International Business - Global Marketplace Case Study

International Business - Global Marketplace - Case Study Example Going international at times looks logical when we look at these pull factors. Economists are not in agreement as to a common definition of multinational or transnational enterprises (MNE/TNC). Multinational corporations have many dimensions and can be viewed from several perspectives (ownership, management, strategy and structural, etc.) (Root. 1994, Hill, 2007). According to Hill (2007), a global enterprise (or transnational corporation) is a corporation or enterprise that manages production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. Most multinationals have budgets that exceed those of many countries (Hill 2007). This paper is aimed at analyzing and discussing the potential impacts of globalization on a chosen multinational. The first part of the paper presents activities of Tesco, the second part looks on the positive impact of globalization on Tesco, the third sections focuses on the negative impact of gobalisation on Tesco while the last section presents the conclusion. 1.1 Overview of the Company in Question-Tesco Founded by Jack Cohen in 1919, Tesco Plc has come a long way and has established itself as the largest super store in Europe. At the turn of the century, Tesco became very proactive in coming up to the requirements of the new ear and tesco.com was launched, followed by aggressive entry into international markets like Malaysia, Japan & Turkey, China & the US. Today, the international operations of Tesco yield more profit as compared to the profits in the Europe market. More than half of Tesco's selling space is in markets outside Europe (Tesco Review 2007). The Tesco Plc website states "shareholders. Today the Group operates in 12 markets outside the UK, in Europe, Asia and North America. Over 160,000 employees... As the report declares recent changes in the international market scene, politics and environment have forced companies in the quest and optimisation of various options. With the rational ranging from optimisation of resources, being more responsive with the various stakeholders and keeping the pace of learning and employees development in their world wide operations. According to the report findings it is clear that moving global, shouldn’t be an overnight decision in multinational enterprises. Such a move should be carefully given a second thought, as it involves not only a total strategic reorientation but a major change in an organisations capabilities, resources and challenges. Companies going global should be able to face the challenges of thinking globally and implementing locally. There is no doubt operating internationally rather than domestically presents organisations with many new opportunities. From access to new markets, tactical and strategical positioning to a pool of information for subsequent product development. Going international at times looks logical when we look at these pull factors. Tesco denotes its success to an aggressive global strategy of geographic diversification. In its attempt to renew the brand and keep it in sync with changing customer tastes and keeping up the growth figures in future, Tesco follows various strategies including international diversification, providing value to customers, product diversification, innovation, and umbrella branding.

Access Control Essay Example for Free

Access Control Essay In this scenario, the fitness club was hacked from an unknown source. The fitness club has contracted Malcom Testing Solutions to do penetration tests and find any vulnerabilities along with make some security changes to prevent this issue from happening again. The security policies need to be changed as far as account management. For starters, the security policies for account management need to be updated. The user’s password needs to changed every 90 days. Any employee that has remote access should have a token key on a USB drive that provides the user’s credentials. When an employee retires, quits, or gets fired, they accounts should be locked until IT administrators can go through the account. If the employee had a USB token for remote access, it should be taken back by the IT personnel to prevent unauthorized remote access. Penetration testing should be done to test the network for vulnerabilities. There are several types of penetration testing. â€Å"An automated port based scan is generally one of the first steps in a traditional penetration test because it helps obtain a basic overview of what may be available on the target network or host. Port based scanners check to determine whether a port on a remote host is able to receive a connection. See more:  First Poem for You Essay Generally, this will involve the protocols which utilize IP (such as TCP, UDP, ICMP, etc.), However, ports on other network protocols could be present as well dependent on the environment (for example, it’s quite common in large mainframe environments for SNA to be in use). Typically, a port can have one of two possible states: open – the port is able to receive data and closed – the port is not able to receive data. A service based vulnerability scanner is one which utilizes specific protocols to communicate with open ports on a remote host, to determine more  about the service that is running on that port. This is more precise than a port scan, because it does not rely on the port alone to determine what service is running. For example, a port scan may be able to identify that TCP port 8000 is open on a host, but it will not know based on that information alone what service is running there. A service scanner would attempt to communicate with the port using d ifferent protocols. If the service running on port 8000 is able to correctly communicate using HTTP, then it will be identified as a web server. Lastly, banner grabbing is the process of connecting to a specific port and examining data returned from the remote host to identify the service/application bound to that port. Often in the connection process, software will provide an identification string which may include information such as the name of the application, or information about which specific version of the software is running.† (Vulnerability Analysis, 2014) After the penetration testing, the system can be updated to mitigate any vulnerabilities that were found. Firewall changes, IP addresses can be allowed or denied, and software updates are some simple changes that can be made to make a network system more secure. References Vulnerability Analysis. (2014, August 16). http://www.pentest-standard.org/. Retrieved from http://www.pentest-standard.org/index.php/Vulnerability_Analysis

Affirmitive Action :: essays research papers

Have you ever wondered who gets to attend the country’s selective colleges and universities? The really smart kids, the hard workers, star athletes, artists, singers, mathematicians, writers, alumni children? Of course universities want them all. But what about when it comes to race? Suddenly the stakes of getting in are raised. How many African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Whites should there be in each class? Should acceptance to a school depend on a person’s race?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Well I believe that acceptance to a school shouldn’t be depended on the race of a person. I believe this because it’s like judging a book by it cover, it doesn’t always work out. Let me give you an example just because you’re Asian doesn’t mean that you’re going to be smart, know how to fix a computer, or be a crappy driver. Actually we should all be thought of equals and our race shouldn’t matter in being accepted into a college. Colleges shouldn’t administer students onto there campuses to keep diversity, but let their capability determine their entrance. College admissions should be determined by academic performance/capabilities instead of one’s ethnicity just to increase diversity in the college atmosphere.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, there is another side to this raging debate over affirmative action. There are a more then a handful of minorities that are qualified for admission, but need that extra help affirmative action grants in order to get admission into that top tier university. Some of these people come from economically challenged backgrounds, they meet the requirements that universities require, but do not excel as some of more competitive students that apply. In these type of situations affirmative action, grants admission to the economically challenged student, rejecting the more qualified one. But who are we to say that the kid from the wrong side of tracks, that was raised with seven brothers and sisters, most of whom haven’t been to college; doesn’t disserve his chance to be the first in his family over the pure bread tutored child?

