A Review on the Article: “A Good Way to Pick a Fight”

Charles L. Mee presented an untraditional observation on how the Cold War began in his article â€Å"A Good Way to Pick a Fight†. Providing a compilation of series of events that may have influenced the spark of the Cold War, Mr. Mee gave a different view on why the Cold War seemed inevitable.Charles L. Mee presented opened his article with several incidents from the three respective leaders that were linked to the Cold War: President Harry Truman of the United States of America, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. He illustrated some of the statements or actions that the three leaders had done that helped to start the Cold War.The author states that, unlike what most of us know that President Truman started the Cold War, all of the three countries involved in the Cold War made their respective actions for the war to happen.It is not only President Truman who wanted the war but so as Churchill and Stalin. It just so happene d that the United States of America was the one to first declare the war. The author argued that the war is inevitable, that the true starting point of the war was buried in haze because all of the three sides are struggling to be the one to have the upper hand of starting the war.Indeed, all three of them initiated actions that were later became the source of war. But I think that if only all three of them trusted each other’s agreements, there would be no cold war. When a war has ended, the next thing that should happen is peace. People tend to go to war to obtain peace.That is, I think, most of us think. But after studying some of the most famous wars of our times, I think that power is the real source of conflicts. It has always been power. Past leaders thought that to obtain peace, they should have more power. To control order, one must become powerful over the other. And I think that power sparked the Cold War.In a way, I think that Charles L. Mee is right. The United S tates could have started the war literally but it is also true that the Soviet Union was also planning to go to war. Hence, it was just a matter of who will initiate the first move. The â€Å"Big Three†, I think, had each of their contributions for the origin of the Cold War.Upon reading the article, the most important thing that I have learned was the circumstances that occurred when the atomic bombs were launched to Japan. I have learned that the atomic bombing was not merely necessary and was just a mere act of power.The United States Government launched the atomic bombs because they want to threaten their future enemies during that time. A particular line from the article caught my attention. That is the statement of Admiral William Leahy on his explanation of the Japan atomic bombing. He said that the bombs were dropped â€Å"because of the vast sums that had been spent on the project†.Another purpose of the â€Å"unnecessary† Japan atomic bombing was to sh ow to the Soviet Union that the United States has a weapon capable of destructing massive areas in seconds. The American Government did the bombing to control the situation that was arising between them and the Soviet Union, which later developed as the â€Å"Cold War†.Bibliography:Mee, Charles Jr. L. â€Å"A Good Way to Pick a Fight†. American Heritage Magazine. Aug 1977: vol 28, issue 5.

Classification Essay

Chris Owens Professor McCrary EN130 29 October 2012 Types of NFL Head Coaches Many people think that NFL Head Coaches are just the ones in charge of the team, and call the plays on game days. There are many styles that different Head Coaches have – Players Coach, Motivator, Strategist, and Team Builder – these styles need to be recognized. Most fans think that the HC is the leader, and tries to set their team up to be successful. Certain coaches use different styles that they implement into their coaching, and that’s how they get things done with their teams.Many of the styles are similar in some instances, but very different in other ways. Player Coaches are able to look at the players and the game from a different perspective, because the coach was in the players shoes at one point an time. He knows how relate to players better than some other coaches, when it comes to getting the job done and going through the grind of the season. Coaches like Herm Edwards and Mike Singletary are good examples of player coaches. Players’ see the coach as someone who has experience as a player, and that he really knows what he’s talking about when he is instructing.Players tend to have a little bit more respect for player coaches, especially when it’s their first time getting that HC job. Player coaches ten to be very charismatic and up beat when it comes to getting their players ready for the game. Another very charismatic and passionate leader is the Motivator coaching style. This type of really knows how to inspire the team and get them on the right track to be successful. John Madden and Vince Lombardi are two legendary coaches that were great motivators and lead their teams to multiple Super Bowls.Players enjoy playing for a great motivating coach. Motivational coaches tend to land those big time free agents and are able to keep the stars that are already playing for him happy. Coaches with this style tend to get the most out of the players performance and have them performing at a high level on Sundays. They are known to be great speakers, and always have that inspirational pre-game speech to get the team ready greatness. On the other hand, great motivational coaches may not always have the greatest game plan for a game.Motivators sometimes just hope that their players are better than the other team on that given day. The third coaching style relies less on the hoo-rah of the game and inspiration of players. This style relies more on out-smarting his opponent by being more strategic. The Strategist is a brilliant tactician, and looks at the football field like a chessboard. The Strategist coach is always trying to evolve his game plan and always wants to put his players in the best situations to win games. Strategists are always thinking of new ways to progress player and own abilities.Bill Walsh and Tom Landry are two legendary Strategist head coaches. They came up with totally different styles of offense that changed the game of football forever. Strategist coaches know how to build up their young players and keeping his veteran players at the top of their game. However, being the smartest coach doesn’t always lead to wins if you don’t have the right players or the ability to motivate them. Coaches must try to be men of different hats to be successful head coaches in the NFL. This last coaching style takes traits from all of the previous coaching styles discussed.The Team Builder coach usually comes into a situation where the team isn’t that good and trying build their team to be very competitive again. Team building coaches are almost part scout and part general manager when it comes to running their team. Team building coaches are always looking for that next stud college player or that big time free agent to add to their team’s talent level. Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs are examples of great team building coaches, that have took teams from worst to first. Once a Team Building coach gets their personnel together, they must be able to progress his players and inspire them to be great.If that can be done the sky is the limit. Although each Head Coach may have a different style of how they want run their team. If their style is a Player’s Coach, Motivator, Strategist, or Team Builder; in the end, their goal is for their teams to be great and to become Super bowl Champions. Not many people know of the different styles that different head coaches bring to the table, and that has to be recognized by the fans. Football is a team game, and when you put the right coach with the right assistants and players. It’s no telling how far that team will go.

Zimmer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Zimmer - Essay Example This allowed orthopedic companies to lower costs due to greater technology. Zimmer pioneered minimally invasive surgeries (MIS), which lowered surgical times, lessened pain, and improved recovery. The industry was forecasted to grow at 23 percent annually, but much of this growth was to occur in the spinal product segment. Zimmer did not cater to this market at all and instead focused on the knee and hip segments. Zimmer Holdings was founded in 1926 after Justin Zimmer, the original founder, could not convince his employer to sell aluminum splints. Zimmer left his job and created his own company. Over the next few years, Zimmer expanded and became a major domestic player in the orthopedic industry. In 1972 Zimmer was bought out by Bristol-Myers, which had designs on Zimmer reaching a global market. In 1989 Bristol-Myers merged with Squibb to form Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). In 2001, with the company already a major global pharmaceutical company, a decision was made to turn Zimmer into an independent publicly traded company. BMS appointed several individuals in management positions so as to smooth the transition to the NYSE. By the following year, Zimmer was second in the knee market worldwide, third in the hip market, and fourth in the trauma market. The president of Zimmer Incorporated, J. Raymond Elliott, quickly assessed where the company was at and decided to expand the company into Europ e. Also, Elliott wanted to do something about the spine market, where Zimmer had no presence at all. Sulzer Corporation was founded in 1834 as a Swiss manufacturing cast-iron company. Throughout the years Sulzer expanded and acquired many medical technologies. By the new millennium, Sulzer Medica (SM), as it was known by then, was a global player in the biomedical implant business. After going through some legal troubles, the company was rebranded as Centerpulse Orthopedics. Zimmer was

Do you think the European Union has a democratic deficit Essay

Do you think the European Union has a democratic deficit - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the European Union is among the international organization that is developed. It provides an avenue for viewing the democratic structures development outside its state members. Democratic deficit is a controversial issue among the European Union members and touches on issues that are crucial. The essential issues are based on developments in the future within the theory of democracy. However, the European Union democratic deficit is known for its heterogenic nature. Thus, members are not sure if the deficit really exists and the issue is still being debated upon. Similarly, possible problem potential solutions vary in scope and range. In comparison to international organizations that are traditional, the European Union has a distinct institutional structure. The member states acceptance of the European Treaties has brought so many favours. For instance, the member states have the capability of relinquishing sovereignty in relations to institutions that are independent thus representing shared and national interests. The institutions of the European Union complement each other. In that case, each has a role to play in terms of decision-making. The decisions made fulfil various functions such as executive, judicial and legislative. There exist seven (7) key European Union governing institutions. These are such as the council, European commission, European parliament, court of justice, court of auditors and the European Central Bank. (â€Å"European Union Primer†). All these institutions have a role to play as illustrated below. The council main role is to set an agenda. In that case, it is responsible for the overall European Union political direction. However, it has no mandate to approve any laws. As a result of the role it plays, members have to meet occasionally after every six months. It comprises of the state or government national heads and the commission’s president. In their meetings, they do cover various issues facing the member countries. These are such as, transport, industry, environment, agriculture among others. On matters related to law-making, the European Union three institutions play an essential part. These are such as, the European Union Council, European parliament and the European commission. The parliament represents the citizens of the European Union; the council represents the state or governments of European Union members and the commission represents the Union interest. Jointly, these institutions work together to come up with viable policies for the Union. They follow the ordinary legislative process and provide laws and policies that are thorough. The policies and laws are then adopted throughout the European Union. Ideally, it is the commission that proposes laws that need to be implemented whilst the council and parliament approves them. The European Union member countries and the commission task are to implement the newly generated laws and poli cies. Furthermore, the commission has to ensure that the designed laws are implemented and applied properly (â€Å"EU institutions and other bodies†). The Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors have also a significant role to play in the European Union. The court of justice main purpose is to ensure the correct interpretation of the community law and its implementation in correspondent with the signed Treaties. For instance, a ruling can be made by the court if a state member fails to follow any laid down Treaties obligations. Alternatively, if the country fails to check community institutions instruments that are compatible with regards to the Treaty. This occurs whereby, annulment actions are presented before the court or failure to act by the European commission, council or parliament. Apart from the above roles, the court of justice has all the powers to give their opinion on Treaties correct

