Research Is A Vital Tool For Education - 849 Words

Research is a vital tool for education. It is research that gives us the ability to accurately observe broad pools of student, respond to data, and thus become better educators. Without research, we wouldn t be able to have great standard curriculums. But as I learned in this section, research is complicated, detailed, and often labor intensive. There are many ways to gather information. Each of the many data gathering techniques has their own pros and cons. Understanding the many different types of data gathering is important, as it keeps us flexible and ready to enact effectively upon any situation. These types of data gathering techniques include interviews, questionnaires, and surveys. Although interviews are not always economic and possible to conduct on broad numbers of students, they are probably my favorite type of data gathering technique because they are personal and therefore much more likely to be accurate. The process of interviewing involves an interviewer sitting down with an interviewee to ask questions. The questions and responses can be more complicated than those of other techniques such as tests or questionnaires. This is due to the ability of the interviewee to answer in more complicated terms due to the barrier of transmission being so low. It only takes talking for the interviewee to communicate the info. This is opposed to the writing of the questionnaire or the way a student is restricted to only a few number of responses on a test. Also, anShow MoreRelatedNurses Perceptions Of Acute Care Placements1709 Words   |  7 Pagesplacements (Cochrane et al, 2008). The Faculty for Intensive Care Medicine ‘Core Standards for Intensive Care Units (CSICU) (2013) state s that each critical unit must have a dedicated Clinical Nurse Educator who is responsible for coordinating the education of both current nursing staff and students. As well as this the Clinical Nurse Educator will also ensure all student nurses have the opportunity to be placed in a critical or acute care setting (CSICU, 2013). Doucette et al (2011) has identifiedRead More Homework: The Key To Student Success Essay711 Words   |  3 Pagesstudents are aware of the importance of doing their homework. Homework is a necessary component of every successful student’s education. By doing homework, a student will learn independent thought, perform better in school, and provide a greater chance for economic success in their post education lives. Students, in order to succeed, must become responsible for their education. In a secondary school setting, students spend less than five hours of classroom time per week in any one particular subjectRead MoreEssay On Moving Up Report768 Words   |  4 Pagessuccessful and is a great tool for leadership, Patient Experience consultants, and the participants of the program. This report will be vital towards leaderships of the department and the participants to monitor their improvement. Working with the Patient Experience department, the participants have action plans that will hopefully help their respective areas see improvement in their satisfaction scores. Objective: Assist with the design, development, and implementation of education for New Leaders Status:Read MoreThe Continuity Of Nursing Care1680 Words   |  7 Pagesdemocratic management style. Such organisations or countries is always a failure. Current related research 4. Leadership and leadership style The impact of leadership style on organisation pest-make recorded how organisation countries can get effective leadership style to achieve set goals. Stating that there are vaccum of true conscious leaders, whether in politics, religion, organization etc. the research is about the missing link in leadership styles with impact on performance of the follower ofRead MoreThe Statement Of Teaching Philosophy1240 Words   |  5 PagesIt can be challenging, but also more rewarding, to help students understand the theories that try to make sense out of research. However, when students are able to understand psychological and educational theory, they are better able to construct the story of the human experience from birth through adulthood. As a teacher, the value and excitement lies in connecting the research and theory to students’ own lives, and to their professional development. To the extent that my teaching supports contentRead MoreQuality Improvement And Risk Management1381 Words   |  6 Pageschallenges that come from risk- and quality-management decisions especially in the health care setting. The new employee will be introduced to a variety of tools available to help assess potential problems, determine whether a change is needed and how to institute these changes through informed decision making. A clear understanding of how to use these tools will help the institution reach their goals of patient-centered care while providing a safe environment. Risk and quality management initiatives haveRead MoreUse and Importance of Computers in Education Essay1639 Words   |  7 PagesUse and Importance of Computers in Education Many technological advances have been made throughout history making life easier, one of which is the computer. Computers have changed the world, as a lot of things can now be done through computers. Computers are everywhere at school, at work, and at home. Many daily activities either involve the use of or depend on information from a computer. Over the past decade, the number of schools with computer and the Internet access has grown exponentiallyRead MoreFour Fundamental Concepts of Knowing in Nursing Essay973 Words   |  4 Pagescan be expressed, shared, communicate which are highly universal principles. Rationalism comes from within the individual and depends upon theoretical reasoning rather than on data from the real world (Higgs et al, 2004). Practice setting is a vital arena for construction of new knowledge by healthcare practitioners (Higgs et al, 2004). On reflection during this dissertation, explicit or empirical knowledge has played a large part in my decision to initiate and implement the new practice as itRead MoreIs Electronic Media Beneficial in Children’s Education? Essay1408 Words   |  6 PagesIs Electronic Media beneficial in Children’s Education? Over the last decades, it is generally realized that the educational technology has developed dramatically. Electronic media has benefitted the system of education in an enormous way. Electronic media is the media which uses electronics or electromechanical energy for the audience to access the content. Video recording, audio recording, multimedia presentations, CD-ROM and online content are all forms of electronic media and any equipment usedRead MoreOnline Education : The Final Milestone Of American Culture1437 Words   |  6 Pagesmany unprivileged societies, going to class on a campus may not be a luxury they can afford. That’s where online education comes in as an exciting alternative. Colleges and universities should offer more fully online courses because it can benefit tech savvy students, busy scheduled students, and students with physical or social disorders. Online courses are stress-free and with online tools it is much easier to learn at their pace. Whether they have to work during the day, or take care of a child, going

The Effects Of Treadmill Running On Alzheimer Disease

Little information is known about the use of treadmill running to attenuate or reverse the cognitive decline due to Alzheimer Disease. The study reviewed in this paper by Jinkyung et. al set out to determine if exercise can prevent cognitive decline in the early and late stages of Alzheimer Disease. Benefits to using exercise as a non-pharmacological method of offsetting the effects of this disease include little to no side effects for the patient; low cost to patient and health care system; exercise may have a preventative factor to Alzheimer Disease, unlike pharmacological treatments. Previous studies have reviewed voluntary wheel running in triple transgenic mice (3xTG-AD), the current study is the first to examine the effects of treadmill running in the 3xTG-AD mice. 3xTG-AD Mice have genes that act similarly to human Alzheimer Disease progression, thus they make an appropriate non-human animal to study from. 3xTG mice at 24 months of age were divided into 2 categories. 8 mice with Alzheimer Disease did not exercise and were one of the control groups. 8 mice with Alzheimer Disease exercised and served as the intervention group. An additional 8 mice served as another control group but differed in that they were a wild type mice. At 4 and 24 months of age the intervention group of mice were forced to follow a treadmill protocol for 30 mins 5d/wk for 12 wks. The exercise sessions included 5 minutes of warm up at 5 meters per minute followed by a 20 minute exercise sessionShow MoreRelatedEssay on Who Needs Sleep?1546 Words   |  7 Pagescomparison to healthy controls those with BPD have more stage 1 sleep and less stage 4 sleep† (Selby). People know they need sleep, but the effects of lack of sleep are just as great. Sleep is the natural way to keep up on mental and physical wellness and it is underused. Although people may recognize the need for sleep, they do not know the harmful effects of sleep deprivation; such as, decreasing performance, a shorter life span, and borderline personality disorders. Today everything is made a

Effective Business Communication Issue

Question: Discuss about the Effective Business Communication Issue. Answer: Introduction: As part of the curriculum in MBA course, we were given the task of preparing a report as well as a presentation relevant to a real business communication issue. The criteria for the assignment were to prepare the report in compliance with the conceptual knowledge that informs the topic referring to definite and pertinent theories and models of communication. In connection to the solved assignment I was given feedback by the competent authority thereby allowing me to gain an idea regarding my performance in doing the task. The response that I received from the reviewer widened my horizon regarding the topic that was to be addressed and also helped me to identify the mistakes and drawbacks that were inherently present in the report. Hence, scopes for improvement were provided by avoiding repetition of the same errors in future. As per the feedback responses the structure of my report was found to be not institutional thereby accounting for less detailed approach in context of the given topic on professional communication. Introspecting the write up I feel the report could have been presented in a more meticulous manner in line with current and relevant findings pertaining to a business communication issue with emphasis being laid upon using the concepts retrieved from the relevant theories and models. I understood from the responses received that I should have chosen a more specific issue within the broader topic of business communication to explain and discuss more elaborately on the given topic. Moreover, I am now aware that the task did not call for conducting a case study. However I committed a major mistake by making reference to a case study and subsequently analyzed and related the crisis as depicted in the specific scenario with respect to the business communication. Further in the introduction section of the report I did not emphasize on all the key components relevant to the topic of business communication. More in depth address of the business communication features encompassing the concepts of segmentation, specificity, accuracy, timing, frequency, multi-channel involvements, face to face and two way communications. The structuring of the body of the report was not appropriate according to the comment received from the reviewer. The various models of business communication were mentioned in the report without adequate attention being laid upon identification of the key strategies that may be applicable in resolving the issues relevant to the business organization. Conclusion: The report was further found to be incomplete due to insufficient component analysis of the conclusion section. However another identified issue that was grossly wrong in my assignment included insufficient incorporation of references to support for the findings as per the recent researches. The task required inclusion of at least 12 academic references out of which 5 should have been journal based articles. This criterion was not fulfilled in my report as the number of references was less than the required limit. Therefore, paying close attention and insight into the comments received in the form of feedback from the reviewer I am in a position to comprehend that I should have paid more attention in catering the demands of the assignment. The feedback truly helped me to better analyze the intervening factors relevant to the given situation and aided in my personal growth through insight, prudence and pragmatism.

