How to Survive High School Essay

Maybe your friends from middle school are going to a different high school, or even if you know other freshmen, you might not know many upperclassmen. This is why it is very important to attend freshman orientations. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the building and get to meet some of your teachers, but you also get to meet fellow freshmen. When you talk to people at orientation, you’ll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you are. They’re all new to the school and don’t know what to expect either. Talking to your classmates about a common concern could even spark a new friendship. Secondly, you should learn more about your teachers. Some freshman teachers are nice and kind at times. However, in order to avoid their negativity, you must go by all of their rules. Different teachers will have different expectations. Learn what they are and don’t make your high school experience rough, by trying to make your own rules. Some rules will seem unfair and some will seem stupid, but if you go by them, you will find that life is much easier. You don’t have to be a teacher’s pet to do this, and you just don’t have to be a rebel either. Just remember, in all cases, think things through before you act. Sometimes it will save you a lot of trouble in the end. Thirdly, you should maintain a good reputation. Having a good reputation at high school is very important. You should always take responsibility for your actions, and choose them wisely. We remember people by their actions as much as we remember their hair color. While embarrassing moments are unavoidable and nothing to be ashamed about, dishonest or vicious behavior is well within your control. Last but not least, you should always be yourself. I know everyone says it, but if you’re not yourself, who else are you going to be? Everyone has their quirks which makes them unique. There’s nothing interesting about a high school full of clones. Embrace your uniqueness. To enjoy your time, always be who you are. Opportunities are going to present themselves, and who knows where these opportunities might lead. Don’t ever change who you are just to fit in. You’ll never be as happy pretending to be someone you’re not when you could be yourself. As you can see, high school is only what you make it. Following my advice will only make your freshman year a lot better. These are a few tips on how to you can survive your freshman year in high school.

Management Studies Essay

1. What steps should be taken by an organization that is committee to shattering the glass ceiling? I would use selection plans as a method to shatter the glass ceiling. Selection plans forces a company or organization to conduct a job analysis, establish career ladders and consider alternatives to the traditional ways used in promotion systems. Companies and HR should back away from the use of these traditional methods of assessment in ways consistent with the selection plan. Move away from casual methods such as supervisory recommendations, performance ratings, quick reviews of personnel files, and informal recommendations. Use a more formal, standardized, and job-related assessment method. The organization should pay attention to the types of KSAOs necessary for advancement, and begin training programs to teach these KSAOs to potential employees. Such programs could include: key job and committee assignments, participation in conferences and other networking opportunities, mentoring and coaching programs, and skill acquisition in formal training programs. 2. What guidelines do the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures offer to organizations when it comes to setting cutoff scores? The UGESP advises that cutoff scores be set so as to be reasonable and consistent with normal expectations of acceptable proficiency within the workforce. Applicants should be ranked on the basis of properly validated selection procedures. Applicants scoring below a higher cut-off have little or no chance of being selected for employment. Although the higher cut-off score may be appropriate the degree of adverse impact should also be considered. Companies should ensure their hiring standards are not so high that they create an adverse impact. 3. What are the steps an employer should take to develop and implement its policy regarding employment-at-will? Employment at will involves the right of either the employer or employee to terminate the employment at any time, for any legal reason. To enact a policy of employment at will, a company needs to ensure that job offers are for an indeterminate time period. The job offer should include a statement that the employment will be strictly at will. All written documents, such as employee handbooks and applications must affirm the at will relationship. 4. Discuss some potential problems with downsizing as an organization’s first response to a need to cut labor costs. While downsizing has an immediate impact on decreasing labor costs, too many companies downsize without considering alternatives. There are many problems that can occur based on using downsizing first. Companies initially make job cuts that are too deep. This results in a workforce which is understaffed and unable to function effectively. This affects the other employees who become demoralized, unmotivated, and unproductive. Many organizations that downsize immediately have discovered that they failed to achieve most of the business objectives associated with the downsizing to begin with and they rehire at least some of the staff that they let go. Essay Questions (15 pts each) – No more than 2 pages, double-spaced. 1. For this question you will refer to the Application entitled â€Å"Evaluating Staffing Process Results† found on pages 676-678 in your text. Read the application and answer questions 1&2 ONLY on the bottom of page 677. 1. Determine the yield ratios (offer receivers/applicants, new hires/applicants), time lapse or cycle times (days to offer, days to start), and retention rates associated with each recruitment source. The days to offer measures the average number of days it takes to make job offers to applicants. The days to start measures the average number of days it takes from the beginning of the entire staffing process to the time the new applicant is hired and begins their jobs. From highest to lowest effectiveness are employee referrals, newspaper ads and the employment agency. Employee referrals have the highest rate of return. The recruitment method from highest to lowest is employee referral, employment agency and newspaper ads. Specifically, employee referrals had the smallest days-to-offer and days-to-start figures. In terms of retention methods from highest to lowest are employee referrals, newspaper advertisements, and employment agency. 2. What is the relative effectiveness of the three sources in terms of yield ratios, cycle times, and retention rates differ in their relative effectiveness? Employee referrals were the most effective recruitment method based on yield ratios, time lapse, and retention rates. Current employees fully understand the company, its culture, and the basic job requirements. Due to this situation they are able to recommend people they know who might fit well with the job and the organization. This was the most effective recruitment method. This occurred because current employees did a good job prescreening individuals before they became candidates. The newspaper ads and employment agency did not do as well. These methods normally generate large numbers of applicants without any real screening taking place. You have just signed on as the Manager of Human Resources for a large manufacturing company in the Chicago area. Your company manufactures parts to the automotive industry such as air duct assemblies for various models of new vehicles as well as to the secondary market for these same parts. Upon conducting an audit of HR initiatives and trying to understand the challenges you want to tackle, you find that the overall turnover rate for this company is 37%. You have not worked in this specific industry but you feel at first glance that this number is high. Based on this limited information that you have, lay out a strategy for addressing turnover. You should include the following in your answer: a. a detailed explanation of what other information you must try to uncover to find out if the turnover is an issue that you must tackle b.assuming that you find that turnover is problematic, what strategies you might suggest to the CEO to address the issue, specifically addressing the possible causes of the high turnover in your answer. The 37% turnover rate is a major cause for concern. The turnover is high enough to warrant attention. It would be helpful to have some industry data to make a turnover comparison. Initially I would suggest that the CEO appoint a Senior Manager within HR to look at the backgrounds of the employees who left the in the last year. It would be helpful to know how long they were on the job before they quit and how they were performing in their position. It would extremely valuable to interview the workers who quit to learn more about why they decided to leave. The exit interview data is probably the single most valuable piece of information that can be used to deal with a retention problem. The costs of the turnover are massive. It is disruptive to the organization, it affects the time and resources used to process the departing employees, and require additional time and resources to recruit hire and train new employees. Other costs could include damage to the morale and productivity of other employees and an increased likelihood that some of these workers may quit. I would create a formal exit interview process to find out why workers are leaving the organization. The results of these interviews should be shared with the managers of the departing employees as well as human resources. I would task HR with conducting an annual employee survey to assess the work environment.

Identity in contemporary society Essay

How does class influence identity in contemporary society?The class structure involves some degree of shaping our identities. Income and paid work are important sources of individual and collective identity. Social class is a means of classifying the economic and social divisions of a society, which involve some degree of inequality. For example classifying some people as poor, working class or middle class. We may adopt or contest these representations. People define their economic position through ideas about the incomes and opportunities of others, therefore identities are influenced by income, whether we imagine peoples incomes to be in the middle or if we see it as between the rich and poor. There are two main traditions within the concept of social class and its effect on identity. These traditions are in the works of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Max Weber (1864-1920). While they differ in the understanding of class and society, they share views on classes structured out of economic relationships. The Marxist theory of class shows that the class a person belongs to is a fundamental part of their identity. For Marx, society generated two main classes, a capital-owning class and a property less class. They called these the ruling class and the working class or the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Class is rooted in the economic organization of production i.e. those groups who own factories, farms, coal mines or raw materials. These groups look after their own interests, live in similar surroundings and send their children to similar schools. Marx believed that class consciousness is particularly important to our understanding of identity. This is an awareness of a shared class interest and the existence of classes with opposing interests. Class consciousness would emerge through solidarity and collective action. For Marx, the key factor is private ownership of economic resources. Max Webers theory saw class as important when forming an identity. Weber saw class as a group of individuals who have certain interests in common; this  is known as market position, for example having similar opportunities for earning income through work or trade. Weber recognised that status is also important within social groups. Status is the different amounts of prestige, honour or social standing that is attached to different social groups. So where we live, manner of speech, our schooling and leisure habits decide our social class. This would suggest maybe status could have as much influence on identity as class. Webers theories would suggest that although, like Marx, agreed that different classes exist, Status was the key factor in deciding our identities and which group we belong to. Class is becoming more diverse with wider reference points within the structures. Some sociologists have gone as far as to say class is dead; (Pakulski and Waters, 1996), although a survey in 1996 showed that two thirds of those interviewed felt that there is one law for the rich and one for the poor (Adonis and Pollard, 1998, p.11)Sociologists and political scientists have argued that there has been a shift from collective to individual identities and also a shift from occupation to consumption patterns. It was argued that well paid working class were adopting middle class values, therefore eroding class identity. A study at Vauxhalls Luton car plant (Goldthorpe et al., 1969), on car workers attitudes and class identity showed signs of a fragmenting working-class identity and a new one developing. This would suggest that work based identities are becoming less important. The change in employment structures as well as job stability has maybe caused this shift. Peter Saunders put forward that consumption and lifestyle are now more important in shaping identities than occupation-based class. He argued that there was a growing division between those who could satisfy their consumption needs, through housing, cars and private health care and those who relied on public transport and state provided housing and health care. Saunders was criticized for being unable to prove that consumption influences peoples identities. To conclude, social class can provide us with a sense of belonging and how we can relate to the world around us. Who we are and what we do and have, change over time and economic structures such as inequality have an effect on our ideas of who we are and can be. However, although societies exist and function within class structures it does not mean that all members of that society identify with a class. It seems as class is becoming more diverse, it is becoming less important within identity as individuality becomes more valued and encouraged. REFERENCE Adonis, A. and Pollard, S. (1998) A Class Act, Harmondsworth, Penguin. Goldthorpe, J., Lockwood, D., Bechhoffer, F. and Platt, J. (1969) The Affluent Worker: Industrial Attitudes and Behaviour, Cambridge, Cambridge University PressPakulski, J. and Waters, M. (1996) The Death of Class, London, Sage.

