Kentucky Fried Chicken Essay

The report is mainly focusing on Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) company and has been divided into three categories at the aim of identifying the leadership and management issues in the company and suggest appropriate solutions to it. The tool that will be used in the first phase is the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis which is used to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the company and also to identifying the leadership and management issues that exist within the organization. The second part of the report consists of the evaluation and rationalization of the management and leaderships issues identified in part 1 by using the McKinsey 7S Model to help to identify what types of changes that should be made and implemented in order to help the company to improve. In the last phase of the report, an overview of the company situation will be presented followed by suggested sets of recommendation and actions for KFC in order to overcome the key issues identified. Company Backgroup  Kentucky Corporation (KFC), also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States which was started in the 1930 by Colonel Harland Sanders as a small franchise operation. Kentucky Fried Chicken is a very well-known restaurant in the world. It is rated at number 60 as the world most well-known brand by the BusinessWeek, while McDonald at number 9 and Nestle at number 23 (Badrishah, 2007). KFC remained the largest chicken restaurant chain and third largest fast-food chain. It held over 50 percent of U.  S market in terms of the sales number and ended the year 1995 with over 9,000 restaurants worldwide. By end of the 1995, KFC have opened 234 new restaurants and is operated in 68 countries. In the year of 1997, the company has become a brand of YUM! Brands Inc. which is the world largest fast food chain who also operates Taco Bell, Long John Silver and Pizza Hut. Currently, the company owns and franchises more than 16,200 outlets in about 100countries and have employees of more than 24,000. KFC was the first fast-food chains to enter international market and has now developed one of the world’s most recognizable brands. KFC’s early entry into the fast food industry allowed the company to gain a strong brand name in the industry and dominate the chicken industry. KFC’s nearest competitor – Boston Market (formerly Boston Chicken) and Popeye’s held market share of 12. 3 and 10. 2 percent respectively while KFC held a market share of 58 percent in the chicken segment (KFC. com, 2007). KFC’s global success is credited to its quality management which is the: Quality, Service and Cleanliness (QSC) program to review the quality of the service offered to the customers and to evaluate the company performance. Other than that, the understanding of the customers and satisfying their needs also contributed to KFC’s global success (Reynolds, 2001). Not only so, KFC also has also uses a special marketing tools to promote its product by means of combining PepsiCo product which is the beverage and the products of KFC itself, with these marketing idea, both company KFC and PepsiCo are both generating profits and it is an advantage for KFC since they no longer purchase beverages from outside company. KFC primarily sells chicken pieces, wraps, salads and sandwiches. While its primary focus is fried chicken, KFC also offers a line of grilled and roasted chicken products, side dishes such as mashed potato, sweet corn, coleslaw and desserts. KFC also uses the localization strategy while designing the menu in KFC as a way to adapt to the local taste and culture by also offering beef based products such as hamburgers or kebabs, pork based products such as ribs and other regional fare. On the other hand, judging by the current market growth in China, KFC have absorbed the Chinese cultural elements into its western management style, hence forming an inter-cultural management mode. China’s rapid economic development has opened its door for the fast-food industry and enable KFC to use localization strategy to let Chinese to have the chance to experience western lifestyle with traditional Chinese cultural embedded in it (China Daily, 2004). At present, there are more than 1,000 restaurants in China and they are now increasing at the rate of average 200 stores per year. In 2010, Yum! Brand, the parent company of KFC Corporation expects 36% of their global $2 billion operating profits from 3700 restaurants in China. The success of KFC in China has lead Yum! Brand Inc to be the most successful foreign company in China with 40% market share outstripping competitors like McDonalds (Turner, 2011). Such management mode by KFC has proved that the company has the flexibility to adapt to different cultural and environmental changes. SWOP Analysis SWOT is a tool for auditing the strategies and the environment of an organization for decision making. And it can be classified as Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. (Pahl & Richter, 2007) Strengths KFC is recognize as the second largest fast food chains in the world, the first which being took by its main competitor, McDonalds * Holding over half of the market shares in the fast food industry. * Occupied the china market, KFC defeat McDonald and become the largest fast food chain in China market which contain 1. 3 billion population. * It have been globally recognized and experienced and having strong market in Mexico, Middle East and Asia such as China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. * Earn huge revenue from the franchises and licensing fees. The most major strength of the company is their Brand Equity. * Its secret recipe allowed KFC to set itself apart in the industry and maintained supremacy in the fast food market. * Every year, the profits of the company increases. * KFC have a quality management which called â€Å"Quality, Service and Cleanliness (QSC) program† use to judge the quality of its service offered to the customers and to measure the company performance. Weaknesses * Least focus about their product research and development, they more concerned about their branches expending. Inconsistent quality of services in many outlets by few of its franchises had damaging the brand name and company reputation. * Inflexibility of prices makes it unaffordable to middle class people. * Imbalanced entrance of the franchises to different markets at one time especially too concern the Chinese market has extremely decreased its global growth rate. Opportunities * Besides expanded its target market focus to family and friends of all age brackets, KFC also targeting and tempting the young customer which age between 18 to 24 years old. Dependability of the chicken meat used as the people are scared of infections from eating beef globally. * Focus in Chinese market which known as the world’s faster growing market. * Increased and effective services specially home delivery and drive though services * Induction of new products other than chicken including fish and vegetable in most of its menu in reality the whole menu is balanced and healthy which aim to attract the customers considerably. * Position itself strongly in the global markets, with a vision of increasing market value and market share. Threats * Customer began to demand more healthy and fresh food but KFC was faced with a limited menu and majority consist of fried foods * Faced by slowed sales growth in the fast-food industry, other segments of the industry have turned to new menu offerings, as they have very few products other than their selection† Fried chicken†. * Customer shift to other brand that offering the same products which in lower rates on the prices. * Less economical deals are being offered compare to its biggest competitor McDonalds who offer more cost-effective products. KFC’s Key Challenges KFC Corporation, being one of the largest fast-food chains in the world usually will have challenges that the company will have to overcome in order to retain their market share and reputations. But however, KFC restaurants around the world have various complaints regarding its services provided. It has been reported in United States that a customer was offended by the manner in which she was served. Customers complained that the employees were rude, lazy and negligent to her family and other customers. In the eye of management, a good services will help for t he long term customer relationships. But however, KFC in USA failed to realize the importance of it as employees were not given a proper training regarding good customer services (Eisenback et. al, 2008). According to some of the staff in KFC, there is a lack of communication between the marketing department and the operation of KFC. Marketing department may not give accurate details on the new promotions and new products to the KFC operation nor clearly explain to them about the campaign. This lead to many problems for the operation team as they may be confused about the promotion or coupon and hence might not be able to explain the details to customers with enquiries. In addition, it could affect the efficiency and effectiveness of operation as crewmembers may not be familiar with the new marketing strategies and may not be able to sell the products as the corporate wanted them to be (Lan & Mahmood, 1995). Additionally, KFC in China has also been reported that some KFC restaurants have failed to change their frying oil for four days and also failed to provide fresh soybean milk for customers. The restaurants has been caught for changing the dates for replacing the oil for the purpose of passing examination by district inspectors from the company, and what’s more, the employees also ignore and changed the time on unsold items to make customers believe that they were eating freshly prepared products. The condition of kitchen is also reported to be very unclean and the employees did not follow the food safety regulation such as wearing caps when preparing foods. (China Times, 2009). Despite of the corporate rules on standard operation and regulations, employees at KFC often ignore them. Such incident in KFC would destroy the company’s brand reputation although KFC Corporation claimed that they did provide training booklets which include questions on cross-contamination of food, but because of the lack of supervision, the employees would act whatever they want and ignoring the rules set by the management. The mission of KFC is â€Å"people be the first, customers be the focus† (Yum! Restaurant International, 2003) but however, it is found that KFC did not take proactive approach on listening to customers and employees. There is no systematic customer survey for its products and services. It relies on the branch managers and public relation officers to get the customers’ opinion. Although the website of KFC has a customer service comment box for customers to send suggestion, but KFC ignore those customers who are not computer savvy. Many customers were complaining that customer did not have access to a customer service number and those who were able to reach customer service often received no response. The failure of KFC to deliver efficient service proved that the management does not show concern to their customers and did not make any improvement to take care of the customer’s complaints and thought. Customers are viewed as an important asset of a company and therefore any complaints or opinions from them should be valued by the company (Eisenback et. al, 2008) Other than that, even though KFC has adequate human resources but they are lacking the capabilities. Its mother ompany, PepsiCo, makes wrong decision in its corporate level strategy. They centralize and tightens the control over existing KFC managers and such actions causes the drop of the employee morale. In addition, PepsiCo also limits the rights and powers of the franchisees’ right and power and intents to compete and acquire the franchisees’ units. Such incident has caused a dispute which last for 7 years until 1966. This also make the company performance to drop and drive down KFC’s market shares (Chu, 2003).

