Financial Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Financial Plan - Assignment Example The essay discusses that business plan can be defined as a statement that sets forth the business goals that an individual has; the reasons that compel such an individual to believe that such goals are attainable and the steps and plans that the individual has towards that will help them attain those goals. The plan would also contain background information about the potential business and the team that will be used to help achieve the goals. The business plan has several sections the most important of which is the financial plan which details the revenue and costs forecasts of the business, the budget, the cash flows of the business, the costs requirements, the costs management plans to be applied, the sources from which the business will source its funds, the implementation plan of the business’s finances and the business’s control measures for such finances. Therefore the financial plan can be defined as a plan that shows how much revenue will be generated from the b usiness, how such revenue will allocated on various types of costs, how the surpluses shall be invested and how the deficits shall be sourced. This paper describes the type of business for which the business plan is being prepared. This section gives a brief description of what products or services the business will be offering and a brief description of the market in which the business will be operating in. The brief description of the product or service offering and the brief description of the market is used to determine the uniqueness of the business which helps it stand out from the rest of the businesses in that particular market. Finally the name of the business and the type ownership the business will assume are described in this section (McKeever 2010). i. Mission and Vision of the business The mission section of the business plan spells out the business strategy which seeks to answer the three main questions which potential customers might be having regarding the business in question. These questions are what the business does, how it does it and for whom. The vision statement on the other hand, spells what goals the entrepreneur of the business had for the business and what he/she envisioned the business to be in future (John and Harrison 2009). The mission and vision helps the customers and the general public to understand what the business is all

Electrical Properties Quantum Transport in Nanowire Device

Electrical Properties Quantum Transport in Nanowire Device David S. Murdoch Nanowires are quasi one-dimensional rod-like nanostructures with diameters in the order of nanometres (10^-9m) and have seemingly unlimited length and a great degree of versatility. Nanowires form as monocrystals in a well defined crystal geometric direction. Nanowire geometry allows for easy contacting of the wires from two sides. Attention is devoted to geometry of nanowires because this is the feature that allows for easy control of electronic properties of nanowires.[1] Growth orientation (e.g. 100), the faceting arrangement (e.g. [100]) and the surface structure (Si(100)) are generally outlined in nanowire investigations and are a generally accepted notation to depict nanowires. A nanowire is thin and diameter is in order of magnitude far smaller than length of nanowire. As diameters gets larger, quantum effects become less significant against bulk material properties. Nanowires have thermoelectric properties, specifically that they have high thermal stability and low thermal conductivity. Quasi one dimensional Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) and nanowires are likely composite materials for future electronic devices.[1] Nanowires electrical properties are easier to control than CNTS, therefore are an attractive alternative to CNTs and naturally passivated when semiconducting.[1] Under scrutiny, experimentally grown nanowires always have passivated facets but further study of unpassivated (pristine) nanowires has demonstrate fundamental mechanisms at an atomic-scale. One of which being that passivation is necessary to obtain nanowires with those controllable electrical properties.[1] Semiconductor nanowires can form from materials such as: Silicon, Si Indium Arsenide, InAs Germanium, Ge Indium Phosphide, InP Gallium Nitride, GaN Zinc Oxide, ZnO Cadmium Sulphide, CdS Nanowires can also be made from metallic materials and oxidised to make insulators but semiconducting crystalline nanowires are ultimately more useful in devices. At the atomic-scale, although impurities are useful sometimes, small variations can cause serious unwanted alterations to electronic structure. [1] Semiconducting nanowires are often fabricated via growth mechanisms or synthesised by electrochemical etching. These processes are often done in an aqueous solution with HF acid. The most common method of nanowire growth is Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) mechanism. VLS is a bottom-up process that starts with the dissolution of gaseous semiconducting materials with colloids of a metal catalyst, generally gold or silver [2]. The one-dimensional growth is evoked and dictated by the colloids. Once the colloids are supersaturated with semiconducting material, crystalline nanowire growth will start to occur at a boundary between solid substrate and liquidised material. This particular description was the growth of silicon nanowires. One example of EE is the use Ag catalyst on wafer-scale Si to fabricate a nanowire array. Ag+ ions are reduced in the solution after holes are inserted into the valence band of Si substrate. The reduced Ag nanoparticles dictate the extent of the etching and oxidation processes. Vertically aligned nanowires result from this synthesis.[3] After both methods of fabrication, nanowires remained anchored to substrates and are similarly dependent upon length of diameter for thermoelectric properties. However, wires from EE have much rougher surfaces than that of VLS. [Si nanowires yielded from EE have much rougher surfaces than typical Si nanowires grown via VLS and have less thermal conductance.[3] A heterostructures are the junctions between two different crystalline semiconductor materials essentially two different nanowire materials formed together to make one nanowire with unique properties. Heterostructures are commonly grown via VLS.[2] These heterostructures allow nanowires to have multitude of properties. What is a semiconductor and how does it work. By strict definition, a semiconductor has a conductivity between 105 and 10-5ÃŽ ©-1m-1. This is in contrast with insulators that have conductivity of approximately 10-24ÃŽ ©-1m-1 and metals that typically have 107 to 108ÃŽ ©-1m-1. On the face of them, these numerical values are rather meaningless but they do show that a semiconductor is separate from the other two, a true genuine third category of material.[4] How a semiconductor conducts is best described by a conduction and valence band. The conduction band rests above the valence band. The conduction band contains excited electrons and the valence band contains holes. In an insulator the two bands are a vast distance away from each other. In a semiconductor the two bands are much closer together, almost touching. If a bandgap is small enough, thermal vibrations may provide enough energy for some electrons to excite from the valence band to the conduction band. In a metal the two bands overlap, leading to a low resistivity in metals.[4] The diagram below depicts what the above description. An intrinsic semiconductor has a completely filled valence band, electron and hole populations are always equal. [4] An extrinsic semiconductor is doped. Midway between the two bands lies the Fermi energy. Below the Fermi energy. At absolute zero, no electrons we be able to excite past the Fermi energy.[12] In n-type and p-type semiconductors, the Fermi energy is adjusted to be closer to valence or conduction band.[12] Between the two bandgaps there is a sea of electron density. A transistor is a semiconducting electronic switch and are commonly found embedded in integrated circuits. Down-scaling of the gate length over the years has technological devices reduce in size has caused field-effect devices to having significantly less electrostatic control of a path of conductance; more capable device have been developed such as FINFETs, Trigate transistors and ultimately gate-all-around devices (GAA).[4] Nanowire devices can come in all shapes, not sizes. Examples of nanowire devices are Field-Effect Transistors (FETS), LEDs, Tunnelling diodes, Elementary logic gates, lasers and biochemical sensors.[4] There are a number of different FETs but Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) might be the most interesting or relevant in near-future technologies and are examples of GAAs. MOSFETs are extrinsic semiconductors where the doped material has been oxidised for some insulating properties. If a metallic gate anode were deposited you have the foundation of an electrical switch. [crystalline] Carrier charge density can be changed at the Fermi energy. If the semiconductor were p-type (i.e. abundance of holes in valence band) and a positive voltage is applied to the circuit then the electrostatic energy of the holes increases. Although holes are pushed away from the anode, any attracted electrons do not compensate for the decrease in positive charge. The switching effect is reduced if charge can be stored at the interface between the insulating barrier and the Si since the potential of the silicon will be less than that of the applied gate.[4] When voltage is increased beyond a certain point electron concentration at the surface of the Si will exceed the hole concentration. This creates the on/off switching effect. This gate voltage is large enough so that the bottom of the valence band moves down. The switching effect does not work with a metallic material because the valence band would be too high still and a Fermi energy could still carry current. The semiconductor band gap controls on/off electron currents.[4] Are nanowire MOSFETs superior? Smaller semiconductor gates allows speeds up operation from shorter distances, lower areas of capacitances and Larger fields but it is risky to store charge in a transistor so small and new quantum effects come into play at a nanowire-scale. One of the capabilities of these new technologies is to produce potentials which can confine electrons to the same scale as their Fermi wavelength. Nanowire MOSFETs can also be used in high frequency circuits. In Electron microscopy high energy electrons are fired at an object and reflected electrons are collected and computed into an image. Electron microscopy generally has greater magnifying power than optical microscopes. There are two main electron microscopes and they are Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SEM uses secondary electron to help generate an image that gives the viewer an impression of 3D while TEM fires at thinner objects at produces a 2D image but while ultimately be more useful for imaging nanowires.[7] Larger batteries potential differences require more conductive metals. In recent years Lithium has grown popular as a cathode. Semiconducting Si could be an attractive anode for Li cathode batteries as both metals become more ubiquitous. Although Si has low discharge potential and charge capacity 10x higher than existing graphite anodes and even more so than oxide and nitride materials, Si anodes in bulk form have limited use because silicons volume is drastically altered during extraction and insertion of Li. Resulting in capacity fading and pulverisation after recharging cycles. This is depicted in the diagram below. [8] Anodes made of Si films have a stable capacity over many cycles but are not viable as a battery because they waste away over time. Nanowire are a superior alternative to bulk materials because of a piezoelectric effect: â€Å"Crystals which acquire a charge when compressed, twisted or distorted are said to be piezoelectric. This provides a convenient transducer effect between electrical and mechanical oscillations.†[9] Each Si nanowire is grown and electrically connected to a metallic substrate surface thus all nanowires contribute to the battery capacity. During Fossil fuel combustion 15 TW of heat is lost to the environment. Thermoelectric modules could potentially convert part of the heat waste to electricity.[3] As of 2008, Bi2Te3 in its bulk form was the most commonly used material for thermoelectric devices. However, it is difficult to scale bulk Bi2Te3 to large-scale energy conversion in power plants but fabricating synthetic nanostructures of Bi2Te3 for this purpose is even more difficult and expensive. Thus, Bi2Te3 is replaced with increasingly ubiquitous Si.[3] Ubiquitous Si, abundance with a low-cost and high-yield products thanks to economies of scale. Si also has advantages in thermoelectric applications. Critical spacings below 300nm in Si would reduce thermal conductivity since Si has larger differences in mean free path lengths between phonons (~300nm) and electrons (110nm) at room temperature.[3] InAs-based semiconductor nanowires can already provide a convenient basis for the development of more complex hybrid nanostructures and can contact Schottky barrier-free with metals.[6]The InAs superconducting nanowires are fabricated via catalytic process based on the VLS mechanism.[6] InAs nanowires can be grown epitaxially. Epitaxial growth means the deposited material continues to grow on the same crystalline lattice as its substrate.[2] A superconductor is material with with no resistance and generally operates at a lower temperature. Within semiconductors, there are electron pairs, separated by vast distance in comparison to the lattice spacing, are coupled. These so-called Cooper pairs can exhibit boson characteristics and condense to a ground state since their attraction produces a small pair binding energy similar to the Fermi energy level.[10] A supercurrent generates no waste heat or any other form of waste. The supercurrent can be switched on or off by the electron density acting like a transistor as described earlier. Nanowires acquire superconducting properties because of the proximity effect, a phenomenon that can occur as Cooper pairs of electrons from a superconductor flow into a normal conductor at a junction. Nanowires arent inherently superconducting or easy to make superconducting.[6] The proximity effect manifests itself through the appearance of a supercurrent, which can be viewed as a consequence of the diffusion of Cooper pairs throughout the entire length of the nanowire section between the two superconducting electrodes.[6] the proximity affect can only happen if the boundary between Superconductor and semiconductor allows electrons to move freely. Cooper pair tunnelling is an explanation of Cooper pairs where they are able to interact through quantum tunnelling. At a junction between two superconductors a nd a more resistive material i.e. S-N-S junction. Two Cooper pairs across from each other in two separate semiconductors, can feel an attraction and readily flow into the normal conductor dividing them. S-N-S junctions will also feel a Josephson effect. Cooper pair could be created in the superconductor electrons in the Fermi energy being reflected at the S-N boundary.[6] This could be because of tunnelling effects. But what of Tunable supercurrent? How can a hybrid superconductor-semiconductor device work to observe quantum phenomena? Josephson behaviour occurs at critical currents. The nanowires allows the critical current to be controlled by voltage at a gate, Vg. If this voltage is negative then electron density is reduced and nanowires perform as the weak links between tunable superconductors.[6] With the use of certain geometries, there is the possibility of controlling individual nanowires on the same IC. Majorana fermions are particles that are their own antiparticle.[13] Not much is still known about Majorama pairs, not all the theory has been made to explain them and their properties yet. They are also examples of non-Abelian anyons.[14] In the vicinity of a Zeeman field, semiconducting nanowires require strong spin-orbit to induce majorana pairing in between electron states. This proximity effect induces a topological superconductor. Majoranas can be detected by Tunnelling Spectroscopy. A superpostion of Majorana particles states will always be zero energy because the particle and antiparticle have opposite energy.[14] Said zero energy state can be found in a normal conductor acting as a junction.[11] How to summarise this dissertation? The task received was to research and review electrical properties and quantum transport in nanowire devices. This task down into an explanation of base nanowires, specifically semiconducting nanowires. Then, general devices such as transistors, batteries and thermoelectrics were reported on and how certain applications have taken advantage of nanowires in respective devices. Then analyse of quantum effects in Cooper Pairs in superconductors and Majorama fermions. Technology is advancing at an exponential pace. The smaller components can be the more attractive they to companies who manufacture and sell consumer products. The smaller a transistor is the more you can fit on an integrated circuit leading to smaller more powerful products. Majorama fermions and Cooper pair tunnelling probably wont be used in any consumer applications in the near future but nanowire semiconductors in junctions placed between superconductors show means of electrically me asuring quantum tunnelling. In the near future investigations of these particles will enhance fabrication and measuring techniques and eventually manipulate and control Majorana qubits. They are examples of non-Abelian anyons[14], quantum state after partilce exchange making them ideal for use in topological quantum computing.[13] References R. Rurali, â€Å" Structural, electronic, and transport properties of silicon nanowires†, Reviews Of Modern Physics, 82 427-449 (2010) Law, M., Goldberger, J., Yang, P. D., â€Å"Semiconductor Nanowires and Nanotubes†, Annual Review of Materials Research, 34, 83-122 (2004) Hochbaum, R. Chen, R. D. Delgado, W. Liang, E. C. Garnett, M. Najarian, A. Majumdar, P. Yang, â€Å"Enhanced thermoelectric performance of rough silicon nanowires†, Nature 451, 163-167 (2008) Crystalline Solids lecture notes http://cxs.phys.soton.ac.uk/mwf/mediawiki-1.21.2/images/7/70/2013_lecture_notes.pdf Egard M, Johansson S, Johansson AC, Persson KM, Dey AW, Borg BM, Thelander C, Wernersson LE, Lind E, â€Å"Vertical InAs nanowire wrap gate transistors with f(t) > 7 GHz and f(max) > 20 GHz†, Nano Lett. 10, 809-812 (2010). Y.-J. Doh, J. A. van Dam, A. L. Roest, E. P. A. M. Bakkers, L. P. Kouwenhoven, S. De Franceschi, â€Å"Tunable Supercurrent Through Semiconductor Nanowires†, Science 309, 272-275 (2005) C. T. K.-H. Stadtlà ¤nder, â€Å"Scanning Electron Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy of Mollicutes: Challenges and Opportunities† Modern Research and Educational Topics in Microscopy, 123 (2007) C. K. Chan, H. Peng, G. Liu, K. McIlwrath, X. F. Zhang, R. A. Huggins, Y. Cui, â€Å"High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires†, Nature Nanotech. 3, 31 35 (2008) Piezoelectric Effect, HyperPhysics http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solids/piezo.html Cooper Pairs, Hyperphysics http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/solids/coop.html V. Mourik, K. Zuo, S. M. Frolov, S. R. Plissard, E. P. A. M. Bakkers, L. P. Kouwenhoven, â€Å"Signatures of Majorana Fermions in Hybrid Superconductor-Semiconductor Nanowire Devices†, Science 336, 1003-1007 (2012). Fermi Level, Hyperphysics http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solids/fermi.html Leijnse, M., Karsten,F., â€Å"Introduction to topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions† Topical review 1-20 (2012) http://arxiv.org/pdf/1206.1736v2.pdf Enter the Majorana Fermion, Sciencemag.org, http://www.sciencemag.org/content/336/6084/989.full.pdf

