Friday, November 29, 2019

Binary Code Essay Sample free essay sample

Did you know that all of the information that travels through your computing machine is based on two bids? It’s true. The lone informations that a computing machine can understand is on and off. But. the 1000000s of combinations of those two bids given in series are what make a computing machine work. Remember the power supply that is indoors your computing machine and how it sends electricity to all of the constituents? That electricity is what creates an on signal. The memory french friess inside your computing machine are divided into 1000s of bantam compartments called spots. Each spot has an electronic switch or gate. On means the gate is unfastened and allowing electricity go through. The computing machine reads on or unfastened switches as a figure 1. Closed Gatess are away because the electricity is blocked and can non acquire through. The computing machine reads off spots as 0. It is by grouping these spots together to organize a series of 1/0 bids. We will write a custom essay sample on Binary Code Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page that information is formed. Eight spots are grouped together to organize a byte. In this group of eight. there are 256 possible combinations of 1/0. The grouping of 1/0 within a byte is called Binary Code. Here’s an illustration of the Binary Code in action: When you type the missive A on your keyboard. electrical signals are sent from the keyboard to the CPU. The CPU turns the signals into binary codification. Then. the computing machine reads the codification and sends it on to the proctor to expose the missive A. KB. MB A ; GBYou may hold seen these abbreviations many times earlier. Make you cognize what they mean? The figure that comes before one of these abbreviations represents the computer’s memory capacity. For illustration. if a computing machine has 64MB of RAM that means that the computing machine can manage 64. 000. 000 ( 64 million ) bytes of random entree memory ( that’s 64. 000. 000 microscopic 8-bit panels ) . Hard disc infinite is besides measured in bytes. So. a 15GB difficult thrust has 15. 000. 000. 000 ( 15 billion ) bytes for hive awaying memory. Look at your keyboard. Each character key is represented by a figure that is held in a individual byte. Remember how the missive A is sent to the CPU to be translated into binary codification? The numerical value of the uppercase missive A is 65. That figure 65 is represented in one byte – a combination of 1 and 0 or on and off switches. The computing machine can non understand letters. so it translates them into Numberss that are represented by forms of on and off. To acquire an thought of how much on/off informations a computing machine can hive away. merely imagine pressing one cardinal one billion times! How long would it take? If you pressed the key 5 times per second. it would take you over 6 old ages of continuously typing to make 1 billion key strokes equal to 1GB of memory! And many computing machines today can hive away over 2048GB of memory on their difficult discs! Incredible! So. the following clip your computing machine is taking a long clip to lade a web page. t hink of how fast it truly is traveling!

Monday, November 25, 2019

House Flys essays

House Flys essays Buzzzzzz! Buzzzzz! There they go buzzing away. Those pest that bother you all day. You know whom Im talking about, thats right flies. They buzz around you going into your ears and nose. Landing on your food and everywhere else. Some flies are favorable to humans, as parasites of bug pests or as scavengers and many others are important as plant pollinators. Flies are also understood to be carriers of diseases like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. In most breeds of flies their body has padded feet that are coated with hairs and the tongue covered with sticky glue. Using a powerful microscope, bits of dust and dirt holding on to the hairs show bacteria that cause a broad variety of diseases. Files get these bacteria from hanging around garbage and sewage. Now, if those yucky flies touch your food later, it my also become contaminated. Flies increase at a very quick rate. In only five months a female fly could produce more than 190 quintillion descendents, if all of her female offspring survived. The only way to keep the flies population down is to prevent the female from breeding. Lengthy exposure to freezing cold weather kills flies. In cold areas very few fertile females hibernating in protected places sustain the winter. Warm weather arises them to seek damp spots such as garbage in which they lay their eggs. The eggs are the size of a tiny grain of wheat, about 1/20 of an inch. The female can lie up to 250 eggs in seven cl usters. In about 24 hours the eggs turn into larva or maggots. They eat and grow for about five days becoming pupae. After another five days out comes a fully developed fly. In two or three days each new female is ready to lay eggs. A flys life cycle is only two weeks long. The physical features of a fly are very interesting. An adult fly is about 0.64 centimeters long and about a half an inch wide (with wing span). A thousand adult flies weigh less than an ounce. Every foot on the flys t ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Literature review on Consumer Choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature review on Consumer Choice - Essay Example The aim is to explore additional alternatives or wait. Whether mundane or not, these choices describe and shape lives. The author asks hard questions on how to choose. The author researches on whether the desire is inborn or developed. According to this literature review, the decisions we make have enormous consequences. According to B. Schwartz, too many choices end up confusing consumers. This also makes them feel have no satisfaction. Consumers have the ability to make little to choose when they have too many choices. Many choices are likely to add the quality of decisions Professor R. Iyengars research investigates how consumers respond to non-linear pricing programs. He looks at how quality of services affects the ability of a consumer to make decisions. He found that both quality and quantity matter when it comes to decision making. Most first service encounters look for quality. They are, therefore, critical. Too many choices become a problem to the consumer. Currently, people think many choices lead to quality choices. Many choices give a satisfaction to consumers and how the marginal utility affects consumer choices. Human desires are infinite and hard to manage according to this source. Confusing and overwhelming amounts of information could have a negative impact on the ability of consumers to purchase. Limited choices cause consumers to feel dissatisfied with the choices they make. Choice overload has the potential of causing consumers to choose choices they cannot handle. Manufacturers are considering streamlining the number of options they present to consumers The degree of difficulty of picking the best option from many options influences consumer purchase deferral. It is clear that consumer purchases are the outcome of two decisions i.e. to buy or not to buy. This is coupled with a selection decision. Consumer equilibrium is achieved when consumer purchases the combination that the highest

