Qualitative Analysis Essay

Qualitative is where the results give a colour that you have to match up to a colour chart, or have you have done to see if it is positive or negative with a description of what a positive reaction should look like. This test is less reliable as some colour or positive reaction look similar to each other or the same but by adding different chemicals. An example of qualitative would be a pH test as the result gives you a colour and then you have to match it up to the pH scale to get you final result. Qualitative analysis is used to find out different ion in a given sample. This also analytical chemistry technique, this testing method uses many different tests to get a reaction that would link with different ions. Ions An Ion is an electrically charged particles that are formed when atoms are added or taken way. Metal atoms have positively charged ions and non-metal atoms have negatively charged ions. To work out how many ions a metal and non-metal should have is simple. Metals should have the same amount of charged ions as the group number they are in for example a metal in group 2 will have two positively charged ions. Non-metals should have the same amount of charged ions as the group number they are in but minus eight for example a non-metal in group 5 would have 3 negatively charged ions. Negative ions are called anions and positive ions are called cations. When testing for cations/metals you could use a flame test this is the simplest and quickest way of test for cations another way that you could test for cations is a sodium hydroxide test this test consist of adding sodium hydroxide to test compound when coloured precipitate is formed them stop adding the sodium hydroxide and see what the cation is by using the table below, this table show what colour the precipitate is and any further results.

Mentally and Physically Abusive Relationships Essay

Why People Stay in Mentally/Physically Abusive Relationships It has long been wondered by many people, why there are so many who stay in mentally/physically abusive relationships. I have designed a study to find out address the reasons and the average amount of women by social and educational and by age group. With this study I will design, I will be using quantitative variables. Quantitative analysis is mathematical (Passer, 2014). In psychology it typically involves using statistics to aid in summarizing and interpreting data. I will use various scales that will rate or measure severity of the abuse, how long the person has been in been in the relationship, how many children the person has, if these are all of the partners or spouses children, check educational status and also if they plan to leave or stay in the relationship, on what level they are with how they feel about leaving or staying. I will have scales with age ranges and income status. I will also have questionnaires allowing the subject to pick from multiple choice answers which will as such questions as, the severity of the abuse, whether it is mental or physical abuse or both, and multiple choice questions to choose from as to their reason for not leaving. Example of this: I have not left the current relationship that I am in for one of the following reasons. Please circle all that apply 1. I am afraid to leave 2. I have nowhere to go 3. I have children involved and don’t want to leave 4. I still love this person and don’t want to leave 5. I feel that a lot of the abuse if my fault These are just some examples of the questions that may be asked. In this study it is very much my desire to give others an idea the average amount of women and men who endure abuse and reasons for leaving or staying. Ethical issues that could arise would deal with getting too deep into a person’s personal life and doing some things that could cause for the person to endure more physical and or mental abuse. The main thing would be to make sure that no one who is helping with this study gets too close personally to a subject, thereby getting involved in the subject’s persona life. My goal with this study is to adhere and conform to the five ethical principles. I will make sure that all involved in this study are concerned with the welfare of each person participating in the study. I will make sure that all who are involved in the study understand their responsibility as professional and only conduct themselves in a professional manner. This also means making sure they don’t uphold a colleague who may be demonstrating unethical conduct. I will make sure that each study subject knows; at all times what is going on and the no one mislead them, concerning the study, in any way. I will make sure that there is no bias in is no bias in this study and that all study subjects are being treated fairly. It will be my main goal to make sure that all participants are treated with dignity and respect, which also includes their right to privacy and confidentiality. No person will leave this study feeling that they should not have participated. There are several studies concerning abuse and why people stay, but most of this deal with women in abusive relationships such as Rick Nauert, PhD, who wrote about why women stay in abusive relationships. Researchers discovered that many who live with chronic psychological abuse still see certain positive traits in their abusers — such as dependability and being affectionate — which may partly explain why they stay (Nuaert, 2010). There are however, studies as to why men stay in abusive relationships also and many of them have their reasons for not leaving. There are many kinds of abuse that a man can experience, including physical, emotional, financial, sexual and spiritual abuse (Casimong, 2014). In closing, it is my goal in this study to obtain information from people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and financial statuses, whether they are male or female. People from all walks of life suffer abuse and although it may  occur more in some areas, it occurs regardless of financial status, educational background or whether a person is male or female and at all ages. Reference Passer, Michael. Research Methods. Worth Publishers, 05/2014. VitalBook file. Rick Nauert, PhD. Why Women Stay in Abusive Relationships. 13 April 2010. . Rick Nauert, PhD. Why Women Stay in Abusive Relationships. 13 April 2010. .

Summarise Entitlement for Early Years Education

1. 1)There are different types of childcare options for children in the early years 0-5 these are: The first one is an organisation called Surestart this helps families from the birth of their child, providing help and support when the parents really need it the most. This organisation works with the parent’s right from when the child is born helping the child with educational needs.They provide full day care, short term care; health and family support if the family is having complications at home such as financial needs then Surestart will do their best to provide the family with links of people and organisations that can help them. They also provide parenting advice, this is essential for some new families that have never experienced parenting before. They also provide training and employment advice to fund the new families which is desperately needed especially when the family contains young parents.The next one is nursery schools; usually nursery schools provide this type of education for children between three and five years old. Most of the time these type of nurseries are based at the surestart centres but they can also often be linked to local primary schools. The next childcare option is pre schools and playgroups, most of the time playgroups are run by voluntary organisations for children three and four years old. This means that children can have 15 hours of their free education at these organisations.The next type of childcare provision is day nurseries these are consistently placed in workplaces as people going to work can place their child in that provision complete a day’s work and then take their child home. These can be run by both the business they are placed at or they can be voluntary, this might be free but sometimes the businesses can charge. A different type of childcare provision is one used at the carers home these are called childminders. These are often used after school is finished and people still need to place their c hildren in childcare.In childminders they are only allowed to look after six children under the age of eight but only three children are allowed at a time under the age of five. The last and most unlikely child care provision is a nanny these provide childcare in the parents’ home and are usually paid for by the parents and usually used over a long period of time. These are often used if the parents are on a ‘work trip’ or got a complete a set amount of work over a period of time.

Ancient Hunters Of the Great Plains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ancient Hunters Of the Great Plains - Essay Example Similarly, the changes resulted into extinction of most of the megafauna’s of North America. Therefore, it is inherent that extinction is a natural evolutionary development. The change in climate implied that the culture of Indian people rather than the ancient hunters of the Great Plains had to change in order for them to cope with the new environment. The most notable cultural adaptation included the Folsom cultural complex. Folsom archaeological site in New Mexico formed the basis of Folsom cultural complex. The evidence is based on a spear that was entrenched in an ancient bison had been excavated. Geographical distribution of Folsom culture was identified to spread eastward from Rocky Mountains across the vast of Great Plains (Wood 51). In addition, the culture spread from North Dakota to Mexico. Bison hunting formed the basis of Folsom people lifestyle. Socially, the ancient hunters of the Great Plains inhabited small bands that comprised of at least twenty members. Inte raction between these people involved socialization and trade. Nevertheless, it is notable that they lived a nomadic lifestyle since they travelled areas that provided them with opportunities for hunting. Inhabitation of the Great Plains with bisons during the Ice age was attributable to their survival characteristics. Bisons had adapted to short grass that had dominated the region during the postglacial times. ... The Agate Basin in Eastern Wyoming is one of the bison-killing sites that I was interested in due to its aesthetical nature. Apart from bison killing, the site shows some form of planning. Natural topographical features such as Arroyos formed the basis of Buffalo trapping. The terrain enabled the hunters to trap large numbers of animals. In addition, it provided the hunters with an opportunity to involve few people in the exercise, based on the archaeological remains, the hunters speared some of their prays that tried to escape from the traps rather than the Arroyo while some were held till they delivered in order to ensure good supply of meat. Since hunting was practiced during winter, only chosen parts of the animals were taken while the rest was frozen until the onset of warm weather. Butchering of the beast was done at the kill sites where the meat was cut into large pieces for transportation. Weight reduction involved removal of the femur and the tibia. The Folsom people are ref erred to as successful hunters because of their great knowledge in their environment and bisons (Wood 123). According to archaeologists, introduction of horses as a form of material culture in North America by the Spaniards had remarkable influence on the plains Indians. In regards to Bison hunting, horses expanded the hunters range and increased the hunters’ carrying capacity. As a result, more bisons were slaughtered every year. Apart from its influence on hunting, other aspects of life were affected where by instability and imbalance emerged in the society. Since it violated the cultural values of the ancient Great Plain hunters, concern for the common welfare emerged.

Urban economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Urban economics - Essay Example Right from the time human beings have started inhabiting in the caves, they have been analyzing the effectiveness of various locational decisions. It includes factories, retail outlets, warehouses, hospitals, bus stops, educational institutes, automobile stations; just to name a few of them. This ubiquity of locational designing has led to the interest of many in locational analysis. P-median model is the most popular and most widely used location-allocation models. (John Current, Mark Daskin and David Schilling, n.d.)The idea of conditional location problem is to locate the p amount of facilities in order to serve a particular set of demand points, assuming that q facilities are already located. When q tends to zero, there is unconditional problem. In case of conditional p-median or p-center problems, once the new p locations are determined, demand can either be served by the existing facilities or the new facilities, depending on the facility that is in high demand. P-median along with p-center are the most common used models in the locational analysis. Each application to the p-median or p-center problems turns to the conditional model, when there are already existing facilities in the given area. As for example, if anybody wishes to locate p number of warehouses in a particular area, it is denoted as an unconditional p-median problem. ... Each application to the p-median or p-center problems turns to the conditional model, when there are already existing facilities in the given area. As for example, if anybody wishes to locate p number of warehouses in a particular area, it is denoted as an unconditional p-median problem. When there are q number of warehouses already existing in that particular area and p number of warehouses is to be added, then it is denoted as conditional p-median problem. (Oded Berman and Zvi Drezner, August 2007) Median Location Model is based on a few assumptions; the inputs required by the firm exists everywhere, the consumers buy fixed amount of goods and the consumers are distributed along a line, the marginal cost of transport is constant and the firms usually make separate trips for the customers. The firms minimize transport cost by locating at the median of the customer distribution line. As for example, pizza firms make a number of trips in order to serve the customers at various locations. Plants are not created at each and every place in order to reduce the production cost as well as the cost of shipping input to all the locations. Instead, if the firm is situated at the median location, it will lower down the cost of production and it can also serve the customers. Moreover, producing from more locations does not allow the firms take advantage from scale economies. Per unit costs of the production also decreases with the increase in the size of the firm, as Average Cost of Producti on is equal to the Total Cost of Production divided by the Output. Weight Losing / Gaining Location Model: Alfred Weber formulated an industrial location theory, and according to the theory, an industry is located in such a place, where