Was Mozart the Greatest Composer Ever? :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was Mozart the Greatest Composer in History?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has to be the greatest composer to ever live. He and his sister were both considered very gifted child prodigies. He started composing music when he was four and he started to write minuets by the age of five. When Mozart was around eight or nine, he started to write symphonies. Mozart also played quite a few instruments. When he was three years old he was already playing the harpsichord. He also was very talented on the keyboard and played the violin very well. Mozart was so naturally gifted when it came to music that when he was blindfolded, he was able to recognize the played notes. This was said that he had â€Å"perfect pitch.† Another reason why he has to be the greatest composer is that he had the ability to write all the notes of the Miserere score from memory. His first opera was performed when he was eleven years old. It would only take him about two weeks to write an entire symphony or concerto. How many composers can do a n entire piece in such little amount of time? He wrote twenty seven piano concerti, which he also invented. Mozart was never a very healthy person, in fact, he was suffering some sort of illness. I believe that this makes him even more admirable because doing anything when your health isn’t good just makes things even more difficult. One time Mozart gave a series of twenty two piano concerts and conducted a few of them in a five week period. After his father died he became very depressed and his music turned dark and depressing as well. This makes him great because he would write from his heart and that showed in his music. He wouldn’t let a setback like his fathers death keep him from doing what he loves which is composing music. Mozart never stuck to one genre, he wrote many different types of music such as concertos, symphonies, and German style operas to name a few.

GCSE Geographical Investigation

Managing Resources There is a need to manage, preserve and enhance the environment (built and natural) to maintain the tourist trade. This can be achieved in a variety of ways. The Growth in tourism There has been a steady but dramatic increase in tourism since the 1920/1930's. This was due to the increase and availability of cars for the average family. As families began to develop more and more disposable income in which they could use to buy cars etc. With this came family individuality, this meant that family's who wanted to go out into the countryside didn't have to wait for a long and uncomfortable bus journey to get into places of natural beauty. The questions that I will be answering in my essay are as follows: 1) Is there a need for conservation and stewardship in the Upper Derwent Valley? 2) Is the area managed in order to conserve the environment in the Upper Derwent Valley? 3) Does the Upper Derwnet Valley have some or all the features of a honeypot location? How will answering these questions help me to investigate my title? By answering these questions I will gather evidence and information about the Upper Derwent Valley, I will then be able to decide whether there is a need for management or stewardship in certain areas of the Upper Derwent Valley. Background Information Over 100 years ago the Derwent Valley in North Derbyshire was identified as having all the necessary attributes for water storage to satisfy the growing needs of the local population and industry in North Derbyshire, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, the valley being deep and long, surrounded by grit stone edges with narrow points for dam building, and having a high rainfall. This valley close to Sheffield is now extremely popular with visitors who come to enjoy the attractive mix of water and woodland within the surrounding moorland. The road winds up the left flank of Lady bower, Derwent and Howden Reservoirs for nearly 8 miles to a turnaround at King's Tree. Here are some interesting facts about the famous reservoirs in the Upper Derwent valley: Catchment area 19,850 hectares Reservoir capacity 463692 million litres (3 reservoirs) Treatment works Yorkshire Bridge, opened 1929 Water filtered, chlorine added and pH corrected Bamford Stage I opened 1948 Bamford Stage II opened 1967 Where the water goes: (millions of liters) 450 (untreated) Sheffield 172 (treated) 77 Derbyshire 68 Leicester 27 Nottingham The Dambusters Derwent reservoir was used by the RAF's Dambusters to practise their low level flying techniques during 1943, in preparation for delivering Barnes Wallis' famous ‘bouncing bombs' to German dams. Located in the West Tower of the Derwent Valley Dam is the Derwent Dam (617 Squadron) Museum which houses a collection of memorabilia dedicated to the famous Dams Raid carried out by 617 Dambusters Squadron. It includes photographs and other material covering all aspects of the Dams Raid