The Government’s Response to Hurricane Katrina

The Government’s Response to Hurricane Katrina In this analysis, the role of the government and it’s response to Hurricane Katrina will be examined. This is a complex subject which raises many questions, such as: (1. ) the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina resulting from the layered government administration, (2. ) several types of errors in policies causing neglect in decision making, (3. ) the political manipulation of disaster declaration and relief aid to win votes, (4. ) the problems of acquiring timely and accurate solutions, (5. ) Glory seeking by government officials, (6. the short sightedness effect causing a one-sidedness in governmental decision making. In this analysis, the hypothesis of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina were delayed due to: (1. ) lack of supplies (i. e. water, food, or shelter, etc), (2. ) lack of sanitary conditions, (3. ) inadequate evacuation planning, (4. ) back-up communication systems at various levels, (5. ) lack of mi smanagement and leadership, (6. ) lack of medical attention, and (7. ) lack of money. In this analysis, the role of the local, state, and federal government will be examined. In addition, my personal experience of Hurricane Katrina will be examined. A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone, which is a generic term for a low pressure system that generally forms in the tropics. The cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms and, in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds nears the earth's surface. Hurricanes are categorized according to the strength of their winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm has the lowest wind speeds, while a Category 5 hurricane has the strongest. (nhc. noaa. ov) Hurricanes are natural occurrences that cannot be prevented, only prepared for. Hurricane Katrina started out as a tropical storm, which turned into a hurricane. Hurricane Katrina developed in the Caribbean’s and hit Florida before gaining strength in the warm water of The Gulf of Mexico. On August 24, 2005, the first alert of the tropical storm was given out. On August 26, 2005, a warning from the National Weather Se rvice showed Hurricane Katrina taking a turn for New Orleans. This is when people began to pay attention to the storm. On August 27, 2005, the metro area started to evacuate. Governor Blanco, governor of Louisiana, sent a â€Å"State of Emergency† letter to President Bush. Although, the local government gave mandatory evacuation twenty-two hours before the storm hit, they did not make provisions to evacuate the large numbers of citizens unable to evacuate themselves. The New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin was criticized for failing to implement his evacuation plan. Mayor Ray Nagin refused to use school buses that were available. When Mayor Ray Nagin was asked why the school buses were not used to assist with evacuations; He gave the excuse of a lack of insurance liability. wikipedia. org) On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina developed into a massive Category 5. Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms that ever collide with the Coastal United States in the last century. Strong winds sustained during landfall of over 140 mph. Despite monitoring the storm’s development, tracking its movement, and issuing early warnings. Hurricane Katrina h as proved to be the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United State. This catastrophic event nearly destroyed New Orleans, and is responsible for an estimated 80 billion dollars in damages. Nonetheless, the most severe loss of life and property damage occurred due to flooding. The levee system failed just hours after the storm had moved inland. Nearly every levee in metro New Orleans was breached as Hurricane Katrina passed through New Orleans, Louisiana. Eventually 80% of the city became flooded and also large tracts of neighboring parishes and the floodwaters lingered for weeks. The levee failures prompted investigations of their design and construction which belongs solely to the US Army Corps of Engineers as mandated in the Flood Control Act of 1965. (wikipedia. rg) Soon after the storm ended, public debate arose about the local, state and federal governments' role in the preparations for and response to the storm. Criticism of shaken and frustrated political leaders and residents who remained in New Orleans without water, food or shelter, and the deaths of several citizens by thirst, exhaustion, and violence days after the storm itself had passed. The criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina primarily consisted of accusations of mismanagement and lack of leadership in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, pecifically in the delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans. Although some people believe that the government was well-prepared for the natural disaster. When Hurricane Katrina swept the coast and destroyed what we know as New Orleans, many of these Americans suffered from the lack of the intervention of the U. S. government. I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I was there when Hurricane Katrina struck. Usually, my family and I evacuate when there is a sign of a hurricane appearing. Most of the citizens in New Orleans including myself refer to hurricanes at times as a mini vacation (just as many of the citizen in Belleville, Illinois for snow days) because of possible days off from work and school. However, Hurricane Katrina was like no other hurricane we had ever experienced. Many of my family members as well as many others in the surrounding metro area evacuated with their jobs. They had expectations of making extra money with their jobs. Due to that factor, many of my elderly family members were left behind. Because of those circumstances, it resulted in my husband and me staying to secure their safety. We had a total of eight people in my three story apartment building (four of them being senior citizens. ) Since we had decided to ride out the storm, we made sure we were prepared. Therefore, we had stocked up on plenty supplies because my husband is such a survivor fanatic. With that being said, there was enough food, water, and batteries to last us about a month or more. On August 29, 2005 at 5:00 a. m. , I was awakening by extremely strong winds. I heard loud rumbling noises on the roof top. I immediately got out of bed and gathered with the rest of my family on the second level of my apartment. My family and I remained on the econd level throughout the course of the storm. At approximately 7:00 a. m. , my roof top blew completely off (I could literally see the sky) allowing all of the rain water to come through. Therefore, we were afraid because of possible flooding on my third level from the rain. At approximately 9:00 a. m. , we had lost power and there was no running water. T hroughout the storm, my husband and I continued to look outside (through our patio window) to see how the storm was coming along. At approximately 9:30 a. m. , my husband noticed the water cresting over the lake. He stated how the water was rising fast. When I saw the expression on his face I immediately became afraid. When I looked outside for myself, the water was up to the second level of my house. I could have literally opened my patio door and touch the water. I remembered my husband saying let’s all gather together and pray. We did not know if the water would continue to rise. All of us feared for our lives. However, we were still trapped. We were surrounded by water with no escape. At approximately 11:00 a. m. , the storm was over. Unfortunately, we were concerned that the ceiling would collapse on the second level due to the moisture from the rain. Therefore, George began knocking on neighbors doors to use their home as a shelter for my family and I. No one answered their door. Then George decided that we should go to the vacant apartment across mine. When we walked in the apartment it was fully furnished and with no damages. We thought it was almost impossible (what were the odds. ) Nevertheless, we decided to settle down. However, I became a little delusional. I was more shock than anything. I couldn’t believe the intensity of the storm as well as the damages. ) I began asking my husband, â€Å"How am I going to get work? And how was I going to bring my son to school? George then replied, Come take a walk with me. We walked to a balcony view that leads to the parking lot. George asked, what do see? Can you see your truck? As I began to search for my truck, I saw a little bit of everything floating in the water such as: clothes, shoes, toys, doors, cars, and even house. No joke! I finally notice the rack on the top of my truck; I believe it was propped up on the sidewalk because the rack was so visible. As time prevailed, we decided to cook. We decided to have beans because of the amount of people in the house. George continued to servile the premises for security purposes. He would come back and forth giving us updates of what was going outside. Once he came inside telling us that a few of the guys that were outside said that they were going to local grocery store for food. They floated through that nasty water (not sure what was in) on door and using life preservers. After their return from the store they began to barbequing chicken. About an hour later, George comes in with two plates full of chicken. We couldn’t believe that looters shared their food with us. We were very grateful. Later that same day, we began to see helicopters flying across our windows. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. I felt like I was in a movie, it was surreal. We begun see people on roof tops waiting to be rescued by the helicopters. I went to my family and told them that I wanted to be rescued. My mom and my grandmother kept saying they were ready because they didn’t want to get on top of the roof. We decided to sleep on it and make a decision the next day. Fortunately, we made it though to the next day. There were big decisions to be made. On August 30, 2005, we all agreed upon being rescued. George started talking to the neighbor. They told him that there were limitations for being rescued such as: one small bag per person and no heavy items. Eventually, it became a blessing that the roof came off. The roof became our escape out (all the neighbors in our building came together to help each other. ) Someone had a large ladder allowing us to get on the roof with no struggles. All the men assisted in getting everyone to the roof. Therefore, one person was holding ladder, someone else was supporting the person on the ladder, and another pulling the person onto the roof as they made it to the top of the ladder. There was amazing teamwork! Nonetheless, there were at least thirty-five people on one roof. While we were on the roof top waiting for the first sighting of a helicopter, someone was passing out water to everyone (from a five gallon water bottle) as well as a misquote repellent spray. However, we were on the roof top for at least ten hours before the first helicopter flew in our area. Once the first helicopter came, everyone pulled out their flash lights, cigarette lights, cell phone, etc. We began flashing our lights and flicking them off and on. Finally, when the helicopter noticed us they flashed there lights on our roof to let us know they see us. Before the helicopter made their first rescue, we heard a woman shouting, â€Å"Tell them we are over here. † After that first voice, we started hearing more and more people letting us know that they were out there. It was so sad. When the helicopter hovered over our roof, there was an Air National Guard that came down on a rope and landed on our roof. All of us became emotional. There wasn’t a dry eye on the roof. He asked if everyone was okay. He said that his crew needed gas and that they would come back for us. He told us that he was going to stay on the roof with us until they come back. That was like music to our ears. It made us feel good because we knew that they were not going to leave one of their own. While we were waiting for them to come back, the Air Guard began to organize the rescue. He said first it will the senior citizens and the sick, next women and child, and lastly the men. I told the Air Guard about the people in the surrounding area that needed to be rescued. Once the helicopter arrived, George took over in assisting the Air Guard with the rescues (George is always Mr. Helpful. ) We weren’t sure how the rescue would take place. Then, a basket came down from the helicopter. One by one someone got into the basket. Many of the mothers were putting their children in the basket by themselves in hopes to go up with them. However, that was not the case at times because when the helicopter became full they would pull off with no notice. Before long, it was my turn to get into the basket (I was the last female to go up. ) Before I got into the basket, I flashed my flashlight into George’s face. I told him, â€Å"I know that you are Mr. Helpful, but remember every man is for themselves because it was all men remaining. Then I got into the basket. I made sure my son was in the basket with me (neither one of us were small. ) I did not want to take any chances of being separated. As soon as I got into the helicopter; we took off. We were taken to a highway on the other side of town. There were charter buses lined up waiting to bring everyone to a shelter. The buses were taking people to different locations causing people to be separated from their families. There were plenty of children sitting around waiting for their mothers. However, one of the military men was going around telling everyone (including children) to get on the bus to make way for new arrivals. The minute I got off the helicopter, I searched for my family that was rescued before me and there was no luck. For that reason, I was not getting on any buses until my husband arrived. Every time a new batch of people would arrive; I would begin searching to find George. Time kept going by and there was no sight of George. I had begun to worry because I know how helpful George could be. Finally, I spotted George. As soon as George made it across the field (away from the helicopter) I tackled George with a hugged. Once I found George, we got on the bus. On August 31, 2005, we were taken to Nicholas State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. When we arrive to the shelter there was no food, water, electricity, beds, or blankets. We had better back home minus the ten feet of water surrounding us. I could not understand why they would take us out of one bad situation and put us into another. We had to sleep on hard wooden cold floors. However, George is also known as Mr. Survivor. He had blankets, snacks and water for each of us. Later that day, Red Cross arrived. There were hot meals being served, blankets, toiletries, clothes, etc. At the end of the day, George and I began talking with the custodian. We asked her if she had a car that she could bring up to the airport. We offered her hundred dollars to do so. She said she did not have a car, but offered to ask her brother. Thirty Minutes later, she said here brother was only able to do it the next day. We were happy with that because we just wanted to be out of there. On September 1, 2005, there were shifts of military men walking around the shelter with rifles (as if we were prisoners. ) While we were eating lunch we decided to stand in the door way to get air because of no electricity. However, when a new bus load of people arrive to the shelter; one of the military men asked us to get inside of the building to eat our food. He said, because the people getting the bus had not eaten in days and he was not sure how they were going to react. As time went on we became concerned because the custodian’s bother had not show up yet. Later that night, he arrived. He told us that he was one of the city councilmen for the city of Baton Rouge. We gave him one hundred dollars and filled his gas tank up then brought us to the airport in Baton Rouge. I felt embarrassed going into the airport to sleep on the floor. Once we walked into the airport there were at least fifty people sleeping on the floor. Therefore, we just joined them. On the morning of September 2, 2005, we purchased our airline tickets with Delta Airline. We were charged five hundred and forty eight dollars per ticket. Meanwhile, at the airport so many people were coming up to us to see if we were okay. Many of them were sharing their stories with us. Some of them were offering us money. They gave everyone blankets and sandwiches. Fortunately, George spotted someone he knew. She worked at the airport. She took us to her house. We were able to take fresh baths, eat a hot meal, and a nice comfortable bed. She was a saint. On September 3, 2005, we flew from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to St Louis, Missouri. We were picked up at the airport and stayed on the Air Force Scott Base for two weeks. While we were there we began taking care of business with Red Cross and FEMA. There was so much drama with both Red Cross and FEMA. First, Red Cross ran out of debit cards because so many imposters. Then there was a delay of fund from FEMA. They continued to say because of so many fraudulent cases there will be a slow process. However, members of the United States Congress and others believed that the relief efforts were slow because most of the affected areas were poor. There was also concern that many National Guard units were short staffed in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama because some units were deployed overseas. Due to the slow response by the federal government to the hurricane, New Orleans's top emergency management official called the effort a â€Å"national disgrace. † Mayor Ray Nagin expressed his frustration about the insufficient reinforcements provided by the President and federal authorities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was heavily criticized about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, primarily for its slow response and inability to coordinate its efforts with other federal agencies relief organizations. FEMA was accused of deliberately slowing things down, in an effort to ensure that all assistance and relief workers were coordinated properly. For example, Michael D. Brown, the head of FEMA, on August 29, urged all fire and emergency services departments not to respond to counties and states affected by Hurricane Katrina without being requested and lawfully dispatched by state and local authorities under mutual aid agreements and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. In other instances of FEMA asserting its authority to only ultimately make things worse, FEMA officials turned away three Wal-Mart trailer trucks loaded with water, prevented the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Additionally, more than 50 civilian aircraft responding to separate requests for evacuations from hospitals and other agencies swarmed to the area a day after Katrina hit, but FEMA blocked their efforts. Aircraft operators complained that FEMA waved off a number of evacuation attempts, saying the rescuers were not authorized. Many planes and helicopters simply sat idle,† said Thomas Judge, president of the Assn. of Air Medical Services. FEMA Director Michael Brown stated that he was not aware there were refugees in the Convention Center until September 1, three days after Hurricane Katrina hit. Later, it was revealed that Michael Brown had virtually no experience in emergency management when he was appointed to the position by President Bush two years prior to Katrina. Despite this, he continued to receive praise from the President even on his first visit to the area, â€Å"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The FEMA Director is working 24 – they're working 24  hours a day. † State of Louisiana officials, and state emergency management leaders, have been widely criticized for delaying the ability of the federal government and outside agencies to provide needed relief and necessary security in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Notably, federal troops are generally prohibited from directly enforcing state laws by the Posse Comitatus Act, with some exceptions. However, the Posse Comitatus Act does not apply to National Guard troops under the command of a state governor. The Bush administration sent Governor Blanco a request to take over command of law enforcement under the Insurrection Act, but this request was rejected by Governor Blanco.

