The Masquerade nightclub Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Masquerade nightclub - Essay Example This site offers patrons the opportunity to buy tickets to shows online. Information about the club is also present. Conveniently located in downtown Atlanta, the Masquerade has been the hotspot since 1989. One of the outstanding qualities of the club is the live music. The music played live and DJ spun is not mainstream music. Although there are some local band the open other acts at the Masquerade, most of the music is from established bands. The booking information for the website states: Currently, the Masquerade provides services to clients living in or visiting Atlanta, Georgia. They have established a presence in the downtown market through local advertising vehicles, patron endorsements, and the Internet. All of the Masquerade’s supporting administrative duties is handled by computer (i.e., appointments, billing, purchases, etc.). The Internet targets the high tech patron of the Masquerade. As mentioned before the Masquerade has created a website at http://www.masq.com . The advantages of the development of a website are: The scope of this project will be to create a better web-based interface for the Masquerade’s customers. Currently the Masquerade has a basic website that is updated regularly, but lacks in depth, interesting hyperlinks. Hyperlinks for the different bands would help the Masquerade’s patron better understand what tickets they are buying. This would help the Masquerade promote their live acts more efficiently. User Interface is the connection between Masquerade, patrons, and bands.

Assessment for Learning Essay Example for Free

Assessment for Learning Essay â€Å"Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there†. Assessment Reform Group, 2002 The teacher has ultimate responsibility for setting schemes of work for the class with clear objectives (Formative assessment) and writing end of term and end of year reports drawing together the information gained through assessment for learning. (Summative Assessment) The learning objectives are delivered to the class by the teacher and it is the TA’s responsibility to be aware of: †¢ the learning objectives, †¢ the personalised learning goals for individual learners. †¢ the success criteria for the learning activities †¢ the assessment opportunities and strategies relevant to their own role in the learning activities While taking the children through the scheme of work the TA will support the children by discussing their individual objectives this can also be done with groups of children who are working at the same level with the same learning outcomes. This is done to check that the children understand what is expected of them. This needs to be reviewed throughout the lesson. It is the TA’s job to pace the session to the learning style and ability of the children. At the end of the session the TA needs to give positive, factual feedback to the children and the teacher. This will include your observations on how the pupils responded and the strategies that were useful. The discussion between the teacher and the TA will enable further objectives to be set for the next lesson. Both the teacher and the TA are fully involved in the assessment of learner’ achievement with the TA fully supporting the teacher. 1. 2 Summarise the difference between formative and summative assessment. In 2004, at a conference of Assessors, Professor Paul Black pointed out â€Å"An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as feedback, by teachers, and by their students, in assessing themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. â€Å" Formative and Summative Assessment are the two main forms of assessment used by the teaching profession. Formative assessment (Assessment for Learning) is the type of assessment that takes place day to day during lesson time. It is the reviewing of progress and understanding of the pupil, against the learning objectives set by the teacher. This can be done in a variety of ways such as observation, open questioning of pupils, checking understanding and allowing the children to be involved in the reviewing process during and at the end of a lesson. It allows learners to self-assess and self-evaluate their learning experience hopefully enabling them to become responsible learners who understand what they have to improve to allow them to meet their goals. Formative Assessment: †¢ occurs during the learning †¢ done with learners †¢ processed focused †¢ to improve learning †¢ is personally referenced Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning) is the pulling together of the learning outcomes of tests at the end of a scheme of work, formative assessment and professional judgements to provide an end of term report showing what the pupils have achieved, it could also take the form of a Key stage SATs. It is outcome focused, occurs after the learning has been taught and is a way of measuring and proving learning. Summative Assessment: †¢ occurs after the learning †¢ done to learners †¢ outcome focused †¢ to prove learning. †¢ externally referneced While the two forms of assessment are entirely different the resulting information from both types can be used to help with setting learning objectives. The two types of assessment are not necessarily to be used separately they should complement each other, as the use of Afl can help pupils perform better on summative assessment tasks and summative assessment can reflect the impact of Afl. 1. 3 Explain the characteristics of Assessment For Learning. Assessment for learning encourages the learner to take responsibility for their own learning and achievements. This is done by providing them with the following information: Learning intentions A learning intention is simply a description of what you want your pupils to know, understand or be able to do by the end of a lesson. It tells pupils what the focus for learning is going to be. They can also be call â€Å"Learning Objectives†, â€Å"Learning Goals† or† Learning Aims† Making sure that he pupils are aware of their learning intentions before the lesson begins in language that the pupils will identify with, focuses their attention to the learning and how to achieve their intention rather than the activity they are undertaking. This can help keep the pupil focused on task for longer by increasing their motivation. The pupils should be reminded of the learning intentions throughout the lesson. Success Criteria This shows the learners what they need to achieve to meet the ‘Learning Intentions’ Success Criteria: †¢ are linked to the learning intention; †¢ are specific to an activity; †¢ are discussed and agreed with pupils prior to undertaking the activity; †¢ provide a scaffold and focus for pupils while engaged in the activity; and †¢ are used as the basis for feedback and peer-/self-assessment. Formative feedback About the quality of their work and what they can do to make it better; Giving pupils’ feedback and allowing them to feedback to the teacher how they feel their learning went. . Ambergate school regularly asked the children how they think they have done by giving a â€Å"thumbs up†, â€Å"thumbs down† or â€Å"thumbs sideways† to indicate how the children feel about what they have been taught. Sometimes the children will be asked what they know of the subject about to be taught and to mark themselves out of ten in their books. At the end of the lesson they then give themselves another mark out of ten and compare how they have fared. Effective Questioning To create a classroom climate where pupils come up with their own ideas, think aloud and explore their understanding. Questioning should take the form of open-ended questions to encourage the children putting their own ideas forward without being led by an adult. The adult can then ask the children’s peers what they think of another child’s idea to generate feedback. Generally in the lessons in Ambergate school the children are reminded when working to ask, who, what, when, why and how to ensure they get sufficient feedback to enable them with the tasks set. Peer and Self-Assessment and Evaluation. Peer and Self-Assessment enables learners to recognise success in their own and others’ work and to focus on how they are learning as well as what they are learning. Ambergate school regularly asked the children how they think they have done by giving a â€Å"thumbs up†, â€Å"thumbs down† or â€Å"thumbs sideways† to indicate how the children feel about what they have been taught. Sometimes the children will be asked what they know of the subject about to be taught and to mark themselves out of ten in their books. At the end of the lesson they then give themselves another mark out of ten and compare how they have fared. To summarise Assessment for learning meets individuals needs and maximises their full potential through continual monitoring. All staff are allowed to contribute to future planning by feeding their findings back to the teacher. 1. 4 Explain the importance and benefit of assessment for learning. Continuous assessment improves performance and behaviour, allows pupils to work more independently and it also improves motivation and risk taking. By increasing two way communications Assessment for Learning helps to strengthen the teacher pupil relations. From the teachers point of view AFl improves planning and delivery of the lessons while creating an opportunity to check the quality of the lessons and amend activities to ensure they meet the learning needs. For the child it tells them where they are with their learning in each subject, gives them ideas on how to further achieve to ultimately get success in the given goal. Assessment approaches need to promote learner engagement and ensure appropriate support so that all learners can achieve their aspirational goals and maximise their potential. It has been proven that children who do not feel part of the learner process quickly lose interest. Therefore, responses should be based on thoughtful questions, careful listening and reflective responses and effective feedback strategies. 1. 5 Explain how assessment can contribute to planning for future learning carried out by †¢ The Teacher Assessment for Learning helps the teacher to make well-founded judgements about pupil’s attainment while placing responsibility for managing learning on the child, with the goal of pupils being more actively involved with the learning process. As indicated above, the process involves explaining learning outcomes to pupils, providing them with feedback on their progress and enabling them to develop their self-assessment skills so that they are able to reflect on, and recognise, their own achievements. Knowing precisely what the pupil understands then moving them on leads to effective learning. †¢ The Learners The process will keep the pupil informed of on-going process, giving them an insight into how they learn and which areas they need to improve to achieve the objectives set. This helps to increase their confidence, motivation and independence and also how to recognise when they need to ask for help. †¢ The Learning Support Practitioner. Assessment for learning will provide you with information of how each child learns and the knowledge they already have, which will help in how you further question the pupil. This can be tailored to suit the individual pupils pace and ability to learn. In a recent Maths lesson on Division techniques, on periodically checking the children’s understanding it became clear that they knew how to divide using the Chunking Method but the answers that some of the children were getting were incorrect. This caused the TA to check their work and come to the conclusion that the children’s knowledge in subtraction of 3 figure numbers was letting them down. On feeding back to the teacher she said she had noticed the same problem with the group of children that she was supporting. With this feedback, the TA and the Teacher implemented a refresher lesson on subtraction in the next Maths lesson to fill the gap in the children’s knowledge and allow the children to move forward with their knowledge and ultimate success with Division Techniques. Bibliography www. education. gov. uk Assessment for Learning for KS1 and KS2 Northern Ireland Supporting Teaching and Learning L3 – Louise Burnham.

