Porsche Exposed

Porsche 1. How does Porsche differ – operating structure, financial results, etc. – from other major European-based auto manufacturers? To begin with Porsche is a privately owned company controlled by the Porsche and Piech family. They hold all the 8. 75 million voting shares while mainly large institutional investors hold the other 8. 75 million non-voting shares. Despite the fact that stock exchange and analysts’ requests more frequent and more detailed financial reporting Porsche is not willing to meet these needs. Another questionable input is the management compensation that only depend on Porsches profitability from year to year and not the share prices. Porsche manufacturing is conducted in German but also in Finland which make them a global brand with a cost base mainly in euro. They want to keep it so despite the fact that 42% of its revenues come from sales in the US since they believe that the heart of the brand comes from its performance in manufacturing and engineering. Porsche is therefore, by far the most exposed company among other European-based auto manufactures to changes in exchange rates. While the other manufacturers increase their amount of natural hedging by conducting more manufacturing in their countries of large sales Porsche increase their put option hedging. According to their 2006 model year they are going to fully hedged all their sales. This is done even though Porsche has the largest US exposure among the manufactures. Their hedging strategy has been criticized for being more lucky than thoughtful. Porsche also differ with their extreme anti-debt attitude. Porsche have a strong competitive position and another aspect that is very specific for Porsche’s products is the exchange rate pass-through. They pass through the changes of exchange rate upon the final consumer. 2. Describe Porsche’s foreign exchange operating (economic) exposure. How has the company been managing this exchange rate exposure? Porsche’s exposure to the US is currently 42 % of it sales and this numbers are believed to increase with increasing sales. The sales’ to the UK market is also relatively large with 11 %. Therefore the largest exposures are towards the dollar and the pound. Porsche is not using any natural hedging even though this type of â€Å"hedging† is increasing among other major European-based manufactures. Porsche use an aggressive put option strategy to hedge against the US dollars and according to their model year of 2006 they are going to be fully hedged against their sales. They will achieve this by a three year rolling portfolio of put option contracts whit prices based on currency forecasts. 3. What methods are theoretically available to Porsche to manage or hedge its currency exposure? Why have these other methods not been used? If Porsche believe that their sales in US will prevail high they could do as the other manufacturers and start producing their cars in the US. If they do so they will match their sales with their costs in a beneficial way and that is how natural hedging is conducted. This procedure is probably quit costly to conduct but on the other hand this might create dollar debt that they could match their sales to as well. There is always a chance that this would affect the manufacturing and engineering skills. Another alternative that were very specific for Porsche’s products is the pass through of changes in exchange rate to the final consumer. Porsches has an approach to non debt but they could in fact use currency swaps to match their underlying exposure. But I don’t really know if Porsche has any debt that they could swap. 4. So, all things considered, what do you think of Porsche’s hedging program and strategy? What do you think they should do? I understand why Porches currency strategy has been widely criticized even though it has done very well. It must be a very expensive strategy to keep up and as the criticism has stated there is a belief that Porsche has been more lucky than skilled in their hedging. But what if they haven’t? I really think they should re-consider their no-debt statement to realize that there might be other valuable and less costly strategies out there. It feels like they just remember that they couldn’t lend money when they needed and not the fact that they lost a lot of money. This aspect could happen again if their predictions’ about the future is wrong. There is also always a risk when hedging all of the exposure but this need’ to be weighted to the win of hedging all of the exposure. Maybe there is a change that they could use a collar, swaps, loans or new manufacturing positions in their hedging. The magic is to find a suitable approach to match the exposure of the sales.

Executive Summary on Purell

Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer is a portable hand washing solution that cleanses hands without the need for soap and water. India currently has a problem with pollution in its water; we see this as an opportunity to increase our profits while also providing benefits that will help the Indian population achieve one of its strategic goals. Extensive research provides evidence that marketing Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer in could increase our profit margin as a company and allow us to grow our business. With a population over 1. 1 billion and limited competition; this market potentially could give us 5-7% growth each year for the next 7 to 10 years. Being that we are one of the first to enter this market, we will enjoy the benefits of being a pioneer in this industry. With such a huge market, we are hoping to have a 40% to 50% market share before additional competition start focusing on India. The purpose of this report is to recommend marketing Clean Hands, Inc product, Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer, in India. Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer is a portable supplement to routine hand washing. This is helpful because of all the diseases that are found in the waters of India. It is reported that 80 percent of disease that currently affects the people of India, is caused by unsanitary water and the lack of people washing or keeping their hands clean. Purell kills 99. 9percent of most common germs. Therefore, Purell is and effective tool that promotes proper health and prevents the spread of disease. In the documents to follow we are going to discuss the international business plan, which includes our policy commitment statement, our background analysis, our market research summary along with our action steps. Than we are going to go into detail about our marketing plan, which explains our method of entry into the market, as well as issues we might encounter.

Critical Incident in Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critical Incident in Healthcare - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that nurses were not always viewed strictly as providers of care with a minor comfort support position, essentially less-trained doctors. Rather, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, comfort provision was a key part of nurse care. Part of this may have been the domestication of nurse's roles and the association of nursing with femininity, but there was also a recognition of a holistic need for provision of comfort and care as well as treatment: â€Å"[T]here was nothing concerning the comfort of a patient that was small enough to ignore†. Nursing wasn't just concerned with mechanically providing food, cleaning, and other specific services, but with general well-being. In an era where cures were few and far between, providing comfort became the nurse's unique role. But since then, the improvement both of cures and of pain medication has made it so that nurses view their comfort role purely physically and mechanically. In the 19th and 2 0th centuries, nurses did not discuss treatment with patients because this was the role of the physician. While the change away from this norm is undoubtedly both more socially appropriate and just and more medically sensible, one good consequence of this norm was that nurses were de facto mental health care providers, giving patients emotional as well as physical comfort. That soup that day and this critical incident analysis teach me that the provision of comfort and attending to the needs of patients are vital. Hospitals are scary to many people: They feel deeply averred by sterile environments, other sick people, and an area where people often come to die. Provision of comfort is necessary to avoid deterring people from seeking medical care entirely. Resource management is vital to health care. Critical incident reports help guide those analyses. But most critical incident reports, while not looking solely at â€Å"death† and using a wide variety of indices and approaches , tend to focus purely on negative outcomes such as accidents. While critical incident reports should tend to take this approach, there is little point in focusing exclusively and perpetually on what was done wrong, what mistakes were made and what miscalculations were engaged in. Analysing success stories and proper provision in some vein, with the same techniques, is essential to resource management: One has to know where to put resources, not just where not to. Resource management in health care improves the provision and efficiency of health care through the following means: 1. Directly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of resources allocated to patients and therefore directly improving patient health.

Nursing skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Nursing skills - Essay Example I chose to discuss this skill as I noted that I was assigned a patient who refused treatment, and I wanted to know what and how I could manage a depressed patient refusing further care. For this critical analysis, I will apply Driscoll’s reflection model. It is a model which asks three main questions: What? So what? and Now, what? (Driscoll, 2007). These questions would help me assess my actions and the justification for these nursing interventions and skills. In accordance with the mandates of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008), the names of the clients and other involved health personnel shall not be used, instead, assumed names would be assigned to these patients in this paper. Mildred was a 36 year old woman who was assigned to me during my clinical placement in the mental health unit. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and often manifested aggressive behaviour during the manic phase of her disease. Bipolar disorder is a mental health issue wherein individuals go back and forth between very good or highly energized moods and depression (Goodwin and Sachs, 2004). The mood swings may in some cases be quick, but for some, it may take up to days or weeks. As discussed by (Goodwin and Sachs, 2004), bipolar patients can sometimes be severely depressed at one time and later on be highly charged, have poor temper control, be reckless, have little need for sleep, and be easily distracted. Their short temper and reckless behaviour can sometimes lead to aggressiveness and anger especially when they do not get what they want (Goodwin and Sachs, 2004). During my placement, my mentor asked me to administer to Mildred her due medications. As soon as I approached Mi ldred with the medications, she was already glaring at me, showing signs of aggression, like she wanted to hit me. She was also shouting for me to get away from her. When approached by other health providers, she also refused to calm down and turned even more

Service-Oriented Architecture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Service-Oriented Architecture - Assignment Example On the other hand, SOA (service oriented architecture) refers to a communication framework that is initiated to support communications between services (Rouse, 2008). There is a strong relationship between agile approaches and service oriented architecture. In order to improve the understanding, this report is divided into two major sections. The first section of this report discusses the basics of agile and its relationship with service oriented architecture. This section also presents some of the key agile practices that can be used for the implementations of service oriented architectures. The second section of this report presents a detailed discussion on the role of agile methods for cloud computing. There cannot be made any changes during the project development in the old development approaches, on the other hand, there is always a need to make some changes due to some uncertainties. Thus, for solving this problem in the old system development, a new development approach was introduced that is known as an agile method. This software development approach is quite simple to use and much faster than all other older development methods. In fact, agile software development method is made up of many repetitions (Serena, 2007; Rehman, et al., 2010). Basically, the agile project management techniques such as SCRUM, Feature-Driven Development, eXtreme Programming (XP) are helpful in lowering the costs which arises in case of making changes during the whole project life cycles. For example, eXtreme Programming is based on the fast repetitive planning and development cycles which drive to choose between different options and provide maximum value features with great speed. In addition to this, XP has an excellent feature known as â€Å"constant and systemic testing† which identify the problems earlier and resolve them in advance to make it high quality (CC Pace Systems, 2011). Figure1 demonstrates the easy use of agile software development approach.

