Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The As A Vegetarian Based Or Vegan Diet ( Watters )

Vegetarianism has existed for many centuries, but perhaps the most well known vegetarian was Pythagoras. Pythagoras was a philosopher whom educated much of the world on his ideas in life, one at the time being the abstinence of meat. Pythagoras, along with many of his followers, believed that the consumption of meat could affect the longevity of one’s life. Though not everyone believed in Pythagoras’ opinions, he still had a loyal group of followers. Pythagoras was so widely associated with a meat free diet that the terms vegetarian was not even in use until 1847, when the term â€Å"pythagorean† was changed to â€Å"vegetarian† (Avey). Today, there are 16 million people in America who follow a vegetarian-based or vegan diet (Watters). There is a common misconception that the choice to become a vegetarian is based only on a person’s love for animals, but there are many other benefits to being a vegetarian. Pythagoras and his followers gave ma ny of the same arguments that people who abstain from meat today support; for example, Pythagoras had the belief that there was a majority of added health benefits from a meatless diet (Avey). Vegetarianism can decrease the risk of cancer along with other health concerns, can solve problems the world presently faces,—such as world hunger and animal cruelty— and can have positive effects on the environment—such as pollution reduction and overgrazing reduction. People need to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle because it will improve publicShow MoreRelatedDominos Marketing Plan4675 Words   |  19 Pagesis a mature and highly competitive market, while the organic/natural and vegetarian market is one that is seldom addressed, yet consumers are increasingly showing their interests in such foods. Domino’s Pizza has the opportunity to be an innovator in this groundbreaking field, and by only seeing a slight increase in costs of sales and advertisement, creating an d releasing menu items that are organic/natural based or vegetarian will help Domino’s dominate the competition, while gaining three new market

Monday, December 23, 2019

Southern Women In The Civil War Essay - 1628 Words

Women during the Civil War were forced into life-style changes which they had never dreamed they would have to endure. No one was spared from the devastation of the war, and many lives were changed forever. Women in the south were forced to take on the responsibilities of their husbands, carrying on the daily responsibilities of the farm or plantation. They maintained their homes and families while husbands and sons fought and died for their beliefs. Many women took the advantage of their opinions being heard, and for the first time supported their cause in anyway they could. Whether a woman was the mistress of a plantation or the wife of a yeoman farmer, her life was defined by work. Only a small number of women, those related or†¦show more content†¦Many women were beginning to notice changes in themselves and the other women around them. Sallie Putnam wrote, Those who had formerly devoted themselves to gaiety and fashionable amusements, found their only real pleasure in obedience to the demands made upon their time and talents, in providing proper habiliments for the soldierÂ… the devotee of ease, luxury and idle enjoyment, found herself transformed into the busy seamstress (Confederate, 26). Before the war women who lived in or near cities could, if status and funding permitted, lead slightly easier lives than rural women. General stores lined the streets, selling all types of merchandise, from sewing machines to washboards. Newspapers advertised both ready-made clothing and the services of expert seamstresses and milliners. Produce grown in backyard gardens was available for purchase, and local farmers carted their surplus into town. Churches, schools, and theaters offered social and cultural outlets. The sociable elite enjoyed dinner and card parties (Grander, 5). Once the war began many women were forced to give up the simple luxuries they were once accustomed to. The daily things that women used became scarce, and many women were forced to sell, or barter their personal property. Before the war many women of high society often wore elaborate dresses made of silk and lace, but as basic goods became moreShow MoreRelatedSouthern Women And The Civil War1678 Words   |  7 PagesSouthern Women and the Civil War: The Burdens of Patriotism and Womanhood in the Confederacy The Civil War altered the lives of women, in both the North and South, just as it altered the nation as a whole. Although it is irrefutable that both the North and the South felt the wrath of the war, the South encountered a unique set of troubles that caused the weight of the war to fall predominantly on Southern women. Attempting to understand the experiences of all Southern women during the Civil WarRead MoreSouthern Women Before, During After the Civil War Essay2813 Words   |  12 PagesThe women of southern plantations are something that not many write about. There is a critical lack of information and books about them, which makes writing about her a difficult task. Many southern women are mentioned in many books only as part of the males. â€Å"It was not until the early 1970’s, with the advent of the women’s movement, that a book written by a Southern woman about Southern women was recognized as being of scholarly significance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The wealthy white women of the south spent mostRead MoreThe Effects Of Slavery On Women During The Civil War877 Words   |  4 Pagesintellectual movement that believes the civil war was fought over honor and ideals instead of slavery, is because Southern Women saw the Civil War as a war on one of the fundamentals that made up their way life. My research paper is about understanding the effects that slavery had on women during and prior to the civil war, and how the absence of slavery effected them. This research will be used in order to paint a picture of how slavery effect all southern women, whether they were rich plantation ownersRead MoreThe Barry/Bradford Family1442 Words   |  6 Pagesin the Civil War. The Civil War caused many men to turn against one another, and the war affected family life as well. â€Å"Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War.† Most of the battles took place in the South, though som e did take place in the North and the West. Southern politics and government changed greatly during this time with the new focus on winning the war. Women grabbed onto new opportunities opened up to them by the war. The membersRead MoreThe Responsibilities Of Directing The Slave Labor1637 Words   |  7 PagesThere are some Civil War scholars who maintain the theory that the responsibilities of directing the slave labor was the catalyst for the downward spiral of Southern women’s morale. While the opinions about the institution of slavery varied during the Civil War, depending on circumstances such as location and amount of slaves, there were two general opinions from Southern women. Either Southern women felt that slavery was a blessing or a burden. Women such as Catherine Edmondston saw their slaveholdingRead MoreWomen During The Civil War1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe Civil War altered the lives of women, in both the North and South, just as it altered the nation as a whole. Although it is irrefutable that both the North and the South felt the wrath of the war, the South encountered a unique set of troubles that caused the weight of the war to fall predominantly on Southern women. Attempting to understand the experiences of all Southern women during the Civil War does not come without its challenges. It is impossible to connect the stories and experiencesRead MoreGone with the Wind Review1011 Words   |  5 PagesGeorgia the spring of 1861, and follows the life of a wealthy southern belle, Scarlett O’Hara. While the film focuses on the trial and tribulations of Scarlett’s love life, it also depicts life during the civil war, and after the civil war. Although the films depiction of southern life is somewhat reasonable, there are some historical inaccuracies. Because the movie is based in Scarlett O’Hara’s romances, the film romancitizes southern life and omits or twists details about the lives of the less fortunate Read MoreFrederick Douglass : An Unfortunate Time1697 Words   |  7 Pages race, and class. Even though Douglass wanted to see the slaves become free, he knew that freedom did not equal equality. His main goal for fighting the civil war was to end slavery and bring integration into the United States. I personally believe his position on slavery and many other factors contributed to the cause of the American Civil War. Douglass’s position on slavery influenced other individuals to take a stand and fight for their freedom. This is important considering it caused not onlyRead MoreRace And Gender Roles : The Women On The Porch As Southern Gothic Literature893 Words   |  4 Pagesin the Southern culture and dynamic. After the Civil War, dramatic changes began to take place in the South. Political leaders began to enact Civil Rights amendments, industrialization became more popular, and gender roles were beginning to be indistinct. In Southern literature, the portrayal of female characters evolved along side with the Southern culture. Female characters became more independent, strong-willed, and hardworking. Even African Americans became the main characters in Southern literatureRead MoreThe Declaration Of Sentiments And The Declaration Of Independence1020 Words   |  5 Pag esand they cover the same concepts but it is directed toward women wanting their rights. For instance, the Declaration of Independence states, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal (Declaration of Independence). This statement from the Declaration of Independence shows that they wanted freedom, and they thought that all men were created equal. The Declaration of Independence never says anything about women being equal, and that is exactly what the Declaration of

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Educational Value of Play as Work and Work as Play Free Essays

