Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Lenten Candles †The Color and the Significance Essay Example for Free

Lenten Candles †The Color and the Significance Essay Loaned candles have their own importance in the recognition of Lent. The consuming candles represents the appearance of Christ as the light of the world. The shades of the candles can contrast. Ordinarily, three purple candles and one rose-shaded or pink light are utilized. The purple demonstrates that Lent is a time of disappointment just as expectation. Numerous houses of worship utilize blue candles rather than purple ones to feature the positive any expectation of the period. A light is lit on the principal Sunday of Lent with an extra one lit on each after Sunday. The ecstatically shaded pink light is saved for the third Sunday of Lent, Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete, which really alludes to cheer in Latin, is the underlying expression of the Introit for that Sunday: Several Christians attach a definite clarification to the four candles. The primary light, or the Prophet Candle, represents the good faith and desire for Christs incarnication as estimated at such huge numbers of spots in the Old Testament. The subsequent flame reviews how Christ was conceived in unassuming style, in the trifling town of Bethlehem. Hence this flame is frequently alluded to as the Bethlehem Candle. The third light is distinguished as the Shepherds Candle. It infers the delight of the shepherds when they left subsequent to having seen the Christ-kid in the stable. The fourth light is the Angels Candle. It return us to the ecstatic group that pronounced the uplifting news of our Saviors birth.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Managing Employee Motivation and Performance Free Essays

Worldwide BURCH UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT MANAGING EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE RESEARCH PAPER by Nedzad ISAKOVIC Project Supervisor M. A. Edin SMAJIC SARAJEVO April, 2012 Contents 1. We will compose a custom paper test on Overseeing Employee Motivation and Performance or on the other hand any comparative point just for you Request Now Introduction2 1. 1. The Motivation Process2 1. 2. Wath Managers Do In Practice2 2. Spurring by Structuring Jobs to Make Them Interesting3 2. 1. Employment Design3 2. 2. Employment Enrichment and Job Enlargement3 2. 3. The Job Characteristics Model4 3. Conclusion5 4. References7 1. Presentation Motivation is characterized as the procedure that starts, manages and keeps up objective arranged practices. Inspiration is the thing that makes us act, regardless of whether it is getting a glass of water to decrease thirst, perusing a book to pick up information or playing out some particular activity task to get pay. For what reason is the inspiration of representatives so significant at the work environment? It is significant for administrators since it decides singular execution of the laborers alongside capacity of the laborers and workplace. The most moving component for director to control of these three is inspiration. Singular conduct is a perplexing wonder, and the director needs to enter the center of the issue on the off chance that he will settle it. 1. 1. The Motivation Process The inspiration procedure advances through a progression of discrete advances. Substance, procedure, and support points of view on inspiration address various pieces of this procedure (Griffin, 2008). Content point of view attempts to discover what factor or factors propel individuals. The most mainstream content speculations are Maslow’s chain of command of necessities, the ERG hypothesis and Herzberg’s two-factor hypothesis. Procedure points of view on inspiration investigate how the inspiration procedure functions and how it happens. They attempt to discover why individuals certain conduct choices to satisfy their necessities and how laborers assess their fulfillments after their choices. Hypotheses of procedure points of view are anticipation hypothesis, value hypothesis and the fresher attribution hypothesis. The support point of view attempts to discover which variables power workers to keep being spurred. It discloses to us that workers will rehash the conduct for which they are remunerated, and they won’t rehash conduct for which they are rebuffed. Support point of view utilizes encouraging feedback, shirking, discipline and elimination as devices to keep workers persuaded. These are simply hypotheses which help supervisors to figure out what to do by and by. 1. 2. What Managers Do In Practice The most common idea and methodology among administrators practically speaking is that cash inspires. In view of that administrators utilize enormous assortment of remuneration frameworks, for example, merit reward frameworks, motivator reward frameworks and group reward frameworks to improve inspiration and execution of their representatives. Their supposition that is right and workers improve when they realize that they will get more cash for their improved presentation. In any case, another inquiry emerges: How long will the improved presentation last if cash is key spark? The appropriate response is that it won’t keep going long. The investigations have indicated that people experience issues reviewing the reward they get and it doesn't appear to have a similar effect it did inside the initial not many weeks or long stretches of accepting it. That’s in light of the fact that cash, all by itself, won't consistently propel people. Workers are roused considerably more if cash rewards are joined with acknowledgment and with improved employment plan. Another difficult that emerges from utilizing the cash as a key factor of inspiration is that it costs. The organizations need to give a lot of cash to representatives as rewards and there were a few situations where rewards are really bigger than yearly pay rates of certain workers. This turns into a genuine issue if organization needs to diminish the measure of rewards representatives get. Workers become increasingly disappointed and unmotivated on the grounds that they are utilized to have huge rewards, so their presentation falls a considerable amount. My sentiment is that the most ideal approach to inspire workers to perform better is to configuration employments by making them all the more engaging individuals. 1. Inspiring by Structuring Jobs to Make Them Interesting 2. 3. Occupation Design This methodology of inspiration is aimed at improving the basic idea of the work performed by changing the structure of the activity. Occupation configuration is worried about organizing employments so as to improve association proficiency and representative occupation fulfillment (Snell/Bohlander, 2007). Workers today take part in tedious developments, which they find exceptionally standard and dreary. As anyone might expect, individuals got exhausted with such employments and their exhibition falls with time. Luckily, today’s authoritative researchers have discovered a few different ways of structuring employments that aren’t simply effective, but on the other hand are charming and rousing. Employment amplification and occupation advancement are two methodologies that improve inspiration by changing employment plan. 2. 4. Occupation Enlargement and Job Enrichment One of the principal present day ways to deal with updating employments proposed that weariness of workers by taking part in profoundly dull occupations could be limited by having individuals play out an expanded number of various assignments all at a similar level. This methodology is known as employment augmentation (Greenberg/Baron, 2008). On account of this methodology representatives don’t need higher abilities or have higher duty, however perform increasingly various activities at a similar level. Changing occupation along these lines is an expansion in the level employment stacking. A few investigations demonstrated that activity extension is extremely helpful approach to expand representative occupation fulfillment and worker weariness at the working environment. A progressively successful methodology, work enhancement, gives representatives more occupations to do, however more undertakings to perform at a more elevated level of aptitude and duty (Greenberg/Baron, 2008). The fundamental thought of occupation enhancement is making employments all the more intriguing to individuals with the goal that they will be all the more exceptionally energetic to perform them. Occupation improvement offers representatives the chance to assume more noteworthy responsibility for how to carry out their responsibilities. Since individuals performing enhanced occupations work at more significant levels than others, this methodology builds a job’s vertical employment stacking. Indeed, even the activity advancement is fruitful it has a few issues in execution. Initial one is trouble of execution since it is costly to overhaul existing offices. Second issue is absence of representative acknowledgment in light of the fact that not all workers are prepared to acknowledge the adjustments in their activity achievement and higher commitments for the work they perform. 2. 5. The Job Characteristics Model In past content I expressed that businesses ought to improve the occupations, yet I neglected to determine exact what components of an occupation should be advanced for it to be compelling. Employment qualities model answers this inquiry. It accept that occupations can be structured to assist individuals with getting delight out of their employments and care about the work they do (Greenberg/Baron, 2008). It discloses to us how occupations can be updated to assist representatives with feeling that they are doing significant and important work. The model determines that advancing certain components of occupations impacts employee’s mental states in a way that expands their work adequacy. It distinguishes five center employment measurements that help make three basic mental states, prompting a few useful individual and work results. The five basic activity measurements are ability assortment, task personality, task centrality, independence, and input. Expertise theatrical presentations us what number of various undertakings the worker performs utilizing a few of his aptitudes and abilities. Undertaking personality gives us what amount is representative associated with one bit of work, from start to finish. Undertaking criticalness gives us how much effect employee’s work has on others. Self-rule gives us how much opportunity representatives have in arranging and performing employments as they wish. Input gives us how much the activity permits representatives to know is their presentation effective enough. The model tells that these different activity measurements effectsly affect numerous basic mental states. Mix of these activity measurements have impact on experienced weightiness of the activity performed, which is then experienced as profoundly significant, important and beneficial. Occupation measurements likewise decide how much representatives are by and by capable and responsible for their work. At the point when they are allowed to choose what to do and how to do it they feel increasingly liable for their work. At last, these activity measurements sway employee’s information on the aftereffects of their work. At the point when a vocation is intended to furnish representatives with data about the impacts of their activities, they better see how viable they are †and such information improves their viability. These basic mental states influence individual and work results, for example, sentiments of inspiration, the nature of work performed, fulfillment with work, non-attendance and turnover. The higher these mental states are, the more constructive the individual and work advantages and results will be. The activity attributes model is profoundly pertinent and it has high and positive outcomes. The workers that react best to this model are the ones which have high requirement for self-improvement and advancement. The model has been focal point of numerous exact tests, a large portion of which are strong of numerous parts of the model. One investigation directed among a gathering of South African administrative laborers discovered especially solid help for the activity trademark model (Greenberg/Baron, 2008). . End In my assessment modifying representative inspiration by changing employment configuration is substantially more profitable and superior to improving inspiration by impetus reward frameworks. The facts confirm that actuating inspiration by changing occupation configuration has a few issues, for example, trouble of usage and absence of representative acknowledgm ent, however these issues a

