Factors Affecting Psychological Pressures on High School Students

The many pressures of high school can have various effects on students. Depending on the student and their lifestyle, the effects can be either positive or negative. There are many aspects that have an affect on a student†s performance in school. Some of the factors include home life, social life, academic life and after school life. The entirety of their time management and decisions has the most affect on their performance (Katz 11). At home, a student goes through many different circumstances that their peers and teachers may be unaware of. For example, if a student has divorced parents, this will play a key role in determining how they perform in school. Alcoholic and abusive parents are also sometimes a factor. Often, students with a rough home life will perform at a lower level in school due to the other things they are going through at home. On the other hand, often an abused teen will put more effort into their schoolwork in order to fulfill needs of self-satisfaction that are not being met at home (Pickett 14). Often teens with older siblings perform better in school. Studies show that the younger children do better in high school. This is most often attributed to the fact that they have seen what high school students go through and have learned from their siblings mistakes as well as achievements. Though the criteria for graduating high school and the individual courses are becoming more difficult each year, younger siblings seem to improve over their older brothers and sisters (Katz 11). The social life plays a big role in high school life. It is often difficult for a student to balance the many aspects of high school life and often they go overboard with either social or academic obligations (Childress 618). The friends that a teen keeps will play a major role in determining how the student will perform in school. Their friends will determine how much and what type of peer pressure the student is submitted to. There are two types of peer pressure. The first type, and most common is negative peer pressure. With this type of peer pressure, the teen will be pressured to participate in many negative acts. This may include, but not be limited to, drugs, alcohol, skipping school, cheating and putting down other students (Kate 11). The second type of peer pressure is positive peer pressure. With this type of peer pressure the teen is influenced to do things such as strive for good grades and participate in other positive activities (Katz 12). Parties are a common part of the teen life today. Often, teenage parties will include negative influences, however it is not difficult for a student to avoid such situations if they just have strong morals (Katz 11). A teen†s social life may also include a job. Working teens are becoming more and more common. The need to feel accepted by peers and have the â€Å"right† clothes and car are major influences in this. Teens may also elect to keep a job to help with family financial difficulties or just to keep them busy (Katz 12). Academic life is the most crucial part of the high school experience. How they perform in high school will dictate what kind of college they will attend. It is important for students to have a well-rounded social life while still performing well in their academics. The last two years of high school are the most important. This is when the teen should be preparing to enter college and take things more seriously. However, this is usually opposite of what happens (Childress 617). If a teen can balance a healthy social life while still performing well academically, they usually will be able to do the same in college and life. Extra-curricular activities occupy much of a teen†s life. What they do to participate in other school-sponsored activities will take up a lot of their time. This can be solved by only selecting activities that will add to their learning experience (Childress 616). The life a teen takes on after school each day is very important in understanding their life in general. They may participate in sports and clubs that will use up much of their time (Kruse 6). Football is a major sport that is taken very seriously in high school (Wahl 92). The competition in high school sports is enough to take some athlete†s minds off their schoolwork. Rival schools games against each other often will tear the entire school away from academics the week prior to the game (Guss 10). Clubs are also a big part of teen†s life. Often they participate for fun and other times just for looks of it on college applications. However, if a student overloads on clubs and other after school activities, their academics may suffer. In its entirety, a teenager†s life is very hectic. They have many stresses and pressures to deal with each day. It is in it†s own, a major accomplishment just to make it through high school and on to college. With the pressures being put on teens to succeed growing each day, each goal met in school, is a victory in itself. The different aspects of the teen†s life all have an effect on the outcome of their performance in school. To some, high school is like a big game. Each move made is a crucial decision towards the outcome of life. When one focuses on only one part of the teen†s life, it is impossible to make any conclusion about their lifestyle. In the game of a teen†s life, maybe Maurice Freeman put it best when saying, â€Å"We†ve got to win. † (Person 12)

Electrical Power- Distribution System

Task 1: Describe the basic topology of the national grid network. The National Grid Network A national grid network is a network of cable that connects all the power stations in a country to transmit electricity to the consumers throughout the country. Electricity is in demand just about everywhere in the civilized world, and in Great Britain the network for supplying this electrical power is known commonly as the National Grid. The National Grid is an electric power transmission network which connects the substations and power stations.This is so that any electrical energy generated in Great Britain, can be utilized and help meet energy demands elsewhere. This grid system also includes interconnections that run under the sea to Northern Ireland HVDC Moyle, the Isle of Man and France HVDC Cross-Channel. The electrical energy generated for the National grid needs to be moved around all parts of the country to supply the demand. There are two methods available for the transmission and distribution of electric power and these are:   * Underground Insulated Cables Overhead Cables (Bare Conductors Suspended at a Safe Height Above Ground) The overhead lines are generally used for high-voltage long distance transmission, because the cost is lower than underground cables, especially at higher voltages. In British practice, high voltage transmission lines carry voltages ranging from 66kv to 132kv, and extra high voltage lines carry voltages from 220kv to 380kv. In all cases the power is transmitted in the form of three-phase alternating current at 50cycles/sec, and the cost of an overhead line depends largely on conductor size and voltage [Cheesman, 2007].Figure 1: General layout of electricity networks (Diagram taken from: http://en. wikipedia. org) Structure of distribution grids The structure or â€Å"topology† of a grid can vary considerably. The physical layout is often forced by what land is available and its geology. The logical topology can vary dependi ng on the constraints of budget, requirements for system reliability, and the load and generation characteristics. A typical topology of a grid is shown in figure 2 below. A A Figure 2: Schematic representation of a radial system (Diagram taken from: http://www. transanatolia. eu)Figure represent a classic electricity distribution grids-simple radial tree, sending power from a source (point A representing power generation or a substation) to delivery points (other points representing homes, businesses, or other sub networks). The cheapest and simplest topology for a distribution or transmission grid is a radial structure. This is a tree shape where power from a large supply radiates out into progressively lower voltage lines until the destination homes and businesses are reached. Most transmission grids require the reliability that more complex mesh networks provide.Other topologies used are looped systems and tied ring networks. National grids are composed of many smaller electrica l networks that are linked together into a larger network called a Wide Area Synchronous Grid, also known as an interconnection. A Wide Area Synchronous Grid allows all the independent electrical networks in a particular area to be connected by synchronizing the electrical frequency between them. United Kingdom interconnections are synchronized at 50Hz. |   | Task 2: describe the basic topology of the ring and radial feeder system. Radial Feeder SystemIn a radial configuration, lines branch out sequentially and power flows strictly in one direction, only one path is connected between each customer and the substations. The electrical power flows from the substation to the customer along a single path. If this path is interrupted, it will result in a complete loss of power to the customer. The loading of a distribution feeder is inherently unbalanced because of the large number of unequal single-phase loads that must be served. An additional imbalance is introduced by the non-equila teral conductor spacing of the three-phase overhead and underground line segments.Figure 3 below shows the radial feeder system. Figure 3: Radial distribution system Some of the advantages of this system include: minimum initial cost and simplicity of planning, design and operation. Disadvantages include: low reliability factor, distributor nearer to the feeding end is heavily loaded. Ring or Loop system: In a ring, any two points are usually connected by more than one path, meaning that some lines form loops within the system. This distribution system consists of two or more paths between the substations and the customers. It is selected to carry its normal load plus the load of the other half of the loop also.Therefore the size of the feeder conductor in a loop distribution system is the same throughout the loop. Figure 4 below shows the ring or loop feeder system. Figure 4: Loop distribution system Advantages of this system include: Less conductor material is required as each par t of the ring carries less current. Less voltage fluctuations. It is more reliable. Disadvantages include: It is difficult to design compared to the radial system. Task 3. For the radial feeder shown in fig. 3. 1 calculate the following: 15A 15A 50A 50A B B 0. 2? 0. 2? 0. 1? 0. 1? 0. 06? 0. 06? A A 20A 20A 240V 240V D D C C Figure 3. 1 a) The load voltagesSolution: From figure 3. 1, the voltage drop from A to D is: VAD=0. 2IAB+0. 06IBC+0. 1ICD Current between A and B:IAB=50+15+20=85A Voltage drop from A to B: VA-B=0. 2*85=17V Voltage at B:VB= VA-VAB Therefore,VB=240-17=223V Current between B and C:IBC=85-50=35A Voltage drop from B to C:VB-C=0. 06*35=2. 1V Voltage at C:VC= VB-VBC=223-2. 1=220. 9V Current between C and D:ICD=35-15=20A Voltage drop from C to D: VC-D=0. 1*20=2V Voltage at D:VD= VC- VCD=220. 9-2=218. 9V Therefore Voltage drop from A to D: e=0. 2IAB+0. 06IBC+0. 1ICD =0. 2*85+0. 06*35+0. 1*20 VAD =17+2. 1+2=21. 1V b) The power lost in the cable.Power supplied to the system = 240 * 85 = 20400 W PLOSS = (VAB*IAB) + (VBC * IBC)+ (VCD*ICD ) = (17*85) + (2. 1*35) +(2*20) = 1445 + 73. 5 + 40 = 20400 – = 1558. 5W c) The power developed by each load. Power at B, PB = VB * IB = 223 * 50 = 11150W= 11. 15KW Power at C, PC = VC * IC = 220. 9 * 15 = 3313. 5W = 3. 31KW Power at D, PD = VD * ID = 218. 9 * 20 = 4378W = 4. 38KW Total Power developed = PB + PC + PD = 11150 + 3313. 5 + 4378 = 18841. 5W =18. 84KW d) The efficiency of the system The efficiency of the transmission line is given by: Efficiency =100% * Power supplied / (power supplied + power loss) PP+PL*100%= 2040020400+1558. 5*100%=92. 9% Task 4: Write a short report on distribution systems. The report should include the following content: i) The most common LV distribution systems used. ii) A diagram of the single phase 3 wire 240/120 topology iii) Description of the single phase 3 wire 240/120 development iv) The effect of unequal loading v) The advantages of the single phase 3 wire 240c/120v sys tem vi) A diagram of the three phase 4 wire 208v/120 topology vii) three phase 3 wire 600v topology, vii) three phase 4 wire 480v/277v topology. Examples of where this would be used Solution:Distribution Subsystem The distribution system connects the distribution substations to the consumers’ service-entrance equipment. There are two types of distribution system: the primary and secondary distribution system. The Primary Distribution System The primary distribution lines range from 4 to 34. 5 kV and supply the load in a well-defined geographical area. The transmission system voltage is stepped-down to lower levels by distribution substation transformers. The primary distribution system is that portion of the power network between the distribution substation and the utilization transformers.The primary distribution system consists of circuits, referred to as primary or distribution feeders that originate at the secondary bus of the distribution substation. The distribution sub station is usually the delivery point of electric power in large industrial or commercial applications Primary distribution system voltages range from 2,400 V to 69,000 V. The distribution voltages in widest use are 12,470 V and 13,200 V, both three and four wire. Types of Primary Distribution System. There are two fundamental types of primary distribution systems; Radial and Network.Simply defined, a radial system has a single simultaneous path of power flow to the load. A network has more than one simultaneous path. Each of the two types of systems has a number of variations. Figure 6 illustrates four primary feeder arrangements showing tie, loop, radial and parallel feeders. There are other more complex systems, such as the primary network (interconnected substations with feeders forming a grid) and dual-service network (alternate feeder to each load). These systems, however, are simply variations of the two basic feeder arrangements.Some small industrial customers are served dir ectly by the primary feeders. Figure 6: four primary feeder arrangements. (Diagram taken from: www. navalfacilities. tpub. com) The secondary Distribution System The secondary distribution network reduces the voltage for utilization by commercial and residential consumers. Lines and cables not exceeding a few hundred feet in length deliver power to the individual consumers. The secondary distribution serves most of the customers at levels of 240/120 V, single-phase, three-wire; 208Y/120 V, three-phase, four-wire; or 480Y/277 V, three-phase, four-wire.The power for a typical home is derived from a transformer that reduces the primary feeder voltage to 240/120 V using a three wire line. Distribution systems utilize both overhead and underground conductors. The voltage levels for a particular secondary system are determined by the loads to be served. The utilization voltages are generally in the range of 120 to 600 V. In residential and rural areas the nominal supply is a 120/240 V, si ngle-phase, three-wire grounded system. If three-phase power is required in these areas, the systems are normally 208Y/120 V or less commonly 240/120 V.In commercial or industrial areas, where motor loads are predominant, the common three-phase system voltages are 208Y/120 V and 480Y/277 V. The preferred utilization voltage for industrial plants, however, is 480Y/277 V. Three-phase power and other 480 V loads are connected directly to the system at 480 V and fluorescent lighting is connected phase to neutral at 277 V. Small dry-type transformers, rated 480-208Y/120 or 480-120/240 V, are used to provide 120 V single-phase for convenience outlets and to provide 208 V single- and three-phase for small tools and other machinery.Types of Secondary distribution Systems. Various circuit arrangements are available for secondary power distribution. The basic circuits are: simple radial system, expanded radial system, primary selective system, primary loop system, secondary selective system, and secondary spot network. References Alley, R. and Smith, K. (1992) Electrical Circuits: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 220-236. Altenergy. org (2008) Alternative Energy – Wind, Solar, Hydro and other alt energy sources for home power. [online] Available at: http://www. ltenergy. org/ [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. Cheesman, J. (2007) National Grid. [online] Available at: http://ezinearticles. com/? National-Grid&id=2431881 [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. Deshpande, M. (2010)  Electrical Power System Design  . New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, p. 256-300. Electrical-zine. blogspot. co. uk (2009) ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE: The Structure Of The Power System III. [online] Available at: http://electrical-zine. blogspot. co. uk /2009/08/structure-of-power-system-iii. html [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. En. wikipedia. rg (2011) Electrical grid – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Electrical_grid [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. Epuniversity. org (n. d. ) Electrical Configurations – Wye, Delta, Single and Split Phases. [online] Available at: http://www. epuniversity. org/w3. html [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. Learnaboutenergy. org (n. d. ) Types of Renewable Energy. [online] Available at: http://www. learnaboutenergy. org/renewable_energy/RenewableEnergy3. htm [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. Most. gov. mm (2011) Transformer Operation and system voltage control. online] Available at: http://www. most. gov. mm/techuni/media /EP_04018_2. pdf [Accessed: 17. 06. 12]. Navalfacilities. tpub. com (n. d. ) Secondary Voltage Levels. [online] Available at: http://navalfacilities. tpub. com/mo201/mo2010022. htm [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012]. Sivanagaraju, S. and satyanarayana, S. (2009)  Electrical Power Transmission and Distribution. New Delhi: Pearson Education, p. 479-512. Transanatolia. eu (2007) Electrical Grid. [online] Available at: http://www. transanatolia. eu/analyses/Energy/electrical-grid. htm [Accessed: 19 Jun 2012].

