Ten Facts About Port au Prince, Haiti

Ten Facts About Port au Prince, Haiti Port au Prince (map) is the capital and biggest city dependent on populace in Haiti, a generally little nation that imparts the island of Hispaniola to the Dominican Republic. It is situated on the Gulf of Gonã ¢ve on the Caribbean Sea and spreads a territory of almost 15 square miles (38 sq km). The metro locale of Port au Prince is thick with a populace of more than 2,000,000 however like the remainder of Haiti, most of the populace in Port au Prince is amazingly poor despite the fact that there are some wealthier regions inside the city. Coming up next is a rundown of the ten most significant things to think about Port au Prince: 1) Most as of late, a lot of Haitis capital city was crushed in a disastrous greatness 7.0 quake which hit close to Port au Prince on January 12, 2010. The loss of life in the seismic tremor was in the thousands and the greater part of Port au Princes focal architecturally significant area, its capital structure, the parliament working, just as other city framework, for example, emergency clinics were wrecked. 2) The city of Port au Prince was authoritatively fused in 1749 and in 1770 it supplanted Cap-Franã §ais as the capital of the French settlement of Saint-Domingue. 3) Modern-day Port au Prince is situated on a characteristic harbor on the Gulf of Gonã ¢ve which has permitted it to support more financial action than different territories of Haiti.4) Port au Prince is Haitis monetary center point as it is a fare place. The most widely recognized fares leaving Haiti through Port au Prince are espresso and sugar. Food preparing is likewise regular in Port au Prince. 5) The number of inhabitants in Port au Prince is hard to precisely decide on account of a huge nearness of ghettos in the slopes contiguous the city. 6) Although Port au Prince is thickly populated the citys format is isolated as business regions are close to the water, while local locations are in the slopes close to the business zones. 7) Port au Prince is partitioned into discrete regions that are controlled by their own neighborhood city hall leaders who are under the purview of the whole citys general chairman. 8) Port au Prince is viewed as the instructive center point of Haiti as it has a few diverse instructive foundations which run from enormous colleges to littler professional schools. The State University of Haiti is likewise situated in Port au Prince. 9) Culture is a significant part of Port au Prince exhibition halls including ancient rarities from pilgrims like Christopher Columbus and memorable structures. Huge numbers of these structures, in any case, were harmed in the January 12, 2010 tremor. 10) Recently, the travel industry has become a significant piece of Port au Princes economy, anyway most visitor movement centers around the citys memorable locale and well-off territories. Reference Wikipedia. (2010, April 6). Port-au-Prince - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-au-Prince

Case Study: Nature of CPA Firm Essay

For this contextual investigation I took a gander at a wide scope of CPA firms’ sites from the enormous national firms, for example, Deloitte, PWC and Ernst and Young to the littler nearby firms including KDV, Copeland Buhl and Co and Schechter, Dokken and Kanter. While looking at these sites, the principal thing that got clear to me is that the substance and usefulness from site to site is fundamentally the same as. The entirety of the sites I took a gander at incorporate a ‘About Us’ page clarifying what their identity is and what they do, which commonly incorporates their statement of purpose. They all incorporate a ‘Services’ page specifying the administration gave which incorporates yet isn't restricted to warning, confirmation, charge, counseling, budgetary and innovation. The entirety of the sites I took a gander at additionally highlighted a ‘Careers’ area which incorporates present place of employment opening and definite data about the organization’s culture and advantages. The enormous national firms incorporate a posting of the ventures they support. A portion of the organizations incorporate an assets page which may contain connections to an assortment of mini-computers to help with monetary choices just as connections to different productions and structures. There are numerous reasons a firm may put resources into a site. Actually, I would contend that it is basic for CPA firms to have a solid web nearness in the event that they need to be serious in today’s commercial center. In the event that you are a littler firm, having a site can permit you to rival the enormous national firms, as anybody with web access can discover your site. Having a site is additionally an a lot less expensive approach to publicize when contrasted with the more customary strategies, for example, paper, TV, radio, regular postal mail, etc†¦ Having a site can permit you to arrive at a huge number of individuals something paper and radio can't do. Having a site likewise improves your capacity to upgrade client support since you can furnish clients with data quickly. It additionally gives a road to enlisting a skilled workforce. As I would see it the site of a CPA firm need not be exceptionally advanced. For CPA firms, a website’s essential job is to promote and market to existing and potential clients by giving data in regards to the administrations they offer. The web has changed how CPA firms work together from speaking with customer to recruiting and holding representatives. The web has permitted CPA firms to go paperless. Paper no longer should be printed and copied. Fiscal reports and reports can be conveyed electronically in a moment. Presently, data is conveyed through the web and the beneficiary includes it inside seconds at no extra expense. One case of how the web has changed how CPA firms work together is through the expansion in electronic expense forms and installments. The web can likewise be utilized to move data to and fro with clients using an online entrance. In my profession, almost the entirety of the review firms we work with utilize the web to get and transmit data. The Internet has additionally expanded effectiveness by enabling bookkeepers to deal with a client’s PCs and programming, and recover data from them, remotely. With the proper consents and programming, for example, LogMeIn. com or PCanywhere. com, a bookkeeper can assume responsibility for a client’s PC from far off and do everything that somebody situated in the workplace could, with the exception of genuinely load circles. The CPA can essentially â€Å"visit† the customer whenever without the requirement for the customer to be truly present. For any association that has a site there are sure liabilities that must be thought of. Regularly CPA firms are giving budgetary data and exhortation to their clients. Giving off base data that makes budgetary mischief a client is a worry that CPA firms must consider. Moreover, numerous CPA firms utilize an online entry as a method of moving data to and fro with clients. Subsequently security ought to be an essential thought. On the off chance that an online programmer were to hack into the PC frameworks of a CPA firm and get classified data, for example, government managed savings numbers or individual duty data the outcomes could be annihilating.