Friday, August 21, 2020

Science Fiction Short Stories to Read Online (And Where to Find Them)

Science Fiction Short Stories to Read Online (And Where to Find Them) Were really in a second golden age of science fiction short stories, with multiple excellent outlets that not only publish these stories, but put them online for free. Heres a list of a few good stories to get you startedâ€"which, trust me, is just scraping the surface of all that was excellent in 2017â€"and more importantly where you can look for more! So rather than as a long list of just stories, well link you to a publication and give you a couple examples of their offerings. Please note that this list, presented in no particular order, is non-exhaustive and Ive focused mostly on places that pay their writers pro rates. Lightspeed Lightspeed is an online magazine that publishes both science fiction and fantasy short stories. Theyre also the originators of Women Destroy Science Fiction, a immensely successful project that was a reaction to jerks on the internet whinging that women were ruining science fiction with their lady something-or-others. (Which launched into other great Kickstarted special issues,  Queers Destroy Science Fiction and People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction.) The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant by Rachael K Jones Later, Lets Tear Up the Inner Sanctum by A. Merc Rustad Uncanny Uncanny is the official magazine of Space Unicorns everywhere. They publish a mix of science fiction and fantasy thats weird and meaty and always beautifully written. Theyve also taken up the  Destroy mantel from Lightspeed, with their upcoming  Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction  successfully kickstarted in July (and about to enter its reading period for stories). Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad Henosis by NK Jemisin Daily Science Fiction Daily Science Fiction  not only publishes all their stories online, but if you sign up for their mailing list theyll send them directly to your email, one per weekday. Because of the frequency of publication, they mostly publish flash fiction. And it should be noted that even though science fiction is in their name, its actually a mix of scifi, fantasy, and borderline horror. Two lists discovered folded in the wallet of space explorer Jorge Finnegan after the Reliant wreckage was recovered from Tau Ceti e by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley Saudade by Cassandra Khaw Apex Magazine Apex Magazine tends toward the darker end of the science fiction and fantasy spectrum, sometimes going into borderline horror. But the darkness can be so lovely, and when they step into the light theyre delightfully strange and bitingly beautiful. Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experienceâ„¢ by Rebecca Roanhorse Say, She Toy by Chesya Burke Escape Pod Escape Pod is a little different because their emphasis is on publishing audio science fiction in a free-to-download podcast. The text of each story is also available on their website, however. Red in Tooth and Cog by Cat Rambo The Wind You Touch When You Run by James Beamon Shimmer Shimmer cover, 2017 Shimmer publishes fantasy, science fiction, and some almost-unclassifiable-but-still-definitely-genre stuff, with the emphasis on it having an indefinable but still definite shimmery quantity. Feathers and Void by Charles Payseur The Atomic Hollows and the Bodies of Science by Octavia Cade Strange Horizons Strange Horizons is venerable as online magazines go and tends to look for the different, daring, and unusual. They publish a mix of science fiction, fantasy, and the occasional bit of horror that catches their ear, ranging from the deep to the sublimely ridiculous. Krace is Not a Highway by Scott Vanyur Airswimming by Aisha Phoenix These Constellations Will Be Yours by Elaine Cuyegkeng Clarkesworld Clarkesworld is another long-running magazine that has a particular stylistic twist of weirdness to its stories, both science fiction and fantasy. Back issues are easily available on the website under the appropriately named tab. Prasetyo Plastics by DA Xiaolin Spires The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer GiGaNoToSaurus GigaNotoSaurus is a bit of an oddity because its not really short fiction as such…it tends to publish novellettes and novellas, really focusing on great fiction that tends to be a bit too long for most of the other venus. Because of the mighty length of most of the stories, they only tend to publish one per month. They publish both fantasy and science fiction. With Perfect Clarity by Wendy N. Wagner Salvage by Tracy Canfield Tor.com Tor.com has already made its name publishing SFF novellas with its imprint, but it also has a lot of great essays on its siteâ€"and regular installments of science fiction short stories and fantasy as well. Theyve got the freedom to do a lot of lengths, so youll find both very short and nearly novella-length on the site. Original fiction index can be found here, labeled for ease of finding the flavor you like. The Future of Hunger in an Age of Programmable Matter by Sam J Miller Waiting on a Bright Moon by JY Yang Sanctuary by Allen Steele Fireside Fiction Fireside Fiction is a very fierce outlet with a strong point of view (check out their statement of values, which is A+) that does absolutely ferocious science fiction and fantasy. They do quite a bit of flash fiction to go along with their short stories. Also worthy of noting that since 2015 they have been commissioning yearly reports on the representation of Black authors in speculative fiction to track the very real underrepresentation problem. Caesura by Hayley Stone Regarding Your Future With The Futures Planning Consortium by Raq Winchester Fran Wilde We Who Stay Behind by Karl Dandenell Terraform Terraform is a project of Motherboard that focuses on science fiction short stories, particularly near-future work. What they publish has a broad tonal range even if its one of the most focused in terms of its genre. Dark was the night, and cold the ground by Miguel Fernández-Flores The Wretched and the Beautiful by E. Lily Yu If youre looking for a place to check out science fiction short story reviews (also fantasy and horror) to get recommendations or ideas on other places to look, I heartily recommend Charles Payseurs Quick Sip Reviews. Natalie Luhrs has a short fiction review series at her blog. Locus Online also does short fiction issue reviews. Also worth noting: Book Riot has a great list of science fiction short story collections by authors of color that you might want to check out! Sign up to Swords Spaceships to  receive news and recommendations from the world of science fiction and fantasy.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Revamping The Us Constitution Essay - 1001 Words

In 1789 The U.S. Constitution was introduced with the first of many pieces called the Preamble. The Preamble was just a summary of the main goal and mission of the United States in the late 1700s. It stated We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Things have changed drastically over the 228 years and in order to keep up with the trends of the United States which change often. There are many sections of the US constitution that should be revised and revamped†¦show more content†¦In addition, the 22nd Amendment should be re-evaluated. I feel like instead of Presidents being limited to 2 four-year-terms. If the president is popular and very liked, they should be able to stay in office for an add itional term, or be able to keep some kind of authoritative position. We often times see a president that was highly favorable out of the spotlight, although they have done great things for the country as a whole. One of the most admired and respected president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times. Over the 12 years of FDR being president he was faced with a variety of obstacles which include WWII and The Great Depression. He was innovative and a quick thinker that always seem to have the perfect resolution. According to an article by the White House, Franklin D. Roosevelt â€Å"helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself’.† Presidents with this mindset need to remain in office and give back as much as they can. The Great Depression was one of the most unpleasant and unexpected things the people of th e United States have gone through. Furthermore, I feel like the President should be limited to the amount of Executive Orders he or she are allowed to put in place. Executive Orders are policy changes thatShow MoreRelatedThe European Union Charter Of Fundamental Rights Essay2502 Words   |  11 PagesLisbon Treaty of 2009. The Charter has proved to be a controversial issue within European politics, with doubts being voiced about the functionality of the European Union’s own â€Å"Bill of Rights†. To effectively assess the question at hand, this essay will evaluate the extent to which the Charter is a necessary and desirable development, before reaching an overall conclusion. Accessibility vs. Clarity The Charter consists of common and indivisible universal values on which the Union is foundedRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesperspective Robert W. Scapens 16. Strategic cost management: upsizing, downsizing, and right(?) sizing John K. Shank 17. Environmental management accounting Kazbi Soonawalla 18. Organization control and management accounting in context: a case study of the US motion picture industry S. Mark Young, Wim A. Van der Stede, and James J. Gong INDEX 266 291 308 329 355 380 407 425 CONTRIBUTORS ‘ Thomas Ahrens is Professor of Accounting at the Warwick Business School, University of WarwickRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesPaid time off (PTO) New to Chapter 13: OSHA assistance to employers; OSHA’s top ten violations New to Chapter 14: Increased coverage and illustration of right-to-work laws; Wal-Mart and unions Features to Encourage Learning Our experience has shown us that students are more likely to read a text when the reading is straightforward and conversational, the topics flow logically, and the authors make extensive use of examples to illustrate concepts. Students also remember and understand the conceptsRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 PagesHanson-Baldauf, Eric Werthmann, and Scott Adams. Our editor at Libraries Unlimited, Sue Easun, provided us with assistance throughout. Grateful acknowledgment is also due to other colleagues at Libraries Unlimited—Ron Maas and his very capable staff—for their efficiency and continuing encouragement to write yet another edition of this successful textbook. Many libraries and information center managers permitted us to reproduce documents that are used as examples in the book, and we thank them. Their management

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Analysis Of Minority Effect - 1355 Words

