying your time now. When we arrive at Roanoke we do not expect you will have as much time for enjoyment.† â€Å"But you're missing out on all my fun,† I said. â€Å"You're usually there to record it.† â€Å"This one time you can get along without us,† Hickory said. Another near joke. I smiled again and gave them both a hug just as my PDA vibrated to life. It was Gretchen. â€Å"Your boyfriend really sucks at dodgeball,† she said. â€Å"He just took a hit square on his nose. He says to tell you the pain isn't nearly as enjoyable if you're not around to laugh at it. So come on down and ease the poor boy's pain. Or add to it. Either works.†

Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil Essay

Aim: To investigate the substances given off at different temperatures from crude oil (petroleum) mixture. Apparatus: * Fractional Distillation glassware and thermometer * Clamp stand x 2 * Conical flask * Supply of cold water * Rubber tubes x 2 * Test tube rack * Small glass test tubes x 5 * Rubber stopper x 5 * Evaporating basin * Micro Bunsen Burner and bench mat * Wooden Splint * Stopwatch * Boiling stones * Crude Oil supply Method: 1. Set up the clamps stands and the fractionating glassware as shown in the diagram. 2. Connect the rubber tubes to the two open tubes of the condenser. 3. Connect the other end of the rubber tubing to a water tap and let the other one flow into a basin. Turn on the tap. 4. Place two boiling stones into the conical flask and then pour in the crude oil into the flask. Place the flask right above the micro-burner as shown in the diagram. 5. Heat the crude oil mixture slowly. Record at which temperature one of the compounds in the mixture evaporate, and then collect it in the small test tube after it passes through the condenser. 6. Repeat step 5 until maximum temperature has been reached and/or no more compounds evaporate. 7. Test the compounds which were collected. Light them in an evaporating basin and record the time it takes to run out. Results: Data Table of Results of Hydrocarbons tested Hydrocarbon Compound Boiling Point Range (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C) Colour Viscosity Pentane 36 – 40 Colourless Very Low Viscosity Hexane 66 – 69 Colourless Low Viscosity Heptane 90 – 94 Very slightly cloudy Viscous liquid Kerosene (Paraffin) ~ 250 Brownish – black High Viscosity Conclusion: These results prove to us that firstly, crude oil being a mixture of several hydrocarbons, that the mixture provided was a simulation. Secondly, there are noticeable trends in the hydrocarbons. As the molecules gets heavier and heavier, by which I mean that we go from pentane to Hexane and so on, the viscosity of the compound increases, as well as the time taken for it to burn up completely. The boiling point also increases. These hydrocarbons belong to the first organic homologous series: Alkanes. Alkane molecules are completely saturated and each carbon atom has at least 2 hydrogen atoms attached to it. Apart from the two end carbon atoms, the other ones are attached to two other carbon atoms each. A covalent bond between a carbon atom and a hydrogen atom is strong, and a bond between two carbon atoms is also strong. It therefore takes a lot of energy to overcome this bond, and hence a higher temperature and more time is needed to break these compounds apart. The more carbon atoms an alkane possesses, the more energy is needed to break it apart. This explains the increasing boiling points, and is also one of the main reasons why hydrocarbons are used as fuels. Kerosene was the only one of the four hydrocarbons which could not be heated to its boiling point and hence the temperature recorded is the one that was given to us. It did, however, last the longest when it was burned. Therefore that result coincides with the one that was given to us. Its other properties which could be verified have given us further proof of the fact that its temperature is higher than the other hydrocarbons’. Also related to the viscosity, the weight of each hydrocarbon also increased as the viscosity increased. By the time kerosene was being handled, a really wide margin of difference could be felt from pentane. Evaluation: Weakness Improvement 1 The equipment available was not enough to determine the boiling point of Kerosene Get a macro burner and heat the kerosene to its boiling point 2 The difference in viscosity between the first two hydrocarbons was hard to tell Measure the poise of the two compounds and record the difference 3 The evaporating basin in which the hydrocarbons were heated was the same all throughout Use a different evaporating basin for each compounds so that the heat from the previous test does not affect the next test 4 The main mixture provided to us was not actual crude oil, simply a simulated substitute To gather all of the compounds found in crude oil use a mixture which contains all of them kind of obvious

Meteor Proposal

