DNA sequencing

Describe the limitations of traditional methods of Identifying bacteria. Traditional methods include judging by phenotypes characteristics. This could be a problem if two bacteria looked similar because they could easily be confused. Summarize the goal of each of the six parts of the lab. Sample Prep First we need to extract the DNA from the bacterial wall PC Amplification Create millions of copies of the initial DNA PC purification Filter out DNA from primers and enzymes Sequencing Prep Run more PC to make copies of DNA at various lengths DNA SequencingSequence machine runs gel electrophoresis to Identify nucleotides and determine sequence. Sequence Analysis Computer determines full DNA sequence which can be run and compared. Explain how fluorescent markers help determine a nucleotide sequence. Each nucleotide is assigned a certain color. Conclusion 1 How can scientists identify specific bacteria when they are amplifying and studying the same region of DNA In each species? They can identify it because there are unique sequences for each species. If you take a sample and find the DNA of it you can then compare it to the Dona's of known bacteria to discover what bacteria the sample is from

Goodnight Mr. Tom

Goodnight Mr. Tom Mr. Tom: He is a bit gruff, but caring in the end. He is mostly a loner but opens his heart, when Willie arrives. William Beech: Scared, abused child who comes to stay with Mr. Tom during the war and later finds out the true feeling of family. Afraid of the belt. George: A friend of Will's at Little Weirwold. Carrie: A friend of Willie, who is fiercely independent and later goes on to attend high school. Zack: An outgoing, funloving boy who is also an evacuee from London staying with a Little Wierwold family. A loyal friend who helps William come out of his shell.Ginnie: Carrie's sister. Annie Hartridge: The beautiful and kind schoolteacher with violet blue eyes and a single long blonde braid. Has a baby, just after Willie starts in her class. Mrs. Fletcher: Caretaker for Mr Tom's house. Geoffrey: An artist living in Spooky Cott after his time at Dunkirk. Recognizes Willie's drawing talent and becomes his art mentor. Emilia Thorne: William's second teacher. Later de velops a relationship with Geoffrey. Mrs. Clarence: A middle-aged woman living in Salmouth, who takes Mr Tom, Willie and Zach in for their holidays. Dobbs: Mr.Tom's horse. Rachel: Mr. Tom's wife who died shortly after childbirth. After her death, Mr. Tom shut himself away from anyone who reminded him about her. Mrs. Black Mr. Bush Nance Mrs. Miller Mr. Peters Christine Trudy: Mrs. Beech's surprise baby. Later dies of mistreatment and malnutrition. Charlie Rudd: A local warden of Deptford. Shows Mr Tom Willie's house and assists in the rescue. Setting England Little Weirwold: The village Willie is evacuated to. Deptford: Willie's home town. Mr. Oakley later travels there. Expressions Wizzo: Expression akin to â€Å"Neato! † or â€Å"Great! Calloo Callay: Originally from Lewis Carroll's â€Å"Jabberwockey,† Calloo Callay is an expression of joy and excitement. Theme Power of Love Summary Abused boy goes to live with grumpy old man in the county because of war. Boy becom es happy, man becomes nice Willie Beech   is evacuated to stay with Mr Tom, where they bond after time. After time Mr Tom willingly adopts him. Quotes â€Å"He called me Dad, he whispered croakily into the darkness. â€Å"He called me Dad. † And, although he felt overwhelmed with happiness, the tears ran silently down his face. – Mr Tom (or Mr. Oakley)

Death and Absurdism in Camus’s The Stranger Essay

In his novel The Stranger1, Albert Camus gives expression to his philosophy of the absurd. The novel is a first-person account of the life of M. Meursault from the time of his mother’s death up to a time evidently just before his execution for the murder of an Arab. The central theme is that the significance of human life is understood only in light of mortality, or the fact of death; and in showing Meursault’s consciousness change through the course of events, Camus shows how facing the possibility of death does have an effect on one’s perception of life. The novel begins with the death of Meursault’s mother. Although he attends the funeral, he does not request to see the body, though he finds it interesting to think about the effects of heat and humidity on the rate of a body’s decay (8). It is evident that he is almost totally unaffected by his mother’s death – nothing changes in his life. In other words, her death has little or no real significance for him. When he hears Salamano, a neighbor, weeping over his lost dog (which has evidently died), Meursault thinks of his mother – but he is unaware of the association his mind has made. In fact, he chooses not to dwell on the matter but goes to sleep instead (50). It is when he is on the beach with Raymond Sintà ¨s and M. Masson and they confront two Arabs (who have given Raymond trouble) that Meursault first seems to think about the insignificance of any action – therefore of human existence. He has a gun and it occurs to him that he could shoot or not shoot and that it would come to the same thing (72). The loss of a life would have no significance – no affect on life as a whole; and the universe itself is apparently totally indifferent to everything. Here he implicitly denies the existence of God, and thus denies morality, as well as the â€Å"external† meaning (if it may be so distinguished from the internal or individual existential meaning) of life and dea th. (This latter, existential meaning is later affirmed, as we shall see.) Meursault kills one of the Arabs in a moment of confusion, partially out of self-defense, but does not regret it eve though it means going to prison and, ultimately, being executed. He has the fatalistic feeling that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"what’s done is done,† and later explains that he has never regretted anything because he has always been to absorbed by the present moment or by the immediate future to dwell on the past (127). In a sense, Meursault is always aware of the meaninglessness of all endeavors in the face of death: he has no ambition to advance socio-economically; he is indifferent about being friends with Raymond and about marrying Marie; etc. But this awareness is somehow never intense enough to involve self-awareness – that is, he never reflects on the meaning of death for him – until he is in prison awaiting execution. Of course, the â€Å"meaning† of another’s death is quite difference from the â€Å"meaning† of one’s own death. With the former, one no longer sees that person again; with the latter, one’s very consciousness, as far as we know, just ends – blit! – as a television picture ends when the set is switched off. Death marks all things equal, and equally absurd. And death itself is absurd in the sense that reason or the rational mind cannot deal with it: it is a foregone conclusion, yet it remains an unrealized possibility until some indeterminate future time. The â€Å"meaning† of death is not rational but, again, is existential – its implications are to be found not in abstraction but in the actuality of one’s life, the finality of each moment. Before his trial, Meursault passes the time in prison by sleeping, by reading over and over the newspaper story about the (unrelated) murder of a Czech, and by recreating a ment al picture of his room at home in complete detail, down to the scratches in the furniture. In this connection, it must be admitted that he is externally very sensitive and aware, despite his lack of self-understanding and emotional response. This is evidence by his detailed descriptions. He is especially sensitive to natural beauty – the beach, the glistening water, the shade, the reed music, swimming, making love to Marie, the evening hour he like so much, etc. He even says that if forced to live in a hollow tree truck, he would be content to watch the sky, passing birds, and clouds (95). After his trial (in which he is sentenced to be executed), he no longer indulges in his memories or passes the time in the frivolous way he was accustomed to spend Sundays at home. At first, he dwells on thoughts of escape. He cannot reconcile the contingency of his sentence (Why guilt? Why sentenced by a French court rather than a Chinese one? Why was the verdict read at eight pm rather than at five? etc.) with the mechanical certainty of  the process that leads inevitably to his death (137). When he gives up trying to find a loophole, he finds his mind ever returning either to the fear that dawn would bring the guards who would lead him to be executed, or to the hope that his appear will be granted. To try to distract himself from these thoughts, he forces himself to study the sky or to listen to the beating of his heart – but the changing light reminds him of the passing of time towards dawn, and he cannot imagine his heart ever stopping. In dwelling on the chance of an appeal, he is forced to consider the possibility of denial and thus of execution; therefore, he must face the fact of his death – whether it comes now or later. One he really, honestly admits death’s inevitability, he allows himself to consider the chance of a successful appeal – of being set free to live perhaps forth more y ears before dying. Now he begins to see the value of each moment of the life before death. Because of death, nothing matters – except being alive. The meaning, value, significance of life is only seen in light of death, yet most people miss it through the denial of death. The hope of longer life brings Meursault great joy. Perhaps to end the maddening uncertainty and thus intensify his awareness of death’s inevitability (therefore of the actuality of life), or, less likely, as a gesture of hopelessness, Meursault turns down his right to appeal (144). Soon afterwards, the prison chaplain insists on talking to him. Meursault admits his fear but denies despair and has no interest in the chaplain’s belie in an afterlife. He flies into rage, finally, at the chaplain’s persistence, for he realizes that the chaplain has not adequately assessed the human condition (death being the end of life) – or, if he has, the chaplain’s certainties have no meaning for Meursault and have not the real value of, say, a strand of a woman’s hair (151). Meursault, on the other hand, is absolutely certain about his own life and forthcoming death. His rush of anger cleanses him and empties him of hope, thus allowing him finally to open up — completely and for the last time — to the â€Å"benign indifference of the universe† (154). He realizes that he always been happy. The idea of death makes one aware of one’s life, one’s vital being – that which is impermanent and will one day end. When this vitality is appreciate, one feels free – for there is no urgency to perform some act that will cancel the possibility of death, seeing as though there is no such act. In this sense, all human activity is absurd, and the real freedom is to be aware of life in its actually and totally, of its beauty and its pain. Albert Camus’ The Stranger What if the past has no meaning and the only point in time of our life that really matters is that point which is happening at present. To make matters worse, when life is over, the existence is also over; the hope of some sort of salvation from a God is pointless. Albert Camus illustrates this exact view in The Stranger. Camus feels that one exists only in the world physically and therefore the presence or absence of meaning in one’s life is alone revealed through that event which he or she is experiencing at a particular moment. These thoughts are presented through Meursault, a man devoid of concern for social conventions found in the world in which he lives, and who finds his life deprived of physical pleasure–which he deems quite important–when unexpectedly put in prison. The opening line of the novel sets the tone for Meursault’s dispassion towards most things. The novel is introduced with the words: â€Å"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know† (3). Although the uncertainty originates with an ambiguous telegram, it seems that the ton†¦ †¦ middle of paper †¦ †¦ or their emotions in general. He does not follow ‘conventional’ social beliefs nor does he believe in God, nor salvation. Meursault however loves his life. It is a pure love derived from enjoying his existence on a day-to-day basis, rarely looking back and never looking forward. His love is not dependent on doing what society or some religion has deemed correct, but on what he feels he wants to do despite what most would consider common. In Albert Camus’ â€Å"The Stranger† the â€Å"story of an ordinary man who gets drawn into a senseless murder† is told. Taking place in Algeria this man, Meursault, is constantly in a climate of extreme warmth, as are all the inhabitants therein. The sun, the source of light and the cause of this warmth, is thus a vital and normal part of his life. It brings warmth and comfort yet it can also cause pain and sickness. Throughout most of his life Meursault has lived with the conflicting forces of the sun and light, as a friend and foe. However in Chapter 6 these forces become unbalanced and the sun becomes an aggressor causing Meurault physical pain and jolting him into violent action. Although the sun becomes increasingly aggressive as the novel transpires, in the beginning its forces were balanced causing some good and some bad effects. The most evidence of the sun as a foe is found during Meursault’s mother’s wake and funeral. During the wake Meursault is constantly â€Å"blinded† by the bright light. This combined with â€Å"the whiteness of the room† â€Å"[makes his] eyes hurt.† However, this same light also creates a â€Å"glare on the white walls†¦.making [him] drowsy† and allowing him respite from the knowledge of his mother’s death. So, all at once light was good as well as bad for Meursault. Again, during the funeral â€Å"with the sun bearing down† the heat was â€Å"inhuman and oppressive,† causing Meursault great physical discomfort. Yet, in the same token, the heat is also â€Å"making it hard for [Meursault] to †¦think straight† thereby allowing him an escape from his mo ther’s death. Not all of the sun’s effects have a flip side however; throughout the novel â€Å"the sun [does Meursault] a lot of good,† by warming him and making him feel alive. Thus, although both positive and negative situations come from the†¦ Work Cited Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York: Vintage International, 1989.