Battle of Gettysburg research paper - Free Essay Example

The Battle of Gettysburg lasted from July 1st through the 3rd. The commander of the Confederate army was Robert E. Lee. Lees plan was to strike through the North, and make his way to Washington D.C for a peaceful negotiation, and therefore the end of the war. He had already had a failed attempt at Antietam. However, Lee was still confident, because of his earlier victory in Chancellorsville. The Union Army had recently gotten a new general because their earlier general, Hooker, could not be trusted. Their new general was General George Gordon Meade. Just three days after Meade was appointed, they met up with Lees army at Gettysburg, a very small town that practically no one had ever heard of until this battle. First, an division lead by southern general Henry Heth marched into Gettysburg. However, an army lead by Union general John Buford had already arrived, as Buford saw Gettysburg as a key place with all the crossroads meeting there. When Heths army arrived, Buford held them o? ¬? successfully for two hours while waiting for back-up. Eventually, MajorGeneral John Reynolds arrives on the scene and relieved Bufords army. Unfortunately, not even one day had passed before Reynolds was shot in the head and killed. The fighting ensued, growing in violence every minute. A Union Army army who called themselves the Iron Brigade arrived to fight, and lost many men in the process. Not long after, Lees army arrived, and the Yankees began to retreat towards the safety of the Gettysburg Cemetery. The fighting continued. The Union were confused as they retreated, and about two or three thousand soldiers were captured. The Confederate army got the Union army cornered. One of the generals, Richard Ewell, had a choice to attack and to maybe finish o? ¬? the Union. However, Ewell though it impracticable, and his men needed rest, so he chose not to attack. Near the end of the first day was when General George Meade arrived. Another plus was that the Union still held the high ground. This was critical. The Union could move and communicate quicker. By holding an incredible defensive position o n Culps Hill, Cemetery Hill, and a hill called Little Round Top, the Union had a very good chance of winning the battle. The second day of the Battle of Gettysburg was quite brutal. Somewhere between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers died on both sides. Union casualties alone was 23,055. This day started when Lee mentioned his plan to one of his most trustworthy generals, James Longstreet. His plan was simply to attack the Union and gain control of the high ground. Longstreet was against this plan, as it seemed too foolhardy. He had another, and, in his mind, a wiser, plan. Longstreets plan was to sneak around to the Unions left, where they could gain ground between them and the capital. However, Lee was very strongly against this, and the army ended up carrying out Lees plan. Longstreet carried out Lees plans and had the army ready to attack by 4:00 on thesecond day. However, the Union was no longer where they expected them to be. Union General Dan Sickles was not holding the left ? ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ank like he should be. Though not very famous as far as the Civil War goes, Sickles was, in fact, an important charac ter with some interesting background. Before the Dawn of the Civil War, Sickles was a lawyer and a legislator. In 1859 he was serving in U.S Congress. It was this year that Sickles shot and killed a man named Philip Barton Key. Key, who was apparently doing some wrong to Sickles in regard to his wife, thereby being the motivation for the murder, was in fact the son of Francis Scott Key, the composer of our national anthem, The StarSpangled Banner. Sickles was then judged in court, with Edwin Stanton as his defense attorney. Stanton would later become Abraham Lincolns Secretary of War. Sickles was declared innocent with the claim that he had been temporarily insane when committing the murder. Sickles then forgave his cheating wife. Unfortunately, this outraged the public (because the public was understanding and sympathetic of him at the time, for him to suddenly forgive his wife and brush it all o? ¬? his shoulder was simply too much for them to take.), so Sickles political career ended. When the Civil War started, he saw it as a fresh start for him, so he took the chance and entered the war. After a success at the New York Brigade, he was promoted to Colonel. By the time the battle of Gettysburg began, he had been promoted to General. In the Battle of Gettysburg, Sickles made a move. However, he took it upon himself to do this- he consulted with no one. He had been ordered to hold the left ? ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ank, a crucial place on the hill. Instead, Sickles moved over to higher ground, as well as along a road leading out of Gettysburg. In this place there was a great helping of rocks and boulders. This place was called Devils Den. By doing this, he protected his army much better. However, he also left a whole side of the hill undefended and open to attack. General Meade was absolutely furious, and ordered Sickles back to his position, but Sickles did not do so. Not long after that, Longstreet attacked the Unions left side. The second day of battle started. Two men, General Warren and Lieutenant Washington Robeling to scout the situation. They saw that the Union wasnt doing well in this attack at all, especially Sickles in the Peach Orchard (Devils Den). Warren called for reinforcements.Four regiments from the Union 5th Corps were sent. The Little Round Top was crucial. The Union had to keep hold of it at all times, or everything would be lost. Fortunately, one of the reinforcement sent was the 20th main, led be Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Chamberlain had been ordered to hold the Little Round Top at all hazards. Chamberlains men took cover behind rocks. Soon, the southern Colonel Oates beat hard against Chamberlains men for almost two hours. Near the end, one third of Chamberlains men were either killed or injured. Those that still survived had practically run out of ammunition. As the confederate troops prepared for another attack, Chamberlain ordered part of his regiment to form a right angle with the rest of the Union line. Chamberlain knew he could advance, or he could retreat. He chose to advance. Part of his army held their position, while the other portion advanced down to the Confederates. The south were surprised by Chamberlains decision. Some surrendered while others ran. As they ran, Chamberlains men continued to fire. With this success, Chamberlain had fulfilled his orders to keep Little Round Top at all costs. Sickles was still being heavily assaulted, and Sickles lost a leg. It had been blown o? ¬?, right at the knee. Elsewhere, Union reinforcements were sent. This opened a gap in the Union Army. The south saw this opportunity and took it. However, a Union Regiment, the 1st Minnesota, a small regiment with only 262 men, r ushed to defend against the south. Of the 262 men, only 47 were alive and unhurt. This was highest casualty number of a Union regiment in all of the Civil War. Despite their losses, they defended the gap in the Union army. Just before the day ended, southern general Ewell attacked the Union on the right. However, his attempts were fruitless. After this attack, night came, and the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg ended. July third, 1863, was the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg as well as the last. Combined, the North and South causalities added up to about 35,000 already. Today, more blood was to be shed. This day particularly is what made the Battle of Gettysburg so famous in the history of America. General George Meade decided he would wait and see if Lees army attacked his. If not, Meade would attack him. Lee was indeed planning an attack. Whereas on July second he attacked the sides, this time he would go for the center of the Union Army. General George Pickett would lead this charge. Another Southern general, Jeb Stuart, would lead his division around the Union Army and attack them in the rear. With the Union surrounded on both sides, Lee expected his division to cut through to the middle of Meades army like butter, thereby winning the battle. First, however, the middle of the Unions front lines must be weakened, so Lee ordered General Longstreet to use 150 guns focused on the middle of t he Unions front lines for two hours straight. The Union reacted by doing the same to the South in return. The shooting was crazy, and was heard 140 miles away in Pittsburgh. This artillery fire is regarded as the loudest noises ever to be heard in North America. However, Lees attempt to weaken the middle of the Unions front lines proved to be inefeective. The Union brought down the quantity of their firing. By doing so, the Union saved ammunition and was able to keep their guns ready for the Souths later advancement. After the firing, the Union waited anxiously for the South to attack. Finally, at 1:45 in the afternoon, the South were ordered to move in. 15,000 Confederate soldiers ran forward, guns ready, to meet the Union army. The Union Artillery opened fire. Union Infantry protected themselves as they waited their turn to fight. The Union Artillery continued their fire, destroying the Confederate Army, bit by bit. The Confederate Army, however, kept coming. Surprisingly, about two or three hundred southern soldiers broke through the Union lines. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued. It lasted only half an hour before the Confederate gave up, seeing that they were finally defeated. Lee left the town, and Meade half-heartedly pursued. However, he let Lee go, seeing the chase as pointless. As Meade said, chasing after Lees army was like an old woman trying to shoo her geese across a creek.

Is Technology Really Having On Our Children - 1611 Words

What impact is technology really having on our children? Is this a situation we should be concerning ourselves with or one that has a positive light? Just 10 years ago, only 28 percent of preschools had access to computers. Now, almost every preschool has a computer and technology use at home has increased due to the recent boom in gadgets that have become available. The first desktop computer was invented in 1968 by Hewlett Packard , whilst 46 years on, there are multiple inventions available for use in schools; these include: tablets, net books, laptops, desktop computers and Smartphone’s. This may mean that by 2016 there will be well over ‘2 billion computers’ according to Gartner . Another impact on language and learning in children may have even come from the effects of all day television, which arrived in the UK in the mid - 1980s. Studies reported by the Telegraph newspaper have found that children are spending hours online so much so that ‘1/3 now struggles with offline activities such as reading a book’ as it requires a great deal on concentration that children are starting to lack. Children use the internet for supporting homework and parents state that their children will expand their computer skills which will help them to find jobs in the future. Parents also state that children now know far more about the world than future generations at a similar age. Technology is growing at a huge rate and therefore it is impossible to predict the effect it will have onShow MoreRelatedTechnology Has Impacted Us All1522 Words   |  7 PagesMartinez ENGL 111 4/6/15 First DA Draft Technology has impacted us all, whether socially, mentally or physically. We now depend on this technologic improvement to run our lives for us. 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Introduction To Gnc Holdings Incorporated Which Is...

Introduction to GNC The following paper will be discussing GNC Holdings Incorporated which is profiled as a retail-food store. As most people already know, GNC is a leading global specialty retailer of health and wellness products, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplement products, sports nutrition products and diet products (Investor, 2011). GNC is a publicly traded company that stays compliant with all the laws, rules, and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange as well as presents information that is in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). All information in this paper will be based off the most recently provide annual report, i.e. 2014. History and Description of GNC In 1935, GNC was a vision that David Shakarian (founder) could not have possibly imagined in his wildest dreams. At that time, David was following his dream of owning a small health food store, despite the perception that health food was a passing fad at the time. The very first store, which all GNC’s owe their credit to, was called Lackzoom and was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although specializing in a food that his father helped introduce in the United States (yogurt), Lackzoom also sold foods such as grains, honey, and â€Å"healthy sandwiches† (Company, 2014). After many hardships and disasters that seem insurmountable, by the 1960’s people began to embrace better nutrition as part of their lifestyle, which meant a growing demand for David’s health foodShow MoreRelatedExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pages 22/10/2007 11:54 Page 599 Guide to using the case studies The main text of this book includes 87 short illustrations and 15 case examples which have been chosen to enlarge speciï ¬ c issues in the text and/or provide practical examples of how business and public sector organisations are managing strategic issues. The case studies which follow allow the reader to extend this linking of theory and practice further by analysing the strategic issues of speciï ¬ c organisations in much greater

