Strategic Change Management (Ansewr 6 questions) Assignment

Strategic Change Management (Ansewr 6 questions) - Assignment Example High attrition rate and staff downsizing strategy of Airline company’s crates impact on defence mechanism of Airline staff. Southwest Airlines has applied clarity system as a part of Kurt Lewins Change Management Model to decrease resistance about newly implemented software system. The company has changed existing Microsoft Excel reporting pattern by implementing Hyperion Essbase model of financial budgeting. The company did the change in order to decrease overall reporting cost. The logic model of synergy theory describes sustainable change as participation multi level actors (local and global, top level, mid level and ground level management). This model not only increases communication scope but decreases change resistance also. British Airways used Kurt Lewin’s change management model in order to create positive impact on their business policy. In the unfreeze stage they downsized the workforce in order to decrease hierarchical levels. In the change phase British Airways altered internal system and provided incentives to absorb the shock effect. In the refreeze stage BA integrated customer satisfaction with individual objective of key members of organizational hierarchy. They refurbished uniform of staff and aircraft design as a part of change management process. The market demand for Airline industry has been dented due to sovereign debt crisis and economic recession. Airline industry has lost more than $25bn (Â £16bn) in last ten years (Milmo, Topham, and Roberts, 2012). Companies are competing with each other in order to achieve competitive edge such as low cost service delivery, fast service delivery, expanded destination service, fleet size and many others. For example, Southwest Airlines has achieved the competitive edge of lowest fare in comparison to other players in the market. The new airline group formed by the merger is the sixth largest airline service in the world in terms of

Needs Assessment Essay Example for Free

Needs Assessment Essay Students desire more than paper and pencil lessons. According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), â€Å"Technology is driving change in the content of mathematics programs, in methods for mathematics instruction, and in the ways that mathematics is learned and assessed† (as cited in Van de Walle, 2004, p. 103). In this study, I want to investigate whether any differences occur in the overall effectiveness of student learning of fraction lessons when the information is presented using different types of visual media, in this case, computer versus overhead. The purpose of this study is to describe the impact of presenting fraction math lessons using computer based instruction versus overhead projection presentations. Eighth-grade math students will feel more engaged while receiving computer-based instruction versus eighth-grade students who receive overhead projection instruction. The participants are 12 math students at a Middle School. All of the students have basic computer skills. The twelve students are all eighth graders but their scores vary on the math section of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) standardized test. However, the test scores in class show that students struggle with fraction problems. Twelve students will be randomly divided into groups; one group of six students will have computer-based instructions on solving problems involving fractions and percentages, compounded percentages and multiple discounts and the other group of six students will have lecture based instruction using the overhead and paper worksheets. â€Å"The logic of needs assessment can be summarized as a simple equation: desired status – actual status = need† (Dick, Carey, Carey, 2005). Currently, the desired status is for the math students to score 80% on in-class fraction test. The actual status is that students are scoring between 69 – 70 %. The need is to improve the scores about ten points. Students become bored taking notes and looking at the overhead information. Students using the computer are forced to be actively engaged. Using student’s interest in present day technology gives both sides an advantage in obtaining educational success. The question that still remains is does it give students an edge over paper and pencil taught lessons? A high school in Texas, San Marcos High, put the questions to the test. Teachers were initially impressed with on-line lessons. However, during the assessment phase, it was hard to determine if students were guessing the answers to the multiple choice questions or answering the questions correctly. When questioned why the school chose to use the on-line based lessons, Mr. Darnall, the math department head, states â€Å"Both of us really thought it was a way to capture the students’ attention† (Trotter, 2007). According to Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, â€Å"in order for any learning to take place, you must first capture the attention of the student† (Kruse, n. d. ). Computer based lessons will satisfy this event. The students will be studied in their own groups. Data collection method included pre-test and posttest, interviewing, and observing students. Data will be collected in the form of daily worksheets and graded test. Also, students will completed a questionnaire about how involved they felt in each lesson. Answers from the questionnaire provided insight into the level of comfort student’s felt in using visual media to learn fractions. Students were observed during each presentation to look for a degree of understanding or misunderstanding. Triangulation is essential to cross-check information and presents an accurate view of the results. Three types of data to allow for triangulation are observing, interviewing, and examining records. These instruments were appropriate because these factors support the action of ensuring that the students have the prerequisite knowledge to begin instruction and supports informing the students what they will learn ( Dick, et al, 2005). Data will be analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics for measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) and variability (standard deviation) (Gay, Mills, Airasian, 2006). Interviews will be analyzed by grouping similar responses into clusters that address the same issue and develop total scores across an item cluster (Gay et al, 2006). References Dick, W. , Carey, L. , Carey, J. O. (2005). The systematic design of instruction (6th ed). Allyn Bacon. Gay, L. R. , Mills, G. E. , Airasian, P.(2006). Educational research: Competencies for Analysis and applications (8th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kruse, K. (n. d. ). Gagne’s nine events of instruction: An introduction. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from http://www. e-learningguru. com/articles/art3_3. htm Trotter, A. (May 9, 2007). School subtracts math text to add e-lessons, test. Education Week. 26(36), 10-11. Van De Walle, J. A. (2004). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching Developmentally. MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Colonialism and Morality in The Moonstone and The Man Who Would Be King

Colonialism and Morality in The Moonstone and The Man Who Would Be King Let us presuppose to begin with that the cursed jewel is an impossibility and the powers of the Moonstone or any other gem for that matter only exist on an atomic level ( i.e. the energies which bind such objects together and make them what they are). Additionally it should be considered that no such object is the means by which a being exerts powers and no such object consciously exerts powers itself. Notions of the cursed or powerful jewel can be seen as a bi-product of what Said terms â€Å"Orientalism.† Said describes â€Å"The Orient† as â€Å"almost a European invention,† a place of â€Å"exotic beings and remarkable experiences.† (Ashcroft et al ed. p.87) This hypothesis adequately compliments Wilkie Collins’ characterisation of the eponymous jewel in The Moonstone and the moral pattern the author forms around its adventures. In the Nineteenth Century the jewel was the ultimate exotic object, Collins describes the Moonstone as â€Å"a yellow diamond- a famous gem in the native annals of India,† (Collins p.33) and clearly credits influence to the Koh-i-Noor in his preface to the novel. Collins builds upon the alien nature of such an object utilising the perceived mysticism of the Orient linking the jewel to a â€Å"four handed Indian God† (Collins p.33) [Said’s â€Å"exotic being† ?] and superstition, the notion of the jewel â€Å"feeling the influence of the deity who adorned it† (Collins p.33) [â€Å"remarkable experiences† to Said?]. Collins rapidly develops the exotic object into the cursed object primarily to create a long involving tale with a successfully satisfying denouement. the novel is, of course foremost a detective story; how memorable or lengthy a tale would it have been if the... ...---------------------------------------------- Controlling of persons. Tolerated Peachy Carnahan (book). (Pseudo-looting in Imperialism. name of the crown?) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Innocent appreciation Good Imperialism. Franklin Blake, Rachel Verrinder, Mr of native culture. Murthwaite, Narrator of The Man Who Would Be King (Kipling?) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography Collins, Wilkie The Moonstone London: Penguin 1966 Kipling, Rudyard The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories London: Granada 1975 The Post-Colonial Studies Reader e. Ashcroft, Griffith, Tiffin, London: Routledge 1995 The Man Who Would Be King dir. John Huston 1975

Evaluate The Ways in Which Emotion Might Enhance and/or Undermine Reasoning as a Way of Knowing Essay

To start this essay I will define the most important words as I understand them therefore emotion and reasoning will be defined and second I will explain the question. Emotion is what we feel as a reaction towards a person or situation for example: anger, love, and fear. Reasoning is logic, how we argument something, the way we make decisions or how we think and therefore it is how we react to situations. This question is asking us to explain how emotion can make it easier or harder to reason appropriately so it becomes a better or worse way of knowing. Emotion has a very big influence on most people’s way of reasoning sometimes it makes this reasoning more reliable and in other cases emotion makes it less reliable. In the following essay the question will be answered from both sites. Emotion might enhance and/or undermine reasoning in several ways for example when you are happy you reason in a positive way but if you are sad or in a bad mood you reasoning is more negative. For example a man that had been promoted in his job he has a car accident and his car is in a very bad state, he firstly will think about that his insurance will pay for the damage. In the other site if a man has been fired from his job and he has a car accident under the same conditions as that other man, the first thing he will think about is his bad luck and what he will do without his car and the last thing he will think about is about his insurance. Emotion might enhance reasoning as a way of knowing because it may encourage you to reason for example if someone really likes chemistry and enjoys the class, if the teacher asks a question then this person will reason faster to answer the question than a person that took the class only because the physics teacher didn’t accept him in the class. As well when a scientist is enthusiastic about doing an investigation because he loves the subject then he will do the experiment as accurate as he can but if he just does it because it is his job then he will do the experiment as fast as he can just to finish it. Emotion might also undermine reasoning because when emotions are involved people may do things wrongly without thinking about them correctly or without using any logic. A famous quote says â€Å"love makes blind† this means that love (an emotion) takes people to an unreal world and making their reasoning capacity limited. For example if a boy walks into a party and sees his girlfriend kissing his best friend and then she tells him that his best friend kissed her and she couldn’t push him away. Let’s say that the boy really loves his girlfriend then he will believe her even if the story is very unreal. This proves that emotion can make people reasoning unreliable and wrong. In my personal opinion I believe that emotion undermine reasoning as a way of knowing because it makes peoples logic limited and uncertain so the reasoning of this person is unreliable. Also emotions are not always encouraging for example let’s say a woman that works organizing parties lost her dog so she is depressed then she is not able to do her job because she can not think about anything apart from her lost dog. This proves that emotion is not very useful when it comes to reason.

