Role of Social Media in Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of Social Media in Higher Education - Essay Example Social media also contains design applications that establish virtual social spaces encouraging interaction, in that way enhancing the appeal of the technology. There has been increased use of social media in higher education and this literature review gives an in-depth analysis of various scientific investigations. In this age where online sites including Facebook, Twitter, Live Journal, Instant Messenger, campus blogs and Web Shots, students in higher institutions of learning are using online sites as the major medium of communication. As anticipated, this medium of communication presents students with ethical decisions on acceptable behavior, self-disclosure, and social propriety. Owing to the fact that the extensive use of social media sites has posted numerous problems for students and administrators, the book seeks to give professional guidance to policymakers and higher education professionals. Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding what matters in student culture is a certified guide for student affairs administrators and higher education facilities that carefully analyze the use of social media sites and their use to develop relations in the institutions and outside the institutions. More importantly, the book looks into how college students use social media sites to explore and establish their identities. The findings in this book are got from surveys, interviews, and data from focus groups. Furthermore, the text gives an ethnographic perspective on social networking that helps information technology administrators, student affairs administrators and members of the faculty get a better understanding of the use of college media among college students. Students in higher institutions of learning communicate using social media sites more than face-to-face communication.  

The Decolonisation of Africa 1959-1964 Essay Example for Free

The Decolonisation of Africa 1959-1964 Essay To what extent was Britain able to retain control over decolonisation in Africa between 1959 and 1964? By 1959 decolonisation in British Africa was well under way, for example, the Gold Coast in West Africa had become independent in 1957, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were well on their way to independence, and agitation and advances towards independence were already taking place in Kenya and Tanganyika in Eastern Africa. By 1964 this had spread throughout Britain’s African territories and many more had either become independent or started their journey and development towards independence, as the â€Å"political face of the continent was transformed†[1]. This essay will examine what it was that led to this huge change in policy towards Africa, from a time at the beginning of the 1950s when no one expected any of Britain’s colonies to become independent within a generation, let alone within a decade, to a time in the mid-1960s when Britain’s colonial possessions in Africa were severely dwindling and there was a clear line of policy towards decolonisation there. Even in 1959, as Hemming recognises, â€Å"a conference of East African governors agreed that the likely timetable of independence would be: Tanganyika in 1970, Kenya in 1975 and Uganda somewhere between the two†[2]. In fact Tanganyika gained independence in 1961, Kenya in 1963 and Uganda in 1962. As Hemming identifies, â€Å"a fifteen year timetable had been reduced by 80 percent†[3]. This essay will look at such questions as: How can we judge if Britain was in control? ; Was Britain in control of the pace, or the actual process of events of how independence came about? ; Was Britain in control of who to transfer power to? This essay will attempt to answer these questions by examining all of the various problems, and pressures with which Britain was faced regarding its African colonies, which can been seen to have taken the control of decolonisation in Africa between 1959 and 1964 out of Britain’s hands. It will look at whether Britain really wanted to maintain control of its colonial territories, or whether, once Britain had decided not to keep its colonies, it actually did not want to remain in control of decolonisation in Africa. In some cases did it actually make it easier for Britain to allow control of African decolonisation **** out of its hands. This essay will examine whether it is certain that once the ‘wind of change’ of African nationalism began spreading through Africa, that Britain was not entirely in control, and, will examine the extent to which Britain did retain control, if it did at all. It will look at the pressures the British government had to deal with, for example, pressures from the UN to end British imperialism, pressures from the US, and pressures from other members of the Commonwealth, as well as from the rest of Europe. It will examine the strength of colonial nationalism and the extent to which this took the control of decolonisation in Africa away from Britain, or at least forced the British government to change and adapt its policy in order to cope and deal with this threat. This essay will look at pressures at home in Britain, from members of the government and those in opposition as well as British public opinion, and the extent to which this affected Britain’s policy over decolonisation. It will also look at the impact and influence that the process of decolonisation being pursued by other European imperial powers in Africa had on Britain’s decolonisation policy. It will look at how much the desire of Britain to maintain its role as a world power, and maintain, for example, the special relationship with America, and its position in the Commonwealth, had on British policy over decolonisation and whether this desire led to Britain pursuing a policy direction which it otherwise would not have done. Finally, having examined all these pressures and events which affected Britain’s decolonisation policy in Africa, this essay will attempt to examine to what extent Britain was, or was not, able to retain control over this process, and affect it in a way which was acceptable to Britain. It will then try and make an assessment, whether or not Britain did retain control over decolonisation in Africa in the period from 1959 to 1964, and, if Britain was in control, the extent of this control.

The Importance of Language in Clare Rossini’s Final Love Note and Louis

The Importance of Language in Clare Rossini’s Final Love Note and Louise Gluck’s Mock Orange Love is such an abstract concept for the human mind to figure out. Along with the love of a mother for her child, there are many types of sensual love or brotherly love; friendship is frequently described as a type of love, as well. This abstraction can also be distorted and made to fit into categories that would normally be associated with negativity and abuse not "love." Think of why a woman will continually go back to an abusive spouse with the irrational reason that "he loves me." If he loved you, he wouldn't beat you†¦Would he? In a poem, the confusion seems only to extend, as writers will describe a beautiful event that is tainted by a bad experience or emotion. In this manner, word choice plays a primary role in determining the actual meaning of the poem. Clare Rossini, in her poem entitled "Final Love Note" and Louise Gluck, in her poem "Mock Orange," both use carefully chosen language to portray different aspects of the concept that we, in individual and often irrationa l ways, use to explain "love." These particular writers use words of love and hate to explain extremely passionate feelings toward their personal relationships-and nature, an elm tree, and a Mock Orange bush, to be exact. Clare Rossini's ", Final Love Note," reflects a depth of emotion that, on the surface, is directed towards an elm tree that has died and must be cut down. She opens the poem describing an intensely intimate state in a relationship, and it is her word choice that reflects deeper into her love, than merely sadness due to the loss of a tree. "For months we've been together, hardly wanton,/ never touching. Yet your shade commingled/ with my clot... ...n the world?" (lines 21-24). Although Gluck and Rossini write of separate experiences and emotions related to both love and plants, their word choice is what keys the reader in to their meaning. By evaluating the language usage of a poet, a reader comes to appreciate the careful planning and preparation that goes into each poem of value. These writers know each of the meanings and definitions of the words that they chose, and as we have seen with Gluck, and especially Rossini, that choice has a great impact on how a reader will relate to the poems. With such abstract concepts as love and intimacy, it is the word usage that a writer must rely upon to convey the appropriate message. Sources Cited Gluck, Louise. Mock Orange Available at http://www.geocities.com/bjlandry_00/Otherwriters/gluckmockorange.html Rossini, Clare. Final Love Note Class Handout

An Overview of The Sport: Astroturf

levels, athletes may no longer be seen as just people, but more as expensive liabilities. The health of these athletes become more and more important as it is not only their health which is on the line, but also millions of dollars. Injuries do occur in sports, especially contact sports, but astroturf increases these odds of injury. It will be shown that astroturf causes increased wear on the body and an increased number of, as well as more severe injuries. Because of this, safer alternatives should be used in the stadiums. Astroturf is an unsafe surface to play on and should not be used by athletes. The wear on a players body after a game is incredible, so new innovations are always being created to lessen the impact of the sport on the athletes body; better shoes, more protective pads. These things allow the athlete to compete at the same level, but at the end of the game be in better condition to play in the next one. If this is the case, then owners of teams should consider getting rid of their artificial turf. Astroturf increases wear and tear on the body and causes more minor injuries than grass. This wearing down of the body would lead to quicker fatigue and decreased performance. Ever since astroturf was introduced, people have been complaining about its effects and these complaints are heard even louder in this era. â€Å"Athletes blame artificial turf for tendinitis, shin splints, and broken bones. † (Schrier,1987) Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is one of many football players who suffers from the effects of the astroturf. He says, It feels like you've been running on bricks for two miles, your knees are real sore and usually you come out with nine or 10 crapes and you don't even know it until you get into the shower and it's burning like hell. † (Wharton, 1999) Sapp's pain comes from the fact that running on astroturf is only a little better than running on asphalt. Astroturf is made of nylon fibers which are five-eighths of an inch long stitched into a tightly woven mat. It is then laid over a five-eighths-inch-thick foam pad for cushioning and glued to an asphalt base. (Schrier,1987) So all that separates the athlete from asphalt is less than two inches of rubber. The other problem which Sapp mentions is â€Å"turf burn†. Since nylon resists tearing it also means that superficial wounds are more likely to occur. Though these wounds are not detrimental to the immediate health of the athlete they are painful and do affect the performance and possibly the longevity of the athlete's career. Steve Young of the San Francisco 49er's says, It's not easy playing on your back patio. If you wonder what playing on artificial turf is like, go out there and fall down a couple of times. Then do what we do – run and scrape across. â€Å"(Unknown,1998) These ill feelings toward artificial turf are felt throughout the NFL. Another player described it as, â€Å"sandpaper laid over concrete. A poll done in 1994 revealed that ninety-six percent of more than nine-hundred players said artificial turf leaves them feeling sorer than after playing on grass. Ninety-four percent believe turf is more likely to contribute to an injury and half the players identified a previous injury they believed to be caused by astroturf. And many of these injuries are serious injuries; there have been many season ending and career ending injuries on turf. These more serious injuries though are the primary reason why artificial turf should not be used in stadiums. A Cornell University study showed that, †¦ foot and knee injuries occur on synthetic turf about 50 percent more than on grass. And when injuries do occur, they often are more serious and difficult to heal than those that occur on This was the case for three premier players in the NFL this season as Vinny Testaverde, Wayne Chrebet and Jamal Anderson were all severely injured because of Astroturf. The players were severely injured in a situation where there was no contact with other players. In Chrebet's case two trainers said they had no doubt in their minds that he broke his foot because of the surface and nothing more. (Kirwan,1999) In the former two cases what occurred was â€Å"foot lock†. The friction between the shoe and the turf was too great and so as the players tried to cut their foot stayed, but the rest of the body kept moving. This would not have happened on grass Dr. Willibald Nagler of Cornell University explains, â€Å"When you play tennis on a soft court, you can slide into the stroke. That takes a lot of stress away from the ankle and knee. Grass allows you to slide too, a tiny bit, but it suffices, the same for football. † (Bernard,1996) So when making a cut, the foot will not give stay planted and the injury will not occur. Nagler goes on to say, Football on grass results in fewer ligamentous injuries, and those that do occur are not as severe, according to the published scientific articles. Furthermore, synthetic turf may exacerbate existing injuries, or make healing take longer. (Bernard,1996) These ligamentous injuries are usually the most severe injuries to occur because of the artificial turf. In an interview with Dr. Wayne Woodland, he explained that, â€Å"there is also an increased risk of concussions, and the turf causes many athletes to get turf toe. † Turf toe is a strain to the ligament in the big toe which is not only likely to reoccur, but it can also be a serious injury. Deion Sanders was lost for the end of last years season and was required to have surgery to fix the injury and the Atlanta Falcon's Chuck Smith missed more than a month this season with the injury. Even more disturbing than the obvious increase in injuries is that there are at least three deaths and several more cases of paralysis which have been blamed on artificial turf. Players in the NFL are so livid about not wanting to play on artificial turf that in the past, the NFLPA have filed numerous lawsuits trying to get artificial turf labelled a â€Å"hazardous substance†. With the advancements of technology, astroturf needs to be replaced with something which is safer and less punishing for the players. In most cases this alternative is grass. Though, many stadiums will not switch to grass due to the economics of the situation. Grass is expensive to maintain and will limit the income of the stadium by limiting the erformances that can be put on there, such as concerts. Many people feel that the controlled environment is needed to allow for a better game. Players are looking for the safety of grass combined with a controlled environment and low cost. There are now many products on the market which claim to meet these standards. A new company called Fieldturf, in alliance with Nike, has released a product which more closely resembles the texture and response of grass. It is made of synthetic blades and is held up byan artificial dirt composed of silica and ubber that can be made of recycled running shoes. John Ingram, the Nebraska Cornhuskers' director of athletic facilities says that, â€Å"It is the closest thing to natural grass I've seen,† (Barnes,1999) The Cornhuskers' played their entire season on the field and did not have any injuries this year. This coupled with the controllable environment made the players and management happy with the field. This new field may be the wave of the future as not only is it cheaper than grass and astroturf, but it is durable and safe. In a study done by Dr. Bill Barnhill, he found that Fieldturf had less than fifty percent fewer injuries than grass and seventy-five percent fewer than astroturf. Of these injuries, ninety-three percent were minor injuries resulting in fewer than seven days lost. Though some naturalists may not like the idea, the Fieldturf system and other systems soon like it may begin to make grass and even astroturf obsolete saving people money and players from injury. Injuries to players such as Vinny Testaverde and Jamal Anderson should not occur. Artificial turfs are dangerous and should not be used in any situation. The studies of injuries in professional athletes on grass compared to turf clearly demonstrate the risk that athletes are at when playing on these surfaces. Whether they are small or large, many of them should not happen and would not happen if the surface would have been on grass or the newer, more innovative surfaces. Management should recognize that they are paying their athletes millions of dollars and should be put in a situation where they will perform and continue to perform to their expectations for many years.