The short film, â€Å"Minority Effect†, explores what it would mean if able-bodiedness was not the norm, but instead if communities were populated with wheelchair users. Compared to popular media, this film used a non-disabled body to contrast to disabled bodies. Usually, disability is mobilized as a plot point to highlight the qualities of able-bodied people. They are never the protagonist and used as a means to reach a lesson. But what is the effect of minoritizing a majority group? Does it achieve awareness or does it just perpetuate the discrimination and oppression of marginalized groups? In â€Å"Minority Effect†, the reversal of roles is problematic in that it is counterproductive in that it still subscribes to common misrepresented†¦show more content†¦Neoliberalism calls for a pulling oneself up by the â€Å"bootstraps†, which places everyone on the same playing field and expects them to perform the same just by being â€Å"inclusive†. Th is reversal of roles also suggest that disabled people aspire to be able-bodied. By depicting an able-bodied person as seeking acceptance from the wheelchair-using majority, it proposes that in the real world, disabled people are seeking acceptance from able-bodied people. But while the man in the film could sit down on a trashcan in order to feel included, someone confined to a wheelchair cannot stand in order to feel accepted by their able-bodied peers. The last scene of the film is the most key. The man walks into a room for a community meeting, for which the flyer reads â€Å"open to all in the community†, and he seem apprehensive. He seems to perhaps be worried that he might not be accepted into the space and might be rejected as part of the community due to his able-bodiedness. As he walks through the door (an interesting detail since he has to physically open the door, which would not actually be accessible to the majority of wheelchair users), the camera angle is at h is eye level, looking down at the rest of the community as they turn around to stare at him. Throughout the scene, the camera angles switch between his eye-level to the eye-level of those in wheelchairs, which switches who the focus is on in thatShow MoreRelatedThe Reason Why Minorities Are Often Suspected First Of Doing Violent Crime1525 Words   |  7 Pages The following paper will try to discover the reason why minorities are often suspected first of doing violent crime, instead of their counterparts. A general reason why trying to understand this phenomenon is important is for the consequences it brings. When an individual, in this case minorities, are suspected of doing violent crime, they are more often targeted more than usual. This leads to mostly minorities being in prison, and in most states, they are not allowed to vote. This is crucial forRead MoreStereotyping And Prejudice Of Blacks Essay1406 Words   |  6 Pageshegemony in the presence†¦ of large numbers of minorities† (Blalock, 1967; Mancini, Mears, Stewart, Beaver, and Pickett, 2015). The impact of stereotyping and prejudice of Blacks being perceived as threat has caused many Whites to acquire defensive and demining reactions towards Blacks. The media and society has a tendency to shy away from or almost ignore the crime of Whites and instead shift to highlight the crime of Blacks and minorities. Entman (1992) discovered during a six-month periodRead MoreThe Issue Of Medical School Tuition972 Words   |  4 Pagesracial/ethnic backgrounds. They hypothesized that certain races had less economical resources, which would justify the differences in student’s debt. Their analysis of â€Å"self-reported data† from 2414 medical students in the U.S. showed that Black and White’s had more debt than Hispanic’s and Asian medical students. The study provides a clear and concise analysis of the experiment. Yet simultaneously, the study is based on â€Å"anticipated† medical school debt, instead of the debt after graduation. Furthermore theRead MoreAssignment 11368 Words   |  6 PagesTHE OLDER AMERICANS ACT ANALYSIS 4 addition, the policy indirectly supports the families of the elderly. It does so by offering services to caregivers that prevent or shorten costly nursing home placements, relieving financial strain, and providing educational programs to give a better understanding of aging. However, due to insufficient funding OAA services have restricted access and cannot reach all the elderly in need. Statistical demographics reveal that 27% of seniors that areRead MoreJudges On Trial : A Reexamination Of Judicial Race And Gender Effects Across Modes Of Conviction1044 Words   |  5 PagesA Reexamination of Judicial Race and Gender Effects Across Modes of Conviction By Brian D. Johnson Purpose: The purpose of the article is to examine the issues with data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing that has been strengthened to include information on sentencing judges and criminal court contexts, and it argues that the mode of conviction shapes the focus of sentencing discretion in ways that systematically underestimate judge effects for pooled estimates of incarceration and sentenceRead MoreHow Law Enforcement Affects Minorities1392 Words   |  6 PagesHow law enforcement affects minorities : Over time more and more news reports have raised flags on law enforcement, courtrooms and their outcomes due to the crime and the criminal and their racial background. Although a long time has passed since all decision making came from the white supremacist and we do have a more diverse system the race of the criminal seems to still be affecting the outcomes of criminal justice. In earlier times, courtrooms and many jurisdictions were all white decisionmakersRead MoreThe Conflict Of Police Brutality Essay802 Words   |  4 Pageswould like to attempt to provide critical analysis on a crucial social issue facing the United States. This issue is police brutality, especially against minority, particularly black Americans. I will attempt to do this with the root cause tool of critical analysis and problem solving. The conflict of police brutality has made national and international news. It has also sparked a new social movement. While police brutality is not limited to minoriti es, the rate that it used against African AmericanRead MoreCollege Students Exposure to Mental Illness743 Words   |  3 Pagesincrease of aggression, frustration, and other emotional instabilities; these results that which lead to exposure to depression and mental illness. The amount of stress and lack of sleep are studied amongst college students, preferable minority college students. Minority students were chosen due to the often stereotypical beliefs that African American and Hispanics are more susceptible to depression and the mental illness bipolar disorder. The behaviors of students who believe they take on a high orRead MoreIs Philadelphia Environmentally Just?1615 Words   |  7 Pagesindustry have often been unevenly distributed amongst social groups: Otherwise known as environmental inequality. Current theories on environmental inequality have commonly concluded that the phenomenon has two major factors, race and class. The effects of environmental inequality vary acros s time place and population. Based on my research, mapping, and statistics I was unable to attribute this issue to a dominant factor. Like many cities Philadelphia has had industrial facilities throughout itsRead MoreThe United States Of America Essay1566 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States of America The other aspect concerning minority parties in majoritarian elections is how these electoral systems tend towards two parties. Essentially this eliminates any possibilities for minority parties to have an influence as they simply won’t exist. The current status quo of American politics is typical in this respect. The nature of majoritarian elections to tend towards two parties is known as Duverger s law named after French sociologist Maurice Duverger. To understand

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Age Of Women s Rights - 1192 Words

The novel was written and is set in the decade following World War I, which ended in November 1918. The Jazz Age, a term coined by Fitzgerald, was a period of enormous social change in America, especially in the area of women’s rights. Before World War I, American women did not enjoy universal suffrage. In 1920, two years after the end of the war, they were finally given the vote. Before the war, standard dress for women included long skirts, tightly laced corsets, high-buttoned shoes, and long hair. A few years after the war, skirts became shorter, laced corsets began to disappear, modern footwear frequently replaced high-buttoned shoes, and â€Å"bobbed† hair became the fashion for young women. Perhaps most alarming for proponents of the old ways, was that women’s behavior began to change. During 1920s, great changes were taken places in American economy, society and cultures, which also impacted American women’ lives. At that time, new features occurred in women’s family, appearance and behavior. Thanks to great achievement of the technology, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and refrigerators became commonplace in every family. These things released women’s hands and freed them from endless housework. Thus they got more time to take care of themselves and their appearance. A author written that they used to wrap their hair in knobs fantastic, high, and queer, but now they cut it in bobs or curl it round their ears. The things they do and wear today, would make their fogyShow MoreRelatedWomen s Rights Within The Viking Age924 Words   |  4 Pagesof men over women had been accepted to such a degree that it appeared to be the natural order of th ings . Popular imagination was of male Viking warriors with their long beards, large axes, colorful shields, and bloodied swords. The presence of women was limited within the scope of early works. The historiographical study of women’s rights within the Viking Age is in its early stages. The academic fields of gender and women’s studies gained greater prominence beginning in the 1970’s, coinciding withRead MoreWomen s Rights During The Victorian Age1486 Words   |  6 Pagesfemale monarch, women faced many inequalities and suffering during the Victorian age. Examples of these inequalities include not having the right to vote, unequal educational and employment opportunities. Women were even denied the legal right to divorce in most cases. As the Norton Anthology states, these debates over women’s rights and their roles came to be known as the â€Å"woman question† by the Victorians. This lead to many conflicting struggles, such as the desire by a ll for women to be educatedRead MoreAge of Reform in America1218 Words   |  5 Pages1800#8217;s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women#8217;s rights. These movements were the result of our nation#8217;s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in. Between the 1820#8217;s and 1860#8217;sRead MoreSpeech And Writing Of Elizabeth Barrett Browning1002 Words   |  5 Pageslife at all. But that she had not lived enough to know,† -Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Aurora Leigh v. 187). In the Victorian Age, a woman s greatest duty was that of being a wife and a mother. Women were told that they must be graceful, quiet, dependent, passive and to love with an absence of passion. They were of little individual worth apart from their husbands. A woman s enthusiastic interest in a higher, more advanced education was most definitely frowned upon by society. Elizabeth Barrett BrowningRead MoreStatus of Woman in Indian Society1230 Words   |  5 PagesSTATUS OF WOMEN IN THE PAST TO THE PRESENT Ancient India:- In ancient India, the women enjoyed equal status with men in all fields of life. Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period. Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their husband. Scriptures such as Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi. AccordingRead MoreRalph Waldo Emersons Connection To Transcendentalism1223 Words   |  5 Pagesinvolved viewing women as equal. Philip F. Gura, Transcendentalism and Social Reform, History Now, assessed May 14, 2017, https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/first-age-reform/essays/transcendentalism-and-social-reform. Emerson s support for women s suffrage prompted him to write A Reasonable Reform to promote anti-suffrage and allow women to vote so that it [brings] together a cultivated society of both sexes. Ralph Waldo Emerson, A Reasonable Reform (1881), in Women s Suffrage AssociationRead MoreExploring Their Rights And Encountering Change : Women Of The 1920s1344 Words   |  6 PagesExploring Their Rights and Encountering Change: Women of the 1920s Today, women have the same rights as men, but it wasn’t always that way. Women had very little rights in the 1920s. In this paper, we will look into the struggles of women, how their jobs changed from when they gained their rights, and finally we will go over some famous activists. The campaign for women’s suffrage began in the earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 19th century, as male suffrage was slowly extendedRead MoreShould Abortion Be Legal?1652 Words   |  7 Pagesis the case of many unborn children. In today s society teens are allowed to have abortions with or without parental consent, even under the age of 18. Allowing abortions is overriding the basic human rights. Teens under the age of 18 shouldn t be allowed to have an abortion because of the basic human rights of a fetus. Teens themselves don t have certain rights so how are they allowed to have rights over someone else s life. Teens under the age of 18 can t get major surgeries without parentalRead More Age Of Reform In America Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesAmerican reform movements in the early to mid 1800amp;#8217;s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opin ions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and womenamp;#8217;s rights. These movements were the result of our nationamp;#8217;s self-determination and interest in improving the societyRead MoreProgression Of Women s Rights1229 Words   |  5 PagesProgression of Women’s Rights The Gilded Age caused the solution of many problems to not happen. During this time, in the late 19th century, there was extreme corruption that was not being fixed. Soon, in 1890, the rise of progressivism took place, trying to fix the problems that were made. Many different progressive era reformers focused on many different issues and tried to mend the corruption relating to that specific topic. Women’s rights was a huge problem during this time, and two specific

