Articles on Roman Architecture and Monuments

Examine the role of sin (or transgression) in three texts...

Examine the role of sin (or transgression) in three texts that we have discussed in the latter half of this semester. When reading The wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale and Hamlet I was able to see that sin was a very serious subject during that time, plays, stories and comedies were made explaining what a sin was and alerting people to be careful of committing a sin. Which make me remember how a long time ago during youth group we learned that the bible mentioned 667 sins, the whole group was amazed at how many were found, the person giving the devotional said that the reason the bible tells us what is a sin is to prevent us from doing them. A sin as it was taught to us is when a person commits and†¦show more content†¦Of whom i have picked out the very best, for both their nether purse and money chest.(The wife of Bath’s 44-46) during that time people belief was that widows should not remarried but become nuns or stay single for the rest of their lifetime, something that did not sit well with Baths wife which is when she turned to the bible to try and make a good argument on her case she cited the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman when Jesus met her by the well; Baths wife said Except i ask, why is the fifth man Was not a husband to the Samaritan? How many might she have in marriage yet I have never heard tell in all my age about this any number definite. (The wife of Baths 21-24) Baths wife argument was that if the bible did not mention an exact number of how many times she could be married then it meant that it was not a sin for her to do so. The wife of Baths does sound like she was really a sinful and lustful woman specially when she says Ill tell the truth; those husband that i had, Some three of them were good, and two were bad...So help me God, I laugh to remember How pitiful a night I made them labor! (The wife of Baths 201-208) she saw marriage and sex as a business transaction. In this tale I was able to see that sin was really looked down on, which is probably why she felt the need to explain hers elf, when people heard this tale theyShow MoreRelatedSin : Sin And Sin1196 Words   |  5 PagesApril 2017 Sin Sin can be interpreted in many different ways, one can choose to incorporate a religious belief, or another can simply rely on the right and wrong standards of a society. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word sin can be defined as an offense against religious or moral law (â€Å"Sin.† Merriam-Webster). According to my own accumulated knowledge and spiritual beliefs, sin is the failure to conform to the standard of perfection established by God. The seven deadly sins come toRead MoreThe Sin Of The Original Sin961 Words   |  4 PagesWhen I think of the Original Sin, I think of the world’s first sin—the patriarchy and matriarchy sin. Today, the world consists of sinners begging the Lord for forgiveness—thanks to Adam and Eve. How different would the world be if Adam and Eve did not bit the forbidden fruit? Would such sin still exist today? â€Å"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness† (1 John 1:9 King James Version). It is important to keep in mind that no humanRead MoreThe Doctrine Of Sin : Sin Of Humanity1408 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Doctrine of Sin† The theological term of sin (sinlessness of Christ) is the doctrine that Jesus was without sin, free from all transgression of the law and thus able to do the will of the Father in complete holiness (Grenz 107). However, sin of humanity in Scripture tells us it is a history of man in a state of sin also rebellion against God and God’s plan of redemption to bring man back to himself. Again, sin is failure to adhere to God’s moral law in action as well as in natureRead MoreOriginal Sin1617 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscussing this very information for the doctrine of original sin. The doctrine of original sin mostly pertains to the Roman Catholic religion. I will be covering when, where, and why the doctrine was originated. Original sin is the theory that every man is born into sin because our mother and father have sinned. The definition given by the Catholic Encyclopedia is: (1) the sin that Adam committed; (2) a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stai n with which we are born on account of ourRead MoreThe Sin As A Crime And Sickness2259 Words   |  10 PagesChristian theologians have tried to figure out the best way to interpret why people sin and how they should repent ever since the bible was written. Some theologians explain sin as a sickness, in which people are driven to do wrong by an unknown internal urge. Theologians also use the sin as a crime method to explain sin as defilement against God and Humanity (Taylor 54-57). In addition to the sin as a sickness or crime theories, some religious scholars say each theory should be used but both areRead MoreSocietys Sin In The Scarlet Letter1226 Words   |  5 Pages Society’s Sin In Hawthorne’s romantic novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses symbolism, contrasting, romantic imagery, and individual characterization to argue that sin can and should be forgiven despite the misguided ideals of society. By using symbolism to convey his argument in his novel, Hawthorne adds nuanced meaning to his argument. Notably, the letter A, the most prominent symbol in the book which originally meant to symbolize adultery, is ambiguous in many ways in order to give theRead MoreThe And Benefits Of Human Sin1341 Words   |  6 PagesKamila Hilal Social Foundations I Professor Rosof September 14th, 2014 Two Sides To Every Coin: Weighing the Consequences and Benefits of Human Sin The Tower of Babel, the Fruit of the tree of Knowledge, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden all share in common the stern consequences of human actions in the face of God. The significance of these biblical events are often associatedRead More Evil and Sin Essay1624 Words   |  7 Pagesof the paradox of sin. How can a world created by a supremely good God contain evil? What is sin and, if everything was created by God, where did it come from? Intellectuals in the Middle Ages explored these questions and each arrived at their own shade of conclusion. To use a chromatic analogy, all could be called red, but with their own tints and tinges. For example, Dante Alighieris masterpiece The Divine Comedy can be thought of as an explication of his conception on sin. He spends two-thirdsRead MoreSin : The Spiritual Walk Of A Believer1266 Words   |  6 PagesUnconfessed sin can be very dangerous to the spiritual walk of a believer. Sin is when we do something that displeases God. We are all guilty of sin, and deserve to spend eternity separated completely from Him. He has promised to forgive us of our sins, but only if we take initiative and confess them to Him. Although Jesus died on the cross to pay our debt in full, there are still consequences when we sin against a holy and righteous God, and we don’t ask for repentance. We must acknowledge thatRead MoreEssay on Original sin1612 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscussing this very information for the doctrine of original sin. The doctrine of original sin mostly pertains to the Roman Catholic religion. I will be covering when, where, and why the doctrine was originated. Or iginal sin is the theory that every man is born into sin because our mother and father have sinned. The definition given by the Catholic Encyclopedia is: â€Å"(1) the sin that Adam committed; (2) a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our

Fahrenheit 451a brief overview Essay Example For Students

Fahrenheit 451a brief overview Essay Fahrenheit 451†¦The Temperature at Which Books BurnFahrenheit 451 portrays censorship in the future through the fictional story of one man, Guy Montag, who undergoes an â€Å"awakening† by realizing the significance of his actions and the need to express the ideas that were bring oppressed by the future government. Guy Montag is a fireman who appears to be heartily supportive and contributive to the burning of books, which is normal because firemen in the conformist future burn books for a living. He meets Clarisse McClellan, a sixteen year old idealist with strong convictions against the social structure that oppresses individual thinking and demands conformity. Clarisse opens his mind to new concepts and from then on he begins to perceive the world differently. One day, Guy and the other firemen have to burn down the book-infested house of an elderly lady who refuses to leave her house and her books, so she burns to the ground with her books making Guy realize that â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there.† (p.51) Guy sneaks two books from the lady’s home and as the time goes by, he secretly reads many books until his wife discovers his secret and turns him in. After that, Guy b urns his firehouse and the men in it to evade being caught and as a result becomes the most wanted fugitive in his country. Guy escapes successfully and works with a small group of revolutionaries to restore the respect and circulation of books. The title of the book, Fahrenheit 451†¦The Temperature at Which Books Burn, is significant because it is a metaphor for real life and it is used as a prominent symbol in the book. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books are burn. The firemen know this because they work with burning books everyday. The â€Å"Book People† dread this temperature because it destroys the one thing they’re trying to save. Ray Bradbury uses Fahrenheit 451 to symbolize censorship. Like the burning of books, censorship oppresses the ideas of many people. The whole book is a metaphor for what is happening with censorship in the world. Many people all over the world are being punished for not conforming and all throughout history we have seen cases of persecution just for having different beliefs. The loss that was suffered when the firemen burned the books at Fahrenheit 451 is the same loss we suffer when we censor an idea or voice to make it more conformed. If we feel our ideas are being censored, if our â€Å"books are being burned†, we need to take a stand. Each time we let ourselves be censored, unique ideas are being destroyed and forgotten. Each time we let a â€Å"book burn†, we lose a piece of humanity. Ray Bradbury says Fahrenheit 451, censorship, is temperature at which â€Å"books burn† (we lose a piece of humanity). Bradbury wanted us to understand that when we cede to censorship, we lose a piece of humanity. My first impression of Guy Montag was that I thought he was the antagonist. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy burning books and he didn’t even seem to have one thought of remorse. â€Å"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. Guy Montag thought†. (p.3) I noticed right away that Guy was very observant because as he walked home, he could â€Å"sense† the energy of someone else. â€Å"His inner mind, reaching out to turn the corner for him , had heard the faintest whisper. Breathing? Or was the atmosphere compressed merely by someone standing very quietly there, waiting?† (p.5) The last aspect of my first impression was that Guy Montag was a bit to proud and arrogant because when Clarisse didn’t give him what he thought was his rightful amount of respect (utmost respect, like one would give to someone who had worked many years to gain others’ respect, instead of many years of des troying books), Guy got all pouty. â€Å"Guy’s was a clenching and uncomfortable silence in which he shot her accusing glances.† Overall, I didn’t like Guy Montag at all in the beginning of the story and I was all set to hate him for the rest of the book but that didn’t happen. .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae , .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .postImageUrl , .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae , .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:hover , .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:visited , .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:active { border:0!important; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:active , .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u689a2f56b39518db83032aeda92518ae:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Chile Political Parties And Organizations EssayThe main character, Guy Montag, went through the most significant change because of his encounter with Clarisse McClellan. She asked him questions that he never contemplated before and she made him really rethink his perceptions of the world. Up until that point, no one ever asked why he became a fireman, so he never really gave it much thought. Guy just accepted his job as a part of his fate. Clarisse mad e Guy really think when she asked him if he was happy. This question made Guy seriously wonder and after that, he began to notice the personalities of others. By asking him questions, Clarisse installed a sense of curiosity in Guy which eventually led to him reading the very books he was supposed to burn. Guy became more observant and began to theorize on â€Å"why† and he really weighed out his decisions after that. If Guy had not met Clarisse, he would never have questioned the morality of burning books. He would have never questioned the logic. Clarisse lit the fire (no pun intended) of passion in Guy that burned throughout his life and gave him the strength and courage to fight for what he believed in.