The 6 Things You Should Do the Summer Before Senior Year

As seniors’ acceptance letters pour in and they begin to make their final college decisions, the concept of senior year and all that accompanies it is  probably heavy on many juniors’ minds. The late November to early January application deadline most schools impose is likely already looming large on juniors’ schedules, and while the prospect of being at the top of the social hierarchy is exciting, the additional responsibilities that accompany club or sports team leadership can be nerve-wracking. Whether you feel like you’re not quite ready to be a senior or that senior year couldn’t come fast enough, there’s no denying that it can be one of the most challenging years of students’ high school careers. Balancing college applications with the academic and extracurricular demands of senior year can be tricky, but it’s easier if you take steps over the summer to make sure you start off prepared. Armed with our list, you’ll enter senior year ready to take on the world. It’s important to note that most college applications don’t even open until late summer. The Common App, for example, is available to students beginning August 1st. In general, we at don’t recommend students start their applications before this point. Though it may seem like the deadline is approaching fast, unless you’re applying ED or EA , you have still have half your senior year remaining before your apps are due — a lot can change in that time. You may have additional awards or activities that you want to add to your application, and even your essay topics might change significantly. With all this in mind, you can probably afford to hold off on churning out rough drafts of essays or filling in the activities section for a few weeks. However, this isn’t to say you can’t start seriously considering the sort of information you might include on your application, particularly what you’ll write your essay on. Personal essays are one of the most important components of your application, especially at schools who boast holistic admissions , and writing a killer essay can be your key to success. For this reason, it’s smart to start brainstorming for potential personal statement ideas over the summer. If you can start the school year with a clear idea of what you want to write on, not only for the Common App but for supplemental essays as well, you can save yourself a lot of time and grief later on. Thinking about which activities and honors you want to list on your application is also a good way to prepare for senior year. The Common App only allows for students to describe 10 activities; others, like the University of California application, allow even less (the UC app provides 5 spaces). Consider not only which extracurriculars are most ostensibly impressive, but also those which you’ve spent the most time on or have the most intrinsic value to you. Determining which extracurricular activities have been most meaningful to you can also help you narrow down what to write about for â€Å"Which extracurricular activity listed on your application has meant the most to you, and why?† supplement questions, which are a staple on many top schools’ applications. We’ve already written about the importance of summer activities , but just to be safe, we’ll state it again: it’s to your great advantage to utilize summers for activities like service projects, research opportunities, internships, and more. Not only do you have more free time in the summer to devote to extracurricular activities you probably couldn’t fit into your schedule during the school year, you also have the freedom to travel and branch out beyond the extracurriculars that would normally populate your schedule. In addition, staying busy over the summer before senior year demonstrates your motivation and work ethic to colleges — you have to be pretty diligent to stay cooped up in a lab all summer while the sun shines. Summer can be a great time to prepare for the final few standardized tests you need to take. If you haven’t gotten your dream score on ACT/SAT, SAT IIs, etc., now is the time! Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. Summer before senior year is an excellent time to tour the colleges you’re considering applying to. For a West Coaster with Ivy League aspirations , or a New England student who dreams of Stanford or UC Berkeley, summer provides an opportunity to travel across the country (or for international students, across the ocean!) without worries about homework assignments or missed school days. Many colleges provide programming for prospective students over the summer, where students can take classes, attend seminars, and stay in the dorms at the college of their dreams. While applications for these programs are competitive and are due months before the summer begins, well-prepared students get the opportunity to experience life as a student at the college of their choice. Many of these programs also provide financial aid to students for which paying for the programs poses a financial difficulty. Of course, your college list is extremely malleable — you can decide not to apply to a school the day before the application is due, or realize your dreams for attending a college 5 days before their due date. Though making changes to your list is common and inevitable, it certainly does simplify things if you’re able to come up with as complete and final a version of your college list as possible early on. Finalizing your college list in advance can help you avoid a slew of annoyances, like paying to send test scores to a school you don’t even end up applying to, or rushing to think of a unique and engaging essay topic in the final hours before the application is due. Put the thought in and do the research early, and you’ll be thanking yourself later. Senior year is a whirlwind of essays, formal dances, late nights, and acceptance letters; to the unprepared student, jumping head first into the madness can be daunting. However, if you follow our tips for a successful pre-senior year summer, you can start your final year of high school with ease and kiss college application stress goodbye. For more information about extracurriculars and summer activities,