Victimology and Victims Advocacy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Victimology and Victims Advocacy - Assignment Example 1) Victimology Victimology is the study into the escapades and behavior of victims may have led, fully or partially, to the predicament. Victim in this case refers to any individual who goes through injury, loss or adversity due to any cause. It isan indiscriminate term that refers to any person who undergoes negative experiences. Victimology is a scientific discipline that studies phenomena and victimization related causal relationships. It includes the study of events resulting in victimization, victim’s incident, outcome and actions taken by the victim’s society to counter cases of victimization. Victimology involves the study of vulnerabilities, people responses, recoveries, precursors, organizations and cultures connected to the victimization (Doerner & Lab, 2012). 2) History and development The term Victim has its origin in numerous languages and cultures that stretched from Asia to North-West Europe. These languages had like linguistic pattern. They included Old European, Latin, Old Norse, Sanskrit and Old German. However, it is Latin that has the closest term to victim, both in terms of pronunciation and meaning. Latin’s equivalent for Victim is victima-which means sacrifice or scapegoat- and its combination with the Greek term logos gave rise to the discipline called victimology. The word ‘victim’ was used as early as1776 criminologists such as Beccaria (1764), Garofalo (1885)and Lombroso (1876) among others. It was not until Benjamin Mendelsohn (1937; 1940) that the study of victims became an independent discipline. It was still Mendelson that proposed the adoption of victimology to define the discipline through his benchmark article â€Å"A New Branch of Bio- Psycho-Social Science, Victimology† that he published in mid 20th century. He studied victims and came up with the six type typology for victims. Only one of these six types includes an innocent victim that had nothing to do to his or her predicament, whi ch he termed as the innocent. All other five types involved victims who had a part in their own harm, which he referred to as victimization precipitation. Von Hentig, credited as the other father of victimology with Mendelsohn, advanced Mendelheson theory of victim precipitation by studying homicide victims. He came to the conclusion that certain types of individuals were victim prone. The probable types of victims included the depressive type, greedy type, wanton type and the tormentor. Schafer and Wolfgang are also notable contributors to the victimology. Victim assistance program were first adopted in 1972 in the US in California and Washington states. Two years later, Fort Launderdale, Florida stated a police based victim advocate project. In 1984, the Victims of Crime Act sets up a countrywide Crime Victims Fund from the federal crime fines kitty to compensate victims. In 1985, the UN adopts the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, becoming the first international breakthrough on the subject. Countries have since then entrenched Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power into their constitutions, such as Japan in 2005 (Worrell, 2001). 3) Difference with Criminology, sociology and psychology The main difference between criminology and victimology is in the subject of interest. Criminology is the study of criminals while victimology is the study

Writing for Different Cultures and Audiences Essay - 2

Writing for Different Cultures and Audiences - Essay Example A more comprehensive evaluation of the exhibition on Afghanistan’s hidden treasures were critiqued through emphasizing the value of preserving ancient art. It was therefore an opportunity for readers to appreciate realizing that contemporary art could still present and highlight ancient art as a means of sharing the legacy to current generation. The image taken and incorporated in the critique rationalized the theme which stipulates that â€Å"A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive†. The statement affirms the influence of ancient art as inspirational pieces in today’s culture. The comments that were noted through viewing the exhibit were clearly structured to describe Julien’s art work as totally innovative and captivating. Through a new medium (single channel projection on a panoramic screen), the ability of the artist to put into screen an interplay of fragmented videos and sounds was deemed to be effective in capturing the audience’s appeal. As such, one was intrigued by the information noted through the personal insights and interpretation of Julien’s art

Red bull strategy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Red bull strategy - Coursework Example On January 2035 the executive of Red bull is from a seminar and he reflects back 20years back on the pivotal meeting he had with the management ranks in 2014. In that strategic period of time, Red bull has drastically undergone robust growth strides and is the biggest energy drink producing and merchandising company. Reed bull is now selling its products in every province, of each nation around the globe. The combining ratio of the corporation has become the envy of each company in the retail sector. Profitability of the organization has been increasing every year in the past 20 years, and the company has as a result attained a war chest that has put it in a position to acquire other small companies. The operational, and distribution models of Red bull regionally and internationally are platforms for the exercise and sharing of best practice worldwide. The models have improved Red bull’s efficiency through the implementation of automation and centralization and at the same tim e have devolved decision making to the location level of Red bull internationally. The highly advanced quality of production and customer involvement in the product formulation continue offering Red bull distinguished competitive advantage over its rivals. The Chief executive is contented that the actions he took for creation of the future in 2014 have bore excellent results. Red bull is a regional company that has its focus on retail services. In the year 2014, Redbull’s business experienced challenge from retailers that had the capability of merchandising regionally. The competition was experienced on a combined proportion, which made it very difficult for Red bull, a regional merchandiser to withstand. Red bull is capable of offering special products that are custom made for various segments of its market share. However, the cost of providing the special products adversely affects Red bull’s combined ratio, causing Red bull to

Superman, Thor and Batman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Superman, Thor and Batman - Essay Example Studying these characters, how they were created and even the period when they were made, one can discover the reason behind their creation and possibly have a better understanding of the culture during that time. In America where one can find the movie capital of the world, superhero fans have tried to interpret what these characters, specifically Superman, Batman and Thor may want to stand for in relation to their homeland. Superman is one, if not, the most famous superhero of all time. The character’s popularity reaches outside the United States. At costume parties or children’s birthdays, the Superman theme is always a favorite. There is something in the man’s personality and overall appearance that has made people, especially Americans, a fondness. It is no wonder then that Superman who fights for â€Å"Truth, Justice and the American Way† has been believed to symbolize America more than any other super figure. The Superman everyone today is familiar with was supposedly influenced by not only one but several figures in the lives of then-teenage creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. A storyteller and an artist, respectively, Jerry and Joe, initially created an image in the likeness of philosopher Nietzsche’s Superman. ... Hugo Danner, a fictional character with superpowers in a book the boys were fond of, was said to have given inspiration to Superman’s strengths. There was also the likeness to the biblical figure Moses. The deliverer of the Jewish people (Siegel and Shuster were of Jewish origin) was also left by his parents to save him, adopted by others and lived a double life. Some people say that mild-mannered Kent and the indestructible Superman were a representation of the Jewish people’s meekness and their hope of saving their families from the Nazis. Everyone knows the story of Superman. An alien sent to Earth by his parents, the boy is adopted by the Kents, a middle-class couple who lives in the countryside. The adoptive parents raise him without encouraging the use of his supernatural powers. As an adult, he is depicted as a humble, unassuming and shy newspaper reporter. He wears black, unfashionable, corrective glasses and walks with his shoulders slouched and his hair parted to the side. This is Clark Kent, Superman in his â€Å"human† form. At the sound of trouble, Clark changes into a charming, physically impressive and powerful man who helps anyone in distress. Although he appears to be invincible, he is weakened by kryptonite, a kind of stone that comes from, ironically, Superman’s own home planet, Krypton. Superman can be viewed as an epitome of America’s dominant figure in the world. Similar to Superman, the country is the current super power. It uses its resources and strength to protect its own and the other countries, big or small, who ask for help. It does not condone evil doings. The world was witness to America’s strength when it dominated in wars against Japan, Korea, Spain, Great Britain and Iraq. Like how people in Metropolis look up to

Juvenile delinquent Essay Example for Free

Juvenile delinquent Essay In todays society more and more juvenile delinquents are being charged as adults in the court systems. The youth are being condemned by a society that allows fear to control its decisions. In the film Juvies narrated by actor Mark Wahlberg, a former juvenile offender, the lives of a group of young kids who are sentenced for many years or life are told. Throughout the film the group explains why they did what they did and how they wished they could have done it differently. One of the kids, a fourteen year old by the name of Anait, was sentenced for seven years. She had driven a group of boys to a high school where they then fought and killed another boy. Anait was charged with accessory to murder because she was the one that was driving the car. Another kid by the name of Duc was sentenced for 35 years, at the age of 16. He had no prior record, wasn’t a gang member but he was affiliated with a gang. He had driven a car that took part in a shooting, and even though no one was injured he was still found guilty. I feel, as do many others, that our court system has become much too harsh when it comes to punishing the youth. There is a difference when being tough on crime and giving kids punishments that do not fit the crime. More and more of today’s youth are being sent to adult prisons where they cannot be protected. In a juvenile prison, kids are given second chances. There they learn to right their ways and are sent back out in society where hopefully they will become responsible adults. In adult prisons however, its survival of the fittest. There is no protection for those kids and no one to guide them on the right path. Statistics show that kids sentenced to adult prisons are more likely to end up back behind bars within five years of being released or committing suicide. The media plays a big part in condemning these children. The media has demonized them and the crimes that they commit. Court systems have started to charge more for what could have happened rather than what did happen. Duc is an example of this. He was charged for a crime that wasn’t committed but could have been. Children should not be tried as adults because they cannot think as adults do. Science shows that a person’s brain is not fully developed until their early twenties. The cortex is still developing and this is the part of the brain that controls emotions and impulse. This is why children are more likely to get hotheaded more easily than if they were adults. If a child is not taught how to control his/her emotions than when they become adults these emotions will become harder to manage. Charging young children as adults does more harm than good. Some people feel that if you are going to commit crimes of an adult than you should be charged as an adult. However, a child does not think like an adult nor do they know how to relieve their emotions is a healthy non destructive way. People like Gregory Boyle, Geoffrey Canada, and Aaron Kipnis want to help these kids rather than convict them for the rest of their lives. Children need guidance from responsible adults, especially men. Many boys end up in prison because they never had a dependable male role model in their lives. They don’t feel wanted or accepted, so they find it by other means. They look to gangs to feel like they belong somewhere. There are other approaches that do not involve scaring kids with the threat of prison or punishing them for years. One of these approaches is restorative justice. Offenders are forced to take responsibility for what they have done. Not only do they have to confront their issues but they also get help. Another approach is guiding boys on the pathway to becoming a man. These are just some ways in which to save these boys from destroying their lives. There are so many children, both boys and girls that need help. They need friends, family, love, hope, and trust. They need someone that they can look up to and have faith in. Someone who they know won’t hurt them or throw them to the side when they make mistakes. With both discipline and direction, children from bad backgrounds can grow up and live crime free lives.