Case Study for Department of Administrative- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCase Study for Department of Administrative Services. Answer: Develop strategy for protecting informal digital identity It is identified that there are number of personal as well as data protection risk associated with the digital identity that is created by the users in the portal of MyLicense. The risks that are associated with informal digital identity are elaborated below: The safety of the users can be at risk: Due to data theft as well as hacking the informal digital identity can be at risk (Beduschi et al., 2017). It is identified that if proper security measures is not taken by the department of administration for security digital identity of the people then the safety of the people are at risk. Leakage of important as well as personal information: The personal information including, name, address, phone number can be hacked if the portal of DAS do not provide proper security (Bozkurt Tu, 2016). This will create number of challenges as well as risks for the people who uses the portal of MyLicence for renewing their license of the services. Leakage of financial information: The people generally login in the portal of MyLicense and renew their services. It is identified that the users can pay for the renewal online whose information can be stored within the portal (Reamer, 2013). If the digital identity of the persons faces risk then it would put the financial information at risk. The above risks that are faced by informal digital identity on the portal of DAS can be resolved or mitigated by adopting proper strategies as well as methods that are as follows: Digital identity must have proper security control: It is identified that by compromising the authorized users informal digital identity, the hackers can access the information ad as a result it would create number of security related issues (Balsam et al., 2015) Therefore in order to mitigate the issue it is quite important to authorize as well as authenticate the access of the user in order to secure digital identity. The Web access management must evolve in order to keep them ware about various security threats as well as vulnerabilities. Identity context must be important for insider threat as well as threat prevention: It is identified that the users of the portal of DAS are privileged with access in the remote location but it is very much important to evolve proper identity context as well as transactional attributes for making sure that legitimate users have accessed which further helps in avoiding the activities of fraudulent users (Simmonds, 2015). Identification of governance and analytics: It is identified that the department of administration must have customized IT driven identity management for governing the information as well as data of the people that are mainly stored within the portal in order to support their regulatory compliance (Al-Khouri, 2014). It is identified that proper auditing as well as risk teams must be present to focus on the threat of informal identity so that they can be able to make proper decision as well as strategies that are helpful in providing security risk management. References Al-Khouri, A. M. (2014). Digital identity: Transforming GCC economies.Innovation,16(2), 184-194. Balsam, K. F., Molina, Y., Blayney, J. A., Dillworth, T., Zimmerman, L., Kaysen, D. (2015). Racial/ethnic differences in identity and mental health outcomes among young sexual minority women.Cultural diversity and ethnic minority psychology,21(3), 380. Beduschi, A., Cinnamon, J., Langford, J., Luo, C., Owen, D. (2017). Building Digital Identities: The Challenges, Risks and Opportunities of Collecting Behavioural Attributes for new Digital Identity Systems. Bozkurt, A., Tu, C. H. (2016). Digital identity formation: socially being real and present on digital networks.Educational Media International,53(3), 153-167. Reamer, F. G. (2013). Social work in a digital age: Ethical and risk management challenges.Social work,58(2), 163-172. Simmonds, P. (2015). The digital identity issue.Network Security,2015(8), 8-13.

Teenager`s Problems Essays - Alcohol Abuse, Midwifery,

Teenager`s Problems Today in the modern society, there a lot of problems, especially problems related with teenagers. A lot of factors influenced in this situation. For example some teenagers felt lack of love from their parents. Another factor is the lack of education because of poverty. In most of the cases the problems deal with drugs, alcohol, prostitution, teen pregnancy, depression, etc. Drugs between teenagers is the most serious problem, because it causes a change in the behavior of any person and a physical change too. Most of the teenagers used them as an escape from their problems or sometimes they used them because of their friend's influence. Poor children used it too, to forget their cold and hunger. Alcoholism is a society's sickness that affects all people, from teenagers to older ones. It is consider as a modern way to have fun and if you drink alcohol you are accepted between your friends. People who drink alcohol think that they can forget their problems and go out from reality if they do that. I think it is very bad to drink alcohol because it can turn in an addiction and when a person drinks, he or she isn't in their 5 felts to take any decision. Another problem is the prostitution. Most teenagers have to do this because they don't find a good job and they need money. With this problem they can became sick with Aids and other diseases. Another consequence can be teen pregnancy because they don't have a good education and they don't know way to carry themselves.

Reflections Upon Three Philosophers, Past to Present essays

Reflections Upon Three Philosophers, Past to Present essays Epicurus (341-270 BCE) was among the first of the great hedonists in the time of Ancient Greece. Epicurus argued that pleasure is fundamental in experiencing a "good life", that the best life is one that is as pleasant as can be, and that "each individual ought to maximize his or her own pleasure." To obtain this, Epicurus encouraged that individuals seek moderation and prudence in all things, acting justly and honorably, seeking pleasure over pain, and pursuing simplicity. Epicurus also believed that, at times, it is appropriate to sacrifice some current pleasures for greater pleasures. He advocates that we stay away from pain and harm in our lives, and Epicurus talks of humankind's false beliefs in death. According to Epicurus, "something can harm us only if it causes negative sensations". In his view, when you are dead you are incapable of feeling any kind of sensation, therefore death cannot harm the dead. So since death cannot harm us once we are dead, it is "foolish to fear death while we are still living." Instead, we should seek freedom from as much pain and fear as we possibly can. There are three types of desire laid out to us by Epicurus: Natural and Necessary, Natural and Unnecessary, and Vain. Unlike Epicurus who focused on Natural and Necessary desires such as basic food, water, shelter, and companionship, in today's society many would rather obtain Natural and Unnecessary pleasures like money, huge houses, multiple sex partners, and alcohol. There are some Epicurean points that don't stand up very well to scrutiny. In Epicurus' thinking, one should maximize as much pleasure as one can, while staying away from pain. Some pleasures, however, are indeed worth the pain you must go through, and for some, to be able to maximize pleasure you must go through pain at some point. That is, in fact, what adds to the pleasure. For example, for four to five months a young athlete may work e...

An Evaluation of Professional Placement Activities Research Paper

An Evaluation of Professional Placement Activities - Research Paper Example Legal-World’s legal entity form follows that of a partnership which â€Å"is a business owned by more than one person, with its equity consisting of a separate capital account for each partner†. It is co-owned by five lawyers who have contributed equal proportions to the firm’s capital account. Legal-World’s, aside from continuously developing and maintaining an efficient, expedient, less costly, and adaptive system of delivering legal services, also strive in providing a cultural- and nationality-specific system of extending legal services which accurately respond to the varying client concerns, specifically immigration personal injury concerns of its multinational pool of clients. With clients hailing from various countries (the Philippines, Singapore), Legal-World sees it as an must to tailor its services to suit the specific requirements of their different clients, especially as to legal considerations relevant to the respective home countries of their clients. Yet, although Legal-World strives for specificity in the services it provides, still as to its internal hiring practices, Legal-World seeks to attract, hire, and maintain, as it does hire and maintain, competent subject matter experts who have extensive general knowledge on all sorts of personal injury litigations. Legal-World does this knowing very well that although clients’ legal debacles may require ad hoc solutions, still, one client’s personal injury case cannot be as different to another client’s as to fall under a different practice area altogether.

Understand the Organisational Purposes of Businesses Essay - 1

Understand the Organisational Purposes of Businesses - Essay Example Understand the Organisational Purposes of Businesses In order to be successful, for every kind of organisation irrespective of their categorisation as public, private or charitable, the purposes must be identified, i.e. what the organisations desire to accomplish in its future performances and in what ways they intend to achieve their anticipated purposes. Thus, several organisations intend to develop a mission statement which concisely ascertains the key purpose of the entity specifying the reason for its existence in the market (Cuedirectory, 2010). The public organisations are budgeted and operated by the government and are often termed as state controlled business entities. The key purpose of this kind of organisations is to serve the public offering quality services at minimum costs. In public organisations, funds are at times provided liberally for the improvement of the society. In other words, the public organisations encompass social well-being. Organisations of public sector majorly comprise educational establishments, heath services, national defence & safety sectors and finance segments among others. There are several public organisations which deliver essential services free of cost or below the usual rate. However, certain public organisations also aim toward increasing the revenue along with concentrating on providing quality services to the people (Cuedirectory, 2010). ... Charitable organisations: The third common type of organisation is the charitable establishments. It is also termed as ‘non-profit’ or ‘voluntary organisations’ which concentrates largely on providing services. The main purpose of the charitable sector is to raise finance from several sources which can be used for supporting a particular social concern such as education for poor or food for needy people among other services. Charitable organisations aim at making surplus from the businesses in order to reinvest for certain generous purposes. Unlike private organisations where customers are provided with high priorities, charity or social organisations provide priorities to the unprivileged group of people. Charity organisations basically demonstrate the portion of money which is used for donation purposes through financial statements (Pearson Education Limited, 2012). It can also be observed that the public and private organisations provide several monetary supports to the charitable organisations through or without strategic alliances in order to accomplish their individual social welfare objectives. Each kind of organisation has certain contribution to the society and economy as a whole. Contextually, it is worth mentioning that all kind of organisations need to carry out certain functions in order to ensure that the business runs efficiently performing its operations in relation to administration, marketing, production, customer service and research & development. These functions develop a linkage between the aims of the business with the strategies implemented to accomplish those purposes (Pearson Education Limited, 2012). Article 1.2 Northumbria Police Authority (NPA) is an independent organisation in the UK which provides persuasive quality and

