Thursday, October 31, 2019

Breast Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Breast Cancer - Research Paper Example The Genesis of a Cancer Cell A normal cell turns into a cancer cell because of one or more mutations in its DNA which can be inherited or acquired. Mutation is sudden abrupt changes that occur in the genetic material i.e. the DNA of the cell. This genetic material is facilitated by various agents called mutagens. Mutagens can be either physical agents such as UV radiations, X-rays etc. or they could be some chemical agents which are capable of producing changes in the cell by reacting with cellular macromolecules. These chemical agents form bond with the cellular macromolecules, thereby alter their normal structures. If they combine with the genetic material, the peptide formation is affected. Thus, these mutagenic agents affect the normal well being of the cell and when such a defective cell replicates the cellular modification is also passed on. These cellular alterations may lead to cancer, where the carcinogenic agents (cancer causing) are capable of altering the cell division le ading to the uncontrolled proliferation of the cell (Alberts, 2007; Chemical Carcinogens). ... These epigenetic factors do not produce cancer by themselves but enhances the likelihood of genetic mutation(s) resulting in cancer (Katzang et al., 2009). These genetic changes are categorized as - A. The activation of proto-oncogenes to oncogenes: Proto-oncogenes are the normal genes present in the cells and are responsible for controlling cell division, cell differentiation and apoptosis. A triggering factor such as a virus or exposure to any carcinogen brings malignant changes in the cell. B. The inactivation of tumor suppressor genes: A cell has the mechanism to protect itself from uncontrolled proliferation and tumor formation due to expression of genes called tumor suppressor genes. These genes possess the ability to suppress malignant changes and are also referred as antioncogenes. Mutation in proto-oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes results in the proliferation of tumor. Thus, a loss of function of tumor suppressor genes can be the critical event in carcinogenesis (Rang et al., 2007; Katzang et al., 2009). More than 30 tumor suppressor genes as well as more than 100 dominant oncogenes have been found to be associated with various types of cancers (Rang et al., 2007). Characteristics of Cancer cells The genetic basis of cancer has been revealed through numerous animal models. The Cancer Genome Atlas aims at methodically differentiating the configurational source of cancer, through recognition of the genomic mutations linked with every cancer form. A corresponding progress and description forms the basis of understanding growth and external appearance of the cancer or tumor called the phenotype of the cancer, is essential for

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Ku Klux Klan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ku Klux Klan - Research Paper Example The group had become a harbor for extremists who championed for white supremacy. The group is in essence comprised of three Klans on historical basis the first starting from 1865 to 1874, second from 1915-1944 and later Klans from 1950s to present. The group is one of the most famous not only in the United States but the whole world as it has transcended the test of time since its inception despite the many attempts, legal and otherwise, to try and extinguish its presence and influence. KKK - 1865 - 1874 KKK at this time did not have a definite structure as an organization most likely due to the nature of its objectives. There was however other groups existing at the same time i.e. 1865 especially in the Southern United States which took up the same name KKK as well as mannerisms (McVeigh 263). This is one of the first ways in which it spread. The Klan members acted as vigilantes whereby they murdered mostly radical republicans irrespective of whether they were black or white. They w ore masks and robes to hide their identities and usually ambushed their targets at night. This group was formed almost immediately after the Civil War whereby the veterans were against the changed society where people from different races had acquired some freedom seemingly undermining white supremacy. Many states after the Civil War experienced long periods of lawlessness which fuelled their efforts to use violence with impunity against black people. They later turned to Republicans and their ideologies claiming they were pro-blacks. They claimed that African Americans were largely voting for Republicans consequently trying to curtail their rights to vote, education and economic wellbeing. The group went as far as assassinating a congressman, J. M. Hinds and members of the legislature who were Republicans. Roughly 2,000 people were reported dead in Louisiana in 1968 just before the elections which followed a boycott by Republicans from voting in Fall of that year (Parker 63). The s ame actions were happening in other southern states leaving hundreds dead in the woods and thousands injured. By 1871, Acts had been passed that made it possible to prosecute the group’s crimes. In 1974 Klan groups reformed targeting Republicans by removing them from office through violence and intimidation. These actions were largely attributed to the landslide victory by Democrats in the South back in 1877 (78). KKK - 1915-1944 This Klan rekindled the ones that had died four decades earlier. The origin was in Georgia where its functions were largely concentrated. However, as time went by new recruits joined across the nation and the group leaders notably William Simmons realized the potential they had and immediately started fresh recruitment drives all over United States (Dray 113). This was a time of prosperity in the country and they found it easy to gain many affluent members. Apart from being heavily racist KKK had messages that were anti-Catholicism. They also preache d against communism and Semitism. The group increasingly became violent towards these groups or people affiliated to them regardless of their race. This KKK had a definite structure at both national and state levels and by 1925 the group widely publicized claims that its membership comprised of more than 15 percent of the total US population. These claims were however refuted as they had no scientific or factual basis. They were mere

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Foundations and Earthworks Problems

Foundations and Earthworks Problems a) There are four types of foundation loads as follow: Firstly, live loads. Live loads is produced by the users of a home. Example, people, furniture, storage items. The affects of the load is exert force on almost all of a house’s. To design floor systems that limit deflection vibration. Secondly, dead load. That means, forces incurred due to the weight of all the materials used in construction of a home. For examples, roof, ceiling, floor, wall partition. The affects of the this load is a constant over the life of the structure. Big impacts on the long-term deflection/creep of framing members. Thirdly, wind load. Positives or negatives pressures exerted on a house when it obstructs the flow of moving air. The affects of wind load is depends on : location, height, and roof pitch. Fourthly, seismic load. Seismic load that means the inertial forces acting on a house due to earthquake-induced ground motions. The affects of seismic load all components of a frame and shear-resis ting elements are most affected. b) The two types of foundation are as follows: i) Pad foundation Pad foundation is normally used as foundation to building or residential building not exceeding four storeys on stiff soil such as gravel. Most of the said buildings are framed structure. The pad foundation is built if the load supported by the column is small. A pad foundation is the base of a column. The size of pad foundation depends on the size of load to be carried and load bearing capacity of the soil. The pad foundation is not suitable for large and high-rise building because it needs to carry high load, which is not practical and uneconomical. Pad foundation ii) Raft foundation Raft foundation are used to spread the load of the superstructure over a large base to reduce the load per unit one being imposed on ground and this is particularly useful where low bearing capacity soil are encountered and where individual column load are heavy. This types of slab is known as the foundation. Raft foundation can be constructed as follows: a) solid slab raft foundation Solid slab raft foundation is constructed at the entire base of the planned building. The thickness of slab depends on applied load and strength of soil at the site. b) beam and slab raft foundation Beam and slab raft foundation is required when thickness of the designed solid slab raft foundation exceeds 300 mm. The reinforced concrete slab is constructed on the ground whereas the beams are constructed on the slab at specific locations. c) cellular in raft foundation Cellular raft foundation is establishment is built on detached soil and on soil that operation to settle uncalled for case in point unmoving mining site. In such condition, the thickness of the constructed slab may exceed 1 meter, therefore the construction of cellular raft foundation is preferable. Task 2 a) The effect of water and chemicals in the soils are there is either too much water, causing the soil to swell, or not enough, or not enough, causing the soil to shrink. If all soil beneath a foundation swells uniformly or shrinks uniformly it is unlikely to cause cracks and other damage. Most differential movement is caused by differences in soil moisture. After construction, soil moisture. After construction, soil beneath part of foundation becomes wetter or drier than the rest of the soil. The chemical can seep is contaminated with toxic materials. These toxic materials can seep into ground and eventually contaminated the water. Therefore, it is important to conserve the ground water resource so that surfaces it can be used as an alternative resource in the event that surface water is contaminated or dried during dry seasons. The treatment can be done to avoid foundation failure is the treatment process depends on properties of raw water and this properties of water can be divide d into three categories; physical, chemical and biological properties. The properties of raw water depend on impurities in it. Impurities in water can be categorized into macro and micro impurities. Macro impurities are debris such as garbage, twigs, leaves and others. Micro impurities are very fine and cannot be seen by eyes. b) The effect of subsoil movement there are different constrains that cause the development of soil and rock. Furthermore that, gravity is a significant drives that draw rock parts down inclines in occasions called mass developments. Likewise, mass developments fluctuate in their rate, force, and section size. Besides, when mass developments happens quickly, they have a tendency to be the most ruinous and emotional. In this manner, rock falls happen when rock parts tumble from soak precipices. This is the speediest kind of mass developments. Along these lines, the pieces may be as small as stones or as enormous as titan rocks. Avalanches happen when a lot of detached rock joined with soil fall abruptly down an incline. Finally, The steepness of the slant may influences the sum and the span of the rock material in the avalanches. Bigger avalanches have a tendency to happen on steeper inclines and include bigger squares of bedrock. Task 3 a) The importance of underpinning work are to transfer the load carried by an existing foundation from its presents bearing level to a new level at a lower depth. Beside that, to replace an existing weak foundation. In construction, underpinning is the process of strengthening and stabilizing the foundation of an existing building or other structure. The reason for underpinning are as follows: the original foundation is simply not strong or stable enough. The usage of the structure has changed. The properties of soil supporting the foundation may have changed (possibly through subsidence) or were mischaracterized during design. The construction of nearby structures necessitates the excavation of soil supporting existing foundations. It is more economical, due to land price or otherwise, to work on the present structure’s foundation than to build a new one. b) The precaution steps before underpinning works are as follow before impleting suitable underpinning measures the accompanying vital focuses ought to be precisely went to : Firstly, the existing structure ought to be completely inspected painstakingly and proper underpinning strategy ought to be embraced. Besides, all poor stone work, for example, joints, breaks, putting ought to be amended in the recent past. Thirdly, fundamental shoring and struting ought to be carried out such that current structure is sheltered. Forward, Urgent repair like grouting of splits, insertion of pole between dividers. Other than, ought to be completed before beginning underpinning. Fifth, satisfactory consideration ought to be taken to guarantee that there ought to be no development of structure for which levels ought to be stamped. Sixth, underpinning procedure is not a science yet a symbolization ought to be practiced relying upon the circumstances. Underpinning works Task 4 a) i) Trench excavation Trench excavation in development industry is something that specialists ought to be prepared on keeping in mind the end goal to avoid disaster. So as to work securely in the region of trenches or unearthings managements and workers need to character perils connected with trenching and unearthing work, evaluate hazard and dispose of or minimize those danger in the recent past, throughout and after the execution of work. Trenches and unearthings  greatest danger is the likelihood of breakdown because of precariousness. Before starting work in a trench, unearthing or limited space on a development site laborers ought to perform an audit to figure out if it is completely important to work in the trench/exhuming, bound space. Trench excavation ii) Basement excavation A basement excavation is a development burrow performed for the mean of unpredictable out a cellar. There are a few settings in which storm cellar uncovering may be performed. This procedure is usually supervised by an experienced contractor or a basement excavation company, because it can be complicated in addition to labor intensive. While it is possible to excavate by hand, there are some serious risks which must be carefully evaluated before taking the plunge. Besides that, the best time to do a basement excavation is when a home site is being prepared. In this case, the site is already being excavated in preparation for laying the foundations. Therefore, if people want a basement, the depth of the excavation can be deepened to rough out the basement so that the basement and foundations can be form at the same time. Thus, this can be a way to add room to a structure without adding height, and some people leave the basement unfinished to cut costs while protect that they will have that space accessible at a later time if they need it. This basement was built to the same footprint as the house above, which in turn was the footprint of the pair of semis that had been there before, plus a room at the back. The planning permission limited the basement to a railway carriage-shape down the middle so the client said he would block off what he didnt have permission for to put it out of use. (No talking in the ranks, the cynical amongst you should believe that he did so). The area at this endwas for a stairwell. The area at the far end for a window well.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Computers and Health :: Technology Papers