The Debate

Catrin, a schoolgirl, 15 years of age enters. â€Å"My mind just gives me a headache! Why cant life just be simple, with no worries, yeah, I'm talking to you up there. You know what I'm saying! Why cant you give me some thanks once in a while. I'm still alive, I think I deserve some gratification for that, don't you think? It's really hard work living with that evil brother of mine and putting up with mum's winging, but I'm sure you know that, because your always watching over me, apparently. Don't you get bored up there watching everyone all day? (Sits down to think) I wonder what it's like up there, you know, in heaven? I don't suppose I'll ever go there anyway, because I'm a naughty girl, really. My mum has said it so many times that I'm starting to believe it! Mind you I'm not as naughty as my brother, my naughtiness is just fun and harmless, but I'm sure that my brother has malice in his naughtiness! He plays his shooting games on the computer as if he were actually enjoying blowing somebody's brains out! Sick, really sick, I always annoy him by chanting, â€Å"You're a mental psychopathic murderer!† And then his eyes glow a fierce red and my legs start to quiver and my brain hurts because its ashamed of the mistake it has just done. My mum seems to always stop the fighting just before it gets going; she has this talent, after all that's what parents are for! (Gets up and puts her hand on her head, moving position every now and then) Oh, why does life have to be so unfair! Why can't I win the lottery or become famous? I would absolutely love to be the next Faith Hill or the next Madonna, but there's no hope I suppose, after all I'm hopeless! I can't sing to save my life! I'm useless, let's face it brain. I'm thinking whether to sit (and be a swot) and work or sit and be a couch potato and watch telly all night? Such a hard decision, isn't it brain. What shall I do? My conscience says ‘Cats, sit and write with pride your English homework!' While the devil inside me says ‘Cats man, live life to the full, chill and relax in front of the box!' My head hurts and it feels as if its been torn in two, oh! ‘Chill', ‘Work!' ‘Chill', ‘Work!' Oh god, help! Ok, let's try a different approach. What would mum want me to do? She would definitely want me to do my homework; she always says how important my education is, just because she wasted hers as a child. My answer to her is that you learn from your mistakes, and so if I make a mistake and waste my education, then I'll learn! Clever isn't it! Well-done brain! (Sits with legs crossed, leaning back on the chair) I wonder if other people sit and debate their lives with themselves like I do. Maybe I'm the only one, I could be famous and I don't know it! Imagine the headlines ‘Girl debates with her own brain!' Wow, what a thought! What was I thinking of before going off on some wild tangent? Ah, yes I remember, am I to do my homework or go and watch telly, I still haven't decided! I know, I'll try another different approach, what would Grandma want me to do? Definitely, without a doubt she would want me to do my homework. That's two against one, now! Ok, what would my friends want me to do? They would say go and watch the telly, much more educational in their view. Now it's all-square again, mum and grandma against my friends and me! Oh, why cant life just be simple! I know I'll just go to bed!

Old Hamlet and Polonius Analysis Essays

Old Hamlet and Polonius Analysis Essays Old Hamlet and Polonius Analysis Essay Old Hamlet and Polonius Analysis Essay Old Hamlet and Polonius: the weak link My group chose to state that Old Hamlet stimulated the chaos that struck the Danish family. Hamlet temper was inactive, while Old Hamlet was still alive, but the death of Old Hamlet was all it need to create a chemical reaction within Hamlet. As a consequence, Hamlet became cantankerous  towards Old Hamlets death. Realizing that Claudius killed Old Hamlet, Hamlet made promise that he would take revenge on Claudius. What if, Claudius didnt kill Old Hamlet so that he can profit from the kingdom and Gertrude, what if Claudius killed Old Hamlet for the well being of Denmark? Suppose, Claudius, Polonius and Gertrude understood Old Hamlet to be a conceit and malicious king. In order to support our theory, the group was broken down into four relationships that Old Hamlet had; Old Hamlet and Claudius; Old Hamlet and Polonius; Old Hamlet and Gertrude; Old Hamlet and Hamlet. By assigning each of the group member a relationship, we were capable of supporting our theory by speculating how Old Hamlet would have treated his neighbours. I was assigned the relationship between Old Hamlet and his trusty adviser Polonius. I was assigned the task of proving that Old Hamlet was a conceit and a malicious king by examining Old Hamlets and Polonius relationship. Instantaneously, I knew that I should look into Old Hamlet life when he ruled the kingdom; because, that would have been the ideal time when he would have frequently interacted with Polonius. Then, I had to think of a technique to reveal the unseen relationship between Old Hamlet and Polonius; as a result, the idea of using an interview was created. By casting an interview I would have the ability to ask certain questions that would express my thoughts on Old Hamlet characteristic; furthermore, I was able to present my judgement on Old Hamlets and Polonius relationship. Now there were two questions remaining to be answer: what was the statues of the relationship between Old Hamlet and Polonius, and what cause could have convinced Polonius that Old Hamlet was a conceit and Malicious king. Thus, I went forth and analyzed Polonius life when he was appointed as an adviser to Old Hamlet. I was determined to know, if Polonius would defend Old Hamlets kingdom from Claudius actions. I first started off by examining the murder of Old Hamlet. Where was Polonius when Claudius killed Old Hamlet? I find it amusing and ironic, at the fact that Polonius existence was absent when Old Hamlets was murdered; the reason that I find Polonius disappearance ironic, because Polonius sincerity and keenness would have prevented the incident from occurring. Polonius sincerity and keenness can be seen when he serviced Claudius, Polonius was always around Claudius to assist him; sp where was Polonius sincerity and keenness, to the save Old Hamlet from being poisoned. I believe that Polonius turned a blind eye towards the murder. For Polonius is too sincere to allow such evil deed to happen to king, while he is there; hence, I feel that Polonius approved Old Hamlet to be murdered. Second incident that I chose to contemplate upon, was the election. The play does not mention a lot about the election; nevertheless, Polonius as the adviser of Old Hamlet did have the potential to intervened in the election; as a result, preventing Claudius from winning. From my analysis what I believe is that, Polonius didnt have any opposition towards Claudius becoming the next king. From Polonius calm acknowledgement of Claudius being the king, it shows that Old Hamlet and Polonius did not have a strong relationship. Now the remaining question that needs to be answered is, what caused Old Hamlets and Polonius relationship to be fragile. In order to answer the question, I analyze what Old Hamlet did when he was king. The only that I came up with was the War against Norway. Now I had to know if Polonius agreed upon the idea of taking over Norway.

Harassed on LinkedIn® Take these steps to prevent and stop it now.