Construction Industry And Data Management Construction Essay

Construction Industry And Data Management Construction Essay Many issues affect the success of a project, yet there is sure proof of success based on efficient communication and cooperation and collaboration between team-members. Sending and receiving information is communication; this enables understanding of one another. Common definitions of communication given by Hoyland et al., 1953 and Ruesch and Bateson, 1961 quoted in Miller, 2004 gives that communication is the process by which an individual transmits stimuli to modify the behavior of other individuals. Another definition states that, Communication does not refer to verbal, explicit and intentional transmission of messages alone. The concept of communication would include all those processes by which people influence one another, Ruesch and Bateson, 2004. The theory on communication defines three key elements of communication. These three elements have to be present for communication; these are the sender, the receiver, and the presence of a message. The message must be conveyed through a medium while the receiver must interpret the received message so as to understand its meaning. The medium used is important to communication since it affects the process of decoding. Decoding the message correctly is important since it stands to give the meaning as is intended by the sender. It is important to realize at this point that everyone is different with different perceptions and interpretations of situations (Miller, 2004). Since people have different perceptions, team members of a project have diverse ways oral and written communication; team players also listen and comprehend situations in various ways, all leading to communication problems (Koskinen, 2004). Certain obstacles and filters may have key roles in comprehending the actual message. Barriers or obstacles usually root from the existing mind-state of the person receiving the message; these barriers to correct interpretation of the message might be biasness, prejudice or emotions, it may very well be the lack of technical and educational understanding needed (Thomas et al., 1998). Eliminating all human and technical barriers or obstacles is rather impossible in order to have effective communication, but creating formal, systemized communication set-up can much enhance project performance. This will overall minimize or almost mitigate distortions in effective communication. Good collaboration is dependant on effective communication. Communication may be necessary for collaboration but the reverse is not necessarily true; communication still takes place in absence of collaboration between team members, this means collaboration advances to realize common goals through extra-durable relationships and in presence of complete commitment of team-members (Laepple, 2005). Collaboration can be lasting if specific issues exist as part of the relation. Laepple, 2005 quotes Lorenz et al and says that collaboration constitutes mainly the presence of a common goal or objective, a joint paradigm, the existence of respect among and across all members, and of course the major e lement that is effective communication to be present. In regard to construction projects, common goal or purpose would be safe and timely execution of the project within the bounds of the given budget and quality. Collaboration means nothing without purpose. Joint paradigm, though points to the methods and practices generally acceptable to all teams and team-members trying to realize common goals. Here, it is noteworthy that everyone shares different values and these values must also be widely accepted within the working teams. It is important that collaboration exists before the rise of disputes or disagreements and problems in a project; it should, therefore be the foundational element of a project so as to avoid the afore-mentioned issues or any others that may come up (Larson, 1997). For this to be done team-building processes that conjoin the associated parties so as to give a clear picture of both the communication strategies as well as collaboration strategies and to make clear ways in which conflicts and disputes can be avoided well before they arise (Larson, 1997). One more essential factor for successful collaboration is the attitude of the management when faced by serious problem(s) (Larson, 1997). The managements attitude and behavior must be in conformance with the principles of collaboration, namely trust, openness and combined teamwork (Larson, 1997). When productivity deficiencies occur, the first culprits are communication and collaboration (FMI, 2004). FMI conducts the CIPS-Construction Industry Productivity Survey which states communication and/or collaboration issues as major challenges for the improvement of levels of productivity. This paper uses Widemans (1991) terminologies suggesting that buyer organization corresponds to project sponsor, and seller/implementer organization corresponds to project manager. These terms will be synonymously used throughout the study, i.e. buyer/seller and project sponsor or manager. Inter-firm Relationship Theories To deal with the complicated matter of research in inter-organizational relationships it is useful to refer to present theories that clarify the dynamics governing these relationships. The introduction section of this paper summarizes the studys element of investigation as communication existing between the project sponsor and the project manager at the time of IT project implementation where buyer-seller relationships exist. Traditional inter-firm/organizational relationship theories conferring to such analysis are namely the Transaction Cost Economics Theory and the Agency Theory (Williamson 1995). These theories are given as follows. Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) The TCE theory centers around the degree of individual transaction that translates input to required output, for instance the establishment of an IT-based system for the improvement of an organizations internal efficiency. TCE roots in economics; it gives rationales on whether to make a product or buy it from the market. There are two situations whether either there is more control making a fit for purpose in reducing unwanted costs associated to a product but having higher costs of management; or the other situation where prices are reduced by economies of scale as well as competing by price. Williamson (1975) argues for the make or buy decisions; these are supported by various implications like: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The level of specificity of an asset is a major influencing factor. It relates to the degree of the transacted object based on how explicit/unique it is. What value does it hold in terms of individual transaction and whether or not it can be redeployed for future transactions? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The level of ambiguity that arises from In-apt communication or deliberate in-correct and misleading signals that prevent decision-makers from discovering plans made by others involved in the business transaction. The common indecisiveness present in human behavior. The transactions frequency. Initially, TCE was designed for recurring, routine transactions, undertaken by traditionally managed organizations both in functional as well as hierarchical set-ups. Recurring transactions do not require a specific governance structure, though in contrast transactions that are highly unique require more specialized management structures. For this very purpose TCE considers firms governance structures and not specifically production functions (Willimason, p. 387, 1985). Costs involved in these transactions are aptly called transaction costs, here: Transaction costs are minimized by handing over transactions (each with different attributes) to governance structures (each with different capacities and different costs) (Williamson 1985, p. 18). TCE suggests that firms adjust their governance structures in order to attain lowest possible transaction costs. Resistance in physical systems corresponds to transaction costs in economic context; Transaction costs arise from complexity of buyer-seller relationship and the impracticality of developing and agreeing on contracts that are well-detailed enough to aptly form this relationship. For reducing transaction costs, the TCE theory suggests a high degree of asset specificity, and further suggests that incomplete contracts direct towards make product decisions, while lower degree of asset specificity direct towards buy product decisions (Adler et al. 1998). No matter about Agency theory CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DATA MANAGEMENT The construction business relies heavily on information. The information used can generally be categorized as structured data and unstructured data (Caldas et al., 2005). Database systems are used to generate structured data; the database system uses structures and formats that are predetermined (Caldas et al., 2005). Structured data brings about standardization while improving interoperability of computational systems (Caldas et al., 2005). PMCS-the Project Management and Collaboration Systems contain different modules which use both structured and unstructured data; structured data is present in the cost control module. The PCMS users do not have much control of the system, though realistically, most documents generated by the system (for construction projects) can be classified as unstructured data based on text-documents like contracts, reports and amendment orders etc. (Froese, 2003). Although such documents are classified as unstructured data, but most PMCS that are web-based c lassify them as partially structured. Constructware, a web-based PMCS( Project Management Control Systems presents standard modules to create and track daily reports and change orders as well as RFIs.( Request for Information ) Through this team-members can see and edit a standard document, which allows for interoperability between different computers. Despite this, researchers disagree that it is only a reproduction of the text document on different computer systems and does not offer an actual solution to handle complex data (Maoa et al., 2006). A lot of studies have been conducted where common data models have been developed so as to regularize and form one universal methodology to handle structured as well as unstructured data within the construction industry. IFC, the Industry Foundation Class (IFC) has been developed by AII-the International Alliance for Interoperability (Froese, 2003). CAD drawings are present in AutoCAD format, these are used by widely in the construction in dustry; two kinds of informational documents are supported by such formats these are: Contract Documents Project Management Documents (Zhu et al., 2001). DRIVERS OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Project success is impacted by external factors like the adoption and the diffusion of technology advancement in certain industries (Chan et al., 2004). Nonetheless, traditionally, the construction industry is seen as rather slow and reluctant to the adoption and implementation of new technology in comparison to other industries (Laborde Sanvido, 1994). Some important barriers in the adoption of technology by the construction industry are explained by Haas et al. (1999). These barriers include different standards, fragmentation, the type of business cycles, and ways in which risk is avoided. The construction industry survives on low labor costs in majority of regions; this is also a factor discouraging the invention of new technology and its adoption. Technology in-acceptance is mainly due to technological and financial risks felt by the employees who work in the construction industry (Tatum 1989). In-acceptance of technology construction companies poses a major threat to the construction industry. This is affecting productivity levels greatly and supporting the culture that is already change-resistant. A comparison of US and Korea in terms of information technology adoption is under-taken by Williams et al. (2007). These researchers reflect on how IT technologies are almost obsolete in over 150 US-based construction companies. Almost 50% or more have no usage of web conferencing or web portals. These companies have never used barcode scanning and do not have knowledge of e-learning or e-bid; similarly they have never used geographic information systems-GIS or geographic positioning systems-GPS. An article named Forces driving adoption of new information technologies by Mitropoulos and Tatum written in the year 2000 aims at identifying and analyzing internal and external factors that affect technology adoption within the construction industry. Internal factors arise within the organization and external factors come from the project owner or arise from competition. They have studied eight different companies; three of those are mechanical contractors whereas two of them are general contractors. These companies are large with even larger revenues averaging over US$100M. Technologies chosen by the authors are the CAD and the EDI, Electronic Data Interchange technologies and Radio Frequency Identification( RFID cards are important requirements of warehouses so that the stores available for issue are automatically updated in project ) Mitropoulos and Tatum have defined four important triggers for adopting technology; these are: Competitive Advantage Process Problem Technological Opportunity External Requirements Competitive advantage is improved only if new technology helps improve an he organizations critical capability and also if competitors have not already adopted similar technology. On the other hand, process problems originate from: (a)Added need for improved quality and also detailed drawings (b) Existing technologies have become insufficient for design communication (c) Growth of a company that requires better technologies in order to better supply larger-scale, complex projects demanding higher degree of detail. Opportunities in technology have been defined as improved capabilities because of the availability engineers having technology-based backgrounds, presence of complimentary technology, and affordability of up-and-coming technologies. External requirements are those that result from technology changes and are better known as client specifications or external competitor/rival pressure, and legal or regulatory enforcements. Besides these triggers for the adoption of technology, a great change has taken place within the construction industry that has affected practices within project management (Alshawi Ingirige, 2003). The changes that have taken place are marketplace globalization, economic forces, increased project complexity, a demand for quicker results, changing scopes of projects, changing procurement practices, and sophistication of clients (Alshawi Ingirige, 2003). The construction industry is now heavily investing in IT in response to these internal and external factors. By average construction contractor companies are now investing some US$334,241 in information technology. BARRIERS TO TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY The use of IT helps reduce time-taken to perform tasks and helps perform tasks that are difficult or impossible to be done by humans (Allen et al., 2005). Though IT has contributed greatly to the success of business organizations yet there exit barriers for diffusing or adopting IT into businesses. (Becerik,2006). Construction businessmen feel lack of collaboration within the industry, lack of training, and high implementation costs are all barriers to the success of IT in this industry. On the whole, though, barriers may be classified as technical