Your views stand out among others i have read and here is why Personal Statement

Your views stand out among others i have read and here is why - Personal Statement Example However, it is an undeniable fact that American society observed new horizons of life and learned new lessons. People were afraid of the loss of work and the hardships that would accompany with the economic calamity. Depression was not only an economic devastation, but it changed the social perspective entirely. For instance, women find it easier to get low-wage jobs that opens new opportunities for them although it was a clear deviation from ideal gender roles in a family at that time. Farmers could not bear the heavy burdens of banks loans and saw the commodity prices fall sharply. The event forced mass agricultural based population to move in urban settlements to find a job. By the introduction of CCC, NWA, and WPA, people start thinking that their government is actually working for them. The government had more control and an increased influence on people’s life and that lingers on till today. Just when the American economy was reshaping itself and recuperating from the de pression, United States was forced to enter into the WWII. Ironically, the war helped the economic activity and reduced employment that had surged to more than 11 percent. However, economists believe that the real prosperity started not before the war ended. What bothers me most is the concept that freedom comes through government. Ideally, government should protect its citizens from internal or external violent and destructive elements. Should government be allowed to start a war?

Data Analysis Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Data Analysis Report - Essay Example Subjective norms refer to the beliefs about how other individuals in the society will perceive the particular behaviour whereas perceived behavioural control is characterized by the person’s perceptions with regards to their own ability in performing the specific behaviour. It has been considered that a more positive attitude and subjective norm along with a stronger behavioural control can significantly increase the person’s intentions of carrying out the behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). The application of the theory of reasoned action in various studies has shown the relevance of each of the variables as explained by the model. The findings of Ryu and SooCheong (2006) showed how subjective norms were insignificantly related to tourist intentions with regards to local cuisine whereas customer attitudes had a significant impact on behavioural intentions. Personal beliefs also had a positive impact on the intentions of customers. Therefore, it is of great importance that efficient strategies in marketing should be carried out, especially in yielding positive outcomes on tourist attitudes towards local cuisine. Bellman et al (2009) also found out that, among female shoppers, their attitudes along with subjective norms helped influence behavioural intentions when purchasing products. ... In order to measure the perceptions of customers regarding the quality of services, their expectations can be compared with the actual delivery of services. Five dimensions were proposed- reliability that refers to the employees’ ability of delivering consistent services; responsiveness that refers to the employees’ ability to provide timely assistance to their customers; empathy which is demonstrated through special care and attention for customers; assurance which is the ability of employees to establish trust and confidence among customers; and tangibles that refer to the physical surroundings and resources. It has been asserted that when customers are satisfied with services, they may perceive these to have high quality (Parasuraman et al 1985) or vice versa. Other researchers such as Bolton and Drew (1991) had been in agreement with this notion and asserted that customer satisfaction is associated with service quality, although there have been dissimilar views on t he relationship between these two concepts. Thus, it is of great importance that organisations and researchers alike be able to effectively identify the relationship between customer satisfaction and the dimensions of service quality. Customer loyalty has also been shown to be related to perceived service quality; this form of loyalty is characterized by the attitudes demonstrated by the customers regarding repeat purchases and patronization of product. Several service quality dimensions, such as empathy, responsiveness, and reliability have all been proven to influence loyalty among customers (Caruana, 2002; Ehigie, 2006; Ndubisi, 2006; Nguyen and LeBlanc, 2001). Yu Sum and Hui (2007) also concluded that perceptions of service quality can further be influenced by the price

Convince school to take specific measurements to improve students Essay

Convince school to take specific measurements to improve students health and fitness - Essay Example The school also needs to watch out for the impacts that the programs has on the students. If the student do not take to the program implemented, they are likely not to participate hence the inevitable failure of the program. Nutrition and physical fitness is important for students because it offers many great benefits such as improved self esteem and confidence, improved performance in class and a general improvement in the physical health of the students (Jackson 56). If the students are in good shape, it reflects in their general self esteem. For teenagers, what others think is more important to them that what they think about themselves. Kids can be cruel in high school as is well known by all. They are bound to make fun of a fellow kid if they were seen as unhealthy and unfit. If the students are physically fit, it instills some form of confidence in them and makes them feel like they are actually worthy. This is a decision made based on their mastery of skills and the aspects of the physical programs. This in turn makes the student more aggressive, have more self-control, be more independent and have more confidence. In addition, physical fitness among the students will reflect in other areas of the curriculum. The students are bound to perform better in class and this benefit them and the school as well. Every management wants the society to see them succeeding and therefore, good student performance reflects well on the managements performance (Jackson, 43). Physical exercise has always been known to be a way through which one can relieve stress. Engaging in physical exercise does not only improve the physical health of the students, but also can be a way for the children to rid themselves of any form of tension and anxiety that they may be experiencing. Consequently, this will improve the student’s emotional stability and resilience. The programs set up for improved physical health can be an

Bones Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bones - Essay Example 436–443). Tendons are flexible fibrous connective tissues connecting muscles and bones. Fundamentally, they facilitate the movement of people as they act as intermediaries between muscles and bones, and are vulnerable to tearing caused by prolonged or repetitive movement of muscles, excessive muscle contraction or overstretching (Benjamin et al., 2006). They are located in areas that are characterised by bone intersection such as knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows, and feet. Ligaments are connecting tissues that attach one bone to another or muscles to other structures in the body. Even though both ligaments and tendons can withstand tension, ligaments connect bones to other bones and help in stabilizing the joints around them. They are by long and stringy collagen fibres that create bands of tough fibrous connective tissues mostly found where ends of bones intersect. They can be stretched and lengthened with caution to avoid sprains resulting from direct or indirect trauma that pre-disposition a joint (Benjamin et al., 2006). It may be easy to confuse tendons, ligaments and bursae, but these three structures represent adipose and connective tissues. Therefore, it is important to note that bursae act as an adipose tissue that protects the connective tissues whose differences have been highlighted. Benjamin, M, Toumi, H.,  Ralphs, J.,  Bydder,G., Best, T.,   and   Milz, S. (2006), Where tendons and ligaments meet bone: Attachment sites (‘entheses’) in relation to exercise and/or mechanical load. Journal of Anatomy, 208(4): 471–490. doi:  Ã‚  10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00540.x Shaw, M,. Santer, M., Watson, A., and Benjamin, M. (2007). Adipose tissue at entheses: the innervation and cell composition of the retromalleolar fat pad associated with the rat Achilles tendon.  Journal of Anatomy. 211(4): 436–443.