Characteristics and Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Characteristics and Skills - Essay Example The most critical cycle for effective counseling is the 4Es cycle – On introspection as to why I have people turning to me for sharing their problems and going back with a sense of relief in my personal life, I have realized that I can build trust based relationships quickly that could actually help the aggrieved person. Some of the essential characteristics that I possess as an individual are strong yet effective communication, make an objective assessment of situations, the ability to call a spade a spade and communicating this reality to the person opposite in a way to empower them in their current situation and give feedback effectively has made me choose this particular professional career. The values that I bring to the table are the following Empathy is one of the soft skills that any person would need to be an effective counselor. Empathy actually means affection clubbed with passion touched by the quality of suffering. This particular characteristic is viewed by many professionals as the most important one in a helping relationship. â€Å"Empathy is often viewed as conveying sensitivity to the client and trying to understand what â€Å"walking in the other guy’s shoes† may feel like. The helper need not necessarily have undergone the experiences of a client to understand the client’s feelings (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning, 2004).† Genuineness is another important aspect that any person who intends to take up a human service profession needs. Genuineness is the expression of true feelings. â€Å"To be a genuine helper, one must avoid role playing or feeling one way and acting another. Genuine helpers do not take refuge in any specific role, such as counselor or therapist. Genuineness involves self-disclosure. It implies a willingness to be known to others (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning, 2004).† If the human service helper is genuine then

Wal Marts Global Expansion Plan Management Essay

Wal Marts Global Expansion Plan Management Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate opportunities and threats for Wal-Mart for expanding globally. For global expansion plan, Wal-Mart must have to adapt to the rapid technological changes world-wide. These types of expansions also posses some challenges to the business which Wal-Mart have to find the solution for. This report also gives some recommendations to Wal-Mart for successfully expanding globally facing the challenges of the new markets. Wal-Mart is one of the leading retailers of United States and is based on the vision of Sam-Walton. The company has very successfully served its community during the period of its existence. In this report, we have identified three main threats which Wal-Mart will face if it goes for global expansion. One of the most important threats is the supply chain management of Wal-Mart. This supply chain management process is currently doing very well at home, i.e. in the home country. Secondly, the understanding of culture of the country in which the company is operating is very necessary because producing quality products is not enough in international markets. A company must have to consider the culture of that particular community in which it is providing products or services. Thirdly, the pricing strategy of Wal-Mart can also pose a threat to the company if it goes global because in home country might fail in case of host country. In order to become a total success, Wal-Mart will have to adopt differentiation strategy and this differentiation will not only be made in product preferences but also in the channels of distribution. In case of Wal-Mart, strategy of transition will help the company to focus on local responsiveness and world-wide efficiency. STRUCTURE OF THE ASSIGNMENT This assignment is segregated into four major parts. First part is the introduction, in which we have detailed the purpose of the assignment together with some highlights on the current situation of the company. Additionally, we have also shed light on the purpose of going global for Wal-Mart. In the second section, we have identified some key threats and opportunities for Wal-Mart in expanding globally. Third section consists of an analysis of the current strategy. Last, but not the least, section provides some recommendations for Wal-Mart to expand globally. INTRODUCTION Wal-Mart can be said as one of the founders of global expansion. It has set an example for local retailers to expand globally. It is Wal-Mart who is currently operating in many countries and has proved that borders are not boundaries for businesses. (Keegan 2007 102) The origin of Wal-Mart goes back to 1962 when Sam Walton began a retail shop operating on a premise that customer wants low-priced products with high quality. Initially, the quality of this business products was not that high, but low price led it to sell more. It was Sam Walton and his experience that Wal-Mart was able to find out how to differentiate the product. Wal-Mart was one of the highest sales retailers in year 2007 with sales going high above $300bn. This was a turning point for the than retailers for whom, Wal-Mart had set a benchmark. Sam Walton believed that it is the mission of the company which is making it fly-high. It is the vision of the founder that Wal-Mart has retail outlets, franchises, production facilities, etc. all over the world. (Jaffee 2005 2) In 1991, Sam Walton passed away. But since this business was created on the basis of mission and values, therefore, the business is still a success. Here, one can think that what was the need for Wal-Mart to expand globally. Expansion into global market requires a different set of strategies, tactics, planning and training. These all cannot be duplicated with the local ones. Most of the companies are directing their expansion towards third world countries especially China due to decreased labor costs, friendly tax structure and raw material costs, etc. Supply chain management was one of the cornerstones of the Wal-Mart success. Wal-Mart gained market share due to its strong supply chain management and well-trained employees. These employees are called Associates. Additionally, a mixture of strong branding and low-price with high quality products adds up to the success of Wal-Mart as a market leader. With all these strengths and plusses, Wal-Mart is still facing problems in global expansion due to very bad political and economic conditions added with instability all over the world, especially in markets where Wal-Mart is currently serving. Also, the company is facing intense competition from the local competitors as well. There was a strong dependence on ethno-centrism approach by Wal-Mart. But this perception of dependence on ethno-centrism approach was suddenly changed after the expansion experiences of the company in Korea, Japan, Germany, China, etc. Wal-Mart was producing standardized products all over the world where it operates. These experiences make it very clear that global strategy should be changes as standardized products are unable to satisfy the needs of consumers all around the globe. While identifying strategy for Wal-Mart expansion, we discovered that United States governments subsidies play a vital role in the success of retail businesses. These subsidies help the company to make foreign ventures overseas. This is generally true in case of stable financial markets. But in todays instable market, it is not necessary that Wal-Mart will become a success by following this strategy. But there is still a hope for Wal-Mart that with the increase in world population, the potential market of Wal-Mart will increase but this will require Wal-Mart to integrate latest technological advancements in its delivery process. In this report, we are arguing that Wal-Mart should adopt the strategy of making joint ventures with local players (leaders). This will definitely make Wal-Mart a success as it is one of the leading brand names and possess well-reputed supply chain management throughout the world. With the death of Sam Walton, the doors of opportunities for Wal-Mart were restricted in United States. This was not the main reason. The primary reason was that the market of US was saturated for Wal-Mart which forces Wal-Mart to expand its operations to global markets. (Das 2008 19-33) OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Threats Expanding globally is not an easy task. It seems that expansion to international market is not difficult for a retailer like Wal-Mart. But this not the true case. There are certain threats for markets for expanding to international market. There are discussed below: Supply Chain Management It is a fact that Wal-Mart is considered to be the pioneers of implementation of systems and processes. In fact, when it comes to information systems, Wal-Mart can be called as the founders. It is Wal-Mart, who possesses a very strong and reliable information system from production to delivery. The distribution network of Wal-Mart is said to be the most effective and efficient in the world. It was in 1997 when Wal-Mart realized that the existing supply chain management is not enough to fulfill the needs of Korean market. The existing supply chain was more than sufficient for the local market, but it proved to be a failure in the host market. One of the major reasons for this gap was that in Korea, there was no existence of any compatible supply chain infrastructure which can provide support to the supply chain integration technology of Wal-Mart. Additionally, the Koraen distribution channel was a mismatch to high-tech and system supported supply chain strategies of Wal-Mart. A soluti on to this problem was for Wal-Mart to create some relations with supply-chain partners, but this process was too slow due to lazy market attributes and non-technical mindsets. (Sandelands 2004 5-14) National Cultures and Sub-Cultures Another key issue for Wal-Mart in global expansion was the difference of cultures. Management of Wal-Mart believed that standardized products will meet their targets all over the world. They forget that different people belong to different cultures and have different cultural needs. An example of such attribute is that Wal-Mart insisted its sales representatives not to pass a smile during sales. Many of the shoppers complained that it seems that the sales representatives are flirting with customers by passing a smile. Similar case occurred in China. Chinese customers wanted fresh food which is harvested in front of the customers. Or at least the animal should be killed spontaneously. There was a high resistance for this demand by Wal-Mart but later the company recognized this as a cultural need and implemented the same in China. (Malnight 2005 119-141) Global Pricing and Discounting Strategy People want discounts. Different cultures have different pricing strategies. The global expansion in China, Germany and Britain posed a pricing threat to Wal-Mart. In these markets, the local retailers have very well established pricing strategies which creates a best match between the pricing patterns and the demands and habits of the respective local customers. Breaking the ice in these markets and setting competitive prices is one of the most challenging tasks for Wal-Mart. (Terptsra and Sarathy 2004 88) Opportunities Wal-Mart has an opportunity to create alliances with the local retailers or other entities in order to cater the global market more effectively and effectively. Global expansion will create an opportunity for Wal-Mart to introduce outlets at various global locations. This will help Wal-Mart to enlarge its market share by expanding to a number of consumer markets in Asia and all over the world. Expansion to global markets will provide an opportunity to Wal-Mart for reducing costs of production. The new markets will also give Wal-Mart an opportunity to benefits from various tax structures which are business-friendly. Also the company can benefit from low cost of labor and raw materials in different parts of the world. (Philip and Doole 2004 332) ANALYSIS The strategy currently followed by Wal-Mart is termed as everyday low prices strategy. This strategy is very profitable in United States. But if we talk about Korea and Japan, this strategy is totally a failure. The reason for this everyday low price strategy failure is that consumers in Korea and Japan are prestige conscious. They feel good buying expensive products but with highest quality. (Paliwoda 2008 192) The market saturation of United States and ethnocentric predisposition of Wal-Mart made a gateway for global expansion. In global strategy, companies generally standardize their products which results in ignorance of the needs of local customers. This really is a big flaw and Wal-Mart should address this by creating a separate local strategy for US. (Bradley 2007 69) The main problem in global expansion for Wal-Mart was integrating the cultural needs of the customers. This was faced by Wal-Mart in Japan and Korea. Wal-Mart was unable to create culturally acceptable stores in both locations. (Axtell 2009 45-49) Additionally, Wal-Mart faced some distribution channel problems in these locations as well. In case of Japan, customers want highest quality even if they are bound to pay maximum price. This trend of pricing made Wal-Mart a failure in Japan as Wal-Mart was focusing on low price strategy. (Dixie 2008 72) RECOMMENDATIONS Supply Chain Management Formation of Joint Ventures (JV) with Local Retailers Joint ventures are a major source of entering in a new market. Wal-Mart should create joint ventures in major locations where profitability has been forecasted. For joint ventures, foreign entities require brand name and repute which Wal-Mart already has. For example, if Wal-Mart choose to expand to Brazil, it would be mandatory for Wal-Mart to create local presence. This can be in the form of joint ventures or partnerships. This is a governmental requirement which has to be abide by. This will help Wal-Mart to share the risk of doing business in a new location as the partner or joint venture firm will be there to help Wal-Mart cater this. This is also very true for Asian and Arab countries. (Mkandawire 2006 129 -132) Divide Products into High-End and Low-End Categories Product division into high end and low end categories can prove to be a very significant strategy for Wal-Mart. As discussed earlier, Japanese want highest quality products and they are willing to pay higher prices. Categorizing products into high end and low end categories will definitely provide support for these types of markets. Additionally, the food products in local markets might vary which requires Wal-Mart to maintain a wide portfolio of food products. In order to meet these needs, Wal-Mart should have enough knowledge about local tastes and preferences.    (Cain 2005 58) Differentiation against Others that Offer Low-Price Store-Brand Products Wal-Mart should adopt the strategy of making some differentiation between the stores that are in urban areas with that of their counterparts in the suburbs. This should be done to cater the demands of the individual customers as the customers in urban areas are very different from those in suburbs; their demands, shopping habits, preferences, etc. Additionally, it is a fact that local retailers have a very strong grip over the market. So, in order to expand in an international market, Wal-Mart should focus on the needs of customers according to their respective areas. Wal-Mart should adopt local norms, strong distribution channels and information system integration in order to expand internationally. (Helmberger and Patson 2009 102) National Cultures and Sub-Cultures Cultural Awareness Cultures and behaviors play a very significant role in development of habits and preferences of the customers. Wal-Mart should consider the cultural preferences of individual markets internationally so as to have a grip on market instantly. For example, in Japanese culture, low price means that the quality is also low and it is very insulting for Japanese customers to opt for a low quality product. On the other hand, in third world countries, people are always looking for low price and high quality. So, Wal-Marts strategy of low prices can be a success in third world countries like Pakistan, India, etc. while the same strategy would be a failure in case of Japan or Korea. So, Wal-Mart should frame its strategy according to the local culture of individual markets. Introducing a standardized strategy all over the world will be a failure for Wal-Mart.         (Dixie 2008 72) Make Public Relations a Core Competency Core competencies are those strengths on which the company can rely in its hard times as well. In order to succeed internationally, Wal-Mart should work on making public relations its core competency. Also it is very important for Wal-Mart to contribute something to the society or community in which it is operating and expanding. This will definitely create a very positive image of Wal-Mart on the host community/country.   (Mkandawire 2006 129 -132) Global Pricing and Discounting Strategy One price fits all doesnt suits while the company is expanding internationally. Wal-Mart should find out different pricing and discount packages which match the demands, preferences and purchasing power of the individual customers in the host country. Different cultures have different pricing preferences. Wal-Mart should design its pricing and discount policy according to the preferences and acceptance of local customers. This will definitely help Wal-Mart to successfully expand in international markets. (Cain 2005 58) CONCLUSION In conclusion, we can say that Wal-Mart should adopt different strategies for different markets. It would not be wrong to say that One Strategy Doesnt Fits All. This requires Wal-Mart to identify and analyze different markets having opportunities for it. In case of Japan, Wal-Mart will have to change its strategy but in case of third world countries, the same strategy of Always Low Price can reap the fruits of success for Wal-Mart. These are some recommendations which Wal-Mart should adopt to remain one of the largest retailers of the world.