Super Resolution Mapping To Determine Shoreline Position Environmental Sciences Essay

Coastal zone and shoreline monitoring is an of import undertaking in sustainable development and environmental protection. For coastal zone monitoring, shoreline extraction in different times is a cardinal work. Features of H2O, flora and dirt make the usage of the images that contain seeable and infrared sets widely used for coastline function Conventionally, photogrammetric technique is employed to map the tide-coordinated shoreline from the aerial exposure that are taken when the H2O degree reaches the coveted degree. On site study taken at these H2O degrees are more expensive to obtain than distant feeling imagination. With the development of distant feeling engineering, orbiters can capture high-resolution imagination with the capableness of bring forthing shoreline place. In recent old ages, satellite remote feeling information has been used in automatic or semi- automatic shoreline extraction and function. Braud and Feng ( 1998 ) evaluated threshold degree slice and multi-spectral image categorization techniques for sensing and word picture of the Louisiana shoreline from 30 m spacial declaration Landsat Thematic Mapper ( TM ) imagination. They found that thresholding TM Band 5 was the most dependable methodological analysis. Frazier and Page ( 2000 ) quantitatively analyzed the categorization truth of H2O organic structure sensing and word picture from Landsat TM informations in the Wagga part in Australia. Their experiments indicated that the denseness slice of TM Band 5 achieved an overall truth of 96.9 per centum, which is every bit successful as the 6-band maximal likeliness categorization. Besides multi-spectral orbiter imagination, SAR imagination has besides been used to pull out shorelines at assorted geographic locations ( Niedermeier, et A l. 2000 ; Schw & A ; auml ; bisch et Al. 2001 ) . While the really all right spacial declaration detectors ( e.g. IKONOS ) offers increased spacial declaration, the imagination from such systems is frequently inappropriate for many users, peculiarly if a big country is to be mapped ( Mumby and Edwards, 2002 ) . Therefore, if constrained to utilize fine-to-moderate spacial declaration ( 0.10 m ) imagination, there is a desire to map the water line at a subpixel graduated table. In such state of affairss the purpose is, hence, to deduce a map that depicts the characteristic of involvement at a graduated table finer than the informations set from which it was derived, which may be achieved through a super-resolution analysis ( Tatem et al. 2001, Verhoeye and De Wulf 2002 ) . 3.2 Test site The work focused on a 38 kilometer stretch of along a seashore off the North West Cape in the north west seashore of Western Australia ( Figure 3.1 ) . The shoreline was characterized by different beaches such as flaxen beaches, muddy and drop and facing to the Exmouth Gulf in the Indian Ocean. Exmouth Gulf is really shallow, with an mean deepness of about 10 m and northerly confronting drowned river vale in northwest Australia reverse estuarine embayment on the northwest shelf of Australia. The tidal scope is less than 2 m and varies little between neap and spring tides. The Exmouth part is exposed to preponderantly south to southeasterly air currents throughout the twelvemonth ( Bureau of Meteorology, 1988 ; Lough, J.M. , 1998. Coastal clime of northwest Australia and comparings with the Great Barrier Reef: 1960 to 1992. Coral Reefs 17, pp. 351-367. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus ( 10 ) Lough, 1998 ) . During spring and summer by and large moderate ( 21-30 kilometers per hour ) southward winds dominate, and fall and winter records show by and large lighter ( 11-20 kilometers per hour ) air current velocities with fluctuations between the dominant sou'-east air current and north to northeast air currents. The air current government is controlled chiefly by the interplay of the southeasterly trade air current system and the west coast-generated sea zephyr, in concurrence with a local sea zephyr developed within the Gulf. australia1-edit.JPG Figure 3.1: Location of shoreline trial site ( shaded ) and selected as had scope of morphologies in a survey country. 3.3 Data sets The survey used a series of harsh spacial declaration National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) images over survey site to bring forth a ace declaration image. For this survey, the shoreline was defined as the place of the boundary between H2O and land at the clip satellite imagery acquisition. The NOAA series of orbiters which each carry the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer ( AVHRR ) detector. These detectors collect planetary information on a day-to-day footing for a assortment of land, ocean, and atmospheric applications. Specific applications include forest fire sensing, flora analysis, weather analysis and prediction, climate research and anticipation, planetary sea surface temperature measurings, ocean kineticss research and hunt and deliverance ( CCRS, 1998 ) . 3.3.1 AVHRR detector features AVHRR informations set is comprised of informations collected by the AVHRR detector and held in the archives of the Geoscience Australia. Carried aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration`s ( NOAA ) Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite series, the AVHRR detector is a broad-band, 4- or 5-channel scanning radiometer, feeling in the seeable, near-infrared, in-between infrared and thermic infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. It provides planetary on board aggregation of informations over a 2399 kilometer swath. The detector orbits the Earth 14 times each twenty-four hours from an height of 833 kilometer. In this survey, NOAA images acquired from Geoscience Australia and NOAA antenna in Alice Springs permits acquisition of twenty-four hours and night-time base on ballss. There are usually about two day-time base on ballss per orbiter and two night-time base on ballss per orbiter. The detector parametric quantities as shown Table 3.1. Merely informations acqui red in Channel 2 ( 0.725 – 1.00 Â µm ) was used for this survey because land H2O boundaries clearly seen on the image. Table 3.2 shows an AVHRR Spectral Characteristics. Table 3.1: Spacecraft Parameters Swath breadth 2399km Resolution at low-water mark 1.1km approx. Altitude 833km Quantization 10 spot Orbit type Sun synchronal Number of orbits per twenty-four hours 14.1 ( approx. ) Table 3.2: AVHRR Spectral Characteristics Channel No. Wavelength Typical usage NOAA-15, 16, 17, 18 ( Â µm ) 1 0.58 – 0.68 Daytime cloud and surface function 2 0.725 – 1.00 Land-water boundaries 3 N/A Night cloud function, sea surface temperature 3A 1.58 – 1.64 Snow and ice sensing 3B 3.55 – 3.93 Night cloud function, sea surface temperature 4 10.30 – 11.30 Night cloud function, sea surface temperature 5 11.50 – 12.50 Sea surface temperature 3.3.2 Reference Data Landsat TM information of the North West Cape, Australia was acquired on 24 August 2007 with a spacial declaration 30 m ( Figure 3.2 ) . The Landsat way was 115 and WRS Row 075 were geometrically corrected and georeferenced to WGS 84 ( universe co-ordinate system ) .o Georeference imagination is defined imagination which has been corrected to take geometric mistakes and transformed to a map projection. Georeferenced image rectification can take one of the two signifiers, systematic and preciseness. Systematic rectification involves utilizing orbital theoretical accounts of the orbiter plus telemetry informations to happen the approximate relationship between the image and the map coordinates. Precision rectification uses land control points to register the image to absolute geographical co-ordinates. In other words, in a geo-referenced image the pels and lines are non aligned to the map projection grid geo-referenced image the pels and lines are non aligned to the map projection grid . A Landsat 5 TM scene has an instantaneous field of position ( IFOV ) of 30 m by 30 m ( 900 square metres ) in bands 1 through 5 and band 7, and an IFOV of 120 m by 120 m ( 14,400 square metres ) on the land in set 6. Merely band 4 ( 0.76 – 0.90 Â µm ) was used for delineate a shoreline. landsat1.JPG Figure 3.2: Landsat 5 TM informations over study country. Acquired day of the month: 24 August 2007 3.4 Method In the context of ace declaration techniques, it is assumed that several harsh spacial images can be combined into a individual all right spacial image to increase the spacial declaration content. The harsh spacial images can non all be indistinguishable and there must be some fluctuation between them, such as translational gesture analogue to the image plane ( most common ) , some other type of gesture ( rotary motion, traveling off or toward the camera ) , or different screening angles. In general, ace declaration can be broken down into two wide parts: I ) enrollment of the alterations between the harsh spacial images, and two ) Restoration, or synthesis, of the harsh spacial images into a all right spacial image ; this is a conceptual categorization merely, as sometimes the two stairss are performed at the same time. In this survey, the aim is to bring forth all right spacial declaration image from multiple harsh declaration images. Fine spacial declaration image has been applied with object designation methods which may build with regard to image enrollment and super-resolution building. All parametric quantities are used iteratively and do object designation secured from mistake response and been processed in hardiness, accurate and preciseness manner. 3.4.1. Image Registration Image enrollment is the procedure of covering two or more images of the same scene taken at different times, from different point of views or by different detectors. Image enrollment is a important measure in all image analysis undertakings in which the concluding information is gained from the combination of assorted informations beginnings like in image merger. Image enrollment consists of following four measure ; characteristic sensing, characteristic matching, transform theoretical account appraisal and image resampling and transmutation. i. Geometric Registration The geometric deformations present in airborne remotely perceived images may be categorized into system-independent and system-dependent deformations. The system independent deformations are caused by the gesture of the detector and by surface alleviation. Figure 3.3 shows on instance of images which are related by a planar projective transmutation or alleged planar homography. There are two different state of affairss where ( a ) images of a plane viewed under arbitrary camera gesture and ( B ) image of an arbitrary 3D scene viewed by a camera revolving about its ocular Centre or zooming. Figure 3.3: Two imaging scenarios for which the image-to-image correspondence is captured by a planar homography ( Capel and Zimmerman, 2003 ) Under a planar homography, points are mapped as: ten ‘ = Hx, where ten ‘ correspondence point of mention points x in other image and H is a 9 transmutations projection. The different of planar homography based on transmutation matrix attack below: or equivalently ; ( 3.1 ) ten ‘ = Hx The tantamount non-homogeneous relationship is ( 3.2 ) The scenario depicts in which homography will happen when a freely traveling camera views a really distant scene, such instance in airborne remote sansing ( Forte and Jones, 1999 ) . ( two ) Photometric Registration Photometric enrollment refers to the process by which planetary photometric transmutations between images are estimated. This enrollment traveling to use a theoretical account which allows for an affine transmutation ( contrast and brightness ) per RGB shows below. 3.3formula3.GIF Where, r1, g1, b1 are RGB channel in image 1 while r2, g2, b2 indicate RGB channel in image 2. Matrix A is used to calculate the remainder of brightness and contrast ? . Image enrollment of homography image concludes in Figure 3.4, last two stairss iterate until the figure of itelaration is stable. method.GIF Figure 3.4: Procedure to gauge a homography between two images. In order to deduce ace declaration image utilizing multiple series of low declaration images, all images need to register at the same time and corrections may easy implemented. Block bundle accommodation traveling to be considered as the best calculator to calculate all braces of back-to-back frames in the input sequence. Parameters such as interlingual renditions, rotary motions, graduated table, contrast and brightness, characteristic base enrollment, RANSAC ( RANdom SAmple Consensus ) and fiting could be done at the same time in every image brace. Generative image formation theoretical account is the best image formation algorithms which may see geometric transmutation of n images, point spread map which uniting effects of optical fuzz and gesture fuzz, down-sampling operator by a factor S where trying rate traveling to be entree, scalar light parametric quantities and observation noise. This theoretical account is generalized as follows: formula4.GIF f = mulct spacial declaration image gn = nth observed harsh spacial declaration image ?n = geometric transmutation of n-th image H = point dispersed map sv = down-sampling operator by a factor S ?n, ?n = scalar light parametric quantities ?n = observation noise 3.5 Hard categorization To distinguish between land and H2O organic structure a difficult classifier was applied to the fake coarse spacial declaration orbiter detector imagination. The maximal likeliness difficult classifier used to sort the harsh spacial declaration imagination ( NOAA AVHRR ) . The same preparation sites used in sorting the all right spacial declaration image ( cite informations ) were used ( Figure 4.5 ) . Using these developing sets the 20 m imagination was classified to 2 categories ( land and H2O ) . The resulting image ( Figure 3.7 ) would subsequently be analysed to find the positional mistake between the predicted shoreline location and the existent location based on the land informations. densitynooa.jpg ( a ) densitylandsat.jpg ( B ) Figure 3.5: ( a ) 1100 m spacial declaration and ( B ) 30 thousand spacial declaration classified imagination 3.7 Soft Categorization Difficult categorization techniques have been popular in distant feeling but they merely assign one category to a certain pel ( Jensen, 1996 ) . As shoreline pels normally contain a mixture of land and H2O categories, information within a pel is lost. A major job for accurate reading of distant feeling informations is related to the fact that pels may incorporate more than 2 categories which would merely be realised from land activities ( Foody, 1992. To turn to this job research workers have developed methods to deduce estimations of the sub-pixel category composing through the usage of techniques such as mixture modeling and soft or fuzzed categorizations ( Foody, 1996 ) . Soft classifiers allow pels to hold variable grades of rank to multiple categories. Soft classifiers assign a rank class between 0 and 1 to each category in a pel. This allows a pel to be associated to multiple categories instead than merely to one category as in conventional difficult classifiers. The end product of the soft categorization for each pel was an indicant of the comparative rank to the two categories and, in the country where rank was greatly assorted, this was taken as an estimation of the relative screen of the constituent categories ( figure 3 ) . noaa.jpglegend.GIF Figure 3.6: End product of soft categorization. The gray graduated table indicates the grade of rank to the land category. 3.8 Super declaration Maping The water line was mapped from the ace declaration image generate from the series of harsh spacial declaration image.. The same preparation sites were used in all the categorizations. As a benchmark, a conventional difficult categorization was used to foretell the water line from the fake image. The water line was fitted to the derived end product of this categorization by weaving it between pels allocated to the different categories. sr.JPG ( a ) density_sr.JPG ( B ) sr.JPG ( degree Celsius ) Figure 3.7: Ace declaration technique ( a ) individual image ( B ) difficult categorization of ace declaration image ( degree Celsius ) water line word picture. 3.tif ( a ) 5.tif ( B ) 12a.tif ( degree Celsius ) 15a.tif ( vitamin D ) 20.tif ( vitamin E ) 20.tif ( degree Fahrenheit ) Figure 3.8: End product of ace declaration technique ( a ) 3 images ( B ) 5 images ( degree Celsius ) 12 images ( vitamin D ) 15 images ( vitamin E ) 30 images ( degree Fahrenheit ) 50 images. 3.8 Positional Error Analysis End product from a difficult and soft categorization produces images with pels values stand foring the proportion of a certain category within pels. But it does non bespeak where within a pel these categories are located. To turn to this job, methods of administering the proportion within each pel to different categories were explored. The truth of shoreline maps generated at each spacial declaration from application of the difficult categorization, soft categorization and ace declaration method from multiple images were analysed for survey country ( Figure 3.1 ) . For each infusion and coarse-spatial declaration image, the truth of the shoreline anticipation derived was determined by comparing the to the Landsat 5 TM informations for every meter of the shoreline ( Table 3.3 ) The positional truth along the 38km length of shoreline in each infusion is shown in Table 3.3: Positional truth of the each method. Method Hard Classification Soft Categorization Super Resolution RMSE ( m ) 72.2 m 32.1 m 1 image: 14.8 m 3 Images: 7.21 m 5 Images: 6.25 m 12 Images: 5.33 m 15 Images: 5.17 m 30 Images: 5.08 m 50 Images: 8.07 Measure RSME ( m )