Evaluate the idea that gender and sexuality are socially constructed Essay

In recent years sociologists have been studying the great extent to which gender roles are learned. Many behaviors that have traditionally been thought to be genetically determined male or female behaviors turn out to be learned behaviors and therefore subject to change in future generations. In a summary of gender role socialization studies, David Shaffer (1979) points out that by the age of two, children have generally learned to recognize â€Å"maleness† and â€Å"femaleness† on the basis of clothing and hair styles. By the age of three, children usually have learned to prefer sex-typed toys and recognize that girls become â€Å"mommies† and boys become â€Å"daddies†. By school-age, children realized that they are expected to engage in appropriate gender behavior and if they do not, they will meet with disapproval from other children and adults. Many sociologists have personally questioned the value of such early gender-role learning and raised questions about how this learning can inhibit later opportunities in terms of education and career selection (Howe, 1979). To understand how gender and sexuality are socially constructed we must look at the adaptive and functional nature of socialization. One can look at the content of socialization as adaptive for the individual and functional for the society. As adaptive for the individual, the content of socialization involves knowledge necessary for individual to adapt to the changing situation of their daily lives, while, as a function for society, the content of socialization involves the knowledge necessary for its members to maintain a society as an ongoing entity. Knowledge of social rules, appropriate emotional behavior, social situations, technical knowledge, one’s self-identity, and communicative abilities give individuals an ability to adjust their behaviors to one another in the different groups and situations in which they encounter each other. Such adjustments are necessary for the ongoing existence of a society. Only people know how to adjust their behaviors to each other can the group activities and relationships which make up a society be maintained. Only with a socialized adult population can anything such as a society be said to exist. The particular content of socialization becomes highly important in terms of the make-up of the society that one is observing. If the content of socialization were to change, people’s activities and motivations would change, and clearly the society would change. So, on a sociological quest the content of socialization is something to which the sociologist should and must pay attention (O’Brien, 2001). Charles H. Cooley (1964), a pioneer of American socialization studies, referred to an individual’s self-concept as a â€Å"looking-glass self†. Cooley implied that our self-conceptions reflect our interpretation of the relations to our behavior of those around us with whom we interact. According to Cooley, we not how others respond to our actions, which produces in us a feeling about ourselves, which influences how we perceive ourselves. For instance a person who drops something and overhears another’s remark about how clumsy he is, may come to think of himself as a clumsy individual. We come to think of ourselves in terms of our understanding of how others think about us. It is through interaction that we come to apply to ourselves such labels as â€Å"kind† or â€Å"mean†, â€Å"awkward† or â€Å"graceful†. To see oneself as beautiful is to interact with persons who see you as meeting the criteria of beauty. Whether one sees oneself as an ugly duckling or a beautiful swan depends upon the flock with which one swims. As a naturalistic and empirical quest for understanding the various aspects of social reality is that everyone both influences and is influenced by society, sociology is ultimately a quest for self understanding. Humans beings are not isolated entities; we are not hermits who live apart uninfluenced by one another. Rather, we are social beings who can only be fully understood when the social context of our actions are taken into account and carefully studied. In order to carry out the quest for sociological knowledge it is necessary to have an understanding of the types, uses and limitations of the various sociological tools or methods. The sociological quest can be the appropriate sociological map or theory (Shaffer, 1979). Now I want to look at social life as a process and structure in the social construction of gender and sexuality. Social life involves processes of socialization, culture, and deviance. Learning how to act in society via socialization, developing and sharing of orientations toward social life via culture, and the negative sanctioning of inappropriate behaviors via the labeling process of deviance are universal processes, which are necessary to social life, and found in all societies. Although their particular make-up will vary from society to society, these three processes exist in all human societies. But, in addition to these processes, there also exists in all societies some relatively permanent patterns of organized social life that sociologists refer to as social structures. It is within and through social structures that the processes of socialization, culture and deviance take place. Just as the processes of human life take place in the structure of the human body so, too, the processes of society take place within and are influenced by social structures (Macionis, 1997). The most basic social structure around and through which social life takes place are groups; groups range in size from relatively small informal groups such as families, to large bureaucracies and formal organizations such as businesses and governmental agencies. All groups are composed of members who have met certain criteria for membership, who play certain understood roles in the group, and who have a sense of group belonging, which is sometimes termed a â€Å"we-feeling† or a â€Å"consciousness-of –kind†. Groups, related to one another in terms of their performing similar social activities, together from the social structures called social institutions. For example all the groups primarily involved in educational activities together form a society’s educational institution. It is through and in groups, and the institutions that they compose that the basic social processes of a society take place. It is in social groups that the learning of socialization takes place that cultural roles are shared and acted upon, and that deviance is ascertained and punished. People know how to perform roles in groups because they have knowledge of how to act which they developed in the process of socialization, because they share cultural understandings with other group members with whom they interact, because they have an understanding of what is considered deviant and unacceptable behavior in the various groups to which they belong (O’Brien, 2001). When we consider how females and males differ, the first thing that usually comes to mind is sex, the biological characteristics that distinguish males and females. Primary sex characteristics consist of a vagina or a penis and other organs related to reproduction, secondary sex characteristics are the physical distinctions between males and females that are not directly connected with reproduction. Secondary sex characteristics become clearly evident at puberty, when males develop more muscles, a lower voice, and more hair and height while females form more fatty tissue, broader hips, and larger breasts. Gender is a social and not a biological characteristic. Gender consists of whatever traits a group considers proper for its males and females. This is what makes gender vary from one society to another. Sex refers to male or female, gender refers to masculinity or femininity, so sex you inherit and you learn your gender as you are socialized into specific behaviors and attitudes (Gilmore, 1990). The sociological significance of gender is that it is a device by which society controls its members. Gender sorts us on the basis of sex, into different life experiences. It open and closes doors to power, property, and even prestige. Like social class, gender is a structural feature of society. Biology plays a significant role in our lives. Each of us begins as a fertilized egg. The egg, or ovum, is contributed by our mother, the sperm that fertilizes the egg by our father. At the very moment the egg is fertilized, our sex is determined. Each of us receives twenty-three pairs of chromosomes from the ovum and twenty-three from the sperm. The egg has an X chromosome. If the sperm that fertilized the egg also has an X chromosome, we become female. If the sperm has a Y chromosome we become male. That’s the biology. Now the sociological question is, does this biological difference control our behavior? Does it make females more nurturing and submissive and males more aggressive and domineering? (Macionis, 1997) Almost all sociologists take the side of â€Å"nurture† in this â€Å"nature vs. nurture† controversy. The dominant sociological position is represented by the symbolic interactionists. They stress that the visible differences of sex do not come with meanings built into them. Rather each human group determines what these physical differences mean for them and on that basis assigns males and females to separate groups. It is here that people learn what is expected of them and are given different access to their society’s privileges. Most sociologists find compelling argument that if biology were the principal factor in human behavior all around the world we would find women to be one sort of person and men another. In fact, ideals of gender vary greatly from one culture to another and as a result, so do male-female behaviors. For example the Tahitians in the South Pacific show a remarkable contrast to our usual expectations of gender. They don’t give their children names that are identifiable as male or female, and they don’t divide their labor on the basis of gender. They expect both men and women to be passive, yielding and to ignore slights. Neither male nor females are competitive in trying to attain material possessions (Gilmore, 1990). Society also channels our behavior through gender socialization. By expecting different attitudes and behaviors from us because we are male or female, the human group nudges boys and girls in separate directions in life. This foundation of contrasting attitudes and behaviors is so thorough that, as adults most of us think, act and even feel according to our culture’s guidelines of what is appropriate for our sex. Our parents are the first significant others who teaches us our part in this symbolic division of the world. Their own gender orientations are so firmly established that they do much of this teaching without even being aware of what they are doing. This is illustrated by a classic study done by psychologists Susan Goldberg and Michael Lewis (1969). They asked mothers to bring their 6 month old infants into their laboratory to supposedly observe the infant’s development. Secretly these researchers also observed the mothers. They found that the mothers kept their daughters closer to them. They also touch and spoke more to their daughters. By the time the children were 13 months old, the girls stayed closer to their mothers during play, and they returned to them sooner and more often than did the boys. When they set up barriers to separate the children from their mothers, who were hiding toys, the girls were more likely to cry and motion for help, the boys ere likely to try to climb over the barrier. Goldberg and Lewis (1969) were able to conclude that in our society mothers unconsciously reward their daughters for being passive and dependent, their sons for being active and independent. These lessons continue throughout childhood. On the basis of their sex, children are given different kinds of toys. Preschool boys are allowed to roam farther from home than their preschool sisters, and they are subtly encouraged to participate in more rough and tumble play. Even get dirtier and to me more defiant. Such experiences in socialization lie at the heart of the sociological explanation of male/female differences (O’Brien, 2001). In today’s society mass media plays a vital role in gender and sexuality roles. Sociologist stress how this sorting process that begins in the family is reinforced as the child is exposed to other aspects of society. Especially important today are the mass media, forms of communication that are directed to large audiences. Powerful images of both sexes on television, music and the internet reinforce society’s expectation of gender. Television reinforces stereotypes of the sexes. On prime time television, male characters outnumber female characters by two to one. They also are more likely to be portrayed in higher status positions. Viewers get the message, for the more television that people watch; the more they tend to have restrictive ideas about women’s role in society. The expectations to the stereotypes are notable and a sign of changing times. Video games have some youths spending countless hours playing games. Even college students, especially males, relieve stress by escaping into video games. But more studies into the affect of these games on the ideas of gender are needed. Because the games are the cutting edge of society, they sometimes also reflect cutting edge changes in sex roles (Macionis, 1997). As women change their roles in society, the mass media reflects those changes. Although media images of women are passive, subordinate, or as mere background objects remain and still predominate, a new image has broken through. Exaggerating changes in society, this new image nonetheless reflects a changing role of women, from passive to active in life outside the home, from acquiescent to dominate in social relations. Books, magazines, DVD’s and video games are made available to a mass audience. And with new digital advances they have crossed the line form what we traditionally think of as games to something that more closely resembles interactive movies. Sociologically, what is significant is that the content of video games socializes their users. Gamers are exposed not only to action, but also to ideas as they play. Especially significant are gender images that communicate powerful messages, just as they do in other forms of mass media (O’Brien, 2001). Lara Croft, an adventure seeking archeologist and star of Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider 2, is the essence of the new gender image. Lara is smart, strong, and able to utterly vanquish foes. With both guns blazing, she is the cowboy of the twenty-first century, the term cowboy being purposely chosen, as Lara breaks gender roles and assumes what previously was the domain of men. The old remains powerfully encapsulated in the new. Lara is a fantasy girl for young men of the digital generation. No matter her foe, no matter her predicament, Lara always is outfitted in form fitting outfits, which reflect the mental images of the men who created this digital character. Their efforts have been so successful that boys and young men have bombarded corporate headquarters with questions about Lara’s personal life. Lara had caught young men’s fancy to such an extent that more than 100 web sites are devoted to her. The final reward of the game is to see Lara in a nightie one can question that regardless of tough girl images just how far stereotypes have been left behind (Macionis, 1997). Gender stratification gives males and females unequal access to power and prestige and property on the basis of sex. It is closely associated with class and caste stratification and is a related phenomenon of gender stratification. Some but not all societies have men and women as unequal with the latter being more seen. Sexual in equality is characteristic of societies that are stratified in other ways as well. Women have historically occupied a position of inferiority to men in the class structured societies of the Western world. Sexual inequality may sometimes be seen in societies that are not otherwise stratified, in such instances men and women are always physically as well as conceptually separated from one another. The rise of gender stratification often seems to be associated with the development of strongly centralized states. Because social stratification of any kind tends to make life oppressive for large segments of a population, the lower classes are usually placated by means of religion, which promises them a better existence in the hereafter. Gender inequality is not some accident; instead it is the institutions of each society that work together to maintain the group’s particular forms of inequality. Customs throughout history both justify and maintain these arrangements. Although men have resisted sharing their privileged positions with women, change has come (O’Brien, 2001). By playing a fuller role in the decision making processes of our social institutions, women are going against the stereotypes and role models that lock males into exclusively male activities and push females into roles that re considered feminine. As structural barriers fall and more activities are engendered, both males and females will be free to pursue activities that are more compatible with their abilities and desires as individuals. As they develop a new consciousness of themselves and their own potential, relationships between females and males will change. Certainly distinctions between the sexes will not disappear. There is no reason for biological differences to be translated into social inequalities. The reasonable goal is appreciation of sexual differences coupled with equality of opportunity which may lead to a transformed society.