Powers Of Presidency Essays - President Of The United States

Powers Of Presidency The Power of the Presidency * I believe that most significant of the powers at the hands of the President are those that are considered ?informal?, especially those that allow him to persuade and gain loyalty of many people. The Presidency of the United States is said to be the most powerful office in the world. Taking a closer look at this statement presents the questions of how and why the president so powerful. It might shock some people to learn that a significant amount of his powers are not prescribed to him or written in the Constitution, but are gained in other ways. I believe that the most significant of the powers at the hands of the President are those that are considered ?informal?, especially those that allow him to persuade and gain loyalty of many people. The President is usually more powerful during his ?honeymoon period? or first hundred or so days in office. This mostly stems from his recent approval of the voters and serves as a notice to Congress that he deserves to be in office because the citizens like what he has to offer. As an effect, Congress is more accepting of his legislative ideas and proposals. This gives him an edge to get some legislation passed right off the bat and show the country that he is performing his duties skillfully. His success or failure as the President will be primarily judged on how well he was able to get his legislation passed. The President's power and approval rating is greatly boosted in times of war or foreign troubles. This is called ?rallying around the flag.? Citizens feel more loyalty towards their President when he is acting on behalf of the country in a serious matter such as war or other serious foreign policy. The President even gains higher approval, and therefore more power to influence the public, by surviving an assassination attempt. A huge tool to gain power at the fingertips of the Presidency is the media. Not only does the President address the nation during the State of the Union Address, he is able to call press conferences whenever he wishes to reach the citizens. He is, almost without a doubt, the only government official that has this power. As long as this tool is used sparingly, it can cause a huge response among citizens. The President can persuade the American people see issues his way and to take action in any way that he suggests. It is rumored that during a Presidential broadcast in which the President asked the country to turn down their thermostats in order to save gas that the monitoring utility companies immediately saw a major drop in the amount of gas being consumed for heating all across the country. President Lyndon Johnson used this tool to create support for his decision to send troops to Vietnam. With strong public speaking skills , a likeable personality, and a an assertive demeanor, th e President can convince citizens, including other government officials, that his agenda is in their best interest. Winning the Presidency also confirms the President's status as the leader of his political party. The President has a great amount of control over his subordinate party members and their decisions on his policy proposals. This comes from his ability to encourage loyalty to the party and the their need for his support during their elections. The President will obviously have more power when his party controls a majority of the House or Senate. My argument that these ?informal? powers are the most important is based on the idea that they also help him to more effectively perform his formal or prescribed powers. His effectiveness in using these persuasion powers will help him in order to produce approval for his Executive Orders, use of Executive Privilege, Judicial appointments, vetoes, treaties, and many other things. These powers are extremely important and can be subject to great scrutiny depending on their seriousness. With appropriate use of all ?informal? powers, ?formal? powers can be wielded with ease and a higher rate of approval among the citizens in which our President has been elected to serve. The close election fiasco that is going on right now will most definitely

Urbanization Essays - Urban Decay, Segregation, Ethnic Enclave

Urbanization The urban metropolis and its function in society cannot be understood without studying its composition as a city of immigrants, their newcomer families and friends and the ties that bind them. By overlooking the ethnic culture and networks of the city's immigrants, the study of the urban centre is at best a futile effort. Ethnic tendencies and particularly ethnic residential segregation, are areas of examination than cannot be neglected if we are to understand the individual and group experiences that ultimately influence urban growth. It is therefore important to carefully explore these areas so that insight into the underpinnings of the urban metropolis is achieved. Looking at Canadian urban centres from 1850-1920, specifically the city of Toronto, I will examine the issue of ethnic residential segregation and its significance to the urban centre. I will attempt to prove that this phenomenon is a consequence of ethnic concentration in particular industries resulting from ethnic networks and socio-economic inequalities present within society. Furthermore, the existence of these vibrant yet segregated ethnic communities does not imply that assimilation is failing to occur. Consequently, standard assimilation frameworks, which assume that proximity to the majority group increases with socio-economic gains, must be re-evaluated. Urban and historical geographers have become increasingly interested in studying residential segregation through the context of changes in the industrial workplace (Scott, 1986). A number of industries like clothing, textile, iron and steel have employed large proportions of immigrant workers (Leiberson, 1933). Toronto is no exception. Early immigrant settlers came to North America in search of a 'better' life and increased economic opportunities (Lindstrom-Best, 1979) and Toronto's economic ambience appealed to them. 1850's Toronto saw increased prosperity with expanding enterprises, jobs and especially railway building. By the 1860's, when this first rail construction boom had faded, the city blossomed into a regionally dominant railway centre with track access throughout the province, into adjoining Montreal, Detroit and New York. More importantly though, steam and iron transport expansion unravelled the way for industrialization (Harney, 1985). Toronto's harbourfront thrived with rail traffic, entailing machine and engine works, coal-yards, moulding and forging plants and steam-driven factories (Globe, 1866). The new gas works, the Grand Trunk Railway workshops, the Toronto Rolling Mills, and the Gooderham and Worts distillery exemplified this flourishing industrialization. Moreover, other processing operations, such as wood or hardware manufactories, tanneries and meat-packing houses accompanied industrial growth. All in all, by the 1860's, working opportunities in the city could readily urge on its settlement, which consequently began to accelerate rapidly (Harney, 1985). In light of these increased working opportunities distinct Torontonian neighbourhoods developed. St. John's Ward bounded by Henderson, Yonge, Front and University and the Italian neighbourhoods bounded by Henderson, Manning, Dundas and Ossington are just two of the distinct communities that resulted. By the 1900's, the 'Ward' as it was popularly know, primarily consisted of East Europeans of Jewish descent. They initially settled in the Ward because they had little choice. Upon their arrival, they were in immediate need of cheap accommodation near steady employment (Harney, 1985). St. John's Ward, adjacent to the commercial centre of the city, provided them this opportunity. They had relatively few skills and no credit although their affinity for the garment industry proved valuable (Speisman, 1979). Suffice it is to say, the Ward was in close proximity to this industry. During the early twentieth century, the notable clothing firms, the Lowndes Co., Johnson Brothers and others were located on Front Street, Wellington Street, Church and Bay. By 1910, the T. Eaton company had erected an enormous manufacturing firm bounded by Bay, Albert, Louisa and James. This company would eventually grow to be the largest sole employer of Jews in the Ward (Harney, 1985). Factory employees elected to reside near their places of employment (Harney, 1985). Working long hours, they wished to minimize travelling time thus choosing to live close to the companies that employed them. In addition, as proximity to major clothing firms increased, so too did employment opportunities. The Ward, similar to many other areas throughout North America, thus evolved into an immigrant haven adjacent to the central business district. Despite the fact that not all Jews made their livelihoods in clothing factories, it was the factories' presence and proximity to affordable housing that attracted Jewish immigrants to the area (Rischin, 1964) and created a vibrant ethnic neighbourhood. Similar ethnic neighbourhood appeared as divergent immigrant occupational skills emerged. The first Finnish inhabitant of Toronto, a tailor named James Lindala, ventured to the city upon hearing of the high demand for skilled tailors (Lindstrom-Best, 1979). Settling in the south-central part of Toronto, near the railroad and tailoring

White Blood Cells essays

White Blood Cells essays Bacteria exist everywhere in the environment and have continuous access to the body through the mouth, nose and pores of skin. Further more, many cells age and die daily and their remains must be removed, this is where the white blood cell plays its role. According to this quotation, without white blood cells, also known as leukocytes, we would not be able to survive. White blood cells are our bodys number one defense against infections. They help keep us clean from foreign bacteria that enter our bodies. Statistics show that there are five to ten thousand white blood cells per micro liter of blood, however this number will increase during an illness. White blood cells can differ in many ways, such as, size, shape and staining traits. There are five different kinds of white blood cells that fall into two separate categories. One category is called, granular leukocytes, and the other is called agranular white cells. There are three different types of granular leukocytes. Neutrophil is a phagocyte, produced in the bone marrow that ingests and destroys bacteria extremely fast. Neutrophil has a diameter, which is, about ten to twelve micrometers long. They make up about 60-70 percent of the total number of white blood cells in our body. Eosinphil is a type of white blood cell that secretes poisonous materials in order to kill parasites, allergies and phagocytosis of bacteria, which is when the cell takes in materials to eliminate them or move them from where they were. They make up about 2-4 percent of the total number of white blood cells in our body. These white blood cells are similar to Neutrophil because they attack bacteria by the immune system. This particular group of white blood cells is extremely important in my body, because they are prominent at sites of allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis. The nucleus of Eosinphil is made of two lobes, and implant ...

Engaging Ethics in Architecture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Engaging Ethics in Architecture - Assignment Example In addition to giving a snapshot of the various ethical concerns embedded in architecture, this report goes further to put into perspective how architects may incorporate ethics into their practice with different stakeholders. Architecture is one of those sensitive professional fields that pose serious negative impacts to the stakeholders involved whenever ethical standards are ignored. Essentially, architectural ethics define the moral responsibility to do the right thing or make the right and best decision on variety of situations as mentioned in the introduction. Architectural work involves the consideration of a rich blend of cultural diversities. This necessitates the need for anyone in this profession to think about the cultural perspectives that may come up at any time in the working environment. This is yet another pointer as to why ethics may be necessary for the architectural profession. Professional ethics will demand that individuals be able to deliver high standards of s ervice in their professional jurisdiction without compromise on grounds of cultural diversities. Architecture, in itself, has an ethical nature. As put clearly, it is one of the processes that are involved in the beautification of man’s natural habitat, to become a better place (Wasserman, Barry, Gregory, and Patrick 13). This provides an avenue for the man to find satisfaction, both in the spiritual and emotional context. As such, the architectural professionals are obliged to come to the realization that their profession is not just about following a set of instructions or doing things for the sake of it. Rather, they need to come to a conscious knowledge that they are actively involved in the process of bringing about fulfillment in human life. They are also a central part of the emotional and spiritual aspects that make life worth living. Ethics, being an integral part of the architectural profession, will, therefore, dictate all the decisions made by anyone in that field .  