Texas History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Texas History - Essay Example He further states that the region is called ‘Land of Contrasts’ owing to its variation in landscape since four out of eight geographic terrain making up North American Topography marks the state (3). Schmidly states that the Grasslands stretch from Canada to the High Plains till the prairies, sandy beaches and marshes marking the coastline, in addition, the western region of the state is overshadowed by the mountainous ranges and desert, which are separated by Rio Grande, a major river of Texas (307). He further states that in the east, Big Thickets and Pineywoods represent sections of the forest that stretches all the way till the Appalachians, in the south a subtropical Rio Grande Valley dots the southern Texas, these landscapes meet in Central Texas where the country includes a mixture of grassland, shrubs and forest (307). McComb states that the average rainfall recorded drops from fifty-eight inches per year in the east to eight inches in the west, while heavy snowf alls are a rare commodity but there are records of blizzards on the High Plains (5). He reveals that despite of the southerly breezes the summers are quite hot, during the 1980 summer, the temperature of 105 to 110 were common in the state which permits a prolonged growing season in the south (7). Procter and McDonald state the sufficient archeological evidence exists which confirms the fact that migrants belonging to Asia crossed the Bering Land Bridge forty thousand years ago and became the early occupants of America collectively known as Paleo Indians (3). They divulged the fact that archeologists unearthed the oldest human signs in the state almost thirty thousand year old whose cultural complexes are known as Lano and Falsom suggesting that Paleo Indians made Texas their abode for thousands of years. Foster indicates that early study reveals that the native tribes of Texas exhibited a broad range of cultures and lifestyle, reflected by their abstinence and settlement patterns o ver the state (233). He is of the opinion that most of them were agriculturist who constructed villages near the major rivers, while small proportion of them were dispersed groups whose mean of sustenance were fishing, collecting local plant products and hunting small woodland games. He further stated that spanning the stretches of Central, West and South Texas were semi nomadic groups who moved occasionally to other states of America for subsistence and followed the traditions of Homo Sapiens of the Old World which thrived thirty thousand years ago. Q.2) Identify the important explorers of Texas. What motivated these men to risk their lives in a distant, inhospitable land? Answer) According to Bolton and Barker, Spanish occupation of Texas did not happen by chance, it was a result of a series of pre-planned explorations of the land with the suitability of settlement in mind (1). He suggested that the main reason behind the capture other than the French advances in the region, was t he search of kingdom of Quivira, a part of myth and romances associated with Texas, where crockery was manufactured of precious metals such as those of gold and wrought plate, even their vessels, tips of arrows and lances were made out of gold due to it being in plentiful supply and no other metal were known for its existence along with another myth that the kingdom of Texas has lavishly built towns and buildings where grain grew in such abundance that it was fed to their horses (2). Klos is of the opinion that the European powers made Texas a ‘horse and gun’ junction, French and the English traders traded guns with the Indians in Texas to win over their

Water Pollution Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water Pollution - Term Paper Example In the last thirty three years, there has been an immense growth in the population of India accompanied with rapid urbanization and industrialization. All of these factors have jointly put great pressure upon the sacred River Ganges (McDermott). In 1984, in Bhopal, 27 tones of deadly methyl isocyanate gas were released by a Union Carbide pesticide plant that resulted into 20000 casualties. There has been little to no change in the regulatory climate in India ever since. Similarly, since 1990s, there has been a two-fold increase in the volume of domestic sewage which is deposited into the River Ganges. It is expected that if the same pattern continues, the volume of sewage will double in a generation. The aforementioned factors and several more like them have resulted into rapid pollution of India’s most sacred waters and most treasured resource whose religious significance is extreme. As a result of the decades of dumping, aquatic creatures have become extinct in one of the stretches of the Yamuna River in the last ten years. Yamuna River happens to be the main tributary of the River Ganges. In Varanasi, Indias most sacred city, the coliform bacterial count is at least 3,000 times higher than the standard established as safe by the United Nations world Health Organization, according to Veer Bhadra Mishra, an engineer and Hindu priest whos led a campaign there to clean the river for two decades. (Hammer cited in â€Å"Focusing of Words†). Generally existing in the colons of animals and humans, coliform are the rod-like bacteria that can prove a serious health hazard if found in water. Consumption of the polluted water of the River Ganges is causing a lot of skin problems. There has also been an increase in the infant mortality rates and disabilities among Indians over the years. One of the most fundamental reasons why the health hazards originating in the River Ganges

A Short-Lived Marriage Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Short-Lived Marriage - Case Study Example Some said he had stolen a purse from a lady passenger, others said he had been caught urinating in public, as women rumored he had raped a goat meant for sale in the nearby market and painstakingly cursed on what had become of their men’s morals and so on. With the evolution and mutations of those women's gossip, it was hard to separate fact from hearsay and sieving the truth from lie was a pure calling in itself, and a divine one too.  Some said he had stolen a purse from a lady passenger, others said he had been caught urinating in public, as women rumored he had raped a goat meant for sale in the nearby market and painstakingly cursed on what had become of their men’s morals and so on. With the evolution and mutations of those women's gossip, it was hard to separate fact from hearsay and sieving the truth from lie was a pure calling in itself, and a divine one too.   An old dusty bus pulled by, letting out a huge cloud of exhaust smoke that caused Obierika and a couple of others seated with him to cover their noses and look away momentarily. She would be in it, he knew, for this was the bus that normally plied the route to Anyango’s fatherland. Anxiety and joy gripped him all at the same time. It was near mid-day now and the sun burned with the intensity of the hour as Anyango appeared from amongst the group of alighting passengers. She had carried with her a traditional bag made from papyrus reed that seemed to be holding foodstuff from home and on her left arm, a designer handbag that Obierika had previously bought her in the city as a gift. Her face shone. The month of July passed by solemnly and quietly. Her pregnancy had started to show and she felt more at home day by day in her new house. Onyango would wait back in the house and pamper herself as Obierika desired. Even with her heaviness, she still attended to her light household chores, even as Obierika objected to this, and she was a good wife. Obierika himself would leave f or work in the mornings and return in the region of 6 pm with food for the night that he would occasionally prepare since her mood swings became unpredictable as time went by. He found a home in her. His friends grew distant with time as he had no time for them and never took to the bars anymore. His love for her had blossomed.

Arthropods PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arthropods - PowerPoint Presentation Example Among the arthropods, insects portray the highest degree of species diversity (Lecointre & Guyanden 67). In this discussion, we will focus on the reasons why insects are the most diverse. This paper will also focus on the limitations of these diverse species. Elipura is made up of collembola and Protura. The diplura is closely related to the insecta class. However, research indicates that crustaceans closely resemble insects than the entognatha class. Further research indicates that the collembolla have a different origin from the insects. The first evidence of Hexapods dates back to the Devonian period (Approximately 390 years ago). During this time, the insects are said to have been wingless. However, the preservation of the fossils was poor due to their exoskeleton, which is made of chitin. The evolution of the wings was an adaptation to allow them to survive the harsh conditions of the terrain. Insect fossils believed to have been from the Devonian period have been described. The oldest is a precursor of Rhyniella Praecusor found in Scotland. Primitive rooted plants of the time were localised in moist areas, and hence created soil for early arthropods such as myriapods (Grimaldi & Engel 66). Today, majority of the insects are terrestrial with a few in the marine habitat. The figures described in the previous slide are only representative of the species that have been documented. Forecasting shows that there could be many more species of insects living in non accessible areas that have not been scientifically described. To be recognized, insect species have to be described scientifically. This involves publishing of their description in the specialist journals. This is followed by thorough research. The purpose of this is to describe the insect, as well as classify it depending on it features. New species are recognised after formal descriptions. In Borneo, for the decade 1994-2004, 361 new species were found. 260

Time management in the workplace Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Time management in the workplace - Term Paper Example Time management is important in every field of life, such as, in schools, at workplace, or even at home. In the present world, every person has to do many tasks daily, which need him/her to have excellent time management skills because without making a proper schedule, it becomes very difficult for a person to manage the routine tasks efficiently and effectively. Time management in the workplace is a very important concept related to increased workplace productivity. If the employees organize and schedule their time, as it should be, it not only increases their productivity but also increases overall productivity of the company. Without effective time management, it becomes very difficult for the employees to manage their job related tasks in an appropriate manner. Effective time management helps employees organize and learn the ways to spend their time at the workplace, allows employees to utilize the resources efficiently, and makes employees deal with every task with full dedicati on and commitment. Developing an effective schedule for the workplace is extremely important for the employees of any company or organization because it not only helps employees plan for the unplanned works but also makes them more productive and efficient. An important point regarding time management is that it should be able to adapt to the changes in the workplace. Certain things can happen at the workplace, such as, an unexpected work given by the manager, an urgent order placement by a customer, or failure of technology. Therefore, in order to face these kinds of situations, employees need to develop a schedule, which should have some capacity to accommodate unexpected situations. Another important point related to effective time management schedule is the sequence of works. Employees need to put the works in the queue based on the level of priority. Most relevant works should be done first in order to escape from all sorts of time shortage troubles. â€Å"Good time management involves keeping a schedule of the tasks and activities that have been deemed important† (Estes). If an employee does not care for the priority of works while developing the time management schedule, it can create severe problems for the employee in case of any unexpected addition of a task to the schedule. Therefore, adding the tasks in the schedule in the order of their significance is a very important concept regarding effective time management. Some employees need to develop their schedule once a week or once a month whereas some employees need to reschedule their activities on daily basis. Therefore, an important thing for an employee is to look at the nature of the job and develop the time management schedule accordingly. Moreover, employees need to avoid all sorts of distractions in order to become more productive and focused. Employees need to focus towards their work in order to complete their job related tasks within time. Distractions divert the concentration of em ployees affecting their level of productivity. Importance of Time Management Time management at the workplace is a very important concept for every employee working for any company or organization. Time management makes an employee get the maximum use of all available resources. It also plays a critical role in the success of an employee. Without developing of an effective workplace schedule, an employee cannot manage his/her job related tasks in an appropriate manner. We can take example of a new employee who starts feeling stressed while learning new roles and

Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Assignment 2 - Essay Example (Smith and Preston 2000) Alliance Decision Support: This a strategic decision support system that reports healthcare providers’ cash flow and operating margin from existing operations. It can also be considered as an integrated system since it combines financial, clinical and administrative information and other key indicators for decision making. (Enrado 2007) Microsoft Electronic Medical Record and Clinical Information System Solutions for Healthcare Providers: This a clinical information system developed as an electronic record storage that integrates data from a wide range of systems aimed at improving productivity and quality of service. (Microsoft 2008) Ascentis HR: As a human resource management system, it aids in the administrative work of a healthcare organization by integrating and centralizing HR system that promotes connectivity, communication and control. (Ascentis 2008) EMIT Primary Care: This combines both strategic decision support and patient care systems by using Internet technology to its online patient management structure. â€Å"It aims to change the current concept of silos of information to a model of interoperability.† (NZ MOH) Enterprise Performance System: A strategic decision-making system that integrates Internet technology in the delivery of critical information for financial planning. (Enrado) It features web-based decision support applications such as those that concern productivity, contract modeling and enterprise-wide reporting. The Seimens Syngo Suite: This is a clinical management system that offers a complete imaging management workflow that increases the efficiency of diagnostic and therapeutic cycles. The system that seamlessly features information in images allows a role-based access to information. (Seimens 2008) Two of these management systems, EMIT Primary Care and Enterprise

The Practice of Counselling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Practice of Counselling - Essay Example I might have a slight discomfort with the psychodynamic approach as the supervisor has to focus on student-counsellors' reactions to clients' transference/counter-transference issues. A supervisor should assist the student counsellor examine personal issues but only if these issues relate to problems occurring in the therapeutic relationship between student/counsellor and clients. Person-centred approach: the approach revolves around the self awareness of both the counsellor and the client. As such, it helps open door to such significant matters as power balance between the counsellor and a client, and the importance of communication between the two. I am more comfortable with the person-centred approach, as it lets a counsellor to exercise their discretion, thus allowing their patients to have authority over their experience regarding their problems. On the other hand, the psychodynamic approach helps break down a client's defences, as well as in the uncovering of unconscious motivations. The psychodynamic approach overemphasises on sex, aggression, and childhood experiences. It is also difficult to quantify and measure the concepts that are proposed, hence I not feel comfortable with this approach. On the other hand, the person-centred approach is more concerned with the attitudes and values of a therapist rather than their skills. The approach also disregards the significance of the past. What 5. What does this say about your personality What does it say about your approach to counselling What this suggests is that rather than being pragmatic, I value form. Additionally, this is an indication that as a person, I value listening and learning about others, as well as hearing from them what it is that they would wish to do with their lives. It is an indication that I like helping people to think about not just what they want with their lives now, but also in the future. It also indicates that my approach to counselling is one that is geared towards ensuring a coherent understanding of the communication process with a client. Chapter 5: Ethics Write a short essay (200 words) on the core ethical principals that were covered in Chapter 5 and if you have a personal example of an ethical dilemma, please include this - even if it has not been resolved. Ethics are not only guidelines but a personal philosophy and approach to the person's whole life. The counsellor cannot uphold being ethical in personal life and wear a different set of values in the professional life. The counsellor will certainly experience conflicts and lack of clarity in their work. The ethical principles provide guidance for accessing increased awareness and higher level of consciousness. The

Power In Physics Essay Example for Free

Power In Physics Essay Power is an important quantity used to describe the rate of doing work or the rate of the transformation of one form of energy into another. In other words, it is the ratio of the work done and the time required to do that work; thus, it is the rate at which a machine accomplishes a given amount of work. Two common units of power are horsepower (550 foot-pound per second), for mechanical devices; and the watt (.737 foot-pounds per second), for electrical devices. Since there are a number of topics under the category of power, let’s focus on one of its units which is the horsepower.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A horsepower is a unit of power. One horsepower (abbreviation, HP or hp) equals 550 foot-pounds as mentioned earlier is the amount of work done by one pound of force exerted through a distance of one foot). The metric unit is the watt; one horsepower equals 745.7 watts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Originally, horsepower mean the ability of a horse to perform heavy tasks such as turning a mill wheel or drawing a load. James Watt (1736-1819), inventor of the first efficient steam engine, chose horsepower as a standard to which the power of an engine could be meaningfully compared. Watt’s measurements of horsepower were widely accepted, even though the measurements applied only to very strong horses working for brief periods. Although the horse is no longer an important source of power, Watt’s standard is retained for rating engines, turbines, electric motors, windmills, and waterpower devices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indicated horsepower is the power an engine would develop if it worked without frictional losses. Brake, or shaft, horsepower (also called delivered horsepower) is the actual power output of an engine Mechanical efficiency of an engine is the ratio between brake horsepower and indicated horsepower, and friction horsepower is the difference between indicated horsepower and brake horsepower.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Water horsepower is a measure of water power. The falling of 33,000 pounds (14, 969 kg) of water over a distance of one foot (30 cm) in one minute produces one horsepower). Thrust horsepower is a measure of the power of a jet or rocket engine. It is also a measure of the rotational power that an engine-driven propeller converts into thrust. (Thrust is the forward force of propulsion). Taxable horsepower is calculated by state and local governments for the purpose of assessing taxes on automobiles and other machines. Taxable horsepower, usually based on a formula using the diameter and number of cylinders, is usually much lower than brake horsepower. An average man while running can develop about one horsepower for a brief period and about one-seventh horsepower for sustained periods. Small motors in household appliances are rated at about one-third to three-fourths horsepower. Reference: Sikorsky, Bob (1997). Horsepower Measured 2 Ways. The Washington Times.

Academic performance Essay Example for Free

Academic performance Essay Purpose of project Over the years at Queen’s Royal College I have seen teachers having stern conversations with students for reaching to school late habitually. These students are faced with consequences such as: â€Å"in-house suspension† or community service for regular late coming. I myself have been a victim of these punishments. It is believed that students who are frequently late are indiscipline, and this can spill over into their study habits, hence affecting their overall performance in their internal examinations. On the other hand, some share different views that punctuality has no effect on a student’s performance. Reason being, students do extra studies at home, hence making up for lost time at school. In that context I would like to determine through a statistical study whether or not there is a correlation between student’s punctuality and academic performance in Queen’s Royal College. I chose to study the present fifth form year group because this is the year they will be heading into the CXC CSEC examinations, assuming at this point, their attitude towards their school work will be serious. See more: Strategic Management Process Essay Variables: Let X be the total sum of form 5 students’ number of times late Let Y be the total sum of form 5 students’ average end of term examination scores Other information: seldom number of times late excessive number of times late 30% 49% bad average score 50% 69% good average score 70% 89% excellent average score n is the number of students in the sample size Let ∑x represent the sum of all the times late by the form 5 students Let ∑y represent the sum of all the form 5 students’ end of term exam average  scores Let ∑xy represent the sum of the multiples of form 5 number of times late and form 5 end of term exam average scores Let∑x2 represent the sum of the squares of the form 5 students’ number of times late Let ∑y2 represent the sum of the squares of the form 5 end of term exam average scores Let represent the sample mean of X Let represent the sample mean of Y Method of data collection 1. I collected a copy of the roll books for the various form 5 classes for term 1 (September to December) from the various form teachers. 2. The average score for each student was obtained from the dean of the form 5 year. 3. I counted the number of times late for each student and totaled it. 4. Then I sampled the data. To do this, I used systematic random sampling, I used the lottery method. I wrote each of the student numbers for a particular class (R first) on a separate little piece of paper and put them all into a hat. Then I picked out 10, one at a time without replacement, and for each one I chose, I wrote down the number of times late and the corresponding average score. 5. I repeated this for the classes O, Y and L. So in the end I had a sample size of 40, 10 from each class. 6. Afterwards I organized the data, making lists of the student number and their corresponding number of times late and average end of term exam scores for from 5 classes R, O, Y and L and put it into a table. Presentation of data Fig 1.1 Fig 1.1 is a table showing n of forty form 5 students chosen and their corresponding punctuality and average score obtained at the end of the term. Of the forty students chosen twenty-five were seldom late and fifteen students were excessively late. It also shows that, eight did bad in the end of term exam, twenty-one did good and eleven did excellent. Of the eight that did bad 2 were excessively late and 6 were seldom late. Of the twenty-one that did good 12 were excessively late and 9 were seldom late. Of the eleven that did excellent 1 was excessively late and 10 were seldom late. Fig 1.2 Fig 1.2 is a bar graph showing performance level attributed to students who were seldom late and excessively late. Of the eight that performed badly [see Table 1.1], 75% were seldom late and 25% excessively late. Of the twenty-one that performed good 43% were seldom late and 57% were excessively late. Of the eleven that did excellent 91% were seldom late and 9% were excessively late. Fig 1.3 Fig 1.3 is a scatter plot showing form 5 students’ average end of term score in relation to the number of times they were late. Analysis of data Chi-square test of independence A χ2-test of independence at the 5% level of significance will be used to determine whether the form 5 students number of times late and average end of term scores are independent of each other, or if there is a relationship between them. H0 represents the null hypothesis H1 represents the alternative hypothesis O represents observed frequencies E represents expected frequencies ÃŽ ± represents the level of significance v represents the number of degrees of freedom H0: A student’s form 5 end of term average score is independent of his number of times late. H1: A student’s form 5 end of term average score is dependent on his number of times late. In Fig 1.4, from the points a regression line was drawn which passes through the mean of both sets of data, . The line shows y tends to decrease extremely gentltly as x, increases. Also, the points are scattered about the regression line. This shows that there is a very weak negative correlation between X and Y. Discussion of findings My purpose was to investigate the relationship between student’s punctuality (X) and academic performance (Y) in a form 5 year group in Queen’s Royal College. After I collected my data and sampled it, I put it into a table (Fig 1.1), and then decided to put it in a scatter plot (Fig 1.3) and a bar graph (Fig 1.2). This made the relationship between X and Y easily identifiable. It was also now easier to compare them both. After appropriately representing my data, I chose to do a Chi-square test of independence. This was to determine whether X and Y are independent of each other or not. My decision, at the 5% significance level was to reject the alternative hypothesis, meaning that X and Y are not dependent of each other, and so a student’s form 5 end of term average exam score does not depend on his punctuality record. However, that was not the case and the Chi-square test proved that X and Y are dependent of each other. After determining that X and Y are dependent on each other in the Chi-square test another test was carried out. Details of the relationship were necessary, and so r, the linear product moment correlation coefficient, and the equation of the regression line were calculated. The linear product moment correlation coefficient goes from 1 to -1 and indicates the strength of the linear correlation between two variables. In this experiment, r was found to be -0.141. This value is negative and very low i.e. near to 0, indicating that there is a very weak negative linear correlation between X and Y. Therefore, from this test, it is safe to say that there is no relationship between X and Y. r also indicates the strength of the least squares regression line that was found. A least squares regression line of Y on X minimizes the sum of the square of the y differences, therefore it is the most accurate representation of the data in the scatter plot, and i.e. the best fit line. The equation of this line was found to be y = 62.12 + -0.2x, and the point ( lies on this line, this was demonstrated on the second scatter plot (Fig 1.4). Since r is very low, this regression line is very weak, and therefore the predictions made from it will be inaccurate. The value of b, -0.2 represents the amount by which y decreases for every unit increase in x, i.e. the number of additional marks in form 5 end of term exams that a student will lose for every additional number of times they were late. The value of a, 62.12, would represent the score a student would  get in form 5 end of term exams if he is late 0 times for the term. Limitations: This sample was only taken from one year group, and so it does not necessarily accurately represent future year groups. This test was done using only scores from one specific examination, there may be errors due to this because students may not have performed at their usual abilities for various reasons, such as an illness or a family problem and also students’ varying choice of subjects in that some may be doing relatively easier subjects than others and some may be doing less subjects than others. While collecting my data I observed that it had a lot of students who were absent. Therefore, besides punctuality, absenteeism could have affected their end of term average scores. Conclusion In this study, one test proved that X and Y were dependent of each other while the other test proved that there was no correlation between them. Therefore no clear cut conclusion can be made as to whether or not a student’s academic performance depends on their punctuality record in Queen’s Royal College. This study however, can be improved by collecting data from a larger sample to increase accuracy of data and carrying out the test for different year groups. References J. Crashaw J. Chambers, A Concise Course In Advanced Level Statistics, Nelson Thornes Ltd, 2002 H. Mulholland J.H.G. Phillips, Applied Mathematics for Advanced Level, Butterworths 1969 http://archive.bio.ed.ac.uk/jdeacon/statistics/tress9.html

