Evaluation of Corporate Performance Research Paper

Evaluation of Corporate Performance - Research Paper Example Its Server and Tools division offers server software, training to developers, cloud-based services. Its Business division offers Microsoft Office and related products. The company markets its products and services across most part of the world. Income Statements (all figures in millions) Year ended June 30, 2011 2012 2013 2014 (projected) Revenue $ 69,943 73,723 77,849 85,634 Cost of Revenue $ 15,577 17,530 20,249 22,274 Gross Profit $ 54,366 56,193 57,600 63,360 Total operating expense $ 27,205 34,430 30,836 33,920 Income before income tax $ 28,071 22,267 27,052 29,940 Provision for income tax $ 4,921 5,289 5,189 5,689 Net income $ 23,150 16,978 21,863 24,251 Figures for the year ended 2014 has been arrived at by projecting 10% growth on revenues and cost of revenues. Income tax provision has been made in the same percentage as made in the current year to arrive at the net income after tax. Ratio Analysis Liquidity Ratios Liquidity of the company can be denoted by several kinds such as current ratio, quick ratio, cash ratio, and cash conversion cycle. a. Current Ratio is given as Current Assets/Current Liabilities For the year ended 2013, Microsoft’s current Ratio = 101,466/37,417 = 2.71 b. Quick Ratio This is also known as the acid-test ratio. This takes into account the most liquid current assets to cover current liabilities. Inventory and less liquid current assets that cannot be converted to cash quickly are eliminated while calculating this ratio. This informs more liquid status of the company. Quick Ratio = (Cash & Equivalents + Accounts Receivable + Short-term Investments)/ Current Liabilities = (3804 + 17,486+73,218)/37,417 = 2.52 Financial Leverage c. The debt-equity ratio is one of the popular financial leverage ratios that provides information regarding the company's leverage state. This is given as = total liability/shareholder's equity = 63,487/78,944 = 0.8 This indicates that for every single dollar of share holder’s equity, there i s 0.8 dollar of debt. d. Debt Ratio Debt ratio is defined as total liabilities/total assets For Microsoft, it is calculated as 63,487/142,431= 0.45 In other words, 45% of the assets of Microsoft have been created from debt funds. Asset Management The return on assets employed in the company will provide information about how assets are used to generate return for shareholders. e. Return on Total Assets It is defined as Net Profit/ total assets employed = 21,863/142,431 =15.34% However, to understand how efficiently current assets are managed in enhancing shareholder’s wealth, it would be appropriate to find return on current assets. f. Return on Current Assets It can be given as net profit/current assets = 21,863/101,466 = 21.55% Profitability There are several measures of profitability and in this paper we calculate net profit margin and profitability against shareholder’s equity. g. Net Profit Margin is given as: Net profit/ revenue = 21,863/77,849 = 28% h. Profitabi lity on shareholders’ fund It can be given as net profit/ total equity = 21,863/78,944 = 27.7% Market Value The market value of the firm can be given by its market capitalization. i. Market Capitalization of Microsoft = No. of shares ? price/share = 8,328 ? 35.52 = $295.8 Billions j. Market Multiples (P/E) It will be interesting to understand P/E ratio in details. It is important to note that the closing price of any stock keeps fluctuating on daily

Study On Improving Team Performance Management Essay

Study On Improving Team Performance Management Essay Performance management includes activities to ensure that goals of the organization are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. It also contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organizational performance. Performance management can focus on performance of the organization, a department, processes to build a product or service or the employees. It is about the organizational long-term goals and should link various aspects of the business, people management, and individuals and teams. Performance management should involve performance improvement, development and managing behavior. Unless there is a continuous development of individuals and teams, performance will not improve. The CIPD has identified the performance management by saying that it is:about establishing a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behavior and contributions. It is about sharing expectations. Managers can clarify what they expect individual and teams to do; likewise individuals and teams can communicate their expectations of how they should be managed and what they need to do their jobs. It follows that performance management is about interrelationships and about improving the quality of relationships between managers and individuals, between managers and teams, between members of teams and so on, and is therefore a joint process. It is also about planning defining expectations expressed as objectives and in business plans and about measurement; the old dictum is If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. It should apply to all employees, not just managers, and to teams as much as individuals. It is a continuous process, not a one-off event. Last but not least, it is holistic and should pervade every aspect of running an organization. Now I work on a packing line in the Farm Packhouse. My day to day responsibilities involve: making sure that the punnets packed by me have the right weight and the quality meets the supermarket standards, ensuring the right labels are being used, separating first from second class, looking for progressive and non-progressive defects. I work on a packing line with five more girls. From my observation the problems that arise in our team come from poor communication between us, e.g. sometimes the line is overloaded and we need to stop packing, but not everyone is doing that. Also, due to poor communication and planning between and line leader and packhouse management, sometimes we have to wait for fruit or we will start packing and they will ask us to stop as we need to change the fruit in accordance to the orders. In these particular examples my responsibilities are limited as I am not the line leader and I am not responsible for planning the work. If there is a break down in the team communication, I talk to the other team members and try to explain that if we work together as one team and listen to each other we will be more productive and it will benefit us all. Another thing that is also an issue sometimes is the quality of the fruit that we have to pack. The quality controllers will have different opinion about the same fruit and one will say that we have to be very careful and tip the fruit and the other one will say that the fruit is good and we do not need to be so accurate. Again, I am quite limited as to how I can change this. One of my SMART objectives for the coming year is to become a QC. I am planning to talk to the QA manager and say from a packers point of view how this is disturbing our work. I will propose that the fruit is approved for packing by two QCs before it is loaded on the line, so that issues like that are minimised. I would say that the performance in our team is good. We work hard and make sure we do our job at the best of our abilities. Of course, sometimes our performance is not as good as it can be, but I believe this can be changed by better communication, clearer instructions, further training and more involvement. I believe that the leader on my line will benefit from with is performance. Some of his main duties include making sure we have enough fruit of the right quantity and quality on the line, making sure we have the right labels for the fruit we are packing, motivation and increasing the team performance, coordinating our work and breaks, putting the right labels on the pallets so that the packed fruit goes to the right supermarket. He and the other line leaders meet the Packhouse Assistant Manager in the morning after the daily orders have arrived, and they make the plan for the day. As mentioned above, I think that sometimes there is a lack in the communication about the right packing order of the fruit, e.g. which fruit has to be packed first based on the supermarket requirements. Also, his communication with the team can be improved. He does not get us involved as much as we would like to be involved. He finds it really hard to work under pressure and in there has been situation when he will be really stressed and this will affect his attitude towards us. I believe that our team leader needs to improve his communication both with us, his team and the management. He should involve us in the planning and the quality issues. Employees will only be able to perform at their best if they know their duties, obligations and rights and have an opportunity of making their views known to management on issues that affect them. Good communications is central to the management process and assume critical importance when dealing with changes in working practices and procedures. All managers need to communicate and consult with employees in order to be effective but they also need to exchange information with other managers. My thoughts can be supported by ACAS view on that topic: Employee communication and consultation offer many benefits although, done well, they require time and money. In particular good employee communications and consultation can: improve organizational performance improve management performance and decision making allowing employees to express their views can help managers and supervisors arrive at sound decisions which can more readily be accepted by employees as a whole; Improve employees performance and commitment employees will perform better if they are given regular, accurate information about their jobs such as updated technical instructions, targets, deadlines and feedback. Their commitment is also likely to be enhanced if they know what the organization is trying to achieve and how they, as individuals, can influence decisions help develop greater trust discussing issues of common interest and allowing employees an opportunity of expressing their views can engender improved management/employee relations increase job satisfaction employees are more likely to be motivated if they have a good understanding of their job and how it fits into the organisation as a whole and are actively encouraged to express their views and ideas. encourage a more flexible working environment employers can help to promote a good work-life balance within the organisation by talking to all their staff about developing flexible working policies and practices Communications and consultation are not, and should not, be an end in themselves. Nevertheless, used properly they have a key role to play both in ensuring the business success of organizations and in involving and empowering employees. In our case, if we trust the instructions given to us by the line leader, if we know exactly what is expected from us, if we know that the instructions will not change, if we are involved in the decision making, if our ideas are considered, we will feel motivated and our performance will increase. Never the less we work on piece rate and our performance is measured by the output, which means the more we pack the more we will earn, a job satisfaction and fulfillment will give us a long lasting motivation and performance drive. This is supported by Herzbergs motivation according to which people are influenced by two factors: Satisfaction and psychological growth are a result of motivation factors. Dissatisfaction is a result of a lack of hygiene factors Examples of Herzbergs hygiene needs in the workplace are: relationship with supervisor, work conditions, salary, status, security, relationship with subordinates. Herzbergs research identified that true motivators were other completely different factors, notably: achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility. Most managers realize that a happy workforce leads to improved performance which holds equally well for leadership and training. Performance counselling is a powerful motivational tool and can be defined as a formal discussion between a manager and a subordinate for the purpose of discussing the subordinates current job performance, determining why the performance is at its current level and outlining ways in which the subordinate can perform better in the future to the ultimate benefit of all: the subordinate, the manager and the organisation. They key is to focus on the future. The challenge to the manager is to provide a climate in which employee growth is actively encouraged. The team leaders at Hall Hunter Partnership are offered and attend different trainings. To help improve our team and our line leaders performance HHP can organize communication training and performance management training for the team leaders. At these courses things like improving communication, involving the workers, motivation theories (Maslow, Herzberg, equity, expectancy and goal motivation theories) should be discussed and examined in details. Also there should be regular meetings between the team and the leader, at which responsibilities, daily planning, weak and strong performance issues must be discussed. Another issue in our team is that in some situations our line leader does not treat all workers in the team equally. If there is a problem with the quality he might focus on couple of people from the team and constantly check their trays. This de-motivates these particular works and their performance becomes poor. The above is supported by Adams equity theory, according to which motivation is about the perception of fair and unfair treatment and distribution of resources between the employee and the employer. In order to improve our team performance and to deal with the performance issues our team has, I believe the following should be done: Have better communication both between the team and the line leader and the line leader and the packhouse management- this can be done by weekly meetings (on a Monday) at which the whole team meets and we discuss issues from the previous week and share ideas. These meetings will also help us build a team spirit so that we all feel involved as being part of a team. Have better planning- at the beginning of the day our line leader should meet the management and ask for the plan for the day. As we arrive at work he should share that with us. Attend training courses- the line leaders at the Packhouse should attend training courses which will improve their performance, which will also lead to improved team performance. Suitable courses I believe can be motivation, communication, stress management, planning courses. Treat all workers in the team equally- when the line leaders knows that we will be packing a poor quality fruit, he should have a meeting with all of us, describe the problem and monitor everyones performance in the same way. HHP has clear disciplinary and grievance procedures. Both of them are displayed in the farm office and in the induction. All workers are made aware of the policies as soon as they arrive on site. To make sure that they all understand them well, the company has translated them in four languages- Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Polish. The stages of the disciplinary procedure are verbal warning, written warning and dismissal. If a worker needs to be dismissed he is invited to a disciplinary meeting. All workers can be accompanied by a representative at the meeting. After that the worker can appeal if he does not agree with the outcomes of the meeting. The minutes of the meetings are always recorded and signed by the employee and the manager. It is really important that all meetings are recorded and an investigation is carried first. The consequence of making the wrong decision, or not following procedures, could lead to a claim to an employment tribunal and a subsequent award. In addi tion to any award, there are the costs of legal fees, poor productivity, lost management time and any effect on morale. In the summer I am a team leader on the field. I am responsible for monitoring the quality, making sure the lines are picked well, motivating the team to increase the performance, monitoring the workers performance. On our farm the workers are paid on piece work and set daily targets for them which they need to achieve. The first week they are in training period and we teach them how to pick. After that they start working on piece rate and their performance is monitored and they are given the targets- picked trays per hour. If they fail to achieve the rates they go through the disciplinary procedure. I, as a team leader, am responsible for the early stages of the disciplinary process. If there is a worker in my team who is not meeting the targets I will first try to find out why is that, check his picking technique, try to show him how he can pick fast. I will use counselling, will have a quiet word with the worker in question. If the performance is still poor and there is no improvement I will speak with the harvest manager. At that point the disciplinary procedure will come in force. The worker will be invited to a meeting at which both I and the harvest manager will be present. He will be issued with a verbal warning for poor performance. In more serious situations where the worker has conducted a gross misconduct- stealing a tray, changing the labels on a tray, fighting, coming drunk to work I will contact the harvest manager straight way. The worker will be dismissed by the harvest manager and no work will be offered to him. I always encourage my workers and tell them that if they have a complaint or a grievance they should come and talk to me first. Depending on the issue I will either try to solve the problem or get the harvest manager and the HR manager involved. The farm has also a worker council lead by the worker welfare representative. The workers know that they can discuss their problems there. The HR manager is involved in their meetings. The HR manager visits the sites regularly and speaks with the workers. Her telephone number is displayed on the notice board and the workers know they can contact her with any issues. I always encourage my workers to come and talk to me first. I try to have an open relationship with them, to treat them well and equally, to support and help them. If they have a complaint against me, I hope they come and talk to me first and try to resolve the issue together. The employees have very important part and a crucial role of running the business smoothly and efficiently. Using performance management can ensure that the employees not only fulfill their responsibilities, but do so to the best of their abilities and up to the company expectations. Performance management makes sure the employer uses the full potential of the staff. It is a process starting from monitoring and developing the desired traits to rating their progress and rewarding them for their achievements. The mere making of plans alone will not help a company to run business successfully. Focusing on the appropriate ways to get business tasks done is really important. One way of doing this efficiently is to involve the employees in the planning process. This will not only boost their morale and confidence, but also help avoid any communication gaps in the process. Measuring the performance of every employee is also important. This ensures that tasks are efficiently completed on time and on or under budget. It also points out any shortcomings of either the staff or business plans, and helps to take the appropriate corrective actions. Performance management gives the tools to instill the desired qualities in the employees in order to get the job done. Development is not limited to only individuals in the workplace, but also addresses the performance of the team as a whole. Evaluating and rating the performance of the employees on an individual basis is essential. This gives them a clear picture of where they presently stand, areas that they need to work on and what they are good at. This way, they can focus more on their weaknesses and work to strengthen those areas. Rewarding and appreciating the employees efforts ensures that their level of their performance and consequently the performance of the business is not compromised. It ensures optimum productivity, performance and maximum profitability. Rewarding the staff for a job well done not only enhance their performance but also serves as a tool to keep them motivated. Therefore, performance management is an effective system that allows companies to achieve their strategic and financial goals.