Using Conflicts in Decision Making to Make Effective Decisions and a More Cohesive Group Essays

Using Conflicts in Decision Making to Make Effective Decisions and a More Cohesive Group Essays Using Conflicts in Decision Making to Make Effective Decisions and a More Cohesive Group Essay Using Conflicts in Decision Making to Make Effective Decisions and a More Cohesive Group Essay Using Conflicts in Decision Making to Make Effective Decisions and a More Cohesive Group Conflicts arise between co-workers often and over many different matters. Mismanaged conflicts can damage relationships and stalemate group decisions. By learning conflict resolution skills, workers can seize opportunities for growth and open discussion. One can use conflicts that arise in group decision making to make more effective group decisions and a more cohesive group. Conflicts in Group Decision Making Tubbs (2007, p. 09), defined conflict management as The ability to manage conflict so that there is a healthy conflict of ideas without the unhealthy conflict of feelings. Conflict is often thought of as a completely negative event, when in fact it can have many positive effects. Without some form of conflict, problems would not ever be revealed or dealt with. Although there are many cost associated with conflict, there are also many benefits that are often overlooked. Personal Conflicts P ersonal conflict arises out of a sense of being wronged. The perception of inequality, scarcity, and moral or cultural differences gives rise to a emotional grievance (Brahm, 2004, para. 1). Acting out these conflicts is a way of addressing concerns. conflict can give rise to new norms and rules to govern conduct which can have long-term benefits conflict can lead to establishing new statutes meant to deal with the sources of conflict (Brahm, 2004, para. 8). Idea Conflicts Idea conflicts are a difference of opinion. People can have idea conflicts and have no personal conflict- as long as they respect other peoples point of view. Idea conflicts are necessary to create idea diversity. A homogenous set of ideas will not be as creative, comprehensive, or open to new ideas. Ideas conflict can also easily escalate into personal conflicts when workers become more loyal to an idea than to the group synergy. Make Effective Group Decisions With Conflict Building Collaborative Solutions, Inc. (BCS), defines conflict management as the opportunity to improve situations and strengthen relationships' (Tubbs, 2007, p. 315). By resolving disagreements before they turn into personal conflict, workers can keep their focus. Conflicts are often easier to handle when put into proper perspective (Sherman, 2011, p. 52). An open exchange of ideas can contribute to organizational health by valuing honorable conflicts of ideas. Group member should expect and respect differing points of view, while maintaining personal sovereignty of thought. Conflict Solutions conflict can initiate a process through which individuals realize they have common interests and common enemies (Brahm, 2004, para. 10). New bonds can be made in conflict, even as others are being broken down. Outside conflict can bond and energize group members (Tubbs, 2007, p. 315). The challenge is to realize the benefits of conflict in such a way so as to minimize the many costs also associated with conflict (Brahm, 2004, para. 14). If a company provides conflict resolution training to employees, they can reduce the intensity and frequency of future conflicts. Groupthink The term groupthink was coined in the 1970s to describe a situation when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing and moral judgment within a board (Martyn, 2011, para. ). Groupthink can be effectively be mitigated by a healthy expression of the conflict of ideas. Members of a group guilty of groupthink are usually more concerned with group harmony than with effective decision making (Martyn, 2011, para. 3). When attention is drawn to the hazards of groupthink and benefits of idea diversification, then the group can focus on the best interest o f the organization. Cohesion When conflict resolution happens out of empowerment and collaboration, it allows for more growth and more positive opportunities to be presented. When personal growth is shared between team members it produces bonds learn positive ways of addressing conflict that will minimize hurt feelings, gossip, and a negative environment. Leaders should recognize that organizational level decisions can have an immense effect on both functional and dysfunctional conflict (Harris, Ogbonna, Goode, 2008, p. 453). Perspective be open to the other persons perceptions-instead of casting blame, explore how you both may have contributed to the situation (Freinkel,2004, para. ). Bringing the causes of conflict to the surface will allow for the root problem to be dealt with. No matter who youre dealing with, asking open-ended questions is a great way to create a dialogue (McCurdy, n. d. , p. 3). Discovering the best level of analysis requires a certain navigational skill, a nimble capacity to zoom in, out, and around to different perspectives (Sherman, 2011, p. 52). Conclusion A certain amount of conflict is inevitable, and it must be understood to be channeled. Conflict can be used as an opportunity to grow and improve group interaction. Conflict and resolution is not a zero-sum game; there are benefits when one looks for them. Group cohesion and decision making can certainly be enhanced through the conflict and resolution process. References Brahm, E. (2004). Benefits of Intractable Conflict. Retrieved April 26, 2011 from beyondintractability. org/essay/benefits/ Freinkel, S. (2004, July/August). can we talk? Health, 18(6), 135-138. Harris, L. C. , Ogbonna, E. , Goode M. H. (2008). Intra-functional conflict: an investigation of antecedent factors in marketing functions. European Journal of Marketing, 42(3/4), 453-476. doi:10. 1108/03090560810853011 Martyn, K. (2011, March). Governance groupthink. New Zealand Management, 58(2), 55-56. McCurdy, S. (n. d. ). 5 ways to resolve conflict at work. Retrieved April 24, 2011 from click2houston. com/money/24926751/detail. html Sherman, J. (2011, March/April). Zoom. Psychology Today, 52-53. Tubbs, S. L. , (2007). A Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction (9th ed. ). Ney York, NY: McGraw Hill.