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Differences of Hiphop and Rap Music free essay sample

Hip-hop and Rap are two of the most popular kinds of music In the subculture. Despite being popular, There are three mall differences between rap and hip-hop like musical features, culture and community message. Firstly,The musical features of rap and hip-hop show some discrepancies Rap Is a combination of rhyming and poetry to a musical beat contrary to Rap.On the other hand, hip-hop music Includes rhythm,blues and beat boxing. Secondly, The culture of rap music Is focused on poetry and quality of lyrics. Rap music has a strong background In Improvisational poetry. The artists or rappers are expected to create poetry that discusses the main Issues of the community, politics, or media events. While the artists In this area of music are men, hip hop music Is a mixture of men and woman. Rap groups are also fairly rare, with most rappers being solo artists.Then , The community message of hip-hop and rap songs looks like subject-object relation. We will write a custom essay sample on The Differences of Hiphop and Rap Music or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Take for an example; Hip Hop is the teacher. But,Rap is the show-off. Hip Hop talks about everything negative and makes it positive. Alt teaches lessons that anyone can learn from. They do it for the love of the music. Unfortunately,Rap talks about jewelry, shoes, falling in love with a stripped, the color in your shirt, and anything else. To sum up, All of properties make us distinguish to hip-hop and rap shows the differences clearly.

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Christianity Questioned Essays - Culture, Arts And Crafts Movement

Christianity Questioned In "Christianity and the Machine Age," Eric Gill attempts to prove that Christianity is true. To answer this question, Gill turns not to philosophers, theologians or archaeologists, but to his own consciousness. "If there be God, if there be Christ,... it is to man, to the individual man that he calls." (Gill, 219) Gill bases his argument on the presumption that the truth is the correspondence of thought with thing. "In Christianity thought and thing correspond. It is in that sense that we say Christianity is true, is the truth." (Gill, 219) Gill says that what he knows of Christ corresponds with what he knows and desires and loves as a human. Gill also asserts that he has no reason to suppose that he is any "different in kind or in powers or in experience from other men." (Gill, 219) Gill says it follows that since Christianity is true for him, it must then also be true for all men. According to Gill, those who do not accept the truth of Christianity are simply wrong. Gill continues, asserting that Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and all other faiths are lesser because they are "more partial, less profound, and therefore less widespread." (Gill, 219) This is a poor argument considering that Christians were a minority group for thousands of years. While Gill does not feel that other faiths are untrue, he says that the only faith with a clear view of reality is Christianity. "Observe, for example, an object under a microscope. Attempt to get it into focus. But, unless the object be absolutely flat, you will get one level in focus and not another. You will not be able to see it all at once, and you will perhaps pass some levels altogether." (Gill, 219) This metaphor is an excellent way to explain why so many differing religions exist when there is only one Truth. Gill does not, however, provide any reason to assume that Christianity is seeing the truth any more clearly than the other major world religions. The argument that Christianity is more correct because it"affirms" more sets Christianity as the lowest common denominator. This does not prove that the truth as seen through the Christian ?microscope' is any clearer that when the truth is viewed through any other religion's ?microscope.' Gill's point about denials is well made, however. "The only thing to beware of is denial. It is on the plane of denials that we fall foul of one another." (Gill, 219) I agree with Gill that it is more productive to examine the commonalties than the conflicts when comparing religions. Gill's purpose in attempting to answer such a profound question is tied to his definition of proper work in the Age of Machines. "Christianity...must imply something as to the object of human life and the object of human work." (Gill, 220) Gill says that if Christianity is removed from the process of work, the work(wo)man will be lowered to a subhuman condition by degrading labor and focusing on profit-gaining ends. For Gill, this is the true threat of the Machine Age. "The effect of the Machine Age is to secularize human life, to abolish the Christian criterion of holiness, understood both morally and intellectually." (Gill, 235) Gill does allow that machines may help to alleviate some of the suffering that exists in the world, but he has no confidence that the influence of capitalist industrialism will be overcome. "The spirit which has animated merchants and industrialists and financiers from the beginning of the Machine Age, whether in big business or small, is not the provision of social amenity or the relief of suffering, but the aggrandizement of themselves." (Gill, 235) For Gill the only hope for humanity lies in the creation of a Christian world, a world based on "Christian faith, ruled by Christian thought, and moved by a Christian will." (Gill, 236) I agree with many of the values and ideals that Gill espouses. It is obvious that something must change, particularly with regard to the overemphasis on the profit motive. I do, however, disagree with his notion that these ideals can only be applied through the template of Christianity. Christian leaders have shown themselves to be no more fair or humane than non-Christians. Neither has the influence of Christian religious leaders, particularly Catholic leaders, been proven superior. If fact, the countries most deeply entrenched in industrial capitalism are predominantly Christian. Any challenge to the status quo, whether issued by a Buddhist or a Christian, would be an excellent start in the effort to change