Teachers Meeting The Challenges of Student Disabilities Essay -- Educa

In this chapter, we discussed the numerous challenges that teachers face while teaching students with different disabilities. It was found that barring a few teachers who had knowledge of the exact needs of these students, majority of the teachers deployed methods that they felt would assist learning for them. Modifications in teaching methods were undertaken based on the nature of the students’ disability and the demands of subject taught. In case of some government colleges, parents were reportedly assisting in the laboratory due the absence of support staff. In the case of students with visual impairments and/or learning disabilities, repetition was found to be the most favoured method to explain everything, from diagrams in economics to sociological concepts. However, implementation of this method was time-consuming. While, in general, students with disabilities were encouraged to seek help from the teachers beyond the class timing, it was observed that students with learning disabilities rarely did so, possibly due to the social stigma attached to their disability. With regard to teaching students with learning disabilities, it was found that a majority of teachers did not take any particular efforts towards addressing the needs of these students may be because their disabilities were hidden or invisible in nature. Contrast to the lack of information on how to cater to students with learning disabilities, a majority of the teachers were able to adjudge some measures as facilitating learning among students with visual impairments such as encourage students to sit in the front row, read aloud any text that was presented in visual format or making the study material available in soft copy. The onus, however, was on the stude... ...7–24. Reddy, Raghava C. 2011. ‘From Impairment to Disability and Beyond: Critical Explorations in Disability Studies’, Sociological Bulletin, 60 (2): 287–306. Sharma, Umesh, Dennis Moore and Sanjeev Sonawane. 2009. ‘Attitudes and Concerns of Pre-service Teachers regarding Inclusion of Students with Disabilities into Regular Schools in Pune, India’, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37 (3): 319–31. Singal, Nidhi. 2005. ‘Mapping the Field of Inclusive Education: A Review of the Indian Literature’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 9 (4): 331–50. ––––. 2006. ‘Inclusive Education in India: International concept, national interpretation’, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 53 (3): 351–69. ––––. 2010. ‘Doing Disability Research in a Southern Context: Challenges and Possibilities’, Disability & Society, 25 (4): 415–26.

Smith Systems Consulting

The assignment for week two is to study three virtual organizations, choose one, and write about an information system that is critical to that organization’s business processes. The chosen organization for this paper is Smith Systems Consulting (SSC). SSC Inc. is a technology-driven company that offers services building and maintaining databases, designing and hosting websites, and all types of programming. This makes SSC the perfect organization to focus on because their entire business focuses on some aspect of information systems. This paper, however, will focus on how important computers are to SSC Inc. To understand how information systems affect SSC, it is necessary to first understand just what an information system is. An information system can be described as â€Å"any combination of information technology and people's activities using that technology to support operations, management, and decision-making† (Wikipedia, 2010). Jon Jensen, instructor for the Business Systems in the IT department at University of Phoenix in Taylorsville, Utah, teaches that information systems are things that â€Å"collect, store, analyze and disseminate information for a specific purpose. An information system includes inputs and outputs. By either of these two definitions, a computer is undoubtedly an informtion system. A computer actually contains smaller classes of information systems like a processor, hard drive, and keyboard, but for the purpose of this paper they will be combined as a single item. The focus then becomes how computers are critical to the business processes of SSC Inc. A business process can be defined as â€Å"a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or customers† (Wikipedia, 2010). There are three types of business processes. 1. Management Process: This is just as it sounds. Processes involved in the management and supervision of the business. 2. Operational Process: This is the â€Å"what† of the business. What the business does, makes, sells, distributes, or the service it provides. 3. Support Process: These processes are there to support the â€Å"what† of the business. Things like payroll and accounting, inventory and supply, call centers and tech support. Management Process- Since its founding in 1984, SSC Inc. has grown from a small business of five people to a multimillion dollar enterprise employing more than 350 people. A business won’t grow to reach these numbers without great vision and leadership. Computers no doubt played and continue to play an important roll in SSC’s management processes. Software programs ran on computers help visionary leaders forcast and track the success of their ideas. Using computers, they can compare results of similar ideas in similar markets. The automation made possible by computers takes away much of the tedious labor involved in supervising so many people and makes it possible for less people to manage more. Managers are able to track statistics and numbers of their sales and production forces. Computers and software help them find areas of improvement and ways to streamline in order to cut costs in increase revenue. Of course management has been able to do these things for years, but with the help of computers, they are able to do them much faster, with less risk of human error, and without needint to hire secerataries or assistants to help with such a large workload. Operational Process-SSC Inc. is a company who specializes in technology related services. Without computers, SSC would not be able to offer any of the services they provide. They offer services such as computer programs that will allow other companies to use computers to more effictively manage their own personnel in the same ways discussed in the management process praragraph. They offer services such as database creation and database management; both of which are information systems, and would not exist without computers. SSC offers web based services such as web design and site hosting. Again, there would be no internet and no web sites to design without computers, and SSC would not be able to host sites for their clients without a computer to act as the server. With all the things computers are able to do for a business, they would be useless without the trained personnel to operate them and ensure that they perform the functions that they are designed to carry out. Thus, people become an important part of any information system and it is critical that SSC employ qualified IT professionals. Without these skilled workers, SSC would have a difficult time offering many of their services. Support Process-In a company as large and complex as SSC Inc. has become, there is an increased need for quality support. As defined above, support includes areas such as human resources, accounting and payroll, inventory and supply, and call centers and tech support. Inventory and supply aren’t as critical to SSC’s business model as accounting and tech support. Imagine tyrying to keep track of the finances for a $45 million company manually; handwritten invoices, all the possibilities for human error that could potentially cost millions of dollars. Think of the man hours involved in calculating payroll for 300 plus employees every week, and again the margin for human error. Computers make it possible for only a few people to manage these enormous tasks in less time than it would take numerous people to do it manually and with considerably less risk for human error. Tech support and call centers are invaluable to a business model such as that of SSC Inc. They are providing technical services to clients that may not be tech savvy. There needs to be a way to ensure that these clients are able to use the products and services that they are subscribing to. If SSC isn’t able to provide support for these customers, they will take their business elsewhere. Computers and trained personnel are necessary for these types of services. A trained technician may be able to remotely access a client computer and correct problems or walk the user through how to use a software program that they purchased. Computers at SSC can rout calls to available customer service personnel saving hold time and keeping customers happy. SSC can store customer data and history in a database and access this information later to batter service their customers. As this paper has shown, computers are an information system that is an essential part of the business proccesses at Smith Systems Consulting. They are used in virtually every aspect of their day to day operations from management and operations to their support processes. As the world becomes more and more technical, and businesses and communication become global, it is all the more important to integrate the use of information systems into business processes. If unable to do so, a company like SSC Inc. would soon become obsolete. However, SSC has the insight to see where the global economy is heading and has developed a business that uses informations systems to cater to the needs of an increasingly technical society. This insight has brought them great success and made them a leader in the world of information technology. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process