Reverend Grandpa in Cold Sassy Tree :: Cold Sassy Tree

Reverend Grandpa in Cold Sassy Tree  Ã‚      Cold Sassy Tree  Ã‚   In life, people look for direction.   Everyone in the world needs a helping hand.   Some people turn to one another while others turn to forces, which are of great power.   People turn to great forces such as God.   There are many people who live according to the rules of God, out of the bible or whatever book they consider holy.   So therefore, these people are directed in leading a better life.   In the brilliant novel Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns, Grandpa is such a person.   Whenever Grandpa faces an obstacle, he turns to God.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Grandpa turns to God whenever he needs true help.   Grandpa is a type of person who is mild, witty, and very religious.   Grandpa uses religion to solve many of his problems.   At the beginning of the story, Miss Love was the target of gossip.   The whole entire town viewed her as an outsider and couldn’t understand why she married Grandpa, especially after his wife recently died.   After Grandpa elopes, he comes back to the house and finds a group of people mourning the sad death.   He introduces his new bride and then out of no where, Grandpa says, â€Å"Lord above, afore this gatherin’ assembled, I ask You to bless the memory of Miss Mattie Lou† (Page 99).   Everyone stood in silence as Grandpa continued the prayer.   Then all of the sudden, people also began to pray along with Grandpa.   This is amazing.   Grandpa used the power of God to divert the feelings of the crowd.   It is very sly of G randpa to do that.   Later on, Will is talking to Grandpa about his frightening encounter with the train.   Will asks Grandpa if â€Å"[he is] alive [because] of God’s will† (Page 97).   Obviously, Grandpa responds with wise words.   He tells Will that â€Å"God gave [him] a brain† (Page 97).   This shows that Grandpa believes God doesn’t do everything.   He believes God only does major things.   He isn’t there twenty four hours a day but God gives one certain abilities which help at all times.   Furthermore, Grandpa starts to give Will a sermon.   Grandpa tells him that â€Å"[One] don’t git thangs jest by astin’† (Page 98).   This shows that Grandpa is an well-educated man who understands the importance of God.   He doesn’t even waste his time asking for petty little things because he knows that God would not listen.

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 21-23

21 AUGUSTUS BRINE â€Å"I found them. The car is parked in front of Jenny Masterson's house.† Augustus Brine stormed into the house carrying a grocery bag in each arm. Gian Hen Gian was in the kitchen pouring salt from a round, blue box into a pitcher of Koolaid. Brine set the bags down on the hearth. â€Å"Help me bring some of this stuff in. There's more bags in the truck.† The genie walked to the fireplace and looked in the bags. One was filled with dry-cell batteries and spools of wire. The other was full of brown cardboard cylinders about four inches long and an inch in diameter. Gian Hen Gian took one of the cylinders out of the bag and held it up. A green, waterproof fuse extended from one end. â€Å"What are these?† â€Å"Seal bombs,† Brine said. â€Å"The Department of Fish and Game distributes them to fishermen to scare seals away from their lines and nets. I had a bunch at the store.† â€Å"Explosives are useless against the demon.† â€Å"There are five more bags in the truck. Would you bring them in, please?† Brine began to lay the seal bombs out in a line on the hearth. â€Å"I don't know how much time we have.† â€Å"What am I, some scrounging servant? Am I a beast of burden? Should I, Gian Hen Gian, king of the Djinn, be reduced to bearing loads for an ignorant mortal who would attack a demon from hell with firecrackers?† â€Å"O King,† Brine said, exasperated, â€Å"please bring in the goddamn bags so I can finish this before dawn.† â€Å"It is useless.† â€Å"I'm not going to try to blow him up. I just want to know where he is. Unless you can use your great power to restrain him, O King of the Djinn.† â€Å"You know I cannot.† â€Å"The bags!† â€Å"You are a stupid, mean-spirited man, Augustus Brine. I've seen more intelligence in the crotch lice of harem whores.† The genie walked out the door and his diatribe faded into the night. Brine was methodically wrapping the fuses of the seal bombs with thin monofilament silver wire designed to heat up when a current was applied. It was an inexact method of detonation, but Brine had no access to blasting caps at this hour of the morning. The genie returned in a moment carrying two grocery bags. â€Å"Put them on the chairs.† Brine gestured with his head. â€Å"These bags are filled with flour,† Gian Hen Gian said. â€Å"Are you going to bake bread, Augustus Brine?† 22 TRAVIS AND JENNY There was something about her that made Travis want to dump his life out on the coffee table like a pocket full of coins; let her sort through and keep what she wanted. If he was still here in the morning, he'd tell her about Catch, but not now. â€Å"Do you like traveling?† Jenny asked. â€Å"I'm getting tired of it. I could use a break.† She sipped from a glass of red wine and pulled her skirt down for the tenth time. There was still a neutral zone between them on the couch. She said, â€Å"You don't seem like any insurance salesman I've ever known. I hope you don't mind my saying, but usually insurance men dress in loud blazers and reek of cheap cologne. I've never met one that seemed sincere about anything.† â€Å"It's a job.† Travis hoped she wouldn't ask about the details of his job. He didn't know a thing about insurance. He had decided on the career because Effrom Elliot had mistaken him for an insurance man that afternoon, so it was the first thing that came to mind. â€Å"When I was a kid, an insurance man came to our house to sell my father some life insurance,† Jenny said. â€Å"He gathered the family together in front of the fireplace and took our picture with a Polaroid camera. It was a nice picture. My father was standing at one side of us all, looking proud. As we were passing the picture around, the insurance man snatched the picture out of my father's hands and said, ‘What a nice family.' Then he ripped my father out of the picture and said, ‘Now what will they do?' I burst into tears. My father was frightened.† Travis said: â€Å"I'm sorry, Jenny.† Perhaps he should have told her he was a brush salesman. Did she have any traumatic brush-salesman stories? â€Å"Do you do that, Travis? Do you frighten people for a living?† â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"Like I said, you don't seem like an insurance man.† â€Å"Jennifer, I need to tell you something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's okay. I'm sorry, I got a little heavy on you. You do what you do. I never thought I'd be waiting tables at this age.† â€Å"What did you want to do? I mean, when you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?† â€Å"Honestly?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to have a family and a man who loved me and a nice house. Pretty unambitious, huh?† â€Å"No, there's nothing wrong with that. What happened?† She drained her wineglass and poured herself another from the bottle on the coffee table. â€Å"You can't have a family alone.† â€Å"But?† â€Å"Travis, I don't want to ruin the evening by talking more about my marriage. I'm trying to make some changes.† Travis let it go. She picked up his silence as understanding and brightened. â€Å"So, what did you want to do when you grew up?† â€Å"Honestly?† â€Å"Don't tell me you wanted to be a housewife, too.† â€Å"When I was growing up that's all any girl wanted to be.† â€Å"Where did you grow up, Siberia?† â€Å"Pennsylvania. I grew up on a farm.† â€Å"And what did the farm boy from Pennsylvania want to be when he grew up?† â€Å"A priest.† Jenny laughed. â€Å"I never knew anyone who wanted to be a priest. What did you do while the other boys were playing army, give last rights to the dead?† â€Å"No, it wasn't like that. My mother always wanted me to be a priest. As soon as I was old enough, I went away to seminary. It didn't work out.† â€Å"So you became an insurance man. I suppose that works. I read once that all religions and insurance companies are supported by the fear of death.† â€Å"That's pretty cynical,† the demonkeeper said. â€Å"I'm sorry, Travis. I don't have much faith in the concept of an all-powerful being that would glorify war and violence.† â€Å"You should.† â€Å"Are you trying to convert me?† â€Å"No, it's just that I know, absolutely, that God exists.† â€Å"No one knows anything absolutely. I'm not without faith. I have my own beliefs, but I have my doubts, too.† â€Å"So did I.† â€Å"Did? What happened, did the Holy Spirit come to you in the night and say, ‘Go forth and sell insurance'?† â€Å"Something like that.† Travis forced a smile. â€Å"Travis, you are a very strange man.† â€Å"I really didn't want to talk about religion.† â€Å"Good. I'll tell you my beliefs in the morning. You'll be quite shocked, I'm sure.† â€Å"I doubt that, I really do†¦ Did you say ‘in the morning'?† Jenny held her hand out to him. Inside she was unsure of what she was doing, but it seemed fine – at least it didn't feel wrong. â€Å"Did I miss something?† Travis asked. â€Å"I thought you were angry with me.† â€Å"No, why would I be angry at you?† â€Å"Because of my faith.† â€Å"I think it's cute.† â€Å"Cute? Cute! You think the Roman Catholic Church is cute? A hundred popes are rolling in their graves, Jenny.† â€Å"Good. They aren't invited. Move over here.† â€Å"Are you sure?† he said. â€Å"You've had a lot of wine.† She was not sure at all, nevertheless she nodded to him. She was single, right? She liked him, right? Well, hell, it was started now. He slid down the couch to her side and took her in his arms. They kissed, awkwardly at first; he was too aware of himself and she was still wondering if she should have invited him in in the first place. He held her tighter and she arched her back and pushed against him and they both forgot their reservations. The world outside ceased to exist. When they finally broke the kiss, he buried his face in her hair and held her tight so she could not pull away and see the tears in his eyes. â€Å"Jenny,† he said softly, â€Å"it's been a long time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shushed him and dug her hands into his hair. â€Å"Everything will be fine. Just fine.† Perhaps it was because they were both afraid, or perhaps it was because they really didn't know each other; it might even have been that by playing a role they would not have to face anything but the moment. The roles they played throughout the night changed. First, each gave when the other needed, and later, when need was no longer an issue, they played their roles out to felicity. It progressed thusly: she was the comforter, he the comforted; then he was the understanding counselor, she the confused confessor; she became the nurse, he the patient in traction; he took the role of the naive stable boy, she the seductive duchess; he was the drill sergeant, she the raw recruit; she was the cruel master, he the helpless slave girl. The small hours of the morning found them naked on the kitchen floor after Travis had played a rampaging Godzilla to Jennifer's unsuspecting Tokyo. They were crouched over a cooking toaster oven, each with a table knife loaded with butter, poised like executioners waiting for the signal to drop their blades. They polished off a loaf of toast, a half-pound of butter, a quart of tofu ice cream, a box of whole wheat cream-sandwich cookies, a bag of unsalted blue corn chips, and an organically grown watermelon that gushed pink juice down their chins while they laughed. Stuffed, satisfied, and sticky-sweet they returned to bed and fell asleep in a warm tangle. Perhaps it wasn't love that they had in common; perhaps it was only a need for escape and forgetting. But they found it. Three hours later the alarm clock sounded and Jenny left to go wait tables at H.P.'s Cafe. Travis slept dreamless, groaning and smiling when she kissed him good-bye on the forehead. When the explosions started, Travis woke up screaming. PART FOUR MONDAY The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner 23 RIVERA Rivera came through the trailer door followed by two uniformed officers. Robert sat up on the couch and was immediately rolled over and handcuffed. Rivera read him his Miranda rights before he was completely awake. When Robert's vision cleared, Rivera was sitting in a chair in front of him, holding a piece of paper in his face. â€Å"Robert, I am Detective Sergeant Alphonse Rivera.† A badge wallet flipped open in Rivera's other hand. â€Å"This is a warrant for your and The Breeze's arrest. There's one here to search this trailer as well, which is what I and deputies Deforest and Perez will be doing in just a moment.† A uniformed officer appeared from the far end of the trailer. â€Å"He's not here, Sergeant.† â€Å"Thanks,† Rivera said to the uniform. To Robert he said: â€Å"Things will go easier for you if you tell me right now where I can find The Breeze.† Robert was starting to get a foggy idea of what was going on. â€Å"So you're not a dealer?† he asked sleepily. â€Å"You're quick, Masterson. Where's The Breeze?† â€Å"The Breeze didn't have anything to do with it. He's been gone for two days. I took the suitcase because I wanted to know who the guy was that was with my wife.† â€Å"What suitcase?† Robert nodded toward the living-room floor. The Haliburton case lay there unopened. Rivera picked it up and tried the latches. â€Å"It's got a combination lock,† Robert said. â€Å"I couldn't get it open.† Sheriff's deputies were riffling through the trailer. From the back bedroom one shouted. â€Å"Rivera, we've got it.† â€Å"Stay here, Robert. I'll be right back.† Rivera rose and started toward the bedroom just as Perez appeared in the kitchen holding another aluminum suitcase. â€Å"That it?† Rivera asked. Perez, a dark Hispanic who seemed too small to be a deputy, threw the suitcase on the kitchen table and opened the lid. â€Å"Jackpot,† he said. Neat square blocks of plastic-covered green weed lay in even rows across the suitcase. Robert could smell a faint odor like skunk coming from the marijuana. â€Å"I'll get the testing kit,† Perez said. Rivera took a deep sniff and looked at Perez quizzically. â€Å"Right, it could be just lawn clippings that they weighed out in pounds.† Perez looked hurt by Rivera's sarcasm. â€Å"But for the record?† Rivera waved him away, then returned to the couch and sat down next to Robert. â€Å"You are in deep trouble, my friend.† â€Å"You know,† Robert said, â€Å"I felt really bad about being so rude to you yesterday when you came by.† He smiled weakly. â€Å"I've been going through some really hard times.† â€Å"Make it up to me, Robert. Tell me where The Breeze is.† â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"Then you are going to eat shit for all that pot over there on the table.† â€Å"I didn't even know it was there. I thought you guys were here about the suitcase I took. The other one.† â€Å"Robert, you and I are going to go back to the station and have a really long talk. You can tell me all about the suitcase and all the folks that The Breeze has been keeping company with.† â€Å"Sergeant Rivera, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I wasn't quite awake when you were telling me the charges†¦ sir.† Rivera helped Robert to his feet and led him out of the trailer. â€Å"Possession of marijuana for sale and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Actually the conspiracy charge is the nastier of the two.† â€Å"So you didn't even know about the suitcase I took?† â€Å"I couldn't care less about the suitcase.† Rivera pushed Robert into the cruiser. â€Å"Watch your head.† â€Å"You should bring it along just to see who the guy was that it belonged to. Your guys in the lab can open it and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Rivera slammed the car door on Robert's comment. He turned to Deforest, who was coming out of the trailer. â€Å"Grab that suitcase out of the living room and tag it.† â€Å"More pot, Sarge?† â€Å"I don't think so, but the whacko seems to think it's important.†