Salem Witch Trial Theories

Brennyn Mackey 2 May 2011 The Secret War of Salem Exposing the Culprit behind the Mass Hysteria The Salem Witch Trials were a series of infamous events that demand an explanation for their occurrence. The trials that took place in 1692 caused neighbors in the community of Salem Village in the colony of Massachusetts to turn on one another out of paranoia, accusing one another of witchcraft. According to Carol Karlsen, a longtime author of the subject, nineteen people were hanged and about 200 others were imprisoned (40).A few theories have been offered in order to explain the root of this mass hysteria. The theories in question need to be examined to see which holds the most credibility. Most historians who have studied the subject agree on the chronological order of events that set this dark episode of history into motion. They believe it began in the household of Reverend Samuel Parris. Reverend Parris owned a West Indian slave named Tituba. Tituba would tell the young girls storie s of her experiences in sorcery when the reverend was away.This small group of girls started with Abigail Williams, the reverend’s niece, and Elizabeth Parris, his daughter. Soon, a few girls from neighboring homes joined. Eventually, the girls began to exhibit exceptionally erratic behaviors. They would have hallucinations and convulsions. A physician checked the girls, but he failed to find a natural cause for their behavior. He attributed their ailments to a supernatural cause (Salem Witch Trials). The girls began to claim they were being afflicted by witches and started making accusations. Thus, the panic ensued.Those who have studied the subject of the Salem Witch Trials have very few disagreements on these events. Though history may have documented the events, it has not presented a clear underlying cause to their occurrence. Why did the girls act in such a manner? Scholars have presented their own theories for this mystery. One theory that attempts to explain the hyste ria is that there was a fungal poisoning such as ergot in the bread that the girls ate. This would be an ideal explanation for their convulsions. Another theory is that witchcraft was actually being practiced.This theory states that the incredibly odd behavior of the girls was attributed to the practices that Tituba was teaching them. A final theory that draws much interest is that the girls were acting. Scholars have looked at these events from a political perspective and suggest that Reverend Parris persuaded the young girls to act in an odd manner. The theory that answers the most questions without raising an equal number of new questions is the best explanation. The theory that Reverend Parris used the girls to gain wealth holds such a status.The theory that there was an ergot infestation is advocated by a professor named Linnda Caporeal. Caporeal has argued that a fungal poison known as ergot, which grows on rye, had been ingested by the girls, causing their behaviors. She goes on to explain that â€Å"all the symptoms [of ergot poisoning] are alluded to in the Salem Witch Trials† (Caporeal). This theory does not make sense when considering why the only ones affected were the young girls in the Parris household. Convulsive ergot poisoning most often affects small children, but the Salem Village had hundreds of residents.The whole village ate grains harvested from the same fields and this theory does not have an account of anyone else exhibiting the slightest convulsions. It is far too coincidental that the only ones affected were a few young girls. This theory has also been attacked by researchers such as Spanos and Gottlieb. They address the point previously mentioned as well as the nutritional condition of the villagers. In another article, they responded to Caporeal’s arguments regarding the afflicted girls as well as the villagers’ nutritional susceptibility.Spanos and Gottlieb state that â€Å"the fact that most individuals [â⠂¬ ¦] living in the same households as the afflicted girls showed no signs of symptoms is attributed by Caporeal to wide individual differences in susceptibility to ergot poisoning. † They also discuss vitamin A deficiency. According to their research: Ergot poisoning in individuals with adequate vitamin A intakes leads to gangrenous rather than convulsive symptoms. Vitamin A is found both in fish and in dairy products. Salem Village was a farming community and Salem Town, which bordered the village, was a well-known seaport; cows and fish were plentiful.There is no evidence to suggest a vitamin A deficiency in the diet of the inhabitants, and it would be particularly unlikely for the so-called â€Å"afflicted girls,† some of whom came from well-to-do farming families. The absence of any instance of gangrenous symptomatology makes it highly unlikely that ergot played any role in the Salem crisis (Spanos). The theory that there was an ergot infestation does not seem to h old up to the accounts of Spanos and Gottlieb. The theory of ergot infestation has slowly lost credibility due to these pieces of evidence.Another theory that attempts to explain the paranoia is the theory that witchcraft was being practiced in the community. The word â€Å"witch† came into English from Wicca, an Anglo-Saxon word that means â€Å"wise one† (Buckland 26). Witches have been viewed throughout history as servants of Satan, spreading misfortune. This is an exaggerated stereotype similar to the misconception that witches fly around on broomsticks and transform into animals. A Wiccan author known as Sheena Morgan addresses issues regarding false stereotypes of witchcraft. She states that people â€Å"have lots of misconceptions about what Wicca and witchcraft actually entail.People seem to confuse witchcraft with Satanism or devil worship [†¦] Wicca [†¦] does not seek new adherents† (14). The author implies that Wicca is a pantheistic religio n that promotes harmony with the natural world and does not entail bloodletting rituals. All the â€Å"Halloween† aspects of Wicca are stereotypical misrepresentations of their beliefs. The Puritans had a deep fear that those dark conceptions were a reality. Such preconceived notions and religious beliefs that the Puritans had regarding witchcraft must have been the fuel for the trials. According toPuritan beliefs, witches worshipped Satan. Melanie Gauch, a lifetime Wiccan, has stated that Wiccans do not believe in a devil. That is a Christian notion that the Puritans associate with paganism. The Puritans exercised complete intolerance of the Wiccan beliefs and created the paranoia in their own minds when they felt threatened. In the Bible, Exodus 22:18 states, â€Å"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live† (King James Bible). The puritans followed the Bible wholeheartedly, and their beliefs carried them to accusations, and then on to interrogations.However, the main pro blem with the witchcraft theory is that it cannot be proven. The accusations themselves could not even be proven. One way to accuse someone of witchcraft was by use of spectral evidence. If an apparition appeared to an individual, they could point a finger at someone and accuse that person of afflicting them (Salem Witch Trials). This spectral evidence was only witnessed by the afflicted, but was generally accepted as credible evidence. Due to fear and hysteria, accusations could be made without proof of any witchcraft.It is highly unlikely that witchcraft played any part in the terror of the trials. The theory that Reverend Samuel Parris was the true incendiary behind the trials carries the most logic. Samuel Parris was closely associated with the Putnam family and had been given a minister’s contract that included all the usual benefits, such as a decent salary, a house and free firewood. However, Parris had received all this in addition to a title and deed to the parish, w hich enraged the residents who did not want to be congregationally separate from Salem Town (Saari 35-6).He was in desperate need of securing his position as minister and the outbreak of witchcraft accusations was the best way to do it. In a time of such paranoia regarding satanic forces, the villagers would be in desperate need of his services. Ernest King and Franklin Mixon Jr. authored an article discussing that concept. According to them: Salem Village, both before and through the witchcraft trials, was a religion-based community, allowing its minister to exert a level of political–economic control over its citizens. During the height of the itchcraft episode, there was an increased demand for ministerial services (salvation) in the Salem area. Recent research has argued that the minister used the witchcraft episode to maintain and build upon personal and corporate wealth (King and Mixon). This demonstrates that Reverend Parris had the political motives for taking advanta ge of the girls’ behavior. When witchcraft accusations arose, some of the Salem residents who had opposed the reverend’s contract had no choice but to attend church and pay any offerings they could. If they did not do so, they would run the risk of being accused of witchcraft.This was a simply perfect solution for Reverend Parris. Before continuing to examine the reverend, it is necessary to understand his background. Samuel Parris was born in London and grew up to inherit his father’s plantation. After a hurricane devastated the plantation, he became a merchant. However, when his business failed, he decided to be a minister (Orr 16). It seems the reverend’s life had a series of failures. According to Frances Hill, author of numerous books on the subject, Parris’s first misfortune had been dropping out of Harvard (117).After all the other hindrances, he was ready to accept a job as minister of Salem Village, but then demanded more and more changes to his contract over time, continuously negotiating matters such as firewood and corn provisions, the deed to the ministry house and salary (118). The Putnam family controlled most of the farmland in Salem Village and played a large part in his ministerial contract. This evidence shows there may have been a political partnership between the two. Salem Village and Salem Town were in a period of great political tension.During this time, the Putnam family owned most of the farmland in Salem Village and wanted to become separate from Salem Town, the nearby thriving seaport on which the other villagers depended upon for economic reasons (Salem Witch Trials). This divided the village, and the Reverend Samuel Parris became minister during this turmoil. Other than political division, the villagers had everyday worries such as Indian raids and smallpox outbreaks, which increased tensions. This was the social situation at the time of Parris’s ascent to position of minister.In order to gain political power, Reverend Parris would have had to do something about those who opposed him. The authors Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum examine the social history of the Salem community in their book, Salem Possessed and they have noticed a pattern. A series of petitions against the reverend were collected and the names of those who opposed Parris in the past were the ones most often accused of witchcraft. The names included the majority of the Proctor family and Rebecca Nurse (183-6). The most astounding case was the account of George Burroughs, the previous minister of Salem Village.When George Burroughs spoke out against the trials that Reverend Parris was championing, he was immediately tried for witchcraft. He was found guilty. Soon before he was hung, he had recited â€Å"The Lord’s Prayer,† which was supposedly impossible for a witch (Salem Witch Trials). Unfortunately, it is not known for certain whether or not Reverend Parris had been advocating agains t him until his moment of death, but this was another accusation that worked in Parris’s favor. The Salem Witch Trials may have been an irrational event, but they still have a rational explanation.Numerous scholars have attempted to explain away the events with multiple theories, but only one explanation has withstood questioning. The theory that Reverend Parris used the girls to gain political influence is most sensible. The reverend would have lost his job and after so many setbacks in his earlier life, he would not have been prepared for another loss. The relationships between two of the girls and the reverend makes the reverend highly suspect, but even more so was the fact that the accused were the ones who had usually opposed Parris in the past.The accounts of George Burroughs and the political partnership between the Putnam family and Reverend Parris carries also carries a lot of weight. In the end, the evidence shows that Reverend Samuel Parris was the culprit behind t he mass hysteria. Works Cited Boyer, Paul, and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft. Harvard, 1974. Print Buckland, Raymond. Witchcraft from the Inside: Origins of the Fastest Growing Religious Movement in America. St. Paul: Llewellyn Pub. , 1971. Print. Caporeal, Linnda. Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? † Science Vol. 192 (1976) Web. 30 Apr. 2011. Gauch, Melanie. Facebook Personal Message Interview. 1 May 2011. Hill, Frances. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. Cambridge: Da Capo P. , 2001. Print. Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. Ontario: Penguin Books Canada, 1987. Print. King, Ernest W. , and Franklin G. Mixon. â€Å"Religiosity and the Political Economy of the Salem Witch Trials. † Social Science Journal. 47. 3 (2010): Abstract.Business Source Premiere. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. Morgan, Sheena. The Wicca Handbook: A complete Guide to Witchcraft and Magic. London: Vega, 2003. Print Orr, Tamra. People at the Center of: The Salem Witch Trials. Farmington Hills: Blackbirch Press, 2004. Print. Saari, Peggy. Witchcraft in America. Detroit: UXL, 2001. Print. â€Å"Salem Witch Trials. † In Search of History. History Channel. A&E Television Networks, 1998. DVD Spanos, Nicholas and Jack Gottlieb. â€Å"Ergotism and the Salem Village Witch Trials† Science Vol. 194 (1976) Web. 30 Apr. 2011.