45 Idioms with Roll

45 Idioms with Roll 45 Idioms with Roll 45 Idioms with Roll By Mark Nichol Roll, ultimately derived from the Latin noun rota, meaning â€Å"wheel,† is the basis of numerous idioms about movement, many of which are listed and defined below. 1. a rolling stone gathers no moss: a proverb meaning that one who remains active will not become complacent or hidebound 2–4. get rolling or get/start the ball rolling: get started 5. heads will roll: said in reference to a reckoning, such as a mass firing at a business, alluding to decapitations such as those that occurred during executions by guillotine after the French Revolution 6. let it roll: an exhortation to make something move or allow it to move 7. let the good times roll: an expression perhaps originating with (and directly translated from) the Cajun French saying â€Å"Laissez les bons temps rouler,† associated with Mardi Gras 8–9. let’s rock and roll/roll: slang exhorting others to join in starting an endeavor 10. on a roll: a reference to being on a lucky streak 11. ready to roll: prepared 12. roll along: a reference to smooth operation 13. roll around: slang for â€Å"arrive or occur again,† as in the case of an anniversary 14–15. roll back/rollback: return to a previous state; an act of returning to a previous state 16–17. roll back the clock/years: a reference to going back in time 18. roll by: move past, as in a reference to the passage of years 19. roll call: reading of a roster of names to determine who is present in a group 20. roll (one’s) eyes: a reference to the expression one makes to signal annoyance, derision, or disbelief 21. roll in: appear or arrive, especially in large amounts or numbers 22. roll in the hay: a euphemism for sex, from the notion of a pile of hay in a barn being used in lieu of a bed 23. roll off the tongue: a reference to how easily or awkwardly a word, phrase, or expression can be spoken depending on the juxtaposition of consonants and vowels 24–25. roll out/rollout: introduce something, such as a product; an act of introducing something 26. roll out the red carpet: a reference to providing an elegant experience, from the association with red carpets set out at the entrance to an exclusive event 27. roll out the welcome mat: show friendliness and hospitality 28–29. roll over/rollover: reinvest; a reinvestment 30. roll over and play dead: idiom related to surrendering or to feigning death 31. roll over in (one’s) grave: a reference to how a revered deceased person would be agitated if he or she were to become reanimated and be aware of how something associated with that person has supposedly become degraded (spin is sometimes used as an intensifier of â€Å"roll over†) 32. roll the bones/dice: a reference specifically to casting dice in the gambling game of craps or in general to taking one’s chances 33. roll up (one’s) sleeves: a reference to preparing to work hard, from the notion of protecting shirtsleeves from materials that may damage or soil them or of ensuring that they do not get caught in machinery 34. roll up in: slang referring to someone approaching in a distinctive vehicle (one that is described subsequent to the phrase) and coming to a stop 35. roll up the sidewalks: a jocular reference to the lack of nightlife in small towns, with the notion that sidewalks are put away at a certain time each night because there is no longer any foot traffic 36. roll with it: said as advice to someone to accept, and perhaps take advantage of, a situation 37. roll with the punches: adjust to difficulties, from boxing slang for moving as a punch is delivered toward one to minimize the impact 38. rolled into one: a reference to something having multiple purposes or uses 39–41. rolling in dough/it/money: said of someone wealthy 42. rolling in the aisles: said in reference to something extremely amusing, from the notion that audience members at a performance are laughing to the extent that they fall out of their seats and tumble into the aisles 43–44. rolling on the floor/rolling on the floor laughing my ass off: a reference, usually abbreviated ROTFL/ROTFLMAO, to one being so amused that one falls to the floor and rolls around, laughing helplessly; the latter phrase is an intensifier 45. rolling stone: a restless or itinerant person Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†75 Idioms and Expressions That Include â€Å"Break†Adverbs and Hyphens