Harassed on LinkedIn ® Take these steps to prevent and stop it now. There’s no question that social media, including LinkedIn ®, can expose you to unwanted attention, whether it be spam messages or actual threats. I’ve received some inappropriate emails myself (thankfully nothing threatening or truly stalker-like). But not everyone is so lucky. I have had many people share with me their fear about posting a photo or profile on LinkedIn ® due to the possibility that they might be followed in an unwelcome way. I am grateful to my colleague Rabbi R. Karpov, Ph.D. for providing tips on how to investigate followers before they become a problem. She credits Robin Schlinger for some of this information as well. Here is some of what she suggests: Check the person’s photo. Right click on any profile image and copy the image location. Next, run that photo through Google Images (https://images.google.com/). You can find it by typing google images into your browser. Click the camera icon and paste in the image URL. Now you can find some things out. Look for red flags: Stock photo. That wholesome-looking woman, it turns out, wasnt really an Apple Computer VP! Stolen photo. The photo is of someone living, such a military-man or Miss World Philippines contestant, or of someone deceased (hey, thats the late President of Zaire!) Check out the rest of the general picture: Run the email address you find under the connections Contact Info through Google. Did it come up as a known email address associated ONLY with a scammer/spammer? Run the connections name through Google. What turned up? Run the name AND the email address through Google. Sometimes that is what turns up information that will make you glad you took this extra 5 minutes. Hopefully this due diligence will prevent some unwanted connections. But sometimes there are bigger issues of LinkedIn ® users abusing their connected status to stalk other users. Due to the upswing in complaints regarding this problem, on February 20, 2014, LinkedIn ® implemented a member blocking feature. Blocking a member allows you to completely remove your profile from that connections view, and theirs from yours. In addition, says LinkedIn ®: You wont be able to message each other on LinkedIn. If youre connected, you wont be connected anymore. Well remove any endorsements and recommendations from that member You wont see each other in your Whos Viewed Your Profile Well stop suggesting you to each other in features such as People You May Know and People also Viewed How to block a LinkedIn ® member To block someone, visit their profile and hover over the down arrow to the right of the message button and click Block or report. You will then get a popup window with options to block this person or report them or both. If you choose to report them, you will need to provide a reason for doing so. Note that you do not need to disconnect from your contact first; blocking them automatically disconnects you. Once you have blocked someone, their name will appear on your block list. You can view the list by visiting your Privacy Settings under Manage who youre blocking. From here you can also unblock members, should you choose to do so. For more information on how the blocking feature works, including how to block from within a group environment, visit LinkedIn ®s Help Center article, Member Blocking Overview. Take additional privacy precautions Of course, ideally we would never want to have to block anyone, so take Rabbi Karpov’s advice to heart! In addition, here are a few more things you can do to protect your privacy: Only accept connections from people you know. LinkedIn ® is a great supporter of this philosophy; however, there is a trade-off between maintaining a small number of reputable connections and broadening your network (and thus increasing your leads) by connecting with people outside of your circle. Change your settings under Privacy Settings so that only those who know your email address or are in your imported contacts list can send you invitations (Go to Privacy Settings, Communications tab, and Select who can send you invitations). Go to Privacy Settings, Profile tab, and click on â€Å"Select who can see your connections† where you will have an option to prevent others from seeing see your network. This will prevent your 1st degree connections from seeing exactly how many connections you have; otherwise they will be able to get past the â€Å"500+† and see both your exact number of connections and who those connections are. None of these alternative actions is a perfect solution and you still may encounter unwanted attention on LinkedIn ®. If you do, it is your prerogative to block the offending member. You may also want to report any harassment to the LinkedIn ® Corporation; and if necessary, please seek legal counsel. Have you experienced harassment on LinkedIn ®? How did you handle it? What precautions will you take in the future? Please share below!

Battle of Gazala in World War II

Battle of Gazala in World War II The Battle of Gazala was fought May 26 to June 21, 1942, during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II (1939-1945). Despite having been thrown back in late 1941, General Erwin Rommel began pushing east across Libya early the following year. Responding, Allied forces constructed a fortified line at Gazala which extended south from the Mediterranean coast. On May 26, Rommel opened operations against this position by attempting to flank it from the south with the goal of trapping Allied forces near the coast. In nearly a month of fighting, Rommel was able to shatter the Gazala line and send the Allies retreating back into Egypt. Background In the wake of Operation Crusader in late 1941, General Erwin Rommels German and Italian forces were compelled to retreat west to at El Agheila. Assuming a new position behind a strong line of fortifications, Rommels Panzer Army Afrika was not attacked by British forces under General Sir Claude Auchinleck and Major General Neil Ritchie. This was largely due to the British need to consolidate their gains and build a logistical network after an advance of over 500 miles. Largely pleased with the offensive, the two British commanders had succeeded in relieving the siege of Tobruk (Map). Major General Neil Ritchie (center) addressing other officers in North Africa, May 31, 1942. Public Domain As a result of the need to improve their supply lines, the British reduced their frontline troop strength in the area of El Agheila. Probing the Allied lines in January 1942, Rommel found little opposition and began a limited offensive east. Retaking Benghazi (January 28) and Timimi (February 3), he pushed on towards Tobruk. Rushing to consolidate their forces, the British formed a new line west of Tobruk and extending south from Gazala. Beginning at the coast, the Gazala line extended 50 miles south where it was anchored on the town of Bir Hakeim. To cover this line, Auchinleck and Ritchie deployed their troops in brigade-strength boxes which were linked by barbed wire and minefields. The bulk of the Allied troops were placed near the coast with progressively fewer as the line extended into the desert. The defense of Bir Hakeim was assigned to a brigade of the 1st Free French Division. As the spring progressed, both sides took time to resupply and refit. On the Allied side, this saw the arrival of new General Grant tanks which could match the German Panzer IV as well as improvements in coordination between the Desert Air Force and troops on the ground. Rommels Plan Assessing the situation, Rommel devised a plan for a sweeping flank attack around Bir Hakeim designed to destroy the British armor and cut off those divisions along the Gazala Line. To execute this offensive, he intended the Italian 132nd Armored Division Ariete to assault Bir Hakeim while the 21st and 15th Panzer Divisions swung around the Allied flank to attack their rear. This maneuver would be supported by the 90th Light Afrika Division Battle Group which was to move around the Allied flank to El Adem to block reinforcements from joining the battle. Fast Facts: Battle of Gazala Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)Dates: May 26-June 21, 1942Armies Commanders:AlliesGeneral Sir Claude AuchinleckMajor General Neil Ritchie175,000 men, 843 tanksAxisGeneral Erwin Rommel80,000 men, 560 tanksCasualties:Allies: approx. 98,000 men killed, wounded, and captured as well as around 540 tanksAxis: approx. 32,000 casualties and 114 tanks Fighting Begins To complete the attack, elements of the Italian XX Motorized Corps and 101st Motorized Division Trieste were to clear a path through the minefields north of Bir Hakeim and near the Sidi Muftah box to supply the armored advance. To hold Allied troops in place, the Italian X and XXI Corps would assault the Gazala Line near the coast. At 2:00 PM on May 26, these formations moved forward. That night, Rommel personally led his mobile forces as they began the flanking maneuver. Almost immediately the plan began to unravel as the French mounted a vigorous defense of Bir Hakeim, repelling the Italians (Map). A short distance to the southeast, Rommels forces were held up for several hours by the 7th Armoured Divisions 3rd Indian Motor Brigade. Though they were forced to withdraw, they inflicted heavy losses on the attackers. By midday on the 27th, the momentum of Rommels attack was faltering as British armor entered the battle and Bir Hakeim held out. Only the 90th Light had clear success, over-running the 7th Armoured Divisions advance headquarters and reaching the El Adem area. As fighting raged over the next several days, Rommels forces became trapped in an area known as The Cauldron (Map). Turning the Tide This area saw his men trapped by Bir Hakeim to the south, Tobruk to the north, and the minefields of the original Allied line to the west. Under constant assault by Allied armor from the north and east, Rommels supply situation was reaching critical levels and he began to contemplate surrender. These thoughts were erased when early on May 29 supply trucks, supported by the Italian Trieste and Ariete Divisions, breached the minefields north Bir Hakeim. Able to re-supply, Rommel attacked west on May 30 to link up with the Italian X Corps. Destroying the Sidi Muftah box, he was able to split the Allied front in two. On June 1, Rommel dispatched the 90th Light and Trieste divisions to reduce Bir Hakeim, but their efforts were repulsed. At the British headquarters, Auchinleck, fueled by overly-optimistic intelligence assessments, pushed Ritchie to counterattack along the coast to reach Timimi. Rather than oblige his superior, Ritchie instead focused on covering Tobruk and reinforcing the box around El Adem. On June 5 a counterattack did move forward, but Eighth Army made no progress. That afternoon, Rommel decided to attack east towards Bir el Hatmat and north against the Knightsbridge Box. Italian Ariete Division tanks at the Battle of Gazala, June 10, 1942. Public Domain The former succeeded in overrunning the tactical headquarters of two British divisions leading to a breakdown of command and control in the area. As a result, several units were severely beaten through the afternoon and on June 6. Continuing to build strength in the Cauldron, Rommel conducted several attacks on Bir Hakeim between June 6 and 8, significantly reducing the French perimeter. By June 10 their defenses had been shattered and Ritchie ordered them to evacuate. In a series of attacks around the Knightsbridge and El Adem boxes on June 11-13, Rommels forces dealt the British armor a severe defeat. After abandoning Knightsbridge on the evening of the 13, Ritchie was authorized to retreat from the Gazala Line the next day. With Allied forces holding the El Adem area, the 1st South African Division was able to retreat along the coast road intact, though the 50th (Northumbrian) Division was forced to attack south into the desert before turning east to reach friendly lines. The boxes at El Adem and Sidi Rezegh were evacuated on June 17 and the garrison at Tobruk was left to defend itself. Though ordered to hold a line west of Tobruk at Acroma, this proved unfeasible and Ritchie began a long retreat back to Mersa Matruh in Egypt. Though Allied leaders expected Tobruk to be able to hold out for two or three months on existing supplies, it was surrendered on June 21. Captured Allied soldiers march out of Tobruk, June 1942. Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-785-0294-32A / Tannenberg / CC-BY-SA 3.0 Aftermath The Battle of Gazala cost the Allies around 98,000 men killed, wounded, and captured as well as around 540 tanks. Axis losses were approximately 32,000 casualties and 114 tanks. For his victory and the capture of Tobruk, Rommel was promoted to field marshal by Hitler. Assessing the position at Mersa Matruh, Auchinleck decided to abandon it in favor of a stronger one at El Alamein. Rommel assaulted this position in July but made no progress. A final effort was made the Battle of Alam Halfa in late August with no results.

