Preventing childhood obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preventing childhood obesity - Essay Example â€Å"Factors associated with increased risk for overweight or obesity in infancy and early childhood include excessive maternal weight gain or smoking during gestation, shorter-than-recommended duration of breast-feeding, and suboptimal amounts of sleep during infancy† (Wojcicki and Heyman). Effects of obesity on children are numerous, and for the most part, negative. Obesity makes children sluggish and intervenes in their healthy physical development. It lowers children’s self-esteem. In addition to that, obesity is also one of the main causes of such diseases and health conditions in children as high blood pressure and diabetes that are conventionally associated with adults particularly in the old age. (Kimbro and Rigby) studied the effects of the federal food policy on the obesity in children, and found that food assistance is likely to cause childhood obesity particularly in the cities where the prices of foods are high. They also found that subsidized meals offered to the children at the day care centers or in the schools help them maintain the right weight because of which, there is need to expand the poor children’s access to subsidized meals. The US government is taking serious steps to combat the epidemic of childhood obesity. One of the campaigns that have been started in the recent years is the â€Å"Let’s Move† campaign by Michelle Obama that is directed at revamping the food products’ nutritional labeling to empower the consumers and especially the parents, improving the National School Lunch Program’s nutritional value, improving the access of all communities in the US to the high-quality foods, and increasing the physical activity fo r children. This way, this campaign combats childhood obesity by making a holistic effort. â€Å"By directly emphasizing the potential risks for lifetime obesity that present in infancy and early childhood and providing the structure and direction for

How do you understand a functional approach to studying finance-growth Essay

How do you understand a functional approach to studying finance-growth nexus Explain facilitating risk management, exerting cor - Essay Example Joan Robinson however presents a complete perspective when he opines, â€Å"Where enterprise leads finance follows† (1952, 86), thus implicating that it is the nature of the country’s economic growth that creates demands for certain types of financial institutions, and the systems simply respond to these growing demands. Some economists also disregard the theory that places importance on the finance- growth. Robert Lucas in his papers contends that economists tend to â€Å"badly over-stress† the part played by the financial systems (1988, 6), while Chandavarkar (1992) in papers observes that development economists frequently overlook the role played by the financial systems in augmenting economic growth and simply ignore it (Meir and Seers, 1984). ... Financial development is the route through which nations can aim towards furthering the competencies of their present economic systems (comprising of markets and resources), banking sectors, supervising investment projects, and overall strengthening the position of the financial systems within a country. Thus, one can view financial development as a major aspect in affecting a country’s economic growth and welfare (Huang, 2006). Strong empirical evidences reaffirm the theory that finance is at the base of a state’s economic developmental curve. Modern academic scholars are increasingly putting their faith on the efficient, smoothly running financial systems, opining that these systems are essential for processing funds for use in various financial activities, and in apportioning the risks management arena to those who can bear it, thus fostering economic development, enhancing infrastructural growth chances, balanced income distribution, and alleviating poverty (World B ank 2001). While measuring the functional objectives of the financial structures and analysing the process of financial development in a country, focus must be on the financial services, like institutions and markets; understanding the factors that are causing certain sections of the market to remain underdeveloped; and segregating the potential and perceivable barriers within the financial services (Rajan and Zingales, 1998). The dimensions along with the provisions made for the financial developments of a country are assessed are the efficiency, size, and reach of the institutions, services, and markets, along with the quality and cost of the financial services availed for the economic growth of that country (ibid). Thus,

Reflective Assignment on Inter Professional Education

Reflective Assignment on Inter Professional Education Inter-professional education allows students studying to be health professionals to work as part of team on a piece of work and to learn about different health professionals that there is (Barr et all 2005). In this assignment I will use Gibbs (1998) model of reflection (see appendix 1) to reflect on some of the work that the group and myself carried out and ways in which it could be improved. The aspects of working on the group poster that I enjoyed the most were getting to meet new people and learning about the different health professionals and how they work together. In addition to this I enjoyed thinking and researching which health professionals would help Joe and in what way they would help him. I also enjoyed helping to design the poster itself. A team is a group that work together, you dont become a team until you have developed methods of working together and relationships have been formed (Levin 2004, pp. 7). I agree with this quote from Levin because if relationships havent been formed individuals may find it more difficult to put forward opinions and speak in front of others. To work effectively as a team methods of working do need to be put in place. As a team we did do this by making rules at our first meeting. These rules were not followed and I now feel I should have reminded group members about them. I found keeping in contact with some of the group members difficult. Verbal and non verbal communication is important between health professionals and between health professionals and the patient. If people do not communicate effectively, it can have a bad outcome. In some cases this may lead to death. Analysis of 2455 sentinel events reported to the Joint Commission for Hospital Accreditation revealed that the primary root cause in over 70% was communication failure. Reflecting the seriousness of these occurrences, approximately 75% of these patients died. (Flink et al, cited in Leonard et al 2004, p. 86.) One member of the group in particular, missed a lot of the meetings as although we were sending her the email and texts she never received them. It turned out she had a new number, which she didnt inform us about. When we did get her new number she did attend more meetings and became more involved in the process of the poster development. In the future I would ask group members t heir preferred way of me getting in touch with them or I would use web ct to communicate and arrange meetings. However, the internet was not always reliable in halls as it did not work on many occasions. To solve this I had to try and get in contact with my group members by phone. Even though it may be time consuming In the future I would put it on web ct, send an email and a text. After three ways of communicating it would be more likely that all group members would receive the information of when and where the meetings were. The use of web ct would also allow the group lecturer to see that meetings were being arranged. During the group meeting itself I felt there was quite a calm atmosphere, although group members including myself sometimes got distracted and spoke about something other than the poster; on more than one occasion we spoke about what we were doing at the weekend. I feel this was sometimes due to certain group members being behind in tasks so there was nothing more other group members could do until they had completed their part of the task. When this happened, sometimes we helped each other to complete what another group member may have been struggling with or never managed to get finished because of other course work. We understood this in some circumstances. This shows some of the good teamwork that went on within the group. On one occasion I felt quite undermined by one group member because, as a group we had decided to use a ring of people for the poster but she didnt like the idea and refused to use it, as a result of this we came up with another idea which we gladly all agreed on and it worked well. If this had happened again and the original idea was a definite favourite of the group I think the group should approach the individual, as the majority liked the idea. To make the meetings more effective we should have kept a note of the main points that were discussed and the individuals thoughts and feelings towards the discussion (Germov and Williams 2001. PP 127 129). This would have been helpful to look back on for writing the group reports, this assignment and in particular the peer group marking. I feel I was able to contribute my time and effort well to the group. Even though I was on placement for seven weeks I made sure I didnt miss any of the meetings. I wanted to be able to voice my opinions and to help in every aspect of working towards the poster. According to Belbin (2001) there are many roles you can take on as a group member. These include plant, resource investigator, co-ordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, team worker, implementer, completer finisher and specialist. (Belbin 2009). I believe my role in the group was clearly a co-ordinator as I along with another group member arranged the meetings and towards the end reminded, people about meetings as this was something I noticed needed to be done for some group members. I promoted decisions by being the one who came up with the idea of the title Help is at Hand. This was agreed by everyone to be a good heading for the poster. I also put forward my ideas and opinions. I do feel I should have spoken up more when the other co-ordinator in the group decided she didnt like the idea that the majority of us liked. However as I stated earlier the end result of the poster was not only in my opinion but the group as a whole, positive. In addition to a co-ordinator I also feel I was a complete finisher as I was conscientious enough to get the tasks done in time and checked for errors. A weakness, which I had, was worrying unduly (Belbin 2009). The reason behind this was because some group members were not putting as much work in a myself and another group member; so I felt I would have to lower their score on the peer group marking which would also lower my overall grade. I found this unfair but it was something that had to be done. There was one member of the group that I got on well with this was the other co-ordinator. The reason I got on well with her was because she attended all meetings and we worked well as a pair. On one occasion a member of the team hadnt done the report that they were suppose to do and I realised this late at night and myself and the other co-ordinator had to work on this over the phone to meet the deadline. I wouldnt say there were members of the group that I found it difficult to work with, but some members didnt contribute to the task as much as they should have and follow the rules that were made in the first meeting. This annoyed me as they were nice people and I didnt want to fall out with them over approaching them about attending meetings. I feel I helped to solve the problem of the team member who wasnt attending much as I got her new number and also found that contacting her through a social networking site to remind her about the meetings was somewhat easier. I do feel that the ways in which you communicate with people are specific to each individual and everyone has their preferences. In the future I will ask my group members their individual preferred way of communication, even though this may take more time, it will be more effective. To conclude this assignment, the group were strongly supportive of each other because when one group member was on placement we still kept in contact with her, sending her pictures that we were going to put on the poster and the layouts of the poster to get her opinion on it. I feel the group had two clear leaders. A leader is defined as one who influences others to accomplish a goal or objective. This person contributes to the organization and cohesion of a group. (Wilson 2009). A leader can be beneficial to teamwork as they make sure that the group is on task and that deadlines are met. They will encourage group members and may give information on how to carry a task out. One of which was myself as I mentioned earlier. I think that this helped the group otherwise meetings would not have been arranged and report deadlines would not have been met. One of the occasions when I did this was when I sent a copy of the Harvard referencing guidelines to all group members. I was very pleased with the overall outcome of the poster as were the rest of the group. The poster stood out well which was good but there was some spelling and grammar errors in it which we would have lost marks for. Next time this should be checked by the whole group to be sure that there is no mistakes and sent to the tutor to have a look at before presenting it. Reflecting on this assignment I have used a range of sources as evidence for what I have said; these include books, websites and journals.