Bradley Nowell

Wesley Smith Bradley Nowell Bradley James Nowell was a musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the reggae/punk band Sublime. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin overdose. Raised in Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an interest in music at a young age. His father took him on a trip to the Virgin Islands during his childhood, which exposed him to reggae and dancehall music. Nowell played in various bands until forming the group Sublime with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh.Bradley Nowell was born and raised in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach, California to Jim and Nancy Nowell, with his sister, Kellie. As a child, he enjoyed surfing and sailing and often participated in boat races. As Nowell grew, he became a difficult child and was often hyperactive and disruptive with his buddy Clayton Arbuckle. His mother recalled that he was â€Å"very emotional, very sensitive, very artistic, but he was needy†¦ He was always testing just to see wha t he could get away with†. Nowell's rebellious behavior increased when he was ten years old caused by his parents’ divorce.His mother was awarded custody of Nowell, but found him too difficult to control on her own and he subsequently moved in with his father full-time at age twelve. At the age of thirteen, he began playing guitar and started his first band Hogan's Heroes with Eric Wilson, who would later become the bassist of Sublime. Nowell and Wilson met in sixth grade and lived across the street from each other; during this time, Nowell was described as a â€Å"gifted kid with many friends†. At first, Wilson did not share Nowell's interest in reggae music.Nowell attended the University of California, Santa Cruz before transferring to Cal State Long Beach to study finance. However, he dropped out one semester shy of earning a degree, stating in 1995 â€Å"I have all the hard classes left†¦ I doubt I'll ever go back†. According to â€Å"Westwood On e Interview† on disc three of the Sublime box set, Nowell got together with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, and began performing in small shows at house parties and barbecues in 1988. The band was often forced to leave the parties they performed at due to excessive noise, which would result in neighbors calling the police.Sublime gained a reputation for their rowdy behavior and eventually became one of the most popular bands in Southern California. Despite their success, music venues were skeptical of the band's eclectic musical fusion and many refused to book the band. In response, Nowell and Wilson created their own music label, Skunk Records, and told venues that they were â€Å"Skunk Records recording artists†, which helped the band seem more accomplished and subsequently book more shows. The band produced and distributed Sublime's early recordings on the label. The band's demo tapes were later sold at shows and local record stores.While on tour in the mi d-1990s, Nowell met Troy Dendekker, and they started dating. In September 1994, Troy became pregnant. In June 1995, Dendekker gave birth to a son, Jakob James Nowell. A week before Nowell died, the couple married in a Hawaiian-themed ceremony in Las Vegas. Seven days after Nowell's marriage to Troy Dendekker on May 18, 1996 Sublime embarked on a five-day tour through Northern California, with a European and an East Coast tour to follow. On the morning of May 25, at the Ocean View Motel in San Francisco, drummer Bud Gaugh woke up to find Nowell lying half-way across a bed, with his knees and feet on the floor.At first, Gaugh assumed he had been too intoxicated to get into bed; however, further inspection allowed him to notice a green film around his mouth, and it became apparent that he had overdosed on heroin. Gaugh called for paramedics, but Nowell had died several hours earlier, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Nowell was cremated and his ashes were spread over his favorite s urfing spot in Surfside, California. A headstone was placed at Westminster Memorial in Westminster, California in his memory.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) essays

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) essays Initiated in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) intended to prevent the academic failures of educational institutions and individual students, as well as bridge achievement gaps between students ( Trolian). This act supports the basic standards of education reform across America; desiring to improve the learning outcomes of Americas youth. No Child Left Behind has left many to criticize the outcomes of the Act itself. Questions have risen concerning the effectiveness of NCLB, as well as the implications to Americas youth. I believe that the No Child Left Behind Act should be revised to allow better accountability of student success, accountability of schools overall progress and better flexibility for teachers. One reason that NCLB should be revised is because students are held to unfair accountability standards. Students should be held accountable for the hard work they put into the entire school year and not by the high performance tests that the government administers. In efforts to boost the countrys academic achievements, the NCLB has mandated high performance testing which is required of all students(Trolian). The problem here is simple; not all students can perform at the same academic level. To add, standardized tests are the only source of understanding the academic achievements under NCLB, which are not an entirely accurate measure of a students performance. Additionally, the testing results are directly linked to awards or penalties of the school performance. Each state establishes their own standards, which must approved by the federal government if participating in NCLB. The tests are predominately multiple-choice style tests. The tests do not take in account their report car d grades or significant individual achievements made by a student. For example, if a student is three levels below their reading grade, but increases their reading by two grades over the course ...

Chemical Dependency essays

Chemical Dependency essays What exactly is chemical dependency? Fortunately, more and more people are coming to believe that chemical dependency is not a sign of moral and psychological weakness. Melenie Mender, a speaker from a drug treatment center, shares the same opinion about addiction as many drug specialists. The disease of chemical dependency can be described; it is primary, progressive, and fatal (McFarland 11). Many people begin covering their problems with drugs or alcohol. Their lives become unmanageable because of their using. Until the drinking or drug use is stopped, the underlying problem cannot be dealt with. Those with psychiatric problems have major emotional problems that become worse as their addiction increases. A progressive disease means that the disease becomes worse and more serious over time. The first change one sees is the behavior of the user. Their behavior becomes more unacceptable to those around them and the user is often very impulsive. Emotional growth is slowed a nd eventually stops. Now, more then ever, young people are showing rapid signs of deterioration. This is due to heavy drug use affecting the body of a young person not fully developed. Alcoholism, along with drug addiction is a chronic disease. Once one becomes an addict, they will always be an addict. It is a disease, it does not go away. The disease is fatal if one does not stop their using. There are three places one ends up if they do not stop using. It has been said those people find themselves in a jail, sanitarium, or in the morgue. Experts agree on some common characteristics shared by chemical dependency: The substance initially triggers pleasure or mood elevation. Also, The body develops a physical tolerance to the substance so that addicts must take even larger amounts to get the same effect(Bender, 59). When one stops taking the chemical, the body goes through painful withdraw symptoms. Finally, addiction ca...

Critical Success Factors (CSF) Analysis

Critical Success Factors (CSF) Analysis Critical Success Factors (CSF) analysis is one of the more difficult strategic management tools to understand, and is even harder to use effectively in real-world management. If properly applied, however, CSF analysis does provide a robust and very practical assessment for strategic planners and can be very effective. As with most management tools, CSF analysis is probably more effective when used together with another, complementary  tool such as SWOT or PEST analysis, because the best use of the CSF analysis is as  a tool for planning and exercising control techniques over processes, rather than as an environmental assessment tool. What Are Critical Success Factors If business and management researchers had an easy answer to that question, perhaps CSF analysis would not be such a challenge to learn to use well. In the most general sense, CSFs are the small number of activities that absolutely must be undertaken effectively for the company to have success. What those specific activities are is a source of confusion, because they are entirely dependent on the unique circumstances of the firm. That has not, however, stopped researchers from trying to develop a definitive, universal list of CSFs that can apply to any company. In a study done about five years ago (K.J. Fryer, J. Antony A. Douglas, â€Å"Critical success factors for continuous improvement in the public sector†, The TQM Magazine, vol. 19, no. 5, 2007), researchers reviewed 29 separate studies on CSFs and interviewed a number of organizations, and came up with a chart that tells us exactly nothing about which success factors are indeed â€Å"critical† (see Table 1): Table 1. CSFs and Their Importance Depending on Business Sector Success Factor Percentage of studies and businesses surveyed which defined the factor as â€Å"Critical,† by business sector: Mixed Sectors Manufacturing Service Public Sector Management commitment 100% 86% 100% 100% Training learning 67% 57% 100% 75% Supplier management 67% 43% 67% 50% Customer management 60% 57% 57% 50% Quality data measurement reporting 47% 14% 33% 50% Corporate quality culture 47% 57% 67% 50% Communication 27% 29% 0% 75% Teamwork 20% 29% 0% 50% Employee empowerment 73% 71% 67% 50% Process Management 47% 29% 33% 75% Organizational structure 47% 57% 100% 50% Product design 27% 29% 0% 25% Ongoing monitoring assessment 20% 14% 0% 50% The problem of choosing appropriate CSFs is immediately apparent; management commitment is an obvious choice, but it seems rather at odds with what we learn in management studies that a factor such as â€Å"Employee empowerment† would be fairly important to many different business sectors, while factors that should complement that – Communication and Teamwork – are not considered very important at all, and somewhat incredibly are apparently completely ignored by service-sector businesses. Wanna know more? Go here: Critical Analysis Writing SWOT Analysis Five Forces Analysis The ADL Matrix and Gap Analysis Buy a Great Paper Online But of course, this single example should be taken with a grain of salt; as they say, your results may vary, and if there is one valuable takeaway  from it, it is the suggestion of success factors that may be considered as a starting point, regardless if they are eventually found to be actually â€Å"critical† or not to a specific organization. It is also important to remember that CSFs are not fixed; they can and probably should change as the circumstances of the business change. For example, other studies have found that it is both common and relatively beneficial for firms facing financial or other crises to shift their CSFs to ones with more short-term effects and change the focus back to a more long-term perspective once the immediate difficulties are resolved. Developing Using the CSF Analysis The interesting thing about using the CSF analysis is that the process of determining what your organization’s critical success factors really are is essentially the whole point. Once the CSFs are identified, steps to see that they are managed properly can be developed using different tools or good old experience and imagination; in many instances, simply identifying what may be a critical success factor and carefully examining why it is indeed â€Å"critical† to the firm suggests the way in which it should be handled. While there are some data management and other analytical tools that can help in selecting CSFs – for example, DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) software applications – the majority of the process is good old-fashioned intuition and discussion. But there are a number of conventions that should be followed to give the selection and analysis process the best chance of success. First, CSFs should be assessed in a â€Å"top-down† fashion; the analysis is not one that is ideally-suited for ‘horizontal’ or ‘collaborative’ organizational structures. Success factors should be judged according to the relevance to the business as a whole, then individual business units or departments, then down to the individual level; if at some level the success factor is not â€Å"critical†, then it needs to be reassessed. The reason for this is that the number of CSFs should be kept to an absolute minimum. This prevents conflicts in objectives and processes and helps to prevent a dilution of effort among too many factors. Second, to avoid overlooking any factors that should be considered â€Å"critical†, potential CSFs should be assessed according to the â€Å"five sources of organizational success†, a methodology developed in the early 1980’s by MIT researcher John Rockart. Industry CSFs are conditions and operational circumstances that are common to firms within the same sector. Peer CSFs are critical success factors for one’s competitors; this obviously requires an accurate and detailed competitive analysis to be done as a prerequisite to the CSF analysis. Environmental CSFs are related to the firm’s political, economic, and market environment, and can be identified by  a method such as a PEST analysis. Temporal CSFs are success factors that are only important at particular times – such as in crisis situations as described earlier – and are most likely to change. And finally, Managerial CSFs are success factors relevant to the management of the fir m at different levels; identifying these may seem to run counter to the â€Å"top-down† process, but in reality actually helps to focus it by revealing internal conflicts in objectives.