Introduction Arguably play performs a vital important role in the education and personal development of the child which can be incorporated within a wider educational framework both on its own as a child-led activity and as part of a curriculum. Play helps a child to develop social skills as well as their imagination, language skills, capacity for problem solving and motor skills. Play enhances a child’s capacity for creativity, which is a vital skill in later adult life. We will write a custom essay sample on The Educational Value of Play as Work and Work as Play or any similar topic only for you Order Now Play is best appreciated when it allows the child to interact with the wider world through a free exploration of the objects and phenomena they encounter which is completely in line with their natural tendency to want to explore the world. Play also allows for a process of socialization whereby the child can develop their emotional expression and ability to empathize with other children through helping and sharing activities. The Italian educationalist Maria Montessori argued that a child led form of play is crucial and helps the individual to develop by organizing experiences through an engagement of the body and mind. This led Montessori to declare that ‘play is the work of the child’. In line with this approach, it will here be argued that play is vital to a child’s educational development. At the same time, in line with the eyfs curriculum, it is arguably beneficial if play is monitored so as to allow for an element of ’progression’ in the child’s learning activity. Though, arguably, this should not completely replace the child’s tendency to play freely without aim, which is a valuable experience. In my own childhood experience the ability to play without aim alone or with others was crucial to my creative learning as well as helping me to create social skills. Tina Bruce, author of Early Childhood Education (2004) argues that: â€Å"Children learn best when they are given appropriate responsibility, allowed to make errors, decisions and choices, and respected as autonomous learners†, (Bruce, Learning Through Play, 7). Bruce continues to say that relationships are central to a child’s ability to play and learn effectively. Therefore it will be ultimately concluded here that the adults who have important roles in a child’s life are required to secure a stable and happy environment for the child to play, whilst monitoring that play to ensure a progression in the child’s development. It will also be argued that ‘play’ and ‘work’ are ambiguous categories which – in line with Montessori’s thought – should be allowed to overlap. Body Play has several identifiable purposes which help children to develop into individuals capable of interacting within a wider social community. Firstly, it helps to enhance rational thought processes, developing the ability to formulate abstract concepts, making sense of the world of objects and developing problem solving skills. Through play children develop the ability to make decisions based on an increasing awareness of their physical environment. It is important to recall at this stage that, as Bruce argues: â€Å"Subjects such as mathematics and art cannot be separated; young children learn in an integrated way and not in neat, tidy compartments,† (Bruce, Learning Through Play, 7). Play also helps children to develop coordination skills by using the muscles necessary to perform simple everyday activities. These ‘motor skills’ can be enhanced through grabbing, pushing and holding objects in everyday play and include ‘gross motor skills’ and ‘fine motor skills’, including hand-to-eye coordination. Random play is important in this process, though so is sport played to rules, which also helps to build team skills which are vital for social education. Language and communication skills are also enhanced through play, whether through direct interaction with word cards or through talking and negotiating during organized or free role play. Similarly, emotional skills are developed through play as the child learns how to interact with others and to compromise in sharing and waiting their turn. By interacting with other children around objects important lessons are learned about fair behaviour around limited resources. As children interact with their environment and with other children and adults they develop the seeds of personality, learning self-confidence, independence and ways of creative expression. Play is often divided into categories, with each category being thought to be better at developing specific aspects of the young child’s personality and physical capacity. As Dr. David Whitbread argues in a study conducted to assess the value of children’s play, five categories are often identified: â€Å"physical play, play with objects, symbolic play, pretence/ socio-dramatic play and games with rules† (Whitbread, 18). So while physical play will be ideal for developing motor skills, symbolic play will be ideal for developing language and imagination skills. However, there is also a strong crossover between different types of play and to restrict or categorize them strictly might interfere with the child’s creativity. For example, symbolic play (using symbolic codes such as â€Å"spoken language, reading and writing, number† etc) may interact with physical play to become a kind of dance routine. The risk of very structured play is that these slip pages between different types of learning will arguably not have the ability to emerge, and it is therefore of great importance that the level of monitoring allowed for under the eyfs curriculum does not interfere with the natural inclinations of the young learner to discover for themselves. Here it is important to note the great crossover between ‘play’ and ‘work’ and the way in which a child’s natural tendency to make play become work – and vice versa – should not be hampered. To highlight this it is worth considering the way in which Montessori noted that children often gravitated to educational word play over playing with toys, drawing some interesting conclusions. In The Secret of Childhood she observed: â€Å"Though the school contained some really wonderful toys, the children never chose them. This surprised me so much that I myself intervened, to show them how to use such toys [†¦] The children showed interest for a time, but then went away, and they never made such toys the objects of their spontaneous choice. And so I understood that in a child’s life play is perhaps something inferior, to which he has recourse for want of something better†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Montessori, 128) Whilst this has been taken as indicating that Montessori felt children should work and not play, what is arguably intended, rather, is that children when left to their own devices will make work of play and play of work. In this sense Montessori felt that children engage in play seriously with the intent of interpreting the world via its objects. Children ultimately play in order to become adults, so play for them is a type of work. Yet similarly, work – in its absolute necessity for the child’s own development – is a type of play in that it is something they wholeheartedly and joyfully want to interact in. In light of this it is important that the child is permitted to choose their own play – which to them is something serious – and is, further, allowed to make their own mistakes so that they can prepare themselves for adult work, learning that mistakes can lead to new pathways. In this moment of childhood, where – provided the child has a safe environment – mistakes are rarely detrimental to the situation at hand (i.e learning), much can be earned without risk. As such, a strong ability to manage uncertainties and disappointments can be fostered. Allowing a child to slip from one activity to another is also crucial as it allows a child to freely express themselves and show who they are and who they want to become. In his famous TED talk, the educator Sir Ken Robinson spoke of the case of a dancer called Gillian, who at school was referred with her mother to a doctor because she couldn’t concentrate in class. After talking with Gillian and her mother for twenty minutes, the Doctor asked Gillian’s mother to step outside the room. Before stepping outside he turned the radio on and then, with Gillian’s mother, watched Gillian inside the room, who began to dance. The doctor then said, â€Å"Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn’t sick; she’s a dancer. Take her to a dance school†, (School Kills Creativity, 2006). What this tells us is that if students are strictly required to engage in on or other activity at a time and are punished for straying outside the strict confines of a learning or playing activity they be wrongly categorized as disruptive when, in reality, they merely wish to express their true aptitude for a specific field of work. Conclusion As has been argued, play is essential to education and children should be allowed to play freely with a minimum amount of monitoring in order to ensure that this play leads to a progression in learning, in line with the findings of Bruce. It must also be note, in line with Montessori’s findings, that there is a big slippage between play and work and that children should be allowed to flow from different types of play and from playful work to serious play and vice-versa. As such the free movement of the child’s imaginative impulses should be encouraged as part of the efs with a wide interpretation being given to the role of ‘progression’ through play based learning activities, so that maximum freedom can be allowed for. In this way the child can be allowed to develop according to their own specific needs and modes of expression. Bibliography Bruce, T. 2011. Early Childhood Development. Hodder Education Bruce, T. Learning Through Play, last accessed 7th December 2014, http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/learning_through_play_ey.pdf Montessori, M. 1978. The Secret of Childhood. Orient Longman, Hyderabad Schools Kill Creativity, last accessed 8th December 2014, http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/transcript?language=en#t-993000 Whitbread, D. The Importance of Play, last accessed 7th December 2014, http://www.importanceofplay.eu/IMG/pdf/dr_david_whitebread_-_the_importance_of_play.pdf How to cite The Educational Value of Play as Work and Work as Play, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Challenging Use of Internet in Business-Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.What Potential Benefits might Social Networking Websites offer to Small-Scale Businesses? 2.How is Cloud Computing likely to affect Work Practices and Productivity and Uncertainty? Answers: 1.Beneficial Effects of Social Media in SMEs Cestyakara Surendro (2014) discussed about the adoption of social media adoption in SMEs (Small and medium enterprises) and determinant factors of this adoption. In this article, social media has been defined as the group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content. Several benefits have been proposed by the authors, which can be listed as: Networking helps in creating relationships with several other businesses and increases brand exposure. In exchange of promoting others product or business, own products promotion can be asked (Cox, 2012). Engagement of others in the promotional activities for own product or business will help in arising the small business and become more visible to lots of new consumers. In business, it has been seen that increased focus in relationship as compared to the sales increases the profit and the sales. Social media networking websites provides small business an opportunity to involve their audience on several different levels, including personal. For small businesses, it is important to focus on the relationship with customers. Social media can provide a platform for the owner of business to show their interest on the customers by replying to the feedbacks or questions being asked at any post updated by interested customers (Hays, Page Buhalis, 2013). Another beneficial aspect of social media is that posts like pictures and videos gather more attention of the customers than posting texts and posting interesting content can help in attracting more customers. This will increase the number of involvement of customers toward that product or the business. Increase in the website trafficking is another beneficial aspect of using social media in SMEs as more involvement of followers on the website increases the search ranking ability of the business on the internet. More engagement on the social media account can lead towards more customers and more followers. For SMEs and small business promoting their brand and creating awareness among the customer bout the services and the offered products becomes highly cost-effective on this platform. No doubt, this medium will eat more time than any other promotional medium but will definitely give a big crowd, whom an individual can discuss, the information about the organization and products of the organization. Social media implication in small businesses helps in developing customer service relations, which in result in loyalty to the organization by the customers. Social media provides a platform where customers can interact with the owner directly (Calefato, Lanubile Novielli, 2013). The instant exchange of information between the customer and the organization can be done very efficiently on this platform. All questions should be answered on the blog in order to make very loyal customers. Even dissatisfied customer can again regain confidence, loyalty and trust to to the organization if there is proper listening response from the side of the company to listen about their queries and difficulties about any product. 2.Cloud Computing and Work Practices Gas, Meth Maedche (2014) shows their interest on the cloud computing implementation to the organizational system and their response on the work practices. The authors discussed about the Platform as a Service (PaaS) implication in the organization and discuss the changes in the traditional work practices to modern and more innovative techniques. PaaS can be stated as a component for the cloud computing, as it provides platform for the applications that are being introduced for the operational activities of the organization. In this paper, this was stated as productive software as it provides the users cloud storage for the operational activities that are being maintained in the system or different applications. Technically, PaaS is used to determine which type of applications are needed for the organization and recommend that software to be implemented in the systems (Patidar, rane Jain, 2012). Through this employee can access to the needed information anywhere by connecting to the internet. This new and innovative implication has eliminated the traditional way of operations as nowadays everything is being done using the computers and being saved on the clouds. Cloud Computing and Productivity Teh et al. (2016) shows their concern on the inter-relation between the cloud computing and the productivity of the organization. In this literature review various findings have been done, based on which authors described that cloud computing can enhance the performance of the organization by increasing the profit. Cloud computing provides a big storage and easily accessible to the files that are being saved on those storage, which can help an employee to be able to work at any place even while going out of station or travelling to other offices. Cloud computing helps in doing big calculations in a while and is effective and efficient software in the matter of accuracy. Authors have also discussed about the poor handling knowledge results on the productivity of an organization. Poor handling knowledge about the cloud computing can lead the company to bigger loss may be which cannot be regained again, for this they have recommended to implement better and more effective policies on th e usage of cloud computing. Cloud Computing and Uncertainties Generally, application that are based on internet services or cloud services are called as On-Demand Service based software. Uncertainties can be happened to the organization by implementing cloud computing on the organization and by doing all operational activities based on the internet (Peng Huang, 2017). Since the data that are being done on the applications that are based on Cloud Storage like SaaS, IaaS and PaaS store those data in the cloud, which makes it vulnerable in manner to be stolen or manipulated. Nowadays data breach cases and cyber-crime are increasing as the technology is increasing. Those data can be breached by unauthorized users which can cause serious loss to the organization and even lead the company towards closure. Proper encryption and proper tokenization by certain technologies are the better options to keep those data safer. References: Calefato, F., Lanubile, F., Novielli, N. (2013, September). A preliminary investigation of the effect of social media on affective trust in customer-supplier relationships. In Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), 2013 Humaine Association Conference on (pp. 25-30). IEEE. Cestyakara, A., Surendro, K. (2014, September). Bandung towards Smart CityA study in SMEs for social media adoption and determinant factors. In Information, Communication Technology and System (ICTS), 2014 International Conference on (pp. 171-176). IEEE. Cox, S. L. (2012). Social media marketing in a small business: A case study (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University). Gass, O., Meth, H., Maedche, A. (2014). PaaS characteristics for productive software development: an evaluation framework. IEEE Internet Computing, 18(1), 56-64. Hays, S., Page, S. J., Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations. Current issues in Tourism, 16(3), 211-239. Patidar, S., Rane, D., Jain, P. (2012, January). A survey paper on cloud computing. In Advanced Computing Communication Technologies (ACCT), 2012 Second International Conference on (pp. 394-398). IEEE. Peng, K. L., Huang, C. Y. (2017). Reliability Analysis of On-Demand Service-Based Software Systems Considering Failure Dependencies. IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, 10(3), 423-435. Teh, S.K., Ho, S.B., Chan, G.Y. and Tan, C.H., 2016, May. A framework for cloud computing use to enhance job productivity. In Computer Applications Industrial Electronics (ISCAIE), 2016 IEEE Symposium on (pp. 73-78). IEEE.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Drinking And Driving Offences Essays (1170 words) -