Julius Caesar: The Peoples Dictator Essay example -- Ancient Rome, Th

Julius Caesar has always been an important, well-known figure in history. His name still lives on, two thousand years after his death. Even the terms "Kaiser" and "Tsar" are renditions of "Caesar." To this day, the name "Caesar" conjures images of ancient Rome, conspiracies, intrigue, and murder. Thanks to William Shakespeare, most people know that he was betrayed and killed by his friends. But what made Caesar so fascinating that Shakespeare would choose to write about Caesar over fifteen hundred years after his death? Why do we remember Caesar? He was a great military leader, and a master politician. He was murdered. But there have been others in history like Caesar, yet we do not remember their names. We remember Caesar because the common Romans adored him. Caesar was able to empathize with them, and they loved him, even to the point of elevating him to the status of a god. It is because of the people that he led that we remember Caesar's name. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in 100 B.C. to Aurelia and Julius Caesar, in the neighborhood of Subura, just a short distance from the heart of Rome. Although the Caesars were patrician nobility, much of the family's money had run out by the time that Caesar was born. It was for this reason that Aurelia and Julius lived in the less prosperous Subura area. Because he was raised in this area, the young Caesar had a unique perspective. He was "A patrician descendant of kings who knew intimately the lives and sorrows of common Romans" (Freeman 19). Therefore, when he became an adult, he was able to identify with the less-affluent plebeian class better than most Romans in politics at the time. As with most Roman families, the elder Caesar was often away from ... ...ed? True, he was a great military leader, and a great leader of men. Yet that is only a part of why he has been remembered. There have been other great leaders that have not been as remembered throughout history as Caesar has. We remember him because the people whom he governed immortalized him throughout history. The commoners of Rome adored Caesar, and they made sure that his name would endure. Works Cited Canfora, Luciano. Julius Caesar: The Life and times of the People's Dictator. Trans. Marian Hill and Kevin Windle. Berkeley: University of California, 2007. Print. Freeman, Philip. Julius Caesar. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Print. Goldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar. New Haven: Yale UP, 2006. Print. Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars: The Lives of the Roman Emperors. Trans. John Carew Rolfe. St. Petersburg, FL: Red and Black Pub., 2008. Print.

Anthem 2

Mrs. Gomez English 2CP 4, October, 2011 Were the struggles for individuality that Equality and Harrison had to face, as difficult as they thought it was? In the novella Anthem and the short story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† Rand and Vonnegut use the theme of individualism vs. collectivism to show the oppression of each society, the fear used to control its citizens and the characters that rebel. In both stories, oppression is used to make everyone equal. The government in Anthem takes away its citizens’ individuality to make a part of the group. In both stories, oppression is used to make everyone equal. â€Å"For the word ‘We’ must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought† This shows that the word â€Å"We† was no longer used to describe people. They were their own person. â€Å"We† was determined as â€Å"I†, the word â€Å"we† took away their individuality. To take away their individuality, they assigned people jobs, like street sweeper or doctor, gave them no choices, because they did not let them choose their names or jobs, and put them into groups so they would not be alone. George is athletic, so he wears weights on him that slow him down, also being extremely intelligent, George wears an ear radio that goes off every 20 seconds, and the ballerinas wear masks in the story because they are beautiful. â€Å"Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was or quicker than anybody else. † Nobody was better than anyone else. Everyone was equal. They used handicaps to make everyone the same. The Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, assigns the characters handicaps to make everyone equal in the short story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†. Harrison fought for his and everyone else’s individuality. Fear was used to control the characters in both societies. The Uncharted Forrest and The Transgressor were used to scare the society in Anthem. The Transgressor was used as an example for all people who thought they could be an individual. The Uncharted Forrest made the society feel like they were trapped. â€Å"We had not thought of coming here, but our legs had carried our wisdom, and our legs had brought us to the Uncharted Forrest against our will. † Equality did not want to be in the Uncharted Forrest because he did not know what was in there. Since the whole society was afraid of the Uncharted Forrest, Equality did not want to be there when he first entered. Diana Moon Glampers filled the society with fear by assigning people handicaps and shooting Harrison and the ballerina. The punishment for taking out the lead balls on the weights was time in jail and a fine of $2000. â€Å"It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shot gun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and Empress were dead before they hit the floor. Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on. †After shooting the Emperor and Empress, she tried to scare the musicians by aiming the gun at them. The fear of being shot like the Emperor and Empress scared the other people. Harrison made an example of what not to do because Diana Moon Glampers shot him for disobeying her authority. In both stories, there were characters that rebelled against their society. In Anthem, Equality rebelled against his society by sneaking away. Equality snuck out of the group meetings and created electricity in a tunnel. So when the oldest of them asked us: ‘Where have you been? ’ we thought of our glass box and of our light, and we forgot all else. And we answered: ‘We will not tell you. ’ The oldest did not question us further. † Equality rebelled against the World Council of Scholars and then refused to tell them where he had been. He was not allowed to be alone bec ause being alone brought you closer to being an individual. Harrison Bergeron rebels against the society by escaping from jail. â€Å"’Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,’ she said in a grackle squawk, ‘has just escaped from jail. Harrison wants to overthrow the government, and show them how to be free and use their talents. He wants individuality for him and everyone else. He escaped from jail and rebelled against the society. In conclusion, Equality and Harrison both faced obstacles when striving for individuality. They both had the urge to be something more than the same as everybody else. In the novella Anthem and the short story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron,† Rand and Vonnegut use the theme of individualism vs. collectivism to show the oppression of each society, the fear used to control its citizens and the characters that rebel.

Children’s Literature †an Autobiographical Narrative Essay Essay

Books have been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was taught to read both at home and at school, and was given the freedom to choose whatever genre I decided on. My experiences with books were always positive, which allowed me to develop a love for literature. The reading that I did throughout my childhood helped to shape both the genres I enjoy and the amount I read today. The earliest memory I have containing books involves my mother reading me bedtime stories. She would read to me before bed each night, and I quickly developed favourites. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss was at the top of my list, and I would request this book more often than any other. I loved how the words flowed off the pages and the rhymes stuck in my head, as well as how vibrant the images on the pages were. At this age, primary colors definitely appealed to me. After reading this book to me for what seemed to be the hundredth time, my mother thought she would trick me by skipping pages in the book in order to get through it faster. Unfortunately for her, by this time I had memorized the entire book, word for word. I would throw a fit and refuse to go to bed until she went back and reread the book properly. Throughout kindergarten, grade one, and grade two, my school had a reading program. It was used to positively reinforce books in a child’s life. Each day at the end of class, children had to sign out at least one book to take home and read it with their parents. There were five levels of books, ranging from easy to difficult, and points that were given according to what level of book the child chose. Parents had to sign off that their child had read these books, and both the book and parental signature would be returned the following day. When the points were totaled at the end of each week, the child with the highest amount of points was allowed to choose a prize from a range of small toys or stuffed animals. I would strive to have the most points at the end of each and every week, and was usually able to succeed in doing so. I would sometimes try to take home four or five books a night, just to earn extra points. What I loved most about the reading program was the fact that children were able to choose their own books to take home, rather than being assigned a book. By choosing my own books, IÂ  was able to determine what genres I preferred, and which I would rather not read at all. Another major influence on my reading as a child was my older sister. She was five years older than me, and the books she was reading fascinated me. They involved stories of girls with boyfriends, and girls having their own adventures. I would always ask her to tell me about the newest book she was reading, and would sometimes steal it and pretend I was reading the same book, even if I couldn’t understand the majority of the words. I would push myself to read outside of my own reading level, always asking my parents to explain the meanings of new words. I did this until I too could read The Babysitters Club and Nancy Drew. When my sister started reading books about children with fatal diseases, by the author Lauren McDaniel, I wanted to read these books as well. Their illnesses became my own, their thoughts became my thoughts, and their world became my world. This continued throughout my life, until I reached the age where our reading levels were the same. Today, my sister and I have very similar tastes in books. If I finish a book that I know my sister will enjoy, I will mail it to her home in Ontario so she is able to get the same amount of pleasure out of it as I did, and she always returns the favor. Today, I enjoy reading fantasy, classic literature, and various works of fiction. I was able to develop my specific tastes by experimenting with different genres while I was growing up. By having the freedom to choose what genres I enjoyed both at home and at school, I acquired a love for books. I have read hundreds of titles, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

Education in Britain essays

Education in Britain essays Education is a subject about which many British people care deeply. Most believe that the state should provide education free of charge and to a high standard. At election time, politicians who promise to spend more on education are popular with voters. Recently, there has been a lot of debate about students having to pay their own fees at university, as well as well as their living expenses. Some people are afraid that poorer students will not receive enough financial help and will be discouraged from going on to higher education. In Britain, education is decentralized. Apart from schools which are supported and publicly maintained, there are also the so-called public schools which are independent and which charge high fees for studying. Education in Britain is obligatory between the ages of five and fifteen. At the age of five, children go to Infant School. At the age of eleven children take the so-called eleven plus examination, determining which type of secondary school they will attend. However, this early selection has been strongly criticized and that is why many comprehensive schools have been set up, to exclude this stressful examination. There are three types of secondary schools in Britain. Children may go to grammar schools, secondary modern schools and secondary technical schools. Only about 25 per-cent of the pupils attend grammar schools. They provide education of an academic type and many students go on to university upon graduation. More children go to secondary modern schools which give a general but also more practical education. Many pupils leave school at the age of fifteen but others stay on until they are sixteen. Most grammar school children stay at school until the age of seventeen or eighteen. Upon leaving, pupils may take an examination for the General Certificate of Education. It consists of two levels 0-level (ordinary), usually taken at the age of sixte...