For my I-Search topic I chose to research health related issues due to increased computer usage both in the work and home settings. Computer technology is becoming commonplace in the work field. As a teacher, I use the computer to present topics to my students, enter grades, send email to co-workers and parents, and to post homework assignments on the Internet. Ten years ago, teachers and other professionals used computers on a limited basis. I became interested in the side effects caused by prolonged usage of computers since several family members complain of wrist soreness as well as eyestrain due to the effects of monitor radiation. Carpal tunnel syndrome is the first term that comes to mind when thinking of problems that people experience with computer use regarding their hands. Based on my limited knowledge of this topic, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs due to a persons prolonged usage of a computer keyboard. Problems of this sort occur more often due to poor ergonomics and posture. Computer office furniture that does not allow one to adjust the height of the chair or keyboard, so that the arms form a write angle at the elbow, cause strain on the wrist, which may result in carpal tunnel syndrome. People who use computers for long periods of time without giving themselves a break and flexing their wrist have a higher propensity of developing problems. Monitor radiation has been discussed throughout computer journals for years. I have learned that different monitors have higher or lower radiation levels. Monitors made overseas are generally considered to have a lower radiation level than those built in the United States. For example, as an engineer the Management Information Services (MIS) unit told us that NEC monitors had much lower radiation levels than IBM monitors. After sitting at a computer during my eleven-year career as a Civil Engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, I often found that headaches at the end of the day were common. My eyes felt strained due to the looking at a monitor for an extended period of time. Over the years as an engineer I bought various types of glare screens for my computer monitor. Even though I doubt the glare screens help with the reduction of radiation given off by the monitors, they do seem to help with eyestrain. Throughout this paper, I hope to discover ways to minimize or prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and the negative effects of monitor radiation on ones health.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Film Review: All Quiet on the Western Front Essay

After being put through training camp under the harsh command of Corporal Himmelstoss, the group of friends is shipped out to the front lines. It is there that they see firsthand the tragic and often bloody effects of war. The film as a whole is told from the point of view of the Germans, which in my personal opinion takes away the romanticism that other films depicting this time period tended to include, and gave the movie more appeal because of what I felt was a more realistic, and less biased depiction. In All Quiet on the Western, we are given perspective from that of young German soldiers, and in providing the audience with this perspective, the Germans are humanized. This films message emphasizes the harsh reality of war, the fact that it took a toll on the ‘enemy’ as well, how pointless WW1 really was, and how preventable it could have been. After being persuaded to enlist in the army by their impassioned teacher Kantorek, Paul and his fellow classmates are quickly sent off to basic training. While there, they are under the command of the sadistic Himmelstoss. He is charged with training the young men, and does that but has an unfortunate penchant for harshly punishing anyone for even the smallest mistake. When their training is completed, the men are sent to the front lines, where they are put under the charge of Stanislaus Katczinsky. Katczinsky proves to be a much fairer and pleasant leader then Himmelstoss. It is by him that the boys are taught what is most important in the war and how to achieve it: staying alive. With an increasing number of encounters with the enemy, comes an increasing amount of casualties. After losing many of his friends throughout the efforts of war, and being injured himself, Paul returns home. But when there, finds himself uncomfortable with his old life, and readily returns to the front lines. Although I enjoyed the general premise of the plot, which in my knowledge seemed fairly realistic, there were several scenes and developments in the plot that I felt dragged on too long. One of which was when the boys were sent off to training camp, I felt that much of their time there that was shown was just them learning the same basic things over and over again, and this seemed to take up a reasonable amount of time without any real plot development. Overall, Paul’s transition from an innocent to a weary man knowledgeable in the ways of war is good as pot overall, but there were certain developments that tended to drag on pointlessly and had somewhat of a dulling effect on the movie. I have very limited knowledge on what a person who experienced, or had been in the process of experiencing WW1 should have been like, therefore my opinion on the following is just that of my personal opinion. I’m not sure if this really pertains to the actors and the portrayal of their character, but the majority of the characters in the film seemed to be very muted in their expression of opinion and emotions except for that of the character of Himmelstoss, who came off as more of a caricature. Although Richard Thomas does a decent enough job at giving his character some depth in his portrayal, such as the scene when Paul is left with only the company of a French soldier who is half alive because of previously being stabbed by Paul, this seems to serve as the only real look that we get at his inner turmoil. The direction in which the director has taken also seems somewhat stinted and drawn out. The issues pertaining to the war are addressed, but when being addressed are either paid extreme attention, or none at all. An example of the latter would be when Paul’s fellow soldier joins him in the hospital after having had his leg amputated. The film focuses on this plot development for such a drawn out amount, that the significance of it is somewhat lost. In contrast, there is a scene where Paul is witness to a fellow soldier suffering from the effects of mustard gas, and he seems like he is hardly affected by this brief occurrence, which is never mentioned again. From what I can tell the script was well written in accordance to the situation, and the narrations by Paul served to further the story rather then hinder it. Although at times the dialogue seemed somewhat lacking, I feel that during such situations dialogue would realistically be lacking. Considering that All Quiet on the Western front is a made for TV movie from the late 70’s, I can’t really get to into it’s technical quality. There were a few things though that I thought could have been improved in that area. One of which was the overall editing of the film. As I have said before, there were some seems that didn’t serve to further the movie at all, and some that were extended to a point of boredom. An example of such an instance were many of the battle scenes, which just seemed to drag on. The battle scenes also exhibited another flaw in the technical aspect of the movie, which was the exclusion of actual blood from the battle scenes. The lack of blood when it came to the battle scenes gave the film more of a contrived feel. The view that was afforded during the battle scenes was not the best either, the camera having a tendency to shy away when anything too gruesome, such as a bomb going off would occur. In this respect though it did allow the quality of sound affects to prevail, providing our imagination with at least some sense of the battlefield. As film overall, the film paints a picture and concludes in a way that stresses and conveys the director and writer’s point: The needless innocence was lost in a war that could have very well been avoided. Although the scenes tend to drag on in certain points, everything of importance is included in the film, which is better then leaving too many things out. The character in the film effectively play the role of the soldier, but can be lacking in certain parts, which leaves me confused as to if this is purposeful or not. The film could have shown more of the gory effects of war to really convey the severity of it to the audience, and could have delved deeper into it’s effects on the characters rather then pointlessly dragging on. But overall these things do not discourage the film from conveying it’s overall point, and the generally plot is one that is fresh and surprisingly enlightening.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Introducing Customer Services Essay