Bacardi Breezer and the Marketing Mix

Bacardi Breezer and the Marketing mix Following the success of Bacardi rum, created in 1829 (Smith, 2002) the company decided to diversify in 1994 launching Bacardi Breezers. These are â€Å"refreshing blend of Barcardi rum, fruit juices, exotic flavourings and sparkling mineral water† (http://www. thedrinkshop. com/products/nlpdetail. php? prodid=410) Bacardi were the first to launch ready-to-drink alchopops and are currently the market leader in the segment.The Bacardi Breezers come in many different flavours such as watermelon, orange, line, pineapple, peach, grapefruit and cranberry. Bacardi also more recently brought out a half-sugar range with zesty lemon and raspberry flavours. Its fun colourful packaging with the distinctive bacardi logo is perfect for its target market of 18-24's. I do feel that Breezers may possibly be aimed more towards females with how colourful the alco-pops are, however that does not mean to say that Breezers don't appeal to males.The packaging i s the same for all bottles except the colour of the smaller labels determine the flavour of the alcopop being consumed. The bottles tend to only come in two different sizes, the smaller 275ml bottles which are most popular with the on-trade but are sold by both, and the 700ml bottle sold only by the off-trade. The 275ml bottles are also only available in 4 packs whereas competitors such as Smirnoff Ice sell 12 bottle packs.The â€Å"core† benefit of Bacardi breezer as a product is that it gets the consumer intoxicated, however this is not the only reason for consumption. When planning a product the core benefit is turned into an actual product, which then become the tangible benefits â€Å"they need to develop product and service features, design, a quality level, a brand name and packaging. † 1 (Armstrong, G. (2009) Marketing An Introduction. Essex, Pearson Education. ) So bacardi breezers product feature is its pre-mixed contents, its service features being helplines .Its design being more colourful than Bacardi's previous products makes it more attractive to the younger market its aimed at. Bacardi have set themselves a high quality level, â€Å"Breezer made the decision to maintain its premium pricing to reinforce its quality positioning and thus kept its price at the top of the range† (Case Study information. ) Having already established a brand name as Bacardi, Breezers packaging is very different to the core products as its fresh and modern rather than aiming for the more cosmopolitan market.For Bacardi's Augmented benefits however these are harder to distinguish as there is no need for installation or very much after sale service, although they do offer a warranty if you are not satisfied you can return the packaging and they will try to rectify the problem. Original Bacardi rum has a much simpler packaging which aims to interest its target market of women aged 25-39. In comparison to Breezers it is much more sophisticated and doesn 't have the playful edge that is associated with Breezers.In my opinion Bacardi rum is more likely to be seen is cocktail bars and contemporary pubs, whereas Breezers are spotted in nightclubs and consumed by a younger group whilst getting ready for a night out. Bacardi have also diversified into other pre-mixed drinks and introduced Bacardi Siler targeted at 21-27 year old young professionals enjoy being in a bar situation but don't necessarily like beer. (http://directmag. com/mag/marketing_million_push_rolls/) This also includes the mojito range which I feel makes it again more sophisticated than Breezers.Price is the amount charged for a product or service, the following table shows prices of the off trade for Bacardi Breezers. This indicates a competitive pricing strategy as Bacardi have set premium prices compared to some competitors in order to maintain the quality level expected of them and also the image of a better product that competitors, however they tend to be around t he same price as Smirnoff Ice and WKD in order to not be under-cut by these same quality competitors.Therefore Bacardi take note of what their direct competitors are doing and to an extent follow suit afterwards. It is clear that as market leader there is enough demand for Breezers at a premium price to its lower quality competitors such as Caribbean Twist. It is hard however to determine the definite pricing strategy for Breezers as there isn't enough widely spread information about Breezers marketing strategy this is because they are a private limited company and does not have to publish this information. The prices of on-trade prices vary widely from ? 2 to ? 3. 0 however most on-trade companies do not freely advertise their prices and therefore have more choice as to what to charge. It is clear however that in a social environment such as a nightclub prices will be higher than that of the off-trade as you are also paying for the experience. The on-trade tend to use value-added p rices in order to make more of a profit. Through research I have found that there are few pubs which actually sell Breezers over the counter, but almost every nightclub sells them which further indicates that Breezers are targeted at the younger market.The off-trade distribution channel for Bacardi Breezers is Producer -; Distribution centres -; Retailers -; Consumers. This is only a short channel of distribution, the reason for this is that Breezers do not need to go through many processes to be produced and therefore all production is in house. I feel that Bacardi could not use a distribution channel of only Producer -; Consumer as it is not that type of product and this way of distribution would not provide enough opportunity for marketing.Supermarkets such as Tesco can also benefit from economies of scales due to the size of their organisations and can then pass some of these savings onto the consumers. The on-trade distribution channel is Producer -; Distribution centres -; Who lesalers -; Retailers -; Consumers. The on-trade have a longer distribution channel as they will have wholesalers, this is due to the lack or storage for nightclus and they will also then benefit from economies of scale.The Breezer advertising campaign is very similar to that of WKD one of their competitors, Bacardi's slogan is ‘Bacardi Breezer: there’s Latin spirit in everyone’ (Cozens, 1999) whereas WKD uses â€Å"Have you got a WKD side? † (http://www. dooyoo. co. uk/drinks/wkd-blue/1305067/). It is clear that there is a huge focus on promotion for Breezers, this is known from the fact that they launched a ? 5. 6m advertising campaign in 1999.This was their main promotion of Breezers since the launch and this was what established the widespread product knowledge of Breezers consumers. Bacardi also used advertising to keep themselves ahead of the competition, â€Å"they ensure that they spend more on advertising and promotion than any of their rivalsâ⠂¬  (Case Study information). This means that if consumers are seeing more promotion from Bacardi Breezers, they will stick in their mind more than competitors such as WKD and therefore means that they will be more inclined to buy Breezers rather than its competitors.Bacardi Breezer – Segmentation and Targeting Bacardi Breezer, as said previously, targets 18-24's specifically those who are party-goers. This target market I feel do not have very much brand loyalty, this is due to the fact that a vast amount of this market are students and tend to change their buying habits very often. This means that it may be difficult to keep the same customers, which is why Bacardi need to constantly innovate and also advertise as much as possible.Their characteristics are the common interest in socialising and wanting a fun young alternative to beer and wine. Bacardi segments their market using their packaging for instance 18 year old will want the smaller 275ml bottle when they are out d rinking in pubs and clubs whereas 24 year olds would want the larger 700ml bottles that are available to put in their fridges at home. This means that they have different advertising campaigns for each size as they are aimed at different market segments.Bacardi uses the marketing mix by having different size bottles for their market segments and therefore having different prices as both ends of their target markets will have varying amounts of disposable income. Bacardi also use different types of promotion for the two alternatives in order to enable them to gain the interest of as many consumers as possible. Finally place is very important to how Bacardi targets their consumers as the younger end of their market buy more from the on-trade with the older ones purchasing increased amounts from the off-trade.