Sunday, March 8, 2020

How to Use String Substitution in Ruby

How to Use String Substitution in Ruby Splitting a string is only one way to manipulate string data. You can also make substitutions to replace one part of a string with another string. For instance, in an example string (foo,bar,baz) replacing foo with boo in would yield boo,bar,baz. You can do this and many more things using the sub and gsub method in the string class. Many Options for Ruby Substitution The substitution methods come in two varieties. The sub method is the most basic of the two and comes with the least number of surprises. It simply replaces the first instance of the designated pattern with the replacement. Whereas sub only replaces the first instance, the gsub method replaces every instance of the pattern with the replacement. In addition, both sub and gsub have sub! and gsub! counterparts. Remember, methods in Ruby that end in an exclamation point alter the variable in place instead of returning a modified copy. Search and Replace The most basic usage of the substitution methods is to replace one static search string with one static replacement string. In the above example, foo was replaced with boo. This can be done for the first occurrence of foo in the string using the sub method or with all occurrences of foo using the gsub method. #!/usr/bin/env rubya foo,bar,bazb a.sub( foo, boo )puts b $ ./1.rbfoo,bar,bazgsub$ ./1.rbboo,bar,baz Flexible Searching Searching for static strings can only go so far. Eventually, youll run into cases where a subset of strings or strings with optional components will need to be matched. The substitution methods can, of course, match regular expressions instead of static strings. This allows them to be much more flexible and match virtually any text you can dream up. This example is a little more real world. Imagine a set of comma-separated values. These values are fed into a tabulation program over which you have no control (closed source). The program that generates these values is closed source as well, but its outputting some badly-formatted data. Some fields have spaces after the comma and this is causing the tabulator program to break. One possible solution is to write a Ruby program to act as glue, or a filter, between the two programs. This Ruby program will fix any problems in the data formatting so the tabulator can do its job. To do this, its quite simple: replace a comma followed by a number of spaces with just a comma. #!/usr/bin/env rubySTDIN.each do|l|l.gsub!( /, /, , )puts lend gsub$ cat data.txt10, 20, 3012.8, 10.4,11gsub$ cat data.txt | ./2.rb10,20,3012.8,10.4,11 Flexible Replacements Now imagine this situation. In addition to the minor formatting errors, the program that produces the data produces number data in scientific notation. The tabulator program doesnt understand this, so youre going to have to replace it. Obviously, a simple gsub wont do here because the replacement will be different every time the replacement is done. Luckily, the substitution methods can take a block for the substitution arguments. For each time the search string is found, the text that matched the search string (or regex) is passed to this block. The value yielded by the block is used as the substitution string. In this example, a floating point number in scientific notation form (such as 1.232e4) is converted to a normal number with a decimal point. The string is converted to a number with to_f, then the number is formatted using a format string. #!/usr/bin/env rubySTDIN.each do|l|l.gsub!( /-?\d\.\de-?\d/) do|n|%.3f % n.to_fendl.gsub!( /, /, , )puts lend gsub$ cat floatdata.txt2.215e-1, 54, 113.15668e6, 21, 7gsub$ cat floatdata.txt | ./3.rb0.222,54,113156680.000,21,7 Not Familiar With Regular Expressions? Lets take a step back and look at that regular expression. It looks cryptic and complicated, but its very simple. If youre not familiar with regular expressions, they can be quite cryptic. However, once you are familiar with them, theyre straightforward and natural methods of describing text. There are a number of elements, and several of the elements have quantifiers. The primary element here is the \d character class. This will match any digit, the characters 0 through 9. The quantifier is used with the digit character class to signify that one or more of these digits should be matched in a row. You have three groups of digits, two separated by a . and the other separated by the letter e (for exponent). The second element floating around is the minus character, which uses the ? quantifier. This means zero or one of these elements. So, in short, there may or may not be negative signs at the beginning of the number or exponent. The two other elements are the . (period) character and the e character. Combine all this, and you get a regular expression (or set of rules for matching text) that matches numbers in scientific form (such as 12.34e56).

Friday, February 21, 2020

How does decentralised cooperation help Asian cities adopt and Essay

How does decentralised cooperation help Asian cities adopt and implement the integrated approaches to urban heritage conservation by setting up the appropriate - Essay Example cooperation strategy precede the actual live case study of a successful development cooperation between the cities of Chinon and Luang Prabang.The case study exemplifies that the ten year old development cooperation was a success owing to active funding, lively and positive political will, international and domestic partnering, involvement and empowering of local population, creation of a regulatory framework, creation of an accountable and audited nation wide system of organizations entrusted with the task of urban regeneration integrated with harmonious protection of cultural heritage and proper system of regeneration and conservation skills transfer and training. Further discussions reveal that many Asian cities can benefit by replicating the Chinon and Luang Prabang model. The paper suggests that future research can continuously probe the need to apply this model to various regions in Asia which will not only result in harmonious urbanization of these areas without damaging their culture but also work to broaden the horizons of international partners who would also gain from the Asian context. Asia-Pacific region is privileged to possess a vast and ancient cultural heritage. For such a long time, this heritage has shaped much of the lives and value systems of the regions’ peoples. However, heritage is more than a mere historical record of the past; on the contrary, it is an integral part of the identity, and a symbol of the cultural identity of the citizens and the communities of the region. Notwithstanding this, Asia is under pressure from various influences. For one, there is globalisation and the need to modernize, two, from unabated increase in population of the region, and, three, from the burgeoning demands of tourism. As a consequence, many cities have come to recognise that their time-preserved cultural heritages are facing the danger of being destroyed in the name of economic development and modernisation. Rapid and large-scale industrialisation and

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Food Allergys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Food Allergys - Essay Example Family background and age seem to be known causes of certain allergies. Hay fever, asthma, hives and eczema can be traced back to specific family backgrounds. While allergies such as milk, soy, wheat and eggs are considered to be more age related and occur mostly in children. In adults, food allergies are most commonly connected with the ingestion of peanuts, fish and shellfish. Recent studies also suggest that an immune system defect may also cause food allergies. Dr. Claudio Nicoletti of the Institute of Food Research in the United Kingdom believes that an allergy happens in 2 stages. He explains that "There are two stages to food allergy. The first is sensitisation, when the immune system starts producing an antibody in response to eating a food. The second is when that food is eaten for a second time, triggering an allergic reaction. We have identified an immune response malfunction that occurs in the sensitisation stage, which could provide a target for future therapies," (qtd. in FoodQuality news.com) Food Allergies are estimated to occur in 6 to 8 percent of infants and young children. A number of these children outgrow their Food Allergies over the first three to five years of life.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Wetherspoons company in UK