A Seven Day Cyclical Menu Planinig for a Hospital Patient Research Paper

A Seven Day Cyclical Menu Planinig for a Hospital Patient - Research Paper Example The technician would then make a decision on whether there should be adjustments to the already prescribed diet. An initial assessment may assimilate data including nutrition related to food history; medical tests, biochemical data and procedures, nutrition focused physical findings, client history and anthropometric measurements. There might be a number of questions that may loom in one’s mind as one makes a visit to his physician. These may range from weight gain or loss, abnormal lab values, trouble in swallowing food, tube feeling or even appetite loss. The dietician may then make his diagnosis to the patient and recommend an appropriate diet order suggesting the probable corrective solutions to the nutrition issue. The process that sees the determination of a patient’s diet might be called the Nutrition Care Process thus may be implemented within several hospitals. The extensions may include low sodium, renal diets, low fat, pureed and low phosphorous. In case oneà ¢â‚¬â„¢s diet fails to appear into the existing menu extensions, there would be a notification to the nutrition associates who would then make a report to the diet technicians. Thesis statement Within the past recent years, there might have been a considerable increase in health issues within patients in hospitals as a result of inappropriate diet given to them by the hospital administration. It may be crucial to note that an aspect of nutrition might not just be significant for growth and enjoyment but for the nourishment of the body organs and tissues together with their nourishment too. The question that might hover within everybody’s mind would be; would it be possible to determine a diet for a specific patient? If so, how best would it be done? Why wouldn’t every patient be served the same food within the entire hospital? Objectives To obtain a means of determining a patient’s diet. To make use of appropriate diets in assisting patients attain quick recover y. To plan a menu for a hospital patient. It might be extremely crucial to note that there might be a couple of varying choices to make as regards menu for patients within a hospital. Selections, however, may be made possible so as to make sure that all the parameters within the diet are effectively fit. So as to make a determination of the appropriate food required within a menu, nutrient analysis would be used for every item. The palm pilots may often be utilized by nutrition associates in order to check and ensure that every meal is compliant and appropriate to the specific, restrictive diet. In case, a hospital fails to have a specific supplement or food required, it may often opt to make visits to the nearby grocery stores e.g. whole foods, stop and shop, fairway, etc so as to purchase food. It might be appropriate for the nutritionists to consider the fact that patients may differ in religion, status and culture hence the need to come up with steps that may aid in the food pro vision for each of them. Well educated nutrition associates would be more efficient than the quack type. This may be because they may be considered the first contact with patients as regards their diet. The cultural practices may be typically determined upon patient arrival thus even the first meal

CONTROLLINGOF CANADIAN TIRE Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CONTROLLINGOF CANADIAN TIRE - Term Paper Example l O’Donnell (1995) says, â€Å"Control is checking current performance against predetermined standards contained in the plans with a view to ensure adequate progress and performance.† Controlling as part of the management ensures that the organization activities are carried out as planned and ensures that the resources are utilized effectively and efficiently while taking any corrective action so as to achieve the overall organizational goals. Furthermore, every person in the organization has an individual goal which mostly depends on the organizational performance so if the organization goal fails so is to the individuals. So to ensure that the individual goals are met, the overall organizational goals must be controlled for consistency. It also ensures that the organizational policies and rules are adhered to so as to improve the organizational trust, reputation, loyalty and growth from infancy to maturity. As McBride & Hugh (1997) puts it. â€Å"The company-Hamilton Tire and Garage Limited-stocked a small inventory of repair and replacement goods, including tires batteries, automobile fluids. Although automobile Industry was still in its infancy, the Billesses believed surging automobile sales at the Time indicated a bright future for their time. Later that year, in fact, Toronto hosted its first â€Å"Closed car show,† in which windshield wipers, automatic starter and other new car part were introduced." (p.56) The control process in Canadian Tire is not cybernetic, one that is self contained in its performance monitoring and correction capabilities, but it does follow similar principles. That is, setting the objectives of the organization and standards that are feasible, taking measurement of the results and then comparing them with the set objectives or the standards and then takes appropriate action. As Mockler (1970) points out the essential elements of the control process in his definition of control, he says. â€Å"Management control is a systematic

Case study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case study - Coursework Example The company is currently undergoing a managerial meeting to find solutions for goal of achieving greater growth. The top seven managers are present there. It seems the company needs help due to the fact they are steering off course and wasted two days discussing short term operating problems. The company needs to hire a consultant to help them. If a board of directors exists it should be involved in the process. A representative from each of the worker unions should be present as well to provide added insight that could be helpful in finding a solution. The project champion should be the external consultant. Sign off - The current project requires a detailed plan of how the company is going to achieve growth in the long term. The person who is ultimately responsible for the project is the founder of the company, John Bigboss. He is the person that is supposed to sign off on the project. Tips - Some helpful tips to consider is documenting the progress of the project at all times and setting a specific timeline for completion of the project. It is important align the goals of the company with the employee expectations. All stakeholders should receive a written communication of the company strategic shift. A mitigation plan should in place to minimize business

Orange Business Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Orange Business Services - Essay Example This aspect of the business of the firm however may not truly align with the mission of the firm to be a global leader. In order to fulfill its mission, FT has to actually expand at the global level and branching out of EU region in order to be a truly global leader in integrated communication solutions. The above mission statement of the firm is also lacking in the sense it may fail to provide quantifiable direction for the firm to fulfill. Though it has set clearly outlined objectives for itself however, considering the mission statement only of the firm, it may seem that it fails to provoke any emotional association of the employees or other involved with the firm. It is highly desirable that a mission statement must be flexible and invoke the related degree of emotions in order to be aligned with the overall firm’s direction. The overall strategic goals and objectives of the firm are described in its strategic initiatives called Conquest which sets out its overall goals an d objectives for the period 2011-2015. The overall objectives are for medium period and are divided into two phases of adaptation and conquest. The first phase will identify the investments in the network growth opportunities and during the second phase, firm intended to return to sustained revenue and cash flow growth targets. The combination of both these objectives set the overall direction of the firm between 2011-2015. During the first phase, the firm has set specific quantifiable targets of achieving EBITDA as well as other financial measures in order to critically outline as to how much firm wants to progress in next five years. (Orange, 2010) The objectives of the firm are at least clear and quantifiable for the period which firm has set for itself to achieve the target. It is however, important to note that these goals and objectives are focused more on the existing markets of the firm. The overall focus is on the existing markets and as such the emphasis that the FT would like to become a global leader in the integrated communication may not be at least manifested into the overall goals of the firm. Firm seems to be focused on further penetrating into the markets in which it is operating and most of its focus is on the EU market which is also its traditional stronghold since years. Stakeholders Source: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/10794/Project-Management-Part-2-Stakeholders The above is a typical, general grid for stakeholder analysis wherein both the high powered and low powered stakeholders are identified and based on their interests, organization actually deal with them. A stakeholder is one which can either be affected or affect the actions of the firm and based on this they can be either internal or external to the organization. Stakeholders are normally those individuals or organizations which are directly affected by the organization and its actions. It is also important to understand that individuals may also belong to different stake holder groups and their overall role may vary under different conditions. It is therefore critically important to know the expectations of different stakeholder groups even if they fall into different categories. Viewing the overall stakeholders of FT, it is clear that the firm has actually adapted a commercial approach to deal with its stakeholders. It is however, i

White Privilege and Male Privilege Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