Introduction In this assignment I will be writing about the importance of having good communication skills in customer service. I was assigned to a two week work placement at Superdrug where I had to deal with different types of customers and their needs and expectations. I also was instructed by the supervisor to give good customer care and service to customers. Task 3 Explanation of what a customer is Customers are people or businesses who pay for goods and services or benefit from a particular business. People such as: * The elderly * Teenagers * Disabled * Insurance companies * Banks * Cleaners Task 4 In this task I will be explaining the meaning of internal customers. I will also be giving examples of what an internal customer is. Internal customers Internal customers are those people and employees who might use a company’s services and products. Examples of internal customers are: Store Manager The store Manager is an internal customer because he/she benefits from the company when the company gets sales. They also may get a pay rise if the business does really well. The manger depends on the business to get sales, if the business does badly the manger is then at risk of losing money or getting sacked. Security guard The security guard is an internal customer, for his/her service of making sure goods are not thieved from the store he/she benefits from the business by getting a months salary and also may get discounts from the business. Cleaners The cleaner’s job is to make sure that everything in the shop is clean and presentable. The cleaner benefits from this by getting a monthly salary and may get a discount on the products he/she buys from the business. Task 5 In this task I will be explaining the meaning of external customers. I will also be giving examples of what an external customer is. External customers An external customer is an individual or business outside of the company who receives goods or services from that particular company. For example: Banks Banks are external customer because they benefit from the money that is given by companies. They benefit from this money because when the money is given to the bank the bank loans the money to other companies and make profits off of it e.g.(interest). Suppliers The suppliers are external customers because they provide the products for the businesses and the businesses therefore buy the products from them. The suppliers make a profit from that money used to pay for the product which enables the people who work with the supplier to get a salary. People People are external because they buy products from the business and in return they get good service and quality products. Task 6 Customers at Superdrug and their needs and expectations In this task I will be identifying 4 types of customers I came across while working at Superdrug and what their needs and expectations were. While on my work experience I came across a range of different customers such as: * The elderly * Disabled * Teenager I didn’t come across the external customers who are: * The cleaners * Bank * The manager * Insurance company Internal customer needs at Superdrug Store Manager The store Manager needs to come to the store and buy product in-order for him/her to get paid. The manager also needs employees to come to work early in-order for the store to open if no-one comes in to work the business will have to get closed down and the manager will lose his job. He/she also needs holiday entitlement Security guard The security guard needs to get paid for his/her services. Him/her also need to have at least one lunch break and needs to be useful e.g. (watching out for thieves). External customer needs at Superdrug Bank The bank needs Superdrug to put more money into it that they take out so the bank can make profits. The bank also needs the money to get into the bank on-time and always have some of that money in the bank. Insurance company The needs of the insurance company are for Superdrugs to pay them. Elderly To meet customer needs knowledge of the products are necessary. A lot of elderly customers come in to the store for the in-store pharmacy, the customers brings their prescription to the counter and or they may ask you for something you will have to understand what they need so that the customer can purchase the product. The customers are also like to be buying the product from a decent enough price and have good quality. Teenagers Superdrug attracts a lot of teenage customers because they like to buy a lot of hair products and perfumes. They need good value for money as they don’t work to get money themselves and quality products. Internal customer expectations at Superdrug Store Manager The store Manager expects employees to come in every day and give good customer service and expects a permanent job. He/she also expects the employees to be polite and pleasant to him/her, and expects the business to look after him/her e.g.(sick pay). Security guard The security expects to be treated with respect by all staff in the store, a lot of thieves come into the store everyday and if the security is to catch one of those thieves he/she expects to be praised and maybe get a pay rise for the hard work. For his/her service of making sure goods are not thieved from the store he/she expects to benefit from the business by getting a months salary and also may get discounts from the business. External customer expectations at Superdrug Bank The bank expects Superdrug to pay their money on time and use they right forms. They also expect the money to come in regularly. Insurance company The Insurance Company expect Superdrug to pay their money on time every month and not make untrue claims because this will make the insurance company lose out on money. They also expect Superdrug to fill the form out correctly when apply for that particular company. Elderly Elderly customers expect to be treated with respect and when asking for a prescription they expect staff to be polite and the prescription to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Elderly customers also expect to have easy access around the store. Teenagers Teenagers expect good customer service from employees. They also expect the products to be of good quality and value for money. They also expect for the product that they want is always available. Task 7 Customer’s expectations at Superdrug are quiet high and are always increasing. While on my work experience I came across many different types of customer, below are just a few examples of customers I came across in the business and what their needs and expectation were. Task 8 Why you have to present yourself appropriately and prepare your work area before customers arrive in Superdrug. In this task I will be explaining why it is important that staff present themselves appropriately and prepare their work area before customers arrive. In Superdrug the majority of customers are members of the public, the appearance of both the staff and the premises are very important. It is important in a retail business that staff pays attention to their appearance because customers expect you to be smartly dressed, and also to be approachable this includes having good hygiene. It is important that I had a positive attitude towards customers so that they may feel welcome to return back to the store and buy products. Knowledge of products and services is also very important because customers won’t always know about the product so they would seek advice from staff. In Superdrug it is important that the work area is clean and tidy before customers arrive to provide a pleasant and sufficient environment to give the impression to the customers that the store is well looked after. It is important that equipment is easily accessible to those who need to use it. For example the tills would be turned on and appropriate amount of cash put in, and televisions advertising certain products so that customers can buy them. The work tops will also be cleaned before customers arrive. It is also important to keep store safe for customers at all times this can be done by making sure that the till area is always tidy and making sure the walking areas no obstructions such as boxes and plastic wrappers left from staff stacking items. There would also be security staff protecting the store. Task 9 How Superdrug staff prepare themselves and their work area for customer service In this task I will be describing how staff in Superdrug prepares themselves and their work area for customer service. Staff Positive attitude While on my work experience I had positive attitude when dealing with customers and was enthusiastic about the products I was selling. It is also important that I was polite and understood the customer’s needs so that the customer will be happy to buy the product I was describing to them. Personal presentation In Superdrug it was expected of me to be professionally presented. The customers will have certain expectations including being approached by staff that is clean, smartly dressed and has good personal hygiene. Dress code I was instructed by the manager to arrive at the Superdrug wearing a smart black blouse with smart black trouser and black shoes (no trainers). It is also expected of me to have clean hair and brushed teeth so my breath does not smell while talking to customers. Posture It was important that I had good posture which means standing up straight and looking confident so that you look approachable by customers. If I did not have a good posture for example slouching with my hands in my pocket customers may think I can’t be bothered and I don’t care about my job, therefore customers will not feel comfortable approaching me. Personal space It is important that when I was talking to a customer face to face that I was to stand at least arms length away from them. Standing closer than the recommended length is invading that customer’s personal space and they may feel uncomfortable. Standing further away from the customer may give them the impressions that you are either scared or you don’t have time for them. First impressions First impression of a business is very important. If a shop is first opening and the shop floor is dirty and staff looks scruffy, the customers may think the business is not run properly and may not get the chance to see the products. The customers will see the dirt and poor appearance of the staff and will expect the product to be poor quality. Knowledge of products and services Customers expect staff to know about the products and services that the retail outlet provides. It is important that staff familiarise themselves with the layout of the shop floor, this will enable staff to provide information regarding products (e.g. product whereabouts). While on my work experience at Superdrugs it was required of me to have knowledge of the section I was working in and also know other sections around the store, I was given a sheet of paper showing everything that was in the store and where they were. By the end of the day I knew where every thing was on the shop floor, when customers approached me asking where a particular item was, I was able to tell them straight away. It helped to have the section I was given to work in because I had a lot of knowledge of those products as I am always buying those products myself. Organisations guidelines and standards required for customer service It is essential that Superdrug have a customer service policy that states the required standard for customer service. This ensures that employees know what to do when they are dealing with customers and will help them provide a high standard of customer care. Teamwork It is important that staff are good at working as a team, this can improve your customer service skills as you would have to use the same skills in order to build a good relationship with your team workers. For example listening skills, negotiation skills and assertiveness. Teamwork involves sharing ideas and working together, for example in Superdrug on the pharmacy counter processing customers prescriptions is customer service staff working with each other the till staff send prescription info to a computer behind the scenes, the prescription is then processed and given to the customer. Work