OWNERS’ BRAND PERCEPTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL Prepared for Meteor Motorcycle Company Good Stuff! Dated: September 7th, ____ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Currently, Meteor needs to understand how its customers regard four brands relative to each other: Meteor, Comet Chopper, Harley, and Big Dog. Also, because of the unexpected sales success of the Comet Chopper motorcycle, Meteor needs to understand the major factors for the appeal of the Comet Chopper. Meteor’s marketing team also needs to update the demographic profile of its customers.This is because Meteor sells through a network of dealers, some of whom do not always record details about the demographics of motorcycle buyers. BACKGROUND On September 11, 200_, the Meteor marketing team met researchers from Good Stuff! at the Meteor headquarters. The presentation included the history of the Meteor Motorcycle Company, its founders, the brand types and other useful inputs. The Meteor marketing team was open to allowing the Good Stuff ! researchers to participate in the Harvest Biker Fest event to be held in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Details of the event and other issues were discussed during the same session.It was also agreed that Meteor would provide a list of existing Meteor Chopper owners to help Good Stuff! in its research. Problem definition / RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Problem definition The research team at Good Stuff! will 1) study Meteor and Comet Chopper owners’ brand perceptions of heavyweight cruiser motorcycles, 2) so that the Meteor marketing team can better understand the appeal of these brands to specific customer segments, 3) so that the Meteor Motorcycle Company can improve the positioning of its brands in the marketplace and achieve a 30 per cent annual growth in sales revenues in the coming year.RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Accordingly, four modules of research will comprise the joint research project. †¢ To identify and gather information about existing competitors that buyers consider when buying a Comet Chopper. Good Stuff! will gain an understanding of who in terms of competitors are Comet Chopper owners’ considering during the buying process, and why. †¢ To understand the appeal of the Comet Chopper. Good Stuff! will explore the demand for the Comet Chopper by examining the appeal. Good Stuff! ill determine what the appeal of the Comet Chopper is, to further understand the feelings, stories and attitudes behind the Comet Chopper customer. †¢ To understand the level of brand awareness between Meteor and the Comet Chopper. Good Stuff! will research the customer’s perception of the brand relation between the Meteor brand and the Comet Chopper (made by Meteor). Good Stuff! will research customers’ awareness levels, identify degrees of brand awareness and examine issues related to dual branding. To describe both the Meteor owner, and the Comet Chopper owner in terms of demographics and psychographics thereby gaining a better understa nding of the existing customer profile. Good Stuff! will explore the demographics of the Comet Chopper owner in terms of age, sex, income, occupation, and education level in addition to psychographics such as attitudes, beliefs, consumption habits and interests. APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM Meteor Motorcycle Company was previously involved in similar projects with Good Stuff!. In the Fall of 1998 and in the Spring of 2000, Good Stuff! onducted Meteor’s first dealer and customer satisfaction phone surveys. Both of these surveys included a module on brand perceptions of Meteor and its competitors in the marketplace. The results had immediate operational impact for Meteor. Since the 1998 research project, sales for Meteor have increased 1800 per cent. The current research project will give primary focus to Meteor owners’ brand perceptions, with lesser emphasis to customer satisfaction of Meteor owners. Only Meteor owners will be surveyed. RESEARCH DESIGN For the purpose of thi s research Good Stuff! ill undertake primary research to execute a conclusive design using web-surveying methods , as well as an exploratory design employing observation and in-depth interviews at a regional motorcycle rider’s fest. For the web survey, all scale responses will be used. The ranking of the four focal brands on 12 different personality traits will be a core part of the research project. However, all other types of scale responses will be used. FIELD WORK / DATA COLLECTION In this effort, respondents will be recruited by phone to take the survey on the internet.For those without internet at work or at home (estimated to be less than 5 per cent of the sample frame), the interview will be conducted by phone. †¢ Web Surveys: Primary source of data collection will be through an internet site Surveytime. com; that will host the electronic questionnaire. One hundred Meteor owners and 200 Comet Chopper owners will receive a letter from Good Stuff! explaining the pu rpose of the study and inviting their participation. This 2:1 ratio of Comet Chopper to Meteor owners reflects the current sales ratio of these two brands.The letter will direct them to the website and request then to complete the survey. A $2 cash incentive will be included in each recruiting letter. Importantly, those taking the survey will be entered into a raffle for a leather Meteor varsity jacket. †¢ Phone Interviews: A concerted effort will be made to identity and approach those Comet Chopper owners that failed to complete the web survey. The contact details of the current Chopper owners would be provided by the Meteor marketing team. †¢ Observations and Interviews: Good Stuff! esearchers will attend the Harvest Biker