Macro12.13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro12.13 - Essay Example There have been more investments and more growth of GDP (Pethokoukis 2012). The rise in OPEC oil prices as a result of fall in supply leads to a fall in demand for oil. The import of oil reduces by the oil importing countries. The prices of goods in the economy rise, and the rise depends upon the economy’s dependence on oil imports. Hence the rate of inflation soars high causing a macroeconomic slowdown (See figure below). The rate at which the economies recover from the recession depends upon the monetary policies adopted by the government. If the money supply curve is more elastic, the government targets to put control upon the interest rate. At lower interest rates the investors would be encouraged to make investments and the economy would recover faster. 3. Adaptive expectation is based on the principle that economic agents build their expectation of any macroeconomic variable, as the inflation rate or price level, as a weighted average of their past observations regarding that variable. Adaptive expectations are used in forecasting figures taking into consideration the interest and inflation rates. In this formation the agents ignore the changes taking place in the monetary and fiscal policies and only base their expectations on the past observations. One of the components of the rational expectation hypothesis, Robert E. Lucas, has emphasized upon the fact that the economic agents exhibit rational behavior by making a forecast of the economic variables taking into consideration the past as well as the present information available. If the government announces an inflation rate and chooses a different rate and increases the money supply, producers would increase output following the increase in prices. In the short run, this would increase output level in the economy, but with rational expectations, the agents would endogenize the discretionary policy of the government, at which point output

Health Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health Sociology - Essay Example Also included is the criticism of capitalism which forces the lower working classes to be subject to the exploitation of the upper classes. This includes not only the working standards of the employees but a variety of other factors such as the standards of health which are determined by the bourgeoisie set to attain power. Through manipulating these means, they are able to produce surplus product which leads to profits and the upper classes accumulation of wealth and power for themselves. The last pattern set by Marxism is the need for the worker to revolt. It is only by standing up to the orders set for them by the upper classes that the proletariat can escape. This requires the workers to unite through unions and political parties to stand against the control of the rich ruling classes. Thus, the Marxist policy is very consistent with the idea of exploitation done by the ruling class to maintain their power over the poorer and less powerful working classes. While most Marxist opinions are based upon the concept of economic determinism and its effect on the resulting class conflict, Marx and Engels have been unable to come with a unified and direct theory on over-all purpose of civil society itself. However this purpose of society can be understood by examining the work done by both men. This includes the criticism of the 19th century social systems, the advantages of a communist system and its superiority to the exploitation committed by the capitalist systems and the Marxist need for a justified revolution that would allow the workers to gain their due rights (Peffer 1990).Thus, Marxists aim for a health system that will not deprive the poor of their rights to a justifiable and efficient system that will provide for their basic needs and wants. Marxists view the health care system as a method for capitalist societies to search for profits while maintaining their capitalist domination and capital accumulation (Waitzkin 1983). Marx saw the problems created by the inequality amongst the classes. The conditions borne by the lower working classes were dismal. The working classes were living in an abject state of poverty and were deprived of many material goods. Not only were they paid a minimum wage which prevented them from buying anything but the basic necessities of life but they also lived together which allowed the diseases amongst them to spread at a much higher speed. This unbridled capitalist system created a breeding ground for disease amongst the proletariat (Baggott 2004). There is no doubt that the upper classes are not immune to the disease and infections spread caused by the social and economic conditions, but the number of ill-health between the rich and poor are severely disproportionate. This was coupled with the health services provided to the two different classes. Both were phenomenally different. This proved the Marxist concept that while the rich prospered; the working class lived in poo r conditions under them. The idea is that the health of managerial and professional classes tends to improve while those of the poorer

Mixed Blood Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mixed Blood - Assignment Example I believe that the writer is right in questioning the existence of the term â€Å"race† in our minds. Since most people believe it is a biological entity. However, one must remember that there are no biological tests that can help classify humans into different races. The author puts a question in all our minds but then answers them simply with scientific explanation. He concludes that race is nothing but a fantasy of the human mind. Human beings are one species and therefore can engage in mating. Two people from any part of the world can mate and produce a child who is sterile thereby vindicating that there is absolutely no biological or genomic difference between any races whatsoever. He further explains the origin of man and writes that man originated in Africa from where he migrated to different parts of the world. Genetics plays an important role here since random mutations, genetic drifts and other genetic changes were induced into the genome of man to help him in his survival in different surroundings. The survival of the fittest theory helped Nature select the genetic changes which were best suitable and hence this gave rise to the varying phenotypical features that we find today in different parts of the world. The writer skillfully presents his viewpoint that race cannot and should not considered a biological entity as well since this classification itself is without nay proper basis. Study of genetics can help people understand that the different features that have been inherited as a result of genetic changes are best suited for survival and are not a base for

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 18

Analysis - Essay Example This book is about these changes and what effective managers can do to understand and anticipate such changes and respond accordingly (Henry and Kenneth 34). The organization should also include qualities such as reliability, availability, and the background of the persons they hire. The DIY projects that they greatly encourage have to be limited and monitored in order to ensure that the hired personnel provide top quality projects instead of just a creative but shoddy piece of work (Henry and Kenneth 24). The leadership presented is the transformational style of leadership (Robbins 10) whereby the workers are not strictly monitored thereby they depend on themselves to be their own leaders, this is very effective as the workers are not bossed around and they set their own milestones with each employee trying to perform his best leading to a very productive organization (Robbins 12). The communication method presents itself as a reliable means since majority of the people are connected to the Internet due to the rise of social websites and the development of technology over the years. Distinguished by its incorporation of theory, examination, practice and a wide managerial perception, this text has a universal edge (Richard 93). It scrutinizes in detail on how people behave at work, discussing each person’s individual characteristics, their work environment, group dynamics as well as individual and combined behavior. This edition incorporates international and moral issues throughout, and discovers many interesting subjects, including Total Quality Management, managing diversity and virtual corporations (Richard

Fossil fuels Essay Example for Free

Fossil fuels Essay Fossil fuels belong to non-renewable sources of energy that are accountable for giving the energy required around the world for many families and industrial facilities like electrical generators and others. Deposits of these kinds are generally found deep within the earth surface which is often needed to be mined. Fossil fuels are also rich in carbon remains of prehistoric civilization and other creature that have lasted in severe heat and pressure deep within the earth over millions of years. Researchers said that there are three types of fossil fuels which can be utilized for energy consumption such as natural gas, oil and coal. Natural gas is a gas that consisted primarily of methane (CH4) substance. It is in the form of gaseous fossil fuels that are very flexible, plentiful and comparatively clean compared to oil and coal. It is also created and formed from the remains of marine microorganisms such as plankton and other type of small water creatures like algae. However, compared to the other types of fossil fuel, it is relatively a new kind of energy supply. In 1999 more coals are used than natural gas since people were scared that like oil, the supplies of natural gas will run out. For example, developed countries like United States, Japan and others have overtaken the consumption of coal than natural gas (Miller 1999). Moreover, some researchers forecasted that the supply of natural gas will run out by the end of 21st century. Since it is primarily consists of methane, the gas is highly compacted in a small volumes at huge depths of the earth. In terms of getting this kind of fossil fuel, it needs to be conveyed to the surface by drilling. Moreover, in terms of supply, it reserves are can be seen around the globe since it were evenly distributed unlike oil. On the other hand, oil is a liquid type of fossil fuel that is created and formed from the remains of marine organisms just like natural gas. The process is so complex that after millions of generations, the deposits will end up in a sediment and rock where oil is ensnared in small holes. Just like the natural gas, it needs to be conveyed by drilling in able to get the residue (commonly called as crude oil). Today, this kind of fossil fuel is widely used type of non-renewable sources of energy (Miller 1999). Crude oil contains various types of organic components which are brought to refining establishment to further transform the product in a more refined residue. Many types of industries including cars, jets, electricity, roads and many others utilize this kind of fossil fuel. However, oil is a kind of non-renewable sources of energy which cannot be found everywhere on earth. Thus, various events like wars resulted in shortage of search of kind of fossil fuel just like what happened in the Gulf War in 1991. Lastly, coal is a solid kind of fossil fuel that was created and formed over millions of generations by decomposes remains of land vegetation. This is formed when layers are compressed and heated over time. The results are natural deposits that are eventually turned into coal. In comparison with the two types of fossil fuel, coal is more abundant in supplies. However, some researchers forecasted that the use of coal around the world will heighten as oil supplies become inadequate. They predicted that current supplies of the coal in the world will last for at least 200 years or more. In the recent study conducted by various researchers, they found out that the use of coal was doubled in the middle of 20th century. However, at the start of 1996, there is a decline in the use of coal (McKinney and Schoch 2003). Many developing countries were the primary consumer of this kind of non-renewable sources of energy since they cannot afford the high price of natural gas and oil. Traditionally, these three kinds of fossil fuels were in abundant supply that was simple to have and transport. But now, signals are showing that these supplies are beginning to be depleted. It is a fact that it needs millions of years before these fuels will be replenished. Then one may ask, â€Å"Why are we still using fossil fuel in huge amount? † Thus, the answer is very simple and easy to explain. Fossil fuels are cheaper than any kind of reasonable alternative energy that human known. Compare to renewable energy like wave, wind and solar energy, they need large amount of money in able to obtain them. However, many scientists have already forecasted that fossil fuel will increase in price because of scarcity. Therefore this may lead to an eventual transfer from non-renewable to renewable sources of energy in the coming years. BIBLIOGRAPHY McKinney, M. L. and Schoch, R. M. (2003), Environmental Science, Systems and Solutions. 3rd ed. University of Tennessee, Knoxville USA. Miller, G. T. (1999). Living in the Environment: Principles, connections and solutions. 4th ed. Cole Publishing Company, Pacific Grove, USA.