How to Avoid Common Prepositional Pitfalls in German

How to Avoid Common Prepositional Pitfalls in German Prepositions (Prpositionen) are a hazardous area in the learning of any second language, and German is no exception. These short, seemingly innocent words - an, auf, bei, bis, in, mit, à ¼ber, um, zu, and others - can often be gefhrlich (dangerous). One of the most common mistakes made by the foreign speaker of a language is the incorrect use of prepositions. Prepositional Pitfalls Fall Into Three Main Categories Grammatical: Is the preposition one governed by the accusative, dative, or genitive case? Or is it a so-called doubtful or two-way preposition? The German noun cases play an important role.Idiomatic: How does a native-speaker say it? To illustrate this, I often use the English example of stand IN line or stand ON line- which do you say? (Both are correct, but your answer may reveal which part of the English-speaking world youre from. If youre British, youd simply queue.) And the way a German might say in or on depends on a number of factors, even including whether a surface is vertical (on the wall) or horizontal (on the table)! Using the wrong preposition can also lead to an unintentional change in meaning... and sometimes to embarrassment.English Interference: Because some German prepositions are similar or identical to English, or sound like an English preposition (bei, in, an, zu), you may choose the wrong one. And several German prepositions can equal more than one English prepo sition: an can mean at, in, on, or to- depending on how its used in a German sentence. So you cant just assume that an will always mean on. The word since can be translated into German with either the preposition seit (for time) or the conjunction da (for cause). Below are brief discussions  of each category. Grammar Sorry, but theres really only one way to solve this problem: memorize the prepositions! But do it right! The traditional way, learning to rattle off the case groups (e.g., bis, durch, fà ¼r, gegen, ohne, um, wider take the accusative), works for some people, but I prefer the phrase approach- learning prepositions as part of a prepositional phrase. (This is similar to learning nouns with their genders, as I  also recommend.) For example, memorizing the phrases mit mir and ohne mich sets the combination in your mind AND reminds  you that mit takes a dative object (mir), while ohne takes the accusative (mich). Learning the difference between the phrases am See (at the lake) and an den See (to the lake) will tell you that an with the dative is about location (stationary), whereas an with the accusative is about direction (movement). This method is also closer to what a native-speaker does naturally, and it can help move the learner towards an increased level of Sprachgefà ¼hl or a feeling for the language. Idioms Speaking of Sprachgefà ¼hl, here is where you really need it! In most cases, youll just have to learn the right way to say it. For example, where English uses the preposition to, German has at least six possibilities: an, auf, bis, in, nach, or zu! But there are some helpful categorical guidelines. For example, if youre going to a country or geographic destination, you almost always use nach- as in nach Berlin or nach Deutschland. But there are always exceptions to the rule: in die Schweiz, to Switzerland. The rule for the exception is that feminine (die) and plural countries (die USA) use in instead of nach. But there are many cases where rules arent much help. Then you simply have to learn the phrase as a vocabulary item. A good example is a phrase such as to wait for. An English-speaker has a tendency to say warten fà ¼r when the correct German is warten auf- as in Ich warte auf ihn  (Im waiting for him) or Er wartet auf den Bus. (Hes waiting for the bus). Also, see Interference below. Here are a few standard prepositional idiomatic expressions: to die of/sterben an (dat.)to believe in/glauben an (dat.)to depend on/ankommen auf (acc.)to fight for/kmpfen umto smell of/riechen nach Sometimes German uses a preposition where English doesnt: He was elected mayor. Er wurde zum Bà ¼rgermeister gewhlt. German often makes distinctions that English does not. We go to the movies or to the cinema in English. But zum Kino means to the movie theater (but not necessarily inside) and ins Kino means to the movies (to see a show). Interference First-language interference is always a problem in learning a second language, but nowhere is this more critical than with prepositions. As we have already seen above, just because English uses a given preposition doesnt mean German will use the equivalent in the same situation. In English we are afraid OF something; a German has fear BEFORE (vor) something. In English we take something FOR a cold; in German, you take something AGAINST (gegen) a cold.   Another example of interference can be seen in the preposition by. Though German bei sounds almost identical to English by, it is rarely used in that meaning. By car or by train is mit dem Auto or mit der Bahn (beim Auto means next to or at the car). The author of a literary work is designated in a von-phrase: von Schiller (by Schiller). The closest bei usually comes to by is in an expression such as bei Mà ¼nchen (near/by Munich) or bei Nacht (at/by night), but bei mir means at my house or at my place. (For more about by in German, see By-Expressions in German.) Obviously, there are many more prepositional pitfalls than we have space for here. See our German Grammar page and The Four German Cases for more information in several categories. If you feel youre ready, you can test yourself on this Preposition Quiz.

Pair and Other Words Meaning Two

Pair and Other Words Meaning Two Pair and Other Words Meaning Two Pair and Other Words Meaning Two By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders about the word pair to describe singular objects: A headline from today’s National Post, â€Å"The Royal Canadian Navy is looking to buy 180,000 pairs of grey, lightweight underwear,† got me wondering about the use of the word pair when it comes to things like underwear, pants and scissors. Why are clearly singular items commonly referred to as pairs? Any ideas? I wish I could come up with some really obscure reason for the fact that modern speakers talk about â€Å"a pair of scissors† and â€Å"a pair of stockings,† but fourteenth century English speakers were already speaking of tools that had two joined partslike shearsas pairs. The earliest meaning of the word pair was â€Å"two things of the same type which ordinarily or necessarily are found together.† By the 17th century, pair had acquired the following meanings: a group of things which form a set a married couple a single thing in two pieces or two symmetrical parts two animals of the same species used or bought together two people united by affection or some similarity of position two symmetrical or identical parts of a body (ex. a pair of eyes) The of that follows pair in modern English was often omitted in Middle English and in early Modern English. For example, one spoke of â€Å"a pair socks† and â€Å"a pair gloves.† This change is especially interesting in light of the current trend to drop of after couple, another word that means â€Å"two things.† (See the comments on my post The Quasi-adjective Couple) Another change in the use of pair has to do with the plural. In the not-so-distant past, the singular was used after a numeral: â€Å"three pair shoes,† but now, as in the headline that launched this discussion, we use the plural: â€Å"looking to buy 180,000 pairs of grey, lightweight underwear† Here are a few more words that convey the idea of two: brace double duet duo duplet dyad twain twice twin two twosome Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†80 Idioms with the Word TimeNarrative, Plot, and Story

Post-acquisition cultural integration the case of Arcelormittal Essay

Post-acquisition cultural integration the case of Arcelormittal - Essay Example The purpose of the paper is to understand the findings of the previous researchers on the subject. Journals and papers from academic sources such as Emerald, PROQUEST and EBSCO Host have been sued for the study. The focus for this study on ArcelorMittal is justified in view of the numerous failures in international mergers due to cultural issues. The first stream of literature is based on understanding the concept of mergers and acquisitions. An overview of the terms, the motives for mergers and the outcome of such mergers have been discussed. The second stream of literature is on the role of culture in acquisitions. In this section, the definition of culture, the concept of national and organizational culture, including the country clusters and their value system have been discussed at length while providing the different theories. Under the same section the acculturation theory and the concept of cultural synergy has been highlighted. The third stream of literature deals with the m anagerial competencies and the linguistic issues in the context of international mergers. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is an expression of a strategy that pertains to the corporate sector. It is basically the management of different processes relating to different functions such as selling, buying or combining one or more companies towards a common goal. It helps to accelerate growth and achieve synergies.

Discussion President Gerge Herbert Walker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion President Gerge Herbert Walker - Essay Example It could be argued that these events came relatively early during George H.W. Bush’s presidency, and really reflect initiatives and policies of the previous president (Ronald Reagan). Two major international political initiatives that were truly spearheaded by the Bush Presidency that I have seen through my research were the military incursions into Panama and Operation Desert Storm. Whilst the actual political details of these two events are well storied, my personal impressions of the event were that they demonstrated a kind of turnaround for the United States armed forces. I recall watching an interview with Colin Powell in which he postulated that a real concern for the president was that the military incursions could expand into a second ‘Vietnam’ insofar as the nation would become involved in a prolonged un-winnable war. Ultimately the United States recognized an overwhelming military success in both incursions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union this le ft the United States in a militarily dominate position. On the negative side of the spectrum the Bush Presidency also recognized a serious downturn in the economy. Moreover, as part of his initial presidential campaign promise, Bush utilized the slogan â€Å"Read my lips, no new taxes.† As part of a compromise with the Democratic Party ultimately Bush had implemented significant new taxes which in a way tarnished his reputation.

To what extent did isolationism limit the effectiveness of the Geneva Essay

To what extent did isolationism limit the effectiveness of the Geneva Conferences in facilitating disarmament - Essay Example Many people believe that the US isolationism policies caused the failure of the 1932 Geneva disarmament conferences and the Second World War. This paper briefly analyses the consequences of US isolationism policies and its effects on global politics and the failures of the Geneva Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments in 1932, using secondary research data obtained mainly from internet. Section B: Summary of evidence 500-600 Geneva conference and its decisions were thus unacceptable to the Americans and they declared their isolationism policies based on the following assumptions; â€Å"U.S. unique with no interests threatened; U.S. superior to a corrupt world; U.S. impregnable to attack and "devil" theory of war†(U.S. Isolationism in the Republican Era of "Normalcy" 1921-1933) To satisfy France, the U.K. and U.S. signed the Anglo-American Guarantee on June 28, 1919, which proposed that in the case of a repeat of the German invasion, both the United States and the United Kingdom would immediately come to France’s aid. Unfortunately for France, the U.S. Senate did not ratify the document, and so both signers of the Guarantee withdrew their promises (IB History). At the World Disarmament Conference of 1932-1933, a number of important issues began to achieve something akin to consensus in the world community. There was recognition, for instance, that military aviation could not be limited unless civilian aviation (that could quickly convert to military uses) also was controlled. At the World Disarmament Conference in Geneva, the British — sensitive to their new vulnerabilities — tried unsuccessfully to prohibit strategic aerial bombardment (distinguishing â€Å"tactical† from â€Å"strategic† emerged as a contentious issue). The French proposed that all â€Å"strategic† aircraft, civilian and military, should be placed under control of the League of Nations, with nations allowed to retain only short -range â€Å"tactical† aircraft in their national air forces (Geneva Conference 1932-1934) Senator Swanson led the United States Delegation to the General Disarmament Conference in Geneva. He was noted for his strong stand in favour of a large U.S. Navy and for his prediction of a possible war with Japan. Germany, whose military power had been severely limited by the Treaty of Versailles, responded by claiming that if world disarmament to the German level was not accomplished, Germany had the right to rearm and achieve military equality(Disarmament Conference) The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled (The League of Nations) The United States never joined the League of Na tions which weakened the League The Anglo-American guarantee never happened Germany was angry as it thought the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and harsh and so wanted the treaty revoked Italy was angry as it was on the winning side, however it did not receive much territory and so the Italians wanted to revise the treaty in favour of Italy Japan was only interested in issues concerning itself and not the issues concerned with the European aspects of the peace