The Wetherspoons company in UK JD Wetherspoon PLC is a UK based company involved in the development and management of public houses in the UK (REUTERS). The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates its business through 793 pubs all over the UK (WETHERSPOON). It provides food and a variety of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks to its customers at competitive prices. Wetherspoon is known for its cheap drinks and food promotions. It also focuses heavily on its breakfast and coffee menus. In addition to traditional pubs, the company also operates newer styled bars providing a more vibrant and contemporary atmosphere under the Lloyds No 1 brand name. It also operates a relatively new hotel chain consisting of 16 hotels. Wetherspoon was founded by Tim Martin in 1979 with the first pub in London. In its early days, the company grew by opening pubs in unusual former retail locations. Over the 80s the company differentiated itself from other pubs by ridding itself of music, television and games and thus created a unique identity. In 1992 it was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a UK wide chain of around 40 pubs. Going public, provided wetherspoon with the required funding to expand and within the next four years the number of pubs in the chain quadrupled to 160. In the late 90s, the company diversified into the lodging business which still represents a very small proportion of their revenues. Over the past ten years wetherspoon has continued to expand and has successfully established a reputable network of pubs throughout the U.K. This report focuses on critically analysing JD wetherspoons strategic, financial and stock market performance over the past five years in comparison with its competitors and the industry as a whole. In conclusion the report will attempt to make recommendations to a potential investor regarding potential in the company. Strategic Analysis Pubs lie at the heart of British life and culture. Going to pubs has been one of the primary sources of entertainment in the country. According to the Social Issues Research Center (SIRC), an Oxford based not for profit social research organisation, over 75% of the adult British Population goes to pubs and over a third are regulars who go to pubs at least once a week (SIRC). This represents an industry with a customer base of roughly 37 million people. Broad business environment The broad business environment in the UK has changed drastically over the last decade. There have been about 300 pieces of government regulation in the public house sector along with tax increases, smoking ban, and changes in consumer lifestyles and attitudes towards going out and drinking. Pubs have needed to change with the times in order to retain their margins and remain profitable. Those successful have adopted an active strategy of evolving their business with the changing times. A detailed PESTEL analysis has been conducted to analyse the broad business environment and its effects on the Pub industry. Please see Appendix A for the full analysis. The most significant factors responsible for shaping the business environment in the pub industry have been discussed below. Political Factors The UK pub industry has been highly regulated over the past few years. On the other hand, alcohol duty is rapidly increasing and is many times more than in other European nations. This coupled with the rising VAT and increased government activism against binge drinking and alcohol abuse has made it difficult for the pub operators to operate and maintain their margins. Economic Factors The Global economic crisis has led to consumer spending cuts, thereby leading to a decline in pub sales. Moreover rising national minimum wage and aggressive price competition with supermarkets are narrowing pubs margins and leading to reduced profits. However government intention to ban sale of below cost alcohol might come as a slight respite to the pub industry. Social Factors The rising national concern over Britains alcohol habits, have manifested itself in a number of ways. People are beginning to fully understand the problem and the government is taking steps to curb binge drinking and alcohol abuse. The UK drinks industry has launched a huge campaign to address this concern and to make people more aware about the problems associated with irresponsible drinking. Technological Factors The advent of technology has changed societys idea of entertainment, shifting it more inside the confines of the household. This has led to declining public interest in pubs. Pub operators have also increased their investment in technology considerably, in order to enhance the pub experience. These include among others, investments in television systems for sports, electronic point of sale systems and refrigeration systems to store alcohol at precise temperatures. Environmental Factors Pub retailers are becoming environmentally conscious and have taken steps to recycle most of the waste products particularly food, in order to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites. This is a great opportunity for pubs to portray themselves as socially responsible. Legal Factors The Licensing law allowed licensed pubs to potentially open 24 hours a day. This has been a huge opportunity for the pub industry and has increased competition. The law is currently under scrutiny by the government. Any changes to it might have a major impact on the industry. The drink driving laws over the past few years have also been made stringent. This has resulted in consumers avoiding driving to pubs and preferring to drink at home in order to avoid committing a drink driving offence. The above factors have had a very profound impact on all the major pub operators. They have responded to the environment and adjusted their strategy in order to succeed in these conditions. There has been a strategic focus on innovation in the pub industry through food development, skills training, interior enhancement etc. With growth in alternative forms of entertainment, socio-political pressures on pub operator margins, and tough economic climate, most of the market players are looking to diversify into the relatively less volatile and high margin businesses. Industry analysis With over 50,000 pubs catering to over 35 million customers, the pub sector represents a highly fragmented industry. The industry consists of a few big players with a chain of pubs throughout the UK. The six biggest pub chains own only about 42% of the total number of pubs. The biggest players in the industry by turnover, along with their main brands and number of outlets are as follows. Source : Mintel Pub Catering UK September 2010 While wetherspoon operates only managed pubs at city centre locations in major towns and cities throughout the UK (MINTEL, 2010), the business models for some of the other major players in the industry are very different and diverse. Punch Taverns operated both leased and managed pubs. Although a major proportion of their business comprises of leased pubs, they still have over 800 managed pubs in the UK. Enterprise Inns on the other hand only operates leased and tenanted pubs. Greene King has a much more segmented business model wherein its operations are divided into over 2400 managed, leased tenanted pubs and restaurants, two breweries, and a number of wholesale depots. Marstons has a similar mix of activities with over 2100 managed and tenanted pubs and bars, five breweries and wholesale facilities. Mitchells and Butlers (MB) operates managed pubs and pub restaurants mainly in the UK, but also has a small number of pub restaurants (43) in Germany. A very small proportion of their total estate consists of leased and franchised sites. They are the largest operator of managed pubs with over 1800 managed pubs in the UK. Competition for the smaller 58% of the pubs is largely limited to players in the local market. For example an individual pub in Leeds only competed with other individual pubs in Leeds. In order to analyse the pub industry in detail a full analysis has been conducted based on Porters five forces framework (Appendix B). The major outcomes of the analysis are as follows Threat of Entry Starting up a pub is reasonably easy process due to an undifferentiated market, and fairly low set up costs. Obtaining the individual pub license is fairly straightforward. Besides easy access to supply channels and low cost capital, have led to a significant threat of entry. However, a large scale of operations, popular brand identity, experience in the industry and established distribution channels are essential to operate competitively in the industry. Moreover increased government legislation and extraordinary levels of taxation in the sector have made it unattractive to new entrants, thus restricting the threat of entry to some extent. Threat of Substitutes Supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and off licensing shops represent a group of substitutes to public houses. Supermarkets in particular enjoy huge economies of scale and are in a position to undercut pub-prices. The perceived performance to price ratio to the consumer defines their choice between pubs and their substitutes. Although supermarkets cannot replicate the value added services provided by pubs, with the global financial crisis affecting disposable incomes, consumers have become highly price sensitive, thus increasing the threat of substitutes to a moderately high level. Bargaining power of buyers Buyers bargaining power has traditionally been moderately high due to low switching costs and easy availability alternatives. Recent trends categorised by declining alcohol consumption, low consumer disposable incomes, consumer preferences of drinking at home have further increased buyers power. Bargaining powers of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is quite high as the industry due to the dominance of a concentrated group of suppliers. A number of suppliers own powerful brands and hence pubs have to buy from them in order to satisfy consumer demands. Moreover, supply agreements such as tied house contracts give the suppliers an upper hand. The high power suppliers mean that pub operators, who have their own breweries and wholesale depots, have an obvious advantage. Competitive Rivalry The industry has traditionally been a growth industry with most major players looking to expand and open more pubs. However, pub margins have declined over the years and large volumes have become increasingly critical for pub companies to survive. The threat of competition from supermarkets has also become significant and combined with moderately high threat of entry, and strong bargaining power of customers, has led to increasing levels of competitive rivalry. The industry is categorised by low levels of product differentiation and aggressive price wars between competitors. The declining alcohol consumption, sluggish market growth, high taxes and pub closure rates have resulted in aggressive competition for retaining revenues. The pub industry is in a state of consolidation. The business environment has been tough and falling margins has made it difficult for pubs to meet their costs. With pub closure rates having reached record levels in 2009; all the major pub chains are in the process of reviewing and reorganising their business in order to adapt to the changing conditions. Wetherspoons Strategy Wetherspoon has adhered to simple principles of cleanliness, cheap drinks and good value food. With no music, wetherspoon pubs are seen as places where people can interact with friends over a round of drinks or food. The principle strategy that separates wetherspoon from most of its competitors is its focus on the consumer. Whilst a number of competitors lease their pubs out and are therefore less concerned about the ultimate consumer, wetherspoon makes constant efforts to innovate and enhance the consumer experience. This has given them the competitive edge over their competitors and hence they have chosen to stick to the 100% managed pubs business model. Wetherspoon has traditionally been quick to foresee impending changes in the business environment and strategise in order to adapt. They have stuck to their low price high revenue pricing strategy. Their efforts to provide products at the lowest price possible has been considerable success in recent times as customers have become highly price sensitive and are looking for value for money. They expect their promotions to remain a key driver to high revenues. Wetherspoon is aiming at rapid organic and inorganic growth by opening up new pubs and developing and refurbishing the existing ones. The economic downturn has provided it with the perfect opportunity to expand given low property prices and continued profitability of their pubs. Wetherspoon plans to open 250 new pubs in the period 2009 2014 (RICHARD WACHMAN, 2009). Their expansion strategy involves taking over underperforming bargain pubs and turning them around to profitability. The company rents most its pubs as opposed to buying them in a bid to keep its debt levels low. This has approach has enabled them to reach a position where they have considerable amounts of money to invest whilst their competitors are finding it very difficult to service their rising debts. Wetherspoon is focussing on developing their high margin food and coffee business. Wetherspoon started opening their pubs at 7A.M. to capitalise on early morning coffee and breakfast demand. This has also led to increase in overhead costs but having been rewarded with a 40% increase in coffee and breakfast sales, wetherspoon will continue to focus on the diversified product mix to stabilise and improve their overall margins. The company have invested significantly towards improving their service and standards. They have focussed on personnel and training and are making efforts to enhance customer experience in order to further boost the value provided for the money they charge their customers. Their strategy involves a number of efforts to portray themselves as a responsible business by taking on ethical business practices such as proper implementation of Challenge 21, conserving resources, recycling waste and reducing energy consumption. Wetherspoons chairman, Tim Martin owns around 23% of the company. This helps to reduce agency costs as the objectives of owners and management are likely to be more closely aligned. His 31 year long experience in the industry gives wetherspoon a strategic advantage over its competitors. The companys CEO John Hutson, has also been with the company for more than 20 years. There have been a few problems with the companys management in the past, most significantly the technical breach of the Companies Act 2006 in 2008, when the company failed to file the interim accounts with the registrar of companies prior to paying the 2007 final dividend and repurchasing its shares from the market (JD WETHERSPOON, 2008). Such incidents lead to financial and reputational losses and dent the public image of the firm. More recently, the unexpected resignations of the companys finance director Keith Down and its cheif operating officer Paul Harbottle have raised concerns about the managerial longevity of its board of directors. Financial Statement Analysis This section will analyse wetherspoons financial performance over the past five years as compared to its competitors and the industry in general. Of the competitors identified in the above section, Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns have a more similar business model to wetherspoon and hence their