NBA Lockout essays

NBA Lockout essays The National Basketball Players Association lockout greatly affected the United States economy. Greedy team owners and greedy players fighting over large amounts of money caused the lockout. In March of 1998, team owners felt that they were paying players too much money, causing clubs to lose money, so they voted to reopen discussions on the collective bargaining agreement. The players on the other hand felt that any team financial problems were the owners doing, not how much money players were being paid. When the two sides could not settle their differences and the collective bargaining agreement expired, the owners decided to lockout the players until they reached an equal agreement. Lasting six months and into the NBA season, the lockout had a huge effect on those businesses or people associated with the games. First of all, since the games were not taking place this meant that employees were not able to work in the stadiums. Those employees who are usually hired to work the concession stands or sell food, drinks, and souvenirs around the stadium were out of work while the lockout persisted. Lack of work meant less income for the old stadium employees, thus lowering the demand for other goods that these people would normally buy. Lower incomes make people purchase fewer amounts of goods from stores, restaurants, and other recreational activities. In an article entitled "Playing With Fire: A NBA Lockout Could Leave Fans Out in the Cold," a Phoenix Suns fan, Phil Lester, discusses the NBA lockout and how much money he spends on game nights. Phil says that "he can easily spend between $50-$100 on a night when the Suns are in town, counting dinner before the game, then some snacks and a couple of adult beverages during it. And that doesn't include the money spent on the tickets." Without the NBA, the money usually spent by fans will go unspent, greatly affecting businesses, workers, and the economy as a whole. Restau...

ACT Score Decrease How Much Can It Drop and Why

ACT Score Decrease How Much Can It Drop and Why SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips How much can an ACT score drop by? How likely is it your ACT score will decrease if you retake the test? Or are you wondering why your ACT score went down on a recent retake? Find out how likely an ACT decrease is, how big that ACT score decrease could be, and how to make sure your score goes up, not down! Read on if you have a retake in store. How Likely Is an ACT Score Decrease? The ACT has provided some data about how likely score decreases are when you retake the test. Of the students who took the ACT more than once: 57% increased their Composite score 21% had no change in their Composite score 22% decreased their Composite score Stats via the ACT Student website. So the odds are your ACT score will go up, but that is far from a guarantee. In fact, the odds are roughly 55/45 between your score going up or your score staying the same or decreasing. So if you retake the ACT, it’s almost as likely your score will stay the same or decrease rather than increase. This means you absolutely can’t slack when studying for a retake! Reasons for an ACT Composite Score Decrease The reasons your ACT score could decrease will depend on how much it decreases by. There is, after all, a big difference between going from a 28 to a 27 than a 28 to a 23. We'll discuss the reasons behind different ACT score drops. Statistically Likely Drops (Up to 3 Composite Points Down) A small step down for your score, a giant step down for your ego. Although you’re probably eager to discover the reason your score went down on your retake, it may be that you got lucky the first time you took the ACT. Maybe the first test went especially well for you – you did better with timing than normal, picked up extra points with guesses, had a great test center, and felt pretty comfortable with all of the reading passages and questions. Your first ACT score might have actually been a bit higher than you actually should have scored, so the second test is just a correction of your first score. However, it's also quite possible to run into worse luck on your retake. Even slight score changes could cause your overall composite score to decrease. For example, even if you did slightly better on two sections of the ACT, if you ran into bad luck and struggled with the two other sections, your composite could decrease. As an example, check out the following two hypothetical ACT scores. Even though this student improved their English and Science scores, bigger drops in Reading and Math caused their overall composite score to decrease. Test 1: 26 English, 27 Math, 29 Reading, 27 Science (Composite: 27) Test 2: 27 English, 24 Math, 25 Reading, 28 Science (Composite: 26) It’s not unheard of at all to see drops like 27 to 24 Math or 29 to 25 Reading. By losing just 4 or 5 raw points on each section, you could see a decrease like that. And you could easily lose that many raw points if you lose track of timing, or run into a tough Reading passage you don’t gel with, or Math questions you find more challenging. In short, even small changes in luck could have a big effect on your score. Also, did you study enough? The less you study for your retake, the more susceptible you’ll be to bad luck, struggling with timing, or having a hard time with test questions. It may be you studied a bunch before you took the ACT for the first time, but underestimated the time you would need to spend for the retake, so your score decreased. And how did you study? Were you timing yourself carefully? Analyzing your mistakes? Focusing on weak spots? If you just lazily reviewed some concepts you missed the first time or went through practice sections without recreating test conditions, your studying might not have been effective enough to raise your score. Finally, think about outside factors: Was your test center significantly worse the second time around? Were there unclear instructions from the proctor? Was your test center too hot or cold? (Read more about bad test centers and what to do about them here). Or were you sick or otherwise unfocused on your retake day? (Remember to also consider the reverse: were conditions especially good on your first ACT date and just average on your second one?) Any one of these factors or a combination of them could easily be enough to cause a composite score to decrease by 1 to 3 points. Large Score Drops (More than 3, Less than 5 Composite Points) You dropped the ball. If your ACT composite falls by this much, you likely have a more serious issue that you need to identify. Maybe you’re using a new strategy that just isn’t working for you – like trying to read through the reading and science passages first before reading the questions or plugging in the answers instead of solving with algebra on the math section. If a strategy is causing you to lose more than 5 raw points on a section, that could bring down your score enough to make your composite fall by 3 to 5 points. It's possible you didn't study at all (or only studied a little) before your ACT retake, thinking you could wing it. This would leave you wide open to struggling with timing, unexpectedly tough questions, or other bad luck on test day. Or maybe you were particularly sick or unfocused on your second test day, or your test center had serious problems. Regardless, you need to figure out what went wrong before attempting another retake! Very Large Drops (More than 5 Composite Points) A very serious issue is occurring if your score drops by this much. Maybe something was egregiously wrong with your test center, you filled in answers one line off for a whole section, or you were particularly sick or unfocused. Okay, so a 7-point ACT score drop probably isn't quite as dramatic as the Hindenburg disaster, but it may feel that way to you! First of all, examine your composite and section scores to see where the drops were. This will help you figure out where the problem occurred. Compare these two hypothetical students to see what we mean: Student A Test 1: English 29, Math 26, Reading 32, Science 30 (Composite: 29) Test 2: English 25, Math 18, Reading 26, Science 24 (Composite: 23) This student experienced big point drops in every section, leading to a much lower final composite score. Due to the drops in all sections, something must have happened with overall test strategy, for instance struggling with pacing or using a bad guessing strategy. It's also possible the test center was particularly bad, or the student was feeling quick sick. In short, the student needs to figure out what it was that caused their overall performance to suffer so much. Student B Test 1: English 29, Math 30, Reading 31, Science 30 (Composite: 30) Test 2: English 28, Math 15, Reading 29, Science 28 (Composite: 25) This student had a super large drop on one section (Math 30 to Math 15) and smaller, statistically likely drops on other sections. This means that, obviously, something went way wrong on math – maybe on this section the student started bubbling their answers one line off, resulting in a slew of wrong answers. It’s also possible that maybe the student implemented a new strategy on Math that turned out to be disastrous. But in this case, since the other sections weren’t affected, it’s less likely the problem was due to the test center, a bad overall test-taking strategy, or illness. This student needs to figure out what went wrong in Math. Finally, if you experience a 5-point composite drop or larger, you should consider the possibility your test was mis-scored. If you can't figure out any other logical reason your score would have dropped by so much, you might consider ACT’s hand-scoring service to find out for sure. How to Prevent a Score Decrease Given that your ACT composite score could easily decrease or remain the same if you retake the test, how can you make sure your score goes up? Follow our advice to make sure you don't waste your ACT retake. 1. Focus on Your Weak Points When studying for your retake, spend plenty of time studying for the section (or sections) you got the lowest scores on the first time. You want to make sure you get the points you missed the first time around. For example, if your Math score was a 24 and all your other sections were between 28 and 30, you would definitely want to make sure to improve your Math score to improve your overall composite. If you can make sure you earn points you missed on your first test, you’re reducing the chances of a score decrease. Not sure where to start? Here are some resources to help tackle a weak subject area or two. English The Best Prep Books for ACT English The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Should Use More guides from grammar rules to diction errors Math How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Math Plugging in Answers: A Crucial Strategy More guides on everything from fractions to statistics Reading The Best Way to Practice ACT Reading Questions The Four Types of ACT Reading Passages You Should Know How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Reading More fine-grained guides from comparison passages to author intent Science A Complete Guide to ACT Science 9 Reasons You're Missing ACT Science Questions ACT Science Strategies You Should Be Using 2. Don’t Neglect Your Strong Areas Even if you fix your weak spots, it’s not unlikely that your highest section could go down if you don't study for it. In other words, think of this as preserving the points you earned on your first round of the ACT. Even if you manage to raise the score on your weakest section, if your other section scores decrease – by even just a point or two! – your composite could decrease or stay the same. Check out the hypothetical ACT scores below to see what we mean: Test 1: English 28, Math 24, Reading 30, Science 29 (Composite: 28) Test 2: English 27, Math 27, Reading 28, Science 27 (Composite: 27) Even though this student brought up Math, their lowest section, from 24 to 27, the slight score decreases on other sections caused their composite score to fall. This means you need to be practicing for the entire test, even your strong sections, to guarantee a composite score increase. Being prepared for the test as a whole is the best way to shield yourself from ACT composite decreases. So how can you prepare for the ACT as a whole? Use complete practice tests, time yourself strictly, and understand how the test is scored. Also look into getting a strong overall ACT prep book to help you study. 3. Practice, Practice, Practice Even though you've taken the ACT once before, that doesn't mean you don't have to practice much before your retake. In fact, you may want to consider practicing even more than you did before your first ACT! The more consistent you can be, the better. Practice will reduce the score variation caused by harder/easier test questions or good/bad luck on test day. Think of it this way: any challenge you encounter in practice is one you will be prepared for on test day. Whether that’s an extra-hard math question, a tricky reading passage, or personal fatigue, learning how to deal with challenges in practice can help you achieve your target score on test day. Use strict timing whenever you study, and aim to consistently hit your target score on each section. Also, be ruthless about analyzing your mistakes – don’t just note your wrong answers, figure out why you got them wrong and how to make sure you won’t ever make the same mistake again. (Read more about how you should be analyzing your mistakes.) 4. Logistics In addition to adopting a smart study plan, you also want to make sure outside factors don’t mess with your ACT retake score. Make sure you’re using the best test center for you. Also, be sure that you’re getting enough sleep and following the guidelines to be ready the morning of the test. Finally, give yourself enough time before a retake – if you rush to retake the ACT on the next possible test date, you might not give yourself enough time to practice and improve. Make sure you give yourself enough time to study and prepare for your ACT retake! What’s Next? Check out ACT tips from our resident 36 full-scorer. If you can incorporate all these tips, the odds of your score decreasing will go WAY down! Learn more about how the ACT is scored to know how many questions you need to get correct for a score increase. Also read about ACT timing so you can be efficient about your time per question. Need motivation to study for your ACT retake? Discover scholarships you can earn for high ACT scores. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners Assignment

Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners - Assignment Example The role of the APNs will be to come up with suggestions of alternative therapies that can be applied during the process and also aid in the supervision of the patient. In the entire process, the APNs will be engaged in the provision of education services to the patients and their caretakers on the advantages of new approaches to medication that can reduce the level of pain and suffering. The APNs will at the same time also provide tools to the patients that will significantly apply ultimate control during their treatment. They will also engage the patients in the effective management of events and conditions that befall the patients during their treatment period. By so doing, the hospital management will be in a position to achieve their goals as provided for in the plan of treatment. The APNs play a central role in this particular process since they target the patients with the aim of enlightening them on various procedures that would benefit them in their entire lives. Eventually, these procedures will serve to reduce the length of stay in the hospital, cutting on the medical costs of the patients as well as empowering the patients. It I the role of APNs in making patients and their family members understand the most effective techniques amongst combined therapies that will be in a position to boost their options of treatment. To be able to deliver effectively in their role as educators to patients and their families, APNs will be under obligation to come up with a realist educational plan.

Management finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management finance - Essay Example The reporting system in the company is new and shall be changing the norms and the culture of the company. With the introduction of new processes to the company operations then it is usually faced with resistant from the employees. The change in the processes of the company and the introduction of new process or norm is resisted whether it comes from inside or from outside of the company (Leanne, 2009). The reporting system in the company is resisted as well and employees consider it as the means of under estimating their performances in the company and shall not be able to truly evaluate their performances. The reporting system shall be considered as in just for the employees as the manager shall be taken the advantage of the performance and the employees and/or workers shall not be recognized for their performance (Debra & Bradley, 1999). Thus in order to get a better response and acceptability from the employees the report should be the true reflection of the performance of the em ployees. Budget is the most important part of reporting as the actual performance of the department is compared with the budget and thus the evaluation is done. The involvement of the employees shall be playing an important role in the reports as when the budget is prepared with the input from the employees considered along with the management perceptions then the budget prepared shall be much more realistic and achievable and the reports shall be getting a positive and accepted response by the employees (David, 2003). Budget is an integral part of the report and is utilized throughout the process, which involve planning, implementing and control (Mukdad, 2011), as the company enhances its internal controls and thus progress towards a more effective and controlled procedures. The budget in the report shall be much realistic, which involves the employees and the managers of all the departments of the company can attain and thus prepare a realistic and

Demand versus supply paper paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Demand versus supply paper paper - Essay Example As a result, many diseases that were considered deadly a few years ago are effectively curable today. As an important example of these improvements, prescription drugs have leapfrogged in the health industry in ways that in some cases they have even reduced the occurrence of surgery (Kimbuende et al, 2010). This paper attempts to discuss customer demand for prescription medicines in connection with the variables of cost and supply in the USA. The major question we, at the very start, come across is if the theories of economics fit well in case of healthcare. According to Scott II (2001), the actual application of the concepts and theories of economics are not a straightforward exercise. The application of economics to healthcare theories is a complex question and therefore, the results found in research can not always be dependable. However, there are two major economic concepts that apply well to the case of healthcare: (1) Allocation of Scare Resources and (2) Economic Efficiency (Scott II, 2001). In case of our health care product, prescription medicines, these two notions are the most obvious. Thus, as far as the allocation of resources is concerned, more and more is being devoted to the production of such magical potions to produce even better products and at lower costs (Scott II, 2001). With the discovery of every new disease more allocation of resources takes place in the prescription drugs industry, not to forget that in most of the cases prescription drugs are more than necessity. Moreover, increased competition in the drug industry demands the firms to be more efficient in their production. The question then arises if there is any relevance of the forces of demand and supply in the prescription drugs markets; it has been observed that an increase in the market prices for prescription drugs serves as a signal to the producers that they are in demand and the supply is thus triggered (Scott II, 2001). Thus we

Case analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Case analysis - Assignment Example During the same time 2011, the internet sales increased by 12%. By 2004 online sales made 50% of the total books sold in the US. Currently, websites owned by independent used books account for 9% of total books sold online. Currently, Amazon is the leading online bookseller of used and new books. There has been lots of competition with many authors opting to include shipping costs for their consumers in order to increase their sales. Ironically, most of the consumers preferred purchasing used books due to their low prices. It is argued that despite the book being used the information still remains the same. According to reliable sources of information Amazon generated 49% of its revenue through sales of used books. By 2010, most of the consumers used bookstores as their main sources of book which accounted for 30% of total sales. During the same year34 million customers bought books online. For quite a long time Amazon has been dominating this business since its inception in 1995. The entry of Google Books in the field of online sales and books is also creating competition (Deahl). This is because Google enjoys the largest search engine in the world and their ability to provide online books at cheaper rates is creating a lot of competition for Amazon and other booksellers. Bookstore channel made significant strides and more sales with American company Barnes and Noble enjoying up to 1,700 stores in the US which accounted for 30% of total sales in the years 2010. In the previous year 2009 the company was the best seller of online books which accounted for $5.8 billion and an operating profit of 0.63%. Amazingly, only 10% came from online shops while the rest were made from the physical bookstores which are spread all over US. The bookstores were large enough ranging from 3000 square feet to 60,000 square feet meaning that the stores could make up to 200,000 different titles in their shelves. The increase in sales and

Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Human Resources - Essay Example Differences between Personnel management and HRM Personnel management is essentially an administrative record keeping function at the operational level. Personnel management attempts to sustain fair terms and conditions of employment while simultaneously, efficiently managing personnel activities. HRM, on the other hand, is concerned with the development and implementation of people strategies that are integrated with corporate strategies and guarantee that the culture, structure, and values of the organization, as well as the quality, motivation and commitment of the employees contribute fully to the attainment of the organization’s goals (Armstrong 2006, p.5). HRM is concerned with undertaking of analogous functional activities conventionally undertaken by the personnel function such as job analysis, employee relations, planning, and compensation management; however, the HRM approach undertakes these functions in qualitatively distinct way relative to personnel management (D uberley and Walle1995, p.891). Personnel management is essentially workforce centered, directed largely at the organization’s employees. ... HRM, on the other hand, is strategic in nature concerned with directly aiding organizations to gain sustained competitive advantage (Guest, Michie, Conway, and Sheehan 2003, p.291). HRM is mainly more proactive than personnel management, whereas personnel management is concerned with the maintenance of personnel and administrative systems. Personnel management is largely applied in the public sector, tertiary education, and local government despite the complexity associated with public sector including a mix of politics, service delivery, and management. In the private sector, HRM can be used to manage the human side in corporate and large organizations, banks, small and medium –sized enterprise, consultancies, and trade unions. High performance working environment is linked to attainment of high levels of performance, profitability, and customer satisfaction (Armstrong 2006, p.6). Firms such as Tesco and British Airways have demonstrated the significant role played by HRM in the attainment of management objectives mirrored in the transformation of the personnel management function. (P2) The function of HRM centres on planning, developing, and administering policies and programs designed to render the expeditious utilization of organization’s human resources. HRM is concerned with the process of hiring and developing employees with the aim of transforming the employees into valuable resources for the organization (Sims 2002, p.3). The human resources function is mainly responsible for managing workforce as primary resources that play a critical part in the firm’s success. HRM largely functions as a value adding a component in the organization based on the strategic utilization of