area Appropriate equipment In Superdrug it is important that the work area is clean and tidy before customers arrive to provide a pleasant and sufficient environment to give the impression to the customers that the store is well looked after. It is important that equipment is easily accessible to those who need to use it. For example the tills would be turned on and appropriate amount of cash put in, and televisions advertising certain products so that customers can buy them. Safe and tidy work area It is important in that Superdrug keep the work area clean and tidy. I did this by making sure that I cleaned up my rubbish after stacking the shelves. If the store is not kept safe and tidy it could cause hazards and may result in customers injuring themselves. It is also important that the workplace is kept tidy because staff may find it is easier to lose important documents. Efficient use of space It is important that in Superdrug there is enough space for all types of customers to walk about with. For example mothers with buggies and disabled people in wheelchairs. It is also important that items displayed on the shelves are easy reach by customers of average height. Remember high shelves can make it hard for shorter people to reach. Health and safety By law all employees/staff are required to take responsibility of their own health and safety and that of other e.g. (customers). It is also important that when staff use equipment they clean up after themselves or put the equipment in its rightful place. For example, when stacking out items on the shelves make sure the boxes or the products wrapping is not obstructing the aisles, this could cause a customer to trip and injure themselves. Fire safety It is important that staff follow the procedures of fire safety. All members of staff should know what to do in an event of fire and where the equipment is, for example marked fire exits, emergency evacuation procedures and fire extinguishers. While on my work experience on the first day I was shown all the nearest fire exits and it was explained to me what I should do in an event of fire. There was a practice fire alarm and it was my job to make sure that all customers were safe and evacuated the building immediately. Accident It is important that all staff in Superdrug no what to do in case of an accident to an employee or customer. If a customer or employee has been injured it is important that you notify an appropriate member of staff e.g. (manager, first aider). If the injury severe you should dial 999 and ask for an ambulance. Task10 Health and Safety risks in the workplace Task 11 In this task I will identifying four possible hazards found in Superdrug. Four possible hazards in Superdrug Poor maintenance Slips, trip and falls Fire exits Smoking Task 12 In this task I will be identifying the potential hazards and risk in Superdrug. I will also be explaining how the hazards and risks could harm employees and customers. Hazards Risks Poor Maintenance If shelves are broken and not repaired quickly. A customer might want an item which is on a high shelf not knowing that is broken they will pick up the item and the products could fall on the customer which may cause an injury. If shelves are broken and not repaired quickly. An employee can be stacking the shelves not knowing the shelf is broken they will stack items on there and the shelves will collapse onto the person causing an injury. Slips, Trips and Falls If the floor has just been cleaned and a hazard sign has not been put up. A customer could walk into the store not knowing the floor is wet, they would then walk in that wet area and slip and injure them self. If an employee has just finished their task of unpacking products and stacking them on the shelves and they leave the rubbish on the floor, another employee could walk by not knowing the rubbish is there, the could trip over rubbish and fall and injure themselves. Fire exits If the fire exits are not clearly labelled for customers in an event of fire customers could be a great danger. If employees leave their boxes and rubbish in front of the fire exits in an event of fire people won’t be able to get out of the building and will then result in a lot of staff and customers getting injured. Smoking It is important that customers do not smoke in the building because if they are to drop the cigarette on the floor without putting out, this could cause the building to set on fire and put a lot of lives in danger. If employees are to smoke in the building they at risk of injuring themselves and others around them, everyone around them will be breathing in second hand smoke which could damage their body severely. The employee is also at risk of causing a fire and getting sacked. Task 15 In this task I will be explaining the meaning of communication. The meaning of communication Communication is when people interact with each other and share information. For example, while on my work experience I listened to customer’s needs and what they had to say which is that they wanted to buy a 3 mobile, then I gave back the right information on products and services in order for them to buy the products they wanted. Task 16 Why it is important to have good communication skills It is important to have a good level of communication skills because in the retail industry a large proportion of the work is dealing with customers verbally. Customers expect retail staff to be helpful, polite and to be well presented. Retail staff are required to have a good level of spoken English in order to understand customer needs and to be able to clearly provide information on request. Throughout my work experience I think I had very good communication skills towards customers I feel that I showed that I was enthusiastic about what I was doing. And there for customers would not hesitate to approach me. In the end it is important that the customers get what they want, the business then makes money and customers will be happy to return to the store. Task 17 In this task I will be explaining 3 types of communication I came across when approaching staff in a business Verbal communication One example of verbal communication that I came across as a customer was that when I asked a member of staff for a particular item they explain very clearly where the item was and they were very welcoming and polite Non-verbal communication One example of non-verbal communication that I came across was that when I tried to approach a member of staff in a store they didn’t even make eye contact with me they just pointed to a section of the store. Body language One example of body language that I came across is that when I tried to ask a till cashier for some information they just shrugged their shoulders with an angry face like I done something wrong. Task 18 In this task I will be identifying six communication skills and why they are important Appropriate spoken English It is important to have appropriate spoken English in Superdrug. While on my work experience it was important that I was polite to customers and that my language was clear and straightforward so that customers would fell comfortable buying the products and to return back to the store. Level and tone of voice When speaking to customers it was important that I pay close attention to my level and tone of voice. For example, if my tone of voice is too loud the customer may think I am being angry towards them. The level of voice should be balanced, not too loud and not too quiet. Welcoming In Superdrug it is important to be welcoming and friendly. For example, I welcomed every customer that came into the store and ask if they needed any help finding anything. This encourage .customers to return to the store/ Listening In Superdrug it was important that I know how to listen to customers. I made sure that I listened to the customer’s needs and what they wanted. I showed that I understood the customers and didn’t interrupt them unnecessarily. Assisting It is important to offer and give help to customers. While on my work experience I made sure I did this. For example, opening doors for customers with lots of bags, this will encourage customers to come back to the store. I also offered to get products from high shelves and if the customer was looking for a product that my store didn’t sell I advised them on what others stores would sell the product. Questioning Questioning is very important in customer services in Superdrug. When customers first enter the store the first contact with them was in form of a question. For example, ‘how can I help you Sir/Miss?’ or ‘what are you looking for?’ Questioning helped me find out the needs of the customer. Which then gave me information on what they needed, to ask another question like, ‘what is your budget for this item?’. M3 How can I provide good customer care and services? In this task I will be describing how I can provide consistent customer care and services. Good customer care It is important in Superdrug that customers are satisfied with the way they have been treated; giving good customer care and loyalty will attract more customers to the store and keep Superdrug in business. Giving good customer care means being polite and helpful to customers. It is important that I listen carefully to customers and ask them questions so I get an understanding of what the customer wants so that I can get the right products for the customer. Having a positive attitude towards customers is mostly important because without a positive attitude customers will receive a negative vibe and therefore will not feel comfortable with me serving them. For example, while on my work experience customers asked for products that were no sold at the Superdrug store, instead of saying ‘we don’t have that’ I recommended them to a store that might have it. It is important when providing customers with information that I am clear and accurate about the product and that I confirm that the customer understands the information I have supplied. It is good to remember that when a customer enters the store, try and give customers more than they pay for. Good customer services When customers enter the store they should be assisted. In Superdrug every customer that entered the store was given information on the products that were sold there and the products features. It is important in Superdug to provide after sales care such as refund and guarantees. Communicating with customers is an essential part of customer service. This includes letting them know what services are available and making sure they are happy with the product I have sold to them. Good customer service in Superdrug attracts more customers and increases sales. It also improves the business reputation which means more customers just through recommendations. For example, two main factors that contribute to its business success are Superdrugs commitment to high standard of service and the expertise of its staff. To maintain these standards and keep staff up to date with new products Superdrug invests in training. D2 The importance of providing good customer care and services Importance of good Customer service Customer service is the provision of care to customers from pre-service to after sales service. It may be face-to-face, over the telephone, written or via new technology using e-mail and the Internet. Superdrug use customer care to create an overall impression of an organisation that puts the needs of the customer first, to ensure quality and increase sales over competititors. Increasingly, Superdrug have customer services departments or customer services desks whose job is to ensure the efficient process of delivering customer care, including provision for those customers with special needs. Superdrug produce literature, which outlines their Customer Care Policy or Charter; this may include their policy on refunds, warranties, after sales service and how to make a complaint. Customer service is very important part of any business organisation. Bibliography BTEC introduction business-published by Heinemann in 2005 Heinemann Educational Publishers Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8EJ ISBN 978 0 435401 21 4 John Ruskin college intranet site Superdrug 452-456 Brixton Rd

