Chinese Attitudes Toward Nature, Time, Good and Evil Essay

As for the attitude of Chinese people toward nature, it is undisputed that it is marked by a strong feeling of harmony, for example, oneness of nature and man. According to Dong Zhongshu, who was the most important philosopher of the Western Han, Heaven had its will and purpose. It was Heaven that made the sun, the moon, and the stars move, the four seasons change, and all animals and plants grow and die. Heaven was kindhearted, so it made things produce one another; Heaven was also severe, so it made things overcome one another. Moreover, Heaven created a ruler to rule over the people. This meant that Heaven wanted the people to be ruled. When a ruler did something wrong, Heaven would be angry and would give the ruler warnings by causing strange natural phenomena to happen, such as eclipses, earthquakes, floods and droughts. This theory——the interaction between Heaven and man——had a clear purpose. On the one hand, it was intended to show that the ruler’s position and power were given to him by Heaven, and should not be questioned; on the other hand, the ruler should be virtuous and benevolent, and govern well, so as not to incur Heaven’s anger. Dong had a well-known saying: â€Å"The Way is great because it originates in Heaven. Heaven does not change; nor does the Way. † I would like to explain the idea clearly by an example. That is Feng Shui. Feng Shui (also known as â€Å"geomancy†) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. Maybe many people think it is superstition, but I consider it can reflect the pursuit of harmonious life of Chinese people. There are four purposes in Feng Shui, seeking the harmony of human body; the harmony between people and people; the harmony between people and society; the harmony between people and nature. Let me give a small example about placing a bed. The bed shall be slightly higher than the knee and not near the door. And it shall face to the south and back to the north in order to adjust duxhlt, the aorta and large veins direction of the blood circulatory system, so that people can fall a sleep easily, and have a high quality sleep. The bed can’t facet the west, because the rotation of the earth is from east to west, making the blood rush toward the head, and people can’t sleep soundly. Beam presses which mean air conditioners hang above the pillow, or the lights suspend above the bed, bring about oppression, and cause adverse effect of body and mind. Mirrors can’t face the bed, if not people may be startled easily in midnight, and can’t be peace. It really can express the attitude toward nature, uniting of heaven and humanity. As for the attitude of Chinese people toward time, three features will be mentioned about. The first is round- type time outlook. In the oriental world, farming is the major way of carrying out material and exchanging goods dominates all the economic life of the whole society. This pastoral civilization treats human and the nature as interrelated and interacted,the world as an integer organically linked. So in oriental society the round-type time outlook is that nature and human is integrate. This kind of time outlook holds the view that time is like a circle and all the things in the world return to its origina1 state after a cycle of time, for example, the alternation of day and night, the come and go of the four seasons,the turning of the twelve months, the increase of the age and the growing of plants. This kind of time view makes the Orientals handle the time at their disposal and do things at ease. For instance, when a teacher has not finished an important point in his class,he can prolong his class. At the Chinese wedding feast, few people will come at the time which is written on the invitation card. Moreover, Chinese use time very casually and intangibly. Chinese prefer to say some uncertain words 1ike â€Å"at once†, â€Å"sometimes†, â€Å"a short while†, which a1ways confuse the westerners. Chinese students who are studying English tend to misuse the tense when communicate with foreigners. In a word, Chinese don’t have clear differentiation concept of time. The second is polychromic time system. Polychromic time system means people are very casual in using time. In other words, being punctual is important, but not strict. Polychromic time system is the heritage of traditional agricultural society. People are used to do severa1 different things at the same time and do things emphasizing prime time. Chinese think that everything in the world develops with the cycling of time, so people catch the time that is ripe for acting, which means each step of our action is determined temporarily by our surroundings. So action is poorly planned by Chinese. In some occasions, people can do many things in the same time. A Chinese salesman can check out with the first customer on the one hand,and show the goods to a second one on the other hand, even greet a third One at the same time. However, westerners can hardly accomplish them and also can not accept them. The third is past time orientation. Time orientation is a relatively stable factor in cultural difference. It is connected to the historical background of the. Generally speaking, people who have too heavy tradition, look up to history and past, so their time orientation is past-oriented. Chinese belong to past-oriented. People show great respect to the past. The past experience and 1esson are important reference for today’s success and failure. Chinese show respect to ancestors and teachers. They like to say things by referencing to the old books and stories. That is why Chinese call teachers â€Å"lao shi†. â€Å"lao† means old. People attach importance to age and experience, because they are symbols of power and wisdom, so words like â€Å"lao† and â€Å"da† always mean respect in Chinese. As for the attitude of Chinese people toward good and evil, perhaps the most extreme view of goodness is found in the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism maintains that we are born pure and are closest to what is called â€Å"loving kindness† when we enter this world. Hence, people are good, and our culture is what makes us evil. The view of goodness is also found in Confucianism. Meng Zi made the original goodness of human nature the keynote to his system. To him, the virtue of humanity together with the accompanying virtues of righteousness, rites and wisdom arises from the inner springs of the human heart. These four cardinal virtues come in their seed form—the â€Å"four beginnings†, as the feeling of compassion, shame, modesty, and of the distinction between right and wrong. Such feelings are universal among mankind and they come as naturally ad taste for food, and sight for beauty. This, Meng Zi argued, can be seen in the fact that a child naturally loves his parents and that a man will instinctively experience a feeling into a well. Therefore, human nature is originally good, and will be good if it is guided by its innate feelings, just as water is inclined to flow downward. In contrast to the concept of the goodness of human nature advocated by Meng Zi, Xun Zi declared that human nature is originally evil because human desires inevitably lead to greed and strife if left untrained. Believing that goodness can only be acquired, Xun Zi stressed the value of education and environment. To him it is environment and authority that make the man, and it is obedience of the precepts of the sage-kings that produces the goodness that is in him. In the end, however, not only is the life of virtue a possibility but even sage-hood is within reach. Therefore, Xun Zi said, â€Å"Every man on the street can become like the sage-king Yu†, a perfect orthodox Confucian note. What mentioned about are viewpoints from the ancients. Nowadays Chinese attitudes toward good and evil are very wide and vague, not like Christianity which has a â€Å"ten commandments†, making the general public even those without much cultural literacy has some certain standards, ruling what can do and can not do, their attitudes toward good and evil are absolutely clear. But to Chinese, nothing must been done and nothing can not be done. The boundary between good and evil is obscure, in some condition something is good but in other condition it may be bad. To Chinese the boundary is always about degree, whether it is excessive or not. For example, talking between Chinese friends sometimes contains abusive language, but it doesn’t mean they hate each other, most of time, it is just joking. That behavior is not really evil, but if it is overdone, it will be. Chinese People’s attitude toward nature, time, good and evil have been formed gradually, and they are relatively stable in a long time, but they are not without changes. The better living conditions, the development of the economy, the improvement of the society and the increase of the interaction of people from different cu1tural backgrounds will undoubtedly have subtle effects on their views, although it is also a long process. What I talking about is some basic attitude of Chinese, it will help foreigner to understand Chinese better, but not always apply to every Chinese at every time.