Freakonomics Crime and Abortion Essay

Mohammed 2 egalized abortion would have been 50% more likely than average to live in poverty. † This statistic that researchers discovered reinforced the belief that if a woman did not want to have a child because of personal reasons or because she was not ready and if there was an abortion ban, the child would most likely grow up in a poor household and have a higher risk of engaging in criminal activity once they reached adulthood. It is reasoned that because abortion was legalized twenty years before, an entire generation of children with a higher risk of becoming criminals were not born and that’s why the crime rate dropped. The fallacy that is apparent when attempting to explain a crime drop with an abortion increase is that the two are simply correlated and not necessarily causal. The authors refute that claim by providing evidence that there is a link between abortion and crime. â€Å"Sure enough, the states with the highest abortion rates in the 1970s experienced the greatest crime drops in the 1990s, while states with lower abortion rates experienced smaller crime drops† (4). The evidence regarding state data is pretty compelling especially when put in the framework of post-Roe v. Wade and the generational gap that follows the Supreme Court decision. Although there seems to be a link between abortion and the crime rate, it all comes down to how a person’s own beliefs will influence them to interpret the data. Conclusions can be drawn to support different viewpoints and once the moral implications of abortion are taken into consideration, then it no longer becomes a logical argument. Works Cited Levitt, Steven D. Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics. New York, Harper Collins, 2005.

Serial Killers Ray and Faye Copeland

Serial Killers Ray and Faye Copeland Ray and Faye Copeland lust for killing came with their retirement years. Why this couple, both in their 70s, went from being loving grandparents to serial killers, who used the clothing of their victims to make winter quilts to snuggle under, is both morbid and perplexing. Here is their story. Ray Copeland Born in Oklahoma in 1914, Ray Copelands family never spent much time in the same place. When he was a child, his family was constantly moving, on the hunt for employment. The situation worsened during the Depression, and Copeland dropped out of school and began scrounging for money. Not satisfied with earning meager wages, he got involved in scamming people out of property and money. In 1939 Copeland was found guilty of stealing livestock and check forgery. He was sentenced to a year in jail. Faye Wilson Copeland Copeland met Faye Wilson not long after he was released from jail in 1940. They had a brief courtship, then married and began having children one after another. With several additional mouths to feed, Copeland quickly returned to stealing from  livestock ranchers. While this may have been his chosen profession, he wasnt very good at it.   He was constantly getting arrested and did several stints in jail. His scam was not very slick. He would buy cattle at auctions, write fraudulent checks, sell the cattle and try to leave town before the auctioneers were informed that the checks were bad. If he failed to leave town in time, he would promise to make the checks good, but never follow through, In time, he was banned from buying and selling livestock. He needed a scam that would allow him to operate despite the ban, one that he could profit from, and that the police could not trace back to him. It took him 40 years to think one up. Copeland began hiring vagrants and drifters to work on his farm. He set up checking accounts for them, then sent them to buy livestock with bad checks from their accounts. Copeland then sold the livestock and the drifters would be fired and sent on their way. This kept the police off his back for awhile, but in time he was caught and returned to jail. When he got out, he went back to the same scam, but this time he made sure the hired help would never be caught, or even heard from again. The Copeland Investigation In October 1989, Missouri police received a tip that a human skull and bones could be found on farmland owned by an elderly couple, Ray and Faye Copeland. Ray Copelands last known stint with the law involved a livestock scam, so as police questioned Ray inside his farmhouse about the scam, authorities searched the property. It did not take them long to find five decomposing bodies buried in shallow graves around the farm. The autopsy report determined that each man had been shot in the back of the head at close range. A register, with names of the transient farmhands who had worked for the Copelands, helped police identify the bodies. Twelve of the names, including the five victims found, had a crude X in Fayes handwriting, marked next to  each name. More Disturbing Evidence Authorities found a .22-calibre Marlin bolt-action rifle inside the Copeland home, which ballistics tests proved to be the same weapon as the one used in the murders. The most disturbing piece of evidence, besides the scattered bones and rifle, was a handmade quilt Faye Copeland made out of the dead victims clothing. The Copelands were quickly charged with five murders, identified as Paul Jason Cowart, John W Freeman, Jimmie Dale Harvey, Wayne Warner and Dennis Murphy. Faye Insisted Knowing Nothing About Murders Faye Copeland claimed to know nothing about the murders  and stuck to her story even after being offered a deal to change her murder charges to conspiracy to commit murder in exchange for information about the remaining seven missing men listed in her register. Although a conspiracy charge would have meant her spending less than a year in prison, compared to the possibility of receiving the death sentence, Faye continued to insist she knew nothing about the murders. Ray Attempts an Insanity Plea Ray first tried to plead insanity, but eventually gave up and tried to work out a plea agreement with prosecutors. The authorities were not willing to go along and the first-degree murder charges remained intact. During Faye Copelands trial, her attorney tried to prove that Faye was another one of Rays victims and that she suffered from Battered Women Syndrome. There was little doubt that Faye had indeed been a battered wife, but that not was enough for the jury to excuse her cold murderous actions. The jury found Faye Copeland guilty of murder and she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Soon after, Ray was also found guilty and sentenced to death. The Oldest Couple Sentenced to Death The Copelands made their mark in history for being the oldest couple to be sentenced to death, however, neither were executed. Ray died in 1993 on death row. Fayes sentence was commuted to life in prison. In 2002 Faye was compassionate release from prison because of her declining health and she died in a nursing home in December 2003, at age 83. Source The Copeland Killings by T. Miller