Drinking And Driving Offences My essay is on "Drinking and Driving Offences". In my essay I will tell you the various kinds of drinking and driving offences, the penalties, and the defences you can make if you are caught drinking and driving. Let me tell you about the different offences. There are six offencesin drinking and driving. They are "driving while impaired", "Having care and control of a vehicle while impaired", "Driving while exceeding 80 m.g.", "Having care and control of a vehicle while exceeding 80 m.g.", "Refusing to give a breath sample", and "refusing to submit to a roadside screen test. These are all Criminal Code Offences. Now lets talk about the penalties of drinking and driving. The sentence for "refusing to give a breath sample" is usually higher than either of the "exceeding 80 m.g." offences. Consequently it is usually easier in the long run for you to give a breath sample if asked. If, for example you are convicted of "Refusing ato give a breath sample" for the first time, but was earlier convicted of "Driving while impaired", your conviction for "Refusing" will count as a second conviction, not a first, and will receive the stiffer penalty for second offences. For the first offence here is the penalty and the defences you can make. Driving a vehicle while your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or drugs is one of the offences. Evidence of your condition can be used to convict you. This can include evidence of your general conduct, speech, ability to walk a straight line or pick up objects. The penalty of the first offences is a fine of $50.00 to $2000.00 and/or imprisonment of up to six months, and automatic suspension of licence for 3 months. The second offence penalty is imprisonment for 14 days to 1 year and automatic suspension of licence for 6 months. The third offence penalty is imprisonment for 3 months to 2 years (or more) and automatic suspension of licence for six months. These penalties are the same for the following offences. "Having Care and Control of a Motor Vehicle while Impaired" is another offence. Having care and control of a vehicle does not require that you be driving it. Occupying the driver's seat, even if you did not have the keys, is sufficient. Walking towards the car with the keys could be sufficient. Some defences are you were not impaired, or you did not have care and control because you were not in the driver's seat, did not have the keys, etc. It is not a defence that you registered below 80 m.g. on the breathayzer test. Having care and control depends on all circumstances. "Driving While Exceeding 80 m.g. is the next offence. Driving a vehicle, having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the proportion of alcohol in your blood exceeds 80 miligrams of alcohol in 100 mililitres of blood. Some defences are the test was administered improperly, or the breathalyzer machine was not functioning properly. "Having Care and control of a Motor Vehicle while Exceeding 80 m.g." is the next offence I will talk about. This offence means having care and control of a vehicle whether it is in motion or not, having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the proportion of alcohol in your blood exceeds 80 miligrams of alcohol in 100 mililitres of blood. The defences are the test was administered improperly, or the breathalyzer machine was not functioning properly. To defend against breathalyzer evidence you must understand how the test should be administered. The proper procedure for a breathalyzer test is as follows. Warming up the machine until the thermometer registers 50 degrees centigrade. This should take at least 10 minutes. The machine should then be turned to zero (by using the "adjust zero control") and a comparison ampoulel (of normal air) inserted. if the metre remains at zero, the test can proceed. An ampoule with a standard solution is then inserted. If the metre reads high or low by more than .02% on two successive tests, the machine should not be used. If the trial is valid, the machine should be flushed with room air and the pointer set at start. You will then be asked to provide two breath samples, about fifteen minutes apart. Normally they will take the result of the lowest result and use it as evidence against you. "Refusing to Give a Breath Sample" means refusing without a reasonable excuse to give a sample or refusing without a reasonable excuse to accompany a polic officer, when demanded by the police officer. Before demanding

Monday, November 25, 2019

Multi Tasking Persuasive Essay Essay Example

Multi Tasking Persuasive Essay Essay Example Multi Tasking Persuasive Essay Paper Multi Tasking Persuasive Essay Paper formerly of the University of Michigan and now with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) working on security issues. And in certain cases of multitasking, Rubinstein says, you could be risking employers a dangerous outcome. In the research behind an article titled Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching being published Monday in the American Psychological Associations Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance Rubinstein and his associates David Meyer, Ph. D. , and Jeffrey Evans, Ph. D. , determined that for various types of tasks, subjects lost time when they had to switch from one task to another. These time costs increased with the complexity of the chores: It took longer, say researchers Rubinstein and Meyer, for subjects to switch between more complicated tasks. People in a work setting, says Meyer, who are banging away on word processors at the same time they have to answer phones and talk to their co-workers or bosses theyre doing switches all the time. Not being able to concentrate for, say, tens of minutes at a time, may mean its costing a company as much as 20 to 40 percent in terms of potential efficiency lost, or the time cost of Switching, as these researchers call it. In effect, says Meyer, youve got writers block briefly as you go from one task to another. Youve got to (a) want to switch tasks, youve got to (b) make the switch and then youve got to (c) get warmed back up on what youre doing. Driving while talking on a cell phone, maybe making business calls while trying to get to your next meeting, is being used by these researchers as an example of a potentially disastrous multitasking scenario. A lot of folks, says Meyer, think, Well, cell phoning while driving is really no big deal and I can get away with it. But even if you have a cell phone thats not held by hand and can be dialed by voice, you still have a really big conflict because when youre driving you need to be looking at various different places, you need to be reading signs, you need to be talking to yourself about those in order to through your mental speech – make decisions about where to go with your car. And theres no way to do that while on the cell phone because you have to use your inner ears and inner speech and even your inner eyes to imagine what the person on the phone is talking about. We found that switch cost,' says Rubinstein, increases with the complexity of the tasks. That suggests that a very simple conversation on the phone while driving a car maybe Honey, please pick up some bread on the way home might not draw too much concentration. But if the conversation becomes difficult or emotionally charged or mentally taxing like Honey, the house is burning down, what should I do? it draws more attention and more mental resources away from your primary task, which is driving the car: Youre more likely to have an accident. Reference Mark Weed, David (2010). The effects of Multi-Tasking. davidweedmark. com/2010/effects-of-multitasking/ Miller, Chris (2007). The effects of multi- tasking on the brain. http://thecommandline. net/2010/06/07/the-effect-of-multitasking-on-the-brain/ John, Thomas (2001). The effects of multi tasking on teens. http://powertolearn. typepad. com/teacher_tech_blog/2007/03/the_effects_of_. html Chris, Crow (2007). Emergency Department Workplace Interruptions Are Emergency Physicians â€Å"Interrupt-driven† and â€Å"Multitasking†? http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1553-2712. 2000. tb00469. x/abstract Rubenstein, Meyer (2010). Introducing multitasking to the study of travel and ICT: Examining its extent and assessing its potential importance. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0965856406000280

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Case Study & Recommendations for a child with autism and the visual Research Paper

Case Study & Recommendations for a child with autism and the visual impairment exotropia - Research Paper Example It is not surprising therefore that he would always get up very early from bed and wait to hear her daughter from the storey, descending downstairs. Regardless of her condition which had made her mother very worried about life, Brenda seemed to herself as living a very normal life, which is filled with the things she loved to do most in the day. For example, pulling the piano bench away from the piano and sitting by the piano to have it played was one of the regular things she did every morning. Brenda could therefore be said to be a person who had a well regulated life that was almost constantly made up of the same processes, as Persico and Bourgeron (2012) noted to be very usual of children with autism. Brenda’s mother’s attitude might have impacted on Brenda in some way as she would always sit by the white grand piano with her face frowned. This was exactly what her mother did most of the time, out of frustration. Brenda was a very sensitive person, who would get attracted and distracted by the slightly noise that passed by her. For example, even sounds of cracks could arrest her attention. Perhaps such lack of attention, coupled with Brenda’s inability to have clear vision due to the exotropia, which had made her eyes to be deviated outward (Chorn and Steiner, 2014) is what had made her mother made some very derogatory remarks of her life. She had even told her husband, â€Å"I can’t live like this much longer† (Oates, 1980). This is because in her opinion, all she had accomplished was nothing more than failure. But the big issue is whether Brenda was that worse to deserve that kind of remark from her own mother. Indeed, Brenda could play the piano like a 16 year old professional who had taken piano lessons for years. But she had no such training in music and was still only 6. Whenever she sat by the piano, she would only be seen running her fingers gently over the keybo ard