Assessing teachers by the quality of results they attain

Judging teacher quality on test marking is a extremely debated issue. Teachers are frequently assessed by the quality of consequences in which they attain. Policies and statute law in educational methods have changed dramatically throughout the 19th and 20th century. This is down to altering political parties being in power and their positions on how instruction should be taught, besides due to the economic alterations over the old ages. As new ideas and old pattern has been examined alterations have necessarily been made. Exam marking is a method which has been used for over a hundred old ages to judge teacher quality. However the inquiry which I intend to present is whether that is adequate to find how ‘good ‘ a instructor truly is. Should opinions on this be changed, have they started to alter and is it possible to alter the peoples view after a life-time of test mark being figure one? These are the inquiries that I intend to see through looking at old and current poli cies, international positions and policies and besides whether the course of study has a bearing on this position. History The method of tests and measuring kids was ab initio introduced in the 1870 Forster Act. This was besides when the authorities started to supply free instruction for all kids, nevertheless, with free instruction for all came the authorities saw that there needed to be a manner to turn out to the people of England that there money was being spent sagely: hence methods of proving the kids was instigated to demo that the kids were larning in schools. The manner in which kids were tested was via Her Majesty ‘s Inspectors, they would see schools in order to oppugn the category on how much they had learnt in their categories. The authorities besides gave instructors incentive to do certain that the kids could reply these inquiries as they were being judged every bit much as the kids. The better a category did in these reviews the more respectable the teacher wage would be. However this chalk and speak method was non without issue, as the kids were assessed merely on the inquiries tha t the inspector asked, which could be said to be an unjust proving method. Therefore schools jumped directly in with instruction to prove instead than learning to larn. ( Ward and Eden, 2009:87-88 ) Changes were brought approximately in 1902 with the Balfour Education Act, instructors were given more freedom to make their ain teaching method. The Early Old ages sector in peculiar was get downing to have more freedom within their instruction. There are many influences which supported this ideal. Possibly one of the earliest was Aristotle, his position that cognition came through experience was noted every bit early as 366BC ( Pound, 2008b ) . Followed on by Jean-Jacques Rousseau who believed that kids should believe otherwise about instruction, he believed in liberating up the kid ‘s head, promoting people to seek out new thoughts. ( Pound, 2008a:7 ) Maria Montessori believed that kids learned throughout their lives from the minute they are born. Montessori was another truster, like Rousseau, that observation was the key to a kid ‘s learning experience, besides she believed that kids should non be pushed to larn but excessively allow them larn at their ain gait. There fore from my position Rousseau and Montessori are opposing the thought of standardized testing as this is an impossible technique to verify good instruction if kids learn at different ages and phases. They believe in steering the kid in their acquisition instead than ‘teaching a kid ‘ what they need to cognize to complete scrutinies. Once once more the instruction system was changed dramatically ; the 1944 Education Act introduced the tripartite system, which in bend brought about the 11 plus scrutiny, one time once more proving the kids at certain age/stages to find what they have learnt. The 11-plus test aimed to find the intelligence of all 10s to eleven twelvemonth old kids, to set up which school they should go to, those kids that scored the highest would go to the grammar schools ; to learn extremely academic topics, where as the kids which scored the lower consequences would travel to either the secondary proficient schools ; for mechanical and scientific minded pupil or the secondary modern schools ; for kids taking for low skilled occupations and homecare. The kids that attended the grammar schools were seen to be the most intelligent ; the grammar schools brought in the better instructors therefore the kids that were in front were seen to be given the chance to acquire farther in front. Although, the in structor quality of the ‘best ‘ instructors should besides be up for argument, the instructor deemed the ‘best ‘ were merely so as they scored the highest on their tests. These tests did non integrate the aggregation of any cognition of the individual taking them. The testing does non enlist critical instructor quality issues such as whether the instructor has a good resonance with kids, nor does it prove if the instructor is considerate, sort or creative. Therefore it can be said that these kids are non truly accessing the ‘best ‘ instructors but simply being taught by an older coevals of in-between category people who has entree to the stuffs to win in tests. The 11 plus exam argument has many angles, it could be seen as carnival in some ways as the kids were tested on certain cognition, each kid was given the same trial with no exclusions, nevertheless did each kid have the entree to the same stuffs and the same chances to successfully take such tests? Social category is a large issue which should be taken into consideration when discoursing whether the test standards were a just proving method. Children from in-between category households ; kids of canvassers and physicians were more accustomed to the countries of involvement within the tests. Such things as anagrams would be tested seting some in-between category kids at an advantage as their parents are more likely to hold done things such as crosswords therefore the kids are more likely to hold come across this before, whereas the working category kids are much less likely to hold this experience. Reasoning that the authorities of the clip were still really much thought of doing the rich richer and the hapless poorer hence further spliting the societal categories. The 1967 Plowden Report one time once more changed the educational doctrines. The Plowden Report recommended that primary instruction became more like early old ages instruction, they called for more active scholars, kids should be larning through drama. The Plowden study besides called for the abolition of cyclosis, conveying about subject based larning for primary instruction instead than subject based acquisition. This was possible due to the abolition of the eleven-plus test therefore a broader course of study was possible, instead than the instructor to prove method. ( Ward and Eden, 2009:67/68 ) Parents protested the recommended alterations as they wanted kids to be taught specific lessons such as reading and authorship, the thought of kids traveling to school and playing was seen as unequal instruction. This position was one of which the parents were familiar, their instruction was one of command and work sheets, hence this is what the parents knew. This contention around the parent ‘s protests resulted in the authorities commissioning more research in the 1970 ‘s and 1980 ‘s. Even so, this testing was one time once more based upon exam tonss. Neville Bennett ( 1976 ) tested kids at the start and terminal of the academic twelvemonth. Bennett ‘s consequences found that the ‘traditional ‘ instructors produced better test consequences ; nevertheless Bennett ‘s consequences have been criticised as he merely tested the kids on the nucleus topic ‘s maths and English. Another unfavorable judgment of Bennett ‘s survey was his deficiency of detecting categories that he was researching. The bases of these consequences were strictly on the consequences they produced. This resulted in instructor quality once more being judged entirely on the consequences that they can bring forth. ( Ward and Eden, 2009:92 ) Course of study In 1988, the National Curriculum was introduced, it was at first really traditional but became more flexible with the debut of vocational topics. The national course of study was implemented with no authorities intercession in learning methods or teaching method, giving instructor ‘s freedom to make their ain teaching method and utilize their ain methods of learning. However the national course of study was to standardize school instruction to do testing and appraisal easier. Key Stage appraisals were implemented at ages seven, eleven and 16. These standardized trials have been used to categorize kids into ability groups. Ball ( 2003 ) claimed that the National course of study favoured in-between category groups, it has been said that it was besides bias against different cultural groups. For Example History lessons were based entirely on British history and the school twenty-four hours was covered in Christian traditions ; such as supplications before go forthing school and in school assemblies. The course of study has one time once more had a proposed alteration with the publication of the White paper 2010, this will be discussed subsequently on. Standards non Structures New Labour leader Tony Blair in concurrence with the educational curate Barry Gardiner recognised the demand to assist working category kids achieve. Blair believed in ‘standards non constructions ‘ . Rather than underscoring on grammar schools and school pick, Blair found it more of import to underscore acquiring good criterions out of all schools. Compulsory numeracy and literacy hours were introduced to do certain that all kids were ab initio being taught to read and compose decently, which in bend would foster their accomplishments in the hereafter. â€Å" Education should be about happening success in every kid. When I talk about elevation criterions, I do non merely intend what gets measured in external scrutinies. We have to be much more concerned about the quality and relevancy of instruction our immature people receive and with the scope of chances to let them to win in the universe of work in the twenty-first Century. † ( Gardiner, 2004 ) Standards non constructions is where kids are what affair, it is said that seting kids on the right way to lifelong acquisition is where they will see true success. Gardiner recognised that the procedure, in which the kid acquires these womb-to-tomb acquisition accomplishments, is much less of import than the devising certain the kid does achieve these accomplishments. Gardiner aimed for a more holistic attack to acquisition, besides a demand for more vocational topics in schools. Although the course of study was to be more holistic the kids ‘s accomplishments were scored on trial. ( Gardiner, 2004 ) International attacks In the United States, the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act stated that all instructors by 2005-2006 had to be extremely qualified, be a certified instructor and major in their specific capable therefore obtaining a certification. Thus the Centre of Assessment and Evaluation ( CAEL ) in pupil acquisition in America, noted in Tennessee, where there was an attack pioneered called the ‘value added ‘ attack. This was intended to measure the value teachers add to the pupils larning. Students are compared to their ain acquisition: pupil ‘s trial tonss are compared with their ain old tonss instead than being compared to other pupil ‘s tonss, therefore category or household income is non an issue. The instructors were judged on how the pupils they had had improved, besides they defined the instructors of best quality gained greater accomplishment from the lower achieving pupils, instead than the higher achieving pupils in which it is normally assessed. However it was stat ed that there ought to hold been some observation in schoolrooms to truly assess the pupil ‘s betterment. ( CAESL, 2004 ) In Wales conference tabular arraies were abolished in 2001, harmonizing to research workers at Bristol University this has severely affected the public presentation of pupils in Wales. In conformity to their research, this attack has decreased public presentation as there is no force per unit area for the pupils to better. GCSE consequences have been compared with England by comparing similar schools from each state ; this research showed that Welsh schools were acquiring up to two GSCE classs lower than the schools in England. Naming and shaming schools through conference tabular arraies in England is seen to hike overall classs due to the force per unit area to maintain league place. ( Loveys, 2010 ) However the NAS/UWT instructors brotherhood has clearly opposed this place in mentioning that Wales ‘s school public presentation is bettering twelvemonth on twelvemonth. ( BBC, 2010 ) â€Å" It handily fails to foreground the fact that overall school public presentation in schools in Wales additions during the period covered by the study. † ( BBC, 2010 ) These teacher Unions promote the abolition of League tabular arraies saying that schools are offering easier classs to better their conference place. Parents Choice It has been said that parents are non taking schools based on the school conference tabular arraies but are more interested in location for easiness of handiness, little category sizes and the attention that is given to the kids. John Bangs, the caput of instruction at the National Union of Teachers stated in an interview for The Times that parents choose schools for their ain grounds, he believes they would be better aided by a full position of school accomplishment instead than merely consequences of trials, public presentation tabular arraies and Ofsted reviews which merely focus on a few cardinal opinions. ( Sugden, 2010 ) The Departments for Schools has clearly set out to relieve this job, as a statement a interpreter at the Department for Schools has said in The Times interview, that they are presenting a new strategy which will present a new school study card, this aims to give a more clear and full position of the school including more than simply academic accomplishment. How ever, it is besides said that no apology will be made for seting a strong influence over academic consequences, as we have more good and outstanding schools than of all time before, giving parents a existent pick and the option to weigh out other factors. ( Sugden, 2010 ) Current ideals and statute law The alliance has brought about new ideals on instruction. Prosecuting new positions and combined positions of the conservativists and broad Democrats. OFSTED has upped criterions and the new authorities has publicised new thoughts of personality testing. First observing the recent OFSTED studies, that has stated that they are upping their criterions and have judged many schools as inadequate. This is due to the coming ideals that schools need now to be judged non merely on informations, as it was seen that OFSTED could merely phone in their consequences. ( Shepherd, 2010 ) It has been found that instructors are non good plenty equipped to learn pupils, their exanimate effort at learning pupils is go forthing pupils bored and unwilling or being inspired to larn. OFSTED have concluded that the hapless instructors that are fighting to hold on the pupil ‘s imaginativeness and are neglecting to animate the kids that they are learning, hence kids are being giving mundane undertakings, harmonizing to OFSTED ‘s main inspector Christine Gilbert. â€Å" There is excessively much instruction that is dull and uninspiring. This means that excessively many immature people are non equipped good plenty to do the best of their lives. † ( Gilbert, 2010 ) In correlativity with this the alliance has proposed alterations to the educational system. The White paper that has been published on the 24th of November is naming for more in-school preparation for instructors. The White Paper will besides get rid of clip bounds on the sum of clip schools are allowed to supervise schoolrooms, hence making more flexibleness, taking to make better instructors. ( Vasager, 2010 ) â€Å" The remarks came as the Coalition prepared to print a White Paper today that will toughen up tests, overhaul the national course of study, reform instructor preparation and give staff more power to train students. All schools will be forced to run into tough new marks or face being taken over. † ( Paton, 2010a ) Besides the White Paper has besides proposed that all manque instructors ‘ under-go personality showing and aptitude trials which all instructors must go through before modification, this method is already in usage in Finland. The national course of study is to be tightened up to halt forcing the ‘easier ‘ classs. The purpose of the new tightened up course of study is besides to set forward a more specific nucleus cognition, this go forthing more free clip for such things as humanistic disciplines, athletics and civilization. ( Paton, 2010b ) League tabular arraies are excessively be focused on the nucleus topics such as maths, English and Science so that schools can no longer acquire to the top of the tabular arraies by forcing pupils into the softer or easier topics, which are non found valuable by future employers. The focal point of future instructors will be that they have great capable cognition, and a love of learning and their maestro topic. ( Paton, 2010b ) Besides Broad Democrat leader Nick Clegg proposed the system of ‘Like-versus-like ‘ which the Tories have said to be unfastened excessively. This system will suggest that school conference tabular arraies will be compared to those in similar state of affairss for illustration hapless with hapless, in-between category with in-between category. ( Asthana & A ; Helm, 2010 ) Teacher quality is a construct which is difficult to specify, many factors such as observation, trial marking, personality testing and kid inspiring is needed in correlativity with each other to find if a instructor is truly a ‘good ‘ instructor. The history of instruction has evolved over the century, traveling back and Forth between ideals depending on the political party in power and the economic sciences of the clip. From the first oncoming of scrutinies, get downing from oppugning from Her Royal Highness ‘ Inspectors, to standardised proving. The eleven-plus tests were extremely respected in their clip, but as research continued it was found that these trials could be seen as favoring in-between category kids. The research has continually been extended until current thoughts that pupils need to be tested against pupils of similar backgrounds, which in bend provided more accurate histories of betterment and accomplishment. Through research of international ideal s of instruction, parts have begun to go intertwined within the English instruction system. International ‘failures ‘ ( harmonizing to some ) such as the Welsh schools get rid ofing conference tabular arraies has besides been taken into consideration. This research had the opposite consequence by turn outing the authorities with ground non to take on this attack. In decision throughout the last century instructor quality has basically been based upon scrutiny tonss, observation or kid inspiring yet none have put them all together, which could so give a better definition of the ‘good ‘ instructor. Quality of learning demands to be a holistic position, much like the instruction is taking towards.