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buy custom Psychology and Health essay This is the most common repeated measure design. Its a longitudal approach where the subjects get many different exposures. Though it includes observational, I will be focussing on the controlled experiments which are mainly used in fields like psychology and health related areas. The experiments which are likely to be adapted in health care purposes may either be in random or controlled. If its random, patients are randomly picked and submitted to treatments and this is repeated for a number of times on the same people. Balance is one important aspect that should be considered when undertaking a cross over experiment. The researcher must ensure that all the people involved get uniform treatment in terms of dosage and duration (Barness, 2007). In this case, an experiment may be conducted in a small ward with people who are suffering from obesity. Use of the repeated measure design will help decrease the variance of the expected effects of treatment thus creating a path for data inference to be conducted with fewer patients. In Repeated measures design, experiments are done very fast since there is less number of people to be trained. This type of experiment also allows enough observation because the researcher has the chance to monitor and watch how the changesoccur as time passes by both in long and short term situations (Adrian Martin., 2004). The researcher may also decide to take the practice effect of the drug. This is done by comparing the performance of a patient before the medication with the performance after the medication. The researcher may then be able to tell if the drug has any effect in the performance of the subject. Repeated measures design is preferable because it makes an experiment to be more dependable and efficient. Its ability to ensure low variability adds to its accuracy and there is a high chance of attaining valid results. The main weakness associated with the repeated measure design is the inability of every participating subject to go through all the conditions included in the experiment. This may be because of time or location limitations. The process should be accurate in collecting, analyzing and sampling data; hence the validity of result would be quite high. Considering that there are many different aspects of validity, which influence the validity of the research in general. The participants may bbe supplied with different questionnaires based on specific areas of interests. The approval or the disapproval of implementation of the program should be based on its merits and demerits as determined after conducting the research. All the participants shall be given their respectively informed consent for the purpose of participation in the research. They shall be informed prior to the research, the purposes, the potential benefits as well as the risks that might be associated with their participation. Ethical standards shall be considered in the procedures of the research. Most existing drugs used to treat obesity by reducing appetite have been found to have adverse side effects on the users. This is because almost all of them are controlled substances that stand to be overused by a patient. Hence, it would be advisable for the doctors to be stricter when prescribing this drugs.alo research needs to be done to establish all the long term effects of using such drugs and the proposed duration that the treatment should be administered to avoid their abuse. In conclusion, patients who may be using weight-loss dugs need to keep in mind that drugs alone wont work effectively unless they combine it with a healthy eating habit and physical exercise. Buy custom Psychology and Health essay

Biography of Abigail Adams, Wife of John Adams

Biography of Abigail Adams, Wife of John Adams Wife of the second President of the United States, Abigail Adams is an example of one kind of life lived by women in colonial, Revolutionary and early post-Revolutionary America. While shes perhaps best known simply as an early First Lady (before the term was used) and mother of another President, and perhaps known for the stance she took for womens rights in letters to her husband, she should also be known as a competent farm manager and financial manager. Known for: First Lady, mother of John Quincy Adams, farm manager, letter writerDates: November 22 (11 old style), 1744 - October 28, 1818; married October 25, 1764Also known as: Abigail Smith AdamsPlaces: Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., United StatesOrganizations/Religion: Congregational, Unitarian Early Life Born Abigail Smith, the future First Lady was the daughter of a minister, William Smith, and his wife Elizabeth Quincy.  The family had long roots in Puritan America, and were part of the Congregational church.  Her father was part of the liberal wing within the church, an Arminian, distanced from Calvinist Congregational roots in predestination and questioning the truth of the traditional  doctrine of the Trinity. Educated at home, because there were few schools for girls and because she was often ill as a child,  Abigail Adams learned quickly and read widely. She also learned to write, and quite early began writing to family and friends. Abigail met John Adams in 1759 when he visited her fathers parsonage in Weymouth, Massachusetts.  They carried out their courtship in letters as Diana and Lysander.  They married in 1764, and moved first to Braintree and later to Boston.  Abigail bore five children, and one died in early childhood. Abigails marriage to John Adams was warm and loving‚- and also intellectually lively, to judge from their letters. Journey to First Lady After almost a decade of rather quiet family life,  John became involved in the Continental Congress. In 1774, John attended the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, while Abigail remained in Massachusetts, raising the family.  During his long absences over the next 10 years, Abigail managed the family and the farm and corresponded not only with her husband but with many family members and friends, including Mercy Otis Warren and Judith Sargent Murray.  She served as the primary educator of the children, including the future sixth U.S. president, John Quincy Adams. John served in Europe as a diplomatic representative from 1778, and as a representative  of the new nation, continued in that capacity. Abigail Adams joined him in 1784, first for a year in Paris then three in London. They returned to America in 1788. John Adams served as Vice President of the United States from 1789-1797 and then as President 1797-1801. Abigail spent some of her time at home, managing the family financial affairs, and part of her time in the federal capital, in Philadelphia most of those years and, very briefly, in the new White House in Washington, D.C. (November 1800 - March 1801). Her letters show that she was a strong supporter of his Federalist positions. After John retired from public life at the end of his presidency, the couple lived quietly in Braintree, Massachusetts.  Her letters also show that she was consulted by her son, John Quincy Adams. She was proud of him, and worried about her sons Thomas and Charles and her daughters husband, who were not so successful.  She took hard her daughters death in 1813.   Death Abigail Adams died in 1818 after contracting  typhus, seven years before her son, John Quincy Adams, became the sixth president of the U.S., but long enough to see him become Secretary of State in James Monroes administration. It is mostly through her letters that we know much about the life and personality of this intelligent and perceptive woman of colonial America and the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary period.  A collection of the letters was published in 1840 by her grandson, and more have followed. Among her positions expressed in the letters was a deep suspicion of slavery and racism, support for womens rights including married womens property rights and the right to education, and full acknowledgement by her death that she had become, religiously, a unitarian. Resources and Further Reading Akers, Charles W. Abigail Adams: An American Woman. Library of American Biography Series. 1999.Bober, Natalie S. Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution. 1998. Young adult book.  Cappon, Lester J. (editor). The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams. 1988.  Gelles, Edith B. Portia: The World of Abigail Adams. 1995 edition.  Levin, Phyllis Lee. Abigail Adams: A Biography. 2001.Nagel, Paul C. The Adams Women: Abigail and Louisa Adams, Their Sisters and Daughters. 1999 reprint.Nagel, Paul C. Descent from Glory: Four Generations of the John Adams Family. 1999 reprint.  Withey, Lynne. Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams. 2001.

Globalization of the Korean Auto Industry Research Paper

Globalization of the Korean Auto Industry - Research Paper Example State also opted for industry restructuring/ regulating, and concentrated on export led strategy. Rise in domestic demand due to the betterment of economic condition of the country, further enhanced the auto industry of Korea. It took Korea barely three decades to move along the learning curve and secure the place of fifth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. It is notable that exports and foreign auto manufacturers have played a key role in supporting and pulling through the industry in the worst times. This paper throws light on the road taken and success achieved by the Korean automobile industry along with its impact on the economy of Korea. It also aims to explain the reasons for its global competitiveness and what distinguishes it from American automobile industry. The next section of the paper would compare the Korean and American automobile industries which would then be elaborated by an example. It would be followed by the challenges faced currently by the Korean au tomobile industry. Lastly, the paper would conclude with some recommendations to tackle the challenges. Korean Auto Industry Development The history of Korean Automobile Industry can be traced back to 1960s when the Government of Korea took a policy decision to develop auto industry in the country. In the first five year plan of the country, initiated in 1962, emphasis was laid on the creation of indigenous automotive industry. In its initial phase, i.e. in 1960s, the automobile majors were largely involved in assembling of semi knocked down and fully knocked down kits which were nothing but imported components of automobiles. To ease out the conditions for the development of the industry, the state banned import of fully assembled cars although it encouraged foreign partnerships for transfer of technology to the domestic players. With the support of the state, the industry progressed to give rise to four major players which were Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo and Samsung Motors. Hyundai was formed in 1967 with the aim of manufacturing a wholly indigenous car. It started on the learning curve by creating an assembly line to assemble fully knocked down kits. It tied up with Ford, Mitsubishi and Honda for technology transfers in order to initiate local manufacturing of automobiles. It was not until 1976, that Korea achieved the feat of manufacturing automobiles domestically. After eighteen technology transfers, from its foreign partners, Hyundai launched ‘Pony’, in 1976. Pony was the first Korean developed automobile (Korean Development Bank 175). It also holds the distinction of being the first Korean car to be exported. In 1985, Hyundai achieved the landmark quality certifications to meet the quality requirements of EEC, Canada and America which enabled it to export to these geographies also apart from Middle East and Africa. Kia, another automobile firm owned by a chaebol (large Korean business house) was established in 1971. Kia started its product line w ith three wheeled trucks and in a span of three years graduated to manufacture four wheel vehicles. Kia produced its first passenger car ‘Brisa’, in 1974 in technological partnership with Japan’s Honda. Similarly Shinjin Motors (now Daewoo) tied up with Japan’s Toyota to acquire capital and technical knowhow in automobile production. In 1972, Toyota’s share was taken over by General Motors which steered the firm to become the largest automobile