The Death of Indian Culture Exposed in The Jewel In the Crown Essay

The Death of Indian Culture Exposed in The Jewel In the Crown      Ã‚   The Jewel in the Crown, by Paul Scott, is a postcolonial novel about the realism of the interracial love affair between Daphne Manners and Hari Kumar, the subsequent rape of Daphne Manners, and the after effects on British and Indian relations. At a time when British and Indian affairs were strained, at best, the rape of Miss Manners is significantly metaphoric of the British rape of Indian land and culture. British colonial sentiment became a primary influence in India, when the revolt of 1857 led to the reorganization of British influence. The British felt that India could not rule itself, that they (the British) would govern India as its benefactor, bringing modernization to an inferior culture. The Indian economy was transformed into a colonial economy, whose nature and structure was determined primarily by the needs of the British economy. Britain's policies, in effect, ruined India's urban and rural industries, which caused a great pressure on the land, as the developm ent of India's industry could not keep up with British needs.    The Jewel in the Crown focuses on how British colonialism affected the relations between native Indians and the British English, and the affects on Indian culture seen through the tragedy of the unique triangle formed by Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick, at two opposing points (English vs. India), and Daphne Manners (the catalyst) connecting them both. The story is significant in understanding the historical aspects of British colonial rule, and the subsequent destruction and transformation of Indian culture. Through the eyes of the characters, we get several very distinct and personal stories about the values and custo... ...e history unfolds itself, as the personal lives intertwine with social and historical attitudes of British India and its ideology of benevolent governance. In a metaphorical sense, the personal tragedies of Hari Kumar and Daphne Manners represent the inability of two clashing distinctly different cultures to mix in creating an atmosphere of modern unity. The fact that Daphne Manners dies in childbirth, a birth that would have represented such a unity between these two cultures, idealizes the very nature of the problems associated with the rights and wrongs of colonialism, and represents perhaps the very death of native Indian ideology and culture.    Works Cited Agatucci, Cora. "Jewel in the Crown Study Guide Timeline" English 103, Spring 2001. Scott, Paul. The Jewel in the Crown: The Raj Quartet:1. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. C. 1998.

The answer to whether Beowulf

The answer to whether Beowulf is sophisticated or crude lies in establishing its historical origins. Therefore, it is important to examine the author, perhaps more so than the text. However, an examination of both reveals that author and text are anything but crude. Beowulf, the oldest surviving English epic, dates between the eighth and tenth centuries. Despite the 200-year span when the work could have been written, its subject matter relates to events that took place centuries before.In fact, the epic poem artistically captures the events of England’s Germanic origins. According to Norton Anthology editors, the poet, not only documented some historical facts but also succeeded in â€Å"reviving the heroic language style, and pagan world of ancient Germanic oral poetry, a world that was already remote to his contemporaries† (Norton Anthology Vol. 1, 29). The author, conjectured to be a Christian, manages to describe a pagan world, outside his everyday experience, thro ugh Christian allusions.Moreover, he does so by transcending language barriers. His text was composed in a dialect known as Marcia, while his references must have taken any number of while his references must have taken any number of lingual identities/backgrounds. In terms of its relative meaning Norton’s Anthology editors allege the text to be â€Å"†¦a remarkable and difficult work even in its own day† (Norton Anthology Vol. 1, 29), more so now given the limited information on Germanic oral epics.Secondly, as evidence of its sophistication, Beowulf is prolific with recognizable epic conventions, examples of Christian-pagan sympathy, and even creative linguistic ability. It is episodic and with only a brief history of the problems confronting the Danes, arguably begins in medias res. In fact, â€Å"†¦the poem turns on Beowulf’s three great fights against preternatural evil, which inhabits human society (Norton Anthology Vol. I, 30). The author succe ssfully develops a larger than life enemy for his hero to confront.He arguably aligns the hero Beowulf with a larger trajectory of magnanimous Christians, among them, the first and most notable, Jesus Christ. Still, epic conventions aside, the author employs rather sophisticated writing techniques. There is evidence he was a â€Å"wordsmith,† as the poem is prolific with â€Å"†¦hapax legomena – that is, words recorded only once in a language†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Norton Anthology Vol. I, 29). This suggests the writer was comfortable enough with linguistics to invent words, which more aptly captured his literary intent.In addition to his linguistic abilities, there is evidence the author of Beowulf knew how to manipulate poetic conventions. For example, his poem uses conventions common to oral poetry, like chiastic cyanghanedd in line 154 of the poem â€Å"nothing but war; how he would never,† which creates the consonant repetition of n/w/w/n (Norton Anthology Vo l. I, 35). Another example of the same technique is alternative cyanghanedd where he creates consonant repetition with line 126 of the poem, â€Å"then as dawn, brightened and the day broke,† d/b/d/b (Norton Anthology Vol.I, 35). Clearly the author is sophisticated enough a writer to emulate, in writing style, the ancient Germanic or Old English oral tradition of using certain patterns of consonants to remember lines. Finally, as further evidence of its sophistication Beowulf is written in such a manner that it allows readers to extrapolate meaning beyond the text. That is to say, figures like Beowulf’s three enemies could symbolize, in terms of Christian convention, Satan and/or his imps.In essence, these figures are non-corporeal and evidential of the author’s successful creation of figures, which transcend his age to have meaning for future Christian audiences. In addition, the author recreates in vivid detail, a world preceding his own and simultaneously lef t for future generations, a glimpse into the ancient Germanic world. Consequently, Beowulf is by no means crude when one considers the author of the work and its socio-historical background. Clearly, a sophisticated person, well read and educated on ancient German history and tradition and possessed of aesthetic ability wrote this poem.He deliberately sought to and succeeded in writing a timeless work, one that recreates a time centuries before his own while transcending, in terms of cultural relevance, any post-Christian age. In writing Beowulf, the author employs a number of techniques, which suggest a cosmopolitan viewpoint informed the work. Beowulf, complex and written by a refined author, is the antithesis of crude. Works Cited Anoymous. â€Å"Beowulf. † The Norton Anthology English Literature . Volume I. 7th edition. Ed. M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. 29-99.

Electrochemical Cell Definition

Electrochemical Cell Definition An electrochemical cell is a device that generates a potential difference between electrodes using chemical reactions. Galvanic cells and electrolytic cells are examples of electrochemical cells. Galvanic cells, which are also known as voltaic cells, use chemical reactions to generate electricity. These cells are named for either Luigi Galvani or Alessandro Volta. They use a spontaneous redox reaction. A typical galvanic cell consists of two different metals that are connected by a salt bridge or a porous membrane. In contrast, electrolytic cells use electrical energy to cause chemical reactions to occur. The electrical energy overcomes the activation energy required to get a non-spontaneous reaction to proceed. Electrolytic cells are commonly used for electrolysis, which breaks chemical compounds into their elements. A battery refers to one or more electrochemical cells.

