School Bullying in California Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

School Bullying in California - Research Paper Example In this strategy just like in the jigsaw puzzle, each student’s part is essential. For example, students in a history class are divided in to may be five groups and the task being to learn about World War 2. In one jigsaw group John can be responsible in researching about the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, May assigned to cover concentration Camps, Alex to cover Britain’s role in the war, Mike to research on the contribution of the Soviet Union. Eventually every student comes back to his jigsaw group and will try to present a well-organized report to the group. Thus if a member does not like the other he cannot do well on the test that follows (Barrows, 1998). This therefore encourages listening, engagement and empathy by giving everyone an essential part to play in the academic activity. Metro Center offers technical assistance that utilizes consultation methods which builds strong-client consultation relationtionship that result in sustained change and improvement. Thus district and school representatives take an active role in coming to understand and assess their own concerns rather than having to rely solely on the knowledge and skills outside experts. The NYS Spanish Bilingual Education Technical Assistance center which is funded by the New York State office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language studies has a goal to enhance the knowledge and competencies of parents, educators and community member implementation (Barrows, 1998). Teaching specific skills and values: The policy should target areas identified as universally to students. Skill acquisition and publication should be addressed and their roles in academic and social adult role modeling. Holding Parent meetings: Involving parents is essential. Group discussion is necessary as it conveys what the students and parents are learning. Teachers and Parents have been supporting these policies

Professional Sports and Michael Pore Essay Example for Free

Professional Sports and Michael Pore Essay Athletes are almost as bad of role models as criminals. Athletes get called role models a lot but they do not fit the definition of a role model. Athletes set bad examples for teens. They make poor choices and are easily forgiven due to their athletic abilities. Athletes are bad role models for teens and kids because a lot of athletes have bad habits, set unrealistic expectations, and set bad examples. In spite of their abilities, athletes are not good role models for anyone of any age. Many athletes have bad habits like drug use, fighting, and gambling. Laura K. Egendorf says many unrealistic expectations are set; not everyone can become famous or a professional athlete. Too many teens and kids look up to major athletes so they should not be setting the bad examples that they are setting (Laura K. Egendorf, 64). Not only are they setting bad examples but they have bad habits as well. Also, as teens grow older they read about their athlete hero and their bad habits. Michael A.  Pore states that any law breaking or wrong thing a professional athlete does, there is a story posted in newspaper, online, or even said on television. Michael Jordan had a gambling problem, Sammy Sosa had a steroid issue, and Riddick Bowe had a fighting problem (Michael A. Pore, 41). Some teens realize athletes are not good role models. Professional athletes are easily forgiven for their mistakes. However, professional athletes set bad examples for teens and young athletes. Michael A. Pore states that athletes are too easily forgiven for their bad behavior. You don’t need to use drugs to be good at something. They feel money comes easily, but money is not everything and does not come easily. Athletes send bad messages to kids; if you buy a certain product the athlete promotes, you will not perform better (Michael A. Pore, 40). Not everyone will perform the way professional athletes do and become famous. In Addition, athletes set unrealistic expectations for the teens and kids looking up to them. Not everyone can and will become a professional athlete. Very few people will make millions of dollars a year just for playing a sport. Michael A. Pore says teens feel if they wear a brand promoted by an athlete they will fit in with the rest of the players playing the sport. For the kids looking up to the professional athletes, they feel they have to look as strong as them or be as muscular as them to plat the sport well (Michael A. Pore, 43). A few athletes get their muscular look from steroids, not actual strength. However, steroid use is not that bad once in a while. In the article, Athletes Are Role Models it states; If you have no time for practice, steroids improve your performance. Steroids make you feel better when you do well in your game. No one will know if you do it once in a while (http://www. ickscorner. com). Steroids can help anyone any age. In any case, no one of any age should use steroids. Steroids are an illegal substance and if you get caught using them you can get a huge fine or even jail time. If you use steroids, you are just cheating yourself and the game. Not only does steroid use get looked down on but it also kills brain cells (http://forum. bodybuilding. com). If you do not have time to practice and feel like that is a reason to use steroids and perform better, than you should not have the time to be on the team. Accordingly, athletes can set realistic expectations and help teens and kids go for their dreams. Laura K. Egendorf explains how most young kids and teens want to be famous when they are older; professional athletes help them reach for that dream. As teens grow older, they continue to watch their favorite professional athlete. Watching them do well in a game will make teens want to perform like them (Laura K.  Egendorf, 64). Professional athletes make a lot of money just for playing a game, but money is not everything. On the other hand, many kids and teens get motivated but is it realistic? Very few people in the world become famous. The chances of becoming a professional athlete are really small; there are about 301,000,000 people in the United States and only about 17,000 professional athletes. â€Å"http://forum. bodybuilding. com† Being like a professional athlete is not always good; drugs are not a good thing for a teen to get into. As a result, athletes should not be role models for anyone of any age; they have bad habits, set unrealistic expectations, and set bad examples. A lot of athletes have bad habits like steroid use and gambling. Professional athletes set unrealistic examples, not everyone can and will be famous. Many bad examples are set within athletes. People get motivated for unrealistic dreams. Athletes can teach teens how to try to achieve in athletics but they can’t help with homework or real world family issues, they should not be considered role models.

Fake Thug Life :: English Literature Essays

Fake Thug Life There is a young man who inspired me to write this article. I thank him for doing a great service to the Muslim society. Turn where you will. Look to the East Coast or the West Coast and there are various Arab boys, Indian boys, and Pakistani guys who have adopted the look, lingo, and life of a "thug." I have seen it many times - this strange transformation from tapered jean-wearing, glasses-owning, nail biting ninny to chest-thumping, hard-acting, Nautica-wearing "thug." It begins at an early age with the use of slang, words like "werd!† ,"yo!", "jigga man!" It is followed by the gradual attraction towards mainstream rap. Ja Rule, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay Z. Bear in mind, this attraction to hip hop is not derived from any cultural relationship these boys feel towards "the ghetto!" Most of them have never even been to one. Regardless, they like to blare hip hop in their predominantly white high schools because it makes them stand out. Wearing ENYCE, or Sean John, on the other hand, in the predominantly white high school makes said Muslim boy stand out and makes him appear more hardcore than he would in his tapered jeans from Sears that his mother bought for him. Thus, we see that the use of slang, plus a certain social need, gives rise to a Muslim boy getting closer and closer to a certain imagined sense of "thug-life." Add to this the fact that most Muslim boys only play basketball while growing up, or "hoops" as they call it, because they are too skinny for football and too excitable for baseball. The game comes with its own infusion of hip-hop culture. Since a thug is either a "baller" or a "Playa" and since most Muslim parents would beat up their sons if they saw them with a girl, all Muslim boys end up being (self-proclaimed) "ballerz." We all know the relationship basketball has with hip-hop culture. A Muslim's transformation into a "thug" quickens. He starts using appropriately placed rap verses. Ice Cube's "check yo'self fo' you wreck yo'self" makes its way into religious discussions. Nelly's "it's getting hot in here" begins to be dropped into sermons referring to Hell. Their emails begin to be sprinkled with "kno wat im sayin" and "check it." His favorite love song, instead of being something by Sinatra, becomes Ginuwine's "My pony!" or Montel Jordan’s "Let's Ride!"

Exit to Freedom by Calvin Johnson Essay example -- Calvin Johnson

During the summer of 1984, Calvin Johnson trudges knee deep through a swamp in the wetlands of South Georgia. As snakes brush past his legs, he marches in line with nine other men, each dressed in an orange jumpsuit, swinging a razor sharp bush axe in collective rhythm. His crew entered the swamp at dawn and they will not leave until dusk. Guards, armed with shotguns, and equally violent tempers, ignore the fact that the temperature has risen well above 100 degrees and push the men even harder. Suddenly, an orange blur falls to the ground and a prisoner from Wayne Correctional Institution lies face down in the swampy floor. As guards bark orders at the unconscious, dying man, Johnson realizes "the truth of the situation, and the force of injustice just incapacitates" him. It is then he decides he does not belong in the swamp. Calvin Johnson (along with co-writer Greg Hampikian) begins his memoir, Exit to Freedom (The University of Georgia Press; 2003), with this inhumane description of prison life. He finds himself in this situation one year after being wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in Clayton, GA. His story, the self proclaimed â€Å"only firsthand account of a wrongful conviction overturned by DNA evidence," soon leaves the swamp and takes the reader inside the prison itself. The â€Å"code of prison etiquette† is related through adages such as â€Å"never to get between fighting dogs† and â€Å"only dead men broke up fights, and only snitches talked to guards.† These jailhouse proverbs are backed up by anecdotes of brutal fights, broken prison rules, and punishments, such as a transgressor who is brutally stabbed in his sleep. Characters such as Lefty, a prisoner who signals a fight by removing his glass eye and placing it on the sink,... ...the reasoning behind it soon becomes apparent. As Johnson talks more and more about his gradual distancing from God, I realize that I am being set up for a miracle. I was a little taken back when I realized that the entire book is a Christian testimony, following the familiar pattern: man experiences trials, man denies God, man finds God. The focus on spirituality overshadows the cold case study and hard facts on DNA evidence that the reader expects. Even so, the sheer power of Johnson's story overcomes the narrative flaws and keeps the reader interested throughout. Plus, the sincerity of his Christian beliefs adds a completely different level to his compelling story. It becomes an account of a man, not just finding truth in the legal system, but also discovering a spiritual truth which guides him out of the darkness of captivity, freeing him mind, body, and soul.

