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

Movie assignment - Essay Example Mendez seeks for an alternative, and he came up with an idea. Together with his supervisor, they contact a Hollywood make-up artist. They jointly set up a fake film studio, make their plans public, and they fruitfully establish the deception of developing a science fantasy called ‘Argo’. Posing as a producer for Argo, Mendez manages to enter Iraq and link up with the six escapees. He gives them Canadian passports and phony identities to enable them get past the airport security. Through a series of events and intrigues, Mendez manages to save the six hostages. I choose to analyze Tony Mendez. Tony Mendez-The values that I choose to explore about Tony Mendez include; Values, Commitment, Goals and Potentiality. Goals; Goals are the elements in a movie that give meaning to the general story that unfold momentarily in scene. In every movie plot, all main characters have at least one goal in the story that is long-term, and one minor goal or even more in every scene. The long term goal usually sets up the frontward movement of the story. This is the front story which is referred to as the Dramatic plot action. Short term goals on the other hand are objectives, actions or tasks a character needs to achieve within a speculated period of time so as to achieve his goals which are long-term. Incase the long-term identify the Dramatic Action Plot, and then the short-term goals will help identify the character development plot. My take on Tony Mendez’s Goals are as follows; one of the goals that Mendez had was to prove right his disapprovals of the US State Department’s options for saving the hostages from Iran. He had to help the hostages pretend that they knew everything about Canada; otherwise they would have been caught and killed. Another short-term goal that Mendez had, was to set up a fake film studio, manage to make public their plans, and productively set up the deception of developing Argo. While in Iran, he had a goal of providing the six hostages with Canadian passports and phony identities. That was to assist him achieve his minor goal which was to organize the hostages and help them get through the tight airport security. The long-term goal of Tony Mendez is to rescue the hostages from Iran successfully and safely. This long-term goal clearly sets up the frontward movement of the movie. These goals that Mendez had were meant to enable him save the hostages from their captivity in Iran without any casualties. All the short-term goals mentioned above were to make the rescue operation successful. If any of those short-term goals was not well handled, then chances of them not having a successful mission would be close to zero. The function of the long-term goal that Mendez had was to set the motion of the movie in a fluent manner from the first stage to the last stage. These goals have been further changed over the movie’s course by the intrigues that momentarily take place in the movie. The long-term goal was cemented by the fact that security at the airport was tight, and just as they were departing the airport, the security tried in vain to stop them. These goals are brilliant at creating and sustaining suspense all through the movie. Values; These are valuable and durable ideas or beliefs shared by a character of a movie about what is bad or good and undesirable and desirable. These are the regards that a character is held to deserve. They are the importance

Oil ; gas Essay Example for Free

Oil ; gas Essay The economy is affected by many factors that determine if it is strong or weak. These factors have to do with buyers consuming goods and services and at what rate they do this. Do the goods and services that are consumed by people created wealth, jobs and a better overall economy for a country. Throughout history some economies have evolved faster and stronger than others. Policies that the government places on industry, technology and the environment can all affect the prosperity of an economy. Of the factors that affect economic growth the industry of Oil and gas is one that holds a stronghold in the worlds and Americas economy today. When evaluating the economic growth factor of economy and specifically oil and gas on must consider the following questions:  ¨ What relationship does the factor have with the whole economy?  ¨ How does this factor affect economic growth  ¨ Is the factor a cause or effect of economic growth?  ¨ what would the economy be like if there were significant problems with this factor?  ¨ What relation does a central bank have to this factor? I will answer each of these questions in respect to how economy is affected by oil and gas. The economy in the United States today is greatly affected by oil and gas. When there are large reserves and an increase of active drills in respect to oil, the economy seems to receive a boost. This is because prices for such things like gas and oil fall and people are able to consume more gas at a lower price. There is more supply and prices fall, therefore people save money on gas and can consume other items in the economy. People working in these industries have more job openings and more jobs filled, therefore creating a lower unemployment rate and a higher national per capita income. The need for substitutes are not there so, consumers will consume oil and gas at a growing rate. Since, people use oil and gas for so many different things like heating there homes, driving their cars, and a variety of other sources, the overall GNP for the consumer will rise. Economic growth is affected through significant fluctuations in inflation of oil and gas. If you look throughout history when there have been fluctuations in gas and oil prices you have vast fluctuations in the economy of our country. The instability of this factor has cause government regulation to come into play in times of crisis. For example during the mid-seventies we had the oil and  gas shortage due to the Middle East cutting off supply to Importers of their oil. By doing this, they caused a shortage in a lot of countries creating rising oil prices and high demand. Consumers could not rely on the oil prices to be stable, therefore they consumed less of other products due to the inflation of gas prices and more of their dollar began to be spent on gas. Americans particularly started to come up with more efficient means of using and consuming gas over the past 25 years. Oil and gas is a resource that can be used up if not conserved properly. That is why OPEC was formed, as well as organizations such as NAFTA to help regulate trade of these commodities and bring organization to a disorganized status. In addition, governments like the United States impose taxes on gas to regulated the prices in order to ward off against supplies of oil affecting the nations economy. This only works to an extent, in the early to mid-eighties one states economy lived and died by the supply of oil. That state was Texas. When Texass oil rigs began to dry up, their economy went into a recession. Their reliance on the oil supply as their main revenue producer caused a lot of people to lose their jobs and demand and consumption for other products fell as well. This caused a spiraling effect which caused people from all industries to lose their jobs. Texass economy suffered and so did parts of the American economy with High inflation and high debt which caused the economy to suffer. Increased regulation and diversification of a countrys resources can stop this from being the case. Countries representing OPEC all live and die by the constant production of oil. While this factor is used to stimulate their countries economic growth, it should be used to stimulate the building of a countrys infrastructure. Oil-rich countries should use the positive affect oil has had on their countries to build strong governments and consumer demand for other goods. This powerful infrastructure that could be built will give the economy stability and allow for a countrys GNP to grow in a slow, steady, and positive way. The building of a strong middle-class will allow for countrys to prosper for many years to come. Instead what has happened is that economies of these countries are in a state of flux. What I mean by this is that their economies are very unpredictable and unstable and their reliance on oil has made the disparity between the rich and the poor a gap that becomes too large to overcome. One prime example of this is Brazil, Brazil has large  reserves of oil in a very large country. Brazil is a developing nation and is very unstable when it comes to central governments. In the 70s and 80s Brazil made large amounts of oil from its reserves. Instead of investing the money made (from exporting oil) into their countries future, the leaders of that country used the money to make themselves rich and left the country in political and economic disarray. The middle class of Brazil became almost non-existent and their seem to be but two classes in that country. Those classes were the extremely rich and the extremely poor. The lack of infrastructure and consumer confidence in the economy due to the mishandling of oil profits lead to many political assassinations and increased crime rates throughout the country. It has taken and will continue to take Brazil years and years to recover from these economic crisiss , which all could have been avoided had Brazils government invested in its future. It is definitely true that an economy of a country can be vastly affected by the demand, consumption, and supply of oil. The affect that good supplies of oil has on a countrys economy is one that can only be measured in the sense that it is inevitable that they will be affected. As long as we drive cars that are fueled by gas and we use heat in the winter time, oil will always be a strong factor in determining the growth of a countries economy. In the United States, we have the strong infrastructure to adapt to problems that the instability of both the supply and demand of oil will cause. Countries need to look within themselves for managed growth in order to steady their economies if oil is what sparks their economy. A strong central bank and government will allow for funds to be invested in supporting the economy, the oil business, and consumerism. Once the infrastructure is set the shear reliance on oil will not be a factor, because the countrys economy will be able to handle the affect. When the day comes that oil wells ran dry and substitutes are needed the countries that will survive will be the ones that have braced themselves for the effect that this will have on their economy. Then these countries will adapt and overcome. Oil and gas should be used as helper of a countrys economy and not the passion by which it is run. The production of great income for a country and a higher GNP that oil production is something that should be able to benefit them for many years to come. If you look at the United States as a model you will see a country that handles oil with precision. When the oil industry is in a downturn, the  government can step in and regulate taxes and stimulate investment by having the central bank pump in funds that would not otherwise be used. When the oil industry is doing fine, the government can sit back and reap the prosperity of increases in employment and a rise in demand for oil. The prices will be lower for gas and oil, which means consumption will be up and the economy will be up too. Countries around the world can learn how to handle oil to the extent that it creates an agenda that the benefits far outweigh the costs. We know that oil and gas affects the economy and that it easily regulated by strong central government and bank. The infrastructure must be built up to manage growth. The leaders of the country should be committed to the development of the oil industry. Finally the consumers should be aware of how their role in the consumption of oil will affect the economy as a whole. When all parties are aware and committed to the prosperity of their country and to the industry then the consumption, supply, demand, profits, losses, and investment towards oil will be a mutually beneficial one for the country and its people.

