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Monday, September 30, 2019

Dangers of Bottled Water Informative Speech

Dangers of Bottled Water General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech my audience will able to describe the dangers of Bottled water. Central idea: Bottled water is not as safe as people believe it to be. Organization Style: Cause and Effect I. Introduction Attention getter: â€Å"Every five minutes in the U. S over 2 million plastic bottles are used (Arrey). † Americans drink about 7 billion gallons of bottled water a year that’s about $8 billion dollars in sales per year (Arrey). We all drink bottled mineral water these days.We all like to think it's a far healthier option than tap water. It's extremely handy to be able to carry around your own water supply in in this hectic and fast paced world we live in. As you all know in am a chemistry major so I spend a lot of time in a lab. I have noticed that the that the purified water we use isn’t as pure as we would like it to be. This water is purified the same way that most bottled water is. So this made me wonder what is in the water causing it to react with thing that is shouldn’t be reacting with.So I stared doing research and found report after report that are reveal the facts that the industry dosen’t want you to know the true face of the bottled mineral water industry. Preview points: As I progressed through research and found that the easiest way to divide the startling facts into to three categories the first the ture Sources of the water, then move on to Quality and the nasty hidden secrets, and finally Bottled Water vs. tap. II Body. A. The Source 1.We are all too easily fooled by fancy pictures a fancy language we really need to stop and read more carefully the labels of the food products we are consuming because often first appearances are misleading. a. Example Alaska Premium Glacier Drinking water claims to be the pure glacier water from the last unpolluted frontier, the actual source comes from a municipal water supply in Greenville, Tennes see (Layton). 2. One brand that claims to come from a mountain range actual comes out of the back of a car park. 3. The truth is that 40 per cent of mineral water you buy ctual come from the tap and they label it as â€Å"pure Spring Water† of â€Å"Natures water†. 4. As a matter of fact, you and I could start our own bottled water company tomorrow and the FDA would have very little authority over us and the brand. 5. Even if a manufacture is caught selling unsafe water the most they can be fined for is that they are false adverting there are no fines for any of the health hazards that it may have presented to the local population. Now that I have discuss the hidden secrets of the sources lets move on to the quality of the water.II. Quality 1. When we all think mineral water these days we think of it as far safer option. Research has proven otherwise. a. The Environmental Working Group conducted a comprehensive test on 10 of the top U. S. brands of bottled water and fo und an alarming amount of containments. Out of these brands tested and contaminated a total of 38 chemical pollutants there was an average of 8 contaminants in each brand. b. The list of the 10 brands tested is anonymous as part of market based research, except for 2 brands: Wal-Mart and Giant bottled water brands.These 2 were actually named in this study because the first tests and numerous follow-up tests confirmed that these 2 brands contained contaminants at levels that exceeded state standards or voluntary industry guidelines. 1. The most alarming contaminants were cancer causing byproducts of population, fertilizer residue, industrial solvents, caffeine, pharmaceutical and heavy metal mineral including arsenic and radioactive isotopes(Evolving). B. 1. Another study showed that nearly one third of the brands on the market have an illegal level of bacterial growth.This study also found high levels as high as 13 parts per billion of arsenic tap water is only allowed to have 5 par ts per billion. 2. They also found Phthalates which is a chemical compound that mimic estrogen. 3. This test went on to test this impurities on lab rates and found that the damaged the genitals, kidneys, liver and lungs, and know they are starting to find these same symptoms in humans. 3 Bottled water vs. Tap A. FDA regulations for bottled water are more lax than the that of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency which regulations for municipal drinking water. 1.FDA regulations start with the most basic must have a sanitary container and sanitary environment. 2. According to â€Å"HowStuffWorks† The FDA states that it must come from approved sources. But the FDA but does not come out and make sure it is safe it just means it comes from either a protected natural source, such as a spring or artesian well in which measures have been taken to assure against contamination by surface water; or a municipal source of drinking water. 3. There are rules on what the bottle can say t hey do have to put if the water originally came from an untreated sources (Layton).B. In some areas FDA regulation on bottled whatever are stricter than the EPA rules C. Example- Tap water, which travels through lead pipes to get to your faucet, is allowed to have up to 15 parts per billion of lead by necessity, whereas bottled water can't have more than 5 parts per billion. D. This rules all sounds great in theory, but the harsh reality is that, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight(Baskin). E. However in most cases EPA rules are much stricter. 1.Tap water is not allowed to contain any Coli or fecal coliform bacteria at all (Coli can cause illness, and fecal coliform can indicate the presence of disease-causing agents), bottled water is allowed to have trace amounts of these contaminants. 2. Bottled water sources are typically tested for harmful contaminants once a week at most. They results are not disclosed to th e public or community whereas municipal water supplies are tested hundreds of times every month. As I conutiued to read on this subject I kept seing that bottled water had a 4,000 percent markup up value.Since I work at walmart that gives me the ability to scan the item and look up the mark up value so I did and I found this to be ture. III. Conclusion So to recap: – Bottled water has the main dangers 1-Source of the water in the bottle; with little regulation we could be drinking anything and we are not provided results or data for what the water contains 2- Quality. Even the bottled water from reliable sources is still not as purified sometimes as would a home water treatment do for probably at the same price, if not less. 3- Just because it is bottled ater dose not meant that it is any better than regular tap water. `Works Cited Arrey, Eliel. â€Å"3 Dangers YOU Ought To Know About Bottled Water. † EzineArticles. com. SparkNET, 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. Baskind , Chris. â€Å"MNN – Mother Nature Network. † MNN – Mother Nature Network. Http://www. glickinteractive. com/, 15 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Evolving Wellness. † Evolving Wellness RSS. Http://www. evitaochel. com, 18 Oct. 2008. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. Layton, Julia. â€Å"How Bottled Water Works† 29 August 2006. HowStuffWorks. com. 06 March 2013.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Evaluation of the play Blood Brothers Essay

Thomas Hardy suggests that in the mid-ninteenth century women were limited in their choice of jobs. Factory work was available in some areas but this meant working long, tiresome hours. They could also work for the rich, but for very little money. The term used for a woman who makes dresses is a seamstress. They spent their lives sewing for the rich ladies who wore smart dresses. In Far From the Madding Crowd the main character ‘Bathsheba’ is the proud owner of her inherited farm. She has maids, farm workers and shepherds working for her. She spends long hours of the day working in fields. She is a fortunate woman, very popular among the men but who clearly is unsure about life /love. Her character is affluent and enjoys a privileged lifestyle. In Wessex where the book was set it is very traditional, old fashioned (even some parts are today). The rural setting makes it relate to what the scenery was like, and enhances the atmosphere. At the time this book was written, health standards were very poor and there was no birth control. Illness was common, and people often had to cope for themselves. A woman was considered lucky if she was rich enough to employ a maid to care for her. There were no injections to prevent people against tetanus, common among farm workers. (It occurs when dirt is passed through a wound with a risk of getting paralysed) Nowadays we have modern medicine and equipment and highly trained doctors. Unlike men, woman had many limitations. If a party/ festival was being held all the women were obliged to leave the room, while the men drank. But Hardy shows a different stereotype to the one most women were accustomed to at that time- Bathsheba, instead of leaving the room quietly and without protestation, she leaves ‘indignantly’, having complained to her husband about the amount of alcohol that was offered- ‘don’t give it to them’. This shows she was more independent than other women of her day. Women were expected to cook mostly and were frequently bossed around by their husbands (male domination) this has held a topic of ‘sexism’ to woman today. In the Victorian times, women were expected to dress respectively. Evan if a woman showed a small amount of her ankle it was though of as blasphemous and unpleasant! Woman wore long dresses, bonnets and covered their arms up. Obviously a rich person would have a more fancy-detailed dress than a poor person. People though that woman were not equal to men because men were stronger and protector. Women were quoted as ‘feeble’ and ‘timid’. Woman could vote very little and there was very little education for them. One thing I picked up on was that in the book when Troy was performing in the circus among the other men, there were no woman performing. This was against the rules and the circus would have needed strong performers, which were not, in their eyes woman. The workhouse was a place in which many poor/old people ended their days. But the workhouse was also for young people too. Fanny was one who died in the workhouse after giving birth. People would work and pray throughout the day. They had a regime but they were also allowed to relax and have free time to do what they wanted. It was thought that religion would help the poor to overcome their â€Å"laziness, fecklessness and drunkenness†. Even school lessons for children revolved around the Bible. There were foundation orphanages for children where they were treated with great care. This option was for woman who could not look after their children or were ill/having problems etc. This option would have done Fanny help, if she hadn’t had died. From reading the book, and observing the film I have seen in depth that life then, is extremely different from today and what woman could and couldn’t do. Men could do far more and seemed to get more out of life than woman. Troy was often seen doing much more than Bathsehba?