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Research paper - Essay Example Also, it is revealed that the support of the state to the relevant initiatives is not at the level required; the private sector has the key role in promoting schemes that can help to increase pedestrian safety but the necessary resources are often difficult to be retrieved. Thus, the effective cooperation between the state and the private sector is a key requirement for ensuring that pedestrians in cities will be safe no matter their financial or social status. According to a recent study, the number of pedestrians who lost their live because of their involvement in road accidents in USA in 2010 reached the 4,280 people, a number which is rather high if considering the development of technology and legislation related to road travel in USA (CDC 2013). On the other hand, the number of pedestrians who were killed in road accidents in 2001 has been higher compared to that of 2010 (Figure 1). Indeed, in 2001 in total 4,901 pedestrians lost their live after being involved in a road accident (Figure 1); by 2010 this number has been decreased at 4,280 (Figure 1). Also, it seems that the decrease of this figure has been continuous between 2001 and 2010 (Figure 1) a fact that implies the effectiveness of the initiative undertaken by the state and by the private sector in regard to this problem. It should be noted that age does not seem to be a critical factor in regard to the exposure of pedestrians to accidents: among the people mentioned above, i.e. the 4,280 people, only 19% have been found to be over 65 (CDC 2013). Children seem to be exposed to such risks at similar level: about 20% of the pedestrians who were killed in 2010 have been children (CDC 2013). On the other hand, it seems that there are certain factors that can increase the chances for road accident in which pedestrians are involved: for example, alcohol abuse has been found to be a key cause for fatal road accidents, at a

Monday, November 18, 2019

Occupier Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Occupier Liability - Essay Example According to the discussion there is a common duty of care6 on the occupier to ensure his premises are reasonably safe at all times.7 If any danger exists, it is the duty of the Occupier to post signs warning of the danger and this can satisfy the duty of care expected8. In the case of the Park, due signs were posted and therefore, visitors to the park were duly warned they were using the facilities at their own risk. Occupier liability will be limited by the element of foreseability of accidents. In the case of Cunningham v Reading9 loose tiles on the terrace were the cause of police injury, for which the Occupier was held liable, because this was an instance where injuries were foreseeable and chances of occurrence were also higher, therefore the Occupant was held liable. This may also hold good in the case of the Park, because three aspects must be noted the signs warning of the risk were corroded and unreadable and therefore practically non existent. Exclusion clauses, waiving li ability, must be clearly communicated - if they are printed on the back of a ticket or communicated indistinctly, they will not be valid10. the element of foreseeability of accident was high due to the nature of the facilities. Moreover, the Park may also face difficulties on the issue of maintenance of the slides, since they collapsed with the weight of only two children.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Whether The Marketing Mix Contributes on the Success of Wal-Mart

Whether The Marketing Mix Contributes on the Success of Wal-Mart Introduction The marketing mix, as a paradigm, has been keeping applied in business since it was merged more than 50 years ago. Many companies are still using it as a guide in marketing (Zineldin, 2007) to gain more competitive power in the market. The activities integrated in marketing programmes to create, communicate, and deliver value for consumers were classified into product, price, promotion and place in marketing mix tool by McCarthy (cited in Davies et al., 1995) in 1960, and Kotler et al. (2009) defined the sub activities of each element of the 4Ps: product variety, quality, services, etc for Product; list price, discounts, allowances, etc for Price; sales promotion, advertising, public relations, etc for Promotion; and channels, coverage, locations, transport etc for Place. By using the guide and adjusting the elements and the sub activities of them, companies can find a marketing strategy suitable for both the industry and the organizations. Although the application of the marketing mix seems to be different among industries, it still has influences on the businesses in extents. To see whether the marketing mix can work to the achievements of the organizations, the strategies and the application of the marketing mix of Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, can be a great choice to analyze. As a well known hypermarket business leader, Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,650 retail units under 55 different banners in 15 countries (Anonymous, 2010), and it is still extending its business globally. This essay will analyze the contribution of the marketing mix on the success of Wal-Mart, and a brief scheme of improvement will also be looked at. Product As a retailer, the term product can be divided into two parts, the retailing service to suppliers, and the products and services to customers. Since both suppliers and retailers are pursuing a low-margin, high-volume strategy (Kotler et al., 2009), the stable and high-volume orders from Wal-Mart can meet the needs of the suppliers. However, only large orders are not enough in current business, according to Hansen (2009), a service-centered philosophy and service quality are crucial for building long-term relationship with suppliers. To keep a high quality of service, Wal-Mart is innovative and a pioneer in technology development. It is among the first retailers using computers to track inventory (1969), adopting the bar codes (1980) and wireless scanning guns (late 1980s), and introducing EDI for better coordination with suppliers (1985) (Johnson, 2002), which developed the efficiency of distribution and turnover of goods so that it can meet the requirements of suppliers. To individual customers, not only selling products of suppliers, Wal-Mart has private-labels such as Great Value, OlRoy, Partents Choice etc, which provides products in wide fields. Kumar et al. (2007, cited in Geyskens et al., 2010) argued that private-label products are positioning at mid-quality, and they are as good as national brand offerings but cheaper. However, Wal-Mart focuses on the quality rather than only mimic other brands (Neff, 2009), trying to meet the needs of most customers focusing on cost performance. Because of the efforts Wal-Mart made, customers are increasingly relying on the private labels (Rae, 2009). Also, according to Min (2010), customers evaluate the service with product quality, which is followed by cleanliness of the store, competitive price, product variety and fast checkouts. By making collection of customer information and IT innovation, these factors are getting focused on by Wal-Mart, which keeps the service quality and satisfaction of customers. Price The price factor of Wal-Mart can be looked at by the view of both B2C and B2B businesses. For the pricing strategies towards individuals, a lower price can capture more market share even competitors build price wall to fight in the market (Chiu et al., 2009). Wal-Mart has a great advantage in the competition among retailers because of offering a lower price and promising it the lowest among all, but lowering the price does not definitely lead to a cut in the profit. Wal-Mart uses a broad line and low value added product lines to keep prices low and raise the volume that is increased greatly enough to make up for the low margin (Kotler, 2009). However, there is always a risk: if the added revenues from the increased demands cannot cover the loss of margin, it will diminish the profit (Nijs et al., 2007). By using and collecting a huge database of consumption of products in large regions and super centers, according to the law of large numbers, the demands of the products could become stable and predictable. With a prediction of consumer behavior and risks, an aggressive pricing strategy helps Wal-Mart gain huge advantages and profitability. Place For Wal-Mart, a company that has been focused on discount merchandising and growth (Graff, 1998), cost is always a key to it. With mature management and decisions on places the products available to customers, distribution and channels, Wal-Mart gets phenomenal growth and excellent performance. First of all, considering the size, majority of Wal-Mart supercentres are located in nonmetropolitan counties and get around the distribution centers (Graff, 1998), which can make Wal-Mart benefited from a low land-rent cost and a more efficient distribution. However, a great negative impact on Wal-Marts market share occurred because of the factors of the growing maturity of internet retailing industry and lower prices offered by on-line retailers (Bock et al., 2007). In order to keep the market share and the customer satisfaction, Wal-Mart launched its own retailing websites and planned to build multichannel. This shall benefit the giant retailer as researchers found that the adoption of inte rnet and a multichannel strategy will be more profitable for retailers than traditional strategies (Zhang, 2009; Bock et al., 2007). Other than the location of supercentres, the performance of distribution of Wal-Mart is outstanding. Firstly, by geographical segmentations, distribution centers, around by supercentres, are located in appropriate regions. Suppliers make most deliveries to distribution centers, and retailer then ferry goods between the regional centers and individual stores using its own trucks (Burritt et al., 2010), which reduces the cost of transportation and enhances Wal-Marts control on the whole inventory and process of delivery. Also, a mature IT system weighs greatly for Wal-Mart: hand-held computers used by employees can collect the information of products such as storage, packaging and shipping, and a satellite communication system set up in 1983 helps managers to track sales and inventories in stores across the country (Chandran et al., 2003), which keeps the distribution under control and improves the efficiency. In addition, Wal-Mart puts a great concern upon the suppliers and the integration of supply chain. Because great volumes of products are sold through Wal-Mart, suppliers are delighted to do business with the retailer at a lower price because of the large orders, which increases the bargaining power of Wal-Mart. As what Davies et al. (1995) found: strength in bargaining power positively relates to commercial success. It seems that Wal-Mart keeps a superior power upon its suppliers to squeeze the cost. However, Even suppliers treat Wal-Mart as a primary customer perform worse financially (Bloom, 2001), there may still be benefits for suppliers to keep a long-term relationship with a higher performing channel member being efficient and aggressive to attract consumers to suppliers products, because the revenue with a high volume sold might cover the squeeze, and some suppliers hope it might help them expand their market share (Bollm, 2001; Erdem et al., 1997). By cutting the cost in the B2B part, the prices of products could be lower and more advantages Wal-Mart can gain in the market. Also, with a thought that putting the volume together of both itself and its suppliers are buying from one supplier can reduce costs (Muntaner, cited in Boyle, 2010), Wal-Mart has been trying to team up with suppliers to purchase the raw materials, like teaming up with Pepsi to purchase sugar together from one sugar supplier at a lower price, in order to reduce the cost of private labels so that more attractive prices can be offered to customers. A good management of the place factor improves the efficiency of distribution and lowers the cost of the company. Promotion The element of Promotion was divided into sales promotion, including reduction of price, discount etc, and communication, including advertising, public relations, store design etc (Van Waterschoot et al., 1992; Davies, 1995). In sales promotion, Wal-Mart uses reduced prices to increase the sales of the inventory in order to keep a high turnover rate and release the problem of stocking of inventory. Also, as it was found that a slight change in the price will lead to great improvement of business performance in a high price-elasticity product (Driussi, 2007), Wal-Mart uses short-term discounts on particular products to stimulate the consumption of products. Concerning about the communication of Wal-Mart, with an increasing budget on advertising from $405 million in 1999 to $2.3 billion in 2008 (Norman, 2009), the brand name and the slogan of save money, live better, formerly always low prices are getting widely known, which leads to a greater awareness of public and an increase in brand equity (Keller, 1993). Also, it uses diversified advertising methods such as TV, websites and newspaper, which is crucial to the success of any advertising campaign (Scott, 2009). In addition, according to Ataman (2010), by making efforts on advertising can improve the customer loyalty to the companies, which might also be an important reason for Wal-Mart being attractive and well accepted by publics in either new or existing market. It seems that Wal-Mart focuses greatly on communication with customers and trying to get more strength of brands. However, there are still some factors that Wal-Mart needs to take into consideration. First of all, although Wal-Mart is widely accepted by the public, the public relationship and the social image from the public tell a different story. With a history of anti-union tactics and worker disputes, including an ongoing gender discrimination lawsuit (Bustillo, 2010), Wal-Mart is getting into a social issue negatively affects its social image. Society worries about Wal-Marts lacking of consideration to health, life and rights of employees. However, Wal-Mart has been trying to making efforts on its CSR while the public does not realize. It offers a better health care plan than the retail average, in which 80% of its US workers can get health coverage while only 58% for the retail sector as a whole (Bustillo et al., 2010). This phenomenon shows that Wal-Mart needs to make effort o n PR to change the biases made by the society. In addition, with a development of customer perspectives, physical environment and social cue, factors influencing customers feelings and satisfaction (Bitner, 1992; Hu et al., 2006) are getting more focused. Wal-Mart can try to collect more customers preference to the store environment such as store designing and employees behaviours in order to build a welcoming feeling to customers and serve customers better. Integration of The Marketing Mix Although each element of the marketing mix Wal-Mart focuses is analyzed, the marketing mix should be treated as a whole. An application of the marketing mix upon the business needs the coordination among departments of a company, not only marketing department, and part-time marketers who are not working for marketing department but have connect with customers need to be greatly relied on to generate and disseminate the market intelligence (Davies et al., 1995; Grà ¶nroos, 1994). It can be shown from the above analysis that the elements of the paradigm influence each other such as price and PR, supply chain and price, cost and distribution etc, and Wal-Mart controls them in a macro vision. With an interaction among the departments, Wal-Mart can get advantage in each element of the marketing mix by using resources widely and efficiently. Conclusion By analyzing the concentration of Wal-Mart upon the marketing mix, it not only treated the paradigm as a guide, but also applies it upon the strategy and management of the company. It is not unfair to say that with a proper application upon the business and a great interaction in the marketing mix, Wal-Mart gets benefit from the classic theory. The application of the marketing mix could be seen as a key positive factor of the success of Wal-Mart. However, to improve the business performance of the giant retailer according to the paradigm, some soft factors such as the flexibility of distribution, PR and consumers emotion can be concerned by Wal-Mart.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