Discussion 1 Week 2 Apple's New Strategy Assignment

Discussion 1 Week 2 Apple's New Strategy - Assignment Example ed toward maintaining an edge in the industry is to venture outside of the iPhone product or explore potentials for changing the interface into something totally new. 2. Using Porters Five Forces Model located in Chapter 2 of your textbook, assess Apples strengths and weaknesses of each dimension of the model in comparison with those of Samsung, Apples strongest competitor. Justify your response by utilizing at least one (1) example based on customer focus. Risk of Entry: Apple’s iPhone had been identified to be a product that is imitated by other phone manufacturers. The risk of entry or imitation by competitors is strong; yet there are legal regulations that protect the product’s copyright. Rivalry Among Established Companies: Rivalry is still strong given the popularity of the iPhone. Recently, Samsung was noted to have averred that Apple was actually imitating Samsung’s Galaxy Note (Matyszczy, 2014). Power of Complement Providers: No power of complementors for Apple’s iPhone which expect all applications to be provided by Apple. Samsung has strong power of complementors where third party providers of applications add value to their products. As such, customers could prefer Samsung’s products due to the ability to access other applications in a more convenient manner. Matyszczy, C. (2014, September 13). Apples big iPhones are a big imitation, Samsung says subtly in new ad. Retrieved January 10, 2015, from c/net:

The Gospel of John Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Gospel of John - Essay Example â€Å"Hymn to the Word† is a section meant to look at Jesus as the logos of God, and His eternal Word. John acknowledges that Jesus is above all divine creatures (Lee, 2002). There are seven signs whereby Jesus’s public life is explained and written so as to show the world his spiritual being different from that of the other human beings. Included are the seven signs or miracles together with long speeches as Jesus explains himself and his purpose in the world, particularly his relationship with God (Lee, 2002). He says that God is his Father and it is only through him that people would get to his father. He goes further and explains that He is the son of God and stated severally that if an individual did not know him, then how he would know his father. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the death, it leads to his execution. The Jews were greatly of the opinion that Jesus was mocking their religious beliefs and those of their forefathers. They, therefore, decided that the o nly way to deal with him was to kill him. The seven signs mentioned above included: John the Baptist, Jesus is the Lamp of God, the calling of Simon, Andrew and Nathaniel, the marriage at Galilee where he changed water into wine, Jews and the businessmen who conducted their business in the Holy Temple of God, Nicodemus the Pharisee and the need to be baptized. Throughout the Gospel of John, there is a persistent explanation of the relationship between Jesus and God. At the end of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is introduced to the Gospel as a helper and comforter of the Disciples and other Christians, and would be there for them once Jesus left after His crucifixion and resurrection into heaven. Christology This has simply been described by many scholars as a manifestation of the word that has the basis for immortality (Lee, 2002). In the book of John, Jesus is presented as the divine Son of God and in the same book is described to be subordinate to God the father. This gospel gives mo re emphasis to the relationship between the father and the son unlike the other gospels (Moloney, 1998). There was a lot of emphasis put on this relation and it was described as beyond our human understanding of how there is one God and with Him, there are three: the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Divine Role In this gospel, Jesus explains the Kingdom of God to the multitudes. He was sent by His Father to bring the God News to the world. He had a messianic secret and played a divine role in the world (Coloe M. , 2006). He talks a lot about God’s divine wish as there are even echoes in the dark. Jesus has been regarded as the real vine, the way, the truth, the resurrection and the life. There are also several others such as the bread of the World and the gate of the sheep. Jesus divine call is illustrated all through the presentation and, as such, did not need to find it as per that minute. Jesus was sent to the world so as to help us reach and be near to God. He w ould be killed and denied severally by his friends. He underwent all this suffering for the sake of human beings and to save them from the crunches of the evil one (Tovey, 2007). There are three main happenings that are significant to the practice of Judaism. First was the cleansing of the temple where Jesus found businessmen who were selling all kinds of goods in the temple, and money brokers within the temple. He cleansed the temple and chased them away together with their goods and animals. He told them to go away and

Analyze the impact of technology on a field of study of your choice Essay

Analyze the impact of technology on a field of study of your choice - Essay Example It is observed that today mobile devices proliferate in corporate environments as these devices can be easily connected to company networks. Although these devices have become an integral part of the modern life, they raise certain potential challenges to the cyber security. According to experts, it is relatively easy to hack mobile devices as compared to other computer devices. Hence, they are highly prone to data theft. In addition, today mobile devices are widely used for cyber crimes because this practice reduces the chances of being caught. Despite numerous advantages including high productivity and greater convenience, mobile devices raise severe threats to cyber security. According to a study conducted among IT professionals (as cited in Dimensional research, 2012), nearly 89% of the organizations connect mobile devices to their corporate networks. Roughly 65% participants responded that their employees used private mobile devices to access the corporate networks. The particip ants also indicated the major mobile platforms used to access corporate networks were Apple iOS (30%), BlackBerry (29%), and Android (21%). Majority of the participants (64%) argued that there has been an increase in mobile devices-related security risks to their organizations over the past two years (Dimensional research, 2012). ... For instance, it is often observed that employees connect their personal mobile devices to unprotected company networks like Wi-Fi in order to access internet. This practice increases the chances of malware attacks on the company networks and subsequently the malware-affected network may cause to lose the valuable business information stored in the company’s mobile devices. In addition, fraud employees can easily copy sensitive company information to their personal mobile devices within seconds and such issues can challenge the firm’s cyber security. Similarly, mobile devices are extremely prone to theft and loss due to their small size and high portability. If mobile devices reach the hands of third parties, they can access the data stored in it using highly advanced applications even though those devices are password-protected. Due to their small size, it is easy for external people to steal mobile devices. Evidently, data theft by individuals would more harmfully aff ect an organization than data loss due to malware attacks. In case of data theft, there might be a possibility of leaking the sensitive data to business competitors. This type of data loss or theft from mobile devices would extremely impact individuals too. Probably, people will store their family-related images and videos and other personal documents on their mobile devices. If such data are accessed by unauthorized people, this would cause great troubles to the users. Kuspriyanto and Noor (2012) point that the use of NFC (near field communication) in mobile payments systems make mobile platforms vulnerable to financially motivated cybercrimes. Evidently, such issues often cause users to suffer huge financial losses. Today,

The Gospel of John Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Gospel of John - Essay Example â€Å"Hymn to the Word† is a section meant to look at Jesus as the logos of God, and His eternal Word. John acknowledges that Jesus is above all divine creatures (Lee, 2002). There are seven signs whereby Jesus’s public life is explained and written so as to show the world his spiritual being different from that of the other human beings. Included are the seven signs or miracles together with long speeches as Jesus explains himself and his purpose in the world, particularly his relationship with God (Lee, 2002). He says that God is his Father and it is only through him that people would get to his father. He goes further and explains that He is the son of God and stated severally that if an individual did not know him, then how he would know his father. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the death, it leads to his execution. The Jews were greatly of the opinion that Jesus was mocking their religious beliefs and those of their forefathers. They, therefore, decided that the o nly way to deal with him was to kill him. The seven signs mentioned above included: John the Baptist, Jesus is the Lamp of God, the calling of Simon, Andrew and Nathaniel, the marriage at Galilee where he changed water into wine, Jews and the businessmen who conducted their business in the Holy Temple of God, Nicodemus the Pharisee and the need to be baptized. Throughout the Gospel of John, there is a persistent explanation of the relationship between Jesus and God. At the end of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is introduced to the Gospel as a helper and comforter of the Disciples and other Christians, and would be there for them once Jesus left after His crucifixion and resurrection into heaven. Christology This has simply been described by many scholars as a manifestation of the word that has the basis for immortality (Lee, 2002). In the book of John, Jesus is presented as the divine Son of God and in the same book is described to be subordinate to God the father. This gospel gives mo re emphasis to the relationship between the father and the son unlike the other gospels (Moloney, 1998). There was a lot of emphasis put on this relation and it was described as beyond our human understanding of how there is one God and with Him, there are three: the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Divine Role In this gospel, Jesus explains the Kingdom of God to the multitudes. He was sent by His Father to bring the God News to the world. He had a messianic secret and played a divine role in the world (Coloe M. , 2006). He talks a lot about God’s divine wish as there are even echoes in the dark. Jesus has been regarded as the real vine, the way, the truth, the resurrection and the life. There are also several others such as the bread of the World and the gate of the sheep. Jesus divine call is illustrated all through the presentation and, as such, did not need to find it as per that minute. Jesus was sent to the world so as to help us reach and be near to God. He w ould be killed and denied severally by his friends. He underwent all this suffering for the sake of human beings and to save them from the crunches of the evil one (Tovey, 2007). There are three main happenings that are significant to the practice of Judaism. First was the cleansing of the temple where Jesus found businessmen who were selling all kinds of goods in the temple, and money brokers within the temple. He cleansed the temple and chased them away together with their goods and animals. He told them to go away and

Assessing the occupational competence in the work enviroment Essay Example for Free