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Benchmark Analysis Comparing the AMD 910e and Intel 2400s Processors Essay

Benchmark Analysis Comparing the AMD 910e and Intel 2400s Processors - Essay Example For example, businesses require processors with appropriate architecture that will allow a maximum use of their IT environment, yet stable at the same time (Moore p. 169). For this paper, two of the stiffest competitors in microprocessor manufacturing will be featured: Intel with its Core i5-2400S, and; AMD’s Phenom II X4 910e. These processors were launched in the market in 2011 January and 2010 January, respectively. Table 1 shows the comparative specifications of these two processors. The Benchmarks and their Analysis A. Integer Math Test This test measures the speed and capacity of a processor to perform mathematical non-fractional numbers operations by using random 32-bit and 64-bit integers for basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication at integer buffers of 240kb per core (CPU Benchmark 2010). Intel Core i5-2400S: 28456 MHz AMD 910e: 18925 MHz In the above stats, Intel Core i5-2400S was tested using AIDA64-CPU Queen, which p erforms a high memory read/write traffic and therefore not ideal for more than a single thread system because of the possibility of creating a bottleneck leading to low scores (Vortez2011). AMD 910e was tested using the Everest Ultimate Edition (higher is better), using Vincent Rijmen, Antoon Bosselaers and Pablo Barreto’s public domain C code in ECB mode, which uses 48MB memory and fundamental x36 instructions (Wu 2010, p. 7). B. Compression Test Using memory buffers of 16kb per core, the compression test gauges how fast a processor can compress large blocks of data into smaller ones without any original data being lost in the process. The ability to compress is an important function in software application. The result of this test is in kb/second (CPU Benchmark 2010). Intel Core i5-2400S: 125 kb/sec AMD 910e: 133 kb/sec Intel Core i5-2400S was tested using the WinRAR 4.0 utility (Gavrichenkov 2011, p.4) while the AMD was tested using the WinRar Workload utility where data i s randomly generated containing deliberately introduced redundancy to increase the load in the CPU and memory. The algorithm then compresses and decompresses the data (Wu p. 5). C. Prime Number Test The Prime Number Test gauges the speed of the processor in searching for prime numbers or numbers that are divisible only by 1 and by itself such as the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11. The algorithm used for this operation uses the same loops and operations that are standard in most computers without any memory buffer (CPU Benchmark 2010). D. Encryption Test This test gauges the speed of the computer to encrypt blocks of data, an operation employed by users to store data, which can be accessed only by the user with the encryption key. It uses the blowfish algorithm and shares many of the operations used in the math test except for the large binary data manipulation and mathematical operations such as ‘to the power of’ (CPU Benchmark 2010). Intel Core i5-2400S: 372733 (traditio nal DES) AMD 910e: 93.4 The Intel 2400S was tested with John the Ripper v1.7.8, which uses the blowfish algorithm (OpenBenchMarking 2011), while the AMD 910e was tested using TrueCrypt, which is an open-source encryption package. Two hundred MB was used to run the utility that gives back an AES-Twofish-Serpent mean score. E. Floating Point Math Test A similar test to the integer math test, the floating point test measures the speed of a processor to perform basic mathematical oper

Monday, November 18, 2019

The Antiquity of the Han Dynasty Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Antiquity of the Han Dynasty - Term Paper Example They adopted legalism for the strength of their ruler ship and to set the rules and regulations while on the other hand Confucianism was meant to be followed by common people because of the importance of morals and the guidance towards achieving the moralistic rewards and satisfaction. Han dynasty aimed strongly towards achieving a direct control of people by the state. The set of rules and regulations meant for the people of the early imperial China to follow were clearly directed towards achieving a unified nation. China flourished economically right after the supremacy of Wu Ti who was a renowned militant successful in the expansion of borders into Vietnam and Korea. This was a huge step towards an increase of population in order to colonize the entire area. The economic expansion assisted immensely in producing a proper platform for the trade opportunities that came their way and this platform was named as the 'Silk road' that helped the traders to channel their line of work and Silk in particular was sold through this route. Along with the economic development, agriculture increased on an apparent high scale and irrigational systems were introduced to increase the development within the Northern areas in China. The education sector also developed during the Han period because of a new honorable class of gentry that was introduced. With education came a stack of informative encyclopedias to assist the Chinese youth to strengthen themselves academically. The best among these encyclopedias was that of the 'Book of the mountains and seas' that comprises of everything from geography to the natural world and philosophy. One of China's greatest historians was Sima Qian, who was the author of the 'Records of the historian (Shiji)' that became China's first ever attempt to properly compile the events from their antiquity. The Han dynasty is believed of having two distinct ruler ships; the first one was that of the Chinese with the other one ruled by a member of the previous Han dynasty who declared that he was responsible for the restoration of the Han dynasty. The original Han rule according to him was sabotaged because of the power gained by the rich people. The second dynasty however, enjoyed mu ch of success with the foreign policies that they adopted. The opponent of the Han dynasty eventually tried to create a huge empire while including the entire Turkistan after which Turkistan was conquered by Chinese instantly. China suffered immensely economically and politically in the form of trade discrepancies after the span of struggle in Turkistan. This period massively highlights the movement by the Yellow turbans and China emerged as a unified nation once again but the defeat of the yellow turbans did not unify them on a single ground but instead three kingdoms emerged and the Han dynasty came to an end. The artifacts of the Han dynasty: The antiquity of the remarkable Han dynasty has been preserved in the silhouette of many artifacts which unveils the way they perceived the world and the philosophy behind their great minds. The artifacts are mostly in the form of shrines, steles and sculptures which portrays their notable aesthetic sense and the artistic excellence that they possessed. A pair of stone felines: This is a stone sculpture that well preserves the historic culture of China and presents a pair of a male and a female stone lion which was