Country Girls essays

Country Girls essays The Country Girls is a thrilling story about two country girls named Caithleen (Kate) Brady and Bridget (Baba) Brennan. Its the first of Edna OBriens books about the two young girls. The other two books in the series are: The Lonely Girl (1962) and Girls in Their Married Bliss (1964). The country girls is written by OBrien in 1960 and was her breakthrough novel. Edna OBrien was born in Twamgraney, County Clare. She was educated locally at Scarriff, and in Loughrea, County Galway. Her family was opposed to anything to do with literature and later she described her small village "enclosed, fervid and bigoted." When OBrien was a student in Dublin and her mother found a book of Sean OCasey in her suitcase she wanted to burn it. After finishing primary school OBrien was educated at the Convent of Mercy in Loughreu (1941-46). In Dublin she worked in a pharmacy and studied at the Pharmaceutical College at night. During this period she wrote small pieces for the Irish Press. In 1950 she was was awarded a licence. She got married in the summer of 1954 and moved with her husband, the Czech/Irish writer Ernest Gbler, and two sons to London. She got divorced in 1964, but she has remained in England. From the publication of her first book, The Country Girls, OBrien achieved a notoriety in Ireland by the relatively free treatment of sexual themes, but several of OBriens books, dealing with childhood and disappointments in sexual love, brought her into conflict with the Catholic Church, and got many of her books placed on the list of books banned by the Irish Censorship Board. She has concentrated on stories set in Ireland and on the themes dealing with female sensuality, male treachery, Irish nostalgia and good times amid difficult circumstances. She has a wonderful ability to describe scenes and an unhibited approach to her subject matter. Several of her books were suc...

Management Information Systems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management Information Systems - Research Paper Example 1.4 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM The Management Information System is an application program designed to produce predesigned and predefined reports for the use of people responsible for the management. These reports are generally analytical information based on following parameters:- Periods: Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and periodical. Trends: Upward, downward, straight. Movement: Fast, slow, normal Comparison: based on past and present data Age: Based on 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and older Exceptions: Based on if and then conditions. Chapter 2 Management Information System Development Phases Understanding the development process of MIS An information system is developed and designed by going through number of processes and phases. It is important to understand them so that we can asses the true value of the system on one hand and determine needs for improvement on the other hand.. An entirely new solution based on latest technology involves number of phases for planning, organiz ing, executing and controlling to achieve the required quality software. There are also constraints of time, money / budget and quality. The Management Information System is developed after going through the following phases: 2.1 REQUIREMENT GATHERING In this phase, all the users are interviewed for gathering information about the requirements, the existing software are studied simultaneously and details of the requirements are noted down. A Software Requirement Specification (SRS) document is prepared from the data collected has deliverables:- i. Business Requirements ii. Functional Specification iii. Non-Functional Specification iv. Use Case Diagram v. Usage Scenarios The above documents are formally reviewed in a meeting for discussion and final approval. 2.2 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS... An information system is developed and designed by going through the number of processes and phases. It is important to understand them so that we can assess the true value of the system on one hand and determine needs for improvement on the other hand. An entirely new solution based on latest technology involves the number of phases for planning, organizing, executing and controlling to achieve the required quality software. There are also constraints of time, money/budget, and quality. The Management Information System is developed after going through the following phases:REQUIREMENT GATHERINGIn this phase, all the users are interviewed for gathering information about the requirements, the existing software is studied simultaneously and details of the requirements are noted down. A Software Requirement Specification (SRS) document is prepared from the data collected has deliverables:-i. Business Requirementsii. Functional Specificationiii. Non-Functional Specificationiv. Use Case D iagramv. Usage ScenariosThe above documents are formally reviewed in a meeting for discussion and final approval.DESIGN AND ANALYSISIn this phase, the requirements gathered are analyzed and a design is made for the construction of the software consisting of following deliverables:i. Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)ii. Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)iii. Activity Diagramiv. Sequence Diagramv. Architectural Diagramvi. Class Diagramvii. Database Designviii. User Interface Designix. Deployment Diagramx. Test Cases

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT - Essay Example The company’s CEO did not appear to be excessively ambitious; and never used harsh words when addressing employees. He believed in demonstrating the attributes he expected to see in his employees. Organizational Structure and Culture and Team Development in the Company The organization in which I worked was more oriented toward individual tasks than group activities. It was based on a hierarchical model where orders came from above and were sometimes vague because the workers had limited guidance on how to implement them. The hierarchical model sometimes caused other problems when the company’s executives gave orders that had adverse implications in the lower ranks of the organization. When such impractical orders were given to groups of workers that had been formed by executives, the workers always had different concepts about what the leaders meant to be done or how to implement their ideas. Some workers were irritated by the fact that they were not allowed to choose their own team partners. Usually, the only workers who were happy to be ordered into specific teams were the partially skilled workers who escaped total responsibility for projects when they shared them with other workers. Workers can be commanded to form teams; but cannot be forced to work harmoniously. This is why it is important to allow workers to form their own teams when necessary. Even though the skilled workers in the company distrusted the claims of the managers about their dedication to teamwork, the semi-skilled workers believed the CEO’s rhetoric. Faced with sporadic accusations from their skilled workers of being too autocratic, the company’s managers sometimes went to the extreme by giving no instructions about projects. This caused further confusion among the workers and left the responsibility of realizing successful team projects to the skilled workers. Communication and Motivational Skills of the Leader Using autocratic leadership might have been more practical for the organization’s leaders because the company had many workers and participatory leadership would cost too much in terms of time and amenities (Schein, 2010). The size of the company also made considering the views of all employees before making decisions on even the simplest tasks counterproductive. The CEO of the company was quite dedicated to ensuring that the company achieved its objectives. As a person he was compassionate, dedicated, courageous and extremely self disciplined. He might have imagined that all workers knew they could develop his work ethic if they pushed themselves to achieve their best, and were striving to do so. Moreover, he was aware that it was important to keep demonstrating what he wanted to see in his employees. The CEO had fought his way from a subordinate position of the company to his present position. Even though he told of this story with pride in the few general meetings that were held during the year, I believe that he was qu ite hardened by his journey to the top most position over two decades. Even though the CEO constantly spoke of the importance of cooperation among workers and the management, this principle was hardly ever realized. CEOs can fall into patterns of merely talking of the importance of certain principles without following their words with any action (Kouzes and Posner, 2008). Three Practices that Leaders Use to

Childhood Obeasity Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Childhood Obeasity - Research Proposal Example The overwhelming evidence of prevalence of unhealthy obese lifestyle among the American youth originates a serious issue related to health. Children with obesity have to cope with numerous diseases linked with obesity that are discussed in this paper. Some of the research presented in this paper also deals with the factors that explain why the incidence of obesity is increasing among the American youth. Increase in the availability of affordable junk foods and sedentary lifestyle are also highlighted in the paper that contribute to incidence of obesity. Some factors that make it difficult to decrease the likelihood of obesity in the youth are also identified in the paper and backed up with authentic evidence. 1. Introduction: For the past many years, research reports have been illuminating that more and more children are getting overweight owing to the increased adaptation of sedentary lifestyle and increased consumption of junk food and sugar beverages. Childhood obesity presents on e of the greatest health challenges to the world. Obesity is especially drastic and devastating for the youth owing to the many other diseases it develops like emotional disturbances, heart problems, type 2 diabetes, and increased blood pressure. Over the past years, decrease in the prices of beverages and fast food has made it convenient for the youth to consume these readymade products excessively. Affordability of such foods that are high in calories, fat, and sugar has made the likelihood of obesity among youth all the more potent. There are numerous alarming side effects associated with this growing epidemic which are highly capable of destroying the futures of many children. The rate of obesity among the American youth is so markedly high that according to a report by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity, â€Å"today, more than 23 million U.S. children and teens—nearly one in three young people—are either overweight or obese.† (Thompson, 2010). What aggravates the situation is that only a minimal percentage of youth is on diet that meets the national recommendations and even less percentage of youth considers the necessary 60 minute daily physical activity presently in America. Outdoor activity has been almost completely replaced with television and video games, and this greatly increases the incidence of obesity among the American youth. 2. Research review: a. Prevalence of obesity in the American youth: (Thompson, 2010) mentions that â€Å"obesity is becoming a problem at an earlier age, with 24.4 percent of children ages 2 to 5 already obese or overweight.† The problem of childhood obesity is prevalent in the American youth irrespective of race, religion, family income, and location. Still, some populations or communities are at more risk of childhood obesity than others because of their unhealthy lifestyle and increased consumption of foods that go against the recommended healthy diet. Some pa rticular races like Blacks, American Indians, and Latinos are at more risk of childhood obesity than other races owing to genetic factors. Sedentary lifestyle and social environments play more active role in increasing childhood obesity incidence than the genetic factors. Obesity significantly destroys the futures of many children because the adverse disease it brings with itself, cause a serious setback to such children. This epidemic

Investigatory Project Essay Example for Free

Investigatory Project Essay This investigatory project is to be conducted to study the feasibility of Kalamansi (Citrus Microcarpa Bunge), Oregano leaves (Coleus aromaticus Benth.) and Kakawate leaves (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud.) as mosquito repellant lotion. As of today it is not only dengue virus, there is a new disease called chikungunya virus that is anarthropod-borne virus, of the genus Alphavirus, that is transmitted to humans by virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes. There have been recent breakouts of chikungunya associated with severe illness. It can cause death for many people. We all need a repel to protect ourselves from mosquitoes so this study is conducted to help people prevent these mosquitoes and its viruses by simply using Kalamansi, Oregano leaves and Kakawate leaves mosquito repelling lotion. Kakawate’s insecticidal study showed nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita nematode with 60% mortality; mosquito repellent activity against Aedes aegypti with maximum 78% repellency (http://www.stuartxchange.com/Kakawati.html) Kalamansi have linalool that is used as insecticide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linalool) in Oregano, the oil was insecticidal to white termites It was more active than synthetic insecticides, (http://www.stuartxchange.com/Oregano.html) Mosquitoes can carry deadly diseases that cause thousands of illnesses and deaths each year. With the increase in international travel, no one is immune to mosquito-borne diseases. (http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/advice/mosquito-info/mosquito-borne-diseases) The researcher wants to prove that Kalamansi (Citrus Microcarpa Bunge), Oregano leaves (Coleus aromaticus Benth.) and Kakawate leaves (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud.) can be used as lotion in repelling mosquitoes.