The effect of location decision on a business success

The effect of location decision on a business success 2.1 Introduction Todays competitive market demands companies to deliver their products and services as effectively and efficiently as possible. The distribution strategy is the key to the success. One of the key components of a distribution network is warehouse location. Location decision is considered as a long-term business strategic decision. The correct location decision can resulted in significant improvement in business processes and performance, and bring competitive advantages (i.e. cost saving, service quality, etc.) over its competitors. On the other hand, if a poor location decision was made, it could equally cost the company time, money and opportunity. The location decisions environment is dynamic and normally described as a multi-criteria decision. Furthermore, the globalisation and the rapid evolution of information technology have changed the characteristics of location problems. There are two major trends in facility location selection accordingly to Yang and Lee (1997). First, there has been an increased interest to gain potential competitive edge in the global marketplace. Second, small to medium-sizes communities has become more attractive to many businesses as new facility location. These two trends are influenced by the more advanced communication technology, better transportation infrastructure system, liberalised trade between countries, and so on. This allows company to select their facilities where they think has the most advantages (i.e. in land cost, labour cost, skilled labour availability, etc.). This chapter will start by identifying why a company needs to improve its logistics system, then defining the linkage between the organisations strategy and the logistics strategy, followed by the general roles of warehouse in distribution strategy. Then it will present the influencing location factors companies normally consider when they make location decisions. And finally in the latter section of this chapter, it will present literature reviews of decision aid techniques and model used in location decisions. 2.2 Logistics system and the changing business environment Why do we need to change our logistics operations and strategy? The main reason why we need to change is because the environment we live in is constantly and rapidly changing. In order to survive in this unforgiving environment businesses are forced need to change. There are many factors given by Rushton, et al. (2006) including increasing customer demand, reducing product life cycle, changing technologies, increasing pressures from competitors, and so on. The pressures for change given by Rushton, et al. (2006) are illustrated by the figure 1. Figure 1 Pressure influencing logistics systems 2.3 Logistics strategy Logistics strategy should aim to establish the most appropriate blend of storage and transport at a given customer service level. Efficient logistics and distribution strategies should reduce the total logistics costs and must take into account the interactions of various the various replenishment activities in the distribution chain (Rushton, et al., 2006; Teo Shu, 2004). Chopra and Meindl (2004) suggest there are four drivers to a successful distribution system: (1) Facilities location, capacity, operations methodology, and warehousing methodology; (2) Inventory cycle inventory, safety inventory, seasonal inventory, and sourcing; (3) Transportation mode of transportation, route and network design, and in-house or outsource decision; and (4) Information push or pull, coordination and information sharing, forecasting and aggregate planning, and enabling technologies. Bowersox and Closs (1996) suggest similar points but they also add another driver which is network design. They also claim that classical economics often neglected the importance of facility location and overall network design. Similarly but in more details, Alling and Tyndall (1994) identify ten principles that make logistics operations successful. They are: (1) to link logistics to corporate strategy; (2) to organise logistics comprehensively; (3) to use the power of information tech nology; (4) to emphasize human resources recognising the importance of quality human resources; (5) to form strategic alliances; (6) to focus on financial performance; (7) to target optimum service levels; (8) to manage the details pay attention to details as it can be significant savings; (9) to leveraging logistics volume through consolidating shipment volumes, inventories and the like; and (10) to measure and react to performance. Furthermore, when considering a distribution strategy, warehousing strategy is an important part and typically the decision makers or logistics planners has to answer these questions (1) should warehousing facilities be owned, leased or rented, (2) what is the optimal size and number of warehouses, (3) what are the optimal locations for warehouses, (4) what product line should be stocked at each warehouse location, and what market areas should be serviced from each warehouse location. (Stock Lambert, 2001; Bowersox Closs, 1996; Simchi-Levi, et al., 2003; Bowersox Closs, 1996; Geoffrion Powers, 1995; Bender, 1994; Stock Lambert, 2001; Greasley, 2009) Matching logistics strategy to business strategy The important key to achieving the strategic fit is the ability of the company to find a balance between responsiveness and efficiency that best matches the business strategy. Whatever strategies chose to implement by the company, there will be impacts. And the impact of the selected logistics and distribution strategy has to be assessed against the business strategy. Often these may involve undertaking some qualitative analysis where it is impossible to derive good quantitative measures. The main areas of where this will impact, they are (Rushton, et al., 2006): a) Capital costs this is the costs of new facilities, new equipments, and so on. In certain situations capital constraints can exclude otherwise attractive options; b) Operating costs the minimum operating cost is often the main criterion for selection between options. In some cases increased operating costs can be accepted in the light of future flexibility; c) Customer service Although options should have been developed against customer service targets, the selected short list must be examined for the customer service level achieved. The balance of the mix might have changed in an effort to reduce costs. Stock held close to the customer might need to be increased to improve service reliability. 2.5 Obstacles to achieving strategic Fit As many as there are many factors and influences to achieving the strategic fit in the supply chain, there are also many obstacles to achieving the same goal as Chopra and Meindl (2004) and few other writers mention. Few examples of the obstacles to strategic fit are: a) the variety of products the increasing variety of products tends to raise uncertainty and uncertainty tends to raise costs and reduce responsiveness within the system; b) the product lifecycles the decreasing product lifecycles also tends to raise uncertainty and reduce the window of opportunity to achieving strategic fit; c) the increasingly demanding customer customers demand for faster fulfilment, better quality, and better value for money for the product they buy, companies must be able to provide these just to maintain their businesses; d) the fragmentation of supply chain ownership less vertically integrated structure can result in difficult coordination to achieving strategic fit; e) the effect of globaliz ation difficulties raised by the invasion of foreign players. It is noticed that these factors are the same factors which drives the need to improve logistics system as determined in section 2.2. 2.6 The logistics and distribution planning framework Many authors agree on the first and the most important step, when planning the logistics and distribution, which is to identify the objective and strategies of the organization. Then it follows by the second step which is to gain a detailed understanding of the present position of the system. The rests of the procedures are identifying the options, analysing the options, comparing and evaluating the results, and developing a planning and implementation. A diagram illustrating the approach to distribution planning by Rushton, et al. (2006) is shown in the figure 3 below. Figure 2: An approach to logistics and distribution planning (Rushton, et al., 2006) 2.7 Optimal number of warehouses The optimal number of warehouses can be found by using a costing model, a model which takes into account of variable costs, particularly the transport and operating costs. Few facilities give low cost for inward transport, but high cost for outward transport, as they are, on average, further away from customers. On the other hand, more number of facilities can give higher cost for inward transport, but the cost for outward transport is lower, as they are, on average, closer to customers. Another cost that varies with the number of facility is the operating costs. Higher number of facilities means the company has to bear more expensive cost to operating these facilities. Operating costs also vary with facility size. Generally, larger facilities give the economies of scale; however, this is not always the case. Higher cost from operating larger facilities may come from the cost of supervision, communication, inefficiency and so on (Attwood Attwood, 1992; Bowersox Closs, 1996; Waters, 2003; Chopra Meindl, 2004; Rushton, et al., 2006). Figure 4 graphically illustrates the relationships between number of facilities and costs incurred. Figure 3 Relationship between costs and numbers of facilities. The need to hold inventories Prior to planning and designing logistics and distribution system, it is very important to be aware of the reason why a company need to hold stock. The most common objective of a supply chain is to efficiently balancing demand and supply. As most people understand that it is impossible to precisely synchronise or balance the requirements of demand with the fluctuations of supply. Therefore stocks are there to provide buffer between supply and demand. Rushton, et al. (2006) reviews the important reasons to stock, as follows: a) to keep down production costs keeping production to run as long as possible, as the costs of setting up machine is often expensive; b) to accommodate variation in demand to avoid stock-outs by holding some level of safety stock; c) to take account of variable supply (lead) times to cover any delays of supplies from producers and suppliers; d) to reduce buying costs often there are administrative cost of placing an order, holding additional inventory can red uce these costs; e) to take advantage of quantity discounts often goods are offered at a cheaper cost per unit if they are ordered in large quantity; f) to account for seasonal fluctuations certain products are popular in a certain time of the year, retailer normally pile-up inventory during low demand season to cater the demand in high season; g) to allow for price fluctuations/speculation the price of certain products, steel for instance, fluctuate due to variety of reasons. Some companies buy in large quantity to cater this; h) to help the production and distribution operations run more smoothly stock is held to decouple two different activities; i) to provide customers with immediate service stocks enables companies to provide goods and service as soon as they are required to maximise the sales opportunity. This is essential in highly competitive markets; j) to minimise production delays caused by lack of spare parts Breakdowns of machineries required to produce goods or s ervices can be very costly to business. Having spare parts to fix the machineries as soon as it breakdowns is an advantage; k) to facilitate the production process by providing semi-finished stocks between different processes (Work-in-Progress). 2.9 Roles of warehouse Why businesses need warehouse? There are many reasons why business needs warehouses. Warehouse has many roles apart from providing storage and supplying the materials or finished goods to producers or retailers as reviewed in the previous section. In fact warehouse has many other roles and functionalities which can be classified on the basis of economics and service accordingly to Bowersox and Closs (1996). On the basis of economics, a warehouse is economically justified when the total logistical costs are reduced by providing the facility. On the basis of service, a warehouse is justified when the overall logistical system can provide a better service, in terms of time and place capability. Here are some common roles of a warehouse (Bowersox Closs, 1996; Higginson Bookbinder, 2005; Rushton, et al., 2006): Role as a make-bulk/break-bulk consolidation centre making bulk and breaking bulk are traditional functions of a warehouse/DC. In a break-bulk facility, large incoming loads are aggregated, often for product mixing and to create consolidated out- bound shipments. A make-bulk facility, or consolidation centre, com- bines small quantities of several products in fewer, larger assortments. Role as a cross-docking station Cross-docking is a process where the product is received, occasionally combined with different products going out to the same destination, and then shipped at their earliest opportunity without being stored. Cross-docking has many benefits, including: faster product flow, no inventory pile-up, reduced product handling, and reduce cost due to elimination of those activities. Role as a transhipment facility transhipment refers to a process of taking a shipment out of one vehicle and loading it onto another. It only occurs when there is a good reason to change transportation modes or vehicle types. Role as an assembly facility Hewlett Packards distribution centre is a good example of the role as an assemble facility. It also benefits from the idea of postponement which allows product differentiation until later stages. Products are designed to use generic parts and assemble at the warehouse. Role as a product-fulfilment centre the major function is to find the products that are ordered and directly deliver them to the final customer. Amazon.com warehouse is a good example. Role as depot for returned goods the major functions are to inspect and separate the returned good into those that can be repaired, repackaged, resale, or recycled. 2.10 Transportation Accordingly to Chopra and Meindl (2004), the target level of service the company sets determines the role of transportation in a company competitive strategy. If the company is targeting customers whose main criterion is price, then the company can use transportation to lower the cost of the product at the expense of reponsiveness. But more often companies tries to achieve the right balance between efficiency and responsiveness using both inventory and transportation. Often in logistics plannings, decision to make to make any changes based on the costs of transportation. Accordingly to Rushton, et al. (2006), the transportation costs can be broken into three main types. The first one is the fixed costs these costs must be borne whether the vehicles run for 10 or 100 kilometres and might include the depreciations of the vehicles, the licence fees, the insurance, etc. And these may vary from one vehicle to another depending on various reasons. The second type is the variable costs these costs vary in relation to the activity of the vehicles, i.e. how far the vehicle travelled. The most obvious example of a variable of cost is the fuel cost. And the last type is the overhead costs these costs are indirect costs that are borne by the whole fleet of vehicles. They may be the usual business overheads that are required to run the vehicles, i.e. staff salaries, telephone, internet, and other administrative expenses. 