Operations and Materials Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations and Materials Management - Essay Example Companies keep on upgrading themselves to gain competitive edge and keep up with changing demands and preferences of consumers. This paper is to observe and analyze the operations and materials management of three firms- McDonalds, world wide chain of fast food restaurant; Panda Express, a fast food Asian cuisine restaurant; Wendy’s, quick service hamburger company. Â   All the three companies have a well set operations management that focuses on acquiring the raw material cost effectively; process the raw material to make it ready to bring it out to the shelf for the final use by consumer. This is typical of the Wendy’s operations and its business strategy (Stevenson, 1996). The common thing about the three large firms is that all three have well planned and strategically designed Standard Operating Procedures in addition to their indigenous solution in relation to the nature of industry they are thriving in. In order to avoid huge amount of capital investment in acqu iring and building the infrastructure, McDonalds and Panda Express sells franchisee to local investors. McDonalds is a fast food restaurant catering to all classes of consumers across its chain of set ups globally; it relies on providing fresh food to its consumers in the quickest time possible. The key to its success globally irrespective of the geographical or cultural barriers has been its use of Just In Time (JIT) inventory management system. This system keeps a complete track of the available stock against the current and future demand of the raw material. It helps avoiding overstocking and under stocking at any given time; thus, ensuring healthy and fresh food for consumers (MacDonald, 2000, p. 263). The McDonalds’ management strategically makes a decision on keeping the labor cost low by scheduling the roster as per the store rush depending on peak and non-peak hours. Scheduling of staff roster is one strategy that has been found to be common to all the three companies being analyzed. In all the cases, there is a team of trained staff, where each member is not only specialized to perform a specific task, but also trained to handle more tasks at the same time in case they are required to do so. The companies encourage multi-tasking at their establishments. It helps in scheduling the roster on the basis of peak and non-peak hours; as the staff strength is generally kept low during the non-peak hours, which requires every team member to handle more than just their specific task. On the other hand, during the non-peak hours the work force at all the three firms is so stationed that one individual handles one desk that he specializes in. The well planned and consistent operation process across their chain of establishments and trained staff ensures low cost and improve the overall efficiency. The operating systems adopted by the three firms are primarily the same irrespective of the level an employee holds in the organization. Costs associated with op erations maintenance and monitoring in a company can generally be put under five different headers, which are plant, inventory, labor, raw materials, and distribution. All the costs associated with a company can broadly be classified into two categories, fixed costs and variable costs. As the terms imply, fixed costs are the ones that are incurred irrespective of the running status of a firm and variable costs are ones that are incurred at various stages of operations, like equipment maintenances, labor costs, plant

Leadership and Organizational Behavior Case Study

Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Case Study Example The writer claims that women are not as good as networking and communicating, but that he grew up with his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. They taught him to be independent and self-motivated with his ambition. One theory the article suggests is that sports teams are the cause of men networking better than women. The theory that women are more independent minded and men network and communicate better than women is a statement based on his entrepreneurial accomplishments. A mentor may be suggested. A self-mentor is a professional at independent goal setting ambition. A mentor would be a boss that keeps you motivated the entire day with your goals and what you want to accomplish told to you. The art of self-mentoring is based on self-reliability. That women need mentors more than men is suggested in the article; that they need to learn to network within their own the range of abilities and be more connective in the workforce. Women often separatist themselves being financially beneficial to a marriage and are just taken care of by a man. This then puts the financial dependency on one person. The woman then is separatist from financial obligation. Sometimes the woman relies on looks for a relationship and is dependent on the man for finances. This happens quite often. Where women need mentors more often than men is that women are inspired by the motivation, the strategies, and the way that other people handle their lives burdens. This then inspires them to be more hard working and more ambitious on their own account.

The Preaching of Augustine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Preaching of Augustine - Research Paper Example He was truly loyal, devoted and faithful priest & his aim of life was the propagation of Bible’s message in right direction. His approach towards Bible was entirely different from other Bishops as he read it very intensely and spiritually. The influential writings of Augustine make him one of the most prominent and outstanding theologian and philosopher of all times1. The preaching’s of Augustine had a massive impact on the society due to his creativity in traditional Bible teaching methodology. The aim of Bishop was to educate each and every individual about the meaning of Bible and relate them with spiritualism. He is considered as the best orator, speaker, lecturer and spokesperson in Christianity. Without any governess or communication skills practice, he knew how to grab people attention towards the topic and deliver the message. His believe was that Bible is the only solution to mankind and it can resolve each and every sort of problems facing by mankind. Dilemmas whether it would be worldly, spiritual or religious; Bible has the solution to them all. He wanted appreciation of Bible by the people at every forum and propagated his message in every possible way2. This paper discusses the voyage of Augustine’s preaching the message. The methodology, tactics, procedures and approaches adopted by Augustine. The symposium regarding his teaching methodology, theological themes and art of preaching in what possible ways he attracted the masses and how he managed to provoke people about the importance of Bible. Creating a relationship with God through Bible was his primary agenda, so constructive arguments regarding spiritualism importance with Bible are also illustrated. The innovation speech strategy along with engaging audience is analyzed. In the end, legacy of Augustine with a decisive conclusion is illustrated. Preaching Methodology Augustine came out from the conventional preaching process and gave a new horizon to this prestigious posi tion. He wanted to assure that Bible is the word of God which is in direct correlation with everyday working of a human being. His way of preaching includes giving mind blowing examples to the people with respect to their jobs & duties. Engraving good virtues of Bible was his utmost desire. He addressed each and every individual personally and tries to get involve regarding his job responsibilities. By getting to know the person; he then propagates the importance of Bible into life and gave prior examples to the person as per his responsibilities3. Adam (2004, p.192) illustrates for instance if there was a woodcutter, then Augustine tried to converse about his way of cutting woods and selling to the market etc. After getting the true picture of the person, Augustine started giving examples about woodcutting and its relevance with Bible. Woodcutting is a tough and struggling job and this hardworking by men is pleased by God etc. Such kind of examples and preaching methodology was ver y effective and laid a huge impact on people mindsets. Instead of giving long & lengthy lectures; Augustine demonstrated the practical implementation of Bible preaching’s into action. This method was applauded by the people overwhelmingly. Augustine was a learned father and priest so he knew how to use the stories depicted in Holy Bible. He exemplified the stories of Bible to target a larger audience as people are more interested in listening stories. His way of delivering speech was highly

Candombl Religion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Candombl Religion - Research Paper Example The religion is founded on the soul of Nature, but also displays elements of African mythology and culture. The popularity of Candomblà © is due to the combination of many religions into one, making it agreeable to a variety of potential followers and one of the most sough-out religions in Africa and Europe. When a religion is considered to be syncretistic, it means that it is a combination of two or more religions or cultures, pulling beliefs, stories, and, oftentimes, deities from other religions. Candomblà © is a combination of three main African religions, Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu. Muslim traditions have also been incorporated, though these were more common during the slave trade in Brazil. The only Muslim tradition that is still observed in Candomblà © is believing, and thus practicing, the use of Friday as the only day worthy of worshipping deities, praying, and meditating. Many local Native American deities were also used in rituals, though this practice did not last long due to the Catholic Church looking down upon such practices, thus not allowing their slaves to implement them into their practices. Catholicism is yet another religion whose beliefs and practices have been adopted by the Candomblà © religion. This was due to the fact that â€Å"many Christian slave owners and Church leaders felt it was important to convert the enslaved Africans. This was in order to fulfill their religious obligations [...] (â€Å"History of Candomble).† A connection was found between the worshipping of saints in Catholicism and the worshipping of ancestor deities in Candomble, so the Candomble practitioners secretly combined their deities with the saints of Catholicism. Deities and Beliefs Candomble is a polytheistic religion, recognizing and worshipping more than one god. They believe in an all-powerful God, Oludumare, and the lesser deities that serve him. These lesser deities are known as orixas, voduns, and inkices. Orixas are ancestors that, upon death, become viewed and treated as gods. They each represent a specific force in nature and a certain food, animal, or color. Voduns and inkices are spirit gods, similar to orixas; the three lesser deities share the duty of acting as a connection between the spiritual world and the human world, passing along messages or searching for cures to illnesses. The greatest difference between orixas and voduns and inkices is that it is believed that every human being has their own orixa, whose duty it is to control the destiny of that person, as well as to protect them (Voeks 57). It is also a belief of Candomble practitioners that a person’s personality and defining characteristics are dependent on that person’s orixa. Candomble maintains a belief similar to that of karma, which is more common in Buddhism and Hinduism. Karma is the belief that a person’s actions in the present will influence or have an effect on their lives in the future or in another life. Candomble holds t hat there are no concepts of good and evil. Each person has the task of fulfilling their destiny in whatever way they need to, regardless of what that destiny is. However, if a person succumbs to evil to fulfill their destiny, their actions will come back to them, essentially returning their evil. This belief prevents people from doing anything that they want, allowing them to understand that their are consequences to their actions. The Candomble have a variety of moral codes that they most follow, though these tend to change from generation to generation. It is the job of the Baba Egum to regulate and update the moral responsibilities of their people. The Baba Egum are in charge of making sure that the essential moral codes