Beyond the rules of physic a mans own observation Essay Example For Students

Beyond the rules of physic: a mans own observation Essay There is a wisdom in this; beyond the rules of physic: a mans own observation, what he finds good of, and what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health. But it is a safer conclusion to say, This agreeth not well with me, therefore, I will not continue it; than this, I find no offence of this, therefore I may use it. For strength of nature in youth, passeth over many excesses, which are owing a man till his age. Discern of the coming on of years, and think not to do the same things still; for age will not be defied. Beware of sudden change, in any great point of diet, and, if necessity inforce it, fit the rest to it. For it is a secret both in nature and state, that it is safer to change many things, than one. Examine thy customs of diet, sleep, exercise, apparel, and the like; and try, in any thing thou shalt judge hurtful, to discontinue it, by little and little; but so, as if thou dost find any inconvenience by the change, thou come back to it again: for it is hard to distinguish that which is generally held good and wholesome, from that which is good particularly, and fit for thine own body. To be free-minded and cheerfully disposed, at hours of meat, and of sleep, and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long lasting. As for the passions, and studies of the mind; avoid envy, anxious fears; anger fretting inwards; subtle and knotty inquisitions; joys and exhilarations in excess; sadness not communicated. Entertain hopes; mirth rather than joy; variety of delights, rather than surfeit of them; wonder and admiration, and therefore novelties; studies that fill the mind with splendid and illustrious objects, as histories, fables, and contemplations of nature. If you fly physic in health altogether, it will be too strange for your body, when you shall need it. If you make it too familiar, it will work no extraordinary effect, when sickness cometh. I commend rather some diet for certain seasons, than frequent use of physic, except it be grown into a custom. For those diets alter the body more, and trouble it less. Despise no new accident in your body, but ask opinion of it. In sickness, respect health principally; and in health, action. For those that put their bodies to endure in health, may in most sicknesses, which are not very sharp, be cured only with diet, and tendering. Celsus could never have spoken it as a physician, had he not been a wise man withal, when he giveth it for one of the great precepts of health and lasting, that a man do vary, and interchange contraries, but with an inclination to the more benign extreme: use fasting and full eating, but rather full eating; watching and sleep, but rather sleep; sitting and exercise, but rather exercise; and the like. So shall nature be cherished, and yet taught masteries. Physicians are, some of them, so pleasing and conformable to the humor of the patient, as they press not the true cure of the disease; and some other are so regular, in proceeding according to art for the disease, as they respect not sufficiently the condition of the patient. Take one of a middle temper; or if it may not be found in one man, combine two of either sort; and forget not to call as well, the best acquainted with your body, as the best reputed of for his faculty.