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Overview of the Children of Helen of Troy

Overview of the Children of Helen of Troy   In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful (mortal) woman in the world, the Face That Launched a Thousand Ships. But what was it like having her as a mother? Was she a Mommie Dearest nightmare or a doting dame†¦or somewhere in between? Hermione the Heartbreaker Helen’s most famous child is her daughter, Hermione, whom she had with her first husband, Menelaus of Sparta. Her mother abandoned little Hermy to run off with the Trojan Prince Paris; as Euripides tells us in his tragedy Orestes: She was â€Å"the little daughter she had left behind when she sailed off with Paris to Troy.† Orestes, Helen’s nephew, says that, while Helen was â€Å"away† and Menelaus was chasing her down, Hermione’s aunt Clytemnestra (Helen’s half-sister) raised the little girl. But Hermione was fully-grown by the time Telemachus paid Menelaus a visit in the Odyssey. As Homer recounts, â€Å"He was sending Hermione as bride to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, that breaker of ranks of men, for he had promised her to him, and sworn an oath at Troy, and now the gods brought it about.† The Spartan princess was quite the looker, just like her mom- Homer claims her â€Å"beauty was golden Aphrodite’s†- but that marriage didn’t last. Other sources have different accounts of Hermione’s marriage. In Orestes, she’s promised to Neoptolemus, but Apollo proclaims that her cousin Orestes- who holds her hostage for her father’s good behavior in the play- will wed her. Apollo tells Orestes, â€Å"Furthermore, Orestes, your Fate declares that you will marry the woman at whose throat you are holding your sword. Neoptolemus, who thinks that he will marry her, will not do so.† Why is that? Because Apollo prophesies Neoptolemus will kick the bucket at the god’s sanctuary of Delphi when the young man goes to ask for â€Å"satisfaction for the death of Achilles, his father.† Hermione the Home-Wrecker? In another of his plays, Andromache, Hermione has become a shrew, at least as it related to how she treated Andromache. That woman was the widow of the Trojan hero Hector, enslaved after the war and forcibly â€Å"given† to Neoptolemus as his concubine. In the tragedy, Andromache complains, â€Å"My lord abandoned my bed, the bed of a slave, and married the Spartan Hermione, who now torments me with her cruel abuse.† Why did the wife hate her hubby’s slave? Hermione accuses Andromache â€Å"of using drugs of magic powers against her, of making her barren and of making her husband despise her.† Andromache adds, â€Å"She says I’m trying to force her out of the palace so that I can take over as its rightful mistress.† Then, Hermione proceeds to mock Andromache, dubbing her a barbarian and making fun of her plight as her husband’s slave, cruelly quipping, â€Å"And so, I can speak to you all as a free woman, indebted to no one!† Andromache fires back that Hermione was as much of a shrew as her mom: â€Å"Wise children must avoid the habits of their evil mothers!† In the end, Hermione regrets her heinous words against Andromache and her sacrilegious plots to pull the Trojan widow from the sanctuary of Thetis (Neoptolemus’s divine grandmother), violating the right of sanctuary Andromache had invoked by clinging to Thetis’s statue. An undercover Orestes arrives on the scene, and Hermione, fearful of her hubby’s retribution, pleads with him to help her get away from her husband, whom she thinks will punish her for plotting to kill Andromache and her kid by Neoptolemus.   Hermione beseeches her cousin, â€Å"I beg you, Orestes, in the name of our mutual father, Zeus, take me away from here!† Orestes agrees, claiming Hermione actually belonged to him because they were engaged before her father promised her to Neoptolemus, but Orestes was in a bad way- having killed his mom and being cursed for it- at the time. At the end of the play, not only does Orestes take Hermione away with him, but he also plots to ambush Neoptolemus at Delphi, where he’ll kill the king and make Hermione his wife. Off-screen, they get married; with hubby number two, Orestes, Hermione had a son named Tisamenus. The kid didn’t have such good luck when it came to being a king; the descendants of Heracles kicked him out of Sparta. Under-the-Radar Rugrats What about Helen’s other children? Some versions of her story feature her abduction at an early age by the Athenian king Theseus, who’d sworn a pact with his BFF Pirithous that each of them would abduct a daughter of Zeus. The poet Stesichorus claims that Theseus’s rape of Helen produced a little girl, Iphigenia, whom Helen gave to her sister to raise to maintain her own virginal image; that was the same girl whom her purported father, Agamemnon, sacrificed to get to Troy. So Helen’s daughter may have been murdered to get her mother back. Most versions of Helen’s tale, though, feature Hermione as Helen’s only child. In the eyes of the heroic Greeks, that would’ve made Helen a failure at her one and only job: producing a male child for her husband. Homer mentions in the Odyssey that Menelaus made his illegitimate son Megapenthes his heir, noting that â€Å"his son [was] the dearly beloved child of a slave, for the gods, gave Helen no more issue, once she had borne that lovely girl Hermione.† But one ancient commentator says that Helen had two kids: â€Å"Hermione and her youngest-born, Nicostratus, a scion of Ares.† Pseudo-Apollodorus confirms, â€Å"Now Menelaus had by Helen a daughter Hermione and, according to some, a son Nicostratus.† A later commentator suggests Helen and Menelaus had another little boy, Pleisthenes, whom she took with her when she fled to Troy, adding that Helen also bore Paris a son named Aganus. Another account mentions that Helen and Paris had three kids- Bunomus, Corythus, and Idaeus- but sadly, these boys died when the roof of the family home in Troy collapsed. R.I.P. Helen’s boys.

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to Structure an Essay

How to Structure an Essay If youve been tasked with  writing an essay  for a class assignment, the project might seem daunting. However, your assignment doesnt have to be a hair-pulling, frazzled all-nighter. Think of writing an essay as if you were  making a hamburger. Imagine the parts of a burger:  Theres a bun (bread) on top and a bun on the bottom. In the middle, youll find the meat.   Your introduction is like the top bun announcing the subject, your supporting paragraphs are the beef in the middle, and your conclusion is the bottom bun, supporting everything. The condiments would be the specific  examples  and  illustrations  that can help to  clarify  key points and keep your writing interesting. (Who, after all, would eat a burger composed only of bread and beef?) Each part needs to be present: A soggy or missing bun would cause your fingers to slip immediately into the beef without being able to hold and enjoy the burger. But if your burger had no beef in the middle, youd be left with two dry pieces of bread. The Introduction Your  introductory paragraphs  introduce the reader to your topic. For example, you might choose to write an essay titled, Technology Is Changing Our Lives. Start your introduction with a  hook  that captures the readers attention: Technology is taking over our lives and changing the world. After you introduce your topic and draw the reader in, the most important part of your introductory paragraph(s) would be you  the main idea, or  thesis. The Little Seagull Handbook calls this a statement that introduces your main point, identifying your topic. Your thesis statement could read: Information technology has revolutionized the way we work. But, your topic can be more varied and may cover seemingly mundane subjects, such as this opening paragraph from  Mary Zeiglers  How to Catch River Crabs. Zeigler grabs the readers attention  from the first sentence: As a lifelong crabber (that is, one who catches crabs, not a chronic complainer), I can tell you that anyone who has patience and a great love for the river is qualified to join the ranks of crabbers.​ The final sentences of your introduction, then, would be a mini-outline of what your essay will cover. Dont use an outline form, but explain briefly all the key points you intend to discuss in narrative form. Supporting Paragraphs Extending the hamburger essay theme, the  supporting paragraphs  would be beef. These would include well-researched and logical points that support your thesis. The  topic sentence  of each paragraph might serve as the reference points of your mini-outline. The topic  sentence, which is often  at the beginning of a  paragraph, states or suggests the main idea (or  topic) of a paragraph. Bellevue College in Washington state shows how to write  four different supporting paragraphs on four different topics: a description of a beautiful day; savings and loan and bank failures; the writers father; and, the writers joke-playing cousin. Bellevue explains that your supporting paragraphs should provide rich, vivid imagery, or logical and specific supporting details, depending on your topic. A perfect supporting paragraph for the technology topic, discussed previously, could draw on current events. In its Jan. 20-21, 2018, weekend edition, The Wall Street Journal ran an article titled, Digital Revolution Upends Ad Industry: A Divide Between Old Guard and New Tech Hires. The article described in searing detail, how one of the worlds biggest ad agencies lost a major Mcdonalds advertising account to a relative upstart  because the fast-food chain felt the older agency was not adept enough at using data to quickly produce online ads and target minute slices of its customer base. The younger, hipper, agency, by contrast, had worked with Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Incs Google to assemble a team of data experts. You could use this news story to illustrate how technology- and a need for workers who understand it and are able to use it- is taking over the world and is changing entire industries. The Conclusion Just as a hamburger needs a durable bottom bun to contain all the ingredients inside, your essay needs a strong conclusion to support and buttress your points. You can also think of it as the  closing argument  a prosecutor might make in a criminal court case. The closing arguments section of a trial takes place when the prosecution attempts to strengthen the evidence she presented to the jury.  Even though the prosecutor likely provided solid and compelling arguments and evidence during the trial, it isnt until the closing arguments that she ties it all together. In the same way, youll restate your main points in the conclusion in reverse order of how you listed them in your introduction. Some sources call this an upside-down triangle: The intro was a triangle that was right-side up, where you started with a short, razor sharp point- your hook- which then fanned out slightly to your topic sentence and broadened further with your mini-outline. The conclusion, by contrast, is an upside-down triangle that starts by broadly reviewing the evidence- the points you made in your supporting paragraphs- and then narrows to your topic sentence and a restatement of your hook. In this way, youve logically explained your points, restated your main idea, and left readers with a zinger that hopefully convinces them of your point of view. Source Bullock, Richard. The Little Seagull Handbook with Exercises. Michal Brody, Francine Weinberg, Third edition, W. W. Norton Company, December 22, 2016.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Convert Fahrenheit to Kelvin

How to Convert Fahrenheit to Kelvin Fahrenheit and Kelvin are two common temperature scales. The Fahrenheit scale is used in the United States, while Kelvin is an absolute temperature scale, used worldwide for scientific calculations. While you might think this conversion wouldnt occur much, it turns out there is a lot of scientific and engineering equipment that uses the Fahrenheit scale! Fortunately, it is easy to convert Fahrenheit to Kelvin. Fahrenheit to Kelvin Method #1 Subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature.Multiply this number by 5.Divide this number by 9.Add 273.15 to this number. The answer will be the temperature in Kelvin. Note that while Fahrenheit has degrees, Kelvin does not. Fahrenheit to Kelvin Method #2 You can use the conversion equation to perform the calculation. This is especially easy if you have a calculator that allows you to enter the whole equation, but its not difficult to solve by hand. TK (TF 459.67) x 5/9 For example, to convert 60 degrees Fahrenheit to Kelvin: TK (60 459.67) x 5/9 TK 288.71 K Fahrenheit to Kelvin Conversion Table You can also estimate a temperature by looking up the closest value on a conversion table. There is a temperature where the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales read the same temperature. Fahrenheit and Kelvin read the same temperature at 574.25. Fahrenheit (Â °F) Kelvin (K) -459.67 Â °F 0 K -50 Â °F 227.59 K -40 Â °F 233.15 K -30 Â °F 238.71 K -20 Â °F 244.26 K -10 Â °F 249.82 K 0 Â °F 255.37 K 10 Â °F 260.93 K 20 Â °F 266.48 K 30 Â °F 272.04 K 40 Â °F 277.59 K 50 Â °F 283.15 K 60 Â °F 288.71 K 70 Â °F 294.26 K 80 Â °F 299.82 K 90 Â °F 305.37 K 100 Â °F 310.93 K 110 Â °F 316.48 K 120 Â °F 322.04 K 130 Â °F 327.59 K 140 Â °F 333.15 K 150 Â °F 338.71 K 160 Â °F 344.26 K 170 Â °F 349.82 K 180 Â °F 355.37 K 190 Â °F 360.93 K 200 Â °F 366.48 K 300 Â °F 422.04 K 400 Â °F 477.59 K 500 Â °F 533.15 K 600 Â °F 588.71 K 700 Â °F 644.26 K 800 Â °F 699.82 K 900 Â °F 755.37 K 1000 Â °F 810.93 K Do Other Temperature Conversions Converting Fahrenheit to Kelvin is not the only temperature conversion you may need to be familiar with. You may want to learn to convert between Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin in any combination Celsius to FahrenheitFahrenheit to CelsiusCelsius to KelvinKelvin to FahrenheitKelvin to Celsius