Saturday, September 28, 2019

A Good Supervisor

What makes a good supervisor? Do the roles they play have something to do with it? Is it the responsibilities they play that make them that way? Or is it really their own values that make them be?As these questions came across to my mind, I stop for awhile and ponder, trying to figure out things. I strongly believe that there are many traits to be considered in order to make the leader a good supervisor but then, I will only give three desirable and most significant traits that I consider that make a leader a good supervisor.The heart of this study is to provide three reasons or traits of a good supervisor and explain each trait.A good supervisor must be†¦CoachI do believe that a good supervisor must be a good coach. This trait must be possessed in every supervisor. A good supervisor sees the importance on coaching his/her employees. Good coaching includes working with your employees in order to set up and create appropriate action plans, time lines and objectives.A good supervi sor must know how to delegate and at the same time gives continuing and constant support and guidance to his employees as they finished their action plans. He is occasionally challenged by drawing a fine line as supervisor and a confidant of the employees to avoid over familiarity.Positive ThinkerA good leader always noted as a positive thinker. He ponders of how things must be done or why not things cannot be done. A good leader must be open minded to new ideas and ideologies, training opportunities and changes, optimistic and always face the future with confidence, and his confidence can influence his employees.A good supervisor is passionate towards his work and the role he plays. If a supervisor wants to lead his employees, he must begin to practice the art of positive thinking now.Advocate for EmployeeA good supervisor is frequently accountable and in authority to stand for the requests of the employees and to management, together with standing for the case of the employees for deserving a reward. An example for this is, if a certain worker or an employee is worthy to be promoted, the supervisor frequently must support and defend the case for promotion to the manager of the supervisor, too. It is not uncommon for workers to occasionally seeing the supervisor as part of the management and at the same time considering the supervisor as a confidant.ConclusionA good supervisor is typically having specific and positive traits. The traits mentioned above can really help the supervisor becomes closer to his employees and be their confidant. As a whole, dealing with the employees with love and concern makes a leader a good supervisor. It is not all about being a superior to your subordinates but a good friend as well to your employees.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Association between Infant Breastfeeding and Overweight in Young Essay

Association between Infant Breastfeeding and Overweight in Young Children - Essay Example The objective of the study was then "to determine whether breastfeeding and its duration are associated with a reduced risk of being overweight among young children in the United States." (American Medical Association, 2001) According to the research, the data gathering proceeded by utilizing information on infant feeding and child overweight status from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). This is a cross-sectional health examination survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NCHS/CDC) from 1988-1994. Through a stratified, multi-stage probability design, a sample of 2685 US-born children between the ages of 3 to 5 years (36-71 months) was taken. From this sample, birth certificates, details regarding height and weight measures, and information on infant feeding were obtained. The statistical results showed that there was a weak association between duration of full breastfeeding and child body mass index (BMI). However, there were factors that were significantly associated with child overweight in the multiple logistic regression models. By far the strongest predictor of child BMI status was the mother's concurrent BMI. Children were at moderately increased risk for being at risk of overweight with an overweight mother but nearly 3 times more likely to be at risk of overweight with maternal obesity. Furthermore, overweight in early childhood was nearly 3-fold greater with maternal overweight and more than four-fold greater with maternal obesity. The study concludes with "there are inconsistent associations among breastfeeding, its duration, and the risk of being overweight in young children. Breastfeeding continues to be strongly recommended, but may not be as effective as moderating familial factors, such as dietary habits and physical activity, in preve nting children from becoming overweight." (American Medical Association, 2001) The manner by which this research is conducted is very much ethical in the sense that there was no need to actually study and 'experiment' on the children. This would have had negative effects on the young children since their weights and eventual self-images are in question. The use of existing records and information as well as corresponding statistical analyses have been sufficient in arriving at the conclusion. The research design which used an ethnically-diverse sample also leads to a more consistent generalization of the results. From the findings of this research, a call for the more active role of the nursing clinical practice can be very beneficial in helping a population who is increasingly having problems with early childhood overweight. Because the association between duration of breastfeeding and being at the risk of overweight is inconclusive, then the emphasis should go back to the different socio-demographic and intervening familial factors among children. Since breastfeeding alone is not sufficient to prevent the development of weight problems at the onset of childhood, then the research leads us to the extent by which familial tendencies to obesity are genetic or associated with shared dietary and activity habits. The challenge for the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Summarize Taylor article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize Taylor - Article Example of preserving some form of status quo that management is comfortable that it divests an efficient worker of his potential to produce more than what is expected of him. These attitudes become a problem since it cultivates a culture where the labor force stagnate instead of grow. Scientific management is a solution offered by Taylor where it seeks to cultivate a new form of mentality where there is a new manner of setting an equilibrium that integrates the worth of the working man with the aid of efficiency that technology can provide. He offers four principles which starts with the assimilation of new set of ideals that have worked in the past to formulate a better set of understanding that will yield improved results. The next puts focus on establishing skilled managers who will guide in the new way of administrating the principle of scientific management. Perhaps the most important of these principles is the third which is the bringing together of science and man to a common goal. The final principle is what differentiates it from all other which is the division of work which gives direct correlation to the significance of technology in improving output while keeping the working man assured of his worth in the production process

Affect Of Attitudes To Risk On Decision Outcomes Essay

Affect Of Attitudes To Risk On Decision Outcomes - Essay Example Individuals tend to take bigger risks if they have a big amount of wealth in their portfolio. Normally, where there is a high risk in an investment, it is probable that the payoff tends to be bigger, and where the risk is small, the payoffs tend to be smaller. Due to this reasons, individuals with massive wealth in their portfolio tend to be riskier so as to maximize their payoff. This type of individuals mostly is driven by their ambition to acquire more wealth in the future. Thus, they take a bigger risk in their investments because even if they lose out because of an unsuspected market condition, their wealth always cautions them and thus they have little to fear.Another individual factor that impacts the attitude on risk on the decision outcomes is the knowledge from the market that mostly is bought from the consulting and experts firms in the market. These firms gather, analyze and predict the future market condition and thus they can advise managers on the riskiness when undert aking certain projects and investments. Knowledge from the experts helps individuals to make informed and proper decisions that have a positive impact on the expected outcomes. Although the perfect information is costly, it saves a great deal as opposed to having no information at all. When one has the knowledge, he or she has power, and it is only right that he uses it for the betterment of his decisions and judgment.Another individual factor that affects the risk attitudes on decision outcomes is the earlier periods' outcomes.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Chartered Portfolio Manager- Week 9 Discussion Post and Student Assignment - 1

Chartered Portfolio Manager- Week 9 Discussion Post and Student Responses - Assignment Example Following the Second World War, it was clear that oil was a coveted industrial commodity. The most celebrated and visible event in history took place when the United States president, Franklin Roosevelt met the founding monarch of Saudi Arabia. The meeting between the two world leaders linked American national security and Middle East oil. It also gave birth to one of the most significant strategic relationship that was forged in the 20th century with Saudis meant to supply cheap oil to the world markets with an aim of acquiring American protection. Over the course of the 20th century, preserving the security of Saudi Arabia as well as that of other countries such as Iraq were among the main political and economic concerns of countries such as the united states of America (Bouillon, 2013). The presence of oil in the Middle East countries and the struggle to control the commodity was fraught with peril and always proved costly in terms of treasure and blood. Oil has continued to flow into the global markets even though with a lot of difficulties emanating both internally and externally. Since the end of the 1970s, most of the countries in the Middle East including Iraq have experienced permanent war and revolution as a result of the commodity. In Iraq for example under the regime of Saddam Hussein, was rocked by domestic war that resulted to loss of lives. Even though security is measured by absence of war, most of the countries in the Middle East have encountered threats of domestic and international war as a result of supply of oil. The United States led inversion of Iraq in the year 2003 and the conflicts experienced in most of the countries in the region have represented both the international and domestic politics affecting the region. The American military invasion of the country represented only a stage of the US militarism in the Middle East. While more considerable

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Ethics - Should Heinz steal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics - Should Heinz steal - Essay Example f the utilitarian theory of ethics, it is important to first look at the main moral principle that guide decision making in the utilitarian theory of ethics. According to the utilitarian theory of ethics, the guiding principle in making moral judgements and moral decisions is to always choose the action that maximizes the happiness for the majority of people who will be affected by the moral decision; in other words, the utilitarian theory of ethics hold that in making moral decisions, we should always choose the action that will result in the highest good for the majority of people (Singer, 14). This means that, in judging the morality of Heinz’s action in light of the utilitarian theory of ethics, we should ask ourselves whether or not Heinz’s action will result in the highest good for the majority of people. A critical analysis of Heinz’s action in this case study shows that Heinz’s action will inevitably result in the highest good for the majority of people. This is because the healing of Heinz’s wife will make Heinz’s family members and friends happier, than would the $2000 that the druggist would earn from the drug that Heinz store from him, make the druggist family members and friends happy. Given that there was no other available drug that could heal Heinz’s wife from the lethal cancer, and also, given the fact that Heinz had exhausted all the available means to raise the $2000 required for the radium drug, Heinz’s action of breaking into the druggist’s store and stealing the drug so as to save his wife is morally justifiable on the utilitarian ground. Heinz’s action of stealing the drug from the druggist is also morally justifiable under the Kantian Deontology. According to Kantian categorical imperative, which is the Kantian moral principle guiding moral decisions, in making moral decisions, we should always choose the moral action that we should at the same time wish to be made into a universal law (Kant, 18). In other words,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Demand and Stores Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Demand and Stores - Coursework Example Therefore, the average daily demand during lead time is equal to L ? AVG. The safety stock is determined scientifically and is applied with the average daily demand during lead time to ensure that there is an adequate supply of inventory is in stores to prevent a loss of sale due to stock-out. The safety stock, which is the minimum level to which stock is expected to fall, is represented by the formula: z ? STD ? vL It is expected that inventory will fall to this minimum level just before the order for Q is received. Immediately after the order for Q units is received the inventory will return to its maximum level but will be depleted over time based on the average daily demand (AVG). The reorder level depends on AVG which is reviewed continuously. When Q units are added to the safety stock the maximum inventory level is achieved. This inventory is depleted over time. Therefore, it is expected that the expected level of inventory before receiving the order is: z ? STD ? vL While the expected level of inventory immediately after receiving the order is: Q + z ? STD ? vL Solution to Question 2 The periodic review inventory replenishment policy requires that inventory be reviewed periodically at regular intervals and that an appropriate quantity is ordered so as to achieve the base stock level after each review. This level of inventory should be sufficient to cover demand during the review period (r) and the lead time (L), in order to prevent stock out before the next order arrives. This implies that the base-stock level includes the average demand during the combined interval of r + L which is: (r + L) ? AVG as well as the safety stock which is calculated as: z ? STD ? v(r+ L) According to Simchi-Levi et al (2008), the maximum inventory level is reached immediately after receiving an order while the minimum level of inventory is reached just before receiving the order. It is therefore very clear that the expected level of inventory after receiving an order is equa l to: r ? AVG + z ? STD ? v(r+ L) while, the level of inventory immediately before order arrives is: z ? STD ? v(r+ L) which is the safety stock. Solution to Question 3 The target service level defines the percentage of orders received that must be filled. A good criterion that can be used is price. The five products that I sell in my department store are: shoes, clothes, appliances, furniture, and food items. In order of target service level from lowest to highest they will be listed as follows: Furniture – more expensive than all other items, profit margin is low, volume is relatively low, demand variability and lead time is high. Appliances – less expensive than furniture but tend to be more expensive than all other items, profit margin is high compared to furniture, volume medium range, while both demand variability and lead time is relatively high Foot-wear – the profit margin is high, volume relatively high, demand variability is not as low as with clothes , and lead time is not as low as with clothes Clothes – the profit margin is high, volume relatively high, demand variability is also relatively low while lead time may not be as low as with food items. Food items – they are cheaper than all other items; the profit margin tend to be low but turnover rate and volume is high, both demand variability and lead time is generally low. According to Simchi-Levi (2008) the service level is generally higher for products with high profit margin, high volume, low variability