Divergent and Convergent Plate Margins Comparison

Divergent and Convergent Plate Margins Comparison â€Å"Compare and Contrast the Topographical Features at Divergent and Convergent Plate Margins.† Jenice Culzac According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) â€Å"a tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.†[1] There are two types of plates; Oceanic plates are younger crustal plates with a thickness of 5-9km of mainly basaltic composition and Continental plates are older crustal plates with thickness of 25-90Km of mainly granite composition. The area where two of these plates meet is referred to as a plate boundary. Plate tectonics is a recent theory developed around the late 1960’s from two pre-existing theories; Continental Drift by Alfred Wegener and Seafloor Spreading by Harry Hess. It suggests that the Earth is made up of eight large rigid and thick plates along with smaller ones as shown in Diagram 1 that move slowly and change size. Diagram 1 of a World map showing the tectonic plates and their direction of movement Plate tectonics has three types of plate margins or boundaries named accordingly by the type of movement; towards, away and parallel that occurs at these boundaries. They are Convergent, Divergent and Transform plate margins respectively. Due to these movements, associated landforms altering the world’s topography are created except for at Transform plate margins because the parallel movement of plates only causes the release of energy in the form of earthquakes. The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast the topographical features that occur at the Divergent and Convergent plate margins. It is imperative to know what topographical features both these plate margins produce in common at the forefront. Therefore as the discussion goes in depth as to how they are created by different processes, keeping in mind the vision of the end product which is of the same topography will enhance clarity and comprehension. The topographical features that both plate margins produce in common are volcanoes and mountain ranges. A volcano is a mountain like feature that has a vent in which lava, tephra and hot gases are expelled. A mountain range is an area of a series of mountains that are geologically related. Therefore, having established this each plate margin can be dealt with individually. Comparison Convergent plate margin also called Destructive plate margin occurs at a fault where two tectonic plates move towards each other. Due to the nature of the plates involved there can either be subduction in which the area is called a Subduction Zone or a collision in which it is referred to as Collision Zone. Density is the key factor that determines the end result of the plates involved. In the case where the plates moving towards each other are continental and oceanic such as the Indo- Austrlian and Pacific plates respectively. Oceanic plates although having a thickness of 5-9km as compared to continental’s thickness of 25-90km is denser. Hence when an impact occurs as illustrated in Diagram 2 the Oceanic plate subducts under the Continental plate into the mantle and is reabsorbed due to intense heat and pressure. The area at which this occurs is the Subduction Zone. Diagram 2 showing the convergence of an oceanic and a continental plate Lines of weakness referred to as faults can occur within the Continental plate during subduction. As the Oceanic plate subsides water is being taken along with it which produces steam. This build-up of steam adds to the pressure which then forces its way through the faults and allows for magma to erupt violently (referred to as lava when it reaches the Earth’s surface). The lava solidifies due to the cooler surrounding temperatures and forms volcanoes. A chain of these volcanoes is known as the Volcanic Arc. In the example of the plates given, this was how the Cascade Range in North America which is a part of the famously known Pacific Ring of Fire was formed. The frequency of eruptions and viscosity of lava will affect the height and gradient of these volcanoes. Therefore if the lava is less viscous it will run further distances away from the point of origin and create gentler gradients but if the lava is more viscous it will not flow as easily and solidifies at shorter dista nces allowing a faster accumulation. In addition to this scenario we can have the case in which the plates involved at a Convergent plate margin are both Oceanic. The same principle will apply and the denser of the Oceanic plates will subduct. The features produced will have the same general high relief however they are referred to as Island Arc. An example of such is the Japanese Islands where the Pacific and Philippine plates interact. The difference of names is understood if Diagram 2 and Diagram 3 are compared. The volcanoes formed in Diagram 3 are protruding from the Oceanic crust hence the Island (body of small land surrounded by water) term while in Diagram 2 the volcanoes formed protrudes from the continental plate hence the arc is just referred to as volcanic. Diagram 3 showing the convergence of two oceanic plates Volcanoes or volcanic activity are produced at Divergent plate margins regardless of the type of plates involved. When the plates move apart a gap is created which allows the magma to expel and the lava solidifies due to the same conditions as previously mentioned under Oceanic to Oceanic and Oceanic to Continental convergence. Mid ocean ridges are the dominant features formed however within these ridges are the under -water volcanoes. The ridge is indicated in Diagram 4 at the centre where it is labelled. Although the diagram gives the simplicity of an ocean ridge as two parallel lines, in actuality this ocean ridge is an extensive submarine mountain range. Diagram 4 showing the divergence of two oceanic plates The previous point introduces our second common feature, mountain ranges. At the Divergent plate margin the mid oceanic ridge would represent this submarine mountain range. Similarly at Convergent plate margins where Fold Mountains are formed this will represent the mountain ranges as well. These Fold Mountains are formed when two Continental plates travel towards each other. For example Eurasian and Indian plates which will have relatively the same densities. They will collide and fold by compressional forces forming these ranges. This is illustrated in Diagram 5 in which the Continental plate on the right is buckling having collided with the Continental plate on the left thus producing the peaks along the centre of the diagram which represents the mountain range. Diagram 5 showing the convergence of two continental plates With the example of the Continental plates given the Himalayas Mountain Range was formed with peaks of over 8,000 meters in height above sea level. Contrast On the contrary, there are differences between the topographical features of a Convergent and Divergent plate margin. These are Rift Valleys and Ocean Trenches created by divergence and convergence respectively. Rift valleys occur when faults lie at a 120 degrees angle within a Continental plate. When the plates move apart either one of the two scenarios occurs. Scenario one is the pull leaves a segment of the of the Continental plate in the centre which falls below referred to as graben as illustrated in Diagram 6 of the two opposite sides referred to as Horst in the same diagram creating a steep sided narrow valley. Diagram 6 showing the formation of a Rift Valley However, in scenario two instead of the centre segment falling, the lands on either side of the segment can rise due to a release in pressure. Overtime the said segment will reach to a point where it is below sea level causing the land mass to break away from the parent continent and creating a new ocean basin. A perfect illustration of this occurrence is the Great African Rift Valley. Diagram 7 indicates the zone of rifting which runs from Afar Triple Junction to South Mozambique and also offshore of the coast of Mozambique along the Kerimba and Lacerda grabens. Eventually the Somalian plate to the east will be completely separated from the Nubian plate on the west. Diagram 7 showing the location of the Great African Rift Valley Lastly is the ocean trenches formed at subduction zones of Convergent plate margins. According to Merriam Webster online dictionary an ocean trench is â€Å"a long, narrow, deep depression in the ocean bed, typically running parallel to a plate boundary and marking a subduction zone.† The steepness of the trench is reliant on the angle at which it is subducted. The movement and location of an ocean trench is illustrated in Diagrams 2 and 3. Diagram 8 gives a three dimensional view of Puerto Rico’s oceanic trench formed at the Caribbean and North America plate boundary. Diagram 8 of a 3 dimensional representation of the Puerto Rico Trench In summary the Divergent and Convergent plate margins have similar and different topographical features that would have been formed or is still forming as a result of tectonic plate movement. The similarities are volcanoes and mountain ranges while the differences are rift valleys and ocean trenches. Bibliography â€Å"Island.† National Geographic. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/island/?ar_a=1#page =1(accessed September 30, 2014) Jaegar, Peter. â€Å"Plate Boundaries: Convergent, Divergent and Transform Boundaries.† Education Portal. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/plate-boundaries- convergent- divergent-and-transform-boundaries.html#lesson (accessed October 1, 2014) â€Å"Japan in a subduction zone.†Introduction in the Landforms and Geology of Japan. http://www.glgarcs.net/intro/subduction_2.html (accessed October1, 2014). Nelson, A. Stephan. â€Å"Earth structures, Materials, Systems and Cycles.† Earth System Science. http://www.earthsci.org/processes/geopro/introgeo/introgeo.html (accessed September 21, 2014). May 22 2013. â€Å"Plate tectonics: The ends (and beginnings) of the Earth Part 1.† Why? Because Science, September 30, 2014. http://whybecausescience.com/2013/05/22/plate-tectonics- the-ends-and-beginnings- of-the-earth-part-1/ Watson, J. â€Å"What is tectonic plate?† USGS. Last modified May 5, 1999. http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/tectonic.html Wood, James and Alex Gruth. â€Å"East Africas Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System.†Geology.com. http://geology.com/articles/east-africa-rift.shtml (accessed October 1, 2014). 1 [1] Watson, J. â€Å"What is tectonic plate?† USGS. Last modified May 5, 1999. http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/tectonic.html

cuban missile crisis :: essays papers

cuban missile crisis "Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ... and we weren't counting days or hours, but minutes."Soviet General and Army Chief of Operations, Anatoly Gribkov The closest the World has ever been to nuclear war was with The Cuban Missile Crisis. The lives of millions lay in the ability of President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev to reach an agreement. The crisis began when the United States discovered that just ninety miles from the coast of Florida, the Soviet Union had set up nuclear missiles. On October 22, Kennedy announced the discovery of the missile installations to the public and his decision of the naval quarantine around the island. He also announced that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union and demanded that the Soviets remove all of the missiles from Cuba. For thirteen days the two major superpowers of the world were on the verge of a nuclear war. The events leading up to the missile crisis as explained by Dinerstein were the long years of Cold War hostility and the revolutions occurring in countries of Latin America. The Soviet Union’s fear of losing the race in the weapons department and Cuba’s fear of an invasion by the United States sparked those thirteen stress filled days. In 1960 the United States imposed an embargo that cut off trade between the United States and Cuba because it was afraid that Castro would establish a Communist regime. Castro was determined not to give in to the pressure that was put on by the United States and decided to establish closer relations with the Soviet Union. An attempt was made by the United States to disintegrate Castro’s rule with the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The United States was easily defeated by Castro’s army. His victory during the Bay of Pigs Invasion asserted Castro's rule over Cuba. Most Cubans resented the intervention by the United States in Cu ban affairs. This resentment caused Castro’s supporters to increase in large numbers. With a confirmed rule over Cuba, Castro declared the island a Communist nation. Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev made the wrong assumption by thinking that the United States would not take any action when it supplied Cuba with nuclear war heads.