Great Captains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Great Captains - Essay Example A number of individuals from many walks of life find it quite fascinating to study war strategy over the past several thousand years and how the same strategies have been employed, despite the fact that warfare has changed dramatically overtime. Being that warfare has changed over the past one hundred fifty years, the study of captains, such as Napoleon, Ulysses Grant, and Frederick the Great are still valid for a modern military professional, as it is these three individuals who have contributed largely in shaping our civilization and making it what it is today. One reason that the study of captains, such as Napoleon, Ulysses Grant, and Frederick the Great are still valid for a modern military professional is that a military professional can learn a great deal from these individuals. For instance, from the study of these great individuals, a modern military professional can learn to be an effective leader. The modern military can study the art of war from all three of these great captains and possibly employ some of these strategies in today's modern war fair. Some may challenge that learning the strategies of these captains is useless for a modern military professional, since war fair has changed so much since these men were alive. Those supporting this argument state that the weapons during the time of these captains were not as sophisticated as they are today, and wars are fought on a much larger scale than in times past. These captains did not deal with the challenges that we do now. Though these arguments are true and valid, the reason s for engaging in war are the same as they were since the beginning of humankind, and because of this, the study of such captains is relevant, as such study helps the future leader in deciding what he should and should not do to see to it that his outcomes are successful. If these three captains have employed a particular strategy that brought them a plethora of success, then there is no problem at all making use of that same strategy today. In regards to this, Paret and Clausewitz state that the purpose of war has always stayed the same, even though we now use more sophisticated weapons. Not to mention, the tactic to attack the enemy with the utmost force, to concentrate on what allows the enemy to resist and do away with it so the enemy can resist no longer and the desire to annihilate the enemy has been the same. Furthermore, the definition of war has also stayed the same, as war is merely a way for us to force the enemy to do our will and see to it that it is carried out (Chapte r One, Book One). Another reason that the study of these great captains is valid for a modern military professional is that a great deal can be learned from their use of intelligence. On the subject of intelligence as it pertains to war, Paret and Clausewitz state that those who are savages normally fight solely motivated by passion. There is no real intelligence on their part, as they are going to do whatever it takes to destroy their enemy. On the other hand, civilized peoples actually take the time out to sit and strategize how they will attack their enemy, defeat them, and successfully conquer them, if conquering is part of the reason that the war is being fought (Chapter One, Book One). These three great captains, no doubt, took the time to intelligently strategize how they would advance upon their enemies. Surely, they did feel some passion of hatred for their enemy, hence the reason they would attack them in the first place, as one would not attack someone they

Managing Performance in Operations - Apple Inc Essay

Managing Performance in Operations - Apple Inc - Essay Example It sells a large amount of its product line through its online retail stores. The company also tries to cater to a large chunk of education market by offering education gadgets to the students both online and through retail (Apple computer, 2005). The operations of the company are spread throughout America, Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific as well as the Middle East and some parts of Africa. The company policy lays a lot of stress on its value chain and every operational activity done by the company is in compliance with the code of Operations (Finkle & Mallin, 2010) ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY AT APPLE: The company has grown from a starting point to become the best company of the world. The stock performance of the company gives a very clear idea about the strategies used by the company. On the very basics, the company is committed to improve customers’ lifestyle by developing the best PC gadgets, Music players and other cellular communication devices. The target market of the com pany is the students, businessmen, educators, and even governmental agencies for the industrial products. In such a case, the company emphasizes on a business strategy that focuses on the ability to design and develop in-house operating systems, application software, hardware and other tangible and intangible products. Seamless integration of the applications and innovative designs are a critical part of Apple’s manufacturing policy. The company lays a strong emphasis on continual improvement and innovation in its product line and other business strategies. Research and Development form the focus of the executives of the company who work on the ideology that that in order to survive and foster, people should think differently and create imaginations. As a result the company keeps on revitalizing its gadgets and digital consumer electronics (O’ Grady, 2009). The company also integrates various third party applications in its product mix. Many accessories of for Mac comp uters, ipods, and iphones are injected into the market by third-party ventures. Another business strategy employed by the company is the expansion of the distribution network and expands the customer base by focusing on customer satisfaction. These strategies have enabled the company to introduce new products in the market and gain a competitive edge over its competitors (Blackwell, 1987). When in 1999, the company introduced the ibook, its product matrix got complete. The company could now offer a desktop as well as a portable computer with a highly capable operating system. At several instances, the company has acquired several small SME’s that have been playing in its market. This strategy has enabled the company to gain a competitive edge in the market and maintain and foster its presence. PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION: One of the main reasons for the standout performance of the company in the global market is the product differentiation strategy in company’s operations. The company staff is very conscious to reduce the similarities among not only the competitor products but also the product line of the company itself. The company has built a reputation by making the state of the art technologies that are user friendly and extremely solution bound. In the industry where the company is operating, the importance of product differentiation acts like a barrier for new entrants. This tool is fully utilized by the company as a part of its corporate strategy.

Success of Chick-fil-a and how it relates to management Essay

Success of Chick-fil-a and how it relates to management - Essay Example 3). Truett unveiled his entrepreneurial skills at an early age of 8 years by opening and successfully operating a stand of Coca-cola at his family’s front yard on 1929 (Cathy 1). Six years later in 1935, Truett’s family relocated to Atlanta’s downtown due to financial strains. He started a paper delivery service to his neighbors, which enhanced his customer service and relations. In 1946 Truett started a small restaurant called Dwarf Grill with the support of his brother Ben Cathy (Cathy 1). This business adventure led to the opening or a second Dwarf House in Forest Park, which unfortunately burnt to the ground leading to massive loss of profit and property. A strong Christian character and business oriented attitude prompted Truett to rebuild the burnt restaurant and started using a home-made chicken recipe for a boneless chicken breast in a sandwich (Cathy 1). This recipe was from his mother’s kitchen, and Truett called it Chick-fil-A. In 1967, the bone less chicken breast recipe attracted many loyal customers which led to the opening of Chick-fil-A first restaurant in a shopping mall in Atlanta (Cathy par. 3). Truett continued to inspire his employees by offering scholarships for further education and housing for the less fortunate teenage boys. Chick-fil-A’s customers enjoy the delicious boneless chicken at affordable prices, which has contributed to 1,605 other restaurants in a total of 39 states in America (Cathy par. 4). As the CEO of Chick-fil-A, Truett has displayed his management and leadership skills by operating the chain of restaurants for 44 years with an upsurge of sales and charity donations (Cathy 4). Employees and youths in local communities benefit from the scholarships offered by Truett to acquire the best education and skills. Management practices Effective management practices in a company ensure that stakeholders, shareholders, employees and customers achieve their personal goals. Good management practic es are directed towards the following departments in a company: human resources, company product, marketing, technology development and process controls. Customer satisfaction is significant in increasing sales while improvement of employees’ working conditions, competency and confidence ensures a high performance output. Interpersonal relations with customers Chick-fil-A chain restaurants are currently under the management of Truett Cathy’s son called Dan Cathy. Cathy is the president and Chief of Operations (COO) of Chick-fil-A restaurants across the U.S. (Zikza 3). Mr. Cathy has power and authority that allows him to sit behind a desk in a closed office and issue orders, but his charismatic character leads him to abandon his office and attend to his customers personally (Carter par. 6). He further explains that Dan Cathy shakes his customers’ hands, serves them the tasty food, clears food trays and helps in cleaning up after his customers. One of Cathyâ€℠¢s foremost and memorable activities in his restaurants is giving kids free ice cream while they are all shouting in joy (Carter par. 8). In the contemporary knowledge-driven markets, many leaders forget the strong customer relationships and services and focus all their time, energy and resources on making profits only. Businesses thrive on demand and