White Privilege and Male Privilege - Essay Example It is for this reason that privilege may be seen as a special immunity or entitlement that is granted by socioeconomic and political systems to individuals, based on gender, race, creed, ideology, ethnicity or religion. There seems to be a strong correlation between privilege and Protestant work ethic. The correlation is based on the fact that privilege modifies or encourages Protestant work ethic. Particularly, gender-related socioeconomic privilege encourages Protestant work ethics by placing work and responsibility on male shoulders, while the woman is sidestepped. The situation is compounded by a patriarchal society [as was in the case of pre-1950s America] where the forces of production such as capital, land and labor and even opportunities are inordinately in the hands of the male industrialists and capitalists. According to McIntosh, normally, the male industrialists, entrepreneurs and capitalists were white American. Specifically, given that Protestant work ethic stresses that people should be seriously dexterous and taking their social security into their hands, the socioeconomic marginalization of women and non-White Americans has appeared somewhat justifiable, given that white men were the ones appropriating the means of production, accessing opportunities and shouldering responsibilities (McIntosh, 126, 127). In almost the same wavelength, there also seems to be a strong correlation between privilege and the bootstrap myth. Particularly, also known as the meritocracy myth, the bootstrap myth postulates that any person can go to the US with nothing and through the application of virtues such as diligence and upright living; the same could rise into the middle class within three generations. The concept of privilege relates with the bootstrap myth, by compounding it. This is because; those that are socioeconomically advantaged in the society use the bootstrap myth to explain away the reality of socioeconomic disparity that exists between race-based and/ or gender-based social classes. The gravity of the matter immediately above is that the bootstrap myth and the inordinately and unfairly distributed privileges easily conjoin to serve as a tool in the hands of the dominant culture or class. For instance, in the pre-1950s America, Caucasian males used the same to support the idea that the Ame rican society was fair and egalitarian and that race-based or gender-based or ethnic-based discrimination and segregation had been faced out. To this effect, the underdogs such as women and African Americans were underprivileged simply because they were shiftless sluggards. Another way in which the bootstrap myth seems to propound sexist ideas against women is its penchant for overlooking the considerable degree of success that women have made. More than half of women in the US are presently middle class, though this is never mentioned in the bootstrap myth, and thereby helping underscore the suspicion that the theory is always amenable to sexist mindsets. A critical observer will find the bootstrap theory objectionable on the ground that success in America is a culmination of several factors such as education, political rights, knowledge of English, gender-based hiring and promotion practices, growth of the labor market, family support, parents' class and education and internalized sexism and/ or racism. Also, the idea of Protestant work ethic can be seen to be neither supportive nor compatible with the truth on the socioeconomic realities of gender-based discrimination. The Protestant work ethic assumes that diligence and being upright are the chief and sole ingredients of success, while this is not the case. On the contrary, there are other factors that determine

Q Assess the effectiveness of Nathanael West's use of Surreal elements Essay

Q Assess the effectiveness of Nathanael West's use of Surreal elements in 'The Day of the Locust' - Essay Example When the war finally ended, it was called the Great War, because it was thought that no such war would ever be fought again. The next decades did nothing to break the pessimism that many felt about the world's future. The crash in the world financial markets that happened in 1929, the worldwide drought in 1930, conspired to create the Great Depression, a worldwide economic downturn that basically lasted until industry began gearing up for what would be called the Second World War. As a result, the 1930's was a decade of extreme pessimism, which was manifested in a number of ways. The arts produced "case studies, reportage, documentary photography, proletarian literature, and 'social problem' films" with the goal of "reconstruct[ing] the 'hidden' logic of an elusive social reality" (Veitch, xvii). This is the time period in which Nathanael West made his literary mark. Jonathan Veitch makes note of the problems that critics have had in assigning West a particular place within the writing of that time, and American literature as a whole. Different critics described him, variously, as a "poet of darkness," "an apocalyptic writer," "a universal satirist," "a homegrown surrealist," and a "writer of the left." (Veitch xi, xvi). Some of these descriptions have definite contradictions with one another, but they all reflect different elements of the author's persona, and his work. His "style was never constant. At times his pictorial technique closely resembled collage [but also] cartoon strips, movies, and several schools of painting, as well as such non-graphic visual arts as the tableau and the dance." (Schug). While many of West's novels and other writings defy classification, though, The Day of the Locust does not. The surreal elements of this novel place it squarely in the camp of modernist fiction. His technique and methods bear considerable similarity to those of his contemporaries. When one considers some of the commonalities of modernist fiction: violence, decadence, irony, the grotesque, dreams, realism, allusion, distortion, and experimentation (Schug), all of these apply to The Day of the Locust, and many of them are a result of the surrealist techniques that West applies to his novel. The particular target of West's writing in The Day of the Locust is the dilemma that the artist faced when taking on the growing culture industry of the 1930's. The Hollywood industry is both the object of critique in the novel, as well as the subject of the story itself. The book executes a dark criticism of the so-called "dream factory" that Hollywood was in those times (and still is seen to be today) (Blyn). Ironically, those many of the aesthetic techniques at work in the novel owe a debt to that same Hollywood industry that the book itself is attacking. Consider, for example, the riot scene where a star appears at the premiere of a film. Protagonist Tod Hackett is taken away by the police in a squad car: He was carried through the exit to the back street and lifted into a police car. The siren began to scream and at first he thought he was making the noise himself. He felt his lips with his hands. They were clamped tight. He knew then it was the siren. For some reason this made him laugh, and he began to imitate the siren as loud as he could. (185) Clearly, the siren operates as a

Thomas Hardys Beeny Cliff and After Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hardys Beeny Cliff and After Essay Two poems that discuss moments or situations where life can be celebrated are Thomas Hardys Beeny Cliff and After reading in a letter proposals for building a cottage (Cottage) by John Clare. The poets particularly discuss the beauty of life with regards to the natural world around them and their thoughts on interaction with other people. Nature and features of animals and plants play a large role in these poems displaying their love of life. In the first stanza of Cottage it is mentioned that grass plats grace the door. The use of the word grace is of significance here as this suggests that he feels that his home has been blessed with the presence of nature; or that at least he welcomes it. The positive impact of nature is also evident in the first stanza of Beeny Cliff as he describes the opal and the sapphire of that wandering western sea. The sea being described with the appearance of precious and beautiful gemstones shows he is impressed by it, as well the alliteration and personification of wandering western which rolls off the tongue paints an affectionate picture of the ocean. There are many other positive natural references with John Clare describing his small enclosed garden, flowers that blossom sweet and the sweeping swallows; while Thomas Hardy mentions the clear- sunned March day and how the sun bursts out again. All of these natural events are ones that the poets obviously enjoy and they have both included them to show the positive image of the times they are writing about. The relationship between the poets and other people has great significance and shows great difference in the way that they enjoy life. From the poems we can deduced that Thomas Hardys time on Beeny Cliff was much better because of the presence of the woman; while John Clare seems to enjoy his time spent alone without much in the way of company. There are several points in the poem where this is suggested. From the first line of Cottage the shed is described as my shed. If this was shared with a partner or companion it would read our shed which suggests he is living alone. In the second stanza his door closes tight as wells as locks being a wanted thing to keep thieves out at night; which shows that he wants his cottage to be secure which may seem obvious but as he has dedicated an entire stanza to this, it shows that keeping people out is a priority. The bulk of the poem discusses the presence of nature with no mention of people which alludes to his feeling that nature is enough of a companion for him; while the penultimate stanza mentions a cupboard for the books showing off another pass time which allows him to be entertained without company. In an unusual way he is celebrating life because he is describing what would be a perfect existence to him which is one of little human contact while he can revel in literature and nature. This is of course in contrast to Beeny cliff which would be an entirely different poem without the presence of Hardys female companion. Whereas Clare describes the need to keep a distance between himself and others, Hardy uses his words in describing the woman, painting her as the woman riding high above with bright hair flapping free. We know that he has strong feelings towards her as in the first stanza he describes her as the woman who I loved so, and who loyally loved me. He also mentions that the woman now is-elsewhere, showing that unlike Clare he cares about not having company of other people. For further evidence of love for life in Cottage, ostensibly there is language such as I love summer seat and two uses of the word sweet. In terms of structure it is laid out in symmetrical four line stanzas which match the neat and perfect picture portrayed in the poem. However if you look deeper into the language there are some subtle religious references. For example the word grace in the first stanza is used which is referenced frequently in Christianity. As well as this the line pin to the wall with nails in the third stanza which may be referring to Jesus Christ being nailed to the cross. There are many other examples which may allude to having religious links. The book cupboard may be for a bible and in the last stanza when he says Ill thank ye for the gift he may be thanking god for nature or life. However these poems are by no means only stating that life is perfect. Some of the images created show more negative themes such as how nature turns sour and the woman appears to leave Thomas hardy in Beeny Cliff as well as how John Clares images of solitude and desire control nature could be considered dark and abrasive. However yet another U-turn could be made and opinion could lie in the vein that these slightly darker elements could create a piece of work that resembles real life in the way that life is never perfect. Perhaps many positive images combined with some negative ones shows that life should be celebrated because of its challenges.

