Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Managerial Decisions in Economic Terms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managerial Decisions in Economic Terms - Essay Example The project makes suitable assumptions, like, the present value of discounting, the number of miles that car intends to run and the charge involved in travelling the extra miles over and above the stipulated miles allowed in the lease contract. Finally, a comparison is made between the present values of the two alternatives. It discusses three situations. It finds the present value of the car purchase, present value of the car purchase using a loan and the present value of the lease along with purchasing option. The project seeks to find the best and the most cost effective alternative from the above three cases. This project tries to find out the basis of applying managerial decisions under different circumstances. In this case, decision has to be taken between the two alternatives of buying a car or leasing it. The best possible way is to compare the costs involved in both cases. The aim of the project is to find out the most cost effective method of transaction by calculating the present value of the discounted cash flow. Firstly, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of leasing and owning a car and the costs involved in both cases. This project aims to help managers in making decisions between a lease and a purchase. An analysis is conducted under three given situations before a conclusion is drawn. It is not a simple method and involves a host of other factors like the number of miles that the buyer intends to travel, and the rates of interest prevailing at that time. The managerial decision of whether to lease or buy a car is of primary concern in this project. The project will act as the mouthpiece for a public school system which is to decide whether it would economical to lease a car or to buy it. Both have got their respective benefits and costs. The motive of the project is to detect which would be the most cost effective method. In order to come to a final decision, a comparison of costs needs to be done which will take into

Monday, October 28, 2019

Two or More Theories of the Formation of Romantic Relationships Essay Example for Free

Two or More Theories of the Formation of Romantic Relationships Essay One theory of the formation of a romantic relationship is one put forward by Byrne and Clore called the reward/need satisfaction model. They suggested that we have relationships long term because we find them rewarding, or we don’t like the prospect of being alone. The rewards from a partner can include friendship, love and sex, or the particular person is associated with pleasant situations so then we want to spend time with them and form a romantic relationship. This can also include the satisfaction from a relationship with a person of high social status, as it would make you look good to other people. These needs can differ from person to person as to what is important. Rusbolt and Van Lange argue that rewards are important as when you do not know someone well communication can start on a ‘tit-for-tat’ basis with favours that can lead to more conversation and rewards. This was called by Clark and Mills and ‘exchange relationship’ as a relationship like this goes on it can turn to a ‘Communal relationship’ where rewards are given as a result of concern for a partner which can be an important aspect of forming a close relationship. May and Hamilton tested the good association part of the theory by getting groups of female students to look at pictures of male students and say if they like the look of them or not. One group looked at the pictures while pleasant music was being played, another group looked while unpleasant music was being played and a control group looked with no music. As predicted the group with pleasant music rated the male students the highest. This model may be very culturally bound as all the studies done were in the western world’s individualistic cultures. In other cultures one partner may not expect rewards and may be entirely giving, or arranges marriages will also go against this theory as the long term is made to happen. It suggests that these relationships are likely to be formed where partners meet each other’s needs even though they have different views about when this becomes important. It is argued that long-term happy relationships have needs met while unhappy ones have unmet needs, this was said by Smith and Mackie Another theory is the Filter Model proposed by Kerchoff and Davis; they say that relationships develop through three ‘filters’. It starts with the ‘field of availables’ which are people available for a relationship where we then filter out different partners for different reasons, so it narrows down to a ‘field of desirables’ who are the people we consider as a potential partner. The first filter involves the social model where we choose people without being aware by where they live, work, have been educated or their social class. With individual characteristics not being important at this point. Then there is similarity of attitudes and values, where a partner’s beliefs and ideas come into effect. This is where communication is easier and the relationship can progress, however if beliefs and views are very different then the relationship may not move from its current position. The final filter is the emotional needs, which is whether the people fit as a couple and can meet each other’s needs. Kerchoff and Davis used their model to do a study on students who had been together for more than or less than 18 months. They were asked to complete questionnaires over 7 months on attitudes and personality of their partners compared to theirs; it was found that this was important in relationships up to around 18 months, whereas after this psychological compatibility and ability to meet each other’s needs becomes more important supporting the filter model. However questionnaires can have bias as participants may want to shows themselves in the best light thus skewing the results, also all the participants were students so age difference in relationships was not accounted for. The filter model emphasizes the importance of demographic factors and attitudes as ‘filters’ in the development of relationships. Sprecher found that couples matched in physical attractiveness, interests and social background were more likely to develop a relationship that is long-term. Found due to his longitudinal study of couples over 21 years and found similar education and age at the start of the relationship at the start were more likely to stay together. They also gained more similar attitudes as time went on. The filter theory is also very culturally biased as other cultures ways of choosing a mate may not have anything to do with the mentioned factors due to a collectivist nature of the culture or any other differences. There is also the problem that this model generalises to every couple where there will instead be many individual differences between choices of partners.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Different Forms of Satire in Jonathan Swift’s Gullivers Travels Essay

Gulliver’s Travels, had an exceedingly great impression on myself as it had been read, though there had been components of the story where extreme moments of satire had been used to cover up some real life events during the time that Jonathan Swift lived. Jonathan swift a great writer, used many forms of satire in his fictional novel Gulliver’s Travels, the way he portrayed his characters were to be people around him in real life, however mostly about nations, what I mean by that is metaphors. Also an abundance of examples on situational irony that Swift used in this short story. Jonathan Swift had used many forms of satire during his writing of Gulliver’s Travels, he used this form of writing to express a unique way of sending a message to the real world, and Jonathan Swift’s wagering of using of satire was to send a message, that their present ruler did not have some characteristics that rulers needed to have during their eras of being a king and such, s o he expressed whatever was needed to be expressed in the form of satire in his novel Gulliver’s Travels. As it has already b...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Technological Development

The primary purpose off gas mask is to prevent deadly gases or poisonous material from accessing the lungs and attacking the person. It does not deliver its own oxygen supply, but cleans out the particles. They can also shield the face from any interaction poisons or gases. Machine Guns:Until the machine gun was created, we only had rifles which was slow. You could only shoot one bullet at a time and then you had to load another bullet into the chamber using the bolt. When you used the bolt, it would refuse the consumed container shell and load the next one into the chamber. This had to be done for every shot fired, and was cumbersome and took time. The machine gun is designed to shoot continuously hundreds of ammunitions per minute. The outcome it had been was to execute a lot of soldiers and far more than ever could be killed by soldiers equipped with rifles.An additional thing that help making the machine gun so effective was with the way the soldiers were trained to bring attack on the target. All of them would run toward the waves. This was in effect means when the adversary was only armed with rifles where you had to aim to shoot the enemy. But, when an army of running men encountered machine guns they were trimmed down effortlessly. These particular firepower might even have even played a part of bringing the war to an end. Telephone: The aim of the harmonic telegraph is to perceptibly connect with people ho are without reach straightaway.Before the telephone, long distance messages were through telegraph machines that were less efficient and took longer to get messages across because only dots and dashes at the time could be communicated. Telephones are predominantly used for fast communication and crises. The vital thing to medical survival in many bad conditions is for the wounded person to get medical assistance quickly. Back then before when the telephone wasn't invented, it was hard for people to get assistance quickly. Telephones allow for rapid i mmunization during normal catastrophes as well.That way it is likely for the government to give warning to people of imminent disaster before they come. The telephone also has the function of easy conversation in average day's circumstances like calling to order items such as pies, cabs, pizza or flowers. People may talk in an ordinary way to discuss their lives Just as they would if they were at the same places. Radio: radio came out when televisions didn't exist, but it was used in a similar function as we use a TV currently, like being attentive to comedy shows and music.When the TV was created, the radio lost its fame and popularity as a result of folks favored the TV more. However, radios were convenient that they became mainly used primarily for music shows and speaking. And, that their purpose nowadays. In today's world radio is free and this is a good thing because we are usually paying for some sort of entertainment. Moreover, if you are driving you can turn on the radio an d get updated news on traffic Jams or being on the lookout and music that you can enjoy while driving.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

First Dental Visit

I will never forget the first time I went to the dentist. People around the world believe that going to the dentist is a torture. ?It will be the worst experience of your life? they said to me. Photos of someone opening your mouth and putting something inside my mouth gave me jumps of anxiety. All that tools around the dental office, the shiny knives, the immaculate white room and the image of the doctor’s perfect teeth, all that made my heart rate increased and I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Because my first time in a dental office was not as everyone- and including myself expected to be.It was a winter day and my mother and I got up at 5:00 a. m. to arrive early at the Dental office. When I arrived to the office a wave of emotions and the unpleasant smell of medicine leaped over me, and there were already people formed and waited for the doctor. The waiting room was white and on each wall there were plastered dramatic photos of a healthy and dirty mouth, of healthy t eeth and teeth with decays, or ? Before/After? photos. While my mother sat in an empty chair, I felt the increment in my blood pressure as I waited to hear from the receptionist each patient’s name.Clusters of magazines were lying on the brown shiny table, each one screaming out images of the human mouth. I looked at every corner of the room. About one hour after I arrived, a man of robust complexion, piercing eyes, a forged smile, and with a white robe entered and greeted us. The first thing I saw was his robe, and as a lightning pierces a cloud, my first thought was ? He is the dentist.? After the doctor entered his office, I turned around to see the faces of each parent with their nervous child who were trying to avoid an eye contact.The door leading to the dental office made a noise that was extremely horrendous to my ears. I could not take my eyes off the photos that showed grotesque yellow teeth. It must be my imagination, but I was already feeling the cool metal collid ing with my teeth and the pain caused by it. One by one, the receptionist called each patient’s name and when a child entered the office occasionally it is heard a yell from inside the office where the child had disappeared. The parents’ faces were of impatience.I saw how all the children were staring at their parents with fear in their eyes. About two hours after of my inner petrifaction a sudden tapping of heeled shoes awoken me, a woman in white uniform came from the corridor with something like a book. I looked up to see better the person that was calling my name. A sudden shock of emotion was present in the air, my pulse raced, and my hands sweat. I was walking down a corridor full of more frightening photos. A breath escaped from my lips and straight away I swallow the lump that has accumulated in my throat.When I visualized a white door, I stopped and I could see a paper with the name of the dentist. As I entered I could see everything that was kept in there. A big blue chair protruded among all the other things inside the room covered with cold hard metal machines gleaming like saying ‘Welcome'. I saw a plastic cup in one of the handles of the chair and next to it there was something like knives of different sizes. At the left side of that big chair there was the person that would cause pain in my teeth. As I sat in the chair, an instant rush of adrenaline traveled through my body.With a small mirror the doctor began to check my teeth. Then there was an assault of stomach-turning as the doctor took an instrument from the table. The sterile smell of the office caused me a stomach-ache. My blood pumped into my head. Meanwhile some cold metal was traveling into my mouth, I realized that I was unable to move but not because the machines were working but because I was in shock when I noticed the sudden tickling inside my stomach. My eyes shined with emotions. The first dental consult was not that hard as people described it.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Franklins Plan essays