Obama Healthcare plan vs. Clinton Healthcare plan Essay

Obama Healthcare plan vs. Clinton Healthcare plan - Essay Example Since Hillary has no mechanism for enforcing the individual mandate she proposes, Obama regards the mandate as a bluff. John Edwards, whose plan includes mechanism for enforcing the individual mandate that he has proposed, supported Obama’s criticism of Hillary and Hillary’s criticism of Obama. In the Edward’s proposal, proof of insurance will be required when income taxes are paid and when health care is provided. Thus, Americans will be compelled to buy health insurance. The Edward’s plans make provision for families without insurance and those that lose coverage. The former will be enrolled in plans such as Medicare and Medicaid while the later will be enrolled in other plans. The issue is not enrolling people in private health care plan but getting people to participate in the plan. Thus, the Obama plan makes perfect sense given that it resist individual mandate, which may be unattractive to a large number of people and may not easily be enforced. The President’s Medicare Plan: A Trojan Horse to Ration Health Care? Medicare, with $30.8 trillion in long term unfunded obligations, could cease to exist if the runaway cost is not reined in. The problem is how Medicare cost should be controlled. Two options are available: changing the structure and culture of Medicare through empowering patients to make health care decisions that lead to best results, in addition to forcing plans and providers to compete for the money; and top-down bureaucratic control of the cost of health care services. Of course, these options will reduce the cost but will simultaneously reduce the quality of health care. The first option, which was taken by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, has been described to give Medicare patients control over cost of services and freedom to choose how they access these services. The result according to Heritage’s Robert Moffit and James Capretta is value in return for the dollars. President Obama opted for th e second option: tightening the top-down bureaucracy and reducing Medicare payment to doctors and hospitals, in addition to reducing providers’ reimbursement rates. This option leads to reduced senior access to doctors. Under the second option, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) will be strengthened to rein in cost of Medicare while improving the quality of care. The White House planned to equip IPAB to promote prevention without shifting cost to seniors. Though reducing doctors’ salaries will reduce Medicare cost as envisioned by the second option, according to British Physician Anthony Daniels strengthening IPAB to focus on prevention will be unsuccessful at addressing the fiscal problem The fact that Congress continues to delay in reducing doctors salaries suggests that the second option is not politically attractive. Pursuing health care reforms that put bureaucrats in charges will reduce patient access to care. The second option should be repealed to av oid such outcome. Will Obama’s health care plan mirror the 1994 Clinton failure? Former President Bill Clinton key policy plan in 1994 was a

Ethics assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics assignment - Essay Example have said that this serial has disregarded all forms of ethical values. According to virtue theories, virtuous character traits are developed in one's youth. Adults are responsible for instilling virtues in the young. (Ethics, excerpts from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). What are the serial teaching children It has portrayed a historical leader as a dubious, violent, rude and repulsive character! The character Mohandas thrives on slang! Even cursing has been uplifted by making use of a historical language like Sanskrit. (That is sheer blasphemy!) This view has been strongly supported by the PTA and PTC who specifically condemn the extreme violence. They further argue using Kant's categorical imperative1 which says "Treat people as an end and never as a means to an end" (qtd.in. Ethics, excerpts from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) saying that people's anger and the whole controversy is being used to make the serial popular. Is such a success morally right Duty theories consist of many duties, among which are duties towards others. German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf divided these duties2 into three; among which was-"avoid wronging others". The Indians are being wronged here by insulting their "Father of the Nation". The very fact that the character was named Mohandas Satyagraha in the original memo and made to act violently and regressively shows the deliberate attempt to make Gandhi a laughing stock! "Satyagraha" means the eternal follower of truth, whereas this character does no such thing! Why does the West repeatedly try to undermine the image of Gandhi, whether it is the MTV "Clone High" (Clone High, Wikipedia Encyclopedia) or "The Great Gandhi" Normative ethics says that we should do to others what we would want others to do to us.(Ethics, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Would the West accept one of their leaders made fun of in this way and to this extent Gandhi stood for peace and non-violence. While the whole world admired this quality this serial is denouncing and making a mockery of that principle! India respects him even today and looks up to him. This act will not go unnoticed. People will definitely protest this. Citing the theory of Act-Utilitarianism3 the consequences of this action should have been considered. (Ethics, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). This great leader's memory has been damaged. Who will pay for it The recent list of duties given by British philosopher W.D.Ross, under Duty Theory includes Reparation or the duty to compensate others when we harm them. (Ethics, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Who is going to compensate this moral damage caused This is merely an act of Ethical Egoism4. Only the profit of the production has been considered, completely ignoring people's sentiments. Gandhi is called the "Mahatma" in India. "Mahatma" means, 'the great soul'. People also called him "Bapu" or 'Father'. He was like God to Indians. Is this the way to treat such a revered figure Gandhi's character has been degraded and slurred. The same Gandhi who had introduced the term "Harijans" or 'people of God' to describe the lower caste people and abolish the caste system in India. It is as if, a deliberate attempt of racism. 'The great Gandhi' is like a blemish on the spirit of India! Counterviews 'The New Adventures of the Great Gandhi' is a comedy which revolves around the character Mohandas, based on the real Mohandas

What is meant by the phrase classical contract law To what extent are Essay

What is meant by the phrase classical contract law To what extent are such ideas still relevant in contemporary contractual relations - Essay Example This ranges from the independence of contracts to the bargaining powers through to the formal elements of contracts. We do this examination by looking at various debates and dominant ideas and conceptions as they play out in academia and in practice. The inherent advantage of using the classical model to analyse contracts is one that cannot be overlooked. This is because it makes it easier and more convenient to define the parties of contracts and their expectations. This promotes justice. However, the whole idea has been challenged through the dynamism of the post-world war society. This has led to some important modifications and this is what the paper seeks to examine in-depth through the proposed objectives. The balance between the traditionalist and modern positions on the subject are brought to bear in this paper. Holmes states that law uses deductive systems through which logic can be induced and applied to examine things in a fair manner1. In other words the science of law in itself requires the establishment of frameworks and parameters within which issues and matters can be evaluated justly and deductions made. This is the essence of law. This idea is described as the axiomatic of law by Eisenberg. The classical school of thought used the principle logic and deduction to draw frameworks for different branches of law2. This way, they played a crucial role in setting up a system of justice which ensured that cases were separated into the most appropriate classes and dealt with according to the right principles and the application of correct jurisprudence. Classical contract law developed between the mid-19th Century through to the first part of the 20th Century3. It laid down a framework which defined an airtight genre known as contract law which was strictly adhered to in that era during cases involving contract. Classical Contract Law contained three main elements:

The Perceived Social Impacts of the 2006 Football World Cup Research Paper

The Perceived Social Impacts of the 2006 Football World Cup - Research Paper Example From a general point of view, the authors discussed all the positive and negative impacts that previous authors have associated with sporting events. The article then narrows down to the specific case of the 2006 football world cup. A close analysis at the world cup event reveals the presence of both positive and negative social impacts. These reviews will highlight the key findings from the research conducted by the authors. The article offers an extensive literature review on the perceived social impacts of sports events. This lays a good background for the research conducted by the authors. From the literature review, it emerges that sports events register some critical positive impacts such as a sense of pride, entertainment opportunities, shared experiences, promotional of regional identity, the introduction of new ideas, expansion of cultural perspectives, validation of community pride, as well as increased community participation. On the other hand, sports events present some undesirable negative social impacts such as theft, noise, bad fan behavior, traffic congestion, social dislocation, community alienation, and prostitution. In order to investigate the social impacts registered by 2006 football world cup, the authors adopted the approach of measuring host community perceptions. This method has the potential of identifying different perceptions held by different individuals in the host community . As highlighted by the authors, the subjectivity of this approach is its main disadvantage. The authors relied on face-to-face structured interviews with selected Munich residents. They made use of questionnaires, which were filled in by the interviewers. Random sampling was used to identify the participants from different suburbs of Munich. The authors identified 180 responses, but only 130 interviews occurred. Notably, the researchers ensured that the participants were from different age groups.