Controvirsal of Cancun Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Controvirsal of Cancun - Essay Example Cancun is however popular around the world and Mexicans take pride of the beautiful sand beaches and resorts found in the area. The beauty and fun experienced in the place has as a result attracted significant numbers of high school graduates from the U.S to make trips to Cancun after graduating more of a sign of a gift from their parents. It is however important to note that some of the students may source for their own funds and pay for the trips on their behalf. The issue has led to controversy over a period of years mostly relating to legalization of alcohol sales to people aged below twenty years. It is however important to note that since Cancun is outside the U.S, the federal states laws relating to sale of alcohol or any other issue are not observed in Cancun. The media is creating controversy about Cancun arguing that parents need to avoid giving high school graduate students free tickets to visit Cancun as alcohol is legally available for people below the age of twenty year s. It is noble for parents to present gifts as recognition of their efforts and achievements upon graduating from high school or any other level. The form of gift given to a majority of high school graduates in the U.S occurs in the form of free tickets for a one week visit to Cancun where students visit with their peers and enjoy the fun experienced in the result. Every year, controversy arises regarding these high school graduate students trips relating to what happens over at Cancun (Nim 213). Despite the feeling from many parents that a trip to Cancun is a good gift to their children upon graduating from high school, there is need to focus on some issues. Although the idea and action is good, observers believe that it is for no healthy reason that the free trip should include fellow graduates as well as friends for a whole week to enjoy and have pure fun and pleasure. The reason behind the

Knowledge and reality Essay Example for Free

Knowledge and reality Essay The quest for knowledge remains a perplexing problem in the field of philosophy. Even nowadays mankind continue to seek to understand himself and the world around him he is thirst to know were exactly our knowledge comes from. The question of knowledge appears to be a battle between the empirisists who believed that knowledge is acquired through sense experience and the rationalists who believed that knowledge can only be required through reasoning. Although there are a lot of people who abides with these groups in my essay in my essay I will only deal with John locke who in this case argues that knowledge is acquired throughsense experience thereby representing the empirisists group and Rene Descartes who argues that knowledge comes fronm reasoning thereby representing the rationalists. Diffrent scholars have also shown their appreciation to the work which was done by the two groups. Rene Descartes who is the rationalist have claimed that the ultimate starting point for knowledge is is not the senses but reason. According to Cottingham,Descartes argues that knowledge of a particular subject matter is underwritten by intuition or rational insight and deductive reasoning rather than experience of that subject matter(1984). Descartes in this case is of the opinion that the only way one can acquire knowledge is through deductive reasoning ,reasoning that aims at exactitude. In one way or other that exactitude is the one which we can now call knowledge Descartes maintain that without prior categories and principles supplied by reason wen could not organise and interrupt one’s sense experience in any way (Kenny:1986). In this case one would be faced with just one huge ,undifferentiated,kaleidospic whirl of sensation ,signifying nothing(Kenny:1986). Rationalism in its purest form goes so far as to hold that al our rational beliefs and the entirety of human knowledge consists in human principles and innate concepts. According to Russel Descartes believes that men are born with innate ideas or ideas that we are born with (1946:548). He argues that those innate ideas are generated and certified by reason along with anything logically deducable these first principles. Furthermore on innate ideas ,a number of mankind still how can reason supply ay mental category or first principle at all? The question is a bit easy for such people like Descartes who claimed that we are born with several fundamental concepts or categories in our minds ready for use(Stitch:1975). Descartes went own to argue that this gives us innate knowledge . This might be through certain categories of space ,time,cause and effect. In one way or other Descartes argues that people thinks in terms of cause and effect and this helps one’s experience of the world(Stitch:1975). A ccording to Stitch Descartes argues that people think of themselves as seing some things causing other things to happen,but in terms of our raw sense experience ,one sees certain things happen before other thing happen and remember having seen such before and after the sequences at earlier times (1975). One can come up with an example like ,a rock hits the window and then the window breaks. We don’t see the third thing called causation but we believe it has happened. The rock hitting the window caused it to break but this is not experienced like the fight of the rock or the shattering of the glass. Descartes argues that experience does not seem to force the concept of causation on us. On this case Descartes bis denying the fact that knowledge comes fron sense experience but reasoning. Descartes also claimed that the foundations of our knowledge are propositions that are self-evidently true. A self-evident proposition has the strange property of being such that ,on merely understanding what it says and without any further checking or special evidence of any kind. One can just intellectually see that it is true(Caruthers:1992). If A is greater than B the B is greater than C and therefore A is greater than C. In this example the claim is that once these statements are understood ,it takes no further sense experience whatsoever to see that they are true . Descartes was athinker who used sceptical doubt as a prelude to constructing a retionalist philosophy. He was convinced that all our beliefs that are founded on the experience of the external senses could be called into doubt ,but that with certain beliefs like ‘I am thinking’,there is n o room for creating and sustaining a reasonable doubt(Pojman:1991:72). Descartes then tried to find enough other first principles with immune to rational doubt that he could provide an indubitable ,rational basis for all other legitimate beliefs. According to Pojman Descartes thought that mathematics gave a paradigm or model of certain knowledge or of attaining such knowledge (1991:73). He argued that mathematical knowledge is based on self evident axioms ,or first principles. In this case those principles are clear and distinctly persued as self-evident and in other words they are indubitable that is to say it is hard to doubt them. They are intrinsically valid on self-certifying . Dscartes argues that once we have such self-evident truths ,then with the rules of reasoning or logic ,theories can be validly deduced from them (Spinoza:1905). Descartes wanted to apply the method of philosophy as he argued that in mathematics ther is no appeal to sense experience . Human reasoning is the sole source of mathematical knowledge (Spinoza:1905). In this case Descartes claimed that by poor reasoning one can achieve knowledge. It was this method of doubt that Descartes used to get at the indubitable starting point which will be unshakable foundation of the edifice of knowledge hence to doubt means to think and think means to be(Pojman:1991). On the other hand we have the empirialists who in this case are being represented by John Locke. Locke is of the view that knowledge is acquired through sense experience. Locke was actually influenced by Descartes writings in which Descartes was arguing that knowledge comes from reasoning and the issue of innate ideas. According to Pojman Locke believes that the senses we maintain ,gives us all our raw data about the world and without this raw material their would be no knowledge at all(Pojman:1991:83). To Locke perception starts a process and from this process come all our beliefs . In its purest form ,Locke and his collegues believes that sense experience alone gave birth to all our knowledge. Locke was influenced by Descartes writings because what Descartes believes was the opposite of what Locke and his collegues believed mostly on the issue of innate ideas hence he decided to put on his suggestion on were exactly our knowledge comes from. Locke argues that innate ideas are suppose to be inborn ideas and they are their in the human mind since birth (Locke:1894). He argues that these ideas are neither created by us nor derived from our experiences. Locke argues that the human mind is a ‘tabula rasa’ meaning to say it is blank and it looks like a white sheet of paper without any content or ideas. According to Pojman there are no inborn ideas in the human mind(Pojman:1991). Ideas denote the content of human mind and consciousness. This then supports the idea that all ideas spring from experiences. According to Spinoza ,Locke argues that all knowledge is formed as and ultimately derived from sensational or inner reflection(1905) To add more the empirisists argue thatideas acquired through sensation and reflection are simple ideas. According Russel Locke argues that the mind has the power to reject ,compare and combine them to then form complex ideas(1946:551) . The simple ideas are the materials of the mind or consciousness. The mind elaborates them in defferent ways and this knowledge is developed(Russel:1946:551)Simple ideaas in this case are thus produced in the mind by the outer things through external experiences and simple ideas posseses valididty. The two theories presents different ideas on were exactly we get knowledge but I think I am convinced with the theory of Descartes which says knowledge is acquired through reason. Although the theory was mainly meant for the mathmaticians I think it is good for me because a men ought to reason so as to find knowledge. To me reasoning shows that someone really is thinking deeper so as to find whatever he wants . The method of doubt which he uses convince me also because I think through doubting you will be able to find knowledge. The Christians might want to say Thomas was wrong but in one way or other Thomas made Christians to know that realy the man they saw was Jesus and Christians were made to believe that really there is resurrection and this was through doubting Thomas. I cant just believe what I have not see without doubting because nowadays people tend to lie so as to get whatever they want in their lives . Therefore the theory of Descartes to me is good one on how we aquire knowledge . ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Carruthers. P.(1992)Human knowledge and human nature,Oxford: Oxford University Press’ Cottingham. J. (1984)Rationalism,London:Palada books. Fieser. P. (1991) Introduction to Philosophy. Oxford:Oxiford University Press Kenny. A. (ed). (1986)Rationalism,Empiricism and Idealism ,Oxiford:Oxiford University Press Locke. J. (1690)An essay on human understanding. (ed)R. Woolhouse. (1997). London:Panguin Books Louis. P. (2007)The theory of knowledge ,classical and temporary readings. Belment CA:Wadsworth Stitch. S. (ed)(1975)Innate ideas ,Berkely CA:Carlifonia University Press Russell. B. (1912)History of Western Philosophy . Oxiford:Oxiford University Press.