Summary of ONE article for Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Summary of ONE article for Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example He also mentions the anti-immigration groups, residents on the border, and business owners who have resisted the bishops and any treatment that resembles â€Å"amnesty.† Kavanaugh’s piece tries to culminate with his argument that a nation that identifies itself as â€Å"Judeo-Christian and humane† should follow biblical teachings, higher law, and the courageous example of leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. in challenging unjust laws. Admitting that unrestrained immigration would help nobody, Kavanaugh exhorts the country to move constructively towards legal status to anyone who contributes to other people’s common good. He further suggests a radically new solution to this problem. He suggests that the country needs a citizen panel for the review of an immigrant’s legal status. He finally concludes by stating that turning away undocumented immigrants is an immoral act whose motive is self-interest

Finance accounting assignment on earning management

Finance accounting on earning management - Assignment Example The second part of the paper would answer questions relating to impairment of assets. It will involve a critique of the circumstances under which impairment is declared. It will also explain when companies must perform impairment reviews and examine a practical case of impairment my Peugeot-Citroen and Vodafone. A. Managers' Incentive for Earning Management. â€Å"Earning management occurs when managers use judgement in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reporting accounting numbers† (Rowen and Yaari, 2009: 26). This implies that earning management is centred around the fact that a firm's directors and managers might want to present information in a way and manner that is not true nor accurate. Earning management is sometimes called disclosure management and creative accounting. It includes the use of approaches and systems to disclose accounting information in a way and manner that meets a defined end or objective (Alistair, 2008). Managers often have targets that are predetermined for them by the board of directors. This implies that they would have to work hard and do whatever is legally acceptable and possible to meet those objectives and standards. In the process of attaining the given standards and objectives of financial statements, most managers end up putting together financial statements in a creative manner. In other words, they do everything possible and practicable to balance the accounts so that it reflects the ends or the final figure that is expected of the management of an organization. In most situations, earning management is done to smoothen profits and ensure that the earning of the company in a given period is forged in a way and manner that it is in line with targets. This presents a different reality of the earnings of the period and this defeats the purpose of financial statements and financial reporting of capturing the economic realities in an objective and complete manner. These managers therefore manage their earning and disclosures in a way that favours them and enables them to appear to be meeting the end that they have in mind. In a research conducted by Cheng and Warfield (2005) they identified that the main objective for earning management amongst manager includes three interlinked ideas and concepts. They include: 1. Earning management incentives 2. Future manager trading. 3. Enhancement of organisational position. The first idea is that earning management incentive allows managers to attain the favour of people who set targets for them. This is because in most cases, managers are judged and assessed on the basis of the attainment of results and targets. In reality, manager's worth is identified by how well he meets the financial and economic targets that are set by the people at the top of corporate governance. There is therefore the desire or expectation to use creative techniques to ensure that they attain financial targets. This leads to pressure to use various loopholes and techniques in accounting concepts to present a favourable position. The second idea is that managers often get incentives that are tied to their performance.

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Essay

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Essay Example As commonly perceived, atomic bombs were intended as a deterrent to the German threat, but ended up as an offensive weapon of mass destruction against Japan in order to force an unconditional surrender and to end WWII (Zuberi 623).This paper explores the horrors of bombings and whether it was justifiable to use atomic bomb against Japan during WWII. The morning of August 6, 1945, U.S. Air Force B-29 bomber dropped bomb on Hiroshima, the primary target, at 8:15 A.M. Aircrafts pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets, named it after his mother, Enola Gay (Langley 8-10). United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, within a short time span to three days. The bombings killed more than 115,000 people (possibly 250,000) and injured 100,000(Bernstein 135). Later, thousands died because of injuries and radiation exposure. The bomb was called Little Boy that exploded about 2,000 feet above the city. Within fraction of a second, the bomb produced enormous fireball and temperature underneath that fireball reached 5,400 0F (2,982 0C). The flash of heat caused instant death of those who where in half a mile. Their skin was parched to carbon and their internal organs boiled away. Flying birds turned into ashes in midair. Even the heat caused severe burns on exposed skin of the people who were at a distance of 2 miles from the centre of the blast. At the same time, blinding flash of light worked like a giant camera. This light was three thousand times more powerful than sunlight which bleached the surface of the whole city. People who looked directly at the flash suffered from permanent damage to their eyes. After extreme heat and light, Hiroshima experienced the shockwaves caused by the explosion. From the centre, these shockwaves shot outward at a speed of 2 miles per second (Langley 12-15). This was the first atomic bomb used in combat. The consequences led Japanese government to announce unconditional

Business models group project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business models group project - Essay Example This argument indicates that electronic commerce emerged a long time ago, but it was known to only few industries. This also means that electronic commerce has spread around the world in recent times because of the development of the internet through the World Wide Web (Funk 10). Therefore, organizations should embrace the internet because it is the most significant platform that enables them to conduct business electronically between themselves and consumers and also between them and other businesses. According to the author, the development of the internet enabled electronic commerce to grow by 1000% annually in the years between 1996 and 1997 (Timmers 1). This growth rate is so huge and it indicates that the internet has had a massive effect on the ways in which organizations conduct their businesses. The article also argues that the research that was conducted by Data monitor in 1997 indicated that by the year 2002, around 630,000 organizations in the United States and other 245,000 in the European Union would be conducting all of their functions electronically (Timmers 1). This means that if these statistics were expected to take effect in 2000, in the current times, the organizations that conduct business electronically exceed this number both in the United States and in the European Union. The author has, however, not indicated the statistics for other parts of the world such as Asia, Africa, and Australia. These regions also have organizations that conduct their functions online, and it means that the author did not research on them efficiently. In this section of the article, the author classifies various business models into groups. Timmers begins this section by defining a business model as a design of the flow of services and products in an organization (2). The design also explains the roles of the actors who take part in the flow of the goods and services. According to the author, the

Parkinsons Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Parkinsons Disease - Essay Example According to the essay "Parkinson’s disease" findings, usually the patient experience â€Å"resting† tremor. The tremor, however, may disappear when the patient moves voluntarily and when he sleeps. Other symptoms include rigidity of cogwheel type which is due to stiffness and increased muscle tone (Miller & Stein 2000). What happens with rigidity is that the signal coming from the brain is disturbed thus the muscle remains tensed and contracted. As a result, the patient may feel pain when he moves. The muscle also becomes weak because the opposing muscle is relaxed with the same altered brain signal. The patient may also experience bradykinesia characterized by slow automatic movement (Stein & Miller 2000). The movement could be unpredictable. At one time the movement is easy but other times it could be difficult needing assistance. This makes the simple activity like dressing or washing takes time for a patient. Stooped posture is also evident with Parkinson patients characterized by leaning forward and backward. Having this kind of instability may lead to impaired balance and coordination which might cause fall or bumps. As the disease progresses, the patient may also develop shuffling propulsive gait. He may also have the relaxed arm swinging while walking with the bent trunk. Thus a Parkinson patient is said to resemble a car without a break (Hladysz n. d). All of the syndrome effects is a result of the overstimulation of the postural muscle of the neck trunk, and upper limbs.