Knowledge Management Initiatives taken by Organizations

Knowledge Management Initiatives taken by Organizations Knowledge Management is defined as the systematic approach that invents, understands, shares, creates and utilizes knowledge in order to create values such as customers value, employees value, stockholders value, business partners value and also social value to achieve the vision and goal of the organization. Knowledge Management develops and operates effective system, which realizes for right person at right time to transfer smoothly and utilize their knowledge. Q2 INTRODUCTION Knowledge management is defined as the ability of an organization to create, share and use the collective knowledge of its products, processes and people to increase workplace productivity and reduce activities that reinvent the wheel-is being moved to the forefront of many corporate agendas. As firms seek to build competitive advantage in increasingly competitive markets, they are turning to a previously untapped resource: their employees knowledge. In the later half of the 1990s both IBM and Nortel Networks were facing significant external pressures. From 1986 to 1992, IBMs market shares dropped from 30% to 19% with each percentage point representing $3 billion in revenues. Rather than paying attention to customer needs, IBM focused on its own financial needs and tried to reduce costs by cutting customer service staff and levels of support. In the end, customers were driven away. Thus by mid-1990s the changing market environment and downsizing necessitated that IBM rethink the basic way that it serviced customers in order to reduce customer defections and increase sales. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, IBMs primary point of contact with its customers was through business partners, the direct catalog, and the traditional Blue suits. Given that theses points of contact were not supporting the business strategic goals and requirements to remain competitive, an internal task force was charged with reengineering IBMs customer relationship management (CRM) process. Customer relationship management (CRM) involves attracting, development and maintaining successful customer relationships over time. At the core of CRM are the development of a learning relationship that engages customers in a two-way collaborative dialogue that is effective and efficient for both customers and the firm. When effective, this knowledge-based process leads to a relationship that gets smarter and deeper through every interaction. The task force charges with addressing the business problem recognized that advanced information technology, the burgeoning internet, and the emerging network-centric environment presented great opportunities for reengineering IBMs CRM process and leveraging its knowledge assets. Similarly at Nortel Networks, the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 produced intense competition in the telecom industry, yielding an explosion in the development of innovative telecommunications technology. The new rules of the deregulated telecommunications marketplace forced Nortel to recognize that differentiation through innovation was one of the few strategies that might allow the company to continue to succeed. Like IBM, an internal group was charged with the task force of addressing this strategic business goal and requirement. After preliminary research, the group discovered that the generation and existence of innovative ideas within Nortel was not the issue. Rather, Nortels existing new product development (NPD) process had no formal mechanism to systematically capture, develop, and mange internally generated ideas (i.e, ideas that could be developed into product or service concepts and evaluated for funding). Developing ideas and evaluating concepts is knowledge-inten sive work based on the individual and collective expertise of the employees. The Nortel task force set out to reengineer its NPD process in order to leverage its knowledge assets. The efforts of this two organizations initiatives were guided by strategic business goals and requirements that in turn, led them to focus on business processes that were most relevant to achieve desired performance. Core business processes like CRM and NPD represent the fundamental link between business and knowledge workers performance. The reality for both IBM and Nortel was that their respective business requirements would be achieved through processes, and both organizations were only as good as their processes, which ultimately depend on the behaviors of knowledge workers. Driven by this performance reality, IBMs reengineered CRM process was designed to enhance the customer relationship, while Nortels reengineered NPD process was designed to produce a continuous stream of products and services. Both organizations structured their new processes be decomposing the process into knowledge-based activities, simultaneously identifying the required flows of data, information and knowledge between activities and knowledge workers. This analysis led to the specification of knowledge-base drivers (types, sources, and receivers) of each activity, decision or information flow. The reengineering of IBMs CRM and Nortels NPD process created new knowledge worker performance requirements, triggering requisite changes to individual work behaviors. Ultimately, both IBM and Nortel designed and implemented technology-based interventions to support the performance of knowledge workers. Drawing from the disciplines of Knowledge Management and CRM, IBM developed an internet-based system called inside IBM. The system allowed customers to link directly to IBMs intranet and backend cross-functional knowledge-based resources. Inside IBM subsequently was adopted as a corporate standard leading to IBMs e-Services, as it is known today. IBMs effort facilitated a collaborative and learning relationship between IBM and its customers. This led to improved decision-making for both customer and the organizations sales and services workforce, leading too increase loyalty. IBM estimated that $525 million of incremental revenue and $50 million of productivity savings were realized o ver a three-year period as a result of this initiative. Similarly, Nortel developed a Knowledge Management system called Virtual Mentor, which supported both the performance of knowledge workers (engineers) engaged in developing raw ideas into robust concepts and decision makers (managers) tasked with making funding decisions. Virtual mentor subsequently was integrated into a broader corporate time-to-market strategy that is in place today. Nortels efforts led to decreased time-to-market acceptance, and improved funding decisions. Over a three-year period, Nortels new product introduction rate increased by more than 50%. CONCLUSION The bottom line for IBM and Nortel was to increase profitability, sales, share and return to investment by leveraging and managing its knowledge assets. As evidenced, IBMs and Nortels Knowledge Management initiatives were guided by holistic understanding of interdependent multi-level (business, process, knowledge worker) performance goals and requirements.