Marketing Research and Marketing Assignment

Executive Summary The traffic village website will provide information on the real village that is still under construction. The traffic village is a project of the Abu Dhabi Police. We conducted a market survey and found that parents are in favour of the traffic village. They are in agreement with the major objective of the village, which is to train children aged between 3 and 12 years on responsible driving. We will use a penetration pricing strategy to increase our market share.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Research and Marketing Assignment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More All marketing initiatives associated with the website will be free of charge, with the exception of buying Facebook advertisements, which will cost us 2.5 USD per day. The cost per customer for the first year will be 7.6 USD. In the first year, we will allocate 28.88% of our profits to marketing campaigns. We will virtualise a ll our storage facilities and servers to reduce on energy consumption. Objectives of the Research The intended objective of the Traffic Village site is to disseminate information about the real village to people of all ages and from all places. The major objective of the site is to provide information on traffic rules and regulation to the new generation of Abu Dhabi residents and future drivers. The target population are the children aged between 3 and 12 years. The website will provide information aimed at promoting road safety interactive activities between children and their parents. It will also contain such learning tools as educational videos, stories, and games. The educational tools are targeted at children within the abovementioned age bracket. Market Survey According to Puleston (2011), market surveys are important in the promotion of any product or service in the market. The surveys are used to determine the perceptions, preferences, tastes, fashions, and feelings of cus tomers in the target market. Companies use the findings from a market survey to design their products and services before introducing them in the market. There are several strategies through which surveys are conducted. They are conducted through emails, over the phone, online, or in person. To determine the effectiveness of the Traffic Village and the website we are designing, we conducted a survey in Abu Dhabi, which is the target market. The survey used a total of 15 informants. All the informants were parents in the city. The main aim of the survey was to ascertain the opinions of the parents with regard to the state of road safety in the city. The survey was also aimed at determining whether or not the parents support the initiative of training young children on the need for road safety. The questionnaire used in the survey was divided into two parts, part A and part B. The first part was used to gather information on general knowledge about driving among parents. The second se ction of the questionnaire was used to determine the age at which parents feel that children should begin driving. The set of questions that were used in the survey are shown in appendix 1.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Research Findings The findings made in the study are presented below for each of the two sections: General Information on Driving Question 1: Do you drive a car? Thirteen of the respondents indicated that they drive a car, while two do not drive. Cars are, therefore, an important means of transport in Abu Dhabi. Question 2: Are you aware of the police ‘Black Point System Rules’? Four respondents knew what â€Å"Black Point System Rules† were, while the rest did not know. To this end, it is concluded that there is widespread ignorance with regard to police traffic rules and road safety in the city. Question 3: Have you ever experienced a car accident while driving? All the respondents had experienced an accident at some time in the past as they were driving. Some of them sustained major injuries from the accidents, while others escaped unscathed. The rate of automobile accidents in the city is high.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Research and Marketing Assignment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Question 4: Do you agree that accidents occur because drivers are careless? 75% of the respondents pointed out that careless driving is a major cause of automobile accidents. Question 5: Are you in favour of stringent penalties and fines for violation of driving rules? 95% of the parents agreed that there is need for stringent driving rules in Abu Dhabi. Question 6: Do you agree that driving skills should be learnt at a tender age? Fourteen out of the 15 informants agreed that it is necessary to teach children how to drive safely. Question 7 : Would you like to enrol your children in a driving school at a young age?Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Fourteen parents agreed that children should join a driving school at a young age. Question 8: Do you agree that it is better to learn driving at a young age than at old age? 14 out of 15 parents agreed that it is not wise to delay driving lessons until adulthood. The findings of this marketing survey are very crucial to the traffic village. The findings point out that parents agree on the need for a traffic village, which aims at teaching children how to drive safely and responsibly at a young age. The findings are summarised in the figure below: Figure 1:  Results for Part A: General Information on Driving Appropriate Age for Driving Concerning the right age to begin driving, six parents were in favour of 3 to 5 years age bracket, while four felt that 6 to 8 years was the appropriate age to begin driving lessons. The findings are summarised below: Figure 2:  Results for Part B: Appropriate Age for Driving Business Definition The traffic village website is the tool that wil l be used to represent an online presence for the Abu Dhabi traffic village, which is being created by the city’s police department. By coming up with the village, the police department aims at reducing the number of caused by avoidable road accidents in the United Arab Emirates. A case in point is the number of accidents reported in 2011 in the emirates. A total of 6,700 road accidents were reported during this period. 2,280 of these accidents were recorded in Abu Dhabi, claiming 334 lives. In the same year, the road violations in Abu Dhabi accounted for 46.4 per cent of all road violations in the country. In light of this sad reality, there is need to put in place effective programs that aimed at bringing back sanity on the roads. The traffic village’s website will introduce the traffic village that the Abu Dhabi Police are putting in place. The website will become the major tool of communication in the village. The site will sell and promote the village’s str ategy and disseminate safety information to the public. The site will be very useful in launching the village, especially for those who may not have the opportunity to attend the launch in person. It will provide everyone with the information they are interested in concerning the traffic village. The target geographical market for the site is Abu Dhabi and its districts. Our main competitor is Kidzania in Dubai. Kidzania is a series of entertainment joints targeted at city families. The centres are currently located in 11 cities. The facilities in these centres allow children aged between 4 and 16 years to actively participate in a hypothetical adult world. The children participate in this hypothetical world by working and earning Kidzo currency. Each Kidzania is designed like a real city with buildings, theatres, shops, and vehicles. The main themes in Kidzania include entertainment and role playing, while the main theme of the traffic village is road safety (Kidzania, 2012). The m ain competitor analysed above is a chain of Mexican entertainment centres with branches all over the world. However, the traffic village is an inherently Abu Dhabi project that aims at promoting road safety and responsibility in the city. The traffic village’s website is mainly concerned with training kids on how to use safety tools and kits. It also trains them on how they should respond in case of accidents or incidents on the road, at home, in malls, and in school. The major aim and theme of Kidzania is to train and prepare children for adulthood through entertainment and role-playing. On the other hand, our aim is to teach kids how to live safely, now and in the future. Because of the theme difference between the two concepts, Kidzania customers will have much to learn from the traffic village. In the future, the traffic village will become more competitive by working in collaboration with other partners who share the same objective. Such partners include, among others, c hildren television channels, the Ministry of Health, and the Roads and Transport Authority. The website will ensure that all the activities carried out in the village and by the partners are easily accessed by interested parties. At the beginning, all the services offered by the website will be free of charge. After the launch of the real village, however, sources of income will include subscriptions, online ticketing, membership charges, and newsletter fees. Currently, Kidzonia partners with such organisations as banks, restaurant, hospitals, and airlines. The centre relies more on one-day ticketing. The traffic village’s pricing website will aim at encouraging repeat visits by reducing the costs for subsequent visits and lowering the prices for the customers who stay for long in the site. The promotional techniques between Kidzania and the traffic village are almost similar. We will promote the village through social media, mainly from the website. The social sites that wil l be used include YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. We will also promote the village through city tours and school visits. Currently, Kidzania is using all the above-mentioned methods apart from the school visits. Customer Profile As aforementioned, the traffic village website will target children aged between 3 and 12 years. The children will be the site’s major customers. However, it is expected that most of these children will be brought to the traffic village by their parents. Furthermore, in spite of the fact that the website is aimed at drawing the attention of the children, young adults and parents are the most likely people to use the internet. In this regard, we expect that parents will access the information online and bring their children to the village. However, to directly bring the information to our target customers, we will use a number of alternative initiatives. Most of the children falling within the age bracket mentioned above attend madrasas in the city. As such, we will collaborate with religious leaders and madrasa teachers to inform them about the website and about the village. We will also reach out to children from all the elementary schools in Abu Dhabi. In the schools, we will work together with teachers in classes. The children will be trained on how to use the internet and the social media, as well as receive training on general road safety. We will consult the city Municipality to allow us inform children and the general public of the traffic village and website at various recreation parks and gardens. The first on the program is the Al Mushrif Children’s Garden, which is located in Al Mushrif District, opposite the UAE National Theatre. Other parks that will be included in our program include the Capital Gardens, Al Nahyan Garden, the Khalidiya Garden, Khalifa Park, and the Al Khaldiah Kids Park. We will also place advertisements on national televisions. We will try and make sure that the adverts are aired during Sat urday morning kids’ shows and in the evenings during meals. The message communicated through the traffic village is very unique. The unique nature of the message is the main reason why we expect the traffic village’s website to be received positively by the clients. There are other organisations in Abu Dhabi working hard to reduce the number of road accidents in the city. A good example is the concerted effort between the Abu Dhabi Traffic Department, Ministry of Interior, the Emirates Traffic Society, and the Abu Dhabi Police Department. The organisations have come together to increase public awareness with regard to the need for road safety. However, such conventional campaigns have not taken advantage of the growing online community in Abu Dhabi. The traffic village’s website has a unique opportunity of using the growing interest in technology in the city to teach children the need for road safety. After the traffic village and the website are launched, we wi ll conduct market surveys after every six months to determine how the market is responding to the service. The periodic market surveys will also help the management to identify customer needs that are not met by the village and the website. At the end of every survey, our technical team will implement changes on the site to ensure that it reflects the needs of children in the city. In efforts to continually improve the site, we will ensure that the information presented there remains current and up-to-date. We will also make sure that the site is always informative and entertaining to the target market. To remain effective and relevant in the market, we will avoid posting information about the village only. Efforts will be made to expand the scope of the information presented there. We will continue gathering information about the entire industry and beyond so that the children and adults visiting the site will have a reason to come back. In addition to reaching out to children in e lementary school and in high school, we will have a section on the website aimed at ensuring that the road safety message remains fresh in the minds of adults. Such information is important because the needs and learning processes between adults and children are quite different. Furthermore, keeping adults informed about road safety statistics and other such information ensures they are in a better position to mentor and teach their young ones the need for road safety and responsibility Marketing Objectives and Strategies In this section, we will provide information touching on the marketing objectives and strategies we have adopted. The 4Ps analysis will be provided in this section. The 4Ps Analysis of the Website and the Village Product The current system, which is dubbed â€Å"My First License – I Know My Road Rules† is facing a number of challenges. One of the challenges is that it has a limited capability to create awareness on the need for safe driving. The new w ebsite will be designed to bring together all the information touching on driving and safety on an easy-to-use interface. In the plan, the website may appear to be a different project from the traffic village. However, it is important to note that the site is simply an online extension of the real village. The â€Å"virtual† traffic village will be a media centre that champions the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Police Department. The objective of the department is to enhance safety on the city’s roads through the development of a â€Å"real† traffic village. When the plan was being drafted, the Abu Dhabi Police Department was not aware of the creation of the website. The site will provide a social media interaction platform where information from both the developers and the consumers will be collected and shared. The information will be tailored to the needs of the city’s residents. By the time the traffic village is launched, the site will contain 4 to 5 p ages. Price As already indicated in this marketing plan, the services offered through the website will be free before the launch of the traffic village. However, we will make efforts to generate income from the site after the village is launched. We will use a penetration pricing strategy. According to Ellickson, Misra Nair (2012), a penetration pricing strategy sets prices below the average level in the market. The aim is to help the new product or service gain acceptance from consumers. As the site gains ground in the market, the prices of the services and products will slowly be increased to attain the current market price. We will use the strategy given that our major aim is not pursuit of immediate returns. On the contrary, our aim is to increase sales volumes and our market share. We expect that by using the strategy, we will enhance the speed of the adoption and diffusion of our products and services, which will culminate in fast market penetration. By using this approach, w e will deny our competitors the chance to respond in real-time. It is also expected that by using such a strategy, it will be possible to create goodwill among early adopters, who will spread the information further in the market. The strategy will also enhance our efficiency given that from the beginning, we will be able to effectively address the issue of cost reduction and cost control pressures. It will be an important competition barrier that will keep new entrants at bay. As the site becomes progressively commercialised, we expect to achieve a favourable stock turnover. The favourable stock turnover will go a long way in supporting the value chain. The main challenge in using the penetration pricing strategy is that it is quite hard to increase prices later on (Ellickson et al., 2012). However, we will focus on progressively adding value to the product before increasing the prices. Promotion We will use various avenues to promote the virtual traffic village. One of the main st rategies we will adopt is the use of social network advertising channels. Social networking will make it possible for us to exploit consumer demographics in the creation of our adverts. To begin with, we will use indirect advertising by creating an official Facebook page and a YouTube channel. We will also have a Twitter account. The next step will be direct advertising on Facebook. At this juncture, we will start purchasing adverts. The direct approach will allow us to target our information to the residents of Abu Dhabi. The use of paid media on Facebook will also enable us to determine the exact message we want to convey to our target market. In addition, purchasing Facebook adverts will help us to determine the social graphs of our fans on Facebook. We will exploit the network of friends on Facebook and other social sites to promote our product. For example, after providing incentive information to our fans, we expect them to share it with their friends on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. We will also post our articles in various article directories, such as www.EzineArticles.com, www.ValuableContent.com, www.GoArticles.com, www.Article99.com, www.eHow.com, www.ArticleDashBoard.com, and www.EasyArticles.com. Because we are working on a penetration pricing strategy and our costs have to be as low as possible, we will also use free online classifieds to reach out to our target market. The main online classified that will be used in the promotion campaign is www.craiglist.com. We will also use search engine optimization (SEO) to draw traffic from consumers searching the web on Google, MSN, and Yahoo. Place As already mentioned in this paper, the real village is situated in Abu Dhabi. The website is a representation of the traffic village. Consumers will be able to access the site from any place in the world and at any time of the day. The suggested official website will be www.thetrafficvillage.com. The site will be fully integrated and e asy to navigate given that the target audience is children aged between 3 and 12 years. The shopping cart will be located one click from the homepage and two clicks from our blog. The process of checking out after making a purchase will also be simplified because there will be an attendant ready to assist anyone who is making a purchase at any given time. The attendant will be trained on how to address the needs of experienced shoppers, as well as those of shoppers without online shopping experience. The aim of this is to make sure that all potential shoppers, regardless of their level of experience, feel appreciated and needed in the site. Many e-commerce customers end up not making a purchase because they cannot find what they are looking for. The site will be designed to accommodate those customers with a wide experience in online shopping and those who have never interacted with an e-commerce site. To enhance the visibility of all the products and services offered at the site, w e will ensure that all the photos and videos posted on the site are of high quality. It is noted that the quality of the videos and pictures posted on a given site determines how consumers rate that particular site. For example, a site with grainy pictures and low resolution videos is not rated highly. On the other hand, consumers are attracted to sites with high quality videos and pictures, which are more stimulating (visually) than poor quality media. We will make efforts to ensure that consumers regard us highly by using high quality videos and pictures. However, it is important to note that high quality videos may be too heavy to use on such websites. As such, they will require high speed internet, which the customer may be unable to access. Marketing Objectives, Marketing Strategies, and the Budget There are five requirements that should be met in launching the traffic village’s site. All the requirements call for a small initial financial outlay. The resources needed in clude a computer (available), a technical expert (available), research work (requires time), consultation (available), and design (intellectual capital). However, marketing the site, as well as the products and services offered at the real traffic village, will cost money. Nonetheless, the modes of promotion that we have opted for in marketing the site are relatively inexpensive. For instance, opening and running a Facebook page is free. The same goes for the opening and running of a Twitter account and a YouTube channel. Posting articles on article directories and on craiglist.com is also free. We will come up with our own articles to use in Search Engine Optimization. However, we will have to incur the cost of purchasing a domain name, web hosting, and direct Facebook advertising, where we are required to buy adverts. There are two ways to advertise on Facebook. The first one is referred to as CPM, which stands for Cost Per 1000 Impressions. The second one is CPC, which refers to Cost Per Click. Different marketers prefer different strategies for a number of reasons. The major considerations made in selecting the strategy to use include, among others, the costs associated with the strategy, the nature of the marketing campaign, the target audience, as well as the major objective of the marketing campaign. For example, the needs of a promotion campaign for beauty soap are different from the needs of a book advert. Out of the two strategies analysed above, most marketers prefer the second one, which is CPC. The major reason why it is preferred over CPM is that it is relatively cheap. CPM is used for the purpose of increasing brand awareness, but our objective in marketing is to achieve conversions, leads, and sales. As such, we will use CPC. It will be appropriate because we will only pay for the number of clicks on the website and our corresponding Facebook page. Facebook allows for advertisers to choose how much they want to spend each day, the minimum being 1 USD. We will advertise on Facebook at a cost of 2.5 USD each day. The cost of advertising will be 912 USD per year. It is important to bear in mind that we may not achieve voluminous sales in the first year. As such, the cost of advertising on Facebook is reasonable. In the first year, we expect to achieve sales of at least 4,200 USD from 120 customers. In this regard, the estimated cost per customer will be 7.6 USD. The cost is expected to drop to 3.8 USD in the second year as the number of customers increase. In the first year, 28.88% of the profits will be allocated to marketing. The budget for the first year is presented in appendix 2. Environmental Effect The department consuming more energy than others in a given organisation is facilities and information communication. The virtual village will be based online. According to an article posted on CNN.com by Farrah (2009), each search on Google releases an average of 20milligrams of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Download ing media, which includes such activities as listening to online radio, streaming videos, and chatting with friends, have a direct impact on energy consumption. Every search on the internet engages an energy consuming server. To address this challenge, we will virtualise all our servers and storage systems to cut our energy consumption by half. Implementation Timeline The table on appendix 3 illustrates how the project will be implemented. It is a Gantt chart showing the expected activities and their timeframe. References Ellickson, P., Misra, S., Nair, H. (2012). Repositioning dynamics and pricing strategy. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 49(6), 750-772. doi:10.1509/jmr.11.0068. Farrah, L. (2009). Greening the internet: How much CO2 does this article produce? Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/07/10/green.internet.CO2/ Kidzania, (2012). What is Kidzania. Retrieved from https://dubai.kidzania.com/en-ae/pages/what-is-kidzania Puleston, J. (2011). Improving online surveys. International Journal of Market Research, 53(4), 557-560. doi:10.2501/IJMR-53-4-557-562. This report on Marketing Research and Marketing Assignment was written and submitted by user Ben Reilly to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Informative Essay Sample on the British Airways