2.11 Location decision objectives Warehouse site selection is a complex process involving multiple, both qualitative and quantitative, criteria. And often location decisions have more than one objective depending on the organisations objectives and strategies. Current, et al., (1990) classified the objectives for facility location problems into four general categories namely: (1) Cost minimisation; (2) Demand Oriented; (3) Profit maximisation; (4) Environment concern, and often these objectives are found to overlap each other. For retailing business, cost minimisation and profit maximisation are often the main objectives. 2.12 The influences of warehouse site location selection It is important to effectively identify potential locations for the new warehouses. Typically, these locations must satisfy a variety of conditions and the potential locations should meet all the requirements. The potential locations should take into account the future demand and that the decision should have an impact on the firm for at least the next three to five years (Simchi-Levi, et al., 2003). Many authors (Chase, et al., 2004; Barnes, 2008) suggested that the choice of facilities location is influenced by two principles. The first one is the need to locate close to customer due to time-based competition, trade agreement, and transportation cost. And the second one is the need to locate close to the access to resources such as labour, raw material, and specialist skills and capabilities. Often the two principles are taken into account when an organization makes a decision on the choice of location. The characteristics of operations of business (i.e. Manufacturer or service provider) will govern the weight of factors should be taken into account. Barnes (2008) looked at the location decision on the international perspective where the influential facility location factors are more in numbers and level of complexity. However, these factors can be adapted and used for domestic facility location. Here is the list of major factors which in themselves comprises of several sub-factors given by Barnes (2008): Costs; Labour characteristics; Infrastructure; Proximity to suppliers; Proximity to market/customers; Proximity to parent company facilities; Proximity to competition; Quality of life; Legal and regulatory framework; Economic factors; Government and political factors; Social and cultural factors; and Characteristic of a specific location. Bowersox and Closs (1996) concentrated on the warehouse location analysis in the context of logistical network strategy. He discusses about three warehouse location patterns namely Market-Positioned Warehouse, Manufacturing-Positional Warehouse, and Intermediately Positioned Warehouse. They imply the similar idea of the two principles suggested by Chase, et al. (2004) and Barnes (2008). They also discussed the warehouse location from the viewpoint of transportation economies and from the viewpoint of inventory economies. Furthermore they incorporate the concept of Least-Total-Cost system where the sum of total inventory cost and transportation cost is minimal to design the warehouse network. The conditions or attributes of potential warehouse locations reviewed from many literatures are summarised as follows: Site-related factors Regional factors Land cost/size/soil characteristics/ drainage Proximity to market Construction costs/leasing cost/renting costs Proximity to suppliers Transportation facilities/cost Proximity to competitors Zoning restrictions Proximity to industry Community factors Geographical characteristics Quality of life/cost of living weather characteristics Public facility accessibility Labour cost/availability/skill Taxes Energy availability/cost Environment regulation Telecommunication facility Local government support/incentives Political matters and regulation Sustainability Transportation infrastructure 2.13 Methods and techniques in facility location problems In this section, we will review the methods, techniques, and approaches found in a number of literatures. Bowersox and Closs (1996) claim that a sophisticated modelling and analysis techniques are required in location decision because the location analysis is very complex and data-intense. The complexity is created because of the number of locations multiplied by the alternative location sites multiplied by the stocking strategies for each location. Meanwhile, the data intensity is caused by the requirement of detailed demand and transportation information. Furthermore, the facility site selection process is complicated by the impact of environment legislation and related political issues (Bowersox Closs, 1996). Thai and Grewal (2005) suggest the conceptual framework of location selection for distribution centre that consists of three main stages. The first stage is a general geographical area for distribution centre is identified based on the Centre-of-Gravity principle. The second stage is the identification of location alternatives of distribution centre and associate gateway airports/seaports. At this stage a qualitative approach should be applied. The third and final stage concentrates on the specific site selection based on the quantitative approach, i.e. The distribution centre should be place where the integration of volumes transported and distance involved is minimum and also the total distribution cost is minimum. 2.13.1 Decision-aid Techniques and Models Several operations management books (Stevenson, 2007; Barnes, 2008; Greasley, 2009) have their sections on facility location selection techniques and some common influencing factors as reviewed in the previous section. Accordingly to works of Simchi-Levi, et al. (2003), Rushton, et al. (2006), and Bowersox and Closs (1996), there are three categories for tools used to support location analysis. The first type is the analytic techniques. The second type techniques are the mathematical optimisation techniques which can be subdivided into two types: the exact algorithms that find least-cost solution; and the heuristics algorithms that find good solution. And the third type of techniques is simulation models that provide a mechanism to evaluate specific design alternatives created by designer. The simulation models will not, however, be included in the discussion. Accordingly to Randhawa and West (1995), the facility location problem can be approached by considering the location search space as continuous or discrete. Continuous space allows facilities to be located anywhere in the two-dimensional space; it normally assumes that the transportation costs are proportional to some distance measure between the facilities. Though easy to solve, the continuous approach may yield impractical results. The discrete space approach limits the number of possible locations to a finite set of predetermined sites, and the transportation costs are not necessarily function of distances. Four common types of techniques found on these books namely: (1) the Centre of Gravity Method i.e. finding a location that minimises the distribution costs; (2) the Locational Cost-Volume analysis i.e. comparing the total costs between location alternatives by graph plotting; (3) the Factor Scoring i.e. finding the location alternative with highest composite score; and (4) the Transportation model i.e. a linear programming model that shows location alternative with the most optimal solution (the lowest costs). 2.13.2 The Centre of Gravity Method The Centre of Gravity Method (CoG) is a method for locating a distribution centre that minimises the distribution costs. The main assumption of this method is the distribution cost is a linear function of the distance and the quantity transported, and that the quantity transported is fixed for the duration of the journey (Stevenson, 2007 Greasley, 2009). The locations of destinations are presented on the map with coordinate X and Y in an accurate scale. The location of the distribution point should be located at the centre of gravity of the coordination calculated by these following equations: Where = Quantity to be transported to destination i = x coordination of destination i = y coordination of destination i = x coordinate of centre of gravity = y coordinate of centre of gravity This technique is commonly used to solve location problems at a macro level. The method is applied to solve location problems in many fields other than location of a distribution centre such as school, fire centres, community centres, and such, taking into consideration location of hospitals, population density, highways, airports, and businesses (Stevenson, 2007). Bender (1994) argues that the CoG approach had became obsolete because of the replacement of other computerised approach including linear programming. He also discusses the limitation of the approach which ignores all constraints, such as capacity, financial, operational, legal, and all cost other than transportation. It is also assume that all the transportation costs are directly proportional to distance, and independent of the direction of traffic. 2.13.3 Locational Cost-Volume Analysis This method is an economic comparison of location alternatives which involves determining the fixed and variable costs for each location alternative. The method indicates which location is suitable for a particular volume level by analysing the mix of fixed and variable costs. The fixed cost plus variable costs line is plotted for each location alternative on the graph and the location with the lowest total cost line at the expected volume level is chosen. A total revenue line can also be plotted on the same graph to compare which location alternative has the earliest breakeven point if the objective is to consider the quickest breakeven location (Stevenson, 2007). The equation for expressing the cost is: Where TC = Total distribution cost VC = Variable cost per unit X = Number of units produced FC = Fixed costs This type of economic analysis is very common tool to compare which options have the highest rate of return and is not only limited to location problems. However, Stevenson (2007) suggests that, in most situations, it is very important that other factors other than costs must also be considered. The Locational cost-volume analysis alone is not sufficient to make decision. 2.13.4 Factor Rating Method The Factor Scoring method is sometimes known as weighted scoring or point rating, which attempts to take a range of considerations into account when choosing a location. Then technique starts by indentifying the relevant factors, then assign a weight to each factor that indicate the importance compared with other factors, given that all the weight sum up to one. Scores then have to be given by decision makers to each factor for all location alternatives. The total weighted scores for each location alternative are then calculated by multiplying the factor weight by the score for each factor, and sum the results for each location alternative. The alternative with highest score is chosen unless it fails to meet the minimum threshold, if there is one (Stevenson, 2007). The drawback of this method is identifying and determining the appropriate factors and weighting for each factor. Factors like quality of living and labour attitude are intangible factors and hard to quantify. Greasley (2009) suggested an approach to compare the tangible and intangible factors by conducting an intangible factors only assessment by the method, and then determine if the difference between the intangible scores is worth the cost of the difference in tangible costs between the location alternatives. Data collection, statistical estimates, optimization and simulation models, and economic analysis are some of the methods used to assess quantitative attributes. Qualitative attributes represent subjective factors for which it is generally difficult to define a natural measurement scale. Descriptive classes or interval scales (for example, 0 to 10) can be established to enable a numerical value to be assigned to represent how a site scores with respect to a particular attribute (Randhawa West, 1995). Linear Programming and location problems Linear Programming is one of the most widely used strategic and tactical logistics planning tools. The transportation model helps decision maker to decide the facility location based on the transportation costs. The model is very useful as it can compare the resulting total costs for each location alternative. Other costs like production costs can also be included in the model by determining the cost on a per-unit basis for each location. There are three major pieces of information needed to use the model as following (Stevenson, 2007; Balakrishman, et al., 2007): a) list of origins and each ones supply quantity per period; b) list of the destinations and each ones demand per period; and c) the unit cost of transporting items from each origin to each destination. The method can be used to solve for optimal or near-optimal locations. Even though the optimisation models are designed to provide an optimal solution, they can be used to analyze a problem under different scenarios (differe nt combinations of constraints and cost parameters). The result would be a set of location alternatives that are the preferred choices under different operating conditions. Furthermore, examination of a solution will generally result in the identification of more than one specific site. Such sites may then be further analyzed and compared using a multi-criteria model (Randhawa West, 1995). There are many types of mathematical programming models and they can be classified accordingly a variety of conditions. Aikens (1985) classified distribution location models accordingly to: a) whether the underlying distribution network (arcs and/or modes) is capacitated or incapacitated; b) the number of warehouse echelons, or levels (zero, single, or multiple); c) the number of commodities (single or multiple); d) the underlying cost structure for arcs and/or nodes (linear or nonlinear); e) whether planning horizon is static or dynamic; f) the patterns of demand (e.g. deterministic or stochastic, influence of location, etc.); g) The ability to accommodate side constraints (e.g. single-sourcing, choice of only one from candidate subset, etc.). Aiken (1985) gives some examples of types of distribution location mathematical programming models: a) Simple incapacitated facility location model; b) Simple incapacitated multi-echelon facility location model; c) Multi-commodity incapacitated facility location model; d) Dynamic incapacitated facility location model; e) Capacitated facility location models; f) Generalised capacitated facility location model; g) Stochastic capacitated facility location model; and h) Multi-commodity capacitated single-echelon facility location model. Diabat, et al. (2009) also show that the techniques can be applied to solve location-inventory problems which finds the number of warehouses to establish , their locations, the customers that are assigned to each warehouse, and the size and time of orders for each warehouse so as to minimise the sum of inventory. Melo, et al. (2009) review many literatures related to facility location problem that show that linear prog