Wal-Marts Planning Levels Essay -- essays research papers

Wal-Mart as a company employs several different levels of planning to ensure the completion of the many goals is put into motion each year. After the upper management members have attended the massive planning meetings that Wal-Mart holds in order to put projects in motion, they will relay the messages to the next layer of management. It is this level of management, better known as middle management, which we will concentrate on for this paper as they are the ones who will implement the tactical phase of any plan. An example of this would be the method that Wal-Mart devised to guarantee diversity in the management ranks. After â€Å"being sued for allegedly not paying employees for overtime, for alleged gender bias† Wal-Mart decided to start a plan of action to ensure diversity (usatoday.com, 2004). In this plan managers were required to hire the same percentage of minority managers as the percentage that applied for the job (usatoday.com, 2004). If these numbers were not met , the bonuses of all managers involved were to be cut significantly. After receiving this message from upper management, it was up to the middle management team to pass it on to the operational managers and check on them to guarantee that changes were being made that would allow the company to reach the goal. By using this tactical level of management, the mid-tier managers were able to direct the lower managers and make a positive step towards accomplishing the objective that was put in front of them.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SWOTT Analysis (Strengths)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Low prices, management strategies, and diversity are just some of Wal-Mart’s strengths. Wal-Mart is known for being one of the largest retailers that’s able to provide a wide range of quality products at a low price. Competitors such as K-Mart are unable to compete with Wal-Mart due to the lack of name brand products. K-Mart is able to provide non-name brand products at a reduced price, but cannot maintain the low prices of the name brand products Wal-Mart provides (Hayden, P., Lee, S., McMahon, K., & Pereria, M., 2002). SWOTT Analysis (Weaknesses) As a huge organization, Wal-Mart has a weakness in opening an expansion in Germany. The weaknesses in an organization need more development in order to become successful. As Wal-Mart continues to grow and expand into different countries, the diverse managemen... ...llowing all their shopping to be done at one time in one place. References: Albright, M. (2004, October 6). St. Petersburg Times: Wal-Mart strategy: Squeeze in more stores. Retrieved Friday, June 24, 2005, from: www.sptimes.com/2004/10/06/Business/Wal_Mart_strategy__Sq.shtml. Armour, Stephanie (2003). Wal-Mart takes hits on worker treatment: USA TODAY. Retrieved on June 15th, 2005 from: http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2003-02-09-wal-mart-cov2_x.htm Fernie, J. & Arnold, S. Wal-Mart in Europe: Prospects for Germany, the UK, and France. International Journal of Retail & Distribution. Bradford: 2002, Vol 30, Issue 2/3, P92-103. Retrieved on June 15, 2005 for ProQuest. G.M.A. (2003, October). Wal-Mart Update: Supersizing the Supermarket. Times & Trends. Retrieved on June 15th, 2005 from: http://www.gmabrands.com/publications/gmairi/2003/October.htm Hayden, P., Lee, S., McMahon, K., & Pereira, M. (2002). Wal-Mart: Staying on Top of the Fortune 500. Retrieved June 16, 2005, from: http://mike-pereira.com/subpage/docs/walmartcs.htm Usatoday.com. (2004). The Associated Press. Retrieved Wednesday 15, 2005, from: http://www.walmartfacts.com/associates/diversity.aspx

Richard Cory, by Edwin Arlington Robinson :: Poetry Analysis

Paraphrase: A man named Richard Cory appeared to have it all: looks, a suave persona and a respectable social status. These qualities were respected and admired by the townspeople, even envied to a small degree. Despite his apparent perfect life, Richard Cory shot and killed himself. Purpose: The purpose of this poem is to show that people are not always who they appear to be. Moreover, the people that seem to have it all may still be emotionally unstable and act irrationally such as committing suicide. Structure: There are 4 stanzas, each serves to reveal a different piece of information (1st stanza: town’s consensus about Richard Cory, 2nd stanza: personality, 3rd stanza: social status, 4th status: the abrupt, unforeseen ending of his life). Speaker: There is one speaker and the POV is third person. Shift: The shift in this poem occurs at the second to last line. Before this, the poem revolves around the, what seems to be, ideal life of Richard Cory. But at this line the poem ends abruptly with an unexpected suicide, stated as an understatement. Syntax/Grammar/Diction: There is repetition of â€Å"always† in relation to how the townspeople describe him. This means that Richard Cory’s public appearances were routine and unchanging maybe even a false facade. The use of the colon to connect two full sentences serves to associate ideas. The diction of â€Å"imperially slim† (4), â€Å"glittered† (8), â€Å"fluttered† (7) and â€Å"admirably schooled† (11) all indicate Richard Cory’s apparent superiority over the rest of the townspeople. Tone: The tone before the shift is admiring with a small hint of envy. The tone after the shift is rather indifferent, there is no diction indicating remorse or any other emotion over his death.

Efficacy of Iraqi Sanctions Essay -- Government Politics Essays

Efficacy of Iraqi Sanctions As United States foreign policy has matured in the wake of the Vietnam Conflict, a seemingly bloodless, less nationally controversial tool than war has emerged. The United States has begun to slap economic sanctions on rogue nations in lieu of or in addition to sending in the Armed Forces. This policy of sanctioning nations begs one to ponder the legitimacy thereof. A specific case to be examined is the Iraqi conflict. In response to Iraqà ­s hostile takeover of Kuwait in 1990, the U.S along with United Nations implemented a sanction against Iraq. After the Gulf War had ceased, a treaty was drafted which included the lifting of the sanctions should Iraq agree to certain stipulations. To this date, the UN has ruled that the treaty has not been upheld by Iraq thus keeping the sanctions in place. In the years since the initial implementation, economic sanctions have proven to be largely ineffective in the achievement of foreign policy goals in Iraq while having produced a number of oth er negative results. Sanctions have not been able to force the Hussein regime out of power nor have they been able to halt Iraqà ­s import and export of key goods. While failing in those ends, sanctions have succeeded in bringing about a massive humanitarian crisis for the Iraqi peopleà ³one which seems may never end. Before the Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi military was one of the best in the Middle East. This fact caused Iraqi leadership to deduce that, being a powerful Mid-eastern force, no one would challenge their hostile take-over of tiny Kuwait. Unfortunately for Iraq, the rest of world did not let this act go unnoticed and began the Gulf War. The once proud Iraqi forces were reduced to almost nothing after the war. Th... ...o death by the economic sanctions and they feel as though there is no end in sight. Tareq Aziz, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, sums up the bleak Iraqi sentiments, "We donà ­t see a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a tunnel after the tunnel." ("Press Conference") Works Cited Cortright, David and George A. Lopez. The Sanctions Decade: Assessing UN Strategies in the 1990à ­s. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2000 "Press Conference of the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Tareq Aziz." The Digital Voice of Iraq. n. pag. Online. Internet. 21 Oct. 2000. Available FTP: http://www.multimania.com/iraq/tareq-aziz12-11-98.htm Selden, Zachary. Economic Sanctions as Instruments of American Foreign Policy. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1999 Simons, Geoff. Imposing Economic Sanctions: Legal Remedy or Genocidal Tool?. Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 1999

Environmental Scan Essay

The week three assignment for Strategic Management MGT 498 involves researching the environmental scanning practices of two to three real-world companies’ internal and external environments and describe their internal and external environments. This assignment provides a brief overview on the competitive advantages of each identified company and what strategies these companies use. Included in the assignment is information on how each company creates value and sustains their competitive advantage through business strategies and what measurement guidelines each company uses to verify their strategic effectiveness. Last, the assignment provides the effectiveness of these measurement guidelines. This paper contains the environmental practices of Domino Pizza, Inc. versus Pizza Hut, Inc. Stakeholders, customers, and members of an organization’s board of directors expect executive leaders to balance the strategic fit of a company to what the environment wants and what the corporation has to offer. The expectation necessitates executives to strike a balance between what the corporation needs to what the environment can provide. The organizational balance involves both the internal and the external stakeholder. Environmental scanning allows an organization to identify possible external opportunities and threats, and look within the organization’s internal environment for strengths and weaknesses (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010). The fast food culture in the United States has grown from a $6 billion-a-year industry in 1970 to a massive corporate franchising empire earning more than $170 billion in annual revenue (Food Empowerment Project, 2010). Leading the way in the fast food culture is the pizzeria industry. The pizza industry is a highly competitive market. Although there are many pizza makers ranging from local pizzerias to international franchises, Domino’s Pizza, Inc. , and Pizza Hut, Inc. are two major restaurants within the industry. In 2009 Pizza Hut, lead the industry with $29 billion and 18% of pizza sales, whereas Domino’s Pizza took 10% of this market with approximately $290 million in sales revenue (Young, 2009). The two competitors battle for consumer appetites, consumer dollars, and consumer attention. Before launching into a major marketing campaign, using valuable corporate resources each company implements a strategic plan with an analysis to identify the weaknesses and threats of their competitor. When Domino’s conducted an organizational analysis to identify strengths and weaknesses, the company recognized their biggest strength is in name recognition, pizza delivery, and take-out pizza. The company understands the importance of brand image and further understands a strong brand image creates customer loyalty and helps the company when introducing new products into the market. Domino’s enjoys a strong business network with franchise owners and boasts a diversified franchise market. Because of the diversification and strong network capabilities with franchisees, Domino’s can increase domestic and global market share, and increase sales opportunities. In contrast, Domino’s weakness relates to a decline in domestic store sales affecting brand image and company’s profits (Henry, 2010). Consequently, Domino’s opportunity over competitors is their focus on pizza delivery services. Pizza delivery for Domino has improved operating effectiveness with minimized spending. Another opportunity for Domino’s is the mobile device industry. Threats to Domino’s include competition in the pizza delivery industry, consumer health awareness, and an increase of labor and food prices (Henry, 2010). On the other hand, Pizza Hut, Inc. is the number one pizza manufacturer in the pizza industry enjoying strong brand image and recognition, and their organizational analysis revealed some of the same strengths as with Domino’s. In addition to a strong brand name, their organizational strengths include a competitive advantage in developing a large network of full service pizza restaurants with delivery service, targeting different segments with a broad range of products, and a strong franchisee network. The organizational analysis shows Pizza Hut maintains high overhead costs with their full service restaurants, high cost of pizza products leading, and an internal conflict among franchisee owners. In contrast, the external environmental analysis reveals Pizza Hut’s opportunities remain in pricing by creating and offering innovative pizza selections, increased brand loyalty through good customer service, updating customer online ordering system, expanding home delivery services, and entering new markets. Threats, facing Pizza Hut come from Domino’s Pizza as the number one competitor in delivery service. Because Pizza Hut boasts claims as the number one pizza manufacturer, the organization faces threats of competitors matching their products and imitating their strategy methods to gain market share (â€Å"Scribd. om,† 2012). The competitive advantage used by Domino’s Pizza is in their delivery service market and the fact Domino’s does not incur the overhead costs associated with sit-in dining restaurants. The competitive advantage Pizza Hut has over Domino’s is in name recognition, brand- in-store dining, and a variety of menu selections. The external environmental factors used by each organization to determine environmental scanning and strategic planning are societal, task, and natural environment reports. Societal environment scanning influences long-term strategic planning and takes into consideration economic forces, technological forces, political-legal forces, and sociocultural forces. Task environmental scanning involves remaining aware of the trends and changes within the respective industry, and natural environmental scanning involves those factors affecting the ecological system and how the organizations carbon footprint affects the ecological system (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010). Both Domino’s and Pizza Hut value and understand the power of the consumer and are attentive to trends affecting consumers. The business strategy applied by each organization focuses on the customer and making each operation more efficient. For instance, Domino’s focus is on the fast-food side of the pizza industry and places emphasis on take-out and delivery services. Pizza Hut on the other hand, prefers to offer consumers the option of take-out, delivery, or dining-in. Each has created value with advantages of the Internet. With online ordering and delivery services offered by both, placing value on consumer personal time is a value added. However, Pizza Hut sustains a competitive advantage over Domino’s with customer service, upgrading customer online ordering systems, expanding home delivery services (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010). Both restaurants use various advertising strategies as a measurement guideline to verify how their strategic effectiveness brings a return on investment. Both restaurants rely heavily on television advertising campaigns, which account for 92% of Pizza Hut’s paid media advertising, and 94% of Domino’s paid media advertising (Young, 2009). In using social-media as a strategy, Pizza Hut implemented a broad-range of programs across social media outlets. According to reports, nearly 400,000 people view Pizza Hut advertising through social media. Domino’s social media efforts, reaches 370,610 potential customers with both Domino’s and Pizza Hut tripling their investment in online advertising. Domino’s primarily promoted delivery service across a broad range of sites, including Amazon, Ask, Yahoo! , MySpace, Facebook, College Humor, Yellow Pages, and local newspaper sites. Pizza Hut used their key product calendar to push online sales, sending users to the company’s website to place delivery orders targeting a younger and more female-skewed audience to sites, including ETonline, Cosmo Girl, Elle, Fandango, and Fox News. Each restaurant uses mobile device apps to reach consumers. Pizza Hut’s app allows customers to order menu items directly from their mobile devices by using an intuitive touch-screen interface. The Domino’s mobile-ordering application is an iPhone optimized web app. By visiting Dominos. om, customers use an ordering system designed specifically for iPhones or an iPod Touch. Domino’s Pizza used an outdoor campaign, whereas Pizza Hut did not (Young, 2009). The effectiveness of the guidelines used by each company to measure their ability to grab the attention of consumers is in the tale of sales receipts. According to Young, Domino’s use of TV ads directed toward recession-related advertising, and value-based offers showed good focus and resulted in a positive impact on traffic and sales. Their online and search activity supporting those promotions led to increased uptake with online delivery. A recent market share report ranked Domino’s Pizza number one in online sales with an increase of 28% in market share, up from 11%. On the other hand, Pizza Hut’s use of smart media programs, particularly in social media did not increase sales. In fact, Pizza Hut’s receipts were down by 8% (Young, 2009). In conclusion, environmental scanning allows companies to dissect the competition to determine opportunities and threats allowing management to create a strategic plan to propel their organization in front of respective competitors. The process allows organizations to look within to understand internal strengths and weaknesses and look at changes needed to support identified opportunities and threats of competitors. In the case of Pizza Hut and Domino’s, Pizza Hut has brand and name recognition above Domino’s Pizza. However, Domino’s environmental scanning identified an opportunity against Pizza Hut with online sales, thus propelling Domino has to gain valuable market share increasing sales by 11% whereas Pizza Hut’s sales fell by 8%.