Case analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Case analysis - Assignment Example During the same time 2011, the internet sales increased by 12%. By 2004 online sales made 50% of the total books sold in the US. Currently, websites owned by independent used books account for 9% of total books sold online. Currently, Amazon is the leading online bookseller of used and new books. There has been lots of competition with many authors opting to include shipping costs for their consumers in order to increase their sales. Ironically, most of the consumers preferred purchasing used books due to their low prices. It is argued that despite the book being used the information still remains the same. According to reliable sources of information Amazon generated 49% of its revenue through sales of used books. By 2010, most of the consumers used bookstores as their main sources of book which accounted for 30% of total sales. During the same year34 million customers bought books online. For quite a long time Amazon has been dominating this business since its inception in 1995. The entry of Google Books in the field of online sales and books is also creating competition (Deahl). This is because Google enjoys the largest search engine in the world and their ability to provide online books at cheaper rates is creating a lot of competition for Amazon and other booksellers. Bookstore channel made significant strides and more sales with American company Barnes and Noble enjoying up to 1,700 stores in the US which accounted for 30% of total sales in the years 2010. In the previous year 2009 the company was the best seller of online books which accounted for $5.8 billion and an operating profit of 0.63%. Amazingly, only 10% came from online shops while the rest were made from the physical bookstores which are spread all over US. The bookstores were large enough ranging from 3000 square feet to 60,000 square feet meaning that the stores could make up to 200,000 different titles in their shelves. The increase in sales and

FAP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FAP - Essay Example Academics prefer the net present value (NPV) method because it has theoretical validity; accounting managers tend to use the internal rate of return (IRR) method (Lefley & Ryan, 2005). Surveys and case studies have been conducted to pinpoint managers’ feelings on the theoretical versus the practical applications of capital budgeting (sometimes termed capital investment appraisal). Even though considerable research has been undertaken, no definite conclusions have been drawn as to why managers reject academics’ recommendations on sound theoretical models (Lefley & Ryan, 2005). The more sophisticated theoretical models have been studied in relationship to improved firm performance (Pike, 1989), with inconclusive results. The NPV method has some shortcomings; the value added can be measured for most investment decisions. Other models such as payback and accounting rate of return are also useful in analysis, and managers continue to use their intuitive judgment and more basic financial models. Improved efficiency in project selection should logically lead to improved overall performance. Small & Chen (1997) suggest that combining a strategic and an economic approach results in greater project selection efficiency and higher success rates. Lefley & Ryan (2005) that this idea one step further and comment that there are three main considerations in any investment decision: economic, strategic, and project specific risk. By combining these three elements in one model, the impact of investment decisions can be more accurately pinpointed. As stated earlier, researchers and analysts have found that managers utilize a combination of risk assessment models and financial appraisals for practical investment evaluations, and prefer not to rely on any one model, no matter its theoretical soundness (Lefley & Ryan, 2005). One danger of choosing a single model could arise when subordinate managers maximize benefits and minimize costs and risks when they put

Machiavelli the prince Essay Example for Free

Machiavelli the prince Essay Machiavelli emphasized the value the need of stability in the domain of the prince. Machiaveli argued that virtuous and stable state is the greatest moral good and the effort to protect one’s country regardless of what it will take. What is important is that, one is to do anything to save the country and to sustain his power. Furthermore, Machiavelli noted that the prince should not be disrespected. The prince should be feared and loved, but it is much better to fear that loved According to Machiavelli; rule is justified by force but not by law. He proposed some of the actions that may be done to perpetuate power. His idea generally is based on how one can take and controlled leadership in a particular country and use it maximum level. Some of his area of interest was on defense and military, reputation of the prince, generosity vs. parsimony, cruelty vs. mercy, avoiding contempt and hatred gaining honors, noble and staff, avoiding flattering, and how to get fortune. According to him the greater achievement of the prince is when the prince has acquired all the above factors. Conclusion Ethical behavior principal as it has been viewed in this paper is fundamental for the development of the potentialities of the person and the achievement of any particular company. The most important thing is the unified relation among the society members such that whatever they do will be guided by the virtues or values of good behavioral actions. Reference: Irwin, T. H. (1999) â€Å"Republic 2: Question justice,† in Plato 2: Ethics politics, Politics, Religious, the soul, ed. Grail Fine Oxford: Oxford University press, pp. 164. 185 American Psychological Association. (1953). The ethical standards of psychologists. Washington, DC: Author. Leal, L. (1998). T

An Analysis of J.M. Coetzees Disgrace

An Analysis of J.M. Coetzees Disgrace The novel Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee has attracted wide readership and analysis since its first publication. Set in the post-apartheid South Africa, the plot revolves around the main character David Lurie, a divorced 52-year-old professor who earns a living by teaching communication courses at the Cape Technical University. The resounding conflict in the novel is introduced right from the first paragraph where readers learn of Luries insatiable sexual appetite. He had affairs with the wives of colleagues; he picked up tourists in bars on the waterfront or at the Club Italia; he slept with whores (7). Luries relationships thus surround women, many who end up in engaging in sexual activities with him. In this paper, the themes of arrogance, disgrace, and reconciliation are explored by reviewing Luries interactions with the women in the novel. Despite the portrayal of the female gender as objects of sexual gratification, the characters Soraya, Desiree Isaacs, and Rosalind signify, to a re asonable extent, the rejection of male hegemony on sexual matters. A critical analysis into the life of David Lurie reveals a character whose greatest flaw rests in the inability to control sexual drive. Readers get an idea of the flaw in the first paragraph when Lurie is introduced as a divorced, 52-year-old man who, to his mind has solved the problem of sex rather well (1). We also learn that the problem that Lurie alludes to above has been solved through his sexual relationship with Soraya, an exotic Muslim prostitute working for Discreet Escorts. Whereas the two are committed to a ninety-minute sexual session every Thursday Afternoon, their engagement is clearly devoid of love and enjoyment, especially from the side of Soraya. Elizabeth Lowry, an editor at London Review of Books, finds the relationship of Lurie and women as exploitative. She submits that, both the prostitute Soraya and Melanie-Melà ¡ni are used women and, significantly, they are both dark (Lowry 15). Money is what drives Soraya to honor this appointment. In fact, the objectific ation and commoditization of Soraya body is revealed from the knowledge that a single sexual session takes a duration of ninety minutes and costs a total of R400 (Coetzee 2). The relationship between Lurie and Soraya however ends in a state of disgrace for both characters. Disgrace being a theme which underpins much of the story, Lurie first instance of disgrace happens when he catches the sight of Soraya walking with her two sons along a street that he frequently walks. The glance of Soraya and her two sons live a lasting impression in Luries mind that, in as much as he would like to forget, the two little boys become presences between them (6). Evidently, the reality of Soraya double life leaves Lurie at a state of shame when he tries to imagine what the two sons and their father would do if they discover what he does with Soraya. The feeling is even made worse by the fact that he himself has no son and is divorced. Shame, regret, and dishonor cloud the minds of both these characters. Lurie speaks of she [Soraya] transforms herself into just another woman and him into just another client (Coetzee 7). It is also in this reality that Lurie comes to terms that he might just be a subject in the prostitutes gossip. McDonald (2007) puts this new reality into perspective by submitting that the illusion shattered [that is when Soraya eyes met that of Lurie] is not of her objectivity, but of his own subjectivity, as he becomes aware of how she sees him (McDonald 20). For the first time, he appears embarrassed of his age body as prostitute tend to shudder over older clients (Coetzee 8). Another theme that Coetzee reveals through the relationship of Lurie and women is that of arrogance. Arrogance entails an overbearing attitude directed to people who are perceived as inferior. This arrogance brings to light the hegemonic gender relations between men and women. For instance, after Soraya rejected Luries tendency to regain dominance over her, Lurie re-asserts his dominance when he asks rhetorical questions: what should a predator expect when he intrudes into the vixens nest, into the home of her cubs? (Coetzee 10). McDonald (2009) suggests that objectifying Soraya through the use of animal metaphors was a strategy used by Lurie to reclaim dominance and authority (21). Even though the details surrounding their Luries marriage to Rosalind are scarce, we can gain a wind of Luries arrogance in the marriage set-up through the thoughts that run through his mind. For instance, in an attempt to justify his sexual escapades with Soraya, he appears to suggest that; who needs a w ife, home or marriage when ninety minutes a week with a womans company are enough to make him happy? This is arrogance of the highest order especially to women who, in marriage setup, tend to be very loyal and submissive. Arrogance is further revealed through Luries encounter with Desiree Isaacs. Despite the fact that he has visited their home to make apology for sleeping with Melanie (a student from his class), one cannot help but wonder how again Lurie still views Desiree through lustful lenses. He for instance describes her as the beauty and the desired one. He even imagines the two of them [Melanie and Desiree] in the same bed: an experience fit for a King (164). However, still through Luries relationship to Soraya, Desiree Isaacs, and Rosalind, the theme of reconciliation is explored as even male hegemony in gender relations is rejected. For instance, Luries makes an attempt to reconcile with Soraya by tracking her to her home. Soraya rejects this and in turn demands [commands] Lurie to never phone her home again. Desiree on the other hand finds it very hard to reconcile with an old man who had messed up with her sister. In as much as the family had discussed about Lurie and his planned visit, Desiree still thinks that he is unwanted visitor. She simply cannot come into terms with the reality that her sister, Melanie, had slept with this old man. The process of reconciliation between Isaacs, particularly women, is complicated by the gender sexuality that comes into play. We for instance read of Luries apology when he, with careful ceremony he gets to his knees and touches his forehead to the floor (Coetzee 173). This gesture however leaves t he mother and Desiree unmoved. It can be argued that the rejection of the apology has more to do with the elements of insincerity. According to J.M. Austerities (2016), it is argued that the gesture neither transcends not negates the predicament of gendered sexuality because, a few lines later, we see Lurie experiencing again the current leaps, the current of desire as he looks into the eyes of mother and daughter (J.M. Austerities 160). Nonetheless, Rosalind depicts a woman who has gained control over her life and is willing to reconcile with her husband but not necessarily emotionally. She openly expresses distaste for Luries sexual escapades with Melanie. She says, The whole thing is disgraceful from beginning to end. Disgraceful and vulgar too. And Im not sorry for saying so. (45) Through Rosalind, we see a woman who is not afraid to stand up against a man who had divorced her. However, we can also sense an aspect of Rosalind that is determined to reconcile their differences and be on civil terms. For example, she expresses concern over an article in the Argus news article discussing Lurie. By telephoning and urging Lurie to steel himself, there isa sense of a woman who is on a reconciliation mission. In conclusion, the themes of arrogance, disgrace, and reconciliation are explored in light of gendered-sexual relations between Lurie and characters Soraya, Desiree Isaacs, and Rosalind. Objectification and commoditization of women as sexual tools are the source of Luries arrogance. His character eventually disgraces him when he becomes the objects of self-shame and public ridicule. Because of Luries hegemonic views when he comes to gender relations, the process of reconciliation is complicated to those who cannot explain or accept his behavior. Works Cited Coetzee, J M. Disgrace. Penguin Publishing Group, 2017. Internet resource. J.M. Coetzees Austerities. New York. Routledge, 2016. Print Lowry, Elizabeth. Like a dog. London Review of Books 14 (1999): 12-14. McDonald, William E. Encountering Disgrace: Reading and Teaching Coetzees Novel. Rochester, N.Y: Camden House, 2009. Print.