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Economics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics - Coursework Example ‘Much of the competition between these oligopolistic firms is usually in terms of marketing of their particular brand’ (Sloman, pp. 197-198 2008), although the marketing techniques may differ considerably from one industry to another. There is a huge deal of interdependence between firms in an oligopoly. The abstract tells us that they have power in many ways in terms of regulating prices and agreements. The decisions made by the rivals will affect each firm. Firms, hence affecting their decisions recognize this interdependence (Sloman, pp. 197-198 2008). 2) Explain two reasons for your answer in question 1? It is an understanding that the type of the market structure is oligopolistic because of the fact that a few numbers of firms have a larger share of the market. In addition, when there are collusions as in the above case, so it shows that the type of market structure is oligopolistic. In addition, all the six companies mentioned do not always compete aggressively (Bi anco, 2011). It has been an observation that the companies have merged/collusion, which is done only in cases of an oligopoly where there are a few number of firms and they have a considerable, share in the market. It shows that ‘the policies of each company greatly influence those of the other firms, because of the few sellers present’ (World Book, Inc, pp. 735, 2007). 3) What are the 6 Firm concentration ratios for the global pesticide industry? The global pesticide industry (Swanson, pp. 52-59, 2002) is expected to have a larger ratio in the market because there are these 6 large firms only which have an edge over the market. It is expected that they will have a monopoly due the collusions that have taken place. This will result in an extensive market share (Leiberman, pp. 23-25, 2007). 4) What is meant by a cartel? Cartel is a form of collusion. There are other type of collusions like the horizontal and the vertical collusion, and the joint product development (Worl d Book, Inc, pp. 251, 2007). It is an association that is formed by various producers of a particular industry to control the market for their product. By restricting the available supply, the selling price is usually raised in a cartel. Usually, a cartel consists of privately owned companies in one country or another. Some governments may also form a cartel. In order to succeed, a cartel should be having a few members. However, the cartel must include all or most of the producers in a country to have monopoly in the product. It is necessary for the product to have less substitutes and it is favorable of the product is scarce (World Book, Inc, pp. 240-242, 2007). Like the case of chemical industry in an agriculture market. In a cartel, the selling price of a product is usually set at a higher price. In order to obtain this higher price, the cartel limits the output that is expected of each member, hence assigning each member a share of the market. There is a high probability for the cartel to fail if a large number of members cheat on these arrangements (World Book, Inc, pp. 252, 2007). 5) Give two features of the collusions by the companies There are explicit collusions and tacit collusions. In explicit collusion, it is the easiest way for firms to ensure that all the profit maximizing output will be in maintenance. Such

Friday, October 18, 2019

Lose Control in Gas and Oil Industry Term Paper

Lose Control in Gas and Oil Industry - Term Paper Example Often, these salt producers found the oil and gas that erupted along with the salt brine to be a nuisance. However, some intrepid salt manufacturers sold it for medicinal purposes, or to burn as lighting fuel. Although the natural gas industry is purported to have begun in 1821, George Bissel and Edwin L. Drake created the first drilling rig that was ever used for the specific production of oil on August 28, 1859 near Titusville, Pennsylvania. This well, named the Drake, is considered the first intentional well drilled for oil, as other wells that were drilled at the time were for salt brine or water. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ History_of_the_petroleum_industry_in_the_United_States) The drilling for oil became a phenomenon that sparked many new enterprising companies to start their own oil-related ventures. This â€Å"boom† as it commonly referred to, created a need for workers on a massive scale that was not there in the past. They now needed refineries, drilling tools an d most importantly, manpower. There was so much money to be made in the drilling and production of these new wells that loss of a man’s 2 life became known as acceptable risk, and simply turned a blind eye to the likelihood of being injured or killed. In the oilfield’s infancy, the most common cause of death for these men was the well caving in on them, fires, and explosions. It was not until the year 1900, when a Texas man by the name of Curt Hamill came up with the revolutionary idea of using mud in the hole to flush it out as they drilled, instead of water. This proved to be a remarkable act, as not only did it allow the cuttings to surface, it prevented the hole from caving in. mud is used in just about every drilling operation world wide since. (http://www.enpetroleum.com/texasoilboom.html) 2. Training and Impact on the Oil and Gas Industry In today’s oil and gas industry, there is no longer an acceptable risk hazard associated with the work itself. A singl e death is not acceptable, regardless of the circumstance. Most commonly, deaths occur from either fire or unsafe work, although there are many variables in the number of recordable deaths in the oil and gas sector each year. Given today’s higher standards, the oil and gas business have implemented a wide variety of standards, assessments, and analyses on each type of work performed. These new instructions have greatly improved the production, as well as significantly increased the health and safety of all employees involved. The training of potential employees is extensive, with much emphasis on safety procedures and equipment. They receive this training before they are allowed to enter a location where drilling or fracturing is taking place. Even with company specific training, there are still many other classes all potential and present employees must attend. These include but are not limited to fall hazards and protection, tripping hazards, pinch points, chemicals and the ir uses, confined space 3 training, among other certifications. Another key point in the training of new employees is the stress put on what is commonly called stop work authority. This enables any employee to stop work if any perceived or real unsafe condition exists, without repercussion. This can include shutting down a job completely, and cost the company millions of dollars. This was implemented to ensure safe procedures, and safe work

The Risks, Costs, and Benefits of Consumer Loan Options and Steps Research Paper

The Risks, Costs, and Benefits of Consumer Loan Options and Steps Needed To Control Costs - Research Paper Example 1.1.2 Cost of Consumer Loans There are a number of costs associated with consumer loans. These include interest, carrying charges and installment price. Before banks issues loan facility to customers, there should be a clear calculation on the amount of money to be recovered on installments basis, as well as, the amount of interest payable. All these are dependent on the amount of loan offered to the customer, the repayment period, income of the customer and interest rates as set by the financial institution. 1.1.3 Benefits of Consumer Loans One of the benefits of consumer loans is that it helps in servicing short term financial needs such as home improvements, vacations, emergency bills and wedding. It is also considered to offer security to customers. So long as an individual have acceptable credit history, the person becomes eligible for consumer loans. Similarly, a person can also use consumer loan facilities to clear previous debts thus helps in improving credit rating. Consumer loans can be used in asset acquisition. In addition, no security or collateral is required in this form of loan facility. Given that it does not require referees and other collaterals, consumer loan application takes shorter time. Finally, people poor credit history also offered the opportunity to access consumer loan facilities. 1.1.4 Steps Needed To Control Costs Consumer Loans. One of the initial steps in controlling cost of consumer loans is by adopting positive spending behavior and controlling both short term and long term personal expenditures.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Social Studies Native Amercian Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Studies Native Amercian Group - Essay Example They therefore had to migrate to regions where food was in plenty and follow migrating animals too. Climatic changes affected how communities lived and built houses in the past, and the main purpose of shelter was to get cover from harsh weather and wild animals. Winter created the need for Iroquoians to build longhouses, which were houses that had greater length than width, had no window and hosted around 30 – 60 people depending on their size. Each family had their section in the longhouse. They used wood from woodlands and elm bark to build these houses. The Algonquians also built longhouses during winter, although they also built the lighter wigwams during the warm seasons. The Iroquoians main source of food was agricultural products. They grew and ate corn and vegetables, although they also hunted animals, for example deer, and also fished in the nearby lakes and rivers. Examples of water animals they went for are the eels. Contrary to them, the Algonquians were mostly hunters and gatherers, hunting mostly the white tailed deer during winter. In summer, when the lakes were no longer frozen, they would fish for food and also kill seals for meat. They left their inland settlements during spring and built others at ocean fronts, depending on sea food and also gathering some fruits and wild vegetables (Hirschfelder, 2000). The two tribes used bows and arrows to hunt animals, although the Algonquians also used techniques such as traps and snares on small animals. Meat was eaten communally, cooked by either men or women depending on the time and occasion. Skins and fur were the main raw materials for making clothes among the Iroquoians, and these were sewn together using needles made from animal bones. Deerskin was a favorite and could be sewn into leggings and tunics. Shells and porcupine quills were dyed and used to decorate the clothes. They wove mats and baskets from tree barks and used clay for cooking