barriers, behavioral barriers, cost-related barriers, organizational barriers, and legal barriers (Bjork, 2003). The barriers include: 1. Communication and hard and soft documentation 2. Information ownership 3. Returns on investment that are indistinguishable 4. Construction site technological limitations 5. Risks, both financial and organizational learning related risks 6. Change resistance and organizational inertia 7. Law of intellectual property and concerns regarding mistrust 8. System security, system reliability and the degree of confidentiality the system offers The construction industry is being affected in a number of ways by all these given factors lowering chances of adoption of technology to this industry; these factors are individually studied and analyzed. (Bjork, 2003).You asked for refrences here they were given at start of para Frameworks of Knowledge transfer Multiple studies have created frameworks to transfer knowledge, for learning and for diffusing new innovations into different areas of the construction industry (Egbu, 2005; Maqsood et al., 2007; Walker et al., 2004; Chinowsky et al., 2007; Anumba et al., 2005 Chinowsky and Carrillo, 2007;). Nonetheless, these frameworks are especially focused and set to a process lacking in consideration of their effect on project management and social relationships. An obstacle to knowledge transfer, its learning or innovations may be linked with certain characteristics of construction industry like short-term labor contracts; fragmentation of a project by functions; short-term coalitions of teams; contract arrangements; poor coordination between project partners; adversarial relationships etc. (Slaughter, 1998; DoreeandHolmen,2004; Dubois and Gadde, 2002;). Ling (2003) states four factors having vital effects on technological innovations in construction. They are: The interest level of team-members (of the project) Work environment Creating task-groups Individual capabilities of members involved with innovation Additionally, Walker Peasupap (2005-a/b 2009) state that management; technology, work environment and team-members are all elemental factors affecting the diffusion of innovation, since they can adversely affect delivery costs of a project, time constraints and limits and quality of the project. These limitations, though may be resolved by integration of humans into project management (Huemann et al., 2007). Studies have been conducted to find out how knowledge management (KM) can be implemented in construction organizations. Different Knowledge Management Frameworks have been developed, some of which are discussed briefly below: In 2002 Whelton et al. proposed a knowledge management framework for projects; this model works on soft systems methodology in order to assist group cognition, group learning and generate solutions. One drawback however is that this framework may prolong negotiation between stakeholders whilst trying to reach mutual agreement when faced by a problem or a situation; this may overall prolong time limitations of the project, causing it too start later than anticipated or finish later than anticipated. A frame-work called cross-sectoral learning has been developed by Al-Ghassani in 2002, in virtual enterprise for helping organizations set up a Knowledge Management strategy. Construction companies need to set-up KM systems in order to preserving knowledge and more specifically to integrate learning into the companies workings both into processes as well as practices which will in turn enhance performance and organizational competitiveness in the global market (Wetherill et al., 2002). Bronn Thi-Le in 2007 created an abstract model that facilitates the detection of problems related to transfer of know-how in large construction related projects. This model aims to identify knowledge break-downs while presenting the best solutions to promote learning and transferring knowledge. Nevertheless, creating social relationships between project teams can prove to be critical in promoting sharing of knowledge in collaborative environments. A project named e-COGNOS, created by Wetherill et al. in 2002 attempts to specify and develop an infrastructure that is an open model; this infrastructure works (in collaborative environments) at KM to create, disseminate, retrieve and capture or store information. e-COGNOS can be effective if there are well-bound social relationships to promote knowledge exchange; users must be motivated and trained on the use of this frame-work. Another example is that of the knowledge transfer framework created by Carrillo et al. in 2006 which is used to help companies manage product-related knowledge. This framework works in three stages, though the maturity level of KM is important as to how the framework may be implemented. Also cultural issues exist when knowledge is being transferred across different territories or across national borders. Another approach called cross-organizational learning approach developed by Franco et al. in 2004 deals with the shortage of processes required for everyday inter-organizational assessment of construction projects so as to facilitate learning while adding value to projects. This approach allows for exchanging feedback on project performance which is useful for learning and improving performance. In 2007 Chinowsky created a learning organization maturity model with a built-in automated tool called Learning Organization Rapid Diagnostic that assists in assessing and the implementation of continuous learning. Nonetheless, for implementation of the multiple characteristics of a learning organization, it can be time-consuming because of the sole reason much coordination and management is required to link together the entire organization. Overall this is an elicit support to use communication systems infrastructure for organizational learning. The CONDOR project is explained by Vakola and Rezqui -2000. They explain how it can support in defining work practices, work processes, commonly-used techniques, tools as well as aid in supporting the technical infrastructure of construction organizations. It even comes with an evaluation tool that assists in gathering of information; it helps in organizing learnt information by distributing it so that organizational learning takes place, and the learnt knowledge can be implemented in future projects. CONDOR continuously creates knowledge, interprets it and distributes it in order to retain knowledge. In 2007, Chinowsky and Carrillo (2007) propose how organizations shit from focusing on KM over to learning organizations based on a STEPS model that is a KM model. STEPS stands for Start-up-Take-off-Expansion stage-Progressive stage-Sustainability, it also has a learning maturity model that is based on leadership, processes and organizational infrastructure, organizational communication collaboration, education and finally culture(s). If KM strategies are successfully initiated, organizations can successfully progress from only KM to having a learning culture. Learning alone cannot necessarily lead to improving performance (Crossan et al., 1995). Good practices in management and knowledge management have a deep correlation (Leseure and Brookes-2004). Various studies show the significance of innovation in construction industries (Egbu, 2004; Latham, 1994; Slaughter, 1998; Gann, 2000; Dubois and Gadde, 2002; Vakola and Rezqui, 2000; Kumaraswamy et al.,2004; Ling, 2003; Dulaimi et al., 2005; Eaton et al., 2006; Egan, 1998; Winch, 1998). PPP/PFI has positive outcomes for innovation (Eaton et al.-2006). Eaton further explored stimulants and barriers against innovation in PPP/PFI projects. Impediments and stimulants related to human relationships are social and organizational variables. This will help in improving PPP/PFI that can in turn affect project performance in regard of project quality, costs, and time managemen t. Concurrent Engineering Concurrent engineering desing is a doctrine in management which has largely being used in the manufacturing industry while less of it has been employed in the construction engineering. The main aim of the philosophy is to reduce timelines in the activities so that the overall project time in terms of cost can be reduced For completion of these activies Concurrent engineering projects parallel and concurrent functions that are overlapped so that the delay in sequential conduct of the activites can be reduced . It is pertininet to mention that the common areas between concurrent activies between engineering production and construction industry has been highlighted by many researchers (de la Garza et al. 1994). In construction industry the the concurrent engineering has primarily defines as the integration of both design , planning and construction processes including the main aim of integration is to reduce construction time and cost and to ensure through various checks that the product is meting the expectations of the consumer . (Noble 1993). One of the main aims of the concurrent engineering methodlogy is to identify which all activites can overlap and which cannot . Furthermore the amount twp activities can overlap in a process mormally depend upon the typr of activities . (Prasad 1996). Concurrent Engineering and Integrated Project Development Integrated project developemnt can be described as the evolution of the concurrent engineering into a full scale methodogical process . Since due to the complexity and the increasing processes involved in the contruction industry of today it is very important evolve the integrated approach for the completion of the task . We will now discuss the IPD in the backdrop of concurrent engineering . I need more information about concurrent engineering IPD Construction structures are becoming increasingly complex while this industry is becoming more specialized; a new approach called Integrated Project Delivery or IPD has been introduced. This approach has been developed in the U.S. for the improvement of cost and the quality of projects as well as enabling better management of project schedules compared to traditional methods. The IPD method attempts to improve the outcomes of a project by collaboration in streamlining the incentives in addition to team goals (ADTF 2006). Though there are a number of organizations that support progression of IPD for instance AIACA Council and the AGC, and while some projects benefited from its use, yet projects using IPD are relatively few in number (Post 2007, Sive 2009). There are reasons for its slow adoption. Some reasons include fear of risk related to IPD (time, money, and innovation); other reasons include the close partnerships that IPD demands and legal frameworks required for incorporating IPD approaches. Furthermore, stakeholders of the construction industry think that new competencies, skills and KM will be needed for collaborating IPD into an organization (Auto-desk White Paper 2008). Still there is no noteworthy research that investigates the existing adoption status of IPD or reasons for its slow adoption within the industry (Sive 2009). Gathering IPD case-studies reflecting best practices would motivate professionals unfamiliar with IPD in getting assurance of IPD benefits and how its profits play a ro le in both successful and unsuccessful projects. Here, this paper provides an example of a project implementing IPD for project delivery. In this paper, we define IPD and discuss BIM-Building Information Modeling in context of IPD. To make further understanding of IPD clear, a case study is discussed to see how IPD may be applied in commercial building projects. The conclusion section will give recommendations for education as well as future research projects both in the context of IPD. Though IPD may be the industry buzz word but there exist no standard definition that is acceptable to all. Differing definitions accompanied by greatly varying approaches of different sophistication levels suggest that IPD describes considerably diverse contract arrangements as well as team processes, (Sive-2009). There are prominent similarities among IPD projects and IPD definitions. IPD is defined by various principles like the following in the context of this paper: (1) Multi-party Agreement (2) Parties Early Involvement It is not necessary that IPD is constituted by these principles. Multi-Party Agreement: One contract exists for the whole project, which involves the general contractor, the project owner, and the architect, or may even involve other parties (if the contract is between more than just two parties) when IPD is used. The prime goal of IPD is maximizing collaboration and coordination throughout the entire project. The contracts are a driving force that allows goals to be attained productively without getting complicated by use of separate contracts since separate contracts can produce opposing motives among the stake-holders and team members. (Post 2007) please attach this ref in ref please Shared Risk and Reward: A majority of IPD contracts incorporate elements designed for encouraging teamwork while promoting project success. IPD, in contrast to traditional projects, combines the risks rewards to reach project goals. (Scarnati, 2001) The goals may differ but are related to cost, project schedules and the quality metrics used in measuring success of a project. Associated risk examples include budget over-costs with different entitys overheads and profits, though on the other hand if a project is below budget a team may be compensated. Risk-reward sharing can be based on value, incentive pool, innovation outstanding performance, performance bonuses and profit sharing. Based on value-Project teams are given incentives; bonuses that are given based on how much value is added by a member to a project. Incentive pool-It will reserve some share of the teams fees (that increases and decreases based on certain pre-agreed criteria) before it is divided and shared among team members; Innovation and outstanding performance-As the name already indicates, teams are rewarded for their hard work or creativity; Performance bonuses-These bonuses are awarded on the basis of quality Profit sharing-Based on group performances, profits are gained collectively for the whole team/group rather than individually. Early Involvement of All Parties: One fundamental benefit of IPD is that it provides all parties the ability to be part of the project and be involved with the project from the start of the design phase. Collaborating from the start can easily address problems of fragmentation existing between the designing professionals and construction professionals which results in work mal-practices or cost changes during the late construction phase. (Scarnati, 2001) Although early collaboration does not need technological tools, but information technology like BIM-Building Information Modeling greatly increases efficiency of collaboration taking place during all project phases. There do, though exist constrains and complexities in implementing IPD. New contracts are using IPD but are not tried tested, and so, are not completely approved and understood. IPD is costly and insurance companies will not cover financial losses incurred as a result of IPD. Moreover the construction industry is accustomed to conventional leadership methods; responsibility, and opportunity; while change is not very evident. (Baiden et al., 2003)The inability to restructure procurement processes for enabling IPD is the area where a majority of agencies and formal institutions are deficient. On the other hand, IPD is correctly and successfully implemented it: Helps in facilitating the sharing of rewards as well as risks amongst stakeholders It may help in creating incentives that are awarded for exceptional performance It can also minimize operations and maintenance co