What Are the Benefits of Earning an IB Diploma?

In past posts on the blog , you may have noticed that when we talk about AP courses and exams , we sometimes mention another acronym that may not sound as familiar to you: IB. This stands for International Baccalaureate , and represents another advanced educational option for high school students that exists alongside the AP program. While the IB program isn’t as popular as the AP program in the United States, it can definitely be a worthwhile option for those who have access to it. In particular, earning an IB diploma, which requires that you take certain courses and fulfill additional academic and extracurricular obligations, can be an impressive qualification to add to your resume. Read on for more information about the IB Diploma Programme and how an IB diploma can enhance both your high school experience and your college prospects. International Baccalaureate is an overarching organization that administers a number of different educational programs for students ages 3 to 19. Its curricula are used by specially trained teachers at certified schools throughout the world, and it prides itself on providing â€Å"rigorous, high-quality education† to its students. The most familiar IB program to high school students in the United States is the IB Diploma Programme, or IBDP, which is offered to students between the ages of 16 and 19. When you hear about â€Å"IB courses† being offered at a high school, it means that that school has been certified to offer the IBDP. (Students may be able to take some IB courses without enrolling in the full IBDP curriculum.) In some ways, the IB program is similar to the AP program—it’s a way for high school students to take advanced, rigorous courses. However, there are two main differences. For one thing, the IB program is much less popular than the AP program among high schools in the United States, and you since you can’t self-study IB courses, its availability is limited. In addition to this, the IB program is far more focused on presenting a cohesive overall curriculum with specific requirements that culminates in a diploma. While the AP program offers a similar option in the AP Capstone Diploma , most students don’t approach the AP program in that way. For a more detailed explanation of the International Baccalaureate organization, and especially the IB Diploma Programme, check out the Beginner’s Guide to the International Baccalaureate Program . The IBDP is a two-year academic program that, as we’ve mentioned, is open to students aged 16 to 19—in other words, high school students. Upon successfully completing the program and all its requirements, students can earn the IB diploma, which is a significant credential for college applications and other purposes. Academically, the IBDP requires students to take courses and pass exams in six specific subject areas. Three or four of these subjects must be taken at the more challenging â€Å"Higher† level, while the rest can be taken at the â€Å"Standard† level. In addition to this coursework, the IBDP has three more major requirements. First, students must write a lengthy essay based on independent research. Second, students must take a Theory of Knowledge course, which covers critical thinking and epistemology. Third, students must participate in a certain number and range of extracurricular activities. Earning the IB diploma means that you’ve done much more than take a few IB courses. Instead, you’ve undertaken a particular kind of high school education that is meant to teach you not only history, math, and other subjects, but also how to better analyze and understand the information you’ll encounter in school and beyond. Along with this stated purpose, an IB diploma can be an asset for you in a number of different ways, especially as you take on the college admissions process. Below, we’ll go over some of the main benefits of working toward and receiving an IB diploma. Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. The IBDP is well-known throughout the world for the high quality of the coursework it offers. The strength of the IB curriculum, as well as the extensive training that IB teachers and school administrators are required to undergo, help the program to maintain this high standard. The respect that the IBDP enjoys means that no matter where you go, colleges will understand and positively view the effort you’ve put into earning your IB diploma. College admissions officers in particular will be familiar with the program’s reputation, making an IB diploma an excellent way of demonstrating your academic prowess. Strong performance in school is, of course, an important component of what competitive colleges look for in applicants. This is typically represented in your application by your GPA , transcript, and class rank. However, since every high school is different, colleges can’t always be sure what your grades actually mean compared to those of other applicants. Programs like the IBDP help colleges to evaluate applicants by providing a single curriculum that’s used worldwide, allowing admissions officers to more precisely assess your performance. Since this program is known to be rigorous, doing well in your IB courses and earning your IB diploma indicates to colleges that you’re an objectively strong student. Earning an IB diploma also shows you’re willing to take on special academic challenges. You’ve chosen to go beyond the typical high school curriculum and pursue a goal that asks more of you, including substantial independent work on topics of your own choosing. This is something that every competitive college values. As we’ve mentioned, the IB program is less popular and well-known in the United States than, for example, the AP program. You must take IB courses at a certified high school—self-studying is not allowed—which limits the number of students who can participate. The expense and training required to get certified as an IB school can also contribute to its relative rarity at high schools. What this means for you is that if you have an IB diploma, you’ll be among a relatively small portion of the college applicant pool with this qualification.   This distinction shows that you’ve not only taken on academic challenges, but done so through a program that’s widely known to be reputable and rigorous and require a good deal of independent work from its graduates. Not every student can present such a prestigious qualification when they fill out their college applications, and this relative uniqueness is an advantage. In addition to the novelty of IB participation itself, certain elements of the IB Diploma Programme may give you the opportunity to do especially interesting and original academic work that will give you additional chances to set yourself apart from other applicants. As we mentioned, you’re required to complete a substantial independent research project in order to receive your IB diploma. Your choice of topic for this project can say a lot about you, and your ability to handle the challenges of independent work and create something truly original will render you a unique and recognizable candidate come application season. One particular perk of the IB program is that it can be useful not only in the college application process, but also once you get to college. Like AP test results , your IB courses can sometimes be used by colleges to determine placement and credit. Depending on your school, you may be able to be placed in higher-level courses as a result of your IB experience, or you might receive credit outright for your IB courses, which can enable you to save time and money in getting your degree. Colorado and Texas have even passed laws requiring colleges in those states to award college credit to students with IB diplomas. If you’re interested in attending college outside the United States full-time (as opposed to on a short-term basis as a study abroad student), an IB diploma may be particularly useful to you. Since other countries have different academic systems and pathways to a university education, it can be difficult for students from the US to gain entrance. The international recognition of the IB diploma can help to bridge this gap. Some examples of countries that accept the IB diploma for entrance into universities are France, Spain, Italy, India, and Turkey. Additionally, some universities offer scholarships specifically for IB diploma holders. While each country and school has additional requirements you’ll need to meet, an IB diploma can be of great help in the process. Finally, aside from college admissions concerns, getting your IB diploma can simply be a very satisfying intellectual experience in its own right. The IB program is designed not only to provide you with rigorous course content, but also to help you learn how to think, analyze, and critically consider materials in the way that your college will eventually expect. The independent projects that are part of the IB curriculum can be enjoyable as well. Some high school students don’t get many opportunities to focus their energies on the topics they consider interesting. Studying a topic that really moves you can bring out your intellectual best in a way that your daily classwork may not. Going through the full IB Diploma Programme isn’t for everyone, and as we mentioned, it isn’t available everywhere. If you have access to this option, however, it can be a strong addition to your college application profile as well as an aid to your intellectual development. You can find more advice on whether IB is right for you and handling your IB coursework in these posts from the blog : To learn more about IB, take a look at our Ultimate Guide to the International Baccalaureate Program . You can also visit the official International Baccalaureate website at www.ibo.org . Looking for more personal assistance with managing your high school goals? Check out our Student Mentorship Program to see how our experienced near-peer mentors can help you to identify your passions and prepare for the college application process.

Write a detailed report on a song using key musical terms Essay

Write a detailed report on a song using key musical terms - Essay Example The first verse and the corresponding chorus is sung by   Paisley and it mainly focuses on the male traits whilst the second verse and corresponding chorus is sung   by Krauss, which mainly talks about the female counterpart. The song commences with elucidating the underlying way in regard to the promise of true love was washed away by the womans infidelity because the man went away to fight for his country. The man, however, does not easily forget about her and, therefore, turns to alcoholism to try and wash the memories away to no avail. The middle of the song clearly relates with the start as it shows the regret the woman felt because of what she did. She blames herself and turns to alcoholism too. The last part of the song thereby summarizes the middle and the beginning when the woman finally kills herself. The meter or the number of lines in the verse is the same in the chorus and the two main verses. The verses have five lines while the chorus is composed of eight lines. The prevailing  lyrics of the song  are described as additive going by the increased number of lines from five in the verses to eight in the chorus. The instruments used in the song included: the light drum that keeps the beat and the guitar that sets up the melody. There is also the use of Dobro that entails a brand of acoustic guitar and commonly by the singers on their lap with raised bridge and metal resonator cone. The voice of both Brad and Krauss are quite appealing and they sing in a manner that brings out the melodious nature of the guitars used. The melody of the song first comes across as sad, but close analysis brings out the melody as not happy, but more of a bittersweet sound that is relevant to the lyrics of the song. However, the song can be described as predominantly of one melodic voice (homophony) as there are no simultaneous lines of independent melody. The melody also invokes a sense of heaviness or solemnity due to the Aeolian

American history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

American history - Assignment Example struction was more focused on the civil rights amendment while the presidential plan seemed to divide the people even more especially those from the south. Both plans however were similar in the context of solving a political problem because they wanted to restore the political state and reducing other instances of war. The presidential plan was also harsh and more discriminating and was different from Lincoln’s plan. There was more discrimination to the southern elites and the wealthy from that place but was more lenient to the people of the black origin. Definitely this was a similarity of the presidential plan with that of the congressional reconstruction since it also did not recognize the southern elites as well. The congressional reconstruction was also different with the president’s plan because it considered civil rights. The president’s plan was only concerned with property to only those who paid loyalty to the emancipation. The Knights of Labor (KOL) began as a secret and underworld society that was composed of tailors in Philadelphia, and this was in 1869. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was aimed at life improvement employees in the US. Both the organizations were similar in the sense that they all advocated for workers’ rights, and this was done through strikes and boycotts. Both organizations were asking for the support of the American government. They were different however because Knights of Labor (KOL) was made of tailors while the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was made of laborers from various sectors. Another difference also was that The Knights of Labor (KOL) organization was secret while the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was public. It was until in 1886 when the KOL leader, Powderly publicly advocated the removal of child labor, equal pay for equal and also political reforms (Vincent, 80). The Knights of Labor (KOL) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) had voluntary membership and the workers were free to