Free Macbeth Essays: The Murder of King Duncan :: Macbeth essays

The Murder of King Duncan in Macbeth  Ã‚      Many factors were involved in Macbeth's decision to kill King Duncan. He had pressure from his wife, he had an idea in his head, given to him by the three witches, and he was extremely ambitious. All of these factors contributed to his demise in the end and his decision to murder his king.    This whole situation comes about because of three witches who wanted to cause trouble for Macbeth. They knew all along what would happen to him in the end. Macbeth is ambitious and the witches played upon that by promising Macbeth great things, such as becoming the king of Scotland, and Thane of Cawdor. Immediately after he talks with the witches, he is by chance entitled, Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth now believes in the witches’ words and honestly believes that the crown of Scotland will fall upon him by natural means. This idea goes awry when Duncan names Malcom his heir. Macbeth then, still believing in the witches, goes on with his plan to murder Duncan.    Lady Macbeth is a very loving wife to Macbeth and she wants to do anything she can for him to achieve his goals. She just takes it a little too far, and she puts too much pressure on Macbeth to commit crimes that he is not sure he wants to do. After Macbeth sends her a letter about the witches’ premonitions, Lady Macbeth is no longer the sweet innocent lady we expect her to be. She turns into a person who is just as ambitious as her husband and she wants to do whatever it takes to help him get Duncan out of the way. She even goes to the point of calling Macbeth a coward, and mocking his bravery when he fails to complete the job. She is even willing to do it herself (plant the bloody knife with the guard). Lady Macbeth is constantly putting the pressure on Macbeth to do things that he is not sure about. She almost turns into a bully who dares Macbeth to go out and do evil things. She even says in a soliloquy that she wants to be released of all her morals and values so that she can help him commit these crimes.    Finally, we have to look at the tragic flaw of the hero himself.

An Analysis of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

An Analysis of Jane Eyre  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The novel is rich in poetry, symbolism and metaphor. It does not fit easily into a definite pattern, being neither a novel of "manners" in the tradition of Austen, or a straightforward Gothic Romance in the style of Mrs Radcliffe. What Charlotte Bronte did was to create a work which cleverly blends elements of the two styles, and which remains uniquely independent of them at the same time, since it addresses issues which were at the time rather controversial. The novel is written in the first person, and thus magnifies the central character - the reader enters the world of Jane Eyre and is transported through her experiences at first hand. This at once makes the work subjective, especially since we know that Charlottes Brontes own life and experiences were so closely interwoven with the heroine's. As well as this we learn only at the end of the novel that the events are being related to us ten years after the reconciliation with Rochester - thus the narrative is RETROSPECTIVE (looking back). CB is clever in blending the narrative so that at times Jane seems to be speaking as an adult with adult hindsight , while at others she she is "in the middle" of them, as a child or young woman. The indecision which is a central issue in the book, is heightened by this device. We never know, as readers, whether to be entirely trustful of Janes actions and thoughts, because we are never sure wheher she is speaking impulsively or maturely. This intensifies the readers dilemma as to what is "right" and "wrong" in the dramatic relationships which are part of JE's life. Can we believe what the heroine says, or is she deceiving herself? The novel is primarily a love story and a "romance" where wishes come true but only after trials and suffering. The supernatural has its place, as do dreams, portents and prophesies. The heroine begins poor and lonely and ends up rich and loved; the orphan finds a good family to replace the wicked one; all the basic ingredients of classic romantic fairytale are present. The romantic element is present in two forms in Jane Eyre; the "family" aspect is dealt with in the Gateshead, Lowood and Moor House episodes, which involve the exchanging of the wicked Reed family for the benevolent Rivers one; and the Love romance is dealt with in the Thornfield and Ferndean episodes.

Teen Drug Addiction: a Chronic Ilness

Drug addiction is a chronic disease, associated with mental illnesses, and similar to other chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. No one chooses to be a drug addict or to develop heart disease. In my paper, I am going to research some issues of teenage substance abuse and examine some of the biological factors that cause drug abuse and addiction. I will also explain how the brain reacts to drugs. In addition, I will also provide statistics on the number of teens afflicted with drug abuse their race and gender. Furthermore, I will be discussing how drug addiction affects the individual and their families, along with social, biological, psychological and vocational affects of the disease, and available community support and interventions. Good What is drug addiction? Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual that is addicted and to those around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although, it is true for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, overtime the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time send intense impulses to take drugs. Source? From a medical perspective, substance abuse is a syndrome or maladaptive pattern of substance use. That result in a clinically significant impairment during a 12-month period, resulting on one or more of the following: recurring substance use causes a significant decrease in the ability to perform well and/or failure to fulfill obligations at work school or home despite negative social or interpersonal consequences (McLennan, A. , 2010). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) issued by the American Psychiatric Association, defines â€Å"substance dependence† as; â€Å"when an individual persist in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may then be diagnosed. (DSM) defines â€Å"substance abuse† as; a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one (or more) of the following. These must re-occur within a 12-month period. Recurring substance use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home (e. g. , repeated absences or poor work performance related to substance use; substance related absences, suspensions or expulsions from school; neglect of children or household). Substance use disorders often affect a combination of psychological, biological, and environmental and social issues. Many of the substances are included in the disorders, including alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, sedatives, hallucinogens, and halides, or PCP. Substance use usually results in the complex disorder, which is addiction (Danielson, C. , et. , al. 2010). Experts have identified four stages in the addiction process: Stage one, is the exploratory stage, stage two, is the recreational stage, stage three, is the abusive stage, and stage four, is the dependent stage that eventually develops into an addiction. Once the person is addicted to a substance, they often begin to abuse them. Drug addiction most often results in a loss of choice. The desire to use the drug may have its roots in and need to ease the situation or unpleasant circumstance. This is dangerous because it is only one-step further away from using the drug for recreation and one-step closer to an addiction. Drug abuse is associated with the compulsivity that in turn leads to dependency and addiction. This is normally true; however, there are cases of individuals who abuse drugs without becoming dependent to them. Everyone’s brain reacts differently to drugs. Source? Brain Reaction When drugs enter the brain, they can interrupt the work and actually change how the brain performs its jobs. These changes are what lead to compulsive drug use, the hallmark of addiction ( NIDA, 2010). Drugs are chemicals. They work in the brain by tapping into its communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. Different drugs—because of their chemical structures—work differently. In fact, some drugs can change the brain in ways that last long after the person has stopped taking drugs, maybe even permanently. This is more likely when drugs are taken repeatedly. All drugs of abuse—nicotine, cocaine, marijuana, and others—affect the brain’s â€Å"reward† circuit, which is part of the limbic system. Normally, the reward circuit responds to pleasurable experiences by releasing the neurotransmitter dopamine, which creates feelings of pleasure, and tells the brain that this is something important—pay attention and remember it. Drugs hijack this system, causing unusually large amounts of dopamine to flood the system. Sometimes, this lasts for a long time compared to what happens when a natural reward stimulates dopamine. This flood of dopamine is what causes the â€Å"high† or euphoria associated with drug abuse. These brain changes drive a person to seek out and use drugs compulsively, despite negative consequences such as stealing, losing friends, family problems, or other physical or mental problems brought on by drug abuse—this is addiction (NIDA, 2010). How does drug addiction affect the individual? Many teenagers face the problem of addiction. Some addictions are drugs, alcohol abuse and recurrent substance abuse, even when it is physically hazardous such as driving a car. Teens that are addicted feel a loss of control and are overwhelmed with the urge to search for and continue the use of drugs and alcohol despite negative consequences. Trying to understand this self-destructive behavior is difficult repeated drug use causes long-lasting changes to the function to the brain and the way it looks. It alters the brain interfering with the ability to think clearly, make good judgment, control behavior and to feel normal without the drug. There is a widespread notion that adolescents self medicate depression with drugs and alcohol, society appears to overlook the possibility that the substance use may precede or predict depression (NIDA, 2010). Psychological Affects  A chronic illness could be caused by substance abuse or the opposite may be true, chronic illness could even cause substance abuse. Either way, diagnosis of two illnesses makes treatment of both conditions complex. Individuals with a disease or chronic illness have easier access to prescription medication, making excessive use more likely and abusive. Depression, boredom, and frustration are psychological factors that can lead to a want to escape from reality. The need for acceptance as a result from alienation and oppression also contribute to the use to gain social acceptance (Falvo, 2005). Physical, Social, and Biological Affects Chronic illness and disease have a cause and effect relationship with drug use. Some physical effects of alcohol dependence and use are important to examine. Initially, alcohol acts as a stimulant, the level of intoxication increases however, it acts as a depressant, causing physical coordination problems, ataxia and decreased ability to perform. Judgment may also be impaired. While increased levels of alcohol use can cause confusion, mild stupor, amnesia, and coma and could eventually lead to death. Many negative, complex health issues are common from alcohol abuse. Some examples include blood abnormalities causing the presence of large abnormal red blood cells, a decrease in the number of bold white blood cells and platelets. Throat and esophagus cancer and liver disease are also common among many other medical diagnoses. Problems of the heart, liver and pancreas may develop, also muscle fiber destruction and weakness, mal-absorption of nutrients and vision problems are common due to the continued use of alcohol and drugs Research An interesting finding from a new study published in the, American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests that adolescents, particularly girls, who engage in sex behavior and drug use are at risk for future depression. The previous notion was that adolescents self medicate depression with sex and drugs not the other way around. Among boys, their findings suggest that binge drinking and marijuana use increased the likelihood of depression in boys more than four-fold. From the information that is available regarding depression and substance use and abuse, it is evident that depression may contribute to substance use and abuse. Although, it is more likely that depression is the result of substance use and abuse (C. Danielson, et. al. , 2003). Good Second research project? Statistics To understand the startling impact addiction has on teens, statistics are needing to be examined. In the United States; â€Å"On average, in 2006, about 1. 2 million adolescents, each 12 to 17 years of age smoked cigarettes, 631,000- drank alcohol, and 586,000 -used marijuana. In addition, about 49,000 adolescents used inhalants, 27,000- used hallucinogens, 13,000-used cocaine, and 38,000- used heroine. To continue with these phenomenal statistics, this was an average â€Å"day† in the United States. Nearly 8,000 adolescents drank alcohol for the first time; 4,300 -used illicit drugs for the first time; 4000- smoked their first cigarette, 3600- smoked marijuana for the first time, and another 2000 used pain relievers for non-medical reasons for the first time (Sussman ,S. 2010)†. Treatments, Interventions and Community Support Alcohol and substance addiction initially requires detoxification and then a lifelong treatment plan that includes individual therapy, family and group counseling, and self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. There is Ala Non and Ala Teen for families. Families that live with an addict need moral and emotional support. The individual and the families know that abstinence from alcohol and other substances is the goal of treatment These are the many reasons why interventions and community support for teens are vital, for their well-being, and survival, getting the needed help for teens now, before they enter adulthood. An article, â€Å"Drugs and Teen Substance Abuse,† cited the most recent data about substance abuse facilities. The data collected about outpatient treatment and inpatient residential treatment facilities. There are more than 76,000 youth in outpatient treatment facilities, 10,000 in hospital residential treatment, and 1000 in hospital inpatient treatment. Experimentation with drugs among teens is common. Teams have the tendency to feel indestructible and immune to the possible problems that their actions can cause themselves and others. They are especially unaware of the link between their actions today and the consequences tomorrow. Using tobacco and alcohol at a young age increase the risk of using drugs later in life. Some teens seem to be able to experiment, use occasionally, stop and start again without becoming dependent on, or develop a need to use continually. Others will develop a tendency and addiction, often moving onto more serious drugs, causing harm to themselves and others (APA, 2010 ). Most people go into drug treatment either because the court ordered them to do so, or because loved ones urged them to seek treatment. The good news is that, according to scientific studies, people who enter drug treatment programs in which they face â€Å"high† pressure† to deal with their addiction can benefit from treatment, regardless of the reason they sought treatment in the first place (NIDA, 2008)†. My newly learned knowledge of researching this topic has helped me better understand the disease process of drug addiction. I took a personal note to the subject; I chose this topic to help me personally deal with my son and his abuse of marijuana. I do believe drug addiction is a chronic disease similar to other chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. No one chooses to be a drug addict or to develop heart disease.