Free Essays on Pornography

TITLE: THE HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PORNOGRAPHY Pornography gets people bothered as dependably as it gets them hot. There’s something philosophically itchy about text that is so intimately linked to action†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Weatherfield,M.1998 ). Pornography inspires many diverse and strong debates even today in the 21st century despite this topic’s notorious history throughout the ages. Aside of the social and political arguments on pornography, the history of this particular subject- its beginnings and the societies from which it came- is of great worth and interest. The literature coming out of France in the 18th century, the prohibited literature that was censored and burnt by those in authority as well as the writers of pornography themselves, were catalysts in revolutionising societies definitions of sexual practise and social custom. Thus the historical and social repercussions of this literary movement, its establishment of a rich genre of sexual representations and the subsequent views on sexuality wit hin society, are seen to be heavily indebted to 18th century France. Pornography’s definition is as troubling as its political debates. â€Å"The written or visual presentation in a realistic form of any genital or sexual behaviour with a deliberate violation of existing and widely accepted moral and social taboos† ( Stewart,P.1997 ). Despite the somewhat vague terms used in this definition it suffices as the closest interpretation of pornography outside of art, personal opinion, erotic literature, and anything which arouses sexual feelings. The word itself first coming into existence in 1869, meaning the â€Å"literature or writing of prostitutes† ( Stewart,P.1997 ). However 18th century France’s definition of pornography was not the same as modern day man’s definition. Books at that time were separated into work of the Enlightenment and pornography. The latter half were illegal, the political satire that they... Free Essays on Pornography Free Essays on Pornography Pornography Degrades Women Porn is a cancer eating away at the souls of millions of men, women, and children at this very hour (Kennedy 1). Porn is also known as any material that combines sex and/or exposure of genitals with abuse or degradation in a manner that appears to endorse, condone, or encourage such behavior (Pornography 1). Porn is one of the most controversial forms of expression (Downs 1). Porn is not â€Å"just fantasy† for the women who are used in making it (Russell 6). Many people’s attitudes toward porn show how controversial it really is. The availability of porn and the effects it has on people shows just how degrading it truly is. Porn sends the message of men and women enjoying being beaten, abused, and raped. It also sends the message that women secretly enjoy the abuse which is untrue (Pornography 1). Porn is available on television and can easily be accessed on the internet (Wierzbicka 1). Video stores, adult video stores, variety stores, adult stores, and newspapers are other places where pornography can be accessed or advertised (Pornography 1-2). America is by far the world’s leading producer of porn, churning out hard-core videos at the astonishing rate of about 150 new titles per week. Today pornography brings in at least $8 million per year and potentially much more in hidden and illegal profits. The porn industry has surpassed total Hollywood revenues for all domestic box office receipts and earns more each year than all the revenues from the sale of rock or country music. A sociologist quoted in the U.S. News report says the sexual content of American culture has changed m ore in the last two decades than in the previous two centuries (Kennedy 1-2). The amount of profits that pornography brings in gives an example to how many people are using porn and how available it is. People do not understand how obscene porn is (Wierzbicka 1). Some scholars have... Free Essays on Pornography TITLE: THE HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PORNOGRAPHY Pornography gets people bothered as dependably as it gets them hot. There’s something philosophically itchy about text that is so intimately linked to action†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Weatherfield,M.1998 ). Pornography inspires many diverse and strong debates even today in the 21st century despite this topic’s notorious history throughout the ages. Aside of the social and political arguments on pornography, the history of this particular subject- its beginnings and the societies from which it came- is of great worth and interest. The literature coming out of France in the 18th century, the prohibited literature that was censored and burnt by those in authority as well as the writers of pornography themselves, were catalysts in revolutionising societies definitions of sexual practise and social custom. Thus the historical and social repercussions of this literary movement, its establishment of a rich genre of sexual representations and the subsequent views on sexuality wit hin society, are seen to be heavily indebted to 18th century France. Pornography’s definition is as troubling as its political debates. â€Å"The written or visual presentation in a realistic form of any genital or sexual behaviour with a deliberate violation of existing and widely accepted moral and social taboos† ( Stewart,P.1997 ). Despite the somewhat vague terms used in this definition it suffices as the closest interpretation of pornography outside of art, personal opinion, erotic literature, and anything which arouses sexual feelings. The word itself first coming into existence in 1869, meaning the â€Å"literature or writing of prostitutes† ( Stewart,P.1997 ). However 18th century France’s definition of pornography was not the same as modern day man’s definition. Books at that time were separated into work of the Enlightenment and pornography. The latter half were illegal, the political satire that they... Free Essays on Pornography It started by way of messengers and scribes, evolved through the presentation of newspapers and radio, brought us together with television, and now serves us world-wide via the ever-popular Internet. It is the mass media, and even from the earliest days of its existence, it has contributed greatly in ways that both enlighten and enrich society, and ways that deteriorate and perplex it. It is not a surprise to learn, then, that the mass media is the most powerful source of information we have, and nothing else in today’s world influences public perception quite as heavily. Unfortunately, however, most of what is broadcast or transmitted in the news today is with reference to the chaotic condition of our planet, or something else that society as a whole sees as detrimental or damaging. But the news on television is not the only type of media taking the criticism of society. Other forms of mass media, specifically movies and television programs containing pornography and violence have been heavily criticized. The underlining concept to be debated here is that society is negatively influenced, specifically, by these images of pornography and the result is increased violence against women. This assumption, and it is indeed only an assumption, is completely fallacious, however, as no concrete and completely conclusive evidence has ever been formulated in support of the theory. The key premise here is that the mass media does not cause undesirable social behaviour and in actuality, the media people should not be dubbed as the â€Å"bad guys†. They sim ply use their power in the most constructive ways possible in order to promote their ratings and popularity. One way to do that is to concentrate on what sells: sex, violence and disaster. Having said this, why is it then, that many in society still believe otherwise; why do they continue to believe that pornography is â€Å"evil† and is a major cause for violence against women, specifical...

Marissa Mayer At Google Example

Marissa Mayer At Google Example Marissa Mayer At Google – Case Study Example Marissa Mayer at Google Mayer being the first woman in Google has played a big role in increasing the number of womenin technology and Google. She was the first female engineer in Google and contributed to a great improvement of search engine. In 2011, Meyer assumed the role of overseeing engineering design, product management and laying strategy for product like Google Maps, Google Earth and local search. The contribution of the Meyer in his role has encouraged other women to get involved in technology and Google. Meyer started a campaign that Google should recruit women in the engineering department to ensure that the products interest both genders. She focused on encouraging women in America to enter technology field in order to have many engineers. In 2008, Meyer created a list of the top 50 women in business and this shows that she was determined to identify the talented women in technology in order to help them get involved in technology business and Google (Meyer 5). In the re sponsibility of increasing the number of women in technology and Google Meyer was faced with some advantages and disadvantages. First, she campaigned for gender equality in Google workforce and this was impossible since only view women studies technology. Those women who did technology could not work with Google, because they had established their own business. Some men criticized women in the work place hence discouragement. On the other hand, Meyer being progressive in business could influence many women to join the filed of technology. Google was picking after involvement of women in the business and this encouraged more people to accept Meyer’s decision of gender equality (Meyer 3).Work CitedMeyer Marisa. Marissa Mayer Biography. Viewed on October 21, 2013 from biography.com/people/marissa-mayer-20902689

Everson v. Board of Education - Religious Liberty

Everson v. Board of Education - Religious Liberty Under a New Jersey statute that allowed local school districts to fund the transportation of children to and from schools, the Board of Education of Ewing Township authorized reimbursement to parents forced to bus their children to school using regular public transportation. Part of this money was to pay for the transportation of some children to Catholic parochial schools and not just public schools. A local taxpayer filed suit, challenging the right of the Board to reimburse parents of parochial school students. He argued that the statute violated both the State and the Federal Constitutions. This court agreed and ruled hat the legislature did not have the authority to provide such reimbursements. Fast Facts: Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing Case Argued: November 20, 1946Decision Issued:  February 10, 1947Petitioner: Arch R. EversonRespondent: Board of Education of the Township of EwingKey Question: Did the New Jersey law authorizing reimbursement by local school boards for the costs of transportation to and from schools- including private schools, the majority of which were parochial Catholic schools- violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?Majority Decision: Justices Vinson, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, and BlackDissenting: Justices Jackson, Frankfurter, Rutledge, and Burton  Ruling: Reasoning that the law did not pay money to parochial schools, nor did it support them directly in any way, New Jersey’s law reimbursing parents for transportation costs to parochial schools did not violate the Establishment Clause. Court Decision The Supreme Court ruled against the plaintiff, holding that the government was allowed to reimburse the parents of parochial school children for the costs incurred by sending them to school on public buses. As the Court noted, the legal challenged was based on two arguments: First, the law authorized the state to take money from some people and give it to others for their own private purposes, a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Second, the law forced taxpayers to support religious education at Catholic schools, thus resulting in using State power to support religion - a violation of the First Amendment. The Court rejected both arguments. The first argument was rejected on the grounds that the tax was for a public purpose - educating children - and so the fact that it coincided with someones personal desires does not render a law unconstitutional. When reviewing the second argument, the majority decision, referencing  Reynolds v. United States: The establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between Church and State. Amazingly, even after admitting this, the Court failed to find any such violation in collecting taxes for the purpose of sending children to a religious school. According to the Court, providing for transportation is analogous to providing police protection along the same transportation routes - it benefits everyone, and therefore should not be refused to some because of the religious nature of their end destination. Justice Jackson, in his dissent, noted the inconsistency between the strong affirmation of the separation of church and state and the final conclusions reached. According to Jackson, the Courts decision required making both unsupported assumptions of fact and ignoring actual facts which were supported. In the first place, the Court assumed that this was part of a general program to help parents of any religion get their children safely and quickly to and from accredited schools, but Jackson noted that this was not true: The Township of Ewing is not furnishing transportation to the children in any form; it is not operating school busses itself or contracting for their operation; and it is not performing any public service of any kind with this taxpayers money. All school children are left to ride as ordinary paying passengers on the regular buses operated by the public transportation system. What the Township does, and what the taxpayer complains of, is at stated intervals to reimburse parents for the fares paid, provided the children attend either public schools or Catholic Church schools. This expenditure of tax funds has no possible effect on the childs safety or expedition in transit. As passengers on the public buses they travel as fast and no faster, and are as safe and no safer, since their parents are reimbursed as before. In the second place, the Court ignored the actual facts of religious discrimination which was occurring: The resolution which authorizes disbursement of this taxpayers money limits reimbursement to those who attend public schools and Catholic schools. That is the way the Act is applied to this taxpayer. The New Jersey Act in question makes the character of the school, not the needs of the children determine the eligibility of parents to reimbursement. The Act permits payment for transportation to parochial schools or public schools but prohibits it to private schools operated in whole or in part for profit. ...If all children of the state were objects of impartial solicitude, no reason is obvious for denying transportation reimbursement to students of this class, for these often are as needy and as worthy as those who go to public or parochial schools. Refusal to reimburse those who attend such schools is understandable only in the light of a purpose to aid the schools because the state might well abstain from aiding a profit-making private enterprise. As Jackson noted, the only reason for refusing to help children going to for-profit private schools is a desire not to aid those schools in their ventures - but this automatically means that giving reimbursements to children going to parochial schools means that the government is helping them. Significance This case reinforced the precedent of government money financing portions of religious, sectarian education by having those funds applied to activities other than direct religious education.