Franklins Plan essays Benjamin Franklin is known by almost every American as a great and significant part of the history of the United States. Franklin is considered The First American, not only because of his quest for Americas freedom, but for his numerous scientific accomplishments, his politics, and his publications. A large part of Franklins fame comes from his plan of self-improvement and his concept of living deliberately. Although he his is thought of as a hero in many peoples eyes, there are stills many people who feel Franklin was just a great citizen. A critic by the name of D.H Lawrence feels pretty passionately about this. To explore Franklin as an enlightenment figure, and his plan on self-improvement, a person must listen to Lawrences critisism. To understand Franklins self-improvement we must understand what he is trying to accomplish. He created a list of four resolutions to follow. He resolved to become more frugal so that he could save enough money to repay what he owed to others. He decided that he would be very honest and sincere "in every word and action." He promised himself to be industrious "to whatever business I take in hand." Lastly he vowed "to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a manner of truth" and to "speak all the good I know of every body." From these resolutions Franklin created a list of thirteen virtues, which he followed systematically. These virtues if used properly were supposed to make him efficient and give him an edge in his business. Franklin makes presuppositions regarding our capacities to control our own lives. He suggests that everyone has the ability to analyze, and control the way they think and react to different situations. This is done by practicing his list of virtues, which in turn will make them habit and the virtues can be applied sub-consciously. This is huge, the idea that one can create themselves by realizing their habits and inhi...

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Causes Road Rage in Australia.

The Causes Road Rage in Australia. Stress is an inevitable part of life and unfortunately, is a major cause of road rage. Driver stress is usually brought upon in increasing traffic congestion, particularly if they are late for an appointment, have been on the road for a prolonged amount of time or even when competing for a parking space. Stress often leads to other feelings such as, anger, frustration and fear, which may also subsequently create tendencies towards impatience and intolerance amongst drivers. Environmental factors such as weather conditions and poor lighting can also influence road rage as it increases the chances of road accidents.It is quite obvious that accidents on the road will often set off road rage. Most incidents of road rage are usually attributed to mistakes or misunderstandings of others, possibly due to intolerance of others or the neglect of the road rules. Experts point out that road rage is often the result of poor, careless or unsafe driving.Roadrage 2003Behaviours such as, not using i ndicators, driving too slowly, changing lanes, cutting drivers off, or blocking on purpose can regularly lead to road rage, especially if drivers are under stress. Victims of road rage are likely to insult their offenders mainly due to inexperienced driving or behaviours of poor conduct.Some psychologists have reported that road hostility can be due to dysfunctional behaviour. Offenders of road rage tend to be aggressive by temperament and become easily frustrated, especially if stressed or fatigued. They become less tolerant and are unable to control their own impulses. As a result, many offenders are prone to use violence as a solution and will have used violence in previous situations. Even slight damage or threat to their vehicle can infuriate them and set off a road rage incident. Many people feel that being inside a car makes them...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Complete Guide to Conic Sections on ACT Math

The Complete Guide to Conic Sections on ACT Math SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You will usually see one conic section question (though no more than one) on any given ACT, but just what is a conic section and how do you solve it? Luckily for us, though conic section questions are rare, they are generally straightforward and can get you an easy point if you take a few minutes to study them. This will be your complete guide to conic sections- what they are, how you'll see them on the test, and the best way to approach these types of ACT math questions. What Are Conic Sections? A conic section is any intersection of a cone (a three dimensional figure) and a plane (a flat, infinite surface). Depending on how the plane slices the cone, the intersection will create: A circle A parabola An ellipse A hyperbola Picture: Magister Mathematicae/Wikimedia For the ACT, you will only need to know about circles and parabolas. And the only parabola knowledge you'll need are covered by your quadratic functions. The ACT will never test you on ellipses or hyperbolas. What You'll Need to Know About Conic Sections The only piece of information you really need to understand to master conic sections on the ACT is the equation of a circle. Every ACT conic section question will ask you information about this equation and you must either find the proper equation from given information or identify the individual pieces that make up this equation. Equation of a Circle $$(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$$ This is the equation of a circle. $h$ and $k$ are the coordinates for the center of the circle. $h$ stands in place of the $x$-coordinate and $k$stands in place of the $y$-coordinate. The center will, therefore, be at $(h, k)$. $r$ is the radius of the circle. â™ ª Love (and the equation of a circle) is all you need. â™ ª Picture: byronv2/Flickr Typical ACT Conic Section Questions Though you will only have to know the equation of a circle to solve your conic section questions, you may see conic section questions in a few different ways- as a word problem, as a diagram problem, and/or as a scenario problem. But no matter their form, it should be pretty straightforward to solve the problem if you remember your formula. Let's look at a typical ACT conic section problem. We can see, based on the graph, that our center coordinates for our circle are $(4, 0)$. This means that we can count from the circumference to the center to find that our radius is also 4. So if we replace these values with our $(h, k)$ and our $r$ in the equation for a circle, we would get: $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$ $(x - 4)^2 + (y - 0)^2 = 4^2$ $(x - 4)^2 + y^2 = 16$ This means that our final answer is G. ACT Math Strategies for Conic Section Questions Though conic sections are generally fairly simple, you will be able to solve them more easily if you use strategy (especially if you forget your key information on test day). #1: Prioritize Your Time and Energy Conic sections are one of the least common ACT math topics. This type of question may or may not show up on your ACT, and even if it does, there will only be one question on circle equations per test. Though it is not a guarantee that you will see it, it is a useful formula for you to know if you're trying for every last math point. #2: Memorize the Circle Formula If you're going for every last point, then be sure to memorize your circle formula. On every ACT conic section question, you will be given a string of answer choices that all look incredibly similar. This is to muddy the waters for anyone who only has a passing recollection (or no recollection) of the formula. Your best bet for a near guaranteed point on all conic section questions is to simply memorize the formula and quiz yourself on it before test day to make sure you have it down. #3: Alternatively, Remember Just a Piece of the Formula and Guess Strategically If you're worried for any reason that you'll forget your formula or if you would just rather spend your time memorizing more common ACT math formulas like slopes and angles, then even remembering a piece of the circle formula is better than not memorizing any part of it at all. For instance, if you don't remember the $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2$ side of the formula, but you do remember that the other side is the radius squared (and not just the radius), you will often be able to eliminate two or three answer choices. Now you have between a 33% and a 50% of guessing the right answer, which is certainly better than a 20% blind guess. So pick just a piece of the circle formula and commit it to heart, even if you can't or won't for any reason memorize the whole thing. Ready to show 'em what you got? Test Your Knowledge So let's put your knowledge to the test on real ACT math problems about conic sections. 1. 2. 3. If a circle has a circumference that is tangent to the origin and a midpoint at $(0, -7)$, which of the following is the equation of that circle? A. $x^2 + (y - 7)^2 = 49$B. $x ^2 + (y + 7)^2 = 49$C. $(x - 7)^2 - y^2 = 49$D. $(x - 7)^2 + y^2 = 7$E. $x^2 - y^2 = 7$ Answers: E, F, B Answer Explanations: 1. For this problem, we know that our circle's midpoint is at the origin, which gives it the coordinates $(0,0)$. We can also see that the radius of the circle is 52. That means that our circle formula will be: $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$ $(x - 0)^2 + (y - 0)^2 = 52^2$ $x^2 + y^2 = 52^2$ Our final answer is E, $x^2 + y^2 = 52^2$ 2. For this question, we are actually working backwards, but the principle of the circle formula hold true. We must simply use the values we are given and reverse engineer them to find what we need. We know that our circle formula is: $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$ If our equation is then: $(x - 5)^2 + y ^2 = 38$, then we know that the radius must be the square root of 38 and the midpoint must be $(5, 0)$. Our final answer is F. 3. As usual when working without a diagram, let's draw a quick sketch of the scene. We know that the midpoint is at $(0, -7)$ and the circle is tangent to the origin, so this is the circle we're dealing with. We know that the radius is, therefore, 7 and we can plug the midpoint values into our equation. $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$ $(x - 0)^2 + (y - -7)^2 = 7^2$ $x^2 + (y + 7)^2 = 49$ Our final answer is B, $x^2 + (y + 7)^2 = 49$ The Take-Aways Though conic section questions are relatively rare, if you're going for every last point, it's a good idea to memorize your circle formula (or even just a piece of it) for a quick point. You will never be asked to do more than identify it when you see it or to identify its pieces, so go ahead and grab it if you can. What's Next? Want to brush up on any of your other math topics? Check out our individual math guides to get the walk-through on each and every topic on the ACT math test. You should also be sure to take a look at our articles on how to complete the square and the four different graph quadrants. Worried what the Ivy Leagues think of the ACT? Learn how some of the top schools in the United States feel about the ACT vs. the SAT. Running out of time on the ACT math section? We'll teach you how to beat the clock and maximize your ACT math score. Trying to get a perfect score? Check out our guide to getting a perfect 36 on ACT math, written by a perfect-scorer. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math lesson, you'll love our program. Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Saturday, October 19, 2019