Enrollment system Essay

Welcome! The following terms serve as a contract that governs your use of our family of websites, applications and services (the â€Å"Service†). BY SIGNING UP, OR ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICE, YOU SIGNIFY THAT YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS (â€Å"AGREEMENT† OR â€Å"TERMS†) AND TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE BY ARBITRATION. 1. Summary of Terms These Terms have the same force and effect as an Agreement signed in writing. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Service. Each time you access, upload, or download any content from the Service, you signify your agreement to the then-current terms. This Agreement is subject to change at any time; therefore, you are responsible to review these Terms regularly to learn about any changes. We will post an updated version of these Terms if we modify them. You understand and agree that your ongoing use of the Service after we post or provide notice of the changes to this Agreement means that you accept and confirm that the updated Terms apply to you. The laws of the State of California govern this Agreement. You agree to resolve any dispute with us as provided in the Dispute Resolution Procedures described in Sections 21 and 22 below, which include arbitration and the options you have with arbitration. We use the term â€Å"You† to mean the person or entity who will access or use the Service as an end user. The term â€Å"Login† means the combination of unique username and password that is used to access our Service. A login is a license to use a site, application or service for a period of time that is specified. â€Å"Membership† or â€Å"Members† means a single registration and/or subscription account per user of a valid username and password (login) for the service during the term of a subscription. â€Å"We† or â€Å"us† in this Agreement shall mean: its brands, affiliates, subsidiaries and operating divisions.

Our Iceberg Is Melting

[pic] CSC2114 E-Commerce Theory and Applications Individual Assignment Questions Compare and contrast traditional markets with digital markets. Write a report. (Work on the topic you are assigned with and elaborate on it. Write a report of the topic, which includes the following 🙂 1. Introduction (Define traditional markets, define digital markets) 2. Content (When is it used, why is it used, how is it used and etc. ) 3. Advantages and Disadvantages (for each type of market) 4. Conclusion You may include necessary sections which you deem useful. *Attention: †¢ References should be cited properly. †¢ Penalty for late submission: o 1 day late: minus 20% o 2 days late: minus 50% o 3 days late: minus 100% †¢ Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated NOTE: Your report should be between 5 – 6 pages long. Use Arial font size 12, with 2. 0 spacing. Insert footer as your name and ID No. You are required to submit a hardcopy of this report. Include the coversheet (with proper signature) and marking scheme upon submitting. [pic] ASSIGNMENT COVER PAGE Details to be completed by Student | | |Full Name | | | | |Assignment: | | |Student’s ID | | |1 | |Course Code | |Due Date: |Week 8(Monday) | | |CSC 2114 | | | |Section / Group | |Session: |Jan 2013 | | | | | | Student declaration I declare that: ? I understand what is meant by plagiarism ? This assignment is all my work and I have acknowledged any use of the publisher or unpublished works of other people. ? I hold a copy of this assignment, which I can produce if the original is lost or damaged Signature___________________ |FOR EXAMINER’S USE ONLY | | | | |Examiner’s | |Comment | | | | | | | |Late submission |Extension Granted |Deduction |Final Marks | | | | | | | | |YES |NO |YES |NO | | | Lecturer has, and may exercise, the right NOT TO MARK this assignment if the above declaration has NOT BEEN SIGNED and if the above declaration is FOUND TO BE FALSE, appropriate act ion will be taken which would lead to ZERO marks being awarded for this assignment. [pic] ASSIGNMENT MARKING SCHEME CSC2114 E-Commerce Theory and Applications | | | | |NO |DESCRIPTION |SCORE |FULL MARKS | | | | | | |1. |Introduction | |/ 20 | | | | | | |2. |Content | |/ 40 | | | | | | |3. |Advantages & Disadvantages | / 20 | | | | | | |4. |Conclusion | |/ 20 | | | | | | | |TOTAL SCORE | |/ 100 | ———————– Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Alignment of IT and Business

IT and business alignment is the best system for modern strategic management of organizations because it reduces the overall costs of operations, promotes effective communication in a company, and enhances faster response and evaluation of business progress.   Besides, it sets a platform for faster changes by an organization in future.However, IT and business alignment has proved to be one of the most difficult aspect for most organizations.   Over 75% of the companies and institutions have not fully aligned IT with their management systems.   However, over 80% of them have partially embraced IT especially in the top management levels (Aileen, 2008).IT and business alignment is an ongoing process that optimizes the IT mechanisms and business management operations at all levels.   It carves the correct climate whereby IT becomes a major strategic enabler of all the business operations.Lack of effective leadership in business operationsAccording to Roland (2008) effective leade rship in a business setting acts as a major platform and a guiding icon towards the correct direction for an organization.   Arguably, it is the role of the business leaders to pro-actively identify the most important aspects that would enhance higher levels of sustainability.Notably, small mistakes taken by conservative rigid leaders are referred as minor shenanigans and mostly not factored in business operations until it has sank into great losses.   Most of the leaders are directly engrossed into the past methods of business operations based on raw products and finished products simplified systems of accounting.   Many organizations are unable to link the extra IT cost to be incurred by the business and the returns to be achieved.As indicated by majority of the large companies that have embraced IT in their systems like Wal-Mart and JP Morgan & Chase, the returns are not instant and may take time before the respective advantages are realized.   Arguably, IT/ Business alig nment is a process as opposed to a one day operation.After launching its Point of Sale services that would link Citibank with its major financial operations information centers, the Bank had to wait for some months before realizing the expected goals (Mahesh, 2007).Poor focus into the future and conservatismAnalysts have linked hardship to articulate IT and business hardships to three superimposed factors of business management namely tactic, strategy, and innovation.   The three factors are effectively superimposed on each other and simultaneously operate for or against IT/ business alignment depending with the prevailing environment.Lack of effective tactics and strategy by business makes the overall demand for modernization to appear vague (Malcolm & Keith, 2007).   Notably, many companies and organizations especially in areas with reduced competition have been slow in aligning IT and their business operations.Southwest Airlines managing director cited his company's success a s a product of effective tactic that incorporated customer and staff management through information technology that assists the airline to respond faster to all the consumer need.Arguably, the current economic down turn could have affected them very negatively as the company offers low cost flights in US (Ann, 2007).Henersen & Venkartraman (1993) points out that poor innovative capacity by organization forms a major stepping block of growth, and development.   Arguably, alignment of IT and business demands high levels of innovative capacity that carves new ways of operating the old models.This has been indicated as one of the hardest nut to crack especially where leaders are greatly old fashioned.   This has been cited as the major setback especially where people manage their own premises as opposed to professionals. There is generally lack of effective cost benefit analysis to determine the overall suitability of the alignment.Organizations financial abilityTo add to that, lack of enough finances has slowed or hindered many company's operations alignment with IT.   Arguably, establishment of IT infrastructure is a costly venture that requires correct budgeting in effecting the overall venture.Though analysts have differed on the statement that finances form the key aspect in aligning IT and business operations, it is clear that very little can be achieved without enough funds (Aileen, 2008).Though the cost of installation and establishing the correct IT systems in business has relatively declined, the overall maintenance and possible establishment of new IT operations department demands enough funds especially at the beginning.   This has been a major cause of failure especially in the last three years when companies' have are trying to reduce the overall cost as much as possible.ConclusionIT/ business alignment is the best system for modern strategic management for effecting change and maximizing profits.   Effective leadership demands that balance is taken to ensure increased focus into the future that will be defined and established on the basis of IT assimilation in the business.Lean management should be assimilated in organizations through IT and business alignment’s as a mode of reducing the overall wasteful systems in its operations.   Businesses should embark on international studies to establish the facts and the vast advantages that are derived from IT alignment in business management operations.