Informative Essay Sample on the British Airways British Airways (BA) faced diverse problems in 1980. Following World War II BA inherited numerous war veterans who brought their military mentality with them. BA initially formed through the merger of two government agencies. These two factors created an organization that provided the cut and dry service of taking off and landing on time. Nothing else mattered. In the early 1970’s BA turned profits. This caused neglect to foster amongst BA’s overseers. During the 1970’s, BA focused only on minimizing cost to the state. Like government agencies, BA had become extremely inefficient due to too many employees and too many managers. BA’s productivity level was about half the average of the other eight foreign airlines. BA management recognized that 58,000 employees were too many; however, unrealistic passenger growth forecasts allowed management to overlook their obesity year after year. Customer service was not of much importance at BA. The rigid culture at BA did not infuse its employees with a need to put the customer first. BA treated customers as though the customer did not have a choice in service and as though the customer had received a benefit in getting to ride the airplane. Numerous bad experiences tarnished BA’s public image. In 1980 external problems revealed the festering internal problems. In 1980, Britain soaked in its worst recession in 50 years, which reduced passenger numbers and sent fuel costs through the roof. Faced with a recession teamed with an archaic fleet and high staffing costs, BA was running out of funds at a rapid pace and teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. Due to its soiled image, the planned privatization of BA to the investing public would not save the airline. British Airways needed immediate radical change in order to survive. British Airways, one of the most prominent airlines in Europe, had a major crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was on the verge of bankruptcy. Management had to make drastic changes to get rid of their â€Å"bloody awful† image, to get the airline back to profitability. The change process implemented at BA reflected most of the features mentioned in John Kotter’s eight-step model for implementing a successful change. Following is a description of these steps. Establishing a Sense of Urgency: In 1981 BA’s management realized that it needed a drastic change in its business model and culture to avoid bankruptcy. The challenge was to change the operational culture of people who believed that their job was simply to get an aircraft into the air on time and to get it down on time. As Roy Watts (CEO of BA) stated in his special bulletin to the staff, there was a high possibility of BA going out of business unless they took decisive actions to cut their costs sharply and immediately. The problems at BA became worse when Britain’s worst recession in fifty years reduced passenger numbers and raised fuel costs. These situations created increased sense of urgency for BA management to bring about a transformation. The first step taken by BA management to address this problem was the hiring of Sir John King as the Chairman who believed that a change was necessary. King had a successful track record of starting businesses and restructuring companies in trouble. King was a respected individual in society with government connections. This fostered his ability to implement a change process. Thus by hiring King, BA successfully implemented the first step in Kotter’s eight-step change model which states that â€Å"Transformation often begin, and begin well, when an organization has a new head who is a good leader and who sees the need for a major change.† Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition: One of the first steps that King took was to surround himself with a group of people with enough power to help him start the change process. King hired Gordon Dunlop as the CFO. As CFO, Dunlop’s contribution to the recovery years was significant. The second step was to break the 36-year-old contract with Foote, Cone Belding and to hire a new advertising agency, Saatchi Saatchi. This was an important step to change the airlines image to â€Å"The World’s Favorite Airline†. King also recruited Colin Marshall, as CEO of the company, who proved to be the single most important person in the implementation of the change process. Marshall brought with him two tremendous advantages. First, he understood customer service, and second, he had worked with a set of customers similar to the airline segment. Thus based on eight-step model, King built a successful turn around team of individuals who were powerful in terms of title, informa tion and expertise, relationship and reputations. Creating a Vision: According to Kotter, a vision helps clarify the direction in which the organization needs to move. BA started the change process with a vision to be the â€Å"World’s Favorite Airline†. BA started developing strategies to achieve this vision. The first step King launched was to implement a Survival plan to cut cost and save airline from bankruptcy. BA accomplished its reductions through voluntary measures by offering generous severance pay. This offer was very well received and BA ended up with plenty of volunteers. The layoffs didn’t leave a bad feeling amongst employees. King then hired a new ad agency to change the image of airlines. BA launched the â€Å"Manhattan Landing† campaign sowing the seeds for achieving its vision of becoming the world’s favorite airline. Finally, he recruited a new CEO whose specialty and focus was on customer service. This was one of the important strategies in accomplishing the vision. Communicating the Vision: Kotter states that in order to achieve a vision the company needs commitment and belief from its employees. Credible communication to the employees increases their belief in the change process. BA management started communicating its vision by sending out personal invitations to gather employees so that they could tune in to the inaugural of its â€Å"Manhattan Landing† advertisement campaign. Some BA offices also held cocktail parties to celebrate the new campaign. BA management also introduced the PPF (Putting People First), which emphasizes customer service. This program had an extraordinary impact on its employees because of the strong support from management and the honesty of its message. Every program ended with a question and answer session conducted by a Senior Executive to address any employee concerns. This program increased the confidence of the employees in the change process. BA constantly reinforced its changing image to its employees a nd public by putting together celebrations such as the unveiling of its new fleet at Heathrow airport. Empowering Others to Act on the Vision: Once the vision is communicated it is important to encourage employees to act on the vision. In order to change its image, BA management got rid of its 36-year-old relationship with the ad agency. BA management also started empowering its managers by launching a program called Managing People First (MPF). This program stressed the importance of trust, leadership, feedback and vision. BA management also encouraged employees to go beyond their normal job responsibilities. As stated by a veteran engineer, â€Å"Now I can go and do a lot, whatever I need to do, I don’t call someone else to do the job. Now you just get on with it†. Another important step taken by BA was to separate itself from the design of the PPF and MBF training programs. Planning for and Creating Short Term Wins: To implement a vision takes time, it was necessary for BA’s management to renew employee motivation and efforts in the short-run. BA sent personal invitations, flew in thousands of global employees, and made strong efforts to treat all employees with respect. BA’s management celebrated its changes in more visible ways. They put together a big celebration when they unveiled a new fleet at Heathrow Airport. The celebrations went on for eight weeks and four times per day to ensure that all employees were included. These celebrations helped BA to keep the momentum going during the change process. Consolidating Improvements and Producing Still more Change: The BA management continued to maintain its momentum by introducing additional programs such as â€Å"A Day in Life† and â€Å"To Be the Best†. They implemented the â€Å"Brainwaves† program to encourage employee input and also introduced the â€Å"Awards for Excellence Program† to recognize outstanding contributions by employees. The success of change process was exhibited when the government passed legislation to make BA a public company. BA shares were 11 times oversubscribed which showed the confidence of the public in the new image of British Airways. After privatization, BA management made globalization a major priority. This was evident as they bought major stakes in other airlines and forged alliances with various airlines to increase their network. They also bought substantial stake in Galileo, an advanced computer reservation system servicing other major carriers. Institutionalizing New Approaches: Institutionalizing change involves showing how new approaches, behaviors, and attitudes help improve performance. Different scenarios within BA exemplified this point such as celebrating successes with celebrations and including employees of all levels within these celebrations. These celebrations promoted the value of the change process and increased its visibility to everyone in the organization. When BA faced a battle with British Caledonian over route transfers, King and his team were able to rally signatures of over 26,000 employees for submitting a petition. This overwhelming support to the management signified employee commitment and belief in the change process. BA management nurtured new behavior and shared values by introducing various programs like Putting People First (PPF) and Managing People First (MPF). These programs helped in promoting management vision to the entire organization. Thus BA’s management was able to make the cha nge process endure by gradually anchoring it in a supportive culture over a period of time. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on British Airways at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with high-quality custom papers written by qualified Ph.D. and Masters academic writers. Any topics. Any deadline. 100% plagiarism free guarantee! 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Describe Operant conditioning, its key concepts, and how it works Essay