Life in Ireland & Typhoid Fever Essay

During the 1930s in Ireland, the majority of the people lived in the countryside. There were several late marriages and high birth-rates in the rural areas of Ireland at this time. Numerous people from Ireland were immigrating to England because of overcrowding and poor economic conditions. Ireland was also fighting an economic war with Britain at this time. Some popular forms of entertainment in Ireland were cinema, cross-road dancing, and sports. 2.There are several similarities to the poem about the highwayman and the story of Patricia and Frankie. In â€Å"The Highwayman† Bess, the landlord’s daughter was not allowed to talk to the highway man because of her father. This is similar to â€Å"Typhoid Fever† because Frank and Patricia were not allowed to talk to each other because the nuns and nurses wouldn’t allow it because of their diseases. Another similarity is that Bess dies in â€Å"The Highwayman† and Patricia dies in â€Å"Typhoid Fever†. It also seemed as if Frank was falling in love with Patricia, like how the thief had fallen in love with Bess. In â€Å"Typhoid Fever† Frank stated, â€Å"I’d love to do that myself, come by moonlight for Patricia in the next room not giving a hoot though hell should bar the way.† My inference of this line was that Frank felt that his relationship with Patricia was similar to the thief’s relationship with Bess. 3.Frank McCourt was able to re-create the voice of a 10-year-old boy in â€Å"Typhoid Fever† because the events described in â€Å"Typhoid Fever† were of his own. â€Å"Typhoid Fever† came from a memoir Frank had written, which was called Angela’s Ashes. A memoir is a biography or an account of historical events, especially one written from personal knowledge. I also think Frank McCourt was able to re-create the voice of a 10-year-old boy because of how he had the main character act and talk. For example, when Patricia asks how old he is and appears disappointed when he says ten, Frank says, â€Å"But I’ll be eleven in August, next month.† Usually children want to be perceived as older. So when you ask a child how old they are, they usually are very exact, saying the year and month. Another example form the story is how Frank reacts when Patricia mimics the nun. In the story it says, â€Å"Then Patricia whispers, Give thanks, Francis, give thanks, and say your rosary,  Francis and I laugh so hard a nurse runs in to see if I’m all right.† If an adult had heard Patricia mimic the nun they would be able to control their laughter enough so that the nurse would not have heard anything.

Captain John Smith essays

Captain John Smith essays John Smith had many characteristics that helped to make him an important person in the beginning settlement of the New World. He was a brave and strong person who seemed to have little fear. He ran away from home when he was young and became a soldier in Europe and the Near East (Barbour). He thrived for excitement and adventure. During the settlement of Jamestown, he took on the responsibility of leadership by saving the colony from starvation (Microsoft). He made the men plant crops and build houses, while he was trading with the Indians for food (Microsoft). The colony chose him President of the Jamestown settlement. The settlers believed and trusted him because he had saved them. John Smith was a very smart man, and he wrote many accounts about the happenings in Jamestown. He also published an article about his voyage of 1614. His longest and best-known work was entitled The General History of Virginia (Gwinn). Without these accounts, we would know very little about the colony in the New World. Not only was he a writer, but he could also draw. He drew many maps showing his expeditions and adventures. Many of these maps were used by other groups of settlers who came to the New World. John Smith was brave, strong, smart, and a good leader. His name is probably best remembered as the man who was to be beheaded by Indians, when the chiefs daughter rushed to his side and saved his life. Many historians doubt this incident and said that Smith was just bragging and was a teller of tales (McMichael). He had so many different adventures and he sometimes stretched the truth. Even if John Smith did exaggerate at times, he was still an interesting and important character in American History. Critique: I dont remember learning too much on John Smith, though of course I learned about him. My reaction to his work is questioning; Ive heard how he was this brave and courageou...

How to Conjugate Brosser (to Brush)

How to Conjugate Brosser (to Brush) The French verb brosser means to brush. To say I brush my teeth or She is brushing her hair, you would use the reflexive se brosser. (Je me brosse les dents and Elle se brosse les cheveux.) Brosser is a regular -er verb. How to Conjugate the French Verb Brosser Like any regular -er verb, you start conjugating brosser by determining the stem. The stem is bross- (the infinitive minus -er), and you complete the conjugation by adding the ending that matches the subject pronoun and tense youre using. These charts will guide you to choosing the proper ending. Present Future Imperfect Present participle je brosse brosserai brossais brossant tu brosses brosseras brossais il brosse brossera brossait nous brossons brosserons brossions vous brossez brosserez brossiez ils brossent brosseront brossaient Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive je brosse brosserais brossai brossasse tu brosses brosserais brossas brossasses il brosse brosserait brossa brosst nous brossions brosserions brossmes brossassions vous brossiez brosseriez brosstes brossassiez ils brossent brosseraient brossrent brossassent Imperative (tu) brosse (nous) brossons (vous) brossez How to Use Brosser in the Past Tense To say you brushed something, youll most likely use the passà © composà ©. Brosser uses the auxiliary verb avoir and its past participle is brossà ©. However, whenever youre constructing the passà © composà © with a reflexive verb, the auxiliary verb is à ªtre. For example: Je me suis  brossà © les dents.I brushed my teeth. Il a brossà © le chat.He brushed the cat.

How to Memorize Times Tables Using Multiplication Games

How to Memorize Times Tables Using Multiplication Games Learning times tables or multiplication facts is more effective when you make the learning process fun. Fortunately, there are a variety of games for children that require very little effort to play that will help them learn the rules of multiplication and commit them to memory. Multiplication Snap Card Game An easy way to practice times tables at home, the multiplication snap card game requires only an ordinary deck of playing cards. Remove the face cards from the deck.Shuffle the remaining cards.Distribute the cards between two players.Each player keeps their pile of cards face-down.At the same time, each player turns over a card.The first player to multiply the two numbers together and state the answer is the winner and takes the cards.The first player to collect all of the cards or the most cards in a specific amount of time is declared the winner. This game should only be played with children who have a good grasp of their multiplication tables. Random facts are only helpful if a child has already mastered the twos, fives, 10s, and squares (two-by-two, three-by-three, four-by-four, five-by-five, etc.) times tables. If not, it is important to modify the game. To do this, concentrate on a single fact family or squares. In this case, one child turns over a card and it is always multiplied by four, or whichever times tables are currently being worked on. For working on the squares, each time a card is turned over, the child that multiplies it by the same number wins. When playing the modified version, the players take turns revealing a card, as only one card is needed. For instance, if a four is turned over, the first child to say 16 wins; if a five is turned over, the first to say 25 wins. Two Hands Multiplication Game This is another two-player game that requires nothing but a method to keep score. It is a bit like rock-paper-scissors as each child says three, two, one, and then they hold up one or both hands to represent a number. The first child to multiply the two numbers together and say it out loud gets a point. The first child to 20 points (or any number agreed upon) wins the game. This particular game is also a great game for playing in the car. Paper Plate Multiplication Facts Take 10 or 12 paper plates and print one number on each plate. Give each child a set of paper plates. Each child takes a turn holding up two plates, and if their partner responds with the correct answer within five seconds, they earn a point. Then its that childs turn to hold up two plates and the other childs chance to multiply the numbers. Consider  awarding small pieces of candy for this game as it provides some incentive. A point system can also be used, and the first person to 15 or 25 points wins. Roll the Dice Game Using dice to commit the multiplication facts to memory is similar to the multiplication snap and paper plate games. Players take turns rolling two dice and the first one to multiply the number rolled by a given number wins a point. Establish the number that the dice will be multiplied by. For instance, if you are working on the nine times table, each time the dice are rolled, the number is multiplied by nine. If children are working on squares, each time the dice are rolled, the number rolled is multiplied by itself. A variation of this game is for one child to roll the dice after the other child specifies the number used to multiply the roll. This allows each child to play an active part in the game.

The Natural Rate of Unemployment Research Proposal

The Natural Rate of Unemployment - Research Proposal Example According to the model, the workers and the firms undertake negotiation in order to decide on the nominal this. This negotiation is done irrespective of the expected price level of the economy. The nominal wage is determined as the product of the target real wage rate and the expected level of price in the economy. Most of the economists are of the opinion that the nominal wage in the economy is sticky in the short run. With a sticky nominal wage in the economy, the prices would increase from P to P0. This would reduce the real wage rate in the economy. Since the wages are the prices for labor the demand curve for labor would be a downward sloping curve and the supply curve would be an upward rising one. The now the labor market would comprise of the employed and the unemployed labor force. Thus the total labor in the economy would be Therefore the level of unemployed in the economy would be LN, where L is the total labor force, N is the employed and U is unemployed. Therefore the natural rate of unemployment in the economy would be U* / L. Now the wage setting relation establishes a negative relationship between the real wage that exists in the economy and the rate of unemployment existing in the economy. This relation can be represented by the downward sloping curve that is shown in the diagram below. As the rate of unemployment in the economy would increase the wages that the laborers would demand would be less (Broughton, 2009. pp. 3-5).

Analysis of Watson's theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Watson's theory - Research Paper Example This short essay will explore few of Watson’s ten (10) carative factors including how each of these factors can be applied in the practice of nursing. After providing the concept statement, the phenomena behind the need to care for the patients as a person, the environment, health issues, and nursing as a profession will be tackled in details followed by discussing the philosophies behind Jean Watson’s theory. Prior to conclusion, the caring model as a conceptual model in nursing will be explored accordingly. The metaparadigm in nursing is actually composed of four (4) major concepts known as: â€Å"person, environment, health, and nursing† (Daly et al., 2005, p. 137). Under the metaparadigm of nursing, person is pertaining to the patients. According to Watson, a person is in good health provided that his mind, body, and spirit are in harmony (Kim & Kollak, 2006, p. 301). For this reason, nurses should not only apply the principles of humanity into their job but also make sure that the physical environment where the patient is resting is suitable for their fast recovery. Since nurses are directly serving the needs of the patients, Watsons strongly suggest the need for nurses to apply the use of â€Å"humanistic approach to nursing† (Kim & Kollak, 2006, p. 301). To be able to deliver a humanistic approach in nursing, Watson’s ten (10) carative factors can be used in guiding the nurses on how they can effectively promote the health and wellness of each patient. For example, the third carative factors suggested by Watson stated the need to â€Å"cultivate sensitivity to one’s self and to others† (Daniels, 2004, p. 61). It means that the nurses should at all times be considerate of the patients’ feelings. Therefore, nurses should avoid saying something that can be harsh or emotionally disturbing on the part of the patient. Instead, nurses should make it a habit to treat each patient with respect. With regards to the environment, Watson explained the