Analysis of Financial and Operating Performance of Vodafone Assignment

Analysis of Financial and Operating Performance of Vodafone - Assignment Example The slow growth of sales is caused by the economic recession that started in 2008, the stiff competition from other mobile companies and internal operations problems. The net profit has also decreased in 2009 by 15% because the costs of selling, administrative and unexplained unusual expenses went up. The decline in the net profit will have an effect on the ability of the company to pay its short and long-term obligations as well as earnings per share. Earnings per share for 2009 is $13 and industry is $15 For 2009, the gearing ratio or debt to equity is 1 meaning company has used up an equal weight of debt and equity financing, while for 2008 it is only .63%. Because of this shift to debt financing, the interest expense of the loans has increased from $1398M in 2008 to $1798M 2009. Debt financing becomes risky because of the volatility of interest rate charges. The limited net profit margin makes it difficult for the company to quickly pay its short-term obligation For instance; its current and the quick ratios for the past two years showed a ratio of less than 1 that gives an idea that Vodafone is going to have difficulty in paying its maturing obligations. Investment returns remain the same for 2008 and 2009. Vodafone had significant higher capital investments in 2009 than in 2008 that included long-term investments and acquisitions of property, plant, and equipment. Sources of funds of these investments are debt and equity financing. The return on assets for both periods has been almost the same in spite of additional investments in assets. Consequently, the ROI provided a negative return that should alarm the company. Several factors have contributed to the decrease in share prices of Vodafone. Vodafone Share price as reported on the London Stock Exchange (high) shows  £1.49 for 2005,  £1.55 for 2006,  £1.54 for 2007,  £1.98 for 2008 and a decreased share price of  £1.70 in 2009.

Candombl Religion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Candombl Religion - Research Paper Example The religion is founded on the soul of Nature, but also displays elements of African mythology and culture. The popularity of Candomblà © is due to the combination of many religions into one, making it agreeable to a variety of potential followers and one of the most sough-out religions in Africa and Europe. When a religion is considered to be syncretistic, it means that it is a combination of two or more religions or cultures, pulling beliefs, stories, and, oftentimes, deities from other religions. Candomblà © is a combination of three main African religions, Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu. Muslim traditions have also been incorporated, though these were more common during the slave trade in Brazil. The only Muslim tradition that is still observed in Candomblà © is believing, and thus practicing, the use of Friday as the only day worthy of worshipping deities, praying, and meditating. Many local Native American deities were also used in rituals, though this practice did not last long due to the Catholic Church looking down upon such practices, thus not allowing their slaves to implement them into their practices. Catholicism is yet another religion whose beliefs and practices have been adopted by the Candomblà © religion. This was due to the fact that â€Å"many Christian slave owners and Church leaders felt it was important to convert the enslaved Africans. This was in order to fulfill their religious obligations [...] (â€Å"History of Candomble).† A connection was found between the worshipping of saints in Catholicism and the worshipping of ancestor deities in Candomble, so the Candomble practitioners secretly combined their deities with the saints of Catholicism. Deities and Beliefs Candomble is a polytheistic religion, recognizing and worshipping more than one god. They believe in an all-powerful God, Oludumare, and the lesser deities that serve him. These lesser deities are known as orixas, voduns, and inkices. Orixas are ancestors that, upon death, become viewed and treated as gods. They each represent a specific force in nature and a certain food, animal, or color. Voduns and inkices are spirit gods, similar to orixas; the three lesser deities share the duty of acting as a connection between the spiritual world and the human world, passing along messages or searching for cures to illnesses. The greatest difference between orixas and voduns and inkices is that it is believed that every human being has their own orixa, whose duty it is to control the destiny of that person, as well as to protect them (Voeks 57). It is also a belief of Candomble practitioners that a person’s personality and defining characteristics are dependent on that person’s orixa. Candomble maintains a belief similar to that of karma, which is more common in Buddhism and Hinduism. Karma is the belief that a person’s actions in the present will influence or have an effect on their lives in the future or in another life. Candomble holds t hat there are no concepts of good and evil. Each person has the task of fulfilling their destiny in whatever way they need to, regardless of what that destiny is. However, if a person succumbs to evil to fulfill their destiny, their actions will come back to them, essentially returning their evil. This belief prevents people from doing anything that they want, allowing them to understand that their are consequences to their actions. The Candomble have a variety of moral codes that they most follow, though these tend to change from generation to generation. It is the job of the Baba Egum to regulate and update the moral responsibilities of their people. The Baba Egum are in charge of making sure that the essential moral codes

How to bee agood leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How to bee agood leader - Essay Example My research has shown me that task oriented skills as well as communication and interpersonal skills are very much necessary for effective team leadership. Similarly, facilitating the group processes is a significant role of the team leader and timely execution of the task necessitates proper planning, organization, coordination, decision making and problem solving skills, motivation, and sharing of roles from the part of the team leader. Besides, as a team leader I should be a good listener and communicator. I need to communicate my visions to the team members while listening to their valuable suggestions. As my major is in electrical engineering I would prefer to assume a team leader position in electrical engineering. I am aware that electrical engineering involves a lot of technical skills and that collaborative team work is very much essential while undertaking complex projects. Being a team leader is quite challenging as it offers one a unique opportunity to exercise one’s leadership qualities, communication, interpersonal and persuasive skills. For me, it is like a dream come true as I have always yearned to assume a leadership role where I can unleash my potentials. An effective team leader, in my opinion, understands the potentialities and competencies of his team members and inspires them to achieve the organizational goal. The team is most likely to benefit from my leadership as I am aware of the team processes and will make all possible efforts to expand the team capabilities through collaborative team work. Promotion as the workplace team leader has, in fact, increased my responsibilities and roles within the organization and this has prompted me to have greater understanding of the essential qualities of an effective team leader. Bachiochi et al, while reviewing the literature on team leadership, point out a number of qualities required of a successful team

Butler Lumber Company Essay Example for Free

Butler Lumber Company Essay I. Statement of Financial Problem Butler Lumber Company is facing the internal risk of not having enough borrowing power to continue operations as desired. The owner of the company has established a relationship with a new bank to increase their borrowing power, however, based on Butler Lumber Company’s past Operating Statement and Balance Sheet, the company is expecting to continue substantial growth without considering external risks that may affect their business. Currently the company requires debt to maintain daily operations and growth. II. General Framework for Financial Analysis A company should maintain higher liquidity ratios that will sustain operating activities and desired growth, as well as allow the company to pay any short-term debt obligations. One way to maintain higher liquidity ratios is to collect on receivables timely, and use cash obtained to take advantage of discounts offered on inventory purchases. Additionally, a company’s inventory should turn several times per year. As sales are forecasted a company should increase their inventory to accommodate forecasted sales on a monthly basis, but keep as little as possible on hand. Ideally, inventory would turn 10-12 times per year. III. Application of the Financial Framework Butler Lumber Company has experienced significant growth over the last few years. Their pricing has remained competitive compared to similarly available product. The company expects to continue growing at this level and to do so, requires the availability of credit from their bank to maintain current and increased inventory levels and to cover operating expenses. Butler Lumber Company maintains a high level of inventory. Essentially, the company is leveraging their credit and using that to maintain their high inventory levels. As the company grows, their inventory purchases should be  based on their forecasted monthly sales. In 1990 their inventory was turning 4.67 times per year, or every 2.5 months. While continued growth may make this feel necessary, the company has failed to consider external risk factors that could affect their business drastically. While they’re sales are driven by not only new home construction, but home repairs as well, in the event of an economic crisis home repairs would likely decrease. As a result, Butler Lumber Company would have a substantial amount of wasted inventory on hand. Butler Lumber Company’s sales have increased, however so have their receivables. With receivables sitting uncollected for 42 days, the company is unable to use that cash to pay their outstanding payables with discounts or cover their operating costs without incurring debt. Finally, the company’s liquidity ratios support their need for better cash management. Their current ratio suggest the company is solvent and would be able to cover their short-term liabilities if needed. However, the quick ratio for the company is very low year after year. Their cash on hand would not cover their short-term liabilities. IV. Assumptions and Special/Mitigating Circumstances No assumptions were made in this analysis. The company’s financial statements clearly state their condition. Recommendations are based on that information. V. Conclusions and Recommendations Butler Lumber Company should monitor their inventory levels closely and maintain only the inventory required to get them through 1 to 1.5 months of sales. They should also employ an aggressive collections team to assist with collecting within the terms of payment outlined in customer agreements.