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Is there any relationship between Corporate Social Responsibilty and financial performance

Is there any relationship between Corporate Social Responsibilty and financial performance The concept of companies about corporate social responsibility (CSR) has changed over the years. Previously it was viewed only as a phrase that meant administrative conformity and observance of rules and regulations. In recent years however that view has changed and companies are increasingly beginning to realize the important role of corporate social responsibility in winning over the trust and confidence of their customers. Today the business practices of large companies are shaped in such a way as to publicize their ethics and values. Therefore it has become a relevant part of business these days. According to the European Commission (2008), corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. (http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm) The various recommendations of the European commission regarding corporate social responsibility were that CSR covers social and environmental issues even though its normally known as corporate social responsibility. In an organization, CSR should not be separate from the organizations strategy and functions as the main motto of CSR is about incorporating social and environmental concerns into business strategy and functions. Therefore it is a voluntary concept. An important part of CSR is about how business concerns deal with their internal and external stakeholders that is their employees, customers, public authorities, neighbours, etc. Despite of the costs it may bring upon the business, there are various advantages of employing CSR as a major tool in the business: A company prominently engaged in CSR will be enjoying a better reputation and respect from the public and the good reputation helps the company indirectly in many ways. For example it makes the company easier for recruitment as there is less difficulty for a reputed company to find willing employees. The employees stay longer in the company and are more loyal to the company which is considered as a blessing to the company as they can reduce the costs and effort incurred by recruitment and training. They are also more productive as they are better motivated. A company practicing CSR will probably comply with regulatory requirements. It also helps the company in attaining a good relationship with the local authorities. This can help the business in many ways apart from smoothing its functions. This engagement with the local authorities is a good way to generate positive press coverage. CSR also helps the company to understand the impact of business on the environment which helps to produce new products that are environment friendly. It can also make the business more competitive. Finally CSR reduces the chances of the business reputation going down due to some scandals or allegations. Aim and Objectives: The objective of this dissertation is to find out status of relationship between Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance that is whether it is positive or negative or whether there is no relevant relation between them at all. In order to achieve this objective, it will be necessary to: Examine the previous researches done on this topic Identify an index to measure the Corporate Social Performance of companies in UK Measure the financial performance of the relevant companies Discuss the relationship between financial performance and corporate responsibility. Business in the communitys (BITC) Corporate Responsibility index is one of the leading UKs benchmark for companies that voluntarily practice corporate social responsibility. According to their survey results of 2008, 8 companies in the UK achieved the Platinum Plus status which is awarded to the companies with highest CSR ratings. Some of the companies in the top were BT, EDF Energy, National Grid, etc. there is also another recognition called the Community Mark which is awarded by Business in the communitys for companies that has achieved various milestones in long term sustainable benefits to both business and the community. We want to be known as a responsible business that is making a difference to some of the global challenges society faces. We want to be known as an innovative business that is developing solutions that benefit society while supporting long-term growth, creating competitive advantage and building successful relationships with our stakeholders.(www.bt.com) This defines BTs approach to responsible business. One of the top rated companies in the Business in the communitys corporate responsibility index and has been awarder the Community Mark recognition. Literature review: Various studies were conducted to evaluate the relationship between corporate responsibility and financial performance: Konar and Cohen (2001) founded a positive correlation exists between a firms environmental performance and its intangible asset value. The study was conducted on 321 manufacturing firms of the SP 500 firms. They employed two environmental performance measures namely Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) emission levels and pending environment-related litigation. Changes in the intangible asset value were estimated by viewing changes in the firms market value. The study also found out that a reduction in the toxic chemical release to the environment resulted in increased market value for the firm. Stanwick and Stanwick (1998) conducted a survey on 102 to 125 companies listed in Fortune magazines Corporate Reputation Index that also include a complete set of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data for a five year period from 1987 to 1992. A firms profitability was measured by yearly profits and was managed for different sized firms by dividing profit numbers by the firms annual sales. And the firms pollution level was measured as total toxic emissions, and then divided by annual sales to balance variance in firms size. The study discovered a significant relation between low emission levels and high profitability for firms that are reputed for corporate responsibility. Dowell et al. (2000) found that firms adopting global environments standard that are well above the required legal benchmarks have higher market value than firms that have par or below par environment standards when compared to the legal standards. The study scrutinized 89 companies of the U.S 500 (SP 500) that have manufacturing or mining operations in developing countries. The samples of companies were then categorize into three environmental classification according to Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) data namely (a) firms which follow local environment standards when operating in developing countries (30% firms were positive in this regard). (b) Firms which follow U.S standards while operating in developing countries (10% firms achieved this). (c) Firms which apply internal environment standards which surpass U.S requirements when operating abroad (60% of the firms). (Monks and Minow, 2004) Jaggie and Freedman (1992) studied specifically 13 firms involved in the pulp and paper manufacturing for the year 1978. An emission index used to measure the environmental performances of the companies was used. The firms that had the highest emission output were categorized with an index of 100 and the rest of the firms were adjusted regarding to that. Then the net income, cash flow/equity ratio and ROA indices were combined, with each of them having equal weights, with these pollutant indices. The outcome of the study showed a negative association between environmental and financial performance. (Shaw and Barry, 2004) Christmann (2000) conducted a survey in 2000 which came to the conclusion that chemical companies which employed innovative, proprietary pollution control techniques have managed significant cost savings, especially the companies that had existing facilities to innovate. The survey was conducted focusing on both cost management and pollution prevention on 512 business divisions of chemical companies in the U.S. cost management data were compared to Compustat share price and dividend data to ensure that it accurately replicated the firms financial performance Cohen, Fenn and Konar (1997) conducted a survey focusing on SP 500 companies. Their surveyors conducted the survey by creating two industry-balanced portfolios namely the higher polluter and lower polluter. They then compared the accounting and market return of both the sides. Their research found that either there was some positive return from investing in the environment or there was no return at all from investing. Blacconiere and Northcut (1997) particularly researched the chemical companies during a period of eight months and determined that companies which were likely to be impacted by adverse environmental legislation suffered collectively negative price returns during the time of the discussion of the legislation and its enactment. They also established that the firms with the largest potential liabilities suffered the greatest share price declines in this regard. Louche (1998) concentrated his study on 40 European countries from various sectors. The financial measures such as ROE, ROA and earnings per share were regressed in the context of environmental variables like CO2 emissions, water consumption and energy consumption. Their results established that there was no significant relationship between environmental welfare spending and financial performance. The companies selected were the ones with clear environmental reports. (Murphy, 2002) Since 1970s more than 100 papers have been published that has investigated the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. These studies conclude that there is a strong evidence of positive relationship between a company that is financially sound and socially responsible. For example the London Business School conducted 80 studies on CSR, out of which 42 presented with positive impact, 4 showed negative outcome and 19 showed no correlation. The rest presented with mixed outcomes. Methodology: The primary research will be carried out to find the relationship using the market model ÃŽÂ ² for the companies that are listed in FTSE-100. A sample of 35 companies listed in the FTSE-100 taken. The study is conducted using the regression model after taking ÃŽÂ ² for the stock estimated for two periods, one before the inclusion in the BITCs Corporate Responsibility Index and the next after the inclusion. The study design to be employed here is the Regression Model with the ÃŽÂ ² for the stocks estimated for two periods, the first before being included in the BITCs CR Index and the next after their inclusion. Measurement of financial performance: The financial performance is calculated with the assessment of Measures of Financial Risk which is summed up by Total Risk (Standard Deviation of monthly returns) and systematic market risk. Measurement of social responsibility: The Business in the Community launched its Environment Index in 1996 to help companies benchmark their environmental management and performance. In 2002, member companies requested a mechanism to benchmark their other activities, so Business in the Community developed the broader CR Index to assess their impacts on the community, marketplace and workplace through their operations, products and services, and interaction with key stakeholders. Performance Band: Platinum : à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥95% Gold : 90 94.5% Silver : 80 89.5% Bronze : 70 79.5% (www.bitc.org.uk) In addition to this, interviews with the managers of some companies should be conducted to get a detailed view of their policies and opinion. This is done to compare the results of the previous analysis with the managers point of view. Also interviews and email communications with some research agencies should be carried out to get attain relevant information. Some of the agencies are European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) Business and Human Rights Resource Centre Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS) The data resulting from these researches will be examined and analysed. This project will involve the analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative data. The external research will be conducted through reading and identifying the findings of published material like magazines, journals, newspapers and other media. The financial performance will contain both the quantitative and qualitative data. The market model ÃŽÂ ² coefficient will produce the quantitative data while the financial analysis will require the qualitative data as well. The results could be displayed in the form of graphs, spreadsheets and pictures. Therefore it will contain both the qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data that comes from the managers, for example the relevance of social responsibility will aid in the analysis, verification and conclusion of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance. The financial data for the sample of 35 UK companies listed could be obtained from the Financial Times Stock Exchange where the stock prices of the companies are available on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. This will facilitate in the finding of the value ÃŽÂ ². Then the BITCs Corporate Responsibility Index could be used to measure the social responsibility variable of the companies which is available on the internet. Finally data will be acquired from sources like magazines, books, articles, official websites of companies, journals, company reports, research agencies etc. Conclusion: This dissertation aims to find out the relationship correlation between the financial performance and the social responsibility of the companies as there is an increasing need in todays world in the face of issues like global warming, ozone layer depletion, wildlife endangerment, increasing pollution, lack of drinking water, etc. nowadays companies and businesses adopting a policy of social and environmental awareness is essential for making the world a better place to live. REFERENCES: Monks, A.G Minow, Nell, 2004. Corporate Governance. 3rd edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Shaw, William.H Barry, Vincent, 2004. Moral Issues in Business. 9th edition. USA: Thomson Learning Inc. Murphy, Christopher.J, 2002. Profitable Correlation between Environmental and Financial Performance. www.bitc.org.uk www.bt.com http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Comparing the Deceitful Women of Homers Odyssey and the Bible Essay