Enviromental engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Enviromental engineering - Essay Example Chemical or biological processes can help specific sources of phosphorus as from wastewater treatment plants (Henze & Van Loosdrecht 155). Biological nutrient removal processes in the treatment of waste waters lead to environmental, operational and economic benefit. For this purpose, stricter rules are being implemented for removing phosphorus from waste water. The different nutrient removal processes are chemical, physical and biological. Various biological methods are available for removing both nitrogen and phosphorus. The process of biological nutrient removal or BNR is based on a chain of biochemical reactions that convert nitrogen to another form. The main changes are nitrification and denitrification. â€Å"Nitrification is the conversion of ammonium, NH4+ to nitrite, NO2-, and finally to nitrate, NO3-â€Å" (PWTB A-4). Denitrification is the process by which, without dissolved oxygen bacteria use nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor and convert it to nitrogen gas. Denitrification occurs rapidly when an external substrate like wastewater or methanol is present for bacterial growth. Denitrification takes place slowly in the event of bacteria using nitrate in the absence of an external substance source. This is also termed as endogenous-level denitrification. The denitrification rates at endogenous level depend on sludge age and the active mass fraction of denitrifying bacteria (PWTB A-4). The effectiveness of the biological nutrient removal system is impacted by the â€Å"characteristics of the waste water influent to each zone of the process† (PWTB A-13). Both biological nitrogen removal and biological phosphorus removal can be carried out successfully only in the presence of adequate biodegradable organic substrate. The efficiency of the biological phosphorus removal process differs according to the specific organic compound available in the anaerobic zone. There is reduced efficiency of nitrogen

Business Law #1 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Law #1 - Case Study Example The California Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the charges against the respondents on the authority of People v Krivade that was decided by the California Supreme Court. In the said case, the California Supreme Court held that warrantless trash searches violate the Fourth Amendment and the California Constitution. The State law of California provides that Californians have the right to privacy in their garbage and cannot be inspected without warrant. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals. It concluded in accordance with the vast majority of lower courts that have addressed the issue that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home. The U.S. Supreme Court based its decision on a number of similar cases that were already decided. It said that the warrantless seizure of garbage bags left at the curb outside the Greenwood house would violate the Fourth Amendment only if respondents manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in their garbage that society accepts as objectively reasonable. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment provisions. The U.S.

Nutrition 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nutrition 1 - Assignment Example Magnesium also gives excitement to the nerves and muscles and it is needed by every enzymatic reaction which is involved in the storage of energy molecule. Vitamin B1 thiamin can be founded in eggs, fish, peas, green vegetables, whole grain bread and it is needed as 1mg for men and 0.8 mg for women per day. Vitamin B2 can be founded in milk, rice, eggs and 1.1mg is needed for women and 1.3mg is needed by men per day. Nicotinic acid (B3) is included in meat, wheat flour, eggs, milk and fish and 13 mg is needed for women and 17 mg is needed for men per day. Pantothenic acid contains in chicken, potatoes, beef, tomatoes, kidney, broccoli, eggs and brown rice. It cannot be stored in the body thus we need to have it every day in our diet. Vitamin B6 can be founded in Chicken, bread, fish, pork, eggs, rice, oatmeal, peanuts, soya beans and milk. 1.2 mg of vitamin B6 is needed for women and 1.4 mg is essential for men per day. Folic acid includes in liver, spinach, peas, brown rice and it is needed by 0.2 mg per day and as it cannot be stored in the body thus it is needed every day in our diet. Vitamin B12 is involved in meat, cod, cheese, mi lk, salmon, eggs. Dairy foods, fish and meat are enough to supply everyday need for vitamin B12. The good sources of vitamin C are oranges, potatoes, lemon and it should be taken every day. Adults need 40mg of vitamin C per day. Calcium can be founded in milk and other dairy products, soya beans, nuts and adults must intake 700 mg of Calcium per day. Magnesium is included in fish, meat, dairy foods, nuts and 270 mg is needed for women and 300 mg is needed for men per day. Phosphorus is included in fish, red meat, bread, oats and adults must intake 550 mg of it per day. Thus we need to have these foods in our diet chart (NHS, No Date). Athletes take various vitamin supplements and sometimes in higher dosages. Theory has shown that use of every vitamin is related to the metabolic function in

Marketing principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing principles - Essay Example feeding equipments, baby walkers and bouncers, baby monitors and range of toys which would required mostly by parents who have children and younger children. With the disposable income among young parents, particularly in the UK the baby care product market is increasing at a steady rate. The consumer demographics in the market for baby care products in the UK shows that an increasing number of kids and young children are taking to using variety of products which made for themselves to do their activities in safe and easy manner. Purchasing behavior of UK consumers of baby care products in particular is determined by price elasticity of demand plus a variety of external factors (Cook, 2007). Five senses as outlined below don’t essentially act as the ultimate determinants of purchasing decisions of consumers. In fact a bewildering array of endogenous and exogenous variables plays a very big role in consumers’ decisions. However, what’s seen, heard, felt, smelled and tasted matters in the immediate decision making process. Thus the family unit is the most basic factor which drives buying decisions for baby products. The value statement for the baby products can be based on the company’s customer value creation strategy with safety, care, quality and fun. As a value statement shows the first word is safety. This key concept has become a very big issue in the current times. For instance Baby Product comes from a variety of sources and a variety of countries. The potential customer must be informed about the level of safety for their kids. The word care carries a greater weight because parents and elders care for their kids. Similarly quality matters because children need quality products. Fun is associated with keeping the kids happy during the play time. Thus each baby product must be exciting enough to the kid. Thus a few extensive and serious research studies have to be undertaken in order to determine the extent of influence on consumers’ decisions

Judy Bacas Great Wall of LA (Historical and Geographic and american Essay

Judy Bacas Great Wall of LA (Historical and Geographic and american dream aspect) - Essay Example The community in which it exists is also highly diverse, including residents of Mexican, Indian and African descent, making a history of this nature seem entirely appropriate for the area and necessary for the state. Each panel depicts a different event in California history while can be pieced together through the 1960s. By looking at the panels that depict the California Gold Rush and California’s role in World War II, it is possible to see how the American Dream was shared by people of all races in the first and defended by people of all races in the second. The panel depicting the California Gold Rush is an important point in history as it is the event that brought numerous white settlers out to the west to displace those individuals already living there. Panels before this depict the level of Indian and Mexican settlement that had already taken place, as well as Spanish domination. However, with the discovery of gold, more and more white settlers moved in from the east seeking their own fortunes. The panel begins innocently enough with the depiction of the discovery of gold and the arrival of gold seekers by ship. Here is the American dream in action, with people of all colors coming to the California coast to seek their fortunes and pursue the American Dream of some property, a home to call their own and the ability to make their own livings. Included in the image are portraits of Mifflin W. Gibbs, who is identified on the wall’s official website as the publisher of the first Black newspaper, and Mary Ellen Pleasant, also iden tified on the same site as a civil rights activist who helped defend Blacks arraigned under the fugitive slave laws. While the inclusion of these two figures is intended to indicate the positive impact of black people on California history, it also serves to remind viewers of the limited number of people of color that were able to have such an impact on the people of this time period. The inclusion of a