A Profile of Henry VIII of England

A Profile of Henry VIII of England Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 to 1547. An athletic young man who famously grew much larger later in life, he is best known for having six wives (part of his quest for a male heir) and breaking the English church away from Roman Catholicism. He is arguably the most famous English monarch of all time. Early Life Henry VIII, born June 28, 1491, was the second son of Henry VII. Henry originally had an older brother, Arthur, but he died in 1502, leaving Henry heir to the throne. As a youth, Henry was tall and athletic, frequently engaged in hunting and sport, but also intelligent and academic. He spoke several languages and studied the arts and theological debate. As king, he wrote (with help) a text refuting the claims of Martin Luther, which resulted in the Pope granting Henry the title of Defender of the Faith. Henry became king on the death of his father in 1509 and was welcomed by his kingdom as a dynamic young man. Early Years on the Throne, War, and Wolsey Shortly after acceding to the throne, Henry VIII married Arthur’s widow Catherine of Aragon. He then became active in international and military affairs, pursuing a campaign against France. This was organized by Thomas Wolsey. By 1515, Wolsey had been promoted to Archbishop, Cardinal, and Chief Minister. For much of his early reign, Henry ruled from a distance through the greatly capable Wolsey, who became one of the most powerful ministers in English history and a friend of the king. Some wondered if Wolsey was in charge of Henry, but this was never the case, and the king was always consulted on key matters. Wolsey and Henry pursued a diplomatic and military policy designed to raise England’s (and thus Henry’s) profile in European affairs, which was dominated by the Spanish-Franco-Habsburg rivalry. Henry displayed little military ability in wars against France, living off one victory at the Battle of the Spurs. After Spain and the Holy Roman Empire became united under Emperor Charles V, and French power was temporarily checked, England became sidelined. Wolsey Grows Unpopular Attempts by Wolsey to change England’s alliances to maintain a position of importance brought a backlash, damaging vital income from the English-Netherlands cloth trade. There was upset at home, too, with the regime growing unpopular thanks partly to demands for more taxation. Opposition to a special tax in 1524 was so strong the king had to cancel it, blaming Wolsey. It was at this stage in his rule that Henry VIII entered into a new policy, one which would dominate the rest of his rule: his marriages. Catherine, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII’s Need for an Heir Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon had produced just one surviving child: a girl called Mary. As the Tudor line was recent to the English throne, which had little experience of female rule, no one knew if a woman would be accepted. Henry was worried and desperate for a male heir. He had also grown tired of Catherine and fascinated by a woman at the court called Anne Boleyn, sister of one of his mistresses. Anne didn’t want to simply be a mistress, but queen instead. Henry may also have been convinced his marriage to his brother’s widow was a crime in Gods eyes, as proved by his dying children. Henry decided to solve the matter by requesting a divorce from Pope Clement VII. After seeking this, he decided to marry Anne. Popes had granted divorces in the past, but now there were problems. Catherine was an aunt to the Holy Roman Emperor, who would be offended by Catherine being shunted to the side, and to whom Clement was subservient. Furthermore, Henry had obtained, at cost, special permission from a previous Pope to marry Catherine, and Clement was loathe to challenge a previous papal action. Permission was refused and Clement dragged a court decision out, leaving Henry worried about how to proceed. Fall of Wolsey, Rise of Cromwell, Breach With Rome With Wolsey growing unpopular and failing to negotiate a settlement with the Pope, Henry removed him. A new man of considerable ability now rose to power: Thomas Cromwell. He took control of the royal council in 1532 and engineered a solution which would cause a revolution in English religion and kingship. The solution was a breach with Rome, replacing the Pope as the head of the church in England with the English king himself. In January 1532, Henry married Anne. In May, a new Archbishop declared the previous marriage voided. The Pope excommunicated Henry soon after, but this had little effect. The English Reformation Cromwell’s break with Rome was the start of the English Reformation. This wasn’t simply a switch to Protestantism, as Henry VIII had been a passionate Catholic and he took time to come to terms with the changes he made. Consequently, England’s church, which was altered by a series of laws and bought tightly under the control of the king, was a halfway house between Catholic and Protestant. However, some English ministers refused to accept the change and a number were executed for doing so, including Wolsey’s successor, Thomas More. The monasteries were dissolved, their wealth going to the crown. Six Wives of Henry VIII The divorce of Catherine and the marriage to Anne was the start of a quest by Henry to produce a male heir which led to his marriages to six wives. Anne was executed for alleged adultery after court intrigue and only producing a girl, the future Elizabeth I. The next wife was Jane Seymour, who died in childbirth producing the future Edward VI. There was then a politically-motivated marriage to Anne of Cleves, but Henry detested her. They were divorced. A few years later, Henry married Catherine Howard, who was later executed for adultery. Henry’s final wife was to be Catherine Parr. She outlived him and was still his wife at the time of Henrys death. Final Years of Henry VIII Henry grew ill and fat, and possibly paranoid. Historians have debated the extent to which he was manipulated by his court and the extent to which he manipulated them. He has been called a sad and bitter figure. He ruled without a key minister once Cromwell fell from grace, attempting to stop religious dissension and maintain the identity of a glorious king. After a final campaign against Scotland and France, Henry died on January 28, 1547. Monster or Great King? Henry VIII is one of England’s most divisive monarchs. He is most famous for his six marriages, which caused two wives to be executed. He is sometimes called a monster for this and for executing more leading men than any other English monarch on alleged charges of treason. He was aided by some of the greatest minds of his day, but he turned against them. He was arrogant and egotistical. He is both attacked and praised for being the architect of England’s Reformation, which brought the church under crown control but also caused dissension which would lead to further bloodshed. Having increased the holdings of the crown by dissolving the monasteries, he then wasted resources on failed campaigning in France. Henry VIIIs reign was the height of direct monarchical power in England. However, in practice, Cromwell’s policies enlarged Henry’s power but also bound him tighter to Parliament. Henry tried throughout his reign to enhance the image of the throne, making war partly to increase his stature and building up the English navy to do so. He was a fondly-remembered king among many of his subjects. Historian G. R. Elton concluded that Henry was not a great king, for, while a born leader, he had no foresight for where he was taking the nation. But he was not a monster, either, taking no pleasure in casting down former allies. Sources Elton, G. R. England Under the Tudors. Routledge Classics, 1st Edition, Routledge, November 2, 2018. Elton, G. R. Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558. The New History of England, Hardcover, First Edition edition, Harvard University Press, January 26, 1978.

Life Expectancy in Every Country

Life Expectancy in Every Country The list below indicates estimated life expectancy of every country as of 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base. Life expectancy from birth on this list ranges from a high of 89.5 in Monaco to a low of 49.7 in South Africa. The global average life expectancy for the entire planet is 68.6. Here are the top five highest life expectancies and the five lowest life expectancies: Highest Life Expectancies 1) 89.5 years - Monaco 2) 84.7 years - Singapore (tie)   2) 84.7 years - Japan (tie) 4) 83.2 years - San Marino 5) 82.7 years - Andorra Lowest Life Expectancies 1) 49.7 years - South Africa 2) 49.8 years - Chad 3) 50.2 years - Guinea-Bissau 4) 50.9 years - Afghanistan 5) 51.1 years - Swaziland Life Expectancy by Country Afghanistan  - 50.9Albania  - 78.1Algeria  - 76.6Andorra  - 82.7Angola  - 55.6Antigua and Barbuda  - 76.3Argentina  - 77.7Armenia  - 74.5Australia  - 82.2Austria  - 80.3Azerbaijan  - 72.2The Bahamas  - 72.2Bahrain  - 78.7Bangladesh  - 70.9Barbados  - 75.2Belarus  - 72.5Belgium  - 80.1Belize  - 68.6Benin  - 61.5Bhutan  - 69.5Bolivia  - 68.9Bosnia and Herzegovina  - 76.6Botswana  - 54.2Brazil  - 73.5Brunei  - 77.0Bulgaria  - 74.6Burkina  Faso - 65.1Burundi  - 60.1Cambodia  - 64.1Cameroon  - 57.9Canada  - 81.8Cape Verde  - 71.9Central African Republic  - 51.8Chad  - 49.8Chile  - 78.6China  - 75.3Colombia  - 75.5Comoros  - 63.9Congo, Republic of the  - 58.8Congo, Democratic Republic of the  - 56.9Costa Rica  - 78.4Cote dIvoire  - 58.3Croatia  - 76.6Cuba  - 78.4Cyprus  - 78.5Czech Republic  - 78.5Denmark  - 79.3Djibouti  - 62.8Dominica  - 76.8Dominican Republic  - 78.0East Timor (Timor-Lest e)  - 67.7Ecuador  - 76.6Egypt  - 73.7El Salvador  - 74.4Equatorial Guinea  - 63.9Eritrea  - 63.8Estonia  - 74.3Ethiopia  - 61.5Fiji  - 72.4Finland  - 79.8France  - 81.8Gabon  - 52.0The Gambia  - 64.6Georgia  - 76.0Germany  - 80.6Ghana  - 66.2Greece  - 80.4Grenada  - 74.1Guatemala  - 72.0Guinea  - 60.1Guinea-Bissau  - 50.2Guyana  - 68.1Haiti  - 63.5Honduras  - 71.0Hungary  - 75.7Iceland  - 81.3India  - 68.1Indonesia  - 72.5Iran  - 71.2Iraq  - 71.5Ireland  - 80.7Israel  - 81.4Italy  - 82.1Jamaica  - 73.6Japan  - 84.7Jordan  - 80.5Kazakhstan  - 70.6Kenya  - 63.8Kiribati  - 65.8Korea, North  - 70.1Korea, South  - 80.0Kosovo  - 71.3Kuwait  - 77.8Kyrgyzstan  - 70.4Laos  - 63.9Latvia  - 73.7Lebanon  - 75.9Lesotho  - 52.9Liberia  - 58.6Libya  - 76.3Liechtenstein  - 81.8Lithuania  - 76.2Luxembourg  - 80.1Macedonia  - 76.0Madagascar  - 65.6Malawi  - 53.5Malaysia  - 74.8Maldives  - 75.4Mali  - 55.3Malta  - 80.3Marshall Islands  - 72.8Mauritania  - 62.7Mauritius  - 75.4Mexico  - 75.7Micronesia, Federated States of  - 72.6Moldova  - 70.4Monaco  - 89.5Mongolia  - 69.3Montenegro  - 78.4Morocco  - 76.7Mozambique  - 52.9Myanmar (Burma)  - 66.3Namibia  - 51.6Nauru  - 66.8Nepal  - 67.5Netherlands  - 81.2New Zealand  - 81.1Nicaragua  - 73.0Niger  - 55.1Nigeria  - 53.0Norway  - 81.7Oman  - 75.2Pakistan  - 67.4Palau  - 72.9Panama  - 78.5Papua New Guinea  - 67.0Paraguay  - 77.0Peru  - 73.5Philippines  - 72.8Poland  - 76.9Portugal  - 79.2Qatar  - 78.6Romania  - 74.9Russia  - 70.5Rwanda  - 59.7Saint Kitts and Nevis  - 75.7Saint Lucia  - 77.6Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  - 75.1Samoa  - 73.5San Marino  - 83.2Sao Tome and Principe  - 64.6Saudi Arabia  - 75.1Senegal  - 61.3Serbia  - 75.3Seychelles  - 74.5Sierra Leone  - 57.8Singapore  - 84.7Slovakia  - 76.7Slovenia  - 7 .80Solomon Islands  - 75.1Somalia  - 52.0South Africa  - 49.7South Sudan  - 60.8Spain  - 81.6Sri Lanka  - 76.7Sudan  - 63.7Suriname  - 72.0Swaziland  - 51.1Sweden  - 82.0Switzerland  - 82.5Syria  - 75.6Taiwan  - 80.0Tajikistan  - 67.4Tanzania  - 61.7Thailand  - 74.4Togo  - 64.5Tonga  - 76.0Trinidad and Tobago  - 72.6Tunisia  - 75.9Turkey  - 73.6Turkmenistan  - 69.8Tuvalu  - 66.2Uganda  - 54.9Ukraine  - 69.4United Arab Emirates  - 77.3United Kingdom  - 80.5United States of America  - 79.7Uruguay  - 77.0Uzbekistan  - 73.6Vanuatu  - 73.1Vatican City (Holy See)  - No permanent populationVenezuela  - 74.5Vietnam  - 73.2Yemen  - 65.2Zambia  - 52.2Zimbabwe  - 57.1