The Deceitful Women of Homer's Odyssey and the Bible Across all barriers, women have always brought pain, suffering, and aguish to the men as demonstrated in both Homer's Odyssey and the Bible. With their beauty and grace, temptresses like the Sirens and Delilah lure men into their grasps, only to later steer them to their ruin. Other times, they use their cunning abilities and deception, as Circe and Jezebel did, in order to entice men into doing things that they normally would never accede to do. Moreover, most tragedies, disasters, and misfortunes are essentially caused by women as demonstrated by Helen, who caused the Trojan War, and Eve, who caused the exile of all mankind from the Garden of Eden and is the mother of all sin. The women of the Odyssey and the women of the Bible, through astute manipulation and seduction, inflict many tribulations, which in due course cause the pains and destruction of mankind. First, one of the most obvious examples of how seductresses lead men to disaster is the Sirens. The Sirens in the Odyssey are the personifications of temptation and, as Circes puts it, "enchanters of mankind" (Odyssey 12.41-42). They spend their days luring men like Odysseus with their sweat melodious voices, and those men eventually find their deaths upon the feet of the Sirens. "They sit in their meadow, but the beach before it is pile with bone heaps of men now rotted away, and the skins shrivel upon them" (Odyssey12.45-46). Odysseus's immediate, visceral desires for the Sirens distract him from his nostos, or homeward journey. It is only by his foresight from Circes that keeps him and his men from destruction at the feet of the Sirens. Similarly, in the Bible, Delilah is the rogue ... ... Garden of Eden. Ultimately, women are the cause of all anguish in the world. With their beauty and charm, they ensnare men into their ruses. They also use their acumen and intelligence to seduce men to their deaths. Plus, women are capable and do cause massive atrocious destruction. The women of the Bible and the women of the Odyssey are lucid examples of how women cause the undoing of mankind. Works Cited and Consulted: Diana Buitron-Oliver and Beth Cohen,   "Between Skylla and Penelope: Female Characters of the Odyssey in Archaic and Classical Greek Art," pp. 29-58. Graham, A. J.   "The Odyssey, History, and Women,"   Princeton 1992 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: 1996 The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.