A Strategic Empty Container Logistics Optimization Essay

A Strategic Empty Container Logistics Optimization - Essay Example Therefore, they get limited in other regions that export more than they import. The other problem is that it is unknown when demand will rise for containers and return date for containers is uncertain. Also, Epstein et al., says that capacity for ships returning empty containers is not known, and a lot of information needs to be processed hence at times delay decision making that would help decrease stocks of empty containers. Another problem is of ensuring communication of interrelated decisions around all countries that CSAV operates; this was to ensure making decisions at a worldwide level to get rid of empty container challenge. Alternative Solutions to the Empty Container Problem. Different shipping companies have come up with solutions to overcome the problem of empty containers by use of advanced technologies. Among the technologies is the use of foldable containers. Taking containers to nearby ports with equipment necessary to fold the containers follows emptying them. The co ntainers on folding are space-saving hence can be shipped back to where they came from so that they can be used in moving more goods to other various destinations instead of staying where they had been taken waiting when they will be used to ship goods, which may never happen. It is clear that some regions are high importers but export fewer goods hence the containers may never leave that region. Therefore, incurrence of storage costs and lowering efficient in regions the containers are in need by customers.

New Worlds for All History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New Worlds for All History - Essay Example In New Worlds for All, Colin Calloway simply referred to â€Å"new worlds† to describe the kind of culture that both Indians and Europeans developed while invasion was ongoing, changing both the invaders and the ones being invaded (â€Å"New Worlds for All† xiii). The effort of Europeans to embark on the creation of a new world was fueled by the failure of Europeans to accept the fact that the Indian population in America already set up a society even before they did. Many Europeans were not open to conform to the culture that was already there; instead, they wanted to shape it in such a way that was parallel to their culture in their homeland. Thus, the voyage towards creating a hybrid society caused Europeans and Indians to consistently have conflicts in lifestyle, workmanship, religion and etc. that resulted in wars and much bloodshed. This â€Å"New World† was created in the activity of Indians and Europeans constantly trying to prove their respective rights to settle in America and to exercise their unique cultures. In the onset of doing so, there are positive and negative implications to both cultures. One of the positive effects would be the fact that Indians were able to gain access to new tools and technology such as guns and goods which were brought by the Europeans. This helped them improve their way of life, e.g. in hunting, building, and gathering food. On the other hand, some of the negative effects would be the diseases brought about by the Europeans, which at that time, Indians and Europeans did not know the cure for, thus resulting in many deaths. Also, Europeans’ inexperience in survival and expedition led them to using up the land resources, resulting in its wastage. â€Å"Religious zeal, land hunger, and cultural preconceptions also turned American into a new and often nightmarish world for Indian peoples† (Calloway 6). â€Å"Political and diplomatic decisions rested more and more in European hands† (Calloway 115). Because of this inevitable contact between the Indians and Europeans, the New World was built. Although the activities and events of the birth of the â€Å"New World† were not anything new compared to the events in the old world, what makes it distinct was the fact that the cultures involved in the creation of it were at first defined by resistance to change, adaptation, and isolation. This is characterized by the English immigrants continuously imposing their culture on Indian people living there. However, this conglomeration of cultural activities, which was mainly seen to cause further clash of cultures, actually transformed Europeans to acquire some Indian culture in the process of conquering and confronting them (Calloway 3). These â€Å"new worlds† created had a strong influence on the development of social, economic, and political life in North America. After some time of interaction, European settlers did not notice that soon they â€Å"dressed , ate, hunted, grew corn, behaved, and even looked like Indians† as what travelers of the 18th century observed about them after they have lived with Indian culture (Calloway 4). Also, since these Europeans started to think like Indians, they started speaking their native language and intermarrying between cultures was rampant. Because of this, we can see that children born from intermarriage of these two cultures were reared with Indian customs. Both started to succumb to the other culture where Indians started to drink tea while Europeans started

Friday, October 18, 2019

Marketing of a new computer project Research Paper

Marketing of a new computer project - Research Paper Example In the table below I have listed the critical and non-critical activities. I have partitioned these activities into critical and non-critical activities by seeing their nature and effect of the overall project management. Critical activities Non-critical activities Complete electrical design Complete detailed drawings Analyses currently available model Manufacture hardware Design hardware Prepare prototype Test and integrate Produce technical manuals Design software Train sales representatives Develop marketing plan Advertise To determine the shortest time needed for the project management of this project, we have to cut down few activities time. I have analyzed and accessed that by doing this we can affect the project performance. So we have to keep the project development time period for the better project execution and management. According to my opinion, there are few activities that need more concentration and importance for the better project management. Like I have accessed that hardware design is relay significant activity. Next, the task of testing and integration is also very important. So there are the areas of concentration in this project. Stage 3 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Activity NO. Level 1 Level 2 1. Analyses currently available model 2. Reviewing the currently available model 3. Collect data 4. Conduct analysis 5. Complete detailed drawings 6. Design for enhanced user interface 7. Merger h/w and s/w qualities to enhance the design 8. Develop sketches 9. Complete electrical design 10. Review requirements

Building Sector and Energy Consumption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Building Sector and Energy Consumption - Essay Example From this essay it is clear tha the ‘average’ building implements materials with relatively low embodied energy and a limited amount of HVAC equipment. The energy ‘efficient’ building achieves an 80% reduction in heating energy demand and 40% reduction in cooling energy demand. The LCA shows how, even with a very significant reduction in operating energy consumption, the energy ‘efficient’ building may consume more energy than the ‘average’ one in relatively short life times if no care is taken about its embodied energy.This paper stresses that the effect of transportation energy requirement becomes also evident in this case, being the highest energy contribution for the ‘average’ building, and the second one, after the embodied energy, for the energy ‘efficient’ building. From a building energy point of view, these distributed urbanization schemes offer more chances for energy efficiency measures and appli cation of renewable energy technologies than centralized urbanization schemes. It is just through transportation energy requirements that sustainable building considerations interact with the higher structure sustainable urbanization approach.  Building energy assessment, extended to its design, construction, and useful life, allows for a proper quantification of the building's energy implications, and hence provides the basis for appropriate planning in the sector.  Energy regulation has a perceptive character, and its objective should be to establish and limit the upper bound for the buildings energy consumption.... ows how, even with a long analysis period (100 years), the energy 'efficient' building may consume more energy than the 'average' one if care is not taken about its EE. Evolution of accumulated energy consumption for two 150 m2 dwellings, an average one and another with pretensions of energy efficiency on basis of its reduced operating energy demand. (Laustsen, 2003) The results presented in Fig. 1 assumed a rather low increase in operational energy efficiency, but even with higher energy efficiency improvements we may find similar results with lower life cycle periods. The 'average' building implements materials with relatively low embodied energy and a limited amount of HVAC equipment. The energy 'efficient' building achieves an 80% reduction in heating energy demand and 40% reduction in cooling energy demand. The LCA shows how, even with a very significant reduction in operating energy consumption, the energy 'efficient' building may consume more energy than the 'average' one in relatively short life times if no care is taken about its embodied energy. Life cycle analysis for two 150 m2 dwellings, an average one and another with pretensions of energy efficiency on basis of its reduced operating energy demand, for a life time of 30 years. (Addis, 2002) The effect of transportation energy requirement becomes also evident in this case, being the highest energy contribution for the 'average' building, and the second one, after the embodied energy, for the energy 'efficient' building. From a building energy point of view, these distributed urbanization schemes offer more chances for energy efficiency measures and application of renewable energy technologies than centralized urbanization schemes. It is just through transportation energy requirements that sustainable

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Production of M. Butterfly and the Reflection of Culture Essay - 1

The Production of M. Butterfly and the Reflection of Culture - Essay Example Criticisms towards M. butterfly range from arguments or debates over an illustration of sexualities and ethnicity, Orientalism politics, theatre to performance theories. As such, this essay explores and analyzes the production of M. Butterfly and ways through which the play manifests Asian scenic designs, tales, costume designs, movements, and sounds to the whole world. The play incorporates various Asian elements. For instance, the stage design has a hanamichi, the actors wear Japanese traditional clothes and the storyline depicts the notion of an Asian woman who is slender, beautiful and submissive. Additionally, M Butterfly employs the element of cross-dressing which is a Chinese characteristic commonly used by Beijing opera actors. All these elements in the play represent Asia. Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini inspired David Hwang into writing the M. Butterfly play. Hwang based his play on a true story. Renne Gallimard, the protagonist works as a civil servant in the French Embassy in China. The protagonist falls in love with Song Liling, the Chinese opera diva while in the process of watching Madama Butterfly. They immediately establish a love relationship that proceeds to last more than two decades. The end of the love passion comes when authorities sentence Gallimard of treason with subsequent imprisonment. To his surprise, the protagonist discovers that the purported lover was a man and a government investigator. Gallimard commits suicide for failing to accept the truth. The play by Hwang has three acts. Act 1 has thirteen scenes whereas Act 2 has seven and three scenes in the last Act. M. Butterfly presents a fictionalized story of a French diplomat who was in a relationship with an Asian, specifically Chinese singer for more than twenty years without actually knowing that his beautiful obedient and submissive lover was actually a male. Gallimard views himself as being clumsy when it comes to love. However, he considers himself  blessed since he has a devoted beautiful and exotic woman (Liling Song).  