FPL Group Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

DIVIDEND POLICY AT FPL GROUP INC Q.1 DIVIDEND POLICY AT FPL GROUP, INC In 1994 FPL Group, the parent company of Florida Power and Light Company, announced a reduction in its quarterly dividend from $.62 ($2.48 annual) a share to $.42. This was the first-ever dividend cut for a healthy utility, so the company did its best to explain to investors why it had taken such an unusual step. Table 1. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Dividend Earnings Dividend Dividend Earnings Dividend Dividend per share per share payout ratio payout (%) per share payout payout (%) before ratio extraordi- nary items ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1993 2.47 2.30 1.07 107.39 2.76 0.89 89.49 1992 2.43 2.65 0.92 91.70 2.65 0.92 91.70 1991 2.39 1.48 1.61 161.49 2.66 0.90 89.85 1990 2.34 (2.86) (0.82) (81.82) 2.64 0.89 88.64 1989 2.26 3.12 0.72 72.44 2.99 0.76 75.59 1988 2.18 3.42 0.64 63.74 3.12 0.70 69.87 1987 2.10 3.10 0.68 67.74 2.69 0.78 78.07 1986 2.02 2.90 0.70 69.66 2.90 0.70 69.66 1985 1.94 3.11 0.62 62.38 3.11 0.62 62.38 1984 1.77 2.62 0.68 67.56 2.65 0.67 66.79 Mean 68.23 78.20 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analysing dividend policy of FPL Group we could track some major steps, which leads company to that decision. From table 1, the number shows that FPL has paid very high dividend comparing to the earnings. Dividend has been increased every year. Furthermore, from the record, this company has a 47 years history of dividend increases. We can see that in 1990 dividend payout ratio was increased sharply compare to the previous years. Also, we can see that FPL had a loss in 1990, but the company still increased dividend. Furthermore, in 1991 to 1993 dividend payout ratio was significantly high when compare to the historical data. These sharp changes ... ...pected in a rational market, within a month of the announcement, the stock price had more than recovered it's initial loss. Bibliography: 1. M.H. Miller and K. Rock, "Dividend Policy Under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Finance, 40:1031-1052 (September 1985). 2. J. Lintner: "Distribution of Incomes of Corporations among Dividends, Retained Earnings, and Taxes," American Economic Review, 46:97-113(May1956). 3. P. Healy and K. Palepu, "Earnings Information Conveyed by Dividend Initiations and Omissions," Journal of Financial Economics 21 (1988), pp149-175. 4. R. Comment and G. Jarrell, "The Relative Signaling Power of Dutch-Auction and Fixed Price Self-Tender Offers and Open Market Share Repurchases," Journal of Finance 46 (September 1991), pp 1243-1271. 5. S.C. Myers, "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance 39 (July 1984), pp 581-582. 6. M.H. Miller and F. Modigliani: "Dividend Policy, Growth and the Valuation of Shares," Journal of Business, 34:411-433 (October 1961). 7. R.A. Brealey and S.C. Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance, 6th Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, Chapter 16.

Monday, November 11, 2019

My Friend’s Most Important Decision Essay

Firstly, I would like to introduce my friend Jenny, who was born in China and now she is 25 years old. In 2011, she left her great job and came to the United States to pursue her master degree. Jenny decided to study in the United States and in particular at JWU because she wanted to study professional knowledge of management and have a master degree, she believe the U.S is the origin of the MBA program and JWU is famous for its hotel management program. First and foremost, after graduation, Jenny worked at the Beijing Branch of Education Service Center for about three years. She has great expectations for her career and she wants to get a high position but it’s difficult for her. She said,† You can see my academic background, I never studied any business knowledge, if I want to get high promotion, to study professional knowledge of management and have a master degree is important for me.† Thus, she wanted to get an MBA to get more knowledge of management and improve all kinds of abilities and help herself with her career objective. Another reason why she decided to study in the U.S. is because she believe that the United States is the origin of the MBA program. The United States’ MBA program pays more attention to practical skills and ability development, like communication, leadership, control, decision making, influence and entrepreneurship. She thinks studying in America can advance her career and make her more competitive in her field. She said to me, â€Å"American’s Hospitality management program is very strong†. Because in America , many universities are famous for this program, like: Cornell University, University of Houston, Pennsylvania State University, and the U.S. also has some famous hotel, like: Hilton Grand Vacations, New York Hotel and so on. Thus, she believes America is a good place for her to study this major. Most of all, Johnson & Wales university is famous for its hotel management program. She has a friend who is currently studying hotel management at JWU, and her friend told her some advantages about this university, especially teaching resources on management is quite good. After that, she searched a lot of information on the internet, and found that JWU was suitable for her. She said,† this university is career-oriented school, especially pay attention to students’ practical skill development, like communication, decision making, entrepreneurship and leadership ability†. Many students who graduate from JWU can get into big companies like Hilton Hotel, so she believes studying at JWU can make her more competitive in the future. For these reasons and more, Jenny decided that in order to make herself more marketable that she needed to leave her job in China and move to the United States in order to learn professional knowledge and extend her education. Therefore, Jenny, my best friend, chose to study in the United States in an MBA program and in particular at JWU with a concentration in Hospitality.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