Mission Vision Values

Mission Vision Values Mission, Vision, and Values Paper Strategies for Competitive Advantage Mission, Vision, and Values Paper A mission, vision, and values are an essential part of a company and its success. These contribute to the companys ability to reach its goals and objectives. Once these things have been put into place, the organization can develop a strategic plan to guide them in the decision making process. Company Background- General Motors Corporation General Motors Corporation (GM) was founded in 1908. Based in Detroit, it is the worlds largest automaker, and has been the global industry leader in sales for 76 years (General Motors, 2008a) with the United States being its largest national market, followed by China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany years (General Motors, 2008a). Today, the company employs about 284,000 people worldwide and manufactures cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, the company sold 9.1 million cars and trucks globally under its many brands, which include Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, to name a few (General Motors, 2008a). GM has ventured into partnerships with many automobile manufacturers around the world. The company is currently the majority shareholder in GM Daewoo Auto Technology Co. of South Korea (General Motors, 2008a). GM has collaborated with Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. of Japan with product, powertrain, and purchasing (General Motors, 2008a). The company has also collaborated with DaimlerChrysler AG, BMW AG of Germany, and Toyota Motor Corp. on advanced technology and ventured in vehicle manufacturing with several automakers, such as Toyota, Suzuki, and Renault SA of France years (General Motors, 2008a). GM currently sells its genuine parts and accessories under many brands including GM Goodwrench, and ACDelco brands (General Motors, 2008a). With all of GMs success in the past, the company is facing challenges during this time of economic hardship. The companys market valuation has decreased to $5.9 billion and its stock prices are at its lowest in 50 years (Lowenstein, 2008), which is evident with a closing price of $9.69 on July 10, 2008 (Yahoo Finance, 2008a). The skyrocketing price of oil seems to be the immediate cause of GMs problems, decreasing the sale of its sport utility vehicles and trucks (Lowenstein, 2008). The automaker is potentially looking at more layoffs and speculation of a possible sale of Buick and Pontiac (Lowenstein, 2008), however GMs vice president states that Hummer is the only brand the automaker is considering selling at this time (Yahoo Finance, 2008b). Mission/Vision Statement The mission/vision of GM is â€Å"to be the world leader in transportation products and related services† (General Motors, 2008b). Through continuous improvements driven by teamwork, integrity, and innovation, the company has earned its customers trust and enthusiasm. With all the competition and the advancement of hybrid and alternative fueled vehicles, GM should look to being a leader of innovation. With this in mind, the mission statement could read GM will become the world leader in quality, innovative, and cost efficient products. The mission is for GM to become the auto industry leader in sales and market share in the global market. Company Values GM has six core values in which employees are to use in conducting daily business practices (General Motors, 2008c). These core values consist of continuous improvement, customer enthusiasm, innovation, teamwork, and individual respect and responsibility (General Motors, 2008c). These values must portray an image to the companys consumers that it values their needs and wants. With this said GM should add customer value and thinking green to its core values. This measure would show the company is focused on achieving high levels of customer satisfaction by providing innovative products that offer customers more choices with alternative fueled vehicles. Thinking green will show the company is concerned with doing right by the environment How Mission, Vision, and Values Aid in Reaching Desired End State Mission/Vision In order for GM to achieve its vision, the company understands that many issues must be addressed in order to attain its many goals. In order to become a more sustainable company, GM recognizes the importance of integrating economic, social, and environmental objectives into its daily business objectives and future endeavors. The future success of the company partly depends on technology, innovation, and partnerships (General Motors, 2008b). With technology, GM can efficiently address climate changes and fuel efficiency through its products. By accelerating the development and deployment of new technology, GM is able to improve its existing technology. Innovation provides the company with the tools needed to develop new ways of operating as a company. With increased competition in the global industry, innovation is critical in the future success of the company. In order to continue being responsive to the stakeholders needs and concerns and create a sustainable future, GM understands the importance of continuing to build strong relationships its employees, industries, governments, markets, and communities (General Motors, 2008b). Values GM is based on is six fundamental values.  With these values, the company has adopted and endorsed principles, such as the GM Environmental Principles and the Global Sullivan Principles (General Motors, 2008c). These principles are consistent with the companys values and serve to inform its strategies. The company states, â€Å"These strategies drive our behaviors and actions, which produce the results that matter† (General Motors, 2008c). Components of the Strategic Management Process Needing to be Analyzed Strategic planning involves the decisions and actions needed to formulate and implement plans designed to achieve the companys goals (Pearce Robinson, 2005). It encompasses long-range planning, with an increased emphasis on environmental forecasting and external considerations in formulating and implementing plans. There are multiple opportunities available to GM to deal with the current trends and threats in the automobile industry. In order to deal with them, the company must clearly identify its strengths and weaknesses. The auto industry as a whole faces issues with the rising fuel costs, as well as political and environmental issues with the rage of going green. As competition increases, there will be an even greater demand for oil. Although GM has a global presence and continues to expand in other markets, the company can reduce more operational costs by eliminating vehicles that are to similar and brands that are not selling. The company can use the savings to invest in furth er development and production of alternative vehicles that are more fuel-efficient. Strategy Effects on Leadership, Culture, and Stakeholders There will be numerous affects on the GMs leadership, organizational culture, and stakeholders after implementing the new strategy. Leadership will have to devise an effective method of getting the work done effectively and efficiently to make the new strategy work (Pearce Robinson, 2004). This will entail a plan to organize and educate all staff throughout the organization about accomplishing the mission, roles of leadership, and specific values that will guide the everyday activities. Leadership will also have to assess the competition and address the needs of their customers. In addition, commitment must be gathered amongst the organization and stakeholders to embrace change and implement strategies that allow the organization to be competitive. The stakeholders will face the decisions to accept or reject the new strategy. The organizational culture should be established to provide meaning, direction, and a basis for action (Pearce Robinson, 2004). The organization would benefit if leaders promote and identify key themes and dominant values within the organization to reinforce competitive advantage they seek to maintain and build (Pearce Robinson, 2004). Conclusion GM and the automobile industry as a whole is experiencing tough times, however, there are many opportunities available to GM. The company now has an opportunity to expand market share and once again be the leading automotive manufacturer. The company must look at the trends and threats as new strengths and opportunities by developing and implementing a strategic plan that best positions GM to deal with the threats within the auto industry. References General Motors. (2008a). About GM: Company profile. Retrieved July 10, 2008, from http://www.gm.com General Motors. (2008b). Sustainability and GM: Vision and Strategy. Retrieved July 10, 2008, from http://www.gm.com General Motors. (2008c). 2005/06 corporate responsibility report. Retrieved July 9, 2008, from http://www.gm.com Lowenstein, R. (2008). Siphoning G.M.s future. New York Times, p. A.21. Retrieved July 10, 2008, from ProQuest database. Pearce, J. Robinson, R. (2005). Strategic management: Formulation, Implementation, and control (9th ed.).[University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Text]. New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved July 10, 2008, from University of Phoenix, rEsource,  MBA/580- Strategies for Competitive Advantage Web site. Yahoo Finance. (2008a). General Motors Corporation (GM): Historical prices. Retrieved July 12, 2008, from http://finance.yhoo.com/ Yahoo Finance. (2008b). GM reassures dealers only Hummer brand is for sale. Reuters. Retrieved July 10, 2008, from http://biz.yahoo.com

Cat in the Rain

Review on Cat in The Rain of Ernest Hemingway A couple of Americans traveled in Italy. At the hotel, on a raining day, the wife found a cat crouched in the rain and wanted to take the cat and possess it. She went out and searched the cat in the rain, to find it had gone. Coming back, she told her husband her wish to change her hair style and was turned down by her husband. After her several other wishes were also turned down, a waitress of the hotel knocked the door, at the demand of the hotel owner, and sent her a cat. These are the main plots of Hemingway’s novel, Cat in The Rain. Main characters in the story are the American wife and her husband. Hemingway’s purpose of writing this novel is to illustrate the relationship between the couple. But when focusing on the simple but meaningful story, it’s easy to get confused, or even worse, get nothing out of it. In this novel, as many people have pointed out, there are many metaphors. Like the cat and the rain. These metaphors could lead us to the theme. In the very first paragraph, we can see that the description is showing the state of the couple’s relationship: at first it was once quite nice, just like the beautiful scene outside, and when it’s raining, their relationship got cold, too. And also, readers can find three symbols: the sea, the garden and the war monument, which can be seen in the American couple’s room. Compared with the sea, the garden is much delicate. In some cases, the garden may be washed out by the sea at ease. The garden is at the mercy of the sea. This scene, together with the monument, illustrates the background of the novel. As for the monument, it’s the symbol of conflict and sacrifice. This symbol indicates that a â€Å"war† is ahead. We would have a better understanding in the following paragraphs. The first scene in the room is the out-looking wife and her husband who is lying on the bed. Viewing this, the relationship of the couple is obvious to readers: they do not enjoying a happy life. The wife is eager to run away from her husband. While her husband, the American man who is reading on the bed, is giving pressure on her wife. And he would like to lie on the bed comfortably and read the book. The book is a â€Å"wall† between him and her wife. It’s a barrier that prevents communication from these two persons. Along the spreading of the story, the focus turns to a cat, a cat in the rain. The American wife finds that the cat is crouching under a table, trying to avoid the rain. Thus there is a kind of connection built up between the woman and the cat. In fact, the cat reflects the woman’s situation. Both of them are under some kind of troubles and have nothing to do on their troubles: the cat can’t change the weather, just like the wife has no influence on her husband at that time. In similar situation with the cat, the woman goes out, trying to get it when finding the poor cat. While being out and searching for the cat, she can’t find it. It has gone. It’s making its effort to flee. Whether it has run away from the rain, it has gone. Anyhow, the cat’s result is a good sign. The cat is gone, but the woman has to come back. The conflict between her husband and her hasn’t come to an end. The woman comes back and makes her new effort to make some changes. She even sits on the bed, trying to communicate with her husband. But she fails. Her husband is still reading. She comes up with some other demands, desperately. But her husband still ignores her wish for change. It’s getting dark. Their relationship is getting dark, too. The woman’s efforts do not work. Her wish to transverse her husband’s influence breaks down. Suddenly,there is a change. The light comes on the square outside the window, and the change for the American woman comes, too. She is sent a big tortoise-shell cat. It doesn’t matter whether this cat is the cat in the rain several minutes ago. It’s just a symbol of change for the woman. It’s not enough for the woman. It’s just a beginning. What she wants is not just a cat. She wants to change. Anyhow, it’s a good sign, too. Also,the using of words shows some attitudes, too. The different titles of the cat, like the kitty; and that of the woman, like the girl. These different addresses show the childish characteristics of the woman. This feature shows that her inferior statue comparing with her husband. All in all, the main problem of the story is their relationship: the husband controls all affairs, while the wife’s failure of trying to make a change. However, there is still a sign of change at the end of the story, which shows the author’s hope for future.