[Management Accounting] Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Essay

[Management Accounting] Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of activity-based costing vs volume based costing system - Essay Example The system is also accurate because it identifies products and then assigns to them direct and indirect costs. This means that ABC identifies the cost of producing various products. This then enables companies to determine the products that are highly profitable and those that produce low returns (Kaplan, & Anderson, 2005). Organizations then decide to produce the profitable products in large quantities and the less profitable ones in low or no quantities. ABC system helps managers in forecasting demand for their products and predicting sales using the company’s capacity. The capacity of an organization refers to the ability of employees and machines to produce goods of a certain quantity. Organizations compare the products that employees and machines produce in a day and those that consumers purchase on the same period. If the company sells all the products that it produces, it discovers that its demand is higher than its capacity (Drury, 2012). If consumption is less than production, companies, are able to tell that the level of demand is below its capacity. Organizations then determine the amount of output to produce using the comparisons. ABC system is vital in identifying wasteful products and ensuring resources are used productively. According to Kaplan and Anderson (2005), activity-based costing system allows managers to eliminate costs spent on non-value adding activities. This provides greater visibility into business processes and operational cost drivers. Improving information visibility also enables cost managers to deploy quality-related initiatives by identifying and eliminating poor quality activities together and their cost drivers (Gilbert, 2007). This is beneficial to the company as it increases efficiency and profitability because firms concentrate on profitable activities and products. Setting an activity-based system is costly and time-consuming. Extra costs are caused by the need to hire the services of a consultant with

Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 41

Writer's choice - Essay Example Franz Ferdinand was the archduke in Austria- Hungary. He murdered by Gavrilo Princip, who was from Serbia. He was ordered to complete this mission by Black Hand; a secret military group. The rest were primary causes of the war but were not immediate. One of them was militarism. Britain had an immense army that Germany envied. They began to compete towards building larger armies that meant increased arms and weapons. Need for prestige and power, the more one nation built their army, the more the other governments felt need to increase theirs. In the long run, civilian nations began to suffer heavy taxation to cater for the militants. Creation of alliances. This was supposed to bring a sense of security. In any case of war, those countries were expected to protect each other. The alliances were a threat to cause a world war if any country confronted one of the allied countries will cause all the rest to come forward. Imperialism was mobilizing smaller nations a ruling them. Gathering colonies was a way of increasing a nation’s wealth. Global competition for this colonies resulted to major confrontations and chaos (Bentley and Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters. Volume I, From the Beginning to 1500: a brief global history). We care about the World War 1 because after the war; women gained more rights in the society than before. They were able to take better roles in the community and do things they couldnt. More job opportunities were created which automatically resulted to improved technology e.g. guns, airplanes, etc. After all, the war had its benefits that are very useful to date

Hidden Job Market Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hidden Job Market - Coursework Example The â€Å"Push† tactic is an effort to reach out to the job market and solidify your presence amongst employers and organizations of your interest not as a job seeker but as a student, volunteer, business partner or mentee. Volunteerism is a very effective tried and tested way to go about it. Often, large organizations are involved in arranging speeches, recruitment drives, competitions, sales and marketing drives, and discussion forums. This serves to achieve several objectives of not only building a strong network but also a chance to learn about the business of different organizations that can come handy while interviews and also a chance to make a great impression on those you are helping out. The trick is to carefully and purposefully exhibit your qualities and at the same time hint you are actively looking for employment. Another strategy can be to be constantly involved in small projects and initiatives with different companies and employers. It is a great opportunity t o add some solid experience and exposure on your resumes while at the same time making a position for yourself in the company. The projects can range from freelance content writing to surveys, from marketing reports to finance projects. The idea of â€Å"Pull† is to bring the hidden job market to you and this can be achieved by branding and marketing yourself most effectively. As Kevin Donlin says job hunt is nothing but a marketing campaign (2007). The first step is to design an outstanding resume and focus it around your key skills and area of interest. The second is to prepare a set of cover letters that are tailor made for every job genre you are interested in. But these cover letters should be treated as more like sales letters with personalized greetings, your skills proven by numbers and facts, and finally an offer that would blow the employer off and set you apart from other candidates like claiming to save the company millions of

Bees Disappearance Essay Example for Free

Bees Disappearance Essay A new federal report blames a combination of problems for a mysterious and dramatic disappearance of U. S. honeybees since 2006. The intertwined factors cited include a parasitic mite, multiple viruses, bacteria, poor nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and pesticides. The multiple causes make it harder to do something about whats called colony collapse disorder, experts say. The disorder has caused as much as one-third of the nations bees to just disappear each winter since 2006. Bees, especially honeybees, are needed to pollinate crops. The federal report, issued Thursday by the Agriculture Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, said the biggest culprit is the parasitic mite varroa destructor, calling it the single most detrimental pest of honeybees. The problem has also hit bee colonies in Europe, where regulators are considering a ban on a type of pesticides known as neonicotinoids that some environmental groups blame for the bee collapse. The U. S. report cites pesticides, but near the bottom of the list of factors. And federal officials and researchers advising them said the science doesnt justify a ban of the pesticides yet. May Berenbaum, a top bee researcher from the University of Illinois, said in an interview that she was extremely dubious that banning the pesticide would have any effect on bee health. She participated in a large conference of scientists that the government brought together last year to figure out whats going on, and the new report is the result of that conference. Berenbaum said more than 100 different chemicals — not just the pesticides that may be banned in Europe — have been found in bee colonies. Scientists find it hard to calculate how they react in different dosages and at different combinations, she said. Some of these chemicals harm the immune systems of bees or amplify viruses, said Penn State University bee expert Diana Cox-Foster. At a news conference Thursday, Sonny Ramaswamy, a top USDA official, said the scientific consensus is that there are multiple factors and you cant parse any one out to be the smoking gun. USDA bee researcher Jeff Pettis also cited modern farming practices that often leave little forage area for bees. Dave Gaulson of the University of Stirling in Scotland, who conducted a study last year that implicated the chemical, said he cant disagree with the overall conclusions of the U.  S. government report. However, he said it could have emphasized pesticides more. The environmental group, Pesticide Action Network North America blasted the federal government for not following Europes lead in looking at a ban of certain pesticides. Pollinators, like honeybees, are crucial to the U. S. food supply. About $30 billion a year in agriculture depends on their health, said Ramaswamy. Besides making honey, honeybees pollinate more than 90 flowering crops. Among them are a variety of fruits and vegetables: apples, nuts, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, citrus fruit and cranberries. About one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination. It affects virtually every American whether they realize it or not, said EPA acting administrator Bob Perciasepe. Zac Browning, a fourth-generation commercial beekeeper who has hives in Idaho, North Dakota and California, said the nation is on the brink of not having enough bees to pollinate its crops. University of Maryland entomologist David Inouye, who was not part of the federal report, said he agrees that there are multiple causes. Its not a simple situation. If it were one factor we would have identified it by now, he said. Inouye, president-elect of the Ecological Society of America, said the problems in Europe and United States may be slightly different. In America, bee hives are trucked from farm to farm to pollinate large tracts of land and that may help spread the parasites and disease, as well as add stress to the colonies, while in Europe they stay put so those issues may not be as big a factor. At the news conference, Berenbaum said theres no single solution to the U. S. bee problem: Were not really well equipped or even used to fighting on multiple fronts.