Fest on September 19 and September 20. It is believed that the Rally will provide us with an opportunity to observe chopper owners in their environment and to interview them, as well. Coding and Data entry †¢ Survey Time. com allows the researcher s to download data into Excel spreadsheets. †¢ After conducting the phone interviews, the responses will be transferred into the excel spreadsheets, as well. †¢ Numerical data will be entered for close-ended questions. †¢ Entered data will be checked for accuracy and edited if necessary.After the spreadsheet has been edited and checked for accuracy, it will be converted into an SPSS data file. After completing the coding and data entry for the closed and open-ended questions, results will be tabulated. DATA ANALYSIS Some of the various techniques that will be utilized to analyze the data are †¢ Descriptive statistics in tabulated form using percentages †¢ Graphical analysis of the data †¢ Correlation Analysis The following are some examples of results of data analysis that Meteor’s marketing team can expect to see in the final report. . [pic] [pic] Timeline ACTIVITY |EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE | |Meeting with Meteor marketing team |Sept 11 | |Har vest Biker Fest |Sept 19& 20 | |Proposal & Questionnaire Submission |Oct 7-10 | |Survey Loaded in the Web Server |Oct 10-20 | |Letters mailed to Comet Chopper owners |Oct 10-14 | |Data Collection |Oct 14-30 | |Follow up Telephone Interviews |Nov 1-7 | |Coding, Data Entry and Data Cleaning |Nov 7-14 | |Preliminary Analysis |Nov 14-21 | |Final Analysis and Report |Nov 22-30 | |Presentation to Client |Dec 4 | Information Investment COST ESTIMATION – TASKS* |HOURS |COSTS (*) | |Upfront Consulting Work and Design |——– |$ 8,000. 00 | |Designing & Producing Questionnaires ($55/hr) |80 hours |$ 4,400. 00 | |Research & Compilation of Name List ($55/hr) |8 |$ 440. 00 | |Final Analysis & Reporting ($75/hr) |100 |$ 7,500. 0 | |Internet Survey** |——– |$18,000. 00 | |Phone Line / Calling Cards (1 min @ $0. 10) |250 |$ 1,500. 00 | |Telephone Interviewers (150 phone interviews @ $10 per interview) |——– |$ 1,500. 00 | |I ncentives to Respondents ($2 @ X 300 respondents = $400 jacket) |——– |$ 1,000. 00 | |Data Entry (1 survey @ 10minutes @ $6. 50/hr) |50 |$ 325. 0 | |Coding the Data (programming work & compatibility of data) |——– |$ 2,500. 00 | |Other Overhead Cost (Office Supplies-binders, photocopying) |——– |$ 500. 00 | | | | | |TOTAL | |$45,665. 00 | Note: Other operating expenses encountered during the conduct of the project will be invoiced additionally to Meteor at the conclusion of the project. Hours and hourly rates are presented for Good Stuff! ’s internal use. These would be deleted in the version of this proposal given to the Meteor marketing team. ** The Internet Survey cost includes the programming and the designing of the Web module, server and usage fee and data retrieval. REPORTING At the conclusion of the project, the following will be delivered to Meteor: †¢ Three copies of the final written report with al l the appendices. The final report will include an annotated survey with the percentage of responses for each possible question response. Detailed data tables will be included in the report to summarize important information found in the research.It will also include the final conclusions and recommendations made based on the research study. †¢ Three CD’s with the electronic version of the final report, the PowerPoint slides and the SPSS data files. PROJECT PERSONNEL Mark Peterson Research Team Leader Mark Peterson received his Ph. D. in Marketing from the Georgia Institute of Technology in March 1994. Mark received the Academy of Marketing Science’s Alpha Kappa Psi Dissertation Award for his lab and field study of consumers’ emotional responses to television ads. Mark’s scholarly works have been published in the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Small Business Management Journal among others.Prior to launching Good Stuff! , Mark was a statistical methods consultant for SDR, Inc. in Atlanta, and an associate professor of marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington where he taught in the Masters of Science in Marketing Research program. Jim McGee Research Team Associate Jim McGee received his MSMR degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1996. Since that time, Jim has worked as a project manager for a variety of marketing research firms including Campbell Research and Global Mapping International. Jim is pleased to be reunited with Mark Peterson at Good Stuff! , as both were members of the legendary â€Å"Gold Team† at SDR, Inc. in the mid-nineties.Jim regards his most rewarding skill to be applying conjoint analysis – a multivariate statistical technique – in survey research to solve problems for client firms. APPENDIXES [If available at this time in the development of the project, a draft of Meteor Survey A would be attached. ] —†”—————– 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% &ages 1 States Geographic Distribution of Comet Chopper Owners TX FL CA WI Others 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% %age 1 Brands Brand Awareness Consider Comet Chopper Thought to be a Separate Company Comet Chopper is a Meteor brand Comet Chopper is a West Coast Chopper brand Comet Chopper is a Harley Brand Others