9 Best Hurricane Tracking Charts

9 Best Hurricane Tracking Charts Updated October 15, 2018 Hurricane tracking charts are blank maps used to track the path of a hurricane. When tracking hurricanes, the intensity of the storm is indicated on the path along with any dates/times of landfall. There are several versions of the charts depending upon your needs. (All links will open maps in PDF format.) Atlantic Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 1This version is as official as it gets. Used by forecasters at the National Hurricane Center (NHC), it not only has a view of the full Atlantic basin but of the east coast of Africa, too. With a smaller grid overlay, the path of a hurricane can be plotted with greater precision. Atlantic Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 2This grayscale NOAA chart has a smaller grid and a wider view of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast. Atlantic Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 3This color chart is produced by the American Red Cross and shows the full Atlantic basin. Helpful tips on the dangers of hurricanes are printed on the map and all states, islands, major cities, and beaches are clearly labeled. Atlantic Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 4This black and white chart is one of NOAAs older versions but has small dot marks in a grid for easy plotting. Islands and land structures are labeled. Atlantic Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 5Courtesy of the LSU Agricultural Center, this grayscale chart is unique in that it labels the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Pacific, and Atlantic waters. One obvious drawback? It only includes a view of the eastern seaboard up to Virginia. (NOTE: The chart is on page 2 of this .pdf file, but the first page contains some very useful evacuation tips and hurricane facts.) Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 1For those wishing to track hurricanes that enter into the Gulf of Mexico, this map provides the perfect solution. A grid overlay and labels of major cities on the Gulf Coast provide an easy way to track the path of some of the most destructive United States hurricanes. Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Tracking Chart Version 2The Boat Owners Association of the United States provides this simple map for tracking Gulf Coast hurricanes. (Its a great kid-friendly version.) The Caribbean Islands are labeled as well as major Gulf Coast cities. Eastern Pacific Hurricane Tracking ChartThis map comes directly from the NOAA NHC. It includes a view of the Hawaiian islands. Hawaii Hurricane Tracking ChartIf youre only interested in plotting hurricanes that venture near the Hawaiian Islands, this is the map for you (courtesy of AccuWeather). Plotting the Path of a Hurricane Now that you have the maps printed, its time to start plottin! For a simple how-to, check out How to Use a Hurricane Tracking Chart.   Edited by Tiffany Means

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Purpose of a Building Society Essay Example

Purpose of a Building Society Essay Example Purpose of a Building Society Essay Purpose of a Building Society Essay Abbey National diversified further into money market and offshore banking by buying Cater Allen Holdings Plc for 195 million. Cater Allens main businesses are in wholesale money markets and offshore banking; other businesses include an onshore retail banking operation and a major execution-only sharedealing operation  Diversification towards the Internet Banking sector  Cahoot, Abbey Nationals separately branded e-bank, went live in June 2000 offering a competitively priced credit card and current account. cahoot has links with a number of non-financial retail and service partners to offer its customers a range of lifestyle products and services. In August 2001 Abbey National acquired Scottish Provident, to give Abbey National a leading position in the UKs individual protection insurance market.  Inscape  Abbey national diversified its activities to Investment Management.Inscape, Abbey Nationals new investment management business, was launched. The service is for the new wealthy a growing market of approximately four million people in the UK who have at least 50,000 to invest. Inscape delivered its services through a new network of advice centres where clients can meet dedicated relationship managers for face-to-face professional advice, seven days a week. This was complemented by a true multi-channel proposition of internet, telephone and postal support. Abbey National from being just a building society which offered savings account and Mortgage had diversified its activities to fields of General insurance and life assurance,offshore banking,Money Markets Commercial banking including asset financing, commercial lending operations, securities financing and risk management and even Car Finance and Leasing.  Abbey Nationals decision to convert to a Plc. is appropriate and timely.After the Big Bang(1983) Abbey National was facing tough competition from banks, centralised lenders and even high street retailers who were offering a range of financial products and services.Conversion to a Plc helped Abbey National to diversify its activities to the above mentioned field rather than being confined to the savings and mortgage Industry. Banks began to compete with building societies for home loans and 1981/82 gained a considerable share of the mortgage market for new homes. But profit-maximising banks would not be able to compete profitably with mutual-help nonprofit-making building societies in providing mortgages.  At that time the Council of the Building Societies Association was made up of Chief Executives of something like 30 building societies, including the ten largest. And in 1983 a working party of the Building Societies Association recommended proposals for changing the role of building societies. They were seeking wide-ranging powers to extend their operations into areas such as banking, insurance and hire-purchase. Implementing many of their proposals would overturn 200 years of tradition.  Where such activities would involve a degree of risk they proposed to operate only through subsidiary companies. Presumably to protect parent societies from having to pay the full debts of their subsidiaries if the subsidiaries became insolvent. The activities of building societies are restricted by legislation. When banks entered the mortgage market, building societies pressed for changes which enabled building societies to compete with banks for services offered so far by banks alone.  Consumers benefited considerably from this. It was building societies which introduced free banking and interest-paying current accounts and forced at least some banks to reduce charges and treat their customers with more consideration. Most building societies now compete to some considerable extent with banks and insurance companies, providing loans and insurance policies. The sale of mortgages in the UK is a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 billion business. Huge. There are tens of thousands of intermediaries and advisers offering thousands of mortgages from hundreds of lenders. New entrants to the market are bringing with them technology and process that have driven down the costs of running a mortgage business and thereby making products more competitive. Lenders making their products available through low-cost distribution channels such as the Internet and telephone are further enhancing this effect. Meanwhile, image conscious lenders are working together to clean up the industry as they try to shed the stigma sometimes attached to operating in their industry. In converting to plc status, a society would become a public limited company (plc), subject to all the regulations imposed by the Companies Acts and, being a deposit-taking institution, it would require a banking licence from the Bank of England. Thus conversion meant converting to a bank.  There are approximately 70 building societies in the UK, with assets of over 185 billion. They employ over 34,000 staff who work across the country in head offices and 2,100 branches, serving more than 15 million savers and over two and a half million borrowers. Building societies currently account for 19% of all outstanding residential mortgages. On the savings side, building societies hold about 18% of all personal deposits.  Top 15 Building societies asset wise  The main legislation governing the sector is the Building Societies Act 1986 (amended in 1997) which requires building societies to have as their main business making residential mortgage loans funded by the savings of members, and describes how they are to be regulated in order to ensure that members money is safe. Each society has a set of rules that governs the relationship between the society and its members. Along with banks, building societies also voluntarily follow the Banking Code, which sets minimum standards of good banking practice and customer service, and the Mortgage Code, which sets good mortgage lending practice. Purpose of a Building Society  Section 5(1) of the 1986 Act provides that a building society may be established under the 1986Act if (and only if)   Its purpose or principal purpose is that of making loans which are secured on residential property and are funded substantially by its members  Residential property is defined as being land at least 40% of which is normally used as, or in connection with, one or more dwellings, or which has been, is being or is to be developed or adapted for such use. The 1997 Act gave building societies the freedom to pursue any activities set out in their memorandum, subject only to compliance with the revised principal purpose introduced by that Act, the lending and funding limits, the restrictions on powers and appropriate prudential requirements, referred to below. In essence, it is the principal purpose, the nature limits and restrictions, together with the fact that most of a building societys customers are its members, which retain a building societys fundamental character, and differentiate it from other financial institutions.  A new building society can be established by ten or more people, and the capital which they have to put into the society is a minimum of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 million (to be held in permanent interest bearing shares (PIBS).So it is relatively easy to start a Building society. The number of Building societies approximately 70 is realistic because they all function purely according to the banking codes set by Banking Code Standards Board and the Mortgage Code set by the Mortgage Code Compliance Board. Building societies whether bigger or smaller are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The role of the regulator is to ensure societies are run in a safe and prudent manner. All Building societies are required to participate in ombudsmen schemes.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Economic Policy and Vocational Training in the United Kingdom Essay

Economic Policy and Vocational Training in the United Kingdom - Essay Example In comparison to other countries in the European Union the United Kingdom lags in literacy and numeracy rates. At age 16 the 'staying on' rate for students transitioning into vocational education is below desired rates with the majority of students not 'staying on' being from poorer or minority families. The United Kingdom's attempt to change the course of decline in educational outcomes has met with limited success. The United Kingdom has made three major policy changes that should affect literacy rates and staying on rates. The U.K. has chosen to lengthen the compulsory education mandate from 5 to 16 to 5 to 18. The U.K. has also mandated a 'literacy hour' each day where students and teachers focus only on literacy education. The United Kingdom has also mandated that public schools follow the National Curriculum so that all students are educated using the same standards. The desired outcome of these changes are higher literacy rates, increased staying on rates, and standardization of curriculum across the U.K. The long term outcomes of policy changes would ideally give the United Kingdom a competitive advantage in the E.U. marketplace. If the United Kingdom continues with current trends businesses in the U.K. may look elsewhere in the E.U. for qualified workers thus taking business away from the U.K. The end of World War Two and the creation of the European Union have brought changes to how children are educated in the European Union. This paper examines those changes and evaluates current policies in place in the United Kingdom. For the purpose of this study three member states and their educational systems have been examined. The United Kingdom is the focus of this paper while data and educational programs in Germany and France have been examined for comparison. All three countries have compulsory education laws that require children attend school during certain years of childhood. All three have tracks that children can follow with some transitioning into vocational education while others transition into higher education (university study for example). And, all three are European Union member states. How these member states prepare their 'human capital' is important to the European Union as a whole. The move toward open borders, open markets, brings forth the need to have qualified workers in all sectors of the economy. It only makes sense to prepare future workers in the European Union in a similar way with those performing the same jobs having attained the same qualifications. This was not so important pre World War Two when each country had its own isolated economy. The completion of the Chunnel connecting France and England and the completion of the land bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark further opened borders to more commerce. Countries are responsible for preparing their 'human capital' to function (work) in the global market place. As the European Union moves closer to social and economic cohesion it is more important than ever for it is for workers to be trained or educated to function in this new marketplace. Human Capital Human capital is best understood as "the physical means of production" (Becker, G 1993). Investing in human capital is much the same as investing in equipment. The equipment desired to