How to Assure Information Continuity and Recovery in Business Coursework

How to Assure Information Continuity and Recovery in Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery - Coursework Example While numerous weaknesses may be diminished or even eradicated through technical, management, or operational resolutions as part of the state’s general risk managing effort, it is practically impossible to entirely eradicate all risks. In numerous cases, critical assets may be located outside the organization’s control – for instance telecommunications or electric power – and the organization may be incapable of ensuring their accessibility. Therefore effective disaster recovery planning, implementation, and analysis are indispensible to diminish the risk of service and system unavailability. The production environment of an organization persistently evolves. Whether that is a result of software or hardware updates, the addition or removal of systems, or changes in configuration; the variance from the recovery answer grows broader with each change, increasing the chance of the failure of the solution. The maintenance of the technology recovery solution - both plans and recovery configurations - should be kept in lock-step with the production environment. One only has to look at the quantity of preparation, documentation updates and contract upgrades that occur in support of an exercise to see there’s a significant divergence which can occur over a fairly short period of time. All these factors can negatively impact recovery results. As much effort as is put into plan development, it’s surprising how many companies do not have sufficient detail in their recovery procedures that will support the recovery of their key technologies. Even companies that test often abandon their plans and instead rely on the knowledge of their people, or use their plans but never add the detail they need. This may be worse than not testing at all, since it creates the perception the plan will support a recovery; however if the primary team isn’t available during the incident, recovery can be challenging without access

Approaches to creativity and innovation in business Essay

Approaches to creativity and innovation in business - Essay Example Mint), Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Prisons), Department of Energy (Brookhaven National Laboratory), NASA (Goddard Space Flight Center), Department of Veteran Affairs (Medical & Regional Office Centers), Department of Labor and various state and municipal agencies like City of Wilmington, Delaware, City of Tullytown, Pennsylvania and govt. of the District of Columbia. â€Å"We aim to achieve unequalled service delivery that meets or exceed our clients' expectations, caring for our environment and host communities in a friendly manner so as to create value to our clients, employees and the environment (ECG Indutries. Inc, 2012).† The mission statement of ECG industries, INC. encompasses all elements of their business. Their commitment to environment preservation while carrying out their operations is clearly demonstrated through their mission statement. Today’s business climate demands that special attention be paid to environmental services which are driven and heavily controlled by environmental regulations. There are many published guidance manuals and policies at Federal, state and local levels that regulate businesses. The number of regulations controlling businesses with respect to environmental concerns is constantly increasing by the day. The environmental laws are constantly evolving and the nature of these regulations is getting more complex than ever. For a business to operate successfully, they have to comply with all these regulations. Businesses like ECG need to incorporate in their operation a combination of project management skills, technical expertise, regulatory knowledge and experience in dealing with environmental concerns to deal effectively with the heavily regulated environment. Services offered by ECG have the potential of causing severe environmental degradation. They can affect the physical environment as well as health, culture and the economic and social structure of local and indigenous communities. ECG has to conform to environmental standards because of the wide variety of customers they serve. Not only do they have to conform to existing laws, they have to anticipate any changes that might occur and change themselves accordingly (Wawryk, 2012). As applies to ECG, guidelines and standards of International Association of Oil and Gas Producers and American Petroleum Institute can affect operations. The International Association of Oil and Gas producers represents oil and gas companies from all around the world where as the American Petroleum Institute majorly influences the oil and gas industry because of the dominance of American oil companies in the industry. Policies of the World Conservation union along with United Nation Environment Programmed, International Standards Organization, International Chambers of Commerce, the World Bank etc can also influence ECG. The guidelines prepared by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers include practices that are international ly accepted. The 11 principles contained in the American Petroleum Institute Environmental and Safety Mission and Guiding principles form the basis the American Petroleum Institute environmental Stewardship Program. The American Petrol

EFFECTIVE THINKING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EFFECTIVE THINKING - Essay Example E-learning, aided by technology, seeks to prepare learners and equip them with skills conversant with 21st century through continuous learning activities. Kong and his peers embarked on researching the issues and changes needed to achieve the goals of eLearning. With a similar goal, all three articles seek to unmask the opportunities and challenges of technology-assisted learning. The rapid change of technology creates both opportunities and challenges for education in school. Some of the opportunities are the increased access multimedia content and availability of online classes. At the same time, schools have to deal with the challenge of catching up with the digital innovations and changes taking play now and then. According to Kong et al., â€Å"technology plays a crucial role in supporting schools on realizing the desirable learning goals and learning process (71)†. But is this statement really valid? There is a universal perception that implementation of technology in schools improves learning, teaching, and student achievement. People, however, fail to recognize it comes with complexities and challenges. As stated by Beynon, â€Å"how computing technology is conceived may seem to have less practical relevance.† In order to evaluate the worth and benefit of technology, there is need to evaluate some variables embedded in it. The variables are such as access, student background, curriculum content, and teacher preparation. It is necessary to have a computing perspective that integrates human integration with systems in a holistic manner (Beynon 94). In rethinking computing technology, there is no doubt that the current state of technology is inadequate to engage important issues that affect human learning. Educators need to have a comprehensive strategy for a technology-rich future and create an intimate relationship to human cognition if it is to assist learners. It is, however, unfortunate that the current technology strategies are ill-equipped and cannot

Approaches to creativity and innovation in business Essay

Approaches to creativity and innovation in business - Essay Example Mint), Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Prisons), Department of Energy (Brookhaven National Laboratory), NASA (Goddard Space Flight Center), Department of Veteran Affairs (Medical & Regional Office Centers), Department of Labor and various state and municipal agencies like City of Wilmington, Delaware, City of Tullytown, Pennsylvania and govt. of the District of Columbia. â€Å"We aim to achieve unequalled service delivery that meets or exceed our clients' expectations, caring for our environment and host communities in a friendly manner so as to create value to our clients, employees and the environment (ECG Indutries. Inc, 2012).† The mission statement of ECG industries, INC. encompasses all elements of their business. Their commitment to environment preservation while carrying out their operations is clearly demonstrated through their mission statement. Today’s business climate demands that special attention be paid to environmental services which are driven and heavily controlled by environmental regulations. There are many published guidance manuals and policies at Federal, state and local levels that regulate businesses. The number of regulations controlling businesses with respect to environmental concerns is constantly increasing by the day. The environmental laws are constantly evolving and the nature of these regulations is getting more complex than ever. For a business to operate successfully, they have to comply with all these regulations. Businesses like ECG need to incorporate in their operation a combination of project management skills, technical expertise, regulatory knowledge and experience in dealing with environmental concerns to deal effectively with the heavily regulated environment. Services offered by ECG have the potential of causing severe environmental degradation. They can affect the physical environment as well as health, culture and the economic and social structure of local and indigenous communities. ECG has to conform to environmental standards because of the wide variety of customers they serve. Not only do they have to conform to existing laws, they have to anticipate any changes that might occur and change themselves accordingly (Wawryk, 2012). As applies to ECG, guidelines and standards of International Association of Oil and Gas Producers and American Petroleum Institute can affect operations. The International Association of Oil and Gas producers represents oil and gas companies from all around the world where as the American Petroleum Institute majorly influences the oil and gas industry because of the dominance of American oil companies in the industry. Policies of the World Conservation union along with United Nation Environment Programmed, International Standards Organization, International Chambers of Commerce, the World Bank etc can also influence ECG. The guidelines prepared by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers include practices that are international ly accepted. The 11 principles contained in the American Petroleum Institute Environmental and Safety Mission and Guiding principles form the basis the American Petroleum Institute environmental Stewardship Program. The American Petrol

World History The Eugenics Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World History The Eugenics Debate - Essay Example This brief essay will attempt to examine: Miller's description of genetic inheritance in criminality, poverty and intelligence, considering if this is good reasoning; consider whether his strategies for limiting undesirable births is practical; look at the position of eugenics in economics and democracy; and calculate whether these elements combined make eugenics practical in a modern society. Considering the role of genes in criminality, poverty and intelligence in Miller's essay. Any policy which argues for the reintroduction of eugenics must base its arguments upon the genetic factors which influence behaviour. In his essay, Dr Miller argues that there is 'a strong genetic component' in both criminality and those who live below the poverty line. However, while he makes a small amount of room for the theory that environmental influences may also have a strong impact upon behaviour and intelligence. He chooses to point at adoption and twin studies to demonstrate that there is a strong link between genes and criminality, poverty and intelligence.

Exploring the geological history Essay Example for Free

Exploring the geological history Essay Firstly we will explore the importance of the site of the town. Because St. Aubins has a town on the sea, it grew up on sites close to a natural harbour, which afforded shelter to the vessels that carried the seaborne trade, upon which the existence of the town depended. St. Aubin is a town of this last class; a glance at a map of Jersey will show that it and Gorey are the only accessible natural harbours which are completely sheltered from the strong westerly winds. St. Aubins is sheltered from the sea on all sides except from the South-East to South. It is widely believed that St. Aubins was once the capital of Jersey; but this can not be true because from the earliest times the Royal Court and the States have met in St. Helier. Also St. Aubin had no church until the 18th Century, and it would be very weird if the capital was left churchless.  Small vessels of the time, securely mooredcould lie safely in all weathers. The want of depth of water, so detrimental to our town in these days, mattered then, when vessels where very small, and when men where not in such a hurry as they are now, and did not mind waiting patiently for a high tide. This naturally sheltered harbour must have been a resort for fisherman from the earliest time when our island was cut off from the continent. There can be no doubt that St. Aubins is the best natural port in the Island.  The salt and dried cod they brought home found a market in the Roman Catholic countries, where there was an especially large demand during Lent. The ships that carried the fish to these countries brought back cargoes of foreign produce, which in turn was distributed in Northern Europe in exchange for timber for ship-building, hemp for cordage, canvas for sales, pitch and other goods. So a lucrative trade grew up, and the town increased in wealth and importance. St. Helier too, though it had little trade or shiping, seems to have been slightly more populous than St. Aubins, even in its great days.  The two towns in fact lived on quite dissimilar lines, the townsmen of St. Helier lived upon the Court, with its lawyers and functionaries, and upon the country people who came into market and to do there business, while the inhabitants of St. Aubins lived upon there overseas trade, and especially upon the Newfoundland fishery. After this time the state of St. Aubin increased slowly but steadily for about one hundred years. Then the ship owners found it very profitable on account of the long wars with France, to fit out and arm vessels as privateers, and the profits earned where so high that this kind of trade grew rapidly until St. Aubins became the chief privateering port in the kingdom. The privateers were fast vessels, heavily armed with guns, and manned with large crews, needed both to work the ships and guns. The captains each carried a Royal Commission called a letter of marque authorising the capture of the ships and goods of the French. The letter of marque was an important document, as it was all that stood between the whole crew hanged as pirates if taken by an enemy man-of-war. No wages were paid to any of the hands but each received his share of the prizes taken.  In the early years of the last century, St. Aubins reached its high point of importance, but then began to fall off owing to the competition of the new port of St. Helier, which was rapidly increasing its harbour accommodation. Of the two largest St. Aubins merchants, the house of Robin moved to St. Helier, while the Janvrins ceased business. This was a serious blow to St. Aubins, so that by about 1850 its shipping had dwindled to small figures, while St. Heliers had increased until it was the sixth port of the whole British Empire. The peace after the Battle of Waterloo helped this result, as privateers became useless and the large St. Aubins capital sunk in them was so great extent lost.  An attempt to make this port for granite export failed, though for a time, the export of gravel brought many ships back to the port. The coming of the railway was a great event. A company formed in 1846 accomplished nothing. A new company in 1861 met with many difficulties; but at last the track was laid. In 1870, the first train was greeted with salvo cannon, and the dean read an eloquent prayer. Two hundred guests lunched in a marquee in the Noirmont grounds. And trains ran continually to bring the while Island to the fete and the fireworks. In 1899, this line was extended to Corbiere. But the advent of the motor bus eventually killed the trains, and in1935 they ceased running. Later, the four-mile track from St. Aubin to La Corbiere was transformed into one of the pleasantest walks on the Island. The Germans relayed the line when making their fortifications; but they have now been removed. The Chief legacy the Germans left to St. Aubin is the immense tunnel which they blasted into the side of the hill to hold their reserve ammunition.  On the 20th October 1941 Hitler declared that the Channel Islands would become an impregnable fortress. Thousands of foreign workers, mostly Spanish, French, Polish and Russian were being poured into the Island to assist in the building of bunkers, gun emplacements, tunnels and sea walls. They needed sand, granite chippings, cement, water and, of course, reinforcing metal. Transport of the first two presented a considerable problem and was largely responsible for the building of the railways. The metre gauge line from St. Helier to St. Aubin and Corbiere can be said to have started opposite commercial buildings, within a stones throw of the former J.R. T Weighbridge terminus. From West Park to St. Aubins tunnel, the roadbed of the former J.R. T was more or less followed. The line was single throughout except for an occasional crossing loop. A blast wall had already been built at the eastern end of the old J.R. T tunnel at St. Aubin as a protection from the extensive galleries which were being excavated. The bore of the tunnel itself had been greatly increased and the galleries driven through solid rock, the area being second only to that of the much better known underground hospital, to which rather surprisingly no connecting railway was laid.