Economic Growth and Workers Essay Example for Free

Economic Growth and Workers Essay What basically the article of Mehring would want to states into the public would be the adverse effect of the economic growth on the labour market [workers]. It was states on his paper entitled â€Å"Vital Signs: A Not-So-Great ‘08† that market analysts predicts, as 2008 comes, the economy to be more dependent on the consumption level of the consumers. In this light, Mehring stressed that this would be impossible considering the current condition of one of the primary sector in the economy- housing. For the past years, housing sectors has been performing so badly after the end of 2005 as the demand of consumers for housing units declined dramatically giving the housing firm a hard hit on their financial capabilities. In this regard, members of the housing sectors were forced to lay-off some of their workers. Furthermore, the financial sector of the economy has not been performing well making the recovery of the housing sector to slow down. At the end of the day, it is the consumers, workers at the same time, which receives the entire burden since there is a big possibility for them to be fired from their jobs and/or to receive lower wages as the economy continuous to perform badly. From November last year up to the present, the number of jobless people continuously keeps on rising. Even though there are a lot of jobs that has been created at the start of this year, around 70,000 jobs, those are still not enough to compensate the job losses that occur in the labor market. Due to the fact that there workers receives lower incomes, logically, they can only consume less thus making the profit of the businesses to decline. It was identified that retail stores experienced significant drop on their sales even during the holiday season. Due to this, their profitability and outlook in the economy started to become dependent on the performance of the consumption level of the consumer group. Since the profit of the producers are negatively affected by the lower consumption of the consumers, as well as due to the fact that there is a large pool of unemployed people available in the labor market, there is a leeway for businesses to offer lower wages to their employees, and the cycle of burden goes on. Although, export market keeps on lowering down the bad performance of the economy through convincing the investors that there is still hope for our economy for avert the negative effects of recession to the entire economy. Because of the alarming effects of the bad economic performance of the country, the government has been identifying ways on how to increase the growth of the labor sector to improve the consumption levels of the consumers and thus improving the profitability of the business firms operating in the market especially those coming from the construction and housing sector. There are already around 350,000 job losses that occurred by the end of December 22 and the current level that we have is higher than with the average level of 2007. Meanwhile, most of the job growth falls under the service sector and they are accounted for around 150,000 of the 192,000 jobs that are added in October last year (Mehring 4). Inside the service sector, it is the professional services, health care, leisure and entertainment that contributes for the improvement of the service sector. In order for the government to fully address the problem regarding unemployment, they must focus their policies and programs for the betterment of the financial sector, private as well as the providing measures on how to increase the growth rate of the labor market. In short, finds ways on moving the economy away from the midst of recession and secure the concerned sectors of the economy for a sustainable economic growth. Critique and Insight Based from the article of Mehring, there is a clear relationship of economic growth and the labor sector which is comprises by the working class. Actually, Mehring presented in his paper how the cycle of recession and unemployment exists in our economy nowadays. Actually, it is a good thing that he mentioned it in his paper since it provides us of the reasons why the government is actually bound of which party they would protect the most, is it the private or the consumer group which could also be classified as workers. The not-so-good- performance of our economy for the past two years has been imposing serious threats to major industries and one of this is the housing industry. Here is the logic, by the time the demand housing units declined by the end of 2005, members of the housing industry starts to experience lower profitability. Due to this scenario, this housing industry starts to become incapable of sustaining the current level wage rate and what they will do is to either lay-off some workers and/or lowers down the wage rate that they pay for their workers in order to secure their profitability which eventually further decaying the income and purchasing power of the consumers [workers] and the cycle continuous. There have been studies saying that in order for the economy to progress impressively, the government must find ways to maintain a lower unemployment rate. But what is happening in our case would be a different one considering the response of the consumer group and the market condition of major business sectors. Here, the government must not only focus on the unemployment rate but also considering the welfare of the business firms in making actions to address the problem. There are times wherein the government is too much engross in solving the unemployment rate but sacrificing the welfare of the businesses and at the end of the day the problem still remain and become worse. I think, it would be better for our government to find solutions to increase the rate of job growth that will not affect negatively the businesses in the economy like lowering down the restrictions of FDI into the country in order for the foreign investors to be encourage establishing their businesses here, thus, making creating more jobs. Moreover, the government could lower down the taxes of the taxes of the domestic companies in exchange of not laying-off of workers. Another possible solution that the government could implement would be to lessen the trade barriers of the government to give way for the multinational companies to set up their branches here in the country and thus creating more jobs to the economy. The reason why I have been to much in particular of solving the problem regarding unemployment because when a person has a job he could earn an income and used it to his needs or simply as consumption. By the time consumption improves, then, businesses starts to perform better and so with the entire economy. In this scenario, we could see that economic growth and workers are really related to one another. Moreover, it is good that Mehring identified in his paper the connection of the financial sector in revitalizing not only the growth of the business firms but also its importance on upgrading the financial capabilities of the consumers. Growth of businesses firms [economic growth] as well as upgrading of financial capabilities of consumers [workers] is made possible by the financial sector if they would lower down their interest rate from borrowing in order for the businesses and consumers to borrow money from them and used this money to increase their purchasing power and their budget for operation. Since in this scenario consumer will be having more money [through borrowing], then, their consumption level will improved and so with the profitability of the business firms especially the housing and construction sectors which are currently in bad shape in terms of demand and profitability. In this regard, it would be necessary to say that economic growth and workers are interrelated to one another, and the performance of one could affect the other through various economic factors such as consumption pattern and supply level.

Transportation In Houston Essay Example for Free

Transportation In Houston Essay The problems of transportation in our city have a series of branches that all affect us. We, as Houstonians have the duty to contain our city as beautiful and healthy as we can. This is part of our past, present, and our feature, not only for us but also of our love ones that are yet to come. It is very important that we as human being that live in this community do something to protect our environment and reduce risks for further generations. Do you think that there something we can do to stop this shortage of transportation? There are many different problems in our environment that affect everyone around the community. Transportation in Houston is a severe problem that we have now in days. This is a problem in our community that divides into a series of arguments that we are trying to fix. It does not necessarily have to fit in our lifestyles, as long as we set time out in our busy life to take care of the environment. It does not have to be something that relates to your career as long as it is something that you like to do. I am very interested in setting sometime out of my job, to take care of my community. Even if they do not relate, I understand that in doing so it can help provide a better feature for the next generation. As a Houstonian, it is very important for me to try to find a way to expand the transportation in Houston. By decreasing the transportation, the pollution produced daily will also decrease as well as the traffic. Increasing public transportation is a good way to reduce all these risks. In my own experience, I have seen how public transportation is very efficient. In my Colombia, we use public transportation as a way to get around to many different places in the city. It reduces traffic, and accidents that may occur because of careless drivers. The state officials encourage public transportation because it reduces risks and it is also economic. They also encourage bike riding and walking. They build a lot of trails so that people that decide to walk do not have to worry about having to walk on the street where they can be put into any danger. Here in Houston, the state does not provide those types of options to people. You have pedestrians that walk in the streets putting their lives at risk, and then you have those that decide not to walk so they will not have to worry about putting themselves or their loved ones at risk. That is why most people decide that it is better to drive themselves somewhere, even if it is close, then to walk there. I would like to be encouraged into walking to different places, or to ride a bike around. It would be better for people to take that decision if there were sidewalks available all over the city, so that people could move around easier. This would be helpful in many different levels because it would create a better feature by, reducing the accidents that occur on a daily basis. It could also help the economy, because people would start saving more money. They would have more money to spend on other things needed, if they are saving gas money. They would not have to worry about having to earn a little more money to have to waste on other important things they might need. It can be improving for everyone. The bad thing is that not everyone feels the same way about using public transportation. Some rather save a little more money rather then having to depend on someone to drive them around. They never stop to think about the resources they are saving. I was researching the internet, trying to find articles that explored the subject about public transportation. It was very interesting to find different points of view over this topic. They were not really reliable resources, they were more like different opinions. I would like to explore this topic more reading different databases so that the information I may inquire can be precise. I would also like to read more about this subject in different newspapers like Houston Chronicle, to see what they think about this subject. When I was researching this newspaper online I realized that they don’t have any titles that cover this subject. I found it to be really upsetting to know that they do not cover important subjects like this in their news. It is very important for people to be able to get informed about things that are becoming a problem in their city. This way they will have a way to not only get informed but try to look for options to try and solve this error. Other resources would also help so that they can better inform themselves such as TV Shows, and other programs. This is a very important problem that does not get talked bout to much, so people do not really realize the problem we are facing. They do not try and do something about it because they probably think that it is something very insignificant, that other public organizations have not worried about advertising it as much. It is hard for me to assimilate the fact that we are missing out on a lot of information that can help us make a better our city an even more beautiful one.