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Marketing Plan - Essay Example has more distinctive products than McDonalds; it has fewer items on the menu, as it focuses more on individual products. It should be highlighted that McDonalds also use traditional print, electronic and radio media followed by internet and new media for publicity and promotion. The company also initiated a promotional campaign named â€Å"I’m Lovin’ it†, sponsored Olympic athletes, host charitable events, Social media etc. to entice maximum customers towards its stores. KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American international food seller that has established more than 15,000 KFC outlets across 109 countries and territories around the world. Indeed, the business serves an estimated 12 million customers each day at its stores. The business is an important competitor of Carl’s Jr. because it offers various similar products. The company has an advertising budget of over $1 billion and sales revenue of $11 billion in 2009 that shows its financial strength and brand acceptance among fast food lovers. In addition, KFC also utilizes all traditional and social media channels. KFC focuses on Product and Market Development through induction of new recipes and food products (such as fiery wings) in its portfolio. Indeed, it launched promotional campaigns including free vouchers, Family Feast Combo, free gifts, KFC buckets, KFC cricket promotion etc. to tempt customers towards its stores. (KFC.com) Hungry Jack is a subsidiary of Burger King Incorporation and it is operational in Australia since 1971. The company has strong brand recognition and establishment in Australia with over 300 stores in 2010. The franchise is unique in a way that it offers a complete range of breakfast, hamburgers, chicken meals, desserts, drinks, sides / salad and kids’ meals to its valued customers. Indeed, the company advertises heavily on electronic media to lure food freaks. Indeed, Hungry Jacks advertises heavily on electronic media for sales promotion campaigns. In addition, the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Production of M. Butterfly and the Reflection of Culture Essay - 1

The Production of M. Butterfly and the Reflection of Culture - Essay Example Criticisms towards M. butterfly range from arguments or debates over an illustration of sexualities and ethnicity, Orientalism politics, theatre to performance theories. As such, this essay explores and analyzes the production of M. Butterfly and ways through which the play manifests Asian scenic designs, tales, costume designs, movements, and sounds to the whole world. The play incorporates various Asian elements. For instance, the stage design has a hanamichi, the actors wear Japanese traditional clothes and the storyline depicts the notion of an Asian woman who is slender, beautiful and submissive. Additionally, M Butterfly employs the element of cross-dressing which is a Chinese characteristic commonly used by Beijing opera actors. All these elements in the play represent Asia. Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini inspired David Hwang into writing the M. Butterfly play. Hwang based his play on a true story. Renne Gallimard, the protagonist works as a civil servant in the French Embassy in China. The protagonist falls in love with Song Liling, the Chinese opera diva while in the process of watching Madama Butterfly. They immediately establish a love relationship that proceeds to last more than two decades. The end of the love passion comes when authorities sentence Gallimard of treason with subsequent imprisonment. To his surprise, the protagonist discovers that the purported lover was a man and a government investigator. Gallimard commits suicide for failing to accept the truth. The play by Hwang has three acts. Act 1 has thirteen scenes whereas Act 2 has seven and three scenes in the last Act. M. Butterfly presents a fictionalized story of a French diplomat who was in a relationship with an Asian, specifically Chinese singer for more than twenty years without actually knowing that his beautiful obedient and submissive lover was actually a male. Gallimard views himself as being clumsy when it comes to love. However, he considers himself  blessed since he has a devoted beautiful and exotic woman (Liling Song).  

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Latest measle outbreak in florida Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Latest measle outbreak in florida - Assignment Example Approximately 93% of children in South Florida received measles vaccination when the disease was detected. Then vaccines are mostly administered to children from the age of 12 months to six years (CBS Miami, 2015). Some of the risk factors that contributed to the spread of measles include interaction with other travelers, as well as being in contact with them. Other ways in which the diseases was spread was through sneezing and coughing. When a person contracts measles, they tend to experience a running nose, sore throat, coughing, and moderate fever. The disease is mostly associated with failure to vaccinate children from the measles virus at a young age (CBS Miami, 2015). Currently, the health department in South Florida is working with the CDC, as well as other partners to identify cases of measles in the state. The state government of South Florida is urging all persons who suspect to have contracted the disease to report to the relevant authorities. In addition, South Florida and other states in the United States are conducting immunizations to prevent any cases of measles (CBS Miami,

Monday, October 14, 2019

Birmingham Bees Essay Example for Free

Birmingham Bees Essay The expectation should be precise enough to provide the desired level of assurance that differences that may be potential material misstatements, individually or when aggregated with other misstatements, would be identified for the auditor to investigate. As expectations become more precise, the range of expected differences becomes narrower and, accordingly, the likelihood increases that significant differences from the expectations are due to misstatements. The precision of the expectation depends on, among other things, the auditors identification and consideration of factors that significantly affect the amount being audited and the level of detail of data used to develop the expectation. Documentation of Substantive Analytical Procedures When an analytical procedure is used as the principal substantive test of a significant financial statement assertion, the auditor should document all of the following: The expectation, where that expectation is not otherwise readily determinable from the documentation of the work performed, and factors considered in its development Results of the comparison of the expectation to the recorded amounts or ratios developed from recorded amounts. Any additional auditing procedures performed in response to significant unexpected differences arising from the analytical procedure and the results of such additional procedures Expectations developed at a detailed level generally have a greater chance of detecting misstatement of a given amount than do broad comparisons. Monthly amounts will generally be more effective than annual amounts and comparisons by location or line of business usually will be more effective than company-wide comparisons. The level of detail that is appropriate will be influenced by the nature of the client, its size and its complexity. Generally, the risk that material misstatement could be obscured by offsetting factors increases as a clients operations become more complex and more diversified. Disaggregation helps reduce this risk. Expected ticket revenues for 2008 based on given assumptions and the predictability of results of events is $2,297,218. a. In planning the analytical procedures as a substantive test, the auditor should consider the amount of difference from the expectation that can be accepted without further investigation. This consideration is influenced primarily by materiality and should be consistent with the level of assurance desired from the procedures. Determination of this amount involves considering the possibility that a combination of misstatements in the specific account balances, or class of transactions, or other balances or classes could aggregate to an unacceptable amount. If Bee’s reported venues were outside the auditor’s reasonable range, the difference can be due to specific unusual transactions or events, accounting changes, business changes, random fluctuations, or misstatements. This is because the basic premise underlying the application of analytical procedures is that plausible relationships among data may reasonably be expected to exist and continue in the absence of known conditions to the contrary. Particular conditions such as those mentioned can cause variations in these relationships. a. The use of analytical procedures with minimal test of details provides the auditor with evidence to draw audit conclusions. The more reliance an auditor can place on analytical procedures, the less time he needs to spend on tests of details. Auditor objectives usually can be accomplished with less time and cost by applying analytical procedures rather than tests of details. In addition, the auditor may need to rely on analytical procedures when detailed evidence is not readily available for a particular item. It is also more cost effective and may provide evidence when other procedures would be ineffective. If the audit team decides to make use of analytical procedures for the company’s audit, the audit plan will be different in such a way that it would allot less working hours on testing of details. Analytical procedures should be used for Bee’s audit because of the following reasons: Bee utilizes another company, Tickets R Us, in the collection of its tickets. The involvement of a third-party provides lesser risk of manipulation by Bee or management override of controls, making data collected from said entity more reliable. Prior-year audit files are most reliable as Hickman and Snowden has personally conducted five years of extensive detail testing in auditing Bee’s ticket revenues. Previous audit files show that the total number of home games is mostly consistent, proof of which is the prior year’s record of a similar total number of games, with only a slight difference in the mix of weekdays and weekend games. The average number of per-game attendance has also been established by Hickman and Snowden and such can be used to identify the allocation of spectator attendance. Ticket prices are known and established and can be compared with prior year’s prices to determine the allowable increase in total sales revenue. Information from prior years’ audit files show that the sales mix has remained fairly constant over the last several years. It is known and established that attendance generally increases by 10% when there is a promotion. All these information serve as proof that an audit plan utilizing extensive details testing is not necessary. Five years of audit files – all of which conducted through extensive details testing, will provide Hickman and Snowden ratios, trend analysis and other pertinent information that will allow them to successfully and confidently complete the audit of Bee’s ticket revenues. References AU Section 329 Analytical Procedures, Retrieved February 11, 2009, from http://www.pcaobus.org/standards/interim_standards/auditing_standards/au_329.html

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Comparative Study Of The Electoral Systems Politics Essay