The Role of Epigenetic Events in Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Role of Epigenetic Events in Cancer - Essay Example It is worth mentioning that most CpG sites have been lost from mammalian genomes during evolution, but in about 1% of human DNA consists of short areas where CpG sites have escaped depletion. Repetitive sequences of the human genome contain approximately 50% of all CpGs. Similar values are expected for other mammalian genomes. In contrast to CpG islands repetitive elements are thought to be constantly methylated. DNA methylation of most repetitive elements is maintained throughout development and even maintained during germ cell development. Methylated cytosines are more prone to fixate mutations compared with cytosine, C to T transitions occur frequently at methylated CpGs within repetitive elements. In consequence, this leads to an overall depletion of CpGs in repetitive elements and hence the bulk genome and an overall CpG deficit in mammalian genomes. CpG dinucleotide sequences are frequently the target of a chemical modification known as DNA methylation. The covalent modificatio n of the cytosine ring by a family of enzymes called DNA methyltransferases converts cytosines that are located 5 to guanosines to 5-methylcytosine. 5-methylcytosine has a propensity to undergo deamination to become uracil, which in turn becomes a thymidine during the next round of DNA replication if the deaminated base has not been repaired. The resulting C to T transition is mirrored by a corresponding G to A transition on the complementary DNA strand. As a result of methylation and subsequent deamination, CpG dinucleotide sequences have been progressively lost from the human genome over the course of many generations. Thus, the hypermutability of CpG sequences has led to a relative paucity of CpG sites in the human genome. The CpG dinucleotides that are the targets of DNA methyltransferases are distributed asymmetrically throughout the genome. Most regions of the genome have been depleted of CpG sites by spontaneous deamination.

The Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Proposal - Assignment Example In addition, the project will have an additional five subordinate members of the team. The addition of the software developers is to cater for the more technical consolidated subsections. The participants will work towards the achievement of the set project goals while ensuring that such is done before the allocated time for project completion. Overall, the project will have 11 team members. The main activities in scheduled during the project include the correction of the CNG software, which will support implementation of the rest of the project. In addition, the team has sole responsibility of carrying out a software training campaign. The campaign activities will involve setting labels for training customers about the mailing software. In addition, the project’s subjection will carry out the PL/I training. The rescheduled project will take an estimated maximum of two months. Following the completion of the CNG software portion of the project, which will take a week, the rest of the project sections will commence. In this respect, the project will take an overall estimated time of two months and one

The eating habits of students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The eating habits of students - Essay Example The young generation seems to pay little attention to the crucial topic on diet and health. Their choice of diet remains a secondary consideration in their responsibility over their health (Gullotta, Adams & Ramos 2005). Dietary disorders among young people are on the rise at an alarming rate. Instances of obesity in young people are increasing more than ever experienced. According to Richards, 2007, guiding the young generation on issues of diet and health become essential. Topics such as the choice of food, awareness of a good balanced diet and the need to create attention to nutrition among by young people need further elaboration. Teaching the youth on diet and health, therefore, is indispensably an issue most governments must consider engaging (Berg 2002). Statistics in the United Kingdom show that several school going students have poor knowledge on diet and health (McGinnis & Gootman 2006). Several students express low attention to nutrition. The choice of a better diet by students is poorly in several students (Glass 2009). In what areas many students pay less attention to, as far as diet and health is concerned, this report sorts to find out. The report discusses the important dietary areas overlooked by students and their extent of caution to their health. In order to find out the eating habits of students, a survey was conducted with the help of an oral questionnaire. Total 30 randomly selected students in the UK took the interview in different learning institutions for the purpose of representing the student population. The group of respondents composed of students from different learning institutions at different stages of studies. The respondents consisted of fifteen boys and fifteen girls. The questionnaire (attached in the appendix) consists of different kinds of questions which chiefly build upon each other. The question types used is, for example, â€Å"yes/no†, multiple choice

Communication, Conflict and Decision-Making Essay - 1

Communication, Conflict and Decision-Making - Essay Example This essay discusses that in every society, communication is the backbone of professional and social relationships. Communication facilitates the flow of ideas and/or concepts from one given source to the other. The best process of communication needs the existence of a message sender, as well as the receiver. Individuals share the views and ideas through the thriving process of communication. For any communication process to be regarded as thriving, the receiver must comprehend the message content in accordance with the sender’s aim. This means that certain processes of communication lead to unsuccessful ends. Thus, it is worth noting that communication process encounters some hindrances that deter efficient information delivery to the anticipated parties. No matter the effort put in to evade a conflict, it appears to always arise at the worst moments. Thus, ineffective communication leads to a conflict of views or ideas among the parties involved. During communication, confl ict begins from a merely simple flicker of emotions or varies all the way to supportive proof that one presents. While conflict may lead to both positive and negative impacts, this social disagreement may boost maturity of social abilities among the individuals involved. Conflict management involves the application of measures that promote the advancement of positive effects forms a social discord. Efficient conflict management process promotes learning among parties involved and the entire society on how to address incompatible vies in the future.

Sustainability of Seventeen Event Company Essay - 1

Sustainability of Seventeen Event Company - Essay Example As a concept, Sustainability can be defined as the â€Å"the growing concern for the environment and natural resources, though...[it]...has also had increasing resonance in social and economic issues.† (Mowforth and Munt,2009, p18). Academic, political and economic circles have begun to seriously consider the implications of unrestricted economic growth on the already stretched resources of the earth. The agenda is motivated by the understanding that the planet may not be able to cope up with the demands of the growth unless drastic measures are taken to support the processes with more environmentally friendly practices and technology. The burden of change in this area falls largely to businesses and economic groups as they are the main consumers of many of the natural, human and financial capital resources available currently. While governments and lobbying groups can provide much-needed direction and policies to guide the businesses towards sustainable practices; inevitably it is the businesses themselves that must show awareness and concern regarding the issue and make changes from the ground level as they have a greater reach and influence than any single consumer possibly could have.   It is not surprising that societal expectations from both local and international stakeholder are now forcing businesses towards a higher level of accountability and transparency with regards to not just their financial performance but also their role as a social participant in economic, social and environmental development (Sherwood, 2007). While responses have varied, businesses, especially in the consumer-centric, western markets, have responded to these responsibilities with efforts to be operationally eco-efficient, and incorporate social responsibility into their overall operations.

Human Resource Management & Information Management (MBA) pro 4 Essay

Human Resource Management & Information Management (MBA) pro 4 - Essay Example The company has to align its business to n effective IS response giving it significant ground in the market. The IS that Brady Corporation was currently operating on did not support its business model since it made use of antique systems that were unable to communicate. As such, the IS response taken for the greater good of the business was to undertake a complete overhaul of the entire business processes of the company on a global scale, as well as, enabling them digitally. The results were phenomenal, with an annual revenue growth of 15%, a 2% reduction in operating expense, and an increase in internet orders by 50%. The roll out was successful because both the managers and employees had prior knowledge over its importance. Furthermore, the best people got the privilege of spearheading the change process, whereby all the processes mapped with their experts and owners. As such, this spectacular achievement answered the authors question on whether Brady Corporation could redesign its systems for success. The change from old processes to new processes enabled the corporation to revamp its profitability, as well as, re-establish its position in the

Module 1 Small Scale Evaluative Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Module 1 Small Scale Evaluative Study - Essay Example Evaluation in schools is of interest to various stakeholders in the education sector i.e. the government, parents, teachers, media and the wider society (Bracey 2006). Government inspectors have in many cases taken the roles of evaluation on schools’ performance in many countries although the new trend that is widely gaining prominence is that of schools doing self evaluation. Inclusion is one of the aspects of self evaluation that has been seen to have a wide range of positive outcomes if well implemented and it is for this reason that this paper shall seek to further on its impact on the evaluation process and how this can be facilitated by the SENCo (Swaffield and MacBeath 2005). It is a basic understanding that leadership should not be detached from the organs it is leading and it is for this reason that the process of inclusion is quite important in the cases of self evaluation for schools. All the stakeholders mentioned above need to work together and share ideas as evaluation is mostly the basis for school improvement and appraisal of standards of education. Valuable outcomes have been seen to crop up in instances where the school management and the various stakeholders come together and give ideas or good as well as bad areas that need improvement and how best to do it. SENCo has the best chance and has their work well organised when such a scenario is in the offing. On basic terms the teaching staff for example should monitor leaning activities, manage performance of pupils, conduct department reviews and become actively involved in improvement and development activities of the school. Students with special needs have various disabilities that affect their learning and for this reason there are more aspects that need to be looked into more than the case would be in other schools. This is quite an interesting aspect to explore into and the findings of this paper shall come from various methods

Ideas of Nietzsche on Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ideas of Nietzsche on Religion - Essay Example Why did Nietzsche have a lunatic say the words? How does it affect modern society? Doubtless, Nietzsche sought to find another source of human values, some source deeper than the Christian faiths. He saw Christianity as having no philosophical system on which to base our lives. Thus, he believed that Christianity has a tendency to limit the creativity of man. Nietzsche’s statement about God’s death did not quickly change the course of history. The Christian churches still exist, just as he prophesied they would, at least for a few hundred years. Nietzsche said, â€Å"God is dead; but given the way of men, though there still may be caves for thousands of years in which his shadow will be shown.† (Section 108) Perhaps he had a madman elicit the words because he believes that we humans destroyed God ourselves by our life styles. (Nietzsche Section 125) Any value system based on Christianity or other metaphysical element will become protective of its teachings and consider nonbelievers to be unworthy of being listened to. Yet, Nietzsche, himself, said the same words himself later, in the same book.