Physics Research Assignment Essay Example for Free

Physics Research Assignment Essay Introduction The study of physics has had a large impact on the development of road safety. The study of Newtons Laws, impulse and momentum help to reduce initial momentum or decrease impulse (rate of change of momentum) to protect passengers. Technological advances and studies of vehicle crashes increase the automobile industrys understanding of the forces involved and ways of reducing effects of collisions. Within vehicles, many car safety devices are installed, such as seat belts, air bags, crumple zones and head rests. Modern road design reduces the initial or rate of change of momentum and consequently the impact of collision through crash barriers, speed zones and speed humps. Car safety devices Seatbelts Seatbelts are designed so that passengers are restrained instead of continuing to move forward at the cars speed when the brakes of a moving vehicle are applied. In this situation, there is a tendency for a body to resist changes to its motion, called inertia. (Newtons first law) The stopping force is applied to the more durable parts of the body such as hips, chest and shoulder. This is instead of the human head crashing into windshield if no seat belt is worn. Inertia reel seatbelts Inertia reel seatbelts have a cylinder that stores extra belt material on a spool. The spool turns freely normally for movement. In the event of a sudden change in velocity, a pendulum in the reel plunges forward to lock and restrain the occupant. It is named inertia reel due to the inertia of the pendulum to cause belt locking. Different types of seatbelt The lap seatbelt is tightened over the pelvis and absorbs force over a sizeable area. However they do not prevent the head and upper body from lurching forward in response to deceleration and are inadequate especially for front passengers, who risk hitting the windscreen. The lap sash seatbelt combines a lap seatbelt over the pelvis as well as over one shoulder across the chest. This greatly limits movement of the upper body and head as well as spreading the stopping force over a larger area. Shoulder harnesses restrain upper torso movement even further. Two are belts fall over the shoulders and an optional strap lies over the sternum. It is effective in the way force is spread over both shoulders compared to one shoulder in lap sash. Shoulder harnesses are usually used in child restraint systems and racing cars. The nylon webbing material in seatbelts is slightly flexible so that the stop is not as abrupt. Airbags Airbags provide an extra degree of protection in a collision by cushioning passengers in a collision, greatly limiting fatalities and serious injury. They are designed to increase the time interval during which the drivers momentum decreases in a collision to decrease the net force of the driver. They inflate when crash sensors detect large deceleration. Sensors then ignite the sodium azide, producing sodium compounds and nitrogen gas for a reactive explosion. The airbags inflate rapidly to cushion the impact of the passenger against the steering wheel, dashboard or windshield. Airbags are to be used with seatbelts, not as a replacement. A disadvantage of airbags is they provide no protection against side-on hits, only frontal collisions. More expensive cars are developing side airbags to combat this. Head rests Padded headrests provide protection in rear end collisions. When a car is rear-ended, a large net force pushes the car and it accelerates forward. The inertia, based on Newtons first law, pushes the passenger into the seat. Without a head rest for support, the head remains at rest until the spine pulls it forward. This sudden, sharp acceleration for the head causes it to fling back and results in hyperextension and whiplash injuries. Crumple Zones Many cars are designed to crumple at the front and rear. Crumple zones increase the time interval during which the momentum of the car changes during a collision, thus lessening the forces. Newtons second law (f=ma) can be applied, as increased ?time will result in a decreasing rate of deceleration a and consequently reduce force. Crumple zones are built using the integration of steel and fiberglass in the front and rear end assemblies of the automobile. Rigid structures between crumple zones protect the passenger compartment. In a collision, the crumple zones deform to slow the actual impact. The car doesnt regain all its original kinetic energy, as some of this is converted to heat and sound energy to reduce damage to passenger area through smaller forces. As crumple zones are placed in strategic locations, the collapse is controlled and energy from impact is directed away from passenger area. Road design Speed humps and low speed zones Local councils introduced Speed Humps to reduce the overall speed of cars. Evidence shows that slower moving cars cause less damage to occupants if a crash results. It has been estimated that risk of death or serious brain damage doubles with every 16km/h over 80km/h. Speed humps restrict drivers from speeding as hitting the hump too fast can cause car damage. Low speed zones also reduce the speed of cars. A reduction of speed will reduce the chance of an accident as drivers have more time to react as well as decreasing the change in momentum and associated inertial forces in collisions. The police enforces speed signs and limit zones and speeding is monitored by speed cameras. In NSW, the general urban limit is 60 km/h for roads in built up areas where there are pedestrians. Crash Barriers Crash barriers are road design features that absorb the impact of collisions. They are constructed out of steel, concrete or wire. Some types of rigid crash barriers cannot absorb much of the kinetic energy of the vehicle, but keep the vehicle on the road and prevent crashing into more dangerous roadside hazards or cars from opposite direction. Crash barriers should be relatively weak with energy absorbing structures so that they can deform easily and transfer large amounts of kinetic energy to them in collisions. For barriers shielding against hazards such as trees, they need to be a fair distance away, as space is needed for it to deform. When a vehicle collides, the barriers deform and stop the vehicle through a plowing action, keeping the reaction forces relatively low. The impulse (change in momentum) is reduced, as the vehicle takes longer to slow down. The disadvantage of crash barriers is they may cause vehicle damage (crumpling) and rigid ones may deflect a car into the opposite lane. The advance of road safety The development of vehicles with greater size, power and momentum has resulted in the need for improvements in car safety devices and modern road design. The study of physics has allowed safety features in both the interior and exterior of cars to prevent large forces acting on passengers in collisions. This is why researchers and engineers are continually turning to laws of physics for advice. Road design features reduce initial velocity to reduce the risk of accidents as well as its impact on the passenger. Automotive safety companies are continuing to develop devices to improve vehicle safety, including inflatable seatbelts, 4-point seatbelts and knee airbags to name a few. With the large percentage of the population driving forces, momentum, impulse and energy are all factors that must be controlled as our lives depend on it.

Implementing the Data Protection Act in Childcare

Implementing the Data Protection Act in Childcare Choose and evaluate four of the 8 Data Protection Act principles, providing examples of how these would be implemented in a child care setting. 5.1 DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998 Anyone who keeps records whether on computer or on paper must apply with this act. It should be clear to service user for what purpose the data are being kept. Information about a child should also be accessible to parents and shared with them. It is not compulsory just do on their demand. Information should not be kept for longer than necessary, though accident and incident records will be need to be kept in case they are needed for references at some time in future. Records must be stored securely. THE 4 DATA PROTECTION ACT PRINCIPALS AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT IN A CHILDCARE PROCESSED FAIRLY AND LAWFULLY It is very important that personal data should be processed fairly. In practice you must legitimate grounds for collection and using the personal data. You must not use the data in way that have unjustified adverse effects on the individual concerned. You must be transparent about how to use the data and privacy notices when they collecting their data. You make sure you do not do anything unlawful with the date. OBTAINED FOR SPECIFIED LAWFUL PURPOSES This data is clearly linked with first data protection. If you obtain personal data for an unlawful purpose then you will be in breach of both first and second data protection. For example to implement this data in you setting you must be clear from the outsets about why you are collecting personal data and what you intend to do with it. You must comply what act says about notifying given to the information commissnor. ADEQUATE, RELEVANT AND NOT EXCESSIVE The data protection does not define these words, clearly though they need to be considered. For examples a debt collection agency is engaged to find a particular debt. Its collects information several of people with similar name. During the inquiry some of these people are discounted. Company should delete most of the data, just keep minimum data. If you need to hold particular information about certain individual only you should collect it just for those individual. The information is likely to be excessive and irrelevant in relevant to other people. ACCURATE AND UP TO DATE The law recognise that it may not be practical to double check the accuracy of every item of personal data you receive. So the act make special provision about the accuracy that information that individual provides about themselves. When you go through this data protection you should take reasonably steps to ensure the accuracyof any personal you obtain, make sure that the any personal data is clear and carefully consider whether it is necessary to update the information. Evaluate the need for accurate, legible and up-to-date record keeping, and identify the consequences of non-compliance. 5.2 ACCURATE LEGIBLE AND UP TO RECORD KEEPING INFORMATION WITH NON COMPLIANCES When you start a business as a child care that it is very important to keep accurate and complete records. Your business record should include; You should have keep record banking information You must need a proof of income You need to keep a proof of expenses that how much you spend on their food and stuff You need to be organised, keep your records up to date and then hold on to them for seven tax years. Good records are important for your business because; They can make filling in your tax returns easier and quicker They can make it quicker for your tax agent or accountant to do your book and save your money. They can give you the information you need to manage your business and help it grow, and make it easier to get a loan. Tax record is a legal requirement to running a business. LEGIBILITY Legibility mean all information should be correct, readable and clearly. So following steps could be helpful for legible record keeping; All written information should be neat clean and use in black ink because it is clearer to read and photocopies. It is more important that handwriting should be legible. If it is not readable someone can misunderstanding. If someone changes to documentation such as medication form, parents permission form, it must be signed and dated. White correction fluid should not be use over the mistake, just crossed with a line. UP TO DATE INFORMATION Always make sure in your childcare setting that you have up to date information of their present address, telephone numbers, emergency contract and doctor’s telephone number or any changes of food requirements. As a childcare provider make sure that implement an effective procedure to meet the individually needs of child when administering medicines. For more progress we have to keep written record of child’s need for medication and ask parents to update regularly. Always keep written record of all medicines and inform to parents when medicines has been given including the time, date and dosage. As a professional it is your responsibility to keep children safe in your setting, so you should regularly update and practice with fire evacuation procedures. You suppose to be record dates and time of every fire drill. Explain the different ways of recording digital and paper records in the child care setting. 5.3 BASIC INFORMATION OF RECORD Before child coming in nursery or school basic information must be filled in. Supervisor should be explained to parents that this information will be treated with confidentially and that will be stored safely. The record will be reviewed regularly and kept up to date with parents’ help. Supervisor collects all information from parents. DIFFERENT WAYS OF RECORDING – It is very important to make sure that there is enough reliable methods of backing up the data are employed so that if the computer malfunction or becomes damaged the files can be easly be returned on another system. There are so many ways to keep record by digital and paper record; DIGITAL DATA It is important that Data should be reliably, adequately accurately recorded on computer. Always make sure that all information of recording has been saved which could be about their behavior, development areas or any learning areas. As a childcare provider you should not allow to discuss personal information with other staff member or observation by staff on any confidentially matters, child protection matters, development concerns or any behavior concerns. And also keep up to date information on behavior issues. This type of information supposes to be record on laptop, on hard disk-computer, or Ipad and keep up to date regularly with parents. These digital data should be stored safely secured on the hardware device and a central server. It should be protect by the secret password. Children should not allow using same computer or desktop which have a confidential files. The education facility must also ensure that, as well as sufficient password protection on all devices containing personal information, that the central server repository is also sufficiently secured. Strict IT policies must be in place on devices containing personal information, to ensure that they are adequately protected when the device leaves the confines of the childcare setting. PAPER RECORDING –Data protection policies apply equally as they do to data on ICT or on paper records. Paper records can have less strict safeguards, especially if not kept securely locked. Therefore, It is very important that all files should be locked in a safe environment with limited access to authorized people only and out of the reach of children. Paper files should be clearly written (especially if handwritten), readable and disposed of in the correct manner (a document management process should be in place). When paper files are transferred to another department, they should be recorded so there is traceability of their movements. Identify the primary types of data storage for digital and paper records, and evaluate the best option for a home childcare setting. 5.4 PRIMARY TYPES OF DATA STORAGES There are two type of data; primary and secondary data. Primary type of data means that memory which can be stored for short time.RAM and CACHE are best examples of primary data storages. RAM(random access memory) and cache works together because RAM have no enough place for more storages but it can be fast access rate of random memory. CACHE is part of random access memory. It can be use to speeding up. So that’s why it is high and faster than reading or writing from main memory. Most of the PCU have three type of cache like- instruction cache, data cache and translation look side buffer. PRIMARY DATA STORAGES FOR DIGITAL – It means memory which can be record on computer. CPU is the main part of computer to store information.CPU regularly reads instruction which is keep record there and it produce where it need. Today’s modern random access memory is popular .It is small size but expensive. It is also known as a volatile. There are two more kind of primary data: processor register and processor cache. Processor register holds word of data and more much faster. Processor cache is slower but greater storages capability then processor registers. PRIMARY DATA STORAGES FOR PAPER RECORD -It is very important that you look after your record in your child care setting because it is part of daily routine by the law. The primary data should be recorded for three years As childcarer you ensure that how long to keep it and what should you do when you no need it. You should work with record management and department of file plan. As a childcarer you have to make decision that can access the records because each department of records need confidentially and securely information. As a childcare you should provide guidance to that department who is packing, preparing of record and ensure that records management is handling of all materials properly. Rate the best option Paper record is the best option for the home childcare setting because it is more valuable and secure then digital. When you are going to start your own business as a childcare setting you have to make plan ahead. Ensure that there is enough file rooms. All files should be maintained properly in the office or secure place. when you keep paper record you have to record everything for example: in emergency or any accident happened you have record all details in the accident book and make it for parents to sign, provide a copy for parents. Second thing paper record is more real then digital. Even digital is faster, more easily but still paper record is more secure. Proper records management requires you to know which copy is your ‘‘copy of record’’. Once a copy of record has been established, the other copy can be destroyed safely. So ensure that the information how long to keep it in your record. In this UNIT I did try to explain about data protection act 1998, how to implement it into childcare setting, record keeping information, deferent ways of recording, primary types of data storages and evaluate of paper records. References www.dataprotection.ie www.en.wikipedia.org. www.ehow.com. www.computerhope.vom www.buzzle.com www.dartmouth.com www.ico.org.uk www.irdgovt,cznz