Comparative Study Of The Electoral Systems Politics Essay A democracy cannot exist without elections which represent the will of the people, and elections cannot function without an electoral system that sets fair and transparent rules that govern the structures of elections. The study of electoral systems is a field of research that aims at analyzing the different electoral systems used in the world and how they put democracy into practice by making the different voters of the country represented in the parliament. A voting system can simply be defined as the procedures by which we cast votes and elect our public officials,  [1]  or that part of the electoral law and regulations which determine how parties and candidates are elected to a body as representative.  [2]  However, the importance of the electoral system lies in its consequences on the political scene of the country especially when choosing one type of electoral system over another, because electoral systems are, according to Sartori, the most speci ¬Ã‚ c manipulative instrument of politics.  [3]   In general there are twelve electoral systems that fall under three categories: majority, proportional representation and mixed systems. First, the voting systems that fall under the majority system are: first past the post, block vote, party block vote, alternative vote, and the two round systems. Second, under the proportional representation lie two systems: list proportional representation (List PR) and single transferable vote (STV). Third, the mixed system includes two systems: mixed member proportional and parallel systems. Finally, three other voting systems cannot be classified into one of the three systems mentioned above, there are: single non-transferable vote (SNTV), limited vote and borda count.  [4]  The main concern [of electoral systems] is [the] balance between decisiveness of government and representation of various minority views.  [5]  And sometimes, if not always, governments have to choose either one of these because of the difficulty of encompassing bot h those strong government and full representation in one type of electoral system. Regarding my thesis the two electoral systems that are important for my study are: list PR which is used in both Morocco and Algeria and SNTV which is used in Jordan. According to Samuel Huntington, the world has experienced three waves of democracy, the first one on the eve of the twentieth century until 1926; the second one emerged with the end of World War II until 1962 and the third one started in 1974.  [6]  The region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seems to be one of the few areas of the world where democratic waves did not arrive, or to be more accurate did not flourish, as there are few countries who are ranked by the Democracy Index of the Economist as either hybrid systems and many as authoritarian regimes. In the MENA region, few countries hold free and fair elections, among them are Morocco where proportional representation is used to elect the members of the parliament, Jordan, where the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) system is used and Algeria where proportional representation is used in parliamentary elections. However, in all these three countries the elections were characterized by low turnouts, invalid votes and boycott in addition to producing fragmented governments. The choice of those three MENA countries has to do with their similarities in terms of geography, culture, religion, language and their relative free and fair elections, according to international observers. On top of that, Having two kingdoms and one republic makes my comparison more interesting with Morocco at the focal point sharing similarity with Jordan in terms of the regime type and with Algeria in terms of the voting system. The objective of my thesis is to test two hypotheses: a) electoral systems in the MENA region are manipulated to produce fragmented governments and b) the geographical concentration of the vote for pro-regime parties in rural areas in contrast to the opposition base in urban areas. My thesis will compare the components of the electoral systems of the three countries and come up with patterns regarding the political party structure, the electoral reforms requested by the political parties and the elections results. Literature Review According to Andreas Schedler in his article The Nested Game of Democratization by Elections, electoral law can be used to prevent an eventual loss of votes from translating into a loss of power.  [7]  The major aim of the manipulation of the electoral system is the containment of its uncertain outcomes, therefore fair and free elections are allowed as long as the results can be predicted or controlled. In his book Rethinking Arab democratization: Elections without Democracy, Larbi Sadiki invented the terms electoral fetishism  [8]  and routinization  [9]  to describe the elections in the Middle East because their outcomes do not translate into major changes in society. However, even the manipulation of the voting system is not enough to guarantee an unsurprising outcome from the ballots as exemplified by the elections of 1991 in Algeria and 1989 in Jordan. The two cases of Algeria and Jordan show the autonomy of institutions exemplified by the electoral system that produ ces results that can either empower or weaken the candidates. So if the election results cannot be controlled they can at least be maneuvered to prevent a landslide victory of the opposition. Refraining from cancelling the result of elections is explained by the need of the regimes to obtain foreign aid and avoid international criticism. According to the author electoralism, being the creation of regimes, has become another state resource that the ruling elites use for legitimation purposes within and without.  [10]  The term electoralism refers here only to one of the three requirement of democracy; therefore having election is not enough for democracy to emerge. Therefore, the election`s main goal is to legitimate the regime and provide a way for the opposition to participate in the political life of the country but of course after guaranteeing its fragmentation. Moreover, According to Lise storm, a democracy is based on three core elements: holding free and fair elections, re specting civil liberties and strengthening the power of the elected government to govern. The aim of my study deals with the first core of the democratic principles, the free and fair elections which are instituted by the electoral law. Lise Storm stated that a country that provides for one of the three principles can still be deemed to be a democratic country, however if none of the principles is available then the country is authoritarian. Concerning the literature on the comparison of electoral systems in MENA, Ellen Lust-Okar and Amaney Ahmad Jamal analyzed the electoral systems in MENA, in their article Rulers and Rules: Reassessing the Influence of Regime Type on Electoral Law Formation. by differentiating between monarchies that prefer PR system in order to balance the strength of parties and republics that opted for plurality system in order to prevent the opposition from being elected. I will add the regime typology and election mode to make a pattern on the MENA that monarchies prefer proportional system while republics passed laws to enable the pro-regime parties to win a landslide victory. The article`s findings do not explain the use of PR in Morocco with more laws being passed to raise the threshold that will hinder small parties or the Jordanian change from a proportional system of plurality (bloc vote) to SNTV, which means one man one vote, which is supposed to reduce gerrymandering but did not. Many authors used the new institutionalism framework to analyze electoral systems. The theory is advanced by J. G. March and J. P. Olsen in their article The New Institutionalism: Organized Factors in Political Life. The theory is used in the field social science such as sociology and political science to account for the crucial rules of institutions in influencing the behavior of individuals based on norms, prohibitions or simply because an alternative does not exist. The basic aim of the theory is to prove that the organization of political life makes a difference,  [11]  which entails that those institutions are endogenous entities that benefit from an autonomy to exert its influence on individuals either by empowering them or confining their power. The institutions can be reinforced by third parties to exert actions that protect their interest without being in power. Andreas Shedler applied the theory of new institutionalism on the authoritarian regimes so that instead of ruling with coercive and undemocratic means; authoritarian rulers can use institutions to survive. The new institutionalism can be observed in four major ways: imperatives, landscape, containment, ambivalence. Regarding my study I will focus on the containment area regarding the electoral system and political parties. According to Shedler the electoral system can be manipulated by disempowerment or excluding sensitive areas from the hands of the elected officials; supply restriction which limits the choice available to the voter by banning, subverting or fragmenting certain parties; demand restriction by restricting the opposition access to the media; suffrage restriction by controlling the voting age ; preference distortion through the use of both violence such as intimidation and money such as vote buying; and vote distortion and rigging under the supervision of biased institu tions.  [12]  Regarding the legislative the manipulation includes disempowerment, agent control by directly appointing members of legislature and fragmentation.  [13]   My study will include the categorization made by the author and apply them to the three countries. The theory of new institutionalism will be useful to analyzing the electoral system in all the three countries and how the system influences the behavior of both the voters and candidates. The electoral system and constitution are institutions that have an immense influence on individuals. Who decides the winner from the loser in elections is not the regime nor the elections but rather the electoral system which has autonomy but it still can be manipulated. In the case of Morocco, George Joffe, in his article Moroccos Reform Process: Wider Implications, argued that the aims of the political reforms introduced by the regime were not due to external pressure or the triumph of the opposition to insert them, but rather to ensure the survival of the dynastic rule of the ruling family. As a result, the multiparty political system was adopted since the first constitution of 1962 to induce the political fragmentation in the country culminating in the hegemony of the palace over the political process of the country. Another interesting view of the Moroccan electoral system is by Andrew Barwig who argued, in his article How Electoral Rules Matter: Voter Turnout in Moroccos 2007 Parliamentary Elections, that the lower voter turnout in the election of 2007 was not only due to sociological factors but also to the electoral system as it produced an artificial and highly fragmented political landscape regardless of who wins the largest share of the na tional vote.  [14]  He pointed also to the aim of a multiparty system for the regime to divide and rule by preventing the emergence of a strong opposition, in addition to the role of the Ministry of Interior in controlling the electoral process since 1958 instead of assigning it to an independent commission. Third, John Grumm, the author of the article Theories of Electoral Systems, stated that the electoral system used in Morocco prevents a landslide victory of any party. The author indentified that the combination of largest remainder formula and gerrymandering induced a fragmented government and a situation whereby parties ended up with fewer seats compared to their amassed votes especially the major parties, In the case of Jordan, Glenn E. Robinson stated, in his article Can Islamists Be Democrats? The Case of Jordan, that the fear of the opposition, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, had motivated the king to have an electoral system that favors tribal affiliation rather than partisan one. Moreover, the same scholar in another article Defensive Democratization in Jordan, affirmed that the new electoral system adopted in 1993 benefited the tribal areas, mainly Eastern and Southern Jordan at the expense of urban areas, mainly the region of Amman-Zarqa which is Palestinian-dominanted. The authors conclusion is that electoral systems can be managed and controlled to prevent undesirable outcomes. In the case of Algeria, Ayln Guney and Aslihan Celenk, in their article The European Unions Democracy Promotion Policies in Algeria: Success or Failure?, stated that the Algerian regime passed a new electoral system before the election of 1991 by increasing the number of seats and districts in rural areas. The basic aim of the changes was to allow the pro-regime party, FLN, to win the elections but ironically the electoral system benefited the Islamist party of FIS instead. Mohand Salah Tahi, in his article Algerias legislative and local elections: Democracy denied (1997), indentified the Algerian military as the institution in control of the political life exemplified by the creation of parties such as RND and introducing changes to the constitution and electoral system that would not challenge its authority. For instance, to pass an amendment to the constitution the opposition needs the vote of three quarters of the upper house, in which one third directly appointed by the preside nt. These laws exemplify the fear of the regime from creating the same outcome of 1991, therefore passing some amendments both to the electoral system and the constitution allowed the regime to be in a position to control and manage the outcomes of elections without the need to annul them. What emerges from the literature review concerns the criteria that define the fairness and freedom of