Sports And Active Lifestyles Children And Young People Essay

Sports And Active Lifestyles Children And Young People Essay Unfortunately, youth sport has for a long time, and still is, being organised, run and taught by persons who draw on their personal philosophies in their approaches. i)Discuss the dangers of this. ii)Which are the main areas within youth sport which need to be considered to shape such philosophical standpoints of people working with youth in sport? Introduction In many aspects of our life we find people who, either directly or indirectly, influence the path we follow to achieve growth towards reaching our future goals. Such influencing people could be parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, nursery leaders, policy makers and any other role model position we may encounter. They do so in line with their philosophy on that particular aspect of life, for which they are responsible to guide us through the path of success. Their philosophy is built from the theoretical knowledge they acquired in their own educational phase of life as well as through their practical experience in the area they are assigned to lead. This applies in particular to people who are trusted to work with our children in various sports disciplines. Parents still insist that their children should engage in organized sport for several reasons. Since six decades ago, there has been a growing belief that leaving child activities under the informal control of children themselves may lead to antisocial behaviour when they grow up. (Coakley, 2009) argues that many adults believe that this lack of control is eliminated by organised sports through which they constructively control their childrens activities. However it is of utmost importance that those who work in youth sport and policymakers adopt the right philosophy that encourages sport participation of youths in the long term. Individuals who are involved into such youth programmes ought to be aware about researched material that may be used to adjust the programmes to better serve the child interest, even when this goes against their philosophy. Negative Outcomes Participation is unlikely to persist when stubbornly sticking to the point of view of the adult whose way of thinking may be in conflict with that of the youth. One has to keep in mind the interest of the child; the fun aspect of the sport itself. Children tend to stray away from adult invasion into their sport. They like to create their own games, their own worlds, therefore forcing them to participate into organised activities might lead them into a path they do not want. (Gill, 2007) mentions several arguments in favour of exposing our children to environments where a degree of risks is involved, as opposed to institutionalised sports. We actually do children a disservice by trying to eliminate risks from their lives as they grow up (Gill, 2012). When children are allowed to experience risky situations, they learn practical skills, such as swimming, cycling and road safety, that help them manage similar situations and protect themselves in the outside world. In addition, if not allowed to experience risks, children tend to seek out situations that may potentially be too dangerous. In other words, children like the challenges present in risky situations. Parents usually fear the fact that the environment outside of home has become such a dangerous place for children. They feel more security by trusting their children to coaching methods that are sometimes found to be counterproductive. This ideology may sometimes expose our children to occasional high injury rates from organised youth sport such as stress fractures and other injuries caused by overuse. (Micheli, 1990) suggests certification of coaches as a part of the solution. In a study on US youth sports, (Seefeldt Ewing, 1992) found that there was a drop from 25% to 3% in sport participation from the ages of 10 to 18 respectively. This huge withdrawal was attributed to the competitive nature of sports in males. (Biddle, et al., 2005) drew similar conclusions for females. (Cotà ¨ Wall, 2007) postulate that children who do not experience fun in sport at their early ages, tend to drop out from the activity because they lack the intrinsic motivation to keep on participating. This hinders the higher level skills they would have obtained later on in their sports career. (Abbott Collins, 2002) propose that if youths do not engage successfully into sport activities at the participative phase (up to eight years of age) they will most likely lack self-efficacy beliefs which are necessary to persist in being physically active through life. (Coakley, 2009) mentions ample literature from critics of adult-organised sports that argues on many shortcomings of this approach. The presence of parents watching their child playing an organised, competitive game that is customised for adults is counterproductive both mentally and physically to the child. Some children make it clear that they feel most parents come to see them playing just to criticise them both during and after a game, making them feel embarrassed. Even worse, this sends the wrong message to children that physical activity and sport is there only for the young, given that their parents are always sitting there as spectators. Children are not to be treated as miniature adults; some youth sports organisations expose children to too little practice and too many competitions when studies show it should be the other way round. Equipment and rules are sometimes not suitable to the age and ability levels of children. Main Areas to be Considered Up to the young age of two years, children look for pleasure from discovering and mastering attempts. Up to around six years of age children exhibit an egocentric character. Starting from the age of five youngsters enter the social comparison phase in which they start to compare what they have and what they do with their peers. This is usually interpreted as a sign of the childs interest in competition. This phase continues to strengthen until the age of twelve. Children younger than twelve may find it difficult to get the full understanding of their role in a competition. To encourage participation the rules of the game must be modified to suit their developmental capabilities (Richardson, 2007). It is also suggested that children in this age range are  exposed to a variety of sports as well as different positional variations in each sport. To be ready for competitive sports, young individuals need to fully develop their physical, cognitive and social abilities. Several studies suggest that children start to develop their cognitive and social abilities at around the age of eight and these abilities are expected to reach their required levels at the age of twelve (Coakley, 2009). In fact literature shows that the ideal age of introducing competitive strategies is at the ages of twelve to fifteen, also known as the transitional phase, and children under eight years of age should not be put into competitive roles. Research consistently shows the attraction of children to freedom in whatever they do (Gill, 2007). The traditional sports organised by adults tend to focus more on rules as opposed to informal sports that emphasise action, an approach that shows more positive outcomes (Coakley, 2009). One of the benefits of rules is to allow for safety. However, (Mullarkey) maintains that We must try to make life as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible. Rules from organised games should be modified in such a way to allow for more action and personal involvement and to keep the difference in scores as low as possible. On the other hand, action must meet the requirements to strengthen personal involvement, excitement, decision making and interpersonal relationships between participants. When working with children one should not assume that the social and cognitive abilities are already fully developed in sports. (Bandura, 1997) stresses the importance of both perceived and actual competence in an individuals decision to both engage in and maintain involvement in an activity. Actual competence widens the choice of sport for the individual while perceived competence provides the drive to persist in the sport even when difficulties are met. Therefore, if a broad range of psychomotor skills have been successfully developed from a young age, the literature suggests these will act as a basis for subsequent involvement as well as equipping individuals with the ability to make appropriate participation choices. In informal sports, one must be careful not to allow any form of bullying, patronising of girls when playing with boys and exclusion. The role of the adults should be that of a guide who ensures safety, encourages participation, mediates disputes and not to impose organised sports rules. Sometimes informal games may require more play space, but this can be overcome by creativity from the coach. Creativity is also a quality that is strengthened on the child when exposed to an informal setup. Children get the message that in life they have make decisions and not always follow repetitive rules. Conclusion The above review suggests that in todays society, coaches, organisations and parents should be well aware of questions and issues which need to be addressed when involving themselves into organised youth sport programmes. People who work in youth sports must keep their mind open to new ideas and they should educate themselves to keep their knowledge up to date on the current studies in the field. To the contrary of adult sports, when dealing with youths, in particular at the participative level coaches need to emphasise less on structure and more on variety to keep motivation at high levels. Rather than early specialisation the ultimate goal is to make the child physically literate.