Company(Target) Firm Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Company(Target) Firm Analysis - Research Paper Example Target Corporation’s retail segment is inclusive of food discount stores, general merchandise stores, and an integrated online business, target.com. Target Corporation also operates a segment for credit cards that offers Visa credit cards and branded proprietary products. TGT currently operates one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven target stores across forty-nine states in the U.S. (Forbes.com 1). Target corporation’s fiscal year ends on January the 31st. This paper is a company research project on â€Å"Target Corporation†. Target Corporation aims to reinforce the company’s value proposition via the striking of a balance between the core components of its brand mission and promise, i.e. expect more and pay less (Forbes.com 1). Expect more refers to target Corporation’s emphasis on trends, which differentiates it from its competitors, for example, Walmart while pay less is meant to underscore the Corporation’s notion concerning compellin g presentation of its consumables and commodities as their key strategy. Target Corporation’s recent rollout of their P-fresh expanded food format is likely to connect well to their consumers, which should improve traffic, as well as same store sales growth (Forbes.com 1). Solid underlying trends within target Corporation’s credit business are expected to provide a boost to the company’s earnings in the future. ... Target Corporation’s well differentiated stores will give it an edge their main competitors, like Walmart. Their balance sheet and cash flow remain in a healthy position. However, increased competition and a competitive pricing environment from Walmart are expected to portend an adverse effect on the future of target Corporation. TGT seems to be losing focus on the sale of women’s apparel that accounts for more than ten percent of their total sales (Forbes.com 1). Target Corporation’s credit business is increasing their exposure to various deteriorations in the credit trends of their consumers, for example, higher default rates that could have a significant impact on their profitability. Their escalating utilities and healthcare costs could lead to increased SG&A expenses. Digest Group analysts estimate the Corporation’s long-term growth rate, as ranging from lows of nine percent to highs of fifteen percent, coming up with an average of 11.3% (Forbes.com 1 ). These analysts at Digest Group are of the belief that target.com is the company’s fastest growing segment. This segment provides an online shopping experience, which adds new online tools, for example, the online gift finder that is driving sales up. In addition, TGT is building a seamless shopping experience for their stores, Target.com and their catalog. Over the last decade, TGT has utilized its marketing expertise in the transformation of the trademark bull’s eye into a symbol that is universally recognized, which, in turn, has helped to establish its retail format into a unique destination for clients from the United states (Forbes.com 1). TGT’s marketing approach is focused on the retail end as a brand. TGT perhaps, has played the

6-sigma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

6-sigma - Essay Example The process is commonly utilised in the manufacturing processes in seeking to minimise variability of products and enhance the quality through improvement of the business processes. The six-sigma approach utilises various quality management methods like statistics in the development of quality improvement approaches within the manufacturing industry. The term remains synonymous to the manufacturing terms associated with the modelling of the manufacturing process through the utilisation of statistical processes. The process aims at ensuring products remains product free, which is essential in determining the effectiveness of the manufacturing process. The sigma level is commonly measured through the percentage of detect-free products. The sigma process included in the manufacturing process follows a definite sequence of activities aimed at achieving quantifiable production targets. Effective achievement of the targets becomes a measure of the efficacy achieved in the implementation of the sigma process of management. The fundamental purpose for the adoption of the six-sigma approach remains the reduction of variability in the products. The variability defined by the six-sigma approach remains based on the occurrence of defects upon the products. The number of defects detected upon the products becomes the quantifying element in establishing the effectiveness of the production improvement process (Montgomery and Woodall, p331). This results in the reduction of the defects to a level that the occurrence of failure or defects becomes almost impossible. The methodologies utilised in the improvement of the manufacturing process consist of five phases that based on the operations adopted by the organisation. The processes involved in the six sigma include the following elements Define – this can be e defined as the definition of the various attributes which are expected to be achieved through the implementation of the six sigma approach. This

6-sigma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

6-sigma - Essay Example The process is commonly utilised in the manufacturing processes in seeking to minimise variability of products and enhance the quality through improvement of the business processes. The six-sigma approach utilises various quality management methods like statistics in the development of quality improvement approaches within the manufacturing industry. The term remains synonymous to the manufacturing terms associated with the modelling of the manufacturing process through the utilisation of statistical processes. The process aims at ensuring products remains product free, which is essential in determining the effectiveness of the manufacturing process. The sigma level is commonly measured through the percentage of detect-free products. The sigma process included in the manufacturing process follows a definite sequence of activities aimed at achieving quantifiable production targets. Effective achievement of the targets becomes a measure of the efficacy achieved in the implementation of the sigma process of management. The fundamental purpose for the adoption of the six-sigma approach remains the reduction of variability in the products. The variability defined by the six-sigma approach remains based on the occurrence of defects upon the products. The number of defects detected upon the products becomes the quantifying element in establishing the effectiveness of the production improvement process (Montgomery and Woodall, p331). This results in the reduction of the defects to a level that the occurrence of failure or defects becomes almost impossible. The methodologies utilised in the improvement of the manufacturing process consist of five phases that based on the operations adopted by the organisation. The processes involved in the six sigma include the following elements Define – this can be e defined as the definition of the various attributes which are expected to be achieved through the implementation of the six sigma approach. This

Strategic Management at British Airways Case Study

Strategic Management at British Airways - Case Study Example The present study on British Airways is to identify, evaluate and assess the planning, development and implementation process of its strategy management and to analyze the performance of the strategic decisions made as part of the strategic management on the organization because it is believed that British Airways has been able to achieve the present position since its establishment in 1919 only due to its strategic management decisions (Cole, G.A., 2003:191). This section deals with various literatures available on the present research in order to study the process of planning, development and implementation in British Airways and also to identify the role of various stakeholders in the decision making process. Thompson, Martin and Thompson (2009:p2) stated that strategy is about how organizations cope with the world which is dynamic and emergent with technologies, design and competitors getting revamped at regular intervals providing the impetus t reformulate the existing strategy and restructure the organizations in order to survive in the competitive market. It is further clarified that strategies are means to ends; whereas the process of strategic management involves clarifying the desired ends, mapping out a route for achieving them (development), putting those strategies into practice (implementation), changing what the organization is doing tactically in the face of competition and unexpected issues that arise and finally evaluating progress and performance. Mintzberg (cited in Idenburg, 1993) stated that there are at least ten schools of strategy development with two fundamental dimensions i.e. goal orientation (what) and process orientation (how). The process of strategy developme nt includes rational planning, planning as guided learning process, logical in incrementalism and emergent strategy. Idenburg (1993) stated that four alternative view of the process of strategy development must be reflected in business research and education. Thompson and Martin (2005, p8) mention that strategic management is a complex and fascinating subject with straightforward underlying principles but no right answers. It is further stated that companies succeed if their strategies are appropriate for the circumstances they face and are feasible in respect of their resources, skills and capabilities and the same companies fail if the fail to meet the expectations of its stakeholders or produce undesirables outcomes. According to Thompson and Martin (2005), strategies are means to end as opined various other researchers and management specialists and managers are strategy makers to some extent in the companies. This statement articulates that mangers are the key persons involved in the strategic management process of planning who then take decisions regarding the development and implementation in the organization. The aviation industry has undergone major transition phase wherein the main stakeholders were involved and have been granted a greater degree of autonomy. Airlines were the first to realize the importance of strategies and strategic decision making in a competitive environment (Delfmann, 2005; p3). British Airways (BA) is major international airline with multinational operations which came into existence with merger of two

The Question is in the Instruction part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Question is in the Instruction part - Essay Example This shows that despite the complete strangeness of a new and alien activity which initially seems incompatible to the inherent nature of Mole, the willingness to try it proves to be beneficial to him. Mole takes a splash into the water due to his excitement but he does not give up the idea of boating as incompatible to him. He perseveres and overcomes the incompatibility of his first encounter with boating. Grahame explains the different behaviors of the animals as belonging to the quaint culture called the animal-etiquette and not as incompatible elements thrown together. (Grahame 2004, p.10, 12). The narrative attributes certain behaviors to the unique animal culture when it says; 'The Rat hummed a tune, and the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.' (Grahame 2004, p.12). This mirrors the human society that is comprised of people from all walks of life. They are so different as to seem incompatible but yet co-exist in an interweaved mesh that allows for divergence and privacy. Grahame has put together a diverse set of characters that seem incompatible but they are consistent with the diversity that is present in the human population. The animals are the allegories that parallel humans. Grahame uses the setting of the River Bank and Wild Wood because it allows a diverse environment in which he can have a variety of animals and Silvey says; 'Not only is it a nostalgic evocation of the English countryside and a way of life that he felt was under threat, but in the characters of Rat and Mole we can detect aspects of himself.' (Silvey 1995, p. 87). Silvey also says that Grahame depicts human characters in the guise of animals. The rat and mole experience life in much the same way as humans. They enjoy comradeship, boating and a picnic. They exhibit some human traits. The rat is kind to the mole and forgives him for making a complete fool of himself in the water. Furthermore, he promises to teach the mole to row and swim. (Grahame 2004, p. 13). By putting toget her a group of seemingly incompatible characters, Grahame shows how friendships form, bond and cement to make life better in the community. On the other hand, Grahame shows that friendships enrich life. The underlying message is that if animals can form enduring bonds, humans should do much better. Dancygier says that Grahame uses frame metonymy, or the substitution of the name of an attribute for the name of the thing itself. (Dancygier 2005, p. 1). This camouflaging of elements give the impression that incompatible elements are thrown together. 'We are like the Rat in our book-initial quotation from The Wind in the Willows: give us a grammatical "door-scraper," and we can see a whole house, the entire experimental frame within which we understand what door-scrapers are for.' (Dancygier 2005, p. 25 ). This "door-scraper" is a symbol that draws together the seemingly incompatible elements to give an overall picture of what's going on. Rat and Mole find the door-scraper in the snowing woods. Grahame does not let Rat