election, having international observers and abiding by the electoral law make is it apparent that the elections are transparent but what if the issues that undermine the fairness of the elections relate to the electoral system itself. The literature reviewed above shows that Jordan and Algeria introduced two electoral systems in the early 1990s believing that they would be suitable for making the pro- regime party the obvious winner in the case of Algeria and tribal candidates in the case of Jordan. However, the outcome of the elections persuaded the two countries to adopt different electoral system: PR in Algeria and SNTV in Jordan. Regarding the case of Morocco the shift from Plurality into PR in 1997 did not produce surprising results therefore the electoral system was kept. So the question here is why did three countries diverge in terms of the electoral system used, especially regarding Jordan and Morocco? There is huge body of literature written about electoral systems arguing about the list PR as the most propositional system in terms of allowing smaller parties to be represented in the parliament, the high turnout due to the absence of the wasted vote phenomena in contrast to the plurality system, more representation for women and a higher proportionality between seats and votes. However, from the elections results in both Morocco and Algeria the PR did not produce the same results expected of the system exemplified by the low turnout, high invalid votes, a high threshold that prevents small parties from gaining seats in the parliament while the negative outcome of PR which is a fragmented government seems to be present in both cases. In the case of Jordan, the resentment of the SNTV system pushed many parties to ask for a reform debate with Islamic Front Action (IFA), an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, asking for PR system and other parties asking for a mixed system. My thesis will analyse the abnormalities of the three systems that generated much discussion about the ineffectiveness of the voting system and the need to reform it. According to Andrew Reynolds , Ben Reilly and Andrew Ellis, the electoral system is the easiest political institution to be manipulated and the choice of the electoral system determines the winners. However, the usual distinction between Plurality and Proportional systems as the former encourages two party systems while the other induces multi-parties is not always accurate as many examples contradict these findings such as Spain, Namibia, South Africa and India.  [15]  This has to do with many variables besides the electoral system used such as the socio-political context of the country. Therefore, The electoral system cannot be seen in isolation of other political institutions such as the constitution, the political parties among other socio political variables, thus a PR system can have two different outcomes in two countries .The case of the three countries of Algeria, Morocco and Jordan have quasi-similar political context so the outcome of particular voting system will have the same effect based on the elections results in 2003 and 2007. Theoretical Framework According to   Gallagher and Mitchell: Government is representative government, in which the people do not govern themselves directly but rather delegate the task of political decision-making to a smaller set of public officials. In democratic societies these representatives are elected.  [16]  In order to understand how governments are elected, we need to understand the system that allows them to be elected which is the voting system: The set of procedures that determine how people are elected to office. These procedures include how the ballot is structured, how people cast their votes, how those votes are counted, and how the winners are decided.  [17]  The electoral system does not only determine how people are elected to the office but also serves as a link between the voter`s preferences and the policies of the government; at least, theoretically speaking, the majority of the voters will have their opinion respected in terms of the parties and candidate they elected.  [18]   Based on these two quotations, the electoral systems are accurate examples to assess democracy, because electoral systems can tell more about the country. Reynolds, Reilly and Ellis divided the different aspects represented by electoral systems into four categories: geographic representation, which means that the different regions of the country are represented in the parliament; ideological representation, which implies that all the different political doctrines are represented in the parliament and at least the minor, ones, can compete in the elections; party-political situation which denotes that power is not in the hand of one party while excluding other parties from participating in the elections;  [19]  and descriptive representation, which entails that its different ethnic, linguistic, religious and gender components are represented; or, as Reynolds, Reilly and Ellis put it, serves as the mirror of the nation.  [20]  My thesis will include those four categories to anal yze electoral systems of the three countries based on the parliamentary elections held after 2000. On top of that, I will also use the theory of new institutionalism with the framework of Andreas Schedler which will be useful in identifying the reasons behind choosing a particular type of electoral system and targeting the areas that were manipulated. Aims of the Study My aim is to explain that it is possible to have free and fair elections but that does not mean that the country is democratic as the elections are based on the choice of the electoral system that produces fragmented government through the use of such policies as rising the threshold, gerrymandering and requiring difficult measures to pass an amendment to the electoral law. My thesis will analyze the electoral systems in MENA region by identifying three case studies: Morocco, Jordan and Algeria. My aim is to study the development of electoral systems in those three countries; the reason behind choosing those three countries has to do with their similarities. All of those countries are newly-formed democracies that gained their independence or emerged as a state in the second half of the twentieth century: Jordan in 1946, Morocco in 1956 and Algeria in 1962. All those three countries share geographic, linguistics and religious similarities. According to the findings of Freedom Houses Freedom in the World 2009 Survey, the only free country in the MENA is Israel, while only 6 countries are qualified as partly free: Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Yemen and the rest of the MENA is classified as not free. Another index that ranks countries in terms of their democracy is the Economist Index of Democracy which ranked Jordan, Morocco and Algeria a s authoritarian regimes. Based on these indexes, I chose two monarchies: Morocco and Jordan and adding one republic: Algeria. On top of that, while Morocco and Jordan share the same political regime, Morocco and Jordan share the same voting system. I want to prove that the lack of democracy in MENA is not due to cultural, religious or colonial history but rather to the manipulation of the electoral system to prevent a certain group from gaining majority, this manipulation is driven by the fear from the rise of the opposition such as the leftist and Islamist parties. My hypothesis is that the lack of democracy is not only due to the falsification of the election results but also by the manipulation of electoral systems. Therefore, even if the elections are organized in a free and fair environment with the presence of international observers, the electoral system used will prevent a group from attaining a majority. This hypothesis will back up my second hypothesis regarding the concentration of the pro-regime parties-vote in rural areas. The second aim of my thesis is to find the rationale behind the selection of a particular election mode by those three countries and the reasons behind its change, in addition to analyzing the di fferent amendments passed to the electoral system and reforms that are pressed for? Finally, my thesis will compare between the three countries to find if there are similarities in terms laws that fragment or exclude the opposition, the geographical concentration of the vote, the election results in terms of winners and losers, the turnout, the categorization of parties. The electoral system used in both Morocco and Algeria is PR (Proportional representation) while the SNTV is used in Jordan. The chart below identifies the different components of the electoral system of each country: Morocco Jordan Algeria Electoral System Plurality PR in 1997 Block Vote inherited from Britain SNTV in 1993 by a royal decree Absolute Majority Run-off in 1999 PR in 1997 Threshold 2% in 2002 6% in 2007 N/A 7% in 1997 5% in 2007 Quotas 10% women: 30 seats 6 seats for women, 9 for Christians, and 3 for the Circassian and Chechen minorities. Turnout (Latest Legislative Election) 2007 election 37% 2007 election 54% -80% in rural areas and 28% in some constituencies in the capital 2007 election 35% Invalid vote and blank vote 2007 election 19% 2007 election 15% Parliamentary System Bicameral: -The Chamber of Counselors: 270 seats. -The Chamber of Representatives: 325 seats. Bicameral: -The Assembly of Senators: 55 seats -The Chamber of Deputies: 80 seats Bicameral: -The Council of the nation: 144 members, 96 members elected by communal councils and 48 members appointed by the president. -The National Peoples Assembly: 380 seats. Political System Monarchy Monarchy Republic System of Counting the Votes Largest Remainder N/A Hare Formula Electoral Districts 2007: 95 2007: 45 districts -3 closed tribal electoral districts. 2010: 45 districts divided into 108 sub-districts 1997: 56 electoral districts : 48 and 8 for the Algerian Diaspora District magnitude Between 1 and 5 1 Ballot structure Nominal/categorical Nominal/categorical Reforms of the electoral law -2009: law number 9: from 110 to 120 Addition of sub-districts Constitution -1962 -1970 -1972 -1980: article 21, 43 and 95 -1992: increasing the seats of the parliament from 306 to 333 -1996: bicameral systems, 162 seats for the upper house indirectly elected, 81 by chambers of commerce and 27 by trade unions The 325 for the lower house directly elected. -1952 -1963: single party system -1976: socialism -1986: free market reforms -1989: multi party system -1996: banning parties formed under religious, regional or linguistic crtieria -12 November 2008: article 74 amendment and giving more rights to women Political parties categorization -Pro-palace: RNI, MP and UC -Conservative: PI -Leftist: USFP and PPS -Islamist: PJD -right: -Leftist: JCP -Islamist: IAF and MCP Pro-regime: FLN and NRD -Right: FNA -Leftist: PT and FFS -Islamist: MSP and MRI Voting Day Friday Tuesday Thursday Voting list closed N/A Closed Electoral reform asked for -Rising the threshold -changing the highest remainder formula -two systems: plurality in rural areas and PR in urban areas -PR -Mixed system: 2 votes one for the district and one for the bloc Number of independents -2002 -2007 -2003 -2007 -2010 -2002 -2010 Women representation in the lower house -34/10.5% (2007) -13/ 10.8% (2010) -30/ 7.7% (2007) By-elections The DesignMethods and Procedures   -Analyze the recent legislative election results of Morocco, Jordan and Algeria in 2002 and 2007. -Identify electoral systems as the independent variable while the outcomes are the dependent variables in addition to using correlation analysis to see if there is a relationship between those two variables. This will be helpful in testing the theory that PR systems produce fragmented governments and plurality systems produce strong governments. -Since my data is mostly qualitative, I will use nominal level of measurement. -do a simulation of the three recent elections using different electoral systems -count the wasted vote Hypotheses Voting systems are manipulated to produce fragmented government Votes supporting pro-regime parties are geographically concentrated in rural areas in contrast to the opposition which is based in urban areas Research Questions What are the differences and similarities between the electoral systems of Morocco, Jordan and Algeria? How representative are electoral systems in MENA? Is there a relationship between government type and electoral system? Is there a relationship between the electoral system and the turnout? Is there a relationship between the electoral system and the number of parties? Can we make some conclusions based on the case studies and apply them to all Arab countries? What is the electoral system that best suits the region of MENA? How is the dilemma of Strong and Well-represented government dealt with? Why is the lower turnout and invalid vote prominent in urban areas in contrast with rural areas? Partition of Thesis My thesis will be divided into five chapters; the first one will be about an introduction about the electoral systems and their importance in sustaining democracy. The second chapter will be devoted to the electoral systems in Morocco and the analysis of its recent legislative election in 2007. The third chapter will include the analysis of Jordans electoral system and its recent legislative election in 2007 and 2010. The fourth chapter is devoted to the electoral system in Algeria and its recent 2007 legislative election. The fifth chapter will serve to connect the three case studies by comparing their similarities and differences and making some concluding statements on the relationship between the type of electoral system, government type and democracy. Data Collection Primary Data Sources: The constitution, electoral law and the amendments passed in the three countries. The Moroccan and Algerian 2007 legislative election results and the Jordanian 2007 and 2010 legislative election results Geographical maps of the elections results Secondary Data Sources Interviews with some political parties in Morocco -analysis of interviews conducted with politi