Classroom Management and Discipline

Classroom Management and Discipline Nowadays, lot of teachers in our country are facing problem in managing their classrooms in schools. Â  Perhaps the single most important aspect of teaching is classroom management. The students are described to be different and some of them tend to act superior to the school management system, even to the teachers. They show less respect to the teachers, refuse to get involve in the learning sessions and even misbehaving in the schools. In order to make sure the learning environment go well, the teachers have to come up with certain guidelines in managing their classrooms. Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies for the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers, indeed for some who experiencing these kind of problems already leave the teaching profession altogether. This problem is not only faced by our local teaches but it is believed to be happening world wide. In the year of 1981, the US National Educational Association reported that 36% of teachers said they would probably not go into teaching if they had to decide again. A major reason was negative student attitudes and discipline.(Wolfgang and Glickman). According to Moskowitz Hayman (1976), once a teacher loses control of their classroom, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to regain that control. Also, a research from Berliner (1988) and Brophy Good (1986) shows that the time that teacher has to take to correct misbehavior caused by poor classroom management skills results in a lower rate of academic engagement in the classroom. From the students perspective, effective classroom management involves clear communication of behavioral and academic expectations, as well as a cooperative learning environment (Allen 1986). Classroom management is related to issues of motivation, discipline and respect. Many teachers establish rules and procedures at the beginning of the school year in order to control the students. According to Gootman (2008), rules give students concrete direction to ensure that our expectation becomes a reality. They also try to be consistent in enforcing these rules and procedures. Many would also argue for positive consequences when rules are followed, and negative consequences when rules are broken. Sometimes, this application is working in order to manage the classroom effectively but at the same time, failure also happens. Classroom Management and Discipline Classroom management is the reflection of the learning environment of a group of individuals within a classroom setting. A teachers classroom-management system communicates information about the teachers beliefs on content and the learning process. It also represents the kinds of instruction that will take place in a particular classroom. A classroom in which the teacher is completely responsible to guide the students actions by encouraging ands teaching them to be responsible for their own behaviors. The nature of classroom management and classroom instruction is especially easy to be seen and understood from a student perspective. Students have at least two cognitive demands on them at all times: academic task demands which is understanding and working with conten and also social task demands by interacting with others concerning that content. This means that students must try to understand the content and find appropriate and effective ways to participate in order to demonstrate t hat understanding to the teacher and the whole class. The teacher must facilitate the learning of these academic and social tasks. Therefore, the students perspective on the need to be successful, management and instruction cannot be separated. A teacher needs to cater all actions in order to create, implement, and maintain a learning environment within the classroom. Everything a teacher does has implications for classroom management, including creating the setting, decorating the room, arranging the chairs, speaking to children and handling their responses, putting routines in place, developing rules, and communicating those rules to the students. These are all aspects of classroom management: Creating a Learning Environment Creating and implementing a learning environment means careful planning for the start of the school year. The learning environment must be supervised in both physical space and cognitive space. The physical space of the classroom is managed as the teacher prepares the classroom for the students. These questions should be entertained by the teachers Is the space warm and inviting? Does the room arrangement match the teachers philosophy of learning? Do the students have access to necessary materials? Are the distracting features of a room eliminated?. It helps a lot.Teachers must also consider the cognitive space necessary for a learning environment. Effective teachers create and implement classroom management practices that cultivate effective classroom environment for their students. Setting Expectations The establishment of the teachers expectations should be expressed through rules and procedures. Rules indicate the expectations for behavior in the classroom, and procedures have to do with how things get done. Rules can be developed with the students helps in the classroom. The teacher must have the knowledge on which rules and procedures should be used for different environment. It is proven by certain researchers that students who demonstrates high task engagement and academic achievement implement a systematic approach toward classroom management at the beginning of the school year by the teachers. Therefore, one of the critical aspects of managing classrooms effectively, or managing classrooms in ways to enhance student learning, is setting expectations. Motivational Climate An essential part of organizing the classroom is to encourage students to do their best and to be excited about what they are learning. There are two factors that are critical in creating such a motivational climate which are value and effort. To be motivated, students must see the outcomes of the work that they are doing and the work others do. Effort ties the time, energy, and creativity a student uses to develop the the works hold. Teachers also can encourage the students by praising them verbally. It can motivates them to learn more. Maintaining a Learning Environment Classroom management also involves maintaining the learning environment through decision-making concerning students and the classroom. Maintaining a learning environment requires teachers to actively monitor their students. Active monitoring includes watching student behavior closely, correcting inappropriate behavior before its getting worse, dealing consistently with misbehavior, and attending to student learning. In terms of monitoring both student behavior and learning, effective teachers regularly survey their class or group and watch for signs of student confusion or inattention. Maintaining effective management involves keeping an eye out for when students appear to have problems in any field while learning. When Problems Occur Though effective teachers anticipate and monitor students behavior and learning, misbehavior and misunderstanding do occur. When inappropriate behavior occurs, they have to handle it promptly to keep it from continuing and spreading. Depending on the seriousness of the missbehaviors, teachers have to use different techniques to cater them. When students have problem academically, the teachers have to make sure the objectives are clearly given, precise instructions for assignments, and appropriate responds to students questions. In order to create and support a learning-centered environment, students must be very comfortable and feel that their contributions are valued. In addition, students must know how to value the contributions of others, value the diversity within the classroom, and give their best effort because they see it as the right thing to do or something that they want to do. In each classroom there will be a variety of skills, backgrounds, languages, and levels of cooperation. Teachers need to have experiences and skills to teach diverse classes, along with the administrative support in schools. There are many philosophies and styles of discipline applied by different teachers in the whole wide world. It can be hard to decide what works best for a particular teacher. What works for one teacher may not work for another. The best thing a teacher can do is to pick one that he/she think will be successful and make adjustments later if they face problems. Following are some of the most common discipline methods can be used by teachers in classroom: Assertive Discipline. It was created by Lee Canter. Canter believes that if you catch a student being good by recognizing them when they behave, they will work harder at behaving. He also believes that there should be consistent consequences of breaking the rules that are very clear. During early of the class sessions to begin, the teacher comes up with no more than five rules for the classroom. Each time a rule is broken, a consequence is given. If the misbehavior continues, the consequences get more severe every time. At the same time, students are rewarded for behaving properly. This can range from giving them verbal praises or even things such as sweets or foods. A Primer on Classroom Discipline- An article on this manual has been published by Thomas R. McDaniel. There are eleven techniques that are explained that help you achieve control. The methods are Focusing, Direct Instruction, Monitoring, Modeling, Non-Verbal Cuing, Environmental Control, Low-Profile Intervention, Assertive Discipline, Assertive I-Messages, Humanistic I-Messages, and Positive Discipline. Discipline With Dignity This controversial discipline program, created by Richard L. Curwin and Allen N. Mendler, is based on the premise that students are treated with dignity at all times. It is created to build self-esteem and encourage responsible behavior. Typically a contract is created by both the student and the teacher. The contract includes prevention, action dimension, and resolution. The teachers rules must make sense and be fair. At the same time, prevention is also done by the teachers with preplanning to eliminate possible areas of problems. Most important thing is to make sure students are aware of what is expected from them. The action consists of record keeping and classroom management. Finally the resolution component for the teachers is dealing with the continual rule breaker in the classrooms. But, teachers have to remember that discipline should not interfere with motivation and therefore, the students should be taught responsibility rather than being obedience for their own actions in the classrooms. There are some dicline with this method. It is believed that teacher is ought to protect student dignity and the fact there is no punishment. Students frequently select their own consequences rather than the teachers who decide. Teacher responses to severe discipline problems is unusual. Many believe that this should be the last resort for teachers to be used in classrooms when others have failed. Reality Therapy (RT)- This program was created by William Glasser. The emphasis of this program is to help students connect behavior with consequence. This is done with class meetings, clear rules, and contracts. This also includes Positive Approach to Discipline (PAD), which is based on Reality Therapy. Conclusion In conclusion, sometimes even teachers can actually make the problems occur in classrooms become worse, not the students. Therefore, it is important to consider some of the basic mistakes commonly made when implementing classroom behavior management strategies. For example, a common mistake made by teachers is to define the problem behavior by how it looks without considering its function. Interventions are more likely to be effective when they individually commit one of the problem behavior. Two students with similar looking misbehavior may require entirely different intervention strategies if the behaviors are serving different functions. Another common mistake is for the teacher to become deeply frustrated and feeling negative when an approach is not working towards the students. The teacher may raise his or her voice or increase the level of punishment in an effort to make the approach work. This type of interaction may impair the teacher-student relationship. Instead of allowing this to happen, it is often better to simply try a new approach. To avoid this, teachers should have an effective communication with the students. Communication is the key point here and with good approach and mentality, the students problem behaviors can be catered. By times, the classroom environment can be improved all together, for both teachers and students.

Are Criminals Born or Made? Essay -- Psychology, Micro-Criminological

As the act of criminality is a global phenomenon, there must therefore be some explanation as to why this is; some schools of thought strive to explicate this by means of genetics, whilst others take a more socially influenced approach. Although at the time, the micro-criminological theories of Lombroso and Sheldon may have appeared credible, modern research has attempted to refute such notions. In an epidemiological context, the act of crime is seen by some as a positive contribution to society, as noted by Durkheim (Kirby et al, 2000), although too much will lead to social instability, or anomie. In contrariety to Durkheim's beliefs, a Marxist perspective would consider the mere notion of capitalism as criminal; thus deeming the vast majority of global society to be in a constant state of anomie. However, there is still much dispute as to whether people are born, or made into criminals. This essay will discuss the arguments within this debate. To be ‘born’ criminal ind icates a genetic heredity whereas if one is ‘made’; the environmental influences are the significant factor in creation of criminal behaviour. Despite much controversy surrounding the notion of inherited criminal tendencies, there is much evidence to support such theories. Although Lombroso may have employed his theoretic atavisms in an attempt to provide a biologically deterministic method of reducing or preventing crime, they have ultimately lead to an abandonment of gravitas concerning such a notion. However, as myopic as Lombroso's theories of criminality being a hereditary trait appears (Mannheim, 1965) research has shown shared physical characteristics to be commonplace in explicating the argument of genetic criminal behaviour. Although Lombroso presented... ...e fact it does not claim people will be born destined to commit criminal offences, but rather suggests an inherent predisposition towards such behaviours, which can be influenced by societal factors. In furthering a genetically predisposed and socially-influenced explanation, there is an abundance of considerations when explicating criminal behaviour; for example, a non aggressive, psychologically sound individual may be influenced by peer pressure into recreational drug usage, as â€Å"Psychoactive drug abuse commonly results from a combination of low self-esteem, peer pressure, inadequate coping skills, and curiosity.† (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005) therefore suggesting that light recreational drug abuse can accrue to a dependence due to a multitude of social influences, which invariably leads to further crime in order to financially support an addiction.

Essay --

The acceleration of string pattern matching problems in hardware has started as early as 1980 [1] with the special purpose VLSI chip used by Foster and Kung to compute an algorithm for the string pattern matching problem using systolic array architecture. The term systolic array was coined by Kung and Leiserson in 1978 at the Carnegie-Mellon University [2]. This one-dimensional array enables the acceleration of Dynamic Programming (DP) algorithms by means of computing the recursive equation in anti-diagonal flow instead of sequential flow as in a standard microprocessor. Another early study which implemented the DP algorithm on special-purpose VLSI chip was reported by Lipton and Lopresti in 1985. The sequence edit distance algorithm was implemented in the processing element and a total of 30 systolic processors were used for the acceleration of the pattern matching problem. Following that, the Princeton Nucleic Acid Comparator (P-NAC) was reported by Lopresti in 1987 [3]. This VLSI core performed DNA sequence comparisons and achieved speeds 125 times faster than a minicomputer (DEC VAX 11/785). In the early 1990s, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) were used to accelerate the algorithm using a linear systolic array. SPLASH was among the first off-the-shelf FPGA-based sequence edit distance accelerators, and was reported by Hoang and Lopresti [4]. It comprised of 24 PEs where each implemented the sequence edit distance algorithm. However, at that time FPGAs were not as competitive as they are today. Thus, other parallel architectures were developed, including the single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architectures such as micro grain array processor (MGAP) [4] in 1994, Kestrel [5] in 1996 and Fuzion [6] in 2002. These parall... ...poses a new processor array architecture for the Smith-Waterman with affine gap penalty alignment algorithm that are more efficient in speed and area than the processor array architecture of [23] specially for short query sequences. This is achieved by applying a nonlinear mapping methodology to the Smith-Waterman with affine gap penalty alignment algorithm after expressing it as Regular Iterative Algorithm (RIA). This methodology uses a data scheduling and node projection techniques to explore the systolic array architecture of the algorithm. Also, we present the hardware implementation of the processing element (PE) of the proposed systolic array structure and apply a scheduling strategy to the PE architecture in order to re-use the systolic array for the multiple pass processing of such biological sequences without requiring additional time for PE configuration.