Media During the Vietnam War

Media During the Vietnam War   Jenna Conley TTTC Argumentative Essay During the Vietnam War, television was just being introduced, meaning the citizens of the United States could see the war right in the comfort of their living rooms. However, the medias broadcasting of the Vietnam War was detrimental because it twisted the views of citizens, sparked protests, and ended innocent lives. Sometimes people even referred to it as the television war. It seemed as if life back at home was becoming as violent as life on the war front, but how violent? When television was first released about 9% of Americans had them in the early 1950s, but by 1966, about 93% of American homes had a television. The increase of television ownership happened about halfway through the Vietnam War, so it was one of the main topics of news channels in America. In order to get the full story, journalists and reporters had to go to Vietnam themselves, putting their lives in danger. It makes people wonder was it really worth it to go, and some got their answer when about 63 journalists and reporters died in Vietnam for what seemed like no reason. There has always been bias in the media, because everyone has opinions, including reporters. This however, can really get out of hand when citizens are being fed false information because somebody wanted to give their two cents. During the Vietnam war, there were plenty of opinions, whether it was supporting the war or not. Often times, considering it was war, there wasnt much good news, so many people developed a hatred towards the conflict. They started to blame the soldiers for what they were doing, but what is really fair to blame them considering they were just doing their jobs? It reached the point where the government started to censor certain news, and began to filter what the citizens were seeing on screen, so nobody could avoid the bias. Journalists and reporters were now able to take much more photographs and record video materials. As a consequence, the government had to face a big challenge in censoring all the new media for the first time (Rohn). Due to this increase in censoring, it started to spark protests in the United States, and even this resulted in more death than the war itself. Thich Quang Ducs name became famous when he set himself on fire, as a protest to the government for the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam, but this wasnt the only protest that came about because of the war. Like today, many protests are coming from college students because theyve reached a point where they are figuring out themselves, and their opinions. A large organization known as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) played a large role in the anti-war protests. In May of 1970, at Kent State, there was a student protest happening, which ended violently when the guardsmen shot and killed four students. This all happened due to media bias making the citizens believe the government had no reason to be there. In reality however, it was only that the United States didnt make their intentions clear, despite having them. It makes some wonder however, why does the United States have to state their intentions if it is not entirely necessary? Maybe the intentions were not intende d to be shared. 63 or more reporters and journalists were killed in Vietnam. Naturally when the media gets ahold of this information, theyll bring a larger severity to the situation because it was their own colleagues, but did they have the right to alter the news just because of their own personal feelings? From the Cambodian Campaign, to the Battle of Quang Tri City, many journalists died, but for what cause? Getting out a story seems like it wasnt worth all the pain, especially if it cost a life. It wasnt just American journalists either. Reporters from France, Australia, and Japan alike where all reporting for their countries because citizens believed that their news was more important than a life. How could someone possible justify right and wrong in that situation though? It goes right back to personal opinion. It ends up just becoming one giant circle thats hard to break out of. This makes the media particularly harmful to the war and country alike. Could there be a good thing to come out of the media? Thats debatable, but it comes down to how it effects the majority of people, and from the looks of it, it doesnt seem too good. Although, some people could argue that the media was beneficial during the war. Now people could stay up to date on what it is that is happening over at Vietnam, and it was easier to see what it was that the government was doing. As stated earlier however, the ability to see what is happening every minute of every day might not be beneficial. It sparked violent protests, and was a large influence to the start of bias. This makes it almost impossible to argue that media was a good thing to come to the Vietnam war. So even though it all comes down to personal opinion and affect, nine out of ten peoples lives would show that not much benefit has come out of the media during the war. From death, to protests, to false information, bias played a huge role in the Vietnam war, much as it does today, and it seems that isnt going to change anytime soon.

Nominating an Outstanding Person to The Hall of Fame Essay example --

I nominate Regina Geis for recognition in the State Hall of Fame. Born on December 29, 1995, daughter of Robert and Robin Geis, sister of Daniel and Benjamin Geis. Regina is an inspiring person who brings out joy and happiness. She inspires people to give their best and live for the right reasons. She is an overachiever and has always done well in school. In fact, Regina is a straight A student. It is encouraging how much time and effort she puts in her school time. Spending some of her time at work and home, but spending most of her time at school or church. Regina strives for excellence, but other than her inspiring life, she shall first be recognized for more than what she does but for who she is, like her personality; beautiful, awesome and amazing, outgoing and funny, exhilarating and adventurous, goofy and silly, caring and kind, sweet, a perfect character, there is never a dull moment when hanging out with her. Though she has her serious moments, when it comes to having fun, she knows how to embrace herself. When music plays, she dances and sings, and does not care what she looks like or who is around. Sometimes showing your complete self is hard, but Regina is 100% herself. The times she hangs out with her girls or sometimes, even her brother, well, lets just say it is all laughs and giggles from there. Speaking of her brother, siblings fight daily and they have their differences, but Regina shows the roll of a wonderful big sister. Yes, some days her brother drives her crazy, but she would do absolutely anything for him, as well as her friends and family. There are times when she places herself before others, but she deserves that because she places others before herself the majority of the time. Regina likes to joke... ...hat she will be recognized in many Hall of Fames, rather than only the state, because she will be someone more and make it somewhere; anywhere. Geis will continue to impact people and their lives in ways she would not understand. Regina Geis is an inspiring girl who deserves the recognition in the State Hall of Fame. Works Cited http://admissions.illinois.edu/academics/honors_colleges.html http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2013/03/13/motivation-matters-40-of-high-school-students-chronically-disengaged-from-school/ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7019023/ns/us_news/t/study-most-us-teens-serious-about-religion http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116332/david-brookss-editorial-gets-poverty-and-education-wrong http://www.publicagenda.org/press-releases/survey-sports-arts-clubs-volunteering-out-school-activities-play-crucial-positive-role-kids

Long-term Cause Of The Russian :: essays research papers

In 1812 Czar Alexander the First had sworn an oath that Russia would never make peace as long as an enemy stood on Russian soil. Little did he know that not much more than a century later the enemy was those who were native to the Russian soil-the people. The Russian Revolution was an event that shaped the rest of the 20th century worldwide. The causes of the revolution go back many years before the actual revolution had even showed signs of breaking out. The causes included a weak government, indecisive leaders and, a very backwards way of life for the people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the mid to late 19th century Russian leaders came to understand that Russia was backwards in it’s ways and that it must strive to modernize itself before the country was left in shambles. Russians and their land could be described in one word, poor. The agrarian societies were weak because the land was only hospitable to trees and ice. The peasants were serfs, attached to the land and their master s. In 1853 war suddenly broke out in the Crimean Peninsula over Christian shrines in the Ottoman Empire. After their defeat in the Crimean War, Russia’s war leaders realized even more that they were behind the whole world in modernizing. In response Alexander II then took the reigns of the empire radically improving the country. Trans-continental railroads were built and then in 1861 the serfs were emancipated. The government then strengthened Russia’s industry by promoting industrialization with the construction of factories. But then as quickly as Alexander II’s reform reign started, it ended. In 1881 a group of terrorists assassinated Alexander causing a cessation of the reforms. Suddenly economic modernization resurfaced again in the 1890’s under the Finance Minister named Sergei Witte. Witte believed that even though Russia was a backwards country, modernization could still occur. Under his leadership Witte helped the 35,000 mile railway system come to a completion. Yet the Russian leaders were so impressed that this great change that could improve Russia in the next 20 years they were so blind to the poverty and overpopulation that continued making Russia digress further and further.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a loss to the Japanese in the Russian-Japanese war, morale of the common folk was at an all time low. Illegal labor parties were forming and groups of dedicated individuals were begging for revolution. Groups such as the Nihilists, and the Anarchists started to form with the intent to start a revolution.