Cooperative Learning: Listening To How Children Work At School :: essays research papers fc

Cooperative Learning: Listening to how children work at school   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this study the researchers were seeking to discover the content of the communication that occurred over a period of time that a project was due. The project took place over five weeks. The students were given an assignment to create a ride for a lot that use-to host the Pacific National Exhibition. Assignment: The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) will be closing permanently at the end of the season. The exhibition has decided to relocate on a parcel of land in the Fraser Valley. The board of executives is seeking innovative ideas from the public to help plan their new facility. Your class has been selected to participate in this unique opportunity. We would like teams of students to create a new innovative ride or redesign an existing structure. Each submission should include research, detailed drawings, and a simple mechanical model of your design. Please remember that space is limited and your group will have one half of a table top to present your model. The groups were taken from 26 sixth and seventh grade students. The researchers wanted to learn about the communication in the groups and to see how all the members of each group were able to communicate with each other as well as the teacher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 26 students were divided into six groups trying to keep the number of sixth and seventh graders balanced as well as the sex of the students. The students were given several days to meet and come up with ideas. The following the timeline the students were given to come up with the various elements to complete the project as formally as possible. Timeline: 1.Research and Sketches (May 14)-one page of research on the mechanics of your model; a clear sketch on 8.5 x 11 paper. 2. Final Drawings (May 17)-a detailed drawing of your design on 11 x 17 paper; diagram should include a title, labels, and scale; this drawing will be used in your final presentation. 3. Models (May 28)-a simple model that demonstrates how the mechanical system works; the model should be displayed on cardboard no larger than half a table top. 4. Presentation (May 29)-each group will be required to pitch their design to an audience (2-3 minutes); each member of the group should be prepared to respond to questions from the audience related to the mechanics of their selected systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 11 work secessions over the-five week study were recorded using audiotapes for each group.

The Book Of Sand Essay examples -- essays research papers

Jorge Luis Borges is a famous Spanish author, known best for his short stories. In this paper, I will discuss several short stories written by Mr. Borges, what influenced him in his writings, and a brief history of his place of origin, Argentina. Borges' The Book of Sand is the story of a man who is visited by a stranger trying to sell a "holy book" called the Book of Sand. The narrator looks at the book and is unable to see the first or last pages of it because, as the stranger explains, the number of pages is infinite. The narrator is fascinated by the book and buys it, only to become obsessed with it, until the point that it is all he thinks about. He eventually gets rid of it by mixing it up in a pile of many other books in his basement. As will be discussed in this paper, Borges wrote philosophy in a lot of his works. In The Book of Sand, infinity is depicted in the form of a mysterious book. It symbolizes man's constant search for the world's existence. Borges is saying that it is an endless search and therefore pointless. The Other is the story of Borges sitting on a bench, as he feels as though he had lived that moment already. He begins to speak to the man seated besides him, and finds out the stranger has the same name, and the same address as he does. When Borges asks the man what year it is, the man answers 1918, even though it is 1969. It is then that the narrator figures out he is talking to the person whom he was fifty-one years earlier. He then tells "the other" him of the future, after which they part, knowing they will never meet like this again. This story deals with time. The author is very nostalgic and lives for his memories. It also is a philosophical story where Borges expresses his doubt that we all may "just be an image of a greater being". The Mirror and the Mask is the story of an Irish king who tells a poet to write a poem describing his power. The poet wrote a praise of his fighting success, and in reward for the excellent poem, the king gives the poet a beautiful mirror and tells him to write another poem. In reward for his next work, the king gives the poet a mask. The king then asks for a third poem and receives a one line poem of perfection and in return gives him an elaborate dagger. The poet feels it to be a sin to hear such perfection and so he stabs himself with the dagger. The king ... ...s for his interest in eternity and his desire for control of time. He admits in his poems that time moves on, the world changes, that he will grow old, and that the past is gone forever. He says that one can only rely on their memories (as he expresses in The Other). In his fifties, Borges becomes blind, but continues to lecture in colleges and conferences around the world. During his lifetime, Borges was nominated several times for the Noble Prize in Literature. He wrote alot of short stories, literary reviews (based on books that never existed), poems and more. Although he passed away on June 14, 1986, his writings live on to be shared with all generations. When Borges was born, Hipolito Yrigoyen headed the Radical Civic Union. General Roca was president at that time and he defended the middle class (which was what Borges was). Argentina had alot of trade with Britain and helped the economy to flourish. The people became more educated. As you can see, Borges' greatest influences were his childhood, familial background, and people he met while starting to write. Borges writings are enjoyable and thought provoking. I definitely recommend it to people interested in philosophy.