The Organizational Behavior Principles Presentation Essay

The Organizational Behavior Principles Presentation - Essay Example The importance of this factor stems out of its determining role in the employees' job satisfaction, level of stress and interest. There are three most commonly used approaches to integration of job design: efficiency perspective, motivation perspective, and quality perspective. The efficiency perspective developed on the base of the scientific management and its primary goal is to economize on the costs of production activities. We can think about one of the aspects of the efficiency perspective, namely process engineering, as a potential tool to increase efficiency of the sales force performance. However, the efficiency perspective does not really have the positive impact on the workers' motivation and effort. Generally speaking, process engineering assesses the sequence of tasks required to produce a particular product or service and analyzes the way those tasks fit together into an integrated job. It also examines tasks to see which should be performed by people and which can possibly be automated without compromising on the performance. The motivational perspective concentrates on fitting the characteristics of jobs to the needs and interests of the people who performs them and, therefore, provides the opportunity for satisfaction at work. Although, its commonly used tools, which include vertical, horizontal, comprehensive, and sociotechnical job enrichment, are applicable to a greater extend to the manufacturing organizations, the motivational perspective may provide us with useful insights as well. We may consider allocating to the new product line sales team those sales managers who have had previous experience with new products' launches and are excited about participating in such a challenge. The quality perspective incorporates both elements of motivational and efficiency perspectives and emerged later when the total quality management began gaining popularity. Closely interconnected with the motivational theory and job design is the goal setting process. As the goal commitment and performance are positively related, the task of proper goal setting gains importance. Every company wants to rely on its workers doing "the best they can". Although such a goal is intended to guide job performance in everyday situation, research in the organizational behavior field has consistently demonstrated that instructions shaped in this way can hinder the working performance. In contrast, Wagner and Hollenbeck (2005) note that more than 100 studies support the assertion that performance is enhanced by goals that are both specific and difficult (120). Two additional elements that help in motivating the employees are feedback, so the progress can be monitored, and incentives, so the goal accomplishment takes on meaning. Therefore, the goals of the new sales team should be both specific, meaning quantified and personalized, and challenging. Moreover, following the steady evolutionary growth should be rewarded. Specific and difficult goals are especially effective when incorporated into a continuous improvement cycle in which future goals consist of reasonable increments on the fulfilled goals of the past. The aggressive but achievable goals encourage people to develop effective task strategies and sharpen their mental focus on the task. However, their major advantage is that they direct attention to specific desired results, clarifying perceptions of

Cultural and Critical Perspectives of Rock-N-Roll Essay

Cultural and Critical Perspectives of Rock-N-Roll - Essay Example These mediums of expressions have in fact acted as a form of self realization, expression of resentment and extreme grievances meted out to these societies. Rock and Roll was highly influenced by its African origin and prevalent racial discrimination of blacks in America at the time. Though soul music and the early Rock and Roll music artists were popular and enjoyed by a large section of the African American community, it faced a grueling political apathy and hatred of so called civilized grown-up Americans. This hatred was often reflected in the early Rock and Roll music and it resurfaces even today in various performances though subtlety has taken precedents. This paper will explore the evolution of Rock and Rolls genre from the time of Blues or Rhythms and Blues and analyze how established record and broadcasting industry, the rise of rhythm and blues music and subsequently Rock and Roll were affected by racial indifferences of the society of that time. The paper will also discuss the various artists and piece of musical works that shaped Rock and Roll during the early 1950s and how they have shaped today's Rock and Roll. The fact that rock 'n' roll has its roots in a long slavery systems make it mandatory to know what slavery system was and how it could have been an origin of a popular music genre for understanding the impact of racism. Slavery system had left a generation of Africans who were not aware of their origin and even did not know much about American culture. The origin of Rock and Roll from slavery provides insight in the charm of the genre. Rock and roll is an African-American hybrid. It represents the transition or a desire of transition from the very suffering, and fight of survival out of generations of servitude to freedom of expression and soul as flouted by American white society. Rhythms of genre, use of extraordinary vocals and claps as a part of music, that indicate a strong linkage to African culture, provide a distinctive identity to Rock and Roll. Though the Rock and Roll can be culturally linked back to slavery, it adds a lot of elements local white American music. White America slowly discovered the endearing, inspiring musical heritage that had become central to African Americans' lives, and, establishing a tradition that is practiced to this day, began to imitate and adapt black music (Townsend, 1997). Origin of Rock and Roll is generally traced back to late 1940s and early 1950s. It has assimilated Blues, Country music, R&B, Folk music, and Gospel music styles of that time. Though the term Rock and Roll was first coined by Alan Freed in 1951 to describe a mixer of both black and white music, a similar kind of music style was already present in 1920s and 30's music form used by African community in America, which was generally categorized as race music or black music. The creation of first true Rock and Roll song is attributed to Joe Turner, a black blues artist, who sang, "Shake, Rattle, and Roll". Racial Discrimination During the heights of racial discrimination radio stations refused to play music by a black singers and parents advised their Childs not to listen this music. Schools were teaching the students against the evils of black music. One of the most important social teachings during the time was that

What do you see as Maryland s biggest transportation issue and how Essay

What do you see as Maryland s biggest transportation issue and how would you solve it - Essay Example Majority of these citizens have to use their personal cars due to the limited public transportation systems incurring very high gas expenses. Research by the Bureau of Labor estimates that households use 20% of their income on transportation expenses (Cardin). The commute from rural, Southern Maryland to the urban, Northern area takes a toll on many forcing them to opt for cheaper, unlimited housing opportunities in neighboring states such as Virginia. Congestion on Marylands highways costs the state a lot of money. Many spend productive working hours stuck in traffic. In a survey done by the U.S Census Bureau, traffic volume increased exponentially in a span of 10 years (1998-2008) to 17.2%; however, transport infrastructure expanded only by 7% (Cox, 2009). This meant that the infrastructure is unable to meet the high demand leading to congestion. In conclusion, unless state officials find lasting solutions to the transportation crisis, the states economy will plummet. The high expenses incurred from gas expenditure for personal cars, and the loss of productive time on congested highways is among the challenges state officials must

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 9

Business law - Essay Example This piece of research work is an attempt to analyze the changes brought by Human Rights Act in English law. This paper discusses the influences of Human Rights Act on business environment based on sources of English law and European Court of Human Right cases. Chandler and Waud (2003) stated that The Human Rights Act 1998 gives ‘further effect’ to the rights and freedom that are guaranteed to all citizens by European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom. More specifically, it doesn’t form or create any new statutory or law rights. It imposes duties on public authorities to act in any possible way that is compatible with Convention right (p. 419). The Human rights Act also imposes duty on tribunal to consider any relevant decision or advisory opinion of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) when determining issues in connection with convention right. According to the Act, it is unlawful for any public body to act in any way which is not compatible with Convention rights. The Act also requires UK judges to consider decisions of the Strasbourg court and also to consider legislation as long as it is compatible with Convention Rights. The Human Rights Act is applicable to all public bodies in the United Kingdom like central government and local authorities. It has greater influence on private law legislation as well. The Human Rights Act places duties on all courts and tribunals within the United Kingdom in order to interpret legislation in way that is compatible with ECHR. Whenever it is not possible to interpret an act in accordance with Convention, a declaration of the same must be issued by the court under section 4 and it must state how the legislation breaches human rights. It is illegal for a public authority to act in a way that contravene convention right and therefore public authority includes any other person who functions in functions of a public nature. Betten (1999) emphasizes that the passing of Human

Software engineering and implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Software engineering and implementation - Essay Example It has a close relationship with a large number of other disciplines such as mathematics, physics and computer sciences (ACM, Inc., 2006). Basically, software engineering provides a wide variety of principles, practices and tools for software engineers throughout the software development process. However, the software development process is followed through a software development life cycle. In this scenario, a software development life cycle is a conceptual framework or a map, which defines the stages of a software development process. Basically, a software development life cycle divides the software development process into a number of stages. Additionally, each stage of a software development life cycle is aimed at achieving a particular objective (Rouse, 2009). Up till now, a large number of software development process models have been developed taking into consideration the objectives of a particular software. For instance, waterfall process model, spiral model, iterative models, agile models and so on. Though, each software process model is based on a specific ideology. However, the basic objective of all the software process models is to support the software development process by dividing the development effort into a number of stages. In this scenario, each software development model divides the software development process into different stages such as: requirements analysis, system design, coding, testing, implementation and maintenance. In addition, the execution of these stages depends on the requirements of a particular software (Kumar, Zadgaonkar, & Shukla, 2013). However, the execution of these stages flows in a sequence from upper to lower stage. This paper presents a detailed analysis of two most important stages of a traditional software development life cycle, these stages are: requirements analysis and software