The Second Amendment in 1776 and Now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Second Amendment in 1776 and Now - Essay Example English common law has recognized the significance of proper arms control for a long time. The founding fathers believed that citizens have a right to own arms when working in the militia. Such right ensures the presence of maximum protection and security since people can defend themselves whenever need arises (Cornell 10). The Supreme Court of the US has upheld the amendment in its three decisions in the years 1876, 1886 as well as in 1939. Therefore, the founding fathers advocated for collective rights interpretation whereby people were allowed to own arms only when in a group such as the militia but not individuals. The founding fathers had in mind the dangers of permitting individual citizens to purchase and own guns in the society. According to them, such permission would promote weapon related violence, and thereby make the society an unsafe place to live in. This collective right interpretation had prevailed in America for over a century, and therefore, it had been recognized and used in three Supreme Court rulings (Cornell 15). However, this meaning remained no-contentious until in 1960 when an additional individual right to bear arms for self-defense was recognized. Therefore, the assertion of the individual right has made Americans to currently consider that the Second Amendment warrants their right to own a gun (Charles 27). The individual rights model has either undercut or blocked passage of laws that regulate purchase and use of guns over the last twenty years. For instance, the assault weapons prohibition of 1994 was permitted to expire after ten years due to intense pressure from gun rights activists and organizations (Doherty 31). Even though the gun’s lobby persistence that the long common laws and traditions have existed supporting an individual’s right to own and use weapons, the English law has regulated guns from the 14th century (Gonzales 45). This is because of the existence of Game Laws that restricted ownership of weapons only to the wealthy people who had substantial income and owned huge lands (Baron 3). Therefore, the middle class as well as peasants were not permitted to own or use weapons such as guns. Currently, gun lobbyists argue that the English Bill of Rights presented to the monarchs by the House of Commons in 1689 guaranteed everyone to own and use weapons (Anderson and Horwitz 35). However, the law restricted the ownership to Protestants who were of the right social class. Further, the Bill of Rights acknowledged the need for the law to regulate weapons. In this regard, the Bill of Rights does not recognize ownership and use of weapons among the middle class as well as the common citizens (Labunski 53). The privilege to possess and use weapons—more so, guns—was left to the wealthy people in the society. In Britain, the law on gun control has been maintained while in the US, there has been growing resistance to regulation of possession and use of guns. The most recent case occurred in March 2007, when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recognized the individual rights model (Smith 36). It decided that the ban on handguns since 1976 in Washington D.C. has been in violation of the Second Amendment that guarantees the right of an individual to own and use guns. According to the

The Perceived Social Impacts of the 2006 Football World Cup Research Paper

The Perceived Social Impacts of the 2006 Football World Cup - Research Paper Example From a general point of view, the authors discussed all the positive and negative impacts that previous authors have associated with sporting events. The article then narrows down to the specific case of the 2006 football world cup. A close analysis at the world cup event reveals the presence of both positive and negative social impacts. These reviews will highlight the key findings from the research conducted by the authors. The article offers an extensive literature review on the perceived social impacts of sports events. This lays a good background for the research conducted by the authors. From the literature review, it emerges that sports events register some critical positive impacts such as a sense of pride, entertainment opportunities, shared experiences, promotional of regional identity, the introduction of new ideas, expansion of cultural perspectives, validation of community pride, as well as increased community participation. On the other hand, sports events present some undesirable negative social impacts such as theft, noise, bad fan behavior, traffic congestion, social dislocation, community alienation, and prostitution. In order to investigate the social impacts registered by 2006 football world cup, the authors adopted the approach of measuring host community perceptions. This method has the potential of identifying different perceptions held by different individuals in the host community . As highlighted by the authors, the subjectivity of this approach is its main disadvantage. The authors relied on face-to-face structured interviews with selected Munich residents. They made use of questionnaires, which were filled in by the interviewers. Random sampling was used to identify the participants from different suburbs of Munich. The authors identified 180 responses, but only 130 interviews occurred. Notably, the researchers ensured that the participants were from different age groups.

Crisis Management Speech Manuscript Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crisis Management Speech Manuscript - Assignment Example Good and useful lessons were drawn from this incident in the Sacks store. I hope such incidents will even bring some benefits to the company as they will improve the service at the store. Ms. Ryder has already admitted that it was a serious and important experience in her life which eventually brought her to the new level of her development.1 Therefore, I am going to provide you with all the information you need to know regarding this incident. Ms. Ryder came to Saks store on 12th December where she was a regular customer in order to purchase some clothes. However, her shopping went the wrong way and soon she was grabbing more and more clothes piling them in her arms, as it is seen on the video from cameras2. Allegedly Ms. Ryder went to the changing rooms where she was cutting of the tags with prices with the help of scissors. However, this information was only available from the words of the guards since there are no cameras in changing rooms. Ms. Ryder on her part denied this accusation, and it is hardly possible to determine what happened exactly in this couple of minutes in the cubicles. Later M. Ryder did paid for the part of her clothes while she was stopped with the rest of her unpaid things by the guard. She looked confused and asked whether her assistant had paid for these items.3 Totally there were 20 things that were not paid by Ms. Ryder and that could be considered stolen. The total price exceeded $1, 595. It is necessary to mention that Ms. Ryder did not resist accusations of the guard. She was cooperative and apologetic with the guards of Saks. Thus, I suppose making some concrete conclusions regarding the motivation of her actions is wrong because the case is complicated. There have been many questions of â€Å"Why did she do it?† and â€Å"How is it possible to trust her after this?† which can be answered. Ms. Ryder apologized for her behavior and

Trading in Hong Kong Essay Example for Free

Trading in Hong Kong Essay Great business dealings take into consideration the intricacies of the culture into which the business is to be established. Customers need to be studied – their needs, their wants and other demands. Studying the local culture would also help in dealing with local business people. What a business person must first note in studying Hong Kong and Vietnam culture is that both countries have collectivist orientations and interests. They exhibit close family and community ties. Loyalty is a very important value and each member takes responsibility for others in the group. (Taylor, para. 7) People in Hong Kong value â€Å"collective ideals of modesty, moderation, and the value of protecting established, harmonious relationships. The collective culture would reinforce peoples motivation to do a good job, because there is an element of face involved. If one is doing a good job in running a company, he or she not only reaps profits but also gain face †(International Business Ethics, Attitude toward a Corporation section). The concept of â€Å"face† in Hong Kong is roughly equivalent to reputation and integrity. Most Hong Kong companies are owned by families (International Business Ethics, Religions and Traditions section, para. 4). For the Vietnamese, the family is of utmost importance. The groups interests comes first before the individuals. All customs and rituals like weddings and funerals are attached to the village community. Marriages had to meet the interests of family lines and wedding proposals are made to the brides family. (Customs, para. 5) Hong Kong culture is â€Å"somewhere in-between Chinese and American culture† (International Business Ethics, para. 1). In fact, both Chinese and English are considered its official languages. Although Hong Kong is predominantly Chinese, its culture blends the East and the West, as well as the old and the new. â€Å"People here still cling to their roots, to their traditional beliefs and religions. They continue to pray and make offerings at more than 600 old and new temples, shrines and monasteries scattered across the territory.†Ã‚   (Hong Kong Culture, para. 2) Hong Kong is famous for their lion dances, a colorful display of   a dancing large lion usually during festive occasions and are meant to bring in good luck. The Hong Kong Chinese also celebrate the Ching Ming Festival, devoted to honoring their relatives who have died. Ancestors are held in high regard by the Chinese and they are always prayed to for guidance. Another festival that exhibits the Chineses close familial ties is the Moon Festival. It is believed that on that day, the moon is on its biggest, roundest and brightest. The term â€Å"round† implies family reunion in Chinese. There are various religions in Hong Kong, including Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism. There are 39,400 Catholics, 300,000 Protestant Christians, 20,000 Muslims and 15,000 Hindus in Hong Kong. All of these religions are deeply involved in education, health care and social services. Homes of Buddhist and Taoist believers have ancestral shrines, â€Å"with images of the most favored of the hundreds of divinities (International Business Ethics, Religions and Traditions section, para. 2).† Generally, Hong Kong has a welcoming attitude to business people from around the world (Hong Kong a Model, para. 6). It could be expected that American-owned businesses would have no problem dealing with the Hong Kong Chinese. In fact, the city already hosts more than 1,100 American firms (U.S.-Hong Kong, para. 4). Despite this, American business people should still take note of the following cultural values and behaviors in order to avoid any misunderstandings with the Hong Kong Chinese: Colors are very significant. Red is considered a lucky color, while white is synonymous with death. It is wise to think about the color of your products. A common way of showing surprise or dismay is by sucking in air quickly and loudly through the lips and teeth. If your customer shows this gesture, it means he is displeased. Gift giving is a sign of thanksgiving. Present gifts using two hands and dont expect that it will be opened in front of you. Religion has a very significant influence on the culture and way of life of the Vietnamese. Their attitude towards family, life and death are greatly influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism (Religion, para. 1). The predominant religion in Vietnam is Buddhism, with about 10 million followers. The second largest is Catholicism, with about six million followers, but their influence on the   culture is minimal. Just as well, the influence of the two religious sects, Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, are also insignificant. Caodaism is a combination of different teachings of Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, Lao-Tse and others. Hoa Hao, meanwhile, is a reformed Theravada Buddhism. (Religion, Other religions section) There are also Protestants and Muslims in Vietnam but the numbers are not large. As with the Hong Kong Chinese, Vietnam had also opened their trade with the United States. Likewise, it could be expected that doing business in Vietnam would not be too difficult for Americans, just as long as they keep in mind some of the intricacies of this culture. Among these: The concept of face is very important to the Vietnamese. Take caution not to unintentionally cause the loss of face of your customer. Be aware of your words and actions.Complimenting them is a way to give face, while, accusing them of poor performance or reprimanding them in public causes the loss of face. Pass items with both hands. It shows respect. Do not pass anything over anyones head. Do not point using your finger. Point using your hand. Bibliography: Cunningham, J. (2005). U.S.-Hong Kong Economic Relations. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive/2005/Sep/30-249516.html Customs and practices. (n.d.) Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/learn_about_vietnam/culture/customs/ Hong Kong a Model for China, U.S. Consul General Says. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive/2005/Sep/30-249516.html Hong Kong Culture. (n.d.) Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://hong-kong.tourism-asia.net/hong-kong-culture.html Huynh, D. T. (n.d.). Religion of the Vietnamese. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Den/5908/religion/religioninvn.html   International Business Ethics: Hong Kong: Culture, Religion, and Tradition. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.pitt.edu/~ethics/Hong_Kong/culture.html Taylor, S. (n.d.). Geert Hofstede Analysis: Hong Kong. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://international-business-etiquette.com/besite/hong_kong.htm