Of Mice and Men- Prejudice Essay

This room is made put to be privileged and also because it means he is nearer to the horses but in fact it is really because the other ranch hands do not want him in the bunk house with them. As a result of this prejudice Crooks has become bitter and very lonely. When Lennie comes to pet the puppies, not even realising that Crooks room is â€Å"out of bounds†, Crooks instantly becomes defensive and uncivil, â€Å"I ain’t wanted in the bunk room and you ain’t wanted in my room† but Lennie in his childish innocence is completely without prejudice, â€Å"why ain’t you wanted†, he asks. Crooks retaliates to this with: â€Å"Cause I’m black, they play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, all of you stink to me†. This quote shows us that Crooks desperately wants to join I, be accepted, but because of his colour he cannot so he feels the only way he can make himself feel better is to cut himself off further. When Crooks realises that Lennie means no harm he invites him to â€Å"come on in and set a while† Lennie talks to him about George and his dream, it makes Crooks remember his childhood which he looks back on as a kind of heaven. The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them and some of them were pretty nice. My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later why he didn’t like that. But I know now†. Crooks did not experience racism directly as a child, this makes his current situation worse as he was not us ed to racism. Crooks is fascinated by the strength of the friendship of Lennie and George. Especially how close they are. Crooks said, â€Å"Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then? Crooks asked these questions as he does not have any friends, and he would not know how losing a friend unexpectedly would feel. He was curious and Envious, about the friendship of Lennie and George, noticing that Lennie is mentally immature, he takes advantage of this situation to â€Å"torture† him mentally, to make him feel better and ease the pain of having others reject him â€Å"Crooks face lighted with pleasure at his torture† he also does this to ease his jealousy towards the friendship Lennie has, but that Crooks will never have. He wants the people to feel the way that he does, completely alone. Crooks goes on to talk about his loneliness â€Å"‘A guy needs somebody to be near him’, he whined: ‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you’ he cried ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ gets sick’† Crooks is looking for sympathy, he is so incredibly lonely that he says being lonely can make you fall ill. Lennie continues to talk about is dream. Crooks, having been on the ranch for quite a while, has witnessed a lot of people with the same dreams, he mocks it â€Å"Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody never gets no land† but when Candy comes in and backs up what Lennie has been saying he begins to believe in the dream â€Å"if you†¦ guys want a hand to work for nothing just his keep, why I’d come and lend a hand† Crooks sees the dream as his escape from what he is living in, somewhere like his childhood where his colour would not be an issue. There are different levels of racial prejudice throughout the book. Most of the ranch hands do not socialise with Crooks but would not go out of their way to insult him.

Indian Creation Stories Essay

After reading the Iroquois and Pima creation myths in the book, I have been very intrigued by the Native American beliefs of the creation of the earth. It seems that nearly every tribe has a different belief of how it happened, though some are very similar. The Huron tribe, originally from the St. Lawrence Valley, have a very similar belief of creation as the Iroquois, where the Cherokee tribe had a totally different view than the Pima. The Iroquois and the Huron myths are both in the Earth-Diver category. In this type of myth, animals swim deep to the bottom of the water and bring up dirt in their mouth, forming the earth. Just like the Iroquois, in the Huron myth, a divine woman falls out the sky and is swept up just before hitting water by a hawk. The hawk then calls down in the water for help, for she is too heavy for it to hold by itself. First, a turtle comes out the sea for her to sit on, and then he instructs other animals such as ducks, beavers, and even a muskrat. After the earth is built, the woman gives birth to twins, but soon dies after giving birth to her two sons. The sons in both myths represent good and evil on earth. They were to prepare the earth so that humans could live on it, but they found out that they could not live together. So, they separated, with each one taking their own portion of the earth to prepare. Once older, the good son creates a sun and moon out of the remains of its mother’s body. It continues to create the world, forming vegetation and other useful tools to help humans survive. Meanwhile, the evil brother made outrageous animals, violent and disturbing. He made wolves, bears, venomous snakes, and panthers of giant size. He made massive mosquitos, the size of wild turkeys, and he made an enormous toad, it drank up the fresh water that was on the earth. The good brother then had to kill the toad to bring water back to the land. In the end, the good brother defeated the evil brother in a fight, sending the evil brother’s soul to the center of the earth. Pima creation myth is similar to the Iroquois and Huron myths in that there are both animals that help build the earth, except in the Pima myth, they are land animals instead of sea animals. Also, there are two main characters that represent good and evil. The Cherokee creation myth starts as the world being completely covered in water and earth merely being an island floating bove the seas suspended by four rawhide ropes. There were no people, and the animals lived above the rainbow. The animals sent the water beetle under the seas to search for more room, and it brought up mud that spread quickly, turning into land. Although at first the land was to soft and flat, Godfather buzzard went to check on the land and the wind from his wings created mountains and valleys, thus why the Cherokee territory has many mountains. As the new ground stiffened, the pulled the sun from behind the rainbow and raised it higher in the sky. The next thing created was the plants, and view animals were given the privilege to see at night. People were created last, with the women being able to have babies every seven days, the Creator feared that the world would soon become crowed and made it so women could only have one child a year. The Native American creation stories of the Iroquois and Huron are almost identical where the Pima and Cherokee are completely opposite of each other. This goes to show just how different the beliefs of different Indian tribes are, and how this holds true to how there are different beliefs across the United States still today.

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Briefing Essay

The purpose of this brief is to educate the newly elected board members on government accounting. Because the new board members are businesspeople from the community, they need to understand why government accounting is not the same as for-profit financial accounting. The brief will compare government accounting to for-profit financial accounting, describe the basic government reporting entity, and evaluate the Management Discussion and Analysis section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the State of Alabama. The State of Alabama’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 will be used in the evaluation of the MD&A section (Office of the State Comptroller, 2011). Governmental Accounting vs. For-Profit Financial Accounting Governmental accounting is not the same as for-profit financial accounting. Therefore, it is necessary that individuals employed in government entities have a good understanding of budgeting and accounting. Governments and for-profits have different purposes, activities that generate revenues, stakeholders, financial objectives, and desire to survive. Separate accounting and financial reporting standards are necessary because users of financial reports of governments and for-profits do not have the same needs (GASB, 2012). Governments are required to be accountable for the use of resources in their operating environment, unlike for-profit businesses. Governmental resources are acquired from the guaranteed payment of taxes paid by individual taxpayers. The taxes paid have no direct relationship to the services the taxpayer received. Therefore, taxpayers assess the value received from the resources they have provided to government. As a result, governmental accounting and financial reporting standards strive to help stakeholders evaluate if public resources are properly expensed and if the capacity of services improved or worsened from the previous year (GASB, 2012). Government Reporting Entity Identifying the accounting entity is one of the most important  accounting issues. The financial reporting entity is the primary government and its component units. The primary government can be either a state, local, or special government. Component units are official separate organizations in which elected officials of the primary government are held financially accountable. A component unit and a primary government are dependent to one another. Their relationship is necessary to ensure that the reporting entity’s financial statements are not misleading or incomplete (Copley & Engstrom, 2011). State and local governments are advised to prepare a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). A CAFR should cover all funds and activities of the primary government and its component units. The CAFR consists of three parts: introductory, financial, and statistical. The Introductory Section of the CAFR includes the table of contents, letter of transmittal from the government’s Finance Director, list of government officials, and an organizational chart (Copley & Engstrom, 2011). The financial section includes an independent auditor’s report, management’s discussion and analysis, government-wide financial statements, fund financial statements, financial statements notes, and any other required supplementary financial information. Last, the statistical section includes additional financial, economic, and demographic information (Office of Financial Management, 2012). By combining all three sections into one comprehensive report, the CAFR reveals the state government’s financial and operating activities that define its financial condition. Management’s Discussion and Analysis In June 1999, the GASB issued a statement requiring government entities to include the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) within the CAFR. The MD&A discusses issues related to government entities, such as financial performance, capital resources, and budget trends, in regard to its financial position. The MD&A gives the government an opportunity to present an overview of its financial activities. This section contains most of the basic financial statements. Auditors are responsible for reviewing the financial material to verify that the information is correct (Copley & Engstrom, 2011). The State of Alabama’s MD&A provides useful financial highlights to CAFR users and the public. At the end of September 30, 2011, Alabama’s net assets increased by $335 million and exceeded liabilities by  $24.1 billion at the end of the fiscal year. By reviewing the financial highlights, a user can gather information about the state’s six major funds that operate the government for Alabama. The General Fund and Education Trust fund were prorated by 15 and 3 percent, respectively because collection did not meet the projections outlined in the budget. Users also can access the state’s basic financial statements, which consist of government-wide financial statements, fund financial statements, and notes to the financial statements. Because the MD&A performs its analysis using financial conditions based on the balance sheet, statement of revenues, expenditures, and changes in the funds balance, the CAFR is more understandable to its users (Department of Finance: Office of the State Comptroller, 2011). Conclusion The CAFR is an annual financial statement issued by a state or local government to represent its financial position. There are noteworthy differences between for-profit and governmental accounting. Understanding these differences is fundamental when measuring management’s performance and the financial success or failure of the entity. The organization is accountable for its success or failures because of the information presented in the organization’s CFAR. Furthermore, the MD&A provides a more comprehensible outline of management’s breakdown and impacts of governmental activities on the financial situation of the organization. References Copley, P., & Engstrom, J. (2011). Essentials of accounting for governmental and not-for-profit organizations (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Department of Finance: Office of the State Comptroller. (2011). Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year ended September 30, 2011. Retrieved from http://comptroller.alabama.gov/pdfs/CAFR/CAFR.Ala.2011.pdf GASB. (2012). Why Government Accounting and Financial Reporting is – and should be- Different. Retrieved from http://www.gasb.org/white_paper_full.pdf Granof, M. H., & Wardlow, P. S. (2011). Core Concepts of Government and Not-for-Profit Accounting (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons. Office of Financial Management. (2012). Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Retrieved from http://www.ofm.wa.gov/cafr/