How to Write a Reflective Account Essay

This is only guidance on what you need to include in your reflective account to provide evidence for the units you are doing, you will need to look at the units you are doing and be guided by the Assessment Criteria Ensure that when writing your account write reflectively, using â€Å"I† statements, i.e I recorded in the clients daily notes, not it was recorded. You need to ensure you are writing what YOU did, HOW you did it and WHY you did it the way you did. A brief history of the candidate, what you have changed the name to, and a brief description of your role in supporting the client, how did you find and: How you found out about the clients’ needs, wishes and preferences regarding communication and language, religion, personal care and any other activities you are responsible for How did you confirm with the client this was preferred language and communication method? How did you find out about any risks to the client, and your role in protecting them. How did you record and share information about the clients communication needs? How did you build your relationship with the client? How did you ensure that you valued the client as an individual, with respect for their dignity and privacy and respect the client’s culture, valves and diversity. How you carried out your work i.e personal care, and why you did it the way  you did, how you found out what support the client wanted from you. Did you support the client to use the toilet, with bathing, dressing and grooming, eating and drinking etc, how did you do this, what H&S precautions did you take and why. How did you encourage the client to identify what they can do for themselves and what they needed assistance with and who they needed the assistance from? Were there any changes in the client’s needs, circumstances etc, what did you do about these. How you ensured that the environment was sage and that you adhered to H&S procedures i.e when moving and handling, dealing with contaminated waste, storing equipment and hazardous materials etc. did you carry out H&S checks. What H&S issues did you identify during your work, how did you manage these, how were they reported and recorded. How you encouraged independence How did you protect the client and yourself from the risk of infection? How you talked to the client, encourage the client to talk about their daily life etc, what methods of communicating did you use, how did you ensure good eye contact during communicating with the client. How did you ensure that the client understood you and you understood them? How did you respond to any questions or concerns the client had, did you listen appropriately, did you need to seek advice about the clients or key peoples question or concerns where did you seek this from. Did you identify any discrimination, what did you do about this? How did you ensure that the client had the information about how to make a  comment or complaint. How did you obtain feedback from clients and key people on how you were working with them, and from your colleagues and supervisors. How did you identify any new knowledge or skills that might help you with training was identified, a after attending training, how did you use the new skills and knowledge, and was this of any benefit to you in your work. How did you review what you had learnt and how this new knowledge and skills have been useful? Did you observe any sign or symptoms of harm or abuse, what you did about this, how you reported and recorded this etc. Did you have to manage an accident or emergency, how did you do this how did you support the client and others involved, how and where did you record the incident

Schindlers List

â€Å"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference† Winston Churchill. This relates to the film Schindlers List as the main character Oskar Schindler has a major change in attitude towards the Jewish people. At the beginning of the film Schindler is introduced as a selfish man looking to exploit the Jews as workers. While he witnesses the liquidation of the Ghettos Schindler’s personality soon changes as he releases he can make a difference. This is shown using specific shots and lighting techniques.Through the use of hand-held cameras and camera shots used during the invasion of the Krakow Ghettos the chaos and fear makes an impact on the viewer. Hand-held cameras were used in amongst the crowds of Jews and Nazi soldiers to give the viewer an experience of what these people went through during this terrible time. The hand-held was used when we see an old lady walking in an alley when we see Nazi troops approaching. High angle shots are used to make the Jews l ook small and powerless during this scene. Whereas low angle shots are used to make the Nazi officials look powerful.The camera techniques help to make an impact on the viewer during this scene. Schindlers change was shown through the effects of colour and lighting techniques. Lighting was used to reveal Schindlers change. Lighting was used when we see that his face is shown fully lit whereas in the beginning of the film his face is only half lit to show that he was a selfish man. Colour was used to show how important a particular part of the scene was. This was shown when we see a little girl in red walking around the crowds of Jews being killed, while there is a children’s choir singing in the background.This scene had made Schindler finally realise what the Nazis were doing to the Jews was wrong. This shows that Schindler went through a change in attitude as he realises what the Jews have had to go through. The use of sound and music were used during the invasion when the Jews are in hiding. Sound was used amongst the people as it had been silent and one sudden move there is a. The sound was used to make the The uses of visual techniques during the liquidation were to show the change that Schindler had gone through after witnessing the events of the iquidation. The importance of this scene was to show the difference of Schindler from how he was in the beginning of the film to what he had been changed into at the end. The liquidation also gave us a sight on the importance of how Schindler had used specific techniques to show his face being fully lit. As Edward Evenetthale once said â€Å"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something and I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. †