Metabolic Costs Of Generating Force :: essays research papers

ENERGETCS OF BIPEDAL RUNNING 1. METABOLIC COST OF GENERATING FORCE Summary Similarly sized bipeds and quadrupeds use nearly the same amount of metabolic energy to run, despite dramatic differences in morphology and running mechanics. It has been shown that the rate of metabolic energy use in quadrupedal runners and bipedal hoppers can be predicted from just body weight and time available to generate force as indicated by the foot ground contact. We tested whether this link between running mechanics and energetics also applied to running bipeds. We measured rates of energy consumption and times of foot contact for humans (mean body mass 78.88kg) and five species of bird mean body mass 0.13-40.1 kg). We find that most (70-90%) of the increase in metabolic rate with speed in running bipeds can be explained by changes in the time available to generate force. The rate of force generation also explains differences in metabolic rate over the size range of birds measured. However, for a given rate of force generation, birds use on average 1.7 times more metabolic energy than quadrupeds. The rate of energy consumption for a given rate of force generation for humans is intermediate between that of birds and quadrupeds. These results support the idea that the costs of muscular force production determines the energy cost of running and suggest that bipedal runners use more energy for a given rate of force production because they require a greater volume of muscle to support their body weight. Key words: locomotion, energetics, bipedal, bird, muscle force. Introduction The question of wither more energy is required to run on two or four legs was addressed 100 years ago when Zuntz (1897) performed some of the first measurements of metabolic energy consumption in running animals. He found that horses used less energy than humans to move a unit body weight a unit distance, and he speculated that there might be an energetic benefit to moving on four legs rather than two. However, subsequent measurements of oxygen consumption in running dogs showed that these quadrupeds use more energy per unit body mass to move a given distance than both humans and horses. Zuntz (1987) noticed that this energy cost of transport in horses, dogs and humans was proportional not to limb number but to body mass and concluded that, per unit body weight, small animals use more energy to run a given distance than do large animals, regardless of limb number (Zuntz, 1987).

Faulty economics Essay

Based on Neoclassical economics, this statement is faulty because the employees provide their marginal unit of service by providing the kind of labor that their companies need to their loss of leisure. Almost all CEOs are the most stressed out employees of a company because they carry the burden to run the company. 2. This statement is faulty because the consumers are maximizing their utilities and the producers are maximizing their profits. In this statement, the demand for bottled water is greater than the demand for gasoline. Therefore, the production cost of the bottled water is greater than the production of gasoline. 3. Neoclassical economics focuses on the satisfaction of the consumers. Consumers have the preferences on whether they will stop smoking or continue to smoke. Therefore, their addiction to nicotine has no direct relationship with the increase in taxes. 4. This statement is not true because the firms will only employ people when the cost for hiring them is balanced with their outputs. 5. This statement is not true because the law for supply and demand does not apply to everyday lives. When there is a shortage in parking lots, the university will then put a price in the parking area as the solution to the problem. The students will then â€Å"bid† for their spaces in the parking lots. This is because the university will strive to optimize their market interdependence and to achieve economic equilibrium.

1776 Reading Review

Katie Cohen Ms. Kenny AP US History, Period 5 15 August 2012 Summer Reading Assignment David McCullough’s 1776 is an insightful and honest account of America’s first war; the Revolutionary war. In the book, David McCullough describes events and skirmishes that led up to the independence of the United States of America and the events that followed it. The book primarily focuses on the military aspects of the revolutionary war. The variety of firsthand account, quotes, and perspectives of both the Americans and the British make 1776 an extremely well crafted story made up of firsthand facts.To some 1776 may not be enjoyable or engaging, however, it is very precise and descriptive. David McCullough does an exceptional job of explaining the Independence of America in a way that does not bore the audience like most historical biographies do. Although it is clear from the beginning that David McCullough intentionally portrays America as the hero of the book, he allows the rea der to identify with the British and even the king of Britain at the time as well. Honest and unbiased accounts are given towards both the Americans as well as the British.Many candid and liberal accounts of the British and the Americans as put forward throughout the book. With much detail, David McCullough illustrates King George’s reaction to the rebellious American colonists as they begin to organize for freedom in the first chapter. He does not shed light on George Washington as a superior and more competent general than Howe. Both American and British forces are described in times of brilliance, luck, disappointment and shame. Not only is David McCullough unbiased, but he gives many in depth descriptions of his characters.The reader is able to become familiar with the characteristics, physical appearances, and biases of a majority of the characters. Joseph Reed is described as â€Å"a young man with a long jaw and a somewhat quizzical look in his eyes (44),† and J ames Grant, â€Å"a grossly fat, highly opinionated scot (71). † The descriptions of characters range from the British generals, to the American traitors. They make the book understandable and complex. Overall, 1776 is an enjoyable read, however, it could have focused more on he Declaration of Independence and the effects the war had on Great Britain. McCullough delivers the history as a story, while maintaining the attention of his audience. The usage of imagery is tremendous with few exceptions; all of the events were illustrated vividly. Quotes of the people who participated in the war are probably the most intriguing aspects of this book. I, personally, would recommend this book because it is intriguing and an easy way to learn essential information about the country in which we live in effectively.

Feminization of Poverty Essay

Researching Feminization of poverty was quite interesting. I read all the different opinions on the internet, the student forum and articles about it as well. As I feel strongly about the subject I had already formed my opinion about it. Coming from a not so great upcoming when I was young I always analyzed women’s actions and the reasons why most women my mother and the people she associated with were under the poverty line. I came up with three very specific reasons, one relation with men, two low self-esteem, and three uneducated. My mother actually possessed all three. I have till the day I can remember have always observed women and their relationships with men and studied what I thought they did wrong and what I thought they did right. I would see my mom give in quickly to my father even though she was right in the situation and that caused rifts in the relationships that will ultimately jeopardize finances and in return cause many other issues in the household from havi ng to budget and find different resources to accommodate the needs of what wasn’t being met at home. Even though that meant my mother going to churches for charity for clothes, shoes, gifts for holidays and rent assistance just to keep a couple of extra bucks in my father’s pocket. Secondly, Self-esteem it seems kind of unruly but it definitely fits in to the equation if you think about it. Self-esteem stopped my mother and others she associated with to go out and seek better opportunities. Not having perfect teeth, suitable clothes, or being groomed a certain way can lower your self-esteem to the point where you doubt yourself in to being able to get that position which leads to settling for what you have and in return you do not better your life or are able to teach your children that you can achieve whatever your heart desires in life. Lastly Education, my mother and others she knew did not have sufficient or any education to advance into any new positions or give them the ability to apply for a better position else were. Not knowing or not advancing in a career can leave you stuck in a dead end job for years and ultimately leave you wondering where have all the years gone by? Although many may read this and think that I am putting women at fault for everything involving feminization of Poverty. I can only help but see the facts as a person who has been through it and has made the efforts to change that cycle I can only express my opinion and wait for  someone to prove me otherwise.