Gas sensors on zinc oxide nanostructures

Gas sensors on zinc oxide nanostructures Introduction Gas sensors based on semiconducting metal oxides are being widely used for sensing gases and vapors. The initial momentum was provided by the findings of Seiyama et al. in metal oxide-gas reaction effects in 1962. It was shown that the electrical conductivity of ZnO can be changed by the presence of reactive gases in the air. The merits of these sensors include their reliability, low cost and easy implementation. Nanostructures of metal oxides have been found to be most effective as gas-sensing materials at elevated temperatures. Very popular sensing materials are metal oxide semiconductors such as ZnO, SnO2, TiO2, and WO3. Generally the change of electric field (conductance, voltage, resistance or the change of piezoelectric effect) of the sensor is monitored as a function of the target gas concentration. Gas sensors normally operate in air, in the presence of humidity and interfering gases. A heated substrate membrane is fitted with gas sensitive nanostructured semiconductor material which generates electrical output signals once chemical reactions are initiated at their surface. A common property of all these detection reactions is that they require significant levels of thermal activation to proceed at a measurable rate. Nanostructures of semiconducting oxides are widely used for gas sensing due to their large surface area to volume ratio and possibility of complete depletion of carriers within nanostructures when exposed to gases. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a reddish-brown, highly reactive gas that reacts in the air to form corrosive nitric acid as well as toxic organic nitrates. The major man made source of NO2 emissions is high-temperature fuel combustion in motor vehicles and industries. These emissions are primarily in the form of NO which gets oxidized in the atmosphere to NO2. The conversion rate depends on the ambient concentration of NO and O3. If O3 is present, the conversion is very rapid. Health and safety guidelines suggest that humans should not be exposed to 3ppm or more NO2 gas for periods longer than eight hours because of its toxicity. NO2 is a pulmonary irritant primarily affecting the upper respiratory system in human beings. Continued or frequent exposure to high levels of NO2 can cause inflammation of the lungs. Therefore, the development of a stable NO2 gas sensor that can detect extremely low concentrations of NO2 with high sensitivity and selectivity is highly desirable. Such a sensor can be used for environmental monitoring. It can also be used in an early warning system that detects the presence of NO2 before the critical concentration of NO2 is reached. In our work, we will develop a sensor for NO2 gas sensing based on our understanding in sensor mechanism and synthesis of ZnO nanorods, using simple hydrothermal methods. The various performance parameters of the sensor, namely gas selectivity, sensitivity, response and recovery time will be studied. The gas sensor test-bench developed in COEN (Centre of Excellence in Nanotechnology), AIT, will be employed for characterizing the sensor performance. Chapter 2 Literature review This chapter is focused on the literature review of metal oxide based semiconducting nanostructures used for gas sensing. The working principle of metal oxide gas sensors, measurement methods and synthesis mechanisms is included in this review. Metal oxide nanostructures Metal oxides such as SnO2, WO3, TiO2 and ZnO possess high sensitivity to changes in their surrounding atmosphere at elevated temperatures. The sensing properties of metal oxides in form of thick or thin films have been studied to improve, by the addition of noble metals namely Pd, Pt, Au, Ag in terms of selectivity and stability. In 1991, Yamazoe showed that reduction of crystallite size caused a huge improvement in sensor performance. In a low grain size metal oxide almost all the carriers are trapped in surface states and only a few thermal activated carriers are available for conduction. From the point of view of device fabrication, first generation gas sensor devices were fabricated by thick film technology. Then the material fabrication processes improved towards the thin film technology. The fabrication process for thin film technology namely physical and chemical vapour deposition was highly automated and offers high reproducibility. The electrical properties of both thin and thick film sensors drift due to the grain porosity modification and grain boundary alteration. Several methods like addition of noble metals as catalysts or mixed oxides were put forward to improve the sensing performance of the gas sensors. The structural engineering of metal oxide nanostructured thin films proved to optimize the performance of these types of gas sensors. The various operating parameters such as response time, output signal, selectivity and stability can be improved and tuned through the optimization of the structure. Using structural engineering method, the various geometric parameters of metal oxide gas sensing matrix like grain size, agglomeration, film thickness, porosity can be controlled. The next forward step in gas sensing was achieved by the successful preparation of stable single crystal quasi-one-dimensional semiconducting oxides (nanorods, nanowires) leading to the third generation of metal oxide gas sensors. Working principle of metal oxide gas sensors Conductometric metal oxide gas sensors depend on changes of electrical conductivity due to the interaction with the surrounding atmosphere. The normal operating temperature of metal oxide gas sensors is within the range between 200  °C and 500  °C. The operating temperature should be high enough so that gas reactions occur in a time on the order of the desired response time and should also be low enough to avoid any variations in the bulk of the sensing matrix. The single crystal structure synthesized at temperatures higher than the operating temperature of the sensor shows high stability. Based on the study of a large range of oxides, the phenomenon of change in conductivity to the presence of reactive gases in air is common to oxides and not specific to a few special cases. If the conductivity is too high, then an effect is not expected and similarly if the conductivity is too low, then an effect will be difficult to measure. In practical applications, if an oxide sample has a resistivity between 104 and 108 Ocm at 300- 400  °C, then it will function as a gas sensor when heated to a temperature in this range. The sign of response (resistance increase or decrease) leads to a simple classification: gases can be classified as oxidizing or reducing and oxides can also be classified as p or n type. P-type oxides show a resistance increase in the presence of traces of reducing gases and resistance decrease to oxidizing gases. n-type oxides show opposite behaviour. This behaviour also correlates with the effect of changing oxygen partial pressure (PO2). Adsorption on surfaces The sensing mechanism in metal oxide gas sensors is related to ionosorption of species over their surfaces. The most important ionosorbed species when operating in ambient air are oxygen, water, carbon and its compounds. High concentrations of carbon can block surface sites of adsorption on a metal oxide. In the temperature range between 100  °C and 500  °C, oxygen ionosorbs over metal oxide in molecular (O2-) or atomic form (O-). Hence the study of adsorption is of fundamental importance in the field of sensors. Physisorption In this weakest form of adsorption like van der waals forces, no true chemical bond between the surface and adsorbate (or reaction species) is established. This bonding is mainly due to the induced dipole moment of a nonpolar adsorbate interacting with its own image charges on the polarized surface. The bonding energy is rather weak in the order of 0.1 eV. Chemisorption Chemisorption corresponds to the creation of chemical bonds between the adsorbate and surface and results in the electronic structure perturbation. In gas sensors, the target gas may be chemisorbed or physisorbed on the surface. When the gas species adsorb on the surface, molecules are either dissociated or diffused in the sensitive layer. Based on the Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) and Electron Paramagnetic study (EPR) studies, at lower operating temperatures, oxygen is considered to be adsorbed in molecular form (either as neutral O2 (ads) or charged O2(ads) 2- ) due to its lower activation energy. At higher temperatures it dissociates into atomic oxygen (either neutral O(ads) or singly ionized (charged) O(ads)- or doubly ionized O2(ads)- ). Finally at very high temperatures the loss of lattice oxygen (first surface and then bulk) takes place. When a reducing gas like CO comes into contact with the surface. These consume ionosorbed oxygen and in turn change the electrical conductance of metal oxide. The overall effect is a change of the density of ionosorbed oxygen that is detected as an increase of sensor conductance. Direct adsorption is also possible for the gaseous species like strongly electronegative NO2, which decreases the sensor conductance. NO2 absorption on tin oxide surfaces was studied by temperature programmed desorption measurements and found that the adsorbates originating from NO2 are the same as those from NO, as NO2 molecule dissociates easily over the tin oxide surface. These adsorbates can be divided into three types, two nitrosil types (Sn NO+ and Sn NO- ) and the nitrite type Sn O-N=O. The nitrite type does not play any role in gas sensing since it is not involved in any electron exchange with the bulk of the semiconductor. In practical applications, gas sensors are normally expected to operate in air, in the presence of humidity and interfering gases. In such cases, for operating temperatures in a range of 100 to 500  °C, at the surface of the sensitive material various oxygen, water and carbon dioxide related species are present. Some gas species form bonds by exchanging electrical charge with specific surface sites and others may form dipoles. Dipoles do not affect the concentration of free charge carriers and so they have no impact on the resistance of sensitive layer. Fig.1 explains the simplified case of adsorbed oxygen ions and hydroxyl groups bound to an n-type metal oxide semiconductor. These adsorbed ions cause a band bending while the dipoles change the electron affinity when compared to the state before the adsorption .The changes of the work function (?F) are determined by band bending (qVs due to ionosorption) and changes in the electron affinity () due to building of dipoles at the sur face (M d+ OH d-). Ec, Ec,s Energy level representing the bottom of the conduction band and at the surface respectively. Ev, Ev,s Energy level representing the top of the valence band and at the surface respectively. Evac vaccum level, EF Fermi level, ÃŽ ¦ Work function, χ Electron affinity. Sensor Characteristics The characteristic of a sensor is classified into static and dynamic. Static characteristics can be measured when all the transient effects of the output signal have stabilized in to steady state. Dynamic characteristics tend to describe the sensors transient behavior. Static characteristics Sensitivity Sensitivity is the ratio of incremental change in the output of the sensor to its incremental change of the measurand in input. For example, if we have a gas sensor whose output voltage increases by 1 V when the oxygen concentration increases by 1000 ppm, then the sensitivity would be 1 mV/ppm. Generally, the sensitivity to the target gas is defined as the percent reduction of sensor resistance. Sensitivity (%) = [(Ra- Rg) / Ra] Ãâ€"100, where Ra is the value of initial equilibrium resistance in air and Rg is resistance in the presence of a target gas. For convenience sometimes the sensitivity of gas sensor is expressed as the ratio of resistance in air over resistance in gas for reducing gases (Ra/Rg) and resistance in gas over resistance in air (Rg/Ra) for oxidizing gas. Selectivity The sensors ability to measure a single component in the presence of others is known as its selectivity. For example, an oxygen sensor that does not show a response to other gases such as CO, CO2 is considered to be selective. Selectivity = (sensitivity of gas1/sensitivity of gas2) Selectivity of the sensor is assessed by the ratio of sensitivity between the gases that is of interest to be detected over the gases that are uninteresting for detection in equivalent concentrations. To improve selectivity to specific gases, sensor array technology is also being adapted. Stability and Drift The sensors ability to produce the same output value when measuring a fixed input over a period of time is termed as stability. Drift is the gradual change in the sensors response characteristics while the input concentration of the gas remains constant. Drift is the undesired and unexpected change that is unrelated to the input. It may be attributed to aging, temperature instability, contamination, material degradation, etc. For instance, in a gas sensor, gradual change of temperature may change the baseline stability, or gradual diffusion of the electrodes metal into substrate may change the conductivity of a semiconductor gas sensor. Repeatability It denotes the sensors ability to produce the same response for successive measurements of the same input, when all operating and environmental conditions remain constant. Reproducibility The sensors ability to reproduce responses after some measurement condition has been changed. For example, after shutting down a sensing system and subsequently restarting it, a reproducible sensor will show the same response to the same measurand concentration as it did prior to being shut down. Hysteresis It is the difference between output readings for the same measurand, when approached while increasing from the minimum value and the other while decreasing from the peak value. Response Time The time taken by a sensor to arrive at a stable value is the response time. It is generally expressed as the time at which the output reaches a certain percentage (for instance 95%) of its final value, in response to a stepped change of the input. At the onset, the response time is very fast, followed by a long drawn tail before reaching steady state value, thus the response time are often expressed as 50% or 70% of the final time. Recovery time is defined as the time that the sensor takes to recover its resistance from exposed condition to the baseline value after target gas is cut out from the environment Dynamic Range or Span The range of input signals that will result in a meaningful output for the sensor is the dynamic range or span. All sensors are designed to perform over a specified range. Signals outside of this range may cause unacceptably large inaccuracies, and may even result in irreversible damage to the sensor. Dynamic characteristics The dynamic characteristics of a sensor represent the time response of the sensor system. The various important dynamic characteristics of sensors are discussed below, Rise time Rise time is defined as the time required by the sensor response to change from 10% to 90% of it final steady state value. Settling time It is the time taken by the sensor response to settle down to within a certain percentage of the steady state value. Influence of contact electrodes on sensor performance The contact electrodes used in gas sensors can have both electrical