Monday, November 11, 2019

The Professor Is a Dropout by Beth Johnson

The Professor is a Dropout â€Å"The Professor is a Dropout† by Beth Johnson is about a woman who was told she was retarded and her journey of becoming Dr. Lupe Quintanilla. Lupe, a Mexican native came to America young where in school she would be deemed as un-learnable (retarded), she dropped out of school in the first grade. Lupe continued her life, marrying and eventually started a family. When her children were deemed un-learnable as well she quickly took action to ensure they didn’t endure a similar fate.A very persistent Lupe was able to enroll in college; where she earned her doctoral degree. In Chapter seven of our textbooks we focus on purpose and tone. The reason for a particular passage is called the purpose. There are three common purposes; which are to inform, persuade or entertain. Figuring out the purpose of a passage can help the reader better determine the author’s reasoning for writing. Tone is the writer’s feelings towards the subject he or she is writing about. Simply put tone is the writer’s attitude.The purpose for â€Å"The Professor is a Dropout† is to inform and the tone is determined. I really enjoyed reading this story, because it’s very inspirational. I think Lupe is and was a very determined individual who would no longer accept what people told her all of her life. After reading this story it makes me want to work harder to lead by example. I believe that everyone is a capable of doing anything as long as they put forth an honest effort. Lupe in this story is prime examples that if you work hard, never give up and believe in yourself anything is possible.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Not So Perfect Body essays

The Not So Perfect Body essays I wish I looked like that! Does this sound familiar? Millions of images everyday are pressuring teens today to be slimmer, taller, and stronger. No wonder more and more teens have a bad self-image of themselves and are willing to do anything to get the perfect body. The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons says that the numbers of teenagers getting cosmetic surgery has more than doubled in the last few years, with the most popular surgeries as rhinoplasty (nose surgery), breast augmentation, liposuction, and otoplasty (ear surgery). Surgery is not the only way teenagers are working for the perfect body; eating disorders are becoming more frequent. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that by college as many as 4.5% to 8% of girls have had bulimia (an eating disorder associated with binging and purging and severe weight loss). Also 1 in every 100 women is diagnosed with anorexia (an eating disorder characterized by low calorie intake and extreme exercise in order to lose weight). The complications of these disorders can cause seizures, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, slower breathing rate, and has been linked to at least 1,000 deaths per year. Though eating disorders are usually associated with females, it is projected that over one million teenage boys also suffer from these disorders. Along with the obsession for a thin, slim, body, having a well-sculpted, muscular body is another aspiration for most teenagers. In 2001 over 400,000 teenage boys reported that they were steroid users even though the drugs are illegal in the U.S. Steroids are used to enhance their muscles and strength but in the end steroids can cause severe mood swings, paranoia, delusions, impaired judgment, heart attack, cancer, liver disease, and has lead to many other complications as well as suicide. With all these risks, then why would anyone gamble their health on such a superficial cause? ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Sustainable Tea at Unilever