The Present Business Strategy Of Mcdonalds Commerce Essay

The Present Business Strategy Of Mcdonalds Commerce Essay Macro environment includes social and demographic, legal and political process, technological, and environmental factors (Kotler, 2003). The forces in Macro environment have a major impact at the level of industry. Macro environment refers to some external factors which are uncontrollable and effects in decision making of any organisation. Sometimes business has to change their business strategy in the change of macro environment. This change is obvious for large organisation when they are expanding their business nationally and internationally in the line of new operations. In business term it is called PESTEL analysis. In 1890 and early 1990 PEST forces was widely used to identify the future business trends. (John Kew, and John Stredwick, p1). Gerry Johnson etl (p54) also emphasizes that the PEST tools can be used to identify the future trends of business and the impact on organization. As we know that business is continually reacting to changes in the environments in which they operate. This is because a PEST analysis of Political, Economical, Social, and Technological factors will reveal many of the external influences on a business performance Therefore, a PEST analysis is considered as a useful tool for analysing a business and in particular understanding market growth or decline. (Robert J. And Chapman, p-118). PESTEL Factors Political Local, National, Global policies Administrative burden Tax , tax, Tax Political influence, pressure Economical Inflation ,unemployment ,trade GDP, consumption, investment, growth Deregulation Monetary policy, fiscal policy Globalization Social Demographic (national and local)- age, gender, race. Households, education, health Income distribution , expenditure Life style and work, leisure balance Social responsibility and business ethics Technological Information technology, digital electronics New systematic materials New energy sources Micro technologies Biotechnology Cost/benefits, implementation Legal Employment law: health, data protection, race, sex, disability, employment rights, employment relations. Customer law: description of goods, sale of goods, safety of goods Corporate law: company law, fair trading, competition law, surveillance. Eco-environmental Global warming population unsustainable development methodologies and process- farming, nuclear power stake holder power, influence The Impact of Economic and Social environment on McDonalds Corporation: Economic factors All businesses are affected by national and global economic factors. National and global interest rate and fiscal policy will be set around economic conditions. The climate of the economy dictates how consumers, suppliers and other organisational stakeholders such as suppliers and creditors behave within society. Economic factors affect both the business organization and its consumers and customer irrespectively. Increase of interest rate affects a firms cost of capital; exchange rate affects the cost of exporting goods and supply and price of imported goods in an economy. Inflation may provoke higher wage demands from employees and cost. Business will need to understand how to cope with the changes of economical factors. McDonalds collaborates with suppliers to obtain fresh, high quality ingredient for their products and at the same time reducing the cost of food. So dealing with the international suppliers the McDonalds face a lot of economic variables such as currency exchange. An economy undergoing recession will have high unemployment, low spending power and low stakeholder confidence. Conversely a booming or growing economy will have low unemployment, high spending power and high stakeholder confidence. In recent years fast food industry has experienced a fatal affect due to the credit crunch, and we can see the reflection on changing of the menu price. Also the minimum wages of hourly paid employee has been increased which increase the company cost. In the case of McDonalds corporation changing the economical factors could not affect the company strategy. The company that is more recession resistant. They served an extra two million customers a month in 2008 compared with last year. They also offer 4000 new job in these tougher trading time. The UK inflation Rate Annual inflation rates 12 month percentage change The figure above shows the in UK the inflation rate in June, at 1.8 per cent in 2009. We can see that there was also a large downward pressure from restaurants and hotels where prices rose by less than a year ago. In 2008 the global comparable sales increase 6.9%, revenues increased to a record $23.5 billion, and earnings per share rose 17 and 15 percent respectively. In 2009 global comparable sales growth t 3.8%, earning per share rose by 9% respectively. This scenario proves that the company has achieved a satisfactory level success because of better menus, extending the opening hours, renovate restaurants and technology. The economical growth indicates that the recession does not affect the sales growth of McDonald because of their product pricing strategy and the focus on customer needs. Social factors The changes of social factors demand to change the management strategy of the company. Population changes are the one of the vital factors which has a direct impact on organizations. Changes in the structure of a population will affect the supply and demand of goods and services within an economy. Falling birth rates will result in decreased demand and greater competition as the number of consumers fall. Conversely an increase in the global population and world food shortage predictions are currently leading to calls for greater investment in food production. Therefore, organisations must be able to offer products and services that aim to complement and benefit peoples lifestyle and behaviour. If organisations do not respond to changes in society they will lose market share and demand for their product or service. Social culture like values, attitudes, and believes differ from country to country even within the same geographical area can be varied. Social forces affect our attitudes, interests and opinions. Within the UK peoples attitudes are changing towards their diet and health. As a result the UK is seeing an increase in the number of people joining fitness clubs and a massive growth for the demand of organic food. Last year McDonalds was alleged by socially. McDonalds is food is critically commenting because of obesity among the young and children. And other diseases like cardiovascular and cholesterol. The obesity of young people has become a social problem. They add some new food in their menu like, salad, premium salad, fruit beg, and carrot sticks. Considering the future of the business the company and the convenience of customers McDonalds Corporation has taken some initiatives for putting nutritional information for all menu items on the reverse of their tray liners and printing nutritional labelling on the packaging of its food items. The McDonalds Happy meals contain less than 35 percent of calories from fat and 600 calories. PART- B To illustrate the question the Part-B we need to understand and emphasis on several thing which help to make a strong business strategy like market research. Market research can provide authentic the information which will be present strength for the organization and help to avoid future environmental threat. In the competitive business markets McDonalds faces competition from other businesses. Additionally, economic, legal and technological changes, social factors, the retail environment and many other elements affect McDonalds success in the market. To identify the business position and its strengths and weaknesses need to do market research. Market research identifies these factors and anticipates how they will affect peoples willingness to buy. Market research considers everything that affects buying decisions. It can be the psychological factors or product itself. As the economy and social attitudes changes customers buying patterns. McDonalds corporation needs to identify whether the numbers of targeted customers are growing or shrinking and whether their buying habits will be changed in the future. In some cases psychological factors are important, e.g. what image does the product give or how the consumer feels when purchasing it. These additional psychological factors are significantly important to the customer. They can be even more important than the products physical benefits. Through marketing, McDonalds establishes a prominent position in the minds of customers. The influence of Macro environment especially on global business organization is significant to change its business strategy and the change of its operations. Macro environment also hold the control of future business decision making. The influences of economic and social environment are the major factor for a business organisation to change its business infrastructure. In recent years the fast food industry has faced a fatal an economic recession and still it has an impact on some business organisation. The overall sales goes down worldwide, some organization could not create new job opportunity at all. If we look at the history of McDonalds Corporations we will find that that in 2008 the global comparable sales increase 6.9%, revenues increased to a record $23.5 billion, and earnings per share rose 17 and 15 percent respectively. During the time of recession the company was operating their business successfully. Also they created 4000 new job opportunity where as other company has to cut down their employee to reduce their cost. For example, McDonalds retained a 33% stake in the Pret A Manger. Economy is the vital factor for technological advancement of a country. If the country is economically stable than they invent new technology an introduce it to facilitate the business activities internally and externally. McDonalds corporation is economically table and doing their business in developed countries and the choice of the customer of those countries, taste and life style, behaviour has been considered consciously to reach the success of the business. The organization has already used technology on till operation and production. In UK restaurant handheld communication devices are already being used to take orders and minimise the queuing times in 500 of McDonalds UK restaurants. They have a plan to use in some 561 drive-thru restaurants BT Open zone Wi-Fi hotspots to attract travelling business people. In the US, wireless communication system in 400 restaurants in four cities attracted new, mainly older users. Touch screen TVs will be piloted in 10 restaurants during the first quarter in 2008. Internet terminals and PlayStations are likely to be introduced this year. McDonalds corporation introduce the modern technology to create more customers and uphold their branding image even in the fatal recession time. To create a more stable position in business market In January 2008, McDonalds started verifying its prices across the country depending on local economic conditions. In this the company increased some food prices in order to compensate for higher wholesale food costs. McDonalds Corporation is also socially concern. As their business operation is linked each other they can focus on local customer choice. To attract the customer and make McDonalds more appealing they are refurbishing and decorating its restaurants. Considering the local tastes they have redesigned 2000 restaurant with casual dining and coffee shop. New staff uniforms are being introduced in 2008, designed by Bruce Oldfield. The refurbishment and creating new image of McDonalds has been possible because of good turnover of business. McDonalds is most popular recognised brand in fast food world. When they intrude in a new business market in new country they must comply with the government policy, keep pace with the political unrest and other political barriers. As McDonalds business strategy is to focus on customer needs and satisfy their needs, they try to provide their best service according to the taste, choice of the people of the country. They also consider the religious value norms and customer attitudes of the customer. For example, in some Muslim country they serve Halal food to the customer. McDonalds void the plastic condiments beg and committed to use environment friendly packaging and recycle it is good decision to protect the balance of environment. In 2008, McDonalds announced that of its Sheffield restaurants have been using a biomass trial that had cut its waste and carbon footprint by half in the area. In addition, in Europe, McDonalds has been recycling vegetable grease by converting it fuel for their diesel trucks. Conclusion The influence of Macro Environment in a specific business organisation is a continuous matter and thus it is obvious that McDonalds restaurant is within its effect in marketing decision making. Despite this tough environment, McDonalds delivered another exceptional of growth, posting strong sales and increased market share around the world. In 2009, global comparable sales increased 3.8 percent. Earnings per share for the year increased 9 percent to $41.11, while consolidated operating income increased 6 percent. According The CEO of McDonalds corporation gladly said there is nothing profound about our plan to win. It essentially identifies the five core divers of our industry-leading owner/ operators, world-class suppliers and talented, experienced employees around initiatives that drive results. Following the marketing strategy of McDonalds it is highly visible that economical and social factors played significant role among the other Macro environmental components. McDonalds has successfully overcome the economic recession and social obligation and gained technological advancement. Though recently government has become strict to provide permission the marketing of fast food restaurant because of the health related issues but McDonalds Corporation has overcome those issues and boost their business in the competitive business market.