and electrochemical roles. For thin compact films, contact resistance plays an important role as dominant factor in overall resistance. The contribution of contact resistance is also extremely important for the case in which individual nanorods, nanowires or nanobelts are used as sensing layers. These electrodes are generally made of metals. They can also be fabricated from materials such as conductive polymers or conductive metal oxides. Although the concept of resistance change of the sensitive material when exposed to target gas is widely known, the overall resistance of the sensor depends not only on the gas sensing material properties but also on parameters such as transducer morphology, electrode etc. When the sensitive layer consists only of a compact continuous material and the thickness is larger than the Debye length, it can only partly depleted when exposed to target gas. In this case, the interaction does not influence the entire bulk of the material. Two levels of resistance are established in parallel and this fact limits the sensitivity. Thin layer will be the better choice which can be fully depleted. The representation shows the influence of electrode-sensing layer contacts. Rc is resistance of the electrode-metal oxide contact, R11 is the resistance of the depleted region of the compact layer, R1 is the equivalent of series resistance of R11 and Rc, and the equivalent series resistance of SRgi and Rc, in the porous and compact situations, respectively. Rgi is the average inter-grain resistance in the case of porous layer, Eb minimum of the conduction band in the bulk, qVs band bending associated with surface phenomena on the layer, and qVc also contains the band bending induced at the electrode-metal oxide contact. Improvement of selectivity by surface modifications Mixing metal oxides with Metals that function as catalysts Binary compounds and multi-component materials Doping are the most common methods used to enhance the gas sensing performance of metal oxide gas sensors. These additives can be used for modifying the catalytic activity of the base oxide, favoring formation of active phases and improving the electron exchange rate. The interaction of gas with the sensing material, resulting in the gas sensitivity, is determined by the chemical properties of the sensor surface. Different surface atoms can be introduced on the surface of the metal oxide sensors. This surface modification leads to new chemical reactivity and enables the sensor to be operated at low temperatures. Nanoscale particles of noble metals (Pd, Pt, Au and Rh) and oxides of other elements (Co, Cu and Fe) deposited on the surface of metal oxides can act as surface sites for adsorbates and promoters for surface catalysis. They create additional adsorption sites and surface electronic states and as a result gas sensitivity, selectivity, rate of response can be altered. For achieving high gas response, the noble metal should create optimal conditions for both electron and ion (spillover) exchange between surface and reacting gas species. The nature of noble metals, their oxidation state and their distribution on the surface are determining factors in gas sensor sensitivity and selectivity. To attain the homogenous distribution of noble metal on the surface is very difficult. Surface morphology has a significant effect on the shape and distribution of catalysts. Noble metal clusters have a tendency to accumulate at step edges and kinks of metal oxides during their deposition. Catalysts based on noble metals can be poisoned by many organic and inorganic chemicals that contain sulphur (H2S, SO2, thiols) and phophorus. The excessive thickness of catalytic active additives can change their functions, turning into either shunting layer or active membrane filters, obstructing the penetration of detecting gas in the surface of gas sensing matrix. At certain conditions this quality can also be used for an improvement of gas sensors selectivity. It has been studied that the incorporation of additional phases (different oxides) in nanocrystalline systems in small quantities can change the conditions of base oxide growth. SnO2 doped with Nb (0.1 4 mol%) causes a decrease in crystallite size from 220 nm for pure SnO2 to about 30 nm for Nb (0.1 mol%) doped samples. The additional influence observed due to doping is the change in film resistance. SnO2 doping by Nb and Sb in the range of 0.01 and 1.0 mol% during sol-gel preparation and annealed at 900  °C leads to film resistance decrease of 100 to 1000 times respectively, while doping with In resulted in a rise in film resistance by a factor of 100. The effect of doping on gas sensing properties of metal oxide gas sensors is different from the catalytic activity of these additives. Improvement of selectivity by operating conditions The sensor material may be operated at a comparably wide range of operating temperatures (300 900  °C) leading to different thermal energies for the surface reactions, differences may be attained by selecting the operating temperature, leading to a variation in gas sensitivity. A more improved version of this idea is to continuously increase or decrease the operating temperature of a given sensor and to continuously measure the variation of conductivity. This technique is known as temperature transient operation which gives more information in case of gas mixtures. To realize selective gas detection, sensor arrays are also constructed where several sensors showing different patterns of gas sensitivity are selected and simultaneously operated. A simple technique to obtain an array using one sensor is to modulate the operating temperature to different levels. Excessive increase of operating temperature may lead to a considerable drop of gas sensitivity. Moreover increasing working t emperature can create conditions, where gas response will then be determined by change of bulk properties of material. Improvement of response and recovery time of gas sensors A high speed gas switching system can be used to improve the response of the gas sensor. Yamazoe et al. studied the response and recovery properties of SnO2 porous film gas sensors using a high speed gas switching system. The developed system allows the rapid replacement of the gas atmosphere in the chamber between air and H2 (or CO). It was reported that the response speed of the sensor was fast, reaching a response time of less than 0.5s at 350  °C. The rates of diffusion and surface reactions of these gases (H2 and CO) in the porous sensing film are high enough for the sensor to reach a steady state within a short time. However the resistance in air did not reach the original value by repeated switching. This incomplete recovery was attributed to the slow desorption of H2O and CO2 formed on SnO2 by the surface reaction of H2 and CO respectively. Synthesis of 1-D metal oxide nanostructures Metal oxide nanostructures synthesis methods are broadly categorized as Solution phase synthesis method, where the growth process is carried out in liquid. Since aqueous solutions are used, this process is otherwise termed as hydrothermal growth process. Gas phase synthesis method uses gaseous environment in closed chambers. The synthesis is carried out at high temperatures from 500  °C to 1500  °C. Zinc oxide (ZnO) ZnO is wide bandgap (Eg = 3.4 eV) II VI compound semiconductor which has a non-centrosymmetric wurtzite structure with polar surfaces and lattice parameters a = 0.3296 and c = 0.52065 nm. The structure of ZnO can be described as a number of alternating planes composed of tetrahedrally coordinated O2- and Zn2+ ions, stacked alternatively along the c-axis. The tetrahedral coordination in ZnO results in piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The oppositely charged ions produce positively charged (0001)-Zn and negatively charged (000-1)-O polar surfaces, resulting in a normal dipole moment and spontaneous polarization along the c-axis. Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zinc oxide nanostructures Different techniques namely sol-gel, spray pyrolysis, hydrothermal method, electrospinning and thermal evaporation are prevalent for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and nanorods. The hydrothermal process is an environmentally friendly process and does not require a complex vacuum environment. The hydrothermal process is surface independent and provides good control over the morphology of the nanostructures. ZnO nanorods growth on glass substrates by thermal decomposition of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and zinc nitrate is reported by Baruah et al. Thermal degradation of HMT releases hydroxyl ions which react with Zn2+ ions from ZnO. The role of HMT is to supply the hydroxyl ions to drive the precipitation reaction. Sugunan et al, have proposed that HMT being a long chain polymer and a nonpolar chelating agent, gets preferentially attached to the non polar facets of the zincitie crystal thereby cutting off the access of Zn2+ ions to them leaving only the polar (001) face for epitaxial growth. Metal oxide nanostructure based conductometric gas sensors Zinc oxide Characterization of gas sensing properties of ZnO nanowires is reported by Ahn et.al. ZnO nanowires were fabricated by a selective growth method on patterned Au catalysts forming a nanobridge between two Pt pillar electrodes. The gas sensing properties were demonstrated using NO2 gas. The response as a function of temperature is shown to be highest at 225  °C and linearly increased with the concentration of NO2 in the range of 0.5 3ppm and saturated beyond this range. The sensor performance is also compared with ZnO nanocrystals, Sn and In doped ZnO thin film. Also the nanobridge structure is shown to have fast recovery behaviour because the desorbed gas molecules can be easily removed off from the nanowires surfaces. Lupan et.al demonstrated the gas sensing behaviour of Al doped ZnO films synthesized by successive chemical deposition method. Successive chemical solution deposition method was reported to be simple and requires non-sophisticated equipment to produce nanostructures with high efficiency. Nanostructured ZnO films doped with Al showed a high sensitivity to CO2 than undoped ZnO films. Characterization and gas sensing properties of ZnO hollow spheres is reported by Zhang et.al. Different concentrations of NH3 and NO2 at different temperatures were used to test the gas sensor. ZnO hollow sphere sensor exhibited extremely different sensing behaviors to NH3 and NO2. The optimum operating temperature of the sensor was 200  °C for NH3 and 240  °C for NO2 respectively. The gas sensor exhibited much higher response to NO2 than to other gases at 240  °C implying good selectivity and potential application of the sensor for detecting NO2. Tin oxide Law et.al, analyzed room temperature sensing properties of a single crystalline tin oxide nanowire sensor towards nitrogen dioxide. NO2 chemisorb strongly on SnO2 surface and at room temperature desorption is not complete when the NO2 is removed. UV light was used to activate both the adsorption and desorption process. In the dark, oxygen adsorbs on the surface capturing electrons from the semiconductor and creates a depletion layer. When exposed to UV, photo-generated holes migrate to the surface and recombine with electrons releasing oxygen ions, with an increase in conductance. The detection limit was 2 10 ppm of nitrogen dioxide. Kolmakov et.al studied the effect of catalysis in tin oxide single wire FET structures. The sensing capabilities of SnO2 single nano-wires and nanobelts in a FET configuration before and after functionalization with Pd catalyst was analysed. The improvement in the sensing performance after catalysation was reported to be the combined effect of spill-over of atomic oxygen formed catalytically on Pd clusters and migrating on SnO2 surface and also to the back spill-over effect in which weakly bound molecular oxygen migrates to Pd clusters and are catalytically dissociated. Indium oxide Indium oxide nanowires have been tested towards ethanol by Xiangfeng et.al. A mixture of In2O3 nanowire and polyvinyl alcohol solution was coated on alumina tubes with two gold contacts at the end; a heating wire was inserted in the tube to operate in the temperature range 100 500 °C. The resistance of the nanowires was monitored in presence of air, ethanol and other gases. The highest response was obtained with ethanol, the detection limit was estimated to be equal to 100 ppm. Molybdenum oxide Molybdenum oxide nanorods based gas sensing was reported. The MoO3 nanorods were characterized by high response to ethanol and CO at temperatures in the range of 100  °C. The response of thin films with the same structure was comparatively studied and nanorods based sensor resulted in one order of magnitude more sensitive due to the high surface to volume ratio and reduced lateral dimensions of the nanorods. Other metal oxides Sawicka et.al. presented the nitrogen sensing properties of tungsten oxide nanowires prepared with electrospinning. The effect of processing parameter variations was studied and a comparison with thin films prepared by sol-gel was also presented. WO3 nanowires showed better NO2 sensing performances compared to sol-gel processed films due to increase in surface area of nanowires. A large amount of literature is available on the gas sensing properties of carbon nanotubes. Only little attention is put in the studies of gas sensing properties of metal oxide based tubular structures. Varghese et.al. studied the hydrogen sensing properties of titania nano-tubes. The tests were performed in nitrogen atmosphere and 1% H2. The response time increased with temperature and the response time was 2-3 min. NO2 gas sensors based on ZnO nanostructures Liu et.al reported the NO2 gas sensing properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays prepared by hydrothermal method with zinc acetate and hexamethylenetetramine. The seed layer was deposited by ultrasonic spary pyrolysis. The aqueous hydrothermal solution was prepared by mixing equimolar ratio of zinc acetate dehydrate and HMT. The hydrothermal growth was carried out in a Teflon-lined stainless container. The substrate was put in the solution with the seeded face down and the container was sealed and kept at 110 °C for three hours. The nanorod sensor shows a higher sensitivity than the ZnO film based sensor prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The enhanced sensitivity is attributed to the higher aspect ratio of the nanorod structure and the sensitivity increases with the length of the nanorod. The relative response of the sensor is linearly proportional to NO2 concentration in the 0.2 5 ppm range. The NO2 gas sensing properties of semiconducting type gas sensors with channels composed of non-agglomerated, necked ZnO nanoparticles were investigated by Jun et.al. The heat treatment of the nanoparticles at 400 °C led to their necking and coarsening. The slight necking of the nanoparticles with their neighbors also enhanced the conductivity of the channels, due to the lowering of the potential barrier. The response of the necked nanoparticle based sensor was reported to be as high as 100 when exposed to 0.2 ppm of NO2 at 200  °C. NO2 gas sensor based on ZnO nanorods grown by ultrasonic irradiation was reported to very high sensitivity with a very low detection limit of 10 ppb at 250 °C. Sonochemical route was employed for the fabrication of vertically aligned nanorods on a Pt electrode patterned alumina substrate. The total time requir