Influence of Climate Variability on Marine Ecosystems

Influence of Climate Variability on Marine Ecosystems Large variability in populations of small pelagic fish species have been observed in global oceans (Watanabe 2009). The flexibility in reproductive features of the spawning stock combined with environmental induced fluctuation in survival rate of offspring and overexploitation, can be the major reasons for such large variability in stocks of these species (Ganias 2009) and relation between large scale climate alteration and these fluctuation known as an important scientific and economic concern (Klyashtorin 2001). Hence over the last decades, since about 1980, recognizing the process by which variability in recruitment of small pelagic fish occur, became a main subject for international co-operation and researches (Alheit and Bakun 2009). However providing a reliable correlation between global climate conditions and long-term stock variability has been forgotten till that time (Klyashtorin 2001) and lack of scientific knowledge from the process which govern recruitment was widely ide ntified in the 1980s (and still is) as the important scientific problem which hindering successful management of populations of small pelagic fish (Alheit and Bakun 2009). Main focuses of these co-operation in 1990s has been concentrated on the influence of climate variability on marine ecosystems, mainly on small pelagic species. To improve the understanding from such relations several efforts have been done to correlate regular anchovy and sardine stocks alteration with the global and regional climate indices (Klyashtorin 2001). Synchronous outbursts alteration in populations of these two species, i.e. sardine and anchovy in North and South Hemispheres might shown the signature of same global climatic events in governing of the fish populations and such alteration became the subject of several studies in this case (Lluch-Belda et al. 1989; Lluch-Belda et al. 1992; Kawasaki 1992a, 1992b; Schwartzlose et al. 1999). In study which conducted by Kawasaki (1992a), has been shown that catches of Japanese sardine are related to climate alterations, explained as air and water surface temperature in hemispheric scale. In another study by Kawasaki (1994) concept of cyclic climate alteration has been applied to explain regular alteration in the Japanese sardine catches over previous 350 years. The same dependence to climate change has been suggested also for Californian sardine (Lluch-Belda et al. 1992). Beverton (1990) and Schwartzlose et al. (1999) in case of industrial fishery collapses of the sardine (Sardinops caerulea) fishery in the California current were thought environmental induced effects may play an important role. In another studies which conducted by Bakun (1990, 1996), correlation between the long-term variability of catch of abundant small pelagic fishes and the upwelling index has been investigated. In these studies author showed that the world climate changes come with significant alte ration in the atmospheric movement, direction and acceleration of largest oceanic streams, and upwelling strength. Therefore, regarding to this background, several detailed investigations have been conducted by FAO during the years 1994 to 2001 to investigate the condition and aspect of the world fisheries and tried to make a simulations from applying of new methods to have predictions from dynamics of fish stock. Hence in latest one, which has been conducted by Klyashtorin (2001), long term variability in catches of commercially valuable species and climate alteration has been investigated. The author showd a close correlation between the climate alteration and long-term variability of the main commercial stocks, including the small pelagic species over Atlantic and Pacific oceans. With regard to important of such topics several studies continue to investigate the climate induce effects on commercially important small pelagic species in recent years (e.g. Grà ¶ger et al. 2009; Watanabe 2009; Alheit et al. 2012; Alheit et al. 2014). Rising in the abundance of European anchovy in the North Sea in the late 1980s was connected to the signal and strength of the AMO (Alheit et al. 2012). Also, in another study by Alheit et al. (2014) the dynamics and migrations of small pelagic fish stocks in the eastern North and Central Atlantic in relation to AMO have been investigated. The authors believed that a complex ocean–atmosphere alteration which occurred in the mid-1990s lead to a â€Å"regime shift† in the ecosystems of these area and the small pelagic clupeoid fish stocks have affected by this shift. The autumn-spawning herring (Clupea harengus) stock in the North Sea can be another example of the commercially valuable North Sea herring. More recent evidence from a directional alteration occurrence in recruitment of this species has been reported by Payne et al. (2009) during the 2000s. In this study authors believed that recruitment is affected not only by parental-stock biomass, but it seems that the environmental induced alteration, also, may influence the recruitment of this species in North Sea and changes in such factors could be of equal, or even more important. Hence to understand better the reproductive failures of North Sea herring, Grà ¶ger et al. (2009) also studied large-scale climate proxies in the North Atlantic Ocean, (i.e. NAO and AMO), and their potential influences on stock regeneration of this species. Commercially important pelagic species, European anchovy, which support the main fisheries in the Black sea (Chashchin 1996; Daskalov 2003) also has shown significant variability during the last five decades (Gà ¼raslan et al. 2014). According by Niermann (2004) and Oguz (2005) several process including regional climate fluctuation, overexploitation, rising the input of anthropogenic induce nutrient from rivers, and, the ctenophore (comb jelly) M. leidyi and regime shift can be responsible for such variability. Evidence has shown that not only human related activities but also environmental fluctuation can play important role in controlling anchovy production in the Black sea and such hypothesis was investigated several studies (e.g. Niermann et al. 1999; Daskalov 2003; Oguz 2005; Oguz et al. 2006). These studies have been shown strong correlation between local climatic variations such as those derived by the NAO and fluctuations of anchovy population in this Sea. Many anthropogenic induced pressure including pollution (e.g. domestic and industrial run-off, the development of vast oil and gas fields) and uncontrolled fish exploitation, also, altered significantly the Caspian sea environment during the last 3 decades. These alteration that has resulted in poor management can be caused in increasing â€Å"environmental degradation† and damaged in coastlines and trophic base of the Caspian sea (Mamedov 2006). Fisheries sector play an important role in the Caspian sea. Total annually catches for the commercially valuable fish in this sea, for instance beluga, sturgeon, and Caspian roach were around 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes, in the past decades. Such state in fisheries production was not changed till the early 1950s, then, thereafter small pelagic species fisheries has significantly increased in central and southern part of the Caspian sea to atone the decrease in catches of the aforementioned more important fish species. Total catch of kilka species has mainly maintained in level of 300,000 and 400,000 tonnes during the period between 1960 to 1980 (Barannik et al. 2004). During the past three decades kilka species and some other commercial fisheries in the Caspian Sea were suffered from significant decreases. Such decreases has been observed in total catch of the major commercial species of kilka in the Caspian, anchovy kilka, which suffered significantly from alteration (decrease trend). The catch of kilka by Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran dropped from 182,700 t in 2000 to 74,700 t in 2001 and maintained really low after this time (Mamedov 2006). Over the period 2000 to 2011 a continuous decline of catches has been observed, the stock dramatically collapsed in 2001 and reached to its historical minimum in 2011. Dramatic collapse in mainly fisheries resource of the Caspian sea and also failure of biodiversity and ecosystem persistence in this sea became a widespread concern in the regional and internationally scales. With regard to the important role of the kilka fisheries as main source of income and protein for Iranian people in coastal area of the Caspian sea, such dramatic collapses might have unfavorable influences on economy and local protein intake (Fazli 2007). Accordingly Bagheri et al. (2004) reported economic losses around US$15 million, from decrease of anchovy kilka catches off Iranian over period of 1998 to 2001. Hence, as elsewhere, sustainable management of small pelagic fish can be vital for the fisheries and the ecosystem health of the Caspian sea. Several studies has been conducted in case of kilka species in the Caspian Sea which according by Mamedov (2006) this studies started in 1940s. The study of kilka species has been followed by others for instance Prikhod’ko (1975), Paritskiy (1989), Mamedov (2006) and Fazli (2007). Many studies has conducted in Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea. the most of these previous studies were subjected to biological characteristics, ecologic features, distribution and stock assessment of the kilka (e.g. Pourgholam et al. 1996; Fazli and Besharat 1998; Fazli 2007; Karimzadeh 2011; Aliasghari and Parafkandeh Haghighi 2013). However in previous studies several mechanisms have been proposed as reasons of aforementioned fluctuation of the kilka species in the Caspian Sea during the last decade (Mamedov 2006; Daskalov and Mamedov 2007; Fazli 2007; Kideys et al. 2008; Roohi et al. 2010; Fazli 2011). Accordingly the recent study on anchovy kilka by Daskalov and Mamedov (2007) reported several candidate mechanisms which may be responsible for such a decline of the kilka species. In this study authors believed that the major stress factor for the Caspian sea pelagic ecosystem in the past decades was the invasion of the ctenophore (comb jelly) M. leidyi. This invasion and spread of the ctenophore M. leidyi in the Caspian Sea has been introduced as the most possible primary cause of recruitment failure and the stock collapse of this specie, although other factors, including overfishing, climate change and seismic activity suggested as factors may negatively influenced dynamics of this species. Although in previous studies the effect of the climate and environmental variability on kilka species has been mentioned as one of the hypothesis that may be responsible for the fluctuation of the kilka species the detailed information about the role of climate and environmental variability on fluctuations of these commercially important species during the last decades was (still is) not clear. To our knowledge, however, only few long-term studies are currently available in relation to climate and environmental variability in the Caspian Sea (e.g. Nezlin 2005; Lougheed 2006; Moradi 2013; Fendereski et al. 2014) that mainly focused on the dynamics of Chl-a concentration, and also physical and chemical characteristics of the Caspian Sea. Despite the widely used hypothesis of the role of climate changes in fluctuations of small pelagic species there is still no detailed investigation on kilka species in the Caspian Sea during recent years. Hence, in this study the following objectives a nd hypothesis has been defined to illustrate the role of climate driven effects on the fluctuation of these kilka species.