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The qualities of a good leader Essay Example for Free

The qualities of a good leader Essay The qualities of a good leader have to do with his/her structure of experience, skills, responsibility, and social interaction. It must be someone who can be looked up to and respected. A good leader not only needs to have a lot of experience and good personality but he also needs to be trusted. That way he could win over man’s hearts. It is useless no matter what personal qualities or what intellectual powers a man may have if he lacks the initiative and the will to lead and to rally men around him. In search for truth he must also not only have good personal structure but a good â€Å"character† is knowing what you want to do and being ruthlessly determined to do it. Sense of humor and sense of optimism are two other essential qualities of a good leader. Men and women will not follow a gloomy person! Not only is he to be a good judge towards events but towards \people also that way he can select worthy subordinates. It cannot be determined by one person to the other but it can be determined by self-determination. Whether a religious faith is necessary quality of a leader is arguable. A lot of our famous leaders today are all of different religious faiths and some have no faith at all. Mohammed, Buddha, and Jesus Christ were all leader. If there number of followers are anything to judge by, very good leaders indeed, and all of these had their own convictions and beliefs. There is good leaders and bad leaders, of which Adolf Hitler is a striking example of bad leaders, because it’s possible to have all the qualities of a good leader and missing one. Some in which are lead to violence and lawlessness are invariables led and inspired by leaders of moral scene of wrong or right. Such qualities are at times natural and apparent when one is born. In order for you to do such things you would also have to practice maintaining you temper because there could very unkind or inconsiderate people you may have to work with. Although others opinion towards you should not matter in this case it does because nobody would want a leader with making incorrect decisions therefore it would be the right thing to prove them wrong and start making the right choices. Incase of challenges along the way they should face them with bravery and deal with them as part of their responsibility. This will improve strength and preparedness for worse problems in the future. There are so many ways a good leader could go by, but not all will make the right choices because not every single person in this world has the same perspective but it is up to them to try and make the people happy by having the same perspective as them and doing what’s right in any event they are working with. Doing what’s right is the main thing to do. The qualities of a leader have to do with structure of nearly everything.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Behaviours in English as a Second Language Learner

Behaviours in English as a Second Language Learner Hamayan et al. (2013) emphasize the importance of describing in details the actual behaviors displayed by ELL students before diagnosing and drawing conclusions about the causes of the ELLs difficulties and academic weaknesses. The authors contend that the first step of the ECOS diversity framework that needs to be taken, is to describe students observable behavior as specifically as possible without attributing the behavior to a specific cause (p. 36). This requires collecting work samples and sufficient accurate data, instead of drawing generalized statements based on the teachers perceptions or assumptions about a child. The authors explain that the language difficulties that ELLs experience are embedded in the process of learning English, and they are similar to the difficulties demonstrated by students with diagnosed learning disabilities, for example, forgetting words, language disfluencies, difficulty following oral directions, or distraction in an academic English setting. Wh en garnering the data, educators should obtain this information across different times, settings, and by different methods so that it can be examined, compared and contrasted. Another step of the process of the ECOS diversity framework is to explain the observed behaviors through the lenses of any of the seven integral factors described on page 44. Hamayan et al. (2013) explain that finding explanations for ELLs less than optimal performance in school begins by considering the seven extrinsic factors during the explanatory phase of the process before assuming the existence of intrinsic causes due to a disability (p. 44). Discussing possible explanations will be beneficial to not only members of the ECOS team, but first and foremost to the ELL student. During exploring diverse explanations educators learn from one another about different perspectives, cultural experiences, and areas of expertise. They also have an opportunity to clarify what they mean when using certain words or expressions. Finally, the explanation process may result in findings which will not affect future ELLs placement negatively. It is important to know that even though the disability is present, an ELL should still be supported with ELL services which will meet his/her language needs and maximize the academic achievement. Determining if an ELL students struggles with academic learning are due to language acquisition or a learning disability may be without doubt a challenging task requiring the experience, knowledge about the world, cultural awareness, and professional expertise. Most assessments of ELLs are done mainly in English, therefore the results may be interpreted incorrectly. Moreover, limiting a student to using only one language will hinder a more accurate picture of ELL skills and abilities. Educators seem to have a tendency to rather choose a disability than identify their own bias, lack of knowledge, or procedural errors. There are also many misconceptions about bilingualism, which affect the decisions made about the ELLs. Therefore, it is critical that educators understand the process of the second language acquisition, as well as are able to recognize possible characteristics associated with students with learning disabilities. They should also ask themselves if an ELLs culture may be t he possible explanation for the specific difficulties. In fact, there may be multiple possible reasons for students to exhibit a specific behavior. It truly takes a great amount of knowledge, understanding, humility and sensitivity to cease to guard against this tendency for intrinsic explanations, and stretch ones thinking in order to better serve English language learners. I truly like Hamayan et al. (2013) text because it provides concrete examples of probing questions, potential challenges that ELLs may demonstrate as well as possible explanations from different perspectives for typical language and academic difficulties experienced by ELLs. The article is an eye-opener, and it lays the foundations to how deep and extensive the process of diagnosing should be. I am certain, I will reach for this text, or even will buy a book in order to help me become a more reflective, better practitioner. The more knowledgeable I will become, the more successful my students will be. References Hamayan, Marler, Sanchez-Lopez, Damico (2013), Describing Before Diagnosing: Observation of Specific Behaviors That ELLs May Exhibit, Chapter 3 of Special Education Considerations for English language Learners. Philadelphia, PA: Carlson Publishing.