Development of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI

Development of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Ioannis Tolios â€Å"Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI† Introduction One of the most significant non-invasive imaging modalities applied both in research and clinical diagnostics cis Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Its widespread use is partially based on its characteristic to visualize tissues with high resolutions in 3D and its ability to provide anatomical, functional and metabolic tissue information in vivo (Strijkers, Mulder, van Tilborg, Nicolay, 2007). In an MR image, the basic contrast mostly derives from regional differences in the intrinsic T1, T2 relaxation times, except for local water content differences. T1 and T2 relaxation times can be selected independently to have a commanding influence on image contrast. Nevertheless, a sensitive and accurate diagnosis cannot always be feasible, due to the fact that the intrinsic water, T1 and T2 contrast values are modified and become very often limited by tissue pathology. Consequently, the need for enhanced image contrast led to the growing use of intravenously injected MRI contrast agents, wh ose use although violates partially the non-invasive character of MRI brought about significant benefits. Combining MRI and contrast agents (CA) increases the possibilities to image inflamed tissues in pathologies, such as arthritis, atherosclerotic plaques, and tumor angiogenesis (Strijkers, Mulder, van Tilborg, Nicolay, 2007). Definition of DCE-MRI A technique which combines MRI and contrast agents is Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). According to Gordon et al. (Gordon, et al., 2014), â€Å"DCE-MRI analyzes the temporal enhancement pattern of a tissue following the introduction of a paramagnetic contrast agent into the vascular system. This is accomplished by the acquisition of baseline images without contrast enhancement, succeeded by a set of images acquired over time (usually over a few minutes) during and after the arrival of the contrast agent in the tissue of interest†. A time intensity curve (TIC) for the tissue is generated by the acquired signal, as it can be seen in Figure 1. In a TIC, the response of the tissue is represented in enhancement values to the arrival of the contrast agent. Specific physiological properties that are in association with the microvascular blood flow, including tissue volume fractions, vessel permeability, and vessel surface area product, can be extracted by analyzing a TIC (Gordon, et al., 2014). Figure 1: An example of a time intensity curve obtained from a tumor metastasis (Bonekamp Macura, 2008). All variations of DCE-MRI studies are relied on a rather plain fundamental principle: the MR signal intensity of a tissue is modified, when a paramagnetic particle (contrast agent) penetrates and spreads over through the tissue, based on its local concentration (Gordon, et al., 2014). MR images of a chosen region of interest (ROI) are obtained in time intervals of few seconds before, during, and after the intravenous injection of a contrast agent. Each obtained image represents one time point, and each and every pixel in a set of images produces its own intensity curve. After the injection of the CA, the signal intensity varies at every time point (is related to the concentration of the CA in the tissue) based on tissue parameters, including vascularization, vessels’ permeability and surface area product, and in this way parametric maps of particular microvascular biomarkers can be extracted. Furthermore, by using suitable mathematical models absolute values of the aforementioned parameters can be estimated. These parameters usually reflect a compartmental pharmacokinetics model demonstrated by CAs, which are allocated between the intravascular and extravascular spaces as it can be seen in Figure 2 (Gordon, et al., 2014). Figure 2: Toft’s compartmental model for calculating DCE-MRI quantitative pharmakokinetic parameters (Verma, et al., 2012). DCE-MRI techniques Currently, two DCE-MRI techniques are defined based on its registration and the origin of the extracted signal. As MRI is highly sensitive to small concentrations of paramagnetic materials passing through a tissue, there are two different physical-chemical properties (Gordon, et al., 2014). Relaxation effect T1, T2 tissue relaxation times are reduced when a diffusible contrast agent is used. Positively enhanced T1-weighted images are generated, when this effect is used and the studies evaluating this effect are characterized asDynamic Contrast Enhanced(DCE)-MRI,T1-W DCE. Susceptibility effect When a paramagnetic contrast agent is located in the intravascular space of a tissue and its magnetic susceptibility is much higher than that of the surrounding tissue water, local magnetic inhomogeneities between the intra and extravascular space emerge, which generate negative enhanced T2 or T2* weighted images during the passage of the CA through the capillaries. Studies depending on this phenomenon are characterized asDynamic Susceptibility Contrast(DSC)-MRI or T2*-W DCE. Image Acquisition Gordon et al. (Gordon, et al., 2014) state that the method of quantification to be applied depends on the number of the measurements, which are required in order to obtain the data; thus, the measurements include: I. Creating a map of pre-contrast native T1 values, which is necessary in order to calculate the CA concentrations. II. Acquiring heavily T1-weighted images, prior and following the Contrast Agent introduction. In this case, high temporal resolution is needed in order to have the ability to further characterize the kinetics of the contrast agent’s entry and exit of the tissue. Typically, 3D image sets are acquired sequentially for 5–10 minutes every few seconds. The ideal for the acquisitions would be to be obtained approximately every 5 seconds, in order to allow the detection of early enhancement. With longer acquisitions (for instance, > 15 seconds), it becomes harder to detect early enhancement. III. Acquisition of the arterial input function (AIF), in order to estimate the CA concentration in the blood plasma of a feeding artery as a function of time. Acquiring the AIF is necessary for almost all quantitative analysis methods and is up to now technically the most difficult part in the data acquisition process. Contrast agents The most regularly used group of contrast agents in DCE-MRI is the low molecular paramagnetic gadolinium (Gd) chelates (Gribbestad, Gjesdal, Nilsen, Lundgren, Hjelstuen, Jackson, 2005). Principally, in Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI, any low molecular weight CAs can be used. (Tofts). The use of contrast agents with high molecular weights leads to lower permeability and lower Ktrans values, since these agents remain in the intravascular space. Using macromolecular CAs the measurement of regional blood volume acquiring scans of low temporal resolution is feasible (Gribbestad, Gjesdal, Nilsen, Lundgren, Hjelstuen, Jackson, 2005). Molecular agent with high molecular weight might be more appropriate for tumor angiogenesis and thus offer better response evaluation to therapy (Turkbey, Thomasson, Pang, Bernardo, Choyke, 2010). Analysis Methods Gordon et al. (Gordon, et al., 2014) state that â€Å"the arrival of CA and thus the enhancement pattern of the tissue depend on a wide variety of factors including vascularity, capillary permeability, perfused capillary surface area, volume and composition of extracellular fluid, renal clearance and perfusion. The analysis of DCE data can provide valuable information concerning the vascular status and perfusion†. Data analysis can be performed using either: qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative approach (Verma, et al., 2012). Qualitative This kind of analysis can range from visual inspection of the images for fast and extreme enhancement of lesions, to the plotting of kinetic curves of signal intensity against time (Gupta, Kauffman, Polascik, Taneja, Rosenkrantz, 2013). The qualitative analysis of DCE-MRI depends on the assumption of rapid and intense enhancement and wash-out as indicator of the existence of a tumor. The tumor vessels are generally leakier and more readily enhanced after the injection of the CA than the ordinary vessels. An early rapid high enhancement after injection is expected followed by a relatively rapid decline compared with a slower and continuously increasing signal for normal tissues during the first few minutes after contrast injection. However, the possibility for an overlap between the natural and the malignant tissues, limit the capabilities of this DCE-MRI approach. Finally, the qualitative approach is regarded as a subjective approach and therefore difficult to standardi ze among institutions, constituting multicenter trials less reliable (Verma, et al., 2012). Semi-quantitative – The semi-quantitative approach also depends on the same assumption as the qualitative approach. On the other hand, in the semi-quantitative analysis various curve parameters are integrated (Verma, et al., 2012). It must be mentioned that depending on the application area, different perfusion parameters are relevant. Nevertheless, some parameters are of general interest for almost all applications. These parameters are acquired to characterize the shape of the TIC, including the time of first arrival of the CA, peak enhancement ( PE the maximum value normalized if the baseline is subtracted), time to peak (TTP the timepoint where peak enhancement takes place), integral (the area between the baseline and the curve, indicating with PE if blood supply is reduced in a ROI), mean transit time (MTT – the timepoint where the integral is bisected), slope (the curve’s steepness during wash-in phase, downslope (the descending curve’s steepness i n wash-out phase ) and wash-in and wash-out curve shapes (Figure 1, Figure 3A). (Preim et al., 2009). Three common dynamic curve types exist in the literature after the initial CA uptake: type 1, persistent increase; type 2, plateau; and type 3, wash-out after initial slope, as it can be seen in Figure 3B and Figure 1. Even though the semi-quantitative approach is used widely in the evaluation of DCE-MRI, significant restrictions arise dealing with the factors contributing to the MR signal intensity (e.g. generalization across acquisition protocols, sequences), which have an effect on the curve metrics (Verma, et al., 2012). Figure 3: A) A typical TIC curve (Preim et al., 2009). B) Differentiation of three patterns of washout phase: type 1 (blue), progressive; type 2 (green), plateau ; type 3 (red), wash-out (Verma, et al., 2012). Factors like the injection rate and the temporal resolution can easily alter the shape of a wash-in/washout curve, creating difficulties in comparison and quantitation. High inter-patient variability is also a factor that can make the definition of threshold values more complex for every parameter that could standardize semi-quantitative approach. However, this approach is relatively simple which makes it even more appealing (Verma, et al., 2012). Quantitative The quantitative approach depends on modeling the concentration change of the CA by integrating pharmacokinetic modeling techniques (Gordon, et al., 2014). Several pharmacokinetic models were proposed, such as by Tofts (Tofts), Brix et al. (Brix et al., 1991). Most of them depend on estimating the exchange rate between extracellular space and blood plasma using some transfer rate constants, like Ktrans(forward volume transfer constant) andkep(reverse reflux rate constant between extracellular space and plasma). â€Å"The transfer constant,Ktrans, is equal to the permeability surface area product per unit volume of tissue.Moreover, Ktransdetermines the flux from the intravascular space to the extracellular space; it may principally represent the vascular permeability in a permeability-limited situation (high flow in relation to permeability), or it may represent the blood flow into the tissue in a flow-limited situation (high permeability in relation to flow). Theveis t he extracellular extravascular volume fraction, andkep=Ktrans/ veexpresses the rate constant, describing the efflux of contrast media from the extracellular space back to plasma. Thevpis the fraction of plasma per unit volume of tissue†, according to Verma et al. (Verma, et al., 2012). In quantitative DCE-MRI analysis, a four compartment model is used for â€Å"tissue†: plasma, extracellular space, intracellular space, and renal excretory pathway (Figure 2). This pharmacokinetic model is applied to the CA concentration changes in the artery (AIF) supplying the tissue of interest, and the CA concentration of the tissue. It must also be noted that due to the fact that pharmacokinetic models require concentration values, signal intensity must be converted to T1 values, because MRI signal intensity is not linear with the CA concentration (Verma, et al., 2012). Clinical Applications of DCE-MRI DCE-MRI has been used for the detection and characterization of tumors in the clinical setting. It also makes the monitoring of tumor treatment and the response to conventional chemotherapy and angiogenic therapies feasible by acting as biomarker (Figure 4). Early tumor detection and treatment affects significantly the survival of patients. DCE-MRI is applied increasingly in a wider range of patients with different kind of cancer, including breast, head and prostate cancer. The method’s quantification ability of characteristics of the lesion microvasculature has stimulated the scientists to use the technique for â€Å"in-vivo staging† of tumors. According to early studies in the field, an evident relationship was demonstrated between large and rapid increases in malignant behavior and signal enhancement in tumors located in prostate, breast, and head. Additionally, important overlapping of contrast enhancement patterns has been noticed between malignant and benign tumor s. Growing accuracy and specificity in the recognition of microvascular characterization parameters is expected to further ameliorate lesion characterization (Gribbestad, Gjesdal, Nilsen, Lundgren, Hjelstuen, Jackson, 2005). More specifically regarding prostate cancer detection and localization, DCE-MRI contributes to prostate MRI, succeeding higher specificity and sensitivity than T2-weighted MR imaging, and sextant u ltrasound guided biopsy, methods being used widely for the pre-treatment work up and screening of prostate cancer respectively (Choi, Kim, Kim, 2007; Bonekamp Macura, 2008). It has been proven that the multi-parametric approach has improved significantly the accuracy of prostate MRI and has a great future. In a cancerous tissue, the number of vessels and their permeability are increased in comparison with normal tissues. Moreover, the interstitial space is greater. These factors cause significant increase of contrast enhancement parameters, such as MTT, blood flow, interstitial volume. The aforementioned observations are applicable in prostate cancer, too. As it can be seen in Figure 3B, the red curve could represent a prostate cancer with faster and steeper enhancement and faster wash-out than in normal tissues. Figure 4 a-c (Turkbey, Thomasson, Pang, Bernardo, Choyke, 2010): a) A patient with prostate cancer. The arrow indicates a low signal intensity focus on axial T2W MR image B) Increased enhancement shown by the lesion on axial T1W DCE-MR image C) fusion of color-coded Ktrans Conclusion The determination of functional microvascular parameters by using DCE-MRI might be instrumental in evaluating many vascular diseases. The potential of the technique to assess the severity of illnesses, to non-invasively and in parallel measure multiple relevant parameters, to study the pathophysiology of diseases, seems to be extremely promising. Even though, the method is known for over 20 years it is still considered immature. This has mainly to do with the significant variations in data analysis and acquisition protocols from study to study. Furthermore, the analysis of the pharmacokinetic parameters is a complex task and computationally expensive, due to the existence of plethora of analysis algorithms (Gordon, et al., 2014). DCE-MRI is restricted in organs with physiologic motion, including lungs and liver, and may not be applicable in some specific group of patients, especially those with renal failure and claustrophobia (Turkbey, Thomasson, Pang, Bernardo, Choyke, 2010). However, although the extraction of quantitative pharmacokinetic parameters is more difficult, compartmental model based methods are more robust than the semi-quantitative approaches, and offer deeper understanding of physiology. Finally, they are not potentially based on the scanning technique, the type of scanner, and individual patient variations ( Gordon, et al., 2014).