Sustainable Tea at Unilever Introduction Market differentiation remains as one of the most reliable ways through which businesses gain market share leadership and outwit their competitors. Sustainability programmes and plans play a critical role in ensuring that brands regain and maintain their market positions against competition onslaught.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Sustainable Tea at Unilever specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One company that has applied sustainability programme in its efforts to maintain its market leadership position is Unilever Plc. A world’s top consumer goods manufacturer, ranging from home care merchandise, food products, to personal care goods, Unilever introduced a ‘Sustainable Living Plan’ that intended to achieve a number of strategic goals. Firstly, it targeted improving consumers’ well-being and health, limiting the environmental impacts of its activities, as well as sustainabl y sourcing its entire agricultural raw materials by the year 2020. One area of focus that was of particular interest to the company was its tea product line. Although it registered positive results in some international markets, the sustainable tea program encountered challenges in other markets. This paper seeks to discuss in detail Unilever’s ‘Sustainable Living Plan’, putting more emphasis on its sustainable tea program. Unilever global tea market Unilever sells its processed tea in more than 180 countries worldwide. The tea is sold under different brand names, with Lipton Tea being the company’s largest brand. The brand records an annual sales figure of about â‚ ¬3.5 billion, making it the world’s leading tea brand in terms of sales. Other additional brand names through which the company markets its tea include Lyons in Ireland and PG tips, mainly for the United Kingdom market. India, Pakistan, Poland, and Russia also form part of Unileverâ⠂¬â„¢s extended international tea market. Lipton’s closest competitor in the global tea market is Tetley Tea, manufactured and marketed by Tata Beverages. However, the global market share enjoyed by Lipton is three times that of Tetley (Henderson Nellemann 2011, p. 3). Unilever sold about 350,000 tons of its processed tea in the year 2010. The tea was mainly sourced from external suppliers whose contribution was in the tune of 90%. The suppliers comprise of independent farmers and small-scale traders.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The remainder was obtained from company owned estates located in the East African regions, including its Kericho flagship estate in Kenya and another in Tanzania. In general, the global market is unique in terms of their preferred tastes. This makes specific international markets only reliant on supply sourced from particul ar countries. The sustainable tea plan and its constructs Established good practice guidelines in agriculture were first introduced in Unilever in 1998. These guidelines mainly focused on sustainable farming practices and targeted major crops processed by the company, such as tea, tomatoes, and palm oil. External suppliers were expected to meet specific standards before the company could purchase their produce. The sustainability geared towards 10 important indicators that touched on the environment, society, and the economy. These included social and environmental management system, ecosystem conservation, wildlife protection, as well as water conservation, and fair treatment and improved conditions of working for the workers. Other principles included occupational health and safety, community relations, integrated crop management, and soil management and conservation. To emphasize further on the importance of sustainable agriculture practices, the plan also incorporated integrated waste management. Unilever did not impose these practices on its suppliers, but rather opted to share with them, as well as with the public. According to Michiel Leijnse, Unilever’s global brand director, the sustainable tea plan had its intentions on transforming the industry. There was the looming danger of the company failing to get the right quantity and quality of the tea that they required (Henderson Nellemann 2011, p. 5). Certification The Rainforest Alliance As part of the plans on sustainability, Unilever involved the Rainforest Alliance as its partner in the programme. The latter is the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) founding member. In particular, the Rainforest Alliance’s partnership was sought because it was inclined towards market-based premiums as the prefect way of creating change. Additionally, the Rainforest’s record of accomplishment was good, having won consumer recognition from past campaigns. However, the fact that the company had neither had previous experience dealing with tea nor the African continent was of critical concern for Unilever. Africa is where Unilever has one of its most successful tea estates throughout the world.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Sustainable Tea at Unilever specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The certification process required that the whole production area meet the standards. Obtaining and maintaining of the certification required farms to meet at least 50% of each principle’s applicable criteria. Additionally, the farms were expected to meet a minimum of 80% of the entire set of applicable criterion. Certification costs for independent farmers ranged between â‚ ¬3,000 and â‚ ¬4,500 depending on the size of the farm. Unilever chose to buy certified tea at a cost by paying a premium price. It also paid a participation fee to Rainforest Alliance to bear the frog logo of the certifying company on its pack. The rollout of the global certification education cost about â‚ ¬200,000 annually as Unilever assigned people to develop and deploy farmer training. This was in combination with the certifying company Rainforest Alliance.  Because certification of tea had never been witnessed before, meeting the targets that Unilever and Rainforest Alliance had set for the year 2010 was challenging. The company owned tea estates in Kenya and Tanzania became viable options if targeted results were to be met. Equally, the large-scale tea suppliers became the target for initial certification plans. For the long-term plans, Unilever had to set focus in working with the entire supply chain, including the smaller and less organized ones. The challenge, however, lay in the fact that these kinds of suppliers spread across different countries, have their own agricultural practices, and receive varying government support. The pioneer certification process Unilever owns a 13,000-hectare tea esta te in Kenya’s Kericho area. This area of land has been under tea plantation since 1928. The certification process began by leaving tea bush pruning to rot on the field instead of having them removed for other secondary use as cattle food or firewood. This practice maximized the soil fertility and helped in retaining water. The use of fertilizer was carefully managed, bearing in mind its potential threat to the quality of soil. Drying of the tea was done using wood obtained from eucalyptus forests plant grown on the perimeter fence of the estate. Use of pesticides and agrochemicals on the Kericho tea estates was minimized mainly because of the area’s favourable climate. Natural predators also inhabit the land surrounding the estate, making the use of pesticides not necessarily on a large scale.  Unilever shifted focus on the well-being and general health of its 16,000 members of staff and their dependants. The workers’ earnings more than doubled compared to the ir earlier fixed sum compensation on every kilogramme of tealeaves picked.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The workers had free access to company health care and housing, in addition to free education for the workers’ children at Unilever owned schools.  The estate achieved high yields because of the application of the sustainable tea production programme, with each hectare of land producing between 3.5 and 4 tons. Compared to India’s production of between 2 to 3 tons an hectare, the case of Kericho’s estates was far much better. Estates in Tanzania equally applied the same practices, improving in production yields up to 3 tons per hectare. Production in other parts of the country stood at below 2 hectares per ton (Henderson Nellemann 2011, p. 8). Extending the program to cover the entire supply chain With Unilever’s East African estates accounting for about a third of the company’s total tea requirement, the partnership with Rainforest Alliance registered immense success. The involvement of the Kenyan government through the Kenya Tea Development Age ncy (KTDA) supplemented Unilever’s efforts on sustainability. Equally, a Dutch Sustainable Initiative known as IDH helped the programme achieve greater success by training field trainers. The KTDA alone accounted for up to 62% of the country’s total production through its 59 factories. Unilever purchased 40% of KTDA’s total production in 2011. Training of lead farmers by the company in conjunction with the KTDA and Rainforest Alliance increased awareness, including on the premiums paid on certified tea.  Although some changes were easily applied, including convincing farmers to leave cut crop in the farms to rot rather than burning. However, some changes involved expensive practices, such as the use of expensive protective gear for the farmers while spraying the farms. KTDA helped in supporting the programme by setting up a micro-credit scheme that provided financial support to the farmers. With the introduction and implementation of additional sustainable pra ctices, the total yields improved between 5% and 15%. The quality of the tea produced also improved. Promoting the sustainable message to the consumers For Unilever to transform the success of sustainable tea into sales, the company’s commitment moved into informing the market its benefits. The varied tea brands under the company’s larger tea portfolio became a challenge to these plans. Although the ethical position of a brand pleases a majority of users, the idea of ‘green’ brands was difficult to sell. Unilever, instead, looked at the whole idea of sustainability as an innovative marketing message targeting the consumers.  