The Indian Economy Essay Example for Free

The Indian Economy Essay 1. Introduction This paper will highlight economic issues facing the Indian Government and its ability to maintain high levels of growth by outlining the current conditions of the economy. Policy dilemmas and logic to address these dilemmas will be explored. Analysis of key indicators and statistics as well historical reference and the theory behind their execution will underlay chosen policies which will be followed by a brief conclusion. 2. The Indian Economy The Indian Economy is listed as the fifth largest in the world at . 538 trillion US (CIA 2010) and has been able to continue high GDP growth despite the Global Financial Crisis. The country has also moved along a steady path of economic reform and liberalisation since 1990 including privatisation and foreign investment. India is a ‘planned’ economy which follows a series of targets for each five year period, the Eleventh Five-Year plan (Planning Commission (Government of India) 2007) ending in 2012 aimed to increase and maintain growth at 10% (to double by 2017), create new employment for 70 million people, raise real wages for unskilled workers and consider education and infrastructure. The next five year plan needs to consider economic factors below that may restrict the high levels of growth. There is also an emergence of a two-speed economy emanating between the service sectors employed middle and high income earners with those in agriculture and manufacturing (FitzGerald 2011). Figure 2.1 (TradingEconomics.com 2011) Figure 2.1 shows India’s strong trend for growth since 2002 and despite a small decrease in growth rate following the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, a major policy issue therefore is maintaining strong economic prosperity. The government has to consider several factors that are a risk to this aim such as a large budget deficit, high inflation and unemployment, all shown in figure 2.2. | Percentage| | Government Debt| 55.9| of GDP| Inflation| 11.7| Increase per Year| Unemployment| 10.8| of Labour Force| Figure 2.2 Key Indicators 2010 (CIA 2010) Sustainable growth can be achieved by the Indian Government if it can address these issues both in the short and long term. Therefore the focus is to  consider reducing and stabilising inflation, restructure and increase employment and return the budget to surplus. Debt The current Government Debt in India is around 60% of GDP (TradingEconomics.com 2011; CIA 2010) which puts debt near $1 trillion US. This is an important consideration as it affects the ability of government to embark on public spending necessary to address improvements in infrastructure, education and manufacturing which can help maintain the high growth levels in the long run. High debt and exchange rates can also affect foreign investment which is rich in the services sector, attributing 55.3% of GDP and only 34% of the Labour market (The World Bank 2009; CIA 2010), a focus on improving education and shifting employment into the services sector therefore becomes an important direction for both reduction of unemployment and maintaining supply of labour. Wage prices would be kept at a competitive level compared with other outsourcing countries and overall GDP levels. Debt can also create a lower credit rating and the ability to pay back loans, defaulting on a loan can have widespread negative implications to sustaining growth in the economy. Inflation Inflation is the reduction in the value of money and is 11.7% in India(CIA 2010). High Inflation is a concern because it breads uncertainty in the economy for business, consumers and other investors. This is explained as money being the scale by which an economy can be measured, if the metric of the measurement is uncertain different ideas are formed about how and where money is spent or even if it is spent at all. It also affects the distribution of money across society which is an economic concern in India, high levels of inflation are notable in Food, Manufacturing Prices and Fuel(BBC 2011). Unemployment Unemployment estimates in 2010 of around 10% (TradingEconomics.com 2011; CIA 2010) become an important policy consideration. Indirectly the economy is burdened with the costs such as health and crime however more direct issues include social welfare, loss of production and therefore taxable income. India has one of the world’s largest labour forces of around 480 million (CIA 2010) full employment would assist the ability to match aggregate  demand increases with aggregate supply in the long terms. India could continue growth and manage sustainable inflation in the long term to reach the potential GDP levels. Figure 2.3 shows the overall break down of employment sector with its contribution to GDP. | % Labour Force| % GDP| Agriculture| 52| 16.1| Industry| 14| 28.6| Services| 34| 53.3| Figure 2.3 Economic Sectors Labour/GDP (The World Bank 2009) The policy consideration for Government should be to increase the efficiency of the agriculture sector and move employment into the Industry and Services sector in the long run, including a focus on self-employment which is becoming an unattractive option for younger generations (AZAD India Foundation 2010). 3. Policy Direction Policy recommendations for the Government of India have one overall aim, to maintain strong growth. Three major economic conditions for this focus on, reduction of Government Debt, stability of inflation and addressing high unemployment. 4.1 Monetary Policy Monetary Policy has recently been engaged by the Central Bank and Government in a contractionary manor in an attempt to slow down the inflation growth that has been gripping India. The long term effect of increase to interest rates is to reduce aggregate demand. Figure 3.1 highlights an inflationary hike trend since 2008 which peaked in January 2010. Figure 3.1 India Inflation (TradingEconomics.com 2011) Identifying the cause of inflation is a primary agenda before deciding how effective Monetary will be. While India is experiencing increased AD, interest rates are aligned to but not an overall effect of price increases and in the long run reduce the sustained high growth levels. As seen in Figure 3.2, Interest rate increases are not correlating directly with long term inflationary decreases. Figure 3.3 Interest Rates (TradingEconomics.com 2011) There are three cost-push inflation causes that could explain the peaks and sustained recent high inflation levels of around 11% (CIA 2010). Brent Crude Oil Index Oil is a highly utilised commodity for India and its price can directly affect aggregate supply figure 3.2 Shows a correlation to hikes in Oil price compared with inflation. In January 2008 oil prices began to climb however as the GFC began to take hold, global demand for reduced and prices fell. As India was maintaining strong local Aggregate Demand however inflation was still high. Figure 3.3 Brent Crude Oil (TradingEconomics.com 2011) Domestic Food and Manufacturing Prices Secondary inflation hikes noticed in 2010 do not directly correlate to oil prices. During a poor Food harvest in 2009 as a result of a poor monsoon season (The Economic Times 2009) compounded by international food supply contractions and price rises in the manufacturing sector (BBC 2011) supply side shocks and marginal rise in oil prices can attribute to high inflationary levels. The effects of the supply shocks would be noted in the shift from AS1 to AS2 with prices rising in the short term. However as India GDP has continued to increase year on year, this can only be explained by an increase in Aggregate Demand from AD1 to AD2 shown in Figure 3.3 of a dynamic AS/AD model for India. Point C is India’s potential GDP in 2009 and Point D for 2010, the economic policy should be aimed towards reaching these targets. Monetary policy, in the short run would assist the reduction of AD to curve inflation however to reach LRAS2, other policies must be considered. Interest rate rises should be put on hold and decreased if the economy can recover from supply shocks allowing AS/AD to shift towards potential GDP. Figure 3.3 Dynamic AS/AD for India (figures from (TradingEconomics.com 2011))(McTaggart, Findlay, and Parkin 2010; Hubbard et al. 2011; Misistry of Statistics and Progamme Implementation 2011) 4.2 Fiscal Policy Understanding the complexities of the supply side issues for India is a must for Government to address long term inflation and employment. Investment in agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure will most likely form the basis of the Twelfth Five-Year plan (2point6billion.com 2011). Agriculture can increase and sustain output by advancements in farming practise and technology which is also true of the manufacturing sector. In order for the government investment not to compound Aggregate Demand and multiply into further inflation, taxation of the middle and higher income tax brackets is an option. Already highlighted is the disparity between the size of each sector and the share of its GDP, these expenditures would therefore shift demand from the higher earning service sector into agriculture and industry, with a positive knock on effect of an increase in employment in these areas. | % Labour Force| % GDP| Agriculture| 52| 16.1| Industry| 14| 28.6| Services| 34| 53.3| Figure 3.4 Economic Sectors Labour/GDP (The World Bank 2009) Investment in education, fundable by higher taxation levels can also be aimed to assist the long term shift away from agriculture and into the industry and services sector. Infrastructure is also a key investment consideration to reduce costs of production to all sectors of the economy and sustain ever increasing energy needs. This is also required to avoid the widening of the ‘two-speed’ economy and should be avoided as not to become reliant on one sector of the economy, addressing the balance and disparity can help create a diverse, shock absorbent Indian future. Why would this help stabilise inflation and reduce unemployment? * Cost push inflation and supply side shock impacts would be reduced in the long term * Investment in agricultural and manufacturing practice would allow for a closer match of Aggregate Supply with Aggregate demand * Shifting employment from Agriculture into Industry and Services sector would reduce unemployment * Long term government can divert funds from unemployment resource and taxation into reduction of the Government Debt 4.3 Exchange Rate – Exports and Imports The balance of trade is in deficit of 7.2% (see figure 3.5) however this may not be a major issue for the economic growth of India. The difficulty in policy decision remains the valuation of the Rupee and its impact on a number of variables. High rupee value impacts exports and is approximately 44.6 rupee to $1 US; a primary focus area is industry which could become a viable source of employment for the 10.8% of people not in work. Continuing to increase interest rates will have two impacts; direct foreign investment will be more attractive. Such things as new iron ore and petroleum mining ventures would become possible, however if the Rupee value is too high the export of this and other exportable goods becomes less attractive. Figure 3.5 Components of GDP as a Percentage (Misistry of Statistics and Progamme Implementation 2011) Focused on the aim of sustained high growth, export of services is only 6.6% of GDP however as the Services sector accounts for 55% of industry composition and consumption accounts for 58.3% of GDP, decrease of the ability to export services would reduce private consumption, a direct impact on growth. Export of Goods would also increase if the Rupee were to weaken and address the balance of trade. The government is strongly advised to allow mining and large manufacturing projects to begin and allow the export of these commodities to economies like China. Comparative cost of labour and production would give India a very competitive selling price in the global market and shift employment from agriculture (and the unemployed) into the manufacturing industry. 4. Conclusion The economy of India is very strong in the current global climate of uncertainty and the challenge for the Government is to maintain that level of growth. Managing economic uncertainties that can cause the economy to fail in its aims are extremely important. Understanding the supply side causes of inflation and the possible negative effect of monetary policy to combat it should be realised. Therefore fiscal policy to increase investment in the agriculture and manufacturing industries is recommended to remove disparity and level the ‘two-speed’ economy. High levels of inflation and unemployment do not align to the Phillps principle of inflation (McTaggart, Findlay, and Parkin 2010) however at present there may be a need to absorb these pressures in the short term. To some degree the economy may be experiencing stagflation as it has a much higher potential GDP threshold. In conclusion, there are other factors such as corruption and economic management that if resolved could drastically reduce debt and disparity between all sectors of society. 5. References 2point6billion.com. 2011. India’s 12th Five Year Plan to Focus on ‘Inclusive Growth’. http://www.2point6billion.com/news/2011/04/25/indias-12th-five-year-plan-to-focus-on-inclusive-growth-9151.html (accessed 02/07/2011). AZAD India Foundation. 2010. Unemployment in India. http://azadindia.org/social-issues/Unemployment-in-India.html (accessed 10/04/2011). BBC. 2011. India wholesale inflation rate rises more than expected. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13761784 (accessed 26/06/2011). CIA. 2010. India. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html (accessed 22/06/2011). FitzGerald, B. 2011. Two-speed economy killing industry, warns steel maker. http://www.theage.com.au/business/twospeed-economy-killing-industry-warns-steel-maker-20110221-1b2k1.html (accessed 29/06/2011). Hubbard, G., A. M. Garnett, P. Lewis, and A. P. OBrien. 2011. Essentials of economics. McTaggart, D., C. Findlay, and M. Parkin. 2010. Economics. 6 ed. 6 vols. Vol. 6. Misistry of Statistics and Progamme Implementation. 2011. National Accounts Statistics.