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Essay --

â€Å"You Learn Something New Every Day† Bud Blake, ‘Tiger’ (1918-2005) This comical strip of art created by â€Å"the genial cartoonist whose ‘Tiger’ comic strip was adored worldwide† (King Features, 2005) raises many important and striking questions. Although we have a general idea of what learning means, do we know its true definition? Do we understand its significance, its inevitable role in our everyday lives from the moment of birth? The old adage says â€Å"You learn something new every day†. So does that mean that learning is a continuous process? Or does it only happen in a classroom or a lecture room? How does learning happen? Is it a voluntary process or involuntary, conscious or unconscious? However, defining learning and explaining the various learning theories alone, does not provide enough accuracy or truthfulness when applying the theory to third-level students. It is vital to keep in mind who the modern Irish third-level student is as the interpretations may vary. The 21st century presents students of all diffe rent shapes and sizes, with various abilities and backgrounds. This essay will examine theories behind the phenomenon of learning in an attempt to draw up a vivid explanation of what it is, how it works and how it can be applied to a modern Irish third-level student. So what is learning? Well, it can be understood as â€Å"a relatively permanent change in behaviour that is brought about by experience† (Feldman, 2010) or â€Å"just a matter of creating associations among ideas as a direct result of experience† (Gleitman, Gross and Reisberg, 2010). Many other educational psychologists define learning as â€Å"the achievement of greater proficiency, mastery and fluency in a person’s capacity to know or do something that they were previo... .... Clearly, not all behaviour observed is repeated. If a satisfactory reward follows a behaviour, it will be repeated. If there is a punishment for carrying out a behaviour, chances are, it will not reoccur. Observational learning is really common third level education. If a student sees his friend study well, attend all lectures and tutorials and get rewarded with good grades and increased motivation, that student will be encouraged to do the same. Undeniably, no two people are the same. We all differ in one way or another, including in how we learn. We are born with different abilities and brought up in different circumstances through which the values of learning are passed on to us. Therefore, some students are more motivated to succeed than others. For example voluntary immigrant students perform better than those who are involuntary immigrants (Feldman, 2011).

Friday, October 11, 2019

Different Symbolic Meanings of Animals in Poems Essay

In the poem â€Å"The Fish† written by Elizabeth Bishop, the story of the speaker’s moment catching a large fish was narrated. It was a sort of a descriptive writing wherein the speaker is using the first person recounts his/her story and what she thought and felt in that instance of catching a fish. But looking closely to the poem while analyzing the structure, the composition and the words used, we will be able to see that Elizabeth Bishop did not write just as a description of a memorable moment in a person’s life, it has a message lying under the verses. The speaker in the poem was describing herself while on her boat, in the middle of a particular body of water, while holding the fish that she caught in her hands, she has described the fish as â€Å"battered and venerable and homely†. In her description, any reader would see that the words she used possessed sympathy and boldness. The fish that the speaker was talking about has a shiny grey mouth which was filled with different hooks, and Bishop used this part of the poem to explicitly symbolize pain and suffering, and it is an instance for the speaker to face up to that which is by and large introverted and not seen. But together with her highly crafted, emotionally stressed description, the speaker can be seen as an advocate of art who possess an ability to interpret this suffering or agony just by using the concept of a â€Å"five haired beard of wisdom. † As the speaker commemorates her mastery as the only one who has been able to catch the fish and hold it her hands, the poem closed stages successfully in the company of the contradicting suggestions that creativity is brought into being by means of devastation: Bishop brought to a close, by explicitly saying that â€Å"suffering can be the impetus for the imagination†. On the other hand, in the short story by W. D. Wethrell about a large mouth bass entitled â€Å"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant†, the story of a 14-year old boy and his undying infatuation that eventually turned into love for a 17-year old girl named Sheila Mant, is told. This boy who can be considered as obsessed to Sheila had the courage to ask Sheila out for a date, Sheila then agreed to go with him. To cut it short, in the evening of the dance the boy set up well his canoe for him to use it to pick up Sheila; in their moment in the canoe the boy then had a dilemma between reeling in a large Mouth Bass or cutting the string and gain Sheila’s love. The story ended up with the boy deciding to cut the fishing line. In this story the author, Wethrell probably used the description of the size of the Bass, which was mentioned to be large, to as well describe how much he loves Sheila and also to describe the good qualities he saw in Sheila. The dilemma the boy felt between the reeling in of the fish and letting it go, most likely explicitly says something about holding on or letting go of Sheila, which would determine if the saying â€Å"the only perfect love is the one that gets away† will be true for him. And for the third literary work which will be â€Å"Traveling through the Dark† by William Stafford, recounted a story of the speaker in the poem who found a dead deer with an unborn fawn inside her. This deer mentioned, as described in the poem, was killed by a car hit, the speaker stressed out that he went near and checked on the dear that is why he had been able to describe how the dead deer looked and felt lying on the edge of Wilson River road. This poem by Stafford hides under its verses its true meaning which is in relation with the search for the ultimate truth. The narrator in the poem speaks with what appears to be like a maxim authority that is hard earned. And the poem tells us in atypical means that the choices we are going to make conceivably should be similar to the choices made by the speakers in the poem. References: Bishop, Elizabeth. â€Å"The Fish†. www. poemhunter. com/. May 1 2007. . Stafford, William. â€Å"Traveling through the Dark†. www. newsfromnowhere. com. May 1 2007. . Wethrell, W. D. â€Å"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Man†. www. exampleessays. com. May 1 2007. .