performance has extensively been used as a benchmark in this section. Year 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 Revenues (Â £million) 996.33 955.12 907.50 888.47 847.52 Table: Wetherspoons revenues for the past five years Turnover and Profitability Wetherspoon has experienced consistent growth in revenues over the past decade. Rebasing the revenue at the 2006 levels, wetherspoon seem to have outperformed most of the competition in terms of revenue. Although its revenue growth is one of the highest in the industry, it is still far behind Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns in absolute sales numbers. A significant proportion of Wetherspoons revenue comes from its new pubs. Over the past few years absolute revenues from new pubs has remarkably increased with wetherspoon opening more pubs year by year. In 2010, an extraordinary 97.68% of the growth in revenues was attributable to revenues from new pubs while like for like sales only accounted for 2.38% of the revenue growth. This is up from new pubs contributing 77.13% of revenue growth in 2009 and 57% in 2006. This indicates saturation in the revenue capacity of the already established pubs and exemplifies the importance of wetherspoons growth strategy to its revenues. Wetherspoons cost of sales (COS) is the highest amidst the competitors. Over the past five years, the wetherspoons average COS has been over 80% of revenue. This combined with other operating costs leads to an average operating profit of just under 10%. This is considerably low, compared to its competitors specially Enterprise Inns which has an average operating profit of over 55% in the 5 year period. The big difference in operating profit is to a large extent representative of the differences in business models of these companies. As JD Wetherspoon operates managed pubs only, the cost of retail sales is significant. On the other hand, the revenues of some of the competitors like Enterprise Inns, Marstons and Greene King are composed of the less costly rent, lease receipts and proceeds from the wholesale sales from their breweries and other alcohol manufacturing facilities. Since wetherspoons activities are more direct cost intensive, the higher cost of sales is understandable. A unique factor which distinguishes wetherspoon from its competitors is the low and stable debt interest levels. Wetherspoons interest expenses on debt were lower by over 210 million as compared to Punch Taverns for the financial year 2009-10. Besides lower levels of total debt, a low effective weighted average rate of interest on debt has contributed to the smaller interest charge. While wetherspoon are able to borrow at an average of 5.47%, the weighted average interest on debt for Punch Taverns in 6.8% on secured loan notes and 6.5% on finance leases. This is either due to relatively good swap management of interest rate, a safer credit profile, or lower principle amount and maturity period of the loans. This gives wetherspoon a big competitive advantage and enables them to retain a sizeable proportion of their operating profit as Net profit. Excluding the interest charge, Punch Taverns net profit would have been higher than that of wetherspoon. This illustrates the real impact of interest on debt on the relative profitability of these firms. Wetherspoons exceptional items solely comprised of impairment of property and fixed assets and amounted to 10.6 million this year. This represents a steep reduction of 47% from last years figure of 19.9 million and is primarily attributed to no litigation costs and property related write downs. Wetherspoons net profit has been very consistent over the past few years as opposed to its competitors. The tough global economic climate and the hostile business environment in the pub sector have led to a sizeable decline in profits for both Punch Taverns and Mitchell and Butlers. On the other hand wetherspoons consistent growth in revenue combined with low relative impairment losses and interest on debt has enabled it to maintain a profit of 40.78 million in 2010. This is a 61% rise from its profits in 2009. This compared with losses of 84 million and 159.90 million from Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns, reflects an overall superior performance by wetherspoon in terms of profitability. As per the chart above, wetherspoons return on assets and return on capital invested are immensely higher than both of its competitors. The two ratios rose 37.42% and 48.78% respectively from their 2009 levels. These jumps are primarily because of the 61% jump in earnings and represents excellent management of resources by the companys management. Wetherspoon rents a majority of its pubs and hence has a low level of noncurrent assets. This is the primary reason for the high asset turnover and return on assets. Wetherspoons revenues are 1.12 times of their total assets as opposed to Punch Taverns 0.22. This astoundingly high ratio represents wetherspoons highly competitive pricing strategy and its low margin, high volume operations. Wetherspoons ability to extract over 3-4 times more revenue than its competitors, gives it a clear competitive edge. Liquidity A majority of the assets in pub businesses tend to be non-current and hence the short term liquidity ratios tend to be lower. Moreover since the current assets in managed and operated pubs are mostly cash and other very liquid items, slightly lower current ratios are not deemed to be very risky. Wetherspoons current ratio of 0.37 is amongst the lowest in the industry. This has been fairly stable over the past five years with a standard deviation of a mere 0.064. Mitchell and Butlers and Punch Taverns have much higher current ratio of 0.64 and 1.27 respectively. Similarly, Wetherspoons quick ratio of 0.18 is nearly a fifth of Punch Taverns ratio. Wetherspoons current and quick ratios are both the lowest and the most stable in the industry with standard deviations of 0.064 and 0.036 respectively. The incredible stability of the ratio indicates a strategic approach to business operations. Very low liquidity ratios generally mean trouble for businesses, as they are indicators of inability to honour short term obligations. Theoretically, if all the current liabilities need to be paid off, wetherspoon will not have to resort to selling its fixed assets in order to arrange for the payment. However, cash payments from its customers along with favourable and stable credit terms with suppliers ensure that wetherspoon are able to manage will low current and quick ratios. They attempt to keep the current ratio at a reasonably low level in order to extracts maximum value from their current assets. Nevertheless, a current ratio of 0.37 is too low compared to the competitors and hence liquidity issues are more likely. Punch Taverns liquidity ratios are a lot higher primarily due to a high amount of receivables mainly caused by its leased and rented pub business. In those businesses, punch taverns tenants are likely to have a payment period within which they can settle the rent/lease payments. This leads to a significant amount of trade receivables. On the other hand almost all of wetherspoons revenues are retail cash revenues and hence the receivables are either due to prepayments or accrued income Wetherspoons receivables are only about 10 of Punch Taverns which it converts into cash within 1.64 days. This is many times lower than its competitors. Moreover inventories held days is a mere 8.5 days representing a quick and highly efficient cash cycle. Gearing Wetherspoons business model of operating with low level of debt is quite unique in the pub industry. The company enjoys the lowest level of long term debt amidst its competitors. Wetherspoons long term debt of 411.64 million is just 8.6% of that of Punch Taverns. MB and Punch Taverns on the other hand have debts of over 2 billion pounds. A low level of debt despite an active growth strategy and a consistent rise in its plant property and equipment (PPE) is a rare phenomenon. Wetherspoons managed to make this happen by renting quite a few of its pubs and managing debt efficiently. The extraordinarily low levels of debt at wetherspoon are matched by an almost equally low relative level of common equity. As a result wetherspoons Debt equity ratio is not as different from its competitors. Wetherspoons total debts are 2.56 times its equity as compared to 2.89 for Mitchells Butlers and 2.42 for Punch Taverns. The ratio used to be 1.83 in 2006, before the company initiated massive share repurchase programme which was largely financed by additional debt. As per the above table, their Total Debt to Earnings before interest and tax ratio has been the lowest in the industry. Over the years, as other companies have taken more debt relative to their earnings, wetherspoon has continued to utilise its debt with the same efficiency in order to generate earnings. Dividends Wetherspoons dividend payout ratio is incredibly high for a company which is in the growth stage of its lifecycle. In 2010 wetherspoon paid 64.19% of its net income as dividends. This represents a 292% jump from the 2006 dividend payout and is the highest in the industry. While Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns havent paid dividends in the past two years, wetherspoon has continued to pay dividends at an average of about 39% of their net profit in the past 5 years. Wetherspoon declared a yearlong dividend freeze in during the financial year 2008-09 in order to direct its cash flows towards debt reduction. The freeze was ended in March 2010 once the new 530 million banking facility was renegotiated. Now with the financing issues sorted, a progressive dividend policy can be expected from wetherspoons management as a measure to signal a bullish future outlook. Cash Flow Analysis In 2009, the pub industry experienced a sharp decline in cash flow as most of the players make efforts to deleverage themselves post the credit crunch. Wetherspoons went from being a cash generator of 7.15 million in 2007 to a cash sink of 2.6 million in 2008. The financing outflows jumped threefolds mainly due to dividend payments of 17.38 million and repurchases of one million shares from the market. The net cash flow continued to be negative in 2009 primarily due to the repayment of long term debts to the tune of around 45 million pounds. Since then the cash position of the company has recovered and the company was a cash generator of 2.48 million in 2010. Wetherspoons has a positive growth in cash inflow from operating activities, but the overall level of operating inflow is low. While Punch Taverns operating inflows are declining due to dwindling revenue and profits, Mitchells and Butlers in contrast, enjoy a much better cash flow from operating activities and hence has access to a bigger pool of funds for its investing and financing activities. Wetherspoons growth policy has led to increased cash outflows from investing activities by over twice the amount in 2006. On the contrary Mitchells Butlers has decreased their cash outflows in investing activities. This is due to their strategic sale of a number of pubs in order to concentrate on the high margin food business. Wetherspoons repayment of the USD 140 million private placement was accompanied by a further advancedment of 96.68 million pounds of long term loans. As a result the cash outflow from financing activities decreased significantly from last year. The total cash flow position would have been much worse, if the company hadnt put a freeze on dividends in 2009. Wetherspoons decision to not declare a final dividend for the financial year 2008-2009 ensured prevented a further cash deficit, given the high levels of capital expenditure in 2009. Accounting policies and Problems in Comparison Given the immaterial size of the companies hotel business, and no international operations, wetherspoon doesnt split its results by business or geographical segments in accordance with the IAS 14. Wetherspoon follows a historic cost model and does not revalue its non current assets. Punch Taverns follow the same method, however Mitchells and Butlers actively revalue its assets. This can lead to distortions in actual value of non current assets and makes them uncomparable. For example Wetherspoon unlike Mitchells Butlers ignores the effect of inflation on the value of its assets. While wetherspoon depreciates fixtures and fittings over a time period of 3-10 years, Mitchells and Butlers do it over a period of 3-20 years. This can further make the asset values uncomparable. Stock Market Analysis The FTSE 350 index seems to be very highly correlated to the FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure index. Prior to the subprime crisis, the travel and leisure index seems to be doing marginally better, while post crisis, the FTSE 350 has slightly outperformed the FTSE 350 travel and leisure index. JD Wetherspoon has outperformed both the indices almost all the time during the last 5 years except for a brief period in 2008 because of the immediate effect of the economic crisis. As per the above graph, JD wetherspoon has consistently outperformed Punch Taverns throughout the past five years. It has also better than Mitchells Butlers since the middle of 2008. This is primarily due to relatively higher revenues and profits at wetherspoon. Wetherspoons expansion strategy has enhanced its future outlook and given a boost to the companys share price. January 06 March 07 The period from Jan 2006 until the beginning of 2007 saw a very sharp increase in wetherspoons share price. While the travel and leisure index only rose up by around 25%, wetherspoon rose by a phenomenal 120%. The football world cup kick-started the 8 month long rally in the travel leisure index. Wetherspoon took advantage of the opportunity by abandoning its no television policy and showing the matches in its pubs. Moreover, they also started to establish a very strong foothold in the coffee and breakfast market. Besides strong financial performance in 2006, wetherspoons purchase of 800,000 of its own shares in September 2006 (REUTERS, 2006) , the interest of Schroder Investment Management in 12.05% of its total common shares, along with significant interests from Aegon UK and Global Value fund Sicav, were one of the primary reasons why wetherspoons rose to its all time high level of 761 pence in March 2007. April 07 September 2008 The smoking ban was implemented in the UK with effect from July 2007. As expected, the ban put immense downward pressures on pub revenues, thereby leading to a crash in share prices. The travel and leisure index crashed around 30% by the end of the year and wetherspoon lost 50% of its value. 2008 presented even worse economic conditions for the pub industry with the advent of the credit crisis. All major pub operators continued to face loss of revenues and hence saw a significant decline in their share price. The extreme volatility in credit markets forced Mitchells Butlers to shelve a 4.5 billion pound property deal (BLAND, Ben, 2007) leading to losses of 274 million pounds on hedges tied to the transaction. Moreover, failed efforts by Punch Taverns to acquire Mitchells Butlers, led to further decline in share prices of both companies. On the other hand Wetherspoon continued to strengthen its revenues due to increased revenues in its food business. In September 2008, wetherspoon d eclared a 5.5% increase in sales and a 12p per share dividend as opposed to zero dividends and huge losses by punch taverns. As a result wetherspoons share price started to consolidate and by the end of