Microsoft Xbox Essay -- essays research papers

Usability Testing on Microsoft Xbox â„ ¢ Product usability testing has been around for quite a while now for the sole purpose of providing the consumers with the best product a company can. Some companies hire specific testing consultants who specialize in product testing and other companies just release beta versions of their product to a small market and collect feedback. Companies like Sony or Nintendo hire companies that test their products and make sure there are no problems with the product. Software companies, on the other hand, release test versions, also known as beta versions, of their products and improve their final product based on the feedback from the beta users.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many products that are released to the public that are not thoroughly tested. These products get tested like any other products, but they just don’t get tweaked and changed enough to be the best that they can be. This situation can be the result of the testing company not having enough knowledge of the product or poor diversity of the test groups or target audience. An example of a product not tested enough is the Microsoft Xbox. The Xbox, a game console released on November of 2001, marked Microsoft’s official entry in the gaming industry. Immediately after the release, users stated the Xbox was rushed into production and wasn’t properly tested. However, articles titled, â€Å"CES 2001: Microsoft Discusses the Announcement† and â€Å"Xbox Product Testing Initiated,† both...

Diversity of Online Communities Essay -- Technology Internet Games Ess

Diversity of Online Communities The article in U.S. News & World Report called "Go Play-On the Web" represents a community of virtual gamers on the Internet. These games are a lot more complex than the online gaming of the past. When these people that belong to this particular community log on to the net they are interacting with each other in huge 3-D virtual worlds. Some of these games focus on a particular subject like playing virtual game shows with others on the net. Some of the new games that are just recently being released are far more complex. One of these new more complex games is called "Motor City Online". Motor City Online is a game where people buy old muscle cars and customize them to their own personal specifications. When they are ready they can go out to the virtual races and race other people that are logged on to the game. Although most people like to race cars what makes this game unique is the fact that people can do a lot more in this game than just race cars. Some people spend their time bro wsing the car actions and buying cars cheap, then they strip the cars down in order to sell the parts to other people online and make a profit. Other people find a niche in the game as a mechanic helping others find the best and cheapest parts for their street rods. These are just a few of the roles that a person can play in this game. I think the fact that you can assume so many different roles in games like Motor City Online makes it unique. To me these types of games seem to be more than just games but they are almost a virtual life that some people live in the spare time. When they log on to these games they are taking positions in jobs in these worlds such as Race car drivers, Mechanics, Promoters, and Auctione... ...of the Internet say that the net is a dangerous place for people to spend their time because there are so many horrible people and things that users can be exposed to on the net. I don't agree with this at all I think that the Internet is very similar to real life. The Internet can be what ever each individual user wants it to be. It all depends on what communities that people chose to go online and be apart of. It takes a lot longer to find a community online than it does in real life but there is a community online for everyone. I think the critics of the Internet just haven't spent enough time browsing for a place where they feel comfortable. Works Cited Reingold, Howard "The Heart of the WELL" Composing Cyberspace Ed. Phillip A. Butcher Boston: Mc Graw Hill 1998 151-163 Terrell, Kenneth "Go Play- on the Web" U.S. News & World Report Sept. 2001: 78-80

Impression of the Culture Essay

Prior to working in government, I worked in the private sector. In comparison of the two cultures, I realize that politics exist in both cultures and it is a game that I really do not like to play. My impression of the two cultures leave a lot to be desired in the sense that I am one who is not afraid of hard work; I am always committed to the job. However, working in the private sector gave me a greater sense of satisfaction: I could prioritize my work and get things done; there was less bureaucracy. I could determine what was good for the organization, share it with my management who respected what I brought to the table and implement a cohesive strategy that would benefit the organization. Working in government you have to be prepared and committed to the policies that sometime prevent you from completing your job.(i.e. public interference and internal obstacles) in addition to working with people who do not share the same ideals as you. The government mentality of being a paper pusher was a concept that I fight with myself constantly about. My first few years in government, I went above and beyond what was expected of me because I did not like the feeling of being â€Å"unresponsive†. Working in government I now see what the mentality is all about. I as an individual am not a paper pusher; I am a results driven hard worker who wants to see the results of my hard work; however, being in government you do not control what gets accomplished by your work ethic’ you only control what is expected of you: meaning â€Å"I do what I am supposed to do† however what road the journey takes does not depend on me it depends on who is going to benefit from the fruits of my labor. The positive side of the two cultures: Private Sector gives you room to grow based on your commitment to work, There is less beauracy to deal with and most are working toward the same goal. In government, when you are given a task, th e positive side is that you know it is for the good of the mass and you can envision the end result.