Mindful Eating Essay

Mindful Eating can be understood as eating with full awareness about what you are eating, where and what is going on around you while eating. Today, in this busy life of ours, we are unable to have mindful eating, and rather we do mindless eating, i.e. simply eating, without paying much attention to food and the happenings nearby. Mindful eating is all about paying attention to our food and cherish the moment. According to mindful eating, we shall notice our food, its colour, its flavour, its aroma and enjoy our food to the maximum. Multi-tasking while eating, that is watching T.V, reading newspaper, talking etc. leads to mindless eating and thus leads to overeating. In order to practice mindful eating, some of the following points are to be taken into consideration- * Notice your Food, i.e notice its aroma, its texture, its flavour. * Avoid Multi-tasking while eating. * Take small bites and chew your food properly. (32-times) * Eat only half of your stomach. Don’t eat for a stomach full! * Eat only when you are hungry, don’t wait to exaggerate your hunger! * Have Good and heavy Brunch and a light dinner. * Don’t drink water immediately after having food, wait for at least 20 mins. * Always eat in groups, but avoid talking while having food. * Cherish your Food. Mindful living helps you in cherishing every moment of your life and stay happy. Mindful eating is the first step one can take towards mindful living.

Basic Statistics for Business and Economics Essay Example for Free

Basic Statistics for Business and Economics Essay Over the last four weeks of being in the QNT/351 course our team has learned a lot about researching a hypothesis and understanding the mean. The hypothesis testing begins with the statement and the assumption that determines the population of the mean, (Lind, 2011, p.288.). There are five steps taken which include; state the hypothesis, select level of significance for it, identify the test statistics, formulate decision rule, and take a sample to arrive at a decision. On the contrary, however, McClave, 2011 states that there are seven steps including; null hypothesis, alternate hypothesis, test statistic, rejection region, assumptions, experiment and calculation of test statistic, and the conclusion. With setting a hypothesis and testing it is important to understand the mean and how to compare it amongst two or more groups. With testing the mean with multiple groups, the data collected is used to help determine the probability of a given amongst two distinct groups being analyzed which have the same or equal variances. This info it all based off the given hypothesis and should result in proving the null hypothesis stated. When looking at the mean the distance noted between the hypothesis and the mean placed is a value given as a result of the probability of occurrence. When analyzing and testing the means of the two groups we use the variance analysis. An example of this type would be testing the means of the two groups based off statistical models and valid conclusions. Along with completing the testing of the means of the groups, we must also calculate the variance according to the distribution of the differences in means. If the standard deviation is known we can calculate the z-score by using the difference of the variance and the mean. In calculating the correlation between the two variables we see that it is crucial to know the characteristics of the coefficient. According to Lind, 2011 pages 386-389 we can calculate the coefficient of correlation. The coefficient of correlation can help dete rmine the cause as well as effect amongst the two variables. Calculating these numbers is  crucial as the results give information which help determine the level of significance of the given hypothesis. References Lind, D. A., Marchal, W. G., & Wathen, S. A. (2011). Basic Statistics for Business and Economics (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. McClave, J. T., Benson, P. G., & Sincich, T. (2011). Statistics for Business and Economics (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Basic Statistics for Business and Economics. (2016, Apr 02). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Herpes Simplex Virus 2 - Essay Example   The condition has been found to affect approximately 50 million people in the United States. It has also been discovered that antibodies against the virus exist in 20 percent of the adult population which shows previous exposure. It can lead to miscarriages in pregnant mothers if the fetus becomes infected before the fifth month of pregnancy. Females have greater risk of suffering from this condition. There has been not much variation in the rate of occurrence of the disease in United States. The incubation period for the virus is 2 weeks. The first infection is the most severe which resolves in around a month. The following infections cannot have a definitive pattern. Herpes simplex virus leads to genital sores and is responsible for the infection in the neonates due to its spread from the mother to the baby during delivery. The disease is contagious and is sexually transmitted and from the mother to the baby. The disease mainly affects the genitals where it leads to the develop ment of sores. Contact of genitals with the mouth can also result in sores on the mouth. It is responsible for the development of vesicular lesions in the sexual organs in both sexes which can spread to the cervical canal in the case of females and to the prostate gland in males. The newborn baby may also get infected and present with infections on the skin, oral cavity and the eyes. It can also result in inflammation of the brain. Inflammation of the meninges can also be caused by this disease. After the initial infection, the virus can become stored in the sensory ganglia particularly the lumbar and sacral regions where it remains inactive. It reactivates if provided with a stimulus which includes sunlight, high body temperature and disturbances in the hormonal levels. In this case the virus travels again to the skin and produces lesions.   

WEEK 2 DQ 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WEEK 2 DQ 2 - Assignment Example Another difference is that the ERG theory considers a random movement of the needs in the hierarchy, whereas Maslow’s theory considers a systematic satisfaction of the needs starting from the bottom to the top. The third difference also relates to the movement within the hierarchy (Loh, Dawn, & Schapper, p. 14). The ERG theory states that a person can move backwards in the satisfaction of their needs, while Maslow’s theory states that once a need is satisfied the situation becomes permanent. I have applied the ERG theory in various ways. For instance, there was a time when I became sick and had an admission at the hospital. The treatment took a whole week and I could not manage to pay the bill because the money I had was meant for the college semester that followed. However, I had to employ the ERG theory and moved backwards in the hierarchy. I used the money meant for my school fee to clear the hospital

Bacteriophage therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bacteriophage therapy - Essay Example Presently, people are in danger from exposure to chemicals that are hazardous risks to infectious burns. Acquisition of the pathogens thus serves as a triumph for medicine. Options available for treating burn patients are often few and only very toxic antibiotics the likes of colistin can effectively work due to their high levels of toxin. It is thus evident that there underlies impending danger in medicine if better solutions for treating patients with severe burns are not sought. It is a result of this observation therefore that this research study aims at carrying out a survey of the use of bacteriophage to treat patients suffering from severe burns. Bacteriophage viruses use bacteria as their host, and, therefore, the human body cells are at no risk at all. With the help of this thesis therein, not only will an analysis of the use of bacteriophage in the infections be sought but also possible threats to the human immune system. Based on a number of lab tests performed by a couple of collected samples, there has been no scientific evidence on the probable toxic potentiality making the widespread use of the bacteriophage over the years. However with intent of adopting them as sole treatment method of dealing with harmful bacteria infections among countries of the west, there is the quest to carry out more scientific research and testing as well as adopt more stringent measures to effectively authenticate on harmless state of the bacteriophage (Fillipis & Mckee 39). Upon some samples being separated from human biopsies, identification for toxic traces, as well as possibilities of the proliferation of cells, was carried out, and the phage passed the test as no traces were evident. On the contrary, researchers posed possible importance of the phage on the survival of cells. Based on this research evidence, therefore, since the bacteriophage showed no traces of toxins in the human

History of Virginia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Virginia - Essay Example The stay of the Virginia Company in Jamestown was characterized by many ups and downs and it was very difficult for them to establish stable relations with the natives of the region who were the Indians under the command of their leader Powhatan1. When the settlers arrived they were not aware of all the troubles that they were going to face. They did not make a wise decision in choosing their location because it was surrounded by a swampy area and it did not provide them access to proper water and also they did not realize that the area that they had chosen was not occupied by Indians but still they could easily reach there. The settlers did not have a very high opinion of the Indians from the beginning and they thought that they did not deserve any rights because they were uncivilized people with no religion. So even before they had set a firm ground in Jamestown they had no plans of proper negotiations with the Indians. 2The Indians had a different thought about the settlers. They wanted to cooperate with them and in return get access to modern weapons and tools for themselves. The colonists should have realized that to make a good place for themselves they should have availed the opportunity and they should have shaken hands with the Indians and worked in collaboration with them giving the Indians what they needed and taking from them the things required by them. The Indians soon realized that the motive of the settlers was to get hold of their land. As soon as the Indians got to know of their ill plans they started attacking the settlers. Thus the death toll of the colonists rose and within a few moths their number decreased to less than half. Seeing the capabilities of john smith the company made him the next governor after a few months. During the time period when everything was under john smith the relations between the Indians and the colonists took a very good turn. At first when john smith took over he also used oppressive means against the Indians but soon he was advised by Ocanindge who was the Indian presenter to think about the outcome if the Indians would stop working on their fields. He advised him to work in collaboration with the Indians for the betterment of both the communities3. The turning point actually came when John smith and some of his fellows came under the attack of the Indians. In this attack most of the men who accompanied john smith were killed and he was made captive by the Indians. The leader of the Indians who was Powhatan ordered the killing of john smith but he was saved by the leader's daughter Pocahontas and following this event many things changed for the good. The Indians in return for modernized tools from the English provided them with crops and food for them. This did not last for a very long time because in 1609 when the area was hit by harsh winter. The Indians knew about such conditions and they had kept food reserves for themselves. Thus now they became unable to supply the settlers with food and the relations between the two sides became tense again. The settlers used oppressive forces against the Indians and the Indians replied in a similar manner. This continued for a long time. The settlers had stayed there for a very long t

Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Global Warming - Essay Example This paper will first describe the greenhouse effect then will explain the way man-made and naturally occurring gases affect it in addition to the potential consequences of these forces. It will then present a rebuttal. What is Global Warming? Basically, the greenhouse effect behaves in the following way. When sunlight pierces the atmosphere and strikes the surface of the earth, not all of the sun’s solar power is absorbed. Roughly 30 percent of this energy is reflected back into space. Certain atmospheric gases act in much the same method as does the outer wall and roof of a greenhouse, consequently the terminology. These gases allow sunlight to pierce then trap a portion of this solar energy. The remaining energy heats the earth (Gutierrez, 2008). It is a precarious balance and due to these greenhouse gases being artificially amplified by man-made sources, more continuously builds up in the atmosphere thus trapping more of the solar energy and reflects less back in to space. This avoidable circumstance is causing the earth to warm. Reasons of global warming Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is the most common of the greenhouse gases. Trees ‘breathe in’ CO2 and when they die, CO2 it is restored back into the atmosphere. The clearing of trees by mass burning, which is occurring at a phenomenal rate in the tropical rain forests, is decreasing the amount of CO2 that is absorbed therefore increasing the quantity that is added to the atmosphere. CO2 contributes about half of the total gases that produce the greenhouse effect. Though deforestation is contributing greatly to the excess of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere, a larger fraction is caused by the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Fossil fuels are burned by electricity-producing power plants, vehicles and factories to name a few sources. The great majority of this excessive fuel consumption, its toxic pollutants and greenhouse-enhancing byproducts are found in the U.S., Russia and Europe. Among other greenhouse gases are methane, which is released when plants are burned during the clearing of land, during the coal-mining process and oil exploration activities; chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which is the gaseous substance which cools refrigerators and provides aerosol cans with propulsion and nitrous oxide (N2O) which is the lesser cause of greenhouse gas. It is estimated that man-made causes represents half of the CO2 production. (â€Å"Treaty,† 2001). The rising amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is becoming progressively more disconcerting. Eighty percent of the earth’s population lives in countries that, combined, emit just 35 percent of the total CO2 while the U.S. and the Russia combined are responsible for creating half. Motor vehicles are a significant cause of air pollution. The burning of fuel to heat homes and power industries along with the poisons emitted from smokestacks at coal-burning power plants. â€Å"Vehicles produce high levels of carbon monoxides (CO) and a major source of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), whereas, fuel combustion in stationary sources is the dominant source of sulfur dioxide (SO2)† (Socha, 2007). If the balance between the CO2 levels of the ocean and atmosphere is disturbed by adding ever-increasing quantities of CO2, the oceans will continue to take in greater concentrations than it would naturally. The resulting warming ocean waters are less capable concerning their capability of absorbing CO2 and when the seas can no longer

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International Management - Essay Example International Management The centrality of leadership is essential in managing a company or unit division holistically. Leadership styles are defined as those that provide motivation and direction in order to influence the approach and manner of influencing plans. To this end, leadership styles are classified as free reign, democratic or autocratic. By employing different leadership styles, individual productivity can be affected through his or her performance. A democratic leadership style employs inclusivity during the decision making process. However, it is paramount to note that the leader has the final decision pertaining to a cause of action. On the other hand, an autocratic leadership style is whereby the leader mandates responsibilities to employees without asking advice from followers or employees. A leadership style that employs free reign is whereby the leader mandates the decision making process to employees as well as delegating a number of activities and tasks for them to handle. It is pertinen t to note that it is commendable to employ the same leadership styles in all EU countries. Evidently, execution of leadership styles by team members leads to both negative and positive effects to the persons concerned. Positive leaders employ the use of rewards in motivating a person. These include using education and independence as motivational reward to the citizenry. On the other hand, leaders who are negative in approach are mostly domineering and superior in nature. The moral of worker and productivity is normally adversely affected by the wrongful use of negative leadership. To this end the EU countries consist of 27 states that are driven by economic and political motivation. Moreover, the member countries possess a myriad of norms and cultures that vary from region to region. Furthermore, the countries possess a variety of languages, religions, histories and systems of education. There equally exist divergent forms of leadership among the member countries. For example, Fren ch leaders are renowned for their autocratic style of leadership while Germans are well known or their assertive nature in leadership. Moreover, matters and issues pertaining to human rights human relations and rights are normally divergent from one country to the other. Consequently, a solution to such differences lies in the embracing of a similar leadership style among all EU countries. However, it is pertinent to evaluate whether a single style of leadership can be accepted and effectively satisfy all member states of the EU. To this end, the efficacy and success of a single type of leadership can only be achieved through proposals and appeal for acceptance rather than forcing it down on the member states. Moreover, in order to achieve flexible leadership type, all the European leaders need to appreciate and consider the context of these countries. The rapid rate of internationalization enhances the scope, size and types of organizations. Consequently, a rise in demand for day t o day comprehension of global businesses and cross cultural awareness. The benefit of singular leadership type is that it takes advantages of improves work and employee performance. Thus, it is paramount of EU leaders to be cross culturally, sensitive, adaptive and responsive when carrying out and delegating duties all ove national borders. The introduction of a unilateral leadership style also

Relevance of Standard Costing & Variance Analysis Essay

Relevance of Standard Costing & Variance Analysis - Essay Example The standard cost is a predetermined unit cost i.e. the price and standard amount of each resource to be utilized in manufacturing a product and providing a service. A variance is the difference of actual cost incurred and expected standard cost. The variance analysis involves breakup of total variance to explain how much variance is caused by difference in use of resources from the standard usage quantity and how much variance is caused by the difference in prices of resources from the standard costs (Scarlett, 2008, p.96). The standard costing can be advantageous only if the cost standards are carefully established and prudently used. The use of standards solely for placing blame can have negative impact on management and employees. The major advantages include better management planning, promotes economy by making the employees understand importance of cost reduction, setting selling price, management control, highlights variances in management by exception and simplify the invent ories’ costs reducing clerical costs (Weygandt, Kimmel & Kieso, 2009, p.495). Standard costing system was developed in accordance with the traditional manufacturing environment which has changed drastically in recent competitive environment. The critics of standard costing and variance analysis site the following reasons for its declining relevance: Changing Cost Structure: Provided that the standard costing is suited to the control of variable and direct costs but not fixed and indirect costs, the usefulness of standard costing has been questioned because the in recent times the overhead costs have become the relevant factory costs whereas the importance of direct labour costs has diminished. Inconsistency with JIT (Just-in-Time) Philosophy: JIT is an inventory system which works towards keeping zero inventories and reducing handling, warehousing and financing costs and time associated with tracking stocks and movements (Ajami & Goddard, 2006, p.357). This system has been wi dely adopted by American and European firms in the last decade. Although critics of standard costing and variance analysis assert that if performance of purchasing department is evaluated on the basis of purchase price variance then the purchase managers will be motivated to obtain materials at the lowest possible costs which can result in selection of many suppliers on the basis of lowest price, large quantity purchases resulting in larger inventories, low quality goods and indifference towards attainment of on-time delivery. This contradicts the JIT philosophy. Overemphasis on the importance of Direct Labour: The fact that direct labour has lost its importance in modern manufacturing and is a small proportion of the total factory costs, makes the standard costing irrelevant because most of the overhead costs are allocated to the cost centres on the basis of direct labour hours. To reduce their allocated costs the managers try to reduce the direct labour hours which diverts the att ention from controlling the rising overhead costs. This is not an inadequacy of standard costing rather a faulty application of it to rely on volume variances to control short term costs and performance evaluation. Inconsistent with Continuous Improvement Philosophy: The