monkeys :: essays research papers

I like monkeys. The pet store was selling them for 5Â ¢ a piece. I thought that odd since they were normally a couple thousand each. I decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I bought 200. I like monkeys. I took my 200 monkeys home. I have a big car. I let one drive. His name was Sigmund. He was retarded. In fact, none of them were really bright. They kept punching themselves in their genitals. I laughed. Then they punched my genitals. I stopped laughing. I herded them into my room. They didn't adapt very well to their new environment. They would screech, hurl themselves off of the couch at high speeds and slam into the wall.Although humorous at first, the spectacle lost its novelty halfway into its third hour. Two hours later I found out why all the monkeys were so inexpensive: they all died. No apparent reason. They all just sorta' dropped dead. Kinda' like when you buy a goldfish and it dies five hours later. Damn cheap monkeys. I didn't know what to do. There were 200 dead monkeys lying all over my room, on the bed, in the dresser, hanging from my bookcase. It looked like I had 200 throw rugs. I tried to flush one down the toilet. It didn't work. It got stuck. Then I had one dead, wet monkey and 199 dead, dry monkeys. I tried pretending that they were just stuffed animals. That worked for a while, that is until they began to decompose. It started to smell real bad. I had to pee but there was a dead monkey in the toilet and I didn't want to call the plumber. I was embarrassed.I tried to slow down the decomposition by freezing them. Unfortunately there was only enough room for two monkeys at a time so I had to change them every 30 seconds. I also had to eat all the food in the freezer so it didn't all go bad. I tried burning them. Little did I know my bed was flammable. I had to extinguish the fire. Then I had one dead, wet monkey in my toilet, two dead, frozen monkeys in my freezer, and 197 dead, charred monkeys in a pile on my bed. The odor wasn't improving. I beca me agitated at my inability to dispose of my monkeys and to use the bathroom.

Changing Roles of Managers at Corporate Insurance Essay -- business, m

Over the course of the past two years, I have worked in a call center environment within the Corporate Insurance Company. A typical day is fast paced, yet structured. Up until recently, I had the responsibility of taking anywhere from 70 – 100 inbound calls daily from either troubled agents or inquiring customers. Of these calls, a few are monitored on a monthly basis to ensure the accuracy of the information that I am giving out. Customer service representatives here are also held accountable for our time on and off the phone as well as any data entry or what we call â€Å"after call work†. Again, this job family has operated with full structure and accountability. One of the repeated issues facing all phone counselors in this job family is the changing of the roles of managers. This is due in part to Corporate being a growing Fortune 500 company. Lately, about every four to six months, there has been a need for restructuring and reassigning of managers and team mates. We strive to work cooperatively as a team and just as we begin to effectively motivate one another, things change. Personally, in two years I have had five different managers and three different teams. Each manager has their own management, leadership and coaching styles and within each team there are ever changing inter and intra-personal dynamics. As I eluded, I have also changed job families and again, have had to become accustomed to a new manager, as well as the inter workings of a new job family all together. I now work diligently as an Account Processor, processing 70 – 100 policy changes daily. In this role, there is greater flexibility, less structure, and less support. However, the responsibility to provide the best service for the customer has no... ...ze our natural talent, and bring this out. They also have the skill to put their self in the shoes of those they manage. This will help them understand what employees are like and what motivates them, and then they can slowly work to mold them and help them to do their best. Those are some of the primary differences between leadership and management. I’m the type of leader or manager who would lead by example. As a leader I would eliminate potential barriers my employees couldn’t see. Also I would expand my vision with the insight of others, and this would potentially create a better vision and end result. As a manager, I would delegate work to my employees, so they felt as though they were apart of the big picture. Also I would get to know each of my team members, both personally and professionally. All in all I think I would do just fine as a leader or manager.