Does Science Tells Us the truth Essay

In the American heritage Dictionary of the English Language, science has been defined as â€Å"the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomenon† (Gottlieb, 1997). But can these explanations be equated to truth? Through out history, science has explained myriad occurrences in the universe. However, until today, many still questions the validity of scientific knowledge in relation to its truthfulness and the veracity of its claimed truthfulness. According to Gottlied (1997), science is â€Å"an intellectual activity†¦designed to discover information†. This information is then organized and used to create a meaningful pattern that can explain natural phenomenon (Gotltieb, 1997). It is also said that the main purpose of science is to collect facts that discern the â€Å"order that exists between and amongst the various facts† (Gottliedb, 1997). The ability of science to discern and collect facts to give meaningful explanation of the causes and effects of natural phenomena becomes a way of discovering the truth. Without science there would be no discipline to work on these explanations and the truth will be left undiscovered and mankind will be left in the dark wondering about things. Does science tells us the truth? Or is it concern with the pursuit of truth? According to Esting (1998), â€Å"scientists must understand that it is moral cowardice to dissociate the practice of science from the pursuit of truth†. This only means that scientist should use science in order to discover the truth and inform the people of what lies behind every scientifically explainable phenomenon. In addition, Esting (1998) also mentioned that the mere fact that science is but a mere creation of men, does not change the purpose of science, which is the pursuit of truth. For example, according to the article, ‘What Is’, versus ‘What Should Be’ (n. d. ), it is mentioned that science is more concerned in explaining the ‘what is’ truth of things, thought it cannot provide the facts of the ‘what should’ truth of things. Moreover, the article also stated that â€Å"science knows the truth of nature, but only on the material side and incorporates technology to explain how to achieve and prove this fact. In order to explain this claim, take the case of pure science principle of the freezing point of water. Science tells us that water freezes when temperature drops to zero degrees Celsius. In this regard, technology then suggests and explains the various ways on how to drop the temperature to zero (‘What Is’ versus ‘What Should be’, n. d. ). Meanwhile, to answer the question, Cross (200) mentioned that the best way to determine whether or not science tell us the truth is to understand how scientists think and how they arrive at their conclusions. According to him, the existence of science is for the discovery and understanding of human nature apart from the fact of existence of men. In order to understand the laws of nature, we gather facts and formulate theories to explain every phenomenon. These theories try to explain why things happen, why things did not happen and why natural results are unavoidable. The results of these queries by the scientists are then published and made known to the public for whom the information of the conclusion is intended for. Once these conclusions are released, they became open to scrutiny and other scientists try to prove wrong these findings by conducting their own experiments and data gathering; or by modifying these conclusions based on their own findings (Cross, 2000). When scientific findings and conclusiosn remain unchallenged, they become the working guidelines for human actions, which then become ‘facts of life’ and the ‘truth’. Because many people trust how science works, science has become their only way to tell the truth and at least explain the truth about things (Cross, 2000). As it is provided by Cross (2000), science â€Å"has been hugely successful in giving us explanations of the world around us†. However the explanation as to whether or not science does tells us the truth, lies on the determination of what the truth is or what the truth is all about. According to Bradley (2004), even Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time, who showed and discovered the ‘truth’ about things, â€Å"showed that everything is relative† (Bradley, 2004) and â€Å"that truth itself is relative† (Bradley, 2004). The relativity of what the truth is also results to the relativity of the findings and conclusions of science in relation to the truth and how people perceive what the truth is. Finally, science is never an infallible aspect of human existence. There are times that science cannot also explain certain phenomenon, not at the present at least. But, this should not be seen as to mean that science does not tell the truth but rather, its own limitations and the vagueness of life itself, hides the truth from even among the greatest scientists of our time. If men would live in doubt of the truth offered by science and scientific knowledge; then â€Å"all science becomes futile; the search for objective knowledge becomes futile; and no scientific knowledge gathered to date can be true†(Gottlieb, 1997).

Set size and search type effect on search time during visual search Essay

Set size and search type effect on search time during visual search task - Essay Example Feature Integration theory There are a number of researches with various stimuli, while most prevalent idea proposed for human visual search comes from A. Treisman (1980), who conducted a research illustrating Feature integration theory. It asserts that a visual search is faster in presence of dissimilar background and the number of distracters involved in background do not affect the time consumption in case of a feature search (a search that involves identification of a direct feature like color, shape, orientation or curvature). On the other hand, a conjunction search is affected widely with the number of distracters presented in the background. A conjunction search is defined as a search which does not involve a direct feature but a similarity of multiple features among the various objects. (For example ‘blue square’ has similarities with ‘blue triangle’ and ‘red square’.) Consequent of the propositions, feature integration theory illustrate s that those two searches consists of different methodology for human visual search. Those methods are characterized as parallel searches and serial searches for feature and conjunctive patterns. As further illustrated in Feature Integration theory, feature search and conjunction search differ widely on time consumption patterns as conjunction search follows a twofold process which requires identifying the features and categorizing the conjunctions to create a pattern of search. The distracters found in the patterns are responsible for time consumptions. The feature-integration theory of attention suggests that attention must be directed serially to each stimulus in a display whenever conjunctions of more than one separable feature are needed to characterize or distinguish the possible objects (Treisman and Gelade, 1980) There are number of arguments and theoretical results that involve some serious diversions and modification to this theory. However, most of the theories involve th e base of feature integration which asserts that there are found clear differences in the types of searches when direct features are involved or eliminated. Other theories and Guided search In contrast with feature integration theory there are some proposition which offers different arguments and researches for visual search. A major theory is in the propositions of Wolfe (1989) who offers a broad research for how visual search is not limited only to the factors if the searches are parallel or serial but it also depends largely on the motivating factors for a visual search. Wolfe presents this theory as the guided search theory. In his propositions, a number of subjects were passed through the experiments with varying number of stimuli and the data outcome was measured over the graphs to provide a serious deflection from Feature integration patterns. Subjects searched sets of items for targets defined by conjunctions of color and form, color and orientation, or color and size. Set s ize was varied and reaction times (RT) were measured. For many unpracticed subjects, the slopes of the resulting RT x Set Size functions are too shallow to be consistent with Treisman's feature integration model, which proposes serial, self-terminating search for conjunctions (Jeremy M. Wolfe, 1989). As those results offer a diversion in self-terminating s

Liberty, Equality, fraternity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Liberty, Equality, fraternity - Assignment Example This  redefinition  can be seen by the passage of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen during the beginning of the revolution 1. A revolutionary document that declared all men are born and remain free, and have inalienable rights to liberty, security, property and to resist being oppressed. Pre-revolution France was an unequal society where the aristocracy and the clergy enjoyed enormous privileges and power above ordinary  countrymen 2. The two groups were subject to different laws, and this created legal inequality. Peasant rebellions during the early days of the revolution saw the abolition of feudalism 3. This elimination in addition with the Rights of Man and of the Citizen had the effect of granting equality to all French citizens. The concept of fraternity had not exercised prior to the French revolution with the monarchy being indebted to the whims of the aristocracy and clergy4 . Fraternity requires putting the interest of others above your own. The Rights of Man and of the Citizen eliminated the privilege enjoyed by the nobility and clergy. Therefore, the French residents were not indebted to the monarchy but each other. The French revolution personified the ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity which the old regime had failed to protect. Revolts and riots led by the middle and low-class citizens resulted in several fundamental legislation such as the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the elimination of the feudal system. These laws unified French citizens and signaled the entry of an era where every man free and

Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Analysis - Assignment Example Indeed, he claims that bureaucracy is the most rational and efficient form of organization established by man.2 Most assuredly, Weber establishes the merits and demerits of bureaucracy. Notably, Weber conceived sociology as a science with a view of interpreting and understanding social conduct.3 In addressing the substance of sociology, he focused on rationalization as the most general element in the philosophy of history and the constitutive element of modern western society.4 He contends that strict systematic forms of thoughts, which characterize law, are fundamental to rational jurisprudence. Notably, Weber measured rationalization by assessing the extent at which ideas gain in systematic coherence and consistency as well as by assessing the displacement of magical elements of thoughts.5 Moreover, he classifies rationalization into value rationality and purpose rationality. While value rationality focuses on intrinsic value only, purpose rationality focuses on consequences of an action.6 Furthermore, Weber analyzed the concept of domination and established that the emergence of rational societies is critically dependent on the exercise of domination.7 The Weber’s central theme of rationalization process moves from magicians to priests who seek to protect their positions using systematic religious beliefs.8 He also believed that capitalism is the highest level of rationality in economic behavior and established that the concepts of economic ratio nality are in conflict.9 Ultimately, he asserts that the religious roots of modern capitalism led to utilitarianism, which further led to materialism.10 This chapter reckons that there has been immense growth in public administration where the emergence of a wide range of generic and specialized journals, the increasing number of public administration programs, and the

Organizational commitment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational commitment - Assignment Example Mangers should build team work through sharing of ideas with employees. Engaging workers in an exchange of ideas is very important for positive feedback (Staw, 2003.p28). This also helps managers to obtain immediate solutions to any problem facing an organization. Since mangers are concerned with setting of company’s target, they should adequately inform their workers about company’s objectives to make them aware of what is expected of them (Doyle, 2003.p.35). Through effective communication, managers will be able to establish lasting relationship with the workers. They will be able to build strong working team which will be monitoring and correcting each other (Liff, 2007, p.67). This will also save the managers time and struggle to handle internal disputes within the organization. Through effective communication, managers should involve their employees in looking for solutions to challenging problems in the organizations. They should provide opportunity for each staff member to contribute their ideas and should value and respect all employees’ opinions (Staw, 2003.p.37). This will otherwise demoralize individuals hence lowering their morale. Furthermore, different people will have different ideas and therefore, managers will have an opportunity to select the best from the employees’ ideas (Doyle, 2003.p.49). The management team should support the working team by creating an enabling environment in relation to their work (Doyle, 2003.p.39). This results to overall productivity of the workers and a feeling of satisfaction in their job. The managers should review the duties and responsibilities of the workers so that they get engaged in demanding activities to inspire their minds (Staw, 2003.p.67). However, before this is implemented, they should ensure that their working terms and conditions are also improved for the workers to feel appreciated. This should also be based on individual skills and

Critical Thinking Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Critical Thinking Questions - Assignment Example Also this program helps in analyzing the structure of various sentences within a context. These programs have also provided an easy way on how to indentify problems within a word and sentence particularly in terms of spellings and possible misuse of words within a sentence. These programs also help in checking word count and pages and they do so by providing very accurate answers. However these programs have also there short comings, for example the programs can be manipulated to fit the situation that an individual is in. This means that an individual can add a word to the dictionary as long as he/she feels that is the way it should be hence this may confuse other writers who may use the same machine for their work. These programs require a lot of practice in order to master them hence individuals who are not aware of how they are used, may find it difficult to use the programs. Through Information Right Management (IRM), a business is able to set in place security management systems that assist in protecting the important documents of the business, by only allowing the information to be shared by the relevant people. Also through the IRM the business is able to identify and set deadlines on the duration of the information that has been communicated by the business. Also IRM has helped to reduce conjestion in the mail inbox since it gives the writer time to reexamine on who is in need of the information that is to be