The Myth of the Cave. The role of philosophers and educators in Essay

The Myth of the Cave. The role of philosophers and educators in society - Essay Example Throughout the life of humans, they come to know certain things as they found them to be. They proceed to believe that these things are the truth and reality. When they come to be told the truth, they reject it because it is a contradiction of what they know. Ignorance has been said to be bliss. That is what makes people not to see the truth. That is why they vehemently reject the truth. Different people have different perceptions of the truth. That is why there are those who will want to go and look for the truth outside the cave, and those who believe that the truth is in fact inside the cave (Watt, 25). Teachers have to realize the dangers of giving an education that is different from what others receive. Education should not compel us to believe in one single thing. It should in fact encourage us to go and find out the truth for ourselves. All that we merely see is not necessarily the reality. It might just be that we are so used to seeing it that we believe it is the ultimate truth. This is the danger that educationists need to eliminate. They need to encourage and promote the search for the truth. In current times, this can be aided by proper research. Education should not merely be an exercise of imparting already existing knowledge. It should not be an activity of coercing other to believe in one thing. It should be a process of facilitating research and self reliance. It should promote the search for the ultimate truth (Watt, 23).... The reading describes a scenario whereby what is taken to be real by most people may just be a mere illusion. ‘All people living in a cave’ is taken to represent the high levels of ignorance among humans. Human beings are in total darkness. The truth is just near them yet they have refused to embrace it. ‘Being chained on their necks and legs’ represents the unwillingness of humans to accept useful change. It shows that unless they take action, they are bound to ignorance. They have to free themselves from the caves otherwise they will always be prisoners of ignorance. The prisoners watching the shadows on the wall means that this is what they think the world is. The shadows which they see on the walls are what represent reality to them. They do not know any other truth. This is what they have known the world to be since they were born. Their conceptions and understanding of the world are skewed and misinformed. Their unwillingness and reluctance to leave th e cave is all as a result of ignorance. In the cave, all that the humans see is a mere reflection of what reality is. What they see is not reality. It is a mere illusion (Watt, 25). This is what the shadows represent. The shadows are like a mirage that tries to depict reality. Ignorance is very prevalent and humans do not want to let go of it. It is the duty of philosophers and educators to liberate these humans from the darkness. The truth can only be obtained by these philosophers. The senses of human beings skew and misconceive reality. Humans are so ignorant to the extent that they would reject a prisoner who left the cave to go and experience the real world in search of the truth. The prisoners represent the humans who are slaves of ignorance. They shun

Subsidiarity and EU Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Subsidiarity and EU Law - Essay Example The role of the judiciary and the future of the ECJ were not given prominence in the workings of the European Convention. This is further borne out by the fact that in outlining the responses of the Constitutional Convention to the Laeken declaration, the preface to Parts I and II of the draft Constitution states that the Constitution "establishes the necessary measures to improve the structure and enhance the role of each of the Union's three institutions, taking account, in particular, of the consequences of enlargement". The reason for this omission of any reference to the ECJ is that the Laeken declaration identified themes and challenges which were mainly political in nature and, consequently the focus was on the political institutions of the EU. In addition, the workings of the ECJ and the future of its judicial architecture had been extensively considered in the Treaty of Nice. Hence, it was thought to be unnecessary to consider these issues once again. Jurisdictionally, the ECJ's role is limited to providing clarification to EU Law, referred to it by the National Courts. The competence and power to make factual determinations, application of the law to the facts of the case and finding remedies are vested with the National Courts. The ECJ's supremacy in respect of issues involving the EU Law is accepted by the National Courts; however, the ECJ depends on these very same National Courts to implement its recommendations and rulings. It is here that the National Courts covertly interpret the ECJ Rulings to their advantage. In this manner the ECJ is compelled to engage in a cajolatory and conciliatory relation with the National Courts to achieve compliance with its rulings. The European Union's basic principle of federalism is defined by the principle of subsidiarity. The European Court of Justice has to adopt this principle in its rulings. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 has bestowed upon this principle of subsidiarity the status of a fundamental norm of the European Union. This principle requires the Community to act whenever; the Member States are not able to achieve the objectives of some proposed action, due to the enormity of the relevant factors involved and the like. This principle further has a normative quality in respect of politics and as expressed in the preamble to the Treaty of the European Union it requires decisions to be taken with as much proximity to the individual citizens as possible. The consequences of the principle of subsidiarity are not yet settled, although it has been confirmed that this principle can be implemented in law, the ECJ has to instil this principle with sufficient substantive content. Even though the ECJ is not legally bound by subsidiarity, all the same it has to take cognizance of the Constitutional values which this principle encompasses. The division of judicial roles under Article 234 embodies judicial subsidiarity in which responsibility for decision making is allocated between the National Courts and the ECJ, according to comparative institutional expertise. The ECJ has numerous reasons to defer action on any matter. The ECJ is at liberty to interpret the law in a manner, which is based on factual issues by generalizing (Marschall). However, such rulings rest on unsubstantiated assumptions, which are incompatible with

How would you reduce cost and overcrowding while maintaining a system Essay

How would you reduce cost and overcrowding while maintaining a system of justice Take into account faith-based prison ministrie - Essay Example A lot of prisoners remain inside the prison for years because they cannot afford lawyers to pursue the cases or because they leave prisons only to commit more crimes and re-enter the prison thus overcrowding it. Since â€Å"prison costs doubled to $24.6 billion over the past decade, and experts foresee substantial increases in the future† (Maginnis), it is important to build faith-based prisons where faith-based programs should be offered to the prisoners. This is not only beneficial for the purification of their souls leading to less recidivism when they leave prison, but is also helpful in reducing costs because faith-based programs tend to save the taxpayers millions of operating cost while ensuring frequent parole. Hence, building faith-based prisons and implementing faith-based rehabilitation programs will reduce costs while reducing overcrowding at the same time since the convicts will most probably be better human beings while leaving the prisons reducing the crime rate and hence reducing overcrowding in prisons.

Assignment 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Assignment 6 - Essay Example This wildfire also resulted in the death of 86 people. This wildfire was so devastating that it prompted the Congress to set aside funds to assist the National Forest Service prevent and fight wildfires. Despite the measures that have been put in place to prevent wildfires, the U.S. still, continue to suffer from the effects of wildfires. Causes of Wildfire Both human and nature are responsible for wildfires witnessed in the U.S. According to Hamilton (2010), about 90% of wildfires that burn the U.S. forests and lands are started by humans. Firstly, arson attack is responsible for most wildfires in the U.S. Arson attacks happen when an individual deliberately starts fire with the aim of destroying the land of a person perceived as an enemy. In 2010 alone, the U.S. fire department reportedly responded to about 260,000 wildfires intentionally started by arsonists (The National Fire Protection, 2013). These intentional fires resulted in at least 390 deaths, and left at least 1,340 peopl e with serious injuries. The fires also resulted in the destruction of property worth $1.2 billion. In fact, the wildfire that burnt more than 147,000 acres of land in Southern California in 2009 was caused by arson, according to the U.S. Forest Service report (CNN, 2009). This wildfire also destroyed many homes in the northern part of Los Angeles. Most wildfires in the U.S. are also caused by people burning debris. Most people in the U.S. have the habit of burning debris. However, sometimes the wind ends up blowing the debris to a dry grass and forest cover resulting in massive wildfires as has been the case in Michigan. The Michigan Fire department reveals that most wildfires in the state are caused by people burning debris (Hamilton, 2010). Smoking is also blamed for the rising incidences of wildfires in the U.S., according to Hamilton (2010). It has been observed that some wildfires are started by discarded burning cigarettes. When an individual discards a burning cigarette on a dry grass or forest, this sometimes ends up triggering a massive wildfire that result in the destruction of several acres of land. A small percentage of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by sparks from moving trains, vehicle exhaust, and heavy equipment. Some of the wildfires that burn the U.S. forests are caused by nature, such as lightning and lava. Silverstein, Silvertein, and Nunn (2009) reveal that whereas 90% of wildfires are caused by humans, the remaining 10% are caused by nature. Normally, when lightning occurs, electric currents are sent to the earth’s surface resulting in wildfires. For instance, report indicates that about half of all wildfires in Florida are stated by lightning. Lightning is also responsible for about 2% of all wildfires in Michigan. Volcanic eruption is also responsible for a significant number of wildfires in the U.S. When an eruption occurs, hot magma is through onto the earth’s surface that cools down to form lava. However, when the ho t lava encounters dry grass or leaves, this sometimes starts wildfires as noted by Silverstein, Silvertein, and Nunn (2009). The physical nature of wildfires The physical nature of wildfire is very complex and depends largely on fuel type, geographical location, humidity, moisture content, temperature of an area and topography. For a wildfire to occur, the necessary elements must be available. Firstly, an ignition source