Other Unilever tea brands in Western Europe and Australia benefited from an extensive certification programme launched after the East African pioneer programme. The brands included Lipton Yellow Label, Lyons, as well as PG tips. In the U.K., Unilever’s tea market that represents about 10% of the entire production of the firm w as represented by the PG tips brand. The biggest competitor of Unilever tea, Tetley Tea, shared the market almost on equal proportions with PG tips.  The market lacked interest to purchase the green products at an added cost. Unilever spent â‚ ¬12 million to market the new product in 2008, although it took between 12 and 18 months to tackle mental barriers and pass the message to consumers. The company found challenges in selecting the most appropriate message that would resonate with the consumers thinking while marketing the product. The message selected, ‘do your bit: put the kettle on’ highlighted the optimistic action that buyers could take through their drinking of the PG tips.  The campaigned saw PG tips emerge as the leader in the market, beating the strong competition by Tetley Tea. In particular, PG tip’s market share increased by 1.8 points with the purchase repeat rate increasing to 49% from 44%. The total overall sales of the brand improved by 6% with research attributing the rise to consumers’ changed perceptions. PG tips successfully marketed as an ethical product and the market positively responded to the efforts. Australia The sustainable tea campaign in Australia began in the year 2009. Lipton was Unilever’s leading tea brand in the market, with its total share accounting for about a quarter of the entire sales. Bushell, the other of Unilever’s brand had a market share of about 13%. The marketing phrase read, ‘Make a Better Choice with Lipton, the world’s first Rainforest Alliance certified Tea.’ The marketing campaign cost â‚ ¬1.1 million covering print, television and public relations. Additionally, Unilever adopted in-store promotions to increase awareness further. Premium charge on certified tea served as a barrier to consumption and the company eliminated it. Sales performance increased by 11%, with Lipton brand’s market share improving by 158 basis points. The average purchase value rose to â‚ ¬3.23 from â‚ ¬3.11. Despite the success in sales performance, the Lipton brand failed to improve in as far as perceptions on quality is involved. Italy Unilever tea enjoyed a 12% market share in Italy in 2010. The certification programme cost â‚ ¬3 million and involved awareness creation programmes on television, online, press, packaging up-dates, and in-store promotions. The marketing message adopted read, ‘your small cup can make a big difference’. With the campaigns first launched in 2008, the Lipton sales increased by 10.5%, with its market share also increasing by more than 2 percentage points. The buyer base increased, with the younger consumers mostly from the upmarket segment being attracted to the certified product (Henderson Nellemann 2011, p. 12). France France posed a great disappointment to the sustainable tea programme by Unilever. Lipton’s market share stood at 37% in 2010, with private label brands bei ng the main competitor at between 30% and 40% market share. With a more diversified portfolio, the tea products under Lipton numbered at least 40. The certification message initially was only associated to the black tea product Lipton Yellow Label. This represented only a paltry one fifth of the sales. Campaigns initially focused on public relations to educate the retailers. It also involved journalists and key opinion leaders. The marketing message, ‘your tea can make a difference’ appeared in print advertisements and strategically in cooking and travel magazines. Female users over 50 years old remained the primary market focus of the campaigns. Research findings indicated little success in French consumers’ likelihood to buy certified tea containing Rainforest Alliance seal. However, the company changed stance later on and changed the packaging. Consumers failed to associate the new sales on packaging with any quality certification. Failure to associate Lipton with Rainforest Alliance on the part of the consumers played a big role in the negative results that were recorded by the brand. The USA Unilever launched its campaigns in 2009, mainly focusing on the green tea line. Overall, Lipton’s market share was the second largest. Initial research by Unilever indicated 80% likelihood to buy eco-ethical products, although additional cost could not be justified easily. The only market size willing to forfeit a premium was a paltry 5%. The marketing message adopted read, ‘Your Small Cup Can Make a Big Difference’ and appeared on print, TV, and online content. Sponsored trips to the company’s Kericho estate in Kenya formed part of the marketing campaigns. Challenges to the certified product campaigns Sourcing certified tea from India posed a great challenge as the country’s many suppliers were of small scale. Training the small-scale producers was a challenge because of the numbers involved. Additionally, unlike the Kenyan situation where the government supports tea programmes through the KTDA, the Indian government does not participate in such activities. The Rainforest Alliance’s principles on certification, which involved an age limit on employment at age 15, did not tally with the practice in India. The country’s laws allow for 14 year olds to be employed as labour in the farms. The Paraquat pesticide use in India is also widely practiced, which is against Rainforest Alliance’s principle on reducing toxic substances. Although the sustainable plan is intended to be applied across the board, there are challenges on other products that are not marketed directly to the consumers. Palm oil, for instance, is used as a raw material for processing other finished products. Introducing quality and certification plan for such commodities is a big challenge to the firm (Henderson Nellemann 2011, p. 17). Conclusion Sustainable Living Plan is a marketing programme introduced by Unilever to enhance the performance of its agricultural based products in the market. The programme aims to employ practices that not only aim at improving on productivity, but also the quality of products. The company’s tea products portfolio has particularly seen efforts employed to improve on performance. To enhance the results of sustainability, Unilever collaborated with a certifying company, Rainforest Alliance, a founder member of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. This decision was arrived at mainly because Unilever’s sustainability plan involved similar principles as those of the certifier. These principles include social and environmental management system, wildlife protection, ecosystem conservation, water conservation, as well as occupational health and safety measures. Other principles include integrated waste management, integrated crop management, community relations, and fair treatment of the workers.  The certification plan was the first one of its kind and encountered several challenges. There were no previous existing standards and Unilever had to begin the implementation on its company-owned estates in East Africa, in Kenya and Tanzania. The rollout plan involved leaving cut tea bushes on the farm to rot rather than using as cattle feed and firewood. Lead farmers were chosen and trained on how to implement the programme on their colleagues. Employees had their remuneration improved more than two-folds while working conditions were also improved. Health, education, and housing facilities for the workers and their families were introduced free of charge. In Europe, elaborate marketing campaigns were also initiated with mixed results for the company. In the UK, Italy, Australia, and the USA, the brand registered positive results as sales increased. However, the market was not willing to pay a premium for the certified tea. In France, marketing campaigns failed to achieve any positive results. Despite expensive marketing campa igns introduced by the company, convincing the market to link certification to quality did not succeed. List of References Henderson, RM Nellemann, F 2011, Sustainable tea at Unilever, Harvard Business School Publishing, Bolton, MA.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Psychology 23 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology 23 questions - Essay Example People might develop learned helplessness when too many things have been out of their control in their lives. People with learned helplessness believe that because they couldnt solve past problems they wont be able to solve future ones. They are often depressed. Type A people feel like they are under pressure, are impatient and competitive. They yell at people and get angry easily. Type B people are calm and non-aggressive and easier to get along with because they are more cooperative. When patients dont follow the doctors orders it is called noncompliance. Patients can be noncompliant for many reasons, such as not understanding instructions, not having enough money for treatment, fear or even not trusting the doctor. Negatively framed ads use methods like focusing on the harmful aspects of certain foods, or use shaming tactics to get people to choose certain products. They might show someone as looking stupid for eating a certain type of food, for example. Positive framing tries to persuade people by focusing on the benefits of certain products and behaviors. Negative: There were some lite beer commercials that showed men who drink lite beer as being feminine. One man carried a purse and the other wore a skirt. This meant they were weak. This would work amongst young males because they are usually more worried about their image than older men are. Positive: most cruise commercials show sunny skies, happy people, and relaxing things to do. By not focusing on negative things people are escaping from, the ads make people associate the cruise with fun and adventure. Factors associated with happiness include optimism, time for both work and play, a sense of control over ones life, self-esteem, close relationships, spirituality. Happiness improves overall quality of life by helping one to handle stress and to avoid depression or feelings of