Production Planning & Quality Management- MGMT430 - 1401A 01 Unit 3 Essay

Production Planning & Quality Management- MGMT430 - 1401A 01 Unit 3 - Essay Example 1-55). Therefore, the lesser defects, the higher the quality. Cost is a crucial metric of production in terms of considering that costs of materials and labor would be an input to the unit price of the products being offered. Thus, the lower the costs of the materials and labor, the lower the unit price that the organization could peg to the consumers. This cost component would be instrumental in the pricing strategy that would be designed to ensure competitive advantage within the specialty memory chip market. Timeliness was described as â€Å"whether a unit of work was done on time† (Section 1: Development Process, n.d., p. 1-55). This metric measures the ability of the organization to produce in the most limited number of time and within the stipulated delivery period. Since there is a noted pre-order of as much as 10 million units of a new cellular phone memory chip, the time element is crucial to ensure that these parts are delivered within the given time frame. Currently, flexibility is a metric that needs evaluation and focus. With the identified six key products and 24 distinct products, customers who might require specialized parts that cater to their distinct needs and requirements. Thus, there is a need to evaluate standardization of products produced using similar machines; or producing more varied products with standardized machines. Productivity is actually defined as â€Å"the amount of a resource used to produce a unit of work† (Section 1: Development Process, n.d., p. 1-55). This is an important metric since it defines the number of output produced using the amount of inputs (raw materials and labor). The organization’s productivity would therefore be measured according to how efficiently the resources are used to produce the needed products. Efficiency is deemed an important metric of production since it ensures that a task (production) is undertaken with the minimum use of resources but that which optimized the outcome. It

Representatives of American Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Representatives of American Culture - Essay Example The choice of design and color for the flag tells a story in itself. The blue and red colored flag with prominent stripes and stars represent the union of fifty states spanning the North American landscape. Beyond this basic symbolism, the flag has been associated with the nation’s progress in science and technology. For example, when Neil Armstrong and his colleagues in NASA successfully landed on the moon, it was the planting of the American Flag which served as the token purpose of the mission. At that time, the world was divided in two as a result of the Cold War. (Jolene & Couper, 2003, p.328) The flag also represented the country in its military endeavors. Irrespective of political conditions and arenas of conflict, the flag has always been at the forefront of American military operations going back to the Declaration of Independence (Goode, 2002, p.13). At the same time, it has been used by American citizens to express their dissent. For example, the mass demonstrations that followed American participation in the Vietnam War saw instances of flag burning. The same kind of protestation against American government’s policies is being repeated at present with respect to the issue of invasion of Iraq. In this case, it is an expression of dissent. It will not be an exaggeration to state that the American people are obsessed with the flag. (Jolene & Couper, 2003, p.328) Disney world is a relatively recent entrant into the collective consciousness of American people. While it was started by Walt Disney to be an amusement park for children, gradually it had metamorphosed into a recreational center for the entire family. A lot can be discerned by studying what it offers to visitors. The most famous of its mascots, the Mickey Mouse, is a household name in America. The numerous animated cartoons produced by Walt Disney Incorporation, including a few iconic series, are a rite of passage

Country Cultural Briefing for Business Associates Assignment

Country Cultural Briefing for Business Associates - Assignment Example There have been many sites that have been excavated the reversal the history of the country as a home of Australopithecus. The country was inhabited by Bantu speaking people who were originally iron smelters, agriculturalist and herdsmen. The country was discovered by Portuguese in 1487. Bartlomeu Dias was the first Europeans to the reach the region and he named it as the Cape of Storms from the stormy conditions that were prevalent in the area but his sponsor renamed it as Cape of Good Hope. This is because it gave a promise of viable sea route to India the Portuguese were desperately seeking for. (Thompson, 2001) From the discovery of the region, the Dutch settlers followed and colonized the country. It became an important slave trade center for the region and Dutch settlement expanded. But it was the British who made an impact on colonization of the region when they annexed the cape colony in 1806. The Britons found the country ideal for slave trade. The discovery of diamond and gold in 1867 and 1884 respectively was perhaps the beginning of serious trade in the region. This was followed by mass settlement of whites in the country. South Africa carries the history of one of the worst form of racial discrimination in the world by the name apartheid. Under apartheid, there were different settlement and different public facilities for the white and the blacks. The was followed by a long history of struggle for freedom which was led by Nelson Mandela, a renown world figure, and the ANC party. Eventually Mandela was released after serving 27 years in Robin Island and the country was granted independence in 1994. (Kalley, 1999) Business wise, the history spins since the aforementioned discovery of Gold and diamond in the country. This led to establishment of commercial centers and large white farms that supported the trade. Since then the country has grown its economy to become the largest in Africa. Size South Africa has an area of around 470,979 Sq mi which is approximately 1,219,912 km2 which makes the 25th largest country in the world. It has a coast line that stretches fro more than 2,500 kilometers across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The country is made up of nine provinces with 52 districts. It has 6 metropolitan and 46 municipalities. These municipalities hold about 231 local municipalities. South Africa has a population of about 44,819,768 people which is one of the highest populations in Africa. Political System South Africa has a peculiar political system in the sense that it is the only country in the world that has three capitals. Cape Town which is the largest capital in the country is the center for legislative. Pretoria is the centre for administrative while Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. This is a peculiar political arrangement in the world but which has been planned to give the country a kind of equal representation in the political and legal matters. The country has a bicameral parliament with ninety members forming the upper house. These members form the National Council of Provinces. There are other 400 members who make the lower house or the national assemble. These members are elected directed by the people and their representation is based on population basis. Ten members are elected to represent each province in the National council of provinces but which is not

Fair Labor Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fair Labor Standards - Essay Example This implies that the non-exempt personnel must work for over 40 hours a week to qualify for the overtime pay in which the employer is mandated to offer three quarters times their normal wage rate. It is also apparent that the exempt employees in the white-collar job category cannot benefit from the pay. The proposed changes to the FLSA since 1938 is that it allowed the employment of 16-year-old children in the agricultural sectors, but still prohibited those under that age. This is meant to defend the educational prospects of minors and rule out their employment in jobs deemed hazardous and injurious to their health. These laws differ from the 1938 regulations because it specifies the minimum amount that workers in the private sector, federal or local authorities should receive (Whittaker, 2002). I think these changes benefit both employers and employees because it prevents exploitation of workers by unscrupulous managers who underpay their workers. Similarly, it also benefits the managers since it reduces chances of industrial unrests from workers who feel mistreated or overworked. The controversy associated with these modifications is that the exempt workers feel discriminated against by the legislators and labor officials. For instance, the union’s objections are that the government should treat all workers equally regarding the overtime allowances and the proposed new rates for the working hours since this could deny the workers their established privileges (Whittaker,

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 38

History - Essay Example History assists in getting the truthful representation of various activities that happened in the past. One of the significant characteristics of history is that it contains philosophical writings. The writings tend to give a clear representation of various events and the reason for their occurrence. One of the reasons for studying history is that the subject helps students to understand real events and flawed people who played various roles that contributed in shaping the world. Through history, we are able to know the heroes who contributed in specific positions in the society. History also helps in discovering all the identities related to man. This means that everyone is part of the surrounding environment. For example, history helps one to become part of his/her own country. Another significant importance of studying history is that students learn from it. History teaches all sorts of lessons. History helps students to make unpopular decisions that would be of significant help in their future. Moreover, studying of history helps everyone not to perform mistakes that various people did in the past. Through studying history, one can be able to forecast what might appear in future. History helps one to gain self-knowledge. This means that through studying history one is able to identify what to perform better and make considerable improvements in

Blindness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Blindness - Essay Example Some of the causes include infections, injuries, lack of glasses, trauma, etc. Blind students are also taught using various technologies, including Braille and assistive computer technology. These technologies enable students to read and listen to lecture notes, presentations, course materials and other reading materials. Causes of blindness depend on the socioeconomic conditions to which a person is exposed. They include causes that affect the eye directly and those that affect visual processing centres like the brain. In developed economies, the primary causes of blindness include macular degeneration, traumatic injuries and ocular diabetes complications. In developing and underdeveloped nations blindness is caused primarily by infections, glaucoma, lack of glasses, injury, and cataracts. Some of the infections that lead to blindness in underdeveloped countries include onchocerciasis (river blindness), leprosy and trachoma. The herpes simplex is the most common cause of blindness in developed countries. There are also other causes of blindness such as retinopathy, deficiency of vitamin A, diseases affective the retina or optic nerve e.g. stroke, inflammation, eye malignancies, abnormalities of the congenital, hereditary eye diseases, and chemical poisoning. According to Bourne et al (2013), catarac ts and macular degeneration are the leading causes of blindness. Cataracts affect people from developing and underdeveloped world while macular degeneration mainly affects people from developed countries. Blindness can also be caused by amblyopia, or the lazy eye. This refers to the condition in which a child is born with poorer vision in one eye than the other (NIH Medline Plus, 2015). Untreated amblyopia leads to vision loss and blindness. As the child grows, the brain ignores images from the affected eye, leading to loss of vision in that eye as the child enters teenage stage of life. The condition starts when one of the child’s eyes develops a

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 38

History - Essay Example History assists in getting the truthful representation of various activities that happened in the past. One of the significant characteristics of history is that it contains philosophical writings. The writings tend to give a clear representation of various events and the reason for their occurrence. One of the reasons for studying history is that the subject helps students to understand real events and flawed people who played various roles that contributed in shaping the world. Through history, we are able to know the heroes who contributed in specific positions in the society. History also helps in discovering all the identities related to man. This means that everyone is part of the surrounding environment. For example, history helps one to become part of his/her own country. Another significant importance of studying history is that students learn from it. History teaches all sorts of lessons. History helps students to make unpopular decisions that would be of significant help in their future. Moreover, studying of history helps everyone not to perform mistakes that various people did in the past. Through studying history, one can be able to forecast what might appear in future. History helps one to gain self-knowledge. This means that through studying history one is able to identify what to perform better and make considerable improvements in