Victoria's International expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Victoria's International expansion - Essay Example Victoria’s secret was established in San Francisco during 1970s by Roy Raymond. The aim of the firm was to provide women brands and be the highest producer in US. They were to produce different types of women brands and which were new in the market. For any company to sustain its customer in the market it has to set goal and be able to compete with its rivals and to forecast on how the company will be doing in the upcoming years (Goldman, 1999). For example, being the largest American retailer of lingerie, Victoria’s secrets competes with other companies to be the world distributors of women shop including brands such as bras, panties, sleepwear, clothing and shoes among others. Victoria’s secrets like any other company receives stiff competition from a company know as Gap which normally provides the same products at a lower price. This paper aims at undertaking an Internal Analysis of Victoria's Secret foreign expansion like in China, designing products for spec ific markets, manufacturing and advertisement. Additionally, the paper will discuss manufacture of the products and advertisements of the products Victoria’s secrets, a firm operating under monopolistic economic model, are faced with stiff competition from foreign expansions. ... In addition, China has the second largest economy after US. As A result, households enjoy high income thus enhancing their purchasing power leading to increased sales for Victoria’s secrets. Product design for specific markets Victoria’s secrets aim at designing its brands in such a way that the needs of its specific markets are met. For example, in China market where lingerie are on high demand, Victoria’s secretes will involve Chinese marketers and designers so as to come with a brand that is acceptable in China market. The company increases its sales by producing attractive design that makes the female customers to have a feeling of red carpet treatment. Manufacturing and advertisement Victoria’s secrets manufactures high quality brands to be used in foreign expansion like in China and makes sure that advertisement is done effectively to make sure that the brands are acceptable in the market. Similarly, since by keeping its prices competitive than its r ival, Victoria’s secrets targets upper class and middle class customers, the lower class customers are in most cases forced to go to Gap which offers the same products at a throw away prices. Key competitors that have emerged in the foreign immerged includes Maxx, Marshall’s and Homegoods. TJ Maxx and Marshall’s are huge competitors since they provide lingerie at discount prices for the middle and lower class (Monget, 2011). This has made the market to be more competitive and each company has to look the way forward to outdo their rivals. The strategy which Victoria’s company adopts is the introduction of new styles in the market and ideas that kept their products easily identifiable by the customers. Additionally, the company designs are attractive in the eyes of the customers. In

No topic need Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

No topic need - Essay Example Their appealing factor to global consumers is their constant manufacture of new bands of cars. The Ford Company always finds a way to attract consumers by creating improved or modified brands of cars. The major globalization opportunity for the Ford Company is the fact that the world is open to technology at present. People are constantly seeking machines and devices that are more improvised than the last. Indeed Ford Company utilizes this opportunity to the fullest as they keep booming with new ideas. The major globalization challenges for the Ford Company are competition in major foreign markets like China and India. They face stiff competition from other motor companies in the market. Additionally, the company has been experiencing leadership problems of late. The executives apparently have a problem working together. This makes it hard to coordinate efforts in global markets. For the Ford Company’s brand to stand a better position in the global market, they must find a way to eradicate stiff competition and come out on top. This can be achieved by making their brands more attractive and desirable; they need to create an edge for their

African American Studies paper Essay Example for Free

African American Studies paper Essay The civil rights movement was a mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern states that came to a national eminence during the mid 1950’s. This movement can be said to be a â€Å"long time coming† for African slaves and their descendants to resist racial oppression, especially after the United States abolished slavery. Although, slaves were emancipated during the civil war were then granted basic civil rights through the passing of the 14th amendment and 15th amendment they still struggled and suffered trying to get â€Å"equality† for the next hundred years. Throughout the period of time in which African Americans fought for equality, desegregation and racism, the United States made massive changes. Beginning with the Jim Crow Laws, the countless court cases and the vast impact on the Civil Rights leaders during this time period of trying to gain â€Å"equality† there were two sides to this fight. One side was through the nonviolent protest while the other side was more of an active resistance. The modern period of the civil rights movement can ultimately be divided into several phases. Each act of a protest first started off small and ultimately became big. The Brown vs. Board of Education demonstrated that the process of taking legal action strategy of the NAACP could challenge the legal foundations of southern. This thought or strategy would only work if blacks came together instead of individually trying to conquer. Therefore during the 1950’s and 1960’s the NAACP sponsored legal suits and social movement seeking social changes accompanied legislative lobbying. The primary phase of the black protest began on Page 2 December 1, 1955 when a woman named Rosa Parks, of Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white bus rider. In the result of not giving her seat up she was defying a southern custom that required blacks to give seats toward the front of the buses to whites. Therefore by not giving up her seat she was then arrested and put in jail. When she was jailed a black community boycott of the city’s buses began. The boycott lasted more than a year, demonstrating the unity and determination of black residents. The well-known Martin Luther King, Jr. who was most famous for his â€Å"I have a dream† speech was the most active leader of this boycott. Although King and Parks were apart of the NAACP the Montgomery movement led to the creation in 1957 of a new organization called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King as the president. On February 1, 1960 four freshmen at North Carolina AT College began a wave of sit-ins designed to end segregation at southern diners. These protest resulted in the new organization called the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. August 28th though was the climax of the civil rights movement. That was the day blacks did the March on Washington Martin Luther King, Jr.gave his â€Å"I have a dream† speech. King with the help of many others helped bringing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the last major racial protest would be the Selma to Montgomery march. Soon after the march Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By the late 1960’s there was a growth of a new organization with more of a radical approach, the organization was called the Black Panther Party. During the late half of the 1960’s there were a series of â€Å"riots†. Page 3 Supporters of black liberation saw civil rights reforms as an insufficient method because they did not address the problems faced by millions of poor blacks. Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X influenced the Black Nationalism group. After the 1960’s civil rights movement blacks witnessed both group of leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. , assassinated. The mark these two men left behind did not fade away though. Despite the civil right’s gains of the 1960’s racial discrimination remained a significant factor in America. Even after President Johnson declared a war on poverty and Dr. King initiated a Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, the distribution of the nation’s wealth and income moved toward greater inequality during the 70’s and 80’s. Some advantages of the Civil Right’s Black Power movement was that ethnic minorities gained rights that should not have been denied to them on the basis of skin color. The common law did not provide satisfactory protection of basic human rights for the future of the community. The civil rights movement ensured that rights are protected and courts require a clear direction about what rights should be protected. The con about the civil rights movement was that the increase of litigation in the courts would give excessive power to the judiciary rights. Earlier in the essay I referenced the different movements but what I didn’t mention was that both groups took different strives to achieve their goals. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference took more of a non-violent approach to reach their goals according to the â€Å"Southern Christian Leadership Conference† website. While King and his group was more of a non-violent group, the Page 4. Black Nationalism and Malcolm X were more radical. Malcolm X had coined the phrase â€Å"by any means necessary† which meant he wanted to achieve equal rights at any length of sacrifice. Even though Malcolm X said, â€Å"by any means necessary† according to Dr. Stephanie L. McKinney he only used violence as a â€Å"self defense†. Martin Luther King Jr. on the other hand realized that nonviolent tactics was the way to go. Ultimately both leaders pursued the same goal and both achieved it. As you can see in the paragraphs above both Martin Luther King Jr.and Malcolm X had two different approaches to gain equality but I support Martin Luther King Jr. ways of gaining equality more than Malcolm X’s. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the few people who lived up to what he preached. Martin Luther King Jr. sold out to his cause, was passionate about his mission, and connected with the audience. Malcolm X’s radical movement was the reason why I couldn’t side with him. I respect Malcolm X but disagree with any view that encourages violence. King wanted change with his voice, which in my opinion is the strongest tool for someone, who doesn’t support violence. If you think about it physical punishment is dealt to one person and everyone else doesn’t necessarily feel the pain but words can be felt through everyone who’s listening. Just like many other movements and eras the Civil Rights Black Power movement started, climaxed, then faded. Although, this era influenced many generations that came later and many people still benefit from the efforts of the Civil Rights leaders such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X. Some former civil rights activists, such as John Lewis, Andrew Young, and Jesse Jackson, launched Page 5 careers in electoral politics. American civil rights legislation of the 1960s became the center for affirmative action programs that increased opportunities for many black students and workers as well as for women, disabled people, and other victims of discrimination. However, civil rights issues continued to stimulate protests, particularly when previous gains appeared to be threatened. Overall, the 20th-century struggle for civil rights produced an enduring transformation of the legal status of African Americans and other victims of discrimination. It also increased the responsibility of the government to enforce civil rights laws. APA Citations Page 54h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam. (n. d. ). Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam [ushistory. org]. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www. ushistory. org/us/54h. asp From Black Revolution to Radical Humanism: Malcolm X between Biography and International History. (n. d. ). Home. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www. humanityjournal. org/humanity-volume-3-issue-2/black-revolution-radical-humanism-malcolm-x-between-biography-and-internat. McKinney, S. (n. d. ). Malcolm X. About. com 20th Century History. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://history1900s. about. com/od/people/a/Malcolm-X. htm Nonviolent Resistance. (n. d. ). Nonviolent Resistance. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://mlk-kpp01. stanford. edu/index. php/encyclopedia/ Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (n. d. ). Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www. historylearningsite. co. uk/southern_christian_leadership_co. htm.