Film Study of the Blind Side

The Blind Side was based on the life of Michael Oher a teenage African American boy whose mother was battling drug and alcohol addictions, in the projects of Memphis Tennessee. Mike as he is know in the movie was in foster care several times and always ran away to his Mother, thinking that no one could ever love him the way his Mother could, even with her ongoing addiction. Mike often slept at his fathers friends home, but even he could not give Mike the support that he desired. He would wash his clothes in the sink at the local laundry mat, and often had to steal food from the local gas station just to survive.When his only caregiver whose couch Michael slept on every night took his own son to a private Christian school to try and get him scholarship to play basketball, the coach of the basketball and football team saw Michael playing and offered to try to get him a scholarship as well. Much to the dismay of the board Coach Cotton was able to convince them to accept Mike on scholars hip. In his first few weeks of attendance at Wingate Christian School Mike walked and took the bus too and from school, until Thanksgiving night a family driving home from a school play saw Mike walking home in the rain with no coat.This would be a major turning point for Michael’s feelings of never being wanted or loved. The Tuohys an upper class white family saw Michael walking and Leigh Ann demanded that her husband Sean pull the car over so she could go and talk to him. Over the next several weeks the Tuohy family offered Mike a place to sleep, new and clean clothes, and a family that cared for him the way a family should. The Tuohys had 2 other children S. J an adolescent boy with a love of football and Lily also know as Collins.When friends of the Tuohys found out that Michael was living with them they were so closed-minded that they said they were worried about Collins well being and safety. Leigh Anne then wanted Michael to become a permanent member of their family an d obtained legal guardianship of Michael. It wasn’t until then that she learned of Michael’s poor grades and family situation. As they got to know Michael more and more they saw his potential and helped him make the football team, S. J was a key role, teaching Michael the ins and outs of everything football.In his senior year Michaels greatness attracted the likeness of several different college football teams who wanted to offer Michael full football scholarships. They then realized that Michael had to get his GPA up in order to be able to attend college. The Tuohys then hired a private tutor Miss. Sue who shared a love for Ole Miss football just as big as their own. Miss. Sue helped Michael realize that he had potential for being great. During the courting between football teams, Michael had decided that he wanted to play for Ole Miss just as his adopted father had.Michael would graduate and then become involved with the NCAA investigation, where the NCAA would quest ion his reasoning to attend Ole Miss because of donations that were given by the Tuohys over the years. In the end Michael and Miss Sue would both be attending Ole Miss, Miss. Sue as his own personal tutor. Michael Oher would then go on to be drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the draft. The film The Blind Side was both based on a true story, and also a book that was written by Michael Lewis in 2006. The movie was released in 2009 and quickly became a hit and an inspiration to foster children around the country.According to Michael Oher, the movie was not completely as it happened, for example S. J didn’t have to teach him the ins and outs of football, he knew everything about football before he came to live with the Tuohys. But for the most part the movie was accurate over all. In one scene Leigh Anne was having lunch with her friends at a high-end restaurant, her friends questioned her reasoning for taking Michael in with racial undertones, and inappropri ate comments. I have personally been to the Deep South and the Midwest seems to fit this role better, snooty over privileged white women with a chip on their shoulder.I feel as if this scene would have been more historically accurate 20 years ago, but there are racially insensitive people all over, some just hide their insensitiveness better than others. Another scene was where in Michael’s first football game, the referees only threw flags on plays that he made, when there was no reason for a flag to be thrown. This I feel is very accurate historically, football and the South are hand in hand, and anything out of the ordinary or anything that threatens a team will not go overlooked by anyone.The referees most likely felt that Michael had an advantage over the other players just because he was African American, not knowing that a few weeks prior Michael couldn’t even tackle another player, and still had to think that the person he was to tackle was a threat to his fami ly. After reading different reviews from this film, I’ve chosen two different reviews one from the Washington Post and the other from Variety. Each review gives the movie at least 3 out of 4 stars but for different reasons. Firstly the WashingtonPost. om, they gave the movie 3 out of 4 starts, but open the review with a very negative view of the advertisements for the movie â€Å"There's been something off-putting about the ad campaign for â€Å"The Blind Side,† a drama about a white woman who adopts an African American high school student, from trailers trafficking in nearly every troubling African American stereotype in movies (from the Magical Negro to the surly low-level bureaucrat), to posters featuring the patronizing image of Sandra Bullock gently leading her looming, gentle giant of a son down a football field. The Washington Post feels that The Blind Side does a good job of depicting Oher's good fortunes and the Tuohys ability to cross-racial boundaries in th e Deep South. The next review from Variety. com only saw the good aspects of the movie and gave it 4 out of 4 stars. â€Å"It's difficult to imagine anything that could long impede or contain the force of nature that is Leigh Anne Tuohy, the feisty Memphis belle played by Bullock with equal measures of acerbic sass, steel-willed brass and unabashed sentiment.Bullock is thoroughly convincing in the role — right down to her credible accent and the blonding of her normally brown tresses — and she's not afraid to occasionally keep auds guessing as to whether Leigh Ann's actions are driven by a heart of gold or a whim of iron. † Variety sees Leigh Anne as a loving foster/adoptive mother, who despite her social status and her seemingly tough exterior finds it in her heart to take Michael in and accept him as one of her own.The only negative comment they have about this film is that it seems as if nothing could ever go wrong until the final part of the movie, I suppose they saw this as being slightly overly optimistic in a world filled with pessimists. This film is a perfect choice as it relates so much to this class, not only does it cover racism but also it shows that those boundaries can be thrown out completely. A white upper class family who takes in an African American boy seems like something that would be straight out of a book; to cross such a deep seeded line took courage and determination on the part of the Tuohy family.They were proud of what they did and who Michael was/is as a person and didn’t choose to see him as a color but as a teenage boy who needed help, their help. If ever there was a story of over coming ones background this is it. This movie is a great way to show children that people are people no matter the color of their skin, and that everyone should have a family who cares for them no matter what. This would actually be a great section to have in the textbook about transcending racial barriers, and over coming s tereotypes, and it’s a true story to top it off.Both my wife and I watched this movie and on several occasions we both welled up, it’s one of those movies that just make you feel good, and make you want to do good. There were several scenes that made this movie great and choosing just a couple of them has taken careful deliberation on my part. The first scene that really hit me the hardest was when Big Mike was walking down a dark raining street and the Tuohys were driving home from the play on Thanksgiving, they saw him without a coat walking in the cold.Leigh Anne told her husband to stop the car and she got out to ask him where he was going and if he had a place to stay, after figuring out that he was homeless she told him to get in the car and that he was coming with them. I know there are some many kids out there whose parents simply don’t care about them and they have to raise themselves, but seeing it and knowing it are two different things. I can honestl y say that if I was in this situation I would have done the same thing and I know that my wife would make sure I did.The next scene is at the end of the movie when they brought Michael to Ole Miss to start his first semester of college, Leigh Anne was too strong to ask Michael for a hug, and she didn’t want him to see her cry so she gave him a nod and a slight side hug and told everyone to say their goodbyes and she walked back to their car, Michael then looked at Sean and asked him what was the matter, he replied â€Å"She’s like an onion you have to peal back her layers slowly†.Hearing this Michael then walked over to the car and said to her â€Å"Momma, I need a proper hug. †. This is the one scene that got me to well up, I know how it feels to want to show a softer side but not have the courage to show it. I face this on a daily basis with my two sons, so to see someone being so exposed and vulnerable was a perfect way to end this movie. I really do t hink that this movie is a perfect learning tool for children to show them that color is just something your eyes see, it has nothing to do with what’s on the inside.