The American Civil War Essay Example for Free

The American Civil War Essay In analysis of the debate of whether wars are always wrong since they are violent or if they are a necessary evil sometimes, it is important to study both sides of the argument, pro and anti war. War is seen as a resolution of conflicts which could not be solved in any other way, a common example given being the American Civil War. This war was fought to abolish slavery and to eliminate racism in the country and succeeded in giving blacks their rights. War is said to part of the system of nature, where an everlasting struggle to survive persists, in relation to Darwin’s theory. As only the fittest survive, war is said to be a way in which mankind progresses. It also is said to control the population which is continuing to grow in rapidly. It balances the population and resources available. It is also argued that war gives the economy a boost and helps develop infrastructure. War is also seen to play a unifying role in countries which had been previously divided. An example lies in the English Civil Wars. War has a great number of negative effects as well and is not a necessary evil. It is stated that the American Civil War was completely unnecessary as there are a number of other countries which successfully abolished slavery without a war taking place. The possibility of nuclear wars is a very great threat to the peaceful existence of mankind. The possible negative effects are tremendous and under speculations must be avoided at all costs. Overall, war devalues human lives. It compares them to material things and degrades human beings. The anti war stance is humane and helpful for humanity and its good as war has devastating effects on its victims. Are All Wars Since They Are Violent Wrong, Or Are They At Times a Necessary Evil? War is an occurrence that mankind has been faced with every few years, sometimes being apparently inevitable and sometimes being viewed as wholly unnecessary. Always being outright gloomy and terrifying due to the loss of lives and the suffering caused, there are also some effects of war which are seen as being positive and are thus stated to be in favor of war. This has caused for two different opinions, one being that war is always unjustified and should be avoided and the other being that war is essential. As the eternal debate of the necessity of war has been sparked by thousands of years of bloodshed, some argue that it is a necessary evil, while those who keep in mind the value of every single human life claim that war must be avoided at all costs. As both sides of the argument have humongous implications, it is essential to examine each proposal with the utmost care before forming an opinion. It is argued that some conflicts cannot be resolved in any other way. For example, the American Civil War. Had it not been for this war, the black people of the country would have been forced into continued existence as slaves. Their families were being torn apart and they were being deprived of their basic rights. Some say that there was no other way to make the white people give the blacks their basic human rights as they would not choose to pay their workers when they clearly benefitted from slavery. Thus in the case of eradication of discrimination, war seems to have been necessary. There are also those who call attention to the fact that war is required as it is the law of nature. It is said that it is an essential component of nature’s design of the world. As Darwin has proposed that there is an everlasting struggle for survival, this is used as evidence that war is inevitable. It is said that with war mankind progresses as in the struggle for survival only the fittest survive and the weak, who may have been obstacles to progress, are removed. War gives the opportunity for heroism and self-sacrifice and thus human development takes place. (SINGH, n. d. ) War is also said to be needed to control overpopulation. As the population of the world grows rapidly and resources grow scarcer by the minute, war is said to keep the population in check. (SINGH, n. d. ) Population and resources are thus forced to be balanced in this way. Also an attributed to war is the growth of an economy and also the development of an infrastructure. People are provided with a number of job opportunities and thus the rate of unemployment declines favorably. It forces the citizens of a country to rally its resources and work hard of their country. (How wars are good For an economy, 2005) However, this point is highly debated and claimed to be completely untrue by a number of anti-war activists. The arms and ammunition industries may flourish but this may benefit only a small section of the population and is thus frowned upon. War is also said to help in the unification of a country as many wars throughout history have proved to do so. An example lies in the English Civil Wars which took place between 1642 and 1652, which is the time when the country of England was divided. The king of England at that time was Charles I who deprived the people of sovereignty although it was a constitutional monarchy and the people felt that their voice was remaining to be unheard in parliament. The war was forced to begin when Charles I tried to take over Scotland despite having no approval whatsoever of the parliament. In reaction, the parliament constructed and raised its own army in order to stop that of the king. The war lasted nine entire years and after much suffering and severe losses the army of the parliament were found to have victory. Subsequently, the king faced a trial and was found guilty of crimes against the people of England and was thus executed. The war was in the interest of the English people and benefitted them greatly throughout the years as there were many positive long term effects. In result of these wars, the citizens of England were reunited with their sovereignty. Also, the commonwealth took shape and the entire Great Britain was united under it. (war as an evil necessity, 2006) In light of this example it can be said that war indeed does have effects which results in the ultimate unification of a country. The statement that war is a necessary evil is thus further highlighted as war was necessary for the unification of the country but also cost a great number of lives and caused much pain and suffering as well. On the other hand, there are those who claim that war is not an unnecessary evil. They state that war is a wholly unmixed evil in its purest form. Countering the example of the American Civil War are the examples of all the other nations which successfully removed slavery from their countries without the occurrence of horrifying large-scale wars. For example, the Parliament in Britain passed the Slavery Abolition Act on August 24, 1833 which became the law on August 1, 1834. Subsequently, an average of about eight hundred thousand black people who were oppressively held in the British colonies became freed. In order to balance off the loss the previous slave owners faced, the British Parliament set aside the monetary total of one hundred million dollars. Slavery was thus abolished throughout the British lands. ‘Emancipation Day’ is celebrated as a public holiday in a lot of countries which were previously British colonies, marking the date of freedom. Another example is in the instance of France abolishing slavery on 27 April 1848, under the Second Republic. In order to compensate the previous slave owners, the state bought the slaves from the colonists and then they were freed. Similar examples of a war-less abolishment of slavery are seen in the histories of Argentina, Chile, Mexico, etc. Thus, in this regard war was not necessary. Slavery could have been abolished through other various means such as education and buying and freeing of slaves instead of the costly American Civil War. (Is War a Necessary Evil? , 2009) A point worth mentioning in favor of the anti war side of the debate is the existence of nuclear weapons. If a nuclear war were to take place in this day and age, any possible benefits would have been eliminated as it is. The effects of a nuclear war would be devastating. For example, the countries of Pakistan and India have been rivals ever since Pakistan’s independence and have had wars of their own. In a model of what might happen if there were to be a nuclear war between the two countries has been created by the scientists at the University of Colorado. According to them, â€Å"A limited nuclear weapons exchange between Pakistan and India using their current arsenals could create a near-global ozone hole, triggering human health problems and wreaking environmental havoc for at least a decade, according to a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The computer-modeling study showed a nuclear war between the two countries involving 50 Hiroshima-sized nuclear devices on each side would cause massive urban fires and loft as much as 5 million metric tons of soot about 50 miles into the stratosphere, said CU-Boulder Research Associate Michael Mills, chief study author. The soot would absorb enough solar radiation to heat surrounding gases, setting in motion a series of chemical reactions that would break down the stratospheric ozone layer protecting Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, said Mills. † (Nuclear War is Bad for You, 2008). Also, an estimate of about one hundred million people are to die in the blasts or in the aftermath of the radiation poisoning. It is clear from this example that nuclear war would be wholly unacceptable and the countries must decide some other means of settling their disputes. It also shows that nuclear war must never be resorted to by any other countries in the world as well. War is said to be, in most situations, mostly needed in order to gain material things. By this the value of a human life is being compared to material wealth. It is being considered unimportant and worthless. For when a war takes place and an army of thousands is formed, one single life is nothing in comparison to those thousands. War has taken place for territorial expansion, reducing the value of lost lives to be beneath the value of land. It has also taken place in order to unrightfully gain other nations resources, where fruitful trade could have taken place instead. As war leads to the devaluation of any number of human lives, it is a terrible thing to occur at any point in time in any place and should be avoided at all costs. As for the argument that war leads to human development, it is said that human development is in fact inhibited by the occurrence of war. War leads to death, which leads to pain, suffering, and frustration. This is as if for example, a family’s breadwinner dies at war, the family will be subject to a great amount of helpless pain and a series of negative emotions. They will also have to struggle for survival. War is thus unhelpful in the area of human development. The debate of whether war is always wrong due the violence that inevitably results or if it is a necessary evil has continued for quite a while and seems as if it shall persist in the years to come as well. However, when keeping in sight the above discussed information, the arguments against war prove to be more humane and compassionate, which are necessary traits in today’s world to prevent cruelty and injustice. References How wars are good For an economy. (July 14). Retrieved 5 13, 2010, from rediff. com: http://www. rediff. com/money/2005/jul/14perfin. htmIs War a Necessary Evil? (2009). Retrieved May 13, 2010, from CreateDebate: http://www. createdebate. com/debate/show/Is_War_a_Necessary_Evil Nuclear War is Bad for You. (2008). Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Sandwalk: http://sandwalk. blogspot. com/2008/04/nuclear-war-is-bad-for-you. html SINGH, R. (n. d. ). 101 War Books. Retrieved 5 13, 2010, from Rajput Brotherhood: http://www. rajputbrotherhood. com/eng/articles/101-war-books. html war as an evil necessity. (2006). Retrieved May 13, 2010, from oppapers: http://www. oppapers. com/essays/War-Evil-Necesity/93065

The viscosity of syrup Essay Example for Free

The viscosity of syrup Essay C intervals. The results are shown below in table and graph form. Time (s) Temperature (m) Speed (m/s) As I expected, the jar rolled faster at higher temperatures and slower at lower temperatures. At 0i C, the syrup was solid across one side of the jar. At this point the jar would not roll at all (this result is not shown on the graph so as not to effect the line of best fit). This was again because of the centre of gravity and the affect it has on the turning force. As the syrup cannot flow the centre of gravity settles directly above the contact point of the slope and the jar and will not move. The quicker the mass changes from one side of the jar to another the quicker the jar will role down the slope. This is shown in the diagram below. The Boltzmann Factor: The Boltzmann factor explains why the syrup flows quicker when warmer. It tells us that if a molecule is given enough energy (in this case by the heat energy) then it can break free from its surrounding molecules and flow. The more energy the flame gives the molecules the quicker they can flow into new positions. The formula for this is E/kT where E is the activation energy required to break the bonds between two molecules and kT is a constant (k)(depending on the liquid) and T the temperature in Kelvins. The formula shows that if kT is greater than E then the liquid will flow. As we do not know the constant we cannot work out the activation energy. Despite this the results still show that this is what is happening. This is relevant to this experiment as the higher the temperature the more energy the molecules will flow, so the syrup will flow easier. Anomalies: There were many places in my experiment where errors could have occurred. For example, when measuring the temperature of the syrup I removed some that was stuck to the thermometer. I scraped of as much as possible, but still some remained on the thermometer. Because of this I think my results are accurate to the nearest gram of syrup. The two most obvious places where inaccuracies could have occurred were, the constantly changing temperature and timing using my reactions. I think that these inaccuracies are minor and did not affect the results of the experiment in an important way. The results that I feel show this are the 64 and 66i C results where the jar appears to go faster as the temperature decreases. Because of this I have decided to ignore these results. Another major inaccuracy is in the grains of the slope, as it was not perfectly smooth. I think that although the grains may have slowed the jar down at some points, the jar then accelerated rapidly after this, so the average speed was about the same. However I cannot prove this so I will repeat some of the experiment on a metallic surface to see if I get the same results. Repeat: To repeat the experiment I shall use a metallic runway to stop friction from the slope affecting my results. Having one some preliminary rolls, I realised that the slope I was using, which was thinner than the other slope, meant that the jar repeatedly got jammed against the edges. I therefore decided to roll the jar 20cm, and use average velocities to compare my original results with my new results. I also decided to only repeat the experiment between 30-50i C, as these seemed a particular place of interest in the experiment. My results from the repeats are shown below. Conclusion: Despite these errors I still feel my results are/Are not accurate (I will repeat exp. Using metallic surface. The points between 30-50i C Show a clear change from a low velocity to a high velocity. I therefore concluded that this is comparable to activation energy. Activation energy is where a molecule has enough energy to perform a reaction. In this case the molecules have enough energy to change state from a very viscous liquid to a much less viscous liquid.