Homeschooling Your Child Essay

In America today many parents feel that public or private schools are not doing an adequate job of teaching their children. A lot of people feel that our public schools are focusing too heavily on standardized testing and the curriculum is reflecting test taking skills. The homework   load often becomes too much for the student and takes away from family time- in some cases taking four or more hours a night to complete. In many instances the curriculum moves too fast or too slow and the child becomes bored and less attentive or simply gets lost in the coursework. In a classroom with thirty children a single teacher cannot cater to the needs of every single child and this leaves many lost. Some children are very bright and intelligent but they need one on one teaching to learn and reach their full potential. And some choose not to put their children in public schools because it does not offer a religion based curriculum- something that is very important for some families. Lastly children in public schools also come into contact with negative peer pressure such as drugs and violence and in some instances gun violence takes place in schools. By choosing to educate your child at home you can give your child the opportunity for a better education suited to your child’s individual needs. Reasons that drive parents to homeschooling their children include: too much homework, not enough family time, a curriculum based on standardized testing, negative peer pressure including violence and drugs, and the absence of religion in schools. By homeschooling your child you can control the curriculum and you can choose to include religion in the curriculum and the negative peer pressure from fellow students is not there. In order for children to learn they must be put into the correct setting. â€Å"Securing a sage place free of drugs, gun violence, and negative peer pressure were all factors which turned families toward homeschooling.† (Wichers, 2001, p. 145) Homeschooling Your Child In America today many parents feel that public or private schools are not doing an adequate job of teaching their children. A lot of people feel that our public schools are focusing too heavily on standardized testing and the curriculum is reflecting test taking skills. The homework   load often becomes too much for the student and takes away from family time- in some cases taking four or more hours a night to complete. In many instances the curriculum moves too fast or too slow and the child becomes bored and less attentive or simply gets lost in the coursework. In a classroom with thirty children a single teacher cannot cater to the needs of every single child and this leaves many lost. Some children are very bright and intelligent but they need one on one teaching to learn and reach their full potential. And some choose not to put their children in public schools because it does not offer a religion based curriculum- something that is very important for some families. Lastly children in public schools also come into contact with negative peer pressure such as drugs and violence and in some instances gun violence takes place in schools. This topic is important to me because I feel that one day when I have children homeschooling may be an option for them. With the way things are headed now and the things that go on in our public schools I may feel it is best to teach my children myself when I have them. This topic is relevant to many others because of the same reasons and homeschooling is becoming more popular in America with every year. In today’s society there are a lot of people in America that are searching for alternative methods of educating their children and homeschooling can be a great choice. A few reasons that drive parents to homeschooling their children include:   environmental concerns, such as safety, drugs, and negative peer pressure,desire to provide religious or moral instruction, dissatisfaction with academics at other schools, child’s physical and mental health problems, child’s other special needs, and other reasons, including the child’s choice, flexibility, and greater parental control over education. (Abbott, 2006, p. 49) Some families also face too much homework, not enough family time, and a curriculum based on standardized testing when they have children enrolled in the public school system. Children with disabilities and children who demand a more attentive teacher with one on one teaching are great candidates for homeschooling. I also feel disappointed in the fact that our schools no longer involve religion- not even a simple morning prayer. It is to the point where teachers are reprimanded for mentioning religion of any kind. My faith is very important to me and I would like it if faith based instruction was an everyday part of my child’s education. When I think of the future and what my children may encounter on a daily basis at their school I always think of homeschooling if our public school systems get bad enough. When I hear about the violence and drugs that my future children may encounter while at school I consider homeschooling a great option for my future family. Homeschooling can become a good choice for parents who are tired of the test taking based curriculum and the extreme amount of homework that is required of their children. By choosing to home school, the parent and student can decide on a curriculum that best suites the child and that isn’t based on passing one test at the end of that school year. Another plus side to choosing the curriculum is that parents can choose to teach a faith based curriculum and implement religion classes into the coursework. If a child is getting their education at home usually it will involve much less homework and   the child’s spare time can be spent on extra-curricular activities- something that students often feel they don’t have enough time for. Being homeschooled also gives the student and parents more family time because there’s less homework to be done in the evening. Another reason why parents choose homeschooling is because of the violent and drug filled atmosphere in most public middle and secondary schools. Students encounter negative peer pressure while at school and this can lead to drug or alcohol abuse and violent or rebellious behavior. In an atmosphere such as this a child is not given the best opportunity to succeed and sometimes this is enough to convince parents that in home education is best for their child or children. I can’t think of any parents that I know who would want to send their children to a school filled with drugs and violence and that is not a suitable learning environment. Parents know what is best for their child and know how to create the best environment suitable for their child to learn. In homeschooling, parents can give their children more choice and control in their curriculum while teaching them one on one. If a parent decides to home school their child, that child will have the opportunity to advance at their own pace. Children who are homeschooled often learn at a faster pace because they are being taught one on one usually by a parent. By allowing a child to accelerate at a faster pace the child will not become bored with the content taught and will remain focused and interested in the material being taught. Although many Americans are still skeptical of homeschooling there are many advantages to homeschooling your child. Studies have shown that children who are homeschooled tend to score higher on standardized tests such as advanced placement exams, the ACT, and the SAT than do public schooled children. (McReynolds, 2007) It is also shown that children who are homeschooled attend college at higher rates and are in many cases recruited by universities. (Romanowski, 2006, p. 127) Many prestigious schools such as, â€Å"Brown, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, the United States Military Academy at West Point, UC at Berkeley, University of Michigan, Notre Dame, and Yale† are all universities that accept freshman who have been homeschooled and in some cases recruit students who have mostly been homeschooled. (Romanowski, 2006, p. 127) It is just as easy if not easier for homeschooled children to enter into college. It is reported that children who are educated at home usually score about 15% higher on standardized tests than do publicly schooled children. (Wilhelm, 2009) In the year 2005, students who were homeschooled averaged scores of 22.5 while students educated in public schools averaged a 20.9 score. (Abbott, 2006, p. 50) By choosing to educate your child at home you can give your child the opportunity for a better education suited to your child’s individual needs. Reasons that drive parents to homeschooling their children include: too much homework, not enough family time, a curriculum based on standardized testing, negative peer pressure including violence and drugs, and the absence of religion in schools. By homeschooling your child you can control the curriculum and you can choose to include religion in the curriculum and the negative peer pressure from fellow students is not there. In order for children to learn they must be put into the correct setting. â€Å"Securing a sage place free of drugs, gun violence, and negative peer pressure were all factors which turned families toward homeschooling.† (Wichers, 2001, p. 145) References Abbott, M., & Miller, J. (2006). What you need to learn about homeschooling.  Contemporary Pediatrics,  23(11), 48. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the article titled, â€Å"What you Need to Learn About Homeschooling†, Myles Abbott and Jennifer Miller explore many common reasons why parents choose homeschooling their children over traditional public schools. Abbott and Miller also studied the different

Research Paper on Network Devices Security

Research Paper on Network Devices Security Sample Research Paper on Network Devices Security: Many organizations today have large local area networks (LAN) and keeping track of all devices connected to the network is a hard task especially for the IT personnel. As new devices are added to the network and others removed, it is necessary to have an updated record of the devices that actively or passively access the resources of a certain LAN. This could be done by collection of information about these devices, and this process of collection of such information is referred to as network discovery. This information can be; the device’s MAC address, IP address and the services accessed or provided by the device. There are various steps that an organization should follow to determine the needs of an organization in discovering of all devices in a network. First, the organization should consider the resources that are being accessed at a certain time and by which people. This reduces security threats from hackers accessing the network resources or important information. Secondly, the organization should be in a position to monitor the network bandwidth and make sure that it is not slowed down by packets sent by unknown sources. Also an organization should consider easier implementation and assigning of different roles to different devices in accordance to the organization standards. This should include monitoring of softwares installed on different devices, their licenses and when they are due to expire in order to avoid legal problems, and the versions installed for these softwares. Lastly, an organization should consider network discovery devices that incase of a network failure will easily detect that of point of failure and correct the network problem in time. Management software is often used to discover and monitor performance of network devices. Common functions of these softwares are: Detecting the devices accessing a certain network. Monitoring the various processes performed by a device by waiting for the device to send information. This information could be an update or an alert. Keep track of those devices that are accessing the LAN remotely. Tracking the people using the network resources and restricting access of sensitive data. Managing softwares used in a certain organization by keeping track of their license and the current versions of softwares being used. These softwares could be open source or commercial software.Factors that determine the type of software to be used for network discovery are specific to the needs of each organization.Some factors that should be considered should be; the size of the network and the amount of money the organization is willing to set aside. TOOLS AND COUNTERMEASURES TOOLS IP Scanner This is an open source script that is written to automatically ping a range of certain ip addresses or ports and in turn updates the ARP table. This enables the network administrator to know the devices on the network. The tool sends an ICMP ECHO_REQUEST and records the replies in an orderly manner. The shortcoming is that some devices do not receive ICMP messages because of the firewalls installed. Nmap Nmap is an open source utility used to of scan ports of devices by use of their ip address or host name. By doing this, nmap is able to keep track of the devices in a network.It uses both ICMP and TCP ACK packets to scan port 80.The TCP ACK is able to get past devices that do not receive ICMP packets. Its other functionality are the ability to know which services are running on the network, the operating systems running on different devices and the firewall softwares in place among others.It is also discovers remote devices. The disadvantage of nmap software is that it discovers only devices that are operational when scanned. Arpwatch The arpwatch waits for ARP packets and notes the ip address associated to a certain MAC address and keeps this information in a database. Incase the information on the database changes the network administrator is notified by an e-mail. The problem faced by arpwatch is that it is only limited to devices on the LAN and not those accessing remotely thus it can only be used on one network at a time . COUNTERMEASURES Broadcast Sniffing This is a measure that is used to analyze a network traffic so that one can identify problems on the network. Sniffing is used by hackers to get information from a certain network.Sniffing techniques such as DHCP, ARP or WINS sniffing could diverge information such as the workgroup of the network, NetBIOS name of the device, MAC addresses and ip addresses. Creating a Virtual LAN(VLAN) within your network could be one of the best was to prevent hackers from sniffing your network. This is because the VLAN grants access only to authorized ip addresses thus making the broadcast domain smaller. The organization will have different virtual networks and certain information will be limited to only certain people (Mcclure, 2005). Denial of service(DOS) DOS occurs when the real users of a LAN are locked out from using their network. This happens when hackers send unsolicited packets that flood the network. The bandwidth becomes flooded with packets without valid destinations thus making the network slow or the resources inaccessible. This can be countered by filtering the requests that are accessing the network resources and controlling the broadcast messages. Spoofing Ip spoofing is the impersonation of a certain device by sending out a message with another device’s ip address. The destination address is indicated but the source ip is hidden and cannot be traced. To prevent the network from being spoofed,one could use ingress and engress filtering at the router to disqualify packets that are not legitimate. Another way is to use authentication by maintaining an access control list of the range of ip addresses that are eligible to access the network. Encryption of packets could also prevent spoofing (Tanase, 2010).