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Love :: essays research papers

Love Upon examination of the vast amounts of theories on love I can only find myself in a more convoluted state. Love is in fact a great mystery to me, and I have only achieved frustration in trying to explicate it. In Scott Peck's book The Roadless Traveled there are a conglomerate of avenues that are explored within the topic of love. It is here that some insight is expressed to me about this perplexing subject. Although I do feel that actual life experiences that I have been involved in recently have attributed to a better understanding of this love phenomena, some of the ideas that are expressed in this book were of tremendous merit. I find it almost prophetic that this assignment happens to fall into the same time frame as when I am at a point of heightened curiosity on this subject of Love. Why at this very moment I find myself questioning my current status with a newfound relationship. I can't help but to assume that I have found "Genuine Love" because of an overwhelming feeling of vivacious content upon finding a seemingly perfect union. Peck's views on love in this respect differ from what my thoughts have conjured up as such. And I can only infer that the words of a reputable author and doctor are more legitimate than mine. It is here that I must stop to apologize to you, Louis, for making this part of the paper far too personal than necessary. "Falling in Love" is a common myth in this society. The actual act of falling in love, according to Peck, is a misconception. There is a differentiation to be made between what is termed "falling in love" and the act of real loving. Peck describes exactly what it is that we experience when We think we have fallen in love. Much of what Peck describes as falling in love has to do with what he calls "ego boundaries". These ego boundaries are established during infancy and continue to develop throughout the person's life. These boundaries represent an individual's limits with their mental and physical power, as they are perceived by the individual. With these ego boundaries many people feel confined into their own personal identity which generally creates a feeling of loneliness. A need to form a cathexis is then developed. Peck describes it thus, "The essence of the phenomenon of falling in love is a sudden collapse of a section of an individual's ego boundaries, permitting one to merge his or her identity with that of another person. The Sudden release of oneself from oneself, the explosive pouring out of oneself into the beloved, and the

Saturday, January 11, 2020

The Appropriateness and Applicability of Behaviorism to Human Relations

The theoretical conceptualities of behaviorism cover the prime angle of behavioral perspective in aim of explaining the motives of action, rationale of attitude, and prime associates of human dimensions. The school of behaviorism covers the therapeutic interventions guided by objective and empirical approach. The concepts of behaviorism envelopes the diverse and dynamic character of human behavior that aims to discover possible patterns and links that may further organize human actions.Various theoretical frameworks that govern the behavioral concept have provided an approach to explain human actions. The theories that have aroused in this firm are Pavlov's classical conditioning, Watson's learned neuroses, and B. F. Skinner's operant conditioning, which are the skeletal backbone of behavioral perspective. With further application of the said conceptual pattern, noted limitations have also been observed. Behavior involves gradual statutory progression, which can be learned and unlear ned through suggested behavioral patterns.By learning these behavioral cues, one may possess the capabilities of predicting the probable angles of action that enhances human relations. According to the theoretical framework of Ivan Pavlov, creatures including humans possess the capacity to form their behavioral pattern through reconditioning, which popularly known as the framework of classical conditioning. Pavlov has started his experiment on the behavioral paradigm, which clearly involves animal subjects and their cravings for their needs.Nature justifies that creatures possess their necessities in order to maintain living, while classical conditioning proves that certain stimuli are triggered in response to these needs, and possess modifiability that depends on the dynamic nature. Another theoretical framework proposed is John Watson’s neuroses and behavioral modifications. Watson proposed that the possibility to induce phobias, fears and overall neuroses are even possible to the extent that it can be applied to an 11-month old infant. Furthermore, Watson has theorized that these behaviors can be further modified back into the negation or absence of the formed neuroses.The conceptual model of Watson has provided distinct explanations among maladaptive behavior that may have been present to various people. As according to the theory, these behaviors are formed due to the instillation of psychological damage presented at age of vulnerability. Lastly, the most popularly utilized conceptual pattern involves the maximum use of operant conditioning, which holds that human beings are blank slates that obtain behavioral patterns through learning experiences. Behavior theory maintains that human actions are initiated and developed through learning experiences.The major premise of behavior theory is that individuals change their behavior depending on the reactions it obtains from others: Behavior is supported by rewards and extinguished by negative consequence s or responses. The condition of the learned behavior is strengthened by reward and avoidance of punishment or weakened by lack of reward and aversive stimuli. Whether a given behavior pattern persists depends on the differential reinforcement – the rewards and punishments attached to that behavior and the rewards and punishments attached to alternative behavior.By the conceptual patterns of behaviorism school, the possibility of improving human relations could be present. As humans interact with each other, they utilize variant types of actions and attitudes that are primarily lead by their won behavioral aspect. Taking an example in the view of behavioral deviances, the conditioning of such deviant promotion modifies the personality of the person. These experiences include personally observing other individuals behaving erratically and aggressively to obtain some goal or watching people being rewarded for violent actions on television, movies or other media sources.People l earn to act aggressively when, as children, they model their behavior after the violent acts of adults. Later in life, these violent behavior patterns persist in social relationships. One example is a boy who sees his father repeatedly striking his mother with impunity is likely to become a battering parent and husband. As for human relations, the conditioning of behavior provides development of understanding on how people act and behave, which is essential especially in consideration of probable positive and negative actions.Taking behavioral perspective in account, the possibility of predicting the rationale for action, comprehension of reasons for action, and understanding of the personality of the person are all possible; hence, reducing chances of conflicts, and probable improvements of behavior through modification and conditioning. However, such theories propose limitations especially in the perspective of every individual’s unique character; since, cultural, upbringin g, and social environment varies among individuals. Human relation needs to consider as well other factors that influence behavior, such as physical, emotional, social, and cultural dimension.

Friday, January 3, 2020

List of the Strong Bases (Arrhenius Bases)

Strong bases are bases which completely dissociate in water into the cation and OH- (hydroxide ion). The hydroxides of the Group I (alkali metals) and Group II (alkaline earth) metals usually are considered to be strong bases. These are classic Arrhenius bases. Here is a list of the most common strong bases. LiOH - lithium hydroxideNaOH - sodium hydroxideKOH - potassium hydroxideRbOH - rubidium hydroxideCsOH - cesium hydroxide*Ca(OH)2 - calcium hydroxide*Sr(OH)2 - strontium hydroxide*Ba(OH)2 - barium hydroxide * These bases completely dissociate in solutions of 0.01 M or less. The other bases make solutions of 1.0 M and are 100% dissociated at that concentration. There are other strong bases than those listed, but they are not often encountered. Properties of the Strong Bases The strong bases are excellent proton (hydrogen ion) acceptors and electron donors. The strong bases can deprotonate weak acids. Aqueous solutions of strong bases are slippery and soapy. However, its never a good idea to touch a solution to test it because these bases tend to be caustic. Concentrated solutions can produce chemical burns. Superbases In addition to the strong Arrhenius bases, there are also superbases. Superbases are Lewis bases that are Group 1 salts of carbanions, such as hydrides and amides. Lewis bases tend to be even stronger than the strong Arrhenius bases because their conjugate acids are so weak. While Arrhenius bases are used as aqueous solutions, the superbases deprotonate water, reacting with it completely. In water, none of the original anion of a superbase remains in solution. The superbases are most often used in organic chemistry as reagents. Examples of the superbases include: Ethoxide ionButyl lithium (n-BuLi)Lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) (C6H14LiN)Lithium diethylamide (LDEA)Sodium amide (NaNH2)Sodium hydride (NaH)Lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide, ((CH3)3Si)2NLi