Strategy and Change Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Severstal strategic analysis External environmental analysis Porter’s five forces Yips globalisation strategy Current strategy Industry life cycle Market segmentation Severstal acquisition activities BCG MATRIX Ansoff matrix Stakeholder analysis Conclusion Appendix References Introduction: This assignment is based on one of the biggest steel company in the world it is known as Severstal. This company was founded in 1955 by Cherepovets steel mill and remain under soviet government ownership until 1991. In 1993 Alexel Mordashov became owner of this company and registers the company name as Severstal in Russia.After the privatisation it becomes one of the international Russian companies with overseas export and ownership of foreign assets. And they also listed in LSE and RTS stock markets. They own production in Canada, US, and Europe. Severstal is one of the leading steel manufacturers in Russia. It consists of six segments such as Kolpino processi ng service Centre, metal ware, pipes, trading and services, steel and scraps procurement In 2008, Severstal became third biggest steel producer in Russian and 14 in the world, and the revenue reaches to US$ 22. billion. In same year they decided to change company structure by making three divisions such as Severstal international, Severstal Russian steel and Severstal resources. These changes improved their profit in the world. In 2007 they also established gold business in the world. In 2010 Severstal improve their leading position in Russian market. However, they are famous for their high value added products such as galvanized sheet, cold rolled and pipes. However, the company got 10 boards of directors and 5 are independent director including chairman.Finally, this research will examine the company strategic performance and tell us detail information of the company including its environmental factors and financial performance in the world. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT FACTORS: Macro env ironmental factors will critically analysis the company external factors through it’s broadly frame work such as pest analysis. This framework will help to know about the company environment in the world. Political factors: * Government are establishing new trade barriers for all that can have negative or positive impact on their business. Other political factors which can affect their business are adverse impact on business, such as operational results and financial impact. * Severstal investment policy can have regional political risk. * All majorities of production and operations are taking place in other region and countries with stand able political and social system. Economic factors: * Slow rate of economic growth can affect Russian economy. * Recession can reduce demand of all raw materials such as oil, gas and metals that leads to loss for the company. Increased in inflation can decline production and increased unemployment in the country. * Increased in oil price ca n lead to slow down in world economic growth and reduce demand of steel in the world. Social factors: * Social corporate responsibility. * Changes in employment laws and labour can affect on their business. * Significant attentions and following social rules of government can lead company growth in future. * Creating employment satisfaction and fulfilment of employee working potential can develop good relationship with labour. Technological factor: New technology and innovations is required to develop the market position. * Implementing new techniques methods for development * Creating new types of steel alloys such as construction products of building. * Better services, quality and technology for manufacturing and production. Porter’s five forces http://www. google. co. uk/search? q=porter's+five+forces;hl=en;prmd=imvnsb;tbm=isch;tbo=u; However, steel industries were not profitable from long time. All the manufacturers and producers were not seen profitable in late 1990 to 2003.In USA, more than 50 industries went for bankruptcy. Eventually, twenty first century becomes revolutionary for steel industry. For example: mittal steel paid $35 billion to buying European giant and becoming world largest steel industry in the world. New entrants: There are two powerful entrants in the steel industries they are reorganisation and privatisation. There will be limited threats of new entrants in steel industry. However, Chinese are increasing capacity of rate at 30%. Since 1990 Chinese has become third world exporter and producer in the world after Russia and Japan.Although the steel industry will have a competitor such as china, and India steel industry can become the threat for Severstal. Substitutes: There are not many substitutes for steel, but because of the advance technology they introduced substitutes by other material such as aluminium in cars, plastics and aluminium are used to make this thing. However, in present world steel has become one third thinne r over last few years. Similarly for construction big items such as building, bridges, trains etc steel are only used to make these items.Buyer power: There are many key buyers for steel such as Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen and one of the leading steel buyers who produce food cans is known as crown holding, they make one third of food can in Europe and North America. All these industries buy high volume of steel to produce their items. Car manufacturers are the leading buyers of steel in the world. Supplier power: The key producer of steel is iron ore. There are three big ORE producers they are TINTO, RIO, CVRD and BHP Billiton they control 70% of steel market in the world. The supplier power of steel maker is very high in this ndustry. Despite of recession, steel ore price was not decreased in the market. Competitive Rivalry: Since 2000, the industry has become very fragmented, the top most producers in the world has been accounted for 14% of production. Most of them were selling the s teel in tonnes. Price were decreased in 19th century and bit slow down in the demand. However in the twenty first century demand boomed by Chinese market. Chinese were the largest consumer of steel in the world. Other big companies like mittal, Tata and thyssen Krupp were buying weaker players in the market.New steel giant mittal becomes the world largest producers in the world. Yip’s globalisation strategy: From the above macro environment situation the company decide to adapt the global strategy in order to achieve higher revenue and profit in the future. This yip globalisation model helps to evaluate the industry. http://www. google. co. uk/imgres? um=1;hl=en;sa=N;biw=1280;bih=709;tbm=isch;tbnid=ED-UITUWq9ob0M:;imgrefurl=http This model is consisting of four drivers which help industry for global expansion in international market.However, apply this framework in Severstal industry to see it benefits: Market drivers: If we see the performance of Severstal, it most revenue i s generating by North America, Russia and other resources of the world. According to its annual report the company is generating revenue from all across the world. The steel market is cyclical with short peak to peak demand in the regional markets. However, in future company can dominate the position Chinese market. Basically, Chinese has very less amount of producers in the market to supply steel in international market.Cost drivers: Mostly the steel industry generates its income through iron ore and other raw materials including, energy, electricity and labour. However, to increase its revenue company need to globalize and reduce the cost in order to improve its profitability. The industry need to utilise it assets were the company acquire from mergers and acquisition. Finally the company need to produce the material in the different countries to reduce it production costs and logistics cost in the end. Government drivers:The industry has benefit in the country where they have lib eral trade laws such as European Union who provides human resource and infrastructure facility compared to other parent company that run in Russia. Competitive drivers: The rapid development in environment shows the new level of competition in steel industry. The vision and mission of Severstal is to achieve it steel production across the globe. The report shows that Severstal is a 14th largest steel industry in world that produced 19. 2 million tonnes of steel in the world. However, mittal is the largest industry to produce 54. 4 million tonnes of steel in a year. case study Severstal). However, Severstal need to expand its business by implementing a strategy in the business that can help the company step by step to improve the market condition in the future. CURRENT STRATEGY: Severstal industry life cycle: https://www. google. co. uk/search? q=industry+life+cycle;hl=en;prmd=imvnsbz;tbm=isch;tbo=u;source=univ;sa=X;ei=bRgaUIbkHtK There are four stages of industry life cycle such as * Development: Severstal need to focus on development and innovation of product which help company to bring new technology and environment benefits.They should maintain the quality of the product. * Growth: Severstal need to maintain its business growth drivers such as vertical integration, cost advantages and strategic market focus. * Maturity: Severstal is one of the dominated steel industries in the market. However, they need to maintain position in US and Europe market to achieve maturity in the business. Although, china is existing market with less revenue that can become your main market in the future. * Decline: In 1990 steel industry was facing huge decline in their sales and production.However in 21th century steel industries are dominating the position in the world by acquire small industries for example mittal acquisition European steel company and Tata purchase other steel industry. Market segmentation: According to the market research the full vertical integration form give competitive advantage to Severstal, they need to keep strengthens the industry cyclicality market risk and provides flexibility and disruption allow us to capture the market opportunity. This vertical integration system helps company to improve financial performance in all three division of market.This vertical form also help to maintain the cost advantage and supply chain with high level of sufficiency, However, Severstal need focus on acquisition of small steel industry to acquire and develop the business in entire world. Target market: * Severstal need to target emerging markets such as Latin America, south east Asia, Africa and middle east * They need to secure their assets in fast growing steel markets. * Developing a new global raw material base will secure access to high potential market ensure its leading position and develop its expansion strategy for the company. Severstal need to target Chinese market and Asian market to develop their position in the world. Positioni ng: * Severstal need to maintain its position in Russia and North American market. However, their goal for 2012 is to improve EBITDA margin and despite many economic and industry challenges. * Our Intention is to keep global cost curve across all the operations and strengthen our market position. * They need to more focus on potential emerging market and high value added product which drive our margins to top position. SEVERSTAL ACQUISITION ACTIVITIESPortfolio matrices (BCG MATRIX): The most common portfolio analysis is Boston consulting group matrix which analysis the market share and market growth of the industry. This matrix show high growth demand heavy investment for example it show the excess capacity or develop brand. http://www. google. co. uk/imgres? hl=en;sa=X;biw=1280;bih=709;tbm=isch;prmd=imvnsb;tbnid=pBDs3BceOtFkAM:;imgrefurl=http://www. quickmba. com/strategy/matrix/bcg/;docid Stars: Europe, US and Russia has high market share for Severstal. Question marks: Chinese and Asian market.Cash cow: North American and Russian market is cash cow where Severstal can develop their market international by export steel in the world. Dogs: other countries like South Korea. Ansoff matrix: Ansoff matrix is a framework to proposed growth strategies for company to develop its business in future. Market penetration: * Severstal should maintain the focus on emerging markets such as Russia and north America * Russian market can increase its revenue in upcoming years. However, WTO has announced the upcoming winter Olympic Games in Sochi Russia which give additional opportunity to develop its market. They need to more focus on south East Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America where they got fastest growing steel market. Product development: * Severstal need to maintain the quality of product such as raw materials like iron ore, coking coal, scrap. * Severstal are targeting to expand access of raw material that could develop the strategically * Severstal need to mo re focus on gold business which can increase their revenue. Market development: * Severstal need to develop its market position in china and Asian market. * They need focus on high value added products and fast growing market. To maintain and maximise margins of the company, they should need to focus on steel related mining and steel production. * Target main market such as Russia to become no 1 in that market. Diversification: * Severstal need to concentrate more on their existing products such as wire ropes, metal ware and steel pipes. * Company need to maintain its stability in the market. STAKEHOLDER’S ANALYSIS: http://www. google. co. uk/imgres? start=95;hl=en;biw=1280;bih=709;tbm=isch;tbnid=YIubWJZV1827SM:;imgrefurl=http://intoprojects. om/how-to-identify-stakeholders;docid=gTtb0gkJERbD9M There are two types of stake holders they primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders: * Customers: customers are the key person for every company. Who want h igh value added product and good quality and better customer services. * Suppliers: supplier is a person who give raw materials and other products to company and want their payments on time * Employees: employees play vital role in every organisation, those are the people who perform good for the company and maintain the standard of the company.In order to achieve good salaries and benefit from the industry. * Shareholders: shareholders always want the industry to perform well in the market and achieve high revenue every year in order to get more dividend from the company. Secondary stakeholders: * Consumer group: consumer group has a responsibility to check the fairly and safety product are given to consumers. * Trade union: A trade union is a govt law that everyone has in their company. However this trade union assist the labour in any requirement and help them work in better environment. Pressure group: this group maintain the rules and regulation of the government on company law influence and regulation. * Government: Government are related with legislation, VAT, and taxation, low employment. * Community group: this community group includes all community such as jobs, contributions, ecological factors and share will comes under this group. * Media: media also play vital role for every industry in order to promote brand and create good relationship with customers and ongoing activity. Areas to conflict: Primary stakeholder: * Customer are not satisfied with the product and quality that are

A Rose for Emily: a Themes of Death and Change Essay

William Faulkner explains why the story is not about him, but his details about a lonely poor woman named Miss Emily is very unpredictable. Miss Emily is unable to grip the idea of death and suffers from denial. After the death of her father, the people from the town expected her to be in a state of grief but she is not. Instead, she proceeds to say that her father is very well with her and alive. William Faulkner’s idea of grieving is clear in this story because he shows his audience that it is better to accept death than to ignore it through the accounts of Miss Emily’s journey. William Faulkner’s story takes place in the South, during a time period of racial discrimination and major changes. By using reader response criticism, a reader can analyze â€Å"A Rose for Emily† through the aspects of the secret held within the story, race found through anthropology, and gender found through anthropology. To begin with, one can analyze â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by examining the hidden message found in the story. The hidden message that William Faulkner tried to convey in his story was the themes of death and change. For example, Emily told them that her father was not dead. Miss Emily tried to defy death by holding on to her father’s corpse and treating it as if he were still living and how fearful she was of change. She later killed Homer to ensure that he would never leave her. Miss Emily continually tried to prevent any sort of change through death or other means from occurring in her town. She was so frightened of change that she wouldn’t allow the city to put numbers on her house for mail. The next step to analyzing â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is to examine race found through anthropology. The South was once known for its extreme prejudice and racism. William Faulkner’s attempts to convey this racism is made clear in â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. Mr. Faulkner explains the roles of women in the South and how they were seen through the eyes of men. When Miss Emily Grierson died the whole town went to her funeral. The men out of respectful affection for a fallen monument and the women mostly out of curiosity. In conclusion, there are many aspects that were incorporated into â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. William Faulkner was able to create a story involving many ideas about society and how it functioned in a specific time period in the South. To further examine â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, one can use the reader response criticism and analyze the aspects of the hidden message found within the story, race found through anthropology, and gender found through anthropology. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is an important element in literature due to examination of the effects of change created in the olden South.

Marketing Analysis Of Dairy Milk Oreo Chocolate In The United Kingdom Essay

Marketing Analysis Of Dairy Milk Oreo Chocolate In The United Kingdom Market - Essay Example Launching a new product in a new market is a challenging affair. Entrepreneurs and business organizations are in most cases concerned about the reception of the product in the market. Various worries that companies and individuals suffer while trying to launch products in the new market relates to the reception of the product by the customers, the ability of the product to satisfy the needs of the customers and the availability of substitute products in the market targeted. Subsequently, organizations have to develop marketing and promotional strategies that are likely to help them succeed in the new market. With the understanding that different factors act on customers whenever making their purchases, an organization should ensure that it not only meet the needs of the customers but also portray a good image to the people. Products in most cases fail, because of their inferior quality, but lack of innovation and creativity in the development, packaging and promotion stages. An entre preneur could have a great idea, but due to poor implementation, could fail in selling that idea to the people. Food is one of the most sensitive businesses that whenever entrepreneurs consider investing in should get right. Understanding the needs of the target population is the best way of winning a new market. Dairy milk oreo chocolate, a new product launched in the United Kingdom so far has been a success.