macbeth. :: essays research papers

Macbeth English Units  ½ Shakespeare essay: Macbeth Topic: â€Å"The instruments of darkness brought about Macbeth’s downfall.† Do you agree? William Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrates the ultimate downfall of a tragic hero manipulated by evil. The forces of evil, namely witches, initiate Macbeth’s downfall, seducing him with the concept of power, firing up his ambition to become king. However, despite their obvious involvement, Macbeth delves deeper into the darker side of his nature on his own, seeking evil and wading further into his imagined river of blood. His downfall was brought about by the instruments of darkness – they planted the idea of Macbeth’s rising power in his head and their influence saw him fall from a noble man to a tyrant of a ruler but regardless of this it was his own conscious choice that ultimately led to his fall from grace. The three witches who introduce the play immediately strike the audience as representatives of evil, instantly establishing Macbeth as their ‘victim’, one whom they have chosen to involve in their plans. In the first act, Macbeth is shown to be a noble, cousin to the king, a valiant and worthy man: â€Å"Brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name†, just as the witches are shown to be malicious, evil creatures, recounting their cruel dealings. In his meeting them, the suggestion of his royalty is quickly seeded – their words provoke him and set in motion his demise. In the forth act, he is shown to have walked even further down the path of corruption to the point that he no longer shows the qualities of a good man in his seeking of the witches themselves – seeking the instruments of darkness, and thus embracing evil. Their original meeting with him sparked his ambition, and it is of his own accord and conscious choice that he seeks them out â⠂¬â€œ it is no influence of theirs that leads him to meet with them a second time. Consequently, without the interference of the witches, Macbeth would not have begun his unforgivable massacre but his own corrupted nature takes him further than the initial prompting of the witches. In originally finding Macbeth and prophesising his ascension to power, the witches take partial responsibility in Macbeth’s downfall as they began the entire process of Macbeth’s rise and fall. After the initial suggestion of Macbeth’s royalty, however, comes the encouragement of Lady Macbeth. Her involvement leads Macbeth to the murder of Duncan, his cousin and king, his first steps into his ultimate downfall.

A View From the Bridge - Arthur Miller :: English Literature

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE We have been studying 'A view from the Bridge' which has been written by Arthur Miller. This is the story of Eddie Carbone who is an Italian American who lives with his wife Beatrice and niece Catherine, When Beatrice's cousins Marco and Rodolpho, seek refuge as illegal immigrants from Sicily, Eddie agrees to give them shelter. Catherine falls in love with Rodolpho, which creates trouble. Eddie's jealousy culminates in an unforgivable crime against his family and the Italian community. In this scene I will analyse how Eddie tries to complain to Marco about Rodolpho going out and coming home late at night with Catherine. Eddie is jealous and he thinks that Rodolpho is trying to make a move on his beloved niece Catherine. While Beatrice was trying to stand up for Catherine, Eddie tries to make a point to Marco about not letting Rodolpho to go out a lot, especially with Catherine. While Eddie is reading his paper, Catherine gets up, puts the record on the phonograph and asks Rodolpho to dance. As Catherine, asks Rodolpho to dance, Eddie freezes and with respect towards Eddie Rodolpho does not accept the dance. Beatrice persuades Rodolpho to go a head. Rodolpho rises stiffely, feeling Eddie's eyes on his back and they dance. Marco then tells everyone that, that Rodolpho can cook. Eddie gets surprised. Then Eddie asks Marco and Rodolpho if they want to go and see a real fight. Catherine goes to make coffee. Eddie then insists Rodolpho to learn a boxing move from him. But then Eddie crosses the limit by punching Rodolpho on the face. Marco gets up and Catherine rushes in to see what had happen. Marco gets angry and then performs the chair lifting towards Eddie. We learn a lot about the characters in this scene. In this scene they show a lot of tension. We learn a lot about Immigrants, how they have to stay out of sight, the difference between legal and illegal immigrants, we also learn about Eddie's jealousy, Catherine and Rodolpho's relationship, Beatrice's support and Marco's chair lifting scene. Eddie shows us that he is a family man about when he is always supporting the family by earning the money, selfish about Catherine and Rodolpho's relationship as if he wanted to be the only man in Catherine's life and over protective for Catherine. Catherine is a kind, young and modern girl of her generation. Beatrice is a kind, caring and supportive person towards Catherine and Eddie, Marco is a family man, sensible and determined to earn a living in America and to earn money for his family back in Sicily and as for Rodolpho, he is A View From the Bridge - Arthur Miller :: English Literature A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE We have been studying 'A view from the Bridge' which has been written by Arthur Miller. This is the story of Eddie Carbone who is an Italian American who lives with his wife Beatrice and niece Catherine, When Beatrice's cousins Marco and Rodolpho, seek refuge as illegal immigrants from Sicily, Eddie agrees to give them shelter. Catherine falls in love with Rodolpho, which creates trouble. Eddie's jealousy culminates in an unforgivable crime against his family and the Italian community. In this scene I will analyse how Eddie tries to complain to Marco about Rodolpho going out and coming home late at night with Catherine. Eddie is jealous and he thinks that Rodolpho is trying to make a move on his beloved niece Catherine. While Beatrice was trying to stand up for Catherine, Eddie tries to make a point to Marco about not letting Rodolpho to go out a lot, especially with Catherine. While Eddie is reading his paper, Catherine gets up, puts the record on the phonograph and asks Rodolpho to dance. As Catherine, asks Rodolpho to dance, Eddie freezes and with respect towards Eddie Rodolpho does not accept the dance. Beatrice persuades Rodolpho to go a head. Rodolpho rises stiffely, feeling Eddie's eyes on his back and they dance. Marco then tells everyone that, that Rodolpho can cook. Eddie gets surprised. Then Eddie asks Marco and Rodolpho if they want to go and see a real fight. Catherine goes to make coffee. Eddie then insists Rodolpho to learn a boxing move from him. But then Eddie crosses the limit by punching Rodolpho on the face. Marco gets up and Catherine rushes in to see what had happen. Marco gets angry and then performs the chair lifting towards Eddie. We learn a lot about the characters in this scene. In this scene they show a lot of tension. We learn a lot about Immigrants, how they have to stay out of sight, the difference between legal and illegal immigrants, we also learn about Eddie's jealousy, Catherine and Rodolpho's relationship, Beatrice's support and Marco's chair lifting scene. Eddie shows us that he is a family man about when he is always supporting the family by earning the money, selfish about Catherine and Rodolpho's relationship as if he wanted to be the only man in Catherine's life and over protective for Catherine. Catherine is a kind, young and modern girl of her generation. Beatrice is a kind, caring and supportive person towards Catherine and Eddie, Marco is a family man, sensible and determined to earn a living in America and to earn money for his family back in Sicily and as for Rodolpho, he is