Principal Component Analysis for Numerals

Principal Component Analysis for Numerals Recognition of Off-Line Handwritten Telugu Numerals Based On Principal Component Analysis Manubolu Sreenivasulu, Prasenjit Kumar Das Abstract India is a multi-lingual multi-language country but there is not much work towards off-line handwritten character recognition of Indian languages [1]. In this paper we have proposed principal component analysis (PCA) for feature extraction and used Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) based model for classification and recognition of off-line handwritten numerals of telugu script. Principal component analysis is one of the important method for identifying patterns in data and expressing the data to highlight their similarities and differences. In high dimensional data it is difficult to identify patterns, where the luxury of graphical representation is not available, principal component analysis is a good method for analysing data. The performance of the Probabilistic Neural Network classifier was computed in terms of training performance and classification accuracies. Probabilistic Neural Network gives fast and accurate classification and is a promising model for classification of the characters [9]. Keywords   PCA, PNN, Classification and Recognition, Handwritten Characters I. INTRODUCTION Character recognition (CR) is the important area in image processing and pattern recognition fields. The various applications of character recognition are includes library automation, banks, defense organizations, reading aid for the blind, post offices, language processing and multi-media design. Hence the research in character recognition is very popular. To recognize Hand-Written Characters (HWC) is an easy task for humans, but for a computer it is an extremely difficult job. This is mainly due to the vast differences or the impreciseness associated with handwritten patterns written by different individuals. Machine recognition involves the ability of a computer to receive input from sources such as paper and other documents, photographs, touch screens and other devices, which is an ongoing research area. Handwritten character recognition (HWCR) can be divided into two categories, namely, Offline Handwritten Character recognition where the image is sensed â€Å"off-line† fr om a part of a document and â€Å"Online† Handwritten Character recognition where the movements of the pen/tip can be recorded â€Å"on-line† as used in the pen based computer screen systems. Off-line recognition usually requires imperfect pre-processing techniques prior to feature extraction and recognition stages [3]. Telugu is the most popular script in India. It is the official language of the southern Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu script is closely related to the Kannada script. Telugu is a syllabic language. Similar to most languages of India, each symbol in Telugu script represents a complete syllable. Officially, there are 10 numerals, 18 vowels, 36 consonants, and three dual symbols [1]. There are five major stages in the HCR problem: Image pre-processing, segmentation, feature extraction, training and recognition and post processing. Several works had been done on feature extraction for character recognition. The feature extraction method includes Template matching, Identification of similarities and differences, Histograms, Zoning, Graph description etc. II. DATA COLLECTION AND PREPROCESSING Data collection for the experiment has been done from different individuals. Currently we are developing data set for Telugu. Earlier we had collected 250 Telugu numeral samples from 50 different writers. Writers were provided with a plain A4 sheet and each writer asked to write Telugu numerals from 0 to 9 at one time. Recently, we have again collected 150 Telugu numerals by 30 different writers. In this paper the data set size of 300 Telugu numerals is used. The database is totally unconstrained and has been created for validating the recognition system. The collected documents are scanned using the Canon-Lide scanner jet, which is usually a low noise and good quality image. The digitized images are stored as binary images in the BMP format. A sample of Telugu handwritten numerals from the data set is shown from figure 1. Figure 1: Handwritten Telugu Numeral Samples Pre-processing: Figure 2: Pre-processing Pre-processing includes the steps that are necessary to bring the input data into an acceptable form for feature extraction. The initial data is depending on the data acquisition type, is subjected to a number of preliminary processing stages. The pre-processing stage involves noise reduction, slant correction, size normalization and thinning [2]. For noise removal we used median filter. For better understanding the function of median filter, we added the salt and pepper noise artificially and removing it using median filter. In character classification/recognition correcting the skew (baseline deviation from the horizontal direction) and the slant (average near-vertical strokes deviation from the vertical direction) is an important pre-processing step. The slant and slope are introduced by writing styles. Both corrections can reduce handwritten word shape variability and help the later operations such as feature extraction, classification and recognition [4]. Normalization is required as the size of the numeral varies from person to person and even with the same person from time to time. Thinning provides a reduction in data size; it extracts the shape information of the characters. Thinning is the process of reducing the thickness of each line of pattern to just a single pixel [5]. Here, we have used the morphology based thinning algorithm for better symbol representation. Thus, the reduced pattern is known as the skeleton and is close to the medial axis, which preserves the topology of the image. Figure 5 shows the steps involved in our method as far as pre-processing is considered. III. FEATURE EXTRACTION USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS In this paper, the principal component analysis (PCA) is being used as an extraction algorithm of features. The PCA is a very successful techniques which has been utilized in image compression and recognition. The sole purpose of PCA is to decrease the big dimensions of data [9]. In this way we can identify patterns in data, and express the data in such a way as to present their differences and similarities. Because the patterns in data is hard to find in high dimension data, where the usefulness of graphical representation is not present, principal component analysis is a very good tool for analysing the data. The other advantages of PCA is that when you have found the patterns in data, and then you compress the data, i.e. by reducing the dimensions, with negligible loss of information [6]. Algorithm Step 1: Get input as pre-processed image   Step 2: Subtract the mean In order for the PCA to work correctly, it is needed for you to subtract the mean from each of the dimensions of data. The subtracted mean is the average in each dimension. Step 3: Calculate the covariance matrix The data is 2D, the covariance matrix will be 22.the definition for the covariance matrix for a set of data with n dimensional is: Cn x n = (ci,j, ci,j = cov(Dimi,Dimj)) Step 4: Compute eigenvectors and eigenvalues  of the covariance matrix Because the covariance matrix is square, we are able to calculate the eigenvalues and eigenvectors for this matrix. The eigenvectors and eigenvalues will give us useful information about our data. Step 5: Component choosing and creating a  feature vector In this step the notion of reduced dimensionality and data compression comes into it.When you look at the eigenvalues and eigenvectors from the previous section, you will be able to notice that the eigen values are quite not equal values. The fact is that the eigenvector with the highest eigenvalue is the main component of the data set. In fact the eigenvector with the larges eigenvalue was the one that pointed down the middle of the data. It is very important relationship between the dimensions of data. Generally, when the eigenvectors are found from the covariance matrix, the next step is to order the eigenvalue from highest to the lowest. This will give you the components in a very significant order. Now it is required to form a feature vector, that is just a name for a matrix of vectors. It is constructed by taking the eigenvectors that you want to keep from the eigenvectors list, and creating a matrix with those eigenvectors in the columns. Feature Vector = (eig1 eig2 eig3 .. eign) Step 6: Deriving the new data set It is the last step in principle component analysist. When we have choosed the components or the eigenvectors, that we want to keep in our data and create a feature vector, we would take the transpose of that vector and will multiply it on the left of the true data set, transposed. Final Data=Row Feature VectorXRow Data Adjust Here the Row Feature Vector is the matrix of the eigenvectors in the columns transposed so that the eigenvectors will be in the rows, with the most important eigenvector at the top, and the Row Data Adjust will be z wiullthe mean-adjusted data transposed, ie. data items will be in each column, with each row holding a dimension which is separate[6]. IV. CLASSIFICATION AND RECOGNITION USING PRABABILISTIC NEURAL NETWORK Probabilistic neural networks (PNN) can be utilized for problems of classification. PNN is adopted for it has many advantages. Its training speed is many times faster than a BP network. PNN can approach a Bayes optimal result under certain easily met conditions [7]. The most important advantage of PNN is that training is easy and instantaneous. Weights are not â€Å"trained† but assigned. Existing weights will never be alternated but only new vectors are inserted into weight matrices when training. So it can be used in real-time. Since the training and running procedure can be implemented by matrix manipulation, the speed of PNN is very fast. The network classifies input vector into a particular class since that class has the highest probability to be correct. In this research paper, the PNN is of three layers: the Radial Basis Layer, the Input layer and the Competitive Layer. Radial Basis Layer calculates vector distances between input vector and row weight vectors in weight matrix. Those distances were scaled by Radial Basis Function not in a linear fashion. Then the Competitive Layer will find the shortest distance among them, and will then find the training pattern which is near to the input pattern depending on their distance. The network structure is illustrated in Figure 3. The symbols and notations are adopted as used in the book Neural Network Design [9]. These symbols and notations are also used by MATLAB Neural Network Toolbox. Dimensions of arrays are marked under their names. Input Radial Basis Layer Competitive Layer Q x R P Q x 1 R x 1 n a d c Q x 1Q x 1 K x 1 K x 1 K x Q R Q x 1 Q K Figure 3: Network Structure 1) Input Layer: The input vector, denoted as p, is presented as the vertical bar in Figure 3. Its dimension is R Ãâ€" 1. 2) Radial Basis Layer: In Radial Basis Layer, the vector distances between input vector p and the weight vector made of each row of weight matrix W are calculated. Here, the vector distance is defined as the dot product between two vectors [10]. Assume the dimension of W is QÃâ€"R. The dot product between p and the i-th row of W produces the i-th element of the distance vector ||W−p||, whose dimension is QÃâ€"1, as shown in Figure 3. The minus symbol, â€Å"−† indicates that it is the distance between vectors. The transfer function in PNN has built into a distance criterion with respect to a center. In this paper, it is defined as radbas (n) = Each element of n is substituted into Eq. 1 and produces corresponding element of a, the output vector of Radial Basis Layer. The i-th element of a can be represented as ai = radbas(||wi-p||.*bi) Where Wi is the vector made of the i-th row of W and bi is the i-th element of bias vector b. 3) Some characteristics of Radial Basis Layer: The i-th element of a equals to 1 if the input p is identical to the ith row of input weight matrix W. A basis neuron which is radial along with a weight vector near to the input vector p will produce a value close to 1 and then its output weights in the competitive layer will pass their values to the competitive function. It is also possible that several elements of a are close to 1 since the input pattern is close to several training patterns. 4) Competitive Layer: There is no bias in Competitive layer. In Competitive Layer, the vector a is firstly multiplied with layer weight matrix M, producing an output vector d. The competitive function, denoted as C in Figure 3, produces 1 corresponding to the largest element of d, and 0’s elsewhere. The output vector of competitive function is denoted as c. The index of 1 in c is the number of numeral that the system can classify [9]. V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The data set was divided into two separate data sets, the training data set and the testing data set. The training data set was used to train the network, whereas the testing data set was used to verify the accuracy and the effectiveness of the trained network for the classification of characters. .The PNN was tested in more than 350 samples of telugu numerals and we have obtained an average recognition rate of 97%. Table 1 shows the performance of PNN. Number of Samples PNN 15 96.3% 50 96.8% 100 97.7% 125 97.6% Table 1: Recognition Rate in Percentage VI. CONCLUSION In this paper the PCA for feature extraction and the PNN for classification and recognition have been implemented. The performance of Probabilistic Neural Network classifier was calculated in the terms of classification accuracies and training performance. Probabilistic Neural Network gives fast and accurate classification and is a promising tool for classification of the characters. REFERENCES U. Pal1, T. Wakabayashi2, N. Sharma1 and F. Kimura2, â€Å"Handwritten Numeral Recognition of Six Popular Indian Scripts†, Manubolu Sreenivasulu, Prasenjit Kumar Das, Mr. Rishi Mathur, â€Å"Numeral Recognition of Four Scripts: Bengali-Assamese, Gujarati, Oriya, Nepali†, First International Conference on Innovative Advancements in Engineering and Technology (IAET), 2014. Panyam Narahari Sastry, Ramakrishnan Krishnan,â€Å"Isolated Telugu Palm Leaf Character Recognition Using Radon Transform – A Novel Approach†, 2012 World Congress on Information and Communication Technologies, 978-1-4673-4805-8/12/2012 IEEE. Jian-xiong Dong and Dominique Ponson and Adam KrzyËâ„ ¢zak and Ching Y.Suen,â€Å"Cursive word skew/slant corrections based on Radon transform†. Rafael C. Gonzalez, Richard E.woods and Steven L Eddins, â€Å" Digital Image Processing using MATLAB†, Pearson Education, Dorling Kindersley,South Asia,2004 Lindsay I Smith,â€Å"A tutorial on Principal Components Analysis†, February 26, 2002. D.F. Specht, â€Å"Probabilistic Neural Networks† Neural Networks, vol. 3, No.1, pp. 109-118, 1990. M. T. Hagan, H. B. Demut, and M. H. Beale, Neural Network Design, 2002. Mohd Fauzi Othman, Mohd Ariffanan Mohd Basri,â€Å"Probabilistic Neural Network For Brain Tumor Classification†, 2011 Second International Conference on Intelligent Systems, Modelling and Simulation.