Friday, September 20, 2019

South African Natural Resources Economics Essay

South African Natural Resources Economics Essay The South African natural resources mining industry is long recognized as the most important sector and in spite of the fact that it is the sixth largest provider to total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at currently; and is still regarded as a foundation stone of the economy and the chief employer. The mining industry is a well-established and resourceful sector of South Africas economy and has a high degree of technical expertise as well as the ability to assemble capital for new development. The immensity of the known mineral resources and reserves were revealed by means of conservative exploration methods, still significant potential is expected for the unearthing of other top-notch deposits in areas still to be thoroughly explored with contemporary exploration technology. South Africa is a leading producer and supplier of a range of minerals and produces approximately 53 different minerals from 1548 mines and quarries as well as exports to approximately 80 countries. As a chief mining country, South Africas strengths comprise a soaring level of technical expertise and research and development activities. South Africas Mineral Resources can be classified into: Precious Metals and Minerals Energy Minerals Non- Ferrous Metals and Minerals Ferrous Metals and Minerals Industrial Minerals PRECIOUS METALS MINERALS INTRODUCTION South Africa is the worlds largest producer of platinum-group metals (PGMs) and the fifth largest producer of gold. The country is also a major producer of diamonds, while silver is produced as a by-product from gold, lead-zinc, copper and PGM mines. 1.1 DIAMOND South Africas 2009 diamond production was less than half of 2008 production, falling by 52.3 percent to 6.1 Mat. Diamonds sourced from kimberlitic contributed 91.8 percent to the countrys total production, while alluvial and marine diamonds contributed 4.8 and 3.4 percent, respectively. Production from De Beers Consolidated Mines dominated the countrys total output with a contribution of approximately 85 percent, despite a 49 percent reduction in carats recovered in 2009. 1.2 GOLD South Africas gold industry has been the principal focus of black economic empowerment, resulting in a changing ownership structure. With the increase in the price of gold and the worldwide economic slowdown, investment in gold has increased, with investors seeking safe haven investments. Demand for gold also increased in 2009, particularly from India and China. 1.3 PLATINUM GROUP METALS The PGMs include platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium, osmium, rhenium, iridium and ruthenium. Platinum, palladium and rhodium are produced in substantial quantities. South Africa is the largest producer of platinum in the world and holds a large percentage of global reserves. 1.4 SILVER Silver is produced in South Africa as a by-product of gold, lead-zinc, copper and PGM mines. South Africa does not have a primary silver mine and the metal is only produced as a by-product of other minerals, most notably gold. 2. ENERGY MINERALS INTRODUCTION South Africa is well endowed with both coal and uranium reserves and is ranked amongst the top ten in the world, but has relatively small known reserves of oil and gas. South Africa is the 7th and 11th largest world producer of coal and uranium, respectively. 2.1 COAL According to the 2010 BP Statistical Energy Survey, South Africa had end 2009 coal reserves of 30408 million tones, 3.68% of the world total. South Africa has Africas only significant coal reserves. 2.2 OIL NATURAL GAS According to the 2012 BP Statistical Energy Survey, South Africa consumed an average of 547.25 thousand barrels a day of oil in 2011, 0.64% of the world total. South Africa is the leading economic power in Africa as well as a key player in the African oil industry. 2.3 URANIUM The AngloGold Ashanti mine is the major producer of uranium as a by-product of gold in South Africa from three mines, namely, Great Noligwa, Moab Khotsong and Kopanang. Nuclear Fuel Corporation (Nucor) exports all uranium oxide (U3O8), which is processed through calcinations of uranium slurry. 3. NON-FERROUS METALS AND MINERALS INTRODUCTION South Africas non-ferrous minerals resources are rated amongst the top 10 countries in the world. The country is well endowed with titanium and zirconium resources, which is economically mineralized in heavy mineral sands in Kwan-Zulu Natal as well as the Eastern and Western Cape. 3.1 BAUXITE South Africa does not mine any bauxite. It does, however, have an active aluminum smelting industry. The Hillside aluminum smelter sited in Richards Bay is one of the worlds most superior and efficient AP30 smelters and produces T-bars and primary aluminum ingots. 3.2 ANTIMONY South Africa is a major global antimony producer, producing 3 000 t in 2009. The largest antimony producer in South Africa is Consolidated Murchison, a subsidiary of Metorex Limited. 3.3 NICKEL COBALT Most of South Africas nickel and cobalt are produced as by product of platinum mining activities on the Bushed Igneous Complex. Nickel mining is done by means of an underground shaft and also by open-pit mining. Oxidized chromatist is also mined as division of the pre-strip of the future open pits. 3.4 COPPER Parabola, South Africas leading copper producer, is located 360km north east of Pretoria, close to the Kruger National Park. Parabola is also a major source of vermiculite and baddeleyite (zirconium oxide). The majority shareholders in Parabola Mining Co. are Rio Tinto plc (57.7%) and Anglo-American. 3.5 ZINC LEAD Exira owns Zinced, an electrolytic zinc refinery with the capacity to produce 110ktpa of zinc and 170 kappa of sulphuric acid. The refinery, located 50 km east of Johannesburg in Springs, processes some 240ktpa of zinc concentrate. 3.6 TITANIUM ZIRCONIUM South Africa is Africas main producer, with 30% of world production, second after Australia. Limonite, retiled and leucoxene are the primary ore minerals of titanium and are usually found in localized beach placer deposits, hence the term Heavy Mineral Sands. Anglo American and BHP Billiton are the main producers from their operation on both coasts of South Africa. 4. FERROUS METALS AND MINERALS INTRODUCTION South Africa is the worlds largest producer of chromium and vanadium ores and a leading supplier of their alloys. It is also a major producer of iron and manganese ores, an important supplier of manganese alloys and a small producer of ferrosilicon and silicon metal. 4.1 CHROMIUM African chrome is produced from the Bushed Complex in South Africa, which has 80% of global reserves and produces approximately 50% of global chromate. Nearly all of Zimbabwes chrome production is sourced from the Great Dyke and consumed for local ferrochrome plants. 4.2 IRON ORE According to the USGS, South Africa produced 53 million metric tons of iron ore in 2009, making it the worlds 7th largest producer. It also estimated, in 2009, that South Africa has 1000 million tons of crude ore reserves and 650 million metric tons of iron content reserves. 4.3 MANGANESE South Africa currently accounts for about 75% of the worlds identified manganese resources. These mostly occur near Hoatzin in the Northern Cape Province. According to the USGS, reserves were estimated at 15 billion tons in 2011. South Africa was the worlds largest producer of manganese in 2011, producing 3.4 million tons. 4.4 VANADIUM Pure vanadium (V) is a bright white metal, and is soft and ductile. It is has a good corrosion resistance to a variety of alkalis and acids, but oxidizes readily above 660 C. About 85% of vanadium is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. 5. INDUSTRIAL MINERALS INTRODUCTION Industrial minerals are generally high volume, low value commodities that will usually bear minimum costs of underground exploitation since most occur near surface. As a result, most industrial minerals require less complicated mining techniques and, therefore, present opportunities for small-scale mining development. SOUTH AFRICAN CEMENT INDUSTRY The cement production process Cement is a synthetic grind that, when assorted with water and aggregates, produces concrete. The cement-making process can be divided into a few basic steps: Mining limestone Proportioning and grinding limestone with other à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾correctiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ raw materials Manufacturing clinker in a kiln at temperatures of 1,450ËÅ ¡C Grinding clinker and extra minerals to produce the powder known as cement Distributing cement to clients Southern Africa Cement Industry: Overview A resource-rich country, characterized by vigorous GDP growth and a flourishing construction market, South Africa has all the markings of a sensation story for cement producers. With numerous capacity extension projects being planned or recently concluded, South African cement companies are gearing up for a constant expansion of the cement market. Consumption South Africa has enjoyed a stable increase in its cement utilization in recent years and the 2004-2006 periods proved no exception. In 2004, conjugal cement demand stood at 10.69Mt, rising by 11.6 per cent to 11.934Mt the year after. The strongest regional growth in 2006 was recorded in the Western Cape which saw its cement market inflate by almost 20 per cent. Other markets to trace double-digit growth figures were Mpumalanga (16.8 per cent), Kwazulu-Natal (14.7 per cent), Gauteng (13.4 per cent) and Free State (10.5 per cent). Market movement The market shares of the four players on the basis of production capacity are as follows: PPC cement leads the pack at 43%, followed by Afrisam at 24% and Lafarge at 23%. Cimpor accounts for 10% of overall production capacity. When, or if, all the new pipeline capacity is in production, PPCs production market share is expected to decline to 41%, Afrisam to 19%, Lafarge to 18%, while Sephaku will account for 10% of overall production capacity, and Conticem an anticipated 3%. Challenges faced by the Cement Industry Soaring fuel prices and deceitful road and railway facilities facade a serious difficulty when it comes to the transport of cement. Mounting electricity and raw material costs are also totaling to production costs. Skills deficiency: Worldwide antagonism for skills. Accessible infrastructure besieged to get by with growth. Equipment and civil contract lead times increasing. Resistance in SA to make use of of kilns to set out waste Looking to the future of the cement sector in SA South Africa is in the process of restructuring its future. Structural improvements are taking place in its economy, infrastructure improvements have enlarged the nations economic capacity and will prop up, not obstruct future economic growth. A key move towards opening the construction industry to increasing opportunities is the Department of Housings invitation in March 2010, to invite suppliers of substitute building methods to team up later this year. The Major Cement Producing Players in South Africa 1. PRETORIA PORTLAND CEMENT: PPC is the principal supplier of cement in southern Africa through eight cement manufacturing facilities and three milling depots in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe that can produce around eight million tons of cement products each year. 2. LAFARGE CEMENT ZIMBABWE: Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Limited, previously Circle Cement Limited, is a Zimbabwe-based cement manufacturer and also a distributor of cement and related products. Lafarge has a production capacity of 450,000 MT per year, 120,000 MT of which is exported. 3. LAFARGE ZAMBIA: Lafarge Cement Zambia manufactures and provides cement for its local market and also exports to bordering DRC and Burundi.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Millard Fillmore :: essays research papers

Fillmore, Millard (1800-1874), 13th president of the United States (1850-1853) and the second vice president to finish the term of a deceased president. He succeeded Zachary Taylor at a critical moment in United States history. The Mexican War (1846-1848) had renewed the conflict between the Northern and Southern states over slavery, since it had added new territories to the United States. The debate over whether these territories should be admitted as free or slave states precipitated a crisis that threatened civil war. Much to the relief of Northern and Southern politicians, Fillmore pursued a moderate and conciliatory policy. He signed into law the Compromise of 1850, which admitted one territory as a free state and allowed slave owners to settle in the others. This compromise did not solve the basic problem of slavery but did preserve peace for nearly eleven years. During that time the North gained the industrial power that enabled it to defeat the South when civil war eventuall y came. Fillmore was born in upstate New York in 1800. He was the second child and eldest son in a family of nine. His parents, Nathaniel and Phoebe Millard Fillmore, had moved from Vermont to New York several years before his birth. Young Fillmore did chores on his father's farm, worked as an apprentice in the clothier's trade, and attended local schools irregularly until he was 17. Although the only books in his home were the Bible, an almanac, and a hymnbook, Fillmore managed to educate himself with the help of a village schoolteacher, Abigail Powers. When he was 19, Fillmore began to study law with Judge Walter Wood of Cayuga County. He supported himself by teaching school. When his family moved to East Aurora, near Buffalo, New York, Fillmore continued his study of law and his teaching. In 1823 he opened a law office in East Aurora. Three years later he married Abigail Powers. The couple had two children, Mary Abigail and Millard Powers. In the early years of their marriage, Mrs. Fillmore continued to teach school and to help her husband with his law studies. In 1826, the year Fillmore was married, an incident in western New York set him on the road to the presidency. When William Morgan, a former member of the Masonic fraternal order who had written a book that claimed to expose the order's secrets, disappeared, the rumor spread that he had been murdered by avenging Masons.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Greek Architecture And Orders :: essays research papers