Alternative Methods in Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Alternative Methods in Justice - Essay Example y will attempt to analyze why it is better for offenders such as pharmaceutical companies to be punished in a way other than incarceration and payment of fines. It will also suggest alternative methods of punishments for drug companies who willfully harm society. Moreover, it will attempt to explain why non-incarceration is a much better way in dealing with this kind of criminality. In February 2009, â€Å"U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp fined Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals CEO Jared Wheat $50,000 and ordered him, the company and other individual defendants to forfeit $3 million in proceeds from selling knockoff prescription drugs over the internet.† (Rothman, C., 2009) Apparently they were producing generic versions of drugs similar to Viagra in their facility in Belize and selling them online without need for prescriptions. A jury also found former InterMune Inc. CEO W. Scott Harkonen guilty of health care fraud. (Levine, D., 2009) InterMune, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies in pulmonology and hepatology. (Corporate Overview, n.d.) It seems â€Å"under Harkonen’s direction, InterMune marketed and sold Actimmune to treat IPF, a fatal disease, despite the fact that the drug was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe and effective treatment.† (Former Intermune, 2008) In 2005, â€Å"Patrick Lais, then CEO of York Pharmaceuticals Inc., was sentenced to federal prison for distributing substandard aspirin in 2000 and 2001.† (Kansas City†¦ 2005) The common punishment for these two crimes had been huge fines and incarceration. Given the effect of these crimes to the lives of their consumers, CEOs of pharmaceutical companies who intentionally harm the public should receive other forms of punishment than monstrous fines and jail time. They are rich. They can pay the fines. If they behave nicely in jail, they may get a parole. Through all these, their customers are still suffering and may or

Company - BlackBerry mobiles Essay Example for Free

Company BlackBerry mobiles Essay BCG matrix is a portfolio planning model, which is used to determine position of the product in the product portfolio of the company. Under this model, company divides its business units into four categories on the basis of combinations of market growth and market share comparative to the leading opponent. This model helps the management to analyze the future growth of different business units. We can take the example of BlackBerry mobiles. It is the Canadian telecommunication and wireless equipment company best known to the general public as the developer of the BlackBerry brand of smart phones and tablets. At one point of time, BlackBerry mobiles were considered as best mobiles in the market. They use to give direct competition to the Nokia and apple mobile phones. In 2011, the market share of the BlackBerry mobiles was 14.3%. But, over the last few years, company market share has declined to 0.6%. In BCG Matrix, we can place the BlackBerry mobiles into question mark category. We have placed the BlackBerry mobiles into question mark category because the market of mobile is increasing with the rate of around 40% but the market share of the BlackBerry mobiles is deceasing every year. Apart from BlackBerry, all other major mobile phone companies such as Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Lenovo are growing with good pace. Actually, unlike other companies, BlackBerry did not focused on innovation. It was the last major mobile manufacturing company, which introduced the smart phone. They do not able to match the expectations and needs of the people, due to which company lost its market share into the hands of other mobile manufacturing companies. References http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/ http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2665715 http://bgr.com/2014/02/12/blackberry-market-share-q4-2013/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-28/blackberry-market-share-to-fall-to-0-3-in-2018-idc-says.html

Death Penalty :: essays research papers

Title: Death Penalty Author: Ryan Rating: 17 Rate this Paper The death penalty should be upheld by the government because countless dollars are spent holding criminals in jail. Also jails are more overpopulated than ever. What really annoys people is that these cold-hearted criminals are put on parole after only serving several years. Being against killing is okay, but putting a life to rest in order to save more lives makes more sense. Criminals live an easy life in prison, and they probably don’t think twice about their crime. First of all, people pay taxes for prisoners to live a healthy lifestyle. Criminals eat, sleep, and are even given an education. All these excessive luxuries will be taken from most of the prisoners who deserve the death penalty. The death row cellmates will be put on a strict watch of what they do. When we get more prisoners on death row who will eventually die we will save money that we usually pay to keep prisoners in jail. People who are against the death penalty probably did not have someone close to them t aken away by a murderer. The families and friends of victims have a right to justice. Seeing the horror one person or a couple can bring to many should send a message to the public that this should stop. Many people will agree that the death penalty is just. In addition the death penalty can lower crime. The way a criminal should be put to death should be taken into consideration. It should be determined by what they did to deserve the death penalty. The retaliation of the government on a criminal should be derived from â€Å"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth† way of thinking. This issue should be debated after the death penalty is put into affect. Recent views raise a new question on an â€Å"ancient† punishment.

Byrons Don Juan - No Formal Ending is Needed Essay -- Don Juan Essays

Byron's Don Juan - No Formal Ending is Needed Lord Byron's chief masterpiece is probably the comic epic Don Juan, which occupied its author from 1818 until nearly the end of his life (Trueblood 14-15). The sheer length of the poem is in itself impressive; its seventeen cantos take Juan through a variety of adventures, including the famous affair with Donna Julia, the sojourn with Haidee, experiences in Turkey and later in Russia as a slave, and finally episodes in England among high society (Boyd 22-30). Remarkably, however, Don Juan as Byron left it is obviously unfinished. Further, the poem was not published in an absolutely complete form until nearly eighty years after Byron's death (Steffan III 562). The unfinished state of Don Juan and the circumstances which led to it inevitably encourage speculation: how would Byron have ended his poem? The final canto of Don Juan (XVII) is dated May 8, 1823, and was written just before Byron sailed from Italy to help the Greeks fight their revolution (Bostetter 9). Although he occasionally talked of continuing his poem, he wrote no more in the eleven months between his composition of the fourteen stanzas of this canto and his death in April of 1824 (Marchand 1125). The seventeenth canto of Don Juan was found among Byron's personal effects and papers after he died (Marchand 1234). Meanwhile, in England, Cantos VI to XVI of Don Juan, which Byron had penned in an incredible burst of creative energy from April 1822 to May 1823, had been published by John Hunt in four installments, the last less than a month before its author's death in Greece (Bostetter 8-9). Even within Byron's lifetime, unscrupulous publishers had printed many spurious "continuations" of the poem during breaks i... ...d Chew passim. Works Cited Bostetter, Edward E., Twentieth Century Interpretations of Don Juan. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969. Boyd, Elizabeth French, Byron's Don Juan: A Critical Study. NY: Humanities Press, 1958. Byron (George Gordon, Lord Byron), Don Juan, ed. Leslie A. Marchand. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958. Chew, Samuel C., "The Centenary of Don Juan." American Journal of Philology 40: 117-52. Coleridge, Ernest Hartley, ed., The Poetical Works of Lord Byron. London: John Murray, 1905. Marchand, Leslie A., Byron: A Biography, Vol. 3. NY: Knopf, 1957. McGann, Jerome J., Don Juan in Context. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 1976. Steffan, Truman Guy, & Willis W. Pratt, eds., Byron's Don Juan: A Variorum Edition. 2nd ed.. 4 vols.. Austin: U of Texas Press, 1971. Trueblood, Paul G., Lord Byron. NY: Twayne, 1969.

Economics Book Critique Essay

Paul Rubin began his preface by stating that tabula rasa should no longer be viewed as something credible. Rubin maintained his conclusion that evolutionary biology would eventually be the foundation of all social sciences. He maintained that the fundamental taste for liberty is a genetic legacy from the hunter-gatherer bands in the history of mankind. He stated, â€Å"I reach a surprising conclusion: modern western nations, and particularly the United States, are the most effective societies for satisfying our evolved political preferences† (Paul, p. x) Rubin’s attitude’s towards liberty is the one which cost me a great deal of apprehension, in spite of the fact that it is not brought up much in the book. Although I enjoyed reading the book, the fact that so little has been said regarding freedom, I believe, ought to be a cause of serious apprehension. In regard of the contended predominance of Rubin’s concentration on the biological foundation which lies beneath the current state of human liberty, he should have considered beginning with animal freedom as articulated by, say, Pavlov on the â€Å"freedom-reflexes†. The foundation of Rubin’s opinion appears to be a firm certainty that human control and freedom are polar opposites. In fact on his Preface he claimed that when he began the research he was still a libertarian and thus he does not understand much of government’s constant rules regarding human behavior. He stated, â€Å"I have not used evolutionary analysis to prove points in which I already believed† (Paul, p. xv). I was quite bewildered upon reading this remark especially since his declarations seems to exhibit an absolute lack of understanding regarding the vital social control as well as counter-control procedures. It also showed a black void of nearly enormous quantities in awareness of the huge body of literature which could be dated back from the founders of civilization. Rubin feelingly asserted â€Å"There are substantial benefits from limiting government power and great dangers from allowing it to increase. It is, therefore, a puzzle, to explain why so many seek to increase the power of government† (Paul, p. 134). His statement seems to be a little naive. Rubin admitted that most normal individual’s desires governments to do pretty much more than defend them from dishonest dealers, banks, and the like. Most citizens knows the danger of the profound corruption from financial organizations and this is the reason why it is not really much a â€Å"puzzle† why they want to increase government power. The same could be said with the world’s third world countries with weak economies. They look for international kind of government in order for the mistreatment of other advanced countries to be limited if not stopped altogether. The book Professor Rubin wrote is interesting in spite of the fact that I do not agree much with the things he mentioned there particularly on the issue of freedom. Professor Rubin’s, Professor of Economics, attitude towards society and liberty appears to intentionally shun the standard control terminology. He talks a great deal of power, and acquiescence in separate terms of dominant, counter dominant, and the like instead of using the standard terms such as social control and counter control. There are no discussions regarding socialization, customs, introjections of values, punishments, and the like. Overall, I view Professor Rubin’s work to be stimulating particularly because he have some unique views of his own which made me think mentally and allowed me to exercise my faculty of reason. Although I do not agree much with the things he claims, I could still say that his book was an interesting read as well as thought provoking and for these reasons I recommend this book to everyone.