Assessing the occupational competence in the work enviroment Essay C. IN CARRYING OUT ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCE, I WOULD ASK MYSELF: †¢How effective was my assessment and feedback? †¢Was there anything I didn’t anticipate? †¢How did I deal with it? †¢What went well? †¢What could I improve? †¢If I had to change anything what would I do DIFFERENTLY? I WOULD ASK THE LEARNER WHAT THEY INTEND TO DO AND HOW THEY ARE GOING TO ACHIEVE IT, GET THEM TO TELL ME WHAT TOOLS THEY ARE GOING TO USE TO GET THE DESIRED LOOK AND WHY THEY WILL BE USING THEM, ALSO WHAT PRODUCTS ARE GOING TO BE USED (IF ANY). ONCE THEY HAVE FINISHED THE ASSESSMENT I WILL ASK THEM. HOW THEY THINK IT WENT AND THEN GIVE THEM MY FEEDBACK. MY FEEDBACK WILL START WITH A POSITIVE E. G. WELL DONE FOR KEEPING WITHIN THE TIME SCALE. AND THEN TELL THEM IF THE ASSESSMENT WAS ACHIEVED OR NOT AND IF NOT HOW THEY COULD WORK TOWARDS ACHIEVING IT. I WILL FINISH WITH ANOTHER POSITIVE AND SETTING A NEW TARGET WITH A NEW DATE. BY KEEPING A REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ON MY EXPERIENCES AND THOUGHTS IT WOULD HELP ME WITH MY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND GIVE ME USEFUL PRACTICE IN SELF-EVALUATION. D. TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENCY OF OWN EXPERTISE AND COMPETENCE RELEVANT TO OWN ROLE IN ASSESSING. OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCE, I WILL NEED TO KEEP MY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS UP TO DATE IN ORDER FOR ME TO BE AN EFFECTIVE AND CREDIBLE ASSESSOR. I WILL NEED TO MAINTAIN CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND I WILL HAVE TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH RELEVANT GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIONS, AWARDING ORGANISATION REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND ORGANISATION PROCEDURES RELATED TO ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE. I WILL ALSO NEED TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND TEACHING. I WILL ATTEND FURTHER TRAINING COURSES TO KEEP MY CPD UP TO DATE AND KEEP A LOG OF IT. I WILL ATTEND STANDARDISATION. MEETINGS TO SHOW THAT I AM KEEPING MY ASSESSORS QUALIFICATION UP TO STANDARD REQUIRED BY THE GOVERNING BODIES. OUTCOME 4 BE ABLE TO PLAN THE ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCE. B. TO PLAN ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING METHODS: †¢Observation of performance in the work ENVIRONMENT I WOULD OBSERVE THE LEARNER BY THEIR PERFORMANCE MAKING SURE THE CRITERIA IS COVERED. THIS WOULD BE DONE THROUGH ONE TO ONE WITH THE LEARNER. I WOULD MAKE SURE START AND FINISH TIMES WERE SET AND MAKE SURE THE SERVICE PROVIDED IS GOING TO MEET THE STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS. ANY  DOCUMENTATION WOULD HAVE TO BE FILLED IN, SIGNED AND DATED AND NEW TARGETS WOULD BE SET. †¢Examining products of work – I would check that THE WORK OF THE LEARNER HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT IN THE CORRECT AND PROFESSIONAL WAY AND THE END RESULT HAS THE DESIRED LOOK AND FINISH. †¢Questioning the learner – I would initially ask the LEARNER WHAT THEIR PLAN OF ACTION IS AND HOW THEY ARE GOING TO ACHIEVE IT, IF MORE CRITERIA NEEDED TO BE MET I WOULD ASK MORE QUESTIONS TO GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY AND MEET THE LEVEL REQUIRED. †¢Discussing with the learner – I would make sure the DISCUSSIONS WERE RELEVANT TO THE OUTCOMES AND. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA, I WOULD DISCUSS THE UNITS THAT NEED TO BE COVERED AND HOW WE COULD USE ONE VISIT TO COVER MORE THAN ONE UNIT (HOLISTIC APPROACH). I WOULD ALSO DISCUSS THE AMOUNT OF TIME NEEDED FOR THE PROCESS AND DATES AND TIMES OF VISITS. I WOULD MAKE IT CLEAR TO THE LEARNER WHAT I WOULD EXPECT FROM THEM FOR A COMPETENT ASSESSMENT. †¢Use of others (witness testimony) – As an assessor YOU WOULD NEED TO BE A PROFESSIONAL IN HAIRDRESSING WITH X NUMBER OF YEAR’S EXPERIENCE. YOU WOULD NEED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH THE NATIONAL STANDARDS AND CARRYING OUT OBSERVATIONS, YOU WOULD DOCUMENT ALL. THAT HAS BEEN OBSERVED BUT COULD NOT ENTER INTO THE CANDIDATES LOG BOOK. †¢Looking at learner statements – The learner would HAVE DOCUMENTED EXTRA EVIDENCE. THIS WOULD BE A WRITE UP ON UNDERPINNING QUESTIONS WHEN A RANGE HAS NOT QUITE BEEN MET. THIS COULD ALSO BE A WRITE UP ON A HAIR STYLE THAT WAS ACHIEVED, EXPLAINING HOW THEY WENT ABOUT GETTING THE ACHIEVED LOOK. †¢Insufficient evidence – If a learner hands back their ASSIGNMENT BUT HAS NOT MET THE CRITERIA COVERED, THEY WOULD BE TOLD THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO COMPLETE THE ASSIGNMENT. THEY WOULD BE ASKED TO ADD THE REQUIRED EVIDENCE MAKING THE. ASSIGNMENT ACHIEVABLE. †¢Recognising prior learning – This would be when a LEARNER HAS COMPLETED A UNIT IN ANOTHER QUALIFICATION WITHIN THE SET TIME OF THE NATIONAL STANDARDS. I WOULD CHECK THEIR CERTIFICATION FOR PROOF OF THIS AND GET THE LEARNER TO TAKE THE TEST OF UNDER PINNING KNOWLEDGE SO THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO DO THE SAME UNIT AGAIN. I WOULD BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THIS IN THE LEARNERS LOG BOOK WITH A RPL FORM, THE FORM WOULD NEED TO BE SIGNED AND DATED FROM THE ACHIEVED DATE ON THE CERTIFICATE. C. TO PLAN THE ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCE TO ADDRESS LEARNER NEEDS AND CURRENT ACHIEVEMENTS. IN MY ASSESSMENT PLAN I WOULD IDENTIFY ANY SPECIFIC NEED THAT THE LEARNER MAY HAVE E. G. DYSLEXIA (I WOULD CHECK WITH THE RELEVANT DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE TRAINING ESTABLISHMENT TO SEE WHAT HELP COULD BE OFFERED TO THE LEARNER I. E. EXTRA TIME GIVEN FOR ASSIGNMENTS AND WRITTEN TESTS). I WOULD THEN AGREE THE LEVEL AND EXTENT OF THEIR CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. D. IN ASSESSMENT PLANNING MEETINGS WHEREVER POSSIBLE I WILL ALWAYS TRY TO TAKE A HOLISTIC APPROACH. IF ONE UNIT IS BEING TAKEN I WOULD IDENTIFY HOW MANY OUTCOMES AND CRITERIA MIGHT BE MET, I WOULD DO THIS BY USING THE ASSESSMENT METHODS OF: OBSERVATION, EXAMINATION OF. PRODUCTS OF WORK AND QUESTIONING. AS AN ASSESSOR, WORK TO HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES WILL MAXIMISE OPPORTUNITY AND SAVE TIME AND COST. IF I HAVE ARRANGED TO BE OBSERVED ASSESSING COMPETENCE, EXAMINING PRODUCTS OF WORK AND QUESTIONING, I COULD DISCUSS WITH MY ASSESSOR WHETHER I COULD BE OBSERVED CARRYING OUT AN ASSESSMENT PLANNING MEETING DURING THE SAME VISIT. THIS COULD BE A FOLLOW ON PLANNING MEETING WITH A LEARNER WHO IS READY TO GO ON TO THE NEXT STAGE OF THEIR ASSESSMENT. BILINGUALISM DEALING WITH BILINGUALISM WOULD FIRST HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED AT THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT; THE LEARNER’S FIRST. LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH SO AS AN ASSESSOR I WOULD HAVE TO FIND THE BEST WAY OF COMMUNICATION. THIS COULD BE IN USING AN TRANSLATOR (ELECTRONICALLY OR A DICTIONARY) THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY ON THE LEARNER’S BEHALF TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PASS THE TESTING THAT IS INITIALLY DONE BEFORE ACCEPTANCE OF THE COURSE. SKILLS TESTING A SKILL TESTING IS A PRACTICAL OBSERVATION OF A SET SKILL TASK THAT HAS BEEN SET BY THE ASSESSOR. THE ASSESSOR WILL TELL THE LEARNER WHAT IS REQUIRED AND GIVE THE LEARNER A SET TIME TO GET THE TASK ACHIEVED. THIS CAN BE USED TO CHECK THE LEARNER’S CAPABILITIES. MAINTAIN LEGAL AND GOOD PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS WHEN ASSESSING VOCATIONAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING UV30566 TRACEY HEARNE OUTCOME 4 TO EVALUATE MY OWN WORK IN CARRYING OUT ASSESSMENT OF VOCATIONAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING I WOULD ASK MYSELF: DID THE LEARNER UNDERSTAND WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE TO MEET THE CRITERIA? WAS THE FEEDBACK CLEAR ENOUGH FOR THE LEARNER TO UNDERSTAND? WERE ASSESSMENTS MARKED AND RETURNED WITHIN THE TIMESCALE? BY ASKING MYSELF THESE QUESTIONS I CAN EVALUATE MY OWN WORK WITH THE EVIDENCE THAT I HAVE RECORDED. D. TAKE PART IN CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO  ENSURE CURRENT EXPERTISE AND COMPETENCE IN ASSESSING VOCATIONAL SKILL, KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. IN TAKING PART OF ‘CPD’ THIS IS TO KEEP MY KNOWLEDGE UP TO DATE, AND TO MAINTAIN NEW SKILLS WHILST ASSESSING. I NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVE HOW I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS. I NEED TO SHOW CERTIFICATES I HAVE GAINED IN COURSES I HAVE ATTENDED. KEEP A RECORD OF HOURS WORKED/SHADOWED. MADE REGULAR VISITS TO RELEVANT WEBSITES. (WWW. HABIA. ORG) READING RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS (HAIRDRESSERS JOURNAL (HJI). KEEPING A LOG OF ALL MY ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION IN EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES WILL BE MY RECORD OF ‘CPD’.