What is Soul Food? Essay -- Expository Culture African American Essays

What is Soul Food? All ethnic groups have their own language, food, and way of living. Some can even call their food, â€Å"soul food.† Soul food can be described as â€Å"food made with feeling and care,† but in America, soul food simply refers to African-American cuisine (A History of Soul Food). In Imamu Amiri Baraka’s essay, â€Å"Soul Food† he describes how shocked he was to read an article that stated how â€Å"African-Americans have no language and no characteristic food.† So he argued against that supposed fact. I too was shocked and am agreeing with Baraka’s argument. African-Americans have had soul food for hundreds of years, if anything that is all they have ever had. Since slaves had no control or choice in life, cooking became a way to express feelings, share love and nurture family and sorrow (Helton). Soul food is more that just food; it is history, tradition, and family. Soul food dates back to the early 14th century during the time of African exploration. When Africans became slaves in America, they had to make do with the ingredients that were given to them (A History of Soul Food). Their meals of fresh vegetables that they were used to were now being replaced by the thrown away scrapes of food from the plantation house. Not long after, slaves began to refer to their food as â€Å"good times† food because after working long hours in the field or in the house, the evening meal was a time for families to get together (A History of Soul Food). During the meal, elders passed down oral history to the young ones and family and friends came to visit. Soul food was hearty nourishment that met the intense labor needs of working long days (Helton). Decades later, during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, terms like â€Å"so... ...It is the greatest feeling. When I hear the words â€Å"soul food† I immediately think of the history, the traditions, and my family. On the other hand, those people who are not familiar with these terms; they consider it to be just food. Sure you might also think of hushpuppies, fried chicken, collard greens, grits and ribs, but do you know how and why they came about. Not many actually do. As Baraka concluded his essay he stated, â€Å"I guess a square is somebody who’s in Harlem and eats at Nedicks.† I can also agree with that statement. I can see those same squares everywhere else in America; they eat at McDonald’s. Works Cited 1. A History of Soul Food. 13 March 2003. http://www.foxhome.com/soulfood/htmls/soulfood.html 2. Marilyn Helton. Soul Food History. 13 March 2003. http://diabetes.about.com/library/blfoodforthought/ucTSsoulfooda.htm

Case Stud Powell Logistics

Assignment #3: Powell Logistics Case Study A. Defining the issue The immediate issue is to make a decision on the future of the family company. B. Analyzing the Case Data * The truck transportation industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy with $43 billion in sales annually and employing 400,000 people * The for-hire sector accounts for 40% of the transportation industry in Canada * The for-hire sector has 2 service offerings: TL – Truck load, only full load between 2 locations and LTL – Less than load, pick up from various locations reorganize then deliver to end customer.Traditionally LTL charge more. * Trucking industry experiencing 3 major issues * Cost of fuel, increased operating costs forced to implement fuel surcharge * Canadian dollar value increase over US dollar, affected cost advantage of Canadian manufactured goods, decreasing transfer of goods between Canada and US * Shortage of qualified truckers with aging workforce, increasing wages * Strong comp etition in trucking: Traveller’s Transportation Services, long standing same market as Powell, service offering included small customer orders using vans which Powell did not offer * Yellow Transportation, global competitor, publicly traded with large financial resources, high technology using online tools reducing costs * Powell in operation since 1979, with steady growth, with a fleet of straight trucks, tractor trailers and brokerage services. * License to carry general freight throughout Canada and the US. Midsized company showing significant profitability, focusing on LTL services for higher margins even though more effort and expertise was required to manage the loads * Advanced technology including dispatch and satellite tracking in place as well as extensive trucking experience * Family business with eldest son acting as Vice President of Operations with many years of experience and no formal business training, daughter with formal education heading up the Human Resou rces section of the business and the youngest son responsible for Sales and customer relationships. Current operations included year round business with little seasonal fluctuations * 80 drivers working 5 days per week * Loads were picked up from location A and delivered to one of 5 warehouses, placed on another truck with optimized route for location B (software driven route optimization) * Sales growth would trend the same for the next year as the previous. C. Generating Alternatives 1) Buy New Warehouse and Combine Operations Pros: Reduction in costs including rent, labour, fuel, and administration salary costs.Cons: A total $10 million investment was required to cover $2 million for the land and $5 million loan financed at 5% annually. 2) Sell the Business Pros: There is interest, business is overall doing well and the timing is right in order to get as much value through selling. Cons: Direct access to cash flow stops and the family members work future is jeopardized. 3) Pass t he business on to his children Pros: The 3 Powell children are and have been heavily involved in the family business each having their own expertise. Cons: Who to select as the CEO from the 3 Powell children.D. Selecting Decision Criteria: * John Powell wants to retire * The family’s interest is of utmost importance * Improve financial position of PLI * Decrease operating expenses through streamlining operational costs * Decrease liabilities and pay down on debts to improve leverage. * Maintaining their competitive advantage/specialty in the LTL transport service. * Provide continued employment for the Powell children. * Maintaining their loyal customers. E. Assessing Alternatives: 1. Buy New Warehouse and Combine Operations STRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| Industry experience * Decrease operating costs| * Long term debt * Some additional long term debt from other Powell companies still outstanding throwing off debt ratio| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Streamline Operations| * Economic do wnturn * Competition| 2. Sell the Business STRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| * Interest from 3rd party * Pay off all Powell Debt | * Family member work future questionable * Cash flow| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Partnership possibility| * Economic downturn| 3. Pass the business on to his childrenSTRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| * John Powell retires * Powell children available and able to take on the family business * Customer base remains * Restructure and plan to streamline and gain on debt ratios | * Multi site inefficiencies still exist| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Plan to achieve financial position to support new warehouse in the future * Restructure plan development| * Economic downturn| F. Selecting the Preferred Alternative Passing the business on to his children is the preferred alternative. Financial Analysis Although PLI is forecasted for continued growth with revenue expected to reach 28 million dollars in 2010, PLI still faces the problem of shrinking net income due to significant increases in their operating expense. * Closer examination shows that PLI’s expenditures in Administrative Wages and Benefits are rising dramatically, and they’re the main contributor to the increase of Operating Expenses. Operating Expenses as a percentage of Total Revenue is out pacing the growth of Gross Revenue, and it won’t be much longer before Operating Expenses negate Gross Revenue and put PLI in the red. The Balance Sheet shows the asset values for ‘related companies’ has decreased by 19. 9% from 2006 to 2007, but the debt these ‘related companies’ have incurred has increased dramatically by 93. 1%, This is obviously putting a tremendous strain on PLI’s financial health. * A combined warehouse/main office will reduce salary costs with savings projected at $60,000 per year. If PLI were to take a 10 million dollar loan amortized over 25 years to realize an increase of $60,000 per year to their Operating Income, they would be well sh ort of their $400,000 annual principle payment. Additionally, PLI would most likely only be able to obtain a high risk interest rate a lending institution would not approve this loan given the slim profit margins of PLI in an extremely competitive market. * When reviewing the financial ratios, we find PLI highly leveraged, and they will be in a very precarious position if there was a margin call on their debts. * The increasing debt of PLI will most likely negate any possibility of a leveraged expansion. G. Developing an Action and Implementation Plan Who| What| When|John Powell| Frank Powell named as successor and President of PLI| Nov 2007| Frank Powell| Corporate restructure announcement to reduce staff, wages and/or operating expenses| Jan 2008| Frank Powell| Sell Powell related businesses that are increasing debt burden on PLI. Sales proceeds pay down debt and any costs associated to restructure| Dec 2008| Frank Powell / Ryan Powell| Review and implement new rates and service o fferings to ensure these compete with competition| Jan 2009 to July 2010| Frank Powell| Revisit $10 million expansion project| July 2010|