Dannon Case Study Essay

Danone, Dannon’s parent company, was one of the largest health-focused food companies in the world. Danone traced its heritage back to 1919 in Barcelona, Spain, when Isaac Carasso wanted to create yogurt with inherent health benefits. Through the years and different lines of succession, Danone continued to grow, but never lost its core vision of providing better health to people through their products. When this case was written, Danone’s global business focus was on fresh dairy (Activia yogurt), bottled water (Evian), medical nutrition, and baby nutrition. Danone viewed the United States as an emerging market for yogurt, thus Dannon’s marketing efforts needed to focus on growing U. S. yogurt consumption and expanding the category, while also growing its brand. (Marquis, p. 1) Dannon entered the US market in 1941 and by 2010 was poised to become the leader in America’s domestic yogurt sector. This was a major accomplishment for the simple fact that America’s yogurt market was practically non-existent at the time! A new product, called â€Å"Fruit at the Bottom† changed that and became an instant success. In 2007, even though Dannon had success, U. S. yogurt consumption was only 11. 8 lbs versus 62. 4 lbs in Switzerland and 42 lbs in France (Marquis, Exhibit 2) The implication of the latter statistics to Dannon was the U. S. was a high potential market for the next 5 to 10 years. (Marquis, p. 5) Dannon had maintained a strong commitment to CSR and was integrated into the company’s overall mission of â€Å"bringing health through food to as many people as possible. † Their CSR mission, however, was very internally focused and few customers knew about its activities. (Marquis, p. 1) Dannon’s CSR activities fell under the Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Department and focused around three key themes: nutrition and health, nature, and people. The case identified notable accomplishments in each of these areas, to include the U. S. Dannon Institute (nonprofit foundation dedicated to promoting excellence in the field of nutrition) with its many noteworthy educational programs. The question behind this case, as proposed by its senior director of public relations, was how Dannon’s long-standing, deeply ingrained corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts could play a role in achieving Danone’s and Dannon’s overall marketing strategy. Discussion with Key Dannon Leaders brought out the following pro’s and con’s concerning the proposed idea of communicating Dannon’s CSR efforts to its consumers: Pro Con Possible increase in marketing of Dannon’s social mission Hard to measure ROI and benefits would be mostly intangible Possible increase in marketing individual products Limited, short-term sales impact Consumption of products might increase Impact of consumption might not be immediate Potential tax incentive or government assistance to promote health programs Competitors could take advantage of hallo effect Opportunity to communicate what Dannon stands for at the product level Change in overall budget priorities and expenditures for new program Opportunity to use Danone global brand Critics could say CSR efforts were only for publicity Brand campaign would have halo effects down to Dannon’s individual products Customers could perceive effort as disingenuous. Dannon employees would feel better about the company they worked for People don’t buy products just because they like the company’s CSR stance Would help build social interests May not support business interests Message might be too complex (Pro and Con information taken from case study, pages 9 -14) To Communicate or Not to Communicate? Dannon seems to be very focused on its Return on Investment (ROI) for marketing and communication dollars spent. While the question of whether or not to communicate its CSR seems very simple, research shows this important undertaking is very complex and there is no easy cookie-cutter answer for Dannon executives. What consumers feel does not always translate to what they buy. According to a 2010 survey, more than 75 percent of consumers surveyed say that social responsibility remains important to them despite the recession. In addition, 38 percent of these respondents indicated that they would spend the same or more on products or services from socially responsible companies compared to 2009. Yet, according to the very same survey, these sentiments do not have a significant impact on favorability and purchase intent — only 13 percent of folks actually proactively seek out CSR friendly brands and purchase them. (Lester, 2010) The latter finding seems to agree with other academic research. According to another survey, CSR impacts a very small group of people, namely the affluent. This report went on to state in its conclusion, â€Å"consumers with strong social preferences (and high income) buy CSR products and consumers with weak social preferences (or low income) buy non-CSR products. (Etile & Tyessier, 2011) General â€Å"assumptions† about CSR and consumer purchases may not be telling the whole story, though. Further research indicates consumers attach more CSR importance to certain industries. For example, the food and healthcare industries had an 88 percent importance rating for CSR initiatives – two of the top three in the entire survey (the other was energy). â€Å"Drilling down† even further shows the sector where CSR is both important to the consumer and CSR communications has performed extremely well is in the food industry. (Lester, 2010) One of the most telling findings in the 2010 CSR branding survey was the importance of tying social responsibility to a product. Its conclusion was consumers are more likely to select the product with an added social benefit hen given a choice between similar products. (Lester, 2010) Research shows a consumer’s loyalty to specific products also has an impact on a company’s overall brand. In an online article of The Economist, the author writes about the importance of brand in the context of specific product purchase. Once customers trust a certain product, they tend to look for the brand associated with it when selecting dissimilar products or services. (Case for Brands, 2001) This all being said, the flip side of the power and influence of a brand is its growing vulnerability – a single failed advertising campaign or hint of scandal can send customers fleeing. According to another article, â€Å"brands—and the multinationals that are increasingly identified with them—are not more powerful, but more vulnerable. Consumers will tolerate a lousy product for far longer than they will tolerate a lousy lifestyle. † (Who’s wearing the trousers, 2001) Pulling all of these points together lead me to the following conclusion: If Dannon intends to tie CSR into its product marketing, it should do so at the individual product level, and If Dannon intends to include CSR as part of its marketing and communications strategy, it needs to be sustained and intentional to have an affect (i. e. measurable ROI). My recommendation is Dannon follows my two suggestions above! Dannon has a distinct advantage in being a well-known name in both the health and wellness sectors as well as the food sector. Customers surveyed tend to research a provider’s reputation more stringently in these areas, as such, a combined external CSR and CR campaign would be, in my opinion, advisable. Dannon’s current CSR strategy, which is mostly internal, is good for its culture and employee retention. However, it does not maximize profitability and overall goodwill. Therefore, an external strategy must be added for full ROI maximization. Impact of a Corporate Parent Dannon is a wholly owned subsidiary of Danone and has a significant fiduciary responsibility to them. According to our case, Dannon is obligated to meet annual targets for profitability, operating free cash flow, manufacturing safety, and environmental sustainability. Dannon’s decision to change its marketing strategy, either as a branding exercise or for a specific product, would absolutely impact several of these obligations. (Marquis, p. 1) Obligation Potential Positive Impact Potential Negative Impact profitability a successively executed plan will increase customer sales and loyalty, both having a long term impact to the parent company’s bottom line. If customers feel the CSR communications are disingenuous, they will discontinue buying Dannon products, thus losing market share and reducing overall profits. operating free cash flow Increased profitability should increase overall free cash flow. Sustained marketing costs a lot of money and will reduce the company’s cash flow; assuming a long-term commitment, this will become a drag on profits if not successful. manufacturing safety No impact If cash flow is reduced, new equipment of safety training may not be purchased, thus allowing for accidents to happen. environmental sustainability No impact When cash flow is reduced, local operators might look for ways to cut expenses. One way to do that is to cut corners, especially in the ways waste is disposed of. customer loyalty A good campaign will increase the number of Americans buying Dannon products as well as the amount being consumed. Market share will increase and provide opportunities for new Dannon products to be distributed. All the reverse of the positive outcomes. Looking at our case, I think the impact to Danone is very minimal. It seems that Danone’s culture is to trust the country-based units and train its leadership to think globally. From my perspective, if Dannon executes a successful CSR campaign for a single product, the likelihood of success is extremely high. The Communication Strategy As indicated in the â€Å"To Communicate or Not to Communicate? † section of this paper, Dannon should take advantage of being in the market sectors where CSR impact is very high (health/wellness and food) and select a single product to use as a CSR marketing and communications platform. Because of its market penetration and dominance, I would use its top proactive health product, Activia, as the product. Danone and Dannon’s sustainable development model focuses around Nutrition and Health, People, and Nature. These three areas and how they relate to Activia would be my focus, with the specific bottom line result being how Activia contributes to a customer’s â€Å"personal health and nutrition naturally. † Once this is done, I would test my new outreach models in focus groups, specifically those that are already purchasing Activia (existing clients) and those that aren’t (potential clients). All successful marketing plan needs to keep both groups in mind; if no new clients are drawn to this approach, then go back to the drawing board. This strategy falls in line with Dannon’s desire to focus on growing the yogurt industry and proving its relevance to Americans. (Marquis, p. 5) When both groups trended positively toward the new marketing strategy, I would roll out a multi-faceted plan that includes print, web, television, internet, and social media. I would also tie this new communication in with the community grant programs that Dannon is already known for. This plan would need to be executed for 90 or 120 days and then measured for tangible ROI, specifically on the Activia product and secondarily on increases in other brand sales. Conclusion In conclusion, I believe that Danone was created with a definite CSR culture as part of their overall operating strategy. As such, all facets of their global organization reflect these core values, to include Dannon. I think this bodes well for an expanded, external CSR communications strategy because: Dannon risks very little in detractors saying they are simply communicating their CSR accomplishments as a profit motive – their legacy as a company, both locally and globally, state otherwise. Dannon is fortunate enough to be in the right sectors where CSR and CR are highly regarded. As such, they can leverage this fact to impact their product marketing even more. Dannon’s consumers, especially the health conscious, tend to have more disposable income and be more drawn to sustainable products and brands. Dannon has a single product, Activia, that is very high in market penetration and fits into both health/wellness and food categories. Again, this can be leveraged. Dannon can test the impact of communicating their CSR philosophy with a single product before exposing their entire brand. If Dannon’s product-based approach works well, then they have set a positive template to add new products, both within the United States and beyond. If it does not, then Dannon can quietly drop their marketing campaign without tainting all their products or the overall Danone brand. In the final analysis, I think Dannon is an ideal company to further communicate their CSR values. As a global company, they can impact and influence other organizations within the food industry. References Etile, F. & Tyessier, S. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility and the Economics of Consumer Social Responsibility. Paris School of Economics. August 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2013 from http://ageconsearch. umn. edu/bitstream/120399/2/Etile_Fabrice_359. pdf Lester, B. (2010). Corporate social responsibility branding survey. Penn Schoen Berland. Retrieved May 18, 2013 from http://www. psbresearch. com/files/CSR%20Branding%20Survey%202010%20EXTERNAL%20FINAL. pdf Marquis, C. , Shah, P. , Tolleson, A. , & Thomason, B. (2011). The dannon company: marketing and corporate social responsibility (A). The Harvard Business School. Revised September 28, 2011. File number 9-410-121 The Economist. (2001, September 6). The case for brands. Economist. com. Retrieved May 18, 2013 from http://www. economist. com/node/771049 The Economist. (2001, September 6). Who’s wearing the trousers? Economist. com. Retrieved May 18, 2013 from http://www. economist. com/node/770992

Military Dolphin Research essays

Military Dolphin Research essays As intelligent and beautiful creatures of the sea, dolphins long ago captured the imaginations of human beings. Ancient artists in Crete (2500 B.C.) painted frescoes on the walls of the Minoan palace at Knossis of dolphins jumping in the blue Mediterranean waters. Today, we see dolphins depicted on T-shirts, jewelry, posters, and tattoos. During the 1950s, the television program Flipper (played by a dolphin named Mitzi) made dolphin intelligence widely known. For many years, Mitzi was also the star of a dolphin show in the Florida Keys in which she did amazing tricks and pulled children around in a little boat. Moreover, dolphins are friendly and seem to like human beings. Areas where people live close to the water are replete with dolphin stories about the helpfulness and protectiveness of dolphins. They are said to kill sharks, for example, and to nudge little kids back toward shore when they go out too deep in the ocean. Perhaps because there is such affection for these an imals, much controversy has arisen over their use by the military in waging war. This essay will argue, however, that military research on dolphins is humane and safe, the animals are not being harmed, and the research is of tremendous benefit both to dolphins and to humans. The Navy Marine Mammal Program began in 1960 when the Navy acquired a Pacific White-sided dolphin and began experimenting to improve torpedo performance. The goal was to see if dolphins had a sophisticated drag-reduction system, but the technology of the day was not equal to the study, so it was not considered successful. By 1964, however, more sophisticated animal research was done to study their senses and capabilities such as sonar and deep diving. In 1965 a dolphin named Tuffy learned to carry tools to workers 200 feet down and to locate and guide lost divers to safety (Wikipedia U. S. Navy marine Mammal Program web site). According to LeVasseur (Whales on the Net &...