Quantitative Risk Assessment Essay

For the project of redesigning packing for the Canadian market, quantitative risk assessment plays an important role. Quantitative risk assessment is, â€Å"A process for assigning a numeric value to the probability of loss based on known risks and available, objective data†¦ used to determine potential direct and indirect costs to the company based on values assigned to company assets and their exposure to risk† (InvestorWords.com, 2014). For this particular project, quantitative risk assessment will be useful in determining not only which are areas of potential risk, but also to what degree these risks may affect the overall integrity of the project. Revised Project Background The project of the redesign of packaging for the Canadian market currently consists of four different product lines including Dial, Tone, Right Guard, and Dry Idea, and consists of over 50 variants spanning the four lines. Each new packaging design is independent of every other thus there exists no interdependency from design to the next. Each design observes a similar path consisting of initial review of changes, alterations, and additions by management, marketing, and the design team, initial layout of established changes by the design team followed by a first round review of changes by marketing, legal, management and compliance. If additional changes are required, a second round of design and review is implemented up to two additional rounds as needed. Upon successful acknowledgement of new designs, the artwork is then sent to our preproduction team for development to printer-ready artwork. Once completed, the artwork is sent to a third party production house for mockups to be created to be sent to the parent  company in Germany for final approval. If any designs are rejected (and they never are), commentary from Germany is implemented into further redesign and the process is restarted. Upon approval from Germany, artwork is submitted to the printer. Printer will then submit print-ready, color-calibrated proofs for final approval. Proofs are reviewed by management for final approval before actual printing. Once printed, packaging is sent to a fulfillment house to have labels applied to containers and filled with product or have wraps applied to soap bars. Upon completion of fulfillment, finished product is shipped to various holding facilities in Canada for final disposition. As previously stated, project will span eight months from inception to final delivery. Risk Identification Framework Management Delays: As the majority of the work for this project involves objective changes and adjustments to existing packaging, the first phase, initial review by management, involves nominal risk. Management will evaluate and select which products will receive updated treatment for inclusion into the Canadian market. Once the products are selected, management has no further involvement outside of potential cancellations of various packaging designs or their requested involvement during a particular phase of completion. Design Delays: As this project includes approximately 50 variants of packaging including labels and wraps, production must be coordinated to allow for enough time for completion of initial layouts and any necessary revisions, while taking into consideration the design needs and time constrains on the design team from other departments and for other projects running concurrently. While the project has a timeline of eight months, final design layouts must be approved and ready for preproduction within the first four months of the project. The in-house design team will complete the bulk of the design phase of the project, though external design agencies may be utilized if time constraints are threatened. It should be noted that the use of external design agencies would incur additional costs. Also, the design process will require an initial review before being released to the review team for official review, to ensure all parameters have been incorporated. Review Delays: This area constitutes the bulk of all potential delays. While each packaging component is independent of one  another, the review process for each component must be completed sequentially among the review team. There are five departments that will review each design layout and either approve or denote changes. Some of these potential changes are subject to additional changes or cancellations by other departments, meaning the first team may indicate several changes that the third team can then override if the indicated changes are deemed unnecessary. Also, the number of rounds of review may add potential delays to the overall project. Another potential area of delay exists with the timely completion of review by the required departments. Certain key staff may be unavailable to review a packaging design during a given time period. To circumvent potential risks, each member of the review staff will have two alternative staff members capable of reviewing each package design. Should no staff members be available to review, the particular review component is submitted to the manager of the appropriate department for their review. This becomes a last-resort scenario in that traditionally, managers indicate changes that exist outside the scope of the project. Review delays present unique difficulties in that not every team member provides feedback as to their daily availability. Pre-Production and Printing Delays: The preproduction team will transition the artwork from its final design to printer-ready artwork. There is typically no risk for delay in this area. The printer will then produce a final round of art proofs calibrated to their individual presses. One round of revisions is already assumed and build into this process. Additional revisions are not typical though can present a nominal risk. Corporate Delays: While exceeding unusual, corporate can play a small role in delaying a project by canceling one or more packaging designs, adding addition package designs above and beyond what management has previously approved, or by simply delaying the provision of final approval on all finished designed submitted. While these scenarios are unlikely, they do represent the extreme limit of delay-related risk in that they can affect the project for an indeterminate amount of time. Qualified and Quantified Risk Matrix Review Delays Reduce Risk Consistent communication with key reviewers. Engage alternate reviews if primary reviews are unavailable. Enlist managers is alternate reviewers are unavailable. Greater than two days review time by each responsible team member. Project Manager Pre-Production and Printing Delays Reduce Risk Constant communication with pre-production team and printer will reduce or eliminate risks. Buffers in timing are already built into production times. Delays indicated by pre-production team or printer. References Cooper, D. F., Grey, S., Raymond, G., & Walker, P. (2005). Project risk management guidelines: Managing risk in large projects and complex procurements. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons. InvestorWords.com. (2014). quantitative risk assessment. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.investorwords.com/19179/quantitative_risk_assessment.html Loch, C. H., DeMeyer, A., & Pich, M. T. (2006). Managing the unknown: A new approach to managing high uncertainty and risk in projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Nunal Sa Tubig Essay

1. Logline A story of a community living on Laguna de Bay where the main source of living is fishing and how the residents of this island is affected by progress, poverty, ignorance, neglect and the dark side of big businesses. 2. Protagonist One of the protagonists in the film is Mang Jacob. He was a war veteran who expresses grief over the changes in their island wherein the lake was getting polluted by nearby industries and many of the fish were dying. After looking back on how tranquil and serene their island was, he wishes that it could all come back. He condemns modern changes which cause more suffering than improvement in their island. 3. Obstacles The main struggle of the residents of the island is the fact that their livelihood was being highly affected by all the modern practices like the development of industries nearby. Though there were scenes that showed the island looking serene and static, behind that was the restlessness of the people and the contradictions of social realities that they were confronted with. The people in the island were struggling for a place and identity. 4. Theme The movie shows a contrasting theme of life and death, fertility and barrenness. It shows some ironies in life like the destruction of the environment being necessary to make way for progress or even contemporary changes resulting to more burden than improvement. 5. My take on the Film I personally can see the current state of our country with the situation of the people in the island in a sense that despite the efforts for improvement and modernization, a lot of things are taken for granted most especially our natural resources. Thus, making the movie socially relevant. On the technical side, the delivery of the film was interesting since the narrative was not told in a strictly linear way. Various scenes and occurrences were interspersed. Scenes of village life alternating with the events in the city made the film less boring and more attention-grabbing. Also, I like it that contrasts and ironies were frequently emphasize. Overall, the film was worth watching.

Adult and Community Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adult and Community Education - Essay Example Adult and Community Education helps in reduction of the obstacles which are faced by several people while aiming to access education and training so as to achieve occupational talents and qualifications. Other people may find Adult and Community Education courses to be rewarding because of the fact that they can achieve more personal or communal aims. Adult and Community Education proves to be a fine alterative for grown-ups who aim for informal type of learning. Sargant presented a study of UK provision according to which one of six persons try to gain knowledge informally; that may be at home, at vocation, or anywhere else (1991: 15).The literature and the practice of Adult and Community Education also include target groups. This is particularly the case in Australia (Sheared & Sissel, 2001). These target groups are conventionally seen as minorities, or those persons who have been disenfranchised due to past circumstances of domination and segregation. The idea of target groups hap pens to be a main principle of Australian educational policy and lies on the supposition of a steady core. The Australian Adult and Community Education (ACE) policy recognizes certain classes of adults who are not properly represented in employment and training. They require additional sufficient and approachable stipulation so as to assist them in fulfilling their needs. The categories are (Adult, Community and Further Education, 2004): Koories; Men aged over 45; People with a disability; People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; Young people aged15 and over; and People aged over 55 These groups of people specifically require Adult and Community Education so as to help them on with surviving properly. Adult and Community Education results in plenty of advantages for the learners and they have major impact on their development. For example, Adult and Community Education can lead to social and economic welfare of people as well as the communities, it can produce social output and lifelong learning can be promoted through Adult and Community Education (Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia, n.d.). Therefore, it is important that equity groups also get an equal chance in participating in Adult and Community Education so as to improve themselves. For this reason there are boards and groups that enable this. One such is the Adult, Community and Further Education Board (ACFE) which encourages education and training for a variety of people, along with specially focussing on those who are included in the equity groups, that is, those who do not have full access to education. Around 450 community-owned and directed organisations are entitled to pass over adult and community education with ACFE Board funding. The government assists in Adult and Community Education provision. Since quite a few years the government has engaged itself a lot in Adult and Community Education, and it did this by providing the organisations with enough funds so as to allow them to educate the people. This has been very important and has enabled to broaden the position of Adult and Communi

Computer systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Computer systems - Essay Example Software enables the computer to perform the computing functionalities and performing numerous tasks. Computer software entails system software (the operating system and all utilities that enable computing functionalities), applications software (these are programs that assist the users to perform specific tasks such as word processors, spreadsheets, database management system).Computer systems handle the execution of instruction through selection, iteration and sequencing a set of instructions. They execute binary instructions; hence, any kind of instructions given to the computer must be first converted into binary form (number base 2) before any computing action takes place (Blundell, Khan, Lasebae, and Jabbar, 2007). The advancement of digital technology has enabled the development of complex computing systems in the recent decades to encounter the changing and dynamic needs of the processing and dissemination of information in various organizations. There has been an improvement in the functionality and processing powers of computing machines lately and this has enabled vast quantities of information processing and storage. Computer systems have evolved from the older mainframes, which were bigger in size with low processing speeds, to now personal computers, which are smaller, cheaper, efficient, and easily portable. The tasks performed by the humans have been taken by computer systems that have increased the speed and efficiency of performing various tasks within a short period due to their multitasking nature (computers can perform various tasks at the same time). The operating systems of computers have been designed in a way that allows numerous tasks to be accomplished, and individuals can switch between tasks without waiting for any of the tasks to be completed (Dhotre, 2009). Monitoring The medical field has employed computer-monitoring technology on the functionality of the human body. The human body produces heat because of the metabolic activitie s that take place in the living cells. Modern thermograph machines are used to detect heat changes in the body; they convert such pulses to thermo grams fed into the computers, which are used to give images of the body parts that are unusually hot and cold. The images are used to investigate such defects as arthritis, breast cancer. Medical imaging is a technique that is used by physicians to observe the internal organs and functioning of the body. Imaging enables detection of causes of illness; such techniques include X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and tomography. They send beams of waves into the body and later receive the reflections from the body. Computerized tomography uses extensive scans from different angles and sends to the computer, which arranges the images. Magnetic resonance imaging uses magnets and radio waves to form images. A computer analyzes the radio waves coming from the patient to produce a detailed image. Ultrasound scans pressed against the b ody, relay waves into the body and receive back the waves, sends them to the computer, which processes an image on the screen, is used especially on pregnant mothers to detect the position and the overall development of the baby in the womb. Electrocardiographs are used to record signals originating