The Entrepreneurial Team in Business Plan Process Essay Example

The Entrepreneurial Team in Business Plan Process Essay Example The Entrepreneurial Team in Business Plan Process Paper The Entrepreneurial Team in Business Plan Process Paper 1Introduction Business Link, describes Business Plan as a â€Å"roadmap for future development† and has an essential role for every enterprises. The document narrates â€Å"a business, its objectives, its strategies, the market it is in and its financial forecasts† and it serves several functions to business unit from securing external funding to measuring success within the business (2008). As a statement of intent, business plan displays â€Å"where you are now and where you want to go† (Cracknell, 2006) and a growth strategy has to be incorporated to turn the business plan from a static document into a dynamic template that promote significant growth instead of survival, and more importantly, driven by people. 2Identification of the entrepreneurial team The section of Management Team in the business plan contains description of the roles and explicit functions of the members represented by an organizational chart that include the present force, or otherwise numbered order of people who are anticipated to join or hire with realistic allocated budget (Timmons and Spinelli, p. 243). Prudent entrepreneurs will examine during the business plan process to diagnose current and potential skills’ gaps to execute the plan. The team is not only confined to management level, but also employees who are empowered to run the daily activities of the venture (Vecchio, 2007). The manpower budgets are guiding tool of the team structure comprising of estimates and total force needed. Identification process involves matching against the job description of each placement with induction before, during and after implementation to avoid the risk of â€Å"overtrading† during startup (Ogilvie, 2006). 2. 1The Team members Managing team dynamic is ever a complex issue between plan and â€Å"realworld†. To VC, â€Å"ideas are a dime a dozen† and it is the execution skills that counts. A venture should begin with resumes of all people involved consisting of the past and track records of the team to ensure capability to meet the projected milestone and future success. They are concise in the business plan. Without a right team, none of the other parts of the business plan really matters (Sahlman, 1997). However, the limitation of early-stage management teams is common in a lead entrepreneur or a small group of founders in small enterprise. During the identification process, focus on strengths of current management team and realistic outline for addition of future officers are reflected in the business plan (McLeod, 2004). The members from the management team are expected be a self-directed work teams who are able to empower employees to make decisions about their work and to help steer corporate vision (Budwig, 2008). In the business plan compilation, the key management team is identified with consideration of management compensation and ownership (p. 243). 2. The Board of Directors In an investor-owned firm (IOF), the composition of the board has to be elected. The choices of the directors are troublesome for new venture and worth careful thought in the identification process (p. 345). The decision of choice is either internal or external which will start with identifying the missing relevant experience to close the potential skill gap, know how, networks and the necessity of hiring from external source. The board is likely to be comprised of mixture of executive directors and non-executive directors. The directors are key value drivers; hence, decisions have to be objective to select trustworthy people. Accordingly, it is not uncommon that directors of new ventures are either from the founder’s team, nominated from internal source, or from internal network unless skill gaps exist or representation to bring value of credibility into the venture is essential. 2. 3The Value-added Investors In empirical study by Palliam (2005), where external funds are required, the main source is equity rather than debt in a bridged pecking order from self-funding to external equity in preference over bank finance. This is because debts are personal liability as it invariably requires to be underwritten by personal guarantees carrying distress cost of bankruptcy. Capital budgeting and deal offers are integral part of the financial analysis section which is apparently comprehensible to the entrepreneurs who are promoters of the venture and having awareness of synergies with suitable business fit deriving from potential group of investors or institutions. Other than cash, identify the correct investors from an ideal business fit can significantly enhance value of the collaboration in tapping into the investors’ resources of experience, wisdom and networks. Likewise, it adds â€Å"devil’s advocate† into the venture idea to identify new area of opportunity and avoidance of the mousetrap fallacy (p. 122). The pre and post money valuation are be presented to pitch and induce interest from the potential investors whose appetite differs. However, bias from information asymmetry in the capital market (Storey, 2005) has its deterrence to identification process in convincing a greenfield project of early stage venture. 3Conclusion In Timmons Model, entrepreneurial team is an indispensible ingredient to potential venture and great teams are short in such endeavours (p. 91). According to Fitz-Enz, employees cost exceeds 40% of corporate expense and that people, and not cash, buildings or equipment, are the livelihood of business (2000, p. 1), therefore the drivers of the entire value chain of business are rich in human interaction. Evidence in Manson and Stark has emphasized investors’ interest in looking for the right people â€Å"who are honest, exhibit a strong work ethic, understand what it takes to make the business succeed, have invested in their business, and have a realistic notion of how to value the business† (Mason and Stark, 2004). A business plan can set the foundation of rising new capital with subsequent profitably in operation. Those businesses that succeeded have identified the unique preposition of their products, territories or markets and have tailored programs to net results from the opportunity identified. All these activities are performed and driven by the entrepreneurial team in the course of implementation and in most cases, supported by the right alliances from the capital market. Eventually, without the people from the team and the financial industry, the entrepreneur’s road to success is skeptical. Reference : Abrams, R. (2003). ‘The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies’. Palo Alto, CA: The Planning ShopTM. Budwig, M. (2008). ‘Self-Directed Work Teams for Technical Communication: Best Practices in Management’. Society for Technical Communication, 55th Annual Conference, June 2, 2008. Available from: stc. org/edu/55thConf/download. asp? ID=123 (Accessed on 6 July 2008). Business link (2008). ‘Use your business plan to get funding’. London, U. K. : The Commissioners for Revenue Customs (HMRC). Available from: businesslink. gov. uk/bdotg/action/layer? topicId=1073958998r. s=sl (Accessed on 6 July 2008). Cracknell, H. (2006). ‘Business Link Guide to writing a Business Plan’. Bytestart. co. uk. (the small business portal), July 26, 2006. Available from: bytestart. co. uk/content/businessplans/30_2/business-link-business-plan. html (Accessed on 6 July 2008). Fitz-Enz, J. (2000). ‘ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance’. New York, NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. emeraldinsight. com. ezproxy. liv. ac. uk/Insight/ViewContentServlet? Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/2940060404. html (Accessed on 6 July 2008). Mason, C. and Stark, M. (2004). ‘What do Investors Look for in a Business Plan? : A Comparison of the Investment Criteria of Bankers, Venture Capitalists and Business Angels’. International Small Business Journal, 22(3), p. 227. Available from: http://isb. sagepub. com. ezproxy. liv. ac. uk/cgi/reprint/22/3/227 (Accessed on 6 July 2008). McLeod, R. (2004). ‘Management Team’. Glasgow, U. K. : The Scottish Institute for Enterprise. Available from: sie. ac. uk/File/43R0. aspx (Accessed on 6 July 2008). Ogilvie, J. (2006). ‘CIMA Learning System 2007 Management Accounting Financial Strategy (Cima Learning Systems Strategic Level 2007)’. Burlington, MA : Elsevier Ltd. Palliam, R. (2005). ‘Estimating the cost of capital: considerations for small business’. The Journal of Risk Finance, 6(4), p. 335-340. Available from: Sahlman, W. A. (1997). ‘How to Write a Great Business Plan’. Harvard Business Review Article, July 1, 1997. Available from: www. uio. no/studier/emner/matnat/sfe/ENT4000/v05/undervisningsmateriale/Forretningsplan. pdf (Accessed on 6 July 2008). Storey, D. (2005) Understanding the Small Business Sector. London, U. K. : Thomson Learning. Timmons, J. A. and Spinelli, S. (2007). â€Å"New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century†. New York, N. Y. : McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Vecchio, R. P. (2006). ‘Organizational behavior: Core concepts’. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.

Marlene Dietrich Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marlene Dietrich - Essay Example She was able to cultivate an image that people easily identify as her persona and, most importantly, an image that created a need based on the desires of the audience. Through the manner by which her image was carefully defined, scripted and invented, Dietrich was able to hold onto the material and spiritual power which allowed her image to exemplify â€Å"society producing the impasse into which it casts its members on the level of the libido as much as on the level of economics: the desire for what cannot be avoided without a radical rupture with the world that has formed us.† Consider how some critics point out that the success of The Blue Angel was not because of an excellent storyline or the genius of neither its director, Josef von Sternberg nor its sexual context. If one says that the film succeeded because of Lola’s legs, then those that featured the same theme with different actresses exploiting equally excellent thighs could have been as effective. But that is not the case. With the film, men were given an object of desire that is mostly according to what Dietrich had to give. Lola’s legs and her character did not merely become the foundation of the Dietrich image that movie audience carried in their heads. It was Dietrich’s acumen and sense of what she wanted and how she wanted to be seen and perceived that made the difference. As she made her films, Dietrich learned how to best represent herself, highlight her assets or make an aspect of persona prominent.... Lola’s legs and her character did not merely become the foundation of the Dietrich image that movie audience carried in their heads. It was Dietrich’s acumen and sense of what she wanted and how she wanted to be seen and perceived that made the difference. As she made her films, Dietrich learned how to best represent herself, highlight her assets or make an aspect of persona prominent. This is demonstrated, for instance, in the invention of the so-called â€Å"Dietrich face.† In the earlier photographs of Dietrich, her upturned nose is quite obvious. As a matter of fact, this minor flaw has earned her the moniker "Ducknose" because it is stuck up like those of the duck’s.3 Critics were particularly focused in this aspect during Dietrich early career that is why she learned how to work around it. Later photographs would no longer show this weakness prompting some sectors to say she underwent facial surgery. This, of course, was not true because it was Dietr ich herself who discovered how she could address the problem. Bach explained this in detail: She found it in an automatic photo booth in Berlin, the kind that prints out cheap photograph on strips. She stepped into one to pose, actively searching for a look, and discovered that with a single overhead lamp, her hair went light, she had cheekbones, her pale blue eyes went dark, the upturned nose became straight. There would be sophisticated refinements of makeup and technique, but now the difficulty was getting cameramen to light her her way.4 One can say that Dietrich became a technician in this way. She would go against directions if the lighting is against her wishes. This â€Å"stubbornness† actually paid off. Besides appearing more pleasing, the

Judicial Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Judicial Review - Research Paper Example The increasing relevance and growth of judicial review is as a result of the growth of the administrative functions and powers in the modern world and can be understood from a historical perspective. The period before 19th century was characterized by a societal mode of life known as laissez faire which connotes total individual freedom, contractual freedom, a free individual enterprise which diminish the government control and functions. In a laissez faire society the role of the state is negative and is limited to defending the country especially from external aggression. The advent of industrial revolution in the 19th century manifested that the bargaining power of individuals was not equal and that un-controlled bargaining power would lead to exploitation of poor majority by the rich minority. This makes it important for the State’s intervention in individual matters. The state thus took more positive and active role in matters which affected the citizens directly. This le ad to the birth of the Social Welfare State, whose advent led to a phenomenal increase in scope and content of the functions and powers of the State. The state from then on, through the machinery of state corporations and executive arm, took over a very large portion of what was matters of private individuals and started to profoundly control what remained in the private domain. (Jain, 3) an administrative law author summarised the functions of the state in a social welfare system as follows: â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.the state today pervades every aspect of human life; it runs buses, railways and postal services; it undertakes socio-economic planning, improves slums, plans urban and rural life, looks after health, societal morals and education of the people, generates electricity, works mines and operates key and important industries; acts as an active instrument of socio-economic policy, regulates individual life and freedom to a large extent; benefits its citizens and imposes social control and regulation over private enterprise.† A state has three organs which are the judiciary, the executive and the legislature which perform independent and different functions. Increase in the state functions would obviously mean increase in work for all state organs. But this is not the case as the largest range of the powers and functions of the state has been taken by the executive arm which is also known as the administrative arm of the state. In the modern times the executive arm performs functions which are ex facie and which belong to the other organs of the state. The executive performs the legislative power by making a plethora of rules, orders, by-laws and regulations. This is designated as subordinate or delegated legislation. The executive also performs adjudicative powers over disputes through the commissions, tribunals and many other quasi- judicial bodies which have diversified jurisdiction, structure, powers and procedures. They make binding decisions li ke those of ordinary courts. The reason for subsidiary legislation is that the legislature lacks time and expertise to handle the mass all the legislative detail required to govern a state. The