Robert Hooke :: biographies bio

Robert Hooke was an Englishman, born in Freshwater, Isle of Wight on July 18, 1635. He died in London on March 3, 1703. During his life he contributed a great deal to the world of science, contrary to what was expected of him at an early age. As a child, Robert Hooke was constantly in poor health. It was never expected that he would live past his childhood. He had frequent headaches which made studying for school very difficult. His parents decided to quit pursuing an education for their son, and Hooke was left to learn on his own accord. He became fascinated by mechanical objects such as toys and clocks. He also developed a talent for drawing. Hooke did survive to see adulthood, and old age. In his 68 years he held many positions in different fields. * Apprentice to Peter Lely, a portrait painter of the time * Professor of geometry at Gresham College in London * Assistant to Robert Boyle * London City Surveyor * Curator of experiments for the Royal Society of London * Lecturer on mechanics * Secretary of the Royal Society of London Robert Hooke invented many instruments for variable purposes. The following is a limited list of his many inventions. * modern air pump * wheel, double, & marine barometers * anchor escapement of clocks * spring control of the balance wheel in watches * arithmetic machine * 1st Gregorian telescope * compound microscope * reflecting telescope * diving engine * spiral gear * universal (Hooke's) joint * iris diaphragm * lens grinding machine * conical pendulum * springy saddle * horizontal sail for windmills * applied telescopic sights to surveying instruments * air gun Robert Hooke's first publication was in 1661, on the subject of capillary action.

Directing Hamlet Essay

If I were to have the pleasure of directing â€Å"Hamlet† I would first think about how and where the scene would be set. I would have the scene set in the suburbs of Italy where the ‘gangsters’ are, because the portrayal of gangster Italy, on television (which the audience may be familiar with) is like the situation in Hamlet. Where revenge must be taken by the son, also upholding the family honour and such family situations. Also the portrayal of Italians is that they are very religious and that they tend to be Catholics, so the religious aspect of this scene (trying to pray and having the need to be forgiven by god) would fit in with my version and Shakespeare’s. I would have this scene set in a Roman Catholic Church to support the fact that Claudius wishes to pray here and that he is Catholic. I would like the church to echo the voices to show that Claudius’ heart must be empty for him to have committed this evil crime, so all he hears is the voices of his head, telling him what he thinks is the right thing to do, for example to pray for forgiveness. However his heart would be telling him to give up the things that he killed for, which Claudius himself mentions, â€Å"since I am still possess’d of those effects for which I did the murder†. I would like the lighting to be an orangey afternoon colour, like when the sun sets. I imagine churches to be empty around early sunset time and if Claudius really felt guilty he would not want people o see that he is unable to pray I would not have any sound effects as the church would echo and I would like the audience to focus on what the actors were saying. Also silence between lines tends to create a sense of atmosphere. It would make the audience feel tense as though something was about to happen. I would like Claudius to look into the mirror when he is talking to himself throughout most of the scene. Except when it is inappropriate, for instance when he goes to pray. I would like the audience to feel more relaxed by this, as Claudius does not seem to be very emotionally at thins. I would like the audience to feel quite angry with Claudius. I would like them to feel this as they can see that he is not mentally disturbed by the goings on. However when Hamlet goes to talk to himself I would like to have him talking to the audience to show that although Hamlet said in an earlier scene that he would pretend to go mad, â€Å"How strange or odd some’er I bear myself-As perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on† all the frustration about getting revenge and his fathers murder may have actually driven him mad. I feel that having Hamlet talk to the audience shows this, as the other members of the play do not seem to be able to see the audience (King Claudius talking to himself in the mirror). I would like the audience to be shocked, by this and feel on edge as this scene is all about whether Hamlet will kill the king or not which is very tense. Since Claudius is a King in Shakespeare’s Hamlet I would like him to play someone of high importance, so I would have him being played as a gangster leader. The outfit I would like him to wear would be a grey Armani suit, a waistcoat, blue collared shirt, and patent leather shoes. I would like him to have square framed glasses and for him to wear lots of gold jewellery, but especially a gold signant ring to symbolise that he is the leader of a gang, which has resemblance to the fact that he is a king (monarchs wear a ring to show that they are married to their country). I would like Hamlet to be wearing rather informal clothes to show that he may have gone slightly mad. I would have him wearing a plain black shirt, which would be reasonably tight. I would then have him wearing a black Hawaiian shirt with a thatched pattern on it. I would also like him to be wearing dark blue jeans. The dark clothes would be symbolising that Hamlet is still in mourning for his father’s death. I would like Hamlet to be wearing a silver Saint Christopher around his neck, to show that Hamlet may need guidance for the revenge of his father’s death. I would like to keep the language the same as I feel that if the text were to be converted into modern language the impact of the rhythm and words would be lost. Such as when Claudius says, â€Å"It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t,† means â€Å"It’s like when the first murder happened in the bible†. These words do not have nearly as much effect as the original line. The original line provides some atmosphere. The word ‘curse’ suggests evil, as witches were thought in Shakespeare’s time to send curses. Also as people were more religious in Shakespeare’s time the fact that Claudius has committed the worst sin n the bible they may have been horrified by Claudius’ crime. This wouldn’t have as much effect on a modern day audience however I feel that the words too tend to portray that Claudius shows disgust towards himself. Some of the words in this scene are quite difficult to interpret so I would have to make some sort of gesture in order to make it more obvious what the two actors mean. I think that obvious hand or body gestures would make it more obvious. For example when Hamlet says, â€Å"Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent† I think that Hamlet should, lift his sword and then approach Claudius. This would make the true meaning of the sentence clearer. A few lines in this scene make it so enjoyable to watch, but it all depends on the actor’s interpretation and delivery of the line. When Claudius says, â€Å"O, my offence is rank† This line needs to be emphasised as it shows that Claudius may be feeling regret for what he did. So he could show this by shouting the line, which displays the anger that he may be feeling with himself. Also â€Å"a brothers murder† must be emphasised as this is the reason to Claudius guilt, and why he is so angry with himself. He could portray this to the audience by saying it slowly, and going into an audible whisper as if someone may hear. Claudius should also emphasise when he says, â€Å"Forgive me my foul murder!† as this shows that maybe he does truly repent and feel guilt. He could shout this line to the ceiling as if he were talking to god. When Claudius talks of the things he does not wish to give up, â€Å"My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. † The should be said in a low husky tone, to show that Claudius although in this scene he may seem to be wanting forgiveness, he does not truly want it as he would give up these items that he killed his brother for. When Claudius is describing how in the criminal world he can ‘buy himself out of trouble’, â€Å"In the corrupted currents of this world†. This line and the following three lines should also be delivered in the same low husky tone to show that Claudius is still evil as to mix himself with criminals, who were also known as sinners in Shakespeare’s time. Also when Claudius talks to his knees, telling them to, â€Å"Bow stubborn knees† he should speak softly as though here were speaking to a child. This would emphasise the line and show that Claudius is encouraging himself to pray; just a children are encouraged when spoken to in a soft voice. The line he says, â€Å"All may be well† should also be softly as he trying to convince himself that everything will be all right. It is the final two lines that should be emphasised the most as this show the true irony of the whole scene. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius, as he believes that Claudius is praying and would go straight to heaven. Here when Claudius says, â€Å"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thought never to heaven go. † We learn that he was unable to pray anyway so Hamlet could have killed Claudius, only Hamlet did not know this. His line could be emphasised with pauses in between up and my, and in-between thought and never. When Hamlet says â€Å"And now I’ll do it†. I think here the actor should raise his sword above his head and increase the volume of his voice to a shout. Hamlet should then approach Claudius and let out a war like cry to emphasise this line. This I feel is effective as it emphasises this line and the silence that would follow would also emphasise the next line, â€Å"and so ‘a goes to heaven. † I think that those two lines are very important as they show that Hamlet is about to kill Claudius until he decides that he’ll wait. I also think that when Hamlet is talking about the death of his father, â€Å"‘A took my father grossly†, he should speak through his teeth, in a low tone. I feel that Hamlet would be feeling very angry, as he cannot yet revenge his father’s death. So I feel that that talking through his teeth would portray that anger to the audience. This also emphasises the line as the audience would listen to what he was saying as him talking through his teeth would be obvious to them. Hamlet, however should speak with joy when he talks about what kind if thing Claudius will be doing when Hamlet could kill him, â€Å"When he is drunk asleep, or in rage; Or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed; At game, a-swearing, or about some act†. I feel that Hamlet would be imagining Claudius being killed and going straight to hell, which would make him very happy. I then think that when Hamlet delivers this last line, â€Å"this physic but prolongs thy sickly days†. It must be emphasised as Hamlet would be feeling quite sad and angry that he has Claudius in very vulnerable position yet he feels that he cannot kill him, as that would not give him true revenge. I feel that sadness and anger can be portrayed by Hamlet having a pause between physic and but. Also the actor should speak in a low tone to get the audience’ attention as this line displays the irony as Claudius is unable to pray. This scene is only effective because the audience knows what happened in the previous scene. They know that Claudius has portrayed his true guilt to Hamlet, confirming Hamlet’s beliefs that Claudius killed his father. The way in which he did show his guilt, (When the players put on a play with a murder committed the same way that he killed his brother) would be more effective in Shakespeare’s time as then all people who committed murder were believed to go mad, and be affected by the site of their crime. When Claudius views his crime he horrified by himself and feels the need to be forgiven which explains his sudden desperate need to pray. I feel that this scene gives Hamlet its edge of tenseness. The rest of the play is an unwinding tale leaving the audience wondering right until the last scene, will Hamlet kill Claudius?