The Curious Style of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown :: Young Goodman Brown YGB

The Curious Style of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   The multi-faceted style found in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† has many features of interest. It is the intent of this essay to elaborate on these features, with support from literary critics where available.    Herman Melville in â€Å"Hawthorne and His Mosses,† (in The Literary World August 17, 24, 1850) has a noteworthy comment on Hawthorne’s style:    Nathaniel Hawthorne is a man, as yet, almost utterly mistaken among men. Here and there, in some quiet arm-chair in the noisy town, or some deep nook among the noiseless mountains, he may be appreciated for something of what he is. But unlike Shakespeare, who was forced to the contrary course by circumstances, Hawthorne (either from simple disinclination, or else from inaptitude) refrains from all the popularizing noise and show of broad farce, and blood-besmeared tragedy; content with the still, rich utterances of a great intellect in repose, and which sends few thoughts into circulation, except they be arterialized at his large warm lungs, and expanded in his honest heart.    How beautifully does this critic capture the basic attitude of Hawthorne, who avoids the â€Å"noise and show† and emphasizes his â€Å"rich utterances.† Could Hawthorne’s â€Å"rich uterances† be the reason for Henry Seidel Canby in â€Å"A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past† to talk about the â€Å"dignity† of his style? â€Å"And indeed there is a lack of consistence between the scorn that our younger critics shower upon Hawthorne’s moral creations and their respect for his style. They admit a dignity in the expression that they will not allow to the thing expressed† (62). Canby continues:    Hawthorne’style has a mellow beauty; it is sometimes dull, sometimes prim, but it is never for an instant cheap, never, like our later American styles, deficient in tone and unity. It is a style with a patina that may or may not accord with current tastes, yet, as with Browne, Addison, Lamb, Thoreau, is undoubtedly a style. Such styles spring only from rich ground, long cultivated, and such a soil was Hawthorne’s. . . . Holding back from the new life of America into which Whitman was to plunge with such exuberance, he kept his style, like himself, unsullied by the prosaic world of industrial revolution, and chose, for his reality, the workings of the moral will. You can scarcely praise his style and condemn his subjects.

Audi Swot

Audi began Germany in 1932 , it was formed the merger of four different cartaker, In 1969 Volkswagen acquired the business in 2008 Audi delivered more than one million cars to customer. Today the business goes from strength to strength and manufacturers in many parts of the world including India. This is a manufacturer of very high quality cars tend to be highly engineered robust and priced at a premium level. STRENGTH Audi's reputation is undoubtedly based upon a very strong brand. In fact the four rings of Audi is one of the most identifiable logos and images globally.The brand is very innovative and the range is continually developed and extended. Being a German technology product, obviously Audi has a reputation for operations management and its production approaches. The company manufactures in excess of 1 million autos a year. Interestingly, more than 1000 of these cars are Lamborghinis, Audi's premium supercar brand. The company manufactures cars in the German cities of Ingols tadt and Neckarsulm. Audi is also renowned for technology, creativity and innovation.The business invests almost $3 billion every year in research and development for its new products. Historically, the company's innovations are quite impressive – for example, Audi Quattro’s four-wheel-drive technology. New innovations include light emitting diode headlights (you may have seen them on the highway) and also MultiMedia Interface (MMI), which is a mash up of entertainment technology, navigation technology, and communication technology – including telephones as well as other innovations, which also improve passenger safety. WeaknessesOne interesting problem for the business is that whilst it is a very large vehicle manufacturer, it doesn't operate on the same huge scale as some of its close competitors, including Ford and Toyota. A simple revenue analysis based upon units produced shows that its competitors can make equivalent vehicles more cheaply, simply because o f economies of scale. That is to say relative unit are relatively higher. Audi's are German and its brand is associated with its national identity. Whilst in some ways this is a strength, others might view this as a particular issue.The brand is very dependent upon its European markets. It is relatively small in North America. Some of the sustained sales in Europe have to be due to environmental initiatives and incentives offered by European governments, and this won’t go on forever. The European market might also go into decline, simply because of the debt being experienced by large markets such as the Greece, Ireland and Spain. In common with some of its competitors including Toyota , Audi has also had to endure the embarrassment of product recalls.Especially for a brand which encompasses security and safety, this could potentially be damaging. In North America, there have been problems with gearboxes (transmissions) . Similar problems occurred in the South Korean market. O pportunities Without a doubt the new emerging markets of China and India are huge opportunities for Audi. New car sales are growing in both countries as consumers are getting wealthier and more discerning, they need status brands such as Audi. By 2015, the Indian car market is going to be huge, with estimated sales reaching more than $40 billion.In China figures indicate that sales will be in excess of 250,000 million vehicles in a similar period of time. Audi with its innovative history is obviously investing heavily in vehicles which are low emission and will be targeted at the greener car market. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) will become very popular in the large countries of the United States and China, whereby petrol stations will become slowly replaced by plug-in stations. So obviously the growth of environmentalism and the nature of global warming mean that consumers are calling for low emissions alternatives.Hopefully in the coming years, the global car market will begin t o recover and car sales and production will increase. There are a number of drivers. Government programs which offer incentives to consumers to ditch their old gas guzzler to replace it with a modern hybrid car for example, mean an increase in sales. The problems associated with raising credit in Western nations will hopefully disappear and consumers will begin to take loans to finance their vehicle again. Audi has become a leaner business by increasing its profit per vehicle and reducing its inventory.Threats Like any business which operates in a global economic environment, Audi has to deal with local business environments. For example, regulations by local governments in relation to emissions or safety, or even strategic alliances with local companies in order to enter a market, such as China. All please add to the bottom line and reduce margins potentially. Trading in a global market means that the business is essentially exposed to commodity price fluctuations. Steel prices hav e been on a helter-skelter.Commodity prices vary, and it makes it difficult for Audi to keep costs steady. In the car industry, generally, the largest threat relates to the nature and level of competition in what is a mature industry. There are a number of similar brands including BMW and Mercedes. Car production globally tends to move where the high dependence on labour cannot impact its cost base, so over years to come more manufacturing will move to India and China, where costs of labour are lower. The German worker is comparatively expensive.

Hrm and Employment Relationships

HRM and Employment Relationships Employment Relationship Employment Relationship can economical, social and political relationship in which employees provide manual and mental labour in exchange for reward from employers (Gospel and Palmer 1993) There are 4 Dimensions within the employment relationship * Economic exchange – Wage-effort bargain * Socio-political – Power * Legal/Contractual * Psychological contract/social exchange Contract of employment is formed when an offer of employment is made and accepted There are 3 ‘types’ of contract in the employment relationship (Schein 1980): 1. Formal – Economic and legal; 2. Informal – Reflecting the social norms in the workplace (the organisational ‘culture’) and those in wider society about how people should treat each other (‘Natural justice’); 3. Psychologrcal (implicit ‘contract’ made up of unspoken expectations and obligations). The Psychological Contract of Employment A set of unwritten reciprocal expectations between an individual employee and the organisation’ (Schein 1977) Positive psychological contract through particular configurations of HR policies and practices * Behavioural and performance outcomes such as job satisfaction, employee commitment, motivation and lowered intention to quit. The Explicit Contract of employment An agreement between two parties enforceable by law†¦ a contract of service and comes into being when an employee agrees to work for an employer in return for pay’ (ACAS) * Accumulation of rights and responsibilities for both parties * The terms of a contract can be: * Express (explicitly agreed between the parties, either in writing or orally) * Implied (not explicitly agreed but which would be taken by the parties to form part of the contract Control VS Commitment With the evolution of people management there is now more of a focus on control. The logic of control Direct control * Low trust employment relationship * Strict supervision and task specification * Subordination of labour to capital. Responsible autonomy High trust commitment relationships A degree of worker discretions and responsibility Edwards (1979) developed this analysis by identifying two ‘structural’ strategies for control: Technical control -built into machinery and technology (Fordist) Bureaucratic control -Control via internal labour markets, career structures and the position of individuals relative to one another with regard to job security, status and ‘rank’. Social control Conformity and compliance with a set of formal or informal rules Internalisation of norms and values of a group Handy (1976), referring to organisations in their broadest possible sense (not only work organisations), identifies three types of psychological contract: Coercive * Contract is not entered into freely (e. . prisons) * Majority dominated by minority who exercise control by rule/punishment * Emphasis on conformity. Calculative * Contract is entered into freely but control is maintained by management * Power is expressed in terms of their ability to give desired rewards to the individual. Co-operative * Individual tends to identify with the goals of the organisation and strive for their attainment through individual effort. * Effort is based on the degree the individual has input in the company's goals. Commitment is closely associated with motivation, but whereas motivation is focused mainly on the individual, commitment is more strongly associated with the individual’s attachment to, and identification with, the work organisation and the organisation’s goals’ (Blyton ; Jenkins 2008; 139) Employee commitment and association with the aims and values of the firm are the mediating link between HR policies and practices and enhanced individual and organisational performance Relationship reflects form of ‘labour’ involved and that can be ‘bought’ in this exchange: * Physical * Mental (‘thinking’) * Emotional (‘the act of expressing organisationally-desired emotions during service transactions’: Morris ; Feldman 1996; 987) * Aesthetic (‘looking good’ or ‘sounding right’: Nickson et al. 2003).