The video game console wars Essay Example for Free

The video game console wars Essay 1. Compare and contrast Nintendo’s marketing strategy for the Wii with Sony’s strategy for PS3. By the end of 2006, two game console industry giants, Nintendo and Sony had launched their respective new products; the Wii and PS3. Various marketing strategies were implemented by both rivals and this writing attempt to analyse common and differing elements. Similarly, both companies had a product differentiation strategy, with the aim of being distinctly set apart from their competitors by the viewing market. However, different elements of this strategy were focused on by the firms. For instance, Nintendo differentiated via product form and design. Instead of the traditional controller where buttons are pressed, the Wii had a wireless motion-sensitive controller, which recognises the player’s arm movements. Thus, actions such as golfing, tennis and even dancing can be detected by the game. It is assumed that the rationale behind this is the fact that â€Å"new things and ways of doing things† always grab attention, whether good or bad. Thus, Nintendo’s aim would have been to gain the market’s attention and then convince them positively about the Wii. Conversely, Sony attempted to differentiate through performance quality. Heavy investment was made on a new processing chip and a laser diode, which would rev up the speed drastically and offer superior graphics quality. The video gaming industry prides itself on graphics; hence differentiating in this area may significantly increase demand. One believes however, that Nintendo’s product differentiation strategy had a stronger impact than Sony’s. This is because Sony followed the industry norm, of each new generation of machines being faster and more powerful than the preceding generation, as the case states. Thus, the market was already expecting the enhanced features, compared to the curiosity of a completely new game design by the Wii. With reference to the Ansoff Matrix framework, Nintendo implemented a marketing diversification strategy, whereby they offered a new product to new markets (in terms of untouched customer segments). Nintendo’s designers, according to the case, deliberately developed a machine that is simpler to use, since the complexity of current games appeal only to advance gamers. This thus, would allow market reach to a broader demographic of new segments, thereby beginning to challenge Sony’s market share dominance. For instance, males and female above and below the common age bracket of video game players may now demand the Wii. On the other hand, Sony implemented a product development strategy, by launching a new product in their existing market segment of customers, as the Ansoff theory advocates. Hence, Sony’s PS3 targeted their current customer segment for the PS2. A marketing strategy of Sony may have been to have first mover advantage, by launching in November 2006 in the United States before the Wii. Most studies indicate that the market pioneer gains the greatest advantage, however sometimes it can be risky and expensive. In Sony’s case, they would have easily been able to capitalise on the fans of the playstation and PS2 and new customers entering that market. Their downfall however was inadequate launch preparation and planning with regards to their diode technology, as mass production issues caused shortages. Thus, achieving the Christmas season’s full revenue potential was lost. Even though Nintendo was the second mover launching a month after in December, they had an international marketing launch strategy being executed. They made the Wii available in the United States, the Eurozone and United Kingdom. As a result, the benefits of being the first mover would have been gained in the Eurozone and United Kingdom. It is noted that Sony launched the PS3 four months after in Europe. Being the second to enter that market, Sony may have researched any problems Nintendo may have encountered and adjusted accordingly, for a smoother launch. Nintendo appears to have implemented a market-penetration pricing strategy. The Wii at a cost of $250 is 50% less than the 20-gigabyte PS3 (smaller hard drive machine). At this lower price, it is easier for the product to penetrate the market due to affordability in most segments. This aligns with the assumed company’s aim of maximising market share in the current and new segments. To achieve this, Nintendo ensured that the Wii was less costly to manufacture. Moreover, a higher sales volume may lead to lower unit costs and higher long run profits. Conversely, Sony is believed to have a market-skimming pricing strategy. The company invested $2 billion in technology, so this strategy aims at recovering the maximum amount of revenue to cover the high costs incurred in the early stages of the product life cycle. Additionally, Sony has a strong brand due to the success of their previous machines (PS2 and playstation) and the high price assists in communicating the image of a superior product with quality. 2. What is the key to the Wii’s popularity? The key facet responsible for the Wii’s popularity lies in the innovative design, which â€Å"calls to action† the player with physical movement. The writer views the wireless motion sensitive game console as a new, simple and fun method of gaming for all age groups. As a result, it may appeal not only to the traditional expert video game player like the PS3, but other individuals outside that segment. It thus makes marketing sense, if Nintendo promoted the game as a family requirement for cultivating an enjoyable, quality family time with members. It seems also a great game for various informal social events. Furthermore, since different types of games can be played, the Wii has the potential to appeal to a vast number of different market segments. For instance, The Wii Fit is an exercising game, where aerobics, yoga and other body strengthening activities can be done. Thus, the Wii Fit may have been positioned as a convenient way of losing or maintaining your weight, as it can be done in the comfort of one’s home and a more enjoyable method compared to simply following an instructor on a DVD. Likewise, sports fanatics may gravitate towards the Wii sports for the games of their interest. There also is the possibility of the Wii being used for rehabilitation after a stroke or injury, due to it body strengthen capabilities. It must be noted, that Nintendo’s international marketing strategy of launching in three distinct major areas, was a contributing factor towards the quick popularity gained. The areas were the United States, the Eurozone and the United Kingdom. This means that great strategic marketing focus had to be made on the different areas, to accommodate international cultural differences and legalities. As a result, Nintendo may have had to implement global product strategies for market adaptation in areas such as price, sales promotion, colours, labelling and advertising execution, to name a few. 3. Do you agree with Sony’s decision to incorporate a Blu-ray DVD player in the PS3. The writer agrees with the decision to incorporate a Blu-ray DVD player in the PS3. Firstly, Sony is considered one of the market leaders in the consumer electric industry; where the brand is known for high quality and advance technology. Since the consumer market started demanding more high definition TVs and viewing of DVD’s in high definition, it made good marketing sense to satisfy that need for high definition imagery in the video games, which ultimately reinforced the company’s brand. A â€Å"spin off† from this implementation of Blu-ray, is that the PS3 can actually be used by consumers to watch Blu-ray DVD movies, for those who may not own a Blu-ray DVD player. Thus, the value of the PS3 may increase, due to more product uses than the main function. Secondly, it was wise for Sony to include the Blu-ray DVD player in the PS3, due to their current product range developments. Sony had already launched the Blu-ray video format in their DVD players, thus the inclusion in the PS3 was a commendable and necessary marketing move, in order to keep as many products in the range up to date with the latest technological advancements. More importantly, this was a medium to push and promote the adoption of the Blu-ray in the market, reflecting strong strategic planning for profit maximisation. The draw back to the implementation however, was the issue of mass-production difficulties of the diode for the Blu-ray, resulting in shortages for the U. S holiday launch, as the case explains. Thus, it is assumed that there was a deficiency in proper operational planning and execution. This can be a critical concern with new product planning, since shortages can greatly impact forecasted revenue streams and significant opportunities may be lost. In Sony’s situation, the launch was around the Christmas season, where many PS3s may have been gift considerations and individuals generally spend more on commodities at this time, due to Christmas bonuses and advances. Thus, Sony would not have been able to capitalise on this, due to low supply of machines. In the final analysis however, if Sony had anticipated any production issues to cause marginal temporary shortages at the launch, one is of the opinion that this is not drastic a problem enough, to decide forgoing the implementation of the Blu-ray. This is because consideration is given to the return on investment with the Blu-ray inclusion and the technological drive in the industry at large. The Blu-ray would have generated greater demand than the HD-DVD and take longer to become obsolete, thus having an extended life-span. 4. Some industry observers have noted that the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is reminiscent of the showdown between Beta and VHS videocassette formats in the 1970s. What was the outcome? The videocassette showdown between Beta and VHS in the 1970’s mainly was a clear example of â€Å"listening and responding† to what the market wants. It began when Sony produced Bata, a video standard which had a recording time of 60 minutes. Almost one year later, JVC launched the VHS, which is another video standard that had a recording time of 120 minutes. The two videocassettes were different in size and completely incompatible. The VHS was cheaper than Beta; however the longer the recording time resulted in a degraded quality of image. The market nevertheless, wanted a longer recording time, which allowed for longer movies and football matched to be recorded. Sony held their end for more years supplying the more upscale market with the 60 minute high quality videocassettes, but eventually in the mid 80’s they had to offer videocassettes with a longer recording time to remain competitive. By then however it was too late and VHS already held dominance in the market. VHS won the battle and in 2002 the last Beta machine was produced. Sony’s mistake was not listening to what the market wants and not willing to compromise the quality to satisfy the market. The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is quite similar, however this time Sony is not the defender, but the challenger. To forecast who the winner may be, the same underlying factor exists, regarding listening to the market and responding. The case explains of the continuous electronic industry’s upgrade towards high definition TVs and DVD movies. Thus, one can assume that consumers want a player which provides the greatest quality of high definition. A common element between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is that they have 1080 lines of resolution (the highest quality video playback possible) on their widescreen HDTV set, as the case shows. Thus, consumers are going to look for other factors which can determine which player provides better quality. Firstly, the fact that Sony’s Blu-ray technology is incompatible with Toshiba (assuming other rival products as well) and can only be used on Sony products, signals that Sony is trying to maintain a type of niche market, which in essence aims at guaranteeing that using Blu-ray technology on Sony products will produce the best quality. This is similar to what Apple does with their range of products. Secondly, over the years Sony has positioned and built their brand to represent â€Å"high quality† and thus brand loyalty is strong among customers in the electronic industry. Lastly, price sends market signals and the common understanding is that high price tends to reflect high quality. The case states that Sony BDP-S1 and S300 cost $999. 99 and $600 respectively, compared to Toshiba’s models ranging from $399. 99 to $799. 99. Thus the higher price of Sony can be assumed to have better quality. Conclusively, HD-DVD and Blu-ray battle is almost mirrored in Beta and VHS rivalry. VHS won the battle since they satisfied the market’s demand for longer recording time with the videocassette. With HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the market is assumed to want high quality on their high definition widescreen HDTVs. The writer believes that Sony with their Blu-ray technology would win the battle, given that they can reflect a better level of quality over Toshiba, through â€Å"non-1080 lines of resolution† factors. CITATION Czinkota, Michael, and Ilkka Ronkainen. International Marketing . Thomson South-Western, 2007. Harvey, Nathan, and Louise Ada. 2012. Suitability of Nintendo Wii Balance Board for rehabilitation of standing after stroke. Physical Therapy Reviews 17, no. 5: 311-321 Kotler, Philip, and Kevin Keller. Marketing Management. Pearson Education Limited, 2012.