Environmental Studies Essays | Biomass Energy

Environmental Studies Essays | Biomass Energy Biomass Energy The use of biomass energy as a wide spread, renewable power source provided with proper knowledge, state control and technological how-to, can change both the earths environment and our attitude towards alternative power resources. To understand how this can happen, the basics of what biomass energy is and how it works have to be presented. All organic matter, such as agricultural residue, wood and animal waste, energy crops, and methane, is a potential source for biomass energy (http://www.mna.hkr.se/~ene02p10/biomass.htm). Biomass energy can be produced by either growing crops especially for this purpose (i.e. sugarcane, soya bean, corn, sweet potato, maize, willow and eucalyptus trees), or converting organic waste (http://www.inforse.org/europe/dieret/Biomass/biomass.html). The organic matter can be burned to produce heat, like the wood fire of old, or they can produce ethanol or other alcoholic fuels (http://www.mna.hkr.se/~ene02p10/biomass.htm). There are differing opinions betw een respectable scientific communities and one has to analyze the different arguments for and against the use of biomass energy in order to make an informed decision concerning biomass energy. There are a number of arguments advocating the use of biomass energy. As we see an increase of the greenhouse effect, the trend is to start using renewable power sources. Because in order for biomass energy to be produced needs only organic matter and no chemical is needed for its production, it qualifies as a clean renewable power source. For these reasons, biomass energy generates far less air emissions than fossil fuels. Methane, a more powerful greenhouse gas, can be used for the production of biomass energy thereby decreasing the methane levels in the atmosphere. Biomass materials are often waste products from existing industrial activities that would otherwise be disposed ofat considerable cost. For example, if you burn unusable waste material such as bark, construction waste and tree clippings, you reduce the pressure to expand local landfill sites while generating useful energy (http://www.canren.gc.ca/tech_appl/index.asp?CaId=2PgId=62). Biomass energy decreases the reliance on fossil fuels that may be imported, and whose price therefore is subject to variable economic and/or political issues. Bioenergy has a generally positive impact on the local economy. Biofuels are bulky and have a low-energy density so it is not economical to transport them long distances. As a result, the money spent to purchase biofuels generally remains in the local area (http://www.canren.gc.ca/tech_appl/index.asp?CaId=2PgId=62). As biomass energy is produced locally, it creates thousands of jobs at a local scale as it is labor intensive to create biomass energy. As such, the production of biomass energy helps revitalize rural communities. Extra income without an investment in special equipment can be derived from the collection of agricultural residues, such as straw or corn stover, or from the removal of dead, diseased or low-quality trees from forests. However, there are arguments that contradict those above. Scientists found that reforestation would sequester between two and nine times as much carbon over 30 years than would be saved by burning biofuels instead of gasoline. You get far more carbon sequestered by planting forests than you avoid emissions by producing biofuels on the same land says a prominents scientist (http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12496-forget-biofuelsburn-oil-and-plant-forests-instead.html). The unsustainable and uncontrolled conversion of natural and even virgin ecosystems into managed energy plantations in order to produce material suitable for biomass energy, can lead to the release of carbon from the soil as a result of the accelerated decay of organic matter. (http://www.ecology.com/archived-links/biomass-energy/index.html). It has been established that since the beginning of farming the soybean in Brazil, seven million hectares of the Amazonian rainforest have been converted into energy pl antations. Thus, the concerns that environmentalists have expressed about the destruction of the forests in order to make room for biomass crops, such as maize and sugarcane, have been realized. Says, Renton Righelato of the World Land Trust, a conservation agency that seeks to preserve rainforests, When you do this, you immediately release between 100 and 200 tonnes of carbon [per hectare] (http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12496-forget-biofuelsburn-oil-and-plant-forests-instead.html). Another by-product of the planting of crops suitable for the production of biomass energy is the loss of biodiversity. Transforming natural ecosystems into energy plantations with a very small number of crops, as few as one, can drastically reduce the biodiversity of a region. Such monocultures lack the balance achieved by a diverse ecosystem, and are susceptible to widespread damage by pests or disease (http://www.ecology.com/archived-links/biomass-energy/index.html). Another important argument is that there simply may not be enough land to grow energy crops and food crops simultaneously. According to a UK survey, the most productive energy crop in the UK is rapeseed and the average yield is 3-3.5 tons per hectare and one ton of rapeseed produces 415 kg of biodiesel, so every hectare of arable land could provide 1.45 tons of transport fuel. Road transport in the UK consumes 37.6m tons of petroleum products a year (http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/eco/fuelines.html). The total hectares needed to be planted in order to produce the biodiesel quantity of equal to 37.6m tons of fossil fuel would be roughly 25.9m hectares. The UK does not have this much arable land. In the case of Brazil, Alexandre Conceicao, a member of the MST (Landless Workers Movement), pointed out the orientation was towards the global market concerning energy crop plantations with no regard to the domestic production of food (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38051). So, th ere might not be any reliance on foreign fossil fuels, but there may be reliance on foreign food exporters. There are also arguments against the intended location of future energy crop plantations. There has been the suggestion that by converting arable land in Africa into energy crop plantations, both global warming would be tackled and Africans would be helped. It was said that this strategy, provides a sustainable development path for the many African countries that can produce biofuels cheaply (http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/eco/fuelines.html). Although palm oil can produce four times as much biodiesel per hectare as rapeseed and is grown in places where labor is cheap, planting it is already one of the worlds major causes of tropical forest destruction (http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/eco/fuelines.html). It is obvious that the production of biomass energy in this manner would entail serious environmental consequences. The possible creation of jobs has also come under doubt. There have been protests in Brazil about the slavery conditions that the sugar cane plantation workers face. The social cost of this policy is the overexploitation of labour with an army of seasonal workers who cut one ton of sugar cane for 2.50 reals (1.28 dollars) in precarious conditions which have already caused the deaths of hundreds of workers, says Alexandre Conceicao of the MST (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38051). Camilla Moreno of the Rural University of Rio de Janeiro said that, the growth of the ethanol industry is breathing life into a modern-day version of the sugar plantation slave-labour past, along with the expansion of a new form of ecological imperialism. Moreno pointed out that large tracts of land have been purchased by international (largely U.S. and European) investment funds, which has brought a new form of capitalism that was not familiar to Brazil (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38051) The above statements show that not only do the Brazilian people, as a whole, do not benefit from the production of biomass energy, but also that the actual workers are not rewarded properly for their work and work under wretched conditions.

One is Happy When He Believes That He is Happy :: Happiness Essays

Not many people are happy, but all the libraries are filled with books on happiness, and this very fact should make us curious. The Ancients gave us dozens of recipes on how to conduct a happy life, each of them contradicting the other, or at least, with very dissimilar opinions. The Modernity has its own solutions up to the negation of the very possibility of having a happy life. And recently, mister Francis H. came up with his own idea of happiness. He argues that the problem of happiness can be reduced to wealth, knowledge and a personal belief of being "in control" of one's own life. Let's at first consider these factors. Wealth is important, according to mister Francis H., because it allows the satisfaction of one's basic needs. It seems to me that if it was true, the Ancients had no chance to be happy at all and we can not be happy as well, since in the time to come people will be even more wealthy than they are now (see later on the part of my essay "On Future") and able to better satisfy their needs. Well, I guess the notion of wealth is just relative. Same as basic needs which can cause even more trouble. What are basic needs? Color TV and refrigerator or your own jet plane? Or maybe just a barrel in a harbor as Diogenes showed us? Knowledge. In my opinion the problem with knowledge may be similar to the wealth issue. Knowledge in general (meant as scientific knowledge) has increased dramatically over the last centuries, but arguing that this has contributed to general happiness is at least risky, not to mention superfluous. This problem has two main aspects, firstly, its relativity (as in the case of wealth); we can fly to Venus and kill most of the microbes but there is still much more to be done. Secondly, its validity in the pure aspect, as giving us answers about the world and life in general. On the other hand, as far as personal knowledge, or education, or one's intelligence goes, I don't really see any direct correlation between what one knows and is capable of doing to his own happiness. History can supply us with arguments to both sides. If you don't like history, go to the nearest psychiatric hospital to see the lack of correlation. Here we come to the third aspect of happiness: The personal belief of being "in control".

Interpreting Hamlet’s Ophelia Essay examples -- GCSE English Literatur

Interpreting Hamlet’s Ophelia Was Ophelia in love with Hamlet, or did she have more feeling for her father than for her boyfriend? In Shakespeare’s Hamlet was Ophelia’s madness contributed to by the prince’s rejection of her? The answers to these and other questions about this tragic figure will be given. Rebecca West in â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption† argues that Ophelia has no love for Hamlet, but only for her father: For the myth which has been built round Hamlet is never more perverse than when it pretends that Ophelia went mad for love and killed herself. No line in the play suggests that she felt either passion or affection for Hamlet. She never mentions him in the mad scene, and Horatio says of her, â€Å"She speaks much of her father.† Indeed she was in a situation which requires no sexual gloss. Her father had been murdered by a member of the royal house, and she found herself without protection, since her brother Laertes was in France, in the midst of a crisis such as might well send her out of her wits with fear. For the Danes hostile to the royal house made of her wrong a new pretext for their hostility, and the royal house, noting this, turned against her, helpless though she was [. . .]. (109) Beginning now with the play, the reader/viewer sees that the protagonist of the tragedy, Prince Hamlet, initially appears dressed in solemn black. He is mourning the death of his father, supposedly by snakebite, while he was away at Wittenberg as a student. Hamlet laments the hasty remarriage of his mother to his father’s brother, an incestuous act; thus in his first soliloquy he cries out, â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman!† Ophelia enters the play with her brother Laertes, who, in parting for s... ...ies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957. Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.