Greek Architecture and Orders Greek Architecture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greek architecture has been noted as some of the world's finest buildings known to man kind. Such as the Parthenon, and the temples they built to their Gods, have been studied over for many years. The way these structures were built is fascinating. The Three Greek Orders of Architecture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greek architecture is broken down into three orders. These orders were determined by the way that the top or capital of each column was sculpted. The first order was called the Doric Order. This was the most simple of the three. It was only meant for sturdiness, not for beauty. The second order was called the Ionic order. They had capitals sculpted like spiraling scrolls. They too were not that beautiful, but very sturdy. The third was the Corinthian Order. Ta the top of each capital of this order were carved Acanthus leaves. They were very beautiful, but not quite as sturdy as the other two. The columns were sometimes replaced with load-bearing statues called Caryatids. Greek Homes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greek houses were probably the most common of all buildings. They were built out of mud, and bricks. They all had a few rooms for dining, cooking, bathing, and sleeping. To conclude about Greek homes, most Greek citizens spent their time away from home, so little architectural specialties were put into the households. Ancient Greek Temples   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greeks spent alot of hard work, time and effort into the temples they built for their gods. This was where the three orders were put into effect. The Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders were popular forms all over Greece. Greek temples were made of stone, some were made of Marble. The Greeks constructed many acropolises, one famous one was the Partheneon.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Drama Evaluation

I think, although there were still a few mistakes, that my groups' (made up of; Liegha, Charlotte, Max, Robert, Katie, Claire and myself) performance went quite well. Rehersals at the beginning of this term were horrible, with group arguing and not listening to eachother, but after a few weeks we began to pick it up with better communicational skills and having different people in charge (director) really helped with decision making and getting everyone to listen to different ideas.MY personal rehersals worked really well, I managed to learn most of my lines within a few weeks, which gave me more time to practise my staging positions and interaction with the other characters on stage, although I don't feel this showed in my perfomance. My weakest scene would have been the ‘Lancelot and Guineverre' scene, where Max and I were lead characters. I think due to the fact that all eyes were on us, as we were very close together, gave me slight ‘stage-frieght' as my movement was quite stiff, unlike in rehersals.I forgot most of the stage directions we, as a group, decided to use, to make the scene more ‘slap-stick comemdy' for the year 6's. Although I feel my vocal skills were my strongest skills for the scene; I sounded more like a queen/princess then a normal teenager, I articulated so that audience members could understand me, and I think I projected my voice quite loudly. Our ‘Booties' scene came over quite effectively, with everyone looking realistly hypnotized.Katie, our Leader, came off really strong and wise and Claire, our McConnamal, came off really well in the fact that she was trying to trick poor Liegha, Someone, into handing over all her money. All the Booties remember their lines, on time, so we were close to ‘in sync' with eachover, which made the hypnotizism even more believeable. I think since the performance we have improved this scene, in the fact that we've got alot of energy for our new song ‘Money, Money, Money ' which could engage the audience with them swaying and enjoying the music.All in all, I think that our performance went great, not perfect, but really, really well. As a group I feel we communicated well, engaged the audience in a few scenes, and mangaged to make as few mistakes as posseible. As an indivual actor, I feel I can make alot of improvements to my serperate parts and to the whole group together, and to be honest it was alot of fun. CaraMay x

Monday, September 16, 2019

Interprofessional Education

This assignment will be about my thoughts and feelings relating to the Interview that I have conducted with a healthcare professional. According to Bud, Gogh & Walker (1985), they defined reflection as â€Å"the context of learning as a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations,† (as cited in Androgynous & Davie, 1997, Para. 4).Through this reflection, I hope to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Interview and how I could make It a learning experience for future application, 2. Reflection of the Interview 2. 1. Description My group, consisting of 4 pharmacy and 2 nursing students, was assigned to Professor Bad. He researches on the ethical issues concerning biomedicine, combining his past specialization in philosophy to formulate his thoughts and writings. He was part of an advisory committee in many notable International organization s such as UNESCO and WHO to name a few.In addition, he Is an editor- in-chief for his own Journal publication, called Salsa Bioethics Review. My group managed to get some help from his assistant to secure a meeting room for the interview. The interview questions were aimed at finding out about his roles and responsibilities, a clearer insight into bioethics with case examples and his inter- professional communication experiences. During the interview, I was tasked with note-taking alongside another pharmacy student, while there were 2 audio-visual crew manning 3 digital cameras and 1 photo camera.We delegated a nursing and a pharmacy student to conduct the Interview with the Intention of providing 2 different viewpoints from the questions asked as well as to provide a more focused and centered conversation. 2. 2. Feelings Before the interview started, we realized that 2 out of the 3 digital cameras had roughly 30-40 minutes worth of video recording capacity which might not be enough . My feelings then were that of disappointment because I had planned to combine different angles of the Interview Into our video-making.However, my Initial apprehension was short-lived as the interviewee was amiable and enthusiastic, and I felt relaxed and warmed up to him quickly. During the interview, I was tensed because I was typing rapidly but my group members' poise and confidence in their roles made me reassured. Overall, the interview was a success as everyone executed heir roles expertly and I felt a sense of accomplishment for our efforts in planning and executing the interview. 2. 3. Evaluation The Interview was an eye-opening experience as have never done an informational interview before.After reviewing the video recording, I noted down the strengths and weaknesses of the interview. Firstly, using Jean's ‘SOLES' model, the interviewers were sitting squarely, had an open posture, leaned forward, maintained eye contact, but were a little tensed. One of the interview ers, Celia, kept twirling his pen and even dropped It at one point. Arc, on the other hand, kept spinning in her Secondly, the content of the interview covered multiple areas and it helped us to understand the health professional better.However, the questions did not transit well from the preparation to the exploration stage. An example was the quick transition of understanding the interviewee's roles and responsibility to finding out about abortion. Lastly, the interviewers displayed sufficient communication skills. They responded to the interviewee's answers with nods and verbal cues such as â€Å"uh- huh† and â€Å"yes†. The questions asked utilized the social penetration theory to explore and create self-awareness through self-disclosure.Alton and Taylor (1987) highlighted that self-disclosure and social penetration was co-related: Self-disclosing and learning about others is the process of penetrating deeper into the selves of those people?and enabling others to p enetrate ourselves and gain a deeper understanding of us. This process of penetration is a gradual one, in which each communicator reveals layers of personal depth. (as cited in Doyle, 2004, Para. 6) However, the interviewers could have slowly crafted out the phrasing of the question in their head before asking the question, especially if it was impromptu.This would low the interviewer to understand the main intention of the question without multiple questions asked. 2. 4. Analysis After evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the interview, I decided to explore how these factors might have affected the interview. Firstly, prior to the interview, we did our research into the interviewee's background and tried to understand his roles and responsibilities as well as the concept of bioethics. This enabled us to craft our questions according to how the interviewee responded to show that we had listened and understood his perspective.According to Minnie 2005), he described it as †Å"active learning† and added that â€Å"it involves using the communication cycle and the ability to demonstrate what you have understood when you listen to another person† (peg. 86). This concept is further supported by Egan (1986) who theorized that â€Å"the goal of listening is understanding† (as cited in Minnie, 2005, peg. 86). Hence, this was an area of communication skills which we executed well, albeit some minor fidgety body language which I had highlighted earlier that could have been misinterpreted as being inattentive.Fortunately, the interviewee did not Jump to conclusions and continued to speak enthusiastically. Secondly, the usage of the social penetration theory to encourage self-disclosure was a good way to explore and create self-awareness in the interviewee. Skunk, Meadows, Interring, Tooth & Sooner (2011) defined self-disclosure as â€Å"the act of opening one's self up and revealing information not available otherwise† (slide. 3). Levi ne, Marshall, Wood, Elliott & Wright (n. D. ) illustrated the stages of the theory as â€Å"an orderly process which goes through different stages over time.As interpersonal exchange gradually progresses from the superficial to the more intimate our real selves are revealed† (Para. 3). The four stages to this process are Orientation Stage, Exploratory Affective Stage, Affective Stage and Stable Stage. As we moved from stage to stage, our questions became more personal. For example, in the exploratory affective stage, he revealed how he was a cradle Catholic. When we reached the affective stage where questions were more personal, we asked him if there were any conflicts between his religion and his bioethics research, such as abortion.Finally, at degree of trust and understanding was established, he revealed his personal relationships with his wife, who is a Catholic too, over his line of work. In addition, he as not afraid to display his emotions such as frustration. In the e nd, he showed self- awareness as he could distinguish between the ethical issues of work and his religion. I felt that this was proof that we had managed to fulfill the intended objectives of this model which was to â€Å"escalate a relationship, and moving it from one stage to another. † (West & Turner, 2009, peg. 81) Lastly, the initiation stage to the exploration stage could have transited better. West & Turner (2009) highlighted that â€Å"self-disclosures occur in the context of time- that is, self-disclosures get more intimate as a relationship progresses, and time effect the meaning of disclosure. (peg. 289) Hence, questions related to the interviewee's present life could be asked first before delving into the past. 2. 5. Implication/Conclusion Although I was not conducting the interview, however, I imagined myself to be in the shoes of the interviewer and thought out what could been done differently.With the insight I have gathered after evaluating and analyzing, I f elt that asking multiple questions could have been avoided as it confused the interviewer hence some of his reply did not address the question. Snow (2012) revealed that â€Å"when people are reverse, they tend to ramble, and their questions tend to trail off into series of possible answers† (Para. 8). Thus, the interviewer could have avoided this by taking some time to craft out the question before asking it. Rattail (n. D. ) highlighted that â€Å"stopping a conversation to ask the right questions is far superior to nodding along in ignorance,† (as cited in Snow, 2012, Para. 8). Hence the interviewers could have used linking sentences to steer the interviewee back to the right direction. 2. 6. Action plan After reflecting on the interview, I thought of an action plan to integrate my experiences into future interviews, especially with a patient, since I will become a nurse. Firstly, I will continue to use Jean's â€Å"SOLES† model to show attentiveness to the i nterviewee and in the case of the patient, display that I am able to empathic with him/her. Secondly, preparation is crucial. Prior to any interview, I will ensure that if equipments are needed, I will check for its usability.The questions planned will be formatted correctly to ensure proper transition and if the reply does not answer the question, I would not hesitate to rephrase and repeat the questions again to get a more definite answer. More importantly, I will give the interviewee time to process and answer the question without bombarding him/her with multiple questions. Lastly, Multiprogramming's (2012) highlighted some criticisms of the social penetration theory, â€Å"gender, age, religion, social experience (maturity), and ethnic background could greatly influence resistance to certain self-disclosures† (Para. 2). In that situation, I will utilities other exploration skills such as the Shari Window model, which consists of 4 stages; open, hidden to others, blind to oneself, and unknown to oneself and others. 3. Conclusion of the reflection This assignment is a reflection of my inter-professional experience with a healthcare professional and the communication skills that I have applied to ensure an effective communication. I was exposed to various methods to enhance exploration skills, such as social penetration theory and Shari Window model.In addition, I learnt about the understanding. It is with this insight knowledge acquired that I hope to apply to patients in future to show empathy and improve the nurse-patient relationship.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The Strategic Plan for Ninestiles School