How Does Hosseini Tell the Story in Chapter 17? Essay

Chapter 17 is potentially the most important chapter in the novel for structuring the shape of the narrative and may be seen as the turning point in the novel. During this chapter, Amir is handed a letter by Hassan writing about his son Sohrab and how life in Kabul has changed dramatically since he and Baba fled to America. Rahim Khan explains how Hassan and Farzana were killed by the Taliban and as his dying wish, Amir must go and rescue Sohrab. It is revealed that Baba is Hassan’s father, making him and Amir half brothers. Hosseini uses 3 different narrative voices in chapter 17 opposed to other chapters with just Amir narrating. This gives us a much more personal perspective into Hassan’s life, adds realism to the narrative and how corrupt Kabul has now become. ‘†¦suddenly a young Talib ran over and hit her on the thighs with his wooden stick’, contrasting hugely with Amir and Hassan’s childhood. Amir’s usual retrospective first person narrative is present however Hosseini also uses the present tense to make Hassan’s death more emotive as we can imagine it more vividly as a reader. ‘Hassan slumps to the asphalt, his life of unrequited loyalty drifting from him like the windblown kites he used to chase.’ Not only is this quote used so we can see Hassan dying but it links the whole novel together by using the recurring motif of kites, linking back to chapter 7 when he ‘chased’ the blue kite, and his ‘unrequited loyalty’ is evident throughout the majority of the novel, ‘Hassan never denied me anything’. Although Hassan’s death is foreshadowed however in chapter 16, ‘God help the Hazaras now’, Hosseini creates suspense and dramatic tension towards Hassan’s death by giving Amir the letter first before revealing his death, giving Amir hope and making the reader assume his journey to redempt ion would soon be over. ‘I dream that someday you will return to Kabul and re-visit the land of our childhood. If you do, you will find an old faithful friend waiting for you.’ This quote again creates a more dramatic and emotive response to Hassan’s death both from the reader and Amir after Hassan’s optimistic and promising letter. Hassan’s death is instrumental in shaping the narrative of the novel and is arguably the turning point as it forces Amir to seek his redemption and debt to Hassan to Sohrab. The reason Amir came to visit Pakistan in the first place was to apologise to Hassan and being the only person alive and able, ‘Now everyone in that photo was either dead or dying. Except for me’, Amir was the only one left to save Sohrab from the Taliban and Assef. Another key event in the chapter is the unveiling of Hassan’s true father, Baba. Amir reacts badly to the news and Hosseini portrays this using Westernised language to contrast with Rahim Khan’s traditional language. His anger is emphasised through the repetition of ‘you goddamn bastards’. This contrasts with the earlier chapters in the novel where Amir always speaks to Rahim Khan politely and with respect and could represent the influence America has had on him. Finding out that Hassan and he were half-brothers also makes his decision to save Sohrab even more crucial and makes the reader more anxious to see whether or not he will betray Hassan again or redeem himself. His decision to save Sohrab is foreshadowed in chapter 14 when General Tahiri says ‘blood is a powerful thing, bachem, never forget that’ suggesting that the bond of blood and brotherhood is so strong, Amir must save Sohrab, his own blood relative in order to fully complete his journey to redemption and atone for his sins.

The Ostpolitik in the Soviet Empire the Clash of Different Viewpoints

The Ostpolitik in the Soviet Empire the Clash of Different Viewpoints However hard the relations between Germany and the Soviet Union during the Ostpolitik have been discussed, there are still a lot of questions that remain unanswered. In spite of the fact that Germany and the Soviet Union had a certain scheme that could make their collaboration fruitful and profitable for each of the parties, it ended just as suddenly as it had started. There must be some light shed on the situation.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Ostpolitik in the Soviet Empire: the Clash of Different Viewpoints specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The idea that underlay the politics of Germany was the fact that the economical state of the both countries left much to be desired, and they were tending to reach the European level without going into big expenditures. The core idea of the Ostpolitik was implemented in the motto â€Å"Change through Rapprochement Policy†. This meant that Germany and Soviet Un ion were trying to come into closer contact with each other and intertwine the policies, sharing the economical experience and trying to recover together. The man to introduce the very idea of the new policy was Willy Brandt, one of the most influential men in Germany of all times. He suggested the new concept in 1963 and went on with the experiment to bridge the two great countries. The basic idea was about connecting the two parts of Germany that were set apart, Willy Brandt saw it as the first reason for Germany to be pushed far behind in its development, and, trying to improve the state’s condition, he searched for every method possible for the country to get united again, which would create the profound basis for its further economical and political development. When the idea took certain shapes and the process of creating links with the Soviet Union was launched, Egon Bahr, the man who conducted the whole procedure and was in charge of the changes that took place during the negotiations, made it possible for the idea to be put into practice[1]. Signing the agreement with Moscow was an important step, and Willy Brandt knew it perfectly well; as a chancellor, he made every possible move be directed to connecting the two parts of the country.Advertising Looking for term paper on eastern europe? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Was it the collaboration with the Soviet Union that he had been searching for? The answer would be probably yes, but the first thing he was to do was to destroy the wall between the Eastern and the Western parts of Germany, both metaphorically and literally. There were a lot of people in Germany against collaboration with Russia, among them Konrad Adenauer. He expressed his doubts about the reasonability of the project and unwillingness to contribute to the new politics in the open, but the chancellor was determined to act in this very course. And finally the gen eral admitted that it was only the union of two great states that could improve the situation in Germany. Germany laid a lot of hopes on the future relationships with the Soviet Union. As Spaulding explained, Politicized trade played a central role in the new Ostpolitik of Chancellor Willy Brandt and the Social Democrats. Steadily improving trade relations played an important part in the â€Å"policy of small steps† that aimed ultimately at change through rapprochementâ€Å" with the East.[2] Europe took this alliance as something out of the ordinary. Their emotions were rather easy to understand. Indeed, creating a common workplace that would grow into trusted relationships and further on perhaps into the collaboration and partnership of the two most powerful states of those times was something to worry about. The European states, together with all their separation from each other and their policies never bespoken in the open, could not oppose the tremendously strong empire these two could turn into one day. That is why the fact of signing the treaty in the Soviet Union by Konrad Adenauer was taken with indignation by whole wide Europe. The states had the idea that the persistence of the communist moods in the Soviet Union might lead to its ideas spreading all over Europe and finally seizing the power.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Ostpolitik in the Soviet Empire: the Clash of Different Viewpoints specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As he returned from Moscow, whole Europe was talking about his ways of an owner which were more than noticeable as he was signing the agreement. The US ambassador in the Soviet Union, C. Bolen, compared him to Chamberlain signing the defeatist contract with Hitler and Mussolini. That was already reeking of an international scandal. The Soviet Union expected that this would contribute to its might, too. In fact, the Ostpolitik did. It made the Sovie t Union stronger in terms of its economical power. In addition, it also drove the political powers of the country to think of establishing the ideas of democracy in the country. Normalizing the relationships with Germany and acquiring the knowledge about the Western idea of a state, USSR took the new model of development with curiosity. That could mean a turn-up in the plot and a new page in the history of Russia and the Eastern Europe. However, this all ended just as unexpectedly as it had started. In spite of the worries of the neighboring countries, the states did not go further than they have planned. Both Brandt and Stalin did not go any further than it had been planned. They both understood perfectly well that the two states could not work together on the parities, and it was impossible to continue the further work. The great idea collapsed. The whole plot being a wonderful idea that was set brilliantly did not work as the two states of the same power collided. They knew that in case they would not agree upon some subject, there would be another was. At that time, neither could afford such costs, since they both were trying to heal the wounds caused by the previous conflict.Advertising Looking for term paper on eastern europe? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As Pittman emphasized, It may be that the Soviet reluctance to respond to West German appeals to increase the number ox exit permits was due to the general deterioration of dà ©tente and also to Soviet disappointment in material benefits (economic) expected from the FRG-Soviet relations[3]. However, it influenced the union of the two parts of Germany in 1990, this is the fact that cannot be denied. Indeed, the traces that people’s actions leave drag the most unexpected consequences. Reference List Ash, T. G. In Europe’s Name: Germany and the Divided Continent. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010. Print. Pittman, A. From Ostpolitik to Unification: West German-Soviet Political  Relations Since 1974. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2002. Print. Spaulding, R. M. Osthandel and Ostpolitik: German Foreign Trade Policies in  Eastern Europe from Bismarck to Adenauer. Oxford: Berghahn Books. 1997. Print. Footnotes Ash, T. G. In Europe’s Name: Germany and the Divided Continent. (New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010). Spaulding, R. M. Osthandel and Ostpolitik: German Foreign Trade policies in Eastern Europe from Bismark to Adenauer. (Oxford: Berghahn Books 1997). 489 Pittman, A. From Ostpolitik to Unification: West German-Soviet Political  Relations Since 1974. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). 30