Business Paradigm :: essays research papers

Key Point 1: How does Corporate Restructuring affect our Society? In the early 1990’s, corporate restructuring was being reported in newspapers and magazines almost daily. In 1995 alone, domestic mergers totaled more than $450 Billion. In just the first week of the second quarter of 1996, merger activity totaled $28.3 Billion. To name a couple of corporations that were involved were Bell Telephone systems and AT & T. Pros and cons come from such large mergers and acquisitions. A good aspect that came from the Bell merger was that they were able to provide service to 30 million residential and business customers in seven states west of the Mississippi. On the other hand, a negative aspect that arrived from mergers is that often times, after the merger had taken place, the companies decided to downsize to make their new corporations more efficient. Long-time employees are now being pushed out of the company. Investors and analyst’s alike, seemed to respect the companies that inflicted the deepest cuts and fired the greatest number of workers. Executive pay rose along with corporate profits and productivity. The compensation packages for those individuals laid-off were tied to job performance. This created a huge amount of hostility. Mergers also created fear amongst the employees. The fear of job loss eroded the loyalty between employees and their companies. Mergers, however, are sometimes inevitable. The corporations must find ways to stay competitive, not only internationally, but globally. Key Point 2: Social Responsiveness Management Large corporations are responsible for providing the consumer with a safe and reliable product. They are also legally obligated to ensure what the company is offering the consumer is what the consumer gets. Take the in-class video on U-Haul for example. U-Haul stated that each vehicle is routinely inspected to ensure customer safety. The inspection log would have a recent date annotating the last inspection. A team of reporters visited several U-Haul subsidiaries throughout the United States. The findings were shocking. It was found after having professional mechanics inspect the vehicles, that most were unsafe to drive. This negligence on U-haul’s behalf places the consumers life in jeopardy. It has become a huge issue after several fatalities that resulted from U-haul’s vehicle negligence. Laws should become more stringent on companies that provides this type of service to consumers. Key Point 3: Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (Nuclear Energy) The debate over whether nuclear energy is a socially acceptable has gone on for years.

Gary Paulsen Biography Essay

The 1990’s was a time known as the â€Å"Digital Decade†. A time when the Stock Market rocketed and the internet took off. Along with technology becoming popular, Gary Paulsen was writing one of his two hundred novels, The River. It showed how the U.S. Government wanted young Brian to go back in the wilderness and reenact his survival skills he used a few years back, after he was involved in a plane crash. Gary Paulsen is a great novel and short story writer for people of all ages. He is one of America’s most popular writers for young people, including adults and children (About). His life was full of interesting things. Many of the things he did, including working on a farm over the summer in his youthful years, and jobs such as being an engineer, construction worker, sailor, truck driver, and ranch hand gave him lots of material to work with from which he created his great stories (About). Throughout his life, since he started writing, he has written over 100 b ooks and short stories and many have became very popular. Gary Paulsen was born May 17, 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (About). His parents were Oscar and Eunice Paulsen (Gary). In his youth he was never a â€Å"dedicated† student in school but he had a passion for reading ever since he was very young (About). On a cold, wintery day, he walked into a library to warm up with nothing to do. On the way out he had himself his own library card and a book to read. From then on he was hooked to reading and writing (Gary). He spent many hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading book after book after book. Soon after he acquired a taste for adventure when he ran away from his home to travel with the carnival at the age of 14 (About). Yates 2 In 1959, he attended Bemidji College in Minnesota, and he worked as a trapper to pay off tuition fees. He quit college two years after and joined the Army, working for the missiles department (Biography). In 1966, Paulsen began to write and has completed well over 100 books and short stories. He has written fiction, nonfiction, and drama for adults and children. He still continues to write to this day. Many of his nonfiction books relate to his jobs and interests. He has written books about farming, hiking, football, tennis, skiing, and canoeing (Gary). Gary Paulsen says its his overwhelming belief in young people that drives him to write (About). A few of his best sellers are: Lawn Boy, The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Hunt, The Rifle, Soldier’s Heart, Tracker, The Crossing, Sentries, and Brain’s Return (Biography). Three of his novels- Hatchet, Dogsong, and the Winter Room were Newberry Honor Books. They often appear along with his other books on the best books list of the American Library Association (About). One thing Gary loves to do most was dog-sled racing. He took part in the famous 1,180 mile long dog-sled race known as the Iditarod twice, once in 1983 and again in 1985. His third attempt was shattered when he was diagnosed with a serious heart disease called angina (Gary). After he was forced to give up dog-sled racing, he started to focus more on writing with the same energy and effort that he used on h is dogs while training them for the race. He worked 18-20 hour days every day staying committed to writing the way he would with his dogs. He said all he does is work, he doesn’t have time to drink or fool around. He has always been that way and the end result is a lot of books being published out to the world (About). His wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen is an artist. In fact she has illustrated several books of his. They divide their time up writing and drawing between a home in La Luz, New Mexico and a boat out in the Pacific Ocean (About). Gary Paulsen has written many books during his life. A few have won special awards and honors. Others are liked by many young adults and children. His writing, especially his nonfiction Yates 3 books reflect his interests and past jobs that he had acquired. An example would be his book â€Å"Harris and Me†. About a young boy who works on farm one summer with his cousin, is full of funny and adventurous events. This book is related to Paulsen because he also worked on a farm over the summer doing chores during his youth years. He also likes to write about survival, which you can see in his books Hatchet, Brian’s Winter, and The River. Although Gary Paulsen has written many books, over two hundred of them, one of his books called The River, was written and published in the 1990’s. The 1990’s is a time also known as â€Å"The Digital Decade†. The pace of life quickly sped up in this technology-driven decade (Digital Front Flap). At the beginning of the decade, it seemed that the economy was going to be sluggish. Instead, the Stock Market sky rocketed and the internet took off. From then on it has been a fast pace through life (Digital 79). Mr. Bill Clinton was the president at the time. He had an enthusiasm for people and wanted to help them fulfill their dreams (Digital 63). When Clinton was a boy at age 16, he met with President John F. Kennedy in the Rose Garden and shook his hand. After that day his life changed and he had a strong desire to become the president of the United States of America. Bill Clinton was just 46 years old when he became the nation’s 42nd chief executive. Clinton attempted to fulfill a campaign promise to disable the ban on homosexuals in the military. His decision ended in the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† compromise that didn’t satisfy commanders of the military or the gay community (Digital 66). After a humanitarian effort was launched in Somalia, and after Clinton’s best decisions to handle the situation, thirty American Servicemen died. Ever since that happened, Clinton refused to come in contact with Rwanda, despite widespread genocide that happened there, and caused over one million deaths. More than thirty million American citizens did not have medical insurance in the earl 90’s. Candidate Bill Clinton promised to expand coverage and affordable healthcare for every person in America (Digital 66). He named Hilary Clinton to lead the drive to recreate the health insurance Yates 4 industry. This is why critics accused him of nepotism (Digital 66-67). By the end of his first year in office, many Americans were wondering just how ineffective and unpopular he could become (Digital 67). Laptops and cell phones became popular in offices, airports, and in pants pockets. Huge SUV’s were found all over the road and fashion became as wild and weird as the world wide web itself. Children began spending time with the latest Pokemon cards or playing the latest video game. The 90’s was a time of almost unlimited choices and personal freedom. The 1990’s was summed up by the word â€Å"whatever† (Digital 79). Electronic-game industries had a growth rate twice that of the movie industry and brought in an annual revenue of about 6.3 billion dollars. Even though console based games such as the Playstation and Nintendo became much more faster and complicated than they u sed to be, the real reason behind the game industries huge growth came from the personal-computer games. A new kind of athlete called adrenaline junkies were on the lookout for new and exciting, but often physically dangerous challenges. This created a subculture called â€Å"extreme sports† in the 90’s (Digital 80). Some extreme sports such as sky surfing and street luge were viewed by the people as mostly lunatics, and not athletes. But snowboarding, mountain biking, and climbing became very popular to most people. In 1995, ESPN gave extreme sports some help by creating and airing the X Games. It showed athletes competing in summer and winter competitions (Digital 80). On August 2, 1990, infantry, armor, and tanks of the Iraqi Republican Guard invaded Kuwait and seized control. United States responded with operation DESERT SHIELD to stop invasion of Kuwait’s neighbor, Saudi Arabia (Operation). On August 7, deployment of U.S. Forces began. The U.S. Objectives included immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait. If Iraqi dictat or Saddam Hussein did not remove his troops from Kuwait by January 15, 1991, U.S. led troops were to force them out. On January 17, the U.S. Coalition launched air attacks on Iraqi targets. On February 24, ground forces began their attack. On February 27, Kuwait City was declared Yates 5 liberated. This was known as the Gulf War (Operation). The field of medical science and the advances made in the late 90’s will most likely have the biggest impact on our society (History). The two advances found will leave us with political and moral questions in the future. Cloning and Stem Cell Research are the major medical science advances. The 90’s also saw the development and growth of Genetic Engineering. Genetic Engineering is used to help make plants resistant to herbicides and insecticides. Over 60% of products on U.S. Grocery store shelves have genetic engineering in them (History). The 1990’s was a decade of electronics. The computer and internet were huge inventions in the 90’s. The pace of life was sped up dramatically in this decade. Overall this would have been a great d ecade to choose to live in. With all of the technology and internet setting in, authors were still writing books on paper. One of those authors was Gary Paulsen. He wrote the novel The River in the 1990’s and it is about true survival. The River has a few themes in its story, but the biggest one is true survival versus role playing. After Brian’s survival story when a plane crashed and left him stranded in the woods for fifty-four days, he was asked to reenact it. A psychologist named Derek joins him in what he calls Brian’s reenactment, an â€Å"experiment†. Brian insists that Derek leave behind all of his equipment he is wanting to bring with them (Paulsen 23). He thinks that Derek doesn’t truly understand the spirit of the â€Å"experiment†. Brian’s ability to convince Derek leaves them with a briefcase, and emergency radio, and a few other small things. Brian tells Derek that the only way to teach survival is to physically put a person in a real life or death situation (Paulsen 34). Derek wants Brian to think out loud so he can write down his every thought and move. Then all of the sudden t he so called experiment turned too real way too fast. That night a terrible storm had moved in, and it wasn’t just any storm, it was a storm that Brian had never experienced before. Derek Yates 6 reached for his radio and briefcase and was struck by lightening (Paulsen 52). This is when the experiment turned from role playing to true survival. Brian woke up from the storm and saw Derek laying in a weird position. He was scared that Derek was dead but found out he was only unconscious. He panicked and grabbed the radio to try and get help but the radio was destroyed by the lightening strike. When Brian tries giving Derek water, he chokes immediately (Paulsen 65). Brian fears the worst and knows that Derek won’t be able to get water until someone rescues them. He reaches for Derek’s briefcase and finds only a map inside, but on the map he sees a river. He studies it and finds that a trader’s post is one hundred miles down along the river (Paulsen 73). Brian decides to take Derek with him instead of leaving him alone and coming back for him. This brings us into the symbol of nature and the river. All throughout the novel, nature is a huge part. From the beginning when Brian and Derek first leave for the Canadian wilderness, to camping out and surviving. The whole novel is about surviving the wilderness. Paulsen also shows nature at it’s best when Brian and Derek were attacked by swarms of mosquitoes multiple times while rafting down the river (Paulsen 86). Another point in the novel, they were faced with a dangerous waterfall in the river. The main inspiration for writing this book came from Paulsen’s award winning book Hatchet. So many of his fans loved reading it that they sent Paulsen letters saying they wanted him to write a sequel. After reading the letters, Paulsen came up with the idea to write The River. A perfect sequel to Hatchet, Brian, the main character of the book, is asked to reenact his survival skills by the government when a plane crashed in the Canadian woods and left him stranded for fifty-four days. I think Gary Paulsen wrote this book for the same reason he wrote many of his books, for hi s love of nature. He has always loved nature and survival. Another reason he wrote this book is because he loves to travel. After reading The River, I realized the whole story was about survival. I wasn’t surprised though, as I read many other books from Gary Paulsen including Hatchet, Brian’s Hunt, Brian’s Yates 7 Winter, and Dogsong. All of those books are similar to The River in that they all have a story based off of adventure, survival, and nature. They are all very well written books and I enjoyed them a lot. If you are into books about a realistic, intense, and interesting survival story packed full of adventures, Gary Paulsen is one other you can turn too. I would highly recommend his books, especially The River. Yates 8 Works Cited â€Å"About Gary.† www.RandomHouse.com. Random House, Inc., 2004. Web. 29 Nov 2011. . â€Å"Biography of Gary Paulsen.† usa-people-search.com. USA People Search, 2011. Web. 29 Nov 2011.