Education & Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Education & Identity - Essay Example Douglass’ account Frederick Douglass is a prime example of this theory. He was born into slavery and lived through his early life serving his Master. His story revolves around the hunt for freedom and is engulfed in the concept of education affecting his perception of his own life. Since he started life as a slave, living to serve another was a norm for him and while his Mistress treated him with utter care in the beginning, she soon became wary of his thirst for knowledge. It is perhaps this thirst for knowledge that is equally influential in altering a person’s perception as without it, one may not pursue education and knowledge in the first place. Thus, Douglass was taught the beginnings of education by his new mistress Mrs. Auld. She later became extremely cautious of teaching him anything else or him learning anything else himself; â€Å"Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the ~inch,~ and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ~ell.~† (Douglass). What this implies is that the educated elite were also wary of the power of education and it was not such a peculiar phenomenon. Ever since he learnt the alphabet, and realized that any further progress in education was scorned upon, he became all the more wary of acquiring knowledge and went to extreme lengths to learn to read and write. His efforts show his inclination and dedication to the task. His shrewdness gave way to several ingenious ways in the pursuit of education. He would employ several friends in the street and run his errands quicker than expected in order to save time for gaining knowledge through them. He started pondering over things he did not ponder over before, questioning his right to be free and why it was so difficult to attain: "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, ~but I am a slave for life!~ Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?" (Douglass). At times this newfound thinking became a measure of pain as well, and would dou se him in anguish whenever the question of slavery would arise in discussion. As his ability to read improved, so did his taste for newer books. He eventually read a book entitled The Columbian Orator which became the epitome of his changing perception. The story was very similar to his own wherein a slave who wished to be free from his master ran away thrice only to be returned to him. Eventually, after an intellectual discussion between him and the master, the slave is discharged of all duties at the master’s discretion. Of course, this sparked a growing urge within Douglass to be free himself. Notice how it incited a new drive inside of him to be free from anyone else’s possession rather than simply nurturing his old desire to read and write. While the old desire still persisted, the new feelings and emotions as a result of perceived education transpired within him superficially to overtake his old inclinations to read and write. Thus, it had a dual effect. This can be judged from the fact that he describes himself as a chattel earlier but later grows in feelings and emotions as a direct result of the knowledge he acquires, completely opposite to the description of a chattel. His perception was no longer the same regarding slavery. It did not just stop there. Once the perception changed, so did his desires in life. This revelation came as soon as he understood the meaning of abolition which,

Appeals Compare and Contrast Essay Essay Example for Free

Appeals Compare and Contrast Essay Essay In William Shakespeare’s Rendition of Julius Caesar death, the character Brutus must persuade the audience into believing his murder of Caesar was justified. To be sure that he is imprinted as a â€Å"heroine† for saving the roman empire he makes Mark Anthony go, knowing that the audience will believe him for he was Caesars best friend. Brutus makes sure that he implies him as a good guy by giving him restrictions on what he could and could not say, but ultimately Brutus fails with his plan for he did not listen to Anthony’s speech which was one of his most grave mistakes, and Anthony wins over the audience while Brutus is forced to flee from the roman empire. In Brutus’s speech he enlightened the audience through his use of logos by demonstrating the true sense of capability they would have faced if Caesar would have continued as a tyrannical ruler as he says â€Å"would u had Caesar were living, and die slaves†. Brutus stressed the oppressing future and eventual demise of the roman empire as long as Caesar had remained in power, hence his reasoning behind his actions. As Brutus using pathos to persuade the audience as he says â€Å"who here is so vile that will not love his country† Brutus expresses his feelings for the empire and how he cares trying to make the audience feel the dreadful for thinking that his killing of Caesar was a betrayal to the empire. The Biggest flaw was that his speech was too short he never really explained the crimes or tyranny that Caesar had committed and that would eventually be his downfall. As mark Anthony approaches the audience he had to find a way to oblige to Brutus’s rules of not saying anything negative of him. He announces to the audience using logos by expressing his sadness for Caesars death, as he speaks he quotes the conspirators as â€Å"honorable men† as he repeated the quote over and over the audience began to rally up and shout, the more he said it the more the audience realized how Brutus lied to them. Anthony had shown the audience of the Brutus’s betrayal without saying he wasn’t a honorable man. As Anthony says â€Å"He [Caesar] hath brought many captives home to Rome whose ransoms did the general coffers fill† showing that Caesar had cared for the city trying to bring wealth to the empire, but then Anthony says â€Å"but Caesar is ambitious† making the audience praise more for Caesar for he had brought wealth to the empire. Anthony shows the audience of Brutus’s act of violence which ultimately gave Anthony the audience and the upper hand. Anthony showed Brutus as a â€Å"hero† as brutus wanted, but brutus did not expect Brutus fails of his plans to make the audience belive caesars death was justified, Anthony shows the audience in anthonys words, that he was telling the truth from his sadness and tone, while Brutus was failed as he only said a few words and left Anthony all by himself. Ultimately making the audience team up with Anthony, as Brutus flees the empire.

Small Pox :: essays research papers

Smallpox has been one of the most dangerous and deadly curses’ ever placed on humankind. Even illnesses as terrible as the plague, cholera, and yellow fever have not had such a universal effect. Smallpox is a parasitic virus (a virus destructive to the host) called variola. It’s considered to be a â€Å"crowd disease†, spreading only through people and requiring a large densely populated area to survive. If the virus is cut off from new host bodies it dies out. Smallpox is spread by what is called â€Å"droplet infection.† â€Å"Droplets† refers to body fluid that escapes into the open air such as moisture does when you sneeze. The smallpox virus also remains active on a human corpse for up to three weeks and can be passed through the dead host to the living host that way and also through items such as blankets and clothing, which remain infected for up to one year. Patients affected with smallpox will generally begin to show symptoms 9-12 days after exposure. These symptoms begin with depression, fever, rigors, vomiting, headache, and backache. In several cases patients have become disoriented and/or delirious. In other cases a distinct rash will begin to form on face, hands and legs in this phase. All others with begin to notice the rash within a few days. Following the outbreak of the rash on the face, it begins to spread to the chest. Cuts that have formed on face and body begin to turn into blisters and eventually into scabs during the healing process. The virus may attack the eyes, lungs, throat, heart and/or liver and lead to death. The first recorded smallpox outbreak occurred in 1350 BC during the Egyptian-Hittite war. The illness was passed from Egyptian prisoners to the Hittite population affecting both soldiers and civilians. Although it wasn’t until the late 1600’s that people in Europe and Asia accidentally discovered that those infected with smallpox through a scratch on the skin, suffered from a less severe form of the disease than those who contracted it through the respiratory tract. In the early 1700’s doctors began to store samples of smallpox pus and scabs in jars. If an outbreak occurred the doctor would make a small cut in a person’s arm and smeared the pus into the wound. This process of intentionally infecting a person with the smallpox virus in order to make them immune to the disease in the future was called inoculation. Small Pox :: essays research papers Smallpox has been one of the most dangerous and deadly curses’ ever placed on humankind. Even illnesses as terrible as the plague, cholera, and yellow fever have not had such a universal effect. Smallpox is a parasitic virus (a virus destructive to the host) called variola. It’s considered to be a â€Å"crowd disease†, spreading only through people and requiring a large densely populated area to survive. If the virus is cut off from new host bodies it dies out. Smallpox is spread by what is called â€Å"droplet infection.† â€Å"Droplets† refers to body fluid that escapes into the open air such as moisture does when you sneeze. The smallpox virus also remains active on a human corpse for up to three weeks and can be passed through the dead host to the living host that way and also through items such as blankets and clothing, which remain infected for up to one year. Patients affected with smallpox will generally begin to show symptoms 9-12 days after exposure. These symptoms begin with depression, fever, rigors, vomiting, headache, and backache. In several cases patients have become disoriented and/or delirious. In other cases a distinct rash will begin to form on face, hands and legs in this phase. All others with begin to notice the rash within a few days. Following the outbreak of the rash on the face, it begins to spread to the chest. Cuts that have formed on face and body begin to turn into blisters and eventually into scabs during the healing process. The virus may attack the eyes, lungs, throat, heart and/or liver and lead to death. The first recorded smallpox outbreak occurred in 1350 BC during the Egyptian-Hittite war. The illness was passed from Egyptian prisoners to the Hittite population affecting both soldiers and civilians. Although it wasn’t until the late 1600’s that people in Europe and Asia accidentally discovered that those infected with smallpox through a scratch on the skin, suffered from a less severe form of the disease than those who contracted it through the respiratory tract. In the early 1700’s doctors began to store samples of smallpox pus and scabs in jars. If an outbreak occurred the doctor would make a small cut in a person’s arm and smeared the pus into the wound. This process of intentionally infecting a person with the smallpox virus in order to make them immune to the disease in the future was called inoculation.