Vietnam and its Effects :: essays research papers

When many people think about the 1960s, Vietnam and President John F. Kennedy (JFK) come to mind, and for a good reason for that period in history changed millions of lives. Faced with the possible spread of communism through Asia, JFK stayed with his word to fight communism, thus the Vietnam conflict as we know today was started. In the early 1900s, France conquered Vietnam and made it a protectorate, which is a relationship of protection and partial control assumed by a superior power over a dependent country or region For about forty years Vietnam had not experienced settled peace, as a result, The League for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh) was formed in 1941, which sought independence from the French. On September 2,1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam independent from France. The French government wanted to reestablish their rule in Vietnam but were beaten at the battle of Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954. The French Expeditionary Force wanted to prevent the Viet Minh from entering Laos, they made their attack at Dien Bien Phu. Poor planning on the French's part led to their airway support at Hanoi to be cut-off by the Viet Minh. After fifty-five grueling days of battle, the French surrendered. Ho Chi Minh led the war against France and was victorious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the war, at the Geneva Conference of 1954, Vietnam was divided into two parts along the seventeenth parallel. North Vietnam was mostly Communist and supported Ho Chi Minh, while South Vietnam was anti-communist and supported by the United States and France. There were still some Communist rebels remaining within South Vietnam, they were known as the Viet Cong. The ruler at the time of South Vietnam was Ngo Dinh Diem who was anti-Communist. Also at the Geneva Conference of 1954, Laos and Cambodia became independent states. North Vietnam disliked the division of Vietnam, and wished to unify North and South Vietnam. Since the United States feared the spread of communism in Asia, John F. Kennedy provided military support and economic relief to South Vietnam to prevent a takeover by North Vietnam. At this point in time, Vietnam is in the midst of a civil war, so the United States was not officially involved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The North Vietnamese opposed the support that the United States was providing to the South Vietnamese, so in retaliation three torpedo boats targeted and fired upon the United States destroyer Maddox on August 2, 1964.

Butler Lumber Company Analysis Essay

Based on the information and corresponding financial statements provided, we concluded that: Bulter Lumber Company has to collect money from outside resources to compensate its funding gap of 383,000 USD. From the perspective of banker, we won’t approve Mr.Butler ‘s loan request From the perspective of firm’s financial advisor, it is better to finance from new shareholders than to borrow from bank. II. Analysis i. Funding gap There are three main reasons why Butler Lumber Company has to finance itself through outside resources. Firstly, It was mentioned in the document that Butler is offered a trade discount by suppliers, which is 2/10 with 30 days span of due. However, Mr. Bulter had never been able to use such a discount because of the shortage of funds. Purchase of Stark’s shares and expansion of current business both contribute to the lack of cash. The inability to take advantage of trade discount directly lead to the increase in COGS and further lower down the company’s profitability despite the fact that sales is increasing (statistics shown in table 10). therefore, it would be a wise choice for Mr. Butler to fully utilize the discount to ease his pressure on liquidity and further lower costs to increase profitability. Secondly, the situation of operating efficiency in Butler Lumber Company is worrisome. As showed in table 6, past three years have seen a rise up in days of accounts receivable, from 36.7 to 40.2 days, indicating that for every one receivable dollar , the company needs 40.2 days to collect from customers. Consequentially, the same increase applies to days of accounts payable which is rising sharply from 37 to 47.9 days. It means that for every payable dollar, the company needs 47.9 days to pay back. This combine contributes to the inefficiency of operating turnover which is of vital importance for a trade company. Therefore, in order to avoid illiquidity resulted from suddenly change of macroeconomic and support company’s continuous growth, Mr. Butler has to increase cash to buffer itself. Thirdly, We also noticed that notes payable should reach a higher level (382,000 USD) if the assumed sales volume (3,600,000 USD)of 1991 is to be achieved. We use statistics of 1990 as basis and calculate the proportion of some accounts to net sales. then we apply these proportion to forecast the income statement and balance sheet for 1991(the calculation process is shown in Table 3 ).since the amount of notes payable in 1990 should be paid back by the end of 1991, so the ending number of note payable in 1991 should be the amount of newly borrowed money from bank .In other words, to realize the sales goal, another 382,000 USD should be financed. Therefore, we disagreed with previously estimated amount of 465,000 USD by Butler and Dodge and we recommend a lower amount of 382,000 USD is enough to sustain the daily operations of the company for the whole year. ii. Prospective from banker Based on the grades of credit, capacity and collateral, we perceive the risks for lending money overwhelm the benefits and decide to veto Butler’s application for the loan. We evaluate Butler Lumber Company’s application for loan through grading the credit, capacity and collateral with three levels: poor, normal, and great. (1) Credit For small businesses, the character of the entrepreneur is very essential. Our customary investigation found out Butler is an energetic man totally dedicated to his business. Barker Company, one of Butler’s large suppliers, reckoned he possesses sound judgment and a willingness to devote into his work and keeps close eye on his own credit. Moreover, there is no evidence evincing Butler involving any delinquent event. Generally, we believe Butler is a reliable business man. However, the financial data of Butler Lumber Company is not that palatable. The company is mired by the debt (table 9). As of 1990, the current liability is 535,000, equivalent to 19.86% of net sale. In fact, leverage ratio is worsening during last three years. The ratio of debt and equity surges from 1.2 in 1988 to 1.68 in 1990. What’s more, the operation efficiency (table 6)still has room to elevate. Average account receivable days are too long. Account payable keeps ascending. To sum up, we give Bu tler a grade of â€Å"Normal†. (2) Capacity With regard to the capacity for repay the loan, we mainly consider the company’s profitability 〠coverage ratios and liquidity ratios In this aspect, the company’s performance is somewhat disappointing (table 10). The net sale reached 2,694,000 dollar in 1990 with a strategy mixed price competition and control of operating expenses and costs. Yet net profit margin experienced a downward trend during last three year. In addition, the liquidity is worsening (table 8). Both the ratio of EBIT/Interest expense and the current ratio slumped from 3.85 to 2.61 and from 1.8 to 1.45 respectively during last three years. Hence, our conclusion is Butler’s company is quite risky deserved a grade of â€Å"Poor†. (3) Collateral Until the end of 1990, the net property of the company is worth approximately 157,000 dollars. Butler held jointly with his wife equity in their house, which had cost 72,000 dollar in 1979, yet was mortgaged for 38000 dollar. These entire assets together amounts 190,000 dollars. If we lend 465,000 dollar to Butler and collect all his asset as collateral, the ratio of loan to value(LTV) is 40.86%, which is unacceptable. Thus, when it comes to collateral, we have to render a â€Å"Poor† to Butler. iii. Prospective from financial advisor As Mr. Butler’s financial advisors, instead of encouraging Mr. Butler to go ahead with debt financing, we recommend that it is more favorable to financing through new shareholders for the following reasons. Firstly, as the analysis showed above, we understand it is not that easy for the company to borrow money from banks. Even we successfully reach the agreement with bankers, we may subject to very severe debenture, which may form obstacles for company’s further development. Secondly, indictors of operating return, such as ROE and ROIC, both show a steady increase during the past three years. ROE increased from 11.48% to 12.64%, a 10% gain. ROIC jumped from 12.90% to 19.01%, an increase of 47.4%. These two ratios indicate that the company has earned on its past investments and it is able to find investment opportunities that are very profitable. These ratios may be attractive to introduce new shareholders. Hence, we suggested that it is better for the company to finance by equity than by debt. Moreover, the joint of new shareholders in the management team can help to improve the management and operation of the company, especially in the aspect of inventory and credit policy. III. Appendix Table 1 – Income Statement Table 2 – Common Size Income Statement Table 3 – Balance Sheet Table 4 – Common Size Balance Sheet Table 5 – Free Cash Flow to Firm Table 6 – Operating Efficiency Table 7 – Operating Returns Table 8 – Liquidity Ratio Table 9 – Leverage Ratio Table 10 – Profitability Ratio