Law and mangement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Law and mangement - Essay Example e individual/ parties to an agreement identify the formation and termination terms of contract incorporating in as well as the privileges plus tasks of the participating groups under that contract (David, 2009). The acceptance of a contract of a suggestion takes place while there is an untrained recognition of the entire accessible terms. Despite the fact that, this is extraordinary as well as there will usually be a time of collaboration. New terms as well as conditions presented in the course of cooperation in consequence quantity to a succession of responses to present the unique offer, cancelling the conditions and terms of the unusual offer (Contract). If an agreement is prepared, and for any cause it afterward turns out to be unworkable to for one party to act upon their obligations, then we need to think about frustration. Be cautious to note that frustration is about following impossibility; if an agreement was impossible to carry out right from the beginning, then the matter is one of error and not frustration (Smithies, 2007). Frustration of contract is a fake declaration of contracting details prepared through one participating contract party to another participating party as well as has the outcome of suggest that contacting group party into the agreement. For instance, beneath definite state of affairs, frustration of contract makes a statements or promise prepared through a retailer of goods concerning the excellence or feature of the manufactured goods that the vendor has may encompass the developed standards or misrepresentation. A conclusion of falsification permits for a conduct of rescission as well as irregularly gu arantee depending on the kind of distortion (Smithies, 2007). In this situation Harry offer his Motor Cycle for sale to Ian at $ 500. The main mistake done here is the establishment of any detailed document for regarding the offer. Here no time limit is defined no prices is established. In this situation Harry is free to sale his

Personal statement For Bachelor of Nursing Essay

Personal statement For Bachelor of Nursing - Essay Example I consider myself as a creative, bold, confident, determinant and ambitious individual along with a presentable personality. I have sound nursing and interpersonal skills as I always perform my duty and task with full integrity and devotion. There are some domains in which I possess command and expertise. They are Patient’s behavior analysis, General Physician Consultancy, Medical report analysis, and Performing diagnostic tests. As my academic reports are illustrating my interest in the pious filed of Nursing, so I have decided to continue my dedication and devotion towards it. I have decided to precede my educational and professional experience up to such an extent where I can help humanity at my best. In this era of exclusive technology and inventions, I need to upgrade myself and need to keep pace with the profession, so a scholarship for higher studies will definitely help me to sharpen my skills. I feel that after a scholarship I can serve humanity at my best because â€Å"Serving humanity is to serving

Law and mangement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Law and mangement - Essay Example e individual/ parties to an agreement identify the formation and termination terms of contract incorporating in as well as the privileges plus tasks of the participating groups under that contract (David, 2009). The acceptance of a contract of a suggestion takes place while there is an untrained recognition of the entire accessible terms. Despite the fact that, this is extraordinary as well as there will usually be a time of collaboration. New terms as well as conditions presented in the course of cooperation in consequence quantity to a succession of responses to present the unique offer, cancelling the conditions and terms of the unusual offer (Contract). If an agreement is prepared, and for any cause it afterward turns out to be unworkable to for one party to act upon their obligations, then we need to think about frustration. Be cautious to note that frustration is about following impossibility; if an agreement was impossible to carry out right from the beginning, then the matter is one of error and not frustration (Smithies, 2007). Frustration of contract is a fake declaration of contracting details prepared through one participating contract party to another participating party as well as has the outcome of suggest that contacting group party into the agreement. For instance, beneath definite state of affairs, frustration of contract makes a statements or promise prepared through a retailer of goods concerning the excellence or feature of the manufactured goods that the vendor has may encompass the developed standards or misrepresentation. A conclusion of falsification permits for a conduct of rescission as well as irregularly gu arantee depending on the kind of distortion (Smithies, 2007). In this situation Harry offer his Motor Cycle for sale to Ian at $ 500. The main mistake done here is the establishment of any detailed document for regarding the offer. Here no time limit is defined no prices is established. In this situation Harry is free to sale his

Overview of Symphony Orchestra and Wind Band as different Entities of Dissertation

Overview of Symphony Orchestra and Wind Band as different Entities of Music - Dissertation Example Some people think music is all around us and in everything that we do. There are those who also think collectively, music is a spice that gives the world its sweet piece of aroma and taste. But for however one perceives music, it could just be right to admit that there are thousands of factors that go into the creation and formation of music than mere coincidence. Music is actually created and this is what makes music an art. Talking about the creation of music, mention can be made of the different elements that come together to make the formation of music complete. One of such adorable elements that always stand out in the composition of music is ensembles. The kind of ensembles present and how they are used to form or create music also goes a long way to talk of the kind of music we have. Largely, the presence of different ensembles and how these are put to gather to create music would bring two major groups of music to bear and these two groups are symphony orchestra and the Ameri can wind band. There are many who have thought that because these two groups primarily end up in the creation or composition of music, there should actually not be any need differentiating them but that is technically not correct. (Forest, 2008). This research paper therefore tries to take a direct look at symphony orchestra and the American wind band in terms of practical musical issues that differentiate them and that account for reasons why composers make a choice between writing for orchestra or band. Difference in Instrumentation Instrumentation remains a major phenomenon in the discussion of the differences between orchestra and band. Typically, the instrumentation refers to the assembly of musical ensembles or instruments available to the two types of musical composition (Diamond, 2009). On a larger scale, orchestra is often thought to be with a standard instrumentation; a concept that is largely absent in the American wind band. Without implying that a band does not need all the ensembles in an orchestra to function, a band, can well function without a fraction of most of the ensembles that are needed in a typical orchestra. For this reason, orchestra is generally seen as a more standardized instrument based outfit than a band. This is very much because unlike a band, an orchestra can just not function properly in the absence of most of the so called standard instrumentations. In the count of ensembles rather than individual players on a band and an orchestra therefore, it would be true to say that an orchestra is a larger musical outfit than a band. It would also be true to say that an orchestra is a well organized musical outfit than a band. There are some music historians who even believe that in terms of differences in instrumentation, an orchestra is a more professional body of music than a band. Young Composers (2008) for instance writes that â€Å"â€Å"Wind Band" is a large ensemble consisting of many woodwinds, brass, and percussion.† He further states that â€Å"a "Wind Symphony" could be considered a larger or more technically skilled ensemble, with additional instruments, more players, and with a repertoire more difficult, expansive, and varied.† Organization There exist major differences between orchestra and band that result from their organization on a typical musical stage. Given a very typical musical show, the kind of technical organization that will take place within the orchestra is totally different from what will be experienced for a band. Most often than not, the differences in organization emanate from differences in instrumentation. As it has been indicated earlier, the types of instrumentation used in orchestras are totally different