Kimberly Clark Proctor Gamble Diaper Wars Essay

Competition in the diaper industry raged on as Kimberly-Clark (KC) strived to stay ahead of its main competitor, Proctor and Gamble (P&G). By the end of 1989, KC’s Huggies controlled 32% of the market share—the highest of any single product competing in the diaper market. Now facing significant financial constraints, the leader in personal care products endeavored to create product improvements that would hold market share and outperform Proctor and Gamble’s Pampers. External Analysis One political force affecting KC and the diaper industry is Congress and eleven states introducing legislation taxing, regulating or banning the sale of disposable diapers. Because disposable diapers were not biodegradable, environmentalists were concerned about millions of diapers saturating landfills and possibly contaminating groundwater. Environmentalists lobbied for diapers to be taxed or banned to prevent further environmental degradation. If laws were passed taxing or banning disposable diapers, consumers would stop buying Huggies and resort back to cloth. Possible legal restrictions severely threatened the future of the disposable diaper. A second political factor affecting Kimberly-Clark and the diaper industry is ease of entry to European and Japanese markets. Neither Japan nor European countries imposed political sanctions and foreign regulations preventing KC from entering their markets. A final example of political/legal forces affecting the diaper industry and KC is P&G unlawfully monopolizing the diaper market and violating anti-trust laws. In 1989, Pampers (Proctor and Gamble’s premium diaper line) and Luv’s (Proctor and Gamble’s mid-price diapers) together controlled 49% of the diaper market. P&G’s violation of anti-trust laws could prevent KC from having an equal opportunity to gain market share and every percentage of market share lost would cost KC $6-10 million in profit. Because diapers accounted for 37% of Kimberly-Clark’s net income, P&G’s monopolization could significantly impact KC’s future. An economic factor affecting Kimberly-Clark and the diaper industry is the increase in disposable income by women working outside their homes. The increase in disposable income allows KC and its competitors to successfully sell disposable diapers at premium prices. There are several social/cultural forces affecting KC and the diaper industry, as previously mentioned, there was an increase in consumer activism. Environmentalists and environmentally concerned customers expressed concerns over disposable diapers’ potential health risks for sanitation workers and groundwater pollutants. Also, disposable diapers received harsh criticism for not being biodegradable. Landfills contained approximately 4-5.5 billion pounds of discarded diapers—nearly five percent of total volume. Environmentalists were determined to stop further pollution, which seemed inevitably detrimental to KC and other diaper manufacturers. Another social/cultural force was an aging population. Fortunately for KC, there is a positive relationship between the number of elderly persons and the need for incontinence products. According to statisticians, 31 million North Americans were over age 65 and 10% had incontinence issues. Because Kimberly-Clark has extensive knowledge in producing diapers, feminine products, toilet paper and other paper products, they could easily create diapers for adults. A third social/cultural force is the extended amount of time children spent in diapers. The diaper extension led KC to introduce Pull-Ups, which targeted toddlers being potty-trained. Other social/cultural forces include a decrease in family size and more mothers working outside the home (mentioned above). A technological force affecting Kimberly-Clark and the diaper industry was the introduction of super-thin technology. Super-thin technology was created by using polyacrylate, a powder crystal that absorbs 50 times its weight in liquid. The introduction of super-thin technology created more shelf space for Huggies and reduced shipping costs (more diapers fit in a truck). A second technological factor is industry spending on R&D. P&G and KC spent approximately $110 million annually on Research and Development. As previously mentioned, every percent of market share gained equals $6-10 million in profit. Kimberly-Clark and its competitors worked to create breakthrough inventions that would steal customers away from Proctor and Gamble. A third technological force affecting KC and the diaper industry is patent protection. Due to heightened competiveness in the industry, P&G and KC took strenuous efforts to protect their technology from competitors. KC and P&G were extremely suspicious of one another and frequently sued over use of proprietary technologies (gains from lawsuits were negligible). Some of the political/legal, economic, social/cultural and technological forces are similar in other parts of the world. For example, a social/cultural force in Japan and Western European countries is the changing role of women. Like North America, the number of Japanese and Western European women working outside the home increased. Unlike Western and Japanese women, Southern Europe had few mothers working outside the home. A social/cultural trend in Japan that is frequent diaper changes. Japanese parents change their children twice as often as North Americans. Also, Japanese avoided the use of non-biodegradable plastics. Forces that drive industry competition are threat of new entrants, rivalry among existing firms, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers and bargaining power of suppliers. The most important forces are rivalry among existing firms and threat of new entrants. The five forces are discussed separately below. Some factors that affect the threat of new entrants are product differentiation, capital requirements, access to distribution channels and economies of scale. Kimberly-Clark sought to differentiate itself from competitors through extensive advertising. It used coupons, commercials and product placement to convince customers that Huggies are the best diapers. It used product placement by showing customers that even baby Elizabeth in â€Å"Baby Boom† wears Huggies diapers. Successful advertising campaigns created a high barrier of entry to new firms hoping to enter the market. Another factor that prevented new competition from entering the market is high capital requirement. The machines used to produce diapers cost between $2-4 million and were several feet long. New firms that lacked capital to purchase machines would automatically be barred from competition. Access to distribution channels also affected the threat of new entrants. Retailers created their own mid-priced/lower market diapers and were often reluctant to give shelf space to competing firms (in the mid/low price segment). Retailers’ ability to earn profit margins on their own products outweighed revenue from firms purchasing shelf space. A final factor that prevented new entrants is economies of scale. Large companies, such as KC and P&G, created similar products and could take advantage of existing distribution channels, resources and facilities. Overall, threat of new entrants in favorable. Factors affecting rivalry among existing firms include the number of competitors, rate of industry growth, capacity, fixed costs, product or service characteristics and height of exit barriers. The number of firms competing in the diaper industry is relatively low. P&G and KC are the only firms competing in the premium diaper market and control 81% of market share. Other firms and retailers compete in the lower price segment; however, they target a different audience than premium diaper manufacturers. A second factor contributing to rivalry among existing firms is rate of industry growth. Because birthrate is declining, there is little market share to be gained. Therefore, market share cannot be gained unless taken away from competitors. Rivalry among competition is unfavorable. A third factor affecting rivalry is capacity. Kimberly-Clark and its competitors must operate their plants at full capacity to lower unit costs. They also have regional plants in multiple locations to reduce transportation costs. Another factor affecting rivalry is the amount of fixed costs. Diapers are expensive to produce, market and sell, as previously mentioned, machines cost between $2-4 million. Height of exit barriers also influences rivalry. Exit barriers are low. Throughout Huggies’s existence, many firms have entered and left the diaper market. For example, Johnson & Johnson, Borden, Scott and International Paper all unsuccessfully created diapers. Some factors that contribute to threat of substitute products or services are cloth diapers and two piece diaper systems. Increased environmental concerns led some customers to choose to dress their babies in cloth diapers as opposed to disposable. Initially, cloth diapers were seen as more environmentally friendly do to their reusable nature. Cloth diapers posed a serious threat to disposable diapers until KC and P&G convinced customers that cloth was more detrimental to the environment (laundering cloth diapers created ten times more water pollution). Another substitute for disposable diapers is the two-piece diapers created by Fischer-Price and Gerber. Threat of substitute products or services is somewhat unfavorable for firms in the diaper industry. Bargaining power of buyers was influenced by the buyers’ ability to integrate backwards, margins from diaper sales and brand-names. Many of the retailers that sold Kimberly-Clark’s diapers also created their own lines sold at lower prices. Another factor contributing to the bargaining power of buyers is the low profit-margins retailers made off diaper sales. Over one-third of KC’s revenue came from diaper sales. Brand loyalty decreased the bargaining power of buyers. Parents with young children may only shop at places that sell the kind of diapers their baby wears. If the retailer chooses not to sell diapers, it could lose business. Bargaining power of buyers is unfavorable for the diaper industry. Bargaining power of suppliers is affected by inability to integrate forward and technology. As previously mentioned, super-thin technology was achieved by using polyacrylate. Unfortunately for KC and P&G, only one firm, Cellanese, had a license to make polyacrylate in the United States. Substitutes for polyacrylate were not readily available, so Kimberly-Clark and its competitors were dependent upon a single firm for super-thin technology. Cellanese had significant supplier power over its buyers. It could control price increases and business deals. Although Cellanese could make polyacrylate, they did not have the ability to integrate forward. Cellanese was a chemical firm and diaper production was not one of its competencies. Inability for supplier to integrate forward is favorable for KC. The bargaining power of suppliers is unfavorable for firms in the diaper industry. When evaluating the external environment, it is important for firms to recognize opportunities and threats. Some opportunities are a large un-served mid-price market, changing demographics and priorities of North American women, Japanese markets, expansion into Southern Europe, aging population and new technology. Threats include Japanese companies consider global expansion, rising environmental concerns, saturated disposable diaper market and declining birthrate. Each opportunity and threat’s application to Kimberly-Clark is described below. Seventy-five percent of new mothers in the 1980 are working outside the home. Families began to value time over money and were more willing to pay premium prices for quality diapers. Also, the decrease in family size increased the amount of money that could be spent on diapers. This is an opportunity because it allowed KC to successfully sell Huggies at premium prices. A third opportunity for Kimberly-Clark is Japanese markets. Selling Huggies in Japanese markets is an opportunity because they had not reached the same level of maturity as North American markets. Also, as previously mentioned, Japanese babies use twice as many diapers than Americans. The Japanese market was comparable in size to the North American market. Expansion into Southern Europe is an opportunity for growth due to the low penetration levels and unsophisticated competitors. In 1989, there was no large European industry leader. KC has the potential to become the leading diaper distributer in Europe if they execut e successful marketing campaigns. An aging population is an opportunity for KC to increase its incontinence product sales. Sales for 1990 were estimated to exceed $1 billion due to the increase in people over age 65. In the future, the incontinence market is projected to become more profitable than diapers. A final opportunity for Kimberly-Clark is new technology. Utilizing and taking advantage of new technology is an opportunity because it allows KC to outperform P&G and regain market share. A threat that affects Kimberly-Clark is Japanese companies consider global expansion. Japanese expanding globally would hurt KC because Japanese diaper technology is years ahead of North American. Japanese companies, specifically KAO and Unicharm, create biodegradable diapers. Due to recent environmental concerns, KC would lose market share to Japanese companies if they penetrate the North American market. Rising environmental concerns are a threat to Kimberly-Clark because environmentalists feared potential health risks for sanitation workers and ground water contamination. They were lobbying to ban disposable diapers and pushing for consumers to use cloth diapers instead. Kimberly-Clark could lose customers to environmentally-friendly diapers if they do not create a biodegradable diaper. Another threat to KC is a saturated disposable diaper market. A saturated disposable diaper market is a threat to KC due to little growth in the diaper industry. The only market share to be gained must be taken away from competitors. A final threat to KC and the diaper industry is the declining birthrate. A declining birthrate and decrease in family size is positively related to a decrease in diaper sales.