Mateo Tepee Essay -- History Architecture Papers

"Mateo Tepee" Towering over 1250 feet above the beautiful Belle Fourche River stands a magnificent structure in northeast Wyoming. The shape of this structure is that of a huge tree stump. The base of this structure is over 1000 feet in diameter, while the top tapers to a 275 foot diameter. It stands 870 vertical feet from base to top, the tallest such formation in the U.S. This amazing structure has an incredible history and its legends are told to this day. It has been used for fame and fortune, religion and rituals, landmarks and legends, vacationers and visitors, movies and money, and many other things. It is beautiful and majestic, captivating and unique, feared and awed among those who have been in its presence. It has brought success to many and fate to some. The history this structure holds within itself is incredible. Its name sends fear to most and lives up to its reputation. May I introduce to you the one and only "Devils Tower." (5) Devils Tower historical significance begins with the theory of how it was formed. There are basically two very different theories of the formation of the unique tower. One theory is scientifically based while the other is legend based. Each belief has variances within themselves. Both theories are very different but yet intriguing. The scientific theory of how the tower was formed is believed by most scientist and geologist to be the hardened core of a once existing magma intrusion. This magma intrusion forced its way upward but did not reach the surface. It cooled and solidified underground into a hard, igneous rock called phonolite porphyry. When the magma cooled and solidified underground, the rock contracted and fractured into large vertical columns of 4, ... ... Works Cited: (1) National Park Sevice. Devils Tower National Monument, 1981. U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. (2) McGee, Dingus, and the Last Pioneer Woman. Free Climbs of Devils Tower,1992. Poorperson's Guidebooks, 655 N. Cedar, Laramie, WY 82070 (3) Hunger, Bill. The Hicker's Guide to Wyoming, 1992. Falcon Press Publishing Co., Inc., P.O. Box 1718, Helena, MT 59624 (4) Nation, The. Native Rites and Wrongs, p. 4-5. July 21, 1997 (5) "Devils Tower, Wyoming." http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_america/devils_tower.html (April 23, 1998) (6) "Devils Tower National Monument - The Legend." 1995. http://www.state.sd.us./tourism/devtower/devtower.htm (April 2, 1998) (7) "Devils Tower National Monument." http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/Parks/devils_tower/devils_tower.html (April 23, 1998)

How WW1 Changed British Literature Essay -- essays research papers

World War One began on July 28, 1914 and ended with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The war cost a total of one hundred eighty-six billion dollars. The total casualties of the war were thirty-seven million, with another eleven million civilian casualties. The British Empire alone lost over three million people in the war. (English) World War One effected the whole world- the heartache and bloodshed changed politics, economics, and public opinion. This war changed people's lives, but it also changes their way of thinking and their way of writing. After World War One British literature was changed from simple stories to a more realistic and meaningful approach to life. Nineteenth century England is what most historians call the Victorian age, which is how British literature got started. It was during the Victorian age that people began to learn how to read and write. â€Å"In 1837 about half of the adult male population could read and write; by the end of the century, literacy was almost universal.† (Abrams) The novel became the most popular form of literature during this time period in England. â€Å"Victorian novels seek to represent a large and comprehensive social world, with the variety of classes and social settings that constitute a community.† (Abrams) The authors of these novels tried to make the reader feel like the characters and the events that take place in the novel seem so realistic that they could see it happening in real life. The novels were written about concerns, or issues, that the everyday person went through. The novels usually dealt with experiences with the relationship in the middle-class or inter-class relationships. Life during the Victorian age is explained in The Norton Anthology as, â€Å"a society where the material conditions of life indicate social position, where money defines opportunity, where social class enforces a powerful sense of stratification, yet where chances for class mobility exist.† (Abrams) Victorian novels usually were focused on a persons struggle to find his or herself in the cruel world of social classes. These types of novels were often written during the Victorian age, in fact Charles Dickens wrote a novel called Great Expectations in 1861, which dealt with a boy named Pip and how he finds his place in the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many good writers during that time period. Charles Dickens, Thomas H... ...uesome poetry came from Owen and Sassoon, who were actually, interestingly enough, bedmates at a hospital during the war. The reason their poetry was so unbelievably moving was the fact that both of them were in the war and they saw the mayhem firsthand. (Wilfred) â€Å"An officer in World War One, he [Sassoon] expressed his conviction of the brutality and waste of war in grim, forceful, realistic verse.† (Siegfred) These two poets alone changed British literature, but they couldn’t have done that without World War One and the pain and suffering, which all people felt. A world war and a depression can put any one down, but what the writer of the twentieth century did was turn that anger, that hate around into realistic, hard-hitting writing. No one likes to remember World War One and the killing that went on, however people always want to talk about the writings of Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence and H. G. Wells. These writers were so successful at what they did because they wrote down on paper what everyone was feeling in the world, whether it was anger or sorrow. Even though World War One was a gruesome event it caused people to question their opinions and made for great literature.

Loopholes in the Audit Procedure

If Gray had more knowledge regarding JAZZ Best, he would have realized that this was an evident situation where an independent specialist should have been used to perform the audit procedure. These problems hindered the gathering of several types of audit evidence. Because Larry Gray did not do an adequate Job getting to know Barry Mellow and JAZZ Best, he evidence gathered through â€Å"client inquiry† was not reliable. This type of evidence personnel to answer the auditor's questions. Because Gray did not do enough research, he did not reveal the fact that Minnow was fraudulent and dishonest.Client inquiry is rarely adequate as the only supporting piece of evidence for an audit objective and usually must be backed up by additional evidence. However, because Minnows and JAZZ Bests integrity were such a problem, basically every other piece of evidence gathered was untrustworthy. The evidence gathered through â€Å"confirmation† was greatly impacted as well. This evidenc e is obtained with questions asked by the auditor, either written or oral, to a third party and the answers are given directly to the auditor.However, this evidence was made useless because Assured Property Management Inc. And Interstate Appraisal Services directly affiliated with JAZZ Best for the sole purpose of generating fake restoration contracts. However, Gray did not do enough research to figure this out. Furthermore, evidence gathered through â€Å"physical examination of tangible assets† and â€Å"documentation or inspection of records and documents† were rendered useless because they were fraudulent and not independent of the provider.The management assertions relating to this evidence is existence/occurrence and rights and obligations. Rights and Obligations is how management asserts that the recorded and disclosed assets are the rights of the entity and the liabilities are the obligations of the entity at a given date. Existence/Occurrence is when managemen t asserts that the recorded assets or liabilities of the entity that are disclosed on the balance sheet exist at a given date and that the recorded transactions disclosed on he income statement have actually occurred during a given period.The fabricated occurrence of the restoration activity, and the rights and obligations to the building could have been uncovered if Gray had done more research on JAZZ Bests internal controls and Minnows integrity. The evidence obtained during their visit to the restoration site was unreliable due to independence of the provider, a factor of competent evidence. When information is obtained from someone independent of the company and transactions being investigated, the evidence is more reliable. Assured Property Management Inc. AndInterstate Appraisal Services were created by Minnow for the sole purpose of generating fake restoration contracts. However, Gray did not do enough research to figure this out. This influenced the tour of the restoration s ite in Sacramento, CA because they were not independent of the provider. Another problem that lacked independence of the provider was the evidence Gray obtained regarding documents. Because these three companies were directly associated to each other's fraudulent activity, none of the documents received were reliable. Evidently, independence of the provider is a crucial factor and this was lacking in this audit procedure.