Daoism

Beginnings and History The history of Daoism can befittingly be separated into four periods: Proto-Daoism, Classical Daoism, Modern Daoism and Contemporary Daoism. The first period, Proto-Daoism, spans the time from antiquity all the way to the 2nd century C. E. The intention behind this period being called â€Å"proto-Daoism† is that we have no information of any official Daoist religious organizations at this time. The classic works that were inscribed in the course of this period, the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi in particular, they were highly significant upon the flourishing of the classical Daoist tradition.Many textbooks on world religions still take this period as representing the essence of Daoism. This is simply an dull-witted and ambiguous interpretation of the m, entire history of Daoism. The second period, that of classical Daoist religion, starts in 142 C. E. when Zhang Daoling established the Way of the Celestial Masters, also known as the Way of Orthodox Unity, the first successful organized Daoist religious system. Daoist priests today claim to be ordained in a lineage that stretches back to this original founder.Two other important movements developed later during this period of classical Daoist religion: the Way of Highest Clarity (Shangqing Daoism) and the Way of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Daoism). This period, between the 2nd and the 7th centuries can be called the classical period because scholars of Daoism look back to this time (known also as the medieval period of Chinese history) as the era in which many Daoist practices, texts and rituals initially took shape. Also during this period, Buddhism was brought to China by missionaries from India and Tibet.Buddhist ideas and practices were absorbed into Daoism (and vice-versa) but there were also periods of intense rivalry between Daoists and Buddhists. The classical period of Daoism ends with the Tang dynasty (618-906), one of the high-points of Chinese civilisation from the point of view of the development of art and culture. During the Tang dynasty Daoism became fully integrated with the imperial court system particularly under the reign of the Xuanzong Emperor (713-756). During this time Daoism functioned as the official religion of the imperial court and exerted complete supremacy over Buddhism.The period of modern Daoism begins with the Song Dynasty (960-1279), during which time the boundaries between elite Daoist religion, Buddhism, and local cults begin to be increasingly blurred. Based on the syncretism that began in this period, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate out Daoism as a religious category from the popular Chinese religious culture as it functions on the ground. In terms of elite Daoism, however, the most significant event was the founding of the Way of Complete Perfection (Quanzhen dao) by Wang Zhe (1113-1170).The Way of Complete Perfection is the major monastic form of Daoism that exists to this day alongside the more community-bas ed priesthood of the celestial masters. The Way of Complete Perfection is devoted to the practice of internal alchemy, in which the energies of the body are refined through breathing and other forms of meditation into ever subtler forms, thus promoting longevity and even, in a few rare cases, the possibility of totally transcending the ordinary finitudes of human existence.The Way of Complete Perfection is also marked by its aim to â€Å"harmonise the three teachings† of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, and became highly influential under the Mongol Yuan dynasty after Wang Zhe's disciple Qiu Changchun (1148-1227) underook a three-year journey to the court of the Mongol warlord, Chinggis Khan. Despite the rhetoric of harmonization, further acrimonious debates with Buddhists developed at this time, and when the Daoists lost a series of these debates in1281 many Daoist texts were burned.Despite this setback, Daoism flourished during the subsequent Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the year 1445 saw the compilation of the Daoist Canon (Daozang), a compendium of some 1,500 Daoist texts, under the patronage of the Yongle Emperor. In the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) Daoist ideas and practices became more entrenched in popular religious culture.Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we have better historical evidence of the way popular religion functioned since many popular Daoist morality texts were published and the practice of Daoist-inspired arts such as Taiji quan (Tai Chi) and Qigong (Ch'i-kung) became increasingly widespread. The fourth period, since 1949, has been a near-total catastrophe for Daoism, particularly during the period of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-76) when many Daoist temples were destroyed and the overt functioning of the religion to all intents and purposes ceased to exist in mainland China.Since 1980 Daoism has begun to be practiced openly again in China and a new generation of Daoists are struggling to rebuild their temples and recover their tradition. On the other hand, through the emigration of many Chinese people across the world, Daoist temples have been established in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere and many popular Daoist practices such as Qigong and Taiji quan (Tai-chi) have taken root in the West. Until recently it was not certain that Daoism had survived this cataclysmic upheaval, but the study and practice of Daoism is beginning to flourish once again in China and throughout the world.Beliefs The primary belief is in learning and practicing â€Å"The Way† (Dao) which is the ultimate truth to the universe. The Dao has several meanings. It is the basis of all living things, it governs nature, and it is a method to live by. Daoists do not believe in extremes, instead focusing on the interdependence of things. There is no total good or evil or negative and positive. The Yin-Yang symbol exemplifies this view. The black represents the Yin the white represents the Yang. Yin is als o associated with weakness and passivity and Yang with strength and activity.The symbol shows that within the Yang there exists the Yin and vice versa. All nature is the balance between the two. Daoist beliefs have undergone a series of changes in its history. In the 2nd Century the Shangqing school of Daoism emerged that focused on meditation, breathing and recitation of verses. This was the dominant practice of Daoism until about 1,100 AD. In the 5th Century AD, the Lingbao school emerged which borrowed much from Buddhist teachings such as reincarnation and cosmology. The use of talismans and the practice of alchemy were also associated with the Lingbao school.This school of thought was eventually absorbed into the Shangqing school during the Tang Dynasty. In the 6th Century, Zhengyi Daoists, who believed in protective talismans and rituals, emerged. Zhengyi Daoists performed offering rituals for showing thanks and the retreat ritual that includes repentance recitations and abstin ence. This school of Daoism is still popular today. Around 1254, Daoist priest Wang Chongyang developed the Quanzhen school of Daoism. This school of thought used meditation and breathing to promote longevity, many are also vegetarian.The Quanzhen school also further combines the three main Chinese teachings of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Due to the influence of this school, by the late Song Dynasty (960-1279) many of the lines between Daoism and other religions were blurred. The Quanzhen school is also still prominent today. Another key component of Daoism is the De, which is the manifestation of the Dao in all things. De is defined as having virtue, morality and integrity. Historically, the highest achievement of a Daoist is to achieve immortality through breathing, meditation, helping others and the use of elixirs.In early Daoist practices, priests experimented with minerals to find an elixir for immortality, laying the groundwork for ancient Chinese chemistry. One of thes e inventions was gunpowder, which was discovered while searching for an elixir. Daoists believe that influential Daoists are transformed into immortals who help guide others. Tao, originally, meant ‘road' and then implied ‘to rule' and ‘principle'. Lao Zi used Tao to propound his ideological system; therefore his school of thinking is called Taoism. At the time Lao Zi created this religion, it was simply a school of philosophy.During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it became a religion. Tao is the origin of the eternal world. It is boundless in time and space. Ordinary people can become gods when they have Tao. This religion pursues immortality and preservation of health; its uttermost goal is to become an immortal being. This can be obtained through cultivating one's moral character and perfecting one's moral integrity. A Taoist phrase is to say an ordinary man can become immortal if he does good 3,000 times and accomplishes 800 exploits. Of course the number is symbolic .It requires people to do good without making it known to others as the gods will know it naturally, much like the Christian principle expressed in Matthew 6:3-4, â€Å"But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. † At certain dates, food may be set out as a sacrifice to the spirits of the deceased or the gods, such as during the Qingming Festival. This may include slaughtered animals, such as pigs and ducks, or fruit.Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of Joss paper, or Hell Bank Notes, on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will reappear—not as a mere image, but as the actual item—in the spirit world, making them available for revered ancestors and departed loved ones. At other points, a vegan diet or full fast may be observed. Also on particular holidays, street parades take place. These are lively a ffairs which invariably involve firecrackers and flower-covered floats broadcasting traditional music.They also variously include lion dances and dragon dances; human-occupied puppets (often of the â€Å"Seventh Lord† and â€Å"Eighth Lord†); tongji ( â€Å"spirit-medium; shaman†) who cut their skin with knives; Bajiajiang, which are Kungfu-practicing honor guards in demonic makeup; and palanquins carrying god-images. The various participants are not considered performers, but rather possessed by the gods and spirits in question. Fortune-telling—including astrology, I Ching, and other forms of divination—has long been considered a traditional Taoist pursuit. Mediumship is also widely encountered in some sects.There is an academic and social distinction between martial forms of mediumship (such as tongji) and the spirit-writing that is typically practiced through planchette writing Daoism Today The Taijitu (â€Å"yin and yang†) symbol as well as the Ba gua (â€Å"Eight Trigrams†) are connected with Daoist symbolism. While almost all Daoist societies make use of the yin and yang symbol, one could also call it Confucian, Neo-Confucian or pan-Chinese. The yin and yang make an â€Å"S† shape, with yin (Black or Red) on the right. One is likely to see this symbol as beautifications on Daoist organization flags and logos, temple floors, or stitched into clerical robes.In accordance Song Dynasty sources, it originated around the 10th century. Previously, yin and yang were symbolized by a tiger and dragon. A zigzag with seven stars is sometimes displayed, representing the Big Dipper (or the Bushel, the Chinese equivalent). In the Shang Dynasty the Big Dipper was considered a deity, while during the Han Dynasty, it was considered a qi path of the circumpolar god, Taiyi. Daoist temples in southern China and Taiwan may often be identified by their roofs, which feature Chinese dragons and phoenix made from multi-color ed ceramic tiles. They also stand for the harmony of yin and yang (with the phoenix being yin).A related symbol is the flaming pearl which may be seen on such roofs between two dragons, as well as on the hairpin of a Celestial Master. In general though, Chinese Taoist architecture has no universal features that distinguish it from other structures. Daoist temples may fly square or triangular flags. They typically feature mystical writing or diagrams and are intended to fulfill various functions including providing guidance for the spirits of the dead, to bring good fortune, increase life span, etc. Other flags and banners may be those of the gods or immortals themselves.Today Taoism is mainly practiced in China and Taiwan. It has also spread to other parts of Asia and even around the world. There are about 20 million followers worldwide–most of them living in Taiwan. About 30,000 North Americans practice Taoism. The Chinese government has tried to suppress Taoism (severely at times in the past), but its teachings and practices still thrive and remain strong†¦ One thing that keeps Taoism popular is its flexibility–it almost isn't a religion, but a philosophy. Most followers practice Taoism in conjunction with Confucianism, Buddhism, and other religions.Many Chinese practice a mix of Confucianism and Taoism. Evangelization to Daoism Daoist are very involved in their own historic culture much like most other religions, things have always been a certain way for them, so they are comfortable in dealing with the â€Å"Dao† and in saying what’s life is life. Which brings a hard pint top bring across when a Christian makes it their goal to show a Daoist that there is value to life, and things do not simply happen for no reason. Many Christians, including me before this class, have no connection with Daoism like they would with Islam or Buddhism.But with 30 million followers Daoism is making a name for itself in the religious world. Dao ist are far opposites from extremist, believing that is simply no evil and no good. So with a start I think as a Christian you have to hear them out and understand their beliefs as to why there is no good or why there is no evil. Otherwise it will just come across as you attacking them and having no care for their soul, and just talking to prove wrong. Once you are comfortable with one another, it’s your turn! You begin to show the good things in the world, and explain how they came to be and how God had a hand in all of it.Now I know this won’t work for every single individual you come across, but any reasonable person will give you a shot and that is all our God needs! Bibligraphy Littlejohn, Ronnie. Daoism: An Introduction. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009. Print. Palmer, David A. , and Xun Liu. Daoism in the Twentieth Century: Between Eternity and Modernity. Berkeley, CA: Global, Area, and International Archive, University of California, 2012. Print. â€Å"The Canon of Reason and Virtue. † (Tao Te Ching) Index. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. â€Å"China and the Chinese. † From Project Gutenberg. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.