Response Paper Gilgamesh Essay

The Epic of Gilgamesh is very complex, but it is also considered one of the greatest epics in the Western literature. In the story we can find several contradictions, from which I chose the friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh. The story of Gilgamesh starts off by the description of Gilgamesh, â€Å"the strongest one of all,the perfect,the terror† (Ferry 4). Initially, Gilgamesh appeared as someone who isn’t able to have feelings nor relationships. Although he fought with Enkidu, once Gilgamesh tested his opponents strength, he decided to let him into his world becoming best friends. Some people would say that Gilgamesh is using Enkidu for his journeys, which we can see when he allows the hunter to take his prostitute and bring him. He did this for nothing in return, where we can notice that he already had a plan for Enkidu. Whilst this is correct in some points there are other things involved that prove differently. In the beggining of the story, Enkidu was made by the goddess Arura in order to punish Gilgamesh with the same wild and stormy heart as Gilgamesh has. Having this into consideration, Enkidu owes life to Gilgamesh, or at least shall be thankful to Gilgamesh for his own existing. Also, the people shall be grateful for their city, because Gilgamesh is the one â€Å"who opened passes through mountains; and who dug deep wells on the mountainsides;† (Ferry 4). This indicates the strength of Gilgamesh and values he had in the city. Once friends, Enkidu has started living differently, not like the wild beast he used to be. Enkidu is lucky for the friendship he has gotten from Gilgamesh, but it has also costed him. Gilgamesh has always wanted immortality and fame in the city, and because of his wish Enkidu is the one who has suffered. Before going to Cedar Forest, Enkidu is the one who was discussing with the Elders about the dangers of the trip. One doesn’t notice anywhere in the text how Enkidu knew about dangers of the trip and the keeper of the Cedar Forest, the demon Huwawa. This is the privilege that Gilgamesh does not have. Furthermore, throughout the trip, Enkidu is the one who was communicating with the God of the sun, their protector, Shamash. Aditionally, the Elders are advicing Gilgamesh to  let Enkidu go first and † find the water to quench† (Ferry 19) his thirst and offers to the God. This is a big advantage/value for the Enkidu, since he is the one communicating with the Gods and able to know the road. Further in the story, their friendship becomes stronger, once they share their strenghts and weaknesses, courage and fear. The most intriguing thing in the whole story is the heroic side of Enkidu. The true friendship and loyalty to Gilgamesh are his biggest values. Once in fight with the demon Huwawa, Gilgamesh was scared of the speed Huwawa was possessing and, once Gilgamesh saw his face, he hid away, in some cases even weeped. In each time, despite the dangerous cicumstances, Enkidu had quick mind and knew what he had to do, which is show Gilgamesh he was not alone, â€Å"Two people, companions, they can prevail together against the terror† (Ferry 26). Going futher into the story we are finding out that, because of killing Humwawa and Bull of Heaven, the Gods have decided to punish Enkidu,although God of Sun Shamas tried to save him. He had the protection of the God, because he was compressed into this trip. Initially, the mother of Gilgamesh, Rimat-Ninsun, just before the trip has hit the biggest weakness of Enkidu, â€Å"Enkidu has neither father nor mother;† (Ferry 13). This proves the fact that he had no choice left because he was feeling worthless and there was no other solution but to go to this dangerous trip. Even at the end, when Enkidu knew he was destined for punishment, he did not have selfish heart, he accepted it and stayed loyal to Gilgamesh. This has me thinking, who is the real hero? By whose name should the book be named instead? By the great strenght and power Gilgamesh, or the loyal, great guide who turned into hero with his actions? Did Enkidu think he owed his life to Gilgamesh, or he did not want to go against the will of the Gods? Considering many tablets are not recovered, which made the text incomplete, there is complexity to this friendship and many questions that need to be answered. Here, after Enkidu dying, we also get the feeling of Gilgamesh being selfish, and not saving his friend. As soon as Enkidu has died, and Gilgamesh saw a worm falling out of his nose, he saw the reality where this can happen to him too. He was determined to find immortality. Although on a  new selfish quest, we can see his true grieving for a friend, a brother. Every individual Gilgamesh encounters with can see that he is full of sorrow. This is where the prevalent repetition happens. At first, I thought it was a literary element only. However, how the story grew, the significance of the repetition grew also. It became the emphasis of Gilgamesh’s sorrows. It keeps being repetead to keep our mind on the soft-hearted Gilgamesh, who truly grieves for Enkidu, who undoubtfely deserved it. It is engraved in our memory that he is truly lonely and has lost someone who was a big part of his life. But even so, that little part in the back of my mind is still set on Gilgamesh not urging for Enkidu’s sparing. In a conclusion, friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is far more than important in this great epic. The contradictions are tempting to discuss, and because of the missing tablets, there will always be some questions. However, although Gilgamesh did not get his immortality, this prominent story, through many centuries, definitely has.

Economics: Portfolio Theory Essay

Sometime during the 1980s, investors on the whole concluded that internationally diversified portfolios produced the best risk-adjusted returns, and that it was possible to identify and trade in a sufficient number of international stocks to make this conclusion a reality. Indeed, performance could also be enhanced by investing in a well-selected mix of stocks from other economies. The lasting benefit of all of international investing, however, depended on a key tenant of modern portfolio theory-that overall portfolio risk was lowered through diversification into noncorrelated investments-which has been shown especially to apply to international investments. The key (to the theory) is the lack of correlation between most foreign markets and one’s own. In a perfectly integrated market, on the other hand, the correlation between markets would be quite high and there could be no gain from diversification per se. Harry Markowitz, along with Merton Miller and William Sharpe, won the economics Nobel Prize in 1990 for his â€Å"pioneering work in the theory of financial economics. † Markowitz has applied computer and mathematical techniques to various practical decision-making areas. He is often referred to as the father of modern portfolio theory (MPT). This is based on his contributions to portfolio theory first in the article â€Å"Portfolio Selection, † published in the Journal of Finance in 1952, and then in his book, Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments, first published in 1959. Between these two publications and since the publication of the book, Markowitz has made many other contributions using mathematical programming and computer modeling techniques to address realworld problems to aid in decisionmaking. He got the Nobel Prize for the development of the theory of portfolio choice and contributions to the theory of price formation for financial assets, the so-called Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAMP). Becoming an economist was not a childhood dream of Harry Markowitz. His first two years at the University of Chicago were spent emphasizing the reading of original material where possible. Here again, he was especially interested in the philosophers. When it was time to choose his upper-division major at the University of Chicago, after some consideration. He first went through the basics of macroeconomics, which is the big picture of the economy of a country and its governance. Then he went through microeconomics, which is the economics of individual economic units of business. After going through these basics, he found his true love, the economics of uncertainty. The concepts of expected utility, personal probability, efficiency, and efficient sets, as taught by the outstanding faculty at Chicago, inspired him to pursue his later works. Harry Markowitz tells the story of how he stumbled up on his dissertation topic in the Personal Notes section of the third printing of his first book, The Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments. He was a student in the economics department of the University of Chicago and a research fellow of the Cowles Commission. He was sitting outside Jacob Marschak’s office waiting for the opportunity to discuss suggestions for his Ph. D. dissertation topic. An older man also was waiting outside the Marschak’s office and they began talking. The other man identified himself as a stockbroker and suggested that Markowitz should consider doing a dissertation on the stock market. When he later spoke to Marschak about the idea, he agreed that it was reasonable. Markowitz recalled that Alfred Cowles, the founder of the Cowles Commission, had done work in that area. Markowitz was sent to Marshall Ketchum in the Business School to get a reading list so that he could understand the theories on stock investments as revealed in the literature. The basic concepts of portfolio theory came to him one afternoon in the library while reading John Burr Williams’ The Theory of Investment Value. The dissertation that resulted provided the underpinnings of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). In reviewing Williams’ work, as referred to above, Markowitz noted that he recommended that a stock be valued by finding the present value of its future dividends. His treatment of risk involved finding a large number of securities with maximum present value and divide funds among them. This treatment provided no measure of individual securities nor of the resulting portfolio. Markowitz provided the methodology for eliminating that shortcoming. His approach was to use expected return as the positive attribute of a security and the variability of the possible returns around its expected return as a measure of risk or uncertainty, the negative attribute of the security. This provided the missing risk measure for individual securities. However, the problem of the portfolio of securities also needed to be addressed. The question was, when securities are mixed into a portfolio, how will the expected return and the risk measure of the portfolio be determined? This is the next contribution that Markowitz provided in his portfolio theory. The third ingredient needed to put the securities together in a portfolio was a methodology for handling the interaction of the respective variabilities of individual securities when mixed together in a portfolio. Quantification of this key element had been missing in investment theory up to this point. A couple of simple examples to help understand this problem follow. First, visualize taking two securities that have identical variability of returns over time. If we mix these together in a portfolio, the portfolio will look just like the two individual securities looked separately. The result is that we have not diversified away any rise by building that portfolio. Now, think about taking two securities that move in opposite directions in their variability of returns over time. As time passes, the portfolio variability of return will be less than the individual securities variability of returns because of the canceling out of the variability of one security’s deviations by an opposite deviation from the other security. These are two extreme examples to illustrate the concept of diversification. In the real world, we usually have something in between these two extreme examples, but some risk reduction can be achieved by diversification. Accordingly, the portfolio’s risk could be less than any of the individual securities included in the portfolio. A measure of this interaction between securities’ variability is called the correlation of returns variability. The next large contribution provided by Markowitz was that he was able to demonstrate mathematically that given a group of individual securities with their measures of expected returns, individual variabilities, and the correlations of their variability with the variability of each of the other securities, one could determine an efficient set of portfolios of those securities. This efficient set is the set of portfolios that have the highest expected return for any level of portfolio risk. Alternatively, it can be said that this efficient set is the set of portfolios that have the lowest portfolio risk for any level of expected return feasible with those securities. This is the cornerstone of Modern Portfolio Theory. Every textbook on investments used by colleges and universities all over the world includes the Markowitz MPT concepts. In his book, Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments, he also introduced the concept of a one-factor model. This model would reduce greatly the number of measures of correlations needed to determine portfolio risk. During the 1950s, Markowitz, along with others, decided that many practical business problems were beyond analytic solution. This implied that simulation techniques were required. One of the problems with simulation models is the amount of time required to program a detailed simulator. This is the problem that he attacked in his work on SIMSCRIPT. It allowed the programmer to describe the system to be simulated rather than describing the detailed steps the computer must take to accomplish the simulation. SIMSCRIPT, would then take the system description provided by the programmer and translate it into detailed computer actions necessary. This provided a very large time savings in putting together simulation models for many kinds of business situations. Between the two books on SIMSCRIPT Markowitz, with others, published another book on economy-wide production capabilities in 1963. This book is Studies in Process Analysis: Economy-wide Production Capabilities. Later, in 1967, this book was published in Russian.