Reversible Data Hiding on Color Images

Reversible Data Hiding on Color Images REVERSIBLE DATA HIDING ON COLOR IMAGES USING DIFFERENCE HISTOGRAM MODIFICATION Subash David A   Abstract: Data embedding is done by processing these selected coefficients of the modified subband histograms. We present a high capacity reversible watermarking scheme using the technique of difference average value coefficients of image blocks by using the tool Matlab. This scheme takes advantage of difference average value coefficients, which permits low distortion between the watermarked image and the original one caused by the LSB bit replacement operations of the watermarking technique specifically in the embedding process. By the proposed approach, compared with the conventional one-dimensional difference-histogram and one-dimensional prediction-error-histogram-based RDH methods [3] [20], the image redundancy can be better exploited and an improved embedding performance is achieved. Keywords: DPM, Histogram, LSB, Matlab, RDH, Watermarking, I.INTRODUCTION For most image data hiding methods [1], the host image is permanently distorted and it cannot be restored from the marked content. But in some applications such as medical image sharing multimedia archive management and image trans-coding any distortion due to data embedding is intolerable and the availability of the original image is in high demand. To this end, a solution called â€Å"reversible data hiding† (RDH) is proposed, in which the host image can be fully restored after data embedding. RDH is a hybrid method which combines various techniques to ensure the reversibility. Its feasibility is mainly due to the lossless compressibility of natural images. Many RDH methods [10] have been proposed in recent years, e.g., the methods based on lossless compression, difference expansion (DE), histogram shifting (HS), and integer transform [5], etc. Many researchers’ algorithm plays as an important work of RDH. In DE algorithm, the host image is divided into pixel pairs, and the difference value of two pixels in a pair is expanded to carry one data bit. All these methods aim at increasing the embedding capacity (EC) as high as possible while keeping the distortion low. This method can provide an embedding rate (ER) up to 0.5 bits per pixel (BPP) and it outperforms the previous compression based works. For the proposed method, by considering a pixel-pair and its context, a local image region is projected to a two-dimensional space to obtain a sequence of images that consisting of difference pixel variant pairs. Then, a two-dimensional difference histogram is then generated by counting the difference-pairs. Here, the DPM is an injective mapping defined on difference-pairs, and it is a natural extension of expansion embedding and shifting techniques used in current histogram-based methods. Finally, reversible data embedding is implemented according to a specifically designed difference-pair-mapping (DPM). By using the two-dimensional difference-histogram and this specific DPM, compared with the conventional one-dimensional histogram based methods, more pixels are used for carrying data while the number of shifted pixels is reduced as well, and thus an improved embedding performance is thus achieved. A new reversible authentication technique for images embeds a significant amount of data while keeping high visual quality. In order to verify the integrity of the image, we use a cryptographic hash function. The hash code is combined with a binary logo image by a bit-wise exclusive LSB replacement [9] or as well as difference pixel pair matching based on histogram matching technique in the difference image from the original image. On the other hand, a half the number of pixels of the image are added or subtracted by 1. Thus, the classification of pixels and also the terminal classification of the zeroth pixel and the last pixel are compared and shown together. II.PROPOSED WORK 2.1. Reversible Data Hiding The reversible data hiding [1] [7] in encrypted image is investigated. Most of the work on reversible data hiding focuses on the data embedding/extracting [20] on the plain spatial domain. But, in some applications, an inferior assistant or a channel administrator hopes to append some additional message, such as the origin information, image notation or authentication data, within the encrypted image though he does not know the original image content. And it is also hopeful that the original content should be recovered without any error after image decryption and message extraction at receiver side. This presents a practical scheme satisfying the above-mentioned requirements. A content owner encrypts the original image using an encryption key, and a data-hider can embed additional data into the encrypted image using a data-hiding key though he does not know the original content. Most of the existing watermarking algorithms are lossy. Permanent distortion is introduced into the host image during the embedding process and results in Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) loss. In some applications such as legal, military and medical imaging, permanent loss of signal fidelity is not allowed. This highlights the necessity of lossless/reversible data hiding which can recover the original host signal perfectly after the watermark extraction. However, the payload of the reversible watermarking is typically lower than that of lossy watermarking algorithms. With an encrypted image containing additional data, a receiver may first decrypt it according to the encryption key, and then extract the embedded data and recover the original image according to the data-hiding key. In the scheme, the data extraction is not separable from the content decryption. In other words, the additional data must be extracted from the decrypted image, so that the principal content of original image is revealed before data extraction, and, if someone has the data-hiding key but not the encryption key, he cannot extract any information from the encrypted image containing additional data. In applications that image downsizing is required; the embedded information is extracted from the received image using lossless data hiding extraction method before the transcoding process. A â€Å"thin edge† location map is formed as side information for the image enhancement process. During image resizing, we divide the image into N x N blocks (for simplicity, assume N is a positive integer larger in value. To share medical images with some concomitant data, one approach involves adding, when allowed by the image file format, some extra header information. Unfortunately, header files are prone to manipulation and information loss may occur during file format conversion. Most data contained in the header of a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM). fig 1: Input Original Image In the presented experimental results, the algorithm is applied to each color component of three 512 Ãâ€" 512 RGB images, for all images such as Baboon, Lena, and Fruits setting T1 = T2 = T3 in all experiments. The embedding capacity depends on the nature of the image itself. In this case, the images with a lot of low frequencies contents produce more expandable triplets with lower distortion than high frequency images such as Baboon. In particular with Fruits, the algorithm is able to embed some amount of bits with a PSNR rate in dB, but with only reduced bits image quality increases at some amount of PSNR value in dB. Location Mapping: The number of subgroup points, depth of wavelet transforms and overflow/underflow book-keeping data are the necessary side information that should be embedded into the high frequency transformation coefficients besides the hidden data. Below mentioned figure shows the embedding image retrieving process. In the first block the integer wavelet transform is applied on the original image. Then the coefficients of high frequency subbands are used for constructing the subgroups. fig 2: Location Mapping Then the data and side information is hidden. The stego image carrying hidden data will be obtained after inverse integer wavelet transform. In image recovery system, the integer wavelet transform is applied on the stego image. Then by using the side information level of wavelet applying and the points of high frequency sub bands are used to construct the subgroups. In this step the data is retrieved. Then each subband histogram is inverse modified according to its subgroup points. Embedding the normal image by considering the pixel values achieved the concept of data hiding, secret data communication, etc. We need an image, an audio; a text file, a web source to be hidden or these sources can also be used to hide a particular data or any types of files. Data hiding, secret data communication, encrypting the data plays an important role in making telemedicine applications, secrecy in defense communication, etc. Each subband histogram is modified according to its subgroup coefficients. Now the subbands are ready for data embedding. The data embedding stage hides the data by subband coefficient processing. This type of flow is called reversible data hiding. The reverse process can take the same flow of getting the image as input and doing some of watermarking procedure to hide the secret data. fig 3: Image in which the secret data is kept hidden Hiding Retrieving back the Hidden Web Source: Each and every data (any data can be hidden for instance image, audio, text file, web source, etc.) Here we have done with some updations in making the data hiding process with the new algorithm of histogram and data hiding which is used for hiding a web source and retrieving it back. These use the algorithm of reversible data hiding and that the web source link will be saved in a particular place and it can be hidden in an image. Then after that the process of decrypting the watermarked image will be carried out. Herewith below shown are the retrieved image and the web source. fig 4: Extracted Original Image A sorting technique is used in this method to record prediction-errors based on the magnitude of local variance, and a pixel will be prior embedded if it has a small local variance. This method performs well and it is superior to some typical RDH schemes. fig 5: Retrieved web link source from the Watermarked image Now the inverse formula of data embedding is applied. After that inverse integer wavelet transform is applied to obtain the image. Now the side information tells us that the Overflow/Underflow post processing is required or not. The original image is obtained after this step. In the histogram modification process, the watermark is embedded into the modified difference image. The modified difference image is scanned. Once a pixel with the difference value of -1 or 1 is encountered, we check the watermark to be embedded. III.CONCLUSION DISCUSSION: This work is an attempt to employ higher dimensional histogram as a hierarchical watermarking process along the pair mapping histogram level. Compared with the previously introduced one-dimensional histogram based methods, our technique exploits the image repetition as far as good and it achieves an improved performance. Since only one pixel of a pixel-pair is allowed to be modified by 1 in value. This issue should be investigated in the future. Moreover, utilizing more suitable two-dimensional histogram and designing more meaningful Difference Pair Mapping (in arrangement of pixels) to achieve the best embedding performance is also a valuable problem. If the bit to be embedded is 1, we move the difference value of -1 to -2 by subtracting one from the odd-line pixel or 1 to 2 by adding one to the odd-line pixel. This correlation makes the pair easier to satisfy smaller thresholds and, hence, to produce a large portion of selected expandable pairs. The major drawback of reversible data hiding algorithm, is the size of the binary map. IV.REFERENCES: [1] Y. Q. Shi, â€Å"Reversible data hiding,† in Proc. IWDW, 2004, vol. 3304, pp. 1–12, ser. Springer LNCS. [2] Y. Q. Shi, Z. Ni, D. Zou, C. Liang, and G. Xuan, â€Å"Lossless data hiding: fundamentals, algorithms and applications,† in Proc. IEEE ISCAS, 2004, vol. 2, pp. 33–36. [3] G. Coatrieux, C. L. Guillou, J. M. Cauvin, and C. Roux, â€Å"Reversible watermarking for knowledge digest embedding and reliability control in medical images,† IEEE Trans. Inf. Technol. Biomed., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 158–165, Mar. 2009. [4] M. Fontani, A. D. Rosa, R. Caldelli, F. Filippini, A. Piva, and M. Consalvo, â€Å"Reversible watermarking for image integrity verification in hierarchical pacs,† in Proc. 12th ACM Workshop on Multimedia and Security, 2010, pp. 161–168. [5] S. Lee, C. D. Yoo, and T. Kalker, â€Å"Reversible image watermarking based on integer-to-integer wavelet transform,† IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Security, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 321–330, Sep. 2007. [6] R. Li, O. C. Au, C. K. M. Yuk, S. Yip, and T. Chan, â€Å"Enhanced image trans-coding using reversible data hiding,† in Proc. IEEE ISCAS, 2007, pp. 1273–1276. [7] K.-L. Chung, Y.-H. Huang, P.-C. Chang, and H.-Y. Liao, â€Å"Reversible data hiding-based approach for intra-frame error concealment in H.264/AVC,† IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol., vol. 20, no. 11, pp. 1643–1647, Nov. 2010. [8] J. Fridrich, M. Goljan, and R. Du, â€Å"Lossless data embedding—new paradigm in digital watermarking,† EURASIP J. Appl. Signal Process., vol. 2002, no. 2, pp. 185–196, Feb. 2002. [9] M. U. Celik, G. Sharma, A. M. Tekalp, and E. Saber, â€Å"Lossless generalized- LSB data embedding,† IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 253–266, Feb. 2005. [10] J. Tian, â€Å"Reversible data embedding using a difference expansion,† IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol., vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 890–896, Aug. 2003. [11] A. M. Alattar, â€Å"Reversible watermark using the difference expansion of a generalized integer transform,† IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 1147–1156, Aug. 2004. [12] W. L. Tai, C. M. Yeh, and C. C. Chang, â€Å"Reversible data hiding based on histogram modification of pixel differences,† IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol., vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 906–910, Jun. 2009. [13] Z.Ni, Y.Q. Shi, N. Ansari, andW. Su, â€Å"Reversible data hiding,† IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 354–362, Mar. 2006. [14] S. K. Lee, Y. H. Suh, and Y. S. Ho, â€Å"Reversible image authentication based on watermarking,† in Proc. IEEE ICME, 2006, pp. 1321–1324. [18] M. Fallahpour, â€Å"Reversible image data hiding based on gradient adjusted prediction,† IEICE Electron. Express, vol. 5, no. 20, pp. 870–876, Oct. 2008. [19] W. Hong, T. S. Chen, and C. W. Shiu, â€Å"Reversible data hiding for high quality images using modification of prediction errors,† J. Syst. Software, vol. 82, no. 11, pp. 1833–1842, Nov. 2009. [20] D. M. Thodi and J. J. Rodriguez, â€Å"Expansion embedding techniques for reversible watermarking,† IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 721–730, Mar. 2007.