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Project management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Project management - Coursework Example The case: S M Construction has been awarded a contract to build a new manufacturing plant just outside Cardiff. The activity on arrow table below gives data on the activities involved in the plant’s construction. The excellent timeline view, provided by Ms project, is one of the features that contributed to the usefulness of this software (Muir, 2004, 59). The feature allowed for organizing each execution, listed in the case, regardless of whether they were complicated or long projects. This made the coordination between the projects, both long and short, much easier. Further, the compatibility of the project to other office apps also contributed to the successful execution of the task assigned by SM construction. The compatibility allowed for a presentation in Microsoft word, through copy pasting for better understanding. Further the software made it easy to derive relationship between the presented activities, thereby presenting an activity node diagram worth appraising (Taylor & Dow, 2013, 45). From the above case, the use of MS project proved that the SM construction project manager can minimize cost from  £26000 to  £19000. This was obtained by extracting a critical path from network diagram, which showed the shortest route possible. The network diagram showed that the lowest cost will be along 1-2, 1-3, 2-5, 5-6. Mind manager is another software, apart form Microsoft project, which can be use to perform the exercise presented by SM constructions (Lowery, 2001, 7). Managing such project, as presented, is made easier by mind manager through its outstanding feature of graphically compiling the data. The software allows users to add relationship between given activities and sub activities within a given project. Intuitively, the effectiveness of mind managers lies in how easy it allows users to organize information and

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Finicial Evaluation of Techologies Speech or Presentation

Finicial Evaluation of Techologies - Speech or Presentation Example 3. Calculate the Present Worth (that is, the Net Present Value [NPV] of total costs) for each of the technologies for the real discount rates and periods of assessment as specified in the following tables (please present results in this format): 4. Using your answers to question 3, what are the lifecycle costs of both technologies over one lifecycle of technology A at (a) a 5% real discount rate; and (b) a 20% real discount rate. Which technology is preferred on this lifecycle cost basis in each case (a) Calculate the average unit cost of the power in present value terms (in cents/kWh) supplied by each technology over a period of 20 years at a discount rate of 5%. Hint: use the answers from question 3 again to find the NPV of total costs for each technology over 20 years and then divide this amount by the total electricity supplied over this period. 5. Discuss briefly some of points emerging from this analysis of relevance to the financial comparison of sustainable energy supply options (in particular renewable) and current fossil-fuel technologies. New technologies are being developed to replace use of fossil fuels used for power generation. Studies about renewable energies are being done by the authorities if its cost will compensate its use against cost of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels like coal and gas are the most commonly used around the world for power generation. 1. In terms of technology, the average cost per kWh is much higher in Technology B which is 1.41 than 1.10 of A which means fossil energy will be more costly to produce and will be a higher price to consumer to borne. 2. Technology B gives a higher NPV than Technology A for the same 20 year period. A high positive value is an acceptable project proposition, and between two proposals, one having a higher value is

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Igor Stravinsky Essay Example for Free

Igor Stravinsky Essay Igor Stravinsky was among the most influential and versatile composers of the last century. His overwhelming commitment to music and remarkable musical career, â€Å"†¦which spanned the convulsive final years of the Imperial Russia and the social ferment of 1960s America, served to establish Stravinsky not only as the most celebrated composer of his time, but also as one of the defining forces of twentieth-century culture† (Wenborn, 1999, p. 10). Born in 1882 to the family of Fyodor Stravinsky, a famous Russian actor and opera singer, Stravinsky grew up in the atmosphere of conservatism and discipline. As his father was a member of Russian cultural elite and had close personal relationships with Turgenev, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and other talented artists of that epoch, the young Stravinsky and his siblings were surrounded with the music of the most progressive Russian composers, such as Borodin, Glinka, Mussorgsky and Dargomizhsky, since their early childhood. When he was 9, the young Stravinsky started his piano lessons followed by studying harmony, music theory and composition. However, his enthusiasm for developing a career in music was somewhat frustrated by the parents who insisted on Stravinsky’s becoming a lawyer. In 1901 he entered the University of St. Petersburg to study law. A year later, Stravinsky took an opportunity to present his compositions to Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, a leading Russian composer of those times, who lately became Stravinsky’s spiritual parent. Rimsky played an important role in musical development of Stravinsky, and till his death in 1908, he was influencing Stravinsky’s creative style. In 1907, inspired by the works of Rimsky, Stravinsky wrote First Symphony in E Flat Major which was dominated by nationalistic motifs. Along with other compositions (such as Fireworks and The Faun and the Shepherdess), the Symphony attracted the attention of Sergei Diaghilev, a Russian ballet impresario who worked for the Ballets Russes in France. On his request, Stravinsky created his first ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petroushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). The Russian period in the career evolution of Stravinsky can be characterized by a tendency to use ritual personages, motifs and harmonic formulas of Russian folklore, blended with a lot of dissonances and irregular rhythms. Those years were very important for the formation of musical aesthetics of Stravinsky, which can be defined by vivid imagination and various semantic elements, rhythmic freedom, abundance of variations and ostinati, etc. The next, neoclassic period started in the early 1920s, when Stravinsky moved to France. Together with his wife Ekaterina and their four children, Stravinsky settled down in Nice. He continued composing and traveling with the Ballets Russes, looking for new ideas and themes for his works. In this period, Stravinsky was under the influence of French impressionism of the eighteenth century. In his masterpieces, the composer used to refer to various stylistic models: he mastered the styles of the European baroque (Oedipus Rex, 1927), the techniques of old polyphony (the Symphony of Psalms, 1930), and so on. During the 1930s, Stravinsky’s success as a composer was boosted by his increasing popularity as a brilliant pianist and conductor of his own compositions. In 1934 he became a citizen of France, and a year later he had a series of great performances in the United States crowned by a remarkable concert in the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where Stravinsky conducted his newly created ballet The Card Party. The late 1930s were darkened for Stravinsky by the loss of his wife, mother and elder daughter who died of tuberculosis one after another. In 1939 he moved to the U. S. together with his mistress Vera de Bosset, a dancer at the Ballets Russes. Stravinsky’s compositions of the 1940s (including the Symphony in Three Movements (1945), the Ebony Concerto (1946) and other works) can be characterized by a great stylistic diversity. However, his ballet Orpheus completed in 1947 marked the composer’s return to neoclassical traditions. The opera The Rakes Progress (1951), created in collaboration with W. H. Auden and C. Kallman, is considered to be the apex of Stravinsky’s neoclassical period. The libretto was based on a series of engravings of William Hogarth. Musical context of the opera is based on classic harmonies and a wide palette of tone colors, enriched with surprising rhythmic changes and dissonances. The premiere of the opera took place at the famous La Venice in Italy, and in 1997 this opera was restaged by the Metropolitan Opera. In the early 1950s, being under the influence of such artists as A.  Schoenberg and R. Craft, Stravinsky embarked on using the techniques of Serialism in his compositions. During this final period of his career, the composer was experimenting with the twelve-tone methods (dodecaphony) developed by Schoenberg, as well as working on a great number of songs, cantatas and other small chamber works and pieces of vocal music. Many important compositions of this period are dominated by biblical motifs (Canticum Sacrum (1955), A Sermon, a Narrative, and a Prayer (1961), Abraham and Isaac (1963), etc. ) During the last decade of his life, Stravinsky continued performing and conducting his pieces in the most prestigious concert halls of the U. S. and Europe. He visited the Soviet Union and developed friendly relationships with Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev. Stravinsky was a devoted Orthodox Christian and a great father for his children. The composer died in 1971 and was buried on the cemetery of San Michele, next to the grave of his close friend, Sergei Diaghilev. For his achievements and musical innovations, in 1987 Stravinsky was granted the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement (posthumously). Despite great stylistic contrasts, all the works of Stravinsky retain a certain distinctive identity rooted in his Russian origin and the tendency to use his trademark musical elements (such as ostinati, off-rhythms, etc. ) in the majority of his compositions. Stravinsky was a person of an inexhaustible enthusiasm and eagerness to explore new musical horizons and styles. He was a composer of a phenomenal talent and matchless creative originality, who â€Å"†¦revitalized the rhythms of European music and achieved entirely new sonorities and blends of orchestral colors† (Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007, p. 46141)

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Assimilation Integration And Multiculturalism