Internet Piracy :: essays research papers fc

He doesn't wear a stocking mask over his face, and he doesn't break a window to get into your house. He doesn't hold a gun to your head, nor does he ransack your personal possessions. Just the same he's a thief. Although this thief is one you'll not only never see,but you may not even realize right away that he's robbed you. The thief is a computer hacker and he "enters" your home via your computer, accessing personal information -- such as credit card numbers which he could then use without your knowledge at least until you get that next credit card statement. RichardBernes, supervisor of the FBI's Hi-Tech squad in San Jose, California, calls the Internet "the unlocked window in cyberspace through which thieves crawl" (Erickson 1). There seems to be an unlimited potential for theft of credit card numbers, bank statements and other financial and personal information transmitted over the Internet. It's hard to imagine that anyone in today's technologically oriented world could function without computers. Personal computers are linked to business computers and financial networks, and all are linked together via the Internet or other networks. More than a hundred million electronic messages travel through cyberspace every day, and every piece of information stored in a computer is vulnerable to attack (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Yesterday's bank robbers have become today's computer hackers. They can walk away from a computer crime with millions of virtual dollars (in the form of information they can use or sell for an enormous profit). Walking away is precisely what they do. The National Computer Crimes Squad estimates that 85-97 % of the time, theft of information from computers is not even detected (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Home computer users are vulnerable, not only for credit card information and login IDs, but also their files, disks, and other computer equipment and data, which are subject to attack. Even if this information is not confidential, having to reconstruct what has been destroyed by a hacker can take days (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). William Cheswick, a network-security specialist at AT&T Bell Labs, says the home computers that use the Internet are singularly vulnerable to attack. "The Internet is like a vault with a screen door on the back," says Cheswick. "I don't need jackhammers and atom bombs to get in when I can walk in through the door" (Quittner 44). The use of the Internet has become one of the most popular ways to communicate.

Difficulties Attending College :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Difficulties Attending College Today everyone thinks in order to succeed financially in life they need to have a college education, or at least most of the time this is true. I personally think that despite the many difficulties that a person is faced with they can overcome their troubles somehow, even though sometimes they can not help but think otherwise. I, myself have three different reasons why people find it difficult to stay in college. For one sometimes they still have to keep on working while going to school. Two, they have children. Lastly, there's just not enough time for anything in their life, like they can't mentally or physically handle school and their lifestyle. Take me for example, a college student and a mother of one. I find it hard to successfully attend college and keep a job at the same time. My family and myself, right now, are at the bottom of the barrel. When we moved back from Tennessee, we had to use all the money we had saved. After paying one month and a halt of rent, both phone bills, and the electricity bill, we had to turn around scrape for food and the following months rent, not including our other bills. At first it was too hard. We felt like ends were not meeting, so I had to find a job. So now the way it works at my house is we both split the bills. My fiancà ©e has the really big bills like the rent and the insurance payment while I have the light bill, both phone bills, cable, and the internet bill. We both share the food bill, household items, and clothing. It is essential for me to work to help make ends meet. This is an example of one of the ways some households work. Even though I sometimes have a tough time with s chool I still manage to stay in school. This is one family that needs to have two incomes to make ends meet. The second reason why I think people find it difficult to succeed in college is because of children. For example, children need to go to the doctor's office, or to get shots, or your children are on vacation and you're not. Even when your children get out of school for the day and they are too little to take care of themselves, this is a common problem.

“Praise Song for My Mother” Grace Nichols and “Harmonium” Simon Armitage Essay

Nichols has written a personal love poem to her mother which expresses a deep respect and admiration for her. In Armitages poem however, the tone is very different as the poet reflects upon the lack of communication between him and his father and recalls a moment when an opportunity to speak about the serious subject of death was missed. Although both poems are modern, they have quite different structures. Nichols poem uses a simple three line stanza which she repeats until the end of the poem. Each stanza begins with You were, this adds a tone of gentle sadness to the poem as she is looking back now that her childhood is gone. This repetition also helps to make the poem feel more like a song. Nichols uses repetition again when she describes her mother as replenishing replenishing here she is emphasising just how much and how often her mother gave to her, not just food, but also things such as protection as in the flame trees spread. Armitage also uses repetition when he is describin g how the instrument has become worn out through use, and leather-soled shoes, had pedalled and pedalled. The final stanza of Nichols poem is a single line and this makes the message at the end of the poem stand out. Go to your wider futures, you said it feels like it is the last thing her mother said to her as a child and the poem ends with her parting from her mother. The structure of Armitages poem is less regular. Although he uses stanzas, they are different lengths and the constant use of enjambment gives the poem a natural, conversational feel. The use of colloquial language such as bundles off to the skip adds to this very natural, everyday tone of the poem. In both poems we are presented with adults looking back on their relationship with a parent. Both poems are autobiographical and this helps to make the poems feel more personal. Nichols writes in a positive tone about her mother describing her metaphorically as water. By doing this she is suggesting that her mother was essential and even implying that she gave her life. By describing her as fathoming this implies that she knew her mother could work her out, get inside her mind and know her completely. She also describes her metaphorically as moons eye to me. The image this creates is of her mother  watching over her, as the moon at night watches over the world. It is a comforting image as night time for children especially can be a frightening time. Nichols is clearly expressing a deep love and respect for her mother, whereas in Armitages poem we are presented more with a tone of regret and distance between child and parent. He too thinks of his parent metaphorically. The Farrand Chapelette is personified and we are led to make a connection between this aged and worn instrument and his father. It has lost its tongue and its keys are described as yellowed†¦fingernails. The instrument, like his father, has come near to the end of its life and his father makes the comment that he is near to death. He makes the comment that the next box Armitage will take from the church will carry the dead weight of his father. At this point we are presented with the tone of regret in the poem as Armitage remembers saying some shallow or sorry phrase and not actually talking to his father about such a real and serious matter. The poem ends on this sad tone and although there is a sense of sadness at the end of Nichols poem, her sadness is actually about understanding how well her mother prepared her for life, whilst Armitages sadness is to do with the lack of communication between him and his father. It is also noticeable that he describes his father in quite negative terms compared to the way Nichols describes her mother. For Armitage his father is in his own blue cloud of tobacco smoke, suggesting in itself a kind of separation between the two as he cant even see his father clearly. Also, by the indirect comparison to a worn out instrument, it suggests Armitage perhaps doesnt feel the glowing respect for his parent that Nichols does. Perhaps it is more typical for a daughter to be closer to her mother than a son is to his father this is one difference the two poems presents to us. In conclusion, both poems present us with very different ideas about the feelings between parents and their children. Nichols poem is very much a love poem to her mother, full of admiration and thanks, whereas Armitages poem captures the pain and sadness of a son who does not feel able to communicate with his father.

The Swot of Emirate Group

Introduction: The Emirates Group is a highly profitable business with a turnover of approximately US$ 12 billion and over 40,000 employees. The Group comprises of Dnata, the successful Airport Ground Services and Travel Industry division, and Emirates, the Group's rapidly expanding and award winning international airline. Emirates global network now sees it flying to over 100 destinations across 6 continents, operating a modern fleet of over 130 wide-bodied aircraft.Today the Airline has orders worth over US$ 58 billion for 170 more of the latest aircraft, with plans to operate to many more destinations in the months and years ahead. Essential to our continued business success as we expand will be the ongoing employment of high quality people to join our multi-cultural team of over 150 nationalities. In addition to lifestyle and tax free salary benefits, the Emirates Group also offers professional development opportunities to help employees develop new skills and grow their careers s uccessfully. Swot AnalysisStrengths: As a competitive and globally recognized airline industry, Emirates Airline has been able to have strategic position in the global market. In fact, when Emirates Airline streamlined their business, it already had the advantage of size. With several consecutive years of multibillion profits, the company has outshined its major rival companies to become a model firm. Also, Emirates Airline’s decision to focus on diversified market and by considering and entering the cargo shipping and their customer service was a courageous one, but it has led to its current position as one of the top global brands.The firm has likewise been characterized by many analysts to have an ability to adapt to changing market conditions in order to maximize profit. Listening to and identifying with consumers has allowed Emirates Airline to construct a corporate culture that bears little resemblance to the Emirates Airline of the past. The ability to continuously ren ew and improve their service in the airline and aviation while effectively managing the needs of their target audience is the key to maintaining Emirates Airline’s leader status and the key for succeeding in having strategic position.Weaknesses: Not all of diversification and approach have been successful and this can be considered as one of the flaws or weaknesses of the company. Analysts have accused the company of focusing too much on their high-end acquisitions and diversification in spite of the risky effects of such decisions. it does not cater for a lot of places in the USA, middle class and budget travelers Opportunities: The basis for long-term competitiveness is the ability to develop continuously new generations of more advanced airline and aviation services.Therefore one of the company’s opportunities is to tap into more markets as a result of the innovations being introduced in the aviation. Localized capabilities enabling or even enhancing such co-operati on will always make a difference when it comes to first-mover advantages. The opportunity to penetrate new growth markets where internet adoption still has room to go, Leveraging Emirates Airline’s infrastructure business to get first choice and stronger position against rivals is also an opportunity.They also have the opportunity to get ahead of their rival companies, and this should be the case, since the said market is a potential sizeable source of income. The trend of considering the internet market also shows cases new opportunities for the company. Threats: Rival companies are major threats to the business. Emirates Airline, in contrast, started out in other lines of business and entered and airline capabilities of the company.The firm’s inability to keep up with innovations, or recognize its demand, creates a threat for them, a risk that they could be displaced by other industry leaders. The legal and political environment in the countries where they operate in could potentially affect the business negatively. Their apparent complacence could be used by their rival companies to their advantage, and take Emirates Airline by surprise, with the latter realizing too late that they are not the industry leader anymore

My First Day in the University Essay

My first day at college is an important event of my life. To me it is an unforgettable day. During my school days. I had a glimpse of college life from my elder brothers and sisters. I was most curiously awaiting the day when I would start my college life. I thought that the college life would offer me a free life; here restrictions would be few and threat of teachers would be little. At last the longed for day came in. I was admitted to the Government College of my city. I entered the college premises with new hopes and aspirations. I was glad to see that the college presented a new sight. It was quite different from what I had seen in and around our school. I came across many unknown faces. I had some very strange experiences on the first day of my college life. I was baffled to see students playing indoor and outdoor games and enjoying radio programmes during class-hours. There is no restriction of uniform. I observed that the students are free in their movements. They can do things according to their choice. I found all the newly admitted students in high spirits. They were all happy to make friends. I moved round the college. I was very much delighted to see the grand library of the college where I could find books on very subject. The college laboratory excited my interest on the very first day and I got eager to perform experiments there. I noted down the time-table of my class from the notice board. I attended the classes. I found that the method of teaching in the college is different from that in the school. Each subject is taught by a specialized teacher. Questions are not asked in the classes. Professors do not rebuke the students if they fail to learn their lessons. They simply tell the students to be conscious of their responsibilities. The students find here a homely atmosphere which they lack in the school. For this, they feel easy and comfortable here. I felt a new rhythm of life and returned home with a mixed sense of duty and liberty.