Why the U.S. was the #1 Industrial Power :: essays research papers

By 1890- 1900 the U.S. was the number one industrial power in the world. There were many reasons for being number one. One reason for being number one was its natural resources. Its transportation revolution was a major part in its becoming of number one. Also the inventors and inventions made the U.S. number one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The natural resources were the most important reason that made the U.S. number one by 1900. Its gold, silver, copper, oil and steel were the major natural recourses. The oil was used to fuel trains and factories. The steel was used to make railroad tracks. The gold, silver and copper were used as trade to get other stuff and money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The invention of automobiles and locomotives was the reason for a major transportation revolution. There were a large number of railroad networks to transport the natural resources to the factories and then to the market. Boats traveled down rivers and canals to transport bulky goods. Automobiles (and trolleys) were used for luxury and a way for people to get around.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many inventions and Inventors of the time. The U.S. t the time was a nation of backyard tinkers and we had the Yankee curiosity that turned out thousands of new products every year. We had many of the most important inventions made on United States soil. Thomas Edison made the first incandescent light bulb. Sam Morse created the telegraph (Morse Code). Henry Ford made Ford Motors and the assembly line. The Wright Brothers made the Airplane. Christopher Sholes was the creator of the typewriter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The U.S. was the number one industrial power by 1900 mainly because of the three things: Its natural resources, inventors and inventions and the transportation revolution.

Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez and The Spirits Essay -- Comparative, S

The assumed power of men has been an issue of gender politics throughout Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopez by Sony Labou Tansi and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. The African and Latin American cultures have become societies vulnerable to traditional biases of women being the weaker race, liable for blame of men’s problems. Through their attitudes, physical strengths and abusive behaviors physically, verbally and emotionally, men continue to oppress the women of their societies. Male power has been institutionalized by society, while women continuously combat their socially-accepted roles by using the only weapons to their disposal: their voices and sexuality. Estina Benta and Clara try to conform to their own standards of life by attempting to defy their male spouses. Using the power to voice their opinions and withhold strong self-confidence, both are able to control the emotions of their male authorities. (Provide context for this quote) â€Å"Clara walked around like a silent†¦shadow. She didn’t even look at [him]. She walked right past [him] as if [he] were a piece of furniture. [They] hadn’t resumed sleeping in the same bed† (Allende 113). Abstaining from communication and sex, Clara is able to expose Esteban’s vulnerability and gain her own power and independence. This particular vulnerability that is revealed through Esteban Trueba is the very essence of his eventual downfall. He â€Å"felt defeated for the first time in his life† (104) (put citation at the end of the sentence) which led to his abusive, possessive behavior towards Clara. â€Å"He wanted far more than her body; he wanted control over that undefined and luminous material that lay within her† (96). The necessity of obsessive control over women is the backbone o... ...m as he needed to be loved, even if it meant he had to resort to extreme measures. [But] he realized that Clara did not belong to him and that†¦she probably never would† (96). â€Å"Taking charge using his physical advantage Esteban â€Å"pulled her from the bed, dragged her down the hall, pushed her down the stairs, and thrust her into the library† (132). Words such as â€Å"pulled,† â€Å"dragged†, â€Å"pushed† and â€Å"thrust† correlate to sexual violence, which is a man’s only dominating feature that can keep him in a position of power. However being a strong individual does not mean having physical strength, rather it means strong-minded, emotionally stable and the power to speak out; all weapons of the women of African and Latin American cultures. Through their words and actions such as sex strikes, their power is illuminated and true equality is found because â€Å"women are also men† (23).

How important is performance space to performance? Essay

The question of performance space’s importance in conveying meaning and guiding audience response is complicated. First we must define the term â€Å"performance space†. In a broader sense, it can refer to venue, which in the case of site-specific artists such as Shunt, means performance space is indeed central to the construction and context of meaning. Venues also come with their own sets of conventions and coding, which may alter the reading of a performance. On a smaller scale, it is a defining of areas between audience and performer, therefore having a more proxemics based analysis. There is a tendency throughout history to establish a norm of performance space. This has meant in general, a designated space solely for performance, with audience spectating from a separate area. How separate an area it is has shaped audience response in a cultural sense. The peaks of audience participation have arisen in times when there is close proximity to the stage, encouraging the spectator to feel like another performer. The use of performance space can be an unconscious one. Performers, particularly professionals, must devise or present or work within the performance space that have obtained funding for. The audience member is often not conscious of the use of performance space, focusing instead on the overtly designed aspects of the production. This lack of open awareness is, in my opinion a reason why performance space has a profound effect on meaning. By becoming a subconscious signifier, performance space create an ambience through which we filter all of the overt signs and symbols before decoding, its influence pervades all Within modern performance, venue involvement and performer/audience relationships are gaining wider attention as means to shape meaning and reception, by working with or subverting our cultural norms or coding of found spaces. The rise of the site-specific movement shows both performers and audiences are acknowledging the key role of a performances surroundings. It is also interesting that non site specific work being performed in less traditional surrounds in order to democratize theatre and performance away  from the bourgeois connotations of established theatre spaces (the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has seen several productions performed in lavatories,) In a venue sense, the performance of Winter; The Triumph of Time, in the George Wood theatre emphasised the importance of performance space in contextualising the piece. The performers later indicated that they had expected the audience to leave during the stillness at the â€Å"end† of the piece, as it was intended to become an installation art work, which the audience would in their own time tire and move on from. The vast majority of audience members remained in their seats, showing that they were adhering to the learned conventions of modern theatre attendance; they stayed quietly in their seats until indicated by the performers (through curtain calls, for example) or their technical staff (by opening the exit doors, turning up the house lights or giving cue for applause) that the performance was over. Winter was read as a theatre piece, solely due to its performance space. Venue can also engage senses that are otherwise hard to stimulate. During the performance of Tropicana , I was acutely aware of my sense of touch ;the walls were damp, and often crumbled slightly to the touch. The venue also had distinctive smell of mould. The slimy, unpleasant feelings these created were consciously used within the piece and added to the sense of sensory overload the work was trying to create. These senses are rarely triggered by the performers themselves, leaving venue alone as the main stimulation for two out of five senses. Audience response to work is also influenced by the relationship between audience space and performance space. Rigidly defined performance/spectator areas can lessen the effect of the audience being â€Å"involved† in the piece. This is mainly a question of proxemics; the creation of distinct areas often involves physical distance in order to clarify boundaries. During Winter, due to the design of the George Wood theatre’s auditorium and the performers use of the area behind the proscenium, the audience were about 10†² away from the performers. I found this made me lose a lot of the detail in the  performance, the nuance of the paint cracking and solidifying was lost on me  for example. The distance also created a sense of â€Å"receiving† the production,. I was more inclined to intellectually analyse and consciou1sly deconstruct than to â€Å"feel† the performance and become absorbed by its journey. Tropicana redefined its performance space on several occasions, often with no distinction between audience and performance space. being within the performance, in a sense as a performer oneself, left the audience unsure how to react. Many of the piece’s early comic moments were not laughed at, as the audience were unsure of their role. When , in the second half, we were directed onto conventional tiered seating, the audience were much more willing to laugh at jokes, to â€Å"aaah† at the rejection of one of the characters and to talk amongst themselves, due to the return to theatre norms. Exactly how important a tool performance space is varies considerably with the objectives of the work; Shunt actively seeks to reflect venue through performance, and the piece performed in any other setting would produce far different decodings and responses than were originally intended. With less site-specific works, the link between audience and performance space is less obvious in a venue sense. Yet there is no space that does not add some coding to work performed within it. Even contemporary â€Å"black box† spaces convey colour symbolism and expectations of post modernism. Performance space is indeed important to performance. The venue and proxemics employed for each performance becomes central to the mise-en-scene of the piece, framing the work both literally and contextually. It can convey its own set of conventions and alter the way in which a performance is read. However, these ideas relate mainly to live performance. Performance over other mediums such as film of television would have the added consideration of not only original performance space,but the connotation of how it is received. Bibliography: Tropicana Devised and performed by the Shunt theatre company, 9th Oct 2004 Winter: The Triumph of Time- Cleanliness is next to godliness explored Devised and performed by Helen Spackman and Ernst Fisher 10th Nov 2004