Describe Operant conditioning, its key concepts, and how it works - Essay Example The drive to the hospital, the telephone call reminding the patient that chemotherapy is scheduled for tomorrow, can stimulate nausea before the actual physiological trigger, the chemotherapy. The remainder of this discussion will outline the key concepts in operant conditioning. This portion of the discussion will be based on a brief historical outline of the development of operant conditioning. The final section of the paper will focus on the dynamics – the whys and hows – of operant conditioning. It will also expand the discussion from psychological experimentation to real-life situations and examples. The foundational demonstration of operant conditioning is Thorndikes cat puzzle box. Unlike an involuntary stimuli (a bell) Thorndikes cat was placed in a box which it could only get out of by triggering a door opening device, and it could only get food if it was out of the box. The cat had to learn the stimuli (batting the door latch) to earn the reward of food. This is a critical difference from classical conditioning. The subject, the cat, must learn, the stimuli, opening the latch. In classical conditioning the stimuli (Pavlovs ringing bell) is imposed on the dog it is not learned and salivating is an automatic response. In Thorndikes experiments the cat must learn to open the door by stepping on a pedal to open the door, to attain the reward of food. (See illustration on following page.) Websters Online Dictionary defines operant conditioning as, â€Å"conditioning in which an operant response is brought under stimulus control by virtue of presenting reinforcement contingent upon the occurrence of the operant response.† (Websters Online Dictionary, â€Å"Operant Conditioning†) Prior to analyzing how operant conditioning works and discussing the variations and developments that have occurred in operant conditioning a selection of key concepts must be understood. First, what is now referred to as operant

Using technology to improve students listening and speaking Essay

Using technology to improve students listening and speaking - Essay Example In the current advent of innovation and globalization, with shrinking distances and integrated economies, the world of education is also undergoing a paradigm shift. This paper focuses on the use of technology to improve EFL students’ listening and speaking skills. The mode of education and instructional methodologies are shifting from the conventional use of oral and print media, including lectures and textbooks to more modern forms such as the use of computers (including computer assisted language learning or CALL), internet (which provides access to online libraries, electronic journals, search engines, websites which allow audio and video streaming and email facilities) and multimedia (including audio tapes, videos, etc). Acquisition of a second language comprises of four main components viz. listening, speaking reading and writing. Technology can be used to enhance all of these aspects of learning via different modalities.In the modern era of innovation and globalization, with shrinking distances and integrated economies, the world of education is also undergoing a paradigm shift. The term technology refers to the formation of new ideas, products or tools that extend our natural abilities and bring about changes in our social environment. Technology is completely responsible for how structured our civilization has become. Modern technology has not just influenced the industrial and corporate world but also has a great impact on our personal lives. Many of the everyday items we use nowadays are a result of technology. These technological advancements have brought about improvements in our health, the clothes we wear, the way we travel and communicate and hence, revolutionized the way we live. Similarly, it has also influenced the mode of education and instructional methods and tools used in the classroom to facilitate learning amongst students. In this fast growing world of technology, people are continuously looking for new and innovative ways of co mmunication. Research Question The research question discussed in this paper is whether the use of technology in the EFL/ESL classroom helps in enhancing students’ listening and speaking skills and in what ways is this achieved. Literature Review Effective learning results from a complex interplay of several factors including the mode of instruction, the communication skills of the instructors and the interest and the capability of the learners (Orellana, 2010). Thus, any interventions aimed at enhancing the learning process must target all these factors. The main aim of teaching any language to students in the classroom as a second or foreign language is to enhance their skills in four important aspects, viz. listening, speaking reading and writing in order to enable them to use that language fluently as a medium of communication (Xu, 2005). These are also the aims when English is taught to students as a foreign or second language, i.e. EFL or ESL, and can be achieved in a v ariety of ways. Listening is one of the most important tools in aiding and facilitating the learning process. Research as revealed that an average human being spends atleast 45% of his/her time in listening and approximately 85% of the knowledge that a person possesses throughout life has been acquired via listening (Xu, 2005). Moreover, while learning a new language, listening skills become more important as listening not only helps in facilitating comprehension but also aids in the acquisition of the proper accent, grammar and pronunciation. In a recent study carried out among Chinese students learning English as a second language, it was found that one of the most commonly encountered problems by EFL were in the listening aspect of learning (Yang, 2007). This problem can arise due to a variety of reasons including the fact that listening is a relatively neglected component while teaching a language and thus most teaching strategies fail to focus on this aspect

Marketing Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Internet - Essay Example eBay has gained the reputation for serving the kind of services they offer online for millions of clients worldwide. Millions of collectibles, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily (eBay, Wikipedia). eBay business approach comprises mounting profits by increasing international traffic contained by the eBay structure. eBay is continually trying to reach different countries outside the USA, which includes market deals in Asia Pacific and Europe. The company also does acquisition of related business online companies to integrate in their current systems. This strategic approach enables eBay to expand not online in the previous services and business they handle but enlarging its business scale. Consumers and analyst view eBay as a successful business venture with over $4.55 billion total revenues in 2005. Successful as it may seem, why eBay not explore the venture of becoming a brick and mortar industry This may be an issue or another area where eBay may win in the competition though they are already a winner. In a continuing development, large businesses that existed before the invention of the Web (and were therefore bricks and mortar businesses) are becoming clicks and mortar businesses. Companies like eBay.com and others that have never owned a bricks and mortar storefront are usually known as dotcom companies. Considering the brick and mortar business, with having the physical and online business presence, eBay has a lot of opportunities to explore and take into their serious business plan in the future. Like Target Corporation (www.target.com), has practicing this kind of business enterprise as e-commerce since 1999. The corporation started as a specialty discount store and now boomed and became one of a leading merchant store. In United States, there have 1,447 stores. It now has different subsidiaries and planning to expand abroad to reach greater number of consumers. The first few Target stores included leased supermarkets in addition to general merchandise, which during the time was a common practice by discount retailers as they attempted to offer a one-stop shopping experience to customers. As a result, Target stores tend to attract younger and more educated and affluent customers than its competitors. Currently, the median Target shopper is 41 years old, which is the youngest of al l major discount retailers that Target competes directly against (Target Corporation, Wikipedia). eBay may have a behind the scene approach in the e-commerce business and Target Corporation has its own. Ebay started business online while Target Corporation has been on the business since 1960s and just recently moved online to cater consumers who cannot drop by their store outlets across the country. Differentiating their nature may see some advantages and disadvantages of practicing such business. Will one be of gain by practicing the brick and mortar business This engages systematize shipment, access into shops, handling money, signing credit card, selecting/seeing the product, carrying the product and finding the right aisle to get out. Today there are many online stores selling products from books, CD's, flowers, groceries, services, software and more.