Development planning is the mechanism for a school to specify its strategic and operational betterment activities. Strategy, as a long-run purpose, sets the way for school and the nucleus moral intent. However a good scheme is non sufficient by itself but requires a sound short-run operational program. Davies, B. J, & A ; Ellison, L. ( 2005 ) emphasise that the strategic â€Å" program provides a consistent manner of interpreting the nucleus moral intent of the school and its values into action, influenced by a hereafters position and vision. † With the coming of local direction of schools, parental pick, and the publication of school scrutiny conference tabular arraies, it is apparent that a school needs to advance and market itself to avoid a autumn in axial rotations. One of the challenges which the school sets itself, hence, is to develop a system which recognizes and wagess pupil accomplishment in order to better the school. This model scheme is produced for Ninestiles as a school betterment program. In this program I will roll up and analyze the information and information from Ofsted, public presentation tabular arraies, and the school web site and school profile to sketch the strategic program. In add-on, I will urge operational actions and planning procedures. More significantly, through doing the appropriate links between the literature reappraisal and the instance survey of school effectivity and betterment, I will bring forth an appropriate program to back up and advance whole-school and student success for farther instruction and life outside of school. Literature reappraisal Schools, as educational Centres, ne'er fail to pull attending from people, society and authoritiess since the eighteenth century. Consequently, every school has to alter to face challenges. However, school effectivity and school betterment have become the focal point of instruction systems in the modern universe. With development of economic system and society, schools can non shut their Gatess and leave the issues of outside universe in order to last and turn in turn toing the complicated alteration challenges in to the twenty-first century, which makes establishments more porous and permeable ( Elkind, 1993 ) . Schools hence need to do witting to face with alterations come from inside and outside of school. Fullan, Cuttress, and Kilcher ( 2005 ) outlined eight key alterations forces that all leaders would hold to understand, overcome and undertake in schools. They are: â€Å" ( 1 ) prosecuting peoples moral intents, ( 2 ) edifice capacity, ( 3 ) understanding the alteration procedure, ( 4 ) development civilizations for acquisition, ( 5 ) developing civilizations of rating, ( 6 ) concentrating on leading for alteration, ( 7 ) furthering coherency devising, and ( 8 ) cultivating tri-level development. † The eight alterations forces are non isolated and incorporate on an purpose of instruction in school. As an purpose of instruction, the moral intent is the greatest driver of alteration. â€Å" moral intent in educational alteration is an orientation of school ‘s spirit, that means to better society through to develop educational systems and so to raise quality of all citizen. Fullan ( 2005 ) stated that concentrating on leading is the most powerful lesson of alteration. It is non controversial, Collins ( 2001 ) and Mintzberg ( 2004 ) agreed with Fullan ( 2005 ) and pointed out that successful school need a effectual leading. â€Å" Secondary scheme for school betterment † ( The pilot school and pilot local governments, Defs and primary and secondary scheme, 2006 ) provides an overview of the indispensable elements of the secondary intensifying support programme, it as a counsel, makes sense for schools development. The cardinal subjects: Constructing leading capacity Bettering the conditions for larning Bettering the quality of instruction and acquisition Using informations intelligently Supplying an engaging and appropriate course of study Establishing a acquisition community ( The pilot school and pilot local governments, Defs and primary and secondary scheme, 2006, p? ) However, if Ninestiles School will turn to each of the subjects, the primary status is that there must be an equal leading and direction and acquisition conditions within the school. A good suggestion made by â€Å" Secondary scheme for school betterment 2006 † that is that a successful leaders should cognize as followed: how to get the better of opposition to anything new, grab chances and avoid jeopardy That large springs are associated with large wagess and that incrental chage will take them nowhere That the cardinal challenge is to alter people ‘s behaviors and that they can merely make that by act uponing their feeling every bit good as their thought How to take alteration every bit good as manage it Leadership in school should â€Å" turn to the position quo through set uping a sense of urgency, making a guiding group, developing a vision and scheme and pass oning both of them efficaciously † . In short, leading should be able to happen out new ways and attacks of working through warrant of short-run wins and consolidating advancement in order to ease more alteration. Rationale is that leading must guarantee that the nucleus activities of instruction and acquisition are cardinal to duty and answerability of the school ( The pilot school and pilot local governments, Defs and primary and secondary scheme, 2006 ) As a general driver, developing civilization of larning supply a set of schemes for people larning from each other. Change cognition requires furthering coherency devising in order to increase peoples corporate power to drive the system running frontward swimmingly. Dufour, Eaker, and Dufour ( 2005 ) stressed the necessity and power of professional acquisition communities while Fullan ( 2005 ) identified beyond one school and Pfeffer and Sutton ( 2000 ) commend that turning information in to actionable cognition is a societal procedure Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, and Wiliam 2003 and Fullam ( 2005 ) emphasised one of the highest-yield schemes for educational alteration late developed is assessment for larning. Fullan ( 2005 ) claim that schools need to alter persons, every bit good as demand to alter contexts, cultivating tri-level development provide more learning in context ( at school degree, territory degree and province level,2006 ) . Barber ( 2005 ) provinces same point of view that eight drivers are keys to make effectual and permanent alteration. These drivers are widely accepted and have become theoretic counsel for school ‘s scheme. The first serious treatments and analyses of School effectivity emerged in the 1960s out of concern for equality of educational chance. In the beginning, surveies stressed societal background and heredity as the strongest influences. However, Wrigley ( 2004 ) and MacGilchrist et Al ( 2005 ) have listed failings of the school effectiveness tradition: â€Å" ( 1 ) excessively narrow a position of accomplishment ; ( 2 ) over trust on quantifiable results ; ( 3 ) force per unit area of answerability through testing, conference tabular arraies and review and can falsify the course of study, instruction and acquisition ; ( 4 ) identified characteristics of effectual schools may non be easy movable. In fact, these issues are non particular phenomenon, how to avoid these disadvantages has become more and more educationalists ‘ consideration. In contrast to school effectivity, during the past 30 old ages at that place has been a parallel thrust for school betterment used to accomplish organizational alteration through ab initio unsystematic attempts. Hopkins and Reynolds ( 2001 ) suggested that three elements should be taken into history when sing the development of school betterment: a ‘bottom-up ‘ attack to self-evaluation and betterment planning with teacher ownership ; greater focal point on student results through links with school effectivity community and going progressively ‘top-down ‘ through strategic authorities intercession. In short, betterment demands change. Expediently, bottom-up self-evaluation is a fast and direct feedback for monitoring and following up betterment program, top-down authorities intercession is a drive force to oversee and press that schools must concentrate on instruction and acquisition. Hargreaves and Shirley ( 2009.p5 ) analysed that three ways of alteration have gone earlier as followed: First manner of province support and professional freedom, of invention but besides incompatibility. Second manner of market competition and educational standardization in which professional liberty is lost. Third manner that tries to voyage between and beyond the market and the province and balance professional liberty with answerability. Entering the fast, flexible and vulnerable new universe of the twenty-first century, we have to face dramatically new jobs and challenges. It is realized that the old three ways of educational alteration have non matched the new alterations and development, A â€Å" 4th manner † of educational alteration has been identified, based on the best of the old ways of the yesteryear without withdrawing to or reinventing the worst of them ( Hargreaves and Shirley,2009 ) . They asserted that â€Å" it is non a manner to retain bossy control over narrowly defined ends and marks. The 4th manner, instead, is a democratic and professional way to betterment that builds from the underside, tips from the top and provides support and force per unit area from the sides. † Sing context of Ninestiles School, the 4th manner provide some inspiration: Leadership is the cardinal function for development of a school Every instructor should set duty before answerability. Michael Fullan ( 2009 ) points out that school alteration depends on what instructors do and believe. As a moral intent, instructors should set duty before answerability – it is every bit simple and every bit complex as this. Parents should be more to the full engaged. Students as active spouses in their ain development are most of import. Back land Ninestiles school is a 6th foundation school and it is a larger than most secondary schools in Birmingham. It serves 1471 pupils ( 11-18 old ages old ) in the Acocks Green country of Birmingham but besides attracts pupils from other countries of the metropolis. Just over a half pupils are White British ; somewhat over 10 % are from Asiatic Pakistani backgrounds and similar proportions are of Asiatic Indian heritage. A particular unit attached to the school has 45 pupils with address and linguistic communication of community troubles. ( Ninestiles website 2011 ) Ninestiles has been a specialist school for engineering for 15 old ages and has had applied larning position since 2007. Ninelstiles school is committed to a course of study which aims to supply a acquisition environment in which all pupils irrespective of gender, ability, societal or cultural background, are encouraged to accomplish to their full potency, all the pupils have been exposed to a assortment if instruction and learning manners experience of cardinal accomplishments. School ‘s mission is to fix all-around citizens who are able to play a full portion in the life in the community. By prosecuting aims with vision, Ninestiles seeks to prosecute the head, elevate the spirit, and excite the best attempt of all who are associated with the school. What does Ofsted state? Ninestiles School was to the full praised by Ofsted in 2009 and was judged as outstanding overall. Inspectors reported that Ninestiles â€Å" has made many alterations in order to to the full run into the demands of all pupils and get the better of any barriers to larning † ( Ofsted 2009 p.4 ) . Outstanding facets of the school include: Students ‘ accomplishment, as the school is extremely effectual at actuating pupils who have made limited advancement in the yesteryear. It is barely surprising that the huge bulk of parents are satisfied to the school. Teaching and acquisition, because of consistent manner in which instructors plan lessons in the visible radiation of pupil ‘s mark. Leadership and direction, as the cardinal precedences are to the point and based on the sound rating and school has been originative in developing high quality leaders at all degrees in the school. Student ‘s personal development and wellbeing as they appreciate in mature manner about their school and class as brilliant function theoretical accounts for younger pupils. Other effectual facets of the school were noted by Ofsted as follows: The course of study is effectual in run intoing the demands of all pupils. The course of study is a major factor in guaranting first-class behavior and high degrees of motive amongst all groups of pupils. Work-based accomplishments, including teamwork and endeavor, work-related acquisition chances prepare pupils outstandingly good for employment or the following phase in the instruction. In add-on, pupils have chances to try a broad scope of classs. These classs is strong work-related dimension. Consequently, the Information and communicating engineering is used really good and extensively. The attention, support, aid and counsel are highly effectual to lend to the pupils ‘ outstanding personal development. Students are safe in the school and parents and pupils value a really good relationship with grownups. The rapid passage to an all-age tutorial system was handled really good. Governors are really effectual because they play a cardinal function in guaranting that many new developments are carefully considered prior to execution. Governors insist that best value rules are applied to all that the school does. Ninestiles in the Performance tabular arraies? Harmonizing the Ofsted study in the last four