Paragraphs analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paragraphs analysis - Assignment Example Rest of the paragraph is built on the topic sentence and every sentence further builds the reader’s thought on the subject. Sentences are structured beautifully and cohesively. The paragraph is so tightly structured that the exclusion of even a sentence can damage the comprehension of the topic. Contrary to this paragraph # 1 rather starts with a slack sentence. Reader finds it hard to get into the theme of the paragraph. This cause a jerky start and reader jumps to next sentence in order to get to the bottom of the idea being presented. But one can only find the topic sentence in the last line of the paragraph. Rest of the paragraph is a product of loosely knitted sentences with least or no cohesion among ideas and elements of the paragraph. Most of the sentences are structured in a complex manner which decreases the readability of the paragraph. The sentence structure irritates the reader and he finds it hard to focus on the idea being presented. Redundant vocabulary and loo se connection between ideas and sentences also cause boredom. The relentless use of punctuation further destructs the continuity of the paragraph. Welcome to WritePoint, the automated review system that recognizes errors most commonly made by university students in academic essays. The system embeds comments into your paper and suggests possible changes in grammar and style.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Explain & discuss the stages of the online buying process from a Essay

Explain & discuss the stages of the online buying process from a consumer & site owner perspective - Essay Example As a result, the first thing a consumer looks for when he or she wants to buy a product through the internet is whether their money will be safe if they use the site. Due to this, the company should ensure that the providing security indicators that will make the consumer confident that his or her money is secure if they use the site. After a customer is contented about the security of the online buying website, they then try to establish that their privacy is protected. Another issue that customers determine during this stage is if the site has measures to ensure that their identity is safe from identity thieves. Hence, the company should ensure that customer information is treated with at most privacy ensuring that it cannot be stolen by either hackers or even the company’s staff. People are always very cautious in order not to become victims of internet scams. After the second stage, customers usually try to find out if the website facilitating online buying is a fraud or it is real deal. Due to this, the company should provide the customers with sufficient information for them to ensure that the company’s site is not a scam. Due to the issues of security, online buyers mostly use the best means of online payment. This is because it is through this that they feel their money will not be lost. This being so, the company should ensure that it accepts all the best methods of payment. It should use all the best because customer opinions on best payment methods often differ from each other. Customers try to make sure that they have all the details of the transaction that they took part. They tend to require sellers address, billings, mode of delivery among others. The company should ensure that its website provide all these details to customers to ensure that customers are satisfied with the site All these five steps will guide the company in creating a good site for online buying. However, it is

Paragraphs analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paragraphs analysis - Assignment Example Rest of the paragraph is built on the topic sentence and every sentence further builds the reader’s thought on the subject. Sentences are structured beautifully and cohesively. The paragraph is so tightly structured that the exclusion of even a sentence can damage the comprehension of the topic. Contrary to this paragraph # 1 rather starts with a slack sentence. Reader finds it hard to get into the theme of the paragraph. This cause a jerky start and reader jumps to next sentence in order to get to the bottom of the idea being presented. But one can only find the topic sentence in the last line of the paragraph. Rest of the paragraph is a product of loosely knitted sentences with least or no cohesion among ideas and elements of the paragraph. Most of the sentences are structured in a complex manner which decreases the readability of the paragraph. The sentence structure irritates the reader and he finds it hard to focus on the idea being presented. Redundant vocabulary and loo se connection between ideas and sentences also cause boredom. The relentless use of punctuation further destructs the continuity of the paragraph. Welcome to WritePoint, the automated review system that recognizes errors most commonly made by university students in academic essays. The system embeds comments into your paper and suggests possible changes in grammar and style.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Crime and punishment morally ambigous character Essay Example for Free

Crime and punishment morally ambigous character Essay Several morally ambiguous characters played different vital roles in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. In fact, most characters illustrated in this twisted novel can be evaluated as possesing good and evil qualities. Sonia Marmeladov is especially ambiguous and important in this novel. Her contradicting social and moral statuses along with her contrasting roles as a saintly liberator and sinner allowed Sonia to play a crucial role throughout the novel. Not only that but her character further strengthens the theme of religious awakening. At times Sonias character becomes hard to categorize as good or evil because of her actions. The first descriptions the reader gets of Sonia are from her drunk father, Marmeladov. She has lived her life with little money, poor housing conidtions described as having every sign of povery (294). Sonia tries to make an honest living by making linen shirts but do you suppose that a respectable poor girl can earn much by hard work? Not fifteen farthings a day can she earn(15). Not merely enough to support a family along with her drunk fathers habits. So Sonia eventually becomes a prositute in order to to support her family and gains a yellow ticket (16) This is what gained Sonia her title as a sinner and which puts her character at question. However, Marmeladov explains to Raskolnikov how Sonia goes to them mostly after dark, she comforts Katerina Ivanorna and gives her all she can( 16). This part of Sonias character depicts her as a loving daughter willing to sacrifice herself to save her family. This portrayal in some ways resembles Christ as He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. He sarcrificed himself as she sacrifies herself. Does that change the fact that she is committing a sin? No of course not and that is exactly where the conflict of her morality takes place. The world sees her in such an attire(163)which puts her to shame in her guady finery (163) Yet the reader sees a young, timid girl who was pushed to take drastic decisions in her life. It is Sonias actions which are evil but her purpose and pure soul make her more saintly than most of the characters in the novel. Because her character plays this role, it is her who helps Raskolnikov find his religious faith and who leads him to finally come clean later on in the book. Another circumstance where Sonya is morally ambiguous is where she has to decide to either have a relationship with Raskolnikov, or leave him out of the picture when he tells her that it is he who murdered the pawnbroker. Sonya knows that it is right to help Raskolnikov because he could be lost and go even deeper into his madness. However, Sonya knows that Raskolnikov is a killer and it would be wrong to be associated with somebody who knowingly commits sins as extravagant as murder. Sonya is also aware that Raskolnikov has issues and his madness could drive him to do other things that could lead to even worse consequences. Sonia does tell Raskolnikov that he must turn himself in and confess his sins but she also hugs him and kisses him as to comfort him. Her odd response is to tell Raskolnikov I will follow you, I will follow you everywhere Ill follow you to Siberia (407). As she tries to find a valid excuse as to why he killed those women, she finds that there was no good intentions in his mind, yet she still sticks by Raskolnikovs side. This response leaves the reader wondering whether Sonia is doing this to help a lost soul and play her role as a saintly liberator or does her love blind her and is she simply not caring that what Raskolnikov committed was murder. However, even though the last part of the book depicts Sonia as an accomplice to a morally wrong crime, the epilogue illustrates her as a saintly liberator. In Siberia, the image which she carried back in part one and part two of the book are stripped and she is loved by the prisoners in the camp. They even called her â€Å"little mother Sofya Semyonovna†(538), and although it is clearly stated that Sonia herself did nothing special to be liked, their preference for her depicts that they sensed her moral â€Å"goodness. † Without direct statement, Sonia herself was the reason why Raskolnikov felt in some way his religious reawakening. Through her unconditional love, she and her role made this â€Å"story of a gradual renewal of a man† (542) happen. Dostoevsky theme of religion was carried on and developed by Sonia’s character through her moral ambiguity. Though her character appears to be immoral in several cases, in the epilogue the reader sees how it all comes together and how Doestoevsky uses Sonya illustrates important social and political issues that were of concern to him, such as the treatment of women, the effects of poverty, the importance of religious faith, and the importance of devotion to family.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Globalization And Social Movement Politics Essay