Need of Education Essay

Examples: a) School qualifications > no training > semiskilling > work b) School qualifications > apprenticeship > skilled worker/skilled employee c) Lower/intermediate secondary school qualifications > apprenticeship > master craftsman d) University entrance qualifications > apprenticeship > additional training > occupation e) University entrance qualifications > apprenticeship > higher education > executive position f) University entrance qualifications > higher education > executive position These examples illustrate that there are two ways of looking at the benefits of training. The first, which is marginal in one sense, answers the question of what benefits are to be obtained from adding a further stage to the training path already completed. The second is more typical and concerned with the incomes to be obtained from specific training routes. A comparison is made between the incomes attained at 30 years of age and those resulting from the next lower training path. This may be, for example, the benefits of an enterprise-based apprenticeship on the road to an academic qualification (path 6 compared with path 5). The additional income minus the costs of training produces (allowing for interest) the return on the training investment. From a macroeconomic viewpoint, investments in education and training are, to a certain degree, investments in the infrastructure, and the return on such investments becomes apparent only in the long term. The concept of benefits also includes other aspects which need to be kept apart. It is helpful in the first instance to distinguish between the benefits resulting from the efficiency of the education system and its quantitative performance, on the one hand, and the benefits in terms of subsequent yields (economic growth, low unemployment, tax revenues) on the other. The efficiency benefit is the ability of the education and training system to train the younger generation in â€Å"suitable† institutions so as to minimize the costs of students repeating classes or dropping out of higher education and thus reduce excessively long education and training periods. The benefits from vocational education and training are also associated with the allocative functions of the labour market. One function of vocational education and training is to ensure that the supply of labour matches demand. A training system should at least produce approximately those qualifications which are required on the labour market. There are therefore two sides to the benefits of investments in training. In formal terms, the benefit is the return on a long-term investment, but this return results from the allocative effects of the labour market. It would be an excessively narrow perspective if researchers were to look only at the return on investment in terms of human capital. And concentrating exclusively on the allocative aspects of the labour market would ignore the fact that education and training are an investment in themselves. There is also a third aspect to consider. Return on investment calculations can normally encompass only the direct costs and benefits, i. e. the returns of the first type. But investments in education and training also have effects on other areas. There may be positive or negative effects of a second type. Positive (synergy) effects occur when investments in education and training at one point raise productivity at another. These include in particular education and training investments which equip their recipients to work in research and development. Negative secondary effects occur in the form of redundancies when lesser qualified employees are replaced by their more qualified counterparts. There are numerous ways in which expenses may be refunded for training outside the workplace (refunding), e. g. by employers and employment offices. These refunds are deducted from individual expenses in the costs model (cf.Figure 6, p. 232). The survey aimed, first, to establish the direct costs, i. e. expenses directly associated with the continuing training measure as such (course and event fees, spending on learning materials, travelling expenses, board and lodging, cost of child care where applicable, and all other costs directly associated with participation in continuing training programmes). The survey also looked at indirect, or opportunity, costs. Unlike direct costs, indirect costs entail no expenses, but arise in the form of lost earnings (e. g.  unpaid leave or reduced working hours for continuing training purposes, but not the hypothetical earnings of someone who was previously unemployed) and the loss of leisure time. The leisure time lost consists of that time spent exploring the market, the time invested in the actual training programme, travelling time, preparation and follow-up and, in some cases, paid leave. However, the yardsticks used to convert the loss of leisure time into fictitious costs are ultimately based entirely on random decisions. Even the net income earned from employment, which would be a plausible choice, does not provide a suitable measure here. Either the individual may not consider taking paid employment during leisure time – unless it is moonlighting – or may regard it as a consumer good rather than a loss of leisure time. For this reason, the BIBB survey was limited to recording the amount of leisure time lost and no attempt was made to place a monetary value on it. Neither was it possible to apply any rules for evaluating the benefits. While it is quite clear that the â€Å"profitability† of continuing training is determined by the benefits, the input encompasses not only the time and money invested, but also the physical and mental exertion associated with learning. Private individuals, just like companies, are willing to subject themselves to continuing training only if it yields overall â€Å"rewards†. But these rewards depend on whether the training is a consumer good and the benefits are to be found in actual consumption, or whether it has been chosen for career, i. e. economic, reasons. Economic benefits may arise in many different ways: continuing training may serve to refresh knowledge, to adjust to new developments, to secure promotion and raise status, or else to avoid unemployment. Another consideration is that the benefits are normally not yet visible at the actual time of training. Those who opt for continuing training hope it will secure them promotion or save them from unemployment. Whether these objectives are actually attained emerges at a later stage. It is therefore objectively impossible to isolate the economic benefits of continuing training from other benefit factors. For this reason the survey was limited to presenting the respondents with a list of benefits and asking them to rate their importance in qualitative terms. http://www. cedefop. europa. eu/EN/Files/RR1_Kau. pdf.

Modern Relevance of “The Birthmark”

Modern Relevance of â€Å"The Birthmark† â€Å"The Birthmark† is a fable created by Hawthorne that conveys his viewpoint towards the use of science to contradict the laws of nature. The fable also includes commentary on the depiction of men and women in society, along with their presumed roles. Both of these themes in my opinion are even more relevant today than when the story was written. Hawthorne disapproves of science used as a tool to tamper with living beings, for they are not meant to be perfect.This is illustrated in Georgiana’s death after Aylmer attempts to experiment on her: â€Å"As the last crimson tint of the birthmark–that sole token of human imperfection–faded from her cheek, the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The implied moral is that attempting to contradict what is originally intended is unethical and will lead to disastrous results. Hawthorne uses the character Aylmer to exempli fy the people who abuse science as a means to control nature.In modern sciences, â€Å"controlling nature† has become the essence of the medical field, progressing to the extreme of cheating death. Hawthorne’s opinion is echoed in the controversies today regarding methods such as stem cell research or cloning, as common arguments point to its immorality and the eventual disaster. The story is an exaggeration that was intended to be almost humorous, although I believe Hawthorne must have had the notion that his fear would someday become commonly practiced and even encouraged. The Birthmark† at a glance might appear to be supporting the stereotypical gender roles of the era. Hawthorne portrays Aylmer as the pragmatic husband and leader, while Georgiana is his complement as the obedient wife. However I believe Hawthorne is using satire to imply just the opposite. Georgiana is deemed to be Aylmer’s intellectual equal; as she was able to read through his experi ments and understand his successes and failures.She also understands Aylmer’s greatest flaw, which he himself can never comprehend, and that is his doomed strive for perfection: â€Å"With her whole spirit she prayed that, for a single moment, she might satisfy his highest and deepest conception. Longer than one moment she well knew it could not be; for his spirit was ever on the march, ever ascending†¦ requiring something that was beyond the scope of the instant before. † Georgiana’s death in the end is the result of her choice to obey Aylmer, even though she knew of his insane obsession and faulty judgement.I believe Hawthorne is making a statement on the folly of intelligent women bending to the ridiculous whims of their husbands, while they’re perfectly capapble of making decisions themselves. This theme translates easily for many modern readers who continue to resist the residual expectation of women being subordinate to men. The rigid role of a woman that Georgiana fits into is still recognizable to us, but it is the intelligence and the small streak of independence she possesses that we can relate to. In the end we lament that she did not take a greater stand for herself, as many would have done today.

Rewrite the first draft of the business plan Essay

Rewrite the first draft of the business plan - Essay Example Those who had dealing with us in the past need no more elaboration about us. That which is evident requires no introduction or appreciation. Our clothing selections and exclusive personal style services would make it an attainable reality to own a special dress for every woman. Beauty, to a great extent, is God-given. But we shall certainly make one more presentable and admirable. Our Style Assessment will be done by an experienced specialist, and we have specially designed a questionnaire aimed to reveal your projections as to the type of dress needed by you. We have a unique album that gives minute details/measurements of thousands of patterns, and an exclusive photo album. You will be shown an exclusive range of fabrics in different color/patterns, which is specially created for us by the experts and you won’t find this range in any other boutique during the season for which it is intended for. This is the guarantee and the entire range is copyrighted. Take our assurance to your exclusiveness. Women assess it better and men understand it well. Fashion is such a unique concept. I head the think tank (management) of our designers group consists of 4 women and 1 man. This is no ordinary paper partnership. Each one of us is an expert, and thinks much ahead than what is available in the fashion world today. Our sole concern is our customers are well and exclusively dressed. Step into a right company, and we look forward for a long and happy association with each of our client. People come to us with an enquiry and end up being our permanent clients. We have a purpose in everything we do—to work for the entire satisfaction of our customers. Patrick Lencioni writes, â€Å"An organization that has achieved clarity has a sense of unity around everything it does. It aligns its resources, especially the human ones, around common concepts, values, definitions, goals, and strategies’, thereby realizing the synergies that all great companies