The Crucible: John Procter is the Ideal Tragic Hero Essay -- Essay on

The character of John Procter in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was a great example of a truly tragic hero. He measured up to every one of Aristotle’s requirements. He was not a perfect person because he had many faults and was not completely good or bad. Best of all, he knew that he was not perfect and he recognized and regretted the errors that he made throughout his life. Then, after the reader stays with Procter while he confessed all of his horrible sins for the whole town to hear, he had was a massive downfall as the result. Coincidentally enough, that downfall came from his trying to do something about his errors and sticking up for himself and his beliefs. He did something great, which anyone with a heart would pity him for. Being a real and relatable character is another one of Aristotle’s tragic hero requirements and John Procter was most definitely one of those types of characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The faults and imperfections of John Procter were clear. He was definitely not a perfect character. He cheated on his wife by having an affair with a teenager. He only went to church when he felt like it. Almost worst of all, he had the chance early in the play to put a stop to the girls' accusations, but his desire to keep his good reputation kept him from testifying against Abigail and the others. What’s great about John Procter’s character is that he realized all of his faults. Knowing that he was a bad person and that he had made mistakes, he tried to do ...

Substances and Mixture

A pure substance: †¢ contains atoms of only one kind. †¢ It has fixed  physical and chemical properties  like boiling point, melting point, valency, density   †¢ contains only one chemical identity, e. g. one element or one compound. †¢ cannot be separated into 2 or more substances by physical or mechanical means †¢ is homogeneous, ie, has uniform composition throughout the whole sample †¢ its properties are constant throughout the whole sample †¢ its properties do not depend on how it is prepared or purified †¢ has constant chemical compositionPure Substances Elements and compounds  are both examples of pure substances. Pure substances cannot be separated into simpler substances by physical or mechanical means such as sifting, filtering, crystallization, distillation, etc. eg, distilling pure water (H2O) does not separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, it only produces water vapour. Pure substances display a sharp melting and boiling point. On a graph of temperature vs time, this is shown as flat line where the temperature does not change over time until all the pure substance has melted or boiled.A mixture: †¢ can be separated into 2 or more substances by physical or mechanical means †¢ contain more than one chemical substance †¢ displays the properties of the pure substances making it up †¢ its composition can be varied by changing the proportion of pure substances making it up †¢ they do not have a fixed composition †¢ heterogeneous substances, ones with non-uniform composition throughout the sample, are always mixtures Mixtures Some examples of mixtures are given below: Type of Mixture |Example | |gas in gas |The atmosphere is a mixture of gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen. | |[pic] | |liquid in liquid |Wine is a mixture of mostly ethanol and water. | |[pic] | |solid in solid |Alloys, such as brass, are made up of a mixture of metals. |[pic] | |gas in liquid |Soft drinks, su ch as cola, are mixtures of mainly carbon dioxide gas and water. | |[pic] | |solid in liquid |Sea Water is a mixture of salts dissolved in water. | |[pic] | |solid in gas |Smoke is mixture of tiny solid particles in atmospheric gases. |Homogeneous mixtures do not display a sharp melting point, they melt over a range of temperatures. Sharpness of the melting point is often used to determine whether a substance is pure or impure (mixture) On a temperature vs time graph there is no flat line during which the temperature remains constant over time. Instead, there will be a slope indicating that the components of the mixture are melting Mixtures can be separated into the pure substances making them up by physical or mechanical means because each pure substance retains its own properties.Separating the Components of a Mixture Most laboratory work in biology requires the use of techniques to separate the components of mixtures. This is done by exploiting some property that distinguishes the components, such as their relative †¢ size †¢ density †¢ solubility †¢ electrical charge Dialysis Dialysis is the separation of small  solute  molecules or ions (e. g. , glucose, Na+, Cl-) from macromolecules (e. g. , starch) by virtue of their differing rates of  diffusion  through a differentially permeable membrane. An example:Cellophane is perforated with tiny pores that permit ions and small molecules to pass through but exclude molecules with  molecular weights  greater than about 12,000. If we fill a piece of cellophane tubing with a mixture of starch and sugar and place it in pure water, the sugar molecules (red dots) will diffuse out into the water until equilibrium  is reached; that is, until their concentration is equal on both sides of the membrane. Because of their large size, all the starch (blue disks) will be retained within the tubing. Chromatography Chromatography is the term used for several techniques for separating the compo nents of a mixture.Follow the links below for examples. Electrophoresis Electrophoresis uses a direct electric current to separate the components of a mixture by the differing  electrical charge. Some methods for separating the components of a mixture include: |separation technique |property used for separation |example | |Sifting (sieving) |particle size |alluvial gold is separating from smaller soil particles using a sieve | |[pic] |Visual Sorting |colour, shape or size |gold nuggets can be separated from crushed rock on the basis of colour | |[pic] | |Magnetic Attraction |magnetism |magnetic iron can be separated from non-magnetic sulfur using a magnet | |[pic] | |Decanting |density or solubility |liquid water can be poured off (decanted) insoluble sand sediment | | | |less dense oil can be poured off (decanted) more dense water | |[pic] | |Separating Funnel |density of liquids |in a separating funnel, less dense oil floats on top of more dense water, when | | | |the valve i s open the water can be poured out from under the oil | |[pic] | |Filtration |solubility |insoluble calcium carbonate can be separated from soluble sodium chloride in | | | |water by filtration | |[pic] | |Evaporation |solubility and boiling point |soluble sodium chloride can be separated from water by evaporation | |[pic] | |Crystallization |solubility |slightly soluble copper sulfate can be separated from water by crystallization | |[pic] | |Distillation |boiling point |ethanol (ethyl alcohol) can be separated from water by distillation because | | | |ethanol has a lower boiling point than water | Element ? Any substance that contains only one kind of an atom ? Elements are made up of  atoms, the smallest particle that has any of the properties of the element. John Dalton, in 1803, proposed a modern theory of the atom based on the following assumptions. |1. Matter is made up of atoms that are indivisible and indestructible. | |2. All atoms of an element are identical. | |3.A toms of different elements have different weights and different chemical properties. | |4. Atoms of different elements combine in simple whole numbers to form compounds. | |5. Atoms cannot be created or destroyed. When a compound decomposes, the atoms are recovered unchanged | ? cannot be broken down into simpler substances ? is a chemical substance that is made up of a particular kind of atoms and hence cannot be broken down or transformed by a chemical reaction into a different element, though it can be transmitted into another element through a  nuclear reaction. ? all of the atoms in a sample of an element have the same number of protons, though they may be different  isotopes, with differing numbers of neutrons. elements can be divided into three categories that have characteristic properties: metals, nonmetals, and semimetals ? Some properties of an element can be observed only in a collection of atoms or molecules of the element. These properties include color, density, m elting point, boiling point, and thermal and electrical conductivity. ? While some of these properties are due chiefly to the electronic structure of the element, others are more closely related to properties of the nucleus, e. g. , mass number. Compounds †¢ The relative proportions of the elements in a compound are fixed. †¢ . Two or more elements combined into one substance through a  chemical reaction form a  chemical compound.All compounds are substances, but not all substances are compounds. †¢ The components of a compound do  not  retain their individual properties. Both sodium and chlorine are poisonous; their compound, table salt (NaCl) is absolutely essential to life. †¢ Properties of compound is different from the elements that made it up †¢ The mass of the compound is determined by the mass of the elements that made it up. †¢ Compounds cannot be separated by physical means: using magnet, filtration, etc. It takes large inputs of energ y to separate the components of a compound Compounds can be broken back into elements by chemical reaction, exposure to light, etc. When compounds are formed heat and light is given out or absorbed. †¢ Compounds  are homogeneous forms of matter. Their constituent  elements  (atoms and/or ions) are always present in fixed proportions (1:1 depicted here). The elements can be divided into three categories that have characteristic properties: 1. Metals 2. Nonmetals 3. Metalloids Most elements are metals, which are found on the left and toward the bottom of the periodic table. A handful of nonmetals are clustered in the upper right corner of the periodic table. The semimetals can be found along the dividing line between the metals and the nonmetals Properties of an element are sometimes classed as either chemical or physical.Chemical properties are usually observed in the course of a chemical reaction, while physical properties are observed by examining a sample of the pure el ement. The chemical properties of an element are due to the distribution of electrons around the atom's nucleus, particularly the outer, or valence, electrons; it is these electrons that are involved in chemical reactions. A chemical reaction does not affect the atomic nucleus; the atomic number therefore remains unchanged in a chemical reaction. Some properties of an element can be observed only in a collection of atoms or molecules of the element. These properties include color, density, melting point, boiling point, and thermal and electrical conductivity. While some of hese properties are due chiefly to the electronic structure of the element, others are more closely related to properties of the nucleus, e. g. , mass number. The elements are sometimes grouped according to their properties. One major classification of the elements is as  metals,  nonmetals, and metalloids. Elements with very similar chemical properties are often referred to as families; some families of eleme nts include the halogens, the inert gases, and the alkali metals. In the  periodic table  the elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic weight in such a way that the elements in any column have similar properties. Chemical properties Chemical properties of elements and compounds Atomic number  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Atomic mass  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Electronegativity according to Pauling  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Density  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Melting point  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Boiling point  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Vanderwaals radius  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Ionic | |radius  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Isotopes  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Electronic schell  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Energy of first ionisation  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Energy of second ionisation  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Standard potential | |Atomic number | | | |The atomic number indicates the number of protons within the core of an atom. The atomic number is an important concept of chemistry and | |quantum mechanics. An element and its place within the  periodic table  are derived from this concept. |When an atom is generally electrically neutral, the atomic number will equal the number of electrons in the atom, which can be found around | |the core. These electrons mainly determine the chemical behaviour of an atom. Atoms that carry electric charges are called ions. Ions either| |have a number of electrons larger (negatively charged) or smaller (positively charged) than the atomic number. | |Atomic mass | | | |The name indicates the mass of an atom, expressed in atomic mass units (amu). Most of the mass of an atom is concentrated in the protons and| |neutrons contained in the nucleus.Each proton or neutron weighs about 1 amu, and thus the atomic mass in always very close to the  mass (or | |nucleon) number, which indicates the number of particles within the core of an atom; this means the protons and neutrons. Each isotope of a | |chemical element can vary in mass. The atomic mass of an isotope indicates the number of neutrons that are present within the core of the | |atoms. The total atomic mass of an element is an equivalent of the mass units of its isotopes. The relative occurrence of the isotopes in | |nature is an important factor in the determination of the overall atomic mass of an element. In reference to a certain chemical element, the| |atomic mass as shown in the periodic table is the average atomic mass of all the chemical element's stable isotopes.The average is weighted| |by the relative natural abundances of the element's isotopes. | |Electronegativity according to Pauling | | | |Electro negativity measures the inclination of an atom to pull the electronic cloud in its direction during chemical bonding with another | |atom. | |Pauling's scale is a widely used method to order chemical elements according to their electro negativity. Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling | |developed this scale in 1932. | |The values of electro negativity are not calculated, based on mathematical formula or a measurement.It is more like a pragmatic range. | |Pauling gave the element with the highest possible electro negativity,  fluorine, a value of 4,0. Francium, the element with the lowest | |possible electro negativity, was given a value of 0,7. All of the remaining elements are given a value of somewhere between these two | |extremes. | |Density | | | |The density of an element indicates the number of units of mass of the element that are present in a certain volume of a medium. | |Traditionally, density is expressed through the Greek letter ro (written as r).Within the SI system of units density is expressed in | |kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m3). The density of an element is usually expressed graphically with temperatures and air pressures, because | |these two properties influence density. | |Melting point | | | |The melting point of an element or compound means the temperatures at which the solid form of the element or compound is at equilibrium with| |the liquid form. We usually presume the air pressure to be 1 atmosphere. | |For exa mple: the melting point of  water  is 0  oC, or 273 K. |Boiling point | | | |The boiling point of an element or compound means the temperature at which the liquid form of an element or compound is at equilibrium with | |the gaseous form. We usually presume the air pressure to be 1 atmosphere. | |For example: the boiling point of water is 100  oC, or 373 K. | |At the boiling point the vapor pressure of an element or compound is 1 atmosphere. | |Vanderwaals radius | | | |Even when two atoms that are near one another will not bind, they will still attract one another. This phenomenon is known as the | |Vanderwaals interaction. |The Vanderwaals forces cause a force between the two atoms. This force becomes stronger, as the atoms come closer together. However, when | |the two atoms draw too near each other a rejecting force will take action, as a consequence of the exceeding rejection between the | |negatively charged electrons of both atoms. As a result, a certain distance wil l develop between the two atoms, which is commonly known as | |the Vanderwaals radius. | |Through comparison of Vanderwaals radiuses of several different pairs of atoms, we have developed a system of Vanderwaals radiuses, through | |which we can predict the Vanderwaals radius between two atoms, through addition. |Ionic radius | | | |Ionic radius is the radius that an ion has in an ionic crystal, where the ions are packed together to a point where their outermost | |electronic orbitals are in contact with each other. An orbital is the area around an atom where, according to orbital theory, the | |probability of finding an electron is the greatest. | |Isotopes | | | |The atomic number does not determine the number of neutrons in an atomic core. As a result, the number of neutrons within an atom can vary. | |Then atoms that have the same atomic number may differ in atomic mass.Atoms of the same element that differ in atomic mass are called | |isotopes. | |Mainly with the heavier at oms that have a higher atomic number, the number of neutrons within the core may exceed the number of protons. | |Isotopes of the same element are often found in nature alternately or in mixtures. | |An example: chlorine has an atomic number of 17, which basically means that all chlorine atoms contain 17 protons within their core. There | |are two isotopes. Three-quarters of the chlorine atoms found in nature contain 18 neutrons and one quarter contains 20 neutrons. The mass | |numbers of these isotopes are 17 + 18 = 35 and 17 + 20 = 37. The isotopes are written as follows: 35Cl and 37Cl. |When isotopes are noted this way the number of protons and neutrons does not have to be mentioned separately, because the symbol | |of  chlorine  within the periodic chart (Cl) is set on the seventeenth place. This already indicates the number of protons, so that one can | |always calculate the number of neutrons easily by means of the mass number. | | | |A great number of isotopes is not sta ble. They will fall apart during radioactive decay processes. Isotopes that are radioactive are called | |radioisotopes. | |Electronic shell | | | |The electronic configuration of an atom is a description of the arrangement of electrons in circles around the core.These circles are not | |exactly round; they contain a wave-like pattern. For each circle the probability of an electron to be present on a certain location is | |described by a mathematic formula. Each one of the circles has a certain level of energy, compared to the core. Commonly the energy levels | |of electrons are higher when they are further away from the core, but because of their charges, electrons can also influence each another's | |energy levels. Usually the middle circles are filled up first, but there may be exceptions due to rejections. | |The circles are divided up in shells and sub shells, which can be numbered by means of quantities. |Energy of first ionisation | | | |The ionisation energy means the ene rgy that is required to make a free atom or molecule lose an electron in a vacuum. In other words; the | |energy of ionisation is a measure for the strength of electron bonds to molecules. This concerns only the electrons in the outer circle. | |Energy of second ionisation | | | |Besides the energy of the first ionisation, which indicates how difficult it is to remove the first electron from an atom, there is also an | |energy measure for second ionisation. This energy of second ionisation indicates the degree of difficulty to remove the second atom. | | |As such, there is also the energy of a third ionisation, and sometimes even the energy of a fourth or fifth ionisation. | |Standard potential | | | |The standard potential means the potential of a redox reaction, when it is at equilibrium, in relation to zero. When the standard potential | |exceeds zero, we are dealing with an oxidation reaction. When the standard potential is below zero, we are dealing with a reduction | |reacti on. The standard potenti |