Soft Drinks Sales New Strategies

Sales of soft drinks declined in the US in 2006 for the first time in more than two decades. Many beverages manufacturers became successful in the past and they are still at the top, but they can lose their power unless they do something to reverse the trend. In this article we’ll try to find new ways to help soft drinks manufacturers to face their biggest challenge of the century. To begin with, it would be a good idea to follow a stretching marketing strategy by producing a new line of soft drinks which would have been positioned as healthy and not fattening. Many companies introduced new products of the same line less fattening such as Fanta Zero or Pepsi Light, but consumers identify the brands of these products with fat and unhealthy drinks. However, if these manufacturers created new brands with names like Bio or Nature, a specific market segment would be directly targeted and sales would stop their decline. In addition, soft drinks companies could follow a different promotion strategy so that their products would look more fashionable and more modern. By doing this, companies would compensate their sales decrease in one segment by increasing their market share in another one. New consumers would be the ones who drink something while they are in bars or discos and new competitors would be alcohol drinks companies. This promotion strategy could consist of advertisements which relate soft drinks with nightlife with new slogans like â€Å"Welcome to the Coke side of night†. Furthermore, product placement in James Bond movies would be a great idea. If Bond changed its Martini for a coke many people would start to see soft drinks with different eyes. To conclude, we should remember that classic soft drinks market is still profitable and new strategies should try to avoid damaging classic products image. Also it’s necessary to point out that soft drink manufacturers will never be as powerful as they were before as long as consumers are demanding everyday more sophisticated and concrete products.

Interests of Social Harmony Essay

To quote John Stuart Mill, â€Å"The actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm to other individuals.† Hate speech by an individual is something that has an adverse effect on society causing mayhem and chaos. Society comprises various individuals as well as the one who gave the speech. So how does Hate Speech affect the society? It does so by harming the individuals of the society and that individual too who delivered the hate speech. I believe all of us will agree to the fact that the makers of our Constitution were thinkers of the very highest kind. Our Constitution is an advocate of subtle restrictions on free speech, and to quote it, â€Å"Restrictions can be made on free speech, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, public order and morality, against contempt of court, defamation or incitement to offence! If such great thinkers supported certain restrictions on free speech, what reason do we have to debate upon them? I agree with my opponents till the extent that our laws are a bit subjective in their nature. However, this is no excuse for not having them! We cannot not have curbs on free speech as it will only be a recipe for perfect anarchy. Amendments in the Constitution can happen, but removal of such a pivotal restriction is too extreme and inhibitory step to take. The carrying out of laws in India is a little weak, however there have been numerable instances in the past where the authorities have shown the law’s teeth and prosecuted the guilty in acts of hate speech. Take the recent example of AkbaruddinOwaisi who tried to spurn sentiments of hate in the people of Andhra! He has been booked by the law. The 3rd Reich under Adolf Hitler is held responsible for the initiation of the 2nd World War. But what spurned the people of Germany into action? They were the words of Adolf Hitler, whose appalling hate speech led to the most heinous of crimes in human history, the genocide and holoca ust. The example of the mass exodus of North-East origin Indians living in other parts of the nation, to their hometowns is an alarming and eye opening one. The outrageous fire-like dissemination of the false alarm via the internet begs us to have curbs on free speech! Take the example of the 10th article of the European Convention on Human Rights, â€Å"Everyone has the right to Freedom of Expression, however, the exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society†. The misuse of the freedom of expression may encroach upon the most fundamental right of all, the Right to Life! Something so small like the shouting out of the word ‘fire’ can cause frenzy in a cinema hall. We are talking about a democratic nation over here my friends, something much too big and much too fragile.

Legal Structure of EC Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Legal Structure of EC Law - Case Study Example Christina runs a graphic design business based in Brighton and ordered a new computer system on 5th July 2007 from Avalon Computers Ltd., a mail-order firm specialising in computer equipment designed for professional graphics use and based in Reading. Christina paid 3,000 in full for the equipment and it was delivered to her studio a few days later. However, the next day she learned that she had lost an important order from clients in America for future design work, and reluctantly decided that she could not afford the new computer system at the present time. She immediately contacted Avalon by fax and asked the company to take back the computer (still boxed and unused) and refund the money paid. The company refused. 1. Advise her clearly and fully as to her rights under European Community Law (if any) to obtain a refund of the money she has paid for the goods from Avalon. If she is unsuccessful in doing so, can she obtain redress from any other person or body Ibanez (2004) studied the legal procedures against member states for breaches of EC law and the different aspects of the European Commission enforcement procedure under EC Treaty Articles 226 and 228. Ibanez discusses the policy and strategy in enforcement proceedings and the European model that is followed for enforcing and supervising EC law. The Commission can sue Member States before the European Court of Justice or ECJ under Article 228 if a member state breaches the laws as required to be followed by the states. The enforcement of Commission decisions would be related to new developments and procedural aspects at the European level. The general procedures of the EC law show that the EC Treaty grants the Commission the power to "ensure that the provisions of this Treaty and the measures taken by the institutions pursuant thereto are applied." This relates to the EC Treaty Article 211 that grants a general power to the Commission and the EU can use the provisions of the EC Treat y for fighting Member State noncompliance. For an imaginary directive adopted by the Council in May 2005, if any one member state fails to keep up to the directive of EU law or the EC Treaty, according to the Articles 211, 226 and 228, the European Commission can take legal action against any member state that fails to comply to EC Treaty requirements or as expected from a member state. Article 226 is in fact based on a legal model of integration between

Business ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business ethics - Research Paper Example How should one live?† (Megone & Robinson quoting Allen, 2002: 23). As corporate management practice is primarily normative many of the examinations of how an organisation should act toward Third World Countries prompts the question how it should and can do better in ethical terms. In academia descriptive approaches to analyze and compare practices are taken as a means of judging how best those practices can be customized or altered to better suit the organization’s quest for more ethical ways of doing business. The extent of business ethical issues, how many we can come up with, in any given assessment largely reflects the degree to which the business may be at odds with social values. These values may or may not have anything to do with the economics of the situation. â€Å"...much of what masquerades as business ethics is nothing of the sort, having little to do with either business or with ethics† (Megone & Robinson quoting Sternberg, 2002: 25). Academic approaches to business ethics often get caught up in this distorted â€Å"reality,† using a directive approach that only appears to reflect what is actually going on in the organization and the environment in which it operates. Interest in business ethics came to the forefront during the 1980s and 1990s both within major corporations and within academia. â€Å"The involvement of multinational companies in the elaboration of a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda during the 1990s imbued investment considerations with a more political profile. A plethora of initiatives expressed the increased salience of the private sector to debates over the respect for basic rights in the developing world† (Youngs, 2004: 85). More than a few corporate web sites place a good deal of emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values as part of their business ethics program. They publish ethics codes as seen on

Housing issues and housing solutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Housing issues and housing solutions - Essay Example The residential facilities are poorly repaired and maintained and the security in the locality is compromised. This has seen several tenants shift to other residential facilities not managed by the firm. This discourse is an advice to Riverslake Housing Association in its housing management strategies. Involving tenants in vital decision making in matters regarding housing estate management have proven to be of great importance. For instance, In Tamworth, Landlord Services Tenancy agreement was reviewed on consulting the tenants and it is one of the best agreements ever achieved. Tenants also participated in the initiation of Housing Revenue account (HRA) and this has been helpful to both the tenants and the landlords. Such involvement also saw the launch of various projects dubbed ‘plant a pot’ and ‘Grow your own’ and these are meant to conserve the environment and create a sense of belonging among the tenants. Furthermore, ‘the love where you live’ and ‘BIG Tidy Up’ campaigns has resulted to clean living environments and united tenants, this would not be achieved if every decisions were made by the housing estate managers. Consulting tenants ensures that services provided are accordance to the tenants needs. Tenants would be exact or precise on their wishes and needs and this would help the housing estate managers save time and resources to fix specific areas as per the tenants needs. Furthermore, this would retain the existing tenants and attract more as there wishes and needs are well taken care of. Major housing management firms in California opted to involve their tenants in major decision making and this increased their income by 12% according to the report dubbed, ‘involving tenants’ This encourages them to pay their dues or rent in good time and this advantageous to the housing managers (Audit

Impact of New Technology in Nursing Research Paper

Impact of New Technology in Nursing - Research Paper Example This technology identifies the mutations of genes that expose a person to the development of chronic illnesses (American Association for Cancer Research, 2012). Genetics also identifies the carrier status, and diagnose certain uteri conditions. The medical professionals encounter patients who visit health facilities requiring treatment with their genetic sequencing and genotyping at hand. The availability of genetic data empowers the patients, and enhances better health care. The challenge that the nursing fraternity face with the introduction of the genetic technology is the education (American Association for Cancer Research, 2012). Most of the nurses in the current nursing practice have little or no knowledge about the genomics and genetics, hence lacking the required competence for delivery of effective counseling and the discharge of knowledge to the relevant patients. Contrary to the above concerns, the technology of genetic sequencing and genotyping continues to improve the interventional medicine by improving the diagnostics of nursing. (American Association for Cancer Research, 2012) The introduction of more accurate but less invasive tools in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases has changed the nursing practice. The emergence of technologies that test the existence of heart disease, monitoring the amount of blood sugar and the use of magnets to treat depression has transformed the outlook of nursing (Kelland, 2012). The use of scanning technology to identify the hard and soft body tissues is extensively important in the elimination of exploratory surgeries that inflict pain on patients in the process of determining the genesis of an illness (Miliard, 2012). These scans also detect the spread of chronic diseases faster than the x ray imaging. Despite the medical advances that come with the more accurate diagnosis tools, the challenge that the nurses face is in the use of the

MArketting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

MArketting - Assignment Example This reflects the success of the company in various countries (Jumeirah International, 2013). The company has mainly eyed tourist attractions and travel destinations for the placement of its properties and this have hugely contributed towards the instant popularity of the group in that particular area. The architectural finesse of the group is appreciated the world over and these hotels and resorts are the sought after destinations for sight-seeing purposes too. As a part of its expansion plan, the Jumeirah group is viewing the feasibility of setting up its foot in India, also a country in Asia with huge population and growing economy. The hospitality sector is estimated to generate revenue of $ 30 billion by 2015 (ICRA Limited, 2011). This paper aims to undertake environmental analysis that would help the parent company in arriving at a positive decision towards establishing their business in India. In order to evaluate the macro-environment of the country with regard to the hotel industry, a PEST analysis is conducted. The sector is explored to assess the political, economic, social and technological factors that impact the business. The hospitality industry hugely contributes towards the economy by the way of taxes and tariffs, as per the luxury and services that they provide. Thus, decisions pertinent to hotel industry are definitely under the scrutiny of the government and its intervention into the operations in the sector is inevitable. Incentives and tax concessions are given to aspirant hoteliers serving foreign tourists and generating income in foreign currencies. The government also allows tax concessions for hotels in hilly areas and remote places and these concessions helped the industry wade through the economic crises. However, the terrorist attacks in Taj hotel at Mumbai has affected the sector, as the tourists do not feel enough secure in these lodging set