Evaluating Textbooks

Evaluating Textbooks Free Online Research Papers Teachers are given the opportunity to instruct their students using various methods. The methods that teachers use can use will depend on several factors, such as what is needed for the curriculum and who the audience is. In order for teachers to be effective in their classrooms, it is important that practical and effective textbooks are available. This paper will discuss three methods that can be used to measure the reliability of a tenth grade history textbook. The methods that will be discussed in this paper are: the â€Å"Fry Reliability Formula†, the Cloze Procedure, and the Content Area Reading Inventory method (CARI). Fry Reliability Formula According to Weitzel (2007), a gentleman named Edward Fry first developed a this method for teachers in order to determine the readability of materials used in classes. â€Å"The Fry readability method is a manual tool that determines the grade level of writing by analyzing three, 100-word passages from a selected writing, taking the average number of syllables and the average number of sentences for each passage and plotting those numbers on a Fry graph,†(Weitzel, 2007). Scripts of the textbook: World History Patterns of Integration Passage 1: â€Å"The Polynesian voyaging canoe one of the great ocean-going craft of the ancient world, was the means by which generations of adventurous voyagers were able to extend the human frontier far out into the Pacific, discovering a vast realm of Oceanic Islands. By 1000 B.C., when Mediterranean sailors were sailing in their land-locked sea, the immediate ancestors of the Polynesians had reached the previous uninhabited archipelagos of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Their descendants went on to settle all the habitable islands in a large triangular section bounded by the Hawaiian Archipelago† (Beck, 2005 p.s11). Passage 2: â€Å"The Assyrians employed military force to control a vast empire. In contrast, the Persians based their empire on tolerance and diplomacy. They relied on a strong military to back up their policies. Ancient Persia included what today is Iran. The Persian Homeland Indo-Europeans first migrated from central Europe and southern Russia to the mountain plateaus east of the Fertile Crescent around 1000 B.C. This area extended from the Caspian Sea in the North to the Persian Gulf in the South. In addition to the fertile farm land, ancient Iran boasted a wealth of minerals. These included copper, lead, gold, silver and gleaming blue lapis lazuli† (Beck, 2005 p.99). Passage 3: â€Å"The Greeks Invented drama as an art form an built their first theaters in the West. Theatrical productions in Athens were both an expression of civic pride and a tribute to the gods. As part of their civic duty, wealthy citizens bore the cost of producing the plays. Actors used colorful costumes, masks and sets to dramatize the stories. The plays were about leadership, justice, and the duties they owed to the gods. They often included a chorus, that danced, sang, and recited poetry. Tragedy and Comedy The Greeks wrote two kinds of drama†(Beck, 2005 p. 136). Assessment 100 Word Passages Syllables Sentences Passage 1 179 3 Passage 2 170 6 Passage 3 140 7 Average Average 163 5.3 Using the Fry Method three randomly selected passages were taken from the Textbook, World History Patterns of Interaction. Each passage was one hundred words. The syllables of each passage were counted as were the number of sentences. The average number of syllables was 163 per 100 words. The average number of sentences per 100 words was 5.3. Based on the Fry Graph, the textbook is written for tenth grade students, whose ages are typically 15 to 16 years of age. The Graph shows that the average number of syllables and sentences in the textbook that was examined was actually written for students who were between 18 or 19 years old (see Table 1). Table 1: Fry’s Formula using 10th Grade World History Textbook (source: Schrock, 2007) Cloze Procedure According to Lapp, Flood, Farnan, (1996) the Cloze Procedure looks at material to determine whether or not it suitable for students. â€Å"The cloze procedure consists of the systematic deletion of words from selected passages of text† (Lapp, 1996 et al., p 394). What this means is that teachers can decide if a textbook should be used in their classroom. According to Saskatoon Public Schools (2006), there are several reasons for teachers to use the Cloze Procedure: â€Å"To determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ to construct meaning from print† For assessment purposes to establish a student’s progress of the material. To allow students to keep track of what they are reading. To reinforce students â€Å"to think critically and analytically about text and content†. Cloze tests are usually used by teachers to make sure the assignments are appropriate for the students. According to Lapp et al. (1996), â€Å"Cloze tests typically are constructed using a passage from a selected textbook or other materials students will be expected to read during content area instruction.† What this means is that the teacher will choose a reading selection to review prior to given instruction. Additionally, the teacher will evaluate whether the readings will be effective. Lapp et al. (1996) recommend for teachers to select â€Å"a 250-300 word passage containing complete thought units or paragraphs be selected, and that the passages from the front of the textbook be used because later passages are likely to be laden with concepts built on previously read material†. In other words, Cloze tests use a specific number of words to establish whether a textbook is conducive to lessons. Additionally, the earlier sections of the textbooks are preferred for teachers to evaluate. The Cloze test was given to two high school sophomores. The test examines the students’ responses. The students were scored in three categories: The scores were rated as Frustration, Instructional, and Independent. Depending on what the student scores determines how a student is categorized. The students were administered the test. Student number 1 scored a _40__%, student number 2 scored a _39__%. This means both student #1 and #2 are categorized as reading in their Frustration level and did not comprehending their instruction. The results of the Cloze test were predictable due to the advanced level of the textbook. The results are similar to Fry’s assessment because the textbook is written for a higher age group. Moreover, the sophomore students were 15 years old and were not able to comprehend the textbooks. The results are different because the students were low on their score; however, they did comprehend some of the material in the passages. The expla nation for the discrepancies is due to the fact that the teacher may have been instructing the students to a higher level and due to the fact that the students may not have been adequately prepared for the assignment or materials that were covered. Cloze Test Given to Students Passage 1: â€Å"The Polynesian v_____ canoe one of the great ocean-going craft of the ancient world, was the means by which generations of a_________ voyagers were able to extend the human frontier far out into the Pacific, discovering a vast realm of O_____ Islands. By 1000 B.C., when M______ sailors were s______ in their land-locked sea, the immediate ancestors of the Polynesians had reached the previous uninhabited archipelagos of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Their d________ went on to settle all the habitable islands in a large triangular section bounded by the Hawaiian Archipelago† (Beck, 2005 p.s11). Passage 2: â€Å"The Assyrians e______ military force to control a vast e______. In contrast, the Persians based their empire on tolerance and d_____. They relied on a s______ military to back up their policies. A______ Persia included what today is Iran. The Persian H______ Indo-Europeans first migrated from central Europe and southern Russia to t__ mountain plateaus east of the Fertile Cr_____ around 1000 B.C. This area extended from the C_____ Sea in the North to the Persian Gulf in the South. In addition to the f______ farm land, ancient Iran boasted a wealth of minerals. These included copper, lead, gold, silver and gleaming blue lapis lazuli† (Beck, 2005 p.99). Passage 3: â€Å"The Greeks I_____ drama as an art form an built their first t_______ in the West. Theatrical productions in Athens were both an e________ of civic pride and a tribute to the gods. As part of their civic duty, wealthy citizens bore the cost of p_______ the plays. Actors used colorful costumes, masks and s_____ to dramatize the stories. The plays were about leadership, justice, and the d_____ they owed to the gods. They often included a c____, that danced, sang, and recited poetry. Tragedy and Comedy The Greeks w____ two kinds of drama† (Beck et al., 2005, p. 136). Content Area Reading Inventory Another effective evaluation tool teachers can implement when reviewing their textbooks is the Content Area Reading Inventory (CARI). This method allows â€Å"teachers to discover to the extent to which students have developed the reading ability and study skills necessary to understand and learn successfully from content area materials† (Lapp et al., 1996). In other words, this method helps teachers to assess their students’ progress in class. CARI has three specific sections for assisting teachers with student assessments. The first section uses sections of the book and additional resources. The second section reviews the comprehension of new vocabulary. Finally, the third section assesses whether or not students are able to understand what they have read (Lapp et al., 1996). Passage Selected â€Å"The Polynesian voyaging canoe one of the great ocean-going craft of the ancient world, was the means by which generations of adventurous voyagers were able to extend the human frontier far out into the Pacific, discovering a vast realm of Oceanic Islands. By 1000 B.C., when Mediterranean sailors were sailing in their land-locked sea, the immediate ancestors of the Polynesians had reached the previous uninhabited archipelagos of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Their descendants went on to settle all the habitable islands in a large triangular section bounded by the Hawaiian Archipelago† (Beck et al., 2005, p.s11). Nine Question Evaluation Given to Students 1. Describe what the word â€Å"uninhabited† means from the following excerpt â€Å"when Mediterranean sailors were sailing in their land-locked sea, the immediate ancestors of the Polynesians had reached the previous uninhabited archipelagos of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean†. _________________________________________________________________ 2. Explain the meaning of voyagers from the following excerpt. â€Å"The Polynesian voyaging canoe one of the great ocean-going craft of the ancient world, was the means by which generations of adventurous voyagers were able to extend the human frontier far out into the Pacific, discovering a vast realm of Oceanic Islands.†_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Explain the meaning of land-locked from the following excerpt. â€Å"By 1000 B.C., when Mediterranean sailors were sailing in their land-locked sea.† 4. Identify the main mode of transport used by the Polynesian voyagers.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Name three islands the Polynesian Voyagers visited. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. What year did this passage describe? ________________________ 7. Why was the Polynesian Voyage significant? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Why do you think some of the islands were uninhabited prior to the immediate ancestors to the Polynesians? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. What other means of transport do you think the Polynesians used prior to canoes? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Student #1 1. Correct 2. Correct 3. Correct 4. Correct 5. Correct 6. Correct 7. Correct 8. Correct 9. incorrect Student #2 1. correct 2. correct 3. correct 4. correct 5. correct 6. correct 7. correct 8. incorrect 9.incorrect Student #3 1. correct 2. correct 3. correct 4. correct 5. correct 6. correct 7. correct 8. incorrect 9.incorrect Student #4 1. incorrect 2. incorrect 3. correct 4.correct 5.correct 6.correct 7.incorrect 8. incorrect 9.incorrect Student #5 1. correct 2. correct 3.correct 4.correct 5.correct 6. blank 7. blank 8. blank 9.blank Results All of the students were correct in their first five answers, except for student #4. All students missed question #9. Additionally, it appears that most students had difficulties with the inferential questions, questions 7-9. Student #5 ran did not complete the last four questions. It appears that the class strengths are in vocabulary concepts and facts. The weakness for the group as a whole is in independent thought. Furthermore, student #4, received 4/9 correct which is a 44%. It appears this students has difficulties with both vocabulary concepts and with inferential questions and may need additional assistance. Moreover, lesson plans will need to be created for students to continue to use a higher level of thinking in order to assist students with their learning. Conclusion Teachers have many evaluation tools to utilize in their classrooms. One of the most important assessments teachers can use is making sure the textbooks are beneficial to the students learning goals. This paper discussed three methods that can be used by teachers to measure the reliability of a tenth grade history textbook. The methods reviewed were: the â€Å"Fry Reliability Formula†, the Cloze Procedure, and the Content Area Reading Inventory method. Although all of these methods can be used by teachers when evaluating the usefulness of a school textbook for students, teachers should also be mindful that these are only a few of the many methods that can be used for evaluating textbooks. Research Papers on Evaluating TextbooksStandardized TestingCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeMind TravelResearch Process Part OneIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalDefinition of Export QuotasBringing Democracy to AfricaComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males