Marketing Plan Essay

I. Background Analysis For 26 years, the Cabalen chain of restaurants has been the standard for excellent Filipino cuisine. Combining the freshest ingredients and the most stringent quality control, Cabalen has kept its patrons coming back for more through the consistency in Taste and Quality of its dishes served in the buffet. Balikbayans and regular patrons say that dining at a Cabalen Restaurant will make you feel the aunthentic traditional home-cooked food the Kapampangan way that you have not experienced for a long time in a very reasonable priced buffet. This is why Cabalen is every family’s all-time and leading buffet favorite for 25 years now. II. Introduction Cabalen Restaurant is a casual and amiable restaurant of molave wood tables and chairs and folk songs playing in the background, Cabalen serves up traditional Filipino entrees heavy on influences from the Campanga region of Central Luzon. Cabalen, which literally translates to a fellow Capampangan, is a group of casual – fine dining restaurants known for authentic Capampangan dishes and different Filipino specialties, originating from Pampanga. This province is known to food connoisseurs as the seat of sumptuous food and delicacies while the Capampangans are widely known as people with good taste and innate cooking talent. These factors contributed to the eventual birth of Cabalen, the Capampangan specialty restaurants. Philippine Cuisine has evolved over several centuries, influenced by East Asian Indian, Malay, Chinese, Spanish and American cooking. Filipinos traditionally eat three main meals a day- almusal (breakfast), tanghalian (lunch), and hapunan (dinner) plus an after noon snack called merienda. Dishes range from a simple meal of fried fish and rice to rich paellas and cocidos. Popular dishes include lechà ³n (whole roasted pig),longanisa (native sausage), tapa (beef jerky), torta (omelette), adobo (chicken and/or pork braised in garlic), soy sauce, and vinegar or cooked until Dry for the Visayan variety), kaldereta (goat in tomato stew), mechado (beef or pork cooked in tomato sauce, pochero (beef in bananas and tomato sauce), afritada (chicken cooked in tomato sauce and vegetables), kare-kare (oxtail and vegetables cooked in peanut sauce), crispy pata (deep-fried pig’s foot), hamonado (pork sweetened in pineapple sauce), sinigang (pork, fish, or shrimp in tamarind stew),pancit (stir-fried noodles), lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls). Typical dishes include bopiz (kidney), Gatang Kohol (snails in coconut milk), Ensalata Ampalaya (a bitter vegetable with garlic and ginger), and laing (a root vegetable in coconut milk. There’s also choices of pork, beef, and fish stews, as well as Chinese influenced fried Lumpia, Pinakbet (noodles), and Adobos (traditional barbeque). Finish off with some local ice cream or one of the rice-based puddings (yam, corn, or plain milk), or the fried banana. III. History Cabalen family started in 1974 in San Fernando, Pampanga as a small Bahay Pasalubong Restaurant selling specialty food dishes, then grew into a restaurant called â€Å"Ituro Mo, Iluto Ko†. In 1986, the first Cabalen Eat-all-you-Can, Eat-all-you-Want Restaurant was opened in West Avenue, Quezon City that ushered the expansion .to more outlets. Gradually it became the most popular buffet restaurant in the Philippines. Many Kapampangan festivals display an indigenous flavor unique only to the Kapampangan people. Consider the Curaldal or â€Å"street dancing† that accompanies the Feast of Santa Lucia in Sasmuan or the Aguman Sanduk were men cross-dress as women to welcome the New Year in Minalin or the Batalla Festival to reenact the battle between the native Muslim Moor and the new colonist Native Capampangan Christians, the historical battle between the two religious native Kapampangans. They start the battle in Ugtung-aldo or afternoon and they end it in Sisilim or sunset with the tune of what Macabebeanons and Masantuleà ±ios called BATTALA Masantol, Macabebe and Lubao. The Pistang Danum of the barrios of Pansinao, Mandasig, Lanang and Pasig in Candaba – where food is served on floating banana rafts on the waters of the Pampanga River – was originally a non-Christian holiday that is now made to coincide with the baptism of Christ. The Kapampangan New Year or Bayung Banwa that welcomes the coming of the monsoons and the start of the planting season is made to coincide with the feast of John the Baptist. The colourful Apung Iru fluvial procession of Apalit, once a thanksgiving celebration in honour of the river, has become the feast of Saint Peter. The most dramatic festivals can be witnessed during the Mal ay Aldo, which is the Kapampangan expression of the Holy Week. These include the erection of a temporary shrine known as the puni where the pasion or the story of Christ’s suffering is chanted in archaic Kapampangan. The melody of the Kapampangan pasion was said to have been taken from their traditional epic, whose original words were lost and replaced by the story of Christ. The highlight of the mal ay aldo celebration is the procession of the magdarame orsasalibatbat penitents covered in blood from self-flagellation. Some of them even have themselves crucified every Good Friday at the dried up swamp of barrio Cutud in San Fernando. Kapampangan cuisine, or Lutung Kapampangan, has gained a favourable reputation among other Philippine ethnic groups. Some popular Kapampangan dishes that have become mainstays across the country include sisig, kare-kare, â€Å"tocino† or pindang and their native version of the longaniza. Other Kapampangan dishes – which are an acquired taste for the other ethnic groups – include buru (fish fermented in rice), betute tugak (stuffed frogs), adobung kamaru (mole crickets sauteed in vinegar and garlic), estofadong barag (spicy stewed monitor lizard), sisig,calderetang asu (spicy dog stew), sigang liempu, â€Å"dagis a tinama†(marinated rats), laman panara and bobotu. IV. Marketing Orientation The Cabalen Buffet Restaurant was Affordable and Easy to Go. They have Different Foods. You have so many options to eat it’s either you want deserts, sea foods, meats, chicken and vegetables. It is a good Buffet Restaurant because, the place is near on the transportation area, so that you can easily go there. And also, they had a good serving and nice crews.

Facebook: Social Network or Social Disaster

Facebook: Social Network or Social Disaster Your busy day is done. You head home open up your laptop or head over to your desktop and turn it on. After impatiently waiting for everything to load on your computer you open up your web browser. You go to the top of the page and type in www. face and arrow down in the drop box to http://www. facebook. com/. As the website loads you wait in anticipation. When the blue bar at the top of the page loads you immediately look to the left hand corner of that bar.You glance over the first icon which is a silhouette of two people. Any friend requests? You then skim over to the next icon, a picture of two message bubbles. They remind you of the ones you would see in a cartoon. Any messages? You then proceed to direct your eyes over to the last icon, the world icon. Any Notifications? You click on these icons and with that click you begin a social interaction with someone. For many people, what I described above is an action they do everyday. Over 500 million people worldwide live their lives on Facebook. † (Fletcher and Ford, 32) After reading this quote I asked myself one question, â€Å"Is it the communication aspect of facebook that causes everyone to be addicted to facebook or is there more to this addiction? † I know I go on Facebook almost everyday without fail but why? Do I go on to communicate and use Facebook as a social network or do I go on it mainly to get the dirt on others and what is going on in their lives?I came to the conclusion that Facebook is definitely a good place to keep in communication with people, however, in many ways, Facebook has definitely been misused and become gossip central. When you think about Facebook what is the first thing that comes to your mind? The first thing for me is friends. Right now I have 933 friends on Facebook and friends are a very important part of everyone’s lives. Facebook, like any other social network, gives you the ability to communicate with frie nds, coworkers, family members, and people from all over the world.You request to be their friend and wait for them to accept that request. There are so many people on Facebook today it would be rare to turn next to the person that sits next to you in math class and for them not to have a Facebook account. It is a very easy way to get in contact with those whom you may not have seen in a while. Old friends that over the years have become acquaintances or even friends that you can’t talk to on a regular basis because they live in a completely different country then you.For many of my high school years I went on missions trips to Mexico to help out at an orphanage down there. I met many different people and as the years went by I looked forward to seeing my long lost friends. Because of Facebook, I no longer have to call them my long lost friends because I can keep in contact with them through Facebook. I think it is great that so many of my friends are on Facebook and this is another way that I can communicate with them. However, one danger of having friends on Facebook is that some of the friends you accept may be quite superficial. Muise, Christofides, Desmarais, 442). I have almost a thousand friends on Facebook do you really think that I am as close to all of them as I am with my best friend? No, that is ridiculous. However, because Facebook is such an open social network and give us many different ways to communicate with others it has a tendency to give us a more open look at life so people tend to share more intimate aspects on life over their facebook status’. It has changed our social DNA, and made us more accustom to openness (Fletcher and Ford, 33).When we share these intimate aspects we are not necessarily thinking, â€Å"I hope everyone sees this. † We are just thinking about the friends we usually interact with on facebook, but the problem is anyone that you have accepted as a friend can see that status change. For example, I am friends with my mother on Facebook and when I asked her what her favorite thing about Facebook was she replied, â€Å"My favorite part about Facebook is that I can look on my kids profile and see what they have been up to. I got a similar response from a friend that said she likes Facebook because it keeps her in on the latest gossip. This is why we need to be careful when on facebook. Not everyone’s intent while on Facebook is to enhance communication. Some people use Facebook as their center for gossip and you never know who has this outlook while interacting over Facebook. Facebook offers many different ways to communicate with others. Status updates is just one of the many different services facebook offers. Status updates are a nice way to communicate what you are doing from a day to day asis or share short quotes that you found interesting. These status updates definitely help communication between people. Another service Facebook offers to communicate with others i s the message service. If you want to have a private conversation with one or more people you can use the message service. This message service is somewhat like an email in the sense that you can send and receive messages that no one but the intended recipient can see. This is helpful if you want to plan a surprise party for some one and only want certain people to know about it.This service is a very good way to have an intimate conversation with others, and I think that it is a very good service. However, many people don’t use the message box as much as they should. This creates problems over Facebook. Another conversation method that is used on facebook is posting on others wall. The only problem with this is that everyone can see your wall. This can create many social mishaps. â€Å"While social networks sites provide the opportunity to reunite with long lost friends, they also allow people to make their information public within their circle of friends. (Muise, Christof ides, Desmarais, 442) Anyone that is your friend can look at your wall posts and read into it wrong and start a huge rumor about you that ruins your reputation. It is that easy for a simple post on Facebook to be turned into a rumor and soon enough it will be all over your wall and all your friends will see it, making Facebook a center for gossip. That is why I believe if the wall posting service is used unwisely it can turn Facebook into a social disaster waiting to happen. Facebook makes it easy to see what is going on in everyone lives.It gives you notifications when anyone does something such as post on your wall or make a comment on your status or pictures. On your home page it gives you a play by play of what everyone of your friends are doing over Facebook. It tells you when they are online so if you wanted to have a brief conversation with them you could just click on their picture icon and a little chat box will pop up. Also on the home page all your friend’s status changes will be listed on it and you can freely comment or like them whenever you would like.I think these notifications are very helpful ways to quickly send out a conversation to someone so you can keep up a relationship with someone even when our lives are hectic and we don’t have time to sit down with them for coffee. However, Facebook is very addicting. Tynee Seno from the Philippines quotes, â€Å"On average, I spend about four hours a day on Facebook- more time then I spend outside. † (Facebook and You, 34) From personal experience, I can suspect that Tynee is not just conversing with others over facebook for the whole four hours he is on Facebook everyday.When I spend an overwhelming amount of time on Facebook I’m usually looking for an â€Å"in†. I don’t know how many times I have read something over Facebook and went immediately to my phone to text someone about what I had read over facebook. â€Å"Did you see what she posted on his wall ? † And as simple as that, another gossip chain has begun. For many, it is not intentional to start this gossip chain. As humans, we are just very curious beings and sometime I even believe that jealousy can get involved. â€Å"Facebook may expose an individual to potentially jealousy-provoking information. (Muise, Christofides, and Desmarais, 443) Like I said before, we don’t do this on purpose. It is just in our human nature to do this. However, I want to encourage you that next time you read something on Facebook that wasn’t meant for you to read, instead of going and sharing it with the world, try to look past it. Just think how you would feel if you posted something without thinking who all would see your post and it ended up getting spread around in a nasty rumor. If we can avoid this we can avoid making Facebook a place where simple socialization can turn into a disaster.So my advice is, next time you sit down at that computer and go straight to Facebook be careful because you wouldn’t want a simple post to be the start of a social disaster. I think that overall Facebook has great potential in helping people communicate with others. It helps me communicate with people from Mexico by allowing me to be friends with whomever I want, as well as helping me keep in touch with people through its different venues for communicating with people. I think that Facebook is a great social network, however, I believe that it can be made into a social disaster if it were to be misused.Works Cited â€Å"Facebook and You. (Cover story). † Time 175. 21 (2010): 34-35. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Fletcher, Dan, and Andrea Ford. â€Å"Friends Without Borders. (Cover story). † Time 175. 21 . (2010): 32-38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Muise, Amy, Emily Christofides, and Serge Desmarais. â€Å"More Information than You Ever Wanted: Does Facebook Bring Out the Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy?. † CyberPsychology & Behavior 12. 4 (2009): 441-444. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010