President John Kennedy Was a Great President

â€Å"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been† (Henry). This quote from Henry Kissinger is a representation of the Kennedy term in office. President Kennedy took the world to a whole new level; he succeeded in many tasks in his short time as president. John F. Kennedy was great president because of his involvements in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Peace Corps. On October 22, 1962, President John F.  Kennedy â€Å"informed the world† that the Soviets were building secretive missile bases in Cuba, very close to Florida. President Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route in handling is major crisis. As President, his first move was to talk to Premier Nikita Khrushchev and demand the removal of all missile bases, and â€Å"deadly content† in Cuba. Secondly, President Kennedy had â€Å"U. S. forces around the world†¦placed on alert. More than 100,000 troops deployed to Florida for a possible invasion of Cuba. Additional naval vessels were ordered to the Caribbean. B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons were in the air at all times. † (The World). He ordered a naval quarantine/blockade on Cuba to prevent Russian ships from bringing additional missile and construction materials to the island (Goldman). Because of President John Kennedy’s strong efforts to prevent this huge nuclear war, two main things came out of it. One of which is the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. On August 5, 1963, the United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This treaty â€Å"prohibits nuclear weapons tests or other nuclear explosions under water, in the atmosphere, or in outer space, allows underground nuclear tests as long as no radioactive debris falls outside the boundaries of the nation conducting the test, and pledges signatories to work towards complete disarmament, an end to the armaments race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances. † (Nuclear). Also, because President John Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route to settling this dispute, he prevented a huge nuclear war from happening, maybe even another World War. Premier Nikita Khrushchev described it as, â€Å"The two most powerful nations had been squared off against each other, each with its finger on the button. † (Nuclear). If this other World War or massive nuclear war would have occurred, just think of where we would be today. â€Å"The founding of the Peace Corps is one of President John F. Kennedy’s most enduring legacies. † (Founding). As soon as President Kennedy became the President, he vowed to help Americans be â€Å"active citizens. † One of his first moves in office was to create the Peace Corps. The way he came up with this idea of the Peace Corps was when he spoke to students at the University of Michigan during a campaign speech and challenged them to live and work in other countries to dedicate â€Å"themselves to the cause of peace and development. † (Peace). The main purpose for this was so â€Å"Americans can volunteer to work anywhere in the world where assistance is needed. † (John F. Kennedy, the 35th). This answers President Kennedy’s call to â€Å"ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. † (Founding). President John Kennedy was very involved in the Peace Corps. He got to know all of the volunteers very well. Peace Corps volunteers became known as â€Å"Kennedy’s Kids† because if the special bond President Kennedy felt with them. Volunteers in the Peace Corps â€Å"help people of interest countries meet their needs for trained workers†, they help others understand the Americas better, and also to help people of America understand those of other countries. In the 1960s, the Peace Corps was immensely popular because of his campaign speech at the college, which encouraged newly graduated college students to join and help around the world. From that point in time, the Peace Corps continue to grow. Today, more than 195,000 volunteers have served in over â€Å"139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. † (Peace) Today’s world is a lot different compared to the world in the 1960s. The Peace Corps continually change with the times. People still volunteer as much, and even more than they did in the 1960s. Issues in other countries have severed over time, but because of the Peace Corps, people can help lessen this severe issue. The last effect of President Kennedy’s involvement is that because volunteers traveled around the world, we now know more about others’ cultures and traditions. The volunteers of the Peace Corps would live in different host countries, and adapt to their surroundings. They would learn multiple traditions and witness many cultural practices. When volunteers would return home, they would share their many experiences with family and friends, thus causing it to be spread and learned throughout the world. In the late 1950s, the Space Race was initiated when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite. From that point on, the Soviet Union and United States faced off to be the first country to land on the moon. President Kennedy feared that if the United States were not the first to land on the moon, that everyone would see them as a weak country that is â€Å"behind communist Russia† (Mills), and he did not want that image for his country. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy submitted the lunar landing program to congress (Mills). In a meeting between President Kennedy, vice president Johnson, and Premier Khrushchev, they all decided that conquering space was a huge ordeal. Both countries wanted to show their military strength and scientific superiority. Premier Khrushchev wanted to show that communist technology was superior. According to President Kennedy, â€Å"No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space. And none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish† (Mills). Without President Kennedy’s persistent thrive to enter space, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Before his time, space travel was just a dream. Sadly, on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas for a NASA meeting of some sort. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, however, carried on his â€Å"lunar landing† wish. Finally, in 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, thus ending the space race between Russia and the United States. Landing on the moon was the story of the century. According to a Jefferson City, MO newspaper, â€Å"the walk on the moon, although viewed via television, still seems like a chapter from Jules Verne’s fantasies. If] the moon-walk not been televised, we believe there would be many in the world who still would be doubting† (Mills). The placement of the flag on the moon was an unforgettable sight- one which will be long remembered by man, especially the grateful and proud Americans. In President Kennedy’s campaign for president, he promised â€Å"executive, moral, and legislative leadership to combat racial discrimination† (John F. Kennedy John). One of his first actions was to appoint many African Americans into office. One of which was Thurgood Marshall, a federal judge, and he directed the NAACP. Because of all of this, African Americans felt as if they actually had â€Å"friends† in the justice department. In May of 1961, the Kennedy Administration sent officials to protect Martin Luther King, Jr. from a mob during the â€Å"freedom rides† (John F. Kennedy John). His Civil Rights Address was a turning point for the country, and this also meant that President Kennedy could potentially lose the south and his 1964 election, or it would â€Å"dead lock congress† (John F. Kennedy John). Everything that President Kennedy did for this Civil Rights Movement helped change the course of discrimination in the world. He put a stop to public display of discrimination by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which also attempted to deal with the problem of African Americans being denied the right to vote in the South. Also, his brave Civil rights Address, which could have cost him his election, moved an immense amount of people. It changes their minds on the topic of discrimination, and in today’s world, discrimination is very slim. In all of these events in history, President Kennedy changed the world for a better. From preventing a huge nuclear war from happening, to stopping discrimination; President Kennedy is the definition of a great president.

Neural Markers of Categorization

In 2006, University of Delaware’s Paul C. Quinn and Harvard Medical School’s Alissa Westerlund, and Charles A. Nelson study titled â€Å"Neural Markers of Categorization in 6-Month-Old Infants† was published in Psychological Science. The study was motivated by the lack of existing literature on neural markers in infants. These neural markers have been seen as critical in developing an underpinning concept-formation in infants which in turn influences perception and cognitive development. Despite the importance of the neural markers of categorization to various fields of study, there is limited existing literature about it. Furthermore, existing literatures have not yet determined the neural markers and conditional determinants that can be associated with category formation. Most studies on infants have focused on the use of novel stimuli or the use of behavioral indicators to indicate categorization or concept formation. Study Objectives The main objective of the study was to identify neural activity involved in concept-formation in infants. By analyzing learning a category during familiarization, behavioral performance preference for a novel category global-level category learning, neural determinants will be identified. This will then enhance existing methodologies and research regarding concept formation, in particular, category-learning processes in infants. In doing so, the study will be able to not only further knowledge in neural markers and development but also serve as a means to verify conclusions regarding the topic determined outside of neural indicators (Quinn et al 58). Furthermore, the study is to serve as a foundation for further studies focusing on infant development and learning. Methodology Ten infants were included in the study that was selected from an original group of twenty one. Criteria for inclusion included were the child’s ability to stay focused on the stimuli and behavior. The mean age of participants was 198.8 days and 70% of the selected participant were female (60). The stimuli used for testing were colored photos featuring various breeds of cats and dogs assuming different postures. Luminosity of the photographs was based from analysis of the pictures using Adobe Photoshop: luminosity of the pictures ranged from 225.54 to 248.42 for pictures depicting dogs, for cats 226.05 to 249.57. Shape values ranged from 20.03 to 56.88 for cats and 24.28 to 61.65 for dogs. While the area and perimeter of the pictures was based on LASICO 1281 Area/Line Meter. Testing procedures included event-related potential (ERP) Testing, ERP Waveform Analysis and Behavioral Testing. ERP Testing was conducted in an acoustically shielded and light-controlled room. The infants sat with a respective parent in front of a monitor measuring 48 centimeters across and 31 centimeters tall. The infants viewed the pictures randomly from a distance of 60 centimeters with each picture being flashed for 500 ms. Adjustments were made based on observations on the child through video monitors. The results were then recorded and amplified onto a vertex reference at 0.1- to 100-Hz band-pass filtering and digitized at 250-Hz. Electroencephalographic data was handled through NetStation 4.0.1. Adjustments were made as baseline correction to 100-ms prestimulus recording interval. Final phase of testing was done to determine behavioral evidences for category learning. Two 5-s test trials during which a novel cat was paired with a novel dog in a left-right arrangement with two independent observers, both blind to the lateral position of the animals shown to the infant. Results The study concluded that infants, in the processes of learning a category, exhibited higher negative amplitude on left occipital-parietal scalp in response indicating initial experience with category exemplars with the first cat pictures 1 to 18 and novel dogs. Furthermore, comparisons of average amplitude of ERP signals between 1,000 and 1,500 ms after each picture was shown did not vary in cats 1 to 18. this indicates that neural instantiation of are key behavioral indicants of categorization implying that the infants respond to the novel as something familiar. With regards to novel categories, the results indicated the infants’ preference for such (61). This was indicated by the infants’ response to the novel dogs: negative amplitude over left-central became more pronounced. The implications is that Nc component or negative central component of the ERP  waveform can be e a neural marker of infants’ novel-category preference. Behavioral Performance tests from the looking-time data recorded when paired-preference was conducted indicated the infants’ preference for the novel dog versus the novel cat. The infants also showed novel-category preference by 62.52%. Since this value exceeds probability thresholds which in the study are divided equally between cats and dogs, the researchers are confident in concluding that the infants learned category representation for cats that included novel cats without the exclusion of the dogs. The results also yielded conclusions regarding global-level category learning. The researches believe that global-coding nodes are quickly learned as a means to represent or map large differences when there are a limited number of attributes that distinguished the global level Significance and Implications The discrimination of entities categorically is believed to have its roots during development. Therefore, determining the mechanism of category representations develop together with knowledge structures, vocabulary development and expressions that influence cognition, thus, the importance of measuring infants’ visual timing and recognition when presented with both realistic and abstract figures. This will allow for insights to not only in visual and cognitive development but also provide critical information in the overall development mapping of an individual (59). However, since there are no previous studies existing to evaluate the conclusions of the study to, the determination made by the paper will need further research, a constraint that the researchers themselves recognized (61). Despite this constraint, the study was able to provided significant evidence using neural markers using ERP and brain wave mapping that infants learning a category through the process of familiarization have a preference for novel category and respond to category exemplars at multiple levels of inclusiveness. Therefore, neural architecture required for object categorization processes is present in infants aged six months and below which in turn is giving greater insight to the neurological developments critical to learning and development. Work Cited Quinn, Paul C., Westerlund, Alissa and Nelson, Charles A. Neural Markers of Categorization in  6-Month-Old Infants. Psychological Science 17 (1) (2006), 59–66.