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

ART - Essay Example Her serene expressions depict her inner tranquillity or it could be a sign of melancholy. The Lady in the portrait has alluring lush dark-long hair; her skin tone is fairly light brown, her body is shapely and subtle. Hence, she fulfils all the terms of being an aesthetic beauty, who is out in the nature to be noticed by the artist. Her noticeable ornaments are a finger ring, two bangles in her wrist and a shoulder band tightly enclosed around her upper arm. Ornaments like finger rings either portray commitment or are a sign of wealth. In this portrait, the woman is dominated by blue colour and has beauty all around her in the form of flowers and crystal blue water, but she has tightly closed her eyes either due to serenity or despair. Hence, the portrait leaves one a bit perplexed, the expression spread across her face depict self-possession or serenity, but the element of bliss cannot be suggested for it. Thus, one concludes that the lady in blue is either feeling grey, blue or

Field Project in a School Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Field Project in a School - Personal Statement Example e) entertaining activities also proved to be effective such as literacy activity games like playing word search, boggle, ending words, site words, how to use the computer, E.S.A games, scrabble, smart boards, cursive writing and book reports. 3. Learning to write effectively prepares students for success in both the classroom and the outside world. Being able to express oneself well in writing can be a great source of power. I helped the students develop writing skills by applying interactive and effective methods. These include: a) writing exercises about topics that are close to the experiences of the students like their favorite junk food, pair of pants, first day of spring, what you are thankful for in your life, etc. or topics about special occasions such as Easter where they are asked to relate what they did on that special day with their family c) through excursions or trips where children were able to see plays or shows (like retumbia, Cinderella and Doctor Amelia Bedelia), and were asked to write their viewpoints about the show or they are taken to class trips to the museum of natural history to share what they saw and what was their favorite part of the place d) new spelling words for the week where students write the new words 5 times and make a sentence for each word e) research about Egyptians pyramids and its contents f) playing site word bingo g) writing letters to their parents or write letter to their teacher about what they did over the weekend. h) the five-sense taste test, the students write about their favorite ice cream flavor (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry) and make a graph for it i) students practice writing their address on loose-leaf paper 3 times, this helps students learn how to prepare an address envelope j) story reading like "Dear Mr. Blueberry" by Simon James where students are required to write Mr. Blueberry with an address envelope k) the students are also taught to do persuasive writing l) students were taken to a field trip to Sony wonder technology laboratory and explored the communication and

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

ART - Essay Example Her serene expressions depict her inner tranquillity or it could be a sign of melancholy. The Lady in the portrait has alluring lush dark-long hair; her skin tone is fairly light brown, her body is shapely and subtle. Hence, she fulfils all the terms of being an aesthetic beauty, who is out in the nature to be noticed by the artist. Her noticeable ornaments are a finger ring, two bangles in her wrist and a shoulder band tightly enclosed around her upper arm. Ornaments like finger rings either portray commitment or are a sign of wealth. In this portrait, the woman is dominated by blue colour and has beauty all around her in the form of flowers and crystal blue water, but she has tightly closed her eyes either due to serenity or despair. Hence, the portrait leaves one a bit perplexed, the expression spread across her face depict self-possession or serenity, but the element of bliss cannot be suggested for it. Thus, one concludes that the lady in blue is either feeling grey, blue or

Ethiopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethiopia - Essay Example The major ethnic groups inhabiting Ethiopia are Oromo (40 percent), Amhara (20 percent), Tigrayan (12 percent) and Sidama (9 percent) (Cities of the World, 2002). Amharic happens to be the Official language of Ethiopia. The other languages spoken in Ethiopia include English, Italian, Tigriyna, French, Oromiffa, Arabic, Afara and Somali (Cities of the World, 2002). Nearly 45 percent of the Ethiopians happen to be adherents of Ethiopian Orthodox Church while an approximately the same number are affiliated to Islam. Since the fall of the Marxist regime in 1991, Ethiopia has decentralized its economic planning and has opted for open market policies (Cities of the World, 2002). Agriculture stands to be the most promising sector in Ethiopia that contributes more then 50 percent of its GDP and roughly 80 percent of all the Ethiopian exports (Cities of the World, 2002). Ethiopia has one of the most underdeveloped infrastructures in Africa. The economic problems in rural Ethiopia happened to be rampant and widespread. Thus, the unleashing of agrarian reforms in Ethiopia was essential to give boost to its ailing economy. The unique climate and topography of Ethiopia defined by dry deserts and drought and famine were primarily responsible for the pathetically low agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. The poor agricultural infrastructure and the recurrent famines in Ethiopia gave way to a large-scale poverty in the rural communities. The scarce rainfall depleted the fertility of the agricultural land and thus appropriate measures needed to be taken to improve soil fertility and the gross agricultural productivity. The Pattern of land occupancy in Ethiopia has been very intricate and complex. For example, in Welo province only there existed more then 111 types of land tenure systems (Economy Watch, 2009). Therefore, these utterly complex and confusing land tenure systems combined with very scarce knowledge and information about the land conditions made it difficult to estimate and qualify the land ownership throughout Ethiopia (Economy Watch, 2009). Thus, a pragmatic approach towards introducing land reforms in Ethiopia made it a must to grasp the nature of differences existing in the varied patterns of land ownership in the North and the South (Economy Watch, 2009). The prevalent patterns of land ownership in Ethiopia made it next to impossible the achievement of economic objectives like an increase in the agricultural productivity and an uplifting of the economic conditions of the Ethiopian peasants. Thus, the state and the intelligentsia in Ethiopia soon came to realize the inevitability of agrarian reforms to rescue Ethiopia from the economic morass in which it was caught. Sometime in the 60s, large sections of the student community started campaigning for the introduction of the land reforms in E

Types of Behaviors Essay Example for Free

Types of Behaviors Essay Description: In this assignment, you will apply the principles of classical and operant conditioning, as well as the notions derived from cognitive explanations of learning. You will write a paper on one of two types of behaviors that can be readily explained from a learning perspective. Using a Microsoft Word document, write a 500- to 750-word paper that explains the development of one of the following behaviors. (Be sure to specify the behavior you are discussing in your paper.) *Fear-driven reactions to insects *Cigarette smoking *Aggression For the chosen behavior, use the models of learning to explain how the behavior may develop and be maintained, so that it seems to occur automatically. Learning is the only perspective considered so do not attempt to use other explanations (i.e., the psychodynamic or biological approach) in your answer. When preparing your paper, consider the following questions: * How might classical conditioning principles apply to the origins of the behavior and maintenance of it? Clearly indicate what the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli are in your answer. * How might the principles of reinforcement discussed in operant conditioning apply to the behavior? Don’t forget that reinforcement can be either positive or negative in nature. * How do cognitive principles apply to the behavior? Specifically consider Albert Bandura`s ideas regarding imitational learning. Your paper should be well-written, original, free of grammar and spelling errors, and follow APA format.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Behavior can be defined as the sum total of all the actions and reactions performed by an individual in a given circumstance or situation in the environment.   Aggression is a behavior intended to cause harm or pain to others or the self.   It may be in the form a physical action or verbal.   The models of learning attempt to describe the manner in which an individual learns a particular behavior.   Some of the models of learning through which an individual develops aggressive behavior include classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Classical conditioning was a model of learning defined by Pavlov following his studies on dogs.   Pavlov found that when dogs were shown food their salivation increased (Braslau-Schneck, S., 1998).   Food in this case was an unconditioned stimulus that produced an unconditioned response (salivation) (Braslau-Schneck, S., 1998).   He then repeatedly presented a stimulus to the dogs which was slowly associated with food (such as footsteps).   Slowly the dogs began to associate the footsteps (which after constant repetition became a conditioned stimulus) and began to produce a conditioned response (salivation). In this way several other emotions such as fear and aggression can be conditioned in an individual (Braslau-Schneck, S., 1998).   In the famous JB Watson’s experiment over little Albert, Watson initially presented a loud sound (unconditioned stimulus) that made the body frightened and cry (unconditioned response) due to fear.   He then presented two stimuli simultaneously, that is a rat and a loud sound.   Over a period of time the boy began to associate the rat with the loud sound.   The rat with repetition became a conditioned reflex producing a conditioned response (symptoms of fear). A good instance of this with relevance to aggression includes presentation of an artificial hand that snatches away the food whilst a hungry dog is eating.   The dog would exhibit an aggressive reflex (such as barking which is an unconditioned response) to the artificial hand (unconditioned stimulus).   The dog is then presented a high-frequency sound (audible only to dogs followed) by the appearance of the hand.   Following repetitions, the dog would bark (conditioned response) after it hears the high-frequency sound (conditioned stimulus), and would not wait until it is presented with the unconditioned stimulus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Skinner’s operant theory, the individual when performing an action in the environment, experiences a stimulus (that encourages or discourages such behavior) which will directly affect the performance of such actions again in the environment.   It consists of a action and the results.   If positive reinforcement occurs following the action, the individual will perform the similar action again in the environment, and will also increase its frequency (Boeree, G. C., 1998).    However, if the action is followed by an aversive stimulus or negative reinforcement, there will be reduced chances of performing the same behavior in the future.   A good example of aversive stimuli is punishment, which can follow several aggressive acts.   Rigorous imprisonment can be pronounced for several criminal activities so that it can act as a negative reinforcement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Albert Bandura discovered the ‘social learning theory of behavior’ (Isom, M. D., 1998).   He considered that aggressive behavior is usually learned through a process known as ‘behavior modeling’, which can occur in different ways (especially by observing elders perform in case of children) (Isom, M. D., 1998).   A child may become aggressive and certain reinforcements may be experienced such as financial gains, rewards, praises from parents, reduction in internal stress, etc.   Parents and family members were often considered as models by the children, and acts performed by them were likely to be imitated.   The child will only perform the action of its model if the model was successful or is rewarded.    A classical experiment to demonstrate the social learning theory is the famous Bobo doll experiments in which the children observed elders attacking a doll, and later imitated the action of the elders.   This type of observational learning was known as ‘modeling’.   Children who have a tendency to demonstrate aggressive behavior should be identified immediately in order to prevent aggressive behavior and criminal activity, later in life (Isom, M. D., 1998). Bandura’s theory was comparable to Skinner’s theory because observational learning (as the child would learn only the actions that were successful or were being rewarded) is similar to a positive reinforcement.   An individual is most likely to learn criminal behavior during the adolescent stage.   Children tend to follow the actions of the same sex parents (Bjorkqvist, K., 1997).   Studies have shown that children who tend to watch TV (especially those programs that show violence) are at a higher risk of demonstrating aggressive behavior later in life. References: Bjorkqvist, K. (1997). Learning aggression from Models: from a social Learning toward a Cognitive theory of Modeling. In Feshbach, S., Zagrodzka, J. (Ed), Aggression: Biological, Developmental, and Social Perspectives, New York: Plenum Press. http://www.vasa.abo.fi/svf/up/articles/Learning_Aggression_From_Models.PDF Boeree, G. C. (1998). Albert Bandura: Personality Theory. Retrieved December 26, 2006, From Shippensburg University Web site: http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/bandura.html Boeree, G. C. (1998). B. F. Skinner: Personality Theory. Retrieved December 26, 2006, From Shippensburg University Web site: http://www.ship.edu/%7Ecgboeree/skinner.html    Braslau-Schneck, S. (1998). An Animal Trainers Introduction to Operant and Classical Conditioning. Retrieved December 26, 2006, Stacys Wag and Train   Web site: http://www.wagntrain.com/OC/ Isom, M. D. (1998).   The Social Learning Theory. Retrieved December 26, 2006, FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice Web site: http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/bandura.htm