Staff Development Plan Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Staff Development Plan - Personal Statement Example So basically I have to be highly skilled and provide interaction and engagement. Also in order to effectively develop my staff I have to be familiar with the content that is what is being taught in class rooms and the context that is the environment in which this content is delivered and the issues surrounding this content. It is only when I know what areas need development would I be able to suggest and bring about a change. (NSDC, 2008) Although I do encourage my staff to attend seminars, orientations and work shops but in addition I have now planned on introducing job embedded development as it is a professional learning experience that relates to the teachers daily work. Job embedded development is a more effective type of staff development as it connected to what the educator is doing in class on a daily basis so teachers can practically apply what they have learned which in turns help sustain their learning. Some of the main characteristics of job embedded development are teachers working together in groups and holding regular meetings. Research shows that these development activities lead to better problem solving as the problems that exist with in the school are better solved by those who work there and have a one on one interaction with the students. Also teachers working in groups get to analyze the students work more carefully and thus result in an overall increase in student achievement. (Galloway, n.d.) I would also want to help my staff develop through coaching and on job instruction and for that purpose I will appoint staff developers. According to researches staff developers have a huge impact on what students and teachers learn. Staff developers can work with the teachers to increase student achievements, to reach the goals of student improvement programs and to provide on going coaching to teachers who are struggling or teachers who want to enhance certain skills. In my opinion the best thing about staff developers is that they are not in evaluating positions and thus the teachers will be encouraged to be open and honest with them about their problems and weaknesses and in this way a more effective development can take place. (Galloway, n.d.) I would also encourage distributed leadership rather than a top down approach. I would encourage interaction between teachers, students and my self not only with in the school but also with other schools, I would also encourage the parents to participate in order to facilitate better learning and development. I would be open to suggestions brought in by the teachers, the parents and even the students. I would give students and teachers a chance to voice their opinions. I will hold regular meeting with the staff and coaches so as to always be in sync with the progress that is taking place. And I would also arrange regular meetings with the parents and students so that they can also be involved in the development process. (NSDC, 2008) Apart from all the above I would encourage regular assessments to be held in the form of closed book quizzes or tests. Theses quizzes would be made up of fill in the blanks, MCQS and short questions that would require the students to recall what they learned in class. These quizzes would facilitate in students as well as teacher learning. Based on the results of the quiz teachers would have an idea of the concepts that the whole class collectively has a problem with and

Processing the Crime Scene and Establishing Identity Essay - 1

Processing the Crime Scene and Establishing Identity - Essay Example The initial pictures suggest that destructive material was used in the preparation of the bomb, as the dead bodies are showing very strong signs of injuries of ball-bearing piercings. There was considerable panic as depicted in the media at the crime scene because of the horrific outcomes of the blast. There has been no such incident in London within this area for years and people were not expecting this to take place at such an augmented magnitude. There are different speculations about the different aspects of the bomb blast and most of the people and experts are hinting towards the possibility of a terrorist attack. In order to lessen the speculations and start team oriented investigation of the crime scene, the following team is prepared keeping in view the requirements of the crime scene 1. Leader of the team 2. Photography specialist and Log Recorder 3. Sketch Artist 4. Evidence Recovery and Recording Specialists 5. Investigation Specialists (Allison, 2008) The first and foremo st responsibility of the team leader is to visit the crime scene with the team and brief the team members about the current situation and contextual background of the crime scene (Gardner, 2005).  . The area was secured as a first priority by a low level police agency in order to secure the evidences and fingerprints. After the initial help to the wounded, the dead bodies are placed on the ground and they are not touched as said by the team leader. The photographer has the responsibility to take the pictures of the crime scene from every angle in order to file a strong case for the FIR case. The role of photographer is of importance in this case because of the fact that crime scene is spread in a very huge area and the pictures must be taken of all the places where the bomb shrapnel and other pieces of human bodies have spread. This is important in order to have a sound knowledge about the strength of the bomb that was used. The photographs quality is also highly dependent upon th e angles that are deployed during the usage of the pictures at the crime scene because there is a great need to inculcate the fact that pictures will be used in the future also for investigation at a higher level (National Institute of Justice, 2013). The third role is that of the sketch preparer who has a very crucial role in this case. All the people who are the survivors of this bomb blast were interviewed and they were asked about the possible outlook of the bomber/culprit. Most of the people said that there was a teen ager who came at the bus stop he shouted something loudly which is not interpreted yet by people and then there was a blast. Most of the injured people have given the signs and outlooks of that boy and the sketch maker has given a sketch in which a clean shaven, teen-age white guy is depicted. This will be used country wide for the tracing of the original motivators of this crime. Evidence recorder is another very important role in a team investigation in this cas e which has the responsibility to collect all the evidences, finger prints, interview wounded people, survey the nearby buildings, shops, churches, schools and markets in order to get a strong grasp on all the important factors that were responsible for the crime. The other role is of the specialists who are the main responsible team member in order to get to the depth of this case. Forensic specialists were called on the crime scene who will apply the arts of back tracking and check the American national database for searching any possible

Personal Financial Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal Financial Planning - Essay Example Jeff has now 5 years of job remaining. The best way to utilize his resources to save the money for his retirement is to invest the amount to get a good return. So that he may have enough money to complete his post-retirement plans. Jeff is also having full National Insurance contributions and has some savings. He has won the lottery ticket prize of ï ¿ ¡800,000. Now he has to use the entire amount wisely because he has various plans to be fulfilled. These plans can only be completed by having proper use of the available cash. For that purpose, Jeff needs complete personal financial planning. Now Jeff needs to be very careful to use the money in such a way that he may fulfill his plans after retirement. Obviously he would like to use his money to earn some profit on it. The financial institutions are there to help such people. They offer different rates for the investment of 5-10 years and so on. They have different policies so one should be aware enough to choose his required package of investment according to the rates. He should deposit the amount for annuity and get the reward at the end of fiscal periods. In UK market, the present rate of pension annuity is about 40% and it also varies by institution to institution. So if Jeff starts investing his money for pension annuity then this activity will be fruitful at the time of his retirement. Moreover, statistics shows that there are chances of increase in the annuity rate in coming years. Normally the pension annuity period goes to the age of 75 in UK but mostly people avail the opportunity at the time of retirement i.e. 65. Though some people go for other options to hold their finance or maximize it. That is the remedial measure to adopt such steps during the job to secure the life after retirement. During the job, this may be the best way to save money for future. But there is another fact that if anyone at the age of 65, wants to utilize his annuity amount then there will be surely reduction of 1% in profit. This is the reason people go for other options. More the time will be; more the chances to get higher profit for annuities (Murthi, July 2000). All the people whether they are skillful or not, consider the financial planning a very important thing. With the passage of time people became aware of its importance. It’s not necessary that they have the knowledge to plan perfectly for their selves or not. The thing is that they have vision of the importance o f financial planning and they want develop a financial plan for themselves to save their financial resources for the future life. The advice of an expert financial advisor also helps the individual lot. A research study shows that only 13% people are known with the skills of financial planning. Everybody has his own preferred resources to identify the needs to plan for future life (Murphy, 2010). In Jeff’s case, we need to consider the rates of different institutions and compare their rates of annuities. The highest rate of return will be considered. Basically, the rates are linked with the period of time you are investing money for. If the time period is longer, the rate will be higher and vise versa. The investor gets the highest rate in the later years so that is the main purpose of pension annuity. This thing helps the individual to secure their future after retirement. So this will be beneficial for Jeff to invest money in pension annuity and make it more of the original . We can go for fixed annuity. In such annuity, the annuity is sure for some years e.g. we say that we have an annuity for 5 years. So it is the annuity in which number of years is fixed. The financial institution will make the payment at the end of that period. Jeff can get more of this plan. Another option is the Maximum Investment Plan offered by different