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Social Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Networking - Essay Example Social network comes in various forms and sizes and serve many purposes. Social networking is necessary for the survival and advancement of the society. The invention of telegraph, radio and internet have created and maintained social networking despite of the vast distance between the people. The ability of people to communicate across the planet has give way to different forms of social networking mediums. Friends can now easily connect with each other being thousands of miles apart. As per TechTarget,(2008)â€Å"The social networks we speak of today, such as Face book or MySpace, provide incredibly rich communications. Pictures, audio recordings, video recordings can be freely shared by anyone with an internet connection†. These facilities have given rise to a new category of social networking. Websites and internet now provide many opportunities that were not possible before. Social networking are application available on internet which has log – in page, user accou nt and a bunch of games and tools to have fun with friends while we are logged in. The social networking sites has a great influence on today’s youth and give them different identity and interacting platform. The Social networking is not new concept The concept of social networking is not new even though people are only familiarized with it recently. Individuals can connect within a social network where they work together, study together, lived together or share certain interests. Individuals are usually drawn to people with whom they can relate to. According to Ronca(2009)â€Å"Social networking is not a new concept. In fact, it's been around as long as we have. A social network is simply the structure of relationships among individuals†. Everyone on the earth is a part of one social network and we knowingly or unknowingly engage in social networking. We are engaging in small sub networks which consist of our families, friends, colleagues, school and community. Our so cial networking multiplies consistently as we are all time in contact with people. Social networking is not at all new and can be traced to 1800s. In the article Larrivee(2011)writes that â€Å"Social networking is not a new concept in fact it is really quite old with formal recognition surfacing in the 1800’s yet if you consider ancient Rome and Greece, one might say that it really began in those times†, People in olden times use to socially and politically interact .Social networking in past happened in the same ways as today but only the platform where it took place was different. In the past, people met in real world, whereas in the present people virtually meet and interact. Social networking started since the early men started living in communities. It started before the invention of internet in villages and olden cities People in villages gather around trees in free time and discussed everything and anything. Social networking existed in olden days In olden time s people gathered on festivals and social get together and interacted with each other freely. They met in churches and temples and shared their ideas and views about daily activities. People in olden days had their share of fun and relaxation whenever they met like the new generation. Human is a social being and he needs to be active in social life to make things pleasant. Today the internet has taken the place of other social gathering venues but social networking happened since ever.In ancient times, people where more of socializing nature as they were not much restricted to their homes. They always met people in outdoors and had more opportunity to interact with each other. In ancient times, festivals and fairs where the venues where people met each other and engaged in pleasurable acitivities.People used to meet and