Sarah Margaret Fuller †American Lit (200 Level Course)

Sarah Margaret Fuller – American Lit (200 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Sarah Margaret Fuller American Lit (200 Level Course) Sarah Margaret Fuller was a member of Emerson’s Transcendentalist movement. She embraced the movement’s ideas and was a keen supporter of women’s rights and social justice movements. In her book â€Å"American Literature†, Sarah ties to define to us what is American literature. She insists that American literature has its own identity and should not be compared to European literature. Fuller also talks about the influence of British culture and ways of thinking in American literature. She emphasizes on originality and why originality will help further more writers to think freely. She also talked about American writers and how the public is ignoring them or not appreciative of their works. The writers she praised are original thinkers and creative in their ways of thinking and at the same time not influenced by British culture. Overall she was trying to express to her audience why it is important for Americans to have their own literary identity, free from European influence. Research Papers on Sarah Margaret Fuller - American Lit (200 Level Course)Hip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPETSTEL analysis of India19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

A Complex Case of Interpretation of Justice and Truth

A Complex Case of Interpretation of Justice and Truth Justice in society is the ultimate destination for those who wish to uphold the truth; however, morality is contradicted by an individual’s choice to be uninvolved when personal serenity is at stake. The novel Jasper Jones upholds this idea through the portrayal of silent bystanders as the driving force that powers the events of injustice that take place in Corrigan. Ultimately, this dilemma is revealed to the audience through the lens of Charlie Bucktins experiences, which act as a catalyst in assisting him piece together the reality that achieving justice is not always a clear-cut matter. Breakdowns within relationships are spurred into being by the inability of individuals to acknowledge their personal liability and condemn others of their misdemeanors. As Charlie witnesses his mother’s accumulating verbal abuse towards his fathers misbehavior, he understands how his mother attempts to feed her dissatisfaction in life by criticizing those around her: â€Å"She called him a poor parent, a useless husband. She accused him of not caring for either me or her.† However, since Charlies father stays uninvolved in order to restore peace, he is allowing injustice to linger; in fact, he is ironically being scapegoated as the excuse for his wife’s affair. As Charlie states, â€Å"I wanted him to take umbrage with her questioning of his heart and his loyalty. But he didn’t.† Although the peace of passiveness is eventually made most evident to the audience within the motif of Charlie’s antipodean snowdome, Charlie also understands the saf ety of being a silent bystander. His experiences force him to regret opening his window to Jasper Jones: â€Å"I’d choose to forget. I’d sleep safe in my settled snowdome.† Therefore, the Bucktin house can also be viewed as a microcosm of the Corrigan community, as the silent bystander sustains wrongdoings and allows the innocent to be accused for others mistakes. Silvey adapts his ideas about truth and responsibility to the Wishart family; Pete Wishart’s brutal abuse of Laura was facilitated by Eliza’s and Mrs. Wishart’s continuous suppression of the truth. The narrative demonstrates Laura’s encounters through a metaphorical spectacle highlighting how quickly evil was propelled â€Å"Like a cork from a bottle. A train with no brakes. Here, the use of simile heightens the intensity of Eliza’s recounting to Charlie of her inability to oppose the villainy under her own roof. In a uniquely Australian voice Silvey personifies the intense heat of the Australian climate â€Å"summer heat crept in† symbolizing nature growing in tension in parallel with the events within the Wishart family. Dissolution of relationships within the Wishart family thrived from the subduing of truth and the abrogation of responsibilities as parental guardians from both Mr. and Mrs. Wishart. The powerless and marginalized are ofte n scapegoated for the mistakes of those higher up in societies hierarchy to uphold faultless public appearances. Society’s animosity towards Jasper Jones is enunciated during Charlie’s first encounter with him â€Å"They think I’m a bloody animal. They think I belong in a cage† The image of Jasper as an animal represents the ironic label that impugns his sensitive and misunderstood nature and presents him as dangerous to society. The first person narrative within the novel positions Charlie as the narrator allowing us to recognize the duality of Jasper which may not be known by others. Subsequently these experiences are what fuels the novel and forces Jasper and Charlie to adapt methods contrary to the traditional to achieve justice. Jasper’s character is inexorably linked to accumulated stereotypical labels â€Å"a Thief, a Liar, a Thug, a Truant† that allows the powerful figures such as Pete Wishart to demonstrate a destructive power of injustice and scapegoat Jasper Jones for his misdemeanor. This supports his attempts in masking his identity as an alcoholic, immoral, sexually violent man and uphold his authority as the Shire president. Capitalization of these titles demonstrate the dominance of the assumptions of the community and promotes Jasper’s vulnerability to be scapegoated. However, during his encounter with Mad Jack Lionel Jasper is indirectly accused of the same mistake of judging by appearance without understanding reality, as he himself engage in scapegoating of the innocent. Represented through an imperative narrative voice tied together with aphorism, Silvey highlights the ability of the Corrigan citizens to disfigure the truth so extremely, despite their personal egregious p ractices, that it forces Jack Lionel to resort to an isolated life, â€Å"The story became truth†¦And Jack Lionel’s portrait was smudged with ink and smeared in shit†. Silvey alludes this image of Lionel to the character of â€Å"Boo Radley†, a reclusive social outcast in â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†. During Jaspers blindness of the truth he fails to understand the positive intentions of Lionel to reunite with his grandson. â€Å"Or maybe he knew†¦Maybe he knows about his place. Maybe it was him.† The repetition of â€Å"Maybe† accentuates Jaspers uncertainty and lack of evidence in accusing Jack Lionel. Even though Jasper doesn’t have an image he needs to support, he needs to accuse someone else to hide the possibility of his actions driving Laura to her death. Therefore by relieving oneself of mistakes by antagonizing the innocent we are able to eliminate possibilities of moral misadventure. Justice and truth are intertwined as the handling of truth by individuals are influenced by human experiences and the reinterpretation of it brings about justice or injustice. Peoples encounters within certain relationships shapes their view of the truth as only those willing to peel away the layers and explore it will truly understand reality. Charlie’s intelligence and compelling attitude to discover the truth before judging places characters in their authentic form, which assists in piecing together the different events within Corrigan. As a result of this he and Jasper were able to discover the ultimate injustice within Laura’s death and perceive Corrigan through a different lens. Craig Silvey poignantly completes this novel through the revealing of human nature and its role within unearthing the truth and bringing about Justice.

Implement a marketing solution - Gillette fusion razor Essay

Implement a marketing solution - Gillette fusion razor - Essay Example It also seeks to estimate customers' response to the product. With the help of proper research, it is possible to obtain a clear idea about the future proceedings of the company. "As the Fusion is developed, Gillette will have to invest in market analysis, research, production, marketing etc. This will be an expensive phase. Since no sale revenue will be achieved, losses may be incurred. Fortunately for Gillette, M3Power still has a market that will allow it to absorb losses over a short time." (Altaf 2007). During this stage it becomes crucial to give an appropriate focus on price and promotion concept. The company can choose between float or skim pricing strategy. Apart from this, it is necessary to give emphasis for promotional method, especially advertising of the product, for the purpose of creating awareness about the new product in the market and among the consumers. There exist chances of competition. Some times the company may incur some loss during this stage. The cost will be higher due to the sales promotional activities and the quantum of sales will be normal or at a lower level. The important fact during this stage is to analyze whether the customers will be ready to accept the technology of five blade surface or not. The growth stage is the third stage in the product lifecycle.