Thomas Cook Essay Example for Free

Thomas Cook Essay Introduction Thomas Cook is the current leader in the UK transport industry. Thomas Cook is a huge organization employing 11,000 people and serving more than 4 million customers annually. After being acquired by CN Touristic AG in 2000, it was discovered that their travel business was not only unprofitable but facing significant losses. Something had to be done and in face of stiff competition, any strategy devised needed to be implemented as soon as possible. Executives saw that the task however was too complicated and extensive to be handled by Thomas Cook alone. This is where Accenture comes in. Accenture is primarily a research organization. With extensive experience in practically every industry, Accenture has become a brand many firms feel proud to be associated with. As per its website, ‘Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with net revenues of US$16.65 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2006.’ Accenture has been expanding its offerings and capitalizing on evolving management trends and technologies. Its main services revolve around systems integration and business integration and deployment of enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and electronic services. Thus Accenture over the years has established itself as a leader in todays global marketplace. Thomas Cook was thus in an urgent need of not only a solution but also an expert implementer of the solution which they found in Accenture. Accenture with its extensive experience in the IT and travel industry along with cutting edge research became the perfect choice for Thomas Cook and resulted in a profitable partnership for both. Analysis Thomas Cook, instead of outsourcing its IT and business requirements to Accenture completely formed a partnership. A partnership is more than just a contract. On the business to business transaction continuum, transactions are the simplest form of exchange between two businesses. Contracts define a specific time period of a service or product being provided with specific fees. An outsourcing is more of a contract than a partnership with the provider firm charging for services over a period of time. In a partnership however, interest of both parties are at stake and this is exactly what is happening here. Accenture not only shares in Thomas Cook’s profits but also puts itself at a risk of losing money. Thus a co sourcing agreement differs from a normal outsourcing one in this way that both parties mutually proceed to achieve specific goals rather than one being the service receiver and the other charging for it. The new system at Thomas Cook was enabled and setup completely by Accenture. A turnaround strategy was implemented over a period of time to do so. We will now analyze the new system using two popular methods of analysis namely SWOT and Porters Five Forces model. SWOT Analysis of Thomas Cook Strengths: Thomas Cook is a widely recognized and accepted brand worldwide and a large organization with a widespread network of travel agents resulting in a wide reach. Along with this, it has over the years developed 10 tourism brands. These brands should be treated as assets and nurtured further to gain profits. Its large customer base too contributes to its success and has been the main reason behind its long sustainability. Accenture too itself is a respected brand and a global leader in the field of change management and outsourcing facilities. Since a partnership benefits both arties, Thomas Cook has benefited a lot from not only Accenture’s expertise but also due to their status in the research and IT industry. Weaknesses: The sheer size of the firm can be seen by some as a weakness. The number of staff too is too high and Thomas Cook could look into this matter and find that they probably need downsizing as well. Thomas Cook doesn’t seem to have paid enough attention to brand management. These brands should be treated as assets rather than just the name of a service they provide and by doing so they will realize higher brand equity resulting in customer loyalty and lifetime value. Opportunities: Thomas Cook had a major opportunity when it decided to move over to a completely IT enable business model and they grasped it. Further opportunities may include the option to bring all their systems online rather than just integrating them. Furthermore, other departments can be also be integrated within the current system resulting in a more IT oriented business model. Having an IT infrastructure also gives rise to opportunities such as partnering with other firms in the industry and linking with travel agents as well. Threats: major threats at this stage would be other firms emulating Thomas Cook or coming up with a more sophisticated and agile business model. Nowadays, market responsiveness is a major determining factor in a firm’s failure or success. More adaptive firms can give Thomas Cook a hard time in the market arena. Moreover, any firm realizing the above stated opportunities and seizing them before Thomas Cook can prove as major threat to Thomas Cook as well. Other brands existing in the market can also be seen as threats. These results can be used by Thomas Cook as inputs to the creative generation of possible strategies, by asking and answering the following four questions: How to Use each Strength? How to Stop each Weakness? How to Exploit each Opportunity? How to Defend against each Threat? Thomas Cook according to Porters Five Forces model The Five Forces model developed by Porter can be used to analyze the current industry and its effects on Thomas Cook. Existing Competition: Thomas Cook should look at the existing competition within its industry (and indirect competition as well). By doing so, they should realize where they stand in terms of the industry standard and how they can increase this gap between themselves and the competition. This would result in higher profits and greater lead time. Competition will also not be able to ‘cherry pick’ Thomas Cooks customers and lag behind them. Threat of Substitutes: a major threat to a firm in any given industry is when the competition starts emulating and selling its products. This results in customers transferring to the other offerings (depending on their propensity to transfer). Thomas Cook here has the edge due to the brands it owns. Brands position themselves uniquely in the minds of the customers and thus increase their loyalty whilst decreasing the chances of transferring to another product. Thomas Cook should devise a marketing strategy centered around promoting not only its brands but also its corporate image. IT systems in this regard can be used by implementing a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to asses consumer needs. This will not only cater their needs but also set the bar higher for competition. Threat of New Entrants: Thomas Cook, by partnering with Accenture and deploying a state of the IT system has already set high standards in the industry. This has resulted in barriers to entry for new firms. Each new firm entering will have to think twice due to the high investment required now to set up an IT infrastructure and then operate within the industry. They should however be mindful of entrants with strong financial backing who would be willing to invest more than Thomas Cook already has. Such entrants can be further deterred by setting up more barriers by enhancing the IT infrastructure even more. Moreover, Thomas Cook can become the leader and by doing so set newer and higher standards which will be hard to achieve not only for new entrants but current competitors as well. Bargaining Power of: Supplier: Since being in the travel industry, Thomas Cooks main suppliers are airlines and the raw materials which go into operating them. Petroleum prices have risen considerably and thus suppliers of petroleum have a high bargaining power. Along with this, suppliers of airplane maintenance products too enjoy a strong bargaining power as their products are highly specialized and industry specific. One factor however has been the decline in air travel which could have resulted in a decrease in supplier bargaining power. Buyer: Consumers are well aware nowadays of the various services offered to them by the various firm in the industry. Consumers nowadays have many choices, customization options, free offerings etc. to lure them and garner their loyalties. This makes it harder to deal with. Furthermore, their fickle demands require a firm to be very agile in order to fulfill them. This has resulted in an increase in the customers buying power. No wonder the whole economy is moving towards a customer oriented approach rather than the old product oriented approach that existed a few decades ago. Thomas cook thus should be mindful of this and strive to keep its customers from transferring to other service providers via newer and better offerings. Thomas Cook’s IT solution is not unique when it comes to the actual technology implemented. The uniqueness lies in the fact that they were able to not only implement a system in such a short time (considering the sheer size of the firm) but also the fact that they realized huge cost reductions and profits within a short period of time. In IT systems of such caliber, the major issues pertain to the actual transition phase and gatting existing employees to accept the changes. Thomas Cook not only successfully implemented in the wake of the 9/11 catastrophe but managed to make a smooth transition from a disparate, loss prone organization to a smooth running, integrated one with higher returns. Co-sourcing and Outsourcing In the Thomas Cook case, not only was a new system implemented but a whole organizational culture was turned around. This could not have been possible without the key input of an expert firm in this regard like Accenture. Thomas Cook realized this in the very beginning and went ahead with the decision to co source the strategy with Accenture. The question here arises as to why co sourcing rather than the conventional outsourcing? Outsourcing, as the name suggest, technically means to allot ones non-core business function(s) to an external organization which is an expert in that field. Example could include the various U.S. firms outsourcing IT services to firms in India who have the skill set and expertise to develop software solutions. The need to outsource can arise due to various factors. The most obvious reason to outsource is usually a step towards cost cutting and ‘shedding off’ unnecessary responsibilities thus enabling a firm to concentrate on its core competencies. Apart from this, outsourcing to other countries (off shoring) is seen as a major cost cutting method due to the cheap labor available than ones own country. Cosorucing in the Thomas Cook case is more of a partnering strategy than an outsourcing one. In this, two or more firms decide to get together and work towards a common goal, with both benefiting form the others expertise. Unlike a partnership however, the scope is usually different. In a full fledged partnership, employees from both firms get together as teams (strategic alliance) and add their expertise to develop products and services to maximize profits or to become industry leaders. In a co sourcing alliance, a number of employees only (Accenture employees) get together with the other firms employees (Thomas Cook) to assist them in non core activities. Unlike outsourcing where both firms are separated and work independently from one another, co sourcing allows sets of employees from both firms to work together to achieve organizational objectives. Both methods have their own pros and cons. Outsourcing is currently the hype and the best strategy to cut down costs. Doing so enables a firm to keep its costs low and concentrate on its core activities. Opponents of these strategies however state that product quality drops due to lack of standardization of labor employed and security issues can also arise due to transfer of sensitive data. In co sourcing, one does not see these disadvantages. The reason being that both firms share from the firms overall success and thus both equally strive to develop improved products and services. The main problem with co sourcing however is the sharing of sensitive data which if revealed to competitors can spell disaster to a firm. Apart from this, partnering firms can have different ideas as to the direction where the business should go towards. Employees can also pose a major problem here especially if they are not willing t accept the changes and see the other firm as outsiders. In the end, it is matter of trust and cohesion and this can only be achieved if both firms clearly lay down the gorudn rules and work towards their respective incentives with one playing the role of the leader and the other the facilitator (as Thomas Cook is being facilitated but not lead by Accenture). Alternative Strategies The current strategy seems to work pretty well for Thomas Cook. They could have however spent a little more time and devised a better strategy. Some suggestions are: Re-engineering is a good way to asses current business processes and improve them by setting up better and more efficient ones. Since a change management strategy was used, Thomas Cook could also have taken a good look at current business processes and implemented new ones. In the current strategy, a new IT system has just been implemented over the current practices. Number of employees and the ratio with the HR personnel should be maintained. Industry standards should be researched and then Thomas Cook can adjust accordingly. Current employees can also be trained and not all should be entrusted to another firm. Transfer of knowledge over the years could have also resulted in current employees gaining enough knowledge to run the system themselves. Although Thomas Cook has co sourced with Accenture, in the long run an outsourcing strategy would have proven more profitable. Since Accenture is now a partner and sharing in profits rather than working at a certain fees, it makes sense to assess and reevaluate whether outsourcing would be more profitable or the current strategy is still better. Thomas Cook implemented this strategy at its headquarters so far. It should also be keen on implementing in other locations and integrate them as one whole. Opportunities and Risks of Virtualization Virtualization reveals many opportunities for a firm. It not only affects the internal environment of a firm but also has lasting effects on the external environment. Increase in profitability, efficiency and improved service to customers are all seen in most of the projects implemented. There are some risks however which have to be assessed: High risk of failure associated with projects of such magnitude. Employee acceptance. Cost effectiveness. Proper usage of the system Integration and proper maintenance of system. Maintenance of backups. Change of requirements and expansion of system. Handling affects on internal and external environment. Thomas Cook will need to conduct a context analysis to assess the real scope of changes the system has and will cause in the future. In doing so, not only will they able to fully asses the risks associated but also the obvious benefits such as realization of profits, efficiency, cost cutting and hidden benefits such as competitive advantage, customer relationships and deterrent to new entrants. Pervious analysis has already revealed the advantages of this system and strengths of Thomas Cook. What now needs to be done is eliminate the threats and overcome weaknesses along with enhancing the strengths and translating them into larger profits. References: Accenture, retrieved 10 January 2007, http://www.accenture.com/home/default.htm?viewType=Flash BEA Systems Inc., 2005. 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