old ages, there has been a fluctuation in GCSE consequences. Fortunately, there was a important rise in 2010 from 51 % to 64 % 5+A*-C including English and Maths. However, the public presentation of pupils at GCSE needs to be kept stable and if possible farther improved. More significantly ; from the tabular array as follows, it can be seen that compared with national and metropolis figures its GCSE public presentation is now higher. Here we should pay attending to CVA, in 2009, CVA suggested advancement in line with outlook at 997.1, but in 2010, the CVA raised dramatically to 1031. This suggests that in 2010 students made advancement well beyond outlook. Comparison with national and metropolis figures Year school National criterion Birmingham norm Ninestiles school 2009 50 % GCSE 1000CVA 48 % GCSE 1000CVA 51 % GCSE 997.1CVA 2010 53 % GCSE 1000CVA 55 % GCSE 1000CVA 64 % GCSE 1031CVA Beginning informations: DfE School and college public presentation tabular arraies. Ninestiles ‘ ain position of its effectivity Ninestiles is efficaciously structured to react to the demands of twenty-first Century instruction. The school twenty-four hours has been carefully designed with modern larning demands in head. The wide and balanced course of study is antiphonal to single demands and the altering national context. All squads have a structured remit and an consciousness of the portion they play in making the vision. About Curriculum statement Ninestiles School is committed to supplying a learning environment in which all pupils are encouraged to accomplish to their full potency. Students are assessed on twenty-first century accomplishments like teamwork and communicating. The pupils, their parents and instructor are all involved to take the degree or class in which pupils would wish to take. Ninestiles takes great pride in supplying chances for their pupils either at the academic or vocational development as it is believed that doing the appropriate links to the existent universe will non merely enrich their apprehension of the curriculum country but will besides get down to fix them for farther instruction and life outside of school. The school twenty-four hours has been carefully designed with modern larning demands in head. Reality Baste Leaning ( RBL ) is mandatory for all pupils. This type of larning focal points on existent universe scenarios and pupils learn by replying jobs About work-related acquisition Ninestiles school has taking border position of work-related acquisition. It has been a specialist school for engineering for 13 old ages and has had applied larning position since 2007. Work-related acquisition is defined by school as any planned activity that uses work as a context for larning ( OFSTED 2009 ) . By supplying pupils with the chances and context in order to develop their work-related accomplishments, cognition and understanding. Such construct is based on logic of specialisation and it involves work-related acquisition within the classs for all students at cardinal phase 4. It occurs across the course of study when different topics and classs are offered to pupils. ninestile ‘s mission is to fix all-around citizens who are able to play a full portion in the life in the community. As a typical engineering school school ‘s schemes reflect our aspirations and we seek an appreciate the counsel and encouragement in transporting out these aspirations aims. Every pupil in the school has been exposed to a assortment of learning and larning manners, experience and work out existent universe jobs and leaves school with extended experience of cardinal accomplishments. Our aspirations are targeted non towards rankings but instead towards accomplishing a topographic point where take great pride in supplying chances for their pupils either at the academic or vocational development as it is believed that doing the appropriate links to the existent universe will non merely enrich their apprehension of the curriculum country but will besides get down to fix them for farther instruction and life outside of school. Key precedences for betterment Fortunately, Ninestiles School has made many alterations positively, but we can non shy away from confronting its failings. Harmonizing to the review judgement reported by Ofsted in 2009, there are six facets that should be improved and strengthened: For the group ( 16-19 ) whose public presentation reached comparatively lower class than others group, most facets review concerned with were at grade 2 or 3. The in-between director working in ( 16-19 ) group should be adjusted and consolidated to to better tutoring and mentoring systems and heighten top-down bureaucratism, prescription and counsel. Finical support. Headteacher, with regulating organic structure and all staffs, analyses budget to guarantee school development program precedences with appropriate budget allotment. The school budget needs to be flexibly used to back up a push for betterment. ( Fullan, M. , Barber, ( 2009 ) Use the award system. The award strategy provide encouragement and acknowledgment for attempt and accomplishment. A survey conducted by Harris.L ( 1996 ) showed that the better the kids performed in all these old countries ( classwork, prep, attending, promptness, behaviour ) the more successful would both learning and larning become. Another must be emphasized is in footings of personal development and wellbeing for school overall, pupils had truly bad attending ( at class 3 ) and healthy life style ( at class 2 ) . Comparison with other similar school ( table 2 ) School Attendance Ninestiles In 2009 Ninestiles In 2010 Birmingham In 2010 England In 2010 % of half yearss missed 8.2 % 8.5 % 6.8 % 6.9 % Unauthorised absence 2.3 % 1.6 % 1.4 % Persistent absence 9.1 % 8.5 % 4.4 % 4.6 % Figure from OFSTED From table 2, it can be shown that pressing job of Ninestiles school is hapless attending, there are two steps that should be suggested, one is parent meeting and calling.The 4th manner recommend parents should be more to the full engaged. The school should present first twenty-four hours of absence naming place for all absentees and consult students and parents over wagess and countenance. Parents meetings should be held with all parents monthly and there should be hebdomadal updates by phone. In this instance, each pupils received monthly advancement cheque. Others is to set up award system. The 4th manner stressed the pupil as active spouse in their ain development is of all time the most of import. Award system efficaciously build pupils assurance for their farther survey. It is traditional and really effectual for pupil public presentation including category work, prep, attending, promptness, behavior and public presentation at GCSE. The 3rd facet should be highlighted is for leading, review pointed the school ‘s self-evaluation and community coherence did non exercise every bit good as outlook â€Å" leading should acquire the vision right to increase urgency and construct the guiding squad. The schools white paper ( 2010 ) emphasized school should better top-down bureaucratism and â€Å" bottom-up † support. It is good circle for self-evaluation † . The policy has non been to the full updated to run into all current demands. The school policy and patterns should be shared and public in the school web site. There is a statement in the school prospectus which linked to development program marks. Policy and pattern are reviewed and updated every term in visible radiation of altering profile. This is besides a good manner for all ( pupils, instructors, parents and society ) to measure our school. The monitoring and rating of instruction and acquisition has non ever identified rapidly enough the advancement made by different groups of pupils All the grounds from different instruction system around the universe shows that the most of import factor in finding how good kids do is the quality of instructor and instruction. High quality instructor is cardinal fact of successful school. The school alteration depends on what instructors do and believe ( Fullan ( 2000 ) . As a moral intent, instructors should set the duty before answerability. Raising entry demands and more preparation in or out-school is suggested by white paper. The school should guarantee all staffs must be in topographic point in order to better pupils ‘ public presentation. Specifically, the school needs to set up a particular group for the monitoring and rating of instruction and acquisition in order to react quickly to any fluctuations in advancement and proctor more efficaciously the advancement that different groups of pupils make in lessons. This group is to supervise more efficaciously the advancement that different groups of pupils make in lessons, peculiarly in Years 7 and 8 ( Ofsted 2009 ) . pupils public presentation at GCSE need to maintain stable and promote and school ‘s CVA should be Consolidated. Teachers are clear about their instruction ends that attempt on the school ‘s highest-priority ends in ways most likely to better pupils ‘ public presentation of academic. In the instance, instructors create a strategic program for bettering the quality of instruction and do adept usage of bing learning stuffs in order to give more clip to patterns that enrich and clear up the content. To develop instructors harmonizing to program and do certain their cognition and learning stills maintaining updated to fit the demands of societal and single ‘s development. Precisely, School betterment group need run intoing with instructors to place and research the issue that are involved in placing students in old ages 9 and 10. this conference should be based on informations gathered earlier in the school from logbooks and treatment with pupil deputies. Furthermore, there should be voluntary after-school or lunchtime lesson provided by staff and an excess session, affecting strong links with external bureaus is based on test techniques, is organized What issues/weaknesses have been identified? Precedences for Improvement Proposed Actions Success Criteria For the age group ( 16-19 ) whose public presentation reached comparatively lower Ofsted class than other groups in this school. For this group, most appraisals reached merely grades 2 or 3 Improve quality of instruction and acquisition Adjust in-between leading working in this group. Raise pupil aspirations through links with concern and higher instruction For this group, mark of most appraisals should make above classs 2 Students had truly hapless attending ( at class 3 with 8.5 % absence ) , Improve attainment Work with parents to advance good attending, recognizing links to attainment the attending to make 95 % relentless absence to be reduced to 5 % at grade 2. The school ‘s self-evaluation and community coherence were non effectual every bit good as outlook. the policy has non been to the full updated to run into all current demands. Monitoring and rating of instruction and larning have non been ever identified rapidly plenty Strengthen leading Build betterment group Monitor and track advancement more strictly school betterment groups become progressively influential in driving up criterion Student ‘s public presentation at GCSE needs to be kept stable and promoted. Provide encouragement and acknowledgment for attempt and accomplishment. Establish â€Å" good acquisition â€Å" civilization in school. It will be anticipate to 70 % 5+A*- including English and Mathematicss by 2012DecisionIn recent old ages criterions have risen steadily in our school, the most of import thing is that a school is able to prolong this advancement or non when it confront with disputing circumstance sometime. It is shown above that Ninestiles School has won a well-deserved repute for its current effectivity and betterment from society and Ofsted while Ninestiles school has taking border position of work-related acquisition. the school assets, direction and societal supports all have been ready for Ninestiles to take obstructions for acquisition and made many alterations In order to run into all pupils ‘ demands. However, there are still many challenges that school has to face with. Ninestiles school can provides thoughtful and far-sighted strategic leading that create the environments that makes good learning pay off and larning efficaciously to back up and track our all aim. There has been an highly clear vision that reaches into every corner of this school. However, the most common position of scheme is to put the way of school ( Davies, B. Davies, J. & A ; Ellison, L. 2005 ) . It consists of some short-time purpose, that is: First, school should beef up leading that should acquire the vision right to increase urgency and construct the guiding squad. Second, The school should set up evidence-based attack to bettering instruction and acquisition and better consistence in feedback and marker. Third, school should set in topographic point enhanced tutoring and mentoring systems to guarantee that all pupils are supported harmonizing to their demands. Finally, the school demands to put our appraisal system to guarantee that our enterprise on path and supervise our school as a whole is accomplishing the short term ends and long term aspirations. Pursuit of excellence, as counsel, sets an ambitious docket of aspirations by specific schemes and programs, which call for us to settle down to work in much land for one ‘s ain responsibility and concentrate on coordination, steadiness, clearcutness, pertinence and existent consequence. Our school needs to guarantee that all pupils and instructors can be to the full equipped to do a difference in the planning period. In another words, the school should be already to be after the following stage of its development because of â€Å" no best, but better â€Å"