Thursday, October 10, 2019

The Impossible Trinity

The impossible trinity Stephen Grenville, 26 November 2011 The impossible trinity doctrine – that it is not possible to have a fixed exchange rate, monetary policy autonomy, and open capital markets – still holds powerful sway over policymakers and academia. But it does not reflect reality in East Asian emerging countries. Assets in different currencies and different countries are not close substitutes. Capital flows to emerging countries present serious challenges, but the trinity is not the best framework for analysing the policy options.Capital flows are rarely discussed without a genuflection in the direction of the impossible trinity, also known as the trilemma. For example, Magud et al (2011) write: â€Å"†¦ a trinity is always at work. It is not possible to have a fixed (or highly managed) exchange rate, monetary policy autonomy, and open capital markets. † According to the trilemma, a stable exchange rate without capital controls requires domestic an d foreign interest rates to be equal. Otherwise, ‘uncovered interest arbitrage’ will force continuous appreciation or depreciation of the currency.As such, nations without capital controls must choose between stabilising the exchange rate (by slaving interest rates to foreign rates) and stabilising the domestic economy (adjusting interests slaved to domestic macro conditions but letting the exchange rate fluctuate). Mechanically, this is enforced – according to trilemma logic – by substantial capital inflows or outflows and the impact of these on the money supply. Why this doesn’t fit the East Asia experience Since the 1997–98 Asian crisis, East Asian countries have clearly run their own independent monetary policies.   They have successfully set interest rates to broadly achieve their inflation objectives. As Figure 1 shows, they are most definitely not all slaving their rates to foreign rates. Figure 1. Despite this, their exchange rates have been fairly stable. They have managed their primary exchange-rate objective – leaning against the prevailing appreciation pressures in order to maintain international competitiveness (see Figure 2). Remember that according to the classic trilemma, the similarity in exchange-rate movements since the global crisis should have coincided with identical interest rate levels (all equal to, eg, the US nterest rate); comparing Figures 1 and 2, we see this isn’t the case. Figure 2. These attempts to restrain appreciation have involved heavy government intervention, resulting in very large increases in foreign-exchange reserves (Figure 3). This didn’t, however, cause excessive increases in base money (Figure 4), thanks to effective sterilisation by open-market operations and increases in banks’ required reserves. Figure 3. Foreign-exchange reserves as a share of GDP Figure 4. Growth in foreign-exchange reserves (y-axis) and base money (x-axis), Percent, 2001â €“07 Why doesn’t the trinity apply?There are four reasons why the trinity doesn’t work in East Asia. First, if uncovered interest parity held, markets would treat different currencies as close substitutes. An investor would know that the interest differential would be a good guide to where the exchange rate was heading and even small interest differentials would trigger large arbitrage flows. It is now abundantly clear that interest parity offers feeble guidance for the exchange rate–interest rate nexus (see Engel 1996). The parity condition often gets the direction wrong, let alone the quantity (Cavalo 2006), as it does for six of the seven countries illustrated in Figure 5.Figure 5. Annual average interest differential versus change in exchange rate 2001–10 Capital flows responding strongly to interest differentials are the core element in the impossible trinity story. But in practice: * Different currencies are not close substitutes; and * Capital flows are driven by many other forces besides short-term interest differentials. Second, instead of well-formed views on how different currencies will behave over time, there are fluctuating (sometimes wildly fluctuating) assessments of risk attached to cross-currency holdings.The higher interest rates generally available in emerging countries have encouraged carry trade–type capital inflows, but these were offset by official reserve increases (Figure 6). Figure 6. Net capital flows to emerging countries ($ trillion) Third, the impossible trinity envisages that any intervention to prevent these capital flows from bidding up the exchange rate will be fully reflected in base money increases which will, in turn, thwart the authority’s attempts to set interest rates as desired.But this sort of base money-multiplier view of monetary policy no longer corresponds with the way monetary policy works in practice. These days the authorities set the policy interest rate directly v ia announcement, while managing liquidity in the short-term money market through open-market operations, including an effective capacity to sterilise foreign-exchange intervention (Figure 4). In some cases (eg China) excess base money was effectively sterilised through increases in banks’ required reserves.Thus capital flows do not usually prevent the authorities from setting interest rates according to their objectives. Finally, the impossible trinity envisages that any official intervention in foreign-exchange markets will be taking the exchange rate away from its equilibrium, opening up arbitrage opportunities. But suppose, instead, that the authorities have a better understanding (or longer-term view) of where the equilibrium lies, and are managing the exchange rate to maintain it in a band around the equilibrium.East Asian countries have not, in general, prevented some appreciation of their exchange rates, but they have sought, through intervention, to prevent momentum-d riven overshooting. Is there a useful softer version of the impossible trinity? Even if the impossible trinity in its pure version does not hold, is it still a useful concept in a looser version, as a reminder that there are interconnections and policy constraints between interest rates, exchange rates, and capital flows?Frankel [2] As they become more closely integrated internationally, foreign investors will increasingly respond to this underlying profitability differential. How can this prospect of sustained higher returns be reconciled with portfolio balance for the foreigners whose initial portfolios are in the lower-return mature economies? This, not the short-term impossible trinity problem, is the policy challenge Conclusion The impossible trinity began as a useful theoretical insight into the nteractions of policy instruments. It is still a useful blackboard reminder that not all policy combinations are possible. The blackboard illustration, however, has been adopted as a d octrinal policy rule. This over-emphasis on a simple thought-experiment may have been because it served to support the arguments for free-floating exchange rates. The argument went like this: capital controls are not workable; if you want to have your own monetary policy, then you have to let your exchange rates float freely.But the impossible trinity was a stylised insight relying on simplified assumptions. The real world was always more complex and nuanced. Of course there is some connection between interest differentials and capital flows. But there are other forces motivating capital flows, and these are much more random and non-optimising than envisaged by the impossible trinity. The fickle changes in risk assessments, mindless herding, and booms and busts in the capital-exporting countries make international capital flows volatile in ways not envisioned in the trinity.Author’s Note: This column is based on ‘The Impossible Trinity and Capital Flows in East Asiaâ₠¬â„¢, Asian Development Bank Institute Working Paper 318 November 2011. References Aizenman, J, MD Chinn, and H Ito (2009), â€Å"Surfing the Waves of Globalisation: Asia and Financial Globalisation in the Context of the Trilemma†, Asian Development Bank Working Papers No. 180. Cavalo, M (2006), â€Å"Interest Rates, Carry Trades, and Exchange Rate Movements†, FRBSF Economic Newsletter 2006/31.Engel, C (1996), â€Å"The forward discount anomaly and the risk premium: a survey of recent evidence†, Journal of Empirical Finance (32): 305–319. Frankel, JA (1999), â€Å"No single currency regime is right for all countries or at all times†, Princeton Essays in International Finance 215. Magud, NE, CM  Reinhart and KS  Rogoff (2011), â€Å"Capital controls: myth and reality – a portfolio balance†, Peterson Institute Working paper 11-7 1 Except, of course, Hong Kong, with its fixed rate. Singapore is a special case, implementing monetary p olicy via the exchange rate rather than interest rates.Its capital market is open; it closely manages its exchange rate; and it has an independent monetary policy, achieving its objective of having one of the lowest inflation rates in the world. 2 Some might see this same argument in terms of growth rates. Interest rates will approximate the economy’s growth rate (whether measured in real or nominal terms). Thus the higher prospective growth rates of the emerging countries will be accompanied by higher interest rates. Share on linkedin Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email More Sharing Services 12

Christian liberty Essay

According to the page, Martin Luther’s argument revolves around two basic proposition of liberty. Which states that: â€Å"A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none† (Luther). By this statement he meant that once a person is freed by Jesus Christ, there shouldn’t be any other thing that would have a true dominion on the person on earth. So if Jesus sets you free, indeed you are freed. He explained that man has two folds nature: the inner soul, the spiritual and the carnal, outward flesh. A Christian does not become righteous by doing anything that has to do with flesh but only by the faith in Jesus. Nothing on earth should have any influence on Christian liberty. The second principle was that a Christian â€Å"man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone† (Luther). The two propositions appeared to be contradictory but Luther was able to explain further on both making it clear. He asserts that only one thing alone is necessary for a Christian liberty and that is the Gospel of Christ. He defines Christian liberty as the freedom from the law putting it that the law is not meant for a righteous man. It is the belief in Christ that brings peace and liberty. While Freedom of the soul and its justification comes by faith alone and not by work, he said â€Å"it is evident that by no outward work or labor can the inward man be at all justified, made free, and saved† (Luther). In conclusion, Freedom comes when one belief in the word of God, that is one’s soul get freed and one become saved. Whereas, one get liberty after one has believed wholeheartedly in the Gospel of Christ, it is the word of God that teaches liberty. The freedoms mentioned by Martin Luther all have an element in common: they are all divine freedoms from things of the world. In contrast, Christians should be voluntary servants to God and other men, motivated by love for God and the changes made by salvation. Reference Luther M, Concerning Christian Liberty. Retrieved May 09, 2010 From http://homepage. mac. com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/mlchrlib. htm

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

A research paper on the summary and analysis of a website made about Essay

A research paper on the summary and analysis of a website made about alumni athletes and where they are now. You will also have - Essay Example Since a Podcast comprises of a series of digital media files, which could be in the form of audio as well as video, released in a sequential format (episode-wise) and thus downloaded via the web syndication mechanisms. It is often represented as webcast in certain instances. On the whole, the website was done in a separate fashion, where we decided to set up the wordpress page through a dedicated account. As it was very hard for the group members to get in communication with one another and that too in the physical sense of the word, the only mode of communication that was possible remained in the form of Skype or through exchange of e-mails. The URL for this website is http://bryantalumniathletes.wordpress.com/ Brendan, a member of the team designed the wordpress website while I was instrumental at writing the ‘About us’ and the Bryant Alumni Achievements sections for the Bryant Alumni Athletes website. I also undertook measures to upload the interview of Yohan Sachdev, which will be done soon. As regards to working with Podcast is related, I believe that it is much easier as compared to direct download, or even streamed webcasting. The audio and video files remain available on the distributor’s server in the form of a web feed where the listener or user makes use of the client application software (the podcatcher) which gets the access to this web feed. Therefore this medium can work hand in hand with how audio and video files are put up on the server and later retrieved through this server itself. The thing that lacks within Podcasting is that it lacks the proper incorporation of the new and emerging technologies which are being introduced every now and then. We had to face a good amount of communication challenges during our research and putting together of the website was concerned. We were hard done by at asking the university alumni athletes to come together at a single platform as they lived and worked far off. We also tried our leve ls best to call them through Skype but the problem was that we could not record calls made on Skype. The potential of Podcasting is immense because it delivers the Internet content in a real time media transmission format. However, this has been upgraded with the passage of time in a netcast fashion. This is so done because the word Podcast must not get diluted with the advent of the iPod in this day and age. Without a doubt, the potential that Podcasts offer is immense and it should be cashed upon websites like ours. The need for Podcasts is rampant because it helps similar websites likes ours to maintain audio and video streams so that these could be retrieved at a later date. The need is also there because phonecasting has come of age and so has the dictum of community Podcasts. This has brought a lot of success for the people who are behind coining the same technological manifestations. Podcasts are coming of age now and hence their need is being ascertained more and more with t he passage of time. This has made the people realize of the immense significance that Podcasts do have over the other media forms which are being propagated across the Internet and on varied forms of the media. The value addition of Podcasts is that they can get attached to any website and not just our own wordpress website. Also the links are there for sharing across a number of platforms in an easy way. I am of the opinion that Podcasts bring in value and real time media t