Health Care Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Health Care Reform - Research Paper Example The contention was supported by authors Siegel, Mead and Burke (2008) who revealed an analogous argument in the rising costs of health care services coupled with the increasing number of Americans who are uninsured. B. Reality of Health Care in the US The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) emphasized that â€Å"some  47 million U.S. residents have no health insurance, and the numbers keep growing† (AFL-CIO, 2011). In view of this, the current administration has enacted the Affordable Care Act that envisions implementing â€Å"comprehensive health insurance reforms that will hold insurance companies more accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more health care choices, and enhance the quality of health care for all American† (USDHHS: Health Care, n.d,). C. ... rage through the following strategies, to wit: â€Å"(1) sets up a new competitive private health insurance market; (2) holds insurance companies accountable; and (3) puts our budget and economy on a more stable path† (USDHHS: Health Care, n.d., pars. 6 to 8). Section 2: The History and the Evolution of the Issue in Health Care The major issues in health care that significantly traced its historical evolution are sourced from The Henry J. Kaiser Family of Foundation (2011) and enumerated herewith, as follows: 1965 President Lyndon Johnson Lyndon enacted legislation which introduced Medicare covering both hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens paid for by a Federal employment tax over the working life of the retiree, and Medicaid permitted the Federal government to partially fund a program for the poor, with the program managed and co-financed by the individual states. 1985 The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) amended the Employ ee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to give some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment. 1997 The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, was established by the federal government in 1997 to provide health insurance to children in families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. 2010 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Patient Protection is enacted by President Barack Obama providing for the phased introduction over four years of a comprehensive system of mandated health insurance with reforms designed to eliminate "some of the worst practices of the insurance companies" — pre-condition screening and premium loadings, policy rescinds on technicalities when illness seems imminent, lifetime and annual

Sources and Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sources and Writing - Assignment Example Approximately 200 ethnic origins are found in Canada, according to the 2013 National Household Surveys. 13 other ethnic groups have a population of more than one million people (Edward, 2014). The recent immigrant population is relatively young. Since 2006, 58.6% of the immigrants belonged to the 25-54 working age group. Canada entails a linguistically diversified country. The country is increasingly being multilingual, due to the increasing immigrants who do not understand English or French. 72.8% of the immigrant population illustrates mother tongue which is not English or French. Two thirds of the Canadian population is Christian (Doug, 2011). But, the immigration patterns illustrates the increasing levels of individuals with several other religious beliefs; for instance, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhists. Before the 1970s, majority of the immigrants to Canada were from European countries like United Kingdom, Italy and Netherlands. Presently, the levels of European immigrants have drastically reduced (Brooks, 2013). Canada entails multicultural society that has an ethno-cultural composition that has been developed by immigrants over

Interventions associated with amiodarone therapy in Aterial Essay

Interventions associated with amiodarone therapy in Aterial fibrilation in a cardiac paitent - Essay Example In addition, the patient has ectopics. Importantly, an ECG done on the patient indicates arterial fibrillation. A day after his surgery, Mr. Patel’s blood pressure is found to be unstable. The other features identified with the patient one day after the operation are Good CO, Good CI, is normal ABG, 4.3 potassium, on inotropic support, sedated, ventilated , PICCO inserted . The 4.3 potassium was replaced with 20mmol of KCL. Lab results indicated magnesium levels of 0.98, which was replaced with 10mmol of magnesium. After carrying out TOE, it was revealed that the patient had heart muscle edematous. Hence, Cardioversion was forgone. Consequently, a 300mg loading dose of Amiodarone was started on the patient, followed by a 900mg maintenance dosage. The patient was back to SR the following day. This case study highlights the importance and effectiveness of using Amiodarone as medication against Mr. Patel’s arterial fibrillation, outlining and emphasizing the NICE guideline s observed during Mr. Patel’s treatment and management. In addition, the use of the NICE-recommended nursing observation, strategies and intervention practices on Mr. Patel are outlined. In the United Kingdom, it is reported that atrial fibrillation (AF), one of the most common class of arrhythmia managed in clinical practice, affects about 5% of the population aged 65 years and above. The condition is found in both genders with men reporting higher prevalence. As in the case of Mr. Patel, the disease is characterised by lack of synchronisation of rhythm between the ventricles and atria, thus disturbing his regular rhythm of the heart. AF is general regarded as an electrical energy disruption that causes the upper chambers of the heart to vibrate at an approximate rate of between 300 and 600 times a minute (NCC-CC, 2006). Although the overall mortality rate for atrial fibrillation has recently risen to the hitherto unseen levels of up to 90%, many doctors and nurses continue to disregard the potential of modifying the cardiovascular risk factors associated with this disease to reverse the situation (NCC-CC, 2006). As a matter of fact, it has been established that nurses have a great potential to positively contribute to the detection, prevention and management of this progressively common condition (Flegel, 1995). It has also been noted that people aged above 65 years old such as Mr. Patel, are the most affected by this condition. Interestingly, this age group account for huge portion of people under nursing care (NCC-CC, 2005). The role of nurses in Mr. Patel’s case is quite clear since his condition, and the fact that he is aged require that he is placed under intensive treatment and nursing care. For instance, that Mr. Patel just has just undergone surgical procedures and has his cardiac and metabolic systems’’ stability impaired makes his case rather care-intensive. Since most of AF’s signs and symptoms are asymptotic, it is recommended that nurses suspect the disease in patients with irregular pulses (Flegel, 1995). It is not enough to merely suspect the disease in such patients; nurses should do more by informing physicians and recommending referral to an electrocardiogram. The objectives of nursing observations and activities on Mr. Patel, after his surgery includes the following: to alleviate the signs and symptoms of AF and to prevent other related complications he might contract. Among the procedures that are likely to be applied should be suffer these complications

Happiness and meaning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Happiness and meaning - Essay Example In my view on the meaning of human life, the both reason why some people never find meaning in life is that they are either individualistic and they do not want to share their lives with other people, or they never get chance to do or to work in fields that they love. The following is the main reason why I believe that the meaning of human life can be found in serving other human beings. To begin with, a critical look at the main reason why many people never find meaning in life shows that they are individualistic and they do not want to share their lives with other people. In their reflections on the meaning of life, Kolak and Martin agrees with this view when they argue that the main cause of human struggle is division from within and from without, Kolak and Martin argues, â€Å"Everyone knows it takes two to have a fight. You can’t be involved in a struggle unless someone is resisting. The resistance might come from outside or from the inside- either you are divided from someone else, or from environment, or from yourself† (Kolak and Martin, 88). For Kolak and Martin, therefore, once one is united with other people, with the environment, and even with oneself, there is less struggle in life and hence, one will find the meaning of life. Kolak and Martin goes on to argue that it is only by ending the divisions or the fragmentations that cause human st ruggle that one can avoid struggling, hence finding the meaning of life. A critical look at the main cause of division that Kolak and Martin are talking about shows that it is individualism; because of individualism, people are separated from others, from the environment, and even from themselves because they will not be at peace with themselves when they are not united with other people and the environment. For this reason, therefore, individualism is actually the main cause of human fragmentation that makes human beings to see life

Sources and Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sources and Writing - Assignment Example Approximately 200 ethnic origins are found in Canada, according to the 2013 National Household Surveys. 13 other ethnic groups have a population of more than one million people (Edward, 2014). The recent immigrant population is relatively young. Since 2006, 58.6% of the immigrants belonged to the 25-54 working age group. Canada entails a linguistically diversified country. The country is increasingly being multilingual, due to the increasing immigrants who do not understand English or French. 72.8% of the immigrant population illustrates mother tongue which is not English or French. Two thirds of the Canadian population is Christian (Doug, 2011). But, the immigration patterns illustrates the increasing levels of individuals with several other religious beliefs; for instance, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhists. Before the 1970s, majority of the immigrants to Canada were from European countries like United Kingdom, Italy and Netherlands. Presently, the levels of European immigrants have drastically reduced (Brooks, 2013). Canada entails multicultural society that has an ethno-cultural composition that has been developed by immigrants over

Happiness and meaning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Happiness and meaning - Essay Example In my view on the meaning of human life, the both reason why some people never find meaning in life is that they are either individualistic and they do not want to share their lives with other people, or they never get chance to do or to work in fields that they love. The following is the main reason why I believe that the meaning of human life can be found in serving other human beings. To begin with, a critical look at the main reason why many people never find meaning in life shows that they are individualistic and they do not want to share their lives with other people. In their reflections on the meaning of life, Kolak and Martin agrees with this view when they argue that the main cause of human struggle is division from within and from without, Kolak and Martin argues, â€Å"Everyone knows it takes two to have a fight. You can’t be involved in a struggle unless someone is resisting. The resistance might come from outside or from the inside- either you are divided from someone else, or from environment, or from yourself† (Kolak and Martin, 88). For Kolak and Martin, therefore, once one is united with other people, with the environment, and even with oneself, there is less struggle in life and hence, one will find the meaning of life. Kolak and Martin goes on to argue that it is only by ending the divisions or the fragmentations that cause human st ruggle that one can avoid struggling, hence finding the meaning of life. A critical look at the main cause of division that Kolak and Martin are talking about shows that it is individualism; because of individualism, people are separated from others, from the environment, and even from themselves because they will not be at peace with themselves when they are not united with other people and the environment. For this reason, therefore, individualism is actually the main cause of human fragmentation that makes human beings to see life

Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources Essay Example for Free

Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources Essay The Human Resources Profession Map was created by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) together with Human Resources (HR) practitioners. The aim was to highlight and explain what HR personnel need to know, do and how to deliver the highest standards of knowledge, skills and behaviour required for growth and success within an organisation. The HR Map is a very important tool to help personnel identify areas that need to be developed within their career. The HR Professional Map is created for any type of organisation (small or large) and is based around areas of professional competencies to help those just starting their careers as well as seasoned professionals. The Map is structured around ten professional areas, eight behaviours and four bands of professional competence. It holds two professional core areas, which are insights, strategy and solutions and leading HR. These areas are essential for any worker who needs to develop skills to the best possible level. Firstly, s/he needs to understand the companys values and have a thorough knowledge of what the company does. The basics need to be covered before the employee can proceed within the other training and development parts of the profession map. After learning about insights, strategies and solutions, the HR practitioners should be aware of any arising problems that could effect their work place. The knowledge that comes from the gained behavioural skills should be good enough for HR practitioners to be able to come up with solutions and adapt it to new situations, helping an employee gain confidence and become a better leader. Another eight professional areas that professionals need to know are; service delivery and information; organisation design; organisation development;  resourcing and talent planning; learning and talent development; performance and reward; employee engagement and employee relations. The eight behaviours show what kind of attributes HR practitioners should implement, which are; being curious; a decisive thinker; skilled influencer; personally credible; collaborative; driven to deliver; having the courage to challenge and being a role model. All of those areas and behaviours are covered by four bands of competence. Band one would be for beginners who start their career and have a basic understanding of the HR role and band four would be for senior professionals who have the most experience within a company. The key area for me to focus on within my company would be employee engagement at band one of professional competency. For the last six years I have been working at the cinema where I have learnt everything about the companys values and goals, through starting as a staff-member to becoming a duty-manager. Employee engagement is a very important level of commitment to any company; an engaged employee should always have pride in what s/he does and work hard to achieve success. In order to have motivated and positive staff who deliver outstanding results, I need to know how to communicate, listen, train/coach my team members, setting aspirational targets through meetings, appraisals and one-to-one sessions. I am sent for various training sessions which provides me with the ability to provide the best support and training for my personnel. After observing and listening to my staff I have noticed that people learn in various ways and I need to adopt different methods in training sessions to get the best out of them and to make them feel valued and motivated. ACTIVITY 2 Understanding Customer Needs. It happens very often in my professional role that certain customers come to me asking for some data, advice or requiring assistance. Not so long ago I had three customers simultaneously come to me with individual problems. They were: Staff Member Emma, who wanted to find out how many hours of holiday she earned so far and when would be the best time to book her holidays. Operational Assistant Ben, who wanted me to add the new starters which would  be starting from the beginning of next week to the system and send a new starter form to the Head Office HR Manager. General Manager Paul, who asked me to check our monthly payroll which just got sent through and needed to be replied to by the end of the working day. It is essential that I always try to prioritise my tasks according to the customer needs and the impact it would have on the company. At the beginning I told Emma that I was unable to focus on her query at that specific moment, but would make sure that tomorrow I would have more time to talk through her holiday requests. My priority was checking the monthly payroll. The task was set by my General Manager and I had only till the end of the day to check it. I need to have enough time to thoroughly check the payroll as if there are any mistakes I need to create a report with all the faults found and send it to the HR manager to investigate. Adding new staff to the system was my second priority. The staffs data did not go live until the week after and therefore was lacking any real pressure in terms of time, and the system we use is simple and straight-forward. Nevertheless, it took priority over Emma in case there were mistakes that would later delay this important and timely process. As stated, Emma was my last priority because her query was not as pressing as the previous two. However, I still made her feel important and valued by informing her that I would have everything ready for the meeting the next day. Effective Communication Effective communication is important in every work place. It is essential for employees to build the appropriate level of trust and understanding, to help create strong working relationships and therefore solve any arising problems with more ease. The three most common ways to communicate in my company are: Face to face. The most efficient and common within my role, it is used when I want to delegate jobs to staff members, within team meetings etc. This type of communication cannot be ignored and is particularly successful in motivating staff to do their jobs effectively. Although sometimes face-to-face can be difficult and cause problems; when dealing with a difficult situation it is sometimes hard to stay calm or always see eye-to-eye. Emotions can become visible which may cloud communication and further exasperate an event. E-mails. These are used on a regular basis. Most contact with external customers is through e-mail and so we need to make sure they are always answered swiftly. They are easy, effectively free and a very fast form of communication. For my internal customers I use an e-mail service for sending out rotas and other staff requests, therefore it is important to check it daily. Unfortunately, sometimes e-mails may be misread and people could feel offended by its content due to miscommunication. Also, some messages may be misplaced and sent to a customers spam folder and therefore treated as unsent and ignored, causing negative experiences. Feedback Forms. A very popular method that is used for one-to-one meetings, probation reviews and appraisals. These forms provide to customers a clear and concise outline of their positive/negative behaviour, and acknowledge, with their line manager, what kind of changes need to be made, creating a clear plan that could help with their development. Feedback can also help staff feel appreciated and increase their self-esteem. A disadvantage of feedback forms may be the subjective nature of feedback (as anyone within the management team can choose to provide a form without first going through any procedures or checks) leaving open the possibility of personal opinions clashing with a customers work ethic. Effective Service Delivery To be able to meet all customer needs the company should have an effective service delivery. Good working relationships and team work should be key to creating a good service delivery for our customers. Everyday I have to deliver satisfactory service on time. Whether it is with our external customers by replying to their e-mails or phone calls on a daily basis or for my internal customers when writing rotas and meeting deadlines set by Management or Head Office. It is essential for a HR practitioner to be able to deliver a service within a timely manner because that will help build trust with customers. Delivering a service on budget is essential in my work place as I have to deal with it on a daily basis. I am mostly responsible for payroll and, within my company, payroll is the biggest controlling cost. Every week we have to schedule staff according to expected business levels. On top of this, everyday we have to control our forecast and act accordingly to set hours, which may incl ude sending staff home when it is quiet or  calling more people in when it is busy. Dealing with difficult customers and handling complaints is not easy, especially external ones. Whenever I have to deal with one I am always focused, listen to the persons complaint, apologise for the problem and try to explain why certain situation have happened. Im always trying to put myself in their position and empathise with them. Sometimes just explaining things may resolve the problem because a customer may not understand something, be confused or simply be agitated and in need of assistance. I asses the situation and decide how best to resolve it (whether with a mere apology or free guest passes etc). If the customer is still not happy with the outcome and would like the complaint to go further, I pass the situation onto head office to be dealt with more formally. When handling and resolving complains it is important to stay calm, communicate and be aware how serious the complaint is. Sometimes is okay to to resolve it in an informal one-to-one meeting but if its something serious like Gross Misconduct, then the complaint must be dealt with formally which could result in dismissal. Looking at the Associate Membership criteria I would need to develop practical and technical HR knowledge and collating, analysing and interpreting data. These two areas stand out the most from the associated membership criteria because I know I could develop these skills better throughout my personal development plan and become a more skilled HR practitioner. Learning more about practical and technical HR knowledge will expand my awareness and make me a more rounded, proficient professional. And learning how to properly collate, analyse and interpret data is something I have yet to really learn and so will give me a crucial grounding for further development. In order to be able to grow within developing practical and technical HR knowledge I would have to gain a lot of experience by shadowing my HR manager and fellow colleagues. In my organisation it is very important to know as much as possible about the human resources department because we do not have many people on site with HR skills. After learning about HR development I could focus on one or two key areas, such as disciplinary procedures or maternity leave, which would add key areas of knowledge to my  current HR capabilities. I believe that developing yourself practically and technically is essential for an individual who wants to become a good HR practitioner within his/her company as this is a core grounding to any career in HR. Collating, analysing and interpreting data is connected to developing practical and technical knowledge within my HR area. By getting support from my line managers I can be trained in creating weekly analyses of all payroll reports such as sickness submissions, lateness tracker and breaks. That skill would teach me how to work on our workforce payroll and I would get to know the rules and disciplinary procedures. With that in mind, I would be able to implement visible data and make staff responsible for their absences. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a â€Å"combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and growth†, focusing â€Å"firmly on results – the benefits that professional development can bring you in the real world† (CIPD website). It can be defined as a life-long learning project that describes the actions of an individual professional who is continuously planning, managing, reviewing and developing his/her skills within their professional or private life. The main aspect of CPD is the Personal Development Plan (PDP) which is structured to help and support individuals to be able to plan and organise their objectives or values in their personal or career development. It identifies what skills and knowledge you need to develop to progress further. I believe that CPD is important to me and my organisation because it gives me and my employer a chance to grow and progress within my career. It sets clear objectives and provides an opportunity to widen any knowledge and skills which are important to succeed within the organisation. By planning my PDP I am able to understand my strengths and weaknesses and learn how to improve them day by day. It keeps me interested therefore I feel motivated and positive. The company can also benefit from having the structure of CPD in place as it helps the company move forward by having motivated and happy personnel, as well as better working relationships due to managers spending more time with staff through one-to-one meetings and appraisals. The two options that I chose from my personal development plan are having practical and technical HR knowledge and completion of my CIPD course. Personally, advantages of having practical and technical HR knowledge would be the ability to implement my new skills on site and be able to use more of my own initiative on day to day basis. By shadowing my HR manager and having support from my head office team I would be able to learn about all procedures very quickly. In having those skills I would know how to run the HR department and by doing so I would be very well prepared for HR audits. The only disadvantage for this area would be time organisation, in making sure I can travel to London (and therefore needing cover) and that my HR manager has time to coach me, although this would only be for a set amount of time. The reason why I chose to study an online CIPD course is because I wanted to get my qualification while I was still working a full-time job. It provides great flexibility and no daily travel saves a lot of time and money. I find studying online is less stressful than face-to-face college as it allows me to work within my on surroundings and at a pace I am comfortable with. All lessons are available via a website and the tutors are always quick in responding to e-mails. A disadvantage to studying online is the lack of visible pressure from tutors to push me to work between my regular weekly shifts at work, although this at least helps improve my self-motivational skills.