Importance on Being on Time Essay

The Importance of Being On-Time The principal reason for this essay is since I did not follow out proper orders and was not at the right place of duty for PT/Accountability formation at the appropriate time. Though there was a miscommunication, granted on my half, there’s nonetheless no excuse for me to miss a formation. I desire to be a great soldier and I desire to excel inside military. The first step I need to put into action is often making sure I am at the appropriate place of duty at the proper time or preferably with time to spare. This can be a simple task that’s easy and painless to ensure, and it’ll be accomplished. When hearing the term â€Å"be on-time†, almost every individual can comprehend what that phrase means; since it’s been a phrase that’s been used through-out history. This phrase has so many positive/negative consequences that it is unbelievable. A phrase with so much importance, that it must be written and displayed by others to understand it. The societies we live in use this phrase â€Å"be on-time† for many reasons. Every company, school, banks, and etc use it in their policies and their daily lives; from being on time for work, to completing an assignment on time. It helps display a foundation on how an individual preserves themselves, as well as for companies and organizations. It displays their professionalism to others. It provides security in objectives knowing that everything is going according to schedule. As such, this simple phrase â€Å"be on time† comes with many positive consequences if followed correctly. There are many obvious reasons as to why being on time is important. Just by showing up on time it shows that you have the maturity, responsibility and professionalism. It shows that you’re a hard worker and that you’re ready to get the job done. As well, it makes you reliable to take on objectives when they are presented to you. Just â€Å"being on time† will just bring so many positive out-puts, from getting the promotion to a manager, to shaping a better Army. In the Army (in any branch to be more precise) tardiness is unacceptable, so being on time is very important. When someone is late, it makes everyone else run behind on the future objectives they have that day. If an NCO announces that everyone will eat together at a certain time, he expects everyone to be there at that time. However, if someone is late, it will make the rest of the soldiers wait on you, just so they can eat; but even though they can simply hold off and skip chow, food is a vital part to the Army. Soldiers’ need the fuel in order better perform at their duty stations through-out the day. Even with that one soldier being late to eat, it can ruin the whole day for the rest of their battle buddies. One soldier being late can make the schedule completely disrupted. Not to mention that when everything is running behind, everyone will have to end up staying late for that work day. It turns the whole day very hectic and then people tend to get irritated very easily. It would make things run much smoother if everyone was on time. So when someone one is late, not only is it rude but it also messes up other people’s schedules. When someone shows up late, it makes them come off as flaky and people will think that you do not care about your career. On top of that, it’s very disrespectful. When being late or tardy, you are showing that you are not a professional. It can also be assumed that you do not care or respect your job the way you should or need to. When your employer begins to think that you are careless with your job or don’t care about your job they can decide that you are no longer a valuable asset to their company. Once your employer thinks you are no longer an asset to their company they can choose to fire you or they will keep a closer eye on you and wait for another reason to fire you. Being late can cause adverse actions to take place. Adverse actions can range from counseling to an Article 15 or even an early discharge, when in the Army. In the civilian sector it can range from job probation to being fired. In either sector, being late can cause a lot of strain on your job or even cause you to lose your job. This can also affect your life outside of  work by causing trouble at home. In today’s world finding a new job is not an easy task. This means that if you were to get fired from your present job you may not be able to pay bills. On top of that, you let your co-workers/comrades down when you do not show up on time to work. When you fail to show up on time, you’re causing your peers to have to do your work as well as their own. This can cause the mission for the day to be slowed down dramatically. When the mission is slowed down this can cause your leaders to fail at meeting deadlines that may be needed to be met at a specific time in order to meet other deadlines on missions that may be more important than wondering why you are late†¦ Due to the fact, accountability is one of the fundamentals of the military. It not only brings personal responsibility but it also shows the organization of a unit. The US Army depends solely on its soldiers, enlisted, warrant officers and commissioned officers alike. The military would not be anything without the soldiers. When soldiers are not there to perform there duties or they are late, that brings down the efficiency of the unit. Accountability is a great trait to have but it only comes with punctuality. Punctuality shows you are responsible, honest and can follow directions. Punctuality is not just an order that the Army requires, but also a great very own trait that is certainly a reflection of the person’s character, it shows which you have very own integrity and self-discipline. Though some of us are occasionally late due to circumstances beyond our control, habitual tardiness shows a lack of respect for other individuals and their time. If someone is late usually that shows that they more then almost certainly do not care about what their NCO tells them. Time is often a precious gem that should not be wasted at any cost. Should you do not use your time wisely; you are able to in no way get it back. It is a quite specific resource in that you just cannot store it or save it for later. Promptness isn’t only a duty, but can be a part of very good manners; it’s favorable to fortune, reputation, influence, and  usefulness. Lack of punctuality is really a theft of somebody else’s time and a complete lack of respect for others. You need to be punctual in everything you do. Punctuality goes hand in hand with military discipline. Recruits are taught to obey, promptly and with out question, orders from their superiors, appropriate from the day one of boot camp. Military discipline and effectiveness is made over a foundation of obedience to orders. That is why we are supposed work so well being a team. With that being said, being late is becoming a more and more common trend among people of all walks of life, especially in the United States Army. This is completely unacceptable and it violates the Army Values, costs the military more money, and reflects very poorly on the soldier and his first line supervisor. There are many methods available to prevent being late as well as proper steps to take once you know you are going to be late and there is nothing else you can do about it. The Army Values, Leadership, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. When you are late to anything, whether it is a formation or appointment, it goes against nearly all of these values that are instilled in all soldiers. All soldiers are supposed to display the ability to be an effective leader at all times. This is impossible if you are late. For example, if you are a Specialist promotable and late to a few formations that is noticed by the privates around you. Once you make Sergeant they are going to remember those times you were late and question your ability as a leader. It is your duty to follow the orders of those appointed above you as long as they are lawful and moral. When you are told to be at a certain location at a certain time then you are expected to be there. If you can’t perform the simple task of arriving on time, like a formation or keeping an appointment, then it shows that you have no responsibility. Respect is the key to a functioning Army all the way around. Respect must be shown from there is no way you can meet the requirements for duties that require more subordinate to leader, and vice versa from leader to  subordinate. Not arriving to a formation at the appointed time is pure disrespect toward your leaders, and if no respect is shown toward your leader, then it will never be returned to the subordinate. When you chose to be late it shows that you are more worried about yourself than your unit or your career. So in overall, don’t be late. Yes it is understandable that there are going to be those days where the situation was out of your hands. However, most of the time, it’s not. So if any one is planning on making the Army their career for the next 20 years like I am, then start by showing up on time; in fact early so everyone can know that you are taking your job as a Army Soldier seriously.