Government Plans Essay -- Essays Papers

Government Plans A look at the relationship between Small Business and the US Government The purpose of a democracy is to provide a form of government in which the people are the ones who give form the direction and the government serves their interest. The government’s overall goal is to preserve the American way of life. One major part of the American way of life is the economy, which was built by small businesses that were able to prosper in our system of government and become global corporations. In the current day, our economy depends on these conglomerates and the little guy is left to suffer. With the fragile state the economy is in, it is the small businesses that should be supported to stimulate jobs and economic growth. Just like when it was built, the economy will continue to rely on small businesses. A successful entrepreneur, Ben Gordon, informed me that more than 50% of all start-up businesses fail within 3 years. For a country founded by mom and pop stores, one would think entrepreneurs would receive more help starting out. Currently, the g overnment is failing to yield appropriately to the concerns of small business owners about health care, taxes and regulations, and the availability of federal contracts. Many small businesses are opposed to more government intervention in all areas except for health care. Small companies do not have the leverage that larger corporations do when it come to acquiring major policies. Keith Hasty, president and CEO of Best Foam Fabricators, a family owned manufacturer of foam for the auto industry says that it cost $7,000 a year per each one of his 95 employees for health care because of the rising cost of medical care (Ioannou). That is $665,000 per year to provi... ...the Home Front Reactions to the Bush Economic Plan Laments from the little guy.† Denver Post 12 January 2003:A1. Gordon, Benjamin. E-mail to author. 11 February 2003. Ioannou, Lori; Batterson, Len; Cooper, Paul; Cory, Andrew; Hasty, Keith; Herrera, Leticia; Kerns, Kevin; Schroeder, Tom; Suzenaar Jr., Max; Zugulich, Dan. â€Å"The Big Issues for Small Concerns.† Time 17 July 2000: B7. Mandle, Michael J.; Miller, Rich. â€Å"Is it Class Warfare?† Business Week 20 January 2003: Issue 2816, p26. Pear, Robert. â€Å"Bush Prepares Health Plan Aimed at Small Businesses.† New York Times 27 January 2003. Public Law 85-536. â€Å"Small Business Act.† http://www,SBA.gov. Salem, Nancy. â€Å"Small Firms can Snag Federal Contracts, experts say.† Denver Post 22 December, 2000: A28. Sanko, John J. â€Å"Owens Policy Adviser gets Regulatory Post.† Rocky Mountain News 28 November 2002: 25A.

The Chinese Revolution Essay -- essays research papers

As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. â€Å"The Chinese people have stood up!† declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class. For the first time in decades a new Chinese government was met with peace and hope, instead of massive violent opposition, within its territory. The government and its political force, the CPP, were expected to fulfill century long dream of the Chinese people for â€Å"reason, liberty, progress and democracy.† The government promised to bring about a string of swift political and economical reforms that would dramatically improve life of every Chinese citizen within the life span of one generation. A promise of a vast land reform that would give long-awaited land to millions of peasant families won their support for the new government. At that time the party’s members of peasant origin accounted for nearly 90 percent. The Chinese intellectuals supported the communists for their promise to establish a variety of democratic institutions that ...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas- Critical Analysis

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by Alethea Chong (Ally) ~ Critical Analysis ~ The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel that was written by John Boyne. It was first published in 2006. John Boyne was born in Ireland 1971 and is the author of six novels. His novels were published in over 30 languages. Because people were inspired by The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, it has now been made into a featured film. The story The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas revolves around the friendship between a 9 year old German boy and a Jewish boy who is in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.Bruno the German boy is at Auschwitz because his father is the Commandant of the camp. This story shows Bruno’s innocence and the friendship between him and Shmuel. It also reveals the brutality of the Germans to the Jews in World War II. There are many themes that runs through the story of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I have chosen friendship brutality and fear as the themes I will discuss. Friendship is the most important among the three major themes.An example of the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel was shown by Bruno when he shared his food with Shmuel when he was hungry. Another example was when they played together and confided in each other. Thus a bond of friendship was developed. My final example of friendship was when Bruno helped Shmuel look for his Papa. Bruno had helped a friend in need. However, they did not succeed in finding Shmuel’s father. Both boys tragically ended their short lives in the gas chambers. Brutality is also one of the important themes in the novel.This is clearly defined when Lieutenant Kotler has beaten Pavel up just because he had spilled some wine on the Lieutenant. Also, an example of brutality would be when Lieutenant Kotler hits Shmuel as he was unfairly accused of stealing food.. This is very brutal as no one should ever abuse a child even if they are Jewish. The last exampled of brutality is the way the Germans treat the Jews. They locked th em up in death camps and concentration camps. The German were very brutal, they show no compassion or mercy to the Jews.The last theme that I believe is important is fear. An example of fear was shown by Pavel. He was afraid to disrespect the Lieutenant as he was easily provoked and might do something unpleasant to Pavel. Lieutenant Kotler was also feared by Bruno and Shmuel. They had to be very careful with everything they said to him. They would be in deep trouble if Lieutenant Kotler found out the truth about their friendship. The final example of fear is how afraid the whole world is of the Nazis because they were very powerful. No one dared go against the Nazis.In conclusion, I believe that this is an excellent and remarkable story. It shows how powerful friendship really is. It also demonstrates how brutal human behavior can be. Although the story’s ending was melancholy, there was always hope, friendship and love. I truly enjoyed this story, I learned something about h istory in a way that made me feel and sympathize for the innocent lives which were lost. The author did a terrific job by making the characters so realistic and interesting. The ending was very surprising and devastating.

Media Violence Not Good for Children Essay

The effects of media violence on children have been studied for over thirty years, with researchers repeatedly finding correlations between aggressive/violent behavior and the viewing of media violence. These education and psychology researchers began asserting years ago that a cause-and-effect relationship existed, i.e., viewing media violence was one of the causative factors in aggressive behavior in children. We often use the phrase that â€Å"children are impressionable.† We mean that children do not see the world through the same filter of experience that adults do. Children see things more literally. They do not yet possess the sophisticated sensibilities to distinguish fiction from reality. It matters a great deal, therefore, how much TV children watch and what they view. Young children often mimic what they see. Parents and caretakers observe this regularly. If children see people punching and kicking, they may act out that same behavior. Older children develop, through years of watching, sub-conscious mental plans of how they will react in conflict situations. For years they have seen conflicts resolved by violence, and they sub-consciously develop the same reaction plan. When confronted with a conflict, the tendency is to react the way they have seen countless others react—in a combative, aggressive or violent manner. Researchers call this developing a â€Å"cognitive script.† Through television, video games, and movies, children and teens view countless acts of violence, brutality, and terror as part of entertainment. They become conditioned to associating violence with entertainment. This is the classical conditioning. First-person shooter video games develop our children’s skills in operating weapons. The games reward marksmanship, and further reinforce the association of killing with entertainment. In the past, the heroes of movie and television shows were usually people who strictly followed the law. Now, heroes are often people who take the law into their own hands, who see an injustice or evil and seek to rectify it personally, sometimes brutally, regardless of the consequences. Such portrayals signal to a child society’s approval of that behavior. Lacking the judgment that comes with age, a child who feels he has been dealt with unfairly may copy that behavior, with disastrous consequences