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Costco

The average Cost customer is found to be a college graduate earning an estimated $100,000 a year, twice the national average. This shows that their customers are ones ho can afford the yearly membership fee and to spend as they please in the warehouse as most customers find that they tend to overspend as they shop about Cost. Cost is able to create value for its customers by creating a sense of adventure and mystery for the customer who relates a shopping experience at Cost as akin too â€Å"treasure hunt†.Another value Is the low prices of items that customers can buy at no more than 15 percent mark ups as compared to departmental stores that mark up merchandise by 50 percent and supermarkets that mark up their Items by 25 percent or more (Lutz 2013). At times, Cost has special deals for customers by selling branded goods Like Pravda handbags, Carrier watches, Kristin Kelly wedding gowns, barrels of whiskey or even engagement rings, all at specially discounted prices (Lulling 2014). The first area of Cost's value-chain analysis will be the primary activities of inbound logistics and marketing and sales.Cost is extremely proficient and efficient in their procurement system, integrating a mix of human and technical skills and capabilities. One such instance is the development off competent technique of delivering inbound cargo to their designated warehouses within the pan of less than a day to ensure there is no time and cost wastage of leaving the items in the delivery trucks (Cost Wholesale 2010). This leads to higher sales and enables Cost to achieve quicker inventory turnover. As of June 2014, Cost Wholesale Corporation Is reported to have an Inventory turnover of 1 1. Times the national average (Bloomberg Businesswomen Bibb and compared to Wall-Mart Stores Inc which has an inventory turnover of 8. 1 times of the industry average (Bloomberg Businesswomen 2014). Cost is unique because they do not advertise but prefer to save that two percent of he budg et and channel it into more productive areas like employee benefits (Greenhouse 2005). Sales and service-wise, as mentioned previously Cost does not mark up its prices by more than 15 percent and it achieves this by buying in bulk and stocking only a limited assortment of products.A typical supermarket may have about 50,000 different Items for customers to choose from; Wall-Mart has an enormous selection of about 100,000 products but a typical Cost wholesale outlet stocks only about 4000 Items, of which most can be bought In bulk, a small portion as compared to competitors. Castoffs low merchandise count means It carries only choice brands and items and often only in one size. The executives at Cost believe making and confusion and eventually they walk away without purchasing, thus Cost only provides the best brands for each product (Logan and Abeyant 2012).The only gripe about Cost's service is that the lines are always taking too long, seeing as most customers end up over-spending and buying most items in bulk. Procurement is an essential aspect of support activities in the value-chain analysis of Cost. Cost builds strong relationships with its suppliers and tries to ensure that TTS suppliers are providing the best and lowest prices in order for Cost to do the same for its customers. Potential suppliers have to go through long dealing periods and stringent tests are carried out on their products to ensure it suits the needs and wants of Cost's customer base.An example would be thousands of toys waiting for the Cost team to hand-pick over five days the hundred fifty or so final products that will make the cut onto Cost's end-of-year holiday shelves for children. In the name of providing the best prices for its customers, Cost sometimes resorts to hardball arraigning when dealing with the suppliers such as in 2009 when Cost temporary ceased inbound shipments of Coca-Cola beverages as it stated on its website and shelves that Coca-Cola had not provided Cost wit h competitive pricing and Coca- Cola products would not be available until prices were lowered.Coke beverages returned to Cost's shelves in a few prices, but this shows Cost's procurement strength even when dealing with a main supplier (Harvard Law School 2010). The Cost Collaborative Retail Exchange (CRUX) program is a real-time software that allows Cost and selected suppliers to update the inventory anytime anywhere, especially when inventory for an item falls below a reorder point, the supplier is notified and stock is sent out to ensure it meets market demand.Once a product is scanned, the program is updated and inventory managers are notified if the product is close to the reorder point (IR 2013). For the demographics of Cost's customer base, it is divided by income, household size and age. A research done on Cost by a New Zealand market research firm finds that a whopping eight-five percent of wholesale club shoppers belong to the upper income market that are either â€Å"liv ing comfortably' or â€Å"affluent†.Subsequently, seventy-two percent of wholesale club shoppers are typically from a two to four person household. It is also noted that about three-quarters of female wholesale shoppers are younger than 55 years. (Acropolis Research Ltd. 2004) In conclusion, Cost Wholesale has a strong reputation and brand name, provides value through its low prices and for creating an adventure for its customers. With a large market share, it has considerable procurement strength but maintains relationships with suppliers.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Cultural Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example In fact, the latter part of the Neolithic Age showed that these people also developed pottery especially those group found in the Near East. When it comes to society, the Hunter society is considered flat since there is no hierarchical authority and the social structure is egalitarian. The hunters are usually grouped in a band that has an average of 15 members. On the contrary, the Neolithic Man are usually grouped in tribes with at least â€Å"150 up to 2000 members† ( Rigby, 2000). However, like the hunter society, studies about Neolithic Man also revealed that hierarchy is not evident in their society. Many scholars believed that both societies had â€Å" primitive communism† wherein they all equally worked hard for the benefit of the community. Also, the social life of these groups mainly focused on the home and their families. The â€Å" primal religion† of these two groups are similar. These societies believed in a concept of â€Å"god† that existed in nature. God was magical for them since he existed in forms such as thunder, fire, lightning which they showed much respect. These two groups also believed that people have spirits and that they travel into another dimension. Even in the hunter society, burial was practiced which illustrated their respect for the dead body. Shamans or witchdoctors were also recognized as people who can heal or communicate with spirits. In short, religious beliefs already pervaded the life of early man.