How Ian Mcmillan Conveys His Attitudes Towards the Death of His Mother Essay Example for Free

How Ian Mcmillan Conveys His Attitudes Towards the Death of His Mother Essay McMillan uses harsh words throughout the poem to show his grief and remorse at his mothers death. Words like â€Å"shatters† link with how he is feeling, like everything is broken and cannot be repaired. This word makes us imagine something broken into lots of tiny pieces which cant be put back together again, and it helps us to understand how broken and jumbled up he is feeling. The word â€Å"slap† when talking about â€Å"the tears (that) slap my torn face† insinuates the idea that he is in physical pain, that the emotional pain he feels is is so strong that he physically hurts. In the first stanza, we find out about his mothers death. Enjambment is used to speed up the pace of the poem, and show how quickly someones whole live can change, like in the phraseâ€Å"In the moment it takes a life to pass/ from waking to sleeping† The phrase â€Å"from waking to sleeping† highlights the opposites in what he and his mother are doing, as she passes from life to death. The word sleeping creates quiet a gentle image, and suggests that her death was not unexpected, and perhaps was drawn out and painful. Sleep is a very relaxed and calm time, the only time when the human mind can escape from problems in the day, so perhaps the idea of his mother falling asleep is comforting, like she has now stopped suffering and can rest happy. The second stanza uses a lot of words relating to the senses, to help us understand how McMillan is feeling. The sentence â€Å"outside a milk float chinks and shines† shows that the world is carrying on as normal, despite the fact that McMillans world has personally just stopped. The rhyming pattern throughout this poem is abab, but in this stanza the words â€Å"mine† and â€Å"shines† are meant to rhyme, but the fact that they don;t fully rhyme represents the disorientation he is feeling upon finding out about his mothers death, and perhaps also shows how nothing is quite right any more. Also, the word drones when describing a plane has been used to represent the deep grief he is feeling, and makes us feel like he has completely given up. In the third stanza McMillan seems to be describing a state of shock that he has fallen in to, which is quite a normal reaction when a loved one dies. McMillan describes his tears to slap his torn face; as well as slap being a raw and aggressive word, the way he describes his face as torn perhaps suggests that it was his mother who held him together, and now, without her, he is broken. This helps us to realise how important his mother was to him, which makes us sympathise for him a lot and evokes a feeling of empathy when we put ourselves in his position. McMillan says he feels trapped, like he is trapped by his own emotion and although its up to him to find a way out of this dark place, he cant see an escape. This shows how alone and scared he is feeling knowing his motherr is no longer around and also makes us think how panicked he must be feeling, as we would be if we were trapped somewhere. The word float makes us think that McMillan is no longer in control of his emotions, that what he is feeling is unstoppable, but also it instigates the sense that nothing seems quite normal around him, and that he is detached from reality. The final stanza is a rhyming couplet that summarises the grief and emptiness and the lack of will to go on without his mother. â€Å"Feeling that the story ends just here† conveys the idea that there isnt a story to continue without his mother, showing how depressed McMillan is feeling, like he has reached a dead end in his life.

International Marketing Strategy for Tesco

International Marketing Strategy for Tesco Executive Summary This report outlines international marketing strategy for Tesco for its market entry into Sweden with a range of baby wear. The SWOT and PESTAL analysis show that Tesco currently has the resource capabilities to successfully enter the market and implement a market development strategy. The report recommends that Tesco target the high-end market segment with a differentiation strategy. This report will assist in understanding and the formulation of an international marketing strategy for Tesco Plc. The report will use PESTLE and SWOT analysis to provide an insight into Tesco’s current market situation. This will help management in making the correct strategic choices in terms of corporate and international strategy in terms of lunching a range of baby wear (infant toddler clothes) into Eastern Europe (Namely, Sweden). The report will outline how Tesco will make such market diversity and also managing corporate portfolio. We will use the Ansoff Matrix to consider market entry models. The final part of this report will provide an activity plan for Tesco along with a profit and loss account. Measurements and control with contingency plans will also be discussed. Company Profile Tesco runs more than 2,300 supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores in the UK (where it is the market leader in food retail), Ireland, Central Europe, and Asia. Its operations include convenience and gasoline retailing (Tesco Express), small urban stores (Tesco Metro), hypermarkets (Tesco Extra), and financial services through Tesco Personal Finance. A global leader in online grocery sales, it owns a 35% stake in US grocery chain Safeways GroceryWorks. It is the leading online grocery store and it is now expanding its business with a TV channel and a retail based education institution†. SWOT and PESTLE Analysis of Tesco Plc A PEST analysis of the industry will examine the local, national and global influences of political, economic, social and technological factors to understand opportunities and threats well. All of those (political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental) factors will to some extent apply to the retail industry in Sweden. POLITICAL – Following the European Integration and Free Trade Agreements, the market has opened up for British Companies to invest in Eastern Europe. Tesco already has 60 Hypermarket store in Hungary. Lidl is uncompromisingly fighting to maintain its market share with an aggressive pricing strategy. ECONOMIC the Retail sector is fairly recession prawn and also very sensitive to changes in interest rates. Since the events of September 11th the world economies have suffered heavily, stocks plummeted and prices are at all time lows. The world economy is however, now on the up post September 11th. Consumers are optimistic and the retail industry is once again booming. SOCIAL – changes in consumer taste and lifestyle represent both opportunities and threats for the industry. Opportunities in terms of new market and consumers, however, there are added threats in terms of alternative established Swedish national retailers (foreign company bias). TECHNICAL – Changes in retailing methods as such clothes sales via the Internet is now a common place in retailing. Paperless operation, the management and administration of the company are undertaken on IT systems, which are accessed through secure servers; provide flexibility in the running of the business. As Sweden is at the forefront of technological advancement with national companies like Ericsson, Tesco would enjoy the comprehensive logistic and distribution channels already in place. LEGAL – National legislation for health and safety both in terms of consumer rights and also in terms of production of own natural renewable resources for making clothes. ENVIRONMENTAL – The renewable source of resources used in production, namely cotton and wool are environmentally friendly. The threats are in terms of legal consequences for livestock’s in terms of health and safety. Market Entry Strategy We can use Ansoff’s product/market matrix to identify directions for Tesco’s strategic development. This matrix offers directions for strategic option available to Tesco in terms of products and market coverage, taking into account its strategic capability and also expectation of stakeholders Source: Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., (2005) We can see from the Ansoff Matrix that Tesco’s lunch of Baby wear in Sweden will involve a market development strategy. As Tesco already sells kid’s clothing (existing product) but Sweden will be a new market. Both capability and market consideration has driven Tesco to into development into new markets. Kid’s clothing is a product that can be exploited in other market segments and also geographical spread internationally. Tesco may encounter some difficulties around creditability and expectations as they attempt to enter the new market. Tesco may not be seen as a credible ‘mainstream’ supplier. Tesco Plc Target Customers Tesco must decide which market segment in Sweden it wants to target; this will subsequently determine its generic strategy. If it wishes to with the low cost retailers then it must adopt a cost leadership strategy. Otherwise it will have to look for differentiation so that it can charge premium prices at the high-end market. As the competitive rivalry in the low cost market is intense, Tesco should enter the high-end market with a differentiation strategy. However, before Tesco decides on its target customers, we need to conduct a market analysis, in terms of size of the baby clothing market in Sweden, market shares of all the existing firms in the market and finally segments within the market, to identify particular segments, so that Tesco can target these and adjust its marketing. Marketing Objective Tesco could have the following objectives: Profitability, in terms of operating margin (a 10% target) Swedish Market share (a 20% target) Customer advocacy (the number of customers who recommend Tesco branded clothing, repeat business) Respected company (the number of community stakeholders who respect Tesco) Employee motivation (the number of employees who feel motivated to deliver Tesco’s goals) Tesco must ensure that it sets ‘SMART’ marketing objectives that are measurable, time limited, attainable and relevant. Marketing Strategy Tesco’ strategy is clear, with growth being pursued from four areas – the core UK grocery business, non-food, international expansion and retailing services such as financial services, the dotcom business and telecommunication packages. Basically, Tesco is using its strong stable core to keep the business ticking over while it forges new riskier areas of growth. Pushing further into non-food in the next phase (Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., (2005)). Lidl is currently destroying the market by selling the products below cost price. Therefore, Tesco’s generic strategy will have to be cost leadership, unless we can successfully differentiate our line of clothing so that we can charge a premium price. A marketing strategy will involve analysing the markets, and which products to offer. The strategy is implemented through marketing tactics, which involve detailed decisions about factors such as the price and the way the product is distributed. So Tesco must decide on its model of entry in terms of, own stores, Internet selling or joint venture with an existing national retailer. Activity Plan Market Research Market Analysis (including demand for baby wear) Mode of Entry Marketing Mix Decisions (Place, Price, Product, Promotion) decisions Methods of promotion – advertising, public relations, direct mail, sales promotion and personal selling Profit Loss account Measurement Controls Tesco must also have in place both financial and strategic controls. Financial controls are in terms of profit targets, capital bids and performance appraisal. Strategic controls in terms of overall strategic balance, agreed business plan, optional services and infrastructure and any short-term constraints such as human resources. Contingency Plan The contingency plan must be in place to ensure that if the product fails having made large capital investments in new store, Tesco must have other products within its portfolio, which it can launch. References and bibliography http://www.forbes.com Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy Text and Cases, 7th Edition, FT Prentice Hall http://www.hoovers.com/nike/ID__14254/free-co-factsheet.xhtml ACCA Paper 3.5 Strategic Business Planning and Development (2001) The Financial Training Company M.E. Porter, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, 1985 Jeannet, J., Hennessey, D.H, Global Marketing Strategies, 6th Edition, Houghton Mifflin