Cleft Palate Microflora- Normal and Pathogenic

Cleft Palate Microflora- Normal and Pathogenic A REVIEW OF LITERATURE Abstract Oral cavity is a house for more than 300 species of microorganisms which includes aerobic, non aerobic, spores, fungi etc. Though many microorganisms are commensal only few microorganism involve in pathogenic process due to predisposing or initiative factors like poor oral hygiene, medically compromised patients, dentate and non dentate mouth, dietary habit, clefts, etc,. Cleft palate is one of the conditions in which commensal microorganisms can become pathogenic over time. There will be communication between nasal and oral microorganisms, which makes the habitat more suitable for few like Staphylococcus species. Even after the closure of due to exchange of microflora between oral and nasal cavity it can lead to wound dehiscence, which further leads to post operative complications. Key words: cleft palate, oral microflora, wound dehiscence, staphylococcus, streptococcus, commensal, fistula Introduction Clefts of the palate comprise a range of disorders affecting the oral cavity, the causes of which remain largely unknown1. Affected children have a range of functional problems which include feeding difficulties at birth due to problems with oral seal, swallowing and nasal regurgitation, hearing difficulties due to abnormality in the palatal musculature and speech difficulties due to nasal escape and articulation problems (Mossey and Little, 2009)2. Cleft may also predispose to alteration of normal flora at nose and oral cavity. Viridans streptococci were the first persistent colonizer of the human mouth and Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Neisseria spp were consistently found toward the end of the first year of life (Arief et al, 2005)3. NORMAL ORAL MICROFLORA The world we live in contains unimaginable numbers of bacteria, representing the major diversity of life on our planet. The commensal bacteria are present on the epithelial surfaces of the skin and on the mucosal surfaces of the oral cavity, respiratory tract, esophagus, gastrointestinal tract and urogenital tract. An estimated 300 to 500 bacterial species (sp) coexist within the oral cavity, of which approximately 50% are currently uncultivable.4 In spite of this, only a relatively small number of bacteria cause infection in man (Henderson and Wilson, 1998)5. Establishment of a normal flora occurs in a sequential manner: (1) the first exposure of the mucosal surfaces of a sterile neonate is to the maternal genital microflora during its passage through the birth canal, (2) a few hours later the organisms from the mothers (or the nurses) mouth and possibly a few from the environment are established in the mouth, usually Streptococci spp, which bind to mucosal epithelium, (3) oral flora on the childs first birthday usually consists of Streptococci, Staphylococci, Neisseriae and Lactobacilli, (4) the next evolutionary change in this community occurs during and after tooth eruption when two further niches are provided for bacterial colonization, (5) when all the teeth are lost as a result of senility, bacteria that colonize the mouth at this stage are very similar to those in a child before tooth eruption6,7,8. The oral cavity, upper respiratory tract, and certain regions of the ears and eyes have an indigenous microflora. Because of the close anatomic relationship of these structures, the resident flora of these regions shares many common pathogens. Within a given microenvironment, however, certain microbes that constitute the normal flora are associated with distinct anatomic sites. Thus, the normal flora exists within complex ecosystems at different sites and interacts closely with different bacterial spp and with the host epithelial layers. This indigenous microflora is known to change over time and host age, congenital malformation, underlying disease and chemotherapeutic agents affect its composition4. Microbial counts have been reported to vary from day to day9. A variety of conditions affect successful colonization of the mucosal surface in the oral cavity, including factors such as epithelial cell turnover, salivary flow, reduction in the oral pH environment following food intake and dentition. The predominant components of oral flora are Streptococcal spp, most commonly members of the Streptococcus group4,7,8. Increasing the amount of sugar intake would encourage growth of certain Streptococci that are able to tolerate a lower pH environment and also presence of teeth (Arief et al, 2005)3. Organisms generally considered as commensals including palate are coagulase-negative staphylococci, nonhemolytic and viridans streptococci, Corynebacterium spp, Neisseria spp Candida spp and other cultivable and not-yet-cultivable spp of Streptococcus.10,11,12 Candida albicans (C. albicans) is the most prevalent yeast isolated from the human body as a commensal or as an opportunistic pathogen13. The presence of C.albicans in the oral cavity is not indicative of disease. In many individuals, C.albicans is a minor component of their oral flora, and they have no clinical symptoms. In healthy individuals, a large number of sites in the oral cavity can be colonized by C.albicans14. A number of bacteria which populate the normal oral microflora are opportunistic pathogens capable of injuring or even killing the carrier, if conditions permit- organisms like Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus), ÃŽ ²-hemolytic streptococci, Neisseria meningitides, Streptococcus pneumoniae,5 Klebsiella spp, Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Pseudomonas spp (Roscoe and Hoang, 2007)10. (Table 1) MICROFLORA INVOLVED IN WOUND DEHISCENCE Any wound is at some risk of becoming infected. One school of thought is that the density of microorganisms is the critical factor in determining whether a wound is likely to heal. However, a second school of thought argues that the presence of specific pathogens is of primary importance in delayed healing, while yet others have reported microorganisms to be of minimal importance in delayed healing15. Wound contaminants are likely to originate from three main sources: (i) the environment; (ii) the surrounding skin; (iii) endogenous sources involving mucous membranes. The normal microfloras of the oral cavity are both diverse and abundant, and these supply the vast majority of microorganisms that colonize wounds15. Bacterial infections after cleft palate surgery increase the risk of wound breakdown, palatal fistulas, poor speech, poor growth, poor aesthetic results and death. As the commensal oral bacteria in a normal young child change from birth as the child grows, factors that affect oral bacterial colonization include presence of antibodies that inhibit bacterial adherence, presence of teeth, formation of a biofilm, bacterial load in the saliva of attendants and frequency of exposure, prolonged hospital care and exposure to antibiotics (Chuo and Timmons 2005).3,16,17 The risk of infection is generally based on the susceptibility of a surgical wound to microbial contamination. Clean surgery carries 1 to 5% risk of postoperative wound infection and in dirty procedures that are significantly more susceptible to endogenous contamination, a 27% risk of infection has been estimated15. Though, infection is not a very frequent complication following correction of the palate, when infection occurs, partial or complete dehiscence may be the consequence. All wound infections were diagnosed on the second to sixth postoperative day while most patients leave the hospital on the third postoperative day. However, the strong relationship with preoperative cultures and dehiscence indicates that pathogens causing infection do play a role. Moreover, patients with dehiscence showed pus and fever, both signs of an infectious complication18. One might also argue that wound tension contributes to dehiscence and other causative factor. For example, too close to the incision edges may prevent the tissue from meeting and binding together properly. Sutures that are too tight can result in strangulation of the wound edges and poor blood supply to the wound, causing necrosis or sutures are removed too early.18 Wounds undergo a predictable alteration in microbial flora over time. Early on, the wound is colonized particularly by ÃŽ ²-hemolytic Streptococci and S.aureus, within the first 1 to 4 weeks, these are soon accompanied by that often infect wounds together in a synergistic fashion. After approximately 4 weeks, chronic wounds are more likely to become colonized by Pseudomonas spp Infections in older wounds are polymicrobial mixtures of aerobic pathogens usually associated with tissue necrosis, undermining and deep structure involvement (Gordon Dow, 2009).19 Invasive group A Streptococcal infections, once thought to be mainly a problem of the preantibiotic era, continue to be reported in many countries. In a multicenter general practice study in Denmark (1983 and 1984), group A ÃŽ ²-hemolytic streptococci detected in the throats of 10.9% of 99 asymptomatic children younger than 15 years old. Also the throat carrier rates of groups A, C and G ÃŽ ²-hemolytic streptococci decreased with increasing age of the individuals’ studied.16 The carrier ship of group A Streptococcus may predispose to infection and S.aureus ranks second among spp cultured from infected wounds18. Whilst the importance of Staphylococci as medical pathogens has been recognised for many years, it is now suggest that Staphylococci can be isolated frequently from the oral cavity of particular patients group such as children, elderly and in ill patients. Therefore, it is apparent that the oral cavity may present a hitherto poorly recognised reservoir of Staphylococci, some of which may, under appropriate conditions cause local or systemic infection.17 Nasal bacteria may be transmitted through an oronasal cleftfistula to the oral cavity, and it may be able to survive in the oral environment in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) (Mims et al., 1993). S.aureus were identified in 53.1% of saliva samples and 40.6% of nasal samples. The oronasal fistula area was significantly higher in children who had S.aureus colonization in their oral cavity (Tuna et al, 2008).20 Recent data have shown that S.aureus is more frequently found in the oral flora of cleft patients than in normal children. Using saliva swabs, Arief et al. found that children with cleft palate showed more colonization by S.aureus compared to normal children of 3–39 months, which decreased significantly after operation.3 According to Aziz, Rhee, and Redai (2009), 5.5% of patients had nonlife-threatening complications (infection or wound dehiscence)21 and according to Hupkens and group (2007), they encountered 6.0% of wound dehiscence.18 The microbiological studies comparing flora between cleft and non-cleft sites in children with CLP by Brennan et al. (2001) determined that the oral bacteria colonize the cleft nasal floor in patients with unilateral oronasal fistulas. They reported that oral bacteria were not cultured in the nasal floor of the cleft in the majority of patients with oronasal fistula. The Investigators claimed that oral bacteria might occur only when the fistulae are sufficiently large to maintain a similar environment to the oral cavity.20 The study by Tuna et al. showed bacterial transmission was proven for large oronasal fistulas and a correlation was found with S.aureus counts in the children with CLP. It appears that as fistula size increases, significantly higher colony numbers of S.aureus were found in saliva samples. In addition, S.aureus tends to survive in the oral cavity as a result of transmission through the nasal passages as long as an unrepaired cleft exists.20 One study by Myburgh, and K.W. Butow (2009), swabs taken from their soft palates were made for days 0, 2, 4 and 6. The pathogenic organisms were: C.albicans, E.coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and others.22 Another study from Finland showed that, Viridans Streptococci were the first persistent oral bacteria in babies (Kononen, 2000). Staphylococci were prevalent in more than 25% of children aged 0 to 6 months. The prevalence of Staphylococcus was lower in older children.16 Klebsiella spp are ubiquitous in nature and probably have two common habitats, one being the environment and the other being the mucosal surfaces of humans which they colonize. In humans, Klebsiella pneumoniae is present as a saprophyte in the nasopharynx and in the intestinal tract. Klebsiellae are opportunistic pathogens, can give rise to severe diseases such as septicemia, pneumonia, UTI, soft tissue infection and nosocomial outbreaks. The detection rate in the nasopharynx range from 1 to 6%, which differ considerably from study to study; Klebsiella spp are rarely found there and are regarded simply as transient members of the flora.23 According to the statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Klebsiella spp account for 8% of endemic hospital infections and 3% of epidemic outbreaks. The mortality due to Klebsiella spp bacteremia approaches 27–34% in adult patients. This data also showed a marked overall increase in the incidence of this infection during the study period and are in agreement with previous reports regarding the dynamics of gram-negative and Enterobacteriaceae bacteremias.24 During the 1980s and 1990s, the frequency of nosocomial Candidiasis has increased dramatically. Data from the USA National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System shows that C.albicans was the most frequently isolated fungal pathogen (59.7%) in hospital environments. Transfer of Candida between individuals often occurs via the hands of health care workers, and nosocomial transmission can occur without Candidiasis outbreaks.14 Approximately 60% of the isolated recovered were gram-positive cocci (coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, ~31%), S.aureus (20%), and Enterococcus (9.5%). Over the past 5–10 years, most commonly isolated were gram-negative rods, such as E.coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, P.aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.23,25 It could be hypothesized that patient characteristics are primarily responsible for these differences. For example, genetic predilections, underlying diseases, social factors and economic factors and also differences in the virulence of individual microorganisms may be responsible for the manifestations of infection observed in cleft palate patients after surgery.26 (Table 2) Conclusion S.aureus and ÃŽ ²-hemolytic Streptococci are the commonest microflora which are responsible for wound dehiscence, it is always advised to do preoperative and postoperative culture. Though wound dehiscence is not always but frequent complication patient should be under proper care especially children. Alongside attention should be give to the other commensal microflora like Klebsiella, Candida, etc., which can become pathogenic over time in cleft patients. Despite advances in preoperative care, the rate of surgical wound dehiscence has not decreased in recent years. Recognition of risk factors, prevention of wound infection and mechanical stress on the incision are important. Management of dehisced wounds may include immediate surgery. If surgery is not needed, management is essentially the same as that of any other wound through maintenance of a moist wound environment, reduction of bio burden and pain, and promotion of granulation tissue.

Why Study Ancient World Cultures :: Ancient World Culture

Why Study Ancient World Cultures? Why study ancient cultures? You might feel that the question is moot: students do study and will study ancient cultures; such study is an expected part of a tradition of intellectual development. The response to the why of the initial question is a matter of tradition, if not fact. A study of the ROMAN EMPIRE, a reading of Greek philosophy and literature, a look at the PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT -- these are all accepted parts of a Western education, aren't they? Probably so: even today, in the plurality of approaches to the study of history and to the study of cultures, people talk about PLATO or DANTE or Krishna or Mohammed. But there is an important proviso: How you approach ancient cultures (or any other culture, for that matter) and how you conceive of the people of such distant worlds are of paramount importance. At this point, you might ask yourself these two additional questions: Do we study these cultures because, to some extent, all cultures share certain characteristics? Does our own culture reflect aspects of these other cultures? The answer to the first of the two questions has historically been found in a discussion of universality. Consider, for a moment, the case of Arjuna in The Bhagavad Gita. You might well ask how the battle that Arjuna holds off while frozen on his chariot relates, for example, to contemporary battles in World War II. Convinced that his relatives will die in this life only to be reborn in another, Arjuna can reluctantly permit the carnage to begin. No such choice is left to Schindler (featured in Spielberg's film Schindler's List), on the other hand, whose intervention on behalf of Jews saved many people in this life. The danger in looking for universals thus consists in reformulating other, possibly alien, views to fit our own. We must always guard against the assumption that other people think as we do -- or that they should. Arjuna speaks within the context of one culture; Schindler acts within the confines of another. The differences among cultures are of greatest interest here, and reading about ancient cultures is thus reading about other people whose lives were surely different from our own. The social organization of Socrates' ATHENS -- where a gimpy-legged man could hobble around interrogating citizens at will -- differs profoundly from today's world beset with modern media whereby people rarely get to see or literally hear their critics.