Essay on Characterization in Oedipus the King and Homers...

Characterization in Oedipus the King and Homers Odyssey The characters in a novel or play are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The opinions one might form of a character are based on these; therefore, the characteristics suggested by an author are intrinsic to the reader having a complete and subjective understanding of a work. Characteristics are often displayed through a character s actions, in what is said about them, and what they themselves say, which shall be the focus of this essay. Both Oedipus, in Sophocles King Oedipus and Odysseus, in The Odyssey of Homer, oftenare spoken of by others, but their own words are telling, as certain emotions and traits can be seen. Traits of a character can often be†¦show more content†¦Believe me, I know All that you desire of me, all that you suffer; And while you suffer, none suffers mote than I. (lines 51-53) Those lines are telling of Oedipus character. Through them, we learn that he sincerely has love and respect for his people. Odysseus shares the same love of his homeland, his people, and his wife. He says that it is his never-failing wish to see the happy day of (his) return (93). Odysseus also, in conversation with King Alcinous of the Phaecians, again shows us his love of his home land: So true it is that his motherland and his parents are what a man holds sweetest, even though he may have settled far away from his people in some rich home in foreign lands. (140) Although not clearly laid out for all to see, it is no less evident that he feels a certain respect, perhaps even servitude, to his country from which he has been absent so long. Each of our heroes profess this duty, devotion, and patriotism, on an individual and on a larger scale. That they both profess this of themselves (particularly in the case of Oedipus, who portrays himself as the ideal leader, suffer ing along with his people) says little of the humility of either character. However, humility is a trait one would be hard- pressed to find in either of these rulers. A devotion of one s self to family and country is a part of each of these characters,