Globalization And Social Movement Politics Essay It is believed that the demand for democracy, whenever or when it arises, always comes from individuals who believe that their leaders for some reason are sidelining their very needs and aspirations of their subjects. These kinds of people at times tend to either become leaders themselves or automatically establish a system where the population has good and accountable leadership. Democracy hence is said to be a very crucial element and practice. The practices and concepts of social equality have understood their place in a more advanced way in the constitutions of their various countries. Internationally there is very few traces of democracy that resembles a countrys national dynamics. Hence it has been noted that major powerful countries tend to make decisions that dully affect the lifestyles of citizens belonging to other countries. Absolutely there is then no question that there is a powerful connection between the social movements and globalization. It is clear enough that social movements theories for a very long time have been greatly state-based with the main analysis being that of social movements across a country. Again as time went by, during and by the 1980s it was noted that the nation-state was no longer the best way of analysis. This was facilitated by the rapid increase in international governance and the very change of roles in the institituions of global governance i.e. IMF, World Bank, and WTO. This came with the increase in power of transnational state and transnational capitalist class, multinational organizations, all under one main neoliberal ideology. Thus it should be noted that all these implementations and developments have deeply influenced social movements and globalization. Another yet result of globalization and a challenge to the deep conservative theories of communal movements was t he uprising in the 1990s of what is apparently known as the traditional labor unions, worldwide advocacy networks and international social movements. It was very impossible to assume the presence of such worldwide social movements as ala the traditional labor unions, native populace actions within the Amazonian areas, environmentalists from around Europe and the very individual rights advocates together joined forces in Seattle to discuss the very negative impacts of globalization at the World Trade Organization meeting. Thus the mass mobilization uniting different individuals within different states, engaging in long-lasting interactions with the political elites, worldwide institutions and multinational organizations is what is known as the transnational social movements. Hence social movements are said to be the internal rivalry between diverse groups and organizations having numerous sites for management and thoroughly structured along free networks commonly referred to as SPR. This type of structure has henceforth allowed movements to basically be free and flexible with the ability to engage likeminded various constituencies within the global system. As people continue to be affected more and more by the transnational processes and the factors beyond the nation-state, social movements have rapidly continued to grow transnational. Hence these movements have strongly reacted towards the negative impacts of neoliberalism and globalization. It should be noted that the upcoming of the global civil society is due to the international deficit in regard to democracy, moreover the lack of proper systems in the very institutions of international governance. International social movements always share a worldwide frame of problems and issues to be addressed, target the population and have an international set of actions, thus they always tend to campaign for change regarding the international issues. Moreover the choice between the three communal movements which include the global justice, feminist and Islamist do fully reflect the lack and disappointments within the transnational civil society. It should be clear to every population that not all the movements are generally emancipatory. Great diversity is experienced within these social movements. For example within the Islamist movement, the use of repertoires from terrorist hostility to parliamentary events is seen, whereas there is permanent disagreement inside the universal feminist activities over the anxiety that the grievances of women from the metro pole will actually assume important issues from the edge. Clashes amongst the secular and religious groups are hence experienced within the main global justice movements. Thus with reference to the international feminist movement, the agenda is always based on the following three significant issues: fighting and campaigning for peace, campaigning for religious fundamentalism and campaigning against neoliberalism. The transnational women movements are said to have taken the very opportunity of the United Nations meetings on women such as those that were held in Beijing in 1995 and Nairobi in 1985, using these meetings as the stepping stone and with an intention of framing the agenda in opposition towards the religious organizations. The feminist movements have also been largely involved with the issues regarding feminization of poverty and gender-based violence as well as the feminization of employment. Again it is noted clearly that neoliberalism and patriarchy always try to comfort and depend on each other in order to continue the massive oppression of the woman in a situation of cultural, economic and social inferiority, devaluation and marginalizat ion. This extends to excessive labor and commercialization of their being as women. But, as mentioned, there are divisions on certain issues between different feminist groups, for instance, on the abortion issue: Arguably the global justice movement is wider and is made up of numerous groups: labor unions, womens rights, anti-war groups, religious groups, population advocates, human rights and environmentalists. Generally this movement is basically highly motivated and dedicated by the idea that people can live much more better and happier without neoliberalism, this consist much more of debt relief, fair and easier trade, labor rights, sustainability and environmentalism and the very democratization of institutions which relate to international governance. Hence this kind of diversity has absolutely led to collective responsibility, from lobbying governments institutions to petitioning, with demonstrations and direct actions (such as Seattle in 1999). Hence the election of Lula as president of the republic of Brazil in 2002 from a union leader was a clear indication that the uprising and emergence of global justice movement was taking place. Her election was vital to the formation and establishment of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. This has seen the global justice movement later involving itself with numerous protests against world organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO with the ability and capacity for better formation and coordination through improved technological advancement. Conclusion: It is thus clear that the rise of global social movements and transitional movements in the very past has largely grown due to the much lack of international democracy, with significant calls for social and economic justice. These movements have further shown that the nation-state is very significant either as an oppressive force or a promoting force.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Essay --

Alexander Caracciolo World Civilizations II (A) Spring 2014 ARTICLE Hitler and the Uniqueness of Nazism Ian Kershaw, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 39, No. 2, Understanding Nazi Germany (Apr., 2004), pp. 239-254 I INTRODUCTION Though Nazism can be sited as a form of fascism or type of totalitarianism, these common concepts inadequately account for what was unique about the regime that unleashed such devastating inhumanity; a terrible war of annihilation and the worst genocide the world has yet experienced. This article suggests the answer is located in a unique mixture of potent forces emulsified in a vicious cocktail, Hitler's dictatorship. The extraordinary power of his 'charismatic authority', the distinctive climate of German political culture, and the bureaucratic capacity of a highly modern state system ultimately lead to uprising and the uniqueness of Nazism. II. SUMMARY 1. Introduction In the introduction, Ian Kershaw discusses what he considers common knowledge about the Nazi regime. Through a series of counterexamples, he disproves these theories as the singular causes of Nazism uniqueness. The idea that Hitler alone was unique is disproved, the idea that First World War was instrumental in Nazism’s uniqueness was disproved and countless others. 2. Hitler’s Indispensability When describing Nazism it seems only natural to begin with Hitler. Although he himself cannot account for Nazism’s uniqueness, his role as a dictator is indispensable in making this claim. Kershaw explains, no Hitler: â€Å"no SS-police state, no general European war by the late 1930s, no attack on the Soviet Union, no Holocaust, no state policy aimed at wiping out the Jews of Europe† (245). Yet the forces that led to the â€Å"undermining of law, to... ...mbodied and its corrupting effect on the instruments and mechanisms of the most advanced state in Europe. Both the broad acceptance of the 'project' of 'national salvation', seen as personified in Hitler, and the internalization of the ideological goals by a new, modern power-elite, operating along-side weakened old elites through the bureaucratic sophistication of a modern state, were necessary prerequisites for the world-historical catastrophe of the Third Reich. III. SOURCES This article is not based on any one primary source, but is instead smattered with the ideas from several historians. IV. SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORICAL CONTEXT In addressing previous historical scholarship, Kershaw sheds new light on what is commonly thought of as Nazism. He recognizes other theories a being part Nazism but uses several sources to explain how they were not what was unquie to it.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

A&P, by John Updike :: Literary Analysis

The first line of the story, â€Å"A&P, by John Updike, â€Å"In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits†; (230) sets the tone for the rest of the story. The remainder of the story is a description of how the main character Sammy, views not only the three girls in the bathing suits , but the rest of the women that are portrayed in the story. The main character of the story is a young guy, in the early 1960s, who is working at a grocery store when these three young women walk in. He describes how they were scantily clad and walking around the store, and the reactions of the others in the store, including himself, his co-workers, his manager and other patrons. This story is about how a 19-year-old guy in 1961 perceived and objectified the women, young and old, as a whole. The first woman Sammy has contact with after observing the three girls, is a customer he describes as â€Å"a witch of about fifty years, with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows† (230). She has become impatient with him when he cannot recollect if he rang up her box of crackers, since the three younger girls distracted him. Sammy also says, â€Å"If she were born in the right time, they would have burned her over in Salem†, substantiating his characterization of her being a witch. He presumes that this woman’s purpose was to trip him up and get pleasure from it. Sammy goes on to describe the three young women. The first one he calls the â€Å"chunky one† (230), whom he describes as having a â€Å"sweet broad soft looking can† (230), in reference to her backside. He also adds, â€Å"With two crescents of white under it where the sun never shines† (230), showing that he is really gawking at her backside. The second, he describes as the â€Å"tall one, with black hair that had not quite frizzled right, with a chin that was too long† (230) - the kind that other girls think is very â€Å"striking† (230) and â€Å"attractive† (230). The third, he described as the â€Å"queen† (230). She is the one he considers to be the most attractive of the girls, and the leader of the group. When she pulled out her money to pay for her purchase, Sammy talked about how he slowly un-creased the bill. It was retrieved from what he described as the â€Å"nicest two scoops of vanilla he has ever seen† (230); m aking reference to the queen’s breasts. A&P, by John Updike :: Literary Analysis The first line of the story, â€Å"A&P, by John Updike, â€Å"In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits†; (230) sets the tone for the rest of the story. The remainder of the story is a description of how the main character Sammy, views not only the three girls in the bathing suits , but the rest of the women that are portrayed in the story. The main character of the story is a young guy, in the early 1960s, who is working at a grocery store when these three young women walk in. He describes how they were scantily clad and walking around the store, and the reactions of the others in the store, including himself, his co-workers, his manager and other patrons. This story is about how a 19-year-old guy in 1961 perceived and objectified the women, young and old, as a whole. The first woman Sammy has contact with after observing the three girls, is a customer he describes as â€Å"a witch of about fifty years, with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows† (230). She has become impatient with him when he cannot recollect if he rang up her box of crackers, since the three younger girls distracted him. Sammy also says, â€Å"If she were born in the right time, they would have burned her over in Salem†, substantiating his characterization of her being a witch. He presumes that this woman’s purpose was to trip him up and get pleasure from it. Sammy goes on to describe the three young women. The first one he calls the â€Å"chunky one† (230), whom he describes as having a â€Å"sweet broad soft looking can† (230), in reference to her backside. He also adds, â€Å"With two crescents of white under it where the sun never shines† (230), showing that he is really gawking at her backside. The second, he describes as the â€Å"tall one, with black hair that had not quite frizzled right, with a chin that was too long† (230) - the kind that other girls think is very â€Å"striking† (230) and â€Å"attractive† (230). The third, he described as the â€Å"queen† (230). She is the one he considers to be the most attractive of the girls, and the leader of the group. When she pulled out her money to pay for her purchase, Sammy talked about how he slowly un-creased the bill. It was retrieved from what he described as the â€Å"nicest two scoops of vanilla he has ever seen† (230); m aking reference to the queen’s breasts.