How does Shakespeare use language, structure and dramatic devices in Macbeth? Essay

How does Shakespeare use language structure and dramatic devices to create tension in the play? Shakespeare uses language, structure and dramatic devices to great effect to create and uphold the dramatic atmosphere throughout both scenes. These two scenes in particular are significant due to the fact that they show the characteristics of Macbeth change from a battle-hardened, honourable and combat-decorated warrior to an emotionally unstable, cowardly individual who is susceptible to other peoples’ coercive measures, namely his wife; Lady Macbeth. Macbeth seemingly talks to himself to portray the conflict currently raging away in his mind as whether to assassinate the King or not and reasons for and against such an action. The soliloquy is particularly effective in this manner due to its generic function being to create a better understanding of the thoughts within the subjects head, in this instance; the reluctance of Macbeth to kill Duncan and his reasons for such opinions. A soliloquy also creates a better audience-character bond and increases the emotional attachment felt by the audience for the character. In the soliloquy we are given several reasons as to why Macbeth is averse to committing regicide; one being his blood-relation with the King and his position as the King’s subject: â€Å"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed†, he himself clarifying the two relations to be â€Å"strong† reasons against the potential act. Another is his description of such an act metaphorically as digging one’s own grave: â€Å"Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice To our own lips† foreseeing the potential consequences of his actions as being potentially fatal. Another justification to affirm his position is his description of King Duncan as a humble and efficient ruler: â€Å"Duncan Has very humble in the use of his power has been So confident in his great duty that his virtues Will pray like angels†. Effectively informing the audience that nothing can be gained from his usurping of power other than an increase in Macbeth’s own power. Lady Macbeth uses aggressive and manipulative language when conversing with Macbeth; this is maintained throughout both scenes to conserve her domineering feature over Macbeth and also uphold her large influential impact on him over making important decisions. The most important extract which clearly proves this point is arguably the defining moment of her character and we begin to see her as a fully-formed 3-dimensional and begin to see her â€Å"true colours†: â€Å"How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this.† She is explicitly confronting him for his apparent cowardice due to his hesitant approach to the assassination by telling him that if she promised she would kill their baby (as a hypothesis) she would â€Å"dash his brains out† without reluctance ; using guilt as a means to persuade. This shows, more than ever, the vicious and violent side to Lady Macbeth as opposed to the unsure and hesitant Macbeth. Macbeth concedes to this powerful statement by asking a weak and meaningless question showing the audience that he has already succumbed to her will: â€Å"If we should fail?† This is answered by a rhetorical question: â€Å"We fail?† and again implying his cowardice by asking him to dig deep for his courage and they will not fail: â€Å"But screw your courage to the sticking-place and we’ll not fail.† And then goes on to tell Macbeth of her plan to assassinate the King by offering the King’s guards wine and eventually their memory â€Å"will be a wisp of smoke†, â€Å"Anything we can’t put off on His officers who are like sponges† and them taking the blame for their â€Å"great quell†. Lady Macbeth also puts his love for her into question as a means to coerce him into carrying out her demands: â€Å"From this time Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and valour?† Which is a very devious albeit clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ statement from a female, questioning their partner’s love for them for them to spring into action reassuring them of their love and affection for them. Act 1 scene 7 would have generated great excitement for the Elizabethan audience at the time due to the gender-reversal of roles between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Social hierarchy put women below men in terms of authority in almost every aspect of every-day life in the 1600s whether they were peasants or nobles they would be deemed inferior and the males, more often than not, took the domineering roles and were deemed superior to their social counterparts. Lady Macbeth is seen to be the exact opposite of a typical Elizabethan woman: she is shown as cunning and cruel, cold and calculating which were all archetypal characteristics of males. This is proven by Macbeth’s reaction to her plan of assassination as he retorts with : â€Å"Bring forth men-children only, for thy undaunted mettle should compose Nothing but males.† Indeed confirming that the characteristics possessed by Lady Macbeth were only to be found in men and men only. This response is in stark contrast to what our response would be as our orthodox perception of the characteristics of individuals are not based solely or majorly on gender and although a stereotypical view may still exist within some in modern-day society it is still not as deeply engrained into our perception of people as it was in the 17th century. Shakespeare has intentionally left out the murder scene of Duncan for the audience to recreate the scene in their minds as it would be infinitely better represented inside one’s head and would have a better impact rather than the simple shock of a few seconds of seeing blood and gore. This is due to one’s imagination being more able to represent such a scene and will increase the suspense and excitement for the audience. The conversation between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is portrayed as tense due to the short replies and questions between the two which help to build and maintain tension: â€Å"I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did you not speak?† â€Å"When?† â€Å"Now.† â€Å"As I descended?† â€Å"Ay.† This short exchange of words at a time when discussing the murder clearly shows the anxiety in the two characters and also creates an anxious atmosphere within the audience. From my analysis above I have come to the conclusion that Shakespeare effectively uses language, structure and dramatic devices to maintain the drama where necessary, in this instance the two scenes which are pivotal to the whole play and consequently the most dramatic are filled with such features to maintain drama through unorthodox situations and characters, role reversal and aggressive language to name a few.

Latitude and Longitude Essay

When looking at a map, latitude lines run horizontally. Latitude lines are also known as parallels since they are parallel and are an equal distant from each other. Each degree of latitude is approximately 69 miles (111 km) apart; there is a variation due to the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate ellipsoid (slightly egg-shaped). To remember latitude, imagine them as the horizontal rungs of a ladder (â€Å"ladder-tude†). Degrees latitude are numbered from 0 ° to 90 ° north and south. Zero degrees is the equator, the imaginary line which divides our planet into the northern and southern hemispheres. 90 ° north is the North Pole and 90 ° south is the South Pole. Longitude The vertical longitude lines are also known as meridians. They converge at the poles and are widest at the equator (about 69 miles or 111 km apart). Zero degrees longitude is located at Greenwich, England (0 °). The degrees continue 180 ° east and 180 ° west where they meet and form the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean. Greenwich, the site of the British Royal Greenwich Observatory, was established as the site of the prime meridian by an international conference in 1884. How Latitude and Longitude Work Together To precisely locate points on the earth’s surface, degrees longitude and latitude have been divided into minutes (‘) and seconds (â€Å"). There are 60 minutes in each degree. Each minute is divided into 60 seconds. Seconds can be further divided into tenths, hundredths, or even thousandths. For example, the U.S. Capitol is located at 38 °53’23†³N , 77 °00’27†³W (38 degrees, 53 minutes, and 23 seconds north of the equator and 77 degrees, no minutes and 27 seconds west of the meridian passing through Greenwich, England).

Afro-Caribbean Poetry Essay

In this essay I will be studying the various items of poetry from manyAfro-Caribbean poets. One of the poets is Langston Hughes who was  born in Joplin, Missouri on the first of February 1902. He started  writing poetry after moving to Lincoln, Illinois. The poems I will be  studying are â€Å"Mulatto† and â€Å"I, Too†.  The next poet I will be looking at is Grace Nichols. Nichols was born  in Guyana in 1950, she came to England in 1977 this is when she  developed her fiction and verse writing. The poem I will be studying is  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Praise song for my mother†. The next poet I will look at will be Dr Benjamin Obadiah lqual  Zephaniah, he was born in Birmingham, but he spent most of his  time in Jamaica. After he spent some time in prison he decided to use  his energy for good and educate himself. The poem I will study â€Å"I love  me mudder†.  The last poet work I will be looking at will be John Agard. Agard was  born in Guyana in 1949, the country was still a British colony until  1966. In 1977 Agard moved to England. This is where he became the  light of the new West Indian British dawn of various bardic  compositions. Agard is a poet whom blends calypso styled language  with unique sounding spoken word. The work I will be studying is  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Half-caste†Ã‚  I have paired the poems up. The pairs either share the same topic,  tone or language. One of the pairs is â€Å"Half-caste† by John Agard and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mulatto† by Langston Hughes, because they have the same type of  topic and also tone.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Half caste† is about weather: the term half-caste can be applied to  any thing else apart from people. John Agard has written a very good  poem witch makes you think about the words we use every day with  out knowing the proper meanings and whether it makes any sense  when you break the word down. I think that many words we use now  are â€Å"out of date† and should be changed for politically correct terms  and alternatives. Agard also uses some stunning references to get you  thinking. The other half of this pair â€Å"Mulatto† tells us about the harsh  treatment black women faced at the hands of their white bosses in  the slave era and how the women were only used as play things, this  is shown in the part â€Å"What’s a body but a toy?†. The word â€Å"mulatto†Ã‚  means the same as â€Å"half caste† but not as many people use it  nowadays. The boy in the story has a trouble fitting in with black  people and white people and does not have that sense of belonging if  he had been born to parents of the same race. The next pair is â€Å"Praise song for my mother† by Grace Nichols and â€Å"I  love me mudder† by Benjamin Zephaniah. I’ve paired these poems  because they share the same topics which is their mothers.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Praise song for my mother† is about how Grace Nichols loved her  mother and how she inspired to do the best she could. It’s also how  she looked up to her, and how her mother was all the things she likes  such as the sunrise and the fried plantain smell. The poem is set in a  past tense which seems to tell us the readers that her mother has  died. The second half of my pair is â€Å"I love me mudder†. This poem is about  how Benjamin Zephaniah’s mother came from Jamaica on a boat  called Windrush. Many people came from Jamaica because they  thought they would have a better life than the one they all ready had.  In black family family (need to delete this) life the figure of the  mother is very strong and is the main rule maker in the house, and  this poem shows how she works so hard just to make sure her familydon’t go without. The last pair of poems is â€Å"taint† by Grace Nichols and â€Å"I, Too† by  Langston Hughes these two poems have been joined together because  they both have kind of the same topic which shows the pain black  people have overcome but still yet we are strong.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"taint† is about the treachery that this person has had cast upon  them while they where a slave, the fact that they where stolen by men  the colour of their own skin. This reminds me of the black on black  gang warfare and killings. This person who trusted the people of their  same skin colour was betrayed. This work also shows how these  people where traded like they where animals. The poem has a  message to everyone: to stop fighting and live peacefully together.  The second half of the pair is â€Å"I, Too† which shows how black people  had to eat in a kitchen when company came but they ate well and  became strong. So when company comes no one will dare tell me to  eat in the kitchen and now you are ashamed about what you did to  me when I was mentally weak. This poem has a promise of hope for  Ã‚  change. Hughes suggests that â€Å"Tomorrow† things will be different and  people will see that beauty and equality of all peoples.