Adjustment Essay -- essays research papers

My cousin Kara just got married recently. She is about six years older than I am and has graduated from college and is ready to settle down. She has been planning her wedding for almost a year. It took a lot of time and effort to make her wedding day perfect. Just finding the dress took six months. On the day of the wedding tons of things went wrong but in the end it all worked out and it was beautiful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I got a chance to talk to her and ask her some questions about how she felt about everything. She told me that the biggest adjustment she had to make was knowing that she was all grown up. She felt like the real world had finally come along and she was no longer dependent on her parents. That scared her to death. She said that she loved David her fiancà © more than anything and she knew she was making the right decision, but the fact that she was going to be with him forever took some time to get used to also. Not only did she have to worry about the planning and spending, she was also becoming very emotional about everything as the day drew closer. Her parents are divorced so that made her planning process even more difficult. Each parent gave her a certain amount of money but neither would really get involved in helping her get everything together. She lives in St. Louis and both of her parents live more than a eight hundred miles away from her. So she felt bas ically on her own from her family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another major adjust...

The Rocket Boys

â€Å"The Rocket Boys† Homer Hickam Jr. For my reading assignment, I chose â€Å"The Rocket Boys† by Homer Hickam Jr. It is an autobiography written more like a fiction novel about a high school aged boy, Homer, who lived in a coal mining town named Coalwood. His father ran the coal mine and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps but Homer did not want to become a miner. He wanted to grow up to be a rocket engineer. Homer and his father were never great friends and this built tension between them all the way through Homer’s high school years.This passion for rockets began while Homer was watching the Russians launch a satellite into space for the first time ever. He started to learn about rockets and with a group of friends, he started to grasp the concept of rocket building. After some months of fighting for materials and a place to launch these rockets, the coal company allowed them to launch on an abandoned coal yard outside of town. For three years Homer a nd his friends launched better and better rockets, able to reach up to five miles in the sky! In their senior year they entered the county science fair and won all the way to nationals with the help of their whole community.Homer’s successes pleased his father; they both finally were happier and moved on. Homer ended up at NASA after joining the Army for the Vietnam War. He is still alive today. A particular passage in the book I find appealing is found on pages forty and forty-one: â€Å"All that fall, the Welch Daily News and the Bluefield Daily Telegraph were filled with stories of our American scientists and engineers at Cape Canaveral in Florida, desperately working to catch up with the Russians. It was if the science fiction I had read all my life were coming true.Gradually, I became fascinated by the whole thing. I read every article I could find about the men at the Cape and kept myself pinned to the television set for the latest on what they were doing. I began to h ear about one particular rocket scientist named Dr. Wernher von Braun. His very name was exotic and exciting. I saw on television were Dr. von Braun had given an interview and he said, in a crisp German accent, that if he got the go ahead he could put a satellite into orbit within thirty days. The newspapers said he’d have to wait, that the program Vanguard would get the first chance.Vanguard was the United States’ International Geophysical satellite program, and von Braun, since he worked for the Army, was somehow too tainted by that association to make the first American try for orbit. At night before I went to sleep, I thought about what Dr. von Braun might be doing at that very moment down at the Cape. I could just imagine him high on a gantry, lying on his back like Michelangelo, working with a wrench on the fuel lines of one of his rockets. I started to think about what an adventure it would be to work for him, helping him to build rockets and launching them into space. †This passage describes when Homer started to think about how much he liked rockets and how Dr. von Braun started to become Homer’s hero. It mentions how Homer just notices Dr. von Braun’s name and automatically takes an interest in the scientist because of how exotic it was which foreshadows the fact that Homer will have a growing interest in Dr. von Braun. Homer’s admiration for the scientist grew considerably when Dr. von Braun said that, if allowed, he could have a satellite in space in thirty days. This made Homer think of him as an aeronautical hero and that is how he thought about him for the rest of his life.The author used creative references, like when Homer would lie in bed and think about what Dr. von Braun was doing. He thought that he was like Michelangelo, high up on a gantry underneath his â€Å"art† or his rocket fixing something with his wrench like Michelangelo was fixing something under the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling with his brush. This thought made Homer think about how great it would be to be doing that alongside of the great Dr. von Braun. This important passage shows what Homer Jr. ’s main interest will be for the rest of his life. The most difficult choice Homer had to make was what he wanted to do in life.All through high school Homer wanted to please his father but also wanted to do what he wanted to do. His father wanted Homer to become a mining engineer after Homer expressed an interest in engineering; he really wanted Homer to take over his work after he retired. Homer said to him that he didn’t really know what an engineer did but that all he wanted to do was build rockets. His father kept pressing Homer, explaining that coal mining was the life of their country and Homer would be doing his country an honor by running a coal mine. Homer had always wanted the respect from his father hat his father gave to Homer’s brother and coal mining would get him that respect but his dream was to build rockets in Cape Canaveral. Homer was torn but he knew in his heart that he was going to follow his dream, despite whatever his father said. Interestingly, because this book is an autobiography that contains an epilogue, the reader learns about the character at the end of the book and later in life. At the end of the book, Homer was physically the same as the beginning; Homer was in good health since there was no mention of his physical health changing, unlike his father, whose lungs were turning black and infected from mining.Homer was emotionally much better at the end of the book. After years of struggling, Homer figured out who he was and what he was going to: this issue was summarized powerfully on page three hundred seven, â€Å"Standing under the apple tree where Daisy Mae was buried, I realized I didn’t have to envy them anymore: I also knew now who I was and what I was going to do. That was when almost as if someone had pulled a string, my stomach and head stopped hurting. † Socially, Homer always seemed fine. He had a great group of friends- â€Å"the rocket boys†- throughout the story.By the end of the book, his social circumstances were even better as Homer was regarded as almost a small town hero in Coalwood after winning the science fairs. He still had a great group of friends that he was with since before and during high school and the community liked him and his friends a lot; this most evident after listening to the people watching the boys drive to their last launch: â€Å"Some people saw the rocket sticking out of the window, and shouts of encouragement rang out. ‘The rocket boys, hoo! ’ ‘We’re proud of you boys! ‘A-OK, all systems go! ’. † People from all over the county respected the boys, especially Homer. Homer was in great shape at the end of the book- physically, emotionally, and socially, having stayed true to what he wanted to do, and sticki ng with his friends. Personally, I like Homer. He tries to please everyone he knows with whatever he does. He seems genuine and puts a lot of work into everything he does. One thing I noticed about Homer that is most admirable is that he did not give up when he needed something.If he needed to get supplies for his rockets, he would do whatever he could to get them. He would trade for supplies, do work for people, camp in the woods for a week, and dig steel out of the ground to sell. Homer did have some bad moments when he got tough and arrogant but whenever he did, someone knocked him back into his place and he realized what he was doing. Considering all of these things, I would like to be friends with Homer and would really enjoy being a â€Å"rocket boy†. â€Å"The Rocket Boys† title signifies the main point of the book.It explains that the book is about a group of boys who are somehow connected to rockets, whether they have an interest, they like to fly them, or any thing else with rockets involved. I think a better title to the book could be â€Å"Leaving Coalwood† because the story emphasizes all of the reasons not to stay in Coalwood but to leave and pursue one’s dreams. It also signifies the rockets themselves when they blast off and go high up in the sky, leaving Coalwood behind and seeing the world from above before falling back to Coalwood.The ending of â€Å"The Rocket Boys† is very effective given the resolution of the tension that was prominent throughout the book. Homer’s final launch brought many people to Cape Coalwood, including Homer’s father. Homer let his father launch their last and best rocket ever that exploded the launch pad and flew to six miles in the sky. Homer’s father jumped around, happy and excited, very proud of his son. Homer’s father was finally showing just how pleased he was for his son’s success, something Homer longed for. Since this story had such a happ y, exciting, and true ending, it is hard to change it.If I had to change it, another ending might be that the tension was not completely cleared up between Homer and his father. Homer’s father wouldn’t have come to the launch, and even though he was slowly getting used to the fact that Homer wanted to leave Coalwood and work with rockets. In the changed ending, he still wasn’t happy that Homer wouldn’t take over his job. This ending leaves the possibility for a sequel, following up on the continued tension as Homer became an adult and a successful NASA scientist.While I thought the actual ending to â€Å"The Rocket Boys† was effective and good, having a new ending would also create new possibilities. I would recommend this book to someone who relates to this book in many ways. My father is one of those people who are always interested in learning about things, and how they work. This book is all about how Homer learned about how rockets work and ho w to build them. My father loves to build things and always wanted to become a carpenter, which is what he did.His parents wanted him to go to college to work as a company executive like his dad and he never told them he wanted to become a carpenter. After struggling to decide whether or not to tell them, wondering if they would be mad or not, he told them, and to his surprise, they were fine with it. This isn’t exactly like Homer’s struggle with his father where it was external conflict, but internal. I think my father would relate to Homer’s struggle. In addition, my father would enjoy the technical story of the building of the rockets and all of the excitement that this story provides.Overall, I like this book a lot. I thought the book I was going to have to read for this reading assignment was going to be boring and long. I was completely wrong! I did not want to stop reading this story. I thought it was a very well written autobiography that isn’t ju st filled with facts and dates, but is filled with rich information from the exciting adventures with Homer and his rocket boys. This was one of the best reading assignment books I have ever read; in fact, one of the best books I have ever read.