Elements of Governance Reform Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Elements of Governance Reform - Coursework Example This act is the latest most effective regulatory reform intended to rectify major corporate misleads in future. Arthur Andersen LLP’s role in the revolutionary scandal of Enron is reflected in one important part of SOX Act which standardized requirements to ensure the independence of the auditors. Major failure in accountability and disclosure of few leading nonprofit firms and penetrated media coverage of this failure by nonprofit organizations cast the nonprofit sector in an unethical and unfavorable light. This also damaged the integrity and trust of people across the world on the nonprofit organizations along with the benefit of the nonprofits organizations. Although most of the provisions of Sarbanes Oxley Act have currently been applied to only publicly traded companies nonprofit organizations could benefit by adopting these provisions. Apart from this, voluntarily adhering to the Sarbanes Oxley Gold standards would generate more ability and credibility to appoint more e fficient members in the boards of nonprofit organizations. This also can attract many potential fund donors, foundations, and many other potential financial funding resources. The nonprofit sector that enjoyed light oversight and little regulations have now highly focused on the new demand for standardized corporate governance. If the nonprofit sector wishes to retain its higher extent of self-regulation, the board and top management of the organizations need to put accountable effort to improve the organizations in terms of corporate governance and financial transparency. If the current situation does not improve the whole sector may come down under unwanted regulations of government. Some attorneys general of states already criticized that additional SOCK provisions need to be applied to nonprofits.

Development of Research Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Development of Research Questions - Essay Example The NCU Proposal and Dissertation Review Form (DRF) serves as a source reference for additional information regarding purpose statement requirements and appropriate documentation. The method of choice represents a combination of both quantitative research questions and hypotheses, which study the relationship between different variables that the researcher seeks to know, and qualitative research questions, where inquirers state research questions - not objectives or hypotheses. Various sources used in this paper, including different published research materials and Internet articles. In order to successfully carry out the research study on the proposed thesis, specific questions should be established to be researched in order for hypotheses to be tested. Thus, created signposts act as guidance and assist the research. Based on nature of this study, which sets out to research different challenges and presented opportunities that international students experience while taking accounting courses at U.S colleges, there is a strong need for using the mixed methods research and hypotheses. According to Creswell (2009), â€Å"a strong mixed methods study should start with mixed methods research questions, to shape the methods and the overall design of a study†. This method of choice represents a combination of both quantitative research questions and hypotheses, which study the relationship among different variables that the researcher seeks to know, and qualitative research questions, where the inquirer states research questions, not objectives or hypotheses. Provided is a progress development of a two-phase research study with the separate quantitative and qualitative research hypotheses and questions stated in sections introducing each phase. This research will not utilize separate, distinct mixed methods research questions, but rather will use a step-by-step approach. This research study will be conducted on-site of several

Fingerprint scientific method Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fingerprint scientific method - Coursework Example It comprises 3 steps to compute a fingerprint. No. 1 – an approximation algorithm is used to compute a reduced-fidelity version of the target digital object. No. 2 – this reduced version is put into a normalized serial form, and No. 3 – a hash function is used to compute a unique fingerprint from the resulting serialized object. The UNFs approach is somewhat similar to that of audio & video fingerprinting. However, in contrast to audio and video fingerprints, which entail a long sequence computation, UNFs use a more concise and closely related representation, suitable for use in scholarly citations. Thai, L. & Tam, H. (2010) under ‘Standardized fingerprint model’ states, â€Å"The model includes the following steps: (1) Pre-processing fingerprint image: for each image, we recognize fingerprint area, thinned ridge lines and extract minutiae. (2) Finding and adjusting parameter sets: at first, choose a fingerprint which has largest fingerprint area as mean image.

New technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New technology - Research Paper Example 2. New Technology for Blind Individuals There are many individuals in the world who do not have the power of sight. This loss makes visually impaired individuals dependent on others for their daily routine activities like making a trip to the grocery store, visiting a friend etc. Technology has contributed its part in the development of new techniques to make life better for individuals who have low sightedness or blindness. The technology that has been chosen for analysis helps blind individuals find their way around the streets and neighborhoods without any supervision. Blind people tend to be comfortable in the vicinity of their homes since they are well-acquainted with the placement of objects and the structure of the premises. On the contrary, they feel threatened to get out in the real world on their own due to the unknown directions and locations. The fear of getting lost also ceases such independent trips. Modern technology has successfully provided blind people with effectiv e devices to overcome the previously stated fears. An innovative technology has been invented that guides the blind person about the directions that are required to be taken to reach a specific direction. The device is known by the name of ‘Intersection Explorer’ and it has been released by Google in 2010 (Google Inc.,). Intersection Explorer includes a touch screen which is provided with a virtual map of any desired location in the world. The blind user can select the map of his neighborhood to explore the region and seek directions for a desired place. Google maps is incorporated in the device due to which the blind person cannot get lost; Google maps provide extensive mapping features, coupled with the local business information, for example, all restaurants can be listed on its search features that would be located in a certain region or city (Google Maps). This device is also based on GPS technology that is defined as the global positioning system (Purewal); GPS de termines the position of a user with the help of satellites maintained in the space (Lammertsma). The blind person does not have to type anything in the device to get directions; rather it is operated by touching the screen of the device. The aspect of touch operations makes the technology even more convenient for blind users since they take longer periods of time to type (as compared to sighted individuals) and require special keyboards with Braille display to input their desired text. The user browses his finger around the screen of the device and gets audio feedback about the place where his finger is pointed. The person gets notified about his position as he crosses different streets. This feature ensures that the user does not get lost and is aware about his current position at all time, for example, â€Å"Moved 70 meters towards Park Lane† (Raman). Figure 1: Intersection Explorer displaying nearby streets and intersections. The red spot indicates the position of the use r [1]. The most interesting feature of this technology gets revealed when the user gets the feeling of being lost. The user can trace his finger on the screen in a circle and the device will provide feedback about all the streets that have been crossed. This information can highlight any wrong directions that might have been taken in the respective path. The operations of this device are not very complex therefore any person with minimal computer

Effect and Influence of Social Factor on Business Essay

Effect and Influence of Social Factor on Business - Essay Example This essay focuses on the significance of the social aspect in the PEST analysis in regards to a business from apparel manufacturing industry. Environmental analysis is a marketing function which includes study of all external factors that may determine the success or failure of a business. Relatively qualitative in nature, this analysis involves identifying of environmental variables, scanning them, analyzing and finally forecasting of business situation. Environmental analysis is significant for a business to survive and grow. This analysis helps in identifying the probable opportunities and threats to a business. It opens new avenues for business activity expansion and also provides opportunities for discovering and exploitation of business. PEST analysis is an acronym for â€Å"political, economic, social and technological.† Its purpose is to conduct analysis and identify various external factors that might affect business and also to help in market research.Social aspect of PEST analysis includes factors such as age distribution, income level, education, diet and nutrition, religion, population growth, consumerism, social class, and expectation of society from business. It also includes buying trends, change in lifestyle, cultural aspects, ethics, publicity factors, advertising, media, career attitudes, health consciousness and emphasis on safety. Social trends to a great extent affect demand for a product The social factor from PEST analysis creates various opportunities at a global, national and international level. ... It enables business and organizations to understand future problems and face them boldly. This analysis helps organizations in expanding their business while contributing towards social groups and causes. Environmental analysis keeps guiding the organizations from time to time about changes in socio economic conditions at the same time enabling them to take benefit of technological developments, government policies etc. Apart from providing various opportunities environmental analysis also helps business in identifying threats from competitor and other sources. Threats are uncontrollable and can put survival of organization or business at stake. Environmental analysis overcome organization’s threat and also helps in identifying competencies of business. Identification of one PEST factor PEST analysis is an acronym for â€Å"political, economic, social and technological.† Its purpose is to conduct analysis and identify various external factors that might affect business and also to help in market research. Out of all the factors from PEST analysis I am considering Social factor for discussion about how it affects business. Social aspect of PEST analysis includes factors such as age distribution, income level, education, diet and nutrition, religion, population growth, consumerism, social class, and expectation of society from business. It also includes buying trends, change in lifestyle, cultural aspects, ethics, publicity factors, advertising, media, career attitudes, health consciousness and emphasis on safety. Social trends to a great extent affect demand for a product (Miller 1992). Industry considered Considering apparel manufacturing industry for