Circe and Nausicaa in the Odysseys Essay

These four characters all have the same role within the Odyssey and the Aeneid as they are all put in place as obstacles to the hero’s quest. Odysseus and Aeneas both have arduous journeys to undertake and these characters are simply temptresses, there to prevent the heroes from fulfilling there quests and in my opinion pose a greater threat to the completion of the journeys then the physical dangers both heroes have to endure. However although within these epics the characters have negative roles to play they themselves are victims of fate. Without each heroes underlying mission spurring them on it is reasonable to assume each of these women would have a good chance of having a long-term relationship with either Odysseus or Aeneas (indeed each character with the exception of Nausicaa engage in a brief relationship with the hero of there respective epic) and the fact these relationships have to be discontinued or unexplored seems unfair to the so called ‘temptresses’ and therefore causes the reader to evoke sympathy for the characters. These women, although play identical roles, are in very different circumstance and are very different characters and therefore the level of sympathy we feel for them varies and I believe it is fair to say that it is Dido we feel the most sympathy for: An important feature of why we feel so much sympathy for Dido is the fact we learn so much of her background. In book 1 of the Aeneid we find out Dido is an exile from her home city of Tyre after her brother Pygmalion killed Dido’s husband Sychaeus ‘In blind lust for his gold’ (Sychaeus was apparently ‘the wealthiest of the Phoenicians’). Dido, by the advice of her dead husband, rounds up the men ‘driven by savage hatred or lively fear’ of Pygmalion and sets sail for a new home. This background is important as it gives the reader a sense of attachment with the character that doesn’t seem to apply to the other characters, the fact that Dido has such a troubled past means we sympathize with her from a very early stage, which makes her ultimate down fall even more tragic i.e. this is a character we know rather then an other faceless characters that is sacrificed for the quest (such as Palinurus and Elpenor). The female characters of the Odyssey just don’t come with this tragic background; The knowledge the audience would have of Calypso’s and Circe’s background would be through legend, which regardless of how tragic some legends may be, are fantastical, which means the audience wouldn’t relate to them like they would Dido’s background and doesn’t give the goddesses the sense of vulnerability you get with Dido. Nausicaa is a young princess of Phaeacia, so although her background isn’t mention in any great detail in the odyssey, as the princess of a paradise it is unlikely to be negative. Another impotent sympathy factor is the characters motivation for falling for their respective hero. Calypso and Circe have the least sympathetic motives as they are simply looking for a companion (a modern phrase we would use is trophy husband) and as goddesses have more then likely had many companions before Odysseus. Nausicaa simply has a crush on Odysseus, and therefore her emotional attachment to him is not very high, the fact they never engage in a relationship also means their attachment isn’t as matured as the other characters. Nausicaa and Dido do have one thing in common however as they are both victims of divine intervention. Nausicaa’s intervention by Athene (improving his appearance) however is not as direct as the intervention Dido endures (being forced into love by Cupid); as a result the audience doesn’t get the same sense of the cruelty of fate with Nausicaa that we get for Dido. Probably the most important aspect of the characters for which evokes our sympathy is the aftermath of being let down by our heroes. Although Dido is the only character whose plot continues after the hero leaves we can still make an educated guess as to what would happen to the other characters. Circe and Calypso are both goddesses and are likely to find other companions after Odysseus, both as goddesses are in control of there emotions when meeting Odysseus which means they should be much more composed upon his departure (the fact Calypso takes Odysseus against his will shows she should foresee possible heartbreak in the future). Nausicaa as a young girl is much more vulnerable to heartbreak however as a young girl she has her whole life a head of her which means she is much more likely to find another man, and the fact no commitment is made means she is simply loosing a crush apposed to a lover which means her heartbreak will be less then that of the other characters. Dido as the most vulnerable (lost her husband and livelihood) has the furthest to fall, and assuming the educated guesses as to the outcome of the other characters are correct, by committing suicide Dido suffers the worst fate by far. Book 4 of the Aeneid dictates the devotion and downfall of Dido; Dido lets her civic duties slide due to the distraction of Aeneas and the City of Carthage’s construction grinds to a halt. Dido states in her speech to Aeneas that her people have lost all respect for her, and as a result she feels the only way to regain some respect is to kill herself. Book 4 could almost be a tragic play; Dido’s hubristic act of sleeping with Aeneas before marriage leads to her catastrophic downfall; a downfall which can be said to be entirely down to the cruelty of fate and the gods. Dido is the most vulnerable with the most too loose, and as far as we know comes to the worst end so for me is far more sympathetic a character then the female characters of the Odyssey.

Drawbacks of recession in the economy Term Paper

Drawbacks of recession in the economy - Term Paper Example 9- paragraph 1). Thus, economics and societal commentators view and gauge other range of variables such as the general welfare of people, level of prices amongst many other economic growth or decline indicators. Therefore, for the purposes of this essay, the paper will focus on the drawbacks of recession to the global economies with a skewed interest in the United States of America. Specifically, the paper would articulate how recession leads to increase in unemployment standards, reduction in the quality of life or welfare and a decline in the price of assets. To begin with, there is the instance and situation of falling output or the national production level. It is imperative to note and mention that once the country produces lesser than the actual potential, the gross domestic product or the aggregate measure of value of a country’s wealth would be reduced. The amount of real Gross domestic product directly relates to the amount of income that the same person or entity would be realize. As a result, the amount of wages would be skewed to grow in a slower rate or decline altogether. There stems a combination of employees incentives and urge to create a structure within the government to redistribute resources (Palley, 2013, p. 25-paragraph 2). For instance in the United States of America, Walmart retailers as an employer to many people has in the past established a program of rewarding its employees through bonuses and continuous salaries and wage increase. However during the time of national recession, the employees of Walmart were neither given bonuses nor salary increases. Instead, there was a reduction in their cumulative financial benefits such as being given only their basic salaries and wages. Thus, in all aspects and fairness, it would be imperative to note that the wage levels and bonus of the employees reduced. Secondly, during times of economic

Examination of the Relationship between HRM Practices and Retention of Thesis

Examination of the Relationship between HRM Practices and Retention of Skilled Workers - Thesis Example among many empirical studies is the discovery of how HRM practices actually result in improved firm performance, although firm performance is construed in different ways. Some pertain to enhancement of specific employee skills. For Prieto and Santana (2012), the specific skill they sought to confirm was ambidexterity – i.e., the ability to simultaneously explore new knowledge domains while exploiting current ones. A field study of 198 Spanish companies was conducted, focusing on three categories of high-involvement human resource practices: ability-enhancing, motivation-enhancing and opportunity-enhancing HR practices. Factor loading and regression analysis were conducted on the HR practices and three other variables – social climate (as the mediating factor), ambidexterity, and firm performance. Findings from the study showed that HR practices contribute to establishing social climates which, in turn enhance ambidextrous learning and ultimately firm performance. One ob servation that may be made on this study is that the effect of HR practices on ambidexterity is not directly causal, but indirect. It is likely that the social climates created by HR practices also enhance a number of other skills likewise favourable to firm performance. HR practices are therefore contributory, but not determinative, of the likelihood of skills development, including ambidexterity. HR practices are also seen to impact on firm performance relative to the ownership structure of the firm. Castrogiovanni and Kidwell (2010) examined the effects of HR practices on employee or franchisee managers and the resultant performance of their business units. A business unit that operates as a franchise imposes a different set of constraints upon management than that of a business unit integral to the parent corporation. Franchising has variably been described as a geographic expansion strategy, a type of vertical integration, an organisational form, or an approach to conducting business,

LAW 2112 EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

LAW 2112 EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET - Essay Example EU sets out three types of relationships between member states and the EU, namely: exclusive competences, shared competences, and fields in which EU law cannot exclude national legislatures from making law. (Damian Chalmers et al.p.184-5) The primacy principle applies here and it was first proclaimed in the case of Costa. EU law takes precedence over national law. The Costa v ENEL case was concerned with the nationalisation of the Italian electricity industry, whose bills Costa refused to pay in protest since he said its creation breached EU law. The Italian Constitutional court said that subscription to the EU was an ordinary law, subject, like any other, to repeal. The ECJ ruling overturned this, saying (1) that upon the EEC Treaty coming into force a â€Å"new legal order† came to exist, which caused EU law to enter into domestic law and that domestic courts are â€Å"bound to enforce† it. And (2) that â€Å"transfer from [member states’] domestic legal syste ms to a Community legal system† meant a loss of sovereignty and hence any subsequent act made in breach of EU law would be ineffective, since EU law would prevail. It was held by the ECJ: To allow national laws to be effective even when they conflict with EU law would frustrate the aim of creating a truly common market. It is implied that EU law is supreme over national law: otherwise it would be meaningless to say that regulations are binding and directly applicable†¦as national legislation could just nullify its effects. Law stemming from the treaty is an â€Å"independent source of law†. This ruling established that member states couldn’t deviate from EC treaties without prior permission. It also established that national high courts couldn’t determine incompatibility of national and EU law without consulting ECJ. This principle was neatly illustrated in Internationale Handelsgesellschaft v. Einfur in which the Court ruled that EU law takes precede nce over all forms of national law, including national constitutional law. â€Å"Therefore the validity of a Community measure or its effect within a member state cannot be affected by allegations that it runs counter to either fundamental rights as formulated by the constitution of that State or the principles of a national constitutional structure† Article 288 TFEU provides: To exercise the Union’s competences, the institutions shall adopt regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods. A decision shall be binding in its entirety upon those to whom it is addressed. Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force. Article 19 TEU pro vides: The Court of Justice of the European Union shall include the Court of Justice, the General Court and specialised courts. It shall ensure that in the interpretation and application of this Treaty the law is observed. Member States shall provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law. It follows that the law stemming from