The Decision-Making Process at Toyota

The Decision-Making Process at Toyota â€Å"The minor assessment is centred around Toyota’s annual report. Each student is expected to submit a case report, based also on the analysis of relevant background readings in addition to the case study itself, addressing the following issues:  · Explain what is meant by the term â€Å"decision-making† and analyse it in connection with the concepts of risk and uncertainty.  · Discuss the decision-making process at Toyota.  · Briefly analyse the automotive industry and explain how its dynamics influence Toyota’s managers in making decisions.  · Apply forecasting models to Toyota case study (e.g. provide a 2-year moving average graph using sales data).† Table of contents Introduction: The decision-making process 1 Risks and uncertainties in decision-making process 2 Case study: Decision-making process at Toyota 3 Automotive industry analysis 4 Influence of automotive industry in Toyota’s decision making process 5 Financial analysis 6 Forecasting model: 2-year moving average graph 7 Forecasting model: weighted moving average and exponential smoothing 8 Conclusion: Toyota heading towards Sustainable Growth 9 References and Sources 10 Introduction: The decision-making process We can define decision-making, as a conscious and human process, involving both individual and social phenomena, an ongoing process of evaluating alternatives for meeting an objective. A particular course of action to select that course of action most likely to result in attaining the objective. The decision-making process allow us to raise our vision beyond our immediate concerns and, in turn, allow us to evaluate our existing beliefs an actions in a new light in order to make an important and useful decision. Achieving an objective requires action leading to a desired outcome. In theory, how one proceeds should inevitably affect what one achieves, and in turn this should affect future actions. Risks and uncertainties in decision-making process The ability of a firm to absorb, transfer, and manage risk is critical in managements decision-making process when risky outcomes are involved. This will often define managements risk appetite and help to determine, once risks are identified and quantified, whether risky outcomes may be tolerated. For example, many financial risks can be absorbed or transferred through the use of a hedge, while legal risks might be mitigated through unique contract language. If managers believe that the firm is suited to absorb potential losses in the event the negative outcome occurs, they will have a larger appetite for risk given their capabilities to manage it. Managing uncertainty in decision-making relies on identifying, quantifying, and analyzing the factors that can affect outcomes. This enables managers to identify likely risks and their potential impact. Decision makers are used to assessing risk because decision-making is usually associated with some degree of risk taking, but not all outcomes are easily assessed. Some unknown outcomes may not previously have been seen or experienced and so they are uncertain. In theory the outcome may have a low probability to occur but if so would happen it could be troublesome. So it is important for every company, especially in ever changing and competitive markets to deal with risks using a ever-better decision-making process. All of the decisions anyhow are taken by individuals so the strategy for risk avoidance is tied in with a personal reference point. Of course it’s fundamental nowadays, for big corporations, to have extremely good employees in this department. The skills and needs of the decision-maker and the role of the decision within an organization, the importance of the risk analysis will depend on the objectives of the decision. A wise approach to decision-making might seek contributions from different angles. The importance placed on data analysis, management skills, organizational awareness, and custom and practice in the assessment of risk would be vital. In this field of course with any doubt Toyota is one of the finest players in the market, with a top notch decision-making process. Case study: Decision-making process at Toyota Automotive industry analysis The worldwide automotive market is highly competitive. Toyota faces intense competition from automotive manufacturers in the markets in which it operates. Although the global economy continues to recover gradually, competition in the automotive industry has further intensified among difficult overall market conditions. In addition, competition is likely to further intensify due to continuing globalization in the worldwide automotive industry, possibly resulting in further industry reorganization. Factors affecting competition include product quality and features, safety, reliability, fuel economy, the amount of time required for innovation and development, pricing, customer service and financing. Increased competition may lead to lower vehicle unit sales, which may result in a further downward price pressure and adversely affect Toyota’s financial condition and results of operations. Toyota’s ability to adequately respond to the recent rapid changes in the automotive ma rket and to maintain its competitiveness will be fundamental to its future success in existing and new markets and to maintain its market share. There can be no assurances that Toyota will be able to compete successfully in the future. That’s the risk connected with every business activity. Through this uncertainties Toyota has to deal with a top-notch management. Each of the markets in which Toyota competes has been subject to considerable volatility in demand, so the risk is becoming even higher year after year affecting all business decisions. Demand for vehicles depends on social, political and economic conditions in a given market and the introduction of new vehicles and technologies. As Toyota’s revenues are derived from sales in markets worldwide, economic conditions in such markets are particularly important to Toyota. In Japan, the economy gradually recovered due to increasing personal consumption and last-minute demand encouraged by the increase of the consumption tax. In the United States, the economy has seen constant gradual retrieval mainly due to increasing personal consumption and the European economy has shown signs of recovery too. In the meantime, growth in emerging markets slowed down due to weakening currencies of emerging markets, increases in interest rates of emerging markets to protect the local currencies, and political instability in some nations. The shifts in demand for automobiles is continuing, and it is unclear how this situation will transition in the future. Influence of automotive industry in Toyota’s decision making process Toyota’s future success depends on its ability to offer new innovative competitively products that meet customer demand on a timely basis. Their corporate DNA is headed to continuous innovation and ensure that tomorrow’s Toyota is even better than today’s. Toyota’s current management structure is based on the structure introduced in April 2011. In order to fulfill the Toyota Global Vision, Toyota reduced the Board of Directors and decision-making layers, changing the management process from the ground-up, facilitating rapid management decision-making. In April 2013, Toyota made organizational changes with the goal of additional increasing the speed of decision making by clarifying responsibilities for operations and earnings. In detail Toyota’s group divided the automotive business into the following four units —Lexus International (Lexus business); Toyota No. 1 (North America, Europe and Japan); Toyota No. 2 (China, Asia the Middle East, East Asia Oceania; Africa, Latin America the Caribbean); and Unit Center (engine, transmission, and other â€Å"unit†-related operations) Meeting customer demand by introducing attractive new vehicles and reducing the amount of time required for product development are critical to automotive producers. In particular, it is critical to meet customer demand with respect to quality, safety and reliability. The timely introduction of new vehicle models, at competitive prices, meeting rapidly changing customer preferences and demand is more fundamental to Toyota’s success than ever, as the automotive market is rapidly transforming in light of the changing global economy. Toyota has to be ready for every occasion to occur in this ever changing global economy. Toyota’s managers every year are taking under consideration every occasion to happen. Within a managerial decision-making context, a risk might be viewed as the chance of negative outcome for a decision which has a possible uncertainty element, usually on the downside. Financial Analysis In terms of finances, the carmaker boosted its profit forecast for the current fiscal year ending March, expecting net income to rise to 2.0 trillion yen ($16.97 billion, 14.7 billion euros). It also said revenue would come in at 26.5 trillion yen. Toyota Motor Corporation had revenues for the full year 2014 of 25.692tn. This was 16.44% above the prior years results. Regarding the competition between Toyota, Volkswagen and ford, top players in the market, Toyota is average a positive trend. Moreover Toyota has the highest income since the year 2009. Forecasting model: 2-year moving average graph Forecasting model: weighted moving average and exponential smoothing We could use instead different methods. The moving average is a simple method that doesn’t take in in consideration the weight or real value that a number has. In fact to overcome this issue we can adopt the â€Å"weighted moving average method† and the â€Å"exponential smoothing method†. Using the â€Å"weighted moving average method† I take under considerations 3 years, which I consider the most important. The value of weights it is based on the percentage growth every year. Using weighted moving average, we can have a better forecast. However, it is more important for a better forecast to use the exponential smoothing method. Here I take in consideration all of the years moving from 2008. Found out that the smoothing factor is pretty high, 0.99. I took under consideration 0.9 as my alpha because in this particular case higher alpha means that the recent history will have more weightage in the forecast calculation. As we can see from page 26/68 I took under consideration Toyota’s Consolidated Performance (U.S. GAAP). I think that the last one is the most appropriate method to see a realest forecast for the next year. Of course the calculation has been made â€Å"ceteris paribus† so everything it is supposed to be the same next year, but as showed before this particular market is subject to constant changes. For this reason and other random errors the forecast could be higher or lower, but however we can obviously see a positive trend in Toyota’s business. Thanks to the tireless efforts of all concerned, today Toyota’s group can take pride in the strengths of its management practices and culture. Even its president is convinced that they are now in a position to take a definitive step forward toward sustainable growth. Conclusion: Toyota heading towards Sustainable Growth So is Toyota heading towards a sustainable growth? What is the engine for sustainable growth? Toyota has learned from experience that they can achieve sustainable growth only if they manage to create great cars that bring smiles and if they foster the human resources needed to make this a reality. At the same time, ever-better cars can be produced only through efforts made by employees on the front line. Individuals must take ownership of their work and place the utmost emphasis on local manufacturing, swift decision making, and immediate action. As it continues to grow however, tasks that were once routine may become increasingly difficult to perform. As I see it, Toyota’s current situation is particularly critical as we are now entering another expansion phase. This is a really important moment for Toyota. For this, because of the risks associated with the future Toyota should continue to seek perfection in his work of manufacturing, but especially in its management process where the decision-making process takes a fundamental part. References and sources For further readings†¦ Ken Segall, Insanely Simple, the obsession that drives Apple’s success, Published by Portfolio Trade, 2013 Robbins, De cenzo Coulter, Fundamentals of management, Global edition, 8th Edition, Pearson Higher Education, (2014 version) Burns and Stalker, The management of innovation, Tovistock Publications, London, 1961 Some internet sites†¦ ADAPT OR DIE, by John S. McCallum – Ivey Business Journal about management [accessed November 18, 2014] http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/strategy/adapt-or-die#.VGvDZDSG_ng 1