Assimilation Integration And Multiculturalism There are different conceptual frameworks and theoretical models in social sciences to conceptualise and describe the relationship between different people and cultures. In this section, some of the various focal points regarding the process of integration of immigrants and minority groups into their host country or mainstream society will be discussed and used as a springboard for our analysis of the German Sinti and Roma minority integration in to the German society with particular reference to the city of Oldenburg. 2.1. Assimilation Is a term that refers to attempts to incorporate one micro culture into another or efforts to make one group more homogeneous in relation to another. The term first surfaced during colonial times and re-emerged at the turn of the 20th century. The term is used both to refer to colonized peoples when dominant colonial states expand into new territories or alternately, when diasporas of immigrants settle into a dominant state society. Colonized peoples or minority immigrant groups acquire new customs, language, and ideologies through contact and education in the dominant society. Assimilation may involve either a quick or gradual change depending on circumstances. Full assimilation occurs when new members of a society become indistinguishable from older members (Christine I. Bennett, 1995). The term `assimilation has been also used to describe both the model and the process of absorption of people from different countries and different cultures, brought together as the consequence of the migration process. In this context, assimilation is often interpreted as a process of progressive adaptation of leading towards inclusion in the host society whose final outcome should be the disappearance of cultural differences. This unidirectional process is considered the `natural way for migrants to adjust gradually to their new environment by absorbing the values of the dominant culture. The model of assimilation is a precise political strategy which intends to keep the national community as homogeneous as possible by endeavouring to ensure that the same basic values are shared by the whole population (Bolaffi et al. 2003:19). Assimilation refers to giving up of ones own ethnic identity and adopting that of the mainstream society. The American melting pot concept is an example of assimilation. 2.2. Meaning of Integration/Social integration The notion of integration is broadly employed by sociologists and social anthropologists to indicate the process of immigrant adjustment in their destination country and the experiences that could be acquired and shared between the new settlers and the host societies at the various levels of social organization. According to different scholars Integration is a long term and two way process of change that relates both to the that relates both to the conditions for and the actual participation in aspects of life in the given geographical area (Ager and Strang 2008:12). The term integration is considered as the longer-term process through which immigrants or particular social groups become full and equal participants in the various dimensions of society (Gray and Elliott 2001). Integration is also sometimes referred as a multicultural concept that denotes the removal of barriers that segregate human beings. For some writers integration can only happen when tolerance in the form of mutual respect and acceptance occurs on the part of racially and ethnically different groups of human beings (Banks 1994). Integration, in a sociological context, also refers to stable, cooperative relations within a clearly defined social system. It can also be viewed as a process that of strengthening relationships within a social system and of introducing new actors and groups into the system and its institutions. Integration is accepting, recognizing, valuing and celebrating as well as giving equal rights for the participation of minority groups. This means social integration includes analysis of differentiation of ethnic groups action and relations, and of quantitative and qualitative aspects of relational structures (civic and political participation, participation in social networks, involvement in economic, political, cultural life of society, representation at different levels of governance, participation in units and organisations of fellow citizen (http://www.escwa.un.org) Dimensions of integration According to different social researchers there are four basic dimensions of social integration in which minority groups or immigrants use to integrate to the mainstream society social system. Structural integration Structural integration means the acquisition of rights and the access to position and status in the core institutions of the host society: the economy and labour market, education and qualification systems, the housing system, welfare state institutions (including the health system), and full political citizenship. These are core institutions as participation in them determines a persons socioeconomic status and the opportunities and resources available to them, in a modern market society. Cultural integration Acquire the core competencies of that culture and society. In this respect, integration refers to an individuals cognitive, behavioural and attitudinal change: this is termed cultural integration. While cultural integration primarily concerns the immigrants and their children and grandchildren, it is also an interactive, mutual process one that changes the host society, which must learn new ways of relating to immigrants or minority groups and adapting to their needs. Interactive integration Interactive integration means the acceptance and inclusion of immigrants/minority groups in the primary relationships and social Networks of the host society. Indicators of interactive integration include social networks, friendship, partnerships, marriages and membership in voluntary organizations. Certain core elements of cultural integration, particularly communicative competencies, are preconditions for interactive integration. Identificational integration It is not possible to participate in a host societys core institutions without having first acquired the cultural competencies by which these institutions function. It is, however, possible to participate without identifying with the goals of these institutions and without having developed a feeling of belonging to the host society. This feeling of belonging may develop later in the integration process develop as a result of participation and acceptance. Inclusion in a new society on the subjective level identificational integration is indicated by feelings of belonging to, and identification with, groups, particularly in ethnic, regional, local and/or national identification (Bosswick and Heckmann 2006). Assimilation versus Integration The conceptual dissection between assimilation and integration is controversial among sociologists in the analysis of minority groups and immigrant practices and interactions with their new societal setting. Some of them prefer integration, while others assimilation and some use the terms interchangeably to express the different aspects of the process. Park and E.W. Burgess (1969) provided an early definition of assimilation, which showed assimilation as the one-way process: a process of interpenetration and fusion in which persons and groups acquire the memories, sentiments, and attitudes of other persons and groups and, by sharing their experience and history, are incorporated with them in a common cultural life (Alba and Nee, 1997:827-28). The classical assimilation framework implies that the various dimensions of assimilation -socioeconomic, social, cultural, and spatial assimilation are interconnected (South et al.,2005). The Socioeconomic assimilation as showed by high levels of education, income, and wealth is hypothesized to enhance immigrants mobility neighbourhoods. Social (or,Gordons terminology, structural) assimilation is also likely to increase immigrants prospects for spatial assimilation with the majority. Cultural assimilation (or, acculturation) indicates ethnic minorities adoption of the cultural practices and norms of the majority and the degree to which minority group members identify with the host society. Spatial assimilation is expected to influence immigrants geographic mobility into neighbourhood with the mainstream population (South et al., 2005). Therefore, assimilation means replacing ones previous identity with that of the host society. Whereas integration is refers to the capacity to acces s aspects of the dominant culture, while simultaneously retaining an ethnic identity. Kritz and his colleagues have defined these concepts by corresponding to the two fundamental dimensions of societal systems: structural and cultural. Integration refers to participation in the structure of a societal system and measured as the degree to which a system unit occupies positions on structurally relevant status lines. Whereas, assimilation is defined as participation in the culture of a societal system and measured as a degree to which a system unit occupies positions on culturally relevant status lines (Kritz 1981:80). Assimilation has also to be distinguished from acculturation, which is defined as cultural change resulting from direct contact between two cultural groups. It is unlikely to the accultured individual to completely ignore his/her ethnic identity, but adopts some elements of the immigration system (Ibid, 81). In international migration, it is more likely for the immigrants eventually to come to terms with the question of whether or not they and their families maintain the language and culture of their home country or adjust to the culture and language of the host country. With succeeding generations, assimilation to the new country becomes dominant, but the conflicts are most difficult for the first generation migrants (Glazier and De Rosa, 1986:314). The first generation immigrants usually compromise and hesitate, which makes it difficult to relate to the new environment. If immigrants/minority groups have never expected of such prior to their migration, the outcomes to the crisis become rather strong, painful, and intense (Ibid, 305). Immigrants and social groups develop about four strategies in terms of two major issues: cultural maintenance versus cultural contact. The question is whether to remain primarily among their original culture and community or to get involved in the host society, and several possible strategies exist (Kritz, 1981 Mesch, 2002). 2.3. Multiculturalism In the cultural and political arena multiculturalism can be described as the coexistence of a range of different cultural experiences within a group or society. It is often used as being synonymous with `cultural pluralism, resulting in a certain amount of theoretical and conceptual confusion. More recently, the trend in literature has been to use similar terms, such as interculturalism and `trans-culturalism, with far more precise meanings (Bolaffi et al. 2003). According to the International Organisation for Migration, a multi-cultural society aims to allow diversity, equal rights and equal opportunities to migrants and minority groups, at the same time allowing them to keep a cultural affiliation to their country of origin.  [1]  Multiculturalism rejects the simple integration process proposed by assimilation theory. Scholars from this perspective view multicultural societies as composed of a heterogeneous collection of ethnic and racial minority groups, as well as of a dominant majority group. This view has been forcefully illustrated in the context of the American society. Most scholars argue that immigrants actively shape their own identities rather than posing as passive subjects in front of the forces of assimilation and also emphasize that some aspects of the cultural characteristics of immigrants may be preserved in a state of un-easy co-existence with the attitudes of the host country. The multicultural perspective offers then an alternative way of considering the host society, presenting members of ethnic minority groups as active integral segments of the whole society rather than just foreigners or outsiders. With large-scale immigration into Europe, multiculturalism has become a major topic of political and intellectual discourse. The terms multiculturalism and multicultural society have been advocated as concepts that could help clarify the confusing picture of European immigration and integration, both in a descriptive-analytical and in a politico normative sense (Bosswick and Heckmann 2006). Main variables to evaluate the integration process In order to evaluate the Integration of German Sinti and Roma minority group in Germany we took the different variables presented by EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020. In sociology and other social sciences Social integration requires proficiency in an accepted common language of the society, acceptance of the laws of the society and adoption of a common set of values of the society. It does not require assimilation and it does not require persons to give up all of their culture, but it may require forgoing some aspects of their culture which are inconsistent with the laws and values of the society. In tolerant and open societies, members of minority groups can often use social integration to gain full access to the opportunities, rights and services available to the members of the mainstream of society. Social integration is inextricably linked to broad-based participation. This entails the participation of all social groups in the process of policy development, as well as in the benefits of economic growth and social progress. Social integration strives to facilitate the emergence of a cohesive and equitable society for all through the inclusion of all people in social, economic and political decision-making and development. As such, social integration is considered both a goal and a process. It is a multidimensional concept that embraces socio-economic and political objectives and strategies. There are different variables to evaluate the integration of minority groups such as ethnic minorities refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies. According to the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 there are four main variables to evaluate the integration process of minority groups and immigrants in the host community. The framework uses four main policy indicators to measure integration. In Its latest report, in (2010), measured how well policies relating to integration in labour market access, family reunion, long-term residence, political participation, access to nationality and anti-discrimination helped promote integration. Overall, each policy area was found to be only halfway to best practice. The EU integration policy commonly includes work, education, housing, health service, social inclusion and active citizens to measure the successful integration of minority groups in the mainstream society. Generally, In order to create a fertile ground for social inclusion Policies and strategies that promote the social, economic and cultural inclusion of migrants/minority groups within existing legal frameworks in the host countries needed. Minority groups need to have a chance to fully engage with their host society from a socioeconomic, political, and cultural perspective. *Access to education, employment, housing, health Care, are the major variables in EU framework to evaluate the integration process.